There could not have been
a more inviting spot adopted for a resting-place during the
rains. Although the soil was thoroughly denuded of loam, and
nothing remained but the original substratum of sandstone and
pebbles, the grass was at this season about three inches high
throughout the entire valley of the Atbara, the trees were in
full leaf, and the vivid green, contrasting with the snow-white
sandstone rocks, produced the effect of an ornamental park. My
tents were pitched upon a level piece of ground, outside the
village, about a hundred paces from the river, where the grass
had been so closely nibbled by the goats that it formed a natural
lawn, and was perfection for a camp; drains were dug around the
tent walls, and everything was arranged for a permanency. I
agreed with the sheik for the erection of a comfortabie hut for
ourselves, a kitchen adjoining, and a hut for the servants, as
the heavy storms were too severe for a life under canvas; in the
meantime we sat in our tent, and had a quiet chat with Florian,
the German.
He was a sallow, sickly-looking man, who with a large bony frame
had been reduced from constant hard work and frequent sickness to
little but skin and sinew; he was a mason, who had left Germany
with the Austrian Mission to Khartoum, but finding the work too
laborious in such a climate, he and a friend, who was a
carpenter, had declared for independence, and they had left the
Mission.
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