This book is intended to form an easy introduction to the study of the Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions. It contains a short account of the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a sketch of the hieroglyphic system of writing and of the general principles which underlie the use of picture signs to express thought. The main facts of Egyptian grammar are given in a series of short chapters, and these are illustrated by numerous brief extracts from hieroglyphic texts; each extract is printed in hieroglyphic type and is accompanied by a transliteration and translation. Included in this book is a lengthy list of hieroglyphic characters with their values both as phonetics and ideograms.