DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12664#0037
30
INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL-.
any superfluous clothing, and, slipping over hh
head the fragments of his frock, he was in a mo-
ment by our side, in all the majesty of nature. I
started first, mounted upon his slippery shoulders,
and went along very well until we had got more
than half way over, when I began to observe an
irregular tottering movement, and heard behind
me the smothered laugh of my companion. I felt
my Arab slowly and deliberately lowering his
head; my feet touched the water; but with one hand
I held my gun above my head, and with the other
griped him by the throat. I found myself going,
going, deeper and deeper, let down with the most
studied deliberation, till all at once he gave his
neck a sudden toss, jerked his head from under
me, and left me standing up to my middle in the
stream. I turned round upon him, hardly know-
ing whether to laugh or to strike him with the butt
end of my gun ; but one glance at the poor fellow
was enough ; the sweat stood in large drops on his
face and ran down his naked breast; his knees
shook, and he was just ready to drop himself. He
had supported me as long as he could ; but, finding
himself failing, and fearing we should both come
down together, with a splash, at full length, he had
lowered me as gently as possible.
The banks of the Nile from here to Cairo fur-
nish nothing interesting. On one side is the Delta,
an extensive tract of low rich land, well cultivated
and watered, and on the other a narrow strip of fer-
tile land, and then the Libyan desert. The ruined
INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL-.
any superfluous clothing, and, slipping over hh
head the fragments of his frock, he was in a mo-
ment by our side, in all the majesty of nature. I
started first, mounted upon his slippery shoulders,
and went along very well until we had got more
than half way over, when I began to observe an
irregular tottering movement, and heard behind
me the smothered laugh of my companion. I felt
my Arab slowly and deliberately lowering his
head; my feet touched the water; but with one hand
I held my gun above my head, and with the other
griped him by the throat. I found myself going,
going, deeper and deeper, let down with the most
studied deliberation, till all at once he gave his
neck a sudden toss, jerked his head from under
me, and left me standing up to my middle in the
stream. I turned round upon him, hardly know-
ing whether to laugh or to strike him with the butt
end of my gun ; but one glance at the poor fellow
was enough ; the sweat stood in large drops on his
face and ran down his naked breast; his knees
shook, and he was just ready to drop himself. He
had supported me as long as he could ; but, finding
himself failing, and fearing we should both come
down together, with a splash, at full length, he had
lowered me as gently as possible.
The banks of the Nile from here to Cairo fur-
nish nothing interesting. On one side is the Delta,
an extensive tract of low rich land, well cultivated
and watered, and on the other a narrow strip of fer-
tile land, and then the Libyan desert. The ruined