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NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 JOURNEY IN EGYPT 
 
 c. d?c 
 
5H\ 
 
MAP' 
 
 of the 
 
 NILE, from the CATARACTS 
 
 to Ibrim by 
 
 THofiEGH ESQ? MJ*. 
 
 aiid the 
 
 REV? cha! smelt 
 
 AD. 1813. 
 
 Jiafa fiaitarii 
 
 JCalapMtiltr 
 
 
 triurfeh Hassan 
 
 ^ A 
 
 UU^hi 
 
 Outtoitrme 
 'Siriquard 
 
■vi 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 A JOURNEY IN EGYPT 
 
 AND THE 
 
 COUNTRY 
 
 BEYOND THE CATARACTS. 
 
 BY THOMAS LEGH, Esq, M. P. 
 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: a 
 PUBLISHED BY M. THOMAS. 
 
 JAMES MAXWELL, PRINTER. 
 
 1817. 
 
A 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 At a period when political circumstances 
 had closed the ordinary route of continental 
 travelling, and when the restless characteris- 
 tic propensity of the English could only be 
 gratified by exploring the distant countries 
 of the East an entirely new direction was 
 given to the pursuits of the idle and the cu- 
 rious. 
 
 A visit to Athens or Constantinople sup- 
 plied the place of a gay and dissipated winter 
 passed in Paris, Vienna, or Petersburg: and 
 the Traveller was left to imagine, and per- 
 haps to regret, the pleasures of the modern 
 
VI 
 
 cities of civilized Europe, amidst the monu- 
 ments of the ruined capitals of antiquity. In- 
 terviews w^ith the Beys and Pachas of the 
 empire of Mahomet succeeded to the usual 
 presentations at the courts of the Continent; 
 and the Camel^ the Firman^ and the Tartar 
 were substituted for the ordinary facilities 
 of the Poste^ the Passports, and the Couriers 
 of the beaten roads of Italy or France. 
 
 It was during this period of partial exclu- 
 sion from Europe, that the Author of the fol- 
 lowing Narrative, having made the tour of 
 Greece and Albania, was induced by the con- 
 tinuance of the unhealthy state of the coun- 
 tries in the Levant, to direct his steps to the 
 shores of Egypt. That he was afterwards en- 
 abled to push his researches beyond the usual 
 boundary of his predecessors was an advan- 
 tage it was impossible to foresee, and which, 
 on his leaving Cairo, he could scarcely ven- 
 ture to anticipate. 
 
Vll 
 
 To observe what had previously been des- 
 cribed by others, and, guided by their deline- 
 ations, to admire the remains of antiquity 
 scattered over the face of that wonderful 
 country, was the original intention of a Jour- 
 ney in which neither himself, nor his friend, 
 Mr. Smelt, in whose society he had the plea- 
 sure of travelling, could hope to make fresh 
 acquisitions, or point out the road to future 
 discovery. 
 
 But on their arrival at the Cataracts, when 
 they found themselves on the borders of a 
 comparatively new country, and were unex- 
 pectedly permitted to penetrate into the inte- 
 rior of Nubia, every object assumed an addi- 
 tional importance; and it is hoped that the no- 
 velty and curiosity of the observations made 
 on the spot may, in some measure, compen- 
 sate for the deficiencies of a work, which 
 makes no pretension to scientific research, or 
 depth of antiquarian erudition. For the hurried 
 manner in which the Temples of Egypt are 
 
VUl 
 
 described, and in some places altogether pas- 
 sed over in silence, the Author has only to 
 account, by referring his readers to the nu- 
 merous Travels in that country already in 
 the hands of the Public, from the writings 
 of Pococke, Norden, and Niebuhr, down to 
 the more recent Memoires of the Savans of 
 the French Institute. 
 
 To his fellow-traveller, the Rev. Charles 
 Smelt, he is particularly indebted for the use 
 of his Journal, from which have been extrac- 
 ted many valuable notes and observations; 
 and to the kindness of his friend, Dr. Mac- 
 michael, his acknowledgments are due, for 
 the assistance afforded him in arranging his 
 Memoranda and preparing his Narrative for 
 the press. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Cruize in the Archipelago — Phig-alian Marbles. — Return to Malta—' 
 sail for Alexandria — Shekh Ibrahim. — ^Arrival at Rosetta. — Cairo 
 — Pyramids — Mahomed Ali, Pacha of Egj^t — Termination of the 
 war against the Wahabees — Sail for Upper Egypt — Grottoes at 
 Benihassan — ^Antinoe — Portico of Hermopolis. — Arrival at Siout 
 —tribe of Bedouin Arabs. — Cafflet-es-Soudan. — Antaeopolis — con= 
 dition of the labouring Arabs — Crocodiles. — ^Kamsin, or Wind 
 of the Desert. — Thebes. — ^Essouan. — Elephantine.— Philae.^ — Ca- 
 taracts. — Design of penetrating into P^ubia— difficulties encoun- 
 tered by former travellers — Barabas-, 
 
 2 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Departure from Essouan. — Debod^. — Siala — interview with Douab 
 Cacheff — inoffensive manners of the Barabras. — Tropic. — De- 
 scription of the temple at Dondour. — Ruins at Sibhoi — Arrival at 
 Dehr — ^Hassan Cacheff— obtain permission to g-o to Ibr^m — its 
 ruined state — present condition of the Mamelukes. — Returnto Dehr 
 — ruins of Amada — appearance of a Mameluke.— Unexpected 
 meeting with Shekh Ibrahim. — Description of the temple at Dakki 
 — Greek inscriptions: — ^Excavated temple at Guerfeh Hassan. 
 — Ruins at Kalaptshi: — Remains at El Umbarakat. — Sardab*— 
 Philae. — Return to Essouan. 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 JOURNEY IN EGYPT, 
 
 The plague which raged at Constantinople 
 and throughout Asia Minor during the summer 
 and autumn of 1812 had compelled us to quit the 
 Archipelago, and abandon, with reluctance, a 
 most interesting cruize, of which the following 
 outline embraces the principal circumstances. 
 We left Athens in the month of July, and having 
 embarked on board a Greek vessel belonging to 
 the island of Hydra, which had been hired for 
 the voyage, we visited the northern islands of the 
 Egean sea, and landed on the coast of Asia to 
 examine the Troad. 
 
14 
 
 It was here that we received the first intel- 
 ligence of the alarming mortahty which prevailed 
 in the capital and at Smyrna, and that we felt 
 the necessity of making a material alteration in 
 our plans as well as the prudence of leaving the 
 Levant as early as possible. 
 
 Our intention had been to have continued our 
 cruize some months longer, to have dismissed 
 our ship at Bodrun, (Halicarnassus,) and to have 
 travelled over laijid by Smyrna to Constantinople; 
 but we saw ourselves, with regi'et, obliged to re- 
 linquish our design, and steer from the coast of 
 AnatoUa. On our return we touched at Mity- 
 lene, Scio, Delos, Myconi, and some of the neigh- 
 bouring islands, and cast anchor in the port of 
 the Piraeus, after an absence of only three 
 months. After lingering a short time at Athens 
 we re-embarked on board our Hydriote brig, and 
 in a few hours were landed on the eastern shore 
 of the Isthmus of Corinth. 
 
 We hired a caique on the other side, which 
 conveyed us, in five days, down the Gulf of 
 Lepanto, and the day after our return to Zante 
 we had the pleasure of witnessing the arrival of 
 the celebrated Frieze which had recently been 
 
16 
 
 discovered in the Temple of Apollo at Phigar 
 
 Ha. 
 
 The circumstances attending the discovery 
 and removal of this magnificent reUque of anti- 
 quity give, perhaps, an additional interest to its 
 intrinsic merits as a piece of sculpture. The 
 person sent to negociate with the Pacha of Tri- 
 polliza v\ras unable to obtain, by the offer even of 
 a large bribe, a general permission to excavate 
 in the Morea, and he vras obliged to content him- 
 self with promising the Turk the half of what- 
 ever might be discovered in the course of his 
 researches. On his part, the Pacha promised 
 every aid; and the Greeks in the neighbouring 
 villages were required to lend their assistance 
 in removing the fragments of the Temple which 
 had fallen down and concealed the bas-rehefs. 
 After much labour the area was completely 
 cleared, and the Frieze, finally, brought to light 
 Some drawings were made on the spot and sent 
 to TripoUiza for the inspection of the Pacha, but 
 he confessed himself unable to form any opinion 
 of the figures from their representations, and 
 required fragments of the Frieze itself to be 
 sent. His request was compUed with, and some 
 
16 
 
 of the marbles were actually carried on horses 
 to TripoUiza. It was now that the fatal ques- 
 tion of division came to be discussed: and it was 
 feared that the Pacha would insist on. the strict 
 performance of the agreement^ as it would have 
 been next to impossible to convince him of the 
 absurdity of dividing a series of marbles which 
 owed much of its value to the continuity and 
 completeness of the story represented on them. 
 At this critical moment a Caimacan appointed 
 by the Porte arrived in the Morea, with an or- 
 der to Veli Pacha to give up his government 
 and retire to his estate at Tricala in Thessaly. 
 His tyrannical conduct had occasioned his recal; 
 and for many months previous to this period Na- 
 poH di Romania^ and some other of the towns 
 in the Morea^ had shut their gates and disclaim^ 
 ed all submission to him. The Pacha did not 
 instantly obey the summons from Constantinople^, 
 but was at length obliged to submit^ and, under 
 these circumstances^ wiUingly accepted of a sum 
 of money in heu of his share of the Frieze, 
 which he had now neither time nor opportunity 
 to dispose of in any other manner. 
 
17 
 
 We embarked on board the first ship which 
 sailed for Malta^ and on our arrival were order- 
 ed into the Lazzaretto^ where we performed a 
 quarantine of twenty days. The reports of the 
 increasing mortality from the plague rendered it 
 every day less likely that we should soon be able 
 to resume our travels to the east, and we had 
 resolved, on the expiration of our quarantine, to 
 return to England. 
 
 But Egypt was still open to us: and though 
 the communication between Constantinople and 
 Alexandria had been uninteiTupted, that country 
 had hitherto continued in a state of perfect ex- 
 emption from the contagion. There is some- 
 thing inexphcable, and that one might be dis- 
 posed to call capricious, in the way in which 
 this dreadful disease spreads from one country 
 to another, and we had been particularly struck 
 with the observation of the Greek who acted as 
 English consul at Scio. Though within a few 
 hours sail of Smyrna, where numbers were dy- 
 ing daily of the plague, he had no fear of its ap- 
 proaching the island; and, during our stay of 
 some days, we saw many Turks who had come 
 
 directly from that place, leap on shore without 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 any intermption. ^^But/^ added the consul, 
 ^^ should the plague declare itself at Alexandria, 
 distant some hundred miles, we shall certainly 
 have it at Scio/^ He spoke confidently, and 
 quoted many instances within his own memory 
 of the like coincidence. 
 
 After a residence of a few weeks at Malta 
 we sailed, on the 21st November, on board a 
 merchant vessel belonging to Trieste, bound to 
 Alexandria. 
 
 In consequence of the flatness of the shore, 
 and the white deceptive appearance of the sand 
 of the desert, it is extremely difficult (in the 
 seaman^s phrase) " to make the land;'^ and 
 owing to the unfavourable winds we had encoun- 
 tered, it was not till the 7th of the following 
 month that we descried the Arab^s Tower, 
 situated about twenty miles to the west of Alex- 
 andria, and soon after came in sight of the two 
 date trees and Pompey^s Pillar, which form the 
 other sea marks. The current which sets in 
 from the Adriatic and the Archipelago is felt so 
 strongly between Candia and the coast of Egypt, 
 as to carry a vessel, sailing with a moderate 
 breeze, twenty miles south of her course during 
 
19 
 
 the twenty-four hours^ and so far adds to the 
 difficulty of entering the harbour, that when we 
 were off the island of Mirabou, we were obliged 
 to take a pilot on board to steer us through the 
 numerous sand-banks which obstruct the mouth 
 of the Western Port of Alexandria. 
 
 The old or Turkish harbour in which we cast 
 anchor was formerly reserved for Mohammedan 
 ships, but it is now accessible to vessels of all 
 nations. An ancient prejudice existed that, as, 
 soon as a Frank vessel should enter it, the Mus- 
 sulman would lose the empire of Alexandria ;b^| 
 the French have been driven out, and the English 
 have evacuated Egypt, and the Pacha is still tri- 
 butary to the court of Constantinople. 
 
 Of the ancient, populous and magnificent city of 
 Alexandria, which abounded in palaces, baths, and 
 theatres, ornamented with marble and porphy-^ 
 ry, and which reckoned 300,000 freemen among 
 its population at the time it fell under the do- 
 minion of the Romans, the only inhabited part is 
 confined at present to the narrow neck of land 
 which joins the Pharos, or ancient light-house, to 
 the continent. It is this langue de terre that di- 
 vides the harbour into two ports, distinguished 
 
by the names of East and West, or Old and 
 New, but neither of them affords good anchor- 
 age, being exposed the one to the N. E. and the 
 other to the S. W. wind. 
 
 To repeat what has been so often written of 
 the present and former condition of this celebra- 
 ted city, would be both tedious and superfluous, 
 as the expedition to Egypt has rendered this 
 part of the world familiar to many of my coun- 
 trymen; and by those who have not had an op- 
 portunity of visiting the country, the full descrip- 
 tions to be found in the various books of travels 
 will be deemed sufficient to satisfy the curiosity 
 of the most inquisitive. If in the course of the 
 following narrative I may be accused by some 
 of passing too hastily over places famous in an- 
 tiquity, and still offering objects of the most lively 
 interest, while others, on the contrary, should 
 think I have run into the opposite error, and 
 indulged in useless repetition, I have only to an- 
 swer, that the recollection of the sensations ex- 
 cited by the sight of those wonderful monuments 
 of former times will never be obhterated from 
 my memory; but I shall mention them rather 
 with an intention to complete the narrative, than 
 
21 
 
 with any design of increasing the number of de- 
 tailed descriptions already in the hands of the 
 public. The traveller who sees for the first 
 time the pyramids of Gizeh^ or the ruined tem- 
 ples of the Thebaid, feels as if he had never 
 heard or read of them before; but an author 
 must have verv considerable confidence in his 
 own powers of writing, who would venture to 
 add to the descriptions of Denon, Hamilton, and, 
 above all, of the costly and elaborate work late- 
 ly pubHshed by the French government. 
 
 When we stepped on shore, the novelty of 
 every object which met our view convinced us 
 that we had quitted Europe. Instead of horses, 
 oxen, and carts, we beheld buffaloes and camels; 
 and the drivers of caleches, by whom we had 
 been beset and importuned in the streets of Va- 
 letta, were here replaced by Arab boys, recom- 
 mending, in broken English, their asses to carry 
 us to different parts of the town. 
 
 These animals are seen in great numbers in 
 a small square near the southern gate, plying for 
 hire, and the Arab runs by your side, carrying 
 
your gun, pipe, or any thing else entrusted to 
 his care. 
 
 Egypt seems the native soil of the ass, where 
 the breed, though small, is extremely docile and 
 active, trotting or ambling at the rate of four or 
 five miles an hour, and for these quahties it is 
 preferred throughout the country as the ordinary 
 means of travelhng. 
 
 Mounted on these animals, we traversed the 
 various parts of this once extensive city, and vi- 
 sited the numerous remains of ancient edifices 
 with which it was formerly adorned, but which 
 are now nearly buried in the sand. 
 
 Pompey^s Pillar stands without the walls of 
 the present town, and the obelisk called Cleopa- 
 tra^s Needle is on the shore of the Eastern Port. 
 The ruins of a Gymnasium near the ancient 
 €anopic Gate, and the Baths of Cleopatra, si- 
 tuated to the west of the old harbour, are the 
 other chief monuments which attract the atten- 
 tion of the traveller. 
 
 The present walls of Alexandria, which were 
 raised in the thirteenth century by the Saracens, 
 are in some places forty feet high, and are flank- 
 ed by one hundred towers; they inclose a circuit 
 
of nearly five miles, now for the most part a de- 
 serted space, covered w^ith heaps of rubbish, and 
 strew^ed over with the fragments of ancient build- 
 ings. 
 
 Immediately around, the country is a desert 
 and produces absolutely nothing; but the city is 
 well supplied with provisions from the Delta, 
 the coasts of Syria, and the islands of the Archi- 
 pelago. 
 
 The importance of the canal which conveys 
 the water of the Nile from Rahmanhieh, a dis- 
 tance of fourteen leagues, into the reservoirs 
 formed under the town, has at all times furnished 
 an enemy with a most powerful means of annoy- 
 ing its inhabitants. History informs us that when 
 the Emperor Diocletian opened his campaign in 
 Egypt by the siege of Alexandria, his first mea- 
 sure was to cut off the aqueducts which carried 
 the waters of the river into every quarter of that 
 immense city; and during the first Egyptian expe- 
 dition, this plan was adopted by our army, not so 
 much however for the purpose of depriving the 
 city of its supply of fresh water, as to diminish 
 the extent of our lines, and lessen the duty of our 
 troops, whose exertions were required in another 
 
24 
 
 quarter. On the 13th Aprils 1801, the canal and 
 the embankment of the Lake Aboukir were cut 
 through, and the water of the sea rushed with 
 great violence into the ancient bed of the Lake 
 Mareotis; it continued to flow during a month 
 with considerable force, at first with a fall of six 
 feet, gradually diminishing, till the whole was 
 filled up to the level of the adjoining lake. By this 
 inundation, 150 douars, or villages w ere destroy- 
 ed, and a very considerable quantity of land lost 
 to agriculture. Since this period, the canal has 
 been repaired, and the city is again supplied with 
 the water of the Nile 5 and a permanent advantage 
 has been supposed to be derived from the inun- 
 dation, in the increased salubrity of the atmos- 
 phere, which is now no longer infected by the 
 marshy vapours of the Lake Mareotis. 
 
 The houses of Alexandria are flat roofed, as 
 in all countries where there is Httle rain; the 
 streets narrow, not paved; and the town, upon 
 the whole, is ill built and irregular. According 
 to the most accurate information we could col- 
 lect, its population amounted to about 12,000; 
 but this number was reduced to less than one 
 half by the ravages of the plague that declared 
 
25 
 
 itself during our absence up the country, and 
 which we found still raging, on our return, some 
 months afterwards from Upper Egypt. 
 
 During our stay at Alexandria, we were much 
 indebted to the friendly and polite attentions of 
 the Enghsh resident, colonel Misset, who furnish- 
 ed us with letters to Cairo, and amongst others, 
 with one to a very inteUigent traveller, from 
 whom we afterwards received the greatest assis- 
 tance and most valuable information. He was 
 known in Egypt by the name of Shekh Ibrahim, 
 and was travelling under the ausp^ce^^ of the Af- 
 rican Society, chiefly I believe for the purpo a of 
 investigating the various tribes of Arabs. Colonel 
 Missett, though apprised of the arrival of the 
 Shekh at Cairo, had never yet seen him, but gave 
 us the following particulars of his former travols, 
 which raised our curiosity and made us eager to 
 form his acquaintance. He had been taken pri- 
 soner by the Bedouins in Syria, and, after having 
 been detained six months in captivity, and robbed 
 of all his effects, had, after many adventures, suc- 
 ceeded in making his escape, and at length pre- 
 sented himself under the disguise of an Arab shep- 
 
 4 ' , 
 
26 
 
 herd at the residence of the English agent at Cai- 
 ro. He remained in the outer court of the house 
 for some time, and it was with some difficulty he 
 obtained an interview with M. Aziz, whose aston- 
 ishment may be easily imagined when he heard 
 a person of such an appearance address him in 
 French. 
 
 We quitted Alexandria on the 12th, and took 
 the road that led to Rosetta, over a tract of coun- 
 try extremely dreary and uninteresting in its ap- 
 pearance, but exciting, by the recollections it oc- 
 casioned, feehngs of the most animating nature 
 in the breast of an Enghshman. 
 
 Immediately on leaving the walls of the town, 
 the road passes through the lines where the 
 French were encamped before the battle of the 
 21st; and the place marked by the fall of the 
 gallant Abercrombie, and the repulse of the ene- 
 my^s cavalry, is seen a little to the left. 
 
 In a short time we reached the Lake of Abou- 
 kir, and having engaged a boat, sailed to its op- 
 posite extremity, when we entered the sea at 
 the ancient mouth of Canopus, and hailed the 
 spot sacred in the annals of British valour, where 
 a few fragments of ships and some scattered 
 bones still mark the scene of thebrilUant victory 
 
27 
 
 of Lord Nelson. After coasting along for an hour, 
 we entered the Lake of Etko, and soon reached 
 the town of the same name^ when again mount- 
 ing our asses, we arrived in about three hours 
 more at Rosetta. This journey, which occupi- 
 ed us fourteen hours, though, with a fair wind 
 to pass the Lakes, it is usually performed in ten, 
 had completely initiated us into the system of 
 Egyptian travelling. 
 
 The latter part of the road, that conducted us 
 over a desert, unenlivened by a single date tree 
 to guide the traveller, gave us an excellent fore- 
 taste of the barren scenes of Egypt, which we 
 were destined to have so many opportunities of 
 observing. 
 
 The beauty and fertility of the immediate vi- 
 cinity of Rosetta have been a subject of praise 
 with every traveller, who, after quittingthe.burning 
 sands of Alexandria, finds himself in the mi^^st 
 of date trees and groves of oranges, surrounded 
 by verdant fields of rice, and well cultivated gar- 
 dens. Though the picture may have been per- 
 haps too highly coloured, we could not help pro- 
 nouncing the situation upon the whole very pic- 
 turesque and extremely agreeable to the eye, af- 
 
28 
 
 ter the barren waste we had left behind us. The 
 expectation also of beholding the Nile, a river 
 with whose name and celebrity we had been fa- 
 miliar from our infancy, did not contribute a lit- 
 tle to lessen the unfavourable impressions with 
 which we approached the city of Rashid. 
 
 But the feelings of pride and exultation with 
 which we had contemplated the vicinity of Alex- 
 ^dria now gave way to the mortifying recollec- 
 tions of the disasters suffered by our army during 
 the second Egyptian expedition in 1805. 
 
 When our troops had gained possession of the 
 town of Rosetta, and were dispersed in various 
 parts of it, regaling themselves at their different 
 quarters, after the exertions they had made, a 
 single Turk, armed with no other weapon than a 
 pistol, began an attack on the straggling soldiers, 
 of whom he killed more than a dozen, before 
 the house where he was concealed and from 
 which he directed his fire could be broken open 
 and the assailant dislodged. 
 
 The Turkish governor, encouraged by this un- 
 expected success, as well as by the arrival of 
 800 troops from Cairo, and the certain informa- 
 tion that the Pacha was descending the Nile 
 
29 
 
 with an additional force of 8000 men, resolved 
 to make a desperate effort, and second the spi- 
 rited attack of an individual. Before the English 
 troops had time to form, they were driven from 
 the town, and being obliged to retreat through 
 the desert without cavalry to support them, their 
 losses in killed and prisoners were very consider* 
 able. The conduct of the Governor, after this 
 unfortunate affair, offers an example of refine- 
 ment of cruelty in a conqueror, seldom seen 
 in these modern times — for each of the prisoners 
 was compelled to carry the head of one of his 
 comrades who had perished in battle, as a pre- 
 sent to the Pacha of Cairo. 
 
 Rosetta itself is a modern town, though there 
 are some few remains of antiquity in its neigh- 
 bourhood; but it owes its consequence entirely 
 to its commerce, which consists principally in the 
 carrying trade between Cairo and Alexandria. 
 The canal which conveys the water of the river 
 to the latter place being no longer navigable, all 
 goods destined for Cairo are embarked at Alex- 
 andria, and sent by sea to Rosetta, from whence 
 they are forwarded in djerms to the capital 
 
30 
 
 Of the seven mouths by which the Nile for- 
 merly discharged itself into the Mediterranean^ 
 the only branches which now remain navigable 
 are those of Damietta and Rosetta; the others^ 
 from neglect, or the gradual accumulation of de- 
 tritus annually deposited in the Delta, having 
 been gradually filled up, are with difficulty to be 
 traced. 
 
 The style of building in Rosetta is somewhat 
 peculiar — the houses are very high, and each 
 story projects beyond the one below, so that the 
 opposite buildings nearly meet at the top; but 
 though the streets are, in consequence, render- 
 ed very gloomy, they are at the same time sha- 
 ded from the scorching rays of the sun. 
 
 There was little to detain us at Rosetta, and 
 we occupied ourselves in making prepara- 
 tions for our journey to Cairo, and for that 
 purpose hired a maish to convey us up the Nile. 
 
 At this time of year (December) the river had 
 retired within its banks, but its waters were still 
 muddy, and indeed they are never quite clear, 
 having, even in the months of April and May, 
 when they are least turbid, a cloudy hue. The 
 
31 
 
 colour of the Nile is a dirty red, during the inun- 
 dation, which begins to take place about the end 
 of June, continuing to rise till the latter end of 
 September, from which period to the following 
 solstice it is gradually faUing. 
 
 It may be proper to observe, that the term in- 
 undation, strictly speaking, is correct only when 
 applied to the Delta, as the river is confined in 
 Upper Egypt between high banks, so as to pre- 
 vent any overflowing of it into the adjoining coun- 
 try, which is watered entirely by the canals cut 
 in various directions, and opened at a certain pe- 
 riod for the purposes of irrigation. 
 
 On the 14th, as it was the little Bairam, a feast 
 kept by the Mussulmen in commemoration of 
 the Sacrifice of Abraham, we could not procure 
 a boat to go to the mouth of the Nile; but we 
 passed into the Delta and amused ourselves with 
 strolHng amongst the delightful gardens of oran- 
 ges and banana trees with which the country 
 abounded. 
 
 On the 17th we embarked on board our maishy 
 our party having been increased by the company 
 of Major Vincenzo Taberna, secretary to Colo- 
 nel Missette, and of Capt. Molesworth and Mr, 
 
32 
 
 Darley, British officers, who had been sent from 
 Sicily to purchase horses for our army in Spain. 
 
 The wind was unfavourable, and we had a 
 long voyage of nine days; but the novelty and 
 richness of the country, and the excellent shoot- 
 ing we found on the banks of the Nile, which 
 swarm with prodigous flocks of pigeons, made us 
 forget the tediousness of the passage. 
 
 Provisions are so extremely abundant and 
 cheap in this part of the country, and in Upper 
 Egypt they are still more so, that we frequently 
 bought one thousand eggs for a dollar, and for the 
 same sum could purchase fourteen fowls and 
 innumerable pigeons: but the fertihty of the soil, 
 which produces three crops in the year, clover, 
 corn, and rice, offers a striking contrast to the 
 miserable appearance of the inhabitants, who 
 are excessively dirty, and in a state of almost 
 perfect nudity. They are however, at the same 
 time remarkable for their great patience, the 
 power of bearing fatigue and the faculty they 
 possess of living almost upon nothing. 
 
 Since the expulsion of the Mamelukes, the 
 population of Egypt consists chiefly of Copts, 
 Arabs, and the Turkish or Albanian soldiers. 
 
