fortresses to protect the eastern frontier
of the Delta, and made for himself a tomb in the form of a pyramid.

The almost uninhabited country which connects Africa with Asia is
flanked towards the south by two chains of hills which unite at right
angles, and together form the so-called Gebel et-Tih. This country is
a tableland, gently inclined from south to north, bare, sombre, covered
with flint-shingle, and siliceous rocks, and breaking out at frequent
intervals into long low chalky hills, seamed with wadys, the largest
of which--that of El-Arish--having drained all the others into itself,
opens into the Mediterranean halfway between Pelusiam and Gaza. Torrents
of rain are not infrequent in winter and spring, but the small quantity
of water which they furnish is quickly evaporated, and barely keeps
alive the meagre vegetation in the bottom of the valleys. Sometimes,
after months of absolute drought, a tempest breaks over the more
elevated parts of the desert.*

* In chap. viii. of the _Account of the Survey_, pp. 226-
228, Mr. Holland describes a sudden rainstorm or "sell" on
December 3, 1867, which drowned thirty persons, destroyed
droves of camels and asses, flocks of sheep and goats, and
swept away, in the Wady Feiran, a thousand palm trees and a
grove of tamarisks, two miles in length. Towards 4.30 in the
afternoon, a few drops of rain began to fall, but the storm
did not break till 5 p.m. At 5.15 it was at its height, and
it was not over till 9.30. The torrent, which at 8 p.m. was
10 feet deep, and was about 1000 feet in width, was, at 6
a.m. the next day, reduced to a small streamlet.

The wind rises suddenly in squall-like blasts; thick clouds, borne one
knows not whence, are riven by lightning to the incessant accompaniment
of thunder; it would seem as if the heavens had broken up and were
crashing down upon the mountains. In a few moments streams of muddy
water rushing down the ravines, through the gulleys and along the
slightest depressions, hurry to the low grounds, and meeting there in a
foaming concourse, follow the fall of the land; a few minutes later,
and the space between one hillside and the other is occupied by a deep
river, flowing with terrible velocity and irresistible force. At the end
of eight or ten hours the air becomes clear, the wind falls, the rain
ceases; the hastily formed river dwindles, and for lack of supply is
exhausted; the