They were accustomed to seat a veiled skeleton at their tables, decorated with a garland of dark-colored flowers; this was intended to remind the guests that death was with them, even in the midst of feasting and joy. The common tendency to invest women with supernatural powers seems to have existed in Egypt. We are told that Athyrte, daughter of Sesostris, encouraged her father to undertake the conquest of the world, in consequence of her divinations, dreams in the temples, and prodigies she had seen in the air. Though women were not admitted to the order of hereditary priesthood, they were from time immemorial selected to perform certain sacred offices in the Egyptian temples. It was the duty of these consecrated maidens to gather flowers for the altars, to feed the sacred birds, and daily to fill the vases with pure fresh water from the Nile. The moon was worshipped in Egypt as a goddess, under the name of Isis; and it is supposed that these maidens performed certain mystic dances in her temple, as the _devedassees_ of Hindostan now do in the temples of Brama. On these solemn occasions, the Egyptian girls wore small metallic mirrors under the left breast. The origin of the custom is unknown; some have supposed it was done that they might at every movement of their companions behold the reflected image of Isis. Notwithstanding the prevalence of strange superstitions, it is generally supposed that the knowledge of one God, and of the immortality of the soul, were taught by Egyptian priests; and that these truths, carried into Greece, were concealed and preserved in the Eleusinian mysteries. The early Christians were surprised at the frequent appearance of a _cross_ among the hieroglyphics of Egypt; some converted priests explained the mystery, by saying it had always been considered a symbol of _life to come_. The ancient Egyptians were scrupulously neat. They bathed frequently, and washed their garments often. It was their custom to drink from brazen goblets, which were cleansed every day. In making bread, they kneaded the dough with their feet. When a person of distinction died, it was customary for the females of the family to disfigure their heads and faces with dirt, and run about with their garments in disorder, beating themselves and making loud lamentations. This custom, so common among ancient nations, still prevails in many parts of the East. There was a library at Thebes; and Homer was accused of stealing the Iliad and Odyssey from a similar establishment at Memphis. Though this accusation bears internal evidence of falsehood, it indicates the very ancient date of civilization and literature in Egypt. That this taste continued down to comparatively modern times appears from the celebrated Alexandrian library, established by the Ptolemies. The number of volumes is said to have almost equalled the largest library of recent times, and most of them were written in letters of gold.