1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--With this letter I am sending you a beautiful
picture. Look at it carefully, and you will see what Egypt is like.

2. The water which you see in the picture is part of the great river
Nile. If there were no Nile to water the land, Egypt would be nothing
but a desert.

3. Once a year, as a rule, the Nile rises and overflows its banks. The
waters spread out over the country and cover it with rich mud. In this
mud much cotton, sugar, grain, and rice are grown.

[Illustration: The Nile in Flood.

(From the picture by F. Goodall, R. A., in the Guildhall Gallery. By
permission of the Corporation of London.)]

4. Egypt now belongs to the British. They have turned part of the Nile
into a huge lake, in which the water is stored.

5. The water is let out of the lake when it is needed. It runs into
canals, and then into drains, which cross the fields and water them.

6. A sail along the Nile is very pleasant. There are lovely tints of
green on the water. As the boat glides on, many villages are passed.
Each of these has its snow-white temple.

7. All along the river bank there are palm trees. They wave their crowns
of green leaves high in the air. The fields are gay with colour. Above
all is the bright blue sky.