CHAPTER II.

Up the Canal-Arab boats-Shoal of swimmersBeautiful mirage-Egyptian tillage-Atfeh-The lock-The Nile.

THE wind was blowing strongly from the south on the day we left Alexandria. Thus we were at once to be exposed to all the hardships of Eastern travelling, beginning the day with the sirocco, followed by the worst night we ever had in Egypt. At an early hour we quitted our hotel, and leaving our baggage to come on in an omnibus, proceeded in cars past Pompey's Pillar to` the canal,

where we discovered the small steamer which

was to convey us to Cairo. We at once proceeded on board, and found more than a dozen other passengers assembled, including several Jewesses, and the Indian officers and their ladies who had accompanied us from Trieste. A few minutes afterwards we heard with surprise, and with some degree of pleasure, the familiar direction to "go a-head." Soon our ears caught the corresponding cries of "stop her," "ease her," we therefore made no doubt that the engineer was an Englishman; but, on inquiry, he proved to be a black slave, whose whole stock of English was summed up in these words. An Arab, anything but prepossessing in appearance, was stationed in the prow, and kept up an interchange of abuse, fortunately in his native tongue, with all the trading boats, which seemed to make it their aim to offer us every interruption;

and

certainly it was not their fault that they were unsuccessful.

We saw some pretty villas, though, for the most part, the passage on the canal was in the highest degree monotonous. Its tedium was relieved, however, from time to time by our watching the troops of children, of all ages, who sprang into the water as our boat approached, and followed us for some distance, gamboling alongside like a swarm of porpoises. Indeed, water seems almost the natural element of the Egyptian; and it was most amusing, when the wind fell, to see the crews of sailing vessels jump into the stream, headed by a man with a rope in his mouth, and swim ashore, where they towed away till, turning some sweep, the white lateen sail again caught the breeze, when they all returned on board. They swim well, but not in the European manner, for they use only

one hand at a time, which, though more expeditious, is much more fatiguing.

When about ten miles from Alexandria, we came on a rare, and, to strangers, most novel spectacle. It was the Egyptian mirage; and the illusion was so perfect, that for some time, I could not be persuaded that what I saw with such distinctness was not real. The vast plain of sand, stretching far into the distance, assumed the appearance of a boundless lake, smooth and serene as glass; the trees bordering the Desert, became capes and headlands, washed by the tranquil waters, and the white towers of the Suez

telegraph, far in the background, were transformed into a fleet of ships. The scene held us spell-bound, and it was with a strong feeling of disappointment that we saw it vanish.

I have already mentioned that a sirocco was blowing; and though we had a thick

awning overhead, the heat was intense, rendering the steamer a floating furnace. At last, we were fairly driven from the deck, and took refuge in a small, close cabin, where, with every contrivance our ingenuity could suggest, we were unable to obtain a breath of air. In this situation, it was a relief to learn that we were approaching Atfeh, the point at which we should quit the canal, and be launched on the waters of the Nile.

Atfeh is a large village, composed of miserable mud huts, about six feet high, surrounded by pigeon-houses; for everybody seems to keep pigeons. We landed for a short time, and walked through the place, which we found inhabited by the lower class of Arabs, and dreadfully infested by dogs. What particularly struck us, was the ugliness, if I may be allowed so harsh a word, of the Arab women; yet we found, as we