6
e eSaturday 18^th Sept, Still on the
Mah Brookah
Ulysses in the Odyssey laments that as he had made no vows
and "Had" no victims slain. Fate long detained him on faraway
gale. But we though equally inferior have had fair winds.
On the first day we made our exit from the harbor of Alexandria
which is rendered very dangerous by rocks and breakers.
We passed the Isle of Pharos, and for many miles saw the
Coast is marked with the remains of the Forts and other
defenses built by the French in Bonapartes memorable
campaign of 1804. We passed through the Bay of Abukir
the scene of the memorable battle of that war. Yesterday
morning our last sight of Alexandria and its Light House,
and in the evening we passed through Rosetta an important
sea port in the Delta. This morning the third ^day^ of our voyage
we looked out upon a coast indented with large
sand hills and thronged with many ships. Soon Da-
mietta stood at the Easternmost mouth of the Nile
appeared in view. The Coast low and sandy, the
mouth of the river uneven — but the crowd of shipping
indicating a great sea port. We are now crossing
from that port towards Jaffa — having probably taken leave
of Africa forever. The English & French have contended
for supremacy often on its Coasts, as Greeks & Persians
Romans & Carthigens did — but I am sure that Africa will
never fall under a permanent European sway, neither its sandy
coast, nor its peculiar half savage people will ever
admit of European Institutions under the sway of Europeans.
I am glad it is so. We still live on good terms with
our SyuinSyrian seamen. They are polite and attentive

7
to us. But we live in distinct quarters. A Syrian Christian old woman
is the only female — She lives under the lee of the small
boat on the deck wrapped in a blanket. She moves a dis-
tance of six feet to get the necessary changes of shade.
Two Turks Mahomitans sleep at the further end of the
boat, in their costly embroidered blue dresses continually sea
sick. The Syrian Fruit merchant with his t new little
grandson lives in the small boat, night & day, and they
have opened it to me. At the present hour it is very attract-
ive by being the only place in which I can enjoy
the breeze and be protected by the sails from the Eastern
sun. The Seamen sing continually Arabic songs. The old
woman is mother to one of the seamen. She quarrels with
her son and scolds the whole crew in her occasional waking
hours during the day, and at night gathers all the
watch around her and discourses most wearily to
the annoyance of ^us^ honest sleepers. Off Alexandria ^Damietta^
the sea is dirty and muddy from the flood of the
Nile. But since we have passed that port the sea is
blue as the violet. The nights are balmy and
the skies as bright as Paradise. I wonder not
that the dwellers in ^the^ t Mediterranean shores have always
pole been poetic and devotional. Farewell
Egypt long sought for seen at last. Farewell Africa
the one region of the world which Providence seems to have
fortified against Civilization.