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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS,_ PRINTERS) WHITKFRIARS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
FAGB
THEBES  1
CHAPTER II.
ASSOUAN  63
CHAPTER III.
THE CATARACTS. — THE ISLAND OF PHILOS  70
CHAPTER IT.
THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP YERP HUSSEIN. — KOROSKO . . . . 85
CHAPTER V.
IPSAMBOUL  105
CHAPTER TI.
RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT TO DONGOLA, BY SEMNEH. — DAHL AND
SAKI-EL-ABD  120

Vi CONTENTS. PAfiB
CHAPTER TII.
RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT TO DONGOLA (cOntitlMetl) . — THE
TEMPLES OP PHTUR, HAPPEEE, AND DONGOLA . . 149

CHAPTER Till.
VOYAGE ON THE NILE TO MEEAVI (mEROUEH).  AMBUKOL. 
DJEBEL-BIEKEL . . . . . . . .172

CHAPTER IX.
UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS ........ 201
CHAPTER X.
EIDE THROUGH THE DESEET TO SHENDY  208
CHAPTER XI.
EUINS OF MESAOUEAT  254
CHAPTER XII.
MARNAT. — AERIAL PHENOMENON. — AEEIVAL IN THE CAPITAL OF
SOUDAN  280
CHAPTER XIII.
KHARTOUM  296

CONTENTS. Vll
r&GB
CHAPTER XIT
VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH ON THE BLUE NILE . . . .317
CHAPTER XT.
FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.  MANDARAH  349

EGYPT
UNDER
MEHEMET ALL

CHAPTER I.
THEBES.
T'HERE is, perhaps, nothing" more congenial to a
susceptible mind than to gaze on the vast ruins
of Thebes, the city with a hundred gates; and,
on the other hand, there is nothing more wearying
than to read a description of them by tourists, who,
without pursuing a distinct or learned course, think
themselves bound to give the most minute account of
ail their details, and accordingly set about their task
with line and plummet, and the " Guide-book" in their
liand. I speak from experience, for 1 have convinced
myself to satiety, by wading through some dozen
journals of travels — the works of indefatigable book
makers, copyists, and compilers, who have neither
critical observation nor ideas of their own, and who,
nevertheless, presume to swell the torrent of verbiage
on Egypt and Egyptian antiquities, with which we
are already inundated. I shall therefore certainly

THEBES.

not add to their number, but be as concise as possible;
while, however, I shall endeavour to place before the
reader some sketches which may give him a clear idea
of their general character and impression. If he
wishes for scientific information, I would recommend
him to consult a few ancient and modern authors on
this country; and though it is true that they do not
always agree with each other, yet they will afford the
curious inquirer all the information which the actual
state of discovery can give him. If the present volume
affords amusement, and at the same time places before
the dilettante, with all possible fidelity, whatever is to
be learnt by ocular inspection alone, it will fulfil its
object ; and I hope that I have now repeated this
often enough to determine the claims which may
reasonably be made upon me. If I were writing for
practical Englishmen or Frenchmen, every word upon
the subject would be superfluous, but German pedantry
has need of these explanations.
In the survey of Thebes, it seems to me an essential
point to proceed gradually from the less interesting to
the more important monuments, under the conviction
that the contrary plan would deprive the spectator of
half the enjoyment. I therefore invite my reader to
land with me and my party on the left bank of the
Nile, near the huts of the village of Gourneh, under a
group of palm-trees. Beyond some green corn-fields
in the west, a quarter of a league before us, we saw
the declivity of the bare Lybian chain, dedicated to
Hathor, the Egyptian Aphrodite, who, in the form of
a cow grazing, here received the first beams of the
sun every morning. Reddish-brown rocky walls rise

perpendicularly from the ground, which is extensively
burrowed, and a multitude of Troglodytse now live in
the ancient graves, the mouths of which are scattered
like black spots over the white sand; for we have
before us the Necropolis of Thebes, which spreads
out to the extent of two leagues. The dead salute
us, from their subterranean gloom, ere we behold
their immortal works in the light of the eternal sun.
Riding further to the south, along the silent Necro
polis, we soon perceived, from the ruins of a Coptic
village, and its dirty walls of unburnt bricks, the
first antique temple, dedicated to Ammon, begun by
the father of Rameses the Great, and completed by
his son in the last days of the glory of Egyptian art.
It is only of middling size ; but how wide is the differ
ence between it and the imitations at Denderah,
which are already fallen into decay ; and how greatly
would any traveller be deceived who, without going
further, formed an opinion of Egyptian architecture
and Egyptian art from that monument ! They stand
pretty nearly in the same relation to each other as the
miserable Gothic churches of our days, to those pro
duced in the middle ages, by the vigour and energy
of original genius. Creative power, in sublime
repose — classic purity, in every flight of fancy — and
insuperable confidence in technical mechanism, the
perfection of which fills every beholder who has a
genuine feeling and love of art with solemn delight —
manifest themselves as indisputably in the artistieal
productions at Thebes as in the wondrous Parthenon
at Athens. True, they are totally different, and in
all respects more colossal, but they arose on a different
b2

soil, and under different influences. " Greek and
Egyptian art do not stand below or above, but besid,e
each other," as Prokesch justly observes. ' That
strange sacred style, which religious obligation, and
its manifold intellectual importance compelled the
architect to retain and introduce in undeviating mul
tiplicity, which at Denderah appears as a monotonous,
grotesque, and almost repulsive caricature, we here
behold in noble perfection, with numerous gradations
and multifarious expressions. Deeply-carved outlines,
drawn, with wonderful precision, surround and protect
the sunken bas-reliefs, which have a truth, fullness
and beauty that nothing in this style can surpass.
It is an unjust assertion that the Egyptian art is
behind the Greek in the finish of the figure. The
difference lies here — it aims at the sublime rather than
at the beautiful. Truly, I never saw any deities
and kings seated on their thrones in more imposing
majesty, and never beheld a more dignified ex
pression than that of the heroes sacrificing to them,
in the master-pieces of Thebes ; notwithstanding that
the same conventional attitudes, determined by reli
gious laws, are more or less repeated throughout.
Thus, for example, the figures are generally repre
sented in profile — usually visible only in one decided
half, like a silhouette ; and the female is invariably
depicted with only one breast.
Of the double propylsea of the larger Temple, and
the avenue of Sphinxes that led to it, scarcely more
can be discovered than the place where they once
stood. The building itself— which, as is very common
in Egypt, united a royal palace with the Temple — is

THEBES.

likewise almost entirely in ruins; yet many paintings,
in glowing colours, have been preserved, partly under
the masses of rubbish, and partly on the doors and
in the interior. Ten columns of the portico, of very
beautiful proportions, the shafts of which represent
fascinae of aquatic plants, crowned with aa abacus,
are also in a state of preservation.
Faithful to my principle, I omit the details which
have already been so frequently described, and will
only observe that, among the paintings buried be
neath the~rubbish, I found one which appeared to me
to represent mechanical contrivances unknown to us,
for lifting large stones, and which might therefore de
serve further examination.
Passing by several less important remains, and pro
ceeding some thousand paces onwards, we came to the
imposing ruins of a much larger temple, which were
formerly erroneously called the Memnonium, and also
the tomb of Osymandias, but which Champollion re
cognised as the palace of Rameses the Great, (who
perhaps bore the name of Osymandias, if the latter
did not belong to Memnon,) and designated by him
" the Ramseion ;" not one of the most colossal, but
certainly in its ensemble, one of the most distinguished
of the productions of that wondrous age.
At a considerable distance I beheld with joyful sur
prise the twin seated colossi, on a black marshy ground,
in the middle of the plain ; one of which, though they
both represent the same prince, is especially celebrated
as Memnon's Statue. I must acknowledge that these
gigantic images of eternal repose, which, as if fixed
by enchantment, in immovable contemplation, on their

THEBES.

stony thrones for more than 3000 years, and which
have survived all the conflicting and convulsive revo
lutions of the world, strike me with more awe than the
artistieal masses of stone of the pyramids, which,
after all, are far surpassed by every conical rock which
nature herself has formed on more stupendous dimen
sions than theirs. When seen frora a distance, the
colossi appear to be quite unmutilated, but on a closer
view, you lament the fury of the mad Cambyses, who,
according to Herodotus, is said to have greatly in
jured them.
I could not resist the curiosity which impelled me
instantly to turn aside and examine them more mi
nutely, before I entered the Ramseion, which was
nearer at hand. The ground, which is now unculti
vated, had such deep clefts, occasioned by the heat,
that our horses could scarcely pass over them, and
often involuntarily bowed their knees before the
towering monarchs.
The two statues, which are made of hard sand
stone, and called by the Arabs Thama and Shama, are
fifty-six feet apart, and about sixty feet high. The
southern colossus is of one block, but the northern,
which Cambyses is said to have sawn through the
middle, and to have thrown the upper part down, has
been restored, at a later period, by five layers of stone,
placed one above another: the face, however, like
that of the other colossus, remained mutilated, or
else it must have been again injured at a subsequent
time. The restorations are destitute of the polished
surface with which the Egyptians overlaid the greater
part of their sand-stone and calcareous statues, and

occasionally also their buildings ; the enormous super
ficies ofthe pyramids of Ghizeh, for example, were thus
enamelled, and the summit of the centre pyramid is
so to this day. This singular composition, which
possesses the durability of stone, retains its polish over
the whole of the colossi, with the exception of those
parts which have been repaired or broken off. The
thrones on which the kings are seated are splendidly
ornamented, with a small statue on the two sides of
the back, and a still smaller one is placed between the
feet of each of the colossi ; images and hieroglyphics
are introduced all round, but they are more or less
damaged. The Greek and Latin inscriptions, of the
time of the Romans, on the feet and on the pedestal,
as well as the conspicuous fact of its having beei)
sawn through or destroyed by Cambyses, testify that
the repaired colossus, which stands towards the north,
is that called Memnon''s Column, which is said to
have emitted the famous sounds at sunrise.
About a hundred paces behind these colossi, lies a
large mass of stones, which has been so disfigured by the
disruption of many parts that it resembles a rock, and
may very probably be a portion of the statue formerly
sawn off, and this is rendered still more likely by the
fact that close to it, is a group of two smaller colossi
joined together ; this perfectly agrees with the state
ments of the ancients, that near the statue of Memnon
were two figures of smaller size, which, like it, were
composed of one block, — which is no longer the case.
Yet — and this is even more probable — it might be the
remains of another colossus, for there were doubtless
several at this spot, where one of the larger palaces

of Thebes once stood, and of which scarcely a trace
now remains.
Doubts have always been raised respecting the au
thenticity of the statue of Memnon. Among others,
by our great hippologue, Count Veltheim, from whom
I have received a letter while in Egypt. The Count, to
whom no branch of science is devoid of interest, alludes
to a writing of his father, where, together with Norden,
he afiirms that the true colossus of Memnon is proba
bly the torso of black granite lying in the Ramseion;
because Pliny and others expressly affirm that the statue
of Memnon was made of that kind of stone, and that
the inscriptions on the pedestal of the statue, which is
now taken for that of Memnon, were engraved upon
it, solely because it was too difficult to execute them
on the granite. The testimonies of Pliny and Phi-
lostratus are certainly worthy of attention, though
both have indisputably committed many mistakes;
but who is likely to have taken the trouble of convey
ing the overthrown colossus, in its mutilated state,
into the Ramseion, which is above 1000 paces dis
tant? Besides, that torso bears no indication of
having been sawn or broken asunder, while that
which is still standing bears irrefragable marks of it.
If the hypothesis of Count Veltheim be correct, the
genuine statue of Memnon must have vanished, or be
still buried in the sand, for certainly it is not the sta
tue in the Ramseion. The error of Norden and,
after him, that of Count Veltheim, arose chiefly from
the circumstance that Norden took the Ramseion for
the tomb of Osymandias, which Champollion has
proved to be completely erroneous. The real Mem-

THEBES, y
nonium (Amenophion) doubtless stood behind the
two colossi on the ascent of the hill, where many
mural remains are still seen rising above the sand.
It is possible, nay, probably certain, that in this temple,
which, according to all accounts and all indications,
was extraordinarily extensive, there were several sta
tues of the founder, the principal of which might be
of granite, as the more noble material, and very
c6nceivably of black stone; for Amenoph III., or
Memnon, appears to have been an Ethiopian. The
question now under consideration is, however, whether
that image from which in the time of the Romans
emanated the well-known sounds at sunrise, is iden
tical with that on which the inscriptions now testify
this fact. I consider this point settled, although the
restorations of the statue took place at a subsequent
period, because Strabo and Pausanias state positively
and as eye-witnesses, that when they were there the
upper part of the colossus was lying on the ground.
Now, as this statue still consists of several pieces laid
one upon another, and is certainly not one entire
block, (as Count Veltheim assumes, even supposing it
were originally composed of one Hock,) there is no
thing in the statement of Strabo and Pausanias which
militates against its identity with that lying on the
ground, and which we now see put together and set
up. The objections to the inscriptions, namely, that
they were carved on the colossus, now taken for
Memnon, because the stone was of a softer quality, may
be answered by the more plausible question: how
comes it that on the neighbouring colossus, which is
made of the same soft stone, there is not a single

10 THEBES.
inscription attesting the sound emanating from the
statue ?
Should any of my readers desire a discussion on
this subject, entering into ail the details, I beg to refer
them to a dissertation by General Minutoli, in the
Supplement to the Universal Prussian Gazette,
No. 103, 1844, in which the opinions of all the au
thors of any note who have touched on this subject
are carefully compared : the deductions drawn from
them agree, on the whole, with my opinion, which is
now the most generally received.
The pedestals upon which the two colossi are placed,
are entirely covered with alluvial, black soil ; and the
greatest height of the water, in modern times, ap
pears, on accurate observation, to be seven feet eight
inches above the pavement of the dromos which
formerly evidently led to the colossi, while the sandy
foundation below the pavement proves, that, at the
time when the statues were erected, the Nile had
never reached this place. Hence we may easily infer,
how much the bed of the river must have become
elevated in three or four thousand years, and how
many treasures of art might be found beneath the
alluvions, which have taken place in that long period.
The colossi, therefore, whose foundation stood on a
dry sandy soil, inaccessible to the Nile, now change
the appearance of their basis four times in the year.
They either rise, as at this time, from a black morass,
or frora amid green corn fields, or from the golden
harvest,, or lastly from a boundless watery waste; and
of all the changes, the last may perhaps afford the
finest prospect.

THEBES. 1 1
The fragments of other gigantic statues, pillars, &c.,
with high mounds of debris, which extend behind them
to the western mountains, allow us, as I have said,
confidently to assume that a gigantic temple must
have stood here, of which the two royal statues formed
the entrance ; undoubtedly this was the true Mem
nonium, as Amenoph III., whose cartouches the colossi
bear, is certainly the Memnon of the Romans ; but
this personage, rising from the fabulous atmosphere of
far remote ages, can scarcely have been, at the same
time, Sesostris, as some persons affirm : a name to
which, as Champollion has convincingly shown, the
Great Rameses had a better claim.
I now return to the palace of the latter, which
reclines against the mountain, about 1200 paces in a
north-west direction from the colossi. Here, imme
diately beyond the half-fallen propylsea, lies the finest
and largest colossus of Egypt, of rose-coloured granite,
the violent destruction of which, without the aid of
gunpowder, must have been almost as difl&cult as the
conveyance of this huge mass from Assouan to this
place, for, according to Wilkinson's calculation, it must
have weighed, when entire, about 5000 cwt.! What
remains of this astonishing fabric, which represented
the Great King's own image, is of the most elaborate
workmanship and of the finest polish ; but the head is
unfortunately nothing but a shapeless mass, of which
only one ear, three feet in length, remains entire.
The cartouche of the king, on the upper part of the
left arm, is in admirable preservation. Several other
statues of porphyry and granite lying about, are with
out the heads, which unhappily in recent times have

12 THEBES.
been carefully taken off and removed to the cabinets
of the consuls— a species of spoliation which we are
compelled to lament, in every shape and at every
step; and which has raged more injuriously than as if
committed by barbarians, because it has proceeded
with more method, and, with the eye of a connoisseur,
has taken only the best. Many of these gentlemen
have extended their plundering campaigns in Thebes
for several months, nay even for years together ; and,
for the purpose of facilitating their sacrilegious work,
have erected houses for themselves under the protec
tion of the rocks, some of which are standing, and are
still made use of. Though rather late in the day, the
Viceroy has, however, at length in some measure put
a stop to these disgraceful depredations ; and his com
mands are so stringent (at least upon petty thieves),
that, during my four days' stay at Thebes, not the
smallest article was offered for sale. This, however,
may be accounted for, because I made my voyage with
the vessels and suite of Mehemet Ali, which of course
would put the people on their guard, and they were
more fearful of being betrayed than usual.
It is very remarkable that the royal colossus, as
the pedestal still standing clearly proves — near which
the torso lies upon its back — did not occupy the
middle of the court-yard, but stood alone, quite iso^
Fated on the side of the entrance, without an indication
that there was anything to correspond with it on the
other side. In their architecture the Egyptians do
not by any means appear to have been fettered by
symmetry, and this palace displays several other con
siderable incongruities of the same kind. Without

THEBES. 13
entering into a circumstantial detail, I will only men
tion that after passing through the first court, which
leads into two other areas, the vaulted colonnades of
which have colossal caryatidae of Osiris with the fea
tures of Rameses, we issued, through the remains of
two portals of black granite, into a large, magnificent
hall, originally supported by forty-eight, but now only
by thirty-six columns, which is adorned with an azure
blue ceiling, bestrewed with small golden stars.
On the shafts ofthe pillars, which are closely covered
with images, both carved and painted, is a bronze-co
loured statue of Rameses ; of this figure Champollion
took a cast, and the unpleasant traces of this operation
still remain. His choice was admirable, for the cha
racteristic traits of the countenance and the figure,
which in truth " is every inch a king," give reason
to conjecture that the resemblance is peculiarly faith
ful, because it entirely corresponds with the idea
which the imagination conceives of the youthful con
queror, the Alexander of Egypt, the highly-gifted
hero, who was a lover of the arts, who undertook co
lossal works of every kind, and aimed at producing
what had never before been seen.
Of the other halls only two now remain, one of
which, according to Champollion, doubtless contained
the celebrated library, because the goddess Saph, the
permanent president of the sciences, as he calls her,
and Thoth, the inventor of letters and arts, are the
principal figures which are represented on the walls.
The Temple Palace rises gently up the slope of the
mountain, for which reason there were steps from one
division to the other. Over the pillars, saloons.

14 THEBES.
vestibules, and halls, there was formerly a second
story, of which only some walls and windows are now
visible. This second story probably served as the
dwelling and sleeping apartments of the royal family,
and the lower apartments for assemblies and festivi
ties, and perhaps also in part for the residence of the
king himself.
What appeared the most interesting to me, in the
magnificent whole, were the several representations of
the deeds and battles of the founders, which are always
on a gigantic scale, depicted on some of the lofty
walls of the palace ; four of these paintings, in the
splendour of a variety of colours, are still in a tolerable
state of preservation. Mr. Wilkinson very justly ob
serves that, at the sight of these pictures, you are im
mediately reminded of the Iliad, and fancy that you
behold representations of the Trojan War ; nay, he
even thinks, that Homer perhaps derived, in part,
the subject of his immortal poem from these com
positions. In fact, there is in these pictures a spirit, a variety,
and a richness of combination, which are not inferior
to the antique, which soars above the strange proper
ties of the Egyptian style of architecture, which had
assumed certain types not only for deities and men,
in definite and constantly repeated attitudes, but like
wise for animals — for instance, for war-horses — which,
although they exhibit a slight deviation from thp truth
of nature, are nevertheless conceived in a grand
style. The effect of one of these pictures is remark
ably striking, where the victorious Rameses, like the
redoubted Achilles, leaning forward in his war-chariot.

THEBES. 15
and discharging his destructive arroM'S, which spread
death far and near, drives before him over the field a
number of other war-chariots, the drivers of which, in
attempting to reach a neighbouring fortress, are partly
precipitated into the river, and partly taken prisoners
and cut to pieces by the pursuing troops. Other pic
tures represent infantry in camp, the storming of
cities, triumphs, &c., united with religious proces
sions, which, however, are represented by themselves,
above the battle-pieces. M. Rosseline's complete
collection of engravings represents all this more
clearly to the eye, so that I cannot do better than
refer the reader to that publication : though I must
remark, that I am not acquainted with any work
which does entire justice to Egyptian art in perfec
tion of execution and in correctness of colouring. I
shall take the opportunity of my second visit to
Thebes to return to this subject.
From this place we proceeded, in a southerly
direction, towards a hill, on the summit of which
were the blackened remains of a Coptic village,
crested by two temples and a palace, of a yellow
colour. The first of these temples, to which the Romans added
some courts, and which, during the rule ofthe Ethiopian
dynasty in Egypt, King Toraka, or Tiraka, seems to
have enlarged, is of middling size, but full of interest
ing details ; yet it is far surpassed by the adjoining
palace-temple of Rameses IV., where, for the first
time, we see the gigantic proportions of Egyptian
architecture, which greatly exceeded those of every
other style. The forernost pavilion of the king, from

16 THEBES.
which a dromos led to the temple itself, not only gives
an exalted idea of the splendour, but also of the most
refined elegance and grace of that period, and seemed
to me the very ideal of the private residence of a
great man. Here, too, the pictures are not so strictly
conformable with the sacred style; and we see the
king in the midst of his harem, waited upon by his
wives, who present to him flowers and fruits ; while
on the exterior wall the dreadful image of the victo
rious Osiris, with a battle-axe in his hand, overthrows
his enemies, held together by the hair, in the form of
the fifty-headed Briareus. Colossal lion heads, like
water-spouts, project from the walls, as in gothic
buildings, and there are many other points in this
structure which remind us of the gothic ; for instance,
the pinnacles of the outer walls, which are formed of
shields ranged close to each other, and which present
a magnificent appearance. A handsome apartment,
covered with many pretty pictures, pierced with large,
variously-formed, ornate windows, over which eagles
or vultures hover on an azure ground, is in a nearly
perfect state of preservation. The principal window
looks towards the gate of the temple, which is sixty
feet high, and hence we have a fine perspective
through the two courts to the farther end. Gigantic
propylaea (pyramidal towers, which rise on either side
of the principal gate, and are double its width), richly
ornamented with hieroglyphical carvings, flank this
gate, which is of red granite, and through which we
entered the first court, or dromos, bounded by cor
ridors, of which that on the right hand has Osirian
pillar colossi, and that on the left hand has pillars with

THEDES. 17
capitals of lotus. Mr. Wilkinson, whose thorough and
profound researches every traveller must gratefully
acknowledge, but who is shackled by English preju
dices and orthodox non-essentials, is much dissatisfied
with the want of symmetry which shocks him at every
turn in Egypt, for this he censures the Egyptians,
and has even coined the word symmetrophohia to ex
press his disapproval. His religious scruples trouble
him still more ; and he goes so far as oflBcially to
organise the whole chronology of the Egyptian royal
dynasties — in some degree contrary to his own private
judgment — in order that they mi^y not come into too
direct collision with the chronology of the Bible :
nay, he even inserts a long, laboured dissertation, to
reconcile with the prophecies of Ezekiel an assertion
which they appeared to .contradict. What pleases
me still less in Mr. Wilkinson's work, is his national
pride, or rather injustice, with respect to Champol
lion ; for though, in some incidental phrases, he
cannot avoid, in common with the whole civilised
world, to recognise his great merits, yet he would
willingly insinuate that Dr. Young and the English,
in fact, made the first steps towards deciphering the
hieroglyphics, and by their " preceding discoveries"
gave the first hints, after which Champollion pursued
the investigation :^ pretty much the same as if we were
to give more honour to the inventor of the tea-kettle
than to the inventor of the steam-engine ! To say
the least, it is a highly incorrect assertion in itself;
* They are generally called so, though probably they were modelled
after another plant, which antiquaries have not yet been able posi
tively to determine.
VOL, II. 0

1 8 THEBES,
since

the most essential point, the discovery of the
phonetic element in the hieroglyphics, is due to
Champollion ; and this discovery alone has rendered
a systematic analysis of these enigmatical writings
at all possible, and in the space of a few years,
has furnished us with more information than all the
labours and researches of the learned for the attain
ment of this very object during as many centuries.*
Subsequently, Mr. Wilkinson pretty clearly hints
(pages 55—57) that he considers himself not much
less than a second Champollion (though, as afafon de
parler, he would not incur the suspicion of such arro
gance), for he rejoices that his own researches have
so frequently led him to the same results as those of
M. Champollion, " though he never had any kind of
communication with him." Yet this can only mean,
that he never saw him, never corresponded with him ;
certainly not that he remained ignorant of Champol-
lion's researches and success. Without the aid of his
discoveries, we might venture to lay a wager of a
hundred to one, that Mr. Wilkinson, in spite of his
own successful investigations, and in spite of the
early discoveries of Dr. Young, would to this day
be groping in the same vague obscurity, respecting
the sacred writing of the ancient Egyptians, in which,
before the time of Champollion, all Europe was
enveloped. * Dr. Young, as is well known, always affirmed that hieroglyphic
writing was only figurative and symbolical, and that even the demotic
texts of the Rosetta stone consisted only of signs for ideas ; " at
the most," he adds, " with the exception of those few groups which
contain Greek names."

THEBES. 19
" Honour to whom honour is due." I return to our
temple, and to its unsymmetrical court.
I, for my part, am pleased with the symmetrophohia
of ancient Egyptian architecture, to which it is partly
indebted for its greater effect, and a never-ending
variety. The Greeks, as well as the old Italians, not
unfrequently disregarded the laws of symmetry ; true
artists, however, never do so, in an unskilful manner,
or one which is really offensive to the eye, or destruc
tive of harmony ; whereas, even where the strictest
adherence to symmetry is observed, incorrect propor
tions and tasteless composition invariably betray the
blunderer ; and of this, all modern Europe, and, above
all, England itself, affords thousands of the most
lamentable and ridiculous instances.
The walls of the corridor in the above-mentioned
court, two-thirds of which have fallen into ruins, are
covered with hieroglyphics, some of which are five
inches in depth. They are all painted, as well as the
bas-reliefs on the pillars and columns.
Passing through the richly-ornamented granite gate,
and another pair of propylaea, we came to the second
court, which is fortunately in much better condition
than the first. It is impossible for any one, who has the
slightest feeling for the sublime, to go under this gate
without admiration. The open space into which it
leads is only 123 by 133 feet, for the Egyptians usually
made their courts small, and their buildings large;
whereas, we do precisely the contrary. This small
space is surrounded by a peristyle, of "tenormous pro
portions, having on the east and west sides, five
columns ; and on the north and south, eight square
c2

20 THEBES.
pillars, with caryatidae, which represent Rameses IV.,
under the figufe of Osiris. Beyond the most nor
thern of these colossi, which stand opposite to the
gate, there is a piazza of still more gigantic columns,
with a blue ceiling, studded with golden stars, from
which immense eagles, with black and yellow out
spread wings, look down upon the Lilliputian spectator.
The reader may judge of its proportions, when I
inform him that the columns, which are rather bellied,
and have beautiful-shaped lotus capitals, are twenty-
three feet in circumference, several feet above the
bases. The brilliant colours of many hundred designs,
which cover the shafts of the columns, as well as the
high wall behind them, where the principal deities are
enthroned, are, for the most part, in a good state of
preservation, as well as those of the architrave which
runs round the court, and the gay projecting cornice,
which produces such a peculiar and grand effect in all
the Egyptian temples.
The dedication of the temple is represented on the
architrave in hieroglyphic inscriptions, of which Wil
kinson, probably with the help of Champollion, read,
among other things, that the king had decorated the
adytum, in addition to its architectonical ornaments,
with silver and precious stones. Many of the festal
processions are extremely magnificent, and throw great
light on ancient customs and manners. Among other
representations is that of a coronation ; and birds are
symbolically represented as flying right and left, to
announce the event to all parts of the world; an oflBce
which in our days is more quickly performed by the
newspapers.

THEBES. 21
Champollion and Wilkinson describe all this at
great length, as well as the large noble sculptures on
the external walls of the temple. These might afford
matter for investigation for months together, by their
multifarious representations of battles and victories,
both by sea and land ; of armies marching in divisions,
like regularly-disciplined troops ; of legions of enemies
put to flight; of prisoners whose hands are being cut
off, while a secretary notes down their, numbers; of
triumphal processions ; of sacrifices in honour of vic
tories, &c. &c.; all of which represent Rameses III.
or IV. almost as successful a conqueror as his great
ancestor Sesostris. Beneath a painting which de
picts his return to Egypt, the following address to
his troops is put in his mouth : " Give yourselves up
to joy; let it rise to heaven : the strangers are over
thrown. The terror of my name is come over them,
and has petrified their hearts. Like a lion I have
opposed them, pursued them like a hawk, and have
annihilated their guilty souls. I have passed over
their rivers, and burnt down their fortresses. I am a
wall of brass for Egypt. Thou, my father, Ammon
Ra, hast so commanded me, and I have pursued the
barbarians; I have passed victoriously through all
parts of the earth, till at length the world itself with
drew from my steps. My arm Subdued the kings of
the earth, and my foot trampled on the nations."
Some persons believe that this king penetrated to
the Caspian Sea and the Oxus, an assertion which
it might be diflicult to prove.
Two other courts of this majestic palace-temple are
quite choked up with rubbish ; and nothing is to be

22 THEBES.
seen, except the dexter external wall, which is
covered with admirable sculptures; through these
beautiful paintings the Christians have recklessly cut
twelve doorways, and, as an exhibition of their skill,
have carved several small crosses above them. The
whole temple is throughout intermingled and covered
with the modern ruins of a Coptic village ; but if the
rubbish were thoroughly cleared away, and the dis
graceful appendages pulled down, the splendid build
ings would undoubtedly be found, for the most part,
in good preservation, and the total effect of their for
mer majestic beauty would at any rate be restored.
The plateau, which we ascended by a narrow easy
staircase, commands an extensive prospect over the
vast space which ancient Thebes occupied on both
sides of the Nile.
Close before us, towards the south, we saw traces
of high cast up banks of earth, similar to those of a
large artificial lake, — perhaps the same over which the
dead were ferried. Prokesch takes these mounds for
remains of the walls of the city ; but this seems pro
blematical, because throughout the whole of its cir
cumference, which extends for many leagues, as is
plainly indicated by the ruins, there is nowhere any
trace of such an enclosure.
These dams are joined by a verdant plain, through
which the silvery Nile winds its devious course, issu
ing from an amphitheatre of blue mountains, beyond
which in a far, unknown distance, its mysterious
sources are concealed. Before us to the east were
the seated Colossi of Memnon, which even at this
distance do not lose their wondrous, unearthly effect ;

THEBES. 23
and behind them, yonside the river, rose the gigantic,
all-surpassing ruins of Luxor and Karnac, surrounded
by a forest, on the borders of which the Arabian chain
rises in bold outline. Lastly, towards the north, are
the already-described remains of the temples of Gour
neh, and those of the Rameseion, with their waste,
dreary, bleached necropolis along the Lybian chain.
In the more distant landscape, the Nile again greets
the view in the midst of verdant plains, to the far
limits where earth seems engulfed by desert and
sky, which drops its azure mantle, and bounds the
prospect of the huraan eye, but cannot limit the lively
imagination of man.
We returned to breakfast most prosaically, in the
splendid court of the temple, and then proceeded, by
torchlight, to visit some of its dark lateral chambers,
which, even where the light of day is excluded, are
adorned with an inconceivable mass of carved or
raised designs, and which were veiled, doubtless not
without reason, in sombre obscurity for the gloomy,
mysterious worship of the priests, and perhaps, also,
for its abuse.
In one^of these'apartments I saw a sphinx with the
head of a horse, the only instance of the kind which I
met with in Egypt.
In the midst of these gigantic proportions we almost
overlooked a small Coptic church erected at a later
period in this court ; though its barbarously-shaped,
diminutive little pillars are still standing about,
they are so entirely lost amid the enormous pile
around them, that they are scarcely more apparent
than a fly on the nose of a giant.

24 THEBES.
We had included a visit to the Necropolis in our
plan for this day's inspection, and we accordingly
turned our steps thitherward. The first object that
attracted our attention was a small, but very elegant,
gaily-shining temple of Isis, built, I believe, by the
beautiful Cleopatra, and decked like a boudoir. In
one of its three dark apartments, Apis is being con
veyed in a large bark, which gives us a very clear
idea of the arrangement and construction of the ves
sels of that period. It is a pity that this elegant
building is surrounded by a detestable wall, of a later
date, made of the Nile mud.
We proceeded through ravines, and passed by in
numerable catacombs, and in about a quarter of an
hour came to the tombs of the queens and other
eminent persons ; in these are represented a number
of subjects taken from common life, such as dances,
concerts, hunting parties, visits of foreign princes,
various mechanic trades, water parties, fisheries, wild
beasts, and the like. In this respect several tombs of
private distinguished individuals are often more inter
esting than those of royal personages, in which sacred
subjects are almost invariably represented ; to any one
who could make a long stay here, they would afford
very valuable insight into much that is still doubtful
respecting the manners and customs of ancient Egypt.
Thus, for example, we think we have found the so
lution of the important question, "Did the ancient
Egyptians smoke ? " in one picture, which represents
a party smoking long pipes ; and, contrary to the as
sertion of Herodotus, that "the Egyptians did not
eat swine's flesh," we saw an indisputable roast-

THEBES. 25
pig served up in a dish in one of the many delinea
tions. In the furthest niche are two or three painted sta
tues, the size of life, sitting close to each other, pro
bably representations of the persons interred here.
They are perfectly similar to our wax figures, nor
can they claim any higher value as works of art. The
most remarkable circumstance about them is, the un
paralleled state of preservation of some of them ; they
look as if they had been set up only yesterday, where
as they' have unquestionably been in their places
three thousand years !
Sepulchral palaces of yet greater splendour, and
the ruins of a yet larger temple, are found in the ad
jacent valley of Assasseef; here broken lids of mummy-
cases, bones, dried portions of huraan remains, ba:nd-
ages, and pieces of fine Egyptian linen, saturated in
resin, lie scattered about as on a field of battle.
One of the tombs in Assasseef, most of which be
longed to the priests, is a complete labyrinth, and even
of greater extent than any of the royal tombs in Bab
el Melech. Its subterranean halls, staircases, pas
sages, and chambers, occupy a space of two acres,
and, though buried in eternal night, are covered with
the most carefully-executed sculptures, and adorned
with many hundred elegant little statues ; but to the
disgrace of modern ages, these have all been wantonly
defaced, and the walls designedly blackened by the
fumes of the torches.
The sarcophagi themselves have all been plundered
and ravaged, and the deep wells into which they were
lowered are now empty. A narrow path runs beside

26 THEBES.
these wells, scarcely a foot broad, and consequently
often traversed, not without danger, in the darkness.
The owner of this sepulchral monument, of such
lugubrious splendour, was Petamunap, an eminent
priest, whose name is also found on one of the granite
gates of the little temple of Medinet-Abou, where
he is designated as the builder of that portal. Both
erections testify the great wealth of private persons of
that time, who then executed works which many
sovereigns of our age might consider too expensive
an undertaking.
We concluded our first day at Thebes, by ascending
the rock behind the above-mentioned temple, of which
only a granite portal and a few apartments still re
main, in order once more to view the landscape in the
roseate light of the sun, that was setting behind us.
The expression " roseate light" is not metaphorical ;
for, on fine evenings, the sun of Egypt really veils
all objects, even the pale desert itself, in a shimmering
red, of such mild lustre and blooming freshness, that
no effect of light in Europe can give an adequate
conception of it, and no painter would attempt or be
able faithfully to represent such a scene.

We dedicated the second day exclusively to the
royal tombs in the valley of Bab el Melech ; — those
astonishing palaces of the lower world, which, of all
the works of this extraordinary people, if not the
greatest, are certainly the most peculiar.
Even the road which leads to it has a powerful
effect on the imagination. Penetrating into the in
terior of the mountain chain, it leads for above half a

THEBES. 27
league in the windings of a high rocky ravine, which
is alternately narrower and wider, but never exceeds'
the breadth of a few hundred paces. All vegetation
seems to have vanished ; desolation surrounds you on
all sides ; rocks are piled upon rocks, in wild sublime
confusion ; and you might in vain offer millions for a
single blade of grass. As if in mockery of the death
of vernal splendour, the spectre rocks assume the form
of vegetable life : one apes an enormous mushroom,
another the trunk of a tree riven and shattered by the
storm ; here a perforated block assumes the appear
ance of foliage, and there the broken surface of black
declivities appears in its darker tints, like a stunted
furze of a highland moor. All these rocks, stones,
and sandy slopes are illumed with a reddish lustre, as
if they were lighted up by the flame of a hidden fire ;
an illusion which is still more confirmed by the burn
ing heat which reigns in this strange valley. Above
the whole is spread the dark blue vault of the un
broken sky, without the trace of a passing cloud ; for,
together with life, motion has ceased, even in the
heaven itgelf : colours alone still give sorae signs of
animation here, as well as in the wondrous tombs
themselves, whose subterraneous splendour was soon
to be spread before us.
A pointed rock suddenly springs high above all the
others, supported by rampart-like rocky walls, which .
issue from it in long, perpendicular, precipitous lines;
and below them we beheld here and there low half-
choked up doors, which look as if they led to
cellars in the rock. Who could have had any presen
timent of what was here concealed, and that these

28 THEBES.
plain unadorned openings, which are scarcely per
ceptible, and which formerly were entirely hidden by
heaps of rubbish, purposely placed before them, led to
palaces of night, in the bowels of the earth ? which,
though they were never designed to be seen by
human eye, yet were to disclose a world of incon
ceivable labour, magic splendour, and consummate
art. This is certainly the only instance of human
works being executed with such an immense expen
diture of energy, like eternal nature itself, regardless
whether or not a living being should ever pay them a
due tribute of admiration. They were devoted to
death alone, to the night of eternal concealment !
The petty, restless, and covetous races who suc
ceeded them, did not, however, leave them to their
desired repose. All has been ransacked, profaned,
plundered, by one nation after another ; then for
gotten for thousands of years, and again opened, and
so on, down to our days. Yet it is problematical
whether everything which these extensive, rocky
defiles conceal, has been discovered. Strabo, for
instance, mentions forty royal tombs, in this district,
and yet only seventeen are now known ; all of which
have suffered more'or less. The tomb discovered by
Belzoni, though it had been already partially opened,
is the only one which, upon the whole, remains un
touched, and, on account of its invaluable state
of preservation, is the most remarkable. It is, never
theless, much to be regretted, that though only a few
years have elapsed since Belzoni's happy discovery,
such fearful, though partial devastations, have already
been committed by lovers of the Arts ; — that if this

THEBES. 29
pillage continues, this tomb will speedily have no
advantage of the others. I do not so much blame the
connoisseur who carries off some of these wonderful
productions to enrich a museum, — for the temptation
is great, and there was no longer any owner ; — but I
deprecate the wanton barbarism of breaking to pieces
perfect columns and paintings, for the purpose of
detaching a single-painted head, and of defacing an
entire wall covered with the most elaborate hierogly
phic characters, and completely destroying the fine
effect of the whole, in order to take out a couple of
remarkable figures; ruining and demolishing projec
tions in the apartments, covered Avith the finest figures
and ornaments, merely to see if there was anything
behind them ; nay, even scraping and peeling off the
choicest works of painting to examine the nature of
the stucco and the colours, and, as the acm£ of reck
lessness, have even selected the most admirable
groups, and ruined the most lovely figures by carving
right across them a detested name which, with shame
less brutality here exposes itself to infamy.
We had need to summon all our stoical philosophy
on meeting such instances in every chamber, not to
be thereby deprived of half the pleasure in the enjoy
ment of the magically wonderful works which we
have here before us.
~ The descent to some of these palaces of the dead was
not accomplished without difficulty; sometimes by steep
flights of steps, or over stones and rubbish; others,
however, slope down very gradually, and immediately
present to the astonished sight — many even in the
day-light, which is admitted through the openings.

30 THEBES.
which are now much enlarged — a suite of halls and
splendidly-ornamented doorways, which, extending
in a straight line almost farther than the eye can
reach, resemble, at the first glance, the suite of state
apartments in the palaces of our princes. There are
many lateral chambers and galleries ; but the gigantic
granite sarcophagus, enclosing the inner and richer
coffin in which the royal corpse was deposited, was
always placed in the largest and most richly adorned
hall, at the farther end of the whole suite. Many of
these have been carried away ; and those that remain
have all been broken and robbed of their contents.
It is certain that most of these splendid abodes of the
dead, if they could be brought. to the light of day in
Europe, would be considered as a most desirable
residence by any newly-nominated constitutional
minister, or foreign ambassador just arrived in the
capital; for there are none of those low narrow
passages of the pyramids, which compel you to
stoop or even to crawl on your chest ; nor have we
here those wretched black -holes which we too
complacently designate chambers : everything here
breathes the spirit of greatness, convenience, and
ornament. While the walls of our state saloons are
for the most part hung with insignificant silk, or
even paper, and covered perhaps with some indif
ferent paintings and engravings, the walls, ceilings,
pilasters, and columns in these tombs, form ane con
tinued series of innumerable pictures and sculptures,
of the highest value as works of art, of the most
manifold design, size, colour, and composition ; and,
add to all, — these pictures, which so greatly delight the

THEBES. 31
eye and the fancy, are, at the same time, a language, —
an eloquent, verbal, or symbolical expression, of the
most diverse, nay, perhaps the most sublime ideas,
which would make as profound an impression on our
feelings as on our understanding, if we were able to
decipher them all.
There is, at the same time, no lack of adventitious
ornament : and the admirable originality, the refined
taste of these specimens, and, above all, the exquisite
harmony and arrangements of the colours, in which
the Egyptians appear to have excelled all other
nations, is very conspicuous. The effects produced
open an entirely new field to the lovers of colours ;
and I already see, in my mind, the time when not
only artists and scene-painters, but also the commis-
voyageurs of our manufacturers — in whose department
such things have a place — will come to Thebes to
make studies of this kind in the royal tombs for
chintzes and muslins for ladies' dresses, &c. Indeed,
I have already given a hint on this subject to the direc
tor of a chintz manufactory in Cairo, with the view of
rendering his designs, hitherto received from Elberfield,
rather more national ; he took up the idea with so much
ardour, that we may perhaps soon see our taste in
cotton printing — which, unhappily, is becoming worse
and worse — improved by a good sample of the com
bined taste of modern and ancient Egypt.
Mr. Wilkinson has had the royal tombs numbered,
which is convenient for travellers ; and in the short
notices which I intend to give of some of them, I
shall indicate them by his arrangement.
No. Jl,the tomb of Rameses III., founder of the

,32 THEBES.
great temple of Medinet-Abou, which I described
yesterday, strikes me as one of the most magnificent,
and its sculptures and paintings the most distinguished,
as works of art, among all these tombs ; but it
has suffered incalculably by streams of water, which
formerly penetrated it, and by the continued damp
which they occasioned. This stream is now dried up ;
but the bed may easily be traced from the very
entrance. As there is scarcely ever any rain here, it
is difficult to explain whence this water came.
The length of the chambers, galleries, and colon
nades in this tomb is 405 feet, with a very impercep
tible fall of 31 feet in the whole extent. A number of
small lateral chambers, past which the water flowed,
are fortunately in a much better state of preservation,
and the paintings in these furnish us with the most
interesting information respecting the manners and
cnstoms of the ancient Egyptians ; their arms, furni
ture, utensils, instruments, and other articles of the most
various descriptions. In one of these rooms we saw
representations of all the vessels then used upon the
Nile, some with large square sails of the present French
national colours, andmost richly ornamented; in another
we admired the elegance of the Egyptian furniture ;
and we might almost be tempted to suppose that many
ofthe arm-chairs, bedsteads, and couches, were copied
frora aParisian or London journal of fashions. Theyare
all of wood, very rarely of metal, and frequently orna
mented with gilt bronze, and covered with rich stuff.
Several specimens of porcelain vases, pitchers and basins,
baskets, carpets, coverings of leopard skins, appear
equally tasteful. In the armoury we observed raany

THEBES. S8
blue blades, which may excite a doubt of the truth of
the assertion, that the Egyptians were not acquainted
with steel and iron, but made their weapons of bronze.
The kitchen and the cellar, with the operations of
baking cakes and bread, are likewise represented
in great detail : we see people engaged in slaughter
ing, boiling, roasting, drawing wine, &c. Many pro
ductions of the country are represented in another
apartment, and musical instruments in an adjoining
one, where two blind singers accompany themselves on
harps, which differ but little from those now in use.
In the floor of each of these rooms is a shaft, and Mr.
Wilkinson advances the sapient hypothesis, that this
was the place of interment for the servants of the
royal household, whose respective occupations in life
were analogous to the representations on the walls.
The sepulchral chamber of the king is quite ruined
by the damp, and the royal outer granite sarcophagus
was taken away by Mr. Salt. It is considered very pro
blematical whether the kings really ever lay in these
ostensible coffins ; perhaps they served only to lead
people astray, with.respect to so sacred a deposit, and
therefore, ail these extensive sepulchral monuments
may contain some carefully concealed secret cham
bers, which are so artfully and solidly hidden from the
eye, that accident alone may bring one of them to
light. The above-mentioned tomb. No. 17, discovered
by Belzoni, gives some significant indications on the
subject. This tomb which undoubtedly, more than any other,
rewards the inquisitive traveller, on account of its
incredible freshness, is not so conveniently got at

34 THEBES.
as the preceding. We were obliged to ascend an
almost perpendicular flight of twenty-four steps,
nearly choked up with rubbish, which Belzoni found
walled up, and concealed by stones piled up before it.
This ascent was extremely fatiguing, on account of
the dank heat which prevails here. We then came
to a passage nineteen feet long, and nine feet broad,
descended a flight of steps almost as long as we had
ascended, beyond which, passing through a corridor
thirty feet long, and two doors, we came to a cham-
.ber fourteen feet by twelve. When Belzoni had
proceeded thus far, he saw only a deep well, which
appeared to be the end of the whole.
All the walls were covered with most carefully
executed, connected paintings, which certainly gave
no reason to conjecture that there was any further
egress on that side. Belzoni, however, who was
formed by nature for great enterprises of this kind,
and who, endowed with physical, as Champollion
was with intellectual energy, obtained far greater
results in Egypt than all other travellers, could not so
easily be deterred ; a chink in the wall, and a hollow
sound, pointed out the direction in which, by the
application of an old trunk of a palm tree as a batter
ing-ram, he opened a way through the pictures of the
gods, (here justly destroyed) ; and we may conceive
the joyful surprise of the persevering investigator,
when, through the violently opened breach, the un
touched splendour of the colours of a room twenty-six
feet in diameter, shone before him in the light of the
torches ! Four massy pillars supported the richly
ornamented chamber, which immediately adjoins

THEBES. 36
another of the same dimensions. If the first charms the
eye by its finished splendour, the second has a yet higher
interest for us, because it is not completed, and there
fore initiates us into the technical method eraployed
by the Egyptian artists, and at the same^ time gives
us the highest idea of their skill, correctness and firm
ness in design. It almost seems that in the process
employed, (at least frequently,) the sculptor first
drew on the polished wall, a slight sketch of the
subjects with red chalk ; the draughtsman then traced
all the figures in sharp, black outlines, (the bold
firmness of which really excites astonishment), which
the sculptor probably then formed into bas-reliefs,
which were afterwards coloured by the painter.
Again descending a flight of steps, with raised cor
ridors on both sides, and inspecting several rooras of
various sizes, all so full of the raost admirable sculp
tures and paintings, that many weeks would not suffice
to study them, and which, when they have not been
injured by man, remain wholly uninjured by time, we
entered the great hall, thirty feet square, which is
supported by six pillars. From this we passed into
a vaulted hall, thirty feet long by nineteen, in the
centre of which, under a covering of granite, stood
the celebrated sarcophagus of oriental alabaster, which,
however, was erppty. Immediately adjoining this is
a staircase — formerly artfully concealed by a wall —
leading to an inclined passage, which at present
penetrates one hundred and fifty feet into the heart
of the rock, where it is sunk in. It is very possible
that it communicated with Thebes, and, if it were
repaired, might lead to surprising results. Mehemet
•d2

THEBES.

Aii alone would be able to effect such an undertaking,
which he would hardly be induced to do ; such enter
prises are reserved for a later era in the civilisation
of Egypt, which then, in spite of the plunder and
destruction of so many centuries, will open a rich
field of entirely new discoveries in the bosom of the
earth. The tomb is 180 feet deep, and its horizontal
length 320 feet, at the place where the above-men
tioned passage was found; according to Champollion,
it concealed, or still conceals, in some unknown place,
King Osiris, father of Rameses the Great; this is
declared by the long lines of hieroglyphics in the first
corridor, and the cartouche of the king at the entrance.*
One of the most remarkable pictures in the first
hall, exhibits portraits of different nations, among
which, though Mr. Wilkinson denies it, the Jews
cannot be mistaken, though it is very possible that
they may, at the same time, be intended to represent
a larger portion of the inhabitants of the earth; for
the Arabs are only Jews on horseback. The Egyp
tians possessed the art of accurately portraying
characters in a high degree ; and a humorous turn
for caricature is equally evident in their composition.
Thus, I observed an execution, where the executioner
stooping over his victim, had precisely the attitude
and the sentimental expression of a father blessing
his children, in the immediate prospect of separation.
One of his colleagues gives so fearful a stroke with
his broad sword, that three criminals, already executed,
* The alabaster coffin, which Champollion tuck from this tomb,
was empty.

THEBES. 37
are still upon their knees, without a trace of their
heads upon the ground, as if they had flown away too
far to be inserted in the same picture ! The mysteries
of generation are likewise treated in a singular
manner, on which a Frenchman has written some
coarse cynical remarks.
Some pictures almost appear to indicate human
sacrifices, and others refer to mysteries which are
wholly unintelligible to us. Many of the larger
groups, generally those of kings offering sacrifice, or
gods seated on their thrones, are so very admirable,
that they would do honour to the most celebrated
painters of the best times of the art. I was particu
larly astonished at the variety of expression, which
the authors of these works — though the head is almost
invariably in profile — have given to the physiognomy
of their figures — an immense variety of forms, worthy
of Raphael himself.
Independently of the indisputable merit of these
performances as works of art, the division and dispo
sition, — which are entirely different in all the rooms,
— and the judicious choice ofthe colours, even if con
sidered as mere ornament and decoration, are calculated
with wonderful sagacity, and the hieroglyphic texts
themselves serve as the most elegant embellishments
for the apartments. I am convinced that even a
person who had no conception of the pure enjoyment
of works of art, would carry away from these chambers
the most pleasing impression, merely in respect to
the lovely ornaments and the delightful effects of
colour. Every apartment has its own peculiar character. In

THEBES.

tlie great hall, for instance, the ground is of a dead-gold
colour ; the pictures are less gay than elsewhere ; in
the lateral chambers the ground is white, with the
most varied and richest splendour of colouring; in
the hall of the sarcophagus it is black, with pale-
yellowish-red pictures, which, in a very few places
only, are relieved by the most glowing tints in
the outspread wings of the royal vulture. The
multitude of figures, and strange objects of all kinds,
their mysterious singularity, and their pale lustre
on the dark ground, produce an indescribable effect,
which must have been still more solemn when the
transparent alabaster coffin, which was, perhaps,
lighted, stood in the centre of the hall. My old guide
told me that this experiment was made before the
sarcophagus was sent to England, by putting several
torches inside, leaving the rest of the hall enveloped
in darkness, but illuminating all the other rooms with
lights suspended by ropes in festoons; — a chamhre
ardente, such as is not likely to be ever seen again.
How splendid may the ceremonies of the Egyptian
priests have been in such a place, to which they, per
haps, ascended by subterraneous passages from Thebes,
to pay the last honours to the royal corpse, and to pre
serve it from the eyes of the profane till the morn of
tlie resurrection, after many thousand years !
I have already spoken of the devastations which
amateurs have committed here. May these invaluable
remains of ancient grandeur be better preserved
henceforth ; and may the pillagers, at least, go to work
in a more conscientious and careful manner ! With
this earnest wish I conclude my description, which.

THEBES. 39
if it has appeared to the reader too prolix, shall,
at least, be compensated for, by as brief a mention
as possible of the remaining tombs of the kings.
After visiting half a dozen of them, we selected
one of the grandest in its proportions, though it is less
extensive, for our dining-room. While we were par
taking of our repast, my dragoman, Giovanni, prepared
a singular surprise for us ; for, when we had finished,
we penetrated into the interior, which declines but very
little : here we saw in the distance the enormous
granite sarcophagus, the only one at Bab el Melech,
which is almost entire, and in the middle of it an
inscription, in letters two feet high, in black paint. An
involuntary shudder came over me when in this
inscription I deciphered my own name, surmounted
by an armorial crown, and below it the mystical
symbol of my faith. If I were a littie more super
stitious than I ara, I might have looked upon this
as a fatal omen ; as it was, a laugh overcame my
vexation, but I insisted that the untoward inscription
should be effaced; it was, however, utterly impos
sible to remove any more than the crown ; the name
resisted all attempts, and nothing, therefore, remained
for me but earnestly to entreat the old sovereign,
Rameses V., to whora the tomb belongs, not to
be offended that my name, though, indeed, without
any fault of mine, has been so improperly, and
so clandestinely introduced upon his sarcophagus.
In the afternoon, while the heat was equally
oppressive, we completed the inspection of the other
twelve tombs, and, in the coolness of the evening,
returned chiefly on foot, directly over the romantic

40 THEBES.
rocks, which are traversed by many perpendicular
abysses, several hundred feet deep, and where we
enjoyed very beautiful' prospects of the remote
distance. Herewith we ended our inspection of
the wonders of Egypt on the Libyan bank of the
Nile. It was not till late at night, when, quite exhausted,
and almost dying with thirst, that we obtained repose
under the awning of our quiet bark, which carried us
gently, by the splendid moonlight, to the opposite
bar.k. What I may yet have to say respecting
the tombs of the kings, I shall reserve to my second
visit on my return, lest I should weary my reader,
and wholly neglect the historical narrative of my
journey, to which I give the decided preference;
for it is not ray intention to write compendia, but
merely to give an account of what has happened to
myself, and to leave on the mind of my reader the
most lively impression of the whole in the same
chronological order.

Stupendous works had passed before us during the
last few days, but sublime wonders awaited us. In
the presence of Luxor and Karnac the proudest
spirit must feel abashed : we seem to look upon the
works of demi-gods, for they far exceed the powers of
the present race of men. If, while contemplating
the other creations of Thebes, the sprightly imagina
tion of the child of earth endeavours to attempt a
bolder flight, here it is scarcely able to follow the
reality; he is at the same moment entranced and
humbled by a sublimity and grandeur, of the

THEBES. 41
possibility of which he had never formed any con
ception, — by a perfection, which, playing with the most
prodigious masses, combines at once the most noble
and the most beautiful in art and idea, with the most
astonishing in technical execution.
The palace of Luxor stands unrivalled in the world ;
yet it is small in comparison with the gigantic works
of Karnac ! How many thousand years may have
elapsed, ere a people could attain this degree of civili
sation, of power, and of art; and how peculiar must
have been the bias of this civilisation which, in ante-
historical times, built the pyramids, and 1500 years
before our era created the wonders of Thebes ; and
yet we see that, when it had attained the highest
point of which it was capable, whether from wisdom,
or the cogency of its nature, it stopped, and, petrify
ing as it were, what it had gained, by a sacred style,
by a fixed rule, which embraced not only the art, but
the whole of life, and from which no further deviation
was allowed — ^preserved it through a long series of
centuries, and thereby found, perhaps, the only means
to prevent that never-ending striving at unattainable
perfection, that eternal dissatisfaction with what al
ready exists, which so peculiarly characterises our own
age, and which appears rather to rob it of support
than to create anew. Human progress of every kind,
whether of a nation or of an individual, has probably
its limits, beyond which it cannot pass. When this
culminating point is attained, the nation or indivi
dual must endeavour to fix it, by the application of
some positive power ; and if this does not succeed, to
prepare with resignation for the inevitable reverse of

42 THEBES.
all sublunary things. If nations violently seek to rise
higher and higher, they only sink the more rapidly
into that barbarism, which is not the barbarism of rude
ignorance, but of superabundant knowledge and ex
haustion. I do not entirely coincide with the senti
ment, that we must either advance or retrograde.
The history of nations, nay even our own personal
experience, teaches us, that it is possible to be sta
tionary, if not for ever, yet for a long period, though
certainly this is much to be deprecated, except when
a very high degree of individual cultivation has been
attained. Strictly speaking, it is, nevevtheless, unde
niable that something imperfect, incomplete, is mani
fest even in the very highest attainment of human
effort, and hence imperfections may be shown in
Egyptian art, as well as in every other : but still it is
a subject of the greatest admiration, how wonderfully
it represents, how perfect it stands in the utmost ex
tent of its career, and how long it maintained itself,
an object of the highest admiration, an astonishing
image of the sublimest human greatness for all ages.
Yet to take the right point of view from which it
should be considered, and without which it cannot be
understood, the reader will permit me to quote one
of the most ingenious and profound passages of
Champollion, the convincing truth of which is felt at
once when you are on the spot. I may premise, as
well known, that all the temples and royal palaces of
Egypt were covered, within and without, partly with
hieroglyphical writing, which, in former times, every
educated person was able to read, partly with repre
sentations of events in the history of the country, and

THEBES. 43
partly with anaglyphs, that is, symbolical pictures,
which represented abstract subjects. The latter,
which it would be impossible completely to decipher,
were probably the peculiar, mysterious language of
the priests, which was intelligible only to the initiated,
while to the laity it represented merely the gods and
heroes, in the nimbus of respectful adoration. Yet
these allegorical pictures had probably always a cer
tain connection with the hieroglyphic writings ; both
had a number of characters in common, among which
were the symbolic signs in the hieroglyphic writing.*
• For those who may be wholly unacquainted with this subject, I
add the following brief enplanation ; —
The Egyptians had several kinds of writing : 1st, the hieroglyphic,
which was the monumental writing, and well known and intelligible
to everybody who had some education. It consisted of three ele
ments, which might be arbitrarily blended together, (a) The figv,-
ratioe, a drawing of the object itself, {b) The symholical, where
only a sign was used, peculiar, or nearly relating to the object ; for
instance, for Osiris, the obelisk ; as for Jupiter, among the Greeks,
the eagle with the thunderbolt ; just as among Christians a cross is
now the emblem of Christ, &c. (c) The Phonetic, where images
taken from nature, or from human invention, likewise indicated t?ie
tonnes of the lamguage, and that in such a manner, that every phonetic
hieroglyphic represented the image of an object, which, in the lan
guage spoken by the Egyptians, began by the articulation which the
hieroglyphic sign was to express : thus, for instance, if we would
imitate this in our language, the image of a tiger, a trap, a table, &c.,
would always signify the letter T. 2ndly, The language of the
priests, called the hieratic, which was merely an abbreviation of the
hieroglyphic writings. 3rdly, the demotic, or cursory, which was an
abbreviation of the hieratic, intended for daily use, and very nearly
alphabetic writing, in which the figurative and symbolic signs almost
entirely disappeared, except for the designation of the gods. 4thly,
and lastly, the allegorical images, the anaglyphs, the only really secret
writing of the priests, into which people could be initiated by them

44 THEBES.
" There were, therefore," says Champollion, " the
oretical and material relations, which combined with
each other the various parts of the areneral graphic
system of the Egyptians. This system, at once figu
rative, symbolical, and phonetic, comprehended, di
rectly or indirectly, all the arts which are founded on
imitation. The principle of these arts was, therefore,
by no means the same in Egypt, as that which was the
condition of this development in Greece. Egyptian
art had not the special purpose of representing with
the greatest possible fidelity, the beautiful forms of
nature — it aimed only at the expression of an order nf
ideas peculiar to it, and was not to perpetuate the
memory of m.ere forms, but that of men and of things.
The immense colossus, and the most petty amulet, were
the fixed signs of an idea; however perfect or indif
ferent the execution, their object was in the main
obtained, for the perfection of form, though subse
quently attained in the most noble manner, was only
secondary. In Greece, on the contrary, form was
everything, and art was used only for the sake of art.
alone, and in which they, without doubt, deposited their most pro
found secrets respecting science, philosophy, and religion, which we
cannot entertain much hope of ever being able positively to decipher,
whereas such a result with respect to the hieroglyphics is now
scarcely liable to any doubt. If we could read that language, we
should very probably find in it the whole Genesis of Moses, the state
ments in which so strikingly coincide with the most recent discoveries
of geologists, that, I say, only a science whicli had been cultivated for
thousands of years was capable of communicating such knowledge ;
and Moses, therefore, could only have received them froml the priests
of Egypt, in whose mysteries there is every reason to believe he was
profoundly versed, unless we take it for granted, with true believers,
that he received it by dictation or inspiration from God.

THEBES. 45
In Egypt it was but a powerful means of embodying
thought. The most trifling ornament of Egyptian
architecture has its peculiar signification, and bears a
direct reference to the idea on which the erection of
the whole building was founded ; whereas the orna
ments of Greek and Roman temples were intended
only to please the eye, and conveyed no meaning to
the understanding. Thus, the spirit of the two people
is totally distinct. Writing and the imitative arts soon
separated among the Greeks for ever; but in Egypt
writing, design, painting, and sculpture constantly
advanced in the same line to one and the -same object,
and when we consider the individual situation of each
of those expressions of art, and especially the destina
tion which all their productions had in common, we
may justly say that they all were blended in one, in
the most excellent of all arts — that of loriting. The
temples, as the Egyptian name indicates,* were, if I
may so express myself, no other than colossal and
splendid signs, representing the heavenly habitations ;
the statues, images of kings and private persons ; the
bas-reliefs and paintings, representing the scenes of
public and private life, were wholly in the class of
figurative signs ; and the delineations of the Gods, the
emblems of abstract ideas, the allegorical ornaments
and pictures ; lastly, the long series of the anaglyphs
were united, in the most direct manner, with the sym
bolical principle of writing. This intimate union of
the fine arts with the graphic system of the Egyptians,
explains to us, without difficulty, the foundation of
that naive simplicity in which, notwithstanding the
* Dwellings of the Gods, or of God.

