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VALUABLE WORKS 
 
 ON 
 
 THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 200 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK. 
 
 BURNET'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 The History of the Reformation of the Church of England, by Gilbert 
 Burnet, D.D., late Lord Bishop of Salisbury — with the Collection of 
 Records and a copious Index, revised and corrected, with additional 
 Notes and a Preface, by the Rev. E. Nares, D.D., late Professor of 
 Modern History in the University of Oxford. Illustrated with a Fron- 
 tispiece and twenty-three elegantly engraved Portraits, forming four 
 elegant Svo. volumes. 
 
 *^* The established character of Bishop Burnet's History of the Reformation as a stand- 
 ard work, and most valuable historical authority, renders it unnecessary for the American 
 Publishers to enter into any analysis of its merit, further than briefly to state the advanta- 
 ges of this edition over all others. 
 
 " Often as this celebrated History of the Reformation of the Church of England has 
 been printed and published, often as it has been read, and continually as it has been refer- 
 red to by successive writers, interested in the important subject of which it treats ; yet 
 one thing seems to have been constantly overlooked, namely, the necessity of a distinct 
 Preface to pomt out, and to explain to readers in general, the particular character of the 
 publication. 
 
 " It is a work of too great magnitude to be repeatedly read through, and though its emi- 
 nence as an historical work, must always be such as to render it imperatively necessary for 
 certain writers to consult its pages, yet in every reprint of it, it should be contemplated by 
 ihe pubUsher not merely as a book of reference, but as one to he read like other books of 
 history regularly from the beginning to the end, not by professed scholars only, or by per- 
 sons already versed in history, civil or ecclesiastical, but by such as maybe only beginning 
 their historical inquiries and researches — young readers and mere students. 
 
 *' Scarcely any other book of equal importance, perhaps, stands so much in need of prelimi- 
 nary explanations, as this great work of the celebrated writer whose name it bears. And it 
 must often, we should think, have been a matter of just surprise to the readers of this his- 
 tory, that, in the editions hitherto published, the errors in the first and second volumes have 
 been reprinted, which the author himself noticed at the end of the third volume. In the 
 present edition the text will be found corrected as it should be, and many explanatory notes 
 lidded throughout the work." — Editor's Preface. 
 
Valuable Worhs on Theology and Ecclesiastical History, 
 
 BURNET ON THE XXXIX ARTICLES. 
 
 An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, by 
 Bishop Burnet. With an Appendix, containing the Augsburg Confes- 
 sion — Creed of Pope Pius IV., &c. Revised and corrected, with co- 
 pious Notes and additional References, by the Rev. James R. Page, 
 A.M., of Queen's College, Cambridge. In one handsome 8vo. volume. 
 
 The advantages of this edition over all others may be stated as follows : 
 
 In the first place, the learned author's text has been preserved with strict fidelity. 
 
 2d. The references to the Fathers, Councils, and other authorities have been almost um- 
 versally verified : and, in many instances, corrected and so enlarged as to render them 
 easy of access to the student. 
 
 3d. A large number of Scnpture references have been added. In different parts of 
 this work, Bishop Burnet lays down propositions without giving the Scripture by which 
 they may be proved. The editor has, however, added references in these and all other in- 
 stances where they might be considered not merely additions, but also improvements. 
 
 4th. The Canons and decrees of Council and other documents of importance referred 
 to have been given in the original, and from the most authentic sources — ^the places where 
 they are to be found being specified. 
 
 5th. Copious Notes have been added, containing, besides other information, notices of 
 the principal heretics and persons of note, with an accurate account of their opinions. 
 Also extracts chiefly from the works of the most distinguished divines of the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries, opening and illustrating the chief points in controversy between us 
 and the church of Rome. In an appendix has also been given the Confession of Augsburg, 
 and Creed of Pope Pius IV., in the English and original tongues, and in the original only, 
 the canons and rubric of the Mass. 
 
 Indices of Texts of Scripture and of the matter contained in the Notes, have also been 
 given, together with a list of authors quoted in the Editor's portion of the volume. 
 
 In fine, the Editor's design has been to make, as far as was possible, within such a com- 
 pass, this great work what he humbly hopes it may be found — a Manual for the Theologi- 
 cal Student. — Vide Editofs Preface. 
 
 " The valuable References, Notes, and Indices, which accompany your edition, will give 
 it a vast superiority over every other." — Lord Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 " The editor has given to our clergy and our students in theology an edition of this work, 
 which must necessarily supersede every other, and we feel he deserves well at the hands of 
 the Church of England, which he has so materially served." — Church of England Quar- 
 terly Review. 
 
 " It may be predicted that this edition of Bishop Burnet's work will henceforth be the 
 most popular. It is enriched with excellent Notes firom Bishop Jewell, Hooker, &c. &c., 
 and with very useful compendiums of information on ecclesiastical points, furnished by the 
 Editor himself." — British Magazine. 
 
Valuable Works on Theology and Ecclesiastical History. 3 
 
 PEARSON ON THE CREED 
 AN EXPOSITION OF THE CREED, 
 
 BY JOHN PEARSON, D.D., 
 
 Late Bishop of Chester. 
 
 With an Appendix, containing the principal Greek and Latin Creeds 
 Revised and corrected by the Rev. W. S. Dobson, M.A., Peterhouse, 
 Cambridge. In one handsome 8vo. volume. 
 
 The following may be stated as the advantages of this edition over all others. 
 
 First — Great care has been taken to correct the numerous errors in the references to the 
 texts of Scripture, which had' crept in by reason of the repeated editions through which 
 this admirable Work has passed ; and many references, as will be seen on turning to the 
 Index of Texts, have been added. 
 
 Secondly — The Quotations in the Notes have been almost imiversally identified and 
 the references to them adjoined. 
 
 Lastly-^The principal Symbola or Creeds, of which the particular Articles have been 
 cited by the Author, have been annexed ; and wherever the original writers have given 
 the Symbola in a scattered and disjointed manner, the detached parts have been brought 
 into a successive and connected point of view. These have been added in chronological 
 order in the form of an Appendix." — Vide Editor. 
 
 " This admirable Exposition of the Creed, originally preached to his parishioners in the 
 form of Sermons, has been long and deservedly considered among the best and most 
 useful theological productions of our language. Of Pearson it was said, 'that the very 
 dust of his writings is gold.' " — Dr. Dihdin's Library Companion. 
 
 *' Pearson's Exposition of the Apostles' Creed is a standard book in English Divinity. 
 It expands beyond the literal purport of the Creed itself to most articles of orthodox belief, 
 and is a valuable summary of arguments and authorities on that side. The closeness of 
 Pearson, and his judicious selection of proofs, distinguish him from many of the earlier 
 Theologians." — Hallam's Literature of Europe. 
 
 " This is a work of great learning and mert. It contains a system of Theology, a good 
 deal of controversy, and a large portion of biblical exposition. On the last account it is 
 entitled to a place in this work, and will repay an attentive perusal."—' Ormes^ Bibliotheca 
 Biblia. 
 
4 Valuable Works on Theology and Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 PALMER'S TREATISE ON THE CHURCH 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. , 
 
 DESIGNED CHIEFLY FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS IN THEOLOGY. 
 
 BY THE REV. WILLIAM PALMER, M.A., 
 
 Of Worcester College, Oxford. 
 
 EDITED, WITH NOTES, 
 
 BY THE RIGHT REV. W. R. WHITTINGHAM, D.D., 
 
 Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo. handsomely printed on fine paper. 
 
 "The treatise of Mr. Palmer is the best exposition and vindication of Church Principleg 
 that we have ever read ; excelling contemporaneous treatises in depth of learning and 
 solidity of judgment, as much as it excels older treatises on the like subjects, in adaptation 
 to the wants and habits of the age. Of its influence in England, where it has passed 
 through two editions, we have not the means to form an opinion ; but we believe that in 
 this country it has already even before its reprint, done more to restore the sound tone of 
 Catholic principle and feeling than any other one work of the age. The author's learning 
 and powers of combination and arrangement, great as they obviously are, are less remark 
 able than the sterling good sense, the vigorous and solid judgment,, which is everywhere 
 manifest in the treatise, and confers on it its distinctive excellence. The style of the 
 author is distinguished for dignity and masculine energy, while his tone is everywhere 
 natural ; on proper occasions, reverential ; and always, so far as we remember, suffi- 
 ciently conciliatory. 
 
 " To our clergy and intelligent laity, who desire to see the Church justly discriminated 
 from Romanists on the one hand, and dissenting denominations on the other, we earnestly 
 commend Palmer's Treatise on the Church." — New-York Churchman. 
 
 "This able, elaborate, and learned vindication of the claim of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, to be considered the true Catholic Church, and the exposure which is here made 
 of the grounds of difference between it and he Romish Church, and of the baseless pre- 
 tensions of that church to be the 'one Holy' Catholic, and Apostolic Church,' will assu- 
 redly commend these volumes to the favour of Churchmen. 
 
 4 " At a moment when Popery, as is well expressed in the American Editor's preface, is 
 spreading among us by ' the aid mainly of imported men, money, and members,' it is 
 well, by a true relation of what Popery really is, to put the nation on guard against its en- 
 croachments. This service is done by this treatise, of which it were recommendation 
 enough to say, that its republication has engaged the labours and time of, and is com- 
 mended to the use of theological students by, certainly not the least learned, pious, and 
 exemplary of our American Bishops. 
 
 " The publishers deserve a full share of commendation for the handsome manner in which 
 they have sent forth these volumes." — N. Y. American. 
 
CHURCHMAN'S LIBRARY, 
 
 The greatest care is taken in selecting the works of which this collec- 
 tion is composed. Each volume is printed on the finest paper, elegantly- 
 ornamented, and bound in a superior manner, and uniform in size. Bishop 
 Doane says of this collection, " I write to express my thanks to you for 
 reprints of the Oxford Books ; first, for such books, and secondly, in such 
 a style. I sincerely hope you may be encouraged to go on, and give them 
 all to us. You will dignify the art of printing, and you will do great ser- 
 vice to the best interests of the country." In a letter received from Bishop 
 Whittingham, he says, " I had forgotten to state my very great satisfaction 
 at your commencement of a series of Devotional Works, lately republish- 
 ed in Oxford." The publishers beg to state, while in so short a time the 
 Library has increased to so many volumes, they are encouraged to make 
 yet larger additions, and earnestly hope it may receive all the encourage- 
 ment it deserves. 
 
 The .fpUowing volumes have already appeared : 
 
 THE EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH, 
 
 OR CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 IN EARLY BRITISH, SAXON, AND NORMAN TIMES. 
 
 BY THE REV. EDWARD CHURTON, M. A. 
 
 WITH A PREFACE BY THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP IVES . 
 
 1 vol. 16mo., elegantly ornamented. 
 
 ** The following delightful pages place before us some of the choicest examples — both clerical 
 and lay— of the true Christian spirit, in the EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH. In truth, these 
 pages are crowded with weighty lessons. Here our laity will find that these noble foundations 
 of charity in the mother country — the existence of which they have been accustomed to ascribe 
 to the credulity of ig-norance, or the fears of superstition, successfully practised upon by the arts 
 of priests — had a higher and holier origin — that they sprang" into being under the warm impulses 
 of that divine and expansive benevolence of which the constraining power of Christ's love made 
 his early followers such large partakers at the period while yet Christian men fully recognised 
 their high vocations, as ' stewards of the manifold gifts of God,' — lived under the abiding convic- 
 tion, that we are not our own, but that, ' bought with the precious blood of Christ,' we are ' bound 
 to glorify him in our bodies and our spirits, which are his.' Here, too, our clergy may learn a 
 lesson of true self-devotion to their Master — may see, strikingly and beautifully illustrated, that 
 love for Christ, and that zeal for his kingdom, which alone can bear us tranquilly and success- 
 fully through the labours and trials of the holy ministry — may see the operation of the true mis- 
 sionary spirit — the spirit of endurance and self-sacrifice which shrinks from no obstacles when 
 the salvation of sinners is to be achieved under the command and the promise of the Almighty God 
 — may see, in short, an impressive and instructive exemplification of that child-like submission 
 to God, that pure and simple trust in him, which, at his bidding, performs duty, and leaves the 
 result to his providence and grace. 
 
 " But, to read these pages with profit, we must pray to God for a portion of that spirit which 
 indited them, and which so manifestly controlled the events which they record — must read them 
 with a spiritual eye ; with an eye intent upon discovering — not that which may help to sustain 
 some preconceived notion — but that which, prompted by the spirit of Christ, and accomplished 
 through the power of his saving truth, exhibits to us some great principle of Christian action, and 
 some powerful motive to * go and do likewise.' "—Ftde Freface. 
 
Churchman^ s Library. 
 
 MEDITATIONS ON THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 GODLY MEDITATIONS UPON THE MOST HOLY SACRA- 
 MENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 BY CHRISTOPHER SUTTON, D.D. LATE PREBEND OF WESTMINSTER. 
 
 1 vol. royal 16mo., elegj^jitly ornamented. 
 
 " We announced in our.last number the republication in this country, of Sutton's ' Meditations 
 on the Lord's Supper,' and having since read the work, are prepared to recommend li warmly and 
 without qualification lo the perusal of our readers. It is purely practical ; the doctrine of the Eu- 
 charis-t being touched upon only in so far as was necessary to guard against error. Its standard 
 of piety is very high, and the helps which it affords to a devout participation of the holy sacra- 
 ment of which it treats, should make it the inseparable companion of every communicant. We 
 know indeed of no work on the subject that can in all respects be compared with it ; and for its 
 agency in promoting that advancement in holiness after which every Christian should strive, have 
 no hesitation in classmg it with the Treatise on ' Holy Living and Dying,' of Bishop Taylor, and 
 the 'Sacra Privata ' of Bishop Wilson. The period at which the book was written will account 
 for, and excuse, what in the present age would be regarded as defects of style ; but these are 
 fewer than might have been expected, and are soon lost sight of in the contemplation of the many 
 and great excellencies with which it abounds. The publishers have done good service to the 
 country in the publication of this work, which is a beautiful reprint of the Oxford edition, and we 
 are glad to learn that it will be speedily, followed by the * Disce Vivere' and * Disce Mori' of the 
 sap** author." — Banner of the Cross. 
 
 LEARN TO DIE. 
 
 DISCE MORI, LEARN TO DIE •. 
 
 A Religious Discourse, moving every Christian man to enter into a serious 
 Remembrance of his End. 
 
 BY CHRISTOPHER SUTTON, D.D., LATE PREBEND OF WESTMINSTER. 
 
 1 vol. 16mo., elegantly ornamented. 
 
 " This is another worthy addition to the most beautiful and excellent series of religious work^ 
 which the A.ppletons have m the course of pubUcation under the title of 'TheChurchman's Library.' 
 The book is eminently practical, containing the best and wisest aids in building up the Christian 
 character and leading the mind through holy thoughts and divine aspirations to the mount of peace 
 and sacred rest. The author is widely known as one of the most devoted servants of the church, 
 and those of his works which have already been published have been most favourably received. 
 The outward dress of this volume, like that of the series to which it belongs, is remarkably neat 
 and elegant. We most heartily commend the work to the attention of the Christian public." — ■ 
 New-Yorker. 
 
 " Of the three works of this excellent author lately reprinted in England, the * Disce Mori ' is, 
 in our judgment, decidedly the best. It was the favourite book of the Bishop of Jolly, who, the 
 touching incident cannot be forgotten, died with it in his hands. It was this fact, we believe, 
 which first recalled the book from the oblivion into which it had fallen ; and our readers ma.y re- 
 member, that shortly after its republication in England we urged an American reprint, on the 
 ground that it was a book which would prove universally acceptable to the Church. Such is still 
 our opinion ; we do not believe that a single journal or clergyman in the Church will be found to 
 say a word in its disparagement ; but that, on the contrary, all will unite in commending it as one 
 of the very best of our practical works, equally devotional and almost equally rich with the simi- 
 lar work of Taylor, and free from those features with which Taylor startles such weak minds as 
 have a morbid dread of Romanism. Our columns have been, and now that the book is reprinted, 
 will again be, enriched with extracts which will make the ' Disce Mori ' favpurably known to our 
 readers." — Churchman. 
 
Churchman's Library. 
 
