Nulkes respecting Kew Books. 343 



from Cairo, and, passing the ruins of Hcliopolis, made 

 El Hadje their first stage. Their marches over the desert 

 of Suez, as in crossing the sTcat desert, were all peri'ormed 

 during the night, and they always encamped hy sun-rise in 

 the morning. Bv the end of the month, the whole corps, 

 except the ■ th Bombav regiment, had crossed the desert, 

 and arrived at Suez. Part of the armv was encamped near 

 the town of Suez, and part at Moses Wells, nine miles on 

 the eastern side of the Red Sea. The march over the desert 

 of Suez v.as performed with much greater case than that 

 over the desert of Thebes. The weather was cool and fa- 

 vourable ; the hot winds were less felt, and they found 

 abundance of srood water provided at the difierent stations. 

 On the 2d of June, the embarkation commenced, and by 

 the 1 5th the v.hoie army was embarked, and had sailed for 

 the different presidencies, except the 7ih regiment, v/hich, 

 on account of the plague still prevailing in it after the rest 

 of I he armv had embarked, was ordered to remain two 

 months. Most of the corps of the army embarked in the 

 most healthy state- 



'^ To conclude," says the author, "never, perhaps, was 

 there an army embarked for any service more healthy than 

 the Indian army was when it re-embarked on its return 

 from Egypt. 



" Previously to tliC arrival of the army from Egypt, in 

 order to provide against the introduction of the plague into 

 India, quarantines were established at the presidencies of 

 Bombay, Bengal, and Madras, as well as at the island of 

 Cevlon. The principal of these was at Butcher's Island, 

 near Bombay, where there were pest and quarantine esta- 

 blishments, of which, on my arrival in June, I took the 

 charge. At this period, letters from Dr. Short, at Bagdad, 

 and from Mr. Milne, at Bassorah, described the plague as 

 raging in Persia, and particularly at Ispahan and Bagdad ; in 

 consequence of this information, every vessel, both from 

 the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, was ordered to Butcher's 

 Island. 



*' As the ships arrived, the troops from the Red Sea were 

 landed; but the artillery, 86th regiment, 1st Bombay regi- 

 ment, and the commissariat department, were so uncom- 

 monly healthy, that I detained them but a very few days on 

 the island. 



" The 7th Bombav regiment landed at Butcher's Island 

 in August. As this was the corps in which the plague had 

 principally prevailed, though they were not imhcalthy, 

 I judffed it prudent to detain them a month. On my last 



inspection 



