Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-11-05

But Alexander, fascinating for this or 1
that thing, according TO the taste Of the |
visitor, was to me most entertaining be- |
cause it had been the site of the greatest |
library that the world ever saw, consider. |
ing the fact that the art of printing had |
not been invented Seven hundred thou
sand volumes and all the work OF a slow
pen. But down il all went under the
torch of besiegers. Built again and de-
stroyed again. Built again, but the Arabs
came along for its final demolition and the
four thousand baths Of the city were heat
ed with those volumes, the fuel lasting
six months, and were ever fires kinded at
such fearful cOsti What holocausts of the
worlds literaturel What martyrdom of
booksl How many of them have gone
down under the rage of nations.
Only one book has been able to with
stand the bombardment, and that has gone
through without smell of fire on its lids.
No sword or spear or musket for its de-
fense. An unarmed New Testament. An
unarm Did Testament. Yet invulner-
able .,.' triumphant. There must be
sonnet ring supernatural about it. Con-
quero 1Oksl Monarch of booksl All
the boz Of all the ages in all the libraries
outshone by this one book which you and
/ carry to church in a pocket. So me-
thought amid the ashes of Alexandrian Ii
braries.
But all aboard the Egyptian rail train
going up the banks of the Nilei Look out
of the window and see those camels kneel-
ing for the imposition of their load. And
| think we might take from them lesson,
and, instead of trying to stand upright in
our own strength, become conscious of our
weakness and need of divine help before we
take upon us the heavy duties of the year or
the week or the day, and SO kneel for the
burden. We meet professions of men and
beasts on the way from their days work,
but alas, for the homes to which the poor
inhabitants are going, for the most part
novels of mud. But there is something in
the scene that thoroughly enlists u.s. 1t is
the novelty of wretchedness and scene of
picturesque rags. For thousands of years
this land has been under a very damnation
of taxes. Nothing but Christian civliza-
tion will roll back the influences which
are spelling the Egyptians" There are
gardens and palaces but they belong to
the rulers.
About here under the valiant Murad
Bey, the Mamelukes, who are the finest
horsemen in the world, came like hurri-
cane upon Napoleon's army, but they were
beaten back by the French in one of the
fiercest battles of all time. Then the Nam
elukes turned their horses heads the other
way, and in desperation backed them
against the French troops, hoping the
horses would kick the life out of the
French regiments. The Mamelukes, fail
| -, 81
drowned, the French for days fishing out
the dead bodies of the Mamelukes to get
the valuables upon their dead bodies Ma
poleon, at the daring of these Mamelukes,
exclaimed, Gould have united the Nam
eluke horse to the French infantry, Iwould
have reckoned myself master of the world"
THE JOURNEY UP THE NILE.
This ride along the Nile is one of the
most solemn and impressive rides of all my
life time, and our emotions deepen as the
curtains of the night fall upon all sur
roundings. But we shall not be satisfied
until we can take ship and pass right out
upon these wondrous waters and between
the banks crowded with the story of en-
pires.
According to the lead pencil mark in my
Bible it was Thanksgiving day morning,
Nov. 28, 1889, that with my family and
friends we stepped aboard the steamer on
the Nile The Mohammedan call to prayers
had been sounded by the priests of that re-
ligion, the Muezzins, from the four hun,
dred mosques of Cairo as the cry went out:
"God is great. bear witness that there is
no God but God. bear witness that Mo-
hammed is the apostle of God. Come to
prayers. Come to salvation. God is great.
There is no other but God. Prayers are
better than sleep
The sky and city and palm groves and
river shipping were bathed in the light. 1t
was not much of craft that we boarded.
1t would not be hailed on any of our rivers
with any rapture of admiration. 1t fortu-
nately had but little speed, for twice we ran
aground and the sailors jumped into the
water and on their shoulders pushed her
out. But what yacht of gayest sportsman,
what deck of swiftest ocean queen could
give such thrill of rapture as sail on the
Nile? The pyramids in sight, the remains
of cities that are now only name, the vii
lagos thronged with population. Both
banks crowded with historical deeds of
forty or sixty centuries. Oh, what book
the Bible is when read on the Nile!
AS we slowly move up the majestic river
I see on each bank the wheels, the pumps,
the buckets for irrigation, and see man
with his foot ON the treadle of a wheel that
fetches up the water for a garden, and
then for the first time understand that
passage in Deuteronomy which says OF
the Israelites after they had got back from
Egypt, "rhe land whittier thou goest in tC
possess it is not as the land of Egypt, from
whence ye came out where thou sowedst
thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot. u
Then understood how the land could be
watered with the foot. How do you sup
pose | felt when on the deck of that steam
, er on the Nile looked off upon the canals
and bitches and sluices through which the
fields are irrigated by that river, and then
read in Isaiah, "The burden of Egypt-the
river shall be wasted and dried up, and
they shall turn the rivers far away and
, the brooks of defense shall be emptied and
dried up; and they shall be broken in the
purposes thereof, all that make sluices and
ponds for fish,"
That Thanksgiving morning on the Nile
,, found my text of today. Pharaoh in this
chapter is compared to the dragon or hip
!, popotamus suggested by the crocodiles that
used to line the banks of this river. "Thu!
saith the Lord God Behold am agains
!. thee Pharoah, king of Egypt, the greatdrag
on that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which
hath said my river is mine own, and hav,
!, made it for myself. But l will put hook
in thy jaws and will cause the fish of tn!
!, rivers to stick unto thy scales, and will
:. bring thee up out of the midst of thy riv
d. ers, and al the fish of thy rivers shall sticl
y unto thy scales, and the land of Egyp
shall be desolate and waste; and they shal
d know that am the Lord; because he hatl
J, said the river is mine and have made it.
q THE WAYS OF OTHER DAYS.
e While sailing on this river or stopping
p at one of the villages we see people on tn