of the two great arms of this river. Up to that point I do
not think there will be dangers, though there may be some little
difficulty, for they say there are tremendous rapids to be passed.
It is only lately that the king overran Meroe, defeated its armies,
and forced it to pay tribute, but as there is a considerable trade
carried on with that country I do not think there is any danger of
molestation. It is on leaving Meroe that our difficulties will
commence; for, as I hear, the road thence to the east through the
city of Axoum, which is the capital of the country named Abyssinia,
passes through a wild land abounding with savage animals; and again,
beyond Axoum the country is broken and difficult down to the sea.

"Chigron told me, however, that he had heard from a native of Meroe
who had worked for him that there is a far shorter road to the sea
from a point at which the river takes a great bend many hundreds of
miles below the capital. When we get higher up we can of course make
inquiries as to this. I hope that it may prove to be true, for if so
it will save us months of travel."

Several large towns were passed as they journeyed upward. Hermonthis,
standing on the western bank, by which they were traveling, was the
first passed. Then came Esneh, with grand temples dedicated to Kneph
and Neith, and standing where the Nile Valley opens to a width of five
miles. Then they passed Eilithya, standing on the eastern bank, with
many temples rising above it, and with the sandstone rock behind it
dotted with the entrances to sepulchers.

A few miles higher up they passed Edfu. Above this the valley
gradually narrowed, the hills closing in until they rose almost
perpendicularly from the edge of the stream. Here were temples
erected especially for the worship of the Nile and of his emblem the
crocodile. It appeared to the Egyptians the most appropriate place for
the worship of the river, which seemed here to occupy the whole width
of Egypt. Here, too, were vast quarries, from which the stone was
extracted for the building of most of the temples of Upper Egypt.

Sixteen miles higher Ombi was passed, with its great temple in honor
of the crocodile-headed god Sebak. Along this part of the river the
country was comparatively barren and the villages small and far
apart. In the narrow places the river at times ran so rapidly that it
was necessary to hire a number of peasants to assist the boatmen to
drag the boat against the st