The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-11

down to our day showing how a small
object was deity placed under one of
-FOUR Inverted sups or bowls. and any
one. for a slight consideration. was
allowed to guess under which of the
four 1t would be found. exactly as in
the corresponding modern slieght of
hand trick. Sets Of dice. precisely the
same as ours. have also been found
deposited with the mummies, together
with many other articles Of everyday
life.
The game of draughts or checkers
dates from the very earliest days Of
Egyptian hieroglyphic records. 1T was
an amusement dear to the hearts of
all. kings and commoners alike. Rep
fesentatives of this game are very
numerous. the contestants being either
seated upon chairs. in the case of
resting upon the floor. when played
ny the poorer people. Hamcses Ill.
is shown In his harem. engaged in
playing the popular game with one of
his favorites-the secluded. as they
were called-and. she. womanlike,
seeks to beguile tho monarch by CO.
quettishly holding a lotus flower to his
monarch is shown making the moves
with his right hand. his opponent in
the game being again one of the young
women of the harem. while his left
arm fondly encircles the neck of an
other. who in turn places her arm
about his waist. The pieces were
v%ariously fashioned and of two colors,
white n red or black.
The game of hoops, dear to our
childhood days, was played by the
Egyptians in a way that required
much dexterity, for that n of the
contestants was adjudged the victor
who succeeded in eNtricating his
hooked stick from his adycrsary's. and
by a quick motion snatched the hoop
away from him. Two other modern
games were well known to these peo-
PIE. namely. odd and even and Mora.
For the first of these they used bones,
Deans. nuts or coins. number be-
ing held between the palms of the
hands OF one player. the other guess
ing odd or even. The game Of Mora
was played by two seated persons. who
simultaneously and with a quick mo-
tion heid out toward each other their
right hands with an indefinite number
OF fingers extended. Each player in
turn was obliged to guess Instantly
the number Of fingers extended. Mora
vas also played in ancient Rome. and
1T Is a popular game among the Ital-
lans to this day; II often one may
observe a group of Italian men or
boys INDUCING in the game here in
New York.
The people engaged in fishing and
hunting, both for a livelihood and for
sport. as is done in IL own day. One
picture shows an Egyptian gentleman
OF eminence quietly seated on a COM
portable chair placed upon a raft In
mis- own private fishing pond, patient
~ ana with great dignity waiting for
a bite. Strange as it may SEEM, his
oalt appears to consist of an artificial
minnow! Another picture shows two
men on the river bank blessed with
more than the prdNerbial fisherman's
TUCK. The smaller fish were generally
placed in baskets. but the larger
catches were either suspended from
poles borne by two or more men or
were carried singly by hand.
AS with us, the ancient fishermen
also employed the common drag net,
with wooden floats attached to the
upper edges. and with leaden weights
I Keep the lower parts in place. This
eral boats. and in due time hauled
ashore along a gently sloping bank
TO land the ensnared fish. They also
used the smaller familiar landing net.
with a framework Of wood.
For sporting purposes the young
Dioods preferred the more exciting
method of -spearing the fish from the
nanK OF a canal or from "a punt or
broad laves of the papyrus plant, un-
der shelter of which the larg ger speci-
mems We're to be found. The punts
were usually propelled by polling, and
the boats by padding or rowing. as in
our times. The spear used was fur
nlshed with two barbed ends. and the
thrust or stroke was accomplished
sometimes with II hand. occasionally
with two. Some of the spears were
provided with arrow-likc feathers on
the blunt end, to direct their flight
when fhrown: in such cases the wea-
pons also had an attached line either
wound around a reel or simply held
IN the left hand. like the modern har-
poon. In some illustrations a bow an
pears TO he carrying the fish already
secured strung upon the stalk of a
later plant; while a girl. who supports
herself ny clinging to the fisherman.
nolds a second spear in readiness. One
picture OF these old artists may be in
terpreted as a vivid portrayal of the
fish story" for 1t seems to indicate
the successive augmentations in the
size of the fish with each narration
Of the story.
The shop and market scenes are
.iSuidIiy HoHleIlKe and interesting.
DBL are shown sitting on the ia
mlliar stools, making sandals, pune
turing the leather with their avis. sew
ing the parts together and drawing
the threads tight with their teeth: car.
pentcrs making familiar furniture,
vanishing and veneering: boat build
ers, masons. sculptors and artists, each
plying his trade in much the same way
as the modern artisan. The bakeries,
butcher. poultry and fish shops might
do business in any Of our own towns
without exciting much comment; and
the scenes Of activity in the kitchen
IN Preparation for a feast arc so vivid
ly and familiarly portrayed as to be
readily understood and appreciated
by any careful modern housekeeper,
Men and women alike INDUCED to ex
cess in Wine n beer: and several
Teliefs show how the young women
We're overcome as a result Of such in.
diligence.
Among the ancient sc%ulptured in.
tscriptions found at Thebes are two OF
especial interest. in that they appear
to depict conditions so singularly mod.
ern that if the costumes were blu,
changed the individuals might we'll b.