Such was Egypt, long before Greece and Rome had existence! This early civilization might be in part owing to the annual overflowing of the Nile, which made it impossible for the inhabitants to subsist by hunting and fishing, and thus compelled them to turn their attention to agriculture. During the inundation of the river, they were obliged to take shelter in houses raised on piles above the reach of the waters. Men and women, being thus placed in each other’s society, naturally endeavored to please each other, and female influence produced its usual effect of softening the character, and rendering the manners more polished and agreeable. From this union, music, poetry, and the fine arts would naturally flow, as the stream from its parent fountain. It is generally supposed that the Egyptians were a colony from Ethiopia, and that their complexion was black. Herodotus, who travelled in Egypt, distinctly states that they had “black skins and curly hair.” Speaking of the tradition that two black pigeons had flown from Thebes in Egypt, and established oracles, one at Dodona, and the other in Libya, the same writer says, the story doubtless refers to two priestesses stolen by the Phœnicians, and carried one into Libya and the other into Greece: he adds, “their being _black_ explains to us their _Egyptian_ origin.” Pausanias likewise informs us that the image of the Nile was always black, while the other river gods were uniformly represented as white. The ancient statues of Memnon and the Sphinx afford no evidence with regard to complexion, because they are usually painted red; that being the color applied to sacred subjects both in Egypt and various parts of India. The features, with the exception of the lips, do not correspond to the standard of “African features,” which we have somewhat arrogantly established. In point of fact, the various tribes of that vast continent differ from each other in appearance as much as the Italians and the Norwegians; and we have taken the worst-looking as our standard of “negro features.” Dr. Richardson says: “The Nubians are perfectly black, but without possessing the least of the negro feature; the lips small, the nose aquiline; the expression of the countenance sweet and animated, and bearing a strong resemblance to that which is generally found portrayed in the temples and tombs of the ancient Egyptians.” A recent traveller tells us, “The Ethiopian women brought to Egypt for sale, though black, are extremely beautiful; their features being perfectly regular, and their eyes full of fire. The price offered for them is generally six or ten times higher than could be obtained for Arabian women.”