ine in Alexandria, I was almost worse off than during my
stay in Beyrout. It is necessary, in dealing with the captain of a
vessel of this description, to have a written contract for every
thing--stating, for instance, where he is to land, how long he may
stay at each place, etc. I mentioned this fact at the consulate,
and begged the gentlemen to do what was necessary; but they assured
me the captain was known to be a man of honour, and that the
precaution I wished to take would be quite superfluous. Upon this
assumption, I placed myself fearlessly in the hands of the man; but
scarcely had we lost sight of land, when he frankly declared that
there were not sufficient provisions and water on board to allow of
our proceeding to Alexandria, but that he must make for the harbour
of Limasol in Cyprus. I was exceedingly angry at this barefaced
fraud, and at the loss of time it would occasion me, and offered all
the opposition I could. But nothing would avail me; I had no
written contract, and the rest of the company offered no active
resistance--so to Cyprus we went.

A voyage in an ordinary sailing-vessel, which is not a packet-boat,
is as wearisome a thing as can be well conceived. The lower portion
of the ship is generally so crammed with merchandise, that the deck
alone remains for the passengers. This was the case on the present
occasion. I was obliged to remain continually on deck: during the
daytime, when I had only my umbrella to shield me from the piercing
rays of the sun; at night, when the dews fell so heavily, that after
an hour my cloak would be quite wet through, in cold and in stormy
weather. They did not even spread a piece of sailcloth by way of
awning. This state of things continued for ten days and eleven
nights, during which time I had not even an opportunity to change my
clothes. This was a double hardship; for if there is a place above
all others where cleanliness becomes imperative to comfort, it is
certainly on board a Greek ship, the generality of which are
exceedingly dirty and disgusting. The company I found did not make
amends for the accommodation. The only Europeans on board were two
young men, who had received some unimportant situation in a
quarantine office from the Turkish government. The behaviour of
both was conceited, stupid, and withal terribly vulgar. Then there
were four students from Alexandria, who boarded at Beyrout, and were
going home to spend the vacation--good-na