"'They say that an elephant was once drowned in the pool while attempting to drink from it.'
"I looked around, and quietly remarked to Captain Mohammed that I could hardly believe an elephant was ever drowned in the pool.
"'Oh, certainly,' he answered. 'The water is very deep, and an elephant might easily be drowned in it.'
"'Of course that might be,' I replied, 'provided the elephant was here. But will you explain how he could climb up this rock, which is steeper than the roof of a house, and has required us to use both feet and hands to ascend?'
"The captain said he never thought of that, and quite agreed with me that no elephant could be drowned in the pool. Then we went down by the same path we had ascended. I slipped in the descent, and had an ugly fall, but fortunately was caught by one of the soldiers who accompanied us. If he had not been where he could grasp me I should have been fortunate to escape without serious injury.
PECULIAR TABLE-ROCK IN THE BARI COUNTRY.
"Speaking of high and curious rocks, I am reminded of one in the Bari country, which was visited by Baker Pacha.
"It is near the base of a mountain called Regiaff, and consists of a large, flat stone supported on a pedestal, very much like the centre-table of a parlor in America. It is a slab of syenite that must have become detached as the mountain decomposed. It is so large that the natives often seek shelter beneath it from the rain or the noonday sun, and their cattle find it a comfortable resting-place. The pedestal is of clay, and the broad roof over it protects it from the weather, so that it has remained unharmed for many centuries.