MR. BORRER'S JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. A STEAM-TRIP
to Athens, a sojourn at "the city," another steam- voyage to Alexandria, a survey of the sights in Cairo and its vicinity, and a land-journey to Suez, are all now-a-days common
enough. The desert in which the Israelites wandered, Mount Sinai and its disputed localities, with Bethlehem, Jordan, and the Dead Sea, are not so thoroughly hacknied : but still, the works of Dr. ROBINSON and other modern travellers have taken off the gloss of novelty; and if Jerusalem is not as well known as one's own i house, it s not from want of descriptions. In the case of such ground as this, as we have often said before, interest can only be imparted by some peculiar quality or condition of the tourist,—a character of some kind, approaching to what is vulgarly understood by genius, or scientific knowledge, or a pursuit.
Mr. BORRER combines all these properties after a fashion. He is an amateur artist, and handles his pencil pretty well ; he is a sportsman, and shoots flying; he has a smattering of natural history ; and he has the free and easy ways of your rambling En- glishman,—climbing over garden-walls, even when the garden is obviously attached to a harem after a bird; driving his animals into standing corn and letting ;hem eat their fill ; with sundry other pranks, which not only indicate that the player is at home, but supreme master over all. None of his accomplishments, however, are carried to the requisite extent to give much mark to his work and he has one unfortunate quality that overlays such effect as might have been produced had he confined himself to those in- cidents of the way that possessed some inherent character, or had he imitated the judgment of Lord FRANCIS EGERTON and given extracts from his journal. This unfortunate quality is the faculty. of making a book of travels out of his own head and the volumes of those who have gone before him. When he arrives at Athens, or the Pyramids, or any other remarkable spot, he pours out re- miniscences such as school and college reading render the common- places of well-educated youth, and might do well enough in a theme. He also appears to have carried about with him the best and most learned of our modern travellers; so that, what with adducing them and what with differing with them, he manages to expand materials that might have formed a series of articles, or a small volume, into upwards of five hundred pages.
There is little or nothing of any substantial novelty in the book : but those who like the task of picking out passages will find many of interest from their approach to adventure, and the off-hand style of the author. As he did not shrink from fatigue or risk, and travelled native-fashion, he sometimes fell in with incidents- that might escape a more regular tourist. Here is one, as a sample
of MT. BORRER.
PILGRIMS TO MECCA.
There was now in the " Well of Marsh" but very little water ; of which, being somewhat before the rest of the party, I was the first to taste. It has a i most strong medicinal bitter, making t hardly drinkable, yet it looks clear mut good. Above the spring are two palm-bushes : walking up to one of which, I was rather startled by seeing three wild-looking men stretched upon the ground, apparently in sleep ; who, upon my moving away, however, rose, and coming towards me, made signs that they were suffering from thirst ; upon which I led them to the water, which they had evidently not discovered. Hardly a cup-full of water was there, but greedily did they scoop it out and drink all they could get. Then the bitter struck their palate, and they made- wonderful grimaces; neither should I imagine the after-effect of so nauseous a draft to have proved very beneficial. These wretched beings were pilgrims from Mecca on their way to Cairo : but, like many of those who go that dread
journey, it may be doubted if they ever saw Cairo again; for they looked worn out with fatigue, and fearful was the journey betwixt them and that city. One of them having in his belt a curious instrument, something like a very long.. handled spoon of dark wood, with a solid bowl cut and carved about very hand- somely and of excellent polish, I inquired of him by signs the use of this mys-
terious article. He forthwith drew it out, and passing it over his shoulder, commenced luxuriously scratching his back with it ; so that I went away moved with envy. These were not the first pilgrims we bad seen in distress; for that very morn- ing, before starting from our encampment in Wady Sadr, three worn-our
wretches crawled up to our tents, and craving a little water, said they had nei-
ther eaten nor drank for three days : nor did their appearance belie their state- ment. The scanty portions of biscuits and water we could spare them seemed
throm n away, for they never could survive the journey before them. Mr.
Woodhead offering them some money : they refused it, as perfect dross in their situation. We had also met on the way one regular pilgrim-caravan, formed in part by many women on camels ; amongst whom, in a strange kind of wooden lattice-work box, was said to be a princess, who had travelled in this manner all the way from Morocco to Mecca, and so far back again. Many miles in the wake of this train were those who' weak with travelling, lagged behind, dragging themselves on in the most pitiful manner; some of whom cried,aloud to us for water, then with hollow voices inquired the distance to Suez. Death overtakes many on the way ; and when they feel that such is their destiny, bowing to fate, they scoop a shallow hole in the sand, lie down in that their grave, and die. The sweeping winds howl their requiem, and soon cover them with &shroud of sand; the fellow-pilgrim collects a few stones to mark the spot where the toils of his brother-sufferer terminated ; and others, following at different periods, seeing this humble memorial, generally contribute a stone or two. Thus in time those little mounds are formed nigh the margin of the desert-track, which the tra- veller every now and then beholds and wonders what they indicate. The appended translation of M. Lisear Da BELLEFOND'S Me- moire sur le Lac de Maris, is merely a brief but orderly-arranged pamphlet, whose object is to show that the celebrated lake was.
situated in the modern district of Fayoum.
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