A WHAT WAS THE MYSTERY? T first sight it really seems quite unaccountable. What was the great difficulty? How does it happen that for four thousand years civilised men stood at the mouth of the Nile and wondered about its beginning, without ever managing to go and see its sources. At any rate, if any one went and saw, he did not return to tell the story. The old Egyptians expected their river to rise and overflow their land every year, as regularly as the sun rose in their sky every morning. The one thing did happen as regularly as the other; and they could no more THE Author of this brief narrative has to acknowledge the kindness of Messrs. Blackwood and Co. and Messrs. Macmillan and Co. for granting permission to make use of the volumes published by them, giving full accounts of the travels and researches of Captains Speke and Grant, and of Sir Samuel and Lady Baker. The readers of this short Story of the Nile will find much very interesting and instructive matter in those larger volumes. AT WHAT WAS THE MYSTERY? T first sight it really seems quite unaccountable. What was the great difficulty? How does it happen that for four thousand years civilised men stood at the mouth of the Nile and wondered about its beginning, without ever managing to go and see its sources. At any rate, if any one went and saw, he did not return to tell the story. The old Egyptians expected their river to rise and overflow their land every year, as regularly as the sun rose in their sky every morning. The one thing did happen as regularly as the other; and they could no more es, spreading its rich and fertilising Egyptian plains, and the question, ometh it ?" was never answered. banks, men were born and grew ed; cities were built, and, as ages fell into ruins and were buried by desert sands; tombs and temples, d pyramids, looked upon it age after hey grew old and worn; while still owed by full and fresh, and ever the lder, no wearier, no weaker, just as just as fertilising; but it whispered of its birthplace to no one, and defied to unravel the mystery of its annual 11. old Nile, he is conquered now; his ound out, his birthplace is no secret. en have at length penetrated to the urces, and have given the names of ictoria, and of Albert, our good and ince, to the two lakes from which the ws. And you English boys and girls, not proud of belonging to the nation as solved this problem, and do you not know something of the how and when? ine yourself sailing up the Nile from th. How wide the river is! No wonder mans and Grecians thought and spoke s a sea, and were amazed that so vast of flowing water could be sustained. at the banks of the river, and the villages ges of mud huts, lying among the palm |