Briefly, the new arrangement is as follows

In the FIRST ROOм are to be found all the monuments which belong to a period anterior to the pyramids of Gîzeh, that is to say, anterior to the IVth dynasty.

Here too are

several objects which were discovered by Mariette at Sakkârah and Mêdûm, and a few which were excavated at Mit Rahineh in 1888. The statue of the priest is perhaps the oldest known.

In the SECOND ROOM is a selection from the most beautiful and important of the monuments of the IVth, Vth and VIth dynasties, including the large statues of Ptaḥ-hetep and the Shêkh el-Beled.

In the THIRD ROOM are the statues of Chephren, Mycerinus, Usr-en-Rã and Men-kau-Ḥeru.

The FOURTH, FIFTH, and SIXTH ROOMS contain stele and other objects inscribed with texts of the Ancient Empire. The SEVENTH, EIGHTH, and NINTH ROOMS contain statues and bas-reliefs.

In the TENTH and ELEVENTH ROOмS are, among other objects, a tomb from Sakkârah and the mummy of Mentuem-saf, the fourth king of the VIth dynasty.

The TWELFTH ROOM is occupied with monuments of the Ancient Empire brought from Upper Egypt.

Following on here, too, are the antiquities which belong to the unknown period between the VIth and the XIth dynasties; and after these come the monuments of the XIIth dynasty, and those which are thought to be the product of the time when the Hyksos or Shepherd kings ruled over Egypt.

The galleries, which are close by, contain the stela, bas-reliefs, and statues of the New Empire, and the monuments of the Ethiopian kings from Gebel Barkal. It is intended to gather together in their proper order all the antiquities which represent the Greek, Roman, and Arabic domination of Egypt.

On the first floor are rooms for the exhibition of flowers from the tombs, coins, figures of gods in bronze, and Egyptian porcelain, scarabs, furniture, household goods, arms, tools, papyri, wooden objects, etc., etc. In a large room near at hand are the famous Dêr el-Baḥari mummies, among them being Aḥmes (Amāsis), Seti I., Rameses II., and Rameses III.

COPTIC CHURCHES IN CAIRO.*

The Church of MAR MÎNÂ lies between Fosțâț and Cairo; it was built in honour of St. Menas, an early martyr, who is said to have been born at Mareotis, and martyred during the persecution of Galerius Maximinus at Alexandria. The name Mînâ, or Menâ, probably represents the Coptic form of Menȧ, the name of the first

historical king of Egypt. The church was probably founded during the fourth century, and it seems to have been restored in the eighth century; the first church built to Mâr Mînâ was near Alexandria. The church measures 60 feet x 50 feet; it contains some interesting pictures, and a very ancient bronze candelabrum in the shape of two winged dragons, with seventeen sockets for lighted tapers. On the roof of the church is a small bell in a cupola.

About half-a-mile beyond the Dêr† containing the church of St. Menas, lies the Dêr of Abu's Sêfên, in which are situated the churches al-'Aḍra (the Virgin), Anba Shenûti, and Abu's Sêfên. The last-named church was built in the tenth century, and is dedicated to St. Mercurius, who is

* The authorities for the following facts relating to Coptic Churches are Butler's Coptic Churches of Egypt, 2 vols., 1884; and Curzon, Visits to Monasteries in the Levant.

called "Father of two swords," or Abu's Sêfên. The church measures 90 feet × 50 feet, and is built chiefly of brick; there are no pillars in it. It contains a fine ebony partition dating from A.D. 927, some interesting pictures, an altar casket dating from A.D. 1280, and a marble pulpit. In this church are chapels dedicated to Saints Gabriel, John the Baptist, James, Mâr Buktor, Antony, Abba Nûb, Michael, and George. Within the Dêr of Abu's Sêfên is the "Convent of the Maidens;" the account of Mr. Butler's discovery of this place is told by him in his Coptic Churches of Egypt, Vol. I, p. 128. The church of the Virgin was founded probably in the eighth century.

