THE first impression of every traveller who lands in Egypt is that the country is strangely unlike any other in the world; and he who tarries long, making Egypt his home for years, as the present writer did, finds that impression strengthened with every day's increased knowledge. No other country has a history so ancient or so remarkable. Thousands of years before any other nation had civilized existence, Egypt was the scene of great events, the records of which have come down to us in stone. Babylon and Nineveh, Greece and Rome, copied their religion and borrowed their science and their learning from this ancient and mysterious land. Here was the primeval repository of learning and civilization. From this source all other ancient peoples drew the inspiration of advancement and gathered strength for great achievements. There is reason to believe that the very earliest civilization that mankind knew had its centre in the rich valley of the Nile.

That great river, deified by the early Egyptians in sheer wonder at its fertilizing power, cleaves in its course five thousand miles of desert. Without its miracle-working alluvium, the valley lands which are now a garden of marvellous

WHILE in command of the coast it became necessary for me to make frequent visits to Rosetta, thirty miles east of Alexandria, near the mouth of one of the branches of the Nile delta. Before the construction of the railroad, the beautiful bay of Aboukir was a delightful half-way station at which to take a day's rest. I often visited the bay and the site of the ancient city of Canopus, picturesquely situated on the tongue of land between the sea and the bay. Here are a nest of fortifications and a fine prospect, both seaward and landward. Excavations twenty or thirty feet down have disclosed the débris of the city, and there have been unearthed many statues and broken fragments, as well as the ruins of a marble aqueduct built to convey fresh water from the old Canopus branch of the Nile, now lost in what is known as Lake Elko, all trace of its connection with the ruin being at present obliterated. Here a temple of Isis attracted great throngs of the religious to the shrine of the goddess, and thousands of joyous devotees made the river resound with song and dance on their way to this notorious centre of sin and amusement. Under Greek rule Canopus became a great watering-place, to use a phrase of to-day, no less celebrated than of old for its orgies held in honor of the voluptuous goddess who had been adopted

THE Egypt of to-day was founded by Mehemet Ali, a simple fisherman of Greek descent, who was born at the small town of Cavalla, on the coast of Roumelia, about the year 1768. As few Mahometans keep registers of births, he never knew his own age. Illiterate in his youth, he learned to write through the teaching of a slave, after he was forty years of age. He won his first promotion by an act of treachery. He pretended to pray in a mosque by the side of a friend who had done something which for-feited his life to the government. He secured the confidence of this man, and when he had learned his secret by gross deception, handed him over to the authorities. Mehemet was rewarded by a lieutenancy. His ambition satisfied, he then used his cunning and power to save the life of his victim, the betrayal of whom had been his first stepping-stone in promotion.

His courage was daring even to desperation, and when an end was to be gained there was no sacrifice or treachery which he hesitated to use to attain it. Born a soldier of consummate

IBRAHIM PACHA, who held power for some time during the insanity of Mehemet, succeeded him at his death, but reigned in his own right only seventy-five days. He was just, though severe, and died universally regretted. A beautiful equestrian statue, erected in Cairo in his honor by his son Ismail, was wantonly destroyed by fanatics in the recent unhappy war.

Abbas Pacha, the grandson of Mehemet Ali and son of Toussoun, who served in the campaign against the Wahabees of Arabia, was the next in age, and became Viceroy. This man was a singular character in his way, and in no wise followed the methods of his predecessors. He seemed to study how best he could personify a fiend. His undoubted ability seemed instinctively directed to every conceivable wickedness. Socially and as Viceroy, in every affair of life his career was marked by cruelty and vindictiveness. A striking peculiarity of his character was a deep-seated hatred of his nearest relatives. His own mother and his own son did not escape his cowardly and heartless suspicions, and he enjoyed with keen relish the cruel and unjust espionage to which he constantly subjected

NOT long after embarking on his dahabeeyah, the most luxurious of river boats, though primitive in its model, the traveller beholds, as he ascends the Nile, the homes of the fellaheen. These mud villages, made up of hovels consisting of a single room lighted by the doorway, are noisome and filthy abodes. In the home of perennial spring the fellaheen—men, women, and children—are clothed in a simple blue cotton chemise and white cotton drawers, which make up the whole apparel for both sexes. The mud hut in which the fellah dwells contains no furniture but a mat and a few clay vessels for cooking purposes. The disgust and pity of the tourist are increased on entering one of these squalid abodes. Donkeys, sheep, and chickens share the narrow quarters with the human animals, while the best part of every hovel—the sugar-loaf shaped upper part—is given over entirely to pigeons, by the breeding of which the peasants earn a good share of their revenue.

