New-York tribune., 1911-04-09

chronicles Of their wanderings. Incl
denta,ly we learn something of the difil-
culties that beset native guides en-
deavoring to satisfy their foreign
patrons:
Sometimes when asked him for place
like the Mosque of AbuBelir he said:
think no such place; hut YOU know
Ali asked every one we met. put n0 n0pous
knew IL by that name, though gradually ne
began to receive hints that there was d
very old and beautiful mosque III tne dls
trict, and this mosque we eventuaii! Iai,
to Garth. Then we discovered that II haI
a name about O yard long. with the words
"Abu- Bekr" coming in the middle EURO
peans had not selected the slSnihcah'
words-that was all
According to Mr.. Sladen it Is the Arab
not the Englishman who takes his pleas
ures sadly. His only regular entertain
ment is hearing recitations from the
Koran. The "unspoiled" Egyptians ne
calls natures gentlemen, kind simple
with natural good manners. genulnely
anxious to please. Vivid as are Mr.
Sladen's descriptions Of the natives ana
their daily occupations and lie, OF
picturesque street sights like professions
and funerals or the reception OF a pill
grim returned from Mecca, he Is even
moro interested in the remains OF old
Arab architecture in the native quarter.
All of the ancient mosques. great ana
small, ruined and In good conoitioh'
contain some gem Of beauty, he says;
and he ought to know. for he has visited
nearly all Of them. Elsewhere he notes
the decorations Of the house or re-
turned pilgrim, and what he has TO say
of the seven Coptic churches Is well
worth reading. OF these he singles out
the Mo'allaka. or Hanging Church OF
Rahvlon. as one Of the most beautiful
sacred edifices Of Christendom' worthy
Of being mentioned with the Cappeiia
Reale, at Palermo. and even win ST.
Marks itself. What adds greatly to Its
fascination is it's antiquity, for parts or
I, are as old as the third century A. d.;
wherefore It is one Of the Oldest cnurches
IN Christendom as well as one OF the
most beautiful. Some of its carvings
are now in the British Museum, and Mr..
, Sladen wonders that "the grand OLD
ivory slab covered with little figures,
which is one Of the glories and mys-
teres Of this ancient church, has es'
caped the rage of the collector" Mo'al-
laka is unique among the Coptlc
churches Of Cairo also in that 1t has
! beautiful exterior, entirely unlike the
secret entrances Of the others. The
Copts themselves are. however, much
more concerned about Abu Sarga, the
church Of St Sergius. in which. accord
ing to tradition, the Holy Family took
refuge at the end of the long flight 10
Egypt. AS Mr. Sladen heard an Ameri-
can tourists guide explain This Is
| where whole Holy Family come from
| Mecca one time"
Out into the streets again, where an
Arab is showing a trained dog-faced
| baboon. brother to the animals that play
so prominent a part in the judgment OF
| Osiris and are found represented in one
of the tombs of the Pharaohs, whole
row of them, all using their tails as the
third leg of a tripod seat. And so to the
geological garden Of the city:
! II is supposed to exist for the education
of the Egyptians. more futile supposl-
+ tion there never was The Egyptian nina.
| that is 10 say the mind OF the Egyptian
| masses. has not got beyond the airlt stage
They 40 not 20 To see the animals as zoo
logical specimens; they look upon them as
| evil spirits wnom the Khedive has com,
PEELED TO assume the form of animals anu
| shut up in cages.
Altogether a pleasantly informing and
suggestive book, especially for the long
ocean trip of the Mediterranean trav-
eller. Mr.. Sladen adds supplementary
chapter. a sort of guide for artists in
search of picturesque streets and hooks
and corners. and reprints. with approval,
Mr.. Roosevet's Guildhall speech on
British rule in Egypt. His pictures il
lustrate MS text with laudable fidelity.
THE CARE OF MANUSCRIPTS
|