o Arab servants, to whom I now introduce you,--Ibrahim, a
handsome small-made Egyptian, and Achmet the cook, a dark
good-natured fellow, with a white turban and bare black legs.
Ibrahim speaks a little English and Italian, and Achmet Italian,
in addition to their native Arabic. I soon made friends with our
Arab donkey-men, learning Arabic words and phrases; from them,
which pleased them greatly. We journeyed by the Bay of Aboukir,
close by the sea, which tempered the air of the desert. At night
we reached Rosetta, a curious half-inhabited eastern town. We saw
an eastern marriage, which highly pleased us, illustrating the
parables. It was by torch-light. We slept in the convent. 17.
Spent morning in Rosetta; gave the monk a New Testament. Saw some
of Egyptian misery in the bazaar. Saw the people praying in the
mosque, Friday being the Moslem's day of devotion. In the evening
we crossed the Nile in small boats. It is a fine river; and its
water, when filtered, is sweet and pleasant. We often thought
upon it in the desert. We slept that night on the sand in our
tents, by the sea-shore. 18.--In six hours we came to Bourlos
(you will see it in the map of the Society for Diffusing Useful
Knowledge): were ferried across. Watched the fishermen casting
their nets into the sea: hot--hot. In two hours more through a
palmy wilderness, we came to Balteen,--'the Vale of Figs,' an
Arab village of mud huts. You little know what an Arab house is.
In general, in Egypt, it is an exact square box made of mud, with
a low hole for a door. The furniture is a mat and cooking things;
an oven made of mud. 19.--Spent our Sabbath unoccupied in midst
of the village; the poor Arabs have no Sabbath. The thermometer
84 deg. in tent. The governor called in the evening, and drank a cup
of tea with great relish. The heat we felt much all day; still it
was sweet to rest and remember you all in the wilderness. 20.--At
twelve at night, left Balteen by beautiful moonlight. Proceeding
through a pleasant African wild of palms and brushwood, we
reached the sea in two hours, and rode along, its waves washing
our feet: very sleepy. We got a rest at mid-day, if rest it could
be called, under that scorching sun, which I never will forget.
Proceeding onward, at three o'clock we left the sea-shore, and
perceived the minarets of Damietta. Before us the mirage che