PASHA'S SUGAR REFINERY.

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wind, as far as Sheikh Abadé, near which the ruins of Antinoopolis* were formerly found.

Thursday, Dec. 27. Gherf.

CLXXXII. Setting sail, at an early hour, from Sheikh Abadé, we arrived, about eight oclock, at Er Rharamoon, vulgò Rhadamone, where the Pasha has a sugar refinery, formerly under the superintendence of Mr. Brine, an Englishman; upon whose death, Signor Tonina, an Italian, was entrusted with the direction of the works. This gentleman very politely conducted us through the establishment, in which about one hundred Arabs were employed. He complained much of the ignorant prejudices of the Mohammedans, which prevented his using bullock's blood, and other necessary ingredients, in refining the sugar, by which his operations, he said, were almost spoiled, as milk and eggs, the articles substituted in their place, did not exactly answer the purpose. The coarse moist sugar is manufactured in small quantities by the natives in their own houses, and afterwards brought to the Pasha's manufactory, to be refined. Two sorts of white sugar are produced here; one of a coarse grain, but apparently good, which sells at about

* Nothing, we were told, now remains upon the spot, worthy the notice of a traveller.

+ Dr. Richardson writes Al Rairamoun; but, assuredly, no Arab ever pronounced it so, the final consonant of the article, in this, and many similar cases, being changed by assimilation into the initial consonant of the following noun: as, En Nebbi "the Prophet; "Es Souan, "the (city of) Syene;" Haroun Er Rashid, " Haroun the Just," &c.

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ARABIAN MOUNTAINS.

a piastre and a half; and another, much whiter and finer, but still inferior to the best English sugar, which sells at six piastres and a half per pound; but this latter kind is never manufactured, unless through a kind of adulation, some of the Pasha's

There were ten large

grandees give an order for it. stills at work, distilling rum, which was of a very good quality, and sold at about two piastres and a half per bottle. Returning to our boats, we proceeded as far

as Gherf, where we moored.

Friday, Dec. 28. Manfaloot.

CLXXXIII. Soon after dawn, we departed from Gherf, and there being no wind, proceeded, at first, by tacking, but afterwards, near the old channel of the Bahr Youssouff, the breeze began to freshen a little. This channel, which is now quite filled up, was never very wide; but its banks are exceedingly lofty, and command a fine view of the country round. It has been said that the eastern chain of mountains, all the way from Er Rharamoon to Manfaloot, comes down close to the water's edge, and is thickly perforated with excavations; but this is not quite correct; as a little to the north of the village of Sheikh Said, it recedes considerably from the Nile, and, having made a large semicircular sweep, again approaches it near Gherf. Beyond this village it once more turns off towards the east, leaving an extensive flat for cultivation, which extends for several miles towards the south. Up to this point, there are few excavations in the face of the mountains, which slope away to

BEAUTY OF THE COUNTRY.

259

ward the desert with an undulating, broken surface, without cliffs or precipices.

CLXXXIV. The weather, though mild, was all this day gloomy, the sun scarcely appearing at all, while low misty clouds rolled continually along the pinnacles of the mountains; yet the fields resounded with the songs of the sky-larks, and the scent of various flowers perfumed the air. Extensive plantations of sugar-cane, fields of wheat, lupins in flower, pease eighteen inches high, rich clover, &c., cover the whole surface of the country with a variegated carpet of verdure, exceeding in beauty the poetical descriptions of Fénélon. We expect to find crocodiles in the river about Manfaloot. The flesh of these animals, which is eaten by the Nubians, has the reputation of being a cure for fevers.

CLXXXV. Hamilton, by I know not what course of reasoning, was led to think, that the sandy nature of most of the islands in the Nile furnishes an argument against the notion that it is the mud of this river which fattens the soil of Egypt. But he would seem to have overlooked the fact that, whenever a new channel is formed round any portion of land previously rich and cultivated, the whole of the space thus severed from the mainland, is very quickly, unless kept in cultivation, reduced to a mere sand-bank. This, however, appears to me easy of explanation; for the river, in its efforts to move in a right line, attacks incessantly the shores of the island, loosening

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ISLANDS IN THE NILE.

and carrying away the lighter soil; while the heavier sands remain, and are daily increased by the winds from the desert. Afterwards, during the rise of the river, when its current is most irresistible, the whole surface of the island is lifted up from its bed, originally sand, and hurried away by the waters, leaving the lower stratum uncovered. In many parts, even the regular banks of the river, like the shores of the sea, are formed of yellow sand, which, in Nubia, is coarse and heavy, consisting of large particles of decomposed quartz, mica, felspar, &c.

CLXXXVI. At length, as we approach Manfaloot, the eastern mountains assume a more sublime appearance, putting on the form of ruined castles, with terraces, turrets, and battlements of prodigious grandeur, and projecting their bases into the Nile, over which they frown, and tower to a vast height. In the face of the cliffs are innumerable grottoes, of various form and character, some preserving their original rugged features, others fashioned in the shape of temples, with porticoes, pediments, and friezes. When, towards evening, the mist cleared away, the sky assumed that bright cerulean tint which generally distinguishes it in these latitudes; and the Nile, unruffled by the slightest breeze, presented to the eye a vast mirror, beautifully reflecting the overhanging mountains, gilded and blushing in the light of the setting sun. This noble scene was succeeded by another, still more serene and beautiful ; the same landscape, painted in new colours by the

BEAUTIFUL MOONLIGHT SCENE.

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moon. It is extraordinary that the ancient Egyptians should have been a quaint unpoetical people, as nature, however calm and regular, has crowded together in the land they inhabited all those physical sources of enthusiasm which are supposed to concur in kindling the fire of genius. The vast naked rocks of the Arabian chain, which, but a few minutes before, had been glowing in the setting sun, now stood like pale spectres in the moonlight, their bald and ghastly brows resembling the scalp of a skeleton; while the river, broad, tranquil, and of a deep azure tint, glittering with the bright images of the moon's sharp crescent and a thousand resplendent stars, displayed a still softer beauty than by day. In many places the shadows of the mountains threw their huge masses over its unruffled bosom; and on the opposite side, the low level shore, scarcely elevated above the water, gave rise to a kind of illusion, the mighty river appearing to stretch away indefinitely towards the west, where every group of date palms or mimosas upon the plain, seemed to mark the site of some tufted island rising in the midst of the waters. But no powers of language can ever embody the surpassing splendour of this scene, or, perhaps, succeed in creating the belief that Egypt contains a picturesque landscape; though, for my own part, I have seldom been more powerfully affected by scenes of acknowledged magnificence, in the mountains of Sicily, in the beautiful valleys of the Apennines, or among the naked Alps of the upper Valais. It will, in fact, be conceded, that the effect of moonlight, falling upon a