On the Nile with a Camera, by Anthony Wilkin (Fisher
Unwin), is an account given of a journey up the Nile on one of Mr. Cook's big tourist steamers. When one thinks of the poetry and majesty of the great ruins of Egypt, there is something very unattrac- tive in the thought of seeing them under these conditions,— always, that is, as one of a crowd. Mr. Wilkin's complacent account of Karnak, filled with laughing tourists, cannot be read without a shudder. But of course, "for those who like that sort of thing, that's just the sort of thing they like." And that Mr. Wilkin does like it we may deduce from his telling us that one of his great preoccupations in his first visit to the Pyramids was to discover how many of the attendant Arabs were called "Mark Twain." It is only fair to say that Mr. Wilkin regards his text as a mere accompaniment to the photographs with which he profusely illustrates his book. No doubt these are excellent as photographs, but to us the poorest and slightest sketch is a more true reminder of Egypt than the best photo- graph ever taken. The wonder of Egypt lies in its colour,— sand, buildings, everything, are of one uniform fawn, save where, under some dark colonnade, the colour laid on in the ancient world glows like a gem, or where the fresh green of the crops covers the lately flooded fields. On this uniform neutral tint play the magic effects of the Egyptian light—sunrise, noon, sun- set, and moonlight—and what photograph can give us any idea of this ? Mr. Wilkin speaks of Luxor with a kindly and in- dulgent patronage, thinking well of its future, "now that well- dressed people winter here, though no doubt the place will require time to rival in popularity the slightly more cleanly and important cities of the Riviera."
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