These Bishareen are people known here, and may be trusted; but, while you stay, let me see you every day, and, if you want anything, send by a servant of mine.' ing hands; it is a mark of hom- | you know if Mahomet Towash age and distant respect paid in is gone to Egypt?' 'I know my country to our sovereigns, he is gone to Barbar,' says the and to none earthly besides.' porter; 'the two Mahomets, Sitt. O yes! but the kings.' Abd-el-Jeleel, the Bishareen, Ya. 'Yes, and the queens too, are with him.' 'Why did he always on the knee, madam; I take all the Hybeers?' says said our sovereigns, meaning Sittina. "The men were tired both king and queen. On her and discouraged, answered the part it is a mark of gracious porter, by their late ill-usage condescension, in favour of from the Cubba-beesh, and, rank, merit, and honourable being stripped of everything, behaviour; it is a reward for they wanted to be at home.' dangerous and difficult services, Sitt. 'Somebody else will offer, above all other compensation.' but you must not go without a Sitt. 'But do you know that no good man with you; I will not man ever kissed my hand but suffer you. you?' Ya. 'It is impossible I should know that, nor is it material. Of this I am confident, it was meant respectfully, cannot hurt you, and ought not to offend you.' Sitt. It certainly has done neither, but I wish very much Idris, my son, would come and see you, as it is on his account I dressed myself today.' Ya. 'I hope, madam, when I do see him, he will think of some way of forwarding me safely to Barbar, in my way to Egypt.' Sitt. 'Safely! God forgive you! you are throwing yourself away wantonly. Idris himself, king of this country, dares not undertake such a journey. But why did not you go along with Ma-tremities of Africa. They are homet Towash? He set out only a few days ago for Cairo, the same way you are going, and has, I believe, taken all the Hybeers with him.-Go call the porter,' says she to her slave. When the porter came, 'Do | This being the first time I have had occasion to mention this useful set of men, it will be necessary I should here explain their office and occupation. A Hybeer is a guide, from the Arabic word Hubbar, to inform, instruct, or direct, because they are used to do this office to the caravans travelling through the desert in all its directions, whether to Egypt and back again, the coast of the Red Sea, or the countries of Sudan, and the western ex men of great consideration, knowing perfectly the situation and properties of all kinds of water to be met on the route; the distance of wells, whether occupied by enemies or not, and, if so, the way to avoid them with the least inconve- | me that he had been sick for nience. It is also necessary to them to know the places occupied by the simoom, and the seasons of their blowing in those parts of the desert; likewise those occupied by moving sands. He generally belongs to some powerful tribe of Arabs inhabiting these deserts, whose protection he makes use of to assist his caravans, or protect them in time of danger, and handsome rewards were always in his power to distribute on such occasions; but now that the Arabs in these deserts are everywhere without government, the trade between Abyssinia and Cairo given over, that between Sudan and that metropolis much diminished, the importance of that office of Hybeer, and its consideration, is fallen in proportion. One day, sitting in my tent, musing upon the very unpromising aspect of my affairs, an Arab of very ordinary appearance, naked, with only a cotton cloth around his middle, came up to me, and offered to conduct me to Barbar, and thence to Egypt. He said his house was at Daroo, on the side of the Nile, about twenty miles beyond Syene, or Assouan, nearer Cairo. I asked him why he had not gone with Mahomet Towash? He said he did not like the company, and was very much mistaken if their journey ended well. Upon pressing him further if this was really the only reason, he then told some months at Chendi, contracted debt, and had been obliged to pawn his clothes, and that his camel was detained for what still remained unpaid. After much conversation, repeated several days, I found that Idris (for that was his name) was a man of some substance in his own country, and had a daughter married to the Schourbatchie at Assouan. He said that this was his last journey, for he never would cross the desert again. A bargain was now soon made. I redeemed his camel and cloak; he was to show me the way to Egypt; and he was there to be recompensed, according to his behaviour. I prepared now to leave Chendi, but first returned my benefactress, Sittina, thanks for all her favours. She had called for Idris, and given him very positive instructions, mixed with threats, if he misbehaved; and hearing what I had done for him, she, too, gave him an ounce of gold, and said, at parting, that, for knowledge of the road through the desert, she believed Idris to be as perfect as anybody; but, in case we met with the Bishareen, they would neither show to him nor to me any mercy. She gave me, however, a letter to Mahomet Abou Bertran, Shekh of one of the tribes of Bishareen, on the Tacazzé, near the Magiran, which she made her son write from the Howat, it not being usual, On the 20th of October, in the evening, we left Chendi, and rested two miles from the town, and about a mile from the river; and next day, the 21st, at three quarters past four in the morning, we continued our journey, and passed through five or six villages of the Jaheleen on our left; at nine, we alighted to feed our camels under some trees, having gone about ten miles. At this place begins a large island in the Nile several miles long, full of villages, trees, and corn. It is called Curgos. Opposite to this is the mountain Gibbainy, where is the first scene of ruins I have met with since that of Axum, in Abyssinia. We saw here heaps of broken pedestals, like those of Axum, all plainly designed for the statues of the dog; some pieces of obelisk, likewise, with hieroglyphics, almost totally obliterated. The Arabs told us these ruins were very extensive; and that many pieces of statues, both of men and animals, had been dug up there; the statues of the men were mostly of black stone. It is impossible to avoid risking a guess that this is the ancient city of Meroë. On the 25th we