314 EXTRACTS FROM 



lake, and from our present southerly position we could see 

 with the naked eye a minaret and the many palm-trees of the 

 little town of El-Menzaleh in the far distance. 



The sailors therefore advised us to abandon our old pro- 

 gramme and to go on to Port Said. This was certainly a con- 

 siderable alteration in the plan of our journey; but it seemed 

 to be the only sensible course to pursue, especially as the 

 chief steersman guaranteed that if the present favourable 

 west wind continued we should reach Port Said the same 

 evening. 



No sooner said than done, we got on board our crafts, and 

 the light dahabeeyahs sped like arrows through the islands 

 without stopping. The eastern parts of the lake were richer 

 in wildfowl than the western, for myriads of coots, ducks, 

 gulls, herons, and cormorants were seen, and a flock of 

 pelicans was successfully shot at, a splendid rosy specimen 

 finding its way to the deck of our dahabeeyah. 



In the afternoon the shining white lighthouse of Port Said 

 showed on the horizon. We saw some flocks of Flamingoes 

 standing a long way off and others flying slowly away. The 

 sky cleared and we enjoyed the warm sunshine and another 

 sunset full of beautiful effects. Our crew handled the sails 

 very cleverly, and were fine hard-working fellows whom we 

 grew quite fond of in these two days. By the time that 

 twilight began we could distinguish the houses of the town 

 and the embankment of the Suez Canal, and at nightfall we 

 arrived at our goal. We were within a few hundred yards 

 of the shore, but the water was so shallow that both we our- 

 selves and all our baggage had to be gradually transported to 

 the embankment of the canal by our brave Arabs. 



The quickest of the dahabeeyahs had been sent forward 

 with a letter, so that a small steamer was already waiting at 

 the canal, and on the shore were our Consul and the harbour- 

 master, a Dalmatian by birth. 



