Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/26

6 We reached Alexandria in the morning and went on board the Massilia, a fine paddle steamer, with a powerful engine. As the steamer was not to start till the next morning, we went down to Alexandria to see that town. The streets were spacious, the houses large and well built. We drove through a delightful garden to see "Pompey's Pillar." Surrounded on all sides by an open space, this lofty pillar of solid marble rises 180 feet high, and appears as a picture against the blue canvass of a cloudless sky. Scattered all round the pillar are the demolished relics of Egyptian idolatry, images of dethroned gods and goddesses, which have been lying in this condition for centuries together, probably for thousands of years. It was almost dark when we left this place, and as our gharry rolled on, the column seemed to rise higher, a noble edifice appearing in bold relief against the dark evening sky. From that place we went to see "Cleopatra's Needle," also a column of solid marble about seventy-five cubits high, and pointed at the top. After a pleasant walk through the streets in the evening we returned to our steamer.

At half-past eleven on the 2nd April, we landed at Malta. To me the town presented a novel sight altogether. Neat and stone-paved streets, with fine and uniformly-built houses on both sides, neat shops with glass windows, and streets and markets thronged with white faces spoke of a European town, the first that I saw. We drove to a garden which was at one time the