CHAPTERVI.

Preparations having been made for erecting a general hospital in the town of Rosetta, all that were capable of being removed from Aboukir were sent there. I left Aboukir, and was taken on board of a Germ on the23dJune; which sailed in the afternoon; and at day-break next morning, we were near the entrance of the Rosetta branch of the Nile. The surf on the bar, at the mouth of the river, was high; but the Arabs, who navigated the vessel, risked the passage. The hazard on such occasions is considerable, owing to the surf, and the shallowness of the water on the bar: for the vessel is in danger of striking on the bottom between the surges; and, when this takes place, the next wave that comes is apt either to break over her and fill her with water, or to overset her.—When we came opposite that part of the bar, which the Arabs thought deepest, they pointed the bow of the vessel to it, and clued up the sails that she might have little pitch, and might float as level as possible; they then got out hand poles; and, as soon as she began to lose head-way, they set the poles to the bottom, and pushed her forward with all their power, making a great noise, until we got over the bar into smooth water. There were several masts of vessels visible near where we passed, that had recently been swamped in this dangerous passage. Many British seamen lost their lives here, for they were ignorant of its real danger, and would hardly be convinced of it, because it had not at a distance a very dangerous appearance. It was not until they had actually got upon the bar, that the extent and nature of the danger were perceivable; and then, to attempt to return against the wind and surge is vain; they must push through or perish. At the first I wondered why the Arabs were making so much noise; but when we came upon the bar my surprise ceased. I had never seen any thing like it; yet the wind was not stormy, and if such was the state of this place with a moderate wind, how terrible must it be in a storm.—As soon as we were in smooth water, the large sails were again spread out to the wind, we passed rapidly up the Nile, and in a short time were at Rosetta.

I was soon taken into a large square building, having a square court in the centre, and piazzas round about from the bottom to the top; the ground flat, which was high in the roof, was occupied as cellars, store-houses, &c. There were two flats above, the various apartments of which communicated with piazza'd passages, round the centre square. This building, from the largeness of its size, and the number of its apartments, accommodated a great many patients, consisting of men of all the different regiments, promiscuously lodged together.

In coming into a place of this kind, among so many strange faces, and various and opposite characters, it is a matter of some consequence to meet with some one previously known, to whom you can talk, in whom you can place confidence, and who will act the part of a comrade. In this respect I was fortunate; falling in with a man of my own company, whose bed was next to mine: a young man of agreeable dispositions. He was the rear rank man of the second file from my right, in the battle of the13thMarch, who got the calf of his leg grazed by the cannon ball, as formerly related. His leg was now in a hopeful way; and being able to move about with the help of a stick, he was serviceable to me who was confined to bed. In this building we were more cool than on the sands of Aboukir; the flies were not so excessively troublesome through the day; and as the floor, which was upon arches, was paved with flat stones, or large bricks, the fleas were not so numerous. But a new enemy attacked us during the night, which we had not met with before—the mosquitoes. They were very troublesome; and there was no way of securing ourselves from their bite, which was very sharp, and for a while had an inflammatory effect; so much so, that every one for some time after his arrival, resembled a person in the height of the measles. Our accommodation and attendance were much better here in many respects. We were provided with sheets for our beds, which was very agreeable; for a sheet was as much as one could bear for a covering during the night; nor was even that needed so much for heat, as to be a partial defence against the musquitoes. Our woollen blankets, which would have been quite uncomfortable from their heat, were very useful now to put under us; for our beds being made of branches of the date tree, put across each other, with a slender matt, made of a particular kind of rushes, laid over them to cover the holes, the cross spars soon became prominent, and were very uneasy to lie upon. My knapsack was my pillow, and my blanket, foldedfour-ply, I put under me. Without it indeed, it would not have been possible to lie in the beds; and even with it, they were very uncomfortable, especially for those who were long and close confined to them.

