Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-02-10
The American Mission in Egypt.
AMERICAN MISSION,
ASYooT, EGYPT, Jan. 7th, 1881. I

ASYoOT, EGYPT, Jan. 1th, 1881.
EDITOR CHRoNICLE-SIR: Permit me
through your columns to inform my nu-
merous friends at home of my where
abouts and TO answer the dozen and
one questions that have been asked.
AsyoOt is the terminus of the railway
leading up the valley of the Nile, and
about 400 miles from Alexandria; it is
a town of about 10000 inhabitants, and
built principally of mud or Sun-burned
brick; tue streets are very narrow,
crooked and irregular-nO paVementS
whatever, and many of the streets be-
ing several inches deep with dust. The
donkey is the only street car we can
boast of, and the camel is used for heavy
transportation, such as heavy tlmberS
| for building, StOrebOXeS, pianos, organs,
&c. OF these Instruments l have come
across some four or five, but the eN-
treme heat is so hard on them that they
scarcely deserve the name. The wealth
Ell at present is delightful-it is the Win
ter season, but more like onr American
May. The sun during the day is warm,
but indoors it is quite chllly-the floors,
mostly of stone, though in many, many
of the native houses they are mother
earth. This land does not produce any
tung in the shape of wood or coal. con-
| sequently we have to do without tlre III
cur sittina-rOomS, and wear heavy
clothing to keep warm. l am wearing
heavier clothing now than | ever wore
in Belmont county and feel very COM
! Portable. Most of the natives wear the
same clothing winter and summer, sit
in the sun during the day and at night
throw mat down on the floor, coil
down on it and cover head and heels
with a shawl, which, during the day,
serves for head wrap. Their greatest
comfort seems to be in keeping the head
warm. They go barefOOted but never
bareheaded Many of the men who
adopt the frank dress still keep shawl
wrapped about the head and shoulders,
and most of them seem to be afflicted
with colds or coughs.
Now is the busy time in the year for
the boys-those who are not i'll school
can find employment in the fields herd
| ing the fiockS. We have here very
good illustration of David'S bOyhood
days. They buy the grass or clover
standing, and lead the cattle, sheep,
goats, &c, to it, tie them to stakes till
they eat the ground bare, then move
them; then at night they gather them
in from all directions and shelter them
under their own roof, and return to the
fields the next morning. The only
recreation we can have is to get out of
the town into the fields. On New Years
day all the missionaries in this place
went out some two or three miles in the
valley and had picnic. We found
some shade and spread our mats and af-
ter resting awhile took luncheon
which was not the least of our days en-
joyment. On one-side of our shade was
the green fields and on the other was
the sandy and barren desert, with only
a narrow strip of partly bare earth be-
tween. We spent the afternoon playing
croquet and reading extracts from MARK
TwairS InnocentS Abroad" l need not
say we all enjoyed the first day of 1881,
and to one who spends day after day
studying Arabic such day is no small
treat. l spend the forenoon studying
in the afternoon | spend one hour
learning to read with native teacher,
and the rest of the day l spend in the
school, teaching the girls to sew, and at
the same time learning TO talk-giying
them sentences in English and they
give me the equivalent in Arabic, and Ill
this way they learn to speak English,
which they are all very anxious To get.
Our schools here are carried on as near
ly as possible similar to our home
schools. In this place we see very little
of English society, excepting travellers
who never fail to call on Us when PASS
ing through. Miss Conner, the lady who
came out with ne, is i'll Cairo, and of
course sees much more of society than ].
Nothing but desire to extend the bless
ings of the Gospel could ever induce me
willingly to pass through the expert
ences of this country. With this view
and motive | trust that l shall always
be as now am-content and happy. i
have received several letters with seven
teen cents postage. A five cent stamp is
all that is required on an ordinary letter.
Please bear ill mind that L am always
glad to hear from any of my friends.
'Resp'y, ELIZABETH E. NEWLIN.