came to the Tacazzé, a tributary of the Nile, and the boundary between Atbara and Barbar. The river is here about a quarter of a mile broad, and exceedingly deep. Its waters are judged by the Arabs to be lighter, clearer, and wholesomer than those of the Nile. It unites with the waters of the Nile about half a mile from this ferry. Though the boats were smaller, the people more brutish, and less expert than those at Halifoon, yet the supposed sanctity of our characters, and liberal payment, carried us over without any difficulty. I reflected with much satisfaction upon the many circumstances the sight of this river recalled to my mind; but still the greatest was, that the scenes of these were now far distant, and that I was by so much the more advanced towards home. On the 26th, at six o'clock, leaving the Nile on our left about a mile, we continued our journey over gravel and sand, through a wood of acacia-trees, the colour of whose flowers was now changed to white, whereas all the rest we had before seen were yellow. At one o'clock we left the wood, and at forty minutes past three we came to water. We filled four skins, which might contain altogether about a hogshead and a half. While the camels were loading, I bathed myself with infinite pleasure for a long half hour in the Nile; and thus took leave of my old acquaintance, very doubtful if we should ever meet again. We then turned our face to N.E., leaving the Nile, and entering into a bare desert of fixed gravel, without trees, and of a very disagreeable Gooz, a small village, which nevertheless is the capital of Barbar. The village of Gooz is a collection of miserable hovels composed of clay and canes. There are not in it above thirty houses, but there are six or seven different villages. The heat seemed here a little abated, but everybody complained of a disease in their eyes they call Tishash, which often terminates in blindness. I apprehend it to be owing to the simoom and fine sand blow-whitish colour, mixed with small ing through the desert. Here pieces of white marble, and a misfortune happened to Idris, pebbles like alabaster. our Hybeer, who was arrested for debt, and carried to prison. As we were now upon the very edge of the desert, and to see no other inhabited place till we should reach Egypt, I was not displeased to have it in my power to lay him under one other obligation before we trusted our lives in his hands, which we were immediately to do. I therefore paid his debt, and reconciled him with his creditors, who, on their part, behaved very moderately to him. It was on the 9th of November, at noon, we left Gooz, and set out for the sakia, or watering-place, which is below a little village called Hassa. All the west side of the Nile is full of villages down to Takaki, but they are all Jaheleen, without government, and perpetually in rebellion. At half past three in the afternoon we came to the Nile to lay in our store of Our camels we found were too heavily loaded, but we comforted ourselves that this fault would be mended every day by the use we made of our provisions; however, it was very much against them that they were obliged to pass this whole night without eating. Our shoes, that had needed constant repair, were become at last absolutely useless, and the hard ground, from the time we passed Amour, had worn the skin off in several places, so that our feet were very much inflamed by the burning sand. On the 13th we saw about a mile north-west a rock not considerable in size, but, from the plain country in which it is situated, has the appearance of a great tower or castle, and south of it two hillocks, or little hills. These are all land-marks of the utmost consequence to caravans in their journey, because they are too considerable in size to be covered at any | desert, from w. and to N.w. of time by the moving sands. At us, we saw a number of proAssa Nagga, Assiro baybe is digious pillars of sand at difsquare with us, and with the ferent distances, at times movturn which the Nile takes east- ing with great celerity, at ward to Korti and Dongola. others stalking on with a maThe Takaki are the people jestic slowness; at intervals we nearest us, west of Assa Nagga, thought they were coming in a and Assero baybe upon the very few minutes to overwhelm Nile. After these, when the us; and small quantities of sand Nile has turned E. and w., are did actually more than once the Chaigie, on both sides of reach us. Again they would the river, on to Korti, where retreat so as to be almost out the territory called the kingdom of sight, their tops reaching to of Dongola begins. As the the very clouds. There the Nile no longer remains on our tops often separated from the left, but makes a remarkable bodies; and these, once disturn, which has been much mis- joined, dispersed in the air, and represented in the maps, I put did not appear more. Somemy quadrant in order, and by times they were broken near a medium of three observations, the middle, as if struck with a one of Procyon, one of Rigel, large cannon shot. About noon and one of the middle star of they began to advance with the belt of Orion, I found the considerable swiftness upon us, latitude of Assa Nagga to be the wind being very strong at 19° 30', which being on a parallel north. Eleven of them ranged with the farthest point of the alongside of us about the disNile northward, gives the lati- tance of three miles. The tude of that place where the greatest diameter of the largest river turns west by Korti to- appeared to me at that distance wards Dongola, and this was as if it would measure ten feet. of great service to me in fixing They retired from us with a some other material points in wind at S.E., leaving an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name, though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of flying; the swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could be of no use to carry us out of this danger, and the full persuasion of this riveted me as if to the spot where I stood, and let the my map. On the 14th, at seven in the morning, we left Assa Nagga, our course being due north. At one o'clock we alighted among some acacia-trees at Waadi el Halboub, having gone twenty-one miles. We were here at once surprised and terrified by a sight, surely one of the most magnificent in the world. In that vast expanse of |