Letters from Egypt — 039 - April 7, 1864: Mrs. Ross
April 7, 1864: Mrs. Ross _To Mrs. Ross_.
LUXOR,
_April_ 7, 1864. DEAREST JANET,
I have continued very fairly well.
We had great heat ten days ago; now it is quite cool.
Harvesting is going on, and never did I see in any dream so lovely a sight as the whole process.
An acquaintance of mine, one Abdurachman, is Boaz, and as I sat with him on the threshing-floor and ate roasted corn, I felt quite puzzled as to whether I were really alive or only existing in imagination in the Book of Ruth.
It is such a _kief_ that one enjoys under the palm-trees, with such a scene.
The harvest is magnificent here; I never saw such crops.
There is no cattle disease, but a good deal of sickness among the people; I have to practise very extensively, and often feel very anxious, as I cannot refuse to go to the poor souls and give them medicine, with sore misgivings all the while.
Fancy that Hekekian Bey can't get me an Arabic dictionary in Cairo.
I must send to London, I suppose, which seems hardly worth while.
I wish you could see my teacher, Sheykh Yussuf.
I never before saw a pious person amiable and good like him.
He is intensely devout, and not at all bigoted--a difficult combination; and, moreover, he is lovely to behold, and has the prettiest and merriest laugh possible.
It is quite curious to see the mixture of a sort of learning with utter ignorance and great superstition, and such perfect high-breeding and beauty of character.
It is exactly like associating with St. John.
I want dreadfully to be able to draw, or to photograph.
The group at the Sheykh-el-Ababdeh's last night was ravishing, all but my ugly hat and self.
The black ringlets and dirty white drapery and obsolete weapons--the graceful splendid Sheykh 'black but beautiful' like the Shulamite--I thought of Antar and Abou Zeyd.
Give my salaam to Mme.
Tastu and ask her whether I may stay on here, or if I go down stream during the heat whether I may return next winter, in which case I might leave some of my goods.
Hekekian strongly advises me to remain here, and thinks the heat will be good.
I will try; 88 degrees seemed to agree with me wonderfully, my cough is much better.
April 14, 1864: Sir Alexander Duff Gordon _To Sir Alexander Duff Gordon_.
LUXOR,
_April_ 14, 1864.
