AN EGYPTIAN HARPER.
"From this tomb we went to that of Rameses III. It was discovered by Bruce, the famous traveller in Egypt and Abyssinia, and usually bears his name, though it is sometimes called 'the Harper's Tomb,' from the figure of a man playing on a harp, which is painted on one of the walls. It is much easier to visit than Belzoni's, and its chief interest lies in the great number of agricultural, pastoral, and other scenes depicted on the walls. The daily life of the people is very clearly shown, and we have an excellent idea of what the ancient Egyptians did, how they lived, and what were their articles of furniture, dress, and the like. We were astonished to see pictures of sofas, chairs, tables, and other adornments of the house that would be considered luxurious at the present time. Doctor Bronson says the designers of modern furniture might learn a great deal by coming here and copying the pictures on the walls.
A CHAIR FROM BRUCE'S TOMB.
"We saw half a dozen tombs of the kings, and then went to the tombs of the Assaséef. Perhaps you'd like to know what they are?
"They were the tombs of certain high-priests of Thebes, who are reputed to have been very wealthy and powerful, and certainly they must have been pretty nearly as important as the king under whom they lived. Their tombs are even larger than any of the tombs of the kings: the greatest of the Assaséef tombs has a lineal distance from the entrance to the farthest point of eight hundred and sixty-two feet, and the floors of the various passages, rooms, and pits include an area of about an acre and a quarter. Isn't that a pretty large tomb for one person—even though he included the members of his family and a few personal friends?
"We lighted our torches at the entrance, and then began a long walk through the interior, though we did not visit all the side chambers and narrow rooms, of which there are a great many. The sculptures on the walls are inferior to those in Belzoni's and Bruce's tombs, and we did not spend much time over them.
"Several times some of our torches were put out by the bats, of which there are great numbers in the tomb. It was quite as bad for the bats as for the torches, as they could not fly into the flame without risk of having their wings singed. They flew in our faces, and were anything but agreeable. One of our party said he had heard of receiving 'a bat in the eye,' but never before experienced the sensation. He had a dozen of them at least before he got out of the place.