n remembrance of his Syrian victories," to give to his
memorial temple an outward military aspect. I noticed a military aspect
at once inside this temple; but if you circle the buildings outside it
is more unmistakable. For the east front has a battlemented wall, and
the battlements are shield-shaped. This fortress, or migdol, a name
which the ancient Egyptians borrowed from the nomadic tribes of Syria,
is called the "Pavilion of Rameses III.," and his principal battles are
represented upon its walls. The monarch does not hesitate to speak of
himself in terms of praise, suggesting that he was like the God Mentu,
who was the Egyptian war god, and whose cult at Thebes was at one period
more important even than was the cult of Amun, and also plainly hinting
that he was a brave fellow. "I, Rameses the King," he murmurs, "behaved
as a hero who knows his worth." If hieroglyphs are to be trusted,
various Egyptian kings of ancient times seem to have had some vague
suspicion of their own value, and the walls of Medinet-Abu are, to speak
sincerely, one mighty boast. In his later years the king lived in peace
and luxury, surrounded by a vicious and intriguing Court, haunted by
magicians, hags, and mystery-mongers. Dealers in magic may still
be found on the other side of the river, in happy Luxor. I made the
acquaintance of two when I was there, one of whom offered for a couple
of pounds to provide me with a preservative against all such dangers as
beset the traveller in wild places. In order to prove its efficacy he
asked me to come to his house by night, bringing a dog and my revolver
with me. He would hang the charm about the dog's neck, and I was then to
put six shots into the animal's body. He positively assured me that the
dog would be uninjured. I half-promised to come and, when night began to
fall, looked vaguely about for a dog. At last I found one, but it howled
so dismally when I asked Ibrahim Ayyad to take possession of it for
experimental purposes, that I weakly gave up the project, and left the
magician clamoring for his hundred and ninety-five piastres.

Its warlike aspect gives a special personality to Medinet-Abu. The
shield-shaped battlements; the courtyards, with their brutal columns,
narrowing as they recede towards the mountains; the heavy gateways,
with superimposed chambers; the towers; quadrangular bastion to protect,
inclined basement to resist the attacks of sappers and cause projectiles
to rebound--all the