H,—ANTHROPOLOGY. 195 
been handed back to the Egyptians. It is an Oriental country. What 
will be the immediate future of its people? It is not difficult to predict. 
Seventy years ago, when Egypt was under the sway of Said Pasha, 
there was current among the feliahin of Thebes a little parable, and 
with this I will conclude. I quote it as it was taken down by Rhind 
in the fifties of last century, but the story was still remembered when 
I lived among the natives of Upper Egypt twenty-eight years ago. It 
runs thus :— 
“It happened once that a Sultan captured a lion, which it pleased 
him to keep for his royal pleasure. An officer was appointed especially 
to have in charge the well-being of the beast, for whose sustenance the 
command of His Highness allotted the daily allowance of six pounds 
of meat. It instantly occurred to the keeper that no one would be a 
bit the wiser were he to feed his dumb ward with four pounds, and 
dispose of the remaining two for his own benefit. This he did, until 
the lion gradually lost his sleekness and vigour, so as to attract the 
attention of his Royal Master. ‘‘ There must be something wrong,’’ 
said he; ‘* I shall appoint a superior officer to make sure that the former 
faithfully does his duty.’’ No sooner was the plan adopted than the 
first goes to his new overseer, and convincing him very readily, that if 
the proceeds of two pounds be conveyed to their pockets, the meat 
would be far better employed than in feeding the lion, they agreed to 
keep their own counsel and share the profit between them. But the 
thirst of the newcomer soon becomes pleasantly excited by the sweets 
of peculation. He talks the matter over with his subordinate, and they 
have no difficulty in discovering that the lion might very well be reduced 
to three pounds a day. Drooping and emaciated, the poor beast pines 
in his cage, and the Sultan is more perplexed than before. ‘‘ A third 
official shall be ordered,’’ he declares, ‘‘ to inspect the other two *’; and so 
it was. But they only wait for his first visit to demonstrate to him the 
folly of throwing away the whole six pounds of meat upon the lion, 
when with so little trouble they could retain three, one apiece, for 
themselves. In turn his appetite is quickened and he sees no reason 
why four pounds should not be abstracted from his ward’s allowance. 
The brute, he states to his colleagues, can do very well on two, and if 
not, he can speak to nobody in complaint, so why need they lose the 
gain? And thus the lion, reduced to starvation-point, languishes on, 
robbed and preyed upon by the overseers set to care for him, whose 
multiplication has but added to his miseries.’ 
