"FULL NILE."

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2891, 6 February 1893, Page 2

"FULL NILE."

In an article in the " Argosy " Mr 0. W. Wood describes the "Nilometer," which measures for all lower Egypt the height of the .Nile : — Amidst a wealth of nature stands the Nilometer. Ht re for more than a thousand years the rising of the Nile has been anxiously watched. Upon this depends the prosperity of Ihe country ; so much so that until it reached a certain height, the people were free of taxes. A square chamber contains the measuring rod, and the Niie water reaches it by means of , under ground canals. Niches and Gothic i arches resting upon columns ornament I the walls. A wid» stone staircase leads to the water,, where men and women may fill their pitchers and flirt, gossip, or moralise, according to their mood. Numerous inscriptions are visible. In the centre of the water rises the Column or measuring rod that has been in use tor centuries. It in octagonal, and once bore many inscriptionswhichhavebeen worn or washed away. The measurement was kept under the control of the Sheikhs, and is co to this day ; but these in their turn are now surveyed by the police. Then, as now, th« tillers of the soil were not allowed to approach it. When the waters reach a certain mark, the good news is proclaimed ; the banks are cut; the waters npread over the country. An image in the form of a woman, made of mud, gaudily decorated, is then with much ceremony thrown into the Nile as a pi opitiatory offering. In days gone by a living woman and not an image - was sacrificed, but happily that is all ovar. Another writer gives a picturesque description of local ceremonies on the d»y of the Government proclamation of "Full Nile," which is sipnalioed by cutting the dam of the oanal, and letting the river run in. 44 1 his is an annual custom," shouts the crier. "God hath given abundance," repeat the boys. " And if the hoarder of grain wish for a scarcity"—"God hath given abundance !"—'' may God visit him with blindness and affliction ere ha dies !" 44God hath given abundance!" "This generous person " (here the crier personally addresses himself to the mtister of the house before which he is standing) ' loveth the generous—an admirable palace is built for him in Paradise—and its cjlumns are incomparable jewels— instead of palm-sticks aid timber—and it has a thousand windows that open - and before every window is Selsebil, the fountain of the Blest—Paradise is the abode of the generous—and Hell is the abode of the niggardly. ' In every pause the boys ejaculate. *4 God hath given abundance ! " " M»y God not cause me to stop before the. door of an avaricious woman, nor of -m MvaHbious man," continues the crier ■:...optically—" nor of one who measures the water in a jar—nor who counts the bread while it is yet dough— and if » cake be wanting orders a fastnor who t>huts up the cats at suppertime—nor who drives away the dog upon the wall." 4lGod hath given abundance !" echo the boys. " The world is brightened and the damsels have adorned themselves —and the old women tumble about—and {.he married man hath added to hia wife ei^ht others -and rhe bachelor hath married eighteen ! " " God hath given abundance!"