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diff --git a/old/52212-0.txt b/old/52212-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 58dccc3..0000000 --- a/old/52212-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,17090 +0,0 @@ - -Project Gutenberg's My Winter on the Nile, by Charles Dudley Warner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - -Title: My Winter on the Nile Eighteenth Edition - -Author: Charles Dudley Warner - -Release Date: June 1, 2016 [EBook #52212] -Last Updated: February 24, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY WINTER ON THE NILE *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the -Internet Archive - - - - - -MY WINTER ON THE NILE - -By Charles Dudley Warner - -Eighteenth Edition - -Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company - -1876 - - - -TO MR. A. C. DUNHAM, AND THE VOYAGERS ON THE DAHABEËH “RIP VAN WINKLE,” -THIS IMPERFECT RECORD OF THEIR EXPERIENCE IS DEDICATED. - - - -O Commander of the Faithful. Egypt is a compound of black earth and -green plants, between a pulverized mountain and a red sand. Along the -valley descends a river, on which the blessing of the Most High reposes -both in the evening and the morning, and which rises and falls with the -revolutions of the sun and moon. According to the vicissitudes of -the seasons, the face of the country is adorned with a silver wave, a -verdant emerald, and the deep yellow of a golden harvest. - -From Amrou, Conqueror of Egypt, to the Khalif Omar. - - - - - -CONTENTS - -PREFATORY NOTE. - -CHAPTER I.—AT THE GATES OF THE EAST. - -CHAPTER II.—WITHIN THE PORTALS. - -CHAPTER III.—EGYPT OF TO-DAY. - -CHAPTER IV.—CAIRO. - -CHAPTER V.—IN THE BAZAAR. - -CHAPTER VI.—MOSQUES AND TOMBS. - -CHAPTER VII.—MOSLEM WORSHIP.—THE CALL TO PRAYER. - -CHAPTER VIII.—THE PYRAMIDS. - -CHAPTER IX.—PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. - -CHAPTER X.—ON THE NILE. - -CHAPTER XI.—PEOPLE ON THE RIVER BANKS. - -CHAPTER XII.—SPENDING CHRISTMAS ON THE NILE. - -CHAPTER XIII.—SIGHTS AND SCENES ON THE RIVER. - -CHAPTER XIV.—MIDWINTER IN EGYPT. - -CHAPTER XV.—AMONG THE RUINS OF THEBES. - -CHAPTER XVI.—HISTORY IN STONE. - -CHAPTER XVII.—KARNAK. - -CHAPTER XVIII.—ASCENDING THE RIVER. - -CHAPTER XIX.—PASSING THE CATARACT OF THE NILE. - -CHAPTER XX.—ON THE BORDERS OF THE DESERT. - -CHAPTER XXI—ETHIOPIA. - -CHAPTER XXII.—LIFE IN THE TROPICS. WADY HALFA. - -CHAPTER XXIII.—APPROACHING THE SECOND CATARACT. - -CHAPTER XXIV.—GIANTS IN STONE. - -CHAPTER XXV.—FLITTING THROUGH NUBIA. - -CHAPTER XXVI.—MYSTERIOUS PHILÆ. - -CHAPTER XXVII.—RETURNING. - -CHAPTER XXVIII.—MODERN FACTS AND ANCIENT MEMORIES. - -CHAPTER XXIX.—THE FUTURE OF THE MUMMY'S SOUL. - -CHAPTER XXX.—FAREWELL TO THEBES. - -CHAPTER XXXI.—LOITERING BY THE WAY. - -CHAPTER XXXII.—JOTTINGS. - -CHAPTER XXXIII.—THE KHEDIVE. - -CHAPTER XXXIV.—THE WOODEN MAN. - -CHAPTER XXXV.—ON THE WAY HOME. - -CHAPTER XXXVI.—BY THE RED SEA. - -CHAPTER XXXVII.—“EASTWARD HO!” - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE. - -“My Winter on the Nile,” and its sequel, “In the Levant,” which record -the experiences and observations of an Oriental journey, were both -published in 1876; but as this volume was issued only by subscription, -it has never reached the large public which is served by the general -book trade. - -It is now republished and placed within the reach of those who have read -“In the Levant.” Advantage has been taken of its reissue to give it a -careful revision, which, however, has not essentially changed it. Since -it was written the Khedive of so many ambitious projects has given way -to his son, Tufik Pasha; but I have let stand what was written of Ismail -Pasha for whatever historical value it may possess. In other respects, -what was written of the country and the mass of the people in 1876 -is true now. The interest of Americans in the land of the oldest -civilization has greatly increased within the past few years, and -literature relating to the Orient is in more demand than at any previous -time. - -The brief and incidental allusion in the first chapter to the -peculiarity in the construction of the oldest temple at Pæstum—a -peculiarity here for the first time, so far as I can find, described in -print—is worthy the attention of archaeologists. The use of curved -lines in this so-called Temple of Neptune is more marked than in the -Parthenon, and is the secret of its fascination. The relation of this -secret to the irregularities of such mediaeval buildings as the Duomo at -Pisa is obvious. - -Hartford, October, 1880. C. D. W. - - - - - -0020 - -CHAPT. I.—AT THE GATES OF THE EAST. - -The Mediterranean—The East unlike the West—A World risked for a Woman—An -Unchanging World and a Pickle Sea—Still an Orient—Old Fashions—A Journey -without Reasons—Off for the Orient—Leaving Naples—A Shaky Court—A -Deserted District—Ruins of Pæstum—Temple of Neptune—Entrance to -Purgatory—Safety Valves of the World—Enterprising Natives—Sunset on the -Sea—Sicily—Crete—Our Passengers—The Hottest place on Record—An American -Tourist—An Evangelical Dentist—On a Secret Mission—The Vanquished -Dignitary - -CHAPT. II.—WITHIN THE PORTALS. - -Africa—Alexandria—Strange Contrasts—A New World—Nature—First View of -the Orient—Hotel Europe—Mixed Nationalities—The First Backsheesh—Street -Scenes in Alexandria—Familiar Pictures Idealized—Cemetery Day—A Novel -Turn Out—A Moslem Cemetery—New Terrors for Death—Pompey's Pillar—Our -First Camel—Along the Canal—Departed Glory—A set of Fine Fellows—Our -Handsome Dragomen—Bazaars—Universal Good Humor—A Continuous -Holiday—Private life in Egypt—Invisible Blackness—The Land of Color and -the Sun—A Casino - -CHAPT. III.—EGYPT OF TO-DAY. - -Railways—Our Valiant Dragomen—A Hand-to-Hand Struggle—Alexandria -to Cairo—Artificial Irrigation—An Arab Village—The Nile—Egyptian -Festivals—Pyramids of Geezeh—Cairo—Natural Queries. - -CHAPT. IV.—CAIRO. - -A Rhapsody—At Shepherd's—Hotel life, Egyptian plan—English Noblemen—Life -in the Streets—The Valuable Donkey and his Driver—The “swell tiling” -in Cairo—A hint for Central Park—Eunuchs—“Yankee Doodles” of Cairo—A -Representative Arab—Selecting Dragomen—The Great Business of Egypt—An -Egyptian Market-Place—A Substitute for Clothes—Dahabeëhs of the Nile—A -Protracted Negotiation—Egyptian wiles - -CHAPT. V.—ON THE BAZAAR. - -Sight Seeing in Cairo—An Eastern Bazaar—Courteous Merchants—The Honored -Beggar—Charity to be Rewarded—A Moslem Funeral—The Gold Bazaar—Shopping -for a Necklace—Conducting a Bride Home—A Partnership matter—Early -Marriages and Decay—Longings for Youth - -CHAPT. VI.—MOSQUES AND TOMBS. - -The Sirocco—The Desert—The Citadel of Cairo—Scene of the Massacre of -the Memlooks—The World's Verdict—The Mosque of Mohammed Ali—Tomb of the -Memlook Sultans—Life out of Death - -CHAPT. VII.—MOSLEM WORSHIP—THE CALL TO -PRATER. - -An Enjoyable City—Definition of Conscience—“Prayer is better -than Sleep”—Call of the Muezzin—Moslems at Prayer—Interior of a -Mosque—Oriental Architecture—The Slipper Fitters—Devotional Washing—An -Inman's Supplications - -CHAPT. VIII.—THE PYRAMIDS. - -Ancient Sepulchres—Grave Robbers—The Poor Old Mummy—The Oldest Monument -in the World—First View of the Pyramids—The resident Bedaween—Ascending -the Steps—Patent Elevators—A View from the Top—The Guide's -Opinions—Origin of “Murray's Guide Book”—Speculations on the -Pyramids—The Interior—Absolute Night—A Taste of Death—The -Sphinx—Domestic Life in a Tomb—Souvenirs of Ancient Egypt—Backsheesh! - - -CHAPT. IX.—PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. - -A Weighty Question—The Seasons Bewitched—Poetic Dreams Realized—Egyptian -Music—Public Garden—A Wonderful Rock—Its Patrons—The Playing Band—Native -Love Songs—The Howling Derweeshes—An Exciting Performance—The Shakers -put to Shame—Descendants of the Prophet—An Ancient Saracenic Home—The -Land of the Elea and the Copt—Historical Curiosities—Preparing for -our Journey—Laying in of Medicines and Rockets—A Determination to be -Liberal—Official life in Egypt—An Interview with the Bey—Paying for our -Rockets—A Walking Treasury—Waiting for Wind - -CHAPT. X.—ON THE NILE. - -On Board the “Rip Van Winkle”—A Farewell Dinner—The Three Months Voyage -Commenced—On the Nile—Our Pennant's Device—Our Dahabeëh—Its Officers -and Crew—Types of Egyptian Races—The Kingdom of the “Stick”—The false -Pyramid of Maydoon—A Night on the River—Curious Crafts—Boat Races on -the Nile—Native Villages—Songs of the Sailors—Incidents of the Day—The -Copts—The Patriarch—The Monks of Gebel é Tayr—Disappointment all Round—A -Royal Luxury—The Banks of the Nile—Gum Arabic—Unfair Reports of us—Speed -of our Dahabeëh—Egyptian Bread—Hasheesh-Smoking—Egyptian Robbers—Sitting -in Darkness—Agriculture—Gathering of Taxes—Successful Voyaging - -CHAPT. -XI.—PEOPLE ON THE RIVER BANK. - -Sunday on the Nile—A Calm—A Land of Tombs—A New Divinity—Burial of -a Child—A Sunday Companion on Shore—A Philosophical People—No Sunday -Clothes—The Aristocratic Bedaween—The Sheykh—Rare Specimens for the -Centennial—Tracts Needed—Woman's Rights—Pigeons and Cranes—Balmy Winter -Nights—Tracking—Copying Nature in Dress—Resort of Crocodiles—A Hermit's -Cave—Waiting for Nothing—Crocodile Mummies—The Boatmen's Song—Furling -Sails—Life Again—Pictures on the Nile. - -CHAPT. XII.—SPENDING CHRISTMAS ON -THE NILE. - -Independence in Spelling—Asioot—Christmas Day—The American Consul—A -Visit to the Pasha—Conversing by an Interpreter—The Ghawazees at -Home—Ancient Sculpture—Bird's Eye View of the Nile—Our Christmas -Dinner—Our Visitor—Grand Reception—The Fire Works—Christmas Eve on the -Nile - -CHAPT. XIII.—SIGHTS AND SCENES ON THE RIVER. - -Ancient and Modern Ruins—“We Pay Toll—Cold Weather—Night -Sailing—Farshoot—A Visit from the Bey—The Market-Place—The Sakiyas or -Water Wheels—The Nile is Egypt - -CHAPT. XIV.—MIDWINTER IN EGYPT. - -Midwinter in Egypt—Slaves of Time—Where the Water Jars are Made—Coming -to Anchor and how it was Done—New Years—” Smits” Copper Popularity—Great -Strength of the Women—Conscripts for the Army—Conscription a Good -Thing—On the Threshold of Thebes - -CHAPT. XV.—AMONG THE RUINS OF THEBES. - -Situation of the City—Ruins—Questions—Luxor—Ivarnak—Glorification of -the Pharaohs—Sculptures in Stone—The Twin Colossi—Four Hundred Miles in -Sixteen Days - -CHAPT. XVI.—HISTORY IN STONE. - -A Dry City—A Strange Circumstance—A Pleasant Residence—Life on the -Dahabeëh—Illustrious Visitors—Nose-Rings and Beauty—Little Fatimeh—A -Mummy Hand and Thoughts upon it—Plunder of the Tombs—Exploits of the -Great Sesostris—Gigantic Statues and their Object—Skill of Ancient -Artists—Criticisms—Christian Churches and Pagan Temples—Society—A Peep -into an Ancient Harem—Statue of Meiùnon—Mysteries—Pictures of Heroic -Girls—Women in History - -CHAPT. XVII.—KARNAK. - -An Egyptian Carriage—Wonderful Ruins—The Great Hall of Sethi—The -Largest Obelisk in The World—A City of Temples and Palaces - - - -CHAPT. -XVIII.—ASCENDING THE RIVER. - -Ascending the River—An Exciting Boat Race—Inside a Sugar Factory—Setting -Fire to a Town—Who Stole the Rockets?—Striking Contrasts—A Jail—The Kodi -or Judge—What we saw at Assouan—A Gale—Ruins of Kom Ombos—Mysterious -Movement—Land of Eternal Leisure - -CHAPT. XIX.—PASSING THE CATARACT OF THE -NILE. - -Passing the Cataract of the Nile—Nubian Hills in Sight—Island -of Elephantine—Ownership of the Cataract—Difficulties of the -Ascent—Negotiations for a Passage—Items about Assouan—Off for the -Cataracts—Our Cataract Crew—First Impressions of the Cataract—In -the Stream—Excitement—Audacious Swimmers—Close Steering—A Comical -Orchestra—The Final Struggle—Victory—Above the Rapids—The Temple of -Isis—Ancient Kings and Modern Conquerors - -CHAPT. XX.—ON THE BORDERS OF -THE DESERT. - -Ethiopia—Relatives of the Ethiopians—Negro Land—Ancestry of the -Negro—Conversion Made Easy—A Land of Negative Blessings—Cool air -from the Desert—Abd-el-Atti's Opinions—A Land of Comfort—Nubian -Costumes—Turning the Tables—The Great Desert—Sin, Grease and Taxes - - -CHAPT. XXI.—ETHIOPIA. - -Primitive Attire—The Snake Charmer—A House full of Snakes—A Writ of -Ejectments—Natives—The Tomb of Mohammed—Disasters—A Dandy Pilate—Nubian -Beauty—Opening a Baby's Eyes—A Nubian Pigville - -CHAPT. XXII.—LIFE IN THE -TROPICS—WADY HALFA. - -Life in the Tropics—Wady Haifa—Capital of Nubia—The Centre of -Fashion—The Southern Cross—Castor Oil Plantations—Justice to a -Thief—Abd-el-Atti's Court—Mourning for the Dead—Extreme of our Journey—A -Comical Celebration—The March of Civilization. - -CHAPT. XXIII.—APPROACHING -THE SECOND CATARACT. - -Two Ways to See It—Pleasures of Canal Riding—Bird's Eye View of the -Cataracts—Signs of Wealth—Wady Haifa—A Nubian Belle—Classic Beauty—A -Greek Bride—Interviewing a Crocodile—Joking with a Widow—A Model Village - - -CHAPT. XXIV.—GIANTS IN STONE. - -The Colossi of Aboo Simbel, the largest in the World—Bombast—Exploits of -Remeses II.—A Mysterious Temple—Feting Ancient Deities—Guardians of the -Nile—The Excavated Rock—The Temple—A Row of Sacred Monkeys—Our Last View -of The Giants - -CHAPT. XXV.—FLITTING THROUGH NUBIA. - -Learning the Language—Models of Beauty—Cutting up a Crocodile—Egyptian -Loafers—A Modern David—A Present—Our Menagerie—The Chameleon—Woman's -Rights—False Prophets—Incidents—The School Master at Home—Confusion—Too -Much Conversion—Charity—Wonderful Birds at Mecca - -CHAPT. XXVI.—MYSTERIOUS -PHILÆ. - -Leave “well enough” Alone—The Myth of Osiris—The Heights of -Biggeh—Cleopatra's Favorite Spot—A Legend—Mr. Fiddle—Dreamland—Waiting -for a Prince—An Inland Excursion—Quarries—Adieu - -CHAPT. XXVII.—RETURNING - -Downward Run—Kidnapping a Sheykh—Blessed with Relatives—Making the -Chute—Artless Children—A Model of Integrity—Justice—An Accident—Leaving -Nubia—A Perfect Shame - -CHAPT. XXVIII.—MODERN FACTS AND ANCIENT MEMORIES. - -The Mysterious Pebble—Ancient Quarries—Prodigies of Labor—Humor -in Stone—A Simoon—Famous Grottoes—Naughty Attractions—Bogus -Relics—Antiquity Smith - -CHAPT. XXIX.—THE FUTURE OF THE MUMMY'S SOUL. - -Ancient Egyptian Literature—Mummies—A Visit to the Tombs—Disturbing -the Dead—The Funeral Ritual—Unpleasant Explorations A Mummy in Pledge—A -Desolate Way—Buried Secrets—Building for Eternity—Before the -Judgment Seat—Weighed in the Balance The Habitation of the -Dead—Illuminated—Accommodations for the Mummy—The Pharaoh of the -Exodus—A Baby Charon—Bats - -CHAPT. XXX.—FAREWELL TO THEBES. - -Social Festivities—An Oriental Dinner—Dancing Girls—Honored by the -Sultan—The Native Consul—Finger Feeding—A Dance—Ancient Style -of Dancing—The Poetry of Night—Karnak by Moonlight—Amusements at -Luxor—Farewell to Thebes - -CHAPT. XXXI.—LOITERING BY THE WAY. - -“Very Grammatick”—The Lying in Temple—A Holy Man—Scarecrows—Asinine -Performers—Antiquity—Old Masters—Profit and Loss—Hopeless -“Fellahs”—Lion's Oil—A Bad Reputation—An Egyptian Mozart - -CHAPT. -XXXII.—JOTTINGS. - -Mission School—Education of Women—Contrasts—A Mirage—Tracks of -Successive Ages—Bathers—Tombs of the Sacred Bulls—Religion -and Grammar—Route to Darfoor—Winter Residence of the Holy -Family—Grottoes—Mistaken Views—Dust and Ashes—Osman Bey—A Midsummer's -Night Dream—Ruins of Memphis—Departed Glory—A Second Visit to the -Pyramids of Geezeh—An Artificial Mother - -CHAPT. XXXIII.—THE KHEDIVE. - -Al Gezereh—Aboo Yusef the Owner—Cairo Again—A Question—The -Khedive—Solomon and the Viceroy—The Khedive's Family Expenses—Another -Joseph—Personal Government—Docks of Cairo—Raising Mud—Popular -Superstitions—Leave Taking - -CHAPT. XXXIV.—THE WOODEN MAN. - -Visiting a Harem—A Reception—The Khedive at Home—Ladies of the -Harem—Wife of Tufik Pasha—The Mummy—The Wooden Man Discoveries of -Mariette Bey—Egypt and Greece Compared—Learned Opinions - -CHAPT. XXXV.—ON -THE WAY HOME. - -Leaving our Dahabeeh—The Baths in Cairo—Curious Mode of Execution—The -Guzeereh Palace—Empress Eugenia's Sleeping Room—Medallion of Benjamin -Franklin in Egypt—Heliopolis—The Bedaween Bride—Holy Places—The Resting -Place of the Virgin Mary—Fashionable Drives—The Shoobra Palace—Forbidden -Books—A Glimpse of a Bevy of Ladies—Uncomfortable Guardians. - -CHAPT. -XXXVI.—BY THE RED SEA. - -Following the Track of the Children of Israel—Routes to -Suez—Temples—Where was the Red Sea Crossed?—In sight of the Bitter -Lakes—Approaching the Red Sea—Faith—The Suez Canal—The Wells of Moses—A -Sentimental Pilgrimage—Price of one of the Wells—Miriam of Marah—Water -of the Wells—Returning to Suez—A Caravan of Bedaweens—Lunch -Baskets searched by Custom Officers—The Commerce of the East - -CHAPT. -XXXVII.—EASTWARD HO. - -Leaving Suez—Ismailia—The Lotus—A Miracle—Egyptian Steamer—Information -Sought—The Great Highway—Port Said—Abd-el-Atti again—Great Honors -Lost—Farewell to Egypt - - - -0028 - - - - -CHAPTER I.—AT THE GATES OF THE EAST. - -THE Mediterranean still divides the East from the West. Ages of traffic -and intercourse across its waters have not changed this fact; neither -the going of armies nor of embassies, Northmen forays nor Saracenic -maraudings, Christian crusades nor Turkish invasions, neither the -borrowing from Egypt of its philosophy and science, nor the stealing -of its precious monuments of antiquity, down to its bones, not all the -love-making, slave-trading, war-waging, not all the commerce of four -thousand years, by oar and sail and steam, have sufficed to make the -East like the West. - -Half the world was lost at Actium, they like to say, for the sake of a -woman; but it was the half that I am convinced we never shall gain—for -though the Romans did win it they did not keep it long, and they made -no impression on it that is not, compared with its own individuality, -as stucco to granite. And I suppose there is not now and never will be -another woman in the East handsome enough to risk a world for. - -There, across the most fascinating and fickle sea in the world—a -feminine sea, inconstant as lovely, all sunshine and tears in a moment, -reflecting in its quick mirror in rapid succession the skies of grey -and of blue, the weather of Europe and of Africa, a sea of romance and -nausea—lies a world in Everything unlike our own, a world perfectly -known yet never familiar and never otherwise than strange to the -European and American. I had supposed it otherwise; I had been led to -think that modern civilization had more or less transformed the East -to its own likeness; that, for instance the railway up the Nile had -practically “done for” that historic stream. They say that if you run -a red-hot nail through an orange, the fruit will keep its freshness and -remain unchanged a long time. The thrusting of the iron into Egypt may -arrest decay, but it does not appear to change the country. - -There is still an Orient, and I believe there would be if it were all -canaled, and railwayed, and converted; for I have great faith in habits -that have withstood the influence of six or seven thousand years of -changing dynasties and religions. Would you like to go a little way with -me into this Orient? - -The old-fashioned travelers had a formal fashion of setting before the -reader the reasons that induced them to take the journey they described; -and they not unfrequently made poor health an apology for their -wanderings, judging that that excuse would be most readily accepted for -their eccentric conduct. “Worn out in body and mind we set sail,” etc.; -and the reader was invited to launch in a sort of funereal bark upon -the Mediterranean and accompany an invalid in search of his last -resting-place. - -There was in fact no reason why we should go to Egypt—a remark that the -reader will notice is made before he has a chance to make it—and there -is no reason why any one indisposed to do so should accompany us. If -information is desired, there are whole libraries of excellent books -about the land of the Pharaohs, ancient and modern, historical, -archaeological, statistical, theoretical, geographical; if amusement -is wanted, there are also excellent books, facetious and sentimental. I -suppose that volumes enough have been written about Egypt to cover every -foot of its arable soil if they were spread out, or to dam the Nile if -they were dumped into it, and to cause a drought in either case if they -were not all interesting and the reverse of dry. There is therefore no -onus upon the traveler in the East to-day to write otherwise than suits -his humor; he may describe only what he chooses. With this distinct -understanding I should like the reader to go with me through a winter in -the Orient. Let us say that we go to escape winter. - -It is the last of November, 1874—the beginning of what proved to be the -bitterest winter ever known in America and Europe, and I doubt not it -was the first nip of the return of the rotary glacial period—that we go -on board a little Italian steamer in the harbor of Naples, reaching it -in a row-boat and in a cold rain. The deck is wet and dismal; Vesuvius -is invisible, and the whole sweep of the bay is hid by a slanting mist. -Italy has been in a shiver for a month; snow on the Alban hills and in -the Tusculan theatre; Rome was as chilly as a stone tomb with the door -left open. Naples is little better; Boston, at any season, is better -than Naples—now. - -We steam slowly down the harbor amid dripping ships, losing all sight of -villages and the lovely coast; only Capri comes out comely in the haze, -an island cut like an antique cameo. Long after dark we see the light on -it and also that of the Punta della Campanella opposite, friendly beams -following us down the coast. We are off Pæstum,' and I can feel that its -noble temple is looming there in the darkness. This ruin is in some sort -a door into, an introduction to, the East. - -Pæstum has been a deadly marsh for eighteen hundred years, and deserted -for almost a thousand. Nettles and unsightly brambles have taken the -place of the “roses of Pæstum” of which the Roman poets sang; but still -as a poetic memory, the cyclamen trails among the debris of the old -city; and the other day I found violets waiting for a propitious -season to bloom. The sea has retired away from the site of the town -and broadened the marsh in front of it. There are at Pæstum three -Greek temples, called, no one can tell why, the Temple of Neptune, the -Basilica, and the Temple of Ceres; remains of the old town wall and -some towers; a tumbledown house or two, and a wretched tavern. The -whole coast is subject to tremors of the earth, and the few inhabitants -hanging about there appear to have had all their bones shaken out of -them by the fever and ague. - -We went down one raw November morning from Naples, driving from a -station on the Calabrian railway, called Battipaglia, about twelve miles -over a black marshy plain, relieved only by the bold mountains, on -the right and left. This plain is gradually getting reclaimed and -cultivated; there is raised on it inferior cotton and some of the vile -tobacco which the government monopoly compels the free Italians to -smoke, and large olive-orchards have been recently set out. The soil is -rich and the country can probably be made habitable again. Now, the -few houses are wretched and the few people squalid. Women were pounding -stone on the road we traveled, even young girls among them wielding the -heavy hammers, and all of them very thinly clad, their one sleazy skirt -giving little protection against the keen air. Of course the women were -hard-featured and coarse-handed; and both they and the men have the -swarthy complexion that may betoken a more Eastern origin. We fancied -that they had a brigandish look. Until recently this plain has been a -favorite field for brigands, who spied the rich traveler from the height -of St. Angelo and pounced upon him if he was unguarded. Now, soldiers -are quartered along the road, patrol the country on horseback, and -lounge about the ruins at Pæstum. Perhaps they retire to some height for -the night, for the district is too unhealthy for an Italian even, whose -health may be of no consequence. They say that if even an Englishman, -who goes merely to shoot woodcock, sleeps there one night, in the right -season, that night will be his last. - -We saw the ruins of Pæstum under a cold grey sky, which harmonized with -their isolation. We saw them best from the side of the sea, with the -snow-sprinkled mountains rising behind for a background. Then they stood -out, impressive, majestic, time-defying. In all Europe there are no -ruins better worthy the study of the admirer of noble architecture than -these. - -The Temple of Neptune is older than the Parthenon, its Doric sister, at -Athens. It was probably built before the Persians of Xerxes occupied the -Acropolis and saw from there the flight of their ruined fleet out of the -Strait of Salamis. It was built when the Doric had attained the acme of -its severe majesty, and it is to-day almost perfect on the exterior. -Its material is a coarse travertine which time and the weather have -honeycombed, showing the petrifications of plants and shells; but of its -thirty-six massive exterior columns not one has fallen, though those on -the north side are so worn by age that the once deep fluting is nearly -obliterated. You may care to know that these columns which are thirty -feet high and seven and a half feet in diameter at the base, taper -symmetrically to the capitals, which are the severest Doric. - -At first we thought the temple small, and did not even realize its two -hundred feet of length, but the longer we looked at it the larger it -grew to the eye, until it seemed to expand into gigantic size; and -from whatever point it was viewed its harmonious proportions were an -increasing delight. The beauty is not in any ornament, for even the -pediment is and always was vacant, but in its admirable lines. - -The two other temples are fine specimens of Greek architecture, also -Doric, pure and without fault, with only a little tendency to depart -from severe simplicity in the curve of the capitals, and yet they did -not interest us. They are of a period only a little later than the -Temple of Neptune, and that model was before their builders, yet they -missed the extraordinary, many say almost spiritual beauty of that -edifice. We sought the reason, and found it in the fact that there are -absolutely no straight lines in the Temple of Neptune. The side rows of -columns curve a little out; the end rows curve a little in; at the -ends the base line of the columns curves a trifle from the sides to the -center, and the line of the architrave does the same. This may bewilder -the eye and mislead the judgment as to size and distance, but the effect -is more agreeable than almost any other I know in architecture. It is -not repeated in the other temples, the builders of which do not seem to -have known its secret. Had the Greek colony lost the art of this -perfect harmony, in the little time that probably intervened between the -erection of these edifices? It was still kept at Athens, as the Temple -of Theseus and the Parthenon testify. - -Looking from the interior of the temple out at either end, the entrance -seems to be wider at the top than at the bottom, an Egyptian effect -produced by the setting of the inward and outer columns. This appeared -to us like a door through which we looked into Egypt, that mother of all -arts and of most of the devices of this now confused world. We were -on our way to see the first columns, prototypes of the Doric order, -chiselled by man. - -The custodian—there is one, now that twenty centuries of war and rapine -and storms have wreaked themselves upon this temple—would not permit us -to take our luncheon into its guarded precincts; on a fragment of the -old steps, amid the weeds we drank our red Capri wine; not the usual -compound manufactured at Naples, but the last bottle of pure Capri to -be found on the island, so help the soul of the landlady at the hotel -there; ate one of those imperfectly nourished Italian chicken's orphan -birds, owning the pitiful legs with which the table d'hote frequenters -in Italy are so familiar, and blessed the government for the care, tardy -as it is, of its grandest monument of antiquity. - -When I looked out of the port-hole of the steamer early in the morning, -we were near the volcanic Lipari islands and islets, a group of -seventeen altogether; which serve as chimneys and safety-valves to this -part of the world. One of the small ones is of recent creation, at least -it was heaved up about two thousand years ago, and I fancy that a new -one may pop up here any time. From the time of the Trojan war all sorts -of races and adventurers have fought for the possession of these coveted -islands, and the impartial earthquake has shaken them all off in turn. -But for the mist, we should have clearly seen Stromboli, the ever-active -volcano, but now we can only say we saw it. We are near it, however, -and catch its outline, and listen for the groans of lost souls which the -credulous crusaders used to hear issuing from its depths. It was at -that time the entrance of purgatory; we read in the guide-book that the -crusaders implored the monks of Cluny to intercede for the deliverance -of those confined there, and that therefore Odilo of Cluny instituted -the observance of All Souls' Day. - -The climate of Europe still attends us, and our first view of Sicily -is through the rain. Clouds hide the coast and obscure the base of Ætna -(which is oddly celebrated in America as an assurance against loss by -fire); but its wide fields of snow, banked up high above the clouds, -gleam as molten silver—treasure laid up in heaven—and give us the light -of the rosy morning. - -Rounding the point of Faro, the locale of Charybdis and Scylla, we come -into the harbor of Messina and take shelter behind the long, curved -horn of its mole. Whoever shunned the beautiful Scylla was liable to be -sucked into the strong tide Charybdis; but the rock has lost its terror -for moderns, and the current is no longer dangerous. We get our last -dash of rain in this strait, and there is sunny weather and blue sky at -the south. The situation of Messina is picturesque; the shores both of -Calabria and Sicily are mountainous, precipitous and very rocky; there -seems to be no place for vegetation except by terracing. The town is -backed by lofty circling mountains, which form a dark setting for its -white houses and the string of outlying villages. Mediaeval forts cling -to the slopes above it. - -No sooner is the anchor down than a fleet of boats surrounds the -steamer, and a crowd of noisy men and boys swarms on board, to sell us -muscles, oranges, and all sorts of merchandise, from a hair-brush to -an under-wrapper. The Sunday is hopelessly broken into fragments in a -minute. These lively traders use the English language and its pronouns -with great freedom. The boot-black smilingly asks: “You black my boot?” - -The vender of under-garments says: “I gif you four franc for dis one. I -gif you for dese two a seven franc. No? What you gif?” - -A bright orange-boy, we ask, “How much a dozen?” - -“Half franc.” - -“Too much.” - -“How much you give? Tast him; he ver good; a sweet orange; you no like, -you no buy. Yes, sir. Tak one. This a one, he sweet no more.” - -And they were sweet no more. They must have been lemons in oranges' -clothing. The flattering tongue of that boy and our greed of tropical -color made us owners of a lot of them, most of which went overboard -before we reached Alexandria, and would make fair lemonade of the streak -of water we passed through. - -At noon we sail away into the warm south. We have before us the -beautiful range of Aspromonte, and the village of Reggio bear which -in 1862 Garibaldi received one of his wounds, a sort of inconvenient -love-pat of fame. The coast is rugged and steep. High up is an isolated -Gothic rock, pinnacled and jagged. Close by the shore we can trace the -railway track which winds round the point of Italy, and some of the -passengers look at it longingly; for though there is clear sky overhead, -the sea has on an ungenerous swell; and what is blue sky to a stomach -that knows its own bitterness and feels the world sinking away from -under it? - -We are long in sight of Italy, but Sicily still sulks in the clouds and -Mount Ætna will not show itself. The night is bright and the weather has -become milder; it is the prelude to a day calm and uninteresting. Nature -rallies at night, however, and gives us a sunset in a pale gold sky with -cloud-islands on the horizon and palm-groves on them. The stars come out -in extraordinary profusion and a soft brilliancy unknown in New England, -and the sky is of a tender blue—something delicate and not to -be enlarged upon. A sunset is something that no one will accept -second-hand. - -On the morning of December 1st., we are off Crete; Greece we have left -to the north, and are going at ten knots an hour towards great hulking -Africa. We sail close to the island and see its long, high barren coast -till late in the afternoon. There is no road visible on this side, nor -any sign of human habitation, except a couple of shanties perched high -up among the rocks. From this point of view, Crete is a mass of naked -rock lifted out of the waves. Mount Ida crowns it, snow-capped and -gigantic. Just below Crete spring up in our geography the little islands -of Gozo and Antigozo, merely vast rocks, with scant patches of low -vegetation on the cliffs, a sort of vegetable blush, a few stunted trees -on the top of the first, and an appearance of grass which has a reddish -color. - -The weather is more and more delightful, a balmy atmosphere brooding on -a smooth sea. The chill which we carried in our bones from New York -to Naples finally melts away. Life ceases to be a mere struggle, -and becomes a mild enjoyment. The blue tint of the sky is beyond all -previous comparison delicate, like the shade of a silk, fading at the -horizon into an exquisite grey or nearly white. We are on deck all day -and till late at night, for once enjoying, by the help of an awning, -real winter weather with the thermometer at seventy-two degrees. - -Our passengers are not many, but selected. There are a German baron and -his sparkling wife, delightful people, who handle the English language -as delicately as if it were glass, and make of it the most naïve and -interesting form of speech. They are going to Cairo for the winter, and -the young baroness has the longing and curiosity regarding the land of -the sun, which is peculiar to the poetical Germans; she has never seen a -black man nor a palm-tree. In charge of the captain, there is an Italian -woman, whose husband lives in Alexandria, who monopolizes the whole -of the ladies' cabin, by a league with the slatternly stewardess, and -behaves in a manner to make a state of war and wrath between her and -the rest of the passengers. There is nothing bitterer than the hatred of -people for each other on shipboard. When I afterwards saw this woman in -the streets of Alexandria I had scarcely any wish to shorten her stay -upon this earth. There are also two tough-fibered and strong-brained -dissenting ministers from Australia, who have come round by the Sandwich -Islands and the United States, and are booked for Palestine, the Suez -Canal and the Red Sea. Speaking of Aden, which has the reputation of -being as hot as Constantinople is wicked, one of them tells the story -of an American (the English have a habit of fastening all their dubious -anecdotes upon “an American”) who said that if he owned two places, -one in Aden and the other in H——, he would sell the one in Aden. These -ministers are distinguished lecturers at home—a solemn thought, that -even the most distant land is subjected to the blessing of the popular -lecture. - -Our own country is well represented, as it usually is abroad, whether by -appointment or self-selection. It is said that the oddest people in the -world go up the Nile and make the pilgrimage of Palestine. I have even -heard that one must be a little cracked who will give a whole winter to -high Egypt; but this is doubtless said by those who cannot afford to go. -Notwithstanding the peculiarities of so many of those one meets drifting -around the East (as eccentric as the English who frequent Italian -pensions) it must be admitted that a great many estimable and apparently -sane people go up the Nile—and that such are even found among Cook's -“personally conducted.” - -There is on board an American, or a sort of Irish-American more or less -naturalized, from Nebraska, a raw-boned, hard-featured farmer, abroad -for a two-years' tour; a man who has no guide-book or literature, except -the Bible which he diligently reads. He has spent twenty or thirty years -in acquiring and subduing land in the new country, and without any time -or taste for reading, there has come with his possessions a desire to -see that old world about which he cared nothing before he breathed the -vitalizing air of the West. That he knew absolutely nothing of Europe, -Asia, or Africa, except the little patch called Palestine, and found a -day in Rome too much for a place so run down, was actually none of our -business. He was a good patriotic American, and the only wonder was that -with his qualification he had not been made consul somewhere. - -But a more interesting person, in his way, was a slender, no-blooded, -youngish, married man, of the vegetarian and vegetable school, also -alone, and bound for the Holy Land, who was sick of the sea and -otherwise. He also was without books of travel, and knew nothing of -what he was going to see or how to see it. Of what Egypt was he had the -dimmest notion, and why we or he or anyone else should go there. What -do you go up the Nile for? we asked. The reply was that the Spirit had -called him to go through Egypt to Palestine. He had been a dentist, but -now he called himself an evangelist. I made the mistake of supposing -that he was one of those persons who have a call to go about and -convince people that religion is one part milk (skimmed) and three parts -water—harmless, however, unless you see too much of them. Twice is -too much. But I gauged him inadequately. He is one of those few who -comprehend the future, and, guided wholly by the Spirit and not by any -scripture or tradition, his mission is to prepare the world for its -impending change. He is en rapport with the vast uneasiness, which I do -not know how to name, that pervades all lands. He had felt our war in -advance. He now feels a great change in the air; he is illuminated by an -inner light that makes him clairvoyant. America is riper than it knows -for this change. I tried to have him definitely define it, so that I -could write home to my friends and the newspapers and the insurance -companies; but I could only get a vague notion that there was about to -be an end of armies and navies and police, of all forms of religion, of -government, of property, and that universal brotherhood is to set in. - -The evangelist had come aboard on an important and rather secret -mission; to observe the progress of things in Europe; and to publish his -observations in a book. Spiritualized as he was, he had no need of -any language except the American; he felt the political and religious -atmosphere of all the cities he visited without speaking to any one. -When he entered a picture gallery, although he knew nothing of pictures, -he saw more than any one else. I suppose he saw more than Mr. Ruskin -sees. He told me, among other valuable information, that he found Europe -not so well prepared for the great movement as America, but that I would -be surprised at the number who were in sympathy with it, especially -those in high places in society and in government. The Roman Catholic -Church was going to pieces; not that he cared any more for this than for -the Presbyterian—he, personally, took what was good in any church, -but he had got beyond them all; he was now only working for the -establishment of the truth, and it was because he had more of the truth -than others that he could see further. - -He expected that America would be surprised when he published his -observations. “I can give you a little idea,” he said, “of how things -are working.” This talk was late at night, and by the dim cabin lamp. -“When I was in Rome, I went to see the head-man of the Pope. I talked -with him over an hour, and I found that he knew all about it!” - -“Good gracious! You don't say so!” - -“Yes, sir. And he is in full sympathy. But he dare not say anything. -He knows that his church is on its last legs. I told him that I did -not care to see the Pope, but if he wanted to meet me, and discuss the -infallibility question, I was ready for him.” - -“What did the Pope's head-man say to that?” - -“He said that he would see the Pope, and see if he could arrange an -interview; and would let me know. I waited a week in Rome, but no notice -came. I tell you the Pope don't dare discuss it.” - -“Then he didn't see you?” - -“No, sir. But I wrote him a letter from Naples.” - -“Perhaps he won't answer it.” - -“Well, if he doesn't, that is a confession that he can't. He leaves the -field. That will satisfy me.” - -I said I thought he would be satisfied. - -The Mediterranean enlarges on acquaintance. On the fourth day we are -still without sight of Africa, though the industrious screw brings us -nearer every moment. We talk of Carthage, and think we can see the color -of the Libyan sand in the yellow clouds at night. It is two o'clock -on the morning of December the third, when we make the Pharos of -Alexandria, and wait for a pilot. - - - -0039 - - - -0040 - - - - -CHAPTER II.—WITHIN THE PORTALS. - -EAGERNESS to see Africa brings us on deck at dawn. The low coast is not -yet visible. Africa, as we had been taught, lies in heathen darkness. It -is the policy of the Egyptian government to make the harbor difficult -of access to hostile men-of-war, and we, who are peacefully inclined, -cannot come in till daylight, nor then without a pilot. - -The day breaks beautifully, and the Pharos is set like a star in the -bright streak of the East. Before we can distinguish land, we see the -so-called Pompey's Pillar and the light-house, the palms, the minarets, -and the outline of the domes painted on the straw-color of the sky—a -dream-like picture. The curtain draws up with Eastern leisure—the sun -appears to rise more deliberately in the Orient than elsewhere; the -sky grows more brilliant, there are long lines of clouds, golden and -crimson, and we seem to be looking miles and miles into an enchanted -country. Then ships and boats, a vast number of them, become visible -in the harbor, and as the light grows stronger, the city and land lose -something of their beauty, but the sky grows more softly fiery till the -sun breaks through. The city lies low along the flat coast, and seems -at first like a brownish white streak, with fine lines of masts, -palm-trees, and minarets above it. - -The excitement of the arrival in Alexandria and the novelty of -everything connected with the landing can never be repeated. In one -moment the Orient flashes upon the bewildered traveler; and though he -may travel far and see stranger sights, and penetrate the hollow shell -of Eastern mystery, he never will see again at once such a complete -contrast to all his previous experience. One strange, unfamiliar form -takes the place of another so rapidly that there is no time to fix -an impression, and everything is so bizarre that the new-comer has no -points of comparison. He is launched into a new world, and has no time -to adjust the focus of his observation. For myself, I wished the -Orient would stand off a little and stand still so that I could try -to comprehend it. But it would not; a revolving kaleidoscope never -presented more bewildering figures and colors to a child, than the port -of Alexandria to us. - -Our first sight of strange dress is that of the pilot and the crew who -bring him off—they are Nubians, he is a swarthy Egyptian. “How black -they are,” says the Baroness; “I don't like it.” As the pilot steps on -deck, in his white turban, loose robe of cotton, and red slippers, -he brings the East with him; we pass into the influence of the Moslem -spirit. Coming into the harbor we have pointed out to us the batteries, -the palace and harem of the Pasha (more curiosity is felt about a harem -than about any other building, except perhaps a lunatic asylum), and -the new villas along the curve of the shore. It is difficult to see any -ingress, on account of the crowd of shipping. - -The anchor is not down before we are surrounded by rowboats, six or -eight deep on both sides, with a mob of boatmen and guides, all standing -up and shouting at us in all the broken languages of three continents. -They are soon up the sides and on deck, black, brown, yellow, in -turbans, in tarbooshes, in robes of white, blue, brown, in brilliant -waist-shawls, slippered, and bare-legged, bare-footed, half-naked, -with little on except a pair of cotton drawers and a red fez, eager, -big-eyed, pushing, yelping, gesticulating, seizing hold of passengers -and baggage, and fighting for the possession of the traveler's goods -which seem to him about to be shared among a lot of pirates. I saw a -dazed traveler start to land, with some of his traveling-bags in -one boat, his trunk in a second, and himself in yet a third, and a -commissionaire at each arm attempting to drag him into two others. He -evidently couldn't make up his mind, which to take. - -We have decided upon our hotel, and ask for the commissionaire of it. He -appears. In fact there are twenty or thirty of him. The first one is a -tall, persuasive, nearly naked Ethiop, who declares that he is the only -Simon Pure, and grasps our handbags. Instantly, a fluent, business-like -Alexandrian pushes him aside—“I am the commissionaire”—and is about to -take possession of us. But a dozen others are of like mind, and Babel -begins. We rescue our property, and for ten minutes a lively and most -amusing altercation goes on as to who is the representative of the -hotel. They all look like pirates from the Barbary coast, instead of -guardians of peaceful travelers. Quartering an orange, I stand in the -center of an interesting group, engaged in the most lively discussion, -pushing, howling and fiery gesticulation. The dispute is finally between -two: - -“I Hotel Europe!” - -“I Hotel Europe; he no hotel.” - -“He my brother, all same me.” - -“He! I never see he before,” with a shrug of the utmost contempt. - -As soon as we select one of them, the tumult subsides, the enemies -become friends and cordially join in loading our luggage. In the first -five minutes of his stay in Egypt the traveler learns that he is to -trust and be served by people who haven't the least idea that lying is -not a perfectly legitimate means of attaining any desirable end. And he -begins to lose any prejudice he may have in favor of a white complexion -and of clothes. In a decent climate he sees how little clothing is -needed for comfort, and how much artificial nations are accustomed to -put on from false modesty. - -We begin to thread our way through a maze of shipping, and hundreds of -small boats and barges; the scene is gay and exciting beyond expression. -The first sight of the colored, pictured, lounging, waiting Orient is -enough to drive an impressionable person wild; so much that is novel -and picturesque is crowded into a few minutes; so many colors and flying -robes, such a display of bare legs and swarthy figures. We meet flat -boats coming down the harbor loaded with laborers, dark, immobile groups -in turbans and gowns, squatting on deck in the attitude which is the -most characteristic of the East; no one stands or sits—everybody -squats or reposes cross-legged. Soldiers are on the move; smart Turkish -officers dart by in light boats with half a dozen rowers; the crew of an -English man-of-war pull past; in all directions the swift boats fly, and -with their freight of color, it is like the thrusting of quick shuttles, -in the weaving of a brilliant carpet, before our eyes. - -We step on shore at the Custom-House. I have heard travelers complain of -the delay in getting through it. I feel that I want to go slowly, that I -would like to be all day in getting through—that I am hurried along -like a person who is dragged hastily through a gallery, past striking -pictures of which he gets only glimpses. What a group this is on shore; -importunate guides, porters, coolies. They seize hold of us, We want -to stay and look at them. Did ever any civilized men dress so gaily, so -little, or so much in the wrong place? If that fellow would untwist -the folds of his gigantic turban he would have cloth enough to clothe -himself perfectly. Look! that's an East Indian, that's a Greek, that's -a Turk that's a Syrian-Jew? No, he's Egyptian, the crook-nose is not -uncommon to Egyptians, that tall round hat is Persian, that one is from -Abys—there they go, we haven't half seen them! We leave our passports at -the entrance, and are whisked through into the baggage-room, where our -guide pays a noble official three francs for the pleasure of his chance -acquaintance; some nearly naked coolie-porters, who bear long cords, -carry off our luggage, and before we know it we are in a carriage, and a -rascally guide and interpreter—Heaven knows how he fastened himself upon -us in the last five minutes—is on the box and apparently owns us? (It -took us half a day and liberal backsheesh to get rid of the evil-eyed -fellow) We have gone only a little distance when half a dozen of the -naked coolies rush after us, running by the carriage and laying hold of -it, demanding backsheesh. It appears that either the boatman has cheated -them, or they think he will, or they havn't had enough. Nobody trusts -anybody else, and nobody is ever satisfied with what he gets, in Egypt. -These blacks, in their dirty white gowns, swinging their porter's ropes -and howling like madmen, pursue us a long way and look as if they -would tear us in pieces. But nothing comes of it. We drive to the Place -Mehemet Ali, the European square,—having nothing Oriental about it, -a square with an equestrian statue of Mehemet Ali, some trees and a -fountain—surrounded by hotels, bankers' offices and Frank shops. - -There is not much in Alexandria to look at except the people, and the -dirty bazaars. We never before had seen so much nakedness, filth -and dirt, so much poverty, and such enjoyment of it, or at least -indifference to it. We were forced to strike a new scale of estimating -poverty and wretchedness. People are poor in proportion as their wants -are not gratified. And here are thousands who have few of the wants -that we have, and perhaps less poverty. It is difficult to estimate the -poverty of those fortunate children to whom the generous sun gives a -warm color for clothing, who have no occupation but to sit in the same, -all day, in some noisy and picturesque thoroughfare, and stretch out the -hand for the few paras sufficient to buy their food, who drink at -the public fountain, wash in the tank of the mosque, sleep in -street-corners, and feel sure of their salvation if they know the -direction of Mecca. And the Mohammedan religion seems to be a sort of -soul-compass, by which the most ignorant believer can always orient -himself. The best-dressed Christian may feel certain of one thing, that -he is the object of the cool contempt of the most naked, opthalmic, -flea-attended, wretched Moslem he meets. The Oriental conceit is a peg -above ours—it is not self-conscious. - -In a fifteen minutes walk in the streets the stranger finds all the -pictures that he remembers in his illustrated books of Eastern life. -There is turbaned Ali Baba, seated on the hindquarters of his sorry -donkey, swinging his big feet in a constant effort to urge the beast -forward; there is the one-eyed calender who may have arrived last night -from Bagdad; there is the water-carrier, with a cloth about his loins, -staggering under a full goat-skin—the skin, legs, head, and all the -members of the brute distended, so that the man seems to be carrying a -drowned and water-soaked animal: there is the veiled sister of Zobeide -riding a grey donkey astride, with her knees drawn up, (as all women -ride in the East), entirely enveloped in a white garment which covers -her head and puffs out about her like a balloon—all that can be seen -of the woman are the toes of her pointed yellow slippers and two black -eyes; there is the seller of sherbet, a waterish, feeble, insipid drink, -clinking his glasses; and the veiled woman in black, with hungry eyes, -is gliding about everywhere. The veil is in two parts, a band about -the forehead, and a strip of black which hangs underneath the eyes and -terminates in a point at the waist; the two parts are connected by an -ornamented cylinder of brass, or silver if the wearer can afford it, -two and a half inches long and an inch in diameter. This ugly cylinder -between the restless eyes, gives the woman an imprisoned, frightened -look. Across the street from the hotel, upon the stone coping of the -public square, is squatting hour after hour in the sun, a row of these -forlorn creatures in black, impassive and waiting. We are told that they -are washerwomen waiting for a job. I never can remove the impression -that these women are half stifled behind their veils and the shawls -which they draw over the head; when they move their heads, it is like -the piteous dumb movement of an uncomplaining animal. - -But the impatient reader is waiting for Pompey's Pillar. We drive -outside the walls, though a thronged gateway, through streets and among -people wretched and picturesque to the last degree. This is the road to -the large Moslem cemetery, and to-day is Thursday, the day for visiting -the graves. The way is lined with coffee-shops, where men are smoking -and playing at draughts; with stands and booths for the sale of -fried cakes and confections; and all along, under foot, so that it is -difficult not to tread on them, are private markets for the sale of -dates, nuts, raisins, wheat, and doora; the bare-legged owner sits on -the ground and spreads his dust-covered untempting fare on a straw -mat before him. It is more wretched and forlorn outside the gate than -within. We are amid heaps of rubbish, small mountains of it, perhaps the -ruins of old Alexandria, perhaps only the accumulated sweepings of the -city for ages, piles of dust, and broken pottery. Every Egyptian town -of any size is surrounded by these—the refuse of ages of weary -civilization. - -What a number of old men, of blind men, ragged men—though rags are no -disgrace! What a lot of scrawny old women, lean old hags, some of them -without their faces covered—even the veiled ones you can see are only -bags of bones. There is a derweesh, a naked holy man, seated in the -dirt by the wall, reading the Koran. He has no book, but he recites the -sacred text in a loud voice, swaying his body backwards and forwards. -Now and then we see a shrill-voiced, handsome boy also reading the Koran -with all his might, and keeping a laughing eye upon the passing world. -Here comes a novel turn-out. It is a long truck-wagon drawn by one -bony-horse. Upon it are a dozen women, squatting about the edges, facing -each other, veiled, in black, silent, jolting along like so many bags of -meal. A black imp stands in front, driving. They carry baskets of food -and flowers, and are going to the cemetery to spend the day. - -We pass the cemetery, for the Pillar is on a little hillock overlooking -it. Nothing can be drearier than this burying-ground—unless it may be -some other Moslem cemetery. It is an uneven plain of sand, without a -spear of grass or a green thing. It is covered thickly with ugly stucco, -oven-like tombs, the whole inconceivably shabby and dust covered; the -tombs of the men have head-stones to distinguish them from the women. -Yet, shabby as all the details of this crumbling cheap place of -sepulture are, nothing could be gayer or more festive than the scene -before us. Although the women are in the majority, there are enough men -and children present, in colored turbans, fezes, and gowns, and shawls -of Persian dye, to transform the graveyard into the semblance of a -parterre of flowers. About hundreds of the tombs are seated in a circle -groups of women, with their food before them, and the flowers laid upon -the tomb, wailing and howling in the very excess of dry-eyed grief. Here -and there a group has employed a “welee” or holy man, or a boy, to read -the Koran for it—and these Koran-readers turn an honest para by their -vocation. The women spend nearly the entire day in this sympathetic -visit to their departed friends—it is a custom as old as history, and -the Egyptians used to build their tombs with a visiting ante-chamber for -the accommodation of the living. I should think that the knowledge that -such a group of women were to eat their luncheon, wailing and roosting -about one's tomb every week, would add a new terror to death. - -The Pillar, which was no doubt erected by Diocletian to his own honor, -after the modest fashion of Romans as well as Egyptians, is in its -present surroundings not an object of enthusiasm, though it is almost a -hundred feet high, and the monolith shaft was, before age affected it, -a fine piece of polished Syenite. It was no doubt a few thousand years -older than Diocletian, and a remnant of that oldest civilization; the -base and capital he gave it are not worthy of it. Its principal use -now is as a surface for the paint-brushes and chisels of distinguished -travelers, who have covered it with their precious names. I cannot -sufficiently admire the naïveté and self-depreciation of those travelers -who paint and cut their names on such monuments, knowing as they must -that the first sensible person who reads the same will say, “This is an -ass.” - -We drive, still outside the walls, towards the Mahmoodéeh canal, passing -amid mounds of rubbish, and getting a view of the desert-like -country beyond. And now heaves in sight the unchanged quintessence of -Orientalism—there is our first camel, a camel in use, in his native -setting and not in a menagerie. There is a line of them, loaded with -building-stones, wearily shambling along. The long bended neck apes -humility, but the supercilious nose in the air expresses perfect -contempt for all modern life. The contrast of this haughty -“stuck-up-ativeness” (it is necessary to coin this word to express the -camel's ancient conceit) with the royal ugliness of the brute, is both -awe-inspiring and amusing. No human royal family dare be uglier than the -camel. He is a mass of bones, faded tufts, humps, lumps, splay-joints -and callosities. His tail is a ridiculous wisp, and a failure as an -ornament or a fly-brush. His feet are simply big sponges. For skin -covering he has patches of old buffalo robes, faded and with the hair -worn off. His voice is more disagreeable than his appearance. With a -reputation for patience, he is snappish and vindictive. His endurance is -over-rated—that is to say he dies like a sheep on an expedition of any -length, if he is not well fed. His gait moves every muscle like an ague. -And yet this ungainly creature carries his head in the air, and regards -the world out of his great brown eyes with disdain. The Sphinx is not -more placid. He reminds me, I don't know why, of a pyramid. He has a -resemblance to a palm-tree. It is impossible to make an Egyptian picture -without him. What a Hapsburg lip he has! Ancient, royal? The very poise -of his head says plainly, “I have come out of the dim past, before -history was; the deluge did not touch me; I saw Menes come and go; I -helped Shoofoo build the great pyramid; I knew Egypt when it hadn't -an obelisk nor a temple; I watched the slow building of the pyramid at -Sakkara. Did I not transport the fathers of your race across the -desert? There are three of us; the date-palm, the pyramid, and myself. -Everything else is modern. Go to!” - -Along the canal, where lie dahabeëhs that will by and by make their way -up the Nile, are some handsome villas, palaces and gardens. This is -the favorite drive and promenade. In the gardens, that are open to the -public, we find a profusion of tropical trees and flowering shrubs; -roses are decaying, but the blossoms of the yellow acacia scent the air; -there are Egyptian lilies; the plant with crimson leaves, not native -here, grows as high as the arbutilon tree; the red passion-flower is in -bloom, and morning-glories cover with their running vine the tall and -slender cypresses. The finest tree is the sycamore, with great gnarled -trunk, and down-dropping branches. Its fruit, the sycamore fig, grows -directly on the branch, without stem. It is an insipid fruit, sawdust-y, -but the Arabs like it, and have a saying that he who eats one is sure to -return to Egypt. After we had tried to eat one, we thought we should not -care to return. The interior was filled with lively little flies; and a -priest who was attending a school of boys taking a holiday in the grove, -assured us that each fig had to be pierced when it was green, to let -the flies out, in order to make it eatable. But the Egyptians eat them, -flies and all. - -The splendors of Alexandria must be sought in books. The traveler will -see scarcely any remains of a magnificence which dazzled the world in -the beginning of our era. He may like to see the mosque that marks the -site of the church of St. Mark, and he may care to look into the Coptic -convent whence the Venetians stole the body of the saint, about a -thousand years ago. Of course we go to see that wonder of our childhood, -Cleopatra's Needles, as the granite obelisks are called that were -brought from Alexandria and set up before a temple of Caesar in the -time of Tiberius. Only one is standing, the other, mutilated, lies prone -beneath the soil. The erect one stands near the shore and in the midst -of hovels and incredible filth. The name of the earliest king it bears -is that of Thothmes III., the great man of Egypt, whose era of conquest -was about 1500 years before St. Mark came on his mission to Alexandria. - -The city which has had as many vicissitudes as most cities, boasting -under the Cæsars a population of half a million, that had decreased to -6,000 in 1800, and has now again grown to over two hundred thousand, -seems to be at a waiting point; the merchants complain that the Suez -Canal has killed its trade. Yet its preeminence for noise, dirt and -shabbiness will hardly be disputed; and its bazaars and streets are much -more interesting, perhaps because it is the meeting-place of all races, -than travelers usually admit. - -We had scarcely set foot in our hotel when we were saluted and waited -for by dragomans of all sorts. They knocked at our doors, they waylaid -us in the passages; whenever we emerged from our rooms half a dozen -rose up, bowing low; it was like being a small king, with obsequious -attendants waiting every motion. They presented their cards, they begged -we would step aside privately for a moment and look at the bundle of -recommendations they produced; they would not press themselves, but if -we desired a dragoman for the Nile they were at our service. They were -of all shades of color, except white, and of all degrees of oriental -splendor in their costume. There were Egyptians, Nubians, Maltese, -Greeks, Syrians. They speak well all the languages of the Levant and -of Europe, except the one in which you attempt to converse with them. I -never made the acquaintance of so many fine fellows in the same space -of time. All of them had the strongest letters of commendation from -travelers whom they had served, well-known men of letters and of -affairs. Travelers give these endorsements as freely as they sign -applications for government appointments at home. - -The name of the handsome dragoman who walked with us through the bazaars -was, naturally enough, Ahmed Abdallah. He wore the red fez (tarboosh) -with a gay kuffia bound about it; an embroidered shirt without collar or -cravat; a long shawl of checked and bright-colored Beyrout silk girding -the loins, in which was carried his watch and heavy chain; a cloth coat; -and baggy silk trousers that would be a gown if they were not split -enough to gather about each ankle. The costume is rather Syrian than -Egyptian, and very elegant when the materials are fine; but with a -suggestion of effeminacy, to Western eyes. - -The native bazaars, which are better at Cairo, reveal to the traveler, -at a glance, the character of the Orient; its cheap tinsel, its squalor, -and its occasional richness and gorgeousness. The shops on each side of -the narrow street are little more than good-sized wardrobes, with -room for shelves of goods in the rear and for the merchant to sit -cross-legged in front. There is usually space for a customer to sit with -him, and indeed two or three can rest on the edge of the platform. Upon -cords stretched across the front hang specimens of the wares for sale. -Wooden shutters close the front at night. These little cubbies are not -only the places of sale but of manufacture of goods. Everything goes on -in the view of all the world. The tailor is stitching, the goldsmith is -blowing the bellows of his tiny forge, the saddler is repairing the old -donkey-saddles, the shoemaker is cutting red leather, the brazier is -hammering, the weaver sits at his little loom with the treadle in the -ground—every trade goes on, adding its own clatter to the uproar. - -What impresses us most is the good nature of the throng, under trying -circumstances. The street is so narrow that three or four people abreast -make a jam, and it is packed with those moving in two opposing currents. -Through this mass comes a donkey with a couple of panniers of soil or of -bricks, or bundles of scraggly sticks; or a camel surges in, loaded -with building-joists or with lime; or a Turkish officer, with a gaily -caparisoned horse impatiently stamping; a porter slams along with -a heavy box on his back; the water-carrier with his nasty skin rubs -through; the vender of sweetmeats finds room for his broad tray; the -orange-man pushes his cart into the throng; the Jew auctioneer cries -his antique brasses and more antique raiment. Everybody is jostled and -pushed and jammed; but everybody is in an imperturbable good humor, for -no one is really in a hurry, and whatever is, is as it always has been -and will be. And what a cosmopolitan place it is. We meet Turks, Greeks, -Copts, Egyptians, Nubians, Syrians, Armenians, Italians; tattered -derweeshes, “welees” or holy Moslems, nearly naked, presenting the -appearance of men who have been buried a long time and recently dug up; -Greek priests, Jews, Persian Parsees, Algerines, Hindoos, negroes from -Darfoor, and flat-nosed blacks from beyond Khartoom. - -The traveler has come into a country of holiday which is perpetual. -Under this sun and in this air there is nothing to do but to enjoy life -and attend to religion five times a day. We look into a mosque; In the -cool court is a fountain for washing; the mosque is sweet and quiet, -and upon its clean matting a row of Arabs are prostrating themselves -in prayer towards the niche that indicates the direction of Mecca. We -stroll along the open streets encountering a novelty at every step. -Here is a musician a Nubian playing upon a sort of tambour on a frame; -a picking, feeble noise he produces, but he is accompanied by the oddest -character we have seen yet. This is a stalwart, wild-eyed son of the -sand, coal-black, with a great mass of uncombed, disordered hair hanging -about his shoulders. His only clothing is a breech-cloth and a round -shaving-glass bound upon his forehead; but he has hung about his waist -heavy strings of goats' hoofs, and those he shakes, in time to the -tambour, by a tremulous motion of his big hips as he minces about. -He seems so vastly pleased with himself that I covet knowledge of his -language, in order to tell him that he looks like an idiot. - -Near the Fort Napoleon, a hill by the harbor, we encounter another -scene peculiar to the East. A yellow-skinned, cunning-eyed conjurer has -attracted a ring of idlers about him, who squat in the blowing dust, -under the blazing sun, and patiently watch his antics. The conjurer -himself performs no wonders, but the spectators are a study of color -and feature. The costumes are brilliant red, yellow, and white. The -complexions exhaust the possibilities of human color. I thought I had -seen black people in South Carolina; but I saw a boy just now standing -in a doorway who would have been invisible but for his white shirt; and -here is a fat negress in a bright yellow gown and kerchief, whose -jet face has taken an incredible polish; only the most accomplished -boot-black could raise such a shine on a shoe; tranquil enjoyment oozes -out of her. The conjurer is assisted by two mites of children, a girl -and a boy (no clothing wasted on them), and between the three a great -deal of jabber and whacking with cane sticks is going on, but nothing -is performed except the taking of a long snake from a bag and tying it -round the little girl's neck. Paras are collected, however, and that is -the main object of all performances. - -A little further on, another group is gathered around a storyteller, -who is reeling off one of the endless tales in which the Arab delights; -love-adventures, not always the most delicate but none the less enjoyed -for that, or the story of some poor lad who has had a wonderful career -and finally married the Sultan's daughter. He is accompanied in his -narrative by two men thumping upon darabooka drums, in a monotonous, -sleepy fashion, quite in accordance however with the everlasting leisure -that pervades the air. Walking about are the venders of sweets, and of -greasy cakes, who carry tripods on which to rest their brass trays, and -who split the air with their cries. - -It is color, color, that makes all this shifting panorama so -fascinating, and hides the nakedness, the squalor, the wretchedness of -all this unconcealed poverty; color in flowing garments, color in the -shops, color in the sky. We have come to the land of the sun. - -At night when we walk around the square we stumble over bundles of -rags containing men who are asleep, in all the corners, stretched on -doorsteps, laid away on the edge of the sidewalk. Opposite the hotel is -a casino, which is more Frank than Egyptian. The musicians are all women -and Germans or Bohemians; the waiter-girls are mostly Italian; one of -them says she comes from Bohemia, and has been in India, to which she -proposes to return. The habitués are mostly young Egyptians in Frank -dress except the tarboosh, and Italians, all effeminate fellows. All the -world of loose living and wandering meets here. Italian is much spoken. -There is little that is Oriental here, except it may be a complaisance -toward anything enervating and languidly wicked that Europe has to -offer. This cheap concert is, we are told, all the amusement at night -that can be offered the traveler, by the once pleasure-loving city of -Cleopatra, in the once brilliant Greek capital in which Hypatia was a -star. - - - -0053 - - - -0054 - - - - -CHAPTER III.—EGYPT OF TO-DAY. - -EGYPT has excellent railways. There is no reason why it should not have. -They are made without difficulty and easily maintained in a land of -no frosts; only where they touch the desert an occasional fence is -necessary against the drifting sand. The rails are laid, without wooden -sleepers, on iron saucers, with connecting bands, and the track is firm -and sufficiently elastic. The express train travels the 131 miles to -Cairo in about four and a half hours, running with a punctuality, and -with Egyptian drivers and conductors too, that is unique in Egypt. The -opening scene at the station did not promise expedition or system. - -We reach the station three quarters of an hour before the departure -of the train, for it requires a longtime—in Egypt, as everywhere in -Europe—to buy tickets and get baggage weighed. The officials are slower -workers than our treasury-clerks. There is a great crowd of foreigners, -and the baggage-room is piled with trunks of Americans, 'boxes' of -Englishmen, and chests and bundles of all sorts. Behind a high counter -in a smaller room stand the scales, the weigher, and the clerks. Piles -of trunks are brought in and dumped by the porters, and thrust forward -by the servants and dragomans upon the counter, to gain them preference -at the scales. No sooner does a dragoman get in his trunk than another -is thrust ahead of it, and others are hurled on top, till the whole pile -comes down with a crash. There is no system, there are neither officials -nor police, and the excited travelers are free to fight it out among -themselves. To venture into the mêlée is to risk broken bones, and it -is wiser to leave the battle to luck and the dragomans. The noise is -something astonishing. A score or two of men are yelling at the top -of their voices, screaming, scolding, damning each other in polyglot, -gesticulating, jumping up and down, quivering with excitement. This is -your Oriental repose! If there were any rule by which passengers could -take their turns, all the trunks could be quickly weighed and passed on; -but now in the scrimmage not a trunk gets to the scales, and a half hour -goes by in which no progress is made and the uproar mounts higher. - -Finally, Ahmed, slight and agile, handing me his cane, kuffia and watch, -leaps over the heap of trunks on the counter and comes to close quarters -with the difficulty. He succeeds in getting two trunks upon the platform -of the scales, but a traveler, whose clothes were made in London, tips -them off and substitutes his own. The weighers stand patiently waiting -the result of the struggle. Ahmed hurls off the stranger's trunk, gives -its owner a turn that sends him spinning over the baggage, and at last -succeeds in getting our luggage weighed. He emerges from the scrimmage -an exhausted man, and we get our seats in the carriage just in time. -However, it does not start for half an hour. - -The reader would like to ride from Alexandria to Cairo, but he won't -care to read much about the route. It is our first experience of a -country living solely by irrigation—the occasional winter showers being -practically of no importance. We pass along and over the vast shallows -of Lake Mareotis, a lake in winter and a marsh in summer, ride between -marshes and cotton-fields, and soon strike firmer ground. We are -traveling, in short, through a Jersey flat, a land black, fat, and rich, -without an elevation, broken only by canals and divided into fields by -ditches. Every rod is cultivated, and there are no detached habitations. -The prospect cannot be called lively, but it is not without interest; -there are ugly buffaloes in the coarse grass, there is the elegant -white heron, which travelers insist is the sacred ibis, there are some -doleful-looking fellaheen, with donkeys, on the bank of the canal, -there is a file of camels, and there are shadoofs. The shadoof is the -primitive method of irrigation, and thousands of years have not changed -it. Two posts are driven into the bank of the canal, with a cross-piece -on top. On this swings a pole with a bucket of leather suspended at -one end, which is outweighed by a ball of clay at the other. The fellah -stands on the slope of the bank and, dipping the bucket into the water, -raises it and pours the fluid into a sluice-way above. If the bank is -high, two and sometimes three shadoofs are needed to raise the water to -the required level. The labor is prodigiously hard and back-straining, -continued as it must be constantly. All the fellaheen we saw were clad -in black, though some had a cloth about their loins. The workman usually -stands in a sort of a recess in the bank, and his color harmonizes with -the dark soil. Any occupation more wearisome and less beneficial to the -mind I cannot conceive. To the credit of the Egyptians, the men alone -work the shadoof. Women here tug water, grind the corn, and carry about -babies, always; but I never saw one pulling at a shadoof pole. - -There is an Arab village! We need to be twice assured that it is a -village. Raised on a slight elevation, so as to escape high water, it is -still hardly distinguishable from the land, certainly not in color. -All Arab villages look like ruins; this is a compacted collection of -shapeless mud-huts, flat-topped and irregularly thrown together. It is -an aggregation of dog-kennels, baked in the sun and cracked. However, -a clump of palm-trees near it gives it an air of repose, and if it -possesses a mosque and a minaret it has a picturesque appearance, if the -observer does not go too near. And such are the habitations of nearly -all the Egyptians. - -Sixty-five miles from Alexandria, we cross the Rosetta branch of the -Nile, on a fine iron bridge—even this portion of the Nile is a broad, -sprawling river; and we pass through several respectable towns which -have an appearance of thrift—Tanta especially, with its handsome station -and a palace of the Khedive. At Tanta is held three times a year a great -religious festival and fair, not unlike the old fair of the ancient -Egyptians at Bubastis in honor of Diana, with quite as many excesses, -and like that, with a gramme of religion to a pound of pleasure. “Now,” -says Herodotus, “when they are being conveyed to the city Bubastis, they -act as follows:—for men and women embark together, and great numbers -of both sexes in every barge: some of the women have castanets on which -they play, and the men play on the flute during the whole voyage; and -the rest of the women and men sing and clap their hands together at the -same time.” And he goes on to say that when they came to any town they -moored the barge, and the women chaffed those on shore, and danced with -indecent gestures; and that at the festival more wine was consumed than -all the rest of the year. The festival at Tanta is in honor of a famous -Moslem saint whose tomb is there; but the tomb is scarcely so attractive -as the field of the fête, with the story-tellers and the jugglers and -booths of dancing girls. - -We pass decayed Benha with its groves of Yoosef-Effendi oranges—the -small fruit called Mandarin by foreigners, and preferred by those who -like a slight medicinal smell and taste in the orange; and when we are -yet twenty miles from Cairo, there in the south-west, visible for a -moment and then hidden by the trees, and again in sight, faintly and yet -clearly outlined against the blue sky, are two forms, the sight of which -gives us a thrill. They stand still in that purple distance in which we -have seen them all our lives. Beyond these level fields and these trees -of sycamore and date-palm, beyond the Nile, on the desert's edge, with -the low Libyan hills falling off behind them, as delicate in form and -color as clouds, as enduring as the sky they pierce, the Pyramids of -Geezeh! I try to shake off the impression of their solemn antiquity, and -imagine how they would strike one if all their mystery were removed. But -that is impossible. The imagination always prompts the eye. And yet I -believe that standing where they do stand, and in this atmosphere, they -are the most impressive of human structures. But the pyramids would be -effective, as the obelisk is not, out of Egypt. - -Trees increase in number; we have villas and gardens; the grey ledges of -the Mokattam hills come into view, then the twin slender spires of the -Mosque of Mohammed Ali on the citadel promontory, and we are in the -modern station of Cairo; and before we take in the situation are -ignominiously driven away in a hotel-omnibus. This might happen in -Europe. Yes; but then, who are these in white and blue and red, these -squatters by the wayside, these smokers in the sun, these turbaned -riders on braying donkeys and grumbling dromedaries; what is all this -fantastic masquerade in open day? Do people live in these houses? Do -women peep from these lattices? Isn't that gowned Arab conscious that he -is kneeling and praying out doors? Have we come to a land where all our -standards fail and people are not ashamed of their religion? - - - -0058 - - - -0059 - - - - -CHAPTER IV.—CAIRO. - -O CAIRO! Cairo! Masr-el-Kaherah, The Victorious! City of the Caliphs, of -Salah-e'-deen, of the Memlooks! Town of mediaeval romance projected -into a prosaic age! More Oriental than Damascus, or Samarcand. Vast, -sprawling city, with dilapidated Saracenic architecture, pretentious -modern barrack-palaces, new villas and gardens, acres of compacted, -squalid, unsunned dwellings. Always picturesque, lamentably dirty, and -thoroughly captivating. - -Shall we rhapsodize over it, or attempt to describe it? Fortunately, -writers have sufficiently done both. Let us enjoy it. We are at -Shepherd's. It is a caravansary through which the world flows. At -its table d'hote are all nations; German princes, English dukes and -shopkeepers, Indian officers, American sovereigns; explorers, savants, -travelers; they have come for the climate of Cairo, they are going -up the Nile, they are going to hunt in Abyssinia, to join an advance -military party on the White Nile; they have come from India, from Japan, -from Australia, from Europe, from America. - -We are in the Frank quarter called the Ezbekeëh, which was many years -ago a pond during high water, then a garden with a canal round it, and -is now built over with European houses and shops, except the square -reserved for the public garden. From the old terrace in front of the -hotel, where the traveler used to look on trees, he will see now only -raw new houses and a street usually crowded with passers and rows of -sleepy donkeys and their voluble drivers. The hotel is two stories only, -built round a court, damp in rainy or cloudy weather (and it is learning -how to rain as high up the Nile as Cairo), and lacking the comforts -which invalids require in the winter. It is kept on an ingenious -combination of the American and European plans; that is, the traveler -pays a fixed sum per day and then gets a bill of particulars, besides, -which gives him all the pleasures of the European system. We heard that -one would be more Orientally surrounded and better cared for at the -Hotel du Nil; and the Khedive, who tries his hand at everything, has set -up a New Hotel on the public square; but, somehow, one enters Shepherd's -as easy as he goes into a city gate. - -They call the house entirely European. But there are pelicans walking -about in the tropical garden; on one side is the wall of a harem, a -house belonging to the Khedive's mother, a harem with closed shutters, -but uninteresting, because there is no one in it, though ostriches are -strutting in its paved court; in the rear of the house stretches a great -grove of tall date-palms standing in a dusty, débris-strown field—a lazy -wind is always singing through their tops, and a sakiya (a cow-impelled -water-wheel) creaks there day and night; we never lock the doors of our -rooms; long-gowned attendants are always watching in the passages, and, -when we want one, in default of bells, we open the door and clap the -hands. All this, with a juggler performing before the house; dragomans -and servants and merchants in Oriental costume; the monotonous strumming -of an Arab band in a neighboring cafe, bricklayers on the unfinished -house opposite us, working in white night-gowns and turbans, who might -be mistaken at a distance for female sleepwalkers; and from a minaret -not far away, the tenor-voiced muezzins urging us in the most -musical invitation ever extended to unbelievers, to come to prayer at -daylight—this cannot be called European. - -An end of the dinner-table, however, is occupied by a loud party of -young Englishmen, a sprinkling of dukes and earls and those attendants -and attentive listeners of the nobility who laugh inordinately when my -lord says a good thing, and are encouraged when my lord laughs loudly at -a sally of theirs and declares, “well, now, that's very good;” a party -who seem to regard Cairo as beyond the line of civilization and its -requirements. They talk loud, roar in laughing, stare at the ladies, and -light their cigars before the latter have withdrawn. My comrade notices -that they call for champagne before fish; we could overlook anything but -that. Some travelers who are annoyed at their boisterousness speak to -the landlord about them, without knowing their rank—supposing that -one could always tell an earl by his superior manners. These young -representatives of England have demanded that the Khedive shall send -them on their hunting-tour in Africa, and he is to do so at considerable -cost; and it is said that he pays their hotel bills in Cairo. The desire -of the Khedive to stand well with all the European powers makes him an -easy prey to any nobleman who does not like to travel in Egypt at his -own expense. (It ought to be added that we encountered on the Nile an -Englishman of high rank who had declined the Khedive's offer of a free -trip). - -Cairo is a city of vast distances, especially the new part which is laid -out with broad streets, and built up with isolated houses having perhaps -a garden or a green court; open squares are devoted to fountains and -flower-beds. Into these broad avenues the sun pours, and through them -the dust swirls in clouds; everything is covered with it; it imparts -its grey tint to the town and sifts everywhere its impalpable powder. -No doubt the health of Cairo is greatly improved and epidemics are -lessened, by the destruction of the pestilent old houses and by running -wide streets through the old quarters of twisting lanes and sunless -alleys. But the wide streets are uninteresting, and the sojourner in the -city likes to escape out of their glare and dust into the cool and -shady recesses of the old town. And he has not far to go to do so. A -few minutes walk from the Ezbekeëh brings one into a tangle like the -crossing paths of an ants nest, into the very heart of the smell and -color of the Orient, among people among shops, in the presence of -manners, habits, costumes, occupations, centuries old, into a life in -which the western man recognizes nothing familiar. - -Cairo, between the Mokattam hill of limestone and the Nile, covers a -great deal of ground—about three square miles—on which dwell somewhere -from a third to a half of a million of people. The traveler cannot see -its stock-sights in a fortnight, and though he should be there months he -will find something novel in the street-life daily, even though he does -not, as Mr. Lane has so admirably done, make a study of the people. And -“life” goes on in the open streets, to an extent which always surprises -us, however familiar we may be with Italian habits. People eat, smoke, -pray, sleep, carry on all their trades in sight of the passers by—only -into the recesses of the harem and the faces of the women one may not -look. And this last mystery and reserve almost outweighs the openness -of everything else. One feels as if he were in a masquerade; the part of -the world which is really most important—womankind—appears to him only -in shadow and flitting phantasm. What danger is he in from these wrapped -and veiled figures which glide by, shooting him with a dark and perhaps -wicked eye; what peril is he in as he slips through these narrow streets -with their masked batteries of latticed windows! This Eastern life is -all open to the sun; and yet how little of its secrets does the stranger -fathom. I seem to feel, always, in an Eastern town, that there is a mask -of duplicity and concealment behind which the Orientals live; that they -habitually deceive the traveler in his “gropings after truth.” - -The best way of getting about Cairo and its environs is on the donkey. -It is cheap and exhilarating. The donkey is easily mounted and easily -got off from; not seldom he will weaken in his hind legs and let his -rider to the ground—a sinking operation which destroys your confidence -in life itself. Sometimes he stumbles and sends the rider over his head. -But the good donkey never does either. He is the best animal, of his -size and appearance, living. He has the two qualities of our greatest -general, patience and obstinacy. The good donkey is easy as a -rocking-chair, sure-footed as a chamois; he can thread any crowd and -stand patiently dozing in any noisy thoroughfare for hours. To ride him -is only a slight compromise of one's independence in walking. One is so -near the ground, and so absent-mindedly can he gaze at what is around -him, that he forgets that there is anything under him. When the donkey, -in the excitement of company on the open street and stimulated by the -whacks and cries of his driver, breaks into the rush of a gallop, there -is so much flying of legs and such a general flutter that the rider -fancies he is getting over the ground at an awful rate, running a -breakneck race; but it does not appear so to an observer. The rider has -the feeling of the swift locomotion of the Arab steed without its danger -or its expense. Besides, a long-legged man, with a cork hat and a flying -linen “duster,” tearing madly along on an animal as big as a sheep, is -an amusing spectacle. - -The donkey is abused, whacked, beaten till he is raw, saddled so that -all the straps gall him, hard-ridden, left for hours to be assailed by -the flies in the street, and ridiculed by all men. I wish we could know -what sort of an animal centuries of good treatment would have made of -him. Something no doubt quite beyond human deserts; as it is, he is -simply indispensable in Eastern life. And not seldom he is a pet; he -wears jingling bells and silver ornaments around his neck; his hair is -shaved in spots to give him a variegated appearance, and his mane and -tail are dyed with henna; he has on an embroidered cloth bridle and a -handsome saddle, under which is a scarlet cloth worked with gold. The -length and silkiness of his ears are signs of his gentle breeding. I -could never understand why he is loaded with such an enormous saddle; -the pommel of it rising up in front of the rider as big as a half-bushel -measure. Perhaps it is thought well to put this mass upon his back so -that he will not notice or mind any additional weight. - -The donkey's saving quality, in this exacting world, is inertia. And, -yet, he is not without ambition. He dislikes to be passed on the road by -a fellow; and if one attempts it, he is certain to sheer in ahead of -him and shove him off the track. “Donkey jealous one anoder,” say the -drivers. - -Each donkey has his driver or attendant, without whose presence, behind -or at the side, the animal ceases to go forward. These boys, and some -of them are men in stature, are the quickest-witted, most importunate, -good-natured vagabonds in this world. They make a study of human nature, -and accurately measure every traveler the moment he appears. They -are agile to do errands, some of them are better guides than the -professionals, they can be entrusted with any purchases you may make, -they run, carrying their slippers in their hand, all day beside the -donkey, and get only a pittance of pay. They are however a jolly, -larkish set, always skylarking with each other, and are not unlike the -newspaper boys of New York; now and then one of them becomes a trader or -a dragoman and makes his fortune. - -If you prefer a carriage, good vehicles have become plenty of late -years, since there are broad streets for driving; and some very handsome -equipages are seen, especially towards evening on the Shoobra road, up -and down which people ride and drive to be seen and to see, as they do -in Central or Hyde parks. It is en règle to have a sais running before -the carriage, and it is the “swell thing” to have two of them. The -running sais before a rapidly driven carriage is the prettiest sight in -Cairo. He is usually a slender handsome black fellow, probably a Nubian, -brilliantly dressed, graceful in every motion, running with perfect ease -and able to keep up his pace for hours without apparent fatigue. In the -days of narrow streets his services were indispensable to clear the way; -and even now he is useful in the frequented ways where every one walks -in the middle of the street, and the chattering, chaffing throngs are as -heedless of anything coming as they are of the day of judgment. In red -tarboosh with long tassel, silk and gold embroidered vest and jacket, -colored girdle with ends knotted and hanging at the side, short silk -trousers and bare legs, and long staff, gold-tipped, in the hand, as -graceful in running as Antinous, they are most elegant appendages to a -fashionable turnout. If they could not be naturalized in Central Park, -it might fill some of the requirements of luxury to train a patriot from -the Green Isle to run before the horses, in knee-breeches, flourishing a -shillalah. Faith, I think he would clear the way. - -Especially do I like to see the sais coming down the wind before a -carriage of the royal harem. The outriders are eunuchs, two in front -and two behind; they are blacks, dressed in black clothes, European cut, -except the tarboosh. They ride fine horses, English fashion, rising in -the saddle; they have long limbs, lank bodies, cruel, weak faces, and -yet cunning; they are sleek, shiny, emasculated. Having no sex, you -might say they have no souls. How can these anomalies have any virtue, -since virtue implies the opportunity of its opposite? These semblances -of men seem proud enough of their position, however, and of the part -they play to their masters, as if they did not know the repugnance they -excite. The carriage they attend is covered, but the silken hangings of -the glass windows are drawn aside, revealing the white-veiled occupants. -They indeed have no constitutional objections to being seen; the thin -veil enhances their charms, and the observer who sees their painted -faces and bright languishing eyes, no doubt gives them credit for as -much beauty as they possess; and as they flash by, I suppose that every -one, is convinced that he has seen one of the mysterious Circassian or -Georgian beauties. - -The minute the traveler shows himself on the hotel terrace, the -donkey-boys clamor, and push forward their animals upon the sidewalk; it -is no small difficulty to select one out of the tangle; there is noise -enough used to fit out an expedition to the desert, and it is not till -the dragoman has laid vigorously about him with his stick that the -way is clear. Your nationality is known at a glance, and a donkey is -instantly named to suit you—the same one being called, indifferently, -“Bismarck” if you are German, “Bonaparte” if you are French, and “Yankee -Doodle” if you are American, or “Ginger Bob” at a venture. - -We are going to Boulak, the so-called port of Cairo, to select a -dahabeëh for the Nile voyage. We are indeed only getting ready for this -voyage, and seeing the city by the way. The donkey-boys speak English -like natives—of Egypt. The one running beside me, a handsome boy in a -long cotton shirt, is named, royally, Mahmoud Hassan. - -“Are you the brother of Hassan whom I had yesterday?” - -“No. He, Hassan not my brother; he better, he friend. Breakfast, lunch, -supper, all together, all same; all same money. We friends.” - -Abd-el-Atti, our dragoman, is riding ahead on his grey donkey, and I -have no difficulty in following his broad back and short legs, even -though his donkey should be lost to sight in the press. He rides as -Egyptians do, without stirrups, and uses his heels as spurs. Since -Mohammed Abd-el-Atti Effendi first went up the Nile, it is many years -ago now, with Mr. Wm. C. Prime, and got his name prominently into the -Nile literature, he has grown older, stout, and rich; he is entitled by -his position to the distinction of “Effendi.” He boasts a good family, -as good as any; most of his relatives are, and he himself has been, in -government employ; but he left it because, as he says, he prefers one -master to a thousand. When a boy he went with the embassy of Mohammed -Ali to England, and since that time he has traveled extensively as -courier in Europe and the Levant and as mail-carrier to India. Mr. Prime -described him as having somewhat the complexion and features of the -North American Indian; it is true, but he has a shrewd restless eye, -and very mobile features, quick to image his good humor or the -reverse, breaking into smiles, or clouding over upon his easily aroused -suspicion. He is a good study of the Moslem and the real Oriental, -a combination of the easy, procrastinating fatalism, and yet with a -tindery temper and an activity of body and mind that we do not usually -associate with the East. His prejudices are inveterate, and he is an -unforgiving enemy and a fast, self-sacrificing friend. Not to be driven, -he can always be won by kindness. Fond of money and not forgetting the -last piastre due him, he is generous and lavish to a fault. A devout -Moslem, he has seen too much of the world not to be liberalized. He -knows the Koran and the legendary history of the Arabs, and speaks and -writes Arabic above the average. An exceedingly shrewd observer and -reader of character, and a mimic of other's peculiarities, he is a good -raconteur, in his peculiar English, and capital company. It is, by the -way, worth mentioning what sharp observers all these Eastern people -become, whose business it is to study and humor the whims and -eccentricities of travelers. The western man who thinks that the Eastern -people are childlike or effete, will change his mind after a few months -acquaintance with the shrewd Egyptians. Abd-el-Atti has a good deal of -influence and even authority in his sphere, and although his executive -ability is without system, he brings things to pass. Wherever he goes, -however, there is a ripple and a noise. He would like to go to Nubia -with us this winter, he says, “for shange of air.” - -So much is necessary concerning the character who is to be our companion -for many months. No dragoman is better known in the East; he is -the sheykh of the dragomans of Cairo, and by reason of his age and -experience he is hailed on the river as the sultan of the Nile. He -dresses like an Englishman, except his fez. - -The great worry of the voyager in Egypt, from the moment he lands, is -about a dragoman; his comfort and pleasure depend very much upon a right -selection. The dragoman and the dahabeëh interest him more than the -sphinx and the great pyramids. Taking strangers up the Nile seems to be -the great business of Egypt, and all the intricacies and tricks of it -are slowly learned. Ignorant of the language and of the character of the -people, the stranger may well be in a maze of doubt and perplexity. His -gorgeously attired dragoman, whose recommendations would fit him to -hold combined the offices of President of the American Bible Society and -caterer for Delmonico, often turns out to be ignorant of his simplest -duties, to have an inhabited but uninhabitable boat, to furnish a meagre -table, and to be a sly knave. The traveler will certainly have no peace -from the importunity of the dragomans until he makes his choice. One -hint can be given: it is always best in a Moslem country to take a -Moslem dragoman. - -We are on our way to Boulak. The sky is full of white light. The air -is full of dust; the streets are full of noise color, vivid life and -motion. Everything is flowing, free, joyous. Naturally people fall into -picturesque groups, forming, separating, shifting like scenes on the -stage. Neither the rich silks and brilliant dyes, nor the tattered rags, -and browns and greys are out of place; full dress and nakedness are -equally en régie. Here is a grave, long-bearded merchant in full turban -and silk gown, riding his caparisoned donkey to his shop, followed by -his pipe-bearer; here is a half-naked fellah seated on the rear of his -sorry-eyed beast, with a basket of greens in front of him; here are a -group of women, hunched astride their donkeys, some in white silk and -some in black, shapeless in their balloon mantles, peeping at the world -over their veils; here a handsome sais runs ahead of a carriage with a -fat Turk lolling in it, and scatters the loiterers right and left; there -are porters and beggars fast asleep by the roadside, only their heads -covered from the sun; there are lines of idlers squatting in all-day -leisure by the wall, smoking, or merely waiting for tomorrow. - -As we get down to Old Boulak the Saturday market is encountered. All -Egyptian markets occupy the street or some open place, and whatever is -for sale here, is exposed to the dust and the sun; fish, candy, dates, -live sheep, doora, beans, all the doubtful and greasy compounds on brass -trays which the people eat, nuts, raisins, sugar-cane, cheap jewelry. -It is difficult to force a way through the noisy crowd. The donkey-boy -cries perpetually, to clear the way, take care, “shimalak!” to the left, -“yemenak!” to the right, ya! riglak! look out for your left leg, look -out for your right leg, make way boy, make way old woman; but we joggle -the old woman, and just escape stepping on the children and babies -strewn in the street, and tread on the edge of mats spread on the -ground, upon which provisions are exposed (to the dust) for sale. In the -narrow, shabby streets, with dilapidated old balconies meeting overhead, -we encounter loaded camels, donkeys with double panniers, hawkers of -vegetables; and dodge through, bewildered by color and stunned by -noise. What is it that makes all picturesque? More dirt, shabbiness, and -nakedness never were assembled. That fellow who has cut armholes in a -sack for holding nuts, and slipped into it for his sole garment, would -not make a good figure on Broadway, but he is in place here, and as -fitly dressed as anybody. These rascals will wear a bit of old carpet as -if it were a king's robe, and go about in a pair of drawers that are all -rags and strings, and a coarse towel twisted about the head for turban, -with a gay insouciance that is pleasing. In fact, I suppose that a good, -well-fitting black or nice brown skin is about as good as a suit of -clothes. - -But O! the wrinkled, flabby-breasted old women, who make a pretence of -drawing the shawl over one eye; the naked, big-stomached children with -spindle legs, who sit in the sand and never brush away the circle of -flies around each gummy eye! The tumble-down houses, kennels in which -the family sleep, the poverty of thousands of years, borne as if it were -the only lot of life! In spite of all this, there is not, I venture to -say, in the world beside, anything so full of color, so gay and bizarre -as a street in Cairo. And we are in a squalid suburb. - -At the shore of the swift and now falling Nile, at Boulak, are moored, -four or five deep, the passenger dahabeëhs, more than a hundred of them, -gay with new paint and new carpets, to catch the traveler. There are -small and large, old and new (but all looking new); those that were -used for freight during the summer and may be full of vermin, and those -reserved exclusively for strangers. They can be hired at from sixty -pounds to two hundred pounds a month; the English owner of one -handsomely furnished wanted seven hundred and fifty pounds for a -three-months' voyage. The Nile trip adds luxury to itself every year, -and is getting so costly that only Americans will be able to afford it. - -After hours of search we settle upon a boat that will suit us, a large -boat that had only made a short trip, and so new that we are at -liberty to christen it; and the bargaining for it begins. That is, the -bargaining revolves around that boat, but glances off as we depart in a -rage to this or that other, until we appear to me to be hiring half -the craft on the river. We appear to come to terms; again and again -Abd-el-Atti says, “Well, it is finish,” but new difficulties arise. - -The owners were an odd pair: a tall Arab in soiled gown and turban, -named Ahmed Aboo Yoosef, a mild and wary Moslem; and Habib Bagdadli, a -furtive little Jew in Frank dress, with a cast in one of his pathetic -eyes and a beseeching look, who spoke bad French fluently. Aboo Yoosef -was ready to come to terms, but Bagdadli stood out; then Bagdadli -acquiesced but Aboo made conditions. Ab-del-Atti alternately coaxed and -stormed; he pulled the Arab's beard; and he put his arm round his neck -and whispered in his ear. - -“Come, let us to go, dis Jews make me mad. I can't do anything with dis -little Jews.” - -Our dragoman's greatest abhorrence is a Jew. Where is this one from? I -ask. - -“He from Algiers.” The Algerian Jews have a bad reputation. - -“No, no, monsieur, pas Algiers;” cries the little Jew, appealing to me -with a pitiful look; “I am from Bagdad.” In proof of this there was his -name—Habib Bagdadli. - -The bargaining goes on, with fine gesticulation, despairing attitudes, -tones of anger and of grief, violent protestations and fallings into -apathy and dejection. It is Arab against Arab and a Jew thrown in. - -“I will have this boat, but I not put you out of the way on it;” says -Abd-el-Atti, and goes at it again. - -My sympathies are divided. I can see that the Arab and the Jew will be -ruined if they take what we offer. I know that we shall be ruined if we -give what they ask. This pathetic-eyed little Jew makes me feel that I -am oppressing his race; and yet I am quite certain that he is trying to -overreach us. How the bargain is finally struck I know not, but made it -seems to be, and clinched by Aboo reluctantly pulling his purse from -his bosom and handing Abd-el-Atti a napoleon. That binds the bargain; -instead of the hirer paying something, the lessor gives a pledge. - -Trouble, however, is not ended. Certain alterations and additions are to -be made, and it is nearly two weeks before the evasive couple complete -them. The next day they offer us twenty pounds to release them. The pair -are always hanging about for some mitigation or for some advance. The -gentle Jew, who seems to me friendless, always excites the ire of our -dragoman; “Here comes dis little Jews,” he exclaims as he encounters him -in the street, and forces him to go and fulfil some neglected promise. - -The boat is of the largest size, and has never been above the Cataract; -the owners guarantee that it can go, and there is put in the contract a -forfeit of a hundred pounds if it will not. We shall see afterwards -how the owners sought to circumvent us. The wiles of the Egyptians are -slowly learned by the open-minded stranger. - - - -0071 - - - -0072 - - - - -CHAPTER V.—IN THE BAZAAR. - -OUR sight-seeing in Cairo is accomplished under the superintendence -of another guide and dragoman, a cheerful, willing, good-natured -and careful Moslem, with one eye. He looks exactly like the one-eyed -calender of the story; and his good eye has a humorous and inquiring -twinkle in it. His name is Hassan, but he prefers to be called Hadji, -the name he has taken since he made the pilgrimage to Mecca. - -A man who has made the pilgrimage is called “the hhâgg,” a woman “the -hhâggeh.”—often spelled and pronounced “hadj” and “hadjee.” It seems to -be a privilege of travelers to spell Arabic words as they please, and no -two writers agree on a single word or name. The Arabs take a new name or -discard an old one as they like, and half a dozen favorite names do duty -for half the inhabitants. It is rare to meet one who hasn't somewhere -about him the name of Mohammed, Ahmed, Ali, Hassan, Hosayn, or Mahmoud. -People take a new name as they would a garment that strikes the fancy. - -“You like go bazaar?” asks Hadji, after the party is mounted on donkeys -in front of the hotel. - -“Yes, Hadji, go by the way of the Mooskee.” - -The Mooskee is the best known street in Cairo, and the only one in -the old part of the town that the traveler can find unaided. It runs -straight, or nearly so, a mile perhaps, into the most densely built -quarters, and is broad enough for carriages. A considerable part of it -is roofed lightly over with cane or palm slats, through which the -sun sifts a little light, and, being watered, it is usually cool and -pleasant. It cannot be called a good or even road, but carriages and -donkeys pass over it without noise, the wheels making only a smothered -sound: you may pass through it many times and not discover that a canal -runs underneath it. The lower part of it is occupied by European shops. -There are no fine shops in it like those in the Ezbekeëh, and it is -not interesting like the bazaars, but it is always crowded. Probably no -street in the world offers such a variety of costumes and nationalities, -and in no one can be heard more languages. It is the main artery, from -which branch off the lesser veins and reticulations leading into the -bazaars. - -If the Mooskee is crowded, the bazaars are a jam. Different trades and -nationalities have separate quarters, articles that are wanted are far -apart, and one will of necessity consume a day in making two or three -purchases. It is an achievement to find and bargain for a piece of tape. - -In one quarter are red slippers, nothing but red slippers, hundreds of -shops hung with them, shops in which they are made and sold; the yellow -slippers are in another quarter, and by no chance does one merchant keep -both kinds. There are the silk bazaars, the gold bazaars, the silver -bazaars, the brass, the arms, the antiquity, the cotton, the spice, and -the fruit bazaars. In one quarter the merchants and manufacturers are -all Egyptians, in another Turks, in another Copts, or Algerines, or -Persians, or Armenians, or Greeks, or Syrians, or Jews. - -And what is a bazaar? Simply a lane, narrow, straight or crooked, -winding, involved, interrupted by a fountain, or a mosque, intersected -by other lanes, a congeries of lanes, roofed with matting it may be, -on each side of which are the little shops, not much bigger than a -dry-goods box or a Saratoga trunk. Frequently there is a story above, -with hanging balconies and latticed windows. On the ledge of his shop -the merchant, in fine robes of silk and linen, sits cross-legged, -probably smoking his chibook. He sits all day sipping coffee and -gossipping with his friends, waiting for a customer. At the times of -prayer he spreads his prayer-carpet and pursues his devotions in sight -of all the world. - -This Oriental microcosm called a bazaar is the most characteristic thing -in the East, and affords most entertainment; in these cool recesses, -which the sun only penetrates in glints, is all that is shabby and all -that is splendid in this land of violent contrasts. The shops are rude, -the passages are unpaved dirt, the matting above hangs in shreds, the -unpainted balconies are about to tumble down, the lattice-work is grey -with dust; fleas abound; you are jostled by an unsavory throng may be; -run against by loaded donkeys; grazed by the dripping goat-skins of the -water-carriers; beset by beggars; followed by Jews offering old brasses, -old cashmeres, old armor; squeezed against black backs from the Soudan; -and stunned by the sing-song cries of a dozen callings. But all this is -nothing. Here are the perfumes of Arabia, the colors of Paradise. These -narrow streets are streams of glancing color; these shops are more -brilliant than any picture—but in all is a softened harmony, the ancient -art of the East. - -We are sitting at a corner, pricing some pieces of old brass and arms. -The merchant sends for tiny cups of coffee and offers cigarettes. He and -the dragoman are wrangling about the price of something for which five -times its value is asked. Not unlikely it will be sold for less than -it is worth, for neither trader nor traveler has any idea of its value. -Opposite is a shop where three men sit cross-legged, making cashmere -shawls by piecing old bits of India scarfs. Next shop is occupied only -by a boy who is reading the Koran in a loud voice, rocking forwards -and backwards. A stooping seller of sherbet comes along clinking his -glasses. A vender of sweetmeats sets his tray before us. A sorry beggar, -a dwarf, beseeches in figurative language. - -“What does he want, Hadji?” - -“He say him hungry, want piece bread; O, no matter for he.” - -The dragomans never interpret anything, except by short cuts. What the -dwarf is really saying, according to Mr. Lane, is, “For the sake of God! -O ye charitable. I am seeking from my lord a cake of bread. I am the -guest of God and the Prophet.” - -As we cannot content him by replying in like strain, “God enrich thee,” -we earn his blessing by a copper or two. - -Across the street is an opening into a nest of shops, gaily hung with -embroideries from Constantinople, silks from Broussa and Beyrout, stuffs -of Damascus; a Persian rug is spread on the mastabah of the shop, swords -and inlaid pistols with flint locks shine amid the rich stuffs. Looking -down this street, one way, is a long vista of bright color, the street -passing under round arches through which I see an old wall painted in -red and white squares, upon which the sun falls in a flood of white -light. The street in which we are sitting turns abruptly at a little -distance, and apparently ends in a high Moorish house, with queer little -latticed windows, and balconies, and dusty recesses full of mystery in -this half light; and at the corner opposite that, I see part of a public -fountain and hear very distinctly the “studying” of the school over it. - -The public fountain is one of the best institutions of Cairo as well -as one of the most ornamental. On the street it is a rounded Saracenic -structure, highly ornamented in carved marble or stucco, and gaily -painted, having in front two or three faucets from which the water is -drawn. Within is a tank which is replenished by water brought in skins -from the Nile. Most of these fountains are charitable foundations, by -pious Moslems who leave or set apart a certain sum to ensure the yearly -supply of so many skins of water. Charity to the poor is one of the -good traits of the Moslems, and the giving of alms and the building of -fountains are the works that will be rewarded in Paradise. - -These fountains, some of which are very beautiful, are often erected -near a mosque. Over them, in a room with a vaulted roof and open to the -street by three or four arches with pillars, is usually a boys' school. -In this room on the floor sit the master and his scholars. Each pupil -has before him his lesson written on a wooden tablet, and this he is -reading at the top of his voice, committing it to memory, and swaying -incessantly backwards and forwards—a movement that is supposed to assist -the memory. With twenty boys shouting together, the noise is heard -above all the clamor of the street. If a boy looks off or stops his -recitation, the stick of the schoolmaster sets him going again. - -The boys learn first the alphabet, then the ninety-nine epithets of -God, and then the Koran, chapter by chapter. This is the sum of human -knowledge absolutely necessary; if the boy needs writing and arithmetic -he learns them from the steelyard weigher in the market; or if he is to -enter any of the professions, he has a regular course of study in -the Mosque El Ezher, which has thousands of students and is the great -University of the East. - -Sitting in the bazaar for an hour one will see strange sights; wedding -and funeral processions are not the least interesting of them. We can -never get accustomed to the ungainly camel, thrusting his huge bulk into -these narrow limits, and stretching his snake neck from side to side, -his dark driver sitting high up in the dusk of the roof on the wooden -saddle, and swaying to and fro with the long stride of the beast. The -camel ought to be used in funeral processions, but I believe he is not. - -We hear now a chanting down the dusky street. Somebody is being carried -to his tomb in the desert outside the city. The procession has to -squeeze through the crowd. First come a half dozen old men, ragged and -half blind, harbingers of death, who move slowly, crying in a whining -tone, “There is no deity but God; Mohammed is God's apostle; God bless -and save him.” Then come two or three schoolboys singing in a more -lively air verses of a funeral hymn. The bier is borne by friends of -the deceased, who are relieved occasionally by casual passengers. On -the bier, swathed in grave-clothes, lies the body, with a Cashmere shawl -thrown over it. It is followed by female hired mourners, who beat their -breasts and howl with shrill and prolonged ululations. The rear is -brought up by the female mourners, relations—a group of a dozen in this -case—whose hair is dishevelled and who are crying and shrieking with -a perfect abandonment to the luxury of grief. Passengers in the street -stop and say, “God is most great,” and the women point to the bier and -say, “I testify that there is no deity but God.” - -When the funeral has passed and its incongruous mingling of chanting and -shrieking dies away, we turn towards the gold bazaar. All the goldsmiths -and silversmiths are Copts; throughout Egypt the working of the precious -metals is in their hands. Descended from the ancient Egyptians, or at -least having more of the blood of the original race in them than others, -they have inherited the traditional skill of the ancient workers in -these metals. They reproduce the old jewelry, the barbarous ornaments, -and work by the same rude methods, producing sometimes the finest work -with the most clumsy tools. - -The gold-bazaar is the narrowest passage we have seen. We step down into -its twilight from a broader street. It is in fact about three feet wide, -a lane with an uneven floor of earth, often slippery. On each side are -the little shops, just large enough for the dealer and his iron safe, -or for a tiny forge, bellows and anvil. Two people have to make way for -each other in squeezing along this alley, and if a donkey comes through -he monopolizes the way and the passengers have to climb upon the -mastabahs either side. The mastabah is a raised seat of stone or brick, -built against the front of the shop and level with its floor, say two -feet and a half high and two feet broad. The lower shutter of the -shop turns down upon the mastabah and forms a seat upon which a rug is -spread. The shopkeeper may sit upon this, or withdraw into his shop to -make room for customers, who remove their shoes before drawing up their -feet upon the carpet. Sometimes three or four persons will crowd into -this box called a shop. The bazaar is a noisy as well as a crowded -place, for to the buzz of talk and the cries of the itinerant venders -is added the clang of the goldsmiths' hammers; it winds down into the -recesses of decaying houses and emerges in another direction. - -We are to have manufactured a bracelet of gold of a pattern as old -as the Pharaohs, and made with the same instruments that the cunning -goldsmiths used three thousand years ago. While we are seated and -bargaining for the work, the goldsmith unlocks his safe and shows us -necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and earrings in the very forms, bizarre -but graceful, of the jewelry of which the Israelites spoiled the -Egyptian women. We see just such in the Museum at Boulak; though these -are not so fine as the magnificent jewelry which Queen Aah-hotep, the -mother of Amosis, attempted to carry with her into the under-world, and -which the scientific violators of her tomb rescued at Thebes. - -In the shop opposite to us are squeezed in three Egyptian women and a -baby, who have come to spend the day in cheapening some bit of jewelry. -There is apparently nothing that the Cairo women like so much as -shopping—at least those who are permitted to go out at all—and they eke -out its delights by consuming a day or two in buying one article. These -women are taking the trade leisurely, examining slowly and carefully the -whole stock of the goldsmith and deliberating on each bead and drop of a -necklace, glancing slily at us and the passers-by out of their dark eyes -meantime. They have brought cakes of bread for lunch, and the baby -is publicly fed as often as he desires. These women have the power of -sitting still in one spot for hours, squatting with perfect patience in -a posture that would give a western woman the cramp for her lifetime. We -are an hour in bargaining with the goldsmith, and are to return late in -the afternoon and see the bracelet made before our eyes, for no one is -expected to trust his fellow here. - -Thus far the gold has only been melted into an ingot, and that with many -precautions against fraud. I first count out the napoleons of which the -bracelet is to be made. These are weighed. A fire is then kindled in the -little forge, the crucible heated, and I drop the napoleons into it, one -by one. We all carefully watch the melting to be sure that no gold is -spilled in the charcoal and no base metal added. The melted mass is then -run into an ingot, and the ingot is weighed against the same number of -napoleons that compose it. And I carry away the ingot. - -When we return the women are still squatting in the shop in the attitude -of the morning. They show neither impatience nor weariness; nor does the -shopkeeper. The baby is sprawled out in his brown loveliness, and -the purchase of a barbarous necklace of beads is about concluded. Our -goldsmith now removes his outer garment, revealing his fine gown -of striped silk, pushes up his sleeves and prepares for work. His -only-tools are a small anvil, a hammer and a pair of pincers. The ingot -is heated and hammered, and heated and hammered, until it is drawn out -into an even, thick wire. This is then folded in three to the required -length, and twisted, till the gold looks like molasses candy; the -ends are then hammered together, and the bracelet is bent to its form. -Finally it is weighed again and cleaned. If the owner wishes he can have -put on it the government stamp. Gold ornaments that are stamped, the -goldsmith will take back at any time and give for them their weight in -coin, less two per cent. - -On our way home we encounter a wedding procession; this is the -procession conducting the bride to the house of the bridegroom; that to -the bath having taken place two days before. The night of the day before -going to the bridegroom is called the “Night of henna.” The bride has an -entertainment at her own house, receives presents of money, and has her -hands and her feet dyed with henna. The going to the bridegroom is on -the eve of either Monday or Friday. These processions we often meet in -the streets of Cairo; they wander about circuitously through the town -making all the noise and display possible. The procession is a rambling -affair and generally attended by a rabble of boys and men. - -This one is preceded by half a dozen shabbily dressed musicians beating -different sorts of drums and blowing hautboys, each instrument on its -own hook; the tune, if there was one, has become discouraged, and -the melody has dropped out; thump, pound, squeak, the music is more -disorganized than the procession, and draggles on in noisy dissonance -like a drunken militia band at the end of a day's “general training.” - -Next come some veiled women in black; and following them are several -small virgins in white. The bride walks next, with a woman each side of -her to direct her steps. This is necessary, for she is covered from head -to feet with a red cashmere shawl hanging from a sort of crown on the -the top of her head. She is in appearance, simply a red cone. Over her -and on three sides of her, but open in front, is a canopy of pink silk, -borne on poles by four men. Behind straggle more musicians, piping and -thumping in an independent nonchalance, followed by gleeful boys. One -attendant sprinkles rose-water on the spectators, and two or three -others seem to have a general direction of the course of the train, and -ask backsheesh for it whenever a stranger is met. - -The procession gets tired occasionally and sits down in the dust of -the road to rest. Sometimes it is accompanied by dancers and other -performers to amuse the crowd. I saw one yesterday which had halted by -the roadside, all the women except the bride squatting down in patient -resignation. In a hollow square of spectators, in front, a male dancer -was exhibiting his steps. Holding a wand perpendicularly before him -with both hands, he moved backwards and forwards, with a mincing gait, -exhibiting neither grace nor agility, but looking around with the most -conceited expression I ever saw on a human face. Occasionally he would -look down at his legs with the most approving glance, as much as to -say, “I trust, God being great, that you are taking particular notice of -those legs; it seems to me that they couldn't be improved.” The fellow -enjoyed his dancing if no one else did, and it was impossible to get -him to desist and let the procession move on. At last the cortege made a -detour round the man who seemed to be so popular with himself, and left -him to enjoy his own performance. - -Sometimes the expense of this zeffeh, or bridal procession, is shared by -two parties, and I have seen two brides walking under the same canopy, -but going to different husbands. The public is not excluded from an -interest in these weddings. The house of a bridegroom, near the Mooskee, -was illuminated a night or two before the wedding, colored lanterns -were hung across the street, and story-tellers were engaged to recite in -front of the house. On the night of the marriage there was a crowd -which greatly enjoyed the indelicate songs and stories of the hired -performers. Late in the evening an old woman appeared at a window and -proclaimed that the husband was contented with his wife. - -An accompaniment of a bridal procession which we sometimes saw we could -not understand. Before the procession proper, walked another, preceded -by a man carrying on his head a high wooden cabinet, with four legs, the -front covered with pieces of looking-glass and bits of brass; behind him -were musicians and attendants, followed by a boy on horseback, dressed -richly in clothes too large for him and like a girl's. It turned out -to be a parade before circumcision, the friends of the lad having taken -advantage of the bridal ceremony of a neighbor to make a display. -The wooden case was merely the sign of the barber who walked in the -procession and was to perform the operation. - -“I suppose you are married?” I ask Hadji when the procession has gone -by. - -“Yes, sir, long time.” - -“And you have never had but one wife?” - -“Have one. He quite nuff for me.” - -“How old was she when you married her?” - -“Oh, I marry he, when he much girl! I tink he eleven, maybe twelve, not -more I tink.” - -Girls in Egypt are marriageable at ten or eleven, and it is said that -if not married before they are fourteen they have an excellent chance of -being old maids. Precocious to mature, they are quick to fall away and -lose their beauty; the laboring classes especially are ugly and flabby -before eighteen. The low mental, not to say physical, condition of -Egyptian women is no doubt largely due to these early marriages. The -girl is married and is a mother before she has an opportunity to educate -herself or to learn the duties of wife or mother, ignorant of how to -make a home pleasant and even of housekeeping, and when she is utterly -unfit to have the care and training of a child. Ignorant and foolish, -and, as Mr. Lane says, passionate, women and mothers can never produce a -great race. And the only reform for Egypt that will give it new vitality -and a place in the world must begin with the women. - -The Khedive, who either has foresight or listens to good advice, issued -a firman some years ago forbidding the marriage of girls under fifteen. -It does not seem to be respected either in city or country; though I -believe that it has some influence in the city, and generally girls are -not married so young in Cairo as in the country. Yet I heard recently in -this city of a man of sixty who took a wife of twelve. As this was not -his first wife, it could not be said of him, as it is said of some great -geniuses, that he struck twelve the first time. - - - -0082 - - - -0083 - - - - -CHAPTER VI.