Below the lords, who spent their time in war, in the chase, and in going to see play-battles, called mock-fights, were the common people. In some countries these people were not free, as you are, but lived in huts in small villages on the great man's land. They had to work on his land, and were only a little better off than slaves. These people were called serfs. In the few large cities there lived at that time rich merchants who traded in slaves, or went on long journeys to buy and sell their wares. In the cities, too, lived workers in wool, cotton, brass, iron, wood, and other materials. After a time the workers of a given class gathered into a sort of union called a guild, to protect themselves. [Sidenote: =The roots of our civilization=] But in neither country nor city did the common man have the many rights and privileges he has now-a-days in America. These people, so different from us, got their habits and their ways of doing things from still older nations in Asia, in Africa and in Europe. THE OLDEST NATIONS =254. Egypt, the Land of the Nile and the Pyramids.= Egypt has always been a land of curious things. It lies across the Mediterranean, southeast of Europe. It is a land of sunshine day after day. Were it not for the Nile River, it would be a part of the Great Sahara Desert. Every year for ages, the Nile has risen in a great flood and its waters have spread out over Egypt. In coming down from their mountain home these waters carry rich earth which they spread over a part of Egypt. The result is that Egypt, in an early day, became the garden spot for nations less favored. [Sidenote: =Egypt in Bible times=] Many of you can recall the Bible story of Joseph's brethren who were sent down into Egypt to buy corn because there was a famine in their land. Thanks to the Nile, there was plenty of corn in Egypt. The people of Egypt were among the first of the world's farmers and gardeners of which history has any record. [Sidenote: =Carrying the waters of the Nile to the land=] =255. Irrigation Systems of the Egyptians.= In a great many parts of western United States where little rain falls, how do farmers and gardeners get water for their plants? "Irrigation" is the word that tells the story. The Egyptians taught the people of the world how to save water for irrigation by building great dams in the Nile. This water they carried in ditches throughout the land so that the thirsty crops would have the moisture they needed for growing. [Sidenote: =The tombs of the kings=] =256. Egypt Ruled by Kings.= For several thousand years Egypt was ruled by kings. The most famous of these rulers was a great warrior called Rameses II. He built great tombs or monuments called "pyramids." These were built out of huge blocks of stone much larger than any now used in buildings. For many years he had the common man or the slave doing this work for him. [Illustration: THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH AND THE SPHINX]