STILL UP THE NILE.
It was some little time before we could expect the next part of our
travellers' journal.
Hugh very much wished to go to the citadel again. Lucy wanted to pay
another visit to the gardens at Shoubra. We gave an afternoon to each,
and almost every morning we went to the Mission Schools; either to the
girls' school or to the ragged school. The more we saw, the more we
admired the energy and self-denial of Mr. and Mrs. Lieder, and the more
zealous and anxious we grew to do what little we could to help in the
great work of making known the love of Jesus Christ and the salvation he
has bought for us with his blood. Those who have the love of Christ
really in their hearts must always long to make others love him too.
Day by day went on and we began to watch anxiously for some more news.
The gentleman who had brought the first part of the journal told us that
he knew there was another dahabieh which was not very far behind him. He
had passed it, not having time to stop and see all that its travellers
were stopping to see.
At last this dahabieh arrived, and we had a large packet. Lucy had leave
to open it. She and Hugh danced about in delight for the first few
minutes. Their father was one of the party who had gone, which made the
joy of news the greater.
The first great excitement of the arrival was soon over, and we all
clustered together eagerly to hear the contents of the large letter.
JOURNAL ON THE NILE.
We finished our last letter just after we arrived at Benisooef. It is a
large town, and was once famous for its manufacture of linen.
We started the next morning with a fair wind. We passed Isment; and near
it, the quarries from which the beautifully veined marble was obtained
of which the mosque of Mohammed Ali at Cairo was built.
But what delighted us most was the high table-mountain, Sheikh Embarak.
This giant seemed standing to block our path. Its surface is broken; and
as we neared it, we saw one large cliff which looked like a ruined
castle. The Sheikh, like some other giants of olden times, is accustomed
to give travellers rather a rough welcome, and we came in for one of his
gusty greetings in a sudden gale of wind.
Tell Lucy that her father, who was lounging in a chair on castors,
suddenly found his chair running away from him, and he narrowly escaped
a ducking in the Nile. And tell both Hugh and Lucy that the dahabieh lay
over so suddenly that every one else was nearly following me, and that
if I had gone over into the Nile, I should only have been ready to
welcome the others who were coming after.
After this unwilling prostration to the Sheikh, we went on without any
further trouble.
A rock in the stream next attracted our attention. It is called the
Hagar o' Salam, or Rock of Welfare, because the boatmen say that they
cannot venture to call a voyage down the Nile prosperous until they have
passed it. We looked at it with interest. It seemed an emblem of our
Saviour Jesus Christ; for, till we have come to him, there can be no
safety for us in our voyage on the river of life.
Our journey was, after this, a little dull for a time. On both banks of
the Nile we saw the sites of various ancient towns; and at Khom Amer, or
"the Red Mound," there were some rough grottoes. We also saw the mounds
of the ancient Cynopolis, the "City of the Dogs."
The mountain chain of Gebel e' Tayr was more interesting. Some of the
mountains rise straight up from the water, and are enlivened with
palm-trees; and on the opposite banks we saw some fine acacias. The top
of Gebel e' Tayr is flat. On it stands a convent called Sitleh Mariam el
Adea, or "Our Lady Mary the Virgin." It is a Copt convent. But I am
afraid that religion has little effect there, for there seems to be more
begging than industry among the monks. As soon as they see a boat full
of travellers coming they hurry down the cliffs and swim out on inflated
water-skins to ask for charity. Our Arab boatmen were inclined to treat
them rather roughly, and we were heartily glad when we got beyond their
beat, for they were very noisy and clamorous in their petitions for
alms.
Gebel e' Tayr means "the mountain of the bird." There is a curious
legend belonging to it. It is said that all the birds in the country
assemble here every year. They choose one of their number who is to stay
on the mountain till the next year. Then all the rest fly away and leave
the poor solitary bird by himself till the next year, when a fresh one
is chosen to take his place.
We have now just arrived at Minieh, six days exactly since we left you
all at Boulak. We are going to dinner, and then on shore.
* * * * *
"I want to ask something before you go on, please," said Hugh. "Why was
that city called 'the City of the Dogs'?"
"Because the dog was then considered to be a particularly sacred animal.
One of the largest repositories of dog mummies is found on the opposite
bank. It was not unusual in Egypt for a city to bury its dead, as well
as its sacred animals, on the opposite shore of the Nile, especially if
a better place could be found there for making catacombs."
