scanty blue kaftans, cunning-featured Levantines, green-turbaned Shereefs, and picturesque Bedouins from the desert, stalking past in their flowing bernouses, make up the mass of this restless throng. A Sakkah, or water-carrier, carrying his picturesque goatskin filled with Nile water, still finds a sale for his ware, in spite of the public fountains; while among other dramatis persona of the "Arabian Nights" are the vendors of sweets and other edibles. Gorgeously arrayed Jewesses, fierce-looking Albanians bristling with weapons, and petticoated Greeks, give variety of colour to this living kinetoscope. A white group of Egyptian ladies, totally concealed under the inevitable yashmak and voluminous haik, give a restful relief to this blaze of colour. Such are the elements in this mammoth masquerade which make up the brilliant picture of Cairene street life.

THE Museum of Egyptian Antiquities was removed from the Ghizeh Palace to the new building near the Kasr-en-Nil Bridge in 1902. The new Museum, a plain but substantial building, which, however, cost about £190,000, is admirably adapted for the housing of this priceless collection of Egyptian antiquities, being absolutely fire-proof, and the building being completely isolated. It offers, too, nearly twice the floor-space which was available in the cramped quarters at Ghizeh.

The Museum is open daily (except Friday) from 9 A.M. to 4.30 P.M. Admission 5 p., Tuesday free. An excellent provisional catalogue (English), price 18 p. is obtainable, pending the publication of the official catalogue in ten volumes. The ordinary visitor, however, who does not care to devote more than one morning to this vast treasure-house of art, will be well advised to dispense with a catalogue and resist the inclination to "do" the Museum

thoroughly, and confine his energies to visiting only a few of the sixty galleries and rooms comprising the collection. Even to examine one-tenth of the rooms at all adequately means a day's hard work.

The Museum contains not only the largest, but the most valuable collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It is also considered by scholars and Egyptologists that in point of arrangement and classification of the objects collected here the Museum may serve as a model to most of the great museums of Europe. Then its scientific value is greatly enhanced by the fact that the place of origin of most of the antiquities is well known, and generally indicated by labels. As a preliminary to the study of Egyptology, or even for an intelligent understanding of the monuments of the Upper Nile, a course of visits here is almost indispensable.

Space can only be found for a brief mention of the principal objects, mainly those of more popular interest. The numbers, when these are given, are taken from the last official catalogue. But it must be noted that the arrangement of the antiquities is only provisional. Indeed, the aim of the authorities at present is merely to furnish a depot of antiquities, from which will be ultimately formed a National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

GROUND FLOOR

Grand Gallery (West). 1500.-Granite sarcophagus. 4th dynasty. Found at Ghizeh 1902.

Room B. 64.-Green diorite statue of Khephren, the builder of the Second Pyramid. The modelling is wonderfully true to life, and the muscles would delight the anatomist. The king is represented seated on a throne which is decorated with the papyrus and lotus intertwined, which symbolises the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. On the pedestal is inscribed, "The image of the golden Horus, Khephren, beautiful god, lord of diadems." Dr. Wallis Budge, who has written the most complete and most intelligible popular account of the Museum of any hitherto published in English, considers this statue "one of the most remarkable pieces of Egyptian sculpture extant." Found in a well in the granite temple at Ghizeh (popularly known as the Temple of the Sphinx).

Room B. 19. Shekh el-Beled. The famous wooden statue, popularly known as "The Village Sheik." This was discovered by Mariette at Sakkarah, and owes its popular title to the fact that when it was brought to the surface the Arabs greeted it with the cry, "El Shekh el-Beled." It is a portrait statue "which possesses," writes Dr. Wallis Budge, "the greatest possible fidelity to life, and is a startling example of what the ancient Egyptian artist could attain to when he shook off the fetters of conventionality."

Room B. 1310. Statue of "Seated Scribe."

77. Limestone statue of Ti. Found in his tomb at Sakkarah. 5th dynasty.

Room F. 6.-Limestone statues of Ra-hetep and his wife Nefert. Found near the so-called "False Pyramid" of Medûm. 4th dynasty.

In a corner of this room is a remarkable copper statue (restored) of Pepi I. circa 3500 B.C.

Room H. 1600.-Remarkable sandstone statue of an 11th dynasty King (perhaps Mentuhotep). Found at

Thebes. A curious fact in connection with its discovery is that "it was found lying on its side wrapped up in fine linen as if simulating a mummy."-Macmillan's Egypt.

Visitors should notice a remarkable painting found at Medûm. The picture, which is painted in water colours, the pigments retaining their colouring in a remarkable manner, represents geese; and the execution shows considerable artistic skill and knowledge of draughtsmanship. It dates from the 4th dynasty, so that we are looking at the work of an artist who lived from five to six thousand years ago.

Room G.-The most interesting object is the celebrated Hyksos Sphinx in black granite (No. 134) found by Mariette at Tanis (Zoan) in 1863. This statue, with its Asiatic cast of feature, is considered by some Egyptologists to furnish a proof of the Turanian origin of the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings; but though of special interest to the ethnologist, it is from an artistic point of view disappointing. It was discovered by Mariette at Tanis (now known as San), and probably belongs to some period anterior to B.C. 2000.

Room M. (North wall).-Statue of Horemheb, represented as the god Khonsu. Recently discovered at

Karnak.

Room M. 13.-Famous triumphal stela of Thothmes III. Found at Karnak. 18th dynasty.

Gallery O. 185, 186.-Two colossal sandstone statues of Ptah, the god of Memphis. Discovered at Memphis by de Morgan in 1892.

"The Israel Stela."-The most interesting antiquity in this gallery is the black granite stela which was discovered by Professor Petrie at Thebes in 1896. It is a kind of palimpsest inscription, for there are signs of erasures of an earlier inscription by Amen-Hetep III. (B.c. 1500) under one by Seti I. (Mer-en-Ptah). This stela is of the greatest importance to biblical students, as on the back of the stone is a long description describing the wars of the king with the Libyans and Syrians, in which occurs the phrase, “The people of Israel is spoiled: it hath no seed." This is the first allusion to the Israelites by name found as yet on any