And yet, overcrewded as they are, amid wretched and unsanitary conditions, the Nile peasants seem contented enough. Indeed, they are not disposed to accept a better condition even when it is offered them. Saïd Pacha sought

THE most interesting person in Egypt, and one with whom acquaintance is soon formed, is the fellah. The descendant, not improbably, of those who built the Pyramids, we see him to-day a toiler in the mud, wearing nothing but a rag around his loins. Or perhaps he may be in some cases of the blood of those victorious warriors who followed the green banner of the Prophet into the heart of Asia, Africa, and Europe. In either case his descent is illustrious. But for many centuries the plight of the Egyptian fellah has been a wretched one. He has served as a beast of burden under foreign taskmasters during centuries of misrule. The inference would be that all vitality has been beaten out of him; that though he wears the likeness of a man, harsh treatment has transformed him into a beast that cares for nothing except to crawl into its house when the day's work is done. Recent events, however, have shown very clearly that the fellah is not altogether the spiritless animal described by casual tourists, who take their opinions at second-hand from the dragoman employed to guide them in their hurried rush through the country. A writer in Blackwood's Magazine for August, 1881, who pretends to know the fellah, does

SAÏD PACHA assumed the viceroyalty of Egypt amid the rejoicings of his people. They had been crushed under the cruel and imbecile Abbas Pacha, his nephew. Saïd was in the vigor of manhood and full of confidence. He projected many grand schemes, but few of which were consummated during his reign of ten years. He died friendless and insolvent. Though vastly superior to his predecessor in personal qualities, still his government was a failure and bankrupted the country. Sanguine of something better, the Egyptian people welcomed Ismail Pacha to the viceregal throne with rejoicings greater than had welcomed any previous ruler.

They knew that he had been schooled under the best instructors of the day, that he was a planter and merchant prince, and one of the most accomplished Egyptians who had ever been called to rule over them. They were aware that while those nearest the throne were toying away their time in the salons 01 Paris, or hunting the gazelle upon the deserts of Africa, he was a tiller of the soil, who, avoiding the fascinations and extravagances of the court of Saïd, had devoted himself to cultivating cotton and cane.

I ARRIVED at Cairo on my second visit in January, 1870, after an absence of some years, in that most delightful of all seasons, unlike the winter of any other climate, when everything is green and beautiful, the air soft and balmy. The train was filled with representatives of the two great travelling nations of the world, America and England. The plains were golden with rich harvests and dotted with elegant villas, embowered in roses, the grounds of which were adorned with luxuriant and well-cultivated lebbek and acacia trees. On one side, in full view, stood the Mokuttum hills, the citadel on their slope, with the tall minarets of the mosque of Mehemet Ali peering far above and overlooking in their height the 400 mosques in the heart of the curious old city beneath. It was upon entering the Arab city that we were pleased to find untouched the narrow and crooked streets teeming with people, and its little shops, with their picturesquely dressed crowds of customers, as in

HAVING been the guest of the Khedive and of wealthy Pachas at many weddings, I propose to give some description of the hymeneal ceremony and festivities as practised in Mahometan countries among the rich. The first case selected is that of a young officer. The bride was a young maiden from the palace of the Khedive. The usual course is that, when a young man arrives at eighteen, or it may be before, a bride is looked for by a “khatibeh,” a woman whose regular business it is to search for suitable matches, as Abraham sent emissaries to look for a wife for Isaac. The khatibeh finds one of the age of maturity, usually thirteen, sometimes as young as ten years. Returning, she represents the bride to be as beautiful as an houri, with the eyes of a gazelle and teeth of pearl, and always with more diamonds and riches than she actually possesses. If the bride is acceptable the woman goes back and represents the young man as graceful, beautiful in dress, fond of sweet things, but declares that he cannot enjoy them alone, and that the chosen bride is the only one who can make them tasteful; she describes him as domestic in his tastes, and says that he lives only to adorn and make his loved one always beautiful; his sole happiness will be in fondling and caressing her. Both parties give dower, which becomes

THE ladies constituting the families of the late Khedive Ismail Pacha and of his numerous sons are in many respects an exception to a general rule, in their accomplishments, education, and manners. While they have, in many respects, European customs and habits, yet these are modified by restraints of seclusion; and they share with their sisters of all classes the odious law of the Prophet, that they should be held prisoners under a rigid surveillance of guardians especially prepared for the unholy office.

