Idylls and Lyrics of the Nile (Glasgow, 1894)
Hardwicke first became acquainted with Egypt and the Nile in the early part of 1879 when he and Edith undertook a five-month tour of the Middle East. His passion for archaeology was deepened by this visit and was to remain with him for the rest of his life. He was to make two further journeys to Egypt during the next few years. He wrote and lectured copiously about the country and its past. In his Prefatory Note to the book, Hardwicke wrote:
For the convenience of Nile travellers who may care to have this book with them, the poems are arranged with a view to locality rather than to subject. The traveller is supposed to see Cairo and the neighbourhood, and the pass up Nile to the First Cataract and Philae.
Contents
A Return to Egypt (p. 1)
The First Call to Prayer (p. 2)
The Dancing Dervishes (p. 5)
El Fât’ha (p. 7)
Aîsha’s Tears (p. 8)
Street Cries (p. 11)
The Father of the Cats (p. 14)
Deserted by the Caravan (p. 17)
The Sakîyeh at the Fountain of the Sun (p. 19)
At Heliopolis (p. 21)
The Obelisk at Heliopolis (p. 23)
Mena House (p. 25)
The Pyramid of Men-Kau-Ra (p. 27)
Morning Mist on the Great Pyramid (p. 30)
The Dream of Thothmes IV (p. 33)
Before the Statue of Chephren (p. 39)
Siste Viator, Ora Pro Nobis! (p. 40)
The Shêkh El Beled (p. 43)
The Lady Nefert (p. 45)
A Queen’s Gazelle (p. 47)
The Mummy of Sesostris (p. 50)
An Old-World Hero (p. 51)
After the Battle of Mahuta (p. 52)
In the Fields of Mît-Rahîneh (p. 53)
Lifting the Colossal Statue of Rameses II (p. 54)
At the Tomb of Thi (p. 56)
At Joseph’s Tomb (p. 61)
Ahmed the Carpenter (p. 63)
Evening (p. 64)
Night Watchers (p. 66)
Nile Boats (p. 69)
A Scarab (p. 71)
The Shadûf-Man (p. 73)
The Marriage of the Palms (p. 75)
Water-Carriers (Hope) (p. 77)
Water-Carriers (Joy) (p. 79)
Water—Carriers (Sorrow) (p. 80)
A Buffalo Ride (p. 82)
The After-Glow (p. 83)
Paddy-Birds (p. 84)
A Nile Boat-Load (p. 86)
A Monkish Swimmer (p. 88)
At the Tomb of Ameni Amenemhât (p. 90)
The Dream-City of Khuenâten (p. 93)
Going to Assiout (p. 96)
Bird-Scaring (p. 97)
A Wayside Babe (p. 98)
At Abydos (p. 100)
At Keneh (p. 102)
At Denderah (p. 104)
A Portrait of Cleopatra (p. 106)
A Papyrus Hunt (p. 107)
At the Ramesseum (p. 109)
In a King’s Tomb (p. 122)
Queen Hatasu (p. 124)
How the Colossi Came to Thebes (p. 126)
An Inscription on the Vocal Memnon (p. 130)
Quails and the Vocal Memnon (p. 132)
Habeebeh’s Love (p. 133)
At Kom Ombo (p. 137)
A Potsherd at Elephantine (p. 139)
Shooting the Cataract (p. 142)
At Philae (p. 145)
The Mahdi’s Message (p. 148)