THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 221 



his mount in the hope of overtaking us, the poor 

 fellow being in mortal fear of the Arabs whenever he 

 is left a little way behind. As soon as Mougel has 

 got up to us we resume our journey by the shores of 

 Lake Mensaleh, instead of crossing the desert as we 

 had done in coming. At five we reach El Guisr, 

 and pitch our tents at the foot of one of the highest 

 downs in the isthmus." 



"January 1114, 1855. 



" We return to Cairo, and I find time to draw out 

 a draft of a report for the engineers and read it to 

 Linant and Mougel, who express their approval of its 

 tenour, but suggest that I should strike out the 

 passage in which I propose that, should they differ in 

 opinion, they should give their reasons. But I decline 

 to do so because, with this reservation made, their 

 harmony, upon which I quite reckon, will have all 

 the more weight." 



"January 15, 1855. 



"At eleven we start at a good pace upon our 

 dromedaries for Cairo. To the left is the chain of 

 mountains which, commencing at the Mokattan and 

 finishing at the Attaka, skirts the road to Suez, while 

 to the right we can distinguish, amid the palm-trees 

 and a line of greenery indicating the course of the 

 Nile, the minarets of Kanka. The morning was a 

 singularly beautiful one, and the view unfolded before 

 me is delightful. "We have passed Abuzabel, and we 



