E ANCIEN

erlin, where it is numbered P. 3033. This papyrus was the property of Miss Westcar of Whitchurch, who gave it to the eminent German Egyptologist, Richard Lepsi

baaner and the

e in her garden, and she instructed the steward to have the lodge made ready for her to receive her friend in it. When this was done, she went to the lodge, and she sat there with the young man and drank beer with him until the evening, when he went his way. The steward, knowing what had happened, made up his mind to report the matter to his master, and as soon as the morning had come, he went to Ubaaner and informed him that his wife had spent the previous day drinking beer with such and such a young man. Ubaaner then told the steward to fetch him his casket made of ebony and silver

bered that the late Sir H.M. Stanley was called the "stone

the magician. Whilst they were going along Ubaaner asked the king if he would care to see a wonderful thing that had happened to a young peasant, and the king said he would, and forthwith walked to the place to which the magician led him. When they arrived at the lake Ubaaner uttered a spell over the crocodile, and commanded it to come up out of the water bringing the young man with him; and the crocodile did so. When the king saw the beast he exclaimed at its hideousness, and seemed to be afraid of it, but the magician stooped down fearlessly, and took the crocodile up in his hand, and lo, the living crocodile had disappeared, and only a crocodile of wax remained in its place. Then Ubaaner told King Nebka the story of how the young man

atchamānkh and t

twenty ebony paddles inlaid with gold and silver, and twenty pretty maidens with flowing hair, and twenty network garments wherein to dress them." The king gave orders for all these things to be provided, and when the boat was ready, and the maidens who were to row had taken their places, he entered the boat and sat in his little pavilion and was rowed about on the lake. The magician's views proved to be correct, for the king enjoyed himself, and was greatly amused in watching the maidens row. Presently the handle of the paddle of one of the maidens caught in her long hair, and in trying to free it a malachite ornament which she was wearing in her hair fell into the water and disappeared. The maiden was much troubled over her loss, and stopped rowing, and as her stopping threw out of order the strokes of the maidens who were sitting on the same seat as she was, they also stopped rowing. Thereupon the king asked why the rowing had ceased, and one of the maidens told him what had happened; and when he promised that the ornament should be recovered, the maiden said words which seem to mean that she had no doubt that she should recover it. On this Seneferu caused Tchatchamānkh to be summoned into the presence, and wh

ho Restored Life to

the shrine (?) of Thoth." Now His Majesty had been seeking for a long time past for the number of the Apet chambers (?) of Thoth, for he had wished to make something like it for his "horizon."[1] And King Khufu said to his son Herutataf, "My son, thou thyself shalt go and bring the sage to me"; thereupon a boat was made ready for Prince Herutataf, who forthwith set out on his journey to Tet-Seneferu, the home of the sage. When the prince came to the spot on the river bank that was nearest to the village of Teta, he had the boat tied up, and he continued his journey overland seated in a sort of sedan chair made of ebony, which was carried or slung on bearing poles made of costly sesentchem wood inlaid or decorated with gold. When Herutataf arrived at the village, the chair was set down on the ground, and he got out of it and stood up ready to greet the old man, whom he found lying upon a bed, with the door of his house lying on the ground. One servant stood by the bed holding the sage's head and fanning him, and another was engaged in rubbing his feet. Herutataf addressed a highly

which the magicians of the day used in making

ble," or the

ng him in quickly." Then the king went out into the large hall of his palace, and Teta was led into the presence. His Majesty said, "How is it, Teta, that I have never seen thee?" And Teta answered, "Only the man who is summoned to the presence comes; so soon as the king summoned me I came." His Majesty asked him, saying, "Is it indeed true, as is asserted, that thou knowest how to rejoin to its body the head which hath been cut off?" Teta answered, "Most assuredly do I know how to do this, O king my lord." His Majesty said, "Let them bring in from the prison a prisoner, so that his

e had cut off its head, and recited magical spells over the head and the body, the head rejoined itself to the body, and the ox stood up on its feet. A lion was next brought to Teta

is the wife of a priest of Rā of Sakhabu,[1] who is about to give birth to three children of Rā. He told her that these children should attain to the highest dignities in the whole country, and that the oldest of them should become high priest[2] of Heliopolis." On hearing these words the heart of the king became sad; and Teta said, "Wherefore art thou so sad, O king my lord? Is it because of the three children? I say unto thee, Verily thy son, verily his son, verily one of them." His Majesty asked, "When will these three children be born?" Teta answered, "Rut-tetet will give them birth on the fifteenth day of the first month of Pert."[3] The king then made a remark the exact meaning of which it is difficult to follow, but from one part o

d in the second nome or "county" of Lower E

cial title w

Pert = November

t-tetet and the

f dancing women, and went to the house wherein the lady Rut-tetet lay ill, and finding her husband, the priest of Rā, who was called Rāuser, outside, they clashed their cymbals together, and rattled their sistra, and tried to make him merry. When Rāuser objected to this and told them that his wife lay ill inside the house, they replied, "Let us see her, for we know how to help her"; so he said to them and to Khnemu who was with them, "Enter in," and they did so, and they went to the room wherein Rut-tetet lay. Isis, Nephthys, and Heqet assisted in bringing the three boys into the world. Meskhenet prophesied

nd Nut, and sisters of Osiris and Set; the former

presided over the

ddess, who was associated

ation of the world, and who fashi

aidens, "Is the house all ready?" and the handmaiden told her that it was provided with everything except jars of barley drink, which had not been brought. Rut-tetet then asked why they had not been brought, and the handmaiden replied in words that seem to mean that there was no barley in the house except that which belonged to the dancing goddesses, and that that was in a chamber which had been sealed with their seal. Rut-tetet then told her to go and fetch some of the barley, for she was quite certain that when her husband Rāuser returned he would make good what she took. Thereupon the handmaiden went to the chamber, and broke it open, and she heard in it loud cries and shouts, and the sounds of music and singing and dancing, and all the noises which

er maternal uncle, whom she found weaving flax on the walk, and told him what had happened, and said she was going to tell the king about the three children. From her uncle she obtained neither support nor sympathy; on the contrary, gathering together several strands of flax into a thick rope he gave her a good beating with the same. A little later the handmaiden went to the river or canal to fetch some water, and whilst she was filling her pot a crocodile seized her and carried her away and, presumably, ate her. Then the uncle went to the house of Rut-tetet to tell her what had happened, and he found her sitting down, with her head bowed ov

f the fourth dynasty, of which Khufu, Khāfrā, and Menkaurā, the builders of the three great pyramids at Gīzah, were the most important kings, were kings who delighted to call themselves sons of Rā, and who spared no effort to make the form of worship of the Sun-god that was practised at Anu, or Hel

OF CO