We now turned aside to see men grinding to powder an old image of Apis, of solid gold of Ophir. The image had been in the hands of the Ethiopians, and being recaptured, was sent here to be ground to dust; for it was regarded as accursed until this were done. This process is effected by the free use of _natron_, and is an art known only to the Egyptians. The dust is then washed in consecrated water. In taste, I am told, it is exceeding bitter and nauseous. Thus gold, as a drink, would not be coveted by men. We next came to a flight of stairs which led to a paved hall surrounded by columns, and thence a door led into a small garden, where three majestic palms towered high above the columns that inclosed it; while a fountain ceaselessly let fall its refreshing rain, in a vast shallow vase, wherein gold and silver fishes glanced in the light. It was now near the close of day, and I began to thank him for his courtesy, when he said-- "Do not leave now, O prince. This is my apartment, and the one opposite is that of the aged priest, my benefactor. Enter, and let me have water for thy feet and hands, and place before thee some refreshment; for it is a long walk back to the palace where thou art sojourning." Willing to learn all I could of the remarkable Hebrew people, who seem to be a nation of princes as well as of bondmen, I accepted his invitation, and entered a cool porch, from which opened a handsome but simply furnished apartment, where he lodged. I seated myself upon a stone bench, when, at a signal made by him, two black slaves approached with ewers of water, one for the hands, and the other with a silver basin for my feet. Each of them had thrown over his shoulder a napkin of the finest linen. But upon the vessels, the vestures, the slaves, and the napkins, I saw the crescent, which showed that they were all the property of the temple. At length fruit, and wheaten bread, and fish, were laid before me. The Hebrew stood while I partook, declining to eat with me, saying that his nation never broke bread with any but their own people; adding, "and the Egyptians regard it as infamy to sit down with us." "I have no such prejudices," I said, with a smile. When I had eaten, and laved my fingers in a crystal vase, which the priest placed before me, and the Nubians had retired, I said, "My meeting with you has been a source of great pleasure to me. I am deeply interested in your nation. As a Syrian we are not far from a kindred origin, and as a foreigner I have none of the feelings which, as masters, the Egyptians entertain towards a Hebrew. I have witnessed the working of the deep-seated prejudice in a variety of ways, and cannot but wonder at it. From all I can learn of your history, you have never been at war with them, nor wronged them." "We are unfortunate, unarmed, and weak; and the greater ever oppress the helpless," he answered. "Do you feel no resentment?"