 SACRA PRIVATA: 
 
 The Private Meditations, Devotions, and Prayers of the Right Rev. T. Wilson, D.D , Lord Bishop of 
 Soderand Man. . First complete edition. 1 vol. royal 16mo., elegantly ornamented. 
 " The Messrs. AppletOD have brought out, in elegant style, Wilson's ' Sacra Privata' entire. The reprint is an honour to 
 the American press. The work itself is, perhaps, on the whole, the best devotional treatise in the language, and it now ap- 
 pears in a dress worthy of its character. It has never before in this country been printed entire. We shall say more another 
 time, but for the present will only urge upon every reader, from motives of duty and interest, for private benefit and public 
 good, to buy the book. Buy good books, shun the doubtful, and burn the ba.d."-^New-York Churchman. 
 
 A DISCOURSE CONCERNING PRAYER 
 
 ind the frequenting Daily Public Prayers. By Sjnnon Patrick, D.D., sometime Lord Bishop of Ely. 
 ' Edited by Francis E. Paget, M.A., Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of Oxford. 1 vol. royal 16mo., ele- 
 gantly ornamented. 
 
 "This work treats of the nature and necessity of prayer, of the sense of all mankind about this matter, especially of ou 
 blessed Saviour, of the honour done us by God in admitting us into his presence, and of the great benefits we receive by it. I 
 shows that public prayer is the most necessary of all, that God is most honoured by it, that it is most advantageous to us, and 
 most suitable to the nature of man, that the nature of a Church requires it, that our Saviour has taught this doctrine, which is 
 confirmed by the practice of the Apostles and first Christians; and it treats of daily public assemblies and hours of prayer. 
 
 " To all who have been benefited and instructed by Bisliop Patrick's writings (thai is to all who have with due care read, 
 BDd meditate 1, and prayed over any one of them) it is unnecessary to say a word in commendation of the work before us. To 
 others it may suffice to say, that tlie sooner they make themselves master of this, and the other admirable works of his lately 
 reprinted, the better will it be for the soundness of their views in theology, and the firmness and steadiness of their growth in 
 piety aud Chtistia.nvittae."— Charleston Gospel Messenger. 
 
 HEART'S EASE ; 
 
 Or a Remedy against all Troubles, with a Consolatory Discourse, particularly addressed to those who 
 have lost ther friends and dear relations. By Symon Patrick, D.D., sometime Lord Bishop of Ely. 
 1 vol. royal 16mo., elegantly ornamented. 
 
 " 1 would suggest, whether there can be a more useful present than a ^ood bciok ? And to those who think with me in this 
 matter, I would recommend two very pretty volumes in external appearance, whilst they are most excellent in their contents 
 They are both by the same author. Bishop Patrick, the one ' On Prayer,' and the other entitled ' Heart's Ease ; or a Remedy 
 against all troubles.' It was observed by the distinguished Cecil that he had a shelf in his book-case upon which he was accus- 
 tomed to place ' tried authors;' that is, authors whose opinions he had examined and judged to be worthy of confidence 
 These volumes are of such a character ; and if this article shall be read by one who is willing to give his friends some useful in- 
 struction with regard to the nature, duty, and advantages of prayer, in all its branches, he will find it in the first named vol- 
 ume ; or if the reader has a friend in affliction, he may perhaps relieve the sorrow.s of the openingyear by placing in the hands 
 of that friend the volume entitled ' Heart's Ease.' "—Vide communication, New- York American. 
 
 THOUGHTS IN PAST YEARS. 
 
 A beautiful collection of Poetry, chiefly Devotional. By the author of <• The Cathedral." 1 vol. 
 royal 16mo., elegantly printed. 
 
 " This is a new Trans-atlanlic poetical work, and although we have not much confidence in our own judgment of poetry, we 
 Aa not hesitate to venture the opinion that this book is by no means to be ranked with the ephemeral poetical eflfusions of the 
 day. It is made up of miscellaneous poems, all of them of amoral tendency, and many of them breathing a spirit of deep devo- 
 tion and e&tixeeX^iet.y.''^— Albany Advertiser. 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS BELLS: 
 
 A Tale of Holy Tide, and other Poems. By the author of " Constance," " Virginia," &c. 1 vol. royal 
 Ibmo., elegantly ornamented. 
 
 *,* These volumes will be folloVped by others of equal importance. 
 
 MAGEE ON ATONEMENT AND SACRIFICE. 
 
 Discourses and Dissertations on the Scriptural Doctrines of Atonement and Sacrifice, and on the 
 Principal Arguments advanced, and the Mode of Reasoning employed by the Opponents of those 
 doctrines, as held by the Established Church. By the late Most Rev. WilUam Magee, D.D., Ai-ch- 
 bi hop of Dublin. 2 vols, royal 8vo. beautifully printed. 
 
 " This is one of the ablest critical and polemical workb cf modern times. Archbishop Magee is truly a mallues hereticolum. 
 He is an excellent scholar, an acute reasoner, and is possessed of a most extensive acquaintance with the wide field of argu- 
 ment to which his volumes are devoted— the profound Biblical ini'ormalion on a variety ol topics which the Archbishop brings 
 forward, must endear his name to all lovers of Christianity." — Orme. 
 
 HARE'S PAROCHIAL SERMONS. 
 
 Sermons to a Country Congregation. By Augustus William Hare, A.M., late Fellow of New College, 
 
 and R dor of Alton Barnes. 1 vol. royal 8vo. 
 
 " Any one who can be pleased with delicacy of thought expressed in the most simple language— any one who can feel the 
 charm of finding practical duties elucidated and enforced by apt and varied illustrations— will be delighted with this volume, 
 which presents us with the workings of a pious and highly-gifted mind." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 THE GOLDEN GROVE. 
 
 A choice Manual, containing what is to be believed, practised, anddesired, or prayed for: the prayers 
 being fitted for the several days of the week. To which is added a Guide for the Penitent, or a 
 Model drawn up for the help of devout souls wounded with sin. Also Festival Hymns, &c. By 
 the Right Rev. Bishop Jeremy Taylor. 1 vol. 18mo. 
 
 " The name of Jeremy Taylor will always be a sufficient passport to any work on whose title page it appears. Of no writer 
 of his period, or indeed of any other period, could it be more truly said, that he has given ' thoughts that breathe in words that 
 burn.' The present little work may perhaps be regarded as among the choicest of his productions. While it is designed to b« 
 a guide lo the devotion, it breathes much of the spirit of devotion, and abounds in lessons of deep practical wisdom. Its author 
 was an Episcopalian and Episcopalians may well be proud of him ; but his character and writings can no more be the property 
 of one denomination than the air or the light, or any other of God's universal blessings to the viotli."— Albany AdvtrMer^ 
 
Theological and Ecclesiastical Works. 
 
 OGILBY ON LAY-BAPTISM. 
 
 An Outline on the Argument against the Validity of Lay-Baptism. By tne Rev. John D, Ogilby, A.M , 
 
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History. 1 vol. 12mo. 
 
 " We can but acknovdedge the receipt of this volume, on a subject that hardly falls unaer the range of our criticism. The 
 author, whoae bapti^ni of two persons, wlio had previously received lay-baptism, has raised against him no litlle outcry, has 
 been induced to write these pages in his own defence, and has set forth in them the principles and reasons which have governea 
 Li8 practice. He asks for tliem, what we doubt not they will receive, a patient hearmg."— iV. Y. American. 
 
 A MANUAL FOR COMMUNICANTS ; 
 
 Or the Order for Administering the Holy Communion; conveniently arranged with Meditations and 
 Prayers from Old English Divmes, bemg the Eucharistica of Samuel Wilberforce, M A Archdea- 
 con of Surry, (adapted to the American service.) Convenient size for the pocket. ' 
 
 *j,* This work is dedicated to and has received the approval of tlie Right Rev. Bishop Onderdonk of (the diocese of Nevy- 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY 
 
 KEEP CONSTANTLY FOR SALE, ON THE MOST FAVOURABLE TERMS, A CPIOICE 
 STOCK OF WORKS ON 
 
 ^"^" THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 
 
 Including the Sterling Old English Divines of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. 
 Among their recent importations will be found new and beautiful editions of 
 
 KEV. JOSEPH BING-HAM'S Complete Works, with all the Quotations. 9 vols 8vo. 
 
 BISHOP BULL'S Complete Works. 8 vols. 8vo. 
 
 DR. ISAAC BARROW'S Complete Works. 8vols.8vo. 
 
 Do. do. do. Cheap edition. 3 vols. 8vo. 
 
 DR. EDWARD BURTON'S Complete Works. 5 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP BUTLER'S Complete Works. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 RICHARD BAXTER'S Practical Works, with Introductory Essay. 4 vols. imp. 8vo. 
 JEREMY COLLIER'S Ecclesiastical History of England, with copious notes 9 vols Bvo 
 DR. WM. CAVE'S Works, edited by Carey. 5 vols. 8vo. 
 DEAN COMBER'S Complete Works, 7 vols: 8vo. 
 W. CHILLIIvraWORTH'S, M.A., Complete Works. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 ARCHBISHOP CRANMER'S Complete Works. 4 vols. 8vo. 
 DR. JOHN DONNE'S Complete Works. 6 vols. 8vo. 
 DEAN G-RAVB'S Complete Works, edited by his Son. 4 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP HALL'S Complete Works. 12 vols, 8vo. 
 BISHOP HORSELEY'S Complete Works, 8 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP KURD'S Complete Works. 8 vols, 8vo. 
 BISHOP HORNE'S Complete Works. 4 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP HOPKINS' Complete Works. 1 vol. imp, dvo. 
 RICHARD HOOKER'S Complete Works. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 Do, do. edited by Keble. 3vols. 8vo. 
 
 DR, MATTHEW HALE'S Practical Discourses on the Liturgy. 4 vols. Bvo 
 REV. W. JONES (of Nayland) Complete Works. 6 vols, 8vo. 
 REV, CHARLES LESLIE'S Complete Works. 7 vols, Bvo. 
 ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON'S Complete Works. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 Do. do. with Life by Pearson. 2 vols. Bvor 
 
 DR. NATHANIEL LARDNER'S Complete Works. 10 vols. 8vo. 
 JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, B.D., Parochial Sermons by. 6 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP PORTEUS' Complete Works. 6 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP REYNOLDS' Complete Works. 6 vols. Bvo. 
 JOHN STRYPE'S Ecclesiastical Memorials, 6 vols. 8vo. 
 
 Do. Annals of the Reformation. 7 vols. 8vo. 
 
 DR. JOHN SCOTT'S Complete Works. 6vols. 8vo. 
 ARCHBISHOP SHARPE'S Complete Works. 5vols.8vo. 
 BISHOP SAUNDERSON'S Sermons, complete. 2 vols. Bvo. 
 BISHOP SHERLCCKE'S Complete Works. 5 vols. 8vo. 
 ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON'S Complete Works. 10 vols. Bvo. ' 
 ARCHBISHOP USHER'S Body of Divinity. 1 vol. Bvo. 
 BISHOP VAN MILDERT'S Complete Works. 6 vols. 8vo. 
 BISHOP WARBURTON'S Complete Works. 13 vols. Bvo. 
 WALL'S History of Infant Baptism. 4 vols. Bvo. 
 PATRICK, LOWTH, WHITBY, ARNALD and LOWMAN'S Critical Commentary and Para- 
 
 phrase on the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha, with the Text at large. A new 
 
 edition, at one half the original cost. 
 
 Also the beautiful Paris editions of 
 ST. AUG-USTINI, Opera Omnia. Complete in 22 vols. imp. Bvo. 
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.--'^^^ ./'^ 
 
 /C**"'^!^ 
 
 J--....^'^^"' 
 
THE 
 
 AMERICAN IN EGYPT, 
 
 WITH 
 
 RAMBLES THROUGH ARABIA PETRiEA 
 
 AND 
 
 THE HOLY LAND, 
 
 DURING 
 
 THE YEARS 1839 AND 1840. 
 
 BY JAMES EWING COOLEY. 
 
 .#^' 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS STEEL ENGRAVINGS : ALSO WITH DESIGNS 
 AND ETCHINGS BY JOHNSTON. 
 
 N E W - Y O R K : 
 D.APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 
 200 BROADWAY. 
 MDCCCXLII. 
 

 \1^- 
 
 ^.^ 
 
 Jf%^j(l?^ 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842i, 
 
 By D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 
 hi the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 
 
TO THE 
 
 HON. LEWIS CASS, 
 
 ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
 
 OF THE _.r^ ^ mJ^-' 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 NEAR THE COURT OF FRANCE, 
 
 WHOSE SOCIAL VIRTUES AND LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, WHOSE PATRIOTISBI 
 IN THE FIELD AND ABILITIES IN THE CABINET, HAVE RENDERED HIM, 
 BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD, CONSPICUOUS AMONG THE ILLUS- 
 TRIOUS MEN OF THE AGE, AND WORTHY THE CONFIDENCE 
 AND HIGHEST HONOURS OF HIS COUNTRY, 
 
 THESE PAGES 
 ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY 
 
 The Author. 
 
 ''\mi 
 
Mjtk, 
 
 „i^ 
 
PREFACE„ 
 
 In presenting to his countrymen these random ari 
 famihar sketches of the manners, customs, and cha- 
 racter of the East, the author is aware that the field 
 of his observation has already been occupied by nu- 
 merous modern and ancient travellers^ more capable 
 perhaps than himself of doing justice to the subject 
 But as the plan of the present w^ork differs, in almost 
 every respect, from those already in print, it may 
 not be unacceptable to the public. 
 
 In every thing relating to the affairs and condition 
 of the interesting countries v^hich the author has 
 traversed, he has endeavoured to arrive at just and 
 true conclusions. Where he has commended, he 
 has done so in all sincerity ; and where it was his 
 duty to adopt an opposite course, he has not allowed 
 himself to " set down aught in malice." 
 
 The work, as it now appears, is a mere compila- 
 tion from the notes taken on the spots to which they 
 refer, during the author's wanderings in the Old 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 World ; and they are now submitted to the reader 
 in the hope that, if they fail to instruct, they may 
 at least serve to while away a few leisure hours 
 pleasantly. 
 
 An effort has been made to blend with the inci- 
 dents of the author's wanderings an outline account 
 of the existing peculiarities of the East, and to 
 compare, in some slight degree, the manners, cus- 
 toms, oppressions, degradation, and barbarism of the 
 modern orientals with the condition of their more 
 enlightened and more fortunate ancestors, when 
 Egypt was the seat of learning, luxury, and power ; 
 when Judea was a " goodly land, flowing with milk 
 and honey ;" and when " the desert blossomed like 
 the rose." 
 
 The wild Indian of the West clings to his native 
 woods ; the wandering Arab roams lord of his cheer- 
 less sands ; and civilized man, ruined in fortune and 
 character, often shelters himself from the merited 
 blasts of contempt at home, among the barbarous 
 people of the East. Consequently, what is called in 
 Turkey " Frank society^' is unavoidably composed, to 
 a great extent, of renegades from civilized countries. 
 It is not surprising, therefore, that the voyageur upon 
 the Nile and the Levant is occasionally thrown in 
 juxtaposition with individuals, exhibiting a fair and 
 courteous exterior, who, in all their proffered atten- 
 
PREFACE. / 
 
 tion to, and intercourse with, strangers, are actuated 
 by the most unworthy motives, and prompted by the 
 most insidious and base designs. 
 
 In portraying some specimens of individual cha- 
 racter as exhibited in Eastern society, and in drawing 
 occasionally upon the peculiarities and eccentricities 
 of European and other travellers that the author has 
 met by the way, he has, for reasons most obvious to 
 the reader, substituted fictitious for real names, while 
 he has endeavoured to exhibit the characters them- 
 selves as " true to the life" as circumstances would 
 permit. 
 
 In the brief descriptions of some of the wonderful 
 remains of antiquity still visible in the valley of 
 Egypt, in the mountains of Petra, and in the Holy 
 Land, an effort has been made rather to impress the 
 reader with a general idea of their grandeur and 
 extent, than to embarrass him with technical pecu- 
 liarity or architectural detail. 
 
