of the naturalist, whose intractable tongue moved freely
when it was required to expound to his friend the peculiarities of
organic beings whose development he had been the first to detect.

The poet was dear in the sight of Nebsecht, and he loved Pentaur, who
possessed all the gifts he lacked; manly beauty, childlike lightness of
heart, the frankest openness, artistic power, and the gift of expressing
in word and song every emotion that stirred his soul. The poet was as a
novice in the order in which Nebsecht was master, but quite capable of
understanding its most difficult points; so it happened that Nebsecht
attached greater value to his judgment than to that of his own
colleagues, who showed themselves fettered by prejudice, while Pentaur's
decision always was free and unbiassed.

The naturalist's room lay on the ground floor, and had no living-rooms
above it, being under one of the granaries attached to the temple. It
was as large as a public hall, and yet Pentaur, making his way towards
the silent owner of the room, found it everywhere strewed with thick
bundles of every variety of plant, with cages of palm-twigs piled
four or five high, and a number of jars, large and small, covered
with perforated paper. Within these prisons moved all sorts of living
creatures, from the jerboa, the lizard of the Nile, and a light-colored
species of owl, to numerous specimens of frogs, snakes, scorpions and
beetles.

On the solitary table in the middle of the room, near to a
writing-stand, lay bones of animals, with various sharp flints and
bronze knives.

In a corner of this room lay a mat, on which stood a wooden head-prop,
indicating that the naturalist was in the habit of sleeping on it.

When Pentaur's step was heard on the threshold of this strange abode,
its owner pushed a rather large object under the table, threw a cover
over it, and hid a sharp flint scalpel

[The Egyptians seem to have preferred to use flint instruments for
surgical purposes, at any rate for the opening of bodies and for
circumcision. Many flint instruments have been found and preserved
in museums.]

fixed into a wooden handle, which he had just been using, in the folds
of his robe-as a school-boy might hide some forbidden game from his
master. Then he crossed his arms, to give himself the aspect of a man
who is dreaming in harmless idleness.

The solitary lamp, which was fixed on a high stand near his chair, shed
a scanty light,