1895.] on The Nile. 417 



granite, in passing over which the river forms its first cataract just 

 south of Assouan. It is here divided into several channels between 

 rocky islands, and no channel is deep, so that it would be easy to 

 divert the water from one after another, to lay bare the bed of the 

 river, and lay the foundations of the dam in the open air. It wants 

 no engineer to understand what an advantage this is. 



And the great dam, such as was designed by Mr. Willcocks, 

 would have been a work worthy of the land of the Pyramids and 

 Karnak— a great wall of squared granite blocks — 82 feet thick at 

 base, of a maximum height of 115 feet, 1£ miles long, pierced by 

 sluices large enough to allow of the whole Nile at highest flood 

 rushing through. The lake formed would have been 120 miles long. 

 Would this not have been a work of some majesty to commemorate 

 for ever the English rule in Egypt — a work one would have been 

 proud to have had a hand in ? But it was not to be. The Egyptian 

 saw no objection to it. The money could have been found. But 

 there was an insuperable obstacle created when, on the Island of 

 Philae, about 250 B.C., Ptolemy II. built a temple to Isis, on the site 

 of older buildings long disappeared. Pound this temple other 

 buildings clustered, built by Greeks and Eomans. Those of you who 

 have not seen them, are probably familiar from pictures with the 

 group of venerable buildings standing amidst palm trees on the rocky 

 island, and reflected in the waters below. 



Had Ptolemy only built his temple on the island of Elephantine, 

 a few miles north, it would have been unaffected by the great dam, 

 but Phila3 is just to the south, or up-stream side of where the great 

 dam must necessarily have come, and in consequence the island, with 

 its temples, would be drowned for about six months every year. 

 You probably remember the outburst of rage and indignation which 

 the announcement of this proposed desecration created in London 

 last summer. It was not to be tolerated that England should commit 

 such vandalism. In vain it was answered that the place belonged to 

 Egypt, not to England — that the Egyptian, who was to gain so much 

 by the dam, cared absolutely nothing about Ptolemy and his temples — 

 that he was prepared to pay a large price for a great work to bene- 

 fit his country. What business was it of England to forbid him ? 



And it was not only the English who were indignant. For once, 

 and only for once, I fear, since we occupied Egypt in 1882, was 

 educated opinion in England and France at one. Both alike insisted 

 that Philae should not be drowned. Nor must I admit had all tbe 

 engineers that were interested in the question the full courage of 

 their opinions. While they longed to build the dam, and lamented 

 the perverse fate that had put Philse there, still they wished to spare 

 Philpe — and their voice has prevailed. The majestic structure has 

 been cut down 27 feet, and now will only be 88 feet high, and Phila? 

 will stand henceforth in a lake, but will never be drowned. 



Personally I accejDt the situation, for I never believed that it 

 would be sacrificed. But yet as an engineer, I must sigh over the 