* * * * *
Minieh is a pretty and busy town. Near the landing-place we saw the tomb
of a sheikh, shaded over by a palm-tree, which is very picturesque. We
admired the houses too, with their trellised balconies overhanging the
river. And there are such queer little coffee-shops! Some are tents,
some only little huts made of reeds. We found the bazaar airy and some
of the buildings handsome. The country round Minieh is rich and
beautiful; it abounds in groves of palm-trees and in every kind of
fruit. We enjoyed our ramble exceedingly, and the two guns brought back
a fair share of wild fowl.
[Illustration: EASTERN BAZAAR.]
Our next stopping-place was Beni-Hassan; we arrived this morning, and
have been on shore all day.
The tombs of Beni-Hassan are open to the Nile, and are ornamented with
coloured figures or other devices, and are very old.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN LOOM.
_a b_. Rollers for carrying and tightening the warp.
_c c c_. The warp
_d d_. Frame of the machine.
_e f_. Movable bars, for pressing the successive weft threads
together.
_g_. Roller for relieving the cloth when woven.
_h_. Hooked stick (used instead of a shuttle) to carry theweft
threads.]
We went first into the most northern tomb. In front of the entrance is a
portico, supported by pillars, which leads into a vaulted room: its roof
is supported by four large pillars. These pillars have been coloured to
imitate red granite, and so have the lower part of the walls. Above this
coloured part of the wall are long lines of figures; some employed in
outdoor work, some in indoor work, some in amusements. Some are fishing,
some are watering flax, some dancing, others wrestling.
[Illustration: FISHING.]
In one part there are men catching wild fowl in nets; in another part
there are women kneading or making bread; and others playing the harp.
On one part of the wall we saw a procession. As we had heard that this
procession represented the arrival of Joseph's brethren, we were very
much interested with it. The first figure is an Egyptian scribe, who is
giving an account of the arrival of the strangers to one of the chief
officers of the king, and the owner of the tomb. The next, also an
Egyptian, is ushering the strangers into his presence. Two of the
strangers are advancing, and bring with them presents, a goat and a
gazelle. Four men follow, carrying bows and clubs, and leading an ass,
which two children are riding on in panniers, accompanied by a boy and
four women. Last, are another ass, laden, and two men; one of these
holds a bow and club, and the other a lyre.
[Illustration: POTTERS.]
We saw another curious tomb, where there is a hunting scene, and the
name of each animal is written above it, in hieroglyphics. Below this
are birds, and their names are also written. There we saw a group of
women jumping and dancing; others playing at ball, throwing up three
balls one after another and catching them; men dancing on one leg and
performing other feats of skill.
[Illustration: IDOL PAINTERS.]
The occupations and trades of the ancient Egyptians are also shown.
There are goldsmiths, glass-blowers, painters, potters, workers in flax.
On one wall there are wrestlers in different attitudes; on another, some
unhappy people who are undergoing the bastinado. We were surprised, too,
to see that dwarfs and deformed people formed part of the trains of the
great men of Egypt in those days, just as they did in Rome in later
days.
In one of the tombs we saw a Greek alphabet on the wall; the letters
were transposed in different ways, apparently for the purpose of
teaching Greek.
We meant to have gone to see the Temple of Diana of the Egyptians, but
were all tired, and have left it till our return.
We have been obliged to have a strict watch kept over our boat to-day.
The villages of Beni-Hassan were destroyed by order of the pacha some
years ago, because the people were such great thieves. But this cure for
theft does not seem to have answered, for the villagers still have the
character of a love of pilfering.
We sat up rather late last night, helping each other with our journal
for your amusement. Just as we were putting by our pens and paper we
were startled by seeing a bright light. Mohammed appeared and told us
that a dahabieh was on fire, and that English travellers were on board.
We hurried on deck. The dahabieh was a mass of fire. Pillars of smoke
rose from it, and large tongues of flame darted from them and seemed to
lick down into the fire whatever came into their way. There was a great
buzz of voices on the shore, and the wild light cast a lurid glare on
the figures which were hurrying to and fro. A European figure rushed on
shore with something in his arms, then darted back and was lost in the
smoke. We did not wait to see more, but went on shore instantly.
There was no possibility of saving the dahabieh. But every one on board
was safe, and we brought the travellers to our dahabieh, where they are
now.
They prove to be Mr. and Miss Roper, father and daughter, a European
servant, and a negress girl, whom they call Rahaba. I never heard such
an outpouring of fervent thanksgiving as Mr. Roper offered up to God as
soon as they were all safely on board our boat. It reminded us of the
history of Jacob wrestling with the angel, "I will not let thee go
except thou bless me."
