enough to procure one of the pygmies which some trader had captured in the lands farther south. Having brought the pygmy safely to Aswân, he informed the king, and in reply received the following letter:-

Royal seal; year 2, third month of the first season, day 15. "The Royal decree to the Sole Companion, the Ritual Priest, the Caravan Conductor, Herkhuf.

"I have noted the matter of this your letter, which you have sent to me, the king, to the palace, in order that I might know that you have returned in safety from Aam with the army which was with you. You say in your letter that you have brought all manner of gifts which Hathor has given to the Ka of the king, myself. You say also in your letter that you have brought a holy dancing dwarf from the Land of the Ghosts, like the dwarf which the Treasurer Baurded brought from Somaliland in the time of King Asesa. You say to my majesty, 'Never before has one like him been brought by any one who has visited Aam.'

"Each year I hear that you are doing that which your lord desires and praises; you spend day and night with the caravans doing that which your lord desires, praises, and commands. My majesty will give you many excellent honours which will be an ornament for the son of your son forever, so that all the people will say when they hear what my majesty has done for you,' Is there anything like this which was done for the Sole Companion, Herkhuf, when he descended the river from Aam, because of the vigilance which he showed in doing that which his lord desired, praised, and commanded!'

"Come northwards to the court immediately, and you shall bring this dwarf with you, which you have brought living, prosperous, and healthy from the Land of the Ghosts, to perform the dances of the god, and to gladden the heart of the king. When he goes. down with thee into the vessel, appoint trustworthy people who shall be beside him on each side of the vessel. Take care that he does not fall into the water. When he sleeps at night appoint trustworthy people who shall sleep beside him in his cabin. Inspect them ten times a night. My majesty desires to see this dwarf more than the gifts of Sinai or of Somaliland. If you arrive at court this dwarf being with you alive, prosperous, and healthy, my majesty will do for you greater things than those which were done for the Treasurer Baurded in the time of King Asesa, according to the heart's desire of my majesty to see this dwarf. Commands have been sent to the Chief of the New Towns,

The king's letter to Herkhuf.

Interior of the tomb of Serenpitua.

brought to Serenpitua, who leans upon his staff and is said to be inspecting the cattle for a festival of the gods of Elephantine. Beside this scene there is a large figure of Serenpitua, and behind him a small figure carrying a staff and sandals, followed by a hound of the slugie breed and a bitch of another and smaller breed. On the north of the doorway is a corresponding large figure of Serenpitua, immediately behind which are the figures of a man carrying a staff and bow, and a slugie hound. Next, on the upper part of the wall one sees Serenpitua seated on a throne in a hall, the roof of which is supported by three delicate columns. Four women, each holding a flower, stand before him. The first is his wife, "his dear one, who is enthroned in his heart," Set-thena ; the next figure is that of his mother, Set-then; following her is his daughter, Satet-hotep; and lastly comes his second daughter, Set-then. Below this scene three men are shown the first is "his eldest son, his beloved one, the possessor of his properties, possessor of his inheritance, the excellent one of his house, the Prince Heqab, born of the lady Set-then"; the second figure is his son Heqab-herab; and the third figure is his son Heqabur. Lastly there is a curious scene representing a girl and two boys seated upon the ground, each holding one hand to the ear, and extending the other with one finger pointing. They are probably chanting a funeral song, as these attitudes are often connected with musicians in other tomb paintings and reliefs. Around the doorway are long inscriptions in which the titles of Serenpitua are given at length.

Entering the tomb the visitor finds himself in a four-pillared hall, which has once been decorated with scenes painted on plaster; but these are now nearly all lost. On the south side of the doorway one can still make out a scene representing fishermen pulling at the two ends of a net which is being dragged through the water, in which many fish are shown. The other scenes are too much damaged to describe, but one may discern fragmentary boats and various figures; while on the north side of the doorway parts of an elaborately painted inscription remain. From this hall a long passage, with a slightly vaulted roof, leads to an inner chamber, the roof of which is supported by two pillars ; and at the end of this chamber is a recess and shrine. The whole tomb shows that considerable care and skill was expended upon its execution; and it is evident that Serenpitua was able to command the services of the best artists of the day.

The pathway now' passes northwards, descending slightly and

em-ahu.

leading to a small tomb, enclosed by a wall, which is situated on Tomb of a spur of the hills about a hundred yards distant. This is the Kagemtomb of Kagem-em-ahu, the High Priest of Khnum, Satet, and Anuket, which, by the style of the paintings, may be put down to the late New Empire. It was discovered by Lady William Cecil and Mr. Howard Carter in 1902. One first enters a courtyard, which had a pillared gallery on either side, now almost entirely destroyed. The walls of the courtyard have been covered with paintings executed on plaster, but these were never finished, and now are for the most part destroyed. On the west side of the south wall there is a damaged scene showing the deceased High Priest standing between two red-robed goddesses, of which one is the goddess of Amenta, who stands amidst the western rocks. At the south end of the west wall the funeral boats are shown crossing the river from Elephantine and arriving at the western shore, where offerings have been heaped up, and where two servants stand weeping. The largest of the vessels is furnished with an elaborately decorated shrine, and, drawn in outline, there are two figures of Isis and Nephthys weeping on either side of it. At the north end of this wall one sees the soul of Kagem-em-ahu kneeling before the cow of Hathor which emerges from the western rocks in which it was thought to dwell. Above this there is a faint scene of the weighing of the heart of the deceased. At the west end of the north wall Kagem-em-ahu prays before Khnum, and at the east end he stands before other deities now too damaged to be recognised. On the east wall the mummy of the High Priest is seen standing upright, supported by a priest. Before the mummy kneels his wife, whose tears are seen streaming down her face as she casts dust upon her hair. The little figure is very well drawn, and the breast and drapery are executed with an unusual freedom of touch. Behind the mummy is a stele on which his titles are inscribed, and behind this again is the representation of a pyramidshaped tomb built at the side of the rocks. It may be that this is an actual picture of this tomb, in which case a masonry or brick pyramid rose above it.

