"Of course it is strongly suspected," the Doctor continued, "that the charmer secretly liberates the snake, or hires a confederate to do so, in order that he may obtain pay for catching him. This is undoubtedly the case in many instances, as the performer generally operates in a room where there is little light, and nobody is inclined to come near him for fear of being bitten. But not infrequently he has to perform in an open court-yard where there are many spectators, and sometimes he is taken suddenly to a house, and carefully examined before he begins operations. His trick, if it be one, has never been discovered, and the Egyptian snake-charmer may be considered, on the whole, quite as skilful as his fellow-craftsman in India." One of the most deadly serpents of Egypt is the asp, which was made famous centuries ago by Cleopatra. There is another poisonous snake called the _naya_; it is of a greenish-brown color, and has a hood that expands like that of the Indian cobra when the snake is enraged. Some authorities suppose that the serpent with which Cleopatra killed herself, after the death of Marc Antony, is none other than the naya. This is the snake which appears so often among the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and it was worshipped as the representative of one of the divinities in the days of the Pharaohs. A person who is bitten by a naya generally dies in a few minutes, and thus far no antidote has been discovered for its poison. Sight-seeing among the temples and tombs of Upper Egypt began at Beni-Hassan, about fifteen miles above Minieh. The boat touched at the landing-place, and the natives came down in dozens, bringing their donkeys for the tourists to ride to the tombs, three miles away. The natives had a most villainous appearance, and the donkeys, while no doubt more honest than their owners, were, if possible, less respectable, so far as looks were concerned. The people at Beni-Hassan have long had a bad reputation, and they were so notorious for their thievery during the reign of Ibrahim Pacha that he sent a military force to destroy their village and scatter its occupants. The village has been rebuilt, and the people have assembled again, but neither has improved by the severe lesson given by the son of Mohammed Ali.