46 THEBES.
highest perfection in their peculiar way, painting
and sculpture remained among them. The imitation
of physical objects, so that they might be clearly
recognised, was sufficient in itself for the intended
purpose : to have idealised them in the execution, could
have added but little to the perspicuity of the in
tended expression ; an arbitrary change in the form
might even have confused it, since paintings and
sculptures were, and were intended to be, only real
written characters, always connected with an extensive
composition, in which they themselves were only single
elements.'' So far, Champollion. Without attempting to
inquire whether or not the Egyptians were right in
this view of art, the fact of its existence is as unde
niable as that the results attained by it, as we see them
before us, have not been surpassed in their totality
in any other country. Yes, the Egyptians were, in
truth, an essentially loriting people, as we have
become, only with this difference, that they engraved
in durable stone, in a thousand picturesque signs,
which embraced the whole circle of nature and
humanity, their history, their laws, their philosophy,
their religion, in a word, their life ; and, for this
purpose, they either excavated the interior of their
palaces in rocks, or converted their rocks into
palaces. And here, on those gigantic monuments
of past ages, we now read their writings, the cha
racters of which we admire as distinguished works
of art, and still endeavour to decipher as the expres
sion of profound ideas. But formerly, M'hen they
were understood by all, what general intelligence

THEBES. 47
and knowledge, what a universal feeling for the beau
tiful, must such a system have produced among a
people, who could not pass by any of its buildings
without having before them the pages of a book
of wisdom, science, and history, rendered attractive by
everything which art, taste, and splendour, united,
could present.
We, too, write, indeed, but how ? — with goose or
crow-quills upon rags ; and we, too, have an art, but,
it is limited to more or less happy imitations of
the ancients, or to our own past history, and will soon
have nothing original to show but the Daguesrotype,
bronzed figures of papier mdche, galvanic gilding, and
inimitable bank-notes ! True, the invention of the
art of printing places us in a higher position. We
have books, like the sand on the sea-shore. All the
hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, as far as quantity
is concerned, vanish into nothing in comparison. But
will our books last longer than the Pyramids ? It
is very possible, and I will not dispute it, but till then
they will need many new editions in every respect.
To return, however, to my description.
One of the most considerable villages of modern
Egypt stands upon and in the beautiful temple build
ings of Luxor, parts of which are quite choked up by
the sand. The Nile, too, as if indignant at such a
beggarly neighbourhood, has taken its course some
hundred paces from its former bounds, on the banks
of which the palace anciently stood, as the remains of
a massive quay still indicate.
By way of preliminary, the Doctor and I took a
general promenade by moonlight, among the most

48 THEBES.
colossal part of the ruins, beginning under the colon
nade of the centre court, the columns of which, though
buried at least half way up in the sand, measured at
that height thirty feet in diameter. Our guide was a
black Almeh, who, sometimes striking her tambou
rine, thoughtlessly danced before ns, among the
venerable ruins — a strange contrast, which, however,
did not in the least distract my attention from the in
teresting piles around me. After wandering for a long
time amid the cottages, narrow, gloomy passages, or
groping along in the shade of the palaces, now placing
the right foot upon the past, now the left upon the
present, we at length issued unexpectedly, from with
in, through the propylasum gate of the entrance, and
suddenly found ourselves, in the bright light of the
full moon, precisely between the mutilated colossi of
Kameses, and saw, on the right side, the most beauti
ful of all obelisks, black as jet — the companion to
which the French took away — and rising as tapering
and slender towards heaven, as if it were an arrow just
ready to fly from the earth to the moon. This
surprising sight, amid all the huge masses of the
surrounding objects, doubled by the indefinite effect
of the evening light, was one of those which remain
indelibly impressed on the memory.
On the following raorning we returned to the same
spot, and commenced a more systematic inspection.
The first reflection that occurred to me — which in
deed is anything but new — was, how much better the
Egyptians understood architecture than we do, and yet
it seems that we are not able to learn anything from
them. The removal of the second obelisk, effected at

THEBES. 49
an enormous expense, and placing it in the great
square of Louis XV., at Paris, is a case in point.
Two majestic propylaea, a hundred feet high, form
the entrance to the temple at Luxor ; immediately at
the sides of the gate are two seated colossi, about
forty feet high, and some paces from them, only twice
as far as the colossi are frora the propylffia, stood the two
obelisks, between eighty and ninety feet high, one of
which has been carried away. By placing them all so
close together, the effect is very powerful and striking ;
whereas the same objects, if isolated, and standing in
an extensive space, appear quite insignificant, and
the effect is altogether destroyed. The Egyptians
never erected an obelisk without a companion, any
more than a single column; least of all would they
have placed an isolated obelisk in the centre of a large
square, where it only looks like an unmeaning stake,
and injures the appearance of the square, while the
latter deprives it of all the striking effect of its mass,
and thus makes the great appear little. It is lamentable
that, for such a purpose, the sublimity of the entrance
of this temple should have been so injured, for de
stroyed it could not be. The remaining obelisk,
which is of the must beautiful rose-coloured granite,
is but slightly damaged on two sides of the base,
otherwise it is in the most perfect state of preserva
tion, and the hieroglyphics, which are cut nearly two
inches deep, are acknowledged to be the most perfect
of the kind that the Egyptians themselves have pro
duced. In fact, it would be impossible to surpass this
work, and our degenerate race is incapable of con
ceiving how the ancient Egyptians could carve the
VOL. II. E

50 THEBES.
most delicate figures, perfect in the minutest detail,
in this excessively hard granite, with as much preci
sion and ease as our best medallists can engrave on
cornelian. A boy, eleven years old, offered to climb
up the obelisk by means of these hieroglyphics for a
karie (an Egyptian coin, worth two-and-a-half francs) ;
he accomplished the feat without difficulty up to two
thirds of the height, where he was so rocked by the
high wind, that we promised him two karie to come
down again as quickly as possible.
In order to have a correct and clear idea of the dis
position and plan of the temple, it is necessary to
ascend to the top of the propylaeum ; though it is
rather difficult to accomplish this, partly by the nar
row, dilapidated staircase, and at last by leaping over
blocks of stone, which jut out here and there. The
prospect amply rewards the trouble in every respect,
and the first founder of this temple, Amenoph III.
(Memnon), when looking down from the battle
ments, might have seen himself twice represented in
his seated colossal statues, on the other side of the
river. It is extremely interesting to endeavour to trace the
form and extent of the ruins, amidst the confusion of
the village, the houses of which (very handsome
for Egyptian) are most strange Liliputian imitations,
in the dust of their mud bricks, of the form of the
propylaea. More than a hundred ancient columns rise among
them, and one 'of the principal courts of the temple is
still nearly entire. In this I found several sculptures,
inexpressibly sublime and graceful, and more than one

THEBES. 51
face among them had a delicacy and depth of expres
sion, which must satisfy the most refined and critical
European taste. These figures belong to the most
fiourishing period of Egyptian art, for its decline is in
some measure visible under the later Pharaohs ; while
under the Ptolemies it is immense ; and lastly, under
the Romans, nothing but the caricature remains.
For the honour of the expedition to Luxor, the
French have not been content with robbing the
temple of one of its finest ornaments at the entrance,
but have likewise disfigured the end, by erecting a
large house, after which a portion of the venerable
ruins were white-washed ! This house obstructs the
view of one of the most interesting parts of the
temple ; new walls have been built through the sanc
tuary ; the still lively colours of the pictures have
been daubed with mortar in the crevices to keep off
the draught of air ; an adytum has been converted
into a small closet ; in a word, they have proceeded
with inexcusable barbarism.
I found some Frenchmen established in this house,
who had come from India, for it seems that it is
intended to make it a permanent khan ; and I was
shown an order of M. Mimaut, the Consul General,
according to which none but Frenchmen were to be
allowed to lodge here, and only the French flag to he.
displayed on its roof. Truly the Viceroy is very good-
natured to allow of such proceedings ; and I should
like to know what orders would be given to Turks
who were to go to France, and attempt to make such
speculations on the ruins of Chambord, or of some
other fine ruin situated in an equally solitary place ?
E 2

52 THEBES.
But it is time to ride across the green plain to
Karnack, where the culminating point of Thebes
awaits us. It is an enchantment embodied in stone,
at the sight of which the spectator rubs his eyes and
exclaims. Am 1 awake or dreaming? In truth, it may
be said of the gigantic hall in Karnac without -any
exaggeration, that it surpasses a dream ; for as we have
never seen anything like it in reality, it is beyond our
dreaming powers to conjure it up in our sleep.
This forest of columns, larger and loftier than
most church steeples, these masses of rock which
surmount their lotus capitals, this ocean of ornaments
and pictures — immeasurable as the starry heavens —
and these glorious colours, of the splendour of which
some happily preserved portions give us. a faint idea :
the flights of the boldest imagination are far below
the reality; and what zorzs this gigantic hall? — only a
small portion of the prodigious whole, the circum
ference of which, as the fragments of the walls
plainly indicate, was more than 8000 feet, to which
six magnificent portals, 70 feet high, the greater
part of which are still standing — partly with triple
and quadruple propylsea — led from without ; while an
avenue of several hundred colossal sphinxes, formed
the approach to each of these portals, lliis was one
single temple in the circuit of " hundred-gated
Thebes." ft is almost beyond the power of man to
conceive the idea, to say nothing of the execution.
And how perfect is this execution ! Almost every
imaginable claim satisfied in the most appropriate
place, the most gigantic as well as the most lovely
exhausted in the highest perfection ; surely con-

THEBES. 53
founded by this mass of tower-like propylaea, colossi,
obelisks, doors, porticos, pillars, columns, courts, halls,
galleries, portals, and chambers, all covered with
thousands aud tens of thousands of figures glowing
in the most dazzling, diversified, brilliancy of colours
— every sincere and deeply-moved worshipper, feeling
in pious awe the presence of the gods, must at the
sight of heaven, thus opened to his view, have pro
strated himself in mute adoration.
The principal approach to the temple rose from
the Nile, in an avenue of sphinxes, probably shaded
by the crowns of green sycamores, till it reached two
pyramidal immense propylaea, between which was the
largest entrance to the temple, part of which is now
in ruins. Having reached this, a perspective view
opens, which displays at one glance the whole colossal
greatness of the ruins of Karnac. Notwithstanding
the proximo piles of rubbish, and five enormous
prostrate columns, you see, at the distance of a thou
sand paces, through a succession of twelve internal
doors, all between seventy and eighty feet in height,
which are partly destroyed; first into the extensive
court, then along the gigantic hall, the court of the
obelisk and that of the colossi, over the adytum,
which richly adorned lies in the centre ; then beyond
it, again through many courts and porticos, till you
see the pure blue of heaven, shining through the
lofty portal at the extreme end — a scene without
parallel, which could be produced only by choosing for
this edifice a site which declined towards the middle,
and by giving only a slight elevation to the adytum,
which occupied this middle.

54 THEBES.
That which perhaps produces the grandest effect, in
what is called the gigantic hall, is probably the pecu
liar arrangement, by which the columns of the double
row down the middle (which, by the way, are forty
feet in circumference) are one-third higher and thicker
than all the rest ; and while in the latter, the ceiling
rests upon the dado over their capitals, there is above
the large columns in the centre, an entire story, with
colossal windows, which look to the interior, and which
is fifty feet high, up to the ceiling*. Now, as the
columns themselves are above eighty feet high, the
entire free space in the middle, from the ground to
the ceiling, is more than one hundred and thirty feet.
When viewed from every other part of the hall, this
produces the appearance not only of a rising, but of the
entire disappearance of the ceiling towards the centre,
the effect of which is so peculiar that it must be seen
to be understood. The windows in the above-men
tioned upper wall, which, as if floating in the air, rise
on the gay lotus capitals of the great pillars, are
partly closed by a stone lattice-work, the massy, ele
gant, and yet utterly peculiar character of which is
perfectly adapted to the whole, and is entirely different
from everything we are accustomed to see.
Here too, as in the Rameseion, this second story
added to the temple, served, in Champollion's opinion,
for the residence of the several members of the royal
family, who, on the inside, could look down from
their elevated chambers on the forest of columns in
this magnificent hall, and from the outer windows
view their immense capitals, with the Nile and its
romantic valley, from one mountain chain to the

THEBES. bt)
Other — from one desert to another, in its whole
extent. Convenient staircases, such as all the ancient Egyp
tian are, led without effort to these high apartments ;
but, unhappily, we could no longer ascend thera, and,
at the risk of breaking our necks, had to climb from
stone to stone, over ruins and fragments ; there we
were first sensible of the size of' the masses which unite
the columns, among which there are stones above
thirty feet long, six feet deep, and as many broad.
Small, indeed, in comparison with the obelisk in the
next court- yard, which is a monolyth ninety-six feet
high, ^polished as smooth as a mirror; the companion
to which, quite similar, lies broken by its side.
Added to the ravages committed by Cambyses and
time, a dreadful earthquake must have raged here ; or
else the Persians, like the Chinese, were acquainted
at that time with the destructive power of gunpowder.
By such means alone a desolation like this could have
been effected, which was successfully withstood by the
gigantic hall alone. With the exception of two columns
that lie shattered on the ground, all J;he columns of this
hall, 134 in number, are still standing. They were
placed very near each other — an arrangement which
perhaps may have mainly contributed to their preser
vation, while it certainly greatly increased the richness
of their effect.
The interior of the walls of the enclosure con
tained magnificent representations of religious sub
jects ; on the outside they were covered with far more
extensive and gigantic battle-pieces than those in the
Rameseion. Thus there is a large sailing-yessel, with

56 THEBES.
a temple in the middle of it, which is nearly of the
natural size, if this expression may be applied to a
bark. The king appears everywhere elevated far
above the other figures in the thickest of the battle,
fighting either from his war-chariot, or standing before
it, while servants are endeavouring to check the
impatient steeds, and an attendant holds a kind of
umbrella, which some persons take for the Egyptian
Standard. This is not very improbable, since forms
are merely conventional, and the sceptre of the
Egyptian kings, for instance, exactly resembles a
flail, though in truth it is only a scourge : perhaps a
more humane symbol of royalty than the sceptre.
As Achilles drew the body of Hector round the walls
of Troy, so the king is here represented dragging a
vanquished prince, together with his chariot and
horses, which are fallen down, and which are all
together fastened to the car of the triumphant victor.
" In all these pictures," says my intelligent friend,
with peculiar faithfulness, " unbounded fancy is dis
played ; the action is grand and animated ; the motion
bold and rapid ; the expression speaking, intelligent,
and exciting ; the drawing almost without perspec
tive, but the execution of the details inconceivably
rich and beautiful. The heads of the horses are true
to the life, and at once remind us of the celebrated
Venetian group: the bit, bridle, and harness are
splendid ; the chariots as if turned in ivory, with raised
work and ornaments, are solid, light, and handsome."
I have already observed, that in raany places the
colours, with which the whole wall is coyered, still
retain their original freshness; and in Karnac, as

THEBES. 57
well as in the tombs of the kings, we cannot help
admiring the number of various combinations and
surprising association of colour, which the refined
taste of the Egyptians knew how to produce. This
is particularly observable in the adytum, where there
is an harraonious concentration of the most noble
creations of Egyptian art. The grace, the truly
enchanting beauty of many of these pictures, has, in
my opinion, been nowhere surpassed ; neither the
antique nor the times of Raphael have produced more
finished works of their epochs. Opposite to the
porphyry gate leading from the gallery round the
little hall of the adytum into a dilapidated chamber,
I found the portrait of a young king, the indescrib
able beauty of which quite overpowered me. It
was so ravishing an ideal of faultless beauty, such an
union of all the raost engaging and delightful human
qualities, with such a flattering mildness in the fea
tures, such a heavenly smile on the finely formed lips,
such enthusiasm in the eyes, such nobility of form,
and such divine elevation in the attitude and in the
whole figure, that I cannot conceive a raore irresistible
living being than the realisation of this picture. It
was truly a youthful god, which in my eyes surpassed
any god or hero represented by the Greeks.
The inner wall of the adytum is of polished rose-
coloured granite, and the elegant figures carved on it
are painted with a very delicate pale green — bronze
colour ; the ceiling is azure, with golden, short-rayed
stars, and is divided in half its length by a tasteful band,
in which blue, red, and yellow are alternately repeated.
Where the hand of man has not wantonly destroyed

58 THEBES.
this beautiful work of art, it is preserved in all its pris
tine freshness, and is in the highest degree pleasing.
A raagnificent projecting cornice on the outside, is
painted in the sarae colours as the band on the
ceiling. The outer wall was formerly encircled by
an uncovered gallery ; here the ground is bronze
colour, and the figures partly retain the bright rose of
the natural granite. Some of the work is most beau
tiful, it is chiefly on a reduced scale ; and none of the
figures are above the size of life. Some of them are
blue, others white ; and strange as it may appear to
our European taste, the treatment, the composition,
and whole peculiar character of the style are such,
that I, at least, was never shocked by this apparent
deviation from nature in the representation of such
sublime and attractive figures.
In the fine large portico, consisting of forty-eight
columns and pillars, which is surrounded by above
fifty cell-like apartments, the Copts have again ob
truded a church, and have daubed hideous pictures of
saints on the master-pieces of the Pharaohs; for
tunately only one of them is well preserved, the others
have for the most part fallen off, and the pictures of
the divinities that were hid by them, have again made
their appearance quite uninjured, and even their
colour is not in the least impaired. Passing through
a second colonnade, we entered a,nother division of the
temple, where the colossi, in the form of caryatidae,
rest against pillars; and frora thence at length reached
the last large gate, by which we quitted the temple.
We spent many hours among the ruins, in order to
examine the details, which however I shall pass over

THEBES. 59
for the present, and proceeding "from grave to gay,"
mention, in their stead, a little interlude which afforded
us some amusement. While we were at breakfast,
in sight of the north-eastern gate, among the sculp
tures of which there is an enormous Priapus, enjoying
at the same time the intellectual feast presented by
all the sublime wonders which surrounded us, our
reverie was suddenly broken by the apparition
of a smart English lady's-raaid, who came tripping
along, escorted by a tall Arab. She was a pretty
young woman it is true, with a very national appear
ance ; but her dress was certainly not in harmony with
the surrounding objects, for she was attired in the
most tasteless manner imaginable : a short white petti
coat, a black apron, a pink spencer, and a green
bonnet! She, too, 'had come to view the wonders of
Thebes, and continued her tour of inspection without
being in the least disturbed by our presence. At
length she stood riveted before the above-mentioned
figure of Priapus : she gazed at it for a long time, and
then turning to the Arab, who stood respectfully
behind her, and motioning to him to conduct her
further, exclaimed with extreme simplicity, "Now I
declare this is very curious, indeed." We intended
to offer some refreshment to the fair islander in the
ruins of Thebes, but just as I was about to send one
of my servants, she vanished among the ruins. In the
place of this momentary visitant I beheld with horror
on my burnus, which had been in charge of an Arab,
and which I had just put on as a defence against a
draught of air, two most repulsive guests, colossi

(50 THEBES.
after their kind, which we are used in common life to
call lice!! (pediculus horridus, for the information of
the learned.) These are amongthe inevitable dark
sides of the country of the Arabian nights.
We returned in a south-west direction, through
three successive pairs of propylaea, all adorned with
seated or standing colossi, covered with pictures and
hieroglyphics, like every other stone in this gigantic
building, to which, from the time of Thothmus I., the
Pharaohs of all the dynasties contributed their share,
and seem always to have added something new. The
outermost gate is approached by the longest of the
avenues of sphinxes, near which an uninterrupted
series of mounds of debris indicate many other
ancient edifices.
This avenue leads to the most ancient and totally-
wrecked Typhoniura, which is about a quarter of a
league distant, and which even in its desolation still
retains the most grotesque character. While the other
ruins of Karnac are almost entirely destitute of
vegetation, with the exception of a few solitary
palms growing in . the sand, here everything is
covered with high rank weeds, above which a hideous
image of Typhon, broken colossi, and innumerable
sphinxes rear their heads ; and strangely enough,
just here, where everything else is destroyed, several
of these sphinxes are in perfect preservation : some
have the most pleasing human countenances ; but,
generally speaking, they have admirably-executed
rams' heads. In three or four places some dozens
of dirty sedge-green women, of basalt, with fright-

THEBES. 61
ful lions' faces, ghost-like and awfid to look at,
are crouched close together in the grass. A moat,
which is still full of water, and therefore must be
supplied by subterraneous channels from the Nile,
surrounds three sides of the hill on which this Typho
niura stood like a fortress ; and lofty dams and
mounds of rubbish on the opposite side of the water,
betray in this vicinity also considerable buildings or
ancient times. It is said that the sacred Ibis is some
times seen in these waters, like a spectre ; and at this
place, dedicated as it is to the Evil Principle, I could
almost have believed in any unearthly phenomenon, so
uncomfortable and ungenial did I feel there : added to
which, the oppressive recollection of all the gigantic
masses, and never-imagined wondrous works which
were crowded before me, filled my excited soul with
additional awe.
The evening twilight drew on, and entirely lost in
the fabulous past, we rode, almost unconsciously,
through the widely-scattered groups of palm in the
plain, overtopped to the north and south by the
sombre ruins of Karnac and Luxor, between which,
for the distance of full half a league, a close avenue
of several thousand colossal sphinxes formerly led.
At length we saw the streamers of our boats shining
in the splendour of the moon, and, sparkling belovv
them, the blue waters of the Nile ; for here I found it
really blue, its yellow muddy water having become
clear and pure.
At Thebes the inhabitant of the North for the
first time gazes with wonder on the huge crocodile.

62 THEBES.
traversing the streara, or quietly basking in the sun,
on the islands of white sand. The remains of a dead
crocodile, already dried by the sun, now lay upon
the bank, and the conclusion of this eventful day,
which had presented us with a long series of images
and pictures, afforded us an opportunity of fearlessly
examining the most frightful of all the sacred animals
of Egypt,

ASSOUAN. 63

CHAPTER II.
ASSOUAN.
Certainly there are many plagues in Egypt up to
this very day, and among the greatest may be classed
the countless multitudes of flies which incessantly
torment one all day long; and when night sets in, a
host of gnats relieve guard ; however, they are less
numerous than the flies, and are not nearly so blood
thirsty as their brethren in the damp climates of
Europe. Mosquitoes, like those of Barbary, have
not once come across my path. In consequence of
the pertinacious calm which had prevailed ever since
we had left Thebes, we proceeded but very slowly, and
to add to our misfortune, our large bark struck, and was
so immured in stones, that we were compelled to lie-
to, under a scorching sun, at a rocky wall, and it was
full eighteen hours ere we got afloat again. A third
evil was the threatened dearth of wine and sugar,
which cannot be procured here, for either love or
money. I should strongly recommend every traveller
to take three times the stock which he iraagines he
may require, not only of these articles, but also of
tea and tobacco. There is no harm in having too
rauch ; but to be minus these indispensable requisites,
is not only unpleasant, but may be detriraental to
health if you are accustoraed to the use of thera.
We were two days in reaching Esneh ; it is very

64 ASSOUAN.
tolerably built, and, for an Egyptian town, unusually
clean. The magnificent and well-preserved portico of
a large temple is now used as a corn magazine ; and
its proud files of columns have been intersected with
walls of dung, to form partitions between the various
compartments. Almost every one of these columns is
crowned by a differently-formed capital, the gay
colours of whieh are still beautifully fresh. The
pillars and walls are covered with sculptures, but they
are not of the best period.
At Esneh I for the first time saw the women
wearing large silver rings in their noses; with the
exception of a narrow waist-cloth, they were entirely
destitute of clothing. Several Almehs were living in
the tou'n ; they had been banished hither from Cairo
by the Viceroy, who allows them a maintenance for halt-
a-year at the expense of the Government. At the
expiration of that time they are permitted to return
to Cairo ; with the stipulation, however, that they
do not resume their former occupation. No restric
tion of the kind is laid on them here, and they make
the most of this interim. There are some very pretty
young women araong them, whom Drl Koch had
formerly seen dancing in Cairo; they very bitterly
lamented their banishment, and made us laugh by the
rather singular complaint which they brought against
the inhabitants of these localities, as in Europe law
suits are instituted for the very opposite reason.
The long calm was succeeded by a storm, which,
however, did not facilitate our progress. During the
night, the sail of my bark was rent by the wind,
which caused a most dreadful commotion among the

ASSOUAN. 0-5
noisy Arabs, who always cry out before they are hurt.
Towards morning we saw a large herd of buffaloes
swimming through the river ; they were very eagerly
pursued by my Spartan Susannis, and by two or three
of our sailor boys, who, like amphibii, can Hve
indiscriminately in either element. There certainly
is no four-footed animal which has so decided, aud, at
the same time so ridiculous, an expression of stupidity,
as the Egyptian buffalo, especially while it is swim
ming, when only its enormous bulky head and staring
eyes are visible above the surface of the water.
The wind at length began to blow from a more
favourable quarter, and we glided smoothly along
past the imposing masses of ruius of Edfou, and
those of Koum Ombose ; we had much difficulty,
however, in making up our rainds to sail by them for
the present, for " aufgeschohen is unfortunately more
frequently aufgehoben"" than we are inclined to think.
Just at sunset we arrived at Djebel Selseleh, where
two chains of rugged rock so completely shut in
the Nile, that the banks are not a stone's-throw apart.
In ancient times, according to Geoffrey St. Hilaire,
the mountain rocks here formed an impenetrable
barrier to the Nile, which was corapelled to force
its way through the Lybian chain to the Mediterranean
Sea. Faint traces of its course are said to be even
now visible in the desert, and it is not improbable
that the remains of land which it at that time fructified,
form the various Oases which we occasionally meet
with. In the sequel, however, it surmounted the
opposing dam, over which it probably first rushed
with a violent shock, like the falls of the Rhine, and

66 ASSOUAN.
in the course of thousands of years, forced for itself a
free passage, and at the same time, formed the Delta
in the sea itself.
Immediately beyond the defile of Selseleh, the
noble stream again expands in its former magnifi
cence ; for since in its course of several hundred
leagues it receives no tributary, save the almost dry
Atbarra, it presents this singular feature, that through
out its whole length (reckoning from Khartoom, at
the junction of the Blue and White Rivers), it rolls
on in precisely the same volume of water. In ap
proaching Assouan, bold isolated ledges are seen in
the bed of the river, which render sailing by night
very dangerous.
The song of the sailors and the sound of the tim
brel, with extemporaneous accompaniments of every
kind, enlivened our rapid voyage by day and night.
Sometimes Susannis was the hero of their song, when
he pursued the herds of buffaloes, and exceeded them
in the rapidity of swimming ; on another occasion,
when I had given them a sheep, I shared the honours
of the day with the gentle victim ; for the gift of a
sheep betokens a day of feasting. These merry,
cheerful people subsist almost entirely upon bread,
sea-biscuits, and cheese, of which they consume a
most prodigious quantity ; and for this they are per
fectly contented to serve without any further wages.
We now approached the boundary ofEgypt. Two
enormous rocks sprang like a portal from the midst
of the stream ; a santon's grave on the mountain crest
on our right, and an ancient palace on the palra-clad
shore on our left, clearly indicated the vicinity of the

ASSOUAN. 67
town. In a few moments we saw the Roman wall,
with the Nilometer on the Island of Elephantina, the
verdure-erabosomed houses of modern Mahometan
Assouan, and above it the ruins of the ancient Chris
tian Syene ; thus presenting to the eye, at one view,
three phases of the varied history of this country.
We rested here some days, and met with a most
friendly reception from Bali Katsheff, an educated
Turk, who is partial to Europeans, and takes pleasure
in showing them every kindness in his power.
Our first excursion was to the Island of Elephan
tina; the remains of antiquity, which were lately very
considerable, have been recently destroyed. All that
is now left is, a portiou of the Nilometer men
tioned by Strabo, with a step leading down to it,
and traces of deeply-carved measurements on the
outer hewn stones, some prostrated, broken columns,
two mutilated statues, a gate ornamented with hiero
glyphics, and several walls of large stones. The fan
tastic granite rocks, on the opposite bank, have many
Egyptian inscriptions and paintings, and further on
are the first cliffs of the cataracts.
Part of the Island of Elephantina (by the Arabs
called " the blooming") is very well cultivated ; and,
instead of its ancient far-famed temples, is now cele
brated only for its excellent milk and butter. While
we rambled through the groves and fields, which were
animated by flocks and herds of cattle, the people
brought us various trifling antiquities for sale ; among
which they produced, as such, two small wheels of a
watch. They might perhaps have served some Euro
pean police to discover a secret murder or theft :
r 2

68 ASSOUAN
for how else should the inhabitants have obtained
them ?
In the vicinity of the town, are some interesting
relics of antiquity, from which we see, that modern
times unjustly accuse Diodorus of inaccuracy, because
he speaks of the Nilometer as being in the town
of Syene ; which, it is alleged, was opposite to the
town in the Island of Elephantina, and it cannot
be supposed, with any probability, that there were
two Niloraeters so near to each other. Le vrai n'est
pas toujours le vraisemhlable, and so it is here ; for the
remains of the Nilometer on the place where the Egyp
tian Syene stood, may be almost more evidently
pointed out than that mentioned by Strabo in Ele
phantina. Extensive baths were connected with it,
some of which are even now, in a fit state to be used
for that purpose.
Our absence on shore gave our sailors many holi
days, the greater part of which they passed in the
water, where they tumbled about like river gods ;
here they performed the most strange manceuvres,
which they seem to have learnt from the dolphins, play
ing at summersets against each other, the chief object
of which was to give the opponent such a violent blow
with the outstretched leg, that he was involuntarily
compelled to sink for a moment. He then generally
swam on under water, and, watching his opportunity,
suddenly rose, and repaid with interest the blow which
he had received. This very novel kind of combat
amused us not a little, and Englishmen would doubt
less soon have laid high bets on these vigorous aquatic
boxers ; but we contented ourselves with encou-

ASSOUAN. 69
raging their zeal, by throwing a few piastres into the
river. Once, however, the Doctor unfortunately
dropped a valuable mouth-piece into the deepest part
of the stream. " Three times they dived in vain," as
in Schiller's ballad, and, on the fourth attempt, one of
these unwearied amphibia happily brought it up un
injured. May you who read these lines be equally happy in
recovering all that you suppose to be lost I A wish
not to be despised; and with which, here, on the fron
tiers of Egypt, I gratefully take leave of all my un
known friends of both sexes — the number of whom an
author alone never thinks large enough — till we meet
again in the Desert' of Nubia. Farewell !

THE CATARACTS.

CHAPTER IIL
THE CATARACTS.— -THE ISLAND OF PHILCE.
As soon as our departure from Assouan was resolved
on, we were compelled to unlade all our effects in order
that our canjas might be towed through the cataracts,
and yet it was generally affirmed, that only the small
one could be got through, in the present low state of
the water, but that the large one could not, under any
circumstances, accomplish it. This would have put us
to serious inconvenience in the course of our voyage,
and I therefore insisted that the attempt should like
wise be made with the large dahabia ; happily, I was
seconded by the Katsheff, whom I reminded of Mehe
met All's favourite expression — " Nothing is irapos-
sible; " and who himself appeared excessively eager to
ascertain whether, in spite of the unanimous opposi
tion of all the Rais of the cataract, who affirmed that
no such attempt had ever been made, it would be
practicable for a vessel of such diraensions, with an
extraordinary araount of human power, to be forced
through the numerous cliffs which threatened it with
destruction. The dahabia in question belonged to the Governor
of Keneh, and its Rais on this account obstinately
refused his consent. " If it sinks," cried the Katsheff
heroically, " I will pay for it, and I take the respon
sibility on myself." This decided the question, for

THE ISLAND OF PHILCE. ' 71
the danger affected only the vessels, but by no means
the crew, and the canjas, entirely emptied of all their
burden, soon set out, amid a lugubrious melancholy
song of the men, but with a very favourable wind.
We, ourselves, having sent forward the caravan
with our baggage, took the way by land, through the
celebrated granite quarries, which supplied the mate
rials for all the wonders of Thebes, and for the innu
merable monuments of other great Egyptian cities.
This is an exceedingly interesting place, and affords
ample scope for the study of the peculiar treatment of
the stone, by the Egyptian workmen; among other
curiosities of the kind, we saw an obelisk almost
entirely complete, and ready to be detached, sus
pended at a wall of the quarry. It will, probably,
always remain an enigma to us, how the ancients were
able to move these immense masses with so much ease,
and what means they employed, (for we must remem
ber that they were unacquainted with gunpowder,)
to effect a far more accurate separation of the rocks
than we, with our numerous modern improvements
can now accomplish. Was it achieved by the appli
cation of a vast amount of human power, — as various
representations existing in the tombs would lead us
to infer, — or were they acquainted with some law of
mechanics which has hitherto escaped us?
At a short distance from the quarries we ascended a
decayed Saracenic watch-tower, which standso ver the
highest eminence in the country, and from the battle
ments of which we had an extensive view over a most
singular tract. For truly strange is the scene! it
looks as if giants, of remote unknown antiquity, had

THE CATARACTS.

amused themselves with piling thousands and tens of
thousands of blocks of red granite one upon the other,
in wild confusion on the boundless sandy level of
the burning Desert, in order to construct mountains
of an entirely new shape and conformation: all these
black and red masses of stone, which are extremely
diversified and fantastic in their form, and have not
the slightest trace of vegetation or life, appear as if
they had been burnt and melted by volcanic fire, and
then cooled in the waters.
Still more striking is the scene on again approach
ing the Nile, when we see the huge black masses
heaped up in the most grotesque forms to the height
of mountains, and intersected by innumerable channels
of the river, some of which dart rapidly by them, with
the swiftness of an arrow, while others linger around
the base ofthe cliffs which they lave with their milk-
white spray; not one has a waterfall of considerable
perpendicular height, but all, tossing and boiling, rush
over natural slightly shelving stone dams, form longer
or shorter cascades, and wind, like a thousand silvery
serpents, amid the sombre rock. These are what are
called the First Cataract.
When we gained the top of the rock nearest the
river, we perceived the largest of our vessels already in
the middle of this watery labyrinth, engaged in a dan
gerous conflict, with the longest and most rapid of
the currents. We instantly scrambled down towards
the scene of action, that we might see the interesting
spectacle as near as possible.
More than 300 naked blacks of the tribe of the
Barrabra, for the most part young people from twelve

THE ISLAND OF PHILOS. 73
to twenty years of age, all vigorous, and many very
handsome, were tumbling about, partly in the water,
partly on the projecting rocks, and partly on the
rugged bank, variously employed, led by an old man
with white hair and beard, the chief Rais of the
Cataracts, whose athletic figure, awe-inspiring fea
tures, and stentorian voice, could scarcely main
tain discipline among the wild and lawless youths; for
the Barrabra, or Berbers, are ever more amphibious
than the Fellahs, and they move with as much
nonchalance, ih and under the water, as on dry land.
Many while swimming surported and guided the
heavy dahabia, which they seemed to bear upon their
shoulders ; others, springing like squirrels frora rock
to rock, kept drawing it at the sarae time, quickly
changing the thick rope backwards and forwards,
as the directions of the streara required ; while others
again, with long poles, assisted, either in pushing
on the boat more rapidly, or carefully checking it.
Many others, however, gave no assistance what
ever, but amused themselves with plunging head
foremost into the deepest whirl of the river, and
suffering themselves to be borne down the cataract by
the raging waves, while only a black curly head, a
foot, or an arm, now and then appeared amid the
foam of the waters, and indicated the course they were
pursuing. The others surrounded us, bore us on their
shoulders through wet or dangerous places, fetched
water for us to drink from one of the little eddies,
holding the full cup high over their heads as they
swam, and then laughing and joking, dispersed among

74 THE OATAEACTS.
the rest, after they had received the bakshish, which
they demanded, rather importunately, but always
with good-natured cheerfulness.
Only a very few of these children of nature, who
really did not seem to stand in need of anything,
had incommoded themselves with a narrow girdle, but
several wore the small Berber dagger, fastened with a
leather strap to the left upper arm, without seeming
to be at all impeded by it in sivimming. In spite of
the scorching rays of the sun, they had no covering
whatever on their heads : and I observed with surprise
that most of them, notwithstanding their beautiful
sound teeth, were three or four minus on the right
side, or in front of the mouth. On inquiry I learnt
that they had extracted them merely as a precautionary
measure, in order the more easily to escape being
enlisted for soldiers, though the Viceroy, who has too
much need of the Berbers about the Cataracts, has
never yet taken them for military service.
After great exertions for full half-an-hour, and
during which the vessel was often in a critical position,
and in imminent danger of being driven between the
cliffs, and, indeed, did not escape without slight
damage, a deafening shout of joy at length announced
that the main difficulty was overcome. As the rest of
the work was comparatively trifling, we took advantage
of this moment, after another satisfactory distribution
of bakshish, to mount our horses and proceed by land
to Philce. The noonday heat, reflected by the white
sand and the smooth blocks of stone, was painful
in the extreme, but the pleasing thought of being in

TH E ISLAND OF PHILCB. / O
Ethiopia* lightened every inconvenience, especially
when we reflected how many kindred minds at horae
would willingly bear ten tiraes the fatigues, if
they could be instantly put in our place. But the
long tract which lies between the 54° and the 24° of
latitude, the numerous difficulties, the uncertain tirae,
with every other contingency, keep them back, and,
all things well considered, they prefer remaining at
home. Perhaps they compensate for the loss by saying,
not sans raison. Have not I my travellers who labour
and hunger, suffer and endure for me, who are bound
to communicate to me every interesting, amusing, or
instructive information, which they have gleaned in
the sweat of their brow, without my Sbeing obliged
to take any further trouble than that of sending a few
pence to the next circulating library ? What eastern
despot could ask more, or have his wishes more easily
gratified ? Yet so it is in fact, and this too is one of
the immense advantages of our civilisation, which pro
bably has in store for us many other conveniences of
a similar kind, for the public appears now to have
supplanted our native country, for which, in days of
yore, people were ready to make great sacrifices ;
however, it is a very different thing from the ancient
respublica. .
After a rapid ride of about an hour through the
Desert, which retained nearly the same uniform cha
racter, we at length came in sight of some palms and
* Ancient Ethiopia extended to below Dongola, where Nubia
began. Now the commencement of Nubia is reckoned from Assouan,
and the country of that name is very arbitrarily extended by geo
graphers up the Nile.

7b THE CATARACTS.
mimosas, and a few sycamores, which overshaded neat
scattered houses of unburnt bricks. They were taste
fully painted white and brown; the lintels of the
doors, which were of granite, were stained deep red,
and a sentence ofthe Khoran was inscribed upon them.
Groups of pretty young women, girls and children,
wearing large rings in their noses, glass bead neck
laces, and elegant girdles round the waist, from
which depended a kind of apron, made of narrow
strips, interwoven with coloured shells, sat chattering
together under the shade of the trees, waiting for
the return of their husbands and relations, who were
still employed at the Cataracts. At a, short distance
two large sakyeh, turned by several oxen, irrigated a
bright green field of dourra, where the Nile formed a
kind of lake ; this field was bounded on three sides by
dark rocks, which also included the village and its
narrow fields, and on the other side, by the intermina
ble sandy waves of the Desert. We had scarcely
traversed this Nubian Idyll, which excited most
pleasing sensations, to which the dead sand in the
horizop imparted a rather melancholy character, when
we found ourselves in sight of a dead wall of masses
of granite, heaped one upon another, along the rugged
outlines of which, there seemed to be no outlet
whatever. We fancied that we had already reached an inac
cessible kingdom of a more mysterious nature, which
nothing save the stroke of a magician's wand could
open to us, when we suddenly espied a narrow stony
path, hardly perceptible, winding along the intricate
rock towards the summit. When we began to ascend,

THE ISLAND OF PHILOj;. 77
the wearied ass of our guide (called L'lnglese, an
original character, of whom I shall say more in the
sequel), slipped off the smooth blocks of stone,
threw his rider, and for a moment covered him with
his body. We soon helped him to regain his legs,
and were happy to find that he had not sustained any
injury : we had proceeded some paces further, when a
cry of joy frora the Doctor made me look up, and I
beheld with astonishment the unexpected sight, which
appeared to be a delusive image of the Desert.
Among the singular masses of black basalt*, we
suddenly perceived an emerald island of an almost
perfect oval, shaded with palm-trees, and entirely
resembling an Hesperian garden, supported by lofty
quays of large hewn stones, and covered from one end
to the other with an unbroken series of the most
splendid buildings, which, in the midst of this inhos
pitable wilderness, appeared more like the ethereal
dwelling of some fairy than the work of human
hands. It was Philce ! certainly one of the most
lovely wonders in the fabulous kingdom of the
Pharaohs ; and though only a few of its buildings
belonged to their times, yet are they the creation of
one of the brightest epochs of Egypt, and certainly
the finest monuraent of that love of the arts for which
the Ptolemies were distinguished.
Its fortunate preservation contributes to heighten
its imposing effect: and the proud files of more than
100 columns, which are still standing, the great
Temple of Osiris, which externally is nearly unin-
* It is not real basalt, but granite burnt black, which is here
universally called basalt.

78 THE CATARACTS.
jured, the two pairs of propylaea, which are entirely
preserved, and the peculiar transparent Roman temple
in the back-ground, which is quite foreign to the
Egyptian style, and of which not a stone is wanting,
except the roof; afford, even from a distance, a pic
ture of extraordinary splendour and elegance. How
much more were we surprised by a closer inspection !
How rich were these masses of various buildings, all
connected with each other, whereby so little regard
was had to symmetry that there is scarcely one prin
cipal door in a direct line with another, and yet the
eye is nowhere offended ! And how inexhaustible is
the number of sculptures, of the richest and most
varied subjects, which cover every wall and every
column ; the almost inconceivable freshness and the
resplendent beauty of the colours in some halls, par
ticularly in the pronaos of the great temple, which
but for the violent devastations committed by the
Christians, is "^o perfect, that twenty centuries would
scarcely have left a trace of their passage. It is im
possible to describe our surprise and delight at be
holding all this, even after we had seen the noblest
productions of Egyptian art. If the great may be
compared with the little, I woiTld say, Philce is to
Thebes what the Farnesina is to the Farnese palace.
It cannot boast of the almost divine sublimity, the
nearly awful dignity of the temples of Karnac and
Luxor, but in their stead it displays more diversity,
more -efined elegance ; more soothing loveliness, if
I may so express myself, meet us in these beauteous
remains, which are the first step of the commencement
of the transition to what is comparatively modern.

THE ISLAND OF PHILO!. 79
And this style, .though I cannot tell why, appears to
be precisely in its right place ; perhaps as a pleasing
contrast with the awe-inspiring scene of black rock
and bare desert with which it is encompassed. Perhaps,
too, because the whole serves as an agreeable place of
repose, that flatters the weakness of our modern feel
ings, which are scarcely able to elevate themselves,
for a continuance, to the colossal greatness of Egyp
tian antiquity, without becoming dizzy. If in Thebes
I adored intellectually, here I enjoyed in terrestrial
comfort. Thebes is a fit abode for gods, Philce ap
pears like the palace of an epicurean hermit.
It is very evident that, in later times, when religion
raised the greater part of these buildings, the worship
paid here, had assumed a more cheerful character ;
though, according to the Myth, Osiris was buried in
this island, and in the raost remote ages, a gloomy,
austere religion alone could have chosen this awful
scene of the operations of destructive natural elements,
as a site for his temples.
As soon as we had pitched our tents, close to the
very steep banks of the river, opposite Philoe, and
piled up our effects in large heaps, we crossed over „o
the island, where we arrived at the raost favourable
moment, an hour before sunset. Only a painter, a
highly-gifted painter, could give, from this entrancing
point of view, a picture which should excite the same
sensations. After we had wandered from hall to hall, through the
double and triple portico, where more than twenty dif
ferent orders of columns alternated with each other, our
attention was rivetted on a painted hall, the peristyle

80 THE CATARACTS.
of the principal temple, which perhaps gives a more
clear idea than any other, of the former magnifi
cence of the Egyptian temples, by the ^preservation
of the liveliest colours, which, as I have already ob
served, seems almost miraculous in so exposed a situ
ation. None of the fine columns in this hall is like
the other ; every one shines in the splendour of dif
ferent colours, every one displays diverse surprising
elegances of form, but all unite, to combine one whole,
in the most perfect harmony.
The gigantic figures outside on the walls of the
propylaea, the entire height of which they nearly
reach, have indeed for the most part been carefully
effaced, with an iron chisel, by the frenzy of van-
dalic religious enthusiasts, yet the total effect suffers
little by it, and some of the gods and heroes remain
untouched in all their original beauty.
Though destruction is so easy in comparison with
creation, yet the fanaticism of the Persians and the
Christians have hitherto only half succeeded in Egypt,
in their attempts on these gigantic works; and the
combined efforts of religious fury, self-interest, and
the iron tooth of time, have not been able to accom
plish it in the lapse of thousands of years.
On the left wall, in the portal which leads through
these propylaea, and which is free frora hieroglyphics,
the chiefs of the French expedition, and the savatis
who accompanied thera, had a long inscription en
graved; and a subsequent traveller of that nation has
caused all other later inscriptions near it to be effaced,
the wall to be sraoothed, and the following words to
be inscribed upon it, in black paint; " Une page dr

TIIE ISLAND OF PHILCE. 51
Thistoire ne doit pas rester barhouillee par des noms in-
signifiants. How many an .English tourist may have
been obliterated by this dictatorial proceeding j
Hitherto this ordinance has been respected, but we
may venture, very modestly to express the vi'ish that
the cyphers of the names of the PVench generals
and savans, forming this page de I'histoire, had been
carved by a more skilful hand, because the close
proximity of these pot-hooks and hangers, with the
exquisitely formed hieroglyphics and fresco paintings
of the ancients, excites an idea of barbarism, which
affords too comical 'a contrast with the pompous con
tents of the inscription, not to cause an involuntary
smile, and the more so, perhaps, because that ephe
meral expedition has left no resillts.
At sunset we ascended the highest platform of the
propylaea, by the well-preserved and convenient stairs,
which are lighted by funnel-shaped windows, and
comraunicate with various apartments, in order to
enjoy the prospect, which is certainly one of the most
singular in the world. Just below us, shaded by the
fans of the palms, lay the forest of columns, and all
the portals, propylaea, cpurts and walls of Philce,
covered with a thousand images of gods and heroes,
some of which, almost resting on the earth with their
feet, raised their heads towards us. The plan of the
whole building was as clearly discernible from this
spot, as on a map. Towards Egypt, the Nile forms
a ^dead lake, full of dark, strangely-shaped granite
rocks ; one of them, which is approached by steps
hewn in the stone, resembles a colossal royal throne,
the back of wlijch is composed of a slab adorned
VOL. II. G

82 THE CATARACTS.
with hieroglyphics and figures, and to which an im
mense rock, that seems to be hanging in the air, forms
a canopy. On the other side, the mighty river flows from
Nubia,- with a rapid course in a narrow compressed
bed, bordered by groups of palms, between which
are seen, on the left hand, some deserted white
mosques ; and, to the right of the grotesquely indented
stony island of Bithie, the ruins of another antique
temple, of which there were probably a great num
ber dispersed here in remote ages. Wherefore it is
very problematical, where the god, or rather, as the
fable says, only the essential part of him, was buried.
On either side of the river, close beyond the narrow
steps on the bank, rise dark, rocky, walls, to nearly
an equal height, in the clefts of which continuous
streams of beautiful white sand flow down, exactly
like waterfalls.
Lastly, on the north-eastern side, we saw in the
foreground — the only rural spot in this picture, which
is more savage than Salvator Rosa — the buildings of
a government station, surrounded by a few sycamores,
and the fields and cottages of a village ; but imme
diately beyond this lies the bare, boundless desert,
retiring further and further in changing, undulating
lines, till at length, in its mysterious infinity, it ap
pears only like an indistinct mist.
Profound silence reigned around; and, lost in
thought, we contemplated this dream-like picture,
till coming night effaced one feature after another,
and the monotonous rush of tbe cataracts passing to
wards us over the royal throne, now first struck upon

THE ISLAND OP PHILCE. bo
our ear, mingled with the ever-increasing roar of an ap
proaching storm. This soon seriously admonished us
to return, and we hastened down to reach our boat
before the dreaded Chamsin should arise in all its
fury. But we had already tarried too long ; scarcely
had we pushed off from the shore, when we were
seized by one of those sudden whirlwinds so frequent
here, which, on account of the prodigious clouds of
dust with which they fill the atmosphere in a moment,
are excessively troublesome on shore, and dangerous
on the water. This we immediately experienced ; for
our bark — the sails of which could not be reefed in time
— was within an ace of being upset, and we were then
driven with such violence down the stream, that we
were far below our tents ere we could gain a rugged
part of the bank, and even then were scarcely able
to effect a landing against the fury of the wind. We
were involved in clouds of dust, and carefully covered
our faces with our hands to prevent an inflammation of
the eyes, which very frequently ensues on such occa
sions ; but it was already night when we reached
our tents. We found them totally prostrated by the
storm, and everything in and near them in the most
frightful confusion imaginable. The cook, who hur
ried to meet us with despair written in his face, de
clared that he could not keep any fire alight, and that
he must set before us more dust than food ; for though
he had most carefully covered all the dishes, they were
completely filled with fine sand. It was an unpleasant
accident ,to be sure ; nothing could be gained by fret
ting, but everything by patience and trouble; when the
disagreeable Chamsin afterwards abated a little for
G 2

Si THE CATARACTS.
half an hour, we made such good use of our time that
by the aid of a number of additional cords, we effec
tually secured our tents ; and, during the remainder of
the night, they happily resisted all the attacks of the
storm, which returned with increased fury. It is
true we were obliged to lie down on beds which were
covered an inch thick with sand, and to remain in this
plight during the greater part of the following day, in
a most oppressive heat, because the weather continued
unchanged ; — a little trial of patience, which gave us
a foretaste of what doubtless awaited us in the sequel
more frequently and more distressingly.
We were not able to set out till the evening of the
third day, having first had the boats cleaned and sunk
in the water, in order to kill all the vermin, especially
the rats, which were as large as young cats, and
above thirty of which were caught or drowned on
this occasion. While this experiment was being
performed, I paid a second visit to Philce, and crossed
from it to the opposite island of Bithie, which is
rather larger, and where, as I have said, there are
likewise the remains of an ancient temple, and the
torso of a colossal granite statue. On my return,—
when I mean to make a longer stay at Philoe, and it
is to be hoped enjoy more favourable weather, I shall
speak more at large of these objects.

ROCK -TEMPLE* " 85

CHAPTER IV.
THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO.
The character of the Nile now becomes more and
more different from what it has hitherto been ; yet,
very soon, it assumes as monotonous an appearance
as before. Whereas, in Lower Egypt it flowed un
ceasingly between low verdant banks, fruitful plains,
and extensive palm-groves ; in Upper Egypt, for the
most part, in an equally fertile, but much narrower
valley, bounded on the right and left by the low
chains of the Lybian and Arabian mountains : here
where its bed is the narrowest, it is constantly en
closed between black rocks confusedly piled upon
each other, which seem to consist of detached blocks
heaped up by the waves, and on the edge of which
there is scarcely space for- a little cultivation, and occa
sional groups of palms. Sometimes they are dotted
by poor, miserable villages, whose naked, black inha
bitants seem to take little heed of what passes before
them ; or you are surprised in the solitude, by the
colossal fragments of ancient temples, the dark
columns of which, relieved by the deep blue sky,
stand in undisturbed loneliness, and indicate by their
numbers, what life and activity must once have
reigned, in these now deserted banks.
As we had now a pretty favourable wind, I passed
most of these monuments without stopping, reserving

86 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OF
a nearer inspection to another opportunity, when I
should be less pressed for time. On the second even
ing of our voyage I left the bark, and ascended a
neighbouring rock to obtain a view of the surrounding
country: but it was scarcely worth the trouble ; there '
was nothing but an uniform sandy desert, hills upon
hills, in endless succession, between which the river
flowed in large bends. When we had reached the
highest point, we roused a young hyaena frora its lair,
which fled with such terror that Susannis was tempted
to pursue it; probably, however, it had turned round
and shown its teeth, for he soon came back, quicker
than he set out, with his tail between his legs. We
were vexed with ourselves for not having taken a gun
with us, and resolved to be wiser in future; but, alas!
we never again met with a hyaena within gun-shot.
On the third day the wind abated, and I therefore
landed at the village of Kalabsheh to view the temples
at that place. The first lies close to the Nile, and is
of considerable extent, but it is at once evident that it
is not a work of the Pharaohs. It is of the tirae of
the Romans; yet still for this period of the decline of
Egyptian art, the hieroglyphics, (some of which are
unfinished and are only marked with red or black
paint,) and still more the anaglyphs, are executed
with much care in relief on a sunken ground, and
their colours too are in general preserved. The
kings presenting offerings are all painted brownish-
red ; the gods blue, green, or lilac. I observed a
priest in a long garment sprinkled white and violet,
with a pointed mitre on his head, exactly like that of
the Roman Catholic Bishops of our times.

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 87
The teraple (all the measurements of which are
most minutely stated by Prokesch and others, for which
reason I shall not describe it) has a very grand en
trance towards the river, and Iqads through half-fallen
propylsea (the still remaining portion of which leans
as much as the tower of Pisa) into a court which is
choked up with fragments. Only one of the columns
which surrounded it is now standing ; but the fapade of
the temple, supported by four columns and two
corner pillars vv^hich are intercolumniated, is better
preserved ; and the capitals adorned with lotus, palm-
branches, vine-leaves, and bunches of grapes, produce
a rich effect.
Passing through a door, over which is the winged
globe entwined by a crowned serpent, in perfect pre
servation, we entered the first hall, which is succeeded
by three others, all full of innumerable coloured
figures and paintings. There are sraaller apartraents
for the priests or for sacred animals, and narrow stair
cases, which lead to the platform of the temple, which
as usual is composed of long blocks placed horizon
tally. Some palms, which stand about the temple and
the neighbouring village, together with the green
Dourra-fields around, cheer the appearance of this
desert, rocky country, which expands in gloomy
monotony. From the platform we saw that the
principal temple was surrounded by several courts,
walls, and buildings, which cover a large space on all
sides, though the dimensions of the temple itself are
by no means so colossal, nor its appearance so imposing,
as some late travellers describe. It was, in fact, never
finished as a whole : and on the outside of the posterior

THE ROCK-TEMPLE OF

wall alone, there are a few sculptures, eight tall figures
of gods and kings, of which M. Prokesch says, that
of some the gods wear long swords ; this, however, is a
misconception. I examined them very accurately, and
am convinced, that the only thing he can have mis
taken for swords is a broad band hanging from the
girdles, which are certainly uncoramonly stiff. I do
not believe that an Egyptian Divinity is anywhere to
be found with a sword at his side.
Far more attractive than these masses, which are
valueless as works of art, is a Specs (a small temple
hewn in the rock), which is a quarter of a mile further
inland to the north, and bears on it the cartouches of
Sesostris. The only hall is supported by two short-
fluted columns hewn out of the solid rock, such as are
found solely in the most ancient edifices of Egypt and
Nubia, and which perhaps may have served as the
first models of the later Doric style. The hierogly
phics on the columns, the pillars, and the ceiling, are
merely painted, and the seated figures in the niches
are entirely rautilated .
The most beautiful sculptures, however, adorn the
rocky walls of the fore court, which is otherwise quite
plain. They represent, on one side, battles and
victories of the Egyptian kings, and on the" other,
long processions of conquered nations, bringing them
offerings and presents. Here, too, very detailed
accounts of recent) travellers spare both rayself and
my readers any minute descriptions. I must only call
their attention to two strange errors, into which the
best of these travellers has fallen : he affirms that, in
one of the sculptures, " Sesostris ¦ is standing ou a

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 8.9
war-chariot, which, most unusually, is drawn by only
one horse, which is on the left side of the pole."^
This observer, otherwise so acute, did not perceive
that what he calls one horse has eight legs ; — in
the manner of a silhouette, as the horses to the war-
chariot are very frequently represented by the Egyp
tians, and whereby it was, doubtless, supposed that the
foremost horse corapletely hides the other from the
spectator, and, therefore, no indication was given
of his existence except by his legs. The second error
relates to the unicorn, which is said to be among
the many animals that are led before Rameses, sitting
on his throne, from which the author draws the con
clusion, that the unicorn is not a fabulous creature.
With respect to the latter point, my opinion entirely
coincides with his, but, if we can find no better proof
than this representation, we shall certainly not make
any converts. The error is exactly similar to that of
the horse ; one horn of the antelope covers the other,
which indisputably appears frora the fact, that this
horn does not rise from the middle of the forehead,
but close to the ear. All these animals are admirably
characterised by the artist ; and no better represen
tations can be found (of the giraffe, for instance,) than
there are here. The Copts have likewise daubed their
saints on these monuments ; and, as in other places,
the old gods of the country have asserted their priority,
and have come to light uninjured, wherever they have
not been wantonly destroyed by the chisel.
There are several indications in the adjacent valley
that a considerable town must formerly have stood
here. It is supposed to be the ancient Talmis ; but

90 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP
from the construction it seems to me more probable
that it was a fortified Roman camp. We descended
into this valley, and passed through the neighbouring
village, most of the inhabitants of which were quite
naked, and were even destitute of any covering on
their heads ; they were, however, better protected by
their long flowing hair against the heat of the sun,
than the closely-shorn Berbers at Philce. In other
respects these people seemed to live more comfortably
and to be better off than the Egyptian Fellahs ; and
they were less importunate in asking for a bakshish.
In front of their gardens were earthen pifchers as high
as a man, which were mostly filled with dourra, or dried
dates : it appeared that every one who passed by was
at liberty to refresh himself with their contents as
freely as he pleased ; and our sailors made use of this
liberty in rather an unconscionable manner.
When we pushed off from the shore, a very original
characteristic picture of these people was presented to
our view: six of them, in the most varied and graceful
natural attitudes, were leaning against a sakyeh on
the bank, from which they could see us pass by ; and
so symmetrically were they grouped in a circle, one
above the other, upon the turning wheel, that it was
impossible there could be a more pleasing local negro
cabinet picture ; we only wanted an artist to perpe
tuate it on canvas.

April 6th.
A continued contrary wind renders our voyage
very tedious. To such disgusting appendages as bugs,
spiders, cockroaches, fleas, and lice, we are at last

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 91
becoming quite accustomed, and almost begin to
regard them as unavoidable domestic creatures ; but
the torment of the myriads of flies, which leave one
not a moment's rest throughout the day, is becoming
almost intolerable. I suffer but little frora the heat,
though we are now in the torrid zone; for on the after
noon of the 4th, surrounded by rocks of romantic shape,
we passed the tropic of Cancer. The idea of the retro
grade motion of this shell-fish made me home-sick,
because I thought in many respects of my beloved
country !* Unfortunately, the wind remains con
stantly in an analogous direction, and always blows
backwards, according to which we very properly hang
our cloaks ; but we cannot do the same with the sails,
and therefore we proceed only a few knots a day. The
river is as solitary as the surrounding country. The
first bark which we met for several days was that of
three Frenchmen, who had left Cairo a short time
before us, and had turned back at Ipsamboul, because
they could not any longer bear the inconveniences of
the journey. One of them had even previously lost
his senses, and had been left on the way, under the
care of a faithful servant. His friends anxiously
inquired after his health, but, unhappily, we were quite
unable to afford them any information respecting him.
One day I took advantage of the slowness of our
voyage to view the temple of Dandour ; it lies on
the left bank of the Nile, where, in fact, almost all
the splendid monuraents between Assouan and Wadi
* It must not be forgotten that this was written some years ago.
Since that epoch people talk much of the march of intellect in all the
valleys of Germany !

92 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OF
Haifa were erected. This, too, is of the time of
the Romans; it stands on a high peribolus against
the hill ; it is small, being only 21 feet broad, and
about twice as deep ; but it is extremely elegant and
in good preservation. This pretty building, which
has scarcely undergone any repair, would be an ele
gant temple in the park of a modern European man
sion, if it could but be transferred thither by the aid
of Aladdin's lamp. The sculptures, too, though far
below the excellence of those on the buildings of the
Pharaohs, are delicate and graceful, and many of the
subjects are very attractive, especially one, represent
ing the Egyptian Venus, reposing on a gay throne,
and behind her a handsorae youthful god, the Egyp
tian Horus,* who is seated, placing his finger on his fip.
In the furthest of three small apartments, sorae stones
have fallen down and laid open a hitherto carefully
concealed aperture, which comraunicates with a cabi
net that has no other access, and probably served for
the pious deceptions of the priests so usual in all the
religions of antiquity.
In the rock which rises behind the temple, is a Speos
which has been evidently restored at various periods ;
it is entirely destitute of decoration of any kind. It
is very difficult to account for the purpose of its erec
tion; but, frora the contents of some short inscriptions,
the locality appears to have had a reputation for holi
ness since the remotest antiquity ; and this was per
haps the only motive for the construction of the
* Har-pe-chreti, " Horus the child, who puts his fingers to 1ms
mouth, not because he chooses to be silent, but because he cannot
speak." See Lepsius.

YERF HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 93
elegant temple at this spot ; in every other respect a
more melancholy and uninviting place cannot be con
ceived. Our excursion on the following day was infinitely
more interesting, though the water was so shallow
that we were forced to land, full half a league
below the Temple of Yerf Hussein (likewise called
El Sebne), and consequently could not approach it
through the ruined avenue of Sphinxes, but were
corapelled to a most fatiguing tropical promenade,
through mountains of sand. During this walk we,
for the first time, encountered a little caravan driving
oxen, and were joined by several naked inhabitants
of the neighbouring village.
Not far from the temple, ten or twelve other tall,
athletic men met us, some of whom had axes hanging
over their shoulders, and held large pieces of coarse
rope in their hands, the use of which we did not at
first understand, but it was afterwards explained to
us, when they lighted thera to guide us in the dark
caverns of the rocks. We were in a lonely spot,
quite unarmed, only four in number, including one
of our sailors, and consequently completely at the
mercy of these men ; but so far as Mehemet All's
sway extends, the terror of his narae is the surest
.ffigis; and the stranger is safer, by night and by day,
in the midst of these savages in this tropical solitude,
than in the streets of our most populous capitals.
The rock temple of Yerf Hussein appeared to me
to be one of the most remarkable in the Egyptian
dominions ; for I am convinced by ocular inspection
that, notwithstanding the cartouches of Rameses III.

