d to pay at this time
to the family residence themselves solely in prayers, sacrifices, and
processions, in which the faithful, clad in white, with palms in their
hands, chanted hymns as they escorted the priests on their way. "The
gods of heaven exclaim 'Ah! ah! 'in satisfaction, the inhabitants of
the earth are full of gladness, the Hathors beat their tabors, the great
ladies wave their mystic whips, all those who are gathered together in
the town are drunk with wine and crowned with flowers; the tradespeople
of the place walk joyously about, their heads scented with perfumed
oils, all the children rejoice in honour of the goddess, from the rising
to the setting of the sun."*

* The people of Dendera crudely enough called this the
"Feast of Drunkenness." From what we know of the earlier
epochs, we are justified in making this description a
general one, and in applying it, as I have done here, to the
festivals of other towns besides Dendera.

The nights were as noisy as the days: for a few hours, they made up
energetically for long months of torpor and monotonous existence. The
god having re-entered the temple and the pilgrims taken their departure,
the regular routine was resumed and dragged on its tedious course,
interrupted only by the weekly market. At an early hour on that day,
the peasant folk came in from the surrounding country in an interminable
stream, and installed themselves in some open space, reserved from time
immemorial for their use. The sheep, geese, goats, and large-horned
cattle were grouped in the centre, awaiting purchasers.
Market-gardeners, fishermen, fowlers and gazelle-hunters, potters, and
small tradesmen, squatted on the roadsides or against the houses, and
offered their wares for the inspection of their customers, heaped up
in reed baskets, or piled on low round tables: vegetables and fruits,
loaves or cakes baked during the night, meat either raw or cooked in
various ways, stuffs, perfumes, ornaments,--all the necessities and
luxuries of daily life. It was a good opportunity for the workpeople, as
well as for the townsfolk, to lay in a store of provisions at a cheaper
rate than from the ordinary shops; and they took advantage of it, each
according to his means.

Business was mostly carried on by barter. The purchasers brought with
them some product of their toil--a new tool, a pair of shoes, a reed
mat, pots of unguents or cordials; often, too, rows of cowries a