CHILDREN 
 OF EGYPT 
 
PRINCETON, N. J. l 4f f 
 
 Purchased by the Hamill Missionary Fund. 
 
 Division 
 Section 
 
 DT70 
 ( M5 
 
CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
EGYPT'S PLEA 
 
 " From Egypt's land of beauty there echoes o'er the sea 
 The children's cry for succour, a simple earnest plea, 
 And little arms out-stretching, their heartfelt longings prove. 
 Help ! help ! the Moslem children to find a God of love. 
 
 Our mud-built homes are pleasant, our country fair and bright, 
 The tamarisk and palm trees our playful hours delight ; 
 But there are days of sickness, when death may hover near, 
 And then how great the darkness, how terrible the fear ! 
 
 Millions these sad words utter in hopelessness and pain, 
 Lambs of the kind Good Shepherd who seek for Him in vain. 
 Which of you who have found Him will go His lost to meet, 
 Or send the Gospel message to guide their erring feet ? 
 
 Oh ! happy English children, your homes are fair and bright, 
 But with the beauteous sunshine of holy heavenly light ; 
 Sickness but brings you nearer to Christ, the children's friend, 
 And death is but the dawning of life that has no end ! 
 
 Then to the shores of Egypt send back across the sea 
 The wondrous Gospel story, so sweet, so full, so free ; 
 Come Islam's sons and daughters, the Saviour's longing prove 
 To gather Moslem children within His arms of Love." 
 
 F. J. Wright (" Gretchen.") 
 
 P.S.— I have received full permission from the Author to use these verses. 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet , 
 
 Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/childrenofegyptOOcrow 
 
CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO 
 
DEDICATED TO 
 
 CAMPBELL, WILLIAM, VIOLET, MARGERY 
 AND LITTLE STELLA 
 
 rURXBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 My dear Boys and Girls, 
 
 It has sometimes been to me an 
 amazing discovery to find out how little is known by 
 children, and even grown up people, about the wonder- 
 ful Land of Egypt. So I thought it would be well to 
 tell you a little about the land, its size, and the people 
 generally who inhabit it now, and also to tell you a little 
 about the thoughts and ideas of the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 There is a proverb in Arabic which says, " Take 
 the secrets of the Elders from their children." 
 
 How I wish it were possible for the wishing carpet 
 suddenly to convey children of the West over to the 
 land of Egypt and set them down among the dear little 
 black and brown people who cross my path daily, and 
 who by their great need for a knowledge of the 
 Saviour who died for them, draw forth from one's 
 heart the true love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who when 
 on Earth said : " Suffer little children to come unto 
 Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom 
 of Heaven." 
 
 L. C. 
 
 5 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction .... 5 
 
 I The Land of Egypt ... 9 
 
 II Ancient Literature of Egypt . . 11 
 
 III The Story of a Righteous Life . . 15 
 
 IV The Story of the Nile . . .18 
 V Topsy-Turvy Customs . . .21 
 
 VI Childlife in a Mohammedan Land . . 24 
 
 VII Mohammedan Childhood (continued) . 26 
 
 VIII Superstitions . . . .31 
 
 IX The Old and the New . . -37 
 
 X A Camel Ride . . . .40 
 
 XI A Day's Shopping . . . .46 
 
 XII Visit to an Egyptian Village . . 51 
 
 XIII An Egyptian Sunday School . . 57 
 
 XIV The Christmas Tree . . .62 
 
 XV The Story of Three Sisters . . 67 
 
 XVI Story of an Egyptian Dog whose Master 
 
 was a Prisoner . . . .70 
 
 XVII The Betrothal of " Heavenly Gift " . 77 
 
 XVIII A Visit to Wonderland . . 83 
 
 XIX Notes by the Way . . . .90 
 
 7 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 I. 
 
 "Tell me, 0 Sphinx, your Story" 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 2. 
 
 History written on the Walls of 
 
 Temples . 12 
 
 3- 
 
 The Night of the Cutting of the 
 
 Dyke . 20 
 
 4- 
 
 The Sacred Tree 
 
 32 
 
 5- 
 
 The Mission Playground 
 
 . 56 
 
 6. 
 
 The Master and his Dog 
 
 72 
 
 7- 
 
 B.'shareen Girl . 
 
 80 
 
 8. 
 
 Little Boats with Stately Sails 
 
 90 
 
 8 
 
CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE LAND OF EGYPT 
 
 Egypt is one of the Bible Lands. It is also known 
 as the land of the Pharaohs, the land of the 
 Pyramids, or the Nile Valley. In Arabic it is called 
 " Misr," probably after the man mentioned in Genesis 
 x. 6. Egypt was the home of many of the patriarchs 
 whom we love so well :— Moses, whose wonderful birth 
 and deliverance took place on the banks of the Nile, 
 and whom the Mohammedans call " the mouthpiece 
 of God," Aaron, his brother, and Joseph whose story 
 is so familiar to us all. 
 
 Egypt, the land of bondage, — and yet concerning 
 which so many glorious and precious promises are 
 given ! 
 
 It was Egypt which was honoured in being allowed 
 to give shelter to the Babe of Bethlehem. 
 
 Egypt is situated in the north-east corner of the 
 Continent of Africa. It is bounded on the north by 
 the Mediterranean Sea ; on the south by the Anglo- 
 Egyptian Soudan ; on the east by the Red Sea and the 
 Peninsula of Sinai ; and on the west by Tripoli and 
 the great Sahara Desert. 
 
 The total area of Egypt is about four hundred 
 thousand square miles, a little more than three times 
 the area of the British Isles. It is almost a rainless 
 country. 
 
 i 
 
10 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 The total population of Egypt is about twelve 
 million. Of these about nine million six hundred 
 thousand are natives of the country, and the re- 
 mainder foreigners. About two-thirds of the people 
 are engaged in agriculture and are known as the 
 " Fellaheen." 
 
 The native Christians of the country are called 
 Copts, and they are the true descendants of the 
 ancient Egyptians. They number about six hundred 
 thousand. The Copts were converted to Christianity 
 by St Mark about one thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty years ago. 
 
 Egypt has undergone successive invasions. Hyksos 
 or shepherd kings, Ethiopians, Assyrians, Persians, 
 Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Turks have all in their 
 turn ruled Egypt. It might therefore be expected 
 that Egypt would become a mixed race, but the 
 very opposite is the fact. The Egyptian of to-day 
 is little removed, either in type or general charac- 
 teristics, from his earliest ancestors who occupied the 
 Nile valley many thousands of years ago, at the 
 very dawn of history. 
 
 Berbers have come down from the barren and 
 narrow valley of Nubia to hire themselves out as 
 servants, cooks, and doorkeepers. There is scarcely 
 a house in Cairo to be seen without a bench outside 
 and a Berber sitting upon it. 
 
 There are also the Orientals of the neighbouring 
 countries ; — Turks, Syrians, Armenians and Algerians. 
 The dialect of Upper Egypt is held in contempt by 
 the inhabitants of the Delta. 
 
 There are three types of Egyptians, the Fellaheen 
 or peasants, who stand at the bottom of the social 
 scale, both materially and intellectually ; the towns- 
 people engaged in trade or industry, and considered 
 
ANCIENT LITERATURE OF EGYPT 11 
 
 above the Fellah both in wealth and intelligence ; and 
 the Pashas and Beys, who are considered the aristo- 
 cracy of Egypt. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ANCIENT LITERATURE OF EGYPT 
 
 It is a wonderful thing to trace the history of litera- 
 ture, which is the written idea or thought of a nation 
 or people. 
 
 Perhaps of all literature that of Egypt is the most 
 ancient. It is also very much mixed up with surmise. 
 The hieroglyphic writing was the first practised 
 by the ancient Egyptians — in which the figures of 
 objects are employed to represent ideas or letters. 
 
 The word hieroglyphic is taken from the words 
 meaning " sacred" and " writing," and when the nation 
 began to reduce its thoughts to writing, or to express 
 its thoughts by signs, the people began by using 
 hieroglyphics. 
 
 There are three kinds of writing in early ./Egyptian 
 literature, which have been preserved and handed 
 down to us. The first, the picture language called 
 hieroglyphic, the second, demotic, which was the 
 common language of the people, and the third hieratic, 
 the sacred or priests' language. 
 
 The meaning of hieroglyphics has only been re- 
 discovered in our own day. It came into use about 
 three thousand seven hundred years before Christ, in 
 the time of the first dynasty. 
 
 To begin with, the signs represented the things 
 pictured, but gradually came to denote phonetic 
 sounds. Champollion has done much to enlighten 
 
12 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 us upon the subject. He became a great student of 
 Egyptology in the year 1818. 
 
 In the year 1799 Boussard, a French officer, while 
 digging the foundations of his house at Rosetta, in 
 the Nile Delta, turned up a black stone covered with 
 three kinds of writing, viz. : hieroglyphic, demotic, 
 and Greek. Impressions of the stone were taken and 
 handed over to many earnest students, who came to 
 the conclusion that it had been written in the time 
 of the Greek Empire. Champollion found the key 
 to the deciphering of this stone, which is now re- 
 posing in the British Museum. The whole of the 
 literature of Egypt was a closed door to learned men 
 until his time, and it was through this means that 
 the alphabet was eventually found, and the door 
 opened to the study of the inscriptions which cover 
 the walls of the temples and tombs from end to end 
 of Egypt. It is most important to remember that 
 early literature consists mainly of religious writings. 
 A great deal of the Egyptian literature which has 
 come down to us deals to a large extent with the 
 rules and regulations concerning the religious life of 
 the ancient people, and of their ceremonies for their 
 dead. History also finds a place, although there is no 
 thread of continuity, but every man seems to have 
 proclaimed his great deeds on a stone slab or tablet 
 as the fancy seized him. The great prize essay written 
 by Pentaur on the deeds of Rameses the second, a 
 man who seems to have conquered all that came 
 before him, was inscribed on the walls of temples, 
 and a copy is at the present time in the British 
 Museum. Many of these ancient Egyptians seemed 
 to have possessed a great opinion of themselves, 
 judging from the amount of self -laudation in their 
 compositions. 
 
ANCIENT LITERATURE OF EGYPT 13 
 
 The kings in those days were addressed as gods. 
 The larger number of inscriptions were ratten in 
 the hieroglyphic characters. 
 
 The business of life has been drawn for us in pictures, 
 many of which are to be seen now, also representations 
 of all kinds of agricultural labour. On the walls of 
 the tomb of Thy you can read the journal of a great 
 man who lived over five thousand years ago. We see 
 how his cattle were killed, how his meat was cooked, 
 and his geese fattened, how his fields were ploughed, 
 his corn grown, reaped, threshed and gleaned, how 
 his houses were built, how he fished and hunted, and 
 how he fulfilled the duties of his daily life. 
 
 There was in the literature of Egypt a great deal 
 which concerned the life after death. It was not a 
 strange line of thought when we remember how 
 thoughtful the Egyptians were with regard to im- 
 mortality. Their term for the grave was " the ever- 
 lasting house." When a man died his soul was 
 supposed to pass into Hades, to wander through the 
 spirit land and come in contact with all kinds of 
 danger. The heart seems to have been the particular 
 member which suffered, and, even in prehistoric times, 
 was always provided with its own special god, and 
 to charm away all evil spirits the souls were provided 
 with quotations from the Book of the Dead. 
 
 Every Egyptian wished to lay by a goodly store 
 of charms to help him through the nether world. 
 On their arrival there, the souls had to be judged by 
 Osiris the judge of the dead, and were supposed to be 
 weighed in the scales in his judgment hall, after which 
 each soul was required to make a denial of forty-two 
 sins put before it. The one great theme of their 
 religion was a return to God. 
 
 One cannot, however, speak highly of Egyptian 
 
14 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 morality, although they were a people so deeply filled 
 with the thought of the hereafter ! Their religion 
 must have had a pretence to righteousness, but how 
 far it progressed we are not in a position to say. 
 There was certainly nothing heroic about it, no severe 
 self denial, no strong check upon the human passions, 
 no humility, no forgiveness for injuries inflicted, no 
 belief that all things worked together for good, but of 
 course they had not the help of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 In the beginning there was the knowledge of the 
 true God, and the question presents itself to our 
 minds — How came they to have these mixed ideas ? 
 First, we must know they had no record, no revela- 
 tion. They were left to tradition. They had no guide, 
 and they themselves had lost their land mark. Yet 
 the religious feeling was maintained. They had lost 
 the true knowledge, and came to a worship of the 
 elements, the things which God had given them. 
 
 The sun god, Ra, was held in great esteem, as was 
 also the cow, Hat-hor, who was called the goddess of the 
 mountains, and was the instrument in supplying rain. 
 One of the most interesting things to be seen in the 
 Egyptian Museum is the statue of the cow, Hat-hor, 
 which was discovered buried in a little shrine all to 
 itself. 
 
 It was against these numerous deities that the 
 anger of God was directed when He scourged Egypt 
 with the ten plagues. For instance, the Nile was 
 worshipped as the great water god, " Hapi," re- 
 presented with a frog in his left hand. The divinity 
 Nile or " Hapi " was in this first plague disgraced, and 
 turned into an object of horror. Other divinities 
 were also involved in the humiliation. Several kinds 
 of fish in the Nile were considered sacred, these too 
 were smitten. The frogs, emblems of fertility and 
 
THE STORY OF A RIGHTEOUS LIFE 15 
 
 productiveness, came from the divinity Nile. By 
 this plague the Egyptian goddess, " Heka," was 
 discredited. She had the head of a frog ; con- 
 sequently the frogs were sacred animals and might 
 not be killed. 
 
 Beetles were regarded as emblems of the sun god, 
 " Kheper" (represented with a beetle for his head), 
 and were therefore sacred. The Scarabaeus, or figure 
 of the beetle, was worn by the Egyptians as an 
 amulet or charm, and was carved on the tombs, etc., 
 being looked upon as the emblem of immortality, 
 eternity and resurrection. 
 
 There was a temple at Memphis to the sacred bull, 
 Apis — and cows, certainly all white cows, were sacred 
 to the goddess Isis. So you see animal worship 
 received a severe shock, at the time when Pharaoh 
 hardened his heart and would not let the children 
 of Israel go. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE STORY OF A RIGHTEOUS LIFE 
 
 Apart from the Valley of the Nile and the Delta, the 
 greater part of Egypt is nothing but desert where 
 no one can live, but here and there ooze up springs 
 of water through the parched earth, called Oases, 
 and around them grow little patches of green trees and 
 bushes. These spots are like the shadow of a rock in 
 a weary land to the merchant, who has often to make 
 long journeys across the desert. 
 
 The merchant can never travel without his camel, 
 as the distance between the Oases is very long, and 
 " the father of the hump " as the camel is sometimes 
 called in desert language, can drink enough water 
 
16 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 to last for several days, and so it is able to carry its 
 master safely over long tracts of sand. 
 
 One day a tired, weary pilgrim, who had made a 
 long journey over the desert, stood before the empty 
 tomb of his ancestors, and this is what he read : — 
 
 " I have committed no fraud against any man. I 
 have not tormented the widow. I have not spoken 
 falsely in the tribunal nor do I know ill faith. I have 
 done no forbidden thing. I have not exacted of the 
 taskmaster more work than he could do daily. I have 
 not been neglectful. I have not been idle. I have not 
 refused my debts, nor have I wearied in well-doing. 
 I have not done that which is an abomination to the 
 gods. I have not slandered the slave to his master. 
 I have starved none. I have made none to weep. I 
 have slain none, nor have I commanded to murder 
 by treachery. I have not stolen the temple bread, I 
 have not seized the cakes offered to the gods. I have 
 not taken the food or fillets of the dead. I have not 
 gained money by fraud. I have not changed the 
 measure of corn. I have not defrauded the breadth 
 of a finger on the hand, I have not seized land. I 
 have not changed the plates of the balance. I have 
 not falsified the balance. I have not taken the milk 
 from the mouths of sucklings. I have not hunted the 
 sacred animals in their pasture. I have not taken 
 the divine birds in their net. I have not fished for the 
 sacred fish in their ponds. I have not kept the water 
 back in its season. I have not cut a branch of water 
 in its passage. I have not quenched the sacred fire 
 at its hour. I have not driven the sacred oxen from 
 their pasture. I have not turned aside the god in his 
 procession. I am pure, I am pure, I am pure, I am 
 pure." Such must have been the ideas of those who 
 lived in those bygone days : — No sense of his own need, 
 
THE STORY OF A RIGHTEOUS LIFE 17 
 
 and no sense or realisation of how he would stand in 
 the eyes of a Holy God. 
 
 Thirty-eight capital I's in this man's profession. 
 How sad that as a child he knew nothing of Him 
 who said " Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of 
 heart." I hope you or I would have added, " And 
 when ye have done all these things, say, ' We are 
 unprofitable servants.' " 
 
 The old pilgrim pursued his journey pondering over 
 what he had just read on the tomb of his ancestors, 
 and wondered how he could so correctly have fulfilled 
 all the obligations laid upon him. Poor old Servant 
 of the Merciful One, for that was his name, was inclined 
 to think that his ancestor had lacked a true knowledge 
 of himself. At the same time there was a desire in 
 the heart of the old pilgrim himself to be found per- 
 fect in the day of judgment and worthy to live in 
 paradise for ever. 
 
 He had a haunting memory of a sin committed long 
 years ago. How well he remembered on a certain day, 
 during the month of the Ramadan fast, being taken 
 to the judge who commanded him to be beaten with 
 forty stripes because he had dared to break his fast 
 before the setting of the sun. 
 
