THE GAY BARTENDER

Chapter ninety four

WILL spare the Gentle Reader descriptions of the journey nd of the picturesque dirt of Alexandria.Every European raveler who can write his name feéls obliged to publish his memoirs; the reader may refer to “Miss Smith's Egyptian oumals” or “Mr. Jones's Winter in Egypt” if he feels heated of local color, for all the descriptions are the same. The sea voyage was abominable, but I was happy to see that velyn was a good traveler. We made our way to Cairo without incident and settled down at Shepheard's Hotel.

Everyone stays at Shepheard's. Among the travelers who meet daily in its magnificent dining room one may eventu-lly, it is said, encounter all one's acquaintances; and from he terrace before the hotel the indolent tourist may watch a anorama of eastern life pass before his eyes as he sips his emonade. Stiff English travelers ride past, on donkeys so mall that the riders' feet trail in the dust; followed by Janis-aries in their gorgeous gold-embroidered uniforms, armed o the teeth; by native women swathed to the eyebrows in usty black, by stately Arabs in flowing blue-and-white obes, dervishes with matted hair and fantastic headdresses, sweetmeat vendors with trays of Turkish delight, water sellers with their goatskin containers bloated with liquid and looking horridly lifelike....But I see I am succumbing tothe rempration of tho traveler,and will stop;the procemin unending and fascinating.

endie were not many English travelers in Catro h winter The fighting in the sudan had apparently alame r hartoum.However,Sir Garnet Wolseley 's relicf enpea tion had reached Wadi Halfa, and the gentlemen we met Shepheand's reassured us-or rather,reassured Evelyn when she expressed doubts as to the wisdom of travelin south. The fighting was still hundreds of miles below Ae suan,and by the time we arrived there the war would surel be over-the Mahdi taken and his barbaric army crushed the gallant Gordon relieved.

I was not so sanguine as the gentlemen.The mad carper ter of the Sudan had proved himself an extremely poter general, as our losses in that area proved. However, I sai nothing to Evelyn, for I had no intention of changing m plans to suit the MÍahdi or anyone else. I planned to spen the winter sailing up the Nile, and sail I would.

Travel by water is the only comfortable method of seein Egypt,and the narrow length of the country means that al the antiquities are within easy reach of the river.I had hear of the pleasure of travel by dahabeeyah,and was anxious t try it.To call these conveyances houseboats is to give a poo idea of their luxury. They can be fitted up with any conve nience the traveler chooses to supply, and the services avail able depend solely on his ability to pay. I intended to go t Boulaq,where the boats are moored, and decide on one th day after our arrival.We could then inspect some of th sights of Cairo and be on our way in a few days.

When I expresed this intention to some of our fellow

guests in the lounge of the hotel after dinner, a burst of

uarty greted my remarks I was infiomed that my hopes

were vain. Choosing a dahabeeyah was fhustrating,time~

consuming process; the native Egyptian

who could not be hurried. Was a 1azy felow

I had my own opinions on that but I Caugnt Bve

score,

I might become mellow.

longer,

he was looking very pretty that night, in a frock of pale-

bwie silk, and she altracted considerable attention. We had

wred that her real name was not to be mentioned, since it

wwe well known to many Englishmen; she was therefore in-

mwumucred as Evelyn Forbes,Tiring,finally,of the clumsy

ofions of some of the ladies in the group to discover her

anteredents,I used fatigue as an excuse for early retirement.

T awoke early next morning. An ethereal,rose-tinted light

filled the room, and I could see Evelyn kneeling by the win-

dow.I thought she was brooding over past events;there had

been moments of depression, quickly overcome, but not un-

noticed by me. I therefore tried to remain motionless, but an

inadvertent rustle of the bedclothes caused her toturn, and I

saw that her face was shining with pleasure.

“Come and look, Amelia. It is so beautiful!”

To obey was not as simple as it sounds. I had first to fight my way through the muffling folds of fine white mosquito netting that encircled the bed.When I joined Evelyn,I shared her pleasure. Our rooms overlooked the garden of the hotel;stately palms, dark silhouettes in the pale dawn, rose up against a sky filled with translucent azure and pink streaks. Birds fluttered singing from tree to tree; the lacy minarets of mosques shone like mother-of-pearl above the treetops. The air was cool and exquisitely clear.

It was as well that our day began with such beauty and peace, for the wharves of Boulaq,where we went after breakfast, were not at all peaceful. I began to understand what our fellow travelers had warned me about.There were over a hundred boats at their moorings; the confusion and noise were indescribable.

The boats are much alike, varying only in size. The cabins occupy the after part of the deck, and their roof forms'an upper deck which, when furnished and canopied, proyides a charming open-air drawing room for the passengers. The26

crew occupy the lower deck. ere is the kitchen, a she cons.The dahabeeyahs are shallo,lat-bottomed boats wi peo masts;and when the huge sails are spread to catch brisk northerly breeze, they present a most attractive picture

Our problem,then,was to decide which boat to hire. finst even I was bewildered by the variety. It did not tab long,however,to realize that some of the boats were impor sible.There are degrees of uncleanliness;I could tolerat indeed,I expected, a state of sanitation inferior to that o England,but...! Unfortunately, the bigger boats wen usually the better kept. I did not mind the expense, but seemed a trifle ridiculous for the two of us-and my mai to rattle about in a boat that contained ten staterooms an two saloons.

At Evelyn's insistence we had hired a dragoman tha morning at the hotel. I saw no reason why we should; I hac learned some Arabic phrases during the voyage to Alexar dria,and had every confidence in my ability to deal with a Egyptian boat captain.However,I yielded to Evelyn.Ou dragoman was named Michael Bedawee; he was a Copt, a Egyptian Christian,a short,plump,coffee-colored.man wil a fierce black beard and a white turban-although I mus confess that this description would fit half the male popula tion of Egypt. What distinguished Michael was the friendli took to him at once, and he seemed to like us.

With Michaels holp he seenled a boat.The Philae wal bargain was soon concluded.