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. XXXI.]

three previous occasions (Folk-Lore, vii. 3, xi. 4, xvii. 2) I have communicated to this Society various folk-tales and popular beliefs or superstitions, collected in Egypt, under the name of "Cairene Folk-lore." The name was chosen advisedly. With a few exceptions the stories were told me either in Cairo or by Cairenes, and most of the beliefs and practices I have noted belong to the same neighbourhood. Few of them, it will be noticed, come from Upper Egypt.

The same is the case with most of the other collections of Egyptian folk-lore, or rather folk-tales, which have been hitherto published. Spitta Bey, Yacoub Artin Pasha, and Willmore have alike derived all their stories from Cairenes. The collection made by Legrain at Luxor and Karnak is the only exception to the rule of which I know. Unlike the other collectors he resided in Upper Egypt, and his work at Karnak brought him into intimate contact with Rh