III. 



PORT SAID. 



THE time of times to approach Port Said is 

 just at the fall of dusk. Then the sea lies 

 in opalescent patches, and the low shores fade 

 away into the gathering night. The slanting 

 masts and yards of the dhows silhouette against 

 a sky of the deepest translucent green ; and 

 the heroic statue of De Lesseps, standing for 

 ever at the Gateway he opened, points always 

 to the mysterious East. 



The rhythmical, accustomed chug of the en- 

 gines had fallen to quarter speed, leaving an 

 uncanny stillness throughout the ship. Silently 

 we slipped between the long piers, drew up on 

 the waterside town, seized the buoy, and came 

 to rest. All around us lay other ships of all 

 sizes, motionless on the inky water. The re- 

 flections from their lights seemed to be thrust 