Statements are made that serious misunderstandings often occur among them in consequence of this oppression. There is no doubt that the beautiful young daughter of the Khedive, who was accustomed until thirteen years of age to visit the opera without a veil, rebelled when the time came for incarceration, and that she lamented in tears her unfortunate fate. Marrying soon after her seclusion, she lived but a few months. Universally the Moslem women know nothing of life, being simply pieces of furniture in their homes. With no education, they are strangers to the interests and affairs of their masters; decked out with fine dresses and jewelry, they are sensuously content. They amuse themselves in crunching melon-seeds, eating candy, smoking cigarettes, and showing their jewelry and

ONE of the most interesting places in Cairo is the Mosque Gama-el-Azur. Founded in A.D. 975, it is the greatest university for instruction in pure Arabic and education in the Mahometan faith that exists in the Moslem world. Without architectural beauty, it covers a vast extent of ground, and is situated in the centre of the city. The structure is supported by innumerable columns, and here, seated cross-legged on mats, as many as 12,000 students may be seen in the grand hall engaged in their studies. They come from Europe, Asia, and Africa, representing divers colors and nationalities. Nowhere can one study at a single glance more of those races of the human family, which are not often met with unless the voyager penetrates far into the deserts of Africa or the steppes of Asia. It is here that the undefiled truths of the Koran in its original language are taught. The focus of fanaticism, votaries are sent from this seat of Islam to fire the heart of the believer, and upon their zeal and learning the hopes of Mahometanism are based for the future. To my Arab adjutant-general, Lutfy Bey, an educated hadji (one who had been to Mecca), and who was on my staff for many years, a good man and faithful follower of the Prophet, I am indebted

ON my first visit to Egypt it was a difficult enterprise to make a trip up the Nile. Now the facilities are perfect. One method is by the slow diahbeeyah, a boat fitted up as luxuriously as a drawing-room, in which the traveller can float in delicious indolence, without danger of meeting an acquaintance, or experiencing a single ripple of disturbance to mar his dreams. The other method is by a well-conducted and comfortable steamer. The first method of travel takes about three months, the latter about three weeks; and though the diahbeeyah has a certain delicious charm of its own, the majority of travellers prefer the steamer. The present age of tourists is too restless to waste three months, even on the most interesting of rivers. Though old Father Nile has so great a history and is nearly as long as any river in the world, yet it is only during a short season that it is navigable for any great distance.

As soon as it stops raining at the Equator and in Abyssinia the surplus water runs out into the sea or is absorbed by the thirsty lands along the river. Even during the winter season, when travellers ascend, it becomes necessary

HAVING spoken at some length of the Egypt of to-day, I cannot refrain from devoting a chapter to the magnificent and mysterious Egypt of the past, whose monuments tell us such a fascinating story. To-day a football for the more powerful peoples of the world, Egypt was then one of the mightiest of nations, and stood foremost in political status, in wisdom, and in the arts. This supremacy Egypt held for a much longer period than has been vouchsafed to any other nation.

A period of the greatest interest in Egyptian history is that of the residence of the Israelites. The first authentic record of the coming of the Semitic race into Egypt is found on the monuments of the twelfth dynasty. At Beni-Hassan, not far above Cairo, there is pictured in a tomb a Semitic chief by the name of Abasha, with all his family and attendants presenting gifts on his arrival. For a long time it was thought that this was Jacob and his party, who had come on the invitation of the patriarch Joseph. It is now believed the chief mentioned may have had the same inducements as those detailed in the case of

IN order that the causes may be known which led to the abdication of Khedive Ismail and the disasters which accompanied his downfall, it is necessary to give a brief account of the financial troubles which were the occasion of it. To begin, it is simply necessary to state that from the published official record it appeared that these English and French bondholders, of whom so much has been said, had loaned to Egypt over $450,000,000, for which they had received her bonds. Upon investigation it was found that less than $225,000,000, under any pretence, was ever received or could be properly charged to her. It further appeared that out of this last amount supposed to have