88 TRAVELS TO THE EAST. 
left us his companions. He was fcarce got on 
fhore, when he made figns to our Janiffaries, that 
they were permitted to fire on thofe who remained 
on the fhore after him; which the boys, of whom 
the croud chiefly confided, took in good earned, 
and went home. Thefe two men fupped with us very 
moderately and rationally. My interpreter afkedone 
of them, who was a large and ftrong man, why he eat 
fo little ? He anfwered, “ A fool eats more than na- 
« ture requires, and afterwards fickens with it.” Our 
guefts wifhed us a good night, and we reded in our 
boat, where we were better off than if we had re- 
moved to fome of the miferable huts of the peafants. 
On the 18th, in the morning, the Scheck of 
Abufir fent us a cake of flower, honey, butter and 
water. The relifh of it was heightened by the Am- 
ple and well-meaning manner in which we knew it 
was given. The greated virtue the Egyptians and 
Arabs have retained of thofe that were to be found 
a nongd their forefathers, is hofpitality. It would 
be a great error in the father of a family, to let a 
dranger go away without having treated him with 
fomething. A perfon who is hungry, and finds them 
eating, may boldly feat himfelf by them, and eat 
with them, without fear. This is a liberty they 
defire to have returned, as well by their equals as 
others. We walked to the cave of the Mummies. 
On the other fide of the village we met with a -wood 
of the ^Egyptian Acacia, -which in this dry fand w'as 
a mere dirub, whereas in good ground it grows to a. 
lame tree. It was yet in bloffom, and at the fame 
time bore ripe and unripe fruit. We met with hares 
(Lepus timidus) round this wood in fuch numbers, 
that without dogs we killed fome of them as they run 
by us. This occafioned my interpreter to come hi- 
ther again, after we had returned to Cairo, for the 
