6 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. i. 



as a companion, and among the inmates saw an American 

 suffering from fever and chronic rheumatism. In one 

 of the cells, guarded by a couple of Arab sentries, we 

 found a young, fair -haired, blue-ej^ed Greek sailor, who 

 had murdered an Arab girl through jealousy the night 

 before. I was struck by the gentle, inoffensive expres- 

 sion on his face ; but I suppose he did not deserve the 

 pity I felt for him. A public square, planted with trees, 

 shrubs, and flowers, forms an oasis in the midst of the 

 desert of dusty streets, and white-washed or stucco houses. 

 Most of the houses are two-storied, and furnished with 

 cool, shady verandahs ; and in some cases they are 

 covered with the green drapery of a large convolvulus, 

 which adds much to the picturesque effect of walls and 

 fences throughout the place. In the gardens, bananas, 

 date-palms, bamboo, and other vegetation common to 

 hothouses at home, here grow in the open air, with no 

 other protection than that afforded by a belt of tall reeds. 

 Nothing is produced here, even the necessary fruits and 

 culinary vegetables being brought from Malta, or the 

 Mediterranean ports. Soil and fresh water for the little 

 gardens has to be procured from Ismalia, fifty miles away. 



In the markets we found plent} r of ripe grapes, fine 

 pomegranates, water-melons, and great pithy-skinned 

 oranges. Vegetables consisted of lettuce, onions, beet, 

 the Egyptian turnip-rooted kind, peas, okre, and gourds. 

 Most of the stands were attended by lazy Arab women, 

 of various ages, who sat cross-legged among their goods, 

 and kept off the flies with switches of horse-hair. A 

 tight-fitting cap, ornamented with little gold coins, 

 covered their heads, and their figures were enshrouded 

 in great black cloaks, reaching to their heels. 



We saw some old Arabs watering the hot and dust}- 

 streets with sea-water, which they carried in large skin 