33 
 
 who are employed in the service of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The Copts are generally supposed to be the 
 descendants of the ancient Egyptians^ a Conjec- 
 ture suggested by the similarity of the name, as 
 vrill appear by the following observations from 
 the Travels of Pietro della Valle, which afford a 
 most exquisite specimen of such etymological 
 reasoning*. 
 
 But whatever opinion may be adopted of the 
 origin of these Christians of the sect of Euty- 
 ches/they are a clever and intriguing race, and 
 are employed by the government in keeping the 
 
 * He is giving a description of Alexandria, and after speaking* of 
 Pompey's Pillar, says — 
 
 " De plus, j'ai vu la petite ^glise de St. Marc, qui ^toit autrefois 
 la Patriarchale, que les Chretiens, Coftis, c'est a dire les Egyptiens, 
 occupent aujourd'hui, ou vous remarquerez, s'il vous plait, que ce 
 terme Egittio, qui signifie Egyptien, signifie aussi Guptios; si on en 
 soustrait I'E qui est au commencement, et que I'on prononce le G 
 comme anciennement, et la lettre I comme si c'etoit un V; or, au 
 Jieu de Guptios on Gubti, selon les Arabes, les notres disent plus 
 correctement, Cofto." 
 
 He afterwards reasons about the respective antiquity of the Copts 
 and the Greeks, but leaves it doubtful to which he gives the prefer 
 rence; and indeed it is so difficult to draw any conclusion from all 
 the learning he displays on the occasion, that one is strongly re- 
 minded of the character given by Gibbon of this celebrated Roman 
 traveller;" He is a gentleman and a scholar, but intolerably vain 
 and prolix." 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 registers of land and tribute^ and generally be- 
 come the gens d^ affairs of the Beys and Cach- 
 effs, which posts^ however^ they have to dispute 
 with the Jews^ who abound in Egypt as in every 
 other country. 
 
 With respect to the Arabs^ who form the great 
 mass of the population of the country, they are 
 divided into three tribes. 
 
 The pastoral, which appears to be the original 
 race — the Bedouin, who is distinguished by the 
 warlike and independent spirit which he derives 
 from the free and restless life he leads in the 
 desert — and the Fellah, or cultivating Arab, the 
 most civilized and patient, but at the same time 
 the most corrupt and degraded class. 
 
 The Turkish and Albanian troops are distribu- 
 ted throughout the country to garrison the differ- 
 ent towns, and to levy the miri, or contribution, 
 which they do with every circumstance of cruel- 
 ty and oppression. 
 
 On the 24th we came in sight of the stupen- 
 dous pyramids of Gizeh, and landed at Boulac 
 on the following day. 
 
 Boulac, which is the port of Lower Egypt, and 
 the chief custom-house of the country, is situa- 
 
35 
 
 ted at the distance of rather more than a mile 
 from Cairo^ and still bore marks of its destruc- 
 tion by the French dming the siege in 1799. 
 On the following morning we rode to Cairo on 
 asses, delivered our letters of recommendation^ 
 and were received with much kindness and hos- 
 pitality by the Frank families established there. 
 
 Misr, the appellation by which the metropo- 
 lis of Egypt is known to the natives, stands on 
 the eastern side of the Nile; and though its ex- 
 tent and population have been much exaggerated, 
 the walls which inclose the city may be fairly 
 estimated to have seven miles in circumference. 
 
 Boulac, the suburb where we landed, and old 
 Cairo, which is situated to the south, and is the 
 port of Upper Egypt, form its two points of con- 
 tact with the river. 
 
 The chain of mountains which accompanies 
 the course of the Nile through Upper Egypt, ter- 
 minates to the south and south-east of the city, in 
 what are called the Mokatim heights, immediate- 
 ly under which stands the citadel of Cairo. It 
 was fortified by the French, during their tempo- 
 rary possession of the country, and may still be 
 considered a good position, as the numerous 
 
36 
 
 ravines over which artillery must be dragged 
 would render the occupation of the heights which 
 command it nearly impracticable. 
 
 In the castle where the Pacha resides, is the 
 mint, the well of Joseph, 276 feet deep, which is 
 cut out of the soft calcareous rock, and the pa- 
 lace, or hall, attributed, with equal propriety, to 
 the same celebrated personage. It was built by 
 Sultan Saladin, and offers an extraordinary in- 
 stance of the use of the pointed arch. With res- 
 pect to the city of Cairo itself, the houses are 
 built of brick, and are remarkable for their ex- 
 treme height, while the streets are mean and dir- 
 ty, and so narrow as scarcely to allow two load- 
 ed camels to pass. The only part which has 
 any claim to be exempted from this general cen- 
 sure is the place, or square, called Esbequieh, in- 
 to the centre of which the water of the Nile flows 
 at the time of the inundation. 
 
 At this period, about the middle of August, the 
 Chalige, which commences near old Cairo, and 
 pierces the city in a direction nearly from north 
 to south, is opened with a certain degree of cere- 
 mony, and from a general receptacle of filth in 
 the highest degree disgusting, is changed at once 
 
37 
 
 into a canal covered with boats, offering an im 
 perfect resemblance of the gondolas and gayety 
 of Venice. 
 
 During the months of August, September, and 
 October, when the inundation is at its height, the 
 Chalige continues full of water, after which it 
 gradually reverts to its usual state of uncleanli- 
 ness. The descriptions of it have been much 
 magnified, since, at its commencement near Old 
 Cairo, where it receives the water of the Nile, it 
 is not more than twenty feet broad, and the term 
 ditch would not perhaps convey an incorrect idea 
 of its appearance. 
 
 Among the chief curiosities which attracted 
 our attention, may be ranked the bazaars, of an 
 appearance far superior in splendour to any we 
 had witnessed in our travels in Turkey. Each 
 trade has its allotted quarter, and the display of 
 superb Turkish dresses, costly Damascus swords, 
 ataghans, and every species of eastern luxury 
 and magnificence, formed a most brilHant and in- 
 teresting spectacle. 
 
 We visited also the slave-market, where, 
 to say nothing of the moral reflections suggested 
 by this traffic in human beings, the senses were 
 
38 
 
 offended in the most disagreeable manner, by the 
 excessive state of filthiness in which these mise- 
 rable wretches were compelled to exist. They 
 were crowded together in inclosures like the 
 sheep-pens of Smithfield market, and the abomi- 
 nable stench and uncleanhness which were the 
 consequence of such confinement, maybe more 
 readily imagined than described. 
 
 The population of Cairo has been estimated at 
 between 3 and 400,000, and that of all Egypt at 
 two millions and a half The inhabitants of the 
 capital are of a most motley description, consist- 
 ing of Arabs, Copts, Turks, Albanians, Greeks, 
 Syrians, Arminians, Jews, negro slaves from 
 Sennar, and Barbarins, or the natives of the 
 country beyond the Cataracts. These last are 
 in considerable numbers, and, Hke the Gallegos 
 of Lisbon, are in great estimation for their habits 
 of honest industry. 
 
 Cairo is a place of considerable commerce, 
 and is the metropohs of the trade of Eastern Af- 
 rica, and the chief mart of the slaves who are 
 brought from Abyssinia, Sennar, Darfur, and 
 other parts of Soudan. The caravans which ar- 
 rive from these countries bring also gold dust, ivo- 
 
39 
 
 ry, rhinoceros^ horns^ ostrich feathers^ gums, and 
 various drugs. 
 
 Such is a hasty sketch of the capital of Egypt, 
 which has been described in the most pompous 
 and exaggerated terms, and is still called, in the 
 figurative language of the East, " Misr without an 
 equal, Misr the mother of the world/^ 
 
 The day after our arrival we went, in compa- 
 ny with the EngUsh officers and the secretary of 
 Colonel Missett, to pay a visit to the pacha in the 
 citadel. His highness sent horses and attendants 
 to conduct us to his residence, and received us 
 in the most friendly manner, with every flatter- 
 ing expression of esteem for our country, and 
 promise of protection and assistance in the fur- 
 ther prosecution of our travels in Upper Egypt. 
 
 On the 2d January we crossed the Nile, and 
 landed at Gizeh on the opposite side, where we 
 passed the night, intending to devote the next day 
 to the examination of the Pyramids, which are 
 in the neighbourhood. At the distance of two 
 hours from Gizeh, we found ourselves, on the 
 following morning, at the foot of the largest of 
 these wonderful monuments, the period and ob- 
 
40 
 
 ject of whose construction have been, for so ma- 
 ny ages, the theme of wonder and discussion. 
 
 As we mounted the heap of sand and rubbish 
 which leads to the opening into the Pyramid, and 
 prepared to explore the galleries which conduct 
 to the interior, we had every reason to applaud 
 our piiidence in bringing with us a Turkish sol- 
 dier, as a guard; for it required all his exertions 
 and authority to prevent the entrance of a crowd 
 of importunate Arabs, who are always ready to 
 guide, and, if occasion offers, to rob the traveller 
 whom curiosity may conduct to this celebrated 
 spot. 
 
 The account given by Denon of the interior of 
 the large Pyramid, the only one that has been 
 opened, and indeed which it is practicable to as- 
 cend, is so correct and complete, that it would be 
 difficult and quite unnecessary to attempt to add to 
 his description. 
 
 On our return from the galleries, we ascended 
 to the top of the Pyramid, but from the unfavour- 
 able state of the weather, it being a rainy misty 
 morning, our exertions were not repaid by the 
 view of the boundless expanse of desert, which 
 is usually seen from that enormous elevation. 
 
41 
 
 though the fatigue of reaching the summit con- 
 siderably exceeded that ofcHmbing the cone of 
 Mount ^tna. On our descent we breakfasted at 
 the base of the Pyramid^ and after admiring the 
 graceful outhne of the Colossal Sphinx^ returned 
 to Cairo, which we reached by two o^clock the 
 same day. 
 
 At the time of our arrival at Cairo, we found 
 Egypt in a state of greater tranquillity than it had 
 enjoyed for many years, a change for which it is 
 entirely indebted to the vigorous administration 
 of the present Pacha. 
 
 When the EngHsh evacuated the country, Ma- 
 homed Pacha, supported by some Turkish and Al- 
 banian troops, possessed the Pachahc of Cairo; 
 but the Mamelukes, though they had been driven 
 into Upper Egypt, made various struggles to re- 
 cover their authority. 
 
 Th^ii" views were forwarded by the mutinous 
 dispoftj^ '^n of the Albanian troops, who, calHng in 
 their assistance, succeeded in deposing the Tur- 
 kish Pacha. In a short time the Beys threw 
 
 aside the mask of friendship and became mas- 
 
 * 
 
 ters of the Arnaut soldiers, who, in their turn 
 
 6 
 
42 
 
 used every effort to get rid of their treacherous 
 allies. 
 
 The Mamelukes were attacked with very 
 superior forces, and Osman Bey Bardissi, who 
 was at the head of them, was compelled to retreat 
 with a few only of his attendants, into Upper 
 Egypt; and it is said that in making his escape 
 he performed prodigies of valour. 
 
 The choice of the Albanian troops soon after 
 fell on Mahomed Ali, the present Pacha, a man of 
 extraordinary talents and enterprize, and who, 
 from the humble station of captain of a pirate 
 boat in the Archipelago, has raised himself to his 
 present rank in the government. Indebted as he 
 was to the restless spirit of his soldiers for his 
 elevation, the Pacha was compelled for some time 
 to yield to their turbulence, and connive at their 
 licentious excesses. The state of the country 
 is thus described by Ah Bey, who was at Cairo a 
 short time after the appointment of Mah^'^^^M All 
 to the Pachalic. " D'un autre cote, Mahomed 
 Ali, qui doit son elevation au courage de ses trou- 
 pes, tolere leurs exces, et ne scait pas s^en ren- 
 dre independant; les Grands Sheks d^ailleurs^ 
 jouissant, sous cette espece de gouvernement, de 
 
43 
 
 plus d'influence et de liberte, appuient de tout 
 leur pouvoir le systeme existant. Le soldat ty- 
 rannise; le bas peuple souifre; mais les grands ne 
 s^en ressentent nuUement, et la machine marche 
 coinme elle pent. Le gouvernement de Constan- 
 tinople^ sans energie pour tenir le pays dans une 
 complete soumission, n^ a qu^une sorte de suze- 
 rainete, qui lui rapporte de legers subsides, qu^il 
 cherche tous les ans a augmenter, par de nou- 
 velles ruses. Le tres petit nombre de Mamlouchs 
 qui restent sont relegues dans la Haute Egypte, 
 ou Mehemed Ali ne pent pas etendre sa domina- 
 tion, &c/' Vol ii. p. 231, Voyages d'Ali Bey.^ 
 
 Since that period the Pacha has not only driven 
 the Mamelukes out of Upper Egypt but pursued 
 them beyond the Cataracts as far ar Ibrim, and 
 compelled them to take refuge in Dongola. 
 
 The pohce of the city of Cairo is also highly 
 creditable to the vigour of his government, and 
 he has so far repressed the disorders of his 
 troops as nearly to verify a promise he made on 
 his appointment to the Pachalic, that in a few 
 
 "^ The pretended Ali Bey is a Spaniard of the name of Badia, who 
 was employed by Buonaparte as a spy, first in Morocco, and after- 
 Wards in Egypt and the east. 
 
44 
 
 years "you might walk about the streets with 
 both hands full of gold/^ 
 
 Every street in Cairo is shut at night by gates 
 at each end, so that returning home after eight 
 o^elock you are constantly obhged to stop and 
 shout to the porters of these different barriers; 
 — the cry, " EphthaP' Open! is heard by the 
 different patroles of Albanians; and this precau- 
 tion, added to the obligation which every person 
 is under of carrying a light as soon as it is dark, 
 contributes greatly to the security and tranquillity 
 of the city. 
 
 During our stay at Cairo we found the Pacha 
 engaged in organizing a large body of troops to act 
 against the Wahabees, who had in the preceding 
 campaign nearly annihilated his army in a battle 
 near Jedda. 
 
 From about the middle of the last century the 
 sect of Wahabees, which was founded by Abdoul- 
 Wahab, (whose object it was to reform the abuses 
 that had crept into the true religion of the Koran, 
 and even to deprive Mahomet of the honours 
 that had hitherto been paid to his ^memory,) had 
 been continually adding to its proselytes. 
 
45 
 
 They affected a peculiar austerity of manners, 
 enjoined the complete shaving of the head, and 
 proscribed some of the favourite customs of Ma- 
 hometans, such as the wearing of silk garments 
 and the habit of smoking. These privations, as 
 in all cases of fanaticism, increased rather than 
 diminished the number of their followers. 
 
 In 1802, Abdelaaziz was at the head of the 
 Wahabees, and after making himself master of 
 the interior of Arabia, sent his son Saaoud to take 
 possession of Mecca, and the Cabah, or House 
 of God. They became masters of Medina in 
 1804, and from that time obstructed the approach 
 of the caravan from Damascus, and forbad, as 
 idolatrous, the yearly offerings sent from Con- 
 stantinople to the tomb of the Prophet. 
 
 The authority of the Wahabees was not how- 
 ever fully estabhshed at Mecca till the year 1807, 
 when the Turkish troops retired from thence to 
 Jedda, which latter place they were soon after 
 compelled to evacuate. 
 
 Masters of the whole of Arabia and the strong 
 places upon the Red Sea, the Wahabees became 
 formidable neighbours to the Pacha "of Egypt. 
 To dispossess them of the holy shrine of Mecca, 
 
46 
 
 to restore it to the Turks^ and to secure the 
 tranquiUitj of his own dominions, were the ob- 
 jects of the war which Mahomed Ali was now 
 carrying on against them. To find employment 
 also for his own troops might possibly enter into 
 the views of the Pacha, who had, at the time I 
 am now speaking of, nearly 15,000 soldiers in 
 the field. 
 
 From the nature of the country in which the 
 war was carried on, his army was supplied with 
 provisions both for men and horses from Cairo, 
 from whence they were carried in boats up the 
 Nile as far as Kenneh, and afterwards transport- 
 ed on camels across the desert to Cosseir. From 
 this latter place they were shipped for Jambo, 
 or some other port on the eastern side of the 
 Red Sea; but we heard it asserted that, notwith- 
 standing every exertion on the part of the Pa- 
 cha, the horses belonging to his army were fre- 
 quently reduced to the necessity of subsisting 
 upon dried fish, as the distance of the capital 
 rendered the arrival of the supphes very uncer- 
 tain. The burthen of so expensive a mode of 
 warfare could only be borne by the enormous 
 profits the Pacha derived from the commerce m 
 
47 
 
 corn which he carried on with the English go- 
 vernment. 
 
 The particulars of this transaction, with which 
 we Ijecame acquainted during our stay in the 
 country, are as follows: 
 
 An agent of the British government whom we 
 met at Alexandria on our first landing, and who 
 was then on the point of returning to Gibraltar, 
 had made a contract with the Pacha of Egypt 
 for 40,000 ardebs* equal to about 70,000 quar- 
 ters, of corn, to supply our troops in Spain- 
 
 The terms of the agreement were, that eighty 
 piastres shoud be paid per ardeb, and that the 
 corn should be delivered in the month of April at 
 Alexandria. As soon as the Pacha had concluded 
 this favourable bargain, he laid an embargo on all 
 the boats upon the Nile and sent them into Up- 
 per Egypt for the corn, part of which was col- 
 lected in heu of contributions, and the rest was 
 bought of the fellah, or labouring Arabs, at the 
 rate often piastres per ardeb: so strict indeed 
 was the embargo, that it was with great difficul- 
 ty we could hire a boat to take us up to Cairo, 
 
 * An ardeb is equal to fourteen bushels English. 
 
48 
 
 and the moment we arrived at Boulac, it was 
 seized by the government. The Pacha used 
 such exertion in fulfiUing the conditions of his ad- 
 vantageous contract that the corn was dehvered 
 at Alexandria by the appointed time; — but it was 
 not until the month of May that any transports 
 arrived^ and they carried away only a fourth of 
 the whole quantity. 
 
 In July following, a convoy took away 10,000 
 ardebs more, and it was by that opportunity that 
 we left the country. At what period the rest was 
 removed, it is impossible to say; but certainly no 
 contract could have been made more disadvan- 
 tageous to the British government, i 
 
 Instead of fixing April for the delivery of the 
 corn, had the following month of May been ap- 
 pointed, which, as it appeared, would have been 
 quite early enough, the harvest would have been 
 got in, and the wheat would not only have been 
 much cheaper, but greatly better in quahty. 
 
 At the time we left Egypt, the corn was sprout- 
 ing in the impurities with which it was mixed^ 
 and we saw it actually smoking onboard the trans- 
 ports which carried it away. 
 
49 
 
 The Pacha was supphed also by the English 
 with arms; and it is ascertained that the Waha- 
 bees received the same assistance from the 
 French government, when in possession of the 
 Isle of France.* 
 
 To co-operate with these formidable prepara- 
 tions by land, Mahomed Ah had equipped several 
 vessels in the Red Sea, which contributed great- 
 ly to the success of his arms against the Waha- 
 bees. It is well known that he had sent, in the 
 year 1811, Ishmael Capitan to England, to en- 
 deavour to obtain permission to sail round the 
 Cape of Good Hope; but the jealousy of the East 
 India Company prevented a voyage in which his 
 miserable corvette would in all probability have 
 foundered. Thwarted in this scheme, the enter- 
 prizing Pacha, by the advice and at the sugges- 
 tion of an Itahan, procured timber from the 
 coast of Caramania and the Island of Cyprus, 
 and built at Alexandria some gun boats, two 
 
 * This fact, of which I believe there is no doubt, affords another 
 proof of the ultimate object of the French in their invasion of Egypt; 
 since had they succeeded in their expedition against that country, 
 the co-operation of the Wahabees would have opened to them a safe 
 and uninterrupted march as far as the Persian Gulf, whence an attack 
 on the British possessions in India would have been made. 
 
 7 
 
50 
 
 brigs and a small corvette, which, when finished, 
 were taken to pieces, conveyed up the Nile to 
 Cairo, and being there placed on the backs of 
 camels were carried to Suez. 
 
 By this means the Pacha had soon a very re- 
 spectable fleet, acting in the Red Sea, and bom- 
 barding the towns on the coast. 
 
 The most successful termination of the war is 
 to be expected from the activity and enterprize 
 of Ali, who, as we were informed on our arrival 
 at Cairo, had lately made himself master of a 
 strong pass, by the aid of a bribe, which promised 
 to lead to important results. 
 
 On our return down the Nile several months 
 afterwards, we heard of the taking of Medina, 
 Jedda and Mecca by the troops of the Pacha, 
 and were favoured with the sight of a letter from 
 the EngUsh agent at Cairo to Colonel Missett, 
 which, as it closes the history of the campaign, 
 against the Wahabees, may be properly inserted 
 here by anticipation. 
 
 The Pacha had sent his youngest son to Con- 
 stantinople, with the keys of Mecca, to be laid 
 at the feet of the Grand Signior; and the follow- 
 
61 
 
 ing is an account of the envoy^s reception at the 
 Porte: 
 
 '' The Viceroy of Egypt is highly pleased with 
 the very honourable and unexampled reception 
 given by the Grand Signior to his son Ismael 
 Pacha; besides the honour shown him on his en- 
 try into Constantinople, which was celebrated 
 with great pomp, the Grand Signior granted him 
 an audience in the apartment where the Robe 
 of the Prophet is kept, and permitted him to kiss 
 his feet three different times, to thank him for the 
 superb presents which his Highness condescend- 
 ed to confer upon Ismael Pacha at that moment. 
 These presents consisted of a district of Romeha, 
 a chelenk^ of extreme richness, and a cangiar\ 
 set in brilliants, which latter the Grand Signior 
 had worn himself in his girdle. 
 
 " His highness has granted Toussann Pacha 
 (second son of the Pacha) the third tail, with the 
 commandofJedda. Ibrahim Bey, the eldest son 
 of the Viceroy, has received the command of 
 Girgeh, in Upper Egypt, with the dignity of Pa- 
 
 * Chelenkj a sort of plume made of brilliants, given to such as have 
 distinguished themselves in battle, 
 t Ca/ngiar^ a knife worn in the girdle.. 
 
52 
 
 cha with two tails. As this last^ on his becoming 
 a Pacha can no longer occupy the post of Tefter- 
 dar^ his Highness will nominate to this place a 
 person who shall be the son-in-law of Ibrahint 
 Bey. 
 
 ^^Each individual in the suit of Ismael Pacha 
 has received a gratification of five purses, and 
 each of his officers has received a chelenk accor- 
 ding to his rank. In consequence of his victo- 
 ries over the Wahabees, and the re-estabhshment 
 of his authority in the sacred places, the Grand 
 Signior, with the approbation of the Ulemas, has 
 assumed the title of Gazi^ or conqueror, and has 
 conferred upon the Pacha of Egypt^ that of 
 
 In addition to this account of the rejoicings at 
 Constantinople, and the gratitude of the Porte 
 for the signal services of the Pacha, I may add, 
 that during our stay at Rosetta, while waiting for 
 an opportunity of quitting Egypt, the Coffee- 
 bearer of the Grand Signior arrived, on his way 
 
 * Tefterdar^ Dtfterdar^ accountant general, an office or dignify 
 conferred by the Porte. 
 
 I Khan. — The privilege attached to this title is, that the Grand 
 Signior cannot cut off his head. 
 
63 
 
 to Cairo, whither he was carrying a present to 
 the Pacha, consisting of a very rich caffian, and 
 some other vests. 
 
 In consequence of the strict embargo on all 
 the vessels upon the Nile, we were under the 
 necessity of applying personally to the Pacha, for 
 permission to hire a cangia, which he ordered 
 to be transferred to our use; and on the 13th of 
 January we sailed from the port of Cairo for 
 Upper Egypt, having engaged Mr. Barthow, 
 an American, who had resided many years in 
 the country, to accompany us and act as our in- 
 terpreter. 
 
 On the 14th we passed the Pyramids of 
 Abousir, Saccara, and Dashour, and the day fol- 
 lowing we were favoured with a good breeze, 
 and came in sight of the Pyi^amid of Meidoun. 
 
 On the 17th we passed Benisouef, and on the 
 21st we left Miniet, and early in the morning 
 landed under the ruined village of Benihassan, to 
 visit the grottoes of which Norden has given a 
 view, attributing them to " holy hermits who made 
 their abodes there. ^' Mr. Hamilton has given a 
 very elaborate account of the paintings which 
 cover the walls of the chambers; but w-e found 
 
54. 
 
 it difficult to follow his descriptions. The ceil- 
 ings of these grottoes are generally arched, 
 while others are supported by columns cut out 
 of the rock, having a truly Egyptian character, 
 and the appearance of four branches of palm 
 trees tied together. The largest chamber is sixty 
 feet in length, and forty in height; to the south of 
 it are seventeen smaller apartments, and proba- 
 bly the same number to the north. Ten columns 
 have supported this large chamber, but four of 
 them have fallen down; we measured also two 
 other chambers whose length was fifty-two feet 
 five inches, breadth thirty-nine feet four in- 
 ches, and height fourteen feet three inches. 
 From these are doorways leading into smaller 
 apartments. 
 
 We spent some hours in examining these 
 excavations, and soon after arrived at Sheikh 
 Ababde, the site of ancient Antinoe. This city 
 was founded by Adrian, who here, according to 
 some accounts in history, accepted of the volun- 
 tary sacrifice of his friend Antinous, to gratify his 
 own superstition. The ruins are very extensive, 
 but none of very high antiquity, being evidently 
 of Roman architecture. 
 
55 
 
 An avenue of granite columns leads from the 
 river to the chief entrance into the city; and 
 -amongst the most conspicuous of the ruins are to 
 be observed a large arched gateway, a quadri- 
 vium, the remains of a Roman theatre, and of 
 three temples. 
 
 From the ruins of the Roman city of Antinoe, 
 we hastened to see the splendid portico of Her- 
 mopoUs, which, as it was the first Egyptian mo- 
 nument, with the exception of the Pyramids, we 
 had examined, it was impossible to approach 
 without partaking of the enthusiasm with which 
 Denon speaks of this superb relique of antiquity. 
 At Erramoun, a small village on the west bank of 
 the Nile, and the port of the town of Melaoui, 
 which is situated at the distance of an hour from 
 the river, and famous for a large factory of su- 
 gar, we took asses, and in about two hours reach- 
 ed Ashmounien, the site of ancient Hermopolis. 
 
 The Portico is all that remains of the Tem- 
 ple, but it is quite perfect and consists of twelve 
 massive columns, which are not built of cyUndri- 
 calblocksofstone, but each block is formed of 
 several pieces so neatly joined together, that 
 
56 
 
 where they are not injured by time, it is difBcult 
 to discover the junction of the several pieces. 
 
 The columns are arranged in two rows distant 
 from each other twelve feet, and the roof is 
 formed of large slabs of stone, covered with 
 stucco, and beautifully ornamented. 
 
 The columns and the whole of the interior of 
 the Portico have been painted; among the co- 
 lours, red, blue and yellow seem to be the most 
 predominant. 
 
 The hieroglyphics on the pHnths are different 
 on each front, but they are the same on every 
 plinth on the same front. 
 