I had not been in Rosetta above a fortnight, when my wound again inflamed and mortified in a most alarming degree; the leg swelled excessively, and the wound became large and jet black, with a most offensive smell. I was very much alarmed; I beheld many dying, whose wounds were in a similar state, and some of them apparently not so bad; the severity of pain deprived me of appetite: nor could I so much as drink the wine that was allowed me. The pain continued to increase; the discharge from the wound was great; I was reduced to a skeleton, and my strength was failing fast; I was at the gates of death; and, with eternity before me, I was destitute of that discernment of the merits and grace of the Great Redeemer, which alone can form a sure ground of confidence, and a true source of consolation to a poor sinner, ready to perish. I again reflected on my past life, and accused myself of want of firmness in my resolutions. I thought God had now afflicted me in order to make me hate sin, and love righteousness; and that were I again restored to health, and free from pain, nothing in this world would be able to make me leave my duty: and I flattered myself that what I had now suffered had destroyed the love of sin in my heart. Under this persuasion, being in agony through the severity of pain, I exclaimed, "Lord, let it suffice thee, for it is enough; take but thine hand from me this once!" Although this was not a prayer becoming a sinner ready to perish, which ought to have been a supplication for mercy for the sake of Christ; yet God was pleased in his compassion to grant me the thing I sought. He did remove his hand, and spare my life; the mortification, after having raged about three weeks, subsided; the putrid flesh began to fall away; the burning pain left the wound; and in about ten days it was clean; but the mortification had detached, and wholly destroyed, the greater part of the tendon of the heel. I now looked upon myself as one that had been rescued from the grave, and the occurrences that took place immediately, tended still more strongly to impress this upon my mind. The wound of my comrade, who had been serviceable to me when I was so ill, as I began to mend, grew worse, inflamed, and in a few days, nearly the whole of the calf of his leg was one putrid mass. A blood-vessel burst in it during the night; but he was in such pain, that he was not sensible of the bleeding, which continued until day break; when the floor under and around his bed was covered with blood. The surgeon was sent for, to whom he said, "I believe Sir, I have been bleeding to death in the night time, and was not sensible of it." The bleeding had now ceased, but he was so weak that he was unable to speak; and he died in a few hours, and was carried out and buried. The Saviour's words, "One shall be taken and the other left," struck me forcibly in these circumstances: when my comrade, who was so shortly before in a fairer way of recovery than I was, was thus cut off, and I was left as a monument of God's sparing mercy.

His bed was not long empty. In a few days an Irish grenadier was brought to it, whose case was truly hopeless. He had had a boil on the lower part of the breast, which had mortified; the mortification had spread over the breast, and had eaten a hole larger than a dollar into the chest, so that when the dressing was off, the inside of the chest was visible. He lived in great agony for about six days, and died; by which time the hole into the chest was much larger.—In a few days after, the same bed was filled by an artilleryman, a townsman of my own, who had got the calf of one of his legs accidentally bruised. The leg inflamed; amputation was resorted to; but, with all the attention the surgeons paid to him, he also died in a very short time. My wound continued to mend; and as soon as I was able to move, I got a crutch and a staff, and a strap to support my leg, and got out of bed for a part of the day, after having been confined to it nearly six months.

This was about the middle of September, before the Nile had attained the height of its inundation. I passed a part of the day, sitting in one of the front windows which looked to the Nile, and remarked its daily progress. As I grew stronger, I got upon the roof of the building, which was flat, and had a view of the town and the surrounding country. In the country, on the opposite side of the Nile, nothing was to be seen, as far as the eye could reach, but water, with the trees standing in it. I travelled about too, visiting my acquaintances in the hospital who belonged to the same regiment with myself.

Some of the Arab watermen were employed to supply the hospital with water. They brought it from the Nile[16]upon their backs, in the skins of goats slung across their shoulders. The skin had been sewed up after being taken off the animal, and was in its natural shape; the neck part being left open for filling and emptying. (This was simply twisted and held together with the hand, when the skin was to be immediately emptied; but it might be tied, when it was to be kept full, or carried to a distance.) All kinds of liquids, even wine and honey are kept in these skins.—This illustrates the parable of the new wine and old bottles, Lukev.37, 38. The bottles wereskins: and, as wine is a fermented liquor, the skin bottles, once used, would be so much impregnated with the wine that had been in them, that if new wine were put into them, it would cause it to ferment anew; and this would burst them. The original inmates of the hospital were now greatly reduced; a number having recovered, and a great many having died: but it was not allowed in any part to remain empty. Grand Cairo having surrendered to the British and Turkish forces on the24thJune, the sick of our own army were sent down the Nile; and they filled up all the vacancies. Cases of dysentery, and sore eyes, were so numerous, that a number of buildings were fitted up in Rosetta for their reception. Many died of the dysentery; but those afflicted with sore eyes were most numerous, and much to be pitied.—Their torment was excessive: the pain in their eyes was as if they had been filled with burning sand, they had no respite from acute sufferings; and many lost their sight in spite of all the power of medicine. About the end of August, my own eyes became dreadfully inflamed in one night. The surgeon applied a very large blister in the morning, and by next day the inflammation was greatly subsided, but I did not get wholly free of it until I left Egypt, and was several days at sea on the way to Malta. The Egyptianophthalmiawas one of the most dreadful calamities that ever befel the British army.

