ound for him either in the place where he had begun
his probation, or in some neighbouring office.**

* We still possess school exercises of the XIXth and XXth
dynasties, e.g. the _Papyrus Anastasi n IV_., and the
_Anastasi Papyrus n V._, in which we find a whole string of
pieces of every possible style and description--business
letters, requests for leave of absence, complimentary verses
addressed to a superior, all probably a collection of
exercises compiled by some professor, and copied by his
pupils in order to complete their education as scribes; the
master's corrections are made at the top and bottom of the
pages in a bold and skilful hand, very different from that
of the pupil, though the writing of the latter is generally
more legible to our modern eyes (_Select Papyri,_ vol. i.
pls. lxxxiii.-cxxi.).

** Evidence of this state of things seems to be furnished by
all the biographies of scribes with which we are acquainted,
e.g. that of Amten; it is, moreover, what took place
regularly throughout the whole of Egypt, down to the latest
times, and what probably still occurs in those parts of the
country where European ideas have not yet made any deep
impression.

[Illustration: 065.jpg THE STAFF OF A GOVERNMENT OFFICER IN THE TIME OF
THE MEMPHITE DYNASTIES]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a wall-painting on the tomb of
Khunas. Two scribes are writing on tablets. Before the
scribe in the upper part of the picture we see a palette,
with two saucers, on a vessel which serves as an ink-bottle,
and a packet of tablets tied together, the whole supported
by a bundle of archives. The scribe in the lower part rests
his tablet against an ink-bottle, a box for archives being
placed before him. Behind them a _nakht-khrou_ announces the
delivery of a tablet covered with figures which the third
scribe is presenting to the master.

[Illustration: THE CRIER ANNOUNCES THE ARRIVAL OF FIVE REGISTRARS OF THE
TEMPLE OF KING USIRNIRI, OF THE Vth DYNASTY]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a picture in the tomb of
Shopsisuri. Four registrars of the funerary temple of
Usirniri advance in a crawling posture towards the master,
the fifth has just risen and holds himself in a stooping
attitude, while an usher introduces him and transmits to him
an order to send