Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/58

 But the footman laughed.

And lo and behold! back came Harry on Monday morning, bubbling over with excitement at their various adventures, and not at all the worse for them. Mr. Grey had a very restless pupil that morning, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the pony carrying Master Harry away.

Harry rushed down to the stream as soon as he had finished his lunch, and was much disappointed not to see Herodotus. He threw himself down on the grass, and tried to “possess his soul in patience.” But the minutes seemed to crawl by, and at last he sprang up, saying:

“He’s not coming; what a beastly bother!” when he suddenly saw Herodotus at his side. His frown cleared, and he smiled up at the Greek.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” he said.

“In good truth thou didst appear sad,” replied Herodotus. “It pleases me that thou dost so greatly enjoy our discourses. And what hast thou done and seen since last we met?”

Whereupon Harry plunged into an account of the motor trip, to which Herodotus listened with much interest.

“I have seen these strange machines,” he said, “and have little admiration for them. A chariot pleaseth me more. And now let us to our morning’s discourse.”

“What are we going to talk about?” asked Harry.

“We had completed the strange animals of Egypt, methinks,” replied the Greek. “Now will we turn to other strange matters. Me- thinks I have not touched on the custom of embalming.”

“No,” said Harry; “I don’t think you have. That’s got to do with mummies, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” replied Herodotus; “thou knowest, perchance, that the Egyptians preserved the bodies of their dead—from the highest to the lowest in the land.”

“Oh, yes,” said Harry. “I’ve seen the mummies in the British Museum, and jolly interesting they are, too.”

“Then will I not speak more of this custom, for I have much more to tell thee. Hast thou heard of the lotus flower?”

“No,” said Harry.

“Thou must remember that. It is a water lily which grows in Egypt after the Nile floods, and the ancient Egyptians gathered the blossoms, dried them in the sun, and crushed the centre of each flower