SKETCH X.

RETURN TO CAIRO.

A Locomotive in Trouble-Gyzeh by Gaslight-Choubrah RoudahThe Nilometer-Bazaars and Mosques-The Persian Ambassador -Women whom one sees, Women whom one does not see, and Women whom one is sorry for having seen-The Departure of the Carpet A Little Soap-Not adieu, but au revoir.

THE line of the railroad is almost parallel to that of the demarcation between the sands and the cultivated land; thus, from a certain point of view, we must not complain too much of the slowness of our funny locomotive. On our left the white line of the desert began to appear; on our right was the most luxuriant vegetation and widely varied landscapes. It was

a real magic lantern, and we were jolting along pleasantly in a kind of contented dream, when a loud alarm-whistle signalled a station, meaning an acci

dent.

the chief

First interlude! No more coals! This was cause. A lot of children were sent running to the nearest village to pick up everything that they could find, and with their contributions were mixed palm-trunks, bushes, and camel's dung; then, the

stomach of the engine being somewhat recruited, we were off again, liberally smoked by the engine, which was unable to digest the unaccustomed diet.

After a while came another blast of the whistle, another station, without an accident this time, and a real station, though there was no sign of any kind of construction or of an official uniform. The village on whose account this stoppage is made lies beside the Nile; it is called El Wastah, and it is a pretty little place, symmetrical, well-regulated, and almost clean. It is a point of junction for the river navigation with the Medinet line. There the barques discharge their cargoes, and take on board the merchandise brought by the trains. Consequently, an immense number of camels are employed there, for the transit service between the Nile and the railway.

This station was not a joke; we had to wait two hours, which we passed very agreeably in breakfasting under the palm-trees, in company with all the dogs of the village, who ranged themselves respectfully in a circle around us, soliciting some remains of duck or chicken. Escorted by our guests, we then inspected El Wastah, admirably situated on the bank of the Nile; the barques, prettily grouped, give the little place the animated look of a little trading port. We were

invited by its master to enter a very pretty little wherry, but as the pasteboard train was waiting for us, we had to quit these enchanted shores, and get into our box again.

Departure! blast of whistle! something wrong again—stoppage—once more no coal, and we are out on a wild plain as far from Gyzeh as from El Wastah. We were getting used to it, so we quietly stepped out of the carriage with our guns. The driver informed us that he had just enough fuel to take him, on his engine, in search of a supply. This motion was adopted without any of the passengers having been consulted he quietly left us there and set off, accompanied by some fat men in clean tarboozes, who seemed to be great personages, but who did not fare much better for the privilege, for in a very short time the engine came to a dead stop in the middle of the sand. No doubt it was one of those fat privileged functionaries who went on foot to Gyzeh, and induced the Council of Administration to send for the locomotive in the first place, and secondly to consider the case of the travellers, who were starving in the open country. We had had to hold out against famine for six hours. Some of us went off to shoot, and brought back a duck, a rat, and eight sparrows, which

GYZEH BY GASLIGHT.

143

Our ingenious drago

were hailed with acclamations. man had skilfully secreted some precious bits of coal which had fallen from the engine, and we succeeded in fabricating a sort of supper with the remnants of our morning meal. The night had come; the doors were shut; and we were snoring, careless of the future, never thinking that another train coming up behind might possibly run into us. Mahommet protected us. At about ten o'clock at night, a locomotive, preceded by the piercing sound of its whistle, hooked itself to our compartments, and snatched us from solitude and despair. Our awakening was rather bewildering, for a railway station lighted up with gas carried us suddenly into the heart of European civilisation of the most commonplace kind, and, as I looked out, half-asleep, I almost wonder I did not ask where was the omnibus for the Palais-Royal. It was a good way off, for it was at Ancient Gyzeh that we had arrived half-asleep. Instead of an omnibus, we were to find a boat to take us across the Nile just above Roudah. Then began a steeple-chase among the passengers, to secure the best places on board the little steamer which was puffing away at a few hundred feet from the station. We were received by a cavalcade of asses on the

other side, and, escorted by their drivers, we started for the hotel. We supped half-asleep, and if our rooms had not been on the ground-floor, we certainly should have been found snoring upon the table next. morning.

་

Our invalid was doing well, and we commenced our disorderly cavalcades immediately. At dawn we were in the superb alley of Chourah, where we rode for an immense distance under a vaulted roof of verdure. The sycamores and acacias which bound the road at each side, and whose gnarled branches are thickly interlaced, are of extraordinary size. On the right, the magnificent vegetation is interrupted by some splendid dwellings surrounded by tufted trees; on the left lies the Nile, almost parallel with the road. After an hour and a half of this delicious ride, we came to the gate of a beautiful villa, which had an attraction for us equally novel and great. There we found a perfect studio, with easels, canvas, everything which a painter requires. A studio on the borders of the Nile! It was the realization of my fondest dream, and all the palaces of the pachas were worthless to me in comparison with that wide window whose green curtains permitted us to get 'effects' as if we had been on the sixth floor of the Rue Notre