n around the upper deck,
where a piano, tables and chairs are placed for the pleasure and
convenience of the guests, while flags of different nations brighten and
enliven the scene, festooned on the canvas that wraps us in from the
prevailing miasma. An evening on the Nile steamer may not be irksome,
although our steamer ties up at nightfall. The lack of motion is made up
by music and dancing and pleasant intercourse. A few moments after
dinner I would retire to the saloon or library room, where pens and
paper were provided for the guests. There I would jot down in my journal
my transactions of the day and write home if we were within postal
quarters. We never made excursions on the Sabbath day; our trips were so
arranged by Cook, who had our boat under his rules, that all who cared
for rest might enjoy it. We disembarked at Dendarah, where we spent two
hours in the early morning. As we recall these days on the Nile, with
Richard in his Oriental robes of lovely colors, fully conscious of his
good looks, taking his position between the extended tables of the
dining room at the close of the meal and there make known the plan for
the next day's excursion. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" was generally followed
by an audible smile, the guests knowing full well what was to
follow--breakfast at the early hour of seven, a ride from five to
fifteen miles either by donkey or chair, with a set speech when we
arrived at tombs or temples; but we had come to see, why not muster up
courage for still another prolonged agony? I found books in the library,
most entertaining when off duty, by Mrs. Edwards and Charles Dudley
Warner, together with the book furnished by Cook to each purchaser of a
passage ticket. This attempt to post up on what I saw, and what was yet
in store for me, precluded much sociability, of which I am fully aware
with such pleasant people as we had on board, was my loss. I denied
myself much, but I was unable to cope with both to any great extent, but
I shall long recall with pleasure the few hours I gave myself in this
delightful recreation.

Our arrival at Luxor by sunset was well timed. The beautiful rays of the
departing god seemed to throw over all the surroundings a halo. We knew
an early breakfast meant early to bed, which command I was not slow in
obeying. At 9:00 a. m. we took donkeys for Karnak, passing through the
village on a market day, where each man squatted before his salable
articles spread upon the ground u