Even after Egypt, with all its fascinations, rich with the remains of ages of civilization, full to the brim of questions and problems deeply interesting to the student of history, archæology, politics, or economics, the Soudan, with its triple capital, Khartoum, Omdurman, Halfaya, comes upon you with a freshness and charm that are indescribable. Travelling by the ordinary methods, you may go from Alexandria to Khartoum in about six days. It is well worth while, even for anyone who has been up and down the whole length of Egypt, to take the whole journey in one piece. There is all the excitement of starting for a new country, and at the same time an opportunity to gather into a focus all the old impressions. Easily and smoothly you swing through the fertile cotton-fields of the Delta, and its populous cities and villages, prosperous but dirty, and at Cairo you settle down into a most comfortable sleeping-car for the night journey to Luxor. Early next morning you are in the cane-fields of Upper Egypt, with the river close on one side and the desert on the other. At Luxor you must change on to the narrow gauge for Assouan, and there is time to refresh yourself with bath and breakfast, and to look across at the Plain of Thebes and the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, or to ride a donkey out to Karnak. From Luxor to Assouan it is hot and dusty enough, and you are glad to rest there for the night. Next day you embark at Shellal, above the Dam, for Wadi Halfa, a voyage of some 200 miles. Coming down, the steamers do it in about twenty-four hours, but upstream it is a leisurely voyage of three days. There is plenty of time to see the interesting antiquities of Nubia, and, above all, the famous rock-hewn temple of Abu Simbel, the colossal statues of which are, perhaps, the most impressive of all the monuments of Egypt. It is, besides, a most beautiful reach of the river; the hills come down to the water in bold and rugged outlines, showing to perfection in the pure, dry, desert air. The effect of the Dam is clearly seen as far as Korosko. First of all, at Shellal the boat is moored amid a grove of palm-trees, the temples of Philæ are knee-deep in water, and the Nubian villages look quaint enough as they stand on the edge of the desert, forlornly mourning their strip of cultivated land, most of which the greedy Reservoir has swallowed up. Probably a great part of these people will now migrate to Dongola, but the loss of the land—for which, indeed, compensation has been paid—is really a small matter to them. Hardly anywhere is an able-bodied male to be seen; all are away making their living as sailors or servants elsewhere, leaving the women and old men to keep their homes. These Nubian boatmen are a most happy and thrifty people, ready to work all day and dance all night, always to the accompaniment of a song.