the first canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. The flight of the Israelites from bondage occurred in this dynasty during the reign of Meneptah.

MENEPTAH, THE SUPPOSED PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS.

He is generally known in history as the Pharaoh of the Exodus; and it is well to explain here that Pharaoh was the Egyptian word for 'king,' and is properly prefixed to the name of the ruler. The Egyptians would say 'Pharaoh Rameses,' 'Pharaoh Necho,' and the like, just as we say King George,' or 'King Charles.'

"In the twenty-seventh dynasty Egypt was taken by the Persians, and held by them one hundred and twenty years. Then the Egyptians made a successful rebellion, and drove out their oppressors till the thirtyfirst dynasty, when the Persians came back again. In the thirty-second dynasty (332 B.C.) Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, and founded Alexandria. The Greeks ruled the country for three hundred years, till the time of Cleopatra, at the beginning of the Christian era (thirty-fourth dynasty), when it became a Roman province, and what is called Ancient Egypt' came to an end. As

we are not concerned now with modern Egypt, we will close our historical record and take breath."

With this brief outline of the history of ancient Egypt in their minds the boys were able to make an intelligent observation of the museum at

THE DISCOVERIES OF MARIETTE BEY.

101

Boulak. On their way thither the Doctor gave them a history of the Museum which owed its existence to the labors of Mariette Bey.*

X

"In the early half of this century," said the Doctor, "many of the tombs of the ancient Egyptians were explored, and their contents carried away to the museums of Europe. In 1850 the French Government sent an officer, Auguste Edouard Mariette, to examine the ruins of Memphis. His mission was successful, as he discovered the Serapeum, or tombs of the Sacred Bulls, and opened one of the principal temples of the longruined city. In 1856 the Egyptian Government appointed him Director of the Department for the Preservation of Egyptian Antiquities, with the title of Bey, and gave him a liberal allowance of money for carrying on his work. Through his efforts an order was made forbidding the exportation of antiquities, and establishing a museum near Cairo for their preservation. So much has been found that the museum at Boulak has been filled, and a new and larger building has been erected on the opposite side of the Nile, to which the collection will be transferred. Many interesting discoveries have been made, and every year reveals something new. Much light has been thrown on the history of ancient Egypt, and many questions that were formerly matters of dispute

PTOLEMY IN HIE

ROGLYPHICS.

THE NAME OF EGYPT IN HIEROGLYPHICS.

have been set at rest. It is safe to say that we have learned more about ancient Egypt through the labors of Mariette Bey than through those of all other explorers combined, with the possible exception of Champollion."

Frank asked who Champollion was, and what he discovered.

"I know," said Fred; "he discovered the Rosetta Stone, and told what was written on it.”

"He did not discover the Rosetta Stone," the Doctor answered, "but he translated it. The stone was found at Rosetta, in 1799, by a French engineer, and when the English came to Egypt they sent it to the British Museum. It was a slab, with an inscription upon it in three languages.

It was the good fortune of the author of this volume to form the acquaintance of Mariette Bey in Egypt, in 1874, and to meet him again in Paris a few years later. The death of this eminent archæologist is greatly regretted by all students of the history of ancient Egypt.

"Previous to that time nobody could make anything out of the Egyptian hieroglyphics; there were plenty of them, but no one was able to

3711 7.5

HIEROGLYPHIC.

DEMOTIC OR ENCHORIAL.

read a syllable, or even a letter. A key was wanted, and Champollion found it in the Rosetta Stone.

"The inscription was in three languages, one of them being Greek, and the other two the hieroglyphic and demotic, or common language of the ancient Egyptians. The Greek inscription proved to be a decree of one of the Ptolemies, about the beginning of the Christian era. The name of the king occurred several times, and Champollion observed that certain characters appeared at about the same intervals in the hieroglyphic and demotic versions as the royal title in the Greek. With this as a startingpoint he went to work and built up a grammar and dictionary of the language of ancient Egypt. He found the key that had been missing for nearly two thousand years-the key to unlock the mysteries of the language of the people who built the pyramids and the great temples at Thebes.

GREEK.

THE ROSETTA STONE, WITH SPECIMEN LINES
FROM THE INSCRIPTION.

"It is no wonder that the Rosetta Stone is considered one of the most precious treasures of the British Museum, and that the name of Champollion is revered by every student of history.

"I cannot give you a better definition of the forms of writing among the Egyptians than by quoting the words of Mr. Prime.

There were,'

W

SPECIMENS OF THE THREE FORMS OF WRITING USED BY THE EGYPTIANS.

CHARACTER OF EGYPTIAN WRITING.

103

he says, 'three styles of manuscript and sculpture-hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. The first was a language of complete pictures, the second of outlines derived from the first, and the third was the character for the people-a species of running-hand derived from the others. The first was the style of the monumental sculptures; the second of the priestly writings; the third was for the ordinary transactions of the people.'

“And here,” said the Doctor, as he opened a book and exhibited a page with some characters upon it, "we have specimens of the three languages, one taken from the walls of a temple, and the other two from rolls of papyrus."

The boys looked at the printed page, and readily distinguished the difference between the three kinds of writing. While they were discussing its curious features the carriage halted in front of the entrance to the museum, and the dialogue was suspended.

CHAPTER VIII.

WONDERS OF THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES.

OULAK is the port of Cairo, as the great city does not stand on the

banks of the Nile, but a couple of miles away from it. Before the days of the railway Boulak was a place of considerable importance, as it was the point of arrival and departure for the steamers plying between Cairo and Alexandria, and at the present day it is the station for steamers ascending the Nile. It was chosen as the site of the Museum of Antiquities on account of the convenience of landing statues and other heavy objects directly from the

boats that had brought them down the river, and the museum was erected on the very bank of the stream. But the position was found insecure, on account of the tendency of the Nile to change its channel, and for several years the safety of the treasures accumulated under the direction of Mariette Bey has been seriously threatened.

Our friends passed through the gate-way, and found themselves in a garden filled with large statues statues and sphinxes.

EGYPTIAN SCULPTORS AT WORK.

Their attention was attracted to the colossal statue of a king in a sitting posture, and close to it were several sphinxes. The Doctor explained that the figure represented one of the kings of the twelfth dynasty. Some of the sphinxes came from Karnak, and once formed part of the great avenue leading to the temple, while others were from Tanis and Sakkara. The statue of the king was of solid granite and admirably carved, leaving no doubt that the Egyptians were well advanced in the art of the sculp