The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-03-13
GRANT IN THE EAST.
Splendid Reception in Upper
Egypt
VISIT TO ABYDOS.
THE CRADLE OF CIvIIZATIoS-ToMBs
AND TEMPLES CENTURIES OLD.

AND TEMPLES CENIl klEe oLD-
Oh THE NILE, Jan. -26, Is7s-0n
the morning of the 18th of January,
tha. being the third day Of our jour
new. we came TO the town of Stout.
OF Assiout. as some call it. We
have 8 Vice Consul here, and tokens
of our coming had been sent, as could
be seen by the flags which decorated
the bank. and the crowd on the shore
Stout is the capital Of Upper Egypt,
and is a city Of $4,000 inhabitants.
The city is some distance back from
the river, aad grew into Importance
as the depot OF much Of the caravan
trade from Darfour Upon arriving
the Vice Consul and bis son came
on board and were presented TO the
General Congratulations were ex-
changed, and We offered oGr friends
coffee and cigars ia the true Oriental
style. The name of our Consul here
is WASH el Hsyst- He is Syrian
and large landed proprietor He is
a grave elderly person, who spoke
only Arabic, bat his son had been
educated in Beyrout, at the mission
schools, and knew English. We all
drove to the town. 1t was over
parched fields, through country
that in more favorable years would
bloom like a garden. But the Nile
is bad this year, and bad Nile is
calamity second only to a famine il
Egypt We rode into the town and
through the bszaars, sll the town
seemed 10 know of our coming, for
wherever We went crowds swsrmed
around US, and We had to force our
donkeys through masses of Arabs
and Egyptians of ell ages and condi-
tions, some almost naked-croSds
crying for beksheesh or pressing ar
iicIes Of merchandise upon Us. The
baZaars are narrow covered ways,
covered with mating or loose boards,
enough to break the force of tfe
sun. The stores are little cubby
holes of rooms, in front Of which the
trader sits and calls upon you TO buy.
As these avenues are not more than
six feet wide at best, you can mag
inc what q time we had in making
our progress. The town had some
fGe houses and mosques, but in the
main it was Ike all towns in Upper
Egypt, collection OF mud novels.
We rode beyond the town to tombs
built in the sand and climbed the
limestone rock on cur doDkeys
This was our first evidence 0f the
manner of sculpture in the olden
time. These desert rocks of lime
stone were tunnelled and made into
rooms, and here the mummied dead
found rest. The chambers appoint
ed for them were large and spacious,
according to .hc means Of the deeess
ed. In some that We entered there
was a chamber, 81 snte-ehsmber and
sometimes connecting chambers
There were Inscriptions on the walls,
but they had been defaced The
early Christians mad deemed it their
duty to obey the first commandment
by removing the representatives of
the gods that came 10 their way
The ceilings Of the tombs had been
once decorated, but modern Chris
tians have deemed it their duty to
deface them by firing pistol shots.
When you visit a tomb and notice
the blue stars and astronomical forms
that the ancients painted with so
much care, i; is 20 cunning to Try the
echo by firing your pistol. Conse-
quently the roofs are spotted with
bullet marks. Here also came the
wanderers for shelter, and you see
what the fires have done. What the
tombs may have been in the past
when they came fresh from pious,
loving hands you can imagine But
what with ancient Christian icono-
elasJs, modern Christian wanderers,
BedouiGs, Arabs selling the graves
for ornaments, nothing remains but
empty limestone rooms filing with
sand and a few bieroglyphic memo
rials Oh tie walls.
RECEPTION TO GENERAL GRANT.
We were hidden TO an entertain
ment at the home Of WASH el HsYat,
and, seven being the hour, we set
forth. We were ali anxious about
our irst Arab entertainment, and az
ter some deliberation our naval men
concluded TO go in their uniforms
The Doctor rode ahead in the car
riage With General aud Mrs Grant
and the Consul General AS the
Doctor wore his Uniform and the 9TH
ers were in plain dress be was wei
coined bY the awe stricken Moslems
as the King of America Hadden
and the rest Of Us rode behind on our
trusty and well beloved donkeys,
Hadden 10 unifor m. followed by won
dering crowds. | suppose be was
taken for minor poteniate, as in the
Oriental eyes all that lace and gold
could not be wasted on anything less
than princely rank. But we all had
more or less attention, although We
could feel that the uniforms were the
centre OF glory, and that We sbone
with borrowed splenaor. As We
came TO the house of WASH ell Hayat
We saw q real transformation scene
Lanterns lined the streets, servants
stood on the road holding blazing
torches, transparency Yves over the
gate with the words, Welcome
General Grant" The "Nr was turn
ed upside down, tut that made no
difference, fer the welcome here in
far Africa made the heart throb quick