 New York, June, 1842. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Voyage from Athens to Alexandria. — The Island of Syra.— His 
 Reverence the Bishop. — Views of Naxos, Paros, Candia, and 
 the Mountains of Judea. ....... 1 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 First glimpse of Alexandria. — View hy Moonlight. — Our Arrival. 
 — Turkish and Egyptian Fleets. — Imaginary Plagues of Egypt. 
 — Process of landing, and the Manner of taking care of the 
 Baggage. — The Inhabitants ; their Mode of Conveyance. — Plan 
 of keeping off Intruders, as practised in the East. — Ladies in 
 Masks, and Peasants in Rags. — Novel Mode of sweeping the 
 Streets. — The use of Camels and Donkeys. — Water-carriers and 
 City-criers. — First Impressions. ...... 8 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The principal Hotel in Alexandria. — Rain and Sunshine. — A Ride 
 before Dinner. — Invitation to dine with Mr. and Mrs. Firkins. — 
 Introduction to the "Wrinklebottoms, Messrs. O'Statten, Sneeze- 
 biter, O'Screensbury, and other distinguished Personages. — Ge- 
 nealogy of the Humbug Family. — An Evening Circle. — A Snake 
 Story. — An agreeable Surprise. 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Some of the Plagues of Egypt, and a touch of the Night-mare. — 
 Captain Underdone, and his taste for Snakes, Lizards, Scorpions, 
 and otherReptiles.— House-snakes.— Snake-charmers and Snake- 
 eaters of the East. — Sacred Reptiles of Egypt. — Opinions of Di- 
 odorus, Plutarch, Wilkinson, and Champollion, — Asp-formed 
 Crowns of the ancient Kings and Queens of Egypt. — Asp-headed 
 
 B 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Deities. — The Statues of Isis crowned with Asps. — Dancing- 
 Snakes of India. — ^Probable Cause of Cleopatra's Choice to die 
 by the venomous Sting of the Asp. 40 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 A new Acquaintance. — Introduction to Nebby Daood. — Caution 
 against making acquaintance with the Humbug Family in 
 Egypt. — Mrs. Firkins and the Out-runners of the East. — A Ride 
 to the Baths of Cleopatra and the Catacombs. — An Egyptian 
 Governor and his Footmen. — Almost a Disaster. — The Store- 
 houses of the Pacha. — Arabs at Dinner. — Cause of the Egyptian 
 Ophthalmia. — Manner of Eating in the East. — Deference ob- 
 served toward the Master of the House. — Turkish Manner of 
 Carving. — Mode of Cooking in Egypt. — Onions and Garlic. — 
 Marks of Civility shown to Guests. — Beverage of the Egyp- 
 tians. — Water of the Nile.—rContributions of the Pacha to the 
 Grand Sultan of Turkey. — Water-carriers at the Tombs of the 
 Saints. — ^Peasant-women and their Trinkets. — Wind-mills, and 
 the way the Arabs carry Corn to Mill. — Women cleaning the 
 Streets with their Hands. — Dog Population, and their Manners 
 and Customs 58 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Dog-matical Chapter. — Dog Population of Turkey. — Condition of 
 the Dogs not likely to be improved by the Interference of the 
 " Great Powers." — Dog Funeral. — Dogs accounted among the 
 Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt. — " Every Dog has his day." 
 — Heads and Bodies shaved at the Death of a Dog. — Civil War 
 on account of the Sacred Dogs of Egypt. — Condition of Ancient 
 and Modern Dogs contrasted. — Byron's Dog, and the Dog of 
 Frederick the Great. — Declining Condition of the Dogs of Egypt 
 since the Persian Conquest. — Sacred Ox Apis killed, and his 
 Blood given to the Dogs. — Arabs' Houses built of the Mud gath- 
 ered from the Streets. — Domestic Felicity. — An Arab whipping 
 his Wife. — How to make an Impression in Egypt. — Advice of 
 the American Consul. — Description of the Catacombs, and the 
 Baths of Cleopatra. .... ^ ... 77 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 Incidental Story of Nebby Daood, an eccentric Backwoodsman of 
 the United States, travelling in Egypt. — His Reserve, and his 
 Impressions of Mankind.— The Object of Nebby's Wanderings. 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 — His Desire for Foreign Travel. — Scenes of his Youth. — Neb- 
 by 's Passion for Books and Thirst for Knowledge. — " Town Li- 
 brary Association." — Difficulties encountered, and final Success. 
 — Leaves his Father's House and goes to New York. — Journey, 
 and Arrival in the City. — Nebby's Impressions. — Desolation of 
 his Feelings. — Nebby among the Speculators of Wall-street. — 
 Halts between two Opinions. — Slips through the Fingers of the 
 Speculators, with the Loss of their Friendship. — Nebby's Igno- 
 rance of the World. — Meets with a Disaster and breaks his Leg. 
 — His Recovery, and Departure for England 91 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 Story of Nebby Daood continued. — Nebby in England. — His Visits 
 to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and London. — His first Impressions 
 of the British Metropolis, and his Manner of getting into the 
 House of Parliament. — His Visit to Westminster Abbey. — His 
 Reception at the Mansion of a Distinguished American in Lon- 
 don. — His Opinion of the two Houses of Parliament. — His Visit 
 to France, and Wanderings to Switzerland. — His Journey across 
 the Alps into Italy. — His Visit to Genoa, Venice, Florence, Rome, 
 Naples, and the long-buried Cities of the Plains. — His Reflec- 
 tions among the Ruins of Psestum. — His Visit to Sicily ; and 
 Voyage to Greece 107 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Nebby Daood among the Ruins of Athens. — He visits Esculapius' 
 Grove ; Argos, Mycense, Tyrrins, Corinth, the Nemean Plains, 
 Mount Parnassus, Delphi, the Castalian Spring, the Waters of 
 Lethe, the Plains of Marathon, the Straits of Thermopylae, 
 Thebes, Plataea, Ancient Crete, Egypt, and Syria.— His Disap- 
 pearance, and probable Death. 123 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Contemplated Visit to Upper Egypt.— Selim, the Arabian Drago- 
 man. — His Qualifications, and a Description of his Person. — An 
 Interview with the Consular Agent of the United States. — Flat- 
 tering Expectations. — Important Standing ot the Consul. — Ride 
 and Reflections among the Tombs. — The Wrinklebottoms at 
 Pompey's Pillar. — Scene in the Graveyard at Alexandria.— Val- 
 orous Exploits of the Dragoman with Beggars.— Admiration and 
 Chagrin of the Wrinklebottoms.— Lord Sweepstakes and Sir 
 Jeffrey Windfall.— Dinner on the Summit of Pompey's Pillar.— 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Affront to the Pacha.— Imagined Insult to the British Flag.— 
 Virtuous Indignation of the Wrinklebottoms.— The Pacha's 
 Decree, . o . 132 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Pompey's Pillar. — "J. S. Buckingham, ex-Member of Parliament." 
 — His Account of Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needles. — 
 Wilkinson's Opinion and Conjecture of their Origin. — Reign of 
 Thothmes III., King of Egypt. — Disinclination of Monarchs to 
 record their own Disasters. — Gold Bracelet of Thothmes III. — 
 General Inclination of all Nations for Plunder and Spoil. . 148 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Plagues of Egypt." — An Evening with Mr. Firkins. — His Opin- 
 ion of Mehemet Ali and the Diplomacy of the " Great Powers." 
 — Jealousy of the Allies, and Mehemet Ali's Check upon their 
 Diplomatic Intrigues. — Subtlety of the Pacha, and the Promises 
 of France. — The Pacha's Government, and its Eff"ects upon the 
 People 164 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Further Conversation with Mr. Firkins. — Inhabitants, Revenue, 
 and Education of Egypt. — The Army and Military Conscriptions. 
 — Influence and Power of Mehemet Ali. — Revolting Expedients 
 of Mothers to exempt their Sons from Service in the Army. — 
 Their cruel Practices rendered unavailing. — One-eyed Regiment. 
 — Pernicious Effects of Climate upon the Eye. — Caution to Stran- 
 gers. — Franks mistaken for Conjurers and Physicians. — Emi- 
 nence and Skill of the Ancient Physicians of Egypt. — Fatal Ex- 
 periments punished by Death. — Ancient Quacks. . . . 172 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Unpleasant News. — Disappointment. — Reflections. — Unpropitious 
 Visit. — Mutual Surprise. — "Sudden, Serious Illness" of a Con- 
 sul not so Serious as was apprehended. — Embarrassing Inter- 
 view. — Animated Conversation of Mr. Firkins and Mr. O'Statten 
 abruptly terminated .^Brilliant Party of Pleasure. — Mr. Firkins 
 in a Rage. — Ride to the Palace of Mehemet Ali. — Way to make 
 an Impression. — Palace and Guards of the Pacha. — Officers of 
 State. — Dress and Address of Mehemet Ali. . . . 185 
 
CONTENTS. ^"* 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XV, 
 Return from the Palace. — Mr. Firkins a Lion among the Rabble. — 
 Scene in the Bazar of Alexandria. — Turkish and Egyptian Mer- 
 chants. — Mode of Dealing. — Shopping in Turkey a troublesome 
 Business. — Tricks upon Strangers. — Funeral Procession. . 204 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Modern and Ancient Alexandria. — Comprehensive Views of its 
 Founder. — Well-chosen Site for a Great Commercial City. — 
 Canal, connecting the Nile with the Mediterranean. — Reservoirs 
 of Alexandria. — Privileges enjoyed by the Greeks in Egypt un- 
 der the Native Kings. — Cordial Reception of Alexander and his 
 Army by the Egyptians. — Wise and conciliatory Administration 
 of the early Ptolemies.— Extent and Splendour of Ancient Alexan- 
 dria. — Its Capture by the Saracens. — Wise and humane Policy 
 ^^j^. Amrou, the Arab Conqueror.— His Account of the Conquest. 
 — Policy of Mehemet Ali and the Black League. — Tomb of 
 Alexander 219 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Preparations to depart. — Exchange of Adieus. — Affecting Scene. 
 — Weeping and Laughter. — Heavy News. — Change of Circum- 
 stances and Dress. — Quizzing-glasses and Financial Prospects. — 
 " Hot Mixture," and Hunt for the Door-latch. . . . .231 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 An Early Start. — Inconveniences of Indecision, — Hint to Ladies 
 travelling in the East. — Effects of Trade. — Cruel Suspension. — 
 Passage on the Mahmoudieh Canal. — Danger, Difficulty, and 
 Disaster. — Scenes on the Canal.— Camels of the Pacha. — Cru- 
 elty to Horses.— Egyptian Darkness 241 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 An Agreeable Acquaintance. — Enlightened Policy of Mehemet 
 Ali exemplified.— Taxation, Soil, and Cultivation in the Delta. 
 — Unexpected Authority.— Wisdom, Justice, and Mercy go hand 
 in hand. — Tax-gathering, Retribution, and Butchery. . . 251 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Despotism and Degradation. — Poverty preferable to Wealth. — Jus- 
 tice and Humanity rewarded. — " Reigning by Divine Right." — 
 Advantages of Commercial Intercourse to Civilization. — Cheer- 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 fulness and Labour. — Multiplicity of Wives offers no Impedi- 
 ment to Prosperity in Egypt. — Mahmoudieh Canal. — Dikes and 
 Canals of Egypt 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Introductory Letters from Mr. Firkins.— New Acquaintance. — In- 
 convenient Delay. — Necessity strengthens Confidence. — Flatter- 
 ing Prospects not likely to be realized. — Disappointments not 
 always conducive to Humility. — Nile-boat and Fellow-passen- 
 ger. — Unsatisfactory Investigation.— Unpleasant Dilemma.— Sai- 
 lor's Importunity rejected. — Gloomy Prospect. — Arab Captain. 
 — Departure. , » 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Commenceiiient of the Voyage on the Nile. — Unpleasant Compa- 
 ny. — High Wages and Sailors' Dress. — Nile-boats and their 
 Rigging. — Fertility of the Delta. — Amrou's Description of Egypt. 
 — Rude Manner of cultivating the Soil. — Scenery on the Nile. — 
 Real "Plagues of Egypt." — Perplexing state of Affairs. — Coun- 
 cil of War. — Commencement of Hostilities. — Pitched Battle 
 with the Bugs. — Unsatisfactory Result 280 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Recommencement of Hostilities. — Selim supplanted in Command 
 by the Cook. — ^Weapons and Mode of Attack. — Sanguinary En- 
 gagement with the Bugs. — Annihilation of our Assailants. — Re- 
 newed Demonstrations of War. — ^Another Battle. — Retreat from 
 the Field.—" Military Glory."— Repose. . . . .297 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Climate, and Kamsin Winds of Egypt. — ^Effects of Habit. — Mode 
 of sailing on the Nile. — Rambles on Shore. — Shyness of the 
 Egyptians. — Volunteers. — Military Conscription. — ^Press-gang. 
 — Appropriation of the Spoils. — Disadvantages of being mis- 
 taken. — Effects of Tyranny and Oppression. — Injustice of Tax- 
 gatherers. — Arab Dwellings. — Story of an aged Egyptian. . 306 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Continuation of the Voyage. — Bounties of Nature. — Pollutions of 
 Man. — Consolation drawn from the Contemplation of Misery. — 
 Administration of the Law. — Exciting Incident. — First Glimpse 
 of the Pyramids. — Termination of the Voyage. . 319 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Palace and Gardens of Mehemet Ali. — Sand-gale. — Arrival at 
 Cairo. — First Impressions. — The Hotel and " mine Host." — 
 Kide to the Citadel. — Mosque of Sultan Hassan. — Palace of the 
 Citadel. — Joseph's Well. — Brilliant Circle. — Shaving Heads. — 
 Sprig of Nobility. — A Member of Parliament. — " A two-Bottle 
 Man." — G-loomy Prospect. — Dinner-table Chat. . , , 327 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 Rimtapers, Wrinklebottoms, and Cats. — Moslem Bequest. — Sa- 
 cred Animals of Egypt. — Feast of Mr. Firkins. — Disaster and 
 Fright. — Theatrical Novelty, and Fashionable Squeeze. . .350 
 
 CHAPTER XXVni. 
 Interview with the Consul at Cairo. — Description of his Audience- 
 hall. — Incidental Attack. — ^Egyptian Janizary. — Bridal Proces- 
 sion. — Marriage Contracts. — Match-making Brokers. — Bridal 
 Dowries. — Law respecting Matrimony, — Wives and Concubines. 
 — Law of Divorce, — ^Blessings of Fruitfulness, and Curse of Bar- 
 renness. — ^Ancient Marriage Customs. — Cheap Mode of raising 
 Children , . 364 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX, 
 Politeness and Accomplishments of Dr. O'Squeebey. — Dissection of 
 a Mummy. — ^Present for the Ladies. — Untoward Accident. — 
 Painful Situation of the Wrinklebottoms. — Sir Danbury Rimta- 
 per sensibly touched,— Violators of the Tombs. — Their Condem- 
 nation. — Description of the Egyptian Mode of Embalming. — 
 Veneration of the Ancients for the Dead. — ^Invocation for the 
 Rites of Burial 385 
 
 CHAPTER XXX, ' 
 Jews in the Metropolis of Egypt. — Natural Hatred of Jews and 
 Moslems. — Mode of executing Jews. — Slave-market of Cairo. — 
 Tombs of the Memlooks. — Memlook Kings. — Their Origin, 
 Power, and Destruction, — Circassian Slaves. — Parents sell their 
 own Children. 402 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Visit from Monsieur le "Baron Pompolino." — Cemetery of Cairo, 
 — Tomb of Mehemet Ali. — Ancient Sepulchres, — ^Excursion to 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 the Petrified Forest. — Brilliant Cavalcade. — Disconcerted Un- 
 derstanding 416 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Expedition of Discovery among the Harems. — Mysteries and Mise- 
 ries of a Turkish Bath. — Propensity of Egyptian Ladies for its 
 Pleasures. — Baths of the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Ro- 
 mans ; and of the Scythians and Finlanders. .... 425 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Visit to the Harems. — Bathing and Dancing. — Importance of the 
 Veil. — Ladies of the " Higher Circles." — Harems of the Patri- 
 archs. — Seraglio of the Sultan, and his hundred Wives. — Harem 
 of Mehemet Ali, and its Dissolution. — Banishment of Egyptian 
 Prostitutes, and Effervescence of English Spleen. . . . 435 
 
 CHAPTER XXXrV. 
 
