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

CAIRO. 79
while, in fact, all our aspirations have l)een di-
rected towards the former ; and this is the reason
why you must be contented to hear for the pre-
sent only of Moslem Egypt, when I dare say
you were expecting that I should write you an
account of the antique land in hieroglyphics !
Apropos to our voyage to the Upper country,
we have anticipated it by many days, and are about
to commence it almost immediately, having been
advised to profit by the north wind now prevailing,
which is so material an assistance in ascending
the Nile against the current, in the sailing boats
of the country. This day we have concluded
an agreement with Mr. Walne, the English Con-
sul at Cairo, for his Dahabieh^ the Swift, (the
most complete thing of the kind on the river,)
to take us as far as we can proceed beyond the
First Cataract ; and as soon as Mohammed has
laid in the rest of our stores,—for we must carry
almost everything with us—we shall be off. In
the mean time I am making the most of my short
stay here to see as much as I possibly can of such
things as only require a cursory glance ; but
much must necessarily be postponed until I re-
turn, when I intend to make a longer sojourn in
Cairo ; and I shall then, I hope, indemnify my-
self at my leisure for the sacrifice I am now