20 Wanderings in Eastern Africa. 
My preparations were soon made, and on the I2th 
December, 1862, I found myself on board the Penin- 
sular and Oriental Company's steamer, Ceylon. A 
few friends accompanied me to the dock, and did 
their best, by hearty cheering, to keep up my spirits. 
Presently the fine vessel began to move slowly out 
of the dock. Fondly I looked upon the receding 
shores of the fatherland, till night dropped her sable 
curtains upon the scene, and I bade home a long 
farewell. 
On the following morning nothing was to be seen 
but the wide expanse of ocean on every side. The 
night had been rough, the waves still rolled high, and 
I found myself suffering from the most unpleasant 
sensations, which I cannot better describe than by 
Milton s words, — 
" Tremendous motion felt 
And rueful throes." 
On the night of the 17th we passed through the 
Straits of Gibraltar, and on the following morning 
we found ourselves at anchor before that impregnable 
fortress. The same day we weighed anchor again, 
reached Malta on the 22nd, and Alexandria on the 
night of the 24th. The following (Christmas) day 
we disembarked. It was spent in great bustle, 
rushing from one place to another, from Cleopatra's 
Needle to Pompey's Pillar, etc., etc.; and we were at 
the railway station at 4 p.m. Soon we were hurrying 
over the country to Cairo, reaching that city at 
midnight. The next day was spent in a trip to the 
Pyramids, and the next in seeing some of the sights 
of Cairo itself. On the 28th we proceeded to Suez, 