The French that were in Cairo, amounting to 13000, were embarked and sent to France in the month of August.

As my leg continued to mend, I felt grateful to God for his great mercy to me; but it was not long, until I had to accuse myself of having failed in duty, and come short of my promise; and this threw me into dejection of mind; which however wore gradually off. As I had much leisure time, I read more of my Bible than formerly; but the historical parts attracted my attention more than the doctrinal. Happening to read through the beginning of Exodus, I was struck when I found, that I had made use of the same words that Pharaoh used to Moses,chap.ix.ver.28, and which he afterwards repeated,chap.x.ver.17. This made me fear, lest I should prove like Pharaoh; and in place of being softened by mercies, and bound by gratitude, become hardened by them and perish in the end. I then recollected, that I had heard Dr. Balfour preach, from Hebrewsiii.12, 13, I remembered the words, "lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin," and I turned to the passage and read it. It led me to ponder on the deceitful nature, and dangerous tendency of sin; which increased my fear that I might become hardened, and made my mind very uneasy. I would sometimes think on the instructions I had got, and the tasks I had learned at the Sabbath school; which I had now almost forgotten: I remembered some little of the seventeenth chapter of John, for the learning of which, myself and others had received a penny. This led me to read it, and the fifty-third of Isaiah, which also I had learned; but I did not understand its import, although familiar with the words. I then turned over all the parallel passages, that I had read, in proof of doctrines in the school; and although I did not understand those that treated of the way of a sinner's acceptance with God, by faith in the righteousness and atonement of the great Redeemer, yet it helped to keep the words of Scripture relative to these doctrines on my memory, which was of use to me afterwards. But the doctrines of heaven, and hell, the resurrection, and eternal judgment, are more readily apprehended: and these made increasingly strong impressions on my mind.

I was now pretty certain that I was unfit for military service; and from Egypt, the land of bondage, I cast a longing eye to my native home, and wished myself there, that I might enjoy the benefits of a Sabbath, the instructions of religious teachers, and freedom from the society of the wicked. All my hopes now centered in this, and had I despaired of it, I would have given myself over for lost.

After the French were embarked who had surrendered at Cairo, our troops which had been there, rejoined the army that was blockading Alexandria. Several regiments had lately come from England, so that it was now pretty strong. Alexandria was immediately besieged in form, and the operations pushed so vigorously, that the garrison was compelled to surrender on the 1st September, on condition of retaining their private property and being sent to France. Their number was about eleven thousand, of all descriptions. This event terminated hostilities in Egypt, and our troops prepared to leave it as soon as possible. Rosetta was occupied during the siege by a division of British, and Sepoys, natives of India, under the command of Sir David Baird, who had come from the East Indies to our assistance, with about seven thousand men. They had sailed up the Red sea, and marched through the desert, and arrived at Cairo shortly after it had surrendered. The Sepoys, when off duty, laid aside their uniforms, and walked about in the burning sun with nothing on the body but a pair of very short white drawers.

The dress of men and women of the common people of Egypt, consists of a blue cotton gown resembling a woman's shift: some have an upper and under garment. The men wear a sash or girdle round the middle; a turban and slippers; but no stockings. The women have no girdle round the middle; they wear vails; of which those that I saw were of coarse net-work, resembling the texture of a serjeant's sash, and shaped like the little bag nets used for catching trout in small rivers. The mouth of them is put under the chin and over the forehead, and is fastened behind: there are two holes opposite to the eyes, and the tapering end hangs down the breast. They appear to think, that modesty lies in concealing from public view the lower part of the face, whilst they are very negligent in other respects, which are more essential to that virtue. To Europeans the appearance of their faces, and particularly the part that is usually concealed, is no way interesting.—Their complexion is dark; their eyes, in general, are inflamed; and their cheeks and chins are marked with the figures of half moons, stars, &c. in the way that our sailors mark themselves.

In some of the towns, girls, 14 years old, were seen going to the river for water, in a state of complete nudity; and males of all ages were seen mixed together in groupes, in the same state, without any sense of shame. They anoint their bodies with olive oil, which prevents the sun from blistering the skin. There are no stools or chairs for sitting upon in Egypt; their common way of sitting is upon the hams of their legs, in which posture they will remain for hours, apparently as much at their ease as a European upon a chair; they eat their meals in a reclining posture, but make no use of knives, forks or spoons; when they sup they literally "dip their hand in the dish,"[17]and feed themselves with their fingers in place of spoons. The above customs were practised in the time of Christ, and still exists through the east.

