A Ride in Egypt by William John Loftie

Author:William John Loftie [Loftie, William John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-10-26T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER IX. THE JOURNEY TO SIOOT.

The Steamer—Bedreshayn—A Difficulty—An English Beauty—An Egyptian Beauty—Corkscrews—The Children at the Stations— Maydoom—A Thirsty Journey—Beni Hassan.

WE left Cairo at eight by a steamer from the bridge of Boolak to Bedreshayn, on the morning of the 13th January, 1879. The railway had been broken by the inundation between the two places. The morning, like most mornings in Egypt at this season, was lovely, and we commenced our journey in high spirits, and viewed with certain feelings of satisfaction the long train of porters who carried our luggage, our tents, and our cuisine on board. The whole deck was crowded with Arabs of various ranks, and we were politely invited to occupy one paddle-box. On the other was a celebrated London beauty, attended by her husband, maid, courier, and other satellites. The steamer only ran every second day; its departure was therefore a matter of some importance, and a large crowd attended to see us off.

Our own party consisted of an Englishman, a great collector of anteekas, who, having tried this way before, was the chief conductor of the party, and our principal dependence. We looked to him to decide every question as to the value of what we bought, the genuineness of every scarab, the place where our tent was to be pitched, the day's menu, the amount of pearl barley to be put into the soup, and the hour at which we must get up in the morning. He carried our common purse, as well as his own private purse, and a third from which he drew for the purchase of rings, scarabs, necklaces, and anteekas in general.

The second traveller was a Scottish lawyer, a sturdy, Saxon-looking man, of imperturbable temper, inquiring mind, and that general determination to enjoy himself, especially under disagreeable circumstances, which makes the best kind of traveller. He enlivened our duller moments with recollections of three universities, and relieved the monotony of a noonday ride with a lucid exposition of procedure in hypothec, or a passionate defence of the Scots law of marriage.

The third member of our party came from Ireland; he came unwillingly, it may be said, for the benefit of his health, and, whether from illness, or in order to belie the traditions of his birthplace, he was the least lively of the three, and constituted himself the critic and grumbler in all times of doubt and difficulty. He refused to touch the luggage, except a small bag which contained his annotated Murray, which he used seldom to let out of his sight, and for which he used to ask before the needs of any one else could be attended to at camping time in the evening. A smattering of hieroglyphics and a devotion to the art of the early period made him intolerant of the universal taste of the Englishman; his serious views of life prevented his enjoying the happy temper of the Scotsman. We may, for convenience and distinction, call him the Antiquary.

At Bedreshayn the steamer stopped, and

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