 Religious Intolerance. — Apostacy of Women punished with Death. ' 
 — Infidelity legally protected. — Penalty of Babbling and Back- 
 biting. — State of Female Society. — Effects of Public Opinion. — 
 Fashion and Finery of the Old Egyptians. — Exalted Privilege 
 of the Ancient Women of Egypt. — Novel Mode of punishing 
 Delinquents 455 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Visit to Heliopolis, the On of the Scriptures. — The Obelisk. — 
 Temple of the Sun. — Schools, Scholars, and Priests of Heliopo- 
 lis. — The Phoenix. — Tree under which reposed the Holy Family. 
 — " Mad-House." — Sir Danbury Rimtaper and the Reverend Mr. 
 Dunderblix 469 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Excursion to the Pyramids. — Friends by the Wayside. — View from 
 the Summit of the Pyramid of Cheops. — Ancient Tombs. — 
 "Scientific Antiquarians." — The Sphinx. — Interminable Pay- 
 roll. — Brilliant Cavalcade. 476 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIL 
 
 The Nile, and its Annual Inundation. — Sacrifice and Festivals m 
 
 honour of the God of the Nile. — Nileometers and Criers of the 
 
 Nile. — Dikes and Canals. — The Nile diverted from its original 
 
 Channel, and Memphis founded upon its Bed. — Apis, the Sacred 
 
ilk 
 
 CONTENTS. ""^^ 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Bull of Memphis. — Splendour of the Ancient City of Memphis. 
 
 — Its Ruin, and the " Scientific Antiquarians." . . . 497 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Separation of Friends. — Flare-up, and Boat-hunting. — Order of 
 the Pacha, and "Baron Pompolino." — Embarkation, Pyramids 
 of Dashour, and a Wild-goose Chase. — An Evening Circle. — 
 Dancers of Ancient and Modern Egypt. — Dance of Miriam, Da- 
 vid, Hippoclides, Herodias, and the Daughters of Shiloh. . 516 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 Sudden and pressing Demand. — Idiots and Lunatics regarded as 
 Saints. — Female Devotion to the Holy Persons. — Description of 
 the Crocodile and its Habits. — Worshipped as a Deity by the 
 Ancients. — Ghenneh, its Manufactures, and His Excellency the 
 Governor. — Rough Reception of the Rais. — Solicited to enter 
 upon the Practice of Medicine. — A Mystery solved, and a rare 
 Specimen of Smoking 528 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 Thebes. — Temples of Luqsor and Karnak. — Esneh and the Tem- 
 ple of Latopolis. — An agreeable Meeting. — American, Scotch, 
 and English Amalgamation. — Natives of Upper Egypt. — Quar- 
 ries of Gebel Silsili. — Ruins of Kom Ombos. — Arrival at the 
 Cataracts. — The American Consul. — Peter J. Scantletrash and 
 his Servant Paul. — Elephantine. — Quarries of Syene. — E'Souan. 541 
 
 CHAPTER XLL 
 Excursion to the Island of Philse. — Singular Taste of Mr. Scantle- 
 trash. — Temple of Isis. — Tomb of Osiris. — Philae consecrated 
 to their Worship. — Novel Mode of navigating the Nile. — Cata- 
 racts. — Apostacy of the Cook. — Serious Predicament, and over- 
 whelming Effect of Egyptian Corn-Laws.— Departure from 
 E'Souan.— Temple of Edfoo.— Tombs of El Kab. . . .558 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 Palace-Temple of Remeses the Great.— His Conquests and Pro- 
 geny.— Statue of Remeses the Great.— Vocal Memnon. — Shrine 
 of Latona at Bulos. — Ruined Temples of Medeenet Haboo. . 572 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 Excursion to the " Tombs of the Kings."— Annoyance of the Relic- 
 venders.— Indefatigable Arab and his Jar.— Tomb of Osirei, 
 
xviii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 violated and robbed by Belzoai. — Belzoni's Dinner to his Eng- 
 lish Friends in the Grave of Pharaoh. — Tomb of the Harper. — 
 The oldest Tomb of the Kings. — Temple of Gournoo.: — Moon- 
 light View of Karnak 581 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 Temple of Dendera. — A Cook in Danger of being cooked. — Cap- 
 ture of a Pelican. — Siout, and the " Beautiful, bright-eyed little 
 Arab Girl." — Mr. Scantletrash and Paul.— His Excellency the 
 Governor. — Ancient Tombs, Modern Cemetery, Fox-hunt, and 
 Death of a Bat. — Ruins of Antinoe. — Tombs of Beni Hassan, 
 and our last Interview with the Rimtapers 597 
 
^ LIST AND EXPLANATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STEEL PLATES AND VIGNETTES. 
 
 PAOK. 
 
 1. Frontispiece — View of Egypt. 
 
 2. Water-carriers in Alexandria. .<■...».. 17 
 
 3. Egyptian Women with Masks. 18 
 
 4. The Agresable Surprise. » .... w ... 39 
 
 5. Head-dress of Isis. . 49 
 
 6. Works of Enchantment. 52 
 
 7. Coil of the Modern Boa. 57 
 
 8. An Eastern Gentleman with Out-runners 61 
 
 9. Arabs at Dinner. . 63 
 
 10. Washing Hands before and after Meals. 64 
 
 11. An Ancient Priest of Egypt making an Ofiering of Onions. . . .66 
 
 12. Water-carriers. . 70 
 
 13. Water'carrier at the Tomb 71 
 
 14. Dog Population of Cairo. , . . - . 77 
 
 15. A Female entering a Bath. . . . . . . . . .90 
 
 16. Salt River Pilots. . . , . .104 
 
 17. The Lords Spiritual and Temporal. . . , . . . .112 
 
 18. View of Corinth 125 
 
 19. Mountains of Syria. 131 
 
 20. Public Mourners and Wailing- Women of Egypt 138 
 
 21. Hurried Reflections among the Tombs. 140 
 
 22. Mrs. Wrinklebottom Trolloping the odious Pacha. .... 147 
 
 23. Pompey-s Pillar. ........... 148 
 
 24. Cleopatra's Needle. 155 
 
 25. Gold Bracelet of Thothm6s III 160 
 
 26. Scientific Researches 163 
 
 27. English Mummy Pill-Factory. 163 
 
 28. Physicians of Egypt. 184 
 
 29. Portrait of Mehemet Ali. 193 
 
 30. An Egyptian Merchant 208 
 
 31 . A Funeral Procession in Egypt 215 
 
 32. Tricks of Trade. . 218 
 
 33. The Glass of Fashion 240 
 
 34. Administration of Justice with a Vengeance. 250 
 
 35. The Butcher with two Heads. ........ 257 
 
 36. Canal (Alimentary) in Good Repair 268 
 
 37. Boats upon the Nile 280 
 
 38. Inundation of the Nile 286 
 
 39. Egyptian driving Goats to tread the Seed into the Ground. . . . 287 
 
 40. Richard the Third 296 
 
 41. Repose after Battle 305 
 
 42. Travellers overtaken by the Kamsin 309 
 
 43. Peasants of Egypt * . • • -321 
 
 44. The Obelisk of Heliopolis 326 
 
 45. A part of Cairo, with the Citadel. . . i 327 
 
 46. Modern Egyptians. 330 
 
XX LIST OF PLATES AND VIGNETTES. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 47. An Egyptian Woman masked. 331 
 
 48. Interior of a Mosque 334 
 
 49. Moslems at their Devotions 335 
 
 50. An Egyptian Barber .... 338 
 
 51. First Course .346 
 
 52., One of John Bull's Free and Happy Subjects. 349 
 
 53. Musicians of Egypt. . .357 
 
 54. Distribution of the Spoils. . . . 358 
 
 55. Levantine Costume. 362 
 
 56. Levantine Ladies 363 
 
 57. Turkish Bazar. 369 
 
 58. Part of a Bridal Procession in Egypt , . . 370 
 
 59. Dancing-women of the East 372 
 
 60. Peasant Women and Children of Egypt. 383 
 
 61. Interior of an Egyptian Tomb 385 
 
 62. Painful Agitation of the Wrinklebottom? 391 
 
 63. Battle of the Memlooks. . . . . . . . , . 402 
 
 64. Oriental Costume 435 
 
 65. An Egyptian Lady attired for the Promenade. 439 
 
 66. Equestrians of the Higher Circles. . 441 
 
 67. John Bull in a Fume. , . . . 454 
 
 68. Rings, Signets, Bracelets, and Ear-rings of the Ancient Egyptians. . 460 
 
 69. Returning Home , 463 
 
 70. After Dinner 463 
 
 71. Egyptian Women using the Distaff. 466 
 
 72. Nasal Embellishments 468 
 
 73. View of Heliopolis. 469 
 
 74. Friendly Attention of the Arabs 479 
 
 75. Plan of the Pyramids of Ghizeh 490 
 
 76. The Youthful Philosopher. . . * ... . . . ,496 
 
 77. Raising Water from the Nile. < * 506 
 
 78. Apis and his Ornaments. 510 
 
 79. Colossal Fist— supposed to be Uncle Sam's. 515 
 
 80. Dancing-Girls of Egypt. 524 
 
 81. A tattooed Egyptian Girl. . . , 527 
 
 82. Crocodile of the Nile 531 
 
 83. An Oriental Potter 534 
 
 84. View of the Memnonium at Thebes 540 
 
 85. No-Ammon, Thebes— Great Temple at Karnak 540 
 
 86. A Woman of Upper Egypt 552 
 
 87. View of the Ruins and Vicinity of Philae. ..... .658 
 
 88. Egypt— the ruined Temples at Philae. . , . . . . .560 
 
 89. Temple of Edfoo. 569 
 
 90. A Woman embracing and weeping before her Husband's Mummy, . 671 
 
 91. Egypt — the Temple and broken Statue of Mcmnon at Thebes. . . 572 
 
 92. Ruins on the Plain of Thebes 576 
 
 93. Pavilion of Remeses III. at Medeenet Haboo 578 
 
 94. Offerings to the Dead in Presence of the Family of the Deceased. . 580 
 
 95. Different Forms of Mummy-cases. 596 
 
 96. External View of a 'R)mb cut in the Rock at Beni Hassan, . « , 597 
 
THE 
 
 AMERICAN IN EGYPT. 
 
 ^i^^^ CHAPTER I. 
 
 Voyage from Athens to Alexandria. — The Island of Syr a.-— 
 His reverence the Bishop. — Views ofJYaxos, Paros, Candia, 
 and the Mountains of Judea. 
 
 In the last days of the year 1839, while England 
 was enveloped in rain and fog, and a large portion 
 of the United States shivered in snow, we were 
 approaching the coast of Egypt, under a clear sky, 
 warmed by a summer sun, and fanned by a soft and 
 gentle breeze. 
 
 In our passage down the Adriatic, we came near 
 being cast away upon the rocks of Cephalonia. 
 We had bad weather, and some of the severest 
 gales that I have ever encountered at sea. Our 
 boat was a miserable affair; the engine old and 
 feeble ; and the captain — though sufficiently qualified 
 to take charge of a piratical schooner, when the 
 
 Vol. L — 1 
 
'i' HIS HEVERENCE THE BISHOP. 
 
 danger of the enterprise may sometimes render it 
 necessary, to avoid being captured, to dash the 
 vessel upon the rocks and drow^n all hands — pos- 
 sessed few of the requisite qualifications for the 
 safe and satisfactory management of a Mediterranean 
 steamer. He was a long, lank-sided creature, loosely 
 built, with an Arabian face, and a careless, dare- 
 danger sort of expression about the eyes. He was 
 a native of Italy, and received a part of his educa- 
 tion among the Greek pirates during the late rebellion 
 in Greece against the Turks. 
 
 Happily, at last, we fell into other hands, and 
 stood upon one of the finest l3oats that ever floated 
 in the Levant. It was a French war-steamer, with 
 ample and sumptuous accommodations, and com- 
 manded by as brave a man as ever trod a plank, who 
 possessed all that grace and suavity of manners pe- 
 culiar to his countrymen previous to the revolution. 
 There were a number of passengers on board from 
 Athens down to the island of Syra, including the 
 American Consul, several Greek and Armenian mer- 
 chants from Constantinople and Smyrna, Jews from 
 Damascus, and the bishop of Syra. 
 
 The last-mentioned very reverend gentleman came 
 on board in great pomp, escorted by half a score of 
 priests. He talked much ; evidently thought little ; 
 ate and drank like a lord, and afterward smoked 
 himself to sleep. When we anchored in the bay of 
 Syra the next morning, he came on deck with his 
 capacious black cloak gracefully flowing about him, 
 his cocked hat and breeches in perfect order, a 
 
NEGLECTING THE STEWARD. 6 
 
 large gold cross on his breast, attached to a red silk 
 cord that passed round his neck, terminating in a 
 large clerical tassel, of the same colour, which hung 
 down his back. Thus richly decorated, his reve- 
 rence, with a firm step, and an air of much self- 
 complacency, was about to quit the ship without 
 taking that kind of leave of the honest steward 
 which is usual in cases of value received. 
 
 The bishop was well enough provided with bene- 
 dictions; and, among the faithful, he was probably no 
 niggard in his dealings in that kind of ware. But the 
 French cook, who had brought the perfection of his 
 skill in the culinary art to its highest tension, in his 
 endeavours to please the taste and satisfy the volup- 
 tuous appetite of the bishop, no doubt thought, that 
 however efficacious and precious his blessings might 
 be in certain cases, yet, like the fine figure of Sterne's 
 French servant Lafleur, " they did not cost his reve- 
 rence one sou," nor could he turn them to any ac- 
 count in the market, in exchange for the meats and 
 other edibles which he had rather lavishly devoured 
 during the voyage. In short, whatever may have 
 been the reflections of the bishop upon the occasion, 
 the cook came to the determination to make a 
 formal demand of what he considered not only a 
 just debt, but a debt of honour. Thus resolved, cap 
 in hand, he approached this high dignitary of the 
 church, and presented his bill for liquidation. This 
 produced a scene of consternation and no little ruf- 
 fling among the black robes, which resulted in the 
 bishop's sitting down to a second breakfast ; after 
 
4 THE ISJ^AND OF SYRA. 
 
 which he paid the cook like a man, and went on 
 shore Uke a hero. 
 
 The bishop disposed of, and landed without acci- 
 dent, we were also tempted to go on shore. Ascer- 
 taining that we were not to proceed on the voyage 
 to Alexandria that day, we promised ourselves no 
 little pleasure in rambling over the town of Syra; 
 which, from the deck of the steamer, appeared ex- 
 ceedingly picturesque and beautiful. 
 
 The town is built in an amphitheatrical form, upon 
 a cluster of hills, rising by a gentle acclivity from the 
 water's edge to a considerable height. The houses 
 are painted white, and appear neat and cheerful when 
 viewed from the sea, though nothing can exceed the 
 general filthiness that pervades most of them, which 
 becomes disgustingly apparent when more closely 
 inspected. The bishop's house, an elegant and ex- 
 tensive building, stands upon the summit of a conical 
 hill, rising beautifully in the rear, near the centre of 
 the curve of hills on which the city is built, over- 
 looking the town, and commanding a fine view of 
 the sea and surrounding islands. 
 
 Syra contains more than twenty thousand inhabit- 
 ants, and is the largest commercial town of Greece. 
 It has sprung up since the Greek revolution ; and, 
 like all other towns of Greece, has an air of fresh- 
 ness and activity, somewhat resembling the new 
 towns in the western part of the United States. Its 
 situation is central, and most of the steamers up and 
 down the Mediterranean stop there for an exchange 
 of passengers, and to replenish the stores for the re- 
 
THE ISLAND OF SYRA. O 
 
 mainder of the voyage. It seems to be a point of 
 collection and distribution, where passengers may 
 embark for any part of the Mediterranean, and stands 
 in about the same relation to the steam navigation of 
 that sea^ that Mechlin does to railway travelling 
 in Belgium. Although the most important of all 
 the Greek towns, it is so slightly fortified that it 
 might be taken by a single ship of war. But 
 should the bishop's residence be turned into a fort- 
 ress, and properly mounted with guns, it might easily 
 be made a much more strongly fortified place than 
 St Jean d'Acre ever was ; and it would be no more 
 than the present unsettled state of the East demands 
 for the protection of a commercial town of so much 
 importance. Indeed, it is not improbable that the 
 amount which has already been expended upon the 
 bishop's residence, would have been nearly or 
 quite sufficient to defray the expense of throwing 
 up a very respectable fortress, and putting the town 
 in a proper state of defence ; while his yearly revenue 
 would be quite ample for the support of an efficient 
 garrison. 
 
