326 JOHN LEDYARD. 



tained one hundred thousand Copts, or descendants 

 of the ancient Egyptians. There are likewise Chris- 

 tians, and those of different sects, from Jerusalem, 

 Damascus, Aleppo, and other parts of Syria. 



" With regard to my journey, I can only tell you 

 with any certainty that I shall be able to pass as far 

 as the western boundaries of what is called Turkish 

 Nubia, to the town of Sennaar. I expect to get 

 there with some surety. Beyond that all is dark 

 before me. My wishes and designs are to pass in 

 that parallel across the continent. I will write from 

 Sennaar if I can. 



"You know the disturbances in this unhappy 

 country, and the nature of them. The beys, re- 

 volted from the bashaw, have possession of Upper 

 Egypt, and are now encamped with an army pitiful 

 enough, indeed about three miles south of Cairo. 

 They say to the bashaw, 'Come out of your city 

 and fight us ;' and the bashaw says, ' Come out of 

 your intrenchments and fight me/ You know this 

 revolt is a stroke in Russian politics. Nothing 

 merits more the whole force of burle-sque than both 

 the poetic and prosaic legends of this country. 

 Sweet are the songs of Egypt on paper. Who ia 

 not ravished with gums, balms, dates, figs, pome- 

 granates, cassia, and sycamores, without recollect- 

 ing that amidst these are dust, hot and fainting 



