oriental merchandise passing in the
midst of trolley-cars, bicycles and automobiles; a fellah woman with a
donkey loaded with baskets of poultry, or a turkey vendor driving his
flock before him, guiding its movements by a palm branch; a milkman
driving his cow and milking it in public for his waiting customers; a
wedding procession preceded by a group of dancing girls, or two
half-naked mountebanks engaging in pretended combats; a gaudily
bedecked bride riding in a gorgeous palanquin borne by two camels,
followed by camels carrying furniture and presents; a funeral
procession with black-shawled professional mourners howling their
mercenary grief--all this and more too is Cairo.

[Illustration: POOL OF SILOAM, JERUSALEM, HOLY LAND]

The climate of Egypt is peculiar: from noon till 5 P.M. it is hot and
uncomfortable; the other nineteen hours are delightfully cool in
winter, the air being very dry and healthful, with little or no rain.
At Cairo the Citadel is the main attraction. It stands on a rampart
two hundred and fifty feet above the city and is a splendid fortress.
The city has many mosques--hundreds of them; the most important one is
that of Sultan Hassan. The Museum is very interesting, and contains
the best things from all the temples of Egypt, objects that could not
well stand exposure nor the risk of theft. Then, of course, there are
the Pyramids of Gizeh, three in number, and the Sphinx. These world
wonders are about six miles from Cairo. Few will realize that the big
one sits on a base of thirteen acres and is over four hundred and fifty
feet high. Pick out in your mind's eye some large field of about that
size, and then build it up from that base and you will have some idea
of what this structure is like. It contains three million cubic yards
of stone and was simply a tomb for an Egyptian king. It has a majestic
dignity and impressiveness exceeding that of any other work of man; as
it is approached one feels like an ant in its presence.

The Sphinx near by is of the same nature. It is sixty-six feet high,
hewn out of the living rock. No one has discovered with what intention
it was made nor what it is meant to represent. It is said to be the
emblem of immortality, and it impresses the visitor with the idea that
it sits serene in its nobility above the earth and its inhabitants and
all else that the world contains. It has always been a riddle and will
always remain one. A thought struck me when