WE GO TO ALEXANDRIA.
[Illustration]
"And that is the last piece of journal we shall get, very likely," said
our reader, as he folded up the packet again.
"I hope not," said Lucy, "for I want to hear more about Rahaba."
"And I want to hear about the temples and the statues, and how they got
on past the first cataract."
But no more news could be expected for some time. So, to amuse
ourselves, we determined on paying a visit to Alexandria. The distance
is about one hundred and thirty miles, and the railway being already
opened, we went by train. The carriages had double roofs, as a
protection from the sun; the upper roof was raised about a foot above
the lower, on little iron pillars, so that a current of air could pass
between the two roofs.
[Illustration: BAGGAGE CAMEL.]
On leaving Cairo we could see the high road. Hugh and Lucy were much
amused with watching the strings of camels, tied one behind the other
with ropes, and laden with large bales of cotton. There were sometimes
as many as sixteen camels in one string; then we saw donkeys laden with
various things for sale, and numbers of people carrying goods of
different kinds. We saw a great many people, too, working in the fields.
The country is fertile, and we thought the villages very pretty, peeping
out from their groves of palm-trees.
As we came near Alexandria the country became more sandy and less
pretty.
"Alexander the Great built Alexandria, did he not?" said Hugh.
"Yes. And in old times it was very famous for its library."
"Oh, yes," said Hugh, "I remember that; it had a museum with a library
of I do not know how many volumes."
"Yes, and besides the museum library there was another library in a
splendid building called the 'Serapion.' The museum library was burnt
during the wars of Julius Caesar with the Alexandrians, and the
'Serapion' library was destroyed by the orders of the Caliph Omar."
"Why?" asked Hugh, in astonishment.
"The caliph said that if the writings in these books agreed with those
in the Koran they were useless, and that if they did not they were
mischievous; so in any case they would be better destroyed than kept."
"I think his reasoning was very foolish, though I suppose he meant it as
very wise."
"So do I. Two thousand of the volumes had belonged to the kings of
Pergamos, and had been given by Marc Antony to Cleopatra."
It was too late to see anything that evening, but we set off early the
next morning. We first visited the pacha's palace. It faces the harbour,
and has a fine view of it. We went through a small garden up a
staircase, and then, on the upper floor, came to the pacha's apartments;
these were very handsomely furnished. We saw beds with rich curtains of
cloth of gold and silver, and large divans which were very handsome. In
the dining-room the floor was of inlaid wood. The view from the balcony
was very fine; but one of the things which we admired most was a
beautiful table of Roman mosaic, representing all the most interesting
monuments in Rome.
After leaving the palace we went to see a garden belonging to the pacha.
The garden was pretty, and we very much enjoyed our drive along the
Mahmoudieh canal. We had some friends who lived in a villa not far off,
and we called on them. After lunch the lady asked if we had ever ridden
on a dromedary.
We had not, and Hugh and Lucy were specially anxious to try what it was
like. So the dromedary was ordered to come for us.
It looked very handsome with its saddle of crimson velvet, from which
splendid draperies of gold and silver stuff hung on all sides, with a
number of silken cords, loops, and tassels.
Most of us thought the motion very pleasant. But Lucy was a little
frightened, and said she felt as if she was going to tumble over the
dromedary's head. She would only go at a walk, which we thought a
disagreeable pace. Hugh thought the dromedary's trot delightful, and
wished he could always travel by dromedary, but Lucy thought a Cairo
donkey very much to be preferred.
[Illustration: DROMEDARY.]
Almost everything that we see in Egypt reminds us of something we read
of in the Bible. We seem to live among Bible pictures, which help us to
understand the Bible and the customs it speaks of.
We were pleasantly surprised the morning after this little visit to our
friends at the villa to receive another packet of journal from the
travellers. The last had been so long on the way that we scarcely
expected to hear again from them before their return.
We opened it eagerly, and were all excited to know how they had passed
at least the first cataract.
