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

40 THE NILE.
banks of the canal, takes about eleven or twelve
hours to accomplish, consequeutly it was quite
dark before we reached the atter place ; and
to describe the scene of noise and confusion
which attended the shifting of the passengers
and their luggage from one steamer to another,
in the midst of screaming Arabs, all eager to
become the guardians of your property for the
time being, would be scarcely possible. The
dark earnest faces surmounted by white turbans,
the naked limbs, the wild gesticulations which
accompanied the harsh guttural vociferations of
the crowd who fluttered around us, all lighted
up by the fitful flashings of a few lanterns,
formed a strange picture, the local coloming of
which lent it an interest which charmed us, as
it were, into a sort of insensibility to the actual
discomfort of the moment. Mohammed super-
intended the transfer of our numerous packages
so carefully that nothing was lost; and after
vainly endeavouring to catch a glimpse of the
Nile, " the blessed i-iver" of the Egyptians, we
proceeded to stow ourselves away for the night
in a very small cabin, containing nothing to
repose upon but stuffed benches, and crowded
with at least three times as many persons as it
was intended to accommodate. One of these