A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

366 CASTLES IN THE AIR.
forest of palm-trees. During tlie period of tlie
inundation these palm-trees realize the hyperbole
of " castles in the air," for, as the waters rise
and approach the houses of Metrahineh, the po-
pulation abandon their habitations, and establish
temporary abodes in the palm-trees, where they
construct a scaffolding which serves them to sit
and sleep upon. Above their heads hang the
clusters of dates which compose their food, and
beneath their feet roll the waters of the Nile,
where they slake their thirst, and thus they sus-
tain themselves, and live like birds or monkeys,
until the waters subsiding, once more enable
them to descend and rebuild their mud hovels,
which are always destroyed by the inundation.
For the purposes of communication, an admirable
causeway, elevated above the level of the water
at high Nile, stretches all through the fertile
district; and Mohammed Ali has caused several
arches to be constructed at intervals, to admit
the free circulation of the waters.
The once magnificent Memphis, the Noph of
the Scriptures, the abode of royalty, the capital
of Lower Egypt under the Pharaohs, has been
swept irrecoverably from the face of the earth,
and left no trace of temple or palace behind;
nothing save the mutilated half of a colossal