JOURNAL ON THE NILE.
We wrote last from Thebes, which place we left the next morning. We were
obliged to wait at Esneh for twenty-four hours for our sailors to bake
bread. In the evening we saw at least twenty crocodiles pass our boat.
We left Esneh with a fair wind, and stopped nowhere till we reached
Assouan. Here we had to make our arrangements for passing the first
cataract.
The management of our boat was given over to the reis of the cataract.
He provides men to help in taking us through the rapids. Whilst these
arrangements were being made, we had time to see all that was worth
seeing round Assouan.
There was a gay scene on the quay. Large boats which had been damaged
were undergoing repairs; others were being loaded and unloaded with
bales of cotton, which are sent from here across the desert to Sennaar.
Then there were the tents of the owners; groups of Nubian merchants in
white turbans; natives of Assouan seated on the ground, smoking their
chiboques; camels waiting for their loads; and donkeys which seemed as
strong and lively as our Cairo favourites. Of course there was a
terrible noise--shouting, screaming, quarrelling among the various
sellers of arms, ornaments, and other things.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF GREAT TEMPLE AT ESNEH.]
We hired donkeys and a good guide, and then set off to see the quarries
of Syene. From these quarries the obelisks were cut which adorned the
cities of Thebes, Memphis, and Heliopolis thousands of years ago. We
passed the ruins of a burying-ground belonging to an old Saracen town
which was desolated by the plague some hundreds of years ago, and very
gloomy these ruins looked.
On our way back we rode through the bazaar. There was nothing very gay
for sale, but the people interested us. We saw a great many Berbers, a
people quite unlike either the Arabs or the negroes. The Berbers live in
Lower Nubia, and are a wild, fine-looking race. The men wear but little
clothing; they all carry a small dagger, which is bound with a red
leather bracelet round the left arm, above the elbow. They also wear a
_fetish_, or charm, enclosed in a little red leather case. The women
uncover their faces, and wear nose rings of either brass or bone. They
also wear quantities of coloured bead necklaces and bracelets, brass
ear-rings and finger-rings; and whenever they can get them, they wear
gold or silver coins hanging on the foreheads. They tattoo their chins
and dye their under-lips blue, which looks very ugly.
To-day we crossed to the island of Elephanta. We went to the quarries,
visited groups of tombs of sheikhs and dervishes, and the mosque of
Amer. We had a delightful row round the island. Its groves of palms and
its granite rocks are picturesque. But we were disappointed to see no
flowers. The Nubian children offered us some pretty baskets for sale,
and some Egyptian agates. We are bringing some of them back with us:
amongst them a lovely little basket of palm leaves for Lucy.
We sailed towards the cataract with a stiff breeze. The scenery was wild
and beautiful. On the western side the sands of the Great Desert, yellow
as gold, came to the water's edge, with dark masses of rock rising from
them here and there. On the east, granite rocks rose one above the other
in strange forms.
With the help of about fifty Arabs, who shouted at the top of their
voices as they hauled us by a thick rope, we passed the first little
fall of the cataract. Then we passed a succession of rapids. It was an
exciting passage. Great masses of granite towered round our little boat;
sometimes we even struck against them, but not so as to do us any harm.
The groups of Nubians were picturesque. Miss Roper has sketches of some
of them swimming on palm logs.
At length we came to the grand fall. At first our boat seemed to grow
faint-hearted, and to make as though she would go back to Assouan. But
our cataract reis was prepared for this. He seemed to be everywhere at
once. He had thrown off his turban and looser clothes, and the activity
with which he darted from place to place was wonderful. One minute he
was in the boat, at another on shore pulling with the Arabs at the rope;
the next, he was mounted on a rock in the middle of the rapids shouting
to the Arabs and boatmen. Wherever there was danger, there was the reis
ready to ward it off. At last the boat was clear of the last projecting
rock; one long, strong pull from the men on shore, and she shot forward
like an arrow into the smooth water.