 " Why have I no rest yet from the memory of my 
 sin ? " said the old pilgrim, as he was borne silently over 
 the desert by his faithful camel towards his home away 
 yonder nestling in the midst of the shady palm grove. 
 
 " Have I not," he went on, " made many sacrifices 
 and have I not performed many pilgrimages, have I not 
 sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices over the door- 
 posts of my house, and yet my heart is still crying out 
 for peace, and I cannot find it ? " 
 
 Poor old pilgrim, he had grown up without a know- 
 ledge of his inheritance in Christ Jesus. No happy 
 
 6 
 
18 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 memories had he of his childhood days. No thoughts 
 of Jesus to help him on his way. 
 
 Have you ever thought what it would be like to 
 grow up without a knowledge of the love of God, and 
 without any news of His great salvation — and with 
 no happy holy memories of kneeling at a gentle 
 mother's knee where you learned to pray to your 
 Father in heaven ? 
 
 No wonder this aged pilgrim sought in vain for rest 
 and peace. He was in his ignorance trying to work 
 out his own salvation, ignorant all the time that 
 acceptance with God was a free gift, because he had 
 never been told about it. 
 
 Children of the West, will you rally round the banner 
 of prayer and make a resolve that you will do all in 
 your power to send a knowledge of salvation to the 
 millions of little children now growing up in the midst 
 of a great shadowy cloud of sin and darkness in the land 
 of Egypt, so that you may be like ministering angels 
 w T ho are sent to guide their feet into the way of peace ? 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE STORY OF THE NILE 
 
 " He that hath not seen Egypt hath not seen the 
 greatest wonder of the w T orld." 
 
 " Your Nile loads you with benefits and bounties 
 every day, it is for you that it flows from such a distance. 
 Alas ! in going away from you my tears are doomed 
 to run down as abundantly as its waters." 
 
 An old historian once visited Egypt and was so 
 struck by the physical condition of the country that 
 he said, " Egypt is a gift from the Nile." 
 
THE STORY OF THE NILE 19 
 
 This sentence fully explains the relation between the 
 river and the land. Without the Nile, Egypt would 
 be desert, and so this wonderful river from time im- 
 memorial has been taken into great consideration by 
 the inhabitants of the country. As you already know, 
 the ancient Egyptians looked upon it as one of their 
 gods. No one was allowed to throw into it any unclean 
 matter, even the birds which ate the worms from its 
 banks — so keeping the river clean — were looked upon 
 as sacred, and no one was allowed to do them any harm. 
 Land taxes were taken only from that part of the land 
 which had been covered by its waters during the 
 innundation. The rise of the Nile differed year by 
 year, so the taxes were modified accordingly. It has 
 always been the custom to celebrate the rise of the 
 Nile by a feast, and the people looked upon the 
 celebration as a time for leisure and pleasure. Kings, 
 officials, and notables of all kinds migrated at this 
 particular time to houseboats, dahabeyahs and ships 
 decorated for the event. 
 
 Up and down the river they would go until the Nile 
 attained its highest point. Then it is said that a 
 beautiful maiden, richly dressed, was with the consent 
 of her father throw to the god Nile. This cruel 
 custom was abolished by an order from the first 
 Christian Emperor Constantine. 
 
 During the first Arabic conquest the ceremony 
 of celebrating the flood was as follows : — 
 
 The director of the Nilometer at Rodah, whose duty 
 it was to measure the rise, had to write a secret report ; 
 then the Caliph, on receiving the same, would set out 
 with his Vizier, both richly dressed, bearing trays and 
 vases of massive gold and silver, with a jar filled with 
 musk and saffron. On their arrival at the Nilometer 
 the jar was presented to the said director, who mixed 
 
20 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 the contents of the jar on a tray, carefully anointing 
 the pillar of the gauge. 
 
 During this proceeding a Koran reciter was engaged 
 to read passages from the sacred book. 
 
 Soon after, the Caliph returned to his palace, sailing 
 down the Nile followed by his Grand Vizier. 
 
 On the following day the director arrived at the 
 palace of the Caliph dressed in gorgeous apparel 
 followed by a great procession with music and dancing. 
 
 Upon entering the palace the director received from 
 the Caliph the sum of two thousand pounds carried by 
 four men on mules — each one having five hundred — 
 to distribute to the passers by, and, on reaching the 
 pillar of the gauge, food was given to the hungry. 
 
 On the third morning of the feast the Caliph, sup- 
 ported on a carpet, and surrounded by cushions, 
 arrived at the head of the canal, accompanied by his 
 ministers. 
 
 A tent was pitched where they might take rest, 
 prayers were recited during the cutting of the 
 dam, which sent the water flowing along the canal 
 through the city, and a great banquet terminated 
 the ceremony. 
 
 Of recent years the day for cutting the dyke was 
 heralded by men and boys walking through the streets 
 of Cairo with drums and flags of green, yellow and 
 white, stopping before the people's doors, reciting 
 flowery poetry, and making a very unmusical noise. 
 On the actual day of cutting the dyke, the " akaba," 
 or large Nile boat, gaily decorated with flags and 
 lanterns, and with a native band on board, started 
 from the city ferry and sailed majestically down to 
 the dyke — followed by another boat — the occupants 
 firing off cannons at intervals. 
 
 In the meantime, men of arts and crafts, masons, 
 
THE NIGHT OF THE CUTTING OF THE DYKE 
 
TOPSY-TURVY CUSTOMS 21 
 
 joiners, smiths, stone-cutters and sculptors followed in 
 grand procession, beating drums and hoisting banners. 
 When everything was ready, workmen cut the dam 
 and the water flowed gaily through. Of late the 
 " khalig" or canal has been filled up, and converted 
 into a street, and consequently the men of arts and 
 crafts are not called for, but the anniversary still main- 
 tains its chief characteristic, that of great rejoicing and 
 brilliant illuminations. 
 
 Modern travellers say, " If you once drink of the 
 waters of the Nile, you are bound to return and drink 
 again." So you see the Nile still maintains its charm 
 for ancient and modern alike, though, sad to say, it 
 is no longer kept sweet and pure as of old. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 TOPSY-TURVY CUSTOMS 
 
 Arabia has been called topsy-turvy land, and Egypt 
 too, I think might be called by the same name, because 
 there are so many things done in exactly the opposite 
 way to what they are done in England. Here are 
 a few instances. 
 
 A little boy is told to write out an exercise in his 
 copy-book and he promptly begins on the right-hand 
 side of the top line of the last page of his book. 
 Now you of course would begin on the left-hand side 
 of the first page — at least that is what I did" when I 
 was at school. 
 
 Another very topsy-turvy thing which happens 
 is this : — 
 
 When there is a feast of any kind and there are little 
 boys and girls in the family, it is always the boy who 
 
22 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 gets the best gallabeea to wear, and the best seat in 
 the guest room, and who receives the most attention, 
 and gets the best piece of sweetmeat. The little sister 
 often stands shyly in the background, gazing with 
 longing eyes at her favoured little brother. The 
 reason for this is that in Egypt boys are thought a 
 great deal more of than girls. 
 
 When a baby boy is born there is great rejoicing, 
 and the mother uses a large amount of trickery so as 
 to make the evil spirit think the boy is a girl. 
 
 When you visit a new born baby for the first time, 
 you must say something like the following sentence. 
 " What is that horrid-looking bundle you have there ? 
 It looks like pitch." You may be allowed a glimpse 
 of the so described parcel, and even if ever such a 
 pretty little face peeps at you from behind its kohl 1 - 
 besmeared eyes, you must say " horrid little thing," 
 and then resort to the ordinary topic of conversation 
 which is generally made up of salaams. 
 
 Still more topsy-turvy customs have we in Pharaoh's 
 land. We not only write from right to left but we read 
 and sing and play music all in the same way. When 
 you visit the Sunday school you shall sing " Jesus 
 loves me, this I know," beginning at the right hand 
 side of the book. 
 
 Then the funniest and yet saddest topsy-turvy 
 custom is the reversion of that grand command, 
 " Children obey your parents." " Parents obey your 
 children " is the usual order of the day in Egypt, and 
 you can picture to yourself all the sad results which 
 follow. 
 
 One very hot day a little boy named Understanding 
 was carried to the doctor. " This little child," said 
 the doctor to the mother, " is very ill, and if he. is to 
 1 Kohl = charcoal dust. 
 
TOPSY-TURVY CUSTOMS 
 
 23 
 
 get better he must stay with kind nurses in the hospital 
 for sick people.' ' Understanding was only a little boy, 
 and did not really know how to choose for himself, 
 neither did he know what was best for him, although 
 his name would make you think he did ; but because 
 he said, " No, no, no," his mother looked at the doctor 
 and said, " he has said no, and who am I that I should 
 alter his word ? " and so little Understanding went 
 home to die ! 
 
 Children of Egypt are not privileged as are the 
 children of England. They are seldom taught any- 
 thing that is good. They are brought up in a land 
 where there is plenty to make them wicked but nothing 
 to make them good. And yet how lovable they are ! 
 Don't you long that they should know all about Jesus, 
 the loving tender Jesus, who makes your life so pleasant 
 and good ? 
 
 One day, when the school bell rang for assembly, 
 a sad-looking woman was seen anxiously looking for 
 the teacher. When asked her reason for being there, 
 she replied — " Will you please beat my two boys." 
 " Why ? " said the astonished teacher. " Because I 
 have no rest," replied the mother, " I am a widow ; 
 first one beats me, and then the other." 
 
 When remonstrated with, the boys made answer, 
 " Why should we not beat her, she is only a woman ? " 
 
 Cruel boys ! But then it is not their fault. Their 
 religion teaches them it is right so to do ! 
 
24 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CHILDLIFE IN A MOHAMMEDAN LAND 
 
 Nothing can be more sad than the lot of children 
 in a Moslem land. They fall heirs to all the miseries 
 which ignorant and superstitious parents can bestow 
 upon them. The poor wee mites are denied the 
 ordinary comforts and daily care of a Christian home. 
 The fear of the evil eye adorns them with charms — 
 leather bags, old teeth, and filthy garments — while 
 it deprives them of the pleasures of a bath, clean 
 comfortable clothes, and proper care when ill. (One 
 way of treating sore eyes is to sprinkle powdered 
 brick- dust into them !) Our hearts grow sick as we 
 see poor neglected babies, lying in the sunlight, with 
 their faces covered with Egyptian flies, which excel 
 in perseverance and never let go until they must. 
 
 When we remember the careful training, and how 
 jealously the Christian father and mother protect 
 and guard their children from evil, we shudder to 
 think of all the wickedness which surrounds the 
 children in the lands of the False Prophet. 
 
 From earliest infancy until they are grown up, 
 they hear evil things spoken of lightly, so that from 
 the very beginning their hearts grow hardened to sin 
 and think little of it. Then, too, they are denied the 
 joys of home. They have yet to learn what that word 
 means. They know so little of it that they have no 
 such word in their language. No wonder that this 
 is the case when often two or more wives live together 
 in one harem. Or the father's interests are centred 
 in several different houses, in each of which one of his 
 wives lives. We have seen some children who scarcely 
 
MOHAMMEDAN CHILDHOOD 25 
 
 knew to what home they belonged, going about, as 
 they did, from one house to another where their 
 father's wives were kept. 
 
 We must draw a curtain over some of the things 
 which darken the life of the Moslem child, and ask 
 all who read these lines to pray. Pray for the Moslem 
 father, mother and children. 
 
 Here is an instance of how a little Moslem child is 
 treated when ill. 
 
 One day a tiny girl, named Sorrowful, became very 
 ill. Many were the charms which adorned the un- 
 washed little body — but the power to heal was lacking. 
 
 Sorrowful's mother was very anxious that she should 
 get well, as she was her only child, and her father was 
 a very unkind man who would have sent away her 
 mother had the child died. So one day she was 
 dressed in a very funny garment covered with patches, 
 not because the garment was an old one, but in order 
 to make the evil spirit think she was only a poor 
 miserable little girl not worth thinking about. Then 
 the mother started on her journey to a certain mosque 
 wherein was buried an old man who was said to be 
 endued with power, during his lifetime, to charm 
 away demons. So little Sorrowful was laid with many 
 other baby girls by the side of the old man's tomb, 
 so that his spirit might talk to the evil spirit which 
 possessed the child. 
 
 In the meantime the mother walked quickly away, 
 and during her absence the chief of demons was 
 supposed to come, and, at the request of the old 
 man's spirit, seize all his little child demons and carry 
 them off. After a time Sorrowful's mother returned, 
 and having placed some lentils and sugar by the old 
 man's tomb as a reward, without speaking, singled 
 out her little girl from the rest and walked quickly 
 
26 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 away, back to her home. But, to her agony and 
 amazement, little Sorrowful remained ill. 
 
 This would not have been the case had she known 
 of the beautiful hospital, in which was a special ward 
 for little Egyptian children like Sorrowful, where, 
 thank God, many tiny sick ones are now brought, and 
 where they are taught to pray to the Good Shepherd, 
 who alone has the power, and who gives the power to 
 his servants, to heal the sick and lead the blind. 
 
 There is a great work for you children of the West 
 to do, that is — to pray that thousands of ignorant 
 and sorrowful mothers may learn of this hospital, 
 and bring their children to hear of Him, who when 
 on earth said : — 
 
 " Suffer little children to come unto Me and forbid 
 them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 mohammedan childhood — Continued 
 
 The house of a poor " Fellah " is humble, consisting 
 ordinarily of one room and a large courtyard, and is 
 as a rule dirty. 
 
 The walls are of sun-dried mud brick, the roof is 
 made of cotton stalks, and is of course flat, as is the 
 case with all the houses in the East, whence you can 
 understand Peter walking on the roof while praying. 
 The floor is of earth, and a small opening in the wall 
 serves as a window. In such a house live the members 
 of the family with their domestic animals, and in 
 these surroundings Egyptian children of the country 
 class are born and brought up. 
 
 These children are not burdened with many clothes 
 
MOHAMMEDAN CHILDHOOD 27 
 
 or lessons, but as their parents make a living by 
 industriously turning every inch of Nile mud into use, 
 so the boys and girls when quite small have to work 
 hard, even tiny tots riding on the back of the timid 
 buffalo to drive it home after the day's toil. 
 
 Boys are frequently employed to drive donkeys, 
 which are much in demand all over Egypt. Those 
 who make a regular profession of the trade sometimes 
 give their donkeys striking names, especially where 
 tourists are concerned. 
 
 There was a donkey once called " Bishop of London," 
 another " Lord Salisbury," another " Telephone," 
 another " President Roosveldt," and another " Yankee 
 Doodle." The boys become very diplomatic in their 
 choice of names for their animals. If the tourist is 
 American, he at once gives the name as " President 
 Roosveldt." If English, " Bishop of London," or 
 some such grand title, thinking to make a little extra 
 backshish by pleasing the representative of the 
 different countries. 
 
 A small proportion of the boys may be allowed for 
 a short time to attend the village " kuttab " or school, 
 and, like the children of other nations, they are very 
 inquisitive, and often ask questions which are difficult 
 to answer. Mother of course is the person appealed 
 to, but poor mother is only like a cow or a donkey, 
 knows nothing, and so her child asks in vain. 
 She can teach him nothing about the love of God, 
 love of home-land, or good morals, but instead she 
 fills his mind with fables, and evil fairy tales. He is 
 told not to leave the house after sunset, or walk where 
 it is dark, lest he should be swallowed up by ghosts or 
 some dreadful animals. So the Egyptian boys grow 
 up to be cowards, unable to undertake hard or 
 responsible work. They are not taught to be men, 
 
28 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 nor to govern their own passions, nor to seek their 
 country's welfare. 
 
 How shall I describe a village kuttab ? I think 
 a picture will be the best description. The slates the 
 boys are holding in their hands are made of tin, upon 
 which they write, with ink and reed pens, quotations 
 from their sacred book. The boy is considered 
 cleverest who can repeat off by heart a great deal 
 of the Koran though perhaps he does not understand 
 a word of it. 
 
 Once upon a time not long ago there was a kuttab 
 in which sat an old sheikh with a number of little 
 boys around him. He kept by his side a pile of 
 water-melon skins and the peelings ol several oranges, 
 and whenever a boy made a great noise would throw 
 at his head a piece of this rubbish. 
 
 Little girls, as I have said before, are considered to 
 be not worth teaching, and are generally conspicuous by 
 their absence. But although the country child knows so 
 little of school life, yet with the town boys it isjdifferent. 
 The desire for education is growing rapidly, and the 
 town boy spends a fair portion of his time in study. 
 
 Play and physical exercises are not encouraged, and 
 boys are instructed by teachers and parents not to play 
 but to study. There is an Arabic proverb which the 
 father of the boy generally leaves with the teacher 
 when authorising him to punish his child, which says, 
 " You may have the flesh, and I the bones," meaning 
 that if ever he is found playing he must be severely 
 chastised. 
 
 Little boys are sometimes punished by being made 
 to kneel on small pebbles, or by holding a heavy thing 
 with one or both hands raised above the head for a 
 considerable length of time. A favourite way of 
 punishing was to lash the boy on his bare heels. In 
 
MOHAMMEDAN CHILDHOOD 29 
 
 some schools during the Nile flood, the teacher stamps 
 the leg of each boy with a seal dipped in red ink, to 
 prevent them from swimming or bathing, and woe to 
 the boy when inspected at the end of the holiday if 
 the mark of the seal be not found. 
 
