the hand of tyranny, and the land of beauty and fertility now appears comparatively desolate-a wilderness of moral darkness! In the villages, as we passed along, I looked into some of the wretched abodes of the inhabitants, and found them the same loathsome and filthy dens that we had seen every where else inhabited by the peasantry. They were swarming with bugs, fleas, flies, and lice. At the door of one of these polluted dwellings, we saw an aged man sitting upon the ground, clothed in rags. He was smoking a rude pipe, with an air of contentment beaming upon his countenance, which attracted our attention. We saluted him in the usual style of his country, and received a courteous response. He rose from his seat, and returned our salutation with the ease and grace of manner peculiar to the dusky children of the East-a manner which princes even of civilized countries might be proud to imitate. His form was still erect and graceful; though his flowing silvery beard, that hung far down upon his bosom, and his wrinkled visage, indicated the long course of years that had revolved around him, with all their wearing, withering, wintry effects. We asked him his age; but of that he could not rightly inform us. He said that he was much the eldest man in the village; and that he was there when Napoleon marched his veterans to Cairo, to fight "the battle of the Pyramids." He said that he had a most perfect recollection of those stirring times; and they had 318 STORY OF AN AGED EGYPTIAN. strong hopes that the day of their deliverance from the tyrannical and barbarous hands of the Memlooks had indeed arrived. He said that he and many of his countrymen tried to take courage; but "it was of no use. Egypt is a doomed land; and must ever rudely feel the yoke and burden of her oppressors." He told us of the barbarous cruelties inflicted upon some of the inhabitants of his village by the Memlooks, especially upon all who were suspected of having property.. He said, "the only prudent course was for a man in Egypt never to possess any thing more than the bare necessities of the present moment require; and that he, ever acting on that principle, had never attempted to accumulate any property during his existence. Consequently, he had never had the misfortune to excite the jealousy of his neighbours, or attract the attention of the Memlook taxgatherers or the governors of Egypt; and, after a long life, he was now likely to end his days in peace and happiness." I thought this man a philosopher, a modern Diogenes-one who could ask no greater favour of an emperor or king than for him to stand aside and let the light and warmth of heaven descend upon him, with all their true, sincere, and cheering influences. We parted with the old man, and walked down to the banks of the Nile, musing over the mysteries of this strange existence. CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE. 319 CHAPTER XXV. Continuation of the Voyage. Bounties of Nature. - Pollutions of Man.-Consolation drawn from the Contemplation of Misery.-Administration of the Law. - Exciting Incident.-First Glimpse of the Pyramids.- Termination of the Voyage. WHEN the doctor and Selim came up, we went on board, and the sailors swung the boat off the shore, and began to tow it up the stream. In the evening, the wind having subsided, we came to against the shore; and, having staked the boat according to the usual custom on the Nile, remained tranquil through the night. We got under way again the next morning, and resumed our slow and tedious voyage by towing the boat against the current and a head wind. It was slow work; and, inasmuch as our vessel was not a place where one would wish to remain just for the pleasure of the thing, the hours passed heavily away. The weather, though by no means pleasant, nevertheless improved. It was neither so wet as we found 320 BOUNTIES OF NATURE. it at Alexandria and along the borders of the canal, nor so cold and blustering as on the day before. The country every where bordering the Nile, exhibited the same picture of fertility that we had seen and so much admired in all parts of the Delta. Nature had accomplished her part well; and appeared every where lavish in her bestowments. A thousand natural charms were spread out in that lovely region for man's enjoyment. But man himself appeared to be the same degraded, filthy, thriftless, savage creature that we had every where seen him in the fertile vale of Egypt. We were upon the banks of the river the greater part of the day, walking for exercise; but we were careful not to lose sight of the boat. Our situation on board was not an enviable one, certainly; still, one's feelings easily adapt themselves to circumstances. We began to think it not the worst place in the world; and its attractions were not a little heightened when contrasted with the miserable dens of mud that skirted the borders of the river; nor was our condition so lamentable either when compared with the wretched beings that inhabited. them. We endeavoured, therefore, to draw what consolation we could by contrasting our situation with that of those around us; all of whom were evidently much worse off than ourselves. If this course were generally pursued, or rather were we to compare the seeming ills and perplexities of life with those which are in reality far more |