dragoman, was standing before him. We were then introduced by the consul; and, taking our seats on the divan, coffee was served, and conversation began. Mohamed Ali, in personal appearance, has nothing very imposing. He is a little man; and his countenance would be dull and inexpressive, were it not for a keen and restless eye. His forehead is high, his nose rather short and broad, and his beard white. He is rather corpulent. On quitting him, we went to visit his seraglio, which was being erected on the point of land close to the port. Its walls, of wood and plaster, weighed down by a heavy tiled roof, and its marble floors, exposed to the united effects of the sea and the wind, denote any thing but durability while the rich, though fantastic, decorations of the interior, render it worthy of notice as a curiosity, though not of imitation as a work of art. The artists employed are mostly Greeks, who have decked the interior with a mixture of Arabesque and Chinese views, in which proportion and perspective are woefully disregarded. Not a single human figure is introduced in any part. It appears that the Turks do not object to draw any thing but a human being. We saw a drawing of the giraffe, on the divan in the Pacha's room. The day after, we visited the catacombs. The first few rooms are evidently Greek, and in very good style; the rest of the excavations are nearly filled up with rubbish: and, although we

crawled a considerable distance on our hands and knees, we discovered nothing else worthy of admiration. A short distance from the catacombs are two or three grottoes, partly formed by excavations, and partly by subterranean ruins. These have obtained the name of Cleopatra's Baths. They may possibly have been at some time used for this purpose; but it is very questionable whether they deserve their name. The suburbs of Alexandria, for miles, are covered with the ruins of the antient town. Heaps of brick and mortar, mixed with the broken shafts of columns and mutilated capitals, cover immense vaults, which serve as reservoirs to the town, and are replenished on every overflow of the Nile. Each inundation adds to the deposit left by the preceding one, and will eventually, if no steps are taken to remedy it, choke up and destroy the reservoirs-another example of that apathy and indolence, which so strongly mark the Turkish character. "Sufficient for to-day is the evil thereof," seems to be their motto; and they leave the future to Providence and the prophet.

Although treated with much hospitality by the gentlemen to whom our letters of introduction were addressed, and who, in their own houses, are most friendly, and seemingly, as far as we could observe, on good terms with the neighbouring Franks, still we did not enjoy that frequent and friendly intercourse, which so strongly characterizes the society of Smyrna. Whether this must

be attributed to the effect of conflicting interests, or to the check which all communication receives during the plague, we must leave to others to determine. Thus much, however, is certain, that, of all the towns in the Levant, Alexandria is the last, both from climate and company, which would tempt the traveller to a lengthened stay. Such was our impression, and it induced us, with all possible despatch, to prepare for our depar

ture.

We made preparation for our journey, and, accompanied by our dragoman, we proceeded to the Mahmoudia, which is that part of Alexandria joining the port, by which it is separated from the canal. We here engaged our cangia, a kind of boat, with a small cabin, lofty enough to admit of any one sitting upright in it, on the divans placed on each side. Having embarked our luggage, we proceeded up the canal which connects the Nile with Alexandria. This canal was dug by the present Pacha, and we were credibly informed that upwards of three hundred thousand persons were hired in the villages, in the different parts of Egypt, and forced to work, and more than twenty thousand of them fell victims to the insalubrity of the climate, scarcity of food, and the want of proper shelter. We arrived the next day at the end of the canal, which is separated from the river by a dam, to prevent a reflux of its waters, as the river gradually decreases. This dam was not the only obstacle to our proceedings. On application

for a cangia, to the governor of the port, we were informed, that an order had been received from the Pacha to engage every boat for the conveyance of his suite, which was daily expected to leave Alexandria for Cairo. We had much difficulty in persuading him to allow us to take a boat from the place; but prevailed by giving a captain about fifty piastres more than the usual fare, half of which was to be paid down, that our reis might reimburse the governor for his condescension. We were delayed for about half a day by this circumstance, and it was nearly night before we got under weigh.

We proceeded a short way up the river, and, finding a contrary wind had sprung up against us, we were constrained to lay-to for the night, under the walls of Fouah. We had not been there twenty minutes, when a chaoush came down from the governor, to ask who and what we were? This inquiry was soon after followed by an invitation from that officer, to smoke and take coffee with him. We eagerly seized on this opportunity of witnessing Turkish life in Egypt, and accompanied the messenger. Achmet Cachef, into whose presence we were ushered, was a man about thirtyfive, whose corpulent figure and flushed face bore evident marks of the bon vivant. He was surrounded by a group of Albanian soldiers, all of whom retired at a signal given by him, and we were left alone with him, his Copt Secretary, a

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Greek, and two Mamlouks. This governor professed himself highly honoured by our visit, and, giving to one of our party his pipe to smoke, he ordered his Mamlouks to bring fresh ones, and coffee. After having repeated his expressions of satisfaction on seeing us, he inquired where we were going, and on our replying satisfactorily, he asked us to take further refreshment. One of our party replied, that after the excellent coffee we had tasted, nothing could be more acceptable than a glass of water. "Good,” replied he, and winking to his Mamlouk, ordered some water. The man soon returned with a bottle of aquavitæ, or a strong spirit made from dates. This," said he, " is the water of which you Franks are so fond." We declined taking any, but, after much solicitation, at length consented. Seeing our reluctance, he told us, that though the prophet had forbidden raki, he would take some, to convince us that he had no intention of poisoning us. After we had tasted, he replenished his own glass and drank it off. This he repeated no less than seventeen times in the course of the four hours we remained with him. He shortly after addressed one of us in the following terms: "Notwithstanding," said he, "that you pretend not to drink, yet I'd stake any money that your boat is well stored with all sorts of wine and liquors." Not seeing the drift of this observation, we acknowledged that we had some with us, and thought we could do no less