The cabin has a very decent and agreeable dining-room, about twenty feet square, with windows that have close and latticed shutters, so that you may open them at will in the day-time, and enjoy the freshness of the air; but great care must be taken to keep these shut at night.
_A. Planks sewed together without nailing._
_London publish’d Dec^r 1^{ st}. 1789 by G. Robinson & Co._]
A certain kind of robber, peculiar to the Nile, is constantly on the watch to rob boats, in which they suppose the crew are off their guard. They generally approach the boat when it is calm, either swimming under water, or when it is dark, upon goats skins; after which, they mount with the utmost silence, and take away whatever they can lay their hands on.
They are not very fond, I am told, of meddling with vessels whereon they see Franks, or Europeans, because by them some have been wounded with fire-arms.
The attempts are generally made when you are at anchor, or under weigh, at night, in very moderate weather; but oftenest when you are falling down the stream without masts; for it requires, strength, vigour, and skill, to get aboard a vessel going before a brisk wind; though indeed they are abundantly provided with all these requisites.
Behind the dining-room (that is, nearer the stern,) you have a bed-chamber ten feet long, and a place for putting your books and arms. With the latter we were plentifully supplied, both with those of the useful kind, and those (such as large blunderbusses,) meant to strike terror. We had great abundance of ammunition, likewise, both for our defence and sport.
With books we were less furnished, yet our library was _chosen_, and a very _dear_ one; for, finding how much my baggage was increased by the accession of the large quadrant and its foot, and Dolland’s large achromatic telescope, I began to think it folly to load myself more with things to be carried on mens shoulders through a country full of mountains, which it was very doubtful whether I should get liberty to enter, much more be able to induce savages to carry these incumbrances for me.
To reduce the bulk as much as possible, after considering in my mind what were likeliest to be of service to me in the countries through which I was passing, and the several inquiries I was to make, I fell, with some remorse, upon garbling my library, tore out all the leaves which I had marked for my purpose, destroyed some editions of very rare books, rolling up the needful, and tying them by themselves. I thus reduced my library to a more compact form.