—MOSQUES AND TOMBS. - -WHAT we in Cairo like most to do, is to do nothing in the charming -winter weather—to postpone the regular and necessary sight-seeing to -that limbo to which the Arabs relegate everything—bookra, that is, -tomorrow. Why not as well go to the Pyramids or to Heliopolis or to the -tombs of the Memlooks tomorrow! It is to be the same fair weather; we -never plan an excursion, with the proviso, “If it does not rain.” This -calm certainty of a clear sky adds twenty-five per cent, to the value of -life. - -And yet, there is the Sirocco; that enervating, depressing south wind, -when all the sands of the hot desert rise up into the air and envelope -everything in grit and gloom. I have been on the Citadel terrace when -the city was only dimly outlined in the thick air, and all the horizon -and the sky were veiled in dust as if by a black Scotch mist. We once -waited three days after we had set a time to visit the Pyramids, for -the air to clear. The Sirocco is bad enough in the town, the fine dust -penetrates the closed recesses of all apartments; but outside the city -it is unbearable. Indeed any wind raises the sand disagreeably; and dust -is the great plague of Egypt. The streets of Cairo, except those that -are sprinkled, are seldom free from clouds of it. And it is an ancient -dust. I suppose the powdered dead of thousands of years are blowing -about in the air. - -The desert makes itself apparent even in Cairo. Not only is it in the -air, but it lies in wait close to the walls and houses, ready to -enter at the gates, sifting in through every crevice. Only by constant -irrigation can it be driven back. As soon as we pass beyond the compact -city eastward, we enter the desert, unless we follow the course of some -refreshing canal. The drive upon it is a favorite one on summer nights. -I have spoken of the desert as hot; but it is always cool at night; and -it is the habit of foreigners who are detained in Cairo in the summer to -go every night to the desert to cool off. - -The most conspicuous object in Cairo, from all points, is the Citadel, -built on a bold spur of the Mokattam range, and the adjoining Mosque of -Mohammed Ali in which that savage old reformer is buried. The mosque -is rather Turkish than Saracenic, and its two slender minarets are much -criticised. You who have been in Constantinople are familiar with the -like slight and graceful forms in that city; they certainly are not -so rich or elegant as many of the elaborately carved and more robust -minarets of Cairo which the genius of the old architects reared in the -sun-burst of Saracenic architecture; but they are very picturesque and -effective in their position and especially against a poetic evening sky. - -When Salah-e'-deen robbed the pyramids to build the Citadel, he -doubtless thought he was erecting a fortification that would forever -protect his city and be an enduring home for the Sultans of Egypt. But -Mohammed Ali made it untenable as a fort by placing a commanding battery -on the Mokattam ledge; and now the Citadel (by which I mean all the -group of buildings) useless as a fort (except to overawe the city) -and abandoned as a palace, is little more than a ghost-walk of former -splendors. There are barracks in it; recruits are drilling in its -squares; the minister-of-war occupies some of its stately apartments; -the American General Stone, the chief officer of the Khedive's army, -uses others; in some we find the printing presses and the bureaus of the -engineers and the typographical corps; but vast halls and chambers -of audience, and suites of apartments of the harem, richly carved and -gilded, are now vacant and echo the footsteps of sentries and servitors. -And they have the shabby look of most Eastern architecture when its -first freshness is gone. - -We sat in the room and on the platform where Mohammed Ali sat when the -slaughter of the Memlooks was going on; he sat motionless, so it is -reported, and gave no other sign of nervousness than the twisting of a -piece of paper in his hands. And yet he must have heard the cries under -his window, and, of course, the shots of the soldiers on the walls who -were executing his orders. We looked down from the balcony into the -narrow, walled lane, with its closed gates, in which the five hundred -Memlooks were hemmed in and massacred. Think of the nerve of the old -Turk, sitting still without changing countenance while five hundred, -or more, gallant swash-bucklers were being shot in cool blood under his -window! Probably he would not have been so impassive if he had seen one -of the devoted band escape by spurring his horse through a break in the -wall and take a fearful flying leap upon the rubbish below. - -The world agrees to condemn this treacherous and ferocious act of -Mohammed Ali and, generally, I believe, to feel grateful to him for it. -Never was there a clan of men that needed exterminating so much as the -Memlooks. Nothing less would have suited their peculiarities. They were -merely a band of robbers, black-mailers, and freebooters, a terror -to Egypt. Dislodged from actual power, they were still greatly to be -dreaded, and no ruler was safe who did not obey them. The term Memlook -means “a white male slave,” and is still so used. The Memlooks, who -originally were mostly Circassian white slaves, climbed from the -position of favorites to that of tyrants. They established a long -dynasty of sultans, and their tombs yonder at the edge of the desert are -among the most beautiful specimens of the Saracenic architecture. Their -sovereignty was overthrown by Sultan Selim in 1517, but they remained -a powerful and aristocratic band which controlled governors, corrupted -even Oriental society by the introduction of monstrous vices, and -oppressed the people. I suppose that in the time of the French invasion -they may have been joined by bold adventurers of many nations. Egypt -could have no security so long as any of them remained. It was doubtless -in bad taste for Mohammed Ali to extend a friendly invitation to the -Memlooks to visit him, and then murder them when they were caught in his -trap; he finally died insane, and perhaps the lunacy was providentially -on him at that time. - -In the Citadel precincts is a hall occupied by the “parliament” of the -Khedive, when it is in session; a parliament whose members are -selected by the Viceroy from all over Egypt, in order that he may have -information of the state of the country, but a body that has no power -and certainly not so much influence in the state as the harem has. But -its very assemblage is an innovation in the Orient, and it may lead -in time to infinite gab, to election briberies and multitudinous -legislation, the accompaniments of the highest civilization. We may -yet live to see a member of it rise to enquire into the expenses of the -Khedive's numerous family. - -The great Mosque of Mohammed Ali is in the best repair and is the least -frequented of any in Cairo. Its vast, domed interior, rich in materials -and ambitious in design, is impressive, but this, like all other great -mosques, strikes the Western man as empty. On the floor are beautiful -rugs; a tawdry chandelier hangs in the center, and the great spaces are -strung with lanterns. No one was performing ablution at the handsome -fountain in the marble-paved court; only a single worshipper was -kneeling at prayer in all the edifice. But I heard a bird singing -sweetly in the airy height of the dome. - -The view from the terrace of the mosque is the finest in Egypt, not -perhaps in extent, but certainly in variety and objects of interest; -and if the atmosphere and the light are both favorable, it is the most -poetic. From it you command not only the city and a long sweep of the -Nile, with fields of living green and dark lines of palms, but the ruins -and pyramids of slumberous old Memphis, and, amid the yellow sands and -backed by the desolate Libyan hills, the dreamy pyramids of Geezeh. We -are advised to get this view at sunset, because then the light is soft -and all the vast landscape has color. This is good advice so far as the -city at our feet is concerned, with its hundreds of minarets and its -wide expanse of flat roofs, palm-tops and open squares; there is the -best light then also on the purple Mokattam hills; and the tombs of the -Memlooks, north of the cemetery, with their fairy domes and exquisite -minarets and the encompassing grey desert, the whole bathed in violet -light, have a beauty that will linger with one who has once seen them -forever. But looking beyond the Nile, you have the sun in your face. I -should earnestly entreat the stranger to take this view at sunrise. I -never saw it myself at that hour, being always otherwise engaged, but I -am certain that the Pyramids and the Libyan desert would wake at early -morning in a glow of transcendent beauty. - -We drive out the gate or Bab e' Nasr beyond the desolate Moslem -cemetery, to go to the tombs of the Circassian Memlook Sultans. We pass -round and amid hills of rubbish, dirt, and broken pottery, the dumpings -of the city for centuries, and travel a road so sandy that the horses -can scarcely drag the heavy carriage through it. The public horses of -Cairo are sorry beasts and only need a slight excuse for stopping at any -time. There is nothing agreeable about the great Moslem cemetery; it -is a field of sand-heaps, thickly dotted with little oven-shaped stucco -tombs. They may be pleasanter below ground; for the vault into which the -body is put, without a coffin, is high enough to permit its occupant to -sit up, which he is obliged to do, whether he is able to sit up or not, -the first night of his stay there, in order to answer the questions of -two angels who come to examine him on his religious practices and views. - -The Tombs of the Sultans, which are in the desert, are in fact vast -structures,—tombs and mosques united—and are built of parti-colored -stone. They are remarkable for the beautiful and varied forms of their -minarets and for their aërial domes; the latter are covered with the -most wonderful arabesque carving and tracing. They stand deserted, -with the sand drifting about them, and falling to rapid decay. In the -interiors are still traces of exquisite carving and color, but much of -the ornamentation, being of stucco on rude wooden frames, only adds to -the appearance of decay. The decay of finery is never respectable. - -It is not correct, however, to speak of these mosque-tombs as deserted. -Into all of them have crept families of the poor or of the vicious. -And the business of the occupants, who call themselves guardians, is to -extract backsheesh from the visitor. Spinning, knitting, baking, and all -the simple household occupations go on in the courts and in the gaunt -rooms; one tomb is used as a grist-mill. The women and girls dwelling -there go unveiled; they were tattooed slightly upon the chin and the -forehead, as most Egyptian women are; some of the younger were pretty, -with regular features and handsome dark eyes. Near the mosques are lanes -of wretched homes, occupied by as wretched people. The whole mortal -neighborhood swarms (life out of death) with children; they are as thick -as jars at a pottery factory; they are as numerous as the flies that -live on the rims of their eyes and noses; they are as naked, most of -them, as when they were born. The distended condition of their stomachs -testify that they have plenty to eat, and they tumble about in the dirt, -in the full enjoyment of this delicious climate. People can afford to be -poor when nature is their friend. - - - -0088 - - - -0089 - - - - -CHAPTER VII.—MOSLEM WORSHIP.—THE CALL TO PRAYER. - -I SHOULD like to go once to an interesting city where there are no -sights. That city could be enjoyed; and conscience—which never leaves -any human being in peace until it has nagged him into a perfect -condition morally, and keeps punching him about frivolous little details -of duty, especially at the waking morning hour—would not come to insert -her thumb among the rosy fingers of the dawn. - -Perhaps I do not make myself clear about conscience. Conscience is a -kind of gastric juice that gnaws upon the very coatings of a person's -moral nature, if it has no indigestible sin to feed on. Of course I know -that neither conscience nor gastric juice has a thumb. And, to get out -of these figures, all I wish to say is, that in Cairo, when the traveler -is aware of the glow of the morning stealing into his room, as if the -day were really opened gently (not ripped and torn open as it is in our -own cold north) by a rosy-fingered maiden, and an atmosphere of sweet -leisure prevails, then Conscience suggests remorselessly: “To-day you -must go to the Pyramids,” or, “You must take your pleasure in a drive in -the Shoobra road,” or “You must explore dirty Old Cairo and its -Coptic churches,” or “You must visit the mosques, and see the Howling -Derweeshes.” - -But for this Conscience, I think nothing would be so sweet as the coming -of an eastern morning. I fancy that the cool wind stirring in the palms -is from the pure desert. It may be that these birds, so melodiously -singing in the garden, are the small green birds who eat the fruits and -drink the waters of Paradise, and in whose crops the souls of martyrs -abide until Judgment. As I lie quite still, I hear the call of a muezzin -from a minaret not far off, the voice now full and clear and now faint, -as he walks around the tower to send his entreaty over the dark roofs of -the city. I am not disturbed by this early call to the unconverted, -for this is not my religion. With the clamor of morning church bells in -Italy it is different; for to one born in New England, Conscience is in -the bells. - -Sometimes at midnight I am dimly conscious of the first call to prayer, -which begins solemnly: - -“Prayer is better than sleep.” - -But the night calls are not obligatory, and I do not fully wake. The -calls during the night are long chants, that of the daytime is much -shorter. Mr. Lane renders it thus: - -“God is most Great” (four times repeated). “I testify that there is -no deity but God” (twice). “I testify that Mohammed is God's Apostle” -(twice). “Come to prayer” (twice). “Come to security” (twice). “God is -most Great” (twice). “There is no deity but God.” - -The muezzin whom I hear when the first faint light appears in the east, -has a most sonorous and sweet tenor voice, and his chant is exceedingly -melodious. In the perfect hush of that hour his voice fills all the air, -and might well be mistaken for a sweet entreaty out of heaven. This call -is a long one, and is in fact a confession and proclamation as well as a -call to prayer. It begins as follows: - -“[I extol] the perfection of God, the Existing forever and ever” (three -times): “the perfection of God, the Desired, the Existing, the Single, -the Supreme: the perfection of God, the One, the Sole: the perfection -of Him who taketh to Himself, in his great dominion, neither female -companion nor male partner, nor any like unto Him, nor any that is -disobedient, nor any deputy, nor any equal, nor any offspring. His -perfection [be extolled]: and exalted be His name. He is a Deity who -knew what hath been before it was, and called into existence what hath -been; and He is now existing, as He was [at the first]. His perfection -[be extolled]: and exalted be His name.” - -And it ends: “O God, bless and save and still beatify the beatified -Prophet, our lord Mohammed. And may God, whose name be blessed and -exalted, be well pleased with thee, O our lord El-Hassan, and with thee, -O our lord El-Hoseyn, and with thee, O Aboo-Farrâg, O Sheykh of the -Arabs, and with all the favorites ['.he welees'. of God. Amen.” - -The mosques of Cairo are more numerous than the churches in Rome; there -are about four hundred, many of them in ruins, but nearly all in daily -use. The old ones are the more interesting architecturally, but all have -a certain attraction. They are always open, they are cool quiet retreats -out of the glare of the sun and the noise of the street; they are -democratic and as hospitable to the beggar in rags as to the pasha in -silk; they offer water for the dusty feet of the pilgrim and a clean mat -on which to kneel; and in their hushed walls, with no images to distract -the mind and no ritual to rely on, the devout worshipper may feel the -presence of the Unseen. At all hours you will see men praying there or -reading the Koran, unconscious of any observers. Women I have seen in -there occasionally, but rarely, at prayer; still it is not uncommon to -see a group of poor women resting in a quiet corner, perhaps sewing or -talking in low voices. The outward steps and open courts are refuges for -the poor, the friendless, the lazy, and the tired. Especially the old -and decaying mosques, do the poor frequent. There about the fountains, -the children play, and under the stately colonnades the men sleep and -the women knit and sew. These houses of God are for the weary as well as -for the pious or the repentant. - -The mosques are all much alike. We enter by a few or by a flight of -steps from the street into a large paved court, open to the sky, and -surrounded by colonnades. There is a fountain in the center, a round -or octagonal structure of carved stone, usually with a fanciful wooden -roof; from faucets in the exterior, water runs into a surrounding stone -basin about which the worshippers crouch to perform the ablutions before -prayer. At one side of the court is the entrance to the mosque, covered -by a curtain. Pushing this aside you are in a spacious room lighted -from above, perhaps with a dome, the roof supported by columns rising -to elegant arches. You will notice also the peculiar Arabic -bracketing-work, called by architects “pendentive,” fitting the angles -and the transitions from the corners below to the dome. In decaying -mosques, where the plaster has fallen, revealing the round stick -frame-work of this bracketing, the perishable character of Saracenic -ornament is apparent. - -The walls are plain, with the exception of gilded texts from the Koran. -Above, on strings extending across the room are little lamps, and very -often hundreds of ostrich eggs are suspended. These eggs are almost -always seen in Coptic and often in Greek churches. What they signify I -do not know, unless the ostrich, which can digest old iron, is a symbol -of the credulity that can swallow any tradition. Perhaps her eggs -represent the great “cosmic egg” which modern philosophers are trying to -teach (if we may be allowed the expression) their grandmothers to suck. - -The stone pavement is covered with matting and perhaps with costly rugs -from Persia, Smyrna, and Tunis. The end towards Mecca is raised a foot -or so; in it is the prayer niche, towards which all worshippers turn, -and near that is the high pulpit with its narrow steps in front; a -pulpit of marble carved, or of wood cut in bewildering arabesque, and -inlaid with pearl. - -The oldest mosque in Cairo is Ahmed ebn e' Tooloon, built in 879 A.D., -and on the spot where, according to a tradition (of how high authority -I do not know), Abraham was prevented from offering up his son by -the appearance of a ram. The modern name of this hill is, indeed, -Kalat-el-Kebsh, the Citadel of the Ram. I suppose the tradition is as -well based as is the belief of Moslems that it was Ishmael and not -Isaac whose life was spared. The center of this mosque is an open court, -surrounded by rows of fine columns, five deep on the East side; and what -gives it great interest is the fact that the columns all support pointed -arches, and exceedingly graceful ones, with a slight curve of the -horse-shoe at the base. These arches were constructed about three -centuries before the introduction of the pointed arch into Europe; their -adoption in Europe was probably one of the results of the Crusades. - -In this same court I saw an old Nebk tree, which grows on the spot where -the ark of Noah is said to have rested after its voyage. This goes to -show, if it goes to show anything, that the Flood was “general” enough -to reach Egypt. - -The mosque of Sultan Hassan, notwithstanding its ruined and shabby -condition, is the finest specimen of pure Arabic architecture in -the city; and its lofty and ornamented porch is, I think, as fine as -anything of its kind in the world. One may profitably spend hours in -the study of its exquisite details. I often found myself in front of it, -wondering at the poetic invention and sensitiveness to the beautiful in -form, which enabled the builders to reach the same effects that their -Gothic successors only produced by the aid of images and suggestions -drawn from every department of nature. - -We ascend the high steps, pass through some dilapidated parts of the -building, which are inhabited, and come to the threshold. Here the -Moslem removes his shoes, or street-slippers, and carries them in his -hand. Over this sill we may not step, shod as we are. An attendant is -ready, however, with big slippers which go on over our shoes. Eager, -bright little boys and girls put them on for us, and then attend us in -the mosque, keeping a close watch that the slippers are not shuffled -off. When one does get off, leaving the unholy shoe to touch the ground, -they affect a sort of horror and readjust it with a laugh. Even the -children are beginning to feel the general relaxation of bigotry. -To-day the heels of my shoes actually touch the floor at every step, a -transgression which the little girl who is leading me by the hand points -out with a sly shake of the head. The attention of this pretty little -girl looks like affection, but I know by sad experience that it means -“backsheesh.” It is depressing to think that her natural, sweet, -coquettish ways mean only that. She is fierce if any other girl seeks -to do me the least favor, and will not permit my own devotion to her to -wander. - -The mosque of Sultan Hassan was built in the fourteenth century, and -differs from most others. Its great, open court has a square recess on -each side, over which is a noble arch; the east one is very spacious, -and is the place of prayer. Behind this, in an attached building, is -the tomb of Hassan; lights are always burning over it, and on it lies a -large copy of the Koran. - -When we enter, there are only a few at their devotions, though there are -several groups enjoying the serenity of the court; picturesque groups, -all color and rags! In a far corner an old man is saying his prayers -and near him a negro, perhaps a slave, also prostrates himself. At the -fountain are three or four men preparing for devotion; and indeed the -prayers begin with the washing. The ablution is not a mere form with -these soiled laborers—though it does seem a hopeless task for men of the -color of these to scrub themselves. They bathe the head, neck, breast, -hands and arms, legs and feet; in fact, they take what might be called a -fair bath in any other country. In our sight this is simply a wholesome -“wash”; to them it is both cleanliness and religion, as we know, for Mr. -Lane has taught us what that brown man in the blue gown is saying. -It may help us to understand his acts if we transcribe a few of his -ejaculations. - -When he washes his face, he says:—“O God whiten my face with thy light, -on the day when thou shalt whiten the faces of thy favorites; and do not -blacken my face, on the day when Thou shalt blacken the faces of thine -enemies.” Washing his right arm, he entreats:—“O God, give me my book in -my right hand; and reckon with me with an easy reckoning.” Passing his -wetted hand over his head under his raised turban, he says:—“O God, -cover me with thy mercy, and pour down thy blessing upon me; and shade -me under the shadow of thy canopy, on the day when there shall be no -shade but its shade.” - -One of the most striking entreaties is the prayer upon washing the right -foot:—“O God, make firm my feet upon the Sirat, on the day when feet -shall slip upon it.” - -“Es Sirât” is the bridge, which extends over the midst of Hell, finer -than a hair and sharper than the edge of a sword, over which all must -pass, and from which the wicked shall fall into Hell. - -In these mosques order and stillness always reign, and the devotions -are conducted with the utmost propriety, whether there are single -worshippers, or whether the mosque is filled with lines of gowned and -turbaned figures prostrating themselves and bowing with one consent. -But, much stress as the Moslems lay upon prayer, they say that they do -not expect to reach Paradise by that, or by any merit of their own, -but only by faith and forgiveness. This is expressed frequently both -in prayers and in the sermons on Friday. A sermon by an Imam of a Cairo -mosque contains these implorings:—“O God! unloose the captivity of the -captives, and annul the debts of the debtors; and make this town to be -safe and secure, and blessed with wealth and plenty, and all the towns -of the Moslems, O Lord of the beings of the whole earth. And decree -safety and health to us and to all travelers, and pilgrims, and -warriors, and wanderers, upon thy earth, and upon thy sea, such as are -Moslems, O Lord of the beings of the whole world. O Lord, we have acted -unjustly towards our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us and be -merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish. I beg of -God, the Great, that He may forgive me and you, and all the people of -Mohammed, the servants of God.” - - - -0095 - - - -0096 - - - - -CHAPTER VIII.—THE PYRAMIDS. - -THE ancient Egyptians of the Upper Country excavated sepulchres for -their great dead in the solid rocks of the mountain; the dwellers in -the lower country built a mountain of stone in which to hide the royal -mummy. In the necropolis at Thebes there are the vast rock-tombs of -the kings; at Sakkara and Geezeh stand the Pyramids. On the upper Nile -isolated rocks and mountains cut the sky in pyramidal forms; on the -lower Nile the mountain ranges run level along the horizon, and the -constructed pyramids relieve the horizontal lines which are otherwise -unbroken except by the palms. - -The rock-tombs were walled up and their entrances concealed as much as -possible, by a natural arrangement of masses of rock; the pyramids were -completely encased and the openings perfectly masked. False passages, -leading through gorgeously carved and decorated halls and chambers to -an empty pit or a blind wall, were hewn in the rock-tombs, simply to -mislead the violator of the repose of the dead as to the position of the -mummy. The entrance to the pyramids is placed away from the center, and -misleading passages run from it, conducting the explorer away from the -royal sarcophagus. Rock-tomb and pyramid were for the same purpose, the -eternal security of the mummy. - -That purpose has failed; the burial-place was on too grand a scale, its -contents were too tempting. There is no security for any one after death -but obscurity; to preserve one's body is to lose it. The bones must -be consumed if they would be safe, or else the owner of them must be a -patriot and gain a forgotten grave. There is nothing that men so enjoy -as digging up the bones of their ancestors. It is doubtful if even -the Egyptian plunderers left long undisturbed the great tombs which -contained so much treasure; and certainly the Persians, the Greeks, -the Romans, the Saracens, left comparatively little for the scientific -grave-robbers of our excellent age. They did, however, leave the -tombs, the sarcophagi, most of the sculptures, and a fair share of the -preserved dead. - -But time made a pretty clean sweep of the mummy and nearly all his -personal and real property. The best sculptures of his tomb might -legally be considered in the nature of improvements attaching themselves -to the realty, but our scientists have hacked them off and carried them -away as if they were personal estate. We call the Arabs thieves and -ghouls who prowl in the the tombs in search of valuables. But motive is -everything; digging up the dead and taking his property, tomb and -all, in the name of learning and investigation is respectable and -commendable. It comes to the same thing for the mummy, however, this -being turned out of house and home in his old age. The deed has its -comic aspect, and it seems to me that if a mummy has any humor left in -his dried body, he must smile to see what a ludicrous failure were his -costly efforts at concealment and repose. For there is a point where -frustration of plans may be so sweeping as to be amusing; just as the -mummy himself is so ghastly that his aspect is almost funny. - -Nothing more impresses the mind with the antiquity of Egypt than its -vast cemeteries, into which the harvests of the dead have been gathered -for so many thousands of years. Of old Memphis, indeed, nothing remains -except its necropolis, whose monuments have outlasted the palaces and -temples that were the wonder of the world. The magnificence of the city -can be estimated by the extent of its burial-ground. - -On the west side of the Nile, opposite Cairo, and extending south along -the edge of the desert, is a nearly continuous necropolis for fifteen -miles. It is marked at intervals by pyramids. At Geezeh are three large -and several small ones; at Abooseer are four; at Sakkara are eleven; at -Dashoor are four. These all belonged to the necropolis of Memphis. At -Geezeh is the largest, that of Cheops or Shoofoo, the third king of the -fourth dynasty, reigning at Memphis about 4235 B.C., according to the -chronology of Mariette Bey, which every new discovery helps to establish -as the most probably correct. This pyramid was about four hundred and -eighty feet high, and the length of a side of its base was about seven -hundred and sixty-four feet; it is now four hundred and fifty feet high -and its base line is seven hundred and forty-six feet. It is big enough -yet for any practical purpose. The old pyramid at Sakkara is believed to -have been built by Ouenephes, the fourth king of the first dynasty, -and to be the oldest monument in the world. Like the mounds of the -Chaldeans, it is built in degrees or stages, of which there are five. -Degraded now and buried at the base in its own rubbish, it rises only -about one hundred and ninety feet above the ground. - -It is a drive of two hours from Cairo to the Pyramids of Geezeh, over -a very good road; and we are advised to go by carriage. Hadji is on the -seat with the driver, keeping his single twinkling eye active in the -service of the howadji. The driver is a polished Nubian, with a white -turban and a white gown; feet and legs go bare. You wouldn't call it -a stylish turnout for the Bois, but it would be all right if we had a -gorgeous sais to attract attention from ourselves. - -We drive through the wide and dusty streets of the new quarter. The -barrack-like palace, on the left of abroad place, is the one in which -the Khedive is staying just now, though he may be in another one -to-night. The streets are the same animated theater-like scenes of vivid -color and picturesque costume and indolent waiting on Providence to -which we thought we should never become accustomed, but which are -already beginning to lose their novelty. The fellaheen are coming in to -market, trudging along behind donkeys and camels loaded with vegetables -or freshly cut grass and beans for fodder. Squads of soldiers in white -uniform pass; bugle notes are heard from Kasr e' Neel, a barrack -of troops on the river. Here, as in Europe, the great business most -seriously pursued is the drilling of men to stand straight, handle arms, -roll their eyes, march with a thousand legs moving as one, and shoot on -sight other human beings who have learned the same tricks. God help us, -it is a pitiful thing for civilized people. - -The banks of the Nile here above Boolak are high and steep. We cross -the river on a fine bridge of iron, and drive over the level plain, -opposite, on a raised and winding embankment. This is planted on each -side with lebbekh and sycamore trees. Part of the way the trees are -large and the shade ample; the roots going down into moist ground. Much -of the way the trees are small and kept alive by constant watering. On -the right, by a noble avenue are approached the gardens and the palace -of Gezeereh. We pass by the new summer palace of Geezeh. Other large -ones are in process of construction. If the viceroy is measured for a -new suit of clothes as often as he orders a new palace, his tailors must -be kept busy. Through the trees we see green fields, intersected with -ditches, wheat, barley, and beans, the latter broad-sown and growing -two to three feet high; here and there are lines of palms, clumps of -acacias; peasants are at work or asleep in the shade; there are trains -of camels, and men plowing with cows or buffaloes. Leaving the squalid -huts that are the remains of once beautiful Geezeh, the embankment -strides straight across the level country. - -And there before us, on a rocky platform a hundred feet higher than the -meadows, are the pyramids, cutting the stainless blue of the sky with -their sharp lines. They master the eye when we are an hour away, and as -we approach they seem to recede, neither growing larger nor smaller, but -simply withdrawing with a grand reserve. - -I suppose there are more “emotions” afloat about the pyramids than -concerning any other artificial' objects. There are enough. It becomes -constantly more and more difficult for the ordinary traveler to rise to -the height of these accumulated emotions, and it is entirely impossible -to say how much the excitement one experiences on drawing near them -results from reading and association, and how much is due to these -simple forms in such desolate surroundings. But there they stand, -enduring standards, and every visitor seems inclined to measure his own -height by their vastness, in telling what impression they produce upon -him. They have been treated sentimentally, off-handedly, mathematically, -solemnly, historically, humorously. They yield to no sort of treatment. -They are nothing but piles of stone, and shabby piles at that, and they -stand there to astonish people. Mr. Bayard Taylor is entirely right -when he says that the pyramids are and will remain unchanged and -unapproachably impressive however modern life may surge about them, and -though a city should creep about their bases. - -Perhaps they do not appear so gigantic when the visitor is close to them -as he thought they would from their mass at a distance. But if he stands -at the base of the great pyramid, and casts his eye along the steps -of its enormous side and up the dizzy height where the summit seems to -pierce the solid blue, he will not complain of want of size. And if he -walks around one, and walks from one to another wading in the loose sand -and under a midday sun, his respect for the pyramids will increase every -moment. - -Long before we reach the ascent of the platform we are met by Arab -boys and men, sellers of antiquities, and most persistent beggars. The -antiquities are images of all sorts, of gods, beasts, and birds, in -pottery or in bronze, articles from tombs, bits of mummy-cloth, beads -and scarabæi, and Roman copper coins; all of them at least five thousand -years old in appearance. - -Our carriage is stuck in the sand, and we walk a quarter of a mile up -the platform, attended by a rabble of coaxing, imploring, importunate, -half-clad Bedaween. “Look a here, you take dis; dis ver much old, he -from mummy; see here, I get him in tomb; one shillin; in Cairo you get -him one pound; ver sheap. You no like? No anteeka, no money. How much?” - -“One penny.” - -“Ah,” ironically, “ket'-ther khâyrak (much obliged). You take him -sixpence. Howadji, say, me guide, you want go top pyramid, go inside, go -Sphinkee, allée tomba?” - -Surrounded by an increasing swarm of guides and antiquity-hawkers, and -beset with offers, entreaties, and opportunities, we come face to face -with the great pyramid. The ground in front of it is piled high with its -debris. Upon these rocks, in picturesque attitudes, some in the shade -and some in the sun, others of the tribe are waiting the arrival of -pyramid climbers; in the intense light their cotton garments and turbans -are like white paint, brilliant in the sun, ashy in the shadow. All -the shadows are sharp and deep. A dark man leaning on his spear at the -corner of the pyramid makes a picture. At a kiosk near by carriages are -standing and visitors are taking their lunch. But men, carriages, kiosk, -are dwarfed in this great presence. It is, as I said, a shabby pile of -stone, and its beauty is only that of mathematical angles; but then -it is so big, it casts such a shadow; we all beside it are like the -animated lines and dots which represent human beings in the etchings of -Callot. - -To be rid of importunities we send for the sheykh of the pyramid tribe. -The Bedaween living here have a sort of ownership of these monuments, -and very good property they are. The tribe supports itself mainly by -tolls levied upon visitors. The sheykh assigns guides and climbers, and -receives the pay for their services. This money is divided among the -families; but what individuals get as backsheesh or by the sale -of antiquities, they keep. They live near by, in huts scarcely -distinguishable from the rocks, many of them in vacant tombs, and some -have shanties on the borders of the green land. Most of them have -the appearance of wretched poverty, and villainous faces abound. But -handsome, intelligent faces and finely developed forms are not rare, -either. - -The Sheykh, venerable as Jacob, respectable as a New England deacon, -suave and polite as he traditionally should be, wears a scarf of camel's -hair and a bright yellow and black kuffia, put on like a hood, fastened -about the head by a cord and falling over the shoulders. He apportioned -his guides to take us up the pyramid and to accompany us inside. I had -already sent for a guide who had been recommended to me in the city, -and I found Ali Gobree the frank, manly, intelligent, quiet man I had -expected, handsome also, and honesty and sincerity beaming from his -countenance. How well-bred he was, and how well he spoke English. Two -other men were given me; for the established order is that two shall -pull and one shall push the visitor up. And it is easier to submit -to the regulation than to attempt to go alone and be followed by an -importunate crowd. - -I am aware that every one who writes of the pyramids is expected to make -a scene of the ascent, but if I were to romance I would rather do it in -a fresher field. The fact is that the ascent is not difficult, unless -the person is very weak in the legs or attempts to carry in front of -himself a preposterous stomach. There is no difficulty in going alone; -occasionally the climber encounters a step from three to four feet high, -but he can always flank it. Of course it is tiresome to go up-stairs, -and the great pyramid needs an “elevator”; but a person may leisurely -zig-zag up the side without great fatigue. We went straight up at one -corner; the guides insisting on taking me by the hand; the boosting Arab -who came behind earned his money by grunting every time we reached a -high step, but he didn't lift a pound. - -We stopped frequently to look down and to measure with the eye the mass -on the surface of which we were like flies. When we were a third of the -way up, and turned from the edge to the middle, the height to be climbed -seemed as great as when we started. I should think that a giddy person -might have unpleasant sensations in looking back along the corner and -seeing no resting-place down the sharp edges of the steps short of the -bottom, if he should fall. We measure our ascent by the diminishing size -of the people below, and by the widening of the prospect. The guides are -perfectly civil, they do not threaten to throw us off, nor do they even -mention backsheesh. Stopping to pick out shells from the nummulitic -limestone blocks or to try our glasses on some distant object, we come -easily to the summit in a quarter of an hour. - -The top, thirty feet square, is strewn with big blocks of stone and -has a flag-staff. Here ambitious people sometimes breakfast. Arabs are -already here with koollehs of water and antiquities. When the whole -party arrives the guides set up a perfunctory cheer; but the attempt to -give an air of achievement to our climbing performance and to make it -appear that we are the first who have ever accomplished the feat, is a -failure. We sit down upon the blocks and look over Egypt, as if we were -used to this sort of thing at home. - -All that is characteristic of Egypt is in sight; to the west, the Libyan -hills and the limitless stretch of yellow desert sand; to the north, -desert also and the ruined pyramid of Abooroâsh; to the south, that long -necropolis of the desert marked by the pyramids of Abooseér, Sakkarah, -and Dashoor; on the east, the Nile and its broad meadows widening into -the dim Delta northward, the white line of Cairo under the Mokattam -hills, and the grey desert beyond. Egypt is a ribbon of green between -two deserts. Canals and lines of trees stripe the green of the -foreground; white sails flicker southward along the river, winging their -way to Nubia; the citadel and its mosque shine in the sun. - -An Arab offers to run down the side of this pyramid, climb the second -one, the top of which is still covered with the original casing, and -return in a certain incredible number of minutes. We decline, because we -don't like to have a half-clad Arab thrust his antics between us and -the contemplation of dead yet mighty Egypt. We regret our refusal -afterwards, for there is nothing people like to read about so much -as feats of this sort. Humanity is more interesting than stones. I am -convinced that if Martha Rugg had fallen off the pyramid instead of the -rock at Niagara Falls, people would have looked at the spot where she -fell, and up at the stairs she came bobbing down, with more interest -than at the pyramid itself. Nevertheless, this Arab, or another did, -while we were there, climb the second pyramid like a monkey; he looked -only a black speck on its side. - -That accidents sometimes happen on the pyramids, I gather from the -conversation of Hadji, who is full of both information and philosophy -to-day. - -“Sometime man, he fool, he go up. Man say, 'go this way.' Fool, he say, -'let me lone.' Umbrella he took him, threw him off; he dead in hundred -pieces.” - -As to the selling of Scarabæi to travelers, Hadji inclines to the side -of the poor:—“Good one, handsome one,—one pound. Not good for much—but -what to do? Gentleman he want it; man he want the money.” - -For Murray's' Guide-Book he has not more respect than guides usually -have who have acted as interpreters in the collection of information for -it. For “interpret” Hadji always says “spell.” - -“When the Murray come here I spell it to the man, the man to Murray -and him put it down. He don't know anything before. He told me, what -is this? I told him what it is. Something,” with a knowing nod, “be new -after Murray. Look here, Murray very old now.” - -Hadji understands why the cost of living has gone up so much in Egypt. -“He was very sheap; now very different, dearer—because plenty people. I -build a house, another people build a house, and another people he build -a house. Plenty men to work, make it dear.” I have never seen Hadji's -dwelling, but it is probably of the style of those that he calls—when in -the street we ask him what a specially shabby mud-wall with a ricketty -door in it is—“a brivate house.” - -About the Great Pyramid has long waged an archaeological war. Years have -been spent in studying it, measuring it inside and outside, drilling -holes into it, speculating why this stone is in one position and that -in another, and constructing theories about the purpose for which it was -built. Books have been written on it, diagrams of all its chambers -and passages, with accurate measurements of every stone in them, are -printed. If I had control of a restless genius who was dangerous to the -peace of society, I would set him at the Great Pyramid, certain that -he would have occupation for a lifetime and never come to any useful -result. The interior has peculiarities, which distinguish it from all -other pyramids; and many think that it was not intended for a sepulchre -mainly; but that it was erected for astronomical purposes, or as a -witness to the true north, east, south, and west, or to serve as a -standard of measure; not only has the passage which descends obliquely -three hundred and twenty feet from the opening into the bed-rock, and -permits a view of the sky from that depth, some connection with the -observation of Sirius and the fixing of the Sothic year; not only is -the porphyry sarcophagus that is in the King's Chamber, secure from -fluctuations of temperature, a fixed standard of measure; but the -positions of various stones in the passages (stones which certainly are -stumbling-blocks to everybody who begins to think why they are there) -are full of a mystic and even religious signification. It is most -restful, however, to the mind to look upon this pyramid as a tomb, -and that it was a sepulchre like all the others is the opinion of most -scholars. - -Whatever it was, it is a most unpleasant place to go into. But we wanted -one idea of' Cimmerian darkness, and the sensation of being buried -alive, and we didn't like to tell a lie when asked if we had been in, -and therefore we went. You will not understand where we went without a -diagram, and you never will have any idea of it until you go. We, with -a guide for each person, light candles, and slide and stumble down an -incline; we crawl up an incline; we shuffle along a level passage that -seems interminable, backs and knees bent double till both are apparently -broken, and the torture of the position is almost unbearable; we get -up the Great Gallery, a passage over a hundred and fifty feet long, -twenty-eight high, and seven broad, and about as easy to ascend as a -logging-sluice, crawl under three or four portcullises, and emerge, -dripping with perspiration and covered with dust, into the king's -chamber, a room thirty-four feet long, seventeen broad, and nineteen -high. It is built of magnificent blocks of syenite, polished and fitted -together perfectly, and contains the lidless sarcophagus. - -If it were anywhere else and decently lighted, it would be a stylish -apartment; but with a dozen torches and candles smoking in it and -heating it, a lot of perspiring Arabs shouting and kicking up a dust, -and the feeling that the weight of the superincumbent mass was upon -us, it seemed to me too small and confined even for a tomb. The Arabs -thought they ought to cheer here as they did on top; we had difficulty -in driving them all out and sending the candles with them, in order -that we might enjoy the quiet and blackness of this retired situation. -I suppose we had for once absolute night, a room full of the original -Night, brother of Chaos, night bottled up for four or five thousand -years, the very night in which old Cheops lay in a frightful isolation, -with all the portcullises down and the passages sealed with massive -stones. - -Out of this blackness the eye even by long waiting couldn't get a ray; -a cat's eye would be invisible in it. Some scholars think that Cheops -never occupied this sarcophagus. I can understand his feeling if he ever -came in here alive. I think he may have gone away and put up “to let” on -the door. - -We scrambled about a good deal in this mountain, visited the so-called -Queen's Chamber, entered by another passage, below the King's, lost -all sense of time and of direction, and came out, glad to have seen the -wonderful interior, but welcoming the burst of white light and the pure -air, as if we were being born again. To remain long in that gulf of -mortality is to experience something of the mystery of death. - -Ali Gobree had no antiquities to press upon us, but he could show us -some choice things in his house, if we would go there. Besides, his -house would be a cool place in which to eat our lunch. We walked -thither, a quarter of a mile down the sand slope on the edge of the -terrace. We had been wondering where the Sphinx was, expecting it to be -as conspicuous almost as the Pyramids. Suddenly, turning a sand-hill, we -came upon it, the rude lion's body struggling out of the sand, the human -head lifted up in that stiff majesty which we all know. - -So little of the body is now visible, and the features are so much -damaged that it is somewhat difficult to imagine what impression this -monstrous union of beast and man once produced, when all the huge -proportions stood revealed, and color gave a startling life-likeness to -that giant face. It was cut from the rock of the platform; its back -was patched with pieces of sandstone to make the contour; its head was -solid. It was approached by flights of stairs descending, and on the -paved platform where it stood were two small temples; between its paws -was a sort of sanctuary, with an altar. Now, only the back, head and -neck are above the drifting sand. Traces of the double crown of Upper -and Lower Egypt which crowned the head are seen on the forehead, but -the crown has gone. The kingly beard that hung from the chin has been -chipped away. The vast wig—the false mass of hair that encumbered the -shaven heads of the Egyptians, living or dead—still stands out on -either side the head, and adds a certain dignity. In spite of the -broken condition of the face, with the nose gone, it has not lost its -character. There are the heavy eyebrows, the prominent cheek-bones, the -full lips, the poetic chin, the blurred but on-looking eyes. I think -the first feeling of the visitor is that the face is marred beyond -recognition, but the sweep of the majestic lines soon becomes apparent; -it is not difficult to believe that there is a smile on the sweet mouth, -and the stony stare of the eyes, once caught, will never be forgotten. - -The Sphinx, grossly symbolizing the union of physical and intellectual -force, and hinting at one of those recondite mysteries which we -still like to believe existed in the twilight of mankind, was called -Hor-em-Khoo (“the Sun in his resting-place”), and had divine honors paid -to it as a deity. - -This figure, whatever its purpose, is older than the Pyramid of Cheops. -It has sat facing the east, on the edge of this terrace of tombs, -expecting the break of day, since a period that is lost in the dimness -of tradition. All the achievements of the race, of which we know -anything, have been enacted since that figure was carved. It has seen, -if its stony eyes could see, all the procession of history file before -it. Viewed now at a little distance or with evening shadows on it, its -features live again, and it has the calmness, the simple majesty that -belong to high art. Old writers say that the face was once sweet and -beautiful. How long had that unknown civilization lasted before it -produced this art? - -Why should the Sphinx face the rising sun? Why does it stand in a -necropolis like a sleepy warden of the dead who sleep? Was it indeed -the guardian of those many dead, the mighty who slept in pyramids, in -rock-hewn tombs, in pits, their bodies ready for any pilgrimage; and -does it look to the east expecting the resurrection? - -Not far from the Sphinx is a marvelous temple of syenite, which the sand -almost buries; in a well in one of its chambers was found the splendid -red-granite statue of Chephren, the builder of the second pyramid, a -piece of art which succeeding ages did not excel. All about the rock -plateau are tombs, and in some of them are beautiful sculptures, upon -which the coloring is fresh. The scenes depicted are of common life, the -occupations and diversions of the people, and are without any religious -signification. The admirable sculptures represent no gods and no funeral -mysteries; when they were cut the Egyptian theology was evidently not -constructed. - -The residence of our guide is a tomb, two dry chambers in the rock, the -entrance closed by a wooden door. The rooms are large enough for tables -and chairs; upon the benches where the mummies have lain, are piled -antique fragments of all sorts, set off by a grinning skull or a -thigh-bone; the floor is covered with fine yellow sand. I don't know how -it may have seemed to its first occupant, but we found it an excellent -luncheon place, and we could sleep there calmly and securely, when the -door was shut against the jackals—though I believe it has never been -objected to a tomb that one couldn't sleep in it. While we sip our -coffee Ali brings forth his antique images and scarabæi. These are -all genuine, for Ali has certificates from most of the well-known -Egyptologists as to his honesty and knowledge of antiquities. We -are looking for genuine ones; those offered us at the pyramids were -suspicious. We say to Ali:— - -“We should like to get a few good scarabæi; we are entirely ignorant of -them; but we were sent to you as an honest man. You select half a dozen -that you consider the best, and we will pay you a fair price; if they do -not pass muster in Cairo you shall take them back.” - -“As you are a friend of Mr. Blank,” said Ali, evidently pleased with the -confidence reposed in him, “you shall have the best I have, for about -what they cost me.” - -The Scarabæus is the black beetle that the traveler will constantly see -tumbling about in the sand, and rolling up balls of dirt as he does -in lands where he has not so sounding a name. He was sacred to the old -Egyptians as an emblem of immortality, because he was supposed to have -the power of self-production. No mummy went away into the shades of the -nether world without one on his breast, with spread-wings attached to -it. Usually many scarabæi were buried with the mummy—several hundreds -have been found in one mummy-case. They were cut from all sorts of -stones, both precious and common, and made of limestone, or paste, -hardened, glazed and baked. Some of them are exquisitely cut, the -intaglio on the under side being as clean, true, and polished as Greek -work. The devices on them are various; the name of a reigning or a -famous king, in the royal oval, is not uncommon, and an authentic -scarabæus with a royal name is considered of most value. I saw an -insignificant one in soft stone and of a grey color, held at a hundred -pounds; it is the second one that has ever been found with the name of -Cheops on it. The scarabæi were worn in rings, carried as charms, used -as seals; there are large coarse ones of blue pottery which seem to have -been invitations to a funeral, by the inscriptions on them. - -The Scarabæus is at once the most significant and portable souvenir of -ancient Egypt that the traveler can carry away, and although the supply -was large, it could not fill the demand. Consequently antique scarabæi -are now manufactured in large quantities at Thebes, and in other places, -and distributed very widely over the length of Egypt; the dealers have -them with a sprinkling of the genuine; almost every peasant can produce -one from his deep pocket; the women wear them in their bosoms. - -The traveler up the Nile is pretty sure to be attacked with the fever of -buying Scarabæi; he expects to happen upon one of great value, which he -will get for a few piastres. It is his intention to do so. The Scarabæus -becomes to him the most beautiful and desirable object in the world. He -sees something fascinating in its shape, in its hieroglyphics, however -ugly it may be to untaught eyes. - -Ali selected our scarabæi. They did not seem to us exactly the antique -gems that we had expected to see, and they did not give a high idea of -the old Egyptian art. But they had a mysterious history and meaning; -they had shared the repose of a mummy perhaps before Abraham departed -from Ur. We paid for them. We paid in gold. We paid Ali for his -services as guide. We gave him backsheesh on account of his kindness and -intelligence, besides. We said good-bye to his honest face with regret, -and hoped to see him again. - -It was not long before we earnestly desired to meet him. He was a most -accomplished fellow, and honesty was his best policy. There isn't a more -agreeable Bedawee at the Pyramids; and yet Ali is a modern Egyptian, -just like his scarabæi, all the same. The traveler who thinks the -Egyptians are not nimble-witted and clever is likely to pay for his -knowledge to the contrary. An accumulated experience of five thousand -years, in one spot, is not for nothing. - -We depart from the pyramids amid a clamor of importunity; prices -have fallen to zero; antiquities old as Pharaoh will be given away; -“backsheesh, backsheesh, O Howadji;” “I havn't any bread to mangere, I -have six children; what is a piastre for eight persons?” They run -after us, they hang upon the carriage, they follow us a mile, begging, -shrieking, howling, dropping off one by one, swept behind by the weight -of a copper thrown to them. - -The shadows fall to the east; there is a lovely light on the plain; we -meet long lines of camels, of donkeys, of fellaheen returning from city -and field. All the west is rosy; the pyramids stand in a purple light; -the Sphinx casts its shade on the yellow sand; its expectant eyes look -beyond the Nile into the mysterious East. - - - -0111 - - - - -CHAPTER IX.—PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. - -WE are giving our minds to a name for our dahabeëh. The owners have -desired us to christen it, and the task is getting heavy. Whatever -we are doing; guiding a donkey through the mazes of a bazaar; eating -oranges at the noon breakfast; watching the stream of color and -fantastic apparel, swaying camels and dashing harem-equipage with -running saïses and outriding eunuchs, flowing by the hotel; following -a wedding procession in its straggling parade, or strolling vacantly -along, knocked, jostled, evaded by a dozen races in a dozen minutes and -lost in the whirl, color, excitement of this perpetual masquerade, we -are suddenly struck with, “what shall we call that boat?” - -We want a name that is characteristic of the country and expressive -of our own feelings, poetic and not sentimental, sensible and not -common-place. It seems impossible to suggest a good name that is not -already borne by a dahabeëh on the river—names such as the Lotus, the -Ibis, the Gazelle, Cleopatra, Zenobia, names with an Eastern flavor. And -we must have not only a name for the boat, but a motto or device for our -pennant, or “distinguisher flag,” as the dragoman calls the narrow fifty -feet long strip of bunting that is to stream from the forward yard. -We carry at the stern the flag of our country, but we float our -individuality in the upper air. If we had been a bridal party we should -of course have taken some such device as that of a couple who went -up the river under the simple but expressive legend of “Nestle-down,” -written on their banner. - -What would you name a Nile dahabeëh? - -The days go all too rapidly for us to catch the shifting illusions -about us. It is not so much what we see of the stated sights that can -be described, but it is the atmosphere in which we live that makes the -strangeness of our existence. It is as if we had been born into another -world. And the climate is as strange as the people, the costumes, the -habits, the morals. The calendar is bewitched. December is a mixture of -September and July. Alas, yes. There are the night-fogs of September, -and the mosquitoes of July. You cannot tell whether the season is going -backwards or forwards. But for once you are content to let Providence -manage it, at least so long as there is a north wind, and you forget -that the sky has any shade other than blue. - -And the prophecy of the poet is realized. The nights are filled with -music, and the cares that infest the day are invariably put off till -tomorrow, in this deliciously procrastinating land. Perhaps, however, -Mr. Longfellow would not be satisfied with the music; for it seems to be -the nasal daughter of Lassitude and Monotony, ancient gods of the East. -Two or three strings stretched over a sounding skin and a parchment drum -suffice to express the few notes that an Arab musician commands; harmony -does not enter into his plan. Yet the people are fond of what they -consider music. We hear on all sides at night the picking of strings, -the throb of the darabooka and the occasional outburst of a wailing and -sentimental strain. Like all barbarous music, this is always minor. When -the performers are sailors or common strollers, it is doubtless -exactly the same music that delighted the ancient Egyptians; even -the instruments are the same, and the method of clapping the hands in -accentuation of the music is unchanged. - -There is a café chantant on one side of the open, tree-grown court of a -native hotel, in the Ezbekeëh where one may hear a mongrel music, that -is not inexpressive of both the morals and the mixed condition of Cairo -to-day. The instruments of the band are European; the tunes played are -Egyptian. When the first strain is heard we say that it is strangely -wild, a weird and plaintive minor; but that is the whole of it. The -strain is repeated over and over again for a half hour, as if it were -ground out of a coffee-mill, in an iteration sufficient to drive the -listener insane, the dissolute scraping and thumping and barbarous -dissonance never changing nor ending. From time to time this is varied -with singing, of the nasal, fine-tooth-comb order, with the most -extraordinary attempts at shakes and trills, and with all the agony of a -moonlit cat on a house-top. All this the grave Arabs and young Egyptian -rakes, who sit smoking, accept with entire satisfaction. Later in the -evening dancing begins and goes on with the strumming, monotonous music -till at least the call for morning prayer. - -In the handsome Ezbekeëh park or garden, where there are shady walks and -some fine sycamores and banyans to be seen, a military band plays -every afternoon, while the foreigners of both sexes, and Egyptian men -promenade. Of course no Egyptian lady or woman of respectability is ever -seen in so public a place. In another part of the garden, more retired, -a native band is always playing at nightfall. In this sheltered spot, -under the lee of some gigantic rock and grotto-work are tables and -chairs, and a divan for the band. This rock has water pleasantly running -through it, but it must have been struck by somebody besides Moses, for -beer is brought out of its cool recesses, as well. Rows of men of all -colors and costumes may be seen there, with pipe and mug and coffee cup; -and on settees more elevated and next the grotto, are always sitting -veiled women, in outer wrappers of black silk, sometimes open enough -to show an underskirt of bright color and feet in white slippers. These -women call for beer or something stronger, and smoke like the men; they -run no risk in being in this publicity, for they have nothing to lose -here or elsewhere. Opposite them on a raised divan, not unlike a roomy -bedstead, sits the band. - -It is the most disreputable of bands. Nothing in the whole East so -expressed to me its fagged-out dissoluteness as this band and its -performances. It is a sleepy, nonchalant band, as if it had been awake -all the previous night; some of its members are blear-eyed, some have -one eye, some have two; they are in turbans, in tarbooshes, in gowns of -soiled silk, of blue cotton, of white drilling. It is the feeblest band; -and yet it is subject to spurts of bacchantic fervor. Sometimes all the -instruments are striving together, and then only one or two dribble -the monotonous refrain; but somehow, with all the stoppings to light -cigarettes and sip coffee, the tune is kept groaning on, in a minor that -is as wild as the desert and suggestive of sin. - -The instruments are as African as the music. There is the darabooka, -a drum made of an earthen or wooden cylinder with a flaring head, over -which is stretched a parchment; the tar, a kind of tambourine; kemengeh, -a viol of two strings, with a cocoa-nut sounding-body; the kanoon, an -instrument of strings held on the knees, and played with the fingers; -the '.od, a sort of guitar with seven double strings; played with a -plectrum, a slip of vultures' feather held between the thumb and finger; -and the nay, a reed-flute blown at the end. - -In the midst of the thumbing and scraping, a rakish youth at the end, -is liable, at any moment, to throw back his head and break out in a soft -womanish voice, which may go no farther than a nasal yah, ah, m-a-r-r, -that appears to satisfy his yearnings; or it may expand into a droning -song, “Ya benat Iskendereeyeh,” like that which Mr. Lane renders:— - - -“O ye damsels of Alexandria! - -Your walk over the furniture is alluring: - -Ye wear the Kashmeer shawl with embroidered work, - -And your lips are sweet as sugar.” - - -Below the divan sit some idlers or supernumeraries, who, as inclination -moves them, mark the rhythm by striking the palms of the hands together, -or cry out a prolonged ah-yah, but always in a forgetful, uninterested -manner, and then subside into silence, while the picking and throbbing -of the demoralized tune goes on. It is the “devilish iteration” of it, I -think, that steals away the senses; this, and some occult immorality -in the debased tune, that blots virtue out of the world. Yet there is -something comic in these blinking owls of the night, giving sentimental -tongue to the poetic imagery of the Eastern love-song—“for a solitary -gazelle has taken away my soul”:— - - -“The beloved came to me with a vacillating gait; - -And her eyelids were the cause of my intoxication. - -I extended my hand to take the cup; - -And was intoxicated by her eyes. - -O thou in the rose-colored dress! - -O thou in the rose-colored dress! - -Beloved of my heart! remain with me.” - - -Or he pipes to the “dark-complexioned, and with two white roses”:— - - -“O damsel! thy silk shirt is worn out, and thine arms have become -visible, - -And I fear for thee, on account of the blackness of thine eyes. - -I desire to intoxicate myself, and kiss thy cheeks, - -And do deeds that Antar did not.” - - -To all of which the irresponsible chorus, swaying its head, responds O! -y-a-a-a-h! And the motley audience sips and smokes; the veiled daughters -of sin flash invitation from their kohl-stained eyes; and the cool night -comes after the flaring heat of the day; and all things are as they -have been for thousands of years. It is time to take you to something -religious. - -The Howling Derweeshes are the most active religionists in the East; I -think they spend more force in devotion than the Whirling Derweeshes, -though they are probably not more meritorious. They exceed our own -western “Jumpers,” and by contrast make the worship of our dancing -Shakers tame and worldly. Of all the physical manifestations of -religious feeling there is none more warming than the zikr of these -devotees. The derweeshes are not all wanderers, beggars, saints in -patched garments and filthy skin; perhaps the most of those who belong -to one of the orders pursue some regular occupation; they are fishermen, -laborers in the fields, artisans, and water-carriers, and only -occasionally join in the ceremonies, processions and zikrs of their -faith. I have seen a laborer drop into the ring, take his turn at a -zikr, and drop out again, very much as the western man happens in and -takes a hand in a “free fight,” and then retires. - -This mosque at which the Howling Derweeshes perform is circular, and -large enough to admit a considerable number of spectators, who sit, or -stand against the wall. Since the exercise is one of the sights of the -metropolis, and strangers are expected, it has a little the air of a -dress-parade, and I could not but fear that the devotion lost somewhat -of its singleness of purpose. When we enter, about forty men stand in an -oblong ring facing each other; the ring is open towards the mehhrab, -or niche which marks the direction of Mecca. In the opening stands -the Sheykh, to direct the performance; and at his left are seated the -musicians. - -The derweeshes have divested themselves of turbans, fezes, outer gowns -and slippers, which lie in a heap in the middle of the circle, an -indistinguishable mass of old clothes, from which when the owners come -to draw they cannot fail to get as good as they deposited. The ceremony -begins with a little uneasiness on the part of the musical instruments; -the sheykh bows his head and brings the palms of his hands together; and -the derweeshes, standing close together, with their hands straight at -their sides, begin slowly to bow and to sway to the right in a compound -motion which is each time extended. The daraboo-ka is beaten softly -and the '.od is picked to a slow measure. As the worshippers sway, -they chant, La ilaha illa-llah (“There is no deity but God”) in endless -repetition, and imperceptibly quickening the enunciation as they bow -more rapidly. The music gets faster, and now and again one of the -roguish boys who is thumping the drum breaks out into vocal expression -of his piety or of his hilarity. The circle is now under full swing, the -bowings are lower and much more rapid, and the ejaculation has become -merely Allah, Allah, Allah, with a strong stress on the final syllable. - -The peculiarities of the individual performers begin to come out. Some -only bow and swing in a perfunctory manner; others throw their strength -into the performance, and their excitement is evinced by the working of -the face and the rolling of the eyes. Many of them have long hair, which -has evidently known neither scissors nor comb for years, and is matted -and twisted in a hopeless tangle. One of the most conspicuous and -the least clad, a hairy man of the desert, is, exactly in apparel and -features, like the conventional John the Baptist. His enormous shock -of faded brown hair is two feet long and its ends are dyed yellow with -henna. When he bends forward his hair sweeps the floor, and when he -throws his head back the mass whips over with a swish through the air. -The most devout person, however, is a negro, who puts all the fervor -of the tropics into his exercise. His ejaculations are rolled out with -extraordinary volume, and his black skin shines with moisture; there is, -too, in his swaying and bowing, an abandon, a laxity of muscles, and a -sort of jerk that belong only to his sympathetic race. - -The exercise is every moment growing more rapid, but in regular -increments, as the music hastens—five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen -minutes—until there is a very high pressure on, the revolutions of the -cylinder are almost one in two seconds, and the piston moves quicker and -quicker. The music, however, is not louder, only more intense, and now -and then the reed-flute executes a little obligato, a plaintive strain, -that steals into the frenzy like the note of a lost bird, sweet as love -and sad as death. The performers are now going so rapidly that they can -only ejaculate one syllable, '.ah, 'lah, 'lah, which is aspirated in -a hoarse voice every time the head is flung forward to the floor. The -hands are now at liberty, and swing with the body, or are held palm to -palm before the face. The negro cannot longer contain himself but breaks -occasionally into a shrill “hoo!” He and two or three others have “the -power,” and are not far from an epileptic fit. - -There is a limit, however, to the endurance of the body; the swaying -has become so rapid that it is difficult to distinguish faces, and it is -impossible for the performers to repeat even a syllable of the name of -Allah, all they can do is to push out from the depths of the lungs a -vast hoarse aspiration of la-a-h, which becomes finally a gush exactly -like the cut-off of a steam engine, short and quick. - -The end has nearly come; in vain the cymbals clang, in vain the drum is -beaten harder, and the horn calls to quicker work. The limit is reached, -and while the reed expresses its plaintive fear, the speed slackens, -the steam puffs are slower, and with an irregular hoo! from the colored -brother, the circle stands still. - -You expect to see them sink down exhausted. Not a bit of it. One or -two having had enough of it, take their clothes and withdraw, and their -places are filled by others and by some very sensible-looking men, -trades-people evidently. After a short rest they go through the same or -a similar performance, and so on for an hour and a half, the variations -being mainly in the chanting. At the end, each derweesh affectionately -embraces the Sheykh, kisses his hand without servility, resumes his -garments and quietly withdraws. They seem to have enjoyed the exercise, -and certainly they had plenty of it. I should like to know what they -think of us, the infidel spectators, who go to look at their religious -devotions as if they were a play. - -That derweesh beggar in a green turban is by that token a shereef, or -descendant of the Prophet. No one but a shereef is allowed to wear the -green turban. The shereefs are in all ranks of society, many of them -wretched paupers and in the most menial occupations; the title is -inherited from either parent and the representatives of the race have -become common. Some who are entitled to the green turban wear the -white instead, and prefer to be called Sevd (master or lord) instead of -Shereef. Such a man is Seyd Sadat, the most conspicous representative of -the family of the Prophet in Cairo. His ancestors for a long period -were the trustees of the funds of all the great mosques of Cairo, and -consequently handled an enormous revenue and enjoyed great power. These -millions of income from the property of the mosques the Khedive has -diverted to his own purposes by the simple process of making himself -their trustee. Thus the secular power interferes every few centuries, -in all countries, with the accumulation of property in religious houses. -The strict Moslems think with the devout Catholics, that it is an -impious interference. - -Seyd Sadat lives in the house that his family have occupied for -over eight centuries! It is perhaps the best and richest specimen of -Saracenic domestic architecture now standing in the East. This house, -or collection of houses and disconnected rooms opening upon courts and -gardens, is in some portions of it in utter decay; a part, whose elegant -arches and marvelous carvings in stone, with elaborate hanging balconies -and painted recesses, are still studies of beauty, is used as a stable. -The inhabited rooms of the house are tiled two-thirds of the way to the -lofty ceilings; the floors are of variegated marbles, and the ceilings -are a mass of wood in the most intricate arabesque carving, and painted -in colors as softly blended as the hues of an ancient camels' hair -shawl. In one of these gorgeous apartments, the furniture of which is -not at all in keeping with the decorations (an incongruity which one -sees constantly in the East—shabbiness and splendor are indissolubly -married), we are received by the Descendant with all the ceremony of -Eastern hospitality. Seated upon the divan raised above the fountain -at one end of the apartment, we begin one of those encounters of -compliments through an interpreter, out of which the traveler always -comes beaten out of sight. The Seyd is a handsome intelligent man of -thirty-five, sleek with good living and repose, and a master of Oriental -courtesy. His attire is all of silk, the blue color predominating; -his only ornament is a heavy gold chain about the neck. We frame long -speeches to the Seyd, and he appears to reply with equal verboseness, -but what he says or what is said to him we never know. The Eastern -dragoman is not averse to talking, but he always interprets in a sort of -short-hand that is fatal to conversation. I think the dragomans at such -interviews usually translate you into what they think you ought to say, -and give you such a reply as they think will be good for you. - -“Say to his lordship that we thank him for the honor of being permitted -to pay our respects to a person so distinguished.” - -“His excellency (who has been talking two minutes) say you do him too -much honor.” - -“We were unwilling to leave Cairo without seeing the residence of so -celebrated a family.” - -“His excellency (who has now got fairly going) feels in deep the visit -of strangers so distinguish.” - -“It is a great pleasure also to us to see an Arab house so old and -magnificent.” - -“His excellency (who might have been reciting two chapters of the Koran -in the interval) say not to mention it; him sorry it is not more worth -you to see.” - -The attendants bring sherbet in large and costly cups, and chibooks -elegantly mounted, and the conversation flounders along. The ladies -visit the harem above, and we look about the garden and are shown into -room after room, decorated in endless variety and with a festivity of -invention and harmony of color which the moderns have lost. The harem -turns out to be, like all ordinary harems, I think, only mysterious on -the outside. We withdraw with profuse thanks, frittered away through our -dragoman, and “His excellency say he hope you have pleasant voyage and -come safe to your family and your country.” About the outer court, and -the door where we mount our donkeys, are many idlers in the sun, half -beggars, half attendants, all of whom want backsheesh, besides the -regular servants who expect a fee in proportion to the “distinguish” -of the visitor. They are probably not unlike the clients of an ancient -Roman house, or the retainers of a baronial lord of the middle ages. - -If the visitor, however, really desires to see the antiquities of the -Christian era, he will ride out to Old Cairo, and mouse about among the -immense rubbish heaps that have been piled there since Fostat (as the -ancient city was called) was reduced to ashes, more than seven hundred -years ago, by a fire which raged nearly two months. There is the -ruined mosque of Amer, and there are the quaint old Coptic convents and -churches, built about with mud walls, and hidden away amid mounds of -rubbish. To these dust-filled lanes and into these mouldering edifices -the antiquarian will gladly go. These churches are the land of the flea -and the home of the Copt. Anything dingier, darker, dirtier, doesn't -exist. To one of them, the Sitt Miriam, Church of Our Lady, we had the -greatest difficulty in getting admission. It is up-stairs in one of the -towers of the old Roman gateway of Babylon. It is a small church, but -it has five aisles and some very rich wood-carving and stone-mosaics. It -was cleaner than the others because it was torn to pieces in the process -of renovation. In these churches are hung ostrich eggs, as in the -mosques, and in many of them are colored marbles, and exquisite mosaics -of marble, mother-of-pearl, and glass. Aboo Sirgeh, the one most -visited, has a subterranean chapel which is the seat of an historical -transaction that may interest some minds. There are two niches in the -wall, and in one of them, at the time of the Flight into Egypt, the -Virgin Mary rested with the Child, and in the other St. Joseph reposed. -That is all. - -A little further on, by the river bank, opposite the southern end of the -island of Rhoda, the Moslems show you the spot where little Moses lay in -his little basket, when the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe (for -Pharaoh hadn't a bath-tub in his house) and espied him. The women of the -Nile do to-day exactly what Pharaoh's daughter and her maidens did, but -there are no bulrushes at this place now, and no lad of the promise of -Moses is afloat. - -One can never have done with an exploration of Cairo, with digging down -into the strata of overlying civilizations, or studying the shifting -surface of its Oriental life. Here, in this Old Cairo, was an ancient -Egyptian town no doubt; the Romans constructed here massive walls and -towers; the followers of St. Mark erected churches; the friends of -Mohammed built mosques; and here the mongrel subjects of the Khedive, -a mixture of ancient Egyptian, conquering Arabian, subject Nubian, -enslaved Soudan, inheritors of all civilizations and appropriators of -none, kennel amid these historic ash-heaps, caring neither for their -past nor their future. But it is drawing towards the middle of December; -there are signs that warn us to be off to the south. It may rain. There -are symptoms of chill in the air, especially at night, and the hotel, -unwarmed, is cheerless as a barn, when the sun does not shine. Indeed, -give Cairo the climate of London in November and everybody would perish -in a week. Our preparations drift along. It is always “tomorrow.” It -requires a week to get the new name of the boat printed on a tin. The -first day the bargain for it is made; the work is to be finished -bookra, tomorrow. Next day the letters are studied. The next the tin is -prepared. The next day is Friday or Wednesday or some other day in which -repose is required. And the next the workman comes to know what -letters the howadji desires to have upon the tin, and how big a sign is -required. - -Two other necessary articles remain to be procured; rockets and other -fire-works to illuminate benighted Egypt, and medicines. As we were not -taking along a physician and should find none of those experimenting -people on the Nile, I did not see the use of carrying drugs. Besides -we were going into the one really salubrious region of the globe. But -everybody takes medicines; you must carry medicines. The guide-book -gives you a list of absolutely essential, nasty drugs and compounds, -more than you would need if you were staying at home in an artificial -society, with nothing to do but take them, and a physician in every -street. - -I bought chunks of drugs, bottles of poisons, bundles of foul smells -and bitter tastes. And then they told me that I needed balances to weigh -them in. This was too much. I was willing to take along an apothecary's -shop on this pleasure excursion; I was not willing to become an -apothecary. No, I said, if I am to feed out these nauseous things on the -Nile, I will do it generously, according to taste, and like a physician, -never stinting the quantity. I would never be mean about giving medicine -to other people. And it is not difficult to get up a reputation for -generosity on epsom salts, rhubarb and castor oil. - -We carried all these drugs on the entreaty of friends and the druggist, -who said it would be very unsafe to venture so far without them. But I -am glad we had them with us. The knowledge that we had them was a great -comfort. To be sure we never experienced a day's illness, and brought -them all back, except some doses that I was able to work off upon the -crew. There was a gentle black boy, who had been stolen young out -of Soudan, to whom it was a pleasure to give the most disagreeable -mixtures; he absorbed enormous doses as a lily drinks dew, and they -never seemed to harm him. The aboriginal man, whose constitution is not -weakened by civilization, can stand a great amount of doctor's stuff. -The Nile voyager is earnestly advised to carry a load of drugs with him; -but I think we rather overdid the business in castor-oil; for the fact -is that the people in Nubia fairly swim in it, and you can cut the cane -and suck it whenever you feel like it. - -By all means, go drugged on your pleasure voyage. It is such a cheerful -prelude to it, to read that you will need blue-pills, calomel, rhubarb, -Dover's powder, James's powder, carbolic acid, laudanum, quinine, -sulphuric acid, sulphate of zinc, nitrate of silver, ipecacuanha, and -blistering plaster. A few simple directions go with these. If you feel a -little unwell, take a few blue pills, only about as many as you can -hold in your hand; follow these with a little Dover's powder, and then -repeat, if you feel worse, as you probably will; when you rally, take a -few swallows of castor-oil, and drop into your throat some laudanum; and -then, if you are alive, drink a dram of sulphuric acid. The consulting -friends then generally add a little rice-water and a teaspoonful of -brandy. - -In the opinion of our dragoman it is scarcely reputable to go up the -Nile without a store of rockets and other pyrotechnics. Abd-el-Atti -should have been born in America. He would enjoy a life that was a -continual Fourth of July. He would like his pathway to be illuminated -with lights, blue, red, and green, and to blaze with rockets. The -supreme moment of his life is when he feels the rocket-stick tearing out -of his hand. The common fire-works in the Mooskee he despised; nothing -would do but the government-made, which are very good. The passion of -some of the Egyptians for fire-arms and gunpowder is partially due to -the prohibition. The government strictly forbids the use of guns and -pistols and interdicts the importation or selling of powder. On the -river a little powder and shot are more valued than money. - -We had obtained permission to order some rockets manufactured at the -government works, and in due time we went with Abd-el-Atti to the bureau -at the citadel to pay for them. The process was attended with all that -deliberation which renders life so long and valuable in the East. - -We climbed some littered and dusty steps, to a roof terrace upon which -opened several apartments, brick and stucco chambers with cement floors, -the walls whitewashed, but yellow with time and streaked with dirt. -These were government offices, but office furniture was scarce. Men and -boys in dilapidated gowns were sitting about on their heels smoking. -One of them got up and led the way, and pulling aside a soiled curtain -showed us into the presence of a bey, a handsomely dressed Turk, with -two gold chains about his neck, squatting on a ragged old divan at one -end of the little room; and this divan was absolutely all the furniture -that this cheerless closet, which had one window obscured with dust, -contained. Two or three officers were waiting to get the bey's signature -to papers, and a heap of documents lay beside him, with an inkhorn, on -the cushions. Half-clad attendants or petitioners shuffled in and out -of the presence of this head of the bureau. Abd-el-Atti produced his -papers, but they were not satisfactory, and we were sent elsewhere. - -Passing through one shabby room after another, we came into one dimmer, -more stained and littered than the others. About the sides of the room -upon low divans sat, cross-legged, the clerks. Before each was a shabby -wooden desk which served no purpose, however, but to hold piles of -equally shabby account books. The windows were thick with dust, the -floor was dirty, the desks, books, and clerks were dirty. But the -clerks were evidently good fellows, just like those in all government -offices—nothing to do and not pay enough to make them uneasy to be rich. -They rolled cigarettes and smoked continually; one or two of them were -casting up columns of figures, holding the sheet of paper in the left -hand and calling each figure in a loud voice (as if a little doubtful -whether the figure would respond to that name); and some of them wrote -a little, by way of variety. When they wrote the thin sheet of paper was -held in the left hand and the writing done upon the palm (as the Arabs -always write); the pen used was a blunt reed and the ink about as thick -as tar. The writing resulting from these unfavorable conditions is -generally handsome. - -Our entry and papers were an event in that office, and the documents -became the subject of a general conversation. Other public business -(except the cigarettes) was suspended, and nearly every clerk gave -his opinion on the question, whatever it was. I was given a seat on a -rickety divan, coffee was brought in, the clerks rolled cigarettes for -me and the business began to open; not that anybody showed any special -interest in it, however. On the floor sat two or three boys, eating -their dinner of green bean leaves and some harmless mixture of grease -and flour; and a cloud of flies settled on them undisturbed. What -service the ragged boys rendered to the government I could not -determine. Abd-el-Atti was bandying jocularities with the clerks, and -directing the conversation now and then upon the rockets. - -In course of time a clerk found a scrap of paper, daubed one side of it -with Arabic characters, and armed with this we went to another office -and got a signature to it. This, with the other documents, we carried to -another room much like the first, where the business appeared to take a -fresh start; that is, we sat down and talked; and gradually induced -one official after another to add a suggestion or a figure or two. -Considering that we were merely trying to pay for some rockets that were -ready to be delivered to us, it did seem to me that almost a whole day -was too much to devote to the affair. But I was mistaken. The afternoon -was waning when we went again to the Bey. He was still in his little -“cubby,” and made room for me on the divan. A servant brought coffee. We -lighted cigarettes, and, without haste, the bey inked the seal that hung -to his gold chain, wet the paper and impressed his name in the proper -corner. We were now in a condition to go to the treasury office and pay. - -I expected to see a guarded room and heavily bolted safes. Instead of -this there was no treasury apartment, nor any strong box. But we found -the “treasury” walking about in one of the passages, in the shape of an -old Arab in a white turban and faded yellow gown. This personage fished -out of his deep breast-pocket a rag of a purse, counted out some -change, and put what we paid him into the same receptacle. The Oriental -simplicity of the transaction was pleasing. And the money ought to be -safe, for one would as soon think of robbing a derweesh as this yellow -old man. - -The medicine is shipped, the rockets are on board, the crew have been -fitted out with cotton drawers, at our expense, (this garment is an -addition to the gown they wear), the name of the boat is almost painted, -the flags are ready to hoist, and the dahabeëh has been taken from -Boulak and is moored above the drawbridge. We only want a north wind. - - - -0126 - - - -0127 - - - - -CHAPTER X.—ON THE NILE. - -WE have taken possession of our dahabeëh, which lies moored under -the bank, out of the current, on the west side of the river above the -bridge. On the top of the bank are some structures that seem to be only -mounds and walls of mud, but they are really “brivate houses,” and each -one has a wooden door, with a wooden lock and key. Here, as at every -other rod of the river, where the shore will permit, the inhabitants -come to fill their water-jars, to wash clothes, to bathe, or to squat on -their heels and wait for the Nile to run dry. - -And the Nile is running rapidly away. It sweeps under the arches of the -bridge like a freshet, with a current of about three miles an hour. Our -sandal (the broad clumsy row-boat which we take in tow) is obliged -to aim far above its intended landing-place when we cross, and four -vigorous rowers cannot prevent its drifting rapidly down stream. The -Nile is always in a hurry on its whole length; even when it spreads over -flats for miles, it keeps a channel for swift passage. It is the only -thing that is in a hurry in Egypt; and the more one sees it the stronger -becomes the contrast of this haste with the flat valley through which it -flows and the apathetic inhabitants of its banks. - -We not only have taken possession of our boat, but we have begun -housekeeping in it. We have had a farewell dinner-party on board. Our -guests, who are foreigners, declare that they did not suppose such a -dinner possible in the East; a better could not be expected in Paris. We -admit that such dinners are not common in this hungry world out of New -York. Even in New York the soup would not have been made of lentils. - -We have passed a night under a mosquito net, more comfortably than on -shore to be sure, but we are anxious to get into motion and change the -mosquitoes, the flies, the fleas of Cairo for some less rapacious. It -is the seventeenth of December. We are in the bazaars, buying the last -things, when, at noon we perceive that the wind has shifted. We hasten -on board. Where is the dragoman! “Mohammed Effendi Abd-el-Atti goin' -bazaar come directly,” says the waiter. At half-past two the stout -dragoman slides off his donkey and hastens on board with all the speed -compatible with short legs, out of breath, but issuing a storm of orders -like a belated captain of a seventy-two. He is accompanied by a black -boy bearing the name of our dahabeëh, rudely painted on a piece of tin, -the paint not yet dry. The dragoman regards it with some pride, and -well he may, for it has cost time and trouble. No Arab on the river can -pronounce the name, but they all understand its signification when -the legend attached to it is related, and having a similar tale in the -Koran, they have no objection to sail in a dahabeëh called the RIP VAN -WINKLE. - -The name has a sort of appropriateness in the present awakening of Egypt -to modern life, but exactly what it is we cannot explain. - -We seat ourselves on deck to watch the start. There is as much noise and -confusion as if the boat were on fire. The moment has come to cast off, -when it is discovered that two of the crew are absent, no doubt dallying -in some coffee-house. We cannot wait, they must catch us as they can. -The stake is pulled up; the plank is drawn in; the boat is shoved off -from its sand bed with grunting and yah-hoo-ing, some of the crew in the -water, and some pushing with poles; the great sail drops down from -the yard and the corner is hauled in to a wild chorus, and we take the -stream. For a moment it seems as if we should be carried against the -bridge; but the sail is large, the wind seizes us, and the three-months' -voyage has begun. - -We are going slowly but steadily, perhaps at the rate of three or four -miles an hour, past the receding city, drawing away from the fleet of -boats and barges on the shore and the multitudinous life on its banks. -It is a scene of color, motion, variety. The river is alive with crafts -of all sorts, the shores are vocal with song, laughter, and the unending -“chaff” of a river population. Beyond, the spires and domes of the city -are lovely in the afternoon light. The citadel and the minarets gleam -like silver against the purple of the Mokattam hills. We pass the long -white palace of the Queen-mother; we are abreast the isle of Rhoda, -its yellow palace and its ancient Nilometer. In the cove at Geezeh -are passenger-dahabeëhs, two flying the American flag, with which we -exchange salutes as we go. The people on their decks are trying with -a telescope to make out the device on our pennant at the yard-arm. It -affords occupation for a great many people at different times during the -voyage. Upon a white ground is a full sun, in red; following it in red -letters is the legend Post Nubila Phobus; it is the motto on the coat -of arms of the City of Hartford. Here it signifies that we four Hartford -people, beginning this voyage, exchange the clouds of New England for -the sun of Egypt. The flag extends beyond the motto in a bifurcated blue -streamer. - -Flag, streamer and sail take the freshening north wind. A smaller sail -is set aft. The reïs crouches on the bow, watching the channel; the -steersman, a grave figure, pushes slowly back and forth the long iron -handle of the tiller at the stern; the crew, waiting for their supper, -which is cooking near the mast, begin to sing, one taking the solo and -the others striking in with a minor response; it is not a song but a -one-line ejaculation, followed by a sympathetic and barbaric assent in -chorus. - -The shores glide past like that land of the poet's dream where “it is -always afternoon”; reposeful and yet brilliant. The rows of palms, the -green fields, the lessening minarets, the groups of idlers in flowing -raiment, picturesque in any attitudes they assume, the depth of blue -above and the transparent soft air—can this be a permanent condition, or -is it only the scene of a play? - -In fact, we are sailing not only away from Europe, away from Cairo, into -Egypt and the confines of mysterious Africa; we are sailing into the -past. Do you think our voyage is merely a thousand miles on the Nile? -We have committed ourselves to a stream that will lead us thousands of -years backwards in the ages, into the depths of history. When we loosed -from Cairo we let go our hold upon the modern. As we recede, perhaps we -shall get a truer perspective, and see more correctly the width of the -strip of time which we call “our era.” There are the pyramids of Geezeh -watching our departure, lifting themselves aloft in the evening sky; -there are the pyramids of Sakkara, sentinels of that long past into -which we go. - -It is a splendid start, for the wind blows steadily and we seem to be -flying before it. It is probable that we are making five miles an hour, -which is very well against such a current. Our dahabeëh proves to be an -excellent sailer, and we have the selfish pleasure of passing boat -after boat, with a little ripple of excitement not enough to destroy -our placid enjoyment. It is much pleasanter to lift your hat to the -travelers on a boat that you are drawing ahead of than it is to those of -one that is dropping your boat astern. - -The Nile voyage is so peculiar, and is, in fact, such a luxurious method -of passing a winter, that it may be well to say a little more concerning -our boat. It is about one hundred and twenty feet long, and eighteen -broad in the center, with a fiat bottom and no keel; consequently it -cannot tack or sail contrary to the wind. In the bow is the cook's -“cubby” with the range, open to the weather forward. Behind it stands -the mast, some forty feet high, and on the top of it is lashed the -slender yard, which is a hundred feet long, and hangs obliquely. The -enormous triangular sail stretches the length of the yard and its point -is hauled down to the deck. When it is shifted, the rope is let go, -leaving the sail flapping, the end of the yard is carried round the mast -and the sail is hauled round in the opposite direction, with an amount -of pulling, roaring, jabbering, and chorusing, more than would be -necessary to change the-course of an American fleet of war. The flat, -open forward deck is capable of accommodating six rowers on a side. It -is floored over now, for the sweeps are only used in descending. - -Then comes the cabin, which occupies the greater part of the boat, and -makes it rather top-heavy and difficult of management in an adverse -wind. First in the cabin are the pantry and dragoman's room; next a -large saloon, used for dining, furnished with divans, mirrors, tables, -and chairs, and lighted by large windows close together. Next are rows -of bedrooms, bathroom etc; a passage between leads to the after or -lounging cabin, made comfortable with divans and Eastern rugs. Over the -whole cabin runs the deck, which has sofas and chairs and an awning, -and is good promenading space. The rear portion of it is devoted to the -steersman, who needs plenty of room for the sweep of the long tiller. -The steering apparatus is of the rudest. The tiller goes into a -stern-post which plays in a hole big enough for four of it, and -creakingly turns a rude rudder. - -If you are familiar with the Egyptian temple you will see that our -dahabeëh is built on this plan. If there is no pylon, there is the mast -which was always lashed to it. Then comes the dromos of sphinxes, the -forward deck, with the crew sitting along the low bulwarks; the first -cabin is the hall of columns, or vestibulum; behind it on each side -of the passage are various chambers; and then comes the adytum or -sanctuary—the inner cabin. The deck is the flat roof upon which wound -the solemn processions; and there is a private stairway to the deck just -as there was always an inner passage to the roof from one of the small -chambers of the temple. - -The boat is manned by a numerous company whose appearance in procession -would excite enthusiasm in any American town. Abd-el-Atti has for -companion and clerk his nephew, a young Egyptian, (employed in the -telegraph office) but in Frank dress, as all government officials are -required to be. - -The reïs, or captain, is Hassan, Aboo Seyda, a rather stately Arab -of sixty years, with a full turban, a long gown of blue cotton, and -bare-footed. He walks the deck with an ease and grace that an actor -might envy; there is neither stiffness nor strut in it; it is a gait -of simple majesty which may be inherited from generations of upright -ancestors, but could never be acquired. Hassan is an admirable -figure-head to the expedition, but he has no more pluck or authority -than an old hen, and was of not much more use on board than a hen would -be in a chicken-hatching establishment. - -Abdel Hady Hassed, the steersman, is a Nubian from the First Cataract, -shiny black in color, but with regular and delicate features. I can -see him now, with his turban set well back on his head, in a loose, -long-sleeved, brown garment, and without stockings or slippers, -leaning against his tiller and looking straight ahead with unchanging -countenance. His face had the peculiarity, which is sometimes seen, of -appearing always to have a smile on it. He was born with that smile; -he will die with it. An admirable person, who never showed the least -excitement. That man would run us fast on a sand-bank, put us on a rock -in plain sight, or let his sail jibe, without changing a muscle of his -face, and in the most agreeable and good-natured manner in the world. -And he never exhibited the least petulance at his accidents. I hope -he will be rewarded for the number of hours he patiently stood at -that tiller. The reïs would take the helm when Abdel wanted to say his -prayers or to eat his simple meals; but, otherwise, I always found him -at his post, late at night or in the early morning, gazing around on -Egypt with that same stereotyped expression of pleasure. - -The cook, Hasaneyn Mahrowan (the last name has an Irish sound, but -the first is that of the sacred mosque where is buried the head of the -martyr El Hoseyn) is first among his craft, and contrives to produce on -his little range in the bow a dinner that would have made Raineses II. a -better man. He is always at his post, like the steersman, and no matter -what excitement or peril we may be in, Hasaneyn stirs his soup or bastes -his chicken with perfect sang froid. The fact is that these Orientals -have got a thousand or two thousand years beyond worry, and never feel -any responsibility for what others are doing. - -The waiter, a handsome Cairene, is the perfection of a trained servant, -who understands signs better than English. Hoseyn Ali also rejoices in -a noble name. Hasan and Hoseyn are, it is well known, the “two lords of -the youths of the people of Paradise, in Paradise”; they were grandsons -of the Prophet. Hoseyn was slain at the battle of the Plain of Karbalà. -Hoseyn is the most smartly dressed fellow on board. His jacket and -trousers are of silk; he wears a gay kuffia about his fez and his waist -is girded with a fine Cashmere shawl. The fatal defect in his dress is -that the full trowsers do not quite meet the stockings. There is always -some point of shabbiness or lack of finish in every Oriental object. - -The waiter's lieutenant is an Abyssinian boy who rejoices in the name -of Ahman Abdallah (or, “Slave of God”); and the cook's boy is Gohah -ebn Abdallah (“His father slave of God”). This is the poetical way of -putting their condition; they were both slaves of Abd-el-Atti, but now, -he says, he has freed them. For Gohah he gave two napoleons when the lad -was new. Greater contrast could not be between two colored boys. Ahman -is black enough, but his features are regular and well made, he has a -bright merry eye, and is quick in all his intuitions, and intellectually -faithful to the least particular. He divines the wants of his masters by -his quick wit, and never neglects or forgets anything. Gohah is from the -Soudan, and a perfect Congo negro in features and texture of skin—lips -protruding and nose absolutely level with his cheeks; as faithful and -affectionate as a Newfoundland dog, a mild, gentle boy. What another -servant would know through his sharpened interest, Gohah comprehends by -his affections. - -I have described these persons, because they are types of the almost -infinite variety of races and tribes in Egypt. Besides these there are -fourteen sailors, and no two of the same shade or with similar features. -Most of them are of Upper Egypt, and two or three of them are Nubians, -but I should say that all are hopelessly mixed in blood. Ahmed, for -instance, is a Nubian, and the negro blood comes out in him in his voice -and laugh and a certain rolling antic movement of the body. Another -sailor has that flush of red under dark in the face which marks the -quadroon. The dress of the crew is usually a gown, a pair of drawers, -and a turban. Ahmed wears a piece of Turkish toweling round his head. -The crew is an incongruous lot altogether; a third of them smoke -hasheesh whenever they can get it; they never obey an order without -talking about it and suggesting something different; they are all -captains in fact; they are rarely quiet, jabbering, or quarreling, or -singing, when they are not hauling the sail, hoisting us from a sandbar, -or stretched on deck in deep but not noiseless slumber. You cannot but -like the good-natured rascals. - -An irresponsible, hard-working, jolly, sullen, contradictory lot of -big children, who, it is popularly reported, need a koorbag (a whip of -hippopotamus hide) to keep them in the way of industry and obedience. It -seems to me that a little kindness would do better than a good deal of -whip. But the kindness ought to have begun some generations back. The -koorbag is the legitimate successor of the stick, and the Egyptians have -been ruled by the stick for a period of which history reports not to the -contrary. In the sculptures on the earliest tombs, laborers are driven -to their tasks with the stick. Sailors on the old Nile boats are menaced -with the stick. The overseer in the field swings the stick. Prisoners -and slaves are marshalled in line with the stick. The stick is to-day -also the one visible and prevalent characteristic of the government of -Egypt. And I think that it is a notion among the subject classes, that a -beating is now and then good for them. They might feel neglected without -it. I cannot find that Egypt was ever governed in any other way than on -the old plan of force and fear. - -If there is anything that these officers and sailors do not understand, -it is the management of a Nile boat. But this is anticipating. Just now -all goes as merrily as a colored ball. The night is soft, the moon is -half full; the river spreads out in shining shallows; the shores are dim -and show lines of feathery palms against the sky; we meet or pass white -sails which flash out of the dimness and then vanish; the long line of -pyramids of Sakkara is outlined beyond the palms; now there is a light -on shore and a voice or the howling of a dog is heard; along the bank -by the ruins of old Memphis a jackal runs barking in the moonlight. -By half-past nine we are abreast the pyramids of Dashoor. A couple of -dahabeëhs are laid up below for the night, and the lights from their -rows of cabin windows gleam cheerfully on the water. - -We go right on, holding our way deeper and deeper into this enchanted -country. The night is simply superb, such a wide horizon, such -brilliancy above! Under the night, the boat glides like a phantom ship; -it is perfectly steady, and we should not know we were in motion but for -the running ripple at the sides. By this lulling sound we sleep, having -come, for once in the world, into a country of tranquillity, where -nothing need ever be done till tomorrow, for tomorrow is certain to be -like to-day. - -When we came on deck at eight o'clock in the morning after “flying” all -night as on birds' wings, we found that we had made thirty-five miles, -and were almost abreast of the False Pyramid of Maydoom, so called -because it is supposed to be built about a rock; a crumbled pyramid but -curiously constructed, and perhaps older than that of Cheops. From a -tomb in the necropolis here came the two life-size and striking -figures that are in the Boulak Museum at Cairo. The statues, carved -in calcareous limestone, represent two exceedingly respectable and -intelligent looking persons, who resemble each other enough to be -brother and sister; they were probably alive in the third dynasty. They -sit up now, with hands on knees, having a bright look on their faces -as if they hadn't winked in five thousand years, and were expecting -company. - -I said we were “flying” all night. This needs qualification. We went -aground three times and spent a good part of the night in getting off. -It is the most natural thing in navigation. We are conscious of a slight -grating, then a gentle lurch, not enough to disturb a dream, followed, -however, by a step on deck, and a jabber of voices forward. The sail is -loosed; the poles are taken from the rack and an effort is made to -shove off by the use of some muscle and a good deal of chorus; when -this fails, the crew jump overboard and we hear them splashing along -the side. They put their backs to the boat and lift, with a grunting -“Euh-h'e, euh-h'e” which changes into a rapid “halee, halee, halee,” as -the boat slides off; and the crew scramble on board to haul tight the -sail, with an emphatic “Yah! Mohammed, Yah! Mohammed.” - -We were delayed some hours altogether, we learn. But it was not delay. -There can be no delay on this voyage; for there is no one on board -who is in any haste. Are we not the temporary owners of this boat, and -entirely irresponsible for any accident, so that if it goes down with -all on board, and never comes to port, no one can hold us for damages? - -The day is before us, and not only the day, but, Providence permitting, -a winter of days like it. There is nothing to be done, and yet we are -too busy to read even the guide-book. There is everything to be seen; -it is drifting past us, we are gliding away from it. It is all old and -absolutely novel. If this is laziness that is stealing over us, it is -of an alert sort. In the East, laziness has the more graceful title of -resignation; but we have not come to that condition even; curiosity -is constantly excited, and it is a sort of employment to breathe this -inspiring air. - -We are spectators of a pageant that never repeats itself; for although -there is a certain monotony in the character of the river and one would -think that its narrow strips of arable land would soon be devoid of -interest, the scenes are never twice alike. The combinations vary, the -desert comes near and recedes, the mountains advance in bold precipices -or fall away; the groups of people, villages, trees, are always -shifting. - -And yet, in fact, the scenery changes little during the day. There are -great reaches of river, rapidly flowing, and wide bends across which we -see vessels sailing as if in the meadows. The river is crowded all -day with boats, pleasure dahabeëhs, and trading vessels uncouth and -picturesque. The passenger dahabëeh is long, handsomely painted, carries -an enormous sail on its long yard, has a national flag and a long -streamer; and groups of white people sit on deck under the awning; some -of them are reading, some sketching, and now and then a man rises and -discharges his shot-gun at a flock of birds a half a mile beyond its -range. - -The boats of African traders are short, high-pooped, and have the rudder -stepped out behind. They usually carry no flag, and are dirty and -lack paint, but they carry a load that would interest the most blasé -European. Those bound up-stream, under full sail, like ourselves, are -piled with European boxes and bales, from stem to stern; and on top of -the freight, in the midst of the freight, sitting on it, stretched out -on it, peeping from it, is another cargo of human beings, men, women and -children, black, yellow, clothed in all the hues of heaven and the rags -of earth. It is an impassive load that stares at us with incurious, -unwinking eyes. - -The trading boats coming down against the current, are even more strange -and barbarous. They are piled with merchandise, but of a different -sort. The sails and yards are down, and the long sweeps are in motion, -balanced on outriggers, for the forward deck is filled, and the rowers -walk on top of the goods as they move the oars to and fro. How black the -rowers are! How black everybody on board is! They come suddenly upon -us, like those nations we have read of, who sit in great darkness. The -rowers are stalwart fellows whose basalt backs shine in the sun as they -bend to the oar; in rowing they walk towards the cabin and pull the -heavy oars as they step backwards, and every sweep is accompanied by the -burst of a refrain in chorus, a wild response to a line that has been -chanted by the leader as they stepped forwards. The passengers sit -immoveable in the sun and regard us with a calmness and gravity which -are only attainable near the equatorial regions, where things approach -an equilibrium. - -Sometimes we count nearly one hundred dahabeëhs in sight, each dipping -or veering or turning in the sun its bird-wing sail—the most graceful -in the world. A person with fancies, who is watching them, declares that -the triangular sails resemble quills cut at the top for pens, and that -the sails, seen over the tongue of land of a long bend ahead, look like -a procession of goose quills. - -The day is warm enough to call out all the