rison was stationed within the White Wall, ready to execute the
satrap's orders in the event of rebellion, and could have held out for
a long time even after the rest of the country had fallen into the hands
of the insurgents. Animals which one would scarcely have expected
to find in the streets of a capital, such as cows, sheep, and goats,
wandered about unheeded in the most crowded thoroughfares; for the
common people, instead of living apart from their beasts, as the Greeks
did, stabled them in their own houses. Nor was this the only custom
which must have seemed strange in the eyes of a newly arrived visitor,
for the Egyptians might almost have been said to make a point of doing
everything differently from other nation's. The baker, seen at the
kneading-trough inside his shop, worked the dough with his foot; on the
other hand, the mason used no trowel in applying his mortar, and the
poorer classes scraped up handfuls of mud mixed with dung when they had
occasion to repair the walls of their hovels. In Greece, even the very
poorest retired to their houses and ate with closed doors; the Egyptians
felt no repugnance at eating and drinking in the open air, declaring
that unbecoming and improper acts should be performed in secret, but
seemly acts in public. The first blind alley they came to, a recess
between two hovels, the doorstep of a house or temple, any of these
seemed to them a perfectly natural place to dine in. Their bill of
fare was not a sumptuous one. A sort of flat pancake somewhat bitter in
taste, and made--not of corn or barley--but of spelt, a little oil, an
onion or a leek, with an occasional scrap of meat or poultry, washed
down by a jug of beer or wine; there was nothing here to tempt the
foreigner, and, besides, it would not have been thought right for him
to invite himself. A Greek who lived on the flesh of the cow was looked
upon as unclean in the highest degree; no Egyptian would have thought of
using the same pot or knife with him, or of kissing him on the mouth by
way of greeting. Moreover, Egyptian etiquette did not tolerate the same
familiarities as the Greek: two friends on catching sight of one another
paused before they met, bowed, then clasped one another round the knees
or pretended to do so. Young people gave way to an old man, or, if
seated, rose to let him pass. The traveller recalled the fact that the
Spartans behaved in the same way, and approved this mark of deference;
but nothing in h