walls. They offer to remove them for a stipulated sum, and their proposal is generally accepted. Then they begin a sort of incantation, calling upon the snake to come forth, and threatening him with death if he does not. In a little while the snake falls from the ceiling or from a crack in the wall, and is picked up by the performer and exhibited to the family as proof of his skill, and that he has earned his money.

"Of course it is strongly suspected," the Doctor continued, "that the charmer secretly liberates the snake, or hires a confederate to do so, in order that he may obtain pay for catching him. This is undoubtedly the case in many instances, as the performer generally operates in a room. where there is little light, and nobody is inclined to come near him for fear of being bitten. But not infrequently he has to perform in an open court-yard where there are many spectators, and sometimes he is taken suddenly to a house, and carefully examined before he begins operations. His trick, if it be one, has never been discovered, and the Egyptian snakecharmer may be considered, on the whole, quite as skilful as his fellowcraftsman in India."

One of the most deadly serpents of Egypt is the asp, which was made famous centuries ago by Cleopatra. There is another poisonous snake called the naya; it is of a greenish-brown color, and has a hood that expands like that of the Indian cobra when the snake is enraged. Some authorities suppose that the serpent with which Cleopatra killed herself, after the death of Marc Antony, is none other than the naya. This is the snake which appears so often among the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and it was worshipped as the representative of one of the divinities in the days of the Pharaohs. A person who is bitten by a naya generally dies in a few minutes, and thus far no antidote has been discovered for its poison.

Sight-seeing among the temples and tombs of Upper Egypt began at Beni-Hassan, about fifteen miles above Minieh. The boat touched at the landing-place, and the natives came down in dozens, bringing their donkeys for the tourists to ride to the tombs, three miles away. The natives had a most villanous appearance, and the donkeys, while no doubt more honest than their owners, were, if possible, less respectable, so far as looks were concerned. The people at Beni-Hassan have long had a bad reputation, and they were so notorious for their thievery during the reign of Ibrahim Pacha that he sent a military force to destroy their village and scatter its occupants. The village has been rebuilt, and the people have assembled again, but neither has improved by the severe lesson given by the son of Mohammed Ali.

Frank and Fred selected two of the donkeys, and their saddles were

MISHAPS OF A DONKEY RIDE.

161

brought out and placed on the beasts. The Doctor likewise obtained a donkey; but he afterward said that the most agreeable way of riding the animal was to walk by his side. His donkey had a habit of sitting down suddenly, very much to the inconvenience of the rider, and no doubt induced by the weight of the latter. Frank had not gone a dozen yards before he was pitched over the head of his steed, to the great amusement of Fred. While the latter was laughing over the discomfiture of his cousin, he found himself stretched on the sand, and speedily concluded that the similarity of position left no farther reason for being amused. They remounted with greater caution; but it was observed that they had quite enough of saddle exercise on their way to the tombs, and concluded to walk back to the boat.

The rest of the party met with varied mishaps on their way to the tombs, but nobody was seriously hurt, and all were inclined to laugh over the incidents of the ride, particularly those that happened to others. It is a curious circumstance that it is much more ludicrous to see some

one else pitched over the head of a donkey, and left sprawling in the sand, than to be pitched over and sprawled yourself. Of course we refer only to Egypt in commenting on this matter; but it has been said in America that the fun of a mishap or a practical joke is never as apparent to the victim of it as to his friends.

But the troubles of the ride were forgotten when the party reached the tombs which they went to see.

The tombs of Beni-Hassan are hewn in the solid rock, some in a cliff overlooking the Nile, and others in a valley running back from the river. The rock is a soft limestone, which is very easy to quarry, and some geologists think it was even softer five thousand years ago than at pres

SECTION OF A TOMB.

ent. A great deal of labor was devoted to it, and the inscriptions on the walls are so numerous that very little space is left uncovered. Some of the tombs are entered through door-ways on a level with the floor, and others can only be reached by means of ladders.

The tombs are cut with pillars and vaulted roofs, in imitation of buildings; they belong to the eleventh and twelfth dynasties of ancient Egypt, and are therefore older than the tombs and temples of Thebes, but more modern than the Pyramids of Sakkara and Gizeh. They were made for the resting-places of kings and priests, but were rifled of their contents centuries ago; their chief value at present is in the sculptures, which represent many of the trades and occupations of the ancient Egyptians, and thus throw a vivid light on their daily life.

Frank wrote the following in his note-book on his return to the

steamer:

"We have been able to see to-day how the ancient Egyptians lived, and what they did; and it seems as if I have only to close my eyes and imagine myself carried back five thousand years. There are barbers at work on their customers, and closely reminding us of the barbers of today; there are shoemakers cutting the leather, and preparing the thread for stitching shoes and sandals together; and there are spinners and weavers at work, the former using the spindle just as it is now used in nearly all countries, and will probably be used as long as the world stands. "There are glass-blowers and jewellers employed at their trades, both

PICTURES ON THE WALLS OF TOMBS.

163

using the familiar blow-pipe, and evidently understanding it as perfectly as one could wish. Painters are busy with their brushes, some making pictures on panels or on sheets of papyrus, and others engaged in coloring statues or decorating walls. There are tailors and carpenters, boatbuilders and stone-cutters, and there is a series of pictures representing the whole process of preparing flax, and making it into twine and cloth. One man brings water to fill a tank, in which other men are placing the flax; beyond the tank two men are beating the flax after it has been properly soaked; others are twisting the fibres into yarn; others make the yarn into ropes or cloth; and, lastly, two men hold up a piece of cloth that has just been finished. No description in words could be more clear than is this pictorial representation.

"But industry is not the only thing seen on the walls of the tombs of Beni-Hassan. Musicians are playing on instruments of different

すり・

SPINNING AND WEAVING.

kinds. Men and women are dancing or singing, others are seated at table or around fish-ponds, and others are playing ball, throwing heavy stones, or engaged at games similar to our chess or backgammon. They knew how to enjoy themselves fifty centuries ago no less than now. There are unpleasant things, too, depicted on the walls of the tombs:

some of the tortures of prisoners are shown, and in one of the paintings several peasants are being held on the ground while a man strikes them across the shoulders with a heavy whip.

"In one of the tombs there is a picture representing the arrival of some strangers, and their presentation to the King. This was long thought

ARTISTS AT WORK.

to be the arrival of Joseph and his brethren; but as the tombs are known to have been made several hundred years before Joseph was born, the pictures must refer to somebody else. There are thirty-seven figures in all in this group, and their faces and style of dress show that they came from some other country than Egypt.

"We found a picture of a donkey with a saddle or his back exactly like the one he wears to-day for carrying burdens. There are several

representations of this patient little beast, not only at Beni-Hassan, but in the tomb of Tih, at Sakkara; in the latter whole droves are shown,