 With all its commercial advantages, however, the 
 attractions of its active and picturesquely-dressed 
 population, and its beauty, when viewed at a dis- 
 tance — an hour's threading of its narrow, dirty lanes 
 (streets it has none) made us glad to return to our 
 good steamer, quite satisfied that we could make our- 
 selves much more comfortable and happy on ship- 
 board than in the largest and most important town 
 in ail the kingdom of Greece, 
 
O NAXOS AND PAROS. 
 
 After riding three days in the bay of Syra, anx- 
 iously waiting the arrival of the mail from Marseilles, 
 the sailors pulled up the anchor, and we bore off on 
 our voyage to Alexandria without it. The inhabit- 
 ants, in their many- coloured and gay costumes, gath- 
 ered on the shore in great numbers to witness our 
 departure. We waved a long adieu to its snow- 
 coloured houses, which are, in truth, more like the 
 whited sepulchres of the dead, than the cheerful 
 dwellings of the living ; yet, as we dashed off be- 
 fore a prosperous breeze, leaving the town in the 
 distance, it assumed a more strikingly beautiful ap- 
 pearance than ever; and, notwithstanding previous 
 impressions, we could not avoid realizing that " dis- 
 tance lends enchantment to the view." 
 
 At sundown, we were running along between the 
 rugged and rocky islands of Naxos and Paros, and 
 the next day we had a view of the shores of Candia. 
 
 The weather was deliciously warm, and the blue 
 waters of the sea were as smooth as an unbroken mir- 
 ror. Not a wave rose to agitate or interrupt the calm 
 and delightful movement of our incomparable boat. 
 
 There were no passengers on board except my- 
 self, wife, and an American friend. We were all in 
 perfect health, so we lived well, and passed the time in 
 the most delightful manner. Nothing could be more 
 to our taste than every circumstance attending that 
 agreeable voyage. Indeed, none could ever be more 
 happily achieved. How soft and delicious was the 
 balmy, summer-like climate ! and the deep blue 
 sky that hung over us was as pure as ether ; while 
 
MOUNTAINS OF JUDEA. 7 
 
 the breeze that played around us was as mild as were 
 the gentle breathings of the airs of Paradise, How 
 harmonious and lovely the elements seemed to com- 
 bine and hush all their ferocity, under the gentle in- 
 fluence of peace and quietness ! And how cheerful 
 and apparently happy was every living creature on 
 board ! The little bird, caged against the mast, sang 
 as musically and sweetly perhaps as when it flitted 
 at will from bud to bough in its native grove ; and the 
 noisy parrot, that coarsely mocked its notes, was as 
 merry and playful as boys released from school. 
 The sailors were no less joyous, and joined their 
 jocund notes with the music of the birds, in some 
 of their favourite sea-songs, while they scoured the 
 guns, and put every thing in order onboard the ship. 
 The officers, too, were in high spirits. In short, we 
 were all happy; and, in the last evening of the 
 voyage, as we were enjoying the first glimpse of the 
 lofty mountains of Judea, the high hills of Crete 
 faded from our view, and the sun sank gloriously 
 into the depths of the ocean. 
 
ENTRANCE TO ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 m 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First glimpse of Alexandria. — View by Moonlight. — Our 
 Arrival. — Turkish and Egyptian Fleets. — Imaginary 
 Plagues of Egypt. — Process of landing, and the Manner 
 of taking care of the Baggage. — The Inhabitants ; their 
 Mode of Conveyance. — Plan of keeping off Intruders, as 
 practised in the East. — Ladies in Masks, and Peasants in 
 Rags. — JYovel Mode of sweeping the Streets. — The use 
 of Camels and Donkeys. — Water-carriers and City-criers. 
 — First Impressions. 
 
 The next morning, we were threading our wind- 
 ing way through the dangerous entrance to the har- 
 bour of Alexandria. I came on deck, and found all 
 hands " in the suds," scraping and cleaning every 
 part of it, scouring the guns, and rubbing the rigging, 
 that all things might appear to the best advantage 
 when in port. They commenced this operation of 
 the ship's ablution and deck-scraping, over our heads, 
 about four o'clock in the morning ; and so thorough 
 and determined was the process of washing and scour- 
 ing that part of the boat, that all efforts at repose 
 were ineffectual, and sleep was quite out of the ques- 
 tion, of course. 
 
 The moon was still bright, deep in the vault of 
 
VIEW BY MOONLIGHT. 9 
 
 heaven ; and the morning-star, tv^inkling brilliantly 
 in the east, led on by one of lesser light, though not 
 less beautiful, gave a peculiar charm and sweetness 
 to the mellow-tinted sky, as the first gush of Aurora 
 poured along the eastern horizon. A long, low, cir- 
 cling coast of sand, rising occasionally into gentle 
 hillocks, dotted with motionless wind-mills, stretched 
 away in the distance on the right ; while an outline 
 glimpse of some of the principal edifices of Alexan- 
 dria was obtained through the towering masts of the 
 Turkish and Egyptian fleets, blending with the dis- 
 tant view of Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle, 
 leaning against the richly-burnished sky, and pro- 
 ducing, altogether, one of those incomparably beau- 
 tiful and lovely landscape views which are rarely 
 witnessed in nature, and reminding one most forcibly 
 of those poetic and inestimable touches of Salvator 
 Rosa, seen nowhere else in such glorious perfection 
 as in Italy. 
 
 This gorgeous scene, lovely in itself beyond all 
 manner of description, was greatly heightened in 
 beauty and grandeur when the broad sun rolled up 
 from the deep sands of the desert, overwhelming, in 
 his effulgence, the light of the moon and stars, and 
 entered upon his bright career. 
 
 We moved slowly into the harbour, feeling 
 cautiously our way among the tall ships of Mehemet 
 Ali, busthng with men, and bristling with implements 
 of destruction, ready to scatter to the winds all pre- 
 sumptuous opposition to their master's will. These 
 numerous and immense ships of the line, with their 
 
 Vol. I— 2 
 
10 THE TURKISH FLEET. 
 
 crescent-Stamped banners streaming at their mast- 
 heads, and the swarms of jantil^-dressed sailors 
 that crowded their decks or rowed about from ship 
 to ship, gave to the harbour of Alexandria an air of 
 vivacity and warlike consequence which quite took 
 us by surprise. 
 
 It was the finest display of ships that I have ever 
 seen in any part of the world. The English, how- 
 ever, pronounced it at the time little more than 
 a dumb show; and subsequent events have shown, 
 that however beautiful and efficient the Turkish 
 fleet may have appeared when riding at anchor 
 in the safe harbour of Alexandria, Mehemet Ali 
 did not care to risk it in deeper water, amid the 
 thunder of the British guns ; and was glad when it 
 was back again at Constantinople and out of his 
 sight. 
 
 The morning, though bright and lovely at first, 
 became overcast, and soon the rain descended in 
 torrents ! This quite astonished us ; for, somehow 
 or other, from what we had read, dreamed, or heard 
 from the lecturing lips of Eastern travellers, a notion 
 had crept into our heads that " it never rains in 
 Egypt." The floods, however, came down as if the 
 very windows of heaven had been opened, drench- 
 ing through and through every thing that was ex- 
 posed to its pitiless peltings, putting a damper upon 
 our false, sunny ideas, and correcting an impression 
 which, we found in our subsequent rambles, was 
 no less erroneous than many others that we had 
 
PLAGUES OF EGYPT. II 
 
 gathered from the poetic lectures of a gentleman,-^ 
 who has thrown down such a shower of eloquence 
 upon the inhabitants of the New World, by way of 
 enlightening their weak understandings in regard to 
 the wonders of the Old. 
 
 We had found ourselves so very comfortable on 
 board the steamer, that we could not leave it with- 
 out regret. Besides, we had so conjured up the 
 "plagues of Egypt," — turned them over and over in 
 our minds — looked at them on all sides — talked of 
 them, read of them, and heard of them, until we 
 had begun to put them all down as real, and ex- 
 pected to meet them ashore, in every possible va- 
 riety of form. These bugbears had got such a 
 fearful hold of our credulous minds and sensitive 
 nerves, that we shuddered at the idea of making our 
 debut on the Egyptian shore. And certain rather 
 odd-looking, half-naked figures of men, women, chil- 
 dren, camels, donkeys, dogs, &c., that we could see, 
 mixed up in a confused kind of jumble, and strug- 
 gling with each other along the edge of the water, 
 like the troops of Korah in the Red Sea, did not tend 
 to enlighten us in regard to the future. We began 
 to think that we should probably meet little else than 
 Arabs, and even felt some uneasiness about finding 
 a comfortable shed on shore for our heads. Thus 
 imaginary difficulties had piled themselves up in our 
 minds to a height scarcely less than that of an 
 Egyptian pyramid, when several boats from the town 
 came alongside of the steamer, with servants, dis- 
 
 * J. S. Buckingham, ex-member of Parliament, 
 
12 LANDING AT ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 tributing the cards of the hotels of Alexandria, print- 
 ed in Itahan, French, and English. 
 
 We had no sooner thrown out the anchor, than 
 several of these agents from the " Home of the 
 Stranger" came on board, each soliciting our patron- 
 age for his particular hotel — all of whom could speak 
 Italian and French, and one of them spoke pretty 
 good English, Difficulties vanished as if by magic, 
 a load of borrowed trouble rolled from our minds, 
 we cast the bugbears overboard, shut our eyes against 
 all thoughts of the plague, and began to feel our- 
 selves as much at ease in that mysterious and distant 
 
 part of the world, as if we had been standing on the 
 rock of the Puritans, in " our own green forest-land." 
 
 Giving our baggage in charge of a Maltese ser- 
 vant, who had it lowered into his boat, we took leave 
 of our gentleman-like commandant and his very civil 
 officers, and were descending the steps of the steamer, 
 to go on shore, when we were accosted in English 
 by a well-bred young man, who tendered us his ser- 
 vices in any way in which we might have occasion 
 for them. 
 
 This was a piece of good fortune, as the sequel 
 proved ; and we took him under our protection on 
 his own terms. He had donkeys, with English sad- 
 dles, for us, and camels to convey our baggage ; so 
 our arrangements were all completed before we were 
 on shore ; but for which circumstance we must have 
 been nearly torn to pieces and scattered to the winds, 
 bag and baggage ; for the boat had scarcely touched 
 the shore, when the half-naked Arabs waded into the 
 
LANDING AT ALEXANDRIA. 13 
 
 wateiv and, in their endeavours to help us out of the 
 boat, came near pitching us into the sea. In their 
 poUteness, thej laid hold of us as rashly as if we were 
 to have a rough-and-tumble scuffle to see which party 
 could keep their legs the longest. They were soon 
 reinforced by a crowd of their dusky friends, who 
 hovered around the boat, no less naked and noisy, 
 and full as anxious to help us as those in whose 
 hands we were then struggling. 
 
 The crowd grew denser every moment. Those 
 in the rear, in their anxiety to pick up a few paras, 
 pushed down the front rank into the water. There 
 was such a confusion of voices, in the deep, harsh, 
 guttural, Arabic tongue, mingled with the braying of 
 the donkeys and the bellowing of the camels, that it 
 seemed to be a scene more like Pandemonium than 
 any thing on this side of the Styx. 
 
 While we were struggling to clear our skirts from 
 the friendly aid of one crowd, another snarl, equally 
 anxious to help us, caught up our cloaks, umbrellas, 
 and whatever else they could lay their hands on. 
 The luggage had come up at the same time, and at- 
 tracted a large crowd around it, who immediately 
 seized it, and proceeded to distribute it in the most 
 destructive manner. 
 
 The Maltese, in whose charge the luggage had 
 been left, laid about him in great rage, protesting, at 
 the top of his voice, that he did not want, nor would 
 he have, any of their assistance^ But it was all to 
 no purpose — help him they would, at all events; 
 and it was only when joined by the young man who 
 
14 LANDING AT ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 came ashore in the boat with us, that he was enabled 
 to rescue it from their officious hands, and to lash it 
 on the camels. In the mean time, we were in great 
 personal peril, assailed as we were by a crowd of 
 Arabs with donkeys, who did their best to kidnap 
 us and run us off into the town, whether we would or 
 not ; and it was with no little difficulty that we kept 
 our position unharmed. 
 
 Some of the Arabs pressed us toward their quad- 
 rupeds, and tried to lift us on to them. These, by 
 others more zealous to get a job, were overturned 
 and trampled under foot. Twenty at a time, each 
 holding a donkey by the bit with one hand, goading 
 him on fiercely with a sharp piece of iron in the 
 other, surrounded and hemmed in a poor fellow — 
 screaming, all the while, at the top of their voices — 
 and nearly got him under foot, in their endeavour to 
 take possession of him and give him a ride. 
 
 Thus we were struggling for some time, between 
 doubt and fear, when our new acquaintance, having 
 saved our baggage, and despatched it on three cam- 
 els, with the Maltese, to the custom-house, came to 
 the rescue, and placed us upon his donkeys. But 
 this process was rather rough work, and required 
 proceedings wholly different from those one wit- 
 nesses in civilized countries. First, he came in among 
 them with a heavy cane, cutting and thrusting right 
 and left, like a warrior with his battle-blade. Some 
 were knocked down, some pushed down, some kicked 
 down, and some kicked after they were down. In 
 that summary way, he soon cleared a passage, and 
 
DIFFICULTIES WITH DONKEYS. 15 
 
 enabled us to get to his donkeys ; which, until then, 
 had been so far from the thickest part of the action, 
 that we had not had a glimpse of them. 
 
 While we were mounting, he kept off the crowd 
 with slight touches of his corbash, which he did not 
 scruple in using pretty freely over the backs and 
 shouldei's of all who came within his reach, without 
 much respect to persons. 
 
 Mrs. C. had no sooner mounted a donkey, than 
 the Arab who had charge of it began to belabour the 
 poor animal so lustily, that he got him into a run, 
 and was pushing off at a furious rate, unbidden, into 
 an obscure part of the city ; while our friend the 
 doctor had scarcely got easy in his saddle, before he 
 was whipped away in another direction. I mounted 
 last, but was sent forward in the twinkling of an eye, 
 by a man at the heels of my donkey, who urged 
 him onward at the top of his speed ; and he conse- 
 quently jogged on with such a rocking and unsteady 
 gait, that I had great trouble in holding on ; and, what 
 was worse, the poor creature, so hardly pressed, 
 stumbled several times, and nearly pitched me, heels 
 over head, into the sand. 
 
 In short, we had no little difficulty in keeping right 
 side up on the donkeys, but still more in keeping our- 
 selves in the same company. However, after a while, 
 we got into something like regular order, and be- 
 gan to wind along through the little, narrow, wet and 
 muddy streets of the town. A scene, at once novel 
 and indescribably singular, now presented itself. 
 The people in crowds were creeping along, over 
 
J 6 WATER-CARRIERS AND CITY-CRIERS. 
 
 their ankles in mud, generally more than half naked, 
 and many of them had little more covering than our 
 first parents before the fall All of them appeared 
 to be about as miserable as filth, cold, hunger, want, 
 rags, and no rags at all, could make them. 
 
 Our passage was completely blocked up and over- 
 shadowed by a procession of camels loaded with 
 lemons and oranges. Our limbs were scarcely safe 
 from the ponderous jostlings of these unwieldy, 
 though patient and useful animals, when we encoun- 
 tered a platoon of camels and donkeys loaded with 
 goat-skins of water, which the Arabs were distri- 
 buting through the streets of Alexandria, in the same 
 retail way that "pure spring water" is dealt round 
 from house to house in the good city of Gotham. 
 Next came butt against us a large camel with a 
 huge date-tree on his back, sweeping the streets, in 
 his unsteady motion, for a considerable distance fore 
 and aft. " Look out for heads !" Here is a knot 
 of shivering Arabs, grinding corn in a little rude kind 
 of mill, stuck flat in the mud, and turned by a don- 
 key. There is a hideous-looking object, bearing on 
 her head a loathsome substance, spread out upon a 
 greasy board, crying, in the nerve-racking and jaw- 
 breaking language of her country, " Hot cakes ! hot 
 cakes ! here's your fine hot cakes !" Now we pass a 
 cluster of Arab women in masks, according to the 
 custom of the country, exhibiting little more of their 
 faces than a small space around their eyes, and 
 painted brows, while their legs are bare to a more 
 elevated point than is even exhibited by the fair 
 
WATER-CARRIERS IN ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 17 
 
 \- 
 
 VoL. L— 3 
 
18 
 
 SCENES IN ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 ^S^.. 
 
