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Muḥammad the Prophet and his family the pure and save "(them). There died Ibrahîm, son of Al-Husain, son of "Ishak, son of Ya'kub, son of Ishak, on Saturday, when eight (nights) remained (the 21st) of the latter Rabi', in "the year 420 (A.D. 1029).”

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III. "In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the "Merciful. Hasten unto forgiveness from your Lord and

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a Paradise the width whereof is (as) the heavens and the earth, which is prepared for the God-fearing. Blessed be "He Who, if He pleased, could give thee better than that, (to wit) gardens beneath which flow streams, and could give "thee palaces. O God, bless Muḥammad the Prophet and "his family and save (them), and have mercy on Thy "servant that hath need of Thy mercy, Ismâ'îl, son of "Al-Husain, son of Ishak, son of Ya'kûb, son of Ishak. He "died on Monday, when twenty and three (nights) were "passed (on the 23rd) of Rajab, in the year 431 (A.D. 1040). "The mercy of God be upon him, and His forgiveness, and "His favour be upon him."

The first Cataract, called Shellâl by the Arabs, begins a little to the south of Aswân, and ends a little to the north of the island of Philæ; six great cataracts are found on the Nile between Khartûm and Aswân, but this is the most generally known. Here the Nile becomes narrow and flows between two mountains, which descend nearly perpendicularly to the river, the course of which is obstructed by huge boulders and small rocky islands and barriers, which stand on different levels, and cause the falls of water which have given this part of the river its name. On the west side the obstacles are not so numerous as on the east, and sailing and rowing boats can ascend the cataract on this side when the river is high. The noise made by the water is at times very great, but it has been greatly exaggerated by both ancient and modern travellers, some of whom ventured to assert that the “ water

fell from several places in the mountain more than two hundred feet." Some ancient writers asserted that the fountains of the Nile were in this cataract, and Herodotus* reports that an official of the treasury of Neith at Sais stated that the source of the Nile was here. Many of the rocks here are inscribed with the names of kings who reigned during the Middle Empire; in many places on the little islands in the cataract quarries were worked. The island of Sâḥal should be visited on account of the numerous inscriptions left there by princes, generals, and others who passed by on their way to Nubia. On February 6th, 1889, Mr. Wilbour was fortunate enough to discover on the south-eastern part of this island a most important stele consisting of a rounded block of granite, eight or nine feet high, which stands clear above the water, and in full view from the river looking towards Philæ. Upon it are inscribed thirty-two lines of hieroglyphics which form a remarkable document, and contain some valuable information bearing upon a famous seven years' famine. The inscription is dated in the eighteenth year of a king whose name is read by Dr. Brugsch as Tcheser

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early in the IIIrd dynasty; but internal evidence proves beyond a doubt that the narrative contained therein is a redaction of an old story, and that it is, in its present form, not older than the time of the Ptolemies.

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In this time of distress the king despatched a messenger to Matar, the governor of Elephantine, informing him of the terrible state of want and misery which the country was in, and asking him to give him information about the source of the Nile, and about the god or goddess who presided over it, and promising to worship this deity henceforth if he would make the harvests full as of yore. Matar informed the messenger concerning these things, and when the king had heard his words he at once ordered rich sacrifices to be made to Khnemu, the god of Elephantine, and decreed that tithes of every product of the land should be paid to his temple. This done the famine came to an end and the Nile rose again to its accustomed height. There can be no connection between this seven years' famine and that recorded in the Bible, for it must have happened some two thousand years before Joseph could have been in Egypt; but this remarkable inscription proves that from time immemorial the people of Egypt have suffered from periodic famines. The village of Mahâtah, on the east bank of the river, is prettily situated, and worth a visit.

The Aswan Dam.-A glance at the general configuration of the bed of the First Cataract will show the traveller that in remote times the progress of the Nile must have been obstructed at the southern end by a rocky barrier, which prevented the flow of the stream to a very considerable extent. A careful examination of the granite rocks on each side of it will further show him that this barrier has been eaten through by the action of wind and water, and that as a result the Nile flood flowed to waste for centuries, and that the life-giving waters rushed to the sea, leaving unwatered vast tracts of land on each side of the river, which might have been turned into fertile fields could only the surplus waters have been made to flow on to them. During the first half of the XIXth century this waste of water was regarded with grave concern by the eminent French engineers who were in charge of the irrigation schemes of Egypt, but the only attempt made to regulate the flow of the Nile is represented by the Barrage which was designed by Mougel and built a little to the north of Cairo. When the British irrigation officials had repaired Mougel's work, and had turned it from a useless monument of Muḥammad 'Ali's impatience into a useful machine for regulating the water supply of the Delta, they set to work to devise some scheme which should benefit the agriculture of the whole country between Aswân and the sea, and, after much careful thought and examination of sites, it was decided that it was necessary to build a dam near the southern end of the First Cataract. It was further decided that about 88,300,000,000 cubic feet of water must be stored up at this place, that the maximum head of water must be 85 feet, and that the level of the water held up must be 374 feet above sea level.

Now it was evident that if these proposals were carried out, the buildings on the island of Philæe would be submerged to a depth of several feet each year, and that they would stand in water so long as the reservoir was full. As

soon as this fact was recognized, a great outcry was raised by a few archæologists who, quite regardless of the fact that the general welfare of Egypt was of paramount importance, demanded that the proposed Dam should not be built. In answer to the outcry the responsible British officials pointed out that it was impossible to add to the water supply for the crops unless the Dam were made, and that if it were made the general income of the inhabitants would be increased by about E.2,600,000 annually. Lord Cromer and Sir William Garstin were as anxious as the most enthusiastic archæologist to preserve the buildings at Phile, but it was evident to every fair-minded person that the progress of Egypt must not be retarded by mere archæological sentimentalism. There were two ways out of the difficulty:-1. To reduce the level of the water in the reservoir. 2. To remove the temples and other buildings at Phile to a neighbouring site. The first of these was chosen, and it was decided to build the Dam, but to reduce the level of the water to be held up from 374 feet to 348 feet above sea-level. In 1898 the Egyptian Government made a contract with Messrs. John Aird and Co. for the building of the Dam and a Barrage at Asyût, and Sir Ernest Cassel undertook to take over the bonds as issued, and to wait for repayment until the works were completed. Bonds were issued for £4,716,780, and repayment was to be made in sixty half-yearly instalments of £78,613.

The foundation of the Dam was laid by the Duke of Connaught on February 12th, 1899, and the work was finished in 1902. The actual cost of the Dam was £2,400,000. The first superintendents of works were Mr. John A. C. Blue, and Mr. M. Fitzmaurice, C.M.G., etc. During the building of the Dam the Egyptian Government carried out some important works at Phile with the object of strengthening the foundations of the temples there, at a cost of about £22,000. In 1903 the reservoir was filled

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