Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-04-13
MORNING WALK IN EGYPT

of Luxor and the Pylon Of Karnac. Like
the child who asks you TO stand behind the
door and rrighten him, he wants TO be awe
struck If possible. But the traveller who
wishes to learn cannot do better than spend
a few hours at Denderah before he sees
Thebes, because he may there, without
anything TO disturb his mental balance,
study the chief features of Egyptian archi-
lecture in one OF the most perfect examples
remaining. Denderah has little of the
majesty of Karnac. Its portco is half bur
led in heaps Of unburned brick. You de-
scend to the entrance, aud can take in the
whole design in a few minutes. But it has
many advantages for the student. 1t stands
apart from any modern town, on the pc
ninsua formed by bend of the stream,
short walk only from the bank, and IL is
easy by leaving the boat at the beginning
Of The curve to visit the ruins aud overlake
the boat again before it reaches Keneh.
The green fields are full of life, swarming
with herds, birds, and children. Here a
half-naked boy with following OF little
brothers and sisters, among whom one
scauty suit of clothes seems to have been
distributed, superntends the grazing of
the family buffalo. There, woman shroud-
ed in blue, with an emacated baby on htr
shoulder, endeavors TO concentrate the at
tention OF her flock OF sheep and goats upon
one patch OF grass. The sheep are brown,
the goats black, and their human compau-
ions partake of both colors. A causeway
of earth, heaped up from the fiat fields on
49, III a.. .F 11ft
palms and under the shade of green lamar
isks, whose foliage has soft, ieathery out
line against the blue sky. A line OF laugh
ing girls, each bearing on her head All
enormous earthen jar, causes you TO stand
aside and make way for them on the mar
row path. They draw their hoods across
their faces as they pass, but gaze at you
with unfeigned interest out of one black
eye. Very often the exlempoized veil
drops and reveals a brown but not always
ugly face, set off with necklaces aud ear
rings of colured beads, and tatooed on chin
and forehead. \ smiling mouth and rows
OF magnificent white teeth redeem the 9TH
erwise expressionless countenance, and
your salute is returned politely without
any disturbance of the we'll balanced water
jar. Next a Fellah village is reached-a
miserable heap of low mud walls, without
doors, roofs, or windows, but rising here
and there into tall pigeon tower formed
OF crooks embedded, ter over tier, in the
mud wall. Fallen houses are frequent,
where pots, whole or broken, lie half hid
den in dust, and the wild dove flies out,
glancing in the sunshine as you pass. II
is pretty bird, its colors bright aud pleas
ing, and though it lilies among the pots,"
the appropriateness of David's allusion is
the more manifest. Neither doves nor pig
cons appear TO be wholly domesticated the
fellah seldom indulses in animal food, but
the passing tourist is at liberty 10 shoot for
himself the materials for pie without the
slightest opposition. Close adjoining the
village great mounds of mingled earth aud
potsherds mark the site of the ancient
town, and present another example Of the
form which Egyptian domestic ruins every
where take. The crude brick has crumb-
led away into dry brown dust and though
stone and burned brick may in some places
be concealed, digging among such heaps
seldom reveals anything 10 repay the
trouble OF the task. The natives gather
the mould and sift or wash it for the nitre
with which it is impreguated, and great
fiat basins for evaporation are near the
mounds. Naked Arabs on donkeys csnter
past you with their panniers, or overtske
you from the ruins laden with the nitrous
dust. One Of them, probably, stops 10 offer
you some "autika" which be has found, or
whisper a sentence in which you only dis
tinguish "scarabee" and "bak sheesh." The
donkeys ale now and then varied by a cam
ell, which looks more at home with his soft
cushioned feet, his noiseless, solemn tread,
and the sueer which nature has imprinted
on his dry, dun-colored face. He snArls
like dog when his master touches him,
and shows his formidable teeth il the stran-
ger comes too near. He is ugly, cross, un-
iameable, discontented, but to the North
ern traveller, at least, always interesting.
Far away, beyond the green fields, where
the stony heights come down in great but
tresses 10 the strip of sandy desert at their
feet, you see two or three younG camels at
home. They trot or even gallop through
the burning sunshine, chase each other for
miles along the glowing waste, throwing
up behind them clouds of binding dust,
till they look like ghosts gliding through
land of shadows. There is something
strangely fascinating about them-so un-
like other animals, yet SO evidently suited
TO the country to which they belong. Just
as wild, but far less interesting are the
dogs. They rush out at you from every
corner, and, in Upper Egypt at least, are
Omen as fierce as they are hideous. In
Cairo they are a down-trodden race but
it the country they show more indepen-
dence. South of Thebes, indeed, they are,
to a certain extent, domesticated, and even
as low as Denderah they help to guard. If
not 10 guide the fiocks. Between them and
the children there is a kind of alliance. On
the village dirt-heap both sleep, side by
side, in the shade of the same wall. The
same flies creep round the eyes of each, but
of the two the dog is the cleaner and the
less disgusting.
At length, as one more heap Of broken
pottery is surmounted, the temple comes
in sight. You have taken a tall Arab from
among the crew as your convoy, and for
time he is able to repel the crowds of beg
gars and volunteer guides who have beset
you since you passed through the village.
He gives in at last to the Establishments of
an old, but not venerable, man with one
eye, who seems to have persuaded him
that he is the authorized guide to the tenn
pie. 1t is better TO acquiesce, for he keeps
the ethers off; but as he does not speak q
word of English, unless "baksheesh" be
counted an English word, his attentions
are not very Troublesome. 1t needs no one
to point out the pylon, covered with life
sized kings and gods, which gives admit
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