94 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OF
or Sesostris, which are seen on the Colossi of the
screen, and on the mutilated sphinxes and statues,
which adorn the grand flight of steps rising from the
side of the river — it belongs to a far more ancient
epoch, and perhaps existed a thousand years before
Rameses. It seems impossible, that works of such a
varied nature, as the monuments of Thebes, and of
the neighbouring Ipsamboul, and this temple, can
be of the same era ; there, in both places the
highest perfection of art is manifest ; here, is nought
save a rude and clumsy commencement, which
however already contains the elements of austere
grandeur. Rameses Sesostris may have added the
steps ; even the screen, and some sculptures in the
interior, and perhaps have had the whole repaired;
but, the main of the building undoubtedly existed
long before his tirae. It would certainly be strange if
we should not be able to find any trace of the more
ancient architecture in Egypt and Nubia, which
must necessarily have preceded by a thousand years
the infinitely greater perfection that appears at Thebes.
It seems evident that at some unknown period, a
general destruction of these imperfect ancient works
took place, either through the irruption of the Hyksos,
or through a positive order of the subsequent rulers.
It is not improbable that the Egyptians themselves
may, at a later period, have been anxious to
destroy all their imperfect beginnings, in order to
appear before astonished posterity in all their per
fection, as Minerva sprang from the head of Jupiter.
Yet the sublime and awful solemnity of the temple of
Yerf Hussein certainly deserved to be an exception,

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 95
and M-as either spared on that account, or if we will
rather assume the hypothesis of the destruction by
foreign conquerors, it escaped accidentally. The
Hyksos besides, at the time of their conquest, hardly
advanced so far up the Nile.
The exterior court with columns and colossal
caryatidae, which represent priests, is for the most part
fallen into ruins ; but the teraple itself, hewn in the
rock, is on the whole nearly preserved entire, though
a fire, which raust have long raged within it, has quite
defaced the sculptures on the walls, and covered all,
vvith one and the sarae black, hue — a circumstance
which now only serves to heighten the dismal, nay
almost frightful, effect of the whole.
Passing under a lofty portal, in the middle of a
smoothly polished wall of rock, we went into the first
hall, which is supported by six colossi, thirty feet
high, leaning against heavy square pillars. The
passage between these giants is not wider than the
door, so that we almost touched them as we advanced;
and, quite oppressed by their proxiraity, and struck
with the irapression of their fixed, threatening aspect,
a feeling not very unlike the fear of hobgoblins
creeps over one. The surrounding gloom; the lighted
ropes, only glimmering like a spark; their suffocating
smoke, and the savage ifegro forms which did not
reach up to the giants' knees, were in perfect harmony
with all the peculiar terrors of this mysterious temple.
Behind the pillars is a rather wider passage along the
walls of the cavern chamber ; in these walls exactly
opposite the intervals between the pillars, are deep
niches, each of which contains some rudely vvrought.

96 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP
but most expressive figures, rather above the size of
life, generally two men and a woman on their left
side. They are not represented in profile, like the
sculptured figures on the walls, but have their full
face turned towards the spectator, upon whom they
seem to gaze with a hideous, angry grin, to which the
uncertain, flickering light, involved in clouds of
smoke, seeraed to impart life and reality. One of my
books of travel, says that " their colour is reddish-
brown, not black, as some visitors have erroneously
stated." After a careful examination, I could not
find this assertion confirmed. The original colour of
most of them appeared to me to be green, very few
had any traces of the Egyptian reddish-brown colour
of the skin ; some were decidedly black, and by their
features could easily be recognised as Negroes. They
indicate a mixture of nations which, in the sequel we
found more and more frequent, and which sufficiently
proves the intimate intercourse and frequent union
which existed in the most ancient times between the
Ethiopic and Egyptian people.
Almost all tbe figures of this temple are thickly
covered with soot, and, only on the girdles of the
priests, or royal Colossi, some blue and red still
remains in its original freshness. The style of the
sculpture on the walls and pillars, as far as can be
clearly distinguished, seems to vary considerably;
and therefore I conclude that several of them, the
execution of which is much superior, are more recent;
that is to say, they are not above 3000 years old, and
have been added by Rameses.
The second hall, which is less adorned, and is

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 97
devoid of statues, communicates with five other apart
ments, the middle and largest of which, opposite the
entrance, contained the Adytum. Here, in a niche
which occupies almost the entire height of the wall,
are four seated figures, far more colossal than those
in the side niches, the last of which, on the left
hand, represents a young woman, of a slender form,
whose arm is affectionately thrown round her com
panion. This is probably the royal pair here buried,
or else the founders; the other sitting figures are
divinities with the attributes of Ammon Ra and
Osiris. These statues also are rude and frightful,
though full of character; they are likewise in toler
ably good preservation. A singular peculiarity of
them is that all four have the disagreeable appearance
of having swollen legs and feet.
We found even in their colour something like a
salamander and a toad, and we could not stand long
before them without thinking of some god Moloch,
and of the human victims which were here offered to
him, for which no more suitable horrific locality could
have been anywhere found.
The other four apartments are so destroyed by
fire, that whole masses of the rock have been detached
from the ceiling, and have fallen to the ground.
Nothing could be distinguished of the sculpture on
the walls, and our rope torches were more than once
extinguished by the hundreds of bats which fluttered
in the dank and dismal charabers.
Four piastres (a franc) sufficed to pay our dozen
guides to their entire satisfaction, but a longer tirae
elapsed than we had any inclination to wait before
VOL. II. H

98 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP
they could agree upon the division of their treasure;
and five minutes after our departure we heard their
loud disputings, and on looking at them through our
telescopes, we saw them gesticulating and springing
about like monkeys, in front of the black gate of the
temple. The little fertile land which the stones leave on the
banks of the river was admirably cultivated, and irri
gated by uncommonly high sakyehs of two stories,
the erection of which must have been very expensive.
We here obtain excellent railk and juicy fresh beans,
a most valuable addition to our table, which at present
is very scantily provided, and is liraited generally
speaking, to lean fowls, mutton, and linseed, to which
we add biscuit softened in water, because the bread
which we brought from Assouan has long since become
dry and mouldy. Bread is unknown in this part of
the country; and we could not supply its place with
the Dourra cakes of the inhabitants, which none hut
an ostrich's stomach can possibly digest. Unhappily,
none of our twenty-four sailors can be induced to
fish; we neither saw any indications of this trade
along the banks, nor were fish anywhere offered for
sale, though the Nile produces abundance of the best
quality. They seem however to be considered here as
no more fit for eating than water-rats and snakes are
among us.
It is not without some apprehension that I touch
upon this theme ; for it is well known how often the
critics of my own country have already reproached me
with my reminiscences of the table ; and, at Cairo, I
even met with a number of the Courrier Franpais,

YERP HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 99
in which a French reviewer, who, perhaps, is starving
somewhere in a fifth story in Paris, vents his spleen
upon this favourite topic, on the German Tourist, who,
to his vexation, seems always to dine luxuriously;
nay, who is even so free, as to talk of it without
reserve. I must confess that I should have expected
such an attack, least of all, from the French, who are
such proficients in the art of eating; who invented the
Almanac des Gourmands, in whose literature (if not in
that of all Europe) the cookery-books now undoubt
edly form the classical part ; and whose cooks, as well
as their reputation, are spread over all the quar
ters of the world. But as that amiable nation does
everything in a graceful manner, the individual in
question, who forms a part of it, has contrived to
introduce his jokes with such drollery, that it is
impossible to bear him a grudge. Many an honest,
straightforward German might even take a useful
lesson from the Frenchman's dexterity; thus, this
critic, puts together from a book which consists of five
parts, and comprises an interval of two years, all the
passages in which the author speaks of eating, to
make a continued series of gastronomic notices, by
which it must certainly appear to every one who
is unacquainted with the work under review, that the
traveller is the commis-voyageur of one of the most in
dustrious European Restaurateurs, who, true to his
vocation, is not permitted to include anything but
what is edible in the sphere of his observation ; and I,
the author, must confess that I could not help laughing
heartily at the compilation of this long list. This
H 2

100 THE ROCK-TEMPLE OP
young French reviewer, for there are many indications
which prove that he is young, is, therefore, in a very
fair way of doing well ; and I heartily wish his pen
such success, that he may be enabled every day,
to partake of as good a dinner in the Cafe de Paris, as
I ever had occasion to describe.
German reviewers adopt another course; they invent
things which are not in the book at all, or at least they
so distort them in their extracts, that the sentiments are
not the offspring of the author,* but of themselves ; in
doing which, it is of course easy for them so to
contrive, that ample scope is afforded to the poorest
wit. This receipt is at least prohat in its effect upon
all those who have not read the work, which it is their
aim to turn into ridicule; and, even of those who have
read it, few retain such an accurate recollection of the
contents, but what they believe, on the credit of the
reviewer, that the absurdities censured are really in
the book, and they perhaps wonder that they had
entirely overlooked them. Yet, notwithstanding all the
attacks that have been made upon me, I do not mean
to give up a custom in which I have eminent pre
decessors. It refreshes the constitution of the reader,
if you sometimes talk to him of eating ; and I myself
have often felt this effect in perusing English novels.
I once even received an anonymous letter from a
Pomeranian housewife (the post-mark betrayed her
country), who thanked me most warmly for a new
receipt to dress potatoes, and sent me, at the same
time, as a counter-present, two other admirable culi
nary receipts, and a goose of her own smoking into

Y.ERF HUSSEIN. KOROSKO. 101
the bargain ! Such trophies are the pride of an author,
and I can by no means afford to suffer their source to
be dried up. « April 8th.
At length we have a propitious wind, which has
brought us as far in one day as we had before come in a
whole week. But in my frail bark it was necessary
to secure everything thoroughly, because the wind
was very high, and sometimes weighed it down on the
right side and soraetiraes on the left, so that the water
often came in, and everything that was not fastened
was thrown down as in a storm at sea, but unhappily
this was the result of dear-bought experience, for I did
not learn this new arrangement till the contents of an
inkstand were emptied over me.
The chase after temples had now unavoidably to be
given up ; and we passed several without regret, as
they are all reserved for our return ; besides, they are
so numerous, that we are almost glad to be able to
visit them at different times.
Towards evening, we reached the large village of
Korosko, a principal staple on the Nile, from which
the caravans proceed directly through the desert in
fourteen days to Berber, and thereby make the way
three times as short as going by the river; the jour
ney, however, is extremely trying for want of water.
We passed the night at Korosko, and I spent some
hours in the morning in examining the environs. The
landscape here is picturesque, and I will, therefore,
describe it rather more particularly, to give my reader
a clear idea of genuine Nubian scenery.

102 KOROSKO.
In order to have a better view, I scrambled up a
steep rock 1600 feet high, at the pointed summit of
which I found a little plateau polished as smooth as
for a witches' dance. Here I sat dpwn, and with my
glass exarained the extensive horizon. To the south
and south-east, as far as the eye could reach, extends
the mysterious, strange-looking desert of Korosko:
this is not an ocean of sand, but appears like a mass
of mountains of black reddish-brown rent rocks, in
every possible fantastic shape, with extensive valleys
of the same colour between them, which appear to
have been levelled with the ruler. The whole must
have been burnt in primaeval ages, by an immense vol
canic fire. In some places it is completely charred;
and in this desert mineralogists find the most strange
phenomena and products, nowhere else to be met
with, which a revolution of the world has left behind.
The ordinary sand of the desert does not exist on this
side, nor is there any sign whatever of vegetation.
Only the narrow bank of the Nile, which the eye may
trace far to the north-east, is now adorned with the
most verdant fields ; and even the steep rockv^ walls of
the river, which are covered by the water, when the
Nile is at its greatest height, are now sown down to
their base with beans and peas. Sometimes verdant
tongues of sand extend into the rocks, where the in
habitants have built their peaceful huts, amidst groves
of palms and acacias. Towards the south-west a chain
of hills covers the prospect; but on the north, the
country beyond the river forms the most perfect con
trast v^'ith that which we have yet surveyed.
The Nile makes such a bend at Korosko, that, from

KOROSKO. 103
thence toHamada, it takes quite a northerly direction;
so that the wind, which has hitherto been favourable,
though it has not changed, has becorae contrary to us.
Thus, by-the-bye, it often happens to us in life, re
specting many things and persons, when we unconsci
ously change our course and fancy that it is others who
#havedoneso. But to return to my description. The
whole triangle which the Nile encloses on the north,
consists entirely of ochre-coloured sand-hills, the
rocky summits of which are black, and this yellow,
so spotted with black, continues, like the covering of a
leopard's skin, without intermission, to the horizon ;
only close to the Nile it is bounded by a narrow strip
of thick mimosas, which bend their fragrant, coloured
flowers and feathery leaves down to the water's edge.
It is said that here, and in the neighbouring sand,
there is an incredible number and variety of beetles i
and a naturalist, whom I afterwards met at Khalrtoum,
affirmed that he had found here the true sacred beetle,
the scarahcBus sacer of the ancient Egyptians, green,
fringed with shining gold.
In the river itself numerous rocky cliffs arise ; and
when the water is low, they render the whole voyage
from Philoe to Wadi Haifa very unsafe in many
places. We sometimes touched upon them, and the
large boat has been leaky ever since. Mine, too,
broke its rudder by striking against them, and we
were obliged to have it repaired at Korosko. Of
course, under such circumstances, it is not advisable
to proceed by night, and our voyage was thereby still
more retarded.
The inhabitants of Korosko brought a moi-t hetero-

104 KOROSKO.
geneous medley of goods and chattels for sale : shields,
spears, straw hats, and kurbatshes cut from the skin of
the hippopotamus, the musk-bags of the crocodile,
which are said to possess stimulating properties, and
for which reason theyare much valued by the natives;
nay, sorne offered their wives and daughters for sale,
whose beauty they highly extolled, but in which we
could not possibly agree with them. The detestable
custom of covering the face and hair an inch thick
with fat, would of itself be quite sufficient to frighten
a European at the sight of a Venus of this country.
During our stay, three boats arrived from Dongola,
quite full of slaves. This is the fourth caravan of
black slaves of both sexes that we have seen since we
left Assouan ; and we met no other vessels, except
that of the Frenchmen before named, who were the
only tourists on the Nile. The leaders of the slaves
could never be induced to sell any of them to us on
the way. The reason is in some measure owing to the
fanaticism of these people, and partly the circum
stance that the slaves are, generally speaking, the
property of greater speculators, partly Europeans, who
have them brought on their own account to Cairo,
where they are sure of selling them at high prices.
The leaders, therefore, are not at liberty to dispose of
them on the way. We found these poor creatures
almost always cheerful, nay, sometimes even boisterous
in their mirth, and they did not seera to be in want of
anything. The treatraent which they experienced
appeared to be by no means cruel, nor even severe ;
but their fate may be much worse when they have to
travel on foot, over the burning sands of the desert.

IPSAMBOUL. ] 05

CHAPTER V.
IPSAMBOUL. April 10th.
We were obliged again to have the bark towed by
men, and consequently to have recourse to the indis
pensable necessity of pressing the natives into this
service, which, however, did not greatly accelerate our
progress, for these pressmen very often escaped from
our kawass, which caused a further long delay ; hence,
it was late in the afternoon when we reached the
temple of Hamada. It is of the best tiraes of the
Pharaohs ; and though of small extent, is extremely
beautiful in all the details. It is a sad pity, however,
that the sand of the Desert has buried it so deep that
it is very easy to ascend from the ground to its roof,
wliich consists of a double layer of blocks of stone,
each two feet thick. In the centre of this solid roof,
the Copts, who for a tirae used the temple for a church,
have made a large opening, and placed upon it, a sort
of white-washed cupola, constructed of bricks, which,
like most of their works, resembles a pigeon-house, but
is already half-decayed. The interior of this temple,
which you must enter through a narrow hole, is not so
choked with sand as might be expected from its
external appearance ; the fluted columns have no
capitals, and are covered mostly with a slab, as in the
Speos at Kalebsheh. The only cartouches found in it
are those of the most ancient Pharaohs of the race of

106 IPSAMBOUL.;
Thothmes III., who is considered to be the King
Moeris of Herodotus, those of Amenoph IL, and a
few others. With Champollion's tables for a guide, it
is now extremely easy for any one who will take the
trouble of comparing them, to distinguish most of
these cartouches ; and in this, as in many other
respects, we hare a decided advantage over former
travellers.' The admirable sculptures of the inner apartments of
this little temple, which, if I rightly remember, was
dedicated to the God Phre, as well as the colours, are
still in an uncommon state of preservation. This
may be chiefly attributed to the circumstance, that
every chamber was carefully plastered vvith mortar,
and whitewashed by the Copts.
Among the pictures I frequently observed a bird,
a kind of thrush, which in my perambulations, I had
already seen flying about ; this bird was drawn so
accurately from nature, that it might have been
admitted to a place in Buffon's Work. It appeared in
the most various attitudes ; and in one of the pictures
it was sitting upon a dead animal which perfectly
resembles the amphibious creature, with a duek's-hill
( Ornitliorynchus), which has since been discovered in
New Holland. Did this singular creature formerly
exist in Egypt ?
Further on are the portraits of red and black
princes ; araong the rest a sable queen is conspicuous,
standing by the side of a red-brown king, who seem
to be concluding an alliance with each other ; and near
them is a most complete collection of all the produc
tions of the country, vases, furniture, eatables, and

IPSAMBOUL. 1 07
effects. There is a greater variety of objects repre
sented in this narrow space, than I have hitherto seen
in any Egyptian temple. «
The sand about the temple was so burning' hot
that it almost scorched our boots, and we could not
possibly keep our feet long on the same spot without
suffering a good deal of pain. I can easily conceive
that ostrich-eggs may be hatched in such sand, and
have not the least doubt that hen's-eggs might be
cooked here in a quarter of an hour.
We passed the night at Dorr, a very considerable
and cleanly place, which is surrounded by fine fields,
and an extensive palra-forest ; it is the former
capital of the country, and the seat of its sovereign ;
who, since he has lost his independence, continues to
reside here, as the Katsheff ofthe Vicerov. Mehemet
Ali has adopted the same mild policy in other places,
and has allowed the old princes of the country to con
tinue their government as his officers. We viewed
the rather extensive palace of the ex-sovereign,
which is built of coloured bricks and clay, and like
wise visited his gardens, where we found large vine
yards, orange-groves, and a fine assemblage of all
kinds of rare tropical trees and shrubs ; all in capital
order and most carefully attended to ; but I was
chiefly surprised by two immense sycamore-trees, the
largest I have yet seen, which stood in the centre of
two squares, in front of the palace, which they almost
covered with their shades, for the spread of the
branches of one of them was full 100 feet. Perpetual
coolness reigns beneath their verdant crowns, and no
species of tree with which I ara acquainted, exceeds

108 IPSAMBOUL.
the beauty of their bright apple-green. This tint,
however, appears to be assumed by the sycamore only
in this climate, which is perfectly suited to it, for in
Egypt the colour of its leaves is much darker.
The palm-forest in which Dorr is situated, and
which is several leagues in extent, furnishes the
material for the elegant mats which are manufactured
here by the women. Above twenty of these sable
beauties, shining with grease, and their hair divided
into a hundred little braids, full of gold ornaments
and glass beads, soon surrounded us, and offered us
their work for sale, unrolling their mats in the dust of
the street. " As I was stooping to look at sorae of
thera more closely, I felt myself suddenly embraced
by two brawny arras ; and quickly turning round, I
was startled by the sight of a most horribly dirty old
beggar, who in this novel and affectionate manner
asked for a bakshish.
The inhabitants of Dorr appear to be most impor
tunate beggars; but, nevertheless, they were very
good-natured, obliging, and extremely moderate in
their wishes. We purchased a number of the most
beautiful mats, of curiously elaborate work, which in
Europe would have cost a considerable sum in gold.
A carpet made of palm-leaves, of gay colours and
elegant design, large enough to be laid down before
a sofa, cost us only five francs ; and it was not till
we gave orders for several, intending to call for them
on our return, that we learnt, that, a person with the
most constant labour, could not make such a carpet
in less than two months. Thus they gain only two
francs and a half a month, giving the genuine dyed

IPSAMBOUL. 109
material into the bargain I An inferior piece of work
manship, but yet admirable, according to our notions,
cost no more than one franc.
Fifteen years ago money was almost wholly' un
known here, at least among the common people ; and
Champollion had much trouble in persuading the
natives who cleared the entrance of the Temple of
Ipsamboul for him, to take their payment in money,
for they had expected to receive it in natural produc
tions. Since then, however, they have becorae very
eager after it, but they still estimate it too highly.
They need only be visited by some dozen travellers
and European purchasers, and they will not be inferior
in this respect to our civilization.
Sunset this evening steeped the lofty palms of
Dorr in inimitable colours. The whole sky seemed
to be a dissolved rainbow, in the midst of which the
crescent ofthe new moon shone, not, as in our northern
latitudes, "like the yolk of an egg," as Schaffer sings,
but of a brilliant emerald green, like a gold beetle ;
the waters of the Nile were tinged with many hues,
and even the gray sand of the Desert was converted
into rose-colour and silver.
Being informed that a fresh wind had sprung up,
we sailed at sunrise, and left Dorr's ancient temples
unvisited for the present. The country was pleasant,
and the day cheerful, and I enjoyed a refreshing
breeze under the tent in front of my cabin. I sat
here with Susannis, who, wrapped in the thick pelisse
with which nature has furnished him, knew not what
to do for the heat. We had often seen him look with
envious eyes upon the sailors, when they plunged into

110 IPSAMBOUL.
the cool water ; and now, while we were rapidly sailing
with the most favourable wind, he unhappily all at once
took it into his head to imitate them ; he leaped over
board, and in a few minutes remained so far in our
rear that I was obliged to strike the sails. Two Arabs
imraediately jumped into the water to fetch him.; but
the stream, vidiich here was very broad, carried all
three so rapidly downwards, that they could neither
reach us nor the bank, and, at last, we were in the
greatest apprehension for their lives. The strongest
of the sailors for a long time carried the utterly
exhausted Susannis upon his shoulders, but they
were a good'deal more than an hour in the water,
constantly swimming against the stream, before we
could take them in. It is really worth while to men
tion this capability; and yet at the bottom, it is only
owing to a neglected education that we do not possess
it, for these people are not naturally stronger tha'n
we are.
The decorations which graced this evening's repast,
which we enjoyed on deck, while the wind was
carrying us swiftly forward, were of a very peculiar
kind. A gloriously bright sky, with the moon and
stars in the utmost splendour, served for our ceiling;
the fluid metal of the river, gilded by the moon, was
our carpet. The right bank of the Nile presented,
without intermission, a thick wall of ever- varying trees,
and of fragrant shrubs, a picture of the richest luxuri
ance, in which the uncertain light of night did not
allow us to see one bare spot. The left bank, on the
contrary, opposed to this scene of life the truly
skeleton image of death ; the flat, colourless, whitish-

IPSAMBOUL.

Ill

gi-ey sandy Desert which joined the margin of the
water, and manifested not the smallest trace of
vegetation. April 11th.
It was not without intense curiosity that we
approached the ancient monuments of Ipsamboul, or
more properly Abousambul. Since Burckhardt dis
covered these sublimest of all the rock temples of
Africa, and Belzoni opened them with invincible
patience, — spending entire weeks in half clearing from
the sand the gigantic portal of the largest (in which
state it still remains), — the most persevering tourists
often extend their Egyptian expedition as far as this
spot, and even to the cataracts of Wadi Haifa, which
are not very distant, but further than that a stranger
seldom penetrates.
Ipsamboul has, therefore, been as often drawn with
the pencil as described with the pen, but both will
always remain far below the reality.
The effect of the four colossi (nearly 70 feet high)
on the fafade of the largest temple, which, in majestic
benign repose, resting their hands on their knees, sit
close to the river's edge in their polished niches, which
are 100 feet high, 115 wide, and 24 deep, where they
have remained immovable for more than 3000 years,
as the faithful guardians of the subterraneous sanc
tuary, looking down ori the play of the waters, makes
a more powerful impression on many imaginations
than the forest of columns and obelisks of ruined
Thebes. With respect tothe high state of art, these two

112 IPSAMBOUL.
works are nearly on a level, for there is little in
Thebes that can surpass the noble form, the finished
workmanship, the sublime expression of these gigantic
statues ; all four of which, perfectly alike, represent
the heroic image of the great Rameses, and manifest
in the beautiful, characteristically delicate features the
indisputable likeness of a portrait; one of them has
been partially broken by a piece of rock that fell down;
the others are nearly uninjured. Belzoni took a plaster
cast of the face ofthe colossus on the right hand, and
he certainly ought to have had so much regard for this
work of art, as to cause the traces of this operation to
be washed off; for the statue, of a reddish-brown stone
colour, with its whitewashed face, looks like the clown
in a pantomime.
Everything about and in this temple breathes
profound solemnity and divine repose, but it has
nothing fearful, • like that of Yerf Hussein, though
the whole ordinance of its architecture bears much
resemblance with it. Nor does a character of raystery
reign in it, nor the awful gloora of that spectre-temple.
Scarcely a third part of the portal, which is thirty
feet high, is free from sand, and yet the sun shone
even into the Adytum, so that we only used our
torches, more closely to inspect the fresco paintings
on the walls and the dark lateral chambers. If the
fagades vvere entirely cleared from the sand, an unob
structed view could be obtained from the water
throughout the whole length of the chambers hewn
in the rock, to the length of about one hundred and
forty feet.
The first hall, which is about fifty feet long and

IPSAMBOUL. 113
nearly as many broad, is supported, as in Yerf Hus
sein, by two files of square pillars, four on each side ;
but here they are of larger diraensions, the passage
before thera is broader, and the intervals between
them larger. All the colossi leaning against them, like
those on the outside, are likenesses of the great
Rameses, and carry the scourge (the Egyptian
sceptre) and the crosier crossed over the breast. The.
colours on their garments and girdles are preserved
in several places, but they are injured by the damp,
and this is still more the case with the paintings on
the walls.
It would require many weeks' study, perfectly to
understand these frescoes, which represent sacrificial
processions, battles, and sieges, and abound with
numerous figures, from the colossal to the diminutive.
Many are as singular in their arrangement. as admir
able in their execution; but some appear to be of less
perfect workmanship. The compositions often ap
proach the naivety of our old German painters, others
attain the perfection of the antique. Thus, on the
left side from the entrance, there is a raised and
painted representation, on a sunk ground, of Sesostris
standing in his war-chariot, and ready to discharge an.
arrow at the flying enemy; which in its carriage and
form, at once recalls the Apollo Belvidere, but to my
mind, even surpasses it in the youthful, divine beauty of
the indignant countenance, in the inimitable grace and
boldness of the attitude, and in the noble, faultless
contour of the body. The lower part of the face has
unfortunately suffered some damage, otherwise the,
whole figure has hitherto remained untouched. The
VOL. II, I

114 IPSAMBOUL.
chariot and horses too are perfect, the latter are very
richly adorned, and the execution is admirable : indeed
I think they are far superior to all similar representa
tions in Thebes.
Among the prisoners whom the victorious Osiris
(as usual in the figure of Rameses) holds by the hair,
on each side of the entrance door, there appear to be
individuals of all the principal nations of the earth,
and the characteristic traits of the physiognomy are
so striking, that we cannot doubt their being portraits.
The ceiling is most richly ornamented with large
vultures of a dark blue-and-yellow colour. Many
travellers are of opinion that this was gold, but I have
never been able, anywhere, to discover the slightest
trace, that the ancient Egyptians used gold or silver in
their paintings, they always represent these metals by
yellow and white ; under the Ptolemies and Romans,
however, gold was undoubtedly employed. In more
remote times, these ores must have been disdained as
colours, or the mode of preparing them M^as not suffi
ciently known. I do not speak here of gilding on
wood, which is mentioned by Herodotus; yet even
then, for instance, gilded heads on the mummies have
always been found, so far as I know, only of the age
of the Ptolemies.
Before quitting this temple, I must notice a strange
optical delusion in the same hall. In the darkest cor
ner of it, the tall figure of a royal hero, in a splendid
dress, is painted on the upper part of this wall. This
corner, for what motive it is difficult to divine, has in
'later times been inclosed with a partition, which is now
partly in ruins. We mounted this partition to

IPSAMBOUL. 115
examine the picture more closely ; and, as often as we
held our torches in a particular position, we all re
peatedly saw a frown on the fierce countenance of the
warrior, who turned his eyes, and looked angrily to
the right and left, in the most deceptive manner pos
sible. The spectre-like effect which we were thus able
to produce and to repeat at pleasure, is still vividly
present to my mind, and recalls those pictures which
are painted in such a manner, that place yourself
where you will, they seem to stare at you. Who can
tell whether a similar trick of the Egyptian artist, may
not have been at the bottom of this effect, which in
spires a kind of superstitious awe ?
Beyond this hall are two others of rather smaller
dimensions, the latter of which has three doors, that
lead to as many apartments, of rauch less extent than
the halls. The raiddle one, exactly opposite the main
entrance, contained the adytum, as is invariably the
case in all the rock teraples. The sitting statues are
much defaced ; and an altar, which is still in the
centre of the adytum, consists only of a plain granite
cube, without sculpture. Besides these apartments
the temple contains several others, fourteen in all, to
which there are side-doors from the great halls ; they
are long and narrow, and some of them contain
massive benches two feet and a half high, which run
round the walls. They are ornamented with a variety
of painted sculptures ; but in sorae only the outlines
are raarked, with great freedom and precision, in black
and red lines.
Every book of travel describes the heat within the tem
ples as equal to that of a Russian vapour-bath, and I was
I 2

316 IPSAMBOUL.
therefore greatly surprised that I did not perceive the
slightest trace of it ; on the contrary, we found it rauch
cooler in these apartraents, than under the scorching rays
of thesunin theopenair. Designed, fanatic,devastation
seems never to have been committed at Abousambul ;
it is only from modern amateurs and from the inhabi
tants who occasionally take up their abode or keep their
cattle here, lastly and chiefly, however, from the damp
ness of the rock, that this splendid work has suffered
considerably; but, so easily accessible as it is, and with
out protection from the Government, we cannot hope
that the sculptures in the interior, which are only in
stucco, and the splendid colours of which are, for the
most part, faded, will long resist the effects of time.
A second rock temple, reserabling the first, but
only half its size, has likewise escaped premeditated
Vandalism. It is close to the larger temple, and was
built by the wife of Sesostris, who dedicated it to
Hathor. It is separated from its companion only by a
broad fall of sand, which, by its dazzling splendour
and smooth surface, perfectly resembles a glacier.
I attempted to climb up this sand, as I was anxious
more closely to examine the frieze of the great
temple, which consists of twenty-one monkeys, stand
ing upright, eight feet high; but I found the attempt
above my powers, for, at every step, I slipped back as
far as I had advanced.
The internal arrangement of this second troglodite
monument reserables that of the first ; and the colossi
of the king and queen, leaning against the outer wall,
appeared to be of superior workmanship to those of
the larger teraple ; especially the delicate contour of

IPSAMBOUL. 117
the feraale figure, as well as the transparency of the
beautiful cast of the drapery, which are very remark
able in such colossal proportions. A pleasing effect
is also produced by the groups of the sons and
daughters around the knees of their parents. This
arrangement enriches the whole, and softens the
austerity of the colossal figures, by milder feelings.
The hieroglyphics with which the pillars are covered,
are nowise inferior to the best of their kind in the
buildings at Thebes, though the stand-stone of these
parts, on which they are carved, is almost as hard as
granite. In the representations in the interior, instead of
the king, the queen is constantly represented as
bringing offerings to the gods, and other sculptures
allude to the mysteries of the initiation of a young
female by the priestesses of Isis. In the adytum
there is a singular statue of the king, over whose
head the horned cow Hathor projects so far, that the
horns seem to have been placed upon the king him
self: rather a comical union in the temple ofthe queen,
according to our notions. It is most revolting to see
how shamelessly modern visitors have degraded the
sculptures, by the most indelicate additions, carefully
drawn with charcoal, and even with black paint :
truly the lowest of the natives would not be guilty
of such vulgarity ; and it is disgraceful to think that
men who have come so far from civilised Europe
should leave behind such traces of their visit.
About one hundred paces frora the temple are
several small recesses, formed singly in the rocks, high
above the water; the last of them, which is quite

118 IPSAMBOUL.
distinct from the others, contains a figure in a state
of perfect preservation, and which struck me as one
of the most charming productions of Egyptian art.
It is the standing statue of a young girl, of touching
beauty, with an expression of deep melancholy in
her countenance ; her folded hands hang down, and,
as if mourning her own premature death, she gazes
thoughtfully, with sad yet angelic patience, on the
ever-restless waves that flow at her feet.©
The country about Abousambul is peculiarly cha
racterised by the form of its rocks, several of which,
as we proceeded further up the river, assume the
shape of regular pyramids ; and a broad, sharply-
defined wall rises close by, the narrower end of which
so nearly resembles the upper part of a colossal
countenance, that it seems as if Nature herself had
given the ancient Egyptians the first idea of their
pyramids, and of their colossi.
On the following raorning a favourable wind carried
us to the, plain of Wadi Haifa, in front of the great
second Cataract. We had scarcely reached it, and
begun to unlade our barks, which we were obliged
finally to leave here, v^'hen another chamsin set in,
vrhich as usual lasted three days. Distressing as this
peculiar visitation of the country is, we had great
reason to congratulate ourselves that it overtook us
now, and not later, in the Desert, where besides the
usual inconveniences, it would have been attended with
much danger. The wind was so violent this time, that
we found it impossible to pitch any of our tents, and
we were consequently forced to remain on the water ;
but in spite of the protection of the creek, our Daha-

IPSAMBOUL. 119
biah was so incessantly tossed about by the foaming
waves, that during dinner we were obliged to load the
table with stones, to prevent its being thrown down.
These were our unpleasant days ; and the vexatious
business of unpacking all our effects was unfortunately
rendered still more troublesome, in such bad weather,
by a general indisposition, from which hardly any
one of our party was free, during the third attack of
the chamsin.

120 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT-

CHAPTER VL
RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT TO DONGOLA, BY SEMNEH.
DAHL AND SAKl-EL-ABD.
On the 14th of April the sky had again become
serene, and all our preparations were so far com
pleted, that we were enabled to set out on our
expedition to Dongola. As the countries through
which we were now to pass, are some of those which are
seldom visited by Europeans, I think this a proper
place to premise a few remarks on the best manner of
travelling through them : — the dryness of which infor
mation I beg my reader to excuse for the sake of its
utility. The best mode is to join a large caravan, if you are
so happy as to meet with one, but this is unfortunately
not often possible now, since there is seldom an
opportunity, because the principal course of the inland
trade has chiefly turned into other routes, to the coun
try of the Berbers and the kingdom of Tunis. This
is the injurious consequence ofthe impolitic vexations
of the system of inland custom-houses, which is
in every respect truly defective and often absurd ; and
likewise the oppression ofthe traders by the provincial
governors, over whom it is doubly difficult to exercise
any control in these reraote countries. If the
traveller cannot join a caravan, it is extreraely difficult
to find any convenient and safe mode vv'ithout the aid

EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 121
of Government. Every European of any considera
tion may, through his consul, easily obtain a firman,
recommending him to the several governors and
deputy-governors, at the same time granting him the
favour of having all the necessary articles which
the country produces, supplied to him at the price
paid by the Government itself. This is especially
important with respect to the price of cattle, eraployed
in conveyance of effects, for otherwise the stranger is
alraost entirely dependent on the will of the Arabs,
who are often very exorbitant in their demands. The
carael-drivers of this country, besides, have a trick of
loading a camel with scarcely a third part of the
weight which, araong the Berbers for instance, such
an aniraal carries without any difficulty.
Though I left more than the half of my effects at
Wadi Haifa, I required ten camels, for which in
Tunis three or four would have sufficed, besides six
droraedaries, for the Doctor, rayself, my two servants,
the kawass, and the Arab guide ; the rest of the
people sat on the beasts of burden. These aniraals
were not provided by Berbers, but by Bedouins of
the Desert, who, on the invitation of Meheraet Ali,
have settled in the vicinity of Wadi Haifa, and claim
as their right, the privilege of accompanying travellers
with their camels across the Desert. On first loading
the camels they made as many difficulties and useless
noises as the Greek Aboghati in the Morea, with
their mules. As soon, however, as everything was in
train, they behaved in a rauch more orderly and quiet
manner than the Greeks.
It was the first time in my life that I had mounted a

122 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
dromedary. I must observe, by the way (for what is
quite common and well known here, is not always so
among us) that what is here called a dromedary, is
not a different animal from the carael, but identically
the sarae beast with one hunch ; and the difference
between a dromedary and a camel is like that betweea
an elegant saddle-horse and a clumsy cart-horse. It
is not by any means difficult to mount thera, because
the animals are accustomed to kneel down when they
are saddled, while one of the forelegs is bound fasj
with the long bridle, and the leader holds it by the
head to prevent its rising too rapidly, by which the
rider might easily be thrown upon the sand. These
singular animals have three joints in their hind legSj
and require three movements to rise as well as to he
down ; this action always appears very violent to the
unpractised rider, who must be exceedingly careful
to bend forwards and backwards with precision, or he
will inevitably lose his balance, of which we had more
than one diverting instance among our party.
The pace of the dromedary in walking is very in
convenient, jerking, jolting backwards and forwards;
but he is generally made to go at a pretty quick
pace, which gives the rider much the sarae sensation
as what we call the short jog trot of a very hard
trotting horse. Hence riding in this manner six or
seven miles, and often longer, without intermission, is
very fatiguing, but for a short distance it is not by
any means disagreeable, and the uniform, continued
shaking is certainly advantageous both to the health
and appetite. The seat itself on the wooden frame
of the saddle, round the high pummel of which the

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 123
rider must lay his legs cross-ways, is likewise not a
little inconvenient to a European till he has become
accustomed to it. It is therefore advisable for every
one coming hither in his boat, so to arrange matters
that the first stages ofhis journey may be very short,
in order to wean hiraself after the long repose which
makes a voyage, on the Nile at least on account of
this want of exercise, a truly indolent life.
The droraedary, when going as slowly as possible,
travels nearly five railes an hour; in its quick trot,
twice or thrice as much, and continues at this rate for
ten or twelve hours, without resting. Mehemet Ali
once accomplished the journey from Suez to Cairo, a
distance of 115 miles, on his dromedary, in 12 hours,
in order to prevent a conspiracy of the Mamelukes,
and his sais, holding on by the tail of the animal and
running on foot, reached Cairo at the same time.
Sonnini affirms that the Nedshi droraedary can travel
an hundred leagues in twenty-four hours ; but it strikes
me that this must certainly be an exaggeration.
Both dromedaries and camels are ill-tempered and
disagreeable animals: I never mounted mine but
it testified its displeasure by a snarling noise, and
sometimes even by an attempt to bite me. Yet
when once set a-going, I found it, like its leader, to
be always docile and tractable, and a slight touch with
a kurbatsh on its long neck was sufficient to excite it
to the most rapid trot. The bit of the bridle is not in
the animal's mouth, but it is drawn through one
nostril, and there fastened by a wooden peg. When
the rider wishes to dismount, he must make a kind of
hoarse groan, which it is extremely difficult to imitate,

124 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
on hearing which the dromedary immediately lies
down. No sign is necessary to make it rise again,
for it invariably does so of its own accord as soon as
ever the rider is mounted and has taken the bridle into
his hand.
For my own part, notwithstanding the heat, I
should greatly have preferred travelling in the day
time, in order to have a better view of the country,
but I was universally assured that the animals could
not hold it out ; and we were, therefore, obliged to
travel during the night, which fortunately was il
lumined by the brightest moon. This arrangement ren
dered the following peculiar mode of life necessary :
during our whole tour, we breakfasted at nine o'clock
in the evening and mounted our dromedaries at ten,
the camels, vvith the greater part of the baggage,
having set out five hours earlier. The dromedaries
had to carry, besides ourselves, the most necessary
articles, such as a small tent, some carpets, a chest,
containing everything necessary for breakfast, the
toilette, and writing. Before, or at sunrise, we
generally reached our night's quarters some hours
later than our caravan, where we found our tents and
beds prepared, and the cloth laid for dinner; so that
after spending a short time in dressing, we were able
to sit down to dinner about seven o'clock. After
dinner we lay down to sleep, and towards evening,
our early hour, we viewed the curiosities of the
country. The latter part of the evening, till the
tirae of starting, was devoted to reading and writing.
In this manner (a truly diverting, watchman's life,
which I venture to recoraraend to all my successors)

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 125
we experienced but little inconvenience, and all went
on admirably, without any useless delay or confusion
whatever. If, as is usually the case, travellers accom
pany their caravan, they find it extremely fatiguing
and fedious ; independently of which, after arriving
at the halting-place, they must wait for hours without
shelter, before the tents, beds, repast, &c., can be
ready. With respect to the things which a traveller must
take with him, nothing can in general be determined,
since the wants of every one, and his ideas of conve
nience, are very different ; but what everybody here
needs, whether he has many or few effects with him,
are, in the first place, very solid and durable cases to
put them in ; and secondly, the art of most carefully
packing them, for he may expect, as a matter of every
day occurrence, that part of the baggage will fall from
the carael, or that the animal will stumble and throw
down the whole cargo ; or, that in an access of fear, it
will gallop off with it. As for glass, china, instru
ments, &c., we learned by melancholy experience that
it is absolutely necessary to have double chests with
springs, otherwise they will inevitably be broken to
pieces by the violent motions of the carael, which of
itself, without any accident, is quite sufficient to
damage such delicate articles. With respect to pro
visions, I would recoraraend raerely a supply of rice,
coffee, dried dates, wine, and tobacco. Do not smile,
gentle reader, it is not without reason that I include
the latter under the head of provisions ; since expe
rience herself has taught me that nothing appeases or
rather hinders hunger and thirst more effectually than

126 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
coffee and a pipe, with which in this climate you may,
if needs be, hold out for several days together without
any great inconvenience. It is necessary to take a
considerable quantity of rice ; because it cannot be
obtained in the Soudan, except occasionally at the
principal places. In spite of the counsel of most
European physicians, who would forbid the use of
wine in hot countries, I strongly recommend it to
everybody who is accustomed to it, as the best and
most powerful means of preserving health during this
fatiguing journey. I give the preference to cham
pagne, mixed with two-thirds water ; because in the
long run I found this beverage more cool and refreshing
than any other. Next to champagne light Rhenish or
Moselle wines are the best ; because the chief cause of
the climatic disorders to which strangers are exposed,
is nearly always a relaxation of the digestive organs,
which must be prevented, not by violent, but by the
mildest tonics. In fact, I was assured by an able
German physician at Cairo, that he was indebted
solely to the bitter Bavarian beer for the preserva
tion of his life in the baneful climate of Yemen.
As our troublesome packing occupied more time on
the first day than in the sequel, we were not able to
set out on our march through the Desert till 11 o'clock
at night on the 14th of April. The stage on this
occasion was therefore only six leagues, which our
dromedaries accomplished in three hours. The night
was splendid, clear, and cool, and even the Desert was
more varied than we are accustomed to fancy it; for
in general, we picture it to ourselves as an inter
minable ocean of sand. This is certainly the case

EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 127
in other parts ; but here there are many hills and
valleys scattered over it, with grotesque isolated rocks
rising above, which greatly vary and enliven the
scene. The sand is seldom deep, and in general so
hard, that the many traces of the caravans, regularly
running near each other, are as clearly marked upon
it, as if we were riding over a ploughed field.
The clean, snow-white bones of dead animals,
bleached by the sun, and now and then those of human
victims who have perished here, and which have been
dug up by hyaenas, and also little black pyramids of
stone, which are set up to mark the route, wherever
a wrong path might be taken, contribute in this soli
tude, destitute of vegetation, to give a very peculiar
and striking character to the Desert. When tired with
looking at the earth, we raised our eyes to the starry
host, which shine with wondrous splendour in this zone,
and which not only lighten the lone traveller, but
afford such an abundant source of subjects of contem
plation, that a feeling mind will never be able long
to give way to ennui.
At two o'clock we already descried our bright green
tents, set up araong dark rocks of every shape, on the
banks of the Nile, near to some huts which bear the
name of Saleh, and belong to the district of Dar-el
Hadshar, which separates Wadi Haifa from Sukkot.
The river foamed in cataracts between a hundred
strange fantastic shapes of the black primaeval rock,
which, as I have already said, most travellers errone
ously call basalt, though it is only granite blackened
by fire and disintegration. Real, primitive volcanic

128 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT,
basalt is nowhere met with, as far as I am aware,
along the Nile.
We ascended a sandy erainence on the bank, and
enjoyed, for half an hour, amidst the music of the
foaraing waters, the view of this wild raoonlight land
scape, which is not destitute of some trees — a fewthorny
miraosas, which here and there crown the rocks in
the river. It was a melancholy tract, but full of
originality; and M. Cadalvene is right when he
says — " As far as Wadi Haifa, you have always more
or less of Egypt;— here a new world begins."
On the 15th the Arabs desired to go no further
than Saras, but, guided by M. Caldav^ne's map,
I insisted on making a longer march to Semneh, in
order that I might have more leisure to view the
temples there. The men held out a good while, but
they were at last obliged to submit to our will ; we
found afterwards that they had stated the distance
much more correctly than the map, and the fatigue of
our tour completely exhausted us; thus for once they
were right. Our caravan was sixteen hours in accom
plishing the distance, and we just half that time; and
as we had followed it rather too soon, and therefore
overtook it by the way, we were obliged (in order
that we might find our sleeping quarters in good order
on our arrival) to bivouac for several hours in the
Desert, without a tent and without a hill to shelter us.*
Notwithstanding the great heat of the day, the
nights, especially during the high wind which now
* After this unpleasant adventure I always carried a small tent
with me on my dromedary, to set it up, in case of need, as I have
before recommended.

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 129
blew from , the north, are often piercingly cold, and
though we were warraed by the exerdse of riding, we
were glad to equip ourselves in a great-coat and
cloak. During our bivouac this teraperature was still
more intolerable, and after a restless sleep, we all
rose so lamed by the frost, that we found it difficult to
reraount our dromedaries. In consequence of this
chill, I was obliged to halt for a day at Samneh, nor
vvas I sufficiently recovered to view the country and
the people till the following raorning.
We had again a very uncomfortable halting-place
on the Nile, under Doum palms, mimosas, and a
broad-leaved shrub, with round green fruit, from
which the inhabitants prepare a very powerful poison.
Pseudo-basalt rocks still rose out of the river, and
ran along its sides, yet a part of the bank is well
cultivated, and some huts are scattered about. At no
great distance are the remains of an ancient city, sup
posed to be Tasitia : it was originally built of bricks
burnt in the sun, and among their ruins, upon an
isolated rock, stands a small but elegant temple, with
the cartouches of the Pharaohs, Osirtesan IIL, and
Thothmes IV. Opposite, on the right bank of the
Nile, are the ruins of another larger, much more
dilapidated teraple, which we could not visit for want
of a boat to set us over, and we therefore reserved it
for a future opportunity.
The sculptures and hieroglyphics of the little
temple, which contains only one chamber like a cor
ridor (for it cannot be called a hall), are in part very
graceful, and some colours, for instance the azure
ceiling with its yellow stars, are in a tolerable state
VOL. II. K

130 RIDE THROUGH THB DESERT.
of preservation ; but, at a later period, a long hiero
glyphic inscription has been carved, amidst the
ancient figures on the fafade, which is so wretchedly
executed that Coptic Christians could not have done it
worse. Here, again, we found two of those fluted an-
cieht Egyptian colurans, which resemble the Doric,and
they are the only ones which the temple seems to have
had, for on the side towards the river it is ornamented
with a species of gallery, supported by four pillars.
A series of rocky islands extends from this place
directly across the river to the other temple, and raost
of thera have remains of old walls, probably fortified
castles, which could easily comraand the river at this
place. An English traveller has thereby been led to
a conjecture that these may be the castles, surrounded
by water, which appear in one of the battle-pieces at
Thebes ; though this conjecture seems rather bold, it
is, however, certain that the conquests of Rameses
must have extended not only thus far, but much
further to the south ; of these we have more proofs
than of those to the north ; for, if he really conquered
all the countries into which Diodorus Siculus makes
him carry the terror of his arms, the total silence of
history respecting him, and especially that of the
Jewish historical records, must appear very extra
ordinary. M. Cadalvene affirms that in the neighbourhood of
these ruins he was disturbed by large hyasnas ; we,
however, saw only some yellow gazelles, which crossed
the road at a short gallop, and, being pursued by
our dogs, soon found a safe retreat in the desert.
Like M. Cadalvene, we here met a large caravan of

HIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 131
slaves from the interior; we could not, however, agree
in the remarks which he makes respecting them.
M. Cadalvfene, in that morbid temperament which
seldom left him in Egypt, saw everything as black as
the colour of the slaves themselves, and they therefore
appeared to him like miserable wretches plunged in
the depths of despair ; whereas, we saw them quietly
proceeding onwards, without any trace of care or sor
row, laughing and joking about us in their own lan
guage, and sufficiently clothed for this climate, where
almost all the people go naked. Why exaggerate
matters, and represent them different to what they
really are? Slavery, abstractedly considered, is un
questionably revolting in a civilised state of society.
Nobody denies this ; but that the individual lot of the
slaves in this country — having regard to the state of
their social condition and their habits — is so un
speakably melancholy and wretched, even in the
worst period (that of their conveyance to Cairo), I
must decidedly dispute, after all that I have repeat
edly seen : for that they are half naked ; that, where
they cannot be conveyed on the Nile, they must go
on foot, unless they are sick, in which case they ride ;
and that the only food which they receive is Dourra
bread, and occasionally sorae vegetables or dates, with
Nile water, is not so bad as at first sight appears ; for
it is the common lot of all the people of this country,
who are equally temperate and equally poor. But as
soon as they are sold, their condition in the East is
upon the whole much better; nay, often it is one of
comparative ease and comfort; yet; notwithstanding
this, they frequently pine with a longing for home,
K 2

132 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
and perhaps the chief hardship of their fate con
sists in their inability to satisfy this longing.
But how many among us are not better off in this
respect! Howmany Christians does the slavery of neces
sity often condemn, under much more oppressive and
painful moral relations, to the same lot of banishment
from their native land ! Let us not abide too strictly
by words, but by things; and we shall not seldom learn
to judge more correctly and charitably of foreign
matters. In truth, in the relation of the slave to his
master here, there is often more poetry for both par
ties than our modern, often very prosaic, reforraers of
the world, are capable of fully appreciating; for most
of them attach only the idea of increased industry to
free slave labour. — I say free slave labour, because
the privations of the people of our manufacturing
districts in many parts of Europe fully equal the suf
ferings of slavery; nay, they often surpass them, and
the effects are equally demoralising. I am very far,
however, from advocating slavery ; I only mean that
the East, in its present stage of civilisation, and
with its relations so totally different from ours, must
not be too partially judged by u.s, with respect to the
slavery existing there.
Towards evening I took a walk to the neighbour^
ing village, the habitations of which consisted only of
thick straw mats, tied to stakes fixed in the ground,
while others, laid horizontally, constituted the roof,
and partitions of the same material formed two or
three compartraents inside. Well cultivated fields,
though of small extent, surrounded these tents. In
the first of these I found an invalid soldier from

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 133
Dongola, attended by a pretty black girl, and who
announced himself to me as the present governor of the
village, which consists of six families. I left the patient
to view the second dwelling, which was rather larger ;
here a very aged woman lay on the ground, and took not
the slightest notice of me. At her side a young girl
was eraployed in pounding dourra on a smooth stone,
and, in the corner, stood a well-formed young woman,
whose skin resembled the finest satin, and who ap
peared to be busy with her toilette, for she was fasten
ing some strings of glass beads on her right arm, and
putting a ring in her nose. Presently I perceived behind
the old woman a fine, cheerful, open-hearted looking
boy, with dazzling white teeth, and a head of thick
curly black hair, who laughed aloud at me, but when
I approached him, he ran screaming, with every indica
tion of terror, to his sister, who was grinding the corn.
I showed him a bright new piastre, but I could not
tempt him to come near me, and. his sister, who
looked at me with surprise, also raade a sign as if to
reject it, and I was just going to put it into my
pocket again, when the handsome young woraan
hastily stepped forward, took the piastre from my
hand with a sraile, and then, with the raost graceful
expression, pressed her fingers to her lips and to her
forehead, in token of thanks. This demoiselle was
doubtless rather civilised by her proximity to the
military governor; the others, in every point, resem
bled complete savages, and were quite naked, with the
exception of the cloth round the waist, that worn by
ihe females being longer than that of the boy.
We seldom meet with any inhabitants who can

134 EIDE THROUGH THE DESEET.
speak Arabic, nor is it the language of the Berbers
that is current in this district, but probably an idiom
of Arabic origin, blended with that of the aborigines;
and with the frequent immigrations, conquests, and
changes of religion which have taken place through
out Nubia and Ethiopia, at such different periods, it
may be very difficult, if not impossible, precisely to
determine anything respecting the real origin of such
manifold mixed races ; so much, however, is evident
from their external appearance, that they are indeed
black, but not negroes ; for the contour of their face
is Caucasian, and their hair is curled, but by no means
woolly. Among those who hav^ proposed hypotheses
respecting the Nubian tribes, our indefatigable Burck
hardt may be considered as the first authority ; forwhich
reason his successors have rarely done more than copy
his statements — a trouble which I beg to be excused
taking. Continuing my walk through the fields, I found
about a dozen of the natives, men and women, em
ployed in threshing corn and beans with sticks — an
occupation which is generally performed by animals
in the East and in Africa. In a short time, the above-
mentioned young woman came, decked in all her
ornaments, to take her share in the duty of threshing.
When I saw these people all squatting round the
heap of corn, and beating it lustily with their sticks,
I could not help thinking that they looked exactly like
monkeys which had seen the operation of threshing
corn, and were now attempting to imitate the same
manoeuvres with clubs. We soon became friends ; and,
though our acquaintance procured me but little infer-

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 135
mation, as I could not speak with them, it was, never
theless, of thegreatestadvantagetome, fortheyatlength
sold me some cow's milk and fresh vegetables, which
they had before resolutely refused to the Turkish
kawass, whom I had sent to them for that purpose,
being probably apprehensive that they would not be
paid. *
A refreshing dip in the Nile, and a famous block of
black granite close at hand, which served for a dress
ing-room, concluded ray rural day's work. But
I was not a little confounded, when, on leaving
the river, I perceived, close to the spot which I had
chosen for bathing, the fresh traces of an enormous
crocodile, imprinted on the smooth white sand of the
bank, as distinctly as an Egyptian hieroglyphic.
We left Samneh at midnight, and after a quick ride
of more than five hours, reached Tangur on the 17th,
a little before sunrise; here we were once raore on the
Nile, in sight of the raost beautiful green bushes on
the opposite bank, but were compelled to encamp
amidst burning sand, without a single shrub to
protect us. The camels had again taken twice the
time that we had, and this continued during the whole
journey, so that in the sequel we were always able
to send them on before, according to this calcu
lation. ,
During our night's march (when, after the moon
had set, about four o'clock it became rather cold),
we found, by the way-side, twov slave-caravans and
three droves of camels in profound repose, all of a
heap, and as motionless as if they were dead; so
that till we came up close to them, we took the first-

136 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
of these heaps, in the uncertain light of the moon,
only for a strangely formed mass of stones. In this
manner many thousand camels are annually brought
from the Ethiopian countries for the use of Egypt,
and the demand for slaves is still greater.
The day which succeeded this cool night was the
hottest that we had yet had, the thermometer being at
thirty-five degrees, Reaumur, in the shade. What
ever we took hold of was painfully hot, metal glow
ingly so, and a bottle of eau-de-cologne, which I laid
in the sun, alraost boiled in a short time.
While we were dining in the tent we observed
an enormous white vulture, attracted by the smell
of the food, corae stalking towards us, with much
gravity, and apparently without the slightest fear ; we
suffered him to approach within ten paces, aud then
received him with a volley of large shot ; and although
we afterwards found that they had all entered his
body, he flew away, and we had to pursue him a long
time before he could be caught, and killed by throw
ing stones. He was a fine bird, measuring six feet
from wing's-end to wing's-end, and had immense claws,
which must be dangerous weapons. As we had no
means of stuffing him, I made use of my capture
only to replenish my stock of pens, of which I pro
cured a considerable quantity; they were, indeed,
very colossal, but they proved most useful.
In the evening, a negro, in the service of the
Pasha, coming from Dongola, arrived at our station ; '
he brought us much useful inforraation, and araused
us at the same tirae vvith all sorts of fabulous tales.
Thus he pretended that in the Island of Danghos,

EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 137
beyond old' Dongola, there were enchanted Albinos,
and, farther on, secret cannibals ; and still farther in
Sennaar, syrens, of whom he asserted he had hiraself
seen more than one. It is strange that this last
fable has obtained in alraost all countries, in alraost
every age.
In the night of the 17th, the Desert assumed a
really fairy-like appearance. Boldly-forraed blue
mountain-chains bounded the distant prospect, and in
our vicinity the most grotesque figures continually
presented theraselves before us. Sometimes we might
have insisted that we rode past deserted towns and
castles; or that we saw ancient works of art, some
times in the form of a gigantic goblet, of an urn, a
pyraraid, or an obelisk. When the moon was gone
down, the morning red iraraediately followed, and the
sun rising unclouded above the mountains like a ball
of fire, illurained the iramense solitude around us
with the purest golden splendour. The road in many
parts resembled a causeway, above 100 feet broad, in
the best condition possible, as hard and level as
though it were macadamised, and bordered on both
sides with rows of granite hills, as with regular daras.
In the middle of this road we occasionally found a
neat tomb, formed of only two hewn stones, between
which a mosaic of pebbles was very prettily traced in
arabesque figures. Many bleached bones of camels
lay around, but there was no inscription to tell to
whom the monument belonged, or who had here found
his solitary grave.
At seven o'clock we approached the Nile, which,
surrounded by high mountains, here forms a charming

138 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
archipelago of many verdant islands. Other islands
of black masses of rock, piled one upon another, rise
above the verdant scene, and several of them are
crowned by the picturesque ruins of extensive for
tified castles, built as usual of bricks of dried earth.
Among these piles we frequently saw erections in
the form of propylsea, which were doubtless imitated
from the Egyptian, or handed down by tradition, for
the more wealthy inhabitants even now construct their
palaces in the sarae style. The largest of these heaps
of rubbish, to judge by its extent, must have been the
castle of an ancient sovereign, or a vast monastery ;
and the whole country to the west of the river, which
from the flatness of its superficies far into the interior,
is capable of being inundated, still shows, though now
wholly neglected, some traces of having been formerly
in a flourishing condition.
This spot is certainly one of the most picturesque
on the Nile, and the immediate vicinity of the river
is well cultivated, and enlivened by isolated brick
dwellings, which extend to the distance of a league
along the river, to the island and considerable village
of Dalh. We observed among them the remains of
some old Christian churches, in one of which there
are still several paintings of stately apostles and saints.
At Dahl, where our tents had been pitched, is a
tolerably thick palm grove ; we found the people, who
were commanded by a very respectable nazir, far raore
civilised and familiar than we had met in Dar-el-
Hadshar. More than twenty of them came with the
sheikh to welcorae us, and offered for sale everything
they had; and assuredly a person who wishes to live

RIDE THROUGH THE DESEET. 139
economically should come here. For the value of
two francs I purchased the following articles : — a fat
sheep, four cans of goat's milk, a wild duck as
large as a goose, and two pair of very neatly woven
sandals of palm leaves. I must mention, as a singular
exception, that fowls, which are met with everywhere
in the East, and in Egypt especially are set before
you till you are tired of them, seem to be entirely un
known here. The people are acquainted only with
the eggs of wild birds, but seemed to dislike to use
them as food.
At three o'clock in the afternoon the heat was again
thirty-five degrees in the shade, and we found it far
more tolerable under a palm tree in the open air, on
account of the greater draught, than in the tent,
where the air had becorae as suffocating as the heat
of a furnace, although we were even fanning ourselves
with little flags of many-coloured straw, which are
fastened, like fly-flappers, to a short reed, and are
well adapted to the purpose. At dinner we were
obliged, as yesterday, constantly to dip the glasses
into cold water, for standing on the table in our tent
for one minute was sufficient to make them burning
hot. The employment for the day is necessarily pretty
uniform on a journey of this kind, not without some
extraneous attractions, it is true, but they must, for
the most part, be of a contemplative character, for in
this temperature even reading is a task, and writing
is a real burthen. Every day I lamented not having
a secretary, whom, otherwise, I am always accus
tomed, like Prince Facardin, to take with me.

