he purest existing forms of
Saracenic architecture. One hopes that this saying is true, for a
dogmatic superlative of this sort is a rock of comfort, and one can
remember it and repeat it. With the best of memories, however, one
cannot intelligently see all these specimens of purity, unless, indeed,
one takes up his residence in Cairo (and it is well known that when one
lives in a place one never pays visits to those lions which other
persons journey thousands of miles to see). Travellers, therefore, very
soon choose a favorite and abide by it, vaunting it above all others, so
that you hear of El Ghouri, with its striking facade and magnificent
ceiling, as "the finest," and of Kalaoon as "the finest," and of Moaiyud
as ditto; not to speak of those who prefer the venerable Touloun and
Amer, and the undiscriminating crowd that is satisfied, and rightly,
with Aristides the Just--that is, the mosque of Sultan Hassan. For
myself, after acknowledging to a weakness for the mosques which are not
in the guide-books, which possess no slippers, I confess that I admire
most the tomb-mosque of Kait Bey. It is outside of Cairo proper, among
those splendid half-ruined structures the so-called tombs of the
Khalifs. It stands by itself, its chiselled dome and minaret, a
lace-work in stone, clearly revealed. It would take pages to describe
the fanciful beauty of every detail, both without and within, and there
must, in any case, come an end of repeating the words "elegance,"
"mosaic," "minaret," "arabesque," "jasper," and "mother-of-pearl." The
chief treasures of this mosque are two blocks of rose granite which bear
the so-called impressions of the feet of Mohammed; the legend is that he
rests here for a moment or two at sunset every Thursday. "How well I
understand this fancy of the prophet!" exclaimed an imaginative visitor.
"How I wish I could do the same!"

THE GIZEH MUSEUM

One of the great events of the winter of 1890 was the opening of the new
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at Gizeh. This magnificent collection,
which until recently has been ill-housed at Boulak, is now installed in
another suburb, Gizeh, in one of the large summer palaces built by the
former Khedive, Ismail. To reach it one passes through the new quarter
and crosses the handsome Nile bridge. Not only are all these streets
watered, but the pedestrian also can have water if he likes. Large
earthen jars, propped by framework of wood, stand here and there, with
t