birds; flocks of wild geese -clang overhead, and companies of them, ranks on ranks, stand on the low -sand-dunes; there are pelicans also, motionless in the shallow water -near the shore, meditating like a derweesh on one leg, and not caring -that the thermometer does mark 740. Little incidents entertain us. -We like to pass the Dongola, flying “Ohio” from its yard, which took -advantage of our stopping for milk early in the morning to go by us. We -overhaul an English boat and have a mildly exciting race with her till -dark, with varying fortune, the boats being nearly a match, and the -victory depending upon some trick or skill on the part of the crew. All -the party look at us, in a most unsympathetic manner, through goggles, -which the English always put on whenever they leave the twilight of -England. I do not know that we have any right to complain of this habit -of wearing wire eye-screens and goggles; persons who have it mean no -harm by it, and their appearance is a source of gratification to others. -But I must say that goggles have a different effect in different lights. -When we were sailing slowly past the Englishman, the goggles regarded us -with a feeble and hopeless look. But when the Englishman was, in turn, -drawing ahead of us, the goggles had a glare of “Who the devil are you?” -Of course it was only in the goggles. For I have seen many of these -races on the Nile, and passengers always affect an extreme indifference, -leaving all demonstrations of interest to the crews of the boats. - -The two banks of the river keep all day about the same relative -character—the one sterile, the other rich. On the east, the brown sand -licks down almost to the water; there is only a strip of green; there -are few trees, and habitations only at long intervals. Only a little -distance back are the Mokattam hills, which keep a rarely broken and -level sky-line for two hundred and fifty miles south of Cairo. - -The west side is a broad valley. The bank is high and continually caving -in, like the alluvial bottoms of the Missouri; it is so high that from -our deck we can see little of the land. There are always, however, -palm-trees in sight, massed in groves, standing in lines, or waving -their single tufts in the blue. These are the date-palms, which have no -branches on their long poles; each year the old stalks are cut off for -fuel, and the trunk, a mass of twisted fibres, comes to have a rough -bark, as if the tree had been shingled the wrong way. Stiff in form and -with only the single crown of green, I cannot account for its effect of -grace and beauty. It is the life of the Nile, as the Nile is life to it. -It bears its annual crop of fruit to those who want it, and a crop of -taxes for the Khedive. Every palm pays in fact a poll-tax, whether it -brings forth dates or not. - -Where the bank slopes we can see the springing wheat and barley darkly -green; it is sown under the palms even, for no foot of ground is left -vacant. All along the banks are shadoofs, at which men in black stand -all day raising water, that flows back in regulated streams; for the -ground falls slightly away from the height of the bank. At intervals -appears a little collection of mud hovels, dumped together without -so much plan as you would find in a beaver settlement, but called a -village, and having a mud minaret and perhaps a dome. An occasional -figure is that of a man plowing with a single ox; it has just the stiff -square look of the sculptures in the tombs. - -Now and then where a zig-zag path is cut, or the bank slopes, women -are washing clothes in the river, or groups of them are filling their -water-jars. They come in files from the villages and we hear their -shrill voices in incessant chatter. These country-women are invariably -in black or dark brown; they are not veiled, but draw their head -shawl over the face as our boat passes. Their long gowns are drawn up, -exposing bare feet and legs as they step into the stream. The jars are -large and heavy when unfilled, and we marvel how they can raise them -to their heads when they are full of water. The woman drags her jar out -upon the sand, squats before it, lifts it to her head with her hands, -and then rises steadily and walks up the steep bank and over the sand, -holding her robe with one hand and steadying the jar with the other, -with perfect grace and ease of motion. The strength of limbs required to -raise that jar to the head and then rise with it, ought to be calculated -by those in our own land who are striving to improve the condition of -woman. - -We are still flying along with the unfailing wind, and the merry -progress communicates its spirit to the crew. Before sunset they get -out their musical instruments, and squatting in a circle on the forward -deck, prepare to enjoy themselves. One thumps and shakes the tambourine, -one softly beats with his fingers the darabooka drum, and another -rattles castanets. All who are not so employed beat time by a jerking -motion of the raised hands, the palms occasionally coming together when -the rhythm is properly accented. The leader, who has a very good tenor -voice, chants a minor and monotonous love-song to which the others -respond, either in applause of the sentiment or in a burst of musical -enthusiasm which they cannot contain. Ahmed, the Nubian, whose body is -full of Congoism, enters into it with a delightful abandon, swaying from -side to side and indulging in an occasional shout, as if he were at a -camp-meeting. His ugly and good-natured face beams with satisfaction, an -expression that is only slightly impaired by the vacant place where -two front teeth ought to shine. The song is rude and barbarous but not -without a certain plaintiveness; the song, and scene belong together. -In this manner the sailors of the ancient Egyptians amused themselves -without doubt; their instruments were the same; thus they sat upon the -ground, thus they clapped hands, thus they improvised ejaculations to -the absent beloved:— - - -“The night! The night! O thou with sweet hands! - -Holding the dewy peach.” - - -The sun goes down, leaving a rosy color in the sky, that changes into an -ashes-of-roses color, that gradually fades into the indefinable softness -of night punctured with stars. - -We are booming along all night, under the waxing moon. This is not so -much a voyage as a flight, chased by the north wind. The sail is always -set, the ripples are running always along the sides, the shores slide by -as in a dream; the reïs is at the bow, the smiling steersman is at the -helm; if we were enchanted we could not go on more noiselessly. There is -something ghostly about this night-voyage through a land so imperfectly -defined to the senses but so crowded with history. If only the dead who -are buried on these midnight shores were to rise, we should sail through -a vast and ghastly concourse packing the valley and stretching away into -the desert. - -About midnight I step out of the cabin to look at the night. I stumble -over a sleeping Arab. Two sailors, set to hold the sail-rope and let it -go in case of a squall of wind, are nodding over it. The night is not -at all gloomy or mysterious, but in all the broad sweep of it lovely -and full of invitation. We are just passing the English dahabeëh, whose -great sail is dark as we approach, and then takes the moon full upon it -as we file abreast. She is hugging the bank and as we go by there is a -snap. In the morning Abd-el-Atti says that she broke the tip of her yard -against the bank. At any rate she lags behind like a crippled bird. - -In the morning we are in sight of four dahabeëhs, but we overhaul and -pass them all. We have contracted a habit of doing it. One of them -gets her stern-sprit knocked off as she sheers before us, whereupon the -sailors exchange compliments, and our steersman smiles just as he would -have done if he had sent the Prussian boat to the bottom. The morning -is delicious, not a cloud in the sky, and the thermometer indicating a -temperature of 56°; this moderates speedily under the sun, but if you -expected an enervating climate in the winter on the Nile you will be -disappointed; it is on the contrary inspiring. - -We pass the considerable town of Golosaneh, not caring very much about -it; we have been passing towns and mounds and vestiges of ancient and -many times dug-up civilizations, day and night. We cannot bother with -every ash-heap described in the guide-book. Benisooef, which has been -for thousands of years an enterprising city, we should like to have -seen, but we went by in the night. And at night most of these towns -are as black as the moon will let them be, lights being very rare. We -usually receive from them only the salute of a barking dog. Inland -from Golosaneh rises the tall and beautiful minaret of Semaloot, a very -pretty sight above the palm-groves; so a church spire might rise out of -a Connecticut meadow. At 10 o'clock we draw near the cliffs of Gebel -e' Tayr, upon the long flat summit of which stands the famous Coptic -convent of Sitteh Miriam el Adra, “Our Lady Mary the Virgin,”—called -also Dayr el Adra. - -We are very much interested in the Copts, and are glad of the -opportunity to see something of the practice of their religion. For the -religion is as peculiar as the race. In fact, the more one considers the -Copt, the more difficult it is to define him. He is a descendant of the -ancient Egyptians, it is admitted, and he retains the cunning of the -ancients in working gold and silver; but his blood is crossed with -Abyssinian, Nubian, Greek and Arab, until the original is lost, -and to-day the representatives of the pure old Egyptian type of the -sculptures are found among the Abyssinians and the Noobeh (genuine -Nubians) more frequently than among the Copts. The Copt usually wears -a black or brown turban or cap; but if he wore a white one it would be -difficult to tell him from a Moslem. The Copts universally use Arabic; -their ancient language is practically dead, although their liturgy and -some of their religious books are written in it. This old language is -supposed to be the spoken tongue of the old Egyptians. - -The number of Christian Copts in Egypt is small—but still large enough; -they have been persecuted out of existence, or have voluntarily accepted -Mohammedanism and married among the faithful. The Copts in religion are -seceders from the orthodox church, and their doctrine of the Trinity was -condemned by the council of Chalcedon; they consequently hate the Greeks -much more than they hate the Moslems. They reckon St. Mark their first -patriarch. - -Their religious practice is an odd jumble of many others. Most of them -practice circumcision. The baptism of infants is held to be necessary; -for a child dying unbaptized will be blind in the next life. Their fasts -are long and strict; in their prayers they copy both Jews and Moslems, -praying often and with endless repetitions. They confess before taking -the sacrament; they abstain from swine's flesh, and make pilgrimages -to Jerusalem. Like the Moslems they put off their shoes on entering the -place of worship, but they do not behave there with the decorum of the -Moslem; they stand always in the church and as the service is three or -four hours long, beginning often at daybreak, the long staff or crutch -upon which they lean is not a useless appendage. The patriarch, who -dwells in Cairo, is not, I think, a person to be envied. He must be -a monk originally and remain unmarried, and this is a country where -marriage is so prevalent. Besides this, he is obliged to wear always -a woolen garment next the skin, an irritation in this climate more -constant than matrimony. And report says that he lives under rules so -rigid that he is obliged to be waked up, if he sleeps, every fifteen -minutes. I am inclined to think, however, that this is a polite way -of saying that the old man has a habit of dropping off to sleep every -quarter of an hour. - -The cliffs of Gebel e' Tayr are of soft limestone, and seem to be two -hundred feet high. In one place a road is cut down to the water, partly -by a zig-zag covered gallery in the face of the rock, and this is the -usual landing-place for the convent. The convent, which is described -as a church under ground, is in the midst of a mud settlement of lay -brothers and sisters, and the whole is surrounded by a mud wall. From -below it has the appearance of an earthwork fortification. The height -commands the river for a long distance up and down, and from it the -monks are on the lookout for the dahabeëhs of travelers. It is their -habit to plunge into the water, clothed on only with their professions -of holiness, swim to the boats, climb on board and demand “backsheesh” -on account of their religion. - -It is very rough as we approach the cliffs, the waves are high, and the -current is running strong. We fear we are to be disappointed, but the -monks are superior to wind and waves. While we are yet half a mile off, -I see two of them in the water, their black heads under white turbans, -bobbing about in the tossing and muddy waves. They make' heroic efforts -to reach us; we can hear their voices faintly shouting: Ana Christian, O -Howadji, “I am a Christian, O! Howadji.” - -“We have no doubt you are exceptional Christians,” we shout to them in -reply, “Why don't you come aboard—back-s-h-e-e-s-h!” - -They are much better swimmers than the average Christian with us. But -it is in vain. They are swept by us and away from us like corks on the -angry waves, and even their hail of Christian fellowship is lost in the -whistling wind. When we are opposite the convent another head is -seen bobbing about in the water; he is also swept below us, but -three-quarters of a mile down-stream he effects a landing on another -dahabeëh. As he climbs into the jolly-boat which is towed behind and -stands erect, he resembles a statue in basalt. - -It is a great feat to swim in a current so swift as this and lashed by -such a wind. I should like to have given these monks something, if only -to encourage so robust a religion. But none of them succeeded in getting -on board. Nothing happens to us as to other travelers, and we have no -opportunity to make the usual remarks upon the degraded appearance of -these Coptic monks at Dayr el Adra. So far as I saw them they were very -estimable people. - -At noon we are driving past Minieh with a strong wind. It appears to -be—but if you were to land you would find that it is not—a handsome -town, for it has two or three graceful minarets, and the long white -buildings of the sugar-factory, with its tall chimneys, and the palace -of the Khedive, stretching along the bank give it an enterprising and -cheerful aspect. This new palace of his Highness cost about half a -million of dollars, and it is said that he has never passed a night in -it. I confess I rather like this; it must be a royal sensation to be -able to order houses made like suits of clothes without ever even trying -them on. And it is a relief to see a decent building and a garden now -and then, on the river. - -We go on, however, as if we were running away from the sheriff, for we -cannot afford to lose the advantage of such a wind. Along the banks the -clover is growing sweet and green as in any New England meadow in May, -and donkeys are browsing in it tended by children; a very pleasant -sight, to see this ill-used animal for once in clover and trying to bury -his long ears in luxury. Patches of water-melon plants are fenced about -by low stockades of dried rushes stuck in the sand—for the soil looks -like sand. - -This vegetation is not kept alive, however, without constant labor; -weeds never grow, it is true, but all green things would speedily wither -if the shadoofs were not kept in motion, pouring the Nile into the baked -and thirsty soil. - -These simple contrivances for irrigation, unchanged since the time of -the Pharaohs, have already been described. Here two tiers are required -to lift the water to the level of the fields; the first dipping takes it -into a canal parallel with the bank, and thence it is raised to the -top. Two men are dipping the leathern buckets at each machine, and the -constant bending down and lifting up of their dark bodies are fatiguing -even to the spectator. Usually in barbarous countries one pities the -woman; but I suppose this is a civilized region, for here I pity the -men. The women have the easier tasks of washing clothes in the cool -stream, or lying in the sand. The women all over the East have an -unlimited capacity for sitting motionless all day by a running stream or -a pool of water. - -In the high wind the palm-trees are in constant motion tossing their -feather tufts in the air; some of them are blown like an umbrella turned -wrong side out, and a grove presents the appearance of crowd of people -overtaken by a sudden squall. The acacia tree, which the Arabs call the -sont, the acanthus of Strabo (Mimosa Nilotica) begins to be seen with -the palm. It is a thorny tree, with small yellow blossoms and bears a -pod. But what interests us most is the gum that exudes from its bark; -for this is the real Gum Arabic! That Heaven has been kind enough to let -us see that mysterious gum manufacturing itself! The Gum Arabic of our -childhood! - -How often have I tried to imagine the feelings of a distant and -unconverted boy to whom Gum Arabic was as common as spruce gum to a New -England lad. - -As I said, we go on as if we were evading the law; our daha-beëh seems -to have taken the bit in its teeth and is running away with us. We pass -everything that sails, and begin to feel no pride in doing so; it is a -matter of course. The other dalabeëhs are left behind, some with broken -yards. I heard reports afterwards that we broke their yards, and that -we even drowned a man. It is not true. We never drowned a man, and never -wished to. We were attending to our own affairs. The crew were busy the -first day or two of the voyage in cutting up their bread and spreading -it on the upper deck to dry—heaps of it, bushels of it. It is a black -bread, made of inferior unbolted wheat, about as heavy as lead, and sour -to the uneducated taste. The Egyptians like it, however, and it is said -to be very healthful. The men gnaw chunks of it with relish, but it -is usually prepared for eating by first soaking it in Nile-water and -warming it over a fire, in a big copper dish. Into the “stodge” thus -made is sometimes thrown some “greens” snatched from the shore. The crew -seat themselves about this dish when it is ready, and each one dips his -right hand into the mass and claws out a mouthful The dish is always -scraped clean. Meat is very rarely had by them, only a few times during -the whole voyage; but they vary their diet by eating green beans, -lettuce, onions, lentils, and any sort of “greens” they can lay hands -on. The meal is cooked on a little fire built on a pile of stones near -the mast. When it is finished they usually gather about the fire for -a pull at the “hubble-bubble.” This is a sort of pipe with a cocoa-nut -shell filled with water, through which the smoke passes. Usually a lump -of hasheesh is put into the bowl with the tobacco. A puff or two of this -mixture is enough; it sets the smoker coughing and conveys a pleasant -stupor to his brain. Some of the crew never smoke it, but content -themselves with cigarettes. And the cigarettes, they are always rolling -up and smoking while they are awake. - -The hasheesh-smokers are alternately elated and depressed, and sometimes -violent and noisy. A man addicted to the habit is not good for much; -the hasheesh destroys his nerves and brain, and finally induces idiocy. -Hasheesh intoxication is the most fearful and prevalent vice in Egypt. -The government has made many attempts to stop it, but it is too firmly -fixed; the use of hasheesh is a temporary refuge from poverty, hunger, -and all the ills of life, and appears to have a stronger fascination -than any other indulgence. In all the towns one may see the dark little -shops where the drug is administered, and generally rows of victims in -a stupid doze stretched on the mud benches. Sailors are so addicted to -hasheesh that it is almost impossible to make up a decent crew for a -dahabeëh. - -Late in the afternoon we are passing the famous rock-tombs of Beni -Hassan, square holes cut in the face of the cliff, high up. With our -glasses we can see paths leading to them over the debris and along the -ledges. There are two or three rows of these tombs, on different ledges; -they seem to be high, dry, and airy, and I should rather live in them, -dead or alive, than in the mud hovels of the fellaheen below. These -places of sepulchre are older than those at Thebes, and from the -pictures and sculptures in them, more than from any others, the -antiquarians have reconstructed the domestic life of the ancient -Egyptians. This is a desolate spot now; there is a decayed old mud -village below, and a little south of it is the new town; both can barely -be distinguished from the brown sand and rock in which and in front -of which they stand. This is a good place for thieves, or was before -Ibraheem Pasha destroyed these two villages. We are warned that this -whole country produces very skillful robbers, who will swim off and -glean the valuables from a dahabeëh in a twinkling. - -Notwithstanding the stiff breeze the thermometer marks 74°; but both -wind and temperature sink with the sun. Before the sun sets, however, we -are close under the east bank, and are watching the play of light on -a magnificent palm-grove, beneath which stand the huts of the modern -village of Sheykh Abâdeh. It adds romance to the loveliness of the scene -to know that this is the site of ancient Antinoë, built by the Emperor -Adrian. To be sure we didn't know it till this moment, but the traveler -warms up to a fact of this kind immediately, and never betrays even -to his intimate friends that he is not drawing upon his inexhaustible -memory. - -“That is the ancient Antinoë, built by Adrian.” - -Oh, the hypocrisy and deceit of the enthusiastic, - -“Is it?” - -“Yes, and handsome Antinous was drowned here in the Nile.” - -“Did they recover his body?” - -Upon the bank there are more camels, dogs, and donkeys than we have seen -all day; buffaloes are wallowing in the muddy margin. They are all in -repose; the dogs do not bark, and the camels stretch their necks in a -sort of undulatory expression of discontent, but do not bleat, or roar, -or squawk, or make whatever the unearthly noise which they make is -called. The men and the women are crouching in the shelter of their mud -walls, with the light of the setting sun upon their dark faces. They -draw their wraps closer about them to protect themselves from the north -wind, and regard us stolidly and without interest as we go by. And when -the light fades, what is there for them? No cheerful lamp, no book, no -newspaper. They simply crawl into their kennels and sleep the sleep of -“inwardness” and peace. - -Just here the arable land on the east bank is broader than usual, and -there was evidently a fine city built on the edge of the desert behind -it. The Egyptians always took waste and desert land for dwellings and -for burial-places, leaving every foot of soil available for cultivation -free. There is evidence all along here of a once much larger population, -though I doubt if the east bank of the river was ever much inhabited. -The river banks would support many more people than we find here if -the land were cultivated with any care. Its fertility, with the annual -deposit, is simply inexhaustible, and it is good for two and sometimes -three crops a year. But we pass fields now and then that are abandoned, -and others that do not yield half what they might. The people are -oppressed with taxes and have no inducement to raise more than is -absolutely necessary to keep them alive. But I suppose this has always -been the case in Egypt. The masters have squeezed the last drop from the -people, and anything like an accumulation of capital by the laborers is -unknown. The Romans used a long rake, with fine and sharp teeth, and -I have no doubt that they scraped the country as clean as the present -government does. - -The government has a very simple method of adjusting its taxes on land -and crops. They are based upon the extent of the inundation. So many -feet rise, overflowing such an area, will give such a return in crops; -and tax on this product can be laid in advance as accurately as when -the crops are harvested. Nature is certain to do her share of the work; -there will be no frost, nor any rain to spoil the harvest, nor any -freakishness whatever on the part of the weather. If the harvest is not -up to the estimate, it is entirely the fault of the laborer, who has -inadequately planted or insufficiently watered. In the same manner a tax -is laid upon each palm-tree, and if it does not bear fruit, that is not -the fault of the government. - -There must be some satisfaction in farming on the Nile. You are always -certain of the result of your labor. * Whereas, in our country farming -is the merest lottery. The season will open too wet or too dry, the seed -may rot in the ground, the young plant may be nipped with frost or grow -pale for want of rain, the crop runs the alternate hazards of drought -or floods, it is wasted by rust or devoured by worms; and, to cap the -climax, if the harvest is abundant and of good quality, the price goes -down to an unremunerative figure. In Egypt you may scratch the ground, -put in the seed, and then go to sleep for three months, in perfect -certainty of a good harvest, if only the shadoof and the sakiya are kept -in motion. - -* It should be said, however, that the ancient Egyptians found the -agricultural conditions beset with some vexations. A papyrus in the -British Museum contains a correspondence between Ameneman, the librarian -of Rameses II, and his pupil Pentaour, who wrote the celebrated epic -upon the exploits of that king on the river Orontes. One of the letters -describes the life of the agricultural people:—“Have you ever conceived -what sort of life the peasant leads who cultivates the soil? Even before -it is ripe, insects destroy part of his harvest.. . Multitudes of rats -are in the field; next come invasions of locusts, cattle ravage his -harvest, sparrows alight in flocks on his sheaves. If he delays to get -in his harvest, robbers come to carry it off with him; his horse dies of -fatigue in drawing the plow; the tax- collector arrives in the district, -and has with him men armed with sticks, negroes with palm-branches. -All say, 'Give us of your corn,' and he has no means of escaping their -exactions. Next the unfortunate wretch is seized, bound, and carried -off by force to work on the canals; his wife is bound, his children are -stripped. And at the same time his neighbors have each of them his own -trouble.” - - -By eight o'clock in the evening, on a falling wind, we are passing -Rhoda, whose tall chimneys have been long in sight. Here is one of the -largest of the Khedive's sugar-factories, and a new palace which has -never been occupied. We are one hundred and eighty-eight miles from -Cairo, and have made this distance in two days, a speed for which I -suppose history has no parallel; at least our dragoman says that such -a run has never been made before at this time of the year, and we are -quite willing to believe a statement which reflects so much honor upon -ourselves, for choosing such a boat and such a dragoman. - -This Nile voyage is nothing, after all; its length has been greatly -overestimated. We shall skip up the river and back again before the -season is half spent, and have to go somewhere else for the winter. A -man feels all-powerful, so long as the wind blows; but let his sails -collapse and there is not a more crest-fallen creature. Night and day -our sail has been full, and we are puffed up with pride. - -At this rate we shall hang out our colored lanterns at Thebes on -Christmas night. - - - -0150 - - - -0151 - - - - -CHAPTER XI.—PEOPLE ON THE RIVER BANKS. - -THE morning puts a new face on our affairs. It is Sunday, and the most -devout could not desire a quieter day. There is a thick fog on the -river, and not breeze enough stirring to show the stripes on our flag; -the boat holds its own against the current by a sort of accumulated -impulse. During the night we may have made five miles altogether, and -now we barely crawl. We have run our race; if we have not come into a -haven, we are at a stand-still, and it does not seem now as if we ever -should wake up and go on again. However, it is just as well. Why should -we be tearing through this sleepy land at the rate of four miles an -hour? - -The steersman half dozes at the helm; the reïs squats near him watching -the flapping sails; the crew are nearly all asleep on the forward deck, -with their burnouses drawn over their head and the feet bare, for it is -chilly as late as nine o'clock, and the thermometer has dropped to 540. -Abd-el-Atti slips his beads uneasily along between his fingers, and -remembers that when he said that we would reach Asioot in another day, -he forgot to ejaculate; “God willing.” Yet he rises and greets our -coming from the cabin with a willing smile, and a— - -“Morning sir, morning marm. I hope you enjoyin' you sleep, marm.” - -“Where are we now, Abd-el-Atti?” - -“Not much, marm; this is a place call him Hadji Kandeel. But we do very -well; I not to complain.” - -“Do you think we shall have any wind to-day?” - -“I d'know, be sure. The wind come from Lord. Not so?” - -Hadji Kandeel is in truth only a scattered line of huts, but one lands -here to visit the grottoes or rock-tombs of Tel el Amarna. All this -country is gaping with tombs apparently; all the cliffs are cut into -receptacles for the dead, all along the margin of the desert on each -side are old necropolises and moslem cemeteries, in which generation -after generation, for almost fabulous periods of time, has been -deposited. Here behind Hadji Kandeel are remains of a once vast city -built let us say sixteen hundred years before our era, by Amunoph IV., -a wayward king of the eighteenth dynasty, and made the capital of Egypt. -In the grottoes of Tel el Amârna were deposited this king and his court -and favorites, and his immediate successors—all the splendor of them -sealed up there and forgotten. This king forsook the worship of the gods -of Thebes, and set up that of a Semitic deity, Aten, a radiating disk, a -sun with rays terminating in human hands. It was his mother who led him -into this, and she was not an Egyptian; neither are the features of the -persons sculptured in the grottoes Egyptian. - -Thus all along the stream of Egyptian history cross currents are coming -in, alien sovereigns and foreign task-masters; and great breaks appear, -as if one full civilization had run its course of centuries, and decay -had come, and then ruin, and then a new start and a fresh career. - -Early this morning, when we were close in to the west bank, I heard -measured chanting, and saw a procession of men and women coming across -the field. The men bore on a rude bier the body of a child. They came -straight on to the bank, and then turned by the flank with military -precision and marched upstream to the place where a clumsy country -ferry-boat had just landed. The chant of the men, as they walked, was -deep-voiced and solemn, and I could hear in it frequently repeated the -name of Mohammed. The women in straggling file followed, like a sort of -ill-omened birds in black, and the noise they made, a kind of wail, -was exactly like the cackle of wild geese. Indeed before I saw the -procession I thought that some geese were flying overhead. - -The body was laid on the ground and four men kneeled upon the bank as -if in prayer. The boat meantime was unloading, men, women and children -scrambling over the sides into the shallow water, and the donkeys, urged -with blows, jumping after them. When they were all out the funeral took -possession of the boat, and was slowly wafted across, as dismal a going -to a funeral as if this were the real river of death. When the mourners -had landed we saw them walking under the palm-trees, to the distant -burial-place in the desert, with a certain solemn dignity, and the -chanting and wailing were borne to us very distinctly. - -It is nearly a dead calm all day, and our progress might be -imperceptible to an eye naked, and certainly it must be so to the eyes -of these natives which are full of flies. It grows warm, however, and -is a summer temperature when we go ashore in the afternoon on a tour of -exploration. We have for attendant, Ahmed, who carries a big stick as -a defence against dogs. Ahmed does not differ much in appearance from -a wild barbarian, his lack of a complete set of front teeth alone -preventing him from looking fierce. A towel is twisted about his head, -feet and legs are bare, and he wears a blue cotton robe with full -sleeves longer than his arms, gathered at the waist by a piece of rope, -and falling only to the knees. A nice person to go walking with on the -Holy Sabbath. - -The whole land is green with young wheat, but the soil is baked and -cracked three or four inches deep, even close to the shore where the -water has only receded two or three days ago. The land stretches for -several miles, perfectly level and every foot green and smiling, back to -the desert hills. Sprinkled over this expanse, which is only interrupted -by ditches and slight dykes upon which the people walk from village to -village, are frequent small groves of palms. Each grove is the nucleus -of a little settlement, a half dozen sun-baked habitations, where -people, donkeys, pigeons, and smaller sorts of animated nature live -together in dirty amity. The general plan of building is to erect a -circular wall of clay six or seven feet high, which dries, hardens, and -cracks in the sun. This is the Oriental court. In side this and built -against the wall is a low mud-hut with a wooden door, and perhaps here -and there are two similar huts, or half a dozen, according to the size -of the family. In these hovels the floor is of smooth earth, there is a -low bedstead or some matting laid in one corner, but scarcely any other -furniture, except some earthen jars holding doora or dried fruit, and a -few cooking utensils. A people who never sit, except on their heels, do -not need chairs, and those who wear at once all the clothes they possess -need no closets or wardrobes. I looked at first for a place where -they could keep their “Sunday clothes” and “nice things,” but this -philosophical people do not have anything that is too good for daily -use. It is nevertheless true that there is no hope of a people who do -not have “Sunday clothes.” - -The inhabitants did not, however, appear conscious of any such want. -They were lounging about or squatting in the dust in picturesque -idleness; the children under twelve years often without clothes and not -ashamed, and the women wearing no veils. The women are coming and going -with the heavy water-jars, or sitting on the ground, sorting doora and -preparing it for cooking; not prepossessing certainly, in their black -or dingy brown gowns and shawls of cotton. Children abound. In all the -fields men are at work, picking up the ground with a rude hoe shaped -like an adze. Tobacco plants have just been set out, and water-melons -carefully shaded from the sun by little tents of rushes. These men are -all Fellaheen, coarsely and scantily clad in brown cotton gowns, open at -the breast. They are not bad figures, better than the women, but there -is a hopeless acceptance of the portion of slaves in their bearing. - -We encountered a very different race further from the river, where -we came upon an encampment of Bedaween, or desert Arabs, who hold -themselves as much above the Fellaheen as the poor white trash used to -consider itself above the negroes in our Southern States. They pretend -to keep their blood pure by intermarrying only in desert tribes, and -perhaps it is pure; so, I suppose, the Gipsies are pure blood enough, -but one would not like them for neighbors. These Bedaween, according -to their wandering and predatory habit, have dropped down here from the -desert to feed their little flock of black sheep and give their lean -donkeys a bite of grass. Their tents are merely strips of coarse brown -cloth, probably camel's hair, like sacking, stretched horizontally over -sticks driven into the sand, so as to form a cover from the sun and -a protection from the north wind. Underneath them are heaps of rags, -matting, old clothes, blankets, mingled with cooking-utensils and the -nameless broken assortment that beggars usually lug about with them. -Hens and lambs are at home there, and dogs, a small, tawny wolfish -breed, abound. The Arabs are worthy of their dwellings, a dirty, -thievish lot to look at, but, as I said, no doubt of pure blood, and -having all the virtues for which these nomads have been celebrated since -the time when Jacob judiciously increased his flock at the expense of -Laban. - -A half-naked boy of twelve years escorts us to the bank of the canal -near which the tents are pitched, and we are met by the sheykh of -the tribe, a more venerable and courtly person than the rest of -these pure-blood masqueraders in rags, but not a whit less dirty. The -fellaheen had paid no attention to us; this sheykh looked upon himself -as one of the proprietors of this world, and bound to extend the -hospitalities of this portion of it to strangers. He received us with a -certain formality. When two Moslems meet there is no end to their formal -salutation and complimentary speeches, which may continue as long as -their stock of religious expressions holds out. The usual first greeting -is Es-salaam, aleykoom, “peace be on you,” to which the reply is -Aleykoom es-saalam, “on you be peace.” It is said that persons of -another religion, however, should never make use of this salutation to -a Moslem, and that the latter should not and will not return it. But we -were overflowing with charity and had no bigotry, and went through Egypt -salaaming right and left, sometimes getting no reply and sometimes a -return, to our “peace be on you,” of Wa-aleykoom, “and on you.” - -The salutations by gesture are as varied as those by speech When -Abd-el-Atti walked in Cairo with us, he constantly varied his gestures -according to the rank of the people we met. To an inferior he tossed a -free salaam; an equal he saluted by touching with his right hand in one -rapid motion his breast, lips, and head; to a superior he made the same -motion except that his hand first made a dip down to his knees; and when -he met a person of high rank the hand scooped down to the ground before -it passed up to the head. - -I flung a cheerful salaam at the sheykh and gave him the Oriental -salute, which he returned. We then shook hands, and the sheykh kissed -his after touching mine, a token of friendship which I didn't know -enough to imitate, not having been brought up to kiss my own hand. - -“Anglais or Français?” asked the sheykh. - -“No,” I said, “Americans.” - -“Ah,” he ejaculated, throwing back his head with an aspiration of -relief, “Melicans; tyeb (good).” - -A ring of inquisitive Arabs gathered about us and were specially -interested in studying the features and costume of one of our party; the -women standing further off and remaining closely veiled kept their eyes -fixed on her. The sheykh invited us to sit and have coffee, but the -surroundings were not tempting to the appetite and we parted with -profuse salutations. I had it in mind to invite him to our American -centennial; I should like to set him off against some of our dirty red -brethren of the prairies. I thought that if I could transport these -Bedaween, tents, children, lank, veiled women, donkeys, and all to the -centennial grounds they would add a most interesting (if unpleasant) -feature. But, then, I reflected, what is a centennial to this Bedawee -whose ancestors were as highly civilized as he is when ours were wading -about the fens with the Angles or burrowing in German forests. Besides, -the Bedawee would be at a disadvantage when away from the desert, or the -bank of this Nile whose unceasing flow symbolizes his tribal longevity. - -As we walk along through the lush-fields which the despised Fellaheen -are irritating into a fair yield of food, we are perplexed with the -query, what is the use of the Bedaween in this world? They produce -nothing. To be sure they occupy a portion of the earth that no one else -would inhabit; they dwell on the desert. But there is no need of any one -dwelling on the desert, especially as they have to come from it to levy -contributions on industrious folds in order to live. At this stage of -the inquiry, the philosopher asks, what is the use of any one living? - -As no one could answer this, we waded the water where it was shallow -and crossed to a long island, such as the Nile frequently leaves in its -sprawling course. This island was green from end to end, and inhabited -more thickly than the main-land. We attracted a good deal of attention -from the mud-villages, and much anxiety was shown lest we should walk -across the wheat-fields. We expected that the dahabeëh would come on and -take us off, but its streamer did not advance, and we were obliged to -rewade the shallow channel and walk back to the starting-place. There -was a Sunday calm in the scene. At the rosy sunset the broad river shone -like a mirror and the air was soft as June. How strong is habit. Work -was going on as usual, and there could have been no consent of sky, -earth, and people, to keep Sunday, yet there seemed to be the Sunday -spell upon the landscape. I suspect that people here have got into the -way of keeping all the days. The most striking way in which an American -can keep Sunday on the Nile is by not going gunning, not even taking a -“flyer” at a hawk from the deck of the dahabeëh. There is a chance for a -tract on this subject. - -Let no one get the impression that we are idling away our time, because -we are on Monday morning exactly where we were on Sunday morning. We -have concluded to “keep” another day. There is not a breath of wind -to scatter the haze, thermometer has gone down, and the sun's rays -are feeble. This is not our fault, and I will not conceal the adverse -circumstances in order to give you a false impression of the Nile. - -We are moored against the bank. The dragoman has gone on shore to shoot -pigeons and buy vegetables. Our turkeys, which live in cages on the -stern-deck, have gone ashore and are strutting up and down the sand; -their gobble is a home sound and recalls New England. Women, as usual, -singly and in groups, come to the river to fill their heavy water-jars. -There is a row of men and boys on the edge of the bank. Behind are two -camels yoked wide apart drawing a plow. Our crew chaff the shore people. -The cook says to a girl, “You would make me a good wife; we will take -you along.” Men, squatting on the bank say, “Take her along, she is of -no use.” - -Girl retorts, “You are not of more use than animals, you sit idle all -day, while I bring water and grind the corn.” - -One is glad to see this assertion of the rights of women in this region -where nobody has any rights; and if we had a tract we would leave it -with her. Some good might be done by travelers if they would distribute -biscuit along the Nile, stamped in Arabic with the words, “Man ought to -do half the work,” or, “Sisters rise!” - -In the afternoon we explore a large extent of country, my companion -carrying a shot-gun for doves. These doves are in fact wild pigeons, -a small and beautiful pearly-grey bird. They live on the tops of the -houses in nests formed for them by the insertion of tiles or earthen -pots in the mud-walls. Many houses have an upper story of this sort on -purpose for the doves; and a collection of mere mud-cabins so ornamented -is a picturesque sight, under a palm-grove. Great flocks of these birds -are flying about, and the shooting is permitted, away from the houses. - -We make efforts to get near the wild geese and the cranes, great numbers -of which are sunning themselves on the sandbanks, but these birds know -exactly the range of a gun, and fly at the right moment. A row of cranes -will sometimes trifle with our feelings. The one nearest will let us -approach almost within range before he lifts his huge wings and sails -over the river, the next one will wait for us to come a few steps -further before he flies, and so on until the sand-spit is deserted of -these long-legged useless birds. Hawks are flying about the shore and -great greyish crows, or ravens, come over the fields and light on the -margin of sand—a most gentlemanly looking bird, who is under a queer -necessity of giving one hop before he can raise himself in flight. Small -birds, like sand-pipers, are flitting about the bank. The most beautiful -creature, however, is a brown bird, his wing marked with white, long -bill, head erect and adorned with a high tuft, as elegant as the -blue-jay; the natives call it the crocodile's guide. - -We cross vast fields of wheat and of beans, the Arab “fool,” which are -sown broadcast, interspersed now and then with a melon-patch. Villages, -such as they are, are frequent; one of them has a mosque, the only one -we have seen recently. The water for ablution is outside, in a brick -tank sunk in the ground. A row of men are sitting on their heels -in front of the mosque, smoking; some of them in white gowns, and -fine-looking men. I hope there is some saving merit in this universal -act of sitting on the heels, the soles of the feet flat on the ground; -it is not an easy thing for a Christian to do, as he will find out by -trying. - -Toward night a steamboat flying the star and crescent of Egypt, with -passengers on board, some of “Cook's personally conducted,” goes -thundering down stream, filling the air with smoke and frightening the -geese, who fly before it in vast clouds. I didn't suppose there were so -many geese in the world. - -Truth requires it to be said that on Tuesday morning the dahabeëh holds -about the position it reached on Sunday morning; we begin to think we -are doing well not to lose anything in this rapid current. The day is -warm and cloudy, the wind is from the east and then from the south-east, -exactly the direction we must go. It is in fact a sirocco, and fills -one with languor, which is better than being frost-bitten at home. The -evening, with the cabin windows all open, is like one of those soft -nights which come at the close of sultry northern days, in which -there is a dewy freshness. This is the sort of winter that we ought to -cultivate. - -During the day we attempt tracking two or three times, but with little -success; the wind is so strong that the boat is continually blown -ashore. Tracking is not very hard for the passengers and gives them an -opportunity to study the bank and the people on it close at hand. A long -cable fastened on the forward deck is carried ashore, and to the far -end ten or twelve sailors attach themselves at intervals by short ropes -which press across the breast. Leaning in a slant line away from the -river, they walk at a snail's pace, a file of parti-colored raiment and -glistening legs; occasionally bursting into a snatch of a song, they -slowly pull the bark along. But obstructions to progress are many. A -spit of sand will project itself, followed by deepwater, through which -the men will have to wade in order to bring the boat round; occasionally -the rope must be passed round trees which overhang the caving bank; and -often freight-boats, tied to the shore, must be passed. The leisure with -which the line is carried outside another boat is amusing even in this -land of deliberation. The groups on these boats sit impassive and look -at us with a kind of curiosity that has none of our eagerness in it. -The well-bred indifferent “stare” of these people, which is not exactly -brazen and yet has no element of emotion in it, would make the fortune -of a young fellow in a London season. The Nubian boatmen who are -tracking the freight-dahabeëh appear to have left their clothes in -Cairo; they flop in and out of the water, they haul the rope along the -bank, without consciousness apparently that any spectators are within -miles; and the shore-life goes on all the same, men sit on the banks, -women come constantly to fill their jars, these crews stripped to their -toil excite no more attention than the occasional fish jumping out of -the Nile. The habit seems to be general of minding one's own business. - -At early morning another funeral crossed the river to a desolate -burial-place in the sand, the women wailing the whole distance of the -march; and the noise was more than before like the clang of wild geese. -These women have inherited the Oriental art of “lifting up the voice,” -and it adds not a little to the weirdness of this ululation and -screeching to think that for thousands of years the dead have been -buried along this valley with exactly the same feminine tenderness. - -These women wear black; all the countrywomen we have seen are dressed in -sombre gowns and shawls of black or deep blue-black; none of them have -a speck of color in their raiment, not a bit of ribbon nor a bright -kerchief, nor any relief to the dullness of their apparel. And yet they -need not fear to make themselves too attractive. The men have all the -colors that are worn; though the Fellaheen as a rule wear brownish -garments, blue and white are not uncommon, and a white turban or a red -fez, or a silk belt about the waist gives variety and agreeable relief -to the costumes. In this these people imitate that nature which we -affect to admire, but outrage constantly. They imitate the birds. The -male birds have all the gay plumage; the feathers of the females are -sober and quiet, as befits their domestic position. And it must be -admitted that men need the aid of gay dress more than women. - -The next morning when the sun shows over the eastern desert, the sailors -are tracking, hauling the boat slowly along an ox-bow in the river, -until at length the sail can catch the light west wind which sprang -up with the dawn. When we feel that, the men scramble aboard, and the -dahabeëh, like a duck that has been loitering in an eddy for days, -becomes instinct with life and flies away to the cliffs opposite, the -bluffs called Gebel Aboofayda, part of the Mokattam range that here -rises precipitously from the river and overhangs it for ten or twelve -miles. I think these limestone ledges are two or three hundred feet -high. The face is scarred by the slow wearing of ages, and worn into -holes and caves innumerable. Immense numbers of cranes are perched on -the narrow ledges of the cliff, and flocks of them are circling in front -of it, apparently having nests there. As numerous also as swallows in a -sand-bank is a species of duck called the diver; they float in troops on -the stream, or wheel about the roosting cranes. - -This is a spot famed for its sudden gusts of wind which sometimes -flop over the brink and overturn boats. It also is the resort of the -crocodile, which seldom if ever comes lower down the Nile now. But -the crocodile is evidently shy of exhibiting himself, and we scan the -patches of sand at the foot of the rocks with our glasses for a long -time in vain. The animal dislikes the puffing, swashing steamboats, and -the rifle-balls that passing travelers pester him with. At last we see -a scaly log six or eight feet long close to the water under the rock. By -the aid of the glass it turns out to be a crocodile. He is asleep, and -too far off to notice at all the volley of shot with which we salute -him. It is a great thing to say you saw a crocodile. It isn't much to -see one. - -And yet the scaly beast is an interesting and appropriate feature in -such a landscape,# and the expectation of seeing a crocodile adds to -your enjoyment. On our left are these impressive cliffs; on the right -is a level island. Half-naked boys and girls are tending small flocks of -black sheep on it. Abd-el-Atti raises his gun as if he would shoot -the children and cries out to them, “lift up your arm,” words that -the crocodile hunter uses when he is near enough to fire, and wants to -attract the attention of the beast so that it will raise its fore-paw -to move off, and give the sportsman a chance at the vulnerable spot. The -children understand the allusion and run laughing away. - -Groups of people are squatting on the ground, doing nothing, waiting for -nothing, expecting nothing; buffaloes and cattle are feeding on the thin -grass, and camels are kneeling near in stately indifference; women in -blue-black robes come—the everlasting sight—to draw water. The whole -passes in a dumb show. The hot sun bathes all. - -We pass next the late residence of a hermit, a Moslem “welee” or holy -man. On a broad ledge of the cliff, some thirty feet above the water, -is a hut built of stone and plaster and whitewashed, about twelve feet -high, the roof rounded like an Esquimau snow-hut and with a knob at -the top. Here the good man lived, isolated from the world, fed by the -charity of passers-by, and meditating on his own holiness. Below him, -out of the rock, with apparently no better means of support than he had, -grows an acacia-tree, now in yellow blossoms. Perhaps the saint chewed -the gum-arabic that oozed from it. Just above, on the river, is a slight -strip of soil, where he used to raise a few cucumbers and other cooling -vegetables. The farm, which is no larger than two bed blankets, is -deserted now. The saint died, and is buried in his house, in a hole -excavated in the rock, so that his condition is little changed, his -house being his tomb, and the Nile still soothing his slumber. - -But if it is easy to turn a house into a tomb it is still easier to turn -a tomb into a house. Here are two square-cut tombs in the rock, of which -a family has taken possession, the original occupants probably having -moved out hundreds of years ago. Smoke is issuing from one of them, and -a sorry-looking woman is pulling dead grass among the rocks for fuel. -There seems to be no inducement for any one to live in this barren spot, -but probably rent is low. A little girl seven or eight years old comes -down and walks along the bank, keeping up with the boat, incited -of course by the universal expectation of backsheesh. She has on a -head-veil, covering the back of the head and neck and a single shirt -of brown rags hanging in strings. I throw her an apple, a fruit she has -probably never seen, which she picks up and carries until she joined is -by an elder sister, to whom she shows it. Neither seems to know what -it is. The elder smells it, sticks her teeth into it, and then takes a -bite. The little one tastes, and they eat it in alternate bites, growing -more and more eager for fair bites as the process goes on. - -Near the southern end of the cliffs of Gebel Aboofayda are the -crocodile-mummy pits which Mr. Prime explored; caverns in which are -stacked up mummied crocodiles and lizards by the thousands. We shall -not go nearer to them. I dislike mummies; I loathe crocodiles; I have -no fondness for pits. What could be more unpleasant than the three -combined! To crawl on one's stomach through crevices and hewn passages -in the rock, in order to carry a torch into a stifling chamber, packed -with mummies and cloths soaked in bitumen, is an exploit that we -willingly leave to Egyptologists. If one takes a little pains, he can -find enough unpleasant things above ground. - -It requires all our skill to work the boat round the bend above these -cliffs; we are every minute about to go aground on a sand-bar, or jibe -the sail, or turn about. Heaven only knows how we ever get on at all, -with all the crew giving orders and no one obeying. But by five o'clock -we are at the large market-town of Manfaloot, which has half a dozen -minarets and is sheltered by a magnificent palm-grove. You seem to be -approaching an earthly paradise; and one can keep up the illusion if he -does not go ashore. And yet this is a spot that ought to interest the -traveler, for here Lot is said to have spent a portion of the years of -his exile, after the accident to his wife. - -At sunset old Abo Arab comes limping along the bank with a tin pail, -having succeeded at length in overtaking the boat; and in reply to the -question, where he has been asleep all day, pulls out from his bosom -nine small fish as a peace-offering. He was put off at sunrise to get -milk for breakfast. What a happy-go-lucky country it is. - -After sundown, the crew, who have worked hard all day, on and off, -tacking, poling, and shifting sail, get their supper round an open fire -on deck, take each some whiffs from the “hubble-bubble,” and, as we sail -out over the broad, smooth water, sing a rude and plaintive melody to -the subdued thump of the darabooka. Towards dark, as we are about to -tie up, the wind, which had failed, rises, and we voyage on, the waves -rippling against the sides in a delicious lullaby. The air is soft, the -moon is full and peeps out from the light clouds which obscure the sky -and prevent dew. - -The dragoman asleep on the cabin deck, the reïs crouched, attentive of -the course, near him, part of the sailors grouped about the bow in low -chat, and part asleep in the shadow of the sail, we voyage along under -the wide night, still to the south and warmer skies, and seem to be -sailing through an enchanted land. - -Put not your trust in breezes. The morning finds us still a dozen miles -from Asioot where we desire to celebrate Christmas; we just move with -sails up, and the crew poling. The head-man chants a line or throws out -a word, and the rest come in with a chorus, as they walk along, bending -the shoulder to the pole. The leader—the “shanty man” the English -sailors call their leader, from the French chanter I suppose—ejaculates -a phrase, sometimes prolonging it, or dwelling on it with a variation, -like “O! Mohammed!” or “O! Howadji!” or some scraps from a love-song, -and the men strike in in chorus: “Hâ Yàlësah, hâ Yâlësah,” a response -that the boatmen have used for hundreds of years. - -We sail leisurely past a large mud-village dropped in a splendid grove -of palms and acacias. The scene is very poetical before details are -inspected, and the groves, we think, ought to be the home of refinement -and luxury. Men are building a boat under the long arcade of trees, -women are stooping with the eternal water-jars which do not appear -to retain fluid any better than the sieves of the Danaïdes, and naked -children run along the bank crying “Backsheesh, O Howadji.” Our shot-gun -brings down a pigeon-hawk close to the shore. A boy plunges in and gets -it, handing it to us on deck from the bank, but not relinquishing his -hold with one hand until he feels the half-piastre in the other. So -early is distrust planted in the human breast. - -Getting away from this idyllic scene, which has not a single resemblance -to any civilized town, we work our way up to El Hamra late in the -afternoon. This is the landing-place for Asioot; the city itself is a -couple of miles inland, and could be reached by a canal at high water. -We have come again into an active world, and there are evidences that -this is a busy place. New boats are on the stocks, and there is a forge -for making some sort of machinery. So much life has not been met with -since we left Cairo. The furling our great sail is a fine sight as -we round in to the bank, the sailors crawling out on the slender, -hundred-feet-long yard, like monkeys, and drawing up the hanging slack -with both feet and hands. - -It is long since we have seen so many or so gaily dressed people as are -moving on shore; a procession of camels passes along; crowds of donkeys -are pushed down to the boat by their noisy drivers; old women come to -sell eggs, and white grease that pretends to be butter, and one of them -pulls some live pigeons from a bag. We lie at the mud-bank, and classes -of half-clad children, squatting in the sand, study us. Two other -dahabeëhs are moored near us, their passengers sitting under the awning -and indolently observing the novel scene, book in hand, after the manner -of Nile voyagers. - -These are the pictures constantly recurring on the river, only they are -never the same in grouping or color, and they never weary one. It is -wonderful, indeed, how satisfying the Nile is in itself and how little -effort travelers make for the society of each other. Boats pass or meet -and exchange salutes, but with little more effusion than if they were -on the Thames. Nothing afloat is so much like a private house as -a dahabeëh, and I should think, by what we hear, that sociability -decreases on the Nile with increase of travel and luxury. - - - -0166 - - - -0167 - - - - -CHAPTER XII.—SPENDING CHRISTMAS ON THE NILE. - -PROBABLY this present writer has the distinction of being the only -one who has written about the Nile and has not invented a new way of -spelling the name of the town whose many minarets and brown roofs are -visible over the meadows. - -It is written Asioot, Asyoot, Asiüt, Ssout, Siôout, Osyoot, Osioot, -O'Sioôt, Siüt, Sioot, O'siout, Si-ôôt, Siout, Syouth, and so on, -indefinitely. People take the liberty to spell names as they sound to -them, and there is consequently a pleasing variety in the names of all -places, persons, and things in Egypt; and when we add to the many ways -of spelling an Arabic word, the French the German, and the English -translation or equivalent, you are in a hopeless jumble of nomenclature. -The only course is to strike out boldly and spell everything as it seems -good in your eyes, and differently in different moods. Even the name of -the Prophet takes on half a dozen forms; there are not only ninety-nine -names of the attributes of God, but I presume there are ninety-nine ways -of spelling each of them. - -This Asioot has always been a place of importance. It was of old called -Lycopolis, its divinity being the wolf or the wolf-headed god; and in -a rock-mountain behind the town were not only cut the tombs of the -inhabitants, but there were deposited the mummies of the sacred wolves. -About these no one in Asioot knows or cares much, to day. It is a -city of twenty-five thousand people, with a good many thriving Copt -Christians; the terminus, to day, of the railway, and the point of -arrival and departure of the caravans to and from Darfoor—a desert march -of a month. Here are made the best clay pipe-bowls in Egypt, and a great -variety of ornamented dishes and vases in clay, which the traveler buys -and doesn't know what to do with. The artisans also work up elephants' -tusks and ostrich feathers into a variety of “notions.” - -Christmas day opens warm and with an air of festivity. Great -palm-branches are planted along the bank and form an arbor over the -gang-plank. The cabin is set with them, in gothic arches over windows -and doors, with yellow oranges at the apex. The forward and saloon -decks are completely embowered in palms, which also run up the masts and -spars. The crew have entered with zeal into the decoration, and in the -early morning transformed the boat into a floating bower of greenery; -the effect is Oriental, but it is difficult to believe that this is -really Christmas day. The weather is not right, for one thing. It is -singularly pleasant, in fact like summer. We miss the usual snow and ice -and the hurtling of savage winds that bring suffering to the poor and -make charity meritorious. Besides, the Moslems are celebrating the day -for us and, I fear, regarding it simply as an occasion of backsheesh. -The sailors are very quick to understand so much of our religion as is -profitable to themselves. - -In such weather as this it would be possible for “shepherds to watch -their flocks by night.” - -Early in the day we have a visit from Wasef el Khyat, the American -consul here for many years, a Copt and a native of Asioot, who speaks -only Arabic; he is accompanied by one of his sons, who was educated at -the American college in Beyrout. So far does that excellent institution -send its light; scattered rays to be sure, but it is from it and such -schools that the East is getting the real impetus of civilization. - -I do not know what the consul at Asioot does for America, but our flag -is of great service to him, protecting his property from the exactions -of his own government. Wasef is consequently very polite to all -Americans, and while he sipped coffee and puffed cigars in our cabin he -smiled unutterable things. This is the pleasantest kind of intercourse -in a warm climate, where a puff and an occasional smile will pass for -profuse expressions of social enjoyment. - -His excellency Shakirr Pasha, the governor of this large and rich -province, has sent word that he is about to put carriages and donkeys at -our disposal, but this probably meant that the consul would do it; and -the consul has done it. The carriage awaits us on the bank. It is a -high, paneled, venerable ark, that moves with trembling dignity; and -we choose the donkeys as less pretentious and less liable to come to -pieces. This is no doubt the only carriage between Cairo and Kartoom, -and its appearance is regarded as an event. - -Our first visit is paid to the Pasha, who has been only a few days in -his province, and has not yet transferred his harem from Cairo. We are -received with distinguished ceremony, to the lively satisfaction of -Abd-el-Atti, whose face beams like the morning, in bringing together -such “distinguish” people as his friend the Pasha, and travelers in his -charge. The Pasha is a courtly Turk, of most elegant manners, and the -simplicity of high breeding, a man of the world and one of the ablest -governors in Egypt. The room into which we are ushered, through a dirty -alley and a mud-wall court is hardly in keeping with the social stilts -on which we are all walking. In our own less favored land, it would -answer very well for a shed or an out-house to store beans in, or for -a “reception room” for sheep; a narrow oblong apartment, covered with a -flat roof of palm logs, with a couple of dirty little windows high up, -the once whitewashed walls stained variously, the cheap divans soiled. - -The hospitality of this gorgeous salon was offered us with effusion, and -we sat down and exchanged compliments as if we had been in a palace. -I am convinced that there is nothing like the Oriental imagination. An -attendant (and the servants were in keeping with the premises) brought -in fingans of coffee. The servant presents the cup in his right hand, -holding the bottom of the silver receptacle in his thumb and finger; -he takes it away empty with both hands, placing the left under and the -right on top of it. These formalities are universal and all-important. -Before taking it you ought to make the salutation, by touching breast, -lips, and forehead, with the right hand—an acknowledgment not to the -servant but to the master. Cigars are then handed round, for it is -getting to be considered on the Nile that cigars are more “swell” than -pipes; more's the pity. - -The exchange of compliments meantime went on, and on the part of -the Pasha with a fineness, adroitness, and readiness that showed the -practice of a lifetime in social fence. He surpassed our most daring -invention with a smiling ease, and topped all our extravagances with an -art that made our pool efforts appear clumsy. And what the effect would -have been if we could have understood the flowery Arabic I can only -guess; nor can we ever know how many flowers of his own the dragoman -cast in. - -“His excellency say that he feel the honor of your visit.” - -“Say to his excellency that although we are only spending one day in -his beautiful capital, we could not forego the-pleasure of paying our -respects to his excellency.” This sentence is built by the critic, and -strikes us all favorably. - -“His excellency himself not been here many days, and sorry he not know -you coming, to make some preparations to receive you.” - -“Thank his excellency for the palms that decorate our boat.” - -“They are nothing, nothing, he say not mention it; the dahabeëh look -very different now if the Nile last summer had not wash away all his -flower-garden. His excellency say, how you enjoyed your voyage?” - -“It has been very pleasant; only for a day or two we have wanted wind.” - -“Your misfortune, his excellency say, his pleasure; it give him the -opportunity of your society. But he say if you want wind he sorry no -wind; it cause him to suffer that you not come here sooner.” - -“Will his excellency dine with us to-day?” - -“He say he think it too much honor.” - -“Assure his excellency that we feel that the honor is conferred by him.” - -And he consents to come. After we have taken our leave, the invitation -is extended to the consul, who is riding with us. - -The way to the town is along a winding, shabby embankment, raised above -high water, and shaded with sycamore-trees. It is lively with people on -foot and on donkeys, in more colored and richer dress than that worn -by country-people; the fields are green, the clover is springing -luxuriantly, and spite of the wrecks of unburned-brick houses, left -gaping by the last flood, and spite of the general untidiness of -everything, the ride is enjoyable. I don't know why it is that an -irrigated country never is pleasing on close inspection, neither is an -irrigated garden. Both need to be seen from a little distance, which -conceals the rawness of the alternately dry and soaked soil, the -frequent thinness of vegetation, the unkempt swampy appearance of the -lowest levels, and the painful whiteness of paths never wet and the -dustiness of trees unwashed by rain. There is no Egyptian landscape or -village that is neat, on near inspection. - -Asioot has a better entrance than most towns, through an old gateway -into the square (which is the court of the palace); and the town has -extensive bazaars and some large dwellings. But as we ride through it, -we are always hemmed in by mud-walls, twisting through narrow alleys, -encountering dirt and poverty at every step. We pass through the quarter -of the Ghawâzees, who, since their banishment from Cairo, form little -colonies in all the large Nile towns. There are the dancing-women whom -travelers are so desirous of seeing; the finest-looking women and the -most abandoned courtesans, says Mr. Lane, in Egypt. In showy dresses -of bright yellow and red, adorned with a profusion of silver-gilt -necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, they sit at the doors of their -hovels in idle expectation. If these happen to be the finest-looking -women in Egypt, the others are wise in keeping their veils on. - -Outside the town we find a very pretty cemetery of the Egyptian style, -staring white tombs, each dead person resting under his own private -little stucco oven. Near it is encamped a caravan just in from Darfoor, -bringing cinnamon, gum-arabic, tusks, and ostrich feathers. The camels -are worn with the journey; their drivers have a fierce and free air in -striking contrast with the bearing of the fellaheen. Their noses are -straight, their black hair is long and shaggy, their garment is a single -piece of coarse brown cloth; they have the wildness of the desert. - -The soft limestone ledge back of the town is honeycombed with grottoes -and tombs; rising in tiers from the bottom to the top. Some of them have -merely square-cut entrances into a chamber of moderate size, in some -part of which, or in a passage beyond, is a pit cut ten or twenty -feet deep in the rock, like a grave, for the mummy. One of them has a -magnificent entrance through a doorway over thirty feet high and fifteen -deep; upon the jambs are gigantic figures cut in the rock. Some of -the chambers are vast and were once pillared, and may have served for -dwellings. These excavations are very old. The hieroglyphics and figures -on the walls are not in relief on the stone, but cut in at the outer -edge and left in a gradual swell in the center—an intaglio relievato. -The drawing is generally spirited, and the figures show knowledge of -form and artistic skill. It is wonderful that such purely conventional -figures, the head almost always in profile and the shoulders square -to the front, can be so expressive. On one wall is a body of infantry -marching, with the long pointed shields mentioned by Xenophon in -describing Egyptian troops. Everywhere are birds, gracefully drawn -and true to species, and upon some of them the blue color is fresh. -A ceiling of one grotto is wrought in ornamental squares—a “Greek -pattern,” executed long before the time of the Greeks. Here we find -two figures with the full face turned towards us, instead of the usual -profile. - -These tombs have served for a variety of purposes. As long as the -original occupants rested here, no doubt their friends came and feasted -and were mournfully merry in these sightly chambers overlooking the -Nile. Long after they were turned out, Christian hermits nested in them, -during that extraordinary period of superstition when men thought they -could best secure their salvation by living like wild beasts in the -deserts of Africa. Here one John of Lycopolis had his den, in which he -stayed fifty years, without ever opening the door or seeing the face -of a woman. At least, he enjoyed that reputation. Later, persecuted -Christians dwelt in these tombs, and after them have come wanderers, and -jackals, and houseless Arabs. I think I should rather live here than in -Asioot; the tombs are cleaner and better built than the houses of the -town, and there is good air here and no danger of floods. - -When we are on the top of the bluff, the desert in broken ridges is -behind us. The view is one of the best of the usual views from hills -near the Nile, the elements of which are similar; the spectator has -Egypt in all its variety at his feet. The valley here is broad, and we -look a long distance up and down the river. The Nile twists and turns in -its bed like one of the chimerical serpents sculptured in the chambers -of the dead; canals wander from it through the plain; and groves of -palms and lines of sycamores contrast their green with that of the -fields. All this level expanse is now covered with wheat, barley and -thick clover, and the green has a vividness that we have never seen in -vegetation before. This owes somewhat to the brown contrast near at hand -and something maybe to the atmosphere, but I think the growing grain has -a lustre unknown to other lands. This smiling picture is enclosed by -the savage frame of the desert, gaunt ridges of rocky hills, drifts of -stones, and yellow sand that sends its hot tongues in long darts into -the plain. At the foot of the mountain lies Asioot brown as the mud of -the Nile, a city built of sun-dried bricks, but presenting a singular -and not unpleasing appearance on account of the dozen white stone -minarets, some of them worked like lace, which spring out of it. - -The consul's home is one of the best in the city, but outside it shows -only a mud-wall like the meanest. Within is a paved court, and offices -about it; the rooms above are large, many-windowed, darkened with -blinds, and not unlike those of a plain house in America. The furniture -is European mainly, and ugly, and of course out of place in Africa. We -see only the male members of the family. Confectionery and coffee are -served and some champagne, that must have been made by the Peninsular -and Oriental Steamship Company; their champagne is well known in the -Levant, and there is no known decoction that is like it. In my judgment, -if it is proposed to introduce Christianity and that kind of wine into -Egypt, the country would better be left as it is. - -During our call the consul presents us fly-whisks with ivory handles, -and gives the ladies beautiful fans of ostrich feathers mounted in -ivory. These presents may have been due to a broad hint from the Pasha, -who said to the consul at our interview in the morning:— - -“I should not like to have these distinguished strangers go away without -some remembrance of Asioot. I have not been here long; what is there to -get for them?” - -“O, your excellency, I will attend to that,” said the consul. - -In the evening, with the dahabeëh beautifully decorated and hung with -colored lanterns, upon the deck, which, shut in with canvas and spread -with Turkish rugs, was a fine reception-room, we awaited our guests, -as if we had been accustomed to this sort of thing in America from our -infancy, and as if we usually celebrated Christmas outdoors, fans in -hand, with fire-works. A stand for the exhibition of fireworks had been -erected on shore. The Pasha was received as he stepped on board, with -three rockets, (that being, I suppose, the number of his official -“tails,”) which flew up into the sky and scattered their bursting bombs -of color amid the stars, announcing to the English dahabeëhs, the two -steamboats and the town of Asioot, that the governor of the richest -province in Egypt was about to eat his dinner. - -The dinner was one of those perfections that one likes to speak of only -in confidential moments to dear friends. It wanted nothing either in -number of courses or in variety, in meats, in confections, in pyramids -of gorgeous construction, in fruits and flowers. There was something -touching about the lamb roasted whole, reclining his head on his own -shoulder. There was something tender about the turkey. There was a -terrible moment when the plum-pudding was borne in on fire, as if it -had been a present from the devil himself. The Pasha regarded it with -distrust, and declined, like a wise man, to eat flame. I fear that the -English have fairly introduced this dreadful dish into the Orient, and -that the natives have come to think that all foreigners are Molochs who -can best be pleased by offering up to them its indigestible ball set on -fire of H. It is a fearful spectacle to see this heathen people offering -this incense to a foreign idol, in the subserviency which will sacrifice -even religion to backsheesh. - -The conversation during dinner is mostly an exchange of compliments, -in the art of which the Pasha is a master, displaying in it a wit, -a variety of resource and a courtliness that make the game a very -entertaining one. The Arabic language gives full play to this sort of -social espièglerie, and lends a delicacy to encounters of compliment -which the English language does not admit. - -Coffee and pipes are served on deck, and the fire-works begin to -tear and astonish the night. The Khedive certainly employs very good -pyrotechnists, and the display by Abd-el-Atti and his equally excited -helpers although simple is brilliant. The intense delight that the -soaring and bursting of a rocket give to Abd-el-Atti is expressed in -unconscious and unrestrained demonstration. He might be himself in -flames but he would watch the flight of the rushing stream of fire, -jumping up and down in his anxiety for it to burst:— - -“There! there! that's—a he, hooray!” - -Every time one bursts, scattering its colored stars, the crew, led by -the dragoman, cheer, “Heep, heep, hooray! heep, heep, hooray!” - -A whirligig spins upon the river, spouting balls of fire, and the crew -come in with a “Heep, heep, hooray! heep, heep, hooray!” - -The steamer, which has a Belgian prince on board, illuminates, and -salutes with shot-guns. In the midst of a fusillade of rockets and -Roman candles, the crew develop a new accomplishment. Drilled by the -indomitable master of ceremonies, they attempt the first line of that -distinctively American melody, - - -“We won't go home till morning.” - - -They really catch the air, and make a bubble, bubble of sounds, like -automata, that somewhat resembles the words. Probably they think that -it is our national anthem, or perhaps a Christmas hymn. No doubt, -“won't-go-home-till-morning” sort of Americans have been up the river -before us. - -The show is not over when the Pasha pleads an engagement to take a -cup of tea with the Belgian prince, and asks permission to retire. He -expresses his anguish at leaving us, and he will not depart if we -say “no.” Of course, our anguish in letting the Pasha go exceeds his -suffering in going, but we sacrifice ourselves to the demand of his -station, and permit him to depart. At the foot of the cabin stairs he -begs us to go no further, insisting that we do him too much honor to -come so far. - -The soft night grows more brilliant. Abd-el-Atti and his minions are -still blazing away. The consul declares that Asioot in all his life -has never experienced a night like this. We express ourselves as humbly -thankful in being the instruments of giving Asioot (which is asleep -there two miles off) such an “eye-opener.” (This remark has a finer -sound when translated into Arabic.) - -The spectacle closes by a voyage out upon the swift river in the sandal. -We take Roman candles, blue, red, and green lights and floaters which -Abd-el-Atti lets off, while the crew hoarsely roar, “We won't go home -till morning,” and mingle “Heep, heep, hooray,” with “Hà Yàlësah, hâ -Yâlësah.” - -The long range of lights on the steamers, the flashing lines and -pyramids of colors on our own dahabeëh, the soft June-like night, the -moon coming up in fleecy clouds, the broad Nile sparkling under so many -fires, kindled on earth and in the sky, made a scene unique, and as -beautiful as any that the Arabian Nights suggest. - -To end all, there was a hubbub on shore among the crew, caused by one of -them who was crazy with hasheesh, and threatened to murder the reïs -and dragoman, if he was not permitted to go on board. It could be -demonstrated that he was less likely to slay them if he did not come on -board, and he was therefore sent to the governor's lock-up, with a fair -prospect of going into the Khedive's army. We left him behind, and about -one o'clock in the morning stole away up the river with a gentle and -growing breeze. - -Net result of pleasure:—one man in jail, and Abd-el-Atti's wrist so -seriously burned by the fire-works, that he has no use of his arm for -weeks. But, “'twas a glorious victory.” For a Christmas, however, it was -a little too much like the Fourth of July. - - - -0177 - - - -0178 - - - - -CHAPTER XIII.—SIGHTS AND SCENES ON THE RIVER. - -AS WE sail down into the heart of Egypt and into the remote past, -living in fact, by books and by eye-sight, in eras so far-reaching that -centuries count only as years in them, the word “ancient” gets a new -signification. We pass every day ruins, ruins of the Old Empire, of the -Middle Empire, of the Ptolomies, of the Greeks, of the Romans, of the -Christians, of the Saracens; but nothing seems ancient to us any longer -except the remains of Old Egypt. - -We have come to have a singular contempt for anything so modern as the -work of the Greeks, or Romans. Ruins pointed out on shore as Roman, -do not interest us enough to force us to raise the field-glass. Small -antiquities that are of the Roman period are not considered worth -examination. The natives have a depreciatory shrug when they say of an -idol or a brick-wall, “Roman!” - -The Greeks and the Romans are moderns like ourselves. They are as -broadly separated in the spirit of their life and culture from those -ancients as we are; we can understand them; it is impossible for us -to enter into the habits of thought and of life of the early Pharaonic -times. When the variation of two thousand years in the assignment of a -dynasty seems to us a trifle, the two thousand years that divide us and -the Romans shrink into no importance. - -In future ages the career of the United States and of Rome will be -reckoned in the same era; and children will be taught the story -of George Washington suckled by the wolf, and Romulus cutting the -cherry-tree with his little hatchet. We must have distance in order to -put things in their proper relations. In America, what have we that -will endure a thousand years? Even George Washington's hatchet may be -forgotten sooner than the fiabellum of Pharaoh. - -The day after Christmas we are going with a stiff wind, so fresh that we -can carry only the forward sail. The sky is cloudy and stormy-looking. -It is in fact as disagreeable and as sour a fall day as you can find -anywhere. We keep the cabin, except for a time in the afternoon, when -it is comfortable sitting on deck in an overcoat. We fly by Abooteeg; -Raâineli, a more picturesque village, the top of every house being a -pigeon-tower; Gow, with its remnants of old Antæopolis—it was in the -river here that Horus defeated Typhon in a great battle, as, thank God! -he is always doing in this flourishing world, with a good chance of -killing him outright some day, when Typhon will no more take the shape -of crocodile or other form of evil, war, or paper currency; Tahtah, -conspicuous by its vast mounds of an ancient city; and Gebel Sheykh -Hereédee, near the high cliffs of which we run, impressed by the grey -and frowning crags. - -As we are passing these rocks a small boat dashes out to our side, with -a sail in tatters and the mast carrying a curiously embroidered flag, -the like of which is in no signal-book. In the stern of this fantastic -craft sits a young and very shabbily clad Sheykh, and demands -backsheesh, as if he had aright to demand toll of all who pass his -dominions. This right our reïs acknowledges and tosses him some paras -done up in a rag. I am sure I like this sort of custom-house better than -some I have seen. - -We go on in the night past Soohag, the capital of the province of -Girgeh; and by other villages and spots of historic interest, where the -visitor will find only some~heaps of stones and rubbish to satisfy a -curiosity raised by reading of their former importance; by the White -Monastery and the Red Convent; and, coming round a bend, as we always -are coming round a bend, and bringing the wind ahead, the crew probably -asleep, we ignominiously run into the bank, and finally come to anchor -in mid-stream. - -As if to crowd all weathers into twenty-four hours, it clears off cold -in the night; and in the morning when we are opposite the the pretty -town of Ekhmeem, a temperature of 51° makes it rather fresh for the -men who line the banks working the shadoofs, with no covering but -breech-cloths. The people here, when it is cold, bundle up about the -head and shoulders with thick wraps, and leave the feet and legs bare. -The natives are huddled in clusters on the bank, out of the shade of the -houses, in order to get the warmth of the sun; near one group a couple -of discontented camels kneel; and the naked boy, making no pretence of -a superfluous wardrobe by hanging his shirt on a bush while he goes to -bed, is holding it up to dry. - -We skim along in almost a gale the whole day, passing, in the afternoon, -an American dahabeëh tied up, repairing a broken yard, and giving -Bellianeh the go-by as if it were of no importance. And yet this is the -landing for the great Abydus, a city once second only to Thebes, the -burial-place of Osiris himself, and still marked by one of the finest -temples in Egypt. But our business now is navigation, and we improve the -night as well as the day; much against the grain of the crew. There -is always more or less noise and row in a night-sail, going aground, -splashing, and boosting in the water to get off, shouting and chorusing -and tramping on deck, and when the thermometer is as low as 520 these -night-baths are not very welcome when followed by exposure to keen wind, -in a cotton shirt. And with the dragoman in bed, used up like one of his -burnt-out rockets, able only to grumble at “dese fellow care for nothing -but smoke hasheesh,” the crew are not very subordinate. They are liable -to go to sleep and let us run aground, or they are liable to run -aground in order that they may go to sleep. They seem to try both ways -alternately. - -But moving or stranded, the night is brilliant all the same; the -night-skies are the more lustrous the farther we go from the moisture -of Lower Egypt, and the stars scintillate with splendor, and flash -deep colors like diamonds in sunlight. Late, the moon rises over the -mountains under which we are sailing, and the effect is magically -lovely. We are approaching Farshoot. - -Farshoot is a market-town and has a large sugar-factory, the first set -up in Egypt, built by an uncle of the Khedive. It was the seat of power -of the Howara tribe of Arabs, and famous for its breed of Howara horses -and dogs, the latter bigger and fiercer than the little wolfish curs -with which Egypt swarms. It is much like other Egyptian towns now, -except that its inhabitants, like its dogs, are a little wilder and -more ragged than the fellaheen below. This whole district of Hamram is -exceedingly fertile and bursting with a tropical vegetation. - -The Turkish governor pays a formal visit and we enjoy one of those -silent and impressive interviews over chibooks and coffee; in which -nothing is said that one can regret. We finally make the governor -a complimentary speech, which Hoseyn, who only knows a little -table-English, pretends to translate. The Bey replies, talking very -rapidly for two or three minutes. When we asked Hoseyn to translate, he -smiled and said—“Thank you”—which was no doubt the long palaver. - -The governor conducts us through the sugar-factory, which is not on so -grand a scale as those we shall see later, but hot enough and sticky -enough, and then gives us the inevitable coffee in his office; -seemingly, if you clap your hands anywhere in Egypt, a polite and ragged -attendant will appear with a tiny cup of coffee. - -The town is just such a collection of mud-hovels as the others, and we -learn nothing new in it. Yes, we do. We learn how to scour brass dishes. -We see at the doorway of a house where a group of women sit on the -ground waiting for their hair to grow, two boys actively engaged in this -scouring process. They stand in the dishes, which have sand in them, -and, supporting themselves by the side of the hut, whirl half-way round -and back. The soles of their feet must be like leather. This method of -scouring is worth recording, as it may furnish an occupation for boys at -an age when they are usually, and certainly here, useless. - -The weekly market is held in the open air at the edge of the town. The -wares for sale are spread upon the ground, the people sitting behind -them in some sort of order, but the crowd surges everywhere and the -powdered dust rises in clouds. It is the most motley assembly we have -seen. The women are tattooed on the face and on the breast; they wear -anklets of bone and of silver, and are loaded with silver ornaments. As -at every other place where a fair, a wedding, or a funeral attracts -a crowd, there are some shanties of the Ghawazees, who are physically -superior to the other women, but more tattooed, their necks, bosoms and -waists covered with their whole fortune in silver, their eyelids heavily -stained with Kohl—bold-looking jades, who come out and stare at us with -a more than masculine impudence. - -The market offers all sorts of green country produce, and eggs, corn, -donkeys, sheep, lentils, tobacco, pipe-stems, and cheap ornaments in -glass. The crowd hustles about us in a troublesome manner, showing -special curiosity about the ladies, as if they had rarely seen white -women. Ahmed and another sailor charge into them with their big sticks -to open a passage for us, but they follow us, commenting freely upon our -appearance. The sailors jabber at them and at us, and are anxious to get -us back to the boat; where we learn that the natives “not like you.” The -feeling is mutual, though it is discouraging to our pride to be despised -by such barbarous half-clad folk. - -Beggars come to the boat continually for backsheesh; a tall juggler in a -white, dirty tunic, with a long snake coiled about his neck, will not go -away for less than half a piastre. One tariff piastre (five cents) buys -four eggs here, double the price of former years, but still discouraging -to a hen. However, the hens have learned to lay their eggs small. All -the morning we are trading in the desultory way in which everything is -done here, buying a handful of eggs at a time, and live chickens by the -single one. - -In the afternoon the boat is tracked along through a land that is -bursting with richness, waving with vast fields of wheat, of lentils, -of sugar-cane, interspersed with melons and beans. The date-palms are -splendid in stature and mass of crown. We examine for the first time the -Dôm Palm, named from its shape, which will not flourish much lower -on the river than here. Its stem grows up a little distance and then -branches in two, and these two limbs each branch in two; always in -two. The leaves are shorter than those of the date-palm and the tree is -altogether more scraggy, but at a little distance it assumes the dome -form. The fruit, now green, hangs in large bunches a couple of feet -long; each fruit is the size of a large Flemish Beauty pear. It has a -thick rind, and a stone, like vegetable ivory, so hard that it is used -for drill-sockets. The fibrous rind is gnawed off by the natives when it -is ripe and is said to taste like gingerbread. These people live on gums -and watery vegetables and fibrous stuff that wouldn't give a northern -man strength enough to gather them. - -We find also the sont acacia here, and dig the gum-arabic from its -bark. In the midst of a great plain of wheat, intersected by ditches and -raised footways we come upon a Safciya, embowered in trees, which a long -distance off makes itself known by the most doleful squeaking. These -water-wheels, which are not unlike those used by the Persians, are -not often seen lower down the river, where the water is raised by the -shadoof. Here we find a well sunk to the depth of the Nile, and bricked -up. Over it is a wheel, upon which is hung an endless rope of palm -fibres and on its outer rim are tied earthen jars. As the wheel revolves -these jars dip into the well and coming up discharge the water into a -wooden trough, whence it flows into channels of earth. The cogs of this -wheel fit into another, and the motive power of the clumsy machine is -furnished by a couple of oxen or cows, hitched to a pole swinging -round an upright shaft. A little girl, seated on the end of the pole is -driving the oxen, whose slow hitching gait, sets the machine rattling -and squeaking as if in pain, Nothing is exactly in gear, the bearings -are never oiled; half the water is spilled before it gets to the trough; -but the thing keeps grinding on, night and day, and I suppose has not -been improved or changed in its construction for thousands of years. - -During our walk we are attended by a friendly crowd of men and boys; -there are always plenty of them who are as idle as we are, and are -probably very much puzzled to know why we roam about in this way. I am -sure a New England farmer, if he saw a troop of these Arabs, strolling -through his corn-field, would set his dogs on them. - -Both sides of the river are luxuriant here. The opposite bank, which is -high, is lined with shadoofs, generally in sets of three, in order -to raise the water to the required level. The view is one long to -remember:—the long curving shore, with the shadoofs and the workmen, -singing as they dip; people in flowing garments moving along the high -bank, and processions of donkeys and camels as well; rows of palms above -them, and beyond the purple Libyan hills, in relief against a rosy sky, -slightly clouded along the even mountain line. In the foreground the -Nile is placid and touched with a little color. - -We feel more and more that the Nile is Egypt. Everything takes place on -its banks. From our boat we study its life at our leisure. The Nile -is always vocal with singing, or scolding, or calling to prayer; it is -always lively with boatmen or workmen, or picturesque groups, or -women filling their water-jars. It is the highway; it is a spectacle a -thousand miles long. It supplies everything. I only wonder at one thing. -Seeing that it is so swift, and knowing that it flows down and out into -a world whence so many wonders come, I marvel that its inhabitants -are contented to sit on its banks year after year, generation after -generation, shut in behind and before by desert hills, without any -desire to sail down the stream and get into a larger world. We meet -rather intelligent men who have never journeyed so far as the next large -town. - -Thus far we have had only a few days of absolutely cloudless skies; -usually we have some clouds, generally at sunrise and sunset, and -occasionally an overcast day like this. But the cloudiness is merely a -sort of shade; there is no possibility of rain in it. - -And sure of good weather, why should we hasten? In fact, we do not. -It is something to live a life that has in it neither worry nor -responsibility. We take an interest, however, in How and Disnah and -Fow, places where people have been living and dying now for a long time, -which we cannot expect you to share. In the night while we are anchored -a breeze springs up, and Abd-el-Atti roars at the sailors, to rouse -them, but unsuccessfully, until he cries, “Come to prayer!” - -The sleepers, waking, answer, “God is great, and Mohammed is his -prophet.” - -They then get up and set the sail. This is what it is to carry religion -into daily life. - -To-day we have been going northward, for variety. Keneh, which is thirty -miles higher up the river than How, is nine minutes further north. The -Nile itself loiters through the land. As the crew are poling slowly -along this hot summer day, we have nothing to do but to enjoy the wide -and glassy Nile, its fertile banks vocal with varied life. The songs of -Nubian boatmen, rowing in measured stroke down the stream, come to us. -The round white wind-mills of Keneh are visible on the sand-hills above -the town. Children are bathing and cattle and donkeys wading in the -shallows, and the shrill chatter of women is heard on the shore. If this -is winter, I wonder what summer here is like. - - - -0185 - - - -0186 - - - - -CHAPTER XIV.—MIDWINTER IN EGYPT. - -WHETHER we go north or south, or wait for some wandering, unemployed -wind to take us round the next bend, it is all the same to us. We have -ceased to care much for time, and I think we shall adopt the Assyrian -system of reckoning. - -The period of the precession of the equinoxes was regarded as one day of -the life of the universe; and this day equals 43,200 of our years. This -day, of 43,200 years, the Assyrians divided into twelve cosmic hours or -“sars,” each one of 3,600 years; each of these hours into six “ners,” -of 600 years; and the “ner” into ten “sosses” or cosmic minutes, of 600 -years. And thus, as we reckon sixty seconds to a minute, our ordinary -year was a second of the great chronological period. What then is the -value of a mere second of time? What if we do lie half a day at this -bank, in the sun, waiting for a lazy breeze? There certainly is time -enough, for we seem to have lived a cosmic hour since we landed in -Egypt. - -One sees here what an exaggerated importance we are accustomed to attach -to the exact measurement of time. We constantly compare our watches, and -are anxious that they should not gain or lose a second. A person feels -his own importance somehow increased if he owns an accurate watch. There -is nothing that a man resents more than the disparagement of his watch. -(It occurs to me, by the way, that the superior attractiveness of women, -that quality of repose and rest which the world finds in them, springs -from the same amiable laisser aller that suffers their watches never -to be correct. When the day comes that women's watches keep time, there -will be no peace in this world). When two men meet, one of the most -frequent interchanges of courtesies is to compare watches; certainly, if -the question of time is raised, as it is sure to be shortly among a knot -of men with us, every one pulls out his watch, and comparison is made. - -We are, in fact, the slaves of time and of fixed times. We think it a -great loss and misfortune to be without the correct time; and if we are -away from the town-clock and the noon-gun, in some country place, we -importune the city stranger, who appears to have a good watch, for the -time; or we lie in wait for the magnificent conductor of the railway -express, who always has the air of getting the promptest time from -headquarters. - -Here in Egypt we see how unnatural and unnecessary this anxiety is. Why -should we care to know the exact time? It is 12 o'clock, Arab time, -at sunset, and that shifts every evening, in order to wean us from the -rigidity of iron habits. Time is flexible, it waits on our moods and -we are not slaves to its accuracy. Watches here never agree, and no one -cares whether they do or not. My own, which was formerly as punctual -as the stars in their courses, loses on the Nile a half hour or three -quarters of an hour a day (speaking in our arbitrary, artificial -manner); so that, if I were good at figures, I could cypher out the -length of time, which would suffice by the loss of time by my watch, to -set me back into the age of Thothmes III.—a very good age to be in. We -are living now by great cosmic periods, and have little care for minute -divisions of time. - -This morning we are at Balias, no one knows how, for we anchored three -times in the night. At Balias are made the big earthen jars which the -women carry on their heads, and which are sent from here the length -of Egypt. Immense numbers of them are stacked upon the banks, and -boat-loads of them are waiting for the wind. Rafts of these jars are -made and floated down to the Delta; a frail structure, one would say, in -the swift and shallow Nile, but below this place there are neither rocks -in the stream nor stones on the shore. - -The sunrise is magnificent, opening a cloudless day, a day of hot sun, -in which the wheat on the banks and under the palm-groves, now knee-high -and a vivid green, sparkles as if it had dew on it. At night there are -colors of salmon and rose in the sky, and on the water; and the end of -the mountain, where Thebes lies, takes a hue of greyish or pearly pink. -Thebes! And we are really coming to Thebes! It is fit that it should lie -in such a bath of color. Very near to-night seems that great limestone -ledge in which the Thebans entombed their dead; but it is by the winding -river thirty miles distant. - -The last day of the year 1874 finds us lounging about in this pleasant -Africa, very much after the leisurely manner of an ancient maritime -expedition, the sailors of which spent most of their time in marauding -on shore, watching for auguries, and sailing a little when the deities -favored. The attempts, the failures, the mismanagements of the day add -not a little to your entertainment on the Nile. - -In the morning a light breeze springs up and we are slowly crawling -forward, when the wind expires, and we come to anchor in mid-stream. The -Nile here is wide and glassy, but it is swift, and full of eddies that -make this part of the river exceedingly difficult of navigation. We are -too far from the shore for tracking, and another resource is tried. The -sandal is sent ahead with an anchor and a cable, the intention being -to drop the anchor and then by the cable pull up to it, and repeat the -process until we get beyond these eddies and treacherous sand-bars. - -Of course the sailors in the sandal, who never think of two things -at the same time, miscalculate the distance, and after they drop the -anchor, have not rope enough to get back to the dahabeëh. There they -are, just above us, and just out of reach, in a most helpless condition, -but quite resigned to it. After various futile experiments they make a -line with their tracking-cords and float an oar to us, and we send them -rope to lengthen their cable. Nearly an hour is consumed in this. When -the cable is attached, the crew begin slowly to haul it in through the -pullies, walking the short deck in a round and singing a chorus of, “O -Mohammed” to some catch-word or phrase of the leader. They like this, it -is the kind of work that boys prefer, a sort of frolic:— - - -“Allah, Allah!” - -And in response, - -“O Mohammed!” - -“God forgive us!” - -“O Mohammed!” - -“God is most great!” - -“O Mohammed!” - -“El Hoseyn!” - - -“O Mohammed!” - - -And so they go round as hilarious as if they played at leapfrog, with -no limit of noise and shouting. They cannot haul a rope or pull an oar -without this vocal expression. When the anchor is reached it is time for -the crew to eat dinner. - -We make not more than a mile all day, with hard work, but we reach the -shore. We have been two days in this broad, beautiful bend of the river, -surrounded by luxuriant fields and palm-groves, the picture framed in -rosy mountains of limestone, which glow in the clear sunshine. It is a -becalmment in an enchanted place, out of which there seems to be no way, -and if there were we are losing the desire to go. At night, as we lie at -the bank, a row of ragged fellaheen line the high shore, like buzzards, -looking down on us. There is something admirable in their patience, the -only virtue they seem to practice. - -Later, Abd-el-Atti is thrown into a great excitement upon learning -that this is the last day of the year. He had set his heart on being at -Luxor, and celebrating the New Year with a grand illumination and burst -of fire-works. If he had his way we should go blazing up the river in -a perpetual fizz of pyrotechnic glory. At Luxor especially, where many -boats are usually gathered, and which is for many the end of the voyage, -the dragomans like to outshine each other in display. This is the -fashionable season at Thebes, and the harvest-time of its merchants of -antiquities; entertainments are given on shore, boats are illuminated, -and there is a general rivalry in gaiety. Not to be in Thebes on New -Year's is a misfortune. Something must be done. The Sheykh of the -village of Tookh is sent for, in the hope that he can help us round -the bend. The Sheykh comes, and sits on the deck and smokes. Orion -also comes up the eastern sky, like a conqueror, blazing amid a blazing -heaven. But we don't stir. - -Upon the bank sits the guard of men from the village, to protect us; -the sight of the ragamuffins grouped round their lanterns is very -picturesque. Whenever we tie up at night we are obliged to procure from -the Sheykh of the nearest village a guard to keep thieves from robbing -us, for the thieves are not only numerous but expert all along the Nile. -No wonder. They have to steal their own crops, in order to get a fair -share of the produce of the land they cultivate under the exactions of -the government. The Sheykh would not dare to refuse the guard asked for. -The office of Sheykh is still hereditary from father to eldest son, and -the Sheykh has authority over his own village, according to the ancient -custom, but he is subject to a Bey, set by the government to rule a -district. - -New Year's morning is bright, sparkling, cloudless. When I look from -my window early, the same row of buzzards sit on the high bank, looking -down upon our deck and peering into our windows. Brown, ragged heaps of -humanity; I suppose they are human. One of the youngsters makes mouths -and faces at me; and, no doubt, despises us, as dogs and unbelievers. -Behold our critic:—he has on a single coarse brown garment, through -which his tawny skin shows in spots, and he squats in the sand. - -What can come out of such a people? Their ignorance exceeds their -poverty; and they appear to own nothing save a single garment. They look -not ill-fed, but ill-conditioned. And the country is skinned; all the -cattle, the turkeys, the chickens are lean. The fatness of the land goes -elsewhere. - -In what contrast are these people, in situation, in habits, in every -thought, to the farmers of America. This Nile valley is in effect cut -off from the world; nothing of what we call news enters it, no news, -or book, no information of other countries, nor of any thought, or -progress, or occurrences. - -These people have not, in fact, the least conception of what the world -is; they know no more of geography than they do of history. They think -the world is flat, with an ocean of water round it. Mecca is the center. -It is a religious necessity that the world should be flat in order to -have Mecca its center. All Moslems believe that it is flat, as a matter -of faith, though a few intelligent men know better. - -These people, as I say, do not know anything, as we estimate knowledge. -And yet these watchmen and the group on the bank talked all night -long; their tongues were racing incessantly, and it appeared to be -conversation and not monologue or narration. What could they have been -talking about? Is talk in the inverse ratio of knowledge, and do we lose -the power or love for mere talk, as we read and are informed? - -These people, however, know the news of the river. There is a sort of -freemasonry of communication by which whatever occurs is flashed up and -down both banks. They know all about the boats and who are on them, and -the name of the dragomans, and hear of all the accidents and disasters. - -There was an American this year on the river, by the name of Smith—not -that I class the coming of Smith as a disaster—who made the voyage on a -steamboat. He did not care much about temples or hieroglyphics, and -he sought to purchase no antiquities. He took his enjoyment in another -indulgence. Having changed some of his pounds sterling into copper -paras, he brought bags of this money with him. When the boat stopped at -a town, Smith did not go ashore. He stood on deck and flung his coppers -with a free hand at the group of idlers he was sure to find there. But -Smith combined amusement with his benevolence, by throwing his largesse -into the sand and into the edge of the river, where the recipients of -it would have to fight and scramble and dive for what they got. When he -cast a handful, there was always a tremendous scrimmage, a rolling of -body over body, a rending of garments, and a tumbling into the river. -This feat not only amused Smith, but it made him the most popular man -on the river. Fast as the steamer went, his fame ran before him, and -at every landing there was sure to be a waiting crowd, calling, “Smit, -Smit.” There has been no one in Egypt since Cambyses who has made so -much stir as Smit. - -I should not like to convey the idea that the inhabitants here are -stupid; far from it; they are only ignorant, and oppressed by long -misgovernment. There is no inducement for any one to do more than make -a living. The people have sharp countenances, they are lively, keen at a -bargain, and, as we said, many of them expert thieves. They are full of -deceit and cunning, and their affability is unfailing. Both vices and -good qualities are products not of savagery, but of a civilization worn -old and threadbare. The Eastern civilization generally is only one of -manners, and I suspect that of the old Egyptian was no more. - -These people may or may not have a drop of the ancient Egyptian blood in -them; they may be no more like the Egyptians of the time of the Pharaohs -than the present European Jews are like the Jews of Judea in Herod's -time; but it is evident that, in all the changes in the occupants of the -Nile valley, there has been a certain continuity of habits, of modes of -life, a holding to ancient traditions; the relation of men to the soil -is little changed. The Biblical patriarchs, fathers of nomadic tribes, -have their best representatives to-day, in mode of life and even in -poetical and highly figurative speech, not in Israelite bankers in -London nor in Israelite beggars in Jerusalem, but in the Bedaween of the -desert. And I think the patient and sharp-witted, but never educated, -Egyptians of old times are not badly represented by the present settlers -in the Nile valley. - -There are ages of hereditary strength in the limbs of the Egyptian -women, who were here, carrying these big water-jars, before Menes turned -the course of the Nile at Memphis. I saw one to-day sit down on her -heels before a full jar that could not weigh less than a hundred pounds, -lift it to her head with her hands, and then rise straight up with it, -as if the muscles of her legs were steel. The jars may be heavier than -I said, for I find a full one not easy to lift, and I never saw an -Egyptian man touch one. - -We go on towards Thebes slowly; though the river is not swifter here -than elsewhere, we have the feeling that we are pulling up-hill. We come -in the afternoon to Negâdeh, and into one of the prettiest scenes on the -Nile. The houses of the old town are all topped with pigeon-towers, and -thousands of these birds are circling about the palm-groves or swooping -in large flocks along the shore. The pigeons seem never to be slain -by the inhabitants, but are kept for the sake of the fertilizer they -furnish. It is the correct thing to build a second story to your house -for a deposit of this kind. The inhabitants here are nearly all Copts, -but we see a Roman Catholic church with its cross; and a large wooden -cross stands in the midst of the village—a singular sight in a Moslem -country. - -A large barge lies here waiting for a steamboat to tow it to Keneh. It -is crowded, packed solidly, with young fellows who have been conscripted -for the army, so that it looks like a floating hulk covered by a -gigantic swarm of black bees. And they are all buzzing in a continuous -hum, as if the queen bee had not arrived. On the shore are circles of -women, seated in the sand, wailing and mourning as if for the dead—the -mothers and wives of the men who have just been seized for the service -of their country. We all respect grief, and female grief above all; but -these women enter into grief as if it were a pleasure, and appear to -enjoy it. If the son of one of the women in the village is conscripted, -all the women join in with her in mourning. - -I presume there are many hard cases of separation, and that there is -real grief enough in the scene before us. The expression of it certainly -is not wanting; relays of women relieve those who have wailed long -enough; and I see a little clay hut into which the women go, I have no -doubt for refreshments, and from which issues a burst of sorrow every -time the door opens. - -Yet I suppose that there is no doubt that the conscription (much as -I hate the trade of the soldier) is a good thing for the boys and men -drafted, and for Egypt. Shakirr Pasha told us that this is the first -conscription in fifteen years, and that it does not take more than two -per cent, of the men liable to military duty—one or two from a village. -These lumpish and ignorant louts are put for the first time in their -lives under discipline, are taught to obey; they learn to read and -write, and those who show aptness and brightness have an opportunity, in -the technical education organized by General Stone, to become something -more than common soldiers. When these men have served their time and -return to their villages, they will bring with them some ideas of the -world and some habits of discipline and subordination. It is probably -the speediest way, this conscription, by which the dull cloddishness -of Egypt can be broken up. I suppose that in time we shall discover -something better, but now the harsh discipline of the military service -is often the path by which a nation emerges into a useful career. - -Leaving this scene of a woe over which it is easy to be -philosophical—the raw recruits, in good spirits, munching black bread -on the barge while the women howl on shore—we celebrate the night of the -New Year by sailing on, till presently the breeze fails us, when it is -dark; the sailors get out the small anchor forward, and the steersman -calmly lets the sail jibe, and there is a shock, a prospect of -shipwreck, and a great tumult, everybody commanding, and no one doing -anything to prevent the boat capsizing or stranding. It is exactly like -boys' play, but at length we get out of the tangle, and go on, Heaven -knows how, with much pushing and hauling, and calling upon “Allah” and -“Mohammed.” - -No. We are not going on, but fast to the bottom, near the shore. - -In the morning we are again tracking with an occasional puff of wind, -and not more than ten miles from Luxor. We can, however, outwalk the -boat; and we find the country very attractive and surprisingly rich; -the great fields of wheat, growing rank, testify to the fertility of -the soil, and when the fields are dotted with palm-trees the picture is -beautiful. - -It is a scene of wide cultivation, teeming with an easy, ragged, and -abundant life. The doleful sakiyas are creaking in their ceaseless -labor; frequent mud-villages dot with brown the green expanse, villages -abounding in yellow dogs and coffee-colored babies; men are working in -the fields, directing the irrigating streams, digging holes for melons -and small vegetables, and plowing. The plow is simply the iron-pointed -stick that has been used so long, and it scratches the ground five or -six inches deep. The effort of the government to make the peasants use -a modern plow, in the Delta, failed. Besides the wheat, we find large -cotton-fields, the plant in yellow blossoms, and also ripening, and -sugar-cane. With anything like systematic, intelligent agriculture, what -harvests this land would yield. - -“Good morning!” - -The words were English, the speaker was one of two eager Arabs, who had -suddenly appeared at our side. - -“Good morning. O, yes. Me guide Goorna.” - -“What is Goorna?” - -“Yes. Temp de Goorna. Come bime by.” - -“What is Goorna?” - -“Plenty. I go you. You want buy any antiques? Come bime by.” - -“Do you live in Goorna?” - -“All same. Memnonium, Goorna, I show all gentlemens. Me guide. Antiques! -O plenty. Come bime by.” - -Come Bime By's comrade, an older man, loped along by his side, unable to -join in this intelligent conversation, but it turned out that he was the -real guide, and all the better in that he made no pretence of speaking -any English. - -“Can you get us a mummy, a real one, in the original package, that -hasn't been opened?” - -“You like. Come plenty mummy. Used be. Not now. You like, I get. Come -bime by, bookra.” - -We are in fact on the threshold of great Thebes. These are two of the -prowlers among its sepulchres, who have spied our dahabeeh approaching -from the rocks above the plain, and have come to prey on us. They prey -equally upon the living and the dead, but only upon the dead for the -benefit of the living. They try to supply the demand which we tourists -create. They might themselves be content to dwell in the minor tombs, -in the plain, out of which the dead were long ago ejected; but -Egyptologists have set them the example and taught them the profit of -digging. If these honest fellows cannot always find the ancient scarabæi -and the vases we want, they manufacture very good imitations of them. So -that their industry is not altogether so ghastly as it may appear. - -We are at the north end of the vast plain upon which Thebes stood; and -in the afternoon we land, and go to visit the northernmost ruin on -the west bank, the Temple of Koorneh (Goorneh), a comparatively modern -structure, begun by Sethi I., a great warrior and conqueror of the -nineteenth dynasty, before the birth of Moses. - - - -0196 - - - -0197 - - - - -CHAPTER XV.