appear to the reader, to a person in my situation the circumstance was
affecting in the highest degree. I was oppressed by such unexpected
kindness, and sleep fled from my eyes. In the morning I presented my
compassionate landlady with two of the four brass buttons which remained
on my waistcoat; the only recompense I could make her.
MUNGO PARK.
* * * * *
ACROSS THE DESERT OF NUBIA.
After a prayer of peace, we committed ourselves to the Desert. Our party
consisted of Ismael the Turk, two Greek servants besides Georgis, who
was almost blind and useless, two Barbarins, who took care of the
camels, Idris, and a young man a relation of his; in all nine persons.
We were all well armed with blunderbusses, swords, pistols, and
double-barrelled guns, except Idris and his lad, who had lances, the
only arms they could use. Five or six naked wretches of the Turcorory
joined us at the watering place, much against my will, for I knew that
we should probably be reduced to the disagreeable alternative of either
seeing them perish of thirst before our eyes, or, by assisting them,
running a great risk of perishing along with them.
We left Gooz on the 9th of November, at noon, and halted at the little
village of Hassa, where we filled our water-skins--an operation which
occupied a whole day, as we had to take every means to secure them from
leaking or evaporation. While the camels were loading, I bathed myself
with infinite pleasure for a long half hour in the Nile, and thus took
leave of my old acquaintance, very doubtful if we should ever meet
again. We then turned to the north-east, leaving the Nile, and entering
into a bare desert of fixed gravel, without trees, and of a very
disagreeable whitish colour, mixed with small pieces of white marble,
like alabaster. Our camels, we found, were too heavily loaded; but
we comforted ourselves with the reflection, that this fault would
be remedied by the daily consumption of our provisions. We had been
travelling only two days when our misfortunes began, from a circumstance
we had not attended to. Our shoes, that had long needed repair, became
at last absolutely useless, and our feet were much inflamed by the
burning sand.