'The subject well deserves, and is already beginning
to command, more general interest than a few
years ago it would have been possible to anticipate.'
The translations I have given are selected
and freely rendered from those that have
appeared in Records of the Past, after comparison
with any others that were available. I
am also much indebted throughout to Dr.
Brugsch's valuable History of Egypt; and I
wish especially to mention my obligation to
Mr. Villiers Stuart's Nile Gleanings, with
its many interesting illustrations and accompanying
descriptions—more particularly those
relating to the tombs of the third and fourth
dynasties, to the curious episode of Khu-en-aten's
reign, and to the stirring times of
Rameses the Great.
My obligations to other authors are acknowledged in the respective places.
The hieroglyphs above the Table of Contents read, em rek suteniu tepau, i.e. 'in the
