ns, who
heard her, out of his life. But the elder of them she took with, her
and set sail with the chest for Egypt; and it being now about morning,
the river Phaedrus sending forth a rough and sharp air, she in her
anger dried up its current.

"No sooner was she arrived at a desart place, where she imagined
herself to be alone, but she presently opened the chest, and laying
her face upon her dead husband's, embraced his corpse, and wept
bitterly; but, perceiving that the little boy had silently stolen
behind her, and found out the occasion of her grief, she turned
herself about on the sudden, and in her anger gave him so fierce and
stern a look that he immediately died of the affright. Others indeed
say that his death did not happen in this manner, but, as was hinted
above, that he fell into the sea, and afterwards received the greatest
honours on account of the Goddess; for that the Maneros, [Footnote: A
son of the first Egyptian king, who died in his early youth; see
Herodotus, ii. 79.] whom the Egyptians so frequently call upon in
their banquets, is none other than this very boy. This relation is
again contradicted by such as tell us that the true name of the child
was Palaestinus, or Pelusius, and that the city of this name was built
by the Goddess in memory of him; adding farther, that the Maneros
above mentioned is thus honoured by the Egyptians at their feasts,
because he was the first who invented music. There are others, again,
who affirm that Maneros is not the name of any particular person, but
a mere customary form, and complimental manner of greeting made use of
by the Egyptians one towards another at their more solemn feasts and
banquets, meaning no more by it, than to wish, that what they were
then about might prove fortunate and happy to them, for that this is
the true import of the word. In like manner, say they, the human
skeleton, which at these times of jollity is carried about in a box,
and shewn to all the guests, is not designed, as some imagine, to
represent the particular misfortunes of Osiris, but rather to remind
them of their mortality, and thereby to excite them freely to make use
of and to enjoy the good things which are set before them, seeing they
must quickly become such as they there saw; and that this is the true
reason of introducing it at their banquets--but to proceed in the
narration.

"Isis intending a vis