dawning civilization, and there to-day lies the best of Egypt.

Now the ways of visiting the Nile Valley are chiefly these: One may go from Cairo to Assuan and back by rail; or one may go by various forms of conveyance on the river; or, if desirable, these two modes of travel may be combined. But that completes the list of alternatives. No highroads exist in Egypt, outside the immediate environs of Cairo and one or two of the larger towns, so that automobiles are of no possible service save to the resident urban population. Donkeys, horses, or camels serve only for brief excursions to the east or west of the river. And thus the visitor is left only a broad general choice between rail and water, with a subdivision on the water side in favor of two or three lines of regular steamers, the old-fashioned sailing dahabiyeh, or the specially chartered private steamboat. The last-named is doubtless the most thoroughly comfortable of all, and is by the same token the most expensive. The sailing dahabiyeh is, in theory at least, the most idyllic. The regular tourist steamer - whether it be Cook's or one of the others- is the most commonplace of all, and at the same time the most feasible for the vast majority of people traveling with limited supplies alike of time and money. As for the railroad, while fairly comfortable and well served, it can be

commended only as a means of carriage for those whose stay in Egypt is so deplorably brief as to make all the other means out of the question.

It would, I suppose, be difficult to imagine anything more delightful than a leisurely sail up the Nile in a well-found dahabiyeh. The very idea of it makes one's mouth water. Thus it was that Cleopatra sailed this ancient stream - and the very name of the craft means "golden." Nevertheless I will not conceal from you the fact that the dahabiyeh has its drawbacks. The favoring wind does not always blow. It may be necessary to remain for days tied up at some intermediate point along the way which offers absolutely nothing in the way of inducements to an inland excursion. With a thoroughly congenial party-alas, the very rarest of earth's blessings! - and with an abundance of spare time, this delay might not be unbearable. To those of nervous temperament, however, it is likely to prove wearing. To be sure, long purses may readily command the services of a tug, but if one is to be towed, it might as well be decided at once to charter a private steamer and be still more the master of one's time. For the great majority the tourist steamer must always remain the popular choice, — and, be it said, the perfectly satisfactory choice. I have small patience with the supercilious disdain which superior

persons see fit to bestow on the common herd who are forced to take their Egypt under the chaperonage of either of the well-appointed steamer companies that now exploit the Nile. For most of us there is no other way and for the reasonable traveler there is

no need of a better.

It would be too much to say that Egyptian travel is not expensive. It is. The journey up the Nile is often referred to as one of the costliest voyages in the world in proportion to its length. Still, it is possible to fix different degrees of expensiveness, and the less costly will hardly be set down, even by those of moderate means, as prohibitive. One may not ask more of a country where living of almost any kind is dear such living, at least, as that to which the ordinary visitor is accustomed. It is always to be remembered that much of the material necessary to the comfort and convenience of ordinary life, including many kinds of food, must be imported from great distances. Naturally it follows that Egypt is one of the costliest countries in the world in which to liveunless one be content with the meagre fare of the fellâh- and is still more expensive to visit as a transient.

This is atoned for, however, in the simplicity and ease of the journey. A few words of "pidgin" Arabic, easily acquired during a brief stay in Cairo, may

serve for convenience without being in the least essential to one's comfort in a land where English domination suffices to produce a surprisingly widespread use of the English tongue. The coinage of the country is readily mastered, especially by the American, thanks to the similarity in size and value that exists between the piastre with its various multiples and our own five-cent pieces, halves, and quarters. In no other country is the local money so easily translatable into the familiar terms of home. Relieved of that perplexity, and secure in the knowledge that one could no more be lost in Egypt than in a long and narrow corridor, the visitor is likely to suffer from no greater annoyance than that which arises from the flies in late spring and from the insistent begging at all seasons. The latter drawback is reported to be much less bothersome now than it was in the older days; but it is still true that the one Arabic word with which the ear is most often saluted is "backsheesh." Carriages, for the use of which one has little occasion outside of Cairo, are in that city surprisingly reasonable in cost, and efforts at extortion are curtailed by a tariff, published in three languages and placed conspicuously in each vehicle. Personal safety is a question that gives one no

concern.

As for seasons, no doubt can exist that the proper

persons see fit to bestow on the common herd who are forced to take their Egypt under the chaperonage of either of the well-appointed steamer companies that now exploit the Nile. For most of us there is no other way and for the reasonable traveler there is no need of a better.

It would be too much to say that Egyptian travel is not expensive. It is. The journey up the Nile is often referred to as one of the costliest voyages in the world in proportion to its length. Still, it is possible to fix different degrees of expensiveness, and the less costly will hardly be set down, even by those of moderate means, as prohibitive. One may not ask more of a country where living of almost any kind is dear such living, at least, as that to which the ordinary visitor is accustomed. It is always to be remembered that much of the material necessary to the comfort and convenience of ordinary life, including many kinds of food, must be imported from great distances. Naturally it follows that Egypt is one of the costliest countries in the world in which to liveunless one be content with the meagre fare of the fellâh and is still more expensive to visit as a transient.

This is atoned for, however, in the simplicity and ease of the journey. A few words of "pidgin" Arabic, easily acquired during a brief stay in Cairo, may