d the garden
around the vineyard, marking the place of each different crop. Along a
sort of belt walk which ran entirely around the enclosure dom palms
alternated with sycamores, squares of ground were planted with fig,
peach, almond, olive, pomegranate and other fruit trees; others, again,
were planted with ornamental trees only: the tamarisk, the cassia, the
acacia, the myrtle, the mimosa, and some still rarer gum-trees found
beyond the cataracts of the Nile, under the Tropic of Cancer, in the
oases of the Libyan Desert, and upon the shores of the Erythrean Gulf;
for the Egyptians are very fond of cultivating shrubs and flowers, and
they exact new species as a tribute from the peoples they have
conquered.

Flowers of all kinds, and many varieties of watermelons, lupines, and
onions adorned the beds. Two other pools of greater size, fed by the
covered canal leading from the Nile, each bore a small boat to enable
the master of the estate to enjoy the pleasure of fishing. Fishes of
divers forms and brilliant colours played in the limpid waters among the
stalks and the broad leaves of the lotus. Banks of luxuriant vegetation
surrounded these pools and were reflected in their green mirror.

Near each pool rose a kiosk formed of slender columns bearing a light
roof and surrounded by an open balcony whence one could enjoy the sight
of the waters and breathe the coolness of the morning and the evening
while reclining on a rustic seat of wood and reeds.

The garden, lighted by the rising sun, had a bright, happy, restful
look. The green of the trees was so brilliant, the colours of the
flowers so splendid, air and light filled so joyously the vast enclosure
with breeze and sunbeams, the contrast of the rich greenness with the
bare whiteness of the chalky sterility of the Libyan chain, the crest of
which was seen above the walls cutting into the blue sky, was so marked
that one felt the wish to stop and set up one's tent there. It looked
like a nest purposely built for a longed-for happiness.

Along the walks travelled servants bearing on their shoulders a yoke of
bent wood, from the ends of which hung by ropes two clay jars filled at
the reservoirs, the contents of which they poured into small basins dug
at the foot of each plant. Others, handling a jar suspended from a pole
working on a post, filled with water a wooden gutter which carried it to
the parts of the garden that needed irrigating. Gardeners were clipping
the t