There are numbers of mosques, or Mahomedan churches, in the towns. They have, in general, a particular kind of spires, called minarets, some of which are very lofty: they are in shape at the top like an onion, but have no weathercocks, nor clocks, nor bells; of which latter, the Mahomedan religion prohibits the use. The minarets have all one or more balustrades round them, into which a man ascends at the end of every watch, and walks round, calling the people to prayers with as loud a voice as he possibly can. In Egypt it is commonly a blind man who performs this office.

The uninterrupted sunshine at Cairo, afforded the French the means of partly supplying the want of clocks and bells, by ascertaining exactly when it was twelve o'clock. They mounted one of the guns in the citadel upon a peculiar construction, and put some fine brass work at the breech, in which was a burning glass just over the touch hole; by which the rays of the sun, the instant he reached the meridian, kindled the powder and fired the gun. This is a proof that clouds and rain are seldom seen at Cairo; otherwise the firing of the gun could not have been depended on. When the French left the citadel, the Turks got possession of it; and some of them broke and stole the brass work of this gun, supposing the polished metal to be gold.

The heat of the country was very oppressive; and the army that went to Cairo suffered much from it during their march. The perspiration came through their clothes, and wetted their buff belts opposite the back, just as if they had been soaked in water.

About this time a very melancholy accident happened to some men of the13thregiment of foot. Their regimental store house was in a building a few yards from the hospital; some of them were employed sorting cartridges in a room on the first floor, when one of them came in smoking tobacco, and thoughtlessly held his head over an open chest into which they were packing the cartridges; a spark fell from the pipe, and the powder exploded and gave a violent shock to the hospital and adjacent buildings; several men, and a serjeant's wife, were killed in the house, and I think nine or ten more were much bruised and dreadfully burned, and were brought into the hospital; their condition was more pitiful than that of those who were severely wounded, because so much of the skin of the face and body had been burned, that they had not sound skin left to lie upon; five or six of them lingered about a week in great agony, and died. I think that twelve or sixteen were killed or severely injured by this accident. Some who were sitting in the bottom of an open window, with their legs over the wall, were blown down into the street, but were not much hurt.

Towards the end of September, my wound was nearly whole, but my leg was very much contracted. I was ordered to prepare to join my regiment at Alexandria to go home with it. But before taking a final leave of the hospitals, I would make a few further remarks upon the manner in which I saw my fellow creatures depart this life. And it must be confessed, that to all appearance many of them diedhardy; they might groan through extremity of bodily pain, but did not exhibit any anguish of mind at the fear of death or judgment; but I could not discern any rational ground for this apparent want of anxiety about futurity. To make a merit of meeting death bravely, when it can not be avoided, is but a poor reason for a rational, immortal, and accountable creature, to act upon. If man is a sinner, and must render an account to his Maker when he dies, surely to manifest no concern about the issue of death, is not to act the part worthy of a rational creature. To shut out all concern about eternity, in order to act theheroat the last, is liker the conduct of a blind madman than a truehero; for true courage in the hour of death can only be founded on the knowledge of our being happier hereafter; and this persuasion is only to be attained, by the reception of the good news of salvation by Jesus Christ, revealed in the Scriptures. Infidelity has said much against the superstition of the Bible; but while it does this, it gives an accountable creature nothing in the room of it upon which to found a reasonable hope for eternity. Infidels have often said that the fears of hell which make men afraid to die, are the produce of superstition. Were there none of those whom I saw die, who had freed themselves of the fears produced by the Bible account of a future state? It is likely that some of them had; for their previous habits and behaviour were as opposite to the Scriptures, as if they had never heard of such a book; and it was as little talked of, as if it had never existed. If infidelity betrue, the death of its disciples ought to be more dignified and composed than that of any others: their future prospects ought to be the most certain, intelligent, and cheering to the immortal soul, when it is about to take its flight into the world of spirits and return to God who gave it. A dying infidel, if his system betruth, should be one that should rejoice in death, that he had freed himself from the fears produced by the Bible; he ought to be able to direct those around his dying bed to the truth that supports his mind, and show, at the same time, that he has a proper discernment of his own condition as an accountable creature, and suitable conceptions of the moral character of his Maker and Judge. But of all that I ever saw die, I never heard any rejoicing in the assertions of infidelity: I saw many die apparentlyhardy; but their deaths resembled more that of the beasts that perish, than of accountable immortal creatures. I have since seen Christians die, but the manner of their death was very different: their conceptions of the majesty and holy purity of God were exalted; their sense of the evil of their own sins, and the moral responsibility of their conduct, was deep; but with all this full in their view, they had good hope through trusting in Christ; and I never yet saw or heard of a dying Christian who regretted that he had trusted too much to Christ, or thought too highly of him; but the contrary. I have often heard them regret deeply that they had thought too lowly of him, and of what he had done to save sinners, and had trusted too little to him, and depended too little on the promises of the Bible; and I have heard them pray earnestly for forgiveness for this, as being the most heinous of all their sins.—Reader, if ever your mind has been stumbled by the arguments of infidelity, try it by this test,—what provision does it make for eternity, to a sinful and accountable creature; and you will find that in this most important of all other concerns it makes no provision whatever: it is revelation alone that either does or can make any provision for a certain ground of hope for futurity. God alone can tell how he will forgive sin: he has done this in the Scriptures, and there alone. O be sure you examine what is revealed in them upon this subject, and build your hope for eternity only upon what God has revealed to a sinner to trust in, that you may not die in despair, nor be deluded by a false hope, and finally be disappointed: and for this purpose, I earnestly entreat your serious consideration of what is said towards the conclusion of this narrative.

