There was no possibility of saving the dahabieh. But every one on board was safe, and we brought the travellers to our dahabieh, where they are now. They prove to be Mr. and Miss Roper, father and daughter, a European servant, and a negress girl, whom they call Rahaba. I never heard such an outpouring of fervent thanksgiving as Mr. Roper offered up to God as soon as they were all safely on board our boat. It reminded us of the history of Jacob wrestling with the angel, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me." Rahaba has a sad expression of face, but her eyes brighten when Miss Roper speaks to her. Mr. and Miss Roper only arrived at Beni-Hassan that evening. There seemed little chance of their being able to get on to Cairo, so we asked them to be our guests and to return over their old ground with us. We left Beni-Hassan the next morning, and saw crocodiles that day for the first time. They were on a sandbank basking in the sun. One was very large, the two others smaller. A salute from our guns was fired at them, which made the smaller crocodiles rush into the water in a great hurry, but the larger one treated us with cool contempt. The first sight of Manfaloot was charming. A sudden bend of the river brought us full in view of its minarets, which rise from a group of mingled buildings and palm-trees. [Illustration: HEAD OF CROCODILE.] We have not landed since we left Beni-Hassan. Miss Roper has been making a sketch of our reis and the crew. Rahaba looks on her sketch-book and colour-box as some kind of magic possessions, and contrived to save them from the fire in consequence. Miss Roper took the sketch at sunset. The sky was flooded with gorgeous tints, and their glow was reflected on our reis as he sat in his blue robes and crimson turban, smoking his pipe. We shall reach Thebes to-night, and shall go on shore early to-morrow to see some of the interesting sights of which Mr. Roper has been telling us. [Illustration: RUINS OF THEBES.] Our boat was moored as near as possible to the village of Koorneh, or Karnac, as it is often called. We went on shore early in the morning and visited the small palace and temple of Koorneh, and then rode on for about twenty minutes to the palace-temple of Rameses the Second. This is one of the most interesting temples in the valley of the Nile. The entrance leads into a court where are the ruins of the largest statue in the world. It is made of granite from the quarries of Syene. Mr. Roper told us that this was a statue of the king, seated on his throne with his hands resting on his knees. Judging from the fragments the foot must have been eleven feet long and about four feet ten inches wide. The statue measured twelve feet ten inches from the shoulder to the elbow, twenty-two feet four inches across the shoulders.