Connecticut western news., 1891-10-29

S"AS A>e" AeSIauelC, eAplTeO uuueT Nero's anathema. From here the ship sailed that left Paul and the crew struggling in the breakers of Melita. Polnpey's pillar is here, about one hundred feet high. it's base surrounded by so much filth and squalor was glad to escape into an air that was breath able. This tower was built in honor of Diocletian for sparing the rebellious citizens After having declared that he would make the blood run to his horses knees, and his horse fell with him into the blood and his knees red dened. the tyrant took it for granted that was il sign he should stop the massacre. and hence this commemorar tive pillar to his mercy.
 This is the city to which Omar came after building fourteen hundred mosques and destroying four thousand teissf5les and thirty five thousand viii lages and castles, yet riding in on a camel with sack of corn, sack of figs and a wooden plate, all that he had kept for himself and the diet to which he had limited himself for most of the tine was bread and water. Was there ever in any other man a comminglinR of elements so strange, so weird, so generous, so cruel, so mighty. so weak, SO religious so fanatical2
 In this city was the greatest female lecturer the world ever saw-Hypatia. But the lesson of virtue that she taught was obnoxious. and so they dragged her through the streets and scraped her flesh from her bones with sharp oyster shells and then burned the frag- ments of the massacred body. And here dwelt Cleopatra, pronounced to be the beauty of all time-although if her pictures are correct have seen thousand women in Brooklyn more att tractive-and she was as bad as she was said to be handsome Queen, con- queress. and spoke seven languages, al though it would have been better for the world if she had not been able to speak any. Julius Caesar conquered the world. yet she conquered J. 4us Caesar
 CoNQUERoR OF BOOKS
 But Alexandria, fascinating for this or that thing. according to the taste of the visitor, was to me most entertain ing because it had been the site of the saw. considering the fact that the art of printing had not been invented. Seven hundred thousand volumes, and all the work of a slow pen. But down it all went under the torch of besiegers. Built again and destroyed again. Built again. but the Arabs came along for it's final demolition. and the four thou sand baths of the city were heated with those volumes. the fuel lasting six months. and were ever fires kindled at such fearful costl What holocausts of the worlds literature2 What martyr iom of books! How many of them have gone down under the rage of ma ;ionS.
 Only one book has been able to with stand the boInbardment, and that has gone through without smell of fire on it's lids. No sword or spear or musket for it's defense. An unarmed New Tes- lament. An unar1ned Old Testament. Yet invulnerable and triumphant. There must be something supernatural about it. Conqueror of booksl Mon- arch of books! All sshe books of the ages in all the libYaries outshone by ;his one book which you and I can carry to church in a pocket. So me thought amid the ashes of Alexandrian .ibraries ... s.
 But all aheard the Egyptian rail train going up t,t'fsstlks of the Nilel Look put of the "'.stii3w and see those cam sls kneet.inE g imposition of their !oad. Anq m we might take from ;hen q less-t, os instead of trying to stand uprighe -i,. ..ur own strength, be- some conscious of our weakness and aeed of divine help before we take lpon us the heavy duties of the year ,r the week or the day, and so kneel for the burden. We meet processions of men and beasts on the way from :heir days work, but alas for the lomes to which the poor inhabitants Ire going, for the most part novels of 1 mud. But there is something in the scene that thoroughly enlists us. It is ;he novelty of wretchedness and ,cene of picturesque rags For thou sands of years this land has been under very damnation of taxes. Nothing put Christian civilization will roll back ;he 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 Msmelukes, who are the finest aorsenen in all the world. came like hurricane upon Napoleon's army, but ;hey were beaten back by the French | Il one of the fiercest battles of all time
 Then the Mamelukes turned their horses heads the other way. and in des- oeration backed them against the French troops, hoping the horses would | kick the life out of the French regi- l nentS. The Manelukes failing again, | plunged into this Nile and were drown d, the French for days fishing out the lead bodies of the Malnelukes to get ;he valuables upon their bodies. Ma ?oleon. at the daring of these Name | ukes, exclaimed, "Could have united l he Marneluke horse to the French in-
 fantry, l would have reckoneds myself master of the world"
 A SOLEMN AND IMPRESSIVE RIDE.
 This ride along the Nile is one of the
 most solemn and impressive rides of all l my lifetime, and our emotions deepen
 as the curtains of the night fall upon
 all surroundings. 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 empires.
 According to the lead pencil mark in 1 my Bible it was Thanksgiving day l ,norninr Nov % 1SQQ that with my