but the babies that I am
going to tell you about now were less fortunate in their birth, for they
were born of Egyptian parents--children of the Nile.

Would you like to hear of the strange ceremony?

We had been sailing all day, and at twilight had moored our diahbieh to
the bank near a Coptic village. The Copts are said to be the native
Egyptians, and pride themselves very much on their antiquity. As we
looked out through the brilliant sunset tints that were flushing all the
Nile Valley, the walls of an ancient convent rose before us, sharp and
well defined in the clear atmosphere, its usual gloom banished by the
bright and gorgeous coloring of the Egyptian sunset.

Somebody said, "There is to be a service in the old convent to-night;
shall we go?"

It had been a monotonous day, and the walk and change looked attractive;
so we were soon scrambling up the steep bank, and walking swiftly toward
the old convent walls. The town consisted of a collection of square
brown huts, their flat roofs covered with the nests of countless pigeons
that are always swarming and cooing around every Egyptian
dwelling-place. Quantities of water-jugs lay piled together by the side
of the road, waiting to be sent down the river. As we came out into the
open field, and on to the narrow beaten path which is raised slightly
above the level to keep in the water of the inundation, we threw back
our hats, and turned our faces to the glory of the sky and the cool
refreshing breeze. All the air was sweet with growing grain. Away in the
west the Libyan hills seemed quivering with the flush of the sunset, and
the whole plain was wrapped in a glow of light. A short walk brought us
to the church, and following the crowd which was rapidly assembling, we
mingled with them and obtained seats.

The convent is a lofty inclosure, the roof formed by numerous small
domes numbering nearly two hundred. Within is a small open court, an
ordinary-sized church surrounded with many small chapels, and the
apartments of the monks. Cleanliness is not one of the virtues of the
Copts, so we may expect to find everything dirty and in need of repair.

I shall not tire you with a long account of the general services, of the
clashing of cymbals and the loud voices of the priests, of the Coptic
prayers and long masses, of the blessing of the water when the priest
stirred it with a long stick as he prayed, then, dipping a cloth into
it, applying it to the wrists, insteps,