 When a boy first goes to school, always without the 
 slightest knowledge of learning, he is generally given 
 the verb " to strike " to conjugate, while children 
 of England are given the verb " to love," but in Egypt 
 the verb " to strike " is put to so much practical use, 
 that it is not to be wondered at its being given as a 
 study. When we paint a door we " strike it," with 
 paint, or if we play an organ we are said to strike it. 
 And when the people wash their clothes, they beat 
 them for all they are worth on large stones, using 
 Nile mud as soap. Sometimes the Sheikh during 
 lesson time is half asleep or he feels a little indisposed, 
 so he sits lazily on a stool and says in a dreamy voice, 
 " Oh children, you must not make a noise, or get into 
 any mischief, because I am ill to-day, and you must 
 teach one another." Then he will appoint some of 
 the elder boys as overseers, to write down the names 
 of any who are naughty. The younger boys rise up in 
 open revolt and there is a humming, buzzing, and 
 quarrelling noise. And as there are no full stops, 
 commas, or capital letters in the Arabic language, 
 it is difficult to know where and what they are reading. 
 
 Games and play do not enter largely into child life 
 in Egypt, but here and there you see the natural 
 tendency of children breaking forth, in the excitement 
 of flying a home-made kite, or cruelly teasing a poor 
 little sparrow or kitten. 
 
 They have several games of their own which when 
 translated into English have not much meaning ; 
 one is : — 
 
30 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 The Game of the Mother with her Daughter 
 
 and the Cat 
 
 and is as follows : — 
 
 The children form a circle facing each other. The 
 mother places in the centre some leaven and says : 
 " Take care of the leaven, oh children, while I go 
 to bring water from the river." The cat who has been 
 in hiding rushes out as soon as the mother has gone, 
 saying, " Open the door ! " The girls say " Nay ! 
 Our mother will beat us." At last the cat enters 
 by force and runs away with the leaven. The 
 mother returns and wails out, " Where is the 
 leaven ? " "In the cupboard," say the children. 
 u Look, look," says the mother, " There is nothing ! " 
 " Under the tray," say the children. " Look, look, 
 there is nothing ! " and so they continue, until 
 at last the cat appears and mews loudly. Then a 
 child follows the mother, pursuing the cat, who dodges 
 in and out among the children until at last he is 
 caught and receives a well-deserved beating. 
 
 The Game of the Black Raven 
 
 One child takes the role of the mother, another 
 that of the raven, who stands before the mother and 
 begins to snatch away her children. The mother tries 
 to save them, but the raven says, "I am the black 
 raven which snatches away children." The mother 
 says, " But I am their mother and will save them," 
 but without avail. The raven continues to snatch 
 one by one, until only one is left, and the mother 
 makes one desperate effort to save it. The raven says, 
 " I must have your last child." " Who will bake my 
 bread ? " says the mother. " I am coming," says the 
 raven. " But who will cook me food ? " "I am 
 
MOHAMMEDAN CHILDHOOD 31 
 
 just going to snatch," says the raven. " But who 
 will clean the house ? " says the distracted mother ; 
 but the raven has gone with the last little girl, and the 
 poor lonely mother sits down to wail. 
 
 Boys and girls are married at such an early age in 
 Egypt, that they have very little time to play. 
 
 A mother, as a rule, wishes to marry her son in order 
 to secure to herself a servant, and the little wife be- 
 comes no more than her husband's slave, or plaything, 
 and the general drudge of the house. 
 
 A little girl when born is often chosen by her parents 
 to wed a certain cousin, and when the time comes, she 
 will be married to him without ever having seen him. 
 It is quite a detail whether they love each other or not. 
 In Arabic, as a rule, the man always speaks of his wife 
 as " The daughter of his uncle," as those of you who 
 have read Arabian Nights will know. 
 
 It is a great offence to the parents if after the 
 marriage the wedded pair express a desire to live in a 
 separate house. They consider it to be a token of 
 disloyalty to them. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SUPERSTITIONS 
 
 The Egyptians are a people full of dark sayings and 
 superstitions. And, as I have said, you must be very 
 careful to conceal your admiration for a new baby. If 
 you promise to say " horrid little thing," when you see 
 it, I will take you to the ceremony of naming an 
 Egyptian child. 
 Some houses have good-sized doors with a smaller 
 
32 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 door cut in the centre, and mushrabia or lattice-work 
 windows, through which pretty faces may peep without 
 danger of being seen. 
 
 We knock, and an invisible hand, working some- 
 where in the upper region of the house, draws a long 
 piece of rope attached to the latch, which opens. 
 
 The Gospel story has more than once found its way 
 into this house, so we are not strangers when we meet 
 our hostess. But to-day she takes very little notice of 
 us, as her thoughts are otherwise engaged. 
 
 Gathered around her sits a group of black-robed 
 women, and hidden away somewhere in that dark, 
 dismal room lies the nameless baby, wrapped up in an 
 old piece of rag. The latter must be very old, in 
 order that the child may live, and walk quickly I 
 
 Now a corn sieve is produced, and baby, well 
 covered up from the evil eyes around, is placed inside. 
 
 The mother stands over it, saying. " Hear the 
 words of your father." Whereupon she picks up the 
 sieve and drops it again. This performance is repeated 
 six times, and baby gets six bumps while the following 
 words are being said : " Hear the words of your 
 grandmother 1 " " Beware of the house running on 
 wheels ! " " Beware of the Car which runs by its 
 spirit ! " " Both of which can eat you quickly ! " 
 
 Then the mother walks over and around her child 
 three times, saying " Upon the beloved prophet be 
 prayers and peace." Thus ends the ceremony, and 
 baby is the proud possessor of a name meaning some 
 quality, such as Gentle, Kind, Compassionate. 
 
 When a child is born, a large knife and loaf of bread 
 are placed by its side, and on the fifth day some beans 
 are added, also a tall-necked jar full of water, the 
 handles of which are decorated with gold earrings, the 
 neck with a gold necklace, and a red fez over the 
 
THE SACRED TREE 
 
SUPERSTITIONS 
 
 S3 
 
 mouth. The belief is that as long as there are bread, 
 beans and water for the evil spirit, it will refrain from 
 an attack upon the child. A mixture of salt, rice, and 
 split peas is sprinkled about the neighbours' houses. 
 
 The first sentence a child learns to speak is prob- 
 ably a phrase of impoliteness and insult, which 
 the parents rejoice at and admire, on hearing it 
 from the mouth of their little one for the first 
 time, quite forgetting that when they are grown 
 up, instead of rising up and calling them blessed, 
 their children will live to curse them. A very 
 dear little boy was once brought to the Mission 
 Hospital and was almost dead from a dreadful disease 
 in his throat, which deprived him of his speech for 
 several days. The doctors used their skill and God 
 blessed their efforts, but it was terribly sad one day to 
 hear the father say to his little son, who was just getting 
 back the power of speech, " Show your uncle how 
 cleverly you can curse him ! " Children of England, 
 are you not glad to have been born in a Christian land ? 
 
 One day when I was visiting a village in the Nile 
 Delta, I saw in the distance a crowd of women, one of 
 whom was carrying on her head a round basket 
 containing a baby six days old. They were 
 hurrying to the Mission doctor, as baby's life was in 
 danger. An operation was performed, and some few 
 days after, I thought baby would be all the better for a 
 bath, and I, all intent upon my work at the sunny end 
 of the houseboat upon which I was staying, did not 
 notice a group of dusky-looking women crouching on 
 the banks of the river, who were so shocked at seeing 
 baby turn up its pink toes in appreciation of a bath, 
 that they were heard to exclaim " She deserves to be 
 transported." 
 
 Many little babies are not washed until they are a 
 c 
 
34 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 year old, but then you see it is not to be wondered at, 
 because the mothers were brought up in exactly the 
 same way. One day I was trying to show a woman 
 what she should do, to make herself a little less grimy, 
 and she walked away muttering to herself, " What 
 queer orders these people give ; funny world this ; 
 funniest thing of all is when they tell you to wash from 
 head to foot. They don't agree with these things in 
 my village ! ' ' 
 
 The Afreet or evil spirit is a thing to be dreaded, 
 and much is done to avoid the anger of the 
 demon, who is likely at any moment to seize man, 
 woman or child. Consequently, the ignorant people 
 stand in great awe of him. A poor young girl was said 
 one day to be possessed by a demon, so the usual 
 method of casting out the devil was resorted to. 
 
 Her friends are invited, and the first thing to be done 
 is to ascertain what is the wish of the spirit. 
 
 The chief actress in the drama approaches the one 
 possessed, and whispers into her ear " O Spirit, what 
 is the thing you desire most ? " The answer comes 
 back, " I wish for a silver shawl ! " If the Afreet be 
 of masculine gender he will wish for a long cloak and 
 red fez. If a native of the black country, he will wish 
 for a red cloak and a red shawl ! If the Afreeta is a 
 mermaid, she will ask for a dish of water in which to 
 swim ! 
 
 The afflicted will then desire a bag of nuts, thirteen 
 long candles, and a white gallabeea. Last of all a 
 sheep is brought and killed, and she is made to drink 
 of the warm blood, caught in the palm of the hand, 
 three times. 
 
 Then the blood is sprinkled over the white gallabeea 
 in which the girl is robed, and forming a waist band 
 is a string of silver charms ; across the forehead is 
 
SUPERSTITIONS 
 
 35 
 
 fixed a set of charms, as also on each forearm. She 
 then sits alone for seven days, and no one must 
 break the spell by presenting salaams ; tom-toms are 
 beaten incessantly to keep the demon in a sweet 
 temper. 
 
 If after all this the woman remains ill, the spirit is 
 appealed to, and he will say, " I am not the cause. 
 You must make a pilgrimage to Abu Saood, or visit 
 the old woman buried under the tree on the Island 
 of Rodah." 
 
 This tree is visited by hundreds of women on 
 the national holiday every year, and is a mass of 
 dirty rags, hair, teeth, etc., while flags form festoons 
 from branch to branch, upon which are written 
 " God," "Mohammed/ ' and the names of several 
 sheikhs. 
 
 Often legs, arms and hands of ancient Egyptians 
 are dug up and worn by sick people, for which they 
 pay large sums of money. 
 
 Thick iron bands are worn around the necks of the 
 women, to charm away death from their children. 
 And these are the people who say they believe and 
 trust in God. 
 
 Thank God, there are many who are learning to put 
 their trust in the true God, who long ago gave a 
 promise that the day should come when the Egyptians 
 should know the Lord, and of them the Lord would be 
 able to say : " Blessed be Egypt my people, . . . and 
 Israel mine inheritance." I wonder if you know 
 where in Isaiah this promise is to be found ? 
 
 One day quite recently I went with one of the Bible- 
 women to visit at the house of one of her neighbours. 
 A company of women, more or less related to each 
 other, lived together. One of the number had been 
 ailing for some weeks, and the time of our visit was the 
 
36 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 second day of the ceremony for casting out the sup- 
 posed demon. There sat the weird-looking old woman 
 covered with the blood of the sheep. She looked truly 
 dreadful, and it was not difficult to imagine that she 
 might indeed be possessed. 
 
 We were very careful to take not the least notice of 
 her, lest we should break the spell. 
 
 Around the room sat about a dozen other women 
 robed in gorgeous apparel, wearing costly jewels, and in 
 the centre of the room stood a table covered with 
 plates of nuts, and bread illuminated with various sizes 
 of candles, all gifts to the evil spirit. 
 
 The centre of attraction was a shallow vessel rilled 
 with costly jewels all of which had been specially 
 requested by the feminine demon. 
 
 At the time of our visit they were all resting, quite 
 tired out from their labours, but at the hour of the 
 evening meal everything was to be in full swing again, 
 dancing, beating tom-toms, and enticing the unwelcome 
 visitor forth by snatches of song used upon such 
 occasions. 
 
 We rose to take our leave with a warm invitation 
 from a member of the party to join them in the evening 
 and watch the proceedings, making a stipulation that 
 we should leave our Western head-dress at home. 
 
 In due time a little party arrived at the Bible- 
 woman's house all excited to think they were to be 
 allowed to witness one of the strange customs of the 
 Egyptians. 
 
 Alas, we were met by Sitt F., who wore a very dis- 
 appointed expression, and told that the evil spirit had 
 strongly objected to our presence in the afternoon. 
 It had taken a special dislike to my hat, and also to 
 one of our number who had unwisely remarked upon 
 the jewels in the vessel. But in reality we knew it 
 
THE OLD AND THE NEW 
 
 37 
 
 was because we were Christians that our presence had 
 been objected to. 
 
 We turned our faces home- ward again, to pray for 
 light to shine through the darkness, remembering how 
 the seventy returned with joy to tell Jesus that even the 
 devils were subject unto them through His name. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE OLD AND THE NEW 
 
 It will be interesting to say a word about the place in 
 which this narrative has been written. 
 
 It is all so picturesque, and brings before our minds 
 three stages in the history of Egypt. The old, the 
 modern, and the new. 
 
 It is the Church Missionary Society's Hospital in 
 Old Cairo, the southern part of Cairo city founded in 
 the year 641 a.d. 
 
 To the west lie the great pyramids of Gizeh, built 
 by the Pharaohs about five thousand years ago ; 
 forming a foreground is the famous and fertile 
 Rodah Island, with its Nilometer instituted by the 
 Mohammedan Caliphs, and the beautiful gardens of the 
 Pashas. A few minutes' walk will bring you to the 
 spot where it is supposed the babe Moses was taken 
 from his ark of bulrushes by the river's brink, the 
 majestic sails of the Nile boats tipping the tall palm 
 trees as they wind in and out past the bend of the 
 river. 
 
 To the east, about half an hour's walk from the 
 hospital, you may stand where it is believed Joseph 
 erected the stores for keeping the corn during the 
 seven years of famine. 
 
38 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 A little farther northward lies an old fort, dating 
 from the time of the Persian invasion, known at present 
 as the Convent of Babylon, inside of which there is a 
 Coptic church. A little further on you find a gigantic 
 fortress, built in the time of the Romans. It was 
 surrounding this fort that the fight took place between 
 the Arab invaders and the Coptic garrison under 
 their Greek commandant, and inside the fortress the 
 contract and terms of surrender were written and 
 signed. This fort is now known as St George's Convent, 
 containing several very interesting Coptic churches, 
 famous for their wonderful ivory carvings, and visited 
 every year by thousands of tourists. 
 
 Two minutes' walk will bring you on to the Coptic 
 church of Abu Sarga, where tradition says Mary took 
 refuge with the child Jesus, when they fled into Egypt. 
 
 Close to Abu Sarga there is a Jewish synagogue 
 greatly prized by the Jews, for they believed that Moses 
 held services in it during his stay in Egypt, and that 
 it contains the grave of the prophet Jeremiah himself. 
 
 There are several other Coptic churches, scattered 
 over a distance of two or three miles, to the east of 
 the Mission buildings. 
 
 About five minutes' walk to the north-east of the 
 hospital is situated the Mosque of 'Amr. It was the 
 first mosque to be built in Egypt, and in it the Khedive 
 performs his prayers once a year — a time when a 
 prisoner bound in chains receives a free pardon. 
 
 Often the voice of the Muezzin rings out clearly 
 from the minaret of the mosque calling followers of the 
 False Prophet to prayer, while simultaneously the 
 church bell will remind the Coptic Christians that 
 services are going on in the Name of Him who came to 
 suffer and die for the sins of the whole world, but whose 
 suffering and death are despised by the Mohammedans. 
 
THE OLD AND THE NEW 
 
 39 
 
 In the Mosque of 'Amr, there is a column of great 
 antiquity. 
 
 It is said that, when Omar was building the mosque, 
 he asked his master the Caliph Omar for a column from 
 Mecca. The Caliph commanded the said column to 
 migrate to the Nile, but it would not stir. He repeated 
 his command still more urgently, but the column re- 
 mained immovable. A third time he repeated his 
 command, angrily striking the column with his 
 corbash, 1 but still without effect. At length he 
 cried out—" I command thee in the name of God, O 
 Column, arise and betake thyself to Cairo," whereupon 
 the column began to walk, and a vein of the marble is 
 shown as the still visible mark of the corbash. Two 
 other columns, placed on the opposite side of the 
 mosque, promise salvation to the man who can pass 
 between them. As the space is a very narrow one, woe 
 be to the man, woman, boy or girl who gets stuck fast 
 in the attempt to pass through ! 
 
 In the olden days the Greek Byzantine coinage bore 
 the inscription : "In the Name of the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost," but Abd el Malak, in the time of 
 the Caliphs, changed it and substituted the words : 
 " There is no God but God." 
 
 I wonder if you children could draw a map outline 
 of old Cairo from the description of the places I have 
 given you. If so, you must dot in as well the hospitals 
 for men, women and children, where many thousands 
 hear the Story of God's love year by year; a little 
 church belonging to C. M. S. ; a flourishing day school 
 for girls, whose parents have been taught that little girls 
 are worth teaching, and a large building containing a 
 day school for boys and a small boarding school. In 
 the city of Cairo itself there are two more schools, 
 
 1 Whip, 
 
40 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 with a training class for women teachers, as well as a 
 great deal more work which does not concern us in this 
 book. What does concern you is your duty in praying 
 for all the children of Egypt who find their way to our 
 Mission schools, and for all the thousands who do not, 
 that by some means or other they may find their way 
 to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 A CAMEL RIDE 
 
 This is only a journey in thought — in reality it would 
 take at least three or four days to accomplish. 
 