 Egyptian Women with Masks» 
 
 artistes of the ballet, at present so popular in our 
 own enlightened country. Here, again, are a dozen 
 young girls, with tattooed chins, gabbling like geese 
 in the snow, with scarcely a rag to cover their na- 
 kedness ; and there is a drove of slaves for sale, 
 dragging their rattling chains through the mud. 
 
 Jl 
 
THE HOTEL OF ALEXANDRIA. 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The principal Hotel in Mexandria. — Rain and Sunshine. — • 
 A Ride before Dinner. — Invitation to dine with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Firkins. — Introduction to the Wrinklebottoms, Messrs. 
 O'Statten, Sneezebiter, O^Screensbury, and other distin- 
 guished Personages. — Genealogy of the Humbug Family. 
 — An Evening Circle. — A Snake Story. — An agreeable 
 Surprise. 
 
 The principal hotel of Alexandria, kept by a 
 Frank, and quite in the European style, we found 
 very comfortable ; and the charges not more than 
 about twice as extravagant as those in most towns 
 on the continent of Europe, notwithstanding bread, 
 meat, and other articles of food are two or three 
 hundred per cent, cheaper in Egypt than in any 
 other part of the world that I have visited. How- 
 ever cheap, dear, comfortable or uncomfortable it 
 might have appeared to others, we were glad enough 
 to escape the dismal scenes that we had just en- 
 countered on our way from the shore, and take up 
 our quarters in it for the time being. We had 
 scarcely put ourselves down quietly, however, before 
 our friend the doctor became impatient for an attack 
 upon the " lions of the town." 
 
 The rain was descending in torrents one moment, 
 and the sun was shining hot enough to boil it in the 
 streets the next ; nevertheless, donkeys were ordered, 
 
20 A RIDE BEFORE DINNER. 
 
 and off we galloped, at a John Gilpin pace, to Pom- 
 pey's Pillar. 
 
 Our imaginations could hardly have solved the 
 mystery of such an erection ; or how a race of men, 
 such as the present inhabitants of Egypt (if such 
 were the ancients,) could have made so fine a block of 
 granite, more than ninety feet long, and twenty-seven 
 feet in circumference, stand on one end ; or what 
 could have induced certain English travellers to have 
 so defaced its beautifully polished surface with their 
 names, painted in large black letters — names that 
 have scarcely ever been heard of, before or since, in 
 any other place, or under any other circumstances, 
 and probably will be little heard of otherwise here- 
 after, when away we darted about two miles in 
 another direction, to look at Cleopatra's Needle. 
 
 Next we wandered over some part of the ruins 
 of the ancient city of the Ptolemies ; thence thread- 
 ing the bazars, pondering upon the lank, lean, som- 
 bre visages of the Arab and Turkish merchants, 
 some of whom had eaten their onions and rice, 
 swallowed their opium, and lay stretched out like 
 stale codfish in their stalls, and drowned in bliss ; 
 while others, little more alive than dead, fuming like 
 steam-engines, at their long dirty pipes, kept vigils 
 
 over the departed ; and then in this manner 
 
 we had pitched upon one thing after another, got 
 drenched in the rain, and besmeared with mud, but 
 we had seen most of the curiosities of Alexandria 
 before dinner. 
 
 We had regained the comfortable rooms of the 
 
AN INVITATION TO DINE. 21 
 
 hotel in safety, and were musing over our bespattered 
 plight, the wretched state of affairs in Alexandria, 
 and how sadly things must have gone to waste in 
 that notable ciry since the days of Cleopatra, when, 
 most unexpectedly to us, in came a messenger with 
 a polite invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Firkins, re- 
 questing the pleasure of our company that day at 
 dinner, at five o'clock. 
 
 Although greatly flattered, we were somewhat as- 
 tonished at this invitation, which we looked upon at 
 the time as an especial honour. As we were total 
 strangers in Alexandria, we did not feel ourselves at 
 liberty to decline it We wished to look into the 
 state of society, and into matters and things in gene- 
 ral, as much as we could have an opportunity, during 
 the short period of our contemplated sojourn. We 
 made inquiries respecting the standing of the family 
 of the Firkins, and, having satisfied ourselves upon 
 this point as well as we were enabled to do from 
 such authority as was within our reach, we were but 
 too happy to avail ourselves of their civilities ; a cir- 
 cumstance which, in the simplicity of our hearts, we 
 regarded as a piece of great good fortune. 
 
 Every traveller may not be aware of the fact, that 
 there reside in Alexandria, Cairo, and other parts of 
 the Levant, a number of well-dressed, genteel-looking 
 persons, whose sole business is to insnare the un- 
 wary. Their way of managing matters is as follows. 
 On the arrival of respectable strangers in their vicin- 
 ity, they promptly send their names, and a card, in- 
 viting them to dinner. This being accepted, as is 
 
 I 
 
22 AN INTRODUCTION. 
 
 generally the case, it affords them an opportunity of 
 ingratiating themselves into the favour of their new- 
 made acquaintances, and of fleecing them in every 
 imaginable and possible manner — an opportunity 
 that seldom passes unimproved. I have selected some 
 of these from among the number for especial remark, 
 and my motive for recording w^hat follows, is to put 
 others upon their guard, how they accept the atten- 
 tions of those unknown to them, when similarly situa- 
 ted with ourselves. With this explanation to the 
 reader, I shall proceed to relate what occurred, and 
 leave him to make his own deductions ; and, if he be 
 a traveller in the East, to profit by our experience, 
 or to let it alone, just as he pleases. 
 
 At the appointed hour, we had the honour of 
 being cosily seated at the table of our new friends, 
 where we had the pleasure of being introduced to 
 Mr. O'Statten, Mr. and Mrs. Wrinklebottom, the 
 Misses Wrinklebottom, their French governess, and 
 Mr. O'Screensbury. 
 
 The table was bountifully supplied with cold ham, 
 chickens, turkeys, &c., and the brandy, beer, wine, 
 and cider flowed almost as copiously indoors as the 
 showers in the streets. Justice, however, compels 
 me to add, that we made a capital dinner. 
 
 Mr. Firkins informed us that he was greatly in fa- 
 vour with the Pacha of Egypt ; that he was much in 
 his councils, saw him hourly at the palace, and, in 
 fact, that he could do almost anything he had a mind 
 to with Mehemet Ali, any day of his life. This, of 
 course, naturally enough raised our curiosity, to find 
 
FAMILY or THE HUMBUGS. 23 
 
 that we had stepped right off, without an effort, as it 
 were, into such high-toned society ; and that we 
 were hand and glove with a gentleman who seemed, 
 by his own showing, to have more power over the 
 refractory Pacha than ail the " Great Powers" of 
 Europe put together. As Mr. Firkins saw the 
 gradual opening of our curiosity, he kindly filled our 
 glasses anew, and had the goodness to warm himself 
 into a more elevated and poetical strain of egotism 
 and self-commendation, until he finally let the whole 
 " cat out of the bag." We were really very much 
 amused by his conversation ; and so well contented 
 with us did Mr. Firkins himself seem to be, that he 
 would have been willing, in the benevolence and 
 goodness of his heart, to " laugh and drink cider 
 with us all day." 
 
 These very pleasant people, Mr. and Mrs. Firkins, 
 are connexions of the present Lord Humbug, of 
 England, and descendants of his Grace, the great 
 Duke of Humbug, who distinguished himself so emi- 
 nently under the reign of (iueen Anne. The Hum- 
 bug family is very numerous in England at the pre- 
 sent moment, and the most powerful, probably, of any 
 in the whole realm. The connexion is now traced 
 to the royal family, though it is an honour that the 
 Queen and her illustrious uncles, and other great 
 personages standing near the throne, are not very 
 proud to acknowledge. But the vast wealth of the 
 Humbug family is proverbial all over the world. It 
 embraces, among other property, besides the most 
 splendid palaces in the metropolis, nearly all the 
 
24 FAMILY OF THE HUMBUGS. 
 
 landed interest of the kingdom. iVnd so vast are 
 the investments of the Humbugs in the Enghsh 
 funds, that it is said they completely control the 
 prices of stocks on 'Change, in the city, from genera- 
 tion to generation. It is a very rich, povv^erful, and 
 talented family ; and I think it would be a difficult 
 matter ever to put them dow^n, though their v^ealth, 
 influence, and exalted character have excited a great 
 deal of envy among the lower classes, and made them 
 a host of enemies, who, it is lamentable to say, are 
 doing all in their power to injure the fair fame and 
 well-earned reputation of this very ancient and noble 
 English family. 
 
 As is generally the case with bitter and deter- 
 mined enemies, there are many slanderous things 
 said, and much unprincipled backbiting, which have 
 not the least foundation in truth : and since it would 
 be considered a condescension quite incompatible 
 with the dignity of the Humbugs, to reply to these 
 petty scandals which their malicious enemies have 
 been so active in diffusing into the public mind, it is 
 an incontrovertible fact, that there are very strong pre- 
 judices existing against the Humbug family, through- 
 out Christendom. They do something indirectly, it is 
 true, to counteract the bad effects of this impression, 
 (which seems to be getting stronger and stronger 
 every day,) through the influence of the English 
 press, which is said to be so wound up and so 
 deeply entangled in the aflairs of the Humbugs, that 
 to advocate any other cause would be its destruc- 
 tion. In addition to which, many of the more 
 
 ■■■^ 
 
FAMILY OF THE HUMBUGS. 25 
 
 humble branches of the family have turned authors 
 themselves, and flourished their pens in the common 
 cause of their noble connexions. And, to have a 
 more attractive and plausible reason for adopting a 
 course of that kind, they have generally travelled 
 into foreign countries, examined the state of society, 
 &c. ; after which they have an apology for w^riting a 
 book, which gives them an opportunity, while dis- 
 charging their abuse upon others, to praise themselves 
 and laud their ancestors. In this manner, they are 
 pretty sure to get read ; and there can scarcely be a 
 doubt of the benefit that almost unavoidably results 
 to the Humbugs and their cause. The communica- 
 tion has latterly become so easy between the United 
 States and Great Britain, that many of these authors 
 of the Humbug family, have honoured that dark and 
 benighted part of the world with their presence ; and 
 have done a great deal to raise the expectation of 
 the people, and to excite the curiosity of other na- 
 tions. But as their books and lectures have mostly 
 been published, time will determine their effects upon 
 mankind, and test the stability or downfall of Ameri- 
 can institutions, as well as the permanency or ruin 
 of the present dynasties of the European Humbugs. 
 
 To return to this charming family, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Firkins, of Alexandria, lineal descendants of the 
 Humbugs. However much Mr. F. might be inclined 
 to boast of his influence over the weak-minded 
 Pacha of Egypt, he never plumed himself, I believe, 
 on his honours and titles to nobility. Indeed, he so 
 altered his views upon this subject, that he changed 
 
 Vol, L~4 
 
26 HISTORY OF MR. FIRKINS. 
 
 his rightful name, denied his Hneage, and waged war 
 to extirpation upon the whole Humbug family, Lord 
 Humbug, Lady Humbug, and all the Humbugs, great 
 and small, throughout the United Kingdom of Eng- 
 land, Scotland and L'eland. This was going great 
 lengths with his own relatives, though there is 
 an apology which may be offered for such a sweep- 
 ing denunciation, which will soften somewhat its 
 severity, and will go far, doubtless, to excuse Mr. 
 Firkins from the penalties of its rashness and im- 
 prudence. 
 
 The fact is, Mr. Firkins's nerves were never hung 
 upon very steady keys ; and the strong wines and 
 dense fogs of England had nearly perfected their 
 ruin. This was his case, when his friends, to save 
 him from the tender mercies of the managers of an 
 insane hospital, to the honours of which he seemed to 
 have many palpable claims, advised him to try the 
 mild climate of Egypt for a few years, in hopes that 
 he might, under its clear sky and genial sun, recover, 
 in some degree at least, the healthful and natural 
 tone of feeling of which he had been robbed by the 
 late dinners and wretched climate of England. 
 
 In this respect, I am gratified to know that the 
 anxious wishes of the friends of Mr. Firkins have 
 been realized to a considerable extent, though there 
 can be little doubt of his not being quite right in his 
 head at times, even now ; and I fancied I could per- 
 ceive in the looks and movements of his amiable 
 lady, during dinner, whenever her lord and master 
 rose into a strain of self-praise particularly poetical, 
 
CHARACTER OF MR. FIRKINS. 27 
 
 and emptied his glass more frequently than common, 
 that she was not without her fears of a relapse into 
 his old complaint. 
 
 Everything in regard to the dinner passed off 
 smoothly and without accident. Mr. Firkins rose 
 from the table perfectly sober, for anything that he 
 had drunk that day, though there was a little unstea- 
 diness observable in his step, to which he called our 
 attention, at the same time ascribing it to a late 
 dinner that he had given to some rather jovial 
 friends, similarly situated with ourselves, the day 
 before. That was an explanation that Mr. Firkins 
 was under no necessity of making ; and I thought, 
 by a significant kind of twist about the pretty mouth 
 of Mrs. Firkins, that she would much rather that 
 he had said nothing on the subject. Indeed, it 
 was scarcely worth minding ; and had it not been 
 for the extremely open-hearted manner of Mr. Fir- 
 kins, and an apparently strong desire on his part to 
 entertain his friends, we should probably never have 
 heard it mentioned, nor noticed that Mr. Firkins, on 
 that occasion, assumed any other than his usual gait. 
 As it was, the explanation was perfectly satisfactory, 
 and served to illustrate the fair, unconcealed, frank 
 manner of Mr. Firkins, who, in England, could 
 hardly fail to be recognised among his friends as 
 " a d — d fine, hospitable fellow." 
 
 Firkins was, in truth, what some would term a de- 
 hghtful companion, though by others he might not 
 be much esteemed. For my own part, though the 
 evidence had been heard and noted, I had not 
 
28 AN AFTERNOON DRIVE. 
 
 " summed up." I was not then quite prepared to 
 give a decision in his case, nor even now do I think 
 it worth while to trouble the reader with my opinion. 
 It is true that some httle pecuniary transactions 
 grew out of our acquaintance, which might have 
 been a sufficient pretext for some to have pro- 
 nounced him, right off hand, one of the greatest 
 " humbugs" in ail Egypt ; but as the shave, at most, 
 could not have exceeded a few hundred piastres, I 
 made up my mind, from the first, to keep it a pro- 
 found secret ; and I now only allude to it here in 
 the most confidential manner with the reader, at 
 the same time enjoining upon him the strictest se- 
 crecy touching all business transactions between 
 Mr. Firkins and myself, I would not, however, by 
 any means have him forget the kind and hospitable 
 treatment that we received at the hands of Mr. Fir- 
 kins and his accomplished lady. 
 
 Dinner was no sooner over than Mr. Firkins or- 
 dered the horses and carriages to be in readiness, and 
 invited us to take a drive. The sun was fast sink- 
 ing below the western horizon, and the rain and 
 clouds had cleared away. We turned out of the 
 great " European Square," drove over a part of the 
 ruins of ancient Alexandria, and passed out at the 
 Rosetta gate on to the desert, for some distance be- 
 yond, until the sombre shades of evening began to 
 thicken around and admonish us to return to town. 
 
