A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

VIEW OF PHIL^. 188
ing for a length of time, they evinced no sem-
blance of satisfaction, or e\en thankfulness, for
what they had received—they are evidently as
insensible to kindness as to ill-treatment, and ap-
pear to be as inferior in their moral as in their
physical organization to the Caucasian races.
So near Philse, the sacred island of the ancient
Egyptians, the burial place of their principal
deity, Osiris, we could not resist obtaining a bet-
ter view of it than Mahatta affords ;
so we rowed
there in what Mohammed calls " the jelly hoatP
But we did not land—we only contemplated its
beautiful ruins by starlight, and you can conceive
nothing more resplendent than the starlight here,
and nothing more solemn and mysterious than
the appearance of these old Egyptian temples
seen by such a light. Then we returned to our
Dahabieh, and I am winding up the day's employment
by finishing my letter to you. When
it may reach you, it is impossible to say, as I
am now beyond all direct channels of communica-
tion with the civilized world, and must depend
upon some chance meeting farther up the coun-
try to get my letters conveyed to Cairo. I
shall close this, however, in order that it may
be in readiness,—and so. Adieu !