TAA iv.01.01

                                                       CATARACT HOTEL.
                                                           March 3rd. 1923.

          It seems a long while since the day of the opening, but 

it might be as well to get my impressions on paper to keep as a 

record.

          In the first place, we scored a great triumph over the 

newspaper men. They, for some reason, had got it into their 

heads that we were going to make a secret opening without any 

representative of the Government being present, so for three or 

<16^th> four days they hardly left the tomb. On the Friday they had 

no idea anything was up. We fixed it for the afternoon so that 

the tourists would be out of the way. Sir William Garstin and 

two or three others came to join our lunch party but they came 

straight, so were not seen arriving. After lunch we met by 

appointment, Lacan^sic {Lacau}, Engelbach, Lythgoe, Winlock and two or three 

native officials and then we all went in a party to the tomb. 

The correspondents keeping their vigil above the tomb saw all of 

a sudden the procession arrive from nowhere, and of course 

realized what it meant, but too late to make any special arrange-

ments for sending messages off. At about 2.15 we all took off 

our coats and filed silently down the stairway into the tomb – 

Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn, Breasted, Gardiner, Carter, Lucas, 

Callender and the others already mentioned – about twenty in all. 

The tomb looked as though set for a stage scene. We had put up 

boarding to pret/<v>ent {protect?} the statues which stood on either side of 

the sealed doorway, and made a small stage to enable us to attack