AND LOWER EGYPT. 261 



fond ; it takes a strong hold of one of the legs of 

 the sheep, or of the go.it, with its long tail, and 

 thus preventing theiii from walking, it sucks them 

 at its ease *. 



I received from the Copht Poctor a small bag 

 filled with the fragmetUs of all sorts of brilUant 

 stones, as well as of vitrified scoria, which had been 

 found amons; the rubbish of ancient monuments. 

 In presenting me with this treat, of no great value, 

 Poctor made me observe a little round flint of a. 

 dark yellow colour, and scattered over with dimi-* 

 nutive spots perfectly round,ofa white tinged with 

 yellow, and having in their centre a point of the 

 same colour with the ground of the flint. Its pro- 

 perty, real or supposed, of curing the sting of scor- 

 pions, occasions it to be much sought after by the 

 Egyptians. But the most precious thing which the 

 Copht possessed, and which he did not give to me, 

 was a very beautiful ruby that he wore upon his 

 finger, and which had been found in th.e ruins of 

 Dendera. 



The flint of which I have been just speaking, is 

 not the only one to which virtues are attributed, 

 that exist only in the imagmation of the Egyptians. 

 A little stone was shown tome, whif h is called the 

 Stone for poison by way of excellence (hadsjar seni). 

 Powdered down and taken in a small dose, it is con- 



* Memoir of Missions to the Levant, vol. v. page 194. 



s 3 sidered 