Before leaving the hospital, I feel bound in gratitude to acknowledge the care and attention that was paid to the sick and wounded: all things considered, every thing was done for them that could be done, and much expense was incurred for medicines, attendance, and accommodation, and every exertion made to procure suitable provisions. When I think upon it to this day, I feel grateful for the care that was taken of the helpless, and those who were rendered unfit to serve their country any longer: by this means many were preserved to their families and their friends, who otherwise would never have returned.

On the29thSeptember, I embarked in a Germ on the Nile, which dropped down the river, and lay near the entrance, to be ready to pass the bar early in the morning, that being the most favourable time; for the wind rises at sun rise, and blows from the sea up the river during the day, with a steady, and sometimes strong breeze, and dies away in the evening. Vessels going up the Nile carry a press of sail, and go at a great rate during the day, and stop at night: vessels going down the river lower their sails and yards, lay their broadside to the stream, and drift along with it. On the morning of the30th, the wind and surf were so high, that it was unsafe to attempt passing the bar; so that we returned to Rosetta and lay it the quay three days, waiting for moderate weather. The Nile was still considerably above its banks: the extensive fields of rice, and corn, particularly on the east side, excited my admiration. The seed had been sown previously to the inundation, and had taken root and grown up with the rise of the water; which made it to have a compact and level surface, resembling that of a bowling-green, for many miles. This crop would be ripe, by the time the inundation would fall within the banks of the river; and another crop of wheat or barley, and one of clover or vegetables, would be produced before the return of the inundation next year.—Water is raised by buffaloes and oxen from the river, into the canals;[18]the beds of which are above the level of the country. It is let out into the fields during the growth of the other two crops; and when the last one is reaped, this labour is suspended. Then the heat of the sun soon dries the ground, and rends it into numerous and deep fissures; some of them are from ten to twenty feet deep. The army experienced considerable difficulty from this cause, on its march back from Cairo; particularly at night, when both men and horses were in danger of having their legs broke by falling into them.

