A Journey to Central Africa Author:Bayard Taylor Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Section 3 The Cleopatra. CHAPTER VII. LIFE ON THE NILE. Independence of Nile Life—The Dahablyeh—Oar Servants—Our Kesldenc*—Our Manner of Living—The Climate—The Natlre*—Costume—Our Suns... more »et Repoee— Mr Friend—A Sensuous Life Defended. —"The life thon seok.st Theu.lt find be and tdo the Eternal Nile."—Mookb.s ALclruBon. We hear much said by tourists who have visited Egypt, concerning the comparative pains and pleasures of life on the Nile, and their decisions are as various as their individual characters. Four out of every five complain of the monotony and tedium of the voyage, and pour forth touching lamentations over the annoyance of rats and cockroaches, the impossibility of procuring beef-steak, or the difficulty of shooting crocodiles. Some of them are wholly impermeable to the influences of the climate, scenery and ruins of Egypt, and carry to the Nubian frontier the airs of Broadway or Bond-street. I have heard such a one say : " This seeing the Nile is a nice thing textit{to have gotten over, but it is a great bore while you are about it." Such is the spirit of those travelling snobs (of all nations), by some of whom sacred Egypt is profaned every winter. They are unworthy to behold the glories of the Nile, and if I had the management of Society, they never should. A. palm-tree is to them a good post to shoot a pigeon from ; Dendera is a " rum old concern," and a crocodile is better than Karnak. There are a few, however, who will acknowledge the truth of the picture which follows, and which was written in the cabin of the Cleopatra, immediately after our arrival in Upper Egypt. As it is a faithful transcript of my Nilotic life, I have deviated from the regular course of my narrative, in order to give it without change :— The Nile is the Paradise of Travel. I thought I had already fathomed ...« less