a country in which a considerable amount of waiting and waste of time
has to be endured. One makes an excursion by train to see some ruins,
and, upon returning to the station, the train is found to be late, and
an hour or more has to be dawdled away. Crossing the Nile in a
rowing-boat the sailors contrive in one way or another to prolong the
journey to a length of half an hour or more. The excursion steamer will
run upon a sandbank, and will there remain fast for a part of the day.

The resident official, travelling from place to place, spends a great
deal of time seated in railway stations or on the banks of the Nile,
waiting for his train or his boat to arrive; and he has, therefore, a
great deal of time for thinking. I often try to fill in these dreary
periods by jotting down a few notes on some matter which has recently
been discussed, or registering and elaborating arguments which have
chanced lately to come into the thoughts. These notes are shaped and
"written up" when next there is a spare hour, and a few books to refer
to; and ultimately they take the form of articles or papers, some of
which find their way into print.

This volume contains twelve chapters, written at various times and in
various places, each dealing with some subject drawn from the great
treasury of Ancient Egypt. Some of the chapters have appeared as
articles in magazines. Chapters iv., v., and viii. were published in
'Blackwood's Magazine'; chapter vii. in 'Putnam's Magazine' and the
'Pall Mall Magazine'; and chapter ix. in the 'Century Magazine.' I have
to thank the editors for allowing me to reprint them here. The remaining
seven chapters have been written specially for this volume.

LUXOR, UPPER EGYPT,
_November_ 1910.