 I wonder if any of you have ever sat on the hump of a 
 camel. It is quite an experience in one's life to do so. 
 Time is no object, so we will not arrange an hour to be 
 back. No girls for this journey, and remember, boys, 
 the leader of your camel will probably be a little son 
 of the desert, so you will no doubt have the opportunity 
 if you keep on the look-out to gain an insight into the 
 life and heart of your little protector. 
 
 A few grunts and growls from the gaily caparisoned 
 " Father of the hump," a jerk forward, a jerk back- 
 wards, and then a seemingly breathless leap into the 
 air, and you are mounted on your camel, gazing from 
 the heights upon your little companion, who, 
 upright in figure, and with silent footsteps, leads 
 you over the desert. 
 
 The noiseless tread of the great animal upon which 
 you are riding and its swinging motion bring you face 
 to face with the wonderful pyramids, towering high 
 above all other buildings, standing alone in the desert, 
 and the dear old Sphinx, a little beyond, gazing with 
 
A CAMEL RIDE 
 
 41 
 
 pathetic eyes into the vast unknown. We stand 
 awestruck before it with some such thought as this 
 running through our minds : " Tell me, O Sphinx, your 
 story — whence came you ? " but it answers never a 
 word, and still gazes with that far-away look into space, 
 and all we learn of the Sphinx is that for seven 
 thousand years the sun has risen and set, encircling 
 for a time its huge grey body in all the glowing 
 Egyptian sunset tints ; then the mantle of darkness 
 wraps itself around the silent form, adding another 
 day to the seven thousand years, and the secret of the 
 Sphinx is still its own. 
 
 Your little camel boy is looking up at you wondering 
 what you think of the wonders of his country. You 
 have been asking his name and he tells you it is Abd 
 el Nabi, which means " Servant of the Prophet." 
 Perhaps as we journey along you will get to know 
 something more about him, for, although he has never 
 been inside a school in his life, his quick but unde- 
 veloped little brain has not been idle during his journeys 
 with Western visitors ; he has perhaps already packed 
 away into his brain box some new word picked up 
 from your conversation. Let us keep along the track 
 of the Nile valley, making our way up country. 
 Suddenly we come to a standstill, all eyes in one 
 direction, facing a village nestling among the palm 
 trees. We were once attacked by robbers from this 
 village, but the centre of attraction is not the village, 
 but a huge stone statue lying under the shade of the 
 date trees. Whose can it be ? It is the figure of 
 Rameses II., the Pharaoh of the oppression, whose 
 history is recorded on some of the great pylons at 
 Karnak. 
 
 Now we must pass on, as we have much to see and 
 far to go. 
 
42 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 " What is the name of this town on the canal ? " 
 " Oh," said little Abd el Nabi, " this is the Fayoum, 
 and this water is called the River of Joseph." " Will 
 you tell me why it is called by this name ? " And Abd 
 el Nabi, nothing loth to relate the legends of his beloved 
 desert, said, " I will tell you ! " 
 
 " Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, King 
 Pharaoh wished to marry his daughter to another king, 
 but Pharaoh was very perplexed in his mind because 
 he had no dowry to bestow in the shape of land, except 
 a strip of marshy ground which all his ministers said 
 could not be drained in a thousand days. At last 
 Joseph was called before Pharaoh and, when asked 
 his opinion concerning the marshy district, knelt before 
 the king and said, ' Be it known unto the king, that 
 if he will trust his servant to carry out this work, it 
 shall be completed in ninety days, and then shall the 
 marriage cry go forth throughout the land in honour of 
 Pharaoh's daughter/ 
 
 " The work was begun and completed at the ap- 
 pointed time, and, in the place of the useless marshy 
 tract of land, there flowed through the country a beauti- 
 ful stream banked on either side by lovely gardens. 
 The king was so pleased that he gave it the name of 
 Bahr Yusef, or ' Joseph's river,' and the town which by 
 degrees sprang up he called ' Alf Youm,' which means 
 in Arabic ' a thousand days,' and thus we get the 
 modern name, El Fayoum." 
 
 Now we must get on, but we will rest when we get 
 to the town of Minieh. " Minieh," said Abd el Nabi, 
 " was the ancient burial place for sacred cats ; quite 
 near the town is a catacomb through which you may 
 walk for one hour and a half without reaching the end." 
 Hundreds of sacred cats were mummified thousands 
 of years ago, and buried here with great ceremony. 
 
A CAMEL RIDE 
 
 43 
 
 " I would not kill a cat, not for worlds," said Abd 
 el Nabi, " because the soul of my grandmother when she 
 died migrated to a cat, and if I were to kill one, the 
 ghost of my grandmother would surely haunt me. 
 We children of the desert say a cat has seven spirits. 
 A long time ago, when Persia made war with Egypt, 
 the Persians placed an army of wild cats in their front 
 ranks. The Egyptians were terrified and beat a hasty 
 retreat, leaving victory with the wild quadrupeds and 
 the Persians." 
 
 Abd el Nabi was looking very tired, but politeness 
 forbade him to speak of himself as being so in our 
 company. So we dismount, leaving our camels be- 
 hind in charge of Abd el Nabi, who had met various 
 uncles and cousins on the way and who undertook the 
 charge of our retinue, while we travelled on a very 
 ordinary train as far as Luxor, visiting all the wonderful 
 ruins of temples there to be seen. Crossing the river 
 we ride through the quiet desert to the city of the dead, 
 where among the hills and valleys, deep down in 
 secret chambers, lie the bodies of ancient kings and 
 queens, their life story set forth in the mystical 
 writings on the walls of their tombs, while the bodies are 
 encircled in casings containing many jewels of gold 
 and precious stones, as necessary to their happiness in 
 the life of the world to come, as they had been in the life 
 that had passed. Time and space there is not to tell 
 of all the wonderful things we saw, relics of Egypt's 
 greatness ; the lost chord of Egypt's magnificence, 
 where is it ? 
 
 There is a temple at Karnak which has recorded on its 
 walls, in the hieroglyphic writings of which I have told 
 you, the Battle of Shishak. Read 2 Chron. xii. 1-10, 
 and 1 Kings xiv. 25, 26, where it says : — 
 
 " And it came to pass, in the fifth year of king 
 
44 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up 
 against Jerusalem ; and he took away the treasures of 
 the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's 
 house ; he even took away ... all the shields of 
 gold which Solomon had made." 
 
 This wonderful temple took something like fifteen 
 hundred years to build. No one builder was responsible 
 for the whole, but each king tried to outdo his pre- 
 decessor in building a still more handsome memorial to 
 himself. 
 
 We make our journey back, gathering up our forces 
 at the place where we left them, and Abd el Nabi, who, 
 refreshed by his rest, was quite ready to join us on our 
 return journey. At the end everybody agreed they 
 had spent a happy and profitable time. " Only one 
 thing," said a member of the party, " made me feel sad 
 as well as glad ; that was the story the little servant 
 of the prophet told me about himself and his tiny 
 brother, which is as follows : — Abd el Nabi was the 
 eldest of two brothers who loved each other dearly. 
 They lived in a little mud hut under the shade of the 
 lofty palm trees in a far-away village. Both used to 
 go out very early in the morning to work in the fields, 
 Abd el Nabi doing the heavy work, and little Peace, 
 his brother, leading about the animals. They had no 
 one else in the world, so they were all in all to each 
 other. One morning, Abd el Nabi rose from his 
 straw mat on the floor to hear his small brother 
 groaning with pain, and when Peace tried to walk he 
 fell down again ; so that day he had to stay at home 
 all alone. Each day he grew more sick and ill, and 
 Abd el Nabi spent all his money in bringing barbers 
 and people to charm away the evil spirit which he now 
 firmly believed had taken possession of Peace ; but he 
 only grew worse and worse every day. Now, however, 
 
A CAMEL RIDE 
 
 45 
 
 comes a nice part of the story. Abd el Nabi's sorrow 
 was turned into joy one day, by a stranger telling him 
 of a place where he was sure little Peace could be made 
 quite well, so with joy he hurried to his hut where his 
 brother had been lying day after day with no one to 
 take care of him, and told him the glad news, but alas ! 
 when Abd el Nabi's excitement cooled down he began 
 to reflect upon the journey — all his money was gone, 
 and the distance to the great city was a long one. 
 
 Now it happened that these two little brothers had a 
 lamb which they loved intensely. It really belonged 
 to Abd el Nabi. Could he, for the sake of his little 
 brother, make the sacrifice and sell his lamb ? Yes, he 
 would ! and with his arm around the neck of his pet, 
 unbeknown to Peace, he led it forth, and sold it into 
 the hand of strangers. Then he crept back with a 
 sorrowful heart for the loss of his lamb, yet glad that 
 he could now take his little suffering brother to the 
 great doctor. One very hot day, these two little 
 boys arrived at the Christian hospital gates, trembling 
 lest anything should happen to keep them outside ; but 
 nothing did happen, and soon little Peace was safely 
 tucked up in a nice bed in one of the wards of the C. M. S. 
 Hospital, and there he heard, for the first time in his 
 life, about the death of the Lord Jesus for the sins 
 of the whole world, even about Him who once called 
 the little ones around Him saying, " Suffer the little 
 children to come unto Me." 
 
 After many weeks of suffering little Peace got well, 
 and the two brother^ were once more united in their 
 tiny village hut, the one telling the other of the wonder- 
 ful things he had seen and heard during his stay in the 
 hospital ward. 
 
46 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A day's shopping 
 
 I know boys and girls are very fond- of looking into 
 shop windows, so shall we have a day's shopping in 
 Egypt ? We must all keep together, or surely we 
 shall be lost in trying to thread our way up the crowded 
 Mouski into the native bazaars. We will turn off 
 first to the right into the tent bazaar and also the 
 scent bazaar. What are all those little children doing, 
 each one busy with a coarse piece of canvas, working 
 into it all kinds of funny pictures ? Another day if 
 you take a long ride up behind the Pyramids you may 
 see many of those bits of canvas made into one huge 
 tent in which some people live right away in the desert. 
 
 " But do those little children never go to school ? " 
 " Oh ! dear no ! " says the Moslem, " what is the use of 
 sending them to school ? They have no brains, especi- 
 ally the little girls ; they are only like the cows and sheep 
 in the fields." " How sad," you say, and turn away 
 into a curious place, with long narrow passages ; you 
 can almost shake hands from some points across the 
 way. On either side are rows of what look like broad 
 cupboards with little shelves filled with fancy bottles, 
 and seated in the middle of the floor, crosslegged, is a 
 well-dressed Sheikh. These are the little perfumery 
 shops, and each vendor of his wares will try his best to 
 entice you, especially if you look with longing eyes 
 at his possessions. The owner of one of these little 
 shops, before he enters into business with you, will 
 often say, " Bismillah er Rahman er Raheem," which 
 means, " In the name of God the most Merciful." At 
 the same time he is thinking how cleverly he is going to 
 
A DAY'S SHOPPING 47 
 
 cheat you. At last you elect to sit upon a very narrow 
 ledge, and the seller of scent will touch your hand or 
 glove with the stopper from a bottle containing some 
 very powerful scent such as Attar of Roses, Violet, etc. 
 You are persuaded to choose a very tiny decorated 
 bottle, full of strong Attar of Roses, for which you pay 
 fifteen Egyptian piastres (3s.). The bottle is carefully 
 sealed and you will probably carry it back to England 
 with you, but alas ! when you open it you discover a 
 very watery solution of Attar of Roses, instead of the 
 real thing. " How could it have happened ? " you 
 say. Therein lies a secret. The Egyptians are taught 
 from childhood the art of lying and stealing, so he 
 probably gave you another little bottle which looked 
 exactly like the one you purchased, having changed it 
 while your attention was given to something else. 
 
 Now we will cross over into another narrow street 
 and wend our way into the Khan el Khaleely, named 
 after one Khaleel, " the most honourable." What is 
 that dismal-looking building with the large gate- 
 way ? Oh ! that is where a great many little girls 
 are employed to change billowy masses of white muslin 
 into dyed squares, which form the head dress for women 
 and girls of the country. A lady missionary for a long 
 time visited this factory and taught some of the girls 
 the story of Jesus' death and resurrection, but when 
 they began to show signs of interest and keenness to 
 learn more, the cruel men in the factory came and 
 drove out the missionary with wicked words, and 
 so the Gospel story was shut out, and all the clever 
 little girls, who were only considered to be like the 
 animals, were deprived of the one interest of their 
 lives. 
 
 But come, we must get on with our shopping. These 
 narrow streets and enclosures are some six hundred 
 
48 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 years old. On either side of the streets are the same 
 box-like little shops with small tables, upon which 
 stand cases of most beautiful gold and silver orna- 
 ments, jewelled gold necklaces for the hareem or 
 Zenana ladies to wear, massive silver charms with 
 Koranic inscriptions to ward off sickness from the 
 wearer, and tiny silver anklets, with bells to charm 
 away the evil eye from the tiny baby whose ankles 
 they encircle. Even the donkeys are not forgotten, 
 for they can be provided with elegant silver charms. 
 I have seen horses and donkeys whose necks have 
 been a mass of silver. Every donkey in Egypt 
 wears a charm of some kind, if only a string of glass 
 beads ! 
 
 Now we turn into the still narrower passages with 
 their heaped treasures of carpets, silks, jewels and 
 Eastern embroideries. 
 
 You must not be in a hurry, but sit down, salaam 
 a great many times, and drink some Persian tea. 
 How are all those handsome trays, bowls and vases 
 made ? Just take a peep round the corner, and you 
 will see the patient Eastern at work, carving minute 
 patterns and pictures upon plain pieces of brass. 
 Suddenly you become aware of the clinking of hammers 
 on metal all along the passage in front of you, and then 
 you realise you are in the brass bazaar, but our 
 pockets are very empty, so we must be content to 
 examine and enjoy seeing the beautiful wares without 
 possessing them. Egyptian, Jew, Turk, and Persian, 
 are all one in their eagerness to display their goods. 
 Sometimes they will say, " All I have is yours, Oh 
 stranger ! " but then they do not mean it ! In the 
 days of long ago the merchants could not carry on their 
 business so peacefully. In the reign of the Mamelukes 
 little children were carried off by force, and the poor 
 
A DAY'S SHOPPING 49 
 
 vendors of these beautiful wares would hide away in 
 these narrow passages for days with the gates shut, and 
 when the power of the Mamelukes was broken, there 
 still followed days of oppression and cruelty, when 
 men and women, boys and girls, were bought and sold 
 as slaves. 
 
 On the Island of Roda, where Moses was supposed 
 to have been hidden among the bulrushes, there lives 
 a poor woman who remembers as a little child being 
 stolen away from her home while playing with her 
 brothers and sisters. She tells how she was carried 
 away by a man riding an Arab horse which simply 
 flew along the desert until it reached the coast, then 
 she was put into a big ship and carried away to a 
 strange country, and although she is quite old she has 
 never seen any of her own people again. Such a thing 
 could not happen now, because England is taking care 
 of Egypt. 
 
 You have all heard of the battle of Tel el Kabeer, 
 which means " the big hill," and how our gallant 
 troops rode over the hot sandy desert to take possession 
 of Cairo. Between Port Said and Cairo there is a spot, 
 silent with memories, marked by some small wooden 
 crosses, which show us how some of our brave soldiers 
 fell. 
 
 Then, after that memorable ride from Tel el Kabeer 
 to Cairo, the English cavalry arrived, so tired they 
 could hardly keep on their horses, but with their eyes 
 fixed on one spot. They rode on through the city 
 streets until they arrived at the formidable-looking 
 doors of the citadel. Their leader inquired for the 
 one in command and was told he was asleep. " Wake 
 him up," was the order, " and tell him to surrender." 
 
 Whether the sleepy Egyptian imagined that a huge 
 army of English soldiers on horseback, with guns 
 
 D 
 
50 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 and with swords, was waiting at the great citadel 
 gates, instead of less than two hundred tired men, 
 history does not say ; but one fact remains, he came 
 forth, gave up the keys, and some four thousand of 
 Arabi's soldiers walked quietly out to make way for 
 England's little handful of men. 
 
 But we must finish our shopping expedition, we 
 have not seen everything yet. Let us find our way 
 into the silver-smiths' bazaar. Here as elsewhere sits 
 the patient Egyptian waiting to catch the unsuspicious 
 traveller ; — we take a hasty glance at the fine filagree 
 work, and then hurry out again into fresher air. 
 
 Now we are once more in the picturesque Mouski, 
 which is a very long narrow street, thronged with 
 people and vehicles. We are nearly at the top, and 
 we have to reach the bottom. Men riding charm- 
 bedecked donkeys call out " To your right ! " The 
 man with the carriage says " To your left ! " The 
 porter bent under the weight of his burden screams, 
 " Take care of your legs ! " And the man who carries 
 cool refreshing drink, heralding the same by noisy 
 clanging of brass bowls, sings in a dreamy voice, 
 " Drink, oh thirsty one, the heat is great, and the 
 journey before you may be long ; drink water sweeter 
 than honey ! " And so through this exciting rabble, 
 you make your way back to Egypt's " Clapham 
 Junction," the central square where we shall find a 
 tram to take us home. 
 
VISIT TO AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE 51 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A VISIT TO AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE 
 
 One very hot day in May, a few years ago, a little 
 party was seen wending its way down to the river. A 
 Nile boat was procured, and every one stepped aboard. 
 
