Chapter IV: Letter II: Alexandria, the 23rd of September, 1842

I put my last letter into the post in Gibraltar, on the 7th September, where we employed the few hours which were granted us in viewing the citadel. The African continent lay before us, a light streak on the horizon. Beneath me, apes were clambering on the rocks, the only ones in Europe which live in a wild state, and on that account they are left unmolested. In Malta, which we reached on the 11th September, we found the painter Frey, from Basle, whom I had known at Rome. He told me first, by word of mouth, that he desired to join in the expedition, and had arrived some days before from Naples. We were compelled to wait nearly three days for the post from Marseilles. This gave us at least an opportunity to visit the wonders of the island; namely, the gigantic buildings discovered, a few years back, near La Valetta, and to make some purchases. Through Lieder, I became acquainted with Gobat, who has hitherto managed the Maltese station of the English Missionary Society, but is now waiting for a new destination, as pecuniary circumstances compel the society to give up this station entirely. It gave me great pleasure to make the acquaintance of this distinguished person.[2]

From Malta we were accompanied by the missionary Isenberg, who, like Gobat, had lived for a long time in Abyssinia, and is also well known to linguists by his grammar of the Amharic language. A young girl from Basle was under his protection—Rosina Dietrich, the bride of the missionary Krapf, who has married her here, and is now going to return with her and his colleagues, Isenberg and Mühleisen, to the English missionary station in Schoa, by the next Indian steamer. He was married in the English chapel, and I was present as a witness at the ceremony, which was performed with simplicity and feeling.

On our arrival, on the 18th September, we found Erbkam, Ernest Weidenbach, and Franke, already here. They had been waiting for us several days.

Mohammed Ali had put to sea with the fleet, as he was impatiently expecting the arrival of Sami Bey, who was to bring him intelligence of the desired reduction of tribute; in place of which, he had received the appointment of Grand Vizier.

The Swedish Consul-General, d’Anastasi, who as the representative of our Consul-General Von Wagner, still absent, manages the affairs of Prussia, and who enters with zeal into all our interests, presented us to-day to the Viceroy, and we have just returned from the audience. He expressed himself much pleased with the vases, which I delivered to the Pascha in the name of our Sovereign, and he felt himself still more honoured by the King’s letter, of which he immediately ordered a written translation to be made, and perused it with great attention in our presence, and desired that I should be informed that he would give me the answer when we should again leave the country. We were received, and dismissed standing; coffee was handed to us, and he showed us other attentions, some of which were afterwards carefully explained to me by d’Anastasi. Boghos Bey, his confidential minister, was the only one present, and remained standing all the time. Mohammed Ali appeared to be cheerful, and youthful in his actions and conversation; no debility was visible in the features and flashing eye of the old man of seventy-three. He spoke with interest of his expeditions up the Nile, and assured us he intended to repeat them, till he should have found the sources of the White River. On my inquiring about his Museum in Cairo, he replied, that it certainly had not hitherto been very successful, but that frequently, when rapid progress was expected in his enterprises, unjust claims were made on him relative to these matters in Europe; since he was compelled first to obtain a basis and foundation, which, with us, had long been prepared. I only cursorily alluded to our excavations; and in the course of conversation assumed that he had granted us permission to make them; this I am soon to receive in due form.[3]

to illustrate the

_LETTERS OF DR. LEPSIUS_.]