Series 03: John Brady Nash letters, January 1914-December 1915 - Page 219
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[Page 219]
horse, lift his head gently, grasp the saddle firmly, with my knees thus descending at rapid pace into the valleys & rising to top the hillocks. The pyramids stood forth as guiding pillars, the top of Cheops wrapt in cirrhi (thin clouds) which hung from out the cumuli (thick clouds) above, and moving gently past, with lower irregular margin, concealed a varying quantity of the gigantic flight of stairs. These appearing to regret, standards though they be of height for all the world, that their terminal step reached not to heaven, confession that as the greatest work of man puny are they as compared with works of God.
Away some twelve miles to the North pencils of bright light, from East to West, shot down the Northern edge of the great cloud bank, falling upon the City of Cairo, the Mokattan ridges and precipices, the palms of the forest bordering the Nile, sillouhetting the minarettes of the Mosques the topmost edge of the precipices, and the palm trees, 'gainst the Northern sky, illuminating the greenery of the cultivated lands as with a thousand search lights.
Invigorated by my ride breakfast, of porridge, fish, bread, butter, apricot jam, and tea, was fully enjoyed. Waiting to do my hospital rounds my thoughts have been put on paper for you to read, & if you think them amusing or instructive you can let Mollie or others see them, being sure to get them back, that you may place them with my other letters.
11 a.m. Father McAuliffe & a newly arrived padre from South Australia have just been to see me. The Crow Eater [colloquial term for South Australians] representative is a young Tipperary man who cannot have been long in Australia, he arrived last week with the Light Horse brigade composed of horsemen from S. A. & W. Australia.