rican and English people at the tarven in Cairo, but no
one we knew. In the garden at the side of the tarven wuz a ostrich pen
where a number of great ostriches wuz kep', and also several pelicans
walked round in another part of the garden.

Tommy and I stood by the winder, very much interested in watchin' the
ostriches, and though I hain't covetous or proud, yet I did wish I had
one or two of them satiny, curly feathers to trim my best bunnet in
Jonesville, they went so fur ahead of any sisters in the meetin'
house.

Josiah hadn't see 'em yet; he wuz layin' on the lounge, but he sez: "I
don't see why you're so took up with them geese."

"Geese!" sez I; "look here, Josiah Allen"--and I took a cookie I had
got for Tommy--"see here; see me feed these geese ten feet from the
ground." He could see their heads come up to take it out of my hand.

"Good land!" sez he, "you don't say they stretch their necks clear up
here." And he jined in our astonishment then and proposed that he
should be let down from the winder in a sheet and git me a few
feathers. But I rejected the idee to once. I sez: "I'd ruther go
featherless for life than to have a pardner commit rapine for 'em."

And he sez: "If some Egyptian come to Jonesville and wanted a
rooster's tail feather, we wouldn't say nuthin' aginst it."

But I sez: "This is different; this would spile the looks of the
ostriches."

And he said there wuz sunthin' said in the Bible about "spilin' the
Egyptians." But I wouldn't let him wrest the Scripters to his own
destruction, and told him I wouldn't, and then sez I, "I never could
enjoy religion settin' under a stolen feather."

As you pass through these picturesque streets memories of them that
have made this city historic crowd upon your mind. You think of
Saladin, Christian, Mameluke and Islamite.

You think of the Bible and you think of the "Arabian Nights," and you
almost expect to see the enchanted carpet layin' round somewhere, and
some one goin' up to the close shet doors sayin', "Open sesame."

And as you stroll along you will hear every language under the sun, or
so it seems, and meet English, Italian, French, Bedowins, soldiers,
footmen, Turks, Arabs, all dressed in their native costumes. Anon
close shet up carriages in which you most know there are beautiful
wimmen peerin' out of some little corner onbeknown to their folks;
agin you meet a weddin' procession, then a trolley car, then some
Egyptian troops, then som