10 



Tnpffom Alexandria to Rojetia. 



[Aug. 1, 



the eye, which has for months feen no- 

 thing but the moft flerile fandy wildernefs 

 (and fuch had been my cafe), is highly 

 gratified by the appearance of fome beau- 

 tiful p;reen woods and fields, which lie on 

 the oppofite fide of the Nile, in the coun- 

 try called the Delta, which is the garden 

 of Lower Egypt, and is encircled by two 

 branches of' the river. The Nile is, at 

 this place, a noble river, and add.s greatly 

 to the beauty of the prolpsft. After en- 

 joying this fcene for a tew minutes, we 

 entered the town of Rofttta. The en- 

 trance I thought extremely narrow, and 

 perceiving that it continued fo from one 

 lane to another, I rtquefted an officer 

 (whom we had accidentally met with, 

 and who was v'fioA enough to take upon 

 himfejf the office of guide), to lead us 

 inore through the larger (tree's ; but 

 what was my furprife when he told me in 

 anfvver, that we v^ere aifually at that mo- 

 ment in the principal ftreet of the town. 

 I am lure I fpeak greatly within bounds 

 when I lay it does not exceed three yards 

 in breadth. On each fide there are (hops, 

 in which were difplayed various kinds of 

 merchandize. After pafling, or rather 

 forcing, our way through agreatnumber 

 of thde dirty lanes, we at laft, greatly to 

 cur latisfaftion, arrived at a cffFee-hou!"e 

 which had been lately opened by an Ita- 

 lian. Here we were fortunate enough to 

 meet with fome old acquaintances, who 

 held a fmall mefs in the houfe, which 

 thty kindly invited us to join, and it was 

 here thar I partook of the firff decent (I 

 had almoft faid whokfome) dinner fince 

 my arrival in Egypt. Having regaled 

 ourlelves at the coffee-houfe till bed-time, 

 we retired to the quarters of our friends, 

 where I contrived to (Icep very found, not- 

 withftanding the buzzing of an innumer- 

 .ible ho(t of mufquitots. When I awoke 

 in the morning, 1 found that the mufqui- 

 toes had been tolerably merciful ; but, 

 reaching my clothes to drefs, I perceived 

 them to be literally covered over by a 

 crowd of fmnU fleas, which- 1 was more 

 than two hours in clearing iiway. As for 

 poor W. his face, when he made his ap- 

 pearance in the morning, was txaftly like 

 that of a perfon violently afrlifted with the 

 fmall-cox, and his whole botiy was in the 

 fan e condition. After getting our break- 

 fads, we faiiied forth to Ice the lions. — 

 The fii(f place we entered was a niofque, 

 in which krvicp was then bcng pertorm- 

 ed ; but our feet were fcaiccly ovtr the 

 thrtftiold before thieeor four Tuiks came 

 up to IIS, and in great tribulation pointed 

 cut the ixpropritty of tur entering their 



hoiife of religion with our boots on. It 

 was in vain we endeavoured to explain to 

 them that the taking off of hats was with' 

 us an aft of equal reverence and humility 

 as the going barefooted with them. No- 

 thing would do ; and, after fome time 

 fpent in expoftulation, we were obliged to 

 retire. During the time we did remain, 

 however, I had an opportunity of feeing 

 their prieff. He was hung up in a fort of 

 cage, in the (Jeeple, or rather tower, of 

 the mofque, where he was hallooing as 

 loud as the (touted pair of ftentorian 

 lungs I ever heard would enable him.— • 

 He feemed to ufe but one word ; and, 

 when he was out of breath (which, to do 

 him juftice, was very feldom), the audi- 

 ence were good enough to relieve him.— 

 This fort of devotion is pratlifed every 

 four hours. \The place itielf was mean 

 and filthy in the extreme. 



In retreating from the mofque, I be- 

 held a female for the firft time fince my 

 arrival in Egypt ; and had it been the 

 laft, I (hould have had little to regret, for 

 (he was not 



" Blefs'd with (lately Juno's mien, 



Nor (hap'd like winning Beauty's Queen !'' 



but, on the contrary, was a great tall raw- 

 honed wcman, covered with a dirty blan- 

 ket, and drelTed altogether very much like 

 the fquaws of North America. She had 

 but one eye vifible, the remainder of her 

 face being covered with along thick cloth, 

 which a private of dragoons very aptly 

 and charafleriltically denominated a nofe- 

 bag. This cuftom of hiding the face is 

 univerfal amongft the Turkifli and Ara- 

 bian women in this country. They are 

 |)ot, however, all fuch formidable Pata- 

 gonian figures as the one I was unfortu- 

 nate enough to encounter firft- ; but I be- 

 lieve none of them have the fmalleft pre- 

 tcnfions to beauty. 



Rofetta is Very populous ; but, from its 

 prefent flufluating (late I do not fuppofe 

 it poffible to make a correal e(timate of the 

 number of its inhabitants ; they may 

 probably amount to ten thouflind : thi» 

 is, however, merely conjecture. The 

 men have a general appearance of bad 

 health, and are extremely indolent. They 

 fit crofs-hggcd at their doors almoft the 

 vvihole day, (moking, drinking coffee, and. 

 playing at a game which appears very 

 fimilar to chefs. The narrownefs of the 

 ItfLets I have alrciady mentioned. The 

 houl'es are in general large and lofty : the 

 lovicr parts of tium are but feldom occu- 

 pied, us the inhabitants refide up three or 

 lour pairs of (fairs for the benefit of the • 