The church of Abu Sargah, or Abu Sergius, stands well towards the middle of the Roman fortress of Babylon in Egypt. Though nothing is known of the saint after whom it was named, it is certain that in A.D. 859 Shenûti was elected patriarch of Abu Sargah; the church was most probably built much earlier, and some go so far as to state that the crypt (20 feet x 15 feet) was occupied by the Virgin and her Son when they fled to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod. "The general shape of the church is, or was, a nearly regular oblong, and its general structure is basilican. It consists of narthex, nave, north and south aisle, choir, and three altars eastward each in its own chapel of these the central and southern chapels are apsidal, the northern is square ended . . . . . . Over the aisles and narthex runs a continuous gallery or triforium, which originally served as the place for women at the service. On the north side it stops short at the choir, forming a kind of transept, which, however, does not project beyond the north aisle...... On the south side of the church the triforium is prolonged over the choir and over the south side-chapel. The gallery is flat-roofed while the nave is covered with a pointed roof with framed principals like that at Abu's Sêfên ...... Outside, the roof

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of Abu Sargah is plastered over with cement showing the king-posts projecting above the ridge-piece. Over the central part of the choir and over the haikal the roof changes to a wagon-vaulting; it is flat over the north transept, and a lofty dome overshadows the north aisle chapel . . . . The twelve monolithic columns round the nave are all, with one exception, of white marble streaked with dusky lines . . . The exceptional column is of red Assuân granite, 22 inches in diameter. . . . The wooden pulpit . . . is of rosewood inlaid with designs in ebony set with ivory edgings... haikal-screen projects forward into the choir as at Al ‘Aḍra . . . . . is of very ancient and beautiful workmanship; pentagons and other shapes of solid ivory, carved in relief with arabesques, being inlaid and set round with rich mouldings . The upper part of the screen contains square panels of ebony set with large crosses of solid ivory, most exquisitely chiselled with scrollwork, and panels of ebony carved through in work of the most delicate and skilful finish." (Butler, Coptic Churches, Vol. I., pp. 183190, ff.) The early carvings representing St. Demetrius, Mâr George, Abu's Sêfên, the Nativity, and the Last Supper, are worthy of careful examination.

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The Jewish synagogue near Abu Sargah was originally a Coptic church dedicated to St. Michael, which was sold to the Jews by a patriarch called Michael towards the end of the ninth century; it measures 65 feet × 35 feet, and is said to contain a copy of the Law written by Ezra.

A little to the south-east of Abu Sargah is the church dedicated to the Virgin, more commonly called ElMu'allakah, or the 'hanging,' from the fact that it is suspended between two bastions, and must be entered by a staircase. The church is triapsal, and is of the basilican order. It originally contained some very beautiful screens, which have been removed from their original positions and

made into a sort of wall, and, unfortunately, modern stained glass has been made to replace the old. The cedar doors, sculptured in panels, are now in the British Museum. The cedar and ivory screens are thought to belong to the eleventh century. The church is remarkable in having no choir, and Mr. Butler says it is "a double-aisled church, and as such is remarkable in having no transepts." The pulpit is one of the most valuable things left in the church, and probably dates from the twelfth century; in the wooden coffer near it are the bones of four saints. Authorities differ as to the date to be assigned to the founding of this church, but all the available evidence now known would seem to point to the sixth century as the most probable period; at any rate, it must have been before the betrayal of the fortress of Babylon to 'Amr by the Monophysite Copts in the seventh century.

A little to the north-east of Abu Sargah is the church of St. Barbara, the daughter of a man of position in the East, who was martyred during the persecution of Maximinus; it was built probably during the eighth century. In the church is a picture of the saint, and a chapel in honour of St. George. At the west end of the triforium are some mural paintings of great interest.

Within the walls of the fortress of Babylon, lying due north of Abu Sargah, are the two churches of Mâr Girgis and the Virgin.

To the south of the fortress of Babylon, beyond the Muhammedan village on the rising ground, lie the Dêr of Bablûn and the Dêr of Tadrus. In Dêr el-Bablûn is a church to the Virgin, which is very difficult to see. It contains some fine mural paintings, and an unusual candlestick and lectern; in it also are chapels dedicated to Saints Michael and George. This little building is about fiftythree feet square. Dêr el-Tadrus contains two churches dedicated to Saints Cyrus and John of Damanhûr in the