what they found:
"The city known as 'Cairo' (Ky-ro) to Europeans is called Masr-el-Kaherah by the Arabs, the word Kaherah meaning 'victorious.' It was founded about the end of the tenth century by a Moslem general who had been sent from Tunis to invade Egypt; he signalled his victory by building a city not far from Fostat; the latter is called Masr-el-Ateekah, or Old Cairo, and was formerly the capital; but the new city grew so fast that it became the capital very soon after it was founded. It has gone through a good many sieges, and had a prominent place in the history of the Crusades; the great Moslem conqueror, Yoosef Salah-ed-Deen (known to us as Saladin), built strong walls around Cairo, and founded the citadel on the hill at the southern end. The city is about two miles broad by three in length, and stands on a plain overlooked by the range of the Mokattam Hills; the new quarter of Ismaileeyah was recently added, and when that is included, the Cairo of to-day will be nearly twice the extent of the city of fifty years ago. Cairo was the city of the Caliphs, or Moslem rulers, down to 1517; from that time till it was captured by the French, in 1798, it was the chief city of the Turkish province of Egypt. The French held it three years, when it was captured by the Turks and English; ten years later Mohammed Ali became an almost independent ruler of the country, and from his time to the present Egypt has been ruled by his family, who pay an annual tribute to Turkey, and are required to do in certain things as they are ordered by the Sultan. Cairo is still the capital of Egypt; the Viceroy or Khedive lives there except during the hottest part of summer, when he goes to Alexandria, where he has a palace.
"The word 'Khedive' comes from the Persian language, and means 'ruler' or 'prince.' It was adopted by Ismail Pacha, and continued by his successor; the English word which is nearest in meaning to Khedive is 'Viceroy,' and the head of the Egyptian government is generally called the Viceroy by Europeans. He should be addressed as 'Your Highness.'
"Some of the most interesting stories of the 'Arabian Nights' Entertainments' are laid in Cairo, and the reader of those anecdotes will learn from them a great deal of the manners of the times when they were written. We are told that the translation by Edward William Lane is the best. Lane was an Englishman, who was a long time in Cairo. He learned the language of the people, wore their dress, and lived among them, and he wrote a book called 'The Modern Egyptians,' which describes the manners and customs of the inhabitants of Cairo better than any other work. When we are in doubt concerning anything, we shall consult 'The Modern Egyptians' for what we want. Lane's translation of the 'Arabian Nights' occupied several years of his time, and was mostly made while he lived in Cairo. We have read some of these stories, and find them very interesting, and often envy Aladdin, with his wonderful lamp and his magic couch, and would very much like to sit down with Sinbad the Sailor and listen to the account of his adventures.
"There are so many things in Cairo which we want to see that we will not try to make out a list in advance. We have engaged a guide to show us around, and shall trust to him for a day or two. At the end of that time we hope to know something about the city, and be able to go around alone."
Every evening, while the boys were in Cairo, was devoted to the journal of their experiences during the day. They have allowed us to copy from it, and we can thus find out where they went and what they did. As there were so many things to describe the labor was divided, and while Frank was busy over one thing, Fred occupied himself with another. Let us see what they did:
"It is the custom to ride on donkeys when going about Cairo, as many of the streets are so narrow that you cannot pass through them with carriages. We had the best we could secure, and very nice they were under the saddle, but we soon learned that it required some skill to ride them. The guide rode ahead, and we noticed that he did not put his feet in the stirrups as we did; while we were wondering the meaning of it, Frank's donkey stumbled and fell forward, and Frank went sprawling in the dust over the animal's head.
"We all laughed (Frank did not laugh quite as loud as the rest, but he did the best he could), and so did the people in the street where the accident happened. Frank was up in an instant, and so was the donkey; and when we were off again the guide said that the donkey had a habit of stumbling and going down in a heap. If you have your feet in the stirrups when he goes down, you can't help being thrown over the animal's head; but if you ride as the guide does, your feet come on the ground when the donkey falls, and you walk gracefully forward a few steps till the boy brings your animal up for you to mount again.
"We immediately began learning to ride with our feet free, and an hour's practice made us all right.
"The donkeys all have names, generally those that have been given to them by travellers. We have had 'Dan Tucker,' 'Prince of Wales,' 'Chicken Hash,' and 'Pinafore,' and in the lot that stands in front of the hotel there are 'General Grant,' 'Stanley,' 'New York,' and 'Mince Pie.' They are black, white, gray, and a few other colors, and sometimes the boys decorate them with hair-dye and paint so that they look very funny. The donkey-boys are sharp little fellows, though sometimes they keep at the business after they have become men. They generally speak a little English; there are two at our hotel that speak it very well, and know the city perfectly, so that when we take them along we have very little need of a guide. They will run all day as fast as the donkey can, sometimes holding him by the bridle, but generally close behind, ready to prod or strike him if he does not go fast enough.
"The saddle is a curious sort of thing, as it has a great hump in front instead of a pommel, and there is not the least support to the back any more than in an English riding-pad. They explain the peculiarity of the saddle by saying that the donkey's shoulders are lower than his back, and the hump keeps you from sliding forward.
"About the best thing we have yet seen in Cairo is the people in the streets. They are so odd in their dress, and they have so many curious customs, that our attention is drawn to them all the time. We can't say how many varieties of peddlers there are, but certainly more than we ever saw in any other place, not excepting Tokio or Canton, or any of the cities of India. We will try to describe some of them.
"Here is an old woman with a crate like a flat basket, which she carries on her head. It is filled with little articles of jewellery, and she goes around in the harems and in the baths frequented by women, as they are her best customers. The guide says her whole stock is not worth a hundred francs, and if she makes a franc a day at her business she thinks she is doing well.
"There are women who sell vegetables, fruits, and sweetmeats, which they carry in the same way as the one we have just described. They are wrapped from head to foot in long cloaks or outer dresses, and they generally follow the custom of the country and keep their faces covered. The oldest of them are not so particular as the others, and we are told that the custom of wearing the veil is not so universal as it was twenty or thirty years ago.
"There is no change of fashion among the women of Egypt. They wear the same kind of garments from one year to another, and as all are veiled, except among the very poorest classes, they all look alike. Every lady, when she goes out, covers her face with the yashmak or veil, so that only her eyes are visible; her body is wrapped in a black mantle which reaches the ground, and, though she looks at you as if she knew you, it is impossible to penetrate her disguise. We are told that when the European ladies residing here wish to call on each other, and have nobody to escort them, they put on the native dress, and go along the streets without the least fear that anybody
