The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-02-12
EGYPTIAN LIFE.
rFrom the PAN Mall Gazette.


The second part OF Messrs. Grenfell
and Hunts "Oxyrynchus Papyri'
egypt Exploration FUND.- gives US
further glimpse into the life led by
colonists in Egypt during the early
Christians centuries. Although it does
not contain so many amusing private
letters as its predecessor, some of the
legal documents it reproduces are inter
esting. Witness what would nowadays
be called a bail bond given by one
Theon to the governor of the prison of
Zeus:" Il swear by Tiberius Caesar
Novus Augustus Imperator that have
80 days in which to restore to you the
man whom I bailed out of the public
prison in (June) of the present year,
Sarapion, son of Sarapion, arrested
through Billus, assistant to the dioe-
ceteS magistrate for Crown iSlandS),
on account of a note of hand for a gold
bracelet weighing two minae to Ma
gianuS on behelf of Aline, citizen,
daughter of Dionysius. If l do not pro-
duce him within the said number of
days, I will pay the said two minae of
gold without delay, and have no pow
er to obtain further period of time,
nor to transfer myself to another priS-
on" One would like to know more of
the bachelor, the extravagant young
SarapiOn, who bought on credit a, gold
bracelet worth $40 of our money for a
lady of the city," and what induced
Theon to go bail for him Was it mere
1y good nature, or was he like one of
to"perjure themselves before the judges
of the land for half crown a crime
so shocked Mr.. Pickwick? The class
were certainly not unknown in Egypt
at the time.
Another papyrus in the same volume
however, leads one to think that The
on's interest was of the would be pa
ternal kind. "Syra, daughter of Theon,
complains to the chief justice: I mar
ried Sarapion, bringing him by cession
a doWry amounting to two hundred
drachmae of silver. AS he was desti-
tute of means. / received him into my
parents house, and 1 for my part con-
Quoted myself blame1eSSly in all re-
SpectS. But Sarapion, having sQuan-
dered my dowry as he pleased, contin-
ualy i'll treated and insulted me, using
violence toward me, and depriVing me
of the neceSSarieS of life, finally he de-
serted me, leaving me in a state of des-
titution. 1 therefore beg you to order
him to be brought before you, in order
that he may be compelled perforce to
pay back my dOWry, increased by half
its amount" Evidently syria discover
ed too late that if the proverb about a
reformed rake making the best husband
be true it is as we'll to see that the rake
is reformed before you commit your
fortune to him.
The marriage yoke, however, sat very
lightly upon these gay colonists. The
marriage contract between one DiOny-
sius and Sarapus. a lady of wealth who
!
lions in the shape of house property,
furniture and slaves upon her mother 5
| death) four minae of gold, three dresses
and some 20 acres of land, expressly
| provides that if the young couple dis
agree and Sarapus shall wish to leave
| DiOnysiuS she shall receive back her
| dowry less a provision for any child OF
| the marriage who shall prefer to re-
main with the father Another papyrus
| shows such an arrangement at work,
| the lady in this case receiving back her
| dowry after she had been married a
| year, and each partner agreeing that
| no claim should be made upon the 9TH
| er. A still more informal arrangement
| is Swallowed in the deed between Try
| phOn and SaraeuS, which was expressly
| stated not to be regular" marriage
| contract. In this case the lady contrib
uteS 40 silver drachmae. a pair of gOld
| earrings and a milk white robe to the
| common fund under the form Of a loan
| to her quasi-husband, who undertakes
| to repay the dowry or its equivalent in
| five months, and to provide on Separa-
ton for what Mr.. Kipling would call
| the almost inevitable consequences.
We know from another document that
! the alliance worked well. and that al
| though Tryphon took seven years to re
| pay the dowry the two were living to-
| gether % years after, a son and daugh-
! ter having been born to them. Tryphon
/ though only % years old, had been
/ married before to a lady named Deme-
trus, from whom he was divorced. The
separation does not seem to have pre-
vented Demetrus from visiting his new
establishment and humping her sue
cessor, of which there is a formal COM
| plant to the magistrate. She must
have been a lady of violent temper, and
it was most likely by avoiding her
methods that Saraeus succeeded in re-
| tanning the somewhat fugitive affection
of Tryphon. A prescription for ear
ache, containing poppy juice, shows
| the medical use of opium to be older
| than has been thought.