—AMONG THE RUINS OF THEBES. - -YOU need not fear that you are to have inflicted upon you a description -of Thebes, its ruins of temples, its statues, obelisks, pylons, -tombs, holes in the ground, mummy-pits and mounds, with an attempt to -reconstruct the fabric of its ancient splendor, and present you, gratis, -the city as it was thirty-five hundred years ago, when Egypt was at the -pinnacle of her glory, the feet of her kings were on the necks of -every nation, and this, her capital, gorged with the spoils of near and -distant maraudings, the spectator of triumph succeeding triumph, -the depot of all that was precious in the ancient world, at once a -treasure-house and a granary, ruled by an aristocracy of cruel and -ostentatious soldiers and crafty and tyrannical priests, inhabited -by abject Egyptians and hordes of captive slaves—was abandoned to a -sensuous luxury rivaling that of Rome in her days of greatest wealth and -least virtue in man or woman. - -I should like to do it, but you would go to sleep before you were half -through it, and forget to thank the cause of your comfortable repose. We -can see, however, in a moment, the unique situation of the famous town. - -We shall have to give up, at the outset, the notion of Homer's -“hundred-gated Thebes.” It is one of his generosities of speech. There -never were any walls about Thebes, and it never needed any; if it had -any gates they must have been purely ornamental structures; and perhaps -the pylons of the many temples were called gates. If Homer had been -more careful in the use of his epithets he would have saved us a deal of -trouble. - -Nature prepared a place here for a vast city. The valley of the Nile, -narrow above and below, suddenly spreads out into a great circular -plain, the Arabian and Libyan ranges of mountains falling back to make -room for it. In the circle of these mountains, which are bare masses of -limestone, but graceful and bold in outline, lies the plain, with some -undulation of surface, but no hills: the rim of the setting is grey, -pink, purple, according to the position of the sun; the enclosure is -green as the emerald. The Nile cuts this plain into two unequal parts. -The east side is the broader, and the hills around it are neither so -near the stream nor so high as the Libyan range. - -When the Nile first burst into this plain it seems to have been -undecided what course to take through it. I think it has been undecided -ever since, and has wandered about, shifting from bluff to bluff, in -the long ages. Where it enters, its natural course would be under the -eastern hills, and there, it seems to me, it once ran. Now, however, it -sweeps to the westward, leaving the larger portion of the plain on the -right bank. - -The situation is this: on the east side of the river are the temple of -Luxor on a slight elevation and the modern village built in and around -it; a mile and a half below and further from the river, are the vast -ruins of Karnak; two or three miles north-east of Karnak are some -isolated columns and remains of temples. On the west side of the river -is the great necropolis. The crumbling Libyan hills are pierced with -tombs. The desert near them is nothing but a cemetery. In this desert -are the ruins of the great temples, Medeenet Hâboo, Dayr el Bahree, the -Memnonium (or Rameseum, built by Rameses IL, who succeeded in affixing -his name to as many things in Egypt as Michael Angelo did in Italy), -the temple of Koorneh, and several smaller ones. Advanced out upon the -cultivated plain a mile or so from the Memnonium, stand the two Colossi. -Over beyond the first range of Libyan hills, or precipices, are the -Tombs of the Kings, in a wild gorge, approached from the north by a -winding sort of canon, a defile so hot and savage that a mummy passing -through it couldn't have had much doubt of the place he was going to. - -The ancient city of Thebes spread from its cemetery under and in the -Libyan hills, over the plain beyond Ivarnak. Did the Nile divide that -city? Or did the Nile run under the eastern bluff and leave the plain -and city one? - -It is one of the most delightful questions in the world, for no one -knows anything about it, nor ever can know. Why, then, discuss it? Is it -not as important as most of the questions we discuss? What, then, would -become of learning and scholarship, if we couldn't dispute about the -site of Troy, and if we all agreed that the temple of Pandora Regina was -dedicated to Neptune and not to Jupiter? I am for united Thebes. - -Let the objector consider. Let him stand upon one of the terraces of -Dayr el Bahree, and casting his eye over the plain and the Nile in a -straight line to Ivarnak, notice the conformity of directions of the -lines of both temples, and that their avenues of sphinxes produced would -have met; and let him say whether he does not think they did meet. - -Let the objector remember that the Colossi, which now stand in an -alluvial soil that buries their bases over seven feet and is annually -inundated, were originally on the hard sand of the desert; and that all -the arable land of the west side has been made within a period easily -reckoned; that every year adds to it the soil washed from the eastern -bank. - -Farther, let him see how rapidly the river is eating away the bank at -Luxor; wearing its way back again, is it not? to the old channel under -the Arabian bluff, which is still marked. The temple at Luxor is only a -few rods from the river. The English native consul, who built his house -between the pillars of the temple thirty years ago, remembers that, at -that time, he used to saddle his donkey whenever he wanted to go to the -river. Observation of the land and stream above, at Erment, favors -the impression that the river once ran on the east side and that it is -working its way back to the old channel. - -The village of Erment is about eight miles above Luxor, and on the west -side of the river. An intelligent Arab at Luxor told me that one hundred -and fifty years ago Erment was on the east side. It is an ancient -village, and boasts ruins; among the remaining sculptures is an -authentic portrait of Cleopatra, who appears to have sat to all the -stone-cutters in Upper Egypt. Here then is an instance of the Nile going -round a town instead of washing it away. - -One thing more: Karnak is going to tumble into a heap some day, Great -Hall of Columns and all. It is slowly having its foundations sapped by -inundations and leachings from the Nile. Now, does it stand to reason -that Osirtasen, who was a sensible king and a man of family; that the -Thothmes people, and especially Hatasoo Thothmes, the woman who erected -the biggest obelisk ever raised; and that the vain Rameses II., who -spent his life in an effort to multiply his name and features in stone, -so that time couldn't rub them out, would have spent so much money -in structures that the Nile was likely to eat away in three or four -thousand years? - -The objector may say that the bed of the Nile has risen; and may ask -how the river got over to the desert of the west side without destroying -Karnak on its way. There is Erment, for an example. - -Have you now any idea of the topography of the plain? I ought to say -that along the western bank, opposite Luxor, stretches a long sand -island joined to the main, in low water, and that the wide river is very -shallow on the west side. - -We started for Koorneh across a luxuriant wheat-field, but soon struck -the desert and the debris of the old city. Across the river, we had our -first view of the pillars of Luxor and the pylons of Karnak, sights to -heat the imagination and set the blood dancing. But how far off they -are; on what a grand scale this Thebes is laid out—if one forgets London -and Paris and New York. - -The desert we pass over is full of rifled tombs, hewn horizontally -in rocks that stand above the general level. Some of them are large -chambers, with pillars left for support. The doors are open and the sand -drifts in and over the rocks in which they are cut. A good many of them -are inhabited by miserable Arabs, who dwell in them and in huts among -them. I fancy that, if the dispossessed mummies should reappear, they -would differ little, except perhaps in being better clad, from these -bony living persons who occupy and keep warm their sepulchres. - -Our guide leads us at a lively pace through these holes and heaps of -the dead, over sand hot to the feet, under a sky blue and burning, for -a mile and a half. He is the first Egyptian I have seen who can walk. He -gets over the ground with a sort of skipping lope, barefooted, and looks -not unlike a tough North American Indian. As he swings along, holding -his thin cotton robe with one hand, we feel as if we were following a -shade despatched to conduct us to some Unhappy Hunting-Grounds. - -Near the temple are some sycamore-trees and a collection of hovels -called Koorneh, inhabited by a swarm of ill-conditioned creatures, who -are not too proud to beg and probably are not ashamed to steal. -They beset us there and in the ruins to buy all manner of valuable -antiquities, strings of beads from mummies, hands and legs of mummies, -small green and blue images, and the like, and raise such a clamor of -importunity that one can hold no communion, if he desires to, with the -spirits of Sethi I., and his son Rameses II., who spent the people's -money in erecting these big columns and putting the vast stones on top -of them. - -We are impressed with the massiveness and sombreness of the Egyptian -work, but this temple is too squat to be effective, and is scarcely -worth visiting, in comparison with others, except for its sculptures. -Inside and out it is covered with them; either the face of the stone cut -away, leaving the figures in relief, or the figures are cut in at the -sides and left in relief in the center. The rooms are small—from the -necessary limitations of roof-stones that stretched from wall to wall, -or from column to column; but all the walls, in darkness or in light, -are covered with carving. - -The sculptures are all a glorification of the Pharaohs. We should -like to know the unpronounceable names of the artists, who, in the -conventional limits set them by their religion, drew pictures of so much -expression and figures so life-like, and chiseled these stones with such -faultless execution; but there are no names here but of Pharaoh and of -the gods. - -The king is in battle, driving his chariot into the thick of the fight; -the king crosses rivers, destroys walled cities, routs armies the -king appears in a triumphal procession with chained captives, sacks of -treasure, a menagerie of beasts, and a garden of exotic trees and plants -borne from conquered countries; the king is making offerings to his -predecessors, or to gods many, hawk-headed, cow-headed, ibis-headed, -man-headed. The king's scribe is taking count of the hands, piled in -a heap, of the men the king has slain in battle. The king, a gigantic -figure, the height of a pylon, grasps by the hair of the head a bunch of -prisoners, whom he is about to slay with a raised club—as one would cut -off the tops of a handful of radishes. - -There is a vein of “Big Injun” running through them all. The same -swagger and boastfulness, and cruelty to captives. I was glad to see -one woman in the mythic crowd, doing the generous thing: Isis, slim -and pretty, offers her breast to her son, and Horus stretches up to -the stone opportunity and takes his supper like a little gentleman. And -there is color yet in her cheek and robe that was put on when she was -thirty-five hundred years younger than she is now. - -Towards the south we saw the more extensive ruins of the Memnonium and, -more impressive still, the twin Colossi, one of them the so-called vocal -statue of Memnon, standing up in the air against the evening sky more -than a mile distant. They rose out of a calm green plain of what seemed -to be wheat, but which was a field of beans. The friendly green about -them seemed to draw them nearer to us in sympathy. At this distance we -could not see how battered they were. And the unspeakable calm of these -giant figures, sitting with hands on knees, fronting the east, like the -Sphinx, conveys the same impression of lapse of time and of endurance -that the pyramids give. - -The sunset, as we went back across the plain, was gorgeous in vermilion, -crimson, and yellow. The Colossi dominated the great expanse, and loomed -up in the fading light like shapes out of the mysterious past. - -Our dahabeëh had crept up to the east side of the island, and could only -be reached by passing through sand and water. A deep though not wide -channel of the Nile ran between us and the island. We were taken over -this in a deep tub of a ferryboat. Laboriously wading through the sand -and plowed fields of the island, we found our boat anchored in the -stream, and the shore so shallow that even the sandal could not land. -The sailors took us off to the row-boat on their backs. - -In the evening the dahabeëh is worked across and secured to the -crumbling bank of the Luxor. And the accomplishment of a voyage of four -hundred and fifty miles in sixteen days is, of course, announced by -rockets. - - - -0203 - - - -02004 - - - - -CHAPTER XVI.—HISTORY IN STONE. - -IT NEVER rains at Thebes; you begin with that fact. But everybody is -anxious to have it rain, so that he can say, “It rained when I was at -Thebes, for the first time in four thousand years.” - -It has not rained for four thousand years, and the evidence of this -is that no representation of rain is found in any of the sculptures on -temples or monuments; and all Egyptologists know that what is not found -thus represented has had no existence. - -To-day, it rained for the first time in four thousand years The -circumstances were these. We were crossing at sunset from the west side -to the island, in a nasty little ferry, built like a canal-barge, its -depths being full of all uncleanliness and smell—donkeys, peasants, and -camels using it for crossing. (The getting of a camel in and out of such -a deep trough is a work of time and considerable pounding and roaring -of beast and men.) The boat was propelled by two half-clad, handsome, -laughing Egyptian boys, who rowed with some crooked limbs of trees, and -sang “Hà! Yâlesah,” and “Yah! Mohammed” as they stood and pulled the -unwieldy oars. - -We were standing, above the reek, on a loose platform of sticks at the -stern, when my comrade said, “It rains, I think I felt a drop on my -hand.” - -“It can't be,” I said, “it has not rained here in four thousand years;” -and I extended my hand. I felt nothing. And yet I could not swear that a -drop or two did not fall into the river. - -It had that appearance, nearly. And we have seen no flies skipping on -the Nile at this season. - -In the sculpture we remember that the king is often represented -extending his hand. He would not put it out for nothing, for everything -done anciently in Egypt, every scratch on a rock, has a deep and -profound meaning. Pharaoh is in the attitude of fearing that it is going -to rain. Perhaps it did rain last night. At any rate, there were light -clouds over the sky. - -The morning opens with a cool west wind, which increases and whirls the -sand in great clouds over the Libyan side of the river, and envelopes -Luxor in its dry storm. Luxor is for the most part a collection of -miserable mud-hovels on a low ridge, with the half-buried temple for a -nucleus, and a few houses of a better sort along the bank, from which -float the consular flags. - -The inhabitants of Luxor live upon the winter travelers. Sometimes a -dozen or twenty gay dahabeëhs and several steamboats are moored here, -and the town assumes the appearance of a fashionable watering-place. It -is the best place on the river on the whole, considering its attractions -for scholars and sightseers, to spend the winter, and I have no doubt it -would be a great resort if it had any accommodations for visitors. But -it has not; the stranger must live in his boat. There is not indeed in -the whole land of Egypt above Cairo such a thing as an inn; scarcely -a refuge where a clean Christian, who wishes to keep clean, can pass -a night, unless it be in the house of some governor or a palace of the -Khedive. The perfection of the world's climate in winter is, to be -sure, higher up, in Nubia; but that of Thebes is good enough for people -accustomed to Europe and New England. With steamboats making regular -trips and a railroad crawling up the river, there is certain to be the -Rameses Hotel at Thebes before long, and its rival a Thothmes House; -together with the Mummy Restaurant, and the Scarabæus Saloon. - -You need two or three weeks to see properly the ruins of Thebes, though -Cook's “personally conducted tourists” do it in four days, and have a -soiree of the dancing-girls besides. The region to be traveled over -is not only vast (Strabo says the city was nine miles long) but it -is exceedingly difficult getting about, and fatiguing, if haste is -necessary. Crossing the swift Nile in a sandal takes time; you must wade -or be carried over shallows to the island beach; there is a weary walk -or ride over this; another stream is to be crossed, and then begins -the work of the day. You set out with a cavalcade of mules, servants, -water-carriers, and a retinue of hungry, begging Arabs, over the fields -and through the desert to the temples and tombs. The distances are long, -the sand is glaring, the incandescent sun is reflected in hot waves from -the burning Libyan chain. It requires hours to master the plan of a vast -temple in its ruins, and days to follow out the story of the wonderful -people who built it, in its marvelous sculptures—acres of inside and -outside walls of picture cut in stone. - -Perhaps the easiest way of passing the time in an ancient ruin was that -of two Americans, who used to spread their rugs in some shady court, and -sit there, drinking brandy and champagne all day, letting the ancient -civilization gradually reconstruct itself in their brains. - -Life on the dahabeëh is much as usual; in fact, we are only waiting -a favorable wind to pursue our voyage, expecting to see Thebes -satisfactorily on our return. Of the inhabitants and social life of -Luxor, we shall have more to say by and by. We have daily a levee of -idlers on the bank, who spend twilight hours in watching the boat; we -are visited by sharp-eyed dealers in antiquities, who pull out strings -of scarabæi from their bosoms, or cautiously produce from under their -gowns a sculptured tablet, or a stone image, or some articles from -a mummy-case—antiques really as good as new. Abd-el-Atti sits on the -forward-deck cheapening the poor chickens with old women, and surrounded -by an admiring group of Arab friends, who sit all day smoking and -sipping coffee, and kept in a lively enjoyment by his interminable -facetiae and badinage. - -Our most illustrious visitors are the American consul, Ali Effendi -Noorad, and the English consul, Mustapha Aga. Ali is a well-featured, -bronze-complexioned Arab of good family (I think of the Ababdehs), whose -brother is Sheykh of a tribe at Karnak. - -He cannot speak English, but he has a pleasanter smile than any other -American consul I know. Mustapha, now very old and well known to all -Nile travelers, is a venerable wise man of the East, a most suave, -courtly Arab, plausible, and soft of speech; under his bushy eyebrows -one sees eyes that are keen and yet glazed with a film of secrecy; the -sort of eye that you cannot look into, but which you have no doubt looks -into you. - -Mustapha, as I said, built his house between two columns of the temple -of Luxor. These magnificent columns, with flaring lotus capitals, are -half-buried in sand, and the whole area is so built in and over by Arab -habitations that little of the once extensive and splendid structure -can be seen. Indeed, the visitor will do well to be content with the -well-known poetic view of the columns from the river. The elegant -obelisk, whose mate is in Paris, must however be seen, as well as the -statues of Rameses II. sitting behind it up to their necks in sand—as if -a sitz-bath had been prescribed. I went one day into the interior of the -huts, in order to look at some of the sculptures, especially that of a -king's chariot which is shaded by a parasol—an article which we invented -three or four thousand years after the Egyptians, who first used it, had -gone to the shades where parasols are useless. I was sorry that I went. -The private house I entered was a mud enclosure with a creaky wooden -door. Opening this I found myself in what appeared to be a private -hen-yard, where babies, chickens, old women, straw, flies, and dust, -mingled with the odors of antiquity; about this were the rooms in which -the family sleep—mere dog-kennels. Two of the women had nose-rings put -through the right nostril, hoops of gold two or three inches across. I -cannot say that a nose-ring adds to a woman's beauty, but if I had to -manage a harem of these sharp-tongued creatures I should want rings in -their noses—it would need only a slight pull of the cord in the ring to -cause the woman to cry, in Oriental language, “where thou goest, I will -go.” The parasol sculpture was half-covered by the mud-wall and the -oven; but there was Pharaoh visible, riding on in glory through all this -squalor. The Pharaohs and priests never let one of the common people -set foot inside these superb temples; and there is a sort of base -satisfaction now! in seeing the ignorant and oppressed living in their -palaces, and letting the hens roost on Pharaoh's sun-shade. But it was -difficult to make picturesque the inside of this temple-palace, even -with all the flowing rags of its occupants. - -We spend a day in a preliminary visit to the Memnonium and the vast -ruins known as those of Medeenet Hâboo. Among our attendants over the -plain are half a dozen little girls, bright, smiling lasses, who salute -us with a cheery “Good morning,” and devote themselves to us the whole -day. Each one carries on her head a light, thin water-koolleh, that -would hold about a quart, balancing it perfectly as she runs along. -I have seen mere infants carrying very small koollehs, beginning thus -young to learn the art of walking with the large ones, which is to be -the chief business of their lives. - -One of the girls, who says her name is Fatimeh (the name of the -Prophet's favorite daughter is in great request), is very pretty, and -may be ten or eleven years old, not far from the marriageable age. She -has black hair, large, soft, black eyes, the lids stained with kohl, -dazzling white teeth and a sweet smile. She wears cheap earrings, -a necklace of beads and metal, and a slight ring on one hand; her -finger-nails and the palms of her little hands are stained with henna. -For dress she has a sort of shawl used as a head-veil, and an ample -outer-garment, a mantle of dark-blue cotton, ornamented down the front -seams with colored beads—a coquettish touch that connects her with her -sisters of the ancient régime who seem to have used the cylindrical -blue bead even more profusely than ladies now-a-day the jet “bugles,” -in dress trimming. I fear the pretty heathen is beginning to be aware of -her attractions. - -The girls run patiently beside us or wait for us at the temples all day, -bruising their feet on the stony ways, getting nothing to eat unless we -give them something, chatting cheerfully, smiling at us and using their -little stock of English to gain our good will, constantly ready with -their koollehs, and say nothing of backsheesh until they are about to -leave us at night and go to their homes. But when they begin to ask, and -get a copper or two, they beg with a mixture of pathos and anxiety and a -use of the pronouns that is irresistible. - -“You tired. Plenty backsheesh for little girl. Yes.” - -“Why don't you give us backsheesh? We are tired too,” we reply. - -“Yes. Me give you backsheesh you tired all day.” - -Fatimeh only uses her eyes, conscious already of her power. They are -satisfied with a piastre; which the dragoman says is too much, and -enough to spoil them. But, after all, five cents is not a magnificent -gift, from a stranger who has come five thousand miles, to a little girl -in the heart of Africa, who has lighted up the desert a whole day with -her charming smiles! - -The donkey-boy pulls the strings of pathos for his backsheesh, having -no beauty to use; he says, “Father and mother all dead.” Seems to have -belonged to a harem. - -Before we can gain space or quiet either to examine or enjoy a temple, -we have to free ourselves of a crowd of adhesive men, boys, and girls, -who press upon us their curiosities, relics of the dead, whose only -value is their antiquity. The price of these relics is of course wholly -“fancy,” and I presume that Thebes, where the influence of the antique -is most strong, is the best market in the world for these trifles; and -that however cheaply they may be bought here, they fetch a better price -than they would elsewhere. - -I suppose if I were to stand in Broadway and offer passers-by such -a mummy's hand as this which is now pressed upon my notice, I could -scarcely give it away. This hand has been “doctored” to sell; the -present owner has re-wrapped its bitumen-soaked flesh in mummy-cloth, -and partially concealed three rings on the fingers. Of course the hand -is old and the cheap rings are new. It is pleasant to think of these -merchants in dried flesh prowling about among the dead, selecting a limb -here and there that they think will decorate well, and tricking out with -cheap jewelry these mortal fragments. This hand, which the rascal has -chosen, is small, and may have been a source of pride to its owner -long ago; somebody else may have been fond of it, though even he—the -lover—would not care to hold it long now. A pretty little hand; I -suppose it has in its better days given many a caress and love-pat, and -many a slap in the face; belonged to one of the people, or it would -not have been found in a common mummy-pit; perhaps the hand of a sweet -water-bearer like Fatimeh, perhaps of some slave-girl whose fatal beauty -threw her into the drag-net that the Pharaohs occasionally cast along -the Upper Nile—slave-hunting raids that appear on the monuments as great -military achievements. This hand, naked, supple, dimpled, henna-tipped, -may have been offered for nothing once; there are wanted for it four -piastres now, rings and all. A dear little hand! - -Great quantities of antique beads are offered us in strings, to one end -of which is usually tied a small image of Osiris, or the winged sun, or -the scarabæus with wings. The inexhaustible supply of these beads -and images leads many to think that they are manufactured to suit the -demand. But it is not so. Their blue is of a shade that is not produced -now-a-days. And, besides, there is no need to manufacture what exists -in the mummy-pits in such abundance. The beads and bugles are of glass; -they were much used for necklaces and are found covering the breasts of -mummies, woven in a network of various patterns, like old bead purses. -The vivid blue color was given by copper. - -The little blue images of Osiris which are so abundant are also genuine. -They are of porcelain, a sort of porcelain-glass, a sand-paste, glazed, -colored blue, and baked. They are found in great quantities in all -tombs; and it was the Egyptian practice to thickly strew with them the -ground upon which the foundations and floors of temples were laid. These -images found in tombs are more properly figures of the dead under the -form of Osiris, and the hieroglyphics on them sometimes give the name -and quality of the departed. They are in fact a sort of “p.p. c.” -visiting-card, which the mummy has left for future ages. The Egyptians -succeeded in handing themselves down to posterity; but the manner in -which posterity has received them is not encouraging to us to salt -ourselves down for another age. - -The Memnonium, or more properly Rameseum, since it was built by Rameses -II., and covered with his deeds, writ in stone, gives you even in -its ruins a very good idea of one of the most symmetrical of Egyptian -temples; the vast columns of its great hall attest its magnificence, -while the elaboration of its sculpture, wanting the classic purity of -the earlier work found in the tombs of Geezeh and Sakkara, speaks of a -time when art was greatly stimulated by royal patronage. - -It was the practice of the Pharaohs when they came to the throne to make -one or more military expeditions of conquest and plunder, slay as many -enemies as possible (all people being considered “enemies” who did not -pay tribute), cut as wide a swarth of desolation over the earth as they -were able, loot the cities, drag into captivity the pleasing women, -and return laden with treasure and slaves and the evidences of enlarged -dominion. Then they spent the remainder of their virtuous days in -erecting huge temples and chiseling their exploits on them. This is, in -a word, the history of the Pharaohs. - -But I think that Rameses II., who was the handsomest and most conceited -swell of them all, was not so particular about doing the deeds as he was -about recording them. He could not have done much else in his long reign -than erect the temples, carve the hieroglyphics, and set up the statues -of himself, which proclaim his fame. He literally spread himself all -over Egypt, and must have kept the whole country busy, quarrying, and -building, and carving for his glorification. That he did a tenth of the -deeds he is represented performing, no one believes now; and I take a -vindictive pleasure in abusing him. By some historic fatality he got -the name of the Great Sesostris, and was by tradition credited with the -exploits of Thothmes III., the greatest of the Pharaohs, a real hero and -statesman, during whose reign it was no boast to say that Egypt “placed -her frontier where it pleased herself,” and with those of his father -Sethi I., a usurper in the line, but a great soldier. - -However, this Rameses did not have good luck with his gigantic statues; -I do not know one that is not shattered, defaced, or thrown down. This -one at the Rameseum is only a wreck of gigantic fragments. It was a -monolith of syenite, and if it was the largest statue in Egypt, as it -is said, it must have been over sixty feet high. The arithmeticians -say that it weighed about eight hundred and eighty-seven tons, having a -solid content of three times the largest obelisk in the world, that at -Karnak. These figures convey no idea to my mind. When a stone man is as -big as a four-story house, I cease to grasp him. I climbed upon the arm -of this Rameses, and found his name cut deeply in the hard granite, -the cutting polished to the very bottom like the finest intaglio. The -polishing alone of this great mass must have been an incredible labor. -How was it moved from its quarry in Assouan, a hundred and thirty miles -distant? And how was it broken into the thousand fragments in which it -lies? An earthquake would not do it. There are no marks of drilling or -the use of an explosive material. But if Cambyses broke it—and Cambyses -must have been remembered in Egypt as Napoleon I. is in Italy, the one -for smashing, the other for stealing—he had something as destructive as -nitro-glycerine. - -Rameses II. impressed into his service not only art but literature. -One of his achievements depicted here is his victory over the Khitas -(Hittites), an Asiatic tribe; the king is in the single-handed act of -driving the enemy over the river Orontes,—a bluish streak meandering -down the wall. This scene is the subject of a famous poem, known as -the Poem of Pentaour, which is carved in hieroglyphics at Karnak and -at Luxor. The battle is very spiritedly depicted here. On the walls are -many side-scenes and acts characteristic of the age and the people. The -booty from the enemy is collected in a heap; and the quantity of gold -is indicated by the size of a bag of it which is breaking the back of -an ass; a soldier is pulling the beard of his prisoner, and another is -beating his captives, after the brutal manner of the Egyptians. - -The temples at Medeenet Haboo are to me as interesting as those at -Karnak. There are two; the smaller one is of various ages; but its -oldest portions were built by Amun-noo-het, the sister of Thothmes, -the woman who has left more monuments of her vigor than any other in -history, and, woman-like, the monuments are filial offerings, and not -erections to her own greatness; the larger temple is the work of Rameses -III. The more you visit it, the more you will be impressed with the -splendor of its courts, halls and columns, and you may spend days in the -study of its sculptures without exhausting them. - -Along these high-columned halls stalk vast processions, armies going -to battle, conquerors in triumphal entry, priests and soldiers bearing -sacrifices, and rows of stone deities of the Egyptian pantheon receiving -them in a divine indifference. Again the battle rages, the chariots -drive furiously, arrows fill the air, the foot-troops press forward with -their big spears and long shields, and the king is slaying the chief, -who tumbles from his car. The alarm has spread to the country beyond; -the terrified inhabitants are in flight; a woman, such is the detail, is -seen to snatch her baby and run into the woods, leaving her pot of broth -cooking on the fire. - -The carving in this temple is often very deep, cut in four or five -inches in the syenite, and beautifully polished to the bottom, as if -done with emery. The colors that once gave each figure its character, -are still fresh, red, green, blue, and black. The ceilings of some -of the chambers yet represent the blue and star-sprinkled sky. How -surpassingly brilliant these must have been once! We see how much -the figure owed to color, when the color designated the different -nationalities, the enemies or the captives, the shade of their skin, -hair, beard and garments. We recognize, even, textures of cloth, and -the spotted leopard-skins worn by the priests. How gay are the birds of -varied plumage. - -There is considerable variety in sculpture here, but, after all an -endless repetition on wall after wall, in chamber after chamber of the -same royal persons, gods, goddesses, and priests. There is nothing on -earth so tiresome as a row of stone gods, in whom I doubt if anybody -ever sincerely believed, standing to receive the offerings of a -Turveydrop of a king. Occasionally the gods take turn about, and pour -oil on the head of a king, at his coronation, and with this is usually -the very pretty device of four birds flying to the four quarters of -the globe to announce the event. But whatever the scene, warlike or -religious, it is for the glorification of Pharaoh, all the same. He is -commonly represented of gigantic size, and all the other human figures -about him are small in comparison. It must have kept the Pharaoh in a -constantly inflated condition, to walk these halls and behold, on all -sides, his extraordinary apotheosis. But the Pharaoh was not only king -but high priest, and the divine representative on earth, and about to -become, in a peculiar sense, Osiris himself, at his death. - -The Egyptians would have saved us much trouble if they had introduced -perspective into these pictures. It is difficult to feel that a pond of -water, a tree and a house, one above the other on a wall, are intended -to be on the same level. We have to accustom ourselves to figures always -in profile, with the eye cut in full as if seen in front, and both -shoulders showing. The hands of prisoners are tied behind them, but this -is shown by bringing both elbows, with no sort of respect for the -man's anatomy, round to the side, toward us, yet it is wonderful what -character and vivacity they gave to their figures, and how by simple -profile they represent nationalities and races, Ethiops, Nubians, Jews, -Assyrians, Europeans. - -These temples are inlaid and overlaid and surrounded with heaps of -rubbish, and the débris of ancient and modern mud and unbaked-brick -dwellings; part of the great pillars are entirely covered. The -Christians once occupied the temples, and there are remains of a church, -and a large church, in one of the vast courts, built of materials at -hand, but gone to ruin more complete than the structure around it. The -early Christians hewed away the beautiful images of Osiris from the -pillars (an Osiride pillar is one upon one side of which, and the length -of it, is cut in full relief, only attached at the back, a figure of -Osiris), and covered the hieroglyphics and sculptures with plaster. -They defaced these temples as the Reformers hacked and whitewashed the -cathedrals of Germany. And sometimes the plaster which was meant to -cover forever from sight the images of a mysterious religion, has -defeated the intentions of the plasterers, by preserving, to an age that -has no fear of stone gods, the ancient pictures, sharp in outline and -fresh in color. - -It is indeed marvelous that so much has been preserved, considering what -a destructive creature man is, and how it pleases his ignoble soul to -destroy the works of his forerunners on the earth. The earthquake -has shaken up Egypt time and again, but Cambyses was worse; he was an -earthquake with malice and purpose, and left little standing that he had -leisure to overturn. The ancient Christians spent a great deal of time -in rubbing out the deep-cut hieroglyphics, chiseling away the heads -of strange gods, covering the pictures of ancient ceremonies and -sacrifices, and painting on the walls their own rude conceptions of holy -persons and miraculous occurrences. And then the Moslems came, hating -all images and pictorial representations alike, and scraped away or -battered with bullets the work of pagans and Christians. - -There is much discussion whether these so-called temples were not -palaces and royal residences as well as religious edifices. Doubtless -many of them served a double purpose; the great pylons and propylons -having rooms in which men might have lived, who did not know what a -comfortable house is. Certainly no palaces of the Pharaohs have been -discovered in Egypt, if these temples are not palaces in part; and it -is not to be supposed that the Pharaoh dwelt in a mud-house with a -palm-roof, like a common mortal. He was the religious as well as the -civil head, Pope and Cæsar in one, and it is natural that he should have -dwelt in the temple precincts. - -The pyramidal towers of the great temple of Medeenet Haboo are thought -to be the remains of the palace of Rameses III. Here indeed the -Egyptologists point out his harem and the private apartments, when the -favored of Amun-Re unbent himself from his usual occupation of seizing a -bunch of captives by the hair and slashing off their heads at a blow, -in the society of his women and the domestic enjoyments of a family man. -Here we get an insight into the private life of the awful monarch, and -are able to penetrate the mysteries of his retirement. It is from -such sculptures as one finds here that scholars have been able to -rehabilitate old Egyptian society and tell us not only what the -Egyptians did but what they were thinking about. The scholar, to whom -we are most indebted for the reconstruction of the ancient life of the -Egyptians, Sir Gardner Wilkinson, is able not only to describe to us -a soirée, from paintings in tombs at Thebes, but to tell us what the -company talked about and what their emotions were. “In the meantime,” -he says, “the conversation became animated,” (as it sometimes does at -parties) “and the ladies fluently discussed the question of dress,” “the -maker of an earring and the shop where it was purchased was anxiously -inquired.” On one occasion when the guests were in “raptures of -admiration” over something, an awkward youth overturned a pedestal, -creating great confusion and frightening the women, who screamed; -however, no one was hurt, and harmony being restored, “the incident -afforded fresh matter for conversation, to be related in full details to -their friends when they returned home.” - -This is very wonderful art, and proves that the Egyptians excelled all -who came after them in the use of the chisel and brush; since they could -not only represent in a drawing on the wall of a tomb the gaiety of an -evening party and the subject of its conversation, but could make the -picture convey as well the talk of the guests to their friends after -they returned home! - -We had read a good deal about the harem of Rameses III., and it was -naturally the first object of our search at Medeenet Haboo. At the -first visit we could not find it, and all our expectation of his sweet -domestic life was unrealized. It was in vain that we read over the -description:—“Here the king is attended by his harem, some of whom -present him with flowers, or wave before him fans and flabella; and a -favorite is caressed, or invited to divert his leisure hours with a game -of draughts.” We climbed everywhere, and looked into every room, but the -king and his harem were not visible. And yet the pictures, upon which -has been built all this fair fabric of the domestic life of Rameses, -must exist somewhere in these two pyramidal towers. And what a gallery -of delights it must be, we thought. The king attended by his harem! - -Upon a subsequent visit, we insisted that the guide should take us -into this harem. That was not possible, but he would show it to us. We -climbed a broken wall, from the top of which we could look up, through a -window, into a small apartment in the tower. The room might be ten feet -by twelve in size, probably smaller. There was no way of getting to it -by any interior stairway or by any exterior one, that we could see, and -I have no doubt that if Pharaoh lived there he climbed up by a ladder -and pulled his harem up after him. - -But the pictures on the walls, which we made out by the help of an -opera-glass, prove this to have been one of the private apartments, they -say. There are only two pictures, only one, in fact, not defaced; but -as these are the only examples of the interior decoration of an ancient -royal palace in all Egypt, it is well to make the most of them. They are -both drawn in spirited outlines and are very graceful, the profile -faces having a Greek beauty. In one Rameses III., of colossal size, is -represented seated on an elegant fauteuil, with his feet on a stool. He -wears the royal crown, a necklace, and sandals. Before him stands a lady -of his harem, clad in a high crown of lotus-stems, a slight necklace, -and sandals turned up like skates. It must be remembered that the -weather was usually very warm in Thebes, especially on this side the -river. The lady is holding up a lotus-flower, but it is very far from -the royal nose, and indeed she stands so far off, that the king has to -stretch out his arm to chuck her under the chin. The Pharaoh's beautiful -face preserves its immortal calm, and the “favorite is caressed” in -accordance with the chastest requirements of high art. - -In the other picture, the Pharaoh is seated as before, but he is playing -at draughts. In his left hand he holds some men, and his right is -extended lifting a piece from the draughtboard. His antagonist has been -unfortunate. Her legs are all gone; her head has disappeared. There -remain of this “favorite” only the outline of part of the body, the -right arm and the hand which lifts a piece, and a suggestion of the left -arm extended at full length and pushing a lotus-bud close to the king's -nose. It is an exhibition of man's selfishness-The poor woman is not -only compelled to entertain the despot at the game, but she must regale -his fastidious and scornful nose at the same time; it must have been -very tiresome to keep the left hand thus extended through a whole game. -What a passion the Egyptians had for the heavy perfume of this flower. -They are smelling it in all their pictures. - -We climbed afterwards, by means of a heap of rubbish, into a room -similar to this one, in the other tower, where we saw remains of the -same sculpture. It was like the Egyptians to repeat that picture five -hundred times in the same palace. - -The two Colossi stand half a mile east of the temple of Medeenet Haboo, -and perhaps are the survivors of like figures which lined an avenue -to another temple. One of them is better known to fame than any other -ancient statue, and rests its reputation on the most shadowy basis. In -a line with these statues are the remains of other colossi of nearly the -same size, buried in the alluvial deposit. These figures both represent -Amunoph III. (about 1500 or 1600 b. c.); they are seated; and on either -side of the legs of the king, and attached to the throne, are the -statues of his mother and daughter, little women, eighteen feet high. -The colossi are fifty feet high without the bases, and must have stood -sixty feet in the air before the Nile soil covered the desert on which -they were erected. The pedestal is a solid stone thirty-three feet long. - -Both were monoliths. The southern one is still one piece, but shockingly -mutilated. The northern one is the famous Vocal Statue of Memnon; though -why it is called of Memnon and why “vocal” is not easily explained. It -was broken into fragments either by some marauder, or by an earthquake -at the beginning of our era, and built up from the waist by blocks -of stone, in the time of the Roman occupation, during the reign of -Septimius Severus. - -There was a tradition—perhaps it was only the tradition of a -tradition—that it used to sing every morning at sunrise. No mention is -made of this singing property, however, until after it was overthrown; -and its singing ceased to be heard after the Roman Emperor put it into -the state in which we now see it. It has been assumed that it used to -sing, and many theories have been invented to explain its vocal method. -Very likely the original report of this prodigy was a Greek or Roman -fable; and the noise may have been produced by a trick for Hadrian's -benefit (who is said to have heard it) in order to keep up the -reputation of the statue. - -Amunoph III. (or Amenôphis, or Amen-hotep—he never knew how to spell -his name) was a tremendous slasher-about over the territories of -other people; there is an inscription down at Samneh (above the second -cataract) which says that he brought, in one expedition, out of Soudan, -seven hundred and forty negro prisoners, half of whom were women and -children. On the records which this modest man made, he is “Lord of both -worlds, absolute master, Son of the Sun.” He is Horus, the strong bull. -“He marches and victory is gained, like Horus, son of Isis, like the -Sun in heaven.” He also built almost as extensively as Rameses II; he -covered both banks of the Nile with splendid monuments; his structures -are found from Ethiopia to the Sinaitic peninsula. He set up his image -in this Colossus, the statue which the Greeks and Romans called Memnon, -the fame of which took such possession of the imagination of poets and -historians. They heard, or said they heard, Memnon, the Ethiopian, one -of the defenders of Troy, each morning saluting his mother, Aurora. - -If this sound was heard, scientists think it was produced by the action -of the sun's rays upon dew fallen in the crevices of the broken figure. -Others think the sound was produced by a priest who sat concealed in the -lap of the figure and struck a metallic stone. And the cavity and the -metallic stone exist there now. Of course the stone was put in there -and the cavity left, when the statue was repaired, it having been a -monolith. And as the sound was never heard before the statue was broken -nor after it was repaired, the noise was not produced by the metallic -stone. And if I am required to believe that the statue sang with his -head off, I begin to doubt altogether. I incline to think that we have -here only one of those beautiful myths in which the Greeks and Romans -loved to clothe the distant and the gigantic. - -One of the means of accounting for a sound which may never have been -heard, is that the priests produced it in order to strike with awe the -people. Now, the Egyptian priests never cared anything about the people, -and wouldn't have taken the trouble; indeed, in the old times “people” -wouldn't have been allowed anywhere within such a sacred inclosure as -this in which the Colossus stood. And, besides, the priest could not -have got into the cavity mentioned. When the statue was a monolith, it -would puzzle him to get in; and there is no stairway or steps by which -he could ascend now. We sent an Arab up, who scaled the broken fragments -with extreme difficulty, and struck the stone. The noise produced -was like that made by striking the metallic stones we find in the -desert,—not a resonance to be heard far. - -So that I doubt that there was any singing at sunrise by the so-called -Memnon (which was Amunoph), and I doubt that it was a priestly device. - -This Amunoph family, whose acquaintance we have been obliged to make, -cut a wide swath in their day; they had eccentricities, and there are -told a great many stories about them, which might interest you if you -could believe that the Amunophs were as real as the Hapsburgs and the -Stuarts and the Grants. - -Amunoph I. (or Amen-hotep) was the successor of Amosis (or Ahmes) who -expelled the Shepherds, and even pursued them into Canaan and knocked -their walled-towns about their heads. Amunoph I. subdued the Shasu -or Bedaween of the desert between Egypt and Syria, as much as those -hereditary robbers were ever subdued. This was in the seventeenth -century b. c. This king also made a naval expedition up the Nile into -Ethiopia, and it is said that he took captive there the “chief of -the mountaineers.” Probably then, he went into Abyssinia, and did not -discover the real source of the Nile. - -The fourth Amunoph went conquering in Asia, as his predecessors had -done, for nations did not stay conquered in those days. He was followed -by his seven daughters in chariots of war. These heroic girls fought, -with their father, and may be seen now, in pictures, gently driving -their chariot-wheels over the crushed Asiatics. When Amunoph IV. came -home and turned his attention to religion, he made lively work with the -Egyptian pantheon. This had grown into vast proportions from the time of -Menes, and Amunoph did not attempt to improve it or reform it; he simply -set it aside, and established a new religion. He it was who abandoned -Thebes and built Tel-el-Amarna, and there set up the worship of a single -god, Aten, represented by the sun's disc. He shut up the old temples, -effaced the images of the ancient gods, and persecuted mercilessly their -worshippers throughout the empire. - -He was prompted to all this by his mother, for he himself was little -better than an imbecile. It was from his mother that he took his foreign -religion as he did his foreign blood, for there was nothing of the -Egyptian type in his face. His mother, Queen Taia, wife of Amunoph -III., had light hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks, the characteristics of -northern women. She was not of royal family, and not Egyptian; but the -child of a foreign family then living in the Delta, and probably the -king married her for her beauty and cleverness. - -M. Lenormant thinks she was a Hebrew. That people were then very -numerous in the Delta, where they lived unmolested keeping their own -religion, a very much corrupted and materialized monotheism. Queen Taia -has the complexion and features of the Hebrews—I don't mean of the -Jews who are now dispersed over the continents. Lenormant credits the -Hebrews, through the Queen Taia, with the overthrow of the Pharaonic -religion and the establishment of the monotheism of Amunoph IV.—a -worship that had many external likenesses to the Hebrew forms. At -Tel-el-Amarna we see, among the utensils of the worship of Aten, -the Israelitish “Table of Shew-bread.” It is also noticed that the -persecution of the Hebrews coincides with the termination of the -religious revolution introduced by the son of Taia. - -Whenever a pretty woman of talent comes into history she makes mischief. -The episode of Queen Taia is however a great relief to the granite-faced -monotony of the conservative Pharaohs. Women rulers and regents always -make the world lively for the time being—and it took in this case two or -three generations to repair the damages. Smashing things and repairing -damages—that is history. - -History starts up from every foot of this Theban plain, piled four or -five deep with civilizations. These temples are engulfed in rubbish; -what the Persians and the earthquake spared, Copts and Arabs for -centuries have overlaid with their crumbling habitations. It requires -a large draft upon the imagination to reinstate the edifices that once -covered this vast waste; but we are impressed with the size of the city, -when we see the long distances that the remaining temples are apart, and -the evidence, in broken columns, statues, and great hewn blocks of stone -shouldering out of the sand, of others perhaps as large. - - - -0222 - - - -0223 - - - - -CHAPTER XVII.—KARNAK. - -THE WEATHER is almost unsettled. There was actually a dash of rain -against the cabin window last night—over before you could prepare an -affidavit to the fact—and today is cold, more or less cloudy with a -drop, only a drop, of rain occasionally. Besides, the wind is in the -south-west and the sand flies. We cannot sail, and decide to visit -Karnak, in spite of the entreaty of the hand-book to leave this, as the -crown of all sight-seeing, until we have climbed up to its greatness -over all the lesser ruins. - -Perhaps this is wise; but I think I should advise a friend to go at once -to Karnak and outrageously astonish himself, while his mind is fresh, -and before he becomes at all sated with ruins or familiar with other -vast and exceedingly impressive edifices. They are certain to dull a -little his impression of Karnak even “Madam—” it is Abd-el-Atti who -comes in, rubbing his hands—“your carriage stops the way.” - -“Carriage?” - -“Yes, ma'am, I just make him.” - -The carriage was an arm-chair slung between two pushing-poles; between -each end of them was harnessed a surly diminutive donkey who seemed to -feel his degradation. Each donkey required a driver; Ahmed, with his -sleeves rolled up and armed with a big club, walked beside, to steady -the swaying chair, and to beat the boys when their donkeys took a fancy -to lie down; and a cloud of interested Arabs hovered about it, -running with it, adding to the noise, dust, and picturesqueness of our -cavalcade. - -On the outskirts of the mud-cabins we pass through the weekly market, -a motley assemblage of country-folks and produce, camels, donkeys, -and sheep. It is close by the Ghawazee quarter, where is a colony of -a hundred or more of these dancing-girls. They are always conspicuous -among Egyptian women by their greater comeliness and gay apparel. They -wear red and yellow gowns, many tinkling ornaments of silver and gold, -and their eyes are heavily darkened with kohl. I don't know what it is -in this kohl, that it gives woman such a wicked and dangerous aspect. -They come out to ask for backsheesh in a brazen but probably intended -to be a seductive manner; they are bold, but some of them rather -well-looking. They claim to be an unmixed race of ancient lineage; but I -suspect their blood is no purer than their morals. There is not much in -Egypt that is not hopelessly mixed. - -Of the mile-and-a-half avenue of Sphinxes that once connected Luxor with -Karnak, we see no trace until we are near the latter. The country is -open and beautiful with green wheat, palms, and sycamores. Great Karnak -does not show itself until we are close upon it; its vast extent is -hidden by the remains of the wall of circuit, by the exterior temples -and pylons. It is not until we have passed beyond the great—but called -small—temple of Rameses III., at the north entrance, and climbed -the pyramidal tower to the west of the Great Hall, that we begin to -comprehend the magnitude of these ruins, and that only days of wandering -over them and of study would give us their gigantic plan. - -Karnak is not a temple, but a city rather; a city of temples, palaces, -obelisks, colossal statues, It is, like a city, a growth of many -centuries. It is not a conception or the execution of a purpose; it is -the not always harmonious accretion of time and wealth and vanity. Of -the slowness of its growth some idea may be gained from the fact that -the hieroglyphics on one face of one of its obelisks were cut two -hundred and fifty years after those on the opposite face. So long ago -were both chiseled, however, they are alike venerable to us. I shouldn't -lose my temper with a man who differed with me only a thousand years -about the date of any event in Egypt. - -They were working at this mass of edifices, sacred or profane, all the -way from Osirtasen I. down to Alexander II.; that is from about 3064 -B. c. according to Mariette (Bunsen, 2781, Wilkinson, 2080,—it doesn't -matter) to only a short time before our era. There was a modest -beginning in the plain but chaste temple of Osirtasen; but each king -sought to outdo his predecessor until Sethi I. forever distanced rivalry -in building the Great Hall. And after him it is useless for anyone else -to attempt greatness by piling up stones. The length of the temples, -pylons, and obelisks, en suite from west to east, is 1180 feet; but -there are other outlying and gigantic ruins; I suppose it is fully a -mile and a half round the wall of circuit. - -There is nothing in the world of architecture like the Great Hall; -nothing so massive, so surprising, and, for me, at least, so crushingly -oppressive. What monstrous columns! And how thickly they are crowded -together! Their array is always compared to a forest. The comparison -is apt in some respects; but how free, uplifting is a forest, how -it expands into the blue air, and lifts the soul with it. A piece of -architecture is to be judged, I suppose, by the effect it produces. It -is not simply that this hall is pagan in its impression; it misses the -highest architectural effect by reason of its unrelieved heaviness. -It is wonderful; it was a prodigious achievement to build so many big -columns. - -The setting of enormous columns so close together that you can only -see a few of them at one point of view is the architecture of the Great -Hall. Upon these, big stones are put for a roof. There is no reason why -this might not have been repeated over an acre of ground. Neither from -within nor from without can you see the extent of the hall. * The best -view of it is down the center aisle, formed by the largest columns; -and as these have height as well as bulk, and the sky is now seen above -them, the effect is of the highest majesty. This hall was dimly lighted -by windows in the clerestory, the frames of which exhibit a freedom of -device and grace of carving worthy of a Gothic cathedral. These columns, -all richly sculptured, are laid up in blocks of stone of half the -diameter, the joints broken. If the Egyptians had dared to use the arch, -the principle of which they knew, in this building, so that the columns -could have stood wide apart and still upheld the roof, the sight of -the interior would have been almost too much for the human mind. The -spectator would have been exalted, not crushed by it. - -* The Great Hall measures one hundred and seventy feet by three hundred -and twenty-nine; in this space stand one hundred and thirty-four -columns; twelve of these, forming the central avenue of one hundred and -seventy feet, are sixty-two feet high, without plinth and abacus, and -eleven feet six inches in diameter; the other one hundred and twenty-two -columns are forty-two feet five inches in height and about nine feet in -diameter. The great columns stand only fifteen or sixteen feet apart. - -Not far off is the obelisk which Amunoo-het erected to the memory of her -father. I am not sure but it will stand long after The Hall of Sethi is -a mass of ruins; for already is the water sapping the foundations of the -latter, some of the columns lean like reeling drunken men, and one day, -with crash after crash, these giants will totter, and the blocks of -stone of which they are built will make another of those shapeless heaps -to which sooner or later our solidest works come. The red granite shaft -of the faithful daughter lifts itself ninety-two feet into the air, and -is the most beautiful as it is the largest obelisk ever raised. - -The sanctuary of red granite was once very rich and beautiful; the high -polish of its walls and the remains of its exquisite carving, no less -than the colors that still remain, attest that. The sanctuary is a heap -of ruins, thanks to that ancient Shaker, Cambyses, but the sculptures -in one of the chambers are the most beautiful we have seen; the colors, -red, blue, and green are still brilliant, the ceiling is spangled with -stars on a blue firmament. Considering the hardness of this beautiful -syenite and the difficulty of working it, I think this is the most -admirable piece of work in Thebes. - -It may be said of some of the sculptures here, especially of the very -spirited designs and intelligent execution of those of the Great Hall, -that they are superior to those on the other side of the river. And yet -there is endless theological reiteration here; there are dreary miles -of the same gods in the same attitudes; and you cannot call all of them -respectable gods. The longer the religion endured the more conventional -and repetitious its representations became. The sculptors came to have -a traditional habit of doing certain scenes and groups in a certain -way; and the want of life and faith in them becomes very evident in the -sculptures of the Ptolemaic period. - -In this vast area you may spend days and not exhaust the objects worth -examination. On one of our last visits we found near the sacred lake -very striking colossal statues which we had never seen before. - -When this city of temples and palaces, the favorite royal residence, was -entire and connected with Luxor by the avenue of sphinxes, and the great -edifices and statues on the west side of the river were standing, -this broad basin of the Nile, enclosed by the circle of rose-colored -limestone mountains, which were themselves perforated with vast tombs, -must have been what its splendid fame reports, when it could send to war -twenty thousand chariots. But, I wonder whether the city, aside from its -conspicuous temples and attached palaces, was one of mud-hovels, like -those of most peoples of antiquity, and of the modern Egyptians. - - -0227 - - - -CHAPTER XVIII.—ASCENDING THE RIVER. - -WE resume our voyage on the sixth of January, but we leave a hostage -at Luxor as we did at Asioot. This is a sailor who became drunk and -turbulent last night on hasheesh, and was sent to the governor. - -We found him this morning with a heavy chain round his neck and tied to -a stake in one corner of the court-yard of the house where the governor -has his office. I think he might have pulled up the stake and run away; -but I believe it is not considered right here for a prisoner to escape. -The common people are so subdued that they wilt, when authority puts its -heavy hand on them. Near the sailor was a mud-kennel into which he could -crawl if he liked. This is the jail of Luxor. Justice is summary here. -This sailor is confined without judge or jury and will be kept till he -refunds his advance wages, since he was discharged from the boat as a -dangerous man. - -The sailors dread the lock-up, for they may be forced into the army as -the only way out of it; they would much prefer the stick. They are used -to the stick; four thousand years of Egyptians have been accustomed -to the stick. A beating they do not mind much, or at least are not -humiliated by it as another race would be. But neither the prospect of -the jail nor the stick will wean them from hasheesh, which is the curse -of Egypt. - -We spread our sails to a light breeze and depart in company with two -other dahabeëhs, one English (the Philæ) and one American (the Dongela). -Africa and weeks of leisure and sunny skies are before us. We loiter -along in company, in friendly company one may say, now passing a boat -and now falling behind, like three ducks coquetting in a swift current. -We are none of us in a hurry, we are indifferent to progress, our minds -are calm and our worst passions not excited. We do not appear to be -going rapidly, I sometimes doubt if we are going forward at all, but it -gradually becomes apparent that we are in the midst of a race! - -Everything in this world is relative. I can imagine a fearfully exciting -match of mud-turtles on a straight track. Think of the agony, prolonged, -that the owner of the slow turtle would suffer! We are evidently in for -it; and a race like this, that lasts all day, will tire out the hardiest -sportsman. - -The Rip Van Winkle is the largest boat and happens to have the lead; but -the Philo, a very graceful, gay boat, is crawling up to us; the Dongola -also seems to feel a breeze that we have not. We want a strong wind—the -Rip Van Winkle does not wake up in a mild air. As we desire, it freshens -a little, the big sail swells, and the ripples are louder at the bow. -Unfortunately there is breeze enough for three, and the other vessels -shake themselves out like ducks about to fly. It is a pretty sight just -now; the spread of three great bird-wing sails, the long gaily-painted -cabins and decks, the sweeping yards and the national colors and -variegated streamers flying! - -They are gaining on us; the Philae gets inside, and taking our wind, for -a moment, creeps ahead, and attempts to sheer across our bow to force us -into the swifter current; the Dongola sails in at the same time, and a -jam and collision appear inevitable. A storm of language bursts out -of each boat; men run to stern and bow, to ward off intruders or -to disengage an entangled spar; all the crew, sailors, reises, and -dragomans are in the most active vociferation. But the Philae. sails out -of the coil, the Dongola draws ahead at the risk of going into the bank, -and our crew seize the punt-poles and have active work to prevent going -fast on a sand-bar to leeward. - -But the prosperity of the wicked is short. The wind falls flat. -Instantly our men are tumbling into the water and carrying the rope -ashore to track. The lines are all out, and the men are attempting to -haul us round a deep bend. The steersmen keep the head of the vessels -off shore, and the strain on the trackers is tremendous. The cables flop -along the bank and scrape over the shadoofs, raking down a stake now -and then, and bring out from their holes the half-naked, protesting -proprietors, who get angry and gesticulate,—as if they had anything to -do with our race! - -The men cannot hold the cable any longer; one by one they are forced -to let go, at the risk of being drawn down the crumbling bank, and the -cable splashes into the water. The sailors run ahead and come down upon -a sand-spit; there are puffs of wind in our sail, and we appear to -have made a point, when the men wade on board and haul in the rope. The -Dongola is close upon us; the Philae has lost by keeping too far out in -the current. Oh, for a wind! - -Instead of a wind, there is a bland smile in the quiet sky. Why, O -children, do you hasten? Have not Nile sailors been doing this for four -thousand years? The boats begin to yaw about. Poles are got out. We are -all in danger of going aground; we are all striving to get the inside -track at yonder point; we are in danger of collision; we are most of all -in danger of being left behind. The crews are crazy with excitement; -as they hurriedly walk the deck, rapidly shifting their poles in the -shallow water, calling upon Yàlësah in quicker and quicker respirations, -“Hâ Yâlësah,” “Hâ Yàlësah,” as they run to change the sail at the least -indication of a stray breeze, as they see first one dahabeëh and then -the other crawling ahead, the contest assumes a serious aspect, and -their cries are stronger and more barbaric. - -The Philæ gets inside again and takes the bank. We are all tracking, -when we come to the point, beyond which is a deep bay. If we had wind -we should sail straight across; the distance round the bay is much -greater—but then we can track along the bank; there is deep water close -under the bank and there is deep water in mid-river. The Philæ stands -away into the river, barely holding its own in the light zephyr. The -Dongola tries to follow the Philæ, but swings round, and her crew take -to the poles. Our plan appears to be more brilliant. Our men take the -cable out upon a sand-bank in the stream and attempt to tow us along the -center channel. All goes well. We gain on the Philæ and pass it. We see -the Dongola behind, struggling in the shallows. But the sand-bank is -a failure. The men begin to go from it into deeper water; it is up to -their knees, it reaches our “drawers,” which we bought for the crew; it -comes to the waist, their shoulders are going under. It is useless; the -cable is let go, and the men rush back to the sand-bar. There they are. -Our cable is trailing down-stream; we have lost our crew, and the -wind is just coming up. While we are sending the sandal to rescue our -mariners, the Philae sails away, and the Dongola shows her stern. - -The travelers on the three boats, during all this contest, are sitting -on the warm, sunny decks, with a pretence of books, opera-glasses in -hand; apparently regarding the scene with indifference, but no doubt, -underneath this mask, longing to “lick” the other boats. - -After all, we come to Erment (which is eight miles from Luxor) not far -apart. The race is not to the swift. There is no swift on the Nile. But -I do not know how there could be a more exciting race of eight miles a -day! - -At Erment is a large sugar-factory belonging to the Khedive; and a -governor lives here in a big house and harem. The house has an extensive -garden laid out by old Mohammed Ali, and a plantation of oranges, Yusef -Effendis, apples, apricots, peaches, lemons, pomegranates, and limes. -The plantation shows that fruit will grow on the Upper Nile, if one will -take the trouble to set out and water the trees. But we see none. The -high Nile here last September so completely washed out the garden that -we can get neither flowers nor vegetables. And some people like the -rapidly-grown watery vegetables that grow along the Nile. - -Our dragoman wanted some of the good, unrefined loaf-sugar from the -factory here, and I went with him to see how business is transacted. -We had difficulty in finding any office or place of sale about the -establishment. - -But a good-natured dwarf, who seemed to spring out of the ground on -our landing, led us through courts and amid dilapidated warehouses to a -gate, in which sat an Arab in mixed costume. Within the gate hung a -pair of steelyards, and on one side was a bench. The gate, the man, the -steelyards and the bench constituted an office. Beyond was an avenue, -having low enclosures on each side, that with broken pillars and walls -of brick looked very much like Pompeii; in a shallow bin was a great -heap of barley, thrashed, and safe and dry in the open air. - -The indifferent man in the gate sent for a slow boy, who, in his own -time, came, bearing a key, a stick an inch square and a foot long, with -four short iron spikes stuck in one side near the end. He led us up -a dirty brick stairway outside a building, and inserting the key in -a wooden lock to match (both lock and key are unchanged since the -Pharaohs) let us into a long, low room, like an old sail-loft full of -dust, packages of sugar-paper and old account-books. When the shutters -were opened we found at one end a few papers of sugar, which we bought, -and our own sailor carried down to the steelyards. The indifferent man -condescended to weigh the sugar, and took the pay: but he lazily handed -the money to the boy, who sauntered off with it. Naturally, you -wouldn't trust that boy; but there was an indescribable sense of -the worthlessness of time and of money and of all trade, about this -transaction, that precluded the possibility of the smartness of theft. - -The next day the race is resumed, with little wind and a good deal of -tracking; we pass the Dongola and are neck-and-neck with the Philæ till -afternoon, when we bid her good-bye; and yet not with unmixed pleasure. - -It is a pleasure to pass a boat and leave her toiling after; but the -pleasure only lasts while she is in sight. If I had my way, we should -constantly overhaul boats and pass them, and so go up the stream in -continual triumph. It is only the cold consciousness of duty performed -that sustains us, when we have no spectators of our progress. - -We go on serenely. Hailing a crossing ferry-boat, loaded with squatting, -turbaned tatterdemalion Arabs, the dragoman cries, “Salaam aleykoom.” - -The reply is, “Salaam; peace be with you; may God meet you in the way; -may God receive you to himself.” The Old Testament style. - -While we were loitering along by Mutâneh—where there is a sugar-factory, -and an irrigating steam-pump—trying to count the string of camels, -hundreds of them moving along the bank against the sunset—camels that -bring the cane to be ground—and our crew were eating supper, I am sorry -to say that the Philæ poled ahead of us, and went on to Esneh. But -something happened at Esneh. - -It was dark when we arrived at that prosperous town, and, of course, -Abd-el-Atti, who would like to have us go blazing through Egypt like -Cambyses, sent up a rocket. Its fiery serpent tore the black night above -us, exploded in a hundred colored stars, and then dropped its stick into -the water. Splendid rockets! The only decent rockets to be had in Egypt -are those made by the government; and Abd-el-Atti was the only dragoman -who had been thoughtful enough to make interest with the authorities and -procure government rockets. Hence our proud position on the river. We -had no firman, and the Khedive did not pay our expenses, but the Viceroy -himself couldn't out-rocket us. - -As soon as we had come to shore and tied up, an operation taking some -time in the darkness, we had a visit from the governor, a friend of our -dragoman; but this visit was urgent and scarcely friendly. An attempt -had been made to set the town on fire! A rocket from an arriving boat -had been thrown into the town, set fire to the straw on top of one of -the houses and— - -“Did it spread?” - -“No, but it might. Allah be praised, it was put out. But the town might -have been burned down. What a way is this, to go along the Nile firing -the towns at night?” - -“'Twasn't our rocket. Ours exploded in the air and fell into the river. -Did the other boat, did the Philæ send up a rocket when she arrived?” - -“Yes. There was another rocket.” - -“Dat's it, dat's it,” says Abd-el-Atti. “Why you no go on board the -Philæ and not come here?” And then he added to us, as if struck by a new -idea, “Where the Philæ get dat rocket? I think he have no rocket before. -Not send any up Christmas in Asioot, not send any up in Luxor. I think -these very strange. Not so?” - -“What kind of rocket was it, that burnt the town?” we ask the governor. - -“I have it.” The governor ran to the cabin door and called. A servant -brought in the exploded missile. It was a large-sized rocket, like our -own; twice as large as the rockets that are not made by the government, -and which travelers usually carry. - -“Seems like our stick,” cries Abd-el-Atti, getting excited. He examined -the sheath with great care. We all gathered round the cabin lamp to -look at the fatal barrel. It had a mark on it, something in Arabic. -Abd-el-Atti turned it sideways and upside down, in an effort to get at -the meaning of the writing. - -“That is government; make 'em by the government; no doubt,” he says, -standing off and becoming solemn. “Dat rocket been stole. Looks like our -rocket.” - -Abd-el-Atti flies out, and there is a commotion outside. “Who has been -stealing rockets and sell 'em to that dragoman?” Boxes are opened. -Rockets are brought in and compared. The exploded one has the same mark -as ours, it is the same size. - -A new anxiety dawns upon Abd-el-Atti. What if the Philæ has government -rockets? Our distinction is then gone. No It can't be. “I know what -every dragoman do in Cairo. He can't get dese rocket. Nobody get 'em -dis year 'cept us.” Abd-el-Atti is for probing the affair to the bottom. -Perhaps the hasheesh-eating sailor we discharged at Luxor stole some -of our rockets and sold them, and thus they came into possession of the -dragoman of the Philæ. - -The young governor, however, has had enough of it. He begins to see -a great deal of vexation to himself, and a row with an English and an -American dahabeëh and with natives besides. Let it drop, he says. The -governor sits on the divan smoking a cigar. He is accompanied by a Greek -friend, a merchant of the place. When the governor's cigar goes out, in -his distraction, the Greek takes it, and re-lights it, puffing it till -it is well enflamed, and then handing it again to the governor. This is -a custom of the East. The servant often “starts” the cigarette for his -master. - -“Oh, let it go,” says the governor, appealing to us: “It is finish now. -It was no damage done.” - -“But it might,” cries Abd-el-Atti, “it might burn the town,” taking now -the rôle which the governor had dropped. - -“But you are not to blame. It is not you have done it.” - -“Then why you come to me, why you come to us wid de rocket? Why you no -go to the Philo? Yes. You know that we, nobody else on the river got -government rockets. This government rocket—look the mark,” seizing the -exploded one and a new one, and bringing the ends of both so near the -lamp that we all fear an explosion. “There is something underhands -here.” - -“But it's all right now.” - -“How it's all right? Story go back to Cairo; Rip Van Winkle been gone -set fire to Esneh. Whose rockets? Government rockets. Nobody have -government rockets 'cept Abd-el-Atti.” - -A terrific confab goes on in the cabin for nearly an hour between -the dragoman, the governor, and the Greek; a lively entertainment and -exhibition of character which we have no desire to curtail. The -governor is a young, bright, presentable fellow, in Frank dress, who for -liveliness of talk and gesture would pass for an Italian. - -When the governor has departed, our reïs comes in and presents us a -high-toned “certificate” from the gentleman on board the Philo.—he has -learned from our reïs, steersman and some sailors (who are in a panic) -that they are all to be hauled before the governor and punished on -a charge of stealing rockets and selling them to his dragoman. He -certifies that he bought his own rockets in the Mooskee; that his -dragoman was with him when he bought them; and that our men are -innocent. The certificate further certifies that our conduct toward our -crew is unjustifiable and an unheard of cruelty! - -Here was a casus belli! Foreign powers had intervened. The right of -search and seizure was again asserted; the war of 1812 was about to be -renewed. Our cruelty unheard of? We should think so. All the rest of -it was unheard of also. We hadn't the slightest intention of punishing -anybody or hauling anybody before the governor. When Abd-el-Atti hears -the certificate, he shakes his head:— - -“Buy 'em like this in the Mooskee? Not be. Not find government rockets -in any shop in the Mooskee. Something underhands by that dragoman!” - -Not wishing to light the flames of war in Africa, we immediately -took servants and lanterns and called on the English Man-of-War. The -Man-of-War had gone to bed. It was nine o'clock. - -“What for he send a certificate and go to bed?” Abd-el-Atti wants to -know. “I not like the looks of it.” He began to be suspicious of all the -world. - -In the morning the gentleman returned our call. He did not know or care -whose rocket set fire to the town. Couldn't hurt these towns much to -burn them; small loss if all were burned. The governor had called on him -to say that no damage was done. Our dragoman had, however, no right to -accuse his of buying stolen rockets. His were bought in Cairo, etc., -etc. And the matter dropped amicably and without bloodshed. But -Abd-el-Atti's suspicions widened as he thought it over:— - -“What for de Governor come to me? What for he not go to dat boat what -fire de rocket? What for de Governor come been call on me wid a rocket? -The Governor never come been call on me wid a rocket before!” - -It is customary for all boats which are going above the first cataract -to stop at Esneh twenty-four hours to bake bread for the crew; -frequently they are detained longer, for the wheat has to be bought, -ground in one of the little ox-power mills, mixed and baked; and the -crew hire a mill and oven for the time being and perform the labor. -We had sent sailors ahead to bake the bread, and it was ready in the -morning; but we stayed over., according to immemorial custom. The -sailors are entitled to a holiday, and they like to take it where there -are plenty of coffee-houses and a large colony of Ghawazee girls. - -Esneh is not a bad specimen of an Egyptian town. There is a temple here, -of which only the magnificent portico has been excavated; the remainder -lies under the town. We descend some thirty feet to get to the floor -of the portico,—to such a depth has it been covered. And it is a modern -temple, after all, of the period of the Roman occupation. We find here -the cartouches of the Cæsars. The columns are elegant and covered with -very good sculpture; each of the twenty-five has a different capital, -and some are developed into a hint of the Corinthian and the composite. -The rigid constraints of the Egyptian art are beginning to give way. - -The work in the period of the Romans differs much from the ancient; it -is less simple, more ornamented and debased. The hieroglyphics are not -so carefully and nicely cut. The figures are not so free in drawing, and -not so good as the old, except that they show more anatomical knowledge, -and begin to exhibit a little thought of perspective. The later artists -attempt to work out more details in the figure, to show muscles and -various members in more particularity. Some of the forms and faces have -much beauty, but most of them declare a decline of art, or perhaps an -attempt to reconcile the old style with new knowledge, and consequent -failure. - -We called on the governor. He was absent at the mosque, but his servant -gave us coffee. The Oriental magnificence of the gubernatorial residence -would impress the most faithless traveler. The entrance was through a -yard that would be a fair hen-yard (for common fowl) at home, and the -small apartment into which we were shown might serve for a stable; but -it had a divan, some carpets and chairs, and three small windows. Its -roof was flat, made of rough split palm-trees covered with palm-leaves. -The governor's lady lives somewhere in the rear of this apartment of the -ruler, in a low mud-house, of which we saw the outside only. - -Passing near the government house, we stopped in to see the new levy of -soldiers, which amounts to some four hundred from this province. Men are -taken between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, and although less -than three per cent, of those liable are seized, the draft makes a -tremendous excitement all along the river. In some places the bazaars -are closed and there is a general panic as if pestilence had broken out. - -Outside the government house, and by the river bank, are women, -squatting in the sand, black figures of woe and dirt, bewailing their -relations taken away. In one mud-hovel there is so much howling and -vocal grief that we think at first a funeral is in progress. We are -permitted to look into the lock-up where the recruits are detained -waiting transportation down the river. A hundred or two fellaheen, of -the average as to nakedness and squalor of raiment, are crowded into a -long room with a dirt floor, and among them are many with heavy chains -on their ankles. These latter are murderers and thieves, awaiting trial -or further punishment. It is in fact the jail, and the soldiers are -forced into this companionship until their departure. One would say this -is a bad nursery for patriots. - -The court of justice is in the anteroom of this prison; and the two -ought to be near together. The Kadi, or judge, sits cross-legged on the -ground, and others squat around him, among them a scribe. When we enter, -we are given seats on a mat near the judge, and offered coffee and -pipes. This is something like a court of justice, sociable and friendly. -It is impossible to tell who is prisoner, who are witnesses, and who are -spectators. All are talking together, the prisoner (who is pointed out) -louder than any other, the spectators all joining in with the witnesses. -The prisoner is allowed to “talk back,” which must be a satisfaction -to him. When the hubbub subsides, the judge pronounces sentence; and -probably he does as well as an ordinary jury. - -The remainder of this town is not sightly. In fact I do not suppose that -six thousand people could live in one dirtier, dustier, of more wretched -houses; rows of unclean, shriveled women, with unclean babies, their -eyes plastered with flies, sitting along the lanes called streets; -plenty of men and boys in no better case as to clothing; but the men are -physically superior to the women. In fact we see no comely women except -the Ghawazees. Upon the provisions, the grain, the sweet-cakes exposed -for sale on the ground, flies settle so that all look black. - -Not more palaces and sugar-mills, O! Khedive, will save this Egypt, but -some plan that will lift these women out of dirt and ignorance! - -Our next run is to Assouan. Let us sketch it rapidly, and indicate by a -touch the panorama it unrolled for us. - -We are under way at daylight, leaving our two companions of the race -asleep. We go on with a good wind, and by lovely sloping banks of green; -banks that have occasionally a New England-river aspect; but palm-trees -are behind them, and beyond are uneven mountain ranges, the crumbling -limestone of which is so rosy in the sun. The wind freshens, and we spin -along five miles an hour. The other boats have started, but they have a -stern chase, and we lose them round a bend. - -The atmosphere is delicious, a little under a summer heat, so that it -is pleasant to sit in the sun; we seem to fly, with our great wings of -sails, by the lovely shores. An idle man could desire nothing more. The -crew are cutting up the bread baked yesterday and spreading it on the -deck to dry. They prefer this to bread made of bolted wheat; and it -would be very good, if it were not heavy and sour, and dirty to look at, -and somewhat gritty to the teeth. - -In the afternoon we pass the new, the Roman, and the old town of El Kab, -back of which are the famous grottoes of Eilethyas with their pictures -of domestic and agricultural life. We go on famously, leaving -Edfoo behind, to the tune of five miles an hour; and, later, we can -distinguish the top of the sail of the Philæ at least ten miles behind. -Before dark we are abreast of the sandstone quarries of Silsilis, the -most wonderful in the world, and the river is swift, narrow and may be -rocky. We have accomplished fifty-seven miles since morning, and wishing -to make a day's run that shall astonish Egypt, we keep on in the dark. -The wind increases, and in the midst of our career we go aground. We tug -and push and splash, however, get off the sand, and scud along again. -In a few moments something happens. There is a thump and a lurch, and -bedlam breaks loose on deck. - -We have gone hard on the sand. The wind is blowing almost a gale, and -in the shadow of these hills the night is black. Our calm steersman lets -the boat swing right about, facing down-stream, the sail jibes, and we -are in great peril of upsetting, or carrying away yard, mast and all. -The hubbub is something indescribable. The sailors are ordered aloft -to take in the sail. They fear to do it. To venture out upon that long -slender yard, which is foul and threatens to snap every moment, the -wind whipping the loose sail, is no easy or safe task. The yelling that -ensues would astonish the regular service. Reis and sailors are all -screaming together, and above all can be heard the storming of the -dragoman, who is most alive to the danger, his voice broken with -excitement and passion. The crew are crouching about the mast, in -terror, calling upon Mohammed. The reïs is muttering to the Prophet, -in the midst of his entreaty. Abd-el-Atti is rapidly telling his beads, -while he raves. At last Ahmed springs up the rigging, and the others, -induced by shame and the butt-end of a hand-spike, follow him, and are -driven out along the shaking yard. Amid intense anxiety and with extreme -difficulty, the sail is furled and we lie there, aground, with an anchor -out, the wind blowing hard and the waves pounding us, as if we were -making head against a gale at sea. A dark and wildish night it is, and a -lonesome place, the rocky shores dimly seen; but there is starlight. -We should prefer to be tied to the bank, sheltered from the wind rather -than lie swinging and pounding here. However, it shows us the Nile in -a new aspect. And another good comes out of the adventure. Ahmed, who -saved the boat, gets a new suit of clothes. Nobody in Egypt needed one -more. A suit of clothes is a blue cotton gown. - -The following morning (Sunday) is cold, but we are off early as if -nothing had happened, and run rapidly against the current—or the current -against us, which produces the impression of going fast. The river is -narrower, the mountains come closer to the shores, and there is, on -either side, only a scant strip of vegetation. Egypt, along here, is -really only three or four rods wide. The desert sands drift down to the -very shores, and the desert hills, broken, jagged, are savage walls of -enclosure. - -The Nile no doubt once rose annually and covered these now bleached -wastes, and made them fruitful. But that was long ago. At Silsilis, -below here, where the great quarries are, there was once a rocky -barrier, probably a fall, which set the Nile back, raising its level -from here to Assouan. In some convulsion this was carried away. When? -There is some evidence on this point at hand. By ten o'clock we have -rounded a long bend, and come to the temples of Kom Ombos, their great -columns conspicuous on a hill close to the river. They are rather fine -structures, for the Ptolemies. One of them stands upon foundations of -an ancient edifice built by Thothmes I. (eighteenth dynasty); and these -foundations rest upon alluvial deposit. Consequently the lowering of the -Nile above Silsilis, probably by breaking through the rock-dam there, -was before the time of Thothmes I. The Nile has never risen to the -temple site since. These striking ruins are, however, destined to be -swept away; opposite the bend where they stand a large sand-island is -forming, and every hour the soil is washing from under them. Upon this -sand-island this morning are flocks of birds, sunning themselves, and -bevies of sand-grouse take wing at our approach. A crocodile also lifts -his shoulders and lunges into the water, when we get near enough to see -his ugly scales with the glass. - -As we pass the desolate Kom Ombos, a solitary figure emerges from the -ruins and comes down the slope of the sand-hill, with turban flowing, -ragged cotton robe, and a long staff; he runs along the sandy shore and -then turns away into the desert, like a fleeing Cain, probably with no -idea that it is Sunday, and that the “first bell” is about to ring in -Christian countries. - -The morning air is a little too sharp for idle comfort, although we -can sit in the sun on deck and read. This west wind coming from the -mountains of the desert brings always cold weather, even in Nubia. - -Above Kom Ombos we come to a little village in a palm-grove—a scene out -of the depths of Africa,—such as you have often seen in pictures—which -is the theatre of an extraordinary commotion. There is enacted before -us in dumb-show something like a pantomime in a play-house; but this -is even more remote and enigmatical than that, and has in it all the -elements of a picture of savagery. In the interior of Africa are they -not all children, and do they not spend their time in petty quarreling -and fighting? - -On the beach below the village is moored a trading vessel, loaded with -ivory, cinnamon, and gum-arabic, and manned by Nubians, black as coals. -People are climbing into this boat and jumping out of it, splashing in -the water, in a state of great excitement; people are running along -the shore, shouting and gesticulating wildly, flourishing long staves; -parties are chasing each other, and whacking their sticks together; and -a black fellow, in a black gown and white shoes, is chasing others with -an uplifted drawn sword. It looks like war or revolution, picturesque -war in the bright sun on the yellow sand, with all attention to -disposition of raiment and color and striking attitudes. There are -hurryings to and fro, incessant clamors of noise and shoutings and -blows of cudgels; some are running away, and some are climbing into palm -trees, but we notice that no one is hit by cane or sword. Neither is -anybody taken into custody, though there is a great show of arresting -somebody. It is a very animated encounter, and I am glad that we do not -understand it. - -Sakiyas increase in number along the bank, taking the place of the -shadoof, and we are never out of hearing of their doleful songs. Labor -here is not hurried. I saw five men digging a well in the bank—into -which the Sakiya buckets dip; that is, there were four, stripped, -coal-black slaves from Soudan superintended by an Arab. One man was -picking up the dirt with a pick-axe hoe. Three others were scraping out -the dirt with a contrivance that would make a lazy man laugh;—one fellow -held the long handle of a small scraper, fastened on like a shovel; -to this upright scraper two ropes were attached which the two others -pulled, indolently, thus gradually scraping the dirt out of the hole a -spoonful at a time. One man with a shovel would have thrown it out -four times as fast. But why should it be thrown out in a hurry? Must we -always intrude our haste into this land of eternal leisure? - -By afternoon, the wind falls, and we loiter along. The desert apparently -comes close to the river on each side. On one bank are a hundred camels, -attended by a few men and boys, browsing on the coarse tufts of grass -and the scraggy bushes; the hard surroundings suit the ungainly animals. -It is such pictures of a life, differing in all respects from ours, that -we come to see. A little boat with a tattered sail is towed along close -to the bank by half a dozen ragged Nubians, who sing a not unmelodious -refrain as they walk and pull,—better at any rate than the groan of the -sakiyas. - -There is everywhere a sort of Sabbath calm—a common thing here, no -doubt, and of great antiquity; and yet, you would not say that the -people are under any deep religious impression. - -As we advance the scenery becomes more Nubian, the river narrower and -apparently smaller, when it should seem larger. This phenomenon of a -river having more and more water as we ascend, is one that we cannot -get accustomed to. The Nile, having no affluents, loses, of course, -continually by evaporation by canals, and the constant drain on it for -irrigation. No wonder the Egyptians were moved by its mystery no less -than by its beneficence to a sort of worship of it. - -The rocks are changing their character; granite begins to appear amid -the limestone and sandstone. Along here, seven or eight miles below -Assouan, there is no vegetation in sight from the boat, except strips of -thrifty palm-trees, but there must be soil beyond, for the sakiyas are -always creaking. The character of the population is changed also; above -Kom Ombos it is mostly Nubian—who are to the Fellaheen as granite is to -sandstone. The Nubian hills lift up their pyramidal forms in the south, -and we seem to be getting into real Africa. - - - -0244 - - - -0245 - - - - -CHAPTER XIX.—PASSING THE CATARACT OF THE NILE. - -AT LAST, twenty-four days from Cairo, the Nubian hills are in sight, -lifting themselves up in the south, and we appear to be getting into the -real Africa—Africa, which still keeps its barbarous secret, and dribbles -down this commercial highway the Nile, as it has for thousands of years, -its gums and spices and drugs, its tusks and skins of wild animals, -its rude weapons and its cunning work in silver, its slave-boys and -slave-girls. These native boats that we meet, piled with strange and -fragrant merchandise, rowed by antic crews of Nubians whose ebony bodies -shine in the sun as they walk backward and forward at the long sweeps, -chanting a weird, barbarous refrain,—what tropical freights are these -for the imagination! - -At sunset we are in a lonesome place, the swift river flowing between -narrow rocky shores, the height beyond Assouan grey in the distance, -and vultures watching our passing boat from the high crumbling sandstone -ledges. The night falls sweet and cool, the soft new moon is remote in -the almost purple depths, the thickly strewn stars blaze like jewels, -and we work slowly on at the rate of a mile an hour, with the slightest -wind, amid the granite rocks of the channel. In this channel we are -in the shadow of the old historical seat of empire, the island of -Elephantine; and, turning into the narrow passage to the left, we -announce by a rocket to the dalabeehs moored at Assouan the arrival -of another inquisitive American. It is Sunday night. Our dragoman des -patches a messenger to the chief reïs of the cataract, who lives at -Philæ, five miles above. A second one is sent in the course of the -night; and a third meets the old patriarch on his way to our boat -at sunrise. It is necessary to impress the Oriental mind with the -importance of the travelers who have arrived at the gate of Nubia. - -The Nile voyager who moors his dahabeëh at the sandbank, with the fleet -of merchant boats, above Assouan, seems to be at the end of his journey. -Travelers from the days of Herodotus even to this century have followed -each other in saying that the roar of the cataract deafened the people -for miles around. Civilization has tamed the rapids. Now there is -neither sight nor sound of them here at Assouan. To the southward, the -granite walls which no doubt once dammed the river have been broken -through by some pre-historic convulsion that strewed the fragments about -in grotesque confusion. The island of Elephantine, originally a long -heap of granite, is thrown into the middle of the Nile, dividing it into -two narrow streams. The southern end rises from the water, a bold mass -of granite. Its surface is covered with ruins, or rather with the débris -of many civilizations; and into this mass and hills of brick, stone, -pottery and ashes, Nubian women and children may be seen constantly -poking, digging out coins, beads and images, to sell to the howadji. The -north portion of the island is green with wheat; and it supports two -or three mud-villages, which offer a good field for the tailor and the -missionary. - -The passage through the east channel, between Assouan and Elephantine, -is through walls of granite rocks; and southward at the end of it the -view is bounded by a field of broken granite gradually rising, and -apparently forbidding egress in that direction. If the traveler comes -for scenery, as some do, nothing could be wilder and at the same time -more beautiful than these fantastically piled crags; but considered as a -navigable highway the river here is a failure. - -Early in the morning the head sheykh of the cataract comes on board, and -the long confab which is preliminary to any undertaking, begins. There -are always as many difficulties in the way of a trade or an arrangement -as there are quills on a porcupine; and a great part of the Egyptian -bargaining is the preliminary plucking out of these quills. The -cataracts are the hereditary property of the Nubian sheykhs and their -tribes who live near them—belonging to them more completely than the -rapids of the St. Lawrence to the Indian pilots; almost their whole -livelihood comes from helping boats up and down the rapids, and their -harvest season is the winter when the dahabeëhs of the howadji require -their assistance. They magnify the difficulties and dangers and make a -mystery of their skill and knowledge. But, with true Orientalism, they -appear to seek rather to lessen than to increase their business. They -oppose intolerable delays to the traveler, keep him waiting at Assouan -by a thousand excuses, and do all they can to drive him discouraged down -the river. During this winter boats have been kept waiting two weeks -on one frivolous excuse or another—the day was unlucky, or the wind was -unfavorable, or some prince had the preference. Princes have been very -much in the way this winter; the fact would seem to be that European -princes are getting to run up the Nile in shoals, as plenty as shad in -the Connecticut, more being hatched at home than Europe has employment -for. - -Several thousand people, dwelling along the banks from Assouan to three -or four miles above Philæ, share in the profits of the passing boats; -and although the sheykhs, and head reises (or captains) of the cataract -get the elephant's share, every family receives something—it may be -only a piastre or two—on each dahabeëh; and the sheykhs draw from the -villages as many men as are required for each passage. It usually takes -two days for a boat to go up the cataract and not seldom they are kept -in it three or four days, and sometimes a week. The first day the boat -gets as far as the island of Séhayl, where it ties up and waits for -the cataract people to gather next morning. They may take it into their -heads not to gather, in which case the traveler can sun himself all day -on the rocks, or hunt up the inscriptions which the Pharaohs, on their -raids into Africa for slaves and other luxuries, cut in the granite in -their days of leisure three or four thousand years ago, before the world -got its present impetus of hurry. Or they may come and pull the boat -up a rapid or two, then declare they have not men enough for the final -struggle, and leave it for another night in the roaring desolation. To -put on force enough, and cables strong enough not to break, and promptly -drag the boat through in one day would lessen the money-value of the -achievement perhaps, in the mind of the owner of the boat. Nature has -done a great deal to make the First Cataract an obstacle to navigation, -but the wily Nubian could teach nature a lesson; at any rate he has -never relinquished the key to the gates. He owns the cataracts as the -Bedowees own the pyramids of Geezeh and the routes across the desert to -Sinai and Petra. - -The aged reïs comes on board; and the preliminary ceremonies, exchange -of compliments, religious and social, between him and our astute -dragoman begin. Coffee is made, the reïs's pipe is lighted, and the -conversation is directed slowly to the ascent of the cataracts. The head -reïs is accompanied by two or three others of inferior dignity and by -attendants who squat on the deck in attitudes of patient indifference. -The world was not made in a day. The reïs looks along the deck and says: -“This boat is very large; it is too long to go up the cataract.” There -is no denying it. The dahabeëh is larger than almost any other on the -river; it is one hundred and twenty feet long. The dragoman says: - -“But you took up General McClellan's boat, and that is large.” - -“Very true, Effendi; but why the howadji no come when Genel Clemen come, -ten days ago?” - -“We chose to come now.” - -“Such a long boat never went up. Why you no come two months ago when the -river was high?” This sort of talk goes on for half an hour. Then the -other sheykh speaks:—“What is the use of talking all this stuff to -Mohammed Abd-el-Atti Effendi; he knows all about it.” - -“That is true. We will go.” - -“Well, it is 'finish',” says Abd-el-Atti. - -When the long negotiation is concluded, the reïs is introduced into the -cabin to pay his respects to the howadji; he seats himself with dignity -and salutes the ladies with a watchful self-respect. The reïs is a -sedate Nubian, with finely cut features but a good many shades darker -than would be fellowshipped by the Sheltering Wings Association in -America, small feet, and small hands with long tapering fingers that -confess an aristocratic exemption from manual labor. He wears a black -gown, and a white turban; a camel's hair scarf distinguishes him from -the vulgar. This sheykh boasts I suppose as ancient blood as runs in any -aristocratic veins, counting his ancestors back in unbroken succession -to the days of the Prophet at least, and not improbably to Ishmael. That -he wears neither stockings nor slippers does not detract from his simple -dignity. Our conversation while he pays his visit is confined to the -smoking of a cigar and some well-meant grins and smiles of mutual good -feeling. - -While the morning hours pass, we have time to gather all the knowledge -of Assouan that one needs for the enjoyment of life in this world. It is -an ordinary Egyptian town of sunbaked brick, brown, dusty and unclean, -with shabby bazaars containing nothing, and full of importunate beggars -and insatiable traders in curiosities of the upper country. Importunate -venders beset the traveler as soon as he steps ashore, offering him all -manner of trinkets which he is eager to purchase and doesn't know what -to do with when he gets them. There are crooked, odd-shaped knives and -daggers, in ornamental sheaths of crocodile skin, and savage spears with -great round hippopotamus shields from Kartoom or Abyssinia; jagged -iron spears and lances and ebony clubs from Darfoor; cunning Nubian -silver-work, bracelets and great rings that have been worn by desert -camel-drivers; moth-eaten ostrich feathers; bows and arrows tipped -with flint from the Soudan, necklaces of glass and dirty leather charms -(containing words from the Koran); broad bracelets and anklets cut out -of big tusks of elephants and traced in black, rude swords that it needs -two hands to swing; bracelets of twisted silver cord and solid silver as -well; earrings so large that they need to be hitched to a strand of the -hair for support; nose-rings of brass and silver and gold, as large -as the earrings; and “Nubian costumes” for women—a string with leather -fringe depending to tie about the loins—suggestions of a tropical life -under the old dispensation. - -The beach, crowded with trading vessels and piled up with merchandise, -presents a lively picture. There are piles of Manchester cotton and -boxes of English brandy—to warm outwardly and inwardly the natives of -the Soudan—which are being loaded, for transport above the rapids, upon -kneeling dromedaries which protest against the load in that most vulgar -guttural of all animal sounds, more uncouth and less musical than the -agonized bray of the donkey—a sort of grating menagerie-grumble which -has neither the pathos of the sheep's bleat nor the dignity of the -lion's growl; and bales of cinnamon and senna and ivory to go down -the river. The wild Bisharee Arab attends his dromedaries; he has a -clear-cut and rather delicate face, is bareheaded, wears his black hair -in ringlets long upon his shoulders, and has for all dress a long strip -of brown cotton cloth twisted about his body and his loins, leaving his -legs and his right arm free. There are the fat, sleek Greek merchant, -in sumptuous white Oriental costume, lounging amid his merchandise; the -Syrian in gay apparel, with pistols in his shawl-belt, preparing for his -journey to Kartoom; and the black Nubian sailors asleep on the sand. -To add a little color to the picture, a Ghawazee, or dancing-girl, in -striped flaming gown and red slippers, dark but comely, covered with -gold or silver-gilt necklaces and bracelets, is walking about the shore, -seeking whom she may devour. - -At twelve o'clock we are ready to push off. The wind is strong from the -north. The cataract men swarm on board, two or three Sheykhs and thirty -or forty men. They take command and possession of the vessel, and our -reïs and crew give way. We have carefully closed the windows and blinds -of our boat, for the cataract men are reputed to have long arms and -fingers that crook easily. The Nubians run about like cats; four are at -the helm, some are on the bow, all are talking and giving orders; there -is an indescribable bustle and whirl as our boat is shoved off from -the sand, with the chorus of “Hâ! Yâlêsah. Hâ! Yâlêsah!” and takes the -current. The great sail, shaped like a bird's wing, and a hundred feet -long, is shaken out forward, and we pass swiftly on our way between the -granite walls. The excited howadji are on deck feeling to their finger -ends the thrill of expectancy. - -* Yalesah (I spell the name according the sound of the pronunciation) -was, some say, one of the sons of Noah who was absent at the time the -ark sailed, having gone down into Abyssinia. They pushed the ark in -pursuit of him, and Noah called after his son, as the crew poled along, -“Ha! Yalesah!” And still the Nile boatmen call Yalesah to come, as they -push the poles and haul the sail, and urge the boat toward Abyssinia. -Very likely “Ha! Yale-sah” (as I catch it) is only a corruption of -“Halee!'