?"

"He gave fifty tons of alum."

"A royal gift!"

"And the prince Psamtik?"

"On my appealing to him by his father's munificence, he turned his back
on me, and answered with a bitter laugh: 'Collect money for the
destruction of your temple, and I am ready to double my father's
donation!'"

"The wretch!"

"Say rather: the true Egyptian! to Psamtik everything foreign is an
abomination."

"How much have the Greeks in Naukratis contributed?"

"Beside munificent private donations, each community has given twenty
minae."

"That is much."

"Philoinus, the Sybarite, alone sent me a thousand drachmm," and
accompanied his gift with a most singular epistle. May I read it aloud,
Rhodopis?"

"Certainly," answered she, "it will show you that the drunkard has
repented of his late behaviour."

The Delphian began: "Philoinus to Phryxus: It grieves me that at
Rhodopis' house the other night I did not drink more; for had I done so I
should have lost consciousness entirely, and so have been unable to
offend even the smallest insect. My confounded abstemiousness is
therefore to blame, that I can no longer enjoy a place at the best table
in all Egypt. I am thankful, however, to Rhodopis for past enjoyment, and
in memory of her glorious roastbeef (which has bred in me the wish to buy
her cook at any price) I send twelve large spits for roasting
oxen,--[Rhodopis is said to have sent such a gift to Delphi. Herod.]--and
beg they may be placed in some treasure-house at Delphi as an offering
from Rhodopis. As for myself, being a rich man, I sign my name for a
thousand drachmae, and beg that my gift may be publicly announced at the
next Pythian games. To that rude fellow, Aristomachus of Sparta, express
my thanks for the effectual manner in which he fulfilled my intention in
coming to Egypt. I came hither for the purpose of having a tooth
extracted by an Egyptian dentist said to take out teeth without causing
much pain.

[The Egyptian dentists must have been very skilful. Artificial
teeth have been discovered in the jaws of mummies. See Blumenbach
on the teeth of the ancient Egyptians, and on mummies.]

Aristomachus, however, knocked out the defective tooth and so saved me
from an operation, the thought of which had often made me tremble. On
recovering consciousness, I found that three teeth had been knocked into
my mouth, the diseased one and two others, which though healthy, would
probably at some future time have