A KHATIBEH, OR MARRIAGE-BROKER.
"The broker does not confine herself very closely to the truth in dealing with either party. She will describe a girl of ordinary appearance as the greatest beauty in the world, and will represent an equally ordinary man as handsome, graceful, and well educated, with plenty of money which he is ready to throw at the feet of his bride. And all this when she does not know whether he has any money or not, and has never seen or heard of him till the day she was engaged to find a bride. It is the object of the broker to make a commission. Doctor Bronson says she is not unlike some brokers he has known in New York, and other cities of America.
"The girl must have awekeel, or deputy, to arrange a marriage for her, and to sign the contract. This office is filled by her father, if living, or by some masculine relative or guardian; and when the preliminaries have been arranged by the broker, the bridegroom goes with two or three friends to meet the wekeel and sign the contract.
"The first thing is to fix the amount of the dowry of the bride, and they spend a good deal of time haggling over it, just as they do in every transaction where money is concerned. The wekeel demands more than he expects to receive, and the bridegroom offers less than he expects to give. The amount varies according to the position and property of the parties; for those in fair circumstances it is usually a little over a hundred dollars. It is arranged that the money shall be paid to the bride's deputy when the marriage contract is signed, which is generally within a couple of days.
PREPARING FOR THE WEDDING.
"When the contract is finished and the money paid over, the day is fixed—generally a couple of weeks later—for bringing the bride to the bridegroom's house. The time is consumed in preparations for the wedding; the amount of the dowry, and generally a great deal more, is spent in furniture and clothing for the bride, and all these articles are her property, and cannot be taken from her if she is divorced. The bridegroom gives a dinner and party to his friends, and for two or three nights before the wedding the street where he lives is hung with lanterns, and otherwise decorated, so that everybody may know that a wedding is about to take place.
A MARRIAGE PROCESSION AT NIGHT.
"The bride goes to the bath in the procession I have described in the first part of this letter, and afterward she is taken to the house which is to be her home. This procession is in the night, and therefore it carriesa good many torches, and sometimes the effect is very pretty. Meantime the man is at the mosque saying his prayers, and when he comes home he finds his bride there with her friends.
UNVEILING THE BRIDE.
"She is still closely veiled, and in nine cases out of ten the two have never met. After a feast, which he has ordered before going to the mosque, he is permitted to raise her veil, and has an opportunity to look for the first time on the features of his wife. No matter how much either of them may be disappointed in the appearance of the other, they are expected to smile and seem happy.
"In some parts of the East the bridegroom comes to the house accompanied by torches and music, and with a small boy walking at his side dressed like himself, and instructed to imitate all his motions. He carries a folded handkerchief held close to his face, and the boy does the same; a little behind them is a girl mounted on a horse, and dressed like the bride, and attended by two men who are supposed to be her guards. When this procession approaches the house, the friends of the bride light their lamps and go out a short distance to meet the procession. It is probably from this custom that we have the passage of Scripture which says, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.'"
While Frank was busy with his account of the wedding-party, Fred was occupied with another and sadder procession he had seen the same day. While walking in the Mooskee he met a funeral-party on its way to the cemetery, near the Tombs of the Caliphs, and his curiosity led him to ascertain some particulars concerning funerals in the East.
BLIND MUSICIANS AMONG THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
"The procession that I saw," said Fred, "was led by half a dozen blind men, who walked slowly two and two together, and chanted the Moslem confession of faith—'There is no god but God, and Mohammed is the apostle of God!' Behind them came several men who were relatives of the deceased, and then there was an open space of three or four yards. Beyond the open space were four boys in pairs; the front pair carried a copy of the Koran on a small frame or desk, covered with an embroidered handkerchief, and the second pair had their hands empty.
"Then came the coffin on a bier, supported on the shoulders of four men, and covered with a red shawl; the bearers were changed every few minutes, and those who were relieved took their places in the group behind the blind men. Behind the bier were several women, who frequently shrieked as if in great grief. I was told that some of them were the family of the dead man, and the rest were mourners who had been hired, according to the custom of the country. From long practice in their profession they were able to shriek louder than the real mourners.
