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Thereforeitisrefreshingtolearnnow，severalmonthsaftertheabovenarrativewaswritten，thatanothermanreceivedallthecreditofthisrescueofthecolonists。Suchislife。AlexandriawastoomuchlikeaEuropeancitytobenovel，andwesoontiredofit。WetookthecarsandcameupheretoancientCairo，whichisanOrientalcityandofthecompletestpattern。Thereislittleaboutittodisabuseone\'smindoftheerrorifheshouldtakeitintohisheadthathewasintheheartofArabia。Statelycamelsanddromedaries，swarthyEgyptians，andlikewiseTurksandblackEthiopians，turbaned，sashed，andblazinginarichvarietyofOrientalcostumesofallshadesofflashycolors，arewhatoneseesoneveryhandcrowdingthenarrowstreetsandthehoneycombedbazaars。WearestoppingatShepherd\'sHotel，whichistheworstonearthexcepttheoneIstoppedatonceinasmalltownintheUnitedStates。Itispleasanttoreadthissketchinmynote—book，now，andknowthatIcanstandShepherd\'sHotel，sure，becauseIhavebeeninonejustlikeitinAmericaandsurvived:IstoppedattheBentonHouse。Itusedtobeagoodhotel，butthatprovesnothing——Iusedtobeagoodboy，forthatmatter。Bothofushavelostcharacteroflateyears。TheBentonisnotagoodhotel。
TheBentonlacksaverygreatdealofbeingagoodhotel。PerditionisfullofbetterhotelsthantheBenton。ItwaslateatnightwhenIgotthere，andItoldtheclerkIwouldlikeplentyoflights，becauseIwantedtoreadanhourortwo。
WhenIreachedNo。15withtheporter（wecamealongadimhallthatwascladinancientcarpeting，faded，wornoutinmanyplaces，andpatchedwitholdscrapsofoilcloth——ahallthatsankunderone\'sfeet，andcreakeddismallytoeveryfootstep，）hestruckalight——twoinchesofsallow，sorrowful，consumptivetallowcandle，thatburnedblue，andsputtered，andgotdiscouragedandwentout。Theporterlititagain，andIaskedifthatwasallthelighttheclerksent。Hesaid，"Ohno，I\'vegotanotheronehere，"andheproducedanothercoupleofinchesoftallowcandle。Isaid，"Lightthemboth——I\'llhavetohaveonetoseetheotherby。"Hedidit，buttheresultwasdrearierthandarknessitself。Hewasacheery，accommodatingrascal。
Hesaidhewouldgo"somewheres"andstealalamp。Iabettedandencouragedhiminhiscriminaldesign。Iheardthelandlordgetafterhiminthehalltenminutesafterward。"Whereareyougoingwiththatlamp？""Fifteenwantsit，sir。""Fifteen！whyhe\'sgotadoublelotofcandles——doesthemanwanttoilluminatethehouse？——doeshewanttogetupatorch—lightprocession？——whatisheupto，anyhow？""Hedon\'tlikethemcandles——sayshewantsalamp。""Whywhatinthenationdoes——whyIneverheardofsuchathing？
Whatonearthcanhewantwiththatlamp？""Well，heonlywantstoread——that\'swhathesays。""Wantstoread，doeshe？——ain\'tsatisfiedwithathousandcandles，buthastohavealamp！——Idowonderwhatthedevilthatfellowwantsthatlampfor？Takehimanothercandle，andthenif——""Buthewantsthelamp——sayshe\'llburnthed——doldhousedownifhedon\'tgetalamp！"（aremarkwhichInevermade。）"I\'dliketoseehimatitonce。Well，youtakeitalong——butIswearitbeatsmytime，though——andseeifyoucan\'tfindoutwhatintheverynationhewantswiththatlamp。"AndhewentoffgrowlingtohimselfandstillwonderingandwonderingovertheunaccountableconductofNo。15。Thelampwasagoodone，butitrevealedsomedisagreeablethings——abedinthesuburbsofadesertofroom——abedthathadhillsandvalleysinit，andyou\'dhavetoaccommodateyourbodytotheimpressionleftinitbythemanthatslepttherelast，beforeyoucouldliecomfortably;acarpetthathadseenbetterdays;amelancholywashstandinaremotecorner，andadejectedpitcheronitsorrowingoverabrokennose;alooking—glasssplitacrossthecentre，whichchoppedyourheadoffatthechinandmadeyoulooklikesomedreadfulunfinishedmonsterorother;thepaperpeelinginshredsfromthewalls。Isighedandsaid:"Thisischarming;andnowdon\'tyouthinkyoucouldgetmesomethingtoread？"Theportersaid，"Oh，certainly;theoldman\'sgotdeadloadsofbooks;"andhewasgonebeforeIcouldtellhimwhatsortofliteratureIwouldratherhave。Andyethiscountenanceexpressedtheutmostconfidenceinhisabilitytoexecutethecommissionwithcredittohimself。Theoldmanmadeadescentonhim。"Whatareyougoingtodowiththatpileofbooks？""Fifteenwants\'em，sir。""Fifteen，isit？He\'llwantawarming—pan，next——he\'llwantanurse！Takehimeverythingthereisinthehouse——takehimthebar—keeper——takehimthebaggage—wagon——takehimachamber—maid！Confoundme，Ineversawanythinglikeit。Whatdidhesayhewantswiththosebooks？""Wantstoread\'em，likeenough;itain\'tlikelyhewantstoeat\'em，Idon\'treckon。""Wantstoread\'em——wantstoread\'emthistimeofnight，theinfernallunatic！Well，hecan\'thavethem。""Buthesayshe\'smor\'lyboundtohave\'em;hesayshe\'lljustgoa—rairin\'anda—chargin\'throughthishouseandraisemore——well，there\'snotellin\'whathewon\'tdoifhedon\'tget\'em;becausehe\'sdrunkandcrazyanddesperate，andnothing\'llsoothehimdownbutthemcussedbooks。"
