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Show CHARMS OF ABOUKIR 1 PICTURESQUE SPOT ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE (Special Correspondence.) To the members of tho Coast-gunrd servlco Abouklr Is a rather Important station commanding one of the chlof Islands whero the smuggler makes "caches" of the drug that ho hopes to run to the mainland some moonless night, and where tho government cutter cut-ter makes sudden nnd sometimes fortunate for-tunate descents. To the Europeans of Alexandria It Is a pleasant place In spring for picnics, nnd In summer for life ttudcr canvas or a mnt roof for basins, used no doubt by tho ancient bathers, and stono steps testlfj to tho numbers of visitors who must havo como down for amusement and devotion, devo-tion, for tho two went hand In baud In tho ancient world. Inland tho low hills near tho const aro full of ruined cisterns nnd tho htilf-fllled shafts of tombs nnd ancient cellars covered with slippery Ice-plant, and dangerous nt night. Away on tho eastern sldo of tho vlllago a great dune, crowned with a molderlng fort and sloping tilowly toward Mahadin, 1b said to cover tho rulnB of tho nnclent city, nnd the antiquarians anti-quarians debato hotly over tho alto of tho Temple of Canopus. But wo do not yet know whore the old Couoplc mouth of tho Nllo Is to bo found, and for tho layman It Is enough that the whole neighborhood of Abouklr waR ouco covered with houses, and that everywhere coins, lamps, Jars and statuettes aro found by Bedawlns scraping tho ground for the spring barley crop. Strango bcllofs linger around tho tombs. A French Pasha who has built a houso at Abouklr nbovo a Greek tomb was amazed one morning to find n dozen young Bedawln womon, some of whom had como from fifty miles a way. sitting before his door. Tho Pa: ha, whoso knowledge of Arabic, Is ns great as ills Hindi ess, naked them their errand; thoy replied thnt two yoars ngo two women of tholr clnn had descended Into tho old tomb, which had Just been openod had forthwith forth-with been cured nf barrenness. J Knowing how much a Bednwln woman wom-an desires to bear children nnd snvo herself from the risk of dlvorco on tho pain of seeing n rival wife, tho Pasha let them enter his houso nnd descend Into the vaults below, from which they returned with tho full belief be-lief that their prayers would bo heard. 1 was myself n witness to this scono; there was nil element of comedy In It. so nnlve wns their statement of their errnnd, nnd so girlish their half-fearful enjoyment of going down Into n 8nake Charmer. Mioso who prefer a sea breeze blowing blow-ing nightly from open water to tho clammy and adulterated whlffa that como In from tho two harbors of tho great port. To tho world that knows a llttlo history It Is tho sceno of Nol-son's Nol-son's triumph, and, deceived by tho glorious words, "of the Nile," wo vaguely picture n great river mouth and turbid waters. But It is a far cry from Abouklr to tho Rashld Lighthouse Light-house that crowns the long Bandy Bplt bordering tho Nllo's western estuary. Sea and sun alone do not glvo Its charm; momorlcs of ancient battles seom Idle In tbo presence of tho pcacefulncss ot to-day, but tho sand IiIIIb and palm groves, tho straggling llttlo village, and the ruined forts nil lend their own beauty to tho plcturo of tho hay. All along tho shoro frngments of ancient masonry, rocks smoothed Into flat tables or hollowed Into snuaro dark placo whero perhaps an "nfrcet" (devil) lurked, while ono could not but admire tho faith that had brought a newly-wedded Wnlad All girl from tho Hammam district, some forty miles west of Alexandria. Thcro aro two classes of Moslems at Abouklr tho Bedawln and tho villagers, villag-ers, mostly fishermen, though a fow cultlvr-to tomatoes and melons or own fruit trees chiefly figs and dntos. which grow splendidly in the sand. Everywhere within somo hundred ynrds of tho shoro sweet water can bo reached with a llttlo digging, and tho ground Is senmed with deep trenches and hollows, where 'overy lenf is fresh and green, though outside out-side them tho grassland is burned yellow and the. flowers havo disappeared. disap-peared. In Bprlng tho grass Is long nnd rich, nnd for two or three months Abouklr Is gay with flowers, but by May all Is over. There Is a strain of northern blood nmong these fisher people; many ore llght-halrcd, and blue or gray eyes aro common nmong them, whllo tholr skins nro occasionally almost Scandinavian Scandi-navian In their fairness. Some nscrlbo these trnlts to n Turkish admixture, certain nutlqunrlans speak of "Aoga-can" "Aoga-can" Invaders or of tho Greeks of Ptolmalc days, but tho natives thorn-selves, thorn-selves, with dcplorablo lack of Imag-nntlon, Imag-nntlon, bluntly state that theso fair peoplo date from tho beginning of tho century, when Napoleon's army gap rlsonod Abouklr among other plnces. At tho other end of tho color scale nre the gypsy-llko Bedawlns, who feed 'their sheep and camels and grow spring barley behind the sandhill. LIko their brethren at Marlout and near Ramleh thoy enjoy no good reputation repu-tation among tho taw-abldlng and all cases of theft or destruction of property are laid to tholr charge. Yet tho villagers of Abouklr, llko all tho fellaheen of Egypt, .-ro cnpahlo of lawlessness enough, nnd It Is only In' tho past few years that tho energy of tho coast-guard officers has checkod Water Carrier. tho traffic In hasheesh, in which som 30 per cent of tho Abouklr men hav nt ono tlmo or nnother taken part. At present nil Is peaceful tho contra-band contra-band trndo Is more nnd more dangerous danger-ous and, but for occasional squab-bios squab-bios with tho neighboring vlllago of Kharaba nnd with tho Bcdnwlns, the fishermen of Abouklr lead 1'vcs which would bo nccountcd nngollo In Mo-noufiah Mo-noufiah province, i |