"The funeral of a rich man is sometimes preceded by three or four camels laden with provisions that are to be given at the tomb to any poor people who may ask for them. Then there will be a good many people in the procession, including men who have been invited to the funeral, and members of several religious sects, each delegation being not less than four. Sometimes the flags of some of the orders of dervishes will be carried in the procession, and the line is closed by servants leading two or three horses.
"The party generally stops at a mosque, where prayers are said, and the first chapter of the Koran is repeated by a priest, and then it moves on to the cemetery. The ceremony at the tomb is very brief, and consists of a few prayers and the wailing of the hired mourners. The blind men and boys who have accompanied the procession receive their pay as soon as the body is laid in the ground, and then the funeral is supposed to be ended."
Having explored Cairo and its neighborhood to their satisfaction, our friends turned their attention to the Nile. They wished to make a voyage up the mysterious river as far as the first cataract. The time at their disposal did not permit them to plan a more extended journey.
They found on investigation that there were two ways of ascending the Nile, and each had its advantages and disadvantages.
VIEW ON THE NILE NEAR CAIRO.
The old way of making the journey is by sailing-boat, or dahabeeah. The more modern system is by steamboat, and before many years it will be possible to go by rail along the banks of the river to the first cataract, and ultimately to Khartoum and Gondokaro, if the present scheme of railways in Egypt is carried out.
ANCIENT BOAT ON THE NILE.
The most comfortable form of travel on the Nile is by dahabeeah, but it is also the most expensive, and requires more time than the steamboat.From Cairo to the first cataract and back will require from six to eight weeks by dahabeeah, and if the journey is prolonged to the second cataract, two or three weeks must be added. Three weeks will cover the round trip to the first cataract and back by steamboat, and five weeks will include the second cataract.
For the steamboat trip you have no trouble except to buy your ticket, go on board at the appointed day and hour, and submit patiently to the various impositions devised by the contractors who manage the business. The movements of the boat are carefully arranged beforehand, and the time for visiting the various temples, tombs, and other interesting things on the journey, is all on the schedule of the dragoman or conductor. Travellers of various nationalities are herded together, and must move at the beck and call of the conductor. There is a printed programme of the places to be visited and the hours for visiting them, and if no accident happens you can count on being back in Cairo in twenty days and four hours from the time of starting.
A facetious traveller, who made the Nile journey by steamboat, says that the conductor of his party had a private programme on which was marked the time to be devoted to sentiment as well as to sight-seeing. As they approached the great hall of the Temple of Karnak the conductor glanced at his programme and said,
"Gentlemen, prepare for sublime emotion!"
Of course due preparations were made, and when the grandeur of the hall was visible they gave utterance to the regulation number of "ohs!" and "ahs!" When these were ended, and silence came again, the guide looked at his watch and called out,
"Five minutes for sublime emotion!"
When time was up they moved on. At another place they had "five minutes for musing on the decayed glories of ancient Egypt," and atanother they were requested to "think of the havoc that the centuries have wrought."
In travelling by dahabeeah you charter the boat, and make up your own party. In a general way you are your own master, and can say where, and for how long, you will stop. During the winter the wind blows pretty steadily from north to south, so that you sail up the Nile with the breeze in your favor. On the return the great sail is lowered, and the crew row the boat with the current. Their rowing is just enough to give steerage-way, and the flowing river brings you safely back to Cairo.
The steamboat fare to the first cataract and back is £50 ($250), and to the second cataract £80 ($400). This includes meals, guides, donkeys, and some of the fees for seeing temples and tombs, but does not include saddles for riding the aforesaid donkeys, nor does it embrace the use of a chair for the deck of the boat. There are constant demands for backsheesh for various things, and the passengers are expected to make up a liberal purse at the end of the voyage for distribution among the officers, crew, and servants. About £5 ($25) will be needed for these inevitable "extras."
