what varied scenes-what opposite characterswhat warring influences of good and evil!

And under whose banner, Oromasdes' or Ahriman's, must I rank Mohammed Ali himself, whose ships, proud as their mother Alexandria may well be of their magnificence, are, like his army, a very curse to the country? *

* We visited the admiral's ship, a three-decker, on the 28th of November. "I had heard much," says Mr. Ramsay, in his private Journal, "of these vessels, and was prepared for their magnificence, and even for more than I found. The show certainly was very fine on the upper, the main, and the lower decks, everything being very spacious, clean, polished, and in order; the breadth of beam, and the total freedom from all (I should imagine even necessary) encumbrance, gave her a noble appearance; but one missed a great deal; there was no accommodation for officers-all are down in the cockpit, and thus the whole range of the decks is thrown open from poop to stern in both decks. The officers seemed to be very poorly off, and as this was not a show part of the ship, it stood no comparison with the rest. The men not dining, like us, at tables, the lower deck was free from that encumbrance, like the main deck. the finish which characterises everything in our ships, or the air of aptness and congruity which ought to pervade it. The crew are 1100, but a useless set; every gun requires a marine to stand over the men with a musket, and eight small cannon are planted abaft to command the ship in case of a mutiny, 1 suppose."

There was not

But I must conclude. We start, I hope and believe, to-morrow morning, provided we get a boat, but the Pasha has impressed all he could lay his hands on, for the conveyance of his son's harem, and we may have to wait.

Adieu, my dear mother.

P. S.-Dec. 1. Think of our scampering off this morning on jack-asses, (instinctively,) on hearing that the harem was about to embark for Cairo! We had about three miles to ride, and when we got near it there was nothing to be seen of the ladies, nor could we approach the carriages (English and four-in-hand) they rode in. We watched them from a distance, and after seeing two or three children handed out, followed by a veiled lady, whom William pronounced to be dreadfully thick-ankled, we turned round and retraced our steps at a gentle trot, and have been laughed at for our wild-goose chase ever since. We were not, however, the only English who joined in it, and were the first to retreat—that is some comfort.

LETTER III.

Voyage to Cairo-Sais-Introduction to the PashaTombs of the Mamaluke Sultans-Cairo at sunsetBazars-Courtesy to Franks-Garden of Roda-Old Cairo-Cemetery of the Mamaluke Beys-School at Boulac-Printing-press-Egyptian Christians-JewsMagicians, Jugglers, &c.

December 17, 1836.

HERE, my dear mother, in Grand Cairo, we have been settled for more than a week, delighted with all we have seen, and fully prepared to enjoy ourselves during the remainder of our trip. We reached Cairo from Alexandria on the sixth day, the wind having been contrary during the first two or three of the voyage; we sailed on the Mahmoudieh canal to Atfi in the course of a night, and there embarked on the Nile in one of the cangias, or boats of the country, which hold two conveniently enough. Missirie and Abdallah, a

handsome Kordofani-black as ebony-whom we have engaged as Arab interpreter and aide-decamp extraordinary, occupied a tent in front of the cabin, and altogether we got on very comfortably.

The only place of interest on the western branch of the Nile is Sa-el-Hagiar, the site of the ancient Sais, from whence the worship of Nith, or Minerva, was carried to Athens by Cecrops and his Egyptian colony, sixteen centuries before the Christian era. There she stood, the idol of Egyptian worship, veiled with her mysterious peplus, carried for ages afterwards, though in ignorance of its mystic meaning, in the sacred processions of Athens, and uttering those thrilling words of wisdom, that text for human vanity to meditate on "I am all that is, all that hath been, and all that will be;

hath ever yet uplifted!" now of Nature's mysteries? Job? I trow not.

and my veil no mortal What know we even

Are we wiser than

Long before arriving at Cairo, we saw the Pyramids towering in the distance like mountains cut

down into their present shape; we have not yet

visited them; Monday next will, I hope, dawn on our departure for that purpose. Caviglia, the famous Italian, who rivals Belzoni in enterprise and success, breakfasted with us this morning; he is certainly a very extraordinary man; there is an account of his researches in an article of the Quarterly, furnished some years ago by Mr. Salt, very interesting, and well worth your perusal.

But I have had other visiters of no less celebrity Linant, the French artist, who accompanied Laborde to Petra, and who discovered the ruined capital of Meroe; Gobat, too, the Abyssinian missionary—Mr. Lieder, the resident missionary at Cairo, introduced him to me-a tall majestic figure, benevolent countenance, long beard, and in the Turkish dress; I had a long and interesting conversation with him.

We have received the kindest attentions from every one. Colonel Campbell, our Consul-general, has procured us everything we could desire in the way of passports, firmans, &c. He introduced us to the Pasha a few evenings ago; as it is now Ramadan, (the Turkish Lent, during which they fast all day and feast all night,) he receives after