CHAP XXXIX—ADVENTURES WITH A DONKEY.—A DAY AT THE RACES.
A “Syce” what is he?—A Man with a Queer Dress and Large Calves—A Gorgeous Turnout—An Escort of Eunuchs—Veiled Beauties—A Flirtation and it Consequences—The Tale of a Dropped Handkerchief—The Donkey as a National Beast—A Tricky Brute and an Agile Driver—An Upset in the Mud—Astonishing the Natives—A Specimen of Arabic Wit—Going to the Races—The Grand Stand—A Dromedary Race—An Aristocratic Camel—The Arrival of the Khedive—Starting Up the Dromedaries—Cutting an Empress,........[...488]
CHAP XL—THE PASHA AND HIS PRIESTS—EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE—SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.
Egypt and her Relations with Turkey—The Army and Navy—Egyptian History Boiled Down—The Reigning Family—Wonderful Relics—Mohammed Ali as a Ruler—The Pasha and the Priests—Ordering a Wedding—Married on Short Notice—Gratifying the Empress Eugenie—An Arab School-room—A College with Nine Thousand Students—A Jaw-Breaking Language—How to Indite an Epistle in Arabic—The Caravan to Mecca—Going on a Pilgrimage—A Horrible Ceremony—Trampling on Dervishes—The “Bride of the Nile”—Extraordinary Customs,........[...499]
CHAP XLI—THE GREAT PYRAMIDS—IN THE KINGS’ BURIAL CHAMBERS.
A Visit to the great Pyramids—A Fellah not a Fellow—Sakkiehs and Shadoofs—A File of Camels and Donkeys—A Striking Spectacle—A Horde of Arabs—Troublesome Customers—The great Pyramid—How we Climbed It—A Giant Stairway—Dimensions Extraordinary—The Lost Arts—Standing on the Summit—The Judge’s Predicament—Arab Cormorants—What we Saw from the Top of the great Pyramid—Wonderful Contrasts—Performance of an Arabian Acrobat—A Race down the Pyramid Stairs—A Perilous Descent—Penetrating the Interior—The King’s Chamber—A Dusty Receptacle of Coffins—The Sphinx—A Mysterious Statue,........[...513]
CHAP XLII—A VOYAGE UP THE NILE.—THE MYSTERIES OF EGYPTIAN ART AND WORSHIP.
Up the Nile in a Sail-Boat—Starting for the Cataracts—Advantages of a Dragoman—A Tricky Lot—Frauds on Travellers—Our Party—Rather Cosmopolitan—Getting Ahead of Mr. Cook—Our Little Game, and How it Worked—A Bath with Spectators—Decidedly Cool—Getting Aground—A Picturesque Landscape—Last Glimpse of the Pyramids—Spending Night on Shore—Among the Ruins of Memphis—The Wonders of Egyptian Art—What Marrielte Bey Discovered—Laying Bare a Mysterious Sepulchre—Ancient Egyptian Worship—Sacred Bulls and Beetles—A History Written in Stone—Bricks Made by the Israelites,........[...529]
CHAP XLIII—LIFE ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE.—COPTS, JUGGLERS, AND THIEVES.—AMUSING EXPERIENCES.
Through an Arab Village—Creating a Sensation—The “Doubter” Alarmed—The Professor Perpetrates a Hoax—The Egyptian Saratoga—An Oriental Post-office—A Queer Town—Specimens of Ancient Art—A Wooden Statue Three Thousand Years Old—A Coptic Convent—“Backsheesh, Howadji!”—Carrying Money in their Mouths—Sturdy Beggars—An Expert Swimmer—The Copts, who are they? Skilful Swindlers—Sugar Mills on the Banks of the Nile—Egyptian Jugglers—A Snake-Charmer—Adroit Thieves—A Melancholy Experience in Donkey-riding,.......[...542]
CHAP XLIV—ADVENTURES IN UPPER EGYPT.—FUN AND FROLIC WITH THE NATIVES.
Siout, the Capital of Upper Egypt—The Pasha’s Palace—An Egyptian Market Day—A Swift Boat—Going the rounds on a Donkey—Town Scenes—The Bazaars—Buying a Donkey—Tinkers, Peddlers, and Cobblers at work—A Curiosity Shop—Three Card Monte in the Land of the Pharaohs—Fighting the Tiger—The Professor takes a Hand—An Ignominious Defeat—A Doleful Tale—A River where the Wind is always Fair—The Temple and Tablet of Abydos—“Backsheesh” as a Medicine—Arab Villages in an Inundation—The Garden of the Valley—Fun with the Natives—A constant resource for a Practical Joker—Scrambling for Money—A Severe Joke,.........[...554]
CHAP XLV—THE DANCING GIRLS OF KENEH.—THE TREASURES OF DENDERAH.
The Dates and Dancing Girls of Keneh—The Alma and the Ghawazee—The Dalilahs of Cairo—Going to the Dance Hall—An Outlandish Orchestra—The Drapery of the Dancers—The Cairo Wriggle—Curious Posturing—A Weird Scene-Dress and Undress—Miracles of Motion—A Fête at the German Consulate—Models for Painters and Sculptors—Arab and Nubian Nymphs—The Temple of Denderah—History Hewn in Stone—Cleopatra and her Portrait—The Fatal Asp—A Bit of Doggerel—The Coins of Old Egypt—The Professor’s Bargain—Digging for Treasure—Arrival at Luxor—Taking in Strangers,.........[...568]
CHAP XLVI—LUXOR, THE CITY OF GIANTS—AMONG THE MUMMIES OF ANCIENT THEBES.
Luxor on the Site of Ancient Thebes—A City with a Hundred Gates—Enjoying a Consul’s Hospitality—An American Citizen of African Descent—A Dignified Rhinoceros—Karnak—A City of Wonders—Promenading in an Avenue of Sphinxes—A Gigantic Temple—Monster Obelisks—A Story in Stone—A Statue Weighing Nine Hundred Tons—The Sitting Colossi—A Singing Statue—Mysteries of Priestcraft—Lunching in the Tomb of Rameses—A Wonderful Treasure—How They Made Mummies—A Curious Process—The “Doubter” and the Mummy Sellers—The Judge Comes to Grief,........[...585]
CHAP XLVII—A VISIT TO A HAREM IN UPPER EGYPT.—LIFE AMONG THE NUBIANS.
A Visit to a Harem—Among the Daughters of the Nile—How they Looked and What was Done—Painted Eyelids—The Use of Henna—A Minute Inspection of Garments—Mustapha Agar “At Home”—Arab Astonishment—A Dinner a l’Arabe—Fingers vs. Forks—An Array of Queer Dishes—Novel Refreshment—Dancing Girls—Truck and Decker at Luxor—More “Ghawazee,” Pipes and Coffee—“A Love of a Donkey”—Song of Arabs—Arab Cruelty—A Nation of Stoics—Endurance of Pain—Among the Nubians—Ostriches, Arrows and Battle-Axes—A Nubian Dress—A Very Small Dressmaker’s Bill—A Scanty Wardrobe,........[...600]