!

half-past six we dismounted under a sant tree. The
captain ordered some meat to be boiled, which the
cook, lighting a fire, presently brought us.
I had no
appetite, but I took a little of the broth, thinking it
best for me. After supper we resumed our march in
the fair moonlight through the valley of the ass, until
two a.m. The Arabs begged the kabir to halt, as we
quitted the valley; he would not attend to them, and
only shouted, "Lead on-go on."
The Arabs grum-
bled, “horrid one eye," obstinate man, and other ex-
pressions, "nec dominandæ sunt." I was more tired than
the Arabs, and asked Abdolhamed where and when we
should stop. "Very near," he replied. At half-past
four we reached a small plain upon the Nile, and there
we dismounted; but in half an hour, the kabir, who
was always awake, called to the Arabs that the sun
was up, and in another twenty minutes we were off
again; our route lay along the Nile, and was very
pleasing. All the cultivated ground was on the
Western bank. About ten we arrived at the village
of Cananit, where we were conducted to a house once
inhabited by Arabs; it was built of mud and straw,
with a roof like a sieve. The brother of the Arab
Sheik, who directs the Government post between

there is very wild, and flows between rocks for about ten miles. The eastern bank is sterile, and the western is very little cultivated, both on account of their rocks and the few inhabitants. After that rocky tract, the land begins to be wide and very fertile, principally the western bank, and produces every kind of corn, which is produced in Upper Egypt.

Kartum and Cairo, came to salute us, and remained some time with us.

After he left us, being very tired, we were just about dropping asleep, when in rushed the kabir in a rage, calling out with a loud voice, "are we your servants, oh, captain, or the cawas's servants? for he wanted to make me and the Arabs bring him water from the Nile; he won't drink the well-water which both of you have drunk, and we can't get down to the water for the ground is all mud, and the cawas rose to bastinado me before Omar and all the Arabs; but I told him we were your servants, and that he ought to treat us as you do." The captain summoned the cawas from the adjoining house, and asked why he could not drink the water as we had, and added, none of the Arabs need go to the Nile for it. The kabir was overjoyed at his victory over the cawas, who, poor man, came afterwards to explain to me how he had prayed the Arabs; "but that oneeyed dog," said he, "that son of sixty dogs (an Arab phrase), has accused me before the captain? Well, he shall see!" I endeavoured to calm him, and by this time all was ready for our further progress, which we continued at two.

The road wound along the banks amongst the trees of dom. At seven we rested, as usual, at a large village, called "Abaidie," where we got a dish of rice cooked with milk. Supper over, we went on till halfpast one, when we reached a village, an hour's dis

tance from Barbar. Here we lodged in the Sahara, (under open roof,) till morning. As the captain and I wished to travel in the cool of the morning we set off for Barbar, which appeared before us. Whilst going quietly on, the captain told me a Frenchman had written in his "Journey to Mount Sinai," (if I do not mistake), that when mounted on his dromedary he was fifteen or eighteen feet high. I replied he must have had some new fashion of French hat, six or seven feet high, and the load on the saddle four feet, a dromedary seven feet, might make up seventeen feet. I suggested we should measure our dromedaries, so I dismounted to hold the line, which he, on the back of his dromedary, which was the tallest, held on an exact level with its back, and we found the height to be about seven feet; to which, if the height from the crown of the hat to the sole of the foot be added, fifteen feet might be attained. We now arrived at Barbar, and passing by the bazaar, miserable for its articles of merchandise only, (for it was very clean), dismounted in a garden upon the Nile, when we ordered and had, in a short time, a good breakfast.

CHPTER XIV.

STAY AT BARBAR THAT DAY, AND A NIGHT SPENT THERE.

AFTER resting a little we enquired for the Meder or Governor of Barbar,* and were told he was gone into the provinces, and that an Albanese officer was performing his duties. We sent the cawas to acquaint

* Barbar is the capital of a province of Nubia superior, belonging to the government of Kartum. It is the residence of a medir (governor), who governs that province. (Medir is an Arabic word, which means he who goes round, and it comes from the verb "dara-iadur," to go round.) Barbar is a large and beautiful village situated on elevated ground, on the eastern bank of the Nile, and offers a delightful sight from a distance. It is clean, but its bazaar is miserable. I would not go to examine it, because while passing by it I saw the articles which it contains, and which were not worth seeing. It contains the things necessary for common life-bread, meat, cheese, onions, dates, calico, soap. At this place both banks of the Nile are wide and as fertile as Egypt. They produce every kind of corn and vegetables which Egypt produces-wheat, barley, dora, beans, indigo, cotton. Barbar is called also "almokerif," for the copious pasture of its land, and the land round about. The Arabs and Nubians give every year a few weeks of rest to their donkies, cows, camels, dromedaries, and horses, conducting them to the banks of the Nile, round Barbar to graze there, and become strong. Those few weeks of rest are in the autumn, in which the pasture abounds. Autumn is called in Arabic "karif," and its plural "mokerif" (autumns.) As both people live at Barbar while their beasts graze there round about, they call it "almokerif," by which is understood "balad" (country), or "ard" (land), almokerif (country or land of the autumns.) That is the reason

were.

91

him with our arrival, and he soon returned, accompanied by the officer; the latter, according to Oriental dignity, having half a dozen men before and behind, who saluted us. After taking a seat, a cup of coffee was ordered for him; but, not having any cups, we were obliged to make use of our metal mugs. The officer congratulated Captain Peel on his safe arrival and invited him to change his residence, but we preferred the shade of the sycamore under which we The captain accepted his invitation to dinner, but I excused myself, and the civil Albanese officer then took leave. Several people came to look at the two Franks, and inspect their clothes; some never before having seen an European. After some time, the captain enquired of one, if there were any boats to be got to take us to Kartum. He was told, there was one belonging to a Frank like him. The captain said, "I am not a Frank, but English." The boats being near, he went to look at them. I remained luxuriating under the shade of the sycamore. After looking at the boat, the captain and the man returned, and I was informed one was at liberty. I enquired if he had made a bargain. He said, "No; but a man would come bye and bye to make the bargain." In a few minutes, we saw four men coming towards us, one

for which Barbar is called also almokerif. In fact, it being then the autumn when we were going up, we saw many horses belonging to the government grazing there on both banks with other camels and cows belonging to the Nubians or Arabs.