THE PAST AND THE PRESENT IN EGYPT.* To have a

thorough knowledge of the history of Egypt,—that is, to know as much as can be known of the history of her Ancient Empire, her Middle Empire, and her New Empire, -then to pass on to her story under the Persians, the Macedonians, the Ptolemies, the Romans, Byzantines, and Mahommedarts,—is to know but half of all that can be told us about this marvellous country.

In the case of Egypt, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing ; and we may find ourselves floundering hopelessly among the thirty dynasties, or lost in conjectures as to their probable dates, glad enough to alight on such a familiar name as Chufu (or Cheops), a King of the Fourth Dynasty, who fought with the people of Sinai and built the first Pyramid ; or on Nen-kau-Rd (or Mycerinus), builder of the third Pyramid at Gizeh, probable compiler of the G4th chapter of The Book .of the Dead, fragments of whose coffin can be seen in the British Muse um,—besides such men as Rameses II., who oppressed the Israelites, and Seti, the King who knew not Joseph. But to be expected to remember even the name of such a King as Nefer-ka-Rii-Pepi-Seneb is beyond our power. We feel life is not long enough to study all these dynasties, and we are, therefore, glad to content ourselves with a few great names and landmarks of history, till we reach the period when Egypt becomes less enveloped in dark ages, and her chronology less problematical, leaving such discussions to the specialists and the erudite.

To more ordinary mortals, the little book before us, entitled Sketches from a Nile Steamer, will prove a boon, and it will also be of service to the many who yearly start in search of health or amusement on the Nile, but who have no leisure or no inclination to become true Egyptologists. In this book, the author gives us a short account of the journey as far as Aboo Simbel, adding descriptions, very plain and easily understood, of the many temples that are visited on the way, without, however, burdening the minds of her readers with too much history or too many hieroglyphics. She also informs the intending travellers what they should read before starting, in ordersto be prepared for the sights they will see, for we can easily believe, as Mrs. Tirard remarks in her preface, that "many students have complained of difficulty in following the Account of the temples given in guide-books." The book before us is written in order to smooth their way, and if only for this reason, the reader or the intending traveller will be grateful, for however much he may have studied learned books beforehand, he will most likely become confused when he finds himself in this land of marvels, where everything speaks of the past, but speaks in hieroglyphics. With the help of these "sketches," however, he can keep his facts clear, and he can fill in the outlines as much or as little as he pleases. From Cairo to Luxor he will prepare his mind for the marvels of the great temples of ancient Thebes; then passing from Kama° to Philts, the sacred island covered by many temples, he will travel through Nubia to the Second Cataract ; and from thence, returning to Kama°, he may enjoy

• a fortnight's rest on the site of those world-famous temples ; and, lastly, he will be guided in the best possible way through Cairo, both old and new. Even to those who have no chance of going to this historic country, the perusal of this book will reveal many things of which they knew little, or had hardly realised enough from previous study of Egypt and her wondrous past. We should also strongly advise them to read Maspero's charming work entitled Lectures Historiques, which fills up with graphic details that author's previous book, Histoire Ancienne, a work recommended by Mrs. Tirard. Maspero tells us that these Lectures Historiques are written for children, in order to interest them in the daily life of the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians ; but we cannot allow children alone to enjoy this privilege, for nothing can be more delightful reading than this well-written volume. Maspero says in his preface :— "Je me suis promen6 A, travers lee rues de Is ville, j'ai gliss6 un

* (1.) Skotches from a Nilo &cantor. By IL M. and N. Tirard. London ; Kogan Paul, Trench, and 00,—(2.) Lectures ilistorfpes, By G. Maspero. London: Hachette and O. regard sur lee portes entr'ouvertes, j'ai fhb:A aux boutiques, j'ai not6 co quo rentendais des propos populaires. Des maeons affarmSs se sont rale en greve, je lee ai suivis chez le comte de Thebes pour savoir co qu'il en adviendrait. Un enterrement d6filait I grand bruit ; j'ai acoompagneS le mort jusqu'au tombeau et je me suis inform6 des chances de vie qu'on lui accordait dans l'autre monde."