140 EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT;
The individual himself, however, who is destined
to accompany me in future, may congratulate him
self highly, that he is not already in office, for his
services, which for want of him I am obliged to
perforra for myself, would doubtless have been intol
erable just now.
My tent was at this time imbedded, as it were,
in verdure, and had about it a wreath of those
poisonous shrubs which are now becoming more and
more coraraon on the Nile, full of green fruit the size
of an apple, and here and there richly adorned with
white and blue flowers ; but this plant deserves, still
more than the crown of the kingdom of Italy, the
inscription, Gare a. gui la touche. The flowers, the
fruit, the branches, the leaves, are all full of a thick
milky substance, which issues on the slightest pressure,
and if it gets into the eye, infallibly causes blindness ;
taken inwardly, it is fatal, and the natives never failed
carefully to warn us of it. Less dangerous, but more
disagreeable, was the long thorny acacia, a projecting
branch of which, as I was taking a short walk along
the banks of the river, in spite of the heat, caught
such fast hold of my silk kaftan, that I needed the
help of two blacks, whom I called to my assistance,
before I could obtain my liberty, and even then I left
a part of my garment behind me.
A most amusing scene occurs every evening in the
loading of the camels, wliich regularly lasts frora four
to six o'clock. The habits of this singular animal,
which has a giraffe-like head, the neck of a swan, the
body of a stag, and the tail of a cow, and such curious
hind-legs, which look as if they were provided with

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 141
hinges, and which it so cleverly folds up in three
parts — are so comical, that it is impossible to look at it
-without laughing. These creatures cry and squeel
like naughty children at the least touch, always look
extremely melancholy and angry, but never even in a
passion do they lose a moraent to ruminate most
diligently, an operation, which, as they only move
the lower jaw right and left with great earnestness,
and with an equal cadence, gives them completely the
appearance of an old toothless woraan, who in vain
tri^s to bite a crust of hard bread. They have plenty
of teeth, however, and those very good ones too ; and,
at a certain season, their bite is so fearful, that in the
preceding year a carael bit off the head of an officer
who was on guard at the Peace Gate ! I myself have
seen them with astonishment bite off the branches of
the mimosa, with thorns five inches long and as hard
as iron, and chew them as unconcernedly as though
they were regaling upon lettuce leaves.
With the last groan of the camels, which announces
the conclusion of the packing, and on which the whole
carav^an, one animal fastened to another, immediately
sets out, 1 daily repair to the invigorating bath in the
river, which, notwithstanding the piercing coldness of
the Nile water, has hitherto always done rae good;
But I can scarcely explain why the Nile, flowing
through an immense plain, and exposed the whole
day to the burning heat of the sun, never attains the
warm temperature of our rivers in summer, unless it
may be as6ribed to the coolness of the night, which
for the most part, here succeeds even the hottest days.

142 HIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
but, as far as my observation of the climate has hitherto
extended, seldom or never accompanied by dew.
After the bath, we take our evening breakfast, which
is seasoned by the cheerful conversation of Dr. Koch,
who has seen and experienced much, and knows how
to relate his adventures with satirical humour. A few
hours' sleep on the carpet in the cool air are then
doubly refreshing, and when the pale moon shines
high in the firmament, we again mount our drome
daries.

April 19th.
The desert retained its romantic character durino;
this night and the following morning. We observed,
among other things, as a remarkable object, many
scattered heaps of quadrangular and conical hills,
most regularly formed like turauli. I said to my
dragoman, who has some resemblance to Eugene
Sue's droll Losophe, that these must be torabs, for
Nature could not have formed them in such a regular
manner; he answered laconically, " Nature can form
everything as a model for man." In fact, this strange
formation, which frequently occurs in the great plains
of Asia and Africa, is well known to geologists.
In the morning, a troop of large, white gazelles
stood still, near the road-side, and would probably
have remained within gun-shot, if we could have pre
vented my ill-bred Susannis from hunting them;
this, however, at least afforded an opportunity of
witnessing their fleetness — swift as the wind, they
bounded over the plain as far as our eyes could follow
them.

HIDE THROUGH THE DESEET. 143
From the tameness of the animals living here in
the wild state, we have ample proof that hunters do
not much molest them ; for besides the vulture which^
we lately killed, large birds of prey have since daily
approached us in the same bold manner ; and in Dalh,
while I was taking a walk, a beautiful bird M'ith gay
plumage, and a crest like a cockatoo, flew around me,
with great curiosity, for full five minutes, nor did he
leave me till I returned to my tent.
When the sun had risen pretty high, we thought
that a considerable part of the plain before us was
covered with a ^bright green vegetation, but on a
closer inspection we discovered that the colour pro
ceeded from a finely-polished slate, which, close at
hand, was blue, but at a distance appeared precisely
like a mossy grass.
In six hours we reached Saki-el-abd, that is, the
Aqueductof the Slaves, because the slaves gen erally halt
here. The river at this place is more than a quarter
of a league broad ; we found our tents pitched near a
few houses and two large sakyehs, but on the other
side is a very large plantation of palras, with a
lofty, fine table-mountain towering above it : there is
likewise a considerable village with an extensive
building, flanked by two of the above-mentioned
propylsea, which, at a distance, give it the appearance
of the ruins of an Egyptian temple.
We here found a boat, which carried us across
to the opposite village, where a well-supplied market
replenished our diminished stock of provisions. The
heat to-day was only 28° R. in the shade, and we
found this almost cool. Before I proceed I raust

144 EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
observe that both on Cadalvene's and Riippel's map,
neither of which are very correct, the distance from
Dalh to this place is stated at 30 miles, which is nearly
half a degree too much, since, according to the con
stantly equal pace of the camels with that of our
droraedaries, it is not more than that from Samneh to
Tangour, and from Tangour to Dahl — three days'
march, which do not differ half a league from each
other. I mention this only as a notice to travellers ;
it is for men of learning, who may come after me, to
correct by proper measurement, this, and innuraerable
other errors, in raost of the maps of this part of Africa,
which have been hitherto published.
In order, however, to afford a standard for the
veracity of M. Cadalvene in other respects, which
- is so far not without its use, because in his work
he purposely seeks every occasion to depreciate Me
hemet Ali and his government, though while he
was here' he long solicited at Alexandria some em
ployment in the service of the Viceroy, and desired to
publish an Egyptian journal, which was refused him
{hinc nice lachrymce) — 'I will here quote an amusing
paragraph from his book on the very spot.
" Saki-el-abd," he begins in his usual manner, "was
nearly abandoned when we arrived there, for the
greater part of the inhabitants " (N.B. of five or six
huts) "had fled into the Desert, being incapable of pay
ing the taxes required. These fugitives often return
after the lapse of some months, when they hope to
be no more molested." (How can they hope this if
the tyranny is really so consistent and systematic as
M. Cadalvene constantly affirms that it is ?) " But

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 145
many adopt a nomade life, and every year some
villages are depopulated in this manner."
" In the absence of the owners " (who probably
instead of having fled were only gone to market in
the opposite villages) "we took some beds (engareb),
from the nearest houses,[and carried thera to the river
side, where we established ourselves to avoid the
white ants, and above all the scorpions, which during
ihe night creep by thousands out of their retreat."
We too bivouacked on the same spot, and in the
same month of the year, but we did not see a single
scorpion. I inquired, both of the natives, arid of the
persons accompanying our caravan, respecting the two
points alleged by M. Cadalvene ; first, the flight of
the villagers ; and, secondly, the immense number of
scorpions. Nobody knew anything of the first, and .
with respect to the second, scarcely one of the
inhabitants had seen any of these aniraals here,
which, as they reported, had but lately become fre
quent beyond the Desert, a little before reaching
Dongola. As almost all the diatribes of M. Cadalvene
against the Viceroy are precisely in the same predica
ment, — for when inquiry is made on the spot, a trace
is seldom found of all the horrors with which he
reproaches the government, — I have since never read,
a paragragh of this kind, in which the author takes
so much pains to sting, but only emits an ineffectual
poison, but what I say, with a smile, " This is another
of the thousand scorpions of M. Cadalvene."
, Our caravan had set out as usual at six in the
evening of the 21st, and we did not start till three
VOL. II. L

146 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
in the morning, after a very characteristic scene in
Saki-el-abd. I was fast asleep in my little tent, when
I was suddenly awakened by a prodigious noise of
drums, and the firing of many guns. I jumped up,
and, hastening out of the tent, was not a little-
astonished to see, instead of the splendid full moon,
everything enveloped in the deepest gloom, while the
firing and druraraing continued without ceasing. A
total eclipse of the moon — a phenomenon which I had
never observed more perfectly, and which no almanac
had announced to us, soon explained all the circum
stances. The inhabitants, who were anxious to assist
the moon, that the black dragon, with which they
believed it to be engaged in a desperate conflict, might
not wholly swallow it up, were quite confounded at
. the event, which they considered as the harbinger of
some dire misfortune. All the pains that my philoso
phical dragoman took to explain the matter to them,
from natural causes, were as fruitless as if he had at
tempted to instil comnion sense into some insane en
thusiast. The good people persisted in their opinion ;
and when the eclipse was at length over, they indulged
in the happy conviction of having contributed not a
little, by their resolute demonstrations, to rescue the
moon from her urgent distress.
In the sequel, I heard in Dongola, where similar
measures had been adopted against the same calamity,
a still more refined explanation, from a faki at that
place. " Only the ignorant people," said he, "be
lieve that it is a dragon which endeavours to swallow
the moon. The moon is a living being, as well as
we, but a very exalted potentate in the kingdom of

R.lDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 147
heaven, which is governed by God exactly in the
same manner as the earth is by the Sultan. When,
therefore, one of the governors there does not do his
duty, the Lord of heaven, like the Sultan here,
has his head cut off, or sends him the bow-string.
Now, it is evident that the moon had incurred such a
punishment, and therefore when his countenance
began to be darkened, we fired lustily and uttered
tones of lamentation, to testify our desire to help him,
and our compassion for his situation, for he might
still obtain pardon ; but as we soon observed that
there was no more grace for him, and that he at
length totally vanished, we set up a louder noise,
mingled with deraonstrations of joy, in order to re
commend ourselves as rauch as possible to the new
moon ; which accordingly, scarcely two hours after
the execution of the last, appeared in more splendour
than its predecessor had. ever done." We see that
people of rank hfere understand as well as ourselves
vvhat is beseeming a good courtier, " Le roi est mort f
Five le roi .'"
Our route to-day lay chiefly along the banks
of the Nile, through a cultivated country, so that
for the raost part we had only the Desert on one side.
Very considerable villages, a league in length, well
built of unburnt bricks, and thickly covered with
palra leaves, and surrounded by fruitful fields, which
in two or three raonths will yield a second harvest, are
a guarantee of the proportionable wealth and the
greater security of property which exist here since
the governraent of Mehemet Ali. We still continued
to meet caravans of camels and slaves ; one of the
L 2

148 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
latter had formed a very picturesque encampraent in
a garden, near the ruins of Sedenga. As we passed
through the raidst of thera, a group of wild girls jeered
us in every possible manner ; and indeed our white
complexions and singular costume afforded them ample
opportunity. On the inquiry whether one of the pret
tiest and raost animated of them was to be sold, a
surly " No" was the only reply; for the slave-dealers
from the interior seem to have as great an aversion to
the unbelieving Christian dogs, as the slaves them
selves. I am convinced that not an individual in this
whole corapany, if the offer could have been made,
would have changed places with us. Everything in
the world depends upon taste and opinion.

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 149

CHAPTER VII.
RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT TO DONGOLA.
[{Conti^n/ued.)

THE TEMPLES OP PHTUR, HAPPEEE, AND DONGOLA.
The antiquities of Sedenga are very inconsider
able. Only one column of the larger temple is still
standing entire, amidst an extensive accumulation of
ruins, together with all the fallen fragments of the
ornaments of the building. A bad style manifests that
the edifice is a more modern, probably Roman work.
.Rather further off are the remains of a second temple,
with two broken colurans, all of coraraon liraestone,
and of equally inferior workmanship. Very different
is the case with the great temple of Phtur — a work of
the Pharaohs — situated four leagues frora Sedenga,
beyond the chain of hills of the Djebel Dosh, which
separates the province of Sukkot from that of Dar
el Mahass, and which, though in the wildest state
of devastation, excited our astonishment. We found
our tents pitched opposite to the temple in an agree
able grove near the banks of the river.
We deferred the inspection of this grand ruin till
the evening, and were just sitting down to dinner,
when one of the inhabitants of the adjacent village
(who were as ready to serve us in everything as those

150 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
of Dalh), carae running to inform us that a hippopo
tamus, which had been in these parts for several
weeks, was now in the river some hundred paces from
the bank. We ran as fast as we could, and imme
diately saw the immense head of the animal, much like
a black rock rising out of the water, without moving
for a considerable tirae. Meanwhile I had ordered
the table, covered as it was, to be brought out, and
placed close to the river, near the remains of an
antique mole of the town of Phtur, and sat down to
a comfortable meal, under a lofty tree. Behind us
were the columns of an ancient temple or palace of
Rameses, and before us in the water, the interesting
spectacle of one of the most singular animals in the
creation. This scene was rendered still nlore attrac-
tiv^e by the lofty mountains in the distance ; the
graceful windings of the river towards both sides,
with dark reefs of rock interspersed with little water
falls, and the opposite green banks, with a large
brick palace, and propylsea, surrounded by a grove of
date-palms ; it was altogether one of the raost pleasing
landscapes that we had seen on our voyage. The
hippopotaraus reraained for above an hour at the
spot which he had chosen, and araused us by rising
more or less above the surface of the water, with
various evolutions, till at length on reaching a sand
bank he suddenly stood erect, and as if taking leave,
enabled us to admire his whole gigantic figure. He
vanished, however, beneath the waves almost as sud
denly as he had appeared, rose to the surface for a
few seconds only, at a great distance, and then finally
descending to his crystal home, was not again visible.

RIDE THROUGH THE DESEET. 151
A group of naked boys and youths, accompanied
by two aged persons and three girls, seated themselves
near us, and took as rauch pleasure in watching the
hippopotaraus as we did. Now and then some of
them leapt into the river, swam towards him, and
endeavoured to provoke the imperturbable aniraal,
while others on the bank attempted to assist by their
cries and noise, like their countrymen yesterday
during the eclipse of the moon ; but whenever their
attention was not drawn to the monster, it was turned
exclusively upon us. They looked with astonishraent
at our telescope ; were delighted with a knife inlaid
with mother-of-pearl, belonging to the doctor; and,
like genuine South Sea Islanders, became half-mad
with joy when I showed them a looking-glass, the like
of which none of them appeared ever to have seen
before. It was reraarkable that the young men mani
fested rauch raore pleasure and vanity in looking at
themselves than the girls. Almost all of thera wore a
kind of rosary made of glass beads round the neck
or arm, to M^hicli was suspended a sraall leather
pocket containing araulets, which their learned raen,
the Faki, write for them, and for which they are well
paid. Some of the boys also wore tin ear-rings, and
the girls coloured glass beads round their neck and
arms. I presented sorae of the latter with ordinary
Parisian ornaments, and gave the lads who had
fetched water for us, or had otherwise rendered us
service, rings of the same kind, which were received
with gratitude and pleasure, but at the sarae tirae in
a very becoming, quiet manner.
The two old people were most comical originals.

152 RIDE THKOUGH THE DESERT.
One of them had in his hand an Egyptian gold coin
(karie) with a hole in it, wrapt in paper, and though
he vvas constantly repulsed, he ever and anon made a
fresh atterapt to induce us to change this gold coin
for silver piastres; the other carried two pieces of
coarse linen, manufactured here, on his head, and
endeavoured, with similar resolute perseverance, to
prevail upon us to buy them, but with so much
patience, gentleness, and politeness, — nay, with all
the gravity of a diplomatist who treats about pro
vinces, — that in the end we could no longer resist,
and yielding to their importunity, purchased both the
linen and the gold coin.
Sorae of them spoke a little Arabic, which greatly
facilitated our intercourse, and shortly before sunset
we parted very cordially with both old and young, and
our friendship was further augmented by our leaving
behind us, as presents, the gold coin and the linen,
though already paid for. This kind of linen, I must
observe, was formerly cut into long strips, and passed
for money in the country of the Berbers, as well as
in the Soudan. The inhabitants are now everywhere
obliged, on pain of decapitation, to take the govern
ment coin according to the fixed tariffs : rigorous as
this measure may appear, it was nevertheless unavoid
able, for without it the natives would never have been
induced to take the coin.
As a remarkable instance of the careless indolence
of these savages, I must mention the following cir
cumstance. They told us that the same hippopotaraus
•which we had seen, occasioned them very much
damage, for when it landed at night to feed, it gene-

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 153
rally laid waste three or four feddan of their crops at
a time. " Why then do you not hunt the animal ?"
I asked. " We have already thought about it," they
replied, " and have sent word to a man at Wadi Haifa,
who understands this kind of chace, that there is an
hippopotamus in the neighbourhood. He has told us
in reply, that as soon as he can obtain a harpoon he
will come." This statement was fully interpreted to
us by an Egyptian soldier. It is now a month since
the people applied to the hunter, during which time
the hippopotamus is said to have devastated forty
feddan, yet no one has as yet summoned resolution to
undertake the chace himself, though there is no lack
of weapons and muskets ; indeed, a post of negro
soldiers, well provided with everything necessary,
is stationed only half a league off, so that nothing
could have been more easy than with a little exertion
to put an end to the affair long since. The same
indolence prevails along the whole river, and keeps
them from profiting by the abundance of fish in the
Nile; since we left Assouan we have not seen any of
those delicate inhabitants of the water, and we have
been unable to supply ourselves, for unfortunately we
have neither nets nor fishing-rods.
In the coolness of the evening we proceeded to the
temple, the columns of which, consisting of reddish-
striped, hard sandstone, are some of the lightest and
most elegant specimens of Egyptian architecture that
I have seen. There vvere about seventy of them, of
which scarcely a third remain, and of these only ten
are standing entire. As the cartouches of Sesostris,
and many others of the most ancient Pharaohs are

154 EIDE THROUGH THE DESEET.
found here, it cannot be doubted that this structure
belongs to those times, and its destruction must be
ascribed, either to an earthquake, or to the sinking of
the foundation, which is composed of unburnt bricks.
The edifice has a large fore-court, in which there are
still sorae mutilated sphinxes, and traces of a splendid
flight of steps, 57 feet broad, leading to the temple,
which seems to have consisted of three large princi
pal halls, supported by columns differing in their
ornaments and form.
There is an iramense quantity of rubbish lying
about, and as only some of the fallen materials have
been carried away to be used for other purposes, it is
very difficult to climb over the enormous masses of
ruin, which fill every part of the teraple. We here
roused a hysena, which immediately crept under the
walls, and as we did not see it run away, it had pro
bably a lurking-place here, into which it retreated.
The temple, with its accurate measurements and
other particulars, has been described in detail by seve
ral travellers ; yet, as it contains a great number of
undeciphered hieroglyphics, and very peculiar sculp
tures, it is much to be regretted that no one, gifted
with the knowledge of Champollion, has hitherto
more accurately exarained it, as it raight certainly
afford highly interesting historical information.
Many of the colurans, are surrounded at their base
with a row of figures, representing prisoners with their
hands tied behind them, the lower half of whose
bodies is always covered by a cartouche (which
we call a ring, but from its shape and import I would
rather call it a coat of arms). On these cartouches,

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 155
according to Waddington's statement, the names of
conquered cities and provinces are inscribed, and most
of the figures (all of which seem to represent inha
bitants of northern countries,) wear a head-dress,
reserabling the Persian cap, and the others a covering
exactly like the Egyptian tarbush of our day. The
workraanship is particularly good, and quite in the
simple, noble style ofthe best period. The sarae may
be said of the friezes, capitals, and other ornaments,
which often approach to Grecian elegance, and,
indeed, the whole building deviates considerably from
the heaviness and gloomy austerity of other Egyptian
teraples of that period.
This temple is not so colossal as others of the sarae
date. The first and largest hall is 88 feet deep
and 103 broad ; the columns 5 feet 7 inches in
diameter, and none are more than between 40 and 50
feet high. The other two halls are gradually sraaller,
and beyond them was the adytum, surrounded by
twelve colurans. As the representation of Jupiter
Ammon occurs several times, it may be conjectured
that the temple was dedicated to him. There are
likewise sculptures of owls and vultures, and one of
Apis. The dilapidated pile, in its entire extent, on the
confines of the Desert, backed by a palm-grove and
the mud huts of the village of Soiib, is undoubtedly
one ofthe raost beautiful in Nubia, from the rosy-pink
colour of the stone, and the picturesque grouping of
its masses of ruins, and it must leave an indelible ira
pression on the raind of every traveller who is able to
appreciate it.
At Solib the river makes a great delour to the east.

156 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
which obliged us, on the following night, to ride be
tween thirty-five and forty miles across the Desert.
It so happened that, in order to find a spot sheltered
from the cold wind, where we might enjoy a few
hours' rest, we took a different route from that pursued
by our caravan, and this apparently accidental circum
stance probably saved the life of a sailor belonging to
the bark, who had accompanied the caravan ; for,
having fallen asleep on his beast, he had imper
ceptibly strayed from the rest of the party, and we
took him up just at the moraent when, in the greatest
anxiety to rejoin it, he was on the point of hastening
at full speed, in the wrong direction to the interior.
Going astray is a very dangerous raatter here, and
scarcely a year passes but what government couriers,
or other persons travelling alone, vanish in the Desert,
and are never heard of raore. The rapidity and per
severance with which these couriers perform the
longest journeys, on such awkward animals, and
during such heat, is almost incredible: we often
found them in the most appalling nocturnal solitudes
of these deserts, lying quite alone in the sand, by the
side of their droinedary, with the bridle twisted round
their arm, that man and beast might enjoy some hours'
refreshing sleep.
We did not reach Fakee Bint till past nine o'clock,
when the sun was already high, and the air very hot ;
here the late governor of Dongola erected a mosque
and a khan, as a charitable foundation, where every
traveller receives gratuitous lodging and cooled water.
For this latter purpose the filtering pitchers, which are
made at Keneh, are truly invaluable resources in these

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 157
countries, and as they are not always to be met with,
every traveller will do well to provide hiraself before
hand with as large a quantity as possible. The
warraest water, when it is exposed to the draught of
air only a few hours, becoraes cool in these vessels,
and during the night it is as cold as ice. In a week
or a fortnight, however, the pores of the pitchers are
choked up, and then they do not perforra their duty
quite so effectually. These pitchers are, besides, as
light as a feather, but so brittle that the slightest
knock injures or breaks thera. I have seen plenty
of filters in different countries, but none that I know
of can be corapared with the pitchers of Keneh, for
the rapidity of the process. Thanks to them, hitherto
we have never been in want of cooled water, even in
the hottest days, when our halting-places are chiefly
on the Nile.
The benevolent founder of the khan had also
planted trees in front of it, which already spread their
umbrageous crowns, and we took up our temporary
abode, under their refreshing shade, over against the
river, which is here again full of rocks. Soon after
our arrival I received a visit from the Nazir of the
village, attended by a small suite. He was a native,
and one of the most considerable landowners of the
place ; his manners were mild and engaging, and he
manifested that shrewdness, and quickness of per
ception, in which the Arabs are in general so much
superior to the lower classes of Europeans.
I took the opportunity to make several inquiries of
this trustworthy man, respecting the real relation
between the subjects and the government, which were

158 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
subsequently confirmed to rae by well-informed and
impartial persons. All the information which he gave
rae differs raaterially frora the accusations of several
travellers, though in this instance the speaker was a
considerable landowner, who was himself an interested
person, and who, with the praise which he bestowed,
did not refrain from censure where he thought it
due. I shall have various opportunities hereafter of
speaking raore at length on this subject.
The next station is Haffeer, which is twenty-five
miles distant. After the first half of the way, the
Desert fell entirely into the back-ground; and the
plains of Dongola, which are indeed much neglected,
gradually began to widen before us. There was al
most as much abandoned, as cultivated land, because of
late years severe epidemic diseases had swept off a
great number of the inhabitants. Here there are really
frequent emigrations to Darfour, which is governed by
a very enterprising Sultan, who favours foreign colo
nists, and whose extensive dorainions, which are daily
increasing, are represented by several slave-dealers,
with whom I conversed, as a paradise of wealth and
plenty. In the deserted fields, the artificial irrigation
has, of course, ceased ; extensive thickets of mimosa
have sprung up, and the poison-tree flourishes in its
greatest beauty. Antelopes are frequent in these^
thickets, and we also saw many partridges, of a larger
species than ours, and small birds of a beautiful plum
age, which fluttered familiarly about us.
Haffeer, which is about a league distant from the Nile,
indicated its vicinity to the capital by better dwellings,
more careful cultivation, and a more civilised appear-

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 159
ance of the inhabitants, as well as by the presence of
Egyptian officers, with a detachment of thirty men.
Here, too, the Katsheff was a well-inforraed person,
not a Turk, but a native.
The white ants, the dreadful termites, which destroy
all kinds of goods, commenced their devastations at
Haffeer. They are so peculiarly partial to books, that
they will devour nearly a whole folio during one night ;
of this I afterwards saw an instance at Dr. Iken's in
Dongola. The inhabitants of the village immediately
brought us several engarebs (a kind of sofa of antique
form), upon which they advised us to lay our portman
teaus and other effects, as everything that remained on
the ground would stand a good chance of falling a prey
to the ants during the night.
These engarebs are as durable as they are con
venient, and for two years I carried one of them about
•with me, which served the alternate purpose of bed,
sofa, and garden bench, and happily succeeded in
bringing it as a model to Europe. It consists of a
frarae of very solid wood, resting upon four short,
turned legs. The whole is covered with a network
raade of strips of fresh ox-hides, which collapse in
drying, and impart both durability and elasticity to
this very convenient piece of furniture. The engareb
will stand several days' continued rain or scorching
heat ; and it is only necessary to spread a carpet upon
it, to form the most comfortable couch, free from the
annoyance of insects, and it is at the same time so
light that it may be transported with the greatest ease.
These [strips of hide are used in the manufacture of
various other articles, and were formerly employed in

160 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
their barbarous executions. The delinquent being
bound with them to a tree, was thus left exposed to
the heat of the sun, till the thongs contracting as they
dried, gradually squeezed him. to death.
We found Haffeer afflicted with the epidemic fever
which is peculiar to the province of Dongola; it com
mences with bleeding at the nose and vomiting, and
proves decisive in the course of a week at the mOst;
after which either death or speedy recovery ensues.
Three months ago, the disorder raged in Dongola
itself, and it seems now to be extending farther north
ward. Many consider it to be a modified form of
cholera, and some of its syraptoms really seem to
resemble it. Yet it is generally attended with less
pain. Dr. Koch, a great anti-contagionist, who had
studied the plague and the cholera at Alexandria,
visited some of the patients, and gave directions for
their treatment, from which he expected a favourable
result, at the same time lamenting that he had not a
longer tirae to observe what he, as a physician, called
a very interesting disorder.
The distance frora this place to Dongola is 35
miles. The character of the country Was the same as
yesterday ; we passed many abandoned fields, but
they were more rarely planted with trees. Dongola
itself, which is a place of sorae extent, though built
only of rude unburnt bricks, or clay mixed with straw,
appeared to be quite destitute of trees on this side,
having fields only towards the Nile.
The town of Dongola is divided into two distinct
parts, one of which is fortified with embattled clay
walls, sorae towers, and along a portion of it by an

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 161
inconsiderable ditch ; this, however, is quite sufficient
as a defence against the natives. All the officers
of the Government have their residences here, with
the barracks of the garrison, consisting of a battalion
of infantry, (partly Egyptian Invalids, partly negroes,)
and of three or four hundred irregular cavalry.
There is a large parade in the centre of the quarter.
The other division of the town, which is larger and
nearer to the river, contains the remainder of the
population, comprising about 4000 souls. We here
found a well-furnished bazaar and a few neat houses of
the more wealthy inhabitants, built of burnt bricks,
with regular rows of windows, which are still without
glass. The Turkish governor, Mudir, had made so little
preparation for my reception, and assigned me such
an inferior house in the vicinity of the river, that I
preferred pitching my tent in the adjoining field, after
which I sent my kawass with an angry message to
the governor. When he visited me on the following
morning, I received him in my tent without rising,
presented hira neither coffee nor a pipe, declined the
offer which he now made ofhis own house, and declared
that I would have nothing whatever to do with him,
but -would leave it to his Highness, the Viceroy,
to reprimand hira for his uncourteous behaviour. It
is advisable to treat a Turk in this manner, if you
have the means of supporting this character through
out; that is, if a Turk has good reason to believe
that you have the power to injure him, you must not
u ff er the slightest affront from him, for a haughty,
reserved behaviour generally produces more effect
VOL. II. M

162 RIDE THROUGH THB DESERT.
than the raost obliging farailiarity Or marks of polite
ness. After this scene, which took place in the pre-
Eence of his whole suite, and the comraander of the
troops, who accompanied him, the Governor of Dongola
and myself became capital friends ; when he had suc
ceeded in appeasing me by many apologies, he would
not let me want for anything, but loaded me with
civilities, both during my present stay and on ray return
some months afterwards, during which time he also
g-ave rae the use of his own two Nile boats for the
whole of my subsequent voyage.
On examining ray portfolio in the evening, I dis
covered, with no little dismay, that the last volume
but one of my travelling journal was missing. An
author feels attached to trifles such as these, as to a
treasure, however foolish this may be. It appeared,
frora the inquiries that were instituted, that the book,
on our leaving Haffeer, in the middle of the night,
must have been overlooked and forgotten in the
tent. I imraediately despatched one of our Arabs,
mounted on the swiftest dromedary, in search of it,
and he brought it back safe on the following raorning.
This was, however, owing to a fortunate circum
stance, for all the houses in the village had already
been searched in vain, under the direction of the
katsheff, and ray Arab had mounted his dromedary to
return, when one of the peasants, under the promise
of secresy and a bakshish, disclosed to him that the
book he was in search of, was in the hands of a faki,
two leagues off, who intended to cut out of it very
powerful amulets against the raging fever.
It was well for me that the honour intended for my

EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 163
unimportant handwriting had scarcely commenced,
when the Arab arrived at the residence of the thief,
and by the help of his kurbatsh soon compelled him
to give up his plunder. I received the whole quite
uninjured, with the exception of a single leaf, which
had been cut out, and which was easily supplied. We
celebrated this happy event by emptying a bottle of
champagne, for our party was now augmented by two
Europeans ; Dr. Iken, who has the appointment of
army surgeon, and was formerly a Hanoverian
officer ; and the apothecary, * * * who used to be a
French captain of dragoons, and, during the war, was,
for a time, Commandant of Pirna, in Saxony.
During this libation the scene around us, — for we
were seated beneath the mimosas and sycamores
which encompassed my camp, with a thermometer at
36" R., — looked like Paradise, and everything around
was charming and animated ; several dogs were
playing beside us ; horses and camels were roaming
among the green barley ; fat cows, sheep, and goats,
belonging to the neighbouring farm; a young giraffe,
and two little gazelles, which the Governor had given
me — and on the first of which I had already raade no
very successful atterapts to ride, — sported in concord
around us, while red, blue, and green birds twittered
in the branches; and, in the tent itself, several pretty
lizards with light blue tails, and above twenty colossal
spiders with legs more than an inch long, ran up and
down the wall, and sometimes even honoured us with
a visit on our table. The tormenting insects of
Egypt, on the contrary, bugs, flies, lice, and even
mosquitoes, were become rare, nor did we again meet
M 2

164 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
with thera during the remainder of our journey. It
is doubtless too hot for them in these regions ; on the
other hand, we were tormented by sraall ants, which
nestled in our clothes and beds, and we were always
compelled to use precautionary raeasures to secure
our effects from their invasions.
Provisions, especially meat, appeared to us to be
remarkably good in Dongola, and the prices were still
very low. A kind of beer, too, is made here of dourra;
it is called hil-bil, and is used as far as Khartoum. It
resembles small beer which is beginning to turn sour:
but it is cooling and not unpleasant to the taste, in
hot weather, though it ought to be made fresh at least
every two days. Its taste completely changes while
it is fermenting, when it becoraes a highly intoxicating
and unwholesorae beverage ; but when it is quite new
none of us felt any bad effects from it.
On the 21st I visited the Governor in his clay palace,
where he has his wives, as well as several Abyssinian
and negro slave boys, whose effeminate and affected
manners are very singular to an European. The slaves
are not cheaper here than in Cairo, and Dr. Koch had
to pay 2000 piastres (five hundred francs) for a
young lad fifteen years of age.
Accompanied by the Mudir, we afterwards visited
the indigo manufactory established by Mehemet Ali.
It already produces indigo of three different qualities,
the first of which is equal to that of India. The oka
of this quality costs the Government twenty-four
piastres, and is sold for eighty piastres. On the whole,
50,000 okas are annually manufactured, and no Euro
pean is now employed on the works. The Government,

RIDE THROUGH THE DESEET. 165
likewise, possesses several gardens, which are kept in
good order, and include plantations of vine and raany
other fruit-trees, which come in part from Kordofan.
In one of these gardens is an elegantly-adorned
sakyeh — for the Nile water is everywhere found at a
moderate depth, in the neighbourhood of Dongola.
It was worked by the finest oxen I ever saw in ray
life. The oxen of this country are truly raagnificent,
of colossal size and adrairable symmetry ; they have
straight backs, and are distinguished by a singular
elongation of the skin on the neck, which hangs down
a foot and a half, and gives them a very stately ap
pearance. In an adjoining stable, which was kept
with raore than ordinary care, and had a courtyard
planted with trees, we saw sorae droraedaries of the
finest race, and four giraffes of different sizes. Be
neath the shade of the trees were engarebs, covered
with carpets, which invited us to repose. Giraffes
are so coraraon in the neighbouring desert about
Dongola, that they may be purchased at fifty or
sixty Spanish dollars a head ; but a special perraission
of the Government is required for their exportation.
The Governor is supposed to be veryrich ; and I
was informed, under the promise of secresy, that he
had discovered a diamond raine in the neighbourhood.
According to authentic inforraation, however, which
I was enabled to obtain, this diaraond mine seems
rather to consist in the lucrative management of ap-
palte, which, unhappily, furnishes an opportunity to
persons in office to practise the most shameless frauds,
which injure both the inhabitants and Mehemet Ali
himself, who is charged with all the blame by super-

166 EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
ficial or ill-disposed writers. It may suffice to men
tion one of these manceuvres, of which I received the
most convincing proof. By order of the Viceroy, all
the corn, rice, &c, delivered to the government, must
be re-sold to those who require it for their private use.
It is taken at a fixed price, which although rather
higher, is yet not unreasonable. In order to evade this,
the following expedient is adopted in Dongola : —
A rich merchant of the place, and a Coptic officer
of the Governor's, who, with a salary of some 1000
piastres, spends twenty times as much, had, when I
was at Dongola, already purchased all the govern
ment stores at the fixed price. When any person
required a supply, he was dismissed under this pre
text, and desired to wait till fresh supplies came in.
Being urged by necessity, which would not allow
them to wait, the people were forced to purchase pri
vately what they required from these two individuals,
at double or triple the price, and they shared their
profits with the Mudir.
In the sarae manner, military officers in these coun
tries, which are so remote from the seat of govern
ment, exercise the most oppressive tyranny in the
levying of recruits, &c., to escape which the individuals
affected are constantly compelled to give bribes in
money. These abuses may certainly contribute to
the partial emigrations, but they are founded solely
on the unparalleled immorality of the higher classes;
and even if Meheraet Ali should have fifty governors
beheaded every year^ — which the meanest Turk con
siders, with philosophic calmness, as nothing more
than an inevitable dispensation of God — these abuses

EIDE THEOUGH THE DESERT. 167
cannot be remedied except by the better education of
the rising generation. Meheraet Ali is using every
exertion to effect this, and, as we are all aware, spares
no expense to bring it about. If, however, the means
employed for this end are not the most judicious or
efficacious, let it be remembered that Mehemet Ali
is only a Turk, that his education is raost defective,
that he has elevated himself by the greatness of his-
own genius so far above his countryraen as to be en
abled to see what they need ; and that, with very few
exceptions, he is unfortunately surrounded by selfish
and ignorant counsellors, who, far from giving effect
to his liberal ideas, only endeavour to check them,
whenever they are able to do so unobserved and un
punished. In the evening I rode to a cemetery out of the town,
which contains the monuments of several famous san-
tons; these have the shape of our haycocks, and
certainly did not display much taste ; indeed, a bar
barous fancy was manifested in most of the tombs :
some were inlaid with various devices, such as of
aniraals and flowers in coloured pebbles ; others were
in the form of small houses ; and others, again, shaped
like rude vessels, with handles, &c. At the moraent
of our arrival they were about to inter a person who
had died that sarae morning ; while they were pre
paring the grave, the corpse lay beside it on a plain
bier, the face and breast wrapped in a cloth, and the
legs bare, surrounded by a, number of persons of
both sexes, who were uttering the most disagreeable
lamentations. The young women of Dongola are considered great

168 EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
beauties, and indeed they are often well made and
have mild, agreeable features. A few araong thoSe
here present possessed these advantages; but their
bodies were so smeared with fat and oil, and their hair
so clotted with grease, that they certainly did not
please our European taste.
During our stay at Dongola, we soraetiraes went
out gun in hand, to procure a supply of gazelles and
partridges for our table, and one day succeeded in shoot
ing two wild cats, the skins of which were very beau
tifully marked. The doctor and the apothecary were
always of the party; which the latter (who had the
advantage of manufacturing his own spirituous liquors),
cheered with an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes of his
former military career, i Among others he related that,
in the bivouac before Ulra, whither he was sent in the
night with an important despatch, he was conducted to
atent, where everybody was asleep. Intending to rouse
somebody, who should wake the Eraperor, he unfor
tunately gave Napoleon himself a violent push in his
back. He affirmed that the Emperor was very angry
{on le serait a, mains), and that in consequence of this
untoward circumstance, he never could obtain the
order of the Legion of Honour. Another story which
he repeated, had a greater appearance of truth.
When Napoleon returned from Elba, and Monsieur
went to meet him, our apothecary served in a regiment
of cavalry, which was in garrison at Lyons, and being
drawn up in the market-place, was harangued to no
purpose by his royal highness. As no Vive le Boi
was heard, the Prince ordered money to be distributed
among the soldiers, and caused one of his aides-de-

RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT, 169
camp to offer a piece of money to a subaltern officer
who was standing near, which present the aide-de-camp
accompanied with the words, " Aliens, mon enfant,
prenez, vous voyez que les Bourbons sont plus genereux
que voire Buonaparte." " QiCest-ce que fa te f  , toi,
si nous lui faisons credit^ replied the bearded warrior
angrily, disdainfully rejecting -the proffered money,
and immediately cried out " Vive VEmpereur ! " which
was reiterated by the whole regiment, and convinced
Monsieur that the best thing he could do was to return
as quickly as possible to Paris.
Dr. Iken, a man of vigorous mind and body, who
intended to try his fortune in Darfour, spoke to us of
the Doctor Francian policy of the sultan of that
country, who permits any one to enter his dominions,
but suffers no one to leave them. Two Englishmen
are said to have been residing with hira for five years,
and to be very well treated, to have everything in
abundance, but not yet to have found any raeans to
effect their escape. Dr. Iken is resolved, notwith
standing, to venture, and, as an able physician and a
well-inforraed military raan, he believes that he may
be able to render services by which he will make
his fortune. He said, however, that if he should
be better off in Darfour than in Hanover, he should
have no desire to return to his own country. At that
tirae, indeed, he did not know that King Ernest now
reigns there over a faithful people, who have wit
enough to understand a joke.
In his capacity of array surgeon in Dongola, Dr.
Iken has succeeded a Frenchman, of the name of Ger
main, who was poisoned by a negress whom he had

170 RIDE THROUGH THE DESERT.
married. The apothecary was present when this wo
man, quite unconcernedly, presented him the cup of
coffee which caused his death. The poison had been
prepared frora the juice of the noxious shrub, whieh
is everywhere at hand ; and it was so potent, that in
a few moments vomiting and convulsions ensued, and
the unhappy victim expired the same night, retaining
the use of his faculties to the very last. He par
doned the negress, though she manifested little con
trition for what she had done, and only made an
awkward attempt to deny it. However, she thought
proper, as M, Germain, with great magnanimity,
had hindered her frora being arrested, to collect
everything of value that she could lay her hands on,
and to abscond before daybreak. When the storm
had blown over, she returned, without being raolested,
and still lives in Dongola, where she has raarried a
second tirae.
It was a singular circumstance, that a few days
previously poor Germain had been stung on the lip
by a scorpion, which occasioned him great pain ; but
he soon recovered frora this accident, by the use of a
specific which is here applied against the sting of this
reptile, and which consists in instantly taking twenty
drops of spirits of ammonia in a little water.
Dr. Veith, and another member of the Austrian
naturalists' expedition, arrived here from Khartoum,
sick of fever, very miserable, and in a most melancholy
mood. When, in the course of conversation, I told
these gentlemen that I intended to follow their foot
steps, though I had previously resolved to go no
further than Dongola, and my provisions were suffi-

EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT. 171
cient only for this distance, they unanimously and
urgently advised me not to pursue the journey fur
ther, and painted the hardships and manifold priva
tions which attended it, in the raost glooray colours. I
had, however, already made up my mind to proceed
at least to Djebel-Birkel, as far as M. Cadalvene, and
would not suffer myself to be dissuaded by all their
remonstrances.

172 VOYAGE ON THE NILE,

CHAPTER VIIL
VOYAGE ON THE NILE TO MERAVI (mEROUEh). — AMBUKOL.
 DJ EBEL-BIRKEL.
While at Maraka, or New Dongola — which has
been constituted the capital of the country since
Mehemet All's conquest — I visited the few curiosities
which it can boast of, sent off all my numerous des
patches to Europe, and arranged my journals, not
neglecting every evening to refresh rayself by a cool
bath in the Nile, after the heat and fatigues of the day.
On the 1st of May, I embarked with my little suite
in two boats belonging to the Mudir, and set out with
a favourable wind for Meroueh.
The number of sakyehs, which henceforward form
an almost uninterrupted line, and of which there
are between 4000 and 5000 in the government of
Dongola alone, are indisputable proofs of an extent of
cultivation, which I certainly should not have looked
for in these remote parts. Both banks of the river
are everywhere clad with the most lovely verdure,
often intermingled with groups of trees ; but they are
all of the same kind, and therefore tiresome by their
monotony. This is certainly a great drawback to the
scenery ; and, as I have already said, it is a disadvan
tage which is coraraon to all these countries, from
Alexandria hither, and it would render a residence in
them exceedingly unpleasant, at least to me ; for there

VOYAGE ON THE NILE!. 173
is, perhaps, no river in the world which can boast of so
little variety, during so long a course, as the Nile.
The taxes of the inhabitants in the kingdom of
Dongola, nearly as far as Shendy, are almost every
where levied, according tothe number ofthe Sakyehs.
M. Cadalvene, therefore, affirms falsely, that " these
taxes are very arbitrarily levied by the government
(impositions of individual officers do not corae under
this head), and araount to twenty-two Spanish dollars
for each sakyeh; but that an indefinite quantity of
natural produce must be delivered besides, which the
Fellah is afterwards obliged to re-purchase at high
prices from the governraent." The largest sakyeh,
which can irrigate four feddan (equal nearly to a Mag
deburg acre), which may in the first crop produce forty
ardeps, pays only fifteen Spanish dollars, and the
smaller ones in proportion. There are no farther pay
ments in kind, but it is left to the discretion of the
heads of the district to require a part (legally not
more than five ardeps) of the said sura in kind,
according to a tariff annually fixed by the govern
ment, which productions, however, are not always
deducted from the total araount of the tax.
This arrangement may indeed often give rise to
abuses, but on the other hand, when the chiefs are
honest, it frequently affords thera an opportunity of
facilitating the Fellah in the payment of his taxes; and
I have myself seen several instances, in the course of
my journey, when the peasant preferred being allowed
to pay in kind. It is not true, as is asserted in many
books, that the Fellah raust deliver all the corn which
he has raised to the government at a low price, and

174 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
xepurchase it at a higher rate, an absurdity which is
self-evident, since no government could, in the long
run, carry such legal tyranny into effect. The case
in question can, at the most, occur in respect to that
part of his agricultural produce which he has deli
vered in kind, and which, as I have already said, is
deducted from the sum total of his tax, if a failure
of the crop, or bad management, or any misfortune
compels him to purchase seed-corn from the govern
ment, in which case he must certainly repurchase it
at a higher rate than that at which he delivered it,
but always according to a fixed ratio. This year the
prices were so fixed by the government that the dif
ference between the payment for delivery in kind,
and the price to be paid to the governraerit on raaking
a repurchase, was only two Egyptian piastres for an
ardep of dourra; three for barley, and ten for wheat.
If the Fellah gets into debt, either by the mal-prac-
tices of the officers, which undoubtedly often occurs,
or by his own indolence and carelessness (which is no
less frequent), his situation raay indeed become very
distressing; but those who owe nothing to the govern
ment have altogether the free disposal of all the pro
duce, which they retain after paying the taxes. The
appalte which are afterwards imposed upon the corn,
which is sold in the towns, do not fall upon the farmer,
but on the merchant who deals in it.
I ara perfectly convinced, by observation, that, con
sidering the extraordinary fertility of this soil, which
produces ten-fold in comparison with other countries,
the contributions which the government requires of the
Fellahs are by no means oppressive ; that is to say,

VOYAGE 01^ THE NILE. 175
every one after payment of these taxes may, with a
little management and diligence, gain the necessary
subsistence for himself and his family, though he may
not be able to lay by much in store.
Any person who knows and has carefully observed
the inhabitants of this country, raust confess, that
this is precisely the raost suitable condition for them,
and the only one that can keep thera frora idleness
and ruin, because it compels them to work. If the
mal-adrainistration, which it is here so difficult to con
trol, enforced only the deraands of the government,
there would be no wretchedness among the popula
tion, and there would be neither emigrants nor aban
doned fields; then would, there be in the dominions
of Meheraet Ali, only that condition of the working
classes of which the now unfashionable, but notwith
standing practically philosophical, Voltaire says in his
" Siecle de Louis XIV.": — " Le manmuvre doit etre
reduit au necessaire pour travailler ; telle est la nature
de Thomme" — (that ofthe Fellah more than any others).
'¦^ II faut que le grand nombre soit pauvre, mais ilnefaut
pas qu'il soit miserable.'"' This is also the view of
Mehemet Ali, and it is unquestionably folly to de
sire that all people should live in superfluity and
luxury, just because it is impossible.
With a brisk, searching wind, which covered us
with clouds of dust from the land, we sailed rapidly
past the large village of Hannek, and the ancient fort
ress of Handack, and on the first day reached Don
gola Aghauss, formerly the capital of the country, but
now alraost entirely destroyed. On the succeeding

176 VOYAGE ON THB NILE,
days our voyage was much slower, the weather was
glooray, and so affected us, that we all becarae ill.
On the 3rd of May I had the gratification of lei
surely observing two large live crocodiles, at least
eighteen or twenty feet long. They were of a grayish
yellow colour, and could scarcely be distinguished from
the sand on which they lay. I ascertained afterwards
that most of the crocodiles are spotted with yellow
and black, very different from the stuffed specimens
which we see in Europe, because after death they
assume a general blackish colour. The largest of
these animals lay quite motionless on the bank, vvith
his capacious jaws wide open, either looking for prey,
or waiting to have the leeches picked out of his jaws
by the well-known little strand snipe, a circumstance
v/hich was so long believed to be a fable of Herodotus,
till it was confirmed by modern naturalists, at the
same tirae a playful sport of nature, giving occasion
to a comparison which every one may apply. The
sailors caught a young bird of this species (it is of a
gray colour, with a short bill and long legs), which
for a considerable time continued to be our amusing
companion while on board.
We steered directly towards the crocodiles, and
about twenty blacks, drawn up in a long file, exactly
as represented in the frescoes of the tombs of the
kings, tugged our vessel by a rope, in the middle of the
stream, wading where it was shallow, or occasionally
swimming where it was deeper ; they seemed to have
very little fear of the crocodiles, and merely sought
to keep them at bay, by a kind of musical cry, uttered

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. itj
in cadence. In fact, the two monsters, as soon as we
approached them, hastily plunged into the water.
I observed in this locality a strange continuous fall
of sand, similar to a waterfall, except that it was of a
yellow colour, which being driven by'the wind from
the Desert, poured down a steep declivity of this
black bank of the Nile, and, as long as we remained
within sight of it, did not for a moraent abate the
rapidity of its course.
After we had passed Debbeh, from which place the
caravans set out for^Kordofan, our progress was very
slow, because the Nile here turns almost to the north,
from which quarter the wind was then blowing briskly.
Happily, by command of Mehemet Ali, the inhabit
ants are obliged to lend their assistance, on these
occasions, to all Government vessels. This does
not give them much trouble, for the navigation is
very inconsiderable, and they relieve each other from
sakyeh to sakyeh, and are consequently not em
ployed in towing the vessel for more than a quarter
or half an hour. They set up a peculiar shrill cry,
which is heard at a great distance, to announce the
approach of every party to the next sakyeh, so that
the change is effected as rapidly as at an English post
station. As we seldom landed, I shall not at present
say anything of the places which we passed, but on
my return I shall take an opportunity to mention
those that are in any way interesting.
On the 5th we reached Ambukol, the residence of
a katsheff, which is half-way between Debbeh and
Meroueh, but is quite erroneously laid down upon the
maps. A market, or fair, was just being held in a
VOL. ir. N

178 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
sandy field near the clay huts of the village. Nothing
could exceed the miserable appearance of the whole,
yet half the goods consisted of European manufac
tures, such as small looking-glasses, trifling articles of
hardware, glass beads, and some coarse English cali
coes ; the remainder were the most ordinary produc
tions of the country, chiefly articles of consumption,
and the only new thing that I met with, was a pair of
coloured sandals, from the Hedjas, which I purchased
at rather a high price.
The katsheff was a fine, soldier-like looking man,
who regaled me in his house with a very good Turkish
repast, while the floor of the room, beyond the mat on
which we sat, was constantly raoistened with water to
cool the air. Handsome arms were suspended on the
unwhitewashed clay walls, and among them was an old-
fashioned guitar, of a strange shape, with three strings;
The katsheff, who seemed to be a great lover of music,
played to us after dinner, a most grating, unharmonious
piece upon this instruraent, which, however, was soon
far surpassed by the martial music, which our Amphi
tryon had ordered for our entertainment. It was
accompanied by the dancing of two young Almehs,
who were on a professional tour from Egypt to the
Soudan, and displayed their talents by the way with
much success ; thus it appears there are travelling
artistes even here. Notwithstanding the merry humour
of the katsheff, I could not induce him to take either
wine or rum, of which I had made the people bring a
few bottles frora the boat. A Kourd in his suite,
however, who had a singularly German physiog
nomy, was less scrupulous, for he emptied a bottle of

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 179
rum, which was presented to him, almost at one
draught. After we had had dancing and music to satiety, I
took leave of the katsheff, who accompariied me to the
boat, attended by all his people mounted on horseback.
In front of the party rode two soldiers, who had very
small drums, in the shape of gourds, suspended from
their saddles, which they kept beating incessantly
with the thick end of the bridle, and thus produced a
sound exactly like the noise of a distant mill.
As soon as we were in the open field, the katsheff,
with his people, in honour of our visit, began the
djerid game, in which he himself was v^ry expert.
He told me that he was obliged to be very much on
his guard, because the strength of his arm was such,
that in this game he had once involuntarily killed one
of his own people, with the short stick which they
throw at each other.
In the district of Ambukol, which is not large,
there are 340 sakyehs; and it is computed that there
are on an average eight or ten inhabitants for every
one of these Persian wheels.
On reaching ray boat I was sorry to learn that the
crocodile bird, whose wings we had clipped to prevent
his flying away, had fallen into the water and was
drowned. The name which the natives give to this
bird signifies in our language, " the body-guard of the
crocodile ; " for they protest that they have often seen
it awaken the sleeping crocodile in order to warn
it of approaching danger. I had a few other animals
with rae : a very young gazelle from the village of
Solib, which name I gave the pretty creature, and by
N 2

180 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
the addition of a single letter -con verted it, in German,
into "Solieb,"" a narae which the graceful little animal
deserves in every respect. It is so tame, that at
night, when it feels cold, it often comes to my bed, to
seek a snug place near me. In the day-tirae it walks
on the bank and crops the green herbage, on which
occasions Susannis always bravely defends it against
the attacks of strange dogs, but becomes very jealous
when it is caressed. The good-natured Spartan
expresses this in a truly affecting manner. He first
comes to me and licks my hand, and then mournfully
turning away, he kisses the gazelle in the same way,
which, on its part, suffers all this with the greatest
composure. We are also accompanied by a goat from Kor
dofan, of a strange form and colour, which travelled
with us all through the Desert, and daily supplied us
with milk for our tea. Our animal suite is corapleted
by a tortoise, as full of restless raotion as quicksilver.
Its shell glistens in the sun like mother-o'-pearl ; its
feet are webbed, and furnished with sharp claws ; its
snout resembles that of a hedgehog ; and its eyes, as
bright as stars, are surrounded by a radiant circle.
We stopped a few moments to witness a burial on
shore. The women danced wildly round the corpse,
and made loud lamentations. After this we departed,
and on the 7th arrived, without further adventures,
at Meroueh, Here again we saw a market, which
appeared to be not much better furnished than that at
Ambukol ; but it supplied us with beef for our table,
for the first time since we left Donarola.
M. Cadalvene, who describes such a market at

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 181
Meroueh, is shocked at the horror of slaves and asses
lying pell-mell in the sunshine before the stalls. I see
nothing more lamentable in this than in the fact that,
during the balls in our capital cities, horses and servants
must freeze during the whole night, pell-mell, in the
streets, or, as is the case in Russia, even freeze to death.
The katsheff of Meroueh was everywhere repre
sented to me as a very honest man ; and his province,
which contains 1200 sakyehs, is distinguished |,by its
particularly flourishing appearance, and the evidently
greater prosperity of its inhabitants. The villages were
better built than others ; .the fields clothed with the
richest crops, and the banks animated by numerous
herds and flocks. Meroueh itself contains some hand
some houses, among which the new indigo manufactory
IS the most deserving of notice.
Our attention was, however, chiefly directed to the
isolated, square, mysterious Djebel Birkel, at the foot
of which once stood the wealthy city of Napata, which
the Romans, with their usual vandalism, destroyed, to
avenge themselves on Queen Candace, because she had
coraraanded the statues of the Emperor on the frontiers
of Ethiopia, to be thrown down. This holy mountain,
which, from the most remote ages, was the seat of a
celebrated oracle, was visible several hours before we
reached Meroueh, facing us, apparently beyond the
Nile, which here resembles a large lake. Our curiosity
was too much on the stretch to detain us at Meroueh,
longer than was absolutely necessary to procure the
provisions of which we were most in need, and we set
out so early that, on the sarae evening, we obtained

182 VOYAGE ON THE NILE,
the first view of the ruins of the temple of Napata,
as well as of its pyramids.
Djebel Birkel is about a league beyond Meroueh,
and the voyage thither was far more picturesque than
any we had enjoyed for some tirae. Besides Djebel
Birkel, two other pointed mountains, of considerable
height, rise from the Desert ; and the frequent wind
ings of the river, the numerous villages clustered on
its banks, amid verdant groves and luxuriant fields of
dourra, the tall, umbrageous stems of which waved
in the wind, afforded us, near at hand, more than one
charming landscape.
It was not till we were close under the mountain,
at a short distance inland, between the lofty palms
of the village which now stands on the site of the
ancient Napata, that we discovered the pyraraids in
which its forraer rulers are interred. One of those
delusive effects, — with which images in the clouds, and
mountain forms, soraetiraes deceive us, — is produced
by the south side of the Birkel rock, from one point
of view on the Nile, The rock presents the most
accurate representation of a gigantic female bust, and
an oval aperture in the upper part, through which the
sky is visible, gives it a bright eye. The ancient
Ethiopian statuaries themselves could not have modelled
a more imposing countenance of a divinity than, seen
from this point, is produced by a mere lusus nafurcB,
and I purposely caused our bark to tack for a con
siderable time in the streara, that I might the longer
enjoy the sight of this remarkable object.
We vvere received on the bank, near the village of

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 183
Birkel, by its sheikh, a very handsome young man,
scarcely eighteen years of age, who was slightly dis
figured by several deep cuts in the cheeks, which here
are beginning to be common, and are considered orna
mental. He was of the tribe of the Shaki Arabs, of
reddish-brown complexion, and to the natural dignity
of raost Arabs, he added a gracefulness of manner
which would have been admired in any European
drawing-room. After we had procured a sufficient number of asses
(for no one, unless compelled by necessity, ever goes on
foot here), we immediately proceeded, under the direc
tion of the young sheikh to visit the ruins of the
temple. Interesting and remarkable as they are in
many respects, yet not only Cadalvene but even
Dr. Riippel, who gives a detailed description of them,
have been rather too poetical in their account, and,
in fact, of all the books of travels which I have seen,
I have invariably found Burckhardt, Linant, and Cail-
laud's accounts alone, perfectly correct and true.
The whole pile of the ruins lies iraraediately in
front of the extensive base of the mountain, facing
the river, so that they can be seen at one glance.
Yet the total impression is nothing less than imposing ;
for the majestic, rocky, deep-red Birkel rises perpen
dicularly behind them to the height of 400 feet, and
by its proximity diminishes the effect of the moulder
ing heap. Nor were we raore satisfied by a closer
inspection ; we seemed to corae upon thera all at once,
and entering the largest palace-temple, which is
situated on the right side, the furthest to the south
east, we found, that although it covered a large space.

184 VOYAGE ON -THE KILE.
and its length must have been formerly above 400
feet, the proportions both of the propylsea and of the
cr'.dmns vV'ere of very raoderate size. The propylsea,
which Dr. Riippel designates "prodigious," if we
judge by what remains of them, could scarcely have
been fifty feet high, and the largest columns, which
the same traveller calls " colossal," are not more than
three feet in diameter, and twenty odd feet in height;
only one of them is still standing entire.
The architecture and sculpture also are far inferior
to the Egyptian masterpieces of this kind, but a
remarkable feature in them is the great variety of
styles, and many peculiarities, in coraparison with the
purely Egyptian edifices, though the characteristic
type of the whole reraains identical with them. Now,
though the teraples here are not so old as the edifices
at Thebes, — nay, very far frora it, — yet, after having
seen these ruins, and subsequently those of ancient
Meroe, I vvill not absolutely dispute the point that
Egyptian architecture, in its most reraote beginning,
may have come from the countries of Ethiopia,
whither it vvas brought at a still earlier period from
India, probably by means of the ancient commercial
route, pointed out with such acuteness by Heeren;
but, unquestionably, this architecture aftervvards ac
quired its highest perfection in Egypt, which has con
stituted it an almost inimitable model for all posterity.
Without doubt this high perfection, or, more pro
perly speaking, new' creation, exerted, in the lapse
of time, an iufluence on Ethiopia; even supposing
that the ruder commencement proceeded from it,
though Ethiopia was never able to produce anything

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 185
at all comparable to the stupendous Egyptian monu
ments. It is at the same tirae evident that a peculiar diver
sity of style, which was never adopted by the Egyp
tians, was preserved here in all periods ; and I con
sider the greater part of the reraains of Djebel Birkel
and Meroe, of which 1 intend to speak by-and-bye, as
such works, of a much later epoch, which, with a bad
imitation of Egyptian art, still retained a peculiar
type of, perhaps, a yet raore ancient age.
If there be any foundation for the assertion of M.
Cadalvene that he saw on the propylsea of the large
teraple, the base of » statue with the cartouche of Kiug
Maraka, the first monarch of the Ethiopic-Egyptian
dynasty (which statue we could not find), this would
not militate against my view of the tirae when this
teraple was built ; — I confess, however, that whenever
neither Champollion nor any other preceding traveller
was at hand to direct M. Cadalvene, I venture to place
no more confidence in his antiquarian statements, than
I do in his political information, and should consider
the buildings here to be of a still later origin.
Among the ruins of the Great Temple we found
the objects described by Dr. Riippel, such as the basis
of black granite, with an elevation on it in the shape
of a foot, in which Dr. Riippel imagines that he re
cognises the representation of a sandal of Perseus;
the beautiful cubic altar of black granite, which is still
almost uninjured, and the hieroglyphics and sculp
tures of which he justly describes as uncoraraonly
beautiful; but he does n»t mention a circumstance
which is extremely remarkable, that the only repre-

186 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
sentations on one side of this altar are two women
in armour, who stand opposite to each other as if
ready for combat ; and lastly, the slab of red granite,
eight feet square, which is likewise adorned with
finely-carved hieroglyphics.
The colossal rams of grey granite, in front of the
entrance, which Dr. Riippel likewise speaks of, are
now almost entirely cleared from the sand, and are
placed on the outside, under huts made of brushwood,
whence they are to be conveyed to Cairo. In re
moving the iramense quantity of rubbish, it was dis
covered that an unbroken series of such rams leads to
the temple, two of which are already partly uncovered,
and the others are probably still lying on the spot
buried in the sand. The figures of these rams, which
have no horns, and whose woolly fleece is carefully
executed in the stone, differs as materially from the
usual raethod employed in treating such objects in
Egypt, as all the other representations of natural his
tory, especially the horses, which it is still possible to
distinguish on the propylsea.
After what I saw in the sequel in the ruins of
Mesaurat and Naga, which have been hitherto visited
only by Caillaud and Linant, I am inclined to take
these supposed rams — which, besides, have a small
female figure between their fore-feet — to be of the
feminine gender, that is to say, not rams but sheep,
and to connect this singularity with the female
government, which continued for centuries, of the
Queens of Meroe and Napata, who always bore the
same name ; at the sarae tirae, I willingly leave the
archseologist at liberty either to laugh at rae or to set

VOYAGE ON THE NILE.

