26 
selves round me, he retired; and I did not see another 
attempt to approach me, either in going or in coming. 
Djiza is, by a fault of the dialect of the inhabitants, 
called by them Guiza, as also by the Arabian letter 
Djim, Guim. 
Upon my return from Djiza I visited the island of 
Roudi, or Rouda, in the Nile, near the right bank. 
This island, which is now abandoned, was formerly a 
little paradise, covered with delightful gardens. 
At the southern extremity the famous Mikkias is 
situated. This column was raised to ascertain the 
height of the waters of the Nile, at the period of the 
inundation. 
This column is placed in a sort of deep court, which 
communicates with the waters of the river. It is di- 
vided into unequal cubits and digits, which show daily 
the height of the waters at the inundation, and mark 
the degree of fertility which may be expected at the 
approaching harvest; for every body calculates his 
operations according to this indication. 
This monument, which is of such high importance, 
is now abandoned to a horde of soldiers, or rather bar- 
barians, who conspire to destroy it. Upon my disem- 
barkation in the island, they conducted me among a 
heap of ruins; and what was my surprise, when I dis- 
covered that the Mikkias might be reckoned as among 
the number. A mosque, and other edifices joining it, 
are quite dilapidated; and there have already fallen four 
of the eight little columns that supported the upper 
gallery. The roofs are falling by fragments; and, as if 
the hand of time was too slow in its ravages, and in 
completing its destruction, these soldiers tear away the 
lead which unites the stones and the wood of the roofs. 
It is by these means that a monument of the greatest 