 The party consisted of a venerable old man carrying 
 a Bible, his son burdened with a large bag containing 
 medicines of all descriptions, several ladies, all of whom 
 carried some portion of the Gospel story, and although 
 it was only six a.m. the fiery fingers of ancient Ra had 
 already tipped the cloudless sky with golden sunlight. 
 The tiny boat with its human cargo glided swiftly 
 across the Nile waters, carrying the little party safely 
 over to the other side, You ask, " Where are they 
 going ? and whence the joy written upon the faces of 
 each ? Are they not afraid of the scorching heat 
 which will presently make them feel so exhausted ? " 
 No — for they are the messengers of the Gospel, and 
 have the promise of God that the sun shall not smite 
 them by day. They are on their way to carry the glad 
 tidings of peace and joy. Let us ask permission that 
 we too may go and see all that is done in God's name 
 to-day. Presently several donkeys, decorated with 
 blue and white glass beads, to charm away any danger 
 which may be lurking near, trot up and they carry us 
 to the railway station ; soon the train runs alongside 
 the platform, and we take our seats, and run through 
 the flax and bean fields for twenty miles, thus finishing 
 the second stage of our j ourney . Again we mount some 
 gaily caparisoned donkeys, and begin the third and last 
 stage of our journey, through pasture land, until we 
 arrive at a village, as usual reposing under the shelter 
 
52 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 of the palm trees. The name of this village has three 
 letters — A, R, W. It contains about ten thousand 
 people. We are acquainted with one little boy from 
 among the ten thousand, but the village people know 
 a great deal about us, having heard from M — , who 
 once spent several months in the hospital. It is a 
 point of etiquette to go straight to the house of the 
 chief man when entering a village. When the host 
 meets you, salutations and greetings are exchanged. 
 " May your day be happy," says your host, at the same 
 time he will touch your hand and kiss his own, saying, 
 " You have honoured us ; we really have missed you ; 
 you have brought light upon us. Thank God for your 
 safety." To each greeting there is an appropriate 
 reply, and it is very embarrassing if you do not know 
 their language to return the equivalents of the com- 
 pliments thus showered upon you. 
 
 A great deal of time is spent in repetition of these or 
 similar phrases. You remember, when the Lord Jesus 
 was sending forth His disciples, He said, " Salute no 
 man by the way," and now you can understand the 
 reason why. 
 
 After a time, coffee is served in tiny cups, and it is as 
 a tribute to the host's hospitality that you drink it. 
 When your cup is empty you return it to the tray pre- 
 sented you by the servant who stands waiting, and 
 as you put the cup down you say, " Coffee for ever," 
 and the answer is " May your life go on for ever." 
 Sometimes spoonfuls of jam are given you, which you 
 boys and girls might prefer ! 
 
 Soon after coffee, food will be served, and your host 
 compels you to eat more than you really care for, 
 adjuring you, by every one whom you love, to eat 
 this thing or that. Very often, after you would 
 naturally say, " Quite sufficient, thank you ! " he 
 
VISIT TO AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE 53 
 
 obliges you to eat a large piece of meat for his sake, or 
 for somebody else's sake, and persists in apologising 
 for the food as being unfit for your honourable presence, 
 although a sheep and turkey have been killed for the 
 occasion. Sometimes the eye of the sheep is given to 
 you as a great delicacy. I wonder how we shall fare on 
 this particular visit. We must not forget that we too 
 are the disciples of the Lord, and have not too much 
 time to spend in salaams. We are shown into a large 
 guest room, very simply furnished, and we drink the 
 usual coffee. Then we explain the reason of our visit. 
 The host, having done the polite, will leave us to the 
 women's part of his household. The old Catechist 
 and his son follow the host to his part of the house, 
 and we are free to talk to the women and children 
 around us. 
 
 All through the rest of the time we are telling the 
 good news of salvation, and the sick are brought in and 
 laid at our feet. For some we have the needful 
 remedies, for others a journey to the hospital must be 
 advised. 
 
 At mid-day we are requested "to go to an upper 
 room and eat. We have brought our own food, we say, 
 and would prefer to sit in the open fields. A shadow 
 of disappointment crosses the face of our host, who 
 ignores our remark, and says, " Come, for all things 
 are ready." Remonstrance is unavailing, and we 
 follow the servant to where a large flat table is placed 
 on a piece of matting, and around it we are invited 
 to sit, upon the floor. A round flat loaf is placed for 
 each one, also a towel, pepper, salt, and native cheese. 
 Then a large turkey, which has been caught, killed and 
 cooked since our arrival, is placed in the centre, and 
 soon every one is hard at work, manipulating the 
 turkey with his or her fingers. Just as we think we 
 
54 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 have finished, another bird is placed before us, and we 
 eat a little more for the sake of our host and for the 
 sake of every one we love ! 
 
 We return thanks, and soon we are scattered about 
 the village, spreading the good tidings of great joy. 
 We go into one house and see a little child-wife, looking 
 oh, so sad, and her friends say, " Can you not count 
 her stars that she may know if she is always to be 
 unhappy ? Her husband has beaten and sent her 
 away." We tell her of the One who loves her, and 
 can make her happy, then pass on and repeat the story 
 of the death and resurrection of Him who came to 
 save. Another little child is brought to us, looking so 
 ill ; " We have tried everything," say his friends, 
 " but our barbers and charms cannot cure him, and 
 although we have poured boiling oil over the wound 
 and ironed it with a red hot iron he still remains ill, and, 
 indeed, is growing worse." We tell them to go straight 
 to the hospital, without delay. On and on we go, 
 until the sun dips into the west and we remember we 
 are far from home. Donkeys were provided by our 
 kind host for our return journey, and a beautiful Arab 
 steed was led into the courtyard, whose saddle was 
 crimson velvet, and this was to be the seat of honour 
 for the member of the party who had ministered to the 
 sick. 
 
 Late in the evening was it before we reached our 
 home in the Mission compound, and how glad we were 
 to go to our rooms, greatly impressed by all we 
 had seen, and more earnest in prayer that the Good 
 Shepherd would reveal Himself to the lonely lambs 
 and sheep of this other fold. 
 
 One day a beautiful little girl was brought from one 
 of these villages. She was very ill, and every bed was 
 full. What do you think her name was ? Sitt el 
 
VISIT TO AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE 55 
 
 Kull ; which means " Lady of all," and her story is told 
 in the following poem : — 
 
 A VILLAGE CHILD 
 
 " A little village maiden fair 
 Is sitting by my knee ; 
 Her eyes of deepest hazel are. 
 Her lashes long and free. 
 
 Her tiny mouth is opening 
 To tell its tale of woe, 
 The little face is pale and sad, 
 All clouded is the brow. 
 
 No little village maiden she, 
 From happy Western land, 
 But child of desert, hut, and palm, 
 In Egypt's scorching sand. 
 
 No little village maiden fair, 
 Attired like one of you, 
 But bare of foot and jewel decked, 
 In flowing robes of blue. 
 
 The flowing robes are broidered o'er 
 In silks of brightest red, 
 A twisted veil of black enfolds 
 The stately little head. 
 
 No word of tender Saviour's love 
 Has ever reached her ear, 
 She nothing knows of Him who died 
 To save from sin and fear. 
 
 The story of His wondrous birth, 
 And death on Calvary's tree, 
 A story is that's all unknown 
 To the maiden at my knee. 
 
 The little village maiden fair, 
 A little sufferer she, 
 She long has needed skill and care, 
 That healthy she might be. 
 
56 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 She looks up half confidingly, 
 Half frightened and half shy ; 
 She seems to trust the English ' Sitt,' 
 Who waits for her reply. 
 
 ' Your name ? my little maiden fair, 
 ' I pray you tell to me ' ; 
 ' Lady of all/ she calmly said, 
 With childish majesty ! 
 
 ' And why this name ? ' I wondering said, 
 And bending o'er her smiled, 
 ' Because she lovely is and good,' 
 Her village friend replied. 
 
 ' And you have brought her here to see, 
 If Christian skill avail ? ' 
 For two long years she suffered has, 
 And weak has grown and pale. 
 
 The Doctor here will do his best 
 For the little village maid, 
 But power to heal is but from Him 
 Who heaven and earth hath made. 
 
 A little cot is needed sore 
 For the little maiden fair, 
 But every bed is over-full 
 With other sick ones there. 
 
 Will little English children glad 
 Look up to God above, 
 And ask Him how they too may send 
 The tokens of their love ? 
 
 And ask Him for the needed gold, 
 And shining silver store ; 
 That Egypt's little sufferers 
 May never suffer more. 
 
 But wrapped around with love and care, 
 May gently tended be, 
 And learn of Him who when on earth 
 Said, ' Bring them unto Me.' " 
 
 H. E. M. S. C. 
 
THE MISSION PLAYGROUND 
 
AN EGYPTIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL 57 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 AN EGYPTIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL 
 
 It was suggested in a previous chapter that you boys 
 and girls might like to pay a visit to the Mission 
 premises, with their promise of the dawn of a New Era 
 in the history of Egypt, and see all the brown, yellow, 
 and sometimes black children who gather Sunday by 
 Sunday to learn about the Christian religion. 
 
 This one hour and a half on Sunday afternoon is 
 their only experience of school life, so you must not be 
 shocked if you hear a lot of little voices talking apace, 
 and see a number of little feet which have never been 
 taught how to keep still, and many little pairs of hands 
 waving about in all directions. The room in which 
 they are gathered is used during the week for sick 
 people, but on Saturday it has a special tidying-up, 
 ready for Sunday use. 
 
 At two p.m. the door-keeper takes the bell (and you 
 remember what I said about the verb 14 to beat," — 
 although he shakes its tongue to and fro as we should 
 do, he is said to beat it), the beating of the bell has the 
 desired effect, and presently there rises up from the 
 edge of the river a crowd of some of the dirtiest and yet 
 some of the prettiest little boys and girls you ever saw. 
 Nearly every little girl carries perched on her shoulder 
 a baby brother or sister. They rush without ceremony 
 into the compound, but there they are intercepted and 
 made to walk quietly and orderly into the classes pro- 
 vided for them. 
 
 A kind Syrian nurse from the hospital takes her place 
 in a class of some thirty or forty girls, and if only you 
 could peep behind the scenes you would hear such sad 
 
58 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 stories, connected with the lives of several of her girls. 
 Some have been married and cast aside by their 
 husbands for some trivial fault, and then how glad they 
 are once more to find their way back to school, where 
 they know they are loved and cared for. 
 
 A blind girl sits among a class of the very naughtiest 
 but sweetest little folk, who try her patience to the 
 utmost. A kind missionary takes another class and 
 I am sure that, although she is accustomed to teaching 
 all through the week, she has never taught such pieces 
 of humanity as those before her. Still another class of 
 mischievous little boys is taught by one of the day- 
 school boys, who sometimes has to appeal to the 
 superintendent to restore order ! Now we are going 
 to sing that hymn we spoke of. You will find it on the 
 opposite page. 
 
 Be sure you begin on the right hand side of the page, 
 and open the book at the end, which we call the 
 beginning. " Oh dear," you say, " Is this singing ? " 
 Yes ! This is Egyptian singing, you must try not to 
 mind if we sink to " D " instead of clinging on to 
 " E " ! Before we have finished, the children think it 
 is lovely. 
 
 Now the bell has to be beaten, gently too, and after 
 much noise, all shaggy heads are bent in prayer, then 
 sentence by sentence the Lord's Prayer is said, and a 
 very elongated " Amen " comes in at the end. Now 
 three rooms are occupied instead of one, for if all the 
 classes were kept in one room the noise would be deafen- 
 ing. What are all those dirty little bags hung around 
 the children's necks ? Ah ! those bags contain the 
 most precious thing the children have, viz., an old 
 Christmas card which serves as a register. If by some 
 unfortunate chance that ticket gets lost genuine tears 
 form a streamlet down the troubled little face of the 
 
AN EGYPTIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL 59 
 
 3tf £S 
 
 jc Jfi fSS ,*£ 
 >V; :^ ^ 
 
 * 
 
 . - V 
 
 TRANSLATION IN ARABIC OF " JESUS LOVES ME" 
 
60 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 owner, for he or she knows, it is just a mere chance if 
 the superintendent will relent so far as to provide 
 another, and without it admittance to the yearly 
 Christmas tree is a thing impossible. 
 
 These registers are marked, and a tiny box is handed 
 round to receive many little widow's mites, for, although 
 the children are of the poorest, we try to teach them 
 that it is more blessed to give than to receive. And now 
 all are in one room again, and a time is spent in cate- 
 chising the whole school so as to make sure they have 
 been listening to their lesson. The story had been told 
 of the ten lepers, and the ingratitude of the nine, who 
 went away without saying thank you, enlarged upon. 
 Z — , a very regular member, looked up and with glowing 
 eyes said " I would very much like to say thank you 
 to Jesus for all He has done for me, but I am afraid He 
 would not care to bend His hand from heaven, to let a 
 little girl like me kiss it." 
 
 Another Sunday the lesson was about Daniel in the 
 lions' den. A small scarlet-robed child with very be- 
 grimed little face and laughing eyes, tells the story in 
 some such way as this : — 
 
 " Daniel had many foes, but he was determined to 
 be good, in spite of all the fun that was made of him, 
 and when at last the king ordered him to be put in the 
 lions' den, he went quietly without cursing anybody — 
 but that night sleep ran away from the king, who could 
 not even close his eyes, and early the next morning 
 he said to his servant, ' Run quickly and see what has 
 happened to Daniel, and open the door for him if you 
 find him alive.' So the servants went quickly, and 
 one who was more brave than the rest, gave a sharp 
 rap at the door, and called out, ' Has no lion eaten 
 you yet, O Daniel ? ' The answer came back ' No ! ' 
 ' Then the king says you may go — and no one shall 
 
AN EGYPTIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL 61 
 
 prevent you from worshipping your God, who has 
 saved you from the lion's mouth.' " 
 
 We follow one of the Sunday school girls into her 
 home, she may no longer go to school, as she is not 
 allowed to go outside her own house. She has been 
 married, her short childhood is over. Is she happy ? 
 No ! She is ill, and as she cannot cook the food and 
 wash the clothes, her husband and all his relatives are 
 angry with her. Her husband's sister is greatly pro- 
 voked because Praise will not return evil for evil, and 
 when taunted with being afraid to say angry words, 
 she quietly replies, " It is not that, but since I went to 
 the Sunday school I have forgotten how to quarrel." 
 
 Another little girl is all eagerness to speak. Her 
 name means " Cast Out," and when her turn comes, 
 she says, " I love pickles, oh ! so much, and when my 
 mother said, ' Go to the market and bring back pickles 
 in vinegar,' I used to dip my fingers into the vinegar 
 all the way home, — they would creep into the basin in 
 spite of myself, — but now since my teacher has told 
 me it is like stealing, I try not to even look at the basin, 
 but run all the way home with it to my mother." 
 
 Now the bell is beaten again, and another hymn is to 
 be sung. We choose " Come, quickly to Jesus," (don't 
 forget where to begin !) . Now silence reigns ; a closing 
 prayer is offered ; the children are commended to 
 God, and they pass beyond our keeping for another 
 week. Some go home, and tell of all they have heard, 
 fulfilling the prophecy : — " A little child shall lead 
 them." 
 
 How glad and thankful we are they have not passed 
 beyond the care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers 
 these lambs one by one in His arms, and carries them 
 in His bosom. 
 
62 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS TREE 
 
 Somewhere, either in the Carpathian Mountains, or on 
 the heights of the Austrian hills, stood a fir-tree. Only 
 one among a number of others, he grew up well shaped 
 and rounded and with a long leading shoot pointing 
 to the blue sky above. 
 
 Winter snows rested upon him, and summer suns 
 shone on him, all in due course. But a day came when 
 a forester arrived with a sharp axe and hewed him to 
 the ground. Poor fir-tree, what a shock to his feelings ! 
 Yesterday standing upright, gracefully outlined against 
 the clear blue sky, drinking in the dew of the early 
 morning, and at the close of the day casting wistful 
 shadows in the light of the setting sun, and to-day 
 lying flat and limp on the sloping mountain side. The 
 sharp blow that severed his stem, left him unable to 
 support himself, and he would have to lie helpless on the 
 ground unless he would allow himself to be nailed to 
 a wooden beam. Was this to be his lot ? evidently 
 not ! for there came a day when he was lifted up and 
 carried from his home in the mountains down to the 
 coast where he was shipped to a sunny land in the 
 East across the seas. What was to be the end of him 
 he gave up trying to imagine, when he found himself 
 standing on a house top, of all places, in a large com- 
 pound. The sun, the winter sun be it known, shone 
 on his branches and seemed to scorch him in its rays, 
 for no refreshing stream could revive him now, even if 
 it could have reached him, and still he stood — waiting 
 — waiting — waiting ! 
 
 Now if only he could have peeped over the wall into 
 
THE CHRISTMAS TREE 
 
 63 
 
 a narrow lane leading to what was once called ancient 
 Babylon, a knowledge of his final destiny might have 
 revealed itself to him, for there stood all those children 
 we went to see at the Sunday school, and they too were 
 waiting, waiting ! 
 