 The capitals, which in some degree represent 
 the tulip in bud, are let into the columns. 
 Several other columns of granite are scattered 
 about near the temple, and we observed some 
 also in a ruined mosque, built on the site of the 
 ancient town. The views given by Denon of 
 Egyptian monuments are, in general, highly credi- 
 table to the talents and zeal of that traveller, but 
 his dehneation of Hermopohs bespeaks the haste 
 with which he travelled, and the rapid glimpse 
 with which he was sometimes obliged to content 
 
57 
 
 himself; for the winged globe he has represented 
 on the frieze does not exist in the original. 
 
 Owing to light breezes, we did not arrive 
 at Siout till the 26th January. This city, which 
 has succeeded to Girgeh, as the capital of Up- 
 per Egypt, is situated about a mile and a half 
 from the Nile, from which an elevated causeway 
 leads across an arched bridge, built of brick, to 
 the town. A canal dug at an early period paral- 
 lel to the river washes the foot of the mountains 
 in the neighbourhood, and having surrounded the 
 city and adjacent villages descends again into 
 the Nile. 
 
 At the time of the inundation, when the wa- 
 ter is admitted into the canal, Siout communi- 
 cates with the river, by the artificial elevated 
 road mentioned above. On our return down the 
 Nile, we visited the celebrated catacombs of Ly- 
 copoUs in the vicinity of the town; but as we had 
 examined some excavations of far greater magni- 
 tude in Upper Egypt, our curiosity was some- 
 what abated, and we were rather disappointed. 
 
 Here we had the good fortune to fall in with 
 our friend Shekh Ibrahim, who had left Cairo 
 about the time of our departure, but had prefer- 
 
58 
 
 red the mode of travelling up the country on 
 asses, and was now waiting at Siout for a guide 
 to conduct him to the great Oasis, where a tribe 
 of Bedouins^ who were at war with the Pacha, 
 had lately estabhshed themselves. 
 
 The history of their wanderings, as related to 
 us at Siout, is somewhat curious, and affords a 
 remarkable instance of the unsettled life of these 
 singular tribes. 
 
 They had been driven from the neighbourhood 
 of Tripoli, by the Bey of that country, and had 
 crossed the Great Desert, with the intention of 
 passing the Nile at Benisouef, and afterwards 
 retiring into Syria. But the Pacha of Egypt, 
 fearing probably that they might join his enemies 
 the Wahabees, refused them permission to pro- 
 ceed, and they were thus obliged to retrace their 
 steps into the Western Desert, where they ulti- 
 mately settled in the Oasis. 
 
 Shekh Ibrahim had heard of a merchant who 
 dwelt at the distance of three days journey from 
 Siout, and who trafficked with this tribe of Be- 
 douins, and he was now awaiting his arrival, in 
 the hopes of being able, through his interest, to 
 reach the new settlement. 
 
59 
 
 Ibrahim Bey, the eldest son of the Pacha of 
 Cairo, commanded in Upper Egypt, and we found 
 him residing in the Capital of Siout. He was a 
 man of some talent, and had the reputation of ex- 
 cessive cruelty, but he received us well, and we 
 had every reason to be satisfied with his civility 
 and attention. Neither during our stay, in pas- 
 sing up, nor on our return from the Cataracts, 
 did we witness the amval of the CafHet-es-Sou- 
 dan, or the caravan of slaves from the interior 
 of Africa, but we learned some particulars of 
 this horrid traffic. 
 
 The route taken by the caravan of Jelabs, or 
 slave merchants, is partly the same as that traced 
 by Poncet at the beginning of the last century on 
 his way to Abyssinia, who passed by Sheb and 
 Selimi, and thence striking across the desert to 
 the south east, crossed the Nile at Moscho. 
 
 In the course of this long and tedious journey, 
 they suffer occasionally great hardships, and we 
 were informed that the Jelabs seized upon these 
 periods of distress, arising from a scarcity of wa- 
 ter or provisions, to perform the operation of 
 emasculation, which according to our informant, 
 was done completely by the entire removal of 
 
60 
 
 the genitals. The wretches were afterward^ 
 buried in the sand to a certain depths and in this 
 rude manner the hemorrhage was stopped. The 
 calculation was, that one out of three only sur- 
 vived the operation, which was performed at a 
 moment of distress, that the risk of mortality 
 might be incurred, at a time when the merchants 
 could best spare their slaves. Their method of 
 travelling was to shng a dozen of the negroes 
 across the back of a camel. 
 
 With respect to the value of these slaves in 
 Egypt, it is various, according to their age, sex, 
 and other qualit es. 
 
 An eunuch was estimated at fifteen hundred 
 piastres. 
 
 Girls whose virginity was secured by means 
 more powerful than moral restraint were valued 
 at five hundred piastres: but such is the state of 
 degradation to which the human species is reduc- 
 ed in this country, that the precaution serves onlj 
 to produce abuses of a more revolting nature. 
 
 Female slaves who could not boast of this ad- 
 vantage were in general sold for three hundred 
 piastres; but if they had lived in a Frank family^ 
 and had learned to sew, wash and wait at table;, 
 
61 
 
 their value was estimated in the market at Cairo 
 at seven hundred piastres. 
 
 We left Siout and reached AntaeopoUs, now 
 known under the name of Gaw-el-Kebir, on the 
 28th^ about mid-day. 
 
 The Portico of the Temple which is standing 
 consists of three rows^ each of six columns ; four 
 have fallen down^ they are eight feet in diameter, 
 and with their entablature are sixty-two feet high. 
 This ruin, which from its situation in a thick grove 
 of date trees, is perhaps the most picturesque in 
 Egypt, stands close to the banks of the Nile, 
 whose waters have already undermined ^ome 
 parts of it, and threaten to wash the whole away. 
 The columns, architraves, and indeed every stone 
 of the building, are covered with hieroglyphics, 
 which are in low relief At the farthest extremi- 
 ty of the Temple is an immense block of granite 
 ofapyramidical form, twelve feet high, and nine 
 square at the base, in which a niche has been cut 
 seven feet in height, four feet wide, and three 
 deep. These monolithic temples, as they have 
 been called, are supposed to have been the 
 chests or depositaries of the sacred birds. 
 
62 
 
 From the western temple, a long quay has for- 
 merly extended, intended probably as well for the 
 pm^poses of trade as to prevent the encroach- 
 ments of the Nile. At night we arrived at Tahta, 
 situated^ like Siout, at the distance of about two 
 miles from the river, and the following day we 
 passed the mountain called Shekh Eredy, which 
 is on the east bank, and has received its appella- 
 tion from a Mahomedan Santon, whom the cre- 
 dulous Arabs believe to have migrated after his 
 death into the body of a large serpent, now reve- 
 red as the oracle of the place. We inquired for 
 the serpent; but as our arrival was unexpected, 
 and time had not been given for the necessary 
 previous arrangement of putting the animal into 
 the oracular cave, we were answered that he 
 was gone abroad, and could not now be consulted. 
 In the exhibitions of the Psylli, as they are called, 
 or charmers of serpents, which we had frequent- 
 ly witnessed at Cario and other places in Egypt, 
 the secret seemed to be to draw the venemous 
 teeth, and break the backs of the animals, which 
 still have the power of erecting themselves at 
 the command of the juggler. 
 
m 
 
 As we continued to advance up the Nile, we 
 frequently landed for the purpose of purchasing 
 provisions, or of visiting the temples and villages 
 on each bank of the river; and on these occa- 
 sions, the luxuriant fertiUty of the soil, as con- 
 trasted with the wretched state of poverty and 
 misery of the inhabitants, could not but excite 
 melancholy reflections on the numerous evils 
 they suffer from the arbitrary government by 
 which they are oppressed. 
 
 The fields, enriched by the Nile, teem with 
 plenty; the date trees are loaded with fruit; cat- 
 tle of every kind, poultry and milk, abound in 
 every village ; but the wretched Arab is compel- 
 § led to live on a few lentils, and a small portion 
 of bread and water, while he sees his fields 
 plundered, and his cattle driven away, to gratify 
 the insatiable wants of a mercenary soldier, and 
 the inordinate claims of a rapacious governor. 
 After having paid the various contributions, and 
 answered the numerous demands made upon 
 him, not a twentieth of the produce of his labour 
 falls to his own share; and without the prospect 
 of enjoying the fruit of his toil, the Jellah, natu- 
 rally indolent himself, allows his fields to remain 
 
64 
 
 uncultivated, conscious that his industry would 
 be but an additional temptation to the extortion 
 of tyranny. 
 
 On the 30th we arrived at Menshieh, the an- 
 cient Ptolemais Hermii, of which no vestige is to 
 be observed except the ruins of an old quay. 
 While at anchor here the day after our arrival, 
 smoking on the outside of the cabin of our can- 
 gia, an Albanese soldier, who was passing up 
 the river, directed his musket towards our boat, 
 and deliberately aimed at me. The ball passed 
 close to my head, through the hat of our drago- 
 man, and hit the arm of my friend, Mr. Smelt. 
 When we applied to the Cacheff for redress for 
 so wanton and insolent an outrage, we received 
 for answer, that the soldier hke ourselves was a 
 passenger, and being on the water was not Hable 
 to his jurisdiction:— such is the justice of a 
 Turkish commandant: though it is but fair to ac- 
 knowledge that this was the only instance in 
 which we did not find the firman of the Pacha 
 of Cairo, a sufficient protection against any ill 
 usuage. 
 
 We left Menshieh on the 2d February, with a 
 i^trong breeze from the North, and wishing to 
 
65 
 
 profit by this favourable wind, we passed Girgeh, 
 and did not stop before we reached Cafr Saide, 
 supposed to be the site of Chenobosscion, where 
 a quay near the river alone points out its claim 
 4o antiquity. 
 
 In the course of this day, we passed Diospohs 
 Parva, the modern How. It was a little before 
 our arrival at this place, that we saw crocodiles 
 for the first time ; they were basking on the sand 
 banks in the river, and some of the largest might 
 be twenty-five feet long. I beheve Girgeh may 
 be considered the limit below which the croco- 
 diles do not descend; from this place to the Ca- 
 taracts we observed them in great numbers; 
 I above Essouan, the sand banks in the Nile are 
 less frequent, and, consequently, fewer of these 
 animals were to be seen. The superstitious na- 
 tives attribute the circumstance of crocodiles not 
 being observed in the lower parts of the Nile to 
 the influence of a taUsman fixed in the walls of 
 the Mikkias, or Nilometer, at Cairo. 
 
 While opposite Diospolis Parva, we experien- 
 ced a gale of the Xamsin, which though we were on 
 the water and consequently in a great measure 
 
 protected from its violence, was still so formidable 
 
 9 
 
66 
 
 in its effects^ as to dispose us to give foil credit to 
 the accounts of travellers^ and^ indeed, of entire 
 caravans being overtaken and buried in the sand 
 hj this destructive v\rind of the Desert. The air 
 became thick and cloudy^, as if a storm of snow 
 or sleet w^ere coming on^ and we felt our eyes^ 
 ears and mouths filled with the fine particles of 
 sand;, which were raised and suspended in the 
 atmosphere. We suffered also in our food, for 
 the pilau, which formed the great article of our 
 sustenance, was rendered so gritty as to be 
 scarcely eatable; and on opening our trunks, 
 which had been closed and locked, we found con- 
 siderable quantities of sand deposited between 
 the folds of our Hnen. 
 
 The wind still continuing favourable, we did 
 not stop to see the magnificent ruins of Dendera, 
 but proceeded to Ghennah, to lay in a stock of 
 provisions. — The Bey, the son of a Mameluke, 
 and a very young man, received us with great 
 hospitaUty, and entreated us to stay some days 
 with him; and when he saw we were determin- 
 ed to pursue our journey, sent us a present of a 
 sheep, sugar, coffee and bread, for which we 
 
67 
 
 gave him, in return, a telescope and some En- 
 glish gunpowder. 
 
 On the morning of the 6th, we passed Koptos 
 and Kous, ApoUinopolis Parva, and the following 
 day landed on the plain of Thebes, on the wes- 
 tern side of the river. Thebes, celebrated by 
 Homer as the city of a hundred gates, and de- 
 scribed by Herodotus and eveiy succeeding tra- 
 veller, offers in the extent of its ruins and the 
 immensity of its colossal fragments, so many 
 astonishing objects, that one is rivetted to the 
 spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step 
 or fix the attention. The circumference of the 
 ancient city has been estimated at twenty-seven 
 miles, stretching itself on either bank, and resting 
 on the sides of the mountains which border the 
 river. As you advance up the Nile, the great 
 Temple of Karnac is the first object that at- 
 tracts the attention on the east, and the remains 
 of the Temple of Luxor mark the southern ex- 
 tremity of the walls of the city on the same side 
 of the river. Opposite, on the western bank, 
 are the Memnonium, the two colossal statues, 
 and the remains of Medinet Abou. 
 
68 
 
 The Necropolis, or celebrated caverns, known 
 as the sepulchres of the ancient kings of Thebes, 
 are excavations in the mountains, to w^hich the 
 passage called Bib an-el-Moluh leads, and vs^hich 
 are filled with sculptures and paintings relating to 
 religious mysteries, still in the highest degree of 
 preservation. The hasty sketch of the ruins of 
 Thebes to be found in the Travels of Denon, and 
 the minute description of the paintings with which 
 Mr. Hamilton's book is enriched, may be consult- 
 ed for the details of this wonderful spot 
 
 It has been disputec* to which of the colossal 
 figures the n^me of the celebrated statue of 
 Memnon should be affixed. But the French 
 writers have given that appellation to the frag- 
 ment of a statue of red granite, lying among the 
 ruiois of the Memnonium, whose dimensions 
 across the shoulders, where it measures twenty- 
 five feet, will convey some idea of the magnitude 
 of the building it was intended to ornament. 
 
 The last considerable town we passed on our 
 journey upwards was Esne, but wishing to profit 
 by the north wind, which still continued to blow 
 in our favour, we did not halt there, reserving for 
 our return an examination of its remains, as well 
 
69 
 
 as of those of the ancient towns of Eleithias, Et- 
 fou, (ApolHnopolis Magna,) and Koum Ombos. 
 
 We reached Essouan on the 11th February, 
 having performed a journey of six hundred miles 
 from Cairo. Our first object was to visit the Shekh 
 or Arab governor of the town, for there was no 
 Turkish garrison here; the last soldiers of the 
 Pacha we had seen being stationed at Esne. We 
 were somewhat surprized at this, having concei- 
 ved that the frontier town would have been a 
 place of such importance as to require a garrison 
 against the attempts of th^t Mamelukes. But it 
 seemed the Pacha considered the sterility of the 
 desert, together with the gradually decreasing 
 numbers of that restless soldiery, a sufficient guar- 
 antee for the tranquillity of Egypt 
 
 In our interview with the Shekh, whom we hi- 
 vited to dine with us, in spite of his miserable 
 caftan and the disgusting filth of his person, we 
 made every inquiry about the practicability of 
 proceeding beyond the Cataracts into the coun- 
 try of the Barabras, and the information we ob- 
 tained from him gave us the greatest encourage- 
 ment. The difficulties encountered by other^ 
 travellers, from the disturbed state of Nubia, no 
 
^0 
 
 longer existed; the Mamelukes were at a great 
 distance, and the Barabras, though they did not 
 acknowledge any subjection to the Pacha, were 
 at peace with the government of Egypt. As it 
 may appear singular that Abyssinia and other 
 parts of the interior of Africa, apparently more 
 inaccessible, should have been explored, and 
 yet the country immediately above the Cataracts 
 remain comparatively unknown, it may be worth 
 while to examine into the causes which have 
 prevented former travellers from penetrating 
 into Nubia. 
 
 " At Essouan, (says Browne, in his Travels 
 into Africa,) I remained three days, contriving, 
 if possible, to pursue my route up the Nile; but 
 a war having arisen between the Mamelukes of 
 Upper Egypt and the CachefFof Ibrim, no one 
 was suffered to pass from Egypt to Nubia: the 
 caravans had all been stopped for many months, 
 and not even a camel could be procured. With 
 deep regret for the disappointment in my earnest 
 wish of proceeding to Abyssinia by this route, I 
 was constrained to abandon all hope for that 
 season and to think of returning. ^^ — P. 142. 
 
71 
 
 Mr. Hamilton relates, that on his arrival at the 
 Cataracts he was deterred from proceeding, by 
 the accounts he there received of the difficulty 
 of the roads, and the inhospitable disposition of 
 the inhabitants; he was told that they had not 
 for a long time submitted to the Turks, and had 
 never acknowledged the sovereignty of the Ma- 
 melukes; neither had they been visited by the 
 French, and were resolutely determined to pre- 
 vent the arrival of any foreigners. He adds, that 
 the CachefFs of the Berberi were formerly no- 
 minally dependent on the Porte, and remitted 
 annually a tribute to Cairo, but that they threw 
 off the yoke at the time the Beys became mas- 
 ters of Egypt. 
 
 Soleyman Cacheff, who died a few years ago, 
 united the lesser chieftains under himself; the 
 country was quiet, and Mr. Hamilton thought 
 that a cautious ti'aveller might then have pene- 
 trated into Nubia; but at the time of his visit to 
 the Cataracts, Elfi Bey was encamped in the 
 neighbourhood, and dissuaded him from going 
 farther. Mr. Hamilton justly observes, that the 
 Beys had an interest in increasing the difficulties 
 of penetrating farther south than the Cataract^. 
 
72 
 
 as they look to a retreat in that country as their 
 last resource in the event of a temporary expul- 
 sion from Egypt 
 
 The boundary of the French expedition in 
 Egypt was marked on a granite rock a little 
 above the Cataracts; and the obstinate resistance 
 shown by the inhabitants to the entry of their 
 troops into the Isle of Philse^ and the jealous 
 fear of strangers exhibited on that occasion, 
 strengthened the idea of the difficulty of passing 
 the Cataracts. No terms of accommodation would 
 be listened to; but when the natives were no lon- 
 ger able to prevent the approach of the enemy, 
 they quitted the island in despair, and men, wo- 
 men apd children were seen to plunge themselves 
 into the Nile, and swim to the opposite shore. 
 Mothers drowned their infants whom they could 
 not carry away with them, and mutilated their 
 daughters, to preserve them from the violation 
 of the conquerors. 
 
 " Lorsque j^entrai (says Denon) le lendemain 
 dans File, je trouvai une petite jfille de 7 a 8 ans, 
 a laquelle une couture faite avec autant de bru- 
 talite que de cruaute avoit ote tous les moyens 
 de satisfaire au plus pressant besoin, et lui cau- 
 
73 
 
 soitdes convulsions horribles: ce ne fut qu^avec 
 mie contre operation et im bain que je sauvai la 
 vie a cette malheureuse petite creature qui etoit 
 tout a fait jolie/^ — Vol. ii. p. 89. 
 
 Norden the only European who had surmoun- 
 ted these difficulties gives the following account 
 of the conversation he held with the Aga of Es^- 
 «ouan, who endeavoured, but in vain, to dissuade 
 him fiom his attempt. " You^U be all destroyed/^ 
 «ayshe; "you are going not amongst men, but 
 amongst savage beasts; they would murder a man 
 for a parat. In what manner will they deal with 
 you, who carry such ti'easures?" But when the 
 traveller was determined to proceed, — " Im-Se- 
 halla!'^ cried out the Aga, as he delivered pass- 
 ports to the dragoman of the party; "here, take 
 the letters they have asked of me for the gran- 
 dees; let them go in God's name: but I am sor* 
 ry that those scoundrels should get so many fine 
 things as you have with you/' 
 
 On the other hand, the Shekh of Essouan, 
 
 with whom we had frequent conversations on 
 
 the subject, rather encouraged than dissuaded 
 
 us from the expedition. He promised that his 
 
 son should accompany us, and engaged to pro- 
 
 10 
 
u 
 
 cure for us a smaller boat at Philse, as the one 
 we had brought from Cairo could not, at this 
 time of the year, pass the Cataracts. We were 
 probably indebted, in some measure, to the cupi- 
 dity of the Shekh for the eagerness with which 
 he promoted our voyage, as he undertook to dis- 
 pose of a quantity of salt which we brought with 
 us from Cairo, both as ballast to our boat, and as 
 merchandize. The prospect of the gain he 
 should derive from this transaction, induced him 
 to hasten our departure as soon as possible. 
 
 We remained at Essouan a few days, and em- 
 ployed our time in visiting the islands of Elephan- 
 tina, Philae, and the Cataracts. 
 
 The island of Elephantina is celebrated for 
 its beauty, and certainly contains within itself 
 every thing to make it one of the most enchanting 
 spots in the world; woods, gardens, canals, mills, 
 rivers, and rocks combine to make it picturesque. 
 
 At the southern extremity of the island, are the 
 remains of Egyptian architecture, consisting of a 
 very ancient square temple, covered in every 
 part with hieroglyphics well sculptured and in re- 
 lief, and near it stand the remains of another edi- 
 
75 
 
 fice of nearly the same form and size, but in a 
 state of greater dilapicjation. The ornaments of 
 the latter building are accompanied by the repre- 
 sentation of the Serpent;, the emblem of wisdom 
 and eternity, and hence it has been supposed this 
 may have been the temple of Cneph. — Roman re- 
 mains are to be observed in the same part of the 
 island and great quantities of fragments of earth- 
 en vessels are strewed about. 
 
 We thought the inhabitants of the island of 
 Philse much more savage and less civilized, than 
 any Arabs we had yet met with; and on our return 
 from Nubia, had no reason to change our opi- 
 nion. Like the natives of the neighbouring vil- 
 lages, they always go armed, particularly when 
 they quit their homes. Their weapons are 
 chiefly a spear and a dagger, which latter they 
 fasten with a strap and buckle immediately 
 above the elbow of the left arm; and we had 
 frequent occasions to admire the adroitness 
 with which they couched and completely cover- 
 ed themselves with their shields. In this posi- 
 tion they would defy our attack, and permitted 
 us to throw stones or their own spears at them, 
 with the greatest violence. 
 
76 
 
 Eight temples or sanctuaries are crowded 
 together on the small island of Philae, though its 
 dimensions do not exceed one thousand feet 
 in length, and four hundred in breadth. They 
 do not appear to have been built with any atten- 
 tion to symmetry, are of various dimensions, and 
 evidently constructed at different periods. This 
 irregularity in their position produces some of 
 the most picturesque groups. 
 
 From the appearance and present state of 
 these temples^ it appears clear that the system of 
 building amongst the ancient Egyptians, was first 
 to construct great masses, and afterwards to la- 
 bour for ages in finishing the details of the deco- 
 ration, beginning with the sculpture of the hiero- 
 glyphics, and then passing to the stucco and paint- 
 ing. In Philae, as at Thebes and Dendera, nothing 
 is finished but what is of the highest antiquity. 
 
 This island is supposed to have been the bu- 
 rying place of Osiris, who was worshipped under 
 the type of the Sacred Hawk. 
 
 The granite quarries at the foot of the moun- 
 tains to the east still bear the marks of the chis- 
 sel and the wedge; and the unfinished obelisks, 
 columns, and sarcophagi, which are to be seen 
 
77 
 
 in great profusion, show the unwearied labour 
 »and mighty schemes of the ancient inhabitants. 
 
 So much has been written on the Cataracts 
 of the Nile, that it may almost appear superflu- 
 ous to attempt any further description, if it were 
 not that the vague and contradictory accounts of 
 authors seem to call for some explanation. Eight 
 Cataracts have been enumerated in the course 
 of the Nile, from its source in the Mountains of 
 the Moon, to the last fall a little above Essouan, 
 where the river is about half a mile broad; Nor- 
 den estimates the fall at only four feet, and 
 Pococke even so low as three feet. The latter 
 indeed, on his visit to the Cataracts, asks where 
 they are.*^ and is surprized to find he is looking 
 on them. 
 
 On the right bank of the river there are more 
 obstacles from rocky islands than on the left, on 
 which side during the period of the inundation, 
 (in September, for instance,) boats may sail up 
 with a tolerable breeze from the N. W., or be 
 hauled up by a rope without much difficulty. 
 But there are modern travellers who seem to 
 have listened rather to the stories of the ancients. 
 
78 
 
 than to the evidence of their own senses: and 
 Cicero is still quoted to prove that the inhabi- 
 tants in the neighbourhood of the Cataract are 
 deafened by its noise. In confirmation of the 
 fact, it has been lately asserted that the natives 
 of that par»t are remarkably dull of hearing. 
 
 In order to understand the descriptions vsrhich 
 are given in ancient authors of the Cataracts, one 
 must admit an almost incredible change in the bed 
 of the river, or suppose that their accounts relate 
 rather to the second Cataract at Genadil, v^hich 
 is said to be much more considerable than the one 
 at Syene. We were at the Cataracts the time 
 of year when the fall is the greatest, and certainly 
 witnessed nothing which warrants the glowing co- 
 lours in which they have been so often described; 
 but such is the confusion in the different accounts, 
 that it is more reasonable to suppose them great- 
 ly exaggerated. Perhaps a tolerably correct 
 idea will be formed of the real appearance of 
 these falls, by the mention of the fact, that the 
 boys of the neighbouring huts would at any time 
 for the reward of a para, dive into the most rapid 
 cascade, when after disappearing for a few se- 
 conds, their heads were again seen above the 
 
79 
 
 water^ at the distance of forty or fifty yards be» 
 low. They were in the constant habit of di- 
 ving also for the purpose of catching fish. 
 
 At the same time it must be allowed that the 
 view of the barrier which nature has placed be- 
 tween Nubia and Egypt is in the highest degree 
 magnificent. Passing upwards from Egypt, you 
 leave the delicious gardens of the island of 
 Elephantina, which divides the Nile into nearly 
 two equal streams; and on the left the romantic 
 and ruined town of Essouan strongly reminded 
 us of the old Gothic castles in England. 
 
 Beyond, the two chains of Primitive mountains 
 lying on each side the Nile cross the bed of the 
 river, and form innumerable rocky points or 
 islands to impede its course. 
 
 The wild disorder of the granite rocks which 
 present every variety of grotesque shape, the ab- 
 sence of all cultivation, the murmur of the water, 
 and the savage and desolate character of the 
 whole scene, form a picture which exceeds all 
 power of description. In passing this frontier, 
 however, notwithstanding the facilities afforded us 
 by the Shekh we were still disobeying the orders 
 of the Pacha, who had expressly forbidden us in 
 
80 
 
 his firman to proceed above the Cataracts^ which 
 formed the natural boundary of his dominion; be- 
 yond this he would not answer for our safety, and 
 it is probable he was secretly unwilling we should 
 have any communication with the Mamelukes, 
 who had taken refuge southward in the Desert. 
 Thus the step we were about to take was doubly 
 hazardous; but the desire to examine a country 
 which had baffled the attempts of former travel- 
 lers, was not to be resisted. As we should gd 
 amicably, and from the smallness of our num- 
 bers could not inspire any alarm as to the object 
 of our journey, we might possibly be permitted 
 to proceed; — at all events we were determined to 
 make the attempt. 
 
 The knowledge we previously had of the 
 country called Nubia was confined to the hasty 
 observations of Norden, and the reports of some 
 of the natives who had come down to Essouan, 
 which are collected in the Memoire sur la Nubie 
 et les Barabras, p. 399: Description de FEgypte, 
 par M. Costaz, Etat Moderne, tome i. The 
 name of Nubia is given generally to that portion 
 of the Valley of the Nile situated between Egypt 
 and the kingdom of Sennar. M. Costaz, who was 
 at Philse in the month of September, 1799, 
 
81 
 
 learned the following particulars of the inhabi- 
 tants of that country. 
 
