The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-02-04

dDOuI Alfli, HI IdCC anu at SnA5
more like Turk than French
man, except that he is busily writing.
Ihope he got eomfortably toCairo.
Kinglake remarks, in his incOmpara-
bic EotheR, that in scenes where he
ought to have been yielding to the in
huence Of religious on historical i'm
pressions, he often found himself filled
with concern about breakfast. 1t is that
which has encouraged me to
speak more than once in these letters OH
the same topic. In SueZ, mOreever, we
seemed to be free from the obligation
which weighed so upon MIR. kingiake,
for there are no traditions, so far as /
know, relating to the railway station in
which we stood at that moment. We
were free to confess that we Were hum
CRY, but we were not free, unhappiIy,
to go in search of breakfast, since the
train might start at any moment. We
were at the mercy of those who were
entreatihg us TO buy those products of
Suez have before mentioned. In our
despair, we drew lots to see who should
first taste the bread and sweet-cakes,
and as our victim pronounced against
them we fell back on the green oranges.
OF the least green, The least rascally
Arab asked us sixpense for two. We
ended by paying him two pence for six,
which was several times their true price.
THE DEsERT BY RAILROAD.
The train arrived little before noon.
Instead of coming to our station, it
stopped near the quai, and we were in
vited to seek it there In expectation
of some such move, we had kept our
porters with us by the simple expedient
of refusing to pay them till the luggage
was put on board the train, and now we
found ourselves with great advantage
over travellers who had waited thrice as
long as we, and had no porters. The
truth is, we did not believe there would
be room in the train for all, hence our
hurry to get places. In the end, every
body found a seat, and in less than an
hour from our landing we were off for
Cairo in second-class carriage; the
railway company, like everybody else,
Supplying the Viceroy with second-class
wares at first-c. ass prices. But dare
say they gave us alp the first-class they
had, for two trains with royal guests
had gone ahead of us.
There were still a dozen ships in the
canal, by the side of which the railroad
runs. We pitied them, Just as the peo-
pie who arrived yesterday pitied us.
Formerly there was a railway in near
ly direct line from Suez to Cairo, but it
has been abandoned since the system
was Completed which unites Cairo, AL
exandria, and Ismailia by the junction
at ZagiZig. The rails of the old road
have not been taken up, but it is not
used because it does not pay expenses.
So that, instead of q gaining of perhaps
so miles, we have to perform circuit.
1t is worse than taking the two sides of
a triangle, for we have to pass over
three sides of q square, $50 miles or
more in all, and are eight hours i'll do
ing it. The desert lay about us until
after we had passed Ismailia. The wind
was blowing strongly, and just beyond
SueZ raised a perpendicular column of
dust high in the air; a familiar thing in
the desert, but new to us. A railway
is the last point of view one would
choose from which to see and feel the
desert the rattle of carriages and scream
of the engine dispel the impression yet
we were not far out of Suez when our
eyes CHANGED to fall on a spot which
somehow conveyed to us with force the
sense of the desolateness of the desert.
The bones of camel lay in white
heap on the tawny sand. ~
CAIRO HACKMEN AND HOTELS.
1t was half-past eight when we reach
ed Cairo. No one of us knew what
we were to do or where we were to go
in that city The hotels, ] had been
told, werea all taken up by the Khedive
for his guests. We looked to find at
the railway station some agent or officer
to govern our movements, as they had
been governed in way completely
mysterious to us when we were trans
ferred from the Guienne to the Peluse.
There may have been such a person, but
his guiding hand did not reach to us.
l..
drifted out on the platform next the
street. If the boatmen at Alexandria
were eager, and the porters at Suez a
pest, they were patient and polite by
the side of the donkey-boys of Cairo.
At first there were no carriages, and
wandered off q little way in search of
one. In u moment a fellow ali in white
came swooping and whooping down
upon me, crying Carriage, Shepherds
Hotel. Four rupee-a, four rupee-a."
The New York hackmen, accomplished
swindlers as they are, must come to
Cairo to learn their trade. He asked
four times his fare, but we might have
to drive all over the city for hotel,
though Shepherds was only half a mile,
and l seized OIL the carriage. The dri-
yer demanded his four rupees-that is,
90 piastres, or S2.50-in advance. 1 told
him to put the baggage on. He refused,
with his frantic scream of 'sfour rupee-a,
four rupee-a." There was no time to
waste words. / pat my trunk on the
box in place of the driver, took the
reins and whip, and started. The mo-
ment he found / was resolute to go, he
yielded, scrambled up again, none the
worse for his tumble, and drove at a
tremendous pace TO Shepherds. Shep-
herd was full, but civil. How many
hotels have you in New York whose
manager would come out on the side
walk with you TO direct your driver
to another inn? We found the driver
trying to get R and the luggage out
of the carriage, but R was immoV-
able, the trunks went up again, and we
drove to the Hotel Auric, a new house,
and had the luck to get the last vacant
room. In five minutes more came a
dozen Of our fellow travellers, only to
be turned away, aud two hours later an
acquaintance of mine arrived who had
been to twelve hotels in vain. Once
more my driver wanted his "four ra-
pee-a, mad with haste to get back to
the station and rob somebody else. He
had to wait till our room was ready,
and then he had TO take up the luggage.
Then at last he got the four rupees, fail
ing altogether in an attempt to persuade
hAS hAIS AOuA AupCCS b"CHtn
instead of ten.
It was half-past nine. We had to
dine, dress, and go to the ball. They
were Just serving their. third or fourth
dinner for that evening, and, for the
first time, as it seemed to ,rs, we found
in the Hotel Auric man who was not
plundering the Khedive and starving
his guests. Pardon q man who has
breakfasted ON three green oranges il
he stops to observe that his dinner at
ten in the evening was good and wen
served. Even the wine was good,
though it may not have been Chateau
Latte, as the label affirmed, and there
was Cliquot champagne for anybody
who liked it, as well there might be at
siXty-fiye francs day.
When we had dressed and started for
the bail-on donkeys this time, for there
was no longer eafriage--we found
time to observe that Cairo was bril-
liantly illuminated. We passed under
an arch OF flame erected by the French
to their Empress, the palace of Nubar
Pasha on the right was covered with
colored lamps, and late as it was, our
long road to the Khedive's palace was
lined with hanging lanterns, with su-
perb great black fellows holding torches
of blazing resinous brands, with many
a house, and garden, and palace that
were light as day.