Cleopatra's needle.

Approach To Pompey's Pillar.

Pompey's Pillar.

Suez Canal.

The European quarter of Alexandria is well lighted and possesses many handsome residences. Much capital is invested here, and evidences of wealth abound. The future prosperity of the city seems assured. Within its sheltered harbor is abundant sea-room for the largest fleets, and from this ocean gateway railroads now extend to Cairo, Port Said, Suez, and the Upper Nile; while at this point the Mediterranean cable joins the telegraph wire along whose metal thread the messages of war and commerce, or tender words of love to distant friends, may be conveyed at lightning speed from Europe, Asia, or America, to the heart of Africa.

Hotel Abbat, Alexandria.

The main business section of Alexandria is the Square of Mehemet Ali. Fronting on this long rectangle are the principal hotels, banks, and steamship offices, and in the centre is the equestrian statue of the first Viceroy of Egypt, whose name the area bears. One would expect to see his statue here, for Mehemet Ali was the most remarkable man the Orient has produced in the last hundred years. His influence is felt here to this day. Without him Egypt could not have attained her present position of semi-independence and prosperity. For forty years he was the arbiter of Egypt. He was a despot; but there are times when autocratic sovereigns are a necessity. Nations are like individuals: at certain stages in their history they need authority and discipline to force them into habits of industry and unquestioning obedience. Alexandria has reason to be grateful to Mehemet Ali. Before he made himself dictator of Egypt, and freed himself from vassalage to the Sultan, the splendid city of the Ptolemies had dwindled into insignificance, and was a mere haunt of fishermen and pirates. But in a dozen years he transformed it, until it was once more an cntrep6t of Eastern trade, a half-way house to India, and the great meeting point of Europe, Africa, and Asia. At his command its harbor was reopened and made safe for merchant ships, and his indomitable energy soon caused a huge canal to be constructed, which proved to be one of the most important works of modern times, - a navigable waterway by which the traffic of the Nile was brought to Alexandria. This Mahmoodiah Canal was made within the space of a year. A quarter of a million natives were compelled to labor on it, and of these twenty-five thousand are said to have perished on its banks from overwork and insufficient food. But, while lamenting the cruelty attending its construction, we must concede to the Egyptian autocrat full credit for the work achieved, which has raised Alexandria from poverty, and filled its empty treasury with constantly increasing wealth. Mehemet Ali, like most great geniuses, was a "self-made man," rising by his undoubted talents from the position of a colonel in the Turkish army to be Viceroy of Egypt and the founder of the present dynasty.

An Egyptian Porter.

A Palace Op The Khedive.

Square Of Mehemet Ali.

He was a proof of how the Orient, once so prolific of great men, can still surprise us. Give to the East a leader capable of arousing its enthusiasm and of kindling its religious zeal, and Europe might again be forced to struggle desperately for its life and liberties. Thus, coming like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, Mehemet Ali, with twenty-four thousand men, emerged from Egypt, conquered Syria, and drove the Turks before him into the heart of Asia Minor. Under the leadership of Mehemet's dashing son, Ibrahim (a son worthy of such a father), the Egyptians fought as they had never fought before. Mehemet Ali was declared an outlaw; but army after army sent against him by the Sultan was hopelessly defeated. The victor rapidly approached the Bosporus; Constantinople itself seemed actually within his grasp; but the united powers of Europe, startled by this sudden resurrection of the Orient, cried in the thunder of a hundred cannon, "Halt!" and Ibrahim could go no farther. Baffled and broken-hearted, the great adventurer returned with his son to Egypt, the sovereignty of which he still retained, and to console himself for the failure of his brilliant dream of Eastern conquest and extensive empire, he gained at least the privilege of bequeathing to his descendants his viceregal power.