 '^The Nubians are neither Arabs, Negroes, 
 nor Egyptians: they form a distinct race with a 
 particular physiognomy and colour, and speak a 
 language peculiar to themselves, in which they 
 are called Barabras. Wlierever there is any soil 
 on the banks of the Nile, they plant date trees, 
 establish their wheels for irrigation, and sow a 
 kind of millet called dourah, and also some legu- 
 minous plants. Their trade consists chiefly in 
 cloth, which they buy at Esne, giving in ex- 
 change dry dates. The Barabras were at that 
 time, (1799) under the nominal dominion of the 
 Turks, and paid an annual tribute of dates and 
 black slaves, which latter they procured from 
 the caravans of Sennar. They are in the habit 
 of coming down into Egypt in search of employ, 
 and are known at Cairo under the name of Ber- 
 berins. They are highly praised for their hones- 
 ty, in which they differ much from the Arabs their 
 neighbours.^^ M. Costaz concludes his Memoir 
 with the following observation on tjie difficulty of 
 
 penetrating into their country: 
 
 11 
 
82 
 
 **^Les Barabras sont Mahometans et paroissent 
 tres zeles pour leur religion; malgre leur douceur, 
 lis ont beaucoup d^aversion pour les etrangers: 
 c^est toujours avec peine quails les ont vus ar- 
 river dans leur pays. L^un de ceux avec qui j^eus 
 des rapports a Philae me dit: Ce sont ces monu- 
 mens qui attirent ici les etrangers; des que vous 
 serez partis nous les demolirons^ afin qu^on nous 
 laisse tranquilles chez nous. Cette disposition om- 
 brageuse des Barabras n^avoit rien d^inquietant 
 pour nous, parce que nous etions proteges par 
 une force suffisante. Mais les voyageurs isoles, qui 
 seront dans le cas de visiter les monumens situes 
 a Philae et au-dessus^ ne pouvant pas jouir de la 
 meme securite, ferontbien de prendre pour leur 
 surete toutes les precautions possibles.^^ 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 We bade adieu to our friend the Shekh, and 
 left Essouan on the 13th to go to a village oppo- 
 site the Island of Philee, a distance of about four 
 miles, where the small one-masted boat we had 
 hired was lying at anchor. As we crossed the 
 Desert and took leave of the Swiss servant whom 
 we left in charge of our baggage, to wait our re- 
 turn to the Cataracts, it was impossible to avoid 
 feeling anxious at the prospect and probable suc- 
 cess of the journey we were about to undertake: 
 we were more than a thousand miles distant 
 from the port of Alexandria; our faces were still 
 turned to the South; and in thus disregarding the 
 injunction of the Pacha of Egypt, we were at the 
 same time placing ourselves beyond the protec- 
 tion of his authority. It was uncertain what 
 might await us in this undiscovered country; per- 
 haps we should be stopped in limine by the first 
 
84 
 
 tribe of Nubians we should fall in with, or, being 
 permitted to proceed, be delivered into the hands 
 of the Mamelukes. 
 
 For the first five miles after we left Philae, 
 the river takes a south by east course, and then 
 for a mile it runs west by south, when it again 
 turns south. As our wish was to proceed as far 
 up the Nile as possible, we took advantage of 
 every breeze, and seldom stopped to visit the ruins 
 of the various temples we saw on the banks of 
 the river, intending to examine them at our lei- 
 sure when we returned. 
 
 We passed Debode, which is situated on the 
 western side, about ten miles above Philge, where 
 are the ruins of a small temple. The river flows 
 in a regular, deep stream, for the most part wash- 
 ing the base of the eastern and western moun- 
 tains; but here and there the inundation having 
 covered the rocks with soil, or having thrown up 
 banks of mud and sand, small spots are cultivated 
 and planted with date trees. We anchored for the 
 night in the neighbourhood of Siala, a village oH 
 the east bank, about eighteen miles above Philae, 
 and situated about a mile from the river. In the 
 morning, the Reis or Captain of our boat informed 
 
85 
 
 us we must pay a visit to Doiiab Cacheff^ who 
 was encamped about a mile and a half from the 
 village with a considerable party, forming a sort 
 of advanced guard of the Nubians. The Shekh 
 of Essouan had given us a letter to the first tribe 
 of Barabras we might meet, and we now set out 
 to claim the protection of the CachefF. On our 
 arrival, we found the men encamped in wig- 
 wams, and the woman and children stationed 
 apart in tents, the whole body might be about 
 four hundred: their horses and camels were feed- 
 ing around them. 
 
 We sat an hour without the camp before the 
 Cacheff made his appearance, and in the mean 
 time w ere surrounded by many of the Nubians, 
 who expressed great surprise and curiosity at our 
 appearance. From the time we were kept in 
 suspense and the apparent demur and delay, we 
 were much afraid we should not be allowed to 
 proceed; but the Cacheff at length appeared, and 
 after having asked us many questions, such as 
 whence we came, and the object of our voyage, 
 he ofifered us coffee. As this w as a token of 
 peace, we began by giving him the letter we had 
 brought from Essouan; and finding afterwards 
 
86 
 
 that he was unable to read Turkish, we showed 
 him our Firman written in that language, which 
 we persuadedhim contained a permission from the 
 Pacha of Egypt to penetrate as far as we pleased 
 into the country above the Cataracts. Though 
 the Nubians consider themselves independent of 
 the government of Egypt, yet they were desirous 
 of remaining on friendly terms with the Pacha, 
 and his supposed recommendation had, doubtless 
 its weight with the Cacheff who appeared to make 
 no objection, to our proceeding, and said he would 
 send off an express to Dehr to inform Hassan 
 Cacheff of our intended visit to his capital. He 
 offered us milk, flour, and butter, invited us to 
 cat out of the same bowl with him, and on taking 
 our leave we desired him to send down to our 
 boat and we would make him a present of coffee 
 and tobacco ; in return for which he afterwards 
 sent us a sheep. We retraced our steps to the 
 river, astonished and delighted at the friendly re- 
 ception we had met with, so different from what 
 we had been led to expect, and even from what 
 we had generally experienced in Upper Egypt. 
 In our journey from Cairo to Essouan, wherev- 
 er we landed, which we frequently did to buy 
 
87 
 
 provisions, the people of the villages ran av\^ay and 
 drove their cattle into the desert and the moun- 
 tains beyond; in these cases our only resource 
 vsras to attempt, if possible, to lay hold of one of the 
 children, who generally endeavoured to hide 
 themselves among the sugar canes, and, if we 
 vrere successful, to give him some paras and then 
 let him go. As this conduct convinced the rest 
 of the natives of our peaceable disposition, they 
 Came afterwards and sold us whatever we want- 
 ed. At first they asked us two or three paras for 
 an egg, but afterwards we generally bought six 
 for a para. 
 
 This dread of strangers arises from the ill-treat- 
 ment and oppression to which they are exposed 
 from the Turks, and the freedom from such ty- 
 rannical extortion sufficiently explains the unsus- 
 pecting and friendly manners which we aftei*- 
 wards uniformly found among the Barabras. 
 
 On our return from the interview with Douab 
 CachefF, we left Siala and again set sail. The 
 river here takes a direction one point to the west 
 of south. About three miles above Siala is the 
 village of Deghimeer, situated on the same side. 
 Two miles farther on, the river again turns to 
 
88 
 
 the souths and three miles beyond^ on the western 
 side near a village called Sardab^ are the remains 
 of a temple, and other ruins. 
 
 The mountains at Deghimeer retire from the 
 sides of the river, and the banks vrhere any soil 
 has been left are cultivated. Four miles above 
 Sardab is the village of El Umbarakat, vrhere are 
 some ruins. The villages on each side the river 
 bear the same name, and the appellation given 
 here, as in many other places, is meant rather to 
 imply a district than a particular collection of 
 houses, or village. The country is very thinly 
 inhabited, and the natives live, for the most part, 
 in caves in the mountains, and cultivate the banks 
 of the Nile w^hen the inundation has left them. 
 
 At El Umbarakat the granite mountains again 
 approach the river, and form a very narrow^ and 
 dijfiicult pass. The Nile now incliiies some- 
 what to the westward, but it soon resumes its 
 course to the south, and two miles higher up is 
 the island of Kalaptshi, on which is a picturesque 
 ruined village. Three miles above the island is 
 the village of Kalaptshi, where are some exten- 
 sive ruins; and eight miles farther we reached 
 the village of Aboughor, where we anchored for 
 
89 
 
 the night. We calculated that we were now just 
 under the tropic, and bathed by moonlight in thft 
 waters of the Nile. Early in the morning, at the 
 distance of four miles from Aboughor, we passed 
 the village of Dondour, which is situated on the 
 east side of the river, and opposite to which is a 
 small Temple in considerable preservation. The 
 greater part of the inclosure is quite perfect, 
 and the Propylon also has been but httle in- 
 jured; but the inside has never been completed* 
 There are two columns which formed the en- 
 ti'ance into the Temple, and which are ornamen- 
 ted with serpents. The inner Temple or Sekos 
 consists, as usual, of three apartments; the first 
 measured eighteen feet in length and twenty in 
 breadth; the columns are three feet in diameter, 
 and the height to the top of the cornice is nearly 
 seventeen feet; the winged globes on the archi- 
 traves of the Temple and Propylon are support- 
 ed in the usual manner by two serpents. The 
 hieroglyphics are reheved and sculptured in a 
 good style, showing the common subjects, viz. 
 priests with jugs offering to Isis and Osiris, who 
 is represented with the hawk^s head, and carry- 
 ing a crosier in his hand. Behind the Temple is 
 
 12 
 
90 
 
 a small grotto, which has the appearance of be- 
 ing posterior in its date, and is most probably to 
 be attributed to the «arly Christians, as we found 
 an inscription with the characters A + i^ 
 amongst the fragments which lie within and on 
 the outside of the inclosure.* 
 
 The day was very hot, andnotbeing able to bear 
 the heat of the sand to my feet, I buried the bulb 
 of the thermometer in the sand of the shore, when 
 it rose to 125"^; in the ca^in of our boat it stood 
 at 86*^, in the outer air it was 96*^. We were 
 detained in the district of Meriah, a Httle higher 
 up, the whole of the day and the next morning, as 
 the wind still continued contrary, we proceeded 
 with the assistance of the tow line. The inha- 
 bitants we found most peaceably disposed: they 
 brought us dates, milk, and whatever their scanty 
 means enabled them to afford. The river takes a 
 course south-west by south for five miles, when 
 we passed the ruined village of Guerche, opposite 
 to which are the magnificent remains of Guerfeh- 
 Hassan. As we returned, we had an opportunity 
 
 * In the time of Hadrian there was a christian church at Alexan- 
 dria: but Gibbon observes, that it was not till Christianity ascended 
 the throne that the cities of Egypt were filled with bishops, and the 
 deserts of Thebais swarmed with hermits. 
 
91 
 
 of examining these stupendous monuments with 
 the attention they deserved. Five miles beyond, 
 on the east side^ is Costhambi^ above which the 
 river^s course is west. We anchored here for the 
 night, and the next morning the villagers brought 
 us a sheep, milk, and yaourt.* After running west- 
 ward for six miles, the river turns south-west, and 
 at this angle, which is four miles above Costham^ 
 bi, stand the ruins of Dakki, on the western side: 
 here the desert approaches nearly close to the 
 water^s edge, and the plain is covered with sma^ 
 elevations, which, at a distance, have the appear- 
 ance of pyramids. The resemblance was so 
 complete as to bring to our recollection the opi- 
 nion entertained by some authors, that the Pyra- 
 mids of Lower Egypt have been formed by cut- 
 ting small mountains into that shape. We land- 
 ed on this plain and saw several gazelles, or ante- 
 lopes, but they were too shy to allow us to come 
 within gun-shot. Opposite to Dakki is the small 
 village of AUaghi, and seven miles beyond, we 
 landed on the western side to visit a ruin, which 
 from the river, had the appearance of a temple, 
 
 * A dish prepared from milk, not unlike curds and whey, which, 
 from its grateful acidity, is much in esteem with the Turks and inha«> 
 bitants of the East. 
 
but, on nearer approach, proved to be the re- 
 mains of a Christian church, probably built of 
 the ruins of a temple in the neighbourhood, part 
 of the wall of which is seen standing and covered 
 with hieroglyphics. It is in bad taste; many of the 
 capitals of the columns have never been finish- 
 ed, and we concluded, from their appearance, 
 that it was not the custom, at the time of the 
 erection of this building, to finish the capitals till 
 after they were placed upon the columns. From 
 the immense quantity of fragments of terra cotta 
 vessels scattered about, we were led to conjec- 
 ture that this had been the site of some very con- 
 siderable town. About a hundred yards from the 
 ruined church is a fine pedestal, nearly fourteen 
 feet square, of three steps, and made of large 
 blocks of red granite; near it we observed similar 
 fragments. In the building was an inscription^ 
 but for want of a ladder we were unable to copy 
 it. About a mile above is the village of Siala Kib- 
 ly, on the eastern side, where the river runs south-* 
 west by south; the ruined town of Barde stands 
 on the western side, eight miles beyond; and 
 here the mountains again approach the Nile, from 
 which they had receded since we quitted Dakki. 
 
93 
 
 The temple of Sibhoi, on the western side, is 
 distant twelve miles from Barde, and we landed 
 to examine it* 
 
 Fifty yards in front of the Propylon, which 
 faces to the south, are two statues about ten 
 feet high, that seem to have formed the ancient 
 gateway; from this an avenue of two rows of 
 sphinxes, each six feet high, formerly led to the 
 temple. Six only now appear; the rest are buri- 
 ed in the sand. On each side of the entrance 
 mto the Propylon stood a statue of very large 
 dimensions, being fourteen feet high, consisting 
 of one block, which is not granite, but sandstone. 
 They have fallen down ; — one appears quite per- 
 fect, but the head and shoulders are buried in 
 the sand: the other has been broken by its fall.^ 
 
 * The temple of Sibhoi corresponds completely with the descrip- 
 tion given by Strabo of the general construction of tliese sacred 
 edifices in Egypt. 
 The area, or open court, on each side of which stood a row of 
 sphinxes, was called the Dromos; it conducted to the Propylon. 
 
 The number of these Propyla was not limited; sometimes there 
 were three, in which case there was also a corresponding" number 
 of rows of sphinxes leading to them. 
 
 After passing the last Propylon, you entered the Pronaos, and, 
 from thence passed into the Sekos, or Sapctuar}', where was placed 
 the statue of some bnite animal. 
 
94( 
 
 Within the Propylon, whose front is about 
 eighty feet, on each side the Pronaos, is an ave- 
 nue of square columns, attached to each of which 
 are statues of priests, similar to those at the 
 Memnonium. These columnar figures, which 
 maybe compared to the Caryatides used in the 
 temples of Greece, have been much injured, and 
 are considerably defaced. The entrance into 
 the temple, and the temple itself, are completely 
 buried in the sand of the desert, and it is proba- 
 ble that every vestige of the building will disap^ 
 pear from the same cause ;^ — from what remains 
 however, we may declare this to have been a 
 celebrated sanctuary, and well worthy the atten- 
 tion of the admirers of Egyptian architecture. 
 It is probably of an earlier date than those in 
 Egypt. The walls are built in a ruder style, and 
 the hieroglyphics, though bold, are but ill execu- 
 ted; the statues and sphinxes, however, will 
 bear a closer examination: from the dress of the 
 former, it is probable they are the representa- 
 tions of heroes. The period of the construction of 
 these several edifices is a matter of pure conjec- 
 ture, but it may be observed, that the most stri- 
 king difference between the temples above and 
 below the Cataracts, is the high state of preser- 
 
95 
 
 vation of the stone and outward walls of the lat- 
 ter, which have scarcely suffered from the rava- 
 ges of time. — From this circumstance it might 
 at first sight be supposed, that these remains of 
 antiquity were posterior to the temples in Egypt, 
 but that opinion is not warranted by any other evi- 
 dence. It would be difficult indeed, with any 
 reasonable allowance of difference of date, to 
 explain the superior preservation in which we 
 found the temples of Nubia, compared with 
 those below the Cataracts, and we must seek for 
 the cause in the mild, unalterable climate be- 
 tween the tropics. The corroding hand of time 
 has no effect upon them, but they are abandoned 
 to the desert, and many of them will in a few 
 years entirely disappear. 
 
 On the 21st, the wind having been contraiy for 
 some days, we quitted our boat and procured 
 asses and camels to ride to Dehr, which was 
 about fourteen miles distant, and where was 
 the residence of Hassan Cacheff, who had been 
 represented to us as the most powerful chieftain 
 in the country of the Barabras. 
 
 As it was before observed of the appellations 
 of places in this country, the name of Dehr is 
 
 i"^ 
 
96 ^ 
 
 rather applicable to a district than to any parti- 
 cular collection of houses or town; and we 
 were apprized of our approach to the residence 
 of the CachefF, only by a somewhat greater po- 
 pulation, and by observing the mud cottages 
 more numerously placed about the spot. 
 
 From this circumstance it is extremely dif- 
 ficult, if not impracticable, to form any tolerable 
 guess at the population of what may be con- 
 sidered the capital of Nubia. We had been told 
 that we should arrive during the celebration of a 
 marriage of the CachefF, in honour of which he 
 was giving a festival to the inhabitants of Dehr; 
 and we were rather surprized to hear our crew, 
 who were also natives of the country, call it (in 
 lingua Franca) a fantasia. The rejoicings las- 
 ted ten days. After passing many huts scattered 
 amongst date tress, we reached the house of 
 the chief, distinguished only by its being built 
 of brick, and consisting of two stories. 
 
 Our appearance soon drew together a num- 
 ber of the natives, who viewed us, the first Eu- 
 ropeans they had yet seen, with every mark of 
 astonishment. Though in consequence of the 
 festival, many of them were drunk, they offered 
 
97 
 
 us no incivility^ but we sat down under a rude 
 sort of arcade made of bricks, and waited pa- 
 tiently till we should be admitted to an interview 
 with the Cacheff. In about an hour's time, a 
 large mess was brought us consisting of layers 
 of bad paste, upon which was a piece of boiled 
 goafs flesh swimming in hot butter. We invited 
 the people about to partake of it, with which 
 they seemed much pleased, and showed us 
 every mark of good will and hospitahty. By this 
 time the news of our arrival had spread to all 
 parts of the town, and numbers had collected to 
 see the strangers. After waiting about four 
 hours, the Cacheff came down to us, attended 
 by five or six of his chief officers, and a number 
 of negro guards to keep off the mob. He ap- 
 peared to be about twenty-five years old, six feet 
 high, and of a handsome person, but evidently 
 half drunk with araki, a spirit they distil from 
 dates. He began by boisterously asking us what 
 we wanted, and why we had come to Dehr.^ 
 We replied we were come to pay our respects 
 to him, and to see the remains of antiquity with 
 which his country abounded. — He answered 
 
 there was nothing curious to see, but ^^ I sup- 
 
 13 
 
98 
 
 pose you are come to visit the tombs of your 
 ancestors ?^^ — We then asked his permission to 
 go to Ibrim, which he flatly refused^ alleging 
 firsts that there was nothing to be seen there, 
 and next, that he had no horses to convey us; — in 
 short, he appeared in no humour to gratify our 
 wishes, and we began even to repent of our 
 rashness in having placed ourselves in the power 
 of a man whom we found surrounded by more 
 than three hundred armed negro slaves, ready 
 to execute any order of capricious cruelty which 
 he might give in his present state of intoxication. 
 
 We afterwards learned that the three hun- 
 dred slaves whom we saw at Dehr, formed only a 
 small part of the force which obeyed the orders of 
 Hassan; in the whole amounting to nearly three 
 thousand, scattered about the country. The Ga- 
 cheff may be considered a great slave merchant, 
 his troops, which are his own property, being 
 purchased fromDongola, Senaar, and other parts 
 of Soudan. They are employed in levying con- 
 tributions, and in guarding his harem. 
 
 We knew not what to expect from the rude 
 reception of the Cacheff, who had so peremp- 
 torily refused us permission to proceed; and 
 
99 
 
 feeling ourselves entirely in his hands, submitted 
 quietly to the curiosity of those about us, who 
 began to examine our arms and unsheath our 
 swords, with which latter they seemed paticular- 
 ly delighted. The Cacheff remained a short time 
 longer with us, probably in expectation of our 
 offering him a present: in this, however, he was 
 disappointed, as we thought it better to defer 
 urging our request that evening, considering his 
 intoxication. We contented ourselves with de- 
 manding a lodging, which he ordered his secre- 
 tary to appoint us, and took leave, promising to 
 see us in the morning. The secretary, who was 
 a Barabra, but who spoke and wrote Arabic, 
 conducted us to a miserable hut built of mud, 
 whose walls were about twelve, feet high, and 
 without a roof, instead of which, at each end 
 were a few date branches forming a kind of 
 shed; wretched as our habitation was, it seemed, 
 next to the house of the Cacheff, the best in 
 Dehr, as it consisted of two rooms. When the 
 secretary departed, we found an armed negro at 
 our door, placed either as a guard of honour, or 
 perhaps to prevent our escape. Left alone, we 
 began to reflect on the step we had taken; we 
 knew not w^hat to think of the intentions of the 
 
100 
 
 Gachefl^ whether we should be pefmitted to 
 proceed, or be detained at Dehr, exposed to 
 the extortions and ill-treatment of these barba- 
 rians. 
 
 The negro slaves were all armed with spears, 
 and shields, made either of camel or hippopota- 
 mus skin, and they carried daggers and swords, 
 which latter appear (owing to the manner in 
 which the scabbards are made) much larger at 
 the point than the hilt. 
 
 The disparity of numbers was so great, that 
 though we were much better armed, we had but 
 little chance of making a stand against so many 
 enemies. Our anxiety was at length reheved by 
 the arrival of our supper, which was sent from 
 the house of the Cacheff, and was a mess simi'- 
 lar to that with which we had been treated be- 
 fore. 
 
 As we began now to consider ourselves the 
 guests of Hassan, and protected by the rights of 
 hospitality, we arranged our comfortless habita- 
 tion as well as we could, and passed the night, 
 hoping for the best. Early in the morning we re- 
 ceived a visit from the secretary, who plainly 
 told us that his master the Cacheff expected a 
 present, and hinted that one of our swords would 
 
101 
 
 be acceptable. We said we intended to have of- 
 fered him a watch, but that we were unwilling 
 to part with our arms as they were absolutely 
 necessary to our defence. He left us, observing 
 that we might see the Cacheflfat eleven o^clock, 
 when he would expect us at his house. At the 
 appointed time we waited on the chief, and 
 found him smoking at the end of a long cham- 
 ber. He was dressed in linen trowsers, wore a 
 turban, and had a bournous thrown over his shoul- 
 ders: the only mark of authority he carried about 
 him was a rude iron truncheon, which he held in 
 his hand. After the fii^t salutation, we sat down, 
 and they brought us coffee and pipes. Through 
 the means of our dragoman, we began to open 
 our business with the CachefF, by first making 
 him an offer of a watch, several of which we had 
 brought from Malta, for the purpose of making 
 presents. The Cacheff thanked us for our offer; 
 but, as we were unable to make him compre- 
 hend its use, declined its acceptance. The way 
 in which it was refused, and the great admiration 
 of our arms the night before, convinced us that 
 we should obtain no facilities in the prosecution 
 of our journey, without the sacrifice of one of our 
 
 
102 
 
 swords. I accordingly took off my own, whfch was 
 a fine Damascus blade, of about five hundred pias- 
 tres value, and approaching the Cacheff, request- 
 ed permission to throw it over his shoulders. The 
 effect of this present was instantaneous; he was 
 highly pleased, and assumed the most friendly 
 manner. He aked me if I had left my harem at 
 the Cataracts, meaning as I understood, to give 
 me a female slave as a present to my wife. When 
 he was answered in the negative, he spoke to 
 his secretary, who retired, and soon returned with 
 a negro boy of about ten years old. On his en- 
 trance, the Cacheff called the slave to him, 
 spoke some words, and gave him his hand to 
 kiss. With evident marks of agitation, the boy ap- 
 proached me, kissed my hand, and put it to his 
 forehead. The simple ceremony I had witnessed 
 was the transfer of the property of the negro to 
 myself* 
 
 We seized the opportunity of the favourable 
 disposition of the Cacheff to repeat our request 
 of going to Ibrim, which was granted without 
 
 * I learned afterwards, that he had been the favourite slave of the 
 mother of Hassan, and that he had been carried off from Dongola 
 when only six years old; he has therefore but little recollection of 
 his native country. When I left Egypt I brought him with me to 
 England, and he is now living in the family of my friend, Mr. Smelt. 
 
103 
 
 any hesitation, and an ofifer was made us of 
 horses and dromedaries or any thing else in his 
 power. Om- journey was fixed for the next 
 morning, and we passed the remainder of the day 
 in visiting the town. In the evening the Cacheff 
 paid us another visit, when we regaled him with 
 some EngUsh brandy, and he again amused him- 
 self with examining our arms, and seemed to 
 pique himself much upon possessing an Enghsh 
 musket, which we had observed in his house in 
 the morning. We showed him our thermometers, 
 and as it was quite impossible to give him any 
 idea of their real use, we informed him they were 
 intended to show the state of our health. It 
 was equally difficult to explain to him the ea- 
 gerness with which we inquired after temples 
 dJfid ruins; and he seemed quite persuaded we 
 were in search of hidden treasures. He left us at 
 night, promising to supply us with every thing re- 
 quisite for our journey in the morning. The pro- 
 spect of being permitted to go to Ibrim and pos- 
 sibly to the second Cataract gave us great satis- 
 faction, and we could not but congratulate our- 
 selves on the friendly disposition of the Cacheff. 
 The only European traveller who had suc- 
 ceeded in penetrating into Nubia had been com- 
 
104 
 
 pelledto stop at Dehr; and the accounts he gives 
 of the numerous vexations to which he v^as ex- 
 posed is extremely interesting. Norden, on his 
 arrival at Dehr, made every effort to proceed to 
 the second Cataract, but he was not able to sa- 
 tisfy the avarice or overcome the jealous scru- 
 ples of the chiefs, Baram and the Schorbatchie. 
 They amused him with various stories: at one 
 time, if he would wait a few days, they were 
 about to make w^ar on a nation that dwelt in the 
 neighbourhood of the Cataracts, and he should 
 accompany them on the expedition, but this pro- 
 posal he found to be a snare to entrap him in 
 the Desert. At another time, they said the Nile 
 was so shallow above that he could not proceed 
 in his boat. It was in vain he urged the protec- 
 tion of the Grand Signior. Baram replied, " I 
 laugh at the horns of the Grand Signior; I am 
 here Grand Signior myself; I will teach you how 
 to respect me as you ought. I know already 
 what sort of people you are; I have consulted 
 my cup and I have found by it, that you are those 
 of whom one of our people has said, that there 
 would come Franks in disguise, who, by httle 
 presents and by soothing and insinuating beha- 
 
 u 
 
105 
 
 viour, Would pass every where^ examine the 
 state of the country^ go afterwards to make a 
 report of it, and bring at last a great nmnber of 
 other Franks who would conquer the country 
 and exterminate all; but, "said he, "I will take 
 care of that/' The traveller made as little pro- 
 gress by means of presents; and after having 
 submitted to be stripped of nearly all he had 
 brought with him, was obliged to give up the idea 
 of going farther south, and thought himself lucky 
 in escaping from the hands of the treacherous 
 and avaricious Cacheff. 
 
