After remaining in Bristol for eleven weeks, on August 23rd, 1881, we set off for Dover on our eighth missionary tour; crossed over to Calais on the 24th, went on to Paris, and, having started for Switzerland on the 25th, arrived at Berne on the 27th.
After Mr. Müller had preached many times there, had held meetings at Männedorf, Wädenschwyl, Zürich, Basel, and Stuttgart, having been led through the advice of a brother in Christ, to decide on visiting the Holy Land, on Thursday, Oct. 20th, at 2 p.m., we embarked at Marseilles in the steamer "Said," for Alexandria. My husband had had it particularly laid upon his heart to comfort and encourage the missionaries from Great Britain, America, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries, who labour in the East, because their trials and difficulties are great; and he desired to visit some of the German colonies, that he might preach amongst them, and encourage the German pastors in their work. After leaving Marseilles, for eighteen hours the weather was very rough, but as the wind gradually abated, the sea became calm; we anchored in the Bay of Naples for a few hours, and at half-past 2 on the afternoon of Oct. 26th, landed at Alexandria.
Here the Scotch minister, the German pastor, and the German deaconesses showed us much kindness; and, during the ten days that we remained, Mr. Müller had a considerable amount of work. He preached repeatedly in German at the Prussian Hospital, held meetings in English at the Scotch Free Church, addressed the children of the Scotch Jewish Mission Schools, and the children of the American United Presbyterian Mission Schools, and preached at the German Church.
On the afternoon of Nov. 3rd, we went by rail to Ramleh, six miles distant, which has a cooler climate than Alexandria, and contains a few handsome residences, where some of the wealthy inhabitants of the city live. On the way, we passed four cemeteries, one Jewish, another Catholic, a third Greek, and the fourth Mahometan. The tombs in the Mahometan burying ground were of an Oriental character, and very unlike monuments erected over graves in European cemeteries. We passed a palace belonging to the Khedive or Viceroy of Egypt also. A large grove of palm trees laden with dates had a most luxuriant appearance. At Ramleh, at a small chapel, Mr. Müller addressed a congregation of Catholics, Jews, and Protestants who understood English; and on the 4th, at the Scotch Mission School, conversed with several Jewish girls, by means of Arabic translation.
In going to and from the meetings, we noticed the great variety of costumes worn by persons who passed us in the streets. Loose, white garments, and red turbans with gold ornaments, were worn by the Turks; most of the women were closely veiled, so that their eyes only could be seen; and a few had veils arranged in such a manner, that one eye alone was visible. Brass ornaments too, fixed between the eyes, were generally worn by un-veiled women, which disfigured their countenances much. Most of the poor walked about barefoot, and some Arabs, in thin clothings, slept soundly, as they lay stretched at full length by the side of the pavement in the streets. During our short stay at Alexandria the heat was great; as late in the year as the beginning of November, the thermometer sometimes registered 90 degrees, and the flies and mosquitos were most troublesome.
On Nov. 4th Mr. Müller preached a farewell sermon at the Prussian Hospital, in German, and on the 5th we went by rail to Cairo, where he preached for the German pastor, and held meetings in connection with the American Mission; openings for service being numerous in this city as well as at Alexandria.
On Nov. 9th, we set off early in an open carriage, with a dragoman as interpreter, to see the Pyramids, ten miles from Cairo, which are reached by a good road under a shady avenue of trees; and a little before noon alighted near "the great Pyramid of Cheops, 460 feet high, which was erected as a tomb, about 30 centuries ago, when its construction employed 100,000 men for twenty years. The exterior of this Pyramid was once smooth, but it is now rough and uneven, presenting 206 steps from one to four feet high, by which an ascent to the summit is made. From this point the view includes the Nile, the minarets of Cairo, the plain where the French defeated the Mamelukes, the site of Memphis, the great African Desert, a multitude of tombs, and two other Pyramids. From Gizeh to Memphis on the west side of the Nile, about 70 Pyramids can be counted, all burial places of kings, with tombs and chapels adjoining them. A quarter of a mile from the nearest Pyramid, lies the Sphinx, a stone lion 102 feet long, now heavily buried in sand, having a human face 18 feet in length; but the head and part of the neck only are now visible." Our walk to the Sphinx was oppressively warm, for the sun shone with a brightness that was dazzling. The heat and glare too from the sandy ground on which we trod, made the atmosphere around like the hot air issuing from an oven. Troups of Bedouin Arabs congregate in the neighbourhood of the Pyramids, who flock around strangers and volunteer their services as guides.
Besides visiting the Pyramids, before our departure from Cairo, we walked through the Museum, which contains a valuable collection of Egyptian curiosities, consisting of statues, pottery, manuscripts of the Pharaohs, and other relics, some of which are supposed to be nearly 4,000 years old; but the most remarkable objects in the Museum are the mummies. These are embalmed bodies (principally of Egyptian Kings), recently discovered, and amongst them (it is said) is the mummy of that great oppressor of the Israelites, the Pharaoh, during whose reign they had so much to suffer, until delivered by Jehovah through His servant Moses.
On Nov. 11th, we left Cairo for Ismailia, and from there proceeded in a small mail steamer (viâ the Suez Canal) to Port Said, where we arrived two hours after midnight. At this town Mr. Müller preached twice in English, and on Sunday, Nov. 13th, at the former of these two services, were fourteen English sailors who had recently been shipwrecked. Their lives therefore having been so mercifully preserved, he took advantage of the circumstance to press upon them the acceptance of the gospel. At Port Said he held only one German meeting, upon which occasion, fifteen young men and women from Bohemia (who gained a livelihood by exercising their talent for music) were present, all of whom were Roman Catholics. To each a copy of the Bible or New Testament in German was given, and the fourteen sailors were presented with Bibles or Testaments in English. After this German service was over, a meeting was held also for the breaking of bread, where Mr. Müller gave an address in English.
On the following day, at 2 p.m. we went on board a large Russian mail steamer bound for Jaffa, and found that, besides the saloon passengers, there were about 100 Russian pilgrims in the steerage of the ship, accompanied by their priests of the Greek Church, who were all travelling on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. These pilgrims performed their religious services on deck, where they bowed, crossed themselves repeatedly, and turned their faces eastward towards the Holy Land. They looked very poor, and were dirty in their habits and appearance. Each individual belonging to this company was supplied with a copy of the Holy Scriptures in Russ, at a nominal price, by a Scotch Evangelist, and a colporteur, who labour for the Lord habitually at Port Said.