THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Standing some time ago on the top of the great pyramid, the present writer gazed with wonder at the wide prospect around. Above Cairo the Nile Valley is hemmed in on both sides by limestone ridges, which form barriers between the fertile fields and the barren wastes on either side; and on the limestone ridge by the edge of the great western desert stand the pyramids of Egypt. Looking forth from the summit of the pyramid of Cheops eastwards, the Nile Valley was spread out like a panorama. The distant horizon was bounded by the Mokattam hills, and near to them rose the lofty minarets and mosques of Grand Cairo. The green valley presented a pleasing picture of richness and industry. Palms, vines, and sycamores beautified the fertile fields; sowers, reapers, builders, hewers of wood and drawers of water plied their busy labours, while long lines of camels, donkeys, and oxen moved to and fro, laden with the rich products of the country. The hum of labour, the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the song of women, and the merry laughter of children, spoke of peace and plenty. Looking towards the west how changed was the scene! The eye rested only on the barren sands of the vast desert, the great land of a silence unbroken by the sound of man or beast. Neither animal nor vegetable life exists there, and the solitude of desolation reigns for ever supreme; so that while the bountiful fields speak of activity and life, the boundless waste is a fitting emblem of rest and death. It is manifest that this striking contrast exercised a strong influence upon the minds of the ancient Egyptians. To the edge of the silent desert they carried their dead for burial, and on the rocky platform that forms the margin of the sandy waste they reared those vast tombs known as the pyramids. The very configuration of Egypt preached a never-ending sermon, which intensified the moral feelings of the people, and tended to make the ancient Egyptians a religious nation. The ancient Egyptians were a very religious people. The fundamental doctrine of their religion was the unity of deity, but this unity was never represented by any outward figure. The attributes of this being were personified and represented under positive forms. To all those not initiated into the mysteries of religion, the outward figures came to be regarded as distinct gods; and thus, in process of time, the doctrine of divine unity developed into a system of idolatry. Each spiritual attribute in course of time was represented by some natural object, and in this way nature worship became a marked characteristic of their mythology.