though we had seen nothing but a part of the desert.

March 3. Awoke quite fresh and rested after a good sleep. This is, indeed, the case every day here. I hardly ever feel tired; I sleep better than I ever did before; and I can hardly remember that I ever felt so strong and so thoroughly well as I have done during this month in Egypt. It is certainly a most healthy and pleasant life, and one I should recommend to every body who longs for physical and moral rest. For the first few days you feel quite lost without any post or papers, but after that I must confess (horrible as it sounds) that the feeling that no means exist of either receiving or sending letters becomes delightful. You live, so to say, in another world!

We breakfasted at nine, and started at ten in small boats to cross the river, as we were now informed that it was from the west bank we had to start to see the Second Cataract. Arrived at a large sycamoretree, we landed and got on our donkeys, camels, etc., and, after a ride of about eight miles, arrived at a high cliff, which we ascended, and from thence saw a very pretty wild scene. The river here rushes down. in a very picturesque manner between rocks, but, the water being very low this year, the rapids were not very high, and not to be compared to many of the

us,

Dinner à la Turque.

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beautiful waterfalls I have seen in Sweden and Scotland. The view, however, was very extensive and very wild; and, as usual, the lights and coloring of the whole country before us struck me more than any thing else. We then went a little farther, to where some large tents had been pitched just above the cataract; and the cooks having also been sent on early in the day, we found an excellent dinner waiting for and being quite ready for it, after our early rising and long ride, we certainly did justice to it. Mourad Pasha had taken in hand the arrangements of the day, and wished us to have a real Turkish dinner. Two whole roasted lambs were brought in, but, much to his disgust, he only succeeded in making us sit down on the ground in the Turkish fashion, with our legs crossed, but could not persuade us to eat in their fashion, tearing off bits with our fingers. We had also some other excellent Arabian dishes, pilau or pilaf, a kind of rice dish, very good. Coffee and smoking followed as usual, and we then enjoyed the view, and the nice breeze, till at last we were told it was time to go home. I felt very sorry to leave this place, after a most pleasant and successful picnic; but I also felt that we were now at the turning-point of our travels; that we had reached their farthest limit, and that this was actually the beginning of our return

journey home, which we can never expect to find so pleasant and enjoyable as this has been. As soon as we arrive in Cairo, the duties of the great world, with all its fuss and bustle, must again begin; and as we get farther and farther into Europe, this sort of life will only go on crescendo, and I often ask myself when shall I ever lead such a peaceful life again? I felt this not only for myself, but perhaps more strongly still for the Princess, who, like me, has enjoyed it all immensely. However, it was no use grumbling to one's self, and so I got on a nice dromedary, and, with the rest of the party, proceeded homeward.

The Prince and some of the gentlemen went by boat. The Princess rode my donkey, and I felt as comfortable on my high beast as if I had been on a horse. In choosing a dromedary, the great thing is to select a small and thin one, and then, at a short trot, they are really very comfortable and very easy to manage. We again crossed in boats, and arrived at Wady Halfah at 6.30. Dined at eight o'clock, and had done quite enough to be ready for our beds at ten. No heat to-day to complain of; indeed, since we left the First Cataract on our way up, the breeze has been mostly from the north, and the sky rather cloudy, which has made the temperature quite comfortable.

March 4. Left Wady Halfah early-passed Aboo Simbel at twelve. Left the steamer there, and allowed our dahabeah merely to float down the stream for a few hours, in hopes of not disturbing crocodiles. We saw a great many, and the Prince and Sir S. Baker tried to stalk them, but got none. Stopped for the night at a place where we had seen many crocodiles on our way up.

I forgot to say that yesterday, while at dinner at Wady Halfah, a little boy was watching the torches which are always stuck in the ground on shore, wherever we stop at night. The Prince and Princess took a fancy to him, and as, on being questioned, he said his father was dead, his mother remarried near Cairo, and that he had not a friend in the world, he was taken on board, and seemed delighted at the thought of going with us. He was asked if he did not want to tell somebody that he was leaving this place, but he said he had nobody he cared to see, and will thus go with us to England as a pipe-cleaner. The only property he had in the world was the white linen shirt tied round his waist, and a small white cap which he had on. He is an intelligent, ugly little boy, not very black, but rather bronze color, and with a large silver ring stuck in one ear.

Whenever we stop, numbers of natives, mostly chil

E

dren, come down to the bank to look at us. The Princess used to throw them bread and oranges; but they seemed to value still more empty bottles, which the Prince threw one by one into the water, when these poor half-savage-looking creatures instantly dashed in after them, racing with each other to get them. And, though you sometimes see a little quarreling if one gets a greater number than the rest, they generally agree most good-humoredly to divide their treasures. The use they make of them is simply to hang them up by a string, as an ornament, to the ceiling of their huts.

March 5. Remained quiet till nearly four o'clock in our dahabeah. The steamer and the other dahabeah, with all the gentlemen, had gone on early, at five o'clock in the morning, in the hope of having some independent sport. The Prince and Sir S. Baker lay watching for crocodiles for several hours in the hot sand, notwithstanding the burning sun. (The thermometer was 140°, and I had it from 100° to 108° in my cabin.) However, they could not get a shot. Indeed, though some were seen, not one came within shot before they went down again. We joined the other boat at seven o'clock, and found that they had not got one either, though they declared they had killed one, four guns firing at a crocodile at the same