FROM M. DE MORIN TO M. DE POMMERELLE.
"I asked Périères to narrate to you our adventure with the Arabs, and
to depict for your benefit the dance of the bayaderes. He had to deal
with stirring scenes and picturesque effects, and, being a literary
man, could impart to them both interest and colouring. For the
present, however, there is nothing to do but to send you a few
sketches of the country through which we have been passing for the
last few days, and that is a work which I can safely undertake
without the risk of boring you. Do not expect anything from me but a
sort of itinerary, some passing notes of our journey from my pen, or,
rather, my pencil, jotted down at the road-side, with my knees for a
table, and at the end of a long day's march.
"Only, my dear fellow, you may rely upon my being always matter-of-fact
and veracious, for I am not up to either invention or
exaggeration, even for the sake of pleasing or interesting you. And,
besides, you may easily verify my accounts by consulting those of the
travellers who have passed along the same route, from Souakim by
Berber to Khartoum, Combes in 1834, Beurmann in 1860, Heuglin in
1864, Schweinfurth in 1866, and bear in mind that Berber is called
El-Mecheref by the English, and El-Mecherif by the Germans.
"I omit altogether the other routes taken from Souakim to Khartoum,
for some travellers have reached the Nile from the south, without
touching at Berber. Werne in 1841, Baker in 1861, and Lejean in 1864,
went down the Red Sea as far as Massouah, and reached Khartoum by
Keren, Kassala and the Blue Nile.
"All these districts, you must know, are under Egyptian rule, and
form part of Eastern or Egyptian Soudan. No very extraordinary
adventures can, consequently, be expected just yet, but they will
come later on, at least we will hope so. There is a time for all
things, says the proverb. Have patience, and as soon as ever the
unforeseen and the marvellous afford scope for soul-stirring
description, I will yield the pen to Périères and you shall be happy.
"For the time being we have only to deal with a country already
half-civilized, where Turkish and Egyptian customs prevail, where there is
a talk of constructing a railway, and where, horrible to relate, the
telegraph is in full swing. So you see, we are not yet amongst the
savages, and you would not thank me for discounting the interesting
things in store for you.
"On the 6th November, 1872, we landed at Souakim, where, thanks to
the Governor, Muntas-Bey, a charming man, by-the-way, we were enabled
to lodge both ourselves and our servants in a tolerably presentable
brick house.
"I must tell you that Souakim has become a place of considerable
importance since Egypt acquired it from Turkey, and became its
sovereign mistress. There is actually a bakery in it, an inestimable
boon in a country where, ten years ago, the Governor alone ate
wheaten bread. But, from a moral point of view, the most complete
change in Souakim has been brought about by the new aqueduct. The
women will no longer be beasts of burden, destined to seek for water
outside the town, and the Bedouin will have other things to think of
than the capture of some poor slave-girl, to fill the degrading post
of water-carrier. You cannot imagine how sad a sight it is to a
European to see these old women, often infirm, wearily dragging
themselves along the deep and burning sand, with heavy water-bottles
on their heads. Nor are the young and pretty spared; their flexible
figures, their backs still weak, are bowed, beneath their heavy
burden, and remain so. Why, you will say, are not animals employed on
this work? For the simple reason that they are more expensive to keep
than slaves.
"Other customs have also undergone considerable modification since
the country has been annexed by Egypt. Our European dress, which
formerly would have caused a regular commotion, now scarcely attracts
any attention. I do not mean to say by this that the Europeans and
Egyptians are in a majority here. In the rainy season, hosts of
Bedouins, followed by their flocks and herds, come down from the
neighbouring mountains, and pitch their tents to the south of the
town. But that is more like a suburb situated on the mainland,
because Souakim proper is on an island, and it is in this part alone
that any noteworthy buildings are to be seen, such as the custom
house, the English postal telegraph office, the divan and a few
mosques. Of gardens, both public and private, there is an absolute
dearth, and I have only been able to discover one solitary clump of
date-palms, maintaining a struggling existence in the courtyard of a
former Governor. To make up for this want of attraction, we have
enough and to spare of the sun, and the heat is so great that we are
longing, I can assure you, to get to the mountains.
"We are waiting only for camels and drivers, and it is not an easy
matter to procure either, the drivers especially, seeing that every
day seems to make them more extortionate and intractable. In
consequence of the horror which Joseph now has of a camel, I have
been obliged to procure him another sort of conveyance. It is a
donkey, strong enough to carry his hulking body, but so small that
his rider's legs almost touch the ground and make the animal appear
six-footed. Joseph objects to the very mention of a bûrnus ever since
his mishap, and he has invented for himself a fanciful costume,
which, when he is mounted on his ass, gives him a resemblance to
Sancho Panza. Please do not on that account, attempt to confound his
master, physically, with Don Quixote, although, morally, I should be
flattered by the comparison.
"Miss Beatrice Poles will have nothing to say to camel, horse, mule,
or ass. 'I have my feet,' she says, 'they are quite enough for me,
and I am only too happy to make use of them. You will never have to
wait for me, for I shall go ever so much faster than you. A caravan,
in these parts, is just like a lot of tortoises marching in single
file, one after another.'
"Our camels, twenty in number, will therefore be reserved for our two
interpreters, the three Nubian women-servants, and our personal
luggage, the remainder of the luggage having, as I have already told
you, been sent on direct to Khartoum. Excuse all these details, they
are absolutely necessary if you wish to understand our trip and to
follow us.
"We calculate on reaching the Nile, without hurrying ourselves, in
about a fortnight. Beurman estimates the distance from Souakim to
Berber at one hundred and thirteen hours' travelling, and Heuglin at
one hundred and eight, much about the same thing. Schweinfurth
calculates by miles, and puts it down at seventy-five. Do not forget,
for it is a detail of great importance, that marine miles are meant,
sixty to the degree, and representing 1,952 metres. You must not, as
is so often done, confound the mile with the kilometre."