
Read in English · with Spanish
Read Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) in English, with Spanish beside it
by George Melly · 1830–1894
"Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2)" by George Melly is a travel narrative written in the mid-19th century. It chronicles an overland and river journey through Nubia and the Bayuda Desert to Khartoum, mixing day-to-day travel scenes with notes on antiquities, wildlife, local customs, and the Egyptian administration in the Sudan. The party—family members, a dragoman, servants, and Bedouin camel-drivers—cross rivers and deserts by boat and camel, observing villages, markets, missions, and the meeting of the Blue and White Niles. The opening of the work follows preparations and delays at Wady Halfa, the loading of camels, and the first desert camps, with hunting episodes and a visit to the painted temple at Samneh. Melly sketches a vivid routine of desert travel—pre-dawn starts, grumbling camels, midday shade and luncheon, encounters with Nubian children, and evening tents—then moves through Sakkut’s sands to palm-groved villages where dates, milk, and informal medical aid are exchanged. After partridge shoots, a fruitless gazelle chase that leaves them briefly lost, and sights of flowers and birds, the party reaches Dongola, crosses a waterless tract punctuated by a lone well, and emerges gratefully to the Nile’s green belt near Gebel Berkel, inspecting pyramids and temples and often reading their landscapes through Biblical imagery. Pressing on via wells and pastoral scenes to Wady Bashava (complete with Bedouin feasting and a makeshift Christmas dinner), they arrive at Khartoum, where Governor Latiffe Pasha offers a house, boat, and transport; Melly then tours the town’s bazaar and gardens, meets European residents and an exiled scholar forced to found a nominal school, notes trade, superstition, and military display, hosts a formal dinner for the governors, and ends this section with a dromedary excursion and observations on village life and the appearance of Nubian women.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 193 min
- Words
- 42,519
- Chapters
- 38
- Paragraphs
- 610
- Price
- Free
- Egypt -- Description and travel
- Nile River
- Sudan -- Description and travel
The scene was further enlivened by the soldiers thrashing the Bedouins with whips, made of hippopotamus’s hide;
La escena se animaba aún más con los soldados azotando a los beduinos con látigos hechos de piel de hipopótamo;
and as each of the sufferers had a wife, and each possessed the power of screaming, their united concert in that way defies description.
y como cada uno de los sufridos tenía una esposa, y cada uno poseía el poder de gritar, su concierto unido en ese sentido escapa a toda descripción.
Dongola is a large mud town, with capacious streets, and pieces of ground without buildings.
Dongola es una gran ciudad de barro, con calles amplias y trozos de terreno sin edificios.
In one of these I counted sixteen large white and black eagles, moving about as unconcernedly as barn-door fowls.
En uno de estos conté dieciséis grandes águilas blancas y negras, que se movían con tanta indiferencia como las gallinas de corral.
They are almost tame, and quite impudent, for some of them came swooping down upon our hen-coop with a rush that nearly made the inmates die of fright.
Son casi domesticadas y muy atrevidas, pues algunas se lanzaban en picado sobre nuestro gallinero con tal ímpetu que casi hizo morir a las habitantes del susto.
We were obliged to shoot a couple of the most audacious.
Nos vimos obligados a disparar contra un par de las más audaces.
The dogs too had to be ran after and stoned for being too inquisitive respecting our dinner.
Los perros también tuvieron que ser perseguidos y apedreados por ser demasiado curiosos respecto a nuestra cena.
We found them great connoisseurs of soup, and possessed of a respectable taste for more solid cookery.
Los encontramos grandes conocedores de la sopa y poseedores de un gusto respetable por una cocina más sólida.
A superstition prevails which prevents these curs from been destroyed; so they multiply at a considerable rate, and though perfectly harmless and cowardly, are an immense nuisance to strangers.
Existe una superstición que impide que estos perros sean destruidos; por lo tanto, se multiplican a un ritmo considerable y, aunque son perfectamente inofensivos y cobardes, suponen una molestia enorme para los extraños.
Crowds of children visited our tents, and a few very pretty little girls, uncommonly unlike their mammas.
Multitudes de niños visitaron nuestras tiendas, y unas cuantas niñas muy bonitas, extraordinariamente diferentes de sus mamás.
One wore a girdle of agate, badly cut, from which hung a fringe of leather.
Una llevaba un cinturón de ágata, mal cortado, del que colgaba una borla de cuero.
Several necklaces were round her neck; from one a Spanish dollar was suspended.
Varios collares rodeaban su cuello; de uno de ellos pendía un dólar español.
My brother and I, well supplied with five-para pieces, went into the houses.
Mi hermano y yo, bien provistos de monedas de cinco paras, entramos en las casas.
We were soon surrounded by crowds of mothers and children; but the young girls, from seven to eighteen, were so shy, that they invariably ran away directly we made our appearance.
Pronto nos rodearon multitudes de madres y niños; pero las jóvenes, de siete a dieciocho años, eran tan tímidas que huyeron inmediatamente en cuanto aparecimos.
Questions about Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Can I read Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) in English with Spanish side by side online?
Yes, free. Paralelo shows the English original with a Spanish machine translation beside it, aligned phrase by phrase: hover or tap a phrase and its counterpart lights up in the other column. Anyone can read a passage; a free account opens the whole book.
What level do I need to read Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) here?
There is no set level. Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) runs to 42,519 words in 38 chapters, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.
Is Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) really free to read?
Yes. The text is in the public domain, and the translation and alignment are ours to give. A free account opens the whole book; the paid tier is for unlimited explanations.
Can I read Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) in another language?
Not yet. Each language is its own translation and alignment run, and titles are queued by demand: open the book in that language and press “Ask for priority” to move it up the queue.
How long does Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) take to read?
About 3 hours at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.
Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- Spanish, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #78015
- Licence
- Public domain worldwide
Start Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2 (of 2) today.
Free forever, no card. The whole library opens with an account.
Start reading, it's free