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240 IIAL'S TRAVELS.\nwas the :first man out, and heard the sounds dis­tinctly;\nbut a moment after, be pointed out a wheel\non the opposite side of the river, slowly revolving\nto raise water for irrigation, being turned by one\nsolitary ox. It was making a horrible creaking\nnoise. I caved at once. That was the music which\nhad so excited me. Smith bad the laugh ou me all\nthat day. Old l\\1emnou sat sublimely silent ou his\ncold, stony throne, as he has done for thousands of\nyears.\nAfter breakfast we all gathered together from\nboth boats, crossed the river, and set out for the\nmountain to see the "Tombs of the Kings." A\ncrowd of donkeys awaited us, (donkeys wait for you\neverywhere in Egypt,) and I saw at a glance that we\nshould have a scuffle for it. There was just a dozen\nof us, and about tn·o dozen donkeys, and each don­key-\nboy would do his level best to out-bu11y his\ncompetitor, and get himself and donkey hired. It\nis a fearful thing to fall into the bands of donkey­boys,\nfor if you do not beat them off, which is next\nto an impossibility, they will almost tear you limb\nfrom limb. When our boat landed I sprang upon\nthe shore, and felL immediately into the hands of\nMohammed Ali and llassan Asoof. They were stal­\n·wart fellows, each large enough to carry his diminu­tive\ndonkey on his own shoulder. l\\.1obammed Ali\nswore that he bad the best donkey in Thebes, and\nthat llassan and his donkey were both humbugs ;\nthat his own donkey could go like a horse. Hassan\nretorted the best he could, and said that his donkey