ARRIVAL AT SUEZ, 269 Then, too, we had as passenger the French consul from Khartoum, going home on leave of absence. He was taking with him a perfect menagerie of animals and birds, most of which he intended presenting to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. His collection comprised two large aboo geders (literally, father of strength), — the same species of land-tortoise we had endeavoured to take home, and of which we did succeed in bringing one diminutive specimen, — some parrots of various kinds, ducks and geese from the White Nile, and a beautiful black-and-white monkey of a kind that had never previously been brought to Europe.

Another of our first-class passengers was an Egyptian official, a far better-educated man than one usually meets in such outof-the-way places. He spoke French fluently, and was reading Sainte-Beuve and Lamartine on the voyage. We were delayed in starting, by some cattle we had to take on board, over a hundred, all from Khor Baraka, where they are very cheap ; some of which, having got loose at night, took a walk "aft," much to the inconvenience of those passengers who were sleeping on deck.

Leaving Souakim, as I have already said, on the morning of the 22d, after a very pleasant and not disagreeably warm voyage we reached Suez on the 26th, early enough to breakfast at the hotel. We were very glad to find a good budget of letters waiting for us. By them we learned that our friends in England had been considerably alarmed about us. Both the telegrams I sent from Amedeb had gone wrong ; instead of being sent on from Cairo to the address in London, which I had left at the former place, they were sent by mistake to my address in London, and my housekeeper returned them with my other letters ; one I received at Massowah, the other at Suez.