The Tour by Louis Couperus

Uncle Catullus lay under the awning of the thalamegus and asked Cora to come and sit by him:

"Sing and play me some cheerful songs, Cora," he said. "Be kind to me even though I be not your master. For I feel bored here, on this Nile boat, at Memphis. I have been bored ever since Lucius went to the oracle of Ammon, through the barren desert. What an idea, what a mad idea! They have been gone five days now; they will probably arrive tomorrow. I am bored, Cora, I am horribly bored. Egypt will be the death of me! First I am saturated with new impressions, like a sponge with water, and then Lucius abandons me to unlimited boredom. He's an egoist; he never thinks of his old uncle. Cora, be amiable to me and sing and play me some cheerful songs, won't you?"