premature, for soon afterwards the crew, wisely resolving to pocket their dignity, sent a deputation to my father, and carried off the dollar!

On the third day from Cairo, we for the first time saw several pelicans, and flocks of herons. Next day, owing to the lightness of the winds, we made but little progress. About half past five we anchored off a miserable village in the evening my brother and myself went on shore, accompanied by Mahomet, and bent our steps to the coffeehouse. There, to our surprise, we found the crews of our two boats, drinking coffee and smoking; we could not refrain from joining them with a pipe, while we contrived, through the medium of Mahomet, to engage some of them in conversation. The moon was glancing through the branches of the date trees with a light so serene, it gave an air of holiness to the entire landscape,

which was marked by the most attractive features of Eastern scenery. In the midst flowed the Nile, reflecting the stars of heaven, winding past a village on her opposite shore, which reposed under the shade of a forest of palms. Through the trees we beheld the figures of the villagers engaged in a rustic dance: what most impressed us was the appearance of the women, loitering about at that late hour, in their singular drapery.

We left this place next morning, with a fair, though mild breeze, that was soon succeeded by a dead calm. This made the heat very oppressive; and it was decidedly the hottest day we had yet experienced. A rack of clouds, of which we had not seen any since our departure from Milan, would now have been a welcome sight, as as the sun was never screened, and the glare was almost

beyond endurance.

We passed the fine

cliffs of Beni Hassan, starting up abruptly from the water like the heights of Dover, by their white front reminding us still more strongly of the chalky shores of Old England. But here the resemblance ended; and the face of the country, the character of the landscape, the drooping palms, and the majestic mimosas, with the almost naked forms of tall, copper-coloured Nubians, constantly appearing, told too plainly how far we were from home.

As night came on, our Arabs were still propelling the boat, accompanying every movement of the pole with a general shriek, -a poor substitute for the Canadian boatsong. It was very dark, as the moon had not yet risen, and our little craft floated gently along, leaving a streak of light in her wake. Suddenly, I heard a louder cry than usual, and starting round, saw one of

the crew, who had dropped his pole in the river, spring headlong overboard. In an instant he rose to the surface, struck out manfully through the waves, and, seizing the stray oar with his left hand, swam after us for about fifty yards, when he scrambled on board, and was soon seated again at his oar.

We were grumbling at the long calm, when morning brought us a favourable wind, which carried us gallantly along, and we got over a greater distance than we had gained on any previous day. About noon we passed Min'ieh, a very large village, containing a sugar-refining establishment belonging to Mehemet Ali, which looks like a small Manchester factory. Mountains of bones were heaped on the shore ready for use. The country presented much the same appearance as before, occasionally opening very beautiful vistas.

To wile away time, I asked the crew to sing. My request met immediate compliance; to divert us still more, one man, a particularly sprightly fellow, bundled himself up in a heap of clothes, and proceeded to dance in a wild manner to very exciting music. Gradually he took off every article of dress, flinging each in a different direction, with singular dexterity. When perfectly stripped, he sprang overboard, and dived under the vessel, then re-appearing on the other side, he clambered to the deck, and, with similar antics, resumed his clothes. Throughout the performance, the whole crew accompanied the music with terrific yells.

We were much won by the simplicity and the ingenuous nature of these men, who were always desirous to please, and gratified at being noticed. The most trifling acts of kindness made a sensible impression