We Now Travelled For Upward Of A Hundred Miles Along The Bank Of
The Rahad, Through A Monotonous Scene Of Flat Alluvial Soil.
The entire
country would be a Mine of wealth were it planted with cotton, Which
could be transported by river to Katariff, and thence directly to
Souakim.
I shall not weary the reader with the details of the rest of our journey
to Khartoum, the capital of the Soudan provinces, at which we arrived on
the 11th of June.
The difference between the appearance of Khartoum at the distance of a
mile, with the sun shining upon the bright river Nile in the foreground,
and its appearance upon close inspection, was equal to the difference in
the scenery of a theatre as regarded from the boxes or from the stage.
Even that painful exposure of an optical illusion would be trifling
compared with the imposture of Khartoum. The sense of sight had been
deceived by distance, but the sense of smell was outraged by innumerable
nuisances, when we set foot within the filthy and miserable town. After
winding through some narrow, dusty lanes, hemmed in by high walls of
sun-baked bricks that had fallen in gaps in several places, exposing
gardens of prickly pears and date palms, we at length arrived at a large
open place, that, if possible, smelt more strongly than the landing
spot. Around this square, which was full of holes where the mud had been
excavated for brick-making, were the better class of houses; this was
the Belgravia of Khartoum.
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