.esà Seyyidnà Eesà” is the Moslem name for “Our Lord Jesus.” - - -The first thing the Nubians want is something to eat—a chronic complaint -here in this land of romance. Squatting in circles all over the boat -they dip their hands into the bowls of softened bread, cramming the -food down their throats, and swallow all the coffee that can be made for -them, with the gusto and appetite of simple men who have a stomach and -no conscience. - -While the Nubians are chattering and eating, we are gliding up the swift -stream, the granite rocks opening a passage for us; but at the end of it -our way seems to be barred. The only visible opening is on the extreme -left, where a small stream struggles through the boulders. While we -are wondering if that can be our course, the helm is suddenly put hard -about, and we then shoot to the right, finding our way, amid whirlpools -and boulders of granite, past the head of Elephantine island; and before -we have recovered from this surprise we turn sharply to the left into a -narrow passage, and the cataract is before us. - -It is not at all what we have expected. In appearence this is a cataract -without any falls and scarcely any rapids. A person brought up on -Niagara or Montmorency feels himself trifled with here. The fishermen -in the mountain streams of America has come upon many a scene that -resembles this—a river-bed strewn with boulders. Only, this is on a -grand scale. We had been led to expect at least high precipices, walls -of lofty rock, between which we should sail in the midst of raging -rapids and falls; and that there would be hundreds of savages on the -rocks above dragging our boat with cables, and occasionally plunging -into the torrent in order to carry a life-line to the top of some -seagirt rock. All of this we did not see; but yet we have more respect -for the cataract before we get through it than when it first came in -sight. - -What we see immediately before us is a basin, it may be a quarter of a -mile, it may be half a mile broad, and two miles long; a wild expanse -of broken granite rocks and boulders strewn hap-hazard, some of them -showing the red of the syenite and others black and polished and shining -in the sun; a field of rocks, none of them high, of fantastic shapes; -and through this field the river breaks in a hundred twisting passages -and chutes, all apparently small, but the water in them is foaming and -leaping and flashing white; and the air begins to be pervaded by the -multitudinous roar of rapids. On the east, the side of the land-passage -between Assouan and Philæ, were high and jagged rocks in odd forms, now -and then a palm-tree, and here and there a mud-village. On the west the -basin of the cataract is hemmed in by the desert hills, and the yellow -Libyan sand drifts over them in shining waves and rifts, which in some -lights have the almost maroon color that we see in Gerome's pictures. -To the south is an impassable barrier of granite and sand—mountains of -them—beyond the glistening fields of rocks and water through which we -are to find our way. - -The difficulty of this navigation is not one cataract to be overcome -by one heroic effort, but a hundred little cataracts or swift tortuous -sluiceways, which are much more formidable when we get into them than -they are when seen at a distance. The dahabeëhs which attempt to wind -through them are in constant danger of having holes knocked in their -hulls by the rocks. - -The wind is strong, and we are sailing swiftly on. It is im possible to -tell which one of the half-dozen equally uninviting channels we are to -take. We guess, and of course point out the wrong one. We approach, with -sails still set, a narrow passage through which the water pours in what -is a very respectable torrent; but it is not a straight passage, it has -a bend in it; if we get through it, we must make a sharp turn to the -left or run upon a ridge of rocks, and even then we shall be in a -boiling surge; and if we fail to make head against the current we shall -go whirling down the caldron, bumping on the rocks—not a pleasant thing -for a dahabeëh one hundred and twenty feet long with a cabin in it as -large as a hotel. The passage of a boat of this size is evidently an -event of some interest to the cataract people, for we see groups of them -watching us from the rocks, and following along the shore. And we think -that seeing our boat go up from the shore might be the best way of -seeing it. - -We draw slowly in, the boat trembling at the entrance of the swift -water; it enters, nosing the current, feeling the tug of the sail, and -hesitates. Oh, for a strong puff of wind! There are five watchful men at -the helm; there is a moment's silence, and the boat still hesitates. At -this critical instant, while we hold our breath, a naked man, whose name -I am sorry I cannot give to an admiring American public, appears on the -bow with a rope in his teeth; he plunges in and makes for the nearest -rock. He swims hand over hand, swinging his arms from the shoulders -out of water and striking them forward splashing along like a -sidewheeler—the common way of swimming in the heavy water of the Nile. -Two other black figures follow him and the rope is made fast to the -point of the rock. We have something to hold us against the stream. - -And now a terrible tumult arises on board the boat which is seen to be -covered with men; one gang is hauling on the rope to draw the great sail -close to its work; another gang is hauling on the rope attached to the -rock, and both are singing that wild chanting chorus without which no -Egyptian sailors pull an ounce or lift a pound; the men who are not -pulling are shouting and giving orders; the Sheykhs, on the upper deck -where we sit with American serenity exaggerated amid the Babel, -are jumping up and down in a frenzy of excitement, screaming and -gesticulating. We hold our own; we gain a little; we pull forward where -the danger of a smash against the rocks is increased. More men appear -on the rocks, whom we take to be spectators of our passage. No; they lay -hold of the rope. With the additional help we still tremble in the jaws -of the pass. I walk aft, and the stern is almost upon the rocks; it -grazes them; but in the nick of time the bow swings round, we turn short -off into an eddy; the great wing of a sail is let go, and our cat-like -sailors are aloft, crawling along the slender yard, which is a hundred -feet in length, and furling the tugging canvas. We breathe more freely, -for the first danger is over. The first gate is passed. - -In this lull there is a confab with the Sheykhs. We are at the island of -Sehâyl, and have accomplished what is usually the first day's journey of -boats. It would be in harmony with the Oriental habit to stop here for -the remainder of the day and the night. But our dragoman has in mind -to accomplish, if not the impossible, what is synonymous with it in the -East, the unusual. The result of the inflammatory stump-speeches on both -sides is that two or three gold pieces are passed into the pliant hand -of the head Sheykh, and he sends for another Sheykh and more men. - -For some time we have been attended by increasing processions of men and -boys on shore; they cheered us as we passed the first rapid; they came -out from the villages, from the crevices of the rocks, their blue and -white gowns flowing in the wind, and make a sort of holiday of our -passage. Less conspicuous at first are those without gowns—they are -hardly distinguishable from the black rocks amid which they move. As we -lie here, with the rising roar of the rapids in our ears, we can see no -further opening for our passage. - -But we are preparing to go on. Ropes are carried out forward over the -rocks. More men appear, to aid us. We said there were fifty. We count -seventy; we count eighty; there are at least ninety. They come up by -a sort of magic. From whence are they, these black forms: They seem to -grow out of the rocks at the wave of the Sheykh's hand; they are of the -same color, shining men of granite. The swimmers and divers are simply -smooth statues hewn out of the syenite or the basalt. They are not -unbaked clay like the rest of us. One expects to see them disappear like -stones when they jump into the water. The mode of our navigation is to -draw the boat along, hugged close to the shore rocks, so closely that -the current cannot get full hold of it, and thus to work it round the -bends. - -We are crawling slowly on in this manner, clinging to the rocks, when -unexpectedly a passage opens to the left. The water before us runs like -a mill-race. If we enter it, nothing would seem to be able to hold the -boat from dashing down amidst the breakers. But the bow is hardly let to -feel the current before it is pulled short round, and we are swinging -in the swift stream. Before we know it we are in the anxiety of another -tug. Suppose the rope should break! In an instant the black swimmers -are overboard striking out for the rocks; two ropes are sent out, and -secured; and, the gangs hauling on them, we are working inch by inch -through, everybody on board trembling with excitement. We look at our -watches; it seems only fifteen minutes since we left Assouan; it is an -hour and a quarter. Do we gain in the chute? It is difficult to say; -the boat hangs back and strains at the cables; but just as we are in the -pinch of doubt, the big sail unfurls its wing with exciting suddenness, -a strong gust catches it, we feel the lift, and creep upward, amid an -infernal din of singing and shouting and calling on the Prophet from the -gangs who haul in the sail-rope, who tug at the cables attached to the -rocks, who are pulling at the hawsers on the shore. We forge ahead and -are about to dash into a boiling caldron before us, from which there -appears to be no escape, when a skillful turn of the great creaking helm -once more throws us to the left, and we are again in an eddy with the -stream whirling by us, and the sail is let go and is furled. - -The place where we lie is barely long enough to admit our boat; its -stern just clears the rocks, its bow is aground on hard sand. The number -of men and boys on the rocks has increased; it is over one hundred, it -is one hundred and thirty; on a re-count it is one hundred and fifty. -An anchor is now carried out to hold us in position when we make a new -start; more ropes are taken to the shore, two hitched to the bow and one -to the stern. Straight before us is a narrow passage through which the -water comes in foaming ridges with extraordinary rapidity. It seems to -be our way; but of course it is not. We are to turn the corner sharply, -before reaching it; what will happen then we shall see. - -There is a slight lull in the excitement, while the extra hawsers are -got out and preparations are made for the next struggle. The sheykhs -light their long pipes, and squatting on deck gravely wait. The men who -have tobacco roll up cigarettes and smoke them. The swimmers come on -board for reinforcement. The poor fellows are shivering as if they had -an ague fit. The Nile may be friendly, though it does not offer a warm -bath at this time of the year, but when they come out of it naked on -the rocks the cold north wind sets their white teeth chartering. The -dragoman brings out a bottle of brandy. It is none of your ordinary -brandy, but must have cost over a dollar a gallon, and would burn a hole -in a new piece of cotton cloth. He pours out a tumblerful of it, and -offers it to one of the granite men. The granite man pours it down his -throat in one flow, without moving an eye-winker, and holds the glass -out for another. His throat must be lined with zinc. A second tumblerful -follows the first. It is like pouring liquor into a brazen image. - -I said there was a lull, but this is only in contrast to the preceding -fury. There is still noise enough, over and above the roar of the -waters, in the preparations going forward, the din of a hundred people -screaming together, each one giving orders, and elaborating his opinion -by a rhetorical use of his hands. The waiting crowd scattered over the -rocks disposes itself picturesquely, as an Arab crowd always does, -and probably cannot help doing, in its blue and white gowns and white -turbans. In the midst of these preparations, and unmindful of any -excitement or contusion, a Sheykh, standing upon a little square of sand -amid the rocks, and so close to the deck of the boat that we can hear -his “Allâhoo Akbar” (God is most Great), begins his kneelings and -prostrations towards Mecca, and continues at his prayers, as undisturbed -and as unregarded as if he were in a mosque, and wholly oblivious of -the babel around him. So common has religion become in this land of its -origin! Here is a half-clad Sheykh of the desert stopping, in the -midst of his contract to take the howadji up the cataract, to raise his -forefinger and say, “I testify that there is no deity but God; and I -testify that Mohammed is his servant and his apostle.” - -Judging by the eye, the double turn we have next to make is too short -to admit our long hull. It does not seem possible that we can squeeze -through; but we try. We first swing out and take the current as if we -were going straight up the rapids. We are held by two ropes from the -stern, while by four ropes from the bow, three on the left shore and one -on an islet to the right, the cataract people are tugging to draw us up. -As we watch almost breathless the strain on the ropes, look! there is a -man in the tumultuous rapid before us swiftly coming down as if to his -destruction. Another one follows, and then another, till there are half -a dozen men and boys in this jeopardy, this situation of certain death -to anybody not made of cork. And the singular thing about it is that the -men are seated upright, sliding down the shining water like a boy, who -has no respect for his trowsers, down a snow-bank. As they dash past us, -we see that each man is seated on a round log about five feet long; some -of them sit upright with their legs on the log, displaying the soles of -their feet, keeping the equilibrium with their hands. These are smooth -slimy logs that a white man would find it difficult to sit on if they -were on shore, and in this water they would turn with him only once—the -log would go one way and the man another. But these fellows are in -no fear of the rocks below; they easily guide their barks out of the -rushing floods, through the whirlpools and eddies, into the slack -shore-water in the rear of the boat, and stand up like men and demand -backsheesh. These logs are popular ferry-boats in the Upper Nile; I have -seen a woman crossing the river on one, her clothes in a basket and the -basket on her head—and the Nile is nowhere an easy stream to swim. - -Far ahead of us the cataract people are seen in lines and groups, -half-hidden by the rocks, pulling and stumbling along; black figures are -scattered along lifting the ropes over the jagged stones, and freeing -them so that we shall not be drawn back, as we slowly advance; and -severe as their toil is, it is not enough to keep them warm when the -chilly wind strikes them. They get bruised on the rocks also, and have -time to show us their barked shins and request backsheesh. An Egyptian -is never too busy or too much in peril to forget to prefer that request -at the sight of a traveler. When we turn into the double twist I spoke -of above, the bow goes sideways upon a rock, and the stern is not yet -free. The punt-poles are brought into requisition; half the men are in -the water; there is poling and pushing and grunting, heaving, and -“Yah Mohammed, Yah Mohammed” with all which noise and outlay of brute -strength, the boat moves a little on and still is held close in hand. -The current runs very swiftly We have to turn almost by a right angle -to the left and then by the same angle to the right; and the question -is whether the boat is not too long to turn in the space. We just scrape -along the rocks, the current growing every moment stronger, and at -length get far enough to let the stern swing. I run back to see if it -will go free. It is a close fit. The stern is clear; but if our boat -had been four or five feet longer, her voyage would have ended then -and there. There is now before us a straight pull up the swiftest and -narrowest rapid we have thus far encountered. - -Our sandal—the row-boat belonging to the dahabeëh, that becomes a -felucca when a mast is stepped into it—which has accompanied us fitfully -during the passage, appearing here and there tossing about amid the -rocks, and aiding occasionally in the transport of ropes and men to one -rock and another, now turns away to seek a less difficult passage. The -rocks all about us are low, from three feet to ten feet high. We have -one rope out ahead, fastened to a rock, upon which stand a gang of men, -pulling. There is a row of men in the water under the left side of the -boat, heaving at her with their broad backs, to prevent her smashing on -the rocks. But our main dragging force is in the two long lines of men -attached to the ropes on the left shore. They stretch out ahead of us -so far that it needs an opera-glass to discover whether the leaders are -pulling or only soldiering. These two long struggling lines are led and -directed by a new figure who appears upon this operatic scene. It is a -comical Sheykh, who stands upon a high rock at one side and lines out -the catch-lines of a working refrain, while the gangs howl and haul, -in a surging chorus. Nothing could be wilder or more ludicrous, in the -midst of this roar of rapids and strain of cordage. The Sheykh holds a -long staff which he swings like the baton of the leader of an orchestra, -quite unconscious of the odd figure he cuts against the blue sky. He -grows more and more excited, he swings his arms, he shrieks, but always -in tune and in time with the hauling and the wilder chorus of the -cataract men, he lifts up his right leg, he lifts up his left leg, he -is in the very ecstasy of the musical conductor, displaying his white -teeth, and raising first one leg and then the other in a delirious -swinging motion, all the more picturesque on account of his flowing -blue robe and his loose white cotton drawers. He lifts his leg with a -gigantic pull, which is enough in itself to draw the boat onward, and -every time he lifts it, the boat gains on the current. Surely such an -orchestra and such a leader was never seen before. For the orchestra is -scattered over half an acre of ground, swaying and pulling and singing -in rhythmic show, and there is a high wind and a blue sky, and rocks and -foaming torrents, and an African village with palms in the background, -amid the debris of the great convulsion of nature which has resulted -in this chaos. Slowly we creep up against the stiff boiling stream, -the good Moslems on deck muttering prayers and telling their beads, and -finally make the turn and pass the worst eddies; and as we swing round -into an ox-bow channel to the right, the big sail is again let out and -hauled in, and with cheers we float on some rods and come into a quiet -shelter, a stage beyond the journey usually made the first day. It is -now three o'clock. - -We have come to the real cataract, to the stiffest pull and the most -dangerous passage. - -A small freight dahabeëh obstructs the way, and while this is being -hauled ahead, we prepare for the final struggle. The chief cataract is -called Bab (gate) Aboo Rabbia, from one of Mohammed Ali's captains who -some years ago vowed that he would take his dahabeëh up it with his own -crew and without aid from the cataract people. He lost his boat. It is -also sometimes called Bab Inglese from a young Englishman, named Cave, -who attempted to swim down it early one morning, in imitation of the -Nubian swimmers, and was drawn into the whirlpools, and not found for -days after. For this last struggle, in addition to the other ropes, an -enormous cable is bent on, not tied to the bow, but twisted round the -cross-beams of the forward deck, and carried out over the rocks. From -the shelter where we lie we are to push out and take the current at a -sharp angle. The water of this main cataract sucks down from both sides -above through a channel perhaps one hundred feet wide, very rapid and -with considerable fall, and with such force as to raise a ridge in the -middle. To pull up this hill of water is the tug; if the ropes let go -we shall be dashed into a hundred pieces on the rocks below and be -swallowed in the whirlpools. It would not be a sufficient compensation -for this fate to have this rapid hereafter take our name. - -The preparations are leisurely made, the lines are laid along the rocks -and the men are distributed. The fastenings are carefully examined. -Then we begin to move. There are now four conductors of this gigantic -orchestra (the employment of which as a musical novelty I respectfully -recommend to the next Boston Jubilee), each posted on a high rock, and -waving a stick with a white rag tied to it. It is now four o'clock. An -hour has been consumed in raising the curtain for the last act. We are -now carefully under way along the rocks which are almost within reach, -held tight by the side ropes, but pushed off and slowly urged along by a -line of half-naked fellows under the left side, whose backs are against -the boat and whose feet walk along the perpendicular ledge. It would -take only a sag of the boat, apparently, to crush them. It does not need -our eyes to tell us when the bow of the boat noses the swift water. Our -sandal has meantime carried a line to a rock on the opposite side of the -channel, and our sailors haul on this and draw us ahead. But we are held -firmly by the shore lines. The boat is never suffered, as I said, to get -an inch the advantage, but is always held tight in hand. - -As we appear at the foot of the rapid, men come riding down it on logs -as before, a sort of horseback feat in the boiling water, steering -themselves round the eddies and landing below us. One of them swims -round to the rock where a line is tied, and looses it as we pass; -another, sitting on the slippery stick and showing the white soles of -his black feet, paddles himself about amid the whirlpools. We move so -slowly that we have time to enjoy all these details, to admire the deep -yellow of the Libyan sand drifted over the rocks at the right, and -to cheer a sandal bearing the American flag which is at this moment -shooting the rapids in another channel beyond us, tossed about like a -cork. We see the meteor flag flashing out, we lose it behind the -rocks, and catch it again appearing below. “Oh star spang”—but our own -orchestra is in full swing again. The comical Sheykh begins to swing his -arms and his stick back and forth in an increasing measure, until his -whole body is drawn into the vortex of his enthusiasm, and one leg after -the other, by a sort of rhythmic hitch, goes up displaying the white -and baggy cotton drawers. The other three conductors join in, and a -deafening chorus from two hundred men goes up along the ropes, while -we creep slowly on amid the suppressed excitement of those on board -who anxiously watch the straining cables, and with a running fire of -“backsheesh, backsheesh,” from the boys on the rocks close at hand. The -cable holds; the boat nags and jerks at it in vain; through all the -roar and rush we go on, lifted I think perceptibly every time the sheykh -lifts his leg. - -At the right moment the sail is again shaken down; and the boat at once -feels it. It is worth five hundred men. The ropes slacken; we are going -by the wind against the current; haste is made to unbend the cable; line -after line is let go until we are held by one alone; the crowd thins -out, dropping away with no warning and before we know that the play is -played out, the cataract people have lost all interest in it and are -scattering over the black rocks to their homes. A few stop to cheer; -the chief conductor is last seen on a rock, swinging the white rag, -hurrahing and salaaming in grinning exultation; the last line is cast -off, and we round the point and come into smooth but swift water, and -glide into a calm mind. The noise, the struggle, the tense strain, the -uproar of men and waves for four hours are all behind; and hours of -keener excitement and enjoyment we have rarely known. At 12.20 we -left Assouan; at 4.45 we swung round the rocky bend above the last and -greatest rapid. I write these figures, for they will be not without a -melancholy interest to those who have spent two or three days or a week -in making this passage. - -Turning away from the ragged mountains of granite which obstruct the -straight course of the river, we sail by Mahatta, a little village of -Nubians, a port where the trading and freight boats plying between the -First and Second Cataract load and unload. There is a forest of masts -and spars along the shore which is piled with merchandise, and dotted -with sunlit figures squatting in the sand as if waiting for the goods -to tranship themselves. With the sunlight slanting on our full sail, we -glide into the shadow of high rocks, and enter, with the suddenness of a -first discovery, into a deep winding river, the waters of which are dark -and smooth, between lofty walls of granite. These historic masses, which -have seen pass so many splendid processions and boastful expeditions -of conquest in what seems to us the twilight of the world, and which -excited the wonder of Father Herodotus only the other day, almost in -our own time (for the Greeks belong to us and not to antiquity as it now -unfolds itself), are piled in strange shapes, tottling rock upon rock, -built up grotesquely, now in likeness of an animal, or the gigantic -profile of a human face, or temple walls and castle towers and -battlements. We wind through this solemn highway, and suddenly, in the -very gateway, Philæ! The lovely! Philæ, the most sentimental ruin -in Egypt. There are the great pylon of the temple of Isis, the long -colonnades of pillars, the beautiful square temple, with lofty columns -and elongated capitals, misnamed Pharaoh's bed. The little oblong -island, something like twelve hundred feet long, banded all round by an -artificial wall, an island of rock completely covered with ruins, is set -like the stone of a ring, with a circle of blue water about it, in the -clasp of higher encircling granite peaks and ledges. On the left bank, -as we turn to pass to the east of the island, is a gigantic rock which -some persons have imagined was a colossus once, perhaps in pre-Adamic -times, but which now has no resemblance to human shape, except in a -breast and left arm. Some Pharaoh cut his cartouche on the back—a sort -of postage-stamp to pass the image along down the ages. The Pharaohs -were ostentatious; they cut their names wherever they could find a -conspicuous and smooth place. - -While we are looking, distracted with novelty at every turn and excited -by a grandeur and loveliness opening upon us every moment, we have come -into a quiet haven, shut in on all sides by broken ramparts,—alone with -this island of temples. The sun is about to set, and its level light -comes to us through the columns, and still gilds with red and yellow -gold the Libyan sand sifted over the cliffs. We moor at once to a -sand-bank which has formed under the broken walls, and at once step on -shore. We climb to the top of the temple walls; we walk on the stone -roof; we glance into the temple on the roof, where is sculptured the -resurrection of Osiris. This cannot be called an old temple. It is -a creation of the Ptolemies, though it doubtless replaced an older -edifice. The temple of Isis was not begun more than three centuries -before our era. Not all of these structures were finished—the priests -must have been still carving on their walls these multitudes of -sculptures, when Christ began his mission; and more than four centuries -after that the mysterious rites of Isis were still celebrated in these -dark chambers. It is silent and dead enough here now; and there lives -nowhere upon the earth any man who can even conceive the state of -mind that gave those rites vitality. Even Egypt has changed its -superstitions. - -Peace has come upon the earth after the strain of the last few hours. We -can scarcely hear the roar of the rapids, in the beating of which we had -been. The sun goes, leaving a changing yellow and faint orange on the -horizon. Above in the west is the crescent moon; and now all the sky -thereabout is rosy, even to the zenith, a delicate and yet deep color, -like that of the blush-rose—a transparent color that glows. A little -later we see from our boat the young moon through the columns of the -lesser temple. The January night is clear and perfectly dry; no dew -is falling—no dew ever falls here—and the multiplied stars burn with -uncommon lustre. When everything else is still, we hear the roar of the -rapids coming steadily on the night breeze, sighing through the old and -yet modern palace-temples of the parvenu Ptolemies, and of Cleopatra—a -new race of conquerors and pleasure-hunters, who in vain copied the -magnificent works of the ancient Pharaohs. - -Here on a pylon gate, General Dessaix has recorded the fact that -in February (Ventose) in the seventh year of the Republic, General -Bonaparte being then in possession of Lower Egypt he pursued to this -spot the retreating Memlooks. Egyptian kings, Ethiopian usurpers, -Persians, Greeks, Romans, Nectanebo, Cambyses, Ptolemy, Philadelphus, -Cleopatra and her Roman lovers, Dessaix,—these are all shades now. - - - -0264 - - - -0265 - - - - -CHAPTER XX.—ON THE BORDERS OF THE DESERT. - -IN PASSING the First Cataract of the Nile we pass an ancient boundary -line; we go from the Egypt of old to the Ethiopia of old; we go from -the Egypt proper of to-day, into Nubia. We find a different country, a -different river; the people are of another race; they have a different -language. We have left the mild, lazy, gentle fellaheen—a mixed lot, but -in general of Arabic blood—and come to Barâbra, whose district extends -from Philæ to the Second Cataract, a freer, manlier, sturdier people -altogether. There are two tribes of them, the Kendos and the Nooba; each -has its own language. - -Philæ was always the real boundary line, though the Pharaohs pushed -their frontier now and again, down towards the Equator, and built -temples and set up their images, as at Aboo Simbel, as at Samneh, and -raked the south land for slaves and ivory, concubines and gold. But the -Ethiopians turned the tables now and again, and conquered Egypt, and -reigned in the palaces of the Pharaohs, taking that title even, and -making their names dreaded as far as Judea and Assyria. - -The Ethiopians were cousins indeed of the old Egyptians, and of the -Canaanites, for they were descendants of Cush, as the Egyptians were of -Mizriam, and the Canaanites were of Canaan; three of the sons of Ham. -The Cushites, or Ethiops, although so much withdrawn from the theater -of history, have done their share of fighting—the main business of man -hitherto. Besides quarrels with their own brethren, they had often the -attentions of the two chief descendants of Shem,—the Jews and the Arabs; -and after Mohammed's coming, the Arabs descended into Nubia and forced -the inhabitants into their religion at the point of the sword. Even -the sons of Japhet must have their crack at these children of the -“Sun-burned.” It was a Roman prefect who, to avenge an attack on Svene -by a warlike woman, penetrated as far south as El Berkel (of the present -day), and overthrew Candace the Queen of the Ethiopians in Napata, her -capital; the large city, also called Meroë, of which Herodotus heard -such wonders. - -Beyond Ethiopia lies the vast, black cloud of Negroland. These negroes, -with the crisp, woolly hair, did not descend from anybody, according to -the last reports; neither from Shem, Ham nor Japhet. They have no part -in the royal house of Noah. They are left out in the heat. They are -the puzzle of ethnologists, the mystery of mankind. They are the real -aristocracy of the world, their origin being lost in the twilight of -time; no one else can trace his descent so far back and come to nothing. -M. Lenormant says the black races have no tradition of the Deluge. -They appear to have been passed over altogether, then. Where were they -hidden? When we first know Central Africa they are there. Where did -they come from? The great effort of ethnologists is to get them dry-shod -round the Deluge, since derivation from Noah is denied them. History -has no information how they came into Africa. It seems to me that, in -history, whenever we hear of the occupation of a new land, there is -found in it a primitive race, to be driven out or subdued. The country -of the primitive negro is the only one that has never invited the -occupation of a more powerful race. But the negro blood, by means of -slavery, has been extensively distributed throughout the Eastern world. - -These reflections did not occur to us the morning we left Philæ. It was -too early. In fact, the sun was just gilding “Pharaoh's bed,” as the -beautiful little Ptolemaic temple is called, when we spread sail and, in -the shadow of the broken crags and savage rocks, began to glide out of -the jaws of this wild pass. At early morning everything has the air of -adventure. It was as if we were discoverers, about to come into a new -African kingdom at each turn in the swift stream. - -One must see, he carnot imagine, the havoc and destruction hereabout, -the grotesque and gigantic fragments of rock, the islands of rock, the -precipices of rock, made by the torrent when it broke through here. One -of these islands is Biggeh—all rocks, not enough soft spot on it to set -a hen. The rocks are piled up into the blue sky; from their summit we -get the best view of Philæ—the jewel set in this rim of stone. - -Above Philæ we pass the tomb of a holy man, high on the hill, and -underneath it, clinging to the slope, the oldest mosque in Nubia, the -Mosque of Belal, falling now into ruin, but the minaret shows in color -no sign of great age. How should it in this climate, where you might -leave a pair of white gloves upon the rocks for a year, and expect to -find them unsoiled. - -“How old do you suppose that mosque is Abd-el-Atti?” - -“I tink about twelve hundred years old. Him been built by the Friends of -our prophet when they come up here to make the people believe.” - -I like this euphuism. “But,” we ask, “suppose they didn't believe, what -then?” - -“When thim believe, all right; when thim not believe, do away wid 'em.” - -“But they might believe something else, if not what Mohammed believed.” - -“Well, what our Prophet say? Mohammed, he say, find him anybody believe -in God, not to touch him; find him anybody believe in the Christ, not to -touch him; find him anybody believe in Moses, not to touch him; find him -believe in the prophets, not to touch him; find him believe in bit wood, -piece stone, do way wid him. Not so? Men worship something wood, stone, -I can't tell—I tink dis is nothing.” - -Abd-el-Atti always says the “Friends” of Mohammed, never followers or -disciples. It is a pleasant word, and reminds us of our native land. -Mohammed had the good sense that our politicians have. When he wanted -anything, a city taken, a new strip of territory added, a “third term,” -or any trifle, he “put himself in the hands of his friends.” - -The Friends were successful in this region. While the remote Abyssinians -retained Christianity, the Nubians all became Moslems, and so remain to -this day. - -“You think, then, Abd-el-Atti, that the Nubians believed?” - -“Thim 'bliged. But I tink these fellows, all of 'em, Musselmens as far -as the throat; it don't go lower down.” - -The story is that this mosque was built by one of Mohammed's captains -after the great battle here with the Infidels—the Nubians. Those -who fell in the fight, it is also only tradition, were buried in the -cemetery near Assouan, and they are martyrs: to this day the Moslems who -pass that way take off their slippers and shoes. - -After the battle, as the corpses of the slain lay in indistinguishable -heaps, it was impossible to tell who were martyrs and who were -unbelievers. Mohammed therefore ordered that they should bury as Moslems -all those who had large feet, and pleasant faces, with the mark -of prayer on the forehead. The bodies of the others were burned as -infidels. - -As we sweep along, the mountains are still high on either side, and the -strips of verdure are very slight. On the east bank, great patches of -yellow sand, yellow as gold, and yet reddish in some lights, catch the -sun. - -I think it is the finest morning I ever saw, for clearness and dryness. -The thermometer indicates only 60°, and yet it is not too cool. The air -is like wine. The sky is absolutely cloudless, and of wonderful clarity. -Here is a perfectly pure and sweet atmosphere. After a little, the wind -freshens, and it is somewhat cold on deck, but the sky is like sapphire; -let the wind blow for a month, it will raise no cloud, nor any film of -it. - -Everything is wanting in Nubia that would contribute to the discomfort -of a winter residence:— - -It never rains; - -There is never any dew above Philæ; - -There are no flies; - -There are no fleas; - -There are no bugs, nor any insects whatever. - -The attempt to introduce fleas into Nubia by means of dahabeëhs has been -a failure. - -In fact there is very little animal life; scarcely any birds are seen; -fowls of all sorts are rare. There are gazelles, however, and desert -hares, and chameleons. Our chameleons nearly starved for want of flies. -There are big crocodiles and large lizards. - -In a bend a few miles above Philæ is a whirlpool called Shaymtel Wah, -from which is supposed to be a channel communicating under the mountain -to the Great Oasis one hundred miles distant. The popular belief in -these subterranean communications is very common throughout the East. -The holy well, Zem-Zem, at Mecca, has a connection with a spring at El -Gebel in Syria. I suppose that is perfectly well known. Abd-el-Atti has -tasted the waters of both; and they are exactly alike; besides, did he -not know of a pilgrim who lost his drinking-cup in Zem-Zem and recovered -it in El Gebel. - -This Nubia is to be sure but a river with a colored border, but I -should like to make it seem real to you and not a mere country of -the imagination. People find room to live here; life goes on after a -fashion, and every mile there are evidences of a mighty civilization and -a great power which left its record in gigantic works. There was a time, -before the barriers broke away at Silsilis, when this land was inundated -by the annual rise; the Nile may have perpetually expanded above here -into a lake, as Herodotus reports. - -We sail between low ridges of rocky hills, with narrow banks of -green and a few palms, but occasionally there is a village of square -mud-houses. At Gertassee, boldly standing out on a rocky platform, are -some beautiful columns, the remains of a temple built in the Roman time. -The wind is strong and rather colder with the turn of noon; the nearer -we come to the tropics the colder it becomes. The explanation is that -we get nothing but desert winds; and the desert is cool at this season; -that is, it breeds at night cool air, although one does not complain of -its frigidity who walks over it at midday. - -After passing Tafa, a pretty-looking village in the palms, which boasts -ruins both pagan and Christian, we come to rapids and scenery almost as -wild and lovely as that at Philæ. The river narrows, there are granite -rocks and black boulders in the stream; we sail for a couple of miles -in swift and deep water, between high cliffs, and by lofty rocky -islands—not without leafage and some cultivation, and through a series -of rapids, not difficult but lively. And so we go cheerily on, through -savage nature and gaunt ruins of forgotten history; past Kalâbshe, where -are remains of the largest temple in Nubia; past Bayt el Wellee—“the -house of the saint”—where Rameses II. hewed a beautiful temple out of -the rock; past Gerf Hossdyn, where Rameses II. hewed a still larger -temple out of the rock and covered it with his achievements, pictures -in which he appears twelve feet high, and slaying small enemies as a -husbandman threshes wheat with a flail. I should like to see an ancient -stone wall in Egypt, where this Barnum of antiquity wasn't advertising -himself. - -We leave him flailing the unfortunate; at eight in the evening we are -still going on, first by the light of the crescent moon, and then by -starlight, which is like a pale moonlight, so many and lustrous are the -stars; and last, about eleven o'clock we go aground, and stop a little -below Dakkeh, or seventy-one miles from Philæ, that being our modest run -for the day. - -Dakkeh, by daylight, reveals itself as a small mud-village attached to a -large temple. You would not expect to find a temple here, but its great -pylon looms over the town and it is worth at least a visit. To see such -a structure in America we would travel a thousand miles; the traveler on -the Nile debates whether he will go ashore. - -The bank is lined with the natives who have something to sell, eggs, -milk, butter in little greasy “pats,” and a sheep. The men are, as to -features and complexion, rather Arabic than Nubian. The women have -the high cheek-bones and broad faces of our Indian squaws, whom they -resemble in a general way. The little girls who wear the Nubian costume -(a belt with fringe) and strings of beads, are not so bad; some of -them well formed. The morning is cool and the women all wear some outer -garment, so that the Nubian costume is not seen in its simplicity, -except as it is worn by children. I doubt if it is at any season. So far -as we have observed the Nubian women they are as modest in their dress -as their Egyptian sisters. Perhaps ugliness and modesty are sisters in -their country. All the women and girls have their hair braided in a sort -of plait in front, and heavily soaked with grease, so that it looks as -if they had on a wig or a frontlet of leather; it hangs in small, hard, -greasy curls, like leathern thongs, down each side. The hair appears -never to be undone—only freshly greased every morning. Nose-rings and -earrings abound. - -This handsome temple was began by Ergamenes, an Ethiopian king ruling at -Meroë, at the time of the second Ptolemy, during the Greek period; and -it was added to both by Ptolemies and Cæsars. This Nubia would seem to -have been in possession of Ethiopians and Egyptians turn and turn about, -and, both having the same religion, the temples prospered. - -Ergamenes has gained a reputation by a change he made in his religion, -as it was practiced in Meroë. When the priests thought a king had -reigned long enough it was their custom to send him notice that the gods -had ordered him to die; and the king, who would rather die than commit -an impiety, used to die. But Ergamenes tried another method, which he -found worked just as well; he assembled all the priests, and slew them—a -very sensible thing on his part. - -You would expect such a man to build a good temple. The sculptures -are very well executed, whether they are of his time, or owe their -inspiration to Berenice and Cleopatra; they show greater freedom and -variety than those of most temples; the figures of lion, monkeys, cows, -and other animals are excellent; and there is a picture of a man playing -on a musical instrument, a frame with strings stretched over it, played -like a harp but not harp shaped—the like of which is seen nowhere else. -The temple has the appearance of a fortification as well as a place of -worship. The towers of the propylon are ascended by interior flights -of stairs, and have, one above the other, four good-sized chambers. The -stairways and the rooms are lighted by slits in the wall about an inch -in diameter on the outside; but cut with a slant from the interior -through some five feet of solid stone. These windows are exactly like -those in European towers, and one might easily imagine himself in a -Middle Age fortification. The illusion is heightened by the remains of -Christian paintings on the walls, fresh in color, and in style very like -those of the earliest Christian art in Italian churches. In the temple -we are attended by a Nubian with a long and threatening spear, such -as the people like to carry here; the owner does not care for blood, -however; he only wants a little backsheesh. - -Beyond Dakkeh the country opens finely; the mountains fall back, and we -look a long distance over the desert on each side, the banks having only -a few rods of green. Far off in the desert on either hand and in front, -are sharp pyramidal mountains, in ranges, in groups, the resemblance -to pyramids being very striking. The atmosphere as to purity is -extraordinary. Simply to inspire it is a delight for which one may well -travel thousands of miles. - -We pass small patches of the castor-oil plant, and of a reddish-stemmed -bush, bearing the Indian bendigo, Arabic bahima, the fruit a sort of -bean in appearance and about as palatable. The castor-oil is much used -by the women as a hair-dressing, but they are not fastidious; they use -something else if oil is wanting. The demand for butter for this purpose -raised the price of it enormously this morning at Dakkeh. - -In the afternoon, waiting for wind, we walk ashore and out upon the -naked desert—the desert which is broken only by an occasional oasis, -from the Atlantic to the Red Sea; it has a basis of limestone, strewn -with sand like gold-dust, and a detritus of stone as if it had been -scorched by fire and worn by water. There is a great pleasure in -strolling over this pure waste blown by the free air. We visit a Nubian -village, and buy some spurious scarabæi off the necks of the ladies of -the town—alas, for rural simplicity! But these women are not only sharp, -they respect themselves sufficiently to dress modestly and even draw -their shawls over their faces. The children take the world as they find -it, as to clothes. - -The night here, there being no moisture in the air is as brilliant as -the day; I have never seen the moon and stars so clear elsewhere. These -are the evenings that invite to long pipes and long stories. Abd-el-Atti -opens his budget from time to time, as we sit on deck and while the time -with anecdotes and marvels out of old Arab chronicles, spiced with his -own ready wit and singular English. Most of them are too long for these -pages; but here is an anecdote which, whether true or not illustrates -the character of old Mohammed Ali:— - -“Mohammed Ali sent one of his captains, name of Walee Kasheef, to Derr, -capital of Nubia (you see it by and by, very fashionable place, like -I see 'em in Hydee Park, what you call Rotten Row). Walee when he come -there, see the women, their hair all twisted up and stuck together with -grease and castor-oil, and their bodies covered with it. He called the -sheykhs together and made them present of soap, and told them to make -the women clean the hair and wash themselves, and make themselves fit -for prayer. It was in accordin' to the Moslem religion so to do. - -“The Nubians they not like this part of our religion, they not like it -at all. They send the sheykhs down to have conversation with Mohammed -Ali, who been stop at Esneh. They complain of what Walee done. Mohammed -send for Walee, and say, 'What this you been done in Nubia?' 'Nothing, -your highness, 'cept trying to make the Nubians conform to the -religion.' 'Well,' says old Mohammed, 'I not send you up there as a -priest; I send you up to get a little money. Don't you trouble the -Nubians. We don't care if they go to Gennéh or Gehennem, if you get the -money.'.rdquo; - -So the Nubians were left in sin and grease, and taxed accordingly. And -at this day the taxes are even heavier. Every date-palm and every sakiya -is taxed. A sakiya sometimes pays three pounds a year, when there is not -a piece of fertile land for it to water three rods square. - - - -0274 - - - - -CHAPTER XXI—ETHIOPIA. - -IT IS a sparkling morning at Wady Saboda; we have the desert and some -of its high, scarred, and sandy pyramidal peaks close to us, but as -is usual where a wady, or valley, comes to the river, there is more -cultivated land. We see very little of the temple of Rameses II. in this -“Valley of the Lions,” nor of the sphinxes in front of it. The desert -sand has blown over it and over it in drifts like snow, so that we walk -over the buried sanctuary, greatly to our delight. It is a pleasure to -find one adytum into which we cannot go and see this Rameses pretending -to make offerings, but really, as usual, offering to show himself. - -At the village under the ledges, many of the houses are of stone, and -the sheykh has a pretentious stone enclosure with little in it, all to -himself. Shadoofs are active along the bank, and considerable crops -of wheat, beans, and corn are well forward. We stop to talk with a -bright-looking Arab, who employs men to work his shadoofs, and lives -here in an enclosure of cornstalks, with a cornstalk kennel in one -corner, where he and his family sleep. There is nothing pretentious -about this establishment, but the owner is evidently a man of wealth, -and, indeed, he has the bearing of a shrewd Yankee. He owns a camel, -two donkeys, several calves and two cows, and two young Nubian girls for -wives, black as coal and greased, but rather pleasant-faced. He has also -two good guns—appears to have duplicates of nearly everything. Out of -the cornstalk shanty his wives bring some handsome rugs for us to sit -on. - -The Arab accompanies us on our walk, as a sort of host of the country, -and we are soon joined by others, black fellows; some of them carry the -long flint-lock musket, for which they seem to have no powder; and all -wear a knife in a sheath on the left arm; but they are as peaceable -friendly folk as you would care to meet, and simple-minded. I show the -Arab my field-glass, an object new to his experience. He looks through -it, as I direct, and is an astonished man, making motions with his hand, -to indicate how the distant objects are drawn towards him, laughing with -a soft and childlike delight, and then lowering the glass, looks at it, -and cries, “Bismillah! Bismillah,” an ejaculation of wonder, and also -intended to divert any misfortune from coming upon him on account of his -indulgence in this pleasure. - -He soon gets the use of the glass and looks beyond the river and all -about, as if he were discovering objects unknown to him before. The -others all take a turn at it, and are equally astonished and delighted. -But when I cause them to look through the large end at a dog near by, -and they see him remove far off in the desert, their astonishment is -complete. My comrade's watch interested them nearly as much, although -they knew its use; they could never get enough of its ticking and of -looking at its works, and they concluded that the owner of it must be a -Pasha. - -The men at work dress in the slight manner of the ancient Egyptians; -the women, however, wear garments covering them, and not seldom hide the -face at our approach. But the material of their dress is not always of -the best quality; an old piece of sacking makes a very good garment for -a Nubian woman. Most of them wear some trinkets, beads or bits of silver -or carnelian round the neck, and heavy bracelets of horn. The boys have -not yet come into their clothing, but the girls wear the leathern belt -and fringe adorned with shells. - -The people have little, but they are not poor. It may be that this -cornstalk house of our friend is only his winter residence, while his -shadoof is most active, and that he has another establishment in town. -There are too many sakiyas in operation for this region to be anything -but prosperous, apparently. They are going all night as we sail along, -and the screaming is weird enough in the stillness. I should think that -a prisoner was being tortured every eighth of a mile on the bank. We are -never out of hearing of their shrieks. But the cry is not exactly that -of pain; it is rather a song than a cry, with an impish squeak in it, -and a monotonous iteration of one idea, like all the songs here. -It always repeats one sentence, which sounds like Iskander -logheh-n-e-e-e-n—whatever it is in Arabic; and there is of course a -story about it. The king, Alexander, had concealed under his hair two -horns. Unable to keep the secret to himself he told it in confidence -to the sakiya; the sakiya couldn't hold the news, but shrieked out, -“Alexander has two horns,” and the other sakiyas got it; and the scandal -went the length of the Nile, and never can be hushed. - -The Arabs personify everything, and are as full of superstitions as the -Scotch; peoples who have nothing in common except it may be that the -extreme predestinationism of the one approaches the fatalism of the -other—begetting in both a superstitious habit, which a similar cause -produced in the Greeks. From talking of the sakiya we wander into -stories illustrative of the credulity and superstition of the Egyptians. -Charms and incantations are relied on for expelling diseases and warding -off dangers. The snake-charmer is a person still in considerable request -in towns and cities. Here in Nubia there is no need of his offices, for -there are no snakes; but in Lower Egypt, where snakes are common, the -mud-walls and dirt-floors of the houses permit them to come in and be -at home with the family. Even in Cairo, where the houses are of brick, -snakes are much feared, and the house that is reputed to have snakes in -it cannot be rented. It will stand vacant like an old mansion occupied -by a ghost in a Christian country. The snake-charmers take advantage of -this popular fear. - -Once upon a time when Abd-el-Atti was absent from the city, a -snake-charmer came to his house, and told his sister that he divined -that there were snakes in the house. “My sister,” the story goes on, -“never see any snake to house, but she woman, and much 'fraid of snakes, -and believe what him say. She told the charmer to call out the snakes. -He set to work his mumble, his conjor—('.xorcism'. yes, dat's it, -exorcism 'em, and bring out a snake. She paid him one dollar. - -“Then the conjuror say, 'This the wife; the husband still in the house -and make great trouble if he not got out.'.rdquo; - -“He want him one pound for get the husband out, and my sister give it. - -“When I come home I find my sister very sick, very sick indeed, and I -say what is it? She tell me the story that the house was full of snakes -and she had a man call them out, but the fright make her long time ill. - -“I said, you have done very well to get the snakes out, what could we do -with a house full of the nasty things? And I said, I must get them out -of another house I have—house I let him since to machinery. - -“Machinery? For what kind of machinery! Steam-engines?” - -“No, misheenary—have a school in it.” - -“Oh, missionary.” - -“Yes, let 'em have it for bout three hundred francs less than I get -before. I think the school good for Cairo. I send for the snake-charmer, -and I say I have 'nother house I think has snakes in it, and I ask him -to divine and see. He comes back and says, my house is full of snakes, -but he can charm them out. - -“I say, good, I will pay you well. We appointed early next morning for -the operation, and I agreed to meet the charmer at my house. I take with -me big black fellow I have in the house, strong like a bull. When we get -there I find the charmer there in front of the house and ready to begin. -But I propose that we go in the house, it might make disturbance to the -neighborhood to call so many serpents out into the street. We go in, and -I sav, tell me the room of the most snakes. The charmer say, and as soon -as we go in there, I make him sign the black fellow and he throw the -charmer on the ground, and we tie him with a rope. We find in his bosom -thirteen snakes and scorpions. I tell him I had no idea there were so -many snakes in my house. Then I had the fellow before the Kadi; he had -to pay back all the money he got from my sister and went to prison. -But,” added Abd-el-Atti, “the doctor did not pay back the money for my -sister's illness.” - -Alexandria was the scene of another snake story. The owner of a house -there had for tenants an Italian and his wife, whose lease had -expired, but who would not vacate the premises. He therefore hired a -snake-charmer to go to the house one day when the family were out, and -leave snakes in two of the rooms. When the lady returned and found -a snake in one room she fled into another, but there another serpent -raised his head and hissed at her. She was dreadfully frightened, and -sent for the charmer, and had the snakes called out but she declared -that she wouldn't occupy such a house another minute. And the family -moved out that day of their own accord. A novel writ of ejectment. - -In the morning we touched bottom as to cold weather, the thermometer -at sunrise going down to 47° it did, indeed, as we heard afterwards, go -below 40° at Wady Haifa the next morning, but the days were sure to -be warm enough. The morning is perfectly calm, and the depth of the -blueness of the sky, especially as seen over the yellow desert sand -and the blackened surface of the sandstone hills, is extraordinary. An -artist's representation of this color would be certain to be called -an exaggeration. The skies of Lower Egypt are absolutely pale in -comparison. - -Since we have been in the tropics, the quality of the sky has been the -same day and night—sometimes a turquoise blue, such as on rare days we -get in America through a break in the clouds, but exquisitely delicate -for all its depth. We passed the Tropic of Cancer in the night, -somewhere about Dendodr, and did not see it. I did not know, till -afterwards, that there had been any trouble about it. But it seems that -it has been moved from Assouan, where Strabo put it and some modern -atlases still place it, southward, to a point just below the ruins of -the temple of Dendoor, where Osiris and Isis were worshipped. Probably -the temple, which is thought to be of the time of Augustus and -consequently is little respected by any antiquarian, was not built with -any reference to the Tropic of Cancer; but the point of the turning of -the sun might well have been marked by a temple to the mysterious deity -who personified the sun and who was slain and rose again. - -Our walk on shore to-day reminded us of a rugged path in Switzerland. -Before we come to Kalkeh (which is of no account, except that it is in -the great bend below Korosko) the hills of sandstone draw close to the -east bank, in some places in sheer precipices, in others leaving a strip -of sloping sand. Along the cliff is a narrow donkey-path, which travel -for thousands of years has worn deep; and we ascend along it high above -the river. Wherever at the foot of the precipices there was a chance to -grow a handful of beans or a hill of corn, we found the ground occupied. -In one of these lonely recesses we made the acquaintance of an Arab -family. - -Walking rapidly, I saw something in the path, and held my foot just in -time to avoid stepping upon a naked brown baby, rather black than brown, -as a baby might be who spent his time outdoors in the sun without any -umbrella. - -“By Jorge! a nice plumpee little chile,” cried Abd-el-Atti, who is fond -of children, and picks up and shoulders the boy, who shews no signs of -fear and likes the ride. - -We come soon upon his parents. The man was sitting on a rock smoking -a pipe. The woman, dry and withered, was picking some green leaves -and blossoms, of which she would presently make a sort of purée, that -appears to be a great part of the food of these people. They had three -children. Their farm was a small piece of the sloping bank, and was in -appearance exactly like a section of sandy railroad embankment grown to -weeds. They had a few beans and some squash or pumpkin vines, and there -were remains of a few hills of doora which had been harvested. - -While the dragoman talked with the family, I climbed up to their -dwelling, in a ravine in the rocks. The house was of the simplest -architecture—a circular stone enclosure, so loosely laid up that you -could anywhere put your hand through it. Over a segment of this was laid -some cornstalks, and under these the piece of matting was spread for the -bed. That matting was the only furniture of the house. All their clothes -the family had on them, and those were none too many—they didn't hold -out to the boy. And the mercury goes down to 470 these mornings! Before -the opening of this shelter, was a place for a fire against the rocks, -and a saucepan, water-jar, and some broken bottles The only attraction -about this is its simplicity. Probably this is the country-place of the -proprietor, where he retires for “shange of air” during the season when -his crops are maturing, and then moves into town under the palm-trees -during the heat of summer. - -Talking about Mohammed (we are still walking by the shore) I found that -Abd-el-Atti had never heard the legend of the miraculous suspension of -the Prophet's coffin between heaven and earth; no Moslem ever believed -any such thing; no Moslem ever heard of it. - -“Then there isn't any tradition or notion of that sort among Moslems?” - -“No, sir. Who said it?” - -“Oh, it's often alluded to in English literature—by Mr-Carlyle for one, -I think.” - -“What for him say that? I tink he must put something in his book to make -it sell. How could it? Every year since Mohammed died, pilgrims been -make to his grave, where he buried in the ground; shawl every year -carried to cover it; always buried in that place. No Moslem tink that.” - -“Once a good man, a Walee of Fez, a friend of the Prophet, was visited -by a vision and by the spirit of the Prophet, and he was gecited -(excited) to go to Mecca and see him. When he was come near in the way, -a messenger from the Prophet came to the Walee, and told him not to come -any nearer; that he should die and be buried in the spot where he then -was. And it was so. His tomb you see it there now before you come to -Mecca. - -“When Mohammed was asked the reason why he would not permit the Walee to -come to his tomb to see him, he said that the Walee was a great friend -of his, and if he came to his tomb he should feel bound to rise and see -him; and he ought not to do that, for the time of the world was not -yet fully come; if he rose from his tomb, it would be finish, the world -would be at an end. Therefore he was 'bliged to refuse his friend. - -“Nobody doubt he buried in the ground. But Ali, different. Ali, the -son-in-law of Mohammed (married his daughter Fat'meh, his sons Hasan and -Hoseyn,) died in Medineh. When he died, he ordered that he should be -put in a coffin, and said that in the morning there would come from the -desert a man with a dromedary; that his coffin should be bound upon the -back of the dromedary, and let go. In the morning, as was foretold, the -man appeared, leading a dromedary; his head was veiled except his eyes. -The coffin was bound upon the back of the beast, and the three went away -into the desert; and no man ever saw either of them more, or knows, to -this day, where Ali is buried. Whether it was a man or an angel with the -dromedary, God knows!” - -Getting round the great bend at Korosko and Amada is the most vexatious -and difficult part of the Nile navigation. The distance is only about -eight miles, but the river takes a freak here to run south-south-east, -and as the wind here is usually north-north-west, the boat has both wind -and current against it. But this is not all; it is impossible to track -on the west bank on account of the shallows and sandbars, and the -channel on the east side is beset with dangerous rocks. We thought -ourselves fortunate in making these eight miles in two days, and one of -them was a very exciting day. The danger was in stranding the dahabeëh -on the rocks, and being compelled to leave her; and our big boat was -handled with great difficulty. - -Traders and travelers going to the Upper Nile leave the river at -Korosko. Here begins the direct desert route—as utterly waste, barren -and fatiguing as any in Africa—to Aboo Hamed, Sennaar and Kartoom. The -town lies behind a fringe of palms on the river, and backed by high and -savage desert mountains. - -As we pass we see on the high bank piles of merchandise and the white -tents of the caravans. - -This is still the region of slavery. Most of the Arabs, poor as they -appear, own one or two slaves, got from Sennaar or Darfoor—though called -generally Nubians. We came across a Sennaar girl to day of perhaps ten -years of age, hoeing alone in the field. The poor creature, whose ideas -were as scant as her clothing, had only a sort of animal intelligence; -she could speak a little Arabic, however (much more than we -could—speaking of intelligence!) and said she did not dare come with -us for fear her mistress would beat her. The slave trade is, however, -greatly curtailed by the expeditions of the Khedive. The bright -Abyssinian boy, Ahmed, whom we have on board, was brought from his home -across the Red Sea by way of Mecca. This is one of the ways by which a -few slaves still sift into Cairo. - -We are working along in sight of Korosko all day. Just above it, on some -rocks in the channel, lies a handsome dahabeëh belonging to a party -of English gentlemen, which went on a week ago; touched upon concealed -rocks in the evening as the crew were tracking, was swung further on by -the current, and now lies high and almost dry, the Nile falling daily, -in a position where she must wait for the rise next summer. The boat is -entirely uninjured and no doubt might have been got off the first day, -if there had only been mechanical skill in the crew. The governor at -Derr sent down one hundred and fifty men, who hauled and heaved at it -two or three days, with no effect. Half a dozen Yankees, with a couple -of jack-screws, and probably with only logs for rollers, would have set -it afloat. The disaster is exceedingly annoying to the gentlemen, who -have, however, procured a smaller boat from Wady Haifa in which to -continue their voyage. We are several hours in getting past these two -boats, and accomplish it not without a tangling of rigging, scraping -off of paint, smashing of deck rails, and the expenditure of a whole -dictionary of Arabic. Our Arabs never see but one thing at a time. If -they are getting the bow free, the stay-ropes and stern must take care -of themselves. If, by simple heedlessness, we are letting the yard of -another boat rip into our rigging, God wills it. While we are in this -confusion and excitement, the dahabeëh of General McClellan and half a -dozen in company, sweep down past us, going with wind and current. - -It is a bright and delicious Sunday morning that we are still tracking -above Korosko. To-day is the day the pilgrims to Mecca spend upon the -mountain of Arafat. Tomorrow they sacrifice; our crew will celebrate it -by killing a sheep and eating it—and it is difficult to see where the -sacrifice comes in for them. The Moslems along this shore lost their -reckoning, mistook the day, and sacrificed yesterday. - -This is not the only thing, however, that keeps this place in our -memory. We saw here a pretty woman. Considering her dress, hair, the -manner in which she had been brought up, and her looks, a tolerably -pretty woman; a raving beauty in comparison with her comrades. She has -a slight cast, in one eye, that only shows for a moment occasionally and -then disappears. If these feeble tributary lines ever meet that eye, I -beg her to know that, by reason of her slight visual defect, she is like -a revolving light, all the more brilliant when she flashes out. - -We lost time this morning, were whirled about in eddies and drifted on -sandbars, owing to contradictory opinions among our navigators, none of -whom seem to have the least sconce. They generally agree, however, not -to do anything that the pilot orders. Our pilot from Philæ to Wady Haifa -and back, is a Barâbra, and one of the reises of the Cataract, a fellow -very tall, and thin as a hop-pole, with a withered face and a high -forehead. His garments a white cotton nightgown without sleeves, a brown -over-gown with flowing sleeves, both reaching to the ankles, and a white -turban. He is barefooted and barelegged, and, in his many excursions -into the river to explore sandbars, I have noticed a hole where he has -stuck his knee through his nightgown. His stature and his whole bearing -have in them something, I know not what, of the theatrical air of the -Orient. - -He had a quarrel to day with the crew, for the reason mentioned above, -in which he was no doubt quite right, a quarrel conducted as usual with -an extraordinary expense of words and vituperation. In his inflamed -remarks, he at length threw out doubts about the mother of one of the -crew, and probably got something back that enraged him still more. While -the wrangle went on, the crew had gathered about their mess-dish on -the forward deck, squatting in a circle round it, and dipping out great -mouthfuls of the puree with the right hand. The pilot paced the upper -deck, and his voice, which is like that of many waters, was lifted up in -louder and louder lamentations, as the other party grew more quiet and -were occupied with their dinner—throwing him a loose taunt now and then, -followed by a chorus of laughter. He strode back and forth, swinging his -arms, and declaring that he would leave the boat, that he would not stay -where he was so treated, that he would cast himself into the river. - -“When you do, you'd better leave your clothes behind,” suggested -Abd-el-Atti. - -Upon this cruel sarcasm he was unable to contain himself longer. He -strode up and down, raised high his voice, and tore his hair and rent -his garments—the supreme act of Oriental desperation. I had often -read of this performance, both in the Scriptures and in other Oriental -writings, but I had never seen it before. The manner in which he -tore his hair and rent his garments was as follows, to wit:—He -almost entirely unrolled his turban, doing it with an air of -perfect recklessness; and then he carefully wound it again round his -smoothly-shaven head. That stood for tearing his hair. He then swung -his long arms aloft, lifted up his garment above his head, and with -desperate force, appeared to be about to rend it in twain. But he never -started a seam nor broke a thread. The nightgown wouldn't have stood -much nonsense. - -In the midst of his most passionate outburst, he went forward and -filled his pipe, and then returned to his tearing and rending and his -lamentations. The picture of a strong man in grief is always touching. - -The country along here is very pretty, the curved shore for miles being -a continual palm-grove, and having a considerable strip of soil which -the sakiya irrigation makes very productive. Beyond this rise mountains -of rocks in ledges; and when we climb them we see only a waste desert -of rock strewn with loose shale and, further inland, black hills of -sandstone, which thickly cover the country all the way to the Red Sea. - -Under the ledges are the habitations of the people, square enclosures of -stone and clay of considerable size, with interior courts and kennels. -One of them—the only sign of luxury we have seen in Nubia—had a porch in -front of it covered with palm boughs. The men are well-made and rather -prepossessing in appearance, and some of them well-dressed—they had no -doubt made the voyage to Cairo; the women are hideous without exception. -It is no pleasure to speak thus continually of woman; and I am sometimes -tempted to say that I see here the brown and bewitching maids, with the -eyes of the gazelle and the form of the houri, which gladden the sight -of more fortunate voyagers through this idle land; but when I think of -the heavy amount of misrepresentation that would be necessary to give -any one of these creatures a reputation for good looks abroad, I shrink -from the undertaking. - -They are decently covered with black cotton mantles, which they make -a show of drawing over the face; but they are perhaps wild rather than -modest, and have a sort of animal shyness. Their heads are sights to -behold. The hair is all braided in strings, long at the sides and cut -off in front, after the style adopted now-a-days for children (and -women) in civilized countries, and copied from the young princes, -prisoners in the Tower. Each round strand of hair hasa dab of clay on -the end of it. The whole is drenched with castor-oil, and when the sun -shines on it, it is as pleasant to one sense as to another. They have -flattish noses, high cheek-bones, and always splendid teeth; and they -all, young girls as well as old women, hold tobacco in their under lip -and squirt out the juice with placid and scientific accuracy. They wear -two or three strings of trumpery beads and necklaces, bracelets of horn -and of greasy leather, and occasionally a finger-ring or two. Nose-rings -they wear if they have them; if not, they keep the bore open for one by -inserting a kernel of doora. - -In going back to the boat we met a party of twenty or thirty of these -attractive creatures, who were returning from burying a boy of the -village. They came striding over the sand, chattering in shrill and -savage tones. Grief was not so weighty on them that they forgot to -demand backsheesh, and (unrestrained by the men in the town) their -clamor for it was like the cawing of crows; and their noise, when -they received little from us, was worse. The tender and loving -woman, stricken in grief by death, is, in these regions, when denied -backsheesh, an enraged, squawking bird of prey. They left us with scorn -in their eyes and abuse on their tongues. - -At a place below Korosko we saw a singular custom, in which the women -appeared to better advantage. A whole troop of women, thirty or forty of -them, accompanied by children, came in a rambling procession down to the -Nile, and brought a baby just forty days old. We thought at first that -they were about to dip the infant into Father Nile, as an introduction -to the fountain of all the blessings of Egypt. Instead of this, however, -they sat down on the bank, took kohl and daubed it in the little -fellow's eyes. They perform this ceremony by the Nile when the boy is -forty days old, and they do it that he may have a fortunate life. Kohl -seems to enlarge the pupil, and doubtless it is intended to open the -boy's eyes early. - -At one of the little settlements to-day the men were very hospitable, -and brought us out plates (straw) of sweet dried dates. Those that we -did not eat, the sailor with us stuffed into his pocket; our sailors -never let a chance of provender slip, and would, so far as capacity -“to live on the country” goes, make good soldiers. The Nubian dates are -called the best in Egypt. They are longer than the dates of the Delta, -but hard and quite dry. They take the place of coffee here in the -complimentary hospitality. Whenever a native invites you to take -“coffee,” and you accept, he will bring you a plate of dates and -probably a plate of popped doora, like our popped corn. Coffee seems not -to be in use here; even the governors entertain us with dates and popped -corn. - -We are working up the river slowly enough to make the acquaintance -of every man, woman, and child on the banks; and a precious lot of -acquaintances we shall have. I have no desire to force them upon the -public, but it is only by these details that I can hope to give you any -idea of the Nubian life. - -We stop at night. The moon-and-starlight is something superb. From -the high bank under which we are moored, the broad river, the desert -opposite, and the mountains, appear in a remote African calm—a calm only -broken by the shriek of the sakiyas which pierce the air above and below -us. - -In the sakiya near us, covered with netting to keep off the north wind, -is a little boy, patient and black, seated on the pole of the wheel, -urging the lean cattle round and round. The little chap is alone and at -some distance from the village, and this must be for him lonesome work. -The moonlight, through the chinks of the palm-leaf, touches tenderly -his pathetic figure, when we look in at the opening, and his small voice -utters the one word of Egypt—“backsheesh.” - -Attracted by a light—a rare thing in a habitation here—we walk over to -the village. At the end of the high enclosure of a dwelling there is -a blaze of fire, which is fed by doora-stalks, and about it squat five -women, chattering; the fire lights up their black faces and hair shining -with the castor-oil. Four of them are young; and one is old and skinny, -and with only a piece of sacking for all clothing. Their husbands are -away in Cairo, or up the river with a trading dahabeëh (so they tell our -guide); and these poor creatures are left here (it may be for years it -may be forever) to dig their own living out of the ground. It is quite -the fashion husbands have in this country; but the women are attached -to their homes; they have no desire to go elsewhere. And I have no doubt -that in Cairo they would pine for the free and simple life of Nubia. - -These women all want backsheesh, and no doubt will quarrel over the -division of the few piastres they have from us. Being such women as I -have described, and using tobacco as has been sufficiently described -also, crouching about these embers, this group composes as barbaric a -picture as one can anywhere see. I need not have gone so far to set such -a miserable group; I could have found one as wretched in Pigville (every -city has its Pigville)? Yes, but this is characteristic of the country. -These people are as good as anybody here. (We have been careful to -associate only with the first families.) These women have necklaces and -bracelets, and rings in their ears, just like any women, and rings in -the hair, twisted in with the clay and castor-oil. And in Pigville one -would not have the range of savage rocks, which tower above these huts, -whence the jackals, wolves, and gazelles come down to the river, nor -the row of palms, nor the Nile, and the sands beyond, yellow in the -moonlight. - - - -0288 - - - -0289 - - - - -CHAPTER XXII.—LIFE IN THE TROPICS. WADY HALFA. - -OURS is the crew to witch the world with noble seamanship. It is like a -first-class orchestra, in which all the performers are artists. Ours -are all captains. The reïs is merely an elder brother. The pilot is not -heeded at all. With so many intentions on board, it is an hourly miracle -that we get on at all. - -We are approaching the capital of Nubia, trying to get round a sharp -bend in the river, with wind adverse, current rapid, sandbars on all -sides. Most of the crew are in the water ahead, trying to haul us round -the point of a sand-spit on which the stream foams, and then swirls in -an eddy below. I can see now the Pilot, the long Pilot, who has gone in -to feel about for deep water, in his white nightgown, his shaven head, -denuded of its turban, shining in the sun, standing in two feet of -water, throwing his arms wildly above his head, screaming entreaties, -warnings, commands, imprecations upon the sailors in the river and the -commanders on the boat. I can see the crew, waist deep, slacking the -rope which they have out ahead, stopping to discuss the situation. I -can see the sedate reïs on the bow arguing with the raving pilot, the -steersman, with his eternal smile, calmly regarding the peril, and the -boat swinging helplessly about and going upon the shoals. “Stupids,” -mutters Abd-el-Atti, who is telling his beads rapidly, as he always does -in exciting situations. - -When at length we pass the point, we catch the breeze so suddenly and -go away with it, that there is no time for the men to get on board, and -they are obliged to scamper back over the sand-spits to the shore and -make a race of it to meet us at Derr. We can see them running in -file, dodging along under the palms by the shore, stopping to grab -occasionally a squash or a handful of beans for the pot. - -The capital of Nubia is the New York of this region, not so large, nor -so well laid out, nor so handsomely built, but the centre of fashion and -the residence of the ton. The governor lives in a whitewashed house, -and there is a Sycamore here eight hundred years old, which is I suppose -older than the Stuyvesant Pear in New York. The houses are not perched -up in the air like tenement buildings for the poor, but aristocratically -keep to the ground in one-story rooms; and they are beautifully moulded -of a tough clay. The whole town lies under a palm-grove. The elegance -of the capital, however, is not in its buildings, but in its women; the -ladies who come to the the river to fill their jars are arrayed in the -height of the mode. Their hair is twisted and clayed and castoroiled, -but, besides this and other garments, they wear an outer robe of black -which sweeps the ground for a yard behind, and gives them the grace -and dignity that court-robes always give. You will scarcely see longer -skirts on Broadway or in a Paris salon. I have, myself, no doubt that -the Broadway fashions came from Derr, all except the chignons. Here the -ladies wear their own hair. - -Making no landing in this town so dangerous to one susceptible to the -charms of fashion, we went on, and stopped at night near Ibreem, a lofty -precipice, or range of precipices, the southern hill crowned with ruins -and fortifications which were last occupied by the Memlooks, half a -century and more ago. The night blazed with beauty; the broad river was -a smooth mirror, in which the mountains and the scintillating hosts of -heaven were reflected. And we saw a phenomenon which I have never -seen elsewhere. Not only were the rocky ledges reproduced in a perfect -definition of outline, but even in the varieties of shade, in black and -reddish-brown color. - -Perhaps it needs the affidavits of all the party to the more surprising -fact, that we were all on deck next morning before five o'clock, to -see the Southern Cross. The moon had set, and these famous stars of the -southern sky flashed color and brilliancy like enormous diamonds. “Other -worlds than ours”? I should think so! All these myriads of burning -orbs only to illuminate our dahabeëh and a handful of Nubians, who are -asleep! The Southern Cross lay just above the horizon and not far from -other stars of the first quality. There are I believe only three stars -of the first magnitude and one of the second, in this constellation, and -they form, in fact, not a cross but an irregular quadrilateral. It needs -a vivid imagination and the aid of small stars to get even a semblance -of a cross out of it. But if you add to it, as we did, for the foot of -the cross, a brilliant in a neighboring constellation, you have a noble -cross. - -This constellation is not so fine as Orion, and for all we saw, we would -not exchange our northern sky for the southern; but this morning we had -a rare combination. The Morning Star was blazing in the east; and the -Great Bear (who has been nightly sinking lower and lower, until he dips -below the horizon) having climbed high up above the Pole in the night, -filled the northern sky with light. In this lucid atmosphere the whole -heavens from north to south seemed to be crowded with stars of the first -size. - -During the morning we walked on the west bank through a castor-oil -plantation; many of the plants were good-sized trees, with boles two and -a half to three inches through, and apparently twenty-five feet high. -They were growing in the yellow sand which had been irrigated by -sakiyas, but was then dry, and some of the plants were wilting. We -picked up the ripe seeds and broke off some of the fat branches; and -there was not water enough in the Nile to wash away the odor afterwards. - -Walking back over the great sand-plain towards the range of desert -mountains, we came to an artificial mound—an ash-heap, in fact—fifty or -sixty feet high. At its base is a habitation of several compartments, -formed by sticking the stalks of castor-oil plants into the ground, with -a roof of the same. Here we found several women with very neat dabs of -clay on the ends of their hair-twists, and a profusion of necklaces, -rings in the hair and other ornaments—among them, scraps of gold. The -women were hospitable, rather modest than shy, and set before us plates -of dried dates; and no one said “backsheesh.” A better class of people -than those below, and more purely Nubian. - -It would perhaps pay to dig open this mound. Near it are three small -oases, watered by sakiyas, which draw from wells that are not more than -twenty feet deep. The water is clear as crystal but not cool. These are -ancient Egyptian wells, which have been re-opened within a few years; -and the ash-mound is no doubt the débris of a village and an old -Egyptian settlement. - -At night we are a dozen miles from Aboo Simbel (Ipsamboul), the -wind—which usually in the winter blows with great and steady force from -the north in this part of the river—having taken a fancy to let us see -the country. - -A morning walk takes us over a rocky desert; the broken shale is -distributed as evenly over the sand as if the whole had once been under -water, and the shale were a dried mud, cracked in the sun. The miserable -dwellings of the natives are under the ledges back of the strip of -arable land. The women are shy and wild as hawks, but in the mode; they -wear a profusion of glass beads and trail their robes in the dust. - -It is near this village that we have an opportunity to execute justice. -As the crew were tracking, and lifting the rope over a sakiya, the -hindmost sailor saw a sheath-knife on the bank, and thrust it into -his pocket as he walked on. In five minutes the owner of the knife -discovered the robbery, and came to the boat to complain. The sailor -denied having the knife, but upon threat of a flogging gave it up. The -incident, however, aroused the town, men and women came forth discussing -it in a high key, and some foolish fellows threatened to stone our boat. -Abd-el-Atti replied that he would stop and give them a chance to do it. -Thereupon they apologized; and as there was no wind, the dragoman asked -leave to stop and do justice. - -A court was organized on shore. Abd-el-Atti sat down on a lump of earth, -grasping a marline-spike, the crew squatted in a circle in the high -beans, and the culprit was arraigned. The owner testified to his -knife, a woman swore she saw the sailor take it, Abd-el-Atti pronounced -sentence, and rose to execute it with his stake. The thief was thrown -upon the ground and held by two sailors. Abd-el-Atti, resolute and -solemn as an executioner, raised the club and brought it down with a -tremendous whack—not however upon the back of the victim, he had at -that instant squirmed out of the way. This conduct greatly enraged the -minister of justice, who thereupon came at his object with fury, and -would no doubt have hit him if the criminal had not got up and ran, -screaming, with the sailors and Abd-el-Atti after him. The ground was -rough, the legs of Abd-el-Atti are not long and his wind is short. The -fellow was caught, and escaped again and again, but the punishment was -a mere scrimmage; whenever Abd-el-Atti, in the confusion, could get a -chance to strike he did so, but generally hit the ground, sometimes the -fellow's gown and perhaps once or twice the man inside, but never to his -injury. He roared all the while, that he was no thief, and seemed a good -deal more hurt by the charge that he was, than by the stick. The beating -was, in short, only a farce laughable from beginning to end, and not a -bad sample of Egyptian justice. And it satisfied everybody. - -Having put ourselves thus on friendly relations with this village, one -of the inhabitants brought down to the boat a letter for the dragoman to -interpret. It had been received two weeks before from Alexandria, but no -one had been able to read it until our boat stopped here. Fortunately -we had the above little difficulty here. The contents of the letter gave -the village employment for a month. It brought news of the death of two -inhabitants of the place, who were living as servants in Alexandria, one -of them a man eighty years old and his son aged sixty. - -I never saw grief spread so fast and so suddenly as it did with the -uncorking of this vial of bad news. Instantly a lamentation and wild -mourning began in all the settlement. It wasn't ten minutes before the -village was buried in grief. And, in an incredible short space of time, -the news had spread up and down the river, and the grief-stricken began -to arrive from other places. Where they came from, I have no idea; it -did not seem that we had passed so many women in a week as we saw now -They poured in from all along the shore, long strings of them, striding -over the sand, throwing up their garments, casting dust on their -heads (and all of it stuck), howling, flocking like wild geese to a -rendezvous, and filling the air with their clang. They were arriving for -an hour or two. - -The men took no part in this active demonstration. They were seated -gravely before the house in which the bereaved relatives gathered; -and there I found Abd-el-Atti, seated also, and holding forth upon the -inevitable coming of death, and saying that there was nothing to be -regretted in this case, for the time of these men had come. If it hadn't -come, they wouldn't have died. Not so? - -The women crowded into the enclosure and began mourning in a vigorous -manner. The chief ones grouping themselves in an irregular ring, cried -aloud: “O that he had died here!” - -“O that I had seen his face when he died;” repeating these lamentations -over and over again, throwing up the arms, and then the legs in a -kind of barbaric dance as they lamented, and uttering long and shrill -ululations at the end of each sentence. - -To-day they kill a calf and feast, and tomorrow the lamentations and the -African dance will go on, and continue for a week. These people are all -feeling. It is a heathen and not a Moslem custom however; and whether -it is of negro origin or of ancient Egyptian I do not know, but probably -the latter. The ancient Egyptian women are depicted in the tombs -mourning in this manner; and no doubt the Jews also so bewailed, when -they “lifted up their voices” and cast dust on their heads, as we saw -these Nubians do. It is an unselfish pleasure to an Eastern woman to -“lift up the voice.” The heavy part of the mourning comes upon the -women, who appear to enjoy it. It is their chief occupation, after the -carrying of water and the grinding of doora, and probably was so with -the old race; these people certainly keep the ancient customs; they -dress the hair, for one thing, very much as the Egyptians did, even to -the castor-oil. - -At this village, as in others in Nubia, the old women are the -corn-grinders. These wasted skeletons sit on the ground before a stone -with a hollow in it; in this they bruise the doora with a smaller stone; -the flour is then moistened and rubbed to a paste. The girls and younger -women, a great part of the time, are idling about in their finery. But, -then, they have the babies and the water to bring; and it must be -owned that some of them work in the field—grubbing grass and stuff for -“greens” and for fuel, more than the men. The men do the heavy work of -irrigation. - -But we cannot stay to mourn with those who mourn a week in this style; -and in the evening, when a strong breeze springs up, we spread our sail -and go, in the “daylight of the moon,” flying up the river, by black -and weird shores; and before midnight pass lonesome Aboo Simbel, whose -colossi sit in the moonlight with the impassive mien they have held for -so many ages. - -In the morning, with an easy wind, we are on the last stage of our -journey. We are almost at the limit of dahabeëh navigation. The country -is less interesting than it was below. The river is very broad, and we -look far over the desert on each side. The strip of cultivated soil is -narrow and now and again disappears altogether. To the east are seen, -since we passed Aboo Simbel, the pyramid hills, some with truncated -tops, scattered without plan over the desert. It requires no stretch -of fancy to think that these mathematically built hills are pyramids -erected by races anterior to Menes, and that all this waste that they -dot is a necropolis of that forgotten people. - -The sailors celebrate the finishing of the journey by a ceremony of -state and dignity. The chief actor is Farrag, the wit of the crew. -Suddenly he appears as the Governor of Wady Haifa, with horns on his -head, face painted, a long beard, hair sprinkled with flour, and dressed -in shaggy sheepskin. He has come on board to collect his taxes. He opens -his court, with the sailors about him, holding a long marline spike -which he pretends to smoke as a chibook. His imitation of the town -dignitaries along the river is very comical, and his remarks are greeted -with roars of laughter. One of the crew acts as his bailiff and summons -all the officers and servants of the boat before him, who are thrown -down upon the deck and bastinadoed, and released on payment of -backsheesh. The travelers also have to go before the court and pay a -fine for passing through the Governor's country. The Governor is -treated with great deference till the end of the farce, when one of -his attendants sets fire to his beard, and another puts him out with a -bucket of water. - -'The end of our journey is very much like the end of everything -else—there is very little in it. When we follow anything to its utmost -we are certain to be disappointed—simply because it is the nature of -things to taper down to a point. I suspect it must always be so with -the traveler, and that the farther he penetrates into any semi-savage -continent, the meaner and ruder will he find the conditions of life. -When we come to the end, ought we not to expect the end? - -We have come a thousand miles not surely to see Wady Haifa but to see -the thousand miles. And yet Wady Haifa, figuring as it does on the -map, the gate of the great Second Cataract, the head of navigation, the -destination of so many eager travelers, a point of arrival and departure -of caravans, might be a little less insignificant than it is. There is -the thick growth of palm-trees under which the town lies, and beyond -it, several miles, on the opposite, west bank, is the cliff of Aboosir, -which looks down upon the cataract; but for this noble landmark, -this dominating rock, the traveler could not feel that he had arrived -anywhere, and would be so weakened by the shock of arriving nowhere at -the end of so long a journey (as a man is by striking a blow in the air) -that he would scarcely have strength to turn back. - -At the time of our arrival, however, Wady Haifa has some extra life. An -expedition of the government is about to start for Darfoor. When we moor -at the east bank, we see on the west bank the white tents of a military -encampment set in right lines on the yellow sand; near them the -government storehouse and telegraph-office, and in front a mounted -howitzer and a Gatling gun. No contrast could be stronger. Here is Wady -Halfah, in the doze of an African town, a collection of mud-huts under -the trees, listless, apathetic, sitting at the door of a vast region, -without either purpose or ambition. There, yonder, is a piece of life -out of our restless age. There are the tents, the guns, the instruments, -the soldiers and servants of a new order of things for Africa. We hear -the trumpet call to drill. The flag which is planted in the sand in -front of the commander's tent is to be borne to the equator. - -But this is not a military expedition. It is a corps of scientific -observation, simply. Since the Sultan of Darfoor is slain and the -Khedive's troops have occupied his capital, and formally attached -that empire to Egypt, it is necessary to know something of its extent, -resources, and people, concerning all of which we have only the -uncertain reports of traders. It is thought by some that the annexation -of Darfoor adds five millions to the population of the Khedive's growing -empire. In order that he may know what he has conquered, he has sent -out exploring expeditions, of which this is one. It is under command -of Purdy Bey assisted by Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, two young American -officers of the Khedive, who fought on opposite sides in our civil war. -They are provided with instruments for making all sorts of observations, -and are to report upon the people and the physical character and -capacity of the country. They expect to be absent three years, and after -surveying Darfoor, will strike southward still, and perhaps contribute -something to the solution of the Nile problem. For escort they have a -hundred soldiers only, but a large train of camels and intendants. -In its purpose it is an expedition that any civilized ruler might be -honored for setting on foot. It is a brave overture of civilization to -barbarism. The nations are daily drawing nearer together. As we sit in -the telegraph-office here, messages are flashed from Cairo to Kartoom. - - - -0298 - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII.—APPROACHING THE SECOND CATARACT. - -THERE are two ways of going to see the Second Cataract and the cliff -of Aboosir, which is about six miles above Wady Haifa; one is by small -boat, the other by dromedary over the desert. We chose the latter, and -the American officers gave us a mount and their company also. Their camp -presented a lively scene when we crossed over to it in the morning. -They had by requisition pressed into their service three or four hundred -camels, and were trying to select out of the lot half a dozen fit to -ride. The camels were, in fact, mostly burden camels and not trained to -the riding-saddle; besides, half of them were poor, miserable rucks of -bones, half-starved to death; for the Arabs, whose business it had been -to feed them, had stolen the government supplies. An expedition which -started south two weeks ago lost more than a hundred camels, from -starvation, before it reached Semneh, thirty-five miles up the river. -They had become so weak, that they wilted and died on the first hard -march. For his size and knotty appearance, the camel is the most -disappointing of beasts. He is a sheep as to endurance. As to temper, he -is vindictive. - -Authorities differ in regard to the distinction between the camel and -the dromedary. Some say that there are no camels in Egypt, that they -are all dromedaries, having one hump; and that the true camel is the -Bactrian, which has two humps. It is customary here, however, to call -those camels which are beasts of burden, and those dromedaries which are -trained to ride; the distinction being that between the cart-horse and -the saddle-horse. - -The camel-drivers, who are as wild Arabs as you will meet anywhere, -select a promising beast and drag him to the tent. He is reluctant to -come; he rebels against the saddle; he roars all the time it is being -secured on him, and when he is forced to kneel, not seldom he breaks -away from his keepers and shambles off into the desert. The camel does -this always; and every morning on a inarch he receives his load only -after a struggle. The noise of the drivers is little less than the roar -of the beasts, and with their long hair, shaggy breasts, and bare legs -they are not less barbarous in appearance. - -Mounting the camel is not difficult, but it has some sweet surprises -for the novice. The camel lies upon the ground with all his legs shut up -under him like a jackknife. You seat yourself in the broad saddle, and -cross your legs in front of the pommel. Before you are ready, something -like a private earthquake begins under you. The camel raises his -hindquarters suddenly, and throws you over upon his neck; and, before -you recover from that he straightens up his knees and gives you a jerk -over his tail; and, while you are not at all certain what has happened, -he begins to move off with that dislocated walk which sets you into a -see-saw motion, a waving backwards and forwards in the capacious saddle. -Not having a hinged back fit for this movement, you lash the beast with -your koorbâsh to make him change his gait. He is nothing loth to do it, -and at once starts into a high trot which sends you a foot into the air -at every step, bobs you from side to side, drives your backbone into -your brain, and makes castanets of your teeth. Capital exercise. When -you have enough of it, you pull up, and humbly enquire what is the -heathen method of riding a dromedary. - -It is simple enough. Shake the loose halter-rope (he has neither bridle -nor bit) against his neck as you swing the whip, and the animal at once -swings into an easy pace; that is, a pretty easy pace, like that of -a rocking-horse. But everything depends upon the camel. I happened to -mount one that it was a pleasure to ride, after I brought him to the -proper gait We sailed along over the smooth sand, with level keel, and -(though the expression is not nautical) on cushioned feet. But it is -hard work for the camel, this constant planting of his spongy feet in -the yielding sand. - -Our way lay over the waste and rolling desert (the track of the southern -caravans,) at some little distance from the river; and I suppose six -miles of this travel are as good as a hundred. The sun was blazing hot, -the yellow sand glowed in it, and the far distance of like sand and -bristling ledges of black rock shimmered in waves of heat. No tree, no -blade of grass, nothing but blue sky bending over a sterile land. Yet, -how sweet was the air, how pure the breath of the desert, how charged -with electric life the rays of the sun! - -The rock Aboosir, the ultima Thule of pleasure-travel on the Nile, is a -sheer precipice of perhaps two to three hundred feet above the Nile; -but this is high enough to make it one of the most extensive lookouts in -Egypt. More desert can be seen here than from almost anywhere else. The -Second Cataract is spread out beneath us. It is less a “fall” even than -the First. The river is from a half mile to a mile in breadth and for -a distance of some five miles is strewn with trap-rock, boulders and -shattered fragments, through which the Nile swiftly forces itself in a -hundred channels. There are no falls of any noticeable height. Here, on -the flat rock, where we eat our luncheon, a cool breeze blows from the -north. Here on this eagle's perch, commanding a horizon of desert and -river for a hundred miles, fond visitors have carved their immortal -names, following an instinct of ambition that is well-nigh universal, -in the belief no doubt that the name will have for us who come after all -the significance it has in the eyes of him who carved it. But I cannot -recall a single name I read there; I am sorry that I cannot, for it -seems a pitiful and cruel thing to leave them there in their remote -obscurity. - -From this rock we look with longing to the southward, into vast Africa, -over a land we may not further travel, which we shall probably never -see again; or the far horizon the blue peaks of Dongola are visible, -and beyond these we know are the ruins of Meroë, that ancient city, the -capital of that Ethiopian Queen, Candace, whose dark face is lighted up -by a momentary gleam from the Scriptures. - -On the beach at Wady Haifa are half a dozen trading-vessels, loaded with -African merchandise for Cairo, and in the early morning there is a great -hubbub among the merchants and the caravan owners. A sudden dispute -arises among a large group around the ferry-boat, and there ensues that -excited war, or movement, which always threatens to come to violence in -the East but never does; Niagaras of talk are poured out; the ebb and -flow of the parti-colored crowd, and the violent and not ungraceful -gestures make a singular picture. - -Bales of merchandise are piled on shore, cases of brandy and cottons -from England, to keep the natives of Soudan warm inside and out; Greek -merchants splendid in silk attire, are lounging amid their goods, slowly -bargaining for their transportation. Groups of camels are kneeling on -the sand with their Bedaween drivers. These latter are of the Bisharee -Arabs, and free sons of the desert. They wear no turban, and their only -garment is a long strip of brown cotton thrown over the shoulder so as -to leave the right arm free, and then wound about the waist and loins. -The black hair is worn long, braided in strands which shine with oil, -and put behind the ears. This sign of effeminacy is contradicted by -their fine, athletic figures; by a bold, strong eye, and a straight, -resolute nose. - -Wady Haifa (wady is valley, and Haifa is a sort of coarse grass) has a -post-office and a mosque, but no bazaar, nor any center of attraction. -Its mud-houses are stretched along the shore for a mile and a half, and -run back into the valley, under the lovely palm-grove; but there are no -streets and no roads through the deep sand. There is occasionally a -sign of wealth in an extensive house, that is, one consisting of several -enclosed courts and apartments within one large mud-wall; and in one we -saw a garden, watered by a sakiya, and two latticed windows in a second -story looking on it, as if some one had a harem here which was handsome -enough to seclude.. - -We called on the Kadi, the judicial officer of this district, whose -house is a specimen of the best, and as good as is needed in this land -of the sun. On one side of an open enclosure is his harem; in the other -is the reception-room where he holds court. This is a mud-hut, with -nothing whatever in it except some straw mats. The Kadi sent for rugs, -and we sat on the mud-bench outside, while attendants brought us dates, -popped-corn, and even coffee; and then they squatted in a row in front -of us and stared at us, as we did at them. The ladies went into the -harem, and made the acquaintance of the judge's one wife and his dirty -children. Not without cordiality and courtesy of manner these people; -but how simple are the terms of life here; and what a thoroughly African -picture this is, the mud-huts, the sand, the palms, the black-skinned -groups. - -The women here are modestly clad, but most of them frightfully ugly and -castor-oily; yet we chanced upon two handsome girls, or rather married -women, of fifteen or sixteen. One of them had regular features and a -very pretty expression, and evidently knew she was a beauty, for she sat -apart on the ground, keeping her head covered most of the time, and -did not join the women who thronged about us to look with wonder at the -costume of our ladies and to beg for backsheesh. She was loaded with -necklaces, bracelets of horn and ivory, and had a ring on every finger. -There was in her manner something of scorn and resentment at our -intrusion; she no doubt had her circle of admirers and was queen in it. -Who are these pale creatures who come to stare at my charms? Have they -no dark pretty women in their own land? And she might well have asked, -what would she do—a beauty of New York city, let us say—when she sat -combing her hair on the marble doorsteps of her father's palace in -Madison Square, if a lot of savage, impolite Nubians, should come and -stand in a row in front of her and stare? - -The only shops here are the temporary booths of traders, birds of -passage to or from the equatorial region. Many of them have pitched -their gay tents under the trees, making the scene still more like a fair -or an encampment for the night. In some are displayed European finery -and trumpery, manufactured for Africa, calico in striking colors, glass -beads and cotton cloth; others are coffee-shops, where men are playing -at a sort of draughts—the checker-board being holes made in the sand and -the men pebbles. At the door of a pretty tent stood a young and handsome -Syrian merchant, who cordially invited us in, and pressed upon us the -hospitality of his house. He was on his way to Darfoor, and might remain -there two or three years, trading with the natives. We learned this -by the interpretation of his girl-wife, who spoke a little barbarous -French. He had married her only recently, and this was their bridal -tour, we inferred. Into what risks and perils was this pretty woman -going? She was Greek, from one of the islands, and had the naïvete and -freshness of both youth and ignorance. Her fair complexion was touched -by the sun and ruddy with health. Her blue eyes danced with the pleasure -of living. She wore her hair natural, with neither oil nor ornament, but -cut short and pushed behind the ears. For dress she had a simple calico -gown of pale yellow, cut high in the waist, à la Grecque, the prettiest -costume women ever assumed. After our long regimen of the hideous women -of the Nile, plastered with dirt, soaked in oil, and hung with tawdry -ornaments, it may be imagined how welcome was this vision of a woman, -handsome, natural and clean, with neither the shyness of an animal nor -the brazenness of a Ghawazee. - -Our hospitable entertainers hastened to set before us what they had; -a bottle of Maraschino was opened, very good European cigars were -produced, and a plate of pistachio nuts, to eat with the cordial. The -artless Greek beauty cracked the nuts for us with her shining teeth, -laughing all the while; urging us to eat, and opening her eyes in wonder -that we would not eat more, and would not carry away more. It must -be confessed that we had not much conversation, but we made it up in -constant smiling, and ate our pistachios and sipped our cordial in great -glee. What indeed could we have done more with words, or how have -passed a happier hour? We perfectly understood each other; we drank each -other's healths; we were civilized beings, met by chance in a barbarous -place; we were glad to meet, and we parted in the highest opinion of -each other, with gay salaams, and not in tears. What fate I wonder had -these handsome and adventurous merchants among the savages of Darfoor -and Kordofan? - -The face of our black boy, Gohah, was shining with pleasure when we -walked away, and he said with enthusiasm, pointing to the tent, “Sitt -tyeb, quéi-is.” Accustomed as he was to the African beauties of -Soudan, I do not wonder that Gohah thought this “lady” both “good” and -“beautiful.” - -We have seen Wady Haifa. The expedition to Darfoor is packing up to -begin its desert march in the morning. Our dahabeëh has been transformed -and shorn of a great part of its beauty. We are to see no more the great -bird-wing sail. The long yard has been taken down and is slung above us -the whole length of the deck. The twelve big sweeps are put in place; -the boards of the forward deck are taken up, so that the Lowers will -have place for their feet as they sit on the beams. They sit fronting -the cabin, and rise up and take a step forward at each stroke, settling -slowly back to their seats. On the mast is rigged the short stern-yard -and sail, to be rarely spread. Hereafter we are to float, and drift, and -whirl, and try going with the current and against the wind. - -At ten o'clock of a moonlight night, a night of summer heat, we swing -off, the rowers splashing their clumsy oars and setting up a shout and -chorus in minor, that sound very much like a wail, and would be quite -appropriate if they were ferrymen of the Styx. We float a few miles, and -then go aground and go to bed. - -The next day we have the same unchanging sky, the same groaning and -creaking of the sakiyas, and in addition the irregular splashing of -the great sweeps as we slide down the river. Two crocodiles have the -carelessness to show themselves on a sand-island, one a monstrous beast, -whose size is magnified every time we think how his great back sunk into -the water when our sandal was yet beyond rifle-shot. Of course he did -not know that we carried only a shot-gun and intended only to amuse him, -or he would not have been in such haste. - -The wind is adverse, we gain little either by oars or by the current, -and at length take to the shore, where something novel always rewards -us. This time we explore some Roman ruins, with round arches of unburned -bricks, and find in them also the unmistakable sign of Roman occupation, -the burnt bricks—those thin slabs, eleven inches long, five wide, and -two thick, which, were a favorite form with them, bricks burnt for -eternity, and scattered all over the East wherever the Roman legions -went. - -Beyond these is a village, not a deserted village, but probably the -laziest in the world. Men, and women for the most part too, were -lounging about and in the houses, squatting in the dust, in absolute -indolence, except that the women, all of them, were suckling their -babies, and occasionally one of them was spinning a little cotton-thread -on a spindle whirled in the hand. The men are more cleanly than the -women, in every respect in better condition, some of them bright, -fine-looking fellows. One of them showed us through his house, which was -one of the finest in the place, and he was not a little proud of it. It -was a large mud-wall enclosure. Entering by a rude door we came into -an open space, from which opened several doors, irregular breaks in -the wall, closed by shackling doors of wood. Stepping over the sill and -stooping, we entered the living-rooms. First, is the kitchen; the roof -of this is the sky—you are always liable to find yourself outdoors in -these houses—and the fire for cooking is built in one corner. Passing -through another hole in the wall we come to a sleeping-room, where were -some jars of dates and doora, and a mat spread in one corner to lie on. -Nothing but an earth-floor, and dust and grime everywhere. A crowd of -tittering girls were flitting about, peeping at us from doorways, and -diving into them with shrill screams, like frightened rabbits, if we -approached. - -Abd-el-Atti raises a great laugh by twisting a piastre into the front -lock of hair of the ugliest hag there, calling her his wife, and drawing -her arm under his to take her to the boat. It is an immense joke. The -old lady is a widow and successfully conceals her reluctance. The tying -the piece of silver in the hair is a sign of marriage. All the married -women wear a piastre or some scale of silver on the forehead; the widows -leave off this ornament from the twist; the young girls show, by the -hair plain, except always the clay dabs, that they are in the market. -The simplicity of these people is noticeable. I saw a woman seated on -the ground, in dust three inches thick, leaning against the mud-bank -in front of the house, having in her lap a naked baby; on the bank sat -another woman, braiding the hair of the first, wetting it with muddy -water, and working into it sand, clay, and tufts of dead hair. What a -way to spend Sunday! - -This is, on the whole, a model village. The people appear to have -nothing, and perhaps they want nothing. They do nothing, and I suppose -they would thank no one for coming to increase their wants and set them -to work. Nature is their friend. - -I wonder what the staple of conversation of these people is, since the -weather offers nothing, being always the same, and always fine. - -A day and a night and a day we fight adverse winds, and make no headway. -One day we lie at Farras, a place of no consequence, but having, almost -as a matter of course, ruins of the time of the Romans and the name -Rameses II. cut on a rock. In a Roman wall we find a drain-tile exactly -like those we use now. In the evening, after moon-rise, we drop down to -Aboo Simbel. - - - -0306 - - - -0307 - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV.—GIANTS IN STONE. - -WHEN daylight came the Colossi of Aboo Simbel (or Ipsambool) were -looking into our windows; greeting the sunrise as they have done every -morning for three thousand five hundred years; and keeping guard still -over the approach to the temple, whose gods are no longer anywhere -recognized, whose religion disappeared from the earth two thousand years -ago:—vast images, making an eternity of time in their silent waiting. - -The river here runs through an unmitigated desert. On the east the sand -is brown, on the west the sand is yellow; that is the only variety. -There is no vegetation, there are no habitations, there is no path on -the shore, there are no footsteps on the sand, no one comes to break the -spell of silence. To find such a monument of ancient power and art -as this temple in such a solitude enhances the visitor's wonder and -surprise. The Pyramids, Thebes, and Aboo Simbel are the three wonders of -Egypt. But the great temple of Aboo Simbel is unique. It satisfies the -mind. It is complete in itself, it is the projection of one creative -impulse of genius. Other temples are growths, they have additions, -afterthoughts, we can see in them the workings of many minds and many -periods. This is a complete thought, struck out, you would say, at a -heat. - -In order to justify this opinion, I may be permitted a little detail -concerning this temple, which impressed us all as much as anything in -Egypt. There are two temples here, both close to the shore, both cut in -the mountain of rock which here almost overhangs the stream. We need not -delay to speak of the smaller one, although it would be wonderful, if -it were not for the presence of the larger. Between the two was a rocky -gorge. This is now nearly filled up, to the depth of a hundred feet, by -the yellow sand that has drifted and still drifts over from the level of -the desert hills above. - -This sand, which drifts exactly like snow, lies in ridges like snow, -and lies loose and sliding under the feet or packs hard like snow, once -covered the façade of the big temple altogether, and now hides a portion -of it. The entrance to the temple was first cleared away in 1817 by -Belzoni and his party, whose gang of laborers worked eight hours a day -for two weeks with the thermometer at 1120 to 1160 Fahrenheit in the -shade—an almost incredible endurance when you consider what the heat -must have been in the sun beating upon this dazzling wall of sand in -front of them. - -The rock in which the temple is excavated was cut back a considerable -distance, but in this cutting the great masses were left which were to -be fashioned into the four figures. The façade thus made, to which these -statues are attached, is about one hundred feet high. The statues are -seated on thrones with no intervening screens, and, when first seen, -have the appearance of images in front of and detached from the rock of -which they form a part. The statues are all tolerably perfect, except -one, the head of which is broken and lies in masses at its feet; and -at the time of our visit the sand covered the two northernmost to the -knees. The door of entrance, over which is a hawk-headed figure of Re, -the titular divinity, is twenty feet high. Above the colossi, and as a -frieze over the curve of the cornice, is a row of monkeys, (there were -twenty-one originally, but some are split away), like a company of -negro minstrels, sitting and holding up their hands in the most comical -manner. Perhaps the Egyptians, like the mediaeval cathedral builders, -had a liking for grotesque effects in architecture; but they may have -intended nothing comic here, for the monkey had sacred functions; he -was an emblem of Thoth, the scribe of the under-world, who recorded the -judgments of Osiris. - -These colossi are the largest in the world *; they are at least fifteen -feet higher than the wonders of Thebes, but it is not their size -principally that makes their attraction. As works of art they are worthy -of study. Seated, with hands on knees, in that eternal, traditional -rigidity of Egyptian sculpture, nevertheless the grandeur of the head -and the noble beauty of the face take them out of the category of -mechanical works. The figures represent Rameses II. and the features -are of the type which has come down to us as the perfection of Egyptian -beauty. - -* The following are some of the measurements of one of these -giants:—height of figure sixty-six feet; pedestal on which it sits, ten; -leg from knee to heel, twenty; great toe, one and a half feet thick; -ear, three feet, five inches long; fore-finger, three feet; from inner -side of elbow-joint to end of middle finger, fifteen feet. - -I climbed up into the lap of one of the statues; it is there only that -you can get an adequate idea of the size of the body. What a roomy -lap! Nearly ten feet between the wrists that rest upon the legs! I sat -comfortably in the navel of the statue, as in a niche, and mused on the -passing of the nations. To these massive figures the years go by like -the stream. With impassive, serious features, unchanged in expression -in thousands of years, they sit listening always to the flowing of the -unending Nile, that fills all the air and takes away from that awful -silence which would else be painfully felt in this solitude. - -The interior of this temple is in keeping with its introduction. You -enter a grand hall supported by eight massive Osiride columns, about -twenty-two feet high as we estimated them. They are figures of -Rameses become Osiris—to be absorbed into Osiris is the end of all the -transmigrations of the blessed soul. The expression of the faces of such -of these statues as are uninjured, is that of immortal youth—a beauty -that has in it the promise of immortality. The sides of this hall are -covered with fine sculptures, mainly devoted to the exploits of Rameses -II.; and here is found again, cut in the stone the long Poem of the poet -Pentaour, celebrating the single-handed exploit of Rameses against the -Khitas on the river Orontes. It relates that the king, whom his troops -dared not follow, charged with his chariot alone into the ranks of the -enemy and rode through them again and again, and slew them by hundreds. -Rameses at that time was only twenty-three; it was his first great -campaign. Pursuing the enemy, he overtook them in advance of his troops, -and, rejecting the councils of his officers, began the fight at once. -“The footmen and the horsemen then,” says the poet (the translator is M. -de Rouge), “recoiled before the enemy who were masters of Kadesh, on -the left bank of the Orontes.... Then his majesty, in the pride of -his strength, rising up like the god Mauth, put on his fighting dress. -Completely armed, he looked like Baal in the hour of his might. Urging -on his chariot, he pushed into the army of the vile Khitas; he was -alone, no one was with him. He was surrounded by 2,500 chariots, and the -swiftest of the warriors of the vile Khitas, and of the numerous nations -who accompanied them, threw themselves in his way.... Each chariot bore -three men, and the king had with him neither princes nor generals, nor -his captains of archers nor of chariots.” - -Then Rameses calls upon Amun; he reminds him of the obelisk he has -raised to him, the bulls he has slain for him:—“Thee, I invoke, O my -Father! I am in the midst of a host of strangers, and no man is with me. -My archers and horsemen have abandoned me; when I cried to them, none of -them has heard, when I called for help. But I prefer Amun to thousands -of millions of archers, to millions of horsemen, to millions of young -heroes all assembled together. The designs of men are nothing, Amun -overrules them.” - -Needless to say the prayer was heard, the king rode slashing through -the ranks of opposing chariots, slaying, and putting to rout the host. -Whatever basis of fact the poem may have had in an incident of battle or -in the result of one engagement, it was like one of Napoleon's bulletins -from Egypt. The Khitas were not subdued and, not many years after, they -drove the Egyptians out of their land and from nearly all Palestine, -forcing them, out of all their conquests, into the valley of the Nile -itself. During the long reign of this Rameses, the power of Egypt -steadily declined, while luxury increased and the nation was exhausted -in building the enormous monuments which the king projected. The close -of his pretentious reign has been aptly compared to that of Louis XIV.—a -time of decadence; in both cases the great fabric was ripe for disaster. - -But Rameses liked the poem of Pentaour. It is about as long as a book -of the Iliad, but the stone-cutters of his reign must have known it -by heart. He kept them carving it and illustrating it all his life, on -every wall he built where there was room for the story. He never, -it would seem, could get enough of it. He killed those vile Khitas a -hundred times; he pursued them over all the stone walls in his kingdom. -The story is told here at Ipsambool; it is carved in the Rameseum; the -poem is graved on Luxor and Karnak. - -Out of this great hall open eight other chambers, all more or less -sculptured, some of them covered with well-drawn figures on which the -color is still vivid. Two of these rooms are long and very narrow, with -a bench running round the walls, the front of which is cut out so as to -imitate seats with short pillars. In one are square niches, a foot deep, -cut in the wall. The sculptures in one are unfinished, the hieroglyphics -and figures drawn in black but not cut—some event having called off -the artists and left their work incomplete We seem to be present at -the execution of these designs, and so fresh are the colors ot those -finished, that it seems it must have been only yesterday that the -workman laid down the brush. (A small chamber in the rock outside the -temple, which was only opened in 1874, is wonderful in the vividness -of its colors; we see there better than anywhere else the colors of -vestments.) - -These chambers are not the least mysterious portion of this temple. They -are in absolute darkness, and have no chance of ventilation. By what -light was this elaborate carving executed? If people ever assembled in -them, and sat on these benches, when lights were burning, how could they -breathe? If they were not used, why should they have been so decorated? -They would serve very well for the awful mysteries of the Odd Fellows. -Perhaps they were used by the Free Masons in Solomon's time. - -Beyond the great hall is a transverse hall (having two small chambers -off from it) with four square pillars, and from this a corridor leads to -the adytum. Here, behind an altar of stone, sit four marred gods, facing -the outer door, two hundred feet from it. They sit in a twilight that is -only-brightened by rays that find their way in at the distant door; but -at morning they can see, from the depth of their mountain cavern, the -rising sun. - -We climbed, up the yielding sand-drifts, to the top of the precipice in -which the temple is excavated, and walked back to a higher ridge. -The view from there is perhaps the best desert view on the Nile, -more extensive and varied than that of Aboosir. It is a wide sweep of -desolation. Up and down the river we see vast plains of sand and groups -of black hills; to the west and north the Libyan desert extends with no -limit to a horizon fringed with sharp peaks, like aiguilles of the Alps, -that have an exact resemblance to a forest. - -At night, we give the ancient deities a sort of Fourth of July, and -illuminate the temple with colored lights. A blue-light burns upon -the altar in the adytum before the four gods, who may seem in their -penetralia to receive again the worship to which they were accustomed -three thousand years ago. A green flame in the great hall brings out -mysteriously the features of the gigantic Osiride, and revives the -midnight glow of the ancient ceremonies. In the glare of torches and -colored lights on the outside, the colossi loom in their gigantic -proportions and cast grotesque shadows. - -Imagine this temple as it appeared to a stranger initiated into -the mysteries of the religion of the Pharaohs—a cultus in which -the mathematical secrets of the Pyramid and the Sphinx, art and -architecture, were wrapped in the same concealment with the problem of -the destiny of the soul; when the colors on these processions of gods -and heroes, upon these wars and pilgrimages sculptured in large on -the walls, were all brilliant; when these chambers were gorgeously -furnished, when the heavy doors that then hung in every passage, -separating the different halls and apartments, only swung open to admit -the neophyte to new and deeper mysteries, to halls blazing with light, -where he stood in the presence of these appalling figures, and of hosts -of priests and acolytes. - -The temple of Aboo Simbel was built early in the reign of Rameses II., -when art, under the impulse of his vigorous predecessors was in its -flower, and before the visible decadence which befel it later under -a royal patronage and “protection,” and in the demand for a wholesale -production, which always reduces any art to mechanical conditions. It -seemed to us about the finest single conception in Egypt. It must have -been a genius of rare order and daring who evoked in this solid mountain -a work of such grandeur and harmony of proportion, and then executed it -without a mistake. The first blow on the exterior, that began to reveal -the Colossi, was struck with the same certainty and precision as that -which brought into being the gods who are seated before the altar in the -depth of the mountain. A bolder idea was never more successfully wrought -out. - -Our last view of this wonder was by moonlight and by sunrise. We arose -and went forth over the sand-bank at five o'clock. Venus blazed as never -before. The Southern Cross was paling in the moonlight. The moon, in its -last half, hung over the south-west corner of the temple rock, and threw -a heavy shadow across a portion of the sitting figures. In this dimness -of the half-light their proportions were supernatural. Details were -lost. - -These might be giants of pre-historic times, or the old fabled gods of -antediluvian eras, outlined largely and majestically, groping their way -out of the hills. - -Above them was the illimitable, purplish blue of the sky. The Moon, one -of the goddesses of the temple, withdrew more and more before the coming -of Re, the sun-god to whom the temple is dedicated, until she cast no -shadow on the façade. The temple, even the interior, caught the first -glow of the reddening east. The light came, as it always comes at dawn, -in visible waves, and these passed over the features of the Colossi, -wave after wave, slowly brightening them into life. - -In the interior the first flush was better than the light of many -torches, and the Osiride figures were revealed in their hiding-places. -At the spring equinox the sun strikes squarely in, two hundred feet, -upon the faces of the sitting figures in the adytum. That is their -annual salute! Now it only sent its light to them; but it made rosy the -Osiride faces on one side of the great hall. - -The morning was chilly, and we sat on a sand-drift, wrapped up against -the cutting wind, watching the marvellous revelation. The dawn seemed -to ripple down the gigantic faces of the figures outside, and to touch -their stony calm with something like a smile of gladness; it almost gave -them motion, and we would hardly have felt surprised to see them arise -and stretch their weary limbs, cramped by ages of inaction, and sing -and shout at the coming of the sun-god. But they moved not, the -strengthening light only revealed their stony impassiveness; and when -the sun, rapidly clearing the eastern hills of the desert, gilded first -the row of grinning monkeys, and then the light crept slowly down over -faces and forms to the very feet, the old heathen helplessness stood -confessed. - -And when the sun swung free in the sky, we silently drew away and left -the temple and the guardians alone and unmoved. We called the reis and -the crew; the boat was turned to the current, the great sweeps dipped -into the water, and we continued our voyage down the eternal river, -which still sings and flows in this lonely desert place, where sit the -most gigantic figures man ever made. - - - -0314 - - - -0315 - - - - -CHAPTER XXV.—FLITTING THROUGH NUBIA. - -WE HAVE been learning the language. The language consists merely of -tyeb. With tyeb in its various accents and inflections, you can carry -on an extended conversation. I have heard two Arabs talking for a half -hour, in which one of them used no word for reply or response except -tyeb “good.” - -Tyeb is used for assent, agreement, approval, admiration, both -interrogatively and affectionately. It does the duty of the Yankee “all -right” and the vulgarism “that's so” combined; it has as many meanings -as the Italian va bene, or the German So! or the English girl's yes! -yes? ye-e-s, ye-e-as? yes (short), 'n ye-e-es in doubt and really a -negative—ex.:—“How lovely Blanche looks to-night!” “'n ye-e-es.” You may -hear two untutored Americans talking, and one of them, through a long -interchange of views will utter nothing except, “that's so,” “that's -so?” “that's so,” “that's so.” I think two Arabs meeting could come to a -perfect understanding with: - -“Tyeb?' - -“Tyeb.” - -“Tyeb!” (both together). - -“Tyeb?” (showing something). - -“Tyeb” (emphatically, in admiration). - -“Tyeb” (in approval of the other's admiration). - -“Tyeb Ketér” (“good, much”). - -“Tyeb Keter?” - -“Tyeb.” - -“Tyeb.” (together, in ratification of all that has been said). - -I say tyeb in my satisfaction with you; you say tyeb in pleasure at my -satisfaction; I say tyeb in my pleasure at your pleasure. The -servant says tyeb when you give him an order; you say tyeb upon his -comprehending it. The Arabic is the richest of languages. I believe -there are three hundred names for earth, a hundred for lion, and so -on. But the vocabulary of the common people is exceedingly limited. Our -sailors talk all day with the aid of a very few words. - -But we have got beyond tyeb. We can say eiwa (“yes”)—or nam, when we -wish to be elegant—and la (“no”). The universal negative in Nubia, -however, is simpler than this—it is a cluck of the tongue in the left -check and a slight upward jerk of the head. This cluck and jerk makes -“no,” from which there is no appeal. If you ask a Nubian the price -of anything—be-kam dee?