“There were two of us, and we were making the journey of the Nile in a dahabieh. You know what beastly things those dahabiehs are generally, though sometimes you find one that is quite comfortable. Why the beggarly Egyptians don’t call them boats, and be done with it, I never could understand. We landed at Luxor; and after looking at the ruins there, we rode to the tombs of the kings, seven or eight miles away. They mounted me on a donkey so small, that my feet dragged on the ground, and I had to take a reef in my legs to keep from wearing away my boot soles. Jack, my companion, said, that if I wore spurs, I would have to buckle them on just below my knee, as I could not raise my heels without having them so far aft, that they would not reach the animal. There was no necessity for spurs, as we had a boy to run astern of the donkey, and give him an occasional turn in the tail to help him along. The boy kept a firm hold of the tail most of the time, and was helped along by it more than the donkey was. At one time, when we were on the edge of a little ridge, the donkey watched his chance, and let his heels fly into the stomach of the urchin. A prize-fighter couldn’t have made a better blow. The boy went rolling down the ridge, and I thought we should have to pay for him, or buy a new one. “He scrambled up again, and wasn’t hurt at all. Evidently he was used to that sort of thing, but I don’t believe he liked it, for he made some remarks that sounded very much like swearing. I gave him half a franc, and he appeared satisfied, and ready to be kicked again. He went around behind the donkey, and got into position; but the beast wouldn’t respond for an encore, and so the thing was dropped. But you can believe the boy gave that tail fits for the rest of the ride; and by the time we were through, it looked like a piece of old rope with half the strands gone. “Jack was poetic, and began to blow and recite verses; but I couldn’t think of anything except Old Hundred, and the Last Rose of Summer. They wouldn’t do for the occasion, and so I amused myself with looking around at the sand and rubbish, and wondering why people came there to see them. Thebes must have been a nice sort of a city, but it is very much out of repair now. It is very good as a ruin, but wouldn’t be worth much for anything else. All around us there were the remains of temples and palaces that must have cost a great deal of money when they were built. Our guide kept talking about tombs and other cheerful subjects, and by and by he took us to the tomb of Assasseef. I didn’t care much about going in, as it was nothing but a hole in the ground, anyhow. Jack insisted, and so we tried it. [Illustration: THE TOMBS OF THE EGYPTIAN KINGS AT THEBES.] [Illustration: HALL IN THE TOMB OF ASSASSEEF.] [Sidenote: ASSASSEEF AND HIS TOMB.]