"It is the custom to ride on donkeys when going about Cairo, as many of the streets are so narrow that you cannot pass through them with carriages. We had the best we could secure, and very nice they were under the saddle, but we soon learned that it required some skill to ride them. The guide rode ahead, and we noticed that he did not put his feet in the stirrups as we did; while we were wondering the meaning of it, Frank's donkey stumbled and fell forward, and Frank went sprawling in the dust over the animal's head.
"We all laughed (Frank did not laugh quite as loud as the rest, but he did the best he could), and so did the people in the street where the accident happened. Frank was up in an instant, and so was the donkey; and when we were off again the guide said that the donkey had a habit of stumbling and going down in a heap. If you have your feet in the stirrups when he goes down, you can't help being thrown over the animal's head; but if you ride as the guide does, your feet come on the ground when the donkey falls, and you walk gracefully forward a few steps till the boy brings your animal up for you to mount again.
"We immediately began learning to ride with our feet free, and an hour's practice made us all right.
"The donkeys all have names, generally those that have been given to them by travellers. We have had 'Dan Tucker,' 'Prince of Wales,' 'Chicken Hash,' and 'Pinafore,' and in the lot that stands in front of the hotel there are 'General Grant,' 'Stanley,' 'New York,' and 'Mince Pie.' They are black, white, gray, and a few other colors, and sometimes the boys decorate them with hair-dye and paint so that they look very funny. The donkey-boys are sharp little fellows, though sometimes they keep at the business after they have become men. They generally speak a little English; there are two at our hotel that speak it very well, and know the city perfectly, so that when we take them along we have very little need of a guide. They will run all day as fast as the donkey can, sometimes holding him by the bridle, but generally close behind, ready to prod or strike him if he does not go fast enough.
"The saddle is a curious sort of thing, as it has a great hump in front instead of a pommel, and there is not the least support to the back any more than in an English riding-pad. They explain the peculiarity of the saddle by saying that the donkey's shoulders are lower than his back, and the hump keeps you from sliding forward.
"About the best thing we have yet seen in Cairo is the people in the streets. They are so odd in their dress, and they have so many curious customs, that our attention is drawn to them all the time. We can't say how many varieties of peddlers there are, but certainly more than we ever saw in any other place, not excepting Tokio or Canton, or any of the cities of India. We will try to describe some of them.
A PEDDLER OF JEWELLERY.
"Here is an old woman with a crate like a flat basket, which she carries on her head. It is filled with little articles of jewellery, and she goes around in the harems and in the baths frequented by women, as they are her best customers. The guide says her whole stock is not worth a hundred francs, and if she makes a franc a day at her business she thinks she is doing well.