nd his furniture
was at once comfortable and tasteful. Chairs and tables are of patterns
which might well be imitated to-day, and the smallest and commonest
articles of toilet were aesthetically and carefully made. Nothing can
exceed the beauty of the jewellery found at Dahshur, and belonging to
princesses of the Twelfth dynasty. Precious stones are so exquisitely
inlaid in gold as to look like enamel, and are formed into the most
beautiful of designs; small forget-me-nots, for example, alternate with
plain gold crosses on one of the coronets, and the workmanship of the
pectoral ornaments could hardly be equalled at the present day. In
dress, however, the Egyptian was simple; his limbs were not overloaded
with jewellery, and he preferred light and muslin-like linen, which was
kept as scrupulously clean as his own person.

But he was fond of social entertainments, and Egyptian cookery and
confectionery were famous throughout the world. Table and guests alike
were adorned with fragrant flowers, and musicians and singers were
called in to complete the banquet. The house was surrounded by a garden,
if possible, near the river. It was open to the air and sun. The
Egyptian loved the country, with its fresh air and sunshine, as well as
its outdoor amusements--hunting and fishing, fowling and playing at
ball. Like his descendants to-day, he was an agriculturist at heart. The
wealth and very existence of Egypt depended on its peasantry, and though
the scribes professed to despise them and to hold the literary life
alone worth living, the bulk of the nation was well aware of the fact.
Even the walls of the tombs are covered with agricultural scenes. In one
of them--that of Pa-heri, at El-Kab--the songs of the labourers have
been preserved. Thus the ploughmen sing at the plough: "'Tis a fine day,
we are cool, and the oxen are drawing the plough; the sky is doing as we
would; let us work for our master!" and of the reapers we read: "In
answering chant they say: 'Tis a good day, come out to the country, the
north wind blows, the sky is all we desire, let us work and take heart."
The best known, however, of the songs, is that sung by the driver of the
oxen who tread out the corn, which was first deciphered by Champollion--

"Thresh away, oxen, thresh away faster,
The straw for yourselves, and the grain for your master!"

Such were the Egyptians and such was Egypt where the childhood of Israel
was passed. It was a land of culture, i