ber, beautifully ornamented with carvings, is a grey granite monolith in which was kept the sacred hawk.

At Gebel Silsileh are the quarries from which the ancient kings of Egypt procured the stones for erecting the mammoth structures at Luxor, Karnak, and Medeenet Haboo; and here where the river is very narrow, a chain was thrown across by an ancient king to arrest navigation.

The Temple of Kom Omboo, 18 miles further up, is fast going to decay and falling into the river. It comprises two temples, one dedicated to Light and the other to Darkness, the latter consecrated to the crocodile god Sebek; the tank is still to be seen where the sacred crocodile bathed, and the brick terrace where he sunned himself. Besides this animal, cats, wolves, and birds were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, as is proved by the numbers found mummified in the surrounding caves.

Asswan is the border town between Egypt and Nubia, and the terminus of navigation for the large Nile steamers. In its bazaars are to be purchased the skins of serpents and wild beasts, elephants' tusks, ostrich eggs and plumes, and various other articles peculiar to the country. Here the Nubian, black as night, first makes his appearance, his naked body shining with oil, and hair grotesquely arranged. The wardrobe of many of the women consists of but a leathern

girdle fringed out and ornamented with shells, while their kinky hair is worn plaited in multitudinous small braids. The childrens' attire is of an even more primitive description—a ring in the right nostril, and three or four in each ear, to complete which elaborate costume a cord is sometimes worn around the waist. The Nubians, as a race, are less corrupt than the Egyptians, and decidedly more dignified, frank and cheerful.

In the river opposite Asswan is the island of Elephantine, where there are ruins of temples and statues, and also of a Nilometer.

In the mountains beyond are the famous granite quarries from which were wrought the colossal statue of Rameses, and the obelisks now at Heliopolis, Alexandria, Constantinople, Paris, London, and New York. A monolith 100 feet

long and twelve feet square at the base is still here, never having been removed from the quarry, and like its mates is of a light red color sprinkled with green, very hard and susceptible of the highest polish.

The great problem to the inquiring mind is the means used by the ancients in cutting into this adamantine material; from a thorough examination and from the numbers of partly-hewn blocks abandoned on account of the rock having split in a contrary direction, it is reasonable to suppose that holes were cut in line, plugged with wood and soaked with water which, expanding

these wedges, divided the rock and accomplished with long and tedious labor the work which modern machinery achieves with so much ease.

The first Nile cataract, seven miles above Asswan, is a series of rapids down which the Nubian boys float or shoot on logs, to amuse spectators, after which they vociferously demand backsheesh-a gift of money.

The Island of Philæ in Nubia, above the first cataract, is by far the most picturesque spot on the Nile. It is surrounded by wild and rocky scenery, while the island itself is covered with rich verdure, and groves of palm and acacia, intermingle with beautiful ruins. These consist of the Temple of Isis, Pharaoh's Bed,- formerly the Temple of Osiris, and the Temple of Athor. Phile was the last stronghold of the Egyptian faith, and here Osiris, Isis, and Horus were worshipped 60 years after the Egyptian religion was abolished by Theodosius.

This was the terminus of our trip up the Nile, and from here we turned our faces towards Cairo and lazily floated down the river.

The rail from Cairo to Port Säid, a distance of 150 miles, follows the Sweetwater canal which supplies the stations, and towns on the Suez canal with drinking-water, and runs through that Land of Goshen so fertile in olden times, but now a barren and sandy desert. The principal places of importance passed are Belbeis and Bordein,

near the latter of which are the remains of the ancient city of Bubastis in the Coptic language Pi-Beseth- the city of which Ezekiel prophesied that it should go into captivity, and its young men fall by the sword.

Tel-el-Kebir passed en route, is a dirty Arab village of no importance, but rendered notable as the scene of the decisive battle of the recent Egyptian war fought on September 13th, 1882, when Arabi was vanquished by the English, and his army of 30,000 men destroyed and taken prisoners.

In taking steamer from Port Säid to cross the Mediterranean for a sixteen hours' sail to Jaffa, we left with regret this ancient and interesting country strewn with colossal ruins which speak so plainly of a past and powerful nation; for, to see the palaces and monuments of Egypt is to see the Egyptians as they lived and moved before the of Abraham and Moses, to see the temples and tombs of Egypt is to see the Egyptians in the most solemn moments of their lives.

eyes

JAFFA : LATROON:

CHAPTER XX.

JERUSALEM:

SOLOMON'S POOLS:

HEBRON BETHLEHEM: MAR SABA: THE DEAD SEA:
RIVER JORDAN: JERICHO.

PALESTINE is a long strip of land bordering the Mediterranean, and is bounded on the east by the river Jordan. It is nowhere over 50 miles in breadth, and from Dan to Beersheba 180 miles in length. The country is hilly and mountainous, and with the exception of a few green valleys is rocky and barren. Only from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and Baalbec to Beyrout, are wheels available, and what here are called roads are simply rocky paths which only a sure-footed horse and experienced rider can travel.

This is the ancient Canaan or Palestine, so called by the Israelites who were expelled thence, three tribes of which, Reuben, Gad, and Mannasseh having territory assigned to them east of the Jordan. In the time of Moses they numbered over 2,000,000, but the present population is probably only 700,000, who are mostly Arabs, Turks, Mohammedans, Druses, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Syrians, and Latins.

Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, has a population of