The dahabeeah journey will usually cost $1500 for two persons to the first cataract and back, and $2000 for four persons; about $500 should be added in each case for the second cataract. For these figures you can get a large, well-fitted boat, and will be entitled to live with every possible comfort. Smaller and plainer boats may be had for less money, and the food supplied by the dragoman will be correspondingly less luxurious. Prices vary according to the season, and the number of travellers desiring to make the journey, and it sometimes happens that a good boat may be had for less than the figures named above.
The dahabeeah journey can be made by time or by the course; either way is not altogether satisfactory, and a traveller who has made it by one method generally advises his friends to try the other. If you go by time, the dragoman manages to delay you as much as he can, and will invent unheard-of excuses for stopping the boat; if you go by the course, he hurries you along altogether too rapidly, and you often find that you have sailed by a place you specially desired to visit. All things considered, the best plan is to charter the boat by the course, with a stipulation for a certain number of days for stoppages at the interesting points. From fourteen to twenty days are the ordinary stipulations for stoppages, and the whole journey can be made from Cairo to the first cataract and back in about fifty days. [For forms of contract see Murray's "Hand-book for Egypt."]
A dahabeeah journey would have made our friends too late for their contemplated trip to Palestine and Syria, and so they decided to go by steamboat.
They left Boulak one pleasant afternoon a few minutes past three o'clock, and steamed slowly up the river. The boys sat beneath the awning that covered the deck and watched the gray walls of Cairo, the palaces and hovels, the gardens of the island of Rhoda, and the green fields that stretched out from the western bank till they met the glistening sands of the desert near the platform where the Pyramids of Gizeh rise toward the sky. On the other side of the river the Mokattam hills bounded the horizon, and marked the beginning of the Libyan Desert; the tufted palm-trees waved here and there, sometimes in clusters or groups, and at others standing solitary in the surrounding waste. On the land there were trains of stately camels, and on the water the boats of the natives ploughed slowly along, many of them laden till their gunwales were dangerously near the water. As the boat steamed onward, the Citadel of Cairo, with the slender minarets of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, faded away in the distance, the broad valley became more and more enclosed, the hills seemed to shut in upon the river, and when the sun went down the great pyramids were little more than specks on the horizon, and just visible through the palm-trees.
Having seen the Doctor and his young friends well under-way toward the South, we will rely for a while on the journal which was kept by Frank and Fred. After recording their departure from Cairo, and briefly describing the scenes on the river, the journal says:
A VILLAGE ON THE BANK OF THE RIVER.
"We were told that the steamers did not run at night on account of the liability to get on sand-bars, and the possibility of collisions with sailingboats. True to the promise, the boat came to anchor soon after sunset; or, rather, it was brought to the bank and made fast. We were just below a small village, and wanted to go to see it, but the guide said it was unsafe to venture there after dark, on account of the number of dogs prowling about. Egyptian dogs have a great antipathy to foreigners, as we have already learned, and are not to be carelessly approached.
"The Orientals regard the dog as an unclean beast, and do not keep him for a pet, as is the custom of Europe and America. Consequently, nearly all the dogs you see around an Eastern city are houseless and homeless, and a very ordinary set of curs they are. There are great numbers of them, and they manage to pick up a living by serving as scavengers, and by stealing whenever they have a chance. They do not disturb the natives, but have such a hatred for strangers that they are often dangerous; they have no terror for sticks and whips, and the only way to drive them is by pelting them with stones. In the daytime they rarely do more than bark and growl; but at night they are bolder, and as they can sneak up to you under cover of the darkness, you must look out for their teeth.
GENERAL VIEW OF AN EASTERN CITY.
"We were off by daybreak the next morning, and as there was a mist hanging over the river the scenery was of no special consequence. About eight o'clock we stopped at a village to get some milk; Fred and I followed the conductor, and were soon in a tangle of narrow lanes and mud huts that seemed a perfect labyrinth. The dogs barked, chickens cackled and flew to shelter, as if they knew that the advent of strangers was the signal for them to be killed, and two or three cows took fright at ourappearance and ran into the houses. We made a sensation, but evidently the natives were not pleased at our visit, to judge by their scowling faces.
