THE SUEZ CANAL.

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one man might commence, prosecute, and lead to its successful conclusion so colossal an enterprise.

A copious breakfast on board the steamer L'Imperatrice terminated our proceedings on that most interesting morning, and then we left railways, and engineering feats, for the land of Moses and Aaron.

The tide was high, and we crossed the Red Sea by the aid of a charming little boat belonging to the Company, at the point where Pharaoh's army was submerged. Our caravan had made the grand tour, and arrived that morning, and we gladly made acquaintance with our superb dromedaries. These noble creatures had been graciously placed at Gérôme's disposal by the Viceroy, and we soon learned to appreciate their value. To them we owed the rapidity of our journey, and the facility of removing from each of our encampments. In the presence of these magnificent animals and their keepers, our first sentiment was timidity at the novelty and grandeur of our position.

As I was the youngest of the party, the tallest of our official dromedaries was selected for me. I looked at him, and, recommending my soul to its Maker, began to climb up his side. He had been made to kneel for this purpose, and he rose the

moment I was in the saddle with such zealous alacrity that he swung me about in a truly frightful fashion, on account of the unequal length of his hind and fore legs. I kept my countenance. Was I not much above all my companions? Certainly; but I was none the happier for this purely local superiority.

The uneasiness experienced by the rider of a dromedary has been greatly exaggerated, and the sickness said to be so often endured is the result of resisting the natural motion of the animal, which is not, properly speaking, jolting, but quite a regular and bearable swinging movement. We got into the habit of this kind of locomotion surprisingly readily, and our rapid proficiency excited the warmest admiration on the part of our escort.

Our first stage was not long. Without leaving the fine sands we were to reach Aïn-Mousa, or the Wells of Moses.

We entered the desert by sand-hills of extreme fineness and whiteness, and left behind us the little city of Suez, of which we soon lost sight. It is flanked by the Djebel Attaka, a reddish mountain which commands the landing-place, and is lost in the infinite on the south side of the sea, which reflects its tints. The absolute absence of drinkable water at

Suez lends great importance to the five fountains which exist in this place. The nature of the soil, and the presence of these waters, are favourable to vegetation; indeed, the springs are shaded by graceful palmtrees. Two persons have dwellings there, and have laid out little gardens. Here we passed our first night in the desert; and the idea had its charm.

Our baggage camels and dromedaries were fastened up with ropes, just like horses in our country, and formed a most interesting portion of our camp. The distribution of their daily food and the management of them interested us deeply, considering that we were about to live for two months on their backs.

Before we once more climb up the sides of these friendly hunchbacks, let me rectify a singular error which prevails, respecting the dromedary. This animal is not a distinct race from the camel; on the contrary, he is absolutely identical. The only distinction is that the one is a beast of burthen, and the other is trained and used exclusively for riding purposes. There exists no other difference between the camel and the dromedary, than the difference between a cab horse and a racer.

And now let us go forward into the desert, which stretches out in its seeming infinity before us.

SKETCH XII.

THE WADIS:

IN all sincerity I must acknowledge that our first experiences in dromedary-riding were not unattended by painful results. It was only on the day after our first stage to the Wells of Moses, that we realised the state of exhaustion we were in. But habit is quick of coming, and we soon got used to the exertion. Our camp, during our sojourn in the desert, consisted of three large and two small tents. Of the former, one served as a common sleeping room for some of us. The second was our dining and drawing room, and the third contained, not without difficulty, all our cooking apparatus. The two small tents formed apartments reserved for the serious members of our party-individuals who were not in the habit of singing and dancing round tables half the night, and from one of them floated our admiral's flag, while we were navigating the sands. The dwellers in these privileged places applied

themselves generally to avoiding too close proximity to the noisy and undisciplined crew of the others, but when the experiences of the desert became too monotonous, momentary fusions took place; the serious persons solicited permission to come into our gay precincts, to which we never consented without making them pay their footing.

To any spectator perched on the mountain heights, our caravan must have presented a very respectable appearance, for our effective force consisted of twentyseven dromedaries and camels. Our nine riding dromedaries belonged to the stud of the Viceroy; four camels were told off for water transport; three carried the tents and all their fittings; seven were laden with chopped straw and beans for themselves and their brethren-for, though a camel, having laid in a store of water, can go for a week without drinking, he must have one meal a day regularly, however moderate its quantity may be. One of these interesting animals might well have been astonished at the interest we took in him; he was as well entitled to hold up his head as the famous ass who carried the relics, for more than Cæsar and his fortunes had been committed to his capacious back. This privileged creature carried our photographic apparatus, and all its bottles and