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CAIRO. 41 as soon as ever he landed. Also the troops were to be under his command; no orders were to be taken from the Egyptian authorities out there. At 11 a.m., the 4th of December, the train moved off, amidst general good wishes from all present. Four English non-commissioned officers who had been promoted to lieutenants in the Egyptian army came in the same train with us. They were to be used as scouts—a most important duty, and one which requires a large amount of pluck and coolness to carry out properly, for not only have they to point out the position of the enemy, but they ought to be able to make a very good guess of the numbers that they have seen. Almost the whole route has already been de scribed. The extra short distance from Nefish to Suez, being merely a run through the desert, requires no comment except as regards the beautiful blue waters of the Bitter Lakes, whose splendid colouring is brought out by the rich yellow of the surrounding desert. They say that these lakes teem with fish, but I saw no boats on either of them. We arrived at Suez about an hour after dark, and then were taken on by a special engine to the docks, where we found the Zagazig all in readiness to start. Our luggage and servant were there all right. William had only the most stupid excuses to make, and began soon to show that he, like all the rest of his tribe, required some one to wait on him, instead of his waiting on us. The cabins allotted to iis on the steamer were very good, but although the night was dark, the frightful stinks everywhere