 Fifty-two Sundays have passed since last there stood 
 a fir-tree on the same spot ; more than twice as many 
 little bags containing the precious little card, which 
 has served as a register all through the year, have to 
 be gathered in, marks counted up, the merits of 
 each child considered, a day spent in a room where 
 stowed away are lovely dolls and toys of all descriptions, 
 and then little persons with eager hands are summoned 
 on a certain day to receive a card of admittance, in 
 order to make the acquaintance of Mr Fir-tree. If 
 only he could have realised how eagerly he had been 
 watched for, he perhaps wouldn't have minded quite 
 so much being taken away from his home below the 
 snow-peaked mountains, but, of course, being a tree he 
 couldn't quite understand. The fantasia day has come 
 at last and, although the doors are not to be opened 
 until three o'clock in the afternoon, the children have 
 been dancing for joy since soon after sunrise. How 
 they long for a peep into the large hall, whither the fir- 
 tree has been transferred, and where busy hands are 
 loading his branches with things good to gaze upon. 
 In fact his appearance has so changed, you would 
 hardly recognise him. Frogs, skipping-ropes, water- 
 cans, funny little men driving mail-carts, wonderful 
 trains, dolls dressed in woollen costumes, pink bows, 
 terra cotta and blue, doilies all in w T hite, with fair hair, 
 costumes of red and blue satin, or dark red and white 
 flannel, mixed with blue and drab velvet, sailor cos- 
 tumes, etc., as well as all manner of toys for boys, 
 were clinging with all their might to the branches of the 
 
64 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 poor fir-tree. I am sure he would soon have had to 
 cry out that he could hold no more. A close observer 
 might have seen his arms bending beneath the weight. 
 
 The only thing which kept up the spirits of the fir- 
 tree was a surprise which awaited him, for, wonder of 
 wonders ! he saw in another corner of the room one of 
 his own brothers, another fir-tree, loaded with bags 
 of sweets, and oranges, and candles ! I don't know 
 what they said to each other, but I am sure he was 
 delighted to see a relative of his own, and strangely 
 enough a relative engaged in business similar to his. 
 
 At last all the doors are thrown open, and the 
 eager throng of waiting children is admitted by ones 
 and twos. They look with wondering eyes at all the 
 daintily dressed little maidens with fascinating smiles 
 revealing rows of white teeth, but they soon turn to 
 another treat awaiting them, — a magic lantern, which 
 shows them a series of pictures summing up the 
 lessons of their Sunday school. 
 
 Some of the children have attended for years, some 
 for months, and how much they have learned may be 
 understood by the evangelist as they gaze on the scenes 
 of the Life of our Lord, depicted on the white wall in 
 front of them, and give eager answers full of interest and 
 intelligence as the pictures appear before them in turn : — 
 
 The Good Shepherd, The Storm on the Lake, The 
 Good Samaritan, and the lovely picture of the Re- 
 surrection from the church at Molde in Norway. 
 Pointing to the latter the evangelist asks, " Who was 
 not there when the women came to the grave ? " 
 
 " The Messiah ! " " Why ? " " He had risen." 
 " Who was He ? " " The Son of God." " Why did He 
 come to earth ? " " To save us." " What from ? " 
 " Our sins." 
 
 " Who watched by the grave ? " " Soldiers." 
 
THE CHRISTMAS TREE 65 
 
 " Who came and rolled away the stone ? " " The 
 Angel " ; and so on to many other questions. 
 
 Then came a pause for prayer, while each little one put 
 her hand over her eyes, and all voices joined together 
 in the Lord's Prayer. After that the hymn " Around 
 the Throne of God in Heaven " was sung heartily. 
 Then the candles were lighted, and needless to say at 
 that moment the fir-tree gave himself up for lost ! and 
 a hush of expectancy fell on the assembled children. 
 
 In front, by the two trees, two middle-aged women 
 are sitting, both of whom, patients in the hospital, had 
 learned to love the Master, and delighted to hear of His 
 grace. Now a bell rings, and Z — , who said she would 
 like to kiss the hand of lesus, is called. She steps 
 forward, and a doll in white lace, a special gift from 
 home, is placed in her delighted hands. She kisses the 
 hand of the lady who presents the gift, and lifts it to 
 her forehead, the Eastern mode of saying " Thank 
 you," and departs to her seat. 
 
 Then one by one their names are called, and they 
 come up to the table — Fatima and Nafeesa, Labeeba 
 and Kareema, and other names too complicated to be 
 written down here. Faces glowed and eyes sparkled 
 as the tide of rejoicing rose higher and higher. Now 
 for the boys' turn, and the wonderful fir-tree produced 
 beautifully equipped gun-boats fit for the Japanese, 
 ordinary boats and balls for equally delighted owners. 
 
 And so the afternoon wore away and sunset came, 
 and each little one went to her humble home with 
 arms full of treasures. " We are so happy," said 
 they, and their faces betokened the truth of their 
 confession. " Look, lady, at my bride ! " " And at 
 mine ! " " And see her stockings and her hat ! " 
 While one diligently searched under the form for a 
 lost shoe ! 
 
 E 
 
66 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 And so they passed out under the waving palms, 
 darkness closed in, the candles burned low, and night 
 wrapped its shadows around the fir-tree. And here we 
 leave him, having finished his short, but bright, busy, 
 and useful life in the sunny East. 
 
 And what about the children, who are sleeping, each 
 little head resting contentedly upon her earthy pillow, 
 with a dusky little arm encircling her new and much 
 loved treasure, the gift of which has not been made 
 without sacrifice on the part of some little child in the 
 home land ? 
 
 Shall we leave them, as we leave the fir-tree, knowing 
 his life to be finished ? No, a thousand times — No. 
 We must be like the dear nurse who was always 
 busy, so much so, that her little charge said to her, 
 " Nurse, I think you must be an Angel, for you rest 
 not day nor night." 
 
 You boys and girls must not rest until the children 
 of other lands are gathered safely under the sheltering 
 care of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 We must go on toiling and battling with the awful 
 dangers, and darkness, and ignorance, which surround 
 the lives of Egyptian, Chinese and Indian children. 
 
 But all our toiling and battling will be of little use 
 indeed, unless children of England build walls of prayer 
 around them. 
 
 If every girl and boy who reads these pages would ask 
 God to set apart the soul of some little Egyptian child 
 to serve as a star in their crown in heaven, how bright 
 those crowns in heaven would shine ! 
 
THE STORY OF THREE SISTERS 67 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE STORY OF THREE SISTERS 
 
 In a very dark corner of a large Mohammedan city in 
 Egypt there lived three little girls, named respectively 
 Knowledge, Excellent, and Glorious. Knowledge, the 
 eldest, was kept busy at home helping her mother and 
 nursing the babies. 
 
 A missionary was visiting in this district and she soon 
 made herself known and beloved, and these three little 
 girls with such striking names won a large part of her 
 heart. 
 
 By and by the parents were persuaded to send their 
 little daughters to the Mission school (in spite of the 
 general opinion that little girls are not worth teaching) , 
 and it was there that they learned about Jesus the 
 Saviour and Friend of children. 
 
 I think it will be nice to let them each tell their own 
 story. 
 
 This is what Knowledge says : — 
 
 "I, Knowledge, am the eldest among my sisters. 
 When I was nine years old my father allowed me to go 
 to school with my youngest sister. It was a great 
 sacrifice for mother to have to spare me as I was very 
 useful to her, especially in taking care of her babies for 
 her. I got on very steadily in all my lessons at school 
 and my teachers were pleased with me, and I became 
 quite satisfied with myself ! One day a missionary 
 from China came to our school, and she told us of a little 
 Chinese girl's conversion and baptism. That same 
 day I went to my teacher and asked if I could imitate 
 that girl, and it came to pass that after a good deal of 
 preparation I was allowed to be baptised. 
 
68 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 " By this time both my parents had died, and I was 
 sent to help another missionary to nurse and teach the 
 sick people in the hospital. 
 
 " Now I am married and have two little children of 
 my own, whom I am teaching to love the Saviour." 
 
 This is the story of Excellent : — 
 
 " The chief reason why I was sent to school, was 
 because I was extremely naughty, and I was giving 
 everybody a good deal of trouble. I ran away from 
 school several times, and I was always being told not to 
 swear. 
 
 " O dear ! you cannot imagine how great the tempta- 
 tion is to swear in this land of Mohammedanism. I 
 knew that many prayers were offered for me, that I 
 might become a good girl, but I always tried to stamp 
 out this influence. 
 
 " One day I felt a very strange spirit within me, that 
 spoke to me of all my past sins. 
 
 " I then asked for preparation for baptism, and the 
 spirit of evil left me. In time I was baptised, and after 
 I had finished my school days I was sent to work with 
 my sister in the C. M. S. hospital, where I spent five 
 years. Then I was sent back to work in my old school 
 * until I was married. Wasn't it kind of Jesus to write 
 my name down in heaven ? " 
 
 This is the story of Glorious : — 
 
 " When I was a tiny little girl, only six years old, my 
 father died, and I was taken to school to be with my 
 two elder sisters. There were many tiny children who 
 became my dearest friends. We were all in the babies 
 class, and we had a young teacher who gave us our 
 daily scripture lesson, and from her we learned the 
 story of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. As I grew older I 
 became one of the close lovers of Jesus ; by that time 
 I could read, and knew my Bible well, and knew that 
 
THE STORY OF THREE SISTERS 69 
 
 the Saviour wished me to confess Him openly, and 
 acknowledge my faith before the whole congregation 
 of the church. For this I was prepared for my baptism, 
 which took place at Easter 1905. Truly, I cannot for- 
 get the joy and peace I felt from that day. Two years 
 afterwards I was confirmed. My baptism and con- 
 firmation took place during my first two years at the 
 training-class, and in order to gain a teacher's certifi- 
 cate I spent another two years at school, and then I 
 taught for a year in the school where I was first 
 taught myself. After which time I was married. 
 " It is always joy and peace in believing in Jesus." 
 
 « LORD, WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO ? " 
 acts ix. 6 
 
 " Lord Jesus, Thou who lovest 
 Each little child like me, 
 Oh, take my life and use it, 
 And let me shine for Thee j 
 Oh, give me bits of work to do, 
 To show how much I love Thee too, 
 
 I know in distant countries, 
 
 Beyond the deep blue sea, 
 
 Are many little children, 
 
 Thou lovest just like me. 
 
 But they have never heard Thy name, 
 
 And do not know that Jesus came. 
 
 They know not that Thou cleansest 
 
 Each stain of guilt away, 
 
 Or how Thou safely leadest, 
 
 Thy children day by day ; 
 
 They do not know they have a share, 
 
 In that bright home Thou dost prepare. 
 
 Lord, let me send Thy message 
 Across the deep blue sea 3 
 
70 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 To tell those little children. 
 What Thou hast done for me ; 
 Oh, show me Lord what / can do, 
 That they may know mid love Thee too" 
 
 M. W, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE STORY OF AN EGYPTIAN DOG WHOSE MASTER 
 WAS A PRISONER 
 
 It seems to me that a great deal has been said about 
 children in this book, and as a dog is so often the friend 
 of children I thought I should like to add my story, 
 although in some respects it is not a very creditable one. 
 
 I was born while my master was in prison, not much 
 of a wazeefa, 1 1 hear some of you say. 
 
 My home was in a remote village with a very funny 
 name, beginning with the first and ending with the last 
 letter of the alphabet. 
 
 I was one of a number of puppies born on a hot 
 summer's day, and it was decided I was the least nice 
 looking of the lot. There was a very pronounced 
 snubbiness about my nose which gave me rather a 
 vicious appearance, the only nice thing about me was 
 my coat, which was a glossy brown. 
 
 I was never washed as a puppy, as my master's wife 
 was never very keen on baths. In fact, a bath to some 
 people I know was equivalent to being drowned in the 
 river. 
 
 I expect you would like to know the reason for my 
 master's imprisonment ; people, especially children, 
 like to know the reason of everything. I once heard 
 of a little boy who asked the reason why so often that 
 
 1 Position. 
 
STORY OF AN EGYPTIAN DOG 71 
 
 somebody wrote about him, and called him " The 
 Wollypeg of Why." 
 
 One day my master had some business to settle with 
 a number of other men. The whole live- long day they 
 talked and quarrelled, until their hearts grew so full of 
 hatred one towards the other that my master foolishly 
 took up his gun and deliberately shot one of the men, 
 killing him on the spot. Even little children have 
 fire-arms in Egypt, which is a very dangerous thing. 
 Great trouble arose, as you may imagine, and the end 
 of it was that my master was taken off to prison, fol- 
 lowed by wailing women and children making a noise 
 the like of which you have never heard in England. 
 
 The children looked on in amazement while the 
 women covered their faces with Nile mud and threw 
 showers of dust over their heads. 
 
 Of course the judge said my master was to stay in 
 prison all his life, and quite right too, but two years 
 afterwards something happened. 
 
 A notable man named Arabi Pasha revolted against 
 the ruling power of Egypt, and one of the orders he 
 gave was that all prison doors were to be opened and 
 the prisoners set free — so one day quite unexpectedly 
 my master returned to his village, much to the joy of his 
 household and the family of puppies. My master was 
 like Jacob in one respect, in that he begat twelve sons. 
 
 Everything went well until my master got ill, — but 
 he was a sensible man and went to a hospital he had 
 heard of, and became great friends with the doctor and 
 the nurse. 
 
 When he got better he went back to his village, and 
 just about that time I believe the English came to 
 settle in Egypt, and an order was issued that all 
 prisoners who had been set free at the time of Arabi's 
 revolt were to be re-taken, and it was a great shock to 
 
72 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 my master, whose character was excellent except for 
 that one crime. A soldier arrived one day on horse- 
 back, and an enemy of my master gave the clue to his 
 whereabouts, so he was soon under escort and once 
 more on his way to prison. 
 
 I joined in and did a lot of barking, while the women 
 wailed and beat their faces, and the children screamed 
 and played about in turn. 
 
 Heavy chains were put on the ankles and wrists of the 
 prisoner and he was made to cut stone all day in the 
 hot sun. 
 
 Some years passed and my master's brother became 
 ill, some said it was through worrying about his relative 
 being in prison, so he also went to the hospital, and it 
 was then the doctor heard of his old friend and patient 
 having been taken to prison again and, of course, he 
 was sorry about it. 
 
 At the end of the Moslem fast, a petition was sent 
 to the Khedive, who sometimes granted a free pardon 
 at that time to a prisoner whose character could be 
 testified to as being good. 
 
 This paper, petitioning my master's release, was sent 
 in. Time went on, and those concerned were almost 
 in despair of getting an answer. When suddenly one 
 Friday afternoon my master appeared at the hospital 
 door, released, much to the astonishment of every one, 
 and there the two brothers met, fell on each other's 
 neck, and kissed ; doesn't it remind you of the story of 
 the Prodigal Son. 
 
 Now it happened after this that the doctor, nurse, 
 and a few others were invited to my master's house. 
 A great feast was made for them, and I well remember 
 how I longed for the eye of the sheep which my 
 master gave as a tit-bit to the doctor, I am sure the 
 doctor would like to have given it to me on the quiet, 
 
THE MASTER AND HIS DOC, 
 
STORY OF AN EGYPTIAN DOG 73 
 
 but I was not allowed to come anywhere near the mat 
 where the food was spread, as dogs in Egypt are con- 
 sidered unclean. I had a cousin named Arabi who 
 lived on a house-boat, and he was a great nuisance 
 to the captain, because every time he spread his mat 
 and knelt to say his prayers, Arabi made for his ten 
 toes, which peeped invitingly out from under his blue 
 gallabeea. 1 The captain would then have to go and 
 wash himself over again, because he couldn't say his 
 prayers if a dog had touched him and thus made him 
 unclean. 
 
 Well, it was at this feast my master talked about me 
 to the nurse who came with the doctor. She was 
 passionately fond of animals, especially dogs, and it 
 was decided I should become her property, so eventu- 
 ally I found myself in entirely new surroundings. The 
 place was called the Mission compound. 
 
 My new mistress was splendid, she knew exactly 
 how to treat dogs, but it was a disadvantage in some 
 ways living on Mission premises, because you had to be 
 so careful whom you barked at. In fact, I was always 
 being told to be quiet, and I could not say how many 
 times I resolved to give up barking, but all my vows 
 fled to the breezy winds the moment I saw a person 
 enter the gates in a gallabeea. 
 
 You can have no idea what an unspeakable tempta- 
 tion those flowing garments are to a dog of my nature. 
 My ambition was to catch the garment and bite a piece 
 of the man's leg at the same time. I wasn't always 
 caught doing this sort of thing, but when I was, I was 
 put at once into Coventry. A Syrian lady and her 
 little girl came to call on a friend of my mistress, and I 
 don't know how it happened, but I suddenly caught 
 the little girl's hand in my mouth, which act caused 
 1 Flowing garment. 
 
74 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 such consternation and dismay that I was beaten on 
 the spot ; the beating didn't hurt very much, but it 
 was the public humiliation I felt more than anything. 
 In spite of everything I thoroughly enjoyed my life in 
 the compound, my mistress fed me well and gave me 
 quite a nice-looking bed to sleep in. I had a habit of 
 barking in my sleep, which wasn't altogether convenient, 
 as it woke up the people in the next house. One day 
 I ran outside the gate and some boys took me for their 
 own dog, and I was lost to the compound for many 
 weeks. The architect who used to build in the com- 
 pound recognised me as I was carried in the arms of 
 an Egyptian fellah 1 in the heart of the great city of 
 Cairo. I had escaped from the boys only to be caught 
 again. This fellah was asked how much he would take 
 for me, and sold me to the architect for the trifling sum 
 of one shilling. 
 
