Just as the Dutch protect their lands from the inroads of the sea, the Egyptians protect their villages from the inroads of this annual flood by means of dykes.
Of late years the overflow of the Nile has been greater than for many previous centuries.
We can trace the rise and fall of the waters of the main stream of the Lower Nile to the influence of the periodical rains in the mountains of Abyssinia and in the Lake Nyanza region.
In the equatorial regions it rains more or less throughout the year. The most abundant fall of rain takes place during the equinoxes, as the sun makes its apparent revolution about the earth during her yearly journey in space.
Could we stand upon the banks of the Nile, we should find them swarming with birds. With interest and pleasure we should watch the movements of the various water or reed birds as they seek their food.
We should listen to the discordant cries of the various birds of prey hovering over its waters. For here we should find not only such birds as the goose, pelican, and ibis, but the vulture and cormorant as well.
Standing on the banks of this most ancient of rivers, we should try to picture some of the scenes of past ages. Visions of Pharaoh and his daughter and the infant Moses would come to us.
Gazing into the depths of the soft waters, pure and sweet, we should be brought back to the present, as, with delight, we should find them teeming with many varieties of the finny tribes that sport beneath the surface. Searching along its banks, we might hope to find traces of the lotus, or Egyptian water lily, that once grew wild in such abundance, but now is rarely seen. It would be almost as arduous a task as hunting for a four-leaved clover, I fear.
It is generally believed that the plant was brought to Egypt from India. It must have been carried there in the very earliest days of the history of the people. The Egyptians regarded it as the emblem of the Nile. It was to them a sacred plant, a symbol of the creation of the world from the waters.
It was the custom to cultivate it in tanks. At the Egyptian feasts the guests wreathed their heads with its flowers, which resemble superb pink tulips.