Ishallnotspeakoftherailway，foritislikeanyotherrailway——Ishallonlysaythatthefueltheyuseforthelocomotiveiscomposedofmummiesthreethousandyearsold，purchasedbythetonorbythegraveyardforthatpurpose，andthatsometimesonehearstheprofaneengineercalloutpettishly，\"D——ntheseplebeians，theydon\'tburnworthacent——passoutaKing;\"*Ishallnottellofthegroupsofmudconesstucklikewasps\'
nestsuponathousandmoundsabovehighwater—markthelengthandbreadthofEgypt——villagesofthelowerclasses;Ishallnotspeakoftheboundlesssweepoflevelplain，greenwithluxuriantgrain，thatgladdenstheeyeasfarasitcanpiercethroughthesoft，richatmosphereofEgypt;IshallnotspeakofthevisionofthePyramidsseenatadistanceoffiveandtwentymiles，forthepictureistooetherealtobelimnedbyanuninspiredpen;Ishallnottellofthecrowdsofduskywomenwhoflockedtothecarswhentheystoppedamomentatastation，tosellusadrinkofwateroraruddy，juicypomegranate;Ishallnottellofthemotleymultitudesandwildcostumesthatgracedafairwefoundinfullblastatanotherbarbarousstation;Ishallnottellhowwefeastedonfreshdatesandenjoyedthepleasantlandscapeallthroughtheflyingjourney;norhowwethunderedintoAlexandria，atlast，swarmedoutofthecars，rowedaboardtheship，leftacomradebehind，（whowastoreturntoEurope，thencehome，）raisedtheanchor，andturnedourbowshomewardfinallyandforeverfromthelongvoyage;norhow，asthemellowsunwentdownupontheoldestlandonearth，JackandMoultassembledinsolemnstateinthesmoking—roomandmournedoverthelostcomradethewholenightlong，andwouldnotbecomforted。
Ishallnotspeakawordofanyofthesethings，orwritealine。Theyshallbeasasealedbook。Idonotknowwhatasealedbookis，becauseIneversawone，butasealedbookistheexpressiontouseinthisconnection，becauseitispopular。*Statedtomeforafact。IonlytellitasIgotit。Iamwillingtobelieveit。Icanbelieveanything。Weweregladtohaveseenthelandwhichwasthemotherofcivilization——whichtaughtGreeceherletters，andthroughGreeceRome，andthroughRometheworld;thelandwhichcouldhavehumanizedandcivilizedthehaplesschildrenofIsrael，butallowedthemtodepartoutofherborderslittlebetterthansavages。Weweregladtohaveseenthatlandwhichhadanenlightenedreligionwithfutureeternalrewardsandpunishmentinit，whileevenIsrael\'sreligioncontainednopromiseofahereafter。WeweregladtohaveseenthatlandwhichhadglassthreethousandyearsbeforeEnglandhadit，andcouldpaintuponitasnoneofuscanpaintnow;thatlandwhichknew，threethousandyearsago，wellnighallofmedicineandsurgerywhichsciencehasdiscoveredlately;whichhadallthosecurioussurgicalinstrumentswhichsciencehasinventedrecently;whichhadinhighexcellenceathousandluxuriesandnecessitiesofanadvancedcivilizationwhichwehavegraduallycontrivedandaccumulatedinmoderntimesandclaimedasthingsthatwerenewunderthesun;thathadpaperuntoldcenturiesbeforewedreamptofit——andwaterfallsbeforeourwomenthoughtofthem;thathadaperfectsystemofcommonschoolssolongbeforeweboastedofourachievementsinthatdirectionthatitseemsforeverandforeverago;thatsoembalmedthedeadthatfleshwasmadealmostimmortal——whichwecannotdo;thatbuilttempleswhichmockatdestroyingtimeandsmilegrimlyuponourlaudedlittleprodigiesofarchitecture;thatoldlandthatknewallwhichweknownow，perchance，andmore;thatwalkedinthebroadhighwayofcivilizationinthegraydawnofcreation，agesandagesbeforewewereborn;thatlefttheimpressofexalted，cultivatedMindupontheeternalfrontoftheSphynxtoconfoundallscofferswho，whenallherotherproofshadpassedaway，mightseektopersuadetheworldthatimperialEgypt，inthedaysofherhighrenown，hadgropedindarkness。
Chapter59
Wewereatseanow，foraverylongvoyage——weweretopassthroughtheentirelengthoftheLevant;throughtheentirelengthoftheMediterraneanproper，also，andthencrossthefullwidthoftheAtlantic——avoyageofseveralweeks。Wenaturallysettleddownintoaveryslow，stay—at—homemanneroflife，andresolvedtobequiet，exemplarypeople，androamnomorefortwentyorthirtydays。Nomore，atleast，thanfromstemtosternoftheship。Itwasaverycomfortableprospect，though，forweweretiredandneededalongrest。