We anchored for the night at Mahatta, glad to be at peace from all the
screaming and yelling which made the chorus during our passage through
the rapids.
At Mahatta we had a touching scene.
Early in the morning a large boat laden with slaves came alongside of
us. Mohammed told us that they were to be landed here, and to march to
Assouan, to save the trouble of taking them down the cataract. At
Assouan they will be put on board a boat for Cairo. There must have been
at least fifty: men, women, children, and even little babies. About
half-a-dozen Egyptian soldiers had them in charge. Poor things! they
looked very miserable. Some were black and very ugly; some of a bronze
colour: these were not so ugly, and many of the women were very
graceful.
It made us very sad to see these poor creatures, who were bought and
sold like animals, without the knowledge of a Saviour and his love and
mercy to support them in their sorrows. We longed to speak to them of
Jesus Christ and his love; but, alas! they could not understand us, nor
we them. Rahaba was crouched on deck by Miss Roper's side, and her eyes
were flashing with eagerness.
We asked Mohammed if anything could be done for their comfort. He took
two men with him and brought back as many dates as they could carry for
us to divide among the poor captives. Miss Roper and I went up to a
group of women whom Rahaba had been watching. Rahaba attended her
mistress. All at once Rahaba seized a baby from its mother's arms,
kissed it, and fondled it. Then she and the young mother bent over it
together and clasped each other's hands tightly and kissed each other.
But there was no joy in their faces. Sad, silent tears trickled down
their cheeks. Rahaba said a few words in a low, choking tone to the
mother. Both looked pleased when Miss Roper took the baby in her arms.
Our eyes filled with tears, and as Miss Roper leant over the sleeping
child her tears too fell fast upon it. For a moment a gleam of hope
seemed to shine on the poor mother. She asked Rahaba if the white girl
was going to buy the baby. When she found that her baby could not stay
with Miss Roper the large tears gathered in her eyes again, and chased
each other down her cheeks.
Miss Roper, who understands a few words of Rahaba's language, pointed to
the sky, and told the mother that the great God loves little babies, and
that he cares for slaves and loves those who are good and obedient. The
poor girl folded her baby to her heart and shook her head sadly. The
news seemed to her too good to be true.
But Miss Roper tried again to make her believe it. All the rest of the
time till the pioneers were ordered to march on, Rahaba and her sister
negress crouched side by side in grief and despair. We could not comfort
them, but we prayed that God would in his mercy bring them to know and
love him and his Son Jesus Christ; and then they will be comforted for
every sorrow.
We rowed to Philae, the sacred island of the ancient Egyptians, in the
evening; but it was too late for us to stay amongst the ruins. Early the
following morning we left Mahatta. The weather was warm and pleasant,
and on the third day the scenery began to be lovely. On both sides the
banks of the river were fringed with castor-oil plants and prickly
mimosa; above these we saw plantations of dates and palms. The fruits of
these trees are the chief food of the Nubians.
We passed near the capital of Nubia without landing. It is a large town,
and the streets are wide and busy.
We still had the desert on our left, but it was partly hidden by the
broken hills fringed with acacias. The mountain Gebel Derr projects into
the river; and for nearly three hours we coasted under broken rocks
which rise straight up from the Nile.
[Illustration: RUINS OF COLONNADE AT PHILAE.]
After this we saw acacias on the left bank of the river, and on the
right groves of palm-trees. There were numbers of peasants to be seen;
some walking, some riding. The men wore long white dresses and turbans,
the women blue gowns.
The wind was fair, and we hastened on, passing some places where there
were interesting ruins without stopping, and at last anchored here at
Wadee Halfeh.
Miss Roper has been even more diligent than before in trying to teach
Rahaba, who has looked very sad ever since we left Mahatta. To-day Miss
Roper has been telling her the story of our Saviour's birth, and of his
being laid in a manger; and how he, the King of glory, came to suffer
and die for us sinners. Rahaba listens, but she shakes her head. She
tries to understand and learn anything that Miss Roper teaches her. But
it is only to please her mistress that she does this; and as yet she is
no nearer to being a Christian than when she was in her own country.