"For several hours we steamed on in what is said to be a very uninteresting part of the river, and certainly one hour was very much like another. The villages had a family resemblance to each other—the banks were generally low and crumbling, and the barren hills were not agreeable resting-places for the eye. Donkeys, camels, and Arabs, succeeded by camels, Arabs, and donkeys, were the moving sights on shore, in contrast to the numerous boats that dotted the river. Sand-bars and islands relieved the monotony of the river, and there were occasional tufts of palm-trees fringing the bank or rising against the gray hills of the desert.
"Many of the boats on the river were dahabeeahs on their way southward with pleasure parties, and they are fitted up with great luxury, as we had a chance to observe. They usually carry the national flag of the party that charters them, and it is always a pleasure to us to see the Stars and Stripes floating over one of these boats.
"We stopped about noon to repair some slight damage to the machinery, and it happened that a large dahabeeah was tied up to the bank close to where the steamer was made fast. A gentleman came from her to the steamer; very soon we found he was a Mr. W——, an artist from New York, and, though he and Doctor Bronson had never met before, they had a good many mutual acquaintances. The result was we were invited to visit the dahabeeah, with the understanding that the steamer would give warning of her readiness to leave by blowing her whistle.
"The dahabeeah is built somewhat after the model of the ships of a century ago—that is, she is low forward, and has a high cabin aft. The forward part is appropriated to the crew, and the stern to the passengers, the sailors only going there for handling the sails or performing other work. The cabin is entered from the deck, and consisted, in this instance, of a saloon the whole width of the boat, with sofas on each side, and nicely fitted with chairs and mirrors. Beyond the saloon there were four single cabins; at the stern there was a larger cabin and a bath-room, besides a good-sized closet where linen and other things were kept. Between the saloon and the entrance there was a pantry on one side and a room for the dragoman on the other; the galley or kitchen was near the bow of the boat, and the provisions were stowed in the hold, or kept in the store-room at the stern.
A PLAGUE OF FLIES.
"We stayed a little while in the saloon and then went on deck, or to the roof of the cabin, which was covered with an awning. The air was cooler here than in the cabin, and, besides, the flies were not as abundant.Let us remark here that the worst annoyance of the Nile voyage is the number of flies that you have to fight; they are one of 'the plagues of Egypt' now, as they were in the time of Moses, and there is no way of being rid of them.
"Mr. W—— told us that when the wind was light the flies covered the boat and greatly annoyed them; but they had curtains for the saloon and the small rooms, and could protect their faces by means of nets drawn around their hats. The crew, at such times, wrapped their burnouses around their heads, or sat with switches in their hands to keep away the pests. Either mode of getting rid of the annoyance was uncomfortable;it was stifling hot with the head covered, and it required continual exertion to make the switch effective.
A KANGIA.
"Our new acquaintance called attention to a freight-boat that lay just beyond his dahabeeah, and to the general resemblance between the two. 'That boat,' said he, 'is called akangia, and is sometimes used for travelling purposes by the natives, and by tourists whose purses are limited. You see it has the shape and style of the dahabeeah, but is much smaller, and the cabin can only accommodate one or two persons without crowding. A friend of mine once made the Nile trip in a kangia, and said he had a good time; but he was young and vigorous, and spoke sufficient Arabic to get along without a dragoman. The kangia wouldn't do for persons liable to be incommoded by scanty fare and poor quarters, and I shouldn't recommend it.'
THE CAPTAIN.
"While he was telling us that his crew consisted of twelve men and a captain, besides the dragoman, two cabin servants, and a cook—that there were four of them in the party, two Americans and two Englishmen, and giving us other information—the whistle sounded, and we returned to the steamer. The wind freshened as we went on board, and the dahabeeah started close behind us, and came ploughing along in our rear. She could not sail as fast as we steamed, and in an hour or more we lost sight of her in a bend of the river.
