them as they sit, others with difficulty prevent themselves from falling on those behind them; a basin is brought too late by a reluctant maid; and the wine of Meroe, or more probably that called έκβολας, (the Ecbolada of Pliny,) is flung too visibly on the tainted floor,

et mero

Tingit Pavimentum superbo.

HOUSES.-The streets appear to have been laid out regularly, without any admixture of large houses and low hovels, as in Turin. The streets are narrow, as in all eastern cities, and none but the principal ones could admit a chariot. As heavy rain was a rare phenomenon* in Upper Egypt, the use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal. These bricks appear to have paid a tax, and were marked with the King's seal. Foreigners were constantly engaged in the brick fields at Thebes; and the Hebrews of course were not excluded from this drudgery; but to meet with the Hebrews in the sculptures cannot reasonably be expected, since the remains in that part of Egypt where they lived have not been preserved, but it is curious to discover other foreign captives exercised in the same manner, overlooked by similar taskmasters, and performing the same labours as the Israelites described in the Bible; and no one can look on the paintings at Thebes, representing brickmakers, without a feeling of the highest interest.

In the interesting picture Mr. Wilkinson has given of the operation of brickmaking, he says,

"It is worthy of remark, that more bricks, bearing the name of Thothmes the Third (whom he supposes to have been King of Egypt at the time of the Exodus),

have been discovered than of any other period, owing to the many prisoners of Asiatic nations employed by him, independent of the Hebrew captives."† The arrangement of the houses consisted generally of a court and corridor, with a set of rooms on either side, not unlike many now built in oriental and tropical countries. Of the small houses, that interesting little ancient model, which belonged to Mr. Salt, and which is now in the British Museum, gives an excellent representation. In the chamber on the top of the house, and in the remotest nook, the master of the mansion is sitting as for the purpose of retirement, while the confidential cook or housekeeper is employed below; and his situation and appearance at least reminds us 'That it is better to dwell in the corner on a house top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.' The small quantity of wood in Egypt, led to the invention of the arch. It was used in the tombs as early as the year 1540 B. C. and it seems to have been known in the time of the first Osirtasen, contemporary with Joseph, (vol. iii. p. 317-8). Cedar and deal were imported from Syria, and we find these exotic woods, as well as sycamore and mimosa, in the tombs of Thebes. Rare woods, as ebony, were part of the tribute imposed on foreign and conquered nations. On the houses were terraces, serving both for shelter by day and repose by night, which were covered with a roof, supported by columns. The shops were open in front, resembling those now seen in Naples and in all eastern towns, and not unlike our coach-houses.§

GARDENS. Of these, from its being impossible in the drawings to distinguish the species of the trees, it is difficult to

Mr.

know the details. In the plan they appear to resemble Homer's description of the garden of Alcinous; they were laid out in regular walks, shaded by trees, planted in rows; whether the trees were trimmed and modelled by the topiarii, from the nature of the drawings, we cannot say. The palms are well designed; and the doms or Theban palms may be easily recognized, but the other trees and plants would puzzle Linnæus or Dr. Lindley himself. With the exception of the date and dôm palms, sycamore, tamarisk, and acacias, Egypt produced little wood. The sycamore and persea had the rank of sacred fruit trees. The latter tree, now scarce or unknown in Egypt, was so esteemed by the Romans, that there exists a law, De Perzetis per Ægyptum non excidendis vel vendendis. The vines were trained in bowers, or in avenues formed by rafters, like the pergolas of the Italian gardens, or attached to trees.

In

one drawing, No. 138, monkies are represented as assisting in gathering the fruit, and handing down the figs from the sycamore trees to the gardeners below; but the artist has not failed also in pourtraying them as amply repaying themselves for the trouble of their occupation. Our author adds, that in Abyssinia, at the present day, monkies, among other accomplishments, are taught to officiate as torchbearers during supper, and seated in a row, they hold the lights until the departure of the guests, and wait their own repast as allowed for their services. It is however by long persuasion alone that they engage in this delicate office; and sometimes, if we must speak the truth, an unruly and half-caste monkey will throw his lighted torch of discord into the midst of the unsuspecting guests.

FURNITURE. The manner of reposing used by the Egyptians, seems partly European and partly Asiatic. They sate on chairs and fauteuils, sometimes using stools and low seats, and some sat cross-legged upon mats and carpets. While conversing, they did not recline upon divâns, like the Eastern people, nor, like the Romans, lie recumbent, supported by the elbow on a triclinium or couch, during meals: though couches and ottomans formed part of an Egyptian saloon. Their chairs were of most elegant forms, and formed of ebony, ivory, and the rarest woods, and covered with the richest stuffs. Both from the sculptures and from the sacred history we have authority for believing that the Egyptians, like the early Greeks, sate at meals; for, as Philo observes, when Joseph enter