Directly after breakfast this morning we hired donkeys to take us to the
second cataract. All was still and silent as we rode over the loose,
shifting sand of the desert. Nothing living was to be seen. We passed
some skeletons of dromedaries which had been bleached by the sun and
wind. They made the silence and desolation seem the greater. After
riding for about an hour and a half we came to the first rocky islands.
About an hour more brought us to the Rock of Abousir.
[Illustration: PAPYRUS ON THE NILE.]
The view here was indeed grand. The second cataract covers a space of
about seven miles in length. The river bursts its way among numberless
rocky islets. Some of these are so small that they are hardly more than
large stones; some are rocks of considerable size; others are larger,
islands of rock and sand. Between them all the rapids rush headlong,
throwing up their foam on every side. There are trees on some of the
islands, and five of the largest at the northern extreme of the cataract
are inhabited. Far off to the south we saw what looked like a dark-blue
cloud, and were told that it was the mountains of Dongola. We wished
that we could have gone to them.
On the side next the cataract the Rock of Abousir is like a straight
wall. On the desert side it is a succession of crags. We found the names
of various celebrated travellers on these rocks, amongst others that of
Belzoni. We gazed at them with a thrill of interest, and lingered long
looking at the beautiful view and scanning the names of the travellers,
great and small, who had visited the rock. What would we not have given
at that moment to go farther and track the grand river to its source!
But it was impossible! We must turn back at this point and begin our
homeward journey down the Nile.
Wadee Halfeh, the highest point we reached on our journey up the Nile,
is very picturesque. The houses are built in groups, and most of them
are surrounded by palm-groves. They are of mud, but are generally larger
and cleaner than those of the Egyptian peasants. We went into one. Its
mistress had a double row of plaits round her forehead, oiled to an
extreme degree. The people are generally well dressed and appear
comfortable.
We left Wadee Halfeh at dawn, on our return down the river to Cairo, and
arrived at Aboo Simbel, or Ipsambul as it is sometimes called, in time
to see the temples before dusk. The sand-drifts of hundreds and hundreds
of years had once covered these temples, so much so that nothing could
be seen but the giant head of one statue. Burckhardt was the first
traveller who discovered them. In the year, 1817, Belzoni, in company
with Captain Irby and Captain Mangles, began to clear away the sand.
There are two temples. In the small temple are six giant statues, three
on each side of the door. On the walls are pictures. The temple was
dedicated to the goddess Athor, and her emblem was a sacred cow. Mr.
Roper told us that, in the inscriptions, the goddess is called "Lady of
Aboshek," Aboshek being the ancient name of Aboo Simbel.
The front of the large temple is adorned by four enormous statues. They
are seated on thrones. The heads of two are nearly perfect, and so is
the face of another. We were very much struck by them. On the arms there
is an oval bearing the name of the great Rameses. Over the entrance we
saw a large figure with a hawk's head. Mr. Roper told us that it is a
figure of the god Re. He pointed out to us the figure of Rameses
offering little images of Truth and Justice to the god.
Mohammed had provided torches for us that we might see the inner
chambers of the temple. The walls and ceilings were beautifully
ornamented with hieroglyphic figures.
These temples must have been very grand when in their beauty, for they
are grand even now in their decay. As we walked through them our
thoughts went back to the time when Egypt was in her glory, when princes
worshipped their gods in these gorgeous temples, and when priests clad
in splendid robes offered their sacrifices with all the pomp of grand
processions. All have passed away. The temples of the false gods have
fallen into ruin. The kings, and those who recorded their victories, are
all gone. The giant ruins which are left only serve to show how great
has been the decay.
Thus, "the fashion, of this world passeth away, and the glory of man is
as the flower of the grass; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever."