"In the afternoon we passed a cliff on the east bank of the river, where there is a Coptic convent; its inmates are in the habit of visiting passing boats to beg for backsheesh, and as we approached the cliff we saw a dozen or more of their heads in the water. Four of them managed to get into the small boats that we towed astern, and they did it while we were going along at full speed.
"How do you suppose they managed it?
"They got out into the river as near as they could to where the steamer would pass without being liable to be struck by her wheels. As soon as the wheel was past them they swum with all their might directly toward the boat, and in this way several succeeded in grasping the skiffs and climbing into them. They do not swim like ourselves, with both hands together, but strike out hand-after-hand, or, to express it more plainly, 'dog-fashion.'
"These men were entirely without clothing, and when they received any money they put it in their mouths. We gave one of them so many copper coins that his cheeks were filled almost to bursting, and when he dived off the boat to go home with his load he appeared as though suffering from a bad case of inflamed jaw.
"The Doctor says the Copts are supposed to be the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and their features closely resemble those that we find pictured on the walls of the temples and tombs. The most of them are Christians, and they form about a sixteenth of the population of Egypt: their ancient language is used in the churches for reading prayers, just as the Catholics use Latin, and the Russians Sclavonic. In daily life they speak Arabic: they are better educated than the rest of the people, and are largely employed in shops and in the government offices, and frequently go into business for themselves on an extensive scale.
"The Copts were converted to Christianity very early in the history of that religion, but their doctrines were so mixed up with Eastern superstitions and practices that they were denounced by the Church in the sixth century. They have several convents that are supported by donations, and the occupants never omit an opportunity to beg. The men that climbed into our skiffs kept calling out 'backsheesh, howadji—ana Chritiana' (a present, gentlemen—I am a Christian), and these words seemed to be their whole stock in trade.
"We did not leave the region of pyramids behind us when we lost sight of Gizeh and Sakkara. We passed in sight of the Pyramid of Meidoon, which is older than the Pyramids of Gizeh, and disputes antiquity with those of Sakkara. The Arabs call it the False Pyramid, as it is built over a large rock, which forms a considerable part of its solid contents. There are tombs all around it, and many of them have been explored. Two statues were found there which belong to the third dynasty, and are wonderfully life-like in appearance. Quite recently the pyramid has been opened, and discoveries made that throw considerable light on the ancient history of the country. We have no time to visit Meidoon, and perhaps we shall have had enough of antiquities before our voyage on the Nile is ended.
A GOURD RAFT.
"We have seen boats of all sizes and shapes; some of them seem to be perfect reproductions of the craft used by the ancient Egyptians, and others are more modern. We saw a man fishing on what appeared to be a raft just large enough to hold him, and it seemed a wonder that his weight did not sink it. While we were looking at it, Doctor Bronson explained that it was supported by empty gourds beneath a flooring ofreeds, the gourds being kept from floating away by means of a slight net-work. Later on we had a chance to examine one of these frail structures, and make a sketch of it.
THE RAFT SEEN FROM BELOW.
"Beyond Meidoon we passed a good many sugar plantations, and saw the steam rising from the engines that drive the heavy machinery. On the banks of the river there were manyshadoofsandsakkiehsat work, and now and then we saw steam-pumps puffing away, to raise water for irrigating the fertile land. Many of the large cultivators find it economical to raise water by steam-power rather than by the old system of hand-labor, though the high price of coal makes steam-pumping very costly.
"We are told that no coal is found in Egypt, the entire supply needed for the railway and other modes of consumption being imported from England. The government has spent considerable money in looking for coal, but thus far has found only a few small beds, that will not pay for working. Perhaps they will find some one of these days, and thus save a heavy outlay of money every year for imported coal. Private parties have no inducement to search for this valuable mineral, as the government would immediately take possession of a coal-mine, and if the discoverer ventured to object, he might spend the rest of his life in prison for his impudence."
