We Had
No Trouble Whatever About Our Baggage; We Left It On Board, Under The
Care Of The Trusty Black Servant.
One of the officers of the ship, who
had distinguished himself during the voyage by his polite attention to
The passengers, had come on shore with us; he sent to the vessel for
our goods and chattels, took our keys and the janissary with him to
the custom-house, and we had speedily the pleasure of seeing them come
upon a camel to the door of the hotel, the fees charged, and the hire
of the animal, being very trifling. There was a large apartment on one
side of the gateway, in which those boxes which we did not desire to
open were deposited, the door being secured by a good lock; in fact,
nothing could be better than the whole arrangements of the hotel. It
was agreed that as little time as possible should be lost in getting
to Suez, and we therefore determined to prosecute our journey as early
in the afternoon of the next day as we could get every thing ready.
Donkeys were to be in waiting at daylight, to convey the party to
Pompey's Pillar, and we retired to rest, overcome by the fatigue and
excitement we had undergone. It was sufficiently warm to render it
pleasant to have some of the windows open; and once or twice in the
night we were awakened by the furious barking of the houseless and
ownerless dogs, which are to be found in great numbers throughout
Egypt. In the day-time the prevailing sound at Alexandria is the
braying of donkeys, diversified by the grunts and moans of the almost
equally numerous camels.
Engravings have made every inquiring person well acquainted with the
celebrated monument which goes by the name of "Pompey's Pillar," and
the feelings with which we gazed upon it are much more easily imagined
than described. It has the advantage of standing upon a rather
considerable elevation, a ridge of sand, and below it are strewed vast
numbers of more humble memorials of the dead. The Turkish and the Arab
burial-grounds spread themselves at the feet of the Pillar: each
grave is distinguished by a mound of earth and a stone. The piety of
surviving relatives has, in some places, forced the stubborn sand
to yield proofs of their affectionate remembrance of the deceased;
occasionally, we see some single green plant struggling to shadow
the last resting-place of one who slept below; and if any thing were
wanting to add to the melancholy of the scene, it would have been the
stunted and withering leaves thus mournfully enshrouding the silent
dead. There is something so unnatural in the conjunction of a scanty
vegetation with a soil cursed with hopeless aridity, that the gardens
and few green spots, occurring in the neighbourhood of Alexandria,
detract from, instead of embellishing, the scene. Though pleasant
and beautiful as retreats to those who can command an entrance, these
circumscribed patches of verdure offend rather than please the eye,
when viewed from a distance.
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