202

TRIFLING LOSSES.

out into the river and sunk; for the Nile, vexed by the whirlwind, resembled a tempestuous sea, black with mud, tearing up its banks, and tossing hither and thither our frail bark like a nutshell. Five strong ropes, made fast to different parts of the vessel, and held by the combined efforts of our whole party, were barely sufficient to prevent it from being lost; for, though the heavy rain had beaten down the clouds of sand, the wind appeared to increase in vehemence every moment.

CXXXII. How long we remained in this condition I can form no conjecture; but at length, late in the afternoon, the wind abated, the sky cleared up, and the sun shone forth upon the still agitated river. I now found, upon going on board, that the storm, which, as a spectacle, was magnificent beyond description, had done me considerable injury; my books, papers, maps, and bed having been wetted, or covered with ink; and my two coffee-pots-no trifling loss where none could be found to replace them-been thrown overboard. Directing the reis to proceed towards the next village, after ascertaining my losses, I againl anded, to spend the remainder of the day in the fields. The greater part of the western plain was here laid out in cotton plantations, which, partly covered with yellow flowers, partly with the bursting snowwhite fruit, had an exceedingly beautiful appearance. The cotton-flower is bell-shaped, not unlike the tulip, though rather smaller, with rich bright yellow petals,

each of which is marked on the inside with a red spot. I am ignorant whether or not it has yet been introduced into our ornamental plantations; but, unquestionably, when clean and in good condition, it is surpassed by few shrubs in elegance or beauty. Before the storm came on, the inhabitants had been busily engaged in gathering in this article of their harvest. Late at night, while engaged in writing the above lines, a wolf, hyæna, or wild dog, sprang from the bank upon the roof of my cabin. Snatching up a pistol and lamp, I opened the door, in the hope of shooting him, but the wind extinguishing my light, he escaped. The hajji, reis, guards and all, were asleep; and this being frequently the case, I should not be at all surprised at finding some of them throttled during the night by wild beasts.

Saturday, Dec. 15. Wasta.

CXXXIII. On this day, though no accidents occurred, our progress was so much impeded by strong contrary winds, that we advanced not above five or six miles. For the first few hours we continued on the African side of the river, where the plain was covered with crops of ripe dhourra, and in some places exhibited a fine close green turf, extending from the corn-fields to the Nile. Every where we see proofs of the vast depth of alluvial soil in this country, which, in many places, is certainly not less than twenty-five or thirty feet, all rich, black, and soft as butter. It seems to consist of numerous horizontal strata, slightly differing in colour, the edges of which

204

FISH OF THE NILE.

are laid bare by the river's constantly changing its course, and eating away its banks. A little below Atfih, we saw, on the western shore, three fishingboats, the crews of which had been occupied unsuccessfully for several days; and having probably been attempting to indemnify themselves by robbing the fields, were engaged, when we passed, in wrangling with the peasants. The fish of the Nile, which attain a very large size, are generally insipid and unwholesome, like those of all other muddy rivers. Walking on alone in advance of the boats, I met with several women, who were returning from the river with water-jars on their heads; and, a little farther on, saw a young girl, of about fifteen, driving a laden ass before her. Terrified at the appearance of a stranger, the poor girl deserted her charge, and plunged like a hare into the dhourra fields, uttering the most piercing cries. Not being versed in her language, I made no attempt to pacify her, though, had she been heard by any of her countrymen, they must have supposed I had been endeavouring to murder her, at least.

CXXXIV. Here the bank of the river, which had hitherto been lofty and precipitous, became suddenly shelving, so that we were compelled to cross to the opposite side, where we found the earth covered with a saline efflorescence, white as snow; which being, however, thinly sprinkled over the ground, rather resembled hoar-frost, sparkling and glittering in the sun. During this morning's walk, we passed the mounds of Athorbaki, near Atfih, about a mile

from the river; but, no ruins existing on the spot, we contented ourselves with a distant view. Of the Doulab el Halfah, found in Colonel Leake's map, the peasants had never heard; and, according to them, Neslet Abdallah, which he places on the Arabian side, immediately north of the latitude of Atfih, is situated on the opposite bank.

CXXXV. Sohl, the next large village towards the south, is one of the finest that I have seen in Egypt. It is surrounded by marks of opulence and high cultivation; extensive fields of wheat and tobacco, interspersed with beautiful date and mimosa groves, springing up from a level carpet of tender green corn; and the road leading to the village, through the midst of these woods, would in Europe be regarded as a fine promenade. The houses are well built, of unburned brick, and the streets clean; while the people had an appearance of comfort and ease, which was new to me. We proceeded straight to the kiasheff's house, where travellers, in want of provisions, should always make their first inquiries; and found him sitting in the shade, before his door, on a mat, which was shared by an elegantly accoutred Bedouin, and several respectable-looking Arabs. He received us very politely, caused us to sit near him on the mat, and, turning round to some of his servants who were present, ordered them to kill a sheep, and prepare a feast; for that we should certainly dine with him that day. This honour, however, which would have occasioned considerable delay,

206

A BEDOUIN CAVALIER.

we as courteously declined. Pipes and coffee were then brought in, and we entered into conversation respecting the affairs of the village. The old man was very lively and communicative. The population of Sohl, he said, consisted of about four hundred men, and eight hundred women; the greater part of the youth having been taken away by the Pasha for the army. In a town, on the other side of the Nile, there were, they assured me, at least twelve women to one man; and last year the cultivation of the sugar-cane, in this neighbourhood, had been abandoned for lack of hands. The Bedouin, a bold military-looking man, about the middle age, wearing an elegant sabre and pistols, and having a fine horse with scarlet housings, strongly pressed me to allow him to accompany me into Nubia. Nothing could convince him but that I, and all my countrymen who travelled into these regions, were in search of gold, which he supposed we knew how to discover among the tombs, and other subterraneous buildings (where, in fact, vast treasures in money and jewels have sometimes been found in the East); and if I allowed him to bear me company, he was persuaded that his fortune was made. My refusal he no doubt attributed to mere avarice; supposing that I wished to monopolise all the vast riches which, in his opinion, I was sure to find.

CXXXVI. Near this village we obtained a fine view of the False Pyramid, which seems to have been commenced on a large scale, then discontinued, and a smaller pyramid, of imperfect formation, erected on