—and he should answer khamsa (“five”), and you -should offer thelata (“three”), and he should kch and jerk up his -head, you might know the trade was hopeless; because the kch expresses -indifference as well as a negative. The best thing you could do would be -to say bookra (“to-morrow”), and go away—meaning in fact to put off the -purchase forever, as the Nubian very well knows when he politely adds, -tyeb. - -But there are two other words necessary to be mastered before the -traveller can say he knows Arabic. To the constant call for “backsheesh” -and the obstructing rabble of beggars and children, you must be able to -say mafeesh (“nothing”), and im'shee (“getaway,” “clear out,” “scat.”) -It is my experience that this im'shee is the most necessary word in -Egypt. - -We do nothing all day but drift, or try to drift, against the north -wind, not making a mile an hour, constantly turning about, floating from -one side of the river to the other. It is impossible to row, for the -steersman cannot keep the boat's bow to the current. - -There is something exceedingly tedious, even to a lazy and resigned man, -in this perpetual drifting hither and thither. To float, however slowly, -straight down the current, would be quite another thing. To go sideways, -to go stern first, to waltz around so that you never can tell which bank -of the river you are looking at, or which way you are going, or what the -points of the compass are, is confusing and unpleasant. It is the -one serious annoyance of a dahabeëh voyage. If it is calm, we go on -delightfully with oars and current; if there is a southerly breeze -we travel rapidly, and in the most charming way in the world. But our -high-cabined boats are helpless monsters in this wind, which continually -blows; we are worse than becalmed, we are badgered. - -However, we might be in a worse winter country, and one less -entertaining. We have just drifted in sight of a dahabeëh, with the -English flag, tied up to the bank. On the shore is a picturesque crowd; -an awning is stretched over high poles; men are busy at something under -it—on the rock near sits a group of white people under umbrellas. What -can it be? Are they repairing a broken yard? Are they holding a court -over some thief? Are they performing some mystic ceremony? We take the -sandal and go to investigate. - -An English gentleman has shot two crocodiles, and his people are -skinning them, stuffing the skin, and scraping the flesh from the bones, -preparing the skeletons for a museum. Horrible creatures they are, even -in this butchered condition. The largest is twelve feet long; that is -called a big crocodile here; but last winter the gentleman killed one -that was seventeen feet long; that was a monster. - -In the stomach of one of these he found two pairs of bracelets, such -as are worn by Nubian children, two “cunning” little leathern bracelets -ornamented with shells—a most useless ornament for a crocodile. -The animal is becoming more and more shy every year, and it is very -difficult to get a shot at one. They come out in the night, looking for -bracelets. One night we nearly lost Ahmed, one of our black boys; he had -gone down upon the rudder, when an enquiring crocodile came along and -made a snap at him—when the boy climbed on deck he looked white even by -starlight. - -The invulnerability of the crocodile hide is exaggerated. One of these -had two bullet-holes in his back. His slayer says he has repeatedly put -bullets through the hide on the back. - -When we came away we declined steaks, but the owner gave us some eggs, -so that we might raise our own crocodiles. - -Gradually we drift out of this almost utterly sterile country, and come -to long strips of palm-groves, and to sakiyas innumerable, shrieking on -the shore every few hundred feet. We have time to visit a considerable -village, and see the women at their other occupation (besides -lamentation) braiding each other's hair; sitting on the ground, -sometimes two at a head, patiently twisting odds and ends of loose hair -into the snaky braids, and muddling the whole with sand, water, -and clay, preparatory to the oil. A few women are spinning with a -hand-spindle and producing very good cotton-thread. All appear to have -time on their hands. And what a busy place this must be in summer, when -the heat is like that of an oven! The men loaf about like the women, and -probably do even less. Those at work are mostly slaves, boys and girls -in the slightest clothing; and even these do a great deal of “standing -round.” Wooden hoes are used. - -The desert over which we walked beyond the town was very different -from the Libyan with its drifts and drifts of yellow sand. We went over -swelling undulations (like our rolling prairies), cut by considerable -depressions, of sandstone with a light sand cover but all strewn with -shale or shingle. This black shale is sometimes seen adhering like a -layer of glazing to the coarse rock; and, though a part of the rock, it -has the queer appearance of having been a deposit solidified upon it and -subsequently broken off. On the tops of these hills we found everywhere -holes scooped out by the natives in search of nitre; the holes showed -evidence, in dried mud, of the recent presence of water. - -We descended into a deep gorge, in which the rocks were broken -squarely down the face, exhibiting strata of red, white, and variegated -sandstone; the gorge was a Wady that ran far back into the country among -the mountains; we followed it down to a belt of sunt acacias and palms -on the river. This wady was full of rocks, like a mountain stream -at home; a great torrent running long in it, had worn the rocks into -fantastic shapes, cutting punch-bowls and the like, and water had -recently dried in the hollows. But it had not rained on the river. - -This morning we are awakened by loud talking and wrangling on deck, -that sounds like a Paris revolution. We have only stopped for milk! The -forenoon we spend among the fashionable ladies of Derr, the capital of -Nubia, studying the modes, in order that we may carry home the latest. -This is an aristocratic place. One of the eight-hundred-years-old -sycamore trees, of which we made mention, is still vigorous and was -bearing the sycamore fig. The other is in front of a grand mud-house -with latticed windows, the residence of the Kashefs of Sultan Selim -whose descendants still occupy it, and, though shorn of authority, are -said to be proud of their Turkish origin. One of them, Hassan Kashef, an -old man in the memory of our dragoman, so old that he had to lift up -his eyelids with his finger when he wanted to see, died only a few years -ago. This patriarch had seventy-two wives as his modest portion in this -world; and as the Koran allows only four, there was some difficulty in -settling the good man's estate. The matter was referred to the Khedive, -but he wisely refused to interfere. When the executor came to divide the -property among the surviving children, he found one hundred and five to -share the inheritance. - -The old fellow had many other patriarchal ways. On his death-bed he left -a legacy of both good and evil wishes, requests to reward this friend, -and to “serve out” that enemy, quite in the ancient style, and in the -Oriental style, recalling the last recorded words of King David, whose -expiring breath was an expression of a wish for vengeance upon one of -his enemies, whom he had sworn not to kill. It reads now as if it might -have been spoken by a Bedawee sheykh to his family only yesterday:—“And, -behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of -Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to -Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him -by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now -therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest -what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to -the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in -the city of David.” - -We call at the sand-covered temple at A'mada, and crawl into it; a very -neat little affair, with fresh color and fine sculptures, and as old as -the time of Osirtasen III. (the date of the obelisk of Heliopolis, of -the Tombs of Beni Hassan, say about fifteen hundred years before Rameses -II.); and then sail quickly down to Korosko, passing over in an hour or -so a distance that required a day and a half on the ascent. - -At Korosko there are caravans in from Kartoom; the camel-drivers wear -monstrous silver rings, made in the interior, the crown an inch high and -set with blood-stone. I bought from the neck of a pretty little boy -a silver “charm,” a flat plate with the name of Allah engraved on it. -Neither the boy nor the charm had been washed since they came into -being. - -The caravan had brought one interesting piece of freight, which had -just been sent down the river. It was the head of the Sultan of Darfoor, -preserved in spirits, and forwarded to the Khedive as a present. This -was to certify that the Sultan was really killed, when Darfoor was -captured by the army of the Viceroy; though I do not know that there is -any bounty on the heads of African Sultans. It is an odd gift to send to -a ruler who wears the European dress and speaks French, and whose chief -military officers are Americans. - -The desolate hills behind Korosko rise a thousand feet, and we climbed -one of the peaks to have a glimpse of the desert route and the country -towards Kartoom. I suppose a more savage landscape does not exist. The -peak of black disintegrated rocks on which we stood was the first of an -assemblage of such as far as we could see south; the whole horizon was -cut by these sharp peaks; and through these thickly clustering hills the -caravan trail made its way in sand and powdered dust. Shut in from -the breeze, it must be a hard road to travel, even with a winter sun -multiplying its rays from all these hot rocks; in the summer it would be -frightful. But on these summits, or on any desert swell, the air is -an absolute elixir of life; it has a quality of lightness but not the -rarity that makes respiration difficult. - -At a village below Korosko we had an exhibition of the manner of -fighting with the long Nubian war-spear and the big round shield made of -hippopotamus-hide. The men jumped about and uttered frightening cries, -and displayed more agility than fight, the object being evidently to -terrify by a threatening aspect; but the scene was as barbarous as any -we see in African pictures. Here also was a pretty woman (pretty for -her) with beautiful eyes, who wore a heavy nose-ring of gold, which she -said she put on to make her face beautiful; nevertheless she would sell -the ring for nine dollars and a half. The people along here will -sell anything they have, ornaments, charms to protect them from the -evil-eye,—they will part with anything for money. At this village we -took on a crocodile ten feet long, which had been recently killed, and -lashed it to the horizontal yard. It was Abd-el-Atti's desire to present -it to a friend in Cairo, and perhaps he was not reluctant, when we -should be below the cataract, to have it take the appearance, in the -eyes of spectators, of having been killed by some one on this boat. - -We obtained above Korosko one of the most beautiful animals in the -world—a young gazelle—to add to our growing menagerie; which consists -of a tame duck, who never gets away when his leg is tied; a timid desert -hare, who has lived for a long time in a tin box in the cabin, trembling -like an aspen leaf night and day; and a chameleon. - -The chameleon ought to have a chapter to himself. We have reason to -think that he has the soul of some transmigrating Egyptian. He is the -most uncanny beast. We have made him a study, and find very little good -in him. His changeableness of color is not his worst quality. He has the -nature of a spy, and he is sullen and snappish besides. We discovered -that his color is not a purely physical manifestation, but that it -depends upon his state of mind, upon his temper. When everything is -serene, he is green as a May morning, but anger changes him instantly -for the worse. It is however true that he takes his color mainly from -the substance upon which he dwells, not from what he eats; for he eats -flies and allows them to make no impression on his exterior. When he was -taken off an acacia-tree, this chameleon was of the bright-green color -of the leaves. Brought into our cabin, his usual resting-place was on -the reddish maroon window curtains, and his green changed muddily into -the color of the woollen. When angry, he would become mottled with dark -spots, and have a thick cloudy color. This was the range of his changes -of complexion; it is not enough (is it?) to give him his exaggerated -reputation. - -I confess that I almost hated him, and perhaps cannot do him justice. -He is a crawling creature at best, and his mode of getting about is -disagreeable; his feet have the power of clinging to the slightest -roughness, and he can climb anywhere; his feet are like hands; besides, -his long tail is like another hand; it is prehensile like the monkey's. -He feels his way along very carefully, taking a turn with his tail about -some support, when he is passing a chasm, and not letting go until his -feet are firmly fixed on something else. And, then, the way he uses his -eye is odious. His eye-balls are stuck upon the end of protuberances on -his head, which protuberances work like ball-and-socket joints—as if -you had your eye on the end of your finger. When he wants to examine -anything, he never turns his head; he simply swivels his eye round and -brings it to bear on the object. Pretending to live in cold isolation on -the top of a window curtain, he is always making clammy excursions round -the cabin, and is sometimes found in our bed-chambers. You wouldn't like -to feel his cold tail dragging over you in the night. - -The first question every morning, when we come to breakfast, is, - -“Where is that chameleon?” - -He might be under the table, you know, or on the cushions, and you might -sit on him. Commonly he conceals his body behind the curtain, and just -lifts his head above the roller. There he sits, spying us, gyrating his -evil eye upon us, and never stirring his head; he takes the color of -the curtain so nearly that we could not see him if it was not for that -swivel eye. It is then that he appears malign, and has the aspect of a -wise but ill-disposed Egyptian whose soul has had ill luck in getting -into any respectable bodies for three or four thousand years. He lives -upon nothing,—you would think he had been raised in a French pension. -Few flies happen his way; and, perhaps he is torpid out of the sun so -much of the time, he is not active to catch those that come. I carried -him a big one the other day, and he repaid my kindness by snapping my -finger. And I am his only friend. - -Alas, the desert hare, whom we have fed with corn, and greens, and tried -to breed courage in for a long time, died this morning at an early hour; -either he was chilled out of the world by the cold air on deck, or he -died of palpitation of the heart; for he was always in a flutter of -fear, his heart going like a trip-hammer, when anyone approached him. -He only rarely elevated his long silky ears in a serene enjoyment of -society. His tail was too short, but he was, nevertheless, an animal to -become attached to. - -Speaking of Hassan Kashef's violation of the Moslem law, in taking more -than four wives, is it generally known that the women in Mohammed's -time endeavored also to have the privileges of men? Forty women who -had cooked for the soldiers who were fighting the infidels and had done -great service in the campaign, were asked by the Prophet to name their -reward. The chief lady, who was put forward to prefer the request of -the others, asked that as men were permitted four wives women might be -allowed to have four husbands. The Prophet gave them a plain reason for -refusing their petition, and it has never been renewed. The legend shows -that long ago women protested against their disabilities. - -The strong north wind, with coolish weather, continues. On Sunday we are -nowhere in particular, and climb a high sandstone peak, and sit in the -shelter of a rock, where wandering men have often come to rest. It is a -wild, desert place, and there is that in the atmosphere of the day which -leads to talk of the end of the world. - -Like many other Moslems, Abd-el-Atti thinks that these are the -last days, bad enough days, and that the end draws near. We have -misunderstood what Mr. Lane says about Christ coming to “judge” the -world. The Moslems believe that Christ, who never died, but was taken up -into heaven away from the Jews,—a person in his likeness being crucified -in his stead,—will come to rule, to establish the Moslem religion and a -reign of justice (the Millenium); and that after this period Christ will -die, and be buried in Medineh, not far from Mohammed. Then the world -will end, and Azrael, the angel of death, will be left alone on the -earth for forty days. He will go to and fro, and find no one; all will -be in their graves. Then Christ and Mohammed and all the dead will rise. -But the Lord God will be the final judge of all. - -“Yes, there have been many false prophets. A man came before Haroun e' -Rasheed pretending to be a prophet. - -“'What proof have you that you are one? What miracle can you do?'.rdquo; - -“'Anything you like.'.rdquo; - -“'Christ, on whom be peace, raised men from the dead.'.rdquo; - -“'So will I.' This took place before the king and the chief-justice. -'Let the head of the chief-justice be cut off,' said the pretended -prophet, 'and I will restore him to life.'.rdquo; - -“'Oh,' cried the chief-justice, 'I believe that the man is a real -prophet. Anyone who does not believe can have his head cut off, and try -it.'.rdquo; - -“A woman also claimed to be a prophetess. 'But,' said the Khalif Haroun -e' Rasheed, 'Mohammed declared that he was the last man who should be a -prophet.'.rdquo; - -“'He didn't say that a woman shouldn't be,' the woman she answer.” - -The people vary in manners and habits here from village to village, much -more than we supposed they would. Walking this morning for a couple of -miles through the two villages of Maharraka—rude huts scattered under -palm-trees—we find the inhabitants, partly Arab, partly Barabra, and -many negro slaves, more barbaric than any we have seen; boys and girls, -till the marriageable age, in a state of nature, women neither so shy -nor so careful about covering themselves with clothing as in other -places, and the slaves wretchedly provided for. The heads of the young -children are shaved in streaks, with long tufts of hair left; the women -are loaded with tawdry necklaces, and many of them, poor as they -are, sport heavy hoops of gold in the nose, and wear massive silver -bracelets. - -The slaves, blacks and mulattoes, were in appearance like those seen -formerly in our southern cotton-fields. I recall a picture, in abolition -times, representing a colored man standing alone, and holding up his -arms, in a manner beseeching the white man, passing by, to free him. -To-day I saw the picture realized. A very black man, standing nearly -naked in the midst of a bean-field, raised up both his arms, and cried -aloud to us as we went by. The attitude had all the old pathos in it. -As the poor fellow threw up his arms in a wild despair, he cried -“Backsheesh, backsheesh, O! howadji!” - -For the first time we found the crops in danger. The country was overrun -with reddish-brown locusts, which settled in clouds upon every green -thing; and the people in vain attempted to frighten them from their -scant strip of grain. They are not, however, useless. The attractive -women caught some, and, pulling off the wings and legs, offered them to -us to eat. They said locusts were good; and I suppose they are such as -John the Baptist ate. We are not Baptists. - -As we go down the river we take in two or three temples a day, besides -these ruins of humanity in the village,—-Dakkeh, Gerf Hossâyn, Dendoor. -It is easy to get enough of these second-class temples. That at -Gerf Hossâyn is hewn in the rock, and is in general arrangement like -Ipsambool—it was also made by Rameses II.—but is in all respects -inferior, and lacks the Colossi. I saw sitting in the adytum four -figures whom I took to be Athos, Parthos, Aramis, and D'Artignan—though -this edifice was built long before the day of the “Three Guardsmen.” - -The people in the village below have such a bad reputation that the -dragoman in great fright sent sailors after us, when he found we were -strolling through the country alone. We have seen no natives so well -off in cattle, sheep, and cooking-utensils, or in nose-rings, beads, and -knives; they are, however, a wild, noisy tribe, and the whole village -followed us for a mile, hooting for backsheesh. The girls wear a -nose-ring and a girdle; the boys have no rings or girdles. The men are -fierce and jealous of their wives, perhaps with reason, stabbing and -throwing them into the river on suspicion, if they are caught talking -with another man. So they say. At this village we saw pits dug in the -sand (like those described in the Old Testament), in which cattle, sheep -and goats were folded; it being cheaper to dig a pit than to build a -stone fence. - -At Kalâbshee are two temples, ruins on a sufficiently large scale to -be imposing; sculptures varied in character and beautifully colored; -propylons with narrow staircases, and concealed rooms, and deep windows -bespeaking their use as fortifications and dungeons as well as temples; -and columns of interest to the architect; especially two, fluted (time -of Rameses II.) with square projecting abacus like the Doric, but -with broad bases. The inhabitants are the most pestilent on the river, -crowding their curiosities upon us, and clamoring for money. They have -for sale gazelle-horns, and the henna (which grows here), in the form of -a green powder. - -However, Kalâbshee has educational facilities. I saw there a boys' -school in full operation. In the open air, but in the sheltering angle -of a house near the ruins, sat on the ground the schoolmaster. Behind -him leaned his gun against the wall; before him lay an open Koran; and -in his hand he held a thin palm rod with which he enforced education. He -was dictating sentences from the book to a scrap of a scholar, a boy who -sat on the ground, with an inkhorn beside him, and wrote the sentences -on a board slate, repeating the words in aloud voice as he wrote. Nearby -was another urchin, seated before a slate leaning against the angle of -of the wall, committing the writing on it to memory, in a loud voice -also. When he looked off the stick reminded him to attend to his slate. -I do not know whether he calls this a private or a public school. - -Quitting these inhospitable savages as speedily as we can, upon the -springing up of a south wind, we are going down stream at a spanking -rate, leaving a rival dahabeëh, belonging to an English lord, behind, -when the adversary puts it into the head of our pilot to steer across -the river, and our prosperous career is suddenly arrested on a sandbar. -We are fast, and the English boat, keeping in the channel, shows us her -rudder and disappears round the bend. - -Extraordinary confusion follows; the crew are in the water, they are on -deck, the anchor is got out, there are as many opinions, as people, and -no one obeys. The long pilot is a spectacle, after he has been wading -about in the stream and comes on deck. His gown is off and his turban -also; his head is shaved; his drawers are in tatters like lace-work. He -strides up and down beating his breast, his bare poll shining in the -sun like a billiard ball. We are on the sand nearly four hours, and the -accident, causing us to lose this wind, loses us, it so happens, three -days. By dark we tie up near the most excruciating Sakiya in the world. -It is suggested to go on shore and buy the property and close it out. -But the boy who is driving will neither sell nor stop his cattle. - -At Gertassee we have more ruins and we pass a beautiful, single column, -conspicuous for a long distance over the desert, as fine as the once -“nameless column” in the Roman forum, These temples, or places of -worship, are on the whole depressing. There was no lack of religious -privileges if frequency of religious edifices gave them. But the people -evidently had no part in the ceremonies, and went never into these dark -chambers, which are now inhabited by bats. The old religion does not -commend itself to me. Of what use would be one of these temples on -Asylum Hill, in Hartford, and how would the Rev. Mr. Twichell busy -himself in its dark recesses, I wonder, even with the help of the -deacons and the committee? The Gothic is quite enough for us. - -This morning—we have now entered upon the month of February—for the -first time in Nubia, we have early a slight haze, a thin veil of it; and -passing between shores rocky and high and among granite breakers, we -are reminded of the Hudson river on a June morning. A strong north wind, -however, comes soon to puff away this illusion, and it blows so hard -that we are actually driven up-stream. - -The people and villages under the crumbling granite ledges that this -delay enables us to see, are the least promising we have encountered; -women and children are more nearly barbarians in dress and manners; for -the women, a single strip of brown cotton, worn à la Bedawee, leaving -free the legs, the right arm and breast, is a common dress. And yet, -some of these women are not without beauty. One pretty girl sitting on -a rock, the sun glistening on the castor-oil of her hair, asked for -backsheesh in a sweet voice, her eyes sparkling with merriment. A flower -blooming in vain in this desert! - -Is it a question of “converting” these people? Certainly, nothing but -the religion of the New Testament, put in practice here, bringing in -its train, industry, self-respect, and a desire to know, can awaken the -higher nature, and lift these creatures into a respectable womanhood. -But the task is more difficult than it would be with remote tribes in -Central Africa. These people have been converted over and over again. -They have had all sorts of religions during the last few thousand years, -and they remain essentially the same. They once had the old Egyptian -faith, whatever it was; and subsequently they varied that with the -Greek and Roman shades of heathenism. They then accepted the early -Christianity, as the Abyssinians did, and had, for hundreds of years, -opportunity of Christian worship, when there were Christian churches -all along the Nile from Alexander to Meroë, and holy hermits in every -eligible cave and tomb. And then came Mohammed's friends, giving them -the choice of belief or martyrdom, and they embraced the religion of -Mecca as cordially as any other. - -They have remained essentially unchanged through all their changes. This -hopelessness of their condition is in the fact that in all the shiftings -of religions and of dynasties, the women have continued to soak their -hair in castor-oil. The fashion is as old as the Nile world. Many people -look upon castor-oil as an excellent remedy. I should like to know what -it has done for Africa. - -At Dabod is an interesting ruin, and a man sits there in front of his -house, weaving, confident that no rain will come to spoil his yarn. -He sits and works the treadle of his loom in a hole in the ground, the -thread being stretched out twenty or thirty feet on the wall before -him. It is the only industry of the village, and a group of natives are -looking on. The poor weaver asks backsheesh, and when I tell him I have -nothing smaller than an English sovereign, he says he can change it! - -Here we find also a sort of Holly-Tree Inn, a house for charitable -entertainment, such as is often seen in Moslem villages. It is a square -mud-structure, entered by two doors, and contains two long rooms with -communicating openings. The dirt-floors are cleanly swept and fresh mats -are laid down at intervals. Any stranger or weary traveler, passing -by, is welcome to come in and rest or pass the night, to have a cup of -coffee and some bread. There are two cleanly dressed attendants, and -one of them is making coffee, within, over a handful of fire, in a -tiny coffee-pot. In front, in the sun, on neat mats, sit half a dozen -turbaned men, perhaps tired wanderers and pilgrims in this world, who -have turned aside to rest for an hour, for a day, or for a week. They -appear to have been there forever. The establishment is maintained by -a rich man of the place; but signs of an abode of wealth we failed to -discover in any of the mud-enclosures. - -When we are under way again, we express surprise at finding here such an -excellent charity. - -“You no think the Lord he take care for his own?” says Abd-el-Atti. -“When the kin' [king] of Abyssinia go to 'stroy the Kaabeh in Mecca”— - -“Did you ever see the Kaabeh?” - -“Many times. Plenty times I been in Mecca.” - -“In what part of the Kaabeh is the Black Stone?” - -“So. The Kaabeh is a building like a cube, about, I think him, thirty -feet high, built in the middle of the mosque at Mecca. It was built by -Abraham, of white marble. In the outside the east wall, near the corner, -'bout so (four feet) high you find him, the Black Stone, put there by -Abraham, call him haggeh el ashad, the lucky, the fortunate stone. It is -opposite the sunrise. Where Abraham get him? God knows. If any one sick, -he touch this stone, be made so well as he was. So I hunderstand. -The Kaabeh is in the centre of the earth, and has fronts to the four -quarters of the globe, Asia, Hindia, Egypt, all places, toward which -the Moslem kneel in prayer. Near the Kaabeh is the well, the sacred well -Zem-Zem, has clear water, beautiful, so lifely. One time a year, in the -month before Ramadan, Zem-Zem spouts up high in the air, and people come -to drink of it. When Hagar left Ishmael, to look for water, being very -thirsty, the little fellow scratched with his fingers in the sand, and a -spring of water rushed up; this is the well Zem-Zem. I told you the same -water is in the spring in Syria, El Gebel; I find him just the same; -come under the earth from Zem-Zem.” - -“When the kin' of Abyssinia, who not believe, what you call infidel, -like that Englishman, yes, Mr. Buckle, I see him in Sinai and Petra—very -wise man, know a great deal, very nice gentleman, I like him very much, -but I think he not believe—when the kin' of Abyssinia came with all his -great army and his elephants to fight against Mecca, and to 'stroy the -Kaabeh as well the same time to carry off all the cattle of the people, -then the people they say, 'the cattle are ours, but the Kaabeh is the -Lord's, and he will have care over it; the Kaabeh is not ours.' There -was one of the elephants of the kin' of Abyssinia, the name of Mahmoud, -and he was very wise, more wise than anybody else. When he came in sight -of Mecca, he turned back and went the other way, and not all the spears -and darts of the soldiers could stop him. The others went on. Then the -Lord sent out of the hell very small birds, with very little stones, -taken out of hell, in their claws, no larger than mustard seeds; and -the birds dropped these on the heads of the soldiers that rode on the -elephants—generally three or four on an elephant. The little seeds went -right down through the men and through the elephants, and killed them, -and by this the army was 'stroyed.” - -“When the kin', after that, come into the mosque, some power outside -himself made him to bow down in respect to the Kaabeh. He went away and -did not touch it. And it stands there the same now.” - - - -0331 - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI.—MYSTERIOUS PHILÆ. - -WE are on deck early to see the approach to Philæ, which is through a -gateway of high rocks. The scenery is like parts of the Rhine; and as we -come in sight of the old mosque perched on the hillside, and the round -tomb on the pinnacle above, it is very like the Rhine, with castle -ruins. The ragged and rock island of Biggeh rises before us and seems to -stop the way, but, at a turn in the river, the little temple, with its -conspicuous columns, then the pylon of the great temple, and at length -the mass of ruins, that cover the little island of Philæ, open on the -view. - -In the narrows we meet the fleet of government boats conveying the -engineer expedition going up to begin the railway from Wady Haifa to -Berber. Abd-el-Atti does not like the prospect of Egypt running deeper -and deeper in debt, with no good to come of it, he says; he believes -that the Khedive is acting under the advice of England, which is -entirely selfish and only desires a short way to India, in case the -French should shut the Suez Canal against them (his view is a very good -example of a Moslem's comprehension of affairs). Also thinking, with all -Moslems, that it is best to leave the world and its people as the Lord -has created and placed them, he replied to an enquiry about his opinion -of the railroad, with this story of Jonah:— - -“When the prophet Jonah came out of the whale and sat down on the bank -to dry under a tree (I have seen the tree) in Syria, there was a blind -man sitting near by, who begged the prophet to give him sight. Then -Jonah asked the Lord for help and the blind man was let to see. The man -was eating dates at the same time, and the first thing he did when he -got his eyes open was to snap the hard seeds at Jonah, who you know -was very tender from being so long in the whale. Jonah was stung on his -skin, and bruised by the stones, and he cry out, 'O! Lord, how is this?' -And the Lord said, 'Jonah, you not satisfied to leave things as I placed -'em; and now you must suffer for it'.” - -One muses and dreams at Philæ, and does not readily arouse himself -to the necessity of exploring and comprehending the marvels and the -beauties that insensibly lead him into sentimental reveries. If ever the -spirit of beauty haunted a spot, it is this. Whatever was harsh in the -granite ledges, or too sharp in the granite walls, whatever is repellant -in the memory concerning the uses of these temples of a monstrous -theogony, all is softened now by time, all asperities are worn away; -nature and art grow lovely together in a gentle decay, sunk in a repose -too beautiful to be sad. Nowhere else in Egypt has the grim mystery of -the Egyptians cultus softened into so harmless a memory. - -The oval island contains perhaps a hundred acres. It is a rock, with -only a patch or two of green, and a few scattered palms, just enough to -give it a lonely, poetic, and not a fruitful aspect, and, as has been -said, is walled all round from the water's edge. Covered with ruins, the -principal are those of the temple of Isis. Beginning at the southern end -of the island, where a flight of steps led up to it, it stretches along, -with a curved and broadening colonnade, giant pylons, great courts and -covered temples. It is impossible to imagine a structure or series of -structures, more irregular in the lines or capricious in the forms. The -architects gave free play to their fancy, and we find here the fertility -and variety, if not the grotesqueness of imagination of the mediaeval -cathedral builders. The capitals of the columns of the colonnade are -sculptured in rich variety; the walls of the west cloister are covered -with fine carvings, the color on them still fresh and delicate; and the -ornamental designs are as beautiful and artistic as the finest Greek -work, which some of it suggests: as rich as the most lovely Moorish -patterns, many of which seem to have been copied from these living -creations—-diamond-work, birds, exquisite medallions of flowers, and -sphinxes. - -Without seeing this mass of buildings, you can have no notion of the -labor expended in decorating them. All the surfaces of the gigantic -pylons, of the walls and courts, exterior and interior, are covered with -finely and carefully cut figures and hieroglyphics, and a great deal of -the work is minute and delicate chiselling. You are lost in wonder if -you attempt to estimate the time and the number of workmen necessary to -accomplish all this. It seems incredible that men could ever have had -patience or leisure for it. A great portion of the figures, within and -without, have been, with much painstaking, defaced; probably it was done -by the early Christians, and this is the only impress they have left of -their domination in this region. - -The most interesting sculptures, however, at Philæ are those in a small -chamber, or mortuary chapel, on the roof of the main temple, touching -the most sacred mystery of the Egyptian religion, the death and -resurrection of Osiris. This myth, which took many fantastic forms, was -no doubt that forbidden topic upon which Herodotus was not at liberty to -speak. It was the growth of a period in the Egyptian theology when the -original revelation of one God grew weak and began to disappear under -a monstrous symbolism. It is possible that the priests, who held their -religious philosophy a profound secret from the vulgar (whose religion -was simply a gross worship of symbols), never relinquished the belief -expressed in their sacred texts, which say of God “that He is the sole -generator in heaven and earth, and that He has not been begotten.... -That He is the only living and true God, who was begotten by Himself.... -He who has existed from the beginning.... who has made all things and -was not Himself made.” It is possible that they may have held to this -and still kept in the purity of its first conception the myth of the -manifestation of Osiris, however fantastic the myth subsequently became -in mythology and in the popular worship. - -Osiris, the personification of the sun, the life-giving, came upon the -earth to benefit men, and one of his titles was the “manifester of good -and truth.” He was slain in a conflict with Set the spirit of evil and -darkness; he was buried; he was raised from the dead by the prayers of -his wife, Isis; he became the judge of the dead; he was not only the -life-giving but the saving deity; “himself the first raised from the -dead, he assisted to raise those who were justified, after having aided -them to overcome all their trials.” - -But whatever the priests and the initiated believed, this myth is here -symbolized in the baldest forms. We have the mummy of Osiris passing -through its interment and the successive stages of the under-world; then -his body is dismembered and scattered, and finally the limbs and organs -are reassembled and joined together, and the resurrection takes place -before our eyes. It reminds one of a pantomime of the Ravels, who used -to chop up the body of a comrade and then put him together again as good -as new, with the insouciance of beings who lived in a world where such -transactions were common. This whole temple indeed, would be a royal -place for the tricks of a conjurer or the delusions of a troop of stage -wizards. It is full of dark chambers and secret passages, some of them -in the walls and some subterranean, the entrances to which are only -disclosed by removing a close-fitting stone. - -The great pylons, ascended by internal stairways, have habitable -chambers in each story, lighted by deep slits of windows, and are -like palace fortresses. The view from the summit of one of them is -fascinating, but almost grim; that is, your surroundings are huge masses -of granite mountains and islands, only relieved by some patches of green -and a few palms on the east shore. But time has so worn and fashioned -the stones of the overtopping crags, and the color of the red granite is -so warm, and the contours are so softened that under the brilliant sky -the view is mellowed and highly poetical, and ought not to be called -grim. - -This little island, gay with its gorgeously colored walls, graceful -colonnades, garden-roofs and spreading terraces, set in its rim of swift -water, protected by these granite fortresses, bent over by this sky, -must have been a dear and sacred place to the worshippers of Isis and -Osiris, and we scarcely wonder that the celebration of their rites -was continued so long in our era. We do not need, in order to feel -the romance of the place, to know that it was a favorite spot with -Cleopatra, and that she moored her silken-sailed dahabeëh on the -sandbank where ours now lies. Perhaps she was not a person of romantic -nature. There is a portrait of her here (the authenticity of which rests -upon I know not what authority) stiffly cut in the stone, in which she -appears to be a resolute woman with full sensual lips and a determined -chin. Her hair is put up in decent simplicity. But I half think that she -herself was like her other Egyptian sisters and made her silken locks -to shine with the juice of the castor-oil plant. But what were these -mysteries in which she took part, and what was this worship, conducted -in these dark and secret chambers? It was veiled from all vulgar eyes; -probably the people were scarcely allowed to set foot upon the sacred -island. - -Sunday morning was fresh and cool, with fleecy clouds, light and -summer-like. Instead of Sabbath bells, when I rose late, I heard the -wild chant of a crew rowing a dahabeëh down the echoing channel. And I -wondered how church bells, rung on the top of these pylons, would sound -reverberating among these granite rocks and boulders. We climbed, during -the afternoon, to the summit of the island of Biggeh, which overshadows -Philæ, and is a most fantastic pile of crags. You can best understand -this region by supposing that a gigantic internal explosion lifted the -granite strata into the air, and that the fragments fell hap-hazard. -This Biggeh might have been piled up by the giants who attempted to -scale heaven, when Zeus blasted them and their work with his launched -lightning. - -From this summit, we have in view the broken, rock-strewn field called -the Cataract, and all the extraordinary islands of rock above, that -almost dam the river; there, over Philæ, on the north shore, is the -barrack-like Austrian Mission, and neat it the railway that runs through -the desert waste, round the hills of the Cataract, to Assouan. These -vast piled-up fragments and splintered ledges, here and all about -us, although of raw granite and syenite, are all disintegrating and -crumbling into fine atoms. It is this decay that softens the hardness -of the outlines, and harmonizes with the ruins below. Wild as the -convulsion was that caused this fantastic wreck, the scene is not -without a certain peace now, as we sit here this Sunday afternoon, on a -high crag, looking down upon the pagan temples, which resist the -tooth of time almost as well as the masses of granite rock that are in -position and in form their sentinels. - -Opposite, on the hill, is the mosque, and the plastered dome of the -sheykh's tomb, with its prayer-niche, a quiet and commanding place -of repose. The mosque looks down upon the ever-flowing Nile, upon the -granite desolation, upon the decaying temple of Isis,—converted -once into a temple of the true God, and now merely the marvel of the -traveler. The mosque itself, representative of the latest religion, is -falling to ruin. What will come next? What will come to break up this -civilized barbarism? - -“Abd-el-Atti, why do you suppose the Lord permitted the old heathen -to have such a lovely place as this Philæ for the practice of their -superstitions?” - -“Do' know, be sure. Once there was a stranger, I reckon him travel -without any dragoman, come to the tent of the prophet Abraham, and ask -for food and lodging; he was a kind of infidel, not believe in God, not -to believe in anything but a bit of stone. And Abraham was very angry, -and sent him away without any dinner. Then the Lord, when he saw it, -scolded Abraham. - -“'But,' says Abraham, 'the man is an infidel, and does not believe in -Thee.' - -“'Well,' the Lord he answer to Abraham, 'he has lived in my world all -his life, and I have suffered him, and taken care of him, and prospered -him, and borne his infidelity; and you could not give him a dinner, or -shelter for one night in your house! - -“Then Abraham ran after the infidel, and called him back, and told him -all that the Lord he say. And the infidel when he heard it, answer, -'If the Lord says that, I believe in Him; and I believe that you are a -prophet.'.rdquo; - -“And do you think, Abd-el-Atti, that men have been more tolerant, the -Friends of Mohammed, for instance, since then?” - -“Men pretty nearly always the same; I see 'em all 'bout alike. I read -in our books a little, what you call 'em?—yes, anecdote, how a Moslem -'ulama, and a Christian priest, and a Jewish rabbi, were in a place -together, and had some conversation, and they agreed to tell what each -would like best to happen. - -“The priest he began:—'I should like,' says he, 'as many Moslems to die -as there are animals sacrificed by them on the day of sacrifice.' - -“'And I,' says the 'ulama, 'would like to see put out of the way so many -Christians as they eat eggs on Easter.' - -“Now it is your turn, says they both to the rabbi:—'Well, I should like -you both to have your wishes.' I think the Jew have the best of it. Not -so?” - -The night is soft and still, and envelopes Philæ in a summer warmth. The -stars crowd the blue-black sky with scintillant points, obtrusive and -blazing in startling nearness; they are all repeated in the darker -blue of the smooth river, where lie also, perfectly outlined, the heavy -shadows of the granite masses. Upon the silence suddenly breaks the -notes of a cornet, from a dahabeëh moored above us, in pulsations, -however, rather to emphasize than to break the hush of the night. - -“Eh! that's Mr. Fiddle,” cries Abd-el-Atti, whose musical nomenclature -is not very extensive, “that's a him.” - -Once on a moonless night in Upper Nubia, as we lay tied to the bank, -under the shadow of the palms, there had swept past us, flashing -into sight an instant and then gone in the darkness, an upward-bound -dahabeëh, from the deck of which a cornet-à-piston flung out, in -salute, the lively notes of a popular American air. The player (whom the -dragoman could never call by any name but “Mr. Fiddle”) as we came to -know later, was an Irish gentleman, Anglicized and Americanized, and -indeed cosmopolitan, who has a fancy for going about the world and -awaking here and there remote and commonly undisturbed echoes with his -favorite brass horn. I daresay that moonlight voyagers on the Hudson -have heard its notes dropping down from the Highlands; it has stirred -the air of every land on the globe except India; our own Sierras have -responded to its invitations, and Mount Sinai itself has echoed its -strains. There is a prejudice against the cornet, that it is not exactly -a family instrument; and not more suited to assist in morning and -evening devotions than the violin, which a young clergyman, whom I -knew, was endeavoring to learn, in order to play it, gently, at family -prayers. - -This traveled cornet, however, begins to play, with deliberate -pauses between the bars, the notes of that glorious hymn, “How firm a -foundation ye saints of the Lord,” following it with the Prayer from -Der Freischutz, and that, again, with some familiar Scotch airs (a -transition perfectly natural in home-circles on Sunday evening), every -note of which, leisurely floating out into the night, is sent back in -distant echoes. Nothing can be lovelier than the scene,—the tropical -night, the sentimental island, the shadows of columns and crags, the -mysterious presence of a brooding past,—and nothing can be sweeter than -these dulcet, lingering, re-echoing strains, which are the music of our -faith, of civilization, of home. From these old temples did never come, -in the days of the flute and the darabooka, such melodies. And do the -spirits of Isis and Osiris, and of Berenice, Cleopatra, and Antoninus, -who worshipped them here, listen, and know perhaps that a purer and -better spirit has come into the world? - -In the midst of this echoing melody, a little boat, its sail noiselessly -furled, its gunwales crowded with gowned and white-turbaned Nubians, -glides out of the shadow and comes alongside, as silently as a -ferry-boat of the under-world bearing the robed figures of the departed, -and the venerable Reis of the Cataract steps on board, with es-salam -'aleykum; and the negotiation for shooting the rapids in the morning -begins. - -The reïs is a Nubian of grave aspect, of a complexion many shades darker -than would have been needed to disqualify its possessor to enjoy civil -rights in our country a few years ago, and with watchful and shrewd -black eyes which have an occasional gleam of humor; his robe is mingled -black and white, his turban is a fine camels-hair shawl; his legs are -bare, but he wears pointed red-morocco slippers. There is a long confab -between him and the dragoman, over pipes and coffee, about the down -trip. It seems that there is a dahabeëh at Assouan, carrying the English -Prince Arthur and a Moslem Prince, which has been waiting for ten days -the whim of the royal scion, to make the ascent. Meantime no other -boat can go up or down. The cataract business is at a standstill. The -government has given orders that no other boat shall get in the way; and -many travelers' boats have been detained from one to two weeks; some of -them have turned back, without seeing Nubia, unable to spend any longer -time in a vexatious uncertainty. The prince has signified his intention -of coming up the Cataract tomorrow morning, and consequently we -cannot go down, although the descending channel is not the same as -the ascending. A considerable fleet of boats is now at each end of the -cataract, powerless to move. - -The cataract people express great dissatisfaction at this interference -in their concerns by the government, which does not pay them as much as -the ordinary traveler does for passing the cataract. And yet they have -their own sly and mysterious method of dealing with boats that is not -less annoying than the government favoritism. They will very seldom take -a dahabeëh through in a day; they have delight in detaining it in the -rapids and showing their authority. - -When, at length, the Reis comes into the cabin, to pay us a visit of -courtesy, he is perfect in dignity and good-breeding, in spite of his -bare legs; and enters into a discourse of the situation with spirit and -intelligence. In reply to a remark, that, in America we are not obliged -to wait for princes, his eyes sparkle, as he answers, with much vivacity -of manner, “You quite right. In Egypt we are in a mess. Egypt is a ewe -sheep from which every year they shear the wool close off; the milk that -should go the lamb they drink; and when the poor old thing dies, they -give the carcass to the people—the skin they cut up among themselves. -This season,” he goes on, “is to the cataracts like what the pilgrimage -is to Mecca and to Jerusalem—the time when to make the money from the -traveler. And when the princes they come, crowding the traveler to one -side, and the government makes everything done for them for nothing, -and pays only one dollar for a turkey for which the traveler pays two, -'bliges the people to sell their provisions at its own price,”—the -sheykh stopped. - -“The Reis, then, Abd-el-Atti, doesn't fancy this method of doing -business?” - -“No, him say he not like it at all.” - -And the Reis kindled up, “You may call the Prince anything you like, you -may call him king; but the real Sultan is the man who pays his money and -does not come here at the cost of the government. Great beggars some of -these big nobility; all the great people want the Viceroyal to do 'em -charity and take 'em up the Nile, into Abyssinia, I don't know where -all. I think the greatest beggars always those who can best afford to -pay.” - -With this philosophical remark the old Sheykh concludes a long harangue, -the substance of which is given above, and takes his leave with a -hundred complimentary speeches. - -Forced to wait, we employed Monday advantageously in exploring the -land-route to Assouan, going by Mahatta, where the trading-boats lie and -piles of merchandise lumber the shore. It is a considerable village, and -full of most persistent beggars and curiosity venders. The road, sandy -and dusty, winds through hills of granite boulders—a hot and desolate -though not deserted highway, for strings of camels, with merchandise, -were in sight the whole distance. We passed through the ancient -cemetery, outside of Assouan, a dreary field of sand and rocks, the -leaning grave-stones covered with inscriptions in old Arabic, (or -Cufic), where are said to rest the martyred friends of the prophet who -perished in the first battle with the infidels above Philæ. - -Returning, we made a detour to the famous syenite quarries, the openings -of several of which are still visible. They were worked from the sides -and not in pits, and offer little to interest the ordinary sight-seer. -Yet we like to see where the old workmen chipped away at the rocks; -there are frequent marks of the square holes that they drilled, in order -to split off the stone with wet wedges of wood. The great obelisk which -lies in the quarry, half covered by sand, is unfinished; it is tapered -from the base to its tip, ninety-eight feet, but it was doubtless, as -the marks indicate, to be worked down to the size of the big obelisk at -Karnak; the part which is exposed measures ten to eleven feet square. -It lies behind ledges of rock, and it could only have been removed by -cutting away the enormous mass in front of it or by hoisting it over. -The suggestion of Mr. Wilkinson that it was to be floated out by a -canal, does not commend itself to one standing on the ground. - -We came back by the long road, the ancient traveled way, along which, -on the boulders, are rudely-cut sculptures and hieroglyphics, mere -scratchings on the stone, but recording the passage of kings and armies -as long ago as the twelfth dynasty. Nearly all the way from Assouan to -Philæ are remains of a huge wall of unburnt bricks, ten to fifteen feet -broad and probably fifteen to twenty feet high, winding along the valley -and over the low ridges. An apparently more unnecessary wall does not -exist; it is said by people here to have been thrown up by the Moslems -as a protection against the Nubians when they first traversed this -desert; but it is no doubt Roman. There are indications that the Nile -once poured its main flood through this opening. - -We emerge not far from the south end of the railway track, and at the -deserted Austrian Mission. A few Nubian families live in huts on the -bank of the stream. Among the bright-eyed young ladies, with shining -hair, who entreat backsheesh, while we are waiting for our sandal, is -the daughter of our up-river pilot. We should have had a higher opinion -of his dignity and rank if we had not seen his house and his family. - -After sunset the dahabeëhs of the Prince came up and were received with -salutes by the waiting boats, which the royal craft did not return. Why -the dragoman of the arriving dahabeëh came to ours with the Prince's -request, as he said, for our cards, we were not informed; we certainly -intended no offence by the salute; it was, on the part of the other -boats, a natural expression of pleasure that the royal boat was at last -out of the way. - -At dark we loose from lovely Philæ, in order to drop down to Mahatta and -take our station for running the cataract in the morning. As we draw -out from the little fleet of boats, Irish, Hungarian, American, English, -rockets and blue lights illumine the night, and we go off in a blaze of -glory. Regardless of the Presence, the Irish gentleman responds on his -cornet with the Star-Spangled Banner, the martial strains of which echo -from all the hills. - -In a moment, the lights are out, the dahabeëhs disappear and the -enchanting island is lost to sight. We are gliding down the swift -and winding channel, through granite walls, under the shadow of giant -boulders, immersed in the gloom of a night which the stars do not -penetrate. There is no sound save the regular, chopping fall of the -heavy sweeps, which steady the timorous boat, and are the only sign, -breaking the oppressive silence, that we are not a phantom ship in a -world of shades. It is a short but ghostly voyage, and we see at length -with a sigh of relief the lines of masts and spars in the port of -Mahatta. Working the boat through the crowd that lie there we moor for -the night, with the roar of the cataract in our ears. - - - -0342 - - - -0343 - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII.—RETURNING. - -WE ARE on deck before sunrise, a film is over the sky and a light breeze -blows out our streamer—a bad omen for the passage. - -The downward run of the Cataract is always made in the early morning, -that being the time when there is least likely to be any wind. And a -calm is considered absolutely necessary to the safety of the boat. The -north wind, which helps the passage up, would be fatal going down. The -boat runs with the current, and any exterior disturbance would whirl her -about and cast her upon the rocks. - -If we are going this morning, we have no time to lose, for it is easy to -see that this breeze, which is now uncertainly dallying with our colors, -will before long strengthen. The Cataract people begin to arrive; there -is already a blue and white row of them squatting on the bank above -us, drawing their cotton robes about them, for the morning is a trifle -chilly. They come loitering along the bank and sit down as if they were -merely spectators, and had no interest in the performance. - -The sun comes, and scatters the cloud-films; as the sun rises we are -ready to go; everything has been made snug and fast above and below; and -the breeze has subsided entirely. We ought to take instant advantage of -the calm; seconds count now. But we wait for the Reis of the Cataract, -the head reïs, without whose consent no move can be made. It is the sly -old sheykh with whom we have already negociated, and he has his reasons -for delaying. By priority of arrival at Philæ our boat is entitled to be -first taken down; but the dragoman of another boat has been crossing the -palms of the guileless patriarch with gold pieces, and he has agreed to -give the other boat the preference. It is not probable that the virtuous -sheykh ever intended to do so, but he must make some show of keeping his -bargain. He would like to postpone our voyage, and take the chances of -another day. - -But here he comes, mounted on a donkey, in state, wrapped about the -head and neck in his cashmere, and with a train of attendants—the -imperturbable, shrewd old man. He halts a moment on the high bank, -looks up at our pennant, mutters something about “wind, not good day, no -safe,” and is coolly about to ride by. - -Our dragoman in an instant is at his side, and with half-jocular but -firm persistence, invites him to dismount. It is in vain that the sheykh -invents excuse after excuse for going on. There is a neighbor in the -village whose child is dead, and he must visit him. The consolation, -Abd-el-Atti thinks, can be postponed an hour or two, Allah is all -merciful. He is chilly, his fingers are cold, he will just ride to the -next house and warm his hands, and by that time we can tell whether -it is to be a good morning; Abd-el-Atti is sure that he can warm his -fingers much better on our boat, in fact he can get warm all through -there. - -“I'll warm him if he won't come.” continues the dragoman, turning to us; -“if I let him go by, the old rascal, he slip down to Assouan, and that -become the last of him.” - -Before the patriarch knows exactly what has happened, or the other -dragoman can hinder, he is gently hustled down the steep bank aboard our -boat. There is a brief palaver, and then he is seated, with a big bowl -of coffee and bread; we are still waiting, but it is evident that the -decisive nod has been given. The complexion of affairs has changed! - -The people are called from the shore; before we interpret rightly their -lazy stir, they are swarming on board. The men are getting their places -on the benches at the oars—three stout fellows at each oar; it looks -like “business.” The three principal reïses are on board; there are at -least a dozen steersmen; several heads of families are present, and a -dozen boys. More than seventy-five men have invaded us—and they may all -be needed to get ropes ashore in case of accident. This unusual swarm -of men and the assistance of so many sheykhs, these extra precautions, -denote either fear, or a desire to impress us with the magnitude of -the undertaking. The head reïs shakes his head at the boat and mutters, -“much big.” We have aboard almost every skillful pilot of the rapids. - -The Cataract flag, two bands of red and yellow with the name of “Allah” -worked on it in white, is set up by the cabin stairs. - -There is a great deal of talking, some confusion, and a little -nervousness. Our dragoman cheerfully says, “we will hope for the -better,” as the beads pass through his fingers. The reïses are audibly -muttering their prayers. The pilots begin to strip to their work. A -bright boy of twelve years, squat on deck by the tiller, is loudly and -rapidly reciting the Koran. - -At the last moment, the most venerable reïs of the cataract comes on -board, as a great favor to us. He has long been superannuated, his hair -is white, his eye-sight is dim, but when he is on board all will go -well. Given a conspicous seat in a chair on the cabin deck, he begins -at once prayers for our safe passage. This sheykh is very distinguished, -tracing his ancestry back beyond the days of Abraham; his family is very -large—seven hundred is the number of his relations; this seems to be a -favorite number; Ali Moorad at Luxor has also seven hundred relations. -The sheykh is treated with great deference; he seems to have had -something to do with designing the cataract, and opening it to the -public. - -The last rope is hauled in; the crowd on shore cheer; our rowers dip -the oars, and in a moment we are sweeping along in the stiff current, -avoiding the boulders on either side. We go swiftly. Everybody is -muttering prayers now; two venerable reïses seated on a box in front of -the rudder increase the speed of their devotions; and the boy chants the -Koran with a freer swing. - -Our route down is not the same as it was up. We pass the head of the -chief rapid—in which we struggle—into which it would need only a wink of -the helm to turn us—and sweep away to the west side; and even appear to -go a little out of our way to run near a precipice of rock. A party of -ladies and gentlemen who have come down from their dahabeëh above, -to see us make the chûte, are standing on the summit, and wave -handkerchiefs and hats as we rush by. - -Before us, we can see the great rapids—a down-hill prospect. The passage -is narrow, and so crowded is the hurrying water that there is a ridge -down the centre. On this ridge, which is broken and also curved, we are -to go. If it were straight, it would be more attractive, but it curves -short to the right near the bottom of the rapid, and, if we do not turn -sharp with it, we shall dash against the rocks ahead, where the waves -strike in curling foam. All will depend upon the skill and strength of -the steersmen, and the sheer at the exact instant. - -There is not long to think of it, however, and no possibility now of -evading the trial. Before we know it, the nose of the boat is in the -rapid, which flings it up in the air; the next second we are tossed on -the waves. The bow dips, and a heavy wave deluges the cook's domain; we -ship a tun or two of water, the dragoman, who stands forward, is wet to -his breast; but the boat shakes it off and rises again, tossed like an -egg-shell. It is glorious. The boat obeys her helm admirably, as the -half-dozen pilots, throwing their weight upon the tiller, skillfully -veer it slightly or give it a broad sweep. - -It is a matter of only three or four minutes, but they are minutes of -intense excitement. In the midst of them, the reïs of our boat, who has -no command now and no responsibility, and is usually imperturbably calm, -becomes completely unmanned by the strain upon his nerves, and breaks -forth into convulsive shouting, tears and perspiration running down his -cheeks. He has “the power,” and would have hysterics if he were not a -man. A half-dozen people fly to his rescue, snatch off his turban, hold -his hands, mop his face, and try to call him out of his panic. By the -time he is somewhat composed, we have shunned the rocks and made the -turn, and are floating in smoother but still swift water. The reises -shake hands and come to us with salaams and congratulations. The chief -pilot desires to put my fez on his own head in token of great joy and -amity. The boy stops shouting the Koran, the prayers cease, the beads -are put up. It is only when we are in a tight place that it is necessary -to call upon the name of the Lord vigorously. - -“You need not have feared,” says a reïs of the Cataract to ours, -pointing to the name on the red and yellow flag, “Allah would bring us -through.” - -That there was no danger in this passage we cannot affirm. The dahabeëhs -that we left at Mahatta, ready to go down, and which might have been -brought through that morning, were detained four or five days upon -the whim of the reises. Of the two that came first, one escaped with a -slight knock against the rocks, and the other was dashed on them, her -bottom staved in, and half filled with water immediately. Fortunately, -she was fast on the rock; the passengers, luggage, and stores were got -ashore; and after some days the boat was rescued and repaired. - -For a mile below this chûte we have rapid going, rocks to shun, short -turns to make, and quite uncertainty enough to keep us on the qui vive, -and finally, another lesser rapid, where there is infinitely more noise -by the crew, but less danger from the river than above. - -As we approach the last rapid, a woman appears in the swift stream, -swimming by the help of a log—that being the handy ferry-boat of the -country; her clothes are all in a big basket, and the basket is secured -on her head. The sandal, which is making its way down a side channel, -with our sheep on board, is signalled to take this lady of the lake in, -and land her on the opposite shore. These sheep of ours, though much -tossed about, seem to enjoy the voyage and look about upon the raging -scene with that indifference which comes of high breeding. They are -black, but that was not to their prejudice in their Nubian home. They -are comely animals in life, and in death are the best mutton in the -East; it is said that they are fed on dates, and that this diet imparts -to their flesh its sweet flavor. I think their excellence is quite as -much due to the splendid air they breathe. - -While we are watching the manoeuvring of the boat, the woman swims to -a place where she can securely lodge her precious log in the rocks and -touch bottom with her feet. The boat follows her and steadies itself -against the same rocks, about which the swift current is swirling. The -water is up to the woman's neck, and the problem seems to be to get the -clothes out of the basket which is on her head, and put them on, and not -wet the clothes. It is the old myth of Venus rising from the sea, but -under changed conditions, and in the face of modern sensitiveness. How -it was accomplished, I cannot say, but when I look again the aquatic -Venus is seated in the sandal, clothed, dry, and placid. - -We were an hour passing the rapids, the last part of the time with -a strong wind against us; if it had risen sooner we should have had -serious trouble. As it was, it took another hour with three men at each -oar, to work down to Assouan through the tortuous channel, which is -full of rocks and whirlpools, The men at each bank of oars belonged to -different tribes, and they fell into a rivalry of rowing, which resulted -in an immense amount of splashing, spurting, yelling, chorusing, and -calling on the Prophet. When the contest became hot, the oars were all -at sixes and sevens, and in fact the rowing gave way to vituperation -and a general scrimmage. Once, in one of the most ticklish places in the -rapids, the rowers had fallen to quarrelling, and the boat would have -gone to smash, if the reïs had not rushed in and laid about him with a -stick. These artless children of the sun! However we came down to our -landing in good form, exchanging salutes with the fleet of boats waiting -to make the ascent. - -At once four boats, making a gallant show with their spread wings, -sailed past us, bound up the cataract. The passengers fired salutes, -waved their handkerchiefs, and exhibited the exultation they felt in -being at last under way for Philæ; and well they might, for some of them -had been waiting here fifteen days. - -But alas for their brief prosperity. The head reïs was not with them; -that autocrat was still upon our deck, leisurely stowing away coffee, -eggs, cold meat, and whatever provisions were brought him, with the -calmness of one who has a good conscience. As the dahabeëhs swept by he -shook his head and murmured, “not much go.” - -And they did “not much go.” They stopped indeed, and lay all day at the -first gate, and all night. The next morning, two dahabeëhs, carrying -persons of rank, passed up, and were given the preference, leaving -the first-comers still in the rapids; and two days after, they were in -mid-passage, and kept day after day in the roar and desolation of the -cataract, at the pleasure of its owners. The only resource they had was -to write indignant letters of remonstrance to the governor at Assouan. - -This passage of the cataract is a mysterious business, the secrets of -which are only mastered by patient study. Why the reises should desire -to make it so vexatious is the prime mystery. The traveler who reaches -Assouan often finds himself entangled in an invisible web of restraints. -There is no opposition to his going on; on the contrary the governor, -the reises, and everyone overflow with courtesy and helpfulness. But, -somehow, he does not go on, he is played with from day to day. The old -sheykh, before he took his affectionate leave of us that morning, let -out the reason of the momentary hesitation he had exhibited in agreeing -to take our boat up the cataract when we arrived. The excellent owners, -honest Aboo Yoosef and the plaintive little Jew of Bagdad, had sent him -a bribe of a whole piece of cotton cloth, and some money to induce him -to prevent our passage. He was not to refuse, not by any means, for in -that case the owners would have been liable to us for the hundred pounds -forfeit named in the contract in case the boat could not be taken up; -but he was to amuse us, and encourage us, and delay us, on various -pretexts, so long that we should tire out and freely choose not to go -any farther. - -The integrity of the reïs was proof against the seduction of this bribe; -he appropriated it, and then earned the heavy fee for carrying us up, in -addition. I can add nothing by way of eulogium upon this clever old man, -whose virtue enabled him to withstand so much temptation. - -We lay for two days at the island Elephantine, opposite Assouan, and -have ample time to explore its two miserable villages, and to wander -over the heaps on heaps, the débris of so many successive civilizations. -All day long, women and children are clambering over these mounds -of ashes, pottery, bricks, and fragments of stone, unearthing coins, -images, beads, and bits of antiquity, which the strangers buy. There is -nothing else on the island. These indistinguishable mounds are almost -the sole evidence of the successive occupation of ancient Egyptians, -Canaanites, Ethiopians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Christians, and -conquering Arabs. But the grey island has an indefinable charm. The -northern end is green with wheat and palms; but if it were absolutely -naked, its fine granite outlines would be attractive under this splendid -sky. The days are lovely, and the nights enchanting. Nothing more poetic -could be imagined than the silvery reaches of river at night, with their -fringed islands and shores, the stars and the new moon, the uplifted -rocks, and the town reflected in the stream. - -Of Assouan itself, its palm-groves and dirty huddle of dwellings, we -have quite enough in a day. Curiosity leads us to visit the jail, and -we find there, by chance, one of our sailors, who is locked up for -insubordination, and our venerable reïs keeping him company, for being -inefficient in authority over his crew. In front of the jail, under the -shade of two large acacia trees, the governor has placed his divan and -holds his levées in the open air, transacting business, and entertaining -his visitors with coffee and cigars. His excellency is a very -“smartish,” big black fellow, not a negro nor a Nubian exactly, but -an Ababdeh, from a tribe of desert Arabs; a man of some aptitude for -affairs and with very little palaver. The jail has an outer guard-room, -furnished with divans and open at both ends, and used as a court of -justice. A not formidable door leads to the first room, which is some -twenty feet square; and here, seated upon the ground with some thirty -others, we are surprised to recognize our reïs. The respectable old -incapable was greatly humiliated by the indignity. Although he was -speedily released, his incarceration was a mistake; it seemed to break -his spirit, and he was sullen and uncheerful ever afterwards. His -companions were in for trivial offences: most of them for not paying the -government taxes, or for debt to the Khedive, as the phrase was. In -an adjoining, smaller room, were the great criminals, the thieves and -murderers. Three murderers were chained together by enormous iron cables -attached to collars about their necks, and their wrists were clamped in -small wooden stocks. In this company were five decent-looking men, who -were also bound together by heavy chains from neck to neck; we were told -that these were the brothers of men who had run away from the draft, and -that they would be held until their relations surrendered themselves. -They all sat glumly on the ground. The jail does not differ in comfort -from the ordinary houses; and the men are led out once a day for fresh -air; we saw the murderers taking an airing, and exercise also in lugging -their ponderous irons. - -We departed from Assouan early in the morning, with water and wind -favorable for a prosperous day. At seven o'clock our worthy steersman -stranded us on a rock. It was a little difficult to do it, for he had to -go out of his way and to leave the broad and plainly staked-out channel. -But he did it very neatly. The rock was a dozen feet out of water, and -he laid the boat, without injury, on the shelving upper side of it, so -that the current would constantly wash it further on, and the falling -river would desert it. The steersman was born in Assouan and knows every -rock and current here, even in the dark. This accident no doubt happened -out of sympathy with the indignity to the reïs. That able commander is -curled up on the deck ill, and no doubt felt greatly grieved when he -felt the grating of the bottom upon the rock; but he was not too ill to -exchange glances with the serene and ever-smiling steersman. Three hours -after the stranding, our crew have succeeded in working us a little -further on than we were at first, and are still busy; surely there are -in all history no such navigators as these. - -It is with some regret that we leave, or are trying to leave, Nubia, -both on account of its climate and its people. The men, various sorts -of Arabs as well as the Nubians, are better material than the fellaheen -below, finer looking, with more spirit and pride, more independence and -self-respect. They are also more barbarous; they carry knives and heavy -sticks universally, and guns if they can get them, and in many places -have the reputation of being quarrelsome, turbulent, and thieves. But we -have rarely received other than courteous treatment from them. Some of -the youngest women are quite pretty, or would be but for the enormous -nose and ear rings, the twisted hair and the oil; the old women are all -unnecessarily ugly. The children are apt to be what might be called -free in apparel, except that the girls wear fringe, but the women are as -modest in dress and manner as those of Egypt. That the highest morality -invariably prevails, however, one cannot affirm, notwithstanding the -privilege of husbands, which we are assured is sometimes exercised, of -disposing of a wife (by means of the knife and the river) who may have -merely incurred suspicion by talking privately with another man. This -process is evidently not frequent, for women are plenty, and we saw no -bodies in the river. - -But our chief regret at quitting Nubia is on account of the climate. -It is incomparably the finest winter climate I have ever known; it is -nearly perfect. The air is always elastic and inspiring; the days are -full of sun; the nights are cool and refreshing; the absolute dryness -seems to counteract the danger from changes of temperature. You may do -there what you cannot in any place in Europe in the winter—get warm. You -may also, there, have repose without languor. - -We went on the rock at seven and got off at two. The governor of Assouan -was asked for help and he sent down a couple of boat-loads of men, who -lifted us off by main strength and the power of their lungs. We drifted -on, but at sunset we were not out of sight of the mosque of Assouan. -Strolling ashore, we found a broad and rich plain, large palm-groves -and wheat-fields, and a swarming population—in striking contrast to -the country above the Cataract. The character of the people is wholly -different; the women are neither so oily, nor have they the wild shyness -of the Nubians; they mind their own business and belong to a more -civilized society; slaves, negroes as black as night, abound in -the fields. Some of the large wheat-fields are wholly enclosed by -substantial unburnt brick walls, ten feet high. - -Early in the evening, our serene steersman puts us hard aground again on -a sandbar. I suppose it was another accident. The wife and children of -the steersman live at a little town opposite the shoal upon which we -have so conveniently landed, and I suppose the poor fellow wanted an -opportunity to visit them. He was not permitted leave of absence while -the boat lay at Assouan, and now the dragoman says that, so far as he -is concerned, the permission shall not be given from here, although the -village is almost in sight; the steersman ought to be punished for his -conduct, and he must wait till he comes up next year before he can see -his wife and children. It seems a hard case, to separate a man from his -family in this manner. - -“I think it's a perfect shame,” cries Madame, when she hears of it, “not -to see his family for a year!” - -“But one of his sons is on board, you know, as a sailor. And the -steersman spent most of his time with his wife the boy's mother, when we -were at Assouan.” - -“I thought you said his wife lived opposite here?” - -“Yes, but this is a newer one, a younger one; that is his old wife, in -Assouan.” - -“Oh!” - -“The poor fellow has another in Cairo.” - -“Oh!” - -“He has wives, I daresay, at proper distances along the Nile, and -whenever he wants to spend an hour or two with his family, he runs us -aground.” - -“I don't care to hear anything more about him.” - -The Moslem religion is admirably suited to the poor mariner, and -especially to the sailor on the Nile through a country that is all -length and no width. - - - -0354 - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII.—MODERN FACTS AND ANCIENT MEMORIES. - -ON a high bluff stands the tottering temple of Kom Ombos conspicuous -from a distance, and commanding a dreary waste of desert. Its gigantic -columns are of the Ptolemaic time, and the capitals show either Greek -influence or the relaxation of the Egyptian hieratic restraint. - -The temple is double, with two entrances and parallel suites of -apartments, a happy idea of the builders, impartially to split the -difference between good and evil; one side is devoted to the worship of -Horus, the embodiment of the principle of Light, and the other to that -of Savak, the crocodile-headed god of Darkness. I fear that the latter -had here the more worshippers; his title was Lord of Ombos, and the fear -of him spread like night. On the sand-bank, opposite, the once-favored -crocodiles still lounge in the sun, with a sharp eye out for the rifle -of the foreigner, and, no doubt, wonder at the murderous spirit which -has come into the world to supplant the peaceful heathenism. - -These ruins are an example of the jealousy with which the hierarchy -guarded their temples from popular intrusion. The sacred precincts were -enclosed by a thick and high brick wall, which must have concealed the -temple from view except on the river side; so formidable was this wall, -that although the edifice stands upon an eminence, it lies in a basin -formed by the ruins of the enclosure. The sun beating in it at noon -converted it into a reverberating furnace—a heat sufficient to melt any -image not of stone, and not to be endured by persons who do not believe -in Savak. - -We walked a long time on the broad desert below Ombos, over sand as -hard as a sea-beach pounded by the waves, looking for the bed of pebbles -mentioned in the handbook, and found it a couple of miles below. In -the soft bank an enormous mass of pebbles has been deposited, and is -annually added to—sweepings of the Nubian deserts, flints and agates, -bits of syenite from Assouan, and colored stones in great variety. There -is a tradition that a sailor once found a valuable diamond here, and it -seems always possible that one may pick some precious jewel out of the -sand. Some of the desert pebbles, polished by ages of sand-blasts, are -very beautiful. - -Every day when I walk upon the smooth desert away from the river, I look -for colored stones, pebbles, flints, chalcedonies, and agates. And I -expect to find, some day, the ewige pebble, the stone translucent, -more beautiful than any in the world—perhaps, the lost seal of Solomon, -dropped by some wandering Bedawee. I remind myself of one looking, -always in the desert, for the pearl of great price, which all the -markets and jewelers of the world wait for. It seems possible, here -under this serene sky, on this expanse of sand, which has been trodden -for thousands of years by all the Oriental people in turn, by caravans, -by merchants and warriors and wanderers, swept by so many geologic -floods and catastrophes, to find it. I never tire of looking, and -curiously examine every bit of translucent and variegated flint that -sparkles in the sand. I almost hope, when I find it, that it will not -be cut by hand of man, but that it will be changeable in color, and -be fashioned in a cunning manner by nature herself. Unless, indeed, it -should be, as I said, the talismanic ring of Solomon, which is known to -be somewhere in the world. - -In the early morning we have drifted down to Silsilis, one of the most -interesting localities on the Nile. The difference in the level of the -land above and below and the character of the rocky passage at Silsilis -teach that the first cataract was here before the sandstone dam wore -away and transferred it to Assouan. Marks have been vainly sought here -for the former height of the Nile above; and we were interested in -examining the upper strata of rocks laid bare in the quarries. At a -height of perhaps sixty feet from the floor of a quarry, we saw between -two strata of sandstone a layer of other material that had exactly the -appearance of the deposits of the Nile which so closely resemble rock -along the shore. Upon reaching it we found that it was friable and, in -fact, a sort of hardened earth. Analysis would show whether it is a Nile -deposit, and might contribute something to the solution of the date of -the catastrophe here. - -The interest at Silsilis is in these vast sandstone quarries, and very -little in the excavated grottoes and rock-temples on the west shore, -with their defaced and smoke-obscured images. Indeed, nothing in Egypt, -not even the temples and pyramids, has given us such an idea of -the immense labor the Egyptians expended in building, as these vast -excavations in the rock. We have wondered before where all the stone -came from that we have seen piled up in buildings and heaped in miles -of ruins; we wonder now what use could have been made of all the stone -quarried from these hills. But we remember that it was not removed in a -century, nor in ten centuries, but that for great periods of a thousand -years workmen were hewing here, and that much of the stone transported -and scattered over Egypt has sunk into the soil out of sight. - -There are half a dozen of these enormous quarries close together, each -of which has its communication with the river. The method of working was -this:—a narrow passage was cut in from the river several hundred feet -into the mountain, or until the best-working stone was reached, and then -the excavation was broadened out without limit. We followed one of these -passages, the sides of which are evenly-cut rock, the height of the -hill. At length we came into an open area, like a vast cathedral in the -mountain, except that it wanted both pillars and roof. The floor was -smooth, the sides were from fifty to seventy-five feet high, and all -perpendicular, and as even as if dressed down with chisel and hammer. -This was their general character, but in some of them steps were left -in the wall and platforms, showing perfectly the manner of working. The -quarrymen worked from the top down perpendicularly, stage by stage. We -saw one of these platforms, a third of the distance from the top, the -only means of reaching which was by nicks cut in the face of the rock, -in which one might plant his feet and swing down by a rope. There was -no sign of splitting by drilling or by the the use of plugs, or of any -explosive material. The walls of the quarries are all cut down in fine -lines that run from top to bottom slantingly and parallel. These lines -have every inch or two round cavities, as if the stone had been bored by -some flexible instrument that turned in its progress. The workmen seem -to have cut out the stone always of the shape and size they wanted to -use; if it was for a statue, the place from which it came in the quarry -is rounded, showing the contour of the figure taken. They took out every -stone by the most patient labor. Whether it was square or round, they -cut all about it a channel four to five inches wide, and then separated -it from the mass underneath by a like broad cut. Nothing was split away; -all was carefully chiseled out, apparently by small tools. Abandoned -work, unfinished, plainly shows this. The ages and the amount of labor -required to hew out such enormous quantities of stone are heightened -in our thought, by the recognition of this slow process. And what hells -these quarries must have been for the workmen, exposed to the blaze of -a sun intensified by the glaring reflection from the light-colored rock, -and stifled for want of air. They have left the marks of their unending -task in these little chiselings on the face of the sandstone walls. -Here and there some one has rudely sketched a figure or outlined a -hieroglyphic. At intervals places are cut in the rock through which -ropes could be passed, and these are worn deeply, showing the use of -ropes, and no doubt of derricks, in handling the stones. - -These quarries are as deserted now as the temples which were taken from -them; but nowhere else in Egypt was I more impressed with the duration, -the patience, the greatness of the race that accomplished such prodigies -of labor. - -The grottoes, as I said, did not detain us; they are common -calling-places, where sailors and wanderers often light fires at night -and where our crew slept during the heat of this day, We saw there -nothing more remarkable than the repeated figure of the boy Horus taking -nourishment from the breast of his mother, which provoked the irreverent -remark of a voyager that Horus was more fortunate than his dragoman had -been in finding milk in this stony region. - -Creeping on, often aground and always expecting to be, the weather -growing warmer as we went north, we reached Edfoo. It was Sunday, -and the temperature was like that of a July day, a south wind and the -mercury at 85°. - -In this condition of affairs it was not unpleasant to find a temple, -entire, clean, perfectly excavated, and a cool retreat from the glare -of the sun. It was not unlike entering a cathedral. The door by which we -were admitted was closed and guarded; we were alone; and we experienced -something of the sentiment of the sanctuary, that hush and cool -serenity which is sometimes mistaken for religion, in the presence of -ecclesiastical architecture. - -Although this is a Ptolemaic temple, it is, by reason of its nearly -perfect condition, the best example for study. The propylon which is two -hundred and fifty feet high and one hundred and fifteen long, contains -many spacious chambers, and confirms our idea that these portions of the -temples were residences. The roof is something enormous, being composed -of blocks of stone, three feet thick, by twelve wide, and twenty-two -long. Upon this roof are other chambers. As we wandered through the vast -pillared courts, many chambers and curious passages, peered into the -secret ways and underground and intermural alleys, and emerged upon the -roof, we thought what a magnificent edifice it must have been for the -gorgeous processions of the old worship, which are sculptured on the -walls. - -But outside this temple and only a few feet from it is a stone wall of -circuit, higher than the roof of the temple itself. Like every inch -of the temple walls, this wall outside and inside is covered with -sculptures, scenes in river life, showing a free fancy and now and then -a dash of humor; as, when a rhinoceros is made to tow a boat—recalling -the western sportiveness of David Crockett with the alligator. Not only -did this wall conceal the temple from the vulgar gaze, but outside -it was again an enciente of unbaked brick, effectually excluding and -removing to a safe distance all the populace. Mariette Bey is of the -opinion that all the imposing ceremonies of the old ritual had no -witnesses except the privileged ones of the temple; and that no one -except the king could enter the adytum. - -It seems to us also that the King, who was high priest and King, lived -in these palace-temples, the pylons of which served him for fortresses -as well as residences. We find no ruins of palaces in Egypt, and it -seems not reasonable that the king who had all the riches of the land at -his command would have lived in a hut of mud. - -From the summit of this pylon we had an extensive view of the Nile and -the fields of ripening wheat. A glance into the squalid town was not so -agreeable. I know it would be a severe test of any village if it were -unroofed and one could behold its varied domestic life. We may from such -a sight as this have some conception of the appearance of this world to -the angels looking down. Our view was into filthy courts and roofless -enclosures, in which were sorry women and unclad children, sitting in -the dirt; where old people, emaciated and feeble, and men and women ill -of some wasting disease, lay stretched upon the ground, uncared for, -stifled by the heat and swarmed upon of flies. - -The heated day lapsed into a delicious evening, a half-moon over head, -the water glassy, the shores fringed with palms, the air soft. As -we came to El Kab, where we stopped, a carawan was whistling on the -opposite shore—a long, shrill whistle like that of a mocking-bird. If -we had known, it was a warning to us that the placid appearances of the -night were deceitful, and that violence was masked under this smiling -aspect. The barometer indeed had been falling rapidly for two days. We -were about to have our first experience of what may be called a simoon. - -Towards nine o'clock, and suddenly, the wind began to blow from the -north, like one of our gusts in summer, proceeding a thunderstorm. The -boat took the alarm at once and endeavored to fly, swinging to the wind -and tugging at her moorings. With great difficulty she was secured by -strong cables fore and aft anchored in the sand, but she trembled and -shook and rattled, and the wind whistled through the rigging as if we -had been on the Atlantic—any boat loose upon the river that night must -have gone to inevitable wreck. It became at once dark, and yet it was a -ghastly darkness; the air was full of fine sand that obscured the sky, -except directly overhead, where there were the ghost of a wan moon and -some spectral stars. Looking upon the river, it was like a Connecticut -fog—but a sand fog; and the river itself roared, and high waves ran -against the current. When we stepped from the boat, eyes, nose, and -mouth were instantly choked with sand, and it was almost impossible to -stand. The wind increased, and rocked the boat like a storm at sea; for -three hours it blew with much violence, and in fact did not spend itself -in the whole night. - -“The worser storm, God be merciful,” says Abd-el-Atti, “ever I saw in -Egypt.” - -When it somewhat abated, the dragoman recognized a divine beneficence in -it; “It show that God 'member us.” - -It is a beautiful belief of devout Moslems that personal afflictions -and illnesses are tokens of a heavenly care. Often when our dragoman has -been ill, he has congratulated himself that God was remembering him. - -“Not so? A friend of me in Cairo was never in his life ill, never any -pain, toothache, headache, nothing. Always well. He begin to have fear -that something should happen, mebbe God forgot him. One day I meet him -in the Mooskee very much pleased; all right now, he been broke him the -arm; God 'member him.” - -During the gale we had a good specimen of Arab character. When it was -at its height, and many things about the attacked vessel needed looking -after, securing and tightening, most of the sailors rolled themselves -up, drawing their heads into their burnouses, and went sound asleep. -The after-sail was blown loose and flapping in the wind; our reïs sat -composedly looking at it, never stirring from his haunches, and let the -canvas whip to rags; finally a couple of men were aroused, and secured -the shreds. The Nile crew is a marvel of helplessness in an emergency; -and considering the dangers of the river to these top-heavy boats, it -is a wonder that any accomplish the voyage in safety. There is no more -discipline on board than in a district-school meeting at home. The boat -might as well be run by ballot. - -It was almost a relief to have an unpleasant day to talk about. The -forenoon was like a mixed fall and spring day in New England, strong -wind, flying clouds, but the air full of sand instead of snow; there -was even a drop of rain, and we heard a peal or two of feeble -thunder—evidently an article not readily manufactured in this country; -but the afternoon settled back into the old pleasantness. - -Of the objects of interest at Eilethyas I will mention only two, the -famous grottoes, and a small temple of Amunoph III., not often visited. -It stands between two and three miles from the river, in a desolate -valley, down which the Bisharee Arabs used to come on marauding -excursions. What freak placed it in this remote solitude? It contains -only one room, a few paces square, and is, in fact, only a chapel, but -it is full of capital pieces of sculptures of a good period of art. The -architect will find here four pillars, which clearly suggest the Doric -style. They are fourteen-sided, but one of the planes is broader than -the others and has a raised tablet of sculptures which terminate above -in a face, said to be that of Lucina, to whom the temple is dedicated, -but resembling the cow-headed Isis. These pillars, with the sculptures -on one side finished at the top with a head, may have suggested the -Osiride pillars. - -The grottoes are tombs in the sandstone mountain, of the time of the -eighteenth dynasty, which began some thirty-five hundred years ago. -Two of them have remarkable sculptures, the coloring of which is still -fresh; and I wish to speak of them a little, because it is from them -(and some of the same character) that Egyptologists have largely -reconstructed for us the common life of the ancient Egyptians. Although -the work is somewhat rude, it has a certain veracity of execution which -is pleasing. - -We assume this tomb to have been that of a man of wealth. This is -the ante-chamber; the mummy was deposited in a pit let into a small -excavation in the rear. On one wall are sculptured agricultural scenes: -plowing, sowing, reaping wheat and pulling doora (the color indicates -the kind of grain), hatcheling the latter, while oxen are treading out -the wheat, and the song of the threshers encouraging the oxen is written -in hieroglyphics above; the winnowing and storing of the grain; in -a line under these, the various domestic animals of the deceased are -brought forward to a scribe, who enumerates them and notes the numbers -on a roll of papyrus. There are river-scenes:—grain is loaded into -freight-boats; pleasure-dahabeëhs are on the stream, gaily painted, with -one square sail amidship, rowers along the sides, and windows in the -cabin; one has a horse and chariot on board, the reïs stands at the -bow, the overseer, kurbash in hand, is threatening the crew, a sailor is -falling overboard. Men are gathering grapes, and treading out the -wine with their feet; others are catching fish and birds in nets, and -dressing and curing them. At the end of this wall, offerings are made to -Osiris. In one compartment a man is seated holding a boy on his lap. - -On the opposite wall are two large figures, supposed to be the occupant -of the tomb and his wife, seated on a fauteuil; men and women, in two -separate lines, facing the large figures, are seated, one leg bent under -them, each smelling a lotus flower. In the rear, men are killing and -cutting up animals as if preparing for a feast. To the leg of the -fauteuil is tied a monkey; and Mr. Wilkinson says that it was customary -at entertainments for the hosts to have a “favorite monkey” tied to the -leg of the chair. Notwithstanding the appearance of the monkey here -in that position, I do not suppose that he would say that an ordinary -entertainment is represented here. For, although there are preparations -for a feast, there is a priest standing between the friends and the -principal personages, making offerings, and the monkey may be present -in his character of emblem of Thoth. It seems to be a funeral and not -a festive representation. The pictures apparently tell the story of the -life of the deceased and his occupations, and represent the mourning at -his tomb. In other grottoes, where the married pair are seated as here, -the arm of the woman on the shoulder of the man, and the “favorite -monkey” tied to the chair, friends are present in the act of mourning, -throwing dust on their heads, and accompanied by musicians; and the -mummy is drawn on a sledge to the tomb, a priest standing on the front, -and a person pouring oil on the ground that the runners may slip easily. - -The setting sun strikes into these chambers, so carefully prepared for -people of rank of whom not a pinch of dust now remains, and lights them -up with a certain cheer and hope. We cannot make anything melancholy out -of a tomb so high and with such a lovely prospect from its front door. -The former occupants are unknown, but not more unknown than the peasants -we see on the fields below, still at the tasks depicted in these -sculptures. Thirty-five hundred years is not so very long ago! Slowly -we pick our way down the hill and regain our floating home; and, bidding -farewell forever to El Kab, drift down in the twilight. In the morning -we are at Esneh. - -In Esneh the sound of the grinding is never low. The town is full of -primitive ox-power mills in which the wheat is ground, and there are -always dahabeëhs staying here for the crew to bake their bread. Having -already had one day of Esneh we are tired of it, for it is exactly -like all other Egyptian towns of its size: we know all the possible -combinations of mud-hovels, crooked lanes, stifling dust, nakedness, -squalor. We are so accustomed to picking our way in the street amid -women and children sprawling in the dirt, that the scene has lost its -strangeness; it is even difficult to remember that in other countries -women usually keep indoors and sit on chairs. - -The town is not without liveliness It is half Copt, and beggars demand -backsheesh on the ground that they are Christians, and have a common -interest with us. We wander through the bazaars where there is nothing -to buy and into the market-place, always the most interesting study in -an unknown city. The same wheat lies on the ground in heaps; the same -roots and short stalks of the doora are tied in bundles and sold for -fuel, and cakes of dried manure for the like use; people are lying about -in the sun in all picturesque attitudes, some curled up and some on -their backs fast asleep; more are squating before little heaps of -corn or beans or some wilted “greens,” or dried tobacco-leaves and -pipe-bowls; children swarm and tumble about everywhere; donkeys and -camels pick their way through the groups. - -I spent half an hour in teaching a handsome young Copt how to pronounce -English words in his Arabic-English primer. He was very eager to learn -and very grateful for assistance. We had a large and admiring crowd -about us, who laughed at every successful and still more at every -unsuccessful attempt on the part of the pupil, and repeated the English -words themselves when they could catch the sound,—an exceedingly -good-natured lot of idlers. We found the people altogether pleasant, -some in the ingrained habit of begging, quick to take a joke and easily -excited. While I had my scholar, a fantasia of music on two tambourines -was performed for the amusement of my comrade, which had also its ring -of spectators watching the effect of the monotonous thumping, upon -the grave howadji; he was seated upon the mastabah of a shop, with -all formality, and enjoyed all the honors of the entertainment, as was -proper, since he bore the entire expense alone,—about five cents. - -The coffee-shops of Esneh are many, some respectable and others -decidedly otherwise. The former are the least attractive, being merely -long and dingy mud-apartments, in which the visitors usually sit on -the floor and play at draughts. The coffee-houses near the river have -porticoes and pleasant terraces in front, and look not unlike some -picturesque Swiss or Italian wine-shops. The attraction there seems to -be the Ghawazees or dancing-girls, of whom there is a large colony here, -the colony consisting of a tribe. All the family act as procurers -for the young women, who are usually married. Their dress is an -extraordinary combination of stripes and colors, red and yellow being -favorites, which harmonize well with their dark, often black, skins, and -eyes heavily shaded with kohl. I suppose it must be admitted, in spite -of their total want of any womanly charm of modesty, that they are -the finest-looking women in Egypt, though many of them are ugly; they -certainly are of a different type from the Egyptians, though not of -a pure type; they boast that they have preserved themselves without -admixture with other peoples or tribes from a very remote period; -one thing is certain, their profession is as old as history and their -antiquity may entitle them to be considered an aristocracy of vice. They -say that their race is allied in origin to that of the people called -gypsies, with whom many of their customs are common. The men are -tinkers, blacksmiths, or musicians, and the women are the ruling element -in the band; the husband is subject to the wife. But whatever their -origin, it is admitted that their dance is the same as that with which -the dancing-women amused the Pharaohs, the same that the Phoenicians -carried to Gades and which Juvenal describes, and, Mr. Lane thinks, the -same by which the daughter of Herodias danced off the head of John the -Baptist. Modified here and there, it is the immemorial dance of the -Orient. - -Esneh has other attractions for the sailors of the Nile; there are the -mahsheshehs, or shops where hasheesh is smoked; an attendant brings -the “hubble-bubble” to the guests who are lolling on the mastabah; they -inhale their portion, and then lie down in a stupor, which is at every -experiment one remove nearer idiocy. - -Still drifting, giving us an opportunity to be on shore all the morning. -We visit the sugar establishment at Mutâneh, and walk along the high -bank under the shade of the acacias for a couple of miles below it. -Nothing could be lovelier in this sparkling morning—the silver-grey -range of mountains across the river and the level smiling land on our -left. This is one of the Viceroy's possessions, bought of one of his -relations at a price fixed by his highness. There are ten thousand acres -of arable land, of which some fifteen hundred is in sugar-cane, and the -rest in grain. The whole is watered by a steam-pump, which sends a -vast stream of water inland, giving life to the broad fields and the -extensive groves, as well as to a village the minaret of which we can -see. It is a noble estate. Near the factory are a palace and garden, -somewhat in decay, as is usual in this country, but able to offer us -roses and lemons. - -The works are large, modern, with improved machinery for crushing and -boiling, and apparently well managed; there is said to be one of the -sixteen sugar-factories of the Khedive which pays expenses; perhaps this -is the one. A great quantity of rum is distilled from the refuse. The -vast field in the rear, enclosed by a whitewashed wall, presented a -lively appearance, with camels bringing in the cane and unloading it and -arranging it upon the endless trough for the crushers. In the factory, -the workmen wear little clothing and are driven to their task; all -the overseers march among them kurbash in hand; the sight of the black -fellows treading about in the crystallized sugar, while putting it up in -sacks, would decide a fastidious person to take her tea unsweetened. - -The next morning we pass Erment without calling, satisfied to take the -word of others that you may see there a portrait of Cleopatra; and by -noon come to our old mooring-place at Luxor, and add ours to the painted -dalabeëhs lounging in this idle and gay resort. - -During the day we enjoyed only one novel sensation. We ate of the ripe -fruit ot the dôm-palm. It tastes and smells like stale gingerbread, made -of sawdust instead of flour. - -I do not know how long one could stay contentedly at Thebes; certainly -a winter, if only to breathe the inspiring air, to bask in the sun, -to gaze, never sated, upon plains and soft mountains which climate and -association clothe with hues of beauty and romance, to yield for once -to a leisure that is here rebuked by no person and by no urgency of -affairs; perhaps for years, if one seriously attempted a study of -antiquities. - -The habit of leisure is at least two thousand years old here; at any -rate, we fell into it without the least desire to resist its spell. This -is one of the eddies of the world in which the modern hurry is unfelt. -If it were not for the coughing steamboats and the occasional glimpse -one has of a whisking file of Cook's tourists, Thebes would be entirely -serene, and an admirable place of retirement. - -It has a reputation, however, for a dubious sort of industry. All along -the river from Geezeh to Assouan, whenever a spurious scarabæus or a -bogus image turned up, we would hear, “Yes, make 'em in Luxor.” As we -drew near to this great mart of antiquities, the specification became -more personal—“Can't tell edzacly whether that make by Mr. Smith or by -that Moslem in Goorneh, over the other side.” - -The person named is well known to all Nile voyagers as Antiquity Smith, -and he has, though I cannot say that he enjoys, the reputation hinted at -above. How much of it is due to the enmity of rival dealers in relics of -the dead, I do not know; but it must be evident to anyone that the very -clever forgeries of antiquities, which one sees, could only be produced -by skillful and practiced workmen. We had some curiosity to see a man -who has made the American name so familiar the length of the Nile, for -Mr. Smith is a citizen of the United States. For seventeen years he has -been a voluntary exile here, and most of the time the only foreigner -resident in the place; long enough to give him a good title to the -occupation of any grotto he may choose. - -In appearance Mr. Smith is somewhat like a superannuated agent of the -tract society, of the long, thin, shrewd, learned Yankee type. Few -men have enjoyed his advantages for sharpening the wits. Born in -Connecticut, reared in New Jersey, trained for seventeen years among the -Arabs and antiquity-mongers of this region, the sharpest in the Orient, -he ought to have not only the learning attached to the best-wrapped -mummy, but to be able to read the hieroglyphics on the most inscrutable -human face among the living. - -Mr. Smith lives on the outskirts of the village, in a house, surrounded -by a garden, which is a kind of museum of the property, not to say the -bones, of the early Egyptians. - -“You seem to be retired from society here Mr. Smith,” we ventured to -say. - -“Yes, for eight months of the year, I see nobody, literally nobody. It -is only during the winter that strangers come here.” - -“Isn't it lonesome?” - -“A little, but you get used to it.” - -“What do you do during the hottest months?” - -“As near nothing as possible.” - -“How hot is it?” - -“Sometimes the thermometer goes to 120° Fahrenheit. It stays a long time -at 100°. The worst of it is that the nights are almost as hot as the -days.” - -“How do you exist?” - -“I keep very quiet, don't write, don't read anything that requires the -least thought. Seldom go out, never in the daytime. In the early morning -I sit a while on the verandah, and about ten o'clock get into a big -bath-tub, which I have on the ground-floor, and stay in it nearly all -day, reading some very mild novel, and smoking the weakest tobacco. In -the evening I find it rather cooler outside the house than in. A white -man can't do anything here in the summer.” - -I did not say it to Mr. Smith, but I should scarcely like to live in -a country where one is obliged to be in water half the year, like a -pelican. We can have, however, from his experience some idea what this -basin must have been in summer, when its area was a crowded city, upon -which the sun, reverberated from the incandescent limestone hills, beat -in unceasing fervor. - - - -0368 - - - -0369 - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX.