e country, but presents the most
astonishing appearance at the period of the inundation. At that time not
only is the lengthy valley from Assouan to Cairo laid under water, but
the Delta itself becomes one vast lake, interspersed with islands, which
stud its surface here and there at intervals, and which reminded
Herodotus of "the islands of the AEgean." The elevations, which are the
work of man, are crowned for the most part with the white walls of towns
and villages sparkling in the sunlight, and sometimes glassed in the
flood beneath them. The palms and sycamores stand up out of the expanse
of waters shortened by some five or six feet of their height.
Everywhere, when the inundation begins, the inhabitants are seen
hurrying their cattle to the shelter provided in the villages, and, if
the rise of the water is more rapid than usual, numbers rescue their
beasts with difficulty, causing them to wade or swim, or even saving
them by means of boats. An excessive inundation brings not only animal,
but human life into peril, endangering the villages themselves, which
may be submerged and swept away if the water rises above a certain
height. A deficient inundation, on the other hand, brings no immediate
danger, but by limiting production may create a dearth that causes
incalculable suffering.

Nature's operations are, however, so uniform that these calamities
rarely arise. Egypt rejoices, more than almost any other country, in an
equable climate, an equable temperature, and an equable productiveness.
The summers, no doubt, are hot, especially in the south, and an
occasional sirocco produces intense discomfort while it lasts. But the
cool Etesian wind, blowing from the north through nearly all the
summer-time, tempers the ardour of the sun's rays even in the hottest
season of the year; and during the remaining months, from October to
April, the climate is simply delightful. Egypt has been said to have but
two seasons, spring and summer. Spring reigns from October into
May--crops spring up, flowers bloom, soft zephyrs fan the cheek, when it
is mid-winter in Europe; by February the fruit-trees are in full
blossom; the crops begin to ripen in March, and are reaped by the end of
April; snow and frost are wholly unknown at any time; storm, fog, and
even rain are rare. A bright, lucid atmosphere rests upon the entire
scene. There is no moisture in the air, no cloud in the sky; no mist
veils the distance. One day follows another, eac