While I lay at the quay, I was astonished at the great number of boats discharging cargoes of grain, which was piled in huge heaps in the open air, not far from the brink of the river;[19]a sight which reminded one of the words of Jacob, "I have heard that there iscornin Egypt." But, with all this plenty, it is a miserable place. The common people enjoy little of its abundance; their condition is the most wretched I ever saw or heard of among civilized nations. The houses of the peasantry are mere hovels, little if any thing better than the Kraals of the wild Hottentots.[20]The inhabitants of the land of Egypt, which was the house of bondage to the children of Israel, now suffer bondage in their own land, little, if at all, interior to that which their ancestors made the Israelites suffer. The government has for a long time been in the hands of Turks or Mamelukes, who are always foreigners, and who rule with rigour; and the inhabitants never take any interest in the affairs of the government, but are entirely passive to every change that takes place. The country abounds with Arabs. The Copts, its original inhabitants, are the fewest in number; they profess Christianity, and are the more liable, on that account, to be oppressed by their Mahomedan masters. The prediction is now fully verified, that Egypt, once thefirstof nations, should become thebasestof kingdoms:Ezek.xxix.15, 16. It is sunk so low in ignorance and wretchedness, that, if it were not for the many elegant and stupendous remains of antiquity existing in the country, the voice of history, strong as it is, could scarcely be credited, that it was once thefirstof nations, and the seat of the arts and sciences. It is a land of pestilence and disease. "In Cairo, last year, forty thousand were supposed to be infected with the plague: and many of the French garrison died in that city, although the disease was treated in their hospitals with the greatest ability. In Upper Egypt sixty thousand perished during the same season,"[21]besides those who died of it in other parts of the country. Among the British, the plague was confined to the "hospital and troops stationary at Aboukir, where it broke out on the12thApril, and terminated on the26thAugust. Three hundred and eighty, in the course of that time, were affected with it; one hundred and seventy-three died, and two hundred and seven recovered. The deaths chiefly fell on the orderlies, nurses, and other servants of the hospitals."[22]"The plague raged again at Rosetta towards the fall of the year and numbers of the Sepoys died of it."[23]When a person is infected with the pestilence, after the manner of Egypt, (Amosiv.10,) the disease is indicated by two boils which are commonly in the groin. In addition to the plague, "Leprosy of the worst species, and Elephantiasis, which swells the legs larger than a common bolster," and a number of other diseases are very general. "The number of blind is prodigious, nearly every fifth inhabitant has lost one eye, and many both. All the children have sore eyes, and Europeans do not escape better. The French at first had more than two thirds of their army affected with this malady; and the English, during their short stay, had one hundred and sixty totally blind, and two hundred that lost one eye irrecoverably."[24]How many more were affected with this dreadful malady among the troops that remained in the country until the following year, when it was wholly evacuated, I can not tell; but have reason to believe the number was considerable. Children must suffer much during their infancy from the flies, because they are unable to drive them from their eyes. I saw a woman going to the Nile for water, which she carried in a pitcher upon her head: a naked child sat across her shoulders; its little hands were employed in holding by the head of its mother, to prevent itself from falling; its eye-lashes were literally black with flies that were sucking at its eyes, as they would do at sugar. They work themselves into the inner coating of the eyelids of infants, which no doubt causes some of them to lose their sight in their tender years. In addition to flies, gnats and mosquitoes, all other kinds of vermin are incredibly numerous and troublesome; so much so, that, although there were nothing else but them, they would make Egypt an uncomfortable country to live in. Although the French used all the freedom of conquerors, they were perfectly sick of it. When we landed, they supposed, that, after we had expelled them, we intended to retain possession of it; and they sincerely pitied the lot of their supposed successors. They fought, indeed, bravely; but it was not out of love to the country, but in subordination to military discipline, and for the honour of their arms; but when compelled to surrender on condition of being sent home to France, they rejoiced in the event as a happy deliverance. And indeed it was no wonder; for, in addition to the disagreeable nature of the climate, many of the military posts where they did duty, being in lonely sandy deserts, were so ill accommodated, and in all respects so uncomfortable, that to do service at them was fitter for being a punishment to men banished for their crimes, than for those who deserved well of their country.

Dr. Clarke sailed up the Nile on the 10th of August, 1801, when the river was beginning to overflow the country. The following extract corroborates all that I had heard related by my comrades, after they had returned from Cairo, and is so interesting, that it will gratify such readers as have not access to his work. After passing Rachmanie, he says, "Villages in an almost uninterrupted succession, denoted a much greater population than we had imagined this country to contain. Upon each side of the river, as far as the eye could reach, we saw fields of corn and rice, with such beautiful groves, seeming to rise out of the watery plains, and to shade innumerable settlements in theDelta, amidst never-ending plantations of melons, and all kinds of garden vegetables, that, from the abundance of its harvests, Egypt might be deemed the richest country in the world. Such is the picture exhibited to the native inhabitants, who are seasoned to withstand the disorders of the country, and can bear with indifference the attacks of myriads of all sorts of noxious animals; to whom mud and mosquitoes, or dust and vermin, are alike indifferent; who, having never experienced one comfortable feeling in the midst of their highest enjoyments, nor a single antidote to sorrow in the depths of their wretchedness, vegetate, like thebananasandsycamoresaround them. But strangers, and especially the inhabitants ofNortherncountries, where wholesome air and cleanliness are among the necessaries of life, must consider Egypt as the most detestable region upon earth. Upon the retiring of the Nile, the country is one vast swamp. The atmosphere is impregnated with every putrid and offensive exhalation, then stagnates, like the filthy pools over which it broods. Then, too, the plague regularly begins; nor ceases, until the waters return again.[25]Throughout the spring, intermitting fevers universally prevail. About the beginning of May, certain winds cover even the sands of the desert with the most disgusting vermin.[26]The latest descendants of Pharaoh are not yet delivered from the evils which fell upon the land, when it was smitten by the hands of Moses and Aaron; the 'plague of frogs,' the 'plague of lice,' the 'plague of flies,' the 'murrain, boils, and blains,' prevail so, that the whole country is 'corrupted,' and 'the dust of the earth becomes lice, upon man and upon beast, throughout the land of Egypt.' This application of the words of sacred Scripture affords a literal statement of existing evils, such an one as the statistics of the country do now warrant. In its justification, an appeal may be made to the testimony of all those who have resided in the country during the very opposite seasons of its prosperity and privation; during the inundation, and when the flood has retired, or before it takes place, in the beginning of the year. At the period of the overflow, persons who drink the water become subject to a disorder called 'prickly heat:' this often terminates in those dreadful wounds alluded to in the sacred writings, by the words 'boils and blains.' During the months ofJune,July, andAugust, many individuals are deprived of sight, owing to a disorder of the eyes peculiar to this country.Europeans, having no other name for it, have called itophthalmia, from the organs it affects. There was hardly an individual who did not suffer, more or less, the consequences of this painful malady. At this season, also, the dysentery begins to number its victims; and although some be fortunate enough to escape the worst effects of this disorder, it proves fatal in many instances."[27]