 It was an agreeable drive ; and when we returned 
 to the hospitable mansion of Mr. Firkins, we found 
 tea upon the table. This delicious beverage, always 
 
AN EVENING CIRCLE. 29 
 
 refreshing and grateful to the taste, was rendered 
 doubly sweet on this occasion by the sweet sugar 
 and sweeter manners of Mrs. Firkins, who did the 
 honours of her tea-table " in a most capital manner." 
 Mrs. Firkins is a lady of considerable conversational 
 talent, and she talked with great fluency and anima- 
 tion upon most subjects of general interest, though, 
 perhaps, not always with that intelligence and ele- 
 gance of diction which are considered unexception- 
 able in polite circles, or as either above or below 
 criticism. If there was a tendency either way, I 
 should be inclined to think it was a downward one. 
 Still, however much she might be found wanting in 
 elevation, either in style or sentiment, her voice was 
 sufficiently high to suit the taste of those who are not 
 only blind to all the charms of nature, but who have 
 even lost their hearing. Indeed, this seemed to be 
 one of her great points ; and whenever she appeared 
 to lag in other respects, for want of a word or an idea, 
 she was sure to bring herself handsomely out of the 
 trifling embarrassment, by raising her voice to a pitch 
 sufficiently elevated to drown all recollection of any- 
 thing else. In this way she could hardly fail to 
 amuse and attract attention. 
 
 Tea passed ofl* in a sprightly and agreeable 
 manner ; the Arab servants had cleared the table ; 
 Mrs. Firkins reclined in her easy chair, drumming 
 with the fore-finger of her right hand upon the 
 mahogany ; while Mr. Firkins sat down to his hookah, 
 drawing away at it rather lustily, and debating at in- 
 tervals with Mrs. Firkins and the rest of the com- 
 
30 A NEW-COMER. 
 
 pany, whether the remainder of the evening should 
 be taken up with cards, or spun out with music and 
 agreeable conversation. 
 
 As for myself, wife, and friend, we were all fond 
 of nmsic, but knew very little about cards ; besides, 
 I was aware that the doctor would not play for 
 money (if at all) under any consideration : and to 
 have proposed to play a hand at cards in an English 
 gentleman's house for no stakes at all, would have 
 been a breach of good-breeding, I am sure, that could 
 not have been very easily overlooked by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Firkins. I therefore advocated music. 
 
 After some little conversation in an under tone 
 between Mrs. Firkins and Mr. O'Statten, which I 
 could not understand, Mr. O'Statten, who plays the 
 harp with considerable effect, proceeded to get out 
 his instrument and adjust it, for the purpose of de- 
 lighting us with his musical talents. He sat down 
 to the harp, gave himself a solemn and dignified 
 expression of face and attitude, thumbed the strings, 
 tightened the keys, and was about to commence 
 playing, when the door opened to the touch of a 
 tall, graceful figure, dressed in the rich, flowing 
 Turkish costume, with an immensely long beard that 
 reached far down his bosom. 
 
 The new-comer wore a splendid turban and tur- 
 boosh, and a long Turkish sabre swung at his side, 
 suspended by rich hangings from his ample sash, 
 into which were thrust two large duelling-pistols, 
 with gold-mounted and elaborately-wrought stocks. 
 In all respects he looked like a Turk of high degree. 
 
A NEW-COMER. 31 
 
 The imposing appearance of the august visiter 
 impressed us with an idea of the prodigious conse- 
 quence of Mr. Firkins, and we could not help 
 thinking that the eastern question was at last in a 
 fair way of being brought to a happy termination — 
 that gentleman in Turkish costume can be no other 
 than the Grand Seignior himself, come here, no doubt, 
 through the influence of Mr. Firkins, to smoke a 
 pipe with Mehemet Ali, and hush up all differences 
 between them, thereby preserving, for the present, 
 the peace of the world, and preventing the effusion 
 of blood about the settlement of so trifling a matter 
 as that of which tyrant shall have dominion over the 
 wretched barbarians of the promised land. " Admi- 
 rable !" and if the thing is really brought about 
 through the influence of Mr. Firkins, he will deserve 
 a place in Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's, at some 
 future day, as much, to say the least, as Colonel 
 McNab deserved to be knighted for the outrage of 
 piracy, arson, and murder committed a few years 
 since on the American shores. 
 
 " Very good — very good indeed ; and we are to 
 have the honour of coming in contact with these two 
 great personages without the cumbersome and disa- 
 greeable form of an introduction at their palaces !" 
 " The Grand Sultan is already here, and Mehemet Ali 
 must be close at hand, without doubt !" — " What an 
 elevated circle we have dropped into this evening ! 
 The great eastern question, that has been so long 
 discussed, vexed and agitated, is really to be settled 
 amicably, over the tea-table of Mr. Firkins ; the 
 
32 A NEW-COMER. 
 
 peace of the world is to be preserved ; Mehemet Ali 
 and the Sultan are to shake hands in friendship 
 to-night ; old differences are to be adjusted, new 
 friendships formed, new embraces, much smoking, 
 some clattering of glasses and coffee-cups, etc. 
 What an enlarged and prodigious man this Mr. 
 Firkins must be !" 
 
 As I was hurriedly ruminating upon these things, 
 with my eyes on the door to see who was coming 
 next, (for I expected every minute to see the friend 
 of Mr. Firkins, Mehemet Ali, enter the room with 
 the Sultan's pipe,) this mysterious, Turkish-looking 
 gentleman advanced with an easy and graceful step 
 toward Mrs. Firkins, bowed with his right hand 
 on his heart in the eastern manner, and addressed 
 her in English ! " What !" " Who can it be ?" " It's 
 not the Sultan, after all" — nor did Mehemet Ali 
 make his appearance at all during the evening ! 
 Strange ! " But who can this singular apparition 
 be 1 Nothing less than a Pacha, certainly !" 
 
 Still I had an idea that the circle was rather bril- 
 liant ; for, besides Mr. and Mrs. Firkins, there were 
 Mr. O'Statten, the Irish harper ; Mr. O'Screensbury ; 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wrinklebottom, and the two Misses 
 Wrinklebottom, and their French governess, besides 
 the gentleman in Turkish costume, who had just 
 taken a seat near Mrs. Firkins, and entered into 
 conversation with all the ease and fluency of a man 
 who had been used to European society. I could 
 not help thinking these Turks curious fellows, 
 judging from the specimen before me. 
 
MR. SNEEZEBITER. 33 
 
 " He talks like a Turk who has been born in 
 England, and lived there all his days," said the 
 doctor, in a whisper to me, who, I conjectured from 
 that, began to have some strange misgivings as to 
 the authenticity of his Turkship's credentials. 
 
 I observed that Mrs. C.'s curiosity was wound up 
 to the highest pitch. Mrs. Wrinklebottom and the 
 two Misses Wrinklebottom were in a state of fever- 
 ish excitement. 
 
 Mr. Wrinklebottom and Mr. O'Screensbury were 
 taken as much by surprise as the rest of us. But I 
 noticed Mr. O'Statten, who had wiped off the so- 
 lemnity from his face, and laid away his harp, cast 
 rather significant glances, with his finger on his nose, 
 toward Mrs. Firkins ; while Mr. Firkins continued 
 to draw wind into his stomach from his hookah, 
 without uttering a word. 
 
 " Strange, all this," thought I, " and I don't believe 
 this English-spoken Turk will turn out to be even a 
 Pacha !" What a disappointment ! " But how is 
 it ? What does it all mean ? It cannot be possible 
 that Englishmen come off here and make such 
 figures of themselves, certainly !" 
 
 "Who is he? — what is he T said I to Mr. Fir- 
 kins, toward whom I carefully drew my chair, for 
 the purpose of learning, if possible, something of the 
 history of an object that had broken up our musical 
 entertainment, and thrown the whole party into a 
 lilydew of apprehension. 
 
 Mr. Firkins very obligingly entered into an ex- 
 planation of the phenomenon. He said it was a 
 Vol. I.— 5 
 
34 HISTORY OF MR. SNEEZEBITER. 
 
 young man from England, Mr. Christopher Sneeze- 
 biter, eldest son of Sir Christopher Sneezebiter, a 
 gentleman of easy circumstances and considerable 
 political influence in the county of Kent. 
 
 " It is true," said he, " that Mr. Sneezebiter gradua- 
 ted at Oxford, and will succeed to the title and the 
 Sneezebiter estates at the death of his father ; but 
 just at present, there is a wide difference between 
 him and Sir Christopher, which has occasioned his 
 residence in this country for several years. Sir 
 Christopher Sneezebiter," continued Mr. Firkins, 
 " is a high tory, an uncompromising stickler for the 
 corn-laws, and a churchman of the old school, who 
 would not, under any consideration whatever, give his 
 consent to the establishment of a general system of 
 education throughout the kingdom, unless that sys- 
 tem be completely and most absolutely under the 
 control and spiritual guidance of the church of Eng- 
 land. He has educated his own children in a liberal 
 and genteel manner, and well he might, for he is a 
 man of ample fortune. But as Christopher, the 
 young gentleman now in conversation with Mrs. Fir- 
 kins, ran through a large sum of money during his 
 collegiate course at Oxford, and exhibited some 
 rather prodigal inclinations afterward, his father put 
 him upon a restricted annual allowance of only two 
 thousand pounds. This paltry sum being altogether 
 too trifling in amount to sustain the young man in 
 anything like decent society in London, where he 
 had entered his name at Lincolns'-Inn-Fields, he at 
 once abandoned the law and came out to the East. 
 
MR. SNEEZEBITER'S OCCUPATIONS. 35 
 
 After travelling through Turkey and Syria, he set- 
 tled down in Egypt, and has never been to England 
 since. He draws regularly on Sir Christopher for his 
 two thousand a year ; and here, where everything is 
 comparatively cheap, he manages, somehow or other, 
 I believe, to get on without running much into debt." 
 
 " Really !" said L 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Firkins, " and what may be con- 
 sidered not a little curious, perhaps, among people 
 from England and America, where the education of 
 the young is so much neglected as to give them 
 very little or no taste for the enjoyment of the natu- 
 ral sciences, Mr. Sneezebiter, since his residence in 
 this country, has paid great attention to that branch 
 of study, until he has finally become the greatest 
 connoisseur in snakes, lizards, scorpions, and every- 
 thing of that kind, in all Egypt." 
 
 " Indeed !" said I. 
 
 " Yes," resumed Mr. Firkins, " he is very clever at 
 all that sort of thing ; and understands the intrinsic 
 value of each species, and their comparative worth, 
 as well as any gentleman in the Levant." 
 
 " But," said I, " does Mr. Sneezebiter give his 
 whole attention to that study ? Has he no other oc- 
 cupation f ' 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Firkins, " he has ; though he pass- 
 es a large part of his time with the snake-merchants 
 and in his snakery, which comprises some beautiful 
 specimens — the most splendid that I have ever seen 
 in any part of this country. Many of his lizards 
 and scorpions, which are superb, cost him an im- 
 
36 MR. SNEEZEBITER'S OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 mense sum ; and his snakes are all the rage now 
 among the admirers of these animals, both in Alex- 
 andria and Cairo." 
 
 " That is marvellous," said Mr, Wrinklebottom, 
 who, till that moment, had been a silent listener to 
 this historical account of young Mr. Sneezebiter, 
 " and," continued Mr. Wrinklebottom, " what else 
 does this extraordinary young man do here 1" 
 
 " Why," replied Mr. Firkins, after giving two or 
 three strong pulls at his hookah, " he has established, 
 in Upper Egypt, for the amusement of his friends, 
 and to fill up his own time after snake-hours are 
 over on 'change, a harem ; and I understand he is 
 about opening negotiations for the establishment of a 
 branch in this city, though of this part of Mr. Sneeze- 
 biter's enterprise I am sorry to be obliged to speak 
 more discouragingly. He does not seem to possess 
 the right kind of genius and tact for matters of this 
 kind ; and though he has been dabbling in them for 
 more than five years, and expended enormous sums 
 of money in rich dresses and in collecting subjects, 
 yet, I believe, he can only boast of a kind of fifth-rate 
 country harem after all. He has great taste for 
 snakes and all that sort of thing, and has established 
 a reputation in that line that will not be easily sha- 
 ken ; but a harem is another sort of business ; it re- 
 quires great genius and a thorough-bred Turk to suc- 
 ceed well in getting up a splendid harem. English- 
 men have often tried it, but have never yet succeeded 
 well in, it, and never will." 
 
 Mr. Wrinklebottom now settled down into a kind 
 
A SNAKE STORY. 37 
 
 of ruminating attitude, and with his hands chnched 
 over the back of his chair, and his head a Httle in- 
 chned over the right shoulder, he began to hum, in 
 an under tone, " God save the Queen." Mr. Fir- 
 kins continued drav^ing at his hookah, w^ithout say- 
 ing anything further about Mr. Sneezebiter, w^ho still 
 kept up an animated conversation with Mrs, Firkins 
 in another part of the room, toward whom I drew 
 my chair, with a view of picking up some ideas as 
 they might fall from the lips of this oracle of the 
 science of snakes and reptiles. 
 
 Mr. Sneezebiter was deeply and earnestly en- 
 gaged upon his favourite theme. He told Mrs. Fir- 
 kins that every house in Egypt had more or less 
 snakes in it, and scorpions too. " And," said he, " it 
 is one of the greatest blessings to the country that ever 
 happened, for they are greatly conducive to health, 
 A house in Egypt," continued Mr. Sneezebiter, 
 " without snakes in it, would not be fit to live in a 
 single day, the air would become so impure." 
 
 " Why," said Mrs. Firkins, " really, Mr. Sneeze- 
 biter, you can hardly be in earnest— you are not so 
 scandalous as to believe that we have snakes here 
 in our house, are you 1" 
 
 " Scandalous !" replied Mr. Sneezebiter. " Snakes 
 in your house ! I'll lay a wager, now, of the finest 
 lizard in my collection, against fifty pounds, that you 
 have more than twenty snakes in your house this 
 very minute ; and, what's more," said he, " give me 
 liberty to search for them, and Til bring them all up 
 here into your drawing-room in half an hour." 
 
38 A SNAKE STORY. 
 
 " Abominable ! Mr. Sneezebiter," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Firkins. " You frighten me out of my wits. Selim," 
 continued Mrs. Firkins, addressing herself to one of 
 the Arab servants, "bring me the Cologne water;" 
 and, casting a look of wildness and concern around 
 the room, she said, " Don't say anything more about 
 snakes, I beg of you, Mr. Sneezebiter. I shall not 
 sleep a wink all night" 
 
 " What a foolish whim that !" said Mr. Sneeze- 
 biter, at the same time pulling up the sleeve of his 
 left arm above the elbow, and exhibiting several deep 
 prints of the teeth of a snake. " See here," said he, 
 " what was done the other day in a tussle I had 
 with some snakes that I was bringing down from 
 Cairo; they were some wild-horned fellows — the 
 only ones that I could find on sale there good for 
 anything." 
 
 " And," said the doctor, who had just taken a seat 
 in that part of the room, "what, pray, do you do 
 with snakes ?" 
 
 " Do with snakes ?" replied Mr. Sneezebiter ; 
 « why, I let them curl around my neck, carry them 
 about with me in my bosom and pockets." 
 
 " Impossible !" cried Mrs. Wrinklebottom. 
 
 " O ! horrid !" said the two Misses Wrinklebot- 
 tom in the same breath. 
 
 " What a wretch !" exclaimed Mr. O'Screensbury. 
 
 " But you don't mean to say," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Firkins to Mr, Sneezebiter, " that you came here 
 with snakes in your bosom 1" 
 
 " In truth, Mrs. Firkins," repUed Mr. Sneezebiter, 
 
AN AGREEABLE SURPRISE. 
 
 39 
 
 " you have rarely or never seen me without them in 
 my bosom and pockets too." 
 
 " Dreadful !" exclaimed Mrs. Firkins, at the same 
 instant drawing her chair a little further from that of 
 Mr. Sneezebiter, and casting a look behind her. 
 
 All present looked as though they felt snakes and 
 lizards crawling over them. It was a moment of 
 the deepest excitement 
 
 " But," continued Mrs. Firkins, " you have no 
 snakes about you to-night, I hope f 
 
 Mr. Sneezebiter, to the surprise of everybody, and 
 without replying to the last question, thrust his right 
 hand deep into his bosom ; and, while every eye was 
 riveted upon him, and all the party described a circle 
 with their chairs, he with the greatest unconcern and 
 nonchalance imaginable, pulled out a large, myste- 
 rious-looking, black-spotted pocket-handkerchief ! 
 
 IVfe. Sneezebiter's W^ipee. 
 
