ly indicative of the temperament
of a nation. The stories which have come down to us from ancient Egypt
are often as frivolous as they are quaint. Nothing delighted the
Egyptians more than the listening to a tale told by an expert
story-teller; and it is to be supposed that such persons were in as much
demand in the old days as they are now. One may still read of the
adventures of the Prince who was fated to die by a dog, a snake, or a
crocodile; of the magician who made the waters of the lake heap
themselves up that he might descend to the bottom dry-shod to recover a
lady's jewel; of the fat old wizard who could cut a man's head off and
join it again to his body; of the fairy godmothers who made presents to
a new-born babe; of the shipwrecked sailor who was thrown up on an
island inhabited by serpents with human natures; of the princess in the
tower whose lovers spent their days in attempting to climb to her
window,--and so on. The stories have no moral, they are not pompous:
they are purely amusing, interesting, and romantic. As an example one
may quote the story which is told of Prince Setna, the son of Rameses
II. This Prince was one day sitting in the court of the temple of Ptah,
when he saw a woman pass "beautiful exceedingly, there being no woman of
her beauty." There were wonderful golden ornaments upon her, and she was
attended by fifty-two persons, themselves of some rank and much beauty.
"The hour that Setna saw her, he knew not the place on earth where he
was"; and he called to his servants and told them to "go quickly to the
place where she is, and learn what comes under her command." The
beautiful lady proved finally to be named Tabubna, the daughter of a
priest of Bast, the Cat. Setna's acquaintance with her was later of a
most disgraceful character; and, from motives which are not clear, she
made him murder his own children to please her. At the critical moment,
however, when the climax is reached, the old, old joke is played upon
the listener, who is told that Setna then woke up, and discovered that
the whole affair had been an afternoon dream in the shade of the temple
court.

The Egyptians often amused themselves by drawing comic pictures and
caricatures, and there is an interesting series still preserved in which
animals take the place of human beings, and are shown performing all
manner of antics. One sees a cat walking on its hind legs driving a
flock of geese, while a wolf carrying a staff and kn