187

me to rights respecting this hypothesis, and the new
species of sheep which I fancy I have discovered in
the interior of Africa, for it is certainly possible that
they (I mean the sheep) may formerly have had horns
of metal, of which, however, no sufficient traces are
to be found on the stone.
The uncovered hall to the west of the teraple,
which seems formerly to have been connected with
it, contains the altar of sandstone mentioned by Dr.
Riippel, on the base of which are sculptures of male
and female slaves bound together; whence that tra
veller infers, that this was doubtless an altar intended
for human sacrifices, a very rash conclusion, which has
nothing to justify it, since the representation of slaves
bound together is constantly met with in raost of the
temples and tombs both of Egypt and Nubia ; and if
we were to conclude from this that they always
indicated human sacrifices, the venerable Egyptians
raust have been the greatest cannibals in the world.
The following adjacent building (always in a
westerly direction), which Dr. Riippel supposes to be
the ruins of a palace, has lost the two lions of red
granite, of which he gives a drawing. They have
been made presents of by the Viceroy, and, if I am
not mistaken, they have found their way to England.
We were likewise unable to discover the obelisk, five
feet high, with hieroglyphics, stated to be near this
spot ; but we found two tolerably executed torsos of
female figures, one with a lion's head, and the other,
who seems to be attempting to press railk out of her
breast, without a head.
The iraraediately adjoining remains are nothing but

188 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
shapeless heaps of debris, and it would be labour in
vain to attempt to guess their former destination ; but
the least injured of all the temples is the Typhonium,
close beyond them, which is half excavated in the rock.
This temple alone is in the pure Egyptian style, and
differs very essentially from the others, whence I
conjecture that it owes its existence either to some
Ethiopian king of Egypt, or to a later Egyptian
conqueror, perhaps. to Ptolemy Evergetes, who is said
to hav^e penetrated to this place, and even further.
Dr. Riippel's description of this temple is very
graphic, except that here, as well as in other places,
he invariably includes anaglyphs and hieroglyphic
writings under the same general term of hieroglyphic
sculpture, which sometimes causes confusion.* The
sculptures on both sides in the last hall of the Typho
nium (the adytum), which represent a series of Egyp
tian divinities to whom offerings are brought, are intact,
as well as several hieroglyphics, which may be easily
distinguished ; whereas the posterior wall is wholly
destroyed, and it appears as if this were done for the
purpose of making excavations. Sirailar traces of
having been forcibly opened, are apparent in a lateral
chamber, which is destitute of ornament.
A portion of the gay colours in the celia and the
pronaos, still retain their pristine brightness, and
the majority of the colurans of the colonnade in the
* The following are more trifling errors : 1, The last god hut one
on the right-hand wall of the Adytum has not merely a globe, but a
globe with high feathers on his head. 2ndly, The third god on the
opposite side is not Horus, and has not the finger on the mouth ; but
holds in both hands a variety of emblems.

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 189
pronaos, which have expressive Isis heads and Typhon
caryatidae, are still standing. Only in the first hall,
or sekos, the ceiling has fallen, in consequence of an
earthquake, and it is now extremely difficult to
scramble over the heaps of fragments and rubbish,
in order to effect an entrance into the celia and the
adytum. Above the Typhonium are the ruins of other much
smaller cavern temples, which bear the stamp of a
higher antiquity than all the rest ; but they are so
totally dilapidated that it is impossible to make any
thing of them. It is deeply to be regretted that
these places have not hitherto been visited by any
one able to decipher the hieroglyphics on the several
ruins, which of themselves raight throw some light
on the real age, the founders, and the destinations
of these temples.
We now turned to the pyramidal sepulchral monu
ments, which stand in two groups, only a few
minutes' walk from the last-mentioned teraple; one of
these groups contains only a few pyraraids, but the
other has twice as raany in good condition. Araong
the former is one that is almost entirely fallen in,
which is larger, and different in its form frora the
others ; and it appears to be of a more remote age.
The others, seventeen in number, vary considerably
from the style of the Egyptian pyramids, but they
are certainly not older, nor indeed are they very old ;
nry, I am inclined to call them, in comparison with
tiie other group, almost modern. In fact they look
as smooth and uninjured as if they had been but just

190 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
completed, I ascended one of them, which may be
done without difficulty — because each layer of stones
forms a convenient step, and only the four corners,
from top to bottom, are covered with a polished, rounded
stone moulding — and found on the summit, a square,
wooden beara, fixed in the wall, which had come to
light by the falling of a stone, and though thereby
exposed to wind and weather, was still as sound as
if new. None of these pyramids are above 80 feet high,
and they are comparatively smaller at the base and '
more taper than the Egyptian. Alraost all of them
have a low projection at the south side, with a door,
and it seeras that the bodies were here let down for
interment. Hitherto no complete investigation has
been made, though there are evident indications that
they have been often commenced. It may be very
clearly seen that some of these entrances were erected
simultaneously with the pyramids, and that others
were added afterwards.
Only a few of these pyramids had sculptures, the
forms of which were softer and more voluptuous than
the Egyptian style admits ; one of these high reliefs
represented a queen seated on her throne, the pedestal
of which consisted of lions, with a rich covering'
thrown over them. These animals, also, were not in
the Egyptian style ; they had rather the appearance
of Persian representations of the same kind : no
hieroglyphics were found here. On another sculp
ture the queen was making offerings to Egyptian
divinities, among whose attributes the Nile key fre-

VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 191
quently occurred; while other figures bore various
objects, the signification of which I could not clearly
make out.
As is frequently the case here, the natives have
chosen the vicinity of the sacred temples for their
own tombs, and made use of the ancient potsherds,
which lie about the mountain, to adorn the modern
ant-hills. At sunset we alcended the rock and its plateau,
which, as it can be accomplished only on foot, is a
rather fatiguing expedition. Of the vultures, with
which M. Cadalvfene was surrounded again hy thou
sands (as before by the scorpions), we did not see a
single trace, but only two wild cats, which climbed up
the rock before us. When we reached the top, we had
an extensive prospect ofthe wide-spread Desert ; and
on the other side of the river we clearly perceived
the large group of pyraraids of Nour, or El Belal.
Dr. Riippel states the distance of these pyraraids,
which he did not visit, and which may be reached
without difficulty in three hours, even on foot, at
seven leagues, though he affirms that he ascended the
Djebel Birkel, from which he raust have been im
mediately convinced, by mere inspection, that, as the
crow flies, it can be scarcely two leagues. Such a
palpable miscalculation appeared to me very unac
countable in a writer who coraraences his preface with
the following defiance : " In the present age, a mania
for writing appears to have seized many learned, and
a yet greater number of unlearned persons. Book-
making has become a regular trade, and the object
aimed at is, for the most part, rather pecuniary profit.

192 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
than the desire to comraunicate interesting scientific
discoveries. Another peculiarity has taken root in
these days : the majority of readers very often judge
publications by the number of sheets that they contain,
and suffer themselves to be attracted or repulsed by
the appearance, indifferent whether the contents are
useful and the information original.
" Under these circumstances it was no light resolve
which induced me to appear in thfe ranks of authors.
I had always a natural aversion for books in which,
amid an unmeaning deluge of words, only a few
original observations of an author are given — ^in order
to discover which the reader is obliged to wade through
a mass of information long since known, and partly
compiled from other works."
These are high sounding words, and very humi
liating to us poor scribblers, who are very sensible
that we can make no claim to so much sterling excel
lence. Yet, if we easily conceive the natural aversion
of Dr. Riippel from bad books, we must likewise
remember, that in the required original observations it
is above all things necessary that they should be true.
False original observations help the reader far less,
than copies of such as are correct, even when the sub
lime genius of the author required no little resolution
to induce him to condescend to comraunicate them.
The term " original observations" has also its comic
side, and reminds me of the late M. Kramer, who
published none of his many novels without printing
in large letters on the title-page, " German Original
Novel, by Kramer." Again, Dr. Riippel, who in
his Preface denounces useless words, does not always

VOYAGE ON THB NILE. 193
avoid them himself, of which among many examples
that might be cited, I will add only the following
original passage as a specimen. Respecting some
quite insignificant stumps of columns. Dr. Riippel
writes : — " Burckhardt, p. 83, says that these columns
are of limestone. I have stated the material in' my
notes as sandstone, oneof us, therefone, must have made
a mistake." What an important circumstance, and
what an acute conclusion is this ! How far Dr.
Riippel belongs to the class of learned or unlearned
writers is a question which I will not venture to
decide, because it is far sibove my comprehension.
Thus much, however, is unquestionable : he is not
guilty of attempting to bribe the public by his method
of treating his subject, an accusation which he lays to
the charge of others, for if his learning be occasionally
unfathomable, he certainly has seldom reason to reproach
himself with being entertaining; nay, his original
German style might even be taken for a clumsy
translation from a foreign language, and at the sarae
tirae the reader would find it rather strange that
so profoundly learned a man always writes Tiphon for
Typhon, &c. ; converts the Ethiopian Faki into
Oriental Fakirs ; and disfigures many of the names of
the country in such an extraordinary manner, that
they cannot be distinguished on the spot, since they
agree neither with the Arabic orthography, nor with
the sound, according to our pronunciation. He
always speaks of Meravi (Meroueh) as Meroe, a
name not known either by Europeans or by natives
of that place.
Notwithstanding the ponderous grandezza of the
VOL. II. 0

194 VOYA«E ON THE NILE.
author, his account of the real Meroe, as well aa
the view which he gives of it, is equally incorrect;
and superficial ; whereas the description by Caillaud,
Vvhom he censures, is a model of the most conscien
tious accuracy, of which, as well as of Dr. Riippel's
equally , incorrect accounts respecting Manderah, I
shall say more by-and-bye.
When I met Mr. Russegger at Khartoum, a man
who is really learned in his department, he told
me that he had found Dr. Riippel's long list of astro
nomical observations, his measurements, and his
geographical determinations, as well as several of his
statements respecting Kordofan and Nubia, not to
speak of the very unsatisfactory map which accom
panies his work, both defective and inaccurate; a
view which Mr. Russegger has since expressed in
several German journals. Thus a great portion of the
aureole of infallibility with which some hyper-enco
miastic countrymen have endeavoured to invest Dr,
Riippel's performances might be justly removed;
while, at the sarae time, if the number of his suc
cessful researches is taken into account there still
reraains a considerable amount of real services.
One of the most indisputable of these services
consists in his indefatigable collection of rare zoologi
cal specimens, and in the able manner in which they
are stuffed. In this respect the lovers of Natural
History, and above all his native city Frankfort, to
which he has generously presented his collections,
undoubtedly owe him well merited gratitude, even if
he had never been able to prevail on himself to enter
the lists of German original writers of travels. The

VOYAGE ON THE NILE.

195

concluding observation forces itself upon us a centre-
coeur that those who commence with arrogant deprecia
tion of others, in order to pass for being more able
than they, are not the persons who can be more
depended upon : exactly as, in a parallel case, we do
well carefully to avoid every one who is incessantly
talking of German honesty, and German sincerity;
— the unthinking mass alone are awed and deceived
by both.
Our gallant young Sheikh, presuming that we
should be thirsty after our fatigue, had very consider
ately caused a favourite beverage of the people of this
place — sour milk with bruised garlic — to be brought
up to us on the plateau, and he was graetly surprised
that we did so little honour to this refreshing drink !
We contented ourselves with half-an-hour's repose,
and the " shades of evening had closed o'er us " ere
we reached the river. Though I was much heated, I
could not resist the temptation of iraraediately bath
ing in the Nile ; and in the teraperature here, which is
equal to that pf a Russian vapour-bath, this may be
done with as much irapunity, as people there stand
under a cold shower-bath, or as the Russians roll
themselves in the snow.
On the following morning, after having crossed the
river, we rode on very powerful horses, lent us by
the Sheikh, to the pyramids of Nour, I consider the
majority of them to be the most ancient of all the
Ethiopian monuraents now extant. They are not so
taper as the pyramids (tarabyls) of Birkel, and conse
quently more nearly reserable the Egyptian ; neither
has any of them the peculiar projecting entrance of
o2

196 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
those at Birkel, nor do the layers of stone form steps
by which to ascend them. On the whole the remains
of rather raore than forty may be distinguished, but
only sixteen of them are in tolerable preservation, and
even these are much injured by the weather, and in a
dilapidated state. They are entirely built; of rough-
hewn sandstone and a kind of ferruginous pudding-
stone, cemented with earth, and raany of them even
appear to have been tumuli of mould afterwards
covered with stones.
The nature of the circumjacent ground affords
reason to conjecture that not only all these pyramids
were encompassed by a canal comraunicating with the
Nile, but even that several others traversed the place
on which they stand. One of these monuments
exceeds all its companions in extent, and its outer
sides are so broken and shattered, that we had no
difficulty whatever in ascending its summit. The
form of this singular structure differs entirely from
those that surround it, and it appears to have consisted
of several stories of various degrees of steepness.
Notwithstanding the most careful examination, we
could not find anything which tended to confirm the
assertion of travellers that a smaller pyramid serves as
a nucleus to the whole, and that the remainder was
executed only as a covering to it. The entire height
of this truncated pyramid as it now stands, is still
nearly 100 feet, audits circumference above four times
that extent.
It has been irrefragably ascertained that the ancient
Necropolis of the city of Napata was in this place,
and that it was subsequently transferred for the sake of

VOYAGE ON THE NILE.

197

convenience to the vicinity of Djebel Birkel. It is more
than probable that the city itself stood on the same
bank of the river, and it is surprising that no one
has yet raade any excavations in this very remark
able place, though it'is true that here they would be
attended with a great sacrifice of time, and no small
inconvenience. The inhabitants carry off a number
of the stones, some of which they employ in making
clumsy imitations of the pyramidal figures for the ad
jacent tombs of the santons, others they lay in heaps,
to protect the fields against sand-drifts ; with others
again they render their clay dwellings a little more
substantial. We found three men encaraped on the
top of the large pyraraid, who pursued their work of
dilapidation with unwearied diligence.
During this excursion, which was undertaken in an
overpowering heat, my poor Susannis showed the first
symptoms of the pernicious effects of this climate upon
dogs. I had previously read_that these effects generally
prove fatal to foreign aniraals of this class in a very
short time ; and indeed there were but few native dogs
in the neighbourhood; and I was, therefore, much afraid
that I might lose my faithful companion. My other
wise intrepid Spartan threw himself, in despair, upon
the sand, under every little bush, to obtain a little
momentary shelter from the sun, and after moan
ing piteously several times, to which we did not
take sufficient heed, he remained behind, perfectly
exhausted. On our return I immediately sent mes
sengers in quest of him, but they did not find him
without great difficulty. Man can bear more than

198 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
beast ; for, notwithstanding 'our previous fatigue and
exertions, we heroically paid another visit to all the
ruins of Birkel the same afternoon, and in the cool of
the evening returned, by water, to the village of
Meroueh.! We rested here, in* a dolce-far-niente, on
the 10th, when the katsheff gave us an entertainment.
Here we held a long consultation whether we should
extend our journey or should here terminate our
expedition, which was already considerably protracted^
Curiosity triumphed over every other consideration,
and we determined that our canjas should await our
return at Meroueh, the time of which was, of course,
uncertain; and that, on the following evening, we
would commence our new tour by starting for Shendy^
directly across the Desert, which mode of travelling
would oblige us to bid adieu ,to the refreshing Nile
for eight days.
Meroueh can also boast of sorae antiquities. In the
divan of the katsheff stood an altar of black granite,
with the well-preserved cartouche of an ancient
sovereign, which I did not find marked on Champo!-i
lion's table (my only resource on such occasions).;-
and, therefore, I cannot with a good conscience give
it a name, though if I were to put into requisition the
first of the venerable Pharaohs that came into my
head, it would not be very easy for any one to prove
the contrary.
In an open space at the extremity of the village^'
towards the river, we were shown the remains of twof
statues larger than life, and of indifferent workmanship.:
The katsheff assured us that a couple of years ago, aff

VOYAGE ON TUB NILE. 199
Englishman who spoke Arabic fluently, and wore the
costume of the country, remained forty days on the
Djebel Birkel, during which time he lived in the
Typhonium, where he was constantly engaged in
excavations, in which he daily employed above thirty
Arabs, but always sent them home in the evening ;
and whenever, he thought that he had raade a dis
covery," he continued the prosecution of the work at
night with his own servants alone. When he went
away he was not observed to take anything with him
except a sraall black granite chest, which he said
he had found on the upper plateau of the Djebel
Birkel, and which the katsheff assured us was covered
with raany letters (i. e. hieroglyphics), that it had a
kind of keyhole, and at the top bands of green metal.
The stranger had however refused to open it in the
presence of the katsheff, or to say anything respecting
its contents. Soon afterwards he set out for Khar
toum and Kordofan, and, according to later accounts,
had gone still further, but had not returned by way
of the Nile. He never mentioned' his narae. In
Meroe I found traces of this enterprising traveller
under still more remarkable circurastanees. Those
who have felt the total relaxation of all the powers of
mind and body which overcomes the European in this
debilitating climate, cannot but admire the rare per
severance of this unknown traveller. He must either
be still detained in Darfour, or else he must have
perished ; for no person in Egypt has heard anything
of his return, and even his name could not be ascer
tained with any degree of certainty.

200 VOYAGE ON THE NILE.
It is said that Djebel Birkel was chiefly indebted
for its reputation for sanctity in ancient times to its
property of attracting thunder-storms, which must
be quite invaluable in these hot countries. This
evening we had a very violent thunder storra, with
a beautiful rainbow ; but it was very distant, and
therefore, on this occasion, was certainly not attracted
by the mountain of the oracle.

UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS. 201

CHAPTER IX.
UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS.
The air was not in the least cooled by the thunder,
but continued over whelraingly sultry. Before, however,
advancing any farther in this close atmosphere, I must
move, for a few moraents, into the no less oppressive
atmosphere of literary polemics. It is an unfortunate
necessity, which, however, I will endeavour to render
as palatable as possible, for the narrow circle of my
indulgent readers.
The mistakes of Dr. Riippel, which I have pointed
out in the preceding pages, have induced hira to
honour me with a remarkably intemperate, and no less
arrogant reply, to which I gave the following answer,
and which I here repeat, for such of my readers as are
not acquainted with the literary journals in which
they were published.*
• It was my intention not to insert in this work, either the pre
ceding or the following passages relative to Dr. Ruppel, which have
already been printed in the Augsburg Gazette, and especially because
I afterwards became personally acquainted with the Doctor in the
Museum of Natural History at Frankfort, and cordially offered him
the hand of reconciliation : but as I have' since seen with surprise
that in the preface to his new work ou Abyssinia, which has been
received with well-merited approbation, he has again attacked me,
under the not very witty, and still less courteous, appellation of a
scribbler totally unknown to him, I have thought it right not to sup
press anything which I had before written concerning him, and
which, though certainly not flattering, is nevertheless perfectly true.
I leave the public to judge ofthe differences between us.

202 -UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS.
The following is the paper which I wrote : " I once
heard of a coraraon man, who was gifted with a touch
of practical philosophy, and who, on the last day of
every year, treated his wife with much violence, till,
in the excess of her anger, she poured forth whatever
insulting personalities it was possible to produce
against him, and of which he could not have obtained
so complete a knowledge, by any other method, from
his more polite acquaintance.
" Experience has since taught rae that a similar
agreeable result may be raore easily obtained in a
rather higher sphere, by pointing out some errors of a
German pedant in our literary world. Immediately
after such an exorcism, a volcano (of which, as is well
known, there are three different species, namely, fire,
water, or mud-spitting) begins to pour forth its con
tents. Sometimes we have the pleasure of seeing all
three elements come out at the sarae tirae; and for
such an interesting natural phenoraenon I am just
now indebted to Dr, Riippel, /, the tourist, as he calls
me — not Prince Piickler, who is brought into connec
tion with him, and who is not concerned in this case,
because he has never acknowledged himself the author
of the accounts which are attacked, and whom con
sequently only the uneasy restlessness and want of
tact, which characterise ill-bred rudeness, could have
thought of mixing up in this matter. I must subniiit to
being designated by Dr. Riippel sometimes as Semi-
lasso, sometimes tourist, scribbler, and other flattering
epithets of the same kind; but he has no right
whatever to speak of me as Prince Piickler, and the
less so as it is entirely superfluous for his object,

UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS, 203
because ' Semi-lasso,' and ' the author of the Letters
of a Deceased Person,' happen to be much better
known in the world than Prince Piickler, who
acknowledges himself to be far more insignificant
than these books.
" I regTct, on the whole, that the good-naturedly
mediating editor of the Augsburger Algemeine Zei-
tung, (probably from respect to his own paper,)
should have turned aside a part of the above-men
tioned explosion; for I ara really proud enough
to believe that, in ray intellectual sphere, I am too
high above attacks of this kind to receive any injury
from them. Nay, I should sincerely regret if the
worthless representation of such an insignificant tour
ist, who is supposed not even to have a conception of
the profound mystery of determining the latitude of
a place by occultation of the stars, or meridian altitudes',
could stir up the anger of a learned raan, — who does
hiraself so much justice as Dr, Riippel,^to such a
pitch, that every unprejudiced person must see that he
is sensibly wounded in some vulnerable point; I say,
I should sincerely regret this, did it not serve to place
before the public the important truth, that of all the
tyrannies exercised in our tiraes, that of scientific
pedants is the heaviest, and consequently the most
disagreeable and the most insufferable. The blind
arrogance of these (often only so called ' men of
learning' by profession) laborious beasts of burden,
who are laden with the refuse and residuum of know
ledge, and who, because they carry the husks, imagine
that they are likewise charged with the kernel ; and
that nobody knows anything or has the ability or pri-

204 UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS.
vilege to write anything save and except theraselves,
is such ridiculous and contemptible arrogance, that,
for the sake of society, it cannot be too often or too
strongly exhibited in the clearest light.
"As, however, I am very reasonably much more
fearful than Dr. Riippel of wearying the public, I
shall be content, as my unpretending reply, with the
few following remarks. -. . "
" 1st. It is interesting to see, from Dr. Riippel's own
declaration, that the violent reproof directed against
me, which had before appeared anonymously in the
Augsburger Algemeine Zeitung, and which I erroneously
attributed to the pen of an encomiastic countryman of
Dr. Riippel, carae from the worthy Doctor himself.
Of this error I confess myself guilty.
" 2nd. With respect to Saki-el- Abd, and the ' mar
vellous' sophisms which I am said to have employed
on this occasion, I must pertinaciously, and in spite
of all the imposing measurements of my learned ad
versary, abide by the simple fact that Saki-el-Abd,
as well as many other places essential to the traveller,
are vainly sought for in Dr, Riippel's map : and that
this omission still appears to me to be a defect.
With respect to Ambukol, Dr. Riippel may be per
fectly right ; but I beg to observe that on this occa
sion I have made no mention of him. I certainly
said that Ambukol was wrongly placed in the maps;
but when this was written on the spot, I had three or
four maps by me, and it is very possible that, as Dr.
Riippel says, ' I did not take the trouble of looking
at his map.' Perhaps I thought that he had forgotten
to note Ambukol on it, as well as Saki-el-Abd. There

UJIAVOIDABLE POLEMICS. 205
only where I have named Dr. Riippel, can I take
upon myself the responsibility of what I have said.
This is the case with Number
"3rd. Where it is granted that what I affirmed,
according to Dr. Riippel's expression, ' with over
weening pride,' that the distance of the pyramids at
Nour from Djebel Birkel, instead otseven leagues, as
stated by Dr. Riippel, is not more than three : but —
this is a mistake of the press, as Dr. Riippel informs
us; and though written in letters, the careless com
positor read seven instead of three. With respect to
the incorrect orthography of another word, this too is
said to be only a printer's erratum, which, in this
instance, would be a more plausible excuse ; but this
compositor must certainly be the most obstinate of his
race, since not once in the whole of the Doctor's
book, which lies before me, has this wise compositor,
who persists in being wrong beyond all conception,
been able to make out this word, which occurs raore
than fifty times. That I have judged falsely of such
errata is perhaps the more deserving of excuse, be
cause these are all passed over in silence in the list of
their companions at the end of the book.
" 4th. We will not dispute any further respect
ing the style. Le style c'est Vhomme, says Boileau : Dr.
Riippel therefore writes like Dr. Riippel ; the tourist
like the tourist, and thus the decision is a raatter of
taste. " 5th. With respect to] Mr. Russegger, I do not
indeed know what he has published in the Frankfort
Oberpostamts Zeitung (an article which is said to be
disfigured by many errata) : but I must repeat, that he

206. UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS. '
spoke to me of Dr. Riippel's statements and maps, as
being in many respects erroneous, and not to be'
depended upon. Mr. Russegger's work, from which
the acquaintance I formed with him leads me to expect
muchi will in the sequel, best prove, by a comparison
of his statements with those of Dr. Riippel, how the
matter stands ; even his paper, in the Augsburger
Algemeine Zeitung, of the 16 th of January 1844,
which has just been communicated to me, gives us a
foretaste of this, though the endeavour to spare Dr.
Riippel, as much as possible, is evident; and this con
sideration was easily explained by the fact, that Mr.
Russegger is on the point of visiting Frankfort, and
might therefore feel reluctant to expose himself un
necessarily to the danger of facing the lion in his own
den. Yet I cannot refrain frora quoting here what
Mr. Russegger published in the Steyrmdreldschen
Zeitschrift," Tpage 110, Year iv. No. 2.
" ' Riippel,' writes Mr. Russegger, ' has adopted,
in his own Travels, on the authorities of others, many
incorrect notices respecting the country of the Nubas,
which he did not see himself. In general I am not at
all satisfied with the journal of his Travels. He is too
superficial ; passes too lightly over the most important
subjects, and is too poor in real perception of nature.'
" This appears to me to be extremely clear, and
I, who only pointed out sorae isolated raistakes of
Dr. Riippel, have in general passed a less unfavour
able opinion of him than the above. But what I have
said I believe, and shall abide by it, whatever number
of authorities may oppose me, unless they can induce
me by conviction to change my opinion.

UNAVOIDABLE POLEMICS. 20/
" 6th. As I must decline returning to every trivial
charge which Dr. Riippel's declaration contains,
I beg to assure him in conclusion that, wholly un
acquainted with his honoured person, I had no other
motive in pointing out sorae of his raistakes than the
interest of truth, raingled, it is very possible, with a
little spleen, at the unbecoming arrogance which
he displayed in his preface, and in several parts of his
book, which in other respects possesses much merit.
Yet I believe that I have shown more moderation
than will be found in his reply, the tone of which
I have now been reluctantly compelled in some
measure to adopt; but I strongly protest against the
absurd assumption of Dr. Riippel, that I have accused
him of being rather superficial in the account of his
travels, only because he has represented Mehemet All
as a tyrant. I can affirm with a safe conscience, that
I was hitherto totally ignorant that the hero of Egypt
had the misfortune of having an antagonist in the
hero of the Museum of Natural History at Frankfort.
Seriously speaking, I believe that Mehemet Ali has
not much to fear from this circumstance, nay, that all
this learned knowledge of. Dr. Riippel, however great
it may be, is, nevertheless, inadequate to enable him
to appreciate the genius of Mehemet Ali ; and though
the insignificant tourist is perfectly content to be
an object of supreme contempt to Dr. Riippel, he
will, hovvever, do well, in sight ofthe glorious star, the
occultation of which he probably in vain hopes
to observe, no longer to follow the example of those
wretched barkers who cannot bear the light of the
moon without venting their spleen in useless noise."

208 HIDE THEOUGH THE

CHAPTER X.
EIDE THROUGH THE DESERT TO SHENDY.
Immediately after a refreshing bath in the Nile,
I set out with my caravan, towards midnight on the
11th of May, leaving a part of our effects, and the
menage of the boats' cargoes, with the single excep
tion of my faithful Susannis, under the care of the
obliging katsheff. I was also compelled to leave behind
a. very useful Arab servant, whom the Governor
of Derr had given me, because he was dangerously ill
with a malignant^ fever, of which, as I afterwards
learnt, he died in a few weeks.
We proceeded slowly on a hard sandy soil, and in
the morning arrived in a rocky valley, covered as
with a forest, by many half-withered mimosas, where
we found a deep spacious well of tolerably good
water. It is called Mscali, and our encampment for
the night was fixed in its vicinity. On our journey
during the bright star-light night we observed that
the Desert was full of black granite rocks, and that in
many places there were traces of vegetation, which
led us to infer that there was water below the surface.
I had subsequently so many opportunities of making
this remark, that I am persuaded of the possibility of
converting thousands of square miles of the Desert of

DESERT TO SHENDY. 209
Ethiopia and of the Soudan into arable land by means
of Artesian wells.*
We were informed that in Baden-el-Gasali (the
Valley of the Gazelles), two leagues to the side of our
road, in an easterly direction, there is a tolerably well-
preserved temple of reddish sandstone, which from the
description appears to be of small dimensions. I would
not have spared the trouble of looking for it, since no
European traveller had seen it, but our guide declared
that he was not well acquainted with the way, and
was fearful that he might go astray, so that I was
obliged to give up my projected visit.
We slept till about five o'clock in the afternoon,
when I rose to view the surrounding country, and at
the wells found several Bedouins, who were loading a
supply of water upon their camels, most of which were
black. They were armed with elegant light spears
and narrow shields of hippopotamus-skin, pointed at
either end, which I in vain endeavoured to prevail
upon them to sell. They were accompanied by two
girls, one of whom was still very young, and who the
men told me was the most celebrated beauty of the
village, which was stated to be only a few leagues
distant. She was certainly not ugly, and instead of
having scars on her cheeks she was handsomely
painted, and wore, by way of ornament, two heavy
metal fetters on her ankles, not unlike those put upon
our prisoners who are employed on the public works.
* It is not a little remarkable that the French have lately dis
covered what appeared to be real Artesian wells, and which the
Arabs informed them are very common, and frequently from 100 to
200 yards deep, in Africa, — H. E. L.
VOL. 11. P

210 RIDE THROUGH THE
At first she looked at me with a cheerful smile, but
when I approached her, to look at her more closely,
she seemed to be seized with a panic, and, accom
panied by the elder girl, bounded off like a deer
through the mimosa wood to the distant bare rocky
mountains. I took the same direction accompanied
by my dragoman ; when I reached the summit of the
eminence I was surprised by an extensive prospect
over a hilly country, dotted in the valleys by several
green Oases, but we descried not a single trace of a
human dwelling.
In the tirae of Burckhardt, all this portion of the
Desert, which was inhabited by the Hassanyeh Arabs,
was very unsafe ; but under the present government
travelling is as safe here as in Egypt.
¦ When we returned' we found the Doctor's servant
seriously ill from a coup de soleil. It was necessary to
bleed hira several times, and though he soon became
rather better, yet the lad never entirely regained his
former health during the whole journey.
On onr next marcli the caravan was again, sent
on before, and we followed at two o'clock in the
morning. The distance was nearly the same as
on the preceding night, and the character of the
country was similar, but it was diversified by a little
adventure. It was rather dark, and we were obliged
to keep close togetlier that we might not miss the
way, when, suddenly, while riding througli a withered
thicket, we perceived in our midst a spectre-like
figure. It turned out to be a very venerable black
man, with a long, snowy beard, who was quite naked,
but armed with a large straight knight's sword, which

DESERT TO SHENDY. 211
be wore suspended to ^a strap over his shoulder, not
on one side, but across his back. "He rode on a
swift-footed A^^ari ass, which was not above two feet
high, so that the man, who was rather tall, was obliged
to raise his knees high above the saddle, to keep his
feet from touching the ground. There he trotted close
by the side of my tall dromedary, under the belly of
which he might easily have passed without touching
it. We were all greatly surprised that he did not
appear to take the slightest notice of us. At length,
he muttered to himself, and then crying out in the
yell peculiar to the Negroes, he called to our guide,
who usually rode oh a little before, and pointed out
the right road, the direction of which through this
Desert, which has neither tracks nor land-marks, is
truly difficult to find, but our leader, who appeared to
be more afraid of the strange being than we were,
paid no heed to him, and only rode on the faster.
The old man laughed, murmuring to himself, and, be
fore we were aware, he disappeared amid the trees
as suddenly as he came, like an apparition of the
night. Notwithstanding all our attempts, we could not
obtain from our leader any satisfactory explanation of
what had passed; but I am convinced in my own
mind that he connected some superstition with the ap
pearance of this phantom, for he was evidently
quite overcome, and afterwards talked a great deal
about a malicious spirit which dwelt in the Black
Mountains, and which was known to all the world
by the name of the " Old Man of th*e Mountain ;"
that he assumed various forms, and that his visits
p2

212 RIDE THROUGH THE
generally foreboded evil; but he never would declare,
in so raany words, that what we had seen was this
Spirit of the mountain. Thus it seems that the savages
have their tropical Riibezahl.
We again halted in a valley ,~ covered with mimosas
quite destitute of foliage. These leafless trees, which
look as though they were totally dead, appear not to
enjoy a winter sleep, like ours, during the cold season,
but in the hottest season of the year, and we were told
that after the rain they all reassume their brightest
verdure. Most of them are of a peculiar variety,
here called samra.
During the night we found the heat almost as
oppressive as in the daytime, because not a breath
of air was then stirring ; whereas in the day, espe
cially about noon, the wind blew freshly, and con
tinually changed to almost every point of the compass.
As we were not very tired, we took our guns, and
for a long while araused ourselves with shooting; but
our sport was confined to turtle-doves and partridges
of the desert. As soon as ever we shot a bird, the
large black and white vultures, which manifested not
the slightest fear of our guns, immediately flew to the
spot, to snatch away the wounded birds that were
hanging in a tree, or endeavouring to escape. Nay,
on several occasions, they even disputed their prey
with the sportsmen, and it was positively ridiculous
to see one of the latter compelled to have recourse
to sticks and stones, in order to get rid of thera.
A few singing birds, with very beautiful plumage,
frequently anfmated the dry thickets ; and both night
and day we constantly heard the hoarse howling of the

DESERT TO SHENDY. ' 213
jackals, but we were never able to kill one of them.
There was no trace of any other animals of prey.
On the following day the heat suddenly rose to an
alraost intolerable height — when I was in ray tent,
at two o'clock in the afternoon, where the refraction
of the sun's beams makes the heat still more intense,
Reaumur's thermometer, in the most shady part of
it, was at 39°, and on the sand in the sun 55°, a tem
perature which returned, with very slight variation, for
three days together, at about the same hour of the
day. The wind blew due-south, and instead of cool
ing the air, it was glowing, as if it issued from the
mouth of a heated furnace. Not only metal and glass,
but even paper, linen, silk, wood, &c., without dis
tinction, felt burning hot to the touch ; we could find
nothing cool but our own skins, because the terapera
ture of the atraosphere was higher than that of the
blood. A sheep which was killed at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon had to be thrown away, as wholly unfit for
eating, at five in the afternoon ; our live stock suffered
even more than we did, a couple of sheep died in the
night, as well as most of the poultry which we had
brought from Meroueh, and of which we, unhappily,
saw no more till we reached Khartoum, Poor Su
sannis, too,' was alraost dead, and whining and lament
ing piteously, dug for himself a deep hole in theground,
into which he crept.
It is inconceivable how the inhabitants can endure
this fearful heat, almost naked as they are ; with only a
small waist-cloth round their bodies, their heads^ desti
tute of all protection, save their long hair, exposed to

21 t RIDE THROUGH THE
the dreadful heat of the sun, and their unshod feet to
the burning hot sand.
Our bivouac was near the huts of some natives,
who have a numerous breed of cattle, though but little
agriculture, and who subsist almost entirely on meat
and milk, called marua.
A great part of the Desert in this region is covered
with rushes and several kinds of acacia and mimosa ;
these, as I have before observed, now look as if they
were dead, but recover their verdure in the rainy
season, which likewise calls into existence raany other
plants used for forage, of which there is at present
not the smallest indication. Vegetation then assumes
a vernal garb, which it retains frora July to April,
during which time there is abundance of fodder that
may be obtained without the slightest difficulty. As
soon as April sets in, all the plants begin rapidly
to wither ; and, during this and the two succeeding
months, which are the hot season, the cattle must
be content with dried rush-straw, withered branches,
and occasionally some dry corn ; but as only a very
small quantity of the latter can be cultivated, this
nutritious food cannot be depended upon. All the
cattle that we saw in this Oasis were excessively lean
and in a most wretched condition.
We encamped about one hundred paces from the
village, at the base of a rock, in a wide level surrounded
by mountain chains. In the evening I ascended this
rock for the purpose of enjoying the prospect from
its summit, and, to my astonishment, found that
its masses, which were blackened by the sun and rain.

DESERT TO SHENDY. 215
consisted of the most beautiful hard-grained marble. I
knocked off several pieces of it, which appeared of
the most dazzling whiteness, traversed in many places
with red veins, and in others with black.
Frora the top of this rock, which might be about
one hundred feet high, I clearly perceived several
considerable channels of rivers winding between the
groups of trees; here the water collects in the rainy
season, and when flowing in great abundance, must
convert the landscape into a garden.
Shortly after sunrise the wind veered to the north,
and in a few minutes rose to a hurricane, which threw
down our tents, for, unhappily, all the cords were
rotted by the heat. In fact, almost everything we
possessed, especially articles of wood, were gradually
going to pieces ; our trunks and chests would no longer
hold together ; nay, even my English desk, which is
of the best workmanship, is so out of joint, that I am
obliged to carry my money in a napkin.

'14,
Yesterday's storm was speedily succeeded by a
dead calm, and as no dew fell in the night, and not a
breath of air stirred, the atmosphere was oppressive in
the extreme, and rendered travelling most fatiguing.
One of our dromedaries refused to go on ; the poor
beast was quite exhausted; it laid itself down, and
nothing could induce it to rise again. Happily we
met, almost at the same raoment, two travellers
mounted on good camels, one of which our kawass —
for necessity knows no law — took perforce, on pay-

216 RIDE THROUGH THE
ment, however, of its value. Had it not been for this
summary proceeding I know not what we should have
done, because the camel which had becorae ill
belonged to the guide, and raoreover carried all our
most necessary effects. The Arabs left the poor
animal on the spot where it had laid itself down,
declaring that in some way or other it would take
care of itself, and be found there safe and sound on
their return.*
The tracts through which we passed, this brilliant
starlight night, retained scarcely any of the cha
racteristics of the Desert, but assumed such a cheerful
and diversified appearance, that it raight justly be
called the Switzerland of the Desert of Bahiouda.
The whole extensive tract lying between Shendy,
Debbeh and Berber, and which is enclosed by the
Nile like a peninsula, is comprehended under the
denomination of the Desert of Bahiouda. Dark
jagged raountain chains, rising from 1200 to 1500 feet
high, almost uninterruptedly bounded the valleys,
which vvere covered with thickets, sprinkled with a
few trees, which still retain their verdure.
In these mountains, veins of primseval limestone
formed broken strata, both above and between porphyry
and granite. We vvere obliged to traverse one of these
mountains, but it was almost too picturesque for our
convenience, for dromedaries are bad climbers. We
then proceeded for two hours along the windings of a
deep ravine, shut in by high steep walls, through the
rough, gravelly, dry bed of a river, till we reached some
pretty little valleys, the ground of which was as level as
* This actually was the case, when we came back.

DESERT TO SHENDY.

217

water, and which, in the rainy season, are said to form
large lakes, with beautiful verdant islands. The sub
stratum everywhere consists of stone or hard sand, and
beneath the gravel, beautiful onyx and other stones
of the most diverse colours are frequently found.
There is no want of wells here, and though 'the
water is often lukewarm, and so impregnated with
sand that it looks like clay-wash, yet it is wholesome,
and has by no raeans a disagreeable taste. It was the
more welcorae to us because the water which we had
taken with us in rude skins shortly became unfit to
drink, on account of its bad smell : this was a raost
unpleasant circurastance, especially as each of us
needed five or six bottles every day, in some degree to
slake our incessant thirst.
The spot on which we pitched our tents in the
morning was wild and romantic in the sublimest style.
A dark blue rocky hollow, without the slightest sign
of vegetation, — the rock consisting of the most beau
tiful porphyry and yellowish granite, — was* piled up,
as if by an earthquake, in masses of the most hetero
geneous forras; and raany of these gigantic blocks
were balanced upon each other in such an incredible
manner that we expected every moment to see
them hurled down by the rushing wind. What a
treasure would such a quarry be in a country where a
proper use could be made of it ; here the most pro
found solitude reigned, a silence unbroken by the
slightest sound, and even the neighbouring well seems
to attract no living creature. I climbed about the
rocks for more than an hour, but could not obtain
any distant prospect, because, wherever I ascended

218 BIDE THROUGH THE
mountains rose beyond mountains and shut in the
view on every side.
The well in this wild spot contained clearer and
cooler water than any we had hitherto seen, or met
with afterwards. Our guide called this place Magaga,
but not a village or even a dwelling is to be seen far
or near. A keen wind blew between the narrow
openings in the defile, and we therefore suffered less
than usual from the heat ; but it again carried off our
tents at rather an unlucky moment, for the Doctor
and myself were lying half-dressed upon our beds,
busy writing our journals. This sudden exhibition
and the consequent confusion presented a highly
coraic scene, but it unfortunately occasioned some
slight daraage.
We could notprocure anything eatable here, and had
no reserve stock, as provisions will not keep ; we should
therefore have been obliged to observe a corapulsory
fast, had we not been released frora our distress by a
covey of partridges, which we shot at the well, and
half-a-dozen turtle-doves, which our indefatigable
Ackerraann brought back after an hour's absence.
The latter bird may be obtained daily, in any quan
tity, from Alexandria to the most southerly frontiers
of the Soudan; so that if the traveller is provided
with a sufficient stock of powder and shot, he will
have no need to starve, even if he cannot procure any
other provisions in the Desert, in which predicament
we were at this moment placed. It is more difficult to
take a successful aim at the gazelles ; indeed, we did
not succeed in obtaining one during the whole of this
tour, although we saw great numbers of them.

DESERT TO SHENDY. 219
Scarcely any insects make their appearance at this
season, except spiders and locusts, and since I left
Cairo I have seen only two butterflies ; I did not
make chase after them, because the English critics
have reproached me for indulging in, what they term
childish sport. In the evening, however, we found
numbers of a splendid species of hornet flying about
the well, one of which I took the liberty of adding
to my entomological collection.
The prevalence of the high wind during the last
few days, induces me to give a hint or two respecting
the tents, and I will subjoin a few others for the
benefit of future travellers. In the first place it is an
essential point to train the people to select the best
site for erecting the tents. They must of course be
placed in the shade, whenever it is possible, but it is
yet more indispensable that they should be exposed to
a draught of air, and that the entrances of both ends
ofthe tent should be placed oi^i^we^j/ against the wind,
in order that a current of air may be preserved with
out driving in the dust in a straight line. When the
heat is raore than comraonly oppressive, it is advisable
to leave the sides entirely open, and only to have the
roof spread as an awning. When the sun shines
upon it, the roof should be covered with thick straw
mats, and whenever there is an araple supply of
water, they should constantly be kept wet; the ground
about the tent should also be well moistened. These
apparent trifles, when properly attended to, will cer
tainly produce a difference of eight or ten degrees in
the temperature ofthe interior, which, even under tlie
most unfavourable circumstances, is no small relief.

220 RIDE THROUGH THE
With respect to clothing, I have invariably found
that in consequence of the sudden alternation of heat
and cold, light-coloured half-cloth or cashmere gar
ments, and a fine flannel-waistcoat next the skin, are
the most suitable, and very preferable to a light linen
dress; but the main point, however, is to have a triple
or quadruple covering for the head, to protect it
against the sun ; and, on feeling the least chill, in
stantly to put on a woollen burnous, or cloth cloak,
both of which should always be at hand, as a cold or
chill is attended with the most dangerous conse
quences here.
With respect to diet, I have never followed [any
fixed system, but have partaken of as much, or as
little, as I happened to have, or as was suitable to my
wants. If my appetite was good I did not stint
myself, and unhesitatingly lived upon meat or fruits,
fat or lean, sweet or sour, indiscriminately, but never
to excess. Sometimes I drank wine, soraetiraes fresh
or sour railk, beer or brandy, but the latter for the
most part mixed with water, likewise the bilbil of
Dongola, the mishmish of Ethiopia, ordinary lemonade,
or limonade gazeuse, artificial soda-water, prepared with
the English powders, or sherbet with lemon-pips, and
milk of almonds, which latter, by the way, when
neither milk nor eggs can be obtained, is an excel
lent substitute for them in coffee or tea.
1 partook of these various beverages as fancy or
convenience prompted, without ever experiencing any
ill consequences ; but, at the same time, I used the
precaution to have the water first boiled whenever it
was not pure, and to avoid drinking anything cold

DESERT TO SHENDY. 221
when I was internally heated; and I never ate or
drank more or less than hunger and thirst dictated.
There is, however, nothing against which travellers
must be more on their guard in these cliraates than
unnecessarily taking raedicine ; for I have seen raore
than one person lose his health, nay, even his life,
by using applications which by us are considered
trifling remedies for a slight indisposition.
I myself was so happy as to escape all the ill con
sequences of the climate and air, which have proved
so fatal to Europeans, and though often surrounded by
epidemics, was never laid up with fever or any other
disorder, for headaches and slight indispositions of
that kind cannot be taken into account. The only
exception was a dangerous dysentery which I subse
quently drew upon myself during the rainy season, in
Sennaar, solely by unnecessarily taking a dose of Seid-
litz powders, at a time when I unfortunately had no
wine left to counteract the injurious effects of the
medicine: my reader is already aware that I com
mend wine as the greatest Hygeian power, yet only
so far as we may feel the need of it, and perhaps
Lave been in the habit of taking it.
I have laid it down as a rule, always to follow
the impulse of nature, and to consider the doctrine
which recomraends the traveller to be guided in
every country by the mode of life pursued by the
natives, highly pernicious and absurd, unless they
are entirely subordinate, both to the first principle
and to a regard to long-established habits. This
my constitution, at least, requires ; and every person

222 RIDE THROUGH THE
who has a similar one will be benefited by following
my advice.
Again, I believe that a traveller who carefully
avoids sudden chills, who abstains from partaking of
any food that is not fresh and wholesome, and who
frequently bathes his eyes with cool water, need not
be apprehensive of the ophthalmia so prevalent in
Egypt ; and I attribute the fatal fevers which during
the rainy season prevail in tropical climates to nothing
more than either a cold and its effects on the stomach,
or to the mixture of poisonous insects in impure
water. We had daily occasion to observe the ex
treme carelessness in both these respects of the inha
bitants of the countries whom we are desired to
imitate, and in consequence of which they fall victims
to these disorders as well as Europeans.
As soon as the moon rose above the tops of the
raountain heights, we pursued our journey, which
for the space of four hours lay over an extensive plain;
we then halted, and took advantage of the intervening
darkness, between the setting of the moon and the
rising of the sun, to enjoy a few hours' sleep.
In the cool of the morning we proceeded on our
way, but we had not gone very far, when we were
astonished to see the camels of our caravan, which,
according to our calculation, ought already to have
arrived at the appointed station, scattered over a wide
extent in the distance before us. Soon afterwards>
we perceived isolated traces in the sand of their
having lain down, surrounded by fragments of glass,
lanterns and bottles, broken china, loose boards of

DESERT TO SHENDY. 223'
chests, Ssc, which announced to us that some disaster
had happened.
It appeared that, shortly before midnight, the
leaders of the caravan had halted near a herd of
oxen belonging to a neighbouring village, for the
purpose of resting, and refreshing themselves with
milk, when the herd was suddenly attacked by a lion,.
which they said was of a prodigious size. Fortunately
for us, the lion seized upon a cow and an ass belong
ing to the Arabs, the former of which he rautilated,
and carried off the latter in triumph, A general
panic was spread among man and beast ; our camels,
maddened with fear, galloped away in every direc
tion, many threw down their burdens, others fell upon
the sand, and it was several hours before they could
all be brought together again. Nothing remained for
us but to collect the scattered chests and sacks, to tie
together, as well as we could, our broken crockery
and effects, to pick up our baggage, which was
lying pell-mell upon the ground, and replace every
thing upon the backs of our camels.
Our loss was even more considerable than at first
sight appeared, for many of the most requisite articles,
and others which luxury had almost rendered neces
saries, were injured or destroyed; even several of our
water-skins, which had been replenished at the last
well, had burst, and alraost the whole of our stock of
wine, liqueurs, oil, vinegar, &c., of which we had been
so econoraical, had been thrown away upon the sand
of the Desert, The reader, in the enjoyment of com
fortable repose, may perhaps sraile at our misadven
ture, but the scene of disaster and confusion which

224 RIDE THROUGH THE
was here so unexpectedly presented to us in the glare
of the tropical sun, was a truly tragical spectacle;
added to which, we fancied we could hear, from the
neighbouring mountains, the roaring of the mbnster
which had played us such an ungracious trick.
We'were now compelled to remain with our caravan,
and to travel at snail's pace, which was infinitely more
fatiguing than the most rapid trot, especially as the
heat was alraost intolerable, and we did not reach the
rocky valley of Gagdool till eleven o'clock, Dr,
Riippel, with his usual perversion of naraes, calls it
Gekdud, and places it on his map above a day's
march too far westward, a mistake which I find
accurately copied in several later maps. Thus error
is propagated as an hereditary disease, aud it is
unquestionably the duty of even the unlearned to
rectify it if he can, for when upon the spot ocular
inspection gives him an advantage which often makes
hira the more learned of the two. Dr. Riippel, who
I believe was never here himself, likewise speaks of a
deep lake in the valley; this must have been in the rainy
season, for we saw only a very remarkable deep recess
or cavern in the rock, at the end of the valley. This
reservoir is full of water of a considerable depth at all
seasons, but especially when the tropical rains extendto
this northern latitude. The temperature was low, and
the surface completely covered with a green viscous
coat. The vault of the grotto is really splendid, and at
the same time a remarkable natural curiosity, because
the lower half consists of porphyry, and the upper, as
if cut off and exactly fitted to it, of granite. In the
darker parts of the grotto we clearly distinguished

DESERT TO SHENDY.

225

many narrower hollows and cavities, which lead into
the interior of the rock, and are said to penetrate it
to a considerable distance.
The perforated summit of this rock, which rises
above the grotto to the height of sorae hundred feet,
forms natural cisterns, which supplied us with excel
lent water; and there are several indications in the
grotto itself, which prove that, in the rainy season,
it receives the contents of a considerable waterfall
which pours into it from the overflowing of the cisterns
above; this body of water accumulates to such a
depth at the bottom of the grotto that it can never be
totally dry.
The valley itself, which is hemmed in by rocks, has
at present no trace of any reservoir of water ; it is
covered with stones and nodules of various sizes,
interspersed with numerous trees, which even at this
season retained all their foliage, and made our halting^
place doubly agreeable. Besides several large speci
mens of acacia and mimosa so coraraon here, I ob
served totally different species of the latter in great
abundance ; the elegant form of the mimosa looked
as if it had been under the hands of a French gar
dener of the old school, who had clipped it into the
exact shape of an inverted goblet with a slender foot.
There was also a fine species of plum, that resembled
our wild apple-trees, and which we had before met
vvith in the Desert,
After the disasters that we had suffered, we thought
it advisable to halt here another day, during which
time the weather was very misty, and, throughout the
greater part of the day, the sun, shorn of its beams
VOL. II. Q

226 RIDE THROUGH THE
was visible, in the firmament, but it presented the
extraordinary phenomenon of a pale blue colour. A
gentle east wind cooled the air and brought us the
agreeable temperature of 92° Fahrenheit. This in-
vigorated our nerves, and gave us strength to encoun
ter fresh fatigues.
In the evening there was an arrival of several
travellers from Khartoum, with their attendants,
and also droves of camels and oxen from Sennaar,
they halted here to take a supply of water frora the
grotto. Some of the draught-oxen of this herd were
of the greatest beauty, especially one, of a jet-black
colour, whose tail was tipped with white, and which
presented a fine model of the sacred Apis of ancient
times. Our encampment was a scene of manifold
animation, because all the herds of the neighbour
hood also came to the valley, morning and evening,
to water.
I had taken up my abode in a small cave, half-way
up the amphitheatre of rocks which encompasses, the
valley, whence, as from a box at the opera, I had a
coup-d'oeil of the changing scene of our bivouac ; it
presented a most singular spectacle, strangely illu
mined by an azure sun, which was traversed by clouds
in fantastic forms. Iraraediately opposite was the
raysterious grotto, involved in impenetrable darkness,
and, by the side of its sedge-green waters, a large
blazing fire produced a wondrous effect ; . below me
lay the rocky valley, with its cup-shaped mimosas,
enlivened by caraels, horses, asses, oxen, sheep and
goats, which were walking about, or stretched at their
ease in the refreshing shade. Now and then a naked

DESERT TO SHENDY. 227
negro, or an Arab, in his white garment, made their
appearance among thera, and gazed with astonish
ment at the ant-like activity of our Europeans; one
of whom was attempting to shoot one of the large
eagles, which build their eyries on these rocks, and
are much raore shy than the vultures ; the other, sans
fafon, caught hold of a cow from Sennaar to milk her
for our tea, while otir cook paraded among the cattle,
waving his, soup-ladle like a sceptre ; and lastly, the
fourth was swimming about in the green and yellow
vegetating puddle of the grotto, which cooling
though dirty bath, under the protection of its invi
sible nymphs, he preferred to everything else.
As we had a march of 60 miles to the next well,
we thought it advisable to perform the entire dis
tance at once, with short intervals of rest, in pre
ference to stopping a whole day by the way without
water, for the greater part of our water-skins had
become leaky by the unhappy adventure with the lion.
We accordingly left Gagdool on the 16th, as early as
five o'clock in the afternoon, and rode for thirty miles
through the interminable plain, which here and there
could boast of a few withered trees and rushes.
When night set in, and the crescent moon
was bright in the firmament, our two sable guides
saluted her by a melodious song, which struck me
the raore because it was the first tirae I had heard
African vocalists, who sang, not through their nose,
but like Europeans, from their chest. The strain was
cheerful, nay, almost playful and not without grace.
It may help the reader to form an intelligible local
picture if I here sketch these two natives in a few
Q 2

228 RIDE THROUGH THE
lines. The elder of the two was a compactly built
little man, about thirty-five years of age, who had
accompanied us from Meroueh ; we designated him
the Spirit of the Wood, on account of his thick jet-
black hair, which hung wildly over his shoulders, like
serpents, and mingled with an equally luxuriant
and equally black beard, nearly reached his waist ;
his enormous teeth, white as ivory, were almost
always visible, and his fiery little eyes, peering
eagerly from his round countenance, which in its
unwashed condition was of the colour of an old copper
kettle blackened by soot, gave hira a most original
appearance. His breast and shoulder blades were
excessively prominent and fleshy, while his legs, on
the contrary, with protruding knees, were miserably
lean, with scarcely any calves — a defect which is very
coraraon araong the Arabs, and almost universal
among the Berbers, Dongolese, and other inhabitants
of these pai'ts. His hands and feet were well shaped,
which indeed is the case with most of the natives, and
each cheek was cauterised with five deep parallel lines,
partly for ornament, and partly as a preservative
against diseases ; for this latter purpose, he likewise
wore on his right arm a leathern bracelet with a tiny
case of the sarae material, in which a written amulet
was enclosed. On his left arm, as a pendant to this
ornament, he had a dagger somewhat like a knife,
and a sword with an iron hilt was suspended by a
short broad strap across the shoulder, rauch in the
same way as we carry our fowling-pieces.
I was assured at Khartoum that these arms, which
are in very general use here, are manufactured in

DESERT TO SHENDY. 229
Holland, and form a considerable article of trade in
these countries; it was evident that they were of
European manufacture.
With the exception of a short linen skirt round
his waist, our Spirit of the Wood, like the rest of his
countrymen, was quite naked ; and he rarely buckles
on his leather sandals, or throws a handkerchief over
his head. His body and hair are always greased with
fat, and after the servants' dinner, in which he other
wise takes but little share, he never fails carefully to
scrape the butter or fat which may remain on the plates
and dishes, and to treasure it up as a valuable cosmetic.
Disgusting as this may appear the result is very
satisfactory, for it entirely keeps off the insects, and
gives the greatest beauty to the skin. I have never
seen even a lady in Europe, whose skin had such a
beautiful faint lustre, and perfectly sraooth surface,
and such a velvet-like softness, as is here almost
universal, both among raen and woraen. I raust con
fess that-a reddish dark-bro\\'n complexion appears to
me the most beautiful ; white, on the contrary, always
looks sickly, while the black of the negroes has the
appearance of being burnt. It is impossible to de
scribe the beautiful effect produced by the sun's shining
on the neck of an individual of the colour which I
coraraend ; it seeras like a dark silk gauze spread over
a gold surface, and both satin and velvet look harsh
by the side of it. I look upon this hue as the standard
of perfection, and am, therefore, disposed to think
that our great progenitor raust have been of that cora-
plexion, and that his northern descendants have grown
paler and paler from cold, distress, want, and too much

230 RIDE THROUGH THE
thinking, and his southern children have been baked
iterally black by the burning sun.
The mental powers of Habib- Allah — a name v^diich
literally signifies Theophilus — were weaker than his
physical energies, and his mind was not as polished as his
skin : indeed, his stupidity was often a trial of patience
to us. Thus, we have a habit, useless, perhaps, in itself,
but yet affording sorae relief in a fatiguing, long journey
(much the sarae as crying out when in pain), of asking
whether we are far from our journey's end, whether
we have travelled half or a third part of the way, how
many leagues we have still to ride, &c., &c. Now,
Habib-Allah could never be made to coraprehend
these questions, and his answers were invariably most
unsatisfactory, because by the word "far" he could
understand only a day's journey or more, and by
"near" something less than a whole day's journey;
and he was totally incapable of comprehending a
division of the day into several smaller parts, and still
less a calculation according to hours. If we asked
him, pointing to a distant mountain or other object,
" Does the place to which we are going lie before or
behind that mountain ?" his invariable answer was,
"The place to. which we are going lies before and
not behind ws." He was, however, always in.good
humour, and satisfied with everything.
Indolence and cheerfulness are the principal features
in the character of these children of nature. Good-
natured and obliging, gifted with acute senses, almost
without wants, inured to circumstances, like the beasts
of the field, content with the sraallest gift, and re
garding the slightest fortuitous incident as a boon of

DESERT TO SHENDY.

231

fortune, they appear to live perfectly satisfied ; nay,
they thus, perhaps, enjoy the only real freedom which
it is possible to obtain: for he alone who needs
nothing for himself, and consequently has no need of
others, can justly call hiraself free; corapared with
thera, what galley-slaves are we ill-fated Europeans
in this respect !
We v^'ere made fully sensible of this disadvantage
during our last day's journey through the Desert,
when we were all reduced to rice without anything to
make it palatable, and impure water, which put us
gentlemen completely out of sorts, and made all our
European servants obstinate and careless, while these
happy people were quite superior to all this — every
temperature is the same to them, any water palatable,
and the smallest portion of moistened flour is amply
sufficient to satisfy their hunger.
Habib-Allah's good-humour on this occasion over
flowed to such a degree, that he often leaped from
his camel, and, without delaying our progress, ran by
the side of the animals, during the most parching heat,
and performed a martial dance, with his drawn sword ;
his grotesque vaultings, and the awkward contortions
of his body, compelled even the most ill-humoured
among us to laugh ; but the more we laughed at him,
the more happy and flattered did he feel hiraself
Our second guide, whom we had engaged at Ma
gaga, was of a somewhat different stamp, and a kind
of petit-maitre of the Desert — much quicker than
Habib-Allah, though not much brighter in point
of intellect, but more talkative, inclined to joke, and,
above all, rauch more vain. This was very evident

232 RIDE THROUGH THE
in his dress ; for besides his elegant apron, dagger,
and amulet, he wore glass beads of many colours, tied
round various parts of his body. His hair, like tliat
of the women, was plaited in a hundred little braids,
and was very accurately cut of equal length in the
nape of the neck. In order to keep this precise,
antique Egyptian head-dress always in perfect order,
he wore a thick rush stuck behind his right ear, just
as the clerks in our counting-houses place their pens ;
when not talking he was always singing, although he
was obliged to run nearly the whole way by the side
of our aniraals, while Habib-Allah raore frequently
rode, and seldora gave hira his place on the droraedary
for raore than half-an-hour. They, however, agreed
perfectly well, though Habib-Allah, as the elder,
always preserved the tone of a certain superiority
towards his corapanion.
We did not reach the wished-for well of Abadlech,
till eleven o'clock at night on the 17th, The animals
were almost exhausted, and we ourselves tired to
death. It is well known that the camel is called " the Ship
of the Desert," and a celebrated traveller affirms that
the motion of the droraedary resembles that of a ship.
Nothing can be raore unfounded than this assertion ;
it is true that when it goes at a slow pace you are
rocked backwards and forwards, but so ungently, that
it has not the slightest reserablance to the motion of
a ship: while in a trot the animal jolts so terribly, that
on a long journey this continued shaking gives most
people a constant headache, which they do not lose till
after sorae hours' repose. This motion raay, perhaps.