 We set out early in the morning in search of 
 Ibrim, and w^hen at the distance of half an hour 
 from Dehr, the road conducted us over the moun- 
 tains, and in two hours more we descended again 
 into the valley of the Nile, which course we kept 
 as far as Ibrim. 
 
 Near the village of Gatter is a small grotto cut 
 out of the rock, at the farther end of which we 
 observed three statues, much mutilated, and en- 
 tirely defaced. 
 
 In about five hours we arrived at Ibrim, situa- 
 ted on the east side of the Nile, at the southern 
 
 extremity of a ridge of mountains, which, for 
 
 14 
 
106 
 
 nearly two miles, rise perpendicularly from the 
 Nile, scarcely leaving space for the road which 
 lies between them and the river. 
 
 The town lay on the Eastern slope of the moun- 
 tain, and the citidel, which was built on the sum- 
 mit, must have formerly been a strong position. 
 Its height may be estimated at about two-hun- 
 dred feet above the river, that washes the foot of 
 the rock on which it stood, and which is, at this 
 point, about a quarter of a mile broad. We were 
 however so far deceived by the extreme perpen- 
 dicularity of the precipice, that, standing on its 
 edge, we were induced to make several vain at- 
 tempts to fling a stone across the Nile. 
 
 The walls that inclosed the citadel and the 
 ruins of the house of the Governor are still to be 
 traced. We entered this fortress through a ruin- 
 ed gateway, and sat down to dine on the pro- 
 visions we had brought with us from Dehr, con- 
 sitting of goaf s flesh, the last remains of some 
 biscuits from Cairo, coffee and tobacco. Not a 
 vestige of life was to be seen about us; the des- 
 truction of Ibrim by the Mamelukes, when they 
 passed two years ago into Dongola, had been so 
 complete, that no solitary native was to be found 
 
107 
 
 wandering amongst its ruins; there was not even 
 a date tree to be observed. The walls of the 
 houses, which are in some places still standing, 
 alone attest that it has once been inhabited. The 
 population was partly carried off by the Mame- 
 lukes, and has partly removed to Dehr. 
 
 While at Essouan and during our stay in Nu- 
 bia, we learned the following particulars of the 
 mode of Ufe and present condition of the Mame- 
 lukes. The last stand they made against the 
 troops of the Pacha of Egypt was at Ibrim, where 
 they were compelled to retreat into Dongola, in 
 which country they have established themselves, 
 having dethroned and driven out the indepen- 
 dent king of that nation. 
 
 Dongola, the capital of a large kingdom bear- 
 ing the same name, is about twelve or fourteen 
 days journey from the second Cataract. This 
 tract of country is famous for its breed of hor- 
 ses, one of which is valued on the spot at eight, 
 ten, or even twelve slaves. I heard at Cairo that 
 in the time of the Mamelukes, a Dongolese horse 
 was in such estimation as to sell for one thou- 
 sand pounds sterling. Since their expulsion, the 
 Mamelukes are said to have laid aside their old 
 
108 
 
 habits of external magnificence, to have addicted 
 themselves to agriculture, and to be in possession 
 of vast quantities of cattle. It is reported also 
 that they have a few large trading vessels on the 
 Nile. We heard that they had successfully re- 
 pulsed the attacks of a tribe of Arabs hving to the 
 west, who had frequently endeavoured to surprize 
 them. Their most formidable neighbours are a 
 black nation, who dwell to the east of Dongola. 
 The number of the old Mamelukes is not sta- 
 ted higher than five hundred, but they have armed 
 between four and five thousand Negro slaves 
 with spears and swords. They have built a great 
 wall round or near their city, particularly strong 
 on the side of the Desert, for the protection of 
 their cattle against the incursions of the Arabs; 
 and some of the richest among the Beys are said 
 to have estabhshed themselves in separate walled 
 inclosures. In general they are very poor, the 
 little treasure they carried with them from Egypt 
 being nearly exhausted. The toT# or city of 
 Dongola, from what I could learn, is much larger 
 than any in Upper Egypt, is built on both sides the 
 Nile, and stands in a vast plain. Such was the 
 information we collected at Dehr and from con- 
 
109 
 
 versation with merchants trading to Abyssinia, 
 whom we met during our residence in Upper 
 Egypt. 
 
 Osman Bey Bardissi is at the head of the Ma- 
 melukes, and we were informed at Dehr that he 
 had made a vow never to shave either his head 
 or his beard till he should re-enter Cairo in tri- 
 umph; and that, in the visits he sometimes makes 
 to the capital of Nubia, for the purpose of levy- 
 ing contributions, his flowing hair, his long bushy 
 beard, and fine swarthy person have a most for- 
 midable appearance. 
 
 We remained at Ibrim a few hours; and giving 
 up the idea of proceeding to the second or great 
 Cataract, which we were told was situated three 
 days to the South, finally resolved to retrace our 
 steps. We received no encouragement to pene- 
 trate into a country where money began to be 
 of Uttle use, and provisions very scarce. At 
 Dehr, the natives were unwilling to take money 
 for fowls, eggs, &c. always asking us to give 
 them corn in exchange; but we had brought with 
 us from Egypt a quantity of flour only sufficient 
 for our own subsistence, not enough for the pur- 
 poses of barter. The prospect of further disco- 
 
110 
 
 veries was doubtful; and it was difficult to ascer- 
 tain how far we might with safety proceed with- 
 out falling into the hands of the Mamelukes, 
 
 Since my return from Egypt, I have been in- 
 formed in a letter from Colonel Missett, that our 
 friend Shekh Ibrahim has been able to penetrate 
 as far as Moscho, the place where Poncet cross- 
 ed the Nile on his route to Dongola and Sen- 
 nar. 
 
 Captain Light, of the Artillery, whose ac- 
 quaintance I had the pleasure of making at Malta, 
 has also since that time visited Ibrim; and I un- 
 derstand that Mr. Bankes has succeeded in going 
 still higher. 
 
 Ibrim, the farthest point which we reached 
 to the south, was known to the ancients by the 
 name of Premis, and distinguished by the ad- 
 junct Parva from another town of the same 
 name much more remote, and which is now un- 
 known. These borders of the Nile, says Dan- 
 ville, in his Geography, were occupied by the 
 Blemmyes, a people whose figures must have 
 been extraordinary, since captives brought from 
 that nation during the reign of the Emperor 
 Probus, appeared so monstrous, that antiquity. 
 
Ill 
 
 shocked with their deformity, almost excluded 
 them from the human species^ though they had 
 presumed to rank themselves among the ene- 
 mies of Rome. Intra, si credere libet, vix ho- 
 mines magisque semiferi; JEgipanes, et Blem- 
 myes, et Satyri. (Pomponius Mela, 1. i. c. 4.) 
 
 Ibrim was formerly the residence of the Ca- 
 cheff and the capital of Nubia; the country about 
 it produced a great quantity of dates, and it was 
 chiefly by a small duty imposed upon the passage 
 of them down to Cairo, that the town of Essouan 
 was supported. The Turks, at one time, ex- 
 tended their dominion as far as Ibrim; Cambyses 
 pushed his expedition beyond the limits of Egypt, 
 and a position is known by the name of Camby- 
 sis jErarium, near the town of Moscho. An in- 
 sult offered to the Roman name on the frontiers 
 of Egypt, during the reign of Augustus, occasion- 
 ed a Roman army to pass as far at Napata, which 
 is still farther to the south. 
 
 We returned to Dehr the same night, and the 
 next morning had another visit from the Cacheff; 
 in the evening he sent to ask us for the watch 
 we had previously offered him, and which he 
 had refused. We immediately complied with 
 
112 
 
 his request^ and received in return a quantity of 
 dates^ a sheep, and some butter. In our last in- 
 terview with him;, we asked for the hberation of 
 a fine looking boy who was in chains; the Ca- 
 chefF could not conceive what motive could in- 
 duce us to make the request, but said, ^^ Well, 
 since you ask it, be it so,^^ and immediately gave 
 him his liberty. 
 
 Wlien we took our departure, we told him we 
 should mention to other English travellers the 
 kind manner in which we had been treated; to 
 which he replied, " They would be welcome.^^ 
 
 The only monument of antiquity at Dehr, is a 
 temple or grotto, excavated in the solid rock. 
 
 The area that leads to the grotto was open at 
 the top, and consisted often columns, all of which 
 have fallen down. Within the pronaos, or first 
 chamber of the grotto, are two rows of pillars, 
 three in each, which are about four feet square. 
 These lead to the sekos, or inner temple, on 
 each side of which are two small chambers, that 
 seem to have been used for burying places : in one 
 of them is a sarcophagus, cut out of the rock. 
 The sekos measures fifteen feet in length and 
 twelve in breadth. The outer apartment is forty- 
 
113 
 
 five feet square, and the height is about eighteen. 
 The space between the pillars, which have no 
 capitals, is six feet. In the portico, the hierogly- 
 phics represent the exploits of a hero, the wheels 
 of chariots and the figures of captives are plainly 
 to be discovered: within they exhibit offerings to 
 Osiris, who is represented with the hawk^'s head 
 and the globe. 
 
 We left Dehr early in the morning of the 25th, 
 and in an hour arrived at some ruins in the De- 
 sert, on the western side. They are called 
 Amada, and are the remains of what was once a 
 fine temple, since converted into a church by the 
 early Christians. The hieroglyphics have been 
 in consequence covered over with stucco, but 
 where that has fallen off^ the painted figures are 
 to be observed in a state of wonderful preserva- 
 tion. The style of the building is rude, and not 
 unUke that of the temple of Dehr, differing only 
 in being built of stone instead of excavated in 
 the rock. It is nearly buried in the sand, not 
 more than the height of six feet remaining visi- 
 ble, and it is much disfigured by a number of 
 mud houses built upon and around it, probably at 
 
 the time it served as a Christian church. 
 
 15 
 
114 
 
 On the 26th, we landed opposite to the ruins 
 at Sibhoi; while here, a Mameluke and several 
 of his attendants came down to the Nile to water 
 their horses. Our crew instantly hurried us on 
 board, nor did we stop again until midnight. The 
 Shekh^s son, who had accompanied us from 
 Essouan, was extremely alarmed, and instantly 
 took off his caftan and gay turban to escape 
 notice, and pass, if possible, for one of the na- 
 tives. He had fought against the Mamelukes 
 in Upper Egypt, and was in great dread lest he 
 should be recognized. Our boat's crew was also 
 under considerable apprehension that we should 
 be attacked and plundered, and told us that a few 
 Mamelukes have constantly resided in these 
 mountains since their expulsion from Egypt. 
 
 On the following day, as we continued our 
 voyage down the Nile, we perceived two Arabs 
 mounted on camels, who approached the eastern 
 bank of the river, and hailed us in Arabic. 
 
 The fear of the Mamelukes still operating 
 upon the minds of our crew, we rowed to the 
 
 other side of the Nile, and were again hailed in 
 Arabic. On this occasion we rephed, and de- 
 manded what they wanted.'^ To our great aston- 
 
115 
 
 ishiiient we were answered in English, and im- 
 mediately recognized the voice of our friend 
 Shekh Ibrahim, whom we had left at Siout, in 
 Upper Egypt, extremely well dressed after the 
 Turkish fashion, and in good health and condi- 
 tion. He had now all the exterior of a common 
 Arab, was veiy thin^ and upon the whole his ap- 
 pearance was miserable enough. He told us he 
 had been living for many days with the Shekhs 
 of the villages through which he had passed, on 
 lentils, bread, salt, and water, and when he came 
 on board, could not contain his joy at the prospect 
 of being regaled with animal food. The day be- 
 fore we had bought a lean and miserable sheep, 
 for which the natives had demanded (an exorbi- 
 tant price in that country) a dollar, and our friend 
 contributed to our repast some excellent white 
 bread which he had brought from Essouan. We 
 smoked our pipes, congratulating one another on 
 our good fortune in having met, and communi- 
 cating our different plans and adventures. We 
 informed Shekh Ibrahim of the good reception 
 we had experienced from Hassan Cachefl^ and 
 what we had seen at Dehr and Ibrim. The news 
 of the appearance of the Mamelukes somewhat 
 
116 
 
 discouraged him, but it was impossible in our 
 small boat to carry his camels to the western 
 side of the river; besides, there were so few vil- 
 lages on the left bank as to make it advisable, if 
 possible, to continue his journey on the eastern 
 side. It was probable also the Mamelukes had 
 retired into the Desert, and we separated, wishing 
 him every success in his spirited expedition: cer- 
 tainly no one was ever better fitted for such an 
 undertaking; his enterprize, his various attain- 
 ments in almost every living language, and his 
 talent for observation, are above all praise.^ 
 
 On the 28th we arrived at Dakki. The Pro- 
 pylon and Temple here are quite perfect, and 
 the hieroglyphics are much better preserved than 
 any we had seen above Essouan; they are in high 
 relief 
 
 The Temple consists of four apartments, two 
 of which seem to have been restored, or of more 
 recent date than the others; at their junction on 
 the outside on the western wall is an inscription 
 relating to Adrian, but we could not decypher it 
 
 * It is only since my return to England that I have learnt the 
 real name and character of this traveller, from whose exertions the 
 world has reason to expect soon to receive much valuable infor- 
 mation. 
 
117 
 
 Two columns form the entrance into the Temple, 
 and in the last apartment where the hierogly- 
 phics are most beautiful, there is a pedestal of 
 red granite. 
 
 The height of the Propylon is about fifty feet, 
 its front ninety feet, and its depth at the base is 
 eighteen feet. 
 
 The space between it and the Temple is forty- 
 eight feet, and the Temple itself measures eighty- 
 four feet in length, thirty in breadth, and twenty- 
 four in height. 
 
 There are many Greek inscriptions on the 
 Propylon, which, like the two we copied, because 
 they were the most legible, seem only to record 
 the devotion of those who have visited these sa» 
 cred buildings. 
 
 ^TTOXXCJONIOC MTOXXCJONraf 
 
 CTfXTHrOC OMBeiTOY* KKI TOX 
 
 TTef I e/\ecl)KNTINHN 1<K\ (p\\\C 
 
 HXeON KXI TTfOCeKYNHCX. 
 
 I, Apollonius, the son of Apollonius, command- 
 er in chief of the province of Ombi, and of the 
 
 * 'OAtj3jTJ»5 vojM^5, the district or province of Ombi, to which the 
 town of Syene also belonged, existed under the government of the 
 Romans. 'Ojtt/3«<, EM^tcvrtvij and C»<A«/, were neighbouring tgwns 
 of Upper Egypt. 
 
118 
 
 district about Elephantine and Philae, came and 
 worshipped. 
 
 KKXKIMKXOC Gf MCJDNOC CYNMX0ON 
 l^f TTpGCeKVNHCV TON XYTON GGON 
 
 eroYC %B KWCKfOG ^)\oc|)i, 
 
 I^ Callimachus, the son of Hermon^ came with 
 him and worshipped the same god, in the thirty- 
 second year of the Emperor — 
 
 What (|)^0(|)l can mean, it is difficult to de- 
 termine — there were very few of the Roman 
 emperors who lived so long as the period men- 
 tioned in the inscription. 
 
 Guerfeh Hassan is about nine miles below 
 Dakki, and here we found an excavated temple 
 that far surpasses any thing we had witnessed 
 above or below Essouan, and is indeed a stupen- 
 dous monument of the labour bestowed by the 
 ancients on their places of devotion. The area 
 or outer court {^^of^o?) is formed of six columns 
 on each side, attached to which columns are sta- 
 tues of priests, rudely sculptured, as at Sibhoi. 
 This area is sixty-four feet in length, and thirty- 
 six in breadth. The width of the door into the 
 temple is six feet, and the passage is formed by 
 three immense columns on each side, to which 
 
119 
 
 are attached colossal statues of priests. They 
 stand on pedestals three feet three inches high, 
 and are themselves eighteen feet six inches high. 
 They are scarcely injured^ are ornamented with 
 girdles, carry each a crosier in his hand, and 
 their rich dress formerly covered v^ith paint and 
 gold, and gigantic proportions, have a most im- 
 posing appearance. On entering the first cham- 
 ber of the temple we fomid in each of the side 
 walls, four niches containing each of them three 
 figures, which have formerly been painted, and 
 all of them have some reference to the attributes 
 of Isis and Osiris; though a little mutilated, they 
 are, upon the whole, in good preservation — the 
 niches in which they stand are six feet six in- 
 ches square. 
 
 The first chamber is forty-six fe^t six inches 
 long, thirty-five feet three inches wide, and twen- 
 ty-two feet three inches high. 
 
 The hieroglyphics are considerably defaced. 
 
 From the second chamber, which measures 
 thirty-four feet six inches wide, and fifteen feet 
 six inches long, we passed into four smaller 
 apartments that resemble those we had found in 
 the excavated temple at Dehr. At the end of 
 
120 
 
 the two largest of these apartments, we observ- 
 ed blocks of stone standing in recesses in ih^ 
 walls, which from the hollow sound they gave 
 on being struck, we endeavoured to raise; but, 
 from our inadequate means, were obliged to give 
 up the attempt; — they are most probably sepul- 
 chres. 
 
 The third chamber, that may properly be cal- 
 led the Sekog, is eleven feet in breadth, and fif- 
 teen in length. At the farther end of it stands 
 the altar, three feet three inches high, and three 
 feet broad; immediately behind the altar are four 
 statues sitting on a kind of bench eleven feet long, 
 which, like the figures themselves, is cut out of 
 the sohd rock. We asked ourselves — Whom do 
 they represent — Isis, Osiris, Apis, and Serapis? — 
 They greatly resemble one another. We found 
 no inscription in this temple, which is a most as^ 
 tonishing monument of labour and ancient mag- 
 nificence. The various apartments we had ex- 
 plored, together with the statues that ornament 
 them, are all hewn out of the living rock.* 
 
 * The points of resemblance between the cave of Elephanta, 
 situated in a small island in the harbour of Bombay, and the exca- 
 vated temple of Guerfeh Hassan, are very striking.— Vide Asiatic 
 
121 
 
 On the 2d March we visited the ruined temple 
 of Kalaptshi. Close to the water^s edge is a 
 
 Researches, Vol. IV. — " Some Account of the Cave in the Island 
 of Elephauta. — JBy J. Goldingham, Esq.^^ 
 
 " The cave is formed in a hill of stone; its massy roof is sup- 
 ported by rows of columns regularly disposed, but of an order dif- 
 ferent from any in use with us. Gigantic figures in relief are ob- 
 serv^ed on the walls; these, as well as the columns, are shaped in 
 the solid rock, and by artists, it would appear, possessed of some 
 ability, unquestionably of astonishing perseverance. The wall at 
 the upper end of the cave is crowded with sculpture; the attention 
 is first arrested by a grand bust, representing a being with three 
 heads, &c. Each side of this niche is supported by a gigantic fi- 
 gure leaning on a dwarf. A niche of considerable dimensions, and 
 crowded with figures, on either side the former. In the middle of 
 the niche on the right, stands a gigantic figure appai'ently female, 
 but with one breast only, &c. 
 
 " The most conspicuous of the group on the niche to the left, is 
 a male, 17 feet in height, with four arms; on the left stands a fe- 
 male about 1 5 feet high. On each side of these groups is a small 
 dark room, sacred in ancient times perhaps to all but the unpollu- 
 ted Br&hmen. 
 
 ♦' There are various other niches in the cave containing different 
 figures, most of them of gigantic proportions. 
 
 " On the left side, and half way up the cave, is an apartment 
 about 30 feet square, inclosing the Lingam: an entrance on the four 
 sides, and each side of either entrance, is supported by a figure 17 
 feet in height, each figure being ornamented in a difierent style. 
 
 " The Grotto here described, usually called the Great Cave, is 
 about 135 feet square." 
 
 The author concludes his description with the following obser- 
 vations: — 
 
 " Various have been, and are to this day, the conjectures respect- 
 ing the Elephanta cave. Those who attempt to deduce its origin 
 from the Egyptians, from the Jews, or from Alexander the Great, 
 appear to me (with due deference) to give themselves much unne- 
 cessary trouble; which I shall further endeavour to show as briefly 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 quay or landing place^ from which an elevated 
 stone pavement about eighteen feet w^ide led to 
 the Temple. 
 
 The front of the Propylon is a hundred and 
 twenty feet, its depth at the base about twenty- 
 four, and we estimated its height at fifty feet. 
 It w^as joined to the temple by two colonnades, 
 of which one column alone is now standing. 
 
 There is a Portico of four beautiful columns, 
 each with different capitals, in front of the Tem- 
 ple, and the intercolumniations are half walled 
 up with ornamented stones. The Pronaos was 
 
 as the subject will admit of; thoug-h, at the same time, it must be ob- 
 served, that resembling features are not wanting in the case of the 
 Egyptians and of the Jews, to lead towards such deductions; but 
 these resemblances strike me as tending to the elucidation of a 
 more interesting hypothesis: — that the systems of those people 
 were copies of an original found in this part of the world." 
 
 The opinion here alluded to, of the commom origin of the Hin- 
 dus, Ethiopians, and Egyptians, originated with the able and en- 
 lightened President of the Asiatic Society, who expresses himself 
 to the following effect, in his third Anniversary Discourse. 
 
 " The remains of Architecture and Sculpture in India, which I 
 mention here as mere monuments of antiquity, not as specimens of 
 ancient art, seem to prove an early connexion between this coun- 
 try (India) and Africa." 
 
 When alluding to the same subject in some of the succeeding dis- 
 courses. Sir William Jones, after stating that the Greeks called all 
 the southern nations in the world by the common appellation, 
 Ethiopians, thus using Ethiop and Indian as convertible terms, ob- 
 serves that the Ethiops of Meroe were the same people with the 
 first Egyptians, and consequently, as it might easily be shown, wij^ 
 the original Hindus. 
 
123 
 
 decorated with tAvo columns on each side, and 
 its dimensions are sixty-six feet in length, and 
 thirty-six feet in breadth. 
 
 Beyond we found three chambers of the fol- 
 lowing dimensions 
 
 First chamber, thirty-six feet in length and 
 twenty feet in breadth. 
 
 Second chamber, thirty feet in length and 
 eighteen feet in breadth. 
 
 Third chamber, thirty-six feet in length and 
 eighteen feet in breadth. 
 
 The entrance into the first is ornamented with 
 a large square slab, with hieroglyphics most beau- 
 tifully sculptured. We could discern the figure 
 of Isis with Orus at her breast, and various 
 other representations of the Egj^tian gods. The 
 hieroglyphics in the second and third chambers 
 have, on the contrary, been painted, and wherev- 
 er the plaster with which they had been con- 
 cealed by the rehgious zeal of the early Christians 
 has fallen off, they are observed in a state of 
 great preservation. 
 
 Many smaller apartments lead out of the three 
 great chambers thus described; and there are 
 also several situated above them. 
 
 In the interior or body of the Propylon we 
 counted at least twelve rooms, into whicli the 
 
124 
 
 light is admitted by oblong niches cut in the out- 
 side wall. At the farther extremity the charac- 
 ters I^^X (^^) * ^^^^ placed immediately 
 over the representation of a head sculptured in 
 the centre of the end wall of the temple. 
 
 The following inscription we copied^ but from 
 its mutilated state, it is nearly unintelligible. 
 
 eTT xrKecD KYfie 
 
 TO TTfOCKYNHMX OX 
 
 rxioY Kxeioy Kexef 
 
 OCTTITTeOC XCJD]>THCX 
 GHRXICON TTTT KHC 
 rvpXXHC KXXXICTI XI 
 l<XI TOY TTXIXIOY XYToy 
 KXI TCON XBXCKXTCON 
 XXexOCJON KXI TOON 
 XYTOY TTXNTCJON 
 TTXpX TOO kYjpiCJD X 
 XOVXI KXI TOY 
 
 iTTrroYXYT^OY— 
 
 * " It is highly probable that this Tvord is the proper name of a 
 man in tfie enchorial character of the Rosetta Stone, or the com- 
 mon running hand of Egypt: since in this character all proper 
 names, except those of divinities, are distinguished by a dash at 
 the beginning and a K at the end; and the names of females have 
 a bent line before the K, which is here wanting. It cannot, how- 
 ever, be read in letters by means of Mr. Akerblad's alphabet, which 
 has been supposed to be pretty correctly applicable to the proper 
 names of that inscription; although it bears a very distant resem- 
 blance to characters which might be understood to mean KING 
 EMEPH."— A'o^e by the Author of the Remarks on the Thebaic 
 MSS. 
 
125 
 
 The Temple of Kalaptshi is in a state of so 
 much greater dilapidation than the other an- 
 cient buildings we examined, that it is probable 
 it has been ruined by some violent means. 
 
 The quarries which furnished the stone with 
 which the Temple is built are close to it, and are 
 of a very fine sand-stone. 
 
 We left Kalaptshi, and about five o^clock the 
 same evening landed under the mountains of 
 El Umbarakat. The rock consists of red and 
 gi'ay granite. The whole plain is covered with 
 ruins consisting chiefly of inclosures about fifty 
 feet square, formed by walls which are built 
 with a slope from the angles to the middle. It 
 is impossible to conjecture for what purpose they 
 were intended, but we counted no less than 
 twelve of them in the plain. Among the frag- 
 ments lying about are to be observed several 
 stones richly ornamented, and many with the 
 common representation of the Winged Globe. 
 Besides the square inclosures mentioned above, 
 are two small temples, one of which is convert- 
 ed into a house, and is in a state of great pre- 
 servation. Within it are four beautiful columns 
 with rich capitals, and the other ornaments with- 
 out are well sculptured. The temple is about 
 
126 
 
 eighteen feet square^ and the diameter of the 
 columns three feet six inches. 
 
 The second temple, which has been used as 
 a church, is much ruined, and two columns on- 
 ly are standing. 
 
 At Sardab, about fourteen miles below, we 
 met with another square inclosure similar to 
 those at El Umbarakat, but much larger. In the 
 centre of the north wall is a gateway, from which, 
 at the distance of about four hundred yards, is 
 an elegant small temple of Isis. Six beautiful 
 columns of three feet diameter are standing. 
 
 The capitals of the two to the north are square, 
 with faces on each front, similar to those at 
 Koum Ombos and Dendera; the two next have 
 the common capitals (the lotus) of Egyptian tem- 
 ples; and the two to the south are ornamented 
 with vine leaves and grapes. There are hiero- 
 glyphics only on one of the columns; they re- 
 present the offering of the lotus to Isis, whose 
 figure is well sculptured; — near her are sheaves 
 of corn. 
 
 These columns and capitals are in good taste — 
 the Temple itself measures twenty-two feet by 
 thirteen. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th, we went to the 
 ruins of Debode, consisting of a small Temple 
 
127 
 
 with three gateways. An inclosed pavement has 
 led from the water side to the Temple, in front 
 of which is a portico of four columns. 
 
