HE place where we stood was a kind of square enclosed on three sides by high walls, and bounded on the fourth by a yawning precipice, over which it made one giddy to look. This precipice has got the name of the ") Mameluke's leap," from a story which is told by the guide, that at the massacre of the Mamelukes which took place in this square, one of them, seeing the impossibility of escape, leaped his horse over this terrible precipice, and, strange to say, escaped with safety, though his horse was dashed to pieces on the rocks below.

The scenery from this point is very fine-on one side lies the town of Cairo, stretching for some distance along the plain, and specially conspicuous for the great number of minarets which in every direction dart up from the confused masses of houses. These tall spires add very much to the picturesqueness of the scene, and at the same time testify to the devotion of the people of Cairo, in possessing so many places in which to worship. On the other side stretches away into the distant horizon the long line of sandy desert which lies just beyond the green tract which marks the flow of the Nile. Apparently close at hand, though really ten miles distant, towers the great pyramid Cheops; whilst scattered over a wide surface may be seen a great many more, though much smaller and less distinguished than the above-named one. It was with strange feelings that I looked upon these pyramids—what a history they could unfold, if they could tell us the long story of the past. How many secrets, which men have long striven to find out, could they tell of peoples and things that have long since passed into oblivion. Though many a century has passed over them, they still seem as strong as ever; and whilst the monuments in other lands have crumbled and decayed before the wear and tear of time, those still remain the oldest witnesses of the early ages of the world. As we descended from the hill to the hotel, we felt that we had been amply repaid for all our trouble, in the magnificent scenes upon which we had been able to look. Our only regret was that our time would not allow us to pay a visit to the pyramids, so that we might make a closer inspection of what appeared to us so grand and imposing at a distance. When we arrived at the hotel we found we were just in time for breakfast, after which we started at once for the railway station, on our way to Suez, in the same large conveyance that had brought us to the hotel on the day before. Having learned a little experience from the sufferings of the previous day, our first thought was to secure as large a compartpossible, as we anticipated that a ride through the desert would be even more fatiguing than anything we had yet experienced. We discovered when we reached the platform that a good many

ment as

HE place where we stood was a kind of square enclosed on three sides by high walls, and bounded on the fourth by a yawning precipice, over which it made one giddy to look. This precipice has got the name of the "Mamelukes leap," from a story which is told by the guide, that at the massacre of the Mamelukes which took place in this sp one of them, seeing the impossibility of escape, leaped his horse over this terrible precipice, and, strange to say, escaped with safety, though his horse was dashed to pieces on the rocs below.

The scenery from this point is very fine-on one side lies the town of Cairo, stretching for some distance along the plain, and specially conspicuous for the great number of minarets which in every direction dart up from the confused masses of houses. These tall spires add very much to the picturesqueness of the scene, and at the same time testify to the devotion of the people of Cairo, in possessing so many places in which to worship. On the other side stretches away into the distant horizon the long line of sandy desert which lies just beyond the green tract which marks the flow of the Nile. Apparently close at hand, though really ten miles distant, towers the great pyramid Cheops; whilst scattered over a wide surface may be seen a great many more, though much smaller and less distinguished than the above-named one. It was with strange feelings that I looked upon these pyramids—what a history they could unfold, if they could tell us the long story of the past. How many secrets, which men have long striven to find out, could they tell of peoples and things that have long since passed into oblivion. Though many a century has passed over them, they still seem as strong as ever; and whilst the monuments in other lands have crumbled and decayed before the wear and tear of time, those still remain the oldest witnesses of the early ages of the world. As we descended from the hill to the hotel, we felt that we had been amply repaid for all our trouble, in the magnificent scenes upon which we had been able to look. Our only regret was that our time would not allow us to pay a visit to the pyramids, so that we might make a closer inspection of what appeared to us so grand and imposing at a distance. When we arrived at the hotel we found we were just in time for breakfast, after which we started at once for the railway station, on our way to Suez, in the same large conveyance that had brought us to the hotel on the day before.

Having learned a little experience from the sufferings of the previous day, our first thought was to secure as large a compartment as possible, as we anticipated that a ride through the desert would be even more fatiguing than anything we had yet experienced. We discovered when we reached the platform that a good many

besides ourselves had been seized with the same idea, and so had appropriated all the best places in the train; consequently we were reduced to the necessity of being contented with even a more indifferent compartment than the one in which we were broiled and baked during yesterday's ride. Having laid in a good stock of oranges, and having bought a few jars of Nile water, which men laden with large skins of it were offering for sale, we found time to look around upon the scenes before us. The sun had by this time risen pretty high, and it was getting exceedingly hot. The station was densely thronged with people who had just come in by several trains, and who, dressed in the strange garb already described, presented such a picturesque and novel appearance as was exceedingly interesting to one who had never seen such a sight before. In spite, however, of the novelty of the scene, which at first is particularly attractive, I could not help remarking that these people, in common with those further east, were very uncleanly and untidy, both in their persons and their dress. As soon as one fairly gets away from England, then one's experiences of the actual realities of the filth and dirt that are to be met with as one travels eastward commence, and no amount of romance can charm away the annoyances and disgust at having to live in the midst of people who seem to avoid as much as possible the use of soap and water. At ten o'clock precisely the guard warned all who were going to be seated, and in a few minutes after, we were winding our way through long trains that were waiting to get in, and past dusky turbaned heads that were peering in upon us, no doubt with the same excited curiosity that we gazed out upon them. The station appeared to be on the very edge of the desert, as in a very few minutes we were right in the midst of sand, whilst away behind we could see the town of Cairo stretching to the right and the left, the minarets seeming to dart up from the town so distinct and well defined, that it gave the place quite a graceful and beautiful appearance. By-and-by these were lost in the distance, and as we looked around every sign of life had completely disappearednot a blade of grass, not a single tree could be discovered in any