The Nile as a Sanatorium. 9 



stones ; the grand ruins at Kom-Ombos, and the picturesque 

 town of Assouan. Here he may safely anchor his boat, and 

 ride to the cataract, seeing something of Nubian village-life at 

 Mahatta, where live the men who navigate the boats through 

 the wild and dangerous current of the rock-encumbered river. 

 They are most extortionate in their charges for such service, 

 and demand from £20 to £40 per boat, according to its size ; 

 and as they alone have the monopoly of the stream, and are 

 the only persons competent to manage the boats, the traveller 

 is at their mercy. 



The Island of Philae, beyond the cataract, can also be 

 easily visited by a ride across the desert. Its beauty has been 

 celebrated from the earliest recorded time, and has been 

 enthusiastically dwelt on by modern travellers. It is surrounded 

 by rocky scenery of a wild and wondrous kind, as if some 

 gigantic convulsion had piled these vast heaps of granite and 

 basalt, and choked the river. 



Fewer still are the voyagers who persevere to Wady Halfeh, 

 that they may visit the rock-cut temple of Abou-Simboul. It 

 is a long and dreary voyage of 837 miles from Philge, with 

 nothing on the way to equal what the traveller has already 

 seen. The temple is, however, unique in its kind, and very 

 wonderful ; the journey must, therefore, be a question of time 

 and expense for each individual to solve before starting. 



The price charged per month for the hire of a boat varies 

 according to its size and character, and ranges from £50 to £70. 

 The sailors' wages are low, and are generally computed by the 

 month also; the reis, or captain, receiving about 30s., the 

 sailors half that sum. But these very cheap rates do not truly 

 represent all the traveller pays by a very great deal, inasmuch 

 as gratuities are expected when the boat reaches the larger 

 towns in its course ; and the ordinary food of the crew has 

 also to be paid for. A sheep is the usual gift expected, as 

 bread and dried lentils are all the stores laid in for the sailors. 

 A dragoman, or interpreter, is also necessary for the voyage ; 

 he generally commands a high salary — about £12 a month, and 

 he takes " black mail" with no niggard hand during the entire 

 journey, first from the natives, and secondly from his employers, 

 so that frequently one-half of the money paid for travelling 

 expenses finds its way into his pocket. It is also necessary 

 to carry a cook and a native servant or two, as assistants 

 or waiters, who generally speak a little English, and charge 

 accordingly. 



Should the traveller be an invalid, it is beyond all things 

 necessary for him to remember that he can obtain no medical 

 aid after he leaves Cairo ; many English travellers, particularly 

 if they be wealthy, carry a doctor with them, and, to the 