 The intercolumniations are half walled up. 
 Out of the first and second chamber you pass 
 into four or five smaller ones, in the last of which 
 are two large blocks of granite, with niches cut 
 into them about eighteen inches deep; they are 
 siniilar to those described by Denon at Philee and 
 Gaw el Keber, supposed to be the cages of the 
 sacred birds, and called by him monolithic tem- 
 ples. 
 
 Having satisfied our curiosity in examining the 
 remains at Debode, we returned to our boat, 
 and arrived at the island of Philse about eleven 
 o^clock. 
 
 It is impossible to behold the profusion of mag- 
 nificent ruins with which this island abounds, 
 without feelings of admiration and astonishment; 
 but impressed as our minds w ere, at this moment, 
 with the specimens we had lately witnessed of 
 Ethiopian grandeur, we did not entirely subscribe 
 to the following observations of Denon. 
 
 " En revenant, je fus de nouveau frappe de la 
 somptuosite des edifices de Philee: je suis per- 
 
128 
 
 suade que c^est pour produire cet eflfet que les 
 Egyptiens avoient porte a leur frontiere cette 
 splendeur de monumens. Philee etoit Fentrepot 
 d^un commerce d^echange de FEthiopie et de 
 TEgypte, et voulant donner aux Ethiopiens une 
 grande idee de leurs moyens, et de leur magnifi- 
 cence, les Egyptiens avoient elere nombre de 
 somptueux edifices jusqu^aux confins de leur em- 
 pire, a leur frontiere naturelle, qui etoit Sy^ne 
 et les Cataractes." — Vol. ii. p. 85. 8vo. 
 
 The excavated temple of Guerfeh Hassan, 
 and the ruins of Dakki and Kalaptshi, appeared 
 to us to rival some of the finest specimens of 
 Egyptian architecture. 
 
 The same character of massive solidity is 
 common to both, but, upon the w^hole, the stones 
 which formed the v\^alls of the Nubian temples 
 did not appear to be so v\^ell wrought, or so nice- 
 ly joined together, as they are in those we had 
 &een in Egypt. On the other hand, the style of 
 execution in some of the hieroglyphics and 
 other ornaments, indicates a degree of perfection 
 in the arts which renders it difficult to discover 
 their comparative antiquity. 
 
129 
 
 The character of Egyptian architecture and 
 sculpture is sohdity; hence their figures of men 
 have tlie legs united, or, if separated as in the 
 Colossus of Memnon, they are attached behind 
 to the block. The Sphinx and other animals are 
 always represented squatting down, and are, in 
 consequence of that position, much more solid. 
 It has been asserted that painting was not held 
 in any very high estimation among the Egypti- 
 ans, because it was not conceived to be durable; 
 but this opinion would seem incorrect. 
 
 On our return to Essouan, we had the pleasure 
 of again eating excellent white bread, which our 
 fare during the last days of our journey down the 
 Nile rendered doubly luxurious. When we left 
 Dehr, the Cacheff had made us a present of some 
 dates and a goat, the latter of which we sent back 
 to him, requesting he would exchange it for a 
 sheep. As he had shown no deUcacy in demand- 
 ing the watch, which he at first refused, we did 
 not scruple to take this liberty with the chief, and 
 our request was immediately complied with. 
 We subsisted two days on this food, but as our 
 voyage down the Nile was longer than we had 
 
 calculated, our stock was at length reduced to the 
 
 17 
 
130 
 
 remains of the flour which we had originally 
 carried up with us from Essouan. The Greek 
 who acted as our cook had no other opportunity 
 for the exercise of his skill, than in treating us 
 one day with a boiled and another with a fried 
 dish. With the water of the Nile he made the 
 flour into a paste, which he either boiled, or ba- 
 ked by exposing it on an earthen slab to the heat 
 of the sun. 
 
 During our absence, a serious fray had taken 
 place between the inhabitants of two villages in 
 the neighbourhood of the Cataracts, in conse- 
 quence of a dispute about the navigation of the 
 river. My Swiss servant, Livanchy, who had 
 remained behind, and who witnessed the affair, 
 gave us the following account of it: — It appeared 
 that the inhabitants of a village to the south of 
 Philae disputed the free passage of the Nile with 
 the people living below, who were under the ju- 
 risdiction of the governor of Essouan. In con- 
 sequence, the two villages armed themselves, 
 and five hundred combatants, dressed in white 
 drawers and blue turbans, and provided with 
 spears, daggers, and English muskets, (obtained 
 probably at the time of the unfortunate affair at 
 
131 
 
 Rosetta,) met to decide the contest. They 
 fought for several hours, and the women took a 
 most active part in the affray, standing near their 
 husbands and encouraging them by their cries 
 and gestures. Nearly thirty were wounded and 
 several were killed. The battle continued from 
 eight in the morning till about two p. m. when 
 the Skekh of Essouan arrived on horseback with 
 his attendants, and held a sort of council, at which 
 the difference was adjusted and the combatants 
 retured to their homes. 
 
 During the whole of this interesting journey, 
 we had found the natives universally civil, con- 
 ducting us to the remains of antiquity without the 
 least suspicion, and supplying us with whatever 
 their scanty means would afford. It is true they 
 viewed us with curiosity, and seemed astonished 
 at our venturing among them; and at Kalaptshi 
 they asked our guide, " How dare these people 
 come here ? Do they not know that we have 
 five hundred muskets in our village, and that 
 Douab Cacheff has not the courage to come and 
 levy contributions .^^^ To this our guide rephed, 
 " We know nothing about that; but as we do no 
 harm, so we expect to receive none.'^ With this 
 
132 
 
 answer they expressed themselves satisfied, and 
 ojOfered us all the assistance in their power. 
 
 On another occasion, while visiting the ruins of 
 Dakki, one of our party having preceded the rest, 
 had shot a pigeon which flew out of the build- 
 ing, and roused some of the natives who were 
 sleeping amongst the ruins of the temple. Dis- 
 charging the other barrel of his gun immediately 
 after, with the same success, the Barabras ap- 
 proached him with curiosity aiifd amazement, un- 
 able to conceive how two shots could have been 
 fired, and the gun not reloaded. It was no diffi- 
 cult matter to convince them that it possessed 
 magical powers in the hands of the Frank, and, 
 after a careful examination, they returned it with 
 every mark of respect and admiration. 
 
 Instead of showing any appearance of fear 
 themselves, or any intention of taking advantage 
 of the solitary situation of the stranger, they of- 
 fered to share with him their repast, consisting 
 of lentils and sour milk, and readily undertook to 
 fetch him water from the river. 
 
 With respect to the persons of the Barabras, 
 the features of the men are lively, their skin is 
 sleek and fine, and their teeth are beautifully 
 
133 
 
 white. Their colour^, through dark, is full of life 
 and blood. They are remarkably thin, which is 
 perhaps to be attributed to their scanty means 
 of subsistence and the heat of their climate. 
 
 In general they seem healthy, are quick in 
 comprehension, and are greedily fond of money. 
 The hair of the men is sometimes frizzed at the 
 sides and stiffened with gi'ease, so as perfectly 
 to resemble the extraordinary projection on the 
 head of the sphinx. As to the w omen, they are 
 in general very ugly, and never have the appear- 
 ance of youth, but seem to pass immediately 
 from childhood into a state of decrepitude. The 
 children go quite naked, the boys wearing round 
 their waists a small cord only, and the girls a sort 
 of fringe, made of thin strips of leather, which is 
 matted together with grease; it is called rahat in 
 the language of the country, and is very similar 
 in appearance to the ornament hanging in front 
 of the bridle, or before the breast, of an English 
 charger.* 
 
 * There are several frag-ments of Egyptian female statues in the 
 British Museum, in which the thighs of the figures are straited in a 
 manner that may not unaptly be compared to the appearance of the 
 rahat as it hangs from the waist of a Nubian girl. If such an opinion 
 be not thought too fanciful, this may be considered another in- 
 stance, to be added to the peculiar method of wearing the hair, 
 
134, 
 
 The men and women, in general, wear the 
 same kind of dress as their Egyptian neighbours,. 
 With the exception of the turban, which is seldom 
 to be seen amongst the Barabras. 
 
 Such are the observations we had made during 
 our short residence among this singular people; 
 and we had every reason, in our interview with 
 the Shekh of Essouan, to thank him for the en- 
 couragement and assistance he had afforded us 
 in undertaking our journey into Nubia. 
 
 frizzed, and projecting at the sides, which tends to prove the uni- 
 formity of the customs practised by the ancient and modern inhabi- 
 tants of these countrie^s. 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 Colour of the ancient Egyptians.— Voyage down the Nile. — Koum 
 Ombos. — Shower of rain. — Mummy Pits at Thebes. — Siout — in- 
 telligence of the Plague — reach Manfalout. — Adventure at Amab- 
 di. — Resfidencre at Miniet. — Ophthalmia. — Bedouin Arabs. — Ar- 
 rival at Cairo.— Turkish Quarantine — tedious confinement at Ro- 
 setta — ravages of the Plague.— Arrival at Alexandria — embark 
 for England. 
 
CHAPTER in 
 
 EssouAN was formerly supported by a small 
 duty upon dates passing from Ibrim to Cairo, a 
 commerce that has now entirely ceased, though 
 it has still the advantage of the annual arrival of 
 a caravan from Sennar, and is the resort of the 
 Arabs of the eastern desert, who come here to 
 supply themselves with articles of European and 
 Turkish manufacture. 
 
 There has been considerable dispute about 
 the colour of the ancient Egyptians, some au- 
 thors asserting that they were Negroes, while 
 others maintain that the present Copts are their 
 descendants, and attempt to prove their supposi- 
 tion by the appearance of mummies, which ex- 
 hibit complexions of a dusky brown, dark hair 
 and eyes, lips occasionally thick, but the nose 
 frequently aquiline. The opinion that the for- 
 
 18 
 
138 
 
 mer inhabitants of the country were Negroes is 
 founded chiefly on the expressions used by Hero- 
 dotus, who calls them p£Afldy;^pog? koc) «AoTp/;^g?, (dark 
 coloured and woolly haired,) and on the charac*- 
 ter of the head of the Sphinx, which has the 
 Negro features, and may be justly supposed to 
 ojffer a correct representation of the counte- 
 nance of the ancient Egyptian^. On the other 
 hand, with respect to the present Copts, it can- 
 not be denied, that the dark hue of their hair 
 and eyes, the former of which is frequently not 
 more curled than is occasionally seen amongst 
 Europeans, their dusky brown complexions and 
 aquiline noses, all correspond pretty exactly with 
 the paintings to be found in the tombs of Thebes. 
 It is remarkable, however, that the inhabitants 
 of the island of Elephantine are nearly black, 
 whereas the Barabras, who hve so much farther 
 to the south are considerably fairer in their com- 
 plexions. But notwithstanding their colour, the 
 females of Elephantine are conspicuous for their 
 elegant shapes, and are, upon the whole, the 
 finest women we saw in Upper Egypt. 
 
 The appearance of blacks at Elephantine is 
 certainly curious, and, perhaps, to be explained 
 
139 
 
 by the removal of a tribe of Negroes from the 
 west, and the settlement of a colony in this 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 In the reign of Diocletian, the Nobatae were 
 persuaded to remove from their ancient habita- 
 tions in the deserts of Libya^ and an extensive 
 but unprofitable territory above Syene and the 
 Cataracts of the Nile was resigned to them, on 
 condition that they should ever respect and guard 
 the frontier of the empire. " This treaty/^ says 
 Gibbon, "long subsisted; and till the establish- 
 ment of Christianity introduced stricter notions 
 of religious worship, it was annually ratified by 
 a solemn sacrifice in the isle of Elephantine, in 
 which the Romans as well as the barbarians ado- 
 red the same visible or invisible powers of the 
 universe/^ — Vol. ii. p. 136. 
 
 May it be conjectured that the present inhabi- 
 tants of Elephantine are the descendants of these 
 Nobatae who removed from Libya .^ The west- 
 ern countries of Africa are peopled with Negroes, 
 whereas Egypt, situated to the east, is inhabited 
 by comparatively white people. 
 
 On the 6th March we left Essouan, the most 
 delightful spot in Upper Egypt, and whiciihas the 
 
140 
 
 singular advantage of never being visited by the 
 plague, a privilege for w^hich it is indebted to 
 the mildness of its temperature and the preva- 
 lence of strong northerly winds; though the in- 
 habitants superstitiously ascribe it to the benign 
 influence of a Shekh buried in the neighbouring 
 mountains. 
 
 On our voyage dow^n the Nile, w^e visited the 
 temples of Upper Egypt that we had not had an 
 opportunity of examining during our journey 
 upwards, and which are so minutely described 
 by Denon and other writers on the subject. 
 
 At Koum Ombos we looked in vain for the in- 
 scription mentioned by Mr. Hamilton on the cor- 
 nice of one of the temples, from which he in- 
 fers, that some of the temples in Egypt are not 
 of so high a date as is generally given to them, 
 but rather to be attributed to the Ptolemies. We 
 searched for more than an hour with his book 
 in our hands. 
 
 With respect to the opinion deduced from the 
 inscription, it is perhaps more probable that the 
 Ptolemies had repaired many of the temples than 
 that any of them owed their construction to those 
 princes. 
 
141 
 
 After passing Hajar-Silsili and Edfou, we were 
 agreeably surprized at Elethyia by the fall of a 
 heavy shower of rain^ a phenomenon of very 
 uncommon occurrence in Upper Egypt, and to 
 which we had now been strangers for many 
 months. The thermometer in our cabin had 
 stood the day before at 95^, but the rain that fell 
 in the night reduced it on the following morning 
 to 60*^. 
 
 We continued our voyage, and having stopped 
 to see the temples at Esne (Latopohs) and Her- 
 monlis, landed for the second time amidst the 
 wonderful monuments of Thebes. From the 
 Memnonium, we crossed tlie mountains to visit 
 Biban-el-Moluk, or the gates of the Kings. These 
 extraordinary excavations consist of several 
 chambers, the walls of which are painted, and 
 the colours of the figures still remain as vivid as 
 at the period of their first execution. Most of 
 the passages that have been opened, penetrate 
 far into the mountain, and generally contain a 
 granite sarcophagus, but there are many which 
 still remain untouched, and as the specimens of 
 papyri, that have hitherto been procured, come 
 from this spot, it is not improbable that the dis- 
 
142 
 
 covery of many objects of considerable import- 
 ance would be the result of further excavation. 
 From the Gates of the Kings we returned by 
 the valley through which the road formerly led 
 from Thebes to the tombs, and where still stands 
 the Temple of Kar^ac. 
 
 The whole of this mountain has been excava- 
 ted; at each step an opening presents itself; and 
 there is every appearance that here has been 
 the general cemetery of Thebes. Many of these 
 caverns are now converted into habitations by 
 the present cultivators of the plain, from whence 
 they have been driven by the encroachments of 
 the Nile, whose waters during the inundation (in 
 consequence of there being no canals to carry 
 them off) cover the whole of the flat country 
 around. 
 
 Our curiosity induced us, during our stay here, 
 to descend into one of the mummy pits that 
 abound in this neighbourhood, but it would be 
 difficult to convey an adequate idea of the dis- 
 gusting scene of horror we had to encounter. 
 The entrance was through a very narrow hole, 
 nearly filled up with rubbish, by which we made 
 our way into a small room about fifteen feet long 
 
143 
 
 and six wide: beyond we reached a chamber 
 somewhat larger, and containing two rows of 
 colmnns. The walls were covered with paint- 
 ings, and at the farther end stood two full length 
 statues, male and female, dressed in very gay 
 apparel, and having on the one side the figures 
 of two boys, and on the other those of two girls. 
 The whole of this chamber was strewed with 
 pieces of cloth, legs, arms, and heads of mmn- 
 mies, left in this condition by the Arabs who visit 
 these places for the purpose of rifling the bo- 
 dies and carrying off the bituminous substances 
 with which they have been enbalmed. From the 
 chamber above described, two passages lead 
 into the interior and lower part of the mountain, 
 and we penetrated about the distance of a hun- 
 dred yards into that which appeared the longest. 
 Slipping and crawling amongst the various frag- 
 ments of these mutilated bodies, we were only 
 able to save ourselves from falling by catching 
 hold of the leg, arm, or skull of a nmmmy, some 
 of which were lying on the ground, but many 
 still standing in the niches where they had been 
 originally placed. 
 
144. 
 
 We arrived at Siout on the 20th March. Here 
 we received the unwelcome inteUigence that the 
 plague, which continued without abatement in 
 Asia Minor, had made its appearance in Alexan- 
 dria and along the sea coast. This was a death 
 blow to all our plans, as it prevented our passing 
 through Syria* to Constantinople, or of embark- 
 ing at Alexandria for Malta. 
 
 As it was almost impossible to get any pre- 
 cise information of the state of the plague from 
 the reports of the Arabs, who, besides being pre- 
 destinarians, are not very celebrated for their 
 veracity, we dispatched a courier to Cairo to get 
 intelligence from our friends there, and resolved 
 to wait his return in Upper Egypt, appointing him 
 to meet us at Miniet. 
 
 Before our arrival at the latter place we halted 
 at Manfalout, to examine some mummy pits, of 
 which we had heard an extraordinary account 
 from a Greek we had met at Thebes. He in- 
 formed us he had been sent by Suliman the Ca- 
 cheff of Manfalout with a detachment of Arnout 
 
 * This had been our orig-inal plan, and our friend Shekh Ibrahim 
 had furnished us with an Itinerary in that country, which, as it con- 
 tains some valuable hints to future travellers, will be found in the 
 Appendix. 
 
145 
 
 soldiers, against the inhabitants of the village of 
 Amabdi. The Arabs of this village, which is situa- 
 ted on the east bank of the Nile, at the distance 
 of about two leagues from the river, on the edge 
 of the Desert, are employed chiefly in the breed- 
 ing of horses, and are notorious for their preda- 
 tory disposition. On the approach of the soldiers 
 of the Cacheff, the greaterpart of the inhabitants 
 of Amabdi fled into the Desert; some few how- 
 ever, were observed to disappear under ground 
 and conceal themselves in a pit, distant about 
 an hour from the village. Demetrius, the Greek 
 emissary of Suliman, with a part of the Arnout 
 detachment, pursued them, and descended the 
 pit in which they had taken refuge. At the bot- 
 tom they observed fragments of the mummies of 
 crocodiles, scattered about, but the fugitives were 
 no where to be seen. From what he observed 
 there was no doubt the pit communicated with 
 lateral galleries of unknown extent, where wer^ 
 probably deposited the crocodile mummies, the 
 fragments of which the Greek had seen at the 
 mouth of the excavation. The soldiers of the 
 Cacheff* returned without venturing to explore 
 
 further the hiding-place of the Arab fugitives; but 
 
 19 
 
146 
 
 the story of Demetrius raised in us a curiosity to 
 prosecute his discovery, and ascertain its extent 
 and accuracy. The pits we had exanained at 
 Thebes were full of human mummies, but in no 
 place had we yet seen any marks of those of 
 crocodiles.* With this intention we continued 
 our voyage down the Nile and halted at Manfa- 
 lout situated on the left bank of the river, for the 
 purpose of making preparations for a journey to 
 Amabdi. Our party consisted of my friend Mr. 
 Smelt and an American of the name of Barthow, 
 who had traded many years in the Red Sea, 
 spoke Arabic extremely well, and whom we had 
 engaged as a dragoman at Cairo, when we first 
 began our travels in Upper Egypt. We took with 
 us, besides an Abyssinian merchant, of the name 
 
 * Herodotus relates that the Egyptians, particularly those who 
 dwelt in the neighbourhood of Thebes and the Lake Moeris, held 
 these animals in great veneration; that they fed them with the 
 flesh of victims, adorning their bodies while living with various 
 fanciful ornaments, and when they were dead, embalming and de- 
 positing them in sacred chests. 
 
 In another part of the same book (Euterpe), after having given 
 a description of the interior of the Labyrinth, which had been built 
 near the Lake Moeris, and the city of Crocodilopolis, and praising 
 the magnificence of the apartments into which he was admitted, the 
 historian observes that they did not permit him to visit the subter- ' 
 ranean chambers, because they were strictly guarded, and kept as 
 the places of interment of the sacred Crocodiles, and the sepulchres 
 of the Kings under whose care the edifice had been constructed. 
 
147 
 
 of Fadlallah, and three of our boat's crew who 
 were Barabras^, whom we had brought with us 
 from the Cataracts. Having provided ourselves 
 with asses and torches^, we crossed the ferry of 
 Manfalout;, at five on the morning of the 30th 
 March. We wandered about till nine o'clock in 
 search of the village of Amabdi, near which we 
 at length found four Arabs employed in cutting 
 wood. They appeared at first unwilling to give 
 us any information about the object of our search, 
 and we observed them consulting together, and 
 overheard them muttering something about dan- 
 ger, and thought we heard the expression, " If 
 one must die, — all must die.^' This excited our 
 suspicions, but did not deter us from proceeding, 
 as we rehed on our number and strength to re- 
 sist any act of treachery. 
 
 We were bent on going, and the Arabs at 
 last undertook to be our guides for a reward of 
 twenty-five piastres. After an hour's march in 
 the desert, we arrived at the spot, which we 
 found to be a pit or circular hole of ten feet in 
 diameter, and about eighteen feet deep. We de- 
 scended without difficulty, and the Arabs began 
 to stiip, and proposed to us to do the same: w^ 
 
148 
 
 partly followed their example, but kept on our 
 trowsers and shirts. I had by me a brace of 
 pocket pistols, which I concealed in my trow- 
 sers, to be prepared against any treacherous at- 
 tempt of our guides. It was now decided that 
 three of the four Arabs should go with us, while 
 the other remained on the outside of the cavern. 
 The Abyssinian merchant declined going any 
 farther. The sailors remained also on the out- 
 side to take care of our clothes. We formed 
 therefore a party of six; each was to be prece- 
 ded by a guide — our torches were lighted — one 
 of the Arabs led the way, — and I followed him. 
 
 We crept for seven or eight yards through an 
 opening at the bottom of the pit, which was part- 
 ly choked up with the drifted sand of the desert 
 and found ourselves in a large chamber about 
 fifteen feet high. 
 
 This was probably the place into which the 
 Greek, Demetrius, had penetrated, and here we 
 observed what he had described, the fragments 
 of the mummies of crocodiles. We saw also 
 great numbers of bats flying about, and hanging 
 from the roof of the chamber. Whilst holding 
 up my torch to examine the vault, I accidentally 
 
149 
 
 scorched one of them. I mention this trivial 
 circumstance, because afterwards it gave occa- 
 sion to a most ridiculous, though to us very im- 
 portant discussion. So far the story of the Greek 
 was true, and it remained only to explore the gal- 
 leries where the Arabs had formerly taken re- 
 fuge, and where, without doubt, were deposited 
 the mummies we were searching for. We had 
 all of us torches, and our guides insisted upon 
 our placing ourselves in such a way, that an Arab 
 was before each of us. Though there appeared 
 sojnething mysterious in' this order of march, we 
 did not dispute with them; but proceeded. We 
 now entered a low gallery, in which we continu- 
 ed for more than an hour, stooping or creeping 
 as was necessary, and following its windings, till 
 at last it opened into a large chamber, which, 
 after some time, we recognized as the one we 
 had first entered, and from which we had set out. 
 Our conductors, however, denied that it was the 
 same, but on our persisting in the assertion, 
 agreed at last that it was, and confessed they 
 had missed their way the first time, but if we 
 would make another attempt they would under- 
 take to conduct us to the mummies. Our cu- 
 
150 
 
 riosity was still unsatisfied; we had been wan- 
 dering for more than an hour in low subterrane- 
 an passages, and felt considerably fatigued by 
 the irksomeness of the posture in which we had 
 been obliged to move, and the heat of our torches 
 in those narrow and low galleries. But the Arab 
 spoke so confidently of succeeding in this second 
 trial, that we were induced once more to attend 
 them. We found the opening of the chamber 
 which we now approached guarded by a trench 
 of unknown depth, and wide enough to require a 
 good leap. The first Arab jumped the ditch, and 
 we all followed him. The passage we entered 
 was extremely small, and so low in some places 
 as to oblige us to crawl flat on the ground, and al- 
 most always on our hands and knees. The in- 
 tricacies of its windings resembled a labyrinth, 
 and it terminated at length in a chamber much 
 smaller than that which we had left, but, like it, 
 containing nothing to satisfy our curiosity. Our 
 search hitherto had been fruitless, but the mum- 
 mies might not be far distant, another effort, and 
 we might still be successful. 
 
 , The Arab whom I followed, and who led the 
 way, now entered another gallery, and we all con- 
 
151 
 
 tinued to move in the same manner as before, 
 each preceded by a guide. We had not gone far 
 before the heat became excessive; — for my own 
 part I found my breathing extremely difficult, my 
 head began to ache most violently, and I had a 
 most distressing sensation of fulness about the 
 heart. 
 
 We felt we had gone too far, and yet were al- 
 most deprived of the power of returning. At this 
 moment the torch of the first Arab went out: I 
 was close to him, and saw him fall on his side; 
 he uttered a groan — his legs were strongly con- 
 vulsed, and I heard a rattfing noise in his throat 
 — he was dead. The Arab behind me, seeing the 
 torch of his companion extinguished, and conceiv- 
 ing he had stumbled, past me, advanced to his 
 assistance, and stooped. I observed him appear 
 faint, totter, and fall in a moment — he also was 
 dead. The third Arab came forward, and made 
 an effort to approach the bodies, but stopped short 
 We looked at each other in silent horror. The 
 danger increased every instant; our torches burnt 
 faintly; our breathing became more difficult; our 
 knees tottered under us, and we felt our sti^ength 
 nearly gone. 
 
152 
 
 There was no time to be lost— the American, 
 Barthow^ cried to us to " take courage/^ and we 
 began to move back as fast as we could. We 
 heard the remaining Arab shouting after us^ cal- 
 ling us CaffreS;, imploring our assistance, and up- 
 braiding us with deserting him. But we were 
 obliged to leave him to his f^te, expecting every 
 moment to share it with him. The windings of 
 the passages through which we had come in- 
 creased the difficulty of our escape ; we might 
 take a wrong turn, and never reach the great 
 chamber we had first entered. Even supposing 
 we took the shortest road, it was but too proba- 
 ble our strength would fail us before we arrived. 
 We had each of us separately and unknown to 
 one another observed attentively the different 
 shapes of the stones which projected into the 
 galleries we had passed, so that each had an im- 
 perfect clue to the labyrinth we had now to re- 
 trace. We compared notes, and only on one oc- 
 casion had a dispute, the American differing 
 from my friend and myself; in this dilemma we 
 were determined by the majority, and fortunately 
 were right. Exhausted with fatigue and terror, 
 we reached the edge of the deep trench which 
 
153 
 
 remained to be crossed before we got into the 
 great chamber. Mustering all my strength, I 
 leaped, and was followed by the American. 
 Smelt stood on the brink, ready to drop with fa- 
 tigue. He called to us "for God^s sake to help 
 him over the fosse, or at least to stop, if only for 
 five minutes, to allow him time to recover his 
 strength.^' It was impossible — to stay was death, 
 and we could not resist the desire to push on 
 and reach the open air. We encouraged him to 
 summon all his force, and he cleared the trench. 
 When we reached the open air it was one 
 o^clock, and the heat in the sun about 160^, 
 Our sailors, who were waiting for us, had luckily 
 a bardak^ full of water, which they sprinkled 
 upon us, but though a little refreshed, it was not 
 possible to chmb the sides of the pit; they un- 
 folded their turbans, and slinging them round our 
 bodies, drew us to the top. 
 