Dr. Clarke's account of what he experienced at Cairo, in the middle of August, is also interesting: "The mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer seemed at this time fixed. It remained at 90 degrees for several days, without the smallest perceptible change. Almost every European suffered from inflammation of the eyes. Many were troubled with cutaneous disorders. The prickly heat was very common. This was attributed to drinking the muddy water of the Nile, the inhabitants having no other. Their mode of purifying it, in a certain degree, is by rubbing the inside of the water vessel with bruised almonds: this precipitates a portion of the mud, but it is never quite clear. Many persons were afflicted with sores upon the skin, which were called 'biles of the Nile;' and dysenterical complaints were universal. A singular species oflizardmade its appearance in every chamber, having circular membranes at the extremity of its feet, which gave it such tenacity, that it walked upon window-panes of glass, or upon the surfaces of pendent mirrors.[28]This revolting sight was common to every apartment, whether in the houses of the rich or of the poor. At the same time, such a plague of flies covered all things with their swarms, that it was impossible to eat without hiring persons to stand by every table with feathers, or flappers, to drive them away. Liquor could not be poured into a glass; the mode of drinking was by keeping the mouth of every bottle covered until the moment it was applied to the lips: and instantly covering it with the palm of the hand, when removing it to offer to any one else. The utmost attention to cleanliness, by a frequent change of every article of wearing apparel, could not repel the attacks of vermin which seemed to infest even the air of the place. A gentleman made his appearance before a party he had invited to dinner, with lice swarming upon his clothes. The only explanation he could give as to the cause, was, that he had sat for a short time in one of the boats upon the canal. Perhaps objection may be made to a statement even of facts, which refers to no pleasing theme; but the author does not conceive it possible to giveEnglishmena correct notion of the trials to which they will be exposed in visiting this country, without calling some things by their proper names."[29]

Before losing sight of the contest that was in Egypt, it may not be amiss to glance at the unavoidable evils ofwar. With the inhabitants we had no quarrel: our sole object was to expel the French. But this could not be done, without the peaceful inhabitants receiving, in many cases, serious injury. The roads from town to town did not suit the march of the army to and from Cairo; the troops generally took the direct road through the corn-fields, and their encampments were sometimes in fields of corn, tobacco, poppies, sego, melons, indigo, &c. the produce of which, however valuable, was destroyed. Fuel was scarce; and the soldiers were necessitated to use whatever would burn. Stalks of tobacco, bean straw, and such like substances, were used to boil the kettles;[30]and in places where dry straw was difficult to be had, it was necessary to place guards at the entrances to the neighbouring villages or towns, to prevent the soldiers from unroofing the houses for wood to make fuel: and with all the attention of the officers, such was the necessity of the case, that injury could not always be prevented.

