resembles that which prevailed in France during the reign of terror. I was about to return to my country, to embrace my relatives, to behold my friends again, to enjoy once more the sweets of life: and these Fathers, who had relations, friends, and country, as well as I, remained exiled in this land of servitude. All possess not the strength of mind which renders man insensible to privations: I have myself heard expressions of regret, which convinced me of the magnitude of the sacrifice. Did not Christ on this same spot find the cup bitter? and yet he drank it up to the very dregs.

On the 12th of October, I mounted my horse, with Ali Aga, John, Julian, and Michael the drogman. We left the city by the Pilgrim's Gate on the west, and passed through the pacha's camp. Before we descended into the Valley of Turpentine, I stopped once more to survey Jerusalem. I discerned above the walls the dome of the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Never will it again be saluted by the pilgrim, for it no longer exists, and the tomb of Christ is now exposed to the inclemency of the air. The time has been that all Christendom would have eagerly contributed to rebuild the sacred monument: at the present day nobody thinks of such a thing, and the smallest sum expended for this meritorious purpose would appear an absurd superstition. Having contemplated Jerusalem for some time, I pursued my way among the mountains. It was twenty-nine minutes past six when I lost sight of the Holy City: 'tis thus that the navigator marks the moment when he ceases to discern a distant region which he shall never again behold.

At the bottom of the Valley of Turpentine we found Abou Gosh and Giaber, the chiefs of the

for us.

Arabs of Jeremiah, waiting for us. We arrived at Jeremiah about midnight. Abou Gosh insisted on our partaking of a lamb which he had provided I offered him some money, which he refused, only requesting that I would send him two cufs of Damietta rice when I should arrive in Egypt. This I cheerfully promised, and yet I never recollected my promise till the moment I was embarking for Tunis. As soon as our communication with the Levant is restored, Abou Gosh shall certainly receive his Damietta rice; he shall see, that though the memory of a Frenchman may fail him, yet he never fails to keep his word. am in hopes that the little Bedouins of Jeremiah will mount guard over my present, and that they will again say: "Forward! march!"

On the 13th, at noon, I arrived at Jaffa.

I

PART THE FIFTH.

EGYPT.

CHAPTER I.

The Author embarks at Jaffa for Egypt-Gulf of Pelusium, now Damietta - Death of Pompey-The Nile-Alexandria—M. Drovetti, the French Consul-Rosetta-Albanian SoldiersAppearance of the Delta-Voyage to Cairo-Restraints imposed on the Kings of ancient Egypt-The Pyramids.

ON my return to Jaffa I found myself in an awkward predicament: there was not a vessel of any kind in the harbour. I wavered between two plans; the first of which was to proceed to St. John d'Acre and there embark, and the second to travel to Egypt by land. I should have given a decided preference to the latter, but it was impracticable. Five armed parties were then disputing the possession of the banks of the Nile: Ibrahim Bey, in Upper Egypt; two other independent beys, the pacha of the Porte at Cairo, a body of Albanian rebels, and Elfi Bey, in Lower Egypt. These different parties infested the roads: and the Arabs, taking advantage of the confusion, completely intercepted all communication,

From this dilemma I was providentally relieved. The second day after my arrival at Jaffa, as I was

preparing to set out for St. John d'Acre, a saick from Tripoli, in Syria, entered the harbour. This vessel was in ballast, and in quest of a cargo. The Fathers sent for the captain, who agreed to carry me to Alexandria for four hundred and eighty piastres, and we had soon concluded our bargain.

It was not without sincere regret that I quitted my venerable hosts on the 16th of October. One of the Fathers gave me letters of recommendation for Spain; as it was my intention, after I had seen Carthage, to conclude my peregrinations with the ruins of the Alhambra. Thus these religious, who remained exposed to every species of outrage, were anxious to be serviceable to me beyond the seas and in their native land.

John and Julian having carried our baggage on board, I embarked on the 16th at eight in the evening. The sea was rough, and the wind unfavourable. I continued upon deck as long as I could perceive the lights of Jaffa. I felt, I must own, a certain emotion of pleasure in reflecting that I had now accomplished a pilgrimage which I had so long meditated. I hoped soon to conclude this holy adventure, the most hazardous part of which I had, in my opinion, surmounted. When I considered that I had traversed almost alone the continent and the seas of Greece, that I was again alone in a small vessel at the remotest corner of the Mediterranean, after visiting the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem, I looked upon my return through Egypt, Barbary, and Spain, as the easiest matter in the world. I was, however, mistaken.

I retired to the captain's cabin when we had lost sight of the lights of Jaffa, and I had for the last time saluted the shores of the Holy Land;

VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA.

167

but next morning, at day-break, we again discoGaza, for the captain had With the dawn a fine breeze

vered the coast of steered to the south.

sprung up from the east, the sea became smooth, and we turned the ship's head to the west. Thus I was pursuing the very same track which Ubald and the Dane had followed in their voyage to dedeliver Rinaldo. My vessel could scarcely be larger that that of the two knights, and, like them, I was guided by fortune. My voyage from Jaffa to Alexandria lasted but four days, and never had I a more agreeable or a quicker passage. The sky was constantly serene, the wind fair, and the sea brilliant. The sails were not once shifted. The crew of the saick consisted of five hands, including the captain; they were not so merry as my Greeks of the island of Tino, but apparently better seamen. Fresh provisions, excellent pomegranates, Cyprus wine, coffee of the best quality, supplied us with abundance, and cheered our spirits. The excess of my prosperity ought to have excited apprehensions; but had I possessed the ring of Polycrates, I should have taken good care not to throw it into the sea, to become the prey of a ravenous sturgeon.

There is in the seaman's life something adventurous, which wins and delights us. This continual transition from calm to storm, this rapid change of lands and skies, keep the imagination of the navigator awake. He is, in his fortunes, the image of man here below; always promising to himself to remain in port, and always spreading his sails anew; seeking enchanted islands, at which he scarcely ever arrives, and of which, if he does touch at them, he soon grows weary; talking only of rest, and delighting only in tempests; perishing