tian Princess wished to take the air, she
seated herself in a Palanquin, which was nothing but a comfortable
chair, with poles at the sides, and her bearers, with the ends of the
poles upon their shoulders, bore her gently and easily along, while an
attendant with a threefold fan kept the sun from her face and gently
fanned her as she rode.

Such a method of riding must have been very agreeable, for the
shoulders of practised walkers impart to the rider a much more elastic
and agreeable motion than the best made springs, and, for a well fed,
lazy Princess nothing could have been more charming than to be borne
thus beneath the waving palm-trees, and by the banks of the streams
where the lotus blossomed at the water's edge, and the Ibis sniffed
the cooling breeze.

But when the father or brother of the Princess wished to ride,
especially if it happened to be a time of war, he frequently used a
very different vehicle from an easy-going Palanquin.

He sprang into his war-chariot, and his driver lashed the two fiery
horses into a gallop, while their master aimed his arrows or hurled
his javelin at the foe.

Riding in these chariots was not a very great luxury, especially to
those who were not accustomed to that kind of carriage exercise. There
were no seats, nor any springs. The riders were obliged to stand up,
and take all the bumps that stones and roots chose to give them, and
as they generally drove at full speed, these were doubtless many and
hard. There was in general no back to these Chariots, and a sudden
jerk of the horses would shoot the rider out behind, unless he knew
how to avoid such accidents.

We of the present day would be apt to turn up our noses at these
ancient conveyances, but there can be no doubt that the Egyptian
Princesses and warriors derived just as much pleasure from their
Palanquins and rough-going war-chariots as the ladies of to-day find
in an easy-rolling barouche, or the gentlemen in a light buggy and a
fast horse.

BEAUTIFUL BUGS.

[Illustration]

We are not apt--I am speaking now of mankind in general--to be very
fond of bugs. There is a certain prejudice against these little
creatures, which is, in very many cases, entirely unwarranted. The
fact is that most bugs are harmless, and a great many of them are
positively beautiful, if we will but take the trouble to look at them
properly, and consider their wonderful forms and colors. To be sure,
many insects to which we give