—THE FUTURE OF THE MUMMY'S SOUL. - -I SHOULD like to give you a conception, however faint, of the Tombs of -the ancient Egyptians, for in them is to be found the innermost -secret of the character, the belief, the immortal expectation of that -accomplished and wise people. A barren description of these places -of sepulchre would be of small service to you, for the key would be -wanting, and you would be simply confused by a mass of details and -measurements, which convey no definite idea to a person who does not see -them with his own eyes. I should not indeed be warranted in attempting -to say anything about these great Tombs at Thebes, which are so -completely described in many learned volumes, did I not have the hope -that some readers, who have never had access to the works referred to -will be glad to know something of that which most engaged the educated -Egyptian mind. - -No doubt the most obvious and immediate interest of the Tombs of old -Egypt, is in the sculptures that depict so minutely the life of the -people, represent all their occupations and associations, are, in fact, -their domestic and social history written in stone. But it is not of -this that I wish to speak here; I want to write a word upon the tombs -and what they contain, in their relation to the future life. - -A study of the tombs of the different epochs, chronologically pursued, -would show, I think, pretty accurately, the growth of the Egyptian -theology, its development, or rather its departure from the primitive -revelation of one God, into the monstrosities of its final mixture -of coarse polytheistic idolatry and the vaguest pantheism. These two -extremes are represented by the beautiful places of sepulchre of the -fourth and fifth dynasties at Geezeh and Memphis, in which all the -sculptures relate to the life of the deceased and no deities are -represented; and the tombs of the twenty-fourth dynasty at Thebes which -are so largely covered with the gods and symbols of a religion become -wholly fantastic. It was in the twenty-sixth dynasty (just before the -conquest of Egypt by the Persians) that the Funeral Ritual received -its final revision and additions—the sacred chart of the dead which had -grown, paragraph by paragraph, and chapter by chapter, from its brief -and simple form in the earliest times. - -The Egyptians had a considerable, and also a rich literature, judging by -the specimens of it preserved and by the value set upon it by classical -writers; in which no department of writing was unrepresented. The works -which would seem of most value to the Greeks were doubtless those -on agriculture, astronomy, and geometry; the Egyptians wrote also on -medicine, but the science was empirical then as it is now. They had -an enormous bulk of historical literature, both in verse and prose, -probably as semifabulous and voluminous as the thousand great volumes of -Chinese history. They did not lack, either, in the department of belles -lettres; there were poets, poor devils no doubt who were compelled to -celebrate in grandiose strains achievements they did not believe; and -essayists and letter-writers, graceful, philosophic, humorous. Nor -was the field of fiction unoccupied; some of their lesser fables and -romances have been preserved; they are however of a religious -character, myths of doctrine, and it is safe to say different from our -Sunday-School tales. The story of Cinderella was a religious myth. No -one has yet been fortunate enough to find an Egyptian novel, and we may -suppose that the quid-nunes, the critics of Thebes, were all the time -calling upon the writers of that day to make an effort and produce The -Great Egyptian Novel. - -The most important part, however, of the literature of Egypt was the -religious, and of that we have, in the Ritual or Book of the Dead, -probably the most valuable portion. It will be necessary to refer to -this more at length. A copy of the Funeral Ritual, or “The Book of -the Manifestation to Light” as it was entitled, or some portion of -it—probably according to the rank or wealth of the deceased, was -deposited with every mummy. In this point of view, as this document was -supposed to be of infinite service, a person's wealth would aid him in -the next world; but there came a point in the peregrination of every -soul where absolute democracy was reached, and every man stood for -judgment on his character. There was a foreshadowing of this even in the -ceremonies of the burial. When the mummy, after the lapse of the seventy -days of mourning, was taken by the friends to the sacred lake of the -nome (district), across which it must be transported in the boat of -Charon before it could be deposited in the tomb, it was subjected to an -ordeal. Forty-two judges were assembled on the shore of the lake, and if -anyone accused the deceased, and could prove that he led an evil life, -he was denied burial. Even kings were subjected to this trial, and those -who had been wicked, in the judgment of their people, were refused the -honors of sepulchre. Cases were probably rare where one would dare to -accuse even a dead Pharaoh. - -Debts would sometimes keep a man out of his tomb, both because he was -wrong in being in debt, and because his tomb was mortgaged. For it was -permitted a man to mortgage not only his family tomb but the mummy of -his father,—a kind of mortmain security that could not run away, but a -ghastly pledge to hold. A man's tomb, it would seem, was accounted his -chief possession; as the one he was longest to use. It was prepared at -an expense never squandered on his habitation in life. - -You may see as many tombs as you like at Thebes, you may spend weeks -underground roaming about in vast chambers or burrowing in zig-zag -tunnels, until the upper-world shall seem to you only a passing show; -but you will find little, here or elsewhere, after the Tombs of the -Kings, to awaken your keenest interest; and the exploration of a very -few of these will suffice to satisfy you. We visited these gigantic -masoleums twice; it is not an easy trip to them, for they are situated -in wild ravines or gorges that lie beyond the western mountains which -circle the plain and ruins of Thebes. They can be reached by a footpath -over the crest of the ridge behind Medeenet Haboo; the ancient and usual -road to them is up a valley that opens from the north. - -The first time we tried the footpath, riding over the blooming valley -and leaving our donkeys at the foot of the ascent. I do not know how -high this mountain backbone may be, but it is not a pleasant one to -scale. The path winds, but it is steep; the sun blazes on it; every -step is in pulverized limestone, that seems to have been calcined by -the intense heat, and rises in irritating powder; the mountain-side -is white, chalky, glaring, reflecting the solar rays with blinding -brilliancy, and not a breath of air comes to temper the furnace -temperature. On the summit however there was a delicious breeze, and we -stood long looking over the great basin, upon the temples, the villages, -the verdant areas of grain, the patches of desert, all harmonized by the -wonderful light, and the purple eastern hills—a view unsurpassed. The -descent to the other side was steeper than the ascent, and wound by -precipices, on narrow ledges, round sharp turns, through jagged gorges, -amid rocks striken with the ashy hue of death, into the bottoms of -intersecting ravines, a region scarred, blasted, scorched, a grey -Gehenna, more desolate than imagination ever conceived. - -Another day we rode to it up the valley from the river, some three -miles. It is a winding, narrow valley, little more than the bed of a -torrent; but as we advanced windings became shorter, the sides higher, -fantastic precipices of limestone frowned on us, and there was evidence -of a made road and of rocks cut away to broaden it. The scene is wilder, -more freakishly savage, as we go on, and knowing that it is a funereal -way and that only, and that it leads to graves and to nothing else, our -procession imperceptibly took on the sombre character of an expedition -after death, relieved by I know not what that is droll in the impish -forms of the crags, and the reaction of our natures against this -unnecessary accumulation of grim desolation. The sun overhead was like a -dish from which poured liquid heat, I could feel the waves, I thought I -could see it running in streams down the crumbling ashy slopes; but -it was not unendurable, for the air was pure and elastic and we had no -sense of weariness; indeed, now and then a puff of desert air suddenly -greeted us as we turned a corner. The slender strip of sky seen above -the grey limestone was of astonishing depth and color—a purple, almost -like a night sky, but of unimpeachable delicacy. - -Up this strange road were borne in solemn state, as the author of Job -may have seen, “the kings and counsellors of the earth, which built -desolate places for themselves;” the journey was a fitting prelude to -an entry into the depths of these frightful hills. It must have been an -awful march, awful in its errand, awful in the desolation of the way: -and, in the heat of summer, a mummy passing this way might have melted -down in his cercueil before he could reach his cool retreat. - -When we come to the end of the road, we see no tombs. There are paths -winding in several directions, round projecting ridges and shoulders of -powdered rock, but one might pass through here and not know he was in a -cemetery. Above the rubbish here and there we see, when they are pointed -out, holes in the rock. We climb one of these heaps, and behold the -entrance, maybe half-filled up, of one of the great tombs. This entrance -may have been laid open so as to disclose a portal cut in the face of -the rock and a smoothed space in front. Originally the tomb was not -only walled up and sealed, but rocks were tumbled down over it, so as -to restore that spot in the hill to its natural appearance. The chief -object of every tomb was to conceal the mummy from intrusion forever. -All sorts of misleading devices were resorted to for this purpose. - -Twenty-five tombs (of the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties) have been -opened in this locality, but some of them belonged to princes and other -high functionaries; in a valley west of this are tombs of the eighteenth -dynasty, and in still another gorge are the tombs of the queens. These -tombs all differ in plan, in extent, in decoration; they are alike in -not having, as many others elsewhere have, an exterior chamber where -friends could assemble to mourn; you enter all these tombs by passing -through an insignificant opening, by an inclined passage, directly -into the heart of the mountain, and there they open into various halls -chambers, and grottoes. One of them, that of Sethi I., into whose -furthermost and most splendid halls Belzoni broke his way, extends -horizontally four hundred and seventy feet into the hill, and descends -to a depth of one hundred and eighty feet below the opening. The line -of direction of the excavation is often changed, and the continuation -skillfully masked, so that the explorer may be baffled. You come by -several descents and passages, through grand chambers and halls, to a -hall vast in size and magnificently decorated; here is a pit, here is -the granite sarcophagus; here is the fitting resting-place of the royal -mummy. But it never occupied this sarcophagus. Somewhere in this hall is -a concealed passage. It was by breaking through a wall of solid masonry -in such a room, smoothly stuccoed and elaborately painted with a -continuation of the scenes on the side-walls, that Belzoni discovered -the magnificent apartment beyond, and at last a chamber that was never -finished, where one still sees the first draughts of the figures for -sculpture on the wall, and gets an idea of the bold freedom of the -old draughtsmen, in the long, graceful lines, made at a stroke by the -Egyptian artists. Were these inner chambers so elaborately concealed, -by walls and stucco and painting, after the royal mummy was somewhere -hidden in them? Or was the mummy deposited in some obscure lateral pit, -and was it the fancy of the king himself merely to make these splendid -and highly decorated inner apartments private? - -It is not uncommon to find rooms in the tombs unfinished. The excavation -of the tomb was began when the king began to reign; it was a work of -many years and might happen to be unfinished at his death. He might -himself become so enamoured of his enterprise and his ideas might expand -in regard to his requirements, as those of builders always do, that -death would find him still excavating and decorating. I can imagine that -if one thought he were building a house for eternity—or cycles beyond -human computation,—he would, up to his last moment, desire to add to it -new beauties and conveniences. And he must have had a certain humorous -satisfaction in his architectural tricks, for putting posterity on a -false scent about his remains. - -It would not be in human nature to leave undisturbed tombs containing -so much treasure as was buried with a rich or royal mummy. The Greeks -walked through all these sepulchres; they had already been rifled by -the Persians; it is not unlikely that some of them had been ransacked by -Egyptians, who could appreciate jewelry and fine-work in gold as much as -we do that found by M. Mariette on the cold person of Queen Aah-hotep. -This dainty lady might have begun to flatter herself, having escaped -through so many ages of pillage, that danger was over, but she had not -counted upon there coming an age of science. It is believed that she was -the mother of Amosis, who expelled the Shepherds, and the wife of Kamés, -who long ago went to his elements. After a repose here at Thebes, not -far from the temple of Koorneh, of about thirty-five hundred years, -Science one day cried,—“Aah-hotep of Drah-Aboo-l-neggah! we want you -for an Exposition of the industries of all nations at Paris; put on your -best things and come forth.” - -I suppose that there is no one living who would not like to be the -first to break into an Egyptian tomb (and there are doubtless still some -undisturbed in this valley), to look upon its glowing paintings before -the air had impaired a tint, and to discover a sweet and sleeping -princess, simply encrusted in gems, and cunning work in gold, of -priceless value—in order that he might add something to our knowledge of -ancient art! - -But the government prohibits all excavations by private persons. You are -permitted, indeed, to go to the common pits and carry off an armful of -mummies, if you like; but there is no pleasure in the disturbance of -this sort of mummy; he may perhaps be a late Roman; he has no history, -no real antiquity, and probably not a scarabæus of any value about him. - -When we pass out of the glare of the sun and descend the incline down -which the mummy went, we feel as if we had begun his awful journey. On -the walls are sculptured the ceremonies and liturgies of the dead, the -grotesque monsters of the under-world, which will meet him and assail -him on his pilgrimage, the deities friendly and unfriendly, the -tremendous scenes of cycles of transmigration. Other sculptures there -are; to be sure, and in some tombs these latter predominate, in which -astronomy, agriculture, and domestic life are depicted. In one chamber -are exhibited trades, in another the kitchen, in another arms, in -another the gay boats and navigation of the Nile, in another all the -vanities of elegant house-furniture. But all these only emphasize the -fact that we are passing into another world, and one of the grimmest -realities. We come at length, whatever other wonders or beauties may -detain us, to the king, the royal mummy, in the presence of the -deities, standing before Osiris, Athor, Phtah, Isis, Horus, Anubis, and -Nofre-Atmoo. - -Somewhere in this vast and dark mausoleum the mummy has been deposited; -he has with him the roll of the Funeral Ritual; the sacred scarabæus is -on his breast; in one chamber bread and wine are set out; his bearers -withdraw, the tomb is closed, sealed, all trace of its entrance effaced. -The mummy begins his pilgrimage. - -The Ritual * describes all the series of pilgrimages of the soul in the -lower-world; it contains the hymns, prayers, and formula for all funeral -ceremonies and the worship of the dead; it embodies the philosophy and -religion of Egypt; the basis of it is the immortality of the soul, -that is of the souls of the justified, but a clear notion of the soul's -personality apart from the body it does not give. - -* Lenormant's Epitome. - -The book opens with a grand dialogue, at the moment of death, in which -the deceased, invoking the god of the lower-world, asks entrance to -his domain; a chorus of glorified souls interposes for him; the priest -implores the divine clemency; Osiris responds, granting permission, and -the soul enters Kar-Neter, the land of the dead; and then renews his -invocations. Upon his entry he is dazzled by the splendor of the -sun (which is Osiris) in this subterranean region, and sings to it a -magnificent hymn. - -The second part traces the journeys of the soul. Without knowledge, he -would fail, and finally be rejected at the tribunal. - -Knowledge is in Egyptian sbo, that is, “food in plenty,” knowledge and -food are identified in the Ritual; “the knowledge of religious truths is -the mysterious nourishment that the soul must carry with it to sustain -it in its journeys and trials.” This necessary preliminary knowledge -is found in the statement of the Egyptian faith in the Ritual; other -information is given him from time to time on his journey. But although -his body is wrapped up, and his soul instructed, he cannot move, he has -not the use of his limbs; and he prays to be restored to his faculties -that he may be able to walk, speak, eat, fight; the prayer granted, he -holds his scarabæus over his head, as a passport, and enters Hades. - -His way is at once beset by formidable obstacles; monsters, servants of -Typhon, assail him; slimy reptiles, crocodiles, serpents seek to devour -him; he begins a series of desperate combats, in which the hero and his -enemies hurl long and insulting speeches at each other. Out of these -combats he comes victorious, and sings songs of triumph; and after rest -and refreshment from the Tree of Life, given him by the goddess Nu, -he begins a dialogue with the personification of the divine Light, who -instructs him, explaining the sublime mysteries of nature. Guided -by this new Light, he advances, and enters into a series of -transformations, identifying himself with the noblest divine symbols: he -becomes a hawk, an angel, a lotus, the god Ptah, a heron, etc. - -Up to this time the deceased has been only a shade, an eidolon, the -simulacrum of the appearance of his body. He now takes his body, which -is needed for the rest of the journey; it was necessary therefore that -it should be perfectly preserved by the embalming process. He goes on to -new trials and dangers, to new knowledge, to severer examinations of his -competence: he shuns wiles and delusions; he sails down a subterranean -river and comes to the Elysian Fields, in fact, to a reproduction of -Egypt with its camels and its industries, when the soul engages in -agriculture, sowing and reaping divine fruit for the bread of knowledge -which he needs now more than ever. - -At length he comes to the last and severest trial, to the judgment-hall -where Osiris awaits him, seated on his throne, accompanied by the -forty-two assessors of the dead. Here his knowledge is put to the test; -here he must give an account of his whole life. He goes on to justify -himself by declaring at first, negatively, the crimes that he has not -committed. “I have not blasphemed,” he says in the Ritual; “I have not -stolen; I have not smitten men privily; I have not treated any person -with cruelty; I have not stirred up trouble; I have not been idle; I -have not been intoxicated; I have not made unjust commandmants; I -have shown no improper curiosity; I have not allowed my mouth to tell -secrets; I have not wounded anyone; I have not put anyone in fear; I -have not slandered anyone; I have not let envy gnaw my heart; I have -spoken evil neither of the king nor of my father; I have not falsely -accused anyone; I have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings; I -have not practiced any shameful crime; I have not calumniated a slave to -his master.” - -The deceased then speaks of the good he has done in his lifetime; and -the positive declarations rise to a higher morality than the negative; -among them is this wonderful sentence:—“I have given food to the hungry, -drink to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked.” - -The heart of the deceased, who is now called Osiris, is then weighed in -the balance against “truth,” and (if he is just) is not found wanting; -the forty-two assessors decide that his knowledge is sufficient, the god -Osiris gives sentence of justification, Thoth (the Hermes of the -Greeks, the conductor of souls, the scribe of Osiris, and also the -personification of literature or letters) records it, and the soul -enters into bliss. - -In a chamber at Dayr el Medeeneh you may see this judgment-scene. Osiris -is seated on his throne waiting the introduction of souls into Amenti; -the child Harpocrates, with his finger on his lip, sits upon his crook; -behind are the forty-two assessors. The deceased humbly approaches; -Thoth presents his good deeds written upon papyrus; they are weighed in -the balance against an ostrich-feather, the symbol of truth; on the beam -sits a monkey, the emblem of Thoth. - -The same conceit of weighing the soul in judgment-scenes was common to -the mediaeval church; it is very quaintly represented in a fresco in the -porch of the church of St. Lawrence at Rome. - -Sometimes the balance tipped the wrong way; in the tomb of Rameses VI. -is sculptured a wicked soul, unjustified, retiring from the presence of -Osiris in the ignoble form of a pig. - -The justified soul retired into bliss. What was this bliss? The third -part of the Ritual is obscure. The deceased is Osiris, identified with -the sun, traversing with him, and as him, the various houses of heaven; -afterwards he seems to pass into an identification with all the deities -of the pantheon. This is a poetical flight. The justified soul was -absorbed into the intelligence from which it emanated. For the wicked, -there was annihilation; they were destroyed, decapitated by the evil -powers. In these tombs you will see pictures of beheadings at the block, -of dismembered bodies. - -It would seem that in some cases the souls of the wicked returned to -the earth and entered unclean animals. We always had a suspicion, a mere -idle fancy, that the chameleon, which we had on our boat, which had a -knowing and wicked eye, had been somebody. - -The visitor's first astonishment here is to find such vast and rich -tombs, underground temples in fact, in a region so unutterably desolate, -remote from men, to be reached only by a painful pilgrimage. He is -bewildered by the variety and beauty of the decorations, the grace and -freedom of art, the minute finish of birds and flowers, the immortal -loveliness of faces here and there; and he cannot understand that all -this was not made for exhibition, that it was never intended to be seen, -that it was not seen except by the workmen and the funeral attendants, -and that it was then sealed away from human eyes forever. Think of the -years of labor expended, the treasure lavished in all this gorgeous -creation, which was not for men to see! Has human nature changed? -Expensive monuments and mausoleums are built now as they have been in -all the Christian era; but they are never concealed from the public -view. I cannot account for these extraordinary excavations, not even for -one at the Assaseef, which extends over an acre and a quarter of ground, -upon an ostentation of wealth, for they were all closed from inspection, -and the very entrances masked. The builders must have believed in the -mysteries of the under-world, or they would not have expended so much in -enduring representations of them; they must have believed also that -the soul had need of such a royal abode. Did they have the thought that -money lavished in this pious labor would benefit the soul, as much as -now-a-days legacies bequeathed to missions and charities? - -On our second visit to these tombs we noticed many details that had -escaped us before. I found sculptured a cross of equal arms, three or -four inches long, among other sacred symbols. We were struck by the -peculiar whiteness of the light, the sort of chalkiness of the sunshine -as we saw it falling across the entrance of a tomb from which we were -coming, and by the lightness of the shadows. We illuminated some of -the interiors, lighting up the vast sculptured and painted halls and -corniced chambers, to get the tout ensemble of colors and figures. The -colors came out with startling vividness on the stuccoed, white walls, -and it needed no imagination, amidst these awful and bizarre images and -fantastic scenes, to feel that we were in a real underworld. And all -this was created for darkness! - -But these chambers could neither have been cut nor decorated without -light, and bright light. The effect of the rich ceiling and sides could -not have been obtained without strong light. I believe that these rooms, -as well as the dark and decorated chambers in the temples, must have -been brilliantly illuminated on occasion; the one at the imposing -funeral ceremonies, the other at the temple services. What light was -used? The sculptures give us no information. But the light must have -been not only a very brilliant but a pure flame, for these colors were -fresh and unsullied when the tombs were opened. However these chambers -were lighted, some illuminating substance was used that produced no -smoke, nor formed any gas that could soil the whiteness of the painted -lotus. - -In one of these brilliant apartments, which is finished with a carved -and painted cornice, and would serve for a drawing-room with the -addition of some furniture, we almost had a feeling of comfort and -domesticity—as long as the illumination lasted. When that flashed but, -and we were left in that thick darkness of the grave which one can feel -gathering itself in folds about him, and which the twinkling candles in -our hands punctured but did not scatter, and we groped our way, able -to see only a step ahead and to examine only a yard square of wall at a -time, there was something terrible in this subterranean seclusion. And -yet, this tomb was intended as the place of abode of the deceased owner -during the long ages before soul and body, united, should be received -into bliss; here were buried with him no doubt some portions of his -property, at least jewels and personal ornaments of value; here were -pictured his possessions and his occupations while on earth; here were -his gods, visibly cut in stone; here were spread out, in various symbols -and condensed writing, the precepts of profound wisdom and the liturgies -of the book of the dead. If at any time he could have awakened (as -no doubt he supposed he should), and got rid of his heavy granite -sarcophagus (if his body ever lay in it) and removed the myrrh and pitch -from his person, he would have found himself in a most spacious and gay -mansion, of which the only needs were food, light, and air. - -While remembering, however, the grotesque conception the Egyptians had -of the next world, it seems to me that the decorators of these tombs -often let their imaginations run riot, and that not every fantastic -device has a deep signification. Take the elongated figures on the -ceiling, stretching fifty feet across, the legs bent down one side and -the head the other; or such a picture as this:—a sacred boat having a -crocodile on the deck, on the back of the crocodile a human head, out -of the head a long stick protruding which bears on its end the crown of -lower Egypt; or this conceit:—a small boat ascending a cataract, bearing -a huge beetle (scarabæus) having a ram's head, and sitting on each side -of it a bird with a human head. I think much of this work is pure fancy. - -In these tombs the snake plays a great part, the snake purely, coiled -or extended, carried in processions his length borne on the shoulders -of scores of priests, crawling along the walls in hideous convolutions; -and, again, the snake with two, three, and four heads, with two and six -feet; the snake with wings; the snake coiled about the statues of the -gods, about the images of the mummies, and in short everywhere. The -snake is the most conspicuous figure. - -The monkey is also numerous, and always pleasing; I think he is the -comic element of hell, though perhaps gravely meant. He squats about -the lower-world of the heathen, and gives it an almost cheerful and -debonnair aspect. It is certainly refreshing to meet his self-possessed, -grave, and yet friendly face amid all the serpents, crocodiles, hybrids, -and chimerical monsters of the Egyptian under-world. - -Conspicuous in ceremonies represented in the tombs and in the temples -is the sacred boat or ark, reminding one always, in its form and use and -the sacredness attached to it, of the Jewish Ark of the Covenant. The -arks contain the sacred emblems, and sometimes the beetle of the sun, -overshadowed by the wings of the goddess of Thmei or Truth, which -suggest the cherubim of the Jews. Mr. Wilkinson notices the fact, also, -that Thmei, the name of the goddess who was worshipped under the double -character of Truth and Justice, is the origin of the Hebrew Thummim—a -word implying “truth”; this Thummim (a symbol perfectly comprehensible -now that we know its origin) which was worn only by the high priest of -the Jews, was, like the Egyptian figure, which the archjudge put on when -he sat at the trial of a case, studded with precious stones of various -colors. - -Before we left the valley we entered the tomb of Menephtah (or -Merenphtah), and I broke off a bit of crumbling limestone from the inner -cave as a memento of the Pharaoh of the Exodus. I used to suppose that -this Pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea; but he could not have been if -he was buried here; and here certainly is his tomb. It is the opinion -of scholars that Menephtah long survived the Exodus. There is nothing -to conflict with this in the Biblical description of the disaster to the -Egyptians. It says that all Pharaoh's host was drowned, but it does not -say that the king was drowned; if he had been, so important a fact, it -is likely, would have been emphasized. Joseph came into Egypt during the -reign of one of the usurping Shepherd Kings, Apepi probably. Their seat -of empire was at Tanis, where their tombs have been discovered. -The Israelites were settled in that part of the Delta. After some -generations the Shepherds were expelled, and the ancient Egyptian race -of kings was reinstated in the dominion of all Egypt. This is probably -the meaning of the passage, “now there arose up a new king over Egypt, -which knew not Joseph.” The narrative of the Exodus seems to require -that the Pharaoh should be at Memphis. The kings of the nineteenth -dynasty, to which Menephtah belonged, had the seat of their empire at -Thebes; he alone of that dynasty established his court at Memphis. But -it was natural that he should build his tomb at Thebes. - -We went again and again to the temples on the west side and to the tombs -there. I never wearied of the fresh morning ride across the green plain, -saluting the battered Colossi as we passed under them, and galloping -(don't, please, remember that we were mounted on donkeys) out upon the -desert. Not all the crowd of loping Arabs with glittering eyes and lying -tongues, who attended us, offering their dead merchandise, could put me -out of humor. Besides, there were always slender, pretty, and cheerful -little girls running beside us with their water-koollehs. And may I -never forget the baby Charon on the vile ferry-boat that sets us over -one of the narrow streams. He is the cunningest specimen of a boy in -Africa. His small brothers pole the boat, but he is steersman, and -stands aft pushing about the tiller, which is level with his head. He is -a mere baby as to stature, and is in fact only four years old, but he -is a perfect beauty, even to the ivory teeth which his engaging smile -discloses. And such self-possession and self-respect. He is a man of -business, and minds his helm, “the dear little scrap,” say the ladies. -When we give him some evidently unexpected coppers, his eyes and whole -face beam with pleasure, and in the sweetest voice he says, Ket'ther -khdyrak, keteer (“Thank you very much indeed”). - -I yield myself to, but cannot account for the fascination of this vast -field of desolation, this waste of crumbled limestone, gouged into -ravines and hills, honeycombed with tombs and mummy-pits, strewn with -the bones of ancient temples, brightened by the glow of sunshine on -elegant colonnades and sculptured walls, saddened by the mud-hovels of -the fellaheen. The dust is abundant, and the glare of the sun reflected -from the high, white precipices behind is something unendurable. - -Of the tombs of the Assaseef, we went far into none, except that of the -priest Petamunoph, the one which occupies, with its many chambers and -passages, an acre and a quarter of underground. It was beautifully -carved and painted throughout, but the inscriptions are mostly illegible -now, and so fouled by bats as to be uninteresting. Our guide said truly, -“bats not too much good for 'scriptions.” In truth, the place smells -horribly of bats,—an odor that will come back to you with sickening -freshness days after,—and a strong stomach is required for the -exploration. - -Even the chambers of some of the temples here were used in later times -as receptacles for mummies. The novel and most interesting temple -of Dayr el Bahree did not escape this indignity. It was built by -Amun-noo-het, or Hatasoo as we more familiarly call her, and like -everything else that this spirited woman did it bears the stamp of -originality and genius. The structure rises up the side of the -mountain in terraces, temple above temple, and is of a most graceful -architecture; its varied and brilliant sculptures must be referred to a -good period of art. Walls that have recently been laid bare shine with -extraordinary vividness of color. The last chambers in the rock are -entered by arched doorways, but the arch is in appearance, not in -principle. Its structure is peculiar. Square stones were laid up on each -side, the one above lapping over the one beneath until the last two met -at the top; the interior corners were then cut away, leaving a perfect -round arch; but there is no lateral support or keystone. In these -interior rooms were depths on depths of mummy-wrappings and bones, and a -sickening odor of dissolution. - -There are no tombs better known than those of Sheykh el Koorneh, for it -is in them that so much was discovered revealing the private life, the -trades, the varied pursuits of the Egyptians. We entered those called -the most interesting, but they are so smoked, and the paintings are so -defaced, that we had small satisfaction in them. Some of them are full -of mummy-cloths and skeletons, and smell of mortality, to that degree -that it needs all the wind of the desert to take the scent of death out -of our nostrils. - -All this plain and its mounds and hills are dug over and pawed out -for remnants of the dead, scarabæi, beads, images, trinkets sacred and -profane. It is the custom of some travelers to descend into the horrible -and common mummy-pits, treading about among the dead, and bring up in -their arms the body of some man, or some woman, who may have been, for -aught the traveler knows, not a respectable person. I confess to an -uncontrollable aversion to all of them, however well preserved they are. -The present generation here (I was daily beset by an Arab who wanted -always to sell mean arm or a foot, from whose eager, glittering eyes -I seemed to see a ghoul looking out,) lives by plundering the dead. A -singular comment upon our age and upon the futile hope of security for -the body after death, even in the strongest house of rock. - -Old Petamunoph, with whom be peace, builded better than he knew; he -excavated a vast hotel for bats. Perhaps he changed into bats himself in -the course of his transmigrations, and in this state is only able to see -dimly, as bats do, and to comprehend only partially, as an old Egyptian -might, our modern civilization. - - - -0386 - - - - -CHAPTER XXX.—FAREWELL TO THEBES. - -SOCIAL life at Thebes, in the season, is subject to peculiar conditions. -For one thing, you suspect a commercial element in it. Back of all the -politeness of native consuls and resident effendis, you see spread out -a collection of antiques, veritable belongings of the ancient Egyptians, -the furniture of their tombs, the ornaments they wore when they began -their last and most solemn journey, the very scarabæus, cut on the back -in the likeness of the mysterious eye of Osiris, which the mummy held -over his head when he entered the ominously silent land of Kar-Neter, -the intaglio seal which he always used for his signature, the “charms” -that he wore at his guard-chain, the necklaces of his wife, the rings -and bracelets of his daughter. - -These are very precious things, but you may have them—such is the -softening influence of friendship—for a trifle of coined gold, a mere -trifle, considering their value and the impossibility of replacing them. -What are two, five, even ten pounds for a genuine bronze figure of Isis, -for a sacred cat, for a bit of stone, wrought four thousand years ago by -an artist into the likeness of the immortal beetle, carved exquisitely -with the name of the Pharaoh of that epoch, a bit of stone that some -Egyptian wore at his chain during his life and which was laid upon his -breast when he was wrapped up for eternity. Here in Thebes, where the -most important personage is the mummy and the Egyptian past is the only -real and marketable article, there comes to be an extraordinary value -attached to these trinkets of mortality. But when the traveler gets -away, out of this charmed circle of enthusiasm for antiquity, away from -this fictitious market in sentiment, among the cold people of the world -who know not Joseph, and only half believe in Potiphar, and think the -little blue images of Osiris ugly, and the me my-beads trash, and who -never heard of the scarabæus, when, I say, he comes with his load of -antiques into this air of scepticism, he finds that he has invested in -a property no longer generally current, objects of vertu for which Egypt -is actually the best market. And if he finds, as he may, that a good -part of his purchases are only counterfeits of the antique, manufactured -and doctored to give them an appearance of age, he experiences a sinking -of the heart mingled with a lively admiration of the adroitness of the -smooth and courtly Arabs of Luxor. - -Social life is so peculiar in the absence of the sex that is thought -to add a charm to it in other parts of the world. We receive visits or -ceremony or of friendship from the chief citizens of the village, we -entertain them at dinner, but they are never accompanied by their wives -or daughters; we call at their houses and are feted in turn, but the -light of the harem never appears. Dahabeëhs of all nations are arriving -and departing, there are always several moored before the town, some of -them are certain to have lovely passengers, and the polite Arabs are -not insensible to the charm of their society: there is much visiting -constantly on the boats; but when it is returned at the houses of the -natives, at an evening entertainment, the only female society offered is -that of the dancing-girls. - -Of course, when there is so much lingual difficulty in intercourse, the -demonstrations of civility must be mainly overt, and in fact they are -mostly illuminations and “fantasies.” Almost every boat once in the -course of its stay, and usually upon some natal day or in honor of some -arrival, will be beautifully illuminated and display fireworks. No sight -is prettier than a dahabeëh strung along its decks and along its masts -and yards with many colored lanterns. The people of Luxor respond with -illuminations in the houses, to which they add barbarous music and the -kicking and posturing of the Ghawazees. In this consists the gaiety of -the Luxor season. - -Perhaps we reached the high-water mark of this gaiety in an -entertainment given us by Ali Moorad Effendi, the American consular -agent, in return for a dinner on the dahabeëh. Ali is of good Bedawee -blood; and has relations at Karnak enough to fill an opera-house, we -esteemed him one of the most trustworthy Arabs in the country, and he -takes great pains and pleasure in performing all the duties of his -post, which are principally civilities to American travelers. The -entertainment consisted of a dinner and a 'fantasia.' It was understood -that it was to be a dinner in Arab style. - -We go at sunset when all the broad surface of the Nile is like an opal -in the reflected light. The consul's house is near the bank of the -river, and is built against the hill so that we climb two or three -narrow stairways before we get to the top of it. The landing-places of -the stairways are terraces overlooking the river; and the word terrace -has such a grand air that it is impossible to describe this house -without making it appear better than it is. The consul comes down to -the bank to receive us; we scramble up its crumbling face. We ascend a -stairway to the long consular reception-room, where we sit for half an -hour, during which coffee is served and we get the last of the glowing -sunset from the windows. - -We are then taken across a little terrace, up another flight of steps, -to the main house, which is seen to consist of a broad hall with small -rooms on each side. No other members of the consul's family appear, -and, regarding Arab etiquette, we make no inquiry for them. We could not -commit a greater breach of good-breeding than to ask after the health of -any members of the harem. Into one of the little rooms we are shown for -dinner. It is very small, only large enough to contain a divan and a -round table capable of seating eight persons. The only ornaments of the -room are an American flag, and a hand-mirror hung too high for anyone to -see herself in it. The round table is of metal, hammered out and turned -at the edge,—a little barrier that prevents anything rolling off. At -each place are a napkin and a piece of bread—no plate or knives or -forks. - -Deference is so far paid to European prejudice that we sit in chairs, -but I confess that when I am to eat with my fingers I prefer to sit on -the ground—the position in a chair is too formal for what is to follow. -When we are seated, a servant brings water in a basin and ewer, and a -towel, and we wash our right hands—the left hand is not to be used. Soup -is first served. The dish is placed in the middle of the table, and we -are given spoons with which each one dips in, and eats rapidly or slowly -according to habit; but there is necessarily some deliberation about it, -for we cannot all dip at once. The soup is excellent, and we praise it, -to the great delight of our host, who shows his handsome teeth and says -tyeb all that we have hitherto said was tyeb, we now add kateér. More -smiles; and claret is brought in—another concession to foreign tastes. - -After the soup, we rely upon our fingers, under the instructions of Ali -and an Arab guest. The dinner consists of many courses, each article -served separately, but sometimes placed upon the table in three or four -dishes for the convenience of the convive in reaching it. There are -meats and vegetables of all sorts procurable, fish, beef, mutton, veal, -chickens, turkeys, quails and other small birds, pease, beans, salad, -and some compositions which defied such analysis as one could make with -his thumb and finger. Our host prided himself upon having a Turkish -artist in the kitchen, and the cooking was really good and toothsome, -even to the pastry and sweetmeats; we did not accuse him of making the -champagne. - -There is no difficulty in getting at the meats; we tear off strips, -mutually assisting each other in pulling them asunder; but there is -more trouble about such dishes as pease and a purée of something. One -hesitates to make a scoop of his four fingers, and plunge in; and then -it is disappointing to an unskilled person to see how few peas he -can convey to his mouth at a time. I sequester and keep by me the -breast-bone of a chicken, which makes an excellent scoop for small -vegetables and gravies, and I am doing very well with it, until there is -a universal protest against the unfairness of the device. - -Our host praises everything himself in the utmost simplicity, and urges -us to partake of each dish; he is continually picking out nice bits from -the dish and conveying them to the mouth of his nearest guest. My friend -who sits next to All, ought to be grateful for this delicate attention, -but I fear he is not. The fact is that Ali, by some accident, in -fishing, hunting, or war, has lost the tip of the index finger of his -right hand, the very hand that conveys the delicacies to my friend's -mouth. And he told me afterwards, that he felt each time he was fed that -he had swallowed that piece of the consul's finger. - -During the feast there is music by performers in the adjoining hall, -music in minor, barbaric strains insisted on with the monotonous -nonchalance of the Orient, and calculated, I should say, to excite a -person to ferocity, and to make feeding with his fingers a vent to his -aroused and savage passions. At the end of the courses water is brought -for us to lave our hands, and coffee and chibooks are served. - -“Dinner very nice, very fine,” says Ali, speaking the common thought -which most hosts are too conventional to utter. - -“A splendid dinner, O! consul; I have never seen such an one in -America.” - -The Ghawazees have meantime arrived; we hear a burst of singing -occasionally with the wail of the instruments. The dancing is to be in -the narrow hall of the house, which is lighted as well as a room can be -with so many dusky faces in it. At the far end are seated on the -floor the musicians, with two stringed instruments, a tambourine and a -darabooka. That which answers for a violin has two strings of horsehair, -stretched over a cocoanut-shell; the bowstring, which is tightened -by the hand as it is drawn, is of horsehair. The music is certainly -exciting, harassing, plaintive, complaining; the very monotony of it -would drive one wild in time. Behind the musicians is a dark cloud of -turbaned servants and various privileged retainers of the house. In -front of the musicians sit the Ghawazees, six girls, and an old women -with parchment skin and twinkling eyes, who has been a famous dancer in -her day. They are waiting a little wearily, and from time to time one -of them throws out the note or two of a song, as if the music were -beginning to work in her veins. The spectators are grouped at the -entrance of the hall and seated on chairs down each side, leaving but a -narrow space for the dancers between; and there are dusky faces peering -in at the door. - -Before the dance begins we have an opportunity to see what these -Ghawazees are like, a race which prides itself upon preserving a pure -blood for thousands of years, and upon an ancestry that has always -followed the most disreputable profession. These girls are aged say -from sixteen to twenty; one appears much older and looks exactly like an -Indian squaw, but, strange to say, her profile is also exactly that of -Rameses as we see it in the sculptures. The leading dancer is dressed -in a flaring gown of red and figured silk, a costly Syrian dress; she is -fat, rather comely, but coarsely uninteresting, although she is said to -have on more jewelry than any other dancing-girl in Egypt; her abundant -black hair is worn long and in strands thickly hung with gold coins; her -breast is covered with necklaces of gold-work and coins; and a mass of -heavy twinkling silver ornaments hangs about her waist. A third dancer -is in an almost equally striking gown of yellow, and wears also much -coin; she is a Pharaonic beauty, with a soft skin and the real -Oriental eye and profile. The dresses of all are plainly cut, and -straight-waisted, like an ordinary calico gown of a milkmaid. They -wear no shawls or any other Oriental wrappings, and dance in their -stocking-feet. - -At a turn in the music, the girl in red and the girl in yellow stand up; -for an instant they raise their castanets till the time of the music is -caught, and then start forward, with less of languor and a more skipping -movement than we expected; and they are not ungraceful as they come -rapidly down the hall, throwing the arms aloft and the feet forward, -to the rattle of the castanets. These latter are small convex pieces of -brass, held between the thumb and finger, which have a click like the -rattle of the snake. In mid-advance they stop, face each other, chassée, -retire, and again come further forward, stop, and the peculiar portion -of the dance begins, which is not dancing at all, but a quivering, -undulating motion given to the body, as the girl stands with feet -planted wide apart. The feet are still, the head scarcely stirs, except -with an almost imperceptible snakelike movement, but the muscles of the -body to the hips quiver in time to the monotonous music, in muscular -thrills, in waves running down, and at intervals extending below -the waist. Sometimes one side of the body quivers while the other is -perfectly still, and then the whole frame, for a second, shares in the -ague. It is certainly an astonishing muscular performance, but you -could not call it either graceful or pleasing. Some people see in the -intention of the dance a deep symbolic meaning, something about the Old -Serpent of the Nile, with its gliding, quivering movement and its fatal -fascination. Others see in it only the common old Snake that was in -Eden. I suppose in fact that it is the old and universal Oriental dance, -the chief attraction of which never was its modesty. - -After standing for a brief space, with the body throbbing and quivering, -the castanets all the time held above the head in sympathetic throbs, -the dancers start forward, face each other, pass, pirouette, and -take some dancing steps, retire, advance and repeat the earthquake -performance. This is kept up a long time, and with wonderful endurance, -without change of figure; but sometimes the movements are more rapid, -when the music hastens, and more passion is shown. But five minutes of -it is as good as an hour. Evidently the dance is nothing except with a -master, with an actress who shall abandon herself to the tide of feeling -which the music suggests and throw herself into the full passion of it; -who knows how to tell a story by pantomime, and to depict the woes -of love and despair. All this needs grace, beauty, and genius. Few -dancing-girls have either. An old resident of Luxor complains that the -dancing is not at all what it was twenty years ago, that the old fire -and art seem to be lost. - -“The old hag, sitting there on the floor, was asked to exhibit the -ancient style; she consented, and danced marvelously for a time, but the -performance became in the end too shameful to be witnessed.” - -I fancy that if the dance has gained anything in propriety, which -is hard to believe, it has lost in spirit. It might be passionate, -dramatic, tragic. But it needs genius to make it anything more than a -suggestive and repulsive vulgarity. - -During the intervals, the girls sing to the music; the singing is very -wild and barbaric. The song is in praise of the Night, a love-song -consisting of repeated epithets:— - - -“O the Night! nothing is so lovely as the Night! - -O my heart! O my soul! O my liver! - -My love he passed my door, and saw me not; - -O the night! How lovely is the Night!” - - -The strain is minor, and there is a wail in the voices which stridently -chant to the twanging strings. Is it only the echo of ages of sin in -those despairing voices? How melancholy it all becomes! The girl in -yellow, she of the oblong eyes, straight nose and high type of Oriental -beauty, dances down alone; she is slender, she has the charm of grace, -her eyes never wander to the spectators. Is there in her soul any faint -contempt for herself or for the part she plays? Or is the historic -consciousness of the antiquity of both her profession and her sin strong -enough to throw yet the lights of illusion over such a performance? -Evidently the fat girl in red is a prey to no such misgiving, as she -comes bouncing down the line, and flings herself into her ague fit. - -“Look out, the hippopotamus!” cries Abd-el-Atti, “I 'fraid she kick me.” - -While the dance goes on, pipes, coffee, and brandy are frequently -passed; the dancers swallow the brandy readily. The house is -illuminated, and the entertainment ends with a few rockets from the -terrace. This is a full-blown “fantasia.” - -As the night is still young and the moon is full, we decide to efface, -as much as may be, the vulgarities of modern Egypt, by a vision of the -ancient, and taking donkeys we ride to Karnak. - -For myself I prefer day to night, and abounding sunshine to the most -generous moonlight; there is always some disappointment in the night -effect in ruins, under the most favorable conditions. But I have great -deference to that poetic yearning for half-light, which leads one to -grope about in the heavy night-shadows of a stately temple; there is -no bird more worthy of respect than the round-eyed attendant of -Pallas-Athene. - -And it cannot be denied that there is something mysterious and almost -ghostly in our silent night ride. For once, our attendants fall into the -spirit of the adventure, keep silent, and are only shades at our side. -Not a word or a blow is heard as we emerge from the dark lanes of Luxor -and come out into the yellow light of the plain; the light seems strong -and yet the plain is spectral, small objects become gigantic, and -although the valley is flooded in radiance, the end of our small -procession is lost in dimness. Nothing is real, all things take -fantastic forms, and all proportions are changed. One moves as in a -sort of spell, and it is this unreality which becomes painful. The -old Egyptians had need of little imagination to conjure up the -phantasmagoria of the under-world; it is this without the sun. - -So far as we can see it, the great mass of stone is impressive as we -approach—I suspect because we know how vast and solid it is; and the -pylons never seemed so gigantic before. We do our best to get into a -proper frame of mind, by wandering apart, and losing ourselves in the -heavy shadows. And for moments we succeed. It would have been the shame -of our lives not to have seen Karnak by moonlight. The Great Hall, with -its enormous columns planted close together, it is more difficult to -see by night than by day, but such glimpses as we have of it, the silver -light slanting through the stone forest and the heavy shadows, are -profoundly impressive. I climb upon a tottering pylon where I can see -over the indistinct field and chaos of stone, and look down into the -weird and half-illumined Hall of Columns. In this isolated situation -I am beginning to fall into the classical meditation of Marius at -Carthage, when another party of visitors arrives, and their donkeys, -meeting our donkeys in the center of the Great Hall, begin (it is -their donkeys that begin) such a braying as never was heard before; the -challenge is promptly responded to, and a duet ensues and is continued -and runs into a chorus, so hideous, so unsanctified, so wretchedly -attuned, and out of harmony with history, romance, and religion, that -sentiment takes wings with silence and flies from the spot. - -We can pick up again only some scattered fragments of emotion by -wandering alone in the remotest nooks. But we can go nowhere that an -Arab, silent and gowned, does not glide from behind a pillar or step -out of the shade, staff in hand, and stealthily accompany us. Even the -donkey-boys have cultivated their sensibilities by association with -other nocturnal pilgrims, and encourage our gush of feeling by remarking -in a low voice, “Karnak very good.” One of them, who had apparently -attended only the most refined and appreciative, keeps repeating at each -point of view, “Exquisite!” - -As I am lingering behind the company a shadow glides up to me in the -gloom of the great columns, with “good evening”; and, when I reply, it -draws nearer, and, in confidential tones, whispers, as if it knew that -the moonlight visit was different from that by day, “Backsheesh.” - -There is never wanting something to do at Luxor, if all the excursions -were made. There is always an exchange of courtesies between dahabeëhs, -calls are made and dinners given. In the matter of visits the naval -etiquette prevails, and the last comer makes the first call. But if you -do not care for the society of travelers, you can at least make one of -the picturesque idlers on the bank; you may chance to see a display -of Arab horsemanship; you may be entertained by some new device of the -curiosity-mongers; and there always remain the “collections” of the -dealers to examine. One of the best of them is that of the German -consul, who rejoices in the odd name of Todrous Paulos, which reappears -in his son as Moharb Todrous; a Copt who enjoys the reputation among -Moslems of a trustworthy man—which probably means that a larger -proportion of his antiquities are genuine than of theirs. If one were -disposed to moralize there is abundant field for it here in Luxor. -I wonder if there is an insatiable demoralization connected with the -dealing in antiquities, and especially in the relics of the departed. -When a person, as a business, obtains his merchandise from the -unresisting clutch of the dead, in violation of the firman of his ruler, -does he add to his wickedness by manufacturing imitations and selling -them as real? And what of the traveler who encourages both trades by -buying? - -One night the venerable Mustapha Aga gave a grand entertainment, in -honor of his reception of a firman from the Sultan, who sent him a -decoration of diamonds set in silver. Nothing in a Moslem's eyes could -exceed the honor of this recognition by the Khalif, the successor of -the Prophet. It was an occasion of religious as well as of social -demonstration of gratitude. There was service, with the reading of the -Koran in the mosque, for the faithful only; there was a slaughter of -sheep with a distribution of the mutton among the poor; and there was a -fantasia at the residence of Mustapha (the house built into the columns -of the temple of Luxor), to which everybody was bidden. There had been -an arrival of Cook's Excursionists by steamboat, and there must have -been as many as two hundred foreigners at the entertainment in the -course of the evening. - -The way before the house was arched with palms and hung with colored -lanterns; bands of sailors from the dahabeëhs sat in front, strumming -the darabooka and chanting their wild refrains; crowds of Arabs squatted -in the light of the illumination and filled the steps and the doorway. -Within were feasting, music, and dancing, in Oriental abandon. In the -hall, which was lined with spectators, was to be seen the stiff-legged -sprawling-about and quivering of the Ghawazees, to the barbarous -tum-tum, thump-thump, of the musicians; in each side-room also dancing -was extemporized, until the house was pervaded with the monotonous -vulgarity, which was more pronounced than at the house of Ali. - -In the midst of these strange festivities, the grave Mustapha received -congratulations upon his newly conferred honor, with the air of a man -who was responding to it in the finest Oriental style. Nothing grander -than this entertainment could be conceived in Luxor. - -Let us try to look at it also with Oriental eyes. How fatal it would -be to it not to look at it with Oriental eyes, we can conceive by -transferring the scene to New York. A citizen, from one of the -oldest families, has received from the President, let us suppose, the -decoration of the Grand Order of Inspector of Consulates. In order to -do honor to the occasion, he throws open his residence on Gramercy Park, -procures a lot of sailors to sit on his steps and sing nautical ditties, -and drafts a score of girls from Centre-street to entertain his guests -with a style of dancing which could not be worse if it had three -thousand years of antiquity. - -I prefer not to regard this Luxor entertainment in such a light; and -although we hasten from it as soon as we can with civility, I am -haunted for a long time afterwards by I know not what there was in it of -fantastic and barbaric fascination. - -The last afternoon at Luxor we give to a long walk to Karnak and beyond, -through the wheat and barley fields now vocal with the songs of birds. -We do not, however, reach the conspicuous pillars of a temple on the -desert far to the northeast; but, returning, climb the wall of circuit -and look our last upon these fascinating ruins. From this point the -relative vastness of the Great Hall is apparent. The view this afternoon -is certainly one of the most beautiful in the world. You know already -the elements of it. - -Late at night, after a parting dinner of ceremony, and with a pang of -regret, although we are in bed, the dahabeëh is loosed from Luxor and we -quietly drop down below old Thebes. - - - -0397 - - - -0398 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI.—LOITERING BY THE WAY. - -WE ARE at home again. Our little world, which has been somewhat -disturbed by the gaiety of Thebes, and is already as weary of tombs as -of temples and of the whole incubus of Egyptian civilization, readjusts -itself and settles into its usual placid enjoyment. - -We have now two gazelles on board, and a most disagreeable lizard, -nearly three feet long; I dislike the way his legs are set on his sides; -I dislike his tail, which is a fat continuation of his body; and the -“feel” of his cold, creeping flesh is worse than his appearance; he is -exceedingly active, darting rapidly about in every direction to the end -of his rope. The gazelles chase each other about the deck, frolicking in -the sun, and their eyes express as much tenderness and affection as any -eyes can, set like theirs. If they were mounted in a woman's head, and -properly shaded with long lashes, she would be the most dangerous being -in existence. - -Somehow there is a little change in the atmosphere of the dahabeëh. The -jester of the crew, who kept them alternately laughing and grumbling, -singing and quarreling, turbulent with hasheesh or sulky for want of it, -was left in jail at Assouan. The reïs has never recovered the injury to -his dignity inflicted by his brief incarceration, and gives us no more -a cheerful good-morning. The steersman smiles still, with the fixed look -of enjoyment that his face assumed when it first came into the world, -but he is listless; I think he has struck a section of the river in -which there is a dearth of his wives; he has complained that his feet -were cold in the fresh mornings, but the stockings we gave him he does -not wear, and probably is reserving for a dress occasion. Abd-el-Atti -meditates seriously upon a misunderstanding with one of his old friends -at Luxor; he likes to tell us about the diplomatic and sarcastic letter -he addressed him on leaving; “I wrote it,” he says, “very grammatick, -the meaning of him very deep; I think he feel it.” There is no language -like the Arabic for the delivery of courtly sarcasm, in soft words, at -which no offence can be taken,—for administering a smart slap in the -face, so to say, with a feather. - -It is a ravishing sort of day, a slight haze, warm but life-giving air, -and we row a little and sail a little down the broadening river, by the -palms, and the wheat-fields growing yellow, and the soft chain of Libyan -hills,—the very dolce far niente of life. Other dahabeëhs accompany us, -and we hear the choruses of their crews responding to ours. From the -shore comes the hum of labor and of idleness, men at the shadoofs, women -at the shore for water; there are flocks of white herons and spoonbills -on the sandbars; we glide past villages with picturesque pigeon-houses; -a ferry-boat ever and anon puts across, a low black scow, its sides -banked up with clay, a sail all patches and tatters, and crowded in it -three or four donkeys and a group of shawled women and turbaned men, -silent and sombre. The country through which we walk, towards night, -is a vast plain of wheat, irrigated by canals, with villages in all -directions; the peasants are shabbily dressed, as if taxes ate up all -their labor, but they do not beg. - -The city of Keneh, to which we come next morning, is the nearest point -of the Nile to the Red Sea, the desert route to Kosseir being only one -hundred and twenty miles; it is the Neapolis of which Herodotus speaks, -near which was the great city of Chemmis, that had a temple dedicated to -Perseus. The Chemmitæ declared that this demi-god often appeared to them -on earth, and that he was descended from citizens of their country who -had sailed into Greece; there if no doubt that Perseus came here when he -made the expedition into Libya to bring the Gorgon's head. - -Keneh is now a thriving city, full of evidences of wealth, and of -well-dressed people, and there are handsome houses and bazaars like -those of Cairo. From time immemorial it has been famous for its -koollehs, which are made of a fine clay found only in this vicinity, -of which ware is manufactured almost as thin as paper. The process of -making them has not changed since the potters of the Pharaohs' time. -The potters of to-day are very skillful at the wheel. A small mass of -moistened clay, mixed with sifted ashes of halfeh-grass and kneaded like -bread, is placed upon a round plate of wood which whirls by a treadle. -As it revolves the workman with his hands fashions the clay into vessels -of all shapes, graceful and delicate, with a sleight of hand that is -wonderful. He makes a koolleh, or a drinking-cup, or a vase with a -slender neck, in a few seconds, fashioning it as truly as if it were -cast in a mould. It was like magic to see the fragile forms grow in -his hands. We sat for a long time in one of the cool rooms where two or -three potters were at work, shaded from the sun by palm-branches, -which let the light flicker upon the earth-floor, upon the freshly made -vessels and the spinning wheels of the turbaned workmen, whose deft -fingers wrought out unceasingly these beautiful shapes from the -revolving clay. - -At the house of the English consul we have coffee; he afterwards lunches -with us and insists, but in vain, that we stay and be entertained by a -Ghawazee dance in the evening. It is a kind of amusement of which a very -little satisfies one. At his house, Prince Arthur and his suite were -also calling; a slender, pleasant appearing young gentleman, not -noticeable anywhere and with a face of no special force, but bearing -the family likeness. As we have had occasion to remark more than once, -Princes are so plenty on the Nile this year as to be a burden to the -officials,—especially German princes, who, however, do not count any -more. The private, unostentatious traveler, who asks no favor of the -Khedive, is becoming almost a rarity. I hear the natives complain that -almost all the Englishmen of rank who come to Egypt, beg, or shall we -say accept? substantial favors of the Khedive. The nobility appear to -have a new rendering of noblesse oblige. This is rather humiliating to -us Americans, who are, after all, almost blood-relations of the English; -and besides, we are often taken for Inglese, in villages where -few strangers go. It cannot be said that all Americans are modest, -unassuming travelers; but we are glad to record a point or two in their -favor:—they pay their way, and they do not appear to cut and paint their -names upon the ruins in such numbers as travelers from other countries; -the French are the greatest offenders in this respect, and the Germans -next. - -We cross the river in the afternoon and ride to the temple of Athor -or Venus at Denderah. This temple, although of late construction, is -considered one of the most important in Egypt. But it is incomplete, -smaller, and less satisfactory than that at Edfoo. The architecture of -the portico and succeeding hall is on the whole noble, but the columns -are thick and ungraceful, and the sculptures are clumsy and unartistic. -The myth of the Egyptian Avenues is worked out everywhere with the -elaboration of a later Greek temple. On the ceiling of several rooms her -gigantic figure is bent round three sides, and from a globe in her lap -rays proceed in the vivifying influence of which trees are made to grow. - -Everywhere in the temple are subterranean and intramural passages, -entrance to which is only had by a narrow aperture, once closed by a -stone. For what were these perfectly dark alleys intended? Processions -could not move in them, and if they were merely used for concealing -valuables, why should their inner sides have been covered with such -elaborate sculptures? - -The most interesting thing at Denderah is the small temple of Osiris, -which is called the “lying-in temple,” the subjects of sculptures being -the mystical conception, birth, and babyhood of Osiris. You might think -from the pictures on the walls, of babes at nurse and babes in arms, -that you had obtruded into one of the institutions of charity called a -Day Nursery. We are glad to find here, carved in large, the image of the -four-headed ugly little creature we have been calling Typhon, the spirit -of evil; and to learn that it is not Typhon but is the god Bes, a jolly -promoter of merriment and dancing. His appearance is very much against -him. - -Mariette Bey makes the great mystery of the adytum of the large temple, -which the king alone could enter, the golden sistrum which was kept -there. The sistrum was the mysterious emblem of Venus; it is sculptured -everywhere in this building—although it is one of the sacred symbols -found in all temples. This sacred instrument par excellence of the -Egyptians played as important a part in their worship, says Mr. -Wilkinson, as the tinkling bell in Roman Catholic services. The great -privilege of holding it was accorded to queens, and ladies of rank who -were devoted to the service of the deity. The sistrum is a strip of -gold, or bronze, bent in a long loop, and the ends, coming together, -are fastened in an ornamented handle. Through the loop bars are run upon -which are rings, and when the instrument is shaken the rings move to -and fro. Upon the sides of the handle were sometimes carved the faces of -Isis and of Nephthys, the sister goddesses, representing the beginning -and the end. - -It is a little startling to find, when we get at the inner secret of the -Egyptian religion, that it is a rattle! But it is the symbol of eternal -agitation, without which there is no life. And the Egyptians profoundly -knew this great secret of the universe. - -We pass next day, quietly, to the exhibition of a religious devotion -which is trying to get on without any sistrum or any agitation whatever. -Towards sunset, below How, we come to a place where a holy man, called -Sheykh Saleem, roosts forever on a sloping bank, with a rich country -behind him; beyond, on the plain, hundreds of men and boys are at work -throwing up an embankment against the next inundation; but he does not -heed them. The holy man is stark naked and sits upon his haunches, his -head, a shock of yellow hair, upon his knees. He is of that sickly, -whitey-black color which such holy skin as his gets by long exposure. -Before him on the bank is a row of large water-jars; behind him is a -little kennel of mud, into which he can crawl if it ever occurs to him -to go to bed. - -About him, seated on the ground, is a group of his admirers. Boys run -after us along the bank begging backsheesh for Sheykh Saleem. A crowd -of hangers-on, we are told, always surround him, and live on the charity -that his piety evokes from the faithful. His own wants are few. He spend -his life in this attitude principally, contemplating the sand between -his knees. He has sat here for forty years. - -People pass and repass, camels swing by him, the sun shines, a breeze as -of summer moves the wheat behind him and our great barque, with its gay -flags and a dozen rowers rowing in time, sweeps before him, but he -does not raise his head. Perhaps he has found the secret of perfect -happiness. But his example cannot be widely imitated. There are not many -climates in the world in which a man can enjoy such a religion out of -doors at all seasons of the year. - -We row on and by sundown are opposite Farshoot and its sugar-factories; -the river broadens into a lake, shut in to the north by limestone hills -rosy in this light, and it is perfectly still at this hour. But for the -palms against the sky, and the cries of men at the shadoofs, and the -clumsy native boats with their freight of immobile figures, this might -be a glassy lake in the remote Adirondack forest, especially when the -light has so much diminished that the mountains no longer appear naked. - -The next morning as we were loitering along, wishing for a breeze to -take us quickly to Bellianeh, that we might spend the day in visiting -old Abydus, a beautiful wind suddenly arose according to our desire. - -“You always have good fortune,” says the dragoman. - -“I thought you didn't believe in luck?” - -“Not to call him luck. You think the wind to blow 'thout the Lord know -it?” - -We approach Bellianeh under such fine headway that we fall almost into -the opposite murmuring, that this helpful breeze should come just when -we were obliged to stop and lose the benefit. We half incline to go on, -and leave Abydus in its ashes, but the absurdity of making a journey of -seven thousand miles and then passing near to, but unseen, the spot most -sacred to the old Egyptians, flashes upon us, and we meekly land. But -our inclination to go on was not so absurd as it seems; the mind is so -constituted that it can contain only a certain amount of old ruins, and -we were getting a mental indigestion of them. Loathing is perhaps too -strong a word to use in regard to a piece of sculpture, but I think that -a sight at this time, of Rameses II. in his favorite attitude of slicing -off the heads of a lot of small captives, would have made us sick. - -By eleven o'clock we were mounted for the ride of eight miles, and it -may give some idea of the speed of the donkey under compulsion, to say -that we made the distance in an hour and forty minutes. The sun was hot, -the wind fresh, the dust considerable,—a fine sandy powder that, before -night, penetrated clothes and skin. Nevertheless, the ride was charming. -The way lay through a plain extending for many miles in every direction, -every foot of it green with barley (of which here and there a spot was -ripening), with clover, with the rank, dark Egyptian bean. The air was -sweet, and filled with songs of the birds that glanced over the fields -or poised in air on even wing like the lark. Through the vast, unfenced -fields were narrow well-beaten roads in all directions, upon which -men women, and children, usually poorly and scantily clad, donkeys and -camels, were coming and going. There was the hum of voices everywhere, -the occasional agonized blast of the donkey and the caravan bleat of the -camel. It often seems to us that the more rich and broad the fields and -the more abundant the life, the more squalor among the people. - -We had noticed, at little distances apart in the plain, mounds of dirt -five or six feet high. Upon each of these stood a solitary figure, -usually a naked boy—a bronze image set up above the green. - -“What are these?” we ask. - -“What you call scarecrows, to frighten the birds; see that chile throw -dirt at 'em!” - -“They look like sentries; do the people here steal?” - -“Everybody help himself, if nobody watch him.” - -At length we reach the dust-swept village of Arâbat, on the edge of the -desert, near the ruins of the ancient Thinis (or Abvdus), the so-called -cradle of the Egyptian monarchy. They have recently been excavated. I -cannot think that this ancient and most important city was originally so -far from the Nile; in the day of its glory the river must have run near -it. Here was the seat of the first Egyptian dynasty, five thousand and -four years before Christ, according to the chronology of Mariette Bey. I -find no difficulty in accepting the five thousand but I am puzzled about -the four years. It makes Menes four years older than he is generally -supposed to have been. It is the accuracy of the date that sets one -pondering. Menes, the first-known Egyptian king, and the founder of -Memphis, was born here. If he established his dynasty here six thousand -eight hundred and seventy-nine years ago, he must have been born some -time before that date; and to be a ruler he must have been of noble -parents, and no doubt received a good education. I should like to know -what sort of a place, as to art, say, and literature, and architecture, -Thinis was seven thousand and four years ago. It is chiefly sand-heaps -now. - -Not only was Menes born here, in the grey dawn of history, but Osiris, -the manifestation of Light on earth, was buried here in the greyer dawn -of a mythic period. His tomb was venerated by the Pharaonic worshippers -as the Holy Sepulchre is by Christians, and for many ages. It was the -last desire of the rich and noble Egyptians to be buried at Thinis, in -order that they might lie in the same grave with Osiris; and bodies were -brought here from all parts of Egypt to rest in the sacred earth. Their -tombs were heaped up one above another, about the grave of the god. -There are thousands of mounds here, clustering thickly about a larger -mound; and, by digging, M. Mariette hopes to find the reputed tomb of -Osiris. An enclosure of crude brick marks the supposed site of this -supposed most ancient city of Egypt. - -From these prehistoric ashes, it is like going from Rome to Peoria, -to pass to a temple built so late as the time of Sethi I., only about -thirty-three hundred years ago. It has been nearly all excavated and it -is worth a long ride to see it. Its plan differs from that of all other -temples, and its varied sculpture ranks with the best of temple carving; -nowhere else have we found more life and grace of action in the figures -and more expressive features; in number of singular emblems and devices, -and in their careful and beautiful cutting, and brilliant coloring, the -temple is unsurpassed. The non-stereotyped plan of the temple beguiled -us into a hearty enjoyment of it. Its numerous columns are pure Egyptian -of the best style—lotus capitals; and it contains some excellent -specimens of the Doric column, or of its original, rather. The famous -original tablet of kings, seventy-six, from Menes to Sethi, a partial -copy of which is in the British Museum, has been re-covered with sand -for its preservation. This must have been one of the finest of the old -temples. We find here the novelty of vaulted roofs, formed by a singular -method. The roof stones are not laid flat, as elsewhere, but on edge, -and the roof, thus having sufficient thickness, is hollowed out on the -under side, and the arch is decorated with stars and other devices. Of -course, there is a temple of Rameses II., next door to this one, but it -exists now only in its magnificent foundations. - -We rode back through the village of Arâbat in a whirlwind of dust, amid -cries of “backsheesh,” hailed from every door and pursued by yelling -children. One boy, clad in the loose gown that passes for a wardrobe in -these parts, in order to earn his money, threw a summersault before us, -and, in a flash, turned completely out of his clothes, like a new-made -Adam! Nothing was ever more neatly done; except it may have been a feat -of my donkey a moment afterwards, executed perhaps in rivalry of the -boy. Pretending to stumble, he went on his head, and threw a summersault -also. When I went back to look for him, his head was doubled under his -body so that he had to be helped up. - -When we returned we found six other dahabeëhs moored near ours. Out of -the seven, six carried the American flag—one of them in union with the -German—and the seventh was English. The American flags largely outnumber -all others on the Nile this year; in fact Americans and various kinds -of Princes appear to be monopolizing this stream. A German, who shares a -boat with Americans, drops in for a talk. It is wonderful how much more -space in the world every German needs, now that there is a Germany. Our -visitor expresses the belief that the Germans and the Americans are to -share the dominion of the world between them. I suppose that this means -that we are to be permitted to dwell on our present possessions in -peace, if we don't make faces; but one cannot contemplate the extinction -of all the other powers without regret. - -Of course we have outstayed the south wind; the next morning we are -slowly drifting against the north wind. As I look from the window before -breakfast, a Nubian trader floats past, and on the bow deck is crouched -a handsome young lion, honest of face and free of glance, little -dreaming of the miserable menagerie life before him. There are two lions -and a leopard, and a cargo of cinnamon, senna, elephants' tusks, and -ostrich-feathers, on board; all Central Africa seems to float beside us, -and the coal-black crew do not lessen the barbaric impression. - -It is after dark when we reach Girgeh, and are guided to our moorage by -the lights of other dahabeëhs. All that we see of this decayed but once -capital town, are four minarets, two of them surrounding picturesque -ruins and some slender columns of a mosque, the remainder of the -building having been washed into the river. As we land, a muezzin sings -the evening call to prayer in a sweet, high tenor voice; and it sounds -like a welcome. - -Decayed, did we say of Girgeh? What is not decayed, or decaying, or -shifting, on this aggressive river? How age laps back on age and one -religion shuffles another out of sight. In the hazy morning we are -passing Menshéëh, the site of an old town that once was not inferior to -Memphis; and then we come to Ekhmeem—ancient Panopolis. You never heard -of it? A Roman visitor called it the oldest city of all Egypt; it was in -fact founded by Ekhmeem, the son of Misraim, the offspring of Cush, -the son of Ham. There you are, almost personally present at the Deluge. -Below here are two Coptic convents, probably later than the time of the -Empress Helena. On the shore are walking some Coptic Christians, but -they are in no way superior in appearance to other natives; a woman, -whom we hail, makes the sign of the cross, and then demands backsheesh. - -We had some curiosity to visit a town of such honorable foundation. -We found in it fine mosques and elegant minarets, of a good Saracenic -epoch. Upon the lofty stone top of one sat an eagle, who looked down -upon us unscared; the mosque was ruinous and the door closed, but -through the windows we could see the gaily decorated ceiling; the whole -was in the sort of decay that the traveler learns to think Moslemism -itself. - -We made a pretence of searching for the remains of a temple of -Pan,—though we probably care less for Pan than we do for Rameses. Making -known our wants, several polite gentlemen in turbans, offered to show -us the way—the gentlemen in these towns seem to have no other occupation -than to sit on the ground and smoke the chibook—and we were attended by -a procession, beyond the walls, to the cemetery. There, in a hollow, we -saw a few large stones, some of them showing marks of cutting. This -was the temple spoken of in the hand-book. Our hosts then insisted upon -dragging us half a mile further through the dust of the cemetery mounds, -in the glare of the sun, and showed us a stone half buried, with a few -hieroglyphics on one end. Never were people so polite. A grave man here -joined us, and proposed to show us some quei-is antéeka (“beautiful -antiquities”); and we followed this obliging person half over town; and -finally, in the court of a private house, he pointed to the torso of -a blue granite statue. All this was done out of pure hospitality; the -people could not have been more attentive if they had had something -really worth seeing. The town has handsome, spacious coffee-houses and -shops, and an appearance of Oriental luxury. - -One novelty the place offered, and that was in a drinking-fountain. -Under a canopy, in a wall-panel, in the street, was inserted a copper -nipple, which was worn, by constant use, as smooth as the toe of St. -Peter at Rome. When one wishes to drink, he applies his mouth to this -nipple and draws; it requires some power of suction to raise the water, -but it is good and cool when it comes. As Herodotus would remark, now I -have done speaking about this nipple. - -We walked on interminably and at length obtained a native boat, with a -fine assortment of fellahs and donkeys for passengers, to set us over -to Soohag, the capital of the province, a busy and insupportably dirty -town, with hordes of free-and-easy natives loafing about, and groups -of them, squatting by little dabs of tobacco, or candy, or doora, or -sugar-cane, making what they are pleased to call a market. - -It seemed to be a day for hauling us about. Two bright boys seized us, -and urged us to go with them and see something marvelously beautiful. -One of them was an erect, handsome lad, with courtly and even elegant -dignity, a high and yet simple bearing, which I venture to say not a -king's son in Europe is possessed of. They led us a chase, through half -the sprawling town, by lanes and filthy streets, under bazaars, into -the recesses of domestic poverty, among unknown and inquisitive natives, -until we began to think that we should never see our native dahabeëh -again. At last we were landed in a court where sat two men, adding -up columns of figures. It was an Oriental picture, but scarcely worth -coming so far to see. - -The men looked at us in wondering query, as if demanding what we wanted. - -We stood looking at them, but couldn't tell them what we wanted, since -we did not know. And if we had known, we could not have told them. We -only pointed to the boys who had brought us. The boys pointed to the -ornamental portals of a closed door. - -After a long delay, and the most earnest posturing and professions of -our young guides, and evident suspicion of us, a key was brought, and -we were admitted, into a cool and clean Coptic church, which had fresh -matting and an odor of incense. Ostrich-eggs hung before the holy -places, as in mosques; an old clock, with a long and richly inlaid -dial-case, stood at one end; and there were paintings in the Byzantine -style of “old masters.” One of them represented the patron saint of the -Copts, St. George, slaying the dragon; the conception does equal honor -to the saint and the artist; the wooden horse, upon which St. George is -mounted, and its rider, fill nearly all the space of the canvas, leaving -very little room for the landscape with its trees, for the dragon, for -the maiden, and for her parents looking down upon her from the castle -window. And this picture perfectly represents the present condition of -art in the whole Orient. - -At Soohag a steamboat passed down towing four barges, packed with motley -loads of boys and men, impressed to work in the Khedive's sugar-factory -at Rhodes. They are seized, so many from a village, like the recruits -for the army. They receive from two to two and a half piastres (ten to -twelve and a half cents) a day wages, and a couple of pounds of bread -each. - -I suspect the reason the Khedive's agricultural operations and his -sugar-factories are unprofitable, is to be sought in the dishonest -agents and middle-men—a kind of dishonesty that seems to be ingrained in -the Eastern economy. The Khedive loses both ways:—that which he attempts -to expend on a certain improvement is greatly diminished before it -reaches its object; and the returns from the investment, on their way -back to his highness, are rubbed away, passing through so many hands, to -the vanishing point. It is the same with the taxes; the fellah pays four -times as much as he ought, and the Khedive receives not the government -due. The abuse is worse than it was in France with the farmers-general -in the time of Louis XIV. and Louis XV. The tax apportioned to a -province is required of its governor. He adds a lumping per cent, to -the total, and divides the increased amount among his sub-governors -for collection; they add a third to their levy and divide it among the -tax-gatherers of sections of the district; these again swell their quota -before apportioning it among the sheykhs or actual collectors, and the -latter take the very life-blood out of the fellah. - -As we sail down the river in this approaching harvest-season we are -in continual wonder at the fertility of the land; a fertility on -the slightest cultivation, the shallowest plowing, and without -fertilization. It is customary to say that the soil is inexhaustible, -that crop after crop of the same kind can be depended on, and the mud -(limon) of the overflowing Nile will repair all wastes. - -And yet, I somehow get an impression of degeneracy, of exhaustion, both -in Upper and Lower Egypt, in the soil; and it extends to men and -to animals; horses, cattle, donkeys, camels, domestic fowls look -impoverished—we have had occasion to say before that the hens lay -ridiculously small eggs—they put the contents of one egg into three -shells. (They might not take this trouble if eggs were sold by weight, -as they should be.) The food of the country does not sufficiently -nourish man or beast. Its quality is deficient. The Egyptian wheat does -not make wholesome bread; most of it has an unpleasant odor—it tends to -speedy corruption, it lacks certain elements, phosphorus probably. -The bread that we eat on the dahabeëh is made from foreign wheat. The -Egyptian wheat is at a large discount in European markets. One reason of -this inferiority is supposed to be the succession of a wheat crop year -after year upon the same field; another is the absolute want of any -fertilizer except the Nile mud; and another the use of the same seed -forever. Its virtue has departed from it, and the most hopeless thing in -the situation is the unwillingness of the fellah to try anything new, in -his contented ignorance. The Khedive has made extraordinary efforts to -introduce improved machinery and processes, and he has set the example -on his own plantations It has no effect on the fellah. He will have none -of the new inventions or new ways. It seems as hopeless to attempt to -change him as it would be to convert a pyramid into a Congregational -meeting-house. - -For the political economist and the humanitarian, Egypt is the most -interesting and the saddest study of this age; its agriculture and its -people are alike unique. For the ordinary traveler the country has not -less interest, and I suppose he may be pardoned if he sometimes loses -sight of the misery in the strangeness, the antique barbarity, the -romance by which he is surrounded. - -As we lay, windbound, a few miles below Soohag, the Nubian trading-boat -I had seen the day before was moored near; and we improved this -opportunity for an easy journey to Central Africa, by going on board. -The forward-deck was piled with African hides so high that the oars were -obliged to be hung on outriggers; the cabin deck was loaded with bags of -gums, spices, medicines; and the cabin itself was stored so full, that -when we crawled down into it, there was scarcely room to sit upright -on the bags. Into this penetralia of barbaric merchandise, the ladies -preceded us, upon the promise of the sedate and shrewd-eyed traveler to -exhibit his ostrich-feathers. I suppose nothing in the world of ornament -is so fascinating to a woman as an ostrich-feather; and to delve into -a mine of them, to be able to toss about handfuls, sheafs of them, to -choose any size and shape and any color, glossy black, white, grey, and -white with black tips,—it makes one a little delirious to think of it! -There is even a mild enjoyment in seeing a lady take up a long, drooping -plume, hold it up before her dancing, critical eyes, turning the head -a little one side, shaking the feathered curve into its most graceful -fall—“Isn't it a beauty?” Is she thinking how it will look upon a hat of -the mode? Not in the least. The ostrich-feather is the symbol of truth -and justice; things that are equal to the same thing are equal to -each other—it is also the symbol of woman. In the last Judgment before -Osiris, the ostrich-feather is weighed in the balance against all the -good deeds of a man's life. You have seen many a man put all his life -against the pursuit of an ostrich-feather in a woman's hat—the plume of -truth in beauty's bonnet. - -While the ostrich-trade is dragging along its graceful length, other -curiosities are produced; the short, dangerous tusks of the wild boar; -the long tusks of the elephant—a beast whose enormous strength is only -made a snow of, like that of Samson; and pretty silver-work from Soudan. - -“What is this beautiful tawny skin, upon which I am sitting?” - -“Lion's; she was the mother of one of the young lions out yonder. And -this,” continued the trader, drawing something from the corner, “is her -skull.” It gave a tender interest to the orphan outside, to see these -remains of his mother. But sadness is misplaced on her account; it is -better that she died, than to live to see her child in a menagerie. - -“What's that thick stuff in a bottle there behind you?” - -“That's lion's oil, some of her oil.” Unhappy family, the mother skinned -and boiled, the offspring dragged into slavery. - -I took the bottle. To think that I held in my hand the oil of a lion! -Bear's oil is vulgar. But this is different; one might anoint himself -for any heroic deed with this royal ointment. - -“And is that another bottle of it?” - -“Mais, no; you don't get a lion every day for oil; that is ostrich-oil. -This is good for rheumatism.” - -It ought to be. There is nothing rheumatic about the ostrich. When I -have tasted sufficiently the barbaric joys of the cabin I climb out upon -the deck to see more of this strange craft. - -Upon the narrow and dirty bow, over a slow fire, on a shallow copper -dish, a dark and slender boy is cooking flap-jacks as big as the flap of -a leathern apron. He takes the flap-jack up by the edge in his fingers -and turns it over, when one side is cooked, as easily as if it were a -sheepskin. There is a pile of them beside him, enough to make a whole -suit of clothes, burnous and all, and very durable it would prove. Near -him is tied, by a cotton cord, a half-grown leopard, elegantly spotted, -who has a habit of running out his tongue, giving a side-lick of his -chops, and looking at you in the most friendly manner. If I were the boy -I wouldn't stand with my naked back to a leopard which is tied with a -slight string. - -On shore, on the sand and in the edge of the wheat, are playing in the -sun a couple of handsome young lions, gentle as kittens. After watching -their antics for some time, and calculating the weight of their paws as -they cuff each other, I satisfy a long ungratified Van Amburg ambition, -by patting the youngest on the head and putting my hand (for an -exceedingly brief instant) into his mouth, experiencing a certain -fearful pleasure, remembering that although young he is a lion! - -The two play together very prettily, and when I leave them they have -lain down to sleep, face to face, with their arms round each other's -necks, like the babes in the wood. The lovely leopard occasionally rises -to his feet and looks at them, and then lies down again, giving a soft -sweep to his long and rather vicious tail. His countenance is devoid -of the nobility of the lion's. The lion's face inspires you with -confidence; but I can see little to trust in the yellow depths of -his eyes. The lion's eyes, like those of all untamed beasts, have the -repulsive trait of looking at you without any recognition in them—the -dull glare of animality. - -The next morning, when the wind falls, we slip out from our cover, like -the baffled mariners of Jason, and row past the bold, purplish-grey -cliff of Gebel Sheykh Herëedee, in which are grottoes and a tomb of the -sixth dynasty, and on to Tahta, a large town, almost as picturesque, -in the distance, with its tall minarets and one great, red-colored -building, as Venice from the Lido. Then the wind rises, and we are again -tantalized with no progress. One likes to dally and eat the lotus by his -own will; but when the elements baffle him, and the wind blows contrary -to his desires, the old impatience, the free will of ancient Adam, -arises, and man falls out of his paradise. We are tempted to wish to -be hitched (just for a day, or to get round a bend,) to one of these -miserable steamboats that go swashing by, frightening all the gamebirds, -and fouling the sweet air of Egypt with the black smoke of their -chimneys. - -In default of going on, we climb a high spur of the Mokat-tam, which has -a vast desert plain on each side, and in front, and up and down the very -crooked river (the wind would need to change every five minutes to get -us round these bends), an enormous stretch of green fields, dotted -with villages, flocks of sheep and cattle, and strips of palm-groves. -Whenever we get in Egypt this extensive view over mountains, desert, -arable land, and river it is always both lovely and grand. There was -this afternoon on the bare limestone precipices a bloom as of incipient -spring verdure. There is always some surprise of color for the traveler -who goes ashore, or looks from his window, on the Nile,—either in the -sky, or in the ground which has been steeped in color for so many ages -that even the brown earth is rich. - -The people hereabouts have a bad reputation, perhaps given them by the -government, against which they rebelled on account of excessive taxes; -the insurrection was reduced by knocking a village or two into the -original dust with cannon balls. We, however, found the inhabitants -very civil. In the village was one of the houses of entertainment for -wanderers—a half-open cow-shed it would be called in less favored lands. -The interior was decorated with the rudest designs in bright colors, and -sentences from the Koran; we were told that any stranger could lodge in -it and have something to eat and drink; but I should advise the coming -traveler to bring his bed, and board also. We were offered the fruit of -the nabbek tree (something like a sycamore), a small apple, a sort of -cross between the thorn and the crab, with the disagreeable qualities of -both. Most of the vegetables and fruits of the valley we find insipid; -but the Fellaheen seem to like neutral flavors as they do neutral -colors. The almost universal brown of the gowns in this region -harmonizes with the soil, and the color does not show dirt; a great -point for people who sit always on the ground. - -The next day we still have need of patience; we start, meet an -increasing wind, which whirls us about and blows us up stream. We creep -under a bank and lie all day, a cold March day, and the air dark with -dust. - -After this Sunday of rest, we walk all the following morning -through fields of wheat and lentils, along the shore. The people are -uninteresting, men gruff; women ugly; clothes scarce; fruit, the nabbek, -which a young lady climbs a tree to shake down for us. But I encountered -here a little boy who filled my day with sunshine. - -He was a sort of shepherd boy, and I found him alone in a field, the -guardian of a donkey which was nibbling coarse grass. But his mind was -not on his charge, and he was so much absorbed in his occupation that -he did not notice my approach. He was playing, for his own delight and -evidently with intense enjoyment, upon a reed pipe—an instrument of two -short reeds, each with four holes, bound together, and played like a -clarionet. - -Its compass was small, and the tune ran round and round in it, -accompanied by one of the most doleful drones imaginable. Nothing could -be more harrowing to the nerves. I got the boy to play it a good deal. -I saw that it was an antique instrument (it was in fact Pan's pipe -unchanged in five thousand years), and that the boy was a musical -enthusiast—a gentle Mozart who lived in an ideal world which he created -for himself in the midst of the most forlorn conditions. The little -fellow had the knack of inhaling and blowing at the same time, expanding -his cheeks, and using his stomach like the bellows of the Scotch -bagpipe, and producing the same droning sound as that delightful -instrument. But I would rather hear this boy half a day than the bagpipe -a week. - -I talked about buying the pipe, but the boy made it himself, and prized -it so highly that I could not pay him what he thought it was worth, and -I had not the heart to offer its real value. Therefore I left him in -possession of his darling, and gave him half a silver piastre. He kissed -it and thanked me warmly, holding the unexpected remuneration for his -genius in his hand, and looking at it with shining eyes. I feel an -instant pang, and I am sorry that I gave it to him. I have destroyed -the pure and ideal world in which he played to himself, and tainted -the divine love of sweet sounds with the idea of gain and the scent of -money. The serenity of his soul is broken up, and he will never again -be the same boy, exercising his talent merely for the pleasure of it. -He will inevitably think of profit, and will feverishly expect something -from every traveler. He may even fall so far as to repair to landings -where boats stop, and play in the hope of backsheesh. - -At night we came to Assiout, greeted from afar by the sight of its -slender and tall minarets and trees, on the rosy background of sunset. - - - -0417 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII.—JOTTINGS. - -LETTING our dahabeëh drift on in the morning, we spend the day at -Assiout, intending to overtake it by a short cut across the oxbow which -the river makes here. We saw in the city two examples, very unlike, of -the new activity in Egypt. One related to education, the other to the -physical development of the country and to conquest. - -After paying out respects to the consul, we were conducted by his two -sons to the Presbyterian Mission-School. These young men were educated -at the American College in Beyrout. Nearly everywhere we have been in -the East, we have found a graduate of this school, that is as much as -to say, a person intelligent and anxious and able to aid in the -regeneration of his country. It would not be easy to overestimate the -services that this one liberal institution of learning is doing in the -Orient. - -The mission-school was under the charge of the Rev. Dr. John Hogg and -his wife (both Scotch), with two women-teachers, and several native -assistants. We were surprised to find an establishment of about one -hundred and twenty scholars, of whom over twenty were girls. Of course -the majority of the students were in the primary studies, and some were -very young; but there were classes in advanced mathematics, in logic, -history, English, etc. The Arab young men have a fondness for logic and -metaphysics, and develop easily an inherited subtlety in such studies. -The text-books in use are Arabic, and that is the medium of teaching. - -The students come from all parts of Upper Egypt, and are almost all -the children of Protestant parents, and they are, with an occasional -exception, supported by their parents, who pay at least their board -while they are at school. There were few Moslems among them, I think -only one Moslem girl. I am bound to say that the boys and young men -in their close rooms did not present an attractive appearance; an -ill-assorted assembly, with the stamp of physical inferiority and -dullness—an effect partially due to their scant and shabby apparel, for -some of them had bright, intelligent faces. - -The school for girls, small as it is, impressed us as one of the most -hopeful things in Egypt. I have no confidence in any scheme for the -regeneration of the country, in any development if agriculture, or -extension of territory, or even in education, that does not reach woman -and radically change her and her position. It is not enough to say that -the harem system is a curse to the East: woman herself is everywhere -degraded. Until she becomes totally different from what she now is, I am -not sure but the Arab is right in saying that the harem is a necessity: -the woman is secluded in it (and in the vast majority of harems there -is only one wife) and has a watch set over her, because she cannot be -trusted. One hears that Cairo is full of intrigue, in spite of locked -doors and eunuchs. The large towns are worse than the country; but I -have heard it said that woman is the evil and plague of Egypt—though -I don't know how the country could go on without her. Sweeping -generalizations are dangerous, but it is said that the sole education of -most Egyptian women is in arts to stimulate the passion of men. In the -idleness of the most luxurious harem, in the grim poverty of the lowest -cabin, woman is simply an animal. - -What can you expect of her? She is literally uneducated, untrained in -every respect. She knows no more of domestic economy than she does of -books, and she is no more fitted to make a house attractive or a room -tidy than she is to hold an intelligent conversation. Married when she -is yet a child, to person she may have never seen, and a mother at an -age when she should be in school, there is no opportunity for her to -become anything better than she is. - -A primary intention in this school is to fit the girls to become good -wives, who can set an example of tidy homes economically managed, -in which there shall be something of social life and intelligent -companionship between husband and wife. The girls are taught the common -branches, sewing, cooking, and housekeeping—as there is opportunity for -learning it in the family of the missionaries. This house of Dr. Hogg's, -with its books, music, civilized menage, is a school in itself, and the -girl who has access to it for three or four years will not be content -with the inconvenience, the barren squalor of her parental hovel; for -it is quite as much ignorance as poverty that produces miserable homes. -Some of the girls now here expect to become teachers; some will marry -young men who are also at this school. Such an institution would be of -incalculable service if it did nothing else than postpone the marriage -of women a few years. This school is a small seed in Egypt, but it is, -I believe, the germ of a social revolution. It is, I think, the only one -in Upper Egypt. There is a mission school of similar character in Cairo, -and the Khedive also has undertaken schools for the education of girls. - -In the last room we came to the highest class, a dozen girls, some of -them mere children in appearence, but all of marriageable age. I asked -the age of one pretty child, who showed uncommon brightness in her -exercises. - -“She is twelve,” said the superintendent, “and no doubt would be -married, if she were not here. The girls become marriageable from eleven -years, and occasionally they marry younger; if one is not married at -fifteen she is in danger of remaining single.” - -“Do the Moslems oppose your school?” - -“The heads of the religion endeavor to prevent Moslem children coming -to it; we have had considerable trouble; but generally the mothers would -like to have their girls taught here, they become better daughters and -more useful at home.” - -“Can you see that you gain here?” - -“Little by little. The mission has been a wonderful success. I have -been in Egypt eighteen years; since the ten years that we have been -at Assiout, we have planted, in various towns in Upper Egypt, ten -churches.” - -“What do do you think is your greatest difficulty?” - -“Well, perhaps the Arabic language.” - -“The labor of mastering it?” - -“Not that exactly, although it is an unending study. Arabic is an -exceedingly rich language, as you know—a tongue that has often a -hundred words for one simple object has almost infinite capabilities for -expressing shades of meaning. To know Arabic grammatically is the work -of a lifetime. A man says, when he has given a long life to it, that -he knows a little Arabic. My Moslem teacher here, who was as learned an -Arab as I ever knew, never would hear me in a grammatical lesson upon -any passage he had not carefully studied beforehand. He begged me to -excuse him, one morning, from hearing me (I think we were reading from -the Koran) because he had not had time to go over the portion to be -read. Still, the difficulty of which I speak, is that Arabic and -the Moslem religion are one and the same thing, in the minds of the -faithful. To know Arabic is to learn the Koran, and that is the learning -of a learned Arab. He never gets to the end of the deep religious -meaning hidden in the grammatical intricacies. Religion and grammar thus -become one.” - -“I suppose that is what our dragoman means, when he is reading me -something out of the Koran, and comes to a passage that he calls too -deep.” - -“Yes. There is room for endless differences of opinion in the rendering -of almost any passage, and the disagreement is important, because it -becomes a religious difference. I had an example of the unity of the -language and the religion in the Moslem mind. When I came here the -learned thought I must be a Moslem because I knew the grammatical -Arabic; they could not conceive how else I should know it.” - -When we called upon his excellency, Shakeer Pasha, the square in front -of his office and the streets leading to it were so covered with sitting -figures that it was difficulty to make a way amidst them. There was an -unusual assembly of some sort, but its purport we could not guess. It -was hardly in the nature of a popular convention, although its members -sat at their ease, smoking, and a babel of talk arose. Nowhere else -in Egypt have I seen so many fine and even white-looking men gathered -together. The center of every group was a clerk, with inkhorn and reed, -going over columns of figures. - -The governor's quarters were a good specimen of Oriental style and -shabbiness; spacious whitewashed apartments, with dirty faded curtains. -But we were received with a politeness that would have befitted -a palace, and with the cordial ease of old friends. The Pasha was -heartbroken that we had not notified him of our coming, and that now our -time would not permit us to stay and accept a dinner—had we not promised -to do so on our return? He would send couriers and recall our boat, he -would detain us by force. Allowing for all the exaggeration of Oriental -phraseology, it appeared only too probable that the Pasha would die if -we did not stay to dinner and spend the night. But we did not. - -This great concourse? Oh, they were sheykhs and head men of all the -villages in the country round, whom he had summoned to arrange for -the purchase of dromedaries. The government has issued orders for the -purchase of a large number, which it wants to send to Darfour. -The Khedive is making a great effort to open the route to Darfour -(twenty-eight days by camel) to regular and safe travel, and to -establish stations on the road. That immense and almost unknown -territory will thus be brought within the commercial world. - -During our call we were served with a new beverage in place of coffee; -it was a hot and sweetened tea of cinnamon, and very delicious. - -On our return to the river, we passed the new railway station building -which is to be a handsome edifice of white limestone. Men women, and -children are impressed to labor on it, and, an intelligent Copt told -us, without pay. Very young girls were the mortar-carriers, and as -they walked to and fro, with small boxes on their heads, they sang, the -precocious children, an Arab love-song;— - - -“He passed by my door, he did not speak to me.” - - -We have seen little girls, quite as small as these, forced to load coal -upon the steamers, and beaten and cuffed by the overseers. It is a -hard country for women. They have only a year or two of time, in which -all-powerful nature and the wooing sun sing within them the songs of -love, then a few years of married slavery, and then ugliness, old age, -and hard work. - -I do not know a more melancholy subject of reflection than the -condition, the lives of these women we have been seeing for three -months. They have neither any social nor any religious life. If there -were nothing else to condemn the system of Mohammed, this is sufficient. -I know what splendors of art it has produced, what achievements in war, -what benefits to literature and science in the dark ages of Europe. -But all the culture of a race that in its men has borne accomplished -scholars, warriors, and artists, has never touched the women. The -condition of woman in the Orient is the conclusive verdict against the -religion of the Prophet. - -I will not contrast that condition with the highest; I will not compare -a collection of Egyptian women, assembled for any purpose, a funeral or -a wedding, with a society of American ladies in consultation upon some -work of charity, nor with an English drawing-room. I chanced once to be -present at a representation of Verdi's Grand Mass, in Venice, when all -the world of fashion, of beauty, of intelligence, assisted. The -coup d'oil was brilliant. Upon the stage, half a hundred of the -chorus-singers were ladies. The leading solo-singers were ladies. I -remember the freshness, the beauty even, the vivacity, the gay decency -of the toilet, of that group of women who contributed their full share -in a most intelligent and at times profoundly pathetic rendering of the -Mass. I recall the sympathetic audience, largely composed of women, the -quick response to a noble strain nobly sung, the cheers, the tears even -which were not wanting in answer to the solemn appeal, in fine, the -highly civilized sensitiveness to the best product of religious art. -Think of some such scene as that, and of the women of an European -civilization; and then behold the women who are the product of this,—the -sad, dark fringe of water-drawers and baby-carriers, for eight hundred -miles along the Nile. - -We have a row in the sandal of nine miles before we overtake our -dahabeëh, which the wind still baffles. However, we slip along under the -cover of darkness, for, at dawn, I hear the muezzin calling to prayer at -Manfaloot, trying in vain to impress a believing but drowsy world, that -prayer is better than sleep. This is said to be the place where Lot -passed the period of his exile. Near here, also, the Holy Family -sojourned when it spent a winter in Egypt. (The Moslems have -appropriated and localized everything in our Scriptures which is -picturesque, and they plant our Biblical characters where it is -convenient). It is a very pretty town, with minarets and gardens. - -It surprises us to experience such cool weather towards the middle of -March; at nine in the morning the thermometer marks 550; the north wind -is cold, but otherwise the day is royal. Having nothing better to do we -climb the cliffs of Gebel Aboofeyda, at least a thousand feet above the -river; for ten miles it presents a bold precipice, unscalable except at -intervals. We find our way up a ravine. The rocks' surface in the river -and the ravine are worn exactly as the sea wears rock, honeycombed by -the action of water, and excavated into veritable sea-caves near the -summit. The limestone is rich in fossil shells. - -The plain on top presented a singular appearance. It was strewn with -small boulders, many of them round and as shapely as cannon-balls, all -formed no doubt before the invention of the conical missiles. While we -were amusing ourselves with the thousand fantastic freaks of nature in -hardened clay, two sinister Arabs approached us from behind and cut -off our retreat. One was armed with a long gun and the other with a -portentous spear. We saluted them in the most friendly manner, and hoped -that they would pass on: but, no, they attached themselves to us. I -tried to think of cases of travelers followed into the desert on the -Nile and murdered, but none occurred to me. There seemed to be no danger -from the gun so long as we kept near its owner, for the length of it -would prevent his bringing it into action close at hand. The spear -appeared to be the more effective weapon of the two; it was so, for I -soon ascertained that the gun was not loaded and that its bearer had -neither powder nor balls. It turned out that this was a detachment of -the local guard, sent out to protect us; it would have been a formidable -party in case of an attack. - -Continuing our walk over the stone-clad and desolate swells, it -suddenly occurred to us that we had become so accustomed to this sort -of desert-walking, with no green or growing thing in sight, that it -had ceased to seem strange to us. It gave us something like a start, -therefore, shortly after, to see, away to the right, blue water forming -islands out of the hill-tops along the horizon; there was an appearance -of verdure about the edge of the water, and dark clouds sailed over it. -There was, however, when we looked steadily, about the whole landscape a -shimmer and a shadowy look that taught us to know that it was a mirage, -the rich Nile valley below us, with the blue water, the green fields, -the black lines of palms, was dimly mirrored in the sky and thrown upon -the desert hills in the distance. We stood where we could compare the -original picture with the blurred copy. - -Making our way down the face of the cliff, along some ledges, we -came upon many grottoes and mummy-pits cut in the rock, all without -sculptures, except one; this had on one side an arched niche and -pilasters from which the arch sprung. The vault of the niche had been -plastered and painted, and a Greek cross was chiseled in each pilaster; -but underneath the plaster the rock was in ornamental squares, lozenges -and curves in Saracenic style, although it may have been ancient -Egyptian. How one religion has whitewashed, and lived on the remains of -another here; the tombs of one age become the temples of another and the -dwellings of a third. On these ledges, and on the desert above, we found -bits of pottery. Wherever we have wandered, however far into the desert -from the river, we never get beyond the limit of broken pottery; and -this evidence of man's presence everywhere, on the most barren of -these high or low plains of stone and sand, speak of age and of human -occupation as clearly as the temples and monuments. There is no virgin -foot of desert even; all is worn and used. Human feet have trodden it in -every direction for ages. Even on high peaks where the eagles sit, men -have piled stones and made shelters, perhaps lookouts for enemies, -it may be five hundred, it may be three thousand years ago. There is -nowhere in Egypt a virgin spot. - -By moonlight we are creeping under the frowning cliffs of Aboofeyda, -and voyage on all night in a buccaneerish fashion; and next day sail by -Hadji Kandeel, where travelers disembark for Tel el Amarna. The remains -of a once vast city strew the plain, but we only survey it through a -field-glass. What, we sometimes say in our more modern moments, is -one spot more than another? The whole valley is a sepulchre of dead -civilizations; its inhabitants were stowed away, tier on tier, shelf on -shelf, in these ledges. - -However, respect for age sent us in the afternoon to the grottoes on the -north side of the cliff of Sheykh Said. This whole curved range, away -round to the remains of Antinoë, is full of tombs. Some that we visited -are large and would be very comfortable dwellings; they had been used -for Christian churches, having been plastered and painted. Traces of one -painting remain—trees and a comical donkey, probably part of the story -of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. We found in one the ovals -of Cheops, the builder of the great pyramid, and much good sculpture in -the best old manner—agricultural scenes, musicians, dancers, beautifully -cut, with careful details and also with spirit. This is very old work, -and, even abused as it has been, it is as good as any the traveler will -find in Egypt. This tomb no doubt goes back to the fourth dynasty, and -its drawing of animals, cows, birds, and fish is better than we usually -see later. In a net in which fish are taken, many kinds are represented, -and so faithfully that the species are recognizable; in a marsh is -seen a hippopotamus, full of life and viciousness, drawn with his mouth -stretched asunder wide enough to serve for a menagerie show-bill. There -are some curious false doors and architectural ornaments, like those of -the same epoch in the tombs at the pyramids. - -At night we were at Rhoda, where is one of the largest of the Khedive's -sugar-factories; and the next morning at Beni Hassan, famed, next to -Thebes, for its grottoes, which have preserved to us, in painted scenes, -so much of the old Egyptian life. Whoever has seen pictures of these -old paintings and read the vast amount of description and inferences -concerning the old Egyptian life, based upon them, must be disappointed -when he sees them to-day. In the first place they are only painted, not -cut, and in this respect are inferior to those in the grottoes of Sheykh -Saïd; in the second place, they are so defaced, as to be with difficulty -deciphered, especially those depicting the trades. - -Some of the grottoes are large—sixty feet by forty feet; fine apartments -in the rock, high and well lighted by the portal. Architecturally, no -tombs are more interesting; some of the ceilings are vaulted, in three -sections; they are supported by fluted pillars some like the Doric, and -some in the beautiful lotus style; the pillars have architraves; and -there are some elaborately wrought false doorways. And all this goes -to show that, however ancient these tombs are, they imitated stone -buildings already existing in a highly developed architecture. - -Essentially the same subjects are represented in all the tombs; these -are the trades, occupations, amusements of the people. Men are blowing -glass, working in gold, breaking flax, tending herds (even doctoring -animals that are ill), chiseling statues, painting, turning the potter's -wheel; the barber shaves his customer; two men play at draughts; the -games most in favor are wrestling and throwing balls, and in the -latter women play. But what one specially admires is the honesty of the -decorators, which conceals nothing from posterity; the punishment of the -bastinado is again and again represented, and even women are subject -to it; but respect was shown for sex; the women was not cast upon the -ground, she kneels and takes the flagellation on her shoulders. - -We saw in these tombs no horses among the many animals; we have never -seen the horse in any sculptures except harnessed in a war-chariot; “the -horse and his rider” do not appear. - -There is a scene here which was the subject of a singular mistake, that -illustrates the needless zeal of early explorers to find in everything -in Egypt confirmation of the Old Testament narrative. A procession, -painted on the wall, now known to represent the advent of an Asiatic -tribe into Egypt, perhaps the Shepherds, in a remote period, was -declared to represent the arrival of Joseph's brethren. The tomb, -however, was made several centuries before the advent of Joseph himself. -And even if it were of later date than the event named, we should -not expect to find in it a record of an occurrence of such little -significance at that time. We ought not to be surprised at the absence -in Egypt of traces of the Israelitish sojourn, and we should not be, -if we looked at the event from the Egyptian point of view and not from -ours. In a view of the great drama of the ancient world in the awful -Egyptian perspective, the Jewish episode is relegated to its proper -proportion in secular history. The whole Jewish history, as a worldly -phenomenon, occupies its narrow limits. The incalculable effect upon -desert tribes of a long sojourn in a highly civilized state, the -subsequent development of law and of a literature unsurpassed in after -times, and the final flower into Christianity,—it is in the light of all -this that we read the smallest incident of Jewish history, and are -in the habit of magnifying its contemporary relations. It was the -slenderest thread in the days of Egyptian puissance. In the ancient -atmosphere of Egypt, events purely historical fall into their proper -proportions. Many people have an idea that the ancient world revolved -round the Jews, and even hold it as a sort of religious faith. - -It is difficult to believe that the race we see here are descendants of -the active, inventive, joyous people who painted their life upon these -tombs. As we lie all the afternoon before a little village opposite -Beni Hassan I wonder for the hundredth time what it is that saves such -miserable places from seeming to us as vile as the most wretched abodes -of poverty in our own land. Is it because, with an ever-cheerful sun and -a porous soil, this village is not so filthy as a like abode of misery -would be with us? Is it that the imagination invests the foreign and the -Orient with its own hues; or is it that our reading, prepossessing our -minds, gives the lie to all our senses? I cannot understand why we are -not more disgusted with such a scene as this. Not to weary you with a -repetition of scenes sufficiently familiar, let us put the life of the -Egyptian fellah, as it appears at the moment, into a paragraph. - -Here is a jumble of small mud-hovels, many of them only roofed with -cornstalks, thrown together without so much order as a beaver would use -in building a village, distinguishable only from dog-kennels in that -they have wooden doors—not distinguishable from them when the door -is open and a figure is seen in the aperture. Nowhere any comfort or -cleanliness, except that sometimes the inner kennel, of which the woman -guards the key, will have its floor swept and clean matting in one -corner. The court about which there are two or three of these kennels, -serves the family for all purposes; there the fire for cooking is built, -there are the water-jars, and the stone for grinding corn; there the -chickens and the dogs are; there crouch in the dirt women and men, the -women spinning, making bread, or nursing children, the men in vacant -idleness. While the women stir about and go for water, the men will -sit still all day long. The amount of sitting down here in Egypt is -inconceivable; you might almost call it the feature of the country. No -one in the village knows anything, either of religion or of the world; -no one has any plans; no one exhibits any interest in anything; can any -of them have any hopes? From this life nearly everything but the animal -is eliminated. Children, and pretty children, swarm, tumbling about -everywhere; besides, nearly every woman has one in her arms. - -We ought not to be vexed at this constant north wind which baffles us, -for they say it is necessary to the proper filling out of the wheat -heads. The boat drifts about all day in a mile square, having passed -the morning on a sand-spit where the stupidity and laziness of the crew -placed it; and we have leisure to explore the large town of Minieh, -which lies prettily along the river. Here is a costly palace, which I -believe has never been occupied by the Khedive, and a garden attached, -less slovenly in condition than those of country palaces usually are. -The sugar-factory is furnished with much costly machinery, which could -not have been bought for less than half a million of dollars. Many of -the private houses give evidences of wealth in their highly ornamented -doorways and Moorish arches, but the mass of the town is of the usual -sort here—tortuous lanes in which weary hundreds of people sit in dirt, -poverty, and resignation. We met in the street and in the shops many -coal-black Nubians and negroes, smartly dressed in the recent European -style, having an impudent air, who seemed to be persons of wealth and -consideration here. In the course of our wanderings I came to a large -public building, built in galleries about an open court, and unwittingly -in my examination of it, stumbled into the apartment of the Governor, -Osman Bey, who was giving audience to all comers. Justice is still -administered in patriarchal style; the door is open to all; rich and -poor were crowding in, presenting petitions and papers of all sorts, and -among them a woman preferred a request. Whether justice was really done -did not appear, but Oriental hospitality is at least unfailing. Before -I could withdraw, having discovered my blunder, the governor welcomed -me with all politeness and gave me a seat beside him. We smiled at each -other in Arabic and American, and came to a perfect understanding on -coffee and cigarettes. - -The next morning we are slowly passing the Copt convent of Gebel e' -Tayr, and expecting the appearance of the swimming Christians. There is -a good opportunity to board us, but no one appears. Perhaps because it -is Sunday and these Christians do not swim on Sunday. No. We learn from -a thinly clad and melancholy person who is regarding us from the rocks -that the Khedive has forbidden this disagreeable exhibition of muscular -Christianity. It was quite time. But thus, one by one, the attractions -of the Nile vanish. - -What a Sunday! But not an exceptional day. “Oh dear,” says madame, in -a tone of injury, “here's another fine day!” Although the north wind is -strong, the air is soft, caressing, elastic. - -More and more is forced upon us the contrast of the scenery of Upper -and Lower Egypt. Here it is not simply that the river is wider and the -mountains more removed and the arable land broader; the lines are all -straight and horizontal, the mountain-ranges are level-topped, parallel -to the flat prairies—at sunset a low level of white limestone hills in -the east looked exactly like a long line of fence whitewashed. In Upper -Egypt, as we have said, the plains roll, the hills are broken, there are -pyramidal mountains, and evidences of upheaval and disorder. But these -wide sweeping and majestic lines have their charm; the sunsets and -sunrises are in some respects finer than in Nubia; the tints are not so -delicate, the colors not so pure, but the moister atmosphere and clouds -make them more brilliant and various. The dawn, like the after-glow, is -long; the sky burns half round with rose and pink, the color mounts high -up. The sunsets are beyond praise, and always surprise. Last night the -reflection in the east was of a color unseen before—almost a purple -below and a rose above; and the west glowed for an hour in changing -tints. The night was not less beautiful—we have a certain comfort in -contrasting both with March in New England. It was summer; the Nile -slept, the moon half-full, let the stars show; and as we glided swiftly -down, the oars rising and falling to the murmured chorus of the -rowers, there were deep shadows under the banks, and the stately palms, -sentinelling the vast plain of moonlight over which we passed,—the great -silence of an Egyptian night—seemed to remove us all into dreamland. The -land was still, except for the creak of an occasional shadoof worked by -some wise man who thinks it easier to draw water in the night than -in the heat of the day, or an aroused wolfish dog, or a solitary bird -piping on the shore. - -Thus we go, thus we stay, in the delicious weather, encouraged now and -again by a puff of southern wind, but held back from our destination by -some mysterious angel of delay. But one day the wind comes, the sail is -distended, the bow points downstream, and we move at the dizzy rate of -five miles an hour. - -It is a day of incomparable beauty. We see very little labor along the -Nile; the crops are maturing. But the whole population comes to the -river, to bathe, to sit in the shallows, to sit on the bank. All the -afternoon we pass groups, men, women, children, motionless, the picture -of idleness. There they are, hour after hour, in the sun. Women, coming -for water, put down their jars, and bathe and frolic in the grateful -stream. In some distant reaches of the river there are rows of women -along the shore, exactly like the birds which stand in the shallow -places or sun themselves on the sand. There are more than twenty miles -of bathers, of all sexes and ages. - -When at last we come to a long sand-reef, dotted with storks, cranes and -pelicans, the critic says he is glad to see something with feathers on -it. - -We are in full tide of success and puffed up with confidence: it is -perfectly easy to descend the Nile. All the latter part of the afternoon -we are studying the False Pyramid of Maydoom, that structure, older -than Cheops, built, like all the primitive monuments, in degrees, as -the Tower of Babel was, as the Chaldean temples were. It lifts up, miles -away from the river, only a broken mass from the debris at its base. -We leave it behind. We shall be at Bedreshayn, for Memphis, before -daylight. As we turn in, the critic says, “We've got the thing in our -own hands now.” - -Alas! the Lord reached down and took it out. The wind chopped suddenly, -and blew a gale from the north. At breakfast time we were waltzing round -opposite the pyramids of Dashoor, liable to go aground on islands and -sandbars, and unable to make the land. Determined not to lose the day, -we anchored, took the sandal, had a long pull, against the gale, to -Bedreshayn, and mounted donkeys for the ruins of ancient Memphis. - -When Herodotus visited Memphis, probably about four hundred and fifty -years before Christ, it was a great city. He makes special mention of -its temple of Vulcan, whose priests gave him a circumstantial account of -the building of the city by Menes, the first Pharaoh. Four hundred -years later, Diodorus found it magnificent; about the beginning of the -Christian era, Strabo says it was next in size to Alexandria. Although -at the end of the twelfth century it had been systematically despoiled -to build Cairo, an Arab traveler says that, “its ruins occupy a space -half a day's journey every way,” and that its wonders could not -be described. Temples, palaces, gardens, villas, acres of common -dwellings—the city covered this vast plain with its splendor and its -squalor. - -The traveler now needs a guide to discover a vestige, a stone here and -there, of this once most magnificent capital. Here came Moses and -Aaron, from the Israelitish settlement in the Delta, from Zoan (Tanis) -probably, to beg Menephtah to let the Jews depart; here were performed -the miracles of the Exodus. This is the Biblical Noph, against which -burned the wrath of the prophets. “No (Heliopolis, or On) shall be -rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.” The decree was -“published in Noph”:—“Noph shall be waste and desolate without an -inhabitant;” “I will cause their images to cease out of Noph.” - -The images have ceased, the temples have either been removed or have -disappeared under the deposits of inundations; you would ride over old -Memphis without knowing it, but the inhabitants have returned to this -fertile and exuberant plain. It is only in the long range of pyramids -and the great necropolis in the desert that you can find old Memphis. - -The superabundant life of the region encountered us at once. At -Bedreshayn is a ferry, and its boats were thronged, chiefly by women, -coming and going, and always with a load of grain or other produce on -the head. We rode round the town on an elevated dyke, lined with palms, -and wound onward over a flat, rich with wheat and barley, to Mitrahenny, -a little village in a splendid palm-grove. This marks the central -spot of the ruins of old Memphis. Here are some mounds, here are found -fragments of statues and cut stones, which are preserved in a temporary -shelter. And here, lying on its side, in a hollow from which the water -was just subsiding, is a polished colossal statue of Rameses II.