328 



071 Vessels made of the Papyrus, 



two or three hours, even till the sheaf be perfectly soaked 

 through." * 



This faisceau depaille, doubtless, signifies a bundle of straw, 

 or stalks, of the common Egyptian reed. 



^;-:c'3^ "'^'s/'^V-.^. 



89 



o. Front view of the double bundle of reeds. 



ft,' Short double paddle. 



Moreover, a later traveller (Belzoni, p. 301.), describing the 

 inundation of the Nile, says, " some crossed the w^ater with 

 reeds tied up in bundles ; " and the poet Lucan notices the 

 same circumstance: "when the Nile overflows, the Memphian 

 boat is constructed of the thirsty (or soaking) paper reed." 



———" Cum tenet omnia Nilus, 

 Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymba papyro.' 



Or, as Rowe has well rendered it, 



Lib. iv. 156. 



" When fruitful Egypt lies afloat, 



The Memphian artist builds his reedy boat.' 



Bruce " imagines, also, that the junks (from juncus, a bul- 

 rush) df the Red Sea, said to be of leather, were first built 

 with papyrus, and covered with skins." (vol. v. p. 6.) Compare 

 Herodotus, Clio, chap. 1945., where barks, made of a frame- 

 work of osiers, and covered with skins, are said to have gone 



* Maniere de passer le Nil assis sur un double faisceau de paille, avec 

 une courte et double rame, les jambes servant d'avirons. Les habitans de 

 la Haute Egypte traversent ainsi montant et descendant le Nil, ils tiennent 

 a I'eau deux et trois heures jusqu' a ce que la fascine soit absolument im- 

 bib^e. [Voyage dans Egypte.) 