 Our appearance alone without our guides na= 
 turally astonished the Arab who had remained at 
 the entrance of the cavern; and he anxiously in- 
 quired for his hahabebas, or friends. To have 
 
 * The name of the jars, made at Kenne, of porous earth, and used 
 to cool water. 
 
 20 
 
154 
 
 confessed they were dead would have excited 
 suspicion^ he would have supposed we had mur- 
 dered them, and have alarmed the inhabitants of 
 Amabdi, to pursue us and revenge the death of 
 their friends. We replied therefore they were 
 coming, and were employed in bringing out the 
 mummies we had found, which was the cause of 
 their delay. 
 
 We lost no time in mounting our asses, re- 
 crossed the desert, and passed hastily by the vil* 
 lage to regain the ferry of Manfalout. Our cangia 
 was moored close to the town, and we got on 
 board by five o^clock. We had been expected 
 for some time, and as it happened to be the birth- 
 day of my friend Mr. Smelt, we had intended to 
 have regaled ourselves that day with a more 
 sumpttwus meal than ordinary. But we had no 
 appetite to eat, it was of more consequence to 
 consult what was to be done in our present cir- 
 cumstances. That the Arabs of Amabdi would 
 pursue us to revenge the supposed murder of 
 their friends, there was no doubt, and as it would 
 be next to impossible to persuade them we had 
 nt) hand in their deaths, we all agreed our only 
 safety was in flight. It was resolved we should 
 
155 
 
 wait till midnight, and then sail down the Nile 
 for Miniet, the first Turkish garrisoned town we 
 should reach. Owing to the laziness or stupidity 
 of our Reis, it was however five in the morning 
 before we weighed anchor. This at the time 
 gave us great uneasiness, but was in fact a most 
 fortunate circumstance; for, as will appear af- 
 terwards, had we sailed earUer we should cer- 
 tainly have fallen into the hands of our enemies. 
 The wind was contrary, blowing strongly from 
 the north, and we had only made two leagues by 
 seven o^clock. 
 
 We now saw four Turks on horseback gal- 
 loping towards us, followed by two Arabs on foot, 
 and as we made but little way down the river, 
 they were soon near enough to fire a pistol and 
 order us to bring to. We stopped our boat, and 
 they called to us from the shore, saying they 
 were sent by the Cacheif to bring us to Manfa- 
 lout to answer for the murder of our Arab 
 guides. The two Arabs on foot were violent in 
 their threats, and continued vociferating they 
 would have blood for blood, and that they were 
 resolved on our deaths, though it might cost the 
 lives of twenty more of their countrymen. We 
 
156 
 
 entered into a parley with the Turks, and de- 
 manded of them if they would answer for our 
 safety on our way to Manfalout, and stipulated 
 also that we should be allowed to carry with 
 us our arms. They promised us we should not 
 be molested on our road to the town, and after 
 some demur permitted us to take our swords, 
 pistols, and double-barrelled guns. On these 
 conditions we went on shore, and walked on foot 
 under the escort of the Turks of Manfalout. 
 When we arrived at the house of the Cachef]^ we 
 found him smoking in an outer court, attended 
 by a few Arnout guards, and surrounded by 
 about forty of the inhabitants of Amabdi. 
 
 The Arabs received us with a shout of re- 
 vengeful delight. 
 
 The Cacheff treated us in a stem and haugh- 
 ty manner, and informed us of what we were 
 accused by the people about him. Through our 
 dragoman we related our story, and produced 
 the firman we had received of Machmoud Ali, 
 Pacha of Cairo. Our passport ran in the usual 
 form, enjoining all the Governors of the different 
 towns through which we should pass to afford us 
 every protection and assistance. A secretary 
 
157 
 
 was ordered to read the firman aloud, which 
 when he had done, the Cacheff reaching out his 
 hand took hold of it, and looking sternly at us, 
 obseiTed sarcastically, "I do not see that this 
 firman allows you either to maltreat or kill the 
 Arabs/^ 
 
 He then poured out a torrent of abuse upon 
 us in Arabic, to the great satisfaction of our 
 accusers, and retired into an inner court, leaving 
 us, as we conceived, to their mercy. The Arabs 
 were most of them armed with swords and 
 spears, and began now to surround us with 
 menacing gestures. Shortly however we were 
 sent for by the Turk, and conducted by some of 
 his soldiers into his presence. 
 
 The Arabs expressed great satisfaction at this, 
 and appeared to think our fate was decided. 
 The Cacheff received us on this occasion in a 
 much more friendly manner than at first, he was 
 unobserved by the Arabs, and laid aside the an- 
 gry tone which we now perceived he had former- 
 ly only affected. " My good friends,^^ said he, 
 laying his hand on the shoulder of our dragoman, 
 " I know I am, by virtue of your firman, bound 
 to protect you, and my head must answer for 
 
158 
 
 your safety. I believe your story, but I have a 
 guard only of fifty soldiers, and the village of 
 Amabdi is seven hundred muskets strong. Should 
 all the inhabitants take a part in this affair and 
 come over, the consequence will be fatal both 
 to you and myself; you must make your escape 
 secretly, and in the mean time I w^ill amuse and 
 detain the Arabs/^ 
 
 We saw the force of this advice, thanked the 
 Cacheff for his friendly conduct, and lost no time 
 in making our retreat through a gate at the back 
 of his house. When we had quitted our boat 
 to accompany the Turks to Manfalout, we had 
 given orders that it should follow us, and now 
 found it waiting close to the town. 
 
 We again set sail, but as the wind continued 
 to blow strongly from the north, with little pros- 
 pect of eluding the pursuit of our enemies. 
 
 The Nile here is about two musket shots broad, 
 and we were continually obHged to tack. Though 
 we rowed with all our might we made but little 
 way, and had scarcely lost sight of the town be-* 
 fore we observed a party of horsemen at a con- 
 siderable distance in the Desert, on the right 
 bank of the Nile, whom we took for Bedouin 
 
159 
 
 Arabs. Soon after we perceived a number of 
 heads peeping over the sand hillocks on the same 
 side. We were at this moment nearly in the 
 middle of the river, and consequently a little 
 without musket shot. Suddenly several Arabs 
 jumped up and shouted to us to come over, or 
 they would fire upon us. 
 
 We rowed our boat as quickly as possible to 
 the other bank, and consulted amongst ourselves 
 what measures to take. Our danger was immi- 
 nent, we were surrounded on all sides by ene- 
 mies, our friend the Cacheff at Manfalout was 
 unable to protect us, and the distance to Miniet 
 was seventy miles. If the wind had been favoura- 
 ble, by fast sailing and keeping close to the left 
 bank of the river, we might have escaped our 
 pursuers; but in the present circumstances it 
 would have been madness tx) continue our course. 
 
 At length it was resolved we should return to 
 Manfalout; again claim the assistance of the 
 CachefF, or endeavour to convince the Arabs of 
 our innocence. We quickly reached the town, 
 and had no sooner stepped on shore than we 
 were assailed by three women, and five or six 
 children — thev were all naked and smeared with 
 
160 
 
 mud. We were informed that they were the 
 wives and children of the men who had perish- 
 ed, and the state in which they exhibited them- 
 selves was according to the custom of mourn- 
 ing amongst them. As we were armed, we 
 reached without much obstruction the house of 
 the Cachef^ whom we now found surrounded 
 hy more than four hundred Arabs, and amongst 
 them the Shekh of the village of Amabdi. Ma- 
 king our way through the crowd, we luckily re- 
 cognized the person of the Arab whom we had 
 left and supposed to have died with his compa- 
 nions in the cavern. His appearance was most 
 wretched, he was unable to stand, and was sup- 
 ported by two of his friends. We afterwards 
 found he had escaped by the light of Mr. Smelf s 
 torch, when he was obliged to remain for a short 
 time to recover his strength at the edge of the 
 trench. Our dragoman related our story again, 
 and called upon the survivor to confirm the 
 truth of it, but in vain; on the contrary he main- 
 tained we had taken him and his companions by 
 force, and compelled them to conduct us to the 
 place. In this falsehood he was supported by 
 the Arab who had* remained on the outside of 
 
161 
 
 the ca^vern, and whom we now saw for the first 
 time among the crowd. In our defence we re- 
 plied it was not possible we could have used any 
 means of compulsion, as we were unarmed. 
 This we boldly asserted, as the brace of pistols 
 I had with me was never produced. Besides, 
 we recalled to his memory that on our way 
 thither one of the guides who had died, had re- 
 plenished our Bardak with water from a well 
 near Amabdi.— This proved that we had gone 
 amicably together. 
 
 The Cachefl^ who continued to treat us haugh- 
 tily in pubHc, commanded the Arab to explain 
 the means by which the infidels (who he con- 
 fessed were without arms) had killed his con> 
 panions. He repUed, hy magic, for he had seen 
 me burning something on our first entrance into 
 the great chamber. This was the bat I had ac- 
 cidentally scorched. Our cause now began to 
 wear a better complexion: part of the crowd, 
 who treated the idea of magic with contempt, 
 beheved us innocent, and the rest probably dread- 
 ed the imaginary powers with which we had 
 been invested. Emboldened by this change of 
 
 sentiment in our favour, our dragoman assumed 
 
 21 
 
162 
 
 a lofty tone, and peremptorily insisted on our 
 being sent, together with our two accusers and 
 the Shekh of Amabdi, to Siout, to Ibrahim Bey, 
 the son of the Pacha of Cairo, and the Gover- 
 nor of Upper Egypt. The reputation of this 
 man for cruelty was so great, that his very name 
 excited terror in the assembly. It was now our 
 turn to threaten, and we talked of the alliance 
 of our King with the Pacha of Cairo, and the 
 consequence of ill-treating any one protected by 
 his firman. This had its effect, and the Cachejff 
 having consulted for some time with the Shekh, 
 suggested an accommodation by money. This 
 proposal we at first affected to reject with dis- 
 dain, as it would in some manner be an ac- 
 knowledgment of our guilt, though we were 
 Secretly anxious to terminate the affair at any 
 rate. Our dragoman was sent to negociate with 
 the Cacheff*, and it was finally agreed we should 
 pay twelve piastres or two Spanish dollars to 
 each of the women, and the same sum we of- 
 fered as a present to the Shekh of the village. 
 All animosity seemed now to have ceased, and 
 we were permitted quietly to return to our ves- 
 sel, and continue our voyage* 
 
163 
 
 At Miniet, we were met by our courier, with 
 intelligence of a sufficiently alarming nature as 
 to the state of health in the country through 
 which we had to pass; though it would be dif- 
 ficult to express the joy and enthusiasm we ex- 
 perienced at the receipt of the important ti- 
 dings of which he was also the bearer, and by 
 which we felt oui^elves once more connected 
 with the politics and interests of Europe. 
 
 The events of the war against the Wahabees 
 had been hitherto our chief subject of conversa- 
 tion; the inquiry of the day was, whether the 
 Pacha had yet taken possession of Mecca, and 
 the only news by which our curiosity had been 
 gratified, amounted to the vague reply, " that it 
 was rumoured he had gained a victory/^ This 
 dearth of intelligence had continued so long, 
 that when the Arab on his return from Cairo put 
 into our hands (together with some private let- 
 ters) several Gazettes containing the details of 
 the hasty retreat of Buonaparte from Moscow, 
 and the entire qyerthrow of his mighty expedi- 
 tion against Russia, we experienced a delight 
 which none but a ti'aveller can understand and 
 fully appreciate. 
 
164 
 
 It was after an interval of several months, 
 during which we had no information of the events 
 of that most important period, that the sudden 
 and unexpected intelUgence of the signal change 
 in the fortunes of the most formidable enemy of 
 our country reached us at a small town in the 
 interior of Egypt, distant more than a hundred 
 miles from Cairo, and where we found ourselves 
 surrounded by people who felt no interest what- 
 ever in the mighty reverses which convulsed and 
 changed the face of Europe. 
 
 M. Aziz, the English agent at Cairo, to whom 
 we were indebted for these interesting papers, 
 iliformed us that, in consequence of a number 
 of suspicious casualties, the Franks in that city 
 had thought it prudent to take certain precau- 
 tions in their intercourse with the rest of the 
 inhabitants, and were daily in fear of seeing the 
 plague declare itself in a more formidable and 
 decided character. He added, it had already 
 carried off a great part of the population of Alex- 
 andria andRosetta; in short, his intelligence was 
 upon the whole of so discouraging a complexion, 
 that we resolved to remain for some time at 
 Miniet. In upper Egypt, we were induced to 
 
165 
 
 hope, the heat of the approaching summer would 
 secure us from the attacks of the contagion. 
 
 Having come to this decision, we apphed to the 
 Governor of the town to appoint us a house for 
 our residence, and the one allotted us, when fur- 
 nished with the baggage from our boat, might have 
 some pretension to be called decent and com- 
 fortable. Wq dismissed our Reis and crew, and 
 began to consider how we should pass our time, 
 and by what schemes of amusement we might 
 contrive to lessen the dull monotony of our life. 
 When the antiquities which may exist in the neigh- 
 bourhood have been examined, and any local in- 
 terest ceases to amuse, nothing perhaps can be 
 more melancholy than the prospect of a long re- 
 sidence in a Turkish town; where the absolute 
 want of books, the frivolous conversation and ex- 
 cessive ignorance of the natives, the daily smo- 
 king of tobacco and drinking of coffee, form the 
 chief features of the toi^id and hstless existence 
 to which a stranger is condemned. 
 
 With a view to break this tiresome uniformity 
 we hired horses, and engaged an old Mameluke 
 to teach us their method of riding, and the use of 
 the Djeritt; this formed our morning's employ- 
 ment. 
 
166 
 
 In the evening we generally went to the house 
 of the Governor, and at night were amused by the 
 exhibition of the Almes * Occasional visits to 
 the Turkish bath, and some shooting expeditions 
 in the neighbourhood of the town, filled up the 
 remainder of our time. 
 
 During our residence here of nearly a month, 
 we had an opportunity of observing the method 
 practised by the natives, when they are attacked 
 by the ophthalmia of the country, and which is 
 simply as follows. When an Arab feels the first 
 approach of the symptoms of inflammation, he 
 binds a handkerchief round his eyes as tightly as 
 
 * The fantastical dresses of these ministers of pleasure, whose 
 charms are scarcely concealed by the short gown and loose shawl 
 which they throw over their persons, the voluptuous and not un- 
 graceful attitudes with which they commence their dances, degen- 
 erating at last into movements not strictly decorous, and accom- 
 panied, as they are, by the sound of the castanettes, brought to our 
 recollection similar exhibitions we had witnessed in Spain, in which 
 the same lascivious character is observable, particularly in the 
 Bolero, and is doubtless to be attributed to the remains of Eastern 
 manners and temperament left bj the Moorish conquerors of that 
 country. 
 
 The exhibitions of the Almes, in which they alternately dance, 
 sing and play on the rude instruments of the country, form the chief 
 amusement of Egypt; and they are in great request amongst the 
 Turks, by whom they are frequently invited to remove the gloom 
 of the interior of the harem, and dissipate the ennui of a favourite 
 mistress. 
 
167 
 
 possible, and endeavours to exclude the light 
 and air with the greatest caution. At the end of 
 three days and nights^ the bandage is removed, 
 and frequent bathing with cold water is after- 
 wards employed to complete the cure. 
 
 My servant suffered considerably from an at- 
 tack of the ophthahnia, and found great relief 
 from a small quantity of excessively fine powder- 
 ed sugar being introduced every night between 
 the eyehds, a practice recommended to him by a 
 Greek doctor, whom he had consulted at Siout. 
 
 In his case the inflammation was excessive, 
 and he compared the great pain he suffered to 
 the pungent sensation occasioned by the eyes be- 
 ing filled with the smoke of burning wood. As I 
 have mentioned one of the diseases of Egypt, I 
 may add that the symptoms of syphilis are in this 
 country extremely mild and are generally cured 
 by the simple use of the warm bath, and an atten- 
 tion to cleanliness, which is not at other times so 
 strictly observed by the natives. 
 
 We lived well, and had abundance offish, par- 
 ticularly a species called in the country Bultiy the 
 Labrus Niloticus, which somewhat resembles the 
 white trout, and occasionally weighs fifty pounds. 
 
168 
 
 The events of one day resembled those of the 
 preceding, and unless it was the alarm of an at- 
 tack xnade on a neighbouring village which was 
 under the protection of the Governor of Miniet, 
 by a party of hostile Bedouins, nothing occurred 
 to enliven the tedium of our residence. A party 
 of horsemen, whom we met in our evening^s 
 walk galloping in the most disorderly manner 
 from the gate of the town, soon put to flight the 
 invaders, who sought their safety in a speedy re- 
 treat into the Desert. 
 
 On another occasion we had an opportunity of 
 observing more nearly some individuals of the 
 singular race of Bedouin Arabs, who came on a 
 mission to Miniet. 
 
 We were smoking one evening with the Ca- 
 cheff in his chiosk, when three Bedouin Arabs, 
 the first we had ever seen, entered with an air of 
 freedom and independence that offered a stri- 
 king contrast to the servile manner of the beys 
 and other usual visitors of the Cacheff. In our 
 interviews with him, being Franks and recom- 
 mended by the firman of the Pacha, we were al- 
 ways invited to sit, but the Cacheff generally re- 
 quired his guests to stand in his presence. 
 
169 
 
 The Bedouins (who wore white turbans and 
 the bournous^ were very handsome, and of fine 
 commanding persons) advanced without hesita- 
 tion, and after the usual salutation, Salem Alicum, 
 sat down. They entered with great warmth up- 
 on the subject of their present visit, which was 
 to make a formal complaint against the soldiers 
 of the Cacheff, who, under the pretence of levy- 
 ing contributions, had carryed off some of their 
 mares. They were treated with the greatest at- 
 tention, and instant redress was promised them. 
 We learned afterwards that they belonged to a 
 tribe of Bedouins who were in aUiance with the 
 government of Egypt, and that it is the policy 
 of the present Pacha to endeavour to gain over 
 as many of these wandering robbers as possible, 
 and to fix them in permanent residences. Every 
 effort is used to induce them to change their 
 mode of Ufe, and to listen to the overtures of the 
 Pacha, who, in the event of success, will him- 
 self become the only licensed plunderer of the 
 country. 
 
 While waiting at Miniet, we were astonished 
 
 to find in the person of a soldier of one of the 
 
 seven B^s attached to the Cacheff, a Scotch- 
 
 22 
 
170 
 
 man who had been taken prisoner at the battle 
 of Rosetta. Having been about seven years in 
 the country, he had nearly forgotten his own lan- 
 guage, and seemed perfectly reconciled to his 
 situation. He had been circumcised, and was 
 in every respect a complete Mussulman. We 
 had frequent conversations with him, and propo- 
 sed to pay his ransom and bring him with us to 
 England. At one time his master had agreed to 
 give him his liberty for two thousand piastres; 
 but a few days previous to our departure we were 
 informed the Bey had married him to one of the 
 women belonging to his harem, and we heard no 
 more of him. He had never shown much 
 anxiety about obtaining his liberty, and after the 
 question had been talked ofj his master seemed 
 jealous of his interviews with us. His name 
 was Donald Donald, and he was a native of In- 
 verness. 
 
 When our patience was nearly exhausted, our 
 second courier returned from Cairo, where we 
 had sent him soon after our arrival at Miniet, to 
 bring us farther particulars of the state of the 
 plague. He had performed the journey on foot, 
 a distance of about two hundred miles, and 
 
171 
 
 thought himself well rewarded by a present of 
 twenty piastres. According to the advices he 
 brought us, the state of Cairo continued pretty 
 much the same as it had been a month before, 
 with occasional demonstrations of the plague; 
 but as we were informed that the Franks had 
 not yet been induced to shut themselves up, we 
 resolved to recommence our journey, and left 
 Miniet on the 1st of May. 
 
 To our great disappointment, however, we 
 found on our arrival at Old Cairo, that the plague 
 had declared itself in that city; that all the Franks 
 had shut themselves up; and that even the Pacha 
 had removed to Gizeh, with which place he 
 would allow no communication.* So strict were 
 his orders, that any boat attempting to pass on the 
 westeiTi side of the Nile, and consequently near 
 his residence, was fired upon. The other side 
 of the river was so shallow as not to be navigable; 
 there was therefore at this point a complete in- 
 terruption of all intercourse between the Delta 
 
 * Gizeh, nearly opposite Old Qairo, or Misr el Attik^, was ori- 
 g-inally fortified by Israael Bey. A palace and foundry were there 
 in the time of the Mamelukes — the walls of the town are of g^reat 
 extent, ten feet high, and three feet thick: — the palace it in the 
 ioutheru quarter of Gizeh, close to the water 
 
172 
 
 and Upper Egypt. The Pacha had also estab- 
 lished a quarantine of ten days at Rosetta, and 
 as this is the first instance with which I am ac- 
 quainted of the use of precautions against the 
 plague by a Turkish authority, it may be consi- 
 dered an important step towards civiUzation. It 
 was from early habits that the Pacha had become 
 famihar with the customs of European pohcy, 
 and his active and enterprizing mini adopted its 
 improvements without any regard to the preju- 
 dices and superstitions of his own Mahometan 
 faith.* 
 
 In the difficult circumstances in which we now 
 found ourselves from this unexpected state of 
 things, we wrote to M. Rosetti, the Austrian 
 consul at Cairo, for permission to occupy some 
 rooms in a house belonging to him at Boulac. 
 With this request he had the kindness to com- 
 ply, and we were in many other respects great- 
 ly indebted to him for civilities which in our 
 situation were invaluable. 
 
 * Owing to the measures adopted by the Pacha, the plague, 
 which showed itself in February at Alexandria, did not make its 
 appearance in Cairo before the commencement of the hot weather. 
 So much of its violence was abated at this period, that the greatest 
 mortality we heard of in that city, where the population is estimated 
 at nearly 400,000, did not exceed fifty a day. 
 
173 
 
 We quitted our boat at Old Cairo, placed our 
 effects on the backs of caniels, and walked on 
 foot to Boulac, a distance of about three miles. 
 By this means, we avoided as much as possible 
 all contact with the people about us, a precau- 
 tion which the sight of the numerous funerals 
 we met in the streets convinced us of the abso- 
 lute necessity of observing. We took possession 
 of the house of M. Rosetti, and gave ourselves 
 up for a week to the disheartening prospect of a 
 protracted imprisonment. Our only amusement 
 consisted in daily communications with M. Aziz, 
 at Cairo, from whom we at length learned, to 
 our great satisfaction, that our friends the En- 
 glish officers, whom we had left in that city on 
 our departure for Upper Egypt, were still at Ro- 
 setta, with part of the horses they had purchased 
 for the use of our army in Spain. 
 
 It will be recollected that on our first landing 
 at Alexandria we had accompanied these gen- 
 tlemen to Cairo, where they went to treat with 
 the Pacha about the object of their mission. 
 Before their arrival a promise had been made to 
 the British Government of permission to pur- 
 chase ap unlimited number of horses, but the 
 
174 
 
 French Consul having received about that time 
 an account of the successes of Buonaparte in 
 Russia, and the taking of Moscow, had threaten- 
 ed the Pacha w^ith the displeasure of his master 
 in case he should fulfil his engagements v^ith the 
 English. 
 
 The spirited conduct of Major Vincenzo Ta- 
 berna, the Secretary of our Resident, Colonel 
 Missett, vs^ho reproached the Pacha with his 
 want of good faith and wavering poHcy, suc- 
 ceeded at length in procuring for the British of- 
 ficers a renewal of the permission to buy at first 
 one hundred, and afterwards three hundred hor- 
 ses. The average price was seventy-five dollars, 
 they were certainly very fine animals, and might 
 be estimated in England at fifty^ poinds a piece. 
 About a hundred had been carried off in the early 
 part of the month of May, but we found, on our 
 arrival atRosetta, the remainder encamped in a 
 grove of date trees, feeding on barsim, a sort of 
 lucerne^ at the rate of a piastre a day per horse. 
 In this situation they remained for some 
 months, waiting the arrival of transports to con- 
 vey them to Sicily or Spain, that were daily ex- 
 pected, but which, as we were told at Malta^ 
 
175 
 
 where we touched in the September following, 
 had not even then sailed for that purpose: By 
 this unseasonable detention at Rosetta^ and af- 
 terwards at Alexandria, so much was added to 
 their original price, that it would perhaps have 
 been cheaper to have bought them in England. 
 They were however ultimately brought off, and 
 I have since learned, that having joined the ar- 
 my at Ahcant about the time of the precipitate 
 retreat, their throats were cut before they had 
 been once exposed to the enemy's fire* 
 
 The pleasure of again meeting with the socie- 
 ty of our countrymen was not to be resisted, and 
 w^e instantly sent off a courier to Rosetta, to re- 
 quest permission to join their party, no very in- 
 considerable favour, considering the danger of 
 admitting so many suspected people into their 
 estabhshment. 
 
 A favourable answer to our proposal once 
 more induced us to move our quarters, and again 
 incur the danger of a passage down the river, 
 from the risk of the almost unavoidable inter- 
 course we must have with the crew of our boat 
 whose religion taught them to despise every 
 measure of precaution, and who silenced all 
 
176 
 
 remonstrances by the consolatory re^fy, "^ Chulo 
 men Allah^^ " Every thing comes from God/^ 
 
 Ou the second morning after our departure from 
 Cairo, we were welcomed by our countrymen 
 at Rosetta with all the friendly attention which 
 a due regard to their own safety would permit, 
 and though for the first few days we were 
 placed in a state of probation, they allotted us 
 apartments in their own house, and we again 
 felt ourselves restored to the comforts of a quiet 
 estabhshment. 
 
 For the first ten days we avoided as much as 
 possible all intercourse with the inhabitants of 
 the town, but did not confine ourselves entirely 
 to the house, resolving to shut ourselves up 
 when the number of deaths should amount to 
 twenty daily. That period soon arrived, and the 
 contagion continued to spread, though the rising 
 of the Nile, and St. John's day, about which 
 time the symptoms of the plague are usually ex- 
 pected to abate, were fast approaching. 
 
 As soon as we had taken our resolution, and 
 our doors were closed. Major Vincenzo Taber- 
 na, who had frequently witnessed the ravages of 
 this formidable disease, and who was conse- 
 
177 
 
 quently quite aufait at the necessary precautioos, 
 took upon himself the management of our volun- 
 tary confinement. 
 
 The house we occupied had double doors, 
 and in the space between them we placed two 
 very large jars filled with water, which was 
 changed once in the twenty-four hours; and 
 having provided ourselves also with a fumigating 
 box, to receive all our letters, we hired an Arab 
 for a piastre a day, to station himself every 
 morning under our windows, receive our orders, 
 and purchase our provisions. 
 
