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

THE pasha's donkeys. 341
and, for my own part, I found the delightful
elastic amble of the one I rode preferable to
the paces of the best lady's horse in the world.
Two Saises, or grooms, attended us on foot, and
the graceful costume of these men w^as quite
worthy of the beautiful animals they accom-
panied ;
close vests of white cotton braided, very
full drawers, descending only to the knee, of the
same materials, an ample blue garment worn over
all, the loose sleeves of which were gracefully
drawn up with thick cords of dark blue silk and
gold, which, crossing over the back, terminated in
large tassels on the shoulder, large snow-white
turbans, and red slippers. The Pasha's Ghawass,
enveloped in a large white bournous, rode before
us ; and thus escorted we proceeded to visit
Stabl Antar, by which name the excavations in
the rocks, at about three miles distance from the
the town, are know^n. Why the name of the
famous hero of Arab song and romance should
have been bestowed upon this spot, I know not
unless in some of his fabulous exploits he may
have stabled his steeds in the rude rock-cut
temples whose general appearance and hiero-
glyphic embellishment bespeak an antiquity far
more remote than anything we have yet seen.
There are also extraordinary mummy pits cut
;