which adorn it are tolerably well preserved, and record how, in the time of Totmes III., of the 18th dynasty, these two obelisks were placed on guard at the door of the Temple of the Sun. Cleopatra, who did not hesitate at any expense, had them brought from Memphis to Alexandria, to ornament a great temple which she erected to Cæsar, in spite of the gossips of the country.

If, at the commencement of this chapter, I have entirely neglected to mention the Lyons railwaystation, although it was the first architectural monument which we beheld after having quitted our hearths and homes, it is because that edifice is destitute of interest and of hieroglyphs, which would constitute its title to admiration by the people of Alexandria, who seem to detest everything which could make anyone observe that among them one is in Egypt. We remained as short a time as possible in this mere country town, which is, in fact, merely the inevitable ante-chamber to Cairo; just as if, in an ill-contrived apartment, one had to reach the drawing-room through the kitchen.

Formerly, the Mahmoudièh canal was the most direct way from Alexandria to Cairo. Now there is a railroad, with stations and a terminus, just as from

Paris to Bueil; but the service is not regular; it is indeed too erratic, for the train only goes now and then, and we were in a hurry to get there. Our first night at the hotel at Alexandria had been disastrous; and, if we were to judge by the voracious way in which they over-ate themselves at our expense, we must have made all the mosquitoes very ill, when, with right good will, we left the place.

Damanhour-Kafr-Zayad, or a Refreshment Stall in the Desert-There they are!-Here we are!

By a happy chance, and without the intervention of the Viceroy, the train started. We rolled along, packed into so-called first-class carriages—which were like old boxes, fitted up with mirrors and fixtures equally modern and ridiculous-to Damanhour, the first station which relieved us from our situation as human packages, for which the administration would most decidedly decline to be responsible. This was the first Egyptian village which met our view, offering us all the conditions requisite for painters of the East. The houses, built of earth or dried bricks, were clustered together without any regularity, making it impossible to fix where the landscape commenced or the village ended, so uniformly grey is the colouring. A graceful minaret rose like an apparition out of this series of little boxes. Some tufts

of palms swayed mournfully above this village, which at the first glance might be taken for a cemetery. The time of day also contributed to the funereal aspect of a town in ruins, for all the inhabitants are invariably asleep during the great heat. Only a few women braved the burning sunshine, and came to the carriage doors to sell the products of their industry and sundry refreshments of the most primitive kind. In this country oranges, fresh eggs, araki, and camel's milk, replace the traditional orgeat, lemonade, and beer, and were in great demand in the fourth and fifth-class carriages, in which the ruminant population, camels and camel-drivers, are pitilessly packed in layers.

At Kafr-Zayad we found something much more comfortable, and also much more expensive; but the place, from the point of view of the picturesque, was far less interesting than Damanhour.

A whistle, almost European in its prolonged shrillness, started us off again, and the aspect of the country changing rapidly, we felt that we were getting into the heart of Egypt, into the cultivated lands which form its inexhaustible wealth. It was at the epoch when the grain is green, and it had a singular effect upon us to cross these great steppes of herbage, which we had not believed could exist out of Holland.

A WINGED ESCORT.

13

White herons, looking in the distance like pieces of paper strewn about at random, formed an odd sort of interruption to the general tone of this agricultural fertility.

Very few palm-trees, innumerable irrigation works, and an horizon invariably green! it was quite irritating; but the soul of one of our party, who came from Utrecht, seemed to expand, to delight in the presence of all this grass, unrelieved by so much as a poppy. Our attention was, however, happily diverted by the infinite variety of birds which seemed to accompany the train. Ducks, hawks, and eagles, succeeded each other without interruption, and seemed to have established a line of travel of their own parallel to ours. The countless little watercourses which intersect these lands are covered with birds of every description, and innumerable animals of various kinds, who seem to live together on the best possible terms, notwithstanding the difference in their size and habits. Beautiful little sac-sacs (lapwings) fly about like butterflies, while enormous cranes pull the feathers out of their own necks with slow patience. The dromedaries and buffaloes which constantly meet each other on the road parallel to the railway, look on tranquilly as the trains pass, with the impassible