DESERT TO SHENDY. 'd'ii'6
be wholesome for hypochondriacs, for the whole body
is most thoroughly shaken.
To this is added the highly inconvenient shape of
the saddles, the bad effects of which are not entirely
remedied by tying cushions and carpets over them.
When mounted on my dromedary, a handsome
animal, almost as large as an elephant, I sat upon a
pile of cushions, which raise rae as high as the box
of an English stage-coach. Itwas a splendid animal,
and enjoyed a great reputation in the country, and I
was very anxious to have it, but the owner would not
consent to part with it. When the Katsheff caused
the animals which I required to be demanded at
Meroueh (demands which dare not be refused, but
for which the Government however pays), he steadily
refused, till a message from the Katsheff laconically
signified to the obstinate proprietor, " in an hour your
dromedary, or your ears and nose," which left the
choice no longer doubtful.
My reader must not be too much alarmed at this
tyranny. The phrase "cutting off the ears and
nose," has becorae here a raere figure of speech under
Mehemet All's government, just as among us the
threat to pull a man's skin over his ears. The first
phrase signifies here only a few strokes with the kur-
batsch, which settles matters in a short time ; whereas
among us, the poor wretch gets a law-suit about his
ears, which lasts a thousand times as long, and costs
a great deal of money into the bargain : two points
on which the Arab is more sensitive than about his
little castigation.
With respect to the arbitrary measure of making

234 RIDE THROUGH THE
requisitions, we need only look at home, for it is no
better in our own country ; if we force our land
owners, farmers, and peasants, to lend us their horses
for a trifling remuneration, thatthey may be eraployed
in the exercises of the Landwehr, after having pre
viously taken the men without the horses, (which I do
not by any raeans blame, as it is done for a very
laudable and national object) I see but little difference
in the two countries with respect to their compulsory
measures. Force prevails here as well as there, with
this difference, hovvever, that with us it is so methodi
cally organised, that the bare idea of resistance is
impo'isible, whereas in this country, it is frequently
attempted, and not unfrequently the individual escapes
unpunished. The world is the world all over, '^and in the main
there is but little difference anywhere : the raost in
disputable right will always be that of the strongest,
and the old French cynic will ever be in the right :
" Qu'il y aura toujours et par tout beaucoup defripons et
encore plus de dupes." The modifications are, indeed,
innuraerable, and wonderful are the varieties which
we meet with in the conditions of the huraan race.
Here an absolute sovereign reigns ; among us, the
people think that they are . happier if a constitutional
apparatus is set in motion ; yet even there power knows
how to maintain its influence, and (as a cunning lawyer
mystifies the stupid peasant) a nation is often easily
induced to impose upon itself by means of purchased
representatives, such burdens as no minister and no
despot could, under other circumstances, have ven
tured, without danger, to atterapt. But it is much better

DESERT TO SHENDY. 235
to laugh than to weep at such matters, and to be con
tent with things as we find them. In this respect I
think even the Chinese are wise.
The meat we had brought from Gagdool was
spoilt before we wanted it. The water of the well,
too, at which we halted, was foul and brackish,
we had neither bread nor wine, and our supper
consisted raerely of rice, which had constituted our
breakfast the day before, and would necessarily do so
on the succeeding day.
While our pebple were loading the beasts the
following morning, I had lain down on cushions, upon
a carpet, under the shade of an old tree, till my dro
medary should be brought. When I rose, I heard a
hissing noise behind me, and, turning round, perceived
a large serpent, black as jet, still half concealed in the
hollow trunk of the tree, with its head and the fore
part of its body coiled up, resting on my pillow close
to the place where my head had left an irapression.
There is no doubt that the serpent, attracted by
the warmth and softness of my cushion, must have
remained a considerable time in this attitude quite
near rae, and that ray sudden rising disturbed it, and
caused its angry hissing. It was about two or three
inches.thick, and, as the natives affirmed, of the raost
venomous species. Thus we often escape dangers
without having the slightest notion of their existence.
The part of the Desert through which we rode on
this day and during the night especially deserved the
name of desert, for it consisted throughout of abound-
less plain, as level as the sea, and without even a
trace of a blade of grass; yet the sand was still hard.

236 RIDE THROUGH THE
and in many places thickly covered with a crumbling
black stone. Shortly before we reached the end of
our march, we came to a thicket of acacias, where the
growling of some hyaenas made our droraedaries
rather uneasy, and, as it was bright moonlight, we
alighted, in the hopes of shooting one of thera, but they
fled so rapidly, that we could not possibly catch them.
After midnight we perceived the houses of Matam-
aiah, (which, since the destruction of Shendy, has
been the capital of the district,) where all was still
buried in profound repose ; and it was long before
we could find a guide to conduct us to our tents
on the Nile, because the river comes up to the
town only at the times of the highest inundation, and
was now full half a league distant from it.
It may be conceived with what delight — thirsty and
exhausted as we were — we hailed the cooling stream,
and revelled in the enjoyment of its nectar, for now I
was fully sensible that fresh water may be real nectar.
Almost equal enjoyment was afforded us in the
morning by a refreshing bath, though we were strongly
dissuaded from venturing into the water, on account of
the crocodiles, which were becoming more numerous,
and are particularly dangerous when the river begins
to rise ; during our two days' halt at this place we
saw only one of the natives adventure into the stream.
It is singular that in certain localities these animals
are much raore to be dreaded than at others, and even
then not always in proportion to their larger or smaller
nurabers. At Assouan, for instance, they have never
yet been seen to attack a man, whereas, at Wadi
Haifa, the greatest precaution must be taken to avoid

DESERT TO SHENDY. 237
them. Near Dongola, again, they are more harmless,
though more numerous.
The katsheff of Wadi Haifa told me that he had gone
the year before with a friend to bathe near the cata
racts ; scarcely had they advanced a few feet into the
river, where the water was not up to their waists,
when a crocodile rose close to them, seized his
companion, and iraraediately disappeared with him
under the water. Soon afterwards he saw the monster
rise again at a short distance, playing with his victim
as a cat plays with a mouse, till he landed on a small
island, and there to all appearance began to devour
the lifeless body in sight of the katsheff. On the
same evening, and at the same spot, a boy and a goat
also fell a prey to the rapacity of a crocodile.
The principal danger arises from the circumstance
that the reptile buries itself in the sand of the bed of
the river, and then suddenly darting up, like the ant-
lion, pounces upon its prey. If the crocodiles come
swimraing from a distance, it is rauch easier to avoid
them, yet they have often been seen at Metamraah
pursuing people in the middle of the river, and it is
affirmed, that, if they have a choice between a black
and a white man, they invariably prefer the latter.
Sometimes they even pursue people on land, in
which case, however, it is only necessary to run
round in a circle, when pursuit is impracticable from
the great difficulty which they have in turning.
About 10 o'clock I received a visit from the katsheff
of Metamraah, and several other Turks and Arabs,
among whom Sheikh Beschir, of the tribe of the
Djaalin Arabs, particularly attracted my attention.

238 RIDE THROUGH THE
because Dr. Riippel mentions hfm, and says that this
man, who may be thoroughly depended on, had fur
nished him with some information respecting the ruins
of the town of Manderah, never yet visited hy a
European, and as an eye-witness, had given him an
account of what he had himself seen there.
It appeared, however, as might be conjectured from
the length of time that has elapsed,, that the Sheikh
Beschir, who stood before us, was the son of the person
mentioned by Dr, Riippel, He, too, had heard Mapr
derail spoken of, but he denied that his father had
ever been there, nor would he allow that he .had ever
boasted to a European of having seen that place.
No satisfactory information could, therefore be ob
tained from him, but we afterwards found 'a slave
of the katsheff, who confirmed the existence ,of the
ruins of Manderah, but at the same time stated
that Manderah was neither a town nor a village, but
a mountain, at the sumrait of which, as well as at its
base, some ruins of buildings were still standing, but
that there were neither colurans nor pyramids among
them. He said that at the distance of a few leagues
there was an alraost deserted village, the name of
which he had forgotten.
He also gave the situation of the ruins, according
to the distances of certain towns which he had deter
mined, differently to Dr. Riippel, namely, more to the
south, and nearer to the Nile. We shall see hereafter
that the accounts given by this man, in the first
respect, were conformable to the truth, which may be
considered as a great rarity in these countries; in the
second assertion he was mistaken. The accounts

DESERT TO SHENDY, 239
collected by Dr, Riippel were incorrect, though he
concludes the passage relative to them, with his usual
arrogance, in the following terms : —
"The above statements respecting Manderah were
adduced two years later by M. Caillaud, in his
travels, voL iii., 138 : Itwould be interesting to know
whether he had only copied me, or whether he has
received the same information from a different source!'"'
M. Caillaud has truly no need to copy from Dr.
Riippel ; there is no traveller more conscientious,
more accurate, more veracious, or more pains-taking,
or who personally inspects everything with more
assiduity than M. Caillaud, and of which I have
myself had so many opportunities of being convinced,
and have very often expressed ray warmest gratitude
to him on that account, for though M. Caillaud was
not a man of learning, there is no safer guide than he
is, where he had been himself; with respect to Man
derah, he too was not accurately informed, and merely
relates what he had heard.
The suite of the katsheff had been joined by an
upper kawass of Mehemet Ali, to whora his generous
master had lent a sum of 50,000 piastres for two
years without interest, on the sole condition that he
should lay out the whole sura in the purchase of
cattle, here and at Sennaar, and bring them to Egypt,
in which transaction all the profits on the resale go
to the kawass. NoV, as cattle are so very cheap
here, that a carael costs no raore than eighty francs,
the finest bull frora twenty to thirty, and a sheep only
.one franc, and the prices in Egypt are from six to ten
tim'es as high, (that of sheep often twenty times),

240 RIDE THROUGH THE
there is no doubt that notwithstanding all the
expenses of the conveyance, and in spite of the great
loss by the way (which is chiefly owing to the very
bad management, and to the total want of veterinary
doctors), the profits must be very great, and far
exceed the capital expended.
Mehemet All's object (as the reader will remember
he himself stated) is to make the Egyptians more
sensible of the great advantages of this trade, and
thereby to render it popular, which must of course be
of the greatest benefit to both countries, because
here is almost an entire want of capital, and there
of a sufficient number of cattle, as well to till the
ground, as to turn the sakyehs, which annually require
many thousand oxen, because in consequence of the
hard labour and the frequent epidemics, they do not
live long.
There is not a single tree in this neighbourhood,
far and near ; we could, therefore, not expose our
selves to the intense heat, but remained in our tents
till sunset. The night indemnified us ; the moon was
nearly at the full, and the dark blue sky was sprinkled
vvith a thousand light, delicate little clouds, which
seemed sportively to chase each other in quick suc
cession. Under this beautiful canopy we took our
meal in the open air, by the water-side, and it was so
light that we were able by the lamp of the moon to read
a book on that lurainary, which I happened to have
brought with me, alternately raising our telescopes to
the splendid disc, and comparing the raan in the moon
with the fantastical map of the astronomer of Munich^
which lay open before us.

DESERT TO SHENDY. 241
The thermometer during this night was 28° R,
This intense heat utterly deprives a person of
appetite: the greatest gastronomic enjoyment is
afforded by the Nile water alone, to which a great
relish is given by the excellent dried dates of
Sukkot. If the camel is "the Ship of the Desert," the date
may almost be called "the bread of the Desert."
Strangers here soon adopt the custom of always
carrying a handful of this fruit in their pockets. The
date is refreshing and nutritious, and, like the pipe,
it helps to beguile the time during long rides through
the Desert.
We found the Nile already considerably swollen,
and often heard the loose sand, undermined by the
impetus of the waves, fall in small masses from the
steep banks, where the water frequently dashes so
high, that at first we fancied it vvas occasioned by a
large fish or crocodile, till we had ascertained the true
cause. My return visit to the katsheff, on the 20th of May,
afforded us an opportunity of seeing Matararaah in
detail ; it is about the same size as Dongola, and, like
that place, is built only of dried clay bricks, but on
the whole its appearance is much raore wretched.
There are still melancholy tokens of the atrocious
fury of the Defterdar, who caused nearly six thousand
persons, guilty and innocent, to be impaled or cut
down with the sword, or thrown into the flames of
their burning dwellings, and thereby almost depopu
lated Matararaah, as he had before done Shendy, He
caused all the females, young and old, who were spared,
VOL. II. K

242 RIDE THROUGH THE
to be branded as slaves, and sent to Cairo ; but Mehe
met All, as soon as he received information of it,
ordered them to be permitted to- return free, and
reprimanded the Defterdar for his cruelty, with as
much severity as it was then possible for hira to do.
The katsheff was able to give us the fullest infor
mation of these events, because he came hither with
the Defterdar when a young man, and has filled the
post which he now holds since that time — a much
longer period than is otherwise usual under the
Egyptian Government, He seemed to be an honest
ind, consequently, a poor raan, who knew little of the
conveniences of life, and when we visited his miserable
dwelling he had nothing to set before us but eau sucree.
He endeavoured to palliate the conduct of the Defter
dar, whose cruelty he could not deny, by saying that he
had been most violently provoked by the inhabitants.
After he had devastated Shendy, — which was, at that
time, a flourishing town, carrying on a considerable
trade, — in revenge for the death of Ismael Pasha, the
Defterdar announced a general amnesty to the rest of
the country, and repaired, as a guest, to the Sheikh
of Matararaah. After a great feast to celebrate this
reconciliation, one of the natives approached him,
apparently with the view of preferring some request.
The Defterdar had scarcely turned towards him in a
friendly manner, when the resolute Negro snatched a
lance from a soldier of the Sheikh, who was standing
by, and pierced the Defterdar so violently belovv the
shoulder, that the handle broke, and the wounded Bey,
with the iron still in his body, sunk down on the mat
upon the floor, where he remained insensible for several

DESERT TO SHENDY. 243
minutes. The would-be murderer was not impaled and
tortured, as is usually related, but immediately cut to
pieces by the attendants of the Defterdar. The tra
gedy which succeeded, was as unjust as it was atrocious
— for the sake of one guilty person, he destroyed all
tht* inhabitants of the town, and even the Sheikh, and
all the guests in his house, were cruelly massacred.
It is really a matter of astonishment, that after
such horrors and devastations, the country should have
been able, in the lapse of only fifteen years, so far to
recover itself, that it is once more a flourishing town,
with a population of many thousand inhabitants. They
again carry on various trades, and, among other
articles, mannfacture a kind of calico, dyed a very
beautiful deep red, a coarse kind of grey linen, and
very elegant mats and other articles, of palm-leaves.
Ostrich feathers were offered us in great numbers for
a mere trifle, and I have since much regretted that I
did not purchase more of them.*
We struck our tents in the evening, and, accom
panied by the katsheff, proceeded northwards, down
the Nile to Shendy, which is situated on the opposite
bank, at a distance of two leagues ; it is marked on
Dr. Riippel's and on other maps, as directly opposite
to Matammah, and more to the south than that place.
Khourchid Pasha, the Governor-General of all
Soudan, who usually resides here for some months
during the rainy season, has a large clay palace built.
on the river side, about a quarter of a league from.
the city ; and this palace was assigned to me for my
* They asked me only one franc per pound, which, even at Cairo,
sold for thirty francs.
r2

244 BIDE THROUGH THE
residence, but it was by no means a sumptuous one.
Neither the outer walls nor any of the apartments
were whitewashed ; the floors were bare earth, which
were watered five or six times a day ; even the divans
were made of clay, covered with mats and carpets.
The ceilings were rough spars, with a thick mat of
palm bark laid over them, which is plastered, and
serves as the floor of the upper terrace on the roof;
the windows are merely wooden lattices, furnished
with shutters made of unplaned planks, which are so
loosely fastened together that there are large chinks
between the joints.
The apartraents, however, have this advantage,
they are all of huge dimensions, lofty and airy, and
consequently very cool. This is the universal mode
of building throughout the whole country.
All the dwellings are of the sarae kind ; those of the
rich and more distinguished persons differ only in
extent, and in the size of the rooms. The inmates
generally sleep on a carpet in the open air; and we
were not slow in following their example, and found
the ch.ange most agreeable. The cries of the pelicans
and the croaking of large frogs were heard throughout
the whole night.
The river here is animated by numerous birds, and
wild ducks and geese abound in vast numbers. While
I was bathing before sunrise, not far from a spot
where several people were beating their linen, signs
were made to me that a crocodile vvas near.' In fact
I saw the monster raise his head now and then above
the water, at the distance of about twenty paces ; but
it was only a small one, which I did not think it

DESERT TO SHENDY. 245
necessary to be much alarmed at. My dragoman
fetched sorae Arabs, who placed themselves in a circle
round me, and continually struck upon the water with
sticks, which enabled me to finish my ablutions at
leisure, besides which, the crocodile did not show
himself again. The katsheff, however, blaraed me
severely for my teraerity ; and, by way of confirraing
his adraonitions, related the following almost incre
dible anecdote. Several of his suite, who were present,
were indeed ready to attest the truth cf it, but whe
ther true or false, it is one which might very properly
be inserted in the next edition of Miinchausen's
book of marvels : —
" It is not long since," began the katsheff, " that a
man from Berber settled here, and was well known
to all of us. One morning he led his horse to the
Nile to water, and fastened the rope by which he
held it round his arm, and, while the aniraal was
quenching his thirst, he knelt down to prayer. At
the raoraent when he was lying with his face upon
the ground, a crocodile attacked the unhappy raan,
swept hira into the water with his tail, and swal
lowed him. The terrified horse exerted all its strength
to run away, and, as the rope which was attached to the
arm of his dead master in the stomach of the crocodile
did not snap, and he could not disengage himself from
it, the affrighted animal not only pulled the croco
dile itself out of the river, but dragged it over the
sand to the door of its own stable, where it was soon
killed by the family, who hurried to the spot, and
afterwards found the dead body of the victim entire
in the belly ofthe horrid monster."

246 BIDE THROUGH THE
Towards noon some hundred negro recruits arrived
here by water, who were to replenish the regiments
engaged in the war in Arabia. They were all dressed
in white linen shirts, and, to prevent desertion, were
shut up for the night in the court-yard of the palace,
where they bivouacked. I visited them during the
night, in company with the Doctor, soon after they had
taken their meal ; but they were all lying fast asleep,
in the most grotesque groups and attitudes imaginable.
They had drawn their linen shirts over their heads,
for the inhabitants are invariably extreraely careful in
covering that part of the body during sleep. The
raortality among these men, who look so robust and
.strong, is said to be fearful ; and many thousands of
thera have already found their graves in Hejaz;
where, for the raost part, they died not by the hand
of the enemy, nor even the baneful effects of the
climate, which, though unhealthy, does not differ
materially from their own, but from a pining for
Jiome. The slave-hunts of the savage negroes in the in
terior, which are regularly undertaken every year, to
supply the Government with these unhappy people,
is a species of barbarism which is utterly inexcusable ;
but, unhappily, it is so general among all the nations
in the interior of Africa, and so profitable to the
governors of these provinces, who at the sarae time
carry on their private trade in the captured slaves,
and provide themselves with as many as they want,
-that it will be extremely difficult for Mehemet AU
totally to prevent it.*
• According to the newspapers, he has now prohibited it ; but J

DESERT TO SHENDY. 247
The further we advanced, the more indubitably we
perceived that the 'personal authority of the Viceroy
becomes weaker, and that all deference for the master
is transferred to his representatives, who are more
feared, and from whom raore is expected, because
they are on the spot, and Meheraet Ali is at a dis
tance. In Khartoum and in Kordofan his governors are
in fact more powerful than himself, and as long as
they fill these posts he is obliged to be cautious in
his proceeding towards them, so that he may insure
their fidelity, especially since his star has waned so
much in consequence of European interference. In
this remote part, the consequences must be doubly
lamentable, as there is such an iramense deal to be
done, so much misery and barbarism to be alleviated,
and so rauch happiness, prosperity, nay, even wealth,
might be created, if the people and the country were
jn some degree more civilised. The broken power of
Mehemet Ali can no longer make the attempt.
In the evening my dragoman became very ill from
an inflammatory fever, which obliged me to stop
here some days; but bleeding and raustard plasters
soon brought hira into a convalescent state.
While we were awaiting his recovery, a boat
arrived here, under English colours, on board of
which was Dr. Holroyd, a physician, who has been
travelling in these countries during the last twelve
months, and was now on his way frora Kordofan.
This unexpected visit was very agreeable, and we
question the execution of the mandate by the subordinates, aud even
the entire sincerity of it in a higher quarter.

248 RIDE THROUGH THE
passed several hours most pleasantly in conversation
with this enterprising and accomplished young man.
He had with him a very complete collection of arms,
and gave rauch inforraation of a singular nature
respecting Kordofan.
Among other things he told us of an independent
tribe of Djaalin Arabs inhabiting the districts between
Sennaar and Kordofan, where the very singular cus^
tom obtains, that most of the women marry only on
condition that they shall have every fourth day free :
that is, that they shall be allowed to dispose of them
selves on that day according to their own pleasure ;
and they accordingly receive at their marriage a
forraal written certificate to this effect.
In the capital town of Lobeid (not Obied, as is
stated on the raaps) is another singular custom. —
Many women and girls unite to lay wait for solitary
travellers, whora they surround on the road, and
demand a bakshish. If the traveller refuses the
required money, they all fall upon him, and, accord
ing as they are more or less irritated, they ill-use
him, and give him from twenty-five to fifty severe
kicks. Dr. Holroyd at first thought this was an
exaggeration ; but one day, when he had paid a visit
to the governor at his country-house, and was return
ing late in the evening with a .young guide, who ran
by his side on foot, he was himself attacked by these
female way layers. As he was on horseback, he
easily defended himself, but the young guide was
captured, and on his attempting to fight his way through
the raidst, was thrown down, held fast, and in all pro
bability would not have escaped the fate that awaited

DESERT TO SHENDY. 249
him, had not a body of soldiers, on their way from
Lobeid, come up at that moment, at the sight of whom
the women let go their prisoner, who was calling aloud
for help, and escaped laughing and screaming into the
thickets. Dr. Holroyd also told us that at Lobeid not only all
dead cattle, but even slaves who had died, were thrown
into the streets of the town, M'here they gradually de
composed in the air. The dreadful effluvia hence
arising seem to be less annoying to the inhabitants
than the trouble of removing the dead bodies.
Lobeid is the most populous and considerable place
in the Soudan under the Egyptian dominion. It
has raore than 20,000 inhabitants, most of whom
however dwell only in toguls, tent-shaped reed huts,
of an elegant form, and only the principal people have
clay houses, as here at Matammah. The whole of
Northern Kordofan is a boundless savannah, covered
with acacias and miraosas, partly single, partly con
gregated, in woods abounding with giraffes, flocks of
ostriches, and numbers of antelopes of different kinds.
The laild is everywhere covered with alluvial sand,
which contains bog-ore, which the inhabitants smelt
and manufacture into very good weapons. Isolated
mountains rise about Lobeid, the Kurbatsh, El Kor
dofan, Abugher, &c., all of recent granite formations ;
this is the predominant stone in Central Kordofan,
and is parallel with greywacke.
Lions, panthers, and leopards abound in these parts,
and Dr. Holroyd stated that the abundance of cattla
in Southern Sennaar and Kordofan was quite extraor-

250 RIDE THROUGH THE
dinary. Many of the inhabitants possess [herds of
above 10,000, all of which find pasture iu the savan
nahs ; a proof that there must be rauch water below
the surface.
The Doctor was of opinion that these countries
might be converted] into the richest in Africa, if a
canal were dug from Djebel Moigl, or the Bahr el
Azrek to the white Nile, which would not be attended
with the slightest difficulty. By this means, a Delta
still more luxuriant than'that of Lower Egypt would
be obtained between these two rivers, as far as Khar
toum. This would indeed be a real gold mine for
Mehemet Ali, where, — by the cultivation of cotton,
sugar-cane, indigo, most species of corn, and senna,
which already grows wild everywhere, — he might
obtain imraense revenues.
I had, in the sequel, raany occasions of convincing
myself of the truth of this assertion.
Dr. Holroyd brought bad news frora the frontiers
of Abyssinia, where the Viceroy's troops, in the annual
hunt after slaves, had not respected the foreign ter
ritory, and had coramitted great excesses. As no
attention was paid to the complaints of the Abys
sinians, and 2000 of the troops of the Governor of
Khartoum this year recomraenced their usual eraploy
raent, an array of 30,000 Abyssinians came to meet
them, massacred 1200 of the Egyptian soldiers, and
took the reraainder, with their officers and coramander-
in-chief, prisoners. They then sent a list of all the
prisoners, with the amount of ransora fixed for each,
with the threat, that if it were not paid within a cer-

DESERT TO SHENDY, 251
tain tirae, they would make eunuchs of them — a very
general custom here. Thus, in consequence of a
preceding revolution in Darfour a brother of the
Sultan of that country is now a fugitive at Lobeid,
where, for the present, he is kept at the expense ot
Mehemet Ali, and supported suitably to his rank.
This prince carries on a profitable trade in y3ung
eunuchs, and his Highness hiraself, and his son,
take pleasure in perforraing a great part of this work,
which is d3ne in a truly barbarous manner, with their
own hand.*, 1 was still more shocked to hear that an
European who carries on the slave-trade as a specu
lation, delivered fifteen of the children which he
Jiad purchased, to the Sultan, on condition that by
way of payment, five of them should be returned to
him in good health as eunuchs. In Upper Egypt
,there are two Christian (Coptic) monasteries, the
principal revenues of which are derived from making
eunuchs, which they do on such an extensive scale,
as to supply almost all Egypt and part of Turkey.
Generally speaking, the slaves are by no means
cruelly treated by the natives in Kordofan, and in the
East in general; yet Dr, Holroyd saw (but in the house
of an European) two men whose noses had been cut off
for attempting to effect their escape by flight. This
is horrible, but is not confined to slaves alone, since,
in these savage countries, every man can treat those
under hira as he pleases. .
Dr. Holroyd was delighted with his hunting excur
sions, of which he brought back many trophies: he
had several slaves with him, and six remarkable goats
from Kordofan, sprinkled or marbled with red, black.

252 RIDE THROUGH THE
white, and fawn-colour; graceful animals, much
prettier of their kind than the human beings who
accompanied them.
Dr. Holroyd likewise complained of the inaccuracy
of all the maps of the countries on the Nile, published
in Europe : he was himself engaged in making a new
one, and had already corrected above 300 false names,
and some twenty erroneous bends of the Nile, in the
best English maps by Arrowsraith.
It was highly advantageous to ray invalid dragoman
that an European physician, like a Deus ex machind,
carae to his aid, otherwise he would, perhaps, have
been obliged to reraain here a long time. Dr. Holroyd
told us that he himself was once dangerously ill of the
climatic fever, and had at first endeavoured, but in
vain, to cure himself, till he at length resolved to trust
blindfold to the skill of a native faki, who, by raeans
of cabalistic arts, happily restored hiin within a week.
The instructive conversations of the English phy
sician made the time pass more agreeably than I
could have hoped ; and though I felt alraost as ill
as my dragoman, especially from a most distressing
relaxation of the whole nervous system, I yet made
active use of my leisure, particularly in paying some
visits to Shendy, It is melancholy to look at this
town, which formerly had 50,000 inhabitants, in its
present desolated state. Its ruins and long-since-
forsaken dwellings, still extend on every side into
the surrounding fields, the greater part of which
have becorae a complete desert. Only here and
there, a pointed thatched roof is seen, indicating amid
this great city of the dead, an isolated inhabited house;

DESERT TO SHENDY. 253
all the "Others being deserted and without roofs,
like the little clay palace standing nearly in the
centre of the whole, in which Ismael Pasha met his
tragical end, where the treacherous torch which was
intended to kindle only the heaps of straw piled up
around it, to accomplish the desired revenge, produced
the fearful consequences of destroying the whole
of a large province, and more than the half of its
inhabitants. It was very reraarkable that the Sheikh who con
trived and carried out the conspiracy, together with
his son, escaped all punishment and vengeance. He
now lives among the Arabs ofthe Desert, and Mehemet
Ali has never taken any steps to get him into his power;
nay, I was assured that his son had long since returned,
and has been living for raany years in an island, not
far frora Mer6e, where his relations frequently visit
hira, without the slightest notice being taken by the
Government. Mehemet Ali, who is a better politician
than the Defterdar was, highly disapproved of his con
duct, and has since done everything in his power to
cause it to be forgotten. Most of the Sheikhs in these
parts, several of vvhom waited upon me, receive
annual pensions from him, and Sheikh Beschir has
500 piastres per month from the Government, which
is here a considerable sum. I hope that my readers
will forgive my entering into any rainutife respecting
the catastrophe of Ismael Pasha, because the most
accurate details have already been repeated to satiety
by ali travellers who have since visited this country.

254 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.

CHAPTER XL
RUINS OP MESAOURAT.
It was now high tirae to prepare for our excursion
to the ruins of Mesaourat, though this journey is at
tended with considerable hardships, because it must
be performed with great rapidity, on account of the
total want of water in the Desert. For my security,
I was accompanied, by order of the Governor, by
Emir Beschir himself, with eight of his best raen.
We left Khourchid Pasha's palace a little before
sunset, and it had already becorae dark ere we passed,
for the last time, through the mournful ruins of
Shendy, Soon afterwards a fearful thunder-storm
covered the whole vault of heaven with a dense raven-
black mantle. On every side, flashes of lightning
darted across the firmament, and every moment alter
nating with the darkness of the night, illumed the
pale walls of the surrounding ruins, which shone in
lurid light, like a spectral apparition of the rising
flames of the former fire which destroyed Shendy for
ever. This tremendous conflict of the elements was not
permitted to do us the slightest injury ; afterwards,
when a torrent of rain fell, we were obliged to
seek shelter in the nearest village ; we could not
long endure the closeness of the confined apartment
of the natives, which was as hot as an oven, and full

RUmS OF MESAOURAT. 255
of dirt and insects of all kinds. I therefore, notwith
standing the incessant rolling of the thunder, had a
fire kindled, with much trouble, and our two small
tents erected, though they are not much larger than
sentry-boxes, and usually serve merely as entrances
to the large tents.
Here we remained tolerably dry, while Sheikh
Beschir, with his people, dromedaries, and horses, lay
down quite unconcernedly in the open air, amidst the
torrents of rain which poured down.
This powerful sheikh, who is an enterprising and
intelligent man, has from the commencement, been
faithfully attached to the new governor, and is now
one of his firmest supporters among the Arabs ; this
is the more iraportant, because all the other sheikhs,
who still cherish sorae rancour on account of past
events (and they can scarcely be blaraed for this), not
withstanding all their apparent submissiveness, are
said not to be very trustworthy ; a kind of dissimula
tion in which the Orientals are great proficients. I
was told by the katsheff that sheikh Beschir, on account
of his attachment to the present government, has
powerful enemies in those sheikhs, and, therefore,
does not readily show himself among them without
numerous attendants.
After a few hours the rain ceased, and we there
fore continued our route, which lay at no great
distance frora the Nile, proceeding rapidly throughout
the whole night in raonotonous uniformity. Towards
morning we passed through an extensive acacia forest,
where the astonishing consequences of the fertilising
Storm during the night were already visible, for all

256 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
the trees were profusely covered with small leaves of
a delightfully fresh sea-green colour. The air too
was cooled, a gentle zephyr breathed araid the
branches, and wafted fragrant odours on its wings.
Here we truly enjoyed our first bivouac in the
neighbourhood of a village.
Immediately after breakfast I took my gun and
went out with Ackerraann, in order to obtain a
supply for our table. Besides the turtle-doves, which
are so easily obtained, we shot a young wild-goose,
and likewise a variety of gay birds, with that licensed
cruelty in which man indulges, merely for the beauty
of their plumage.
On the banks of the Nile, which are here rather
picturesque and covered with thickets, we saw fourteen
pelicans, which were fishing with much gravity, and in
their immediate vicinity a female crocodile, with her
young one, scarcely three feet in length ; the latter
received a shot, though without effect, and instantly
dived after its ungainly mother.
On our return, we were informed of the arrival of
three pilgriras from Darfour, who were on their way
to Mecca. They were very well-formed Negroes,
and wore long blue shirts, and sandals fastened with
coloured leather straps. They appeared to be active,
able men ; they were unanimous in their praise of
the Sultan, and told us that, not Kobbe, (as the
geographical statements tell us) is the capital of the
kingdom and the residence of the Sovereign ; but
Tendelti Tassir, which is not raarked on any map;
Kobbe, they said, was only the capital of the mer
chants; but the other town, which vvas far more

RUINS OP MESAOURAT. 257
extensive and handsom, was the residence of the
sovereign and the great men.
According to these statements it would appear that
there is in that country a strong line of demarcation
between the nobility and the merchants ; most probably
there are no great bankers who form a connecting
link between the two classes. The capital, the pil
griras said, was only a good day's journey from Kobb6.
They affirmed that, so far as they knew, there was
no large river in the whole of their country, but raany
brooks, which in the rainy season swelled to rivers,
besides numerous wells and cisterns, so that there is
nowhere any want of water as in the adjoining desert.
The country is said to abound in forests, and to be
very fertile. Among the fruit?., they mentioned
oranges, citrons, pomegranates, melons, and many
others, the names of which are uii!cnown to rae, and
a list of nearly the sarae vegetables as those of Soudan
and Kordofan.
" The Sultan," they continued, " has, for. sorae
years past, introduced the Nizzam, which is com
manded by a white man, whom he esteems very
highly ; but the natives do not like this service, and
the troops are by no means so well disciplined as the
Egyptian soldiers," whom they had seen in Kordofan
and Soudan. The Sultan likewise possessed some
pieces of cannon, but had hitherto not made much use
. of thera.
- 1 They all wore araulets and strings of glass beads
hanging about thera ; and one of them had, besides, a
sort of pocket-book, in which there was a coloured,
rude picture of the sacred Kaaba, which he, at first,
VOL. II. s

258 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
made some difficulty in showing. This man, who
appeared to be the best informed of the three, after
wards told us of some tribes who live far up in the
highest mountains of the country, and who have no
religion, " not even so much," he said, "as a Giaour"
(Christian Dog). On this account they are regularly
hunted every year, the prisoners are made slav^es,
and, as prisoners of war, the owner exercises over
them as unlimited an authority as over his cattle. In
other respects the Government appears to be mild,
and after its way tolerably just.
These people could speak a little Arabic, and un
derstood the language of Kordofan, which was likewise
spoken by one ofthe attendants of Sheikh Beschir, who
therefore served as our interpreter.
The division of the Desert into which we were now
to penetrate, and which extends to the Red Sea, is
inhabited only by a few nomade Bedouin tribes, who
are nominally, and that only in part, under the
dominion of Mehemet Ali, and who, therefore, con
sider all travellers as lawful prey.
The security which is so fully enjoyed in the
dominions of the Egyptian Sovereign ceases here,
and Sheikh Beschir announced to us that we might
possibly be attacked by robbers, and ought, there
fore, to have our arms in readiness ; he likewise pro
posed that I should exchange my dromedary (on
which we Europeans generally feel ourselves in a
helpless condition) for his mare, which had hitherto
been led by one of his servants — an offer which I
gratefully accepted.
We set off at five o'clock in the afternoon, and soon

RUINS OF MESAOURAT. 269
reached a fine plain, which was covered, as far as the
eye could reach, with tall rushes and groups of low
acacias and mimosas. In the blue distance before us
rose isolated mountains, some pointed, and others
table-shaped or jagged, and the appearance of the
whole country, to the very foot of the mountains,
amply testified to the universal cultivation which
must formerly have prevailed here, the traces of
which, notwithstanding the drying of ancient ca
nals, and the ehoking-up of the wells, are still
visible, after the lapse of some thousand years. I am,
therefore, convinced that nothing but a general diffu
sion of water below the surface can have preserved
these traces of fertility, which even now surround us,
and consequently that care and cultivation might soon
render this extensive country again capable of sup
porting a numerous population.
The sky was clouded, which greatly diminished the
heat; but the nights were so pitch-dark that none
but Arabs, with their canine instinct, which may
justly be called their sixth sense, could have found
their way.
Our route in this darkness, which no longer followed
any caravan road, but lay through the high rushes,
had already continued some hours, when our people
suddenly made a dead stand, because their sixth sense
had perceived that there were people among some
stunted bushes at our side. Sheikh Beschii's lieutenant
immediately called out with a loud voice, demanding
who they were, and what they were doing here ?
But before I proceed I must give a short description
of Sheikh Becshir's suite. They were, as I have said,
s2

260 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
only eight in number, but to all appearance men that
might be entirely depended upon ; all black, like their
master ; strong and muscular, which was the more
easily perceptible as they M'ere almost naked, and with
marked but not disagreeable features, A girdle round
their loins, a handkerchief over their heads, and sandals
on their feet, composed the whole of their dress, ex
cept their weapons. The lieutenant alone wore over
the whole an ample blue blouse, and the Sheikh this
full white cloak bordered with a red stripe, which
exactly resembles the Roman toga, with a prodigious
turban of the sarae colour on his head.
All of thera rode upon white dromedaries, of the
capital breed of the Sheikh, whose largest possessions
are in Berber, where the territory of the Tischari
Arabs begins, whose droraedaries are inferior only to
those of Nedshi, They were all very corapletely
armed in the manner of their country ; that is, each of
them had a lance, a large oval shield, made of crocodile
or hippopotamus' skin, through which only a musket-
ball can penetrate ; a dagger fastened to the upper part
of the arm, and a long straight sword, with the hilt
in the form of a cross, hanging over their shoulder,
completed their martial array. Muskets do not appear
to be common, and those which they formerly pos
sessed, were taken away by Meheraet All's troops
from the subdued Arabs. There were no fire-arms
among the whole band, except a pair of old-fashioned
European pistols belonging to the Sheikh, which
his servant wore in his girdle, with a small car
tridge-box fastened by straps. They were all ex
cellent riders, and managed their dromedaries • so

RUINS OF MESAOURAT. 261
skilfully that the rapidity and precision of their move
ments were not much inferior to those of the. horses ;
whereas, my suite had much difficulty in controlling
their animals, which were however of a very indiffe
rent quality. This often gave occasion to unpleasant
delay, in order to bring up the stragglers.
Scarcely had the above-mentioned question been
addressed to the suspicious strangers, when an answer,
given by a hollow voice, and speedily translated by
the dragoman, replied, " Come hither, and you will
learn." In an instant all the dromedaries of Sheikh
Beschir knelt down, and the riders leaped off ; half of
them with their drawn swords and covered by their
shields cautiously advanced, in the dark, in the direc-
, tion frora which the voice proceeded. We reraained
perfectly quiet, with our pistols cocked, and awaited
the result, to act as occasion might require. In a few
seconds a loud war-cry was raised by both parties, and
we heard the strokes of several swords parried by the
shields; matters speedily appeared to grow serious,
and we were preparing to advance, when the Sheikh
entreated us not to do so till it was absolutely neces
sary, and he then hastened with the rest of his people
to the conflict. The high threatening words, which
he uttered in a voice of thunder, instantly caused a
cessation of arras ; we could see nothing whatever, but
-could judge from what we heard. The clash of arras
Pleased — there was a momentary pause, and the cries
on both sides were redoubled with increased fury.
This continued full five minutes, when all suddenly
ceased ; our people came hastily back, flung themselves

262 EUIMS OP MESAOURAT.
upon their droraedaries, and speedily trotted away
with us.
In answer to our eager inquiries, they said that the
.strangers gave themselves out for travelling Djellabs,
and that they had taken us for robbers;* the Sheikh
added, that he had contented himself with this reply,
though he very well knew that it was a falsehood,
because there was no caravan route here where
Djellabs were likely to be met with ; but that he
deemed it advisable to withdraw, because he could
not tell whether a rauch more numerous band might
not be in the neighbourhood, of which this was only
an advanced post.
In fact, after riding scarcely a thousand paces fur
ther, when we were in a very narrow and intricate
passage through an uneven, stony ground, full of
thorns, we found another troop of Djellabs, but they
were probably less numerous, for on the first chal
lenge of our vanguard they instantly took flight.
For my own part I felt not the slightest alarm for
our safety ; we could implicitly rely on the fidelity
of the escort, and the nuraber of our fire-arras would
surely have given us the victory over a very superior
number. An hour after this adventure, shortly before mid
night, and just as the blood-red moon rose, of gigan
tic size, above the horizon, its beams fell upon the
imposing ruins of Mesaourat, lying in the midst of a
* Djellab properly signifies merchant ; but as nobody travels here
except for trade, it likewise means a traveller : it would be most
correct to interpret it " itinerant trader."

RUINS OF MESAOURAT, 268
spacious valley, enclosed by isolated sandstone rocks,
of the most grotesque forms, which looked as if their
summits were crowned with towers, walls, battle
ments and pinnacles. We were, however, so weary
that we only cast a glance upon the wondrously illu
mined ruins, and, after taking a cup of tea, which we
hastily prepared over our spirit-lamp, had our carpets
spread on the ground of our duodecimo tents, and,
vvith our saddles for pillows, slept till day-break as
luxuriously as if we had been lying upon eider-down.
The ruins of Mesaourat (every vowel of which is
to be distinctly pronounced), which, including the
extreme surrounding walls, measure, according to
Caillaud, 185 metres (yards) in breadth, and 248 in
length, are, I am persuaded, the reraains of a large
regal palace, with all the necessary appendages of
dwellings, court-yards, stables, &c., and two small,
peculiarly elegant temples (exactly in the style of
our royal chapels), and this beautiful rural palace,
lying in the midst of the picturesque, fertile valley,
must certainly have been surrounde(i with extensive
gardens.* All the buildings, without exception, are of mid
dling-sized hewn stones of the beautiful red granite
of the neighbouring mountains ; everything is elegant
and executed in the most solid manner, but we
nowhere observed either the colossal proportions or
* Caillaud considers these ruins to have been an institution for
the education of the priests. I cannot participate in this opinion :
there is too much magnificence and trifling decoration in these apart
ments, and everything is too remote from the solemn splendour of
priestly establishments in those times.

264 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
the perfect art of the ancient monuments of Egypt ;
and it may perhaps be proper here to observe before
hand, that all the ruins which we saw during this
expedition, and of which we shall presently speak
raore at large, were always of one and the same cha
racter, which indeed bears some affinity to the remark
able remains at Djebel Birkel, and partly to those
near Meroe, yet there is one decided difference
between thera. This consists in the mixture of the
Greek or rather Roman style with the already cor
rupted Egyptian, predominating in all these build
ings; which aim chiefly at elegance, and are over
burdened with ornament, rather than grand. Hence
I conclude that they are even more modern than
the monuments at Djebel Birkel, and scarcely older
than, at most, the time of the last Ptolemies, if not
contemporaneous with the later Roman epoch. The
decoration, which is often very trifling — the orna
ments which are evidently a combined medley of the
Grecian and Egyptian styles — the absence of all
colossal masses >and the consequent imposing effects
produced by thera — all tend to confirm this opinion.
The far more careful attention to convenience, and
the greater number of suites of rooras, which are for
the most part of smaller dimensions than those which
we find in the ancient Egyptian monuments, appear
again to betray the influence of a female raind ; and
I am therefore inclined to admit the conjecture that
these buildings are of the later times of those queens,
who, as I have already observed, reigned for centuries
in Ethiopia under the same name, which was assumed
by all of them, and who had frequent intercourse,

RUINS OF MESAOURAT. 265
both hostile and friendly, with the Romans, so that
architects of that nation might easily have been
employed by these queens to deteriorate the Egyptian
style here, as they often did the Greek in their own
country. To assent to the hypotheses of some travellers, which
appear wholly incorrect, even when applied to the
evidently much older monuments of Meroueh and
Meroe, namely, that the architectural remains of
Ethiopia are more ancient than those ofEgypt, would
here be a complete absurdity. In all buildings of
this kind we see, without exception, only a subordi
nate imitation, but by no means a subordinate com
mencement. The characteristic marks of these different
imperfections are so very evident, that it is impossible
to deceive one's-self on that point, except indeed wil
fully, taking for granted that the observer is capable of
forming a sound judgment. I must, however, repeat, that
lam very far from denying that civilisation, and even
the first beginnings of rude art, may have proceeded,
in the most obscure antiquity from these countries to
Egypt ; and the view that the flat and, in part, more
recent alluvial land of Egypt may have been first
peopled from the high lands of Ethiopia, is quite
conforraable with nature, and therefore probable. I
only affirm, that the still existing ancient monuments
of Ethiopia with which we are acquainted certainly did
not originate in those times ; and are, for the most
part, of much more recent date than the Egyptian
antiquities of the latest period of the Pharaohs, nay
in part of that of the Ptolemies.
There is something intensely interesting in stand-

266 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
ing before these ruins, and realising the fact that, at
an era far remote from the present civilised world,
thousands of square miles of highly cultivated land,
covered with cities, temples, and palaces, existed here,
where now, only a vast desert, destitute of superficial
water, and of vegetation, save a few thickets and
widely scattered trees remain — and then to consider
that a rauch more refined cultivation of raind and a
higher degree of art (at least of architecture) than we
ourselves possess, reigned here, where, at this moment,
a few nomadic savage herds of plundering Bedouins
are alone met with.
The thought, too, that I was in the ancient palace
of the accomplished, luxurious Queen Candace,
whom I of course pictured to rayself as an uncom
monly handsome and graceful brownish-black beauty,
imparted a double interest to the inspection of this
labyrinth of chambers, staircases, passages, court
yards, colonnades, temples, and walls, which in some
measure counterbalanced the fatigue occasioned by
wandering through them, and the oppressive heat,
which incomraoded us not a little; I must confess that
I indulged rather in the egotistical enjoyment than in
the diligence of a tourist, because we had only a
supply of water for three days, and my nervous system
was too greatly relaxed, to enable me to attend to
detailed measurements, and minute examinations of
this kind, so as to take a correct plan of the whole>
which, besides, I believe, may by this tirae have been
done by Mr. Linant with his wonted fidelity. The
indulgent reader will therefore be content with the
following succinct description : —

EUINS OF MESAOUEAT. 267
It appears that there were several principal entrances
to the whole pile of the different buildings, which,
encompassed by a wall, constituted the royal palace
in its entire extent, but it is now difficult to determine
where their propylaea were. In my opinion the prin
cipal entrance was in the sraaller side of the great
parallelograra which faces the north-east. Here, after
passing through an area, we carae to a stately colon
nade running between extensive suites of apartments,
at each side, the walls of which were six feet thick
(the interior of these walls is filled up with rude
pieces of stone).
The shafts of the columns are quite smooth, and
have neither hieroglyphics nor sculptures ; they stand
upon a plinth ; they are ten feet in circuraference, at
the distance of one foot from the ground, and they
are at the utmost sixteen or seventeen feet high,
including the entablature of the bell-shaped capital,
v\'hich is formed of leaves. Only a few are still
standing erect, and all the rest are more or less
broken. There appear to have been halls at the two
extremities of the colonnade, and these to have been
terminated by niches, probably ornaraented with
statues. From the most easterly of the halls, we
entered a passage, formerly undoubtedly roofed in,
10 feet and a half wide, and 231 feet long, the walls of
which are only four feet thick, and built of large
rounded blocks. The passage led through several
spacious court-yards, in one of which still stands a
lofty coluran twelve and a half feet in circumference.
¦It then winds round the foundation walls of several

268 RUINS OP MESAOURAT.
buildings, through an ornamented portal, into the back
colonnade of a temple, which stands rather higher
than the rest, and is built entirely, according to the
usual arrangement of a Greek peripteros, without
opisthodomos or pronaos. It forms only one single
hall (the celia), which is supported within by four
oolurans, and inclosed on all the four sides by walls,
surrounded by a double portico of ten columns on the
longer, and six on the narrow side. The pillars are
sraooth on three sides, and the fourth, the eastern, is
richly adorned in part with very elegant workraanship.
On the eastern side is a broad and high open terrace,
to which, as sorae appearances indicate, a splendid
flight of steps of the whole breadth of the terrace
forraerly led. These colurans are not much larger
than those I have before mentioned, and, in general,
the elegant rather than the imposing has been aimed at.
Each pillar is decorated in a different manner, and here
for the first time, among all the ruins, we met with some
hieroglyphics and anaglyphs, very well executed, but
not coloured ; yet only the lowest stone of the pillars,
•each of which consisted of four pieces, was orna
mented in this manner. On several of thera vvas the
usual procession of the Egyptian divinities with their
attributes, some with the Nile key in their hands, to
whom a queen brought an offering, which confirmed
me in my hypothesis, that a female dynasty held its
sway here. The figures on the four centre columns,
¦close to the main entrance, were, at least, in three-
fourths relief; and the designs, very correct, were
treated with much grace, but were more effeminate
than the solemn, pure Egyptian style admits of.

EUINS OP MESAOURAT. 269
All these representations are unhappily very much
mutilated. Within the temple, as I have already
noticed, there are but four columns, and each of the
two longer lateral walls is lighted by two windows ;
between those on the south wall we observed a
niche, in which the presiding deity of the temple
probably stood. Facing the large decorated entrance-
gate of the temple, is another smaller gate, which
conducts, by the outer portico, to a narrow staircase
five feet in width ; this opens upon a confused assem
blage of chambers, probably private dwellings, whose
principal southern wall abuts upon a large court-yard,
which, lying considerably below its level, gives it an
elevation of about eighteen feet. In the centre of this
court various scattered fragments and foundations
indicate the site of two obelisks, and probably of some
colossal statue between them.
I was unable to discover any traces of sculptures or
of cartouches upon the external walls, or within the
interior of the chambers, I could only meet with two
small and very similar grotesque carvings, of which I
subjoin a sketch ; and also one of the ornaments on
one of the columns in the small colonnade.
I have unhappily lost the commencement of an
old Oriental inscription upon the further wall of the
temple, which I copied with great care. The re
mainder had been wilfully destroyed, and raany of the
other walls were defaced with rude attempts at
writing or design, by Arabs; or, perhaps, by some
scattered Egyptian soldiers. It gave me greater
pleasure to discover among these reminiscences, two
long modern inscriptions by Messrs. Linant arid

270

HtriNS OF MESAOURET.

^^m-

r

^ ^ - -^ ^

s

Am 11/

N ^ ^ N

^ ^ 1^

M

M

(c^

RUINS OP MESAOURAT. 271
Caillaud, the only Europeans who have, up to this
period, penetrated thus far. They are as follows : —
1. " L'an de Jesus 1822, Frederic Caillaud a visits ces mines
renommees : il y est venu mand^ par la France. Favoris^ par le
Prince Ismael-Pascha, il a p&etr^ au-del^ de Fazole par dix degre's
de latitude, ou il a visite des peuples payens."
2. " L'an de Jesus 1822, Louis Linant a visits ces mines. II est
venu mande par 1' Angleterre, et il a penetrd jusqu'au royaume de
S&aar, grSce aux eonquStes d'Ismael-Pascha, General des arm&s
de son pere, Mehraned-Ali, Viceroi d'Egypte."
As the third Earopean traveller who has visited
Mesaourat, I conceived myself entitled to occupy
a place of honour with these gentlemen ; but not
being able to boast of any such lofty commissions, —
for my country, so far from entrusting me with any
commands, even declined my offers, — I contented
myself with the following record, which my dragoman
carved upon the Stone : —
" In the year 1837, of the Christian era, a German traveller * *
• * visited these ruins, sent by his spiritiis familiaris, and with the
intention of penetrating as far as it may please him."
In one of the innumerable courts of the palace
there is yet another small temple, standing detached
in the centre; it is probably a Typhonium, as the
door-posts bear the representations of some hideous
serpents coiling around thera. Near it are the remains
of two standing colossi, of very moderate workman
ship, sculptured, like all the others, in sandstone ; we
nowhere saw any traces of marble or granite. This
temple, too, consists chiefly of only a single celia, with
two fallen columns ; opposite to the entrance is a simple
altar.

272 RUINS OF MESAOUEAT.
I am not aware that any other ruins have yet been
discovered beyond the limits of these walls ; yet if we
endeavour to realise in our imaginations the romantic
scenery of this valley, heightened by the beauties of
cultivation, with ornamental gardens surrounding its
palace, and woods crowning the neighbouring hills,
we must allow that it afforded a most enviable rural
retreat for the young Queen of the Ethiopians, from
the bustle of her capital cities of Napata and Meroe.
In the afternoon we pursued our journey to the
temples of El Aufatap. After riding for two hours
among the mountains, an interminable plain opened
before us, bounded by isolated hills, while a nar
row and gradually attenuating branch of the ridge
we had just quitted skirted the landscape on our
left. This plain was more sterile than the forraer,
but, like it, was occasionally enlivened by sraall
groves, and clumps of the prickly acacia.
After four, hours' quick riding, we came to the end
of the mountain ridge, where we found four temples,
built one below the other, on the slope towards the
plain : this place is called Naga on Mr. Cadalvene's
map, which is probably copied from Caillaud, as he
never visited it himself. The Arabs who accom
panied us did not know it by that narae, but only by
that of El Aufatap. At the distance of a thousand paces
before the temples we discovered a lion, sitting upon
its hind legs, sculptured in red stone. It is only
slightly buried in the sand, and, with the exception of
the head, which has been struck off, is in excellent
preservation. Several of its comrades probably lie
buried around it; and near it are various scattered

RUINS OP MESAOURAT. ti ( 3
heaps of ruined buildings, whicli extend along both
sides of the road, which would lead us to infer the ex
istence of a city of some importance in ancient tiraes.
The first of the temples, which occupies the
highest ground, and lies eastward of the others, bears
traces, on the surface of its hewn stones, of having
been formerly coated with a very fine, firm stucco.
The inner walls are covered with designs and hiero
glyphics, engraven upon the naked stone, but they
are very illegible.
The most frequent representation is that of the
deity, with the ram's head (Ammon), to whom a king
or hero is offering sacrifices; close to the latter a
half circle was still plainly visible, of which I made a
copy, as I could not find any similar delineation in
Champollion or Wilkinson ; this little sketch, how
ever, was unfortunately lost, together with the in
scription I had previously transcribed, which I regret
the raore, as these monuraents have been hitherto
almost unknown. Opposite to the entrance stands,
as usual, a very simple altar, in the forra of a
cube. A vast nuraber of ruined fragraents were
scattered about in the vicinity, and prove that exten
sive buildings formerly stood here : similar heaps of
stones extend in a line far into the plain.
The second teraple, situated about two hundred
paces to the west of the former, was of much larger
extent, and more highly ornamented and magnificent.
Six successive gates, with many of their connecting
colurans, are still standing upright, closely covered
with neatly -wrought sculptures, but without any trace
of colouring. Over each of the gates is the winged
VOL. II. T

274 RUINS OP MESAOURAT.
disk, encircled with serpents ; and the broad avenue
leading up from the west, still retains nearly all its
sphinxes on both sides, many being in perfect preser
vation. The sphinxes .here, and probably also those at
Meroueh, are evidently that peculiar description
of thick-woolled sheep, (not rams,) which is mot
found in any other district of Egypt, and therefore
constitute a distinguishing peculiarity of this part of
Ethiopia. About five or six hundred paces further along tbe
same western line, we came up to the third: and
smallest temple, which is in all probability of more
recent date than the preceding; its corrupt Roman
style of tasteless profusion of decorations betrays the
total decline of the arts; and though partially
covered with Egyptian ornaments, — without, how
ever, any hieroglyphics or sculptures, — looks more
like one of the fantastical nonentities of one of our
, old-fashioned gardens, than a religious edifice dedi
cated to the gods.]
The fourth temple, which lies near to it, though
scarcely half the size of the latter, is infinitely the
finest of the whole group, and of a much earlier date.
Its entrance, like that of the first and third, is from
the east; only the second fronts the west. This
entrance is built in the form of the Egyptian propylsea;
on their narrow sides are represented two gigantic
serpents coiling round the stalk of an equally colossal
flower, and terminating above in the figure of a deity
(Osiris), holding in his hand the key of the Nile.
On the left broad front of the propylBea, near the
gateway, is the familiar symbol of the giant, repeated

RUINS OP MESAOURAT. 275
on nearly every Egyptian monument, and which
usually represents a ruler, under the form of the
triumphant Osiris, brandishing his sword in one hand,
and with the other holding some captives by their hair.
The number of heads which the giant here grasps iti
his hand infinitely exceeds all similar representations
which I have seen in Egypt. This strange design
looks exactly like an old genealogical tree, rising in
the form of a candelabrum ; at the top are three
enormous heads, growing one out of the other, with
long stretched-out necks, and extending their lengthy
misshapen arms horizontally on each side, and the
intervening spaces are filled up with twenty-five
smaller heads; the giant grasps the whole of this
monstrosity by. the long tuft of the hair of the upper
head, and wields in his right hand an enormous club,
instead of a sword.
On the right side of the gate is the representation
of a colossal goddess, of the sarae size, in a similar
attitude to the pendant opposite, and holding in her
hand an equally enormous assemblage of heads.
Neither of these designs is devoid of a certain
striking effect; but, as a whole, they bespeak the
decline rather than the first rude efforts of art; nor
do any of the physiognomies bear the slightest trace
of that wonderful fidelity and character of expression,
general as well as particular, which distinguish the
heads of the captives in similar designs ; as, for in
stance, those at Thebes and Ipsamboul, by which we
are, even now, enabled to determine their several
origins simply by the traits of their countenances.
The interior of the temple is quite destitute of
T 2

276 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
hieroglyphics or sculptures, and appears to have been
never finished, and the eye rests only upon bare, crum
bling walls, and great heaps of stones. The external
wall, on the other hand, contain well-executed colossal
sculptures, which are mostly in good preservation.
Those on the south side are in the best condition, and
represent the very same procession of five divinities,
one behind the other, which is seen on the typhoniura
at Djebel Birkel, and other places. Here, however,
is a queen and her attendant lady, who are presenting
the offerings; the other walls, too, appear to have
been ornamented with various female figures in con
nection with the divinities, but they are too indistinct
for us to come to any certain conclusion.
This temple, like No, 2, has a deep projecting
cornice along the top, of which, however, only a few
fragments are left, and these exhibit the first faint
traces of colouring. All these reraains bear evident
marks of the violent hand of man, and we are led to
infer, from the sign of a cross cut upon the walls,
that Christian fanaticism has penetrated to this spot,
and co-operated with pious zeal in destroying these
works of art.
Extreme exhaustion ; the thermometer at 35° E.
within the shade of the teraple ; an excruciating head
ache, from which I was almost a constant sufferer,
with no food, except some filthy water from disgusting
skins, and half-mouldy biscuits — these must plead my
excuse for the meagreness of this description, as well
as ray utter inability, being only single-handed, to
take adequate copies of the raost reraarkable objects
I have mentioned. I venture to affirm that very few

EUINS OP MESAOURAT. 27
would have been able to effect more under similar
circumstances. Towards evening, after a short respite, we were
again obliged to mount and pursue our journey about
thirty miles further during the night, in order to
discover the third and only remaining spot in this
part of the country where ruins are to be met with.
After a march of five hours, the dromedaries of
my own and the doctor's servants were scarcely
able to proceed ; the difficulties of the rugged ground
were greatly increased by the Egyptian darkness in
which we were enveloped, and as we were scarcely
able to keep on our saddles from fatigue, we resolved
to ride up to a large fire which we descried on our
left, and which the Sheikh assured us belonged to a
Bedouin tribe of his acquaintance; here, therefore,
we proposed to abide till the morning, or at least till
the rising of the moon.
Notwithstanding the assurance he had just given
us. Sheikh Beschir advanced with military precaution.
He made us halt within some hundred paces ' of the
fire, which brilliantly illurainated the mimosa forest
around us, and despatched two of his people to recon
noitre. When they returned with their report, the
Sheikh, from some cause which he did not explain,
did not consider it expedient to claim hospitality here,
and we once more turned aside and made up to a
fire which we discerned in the far distant horizon.
We reached it in half an hour, and after following
the same tactics as on the former occasion, we were
at length permitted to pitch our camp upon an iso
lated sand-hill, at the foot of which all our animals

278 RUINS OF MESAOURAT.
were ranged in a circle, like a rampart. We saw
nothing of the Bedouins, to whom Sheikh Beschir
paid a visit by himself, but what was infinitely more
welcome, our careful guide brought us an enormous
goiird-dish filled with excellent milk, together with a
large supply of Arab bread-cakes, which made us a
capital meal.
We were so thoroughly refreshed by a few hours'
sound sleep, albeit on the hardest of couches, that we
mounted our dromedaries in renewed strength and
joyous spirits, and rode forward to meet the rising
sun in the freshness of the early morning. We
might, however, have spared ourselves all the fatigues
of a long day's journey, for we discovered that the
ruins, for which we had made this great detour, are
quite insignificant. They are situated near the Nile,
and consist of nothing but large masses of rubbish,
from which rise three upright square pillars, orna
mented with Isis' heads, having long pendant ears.
Excavations were sometime ago made here by an
Italian renegade, who is physician to the Governor of
Khartoum ; but he discovered only a few broken
shafts of colurans, and key-stones of gates with the
symbol of the winged disk, of rather rude workman
ship. To complete our excursion we had to make a
further march of two hours to Beni-Naga, near which
I had appointed to meet my travelling caravan, who
were to proceed by a shorter route, and av^'&it our
arrival at the river. Our road along the banks of the'
Nile, though they were quite uncultivated, resembled
a; perfect garden, from the variety of beautiful shrubs

RUINS op MESAOURAT. 279
and picturesque groups of trees, araid which we had
vistas of the loveliest distances ; on one side, of the
mountains we had just left, on the other, of the far
windings of the river.
There was an abundance of game, especially hares,
which the Bedouins kill by throwing stones at thera.
At one tirae a troop of six large, snow-white ante-.
lopes bounded past us, and near sorae tents we saw a
very peculiar race of serai- wild sheep, which were
totally different from ours, not merely in their form,
but also in colour. Some resembled a doe, the wool
of others was fawn-coloured, while a few were beau
tifully variegated like marble. Soon after, we saw,
n-ear Beni-Naga, a thick grove of tall palm trees, such
as we had not cast eye upon for many a day ; at the
same time we discovered our bright green tents
pitched beneath their shade, besides several " sakyehs,"
surrounded by the fertile meadows which they irri
gate. I resolved to rest for the day, A sheep was
killed for the Sheikh and his people, and roasted
vvhole on the spot. I was content to diet upon dates
apd miUi; a system which I pursued till I reached
Khartoura, and thus corapletely cured ray headache
and other slight indispositions.

