Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1875 — A Little Girl’s Letter From Egypt. [ARTICLE]

A Little Girl’s Letter From Egypt.

The Jacksonville (Ala.) RepnbUtnn prints the following quaint letter, written . from Cairo by the little daughter of Col. 8. H. Lockett, formerly of that place, who Las recently entered the service of the Khedive; * .. J ”We reached here on the 11th of August, and went to a very large hotel •called the Grand New ffctal. It was very large, and one of the finest hotels I ever saw. ]t belongs to the Khedive. Opposite the hotel is a vety large and beautiful garden. It also belongs to the Khedive. Wei l, in fact the Khedive owns everything here that is pretty. Our trip was ■ quite pleasant. One of the prettiest parts was from Paris to Geneva, We had the Alps on both sides of us nearly ali the way, and you can imagine how splendid that wA Tliat was the hardest thing to realize. I had oftcu seen pictures of the Alps, but never thought tliat I would be near enough to climb them. Geneva was a funny-looking old place. Our trip from Geneva to Alexandria was quite pleasant. We stayed at Naples one night and half the j next day, but all our party did not go ashore. Papa did, however,"ana brought’ us some ice that came from the top of Mount Vesuvius. I- was very sick coming across both the ocean and the sea k We stayed in Alexandria only one day and one night. It was very cool there in the evening—a great deal more so than I expected to find it. 1 do not find it very warm here at Cairo in the’ house, but it is •dreadfully warm out doors. Ido not dare to go out until the sun is down. It gets very cool late in the evening. We only stayed at the hotel six duys, then papa found us a house, for which lie pays S4OO, ■o r £BO, a year,. Papa is higher than any American officer here, except Gen. stone. He has got ten liis uniform. The. coat is white and the pants a dark navy blue. Officers hate to wear a cap called ‘taboosli.’ They are not allowed to goout on the streets without their swords. Mamma does not like Egypt very much. She is considerably homesick. I think lam homesick myself. I sigh all day long and wish I was back in America. The dirty Arabs run me distracted. I can't bear tifem. 1 bate the very name of Arab. Edith is trying to learn" to speak Arabic and French. 1 studied French, all of last year, bul l can't speak one word of it now. I get so frightened that 1 forget v hat I was going to say. lam very much in hopes that by the end of this year I will know how to speak it right well. lam going to study at home this year with Edith and Henry, read hard, so I will not Tk* homesick. It is too lonely for any use. Papa goes away early in the morning and does not come home until in the evening. The only tiling'we have to laugh at is the donkeys. It looks perfectly ridicu* lous to see great big men riding on them with their feet dragging the ground. The Arabs have donkeys to ride instead of street-cars, and you see them running behind them to get their money and their donkey when they stop. Every now and then th o - have to push them to make them go faster. Yesterday evening Mrs. Stone .wrote a note asking mamma to let one of her little girls go out on the desert with her children riding. I went and enjoyed myself very much'. I saw two of the Khedive’s palaces. They-were not pretty, but Miss Ilettie Stone said the}' were magnificent inside. It is aliout breakfast time in Jacksonville now while I write, and it is evening here. We have eaten our lunch anti arc read}- to eat dinner when papa comes. He is just as happy r as can he, and we are so glad. He is in very good health, and so are all of us. This •climate seems to agree with all of us.”