80

" "LEN.

fas?

-. qe

1836. the screaming aud litigious gung, and plying his baton
right and left over tha shoulders, head, and arms, dealing
out an extra share of chastisement upon those who, from
having been loaded with our chattels, could not so easily
escape his fury, until he has cleared the ground of every
burbaned rogue of them, and left us standing amidst ou!
scattered and disordered trunks, bags, and portmanteans,
not knowing what was to follow. I am soon able, however,
 to guess what is at the bottom the meaning of this
nnexpected apparition of the little dignitary, and the sudden
Hegira of our porters; for after calmly resuming his pipe;
snd giving it two or three inspirations to reanimate the
decaying embers, he takes Rosario on one side and whispers
a few words in his ear, the import of which yon may suppose
is that the luggage must all go to the custom-house, but 10
save us that trouble he will allow us in consideration of
some backshish (or a present of money) to take them with
us.
“This little difficulty being got over, our luggage and
ourselves are wuder weigh through the dark streets of
Alexandria, whose houses appear to have rudely turned
their back premises to the front, for you can see nothing
but blank walls without windows or doors. The English
hotel lay at some distance, and we had occasion to pass
through one of the gates of the town, where we were met
by a guard, a fellow in a white turban, who laid violent
hands upon the leader of our party, who happened to be
the good doctor himself, and arrested our further progress
under some protence which I could not comprehend, but I
distinctly again caught the sound of the word backshish. We
hesitated whether we should give the rascal a shilling or
good beating ;—the doctor had raised his heavy umbrella io
favour of the latter alternative, when my vote, which yo?
know is always in favour of peace, decided it in behalf of 8