2 AN UNPROMISING OUTLOOK, the Soudan, and have the character of being a very treacherous and unfriendly people ; so that it was not only on the part of the Egyptian officials that we expected to have obstacles thrown in our way, but we felt sure that we should have considerable difficulty in getting camel-drivers and servants to undertake the journey. Then, too, the Base, dwelling as they do between Egyptian and Abyssinian territory, would naturally be jealous of any one entering their country through that of their powerful Egyptian neighbours, and might think, that, instead of being bent purely on travel and sport, we were really come on behalf of the Egyptian Government, to endeavour to squeeze taxes out of them, and to reduce them to submission.

On our arrival in Cairo, we heard that we should probably be delayed for some three or four weeks before we could find a steamer to take us to Souakim (the port on the Red Sea from which we wished to make our start into the interior), owing to the existing quarantine regulations. In consequence of the prevalence of cholera in India and at Aden, all steamers going from an Arabian to an African port were subjected to quarantine on their arrival.

The only regular steamers calling at Souakim are those of the Khedivial Company ; and they, as a rule, call at ports on both sides of the Red Sea, in their voyages up and down.

The steamers of the Rubbatino Company are also advertised to stop at Souakim, but they are, at the best of times, most irregular; and, when we wished to go, their "fleet" had been reduced to one steamer, the " Messina," and even she had, for the time being, been withdrawn from the service, owing to the quarantine.

Most of the steamers, moreover, were keeping to the Arabian ports, while several were being done up at Alexandria : so that there was only one steamer, the Zagazig," performing