384 CAIRO. 
within the city. They however came out in order to receive me, 
as I wished to sleep at their house, that I might have the whole day 
before us to reach the Pyramids. The church is neat and clean, 
and, as it is dedicated to the Patron saint of the English, a corner 
is reserved for the sepulture of such of that nation as die here. The 
pictures are in the worst style of modern Greek art. 
Our party did not consist of less than forty, who, after resting, 
determined to take a walk, and look at the Mekias. This building 
has ever been a greater object of curiosity than it seems to merits 
though the pillar in the center is very handsome. This is divided 
into numerous compartments, as is shewn in thedrawingof Norden, 
and affords the means of ascertaining the rise of the Nile, with which 
the bason that surrounds it has a communication. Every traveller 
either has visited it, or wishes to have it supposed that he did so, 
Pocockes drawings are always so bad, that the sins of omission and 
commission, which cover his view of the Mekias, do not lead me to 
doubt of his having seen it. But that Mr. Bruce should have pre- 
ferred his naked and erroneous view to the perfect drawing of 
Norden, if he had ever himself seen it, I cannot believe ; yet so 
he has done ; for the drawing given in his work is an exact copy 
from that of Pococke. Mr. Bruce, as usual, talks of the difficulty 
of his attempt to see it, and this certainly was the case at all times 
to a native Christian, but never to a Frank, except during the 
time of the rise of the river, when, from political reasons, all access 
would be denied. 
We wandered for some time among the ruins of a palace which 
stood around the Mekias, and had several flights of steps descend- 
ing to the river. A mosque had formerly been its chief ornament^ 
