218 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



were in 'a darkness that might be felt.' Suddenly the wind 

 arrived, but not with the violence that I had expected. There 

 were two persons with me, Michael Latfalla, my agent, and Mon- 

 sieur Lombrosio. So intense was the darkness that we tried to 

 distinguish our hands placed close before our eyes ; not even an 

 outline could be seen. This lasted for upwards of twenty min- 

 utes ; it then rapidly passed away, and the sun shone as before ; 

 but we had felt the darkness that Moses had inflicted upon the 

 Egyptians." 



HOME AGAIN. 



ON June 30th they departed from Khartoum , and proceeded by 

 boat to Berber, from which point they traveled overland on 

 camels to Souakim, a considerable town, the houses of which 

 are all built of coral. After two weeks' delay here, passage was 

 secured on an Egyptian steam transport for Suez. The journey 

 was now about ended, for in a few days they reached Cairo, 

 where Baker paid off his attendants, one of whom, Richarn, he 

 saw married to a six-foot Dinga girl, who had accompanied him 

 from Central Africa. Here he received notice that the Royal 

 Geographical Society had awarded him the Victoria gold medal, 

 at a time, too, when it was not known whether he was living or 

 dead. 



NET RESULTS OF BAKER* S EXPEDITION. 



BAKER is entitled to very great credit for the indomitable per. 

 severance with which he overcame all obstacles and forced his 

 way through Africa. He is also entitled to much consideration 

 because his expedition was equipped at his own expense, and 

 therefore he did not have the nation at his back, as did Speke ; 

 but did he discover the source of the Nile? By his own record 

 he saw but an exceedingly small portion of the Albert N'yanza. 

 He coasted it for only one hundred miles, and did not even visit 

 the point where the lake takes its outlet into the Nile. Speke is 

 chargeable with the same omission, for when he came in sight of 

 the Victoria N'yanza, instead of coasting it he contented himself 

 with a view of its waters, and did not even follow the stream 

 which he assumed was the Nile. It is now well known that 