The first regular halt of the steamer was at Beni-sooef, where the passengers were allowed two hours by the printed schedule. Of course they went on shore at once, and devoted themselves to sight-seeing until recalled by the whistle. The town has a population of about five thousand, and is the capital of a province of the same name. Frank and Fred strolled through the bazaars, but were disappointed, as there was nothing to be found there which they had not already seen in the bazaars of Cairo. The trade of the place has diminished considerably, and Beni-sooef is of less importance to-day than it was three or four centuries ago.
At Minieh, the next halting-place, they had an opportunity to visit a sugar-mill, and eagerly embraced it. Minieh is the centre of the sugar culture in Egypt, and the first sugar-mill in the country was erected here and is still in operation. Of late years some very large mills have been built, employing hundreds of people, and during the height of the season they present a busy scene.
The mill visited by our friends was one of the largest. It was so constructed that, from the time the cane enters the crushers till the dry sugar is taken out, there is no lifting or handling of the material, except in a few instances. The machinery is all of French manufacture, and very expensive. A large amount of sugar is manufactured here every year; but there is no profit in the business, partly owing to the great cost of the mills, and partly, it is whispered, in consequence of the frauds of the managers.
VIEW ON A SUGAR PLANTATION.
The sugar culture is in the hands of the Khedive, and about two hundred and fifty thousand acres of land are devoted to it, chiefly on the west bank of the Nile between Cairo and Sioot. There are more mills than are really needed for the amount of sugar made, and there is a large quantity of machinery which has never been put up, but lies neglected and rusting on the banks of the river. There is a system of railways for bringing the cane to the mills, and connected with the line of railwayfrom Cairo up the Nile. The labor on the sugar estates is very poorly paid, and more frequently is not paid at all. The laborers are gathered from the villages along the river, and compelled to work three months on the sugar estates when they should be cultivating their own fields at home.
Frank and Fred could not understand this mode of conducting business till the Doctor explained it to them after their return to the steamer.
"You observed," said the Doctor, "that the laborers included both sexes, and all ages from five years old to fifty or sixty."
"Yes," answered one of the youths; "and I saw that they did not take much interest in their work, and appeared to be half starved."
"You will not be surprised at it," replied Doctor Bronson, "when I tell you they are never paid in money, with the exception of the chiefs of gangs, and the men in charge of the machinery.
"They receive a daily allowance of bread; it is not such bread as we are accustomed to, but simply coarsely ground wheat flour, containing a liberal proportion of mud and chopped straw, and very carelessly baked. With so bad a quality you might suppose the quantity would be abundant, but it is not; a laborer can devour his day's allowance at a single meal, and frequently it is not enough to satisfy his hunger."
"But is that all they get?" one of the boys asked.
"That is frequently all they get," was the reply. "True, they are promised something more, but they do not often receive it.
"According to an official report on the subject," the Doctor continued, "the wages of hands in the factories are fixed at fifteen cents a day for a man, and eight cents for a boy, while those of the field hands are eight cents for a man, and five for a boy. And when they are paid at all it is invariably inkind—that is, in grain, sugar, or molasses, at a high price—and not in money. It is difficult for them to sell these articles, and the best they can do is to eat them, or perhaps barter them off for something more desirable. Not one laborer in twenty has anything to show for his work on the sugar estates or in the factories except his thin cheeks, and the bones half protruding from his skin."
"It is no wonder," said Fred, "that they begged so hard for backsheesh, and that they seemed, unlike the Arabs of Cairo, to be very grateful when we gave them some small coins."
Frank thought it very strange that the sugar culture in Egypt should be unprofitable when the labor cost next to nothing. The Doctor answered that it would undoubtedly pay handsomely whenever it was honestly and economically managed, but from present indications there was no prospect of a change for the better.
INTERIOR OF A SUGAR-MILL.
