or squatted a wailing-woman with the emblems of Nephthys, and one at its
feet with those of Isis.

Every separate limb of the deceased was dedicated to a particular
divinity by the aid of holy oils, charms, and sentences; a specially
prepared cloth was wrapped round each muscle, every drug and every
bandage owed its origin to some divinity, and the confusion of sounds,
of disguised figures, and of various perfumes, had a stupefying effect
on those who visited this chamber. It need not be said that the whole
embalming establishment and its neighborhood was enveloped in a cloud of
powerful resinous fumes, of sweet attar, of lasting musk, and pungent
spices.

When the wind blew from the west it was wafted across the Nile to Thebes,
and this was regarded as an evil omen, for from the south-west comes the
wind that enfeebles the energy of men--the fatal simoon.

In the court of the pattern-house stood several groups of citizens from
Thebes, gathered round different individuals, to whom they were
expressing their sympathy. A new-comer, the superintendent of the
victims of the temple of Anion, who seemed to be known to many and was
greeted with respect, announced, even before he went to condole with
Rui's widow, in a tone full of horror at what had happened, that an omen,
significant of the greatest misfortune, had occurred in Thebes, in a spot
no less sacred than the very temple of Anion himself.

Many inquisitive listeners stood round him while he related that the
Regent Ani, in his joy at the victory of his troops in Ethiopia, had
distributed wine with a lavish hand to the garrison of Thebes, and also
to the watchmen of the temple of Anion, and that, while the people were