ancient river" became next the objects of my amusement. I bivouacked one
night on the banks of the river at Mt. Tabor and Carmel in sight. At
this time an alteration in the weather took place, the gales of wind
began to blow here and the coast consequently became exceedingly
dangerous. I thought it prudent to quit it and arrived in Alexandria in
fourteen days after leaving Haifa, having had a contrary gale nearly the
whole time.

'During my stay in Egypt I was four days in Cairo, eight days on the
Nile, two days at Sakkara and one day at Gizeh. Salt lent me his house
and his boat with twenty men, and I saw all that was to be seen. Mehemet
Ali gave me a Turk to attend me and I play the traveller here for a few
days; time for description I have none. You will be sorry I have hurried
over the latter part of this despatch but I assure you it is
unavoidable. The vessel that takes our letters to Malta I expect will
put herself in quarantine every hour.

'I have returned to Malta, refitted, and am again up the Archipelago
with Captain Hamilton who has just joined company. We have been the last
forty-eight hours rather harassingly employed routing out a nest of
pirates which we have done nearly to a man. Our boats have been away all
night and the brig under way. My marines took the men under Lieut.
Weately, and my men took two Greek boats with nine men each on board one
of which was the Captain of the Pirates; the _Fury's_ boats took
the vessels and their prizes, eleven in number. There was no fighting.
Captain Lethaby in the _Vengeance_ and _Alacrity_ brought the
Bey of Rhodes to his senses the other day; the Consul had been insulted,
he would give no satisfaction, so we took the old way and began at him,
when he came to terms. One 18 lb. shot through his palace made him know
that we did not always bark and never bite. _Alacrity_ was near