132 THE LIBYANS 



have always been exempt from labour, attend- 

 ed by human servants, treated as a nobility. 

 From very early times they were admitted to 

 the private family life of the Lib3^an people, 

 and driven with the four-spoke wooden chariot 

 until both men and women learned to ride 

 them. 



In much the same spirit as our country folk 

 go to town for shopping, it was the pleasant 

 custom of these Libyans to raid Egypt. 

 Between war and commerce the Egyptians 

 brought Bay horses into their own use at some 

 time later than the visit of Abraham, but prior 

 to that of Joseph. This might be about the 

 eighteenth century b.c. the era of Stonehenge. 



Shortly afterwards horses and chariots began 

 to appear in the painting and sculpture of 

 Eg3^ptian artists. Horses must still have been 

 scarce when the Pharoah gave to Joseph a 

 signet and royal robes, but only lent him his 

 second best chariot. It is true that the people 

 already owned a few horses, for in the great 

 famine Joseph accepted them in trade for 

 grain. 



It was in that generation that the dying 

 Jacob, speaking from knowledge common 

 among the civilized Egyptians, mentioned both 

 ships and horses. He was frank enough to call 



