CHAPTER XXVI.

IN EGYPT AND THE LOTUS LAND.

The voyage from Malta to Egypt was exceedingly unpleasant. A severe storm prevailed most of the time, rendering life anything but comfortable. Unlike the majority of military heroes, General Grant seems to take kindly to the waves, and to be as much at home on them as if he had been educated at Annapolis instead of West Point.

No storm, however severe, could deprive him of his cigar, or, to use a sea phrase, keep him below. In this respect he is very unlike Napoleon, who detested the sea, and whom the smell of tar invariably sickened. The English humorists never tired of twitting him on the fact, and the patriotic prints and cartoons at the time he was planning his celebrated invasion depict the conqueror of the continent in some exceedingly ludicrous positions.

The General and party stopped at Alexandria because they wanted a safe anchorage, though they had intended going direct to Cairo. He remained there three days. The Vandalia had hardly anchored when the Governor of the district, the Admiral and the General, Pachas and Beys, Consul-General Farman, Judges Barringer and Morgan, and resident missionaries, came on board, and were received by General Grant. The Governor, in the name of the Khedive, welcomed General Grant to Egypt, and offered him a palace in Cairo and a special steamer up the Nile. It is Oriental etiquette to return calls as soon as possible, and accordingly in the afternoon the General, accompanied

by his son, Commander Robeson, Chief Engineer Trilley, and Lieutenant Handy of the navy, landed in the official barge. As this was an official visit, the Vandalia manned the yards and fired twenty-one guns. These salutes were responded to by the Egyptian vessels. A guard of honor received the General at the palace, and the reception was after the manner of the Orientals.

We enter a spacious chamber and are seated on a cushioned seat or divan, according to rank. The Pacha offers the company cigarettes. Then compliments are exchanged, the Pacha saying how proud Egypt is to see the illustrious stranger, and the General answering that he anticipates great pleasure in visiting Egypt. The Pacha gives a signal, and servants enter bearing little porcelain cups about as large as an egg, in filigree cases. This is the beverage-coffee-or, as was the case with this special Pacha, a hot drink spiced with cinnamon. Then the conversation continues with judicious pauses, the Orientals being slow in speech and our General not apt to diffuse his opinions. In about five minutes we arise and file down stairs in slow, solemn fashion, servants and guards. saluting, and the visit is over.

General and Mrs. Grant dined with Vice-Consul Salvage, and in the evening attended a ball given in their honor. This was an exceedingly brilliant entertainment, and interesting in one respect especially, because it was here that the General met Henry M. Stanley, just fresh from the African wilderness. Stanley sat on the right of the General, and they had a long conversation upon African matters and the practical results of the work done by the intrepid explorer. The Consul-General proposed the health of General Grant, and Judge Barringer proposed that of Mrs. Grant, who was prevented by fatigu from attending. Then a toast was proposed in honor of Stanley, who made a grateful response, saying that it was one

of the proudest moments of his life to find himself seated by the guest of the evening. The entertainment at Mr. Salvage's at an end, the visitors returned on board the Vandalia. Sunday was spent quietly in a stroll about the town. Here the General and party left the Vandalia to visit Cairo and the Nile. Going by rail, they reached Cairo after a run of four hours. Here he was met by General Stone, the representative of the Khedive, and also General Loring, both Americans, and late of the Confederate States army. General Grant and General Stone were together at West Point, and were old friends. Their meeting was quite enthusiastic. The General asks General Loring to ride with him, while General Stone accompanies Mrs. Grant, and so they drive off to the Palace of Kassr el-Doussa-the palace placed at General Grant's disposal by the Khedive. Commander Robeson and Lieutenant Rush accept the General's invitation to reside in the palace while they are in Cairo, and the remainder of the party find homes in the hotei.

The General dined quietly with his family, and next day called on the Khedive. The hour fixed for the reception was eleven, and a few minutes before that hour the state carriages called at the palace. The General wore plain evening dress, and was accompanied by the following officers: Commander H. B. Robeson, commanding the Vandalia; Joseph Trilley, chief engineer; George H. Cooke, surgeon; Lieutenant E. T. Strong, Lieutenant J. W. Miller, Paymaster J. P. Loomis; G. W. Baird, engineer; H. L. Hoskinson, ensign; B. F. Walling and E. S. Hotchkin, midshipmen; E. R. Freeman, engineer. Jesse R. Grant and Consul-General Farman accompanied the General. They reached the palace shortly after eleven. There was a guard of honor, and the officers of the household were ranged on the stairs. The General entered, and was met by His Highness the Khedive at the foot of the