I reached Cairo the following morning, and thus ended my engagement with Messrs. Waghorn and Co. On resigning my office, I was gratified with a flattering testimonial from Mr. Raven, and an invitation to consider the hotel as my home, so long as I might incline to remain in Egypt. Being as yet quite undetermined what to do, I accepted his very kind offer, occasionally resuming my accustomed seat in the little office, and rendering what assistance I could, in expediting the mails and passengers. There was a good deal of business also, consequent upon the almost daily arrival of parties bound on a visit to Upper Egypt; and not only were all our own boats put in requisition, but many more were hired for the excursion from Boulac and other places. These latter, we were always compelled to sink for some days before they were fit for the reception of any civilized beings, to drive out the cockroaches and other vermin, with which they were infested; and as the temporary owners of these little craft, were naturally desirous of showing off to advantage, in the eyes of such of their countrymen as they would fall in with during their voyage, they sometimes went to considerable expense in having them newly decorated with gaudy arabesques, and quaint patterns, in the brightest colours.
Each boat sailed under a different flag, and a pattern card of such flags as were already up the Nile, was hung in the long room of the hotel, so that each succeeding adventurer might vary his device. For some weeks, the inn appeared as if converted into a sort of wholesale provision warehouse, such ransacking was there of stores and cellars, in quest of the necessaries to furnish the travelling cafass of each party. Great was the draw upon the bottled-ale department, and Messrs. Guiness and Bass, certainly owe a large debt of gratitude to old father Nile, who has so wisely tempered his waters with a mild aperient quality, as to place medicine-chests at a discount at the cataracts, and force even the teetotal traveller to slake his thirst in beer.
Preserved provisions of all sorts were dragged from the cob-webbed recesses under the stairs, where they had lain for many a long year, and the entrance hall was strewed with hermetic legs of pork, giblet-soups, and stewed breasts of veal, with every thing else in the culinary calendar. Among the red tin pots which contained these hidden delicacies, I found one of unusual size, of which the “etiquette” proclaimed the presence of a “round of beef.” Now, it was seven months at least, since I had taken a cut at anything, at all resembling a genuine “round,” and as this pot was the only one of its species, and certainly had no business among the lesser fry, I carried it to Raven. He had not, as it happened, ordered our dinner for that day, and it was therefore settled nem con, that we should dine off the round as soon as it was cooked, Dr. A—— being invited to join us, and share the delicacy. With hammer and chisel, I proceeded to make a breach in the well-soldered top, and drew blood in the shape of a jet of savoury juice, which saluted my face and shirt-front. “There, there,” said Raven, “don’t waste the liquor; call the cook, and let him transfer all to the stew-pan, a quarter of an hour’s simmering will do.” We sat down to table, and smacking our lips, awaited the arrival of Nasr, who made his appearance just as the doctor had finished whetting his knife. Never shall I forget the look of bewildered surprise depicted upon the countenances of my two companions, as Moosah set down and uncovered the dish. There was the “round” certainly, but alas! “quantum mutatus ab illo:” a thing like a Norfolk biffin greeted our astonished gaze, floating in a sea of mouldy gravy. Nasr hardly knew whether to regard it as a joke, or some species of foreign delicacy, with which he was previously unacquainted. As for ourselves, we waited until the cook had prepared us some dish not quite so recherché, whilst we all agreed, that although the “round of beef” might have been potted, it certainly had not been very well preserved!
THE “ROUND OF BEEF.”
New Year’s-day came in due course, but although Raven, on hospitable thoughts intent, had gathered all his English friends around him, our enjoyment was very much saddened by the alarming illness of Mrs. H——, an agreeable young countrywoman, in whom we were all much interested. With death, as it were, at the door, it was scarcely possible that the guests assembled in the long room should indulge in any feeling of hilarity, and thus, although the cheer was ample and excellent, and there was abundance of everything calculated to promote conviviality, our New Year’s dinner passed off in gloom and silence. As for myself, I was suffering so acutely from an attack of rheumatism, that I was glad to retire long before the rest, Bell, who was also on the sick list, bearing me company. The death of our poor friend, occurred early in the morning, and more suddenly than any of us had anticipated. I spent many hours in the house of mourning, to assist in performing the last melancholy duties. The body was consigned to the grave the same afternoon, in a Greek place of burial, near to Old Cairo, the mourners following in two of our desert carriages, drawn by eight white horses at a full trot. The Rev. R—— L—— read the burial service, and before dusk, the whole of the mournful ceremony was over, and we had returned to our homes. Poor H—— felt his bereavement so severely, that he could never be persuaded to return to his own deserted hearth; and his house, which formed a part of the Company’s premises, was afterwards fitted up for the accommodation of such travellers as could not obtain room at the hotel. As such, a portion of it fell to my lot, and I remained there until the period of my quitting Cairo.
Being now, as it were, an idle man, I resolved upon making my long-thought-of visit to the Pyramids, and had no sooner communicated my intention to Furner, who was staying for a few days at the hotel, than he volunteered to join me. Mr. Raven, for some reason or other was unable to accompany us, but we had in his place an English gentleman, who held a government appointment in Egypt.
Mounted on the best donkeys we could select, and followed by a train of attendant Arabs, loaded with the necessary provender, we quitted the hotel late in the afternoon, and rushing at a hand gallop through the narrow streets, and quaint-looking gardens of the suburb, reached, in less than half an-hour, the banks of the Nile, at Fostât, or Old Cairo. Those bound to the Pyramids of Ghizeh, usually cross just above the Island of Rhoda, where the current, owing to the great breadth of the river, is not so strong as to render navigation difficult. A flat-bottomed boat conveyed us to the opposite shore, landing us, donkeys and all, at the little village of Ghizeh. Here we laid in a stock of fruit, such as limes, dates and bananas, and swelled our cortége by the addition of two or three ragged-looking fellows, who persisted in following us, to help us over the various canals and dykes with which our path was intersected by the late inundation of the Nile.
It was dark when we left the village, and gained the open country beyond, and it required constant care on the part of our self-constituted guides to prevent our donkeys from stumbling into the wide cracks which stretched across our path. We had many dykes to ford, our animals being easily persuaded to take to the water, though we eventually came to a bonâ fide canal, which at first sight seemed to present an insurmountable obstacle to our further progress. We all mechanically drew bridle on the high shelving bank, gazing into the dark-looking stream below, with any thing but pleasurable feelings, and here we made a forced halt, whilst a scout ran off to ascertain if there was any other spot at which we could more easily effect a crossing. Not finding any such, one of our guides stripped himself and waded in, and it was some consolation to find, that at the deepest part, the water barely covered his shoulders. Seeing that there was no way of escaping a partial wetting, I divested myself of my nether garments, which I rolled round my gun and carried in my hand, and holding tight on by his top-knot, got safe across upon the shoulders of the tallest Arab of our party, sending him back for my companions. In this way we all reached the opposite bank with but little inconvenience, the donkeys swimming over after us, but as our saddles were soaked, and we ourselves somewhat chilled, we performed the remainder of our journey on foot, reaching the tomb in the neighbourhood of the Pyramids about ten o’clock, just as the moon was rising.
Old Selim had already retired for the night, but a shot fired from one of our guns gave him notice of our approach, and as we came to the bottom of the steps which lead to his hermitage, he was lighting up for our reception. The rock upon which the chief Pyramid appears to be based, crops out of the sand in the form of a gigantic step,[13] and in its face are several caverns, partly excavated, I believe by Colonel Vyse, which serve in the present day for the dwelling of one or two Arabs, and have been rudely fitted up as resting places for travellers.