134 SAM DARLING'S EEMINISCENCES 



Egypt, and I trust I have a full measure of re- 

 spect for things ancient ; but I must say that 

 there is about this great dam — and altogether 

 apart from its beneficent purpose — something 

 positively majestic : something which brings man 

 more on to a par with the forces of nature than 

 anything which, in my humble judgment, has ever 

 yet been done. Let any one compare the big 

 Pyramid with the Assouan Dam and think out 

 the difference for himself. 



" The donkeys awaited us after this inspection, 

 and on the return journey the party was scat- 

 tered this way and that. Mr. Darling and I rode 

 by the Nile, much against the wish of our donkey 

 boys, as the path is very bad. We went through 

 sundry Arab villages, where cur dogs of most 

 villainous aspect flew^ out and snarled around, 

 and here and there babies were lying about with 

 flies feeding on their eyes, the mothers taking no 

 notice. 



" It was a curious country indeed, and when at 

 last we had reached what appeared to be desert, 



with hills around and not a soul in sight. 

 Our escape _ 



(?) from my companion, who had been reading 

 Conan Doyle's Tragedy of the Korosko, 

 began to look out for the dervishes or other such un- 

 pleasant beings. These, however, were conspicuous 

 by absence, and the only trouble was that the track 



