I mention this trifling circumstance, because I
afterwards was frequently surprised at the retentive memory of these
people during my journey through the desert towards the Red Sea.

August 21st.

Although I felt solitary among all the voyagers on the barque, these
two days passed swiftly and agreeably away. The flatter the land
grew, the broader did the lordly river become. The villages
increased in size; and the huts, mostly resembling a sugar-loaf,
with a number of doves roosting on its apex, wore an appearance of
greater comfort. Mosques and large country-houses presently
appeared; and, in short, the nearer we approached towards Cairo, the
more distinct became these indications of affluence. The sand-hills
appeared less frequently, though on the route between Atfe and Cairo
I still saw five or six large barren places which had quite the look
of deserts. Once the wind blew directly towards us from one of
these burning wastes with such an oppressive influence, that I could
easily imagine how dreadful the hot winds (chamsir) must be, and I
no longer wondered at the continual instances of blindness among the
poor inhabitants of these regions. The heat is unendurable, and the
fine dust and heated particles of sand which are carried into the
air by these winds cannot fail to cause inflammation of the eyes.

Little towers of masonry, on the tops of which telegraphs have been
fixed, are seen at intervals along the road between Alexandria and
Cairo.

Our vessel was unfortunate enough to strike several times on sand-
banks, besides getting entangled among the shallows--a circumstance
of frequent occurrence during the time that the Nile is rising. On
these occasions I could not sufficiently admire the strength,
agility, and hard-working perseverance of our sailors, who were
obliged to jump overboard and push off the ship with poles, and
afterwards were repeatedly compelled to drag it for half an hour
together through shallow places. These people are also very expert
at climbing. They could ascend _without_ ratlines to the very tops
of the slanting masts, and take in or unloose the sails. I could
not repress a shudder on seeing these poor creatures hanging betwixt
earth and heaven, so far above me that they appeared like dwarfs.
They work with one hand, while they cling to the mast with the
other. I do not think that a better, or a more active, agile, and
temperate race of sailors exists than these. Their far