422

WALLED DATE PLANTATION.

with a very rueful countenance remarked that it was impossible for persons, in the service of Europeans, to fulfil the injunctions of the Mohammedan religion, since, instead of sitting still, or sleeping, as the Turks do nearly all day during the Ramadan, it was necessary to be in constant motion; and that, for this reason, as soon as we reached the boat, he should, with all due respect to the prophet, take the liberty to eat his breakfast, with a most solemn determination to make no more attempts at fasting.

CCCXII. Shortly after we passed on the eastern bank, a large plantation of date trees, surrounded by a wall, the first we had observed since our departure from Cairo. The fertile land, on this side the river, is in some places about two hundred and fifty yards in width; but, on the opposite shore, the slope of the bank only is cultivated. For several days the wind has been extremely uncertain, sometimes blowing in strong gusts, then suddenly dying away; during these calms the heat is excessive. Even the nights have lost that freshness observable in Egypt. At El Malkeh the mountains, which, a little to the north had approached the river, recede towards the east, leaving a small plain for cultivation, now covered with green corn, and many scattered date trees. West of the river are cotton plantations, intermingled with date groves. Near this village we saw a crocodile basking on a sandy island in the midst of the stream.

BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT.

423

CCCXIII. Between El Malkeh and Korosko we enjoyed one of those prospects which are supposed to belong to Fairy Land. Nowhere in Sicily or Italy, not even on the Lago Maggiore, or in the narrow valleys of the Apennines, have I beheld anything so soft, so bright, so poetically beautiful. The Nile, here of a considerable breadth, makes a sudden bend, and, to those sailing up the stream, appears to lose itself among the distant mountains. The light breeze that impelled us along left the surface of the water unruffled. A series of small isles, some high and rocky, others consisting of a smooth expanse of yellow sand, others green and fertile, rose in succession in the centre of the stream. One of these, called Shemt el Melook, resembles a little Paradise, being fringed all round with tufted green rushes, behind which the smooth untrodden sand rises in a series of narrow steps to the summit, where small irregular masses of dark rock appear at intervals between copses and shady bowers of acacia, mimosa, and tamarisk trees. On one side, mountains, apparently a thousand feet in height, present their vast frowning cliffs; and, on the other lofty trees, springing from an impenetrable jungle, overhang the stream; before us, towards the south, numerous hills, of different form and elevation, rose confusedly behind each other, while a thin silvery haze, impregnated with light, floated through every hollow, break, and chasm, rendering the outline of each craggy peak, hanging cliff, and truncated pyramid strikingly distinct. Between the rocks on the one hand, and

424

CALMNESS OF THE NIGHTS.

the high woody bank on the other, the sight appeared to be carried along, as between two immense dusky walls, to a point where the country, expanding and assuming softer features, was glowing in sunshine and beauty; while the light, streaming in our faces from behind the mountains, through the lofty rows of date trees which extended along the shore, and the sun's image, too brilliant to be looked upon, was reflected from the smooth marble surface of the river.

CCCXIV. At the approach of twilight we landed on the western bank, where the desert is divided from the river only by a narrow strip of jungle. The sand is covered with patches of a fine sort of sedge, on which we found three cows browsing, and, a little farther, observed a party of Nubians approaching from the south. On mooring soon after dark, we observed, directly opposite, a large fire among the rocks, and could distinguish numerous voices, proceeding, according to our Nubian pilot, from a slave vessel from the Black Countries. In these calm evenings the whole face of the Nile is bespangled with stars, which I never observed more brilliant than to-night. But this sight the Arabs consider as unpropitious to the traveller, indicating the total absence of wind, and menacing him with unwelcome delay. I to-day observed in the fields, that, to defend the individuals employed about the sakias from the heat of the sun, they erect over the wheel a slight shed.

NUBIAN VILLAGES.

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Wednesday, Jan. 23. Derr. south of Korosko, we which must here have

CCCXV. A little to the landed on the eastern bank, exceeded thirty feet in height. The plain above was thickly planted with palm trees, among which we walked for some time, amused by the cooing of the doves, and the songs of several other birds, the notes of one of which greatly resembled those of the thrush. According to a regulation of the Pasha, when any boat in the public service ascends the river, the reis is authorized to call on such Nubians as may be working at the sakias between Korosko and Derr, to assist in tracking; because the course of the stream in this part being from west to east, a fair wind is scarcely to be expected, as it generally blows either from the north or south. Taking advantage of the Pasha's ordonnance, the crews of travellers also seize upon the peasantry, and compel them to aid in tracking; and our pilot, pretending to be in the service of government, began to avail himself of this privilege; but, when the men had been taken from one or two wheels, the alarm being spread, all the sakias were abandoned. The inhabitants of the villages likewise escaped into the mountains, so that when I passed through, they appeared to be deserted, except that once or twice a sheep was heard to bleat, or a dog to bark among the heaps of rubbish. In all these villages the houses, roofed with palm branches, are built with mud in the form of square towers, large at the base and gradually decreasing towards the summit, exactly like an Egyptian propylon; each dwelling

426

GRANARIES AND WATER JARS.

possessing a spacious court surrounded by high walls, in which, so long as there is shade, the women are accustomed to perform their household work. And by the side, or in front of the greater number, is a platform of clay about eighteen inches high, and eight or ten feet square, surrounded by a neat parapet. On these platforms they spread mats and sleep during the summer. Here we observed several sheds, consisting of two walls and a roof, containing, for the use of travellers, jars filled with water, which are closed with a round mat, and have a small brown cup placed beside them. The water exposed to a free current of air, is kept cool as in the Nile. Near the same villages I remarked several square shallow pits sunk in the ground coated with white plaster, in which they deposit their newly-threshed corn until perfectly dry; and while in these granaries the grain is covered with straw. What is wanted for immediate use they preserve in large jars, which, -such is the honesty of these barbarians, they commonly place on the Dates, also, are thus kept. *

outside of their doors.

CCCXVI. Here, on the edge of the stony desert, we were overtaken by three dervishes, travelling towards the south, each bearing on his shoulder a thick pole, with a large round knob at the bottom,

* All savage nations appear to possess granaries of this description. The Kaffers, in southern Africa, hollow out in the earth, wells about six or seven feet in depth, nicely plastered over, small at the mouth, and gradually enlarging to the bottom, in which they preserve their grain. A similar practice prevails, likewise, among the rude tribes of Tartar and in various other parts of Asia.