Rahaba has a sad expression of face, but her eyes brighten when Miss
Roper speaks to her.
Mr. and Miss Roper only arrived at Beni-Hassan that evening. There
seemed little chance of their being able to get on to Cairo, so we asked
them to be our guests and to return over their old ground with us.
We left Beni-Hassan the next morning, and saw crocodiles that day for
the first time. They were on a sandbank basking in the sun. One was very
large, the two others smaller. A salute from our guns was fired at them,
which made the smaller crocodiles rush into the water in a great hurry,
but the larger one treated us with cool contempt.
The first sight of Manfaloot was charming. A sudden bend of the river
brought us full in view of its minarets, which rise from a group of
mingled buildings and palm-trees.
[Illustration: HEAD OF CROCODILE.]
We have not landed since we left Beni-Hassan. Miss Roper has been making
a sketch of our reis and the crew. Rahaba looks on her sketch-book and
colour-box as some kind of magic possessions, and contrived to save them
from the fire in consequence.
Miss Roper took the sketch at sunset. The sky was flooded with gorgeous
tints, and their glow was reflected on our reis as he sat in his blue
robes and crimson turban, smoking his pipe. We shall reach Thebes
to-night, and shall go on shore early to-morrow to see some of the
interesting sights of which Mr. Roper has been telling us.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THEBES.]
Our boat was moored as near as possible to the village of Koorneh, or
Karnac, as it is often called. We went on shore early in the morning and
visited the small palace and temple of Koorneh, and then rode on for
about twenty minutes to the palace-temple of Rameses the Second. This is
one of the most interesting temples in the valley of the Nile. The
entrance leads into a court where are the ruins of the largest statue in
the world. It is made of granite from the quarries of Syene.
Mr. Roper told us that this was a statue of the king, seated on his
throne with his hands resting on his knees. Judging from the fragments
the foot must have been eleven feet long and about four feet ten inches
wide. The statue measured twelve feet ten inches from the shoulder to
the elbow, twenty-two feet four inches across the shoulders.
The throne and the legs are quite destroyed. The figure is broken at the
waist, and the upper part is thrown back on the ground. No one knows who
erected or who destroyed this giant statue. We gazed at the ruin with
astonishment, almost with awe.
In a beautiful court, with a double row of columns, we saw some
interesting sculpture. An enemy is flying from the Egyptians. The
complexions and features of the men are quite different from those of
the Egyptians. They are fleeing towards the river in chariots; some are
represented as drowning in the river, and others as entreating for
mercy. In the grand hall we saw another battle-scene.
The great hall leads into a room with eight columns, which support the
roof. On it are represented the Egyptian months, and on the wall are
sacred arks borne by priests. The side walls of the temple are
destroyed, so that the pillars are seen to great advantage.
[Illustration: GRAND HARP.]
We saw, too, the famous colossal statues; they are made of a hard stone,
marked with black and red oxide of iron. The northern statue is called
Salamet by the Arabs. It is the celebrated statue of Memnon, which was
said to utter a sound of melody every morning at sunrise, and a mournful
sound at sunset. The sides of the throne are ornamented with figures;
they represent the god Nilus winding up a pedestal, over which is the
name of the king who made them. The statues of his wife and mother are
attached to the throne. We then went to the Temple of Medeenet Haboo.
The early Christians had a settlement here, and they used one of the
deserted courts of the great temple for a church, hiding the idolatrous
sculptures with a coat of mud. But a time of persecution came. The
colony was invaded by Arabs, the Christians fled to the neighbourhood of
Esneh, and the village of Medeenet Haboo fell into ruins.
We passed the palace of Rameses the Third, and went into the temple. Two
fine pillars ornament the doorway which leads from the court into a
corridor before the second doorway. Over this doorway there is a
beautiful winged globe and serpent, the colouring of which still
remains.
This doorway leads into another corridor and afterwards into a small
court. We looked at this court with great interest, because Mr. Roper
told us that it was built by Tirhakeh, whose battles with Sennacherib we
read of in the Bible.
On the outside wall of the temple, King Rameses is represented in his
chariot, attended by fan-bearers and lions, and advancing with his army.
His enemies are defeated, and heaps of tongues are among the tokens of
his victory.
In another part, the king, while pursuing his enemy, is attacked by
lions. He kills two with his arrows, and is on the point of killing
another with his spear.