art in
which the Egyptians evinced considerable skill; the leather cutters
constituted one of the principal sub-divisions of the fourth-class,
and a district of the city was exclusively appropriated to them, in
the Libyan part of Thebes, where they were known as "the
leather-cutters of the Memnonia."

Many of the occupations of their trade are portrayed on the painted
walls of the tombs at Thebes. They made shoes, sandals, the coverings
and seats of chairs or sofas, bow-cases, and most of the ornamental
furniture of the chariot; harps were also adorned with colored
leather, and shields and numerous other things were covered with skin
prepared in various ways. They also make skins for carrying water,
wine, and other liquids, coated within with a resinous substance, as
is still the custom in Egypt.

The stores of an Egyptian town were probably similar to those of Cairo
and other Eastern cities, which consist of a square room, open in
front, with falling or sliding shutters to close it at night, and the
goods, ranged on shelves or suspended against the walls, are exposed
to the view of those who pass. In front is generally a raised seat,
where the owner of the shop and his customers sit during the long
process of concluding a bargain previous to the sale and purchase of
the smallest article, and here an idle lounger frequently passes whole
hours, less intent on benefiting the merchant than in amusing himself
with the busy scene of the passing crowd.

It is probable that, as at the present day, they ate in the open front
of their shops, exposed to the view of every one who passed, and to
this custom Herodotus may allude, when he says, "the Egyptians eat in
the street."

There is no direct evidence that the ancient Egyptians affixed the
name and trade of the owner of the shop, though the presence of
hieroglyphics, denoting this last, together with the emblem which
indicated it, may seem to argue in favor of the question; and the
absence of many individuals' names in the sculpture is readily
accounted for by the fact that these scenes refer to the occupation of
the whole trade, and not to any particular person.

The high estimation in which the priestly and military professions
were held in Egypt placed them far above the rest of the community;
but the other classes had also their degrees of consequence, and
individuals enjoyed a position and importance in proportion to their
respectability, their talents, or their we