NATURAL HISTORY. 



693 



our number and strength to re- 

 sist any act of treachery. 



We were bent on going, and 

 the Arabs at last undertook to be 

 our guides for a reward of twenty- 

 five piastres. After an hour's 

 march in the desert, we arrived 

 at the spot, which we found to 

 be a pit or circular hole of ten 

 feet in diameter, and about eigh- 

 teen feet deep. We descended 

 without difficulty, and the Arabs 

 began to strip, and pioposed to 

 us to do the same : we partly 

 followed their example, but kept 

 on our trowsers and shirts. I 

 had by me a brace of pocket pis- 

 tols, which I concealed in my 

 trowsers, to be prepared against 

 any treacherous attempt of our 

 guides. It was now decided that 

 three of the four Arabs should go 

 with us, while the other remained 

 on the outside of the cavern. The 

 Abyssinian merchant declined go- 

 ing any farther. The sailors re- 

 mained also on the outside to take 

 care of o\ir clothes. \Ye formed 

 therefore a party of six ; each 

 was to be preceded by a guide — 

 our torches were lighted — one of 

 the Arabs led the way — and I 

 followed him. 



We crept for seven or eight 

 yards thiough an opening at the 

 bottom of the pit, whicli was 

 partly choked up with thp drifted 

 sand of the desert, and found 

 ourselves in a large cliamber 

 about tifteen feet liigh. 



This was probably the place 

 into which the (Jreek, Demetrius, 

 had penetrated, and here we ob- 

 served what he liad described, the 

 fragments of tlie munnnies of 

 crocodile?. We saw also great 

 numbers of bats flying about, and 

 hanging from the roof of the 

 chamber. Whilst holding uj) mv 



\'oL. LMIJ. 



torch to examine the vault, I ac- 

 cidentally scorched one of them. 

 I mention this trivial circum- 

 stance, because afterwards it gave 

 occasion to a most ridiculous^ 

 though to us very important dis- 

 cussion. So far the stoi-y of the 

 Greek was true, and it remained 

 only to explore the galleries where 

 the Arabs had formerly taken re- 

 fuge, and where, without doubt, 

 were deposited the mummies we 

 were searching for. We had all 

 of us torches, and our guides in- 

 sisted upon our placing ourselves 

 in such a way, that an Arab was 

 before each of us. Though there 

 appeared something mysterious in 

 this order of march, we did not 

 dispute with them, but proceeded. 

 We now entered a low gallery, in 

 which we continued for more 

 than an hour, stooping or creep- 

 ing as Wiis necessary, and follow- 

 ing its windings, till at last it 

 opened into a large chamber, 

 which, after some time, we re- 

 cognized as the one we liad first 

 entered, and from which we had 

 set out. Our conductors, how- 

 ever, denied that it was the same, 

 but on (mr persisting in the as- 

 sertion, agreed at last that it was, 

 and confessed they had missed 

 their way the first time, but if 

 we would make another attempt 

 they would undertake to conduct 

 us to the mummies. Oui' curiosity 

 was still unsatisfied ; we had been 

 \vandering for more than an hour 

 in low subterranean passages, and 

 felt considerably fatigued by the 

 irksomeness of the posture in 

 which we had been obliged to 

 move, and the heat of our torches 

 in those narrow and low gallei'ies. 

 But the Arabs spoke so contidentlv 

 of succeeding in this second trial, 

 that we were induced once more 



2Q to 



