once was for its good and great works of that kind. Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Obelisk are now almost the only remains of remote antiquity. They are both, and particularly the former, noble objects to contemplate, and are certainly more captivating from the contrast of the deserts and forlorn prospects around them. No man, of whatever turn of mind, can see the whole, without retiring from the scene with a Sic transit gloria mundi."

Having passed ten days only at Alexandria, he pursued his journey up the Nile to Cairo, where he arrived on the 19th of August. Here again he wrote to Mr. Jefferson.

"I sent you a short letter from Alexandria. I begin this without knowing where I shall close it, or when I shall send it, or, indeed, whether I shall ever send it. But I will have it ready, in case an opportunity shall offer. Having been in Cairo only four days, I have not seen much of particular interest for you; and, indeed, you will not expect much of this kind from me. My business is in another quarter, and the information I seek totally new. Anything from this place would not be so.

"At all events, I shall never want a subject when it is to you I write. I shall never think my letter an indifferent one, when it contains the declaration of my gratitude and

my affection for you; and this, notwithstanding you thought hard of me for being employed by an English Association, which hurt me much while I was at Paris. You know your own heart, and if my suspicions are groundless, forgive them, since they proceed from the jealousy I have, not to lose the regard you have in times past been pleased to honor me with. You are not obliged to esteem me, but I am obliged to esteem you, or to take leave of my senses, and confront the opinions of the greatest and best characters I know. If I cannot, therefore, address myself to you as a man you regard, I must do it as one that regards you for your own sake, and for the sake of my country, which has set me the example.

"I made my tour from Alexandria by water, and entered the Nile by the western branch of the mouths of the river. I was five days coming to Cairo; but this passage is generally made in four, and sometimes in three days. You have heard and read much of the Nile, and so had I; but when I saw it, I could not conceive it to be the same. What eyes do travellers see with? Are they fools or rogues? For Heaven's sake, hear the plain truth about it. First, in regard to its size. Obvious comparisons in such cases are good. Do you

know the River Connecticut? Of all the riv

ers I have seen, it most resembles that in size. It is a little wider, and may on that account better compare with the Thames. This is the mighty, the sovereign of rivers, the vast Nile, that has been metamorphosed into one of the wonders of the world. Let me be careful how I read, and above all how I read ancient history. You have heard and read, too, much of its inundations. If the thousands of large and small canals from it, and the thousands of men and machines employed to transfer by artificial means the water of the Nile to the meadows on its banks, if this be the inundation that is meant, it is true; any other is false. It is not an inundating river. I came up the river from the 15th to the 20th of August, and about the 30th the water will be at the height of the freshet. When I left the river, its banks were four, five, and six feet, above the water, and here in town I am told they expect the Nile to be only one or two feet higher at the most. This is a proof, if

any were wanted, that the river does not overflow its banks.

"I saw the pyramids as I passed up the river, but they were four or five leagues off. It is warm weather here at present, and were it not for the north winds, that cool themselves in their passage over the Mediterranean, and blow upon us, we should be in a sad situation.

As it is, I think I have felt it hotter at Philadelphia in the same month. The city of Cairo is about half as large in size as Paris, and is said to contain seven hundred thousand inhabitants. You will therefore anticipate the fact of its narrow streets and high houses. In this number are contained one hundred thousand Copts, or descendants of the ancient Egyptians. There are likewise Christians, and those of different sects, from Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, and other parts of Syria.

"With regard to my journey, I can only tell you with any certainty, that I shall be able to pass as far as the western boundaries of what is called Turkish Nubia to the town of Sennaar. I expect to get there with some surety. Beyond that all is dark before me. My wishes and designs are to pass in that parallel across the continent. I will write from Sennaar if

I can.

"You know the disturbances in this unhappy country, and the nature of them. The Beys, revolted from the Bashaw, have possession of Upper Egypt, and are now encamped with an army, pitiful enough indeed, about three miles south of Cairo. They say to the Bashaw, 'Come out of your city and fight us;' and the Bashaw says, 'Come out of your intrenchments and fight me.' You know this revolt is a stroke in Russian politics. Noth

ing merits more the whole force of burlesque, than both the poetic and prosaic legends of this country. Sweet are the songs of Egypt on paper. Who is not ravished with gums, balms, dates, figs, pomegranates, cassia, and sycamores, without recollecting that amidst these are dust, hot and fainting winds, bugs, mosquitos, spiders, flies, leprosy, fevers, and almost universal blindness? I am in perfect health. Adieu for the present, and believe me to be, with all possible esteem and regard, your sincere friend."

CHAPTER XIV.

Interview with the Aga. Observations on the Customs of the Arabs. - Information respecting the Interior of Africa. - Visit to the Caravans and Slave Markets. Reflections on his Condition and Prospects. His last Letter to Mr. Jefferson. Joins a Caravan and prepares to depart for Sennaar. Taken suddenly ill. His Death. His Person and Character.

As he was furnished with letters of recommendation to the British Consul at Cairo, he found little difficulty in procuring such accom