This and much more of the daily life of the ancient Egyptians the author tells us, as if be had, indeed, been there himself, so that we can imagine the whole scene, from their manner of

warfare to the luxurious life in country-houses. In this way, Maspero makes learning easy, and after being in his company, we are quite willing to read all the learned books written by

such men as Boekh, Bunsen, Marlette and Brugsch, and Mr. Wallis Bridge's delightful resumi5 called The Nile, which Mr. Cook presents to all his travellers in Egypt. Even then we must not be too sure of having unravelled the dates and the dynasties, nor must we believe all we are told, as Herodotus did of old, when he went to Egypt to collect true information

from the priests and the local historians, and faithfully re- corded what he heard. Two hundred years later, how- ever, Manetho, the High-Priest of Heliopolis, undertook to correct the mistakes which Herodotus had made, and wrote a whole history of Egypt, compiled under the patronage of the Ptolemies. He gathered his information, so he said, from Greek translations of accounts written before the flood ; but at the same time, Manetho adds that no Greek was known in Egypt. This discrepancy may account for the severe remarks made about him by a Christian writer :—" Manetho the Lebennyte, high-priest of the detestable Egyptian mysteries, who, according to Berosus, lived under Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was as great a liar as Berosus himself." Manetho wished to astonish the Greeks, so he gave them a list

of the gods who lived 24,925 years before Manes, the first human King I In the next century, Gratosthemes also made a list; but the originals of both these have been lost. Josephus, however, copies passages from Manetho, but we must re- member that all lists of Kings were curtailed or added to, to suit the views of such historians as Julius Africanus, Eusebius

of Ca3sarea, &c. Even when in modern times the key to the hieroglyphics was discovered, the later historians were hardly less scrupulous about dates than their predecessors, for Bunsen grew somewhat erratic over the dynasties, and of him it was once said "that he was a German Manetho, with whom names went for very little and numbers for nothing."

From these few remarks it will be seen that we are quite willing to accept Mrs. Tirard's statement that the dates in her book "are intended to be approximate rather than exact, for authorities differ as to the chronology of Egyptian history."

When Mrs. Tirard enters the Hypostyle Hall, or Hall of Columns, at Karnac, she honestly tells us that the ruins are too wonderful to be described :—

"Twelve immense towers (two are built into the entrance pylon), seventy feet high, in the shape of beautiful boll-shaped pillars, form the most glorious nave to the finest temple the world has over seen, while on each side are seven rows of pillars with

the lotus bud capital The whole of the interior, including the sides of the pillars, is entirely covered with religious bas- reliefs; much of the brilliant colouring remains, and, though it may look crude to us, it must have had a most pleasing effect when the roof was intact, and the dim religious light' fell only through the clerestory above."

Turning to Maspero, we get a delightful picture of this same temple when it was in all its glory, for the author with a magic wand makes the past to live again. The great Pharaoh has come with all his retinue to visit the temple. He is received at the entrance by two priests, bare-headed and bare-footed ; they bow low, waiting in silence for the King to speak. "Is the first prophet of Amon in the temple ?" "Re is." "Then let him come here immediately." But the priest at this moment is waiting in front of the God Amon to hear his judgment with regard to Thoutmoson, the Royal scribe and head of the sacred granaries, where corn is

missing ; and therefore he cannot come. Pharaoh has to wait the convenience of Amon ; and looking through the gate, he

sees the centre of the great Hypostyle Hall half-full of a motionless crowd. A ray of light falls obliquely through the clerestory, and lights up the three sacred arches. Then the oldest priest ventures to tell the King that the ceremony is nearly over, and that the chief prophet will soon be at liberty, whereupon Pharaoh alights from his chariot and enters the temple ; a state-chair is brought to him by the slaves of Amon, and seating himself near the majestic columns, his Court falls in behind him, and silence again envelope the holy building, so that nothing is heard save the rustle of the fly-flaps.

Mrs. Tirard gives a good description of the tombs at Elephantine belonging to the rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty. Above the head of one of the naummied figures is read this inscription :—" I have come to this land of the underworld after a good old age, like unto that of my fathers." Some of these tomb-chambers have stone tables in them like altars, on which offerings were laid for the "Ks," or double of the deceased. Turning to Maspero, we find a most interesting account of this Egyptian idea of the soul, or" Ka." At the birth of each human being, his" Ka " comes with him. As he was in- visible, the sculptors and artists seldom represented him ; but when they did so, he was merely the duplicate of the man. At Luxor, Amenoph III. is represented from his youth upwards as accompanied with his "Ka," growing with his growth, and accompanying him through life, and after death following him to the tomb and keeping guard over his mummy. Some- times, however, the "Ka" would take his walks abroad, but was only visible at night, when he was then seen as a pale light, and thus he became known as "the Luminous." Even the Gods had their "Ka," but in their case they were not restricted to one, but could project these "astral bodies" as often as they pleased, and each " Ka " deified either the object or the being with which he came in contact. In this way every Pharaoh was supposed to be a " Ka " of Horus, and as such received divine honours.

Space forbids our giving further extracts from these two books, which taken together lead one along a. delightful royal road to Egyptian history and antiquities. We are sure they will add much to the pleasure of those who, having leisure and health—for all these temples cannot be visited without con- siderable fatigue—are fortunate enough to spend the winter on the Nile ; and for those also who are obliged to stay at home, the perusal will serve to enrich their stock of knowledge and the number of those mental pictures with which so many of us have to be contented.