tained his brethren, he ordered them to sit according to their ages. A wooden pillow for the support of the head seems to have been of universal use, however inconvenient it may appear to us. At meals, as they had neither knives nor forks,* nor any substitute answering to the chopsticks of the Chinese, they ate with their fingers, as the modern Asiatics, and invariably with the right hand; but spoons were introduced at table, where soup or liquids required their use. That they scrupulously washed themselves before and after meals is evident; but there is no evidence of soap having been used by them. As it is the practice of the clergy of the present day to sanctify the feast with a prayer; so the Egyptian priests gave to the conviviality of dinner a religious aspect, by introducing the figure of a mummy, to remind the guests of their mortality: -' mensis exsanguem haud separat umbram.' This, Mr. W. calls a salutary lesson, deserving of commendation. Of their wines we have no room to give an account in this place. They made a kind of beer of barley, which was much drank, and flavoured with lupines instead of hops :

- madido sociata lupino
Ut Pelusiaci proritet pocula zythi.'

GAMES. We have no room to enumerate these, some of which resemble the games of the Greeks and Romans; but we transcribe a passage for the sake of removing an old error in natural history. In the toy of the crocodile we have sufficient evidence that the erroneous notion of Herodotus, who states that this animal does not move the lower jaw, and is the only animal which brings the upper one down to the lower, did not originate with the Egyptians. The motion of the head of the crocodile is mistaken for that of the upper jaw. Like other animals, it moves the lower jaw only, but when seizing its prey, the head being thrown up, gives the appearance of motion in the upper jaw, and leads those who see it into this erroneous conclusion.

CHASE. The love of the chase seems to be an original strong passion of men in every age and country and climate, pursued with every ingenuity of device, every defiance of danger, and for every species of prey. The Egyptians delighted in the sports of the field, and according to the animals they pursued, varied their method of attack. 1. Was to inclose a large space of ground with nets, as is the custom of

the East, well described by Somerville in his spirited Poem of the Chase; and practised also in ancient Italy, as we find from the descriptions of Virgil and Statius. Saltusque indagine cingunt.' 2. They coursed with dogs, perhaps like the Persian greyhounds, in the open plains, the chasseur following in his chariot; as we read good Queen Anne used to hunt at Windsor in her one-horse chaise, while Harley and St. John rode in attendance. 3. They employed the loop or lasso of the South Americans to catch the ibex or wild cx. 4. They trained the lion for their assistance in the chase, as the tall leopard or cheeta is now used in India. 5. The lion was frequently brought up tame, as it is now, we believe, in Abyssinia and some parts of Africa; and from some sculptures at Thebes we find the favourite lion accompanying the monarch to battle. Mr. Wilkinson saw some tame lions at Cairo; and it is a fact, however, to be accounted for, that animals are more easily and quickly tamed in hot climates than in Europe; for which, see what M. La Martine says on the horses and birds of Palestine, in the very elegant and eloquent narrative of his travels; and our author remarks how much more tractable and attached the cat is in Egypt than in our part of the globe. The animals hunted were the gazelle, the ibex, the oryx, wild ox, stag, kebsh or wild sheep, hare, and porcupine. The fox, hyæna, wolf, and jackal were destroyed as beasts of prey or for their skins; and the ostrich was held in high value for its plumes. It is singular that the chase neither of the wild boar or the wild ass, though both animals are common, and are the usual objects of pursuit in the East, are to be seen in the sculptures. The monsters that we meet with in the sculptures and among the hieroglyphics, are generally unnatural com

binations of parts of the foregoing animals.‡ Denon has justly remarked on the comparative size of animals common to Europe and Egypt, that the latter are always smaller than our own; this is strongly exemplified in the hare and the wolf. The giraffe was not a native of Egypt, but Ethiopia; where it was brought with apes and other animals as a tribute to the Pharaohs. The camel is never seen in sculpture, as we mentioned, nor either fowls or pigeons among the domestic poultry. The cat and dog were sacred animals, and to kill them was a capital offence : • Oppida tota Canem venerantur.'

ARTS. One of the most remarkable inventions of a remote æra, and with which the Egyptians appear acquainted as early as the reign of Osirtasen (3500 years ago) is that of Glass-blowing. The process is shown in the paintings of Beni Hassan (v. pl. 349). Many glass bottles § have been found in the tombs of Upper and Lower Egypt; and a glass bead, bearing a king's name who lived about 1500 B. C. of the same gravity as the crown glass now manufactured in England. In a hot country, and under a burning sky like that of Egypt, glass was not used for windows; but their method of staining it, and counterfeiting in it precious stones, as purple amethysts and green emeralds, have never been equalled by modern skill of Europeans: || and a necklace of false stones could be purchased or hired for occasion at a Theban jeweller's, as at London or Paris.

"Among the many bottles found in the tombs of Thebes, we may suppose that none have excited greater curiosity and surprise than those of Chinese manufacture, presenting inscriptions in that language. Mr. Wilkinson has seen several, two of which he brought to England. Another is described by Professor Rosel