304 EXTRACTS FROM 
not wretched mongrel races like those of the Nile valley. 
The worthy fellow appeared to be much disgusted with his 
present compatriots, and seeing that I was amused with his 
conversation gave full vent to his feelings. 
At the foot of the pyramid we had to witness a fantasia 
performed by some Bedouins, who rode past each other at full 
speed, firing off their guns. Neither the men nor their 
horses, weapons, or garments were either fine or genuine, for 
wherever the great swarm of Baedeker-reading tourists rush, 
one finds swindlers, sharpers, and fictitious displays of primi- 
tive lite. 
The pyramids are just as much haunted by tourists as the 
Rigi; and the hired Bedouins with their silly tricks come 
under the same category as the wooden chamois which are 
stuck about all over Switzerland. 
It was now getting late, so we had to hasten home along 
the road by which we had come, and through the streets of 
the town, which at this hour were very lively; and as soon as 
dinner was over we drove off to the railway-station to start 
on our expedition to Menzaleh. 
Among the gentlemen who had assembled at the Cairo 
station to bid us farewell was our friend Brugsch Pasha. 
Baron Saurma was also there, ready to accompany us to the 
Lake, and in a few minutes Herr Zimmerman, our trusty 
attendant on all our railway journeys, told us that it was time 
to start. 
After keeping up a lively conversation in the carriage for 
about an hour we one by one lay down to rest, and in order 
that our slumbers might not be disturbed they kindly shunted 
our carriage at Damietta, which we reached during the night, 
so that when we awoke before sunrise on the 17th of March 
we found ourselves alone upon a siding. 
As soon as all the party had assembled we went to the bank 
of the canal, where our servants were busy with the transport 
