diterranean, conveyed them, by following the coast of
Africa, as far as the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. They preferred, however,
to reach it by land, and they returned with caravans of heavily laden
asses and slaves.

[Illustration: 225.jpg HEAD OF AN INHABITANT OF PUANIT]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Professor
Petrie. This head was taken from the bas-relief at Karnak,
on which the Pharaoh Harmhabi of the XVIIIth dynasty
recorded his victories over the peoples of the south of
Egypt.

All that lay beyond Puanit was held to be a fabulous region, a kind
of intermediate boundary land between the world of men and that of the
gods, the "Island of the Double," "Land of the Shades," where the living
came into close contact with the souls of the departed. It was inhabited
by the Dangas, tribes of half-savage dwarfs, whose grotesque faces and
wild gestures reminded the Egyptians of the god Bisu (Bes). The chances
of war or trade brought some of them from time to time to Puanit, or
among the Amamiu: the merchant who succeeded in acquiring and bringing
them to Egypt had his fortune made. Pharaoh valued the Dangas highly,
and was anxious to have some of them at any price among the dwarfs with
whom he loved to be surrounded; none knew better than they the dance
of the god--that to which Bisu unrestrainedly gave way in his merry
moments. Towards the end of his reign Assi procured one which a certain
Biurdidi had purchased in Puanit. Was this the first which had made its
appearance at court, or had others preceded it in the good graces of
the Pharaohs? His wildness and activity, and the extraordinary positions
which he assumed, made a lively impression upon the courtiers of the
time, and nearly a century later there were still reminiscences of him.

A great official born in the time of Shopsiskaf, and living on to a
great age into the reign of Nofiririkeri, is described on his tomb as
the "Scribe of the House of Books." This simple designation, occurring
incidentally among two higher titles, would have been sufficient
in itself to indicate the extraordinary development which Egyptian
civilization had attained at this time. The "House of Books" was
doubtless, in the first place, a depository of official documents, such
as the registers of the survey and taxes, the correspondence between
the court and the provincial governors or feudal lords, deeds of gift
to temples or individuals, and all kin