"According to the translation," said Doctor Bronson, "it was made by an assembly of priests in the Temple of Canopus, on the 7th of March, 238 B.C. It praises the king for having brought back the image of the gods from Asia, gained many victories, established peace, and averted famine by importing corn; and it ordains that festivals shall be held in all the temples of Egypt in honor of Princess Berenice, who died a short time before the date of the assembly. The inscription closes with a declaration that the decree shall be engraved on stone in three languages, just as you see it here, and there is no doubt that the stone we are looking at was prepared in obedience to this order." [Illustration: WOODEN STATUE FOUND AT SAKKARA.] In another room the Doctor halted in front of a wooden statue, and waited for the youths to fix their attention upon it. They were not long in doing so, nor in expressing their admiration for its wonderfully life-like appearance. When they had looked at it a few moments the Doctor explained what it was. "It is probably the oldest wooden statue in existence," said he, "and some persons think it is the oldest statue of any kind in the world. It represents a _sheik el belyd_, or village chief, and was found in a tomb at Sakkara. Mariette Bey says it belongs to the fourth dynasty, and is not far from six thousand years old." "Six thousand years old!" said both the youths in a breath. "Yes, six thousand years old," was the answer; "but, as I told you, there was a difference of opinion among the Egyptologists; it may be more modern than that, and not over four thousand years old." "Even if it is only four thousand," responded Frank, "it is antique enough to be very interesting." "Yes," the Doctor continued, "we needn't trouble ourselves about a matter of twenty centuries. We will split the difference, and call it five thousand years." "How life-like it looks!" exclaimed Fred. "It almost appears as if it were ready to speak to us. And what an expression about the eyes!" "The eyes are unequalled in any modern statue," said the Doctor. "You observe that they are set in rims of bronze, which serve for eyelids; the eye itself is made of opaque quartz, like ground glass, and there is a piece of rock-crystal in the centre, which forms the pupil. If you look closely you see a glittering point below the crystal, which makes the eye sparkle as though its owner were about to smile. There is nothing of modern times that equals it." One of the boys asked if the statue was in the condition in which it was found. The Doctor said the feet had been restored, so that the figure could be placed upright, and the stick in the left hand was modern. "In all other respects," said he, "the statue is just as it was found, and it is a rule of the museum to keep everything as nearly as possible in its original condition."