tween their eyes;
the flowing chemise, of crude colors, mostly blue, their heads bound in
a turban of muslin, their black tresses flying in the wind. The arms of
these children of the desert are encircled in bracelets, some of which
we purchased with a few annas. They are gilded and tarnished, perhaps
from lack of usage. A sad smile seems to lurk on their faces, casting a
gleam in their dark eyes, and they will follow for a great distance your
donkey, offering you their poor, little, ragged dolls for a backsheesh;
the very touch of them would be pollution. You cannot resist, if an anna
is within reach, of throwing it to them and receiving in return a
glimpse of their pearly teeth between their red lips in their attempts
at a smile. The Arab men, wrapped in their burnoose, look on
mechanically, turning their rosewood beads in their hands. Their yellow
dogs, with pointed muzzles, prowl around restlessly, as if they would
cry out with joy if a bone was thrown them. On passing through the
bazaars I spied a Nubian veil, and to inspect it within a doorway, I was
obliged to dismount; not being satisfied with work or quality, I
attempted to remount, with the assistance of my diminutive donkey boy,
but alas, we were not equal to the feat; when, from a distance, came a
red coat, an English soldier, who threw me on the saddle and demanded a
backsheesh. Is begging contagious, or is their need so great? Over the
tranquil scenes creep the cold shadows of night, with their unhealthy,
impenetrable gloom; lights of the steamer are extinguished; the water
shadoufs, with lean bullocks for their motive power, with hanging
fetlocks, conducted by a little fellahin, gave a sharp, hollow, grinding
sound as the brake wheels were made to revolve. These brake wheels set
others in motion, which in their turn start still others at the
extremity of the spokes on the water circles, where jars of baked clay
were fastened with cords made of palm fiber. The latter, in their
constant rotation, scooped up water, pouring it into basins, from which
ran gutters, dug at right angles in the earth, and spread like silver
threads through this thirsty land. These shadoufs are placed at
intervals along the Nile and from its beneficent waters the desert is
made to bloom as the rose.

The early mornings are bright, but cold. As we proceed up the Nile the
noonday sun feels uncomfortable, but invariably the nights are cold.
Then it is that the awnings are closely draw