406 
ALEXANDRIA. 
the Governor and the Surbaje, who afterwards took a farewell 
dinner with us. 
April 2,0. — After an early breakfast we departed by the Rosetta 
gate, where we found Emim Aga seated, watching for our arrival 
to take leave, and wish us a good journey. He had lent us two 
tents, and had even extended his politeness so far as to offer to send 
a Turkish frigate with me and my party to Damietta. This I 
declined, as I did not consider the coast as a very safe one for 
unskilful seamen. Guards are not usually placed at the gates, but 
they were there that they might turn out and salute me. In short, 
it seemed the study of the Governor's life, to find out how he could 
oblige and compliment me. We passed by the Canopic gate,which 
is distinguishable from the hillocks of rubbish on each side. Thence 
the great road still remains open, passing between two lines of 
detached buildings, some of which are small, and being all broken 
open, shew evidently that they were tombs, the most perfect having 
a cavity within, of the size of a body, lined, like the cells of the 
catacombs, with a very hard red plaister. 
It was nine when we reached a small fort, occupied by the dis- 
ciplined troops of the garrison of Alexandria, to guard the narrow 
pass between the lakes of Mareotis and Aboukir, from the incur- 
sions of Elfi Bey and his Arab allies. The English cut away the 
neck of land on which the Alexandrian canal passed, in order to 
deprive the French of fresh water, and to re-form the Lake 
Mareotis, which would prevent the town from receiving any fresh 
supplies from the Arabs. The Turks found it necessary to recon- 
struct the embankment, that the water might again come to the 
town, and the celebrated Capitan Pacha, Hassan, employed a 
