Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-28
By HENRIETTA N. REEs.


BY HENRIETTA N. REEs.
The main reason ! sueeumbed TO
this interesting journey 10 various
parts OF the globe Was because OF the
Nile trip. For three weeks We were
to float upon this mystic river. be.
coming acquainted with Egypt.
which is the Nile" The whole trip
sounded 80 fesiiul. so pefeeiul and so
alluring that | simply eouldn', re.
sist II,
Cleopatra OF old iloated upon this
wofld.iamous river in her sumptu-
Gus dahabeah-ianned by slaves and
attended BY a devoted Mark Antony.
!. too. would iloa, upon the Nile. un-
famed. perhaps. and minus . Mark
Antony. but in "pala'ial vessel 10
quote the advertising booklet. and
we do not hesitate TO say that on no
other river in the world can 4 voyage
be taken with greater or more stud
led luxury than on the Nile under
our arrangement" That was
strong statement, and deiied even an
c,en, traditions.
The bookle, goes on TO speak OF
the great charm OF she trip as the
absence OF all worries and anxi-
cites, "a minimum OF wear and
tear" II speaks OF the powerful
spell OF the land OF the Pharaohs.'
its "matehless climate" and "the
restorative effects OF its peaceful
air"
II tells OF all the temples that lie
between easy reach OF the banks OF
the Nile, and of the life on the great
pleasure boats, where the passengers
arc like guests on floating hotel.
The advertisements were all right,
and delightfully."- truthiul-the match
less climate. peaceful air and the
powerful spell were all there; also
the palatial vessel and the studied
luxury--for the boat was all one
anticipated, with brass beds in
every room instead OF berths. beau
tiful salons, and everything else ac-
cordingly. But the statements were
general statements, like a snapshot
in which much of the detail color
and contrast is lacking.
Here Comes Reality.
From all this advance material !
developed the idea that l would
loll in a comfortable deck chair, like
the pictures in advertisements, and
calmly view beautiful scenery as l
glidcd by it. Or, l would dilly-
daily in the native bazars of the
small towns, or, after 4 pleasant"
donkey ride, walk leisurely through
an ancient temple or tomb, feeling
like a character in "Aida." and as
similating archaeology in homeo-
pathic doses.
But, alas, for my fond fancies Of
laziness and ease there wasn't much
time to indulge in them. A few
shameless, spoiled, soft, slothful per-
sons hid from our dragoman a few
times and sneaked out of visiting
temple or a tomb. But / only
sighed for shattered ideals and went
into donkey riding and tomb in
spectOn as principal occupation,
and developing a taste that made me
want to take the whole trip over
again. But rather lost my fellow
feeling with the former queen.
Maybe Cleopatra dashed out of her
dahabeah at the ringing Of 4 gong,
not forgetting her monuments
ticket" and into = wildly excited mob
Of donkey boys and darkeys every
time the boat stopped. Maybe she
hastily mounted one of the many
beasts pushed up TO her, before she
was trampled by them. Maybe she
rode 20 minutes or an hour or more
each way. through villages (where
every one even babies in arms called
"backheesh"):: over desert roads or
up rocky cliffs in the bright sunshine
until she came to the temples or
tombs. She may have because it
was an act of pity on her part, and
she belonged to that creed-because
it is recorded that she had much to
do with the decoration of one tenn.
pie. where she herself Is engraved,
in her sylph-like days. She may
HdVC-DcCduSc tn0t was tne way the
ladies rode" if the ladies ever got
chance to ride, then as we'll as now
(unless they ride in springless Cart
but I would be willing to bet that
she didn't, 1t was a more strenuous
life than I anticipated. or than I
ever connected with the luxurious
Cleopatra.
Among Those Present.
But l must tell you something Of
our crowd. There were number Of
middle.aged couples, nice. comfort
able people whose children were in
school or married, and who were free
to see the world, sand game enough
to do it. There were four wide
awake older women whom / mentally
named Tish, Aggie and company.
There were some few of our friends
on the Adriatic including some young
people. There were two Egyptian
princes, nephews Of the sultan. about
18 and 20 years of age, and as fair
looking, we'll educated and we'll man.
nered young men as one could hope
Ito meet. Their skill in talking many
i