On the 21st the King again read Divine Service, and the party arrived at Assouan. Here they found a large number of camels ready to carry the baggage across from the First Cataract to Philæ, whither the party rode to see the boats in which they were to go on to the Second Cataract. On the 22nd the King started first in order to pay a visit to Lady Duff Gordon, who was living in her dahabeah a little above Assouan; while the Queen, the Duke of Sutherland, and Mrs. Grey followed in a boat to the foot of the First Cataract, where they were to meet the King. There seems to have been some hitch in the arrangements, but Queen Alexandra was not at all disconcerted, and was highly amused at having to ride a wretched donkey without a bridle, and with a cushion for a saddle, though Mrs. Grey, who was no better mounted, regarded the incident with less philosophy. After a time, however, they met their own donkeys, and ultimately joined the King’s party, who had been getting very anxious. The Duke of Sutherland and his party left on the 23rd, while the Royal party continued their voyage in two new dahabeahs tied together, and towed by a small steamer. The accommodation was not nearly so good as it had been below Philæ. The Queen and Mrs. Grey landed frequently, and the latter notes that her Royal mistress found great pleasure in distributing the _baksheesh_ for which the natives were continually asking, especially the little children. On one occasion the Queen and her lady-in-waiting found a donkey running about; they caught it, and the Queen mounted it and rode through the fields in the cleverest way without saddle or bridle. Meanwhile the King was very anxious for crocodile, but he had very poor luck, though he had better sport with fishing. It was not, indeed, until the 28th that he had a fair shot at a crocodile, which he killed at fifty yards with his first barrel. The excitement was tremendous among the party, for, as is well known, the shyness of these beasts is so great that they are among the most difficult game to stalk in the world. This specimen was 9 feet long and 4 feet round the body; and it was at once skinned with a view to being stuffed. Inside the creature was found a quantity of pebbles, two bottles full of which were brought away as mementoes. The King and Queen throughout the voyage took the greatest interest in the antiquities along the route, visiting all that were accessible. Mrs. Grey mentions how much Queen Alexandra enjoyed the extreme peacefulness of the life led by the party, for there was no post nor any papers, and, after the first inconvenience had worn off, the feeling that no means existed of either sending or receiving letters soon became perfectly delightful.