There is comparatively little remaining of the great city of Alexandria, which once contained half a million inhabitants, and boasted of the finest library in the world. The library was burnt, the buildings disappeared, the city dwindled in importance, till at the end of the last century its population was barely six thousand. Since 1798 it has been steadily reviving, till it now contains nearly a quarter of a million inhabitants, of whom a fourth are Europeans. It is the commercial capital of Egypt, and the viceroy lives there during the summer. Of its ancient monuments Pompey's Pillar is almost all that can be found. There are some tombs near the city, but they are scarcely worth visiting: there were formerly two obelisks near the water's edge, but they have gone, one to England and the other to the United States. The latter was removed by Commander H. H. Gorringe, of the United States Navy—the cost of the work being paid by Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt—and has been set up in Central Park, New York. It was famous in history as Cleopatra's Needle; the obelisk that was taken to England and set up on the bank of the Thames above Waterloo Bridge had been lying prostrate for centuries.
POMPEY'S PILLAR.
Pompey's Pillar is a single shaft of red granite, seventy feet high and about ten in diameter, standing on a broad base and crowned with a capital, the whole rising a hundred feet from the ground. It is supposed that a statue once stood on the top, and there are some old pictures of Alexandria where a statue appears on the pillar.
Frank and Fred wanted to climb to the top of the column, but were unable to see how they could do so, as there is no ladder or stairway, and the shaft is polished like a pane of glass.
The Doctor told them it had been twice ascended in the present century—once by an enterprising woman, and once by a party of sailors. In each case a kite was flown so that it came against the top of the pillar, then the string was used to draw up a cord, the cord drew up a rope, and the rope drew up a ladder. The ascent is easy enough when the ladder is properly secured, but it trembles so much that a steady head and strong hand are requisite to insure safety.
After seeing the pillar the three visitors wandered through the bazaars, which repeated, on a small scale, the sights of the bazaars of Cairo. They spent an hour or more in the great square in the centre of the city, where there are several rows of shade-trees and some bronze statues, and they visited two or three private gardens, which were very pretty, and contained rare varieties of plants. They went to the celebrated "Pharos," which is one of the earliest light-houses ever known to mariners, and was built by Ptolemy Philadelphus at enormous expense. It is said to have been a square building of white marble in several stories, each smaller than the one below it. A winding road led to the top, and, according to history, Cleopatra once drove a pair of horses to the summit, and then drove them down again. The name of the "Pharos" is perpetuated in the French word for light-house (phare), but very little of the ancient structure exists to-day. It is still maintained as a light-house, and is a welcome sight to ships seeking the harbor of Alexandria.
At an early hour the next morning a procession left the door of the hotel and proceeded in the direction of the harbor. It was composed as follows: