We
Had Ordered Dinner At Seven O'clock, In The Hope That Our
Fellow-Passengers In The Steamer Would Come Up, And According To Our
Calculations, Several Dropped In.
The possibility of getting to the
Pyramids was again discussed; the greater number of the gentlemen
determined at least to try, but we thought it best to avoid all danger
of missing the Berenice, and the ladies, adhering to their original
intention, determined to cross the desert together.
We passed a most
agreeable evening, telling over our voyage up the Nile, and upon
retiring to my chamber, I regretted that it would be the last I should
for some time spend in Cairo.
Nothing can be more quiet than the nights in a city where all the
inhabitants retire after dark to their own homes, the streets being
perambulated by few persons, and those of the soberest description;
but with the sun, a scene of bustle and noise ensues, which
effectually prevents repose. The windows of my apartment looked out
upon a narrow street, in which the ground-floors were, as it is usual,
composed of shops, while several persons, having vegetables or grain
to sell, were seated upon the ground. The hum of human voices,
the grunting of the camels, and the braying of donkeys, kept up an
incessant din, and therefore some minutes elapsed before my attention
was attracted by a wordy war which took place beneath my window.
Hastily arraying myself in my dressing-gown, and looking out, I saw a
man and woman engaged in some vehement discussion, but whether caused
by a dispute or not, I could not at first decide.
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