280 . MARNAT,

CHAPTER XIL
MARNAT  AERIAL PHENOMENON  ARRIVAL IN THE
CAPITAL OP SOUDAN.
Beni-Naga, like Shendy, is a place of considerable
extent, but it is now almost entirely deserted, being
inhabited by two or three families only. Near the town
stands the tomb of a famous Mohammedan santon,
built in the form of a high pyraraid, and terminating
in a sharp point, which is the style of architecture
still employed here for sirailar purposes, Sorae of
these monuments have tiers of steps running up to
the summit, sirailar to the ancient pyraraids, which
enabled us to ascend thera with great ease. The
Mohammedan pyramids, however, are never square,
but invariably of a round form. ' They are occa
sionally built of hewn stone, but more generally of
bricks dried in the sun, or mud mixed with straw r
but rarely of burnt bricks.
Imraediately on our arrival we vi'ere told of a
melancholy occurrence which had happened close to
our encampment the day before yesterday. Two
lions advanced unawares to one of the sakyehs, where
sev^eral head of cattle were fastened up, and the
largest of the lions seized a cow as his prey. As he
vvas about to carry it off, he was boldly assailed by
its owner, who was attracted to the spot by its moans.
In utter despair at the loss of what probably consti-

AERIAL PHENOMENON. 281
tuted the whole of his wealth, the poor black con^^
fronted the lion, and hurled his spear deep into its
breast. Unhappily, the wound did not prove instan
taneously fatal, and the enraged beast, at once quitting
its prey, made a sudden dash at his aggressor, and
tore his face with its claws, and raangled his right arm
with its teeth. In the meantime several individuals
belonging to the sakyeh had come up, and quickly
despatched the lion with their spears ; but its com
panion, which was a young one, effected his escape.
With the indifference which characterises these men,
the dead lion was roasted, and greedily devoured the
same night ! and its skin sold on the following morn
ing to a Djellab, who happened to be passing. The
wounded man lingered throughout the day in the
most excruciating torments, and had just been buried
as we arrived.
During our stay in this bivouac we had an oppor
tunity of observing sorae of the peculiar phenoraena
of this cliraate, and I must confess that they are raore
wonderful than agreeable to witness. The wind had
heen very high and variable, the heat sultry and
oppressive, and the sky overcast, when suddenly we
were struck as by the approach of a dense mountain
of sand from the south. I iraraediately gave orders
to close ray tent, in which I had just before retired to
rest, and to secure it by lashing additional ropes to
the surrounding trees ; it happily stood firra while the
hurricane of wind and sand swept over us, but it
was impossible to defend ourselves against the earth
and soil which it drove before it. In less than a
minute such quantities of this element had penetrated

282 M.\,RNAT.
through the chinks of ray tent, that my own person,
and everything within the tent was covered with a
black dirt, an inch thick, and but for the silk hand
kerchief which I had thrown over my face, I think
that I must have been suffocated. All the Arabs had
taken the same precaution, and thrown theraselves
with their faces upon the ground, where they remained
motionless till the storm had passed away, which it
did in about ten minutes.
In the evening I wished to cleanse myself from my
sand-bath, and therefore proposed to bathe in the
river, but here I was fairly tossed from Scylla to
Charybdis. The only suitable spot for bathing was
situated- about a quarter of an hour's walk frora the
teiits, and on my way thither I reraarked a singular
yellowish-red tint spreading over the northern part of
the heavens, while distant lightning darted from be-.
hind the black clouds. I did not lose a moment,
therefore, in plunging into the water, and I had
scarcely made ray first essay in swimming when large
drops of rain of the size of hazel-nuts fell slowly,
the sky becarae black as night, and in the midst of the
darkness a fiery-red cloud advanced upon us with a
portentous howling. I jumped out of the river as
quickly as I had just befoi-e plunged into it, that I
might at least have my clothes on before the threaten
ing storm broke over us. But it was too late, and
I had barely time to throw on my bathing-cloak,
when a cloud burst in a torrent such as I had never
before witnessed, accompanied by fearful crashing of
thunder and flashes of vivid lightning. I cannot
siifficiently admire the presence of mind of the three

AERIAL FHEXOMEXON. ' 2'83
negroes of the Sheikh Beschir by whom I was accom
panied. It was the work of an instant to roll me lip
with all my clothes in the large carpet which lay
s|)read upon the shore, and to throw themselves over
me on the side from which' the storm came, like a
living wall of flesh and bone. We thus formed a
compact mass, able to resist both the fury of the storm
and the svveeping flood ; I suffered nothing beyond
the discomfort of remaining for some time drenched
to the skin, and dressing in the rain when the storm
abated, after which I did not fail to seek the shelter of
iny tent with the utmost speed.
The storm, however, continued throughout the
night, raging with unequal violence, and by the morn-
ingymy double tent-roof was no longer able to resist
the entrance of the water. Happily this little adven-
tpre was not followed by any attack of fever ; in this
climate you are certainly not so liable to catch cold as
in one under northern latitudes, for the heat continues
nearly equal under every change of weather, How-
eiver, I reraained here till one o'clock the following
d^y, in order thoroughly to dry our effects, as well as
ourselves, in the sun, ere we again set out on our
journey. At first the country was still diversified with shrubs,
though raostly leafless, and we met many travellers on
foot, or mounted on camels, horses, arid asses ; they
were all armed with shields and spears, and were
generally fine, tall, well-made raen; they were natives
of Soudan, and greatly superior, especially in the form
of the leg and calf, to the Arabs we had hitherto seen,
and who, potwithstanding their, muscular strength.

284 MARNAT.
are commonly not gifted with anything better than
spindle-legs. They returned our greetings with much
friendliness, and their whole demeanour, though less
dignified and distingue than that of the Shaki and
Djaalin Arabs, was more pleasing, free, and good-
natured. After a few hours' march all traces of vegetation
vanished, and the dead, level plain was skirted only
by an isolated, long and low granite-ridge, which
resembled the ruins of a city, and, by the fairy mirage
of the desert, was surrounded by a lake of the most
deceptive reality. The soil is everywhere much
impregnated with salt.
The route from this place was extremely mono
tonous till we arrived, in the evening, at the region of
the last, or sixth. Cataract of the Nile, where the eye
is gladdened by the sight of a fresher vegetation ;
granite rocks of varied forras, and raore pleasing cha
racter of scenery than those at Assouan, stretch
directly across tbe country to the distance of several
leagues from the banks of the Nile. According to
the partition of the Arabs, the highest of these rocks,
lying near the road, raarks the boundary line between
Nubia and Soudan ; it is a spot of romantic beauty,
skirted by a thick wood towards the river-side, while
a blue mountain chain rises on its southern front,
and raaking a bend eastward terrainates in a singular
rocky group. It looks at a distance like the tombs of
santons, or an assemblage of gigantic hay-ricks of
similar size and forra, but ranged in irregular clumps,
and rising singly from one base, without having, from
this point of view, any apparent connection.

MARNAT. 285
This spot recalled the enthusiastic feelings with
which I had formerly entered Nubia at Assouan, and
how little I then dreamt that I should ever emerge on
the other side. Dr. Koch, to whom I communicated
this remark, observed, " And how raany penetrate
beyond Nubia from this point, who will never
return." * " This, indeed," I replied, " we mv.st
leave to the future, and I hope for the sake of those
who love us that Heaven has designed some other fate
for us. Yet in my unceasing migration through the
world, it is all one to me on what spot of earth my
soul shall deposit its earthly tenement, to pursue under
a new form of existence a more interesting and exten
sive field of research. I am always prepared for such
a result, though by no means desirous to hasten it,
and least of all by needless anxiety ; in this calm
state of raind I am able to act in the spirit of the most
difficult precept of our religion, and to bless them
that curse me. And for the rest," added I, " a physician
and a practical philosopher have surely less cause of
.apprehension than others. You will cure both your
self and me, should we become sick, while I on my
part, will not fail to fortify our minds with the maxims
of wisdom, whenever we are attacked by spleen, or are
home-sick, or the heat proves insupportable ; it is
only necessary that we have faith in each other, I in
your skill of healing, you in my philosophy, and as
this is for our mutual interest we must lay aside all
•scepticisms in this respect." The Doctor was con-
* These words proved prophetic in the case of the poor Doctor,
who died in the course ot the'present year, 1844, at Khartoum, during
his second journey to Sennaar.

286 MARNAT.
tent, and we pursued our journey with renewed
confidence, like the blind and the lame.
We now turned westwards, in the direction of the
wood and the river, and being no longer able to
penetrate through the high and luxuriant thorn bushes,
we rode along the meandering course of a dry canal,
which is filled only during the inundation of the Nile,
till we reached the sraall village of Marnat, where
our caravan had raade a halt. We were enraptured
with the luxuriance and iniraitable beauty of this
tropical region ; it was truly an ideal wilderness, and
here probably unique in its kind, especially as the
proxiraity of the water had already clothed its count
less trees, shrubs, and plants with the brightest
verdure and abundant blossoms. Innumerable species
of mimosa, acacia, savines, tujas, willows, and poplars,
besides a great variety of trees and shrubs, unknown
to me, interlaced and covered with a thick webbing
of parasites, overshadowed the neat straw huts which
were clustered in this little paradise.
We found our tents pitched near the margin of a
broad arm of the Nile, over which we commanded
an extensive prospect. The river is studded with
sraall verdant islands, and rugged, detached granite
rocks; opposite to us was a large and thickly-wooded
island, containing an extensive village, whence a boat,
which served as a ferry, kept up a constant commu
nication between the two banks. This boat was
composed of only one single trunk hollowed out, and
when occupied by ten or twelve persons was raised
scarcely half an inch above the water. The oars con
sisted of small paddles, two feet in length, reserablirg

MARNAT. 287
ladles. On one occasion it conveyed eight sable ladies,
and their embarkation was attended with as much
formality as if they had been European exclusives.
Truly the fair sex is everywhere the same, whether
they wear nose and ankle rings as here, or ear-rings
and bracelets as with us. We were treated with
much kindness by these children of nature, who
supplied us amply with excellent cow's milk, and
readily killed a young kid for our use.
The station was altogether so lovely that had I
been less urged by tirae and curiosity I could willingly
have passed some months here. Everything reminded
us of our northern spring ; the heat was not oppressive,
though the sky was unclouded, and fresh exhalations
rose from the river, while a nuraber of birds of brilliant
plumage sang and fluttered gaily around us. There
was nothing to remind us of Africa save the swarthy
Ratives, and a young crocodile which had taken up its
abode on a rock opposite our tent, on which it con
tinued for hours together lying with open mouth, and
inhaling the fresh air. Guinea fowl, as large as
peacocks, abound here ; we shot several of them, whieh
were reported excellent, though I had no opportunity
of pronouncing upon them, as I continued faithful to
my milk diet.
We spent the following day in rambling about
the beautiful environs; but this was no easy adven
ture, on account of the thickly overgrown brushwood
and the absence of paths accessible to all who wear
anything beyond Nature's robe, for it seeras that
the skin of the blacks is far less susceptible of thorns
and briars than our garraents.

288 MARNAT.
We recommenced our journey at noon on the
SQth of April, quitting with much regret the lovely
Marnat, whose bright image will never be effaced from
my recollection. The road led along, and partly
through, the raountain ridge, which we had seen sorae
days before ; we had a fatiguing ride of seven hours,
under a broiling sun, for the temperature was again
sultry. Nothing remarkable presented[itself in the course of
the day, except an unusually pretty burying-ground,
near a large village ; alraost every grave was bordered
with well-burnt, reddish-brown, glazed tiles, resera
bling porcelain, and the inner space was inlaid vvith
coloured pebbles in various patterns.
M. Cadalvene mentions having seen similar graves,
and affirms that the pebbles were thus placed that the
deceased on visiting his grave might find materials at
hand for counting his beads. No one here, however,
knew anything of such refinement, and the invariable
response which I received to my inquiries was that
ornament was the only object in this custom: it pre
vails as far down as Wadi Haifa, but I have nowhere
seen it carried out with so much taste as in this little
village. W^e again took up our night's quarters under sorae
lofty acacias on the Nile, near a solitary peaked
mountain, which bore traces of a fallen crater, and
was evidently an extinct volcano. At this station
I was met by a messenger, richly attired in blue
and white, who was despatched by Khourshid Pasha,
the Governor of Soudan, to whom I had written to
announce my arrival a week ago ; the Governor being

MARNAT. 289
alarmed at my non-appearance, had sent his servant,
mounted on his fleetest dromedary, to make inquiries
respecting me. As soon as he had received my
answer, he took his leave, and set off at such a
long trot, that I could no longer doubt his previous
assurance that he should reach Khartoum before mid
night, a journey which generally occupies full fourteen
hours. We, unhappily, do not travel quite so fast,
as our animals are very indifferent.
Twilight was approaching, when I set out upon a
solitary ramble along the banks of the Nile, to stretch
my limbs, which were stiff, from our long ride. On
coming to an abrupt turn of the river, I at once found
myself in a small grassy knoll, completely surrounded
by rocks, and seeming to belong half to the land, and
half to the water. Here I beheld, to my extreme
delight, an enormous hippopotamus, grazing with the
utmost composure, and not the least annoyed by the
vicinity of our glowing watch-fire, and the noise of
of our bivouac. I immediately sumraoned the Doctor
and my people, to see this interesting animal, which
we were enabled to observe for above half an hour,
with the greatest leisure and minuteness, being
scarcely a hundred paces from it. The German de
signation of a Nile horse is very inaccurate ; the Arabs
call it more correctly " water ox," though it might as
appropriately be called water hog, for it occupies a
middle place between these two aniraals, and in its
manner bears a closer resemblance to the latter than
to the former. Yet its misshapen head, which is out of
all proportion to the rest of the body, its horrid glaring
eyes, which protrude like cannon-balls, are peculiar
VOL. II. u

290 MARNAT.
only to itself It is very harmless, destructive to
the farmer only from its voracious appetite, and never
dangerous except when excited to combat. The ani
mal which engaged our attention would probably have
passed the whole night in our vicinity, as there was
abundant pasture, had not a vessel under full sail
passed up the river. On its approach the creature
appeared much annoyed at the interruption, shook
its head, opened its mouth with its numerous fangs,
three or four times, then marched into the river
with a slow and stately pace, raised its head once or
twice above the surface, and then plunged to the
bottom, just as the vessel was about to sail over it.
There it probably found more comfortable repose
than vve did on terra firma, for scarcely had we retired
to bed when we were called to endure a second
edition of the sand-storm, 'i hough its violence gra
dually abated, it continued to rage for five hours,
during which our people were actively engaged in
endeavouring to keep the tent from being upset. The
wind carried off the doctor's sowjoer, extinguished the fire,
and filled even our closely-covered chests and trunks
with fine dust; and we were forced, after a sleepless
night, to spend the whole morning in cleaning and
arranging our things. The weather, in the mean-
tirae, became extremely cold, which is a very unusual
occurrence, and I could scarcely keep rnyself warm
even by wrapping up in a second cloak. All these
detentions delayed our departure till two o'clock in
the afternoon.

SHORT EPISODE. 291

SHORT EPISODE.

I MUST here, after an interval of three years, raake
a short pause to express my pleasure that the above-
mentioned account of my entrevue with the hippopota
mus, was coraraunicated by some talismanic influence,
long ere I had myself revealed it, to our highly
respected Prussian counsellor, M. Charles Iramer-
mann, by vvhom it was published in his " Annals of
Miinchausen," with a version conceived in the hap
piest spirit of ingenuity — such as I could in vain have
attempted ! I must only record my protest against
the relation, that the Nile ox ever swallowed, and
then vomited me forth again. Such a distinction
would bring me into too close reserablance to the
prophet Jonas, which my modesty begs to decline. It
is also not probable that I should have cried out in
such an emergency: Monsieur, Monsieur, avec permis
sion, je suis son alt^se telle et telle. This is bad French,
and by no means characteristic. It is far raore likely
that I should have endeavoured to set forth my indi-
gestibility to the hippopotamus, who was possessed by
the demon of Iramermann, in some such strain as
this : Mon cher animal, cheval, boeuf ou cochon, qui que
vous soy ez, laissez-moi tranquille ! Votre nature est de
manger dufoin : — ne sutor ultra crepidam — keep to your
own trade, hippopotamus ! and if the monster had
considered this too long a speech from one within his
very jaws, I should for once have pleaded the example
of German comic writers, who long before the time of
Immermann have considered it their privilege to retail
u 2

292 MARNAT.
their gold-dust unwashed, and mixed with all its native
impurities.* The soil of the desert which we traversed to-day,
contains a large proportion of salt; the natives merely
dig small pits in the ground, of which we saw many
thousands on both sides of the road, and boil the pro
duce in water, by which process they obtain a very
considerable quantity of salt, amounting to about a
sixth per cent.
We found the road to-day even more animated than
yesterday; among other travellers we met a person
who appeared to be of some consequence, attended by
a large retinue, while his gay costume and his peaked
parasol hat, manufactured of paper, gave him the air
of a Chinese mandarin. After proceeding about seven
teen railes we halted at seven o'clock near a flock of
goats, beneath sorae mimosa trees, in order to rest
ourselves and secure a double portion of my allowance
of milk. We resumed our journey by starlight that
we might, if possible, reach Khartoum early on the
following morning.
The road was now extremely rugged and over
grown with brushwood, so that we were not unfre
quently caught among the thorns, and had great
difficulty, in the darkness of the night, to keep
our party together. At length, however, the Doctor
and my valet lost their way, being unable to keep up
with us, owing to the extreme weariness of their
* Poor Immermann is [since dead ; but as the passage in his
Miinchausen 'concerning 'me still exists, I may also suffer my reply
to survive, for it was written dui-ing his life-time, and published in
one of our journals.

KHARTOUM, 293
camels. I despatched the dragoman in search of tlienx
without effect, and after waiting a considerable tirae,
and shouting in all directions, we were forced to
leave thera to find their own way ; this we could do
with the less hesitation, as it was now near daybreak,
and we were within half an hour of Halfaja, a large
village. Here they arrived in safety, after wandering
about the wood in the utmost anxiety ; they roused
the sheikh, procured from him asses and a guide, and
reached Khartoum three hours after us.
This town lies at the angle of the fork which is
formed by the junction of the White and Blue rivers,
those two large arms of the Nile, of which it yet
remains undecided which is properly entitled to bear
the name of this river.* Its lofty mosque and
battlemented walls give it an imposing appearance at
a distance, but a close approach undeceived us, and,
like all the towns in this region, its buildings were
only rude erections of clay without any dressing. The
environs on this side are chiefly desert, or fields des
titute of trees ; in the immediate vicinity alone we
saw a few gardens, and, indeed, we had no right to
expect more, for it was only within the last ten years
that this capital of Soudan first rose up in the desert,
by command of Meheraet AU.
Before crossing the Blue River, which flows close by
the town, and along its whole extent, I was met by
the treasurer of Khourchid Pacha,jwho came to welcome
me in the name of his master, and to conduct me in
his elegant bark to the house prepared for my recep-
* This, however, would now appear to be decided.

294 KHARTOUM,
tion. This was a specimen of the characteristic taste
of the Turks and Orientals — I mean their strange and
peculiar medley of splendour, dirt, and poverty —
which, in the fashion of the country, were here blended
in yet more glaring contrast. Its external walls Were
of clay, having a high, ornamented gate-way, through
which we entered by a verandah into an apartment of
considerable size ; the roof, however, was formed of
rough bearas, and the floor of beaten earth, which a
slave watered every two hours, from large ox-skins, in
order to lay the dust. The divan, which was raised a
foot and extended along three sides of the room, being
nothing more than an elevated floor with a vrooden
ledge, but was, nevertheless, covered with a profusion
of the richest carpets, and soft cushions of variously-
coloured silks. The ground near the divan vvas spread
with those beautiful mats of the palm-leaf for which
Soudan is famous.
The walls of this palace had lately undergone, the
distinguished luxury of whitewashing, but they had
already assumed the prevailing mud tint, and the
whole furniture of the saloon consisted of large jars of
burnt clay containing water from the Nile : this vvas
constantly replenished, as it filtered into the large
basins, where it sparkled like crystal, and retained the
freshness of spring water. Upon shelves along the
wail were ranged the bardocks, or porous water-filters,
which I have already described, always ready for use.
A dozen richly-dressed but barefooted attendants
awaited my orders in the saloon, and presented me vvith
splendid pipes, coffee, and sherbet, in costly vessels.

KHARTOUM. 295
The sleeping-rooms leading out of the state apart
ments were hideous to an extreme, — worse than the
lodging of the poorest peasant in Europe. I therefore
resolved to occupy the divan, and could not help
heartily commiserating my people and the slaves in
being obliged to take up their abode in these dank,
muddy holes. A separate house had been prepared
for the Doctor, which was a miniature copy of ray
own, and not inferior to it in a daubing of filth and
splendour.

296 KHARTOUM.

[CHAPTER XIIL
KHARTOUM.
I HAD not been installed five minutes in my new
abode, when I was visited by General Mustapha Bey,
the military governor of the town and comraander of
the Viceroy's regular troops in Soudan; he was
attended by a numerous retinue, and having twice
cordially embraced me, seated himself beside me on
the ottoman. He is said to be one of Mehemet All's
best officers, and had a martial, decided bearing, which
became hira very well. At present, however, he
fills but a subordinate situation, having been formerly
Governor of the kingdom of Kordofan, where it is
reported he made too free a use of his power, and
amassed a very large fortune.
After a quarter of an hour Khourshid Pacha hiraself
came, attended with still greater pomp than the
general, aud honoured me with a similar twofold era-
brace. Like all the grandees of Egypt, Khourchid
Pacha is a person of polished manners and the most
winning courtesy, but he bore evident traces of
the effects of the climate, and had a feeble, sickly
appearance. I afterwards learnt, that though he was
greatly feared, he was by no means liked, on account
of his extrerae avarice, by which he is said to have
accuraulated above a million of Spanish dollars, during
the ten or twelve years of his governorship.

KHARTOUM. 297
He was treated with alraost greater demonstrations
of outward respect than even Mehemet Ali himself,
and his physician, the Italian renegade whom I have
already mentioned, who holds the rank of Colonel,
when he received the Pacha's permission to be seated,
did not venture to occupy any place but a mat on the
floor. None but the general was seated on the sofa
with the Pacha and myself; the rest of the party
stood without their shoes, those of superior rank upon
the divan, the inferior class upon mats, and the lowest
of all occupied the bare floor, which was still wet from
its rece nt watering.
Our conversation was soon over, and when my
guests had taken leave, the steward of the governor
entered, followed by a long train of servants bearing
the various accompaniments of a Turkish banquet,
which though very ample, was nevertheless, extremely
bad. A Sicilian Jew at the same tirae raade his
appearance, who supplied rae with execrable hock,
for' which he charged me eighty piastres per bottle.
This man, who carried on a trade in all sorts of
European trash, and always at a similar tariff, filled
also the office of apothecary to the Government ; and
truly the fate of the hapless soldiers in the hospital,
who are forced against their will to swallow his nau
seous drugs, is deserving our pity. As he doubtless
regarded me as a singularly welcome prize, he became
at length so exceedingly troublesome, that I was
obliged to have hira turned out of doors. It is deeply
to be laraented that all the saraples of Europeans
settled in these countries bear the same stamp.
In the evening I returned the Pacha's visit ; he

298 KHARTOUM.
received me with all the barbaric splendour which
could be mustered for .the occasion, but his house,
though very much larger, was not at all superior to
the one assigned to my use. During this interview,
as well as on several subsequent occasions, the Pacha
coraraunicated to me much valuable information
respecting the unexplored regions to the south. I was
particularly interested vvith his account of an expedi
tion which he had raade some years ago, at the head
of 2000 troops, when he penetrated to a distance, as
he assured me, of thirty-two days' journey (reckoning
the day's march at six to eight hours), up the banks
of the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White Nile, partly by land
and partly by water. He represented the soil of the
region which he traversed as extremely fertile, full of
forests of lofty trees (the Adansonia and cocoa palm,
as it would seem), bounded occasionally only by high,
steep mountains, slenderly cultivated, and the popula
tion raore fierce and warlike the further he advanced;
nor was any supply of food to be obtained from thera
without previous fighting or force. He described
them as a tall, vigorous, and finely-formed race of jet-
black negroes, completely naked, without even an
apron, and utterly devoid of religion — that is,
apparently so, being neither Mahometans, Jews, nor
Christians. Araong some of the tribes both raen and
women shave their heads, but wear no covering
against the scorching heat. A few araong them had
aboard. During the winter season the mountainous districts
are excessively cold, and the natives are in the habit
of making' large fires and burying themselves around

KHARTOUM. 299
ihem in the heated sand. ' " Sometimes^" said the
Pacha, laughing, "when we unexpectedly surprised
therii, we discovered them on all sides working
themselves out of the ground like raoles." Their
weapons consist of shields, bows, javelins, and arrows ;
the latter are sometimes tipped with such a deadly
poison that their wounds always prove fatal. Not a
inan among them would yield his arms but with his
life, and the Pacha could not speak with sufficient
admiration of the heroic valour and contempt of death
with which these savages maintain their ground.
The water of the river was everywhere found to be
abundant, and generally deep, without any apparent
diminution, although the streara frequently divides
into branches, which form or embrace countless islands,
many of which are thickly wooded. On two occasions
the expedition sailed up one of these arms, but at last
found it so much spread over the plain as to be too
uncertain and' dangerous for navigation ; they there*
fore turned back and explored one which had securer
boundaries. In consequence of this detention, how
ever, it was nearly fifty days before they could set
out ou their return. The banks of one of these arras
or tributaries of the White Nile, (for it is probable
that raany which are considered arras are, in fact,
tributaries) were much better cultivated than the
others ; there were numbers of villages scattered
among its fertile fields, but the inhabitants were as
savage as their neighbours, on which account, the
Pacha observed vvith the utmost sang-froid, "he had
considered hirriself obliged," in plain Turkish, to burn

300 KHARTOUM.
the greater part of these villages, and carry off the
natives as slaves.
The Governor assured me that he had seen two
pyramids, one on each side of the river, at Taiphafan,
in the land of the Tengars or Tongars, near the
point where he commenced his return, that in their
style of architecture they exactly resembled those
of Ghizeh, although not so lofty nor broad at the
base, and having a flattened apex, as if for the pur
pose 'of holding statues. He assured me that both
diverged from the base with a considerable inclina
tion to the south, which gave them the appearance
of being awry, though he was unable to state whether
they had been so constructed by design, or whether
it was the result of an earthquake ; the blocks of
which they were built were of the same forraation as
the neighbouring mountains, and were placed in steps
one above another, which rendered their ascent toler
ably easy.
Though we cannot place entire reliance upon
reports such as these, yet it is not likely that the
grave Turk should have desired to palm a pure inven
tion upon me in the presence of so many witnesses,
several of whom had accompanied hira on the expedi
tion, and frequently corrected or confirmed his state
ments ; still less is it possible that while giving such a
detailed account of the subject, the Pacha and his
attendants could have laboured under any gross illu
sion. If, however, his report be correct, it cannot be
questioned that, upon closer examination, this fact
will throw a most iraportant light upon the ancient

KHARTOUM. 301
history of these countries. Did Rameses-Sesostris
penetrate thus far in his triumphant conquests, and
did he, to coraraemorate this wonderful [exploit, rear
those gigantic monuraents on either bank of the mys
terious river, whose sources seemed unattainable ? —
or, in the dawn of history, did there exist some nation
in this quarter, whose rude but colossal genius sug
gested the ennobled imitation of Egypt in a later age ?
These buildings, if they should be really extant, may
give a complete elucidation of this enigraa.
Khourchid Pacha could not give rae any inforraation
respecting the half-fabulous mountains of the Moon ;
though, according to his report, he must have crossed
at least the eighth degree of latitude ; he had neither
seen nor heard anything which could lead him to infer
their existence in this direction, as laid down in our
maps. According to all appearance of probability
these mountains, if they actually exist, must lie more
to the south and east, further back in Abyssinia, and
in connection with sorae of its own lofty highlands.
Khourchid Pacha agreed in this latter conjecture, and
even Meheraet Ali, when we were conversing about
Bruce, expressed an opinion that the real sources of the
Nile must be sought for in the high mountain ridges
beyond Abyssinia.
Though these sources of the Nile have been looked
for in vain during the last four thousand years, I
ara convinced, as well from the information I have
received, as from my own more farailiar acquaintance
with these countries, that there are no insuperable
difficulties to oppose such a discovery, if only the right
means are employed ; and here I cannot help express-

302. KHARTOUM*
ing my surprise that so easy a method of establishing
an eternal fame has never yet suggested itself to any
of the governments of Europe, nor even to one of
the many wealthy natives of Great Britain, who, in
general, take so rauch interest in subjects of this kind,
are animated bysucli an innate love of travelling, and
moreover possess the amplest means at their command
for carrying out an enterprise of this nature. If
such an individual or government were to declare their
readiness to the Viceroy, to bear the whole expense
of the expedition, and satisfy him that their only
object was the promotion tff science, there would not
be the slightest difficulty, with a little savoir faire, in
obtaining the raost efficient support of the Egyptian
government ; but without it the execution of such a
project would doubtless be extremely difficult.*
• We now know with certainty, if not the sources, yet at least the
course, of the Bahr-el-Abiad, nearly up to its rise ; also the actual
situation of the mountains (the mountains of the Moon, if you will)
whence the White Nile has its origin ; though they have been found
considerably to the south, and also much further east, than was for
merly assumed, whieh, singularly enough, agrees with the conjecture
of the Pacha at Khartoum, and Mehemet Ali himself. Yet to whom
are we indebted that this mystery of 4000 years has at length been
unveiled ? Solely to the " useless, self-aggrandising barbarian,"
Mehemet Ali, who, in the course of three years, fitted out three
expeditions, and would not rest till he had attained his object. Will
not this put some check to the attacks of ignorant critics ? They
may impute whatever motives they please, but they cannot deny the
result. His energy has executed, almost in sport, what has hitherto
baffled the efforts of all the nations of the earth ; and the unlettered
Turk has won immortal renown in the cause of science ! It would
almost seem as if fate had sought to indemnify hira by this unlooked-
for fame among the civilised world in Europe, for all the injustice
which has been done to him by the other powers of this quarter
of the globe, in a political, or, more truly, unpolitical point of view, j

KHARTOUM. S03.
At the Governor's, too, I obtained from an old
Djaus some further particulars respecting Manderah..
According to his account it is only sixteen hours'
journey from Abou Heraz, eastward of the Nile ; he
also; confirmed the existence of ruins upon a moun
tain in the plain, but was unable to give any details,
having, as he said, paid too little attention to these
things. I at once requested the Governor to permit
this man to accompany me as a guide on ray journey,
and then took leave td pay ray respects to Mustapha
Bey. I found his house furnished with glass windows, the
only one in Khartoum, except the Harem . of the
Governor's, which enjoys this luxury. He told us a
great deal about Kordofan and the gold-mines - of
Skeibon (not Shabun, as it is called in the maps),
where the Austrian mineralogists are now engaged in
cjEploring the gold-mines under the able direction of
M. Russeger, but are expected to return to this
place on the approach of the rainy season. They
have an escort of 400 Infantry and 200 Cavalry —
ai large convoy for a party of scientific explorers ;
but this was considered indispensable for their protec
tion, as the brave and warlike blacks are rather jealous
of their gold, and pursue the washings of the sand,
though very imperfectly, yet with great diligence, and
carry on a considerable trade in this ore with Kordofan,
Sennaar, and even Dongola.
Mustapha Bey has lately been at war with them,
burnt Sheibon, and subdued some of the mountain
districts, but it would seem could not maintain his
position there. The chief object of the expedition

304 KHARTOUM.
was the capture of slaves. Araong the raost reraark
able productions of Kordofan he mentioned an enor
mous tree, having a very spongy wood, and bearing
a fruit of the size of an ostrich egg, containing a
milky pulp of agreeable flavour. The sarae tree
occurs, though not frequently, in some districts of
Sennaar, where it is called Kangulos. In Kordofan
it goes by the name of Homer or Tebeld. Mustapha
Bey assured rae that he had measured trunks of this
tree, which were above seventy feet in girth; its
height, though considerable, bears no proportion to this
enormous thickness. Its branches spread very far, but
the wood is so bad that it is not even fit for fuel. It
is probably a species of Adansonia or Sotor.
Faithful to my old prejudice, I also asked him
respecting the unicorn, but without success. He,
however, sent for two splendid specimens of Rhino
ceros horns, which he presented to me. One measured
exactly one and a half Paris] feet in length, and
the other, which is thicker at the root, is half a foot
shorter. He knew nothing of any volcanoes or hot springs,
nor of grottoes with Egyptian hieroglyphics, of which
Dr. Riippel speaks ; but he gave me a long account
ofthe reraarkable raountain territory of Tagaleh, to the
south-east of Kordofan, which is rich, and not wholly
uncivilised. Though lying directly between Kordofan
and Sennaar, yet its naturally strong position, seconded
by an excellent system of military organisation, has
hitherto enabled its brave population to withstand all
the attacks of their enemies. There are only two
entrances into this inaccessible region, by almost im-

KHARTOUM, 805
passable defiles, leading across the towering porphyry
and granite rocks ; it is yet further protected by an
impenetrable forest of the prickly mimosa, which
completely encloses it, and extends from about the 13^°
to the 11° of north latitude.
The government is thoroughly despotic. The present
sultan is a young man of distinguished talents, and
able to raise an army of 50,000 men. Gold is found
in this district, and the gold washing at Sheibon,
which adjoins it, is principally managed by Negroes in
the service of the ruler of Tagaleh, They carry on
some trade with the foreign Djellabs, and are not des
titute of a certain degree of luxury, which at the
court of the sultan is displayed in a very elegant
costume. All the land is the property of the sovereign, who
also possesses the sarae right over every one of his
subjects. Yet it is said that the people are governed
with justice and raildness. On the deathof the sultan,
all his subjects, both raen and woraen, are obliged to
shave their heads, and cover them with dust and ashes,
aud to mourn for the deceased a whole year. At the
same tirae all the males araong the cattle are put to
death, and it is not till after the expiration of the mourn
ing, that they undertake predatory excursions into the
neighbourhood, for the purpose of replenishing their
stock. This latter custom seems almost incredible,
yet Mustapha Pasha repeatedly assured me of its entire
authenticity ; and in truth the follies of mankind in
every age of the world, have been too outrageous for
us to doubt even the greatest absurdities. Perhaps we
may detect some political motives for such a measure
VOL. II. X

306 KHARTOUM,
— the maintenance of a Warlike, predatory spirit, and
to furnish the people with occupation abroad on the
accession of a new sovereign.
The general was of opinion that any European who
announced himself simply as a raerchant, would find
little difficulty in obtaining admission to Tagaleh, as
there was no religious fanaticism there, and he did not
even know for certain, whether all the inhabitants
professed Islamism.
The Nuba negroes, a handsorae and vigorous race,
who have remarkably pleasing countenances, live
more to the south, on the Djebel Eadro. They are
black as jet, often tattoo their arms, breast, and sto
mach, and mark the figures of the sun, moon, and
stars upon their bodies with a knife, like the inhabit
ants of Darfour, and even of a portion of Lower
Nubia. They raake use of poisoned lances, pointed
with iron and wood, sometimes paint part of their
body of a red colour, and wear sandals of elephant's
skin, of which their shields also are made. They have
some raanufactures, and make elaborate and elegant
articles of leather and rushes. They are brave and
warlike, but at the same time of a savage character.
Mustapha Pasha, who had several obstinate engage
ments with them, told rae that he had never met with
a coward among them, and was seldom able to take
any prisoners, except such as were severely wounded ;
since even against the greatest inequality of numbers,
they always defended theraselves to the last man. On
many mountains — for instance, the Djebel Njucker
and Turban — they are said to eat human flesh ; it is at
least certain that they are not choice in their food, for

KHARTOUM. 307
neither fresh nor tainted meat, rats, serpents, toads,
or vermin of any kind, are ever disdained by them.
Both the men and women not only wear rings in
their noses and ears, but likewise long porcupine
quills, which protrude from both sides of the nose.
Their language, like that of the Shilluk, is rich and
full, with many guttural sounds. They are not ac
quainted with the rite of circumcision, and no religious
worship is observed among thera, yet they are far
more intelligent than the Shilluk negroes. I after
wards learnt from Mr. Russegger, that it is three
days' journey through the country of these people
from Djebel KadrO to the Djebel Hedra. On
the west, you pass in succession, the mountains
of Abile, Manichedan, Kulfan, and Debri ; in the
east, Gualih,Deri, Njucker, and Turban. The Hedra,
which stands quite isolated, is of granite forma
tion. The plain consists of a clayey soil, which in the
rainy season becomes an alraost impassable morass,
and is traversed by forests of acacia, mimosa, gum,
and incense trees, besides cactus and poisonous
euphorbise, the juice of which makes the wounds in
flicted by the native weapons so deadly. Civet cats,
the brown total, and other very large antelopes, about
the size of small horses, with a brown head and back,.
arid all the rest of the body snow-white, are fre
quently seen by travellers. Serpents of a large size
are also met with ; among others, the boa anaconda.
It is only one day's journey from Hedra to Sheibon,
which was totally destroyed by Mustapha Pasha, in
the last war with the natives ; its site, on an isolated
rock, would be extremely well calculated for a military
X 2

308 KHARTOUM.
station. Beyond Sheibon the character of the
country suddenly changes, and the traveller might
fancy himself in India. Two leagues before reaching
Sheibon, extends a luxuriant and splendid forest,
where besides gigantic delebb and cocoa palms, there
are still more colossal tamarinds, and boabab trees, and
the crowns of the cassia fistula and sotor are adorned
with yellow and red' flowers. Some of the Adansonia
were covered with white flowers, and fruits twenty
pounds in weight hung from others ; — prodigious figs,
oleanders and cactus, miraosas and acacias, of every
variety of species and blossora, the finest hot-house
and green-house plants, such as fuchsia, pancratium,
species of iris, sambuk, &c,, unite to enrich this
luxuriant forest, which is inhabited by innumerable
elephants, several herds of which carae nearer the
caravan than was agreeable to the travellers.
The Djebel Sheibon consists bf the gneiss and
granite of the Swiss Alps, the first primitive rocks,
which, according to Mr. Russegger's opinion, he
met with in Africa, for the beautiful granite of
Assouan, Sec, he takes to be of volcanic origin. To
the east of Sheibon are the mountains of Aboul
Shavareh Kavarraeh ; in the west, El-Bouram,
Moahri, Toungour; to the south, the Djebel Teerah
and the plains of the country of the Fartit. Between
the Djebel Teerah, which is one day's journey from
Sheibon, is another, and even yet more extensive tro
pical forest. All the above-mentioned mountains are
extremely populous. They are covered with negroes,
as numerous as swarms of ants, and sorae of them
afford shelter to above 5000 people, Djebel Teerah,

KHARTOUM. 309
which Mr. Russegger could only examine superficially,
consists of priraitive gneiss, quartz, coramon feldspar,
and veins of green stone. These isolated and low
groups of mountains, are probably the continuation of a
chain of primitive rocks, which traverses Africa,from the
north-east to the south-west, as miners express it, and
which seeras to be the real seat of the gold in this part
of the world. Between the Djebel Teerah and the
Toungour is a plain of alluvial soil and sand, rich
in gold-dust. It may be taken for granted that the
gold washing of the Nubas in this part, though very
unskilfully performed, yields from two to three francs
per man daily ; and the Austrian naturalists affirm
that wherever they took up sand, they found it more or
less irapregnated with gold.
I devoted the greater part of the following day to
rest, and to a very moderate enjoyraent, after my late
privations. I was obliged to deny myself the pleasure
of bathing in the river, which nobody ventured to
atterapt, on account of the numbers and rapacity of the
crocodiles aloncr this bank. When the cool of the
evening set in, I was therefore obliged to content
myself with a fresh-air bath, making a promenade
through the town and its environs.
I first viewed the barracks, which, as well as the
hospital, I found in a wretched condition. The want
of cleanliness, in particular, appeared to me truly
disgusting. The rooras of the men, and even of the
subaltern officers, were only dusty, dark, offensive
holes ; and the arms of the whole company, with leather
and other utensils, were piled pell-mell and full of
dirt in separate, distant rooms. Similar holes composed

310 KHARTOUM.
the lazaretto, where the offensive effluvia was so
intense that I could not do more than take a hasty
glance at them. The apology made for this was, that
the new barracks were in the course of erection, and
that, till they -w-ere finished, it was necessary to make
shift in this manner.
The entire separation of the arms from the men, was
accounted for, by representing that the negro soldiers
were not to be trusted, and that they would very pro
bably desert with their arras if they always had thera
at hand.
These negroes, who are for the greater part procured
by the unmerciful slave-hunts, which take place every
year for three months, are, in truth, a most miserable
set of soldiers, and very imperfectly trained in the
European fashion. It is affirmed, that the regiment
must be renewed almost every three years, because,
during that tirae, a great part of them desert, or die of
grief, misery, and want, and especially of horae sick
ness, which often becoraes epideraic amongst thera.
I found the bazaar but poorly furnished, except in
the article of slaves, but the place, upon the whole,
was not so bad, and the town itself would have a
tolerable appearance if the dirty clay bricks, of which
all the houses are built, were whitewashed. The
streets are rather broader than is usual in this country,
and there is more regularity in the plan, as well as in
the mode of building. A new mosque which was
only half finished, built of well-burnt clinkers and
having a lofty tower, even proraises to be handsome,
and suited to its destination.
I was surprised to find the Abyssinian slaves, almost

KHARTOUM. SU
as dear here as in Cairo itself; but there was a much
greater number of handsome young woraen and girls
here. This article of commerce was so attractive
that ray valet-de-chambre, Ackerman, the dragoman,
and my cook, simultaneously applied to me for per
raission to purchase some, giving me pretty plainly
to understand, that in case of a refusal they should
look out for another master ; and as I had much more
need of them here, than they of me, I was forced to
give my consent, though with extreme reluctance
and dissatisfaction, because this would be establishing
a complete harem in my suite during our homeward
journey ; and in the sequel I found to my cost, how
rauch my servants were thereby led to neglect their
duties more and raore every day.
It has often struck me as a great incongruity, how
people, who, when in Europe, Englishmen not ex
cepted, bristle up at the very mention of slav^ery, can
find it so agreeable to possess slaves themselves when
they are here. It seems that the force of bad example
gradually misleads everybody. I ara not readily
caught by theory, and treat ray slaves in a kind and
friendly manner ; and experience has taught rae that
they feel raore satisfied than our free servants in
Europe, who very frequently aira at being raasters
theraselves. At the termination of our perambulation through
the town, which, in spite ofthe heat, we accomplished
chiefly on foot, we rested in a large vineyard, where
good purple and white grapes were set before us,
which even now, on the last day of April, were ripe.
The cultivation of the vine has been introduced

312 KHARTOUM.
into the Soudan since its conquest by Mehemet Alf,
till which time it was wholly unknown.
On the 1st of May, I again had a long conversation
with the Pasha, which chiefly related to lions and cro
codiles. The ferocity and rapacity of the latter, appear
to be as inexhaustible a topic of conversation here, as the
weather is among us ; and the Pasha assured me to-day
that he had lately been present at the capture of one
of these monsters, in the stomach of which they found
the hoof of a horse with the shoe still fastened to
it, and also the red girdle of a fisherman.
When the crocodile has caught any creature, he
usually swiras with it into the raiddle of the streara,
and holds it in the air several times, to .ascertain
whether it is dead. If it still shows any sign of life, the
crocodile again dives with it, and not before he is fully
convinced that his prey is dead, does he repair to
a sand-bank, to devour it at leisure.
During this conversation, we saw above a dozen
crocodiles basking in the sun, on the banks of the river,
which flowed close by the window, through the middle
of the town. They were all large, and of a variety of
colours — grey, black, and yellow predominated, and
sorae were spotted with all these colours blended, and
forraing a most detestable melange. One member of
this party was particularly distinguished by his gigantic
body, and I was informed that he was well known to
the natives at Khartoum, by the name of "the Sheikh,"'
and that he was equally feared and venerated, for, as
in the time of the ancient Egyptians, a kind of super
stitious worship is still paid to some of these animals.
To give chase to " the Sheikh," would be considered

KHARTOUM. 313
a crime, though he himself manifests little gratitude
for the reverence paid him, having already devoured
many victims.
The lions of Sennaar likewise attain a colossal mag
nitude, and in the house of the Governor I saw the
skin of one, which from the snout to the tip of the tail
measured twenty feet. The African lion, at least
north of the line, is well known to be destitute of
a mane, which greatly detracts from its beauty.
Khourchid Pasha long possessed a tame lion, whose
teeth he had caused to be extracted, after which the
noble beast became quite harmless, yet he was often
a source of much embarrassment to his master.
One day the Governor was at prayers in a solitary
chamber of his palace, and prostrate with his^face to
the ground, when the lion ran in, and laid himself on-
him with his whole weight ; the Governor was for a
long time unable to move, and was alraost suffocated,
before his attendants, attracted by his cries, carae to
his relief The lion seemed excessively amused with
this trick, and a few days after, when the Kadi waited
on the Governor, dressed in a red garraent, the animal,
perhaps a little incited by the unusual sight of the
gay colour, stole softly behind him, leaped upon
his back, threw the affrighted man down, and remained'
quietly but obstinately lying upon him, notwith
standing the agonising cry of terror which the poor
Kadi uttered, amidst the laughter of the persons-
present ; but an ecclesiastic cannot be insulted with
impunity, and the lion paid dearly for his frolic with
the forfeiture of his life, as the Governor was fearfuJ
of a more dangerous repetition.

314 KHARTOUM.
The chase of this king of the desert, is attended
with less danger here than in the forests of India and
at the Cape. He is pursued only in the hottest
months, in the burning heat of noon, when he is not
able to run for any distance without great fatigue,
and, like my dog Susannis, lies down panting under
every shrub that affords the slightest shade, to take
breath for a few seconds. Nay, some Arabs, mounted
on a good horse, will even venture to engage in single
combat, armed only with a bag of stones ; as soon as
the lion lies down exhausted, they continue pelting
him till he is dead.
Before I took leave, the Governor presented his
children to me; they all looked as sickly as himself,
and did not dare to sit down in his presence till they
had permission to do so.
When I got home I received a visit from Mr.
Boreani, Lieut.-Colonel in the service of Mehemet
Ali. He is a polished man, with agreeable man
ners and considerable knowledge ; and it is to him
that the Viceroy is chiefly indebted for the establish
ment of his cannon-foundry in Cairo, He has been
sent hither for the purpose of penetrating to Fazoglo,
to examine thegold-mines there ; while Mr. Russegger,
the head of the Austrian geological expedition, is
doing the same at Sheibon, on the White Nile.
Mr. Boreani took the route from Korosko, through
theDesert,and traversed that singular country, which is
desolated by volcanic fire, and comprises whole tracts
of stony ferruginous soil, several thousand paces long,
melted into the shape of regular pointed cones. He
there collected several remarkable samples, and gave

KHARTOUM. 315
me some fipe specimens of that curious mineralogical
production, {silice ferrugineuse roulee,) which exactly
resembles balls cast by human hand. From Berber
he continued his journey by water, and suffered
shipwreck at the last cataract, where he lost a great
part of his effects, and was obliged to pass the whole
night in the open air, wet through, without a change
of clothes, or any shelter. His presence of mind
probably averted the dangerous consequences of this
chill, for he immediately bled himself with a pen-knife,
which, in this climate, was the best remedy on such an
occasion. Mr. Boreani, while waiting here for further in
structions, has been busily engaged on a Collection of
stuffed quadrupeds and birds ; and when I visited
him on the following day, at his own residence, I was
astonished at their number, and admirable preservation.
This was the first time I saw the classical white ibis,
which is not met with before the last cataract, and is
quite extinct to the northward. The amiable traveller
was so generous as to present me with a finely-pre
served specimen of this bird, and likewise with some
splendid humraing-birds, and two live parrots. I
afterwards sent all these treasures home, where they
arrived quite safely.
He told rae that he was indebted for the greater
part of his collection to the skill and indefatigable
perseverance of a negro hunter, trained by Dr.
Ruppel, whora he had here taken into his service.
This man not only killed the animals, but stuffed
thera with extraordinary skill. I believe that several
of these birds — for instance, a remarkable and very

316 KHARTOUM.
beautiful species of heron — are unknown in Europe ;
at all events, I have not met with them in any collec
tion of natural history.
As I saw several crocodiles apparently asleep on
the opposite bank, without the venerated Sheikh, I
rowed across, in the hope that I might kill one of
them, but my chase was fruitless; for though the
animals looked as if they were asleej), they were so
vigilant, that none of thera suffered me to approach
within two hundred paces. When I arrived at about
that distance each began to move just in tirae, and
slowly waddled into the water, where it was of course
soon secure frora pursuit.
The heat was dreadful ; and at two o'clock rose
to 32° R., in the shade. As the crocodiles had mani
fested so rauch fear of me, and I was panting for
refreshment, I resolved in the evening so to show my
disregard of them as to bathe in the river at a place
under my windows where several boats were drawn
up, which would afford sorae protection, though I was
assured that only a few weeks before, a boy while
playing at the edge of the water had his arm bitten
off at this very spot. The ISile vvas so deep close to
the bank, that I was obliged to have a rope fastened
round me, the other end of which was attached to
one of the boats; but I so thoroughly enjoyed ray
dip in this refreshing water, which was cold in com
parison with the burning heat of the atraosphere, that
neither the constrained position, nor the threatened
danger could lessen it. I reraained above a quarter
of an hour in the reviving element, whose real value
can only be appreciated in these countries.

VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH. 317

CHAPTER XIV.
VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH ON THE BLUE NILE.
When I felt sufficiently recruited, and had com
pleted all my needful preparations, I embarked
towards the evening of the 6th of May, in the con
venient, but rather decayed canja of the Governor,
on the Blue River, attended by my kawass, three
servants, and the Djaus, who had been to Mandarah.
Though the comraencement of the rainy season was
daily expected, I resolved, if possible, to prosecute an
enterprise which, as travelling in this season is here
fatal to Europeans, might perhaps seem to have
extended quite far enough for a dilettante, who has
already passed the meridian of life, and who is not
sent ex officio mande par I' Angleterre ou la France, as
the inscription of Linant and Cailland at Mesaourat
testifies that these learned gentlemen were, nor by
his own country, but who roams about the world for
his individual gratification.
The Doctor and his two slaves followed in the
other boat, but a violent sand-storm which arose at
the raoment we set out, compelled us to lie to, in a
sheltered bay, quite near the town, till the following
morning. We then set sail with a tolerably good
wind, but there were such numerous and sudden bends
in the river, that it only helped us forward now and

318 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
then, and we were generally obliged to have our
vessels towed by the inhabitants along the banks ;
yet on the whole we proceeded very slowly. A few
leagues from Khartoum we passed the ruins of Soba
or Saba, which the ignorant Turks declared to have
been the residence of the celebrated queen who
visited King Solomon ; but as we did not wish to
make any delay now, we deferred the inspection of
them till our return, and cast anchor for the night
three leagues further on, near the present village of
that name.
As I wish to see as much of tbe country as I can,
and navigation is besides very unsafe here, we did
not proceed during the night. We landed in the
cool of the evening, to raake a little excursion up the
country, and on the banks found a number of pelicans,
black and white ibises (some of which, like storks,
had built their nests on the trees), wild geese and
ducks, and many other species of water-fowl, but not
a huraan being was visible.
At length, however, we lighted upon a young girl,
who was at work in the dourra-field ; but the instant
she perceived us, she attempted to run away. The
Djaus spoke a few words to her, and with difficulty
prevailed upon her to stop, though as vve approached
nearer she trembled at every limb. Before we came
close up to her, she called out in much anxiety, " O,
good people, will you really do me no harm ? will you
really not eat me ? " And it was only on our repeated
assurance that we merely wished to enquire of her con
cerning the way, and to admire the beautiful bead
ornaments with wliich she was profusely decked, that

On the BLUE NILE. 319
she hesitatingly advanced a few steps to meet us, with
a pleasant smile, but still fearful and trerabling.
I have never in ray life seen anything more
fliaidenly, than the half-timid, half-inquisitive, and at
the same tirae good-terapered behaviour of this pretty
child, who was endowed with all the gfaces of unso
phisticated nature. When her trepidation was sorae-
what subsided, I put a small bright gold coin into her
hand ; she looked at it with surprise, but I could not
induce her to keep it. We endeavoured to explain
its nature, but she appeared not in the least to
understand what we said, and shaking her head she
bade me take it back. I refused, and she laid it
carefully upon a stone at my feet, bowed very
courteously, and then bounded off to her parents,
whom we now observed, for the first tirae, busily
at work, at a distance of sorae hundred paces, at the
entrance of a thick forest.
This forest extended to the right and left, as far as
the eye could reach ; but only some of the trees, such
as acacias, mimosas, and nebkas, were green ; this tract
is so exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, that
constant and refreshing showers must fall in the rainy
season, ere it is converted, for several months together,
into a luxuriant garden.
On the following day, the negroes who towed our
barks had much difficulty in performing their work, in
consequence of the dense thickets that skirted the
banks of the river, which, however, looked much
more beautiful and verdant than before. Several
species of willow, and a kind of elder, bearing large
white flowers, are almost the only plants that are not

320 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
armed with innumerable thorns, which seem to dis
pute every step with the pedestrian. The river was
very broad, and proportionably shallow, and the banks
were generally steep ; our voyage went on slowly
enough, for the wind was contrary ; and though it
blew from the south, and the air was uncoramonly
cool, the atraosphere was gloomy, and we had a heavy
fall of rain during the night.
We found the water of the Blue River — which by-
the-bye is a most inappropriate name, for it is of a
dark yellow-ochre colour — not quite so good and
palatable as that of the Nile after the junction; nor
was it so beautifully clear, notwithstanding all our
filtering. As I had unfortunately exhausted my stock
of wine, this defect was the more sensibly felt, it was,
however, very happy for us that we could procure an
araple supply of milk.
The inhabitants are unacquainted with oil, and,
therefore, in its place burn butter in their lamps ; they
also use butter in large quantities instead of pomatura,
and this is probably the reason why they have a dislike
to it as an article of food.
Five crocodiles were lying at noon on the sand of a
small island, and Susannis, according to his usual bad
habit, leapt into the water to cool himself, without the
slightest apprehension of these monsters, and to ray
great alarm he swam about quite close to them ; they
could easily have caught him, and he would have been
a delicate morsel for those voracious creatures, for
though formerly very meagre, he had been luxuriating
for such a long time upon meat and milk without bread,
that he was now as fat as a friar. Since we had been

ON THE BLUE NILE. 321
at Khartoum he had, however, a rival in our favour,
a young monkey not larger than my hand, with a
jet-black face, whom we called Abeleng.- He was so
tame and well-behaved that we could let him run
about at will, without the least apprehension that he
would spoil anything. A little theft was the only fault
of which Abeleng was sometimes guilty, and at times,
after such delinquencies, his bad conscience made him
still more droll, and he was readily forgiven. He
was excessively jealous of Susannis, who on his part
seemed to look down upon him with cool contempt.*
The river continues to meander in many windings,
though it here flows through a perfectly level country.
Towards evening, after the wind had veered repeat
edly, we had a violent thunder-storm, with heavy and
continued rain, which penetrated through the roof of
my cabin, and thoroughly drenched everything in the
boat which was not well covered.
We landed near a well-built village called Nuba,
which is surrounded by fertile fields ; we observed
only a few sakyehs, because the rainy season almost
suffices to water the land for all agricultural pur
poses. Here we anchored for the night, and rambled
along the banks by moonlight, but the air suddenly
becarae so extremely sultry that we were induced to
seek our night's quarters on the water. During the
night it became so very cold and windy, that I was
obliged to close all my windows, and could scarcely
• This little monkey is still alive, and in good health, in the forests
of Lusatia ; but I am sorry to be obliged to add that he has since
become four times his former size, and is by no means so good
tempered as when he was in a state of nature,
VOL. II. Y

322 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH ;
keep warm with a double portion of covering, and for
several days after suffered with a stiff-neck. The
sudden an.djtjale'lit changes in the temperature at this
time of the year, are evidently the cause which renders
the rainy season so dangerous to Europeans, and the
more so because, in general, the traveller has such
slender m^^ans of protection against them ; a chill and
cold in this climate always produce a total relaxation
of the organs of the stomach, which frequently termi
nates in some fatal disease. A well-caulked cabin
in the vessel, an air-proof English tent on shore, a
judicious selection of clothing, with the addition of a
light but ample fur cloak, and, if possible, a constant
supply of light wine or good beer, would probably
suffice to obviate all the bad consequences of the rainy
season, and, with a moderate degree of caution, wo.uld
prevent many fevers, dysenteries, and inflammatory
disorders, except indeed epidemics, against which
there is no resource but flight. In other countries
such minute attention to trifles raight be called effirai-
nacy, but here, where death is often tlie penalty of the
.slightest neglect, it seeras to rae to be unwise to trust
too much to oneself, and on this account the reader
will pardon me, for referring so often to this subject.
It is an admonition, the importance of which can be
duly appreciated and perceived only in the country
itself. With respect to ourselves, though, alas, without
any of the things I have here recommended to others,
we were, [nevertheless, pretty well off, except tliat
most of our party were tormented by an irritation of
the skin, in consequence of a rash over a great part

ON THE BLUE NILE. 323
of the body, which very frequently attacks travellers
iniEgypt as well as here, during the rising of the Nile.
It is said, however, to be conducive to health, but
notwithstanding it is very troublesome, because at the
beginning it is attended with an intolerable itching,
and when it dies off it pricks like needles.
We passed the 9th of May alraost continually
between bare sandy banks, with a forest lying at a
great distance. In the evening a hippopotamus
appeared near our boat, but was not long visible. A
fresh wind frequently swelled our sails, and the heat
was moderate, so, that on the whole, the voyage might
be called pleasant ; though this travelling by water is,
in raany respects, very convenient, it affords far
less gratification to the curious than journeying by
land. There is a want of variety, and you see no
more throughout the live-long day, than an English
man who makes the tour of Europe in a post-chaise,
though to be sure he has sorae occasional intercourse
vvith innkeepers, while we see only crocodiles and
hippopotami. It is advisable to have, at least, a couple of asses
in the canja, as this at once enables the traveller to
land at an interesting place, and make a little excur
sion by land, without losing tirae; independently of
which, walking, especially during the heat of the
day, begins to be impracticable. A faintness and
lassitude comes on in walking, and it is dangerous to
get overheated, and the more so, as the very ener
vating climate relaxes body and mind, and low
spirits take the place of former confidence in our
own power.
Y 2

324 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
In the splendour of the setting sun, we perceived a
handsomely built village, in which almost all the
houses appeared to be as large as the palaces at
Metamraah. This was a most agreeable sight to us,
for it tended to relieve the monotony of the landscape,
and spoke in favour of the prosperity of the country.
Near a double sakyeh, in front of the village, was a
splendid tree, as tall and as wide-spreading as an old
lirae-tree, with leaves of a similar form, but darker
and more shining. It bears purple flowers and pods,
the beans of which, when ripe, form a considerable
article of trade, as ornaments for the beauties of the
country. The very same kind, perhaps, of which, as
my readers may remember frora a preceding article,
I purchased a quarter of a bushel, in the bazaar at
Metamraah, to send to my female friends in Europe.
Soon afterwards the sky suddenly became dark, and
three storms arose, one at our backs, and one at each
side. They discharged their lightning upon us as if
from batteries, amidst loud peals of thunder, but hap
pily for us, they did not take a true aim. To this
was added such a furious storm of wind from the
north, that though we had reefed all the sails, and
were going against the stream, it drove us forward
with much raore rapidity, than was by any means
agreeable. After proceeding in this swift course for
the space of half an hour, the river made a sudden
bend, and as the storm would then have taken us in
the flank, we were compelled to fasten the vessel to
the shore, and to remain here for the present.
Throughout the whole night we had not a moraent's
freedom from the storra and lightning, but fortunately

ON THE BLUE NILE. 325
it was not accompanied by such torrents of rain,
which we feared more than anything, because we
had so few means to protect ourselves against it ; it
was, however, but a short respite which was granted,
for a little before sunrise, the clouds poured down
cataracts, and the wind, which was directly contrary,
prevented us from proceeding any further, for it
would have been impossible, even with hundreds
of blacks, to have towed the heavy boat against
the wind. My tent was quickly drenched, the rain
poured down through the roof with as much violence
as on the open deck, and quickly drove me out of
bed, but where was I to find shelter ? At last I hit
upon the happy expedient of having my Turkish tent
set up, as well as could be done, over the roof of my
cabin, and though this too, was not quite waterproof,
yet the double covering afforded some relief against
the fury of the element.
Being thus tolerably protected against the rain, I
had no resource left but to sit down to my writing-
desk, and to note down various philanthropic observa
tions upon the curiosity, and perhaps the vanity, which
impels us Europeans to ramble so restlessly about the
world, which observations often tended very much to
the result of exclaiming with Moliere, " Qu'allais-je
faire tians cette galere ? " I was however unexpectedly
interrupted in this melancholy mood by Abeleng, who,
unperceived by rae, had leaped upon the table, and
now gently took the pen out of ray hand, looking as
if he had a raind to add a postscript, which would
doubtless have made my work one of the most inva-
Juable curiosities. The wicked wight looked at me

326 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
with irresistible comic gravity, blinked, and then, — his
eyes glistening with satisfaction, — he hastily chewed
the pen, and threw it into a corner of the cabin;
A bitter satire, truly ! But aut^ror8 are incorrigible,
even if monkeys take the trouble of reviewing them ;
and thus the chewed pen was soon replaced by a new
one, I trust with the indulgent approval of the reader.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, the storm had
at length so far abated that, by the great exertions of
the people summoned to our aid, we once more got
afloat. The banks preserved the same flat and unin
teresting appearance, though they were bordered more
frequently than before with low bushes. Yet we con
tinued to see extensive distant forests above the white
sandy flats.
We observed only a few villages, but often saw
large flocks of goats, and once a drove of camels
came down to the river to drink, which is always a
proof of the prosperity of the inhabitants. Acker
raann, who retained more vigour than we did, and
walked several leagues along the bank, found many
round-pointed straw huts of the negroes, standing
singly in the forest. He saw the people eating the
leaves of a species of gourd, with lauch gout ; and, as
a great delicacy, they very hospitably offered him the
dried seeds of the fruit, but he did not seem to have
relished them. The forests abound with green parrots,
and he brought back several specimens of them, as
well as a beautiful bird of raore considerable size,
striped with red, white, and green. He had pursued
a giraffe, to no purpose, and to tbe destruction of his
clothes, for indeed the thorny thickets of these parts

ON THE BLUE NILE. 327
cannot be penetrated except with a hatchet in hand.
The wild pigeons which he had shot were larger and
of a more delicate flavour than those in Egypt and
Nubia.* They were the more wel' .e to us, be
cause since we left Khartoum we had lived upon
mutton, with tepid yellow water, and bad biscuit,
which we soaked in it.
During the following night we were even more
severely tried than before, for the storm returned
with redoubled fury, attended with a deluge which
nothing could resist. Roused by three or four streams
which poured into my bed like waterfalls, I did
indeed manage, by the aid of the flashes of light
ning, to find my umbrella, but, as may be supposed,
it was of little avail ; not a spot in the cabin was
dry. I submitted very calmly to my fate, and as the
water all round me grew warm with the heat of
my body, I remained motionlessly resigned to the
elements. In this manner I positively fell asleep
again ; and though in the morning my limbs were
so stiff that I could scarcely rise, yet brisk exercise,
and a warm bath in the welcome returning heat of
the sun, obviated any bad consequences.
Our effects suffered more than we did; even the
mahogany of my last larger telescope crumbled to
pieces, so that the brass, as well as the glass, fell off.
I had considerable difficulty in putting it together
again with glue and packthread; and although it
was very imperfectly done, I was able to make some
* Geographers, it is true, in most maps make Nubia extend ta
Fazoglo, but the Turks here, as I have already said, make it ter-
Eiinate at the last cataract, where, according to them, Soudan- begins..

