there came a time of great
anxiety in their home, for her mamma was ill, growing paler and weaker
every day. The physicians suggested a winter in Egypt, and a trip up the
Nile; so, one bright October day, the family, consisting of the father and
mother, with Kitty and her nurse, sailed away from New York in a steamer
bound for Liverpool. Kitty was delighted with the novelty of everything
she saw on this grand trip. She did not once attempt to run away during
the whole of the long journey to Egypt, though all the time, and
especially in Liverpool, Maggie never failed to keep her "under her eye."

On a bright, warm November afternoon they sailed into the harbor of
Alexandria, and Kitty held tightly to Maggie's hand in open-mouthed
astonishment at the novelty of the scene. Vessels of all sizes and
descriptions thronged the harbor, carrying crews from many strange
nations--Arabs with long flowing robes and swarthy skins, black Nubians
and portly Turks, all screaming, apparently at the top of their voices.
Kitty's mamma had read to her little girl some stories from the "Arabian
Nights," and now, as they approached this eastern land, they mingled
curiously in her little brain. They were not long in landing, and as they
drove to the hotel on the Grand Square, Kitty fairly gave herself up to
staring about the streets. Here came a file of tall camels laden with
merchandise, stalking along with silent tread; there rode a fat Turk on a
very small donkey; then followed several ladies riding upon donkeys, and
each wearing the invariable street costume of Egyptian ladies--a black
silk mantle, with a white muslin face-veil which conceals all the features
except the eyes. Kitty admired the Syce men running before the carriages
to clear the way, and as she looked at their spangled vests and white,
long sleeves waving backward while they ran, she inwardly wished it had
been her position in life to be a Syce. What could be more delightful and
exciting!

Then there were the palm-trees and the water-carriers, with their
goat-skins of water slung over their shoulders, and the bazaars--all most
interesting to our travelers. But Kitty was too young to feel more than a
dim surprise at the objects around her. She knew nothing, of course, of
the history of Alexandria, once the first city in the world, where Euclid
presided over the school in mathematics, and Aristotle studied and gave
instruction. Here stood those vast libraries founded by Ptole