INTRODUCTION

IT is strange that while literature occupies so much attention as at
present, and while fiction is the largest division of our book-work, the
oldest literature and fiction of the world should yet have remained
unpresented to English readers. The tales of ancient Egypt have appeared
collectively only in French, in the charming volume of Maspero's "Contes
Populaires"; while some have been translated into English at scattered
times in volumes of the "Records of the Past." But research moves
forward; and translations that were excellent twenty years ago may now
be largely improved, as we attain more insight into the language.

For another reason also there is a wide ground for the present volume.
In no case have any illustrations been attempted, to give that basis for
imagination which is all the more needed when reading of an age and a
land unfamiliar to our ideas. When following a narrative, whether of
real events or of fiction, many persons--perhaps most--find themselves
unconsciously framing in their minds the scenery and the beings of which
they are reading. To give a correct picture of the character of each of
the various ages to which these tales belong, has been the aim of the
present illustrations. A definite period has been assigned to each tale,
in accordance with the indications, or the history, involved in it; and,
so far as our present knowledge goes, all the details of life in the
scenes here illustrated are rendered in accord with the period of the
story.

To some purely scholastic minds it may seem presumptuous to
intermingle translations of notable documents with fanciful
illustrations. But, considering the greater precision with which in
recent years we have been able to learn the changes and the fashions