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with its sightly tower crown the Mount of Olives. From the top of the tower, or from one of its landings, one can look through the windows and get a good view of the Dead Sea to the southeast, with the mountains of Moab stretching away in the distance. Here, as at no other point in Palestine, can one see so many places

If one

identified with the earthly life of the Master. would "see Jesus' let him go to the Mount of Olives. To the south a half-dozen miles lies Bethlehem, where He was born. To the north, not in view it is true, but just beyond those mountain ranges, He increased in wisdom and favor with God and man as He grew in stature and years. To the east of the tower, a thousand feet below and perhaps fifteen miles away, lies the Jordan River, like a thread of silver, and almost in

sight are the Jordan fords, where His baptism took place and where the words of divine approval were spoken.

Here, in contemplation, one can understand the spirit of the Galilean peasant who, in the forceful words of Richard Watson Gilder, is uncertain whether Jesus was human or divine; but whether man or God his own course is clear as the poet pictures his mind:

"If Jesus Christ is a man

And only a man-I say

That of all mankind I cleave to him,
And to him will I cleave alway.

"If Jesus Christ is a God

And the only God—I swear

I will follow him through heaven and hell,
The earth, the sea, and the air!"

Two miles away are the ruins of the Bethany village, fragrant still, for the Christian believer, with the odor of the precious ointment poured from the throbbing heart of love. Here, also, is the empty tomb from which stepped the brother whom Mary and Martha and Jesus loved. At the foot of the mountain, toward the west, is Gethsemane, and yonder, just over the ravine, is the city which He loved and over which He wept. And once more, a little farther toward the west, on one or the other of two hills, He cried: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Well does Mr. Gilder portray that scene:

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"Such anguish! such betrayal! Who could paint
That tragedy! one human, piteous cry-
'Forsaken'-and black death! If he was God,
"Twas for an instant only, his despair;

Or was he man, and there is life beyond,
And soon or late the good rewarded are,
Then too is recompense.

66

'But was he man,

And death ends all, then was that tortured death
On Calvary a thing to make the pulse

Of memory quail and stop."

But one should not leave the Holy City with such a picture in his mind, true though it be. Let Mr. Gilder close the chapter with the thought of a living, helpful Christ:

"The Lord is risen indeed,

He is here for your love, for your need―

Not in the grave, nor the sky,

But here where men live and die.

'Wherever are tears and sighs,
Wherever are children's eyes,
Where man calls man his brother,
And loves as himself another,
Christ lives! The angels said:

'Why seek ye the living among the dead?'”

CHAPTER XV

EGYPT AND THE NILE

ΟΝΕ

PYGMIES are pygmies still, though perched on Alps;

And pyramids are pyramids in vales.

Each man makes his own stature, builds himself;

Virtue alone outbids the pyramids ;

Her monuments shall last when Egypt's fall.

-EDWARD YOUNG IN "NIGHT THOUGHTS.”

NE usually enters Egypt at Alexandria or Port Said. Colonel Roosevelt sailed from Naples through the Suez Canal to East Africa, and after his year of hunting went down the Nile to Khartoum and then to Cairo and Alexandria. The approach to Alexandria from the sea is not especially impressive; there is a long, low breakwater, behind which appears the dusty gray line of shore, and behind that again equally gray buildings.

Alexandria, founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great, forms a lasting memorial of Egyptian campaign. In 69 A.D. Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by the Alexandrians. In Trajan's reign the Jews caused sanguinary riots. Marcus Aurelius attended the lectures of the grammarians in this city. Napoleon arrived in Alexandria, July 1, 1798, hoping to destroy the British trade in the Mediterranean and by occupying Egypt to neutralize the power of England in India. The fol

FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO 201

lowing day Alexandria was stormed, and on July 21 the Battle of the Pyramids was fought in which the French defeated the Mamelukes, but the victory was not long-lived. The British fleet, commanded by Nelson, on August 1 defeated the French fleet fifteen miles from Alexandria, destroying thirteen of their seventeen vessels. Alexandria to-day is largely European. Its fine streets and modern buildings suggest an English

town.

Christianity early found its way to Alexandria.

It

is said that the Gospel was first preached there by St. Mark. The first great persecution fell with considerable weight upon the people of this city. The decline of Alexandria became rapid in proportion as Cairo, the newly founded capital on the Nile, became prosperous.

Cairo is one hundred and thirty miles south from Alexandria, and one finds a new phase of life on the journey: Cotton, clover and sorghum fields are seen on both sides of the road. Camels and donkeys and now and then a horse are seen, while the industrious natives are busily engaged in the fields hard at work, with the water coming from the irrigation canals. The principal towns passed on the way are Damanhur, with some twenty-two thousand inhabitants, and Tantah, with a population of sixty thousand. At Tantah there are large public buildings, churches, bazaars, a prison, and an extensive palace of the Khedive. As the train nears Cairo the Libyan Chain becomes more visible and the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, with its splendid minarets,