The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-29
AMERICAN ARTIST on HIS TRAVELS.

NY nSvBiev.eu SI correspondence, 1 would say TO
myself, When am on the Nile will have two
months OF glorious abundant leisure, such as /
have never had before; then / will have time for
all things that lazy man leaves for more con-
Venlent season. Now that am floating on the
1otus-growing, lotus-eating river, find myself
as bad as before. 1t is docIe to far niente, 1t
+, is so easy to lie on the deck cushions and read
pleasant books, under this broad pure, and ten
der sky, and look off now and then at the fringes
OF waving palms, and at the golden light and
delicate purple shadows of the Arabian and
Lybian mountains, breaking the quiet only with
an occasional shot at cormorant or vulture, or
into flock of pelicans, which stalk along the
sand bars. ..r0
tIt is so easy to walk along the shore with
good fowling-piece and bring down pigeons dd
9Sb5ttt'n, with an Arab or Nuban at your heels to
act as pointer, retriever, and game-bag. 1t is so
easy to lounge along the mud villages of the
Arabs, daguerreotypes of their manners, and
customs, and costumes (sometimes the latter are
quite wanting(, or by the shore of the river,
noting how briskly and skilfully the half-naked
men swing up the water from the Nile, singing
few sweet monotonous notes at the same time;
and how carefully others lead the fertilizing ris
into the little square plots of the wheat-coyered
plain.
the long-robed turbaned men, tatooed women
carrying water jars their heads from the
river, their necks and brows strung with gold
and silver coins their faces half covered by their
robes, the donkeys, the camels of burden, the
little caravans of camels, donkeys women, and
pistols and carrying long silver-mounted guns,
the river crafts with their beautiful sails which
look like the wings of birds-it is so easy to go
ashore of an evening and take coffee and smoke
chibouk with q governor, or to see some dancing
girls, covered with gold and gauze, go through
q movements about the modesty of which confess
9 i have my doubts; or sit about the table of our
cosy little cabin, and lalk over the incidents of
the day, discuss our books, or play cribbage,
.euchre or checkers, or sometimes Ga wicked
M. d. and MYSELF game of poker for half
piastres. Sometimes we course the desert on
2 gallant donkeys, to explore the wonderful and
= 5ncomprehensible temples of the ancient kings
and Pharaohs. Sometimes we race with rival
Adahabieh' (Nile boat); sometimes we pay and
sometimes we receive visits. So you perceive
there is no time for writing letters letting our
friends know where we are or what we are
about
'It was from Genoa wrote you last. From
there went south to Rome, Naples, Caabria,
Ultra, and Sicily. Although, on account of the
brigands which at that time infested the lower
part of Italy, could not penetrate as far as I
! wished into Calabria, | saw enough of it
chiefly along the mountainous coast-to satisfy
my curiosity. / went down from Naples in
steamer, which touched at various points the
coast. From Messina crossed to Reggia, and
went north by land as far as Bagnara. Returning
to Messna, / went to Catania, and spent a
couple of weeks about the flanks of Etna at
4 Catania and Taormina. Etna, although it is a
y mighty mountain, eleven or twelve thousand
feet high, did not impress me much, either by
climb to its snow-rimmed crater, but was pre-
vented by the clouds, which came down before
was halfway up. There was no eruption at the
time, but immense volumes of smoke were pour
ing continually from the great crater in the
summit. The eruption of two months later
Z came out of the side of the mountain, like that
of Yesuvius. / also visited Palermo, which is
one of the most beautiful cities in the world for
its situation.
y r 81 got back to Rome about the LIST of October,
and engaged lodgings in the Via del Babiniro for
NTaIN,
a few days after. My sister Mary, who came
. over in September to Paris, Joined us month
3 later, having bravely come from Paris to Rome,
y by way of Marseilles, alone. need not tell you
that we had delightful household, and we en-
joyed our Roman life to the full, in spite of Mrs.
Macs dyspepsia, which would spoil her dinner
now and then, and an occasional touch of the
blues, to which Mac was a little subject, but
which the dinner and marsala and orviets would
usually cure. 1t was so pleasant and comfortable
there that left it the first of January with great
reluctance, assure you, to come away alone to
wander in these regions of the East .-
81 spent three weeks in Cairo which, after
Damascus is the most oriental city of the East.
The people, the splendid costumes, the gorgeous
stuffs in the bazaars, the customs, the crowded,
narrow, picturesque streets, the houses with
their sculptured doorways and latticed balconies,
the camels-everything looks as if it came out
of the Arabian Nights. At ball given by the
Viceroy at the palace of the Ghezeereh, which is
one of the most exquisite pieces OF Saracenic
architecture and decoration extant, / saw some
thing of the magnihcence and splendor of the
East in the way of entertainments. What have
seen in Europe of princely entertainments was
poor, meagre and coloress compared with this,
which was not only regal in costliness and
splendor but was more than regal in elegance
and grace.
t 81 also had the rather rare opportunity of see
! ing the inside of pasha's harem, under the
escort of its master, Hussen Pasha; of course,
the ladies of the harem were not there. 1t was
interesting to see something of the domestic life
of Turkish dignitary, TO drink his good mocha
and smoke latikia from the jewelled amber
mouth-pieces of his chibouk.
ssBut can tell you no long stories now of
what have seen. We will leave that till we
smoke cigar together some time next winter,
God willing. met Alfred Craven and his two
daughters in Cairo, just returned from the first
an cataract. Mr.. Craven was not WELL and was
ordered to bed by his physician. He was going
to Rome till Holy Week, after which he pro-
misses to join me in Syria So
81 am on my way TO the first cataract On
my return to Cairo propose to go on desert
Journey to the peninsula of Sinai, if can form
, a party: then back to Suez, and by sea to Jeru-
.n,a SALEM Damascus Beyrout, Constantinople and
Athens to Venice, where l expect to arrive some
time in May; and where | expect to find my
D sister waiting me.
she Wills as she has not yet had an opportunity
.9,f TO see much of Europe We hope to get bacl
( to New York in the latter part OF the summer o
Z early in September.
'e.a i'sThe McEntees, when / left them, though
they would have to go home in April or May
,d Lalint Thompson joined us in Rome just befor
.p,r left, and took my place in the household Th
& Weirs had not yet arrived, much to my regret
consists of Leonard Scott wife and daughters, {
,Nau1 Work. and Mr. Curtis and DR. Inpham,