248 COOL NIGHTS.

improved in the last year; instead of a small, dirty-looking kind of barn, we were shown into a nice room, furnished with plenty of comfortable chairs, and there were actually clean whitemuslin curtains to the windows ! The governor, a military man, and evidently very energetic, was new to the place. He had greatly improved and strengthened the fort, and was commencing to build a mosque, for which they were making redburnt bricks instead of the usual sun-dried ones.

We found a telegram from the English consul at Suez, to say that the next two steamers would leave Massawa on the 6th and 30th inst. To make more sure, we telegraphed to Massawa, and received an answer to say that the next boat sailed on the 26th. Pere Picard and another brother dined with us ; and afterwards a great crowd assembled to see the magic-lantern, with which all seemed to be greatly delighted. Although we were told that the hottest months in Sanheit were those of March, April, and May, we found the weather much cooler than any we had experienced for some time. The nights were quite cold, and all day a strong, cool wind blew.

Colvin had brought a letter of recommendation to "all bishops and priests," from Cardinal Manning ; which seemed greatly to please the reverend fathers, who held him in high estimation.

We asked to see over the church and schools, — the largest and best-conducted thing of the kind in the Egyptian Soudan, — and were greatly pleased with what we saw; so much so, that, although none of us were Roman Catholics, we all gladly subscribed to so laudable an establishment. It had been a good deal enlarged lately, and was altogether far more important than we had expected. There are seven brothers, all Lazarists ; nine sisters ; and also a bishop, a Swiss, who lives usually at Sanheit, but when we were there he was absent in