Universitätsbibliothek HeidelbergUniversitätsbibliothek Heidelberg
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Edwards, Amelia B.
A thousand miles up the Nile — New York, [1888]

DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4393#0048

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3() A TltOUSAND MILES UP THE NILE.

A large Italian fountain, in a rococo style, is the great
sight of the place. We caught a glimpse of it through the
trees, and surprised the gardener who was showing us over
by declining to inspect it more nearly. He could not un-
derstand why we preferred to give our time to the shrubs
and flower-beds.

Driving back presently toward Cairo with a big handful
of roses apiece, we saw the sun going down in an aureole
of fleecy pink and golden clouds, the Nile flowing by like a
stream of liquid light, and a little fleet of sailing boats
going up to Boulak before a paff of north wind that had
sprung up as the sun neared the horizon. That puff of
north wind, those gliding sails, had a keen interest for us
now and touched us nearly; because—I have delayed this
momentous revelation till the last moment—because we
were to start to-morrow!

And this is why I have been able, in the midst of so
much that was new and bewildering, to remember quite
circumstantially the dates and all the events connected with
those last two days. They were to be our last two days in
Cairo; and tomorrow morning, Saturday, the 13th of De-
cember, we were to go on board a certain dahabeeyah now
lying otf the iron bridge at Boulak, therein to begin that
strange aquatic life to which we had been looking forward
with so many hopes and fears, and toward which wc
had been steering through so many preliminary difficulties.

But the difficulties were all over now and everything
was settled; though not in the way wo had at first intended.
For, in place of a small boat, we had secured one of the
largest on the river; and instead of going alone we had
decided to throw in our lot with that of three other
travelers. One of these three was already known to the
writer. The other two, friends of the first, were on their
way out from Europo and were not expected in Cairo for
another week. AYe knew nothing of them but their
names.

Meanwhile L------and the writer, assuming sole posses-
sion of the dahabeeyah, were about to start ten days in ad-
vance; it being their intention to push on as far as Rhoda
(the ultimate point then reached by the Nile railway), and
there to await the arrival of the rest of the party. Now
Rhoda (more correctly Roda) is just one hundred and
eighty miles south of Cairo, and we calculated upon seeing
 
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