After visiting the sugar-mill our friends went to the market-square of Minieh, where a juggler was amusing a crowd of natives with his tricks. His performances were not remarkable for any particular skill, but they served to entertain the people, though he did not succeed in drawingmuch money from them. After pretending to swallow knives, coins, and other inconvenient and indigestible things, he drew some snakes from a basket and twined them around his neck.
Everybody was inclined to stand at a respectful distance during this part of the show. Whenever the juggler wished to enlarge the circle of spectators, he put the snake on the ground, and the crowd immediately fell back without being invited to do so. The snake was a huge fellow, seven or eight feet long, and perfectly black. The Doctor said he was not dangerous, so far as his bite was concerned, as he belonged to the family of constrictors, and killed his prey by tightening his coils around it.
A SECURE POINT OF VIEW.
Doctor Bronson farther explained to the youths that the snake-charmers of Egypt are a peculiar class. They give exhibitions in the streets in front of houses, and when they do so the favorite place for seeing the show is an upper window or balcony, as in that case the spectator is out of the reach of any possible harm. There are several snakes in Egypt, but only two or three of them are poisonous. Thecobra di capella, the famous hooded snake of India, is often carried about by the performers; but he is imported from the land of his nativity, and does not belong to the Valley of the Nile. Before he is used for show purposes he is deprived of his fangs, and is therefore harmless, but it is not a pleasing sight to see him strike as though he meant serious business.
The Egyptian snake-charmers have a way of making a living by going to houses, and pretending to discover that snakes are concealed about thewalls. They offer to remove them for a stipulated sum, and their proposal is generally accepted. Then they begin a sort of incantation, calling upon the snake to come forth, and threatening him with death if he does not. In a little while the snake falls from the ceiling or from a crack in the wall, and is picked up by the performer and exhibited to the family as proof of his skill, and that he has earned his money.
"Of course it is strongly suspected," the Doctor continued, "that the charmer secretly liberates the snake, or hires a confederate to do so, in order that he may obtain pay for catching him. This is undoubtedly the case in many instances, as the performer generally operates in a room where there is little light, and nobody is inclined to come near him for fear of being bitten. But not infrequently he has to perform in an open court-yard where there are many spectators, and sometimes he is taken suddenly to a house, and carefully examined before he begins operations. His trick, if it be one, has never been discovered, and the Egyptian snake-charmer may be considered, on the whole, quite as skilful as his fellow-craftsman in India."
One of the most deadly serpents of Egypt is the asp, which was made famous centuries ago by Cleopatra. There is another poisonous snake called thenaya; it is of a greenish-brown color, and has a hood that expands like that of the Indian cobra when the snake is enraged. Some authorities suppose that the serpent with which Cleopatra killed herself, after the death of Marc Antony, is none other than the naya. This is the snake which appears so often among the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and it was worshipped as the representative of one of the divinities in the days of the Pharaohs. A person who is bitten by a naya generally dies in a few minutes, and thus far no antidote has been discovered for its poison.
Sight-seeing among the temples and tombs of Upper Egypt began at Beni-Hassan, about fifteen miles above Minieh. The boat touched at the landing-place, and the natives came down in dozens, bringing their donkeys for the tourists to ride to the tombs, three miles away. The natives had a most villainous appearance, and the donkeys, while no doubt more honest than their owners, were, if possible, less respectable, so far as looks were concerned. The people at Beni-Hassan have long had a bad reputation, and they were so notorious for their thievery during the reign of Ibrahim Pacha that he sent a military force to destroy their village and scatter its occupants. The village has been rebuilt, and the people have assembled again, but neither has improved by the severe lesson given by the son of Mohammed Ali.
Frank and Fred selected two of the donkeys, and their saddles werebrought out and placed on the beasts. The Doctor likewise obtained a donkey; but he afterward said that the most agreeable way of riding the animal was to walk by his side. His donkey had a habit of sitting down suddenly, very much to the inconvenience of the rider, and no doubt induced by the weight of the latter. Frank had not gone a dozen yards before he was pitched over the head of his steed, to the great amusement of Fred. While the latter was laughing over the discomfiture of his cousin, he found himself stretched on the sand, and speedily concluded that the similarity of position left no farther reason for being amused. They remounted with greater caution; but it was observed that they had quite enough of saddle exercise on their way to the tombs, and concluded to walk back to the boat.
