RETURN FROM UPPER EGYPT.
133
questions about the oasis, and the ruins in the neigh-
bourhood of the lake, without being able, however, to
afford any particular information.
Owing, to the distance of the village from the lake,
and to the difficulty of procuring a boat, I could not cross
the water till the following day. In the evening supper
was brought in, and afterwards coffee, and pipes, when
the fishermen, who owned the boat upon the lake, and
many other persons, came up, and a conversation lasted
for some hours.
2lst. — I set out with the Sheik, and a number of
attendants, at six in the morning for the lake. We
passed a fine plain, abounding with crops of clover, beans,
and different sorts of grain, and affording pasture to herds
of goats, camels, and other cattle, which were guarded
by armed Bedouins, much stouter, and better clothed
than those in Syria. They wore white blankets, red
tarbooses, and sandals, and many of them were armed
with pistols, suspended under the left arm by a broad
Moorish belt, that passed over the right shoulder. They
appeared in perfect security, and were strolling about in
various directions on foot, and also on horseback, but
none of them were well mounted. Their black tents
were pitched on the grounds, that had been eaten down
by the cattle, and, in many instances, were surrounded
by yards enclosed with reeds." Beyond the cultivated
8 The Faiouin, from the abundance of pasture, is better adapted to
the feeding of cattle than any other part of Egypt, and, from its isolated
position, is peculiarly fit for the reception of strangers. In these respects
it would answer the description of the land of Goshen ; and if the canal,
133
questions about the oasis, and the ruins in the neigh-
bourhood of the lake, without being able, however, to
afford any particular information.
Owing, to the distance of the village from the lake,
and to the difficulty of procuring a boat, I could not cross
the water till the following day. In the evening supper
was brought in, and afterwards coffee, and pipes, when
the fishermen, who owned the boat upon the lake, and
many other persons, came up, and a conversation lasted
for some hours.
2lst. — I set out with the Sheik, and a number of
attendants, at six in the morning for the lake. We
passed a fine plain, abounding with crops of clover, beans,
and different sorts of grain, and affording pasture to herds
of goats, camels, and other cattle, which were guarded
by armed Bedouins, much stouter, and better clothed
than those in Syria. They wore white blankets, red
tarbooses, and sandals, and many of them were armed
with pistols, suspended under the left arm by a broad
Moorish belt, that passed over the right shoulder. They
appeared in perfect security, and were strolling about in
various directions on foot, and also on horseback, but
none of them were well mounted. Their black tents
were pitched on the grounds, that had been eaten down
by the cattle, and, in many instances, were surrounded
by yards enclosed with reeds." Beyond the cultivated
8 The Faiouin, from the abundance of pasture, is better adapted to
the feeding of cattle than any other part of Egypt, and, from its isolated
position, is peculiarly fit for the reception of strangers. In these respects
it would answer the description of the land of Goshen ; and if the canal,