THE SHEPHERD KINGS-IRRIGATION. 383 of trees; but the graves, which are chiefly those of ordinary individuals, were kept in good order, and some of them looked very picturesque. Leaving the Mokattam to the right, we directed our course along a barren, sandy plain, whose melancholy aspect was quite in character with the solemn depositories of the dead. In traversing this arid spot, we saw a great many cranes and vultures, and also swallows. After a time, the view became much more agreeable to the eye, and the distance began to shorten; for we passed through groves of sycamore and tamarisk, (i. e., the manna tree of the Desert,) and elegant acacias. We saw also the citron, the lime-tree, the rhamnus, the lotus, the orange, the date, and numerous other trees and shrubs, which, indigenous to the soil, brought forth abundantly, and altogether presented a scene of such luxuriance, and—to us at that time-of novelty, that we felt, as it were, transported to a new world. atmosphere was impregnated with the most fragrant and refreshing odours; and we fancied ourselves in the midst of a little paradise, isolated from the bustle of life, yet surrounded by a parched and gloomy wilderness; for if we looked beyond the immediate spot, the illusion was destroyed: the eye grew weary, and longed for something green to rest upon, but found none. When, however, we beheld the grass and beautiful little wild flowers at our feet, forming a richly variegated carpet, and saw the water gently trickling onwards, bringing new life to the vegetation, we were filled with delight; and, reflecting that the place where we then were, had been traversed by the Patriarchs, that we stood perhaps on the very spot where the Hebrew shepherds once pitched their tents under the auspices of Joseph, a kind and merciful The 384 THE COTTON PLANT.--"AIN SHEMSS." governor; and that we were approaching also the very tree to which, it is said, the Virgin Mother brought the infant Saviour, to elude the subtle vigilance of Herod; I was conscious of feelings which it is not easy to describe,—such, that it falls to the lot of those only to experience, who come under the influence of the same powerful associations. Here I saw the cotton plant growing for the first time. It is a truly beautiful shrub, with a red stem and branches, delicately contrasted with the soft green colour of its leaves, and the yellow tint of its flower, which is bell-shaped, and has a small red spot on its inside. It is a plant which requires a great deal of sun, and should be well watered. I am not aware that there is any great deal of it cultivated on this spot, as it is, I should imagine, too far from the Nile. "The nymph, Gossypia,* treads the velvet sod, And warms with rosy smiles the watery God." There appears, however, to be no want of water in this district, and the land is well irrigated, the water being led into artificial channels by means of wheels worked by oxen, and in the old fashioned way, as seen in all parts of the East, by means of a bucket suspended by a rope from the end of a slightly curved beam, which rests unequally on the top of a stem or pole fixed in the earth, the other end of the beam having a heavy stone or a quantity of clay attached to it, by which contrivance, the bucket may be lowered and raised at pleasure, by one individual and without much labour. A little before we reached Matarieh, we passed the celebrated well, called "Ain Shemss," the fountain of the sun, and connected with which, there is a superstitious legend of the Roman Catholics, who * The cotton plant. See Darwin's Loves of the Plants, vol. ii. p. 81. note. 66 THE TREE OF THE MADONNA." 385 assert that "it appeared suddenly when the Holy Family visited Egypt;" and it is situated close to the sequestered spot where, as I have stated, Joseph and Mary thought it prudent to conceal the infant Jesus. In order to visit this well, we turned a little out of the beaten track, and entered a tolerably thick plantation on the right, where, in the midst of date-trees, citrons, &c., we reclined beneath a venerable sycamore, supposed to be the identical tree whose wide spreading branches afforded shelter to the holy fugitives from the parching rays of the sun. It is cut in all directions, and has been denominated the "Tree of the Madonna." Its shape is singular; it is very large, and the upper portion of it has been blown down or struck by lightning; a number of young branches grow out from the top of that which remains. It is, beyond all doubt, very aged, and there is nothing inconsistent in the idea. that the Virgin did seek an asylum beneath its branches. She was as likely to choose this tree as any other, and we know very well that the sycamore sometimes lives to a most astonishing age ;-it is even said "several hundred years," though I confess I know not who is able to make such an assertion! Close by it, is the "miraculous well"—the previous existence of which afforded perhaps the most important reasons why this spot should be selected in preference to others. Between this place, and the town of Matarieh, there are numerous corn-fields, which look rich and inviting; they extend nearly to Heliopolis, or rather I should say, the accumulations of rubbish, which with the Obelis'que, point out its original situation. The distance is not great it is probable that the city extended in that direction, and that the inhabitants were accustomed to repair thither to draw water: it is even thought to |