118 SAM DARLING'S REMINISCENCES 



went away with a weird cry, each seizing his own 

 beast and riding it back. The man who won had 

 to tie his buffalo up to a post opposite me. That 

 there was great excitement at the post I need not 

 say. 



There were all kinds of races, ladies on donkeys 

 with eggs and spoons, lemon cutting, tent pegging. 



Mr. Allison had contracted Nile fever the day 

 after we left Assiout, but he recovered sufficiently 

 to attend this Gymkhana, and what he wrote at 

 the time is necessarily more accurate than what 

 I remember after eleven years. Therefore I again 

 quote from his diary : 



" S.S. ' Rameses the Great,' Assouan, 



" January 31, 1903. 



" Since I last wrote, and being still further forti- 

 fied with the milk of the gamoose (or native buffalo) 

 and soda, I ventured to take a liberty and, 



At A*5souftn 



disregarding the doubts of my good 

 friend the doctor, attended the race meeting of 

 the Luxor Gymkhana Club on the 29th inst. Mr. 

 Gubbins and I drove there together, and let me say 

 in passing that Mr. Gubbins is in splendid health — 

 which is a fine change after his experience of three 

 or four months in bed during each of the recent 

 winters — and we were accommodated with the 

 only two chairs in the Club enclosure, the rest of 

 the company being provided with rows of hen- 



