The following is a statement of the quantity of moss exported from Calpentyn, beyond Ceylon and coastwise, from 1813 to 1840 inclusive :

The whole of the last mentioned 152191 tb, were taken to Colombo and thenee sent to England.

The price of a pound of moss was at first 9d, afterwards it dwindled to 4 and then to 14; but is now rapidly increasing.

S. C. C.

The Overland Route,

BY THE REV. J. G. MACVICAR.

(Continued.)

THE PYRAMIDS AND THE DESART.

We were now within two miles of Boulac the port of Grand Cairo. But it still seemed a question when our voyage should be over; for the wind was blowing fresh and right against us, and it was now almost impossible to tract the Canjah, in consequence of the many interruptions on the banks. Still however we landed before the morning was quite spent. And a few minutes afterwards, leaving the reluctant and complaining camels on their knees to receive our luggage and walk it up after us, we found ourselves threading at a canter varions tortuous paths in order to effect out escape out of Boulac, on these admirable donkies formerly spoken of. Thus we were soon on the high way to Cairo and about two miles distant. The spaciousness of the road with occasionally fine bridges and parapets, the numerous gardens on both sides of it which were at this season beautifully verdant, and the domes and minarets of grand Cairo before us, all conspired to make this ride very animating.

We were also much pleased with the cheerful looks of the peasants carrying their market-stuffs to the city. We passed group after group in rapid succession, one of our donkey boys causing no small annoyance, and even terror to some of them by roguishly shaking before their faces a sable Boa which though quite a treasure in the Mediterranean and Greece was now found to be too warm for wearing, and was given to the boy to do what he pleased with.

In due time we reached Cairo; and no sooner did we enter it than we had occasion to remark what is indeed the most remarkable feature of that city, the narrowness of the streets. Were it not that the donkey boys ran ever before their beast's head calling out "hhot" "hhot" which means I belive" take care" we should cer tainly have stuck at the first turn, and contributed our share to form one entangled mass of donkeys, camels, hen-coops and fruit-baskets. But what as we afterwards found, is chiefly to be dreaded in these narrow streets is the encounter of a loaded camel sallying along. He will no more stop or go out of his way for any gentleman, than if he were a steamn carriage going by itself. And were it not that the donkey has an admirable power both of yielding and of keeping on his feet, though one indulges in that manoevre called by sailors" pushing off" many a blow would the stranger receive in the way referred to. Still however in a city like Cano lying under a sun which is often very hot but yet never vertical so great are the advantages of narrow streets that possibly all their inconveniences are more than balanced. In countries having extreme

and

climates, lofty houses and narrow streets are certainly by far the coolest in summer and the warmest its winter. The American eines with their broad straight streets ever cutting each other at right angles and their square "blocks of houses" lying between, are equally desti tute of all that is pictur sque, and of all that is cool in summer, comfortable in winter. In tolerably good time for breakfast we arrived at Hills Hotel, an awkward and unpromising establishment at first sight, but yet more worthy of being commended, we believe, than any other that is to be found in Cairo. And now to our great vexation we found on our arrival parties already setting off on all hands for Suez to join the steamer for Bombay. We flattered ourselves however that we should be in time to-morrow, and after a hearty breakfast which was served in the English style, we set off on the ever serviceable donkies for the Pyramids; and suitably to our short time we were galloped along so fast that the redoutable Ali Mustapha endeavoured in vain to lead the van-Poor Ali! Let me not refrain from celebrating in the Ceylon Magazine the mishap in which his sense of duty envolved him. During part of the way there is only a foot-path with the deep furrows of well ploughed fields on both sides; and Ali being by some accident thrown behind at this part, and feeling in duty bound to be al ways foremost broke off on one side into the furrows. But just when gaining his object, he and his beast lost balance, and our eyes were painfully greeted by his heels recapitulating in the air a similar evo. lution just performed by those of the donkey. Much to our satisfaction however Ali after drowing a breath or two in a borizontal position among the furrows resumed the vertical; and by walking on shewed that he could do so, while he displayed his indigna tion at the conduct of his ass, by never looking after him. Fortunately by this time, eight miles (the distance of the Pyramids of Gizeh from Cairo) were nearly passed over, and instead of baving to mind the recovery of his donkey, Ali had more to do in preserving us from being beset by a host of Bedouins, who claim the right of exhibiting the Pyramids to strangers, and who come running up to every visitor in very unnecessary numbers, most urgent to be employed. For our parts we did not much like the prospect of their society at all. They seemed a truly savage-looking set, with no dress but a loose shirt; and in no point of view did the prospect their companionship during the day seem in the least degree pleasing. We therefore endeavoured to emnan❤ cipate ourselves from the whole of them; and Ali still indignant at the usage he had received from his ass, and I believe feeling Otherwise hurt, went the length of hitting one of them a very severe blow on the back with a formidable stick which he carried. At this we were rather disconcerted, thinking that it could not be safe in so feeble a party as we were, to eat a horde of Bedouins so cavelierly. Till that moment the term Bedouin was a formidable name in our Vocabulary. But what was our amasement when we found the Bedouin that had been struck coming forward and urging the blow he had received, not as an argument to justify contemplated revenge, but to jusufy our engaging him in preference to the others!

