ed upon the spot; the plan being, when parties
arrive, to drive the unhappy creatures into the house, kill and pluck
them immediately.

The persons in care of these bungalows are usually a mongrel sort of
Franks, who have no idea of cleanliness, and are regardless of the
most unsavoury odours. The furniture of the rooms consisted of a deal
table and a moveable divan of wicker-work, while another, formed of
the same solid materials as the house, spread in the Egyptian fashion
along one side. Upon this Miss E. and myself laid our beds; our two
other lady friends, with the infant and female attendant, occupying
the opposite apartment. We concluded the evening with tea and supper,
for which we were amply provided, having cold fowls, cold ham,
hard-boiled eggs, and bread and fruit in abundance. Wrapped up in our
dressing-gowns, we passed a very comfortable night, and in the morning
were able to procure the luxury of warm water for washing with.

Having discovered that the people of the hotel at Cairo had forgotten
to put up some of the articles which we had ordered, and being afraid
that our supplies might fail, we had sent Mohammed back for them. He
did not rejoin us until eight o'clock the following morning, just
as we had begun to grow uneasy about him; it appeared that, although
apparently well acquainted with the desert, having crossed it many
times, he had missed the track, and lost his way, and after wandering
about all night, was glad to meet with a man, whom he engaged as a
guide. The poor fellow was much exhausted, but had not omitted to
bring us a bottle of fresh milk for our breakfast. We desired him to
get some tea for himself, and he soon recovered; his spirits never
forsaking him.

In consequence of these delays, it was rather late, past nine o'clock,
before we set forward. I had provided myself with a pair of crape
spectacles and a double veil, but I speedily discarded both; the crape
fretted my eye-lashes, and would have produced a greater degree of
irritation than the sand. A much better kind are those of wire, which
tie round the head with a ribbon, and take in the whole eye. Though
the sun was rather warm, its heat was tempered by a fresh cold air,
which blew across the desert, though not strongly enough to lift the
sand; we, therefore, travelled with much less inconvenience than is
sustained upon a turnpike-road in England in dusty weather. I could
not endure to mar the prospect by looking at it throu