ir tables, lounging-chairs, work-baskets, and toys. A
"sports" committee was at once formed, and games of all kinds were
played (always for prizes), while a concert, dances, and bridge
enlivened the evening hours.

On the night of November 17th we passed the volcano of Stromboli (now
inactive), our steamer gliding between it on one side and the isles of
Pina on the other; some hours later the Straits of Messina were reached;
while, farther on, the island of Candida was passed. A church service
was held aboard both morning and evening (the latter in the second-class
salon), this being the invariable rule on English steamers.

* * * * *

PORT SAID, _November 20th_: As we approached Port Said, everything was
at first shadowy--the lighthouse, a group of palms, and a minaret
seeming to rise out of the sea. There were a few points of land called
Damietta, but all else was flat. At last we steamed into the harbor,
anchoring at the mouth of the Suez Canal, and were taken ashore in a
launch amidst a confused yelling of voices,--indeed a perfect Babel.

With only three or four hours in Port Said, there was little time for a
close survey, but we walked through some of the streets, called at a few
shops of no special interest, and had afternoon tea at one of the
hotels, to the accompaniment of music furnished by native musicians. We
had always heard Port Said spoken of as "the wickedest place in the
world," and we commented on the apparent absence of such a condition;
but we were assured by one of the tourists that wickedness did exist,
and we accepted the statement without an attempt to verify it.

Port Said gains its principal importance from being the starting-point
of that great waterway, the Suez Canal, of which we form our first
impression from the fact that ten years' time was required for its
construction and $100,000,000 were expended on the work, the payment of
which impoverished Egypt and was one of the causes that led to the
protectorate of England. This is said to be a humiliating condition to
all true Egyptians.

The monument at Port Said, raised in honor of Ferdinand de Lesseps, as
the founder of the enterprise, emphasizes France's contribution to the
project.

* * * * *

CAIRO, _November 20th_: A late train to Cairo caused us to arrive near
midnight, an inopportune time for first impressions, but the memory of a
former visit caused a pleasant ant