om the water for such a
wheel to be of use, so in place of the hollow rim the second wheel
also has cogs, on which revolves an endless chain of rope to which
earthen pots are attached, and whose length may be altered to suit the
varying levels of the river. Some of these "sakias" are very pretty,
as they are nearly always shaded by trees of some kind as a protection
to the oxen who work them.

[Footnote 5: "A gift."]

[Illustration: A WATERING-PLACE.]

One of the prettiest incidents of all, however, is the village
watering-place, where morning and evening the women and children of
the town congregate to fill their water-pots, wash their clothing or
utensils, and enjoy a chat. It is pretty to watch them as they come
and go; often desperately poor, they wear their ragged, dust-soiled
clothing with a queenly grace, for their lifelong habit of carrying
burdens upon their heads, and their freedom from confining garments,
have given them a carriage which women in this country might well
envy. Though generally dark-skinned and toil-worn, many of the younger
women are beautiful, while all have shapely and delicately-formed
limbs, and eyes and teeth of great beauty. At the water's edge the
children are engaged in scrubbing cooking-pots and other utensils,
while their elders are employed in washing their clothing or domestic
linen, when, after perhaps enjoying a bathe themselves, their
water-pots are filled, and, struggling up the steep bank, they
disappear towards the village. These water-pots, by the way, are
two-handled, and pretty in shape, and are always slightly conical at
the base, so that they are able to stand on the shelving river-banks
without falling, and for the same reason are nearly always carried
slightly sideways on the head. It is pretty to see the wonderful sense
of balance these girls display in carrying their water-pots, which
they seldom touch with their hand, and it is surprising also what
great weights even young girls are able to support, for a "balass"
filled with water is often a load too heavy for her to raise to her
head without the assistance of another. Like all the poor, they are
always obliging to each other, and I recently witnessed a pathetic
sight at one of these village watering-places, when an old woman, too
infirm to carry her "balass" herself, was with difficulty struggling
down the bank and leading a blind man, who bore her burden for her.

CHAPTER VI

THE NILE--II

The Ni