 How glad I was to get back to my mistress, she 
 seemed to me the only one at that time who knew how 
 to treat dogs, and I had a splendid time chasing cats 
 and strange dogs out of the compound. 
 
 Sometimes I became the victim of an optical delusion 
 and ran after a gallabeea, acting at the time under a 
 strong imagination that I was chasing someone like 
 myself out of the compound. 
 
 My mistress and her friend had each a bicycle, and 
 occasionally they went for a ride to the pyramids. 
 I was once invited to go with them ; we crossed over 
 the Nile in a boat, and soon were spinning along the 
 road with its border of shady acacia trees. I had 
 always been famous for quick running, but that day 
 my mistress and her friend seemed so glad to leave a 
 compound full of sick people behind, that they sped like 
 lightning along the road, and although I tried my 
 
 1 Farmer. 
 
STORY OF AN EGYPTIAN DOG 75 
 
 best I could not keep pace with them, so I gave up 
 the outing, turned my face homeward, and arrived 
 at the river side just in time to catch the next boat 
 back. 
 
 My mistress became anxious when she found I was 
 missing, but the boat man told her it was all right. I 
 had crossed over and gone home, where she found me 
 still panting from my exertions. 
 
 After that I preferred to go alone, and nearly every 
 week I took a tram ride on my own account, and 
 visited one of the Mission boarding-schools, and 
 upon those occasions I walked according to hygienic 
 principles, held my nose high in the air and sniffed in 
 all I could of the breezes. 
 
 Sometimes I was driven off the tram, but this hap 
 pened only when I touched a very particular Moslem. 
 I sometimes arranged a holiday for myself. Once I 
 went fifteen miles by train and passed the place where 
 my old master was kept a prisoner, and it was natural 
 I should take an interest in all those poor men I saw, 
 working in the hot sun with the heavy chains encircling 
 their wrists and ankles. 
 
 The secretary of the Mission to which I belonged 
 lived at the place I went to, and he never seemed to 
 get over his surprise at seeing me arrive all alone. In 
 spite of my mistress's oft-repeated threats to send me 
 away on account of my incurable propensity for bark- 
 ing, I lived a number of years in the compound. I saw 
 people come and go like ships passing in the night, 
 but each one who came always did some good before 
 they went away. 
 
 It was sad sometimes to see how tired the workers 
 used to look. I suppose it was having to take care 
 of so many sick men, women and children, because the 
 compound in which I lived was a hospital compound, 
 
76 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 and all the summer long, which lasts about nine months 
 in Egypt, more than three hundred sick people lived 
 there, beside all the people who came every day to see 
 the doctor. I happen to know of one lady who has to 
 see more than four hundred sick children every day in 
 the week except Friday, because they are so ill. You 
 see, most parents in Egypt don't know how to look 
 after their children ; before they have any teeth to eat 
 with, they are given Indian corn, raw cucumber, buffalo 
 meat, and numerous other things besides. Why even 
 I, a dog, was only allowed bread and milk until I was 
 quite grown up. 
 
 There is a very bad principle acted upon in Egypt, 
 that is to give children everything they cry for. You 
 see, very few people in Egypt know anything about the 
 Book of Proverbs, and the wise sayings about the 
 training of children, especially that one which says, 
 " A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.' ' 
 I have just remembered I have told you all about myself 
 without having told you my name. It is Toora, the 
 same name as that given to the prison where all the 
 long-sentence people are kept. 
 
 I shouldn't have chosen this name for myself, as I 
 wished to forget all about those bygone days, when my 
 old master was so unhappy, but my mistress was very 
 decided in her opinion as to what I should be called — 
 hence my name Toora. 
 
 I have always been very intimate with the children 
 of Egypt, so I do hope I may come in for a share of 
 your interest in them ; and remember you may have 
 a dog friend yourself some day who will be very 
 faithful to you all his life as I was to my mistress. 
 
BETROTHAL OF HEAVENLY GIFT 77 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE BETROTHAL OF " HEAVENLY GIFT " 
 
 It was Shemenaseem, 1 the national feast of the whole 
 country. Multitudes had gone forth at the early 
 dawn to be ready to greet the first rays of the rising 
 sun as they tipped the Mokattam hills. 
 
 It was the day when every one forgot there was 
 such a thing as hard work in the world. 
 
 Brilliant festal garments were donned for the first 
 time, and every one seemed bent on making the most 
 of the day. Shemenaseem was the betrothal day of 
 Heavenly Gift. 
 
 Heavenly Gift was a little girl who lived with her 
 parents in the Valley of Comfort. She was the only 
 child and her mother called her Waheeba because be- 
 fore she was born she had invoked the saints among the 
 prophets to send her a child. Therefore she called her 
 Waheeba or Heavenly Gift (a boy of course would have 
 been preferable). Although Waheeba's parents were 
 well off, she never went to school, and always wore a 
 shabbily patched garment lest the wicked spirits should 
 cast the evil eye on her and send some dreadful calamity. 
 
 Waheeba was only eight years old, and on this 
 brilliant Shemenaseem morning was called in from her 
 play to be told she could never again go out into the 
 fields of the Valley of Comfort. 
 
 She must be hidden away in her home, carefully 
 guarded from covetous eyes, as her wedding day was 
 about to be arranged. 
 
 Even while she was thinking over what she had just 
 been told, there appeared a messenger's face at the 
 
 1 Smelling the breeze. 
 
78 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 door, who, after presenting salaams, proceeded to tell 
 them of the approach of a number of women, the chief 
 of whom were neighbours of Heavenly Gift's mother. 
 
 From time to time they had heard of the virtues of 
 Heavenly Gift, and had on more than one occasion 
 discussed the possibility of the two households forming 
 an alliance through the marriage of a younger son to 
 Heavenly Gift, and so on Shemenaseem the first 
 overtures were made. 
 
 With much ceremony the visitors were invited to 
 be seated, greetings exchanged, compliments paid. 
 " Your baby is the ugliest of children," said the pro- 
 posed bridegroom's mother. 
 
 " May the beloved prophet increase your goods a 
 hundredfold," replied the mother of Waheeba, " may 
 your life be lengthened and all you undertake to do be 
 made to prosper." 
 
 During these first preliminaries, Heavenly Gift has 
 been hastened away to hide the defects of her shabby 
 gallabeea under the brilliance of a bright blue silk, not 
 without some fear lest the evil eye should be lurking 
 near to bring disaster upon the proceedings. 
 
 She is now ordered by her mother to make some 
 coffee — poured into tiny cups which she herself hands 
 round to each one present. In the meantime she is 
 being closely observed by the inspecting party, her 
 manner of speaking, her walk, and general deportment 
 are all carefully weighed. 
 
 She has also to submit to a fair amount of handling ; 
 her eyes are closely examined, as also her nose, ears, 
 and hands. 
 
 Any lack of submission on the part of the future 
 bride at once proclaims her unsuitable for the bride- 
 groom they have in view. 
 
 Heavenly Gift proves a docile and obedient little 
 
BETROTHAL OF HEAVENLY GIFT 79 
 
 girl, and among all the houses they have visited in 
 search of a bride for the petted bridegroom of sixteen 
 summers, none can produce so suitable a maiden as 
 the* one they have just seen. 
 
 The visitors now return to report upon the virtues 
 of the bride elect, the choice is made in her favour, and 
 the little girl's destiny is sealed. 
 
 The male relatives now meet to discuss the amount 
 they are \villing to pay for the purchase of the bride. 
 The sum agreed upon is twenty English pounds, and a 
 day is fixed for the writing of the contract. This is done 
 in the presence of a Mohammedan sheikh, and a third 
 of the sum decided upon is paid to the parents of 
 Heavenly Gift, who from that time becomes more or 
 less the property of her future husband's relations, 
 although she remains in her mother's house receiving 
 instruction in the art of cooking, baking, and washing 
 until the day of her marriage. 
 
 The next thing to be done is to arrange a day for the 
 wedding. This being fixed the bride at once becomes 
 the recipient of jewels and clothing, which are bought 
 with the purchase money. 
 
 The bride's trousseau must include the necessary 
 cooking pans, furniture for sleeping and reception 
 rooms, and nothing takes the fancy of the little 
 prospective bride so much as the tall mirror in the 
 gilt frame, which is capable of making the prettiest 
 bride look a vision of ugliness as the quality of the 
 glass is never taken into account. 
 
 Next is fixed a day for the transfer of the bride's 
 possessions to the house of her husband's relations. 
 A native band is engaged and many porters are 
 employed to carry upon their heads various baskets 
 containing the bride's trousseau which is exposed 
 piece by piece to the admiring crowd. 
 
80 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 Next in procession follow the Egyptian carts, drawn 
 by gaily bedecked donkeys. To each cart is allotted 
 one piece of furniture, in order that no one piece may 
 lose the opportunity of being admired. 
 
 The procession moves slowly, until it reaches the 
 house of the bridegroom where everything is deposited. 
 
 The day before the wedding a special ceremony is 
 conducted in the house of the bride's parents, for 
 the decoration of the finger-nails, palms of the 
 hands, and soles of the bride's feet and those of her 
 girl friends. 
 
 The leaves of the henna tree are dried and made 
 into a fine powder. This powder when mixed forms a 
 green paste, which is placed as already described on the 
 palms, soles, and nails, and covered over until the next 
 morning, when the parts are washed leaving them a 
 vivid orange-pink for at least twenty days. This 
 ceremony is performed in the midst of dancing women, 
 and ends with the sacrifice of a sheep. 
 
 On the following day the bride is taken from her 
 father's house by the relatives of the bridegroom, under 
 cover of a closed conveyance draped over with various 
 tinselled coverings. The windows of her carriage are 
 carefully guarded by some male relative lest anyone 
 should be tempted to take a peep inside. 
 
 Selections from Egyptian airs are played by the 
 band as it moves aggressively forward in front of the 
 bridal carriage, while numerous other closed carriages, 
 filled with dark-robed women and gaily-dressed 
 children follow in the rear. 
 
 Finally, this unmusical band stops before the bride- 
 groom's house, and on the threshold a sheep is sacrificed 
 in the presence of the poor little bride, who walks over 
 the body of the animal, supported on either side by her 
 husband's relations, and enters the house. 
 
BISHAREEN GIRL 
 
BETROTHAL OF HEAVENLY GIFT 81 
 
 Preparations have been going on for the reception 
 of the guests. The men are cordially invited into a 
 large tent surrounded by lanterns, flags, and torches, 
 where feasting and rejoicing go on apace, in honour 
 of the bridegroom. In the upper room women are 
 dancing, singing, and paying flowery tributes to 
 the bride, who sits alone in silence, without a sign 
 of recognition that she is interested in all that is 
 going on. 
 
 At midnight the bridegroom's procession takes place. 
 He is supported on either side by two of his friends, 
 while others go before. 
 
 You remember what it says in St Matthew's Gospel : 
 — " And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, 
 the bridegroom cometh." Customs of the East seldom 
 change, so if we dream back two thousand years we 
 can still imagine the same kind of procession. 
 
 A musical parade is made around the village and the 
 bridegroom returns to the house, where awaiting him 
 sits Heavenly Gift, who is now to behold the face of 
 her husband for the first time. 
 
 Well for her if her appearance finds favour in his eyes. 
 Otherwise it may mean that, before the dawn ushers in 
 another happy Shemenaseem, another bride will have 
 found her way into the home of the little child wife, 
 who must uncomplainingly give place to her rival ; or 
 it may be he will divorce her and send her away with 
 the fourth part of her purchase money, back to the 
 home of her parents ; and woe be to that little person 
 if for any reason the doors of her father's house are 
 closed against her. 
 
 The sun may rise high in the heavens, making glad 
 the earth with his warmth ; the pale blue flower of the 
 flax may put on its best robe and answer merrily to the 
 cool breeze passing down the Valley of Comfort, but 
 
 F 
 
82 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 Heavenly Gift will almost have forgotten that the 
 pure air and sunshine are for her to enjoy. 
 
 She is probably growing old under the burdens of her 
 married life, she is one of the thousands who enters 
 her home as a bride and sees but the sun-dried brick 
 or four white-washed walls of her so called home for 
 the remainder of her life. Many are the sad stories 
 of constant quarrelling, followed by an attempt on the 
 part of the little bride to run away to her old home 
 to escape from her husband's relations, he taking no 
 part in sheltering his child-wife. Never having seen 
 her before her marriage, he perhaps cares nothing for 
 her. She is his, just to serve him, cook his food, 
 which she is not even to eat with him, wait in 
 attendance on his toilet, and she looks in vain for a 
 smile in recognition of her attentions to him. The 
 Mohammedan husband thinks it beneath his dignity 
 to speak to his wife, except to give orders. As I 
 write I have in my mind two such cases of unhappy 
 child-wives, one to my right, and the other to my left, 
 both of whom I have been talking with to-day. 
 There are many, many others known to me. 
 
 Of course, there are cases where the little girl-wife 
 turns out to be naughty and disobedient. Here is the 
 picture of a Bishareen girl who came to me one day 
 asking me to write a letter to her husband to say she 
 was always good. She was a wild, spirited girl, and 
 was the cause of a great deal of trouble. 
 
 There is sometimes a rift in the dark cloud which 
 surrounds the lives of your little Moslem sisters, here 
 and there you will find a happy home, but the rift only 
 deepens the blackness of the cloud. 
 
 We want that cloud to break, so that the sunshine 
 of God's presence may lighten the darkness, and 
 bring into view the intelligence and sweetness of 
 
A VISIT TO WONDERLAND 
 
 83 
 
 character which is either hidden or crushed by centuries 
 of that oppression, the foundation stone of which was 
 laid when the Prophet of Islam cast the veil over the 
 freedom of women and girls of the land of Egypt, and 
 other countries of the East. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A VISIT TO WONDERLAND 
 
 " Pay up, please," said a burly man wearing a red fez 
 and kharki clothes, bound from his knees to his 
 ankles with dark blue puttees. 
 
 " Oh ! dear," said Margery, " I didn't know there 
 was anything to pay. I don't remember Alice having 
 to pay anything before she went into Wonderland." 
 
 " I don't know anything about Alice in Wonder- 
 land," said the kharki man, " I only know that before 
 you can come into my wonderland you have to pay. 
 Allow me to draw your attention to this notice, and 
 I have done my duty." 
 
 " Entrance to the Zoo one small piastre," read 
 Margery, who was reported to be making great progress 
 at school. 
 
 Margery's nurse, a very wise person, had anticipated 
 the possibility of having to pay, and drew from her 
 purse two small metal coins bearing, in a sort of straight 
 stroke and pot-hook writing, these words, " Beaten 
 in Eygpt." You remember in previous chapters what 
 we have read about the verb " To beat," and all the 
 meanings emanating from it. 
 
 " What is exactly the meaning of Wonderland, 
 nurse ? " said Margery as she was shunted through the 
 pay-gate to make room for others coming along. 
 
84 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 " It seems to me," said nurse, " that the whole wide 
 world with brightness round about it, is what is 
 meant by Wonderland. 
 
 " Of course, there are some parts of the world and 
 some people and living creatures more wonderful than 
 others. They say that Egypt is one of the most wonder- 
 ful countries of the world. I think, because the people 
 who lived in it centuries ago were such a remarkable 
 people, who left behind them such wonderful monu- 
 ments and remembrances. And it is their wonderful 
 history of the past which appeals to so many people, 
 who come out to search among the secrets of the desert, 
 bringing to light the possessions and the bodies of 
 people of bygone days. And what is most important 
 of all is the fact that all these things which are dis- 
 covered prove the truth of God's Holy Word. 
 
 " I think sometimes that God had a purpose in keeping 
 the history and works of the ancient Egyptians covered 
 away in the dark, because He knew the day was coming 
 when people would say that different parts of the Bible 
 were not true, and there is nothing in the whole world 
 which has such power to silence criticism and lift the 
 shadows of doubt from the minds of those who would 
 interfere with the Holy Scriptures as the interpretation 
 of the marvellous discoveries which are now being 
 made throughout the lands of the East." 
 
 Nurse thought Marjory was looking puzzled, and 
 began to realise that she was talking beyond the limit 
 of her understanding. 
 
 " Why here we are right in the middle of a part of 
 God's Wonderland," said Margery, who had been mak- 
 ing mental observations of the occupants of different 
 curious-looking cages while nurse had been talking to 
 her. 
 
 " Animal-world is really a very wonderful world," 
 
A VISIT TO WONDERLAND 
 
 85 
 
 exclaimed Margery, who began to besiege her nurse 
 with questions. 
 
 " I wonder if animals have an alphabet which they 
 are obliged to learn, and if their musical scale is like 
 ours — for a scale they must have," said Margery in 
 emphatic tones. "You see donkeys bray, ducks quack, 
 frogs croak, snakes hiss, cats mew. I remember reading 
 in one of my story books called W onderland Wonders 
 that grasshoppers play instrumental music, their legs 
 are so formed that when they want to play a tune they 
 use their legs for bows, and wings for fiddles, and, of 
 course, we all know that birds are the chief musicians 
 in the great oratorio of nature. 
 
 " My book also tells of a great traveller who would 
 never allow his horses to be tied or shut up in their 
 stalls. At the end of the day's work, their food was 
 placed for them in loose boxes and the doors left open 
 so that they could go, after their meal, into the yard 
 and talk to each other." 
 
 It was nurse's turn to look puzzled, as she had never 
 thought of any of these things before. 
 
