Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-13
Up The Nile.

preached what in the distance appeared 10
be grand fortified city, Cairo, with towers
and turrets, bastions and lofty walls.
Beyond and above rose ragged cliffs of
limestone, and when the boat touched the
laDding-plsce jumped ashore, and got an
hours start Of the procession for the tombs
of Beni Hassan. Across fields of the blue
lupin made for the picturesque hills, and
tried by the way TO enlist the services of
some child OF nature as guide, but the
youngsters ran screaming away from the
evil eyes of the Giaour. AS l neared that
which appeared like a turreted town, II
turned out TO be merely the ruins of VII
lage, msgnifed by their position on an
imposing eleYation, once the bank of the
river but now mile inland. This village
had for many years a disreputabie record,
It's inhabitants beng horde of thieves; 50
lbrahim Pachs, with that bigh-handed
Impartiality common In the East, marched
against the place, demolished 1t, and muir
dered the population IBdlscrimlnstely. But
away to The ruins above. where line OF
caverns peep out OF the ridges, and invite
the curious TO climb anG examine them. A
thousand feet up and you reach the ruined
path that lesds along the face of the cliffs,
and skirts the famous tombs of Benz Has
san. Il is not that these tOmbs compare in
extent OF splendor with those Of the kings
al Thebes, but they are centuries Older,
having been cxcayatei as carly as the
twelfth dynasty; that is, 5000 years before
the Christian era. The princes of Upper
and Lower Egypt were then under one
rule, and the PhaToahs of thst age, the
UseIteseus and Amenemhals, were great
eIubeilishers OF their country and promoters
OF the arts and welfare of the kingdom.
The inscriptions on these tombs proclaim
them 10 have been eXcavsted for the use
OF one family, that of the hereditary gov
errors OF the province OF Sab, known after
ward in the Roman days as Antinoe. They
are square rooms varying in exten., the
roofs of the most spacions being supported
by cOiumns OF cUrIous design, and the
porches Of others similarly ornamented.
One of these has become famous as the
earliest known example Of the simple
Doric, and whether the Greeks saw and
copied from it or nos, 4 IS certain that 1t
was carved IN tins mountain side thousand
years before architecture had acquired the
classic form in Greece.
The first acquaintance with these singu-
larly beautiful works is a great surprise
and pleasure. although IN the past the
visitors and other GOths have do1e their
worst to dlsfgure them. In the centre of
each tomb, facing the entrance, there Is
an altar in the wall, where the figure of
the deceased once stood; Throughout they
arc profusely decorated with mural paint
Ings, and in the corner of each is a deep
well, leading down 10 the vault where the
corpse was finally deposited. As | entered
this Doric tomb, brightly plumaged bird
fiuttered out; it might have been the
startled spirit Of the departed flying from
the intrusion OF mortal into the pure air,
odorous and baimy enough here TO be the
atmosphere of Paradise.
From the path that skirts the tombs the
view of the Nile valley is most extensive.
Groups OF palms dot the landscape and
mark the site OF distant villages; long
sweeps OF the majestic river are lost in The
horizon to north and south, and from tie
foot of the mountains TO The edge of the
Lyblan Desort the whole country Is q rad.
ant tabieau Of brilliant cO!Urs. \ mile or
so 10 the left a heap or dust and some
scattered Iuins indicate the spot where
stood AniInoe, the city reared by Hadrlan
to the memory of his favorIte, and ciase
by the place where, as the story runs, the
youth offered himself sacrifice to the
angry taies. Doubtless Aniinous was duly
fished out of the river and splendIdly en-
balmed according to custom, hut his hand
some face is embaimed more lastingiy IN
the statue OF the Capitoiine and the numer-
GUS Dusts that adOrn SO many collections of
sculpture. Descending 10 the ruined vii
lage and entering gorge in the hills you
find among the excavations rock temple
called the Specs Ariemldos, dedicated to
the goddess Seket Bast. This lady, repre-
seuted with The face of lion or cat, en-
bodied the fielce instinct of maternity; and
IN the Delta, where she wss revered, it
was In old times death TO xii her sacred
animal, the cst-death not only for the
cat, but for the unlucky party vino killed
il.
In the gathering gloom OF night we
passed beneath the fantastic rocks OF Tel
Ell Amarna, and gsZed into the deep, mys-
terious coves not long since the fayorite
haunt of the crocodile. Steamboats, and
Remingtons have driven tie monster from
his lair, and he Is only 10 be found now IN
Nubla, OF pIously mummified in some deep
pit in the hills. Again the cliffs Tecede,
the river widens, and IN magnificent bend
of the food we make fast alongside the
wharf of Stout or Assioot Everybody spells
il to sust himself), the present terminus of
the railway 10 the Soudan, about 250 miles
I- 10 nharuaipriv citr,afab
about mile from the river on the west
bank, in the midst OF rlcn gardens, ldxu-
rant fields and forest of palms, There
are about 25 0O0 inhabitants IN Stout, and
a great trade Is done by caravan with the
inferior. Handsome pottery Of brittle
kind is made here, and pipes of Assioot
manufacture are to be found al the end of
every orthodox chibOu9le IN the country.
1t was market day, ana in the great square
hundreds OF young canels were standing
for sale, amidst Babel Of people OF all
conceivable shades OF color and every pos
slble and impossible costume. The con-
scription for the new Egyptian army was
also going on at the Pacha' residence, and
there was loud wailing and gnasbIng of
teeth among the crowd that gathered and
squatted round about the building The
unlucky men who were drawn to serve
their country were chained together forth
with and put in jail, lest they should evade
the distinction thrust upon them before
the authorities could dispatch them TO
Cairo for military manufacture. The un-
fortunate mothers and sisters OF these
heroes were in an agony 0f grief. tearing
their garments, beating their breasts an1
heaping dust and mud upon their heads
and faces. The spectacle was painful In
the extreme, for although the lads are only
taken for = tour years service. the grlef os
these poor women was as poignant as If
they had been lost to them forever. In
other places after tins | had occasion to
observe that where a son was taken TO serve
In the army, he was formally n-ourned for
:msny days by he mother and her sympa-
thIzlpg friends.
Shoals of whitehall.
The shoales OF whitebalt are increas-