328 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
use of it. It was tragi-comical to see the gay lime
water-colours, with which the interior of the cabin
was painted, transferred not only to my worthy self,
but also to the clothes, linen, &c. lying about: I
was strongly reminded of the Malheurs et Aventures
d'Arlequin, to whom I now bore a strong resemblance.
We halted on the 11th in Wadi Abiifront, to lay
in a fresh stock of provisions. I waded through the
mud into which the late rains had converted the fruit
ful soil, to the residence of the Katsheff. In the
higher part of the village, which is well built, and
looked as if it were quite new, the ground was rather
dry, and the appearance cheerful. The houses vvere
irregularly grouped, but they were built at a conve
nient distance from each other, vvith pleasant plantations
of broad Doum palms, and lofty tamarind trees, which
we saw here for the first tirae. Some of the dwell
ings were square, with a flat terrace on the top ;
others round, with pointed thatched roofs, as sraooth
and as well covered as in England, The walls,
however, according to the custom of the country, were
composed of clay and chopped straw.
We were told that this land is so extremely fertile,
that if there was a great abundance of rain in one year,
an ample supply of provisions for the next seven years
could be raised ; but that, unfortunately, there had not
been any completely rainy season for ten years, which
had occasionally produced great scarcity ; yet they
now fully expected this blessing, because the rainy
season appeared to be setting in a fortnight earlier
than usual, and with every indication of a great deal
of wet. This reconciled us in some measure to the

ON THE BLUE NILE. 329
inconvenience which we ourselves experienced, for
there is neither unmixed good, nor unmixed evil in the
world. A great number of birds, white and black, and
some entirely white, of the Ibis species, or akin to it,
were hanging like fruit from the branches of lofty
trees near the huts, where they soraetiraes built
their nests ; for, though they are no longer regarded
as objects of worship, the inhabitants appear always to
treat thera with great respect. They are here called
simbelleh. Before I returned on board, I visited the Katsheff 's
garden, which was kept in excellent order : here I was
presented with a basket of grapes and water-melons,
which were raost welcome and refreshing ; — stretched
on an engareb covered with cushions, and lying under
the shade of the vines, which were trained in arches,
I enjoyed two or three pipes of tobacco, the growth of
the country, of a bright yellowish-green colour, _and of
a very mild taste.
It appeared that we had now entered the real
tropical region, near to the 14° of latitude, and this
greatly increased my regret at having visited these
parts either three months too soon or too late; but
for this circumstance, I should probably have pene-
ta-ated farther into the interior than any preceding
traveller ; since by the kindness of Mehemet Ali, I
might certainly have had far more resources, than were
at the command of my predecessors ; but to defy this
destructive season from the beginning to the end,
without all the requisite preparations, would indeed
liave been tempting Providence too far ; independently

330 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
of which, nothing should ever be carried to excess, if
we would preserve mind and body in health.
Though endowed with a tolerable share of elasticity
in this respect, I feel that it is almost time to change
the scene, for I begin seriously to apprehend that I
am already so Africanised, that I shall be obliged,
when I ultimately return home, to go through an
entirely new course of European good breeding.
Among you, ye civilised Europeans, where everything
is subject to fashion, politics as well as dress, manners
as well as literature, whilst here everything has
reraained nearly stationary for thousands of years;
how Gothic- Arabic maj"- my style, perhaps, already
appear, and how antiquated and strange will be my
pergonal appearance, how ignorant sball I feel of the
interests of the present day; just like one of the
seven sleepers, awakened from his long repose.
" Then shall I come to you for comfort," I exclaimed,
joyfully surprised by the constantly increasing splen
dour of the surrounding scenery, " ye impenetrable,
primseval forests, who, as we are gliding so gently
along the peaceful stream, to-day, for the first time,
come down to the water's-edge, on the right hand
and on the left, wearing your majestic crowns ; ye
monsters of the deep, with gaping jaws, on whom we
have hitherto expended our powder in vain ; ye colossal
vultures, who rock yourselves on the highest branches,
and gaze down with surprise at our vessels; ye gaily-
coloured parrots, with your croaking welcome; ye
fishing pelicans ; ye elephants, giraffes, and gazelles
that corae to slake your thirst at the clayey waters of
the Nile, and above all, ye coraical race of black,

ON THE BLUE NILE. 3.31
green, and j'ellow monkeys, who, to our no small
amusement, hop, in whole families, from branch to
branch, or dance with grotesque grimaces, and suffer
us, so unconcernedly, to look upon you at leisure in
your uncivilised state ; — you are at present our only
spectators, and are, at all events, endowed with ail the
frankness and grace which Nature has bestowed upon
you. Whenever we can repose on her maternal
bosom we are always at home, and I too feel something
of your divine liberty, ye free, unshackled animals,
which, by its salutary influence, dispels my gloomy
and timid thoughts." An old friend of mine, an
Austrian civilian, was perfectly right in saying " there
is compensation for everything in the world, if we do
but know how to see it in the right light."
And now, when quitting my boat, I landed amidst
scenery as different from all I had ever before beheld,
as if it had been called forth by a sudden touch of a
magic wand;-^the majestic river, with the two gaily
adorned canjas dancing on its waters, and the long
row of naked negroes, who, Wading in the water towed
them along, presented an almost equally original
sight, and strikingly resembled the images which we
had seen in the tombs of the kings at Thebes.
Ori the evening of this fine day, we were rather
alarmed, because my servant having lost his v,'ay in
the chase did not reach our place of anchorage till
one o'clock in the morning, after firing many shots,
and lighting several fires, but he did not inderanify us
by relating any entertaining adventures. He had
killed several birds-, and had met a hyaena, which has
here become a very ordinary monster. '

332 VOYAGE TO THB SOUTH
I was in the forest an hour before sunrise on the
12th, and found it rather more clear and accessible
than usual, my object in wending my way thither was
to visit the ruins of a village which lay in it; it was
formerly considerable, but it was totally destroyed by
the troops of Ismael. No situation can be more
romantic, no forest solitude more verdant, luxuriant,
and poetical ; amid venerable acacias, nebbeks, tun-
tums and heglyds (I cannot give the botanical names,
nor can the Doctor, who has only studied medicinal
herbs), rose single groups of splendid tamarind trees,
not inferior to our loftiest oaks ; and half a league
further on, I had the felicity of, at length, seeing two
of those gigantic Adansonia, of which Mustapha Bey
had told rae, and which here bear the name of
kongulos. The trunk of the largest, two feet above
the ground, is fifty-five feet in girth. The leaves of
its wide-spreading branches resembled those of our
walnut-trees, but they were of a darker green. The
wood was spongy like cork, and the sight of the whole
immense mass was in a high degree imposing. I
believe it is the same tree called boabab {Adansonia
digitata, as I have since heard). The one I am speak
ing of, did not seem to be more than eighty or ninety
feet high ; the others were much sraaller, and all
seemed to be rather unsound, at least they were far
exceeded in luxuriance and freshness of verdure, by
the tamarind trees, which were equal to them in
height. Their proper climate is perhaps farther to
the south. This fine forest is seldom broken by
.thickets, so that I enjoyed an uninterrupted walk
under the umbrageous coolness of the trees, on the

ON THE BLUE NILE. 333
young grass, which, in this wet season, sprouted up in
great vigour.
We found the ground almost everywhere covered
with a beautiful insect of a glowing-red colour, the
surface of which was like the softest velvet. The
verdant carpet covered with its vivid red, might be
compared to a floor of jasper opal, and the more so
because there was not a single flower to break the
blended green and red. The insect was about the
size of a rose chafer {scarahceus auratus), and in its con
formation seemed to be between the bug and spider.
I crushed some of them on paper, which was imrae
diately stained a full yellowish-red, and from the
countless multitude of these insects at the present
season, I have not the slightest doubt, that a new
dye might be extracted from them, which would form
an important article of coramerce.
We likewise saw sorae butterflies, but none of a
new species, and an extreraely beautiful and very
large kind of locust, of a bright green colour, with
brilliant blue and red spots; the underside of the
wing of a dark flarae colour. There were not many
birds, and no quadrupeds of any kind were visible.
We, however, for a tirae followed the track of an
elephant, and afterwards met with that of a lion, and
a goat which he had torn to pieces ; we found the
dead body of the latter, which confirmed an asser
tion of Khourshid Pasha, which I before considered a
fable — namely, that the African lion, when he does
not stand in need of prey, like a true epicure devoui-s
only the head, liver, and heart of the animal which

334 voYAGp; TO the south
he has killed. Just these very parts were wanting n
the goat, which was not otherwise touched.
After having continued my promenade about two
hours, I was compelled by the heat, which, notwith
standing the shade, had became extremely oppres
sive, to repair to the boat, which had followed us along
the river, though I would gladly have strayed about
the whole day in search of new objects of interest.
I would again repeat my advice to every robust
trav^eller, that as often as he possibly can he should
travel in preference by land, which has so many
advantages, and occupies much less time than the
voyage on the river, on account of its numerous
windings. We reached the town of Abou-Heraz in tbe after
noon. In the absence of the Katsheff I was received
at the landing-place by his brother and the commander
of the irregular cavalry, and I afterwards accompanied
them to the house of the Katsheff, to take some re
freshment. This officer had returned only a fortnight
previously from the slave hunt, which he had prose
cuted almost to the territory of the Tengas, on the
White River, and seemed to be very well satisfied
with the result of his expedition. He also told us
that as far as he had ascended it, the Bahr-el-Abiad
appeared to have an undiminished volume of water,
whereas the Blue River on the contrary, even at Fa
zoglo, was scarcely more than three feet in depth
during the spring, and before it began to rise. Un
luckily he had not penetrated as far as Khoursliid
Pasha, and was therefore unable to give me any further

ON THE BLUE NILE. 335
information respecting tbe famous pyramids of Taipha-
fen.* Among the company which was here assembled, was
the Katsheff of Wadi Medineh, the chief place of the
province, who joined the rest of the party in urging
me to remain here till to-morrow, because the night
was extremely dark, and sailing was rendered danger
ous by the many cliffs in the river further southward.
However, as 1 knew that I shouldhave sufficient spare
time on ray return to m.ake a longer stay here, and that
my kawass as well as the rais of the Dahabia would
think of every possible pretext to prolong my stay at
a place where they were well treated, I declined their
civilities and insisted on departing, though, to say the
truth, the heavens theraselves seemed to declare against
me. Several thunder-storms again threatened us. at a
distance, and a stiff south wind opposed our progress.
I had scarcely proceeded for half-an-hour through
the narrow channel which was greatly obstructed by
racks, and where, notwithstanding the dexterity of the
rowers, the boats were repeatedly whirled round and
round, and not unfrequently struck violently against
the cliffs, when the sky gradually became over-cast,
and in a very short time a most fearful darkness
obliged us to lie-to. It was high time, for the storra
now broke over us, with more than usual fury. Not-
witlistanding this dreadful weather, I was astonished
to perceive large lanterns in the distance dancing
* .Though no mention is made of such pyramids in the recent
expeditions of Mehemet Ali, yet, if we take into consideration the
numerous branches and affluents of the Bahr-el-Abiad, we cannot
even yet positively pronounce them to be fabulous.

336 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
about Hke ignes fatui, which gradually came nearer
and nearer, and were carried by negroes, who were
running very rapidly. They turned out to be the
precursors of the Turks whom I had just quitted, and
who with extreme courtesy had followed me on horse
back, in order, if possible, to induce me to return with
them, and remain in a place of safety till the storm
should be past. It must be confessed that the
Mussulmans are exemplary models of politeness, in
any civilities of this kind, and spare no personal
inconvenience, provided, however, that they have a
powerful motive, such, as on this occasion, was the
urgent recommendation of the dreaded Khourshid
Pasha, which was, of course, more influential with
them than even the command of Mehemet Ali would
have been.
Though fully sensible oftheir kindness, I neverthe
less gratefully declined their proposition; my cabin was
tolerably waterproof by the addition of a third covering
of excellent mats, manufactured here, and had under
gone a thorough repair in other respects, so that I
felt sure that it was at all events capable of keeping
off the rain for some hours; and, independently of
the very reasonable surmise whether I should not have
fared infinitely worse in the palace of the Katsheff,
I was exceedingly anxious that 'no surmountable
obstacle should prevent rae from taking advantage of
the first favourable moraent to proceed on the follow
ing raorning.
In spite of all the evil prognostics, I slept very
soundlj', and was awaked early in the raorning by a
glorious sun, which illumed the junction of the Abiad

ON THE BLUE NILE. 337
with the Blue River, in a wooded spot. The Abiad
was several hundred feet broad, and was shut in by
high precipitous banks, but as yet it contained not
any water of its own, but merely that which was
poured into it by the Bahr-el-Azrak, or the Blue
Nile. We vvere detained more than half a day, in per
forming the distance to Wadi Medineh, which is
nearly three leagues in a straight line, by the conti
nual sudden bends of the river as well as by contrary
winds. We were surrounded by rich and diversified
forests, which imparted to the scene alraost the appear
ance of an European summer, for the foliage and the
grass were already of a tender green, and among the
trees were many species of willow and poplar, and
others which resembled the Thuias and the red cedars;
and even the acacias and miraosas, which constitute
the principal masses, have nothing of a foreign look,
while palms and other exotic trees, whose appearance
is so extremely different from ours, are no longer
found here. All this, however, is applicable only to
a distant point of view, and vanishes on a nearer
approach, for there is very much that is quite dis
similar from our native land ; but I invariably find
that, when I am in a foreign country, I am delighted
with any resemblance which may seem like a welcome
salutation from home.
I intended to stop only half an hour at Wadi
Medineh, and then to proceed onwards as rapidly as
possible, but matters almost invariably turn out dif
ferently from vvhat I expect, wherefore I have long
since given up the habit of making fixed plans for
VOL. II. z

338 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
anything, and my present prolonged journey is a case
in point, since, when I coramenced it, I intended
merely to make an excursion of three months, whereas
I have now been wandering between three and four
years, in two quarters of the globe. And thus, Wadi
Medineh, just at the beginning of the 13° of latitudei
was the last principal point to which I penetrated on
this occasion, with the exception of a short excursion
by land, afterwards undertaken, to the junction of the
Dender with the Blue River in the old province of
Sennaar. Dr. Koch, who had been coraplaining several days.
of indisposition, was attacked in the evening by the
country fever, attended with the most alarming symp
toms, which compelled me to have him carried to the
residence of an Italian apothecary, named Bartolo,
in the latent hope that he might, if possible, obtain
relief and good nursing. I was very unwilling to
proceed without him, and as I vvas assured by the
apothecary, who, as well as the Katsheff, and the
comraander of the troops, is perfectly acquainted with
the country as far as Fazoglo, that, as the rainy
season had already set in, I should daily meet with
increased obstacles in attempting to travel further; anci
adding, that even the natives never ventured to under
take a journey during that season, and urging as a
further reason, that the country to, and far beyond,
Sennaar, was an unceasing repetition of what I had
already seen — I the more readily resolved here to
terminate the long impromptu from Wadi Haifa.
Fondly clinging to the hope, that the Doctor would,
ere long, recover, I determined to employ the interim

ON THE BLUE NILE. 339
in effecting the difficult expedition to Mandarah,
respecting which- we have only the accounts which
have been collected, by travellers in different places,
and which are not only very obscure, but, for the
most part, contradict each other.
In every respect it was an immense disadvantage, to
me, that I had come here in this most unpropitious
season. I earnestly recoraraend all travellers who visit
this country, to make their arrangements in such a
manner as to arrive at Khartoum in November, whieh
vvill give them the advantage of having the whole
winter before them, which is here like an European
spring.. At this time of the year the want of water in the
Desert obliges all the animals, so interesting to Euro
peans, such as elephants, lions, panthers, giraffes,
antelopes^; &c., and even a great nuraber of the dif
ferent species of beautiful birds, daily to remove en
masse into the neighbourhood of the river, to quench
their thirst. Now, when rain-water begins to Collect
in every hollow of the Desert, woods and mountains,
they very rarely come down to drink, and are conse
quently but seldom met with, and later in the season
even the thickest forests on the river-side. seem to be
destitute of life. The chief cause of this is, I believe,
a very venomous fly, which then abounds in the inte
rior of those forests, and of which all these creatures,
and especially the elephant, are greatly afraid. I was,
however, fortunate enough, with the aid of ray tele
scope, to see a troop of these gigantic animals at a
distance. They were probably just about to set out
z 2

340 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
on their journey, for their appearance at this advanced
season of the year was considered very peculiar.
In the winter, on the other hand, it is by no means
uncommon to meet them in troops of 50, 60, and
even 100. Some of these elephants are said to attain
an alraost incredible size. The Pasha of Khartoum
possesses two teeth which weigh .... oka ( . . . . lb.),*
and many persons confirmed the statement of the
Katsheff of this place, that three years ago an elephant
was caught near Wadi Medineh, in the belly of
which, after the entrails were taken out, there was
room for a raan mounted on horseback, without stoop
ing. The manner in which it was taken was very
original. The prodigious animal was purposely let into a field
of dourra, where it indulged so freely in its favourite
food, that eight ardeps of grain (the ardep is equal
to 1| bushels) were found mostly undigested in its
stomach. Immediately afterwards, as had been an
ticipated, it went to the river to drink; and the
dourra swelled to such a degree that the animal could
scarcely stir, and shortly after, when it was pursued,
the exertion was too great, and the creature burst.
The elephants here, are generally as peaceable as
the hippopotamus, but they are extremely formidable
when they are wounded, and many a well-mounted
rider, who had not presence of mind to avoid the
danger by continually turning about and going in a
circuitous direction, has been overtaken and destroyed
• The figures in my journal are so obliterated, that, in order not
to make a mis-statement, I am obliged to omit them.

ON THE BLUE NILE, 341
byl them. jKhourshid Pasha himself was once in
imminent danger ofhis life while hunting the elephant,
and escaped only by a desperate leap over a broad
cleft in the ground. Two of his Mamelukes, whose
horses were unable to follow him, and who, in their
vain atterapts to effect it, were overtaken by the
enraged elephant, were both tossed into the air with
their horses, and after they fell, trampled into a shape
less mass. The animal was so furious, that even after
the death of his adversaries, he broke their arms and
lances into pieces with his trunk.
Yet there is a man in Sennaar, who is well known
to all the inhabitants, and who, on account of his
invincible courage and his amazing strength, is called
Tor (the bull), whose sole employment for many years
has been that of hunting elephants, crocodiles, and
hippopotami; and though he always combats them
alone, it is a rare circumstance for one of these
monsters to escape him. On these occasions his only
weapons are, a heavy spear and a short, keen, two-
edged sword. As soon as he comes near the animal,
he throws himself on the ground, and, like a reptile,
creeps stealthily after the elephant, till he is almost
able to touch it : he then quickly cuts the sinews of
one of its hind feet, and instantly conceals himself.
The elephant, not having seen his secret foe, endea
vours to hobble on as fast as he can on three legs, but
loss of blood, and consequent weakness, soon oblige
him to lie down. The huntsman, profiting by the
opportunity, rushes forward, immediately thrusts his
lance into a vital part, and death quickly ensues.
When he goes out to kill the crocodile, he takes a

342 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
couple of dogs, nay, when he has not got these,
I was assured that he sometimes even takes little
children, whom he binds to the shore, and then conceals
himself near them, under a heap of boughs. The
crocodile soon approaches to sweep the tempting bait
into the water with his tail, but he receives the lance
of the practised huntsman in his neck, who then
swiras after him, till he rises bleeding to the surfece
of the water. The Tor instantly leaps upon his back,
and thus riding upon him, he has of course the mastery
of him, and soon gives him the finishing stroke.
He makes a prey of the hippopotamus almost in
the same manner. He observes the spot where the
animal usually comes out to graze; here he digs a
hole in the sand, into which he descends and conceals
himself under a quantity ofboughs andieaves; when
the hippopotamus slowly and unconsciously passes
him, he thrusts his lance aslant into the soft part of the
belly, which soon puts an end to its life.
We may readily conceive what amazing courage
and dexterity are indispensable for this species of
hunting ; but where these two qualities are combined
in an erainent degree, long practice eventually ensures
certain success, and the feat is accomplished without
rauch difficulty,
Fazoglo, and the mountainous tracts to the east of
the Blue River, which have never yet been visited by
Europeans, seem to contain raany natural curiosities
with which we are totally unacquainted. I was told
by the principal people here, several of whora have
long resided in these countries, of a bird whose
plumage is of a brownish red and black colour ; it is

ON THE BLUE NILE,

343

rather larger than a pigeon, the tips of its wings are
so singularly parted that when it spreads them out, it
seems to have four wings like a butterfly.

This bird is very rare, and is only seen towards even
ing. The army surgeon, a native of France, who re-
«ides here, as well as Mr. Botta, the Italian naturalist,
who has passed some time in Sennaar, have taken
much trouble to find it, but their labour was fruitless ;
its existence, however, cannot be doubted, because so
^many of the natives perfectly coincide in their repre
sentations of it ; and although the statements of these
people respecting antiquities are so little to be de
pended upon, as they have so imperfect a conception
of them, I 'nearly always found their descriptions or
animals and plants quite correct. I have already
observed, that whenever I have made enquiries con
cerning the unicorn, I invariably received an accurate
description of the rhinoceros ; a fact which proves
that the natives do not intentionally give false accounts,
to gratify the evident wish of the enquirer.
The Katsheff, who is a Circassian, and was for
merly a slave of Khourshid Pasha, (as most of the

344 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
Katsheffs in Soudan now are,) was a very sociable
man, and loaded me with attentions of every kind.
In fact, as long as I was in Wadi Medineh, I spent
the greater part of the day with him, smoking and
drinking coffee and sherbet without limit, with an
agreeable alternation of excellent preserved figs,
melons, grapes, apricots, and cherries, whicli the
Katsheff received daily from his harem.
Our party was generally augmented by the com
mander of the regular troops, who was likewise a
jovial man, and the Melek Kendal, who coramands a
thousand free Arabs, and several domestic officers of
the Katsheff. The Melek, though as black as a coal,
was one of the handsoraest young raen I have come
across ; he vvas extremely elegant, and scrupulously
neat in his dress, (a virtue not very commonly met
with among the Orientals,) and his manners were
so fascinating, that he would assuredly have turned
the heads of all the young ladies in Europe. He
reminded me strongly of Jussuf in Algiers, and like
him has the reputation of great personal bravery.
Melek Kendal had just returned from an expedi
tion to Takka, whither he had been for the purpose of
collecting tribute. This country, which is almost
unknown to Europeans, is set down on Cailland's map
without boundaries, and partly by guess, between
Goss-Radjeb, the river Atbarra, the Red Sea, and
Abyssinia ; sorae of the nuraerous inhabitants who
reside there, now pay tribute to the Viceroy, but it
must always be collected by force of arms.
The Melek informed us, that the extensive plains
of the country of Takka are extremely populous, and

ON THE BLUE NILE. 345
well cultivated; and that the capital of the same
name is, perhaps, six times as large as Khartoum. At
the distance of a day's journey from Takka, at the
foot of a long chain of mountains, there are, according
to his assertion, vast ruins of an ancient city, with
many columns, rows of sphinxes, (sheep, as he called
them,) and giants on horseback, (colossi, therefore,)
the latter much injured, but all made of a hard stone,
probably granite.
Though I do not pretend to judge of the accuracy
of this statement, especially with respect to the colossi
on horseback, I think it worth while to direct the
attention of travellers to it ; and as troops are sent
thitherward in the first month of every year, it would
not be difficult for them so to time their visit as to join
them. Here, too, in this region, which is not far
distant, there is an entirely virgin soil to be explored.
Though the Mussulman considers the dog an un
clean aniraal, yet out of respect to his master, they
permitted my dog Susannis to remain in the room,
and this, on one occasion, led us to touch upon religion ^
and I thought I should give pleasure to the company
by quoting sorae passages from the Koran, and ex
pressing my admiration of them ; but the Turks, at
least in Mehemet All's dominions, are now in a similar
state to what society was in the time of Voltaire, and
appear to be not far from exchanging their hitherto-
blind belief, for, perhaps, an equally blind unbelief.
My eulogium was received with a suppressed smile,
and the subject was soon dropped. I at first imagined
that this was owing to bigotry, because they thought
it improper for an infidel to presume to praise th«-

346 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH
Koran, but the following day convinced me of the
contrary. I was sitting alone with the Governor, who was
reposing at his ease on his divan, while my dragoman
was standing before us, to interpret, when Selim
Katsheff, with a satirical look, began by saying: — "Yes
terday you highly commended our Koran, and 1 will
now tell you something in its praise. A very pious man
of this place read the Koran night and day, and thereby
very soon lost his wits ; and this result has, to my
knowledge, frequently been produced in others by
too unremitting an attention to the same study, though
I am myself very well acquainted with the book.
Our saint (for the Koran mania usually leads a man
to fancy himself a saint) came to me one day to an
nounce to me, without any reserve, that the Koran
commanded him to kill me and all the Katsheffs jifho
abusedtheir power here, and at the same time to take
possession of all our money, and apply it to sacred
purposes. "I endeavoured at first to appease the good man, in
the most gentle manner, and, by way of trial, offered
him my chests of money if he would spare my life.
He persisted, however, in his pious zeal, and declared
that he must have both. It then occurred to me that,
besides the Koran, there was another very powerful
means of controlling man, namely, the kurbatsh. I
therefore caused my good friend, who, notwithstand
ing all my entreaties, would leave me neither my pro
perty nor my life, to receive, in my presence, 500 good
strokes, and then sent him to the military hospital
to be healed. Would you believe it ! the kurbatsh

ON THE BLUE NILE. 347
radically cured the disease which the Koran had pro
duced; and the poor fellow, who is now as much in
his wits as we are, still heartily thanks me for the
wonderful cure which I performed.
" Here, then," he continued, smiling, " you must
confess, with all due respect for the sacred word of
-the Prophet, that the Koran has proved less effi
cacious than "the kurbatsh." I was rather confounded
by this subtle argument, and thought that a Mussul
man infidel, still remains a genuine Turk.
As the illness of Dr. Koch had lately assumed a
much more serious character, I had no resource but
to leave him for a while, under the care and pro
tection of the Katsheff, . and, meantime, to atterapt to
!find Mandara. As it was very probable that this
•would detain me a considerable time, I trusted : that
l«might find the Doctor perfectly re-established on
my return. I was, however, sorry that he could not
resolve, like the natives, and the English physician,
Dr. Holroyd, to put himself under the care of a Faki.
Their mode of curing the fever of this country is
considered as infallible, and the patient, if he does not
die, seldora suffers raore than a week under this treat
ment. Judging by the iraperfect accounts which I had
received of it, and even after a cursory glance at a
case of this kind, I considered tbe raatter at first as a
sympathetic cure, because it was effected by a ticket,
written by the doctor, being burnt on a charcoal fire,
while the patient stooping over it, and covered with a
cloth, is obliged to inhale the furaes. But this throws
the patient into such violent convulsions, that three or
four men are often required to hold him by force

348 VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH.
under the cloth. He is then laid upon an engareb,
covered so warmly that he is thrown into a violent
perspiration, and for six days is permitted to take
nothing but bread and water, after which he is in
general corapletely cured. I was universally assured
that this recipe rarely fails, but I received from the
free-thinking Katsheff alone, the real key to the
matter. He told me that a considerable dose of very
strong cayenne pepper, which is cultivated here, with
other similar ingredients, is wrapped in this paper, and
that the fearful fumes which hence arise, have such
a powerful effect on the patient, though he hiraself
attributes his suffering to the sole influence of the
cabalistic characters. It might be worth while for our
European physicians to ascertain, whether the same
remedy would prove as good a specific against inter
mittent fever, as here.

FURTHER STAT IN SOUDAN. 349

CHAPTER XV.
FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN  MANDARA.
After I had augmented my travelling party by
the purchase, or, more properly speaking, by the
redemption of a new slave and a living ostrich, I once
more steered my course northward, on the 15th of
May. We were compelled by contrary winds to tack
the greater part of our voyage to Abou-Haras, and
were thus deprived of the advantage of going with
the stream, though I was ultimately indebted to it
for a most favourable crocodile chase. The sun was
ne^r its setting, and Abou-Haras in sight, when one
of the sailors came up and informed me that four
crocodiles were lying upon a sand-bank not fifty paces
from us. I instantly hastened upon deck, and saw to
my astonishraent, that none of these creatures, which
we had hitherto found so shy, appeared to be disturbed
by our approach, but continued lying perfectly still,
with tlieir jaws wide open. I at once seized a loaded
musket belonging to one of our soldiers, and fired
at the nearest to us, which was about twelve feet
in length. The ball entered iraraediately below its
coat of mail, but not deep enough to kill it. It
started up in alarm, and with the agility of a lizard
plunged into the water, which it dyed with its blood ;
but its companions did not appear disconcerted, either
by this spectacle or by the sound of the gun. The

350 FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.
kawass missed the second, and as the balls fell close
beside it, scattering the sand around, it shoved itself
slowly and heavily into the water, followed, to my
extreme regret, by the largest of the four crocodiles,
which was lying close beside it. Ackerman handed
me my own gun, which I instantly discharged at the
last and smallest of the party, and happily succeeded
in hitting it, tbe ball having entered its wide-spread
jaws, by which various important portions were suc
cessively destroyed. The young crocodile lay ex
tended as dead, without even a struggle ; but when
our party hastily jumped upon the bank, and began
to take hold of it, it rallied its strength and crept ¦
tolerably fast towards the river ; the negroes, however,
dealt it so many formidable blows upon its head and
neck, that it was soon covered with blood, and sunk
down perfectly motionless, and to all appearance dead.
It was, however, by no means so near its end ; after
a few seconds it struck a perfidious and violent blow
with its tail, which nearly hit me, and threw one of
our sailors with such force upon the sand, that his pipe
flew into the air to the height of many yards. Indeed
the tenacity of life in these animals almost approaches
the marvellous. When our prize had been stripped
of the greater portion of its skin, all the intestines
removed, and the leg bones about to be loosened pre
paratory to stuffing, it still gave one last galvanic
blow with its tail, which had the instantaneous effect of
scattering in all directions the whole of the closely
crowded circle; the affrighted party, however, quickly
rallied, laughing in hearty triumph, and rejoicing
in anticipation of their dainty meal. In fact, during

FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.

351

that night the African gpurmands consumed, the.
whole of the flesh, which had a strong, musky odour,
with the utmost zest.
On landing at Abou-Haras,. I was met with the
most dismal tidings, by the, brother of the Katsheff,
w;ho was still absent.. Here, for the first time, I learnt
thereai truth respecting Mandarah. Insteadof being
only twelve or sixteen leagues distant, as we had been
assured, it now appeared that it was from four to five
days' journey along, a tract unshaded by a single tree.
The Effendi assured us that we should require 150
camels, for the mere transport of water, as it would be
necessary to have a constant relay for the purpose of
fetehingfresh water from the. Nile; that it was impos
sible to g£t on with a smaller number — for nearly all
the Arab tribes in the neighbourhood were in a state of
open insurrection, which would oblige me to have an
escort of at least a hundred men, in order to keep,,
tbem in check. Finally, he represented the absence
of the Arab Sheikh, who was the only person
¦ acquainted with the country, and possessed of some
authority in places where no Turk could venture'
without hazard. Messengers had, indeed, been sent
after him, but it was not likely that he would return
sooner than ten or twelve days. In the mean time,
he added, his brother's house and servants were at
my command, and if I wished to follow the chase,
there were five good horses, and as many Arabs
as I wanted in constant readiness; — that I should
find an abundance of ostriches, leopards, wolves, wild
cats, and gazelles.
Under such auspices, the delay appeared by no

352 FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.
means so disagreeable; and, in order to prevent their
ardour from being cooled, I positivelj'^ declared that,
let the difficulties be what they would, I was resolved
not to leave the country without having procured ac
curate information respecting the ruins of Mandarah ;
I. should, therefore, gladly avail myself of their offer
on the following morning; and then retired to my bark
to dream over my future plans.
Unhappily some evil genii suggested the thought of
taking a dose of Epsom salts as a preservative against
the influence of the atmosphere. I mention this
trifling circumstance chiefly to show the danger of
needlessly resorting to medicine in this climate, for this
draught, so simple and refreshing in Europe, nearly
terminated my existence in this country. I wfts imrae
diately attacked by an obstinate dysentery, attended
with such extreme debility and loathing of food, that
my physical powers were no longer equal to carry out
my intentions. For five days I was confined to the
house, and almost to my bed, in the greatest pain; the
weather was a constant alternation of rain and sun
shine, accompanied with sultry heat, while my apart
ment, which was but miserably protected by wooden
shutters, was often filled with dust or water during the
violent gusts of wind.
On the 21st of May, the weather being fine, I made
a determined effort to go out hunting. A large party
vvas formed to go in chase of a panther, but we met
only some ostriches, which we could not reach owing
to the bushes ; also numerous hares, which the Arabs
killed v^'ith great ease by means of short sticks resem
bling a crutch, which they hurl vvith incredible pre-

FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN. 353
cision. We then followed for a long time, at full
gallop, two specimens of the beautiful crested herons,
here called abseng, of which I killed one with my
pistol. My servant also shot a wild cat of a brilliant
yellow colour, spotted black, the skin of which I have
happily preserved.
In the course of this excursion we traversed some
romantic wooded scenery, with scattered villages
embosomed in the shade ; and several times crossed
the dried-up bed of the Rahad, the banks of which
appear to be throughout high and precipitous. I
would gladly have prolonged our expedition, but a
feeling of faintness which frequently obliged me to
dismount, and at length scarcely permitted me to
keep my seat, forced us to return about noon.
We found that the Sheikh of W;idi-el-Kerim had
arrived in the meantime, much sooner than we had
been led to expect — his reports were even more
unsatisfactory than those of the Effendi. He declared
that he would not undertake the conduct of the expe
dition to Mandarah with an escort of less than 200
men and 400 camels, inclusive of those employed for
the conveyance of water, and that he should require
a week to complete the necessary preparations. All
my representations were of no avail in altering this
determination. On the morning after the return of the Katsheff,
we had a grand divan, which included himself, his
brother the Sheikh, and other principal raen araong
the Arabs, in order to decide upon this affair ; the
Mussulmans carae to the unanimous resolution that it
was impracticable, and that they would not hold them-
VOL. II. A A

S54 FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.
selves responsible to Khourshid Pasha for proceeding
at random, with such an array as the Sheikh demanded,
into a country destitute of water, and with a hostile
population, merely to look for ruins, the very
existence of which was doubtful. If I persisted in
my resolution, they should consider themselves
obliged to apply for instructions to Khartoum, as the
expenses of such an expedition were too great to be
undertaken without special authority,
I was of course desirous to avoid this, and, therefore,
requested them to obtain further information, and to
consider whether the plan could not be carried out on
a less expensive scale. That I would employ the
interval in making a short excursion to the Dender, as
I felt myself rather better after the hunt. There
were no objections to this, and I accordingly set out
before sunrise, attended only by a sraall escort. I was,
however, so low and feeble that I cannot give many
particulars of this tour. We passed by tolerably
good paths, through various small villages, generally
araid thorny woods, destitute of large trees.
We reached the Dender in two days, having found
a miserable night's lodging in a suffocating, dirty
apartment. Our supper consisted of guinea fowl, of
which we saw great numbers in the woods. The
Dender resembles the Rahad in its general character ;
the banks are equally high, but not so wide, being at
the utmost 200 feet broad : it has a rapid current, the
water is much clearer than that of the Blue River, and
so deep, that on wading across, it rose above the horse's
belly ; and we were told that it would soon be impas
sable. In its course from the south-east, it runs in

FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN. 355
this part for sorae way nearly parallel with the Blue
River, while the Rahad erapties itself into the former
almost at right angles. Its banks were in parts thickly
planted with willows, and raany places were carefully
cultivated. We beheld the unwonted sight of a native
engaged in fishing, and at my request, he brought us in
the evening a large fish of the raost delicious flavour.
I passed a very uncomfortable night, and was there
fore rejoiced to learn in the raorning that the Sheikh
of Elkneh had procured a bark for us, which would
enable me to accomplish the return with less fatigue.
The river flowed amid very picturesque wooded
scenery, occasionally varied by low rocks of porous
limestone, but I did not see any more Boababs, Yet
in the neighbourhood of Wadi Medineh we counted
no less than twenty-seven crocodiles at the sarae
time, lying on both sides of the river. This will
he hardly credited in Europe, yet the fact could be
attested by all ray attendants. They did not stand an
attack so well as their comrades to whom I have already
alluded, so that the shots we fired at them in their
retreat were unavailing,
I learnt at Wadi Medineh that Dr, Koch, who still
continued very ill, had removed to Abou Haras for
the benefit of a finer climate, accompanied by the
Italian medical attendant. I was, at the same tirae,
informed that a considerable suk, or fair, would be
held on the raorrow in the large village of Masselinieh,
about eight leagues west of this place, in the direction
of the White River. As it was said to be always
attended by a large confluence of people, I determined
not to miss such a favourable opportunity of making
aa2

356 FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.
myself better acquainted with the interior of the
country, and of seeing the natives collected on a
festive occasion, and perhaps, too, of making purchases
of various interesting productions. I therefore left
the bark, to pursue my journey into the interior on
caraels and asses.
At five o'clock I reached the village of Fedassa,
where I was detained for an hour, in the hut of the
Sheikh, by an excruciating attack of colic. My couch
was, besides, of the most wretched description, con
sisting of a broken engareb, spread with some ragged
coverings, and a pillow too dirty to enable me to dis
tinguish its original colour. By my side, close to the
rough mud wall, on which a variety of insects were
creeping about in all directions, was placed a wooden
water-jug, which evidently never underwent an ablu
tion, its muddy contents reserabling sraall beer : close
to it hung a gourd shell, and almost every other
minute some naked negro came in to slake his thirst.
The heat was insufferably oppressive, while the thunder
of an approaching storm was rolling over our heads.
Our beasts had been changed during the halt, and I
roused myself with difficulty to pursue the journey, of
which the prospect appeared as cheerless as the sight
of my chamber.
It seems that, during the rainy season, storms
always travel in company; we had often reraarked
tbis before, and to-day we saw the portents of three
or four at one tirae, threatening to deluge us with
their unwelcome torrents. We were, however, for
tunate in reaching Masselinieh ere night-fall, and
before the main clouds had discharged their contents.

FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN. 357
On leaving Fedassa we rode, for three leagues, across
a richly cultivated plain, of the finest soil, with nume
rous large villages scattered over it. The houses
consist merely of pointed roofs, of woven reeds, rest
ing upon the ground, which gives these villages the
air of a large encampment of tents, forming a pleas
ing effect, amid the surrounding trees and bushes.
Each of the huts is enclosed with a square or circular
court, fenced with a prickly hedge, and the old trees
afforded shelter to hundreds of those stork-like birds,
the black and white ibis — some of which had even
familiarly built their nests on the low roofs of the
huts. We saw also vast numbers of crows, exactly
reserabling ours; among them, however, I noticed
sorae with white rings round their neck, which I had
not previously met with.
Masselinieh is considerably larger, cleaner, and
more tastefully built than Wadi Medineh ; besides the
great annual fair, it has a large market twice a week,
on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It contains one mosque,
and amid its tent-houses you see many small mud
palaces belonging to the more wealthy inhabitants,
built in the form of the old Egyptian propylsea, with
terrace roofs. The largest of these houses is occupied
by Sheikh Ibrahim, a Hadji, a person of some con
sideration here, with vvhom 1 took up my abode.
This was scarcely as habitable as one of our barns,
but it was well enough here, and we should have had
still less cause to despise our entertainment, had the
state of my health permitted me to partake of it, for
among other Turkish deUcacies, the Hadji presented
as with Indian preserved ginger, of the finest quality.

358 FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN.
How gladly would I have exchanged all these for a
glass of pure water, mixed with some wine ; but,
alas, the Egyptian bardaks, or filter-jugs, are not
known so far up the country, and we could obtain only
the tepid, muddy water from the far distant Blue
River, or thestill more nauseous and brackish water
from a well in the village.
The lightnings flashed, and the rain fell in torrents,
while I tossed myself upon my hard couch, unable to
sleep from pain. I lighted my only remaining paper-
lantern, for the wind, which rushed through the open
window, would not suffer me to burn any other light,
and took up a copy of Voltaire which M. Boreani
had lent me, and read Candide for the tenth time, a
strange subject, certainly, in the deserts of Africa,
but as far as relates to the philosophy of Pangloss,
not quite inapplicable to my present situation.
On the following morning I visited the Suk, which
was held in a large plain, covered with booths, at
the further end of the village. Notwithstanding the
vast concourse of people, and the crowding which
they unavoidably occasioned, the whole was con
ducted with far more order and decorum than any
European fair. Even I, though an object of ge
neral curiosity, was not in the least annoyed by
any one.
I purchased a variety of native curiosities, at ex
tremely low prices; such as sandals, amulets, arms,
gold-dust, cowries, ornaments of female dress, beau
tifully-wrought mats of straw and coloured leather,
very tastefully-woven dishes, baskets, and bells of the
sarae material, the latter being placed over the dishes

FURTHER STAY IN SOUDAN. 359
to screen the food from the attacks of countless
swarms of flies, &c. &c.
Had I not been so unwell, I should probably have
made further observations ; but in my present state,
I was heartily glad' to return horae, and enjoy a few
hours' rest before setting out on my journey. I was
visited by the Sheikh, who called to show me various
testimonials ofhis hospitality, which had been presented
to him by former travellers ; he concluded with the
request that I would leave him a similar token, being
the only compensation which he would accept for his
entertainment. This man is honoured as a saint
among the Arabs. One day, while engaged in his own
room reading his prayers aloud, four Arabs entered,
and instantly knelt down before him, kissing the hem
of his garment. He quietly continued his reading,
merely saying to them at intervals, Essennetum
(Rise!) but in vain : they remained half an hour upon
their knees, till he had finished his prayers.
On our return, I chose a more direct road to Abou
Haras, which led for some time through a raost
pleasing wooded landscape. We particularly noticed
the turtam, a beautiful shrub, which grows in great
abundance and luxuriance, and though destitute of
leaves, and consisting only of a heap of green ten
drils, resembling a mass of hair, it yet assumes the
most Uzarre and picturesque forras, and is impene
trably thick. The small, deep rose-coloured blossoms
vvith which it is completely covered, must be indeed
melHfluous, for all the butterflies of Soudan seemed to
have chosen them for their rendezvous.
A very complete collection of African butterflies.

360 FURTHER STAY IN BOUDAN.
might easily be made here in the course of a few days,
with the aid of the necessary apparatus, I saw all
the sorts with which I am acquainted, and also two
or three specimens which I consider to be new, or,
at least, extremely scarce ; but I had neither time nor
inclination to engage in their pursuit. Though we
urged on our animals, we did not reach Abou Haras
till midnight : I crossed the river in my own bark,
which a negro swam over to fetch for me. I was
glad indeed to seek for repose in my sufferings,
which day by day deprived me of strength and all
love of travelling.
When I visited Dr. Koch on the following day, I
found him in a yet more miserable condition than I
was. He regarded himself as the destined victim of
the grave, took an affecting leave of me, gave me
Sundry directions in the event of his death, and then
besought me with tears to send him to Khartoum, that
he might die there in peace. As this appeared the only
means of his recovery, I instantly made the necessary
arrangements for his departure. I had him conveyed in
his bed by ten negroes on board my dahabia, and after
bidding me a final farewell, he imraediately set sail, with
a favourable wind. It was a painful moment for both
of us. 1 was now left alone in no very enviable state,
deprived of medical aid, in case of any emergency,
and had been long since destitute of the requisite me
dicines. I have, however, always had more reliance
upon the excellence of my constitution than upon the
physician, and I was able in sorae measure to console
myself with the consideration, that my present indis
position was owing rather to the effects of medicine,

FURTHER STAT IN SOUDAN. 361
than to the influence of climate, or of fatigue, upon
my constitution.
On the 25th another divan was summoned to deli
berate upon the expedition to Mandarali, and there
appeared to be an increasing desire to exaggerate its
difficulties. I offered to undertake the journey, not
withstanding my present indisposition, with twenty
trustworthy men, whom I should infinitely prefer to
two hundred ofthe ordinary retainers; but this proposal
was at once positively rejected by the Katsheff, who
declared that he would on no account take upon himself
the responsibility of exposing me to such a risk, especi
ally as the affair was now so well-known all over the
country, that the predatory hordes in the mountains
must long since have got tidings of it, and, in the
expectation of an ample booty, would probably attack
us with their united forces ; that his head was
answerable for my safety, and he was sure I would
not willingly expose him to such a hazard ; and that as
my sole motive for the expedition was to procure cer
tain inforraation respecting the ruins of Mandarah, he
suggested that I should send my dragoman. Such
an arrangement would completely alter the case. He
being young, and able to bear fatigue and privation,
and speaking the language of the Arabs as well as they
did theraselves, might easily pass unnoticed and un
hindered among them under the disguise of a Bedouin.
The Sheikh at the same time offered an escort of three
of his most confidential men, who were well acquainted
with the country, that all should be mounted on the
fleetest dromedaries, to enable them to effect a re
treat in case of an attack, as the Arabs of the desert

362 MANIURAH.
were destitute of both horses and fire-arms, and said
that for so small a troop one water camel would suffice.
These representations were so reasonable, that I
could find but little to object, while there were
three other considerations which urged me to their
acceptance. The first, was my„ present weak state of
health ; the second, the peculiar fitness of ray drago
man for such an undertaking. This young man has
devoted a considerable portion ofhis life to study, and
possesses so much antiquarian zeal, that, so far as the
object itself was concerned, itwas a matter of indiffer
ence whether he or I should go to Mandarah ; nay, I
even fancied, that he would ex officio examine more
miiuitely than I should myself, and that, so far as it
might be done with no instruments save a small
pocket compass, he could approximatively determine
with sufficient accuracy the geographical bearing of
Mandarah and of the principal ruins which he might
discover, aided by the direction of his route and the
day's march. The third consideration which induced
me to yield, was the enormous expense of the under
taking, which would thus be entirely avoided, and
which I really did not feel myself justified in charging
upon the government.
• I therefore gave my instructions to Giovanni, who
made his will, as Dr. Koch had done some days before,
and in a few hours he was in the Desert ; his future
fate a dark raystery till blended with the past. The
past in poor Giovanni's history had been already suffi
ciently glooray. He was a child of Chios, where, in
his seventh year, he beheld his father, brothers, and
sisters murdered before his eyes, while he hiraself was

MANDARAH. 363
carried away the captive slave of a Candiot Turk.
When in Alexandria his freedom was purchased by
Mr. Stuzzi, the present Austrian Consul at Candia,
and at the time interpreter to the Austrian Consulate
in that city ; this gentleman adopted him as his own
son, and gave him a good education. While yet a
boy, he accompr.nied Mr. von Prokesch as far as Wadi
Haifa, by whom he vvas principally employed in the
measurement of ancient monuments and copying
hieroglyphics. He afterwards travelled to Asia Minor
and Constantinople, studied some years in Smyrna,
and afterwards in Italy ; visited his native island of
Chios, where his mother was still living, she, and a
younger brother, being the only members of his
family who had escaped the massacre ; and on his
return to his foster-father at Candia, he entered my
service as dragoman, having no engagement at the
time. I continued at Abou Haras till the 1st of June,
in a state of extreme suffering and debilit)'-, and
scarcely able to leave my bed. I was so much re
duced as not to be able to walk without support, and
I began to entertain serious apprehensions of my
recovery. I loathed every kind of food, and even the
ordinary rice beverage, usually given in similar cases,
produced nausea and sickness. My stock of wine
and tonic medicines had long since been exhausted.
I was suddenly seized with an instinctive longing
after a drink, which in my state of almost chronic
dysentery will make the doctors shake their heads,
—namely, strong, cold punch ; for which I have not
the slightest partiality when in health, and indeed

364 MANDARAH.
rarely touch. Happily, I possessed the means of
gratifying my fancy, for I could obtain the small
green citrons of the country, and I had still by me
some bottles of Jamaica rum, which I had brought for
the sake of the natives, rather than for myself The
repeated use of this beverage, made rather strong,
produced a wonderful change, and though far from
being perfectly cured, the attack, and especially the
pain, was visibly subdued ; I was once more able to
partake of food, and my strength gradually returned.
I do not advise any one to follow my example, but
such is the fact.
During this time the natives daily brought for sale,
a great variety of the interesting productions of the
country, probably because they had heard of my
having made many purchases at Masselinieh, for
which I paid a fair price ; in consequence of the ex
tortions of the Turks, who either forcibly seize what
ever takes their fancy, or pay a mere trifle, the
natives are in the habit of carefully concealing every
thing that is not carried to the public markets, so
that travellers who desire to purchase articles of this
kind, are obliged to make a considerable stay in one
place ere they can gain their confidence.
The most reraarkable productions of the industry
of these countries are the mats of palm-leaf, inter
woven with bands of the most gorgeously coloured
leather, which for their beauty and originality of
design, their briUiancy and exquisite workmanship,
infinitely exceed all similar productions in Europe.
At the sarae time their prices are very low. They
likewise manufacture very pretty dishes, vases, and

MANDARAH. 365
cups of various forms, from different species of gourds,
which are often ornamented, like the Etruscan vases,
with drawings of animals, many of which are very
faithful representations. These utensils are as light
as a feather, and yet extremely durable ; are easily
cleaned, and do not, like wooden vessels, acquire the
flavour of their contents. There is no milk-bowl of
more rustic elegance than one of these gourd-shells.
On the 2nd of June, Giovanni returned from his
expedition; he had a deep wound on his forehead,
occasioned, however, by his own pistol, with which he
was about to fire a signal, when it burst in his hand.
He had seen everything which I had commissioned
him to look for, yet the result resembled the investi
gations of philosophers, the discoveries partaking
more of a negative than a positive nature — still his
narrative was by no means devoid of interest.
On his return he visited Djayleh, because Mr. Cail
laud had been informed that considerable ruins existed
there, as well as traces of ancient wells on the route to
it; but there was not the slightest fragment of anything
indicative of antiquity, except indeed a heap of pyra
midal, natural rocks, to which an Arab at once con
ducted Giovanni as being remains of ancient pyraraids.
On Djebel-Mandarah, however, he really found some
ancient cisterns of considerable extent, still partially
covered over, situated partly upon the sumrait of the
hill and partly along its foot ; on the sarae spot he
also discovered the stone foundations of several walls,
built of large blocks of stone, the bases of colurans
and various other remains of buildings, which prove

C66 MANDARAH.
that some ancient city once existed here, though it
does not seem to have been of much importance, and
it is now a complete ruin.
Several deserted huts of the natives, in the neigh
bourhood of the mountain, were built of blocks of
stone brought from the ruins of Mandarah; in one of
them my dragoman discovered the lower part of a
statue of red granite built into the wall ; in another
place was a finely sculptured lion's head and a portion
of the fore-feet, of black and white spotted marble.
He estimates the distance of Mandarah from Abou
Haras, including the circuitous route he was forced
to take, to be about fifty hours of caravan travelling.
For the first sixteen hours, they proceeded in an
almost northerly direction as far as Mount Abaitor,
where the road took a sudden turn due east, and conti
nued to follow this direction to Mandarah, being about
double the distance from Abou Haras to Mount
Abaitor. As far as Abaitor they rode througli one
continued thick wood, consisting, as usual, of mimosa,
and various kinds of acacias, then through an open
plain till within five hours frora Mandarah, where the
country again assuraes a wooded character.
Giovanni represents the soil as being everywhere
excellent, and a portion of it is cultivated after the
rainy season. On the plain he saw numerous
ostriches and antelopes ; many of the latter were as
large as a cow.
From Mandarah he descried in the distance a lofty
hill with two steep summits, called Gur, and as it was
only a short day's journey to the east-south-east of

MANDARAH. 367
Mandarah, he proceeded thither, through a tract
generally wooded, but he did not raeet with any
antiquities. According to Giovanni's report the three isolated
mountains of Djebel Abaitor, Djebel Gur, and Djebel
Mandarah, consist partly of granite, and partly of red
dish limestone of primitive formation, with occasional
existence of marble; and on the declivity of the Gur he
declared to have seen a pointed rock in the form of au
obelisk, of which the lower half was composed of
reddish granite and the upper of white marble. I must
leave the possibility of such an occurrence to the
decision of geologists.
He was told by an Arab of the existence of a
remarkable cave, situated in another isolated moun
tain, called Liberi, a short five hours' journey to the
north-east of Mandarah. He at once proceeded
thither from Gur, without returning to Mandarah ; the
road, for the most part, was over exposed masses of
granite, and the general character of the country
resembling the neighbourhood of Assouan, near the
cataracts. This cavern repaid the trouble of his
journey, for it proved to be a speos, 21 feet deep, and
12 feet wide ; in a small adytum, divided off in the
background, he found two statues in a sitting posture,
with an altar standing before them. There were also
raany traces of hieroglyphics and sculptures, but very
illegible and much injured, as this rocky temple has
been used by the wretched natives, sometimes as a
stable for their cattle, sometimes as an asylum during
the frequent predatory incursions of the Bedouins,
and has at various times been set on fire.

368 MANDARAH.
On the limestone-rock of Liberi, and immediately
over the temple, Giovanni discovered a very singular
stone of colossal dimensions; it is hewn into a square,
and has uniform rows of deep, round, and nearly
funnel-shaped holes, chiselled on its fore-side. It is
difficult to determine for what purpose it raay have
been used. To his oft-repeated inquiries respecting
further antiquities in the vicinity, my dragoman was
invariably assured, that those which he had seen, were
all they possessed, and that they had never heard of
any others.
The danger of an attack from the Arabs seems to
have been greatly exaggerated at Abou Haras, in
the true oriental fashion, though it cannot be denied
that the native tribes are at constant variance, not
only with the governraent, but also among theraselves.
Pillage, therefore, is the order of the day, but single
travellers, well armed and mounted, might no doubt
easily escape them.
During Giovanni's stay at Mandarah, a messenger,
mounted on a dromedary, arrived there with the
tidings that the Hedendowi Arabs had just attacked
and completely pillaged two v-illages, six hours distant
from Mandarah. On the other hand, our adventurers,
when on Mount Liberi, came up to a large encamp
ment belonging to another tribe, which had been sud
denly abandoned, with all their various contents ;
they afterwards learnt that the owners had fled on
their approach, considering them to be but the van
guard of a large body of government troops.
Throughout their journey the scarcity of water was
their greatest privation, and this appears the more

MANDARAH. 369
inconceivable, as the nuraerous woods raust certainly
derive their nutriment, during the dry season, from
subterranean moisture. With the exception of one
brackish well, they found no water, except in the
cistern at Mandarah, and even this had been rendered
unfit for use by the impurities which had either fallen,
or been thrown into it. Giovanni described the whole
journey as the most fatiguing he had ever performed,
he rested only at Mandarah and Djayleh, as his Arab
attendants never suffered him to dismount, nor indeed
ahghted themselves, even while their dromedaries
were feeding, in order to guard against a sudden sur
prise. We cannot entertain a doubt that the whole
of the country visited by Giovanni, and, probably
also, the greater part of the peninsula of Meroe (as
I remarked on the occasion of my own excursion),
was at a former period cultivated and consequently
irrigated, traversed by lines of caravan roads, and
containing numerous flourishing and populous towns.
What is now desert, needs but men, industry,
and capital to be once more converted into a rich
province. With regard to the situation of Mandarah, I am
inclined to think, frora the information I have ob
tained frora my dragoman, as well as from the natives,
that it ought to be placed half a degree further south,
and a little more to the east, than it is laid down upon
the maps of Caillaud and Riippel * (from which most
other maps have been copied), and that its real
* We must bear in mind the time when this was written, con
siderable improvements having since been introduced by the publi
cation of Zimmermann's Map of Central Africa. Yet even here
VOL. II. B B

370

MANDARAH.

situation, according to the subjoined sketch made by
Giovanni, may be 15° N. lat. and 32° 50' E. Ion. from
E. Long, from Paris.

the meridian of Paris. Djayleh, which is laid down in
Caillaud's map as one degree to the south of Mandarah,
is on the contrary half a degree to the north-west of
it. Giovanni was obliged to return to Abaitor, in
order to get from Liberi to Djayleh, there being no
passable roads across the mountains, and from this
point he had to proceed in a northerly direction two
caravan days' journey to Djayleh; though Caillaud calls
it Kaleli, frora the inforraation he received, yet there
can be no doubt that it must be one and the same
place, for no one had ever heard of a place of that
numerous errors have beeu retained in the details, which are easily
detected by au eye-witness. It gave me much pleasure, on examin
ing this most recent map, to see Mandarah, for the first time, laid
down (I know not on wha;t authority) nearly in the position I have
assigned to it : the situation of Djayleh (erroneously called Kaleh) is
still incorrectly given in its old place, being copied from Caillaud
and others. Thus Zimmermann even confounds Abou-Haras with
Abou-Ahrak ; and Wadi Medineh, a rather large place, and capital
of the province, is altogether omitted. ,

MANDARAH. 371
name lying further south, while Djayleh was very
well known.
The friendly natives, whom they found scattered
here and there, were living in extrerae poverty, and
almost in a savage state. They regarded with asto
nishraent not merely the European articles belonging
to my dragoman, but even the biscuits of fine flour
made at Abou Haras, in the form of sraall loaves,
as they had never seen anything but their own coarse,
indigestible Dourra cakes. On dipping this biscuit
into the muddy water in the cistern at Mandarah, for
the purpose of moistening it, he jokingly bade them
beware of the explosion that would follow, which had
the instantaneous effect of driving them to a distance
of raore than twenty paces to escape the threatened
danger. These poor people appeared to be very kind-
hearted, thankful enough if the Egyptian Government
on the Nile suffered them to pass their miserable
existence in quietness. It is only the nomade tribes
among them, who follow little or no agriculture, that
are occasionally dangerous to the traveller if he is
not upon his guard. But in general all these perils
are vastly magnified.
The rainy season had now completely set in ; the
difficulty of travelling through the rich soil of the
Delta, between the Blue and White Nile, greatly
increased, and my own state of convalescence had
made such slight progress, that I was forced to abandon
my original intention of proceeding home by land to
Mangara on the Bahr-el-Abiad (pronounced Mand-
shera by the natives, and totally distinct from Man-

372 MANDARAH,
darah), and from that place to return by the White
Nile to Khartoum. I was the raore induced to this
determination by the uncertainty of ineeting with a
decked boat at Mandshera, having already had ample
experience of the inconvenience of an open boat at
this season in my passage from the Dender to Wadi
Medineh. I found some consolation under my disap-
pointraent, by the reflection that the whole of the
region from Khartoum to the Fazol was very similar,
in which the consentient testimony of the natives was
corroborated by ray personal experience in ray excur
sion to the Dender ; that there was scarcely any
difference in the raanners and costume of the inha
bitants, and that even the plants and animals were
throughout the same.
There are no antiquities, at least none are known
to exist, below Wadi Medineh, in the direction ofthe
two Nile streams. Our only chance of finding any
would be by turning eastwards to the Red Sea,
which was beyond the reach of possibility in ray
case. This fertile, and no longer unpeopled Delta,
lying between the White and Blue Nile, would prove
the richest of mines to Mehemet Ali, if he would only
consent to open some kind of communication between
the two rivers by means of canals. I have written
long reports to him on this subject, which he pro
mised to take into consideration, and it appears that
he has, of late, paid more attention to these countries
than they formerly enjoyed.
My collections of natural curiosities had been so
greatly increased during ray long residence at Abou
Haras, that, at ray departure, they occupied at

MANDARAH.

373

least half the ship's hold ; my menagerie received the
accession of a Dongola steed, which I purchased at
Wadi Medineh, at a Djeerid exercise of the cavalry ;
a pair of ibis, a rare specimen of tortoise, and two
young crocodiles not more than a foot in length, but
a complete miniature personification of those thirty
times their size. They evinced much irritation, if
any one ventured to offer them the least molesta
tion in the pewter basin which was assigned them for
their dwelling.
On the evening before my departure, I was present
at a truly characteristic scene. The Katsheffs in
Upper Soudan have generally a sort of body-guard,
composed of trained slaves and servants, whora they
are obliged to maintain at their own or, more properly,
their neighbours' cost. A Katsheff from the Abys
sinian frontiers had been here on a visit for some days;
he was the same person who, by a violent capture of
slaves on the Abyssinian territory, when he carried off
a priest, a near relative of Karafa, the mighty major
domo, occasioned the defeat of the Egyptians, as I
have already mentioned. He was now on his way to
the Governor at Khartoum, to answer for his conduct,
going with a heavy heart, and no doubt a heavy purse,
which is the infallible palliative in Turkey. While
he was here, consulting with his friends, his people
accidentally met an old deserter of his body-guard.
He was imraediately taken into the court-yard of the
house, where the three Katsheffs, surrounded by their
retinue, were quietly smoking their pipes in the
cool of the evening. Salim Katsheff at once began
violently to upbraid hira, which I overheard, as I

374 MANDARAH.
happened at that moment to be looking out at my
window. The guilty Turk made a sudden snatch at
the pistol of the kawass who was standing beside
him, pulled it out of his girdle, and with the rapidity
of lightning, fired it at his own breast. I saw the
flash, but heard no report; the pistol therefore seemed
to have missed, at least the man stood there unhurt.
This act, however, so much affected his master, that
he received him again into favour. In the evening
I learnt frora ray own kawass that the whole scene.
had been concerted by the comrade of the prisoner,
and that the pistol was not loaded. In Werter's days,
many a lover may possibly have won his lady fair by
a similar process.

THE END.

LONDON :
BRADBUnV AND BVANS, PRINTERS, WHrTKPRrARS.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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