282 FROM GRAND CAIRO 
CHAP, thermometer, this day at noon, stood at ninety 
VI. 
desrees. 
"O 
As we left Bidac, we had one of the finest 
prospects in the world, presented by the wide 
surface of the Nile crowded with vessels, the 
whole city of Cairo, the busy throng of shipping 
at the quay, the Citadel and heights of Mokatam, 
the distant Said, the Pyramids of Dji a and of 
Saccara, the Obelisk of Heliopolis, and the Tombs 
of the Sultans ; all these were in view at the same 
time; the greater objects being tinged with the 
most brilliant effect of light it is possible to 
conceive; while the noise of the waters, the 
shouts of the boatmen, and the moving picture 
everywhere offered by the Nile, gave a cheerful 
contrast to the stillness of the Desert, and the 
stedfast majesty of monuments, beautifully de- 
scribed by a classic bard as " looking tranquil- 
lity." We continued our progress during the 
evening and the whole of the night. The next 
morning, September the third, we found ourselves 
at Terane, and went on shore to procure a little 
milk for our breakfast. Here we filled two 
large earthen jars with Nile water; and having 
rendered them air-tight, we luted them care- 
fully with the mud of the Nile : then placing 
them in wooden cases, we filled all the vacant 
