horse.
Greatly fatigued after his journey and his drinking, Carter took to his bed early that evening and slept peacefully through the night. He awoke the following morning clearheaded, recharged and very much looking forward to the railway trip to Cairo. Every moment provided a new sight and a new experience and generated more than enough adrenalin for the energy to continue looking forward never a thought back from whence he came.
First impressions had left Percy Newberry not so enamoured with his new charge as Griffith had led him to expect. He was but a boy for his years and clearly unused to anything outside of a typical English village. He noted in his diary: ‘Looks spoiled to me. For his age he seems overly drawn to the bottle. He will have trouble accepting the hardships of field camp. He had better have a good eye, a steady hand and a lust for work for work is all he is going to get, all the daylight hours available. There will be no personal money of significance. I dearly hope his exalted friends have acquainted him thus.’
Newberry need not have worried. The morning trip in the train did much to help settle the Egyptologist’s mind. Carter spent the entire time asking questions about Beni Hasan. What were the rock cut tombs really like? The state of preservation of the reliefs? Did he have an understanding of the texts? What stories did they tell? What matters of life did they depict? Who had been buried there? Are the colours discernible? What techniques did he use to copy the paintings? How large a piece did he copy at one time?
The questions continued. Newberry’s chain-smoking didn’t bother the young man the windows in the carriage were all open. Carter, his curiosity unconstrained, hopped from one thought to another. Newberry responded willingly such hunger deserved his full attention. By the time they had reached the Hotel Royal in Cairo, Newberry was as encouraged with the prospect of his charge’s talents, dedication and enthusiasm as he had been discouraged at that initial meeting on the dockside.
During those first few days in Cairo, Newberry was occupied with the provisioning. This task included the purchase of a long list of excavation supplies and the essentials for survival. For Newberry these included his visiting a number of tobacco shops to ensure supplies of cigarettes adequate to keep him ‘lit up’ for the anticipated duration of their forthcoming stay in the desert. Carter, meantime, was able to acclimatise.
Back at their hotel at the end of the day, Newberry ushered Carter into the smoking room. He removed the cigarette from his mouth. “There is someone here you must meet, Howard.” He led him over to a gentleman sitting alone and absorbed in his newspaper. Newberry announced himself and then said, “Mr William Matthew Flinders Petrie, I would like to introduce to you my new assistant Mr Howard Carter who is about to begin his first assignment in Egypt.”
The teenager was dumbstruck the great man of Egyptology was actually seated before him.
The words “M’ pleasure, Mr Carter,” came from behind the raised newspaper. That would be all he would hear from Petrie for the rest of the evening.
But there was better to come. Before their trip south, Carter had had the opportunity to meet with Petrie a number of times. In the course of their encounters the boy discovered that he and Petrie held a common interest their individual love of fine art sufficient in common that the famous man would spontaneously talk to him; that is to say, more exactly, at him. Petrie was accustomed to controlling all situations and particularly conversations about, among other things, his propensity to collect scarab seals and his consequent expertise and knowledge of this prolific form of ancient Egyptian art. Carter would listen in silence for as long as Petrie was happy to speak, but, as soon as he had finished, the Egyptologist lapsed back into thoughts of the more immediate puzzles he was
Greatly fatigued after his journey and his drinking, Carter took to his bed early that evening and slept peacefully through the night. He awoke the following morning clearheaded, recharged and very much looking forward to the railway trip to Cairo. Every moment provided a new sight and a new experience and generated more than enough adrenalin for the energy to continue looking forward never a thought back from whence he came.
First impressions had left Percy Newberry not so enamoured with his new charge as Griffith had led him to expect. He was but a boy for his years and clearly unused to anything outside of a typical English village. He noted in his diary: ‘Looks spoiled to me. For his age he seems overly drawn to the bottle. He will have trouble accepting the hardships of field camp. He had better have a good eye, a steady hand and a lust for work for work is all he is going to get, all the daylight hours available. There will be no personal money of significance. I dearly hope his exalted friends have acquainted him thus.’
Newberry need not have worried. The morning trip in the train did much to help settle the Egyptologist’s mind. Carter spent the entire time asking questions about Beni Hasan. What were the rock cut tombs really like? The state of preservation of the reliefs? Did he have an understanding of the texts? What stories did they tell? What matters of life did they depict? Who had been buried there? Are the colours discernible? What techniques did he use to copy the paintings? How large a piece did he copy at one time?
The questions continued. Newberry’s chain-smoking didn’t bother the young man the windows in the carriage were all open. Carter, his curiosity unconstrained, hopped from one thought to another. Newberry responded willingly such hunger deserved his full attention. By the time they had reached the Hotel Royal in Cairo, Newberry was as encouraged with the prospect of his charge’s talents, dedication and enthusiasm as he had been discouraged at that initial meeting on the dockside.
During those first few days in Cairo, Newberry was occupied with the provisioning. This task included the purchase of a long list of excavation supplies and the essentials for survival. For Newberry these included his visiting a number of tobacco shops to ensure supplies of cigarettes adequate to keep him ‘lit up’ for the anticipated duration of their forthcoming stay in the desert. Carter, meantime, was able to acclimatise.
Back at their hotel at the end of the day, Newberry ushered Carter into the smoking room. He removed the cigarette from his mouth. “There is someone here you must meet, Howard.” He led him over to a gentleman sitting alone and absorbed in his newspaper. Newberry announced himself and then said, “Mr William Matthew Flinders Petrie, I would like to introduce to you my new assistant Mr Howard Carter who is about to begin his first assignment in Egypt.”
The teenager was dumbstruck the great man of Egyptology was actually seated before him.
The words “M’ pleasure, Mr Carter,” came from behind the raised newspaper. That would be all he would hear from Petrie for the rest of the evening.
But there was better to come. Before their trip south, Carter had had the opportunity to meet with Petrie a number of times. In the course of their encounters the boy discovered that he and Petrie held a common interest their individual love of fine art sufficient in common that the famous man would spontaneously talk to him; that is to say, more exactly, at him. Petrie was accustomed to controlling all situations and particularly conversations about, among other things, his propensity to collect scarab seals and his consequent expertise and knowledge of this prolific form of ancient Egyptian art. Carter would listen in silence for as long as Petrie was happy to speak, but, as soon as he had finished, the Egyptologist lapsed back into thoughts of the more immediate puzzles he was
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