l is
built, and which until recently supplied it with water. Close by is
the parapet from which the last of the Memluks made his desperate
leap for freedom, and became sole survivor of his class so
treacherously murdered by Mohammed Ali; behind, crowning the Mokhattam
Hills, is the little fort built by Napoleon the Great to command the
city, while in every direction are views almost impossible of
description. To the east is that glorious cemetery known as the "tombs
of the khalifs," which contains many of the finest architectural gems
of mediaeval Egypt; to the west is Fostat, the original "city of the
tent," from which Cairo sprang, while over the rubbish heaps of old
Babylon, the Roman aqueduct stretches towards Rhoda, that beautiful
garden island on whose banks tradition has it that the infant Moses
was found, while still further across the river, sail-dotted and
gleaming in the sun, the great Pyramids mark the limit of the Nile
Valley and the commencement of that enormous desert which stretches to
the Atlantic Ocean. Looking south, past Memphis and the Pyramids of
Sakkara and Darshur, the Nile loses itself in the distant heat
haze, while to the north is stretched before us the fertile plains of
the Delta.

[Illustration: A STREET IN CAIRO.]

At our feet lies the wonderful Arab town, whose domes and minarets
rise high above the dwellings which screen the streets from view, but
whose seething life is evidenced by the dull roar which reaches you
even at this distance. It is a city of sunlight, rich in buildings of
absorbing interest and ablaze with colour. As for the people, ignorant
and noisy though they are, they have much good-humour and simple
kindness in their natures, and it is worth notice that a stranger may
walk about in safety in the most squalid quarters of the city, and of
what European capital could this be said?

CHAPTER V

THE NILE--I

I have already told you how the land of Egypt was first formed by the
river which is still its source of life; but before saying anything
about the many monuments on its banks or the floating life it carries,
I want you to look at the map with me for a moment, and see what we
can learn of the character of the river itself.

The Nile is one of the world's _great_ rivers, and is about 3,400
miles long. As you will see, it has its source in the overflow from
Lake Victoria Nyanza, when it flows in a generally northern direction
for many hundreds of miles, rece