382 
THE EGYPTIAN SCARARuEUS. 
[chap. IX. 
“Aug. 11 th .—At this season immense beetles are 
at work in vast numbers,* walking off with every species 
of dung, by forming it into balls as large as small 
apples, and rolling them away with their hind-legs, 
while they walk backwards by means of the fore-legs. 
Should a ball of dung roll into a deep rut, I have fre¬ 
quently seen another beetle come to the assistance of 
the proprietor of the ball, and quarrel for its possession 
after their joint labours have raised it to the level. 
“ This species was the holy scarabaeus of the ancient 
Egyptians ; it appears shortly after the commencement 
of the wet season, its labours continuing until the 
cessation of the rains, at which time it disappears. 
Was it not worshipped by the ancients as the harbinger 
of the high Nile ? The existence of Lower Egypt 
depending upon the annual inundation, the rise of the 
river was observed with general anxiety. The beetle ap¬ 
pears at the commencement of the rise in the river level, 
and from its great size and extraordinary activity in 
clearing the earth from all kinds of ordure, its presence 
is remarkable. Appearing at the season of the flood, 
may not the ancients have imagined some connexion 
between the beetle and the river, and have considered 
it sacred as the harbinger of the inundation ? 
“ There is a wild bean in this country, the blossom 
of which has a delicious perfume of violets. I regret 
