We have improved our field mess, stores having been got privately among us. By this means we had a very good one o'clock dinner, followed by a snooze by some of us, while others slept straight on till tea-time. I set out alone for a walk into a part I had not visited before, namely, along the seashore west of Mex Camp, to Dakeilah village. I passed an old fort with three very old cast-iron guns of 9-inch bore, lying uselessly on their sides, one labelled "loaded—dangerous". Beyond that the sand is a great depth, and the natives seemed to have it divided into allotments, each piece dug into a deep, wide trench from 6 to 12 feet deep, and along the bottom they have a row of tomatoes. These grow luxuriantly, apparently in pure sand, but there is probably a liberal supply of manure below. Figs, dates, and grapes seem to be the chief fruits grown.
I passed in a corner shaded by tall palm trees a large well which formed a perfect picture—children frisked about, while women drew water, and all about were their big water jars. Just beyond that my walk took me through a native cemetery, all the tombs exactly alike, a big base about five feet long and nearly three high, and a five foot column on each end. These were the more recent ones, the old graves were merely rough hillocks of stones and clay, as the modern ones will be some day.
I was much astonished to-day at the large number of botanical specimens I came across. For such a sterile part it is most remarkable. I should say 200 species could be picked up in a forenoon's walk.
On returning we all had a talk with a very intelligent Arab boy of about twelve summers, and got a number of words and a few phrases from him. All the native children are very pretty, they have good features, splendid eyes and teeth, and look as sharp as needles. If you dare speak to one it at once gives him an opening to demand backsheesh. I omitted to mention that the only Moslem minaret I have seen so far was in Dakeilah. These may be plentiful in Alexandria, but I have never been there in daylight.
The following are some of the words taught us by the young Arab, but I found it impossible to find a satisfactory spelling for most of them:—
| Gatusheira | Thank you. |
| Daphtar | A book. |
| Chaima | A tent. |
| Muphta | A key. |
| Sigara | A cigar. |
| Salama lecho | Good morning. |
| Dasoyak | Good-bye. |
| Homar | A donkey. |
| Asioa | Yes. |
| La | No. |
The following Arabic words and phrases are from a piece of paper I picked up in Cox's Bank, Alexandria:—
| 1. Wahed. | 6. Setta. | 11. Hidashar. |
| 2. Etneen. | 7. Saba'a. | 12. Etnashar. |
| 3. Talata. | 8. Tamanya. | 13. Talatashar. |
| 4. Arba'a. | 9. Tessa. | 20. Ashrin. |
| 5. Khamsa. | 10. Ashara. | 100. Miya. |
| Naharak said | Good morning. |
| Sa'a kam | What time. |
| Sa'a waked | One o'clock. |
| Maragsh Arabi | I don't speak Arabic. |
| Kam tamanu | What does it cost? |
April 5th.—This has been a day of exceptional heat, and curiously is the religious day of the Moslems called Shem-el-nessim, which in Arabic means "breathing the cool breeze". To-day all their shops are shut, and the whole day is spent in the country. What is celebrated is the first of the hot simoon winds which last fifty days, and apparently the day for their commencement is most accurately gauged. We were all only too glad to carry out the written instructions we received some days ago, to keep under cover and try to sleep from noon to three o'clock, and if you cannot sleep yourself you must keep quiet and allow others to sleep. No bugle calls are allowed between these hours. All round us there has been haze through which the sun could not penetrate, but if he had the result would have been truly terrible. The dust has also been worse than usual and everything in my tent is grey. This is another of the plagues of Egypt. However, if rumour is true, we will soon depart from here for more active service.