the Egyptian hieroglyphs actually is not yet quite dead; for, in its
Coptic form, it is still spoken by many Christian Egyptians, who will
salute their friends in that tongue, or bid them good-morning or
good-night. Ancient Egyptian in this form is read in the Coptic
churches; and God is called upon by that same name which was given to
Amon and his colleagues. Many old Egyptian words have crept into the
Arabic language, and are now in common use in the country; while often
the old words are confused with Arabic words of similar sound. Thus, at
Abydos, the archaic fortress is now called the _Shunet es Zebib_, which
in Arabic would have the inexplicable meaning "the store-house of
raisins"; but in the old Egyptian language its name, of similar sound,
meant "the fortress of the Ibis-jars," several of these sacred birds
having been buried there in jars, after the place had been disused as a
military stronghold. A large number of Egyptian towns still bear their
hieroglyphical names: Aswan, (Kom) Ombo, Edfu, Esneh, Keft, Kus, Keneh,
Dendereh, for example. The real origin of these being now forgotten,
some of them have been given false Arabic derivations, and stories have
been invented to account for the peculiar significance of the words thus
introduced. The word _Silsileh_ in Arabic means "a chain," and a place
in Upper Egypt which bears that name is now said to be so called
because a certain king here stretched a chain across the river to
interrupt the shipping; but in reality the name is derived from a
mispronounced hieroglyphical word meaning "a boundary." Similarly the
town of Damanhur in Lower Egypt is said to be the place at which a great
massacre took place, for in Arabic the name may be interpreted as
meaning "rivers of blood," whereas actually the name in Ancient Egyptian
means simply "the Town of Horus." The archæological traveller in Egypt
meets with instances of the continued use of the language of the
Pharaohs at every turn; and there are few things that make the science
of Egyptology more alive, or remove it further from the dusty atmosphere