[Ihadnotmadeanythreats，andwasnotintheconditionascribedtomebytheporter。]"Well，goon;butIwillbearoundwhenhegoestorairingandcharging，andthefirstrairhemakesI\'llmakehimrairoutofthewindow。"Andthentheoldgentlemanwentoff，growlingasbefore。Thegeniusofthatporterwassomethingwonderful。Heputanarmfulofbooksonthebedandsaid"Goodnight"asconfidentlyasifheknewperfectlywellthatthosebookswereexactlymystyleofreadingmatter。
Andwellhemight。Hisselectioncoveredthewholerangeoflegitimateliterature。Itcomprised"TheGreatConsummation，"byRev。Dr。Cummings——theology;
"RevisedStatutesoftheStateofMissouri"——law;"TheCompleteHorse—Doctor"——medicine;
"TheToilersoftheSea，"byVictorHugo——romance;"TheworksofWilliamShakespeare"——poetry。Ishallneverceasetoadmirethetactandtheintelligenceofthatgiftedporter。ButallthedonkeysinChristendom，andmostoftheEgyptianboys，Ithink，areatthedoor，andthereissomenoisegoingon，nottoputitinstrongerlanguage。——WeareaboutstartingtotheillustriousPyramidsofEgypt，andthedonkeysforthevoyageareunderinspection。Iwillgoandselectonebeforethechoiceanimalsarealltaken。
Chapter58
Thedonkeyswereallgood，allhandsome，allstrongandingoodcondition，allfastandallwillingtoproveit。Theywerethebestwehadfoundanywhere，andthemostrecherche。Idonotknowwhatrechercheis，butthatiswhatthesedonkeyswere，anyhow。Somewereofasoftmouse—color，andtheotherswerewhite，black，andvari—colored。Somewereclose—shaven，allover，exceptthatatuftlikeapaint—brushwasleftontheendofthetail。Othersweresoshaveninfancifullandscapegardenpatterns，astomarktheirbodieswithcurvinglines，whichwereboundedononesidebyhairandontheotherbythecloseplushleftbytheshears。Theyhadallbeennewlybarbered，andwereexceedinglystylish。Severalofthewhiteoneswerebarredlikezebraswithrainbowstripesofblueandredandyellowpaint。Thesewereindescribablygorgeous。DanandJackselectedfromthislotbecausetheybroughtbackItalianreminiscencesofthe"oldmasters。"
Thesaddleswerethehigh，stuffy，frog—shapedthingswehadknowninEphesusandSmyrna。Thedonkey—boyswerelivelyyoungEgyptianrascalswhocouldfollowadonkeyandkeephiminacanterhalfadaywithouttiring。Wehadplentyofspectatorswhenwemounted，forthehotelwasfullofEnglishpeopleboundoverlandtoIndiaandofficersgettingreadyfortheAfricancampaignagainsttheAbyssinianKingTheodorus。Wewerenotaverylargeparty，butaswechargedthroughthestreetsofthegreatmetropolis，wemadenoiseforfivehundred，anddisplayedactivityandcreatedexcitementinproportion。Nobodycansteeradonkey，andsomecollidedwithcamels，dervishes，effendis，asses，beggarsandeverythingelsethatofferedtothedonkeysareasonablechanceforacollision。WhenweturnedintothebroadavenuethatleadsoutofthecitytowardOldCairo，therewasplentyofroom。Thewallsofstatelydate—palmsthatfencedthegardensandborderedtheway，threwtheirshadowsdownandmadetheaircoolandbracing。Werosetothespiritofthetimeandtheracebecameawildrout，astampede，aterrificpanic。Iwishtolivetoenjoyitagain。
SomewherealongthisroutewehadafewstartlingexhibitionsofOrientalsimplicity。AgirlapparentlythirteenyearsofagecamealongthegreatthoroughfaredressedlikeEvebeforethefall。Wewouldhavecalledherthirteenathome;butheregirlswholookthirteenareoftennotmorethannine，inreality。Occasionallywesawstark—nakedmenofsuperbbuild，bathing，andmakingnoattemptatconcealment。However，anhour\'sacquaintancewiththischeerfulcustomreconciledthepilgrimstoit，andthenitceasedtooccasionremark。Thuseasilydoeventhemoststartlingnoveltiesgrowtameandspiritlesstothesesight—surfeitedwanderers。
ArrivedatOldCairo，thecamp—followerstookupthedonkeysandtumbledthembodilyaboardasmallboatwithalateensail，andwefollowedandgotunderway。Thedeckwascloselypackedwithdonkeysandmen;thetwosailorshadtoclimboverandunderandthroughthewedgedmasstoworkthesails，andthesteersmanhadtocrowdfourorfivedonkeysoutofthewaywhenhewishedtoswinghistillerandputhishelmhard—down。Butwhatweretheirtroublestous？Wehadnothingtodo;nothingtodobutenjoythetrip;nothingtodobutshovethedonkeysoffourcornsandlookatthecharmingsceneryoftheNile。
OntheislandatourrightwasthemachinetheycalltheNilometer，astone—columnwhosebusinessitistomarktheriseoftheriverandprophecywhetheritwillreachonlythirty—twofeetandproduceafamine，orwhetheritwillproperlyfloodthelandatfortyandproduceplenty，orwhetheritwillrisetoforty—threeandbringdeathanddestructiontoflocksandcrops——buthowitdoesallthistheycouldnotexplaintoussothatwecouldunderstandOnthesameislandisstillshownthespotwherePharaoh\'sdaughterfoundMosesin
