"And I want to hear about the temples and the statues, and how they got on past the first cataract." But no more news could be expected for some time. So, to amuse ourselves, we determined on paying a visit to Alexandria. The distance is about one hundred and thirty miles, and the railway being already opened, we went by train. The carriages had double roofs, as a protection from the sun; the upper roof was raised about a foot above the lower, on little iron pillars, so that a current of air could pass between the two roofs. [Illustration: BAGGAGE CAMEL.] On leaving Cairo we could see the high road. Hugh and Lucy were much amused with watching the strings of camels, tied one behind the other with ropes, and laden with large bales of cotton. There were sometimes as many as sixteen camels in one string; then we saw donkeys laden with various things for sale, and numbers of people carrying goods of different kinds. We saw a great many people, too, working in the fields. The country is fertile, and we thought the villages very pretty, peeping out from their groves of palm-trees. As we came near Alexandria the country became more sandy and less pretty. "Alexander the Great built Alexandria, did he not?" said Hugh. "Yes. And in old times it was very famous for its library." "Oh, yes," said Hugh, "I remember that; it had a museum with a library of I do not know how many volumes." "Yes, and besides the museum library there was another library in a splendid building called the 'Serapion.' The museum library was burnt during the wars of Julius Cæsar with the Alexandrians, and the 'Serapion' library was destroyed by the orders of the Caliph Omar." "Why?" asked Hugh, in astonishment. "The caliph said that if the writings in these books agreed with those in the Koran they were useless, and that if they did not they were mischievous; so in any case they would be better destroyed than kept." "I think his reasoning was very foolish, though I suppose he meant it as very wise." "So do I. Two thousand of the volumes had belonged to the kings of Pergamos, and had been given by Marc Antony to Cleopatra." It was too late to see anything that evening, but we set off early the next morning. We first visited the pacha's palace. It faces the harbour, and has a fine view of it. We went through a small garden up a staircase, and then, on the upper floor, came to the pacha's apartments; these were very handsomely furnished. We saw beds with rich curtains of cloth of gold and silver, and large divans which were very handsome. In the dining-room the floor was of inlaid wood. The view from the balcony was very fine; but one of the things which we admired most was a beautiful table of Roman mosaic, representing all the most interesting monuments in Rome.