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of the river. It is thus possible to perform CHAP. the whole voyage, from Rosetta, to Bulác the quay of Cairo, and back again, with certainty, in about seventy hours; a distance equal to four hundred miles1.

Women.

At half-past one P. M. we came in view of Motubis, sometimes written Metubis, or Metabis, Motubis. famous or infamous for those dancing-women Dancing called Almehs, which, however, are common in most parts of Egypt. When the French army marched to Cairo, General Menou halted here, and, in the true spirit of French licentiousness, pretending business with the Sheiks, but in reality to gratify himself and his soldiers, demanded an exhibition of these prostitutes. The Sheiks of the place wished to be spared, even in Motubis, the degradation attending a public display of such dances, and raised difficulties against their attendance; but, says Denon3, "the presence of the generals, and especially of two hundred soldiers, removed the obstacles." In order to heighten the profligate sensuality of

(1) Shaw makes the distance from Rosetta to Cairo equal to 200 miles. See Shaw's Travels, p. 294. Lond. 1757.

(2) See Denon's Travels, vol. I. p. 77. Lond. 1803.

(3) Ibid. p. 78.

CHAP. this Canopic festival, brandy was administered II. to the women in large glasses, which, says the same writer, they drank like lemonade. If, therefore, in the scene that followed, something ensued which was deemed revolting, even to the feelings of French soldiers, it should be considered rather as characteristical of the Parisian rabblement who were present, than of the natural habits of the people of the country. As we approached Motubis, our course altered from south-east to south-west. According to Kauffer's map, the course is south-east towards this place from Rosetta. We arrived at two o'clock P. M. and observed here some troops of English cavalry; but continued our voyage without landing. Opposite to the town of Motubis, but farther towards the south, stands Débé. The generality of these towns upon the banks of the Nile are small, but there is a pleasing variety in their appearance; for they have no resemblance to each other, although all of them be shaded by groves of date and sycamore. We passed Sindion and Derrúl, two towns opposite to each other, on different sides of the river. At Sindion we had the pleasing sight of a party of Turkish cavalry upon their march; and were Cavalry awhile amused by considering the gratification their appearance would afford, if we could have

Débé.

Sindion

and Derrûl.

Turkish

II.

removed them, in their full costume, to one of CHAP. the London theatres. They had their colours flying; yellow and green. Passing through the villages, they continued to beat small kettledrums; proceeding always in a sluggardly manner, with their knees quite up to their chins; being evidently annoyed by a situation so hostile to their natural indolence as that in which a certain degree of active exertion was unavoidable. Their ludicrous appearance was a source of mirth to the cavalry of the French army, even in the heat of battle; among whom the order for making a charge was frequently expressed, according to their natural levity, by the words "Bas les Pastèques!" Down with the Watermelons! alluding to the appearance presented by the bulky swathing of their large turbans, which give to their heads something of a similitude to those enormous melons: but of this order the Moslems rarely awaited the result; they fled as soon as they heard it, in the utmost dismay and confusion.

toms.

The Arab crew of our boat washed their Arab Cus hands, faces, and teeth, before and after eating; cleansing their teeth with wood ashes, which they collected for this purpose from the fire for boiling our kettle. The common fuel used by

II.

CHAP. the inhabitants of the country is prepared from a mixture of camels' dung, mud, and straw: these ingredients, being made into a paste, are collected in the form of balls, which are afterwards flattened upon the walls of their huts for drying in the sun, and thus formed into circular cakes. From the ashes, after burning these cakes, the Ammonia is obtained, which is afterwards sent to Europe. The process is briefly and perspicuously described by Shaw, in the Appendix to his Travels'. About four miles to the south of Sindion, the Nile had overflowed its banks, and was making rapid progress over the adjoining fields. It began to rise upon the seventeenth day of June. The canal of Cairo was cut upon the eighth of August, the day of our arrival in Rosetta from the Holy Land; with the usual observance of public festivity; the Nile having then attained its proper height. After this, all the banks were cut, and the dykes opened, to receive the inundation, from Cairo to the sea. Our course here was E.N.E. towards

(1) Collectanea, No. X. p. 480. Shaw's Travels, Lond. 1757. (2) The Reader may perhaps be curious to know what the symptoms are in the Nile (when at the lowest ebb) denoting the incipient flood. We were in Rosetta at the precise period for making the observation. This happened upon the sixteenth of May. For several days before, the water in the river was very shallow, and seemed to stagnate. The

II.

the village of Foua, falsely marked as a town CHAP. in all the maps. Soon afterwards, we steered south-east, and passed that village. It is opposite to Rachmanie, now celebrated as the scene of action between our troops and those of the enemy under General Le Grange. This officer was raised by Buonaparte from the ranks; high respect is due to him for his conduct upon many occasions; but, in particular, for his subsequent humane and exemplary treatment of the wife of one of our commanders in the West Indies, who became his prisoner while her husband was engaged with him in the warmest hostilities. If it be a Christian duty to love our enemies, it is surely incumbent upon every Englishman to cherish the memory of actions which thus exalt the character of a soldier to that of a hero.The English flag was flying upon the castle of the fortress of Rachmanie; and a party of our troops was stationed there, to guard the town. We spoke to some Irish soldiers, asking them the hour; and were much amused by the reply: "To be sure, at sunset is it not half past four ?"

smell of it was like that of an unwholesome pool, and its surface became partly covered with green slime. By attentively observing it about this time, a number of little whirlpools, not more than an inch in diameter, might be occasionally noticed, suddenly becoming visible, and as suddenly disappearing. The Arabs pointed to these, as the earliest indications of the coming torrent.