m the height to which it has
risen since the previous morning. This overflow of the Nile irrigates
the country for a long distance from its banks, and makes them very
fruitful.

From the Nilometer we went to see the gardens belonging to Ibrahim
Pacha; then to the spot where Moses is said to have been found by
Pharaoh's daughter. We could picture the cradle of bulrushes floating on
the still waters; the royal princess coming down with maidens to bathe,
the anxious Miriam watching with eager eyes to see what would be the
fate of her baby-brother. Hugh and Lucy both said that it made the Bible
seem much more real to them, now that they were in the very land where
so many of God's wonders of old were wrought. We all felt it so, as we
looked at the spot where Moses was preserved in his babyhood, while
floating in his cradle in the very waters which afterwards at his word,
by God's command, were turned into blood.

Our next expedition was to the tombs of the Mameluke kings. We rode
through a not very interesting part of Cairo to the "Bab-el-Nasr," or
"Gate of Victory."

The tombs stand at a short distance from Cairo, on the edge of the
desert. Each has its mosque, with dome and minarets. In one, called El
Kait Bey, there is the print of a man's foot on the marble slab. This is
said to be the footprint of "the Prophet" Mohammed. It is within a
covered enclosure which is open at the sides. The Arabs show their
respect for it by touching it reverently with their hands, which they
kiss afterwards.

[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES.]

Another beautiful tomb is El Berbook. It has been faced with red and
white stones, many of which are still left. There is an open corridor on
the first floor. The entrance-hall leads into the large court of the
mosque, in which there once was a fountain. It has long ceased to play,
and the ornaments are all in ruin. The dome was richly ornamented. The
door to it was locked, and we could only peep through some holes at the
beauties within.

We next went to the tomb and mosque of Ahd Bey. The pavements, the
windows, the grand arch, the ornamentation, all were beautiful. And the
thought that the great Mameluke sultans, in whose honour these were
wrought, made us silent. These palaces were not for the living, but for
the dead. Even Hugh and Lucy grew grave. It was such a solemn thought
that we were walking among earthly palaces, dedicated to those to whom
earthly glory has for centuries been l