TO EGYPT. 331 
spillin"" a drop. During this voyage, which chap. 
continued only five days, the most surprising y _• 
vigilance was manifested by our cruizers, who offhe''^^ 
had the guardianship of the coast of Egypt, crdf^' 
Over an expanse comprehending six degrees of 
latitude, 'it might have been supposed that a 
vessel lying so low in the water, and so small as 
the ship in which we sailed, would escape ob- 
servation : but we were spoken to at least half- 
a-dozen times ; and the master of one of the 
cruizers actually boarded the Taurida, believing, 
from her French aspect, that he should take 
possession of her as a prize. A very remark- Extran. 
'■ i. J dinary in- 
able circumstance occurred, which may convey ^'^nc^ of 
the propa- 
notions of the propagation of sound over water, gation of 
greater than will perhaps be credited; but we 
can appeal to the testimony of those who were 
witnesses of the fact, for the truth of that which 
we now relate. By our observation of latitude, 
we were an hundred miles from the Egyptian 
coast: the sea was perfectly calm, with little 
or no swell, and scarcely a breath of air stirring, 
when Captain Castle called our attention to the 
sound as of distant artillery, vibrating in a low 
gentle murmur upon the water, and distinctly 
heard at intervals during the whole day. He 
said it was caused by an engagement at sea, 
and believed the enemy had attacked our fleet 
off Alexandria. No such event had, howevei', 
sound. 
