care of us until his arrival. All that was now wanting to complete our fatisfaction, was the recovery of our loffes, which he would fee effected; and our journey to Cairo, which he swore fhould be accomplished without any injury being offered to an hair of our heads.

Our ignorance of the Arabian language obliged us to have recourfe to our interpreter, for an acknowledgment of these favours. But, at the fame time, it faved us the confufion of appearing at a lofs for a fuitable reply. We fheltered ourfelves under this fortunate circumstance, which, in a great meafure, left our patron to conceive a gratitude, which words would have but poorly expreffed.

A meffenger now arrived with two fhauls and my chreefe, from the vizier. The other fhaul, he faid, he had parted with; and the piftols he had given to Ally. Once more, therefore, was the wretched Ally produced before the court; and on denying the receipt of them, the baftinado was again inflicted on him. Befides the articles which had been restored, there were ftill a filver urn, a pair of gold kneebuckles, and a quantity of valuable linen to be accounted for. Not to fpeak of the money which they obtained from us, under various pretences. But thefe were faid to have fallen to Mahomet's fhare in the divifion; and his robbery and death were made a plea of by the family, to fatisfy us for our lofs. The baik would not hear of this apology, which he termed falfe and evafive. And fooner than we fhould fuffer by that family, he declared, that he would firft order their fubftance to be difpofed of,

The

and if that would not repay us for our loffes, Ally and the rest of them fhould be fold as flaves, to make up the fum. It was now time for us to interfere. matter was exceeding the bounds to which we meant to push it; and policy, as well as humanity, prompted us to drop it. Our principal aim was to get from Ghinnah, under a proper protection. Our perfecutors had been chaftifed, and it was preferable for us to put up with fome inconvenience, rather than run the risk of being detained here, in the purfuit of full redrefs. On this account we liftened to the mediation of the hakeem, and fome of the courtiers, who befeeched us to withdraw our claim to all but eighty dollars of the remaining debt, which Ally might raise from the camels he poffeffed. Our acquiefcence in this proposal gained us credit with all prefent, and drew a particular compliment from the worthy fhaik; who protefted, that he could not but admire our generofity, though it was exercifed at the expence of their national character. The reader, perhaps, may agree with us, that we ought not to have fubfcribed to this infinuation, as fuch a man as was then before us, was enough to redeem his nation from obloquy.

The court now broke up, and we were difmiffed, not a little pleafed with this mode of adminiftering juftice. The punishment inflicted upon robbers in other countries, fuppreffes the growth of them in the general opinion. But when we reflect on the frequent robberies that are committed in our own, it feems doubtful, whether

the

the feverity of the fentence anfwers the expected end. As a fmall token of our respect, on our return home, we made up fuch a prefent as we judged would be moft ac. ceptable to a man of his turn of mind, and fent it to the fhaik by Ibrahim. It confifted of a couple of fine shauls, an Indian carpet, and a palampore, and an handfome fabre and cafe of pistols. The fabre and pistols, though articles of the greatest value, he returned, and fent us many thanks for our remembrance of him in the reft, which he faid he would keep for our fake. He alfo told Ibrahim, that he had directed a merchant to furnish us with camels for our journey, as the river was too perilous for us to venture on."

The reader will undoubtedly be forry to hear of the death of this good old man. Egypt was then in a ftate of convulfion, and in one of their revolutions his head was taken off. But fuch events are matters of courfe in Africa and Afia.

The good old fhaik abovementioned, and who from circumftances is fuppofed to be the fame fo favourably spoken of by Dr. Pococke, in his Travels, delivered Mr. Irwin and his fellowfufferers to the care of Hadgee Uttalah, the mafter of his camels; with a charge to convey them and their baggage fafely to Cairo: adding, that, fhould

temptation, the fhaik alfo directed, that the family of Hadgee Uttalah fhould be placed under a guard, as the fureft hoftage for his integrity.

On September 4, at 11 o'clock at night, as the moft private hour, the English travellers left Ghinnah, where, notwithstanding the redress they had received, they found their baggage reduced to one half of the bulk they brought into the town. Their journey lay through the defert of Thebais, with eighteen camels for the accommodation of them, their baggage, attendants, and guard.

On the third day of their journey in this defert, they met with an adventure fufficiently alarming, which we fhall give in the author's own words, first premifing that they had halted to dine.

"At half past three o'clock we were mounted again, and going through the fame valley, in about an hour, reached the bottom of another steep mountain. We were obliged to lead our camels up, and in about half an hour gained the fummit, where we found a plain near two miles in length, over which we rode. At fix o'clock, we came to the extremity of the mountain, when our advanced guard alarmed us with the news of a party of camels being in the vale. As it was a fufpicious place to encounter any of our own fpecies, we all took to our arms, and afon the defcent, which was

fo

complaint be made againft his conduct, he should anfwer it with his head; and he was ordered not to return without a letter under their hands and feals, to advife the fhaik of their fafety. To fecure his fidelity beyond the reach of

that, fmall as our numbers were, we were enabled by our fituation to have coped with a multitude of enemies. The ftrangers had ob ferved our motions, and drew up in a body below to wait the refult.