It must be confessed however that no fair inference as to the native character of the Bedouins can be drawn from the conduct of those that hang about the pyramids. For Mohamet Ali is so determined that no visitor shall meet with any bad usage from them, that if any accident occurs at all, it is said that he lays it to their charge and beheads as many of them as he can catch. The consequence is that no one should go to the Pyramids alone. For say that he meets with -an accident, as any one may in climbing or descending such a thing as a pyramid. Say that he sprains or breaks his leg and will need be car ried, -off run the Bedouins forthwith to save their heads, and the poor traveller is left with the view of the gyrations of the vultures over head anticipating a repast upon his body, as his only solace. After all our endeavours we could not emancipate ourselves from these Bedouins; and as it seemed better, since they must go with us, to have them as servants than as ill-affected attendants we engaged no fewer thau a dozen; and thus escorted we came up to the base of the pyramid of Cheops, which is at once the largest of the three and the nearest to Cairo, And now, when at the base, we saw fully what a stupendous mass of architecture the pyramids really are. Curiously enough they are composed of a rock very similar in its characters to that of which a great part of Rome and of Paris is composed-a lime-stone consisting in a great measure of fossil organic iemains. But here all the blocks are of cyclopean dimensions. They are arranged in courses, forming steps. But so large is each block that it is impossible to ascend without the use of the arms as well as of the legs. In our case we allowed the Bedouins to help us up in their own way, which though we were at first very rebellious, proved in the end a great assistance; for it was now excessively warm and we were not in the best condition for undergoing fatigue not having being undressed for three nights nor having had any sleep but such as we could catch on our mattrasses, surrounded by the noisy crew of the canjah.

But when we gained the summit of the great pyramid and stood in the fresh breeze which blew there and looked around, all sense of fatigue and indeed discomfort of every kind vanishe ed. Between us and Cairo, and stretching down into the horizon on both sides lay the valley of the Nile beautifully verdant and most pleasingly illuminated by the silvery waters of the Nile, Bes youd it lay Grand Cairo with its battlements, domes, and minarets, and the long ridge of a precipitous hill which closes the view and shuts out the desart on that side. At our feet and on to the horizon in all directions, in striking contrast with the verdure of the valley we had crossed, lay a boundless tract of red sand varied by no ob ject except some pyramids in the extreme distance, similar to those of Gizeh. After enjoying this sight and the contemplations which sacred history suggests on the spot, we descended rapidly till about the middle of the pyramid, where it is usual for the visitor to rest on a flat space occasioned by the removal of several stones There our Bedouins proposed to dance their national dance; and ridiculous though it was to witness dancing on the pyramid of Cheops we accepted their proposal, and let them dance and sing as they pleased.

Of their performance little can be said but that like themselves it was vulgar enough. It is better worthy of remark that here about the middle of the pyramid the best estimate can be formed of the magnitude of the pile. Above, as well as below, it seemed now a mass of building as immense as the imagination had ever pictured it; and we agreed that no where had we yet seen so much to wonder at and so little to admire. But the very length of the journey which it appeared we had still to make before we reached the bot tom made us hasten our steps downwards. We accordingly decended, taking the direction of the opening into the interior chambers; and when arrived there, in we went, and made the common tour through the dark and difficult galleries having nothing to complain of but our inability in common with all others to understad what we had seen.

On our return to the city we found to our great satisfaction that we might still spend another day in Cairo for the mails had not yet been heard of. We cannot say however that we saw anything pleasing or memorable in the Capital of Mahomet Ali Cairo since it has been almost wholly abandoned by Turks has become a poor place. None of the elegancies of the last are now to be seen here. But on the contrary the eye rests every where only on crowds of poor and vulgar people, whom superstition appears to have robbed of some of the best feelings of humanity, as the following anecdote with show. Walking along the streets I saw a crowd of people crushing anxiously round some object seemingly lying on the ground, and which appeared to excite their mirth very successfully. I immediately wished to see what it was. as the children were looking keenly between the legs of the grown up people, and the heads of the latter were almost knocking against each other as they wagged their heards with laughter at the mirthful spectacle they were looking at, I could not learn for some time what that spectacle was; but I corcluded it was a monkey, or puppets, or white mice in a mill, or something of that sort as in Europe. However I continued trying to see; and getting now very near, says Ali "not too near Sir-devil in him-devil Sir." Being now quite impatient to see what it was, I pushed aside some of the people that stood around, and there lay in the filth of the streets an unhappy young man writhing in a fit of epilepsy. On another occasion also the same day, I saw an old man lying in the street unable to move, while hundreds passed by without even deigning to look at him. In the witnessing such sights and in the taking of a turkish bath-little worthy of praise if those of Turkay be no better then those of Cairo, the day passed away-nor need we mention anything else that we saw. Suffice it to say that next morning we were on the desart in a spring-van or bandy with a very agreeable English gentleman for our companion, habited in a very handsome turkish dress and wearing a Damascus sabre, the idea of which we rather liked when we remembered how kindly the Bedouins at the pyramids took the correction of Ali Mustapha. Poor Ali! be pled strongly to accompany us all the way to Suez, but he was