—the -Pharaoh who left more monuments of less achievements than any other -“swell” of antiquity. The face is handsome, as all his statues are, and -is probably conventionalized like our pictures of George Washington, -or Napoleon's busts of himself. I confess to a feeling of perfect -satisfaction at seeing his finely chiseled nose rooting in the mud. - -This—some mounds, some fragments of stone, and the statue,—was all we -saw of Memphis. But I should like to have spent a day in this lovely -grove, which was carpeted with the only turf I saw in Egypt; reclining -upon the old mounds in the shade, and pretending to think of Menes and -Moses and Menephtah; and of Rhampsinitus, the king who “descended alive -into the place which the Greeks call Hades, and there played at dice -with Ceres, and sometimes won, and other times lost,” and of the -treasure-house he built here; and whether, as Herodotus believed, Helen, -the beautiful cause of the Iliad, really once dwelt in a palace here, -and whether Homer ever recited his epic in these streets. - -We go on over the still rich plain to the village of Sakkarah—chiefly -babies and small children. The cheerful life of this prairie fills us -with delight—flocks of sheep, herds of buffaloes, trains of dromedaries, -hundreds of laborers of both sexes in the fields, children skylarking -about; on every path are women, always with a basket on the head, their -blue cotton gown (the only article of dress except a head-shawl,) open -in front, blowing back so as to show their figures as they walk. - -When we reach the desert we are in the presence of death—perhaps the -most mournful sight on this earth is a necropolis in the desert, savage, -sand-drifted, plundered, all its mounds dug over and over. We ride along -at the bases of the pyramids. I stop at one, climb over the débris at -its base, and break off a fragment of stone. The pyramid is of crumbling -limestone, and, built in stages or degrees, like that of Maydoom; it is -slowly becoming an unsightly heap. And it is time. This is believed -to be the oldest structure in the world, except the Tower of Babel. It -seems to have been the sepulchre of Keken, a king of the second dynasty. -At this period hieroglyphic writing was developed, but the construction -and ornamentation of the doorway of the pyramid exhibit art in its -infancy. This would seem to show that the Egyptians did not emigrate -from Asia with the developed and highly perfected art found in the -sculptures of the tombs of the fourth, fifth, and sixth dynasties, as -some have supposed, but that there was a growth, which was arrested -later. - -But no inference in regard to old Egypt is safe; a discovery tomorrow -may upset it. Statues recently found, representing persons living in -the third dynasty, present a different type of race from that shown in -statues of the fourth and fifth dynasties. So that, in that period in -which one might infer a growth of art, there may have been a change of -the dominating race. - -The first great work of Mariette Bey in Egypt—and it is a monument of -his sagacity, enthusiasm, and determination, was the unearthing, in this -waste of Memphis, the lost Serapeum and the Apis Mausoleum, the tombs of -the sacred bulls. The remains of the temple are again covered with sand; -but the visitor can explore the Mausoluem. He can walk, taper in hand, -through endless galleries, hewn in the rock, passing between rows of -gigantic granite sarcophagi, in which once rested the mummies of -the sacred bulls. Living, the bull was daintily fed—the Nile water -unfiltered was thought to be too fattening for him—and devotedly -worshipped; and dying, he was entombed in a sepulchre as magnificent as -that of kings, and his adorers lined the walls of his tomb with votive -offerings. It is partly from these stelæ, or slabs with inscriptions, -that Mariette Bey has added so much to our knowledge of Egyptian -history. - -Near the Serapeum is perhaps the most elegant tomb in Egypt, the tomb -of Tih, who lived in the fifth dynasty, some time later than Cheops, but -when hippopotami abounded in the river in front of his farm, -Although Tih was a priest, he was a gentleman of elegant tastes, an -agriculturist, a sportsman. He had a model farm, as you may see by the -buildings and by the thousand details of good management here carved. -His tomb does him great credit. In all the work of later times there is -nothing so good as this sculpture, so free, so varied, so beautiful; it -promises everything. Tih even had, what we do not expect in people of -that early time, humor; you are sure of it from some of the pictures -here. He must have taken delight in decorating his tomb, and have spent, -altogether, some pleasant years in it before he occupied it finally; so -that he had become accustomed to staying here. - -But his rule was despotic, it was that of the “stick.” Egyptians have -never changed in this respect, as we have remarked before. They are -now, as then, under the despotism of some notion of governance—divine -or human—despotic and fateful. The “stick” is as old as the monarchy; -it appears in these tombs; as to day, nobody then worked or paid taxes -without its application. - -The sudden arrest of Egyptian art was also forced upon us next day, in a -second visit to the pyramids of Geezeh. We spent most of the day in the -tombs there. In some of them we saw the ovals of all the kings of the -fourth dynasty, many of them perfect and fresh in color. As to drawing, -cutting, variety, liveliness of attitude and color, there is nothing -better, little so good, in tombs of recent date. We find almost every -secular subject in the early tombs that is seen in the latest. In -thousands of years, the Egyptians scarcely changed or made any progress. -The figures of men and animals are better executed in these old -tombs than in the later. Again, these tombs are free from the endless -repetitions of gods and of offerings to them. The life of the people -represented is more natural, less superstitious; common events are -naively portrayed, with the humorous unconsciousness of a simple age; -art has thought it not unworthy its skill to represent the fact in one -tomb, that men acted as midwives to cows, in the dawn of history. - -While we lay at Geezeh we visited one of the chicken-hatching -establishments for which the Egyptians have been famous from a remote -period. It was a very unpretending affair, in a dirty suburb of the -town. We were admitted into a low mud-building, and into a passage with -ovens on each side. In these ovens the eggs are spread upon mats, and -the necessary fire is made underneath. The temperature is at 100° to -108° Fahrenheit. Each oven has a hole in the center, through which the -naked attendant crawls to turn the eggs from time to time. The process -requires usually twenty-one days, but some eggs hatch on the twentieth. -The eggs are supplied by the peasants who usually receive, without -charge, half as many chickens as they bring eggs. About one third of the -eggs do not hatch. The hatching is only performed about three months in -the year, during the spring. - -In the passage, before one of the ovens, was a heap of soft chickens, -perhaps half a bushel, which the attendant scraped together whenever -they attempted to toddle off. We had the pleasure of taking up some -handfuls of them. We also looked into the ovens, where there was a stir -of life, and were permitted to hold some eggs while the occupants kicked -off the shell. - -I don't know that a plan will ever be invented by which eggs, as well as -chickens, will be produced without the intervention of the hen. If one -could be, it would leave the hen so much more time to scratch—it would -relieve her from domestic cares so that she could take part in public -affairs. The hen in Egypt is only partially emancipated, But since she -is relieved from setting, I do not know that she is any better hen. She -lays very small eggs. - -This ends what I have to say about the hen. We have come to Cairo, and -the world is again before us. - - - -0436 - - - -0437 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII.—THE KHEDIVE. - -WHAT excitement there is in adjacency to a great city! To hear its -inarticulate hum, to feel the thrill of its myriads, the magnetism of a -vast society! How the pulse quickens at the mere sight of multitudes -of buildings, and the overhanging haze of smoke and dust that covers a -little from the sight of the angels the great human struggle and folly. -How impatient one is to dive into the ocean of his fellows. - -The stir of life has multiplied every hour in the past two days. The -river swarms with boats, the banks are vocal with labor, traffic, -merriment. This morning early we are dropping down past huge casernes -full of soldiers—the bank is lined with them, thousands of them, bathing -and washing their clothes, their gabble filling the air. We see again -the lofty mosque of Mohamed Ali, the citadel of Salàdin, the forest of -minarets above the brown roofs of the town. We pass the isle of Rhoda -and the ample palaces of the Queen-Mother. We moor at Gezereh amid a -great shoal of dahabeëhs, returned from High Egypt, deserted of their -passengers, flags down, blinds closed—a spectacle to fill one with -melancholy that so much pleasure is over. - -The dahabeëhs usually discharge their passengers at Gezereh, above -the bridge. If the boat goes below with baggage it is subject to a -port-duty, as if it were a traveler,—besides the tax for passing the -draw-bridge. We decide to remain some days on our boat, because it is -comfortable, and because we want to postpone the dreaded breaking up -of housekeeping, packing up our scattered effects, and moving. Having -obtained permission to moor at the government dock below Kasr-el-Nil, we -drop down there. - -The first person to greet us there is Aboo Yusef, the owner. Behind him -comes Habib Bagdadli, the little Jew partner. There is always that in -his mien which says, “I was really born in Bagdad, but I know you still -think I am a Jew from Algiers. No, gentlemens, you wrong a man to whom -reputation is everything.” But he is glad to see his boat safe; he -expresses as much pleasure as one can throw from an eye with a cast in -it. Aboo Yusef is radiant. He is attired gorgeously, in a new suit, from -fresh turban to red slippers, on the profits of the voyage. His robe is -silk, his sash is cashmere. He overflows with complimentary speech. - -“Allah be praised, I see you safe.” - -“We have reason to be grateful.” - -“And that you had a good journey.” - -“A perfect journey.” - -“We have been made desolate by your absence; thank God, you have enjoyed -the winter.” - -“I suppose you are glad to see the boat back safe also?” - -“That is nothing, not to mention it, I not think of it; the return of -the boat safe, that is nothing. I only think that you are safe. But it -is a good boat. You will say it is the first-class of boats? And she -goes up the cataract all right. Did I not say she go up the cataract? -Abd-el-Atti he bear me witness.” - -“You did. You said so. Habib said so also. Was there any report here in -Cairo that we could not go up.” - -“Mashallah. Such news. The boat was lost in the cataract; the reïs -was drowned. For the loss of the boat I did not care; only if you were -safe.” - -“Did you hear that the cataract reises objected to take us up?” - -“What rascals! They always make the traveler some trouble. But, Allah -forgive us all, the head reïs is dead. Not so, Abd-el-Atti?” - -“What, the old reïs that we said good-bye to only a little while ago at -Assouan?” - -“Him dead,” says Abd-el-Atti. “I have this morning some conversation -with a tradin' boat from the Cataract. Him dead shortly after we leave.” - -It was the first time it had ever occurred to me that one of these tough -old Bedaween could die in the ordinary manner. - -But alas his spirit was too powerful for his frame. We have not in this -case the consolation of feeling that his loss is our gain; for there -are plenty more like him at the First Cataract. He took money from Aboo -Yusef for not taking us up the Cataract, and he took money from us for -taking us up. His account is balanced. He was an impartial man. Peace to -his colored ashes. - -Aboo Yusef and the little Jew took leave with increased demonstrations -of affection, and repeated again and again their joy that we had -ascended the Cataract and returned safe. The Jew, as I said, had a -furtive look, but Aboo is open as the day. He is an Arab you would -trust. I can scarcely believe that it was he and his partner who sent -the bribe to the reïs of the Cataract to prevent our going up. - -As we ride to town through the new part, the city looks exceedingly -bright and attractive; the streets are very broad; the handsome square -houses—ornamented villas, with balconies, pillared piazzas, painted with -lively figures and in bizarre patterns—stand behind walls overgrown with -the convolvulus, and in the midst of gardens; plats in the center -of open spaces and at the angles of streets are gay with flowers in -bloom—chiefly scarlet geraniums. The town wears a spring aspect, and -would be altogether bright but for the dust which overlays everything, -houses, streets, foliage. No amount of irrigation can brighten the -dust-powdered trees. - -When we came to Cairo last fall, fresh from European cities, it seemed -very shabby. Now that we come from Upper Egypt, with our eyes trained -to eight hundred miles of mud-hovels, Cairo is magnificent. But it -is Cairo. There are just as many people squatting in the dust of the -highways as when we last saw them, and they have the air of not having -moved in three months. We ride to Shepherd's Hotel; there are twenty -dragomans for every tourist who wants to go to Syria, there is the usual -hurry of arrival and departure, and no one to be found; we call at the -consul's: it is not his hour; we ride through the blindest ways to -the bankers, in the Rosetti Gardens (don't imagine there is any garden -there), they do no business from twelve to three. It is impossible to -accomplish anything in Cairo without calm delay. And, falling into the -mode, we find ourselves sauntering through one of the most picturesque -quarters, the bazaar of Khan Khaléel, feasting the eye on the Oriental -splendors of silks, embroidered stuffs, stiff with gold and silver, -sown with pearls, antique Persian brasses, old arms of the followers -of Saladin. How cool, how quiet it is. All the noises are soft. Noises -enough there are, a babel of traffic, jostling, pushing, clamoring; -and yet we have a sense of quiet in it all. There is no rudeness, no -angularity, no glare of sun. At times you feel an underflow of silence. -I know no place so convenient for meditation as the recesses of these -intricate bazaars. Their unlikeness to the streets of other cities is -mainly in the absence of any hard pavement. From the moment you come -into the Mooskee, you strike a silent way, no noise of wheels or hoofs, -nor footfalls of the crowd. It is this absence of footfall-patter which -is always heard in our streets, that gives us the impression here of the -underflow of silence. - -Returning through the Ezbekeëh Park and through the new streets, we are -glad we are not to judge the manhood of Egypt by the Young Egypt we -meet here, nor the future of Egypt by the dissolute idlers of Cairo and -Alexandria. From Cairo to Wady Halfeh we have seen men physically well -developed, fine specimens of their race, and better in Nubia than in -Egypt Proper; but these youths are feeble, and of unclean appearance, -even in their smart European dress. They are not unlike the effeminate -and gilded youth of Italy that one sees in the cities, or Parisians of -the same class. Egypt, which needed a different importation, has added -most of the vices of Europe to its own; it is noticeable that the -Italians, who emigrate elsewhere little, come here in great numbers, and -men and women alike take kindly to this loose feebleness. French as well -as Italians adapt themselves easily to Eastern dissoluteness. The -French have never shown in any part of the globe any prejudice against a -mingling of races. The mixture here of the youths of the Latin races -and the worn-out Orientals, who are a little polished by a lacquer of -European vice, is not a good omen for Egypt. Happily such youths are -feeble and, I trust, not to be found outside the two large cities. - -The great question in Egypt, among foreigners and observers (there is -no great question among the common people), is about the Khedive, Ismail -Pasha, his policy and his real intentions with regard to the country. -You will hear three distinct opinions; one from devout Moslems, another -from the English, and a third from the Americans. The strict and -conservative Moslems like none of the changes and innovations, and -express not too much confidence in the Khedive's religion. He has bought -pictures and statues for his palaces, he has marble images of himself, -he has set up an equestrian statue in the street; all this is contrary -to the religion. He introduces European manners and costumes, every -government employé is obliged to wear European dress, except the -tarboosh. What does he want with such a great army; why are the taxes so -high, and growing higher every day? - -With the Americans in Cairo, as a rule, the Khedive is popular; they -sympathize with his ambition, and think that he has the good of Egypt -at heart; almost uniformly they defend him. The English, generally, -distrust the Khedive and criticise his every movement. Scarcely ever -have I heard Englishmen speak well of the Khedive and his policy. They -express a want of confidence in the sincerity of his efforts to suppress -the slave-trade, for one thing. How much the fact that American officers -are preferred in the Khedive's service has to do with the English -and the American estimate, I do not know; the Americans are naturally -preferred over all others, for in case of a European complication over -Egypt they would have no entangling alliances. - -The Americans point to what has actually been accomplished by the -present Viceroy, the radical improvements in the direction of a better -civilization, improvements which already change the aspect of Egypt to -the most casual observer. There are the railroads, which intersect the -Delta in all directions, and extend over two hundred and fifty miles up -the Nile, and the adventurous iron track which is now following the -line of the telegraph to distant Kartoom. There are the canals, the -Sweet-Water that runs from Cairo and makes life on the Isthmus possible, -and the network of irrigating canals and system of ditches, which have -not only transformed the Delta, but have changed its climate, increasing -enormously the rainfall. No one who has not seen it can have any -conception of the magnitude of this irrigation by canals which all draw -water from the Nile, nor of the immense number of laborers necessary -to keep the canals in repair. Talk of the old Pharaohs, and their -magnificent canals, projected or constructed, and their vaunted -expeditions of conquest into Central Africa! Their achievements, take -them all together, are not comparable to the marvels the Khedive -is producing under our own eyes, in spite of a people ignorant, -superstitious, reluctant. He does not simply make raids into Africa: -he occupies vast territories, he has absolutely stopped the Nile -slave-trade, he has converted the great slave-traders into his allies, -by making it more their interest to develope legitimate commerce than -to deal in flesh and blood; he has permanently opened a region twice -as large as Egypt to commercial intercourse; he sends explorers and -scientific expeditions into the heart of Africa. It is true that he -wastes money, that he is robbed and cheated by his servants, but he -perseveres, and behold the results. Egypt is waking out of its sleep, -it is annexing territory, and population by millions, it is becoming a -power. And Ismail Pasha is the center and spring of the whole movement. - -Look at Cairo! Since the introduction of gas, the opening of broad -streets, the tearing down of some of the worst rookeries, the admission -of sun and air, Cairo is exempt from the old epidemics, the general -health is improved, and even that scourge, ophthalmia, has diminished. -You know his decree forbidding early marriages; you know he has -established and encourages schools for girls; you see what General Stone -is doing in the education of the common soldiers, and in his training -of those who show any aptitude in engineering, draughting, and the -scientific accomplishments of the military profession. - -Thus the warmest admirers of the Khedive speak. His despotism, which -is now the most absolute in the world, perhaps, and least disputed, is -referred to as a “personal government.” And it is difficult to see -how under present circumstances it could be anything else. There is -absolutely in Egypt no material for anything else. The Khedive has -annually summoned for several years, a sort of parliament of the -chief men of Egypt, for information and consultation. At first it was -difficult to induce the members to say a word, to give any information -or utter an opinion. It is a new thing in a despotic government, the -shadow even of a parliament. - -An English gentleman in Cairo, and a very intelligent man, gives the -Khedive credit for nothing but a selfish desire to enrich himself, to -establish his own family, and to enjoy the traditional pleasures of the -Orient. - -“But he is suppressing the slave-trade.” - -“He is trying to make England believe so. Slaves still come to Cairo; -not so many down the Nile, but by the desert. I found a slave-den in -some desert tombs once over the other side the river; horrible treatment -of women and children; a caravan came from Darfour by way of Assiout.” - -“But that route is cut off by the capture of Darfour.” - -“Well, you'll see; slaves will come if they are wanted. Why, look at the -Khedive's harem!” - -“He hasn't so many wives as Solomon, who had seven hundred; the Khedive -has only four.” - -“Yes, but he has more concubines; Solomon kept only three hundred, the -Khedive has four hundred and fifty, and perhaps nearer five hundred. -Some of them are beautiful Circassians for whom it is said he paid as -much as £2000 and even £3000 sterling.” - -“I suppose that is an outside price.” - -“Of course, but think of the cost of keeping them. Then, each of -his four wives has her separate palace and establishment. Rather an -expensive family.” - -“Almost as costly as the royal family of England.” - -“That's another affair; to say nothing of the difference of income. -The five hundred, more or less, concubines are under the charge of -the Queen-mother, but they have carte blanche in indulgence in jewels, -dress, and all that. They wear the most costly Paris modes. They -spend enormous sums in pearls and diamonds. They have their palaces -refurnished whenever the whim seizes them, re-decorated in European -style. Where does the money come from? You can see that Egypt is taxed -to death. I heard to-day that the Khedive was paying seventeen per cent, -for money, money borrowed to pay the interest on his private debts. What -does he do with the money he raises?” - -“Spends a good deal of it on his improvements, canals, railroads, on his -army.” - -“I think he runs in debt for his improvements. Look again at his family. -He has something like forty palaces, costing from one half-million to -a million dollars each; some of them, which he built, he has never -occupied, many of them are empty, many of those of his predecessors, -which would lodge a thousand people, are going to decay; and yet he is -building new ones all the time. There are two or three in process of -erection on the road to the pyramids.” - -“Perhaps they are for his sons or for his high officers? Victor Emanuel, -whose treasury is in somewhat the condition of the Khedive's, has a -palace in every city of Italy, and yet he builds more.” - -“If the Khedive is building for his children, I give it up. He has -somewhere between twenty and thirty acknowledged children. But he does -give away palaces and houses. When he has done with a pretty slave, he -may give her, with a palace or a fine house here in town, to a favorite -officer. I can show you houses here that were taken away from their -owners, at a price fixed by the Khedive and not by the owner, because -the Viceroy wanted them to give away with one or another of his -concubines.” - -“I suppose that is Oriental custom.” - -“I thought you Americans defended the Khedive on account of his -progressive spirit.” - -“He is a man who is accomplishing wonders, trammelled as he is by usages -thousands of years old, which appear monstrous to us, but are to him as -natural as any other Oriental condition. Yet I confess that he stands -in very contradictory lights. If he knew it, he could do the greatest -service to Egypt by abolishing his harem of concubines, converting it -into—I don't know what—a convent, or a boarding-school, or a milliner's -shop, or an establishment for canning fruit—and then set the example of -living, openly, with one wife.” - -“Wait till he does. And you talk about the condition of Egypt! Every -palm-tree, and every sakiya is taxed, and the tax has doubled within a -few years. The taxes are now from one pound and a half to three pounds -an acre on all lands not owned by him.” - -“In many cases, I know this is not a high tax (compared with taxes -elsewhere) considering the yield of the land, and the enormous cost of -the irrigating canals.” - -“It is high for such managers as the fellahs. But they will not have to -complain long. The Khedive is getting into his own hands all the lands -of Egypt. He owns I think a third of it now, and probably half of it is -in his family; and this is much the better land.” - -“History repeats itself in Egypt. He is following the example of Joseph -who, you know, taking advantage of the famine, wrung all the land, -except that in possession of the priests, from the people, and made -it over to Pharaoh; by Joseph's management the king owned, before the -famine was over, not only all the land, but all the money, all the -cattle, and all the people of Egypt. And he let the land to them for a -fifth of its increase.” - -“I don't know that it is any better because Egypt is used to it. Joseph -was a Jew. The Khedive pretends to be influenced by the highest motives, -the elevation of the condition of the people, the regeneration of -Egypt.” - -“I think he is sincerely trying to improve Egypt and the Egyptians. Of -course a despot, reared in Oriental prejudices, is slow to see that you -can't make a nation except by making men; that you can't make a rich -nation unless individuals have free scope to accumulate property. I -confess that the chief complaint I heard up the river was, that no one -dared to show that he had any money, or to engage in extensive business, -for fear he would be 'squeezed.'.rdquo; - -“So he would be. The Khedive has some sixteen sugar-factories, worked by -forced labor, very poorly paid. They ought to be very profitable.” - -“They are not.” - -“Well, he wants more money, at any rate. I have just heard that he -is resorting to a forced loan, in the form of bonds. A land-owner is -required to buy them in the proportion of one dollar and a half for -each acre he owns; and he is to receive seven per cent, interest on the -bonds. In Cairo a person is required to take these bonds in a certain -proportion on his personal property. And it is said that the bonds are -not transferable, and that they will be worthless to the heirs. I heard -of this new dodge from a Copt.” - -“I suppose the Khedive's friends would say that he is trying to change -Egypt in a day, whereas it is the work of generations.” - -When we returned to the dahabeëh we had a specimen of “personal -government.” Abd-el-Atti was standing on the deck, slipping his beads, -and looking down. - -“What has happened?” - -“Ahman, been took him.” - -“Who took him?” - -“Police, been grab him first time he go 'shore, and lock him up.” - -“What had he been doing?” - -“Nothing he been done; I send him uptown of errand; police catch him -right out there.” - -“What for?” - -“Take him down to Soudan to work; the vice-royal he issue an order for -the police to catch all the black fellows in Cairo, and take 'em to the -Soudan, down to Gondokora for what I know, to work the land there.” - -“But Ahman is our servant; he can't be seized.” - -“Oh, I know, Ahman belong to me, he was my slave till I give him -liberty; I go to get him out directly. These people know me, I get him -off.” - -“But if you had no influence with the police, Ahman would be dragged off -to Soudan to work in a cotton or rice field?” - -“Lots of black fellows like him sent off. But I get him back, don't you -have worry. What the vice-royal to do with my servant—I don't care if he -Kin' of Constantinople!” - -Sure enough, early in the evening the handsome Abyssinian boy came back, -none the worse, except for a thorough scare, eyes and teeth shining, and -bursting into his usual hearty laugh upon allusion to his capture. - -“Police tyeb?” - -“Moosh-tyeb” (“bad”), with an explosion of merriment. - -The boy hadn't given himself much uneasiness, for he regards his master -as his Providence. - -We are moored at the dock and below the lock of the Sweet-Water Canal -which runs to Ismailia. A dredge-boat lies in the entrance, and we -have an opportunity of seeing how government labor is performed; we -can understand why it is that so many laborers are needed, and that the -great present want of Egypt is stout and willing arms. - -In the entrance of the canal and in front of the lock is a flat-boat -upon which are fifteen men. They have two iron scoops, which would hold -about a gallon each; to each is attached a long pole and a rope. Two -men jab the pole down and hold the pot on the bottom, while half a dozen -pull leisurely on the rope, with a “yah-sah” or other chorus, and haul -in the load; when it comes up, a man scrapes out the mud with his hand, -sometimes not getting more than two quarts. It is very restful to watch -their unexhausting toil. It takes several minutes to capture a pot of -sand. There are fifteen men at this spoon-work, but one scoop is only -kept going at a time. After it is emptied, the men stop and look about, -converse a little, and get ready for another effort, standing meantime -in liquid mud, ankle deep. When they have rested, over goes the scoop -again, and the men stand to the rope, and pull feebly, but only at -intervals, that is when they sing the response to the line of the -leader. The programme of singing and pulling is something like this: - -Salee ah nadd (voice of the leader). - -Yalee, halee (chorus, pull altogether). - -Salee ah nadd. - -Yalee, halee (pull). - -Salee ah nadd. - -Yalee, halee (pull). - -And the outcome of three or four minutes of hauling and noise enough to -raise a ton, is about a quart of mud! - -The river panorama is always varied and entertaining, and we are of a -divided mind between a lazy inclination to sit here and watch the busy -idleness of the population, or address ourselves to the much that still -remains to be seen in Cairo. I ought to speak, however, of an American -sensation on the river. This is a little steam-yacht—fifty feet long by -seven and a half broad—which we saw up the Nile, where it attracted -more attention along the banks than anything else this season. I call -it American, because it carries the American flag and is owned by a -New-York art student, Mr. Anderson, and an English-American, Mr. Medler; -but the yacht was built in London, and shipped on a large steamboat to -Alexandria. It is the first steam-vessel, I believe, carrying anything -except Egyptian (or Turkish) colors that has ever been permitted to -ascend the Nile. We took a trip on it one fine morning up to Helwân, and -enjoyed the animation of its saucy speed. When put to its best, it makes -eighteen miles an hour; but life would not be as long on it as it is -on a dahabeëh. At Helwân are some hot sulphur-springs, famous and -much resorted to in the days of the Pharaohs, and just now becoming -fashionable again. - -Our days pass we can hardly say how, while we wait for the proper season -for Syria, and regard the invincible obstacles that debar us from the -longed-for desert journey to Sinai and Arabia Petra. The bazaars are -always a refuge from the heat, a never-failing entertainment. We spend -hours in lounging through them. We lunch at the shops of the sweatmeat -makers, on bread, pistachio-nuts, conserve of roses, I know not what, -and Nile-water, with fingans of coffee fetched hot and creamy from the -shop near by. We give a copper to an occasional beggar: for beggars -are few in the street, and these are either blind or very poor, or -derweeshes; and to all these, being regarded as Allah's poor, the -Moslems give cheerfully, for charity is a part of their religion. We -like also to stand at the doors of the artisans. There is a street where -all the workmen are still making the old flint-lock guns and pistols, -and the firearms with the flaring blunderbuss muzzles, as if the object -was to scatter the charge, and hit a great many people but to kill none. -I think the peace society would do well to encourage this kind of gun. -There are shops also where a man sits before a heap of flint-chalk, -chipping the stone with a flat iron mallet, and forming the flints for -the antiquated locks. - -We happen to come often in our wanderings, the distinction being a -matter of luck, upon a very interesting old city-gate of one of the -quarters. The gate itself is a wooden one of two leaves, crossed with -iron bands fastened with heavy spikes, and not remarkable except as an -illustration of one of the popular superstitions of the Arabs. The wood -is driven full of nails, bits of rags flutter on it, and human teeth are -crowded under the iron bands. It is believed that if a person afflicted -with headache will drive a nail into this door he will never have the -headache again. Other ills are relieved by other offerings, bits of -rag, teeth, etc. It would seem to be a pretty sure cure for toothache -to leave the tooth in this gate. The Arabs are called the most -superstitious of peoples, they wear charms against the evil-eye (“charm -from the eye of girl, sharper than a spike; charm from the eye of boy, -more painful than a whip”), and they have a thousand absurd practices. -Yet we can match most of them in Christian communities. - -How patiently all the people work, and wait. Complaints are rare. The -only reproof I ever received was from a donkey-boy, whom I had kept -waiting late one evening at the Hotel Nil. When I roused him from his -sleep on the ground, he asked, with an accent of weariness, “how much -clock you got?” - -By the twenty-third day of March it is getting warm; the thermometer is -81°. It is not simply the heat, but the Khâmaseen, the south wind, the -smoky air, the dust in the city, the languor. To-day it rained a few -drops, and looked threatening, just as it does in a hot summer day at -home. The outskirts of Cairo are enveloped in dust, and the heat begins -to simmer over the palaces and gardens. The travelers are leaving. The -sharp traders, Jews from Bagdad, Syrians, Jews from Constantinople, -Greeks, Armenians from Damascus, all sorts, are packing up their goods, -in order to meet the traveler and fleece him again in Jerusalem, in -Beyrout, in Damascus, in Smyrna, on the Golden Horn. In the outskirts, -especially on the open grounds by the canal, are the coffee-booths and -dance-shanties—rows of the disreputable. The life, always out of doors -even in the winter, is now more flamboyantly displayed in these open and -verandahed dwellings; there is a yielding to the relaxation of summer. -We hear at night, as we sit on the deck of our dahabeëh, the throbbing -of the darabookah-drum and the monotonous song of the dissolute ones. - - - -0450 - - - -0451 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV.—THE WOODEN MAN. - -THE Khedive and his court, if it may be so called, are not hedged in by -any formidable barriers; but there are peculiarities of etiquette. When -his Highness gives a grand ball and public reception, of course only the -male members of his household are present, only the men of the Egyptian -society; it would in fact be a male assembly but for the foreign ladies -visiting or residing in the city. Of course there cannot be any such -thing as “society” under such circumstances; and as there are no women -to regulate the ball invitations, the assembly is “mixed.” There is no -such thing as reciprocity with the Arabs and Turks; they are willing to -meet the wives or the female friends of all foreigners; they never show -their own. - -If a lady visiting Cairo wishes to visit one of the royal harems, it is -necessary that her husband or some gentleman of her party, should first -be presented to the Khedive. After this ceremony, notice is received -through the chamberlain of the Viceroy that the lady will be received -on such a day and hour, in a palace named, by her Highness So So. Which -Highness? That you can never tell before the notice is received. It is a -matter of royal convenience at the time. In a family so large and varied -as that of the Khedive, you can only be presented to a fragment of -it. You may be received by one of his wives; it may please the Queen, -mother, who is in charge of his largest harem, to do the honors or the -wife of the heir-apparent, or of one of the younger sons, may open her -doors to you. I suppose it is a good deal a matter of whim with the -inmates of the harem; sometimes they are tired of seeing strangers and -of dressing for them. Usually they are eager to break the monotony of -their lives with a visit that promises to show them a new costume. There -is only one condition made as to the dress of the lady who is to -be received at a royal harem; she must not wear black, there is a -superstition connected with a black dress, it puts the inmates of the -harem in low spirits. Gentlemen presented to the Khedive wear the usual -evening dress. - -The Khedive's winter-residence is the Palace of Abdeen, not far from the -Ezbekeëh, and it was there that Dr. Lamborn and myself were presented to -his highness by Mr. Beardsley, our consul-general. Nothing regal could -be more simple or less ceremonious. We arrived at the door at the moment -fixed, for the Khedive is a man of promptness and I imagine has his -entire day parcelled out in engagements. We first entered a spacious -entrance-hall, from which a broad stairway leads to the first story; -here were thirty or forty janizaries, gentlemen-in-waiting, and eunuchs, -standing motionless, at the sides, and guarding the approach to the -stairway, in reception attitudes. Here we were received by an attendant -who conducted us to a room on the left, where we were introduced to the -chamberlain, and deposited our outer coats and hats. The chamberlain -then led us to the foot of the stairs, but accompanied us no further; we -ascended to the first landing, and turning to another broad stairway saw -the Khedive awaiting us at the head of it. He was unattended; indeed we -saw no officer or servant on this floor. The furniture above and below -was European, except the rich, thick carpets of Turkey and Persia. - -His Highness, who wore a dress altogether European except the fez, -received us cordially, shaking hands and speaking with simplicity, as a -private gentleman might, and, wasting no time in Oriental compliments, -led the way to a small reception-room furnished in blue satin. We were -seated together in a corner of the apartment, and an animated talk at -once began. Dr. Lamborn's special errand was to ascertain whether Egypt -would be represented in our Centennial, about which the Khedive was -well informed. The conversation then passed to the material condition of -Egypt, the development of its resources, its canals and railroads, and -especially the new road into Soudan, and the opening of Darfour. The -Khedive listened attentively to any practical information, either about -railroads, factories, or agriculture, that my companion was able to give -him, and had the air of a man eager to seize any idea that might be for -the advancement of Egypt; when he himself spoke, it was with vivacity, -shrewdness, and good sense. And he is not without a gleam of humor now -and then,—a very hopeful quality in a sovereign and especially in an -Oriental ruler. - -The Khedive, in short, is a person to inspire confidence; he appears to -be an able, energetic man of affairs, quick and resolute; there is not -the slightest stiffness or “divine right” pretence in his manner. He is -short, perhaps five feet seven or eight inches in height, and stout. He -has a well-proportioned, solid head, good features, light complexion, -and a heavy, strong jaw, which his closely-trimmed beard does not -conceal. I am not sure that the penetration of his glance does not gain -a little from a slight defect in one eye—the result of ophthalmia in his -boyhood. - -When the interview had lasted about fifteen minutes, the Khedive ended -it by rising; at the head of the stairs we shook hands and exchanged the -proper speeches; at the bottom of the first flight we turned and bowed, -his highness still standing and bowing, and then we saw him no more. As -we passed out an order had come from above which set the whole household -in a flurry of preparation, a running hither and thither as for speedy -departure—the sort of haste that is mingled with fear, as for the -command of a power that will not brook an instant's delay. - -Exaggerated notions are current about harems and harem-receptions, -notions born partly of the seclusion of the female portion of the -household in the East. Of course the majority of harems in Egypt are -simply the apartment of the one wife and her children. The lady who -enters one of them pays an ordinary call, and finds no mystery whatever. -If there is more than one wife, a privileged visitor, able to converse -with the inmates, might find some skeletons behind the screened windows. -It is also true that a foreign lady may enter one of the royal harems -and be received with scarcely more ceremony than would attend an -ordinary call at home. The receptions at which there is great display, -at which crowds of beautiful or ugly slaves line the apartments, at -which there is music and dancing by almehs, an endless service of sweets -and pipes and coffee, and a dozen changes of dress by the hostess during -the ceremony, are not frequent, are for some special occasion, the -celebration of a marriage, or the entertainment of a visitor of high -rank. One who expects, upon a royal invitation to the harem, to wander -into the populous dove-cote of the Khedive, where languish the beauties -of Asia, the sisters from the Gardens of Gul, pining for a new robe of -the mode from Paris, will be most cruelly disappointed. - -But a harem remains a harem, in the imagination. The ladies went one -day to the house—I suppose it is a harem—of Hussein, the waiter who has -served us with unremitting fidelity and cleverness. The house was one of -the ordinary sort of unburnt brick, very humble, but perfectly tidy -and bright. The secret of its cheerfulness was in a nice, cheery, happy -little wife, who made a home for Hussein such as it was a pleasure to -see in Egypt. They had four children, the eldest a daughter, twelve -years old and very good-mannered and pretty. As she was of marriageable -age, her parents were beginning to think of settling her in life. - -“What a nice girl she is, Hussein,” says Madame. - -“Yes'm,” says Hussein, waving his hands in his usual struggle with the -English language, and uttering the longest speech ever heard from him in -that tongue, but still speaking as if about something at table, “yes'm; -good man have it; bad man, drinkin' man, smokin' man, eatin' man not -have it.” - -I will describe briefly two royal presentations, one to the favorite -wife of the Khedive, the other to the wife of Mohammed Tufik Pasha, the -eldest son and heir-apparent, according to the late revolution in the -rules of descent. French, the court language, is spoken not only by the -Khedive but by all the ladies of his family who receive foreigners. The -lady who was presented to the Khedive's wife, after passing the usual -guard of eunuchs in the palace, was escorted through a long suite of -showy apartments. In each one she was introduced to a maid of honor who -escorted her to the next, each lady-in-waiting being more richly attired -than her predecessor, and the lady was always thinking that now this one -must be the princess herself. Female slaves were in every room, and a -great number of them waited in the hall where the princess received her -visitor. She was a strikingly handsome woman, dressed in pink satin and -encrusted with diamonds. The conversation consisted chiefly of the most -exaggerated and barefaced compliments on both sides, both as to articles -of apparel and personal appearance. Coffee, cigarettes, and sweets -without end, in cups of gold set with precious stones, were served by -the female slaves. The wife was evidently delighted with the impression -made by her beauty, her jewels, and her rich dress. - -The wife of Tufik Pasha received at one of the palaces in the suburbs. -At the door eunuchs were in waiting to conduct the visitors up the -flight of marble steps, and to deliver them to female slaves in waiting. -Passing up several broad stairways, they were ushered into a grand -reception-hall furnished in European style, except the divans. Only a -few servants were in attendance, and they were white female slaves. The -princess is petite, pretty, intelligent, and attractive. She received -her visitors with entire simplicity, and without ceremony, as a lady -would receive callers in America. The conversation ran on the opera, the -travel on the Nile, and topics of the town. Coffee and cigarettes were -offered, and the sensible interview ended like an occidental visit. It -is a little disenchanting, all this adoption of European customs; but -the wife of Tufik Pasha should ask him to go a little further, and send -all the eunuchs out of the palace. - -We had believed that summer was come. But we learned that March in Cairo -is, like the same month the world over, treacherous. The morning of the -twenty-sixth was cold, the thermometer 60°. A north wind began to blow, -and by afternoon increased to a gale, such as had not been known here -for years. The town was enveloped in a whirlwind of sand; everything -loose was shaking and flying; it was impossible to see one's way, and -people scudding about the streets with their heads drawn under their -robes continually dashed into each other. The sun was wholly hidden. -From our boat we could see only a few rods over the turbulent river. -The air was so thick with sand, that it had the appearance of a yellow -canvas. The desert had invaded the air—that was all. The effect of the -light through this was extremely weird; not like a dark day of -clouds and storm in New England, but a pale, yellowish, greenish, -phantasmagoric light, which seemed to presage calamity. Such a light as -may be at the Judgment Day. Cairo friends who dined with us said they -had never seen such a day in Egypt. Dahabeëhs were torn from their -moorings; trees were blown down in the Ezbekëeh Gardens. - -We spent the day, as we had spent other days, in the Museum of -Antiquities at Boulak. This wonderful collection, which is the work of -Mariette Bey, had a thousand times more interest for us now than before -we made the Nile voyage and acquired some knowledge of ancient Egypt -through its monuments. Everything that we saw had meaning—statues, -mummy-cases, images, scarabæi, seals, stelae, gold jewelry, and the -simple articles in domestic use. - -It must be confessed that to a person uninformed about Egypt and -unaccustomed to its ancient art, there is nothing in the world so dreary -as a collection of its antiquities. The endless repetition of designs, -the unyielding rigidity of forms, the hideous mingling of the human and -the bestial, the dead formality, are insufferably wearisome. The -mummy is thoroughly disagreeable. You can easily hate him and all his -belongings; there is an air of infinite conceit about him; I feel it in -the exclusive box in which he stands, in the smirk of his face painted -on his case. I wonder if it is the perkishness of immortality—as if his -race alone were immortal. His very calmness, like that of so many of the -statues he made, is an offensive contempt. It is no doubt unreasonable, -but as a living person I resent this intrusion of a preserved dead -person into our warm times,—an appearance anachronistic and repellant. - -But as an illustration of Egyptian customs, art, and history, the Boulak -museum is almost a fascinating place. True it is not so rich in many -respects as some European collections of Egyptian antiquities, but it -has some objects that are unique; for instance, the jewels of Queen -Aah-hotep, a few statues, and some stelæ, which furnish the most -important information. - -This is not the place, had I the knowledge, to enter upon any discussion -of the antiquity of these monuments or of Egyptian chronology. I believe -I am not mistaken, however, in saying that the discoveries of Mariette -Bey tend strongly to establish the credit of the long undervalued list -of Egyptian sovereigns made by Manetho, and that many Oriental scholars -agree with the director of this museum that the date of the first -Egyptian dynasty is about five thousand years before the Christian era. -But the almost startling thought presented by this collection is not -in the antiquity of some of these objects, but in the long civilization -anterior to their production, and which must have been necessary to the -growth of the art here exhibited. - -It could not have been a barbarous people who produced, for instance, -these life-like images found at Maydoom, statues of a prince and -princess who lived under the ancient king Snéfrou, the last sovereign of -the third dynasty, and the predecessor of Cheops. At no epoch, says M. -Mariette, did Egypt produce portraits more speaking, though they want -the breadth of style of the statue in wood—of which more anon. But it -is as much in an ethnographic as an art view that these statues are -important. If the Egyptian race at that epoch was of the type offered -by these portraits, it resembled in nothing the race which inhabited the -north of Egypt not many years after Snéfrou. To comprehend the problem -here presented we have only to compare the features of these statues -with those of others in this collection belonging to the fourth and -fifth dynasties. - -The best work of art in the Museum is the statue of Chephron, the -builder of the second pyramid. “The epoch of Chephron,” says M. -Mariette, “corresponding to the third reign of the fourth dynasty of -Manetho, our statue is not less than six thousand years old.” It is -a life-size sitting figure, executed in red granite. We admire its -tranquil majesty, we marvel at the close study of nature in the moulding -of the breast and limbs, we confess the skill that could produce an -effect so fine in such intractable material. It seems as if Egyptian art -were about to burst its trammels. But it never did; it never exceeded -this cleverness; on the contrary it constantly fell away from it. - -The most interesting statue to us, and perhaps the oldest image in -Egypt, and, if so, in the world, is the Wooden Man, which was found at -Memphis. This image, one metre and ten centimetres high, stands erect, -holding a staff. The figure is full of life, the pose expresses vigor, -action, pride, the head, round in form, indicates intellect. The eyes -are crystal, in a setting of bronze, giving a startling look of life to -the regard. It is no doubt a portrait. “There is nothing more striking,” -says its discoverer, “than this image, in a manner living, of a person -who has been dead six thousand years.” He must have been a man of mark, -and a citizen of a state well-civilized; this is not the portrait of -a barbarian, nor was it carved by a rude artist. Few artists, I think, -have lived since, who could impart more vitality to wood. - -And if the date assigned to this statue is correct, sculpture in -Egypt attained its maximum of development six thousand years ago. This -conclusion will be resisted by many, and on different grounds. I heard -a clergyman of the Church of England say to his comrade, as they were -looking at this figure:— - -“It's all nonsense; six thousand years! It couldn't be. That's before -the creation of man.” - -“Well,” said the other, irreverently, “perhaps this was the model.” - -This museum is for the historian, the archaeologist, not for the artist, -except in his study of the history of art. What Egypt had to impart -to the world of art was given thousands of years ago—intimations, -suggestions, outlines that, in freer circumstances, expanded into works -of immortal beauty. The highest beauty, that last touch of genius, that -creative inspiration which is genius and not mere talent, Egyptian art -never attained. It achieved wonders; they are all mediocre wonders; -miracles of talent. The architecture profoundly impresses, almost -crushes one; it never touches the highest in the soul, it never charms, -it never satisfies. - -The total impression upon myself of this ancient architecture and this -plastic art is a melancholy one. And I think this is not altogether due -to its monotony. The Egyptian art is said to be sui generis; it has a -character that is instantly recognized; whenever and wherever we see a -specimen of it, we say without fear of mistake, “that is Egyptian.” We -are as sure of it as we are of a piece of Greek work of the best age, -perhaps surer. Is Egyptian art, then, elevated to the dignity of a type, -of itself? Is it so to be studied, as something which has flowered into -a perfection of its kind? I know we are accustomed to look at it as -if it were, and to set it apart; in short, I have heard it judged -absolutely, as if it were a rule to itself. I cannot bring myself so to -look at it. All art is one. We recognize peculiarities of an age or of a -people; but there is only one absolute standard; to that touchstone all -must come. - -It seems to me then that the melancholy impression produced by Egyptian -art is not alone from its monotony, its rigidity, its stiff formality, -but it is because we recognize in it an arrested development. It is -archaic. The peculiarity of it is that it always remained archaic. -We have seen specimens of the earliest Etruscan figure-drawing, Gen. -Cesnola found in Cyprus Phoenician work, and we have statues of an -earlier period of Greek sculpture, all of which more or less resemble -Egyptian art. The latter are the beginnings of a consummate development. -Egypt stopped at the beginnings. And we have the sad spectacle of an -archaic art, not growing, but elaborated into a fixed type and adhered -to as if it were perfection. In some of the figures I have spoken of in -this museum, you can find that art was about to emancipate itself. In -all later works you see no such effort, no such tendency, no such -hope. It had been abandoned. By and by impulse died out entirely. For -thousands of years the Egyptians worked at perfecting the mediocre. -Many attribute this remote and total repression to religious influence. -Something of the same sort may be seen in the paintings of saints in -the Greek chambers of the East to-day; the type of which is that of the -Byzantine period. Are we to attribute a like arrest of development in -China to the same cause? - -It is a theory very plausibly sustained, that the art of a people is the -flower of its civilization, the final expression of the conditions -of its growth and its character. In reading Mr. Taine's ingenious -observations upon art in the Netherlands and art in Greece, we are ready -to assent to the theory. It may be the general law of a free development -in national life and in art. If it is, then it is not disturbed by the -example of Egypt. Egyptian art is not the expression of the natural -character, for its art was never developed. The Egyptians were a joyous -race, given to mirth, to the dance, to entertainments, to the charms of -society, a people rather gay than grave; they lived in the open air, -in the most friendly climate in the world. The sculptures in the early -tombs represent their life—an existence full of gaiety, grace, humor. -This natural character is not expressed in the sombre temples, nor in -their symbolic carvings, nor in these serious, rigid statues, whose calm -faces look straight on as if into eternity. This art may express the -religion of the priestly caste; when it had attained the power to -portray the rigid expectation of immortality, the inscrutable repose of -the Sphinx, it was arrested there, and never allowed in any respect to -change its formality. And I cannot but believe that if it had been -free, Egyptian art would have budded and bloomed into a grace of form in -harmony with the character of the climate and the people. - -It is true that the architecture of Egypt was freer than its sculptures, -but the whole of it together is not worth one edifice like the Greek -temple at Pæstum. And to end, by what may seem a sweeping statement, I -have had more pleasure from a bit of Greek work—an intaglio, or a coin -of the best period, or the sculptures on a broken entablature—than from -anything that Egypt ever produced in art. - - - -0461 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV.—ON THE WAY HOME. - -FOR two days after the sand-storm, it gives us pleasure to write, -the weather was cold, raw, thoroughly unpleasant, resembling dear New -England quite enough to make one homesick. As late as the twenty-eighth -of March, this was. The fact may be a comfort to those who dwell in a -region where winter takes a fresh hold in March. - -We broke up our establishment on the dahabeëh and moved to the hotel, -abandoning I know not how many curiosities, antiquities and specimens, -the possession of which had once seemed to us of the last importance. I -shall spare you the scene at parting with our crew. It would have -been very touching, but for the backsheesh. Some of them were faithful -fellows to whom we were attached; some of them were graceless scamps. -But they all received backsheesh. That is always the way. It was clearly -understood that we should reward only the deserving, and we had again -and again resolved not to give a piastre to certain ones of the crew. -But, at the end, the obdurate howadji always softens; and the Egyptians -know that he will. Egypt is full of good-for-nothings who have not only -received presents but certificates of character from travelers whom -they have disobliged for three months. There was, however, some -discrimination in this case; backsheesh was distributed with some regard -to good conduct; at the formal judgment on deck, Abd-el-Atti acted the -part of Thoth in weighing out the portions, and my friend took the rôle -of Osiris, receiving, vicariously for all of us, the kisses on his hand -of the grateful crew. I shall not be misunderstood in saying that -the faithful Soudan boy, Gohah, would have felt just as much grief in -bidding us good-bye if he had not received a penny (the rest of the -crew would have been inconsolable in like case); his service was always -marked by an affectionate devotion without any thought of reward. He -must have had a magnanimous soul to forgive us for the doses we gave him -when he was ill during the voyage. - -We are waiting in Cairo professedly for the weather to become settled -and pleasant in Syria—which does not happen, one year with another, till -after the first of April; but we are contented, for the novelties of -the town are inexhaustible, and we are never weary of its animation and -picturesque movement. I suppose I should be held in low estimation if -I said nothing concerning the baths of Cairo. It is expected of every -traveler that he will describe them, or one at least—one is usually -sufficient. Indeed when I have read these descriptions, I have wondered -how the writers lived to tell their story. When a person has been for -hours roasted and stifled, and had all his bones broken, you could -not reasonably expect him to write so powerfully of the bath as many -travelers write who are so treated. I think these bath descriptions are -among the marvels of Oriental literature; Mr. Longfellow says of the -Roman Catholic system, that it is a religion of the deepest dungeons and -the highest towers; the Oriental bath (in literature) is like this; the -unwashed infidel is first plunged in a gulf of dark despair, and then he -is elevated to a physical bliss that is ecstatic. The story is too long -at each end. - -I had experience of several different baths in Cairo, and I invariably -found them less vigorous, that is milder in treatment, than the Turkish -baths of New York or of Germany. With the Orientals the bath is a -luxury, a thing to be enjoyed, and not an affair of extreme shocks and -brutal surprises. In the bath itself there is never the excessive heat -that I have experienced in such baths in New York, nor the sudden change -of temperature in water, nor the vigorous manipulation. The Cairo bath, -in my experience, is gentle, moderate, enjoyable. The heat of the rooms -is never excessive, the air is very moist, and water flows abundantly -over the marble floors; the attendants are apt to be too lazy to -maltreat the bather, and perhaps err in gentleness. You are never -roasted in a dry air and then plunged suddenly into cold water. I do not -wonder that the Orientals are fond of their bath. The baths abound, -for men and for women, and the natives pay a very small sum for the -privilege of using them. Women make up parties, and spend a good part -of the day in a bath; having an entertainment there sometimes, and a -frolic. It is said that mothers sometimes choose wives for their sons -from girls they see at the baths. Some of them are used by men in the -forenoon and by women in the afternoon, and I have seen a great crowd -of veiled women waiting at the door at noon. There must be over -seventy-five of these public baths in Cairo. - -As the harem had not yet gone over to the Gezeereh palace, we took the -opportunity to visit it. This palace was built by the Khedive, on what -was the island of Gezeereh, when a branch of the Nile was suffered -to run to the west of its present area. The ground is now the seat -of gardens, and of the most interesting botanical and horticultural -experiments on the part of the Khedive, under charge of competent -scientific men. A botanist or an arboriculturist would find material -in the nurseries for long study. I was chiefly interested (since I half -believe in the malevolence of some plants) in a sort of murderous East -Indian cane, which grows about fifteen to twenty feet high, and so -rapidly that (we were told) it attains its growth in a day or two. At -any rate, it thrusts up its stalks so vigorously and rapidly that Indian -tyrants have employed it to execute criminals. The victim is bound to -the ground over a bed of this cane at night, and in the morning it has -grown up through his body. We need such a vengeful vegetable as this in -our country, to plant round the edges of our city gardens. - -The grounds about the palace are prettily, but formally laid out in -flower-gardens, with fountains and a kiosk in the style of the Alhambra. -Near by is a hot-house, with one of the best collections of orchids -in the world; and not far off is the zoological garden, containing a -menagerie of African birds and beasts, very well arranged and said to be -nearly complete. - -The palace is a square building of iron and stucco, the light pillars -and piazzas painted in Saracenic designs and Persian colors, but the -whole rather dingy, and beginning to be shabby. Inside it is at once a -showy and a comfortable palace, and much better than we expected to see -in Egypt; the carpenter and mason work are, however, badly done, as if -the Khedive had been swindled by sharp Europeans; it is full of rich and -costly furniture. The rooms are large and effective, and we saw a good -deal of splendor in hangings and curtains, especially in the apartments -fitted up for the occupation of the Empress Eugénie. It is wonderful, by -the way, with what interest people look at a bed in which an Empress -has slept; and we may add awe, for it is usually a broad, high and -awful place of repose. Scattered about the rooms are, in defiance of -the Prophet's religion, several paintings, all inferior, and a few busts -(some of the Khedive) and other pieces of statuary. The place of honor -is given to an American subject, although the group was executed by an -Italian artist. It stands upon the first landing of the great staircase. -An impish-looking young Jupiter is seated on top of a chimney, below -which is the suggestion of a house-roof. Above his head is the point of -a lightning-rod. The celestial electrician is discharging a bolt into -the rod, which is supposed to pass harmless over the roof below. -Upon the pedestal is a medallion, the head of Benjamin Franklin, and -encircling it, the legend:—Eripuit coelo fulmen. 1790. The group looks -better than you would imagine from the description. - -Beyond the garden is the harem-building, which was undergoing a thorough -renovation and refurnishing, in the most gaudy French style—such being -the wish of the ladies who occupy it. They are eager to discard the -beautiful Moorish designs which once covered the walls and to substitute -French decoration. The dormitory portions consist of passages with rooms -on each side, very much like a young ladies' boarding-school; the rooms -are large enough to accommodate three or four occupants. While we were -leisurely strolling through the house, we noticed a great flurry and -scurry in the building, and the attendants came to us in a panic, -and made desperate efforts to hurry us out of the building by a -side-entrance, giving signs of woe and destruction to themselves if we -did not flee. The Khedive had arrived, on horseback, and unexpectedly, -to inspect his domestic hearths. - -We rode, one sparkling morning, after a night of heavy rain, to -Heliopolis; there was no mud, however, the rain having served to beat -the sand firm. Heliopolis is the On of the Bible, and in the time of -Herodotus, its inhabitants were esteemed the most learned in history of -all the Egyptians. The father-in-law of Joseph was a priest there, and -there Moses and Plato both learned wisdom. The road is excellent and -planted most of the distance with acacia trees; there are extensive -gardens on either hand, plantations of trees, broad fields under -cultivation, and all the way the air was full of the odor of flowers, -blossoms of lemon and orange. In luxuriance and riant vegetation, it -seemed an Oriental paradise. And the whole of this beautiful land of -verdure, covered now with plantations so valuable, was a sand-desert as -late as 1869. The water of the Nile alone has changed the desert into a -garden. - -On the way we passed the race-course belonging to the Khedive, an -observatory, and the old palace of Abbas Pasha, now in process of -demolition, the foundations being bad, like his own. It is said that -the favorite wife of this hated tyrant, who was a Bedawee girl of rank, -always preferred to live on the desert, and in a tent rather than a -palace. Here at any rate, on the sand, lived Abbas Pasha, in hourly fear -of assassination by his enemies. It was not difficult to conjure up the -cowering figure, hiding in the recesses of this lonely palace, listening -for the sound of horses' hoofs coming on the city road, and ready to -mount a swift dromedary, which was kept saddled night and day in the -stable, and flee into the desert lor Bedaween protection. - -At Mataréëh, we turned into a garden to visit the famous Sycamore tree, -under which the Virgin sat to rest, in the time of the flight of the -Holy Family. It is a large, scrubby-looking tree, probably two hundred -years old. I wonder that it does not give up the ghost, for every inch -of its bark, even to the small limbs, is cut with names. The Copt, who -owns it, to prevent its destruction, has put a fence about it; and that -also is covered all over. I looked in vain for the name of “Joseph”; but -could find it neither on the fence nor on the tree. - -At Heliopolis one can work up any number of reflections; but all he can -see is the obelisk, which is sunken somewhat in the ground. It is more -correct, however, to say that the ground about it, and the whole site -of the former town and Temple of the Sun, have risen many feet since the -beginning of the Christian Era. This is the oldest obelisk in Egypt, and -bears the cartouche of Amenemhe I., the successor of Osirtasen I.—about -three thousand b. c., according to Mariette; Wilkinson and Mariette are -only one thousand years apart, on this date of this monument. The wasps -or bees have filled up the lettering on one side, and given it the -appearance of being plastered with mud. There was no place for us to sit -down and meditate, and having stood, surrounded by a swarm of the latest -children of the sun, and looked at the remains as long as etiquette -required, without a single historical tremor, we mounted and rode -joyfully city-ward between the lemon hedges. - -In this Spring-time, late in the afternoon, the fashionable drive out -the Shoobra road, under the arches of sycamore trees, is more thronged -than in winter even. Handsome carriages appear and now and then a pair -of blooded Arab horses. There are two lines of vehicles extending for a -mile or so, the one going out and the other returning, and the round -of the promenade continues long enough for everybody to see everybody. -Conspicuous always are the neat two-horse cabriolets, lined with gay -silks and belonging to the royal harem; outriders are in advance, and -eunuchs behind, and within each are two fair and painted Circassians, -shining in their thin white veils, looking from the windows, eager to -see the world, and not averse to be seen by it. The veil has become with -them, as it is in Constantinople, a mere pretext and a heightener of -beauty. We saw by chance one day some of these birds of paradise abroad -in the Shoobra Garden—and live to speak of it. - -The Shoobra palace and its harem, hidden by a high wall, were built -by Mohammed Ali; he also laid out the celebrated garden; and the -establishment was in his day no doubt the handsomest in the East. The -garden is still rich in rare trees, fruit-trees native and exotic, -shrubs, and flowers, but fallen into a too-common Oriental decay. -Instead of keeping up this fine place the Khedive builds a new one. -These Oriental despots erect costly and showy palaces, in a manner that -invites decay, and their successors build new ones, as people get new -suits of clothes instead of wearing the garments of their fathers. - -In the midst of the garden is a singular summer-palace, built upon -terraces and hidden by trees; but the great attraction is the immense -Kiosk, the most characteristic Oriental building I have seen, and a very -good specimen of the costly and yet cheap magnificence of the Orient. -It is a large square pavilion, the center of which is a little lake, but -large enough for boats, and it has an orchestral platform in the -middle; the verandah about this is supported on marble pillars and has a -highly-decorated ceiling; carvings in marble abound; and in the corners -are apartments decorated in the height of barbaric splendor. - -The pipes are still in place which conveyed gas to every corner -and outline of this bizarre edifice. I should like to have seen it -illuminated on a summer night when the air was heavy with the garden -perfumes. I should like to have seen it then thronged with the dark-eyed -girls of the North, in their fleecy splendors of drapery, sailing like -water-nymphs in these fairy boats, flashing their diamonds in the mirror -of this pool, dancing down the marble floor to the music of soft -drums and flutes that beat from the orchestral platform hidden by the -water-lilies. Such a vision is not permitted to an infidel. But on such -a night old Mohammed Ali might have been excused if he thought he was -already in El Genneh, in the company of the girls of Paradise, “whose -eyes will be very large and entirely black, and whose stature will be -proportioned to that of the men, which will be the height of a tall -palm-tree,” or about sixty feet and that he was entertained in “a tent -erected for him of pearls, jacinths, and emeralds, of a very large -extent.” - -While we were lounging in this place of melancholy gaiety, which in the -sunlight bears something the aspect of a tawdry watering-place when the -season is over, several harem carriages drove to the entrance: but the -eunuchs seeing that unbelievers were in the kiosk would not permit -the ladies to descend, and the cortege went on and disappeared in the -shrubbery. The attendants invited us to leave. While we were still -near the kiosk the carriages came round again, and the ladies began to -alight. The attendants in the garden were now quite beside themselves, -and endeavored to keep our eyes from beholding, and to hustle us down a -side-path. - -It was in vain that we said to them that we were not afraid, that we -were accustomed to see ladies walk in gardens, and that it couldn't -possibly harm us. They persisted in misunderstanding us, and piteously -begged us to turn away and flee. The ladies were already out of the -carriages, veils withdrawn, and beginning to enjoy rural life in the -garden. They seemed to have no more fear than we. The horses of the -out-riders were led down our path; superb animals, and we stopped to -admire them. The harem ladies, rather over-dressed for a promenade, were -in full attire of soft silks, blue and pink, in delicate shades, and -really made a pretty appearance amid the green. It seemed impossible -that it could be wrong to look at them. The attendants couldn't deny -that the horses were beautiful, but they regarded our admiration of them -as inopportune. They seemed to fear we might look under, or over, or -around the horses, towards that forbidden sight by the kiosk. It was -useless for us to enquire the age and the breed of the horses. Our -efforts to gain information only added to the agony of the gardeners. -They wrung their hands, they tried to face us about, they ran hither and -thither, and it was not till we were out of sight of the odalisques that -they recovered any calmness and began to cull flowers for us, and to -produce some Yusef Effendis, as a sign of amity and willingness to -accept a few piastres. - -The last day of March has come. It is time to depart. Even the harem -will soon be going out of town. We have remained in the city long enough -to imbibe its atmosphere; not long enough to wear out its strangeness, -nor to become familiar with all objects of interest. And we pack our -trunks with reluctance, in the belief that we are leaving the most -thoroughly Oriental and interesting city in all the East. - - - -0469 - - - -0470 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI.—BY THE RED SEA. - -A GENTLEMAN started from Cairo a few days before us, with the avowed -purpose of following in the track of the Children of Israel and viewing -the exact point where they crossed the Red Sea. I have no doubt that -he was successful. So many routes have been laid out for the Children -across the Isthmus, that one can scarcely fail to fall into one of them. -Our purpose was merely to see Suez and the famous Sea, and the great -canal of M. Lesseps; not doubting, however, that when we looked over the -ground we should decide where the Exodus must have taken place. - -The old direct railway to Suez is abandoned; the present route is by -Zagazeeg and Ismailia—a tedious journey, requiring a day. The ride -is wearisome, for the country is flat and presents nothing new to one -familiar with Egyptian landscapes. The first part of the journey is, -however, enlivened by the company of the canal of Fresh Water, and -by the bright verdure of the plain which the canal produces. And this -luxuriant vegetation continues until you come to the still unreclaimed -desert of the Land of Goshen. Now that water can be supplied it only -needs people to make this Land as fat as it was in the days of the -Israelites. - -Some twenty miles from Cairo we pass near the so-called Mound of the -Jew, believed to be the ruins of the city of Orion and the temple -built by the high priest Onias in the reign of Ptolemy Philometer and -Cleopatra, as described by Josephus. The temple was after the style of -that at Jerusalem. This Jewish settlement was made upon old Egyptian -ruins; in 1870 the remains of a splendid temple of the time of Rameses -II. were laid open. The special interest to Biblical scholars of this -Jewish colony here, which multiplied itself and spread over considerable -territory, is that its establishment fulfilled a prophesy of Isaiah -(xix, 19, etc.); and Onias urged this prophesy, in his letter to the -Ptolemy, asking permission to purge the remains of the heathen temple -in the name of Heliopolis and to erect there a temple to Almighty God. -Ptolemy and Cleopatra replied that they wondered Onias should desire to -build a temple in a place so unclean and so full of sacred animals, but -since Isaiah foretold it, he had leave to do so. We saw nothing of this -ancient and once flourishing seat of Jewish enterprise, save some sharp -mounds in the distance. - -Nor did we see more of the more famous city of Bubastis, where was the -temple to Pasht, the cat or lioness-headed deity (whom Herodotus called -Diana), the avenger of crimes. According to Herodotus, all the cats of -Egypt were embalmed and buried in Bubastis. This city was the residence -of the Pharaoh Sheshonk I. (the Shishak of the Bible) who sacked -Jerusalem, and it was at that time the capital of Egypt. It was from -here, on the Bubastic (or Pelusiac) branch of the Nile, that the ancient -canal was dug to connect with the Heroôpolite Gulf (now the Bitter -Lakes), the northernmost arm of the Red Sea at that date; and the city -was then, by that fresh-water canal, on the water-way between the Red -Sea and the Mediterranean. But before the Christian era the Red Sea had -retired to about its present limit (the Bitter Lakes being cut off from -it), and the Bubastic branch of the Nile was nearly dried up. Bubastis -and all this region are now fed by the canal which leaves the Nile -at Cairo and runs to Ismailia, and thence to Suez. It is a startling -thought that all this portion of the Delta, east, and south, and the -Isthmus depend for life upon the keeper of the gate of the canal at -Cairo. If we were to leave the train here and stumble about in the -mounds of Bubastis, we should find only fragments of walls, blocks of -granite, and a few sculptures. - -At the Zagazeeg station, where there is a junction with the Alexandria -and Cairo main line, we wait some time, and find very pleasant the -garden and the picturesque refreshment-house in which our minds are -suddenly diverted from ancient Egypt by a large display of East Indian -and Japanese curiosities on sale. - -From this we follow, substantially, the route of the canal, running by -villages and fertile districts, and again on the desert's edge. We -come upon no traces of the Israelites until we reach Masamah, which is -supposed to be the site of Rameses, one of the treasure-cities mentioned -in the Bible, and the probable starting-point of the Jews in their -flight. This is about the center of the Land of Goshen, and Rameses may -have been the chief city of the district. - -If I knew exactly the route the Israelites took, I should not dare to -disclose it; for this has become, I do not know why, a tender subject. -But it seems to me that if the Jews were assembled here from the Delta -for a start, a very natural way of exit would have been down the Wadee -to the head of the Heroopolite Gulf, the route of the present and the -ancient canal. And if it should be ascertained beyond a doubt that Sethi -I. built as well as planned such a canal, the argument of probability -would be greatly strengthened that Moses led his vast host along the -canal. Any dragoman to-day, desiring to cross the Isthmus and be beyond -pursuit as soon as possible, supposing the condition of the country now -as it was at the time of the Exodus, would strike for the shortest line. -And it is reasonable to suppose that Moses would lead his charge to -a point where the crossing of the sea, or one of its arms, was more -feasible than it is anywhere below Suez; unless we are to start with the -supposition that Moses expected a miracle, and led the Jews to a spot -where, apparently, escape for them was hopeless if the Egyptian pursued. -It is believed that at the time of the Exodus there was a communication -between the Red Sea and the Bitter Lakes—formerly called Heroopolite -Gulf—which it was the effort of many rulers to keep open by a canal. -Very anciently, it is evident, the Red Sea extended to and included -these lakes; and it is not improbable that, in the time of Moses, the -water was, by certain winds, forced up to the north into these lakes: -and again, that, crossings could easily be made, the wind being -favorable, at several points between what is now Suez and the head of -the Bitter Lakes. Many scholars make Cha-loof, about twelve miles above -Suez the point of passage. - -We only touch the outskirts of Ismailia in going on to Suez. Below, we -pass the extensive plantation and garden of the Khedive, in which he -has over fifty thousand young trees in a nursery. This spot would be -absolute desert but for the Nile-water let in upon it. All day our -astonishment has increased at the irrigation projects of the Viceroy, -and his herculean efforts to reclaim a vast land of desert; the -enlarging of the Sweet-Water Canal, and the gigantic experiments in -arboriculture and agriculture. - -We noticed that the Egyptian laborers at work with the wheelbarrows -(instead of the baskets formerly used by them) on the enlargement of -the canal, were under French contractors, for the most part. The men -are paid from a franc to a franc and a quarter per day; but they told -us that it was very difficult to get laborers, so many men being drafted -for the army. - -At dark we come in sight of the Bitter Lakes, through which the canal is -dredged; we can see vessels of various sorts and steamers moving across -them in one line; and we see nothing more until we reach Suez. The train -stops “at nowhere,” in the sand, outside the town. It is the only train -of the day, but there are neither carriages nor donkeys in waiting. -There is an air about the station of not caring whether anyone comes or -not. We walk a mile to the hotel, which stands close to the sea, -with nothing but a person's good sense to prevent his walking off the -platform into the water. In the night the water looked like the sand, -and it was only by accident that we did not step off into it; however, -it turned out to be only a couple of feet deep. - -The hotel, which I suppose is rather Indian than Egyptian, is built -round a pleasant court; corridors and latticed doors are suggestive -of hot nights; the servants and waiters are all Hindoos; we have come -suddenly in contact with another type of Oriental life. - -Coming down from Ismailia, a friend who was with us had no ticket. -It was a case beyond the conductor's experience; he utterly refused -backsheesh and he insisted on having a ticket. At last he accepted ten -francs and went away. Looking in the official guide we found that the -fare was nine francs and a quarter. The conductor, thinking he had -opened a guileless source of supply, soon returned and demanded two -francs more. My friend countermined him by asking the return of the -seventy-five centimes overpaid. An amusing pantomime ensued. At length -the conductor lowered his demand to one franc, and, not getting that, -he begged for backsheesh. I was sorry to have my high ideal of a -railway-conductor, formed in America, lowered in this manner. - -We are impatient above all things for a sight of the Red Sea. But in the -brilliant starlight, all that appears is smooth water and a soft picture -of vessels at anchor or aground looming up in the night. Suez, seen by -early daylight, is a scattered city of some ten thousand inhabitants, -too modern and too cheap in its buildings to be interesting. There is -only a little section of it, where we find native bazaars, twisting -streets, overhanging balconies, and latticed windows. It lies on a sand -peninsula, and the sand-drifts close all about it, ready to lick it up, -if the canal of fresh water should fail. - -The only elevation near is a large mound, which may be the site of the -fort of ancient Clysma, or Gholzim as it was afterwards called—the city -believed to be the predecessor of Suez. Upon this mound an American has -built, and presented to the Khedive, a sort of châlet of wood—the whole -transported from America ready-made, one of those white, painfully -unpicturesque things with two little gables at the end, for which our -country is justly distinguished. Cheap. But then it is of wood, and wood -is one of the dearest things in Egypt. I only hope the fashion of it may -not spread in this land of grace. - -It was a delightful morning, the wind west and fresh. From this hillock -we commanded one of the most interesting prospects in the world. We -looked over the whole desert-flat on which lies the little town, and -which is pierced by an arm of the Gulf that narrows into the Suez canal; -we looked upon two miles of curved causeway which runs down to the -docks and the anchoring place of the steam-vessels—there cluster the -dry-docks, the dredges, the canal-offices, and just beyond the shipping -lay; in the distance we saw the Red Sea, like a long lake, deep-green or -deep-blue, according to the light, and very sparkling; to the right was -the reddish limestone range called Gebel Attâka—a continuation of the -Mokattam; on the left there was a great sweep of desert, and far off—one -hundred and twenty miles as the crow flies—the broken Sinai range of -mountains, in which we tried to believe we could distinguish the sacred -peak itself. - -I asked an intelligent railway official, a Moslem, who acted as guide -that morning, “What is the local opinion as to the place where the -Children of Israel crossed over?” - -“The French,” he replied, “are trying to make it out that it was at -Chaloof, about twenty miles above here, where there is little water. -But we think it was at a point twenty miles below here; we must put it -there, or there wouldn't be any miracle. You see that point, away to the -right? That's the spot. There is a wady comes down the side.” - -“But where do the Christians think the crossing was?” - -“Oh, here at Suez; there, about at this end of Gebel Attâka.” The -Moslems' faith in the miraculous deliverance is disturbed by no -speculations. Instead of trying to explain the miracle by the use of -natural causes, and seeking for a crossing where the water might at one -time have been heaped and at another forced away by the winds, their -only care is to fix the passage where the miracle would be most -striking. - -After breakfast and preparations to visit Moses' Well, we rode down the -causeway to the made land where the docks are. The earth dumped here by -the dredging-machines (and which now forms solid building ground), is -full of a great variety of small sea-shells; the walls that enclose it -are of rocks conglomerate of shells. The ground all about gives evidence -of salt we found shallow pools evaporated so that a thick crust of -excellent salt had formed on the bottom and at the sides. The water in -them was of a decidedly rosy color, caused by some infusorial growth. -The name, Red Sea, however, has nothing to do with this appearance, I -believe. - -We looked at the pretty houses and gardens, the dry-dock and the shops, -and the world-famous dredges, without which the Suez Canal would very -likely never have been finished. These enormous machines have arms or -ducts, an iron spout of semi-elliptical form, two hundred and thirty -feet long, by means of which the dredger working in the center of the -channel could discharge its contents over the bank. One of them removed, -on an average, eighty thousand cubit yards of soil a month. A faint idea -may be had of this gigantic work by the amount of excavation here, done -by the dredgers, in one month,—two million seven hundred and sixty-three -thousand cubic yards. M. de Lesseps says that if this soil were “laid -out between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde, it would -cover the entire length and breadth of the Champs Elysées, a distance -equal to a mile and a quarter, and reach to the top of the trees on -either side.” - -At the pier our felucca met us and we embarked and sailed into the mouth -of the canal. The channel leading to it is not wide, and is buoyed at -short intervals. The mouth of the canal is about nine hundred feet wide -and twenty-seven deep, * and it is guarded on the east by a long stone -mole projected from the Asiatic shore. There is considerable ebb and -flow of the tide in this part of the canal and as far as the Bitter -Lakes, where it is nearly all lost in the expanse, being only slightly -felt at Lake Timsah, from which point there is a slight uniform current -to the Mediterranean. - -* Total length of Canal, 100 miles. Width of water-line, where banks are -low, 328 feet; in deep cuttings, 190; width at base, 2; depth, 26. - -From the canal entrance we saw great ships and steamboats in the -distance, across the desert, and apparently sailing in the desert; but -we did not follow them; we turned, and crossed to the Asiatic shore. -We had brought donkeys with us, and were soon mounted for a scrambling -gallop of an hour and a half, down the coast, over level and hard sand, -to Moses' Well. The air was delicious and the ride exhilarating. I tried -to get from our pleasant Arab guide, who had a habit of closing one eye, -what he thought of the place of the passage. - -“Where did the Children of Israel cross?” - -“Over dat mountain.” - -“Yes, but where did they cross the Sea?” - -“You know Moses?” - -“Yes, I know Moses. Where did he cross?” - -“Well,” closing his eye very tight, “him long time ago, not now. He -cross way down there, can't see him from here.” - -On the way we passed the white tents of the Quarantine Station, on -our right by the shore, where the caravan of Mecca pilgrims had been -detained. We hoped to see it: but it had just set out on its desert -march further inland. It was seen from Suez all day, straggling along -in detachments, and at night camped about two miles north of the town. -However, we found a dozen or two of the pilgrims, dirty, ragged, burned -by the sun, and hungry, lying outside the enclosure at the wells. - -The Wells of Moses (or Ain Moosa, “Moses' Well,” in the Arabic) are -distant a mile or more from the low shore, and our first warning of -nearness to them was the appearance of some palms in a sandy depression. -The attempt at vegetation is rather sickly, and the spot is but a -desolate one. It is the beginning of the route to Mount Sinai, however, -and is no doubt a very welcome sight to returning pilgrims. Contrast is -everything; it is contrast with its surroundings that has given Damascus -its renown. - -There are half a dozen of these wells, three of which are some fifteen -to twenty feet across, and are in size and appearance very respectable -frog-ponds. One of them is walled with masonry, evidently ancient, and -two shadoofs draw water from it for the garden, an enclosure of an acre, -fenced with palm-matting. It contains some palms and shrubs and a few -vegetables. Here also is a half-deserted house, that may once have been -a hotel and is now a miserable trattoria without beds. It is in charge -of an Arab who lives in a hut at the other side of the garden, with -his wife and a person who bore the unmistakable signs of being a -mother-in-law. The Arab made coffee for us, and furnished us a table, -on which we spread our luncheon under the verandah. He also gave us -Nile-water which had been brought from Suez in a cask on camel-back; -and his whole charge was only one bob (a shilling) each. I mention the -charge, because it is disenchanting in a spot of so much romance to pay -for your entertainment in “bobs.” - -We had come, upon what I may truly call a sentimental pilgrimage, on -account of Moses and the Children of Israel. If they crossed over from -Mount Attâka yonder, then this might be the very spot where Miriam sang -the song of triumph. If they crossed at Chaloof, twenty miles above, as -it is more probable they did, then this might be the Marah whose bitter -waters Moses sweetened for the time being; the Arabs have a tradition -that Moses brought up water here by striking the ground with his stick. -At all events, the name of Moses is forever attached to this oasis, and -it did not seem exactly right that the best well should be owned by an -Arab who makes it the means of accumulating bobs. One room of the house -was occupied by three Jews, traders, who establish themselves here -a part of the year in order to buy, from the Bedaween, turquoise and -antiquities which are found at Mount Sinai. I saw them sorting over a -peck of rough and inferior turquoise, which would speedily be forwarded -to Constantinople, Paris, and London. One of them sold me a small -intaglio, which was no doubt of old Greek workmanship, and which he -swore was picked up at Mount Sinai. There is nothing I long more to -know, sometimes, than the history of wandering coins and intaglios which -we see in the Orient. - -It is not easy to reckon the value of a tradition, nor of a traditional -spot like this in which all the world feels a certain proprietorship. It -seemed to us, however, that it would be worth while to own this famous -Asiatic well; and we asked the owner what he would take for it. He -offered to sell the ranche for one hundred and fifty guineas; this, -however, would not include the camel,—for that he wanted ten pounds -in addition; but it did include a young gazelle, two goats, a -brownish-yellow dog, and a cat the color of the sand. And it also -comprised, in the plantation, a few palms, some junipers, of the -Biblical sort, the acacia or “shittah” tree of the Bible, and, best of -all, the large shrub called the tamarisk, which exudes during two -months in the year a sweet gummy substance that was the “manna” of the -Israelites. - -Mother-in-law wore a veil, a string of silver-gilt imitation coins, -several large silver bracelets, and a necklace upon which was sewed a -string of small Arabic gold coins. As this person more than anyone else -there represented Miriam,—not being too young,—we persuaded her to sell -us some of the coins as mementoes of our visit. We could not determine, -as I said, whether this spot is associated with Miriam or whether it is -the Marah of bitter waters; consequently it was difficult to say what -our emotions should be. However, we decided to let them be expressed -by the inscription that a Frenchman had written on a wall of the house, -which reads:—Le cour me palpitait comme un amant qui revoit sa bien -aimée. - -There are three other wells enclosed, but unwalled, the largest of -which—and it has near it a sort of loggia or open shed where some dirty -pilgrims were reposing—is an unsightly pond full of a green growth of -algæ. In this enclosure, which contains two or three acres, are three -smaller wells, or natural springs, as they all are, and a considerable -thicket of palms and tamarisks. The larger well is the stronger in taste -and most bitter, containing more magnesia. The water in all is flat -and unpleasant, and not enlivened by carbonic acid gas, although we saw -bubbles coming to the surface constantly. If the spring we first visited -could be aerated, it would not be worse to drink than many waters that -are sought after. The donkeys liked it; but a donkey likes any thing. -About these feeble plantations the sand drifts from all directions, and -it would soon cover them but for the protecting fence. The way towards -Sinai winds through shifting sand-mounds, and is not inviting. - -The desert over which we return is dotted frequently with tufts of a -flat-leafed, pale-green plant, which seem to thrive without moisture; -and in the distance this vegetation presents an appearance of large -shrub growth, greatly relieving the barrenness of the sand-plain. We had -some fine effects of mirage, blue lakes and hazy banks, as of streams -afar off. When we reached an elevation that commanded a view of the -indistinct Sinai range, we asked the guide to point out to us the “rosy -peaks of Mount Sinai” which Murray sees from Suez when he is there. The -guide refused to believe that you can see a rosy peak one hundred -and twenty miles through the air, and confirmed the assertion of the -inhabitants of Suez that Mount Sinai cannot be seen from there. - -On our return we overtook a caravan of Bedaween returning from the holy -mount, armed with long rifles, spears, and huge swords, swinging along -on their dromedaries,—a Colt's revolver would put the whole lot of -braggarts to flight. One of them was a splendid specimen of manhood, and -we had a chance to study his graceful carriage, as he ran besides us all -the way; he had the traditional free air, a fine face and well-developed -limbs, and his picturesque dress of light-blue and buff, somewhat in -rags, added to his attractions. It is some solace to the traveler to -call these fellows beggars, since he is all the time conscious that -their natural grand manner contrasts so strongly with the uncouthness of -his more recent and western civilization. - -Coming back into Suez, from this journey to another continent, we -were stopped by two customs-officers, who insisted upon searching our -lunch-basket, to see if we were attempting to smuggle anything from -Asia. We told the guide to give the representative of his Highness, with -our compliments, a hard-boiled egg. - -Suez itself has not many attractions. But we are much impressed at the -hotel by the grave Hindoo waiters, who serve at table in a close-fitting -habit, like the present extremely narrow gown worn by ladies, and -ludicrous to our eyes accustomed to the flowing robes of the Arabs. -They wear also, while waiting, broad-brimmed, white, cork hats, slightly -turned up at the rim. It is like being waited on by serious genii. These -men also act as chambermaids. Their costume is Bengalee, and would not -be at all “style” in Bombay. - -Suez is reputed a healthful place, enjoying both sea and desert air, -free from malaria, and even in summer the heat is tempered. This is what -the natives say. The English landlady admits that it is very pleasant in -winter, but the summer is intensely hot, especially when the Khamseen, -or south wind, blows—always three days at a time—it is hardly endurable; -the thermometer stands at 110° to 1140 in the shaded halls of the hotel -round the court. It is unsafe for foreigners to stay here more than two -years at a time; they are certain to have a fever or some disease of the -liver. - -The town is very much depressed now, and has been ever since the opening -of the canal. The great railway business fell off at once, all freight -going by water. Hundreds of merchants, shippers and forwarders are -out of employment. We hear the Khedive much blamed for his part in the -canal, and people here believe that he regrets it. Egypt, they say, -is ruined by this loss of trade; Suez is killed; Alexandria is ruined -beyond reparation, business there is entirely stagnant. What a builder -and a destroyer of cities has been the fluctuation of the course of the -East India commerce! - - - -0481] \ [illustration: 0482 - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII.—“EASTWARD HO!” - -WE left Suez at eight in the morning by rail, and reached Ismailia in -four hours, the fare—to do justice to the conductor already named—being -fourteen francs. A part of the way the Bitter Lakes are visible, and -we can see where the canal channel is staked out through them. Next -we encountered the Fresh-Water Canal, and came in view of Lake Timsah, -through which the Suez canal also flows. This was no doubt once a -fresh-water lake, fed by water taken from the Nile at Bubastis. - -Ismailia is a surprise, no matter how much you have heard of it. True, -it has something the appearance of a rectangular streeted town dropped, -ready-made, at a railway station on a western prairie; but Ismailia -was dropped by people of good taste. In 1860 there was nothing here but -desert sand, not a drop of water, not a spear of vegetation. To-day -you walk into a pretty village, of three or four thousand inhabitants, -smiling with verdure. Trees grow along the walks; little gardens bloom -by every cottage. Fronting the quay Mohammed Ali, which extends along -the broad Fresh-Water Canal, are the best residences, and many of them -have better gardens than you can find elsewhere, with few exceptions, in -Egypt. - -The first house we were shown was that which had most interest for -us—the Swiss-like châlet of M. de Lesseps; a summerish, cheerful box, -furnished simply, but adorned with many Oriental curiosities. The garden -which surrounds it is rich in native and exotic plants, flowers and -fruits. On this quay are two or three barn-like, unfurnished palaces -built hastily and cheaply by the Khedive for the entertainment of -guests. The finest garden, however, and as interesting as any we saw -in the East, is that belonging to M. Pierre, who has charge of the -waterworks. In this garden can be found almost all varieties of European -and Egyptian flowers; strawberries were just ripening. We made inquiry -here, as we had done throughout Egypt, for the lotus, the favorite -flower of the old Egyptians, the sacred symbol, the mythic plant, the -feeding upon which lulls the conscience, destroys ambition, dulls the -memory of all unpleasant things, enervates the will, and soothes one in -a sensuous enjoyment of the day to which there is no tomorrow. It seems -to have disappeared from Egypt with the papyrus. - -The lotus of the poets I fear never existed, not even in Egypt. The -lotus represented so frequently in the sculptures, is a water-plant, -the Nymphaea lutea, and is I suppose the plant that was once common. The -poor used its bulb for food in times of scarcity. The Indian lotus, or -Nelumbium, is not seen in the sculptures, though Latin writers say it -existed in Egypt. It may have been this that had the lethean properties; -although the modern eaters and smokers of Indian hemp appear to be the -legitimate descendants of the lotus-eaters of the poets. However, the -lotus whose stalks and buds gave character to a distinct architectural -style, we enquired for in vain on the Nile. If it still grows there it -would scarcely be visible above water in the winter. But M. Pierre has -what he supposes to be the ancient lotus-plant; and his wife gave -us seeds of it in the seed-vessel—a large flat-topped funnel-shaped -receptacle, exactly the shape of the sprinkler of a watering-pot. -Perhaps this is the plant that Herodotus calls a lily like a rose, the -fruit of which is contained in a separate pod, that springs up from the -root in form very like a wasp's nest; in this are many berries fit to be -eaten. - -The garden adjoins the water-works, in which two powerful -pumping-engines raise the sweet water into a stand-pipe, and send it -forward in iron pipes fifty miles along the Suez Canal to Port Said, at -which port there is a reservoir that will hold three days' supply. This -stream of fresh water is the sole dependence of Port Said and all the -intervening country. - -We rode out over the desert on an excellent road, lined with sickly -acacias growing in the watered ditches, to station No 6 on the canal. -The way lies along Lake Timsah. Upon a considerable elevation, called -the Heights of El Guisr, is built a château for the Khedive; and from -this you get an extensive view of the desert, of Lake Timsah and the -Bitter Lakes. Below us was the deep cutting of the Canal. El Guisr is -the highest point in the Isthmus, an elevated plateau six miles across -and some sixty-five feet above the level of the sea. The famous gardens -that flourished here during the progress of the excavation have entirely -disappeared with the cessation of the water from Ismailia. While we were -there an East India bound steamboat moved slowly up the canal, creating, -of course, waves along the banks, but washing them very little, for the -speed is limited to five miles an hour. - -Although the back streets of Ismailia are crude and unpicturesque, the -whole effect of the town is pleasing; and it enjoys a climate that must -commend it to invalids. It is dry, free from dust, and even in summer -not too warm, for there is a breeze from the lakes by day, and the -nights are always cooled by the desert air. Sea-bathing can be enjoyed -there the year round. It ought to be a wholesome spot, for there is -nothing in sight around it but sand and salt-water. The invalid who -should go there would probably die shortly of ennui, but he would escape -the death expected from his disease. But Ismailia is well worth seeing. -The miracle wrought here by a slender stream of water from the distant -Nile, is worthy the consideration of those who have the solution of the -problem of making fertile our western sand-deserts. - -We ate at Suez and Ismailia what we had not tasted for several -months—excellent fish. The fish of the Nile are nearly as good as a -New-England sucker, grown in a muddy mill-pond. I saw fishermen angling -in the salt canal at Ismailia, and the fish are good the whole length -of it; they are of excellent quality even in the Bitter Lakes, which are -much salter than the Mediterranean—in fact the bottom of these lakes is -encrusted with salt. - -We took passage towards evening on the daily Egyptian pocket-boat for -Port Said—a puffing little cigar-box of a vessel, hardly fifty feet -long. The only accommodation for passengers was in the forward cabin, -which is about the size of an omnibus, and into it were crammed twenty -passengers, Greeks, Jews, Koorlanders, English clergymen, and American -travelers, and the surly Egyptian mail-agent, who occupied a great deal -of room, and insisted on having the windows closed. Some of us tried -perching on the scrap of a deck, hanging our legs over the side; but it -was bitterly cold and a strong wind drove us below. In the cabin the air -was utterly vile; and when we succeeded in opening the hatchway for a -moment, the draught chilled us to the bones. - -I do not mean to complain of all this; but I want it to appear -that sailing on the Suez Canal, especially at night, is not a -pleasure-excursion. It might be more endurable by day; but I do not -know. In the hours we had of daylight, I became excessively weary of -looking at the steep sand-slopes between which we sailed, and of hoping -that every turn would bring us to a spot where we could see over the -bank. - -At eight o'clock we stopped at Katanah for supper, and I climbed the -bank to see if I could obtain any information about the Children of -Israel. They are said to have crossed here. This is the highest point -of the low hills which separate Lake Menzaleh from the interior lakes. -Along this ridge is still the caravan-route between Egypt and Syria; -it has been, for ages unnumbered, the great highway of commerce and of -conquest. This way Thothmes III., the greatest of the Pharaohs and the -real Sesostris, led his legions into Asia; and this way Cambyses came to -repay the visit with interest. - -It was so dark that I could see little, but I had a historic sense of -all this stir and movement, of the passage of armies laden with spoils, -and of caravans from Nineveh and Damascus. And, although it was my first -visit to the place, it seemed strange to see here a restaurant, and -waiters hurrying about, and travelers snatching a hasty meal in the -night on this wind-blown sand-hill. And to feel that the stream of -travel is no more along this divide but across it! By the half-light I -could distinguish some Bedaween loitering about; their little caravan -had camped here, for they find it very convenient to draw water from the -iron pipes. - -It was quite dark when we presently sailed into Lake Menzaleh, and we -could see little. I only know that we held a straight course through it -for some thirty miles to Port Said. In the daytime you can see a dreary -expanse of morass and lake, a few little islands clad with tamarisks, -and flocks of aquatic birds floating in the water or drawn up on the -sand-spits in martial array—the white spoonbill, the scarlet flamingo, -the pink pelican. It was one o'clock in the morning when we saw the -Pharos of Port Said and sailed into the basin, amid many lights. - -Port Said was made out of nothing, and it is pretty good. A town of -eight to ten thousand inhabitants, with docks, quays, squares, streets, -shops, mosques, hospitals, public buildings; in front of our hotel is a -garden and public square; all this fed by the iron pipe and the pump at -Ismailia—without this there is no fresh water nearer than Damietta. It -is a shabby city, and just now has the over-done appearance of one of -our own western town inflations. But its history is a record of one of -the most astonishing achievements of any age. Before there could be any -town here it was necessary to build a standpoint for it with a dredging -machine. - -Along this coast from Damietta to the gulf of Pelusium, where once -emptied the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, is a narrow strip of sand, -separating the Mediterranean from Lake Menzaleh; a high sea often breaks -over it. It would have saved much in distance to have carried the canal -to the Pelusium gulf, but the Mediterranean is shallow there many miles -from shore. The spot on which Port Said now stands was selected for the -entrance of the canal, because it was here that the land can be best -approached—the Mediterranean having sufficient depth at only two miles -from the shore. Here therefore, the dredgers began to work. The lake -was dredged for interior basins; the strip of sand was cut through; the -outer harbor was dredged; and the dredgings made the land for the town. -Artificial stone was then manufactured on the spot, and of this the long -walls, running out into the sea and protecting the harbor, the quays, -and the lighthouses were built. We saw enormous blocks of this composite -of sand and hydraulic lime, which weigh twenty-five tons each. - -It is impossible not to respect a city built by such heroic labor as -this; but we saw enough of it in half a day. The shops are many, and the -signs are in many languages, Greek being most frequent. I was pleased to -read an honest one in English—“Blood-Letting and Tooth-picking.” I have -no doubt they all would take your blood. In the streets are vagabonds, -adventurers, merchants, travelers, of all nations; and yet you would -not call the streets picturesque. Everything is strangely modernized and -made uninteresting. There is, besides, no sense of permanence here. The -traders appear to occupy their shops as if they were booths for the day. -It is a place of transit; a spot of sand amid the waters. I have never -been in any locality that seemed to me so nearly nowhere. A spot for -an African bird to light on a moment on his way to Asia. But the world -flows through here. Here lie the great vessels in the Eastern trade; all -the Mediterranean steamers call here. - -The Erymanthe is taking in her last freight, and it is time for us to -go on board. Abd-el-Atti has arrived with the baggage from Cairo. He has -the air of one with an important errand. In the hotels, on the street, -in the steamer, his manner is that of one who precedes an imposing -embassy. He likes state. If he had been born under the Pharaohs he would -have been the bearer of the flabellum before the king; and he would have -carried it majestically, with perhaps a humorous twinkle in his eye for -some comrade by the way. Ahman Abdallah, the faithful, is with him. -He it was who made and brought us the early morning coffee -to-day,—recalling the peace of those days on the Nile which now are -in the dim past. It is ages ago since we were hunting in the ruins of -Abydus for the tomb of Osiris. It was in another life, that delicious -winter in Nubia, those weeks following weeks, free from care and from -all the restlessness of this driving age. - -“I shouldn't wonder if you were right, Abd-el-Atti, in not wanting to -start for Syria sooner. It was very cold on the boat last night.” - -“Not go in Syria before April; always find him bad. 'Member what I say -when it rain in Cairo?—'This go to be snow in Jerusalem.' It been snow -there last week, awful storm, nobody go on the road, travelers all stop, -not get anywhere. So I hunderstand.” - -“What is the prospect for landing at Jaffa tomorrow morning?” - -“Do' know, be sure. We hope for the better.” - -We get away beyond the breakwater, as the sun goes down. The wind -freshens, and short waves hector the long sea swell, Egypt lies low; it -is only a line; it fades from view. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's My Winter on the Nile, by Charles Dudley -Warner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY WINTER ON THE NILE *** - -***** This file should be named 52212-0.txt or 52212-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/1/52212/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the -Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be -renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and -trademark. 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