6i8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



indifferent weather, clear throughout the day, exceed- 

 ingly cold in the night and morning; but, being bet- 

 ter cloathed, better fed than in the defert, and under 

 cover, we were not fo fenfible of it, though the ther- 

 mometer fhewed the fame degrees. Above all, we had a 

 good decent provifion of brandy on board, part of which I 

 had procured from the Aga, part from the Schourbatchie 

 my landlord, neither of whom knew the other had given 

 me any, and both of them pretended to each other, and 

 to the world, that they never tafted fermented liquors of any 

 kind, nor kept them in their cuftody. 



I HAD given to each of my fervants, to Soliman and to^ 

 the Greeks like wife, a common blanket called a barracan, 

 of the warmeft and coarfeft kind, with a waiflcoat and 

 trowfers of the fame, and all of us, I believe, had configned 

 to the Nile the clothes in which we paffed the defert. The 

 meannefs of our appearance did not at all fhock us, fmce- 

 nothing contributes more to fafety in a country like this. 

 I paffed Shekh Nimmer not without regret, but it was night,, 

 and I was very ill. 



On the 19th we arrived at How, where the intermitting- 

 fever, which I had at Syene, again returned, with unufual 

 violence, and, what was mofl unlucky, my Hock of bark was 

 almod cxhaufted, and the Rais had bufmcfs that obliged 

 him to lie by for a day. As we were within a fmall diftance 

 of FurOiout, I difpatchcd one of tlic Earbarins, with a 

 eamel, to the fathers at the monaflcry of Furlhout inform- 

 ing them of my arrival and very bad flate of health, and 

 yequelling them to fend me fome wheat bread, as mine was 



alii 



