employed as hodcarriers for
masons.

Their powers of endurance are marvellous. It is a common occurrence for
a woman to go out to pick cotton as usual in the morning and to come
back in the evening, carrying her basket on her head and in it her
new-born babe, and it has been known for a woman to start to town with
her marketing on her head, be detained an hour or two by the roadside
till she gives birth to her child, then with it continue her journey.

Besides being a drudge the peasant woman is nearly always a slave to her
husband. Of course she does not eat with him; if she goes out with him
she walks behind him while he rides the donkey, which it is her duty to
keep moving at a good pace by prodding with a sharp stick. If there is
anything to carry she does it. He does manage to carry his own cigarette
and walking stick! Often, too, she has to exercise her wits to tell her
lord amusing stories for his entertainment as they journey by the way.
One day some tourists met just such a couple on a country road. The poor
woman was trudging along with a big child sitting astride her shoulder
while its father rode the donkey. The suggestion was made that the child
might ride if its mother couldn't. To the credit of the smiling-faced
peasant the suggestion was followed.

III

FROM UNDER THE YOKE OF SOCIAL EVILS

Unhappy marriages are a natural result of the seclusion of women in
Egypt. It would be highly improper for a man to see his bride until
after he had married her. He has not even had the privilege of choosing
her. His mother did that for him, and it goes without saying that the
young man is not always suited. The story is told of a young man who at
his wedding feast was sitting so glum and silent that his young friends
teased him by saying, "Brother! brother! Why so sad on this joyous
occasion?" In answer he said, "I have just seen my bride for the first
time and I am woefully disappointed. She is ugly! tall, thin, and
weak-eyed." The tall "daughter-of-the-gods-girl" is not admired in
Egypt. Her short, fat, dumpy little sister is much more according to
Egyptian ideas of beauty. "Cheer up! cheer up!" said his friends, "you
are not such a handsome fellow yourself that you should have such a
handsome wife!" Shaking his head sadly, he said, "I feel like heaping
ashes on my head. If you don't believe me that she is ugly, go upstairs
and peep in at the Harem window and see for yourselves." Glad of the
chance of