 With respect to our bread, we took the pre- 
 caution of never touching it till it was cool, as it 
 is ascertained that in that state it does not com- 
 municate the plague. Even letters which have 
 been fumigated must be allowed to cool before 
 they are touched. 
 
 Our meat, whether beef or fowls, the latter 
 being previously plucked, was all thrown into 
 the water jars, from which, after a certain in- 
 terval, it was cautiously taken out by one of our 
 servants, who opened the inner door for the pur- 
 pose. In this manner we lived for several weeks, 
 
 witnessing the most distressing sights of death 
 
 23 
 
178 
 
 and disease under our windows, from which 
 we had frequent opportunities of observing at- 
 tacks of the plague, as it first seized upon its un- 
 fortunate victims. A% far as we could judge 
 from their gestures, they appeared to suffer most 
 violent pains in the head, and were at the same 
 time seized with violent retchings, and black 
 vomiting. 
 
 We lost three of the Arabs, whom we had en- 
 gaged to act as our purveyors in the town. 
 When the mortahty was at its height, the num- 
 bers who died daily amounted to about eighty. 
 
 It was impossible, however, to include in our 
 measures of safety the few Enghsh soldiers who 
 were employed, together with about fifty Arabs, 
 in looking after the horses piqueted in the camp 
 without the town; but the judicious directions of 
 their ofliicers, and the ready obedience of the 
 men in avoiding every occasion of touching 
 either the native servants, several of whom died, 
 or the horses of which they had the immediate 
 care, saved them from any infection. 
 
 The exemption of the British soldiers from the 
 attacks of the disease is an additional instance 
 in support of the opinion that the plague is only 
 
179 
 
 to be communicated by actual contact, for they 
 were exposed to the same atmosphere, and to 
 the action of the same general causes, as the less 
 fortunate natives who, like themselves were 
 employed in the care of the horses. 
 
 At one time more than two thousand of the 
 population of Rosetta w ere said to be ill of the 
 plague, of whom the greatest number did not 
 confine themselves to their houses, but were 
 seen walking about, to the great danger of the 
 rest of the inhabitants. The Arabs and Turks, 
 having no fear of the contagion, are in conse- 
 quence always ready to lend every assistance to 
 their sick friends, and it is perhaps partly to be 
 attributed to this cause that a greater number 
 of Mahometans recover than Europeans, the 
 latter being generally deserted by their country- 
 men. The fearlessness of danger and humane 
 attentions of the natives occasion, however, a 
 great spreading of the contagion, to which the 
 custom that prevails amongst them, for the 
 nearest relation to wear the clothes of the de- 
 ceased, in the last duties paid to his memory, does 
 not a little contribute. 
 
180 
 
 We heard of no remedy for the plague: when 
 the sweUings broke, sea bathing was supposed 
 to be very beneficial, but after that event the 
 patients generally recovered without an^ remedy. 
 
 We found the opinion that the disease ceases 
 on the 24th June, St. John^s day, prevalent 
 among the Franks as well as the natives of the 
 country. 
 
 The Europeans settled at Cairo and Alexan- 
 dria would not open their houses before that 
 time, when they began to have cautious com- 
 munication with their neighbours. This period, 
 however, which had been so eagerly anticipated, 
 and whose approach was hailed by the lighting 
 of several bonfires in different parts of the town, 
 did not on this occasion answer the general 
 expectation, but on the contrary was marked by 
 an unusual mortality, as the deaths on that day 
 exceeded a hundred, a number considerably 
 beyond the usual average. 
 
 Much beneficial effect is also attributed to the 
 JVokta, or rising of the Nile, which begins on the 
 18th June. Previous to this month the Kamsin, 
 or Wind of the Desert, which commences gene- 
 rally on Easter Monday, and continues to blow 
 
181 
 
 for fifty days, together with the stagnant state of 
 the waters of the Nile, are supposed to occa- 
 sion the unhealthiness generally observed to pre- 
 vail at that season. So confirmed is this idea 
 that the Arabs are in the habit of congratulating 
 one another at the end of the Kamsin, on hav- 
 ing escaped its baneful effects. 
 
 The two or three months previous to the Sum- 
 mer solstice are reputed so unhealthy, that the 
 plague is said to exist in Cairo always during 
 that period, at which time also the small-pox is 
 very fatal. 
 
 When the natives are seized with the first 
 symptoms of the plague, they wrap themselves 
 up in their cloaks, and endeavour to promote 
 perspiration by drinking large quantities of warm 
 water. In a short time, swelhngs break out in 
 the groin and under the arms, and if they are 
 alive thirty-six hours after the first seizure, they 
 generally recover. We saw a Turk at Alexan- 
 dria who had suffered several attacks of the 
 plague, and he informed us, that as soon as he 
 was able to move, he crawled to the sea side, in 
 which he constantly bathed. 
 
182 
 
 Neither iron nor wood convey the infection, 
 though money is supposed to do so, a circum- 
 stance perhaps to be attributed to the custom 
 that prevails amongst the natives of carrying it 
 in a small bag w^orn close to the skin. In this 
 situation it is certainly more likely to imbibe the 
 matter of contagion secreted on the surface of 
 the body; but w^hatever may be the cause, vv^e 
 always took the precaution to allow our money 
 to remain in the water at least half an hour be- 
 fore, we touched it. 
 
 Such was the plan of life we adopted: and the 
 success of our measures of precaution abun- 
 dantly proves the utiUty and sufficiency of the 
 usual quarantine regulations estabHshed in the 
 countries of the Mediterranean, which are fre- 
 quently visited by the calamities of the plague. 
 But on our return to England, it was impossible 
 not to smile at the insufficiency, not to say ab- 
 surdity, of the system adopted in this country. 
 As we passed up the Channel, we were visited 
 by the officers of the Board of Health, and one. 
 of them coming alongside our vessel, presented 
 the captain with a Bible, requesting him to swear 
 to the truth of the answers he should make to 
 
183 
 
 his several questions. It was in vain we repre- 
 sented to him^ that his taking the book again 
 from our hands would be the surest means of 
 communicating to him whatever infection we 
 might ourselves be labouring under; he persisted 
 in demanding our compliance with a form which 
 could not be dispensed with, and added, with an 
 air of triumph, that in the discharge of his duty, 
 he had himself been on board several plague 
 ships, with impunity. On the same occasion, 
 another officer produced a number of queries, 
 to which the captain of our vessel was required 
 to give written answers, and when told nothing 
 was so infectious as paper, he contented himself 
 with replying, that the orders of the Privy Coun- 
 cil were peremptory, and must be obeyed. 
 
 Our imprisonment at Rosetta had now con- 
 tinued six w eeks, when to our great satisfaction 
 we heard of the arrival of a convoy from Malta 
 at Alexandria. We instantly wrote to our friend 
 Colonel Misseit, who in his reply advised us to 
 come over to Alexandria, and endeavour to pro- 
 cure a passage on board one of the vessels. 
 
 We did not venture to go by land, the inhabi- 
 tants of the village of Etko, through w^hich we 
 
184 
 
 must have passed^ having been nearly all carried 
 off by the plague; but we hired a boat^ and re- 
 solved to cross the Boghaze, or bar of the Nile. 
 
 The boats employed in the trade between 
 Alexandria and Rosetta are built extremely 
 strong, in order to be enabled to encounter the 
 tremendous surf through which they have to pass 
 at the mouth of the river. So formidable indeed 
 is this bar;, that an English man of war's boat 
 would nev€r live in the sea which constantly 
 breaks over it; but in one of the country boats 
 we felt a degree of confidence which, strengthen- 
 ed by the eager desire to escape from this in- 
 fected country, made us think lightly of the dan- 
 ger of the passage. 
 
 We embarked at Rosetta in the evening, and 
 early the next morning, having engaged the 
 pilot who is constantly employed in observing the 
 shifting of the sand banks at the mouth of the 
 Nile, we rushed into the most tremendous surf 
 we had ever witnessed. There was httle or no 
 wind, and the sea was perfectly calm, but the 
 enormous waves which broke over the bar with 
 the most rapid succession, at one moment ele- 
 vating us to an amazing height, to be instantly 
 
186 
 
 precipitated by a fall nearly perpendicular into 
 the abyss below, and the constant danger of stri- 
 king the bottom, an accident which is always 
 followed by the swamping of the boat and the 
 almost certain loss of every soul on board, ren- 
 dered our situation for a quarter of an hour (du- 
 ring which we were struggUng over the Boghaze) 
 as alarming and perilous as the imagination can 
 well conceive. 
 
 In the winter months, many boats are wrecked 
 and many lives lost in the passage of this for- 
 midable bar, and it is said that the embouchure 
 at Damietta is equally dangerous. 
 
 When we reached the open sea, we found our- 
 selves in still water, and in about three hours, 
 moving along the coast under easy sail, arrived 
 at Alexandria. 
 
 Instead of the bustle of a sea-port, and the 
 
 crowded streets through which we had to make 
 
 our way on our first landing here, the desolation 
 
 that was now observable in every part of the 
 
 town bespoke the havoc committed by the 
 
 plague during our absence. It was true, the 
 
 dead bodies, which had been lying a few weeks 
 
 before in heaps of thirty or forty together, were 
 
 24 
 
186 
 
 in a great measure removed from the streets, 
 but the air of melancholy grandeur that always 
 characterizes the remains of an ancient city was 
 now greatly heightened by the striking appear- 
 ance of its recent depopulation. 
 
 After a little negociation, as to the propriety 
 of admitting us on board, we were kindly receiv- 
 ed by the captain of the brig of war, which had 
 convoyed the transports from Malta, and our 
 only remaining diflBculty was to contrive the 
 means of bringing off the Nubian slave who had 
 been presented to me by Hassan Cachefl^ at 
 Dehr. 
 
 As the exportation of negroes from Egypt is 
 Btrictly forbidden, it required some caution to 
 elude the jealous vigilance of the Turkish gov- 
 ernment; but we were at length enabled to suc- 
 ceed, by watching the opportunity when the Ma- 
 hometans, after the performance of their mid- 
 day devotions, are in the habit of taking their 
 siesta. At this hour, when the soldiers and of- 
 ficers of the custom-house were asleep, my ser- 
 vant Walked with the boy into the desert to the 
 west of the town, and a boat from 6ur ship con- 
 veyed them on board, without the least suspicion 
 or interruption. 
 
187 
 
 The convoy was employed a fortnight in ship- 
 ping part of the com that had been purchased 
 from the Pacha, at the expiration of which time 
 the norih-westerly winds set in, and we had a 
 longpassageof a month to Malta. An English 
 packet landed us in England inNovember> 1813» 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
ITINERARY THROUGH SYRIA, 
 
 BT 
 
 SHEKH IBRAHIM. 
 
 This journey we were prevented from undertaking by the 
 plague, which continued to exercise its ravages in Syria with 
 unabated fury, oh our return from Upper Egypt. 
 
 Voyage from Damietta to Jaffa, where an 
 English agent resides. 
 
 From hence two days' journey to Jerusalem. 
 The possibility of visiting the Dead Sea depends 
 upon the good understanding existing between 
 the Bedouin tribe of Mesayd and the Governor 
 of Jerusalem. The priests of Terra Santa, in 
 whose convent travellers usually take up their 
 lodgings, expect for their trouble and hospitality 
 a present in money. The dragomen of the con- 
 vent are as much as possible to be kept at a dis- 
 tance. 
 
 The mountainous country about El Khalyl 
 (Hebron), at the distance of eight hours from Je- 
 
192 
 
 rusalem, is very little known to European travek 
 lers. 
 
 From Jerusalem there are four long days^ 
 journey to Acre. 
 
 I should advise you to go by Nabloos (Sichem) 
 and Nazareth, a route which will make it five 
 days^ journey. The mountains of Nabloos, in- 
 habited by a bold and independent race of Arabs, 
 are little frequented by travellers, but the road 
 is safe, except in the immediate neighbourhood 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 M. Pa,squal Malegamba is the English agent 
 at Acre. The Ex-Spanish Consul, M. Catafago, 
 is a man of some influence, well versed in all 
 the pohtics of the country, and very civil to En- 
 glish travellers. It will be necessary to obtain 
 a passport from the Pacha, in order to travel 
 with comfort and security through his territory. 
 
 From Acre by Tyre and Seyda to Beyroot is 
 a journey of three days. 
 
 Letters of introduction to the principal per- 
 sons in these towns may easily be procured at 
 Acre. 
 
 From Beyroot up the southern ridge of Mount 
 Libanus to Deyr el Kamar, distant eight hours, 
 
193 
 
 where is the residence of the Emeer Besheer^ 
 the prince of the Druzes, who receives EngUsh 
 travellers well^ and generally assigns them apart- 
 ments in his own palace. His servants, however, 
 expect to receive liberal presents. 
 
 From De} r el Kamar across the mountain to 
 Zahle, from ten to twelve hours^ journey; and 
 from thence in six hours, by the road which lies 
 along the valley of El Bekaa, or Coelesyria, you 
 arrive at Baalbek. 
 
 It will be advisable to be accompanied on 
 your way from Deyr el Kamar as far as Damas- 
 cus, by a horseman of the Prince Besheer, in 
 which case it will not be necessary to make any 
 present to the Governor of Baalbek, who other- 
 wise will expect a telescope or something of the 
 sort to gratify his avarice and keep him in good 
 humour. 
 
 With respect to making presents to Turkish 
 Governors, I should advise you, as a general rule 
 to give them only when they are asked for, and 
 to resist as much as possible all such demands^ 
 which after all are looked upon rather as a tri- 
 bute than as tokens of friendship; and the com- 
 pliance of a traveller is always used as a prece- 
 
 25 
 
194 
 
 dent to extort the same present from those who 
 may come after him. 
 
 From Baalbek to Damascus the distance is two 
 days'' journey, or about sixty miles. Travelling 
 across the Antilibanus is perfectly safe; and be- 
 yond the village of Zebdany, where the caravans 
 always stop, in the valley which is watered by 
 the river Barrada, are several ancient sepulchral 
 caves, which it would be curious to examine. 
 
 Damascus. — You will' take up your lodgings in 
 the convent of Terra Santa. An old and very 
 respectable French physician. Dr. Chabaceau is 
 the only Frank established at Damascus, and you 
 will experience great civihty from the Greek 
 Patriarch. The two brothers Seyda, rich Greek 
 merchants, are also very polite and serviceable 
 people. In your walks about the town, it will be 
 prudent to be accompanied by a guide from the 
 seragho, as the populace at Damascus is less ci- 
 vihzed and more disposed to insult Europeans 
 than in any other city in the East. 
 
 The usual caravan road from Damascus to 
 Aleppo by Nebk Hassia, Homs, and Hamah, 
 traverses a barren country devoid of almost every 
 object of curiosity; I should therefore advise you 
 
195 
 
 to take a more western route by Sydnaya^ where 
 is a fine Greek convent, and by the villages of 
 Maloula and Tekla and the lake El Baheyra, in 
 the course of which journey, particularly near 
 the latter place, some remains of Grecian anti- 
 quity and some inscriptions are to be found. 
 
 This route would make it a journey of six 
 days from Damascus to Homs. — Letters of re- 
 commendation from the Greek Patriarch, and a 
 guard of two armed peasants from Maloula to 
 Homs, ensure the traveller's comfort and safety. 
 
 At Homs, the public secretary, Skander, is 
 looked upon as a friend of EngUsh travellers. It 
 will be necessary to have a general passport from 
 the Pacha of Damascus to serve in case of need 
 in the towns between that city and Aleppo ; and 
 a particular recommendation to the Shekh of 
 Tedmor and the Mutsellim of Homs will facili- 
 tate your journey through the Desert to Palmyra. 
 
 If the Desert is in a state of peace, a Bedouin 
 guide of the tribe of Mehana Ibu Fadhel may 
 easily be found to conduct you to Tedmor; but I 
 should advise you to leave every thing of valne 
 at Homs, previous toyour setting out. A small 
 present to the Shekh of Tedmor, in whose house 
 travellers generally alight, can scarcely be dis- 
 pensed with. 
 
196 
 
 The source called Ay Abounel Fares, where 
 the aqueduct begins, about three hours distant 
 from the ruins of Palmyra, has not been visited 
 by Wood and Dawkins. 
 
 The journey from Horns to Tedmor will oc- 
 cupy you three days. 
 
 From Homs twelve hours to Hamah. You 
 will lodge at the house of Selym Ibu Keblan, one 
 of the pubUc secretaries, a very amiable man, 
 and who is well known to all English travellers. 
 
 From Hamah the great road leads by Marra 
 to Aleppo, four days distant: but a less frequented 
 and much more interesting route is by Kalat 
 Sadjar, and from ihence along the beautiful val- 
 ley of the Orontes, to Djesser Shogher, passing 
 by Kalat el Medyk, which is probably Apamea. In 
 the valley of the Orontes are the remains of a 
 Roman causeway. 
 
 From Hamah to Djesser Shogher three days. 
 From thence to Edlip one day, and from Edlipto 
 Aleppo a day and a half A letter of recommen- 
 dation for the rebel Governor of Djeser, who is 
 master of the valley of the Orontes, must be 
 procured. Mr. Barker, of AUeppo, is upon good 
 terms with him. 
 
197 
 
 Travellers in Syriaar e seldom exposed to sleep 
 out in the open air, unless they choose it them- 
 selves, as pubhc Cans are frequently met with, 
 and in want of them, it is always easy to hire for 
 the night some private rooms in the house of a 
 peasant. 
 
SPECIMENS OF THED^VIC MANTtr SCRIPTS 
 
 lof T.*-^** ■'■ fpf<)fiO'rint'^ (l^}> rfot t Mn/>o6 m>i> 
 
 
 D Etidi/rseinent 
 
 F '77 c f^ tyi9 M L 
 
 ft^oAJ Kt6.fiT...n... (x,6^ . . . *tcv,» / n/vA,^ n)\M •• n^ Hpt t^f^ ntfi 
 
 Endorsement . p 
 
<h'CMeM 
 
 \ 
 
 
 IX 
 
 III I kU'f ^ ^\H<'^' 
 
 B 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 tf 
 ^ 
 
 cc 
 
 C' ( 21^ 
 
 w rfyiy^i^C'. 
 
 JO)/i^^^ f fpf 
 
 D EndoTsement 
 
 f A/^'^HI^H Mf V^e>7/«.Ac/^c-f 
 
 , KCOi? JU Jf3 
 
 E 
 
 enoN m6w ... npi>..npoc7' 
 
 
 n>f 
 
 Endorsement 
 
 ^2^^P^^ itnNOy ri...^^»^ 6^1 Oij .. 
 
 indorsement 
 
 ire c>^s/o^ HTepoj^t .. 
 
 utn 
 
ACCOUNT 
 
 OF SOME 
 
 FRAGMENTS OF THEBAIC MANUSCRIPTS 
 
 ON LEATHER, 
 
 PURCHASED BY THE AUTHOR AT THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE.- 
 
 These manuscripts consist entirely of legal instru 
 ments, deeds, and conveyances of different kinds of pro» 
 perty: they are written on brown leather, apparently 
 sheep skins and calf skins, dressed in the same man- 
 ner as that which is used for binding books. The ink 
 is chalybeate, and has corroded the substance of the 
 leather, so that where the letters are tolerably entire, a 
 copy of them may in general be obtained by rubbing a 
 niltmeg over a piece of paper laid on them; but the ca- 
 mera lucida affords a more convenient mode of making 
 a fac simile, and the instrument seems sometimes even 
 to assist in enabling the eye to connect the imperfect 
 traces of the letters, the nature of the light in which 
 it is employed favoured for the purpose. In other cases 
 moistening, or rather wetting the leather with rectified 
 spirits, renders some characters legible which are invisi- 
 ble while they remain dry, especially such as are writ- 
 ten on the outside of the skin: thus, the fragment mark- 
 ed P is quite black throughout the surface, but by means 
 
 * These observations are from the able pen of a friend, who has 
 deeply studied the rarious branches of the antiquities of Eg-ypt. 
 
200 APPENDIX 
 
 of this application it exhibits some letters very distinct- 
 ly. The prussiate of potass generally darkens the re- 
 maining traces of the letters, but without making them 
 more distinct; and it does not render them visible where 
 they could not be perceived without it. The exact date 
 of these deeds cannot be very easily assigned, nor can 
 we readily determine 'vvho was the " King John" men- 
 tioned in several of them; it may, however, be conjec- 
 tured that some of the Christians of Egypt acknow- 
 ledged among themselves the authority of the Eastern 
 emperors, and that the date may be referred to the 14th 
 or 15th century at the latest: nor is it impossible that 
 the " Philochr. King John" may have been the Empe- 
 ror John Zimisces, who is recorded to have introduced 
 the image of Christ on his coins; but it must be confes- 
 sed that this circumstance affords but a very slight ar- 
 gument for considering the manuscripts as belonging to 
 the 10th century. 
 
 The language is the Thebaic dialect of the Egyptian, 
 which was used by the inhabitants of Upper Egypt: it 
 differs from the Coptic somewhat more than any two 
 dialects of Greek differ from each other, or as much as 
 the Italian and Spanish, or the Dutch and German. 
 This dialect is remarkable for the frequent occurrence 
 of Greek words, and in some of these deeds the intro- 
 ductory phrases appear to be Greek. The district of 
 Cyrshe is mentioned under the denomination TOSH, 
 the Coptic THOSH, which was more anciently applied to 
 the provinces or nomes, and this name might be added 
 to those which are found in Mr. ChampoUion's work; 
 but we are scarcely authorised to conclude from these 
 deeds that it was of very high antiquity. The sense of 
 those parts of the fragments, which remain most legible, 
 is nearly as follows: but a person much accustomed to 
 
APPENDIX. 5?0l 
 
 the study of Thebaic manuscripts would probably be able 
 to discover the true reading of many other passages; and 
 even, without this advantage, something more might cer- 
 tainly be deciphered, if the importance of the subject 
 were such as to justify the degree of labour that would 
 be required for the investigation, 
 
 A 
 
 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
 Holy Ghost , . on the 27th of Choeak [December;] I 
 The ... of .... of the late Constant . . . of the 
 late Sesina . , . Joseph . . Joseph Pneif the son ofthe 
 late Stephanis, the daughter of the late Amana. Since I 
 
 do not wish for myself and and the nineteen 
 
 . . . by* measure . . I have given thee these things to the 
 fourteen ... as a property to descend to thy sons and 
 daughters ... to the son of thy daughter, I have given 
 it fully, that thou mayst take it into thy hands without 
 reserve, thou art the lord and master of the property 
 • . . God the Almighty and our Protector . . . shall 
 preserve it to thee with his mighty power . . . whether 
 sons or daughters or . . . and the Holy Ghost . . . all 
 Christians ... to the sons of thy sons ... I recognise . . • 
 Presbyter .,I....I....4-I.... 
 
 B 
 
 In the name of the Kingdom. In the first year of 
 our most Christian King the religious John, .... 
 George . . Lieutenant Governor . . Abbot Metania 
 . . . honourable Marcus . . of Cyrshe. In the spirit 
 of God all powerful ... I Menanta the daughter of 
 INI ary of Cyrshe . . . subscribe and agree . . . our son 
 and Menanta his wife , . . five datefields [or palm 
 fields] . . . the datefield of the . . . our sons . . are 
 
 26 
 
202 APPENDIJK. 
 
 / 
 given to Menarita his wife, as a pledge . . . our date- 
 field . . • our sons . . the neighbouring datefield of the 
 honourable .... wife Menanta ... I give ... all 
 .... Holy. . . ' 
 
 Endorsement, ... Witness . « • Kingdom ... 1 
 . • . Witness. 
 
 C 
 
 In the name of the Kingdom of our most Christian King 
 the religious John, • . . George . . Lieutenant Governor 
 ... all . . Abbot Metania . . . Governor of the coun- 
 try . . . Hexarch of the district Cyrshe . . . the spirit 
 of God all just . . . I Cala the daughter ... of Cyr- 
 she . . . and Menanta his wife .... I sell . . date- 
 field . . administration . . the datefield of Mena our 
 
 • • . water • • . measure . • and all that belongs to it 
 . • in full property to her ... all the high ... all 
 remote . . according to every agreement between them 
 
 • . . which arose from the negociation respecting the 
 datefield which is alienated . . The Father and the Son 
 and the Holy Ghost ... 
 
 EndoviemenU . . . And gave the price a thousand 
 and . . . gol. . . In order to bear witness . . Mary . • 
 + I Cyshk the daughter . . . -f I Joachim the son 
 ... I John give ... I Chalch ... I Macari . . . 
 Witness. I Seisimmi . . . Witness. Simio Witness. 
 Joanno Aria ... 
 
 D. Endorsement* 
 The Will [AIA0HKH] of Eudoxia .... and Marv' 
 and Athanasia. 
 
 E 
 
 in the name of . . . King . . . Lieutenant Governor. 
 Endorsement In the name of God ... I John . . » 
 
APPENDIX. 203 
 
 F 
 
 In the name of ... F Witness . . . 
 
 Witness. 
 
 Endorsement, I . . a man of . . ♦ 
 
 G. Endorsement 
 ... I Severus . . • 
 
 H, I. Endorsement, 
 I Isou the son of Jacob Witness. 
 
 K 
 
 + In . . . The Holy Ghost ... I Mary. 
 
 L 
 
 . . • And the late Aeof . • . 
 
 M 
 
 . . . The son and the H. . . • 
 
 Though Choeak is most naturally translated Decem- 
 ber, it must be remembered that the Egyptian months 
 must have gone through every season of the year in 
 about fifteen centuries, and of course that none of them 
 could answer uniformly to any months of calendars that 
 were differently regulated. 
 
 THE END* 
 
June, 1817. 
 
 M. THOMAS, 
 
 JSTo. 52, Chesnut near Id street, Philaddtihia, 
 
 Has just Published^ 
 
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 Also, a very huinorous work entitled 
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 Forty Portraits, chiefly of distinguished Americans. 
 
 Most of the Portraits are accompanied with Biographical Sketches. In 
 the Biographies of the following Naval Officers, — Hull, Decatur, Jones, 
 Lawrence, Perry, Porter, M'Donough, Stewart, Warrington, Biddle, 
 Blakely, and Shubrick — will be found full and interesting accounts of 
 their several engagements with the British, during the }at« war; and the 
 Biographies of Generals Pike, Scott, and Brown, comprise accounts of 
 some of our most celebrated battles on the land. Among the Portraits will 
 likewise be found accurate Likenesses of Chief Justices Parsons, Ells- 
 worth, and Marshall; also of Fisher Ames, Joel Barlow, James, A. Bay- 
 ard, Dr. Rush, Dr. Ramsay, Benjamin West, Robert Fulton, &c. In ad- 
 dition to the biographical matter, the volumes embrace a great body of 
 Original and Selected Criticism, Literary and Scientific Intelligence, 
 Extracts from Interesting Books of Travels, Poetry, &c. 
 
 Official Letters of every Naval Action during the late war, will be 
 found comprised in this work. 
 
 The Series of American Portraits and Lives will be continued; 
 embracing, some of the most conspicuous actors in our revolution. 
 Great care shall be obseiTcd to render the work strickly impartial— unbi- 
 assed by any sect or party in religion or politics. 
 
 

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