160 
CLARKE'S TRAVELS. 
of time, while the boasted renown of every howling soothsayer 
of Telmesstis is hushed in oblivion. 
CHAP. IX. 
FROM ASIA MINOR TO EGYPT. 
The Tauride sails for Egypt—Vigilance of the English Crui¬ 
sers— Extraordinary Instance of the Propagation of Sound 
—Astonishing Appearance presented by the British Fleet— 
Spectacle caused by the Ravages of War—State of Affairs 
upon the Author's Arrival—Obstacles encountered by the Ex¬ 
pedition under Sir Ralph Abercrombie — Sir Sidney Smith —- 
Account of the Campaign—Causes of the Delay in landing 
the Troops—Death of Major M* Arras—Descent of the 
Army — Battle , and Victory , of the Eighth of March — Gene¬ 
ral Menou—Affair of the Twefth—Action of the Thirteenth 
—.Battle of the Twenty first—Sensation caused by the Death 
of Abercrombie—Measures pursued by his Successor—The 
Author's View of the Country—Journey to Rosetta. 
The impatience of our captain to get forward with his cargo 
to the fleet, added to the weak state of my health, made us 
eager to leave Maori. Having got in our stock of w ater, and 
our sheep from Abercrombie’s, isle a contrary wind prevailing, 
w e beat out of the gulph, and made our course for Egypt. The 
wide surface of the Lybian sea was before us. We entertained 
anxious thoughts concerning the safety of cur litttle bark, 
deeply laden and ill suited, either in her complement of mark 
ners or style of construction, to encounter the deadly gales and 
the calms of the Mediterranean. Landsmen, however, are gene¬ 
rally erroneous in their calculations at sea. The success of the 
voyage surpassed our most sanguine expectations. A land breeze 
came on soon after we had cleared the gulph : the sea w r as un¬ 
ruffled : we stole along almost imperceptibly, with hardly wind 
or sensible motion, over a surface so tranquil that a glass full of 
water might have remained upon deck without spilling a drop. 
During this voyage, which continued only five days, the most 
surprising vigilance was manifested by our cruisers, who had 
