And We, We Shall Die, And Islam Will Wither Away,
And The Englishman, Leaning Far Over To Hold His Loved
India, will
plant a firm foot on the banks of the Nile, and sit in the seats of
the Faithful,
And still that sleepless rock will lie watching, and
watching the works of the new, busy race with those same sad,
earnest eyes, and the same tranquil mien everlasting. You dare not
mock at the Sphinx.
CHAPTER XXI - CAIRO TO SUEZ
The "dromedary" of Egypt and Syria is not the two-humped animal
described by that name in books of natural history, but is, in
fact, of the same family as the camel, to which it stands in about
the same relation as a racer to a cart-horse. The fleetness and
endurance of this creature are extraordinary. It is not usual to
force him into a gallop, and I fancy from his make that it would be
quite impossible for him to maintain that pace for any length of
time; but the animal is on so large a scale, that the jog-trot at
which he is generally ridden implies a progress of perhaps ten or
twelve miles an hour, and this pace, it is said, he can keep up
incessantly, without food, or water, or rest, for three whole days
and nights.
Of the two dromedaries which I had obtained for this journey, I
mounted one myself, and put Dthemetri on the other. My plan was to
ride on with Dthemetri to Suez as rapidly as the fleetness of the
beasts would allow, and to let Myserri (who was still weak from the
effects of his late illness) come quietly on with the camels and
baggage.
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