n without, as a consequence, a figure rising up before the
mind partially furnished with the details of a personality and fully
endowed with the broad character of an individual. The first lesson,
thus, which we must learn is that of allowing no incongruity to appear
in our figures. A king whose name has survived to us upon some monument
becomes at once such a reality that the legends concerning him are apt
to be accepted as so much fact. Like John Donne once* says--

"Thou art so true, that thoughts of thee suffice
To make dreams truth, and fables histories."

*Transcriber's note: Original text read "one".

But only he who has resided in Egypt can judge how far the fables are to
be regarded as having a nucleus of truth. In ancient history there can
seldom be sufficient data at the Egyptologist's disposal with which to
build up a complete figure; and his puppets must come upon the stage
sadly deficient, as it were, in arms, legs, and apparel suitable to
them, unless he knows from an experience of modern Egyptians how to
restore them and to clothe them in good taste. The substance upon which
the imagination works must be no less than a collective knowledge of the
people of the nation in question. Rameses must be constructed from an
acquaintance with many a Pasha of modern Egypt, and his Chief Butler
must reflect the known characteristics of a hundred Beys and Effendis.
Without such "padding" the figures will remain but names, and with names
Egyptology is already overstocked.

It is remarkable to notice how little is known regarding the great
personalities in history. Taking three characters at random: we know
extremely little that is authentic regarding King Arthur; our knowledge
of the actual history of Robin Hood is extremely meagre; and the precise
historian would have to dismiss Cleopatra in a few paragraphs. But let
the archaeologist know so well the manners and customs of the period with
which he is dealing that he will not, like the author of the stories of
the Holy Grail, dress Arthur in the armour of the thirteenth century,
nor fill the mind of Cleopatra with the thoughts of the Elizabethan
poet; let him be so well trained in scientific cautiousness that he will
not give unquestioned credence to the legends of the past; let him have
sufficient knowledge of the nation to which his hero or heroine belonged
to be able to fill up the lacunae with a kind of collective appreciation
and estima