ve-to. Soon the boat would begin to
move slowly.

As a rule people in Egypt are very poor. The plague of flies has not yet
ceased in Egypt. Children are dirty and often diseased and the streets
of the old portion of the city of Cairo literally swarm with them. While
the people generally look quite hearty and well fed, yet beggars are
everywhere. "Backsheesh" is about the first word the little child learns
to speak and the last word an old beggar lisps before he dies. From noon
until two-thirty or three o'clock shops are closed and thousands of
people drop down where they are and go to sleep. Riding through old
Cairo at this time of day my donkey had to pick his way, often stepping
over people who were sound asleep.

Many of the customs of Egyptians always have been different from those
of other nations. Here women seldom pray to any god but men pray to all
of them. Women carry burdens on their shoulders while men carry them on
their heads. Women buy and sell in the market while their men sit at
home and spin. The daughter instead of the son is supposed to care for
the old folks when they become feeble and helpless. In kneading dough
they use their feet while in handling mud they use their hands. Other
peoples consider themselves above the beasts but the Egyptians made gods
of the beasts and worshipped them. When an ancient enemy attacked Egypt,
dogs, cats, and other beasts were driven at the head of the army and the
Egyptians would surrender rather than run the risk of killing their
sacred animals.

The people in Egyptian cities do not eat their evening meal until from
eight to ten at night. The restaurants have their tables in the streets
and the people eat and shop at the same time. Watching the people at a
large restaurant in Cairo, one night, I wrote down a list of the
articles offered for sale while they were eating their evening meal.
Here is the list: Alarm clocks, nuts, bread, lead pencils, fish, knives,
cards, live chickens, cigars, cigarettes, cakes, eggs, mutton, matches,
melons, watches, flowers, rugs, fancy boxes, stands, socks, perfumes,
balloons, fruits of all kinds, slippers, canes, neckties, whips and
guns.

In addition to these venders, blind beggars and cripples, traveling
musicians, gamblers with all kinds of devices, fortune tellers with
wheels of fortune and many others were among the people all the time.
After eating, many of the people drink wine and play cards until the
early morning. All t