The _Federabanee_ towed a most beautiful dahabeah, or Nile boat, which was named the _Alexandra_, and in which the King and Queen and Mrs. Grey lived. It was all fitted up in blue and gold, with a great deal of taste, and the cabins were all large and most comfortable. Mrs. Grey mentions that the King and Queen had “a very nice sleeping cabin, with a bath-room and dressing-room apiece.” The _Alexandra_ also contained a large sitting-room with a piano, and outside there was a place for sitting and reading, as well as the upper deck. The only inconvenience of this arrangement was that the travellers in the dahabeah had to go on board the _Federabanee_ for every meal. This necessity was especially hard on Queen Alexandra, who resolved, however, to return to the dahabeah after breakfast as often as she could in order to have time for painting and reading; this, with the active co-operation of Mrs. Grey, she contrived to do on a good many days. After the dahabeah came a kitchen steamer, carrying four French cooks and one Arab cook, and towing a barge full of provisions and live stock, such as turkeys, sheep, and chickens. Following this came another steamer, having on board Colonel Stanton, British Consul-General at Cairo, with two Egyptian gentlemen, Mourad Pasha and Abd El Kader Bey, and towing a barge containing horses, donkeys, and a French washerwoman. Nor was this all. In his anxiety to do everything possible for the comfort of the Royal party, the Viceroy had actually provided another steamer of lighter draft than the _Federabanee_, simply in case the latter vessel should get stuck in the mud. The whole flotilla was completed by a steamer belonging to the Duke of Sutherland, the father of the present Duke, who brought with him a distinguished party, composed of his son, Lord Stafford, Colonel Marshall, Dr. Russell, Mr. Sumner, Professor Owen, Mr. Fowler, the distinguished engineer, Major Alison, the Duke’s brother Lord A. Gower, and Sir Henry Pelly. The King looked forward to having plenty of sport during the voyage. Accordingly he had taken a large variety of guns of almost every calibre in use, as well as a wherry to be used for approaching land game. For the purpose of capturing crocodiles, nets were brought which had been specially made under the superintendence of Sir Samuel Baker. The King also specially arranged for the inclusion in his party of a clever naturalist and taxidermist. Both the King and Queen greatly enjoyed this novel form of yachting, although, unfortunately, bad weather soon set in, and the _Alexandra_ was frequently enveloped in clouds of dust and sand. Notwithstanding this, however, the King had fairly good sport and bagged some very large birds, though the crocodiles were, on the whole, conspicuous by their absence. Soon the Royal taxidermist could show some very fine specimens of spoonbills, flamingoes, herons, cranes, cormorants, and doves.