The discipline of the army was strict, and the general behaviour of the troops good; but many instances of petty depredations and pilfering took place, that were not known, and could not be prevented. Many instances occurred of inhabitants, particularly Arabs, who sold bread, fruit, eggs, &c. having their articles taken from them by "fellows of the baser sort," without any payment, and sometimes with abuse into the bargain. The Arabs when so used would throw dust upon their heads, and call upon God, and the Prophet, and the Sultan. But as this usage was not general, and as the army spent a considerable sum of good money among them,[31]they were not deterred from following it with whatever they had to sell, and I believe many of them made more money at that time, than ever they had an opportunity of doing before or since. On the afternoon of the 2d October, we again left Rosetta, and lay for the night near the mouth of the river. The wind was moderate next morning; we passed the bar safely: had a pleasant voyage across the bay of Aboukir, and through Like Maadie; passed through the cut in the banks of the canal of Alexandria into Lake Mareotis,[32]and landed not far from the place where the battle of the21stof March was fought, of which I had thus another view, and which I never can forget. I joined the regiment on the heights of Alexandria; we embarked next day at Aboukir, on board of two frigates; sailed on the morning of the7thOctober; and lost sight of the celebrated land of Egypt by 12 o'clock. None regretted this. We indeed regretted our countrymen and comrades, who had found a grave there; but the country itself had no charms to make us regret leaving it. All our thoughts were now fixed upon home; and we rejoiced to think, that every day was bringing us nearer it.

16.During the time of the inundation, the water in the river is very thick but as much pure water as served us for drinking, was procured from some private wells in the town, which I suppose had a communication with the river, which had the effect of filtering the water.

17.Matthewxxvi.23.

18.I saw the buffaloes at this employment, when I sailed up the river, on the24thJune, when coming to Rosetta. The buffalo is much larger than the ox; his bones are uncommonly large, even in comparison to the size of his body, which is very lean; his strength must be much greater than that of the ox. When he walks, he carries his head like the camel, his nose being nearly as high as his horns, and is on the whole a very dull looking animal; but, notwithstanding, he is capable of being trained to this work, as well, if not better, than the ox, for I saw them keeping a slow but steady pace at their work, without the immediate presence of a driver. The water is raised by a wheel, upon which buckets or earthen pitchers are fastened.Since the publication of the first edition, I have seen the5thvol.of Dr. Clarke's Travels in Egypt; and as his knowledge is more extensive than mine, I take the liberty of inserting an extract, upon the produce and manner of cultivating the Delta. Speaking of the method of watering the ground, he says, "The land thus watered, produces three crops in each year; the first of clover, the second of corn, and the third of rice. The rice grounds are inundated, from the time of sowing nearly to harvest. The seed is commonly cast upon the water, a practice twice alluded to in sacred Scripture.Balaamprophesied ofIsrael,Numb.xxiv.7, that 'his seed should be in many waters.' In the directions given for charity, by the son ofDavid, it is written,Eccles.xi.1. 'Cast thy bread (i. e.bread corn) upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.' When the rice plants are about two feet high they are transplanted."—Vol.v.pp.47, 48.

Since the publication of the first edition, I have seen the5thvol.of Dr. Clarke's Travels in Egypt; and as his knowledge is more extensive than mine, I take the liberty of inserting an extract, upon the produce and manner of cultivating the Delta. Speaking of the method of watering the ground, he says, "The land thus watered, produces three crops in each year; the first of clover, the second of corn, and the third of rice. The rice grounds are inundated, from the time of sowing nearly to harvest. The seed is commonly cast upon the water, a practice twice alluded to in sacred Scripture.Balaamprophesied ofIsrael,Numb.xxiv.7, that 'his seed should be in many waters.' In the directions given for charity, by the son ofDavid, it is written,Eccles.xi.1. 'Cast thy bread (i. e.bread corn) upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.' When the rice plants are about two feet high they are transplanted."—Vol.v.pp.47, 48.

19.The grain was measured by an Arab into baskets, which were carried to the heap by others, upon their shoulders. The measurer accompanied his work with a song indicative of the quantity he put into each basket. The owner stood upon the quay and received a bean or pea from the carriers as they passed by him to the heap; and this was the method by which he kept an account of the quantity landed.

20.I saw the exterior of some of these houses on the banks of the Nile, but never had an opportunity of seeing their interior. SirR.Wilson says, invol.i.pp.156, 157, "All language is insufficient to give a just idea of the misery of an Egyptian village; but those who have been in Ireland, may best suppose the degree, when an Irish hut is described as a palace, in comparison to an Arab's stye; for it can be called by no other name. Each habitation is built of mud, even the roof, and resembles in shape an oven: within is only one apartment, generally of about ten feet square. The door does not admit of a man's entering upright; but, as the bottom is dug out about two feet, when in the room an erect posture is possible. A mat, some large vessels to hold water, which is the constant occupation of the women to fetch; a pitcher made of fine porous clay, found best in Upper Egypt, near Cunei, and in which the water is kept very cool; a rice pan and coffee pot, are all the ornaments and utensils. Here, then, a whole family eat and sleep without any consideration of decency or cleanliness; being, in regard to the latter, worse even than the beasts of the field, which naturally respect their own tenements."

Back to Index Next