40 A SEARCH FOR SNAKES. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Some of the Plagues of Egypt, and a touch of the Might-mare. 
 — Captain Underdone, and his taste for Snakes, Lizards, 
 Scorpions, and other Reptiles. - — - House-snakes. — Snake- 
 charmers a7id Snake-eaters of the East. — Sacred Reptiles of 
 Egypt. — Opinions of Diodorus, Plutarch, Wilkinson, and 
 Champollion. — Asp-formed Crowns of the ancient Kings 
 and Queens of Egypt. — Asp-headed Deities. — The Statues 
 of Ms crowned with Asps. — Dancing Snakes of India. — 
 Probable cause of Cleopatra^s choice to die by the venomous 
 sting of the Asp. 
 
 As might have been expected, after returning to 
 the hotel from the party mentioned in the last chap- 
 ter, we had a crawling sensation all over us, and a 
 thorough hunt about the apartment for snakes. I 
 took a candle in one hand and a cane in the other, 
 and began to pry up the coverlets, blankets, and 
 sheets of the bed, expecting to see more or less 
 snakes, of considerable size, tumble upon the floor, 
 which I was determined to kill on the spot, let the 
 consequence be what it might. Finding none of 
 these Egyptian playthings among the sheets and 
 coverlets, I continued the investigation down through 
 bolsters, mattress, and straw bed, even to the old iron 
 bedstead itself; and that, too, I rolled about, to see if 
 I could not raise a scorpion at least; but I could 
 not discover any thing of the kind. 
 
A SEARCH FOR SNAKES. 41 
 
 "Well, this is droll enough," said I; "for, from 
 the stirring account that we have heard to-night, 
 one might reasonably enough have expected to 
 raise, in a search of this kind, half a dozen good- 
 sized snakes, and as many scorpions, besides a 
 sprinkling of Hzards." I continued to shake the 
 vrindow-curtains and look behind the bureaus, tables, 
 chairs, etc., and thought it perfectly unaccountable. 
 I did not know what to make of the business ; but 
 having searched thoroughly enough to find them, 
 were there any of these abominable reptiles there, 
 and not being successful, I naturally concluded that 
 there were no snakes in Egypt. 
 
 " Certainly," said Mrs. C, " it does seem that you 
 have done your duty manfully, and I don't see what 
 else we can do about it." 
 
 The fact is, neither of us could have thrown any 
 further light upon the subject, and so we threw our- 
 selves into bed. 
 
 Our good friend the doctor, who had a room next 
 to ours, was not so easily satisfied, I presume ; though 
 I never took occasion to broach the subject to him 
 subsequently. But we heard him, long after we had 
 retired, making certain suspicious and careful move- 
 ments about the room, which we construed into a 
 very thorough snake and scorpion investigation. 
 
 While pondering upon the singular and strange 
 events and incidents of this our first day in Egypt, 
 we both fell asleep. 
 
 I was soon lost to all recollection of the plagues of 
 Egypt, and every thing else. At length I imagined 
 
 Vol. L— 6 
 
42 A TOUCH OF THE NIGHT-MARE. 
 
 that I was attacked by a large number of the most 
 venomous reptiles in the land. Anacondas, boa-con- 
 strictors, scorpions, lizards, and snakes surrounded 
 me on all sides ; and I even felt their deadly stings 
 fastening upon my legs and arms as I struggled 
 against their horrid assault. I endeavoured to make 
 my escape from their infernal coils, by running away. 
 This, however, I found impossible ; for they met me, 
 with their heads erect, at every turn ; and, with open 
 mouths and forked tongues, seemed ready to devour 
 me. I imagined myself on the banks of the Nile, 
 and thought I would plunge into the river and swim 
 to the other side ; but when I cast my eyes toward 
 that doubtful door of escape, an innumerable host of 
 crocodiles, more hideous than the serpents themselves, 
 were playing about upon the surface of the water, 
 with distended jaws, offering me a reception more 
 revolting and dreadful than Jonah met with when 
 cast into the sea by the relentless mariners of Joppa. 
 Driven to a fearful extremity, and no one near to 
 relieve me, and just as a large snake was coiling his 
 cold length around me — while I was choakingin his 
 slimy folds, and struggling in the last agonies of 
 
 death, I gasped, screamed aloud, and -awoke. 
 
 On being asked what was the matter, I answered, 
 " Nothing, I believe, but a slight touch of the night- 
 mare." I endeavoured to address myself again to 
 sleep, but that was utterly out of the question; 
 for, although there were no evil spirits in the bed, I 
 found, on examination, some twenty or thirty large 
 fleas, and little creeping things too numerous to par- 
 
CAPTAIN UNDERDONE. 43 
 
 ticularize. I thought, really, we were among the 
 " plagues of Egypt" at last. 
 
 These things naturally annoy an uninitiated travel- 
 ler; but the Egyptians themselves are so used to 
 fleas, bedbugs, scorpions, snakes, and all that sort of 
 thing, that they talk about them with much compo- 
 sure, and look upon them as matters of course, for 
 which there is no remedy. They have learned to 
 dwell with them promiscuously in their houses, and 
 contrive, by hook or by crook, to get along with 
 them — somewhat, perhaps, like an ill-connected 
 married couple ; who, being " paired, not matched," 
 now and then clinch each other by the hair or the 
 knuckles, yet manage to jog on together, and fulfil 
 at least a portion of the commandments, notwith- 
 standing their disagreements. 
 
 What struck us as being rather a remarkable taste, 
 especially for Europeans, is one which seems to be 
 progressing to a state of great perfection, through 
 the influence and talents of young Mr. Sneezebiter 
 and some of his English friends, for petting and deal- 
 ing in snakes and such like abominable things. I 
 saw, during our wanderings in the East, several of 
 these English connoisseurs in reptiles, besides Mr. 
 Sneezebiter ; though he certainly had more distinc- 
 tion in the science than all the rest of them. 
 
 There was an English officer. Captain Under- 
 done, a rather sprightly-looking young gentleman, 
 with quite a handsome mustache, for whom a com- 
 mission in the army had but a short time pre- 
 viously been purchased, who also might justly have 
 
44 HIS TASTE FOR SNAKES, &c. 
 
 been considered, 1 think, very enterprising in the 
 snake business. He accompanied us through the 
 desert. But, as I shall have occasion to give a fur- 
 ther account of this gentleman in the subsequent 
 pages of this work, I will here simply observe that 
 he made a collection, in Upper Egypt, of several kinds 
 of snakes and lizards, which he carefully carried 
 through the desert to Syria, and thence, I suppose, to 
 England ; adding such kinds of scorpions and other 
 venomous reptiles as he most fancied by the way. 
 He was quite successful in his researches at Petra 
 and Mount Sinai, and swelled his charge to a most 
 terrific bulk ; so much so, that I was fearful that the 
 whole caravan would be stung to death with his 
 snakes. 
 
 If this passion for snakes, asps, and scorpions in- 
 creases among the English in proportion to the in- 
 creased number of travellers in the East from Great 
 Britain, it will not be long before the rage for specu- 
 lation in these reptiles in Egypt will reach as fearful 
 a pitch as the speculative mania for " up-town lots" 
 ever attained in New York ; or even the madness of 
 the Dutch, when they paid thousands of dollars for a 
 single flower-root. 
 
 Whatever may be said in favour of or against the 
 refined taste of the English in this matter, it is a 
 well-known fact that snakes have been held in no 
 little regard in Egypt, and, indeed, in most of the 
 countries of the East, from time immemorial. 
 
 There were snake-charmers in the land of Judea 
 in the time of David, Solomon, and Jeremiah, of 
 
SNAKE-CHARMERS, 45 
 
 which fact the Bible bears incontestable evidence : 
 " Their poison is like the poison of a serpent : they 
 are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which 
 will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming 
 never so wisely."* Again : " Surely the serpent will 
 bite without enchantment."t And, " Behold, I will 
 send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will 
 not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the 
 Lord."t Professed snake-charmers are not only to 
 be met with, at the present day, in the Holy Land, 
 and in other parts of Turkey, but in Egypt§ there 
 are many of these professional gentlemen, who go 
 about the country with their bosoms full of snakes, 
 and have no other occupation but that of charming 
 snakes, and clearing houses of such reptiles as the 
 occupants may take a notion to expel. 
 
 This service, on the part of the charmers, is per- 
 formed for a trifling remuneration, and occupies but 
 a few moments. 
 
 The most celebrated among these serpent-charm- 
 ers are the dervishes. Others have embraced the 
 profession, but with less success. They pretend to 
 be able to determine whether there are serpents in 
 a house or not, before commencing the search. This 
 is very remarkable ; and by some it is believed that 
 the charmers practise a deception upon the unwary, 
 by taking a snake from their bosom, and exhibiting 
 the same as one which they pretend to have found 
 in the house. 
 
 * Psalm Iviii. 4, 5. f Ecclesiastes x. 11. t Jeremiah viii. 17. 
 § Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 106. 
 
46 SNAKE-EATERS. 
 
 Their skill is said to have been tested under cir- 
 cumstances that would seem to preclude the possi- 
 bility of such deception. Sometimes they have been 
 deprived of all their clothes, and required to perform 
 their strange enchantments in a state of nudity, and 
 have been as successful as under ordinary circum- 
 stances. When they enter a house for this purpose, 
 they are said to " put on an air of mystery — strike 
 the vs^alls with a short palm-stick — whistle — make a 
 clucking noise with their tongue — spit upon the 
 ground — and generally say, 'I adjure you by God, 
 if ye be above or if ye be below, that you come 
 forth : I aJjure you by the most great Name, if ye 
 be obedient, come forth ; and if ye be disobedient, 
 die ! die ! die !' " 
 
 These serpent-charmers sometimes carry scor- 
 pions in their caps and hats, and frequently, too, next 
 to the bare skin ; as they generally shave off the hair 
 of the head, and during some of their high religious 
 festivals, they are said to devour live serpents. This 
 horrid custom, though scarcely less revolting than 
 many other abominable absurdities often practised 
 among barbarous and uncivilized nations, has, nev- 
 ertheless, been almost wholly abolished by the Egyp- 
 tians. But it was the practice, until within the last 
 few years, for the serpent-charmers, in the festival 
 observed in honour of the birth of the Prophet, to eat 
 live serpents, though it was not always done in pub- 
 lic. It was generally performed before a select num- 
 ber, including the sheik of the order of dervishes, 
 and other persons of distinction. 
 
ANECDOTE OF A SNAKE-EATER. 47 
 
 Mr. Lane says, in his account of the manners and 
 customs of the modern Egyptians, that " serpents 
 and scorpions were not unfrequently eaten by Saadees 
 during his former visit to that country ; and when- 
 ever a Saadee ate the flesh of a Hve serpent, he was, 
 or affected to be, excited to do so by a kind of 
 phrensy."* He also adds, that " serpents are not al- 
 ways handled with impunity by Saadees or charmers. 
 A few years ago, a dervish of this sect, who was called 
 el-Feel (or the Elephant) from his bulky and mus- 
 cular form, and great strength, and who was the most 
 famous serpent-eater of his time, and of any age, 
 having a desire to rear a serpent of a very venomous 
 kind, which his boy had brought him among others 
 that he had collected in the desert, put this reptile 
 into a basket, and kept it for several days without 
 food, to weaken it. He then put his hand into the 
 basket to take it out, for the purpose of extracting 
 its teeth, but it immediately bit his thumb. He called 
 for help; there were, however, none but women in 
 the house, and they feared to come to him ; so that 
 many minutes elapsed before he could obtain assist- 
 ance. His whole arm was then found to be swollen 
 and black, and he died after a few hours." 
 
 Whether the ancient Egyptians were more or less 
 powerful in their works of enchantment than the 
 moderns, it is pretty certain, from the many sculp- 
 tured representations of the serpent that are still 
 visible upon their temples, tombs, and monumental 
 erections, that this reptile took a much higher grade 
 
 * Lane's Modem Egyptians, ii. 207. 
 
48 SACRED REPTILES OF EGYPT. 
 
 in former times, than it seems to hold among the 
 Egyptians of the present day. Some Enghsh ad- 
 mirers of this animal may ascribe this circumstance 
 to a want of taste on the part of the modern Egyp- 
 tians, and the downward tendency that has fastened 
 upon every thing in that country since the Persian 
 conquest. No doubt great corruptions have crept 
 into the manners, customs, and rehgious worship of 
 the Egyptians since Cambyses marched his victo- 
 rious army into the country, and overturned their 
 gods ; though they were not, probably, quite perfect, 
 in their most prosperous days. 
 
 Snakes were among the sacred animals of the an- 
 cient Egyptians, though all kinds of serpents were 
 not deemed sacred. The horned snake was sacred 
 to the god Amun, at Thebes, and is found embalmed 
 in the tombs of that remarkable city at the present 
 day. 
 
 The asp, too, must have been accounted very sa- 
 cred, and is often seen sculptured upon the temples. 
 Mr. Wilkinson says, in his Manners and Customs 
 of the Ancient Egyptians, that the " Genius of the 
 lower country, a goddess who was the guardian pro- 
 tectress of the monarchs, is represented under the 
 form of an asp, frequently with wings, having the 
 crown of Lower Egypt, which is also worn by her 
 when figured as a goddess." The goddess* " Soven 
 or Eilethyia, the protectress of mothers in child- 
 birth, is sometimes represented with the body of a 
 vulture and the head of a snake." " This goddess," 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, ii. 45. 
 
SACRED REPTILES OF EGYPT. 49 
 
 he says, " may also be the genius of the upper coun- 
 try or the South, opposed to the genius of the lower 
 country." The goddess Ranno, represented with 
 the head of an asp, is common in the oldest temples. 
 She was frequently employed as the nurse of young 
 princes, whose early education is supposed to have 
 been intrusted to her care, and she presided over 
 gardens. The goddess Melsigor, or Mersokar, styled 
 ruler of the West, or of Amenti, " the lower re- 
 gions," was sometimes represented under the form 
 of a winged asp. " The asp, also," says Mr. Wilkin- 
 son, " was sacred to Neph ; and that deity, one of 
 the eight greatest of the Egyptians, is frequently 
 represented in the tombs, standing in a boat, with \ 
 
 the serpent over him ; and he is not unfrequently ^ 
 
 seen with this emblem on his head without any other 
 ornament."^ This sei-pent was the type of do- 
 
 Asp-FORMED Crowns or Egypt. 
 
 minion ; for which reason it was affixed to the head- 
 dresses of the Egyptian monarchs ; and a prince, on 
 his accession to the throne, was entitled to wear this 
 distinctive badge of royalty, which, before the death 
 
 * W^ilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 239. 
 
 Vol. I.— 7 
 
50 SACRED REPTILES OF EGYPT. 
 
 of his father, he was not authorized to adopt. Many 
 other parts of the royal dresses were ornamented with 
 the same emblem ; and the " asp-formed crowns," 
 mentioned on the Rosetta stone, were exclusively ap- 
 propriated to the kings and queens of Egypt. The 
 asp also signified, in hieroglyphics, a goddess, and 
 when opposed to the vulture, ^^ the lower country f 
 and it was given to Re, the physical sun, probably 
 as an emblem of that dominion which he held over 
 the universe, and from his character of prototype of 
 the Pharaohs. 
 
 Champollion says that " the name urceus, given to 
 the snake, derives its' origin from ourOy in Coptic a 
 king."* 
 
 Herodotus says that " the horned snake was sa- 
 cred to Amun, or Amun-Re, the Jupiter of Thebes, 
 who w^as 'king of the gods/ and under the name 
 Amunre he was the intellectual sun, distinct from 
 Re, the physical orb."t 
 
 Diodorus says that "the Egyptian and Ethiopian 
 priests had asps coiled up in the caps they wore in 
 religious ceremonies." 
 
 Plutarch saysj that " the asp is worshipped, on ac- 
 count of a certain resemblance between it and the 
 operations of the Divine power : and being in no 
 fear of old age, and moving with great facihty, 
 though it does not seem to enjoy the proper organs 
 for motion, it is looked* upon as a proper symbol 
 of the stars." 
 
 The asp was a reptile, however abominable and 
 
 * ChampoUion, Pantheon, Nef. f Herodotus, i. 406. % Plut. de Is., s. 7. 
 
SACRED REPTILES OF EGYPT. 51 
 
 repulsive it may appear to us, which