s roofed over but
open at the sides with rugs on the floor, easy chairs, small tables, and
a piano. In this open piazza-parlor we sipped the coffee that was served
to us there after luncheon and after dinner. There, too, we partook of
the tea and cakes that were handed around at four o'clock, and when we
returned from excursions on shore, tired and warm, we found refreshing
lemonade ready to quench our thirst.

[Illustration: RELIEFS ON THE OUTER WALL.]

Our dragoman, Mahmoud Achmed, the Egyptian conductor of all our
sight-seeing excursions on land, was an interesting character and became
a great favorite. He was a native of Luxor and while we were at that
place his bright-eyed little girl, neatly dressed, came to meet us.
Mahmoud had a fund of information regarding the history of the country,
the legends of the gods, and the fabulous deeds of the ancient kings. He
had a most interesting way of interspersing history with mythical tales
and humorous incidents, and so kept the party in high spirits. Mahmoud
was noted, too, for his ability to answer intelligently all reasonable
inquiries and for his great patience in replying to many questions, that
must have appeared to him very silly. Each day on the boat while we were
all seated at dinner, Mahmoud came into the dining saloon and announced
the program for the following days, always beginning: "Ladies and
gentlemen, if you please," and closing with, "Monument tickets are very
much wanted. Galloping donkeys is not allowed."

For some one to mislay or forget a permit was a daily occurrence and the
caution had to be repeated often. As to the donkeys, the riders paid no
attention to the restriction, but walked, trotted, or galloped the
donkeys as they felt inclined.

During the daytime Mahmoud wore a plain gown suitable for traveling on
shore in heat and dust, but in the evenings he was resplendent in robes
of silk. One night, at the request of one of the ladies, he brought to
the mid-deck five handsome silk gowns to be inspected by the tourists.
He also brought his book of references written by people whom he had
conducted. In this we read the dignified prose of preacher and college
president, the practical remarks of business men, and the nonsensical
lines of the rhymster. One of his feminine admirers, seemingly impressed
by the dragoman's silk robes, polite attention, and general good humor,
had left the following jingle on the record:

Who guided us all about the