Our route was across a variety of sandy hillocks: every now and then 1 could still perceive the domes and minarets of Cairo; and the Pyramids, though at some distance on the opposite bank of the Nile, I could yet plainly discern; but, in a short time, owing to the sandy state of the atmosphere, I lost sight of both Cairo and those eternal landmarks whose history still remains enveloped in obscurity.

We were now surrounded by the Desert-no sign of habitation appeared; we followed a track well known by the Arabs, who make constant journeys to Suez. About sunset we pitched our tents for the night, and the following morning were again proceeding on our journey by half-past six. I perceived this morning a great difference in the temperature from that of the day preceding; we were surrounded by a thick mist, probably the effect of the Khamseen wind. As the day advanced, the atmosphere became clearer; our route was nearly due east; to the south was a chain of mountains, called Djebal Adaka, and a variety of sandy hillocks. It was probably by this route that the Children of Israel came to the borders of the Red Sea : "Speak unto the Children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over-against Baal-zephon; before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."*

We reposed about mid-day for three hours, and then continued over much of the same rocky and sandy soil until sunset. I perceived this afternoon many specimens of petrified wood about a foot in length; but rarely did I see even a vestige of vegetation. The Arabs, in the mean time, were engaged in noisy arguments about the supply of water, of which, perhaps, they had been improvident, or were too lazy to obtain at the well the necessary supply. But, though vehement in their expressions against one another, it ended, after a short time, in silence, each one, perhaps, being convinced that he could not with impunity blame the others.

Gen. xiv., 2, 3.

We halted at sunset; the water was used more circumspectly; but over the dish of rice all again were in perfect good fellowship: the camels, eased of their burdens, were enjoying their meal; the pipe and coffee, so acceptable to each after the day's fatigue, renewed the tranquillity; this invited to repose, and having secured the camels, and wrapping themselves in the folds of their abah (mantle), they soon sunk to sleep upon the sand, perfectly secure from any midnight attack, as this part of the Desert is inhabited by the same tribe of Arabs, amongst whom there is a perfect unity, and whose principal occupation is in conducting the caravans; but, should they encroach upon the territories of others, they sometimes pay dearly for their temerity; the caravan is in danger of being plundered, or a heavy fine imposed upon the Sheikh.

Their extensive country, divided into three great divisions, Arabia Felix, Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Petræa, is subdivided by the territories of different tribes; all alike boasting their descent from Ishmael, the son of Hagar; and certainly, in these people, the words of Scripture have been verified—“ For I will make him a great nation;"* for never having been entirely subjugated by a foreign yoke, they enjoy that independence as a nation so peculiarly their characteristic of each individually.

The Bedouins, or wandering Arabs, (formed from the Arabic-bedw-signifying a country without habitation), are amongst the largest of the tribes, and governed by their own Emir and Sheikhs. They have a contempt for the Turks, whom they consider as usurpers in their country.f Their religion is a reformation of the Mahomedan, and though they practise the same forms in their prayers, and observe the same fasts, yet there

* Gen. xxi. 18.

+ The day of the election of their chief, they swear by the most solemn oath that they will resist the Turks, that they will not live in any town or castle, that they will dwell always in the wild country under their tents, and in the Deserts, as their great father Kedar.

is a great difference in their religious sentiments, being for the most part followers of Ali.*

This short account of the general character of the Arabs it is hoped may not prove uninteresting. The habits and manners of these wandering people are to be seen only in the Desert, where they seem to throw off restraint which even a short residence in a town enforces on them.

The following morning we left at half-past six, and soon arrived near some mountains called the Huhebi; our route lay a little to the right of these mountains. We met this morning several caravans going to Cairo, which had left Suez the day previous. The Salam Alaikoum-" Peace to you," which was answered by Alaikoum Salam-the Arab assurance of friendship, was all that passed between the caravans, excepting the guides, who dismounted, held out their right hands, and embraced, delaying a short time to exchange news. For eight hours no object of particular interest presented itself; the route continued the same, having a descent for the last three hours; the last half hour of which I perceived the camel on which I

* Ali, the fourth Caliph after Mahomet, began his reign in the 35th year of the Hegira, a. D. 655 ; he was elected with one voice at Medina; but, aware of the powerful opponents he had to encounter, among whom none was more distinguished than Aiesha, the widow of the Prophet, it was with some reluctance that he accepted the honour: having reigned five years, he was assassinated. The great veneration for the memory of this Caliph has caused him to have many followers. Among the many honourable titles with which he is distinguished are those of Vassi and Morthadi, "executor of the

will of Mahomet;" the second may be interpreted, "agreeable to God." The Ichiltes call him Faiz-al-Anovar-that is to say, distributor of light and grace while the Persians name him SchahMarduman, "the king of men." It is related that he had a presentiment of his death, having been heard to say on the same day—“ Ah well, my heart, take patience, since there is no remedy against the death that Heaven destinies ;" and on the same day, coming out of his palace, observing a slave beating the animals in the court for crying, he remarked, "Let them cry, their cries are the lamentations and funeral songs of my death." We find in an Arab work entitled "The Spring of the Just," this maxim of Ali-" He who would wish to be rich without goods, powerful without subjects, and a subject without a master, has only to quit his sins and turn to God, he will find these three things in God." His followers, to distinguish themselves from other Mussulmans, wear a turban of a particular form and colour, and cut off the lock of hair worn by some Mahometans on the top of the head.-Histoire des Arabes, par M. l'Abbé de Marigny.

rode quicken his pace, beginning to cry and turn his head in all directions.* I knew that we were not far from a well; the instinct of the animal had made him also acquainted with it. I soon perceived on the left a square building called Kalat-Adjeroud—"the Castle of Adjeroud "-here we found brackish water in a large tank, which the camels drank with avidity. We had been travelling in the heat of the day, and all were now glad of repose, though, being near Suez, we remained at this station but two hours, anxious to arrive at another well (which is situate close upon the town) before dark. It wanted two hours to sunset when we were again in order, and in a few moments I had a view of the Red Sea. It was three hours before we arrived at the other well; the route was level, with a gentle descent; we here encamped for the night, and I was just able to distinguish Suez. The water of this well was little better than that of the former, having an unpleasant, brackish taste.

We left the well the following morning at sunrise, and I could plainly`

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*The camel is for the Arab the most precious treasure; they may well call it the sacred animal, (Camelos animalia sancta ii appellant, ex insigni commodo quod ex ipsis indigenæ acciiunt. Prosper Alpini, Hist. Ægypti), and attach to it the greatest respect; without it he could not travel, engage in commerce, or live. Imagine, (says Buffon) a country without verdure and without water; a burning sun, a heaven always dry, sandy plains, mountains yet more arid, over which the eye wanders without the power of arresting itself on any living object; the earth dead, and, as it were, flayed by the winds, presenting nothing but bones, and scattered fragments of rocks, erect, or thrown down; a desert entirely waste; where the traveller has never breathed under the shade, where nothing bears him company, where nothing reminds him of living nature; an absolute solitude, a thousand times more dreadful than that of the forests, (for trees are still beings to the man who finds himself alone), more isolated, more bereaved, more lost; in these lonely and boundless regions he regards the space extending around him on every side as his tomb; the light of day, more sad than the shade of night, breaks upon him but to expose to his eyes his nakedness and his weakness, and to present to him the horror of his situation by withdrawing from his vision the boundary of the void, and by enlarging around him the immensity of the space which separates him from the inhabited earth; an immensity which he would in vain endeavour to traverse; for hunger, thirst, and burning heat, hasten to a close the moments that remain to him between despair and death. Yet, by the assistance of the Camel, the Arab has been enabled to pass over and appropriate to himself these gaps of Nature, which serve him as an asylum, ensure his repose, and maintain his independence."

perceive Suez. We were not more than three miles distant, about an hour's journey for the camels; the country all around was perfectly flat and barren; and, though previously informed of its sterility, I still expected to see some sign of vegetation, or some mark of cultivation; but I looked in vain; not even a single date tree appeared -the sand of the Desert encompassed it, from which, in colour, it could scarcely be distinguished. Its situation, between two seas, is its only resource; a few merchants reside here who carry on a trade between the ports of Arabia and Cairo; but the sand is fast encroaching on the harbour; not admitting vessels of any considerable tonnage, its commerce is much reduced, as no merchant would inhabit it from choice. The town is surrounded by a low wall, over which you perceive some flat-roofed houses, forming the bazaars. The traveller Browne, who visited it in 1793, says, "the city is very modern, probably built within the last three hundred years; it being unknown to travellers of a more ancient date."

The ancient city was named by the Arabs Kolzum: it was not a place of much importance, but gave the name Bahr-al-Kolzum to the sea on which it stands. Here commenced the canal made by the Caliph Omar, which extended to Cairo. The modern town occupies but a small portion of what appears to have been the extent of the ancient cities; nothing breaks or enlivens the dull uniformity of its appearance, excepting the minaret of a single mosque, and a few small apertures in the walls for the admittance of light. The wall surrounding the town has gates, and is flanked with a variety of round and square towers; these are not kept in any state of repair, and would be found, in case of need, perfectly useless.*

*In the time of Niebuhr, Suez was not enclosed; there is now a wall on the west and south west, which is rapidly falling to decay. The town is in a ruinous state, and neither merchants nor artisans live in it. Its population consists only of about a dozen agents, who receive goods from the ports of the Red Sea, and forward them to their correspondents at Cairo, together with some shopkeepers, who deal chiefly in provisions. The Pasha keeps a garrison here of about fifty horsemen, with an officer

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