wild ^ Tame Hoopoes 35 



How I looked tremblingly round the dining-room 

 at tabk-iThote ! But I fancy she either changed her 

 hotel immediately, or else fled to Alexandria, probably 

 going home to England with the idea that Englishmen 

 in Cairo are by no means to be trusted, " and a clergy- 

 man too ! " 



Another day, one of my hoopoes sat so long in the 

 sunshine on a lower branch of one of the trees already 

 described, that I thought he would be more likely to 

 come to me if I descended to the large public balcony 

 that opened out from the flight of steps leading into 

 the street, where I should find myself nearly on a level 

 with my bird. 



Directly he saw me, he flitted on to my shoulder 

 with upraised crest, much to the astonishment of a 

 party of visitors to the hotel, who had just dismounted 

 from a carriage and were ascending the steps. They 

 evidently were puzzled, for apparently a wild hoopoe 

 had suddenly been " willed " by my whistle to come 

 to me. 



The hardest part of all came when 1 returned to 

 England. I had to take my passage from Alexandria 

 on board a " Messagerie " boat, because at Cook's office 

 at Cairo I was told that the English boats would not 

 allow birds to be numbered among the passengers. 



Moreover, I had two young Dorcas gazelles with me 

 — " Quaiss " and " Shamadana " — as well as a pair of 

 young Egyptian turtle-doves and two little spotted crakes, 

 which were brought to me at Philas by some Arab boys. 



In a cage made with partitions, I managed to stow 

 away all my birds, and to smuggle them as quickly as 



