[41]The Ababde girl, in relating this tale, sang this part very sweetly, and several who were standing by joined in the chorus.
[42]The Ababde girl sang this.
[43]This man gave me the description of the customs, &c., which I have given, having found them to agree with other accounts. When I asked him whether I could be of any service to him in Cairo, he begged, as a favour, that I would send him a blank book, as he was anxious to make a copy of the Koran.
[44]“Le 17 Avril nous eûmes occasion de voir à Beit el Fakih un exemple du sangfroid et de la fermeté des Arabes. Le feu prit à une maison à l’extrémité méridionale, et, comme le vent soufflait du sud avec violence, en peu de tems la plus grande partie de la ville fut dévorée par les flammes: cependant les habitants restaient tranquilles: on n’entendait dans les rues ni cris, ni lamentations; et quand on plaignait leur sort, ils répliquaient, C’est la volonté de Dieu. Nous occupions une maison de pierre dans un quartier que les flammes épargnèrent: montés sur notre toit nous vîmes les toits des autres maisons, remplis de spectateurs, qui regardaient tranquillement l’incendie. Un savant pauvre, qui nous rendait souvent des visites, vint à nous voir après avoir mis en sûreté ses effets, et nous indiqua d’un air indifférent le moment où sa maison s’embrasa.”
[45]The title which all travellers, who remain any time in Egypt, generally take, is that of Effende. There are two great advantages in assuming a Turkish name:—it affords greater facility to the natives in recollecting it, and it likewise prevents your being called Howwajee, merchant, or, rather, pedler; and as that class of persons are, in this country, rarely respectable, either from their morals or station, an Englishman submitting to such a title, of course, lowers himself, both in the eyes of the Turks and natives. The Arabs, among themselves, often have other names for Europeans. I was called Abou Toweel, Father of the tall. Rosellini had a name in reference to his beard (Abou Dagan); Champollion (Abou Galeed), from his corpulency; and a noble traveller, who has surpassed us all in the extent of his journey up the Nile, was called, I am told, Abou Dagegah, or Father of the Minutes, from the report having spread that he had a dollar every minute. The Turks and Arabs of these provinces, where travellers are more rare, sometimes honour me with the title of Bey Zadé, or, Son of a Governor.
[46]My servant having broken my thermometer at Gibel el Birkel, I have, unfortunately, been unable to ascertain the heat here: I can only remark, that the temperature for these last three months has increased perceptibly every week. Some travellers have stated that the extreme heat in Nubia is in April. Such an observation, if not entirely an error, can only be applicable to that part where heavy tropical rains fall. On the 11th of March (see [p. 97.]) we had 110° in the shade; but although that was the commencement of the extreme heat, and for that reason more difficult to support, I did not experience so great an inconvenience from it as at present. The natives did not then complain as they do now, nor did my servants from Cairo and Thebes suffer so much. They were all ill at El Ourde, and I thought my Greek servant Ibrahim would have died.
[47]Mr. Waddington’s Travels in Ethiopia contain a view and plan of this temple, and also some views of Gibel el Birkel. I have avoided, as much as possible, the disagreeable task of swelling my text with criticisms on the observations and plates of Monsieur Cailliaud. It would, however, be unjust and ungenerous to make any observation on the views of Mr. Waddington, as he states candidly that he was no draughtsman; yet, as no other views had been published, he was, of course, justified in giving such as he possessed.
[48]The names of these two kings occurring together at Semneh, where Thothmes is represented worshipping his ancestor Osirtisen as a god, is confirmatory of the accuracy of the supposition that these are the names in the tomb at Doshe.
[49]See Bruce’s account of the reverence and adoration of the Agous at the source of the Nile.
[50]Inscription No. 1. is from the same portico, and opposite to a large figure, similar to the one in [Plate X.,] Sculpture, Meroe. No. 2. is before a figure presenting offerings. No. 4. before a figure of Anubis. No. 5. before a figure of Horus. The tablet, No. 3. is in the same portico, over a figure kneeling before a funeral boat, very much defaced, at the end of the portico. As will be seen by the [plate,] these inscriptions are very much injured; but, although the least perfect of any that I possess, I publish them, because they are the most important, being from the pyramids of Meroe. No. 6. is an inscription which was above the sculpture on one side of the first chamber excavated out of the rock of the Temple of Tirhaka, Gibel el Birkel. No 7. is another portion of this apparently dedicatory inscription, going round the whole of the room. The hieroglyphics are large, well executed, and very legible, except some which were quite defaced, and others almost covered with dirt. No. 8. are fragments from the large granite altar in the western corner of the great Temple, Gibel el Birkel. The first line is on the south-east side, the second on the north-east; the remainder of the hieroglyphics on this altar I have not been able to publish. [Plate LIII.] shows the two subjects on the altar in the sanctuary of the same temple. (See [Plate XXIV.]) I have alluded to them in my description of the ruins.