The rest of the party met with varied mishaps on their way to the tombs, but nobody was seriously hurt, and all were inclined to laugh over the incidents of the ride, particularly those that happened to others. It is a curious circumstance that it is much more ludicrous to see some one else pitched over the head of a donkey, and left sprawling in the sand, than to be pitched over and sprawled yourself. Of course we refer only to Egypt in commenting on this matter; but it has been said in America that the fun of a mishap or a practical joke is never as apparent to the victim of it as to his friends.
But the troubles of the ride were forgotten when the party reached the tombs which they went to see.
INTERIOR OF A TOMB AT BENI-HASSAN.
The tombs of Beni-Hassan are hewn in the solid rock, some in a cliff overlooking the Nile, and others in a valley running back from the river. The rock is a soft limestone, which is very easy to quarry, and some geologists think it was even softer five thousand years ago than at present. A great deal of labor was devoted to it, and the inscriptions on the walls are so numerous that very little space is left uncovered. Some of the tombs are entered through door-ways on a level with the floor, and others can only be reached by means of ladders.
SECTION OF A TOMB.
The tombs are cut with pillars and vaulted roofs, in imitation of buildings; they belong to the eleventh and twelfth dynasties of ancient Egypt, and are therefore older than the tombs and temples of Thebes, but more modern than the Pyramids of Sakkara and Gizeh. They were made for the resting-places of kings and priests, but were rifled of their contents centuries ago; their chief value at present is in the sculptures, which represent many of the trades and occupations of the ancient Egyptians, and thus throw a vivid light on their daily life.
Frank wrote the following in his note-book on his return to the steamer:
"We have been able to see to-day how the ancient Egyptians lived, and what they did; and it seems as if I have only to close my eyes and imagine myself carried back five thousand years. There are barbers at work on their customers, and closely reminding us of the barbers of to-day; there are shoemakers cutting the leather, and preparing the thread for stitching shoes and sandals together; and there are spinners and weavers at work, the former using the spindle just as it is now used in nearly all countries, and will probably be used as long as the world stands.
SPINNING AND WEAVING.
"There are glass-blowers and jewellers employed at their trades, bothusing the familiar blow-pipe, and evidently understanding it as perfectly as one could wish. Painters are busy with their brushes, some making pictures on panels or on sheets of papyrus, and others engaged in coloring statues or decorating walls. There are tailors and carpenters, boat-builders and stone-cutters, and there is a series of pictures representing the whole process of preparing flax, and making it into twine and cloth. One man brings water to fill a tank, in which other men are placing the flax; beyond the tank two men are beating the flax after it has been properly soaked; others are twisting the fibres into yarn; others make the yarn into ropes or cloth; and, lastly, two men hold up a piece of cloth that has just been finished. No description in words could be more clear than is this pictorial representation.
ARTISTS AT WORK.
"But industry is not the only thing seen on the walls of the tombs of Beni-Hassan. Musicians are playing on instruments of different kinds. Men and women are dancing or singing, others are seated at table or around fish-ponds, and others are playing ball, throwing heavy stones, or engaged at games similar to our chess or backgammon. They knew how to enjoy themselves fifty centuries ago no less than now. There are unpleasant things, too, depicted on the walls of the tombs:some of the tortures of prisoners are shown, and in one of the paintings several peasants are being held on the ground while a man strikes them across the shoulders with a heavy whip.
FISHING SCENE AT BENI-HASSAN.
"In one of the tombs there is a picture representing the arrival of some strangers, and their presentation to the King. This was long thought to be the arrival of Joseph and his brethren; but as the tombs are known to have been made several hundred years before Joseph was born, the pictures must refer to somebody else. There are thirty-seven figures in all in this group, and their faces and style of dress show that they came from some other country than Egypt.