PRINCESS MARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20137, 24 December 1928, Page 6

PRINCESS MARY.

IPEESENT YEAR'S TOUR, EGYPT AND PALESTINE. TOMB OF THE KINGS. VISIT TO JERUSALEM. ——— BY EVEI.TN GRAHAM. (Copyright.) No. XXII. TMncess Mary, naturally enough, delights in travel, and during the early years of her married lift would certainly have indulged in it more extensively if it had not been for tho arrival of her two sons, pvhen sho rightly considered it was her (duty to remain at home and personally Superintend their infancy. Later, however, when tho younger boy [tvas nearly four and tho elder ovor five, fche and Lord Lascelles decided that, they might safely leave them to the care of the nurses, and, secure in tho knowledge jthat the King and Queen would keep a ■watchful eye upon the children, made up jtheir minds that they might enjoy another brief foreign tour. The choice was Jeft to Princess Mary, who unhesitatingly jchose Egypt. Their itinerary mapped out, the Princess Rnd her husband left London for Egypt ion March 8 last. The visit was not an S>fticia,l one, but it was not as private las had been their honeymoon trip, for there were to be during the tour the Usual number of presentations and official (functions. At this time serious riots were taking place in Cairo, and there was some mention of the visit being postponed, but of this the Princess would not hear; sho persuaded Lord Lascelles, who was naturally dubious about tho wisdom of allowing her to continue the journey, to insist that the journey should not in any way be altered, and that the carefully arranged programme should be carried out every detail. The Arrival in Egypt. The Princess and Lord Lascelles arrived at Port Said on March 14, and there they were niet by Said Zulfikar Pasha, Lord Lloyd and Lord Inchcape. Here Princess Mary had her first glimpse of an eastern port, with its colour, its everchanging panorama, its strange sounds, its strange sights, and its still more strange smeils. But they could not linger at the port, find after the greetings were over they ,went to Ismailia, where they lunched, and :n the afternoon travelled to Cairo by IBpecial train. Always interested in tho Arts, the Princess spent tho first morning of her visit to Cairo in the Cairo Museum, while Lord Lascelles called upon King Fuad. Princess Mary was attracted greatly by the Tutankhamen section of the museum, and tho marvellous treasures it contained, and ;what she saw there increased her eagerness to pay a personal visit to the Valley cf the Kings. In the afternoon, accompanied by Lady Lloyd, the Princess also went to call upon King Fuad. who conducted her to Harem3ik and presented Queen Nazli to her. Here again Princess Mary entered into a new experience, for. this was her first introduction to the secluded life led by Eastern women. At first a little shy, Queen Nazli was soon at her ease with her Royal visitor from the West, and for two hours the two ladies talked together in French of those things which are always dear to the feminine heart. The Royal party left that evening for Luxor and travelled up the Nile under a blazing sky against which the Arabian mountains shone with a darkness that predicted even greater heat. Arrived at Luxor, they at once took steamer for Wadi Haifa. The steamer Moroe arrived at Aswan, but remained in midstream, and before they landed they were entertained to a river fantasia arranged by the Governor. a delightful entertainment which gave the Royal party the greatest pleasure, and on which they highly complimented the organiser. Short Visit to the Sudan. The growing intensity of the heat made 5t advisable to cancel the intended visit to Khartum. Instead, it was decided to pay a short visit to the Sudan, and the Royal ' tourists arrived at Wadi Haifa on the afternoon o; March 20. Here Princess Wary was able to put into practice her ,wish to visit the native shops, and she spent hours examining the native curiosities with which they were filled. She bought some silver wn-e and some beautiful specimens cf Sudanese ivory, including a small ivory elephant which she announced was for the children. On hearing this, very gently Lord Lascelles took her bv the arm and laughingly led her back to the shops. "Buy another at once," he urged. i'You know they'll fight over it." The next day tho Princess made her Erst journey into the desert, travelling into that strange trackless waste to view the Second Cataract and the Abusir Rock. Native boys clad only in goat skins swam the cataract for her entertainment, and Princess Mary watched with admiring attention the daring and skill of these lithe, brown-limbed lads who smiled at her with a flash of white teeth in olive-skinned faces. On the way back the party visited the Twelfth Dynasty Temple of Buhen and in tho afternoon left once moro for the north. First Ride on a Camel. The Barian Fair was due to begin on (March 22, and before leaving, the Princess and Lord Lascelles presented a generous sum of money to be distributed among the poor during the fair. During their Etav at Wadi Haifa, the weathe- had been perfect, the temperature seldom exceeding 90 degrees, and Princess Mary was frankly disappointed that they did not go to Khartum, as had been originally planned. On the way back to Luxor the party Stopped at Aswan and here Princess Mary had her first experience of camel-riding, tt'he camei behaved well, but its Royal rider, not a particularly good sailor, was rot much attracted by the "ship of the deseit," whose rolling motion as it lurches over the sand, requires a certain jtime to become accustomed to. The party .stayed four days at Luxor, land during that time Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles spent, a wonderful day visiting the tombs of the Kings. They also Eaw the lonely tombs of the Queens and [visited the famous Temple of Karnac. On the morning of March 31 the party arrived back in Cairo. In tho afternoon, they attended a race meeting at Gezira, and both Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles were most interested in the striking contrast it presented to the race meetings with which they were familiar jit homo. The smaller Arab horses were extremely swift, and though Lord Lascelles had several small bets, his knowledge of horseflesh availed him little at Gezira. A Look at Palestine. Later. Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles left Egypt for a short visit to Palestine, where they were the guests of Lord and Lady Plnmer, and on April 14, they (visited the Hebrew University at Jerusalem, and afterwards they were most interested spectators of tho ceremony of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, whHi, built originally by tho (Empress Helena, mother of Constantino the Great, it, supposed to contain within Sis limits the scene of the, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Our Lord. Tho following day Princess Mary attended Divine service at the Anglican Cathedral of St. George, and after a brief toili" of the city, over which she much [wished to spend a longer time, the Royal to Egypt and thence to THE END,