 " Did you see the parrot with the lovely tail," said 
 Margery, " as we passed by her cage ? I think she must 
 imagine herself a queen, because she does exactly as 
 the Queen of England does, when she goes driving in her 
 carriage. She makes dignified little bows to all the 
 people who come through the gates into the gardens; she 
 really looked as if she knew me." And as Margery was 
 contemplating making a slight bow in return she heard 
 the parrot go off into fits of laughter. 
 
 Margery looked up in astonishment and thought she 
 must be dreaming, but she heard the parrot still 
 chuckling to itself, and came to the conclusion it must 
 be thinking about Gerald's governess, who one day 
 took a walk to the ostrich farm, and in her hat she wore 
 
86 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 a pretty ostrich feather and quite forgetting this she 
 walked by the cage of an old-fashioned ostrich, who 
 immediately recognised his own adornment in the hat 
 of the governess and promptly tore it away, running 
 off with it as fast as his legs could carry him, and it was 
 with a very unfashionable-looking hat that the poor 
 governess returned from her trip to the ostrich farm. 
 
 "Do stop, nurse, and look at the funny-looking 
 creature in this cage. It is called a secretary bird and 
 looks exactly like a little girl w r ho, on rising in the 
 morning, has forgotten to comb her hair. How she 
 paces up and down her cage, looking too dissatisfied 
 and cross for anything, so unlike those sweet little pin- 
 tailed widow birds who are pouring forth their musical 
 notes in answer to the call of the Madagascar weaver 
 birds in the next cage." 
 
 " I wonder," said Margery, " what those three water- 
 buck, whose real home is far away up the Sobat river, 
 are talking about. There they sit with their three heads 
 together, the sun shining down on the different shades 
 of their brown coats ; I expect they are still discussing 
 all those children who came into the garden yesterday, 
 among them being three boys who had taken the 
 primary certificate, of which they were very proud." 
 
 " It's quite wonderful," the eldest waterbuck was 
 saying, " to see what a difference there is between 
 children who go to school and those who do not." 
 
 Then there followed a running conversation between 
 all three, about the various requests made by the 
 parents who send their children to school. Here are 
 some of the instructions to the head mistress of the 
 Girls' School : — " Take care of her and love her more 
 than all the others." What an unwise teacher she 
 would be, who would do such a thing, because, of 
 course, that would cause jealousy. 
 
A VISIT TO WONDERLAND 87 
 
 " I don't care," said another mother, " whether she 
 learns to read or not, only teach her manners, so that I 
 shall have no difficulty in marrying her." 
 
 " Teach my child not to curse her grandmother, and 
 to kiss all her elders' hands, when she comes home from 
 school," said a dark skinned woman who gazed in 
 astonishment at the order of things in the school. A 
 long list of sins was then recounted over the head of 
 another little girl, for which she was to be beaten, 
 though she was quite meek and harmless at school. 
 
 " How ridiculous," said the smallest waterbuck ; "I 
 heard a mother grumble about her little girl who had 
 been in school three months and couldn't even read an 
 Arabic newspaper ! " 
 
 " These are the daughters of my grandmother's 
 uncle," said a closely-veiled lady — " teach them to cut 
 out clothes." 
 
 " No arithmetic ? " said the fond teacher. 
 
 " Why should they learn arithmetic, are they going to 
 be Government servants ? " was the indignant reply ! 
 
 " A little English then," said the aggressive mistress. 
 
 " English," said the irate relative. " Are they going 
 to marry Englishmen ? I want you to teach them to 
 read handwriting — don't waste time teaching them A, 
 B, C, or Alif, Ba, Tha." " WeU, well," said the long- 
 suffering mistress, " we wall do what we can ! " 
 
 Children when first brought to school often have 
 the vulgar habit of saying ' Ah ' for ' Yes,' and a 
 cluck for ' No,' so their education often has to begin 
 with Yes, and No." Children in Egypt do not know 
 their ages, and the parents are quite as vague about 
 them. Sometimes a birth certificate is produced for 
 visitors to read. Sometimes a calculation can be 
 made. " The boy was bom the year of the cholera, 
 and the girl is over his head," i.e., next youngest. 
 
88 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 One day a- little girl was taken on a pilgrimage 
 with her mother, and on the journey, when water 
 was scarce, would often sing " Little drops of Water," 
 as they jogged along on the camel. Little girls always 
 wear their hair in a pigtail, and as soon as a few hairs 
 will meet at the back they help it out with wool, and 
 make a plait ; sometimes they help to keep it tidy by 
 making a little plait over each ear, which goes by the 
 name of the " tramway." These meet a small central 
 plait called the " Omnibus," and all unite in the main 
 pigtail. The waterbuck were all agreed that the 
 children who went to school were very happy. 
 
 At the breaking up of a day school for two months 
 summer holidays, a number of children were found 
 crying (fancy crying at going home for a holiday) , and 
 looking most dejected. Among the weepers was a 
 Moslem girl of twelve years, who had never missed 
 a day all the year, and was top of the first class. 
 She hugged the Bible and hymn-book she had won 
 as prizes, which she herself had chosen. 
 
 " This is an interesting place," said Margery, " and 
 how I should love to go into that large building where 
 Daddy says all the signs and wonders of the land of 
 Egypt are kept. 
 
 M In my nursery cupboard I have a tiny piece of 
 mummy cloth, which was taken from the body of 
 Pharaoh, who was so cruel to the Children of Israel. 
 They say it is the very man — have you seen him, 
 nurse ? — he looks so dried up and solemn. There 
 he lies, with the kings of his era, all in their sealed 
 glass cases." 
 
 Nurse looked at her watch, and thought they might 
 go in for a little while ; so Baby Blue- eyes, as she was 
 sometimes called, was lifted out of her carriage and in 
 they all three went. 
 
A VISIT TO WONDERLAND 89 
 
 " Oh ! how wonderful. Are those real people sitting 
 over there ? " said Margery, looking across from the 
 door. 
 
 " You would almost think so," said nurse ; " they 
 are stone images of a king and queen who lived 
 thousands and thousands of years ago." 
 
 " I think I feel a little frightened," said Margery. " I 
 feel as if all these people sitting around the room were 
 coming to speak to me. It seems such a wonderful 
 piece of Wonderland, really too wonderful for me to 
 understand." And baby, who always tried to 
 imitate Margery, reiterated her lemark and said 
 " too 'onderfu'." 
 
 " Just let us take a peep into the jewel room," said 
 Margery, " before we go." And there they gazed upon 
 some of the most ancient and costly jewels in the world, 
 all dug up from the graves of dead people, who had taken 
 with them these ornaments for the future life. How 
 beautiful must have been the gold of Egypt in those 
 days. The discovery of the royal tombs is an old 
 story now, but for many years bands of robbers used 
 to open the tombs and carry off the coffins containing 
 the mummies to Cairo. The Arabs tell how they were 
 obliged to go armed in secret, and how they stole up 
 rugged mountain paths, and crept down into dark 
 musty caves. When once in possession of their mighty 
 burdens, they would steal softly down the mountain 
 side, and stumble under their weight to the river 
 side, where rafts were waiting to float them down the 
 Nile. 
 
 Those strange boats, the wood of which is crumb- 
 ling away, were once the funeral barks of a king who, 
 when he died, was taken in one of them from one side 
 of the river to the other. The other boat was probably 
 for his Ka, or double, who would accompany him 
 
90 CHILDREN OP EGYPT 
 
 wherever he went after death. Look at the two 
 little hawk-headed gods sitting on two poles, those 
 were to take care of them on their unknown journey. 
 
 The lights were twinkling by the river side, and nurse 
 knew it was time to be getting home. 
 
 " I like going home when the road is lighted," said 
 Margery, " it all looks so mysterious." And every- 
 thing to Margery and her baby sister that night became 
 a mystery in the land of sleepy dreams. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 NOTES BY THE WAY 
 
 Life on a house-boat is a pleasant experience, so long 
 as we have not to wage war with robbers, flies or 
 dust-storms. The boat lies moored to the canal bank, 
 and is surrounded by a bewildering sea of human life ; 
 animal life also forms an interesting addition to the 
 busy scene. This boat is the missionary doctor's 
 home. 
 
 It is early morning and we are sitting at breakfast. I 
 rather imagine that boys and girls and grown-up people 
 are still in the land of dreams in England. Our doors 
 are open ; we gaze to the right, and behold the timid 
 gamoos or buffalo, the stately camel, the proverbial 
 donkey, all being led forth, sometimes by a woman, 
 sometimes by a man, and very often by little chil- 
 dren, to the labours of the day. 
 
 We look to the left, and behold the follower of Islam's 
 prophet is at prayer on nature's carpet, with the blind- 
 folded cow patiently turning the water-wheel, which is 
 to satisfy the thirsty earth, in the background. 
 
LITTLE BOATS WITH STATELY SAILS 
 
NOTES BY THE WAY 91 
 
 We gaze before us and see the elegant little boats, 
 with stately sails, taking the bend of the river and com- 
 ing majestically towards us ; they trouble the water 
 as they pass by, rocking our boat a little, and 
 then pass on out of sight, with their burden of wheat or 
 some other grain which they are carrying to far- 
 off destinations. 
 
 Many of the animals we have seen leaving their rest- 
 ing places are now safely embarked in the chain ferry- 
 boat, and are being conducted across to the other side 
 to various fields of labour. 
 
 Breakfast over, we close our doors and commit 
 ourselves and our work into the hand of God our 
 Father. 
 
 The doctor has gone to his dispensary, in a village 
 of some eight thousand people. The missionary's wife 
 is trying to teach a village boy how to cook. I know a 
 missionary who had a cook, who, when told to make a 
 rolly-polly pudding, wouldn't bring it to the table, and 
 when asked what his objection was, said, he had never 
 before seen a pudding in a gallabeea and wasn't sure 
 if it was quite the proper thing to undress it before 
 bringing it to table. 
 
 I go and sit under the shade of the lebekh tree, to 
 teach a number of women and girls who have gathered 
 together, and they are soon interested in the story of 
 the brazen serpent. After listening for some time 
 they become anxious to get on to their daily work in the 
 fields, for they are peasants, but still they linger, ex- 
 claiming, " Oh ! if we could but listen all day to such 
 words, they would make our hearts glad." 
 
 The children in this village are like wild little 
 animals, so we promise them a Sunday school all to 
 themselves on the following Sunday, if only they will 
 relieve us of their unwelcome noise while we are talking 
 
92 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 to their mothers. We are overwhelmed by the picture 
 of these hundreds of neglected little children of Egypt. 
 
 We went to-day to call on the magistrate's wife. 
 What a mixture of majesty and stately untidiness. 
 There is the first announcement that Englize 1 have 
 arrived, and instead of the neatly-dressed servant to 
 open the door, a crowd of nice-looking but dirty, un- 
 ruly little boys and girls all crowd around one, each 
 wanting to get the best view of the strange visitor. 
 Several women with stately mien and flowing robes, 
 with long plaits of silk rope suspended from their hair, 
 carry their tiny babies over the shoulder — each child 
 gnawing at a piece of sugar cane. 
 
 We have reached the entrance hall which is filled 
 with animals ; the floor is of earth, and in a far 
 corner sits a woman before a large cooking pot con- 
 taining the evening meal for many members of the 
 family, who will all presently be dipping into the same 
 dish. 
 
 We are now conducted over some dried sugar cane 
 husks and invited into the upper room. We are met 
 on the threshold by the all powerful mother-in-law, 
 and conducted to a seat on the divan. 
 
 " Ahlan wa sahlan," 
 
 " Welcome, thrice welcome." 
 
 " Ezzey koom ? Salaamat." 
 " How are you ? Peace." 
 
 " Beitna munowwir bikoom." 
 
 " Our home is enlightened by your presence." 
 
 " Allah yinawwir 'aleykum." 
 " God send you light." etc. 
 
 1 English. 
 
NOTES BY THE WAY 
 
 93 
 
 A description of the upper room is of interest. This 
 floor is also made of mother earth, but a carpet of 
 brilliant colour, and colossal pattern covers it. The 
 walls are ignorant of the white-wash brush, and the 
 rafters are a refuge for bats. 
 
 Slung from one side of the room to the other is what 
 we should call an apology for a clothes line, over which 
 are thrown garments of various descriptions. The 
 half-naked children are by this time climbing over the 
 divan upon which we are seated. Some are making an 
 examination of our clothes, while others give a sharp 
 tug at a hairpin expecting to see our hair drop off ! 
 Your hair, if you have any, is a very particular 
 attraction. 
 
 Refreshments are brought, in the shape of tiny 
 cups of coffee, and oranges gathered from the 
 orange grove close by. Alas ! we did not hasten 
 to tear the peel from our orange with our own 
 teeth, so it is done for us, and the peel thrown on 
 to the gorgeous carpet, at which toothless granny 
 exclaims, scolds, and denounces the culprit, all 
 in one breath. The colour of our orange has suffered 
 considerably, prints of unwashed fingers being all 
 too visible. 
 
 The time has come when they seem fairly satisfied, 
 when a sensation is caused by the appearance of the 
 daughter-in-law, who during preliminaries has retired 
 to robe. 
 
 She walks majestically into the room clothed in a pale 
 pink silk which is covered with delicate satin spots. 
 We admire, and say many things to compliment her 
 upon her good taste, whereupon she sails across to the 
 other side of the room, opens her bride's box, and 
 produces with much ceremony several gorgeously- 
 colo ured gallabeeas, all more or less handsome. These 
 
94 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 have each to be remarked upon, and a sigh of regret 
 escapes the hps of others less favoured. 
 
 It seems so strange to these people, that our only 
 motive in visiting them should be to tell them about 
 God, and their need of a Saviour. Sometimes one 
 will exclaim, " Oh ! Coverer " (one of their names for 
 God) " who are these strangers ? Are they Adam's 
 descendants ? " Another will make answer, " Of 
 course they are. Have they not ten fingers, two 
 feet, eyes and nose just as we have ? " 
 
 We mount our donkeys and return to our home on 
 the river, and our thoughts go out to a thirsty land as 
 we pass by the groaning water-wheel, and watch the 
 men throwing up the buckets of water from the re- 
 freshing stream, relieving the dry, parched earth which 
 in time will bring forth the pink and yellow water- 
 melons the Egyptians so long for. As I write, thick 
 darkness has gathered around us, all is silent except 
 for the distant bark of the watch-dog, and the wail of 
 some wild bird's cry. 
 
 Suddenly there is a stir, a pattering of shoeless feet, 
 weird music, and torch-lights. It is the sign of the 
 approach of a bridegroom as he is being escorted to 
 his waiting bride with true native joy. 
 
 When the promised Sunday school was attempted, 
 although there were literally hundreds of children, only 
 sixteen were registered. Many others came, but when I 
 suggested that we should close the doors, a general 
 stampede was the result, fear took possession of them 
 at the thought of being shut up with so extraordinary 
 a stranger. These sixteen were each given a card with 
 the words " Honour thy Father and thy Mother " 
 printed upon it. 
 
 The next Sunday they were more courageous, for 
 one hundred children presented themselves, as also on 
 
NOTES BY THE WAY 95 
 
 the following Sundays, and we had the great joy, before 
 leaving that district, of having several sturdy little 
 fellows coming to us and making a voluntary promise 
 that they were never going to swear any more ! 
 
 Another morning was spent in teaching a young 
 blind girl to learn a hymn, and then sing it to a native 
 tune. I went the next day to find she had remembered 
 it all, and this is the sort of talk we had with one 
 another. 
 
 I told her the story of Jesus who opened the eyes of 
 the blind, and who was waiting to give her light in her 
 heart ; she doubted the truth of my story and told 
 me she had been taught to believe otherwise. She 
 asked me to lengthen my patience while she told me 
 her own thoughts, which were as follows : — 
 
 " When I die," said the poor blind girl, " I shall be 
 visited by two angels, the chief of whom will make an 
 examination of my deeds, and remind me of everything 
 I have done, and left undone ; he will then cut off a 
 piece of my shroud and record upon it my good and 
 bad deeds, and attach it firmly to my neck with a 
 piece of rope. 
 
 " If my good deeds outweigh my bad ones I shall go 
 straight into heaven. If my bad deeds outweigh my 
 good ones my intercessor Mohammed will easily get 
 permission for me to enter heaven, so it does not much 
 matter how I live." 
 
 Poor blind girl, she does not know how much she 
 needs the Light of the World. Day dawns once again, 
 and like the Sower v/e go forth to sow. Some falls 
 by the wayside, and the fowls of the air devour it. 
 Some has fallen among stones and thorns, and been 
 choked. Some has fallen into good ground, to bring 
 forth fruit unto life eternal. 
 
 Evening shadows are drawing on ; busy tillers of 
 
96 
 
 CHILDREN OF EGYPT 
 
 the soil are returning home to their rest ; little boys 
 and girls with weary feet and tired faces lead safely 
 home the no less weary animals ; while others have 
 been taught about the King of Kings, and mothers' 
 hearts have been cheered and comforted. The seed 
 sown sleeps in secret, and we pray to the Great Giver 
 of the water of life to refresh it with His life-giving 
 power, that the Lord Jesus may see of the travail of 
 His soul and be satisfied. This chapter is only a 
 series of notes by the wayside, just to give you a 
 glimpse of how the seed is sown among big as well as 
 little people, and how it sleeps in the ground ; but 
 some day you will hear of it all springing up into 
 glorious life, and the Angel Reapers will descend to 
 gather in the harvest so long waited for. 
 Will you have a share in the reaping ? 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1