The throne of our great and glorious God is in heaven; in that holy
temple his faithful servants shall worship him through endless ages. It
knows no decay and no change.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.]
After passing through several places of interest without stopping,
because our time is getting short, we anchored last night at El Kab, and
this morning started to see the tombs. They are about twenty minutes'
ride from the spot where our boat is moored. In the larger grotto we saw
curious coloured pictures of the occupations of the ancient Egyptians.
In the first line the peasants are ploughing and sowing. There is a car
in the field, which is supposed to show that the master has come out to
overlook his workpeople.
There is an inscription in hieroglyphics which was translated by
Champollion thus:
"Work, oxen, work,
Bushels for you and bushels for your master."
In the second line, the peasants are reaping wheat and barley with a
sickle, and pulling the doora, a kind of corn, up by its roots.
In the third line they are carrying the crops, and oxen are also
treading out the ears of the wheat and barley. The doora was not trodden
out. It is represented as being bound in sheaves and carried to the
threshing-floor, where the grain was stripped from the stalks with a
pronged instrument.
The hieroglyphics are thus translated by Birch in his _Egyptian
Hieroglyphics_:
"Thrash ye for yourselves,
Thrash ye for yourselves, O oxen;
Thrash ye for yourselves,
Thrash ye for yourselves,
The straw which is yours,
The corn which is your master's."
There are also pictures of winnowing, measuring, and homing the grain.
Below are the asses, pigs, goats, cattle, belonging to the owner of the
tomb. They are brought to be numbered and a list made of them by his
scribes.
In another part there are other scenes. There is a boat with a chariot
on board. There are also men fishing, catching geese, and salting fish
and geese. There is also a party of guests.
Then in the last compartment is the funeral procession of the owner of
the tomb--the end of all things for him. This, with some religious
subjects, take up the remainder of the wall. We noticed that the
Egyptian boats were large and handsomely painted--large enough to take a
chariot and its two horses on board.
On the opposite side of the tomb the owner and his wife are seated, with
a pet monkey close to them, tied. They are entertaining a party of
guests, the men and women sitting separate; servants are handing round
refreshments, and musicians, with a double pipe and a harp, are amusing
the company.
These pictures of the home-life and manners of the early Egyptians have
interested us very much. I certainly prefer them to the battle scenes
and pictures of sacrifices to their gods.
Leaving El Kab, we next stopped at Esneh. Our sailors have been baking
bread here. They bring it from the oven and spread it on the roof of the
cabins, where the wind and sun dry it into a sort of biscuit.
We landed to see the temple. It is very perfect, and the pillars are of
great beauty. They are about fifty feet high, and are covered with
hieroglyphics. There are four rows of pillars, six in each row. On the
ceiling is a zodiac, and the walls are covered with sculpture.
The villa built here by Mohammed Ali is well worth a visit. It is on the
bank of the river below the town. A flight of stone steps leads up to a
terrace, which is shaded by acacias and other shrubs. The palace stands
in a garden; the entrance and chief rooms are large and high, and have
carved wooden roofs. The pacha's rooms are very comfortably furnished,
with carpets, divans, and every sort of luxury. We saw numbers of lemon,
orange, cypress, acacia, and palm-trees in the garden, and hedges of
Cape jessamine. Below the palace there is a delightful walk on the bank
of the Nile. Altogether it is a charming retreat.
We have now an opportunity of sending letters. They will be the last you
will have. For we shall delay nowhere on our way back after we have
again visited the temples at this place. You may expect us in two days
after this packet arrives.
* * * * *
"So they are really coming back," said Lucy; "I am so glad. I want very
much to see Rahaba."
Hugh, who was more taken up with sight-seeing at that moment, began to
make his calculations as to how much we should be able to see before the
Nile party reached Cairo.
We determined to lose no time, but to set off early in the morning to
see Pompey's Pillar, and such other sights as we could. The day after,
we must go back to Cairo to meet our friends.