only the "real thing." A
man was trying to sell me a gem for $10, and I knocked him out by
saying I wanted only an imitation; he put the gem in his pocket,
pretending he was exchanging it for an imitation, brought it out again
and sold it to me for five cents! I looked at him for a long time and
smiled; then he smiled also--we understood each other. This fad is
very like the tulip mania of old, and almost every one is touched by
it. I saw a dragoman sell a lady three scarabs for $30, and I am quite
sure they did not cost him fifty cents.

THE NILE

We took a train entirely filled with the "Corks," and went up the Nile
to Luxor, nearly five hundred miles from Cairo; some of the party were
going to other places and would take their turn on the Nile later.
When you have seen the ruins at Luxor, Karnak and Thebes you have seen
the best there is in Egypt, and there is but little use in looking at
minor temples unless you desire to become an Egyptologist. Here is a
feast in ruins that will satisfy almost any appetite.

[Illustration: THE TOWER OF DAVID, JERUSALEM]

We were quartered on a Nile steamer, moored to the dock, as the hotels
were crowded. We had hardly landed on the deck when the flies lit on
us in swarms. In all parts of the world I had encountered flies that
held the record for abandoned cruelty to man, but they were
white-winged angels of peace compared to these tarantulas! They stuck
and hung and dug into your flesh with apparent glee. You have whips,
whisks, fans and bunches of twigs to chase and defeat them, but it's
all no use. You kill a dozen, and a hundred take their place. After
standing the pests as long as I could, I got some netting and made bags
for my head and hands. This was a great relief, but it had its
penalties. Dying _without_ flies is almost as attractive as living on
the Nile with them.

Gooley Can was our guide. It may be here said of Gooley that he was an
Arab of middle age, well set up for the most part; he spoke fair
English, and was a conversational soloist of no mean pretensions. He
had a brother who was just a plain guide, with a cast in one eye and a
great admiration for Gooley; he was generally full of sadness (and
grog), brought about by disappointments in his profession. Gooley had
a great reputation, and as he was exclusive he always looked his party
over and sized it up before taking the job; also he had one wife and
was on the lookout for more. He claim