Up to this point I had not seen the object in question; but now my two friends saw it and described it to me, and again I discussed with Sir Gaston Maspero the desirability of purchasing it for the Museum. He objected, however, to spend public money on an antiquity found outside Egypt; and he therefore gave Nikola permission to dispose of it as he pleased. The man promptly offered it to one of these two friends of mine, who as promptly bought it; and I then saw it for the first time. It represented a boy dressed in the ancient costume of Armenia or Media, and wearing the royal crown of Armenia such as that seen on the coins of Tigranes; and it evidently dated from Roman times. It was more interesting than beautiful; but it was certainly immensely valuable; and, having suggested to its new owner that he should give some big museum the opportunity of purchasing it, I introduced him to the representative of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, who, however, did not take the matter up. My friend later explained to his colleague and myself that he could not think of claiming sole possession of this statuette, since we three together had rescued it and brought it back to its original owner, and that, if it were sold, he would wish us to have a share of the profits. He then placed the figure in the hands of a well-known dealer, and at length it was sold for a rather disappointing sum. Such was my only personal adventure into commerce; and even this, accidental as it was, would not have been permissible had the bronze been Egyptian, or found in Egypt, or had it been an object which the Cairo Museum ought to have acquired. The attempt to regain a lost antiquity is seldom [Illustration: Gold cups and armlet of about B.C. 1000, found accidentally by a native in a mound by a roadside in Lower Egypt. Now in Cairo Museum.] crowned with success. It is so extremely difficult to obtain reliable information; and as soon as a man is suspected his enemies will rush in with false accusations. Thirty-eight separate accusations were sent in against a certain head-watchman during the first days after the fact had leaked out that he was under suspicion. Not one of them could be shown to be true. Sometimes one man will bring a charge against another for the betterment of his own interests. Here is a letter from a watchman who had resigned, but wished to rejoin. “To his Exec. Chief Director of the tembels. I have honour to inform that I am your servant X, watchman on the tembels before this time. Sir from one year ago I work in the Santruple (?) as a watchman about four years ago. And I not make anything wrong and your Exec. know me. Now I want to work in my place in the tembel, because the man which in it be not attintive to His, but always in the coffee.... He also steal the scribed stones. Please give your order to point me again. Your servant, X.” “The coffee” is, of course, the _café_ which adjoins the temple.