222 SPLENDID LANDSCAPE. - there fell a smart shower. During the appearance of these phænomena, the whole aspect of the scene by which we were surrounded was in the highest degree picturesque, if the elements of a picture consist in remarkable contrasts, in beauty and wildness, fertility and desolation, a magnificent sky of gold, sprinkled with patches of ebony, a rainbow of peculiar splendour, fields of inimitable verdure, herds of camels and buffaloes, flocks of sheep, rocks, forests, expanses of yellow sand, and a river of vast breadth, reflecting, like a mirror, the glittering light of the sun. Add to this, the effect of renowned names upon the imagination. The land before us was that of Egypt; the river, the Nile; the mountains upon which the sun was darting his farewell beams, were the Arabian chain; and the boundless sands behind which he was about to sink, were the Libyan desert. CL. This remark leads to the consideration of the causes which render this famous valley so deeply interesting, whether we view it for ourselves, or only behold it through the eyes of others. It is certainly neither the fertility of Egypt, nor its commercial importance, nor yet its ruins and celebrity, mighty as they are, which form the charm that fascinates the imagination of the traveller. It is, in fact, the beholding of the principles of fertility and barrenness, of destruction and reproduction, of life and death, the Osiris and Typhon of the mythology,-operating undisguisedly, side by side. On the one hand the Nile, imitating Heaven," scatters life and abundance ;on the other the Desert, with its whirlwinds, its poisonous blasts, its mountains of shifting sand, is ever ready to be lifted up and precipitated upon the fruitful valley, extinguishing and obliterating in a moment the labours of centuries. Such are the elements of an Egyptian landscape, which, whatever it may lack, possesses a grandeur and sublimity not less characteristic than that of the Alps, with their peaks of snow and eternal glaciers. Roaming here, in the winter of the tropics and their confines, Caravaggio or Salvator Rosa might have found an inexhaustible series of terrible subjects, such as, faithfully represented, so far as Art can represent faithfully the majesty of Nature, would have moved the soul to its centre. CLI. In the date groves of the Heptanomis we find rookeries of great promise, which, as we walk out in the morning, remind us strongly of England; and every thing which does this, is delightful. We yesterday saw on the bank of the river a company of Arabs playing at a very remarkable game, which I do not remember to have seen noticed by any traveller, The player holds in his hand four thin pieces of palm wood, about a foot long, which he throws up a little way into the air, and according to the figure which they describe in falling, he wins or loses. I could not, however, even with the aid of the hajji, quite make out the principle of the game. The advances of those who win are marked by two small stones, 224 WEANING THE YOUNG CAMEL. one for each player, which are moved in a certain direction towards a stick fixed upright in the earth, and he whose pebble first reaches this goal, appears to be the victor. Here we met several boats coming down the river from Upper Egypt, laden with straw, which formed a curious sight. The straw, apparently bound up in small sheaves, is laid upon poles projecting laterally from either side of the vessel, and built up to the height of sixteen or twenty feet, in the form of a square, diminishing towards the summit, so smooth that no wind could find a corner in it, and so evenly balanced that it seldom endangers the equilibrium of the boat. The crew, having barely standing-room on board, generally cook on shore, and at night sleep, I imagine, on the straw. In the fields this afternoon I observed the mode in which the young camels are weaned. The udder of the dam being covered by a close netting of rope, strapped round the body, and fastened on the back, in such a way that the foal, finding it impossible to undo it, fatigues itself in useless efforts to obtain its usual nourishment; and I saw several foals following their dams in this condition. We moored at night nearly opposite the village of Schment Arab, which lies at a short distance from the river. Thursday, Dec. 20. Sheikh Embarak. CLII. This morning the Nile and the whole valley were covered with a thick white mist, which wet every thing like rain, and rendered all objects invisible beyond the length of the kandjia; but when BOATS OF THE NILE. 225 this cleared away the sun shone forth brilliantly, and the whole plain appeared to be strewed with orient pearl; every blade of grass bending beneath the big glittering dew-drops. The western mountains here recede so far from the stream that they are scarcely discernible; while, on the east, the rocks descend to the water's edge. Near Feshn, anciently Fenchi, their formation is most extraordinary: a level summit above, from which descend long wavy hillocks of sand, resting below on a bed of limestone rock. On the western bank, near the village, many boats were building. Here the wind became fair, for the first time, and I accordingly remained in my boat. The weather as warm as in June. Friday, Dec. 21. Off Sharaouné. CLIII. Unfortunately both wind and weather changed during the night; the former becoming quite contrary, and the latter very cold. We left Sheikh Embarak early in the morning, and, returning round the northern point of Geziret el Sharaquné, entered the western channel of the river; shortly after which we passed a village where a great number of kandjias, daábiyahs, and máshas were drawn up along the shore, some waiting for lading, others detained by contrary winds. We proceeded by tracking. Both the flies and mosquitoes (the latter of which were very troublesome during the first night of our sleeping on the river) have now left us; the mosquitoes entirely, and the flies nearly so. We yesterday saw grashoppers in the fields, almost equal 226 COMPLEXION OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. in size to small birds; and I one day picked up near the river a dead scarabæus, about two inches long, by one inch broad. These grashoppers take long flights, and abound in the high grass. The bright sunshine having infused a peculiar vigour into all nature, the whole earth seemed to smile as during the pleasant days of summer, the surface of the river was serene, and the skylarks, mounting aloft into the balmy air, poured forth their joyous songs, as if spring were already come; and the voice of the turtle-dove was heard in our land. CLIV. The physiognomy of the natives is visibly changed. Day after day, as we mount the stream, they appear to grow more swarthy, and betray greater familiarity with the sun; yet there are curious anomalies, which may, perhaps, be so many distinguishing marks of that strange mixture of races which commerce and conquest have effected in this country. In the same village you may observe individuals, particularly children, with complexions nearly as fair as those of Europeans, beside persons, born next door, who are almost black. There is, also, in many faces, a singular blending of the Arab with the Negro style of features, which likewise becomes more and more perceptible as we advance. Herodotus describes the ancient Egyptians as black, but handsome ; which, to a certain extent, is true of the present pure Nubian race, who appear to have a better claim to be regarded as the descendants of the old templebuilders than the wretched Copts, who are mongrels |