Entering the tomb, which is very low, the visitor finds himself in a hall with four pillars supporting the roof. Persons wearing hats should be careful not to let them touch the ceiling, which is covered with delicate paintings. Near the door this ceiling decoration shows a great blue scarabæus supporting the sun's disk upon its head, which is adored by green-coloured baboons. Down the middle aisle are beautiful flights of blue and white pigeons and

wild duck against a background of yellow; while on other parts of the ceiling are elaborate geometrical patterns. These patterns are divided by bands of inscription, which give prayers to PtahSeker-Osiris, Nefer Tum, Isis, Anubis, and other gods, for the soul of Kagem-em-ahu. The walls of the hall are not decorated, but on one of the pillars are representations of the deceased in the presence of Osiris and Isis. A recess at the end of the chamber probably contained the statue or stele of the High Priest. The burial chamber is entered by a sloping passage at the west side of the hall.

This completes the series of tombs which are to be seen here, and the visitor can now descend to the river at this point, to which the boatman should have been told to proceed.

Situation, &c.

THE MONASTERY

The monastery of St. Simeon should most certainly be visited by all those who have any interest in Christian history, and even those to whom the past does not appeal will find it the goal of a very pleasant excursion. The monastery stands about a mile and a half south of the "Grenfell” tombs, and less than half a mile back from the river. The excursion should be made by boats in the early afternoon. The afternoon lights are far more beautiful than those of the morning as they fall upon the ruins and the surrounding desert, but for the visitor who has not much time at his disposal it may be better to visit the "Grenfell" tombs and the monastery in one long morning. The point to which the boat should be directed is a little bay in the western bank just to the south of the granite rocks rising from the water at the southern end of "Kitchener's” Island, and nearly opposite the south end of Elephantine Island. This bay lies at the mouth of a valley full of blown sand, which runs up between the hills for a short distance. In the hills, at the south side of the bay, a few rock tombs of a late period are to be seen, but these lack inscriptions or decoration, and are not worth visiting. The boat passes into the still waters of the little bay, and moors against the yellow sand, where grow a few green rushes. As one commences to walk up the valley the ruins of the monastery come clearly into sight, standing boldly on the edge of a promontory on the south side of the valley. A short climb brings one to the outer east wall, and the

entrance will be found through a domed portal halfway along the length of this.

monastery.

The monastery was founded in very early times, the date being History unknown, and it was destroyed by the expedition sent into Nubia of the by Saladin, commanded by his brother Shems-ed-Dulah, in 1173, when Theodorus was bishop of Aswân. Shems-ed-Dulah routed out the Christian communities wherever he found them. In some cases he slaughtered the monks, but more generally he was content with destroying their property, and imposing a tax upon all those who professed Christianity. As one enters the portal there will come to the mind of the more imaginative a picture of the holy men as they fled before the Arabs, and it will not be without a kind of reverence that the visitor will notice the different indications of the faith which cost the monks so much. The monastery is surrounded by a high wall of rough stones, topped by a smaller brick wall, and the area thus enclosed must be some 7000 square yards in size. At intervals along this enclosure wall there are towers, and this, with the stone and brick construction, gives to the fortifications so much the appearance of a Roman building that one is inclined to suppose that the monks built their monastery within some deserted fortress of that period, perhaps that of Contra Syene, which is known to have existed, and may well have been situated here.

The enclosed area is divided into an upper and a lower level by The builda low face of cliff, which cuts through it from north to south. The ings. portal in the eastern wall leads directly on to the lower level, where was the main chapel and some buildings constructed in connection with a row of caves cut into the cliff's side. A stairway leads to the upper level, upon the north end of which rises the two-storied main building. The north wall of this is built above the enclosure wall, and the north windows thus look out over a steep precipice descending into the valley. To the south of this building is an open courtyard, while numerous other buildings stand farther back, and also on the east side. To describe the monastery now in more detail we may commence The at the main entrance again. Opposite this is a domed and white-church. washed chamber with Coptic inscriptions upon the walls. Passing through this the visitor finds himself in the large church, the roof of which (originally a series of domes) has fallen in. The lower part of some square pillars and walls are to be seen amidst the debris. In the east end is the domed altar-recess, upon which is a fairly well-preserved painting of Christ seated, clad