1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,—With this letter I am sending you a beautiful picture. Look at it carefully, and you will see what Egypt is like.

2. The water which you see in the picture is part of the great river Nile. If there were no Nile to water the land, Egypt would be nothing but a desert.

3. Once a year, as a rule, the Nile rises and overflows its banks. The waters spread out over the country and cover it with rich mud. In this mud much cotton, sugar, grain, and rice are grown.

4. Egypt now belongs to the British. They have turned part of the Nile into a huge lake, in which the water is stored.

5. The water is let out of the lake when it is needed. It runs into canals, and then into drains, which cross the fields and water them.

6. A sail along the Nile is very pleasant. There are lovely tints of green on the water. As the boat glides on, many villages are passed. Each of these has its snow-white temple.

7. All along the river bank there are palm trees. They wave their crowns of green leaves high in the air. The fields are gay with colour. Above all is the bright blue sky.

8. Look at the picture again. At a short distance from the water you see a village. It has a wall round it, and outside the wall is a ditch. In October the ditch is full of water; in spring it is dry.

9. In and near this ditch the children and the dogs of the villages play together. You can see two boys in the picture. One of them is standing by his mother. The other boy is riding on a buffalo.

10. In the middle of the village there is an open space. Sometimes this space is covered with bright green grass. Round it are rows of palm trees. The house of the chief stands on one side of this green.

11. Every village has its well, and every well has its water-wheel for drawing up the water. By the side of the well the old men of the village sit smoking and chatting. The women come to the well to fill their pitchers with water.

12. All the houses are built of Nile mud. This mud is dug out of the banks of the river. It is mixed with a little chopped straw to hold it together. Then it is put into moulds. After a time it is turned out of the moulds, and is left to dry in the sun.