We counted no less than thirty camels, and deduced therefrom, that we should have two to one against us, in cafe of hoftilities. To gain intelligence, however, of the difpofition of the ftrangers, Hadgee Uttalah himself defcended into the valley. He ventured himfelf unarmed, as a token of peace; and we were not a little impatient to behold the interview which was about to take place. We were deeply interested in its event; and, circumftanced as we were, it is not furprising that we should doubt of its fuccefs. But we were happily deceived in our ideas. No fooner had Hadgee Uttalah approached the new party, than he was recognized by one among them, who ran with open arms to receive him. He was prefently encompaffed by the reft; and we could difcern that he was ferved with coffee and bread. This staggered us in our opinion of these people's profeffion; and we began to conceive that they might be travellers like ourselves, who, in thefe critical times, had explored the defert, in preference to the river. And we were now confirmed in this conceit by the figns which Hadgee made to us to defcend. Thefe figns were interpreted to us by our Arabs, who told us there was nothing to fear. We obeyed, therefore, and went down the hill in as good order as the path would admit of. We were met at the foot of it by Hadgee, who conveyed us and our baggage to a spot at fome diftance from the ftrangers, and then returned to them. Many were the embraces and congratulations that were exchanged between the Arabs on both fides. The first thing we

learned was, that water is to be procured in this valley, which has induced our gentry to halt here and replenish our skins. We arrived here at half paft fix o'clock, fo that our laft ftage was three hours, or feven miles.

While Hadgee Uttalah was engaged in an earnest converfation with the leader of the other party, Ibrahim and Abdul Ruffar came to us with looks of furprize, and informed us, that they had difcovered the strangers to be what we at first apprehended-a band of robbers. That they had overheard one of them boaft, that this band took the forty camels near Cofire during our flay in that town-an anecdote which I before mentioned

and that, on the banks of the Nile, they had plundered a caravan but a few days ago, with the spoils of which they were now returning to their own country! It may be imagined that we were not a little ftartled at this intelligence. The novelty of the circumstance did not diminish its unpleasantnefs; and our fituation was as alarming as uncommon but our minds were prefently relieved by the affurances of Hadgee Uttalah, who now joined us. He made no fcruple to acquaint us with the profeffion of the robbers; but added, that they had as much regard for their word as other people. They happily knew him, which was indeed the faving of an effufion of blood. For, on the fcore of friendship, they had pledged their word to him, that they would not meditate the leaft wrong against us. We might truft them implicity, for the wild Arabs had never been known to break

cefs, and yet carries a proper com. mand over his party; and by his own example teaches them to be civil, and even obliging to us. We would willingly make him a fuitable acknowledgment for this behaviour, but do not think it fafe to produce money, or to depart in the leaft from our profeffions of po verty. It was with the greateft pleafare imaginable, that I could oblige him in a trifling point: with a couple of razors, which he saw in my fervant's hands, and expreffed a defire for."

After a fortnight's travelling through this dreary wafte, under the guidance and protection of a band of Arabian robbers, a little before their arrival at the banks of the Nile, the robbers left them abruptly, taking a French leave; and Hadgee Uttalah infinuated that the captain took this method of fhewing his difinterefted nefs, and to fave the travellers the pain of difmiffing him without a prefent. Indeed, as Mr. Irwin obferves, the whole behaviour of these robbers was fo extraordinary, and the adventure of so novel a caft, that the reader would hardly excufe his parting with them, without parti

cular notice.

Mr. Irwin's arrival at Grand Cairo put an end to the troubles and anxiety of him and his companions, as they then came to a commercial port, where the tranfactions of mankind, even of Eafterns, were conducted upon more liberal principles than in the interior parts of the country.

Narrative of the Sufferings of Mr. de St. Germain, and his Companions, in the Deferts of Egypt.

de St. Germain, and his

M. brother M. de Chilly,

at

After

were, the one commandant Daka, and the other at Caffimbazar, two very important factories at Bengal, when they were taken prifoners of war by the English. Having obtained leave on their parole of honour to return to France, and finding no fhip to bring them to Europe when they doubled the Cape of Good Hope, they fet out in a Danish veffel for Suez in the Red-fea, in hopes of croffing over, with eafe, the Ifthmus that feparates that fea from the Mediterranean, and then embarking at Alexandria for Marseilles. a perilous navigation they arrived at Suez the 24th of May 1779, with feveral French and English that were paffengers in the fame fhip. They were no fooner landed, than the Danish captain wrote to the French merchants at Cairo, to procure a caravan, that is, the camels neceffary to carry the merchandize of the veffel, which was eftimated at feveral millions. Egypt is governed, or rather oppreffed, by 16 Beys or Lords. The Porte preferves there nothing but a fhadow of authority, that refides in the hands of a Bafhaw, whom the Beys keep, as a kind of prifoner, in the caftle of Cairo. In the abfence of Murat Bey, the moft powerful of thefe 16 tyrants, who was gone to fight Haflem Bey, one of his brethren, application was made to Ibrahim Bey; he promifed the moft ftriking protection, and even offered his own

people