The Frankfort roundabout., 1893-06-24
Vi. Streets: c. Z. g. M. a. COLLINS, opp

The one most interesting visit, how
ever, to me was the Street In Cairo"
The gate was closed when we APP
peared before it. and it was necessary
to wait until Robert Morningstar, of
Bowling Green, who had gone ahead,
could return and report the result
of his request to the representative
of the Khedive, in charge of
the Egyptian people there. Present
ly the gate opened and a native in
picturesque costume. astride a camel
and beating with his fingers lily
shaped drum, transported me into
the land of the Pharoahs, Cleopatra
and the Arabian Nights. On the in
side, party ofnatives having camels
and donkeys had gathered to greet
us, and to make their animals an at
traction at fifty cents an hour for
a donkey or twenty-five cents a ride
through the street OH O camel, had
rendered the free use Of donkey to
Morningstar, whose feet dragged
the ground, as he rode at the head of
our column and to the right of the
drummer on the camel whose rub-ba-
be dubs had neither sound of time
or music. The street is narrow
and paved with brick. 1t turns like
a crescent from the point of entrance
and has houses on both sides for q
square or more in length. There is
a temple and theatre in the street.
besides any number of small stores
in which all kinds of Egyptian and
Arabic ware and handicraft are ex-
posed for sale. The very. appearance
of the houses, the turbaned natives
all around you with their donkeys,
camels and hieroglyphical language
leave no room to doubt your stand
ing on the very soil of Egypt. We
were taken to the theatre, which is
arranged very much like such places
in this country, and enjoyed an en-
tertainment improvised for our bene-
At. The orchestra consisting of a
tabor, pipe and lutte, the three per.
formers on which sat cross legged
like Turks or tailors on sofas on one
side Of the stage, played shrill kind
of music with dull rub-a-be-dub
accompaniment that fixed itself in
my mind as unforgetably, If may be
permitted to say 80, az Mark Twain's
"Punch, punch with care" Three
young mulatto looking girls and one
older woman Of thirty eight, perhaps,
occupied the sofa on the other side of
the stage. They were dressed in
bright colors, having large rings in
their ears and many strings of beads
in festoon sweeps about their short
skirts Pink, yellow and blue stock.
ings with bead anklets and slippers
having high heels, but without the
back part Of the shoe that in this
country is supposed to be indispens-
able to hold the shoe on the foot,
adorned their neither limbs. First
one then another would advance to
the front Of the stage and with their
clinking castanets in outstretched
hands, they would make very slight
movements with their feet, but
would keep time with an occasional
bending of the knee and a constant
shaking and twitching and jerking of
the abdominal muscles, which. to say
the least. while novel and interesting,
was far from being as graceful and
beautiful as travellers and writers of
fiction have pictured to my mind.
The ladies Of the party didn't enjoy
it at all. and, as they supposed it was
about on par with cheap variety
show, they broke up the dance by
Withdrawing and leaving the Khe-
dives representative staring in open
eyed amazement at the Kentucky
editorial party that could not find de-
light in the dance of the houris.
We were next shown through the
temple where about dozen mummies
are exposed in their caskeGs to view.
was informed that all were merely