cy and moderation. Music was always
indispensable, whether at the festive meetings of the rich or poor;
and they danced to the sound of the harp, lyre, guitar, pipe,
tambourine, and other instruments, and, in the streets, even to the
drum.

Many of their postures resembled those of the modern ballet, and the
_pirouette_ delighted an Egyptian party four thousand years ago.

The dresses of the female dancers were light, and of the finest
texture, showing, by their transparent quality, the forms and movement
of the limbs; they generally consisted of a loose flowing robe,
reaching to the ankles, occasionally fastened tight at the waist; and
round the hips was a small narrow girdle, adorned with beads, or
ornaments of various colors. Sometimes the dancing figures appear to
have been perfectly naked; but this is from the outline of the
transparent robe having been effaced; and, like the Greeks, they
represented the contour of the figure as if seen through the dress.

Slaves were taught dancing as well as music; and in the houses of the
rich, besides their other occupations, that of dancing to entertain
the family, or a party of friends, was required of them; and free
Egyptians also gained a livelihood by their performances.

While the party was amused with music and dancing, and the late
arrivals were successively announced, refreshments continued to be
handed round, and every attention was shown to the assembled guests.
Wine was offered to each new comer, and chaplets of flowers were
brought by men servants to the gentlemen, and by women or white slaves
to the ladies, as they took their seats. An upper servant, or slave,
had the office of handing the wine, and a black woman sometimes
followed, in an inferior capacity, to receive an empty cup when the
wine had been poured into the goblet. The same black slave also
carried the fruits and other refreshments; and the peculiar mode of
holding a plate with the hand reversed, so generally adopted by women
from Africa, is characteristically shown in the Theban paintings.

To each person after drinking a napkin was presented for wiping the
mouth, answering to the _mahrama_ of the modern Egyptians; and the
bearer of it uttered a complimentary sentiment, when she offered it
and received back the goblet: as, "May it benefit you!" and no
oriental at the present day drinks water without receiving a similar
wish. But it was not considered rude to refuse wine when offered, even
though