"Bear in mind," the Doctor continued, "that the temple among the ancient Egyptians was not strictly a place of religious worship, like the temples of the Greeks and Romans and the churches of modern days; it was a building erected by a king in honor of the divinities who were believed to have brought him prosperity in conquering his enemies or whose favor he sought. For this reason we always know by what king a temple was built, as he is always represented in the first place in the processions, and all the sacrifices and other ceremonies are in his name. "You observe that there is a grove on both sides of the temple; the Egyptians always surrounded their temples with groves, and generally the trees were set out in rows. The divinities were supposed to linger about the trees, and certain deities were believed to shun a treeless spot. Perhaps some of the respect for trees was due to the difficulty of keeping them alive. Egypt is not a land of forests, and trees do not flourish here except with much care and attention." During this conversation about Egyptian temples the steamer steadily made her way toward Karnak and Luxor; she passed the ruins of Karnak, and soon drew up to the landing at the modern town. Luxor is a wretched place of about four thousand inhabitants, and if it were not for the reputation of the spot, and the number of strangers visiting it every winter, the town would soon cease to exist. The inhabitants live almost entirely on what they obtain from visitors, and they drive quite a prosperous trade in mummies and other antiquities, besides finding a good market for the few things raised in their gardens. As soon as the boat was made fast to the bank the passengers hurried to land. The natives met them with donkeys for hire, and with all sorts of antiquities for sale. Frank and Fred were rather puzzled with the way in which the natives pressed their wares upon the strangers, and Frank made an entry in his note-book as follows: "They are a silent people here, and when they have anything to sell they come in front of you, without saying a word, and hold the article directly before your eyes. If you wish to examine it you do so, and if desirous of buying you ask the price. [Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN WAR-CHARIOT OF ANCIENT TIMES.] "The figure named is in no way a criterion of the value of the goods; a native will ask fifty dollars for something he would gladly sell for as many cents; you must judge for yourself how much you are willing to pay, and then make your offer. Most likely it will be refused, and the refusal is almost as silent as was the exhibition of the article. The man lowers it and walks away, but in five minutes he will come around again and repeat his performance. He asks less this time, perhaps, and you offer a little more, and he again goes away. You may come to terms after a time, but it seems to make no difference to him whether you do or not." [Illustration: LUXOR FROM THE WATER.]