growing out of the Nile. The
water here is much more muddy and of a darker colour than in the
canal between Atfe and Alexandria. The sailors pour this water into
great iron vessels, and leave it to settle and become clearer; this
is, however, of little use, for it remains almost as muddy as the
river. Notwithstanding this circumstance, however, this Nile-water
is not at all prejudicial to health; on the contrary, the
inhabitants of the valley assert that they possess the best and
wholesomest water in the world. The Franks are accustomed, as I
have already stated, to take filtered water with them. When the
supply becomes exhausted, they have only to put a few kernels of
apricots or almonds chopped small into a vessel of Nile-water to
render it tolerably clear within the space of five or six hours. I
learnt this art from an Arab woman during my voyage on the Nile.

The population of the region around the Nile must be very
considerable, for the villages almost adjoin each other. The ground
consists every where of sand, and only becomes fruitful through the
mud which the Nile leaves behind after its inundation. Thus the
luxuriant vegetation here only commences after the waters of the
Nile have retired.

The villages cannot be called handsome, as the houses are mostly
built of earth and clay, or of bricks made of the Nile mud. Man,
the "crown of creation," does not appear to advantage here; the
poverty, the want of cleanliness, and rude savage state of the
people, cannot be witnessed without a feeling of painful emotion.

The dress of the women consists of the usual long blue garment, and
the men wear nothing but a shirt reaching to the knee. Some of the
women veil their faces, but others do not.

I was astonished at the difference between the fine strongly-built
men and the ugly disgusting women and neglected children. In
general the latter present a most lamentable appearance, with faces
covered with scabs and sores, on which a quantity of flies are
continually settling. Frequently also they have inflamed eyes. In
spite of the oppressive heat, I remained nearly the whole day seated
on the roof of my cabin, enjoying the landscape, and gazing at the
moving panorama to my heart's content.

The company on board could be called good or bad; bad, because there
was not a soul present to whom I could impart my feelings and
sentiments on the marvels of nature around me; good, because all,
but particularly the Ar