ustry of the busy-fingered
Egyptian ladies.

We have given sufficient proof that the Egyptian females were
accomplished in the art of needlework, and we may naturally infer that
they were fond of it. It is a gentle and a social occupation, and
usefully employs the time, whilst it does not interfere with the
current of the thoughts or the flow of conversation. The Egyptians
were an intelligent and an animated race; and the sprightly jest or
the lively sally would be interspersed with the graver details of
thoughtful and reflective conversation, or would give some point to
the dull routine of mere womanish chatter. It seems almost impossible
to have lived amidst the stupendous magnificence of Egypt in days of
yore, without the mind assimilating itself in some degree to the
greatness with which it was surrounded. The vast deserts, the
stupendous mountains, the river Nile--the single and solitary river
which in itself sufficed the needs of a mighty empire--these majestic
monuments of nature seemed as emblems to which the people should
fashion, as they did fashion, their pyramids, their tombs, their
sphynxes, their mighty reservoirs, and their colossal statues. And we
can hardly suppose that such ever-visible objects should not, during
the time of their creation, have some elevating influence on the
weakest mind; and that therefore frivolity of conversation amongst the
Egyptian ladies was rather the exception than the rule. But a modern
author has amused himself, and exercised some ingenuity in attempting
to prove the contrary:--

"Many similar instances of a talent for caricature are observable in
the compositions of Egyptian artists who executed the paintings on the
tombs; and the ladies are not spared. We are led to infer that they
were not deficient in the talent of conversation; and the numerous
subjects they proposed are shown to have been examined with great
animation. Among these the question of dress was not forgotten, and
the patterns or the value of trinkets were discussed with
proportionate interest. The maker of an earring, or the shop where it
was purchased, were anxiously inquired; each compared the workmanship,
the style, and the materials of those she wore, coveted her
neighbour's, or preferred her own; and women of every class vied with
each other in the display of 'jewels of silver and jewels of gold,' in
the texture of their 'raiment,' the neatness of their sandals, and the
arrangement or beauty of the