Kalil Effendi (beloved Effendi). He begged of us to spend that day with him, but the captain thanked him, saying, we must take advantage of the favourable wind. I added that we could not think of robbing him of his valuable time, for as inspector of the first province of Nubia, he must have much to do. The captain joined in, and we wished him adieu. He asked us to wait only two minutes, by which time a lamb arrived, he presented to us, and which was thankfully accepted. Having distributed backsheeh to those who brought it, we started. The wind continued till mid-day, when we approached a place called Bab Olcalabsce (gate of Kalabsce), where there is a current, and the river is very narrow. We were obliged to anchor there for the remainder of the day, waiting the arrival of our friend-the wind-which serves as a passport to those boats, which have to pass there. This delay was not useless, as will be seen from the following chapter. Abusimbel (an antiquity), where he then had his abode. The sailors of his sandal praised him very much, and assured us, that he was a very good man, honest and just. So we really found him. He was from Moldavia; but he had left his native land thirty-six years since, and enrolled himself under the banner of Mahommed Ali. When he began to mention his native land, he was much moved, and his voice faltered. CHAPTER IV. MEASUREMENT OF THE WIDTH OF THE NILE AT BALOLCALABSCE-PASSAGE OF IT, AND ARRIVAL AT KOROSKO. ANCHORED near the gate of Kalabsce, we trusted to Providence. The heat was excessive. The captain was anxious to pass that difficult point, so he ordered the sailors to drag the dahabie to the narrowest point of this part,*under pretext of measuring the width there. They obeyed at once-and scrambled on to the rocks like so many monkeys to join the new pilot, who was already in the water, with the cord round his neck: and at length they succeeded in getting the dahabie to the point the captain wished. dahabie there, we went ashore to accomplish our intention of measuring it. We were employed in this about half an hour, and after the captain had made his calculations, he declared the width to be 217 yards. Having made fast the I was unable to follow the captain's calculations, * The intention of Captain P. was to make the sailors drag the dahabie little by little, and pass the gate of Calabsce. not having been part of my education, so I merely acted as aid-de-camp. This point is the narrowest part of the Nile between Cairo and Khartum. Having accomplished this work we returned on board, and remained there till four p.m. Towards five, the captain gave orders to pass over to the opposite shore; the sailors, who were given to grumble before they obeyed orders, and commenced work, were with us under good discipline, and appeared more like English, than Egyptian sailors. Having crossed over, we rested a short time to enjoy the breeze, and the wind blew strongly. The dahabie being cast off from the uatad, quickly entered the gate, notwithstanding the eddies there, and no sooner had we entered, than we encountered the current called Sciallal El Calabscie, which is only a small current, like the others formed from the water passing amongst the rocks, and called by the Nubians sciallal.* Hearing the sailors call it a fearful sciallal, I could not refrain from laughing, and addressing them, "Do you know the real meaning of sciallal, you ignorant men ?" between whom and the buffaloes there is little difference. you their relations, that you wont be taught? Are Are * When we were going up the Nile there was no sciallal or rapid at all, because, as I said in the first chapter, the Nile was then at its full height, and all those rapids which, in winter are formed, did not exist. The Nile possesses, amongst its mysteries, this-that its water stands on the same level for three weeks, and the Arabs and Egyptians call it, "Albahr giamed" (the sea is unmoved). they human like you? Shame on you; never again have the boldness to call a current a cataract before those, who know the meaning of sciallal." Having addressed them with these observations, one of them, more quick than the others, replied, "Well, then, Hawagia Jusef, tell us what a sciallal is ?" I took a glass, which was standing by, filled it with water, and emptied it gradually into the river, saying, "if water flows from a height as you now see, it is called sciallal; but if it only rushes rapidly through the rocks, it is in Arabic named geria. Do you understand?” They all as one, exclaimed "Wallah Alhacmaoo (he is right), "we quite comprehend." Having finished this lesson to the sailors, I retired to the cabin. The boat sped rapidly on, having passed the Bab ol Calabscie, we encountered a whirlwind, just as we were congratulating ourselves on our good fortune. The clear sky of a sudden became obscure, as it were with dark smoke; the wind howled furiously-the sailors endeavoured to take in the sail, which flew from side to side; the dahabie, turned round like a wheel; the cries of the sailors, cawas and cook, mixed with the noise of the wind, formed a Babel; fear and consternation occupied that short space. The captain, wishing to restore order, raised his voice above all, imposing silence; during all this time I remained a quiet с spectator; on reaching the banks, the sailors thanked Allah, saying, "Had we not been near the shore we should have been in great danger." They tried to impress upon us the danger of a gale, as if we had never known such a thing before, even in the Mediterranean. The captain asked them, "what would they do in the event of finding themselves in such a wind in the salt sea, with no shore near them?" All were silent. Wishing to sleep, we doubled the cord to the uatad, in case the gale should return; this was suggested by our courageous cawas, who cried out, if the dahabie moved in the least, and had become a laughing stock to the sailors. We slept well. At four in the morning, with a favourable breeze, we set sail; the wind shortly fell, and the sailors had to supply its place till sunset, when we anchored. A breeze springing up a short time after, we sailed on during the night, much to the fear of the sailors, who were unacquainted with the navigation in the sea of Calabscie (Calabscie is a tribe of Arabs), and who therefore grumbled. The captain commanded silence. The wind was severe and most oppressive. Towards morning the wind changed. The sailors went to work, and at mid-day the heat was 105° in the shade, by the thermometer in the cabin of the dahabie; in the sun it must have been much more. I sat on deck with my feet in the water, to cool myself, and the captain followed my example. At evening, |