=Education.=—It is doubtful if the children of peasants and of the lowest classes went to school, or received any education at all; both boys and girls were probably sent to herd the geese, to drive the sheep and goats to pasture or to the canal or river to drink, to look after the cows, to collect fuel for the fire, etc. It is unlikely that girls or women generally were taught to read and to write, but little is known about this matter. The boys of the professional and upper classes undoubtedly received a certain amount of instruction, for learning was highly esteemed throughout Egypt; but speaking generally, the learning of the country was in the hands of the =scribes=. The profession of the scribe was one of great dignity and importance, and the highest offices in the land were open to him. The temples and certain offices of the Government maintained schools in which scribes were trained, and pupils were, of course, promoted according to their proficiency and ability. In the temple-schools boys were trained to copy religious texts both in the hieroglyphic and hieratic characters, and they studied religious literature, exegesis, the legends of the gods, funerary texts, etc. In the schools of the Government Departments the teaching was devised to suit the requirements of the Treasury, the Public Granaries, the Crown Lands’ Department, etc., and the pupils studied arithmetic, the keeping of accounts, geometry, mensuration, the writing of reports, etc. In all schools boys were taught to be clean, diligent, obedient, respectful and well-behaved. Lessons began early in the morning and lasted till noon, when, as a papyrus in the British Museum says: “the pupils left the school with cries of joy.” The daily allowance of food for a boy was three bread-cakes and two jugs of beer, which were brought to the school-house by his mother every day. Corporal punishment was administered freely, and the back of the lazy boy who would not get up early, and that of the inattentive boy, received many stripes; in one case a very bad boy was locked up for three whole months in a strong room in one of the temples.