166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



Oriental, except that he preferred European shoes to the 

 slipper of his people that can readily be thrust off at the door 

 of the mosque ; his full petticoat trousers, gathered at the 

 ankle, were of the finest cloth ; his jacket of the same color, 

 — usually a fine blue, — and tastefully embroidered with 

 black on the seams ; a silk vest of yellow or scarlet to the 

 throat ; about the waist a rich Persian scarf, a heavy turban 

 in which was wound a Damascus handkerchief of such beauty 

 that whenever I looked at it I was reminded of the famous 

 handkerchief that Othello describes: "That handkerchief 

 did an Egyptian to my mother give ; there's magic in the web 

 of it. A sybil that had numbered in the world the sun to 

 make two hundred compasses in her prophetic fancy sewed 

 the work, — the worms were hallow'd that did breed the 

 silk, and it was dyed in mummy that the skillful conserved 

 of maiden's hearts." 



This man's accomplishments were various ; he was skilled 

 in languages, his good nature was unfailing ; he had abun- 

 dant tact and patience ; he was a thorough servant, waiting 

 at table, and always ready to accompany us on shore for 

 excursions, of which he arranged every detail, and intend- 

 ing that nothing should ever disturb the comfort or ease of 

 his travelers. 



With this outfit, one lovely December afternoon, a north 

 wind blowing in from the sea, our captain, a gloomy and 

 dignified Egyptian, carried an anchor out toward the middle 

 of the river from the Cairo bank ; our vessel was then 

 pulled to it, and, hoisting our great lateen-sails, we soon 

 saw the citadel and minarets of Cairo behind us, on the left, 

 and the pyramids, dark against the glow of the evening sky, 

 on the right. At night-fall we tied to the bank at Memphis, 

 within easy reach of some of the most interesting monu- 

 ments in the world. 



It is not my intention, this evening, to attempt any 

 description of the temples or tombs of Egypt. Egyptology 

 is, in our day, a science that has created libraries, and 

 absorbed the whole attention of many devoted students. It 

 was my good fortune and intention to meet two of the most 

 eminent of these gentlemen, the renowned German author, 

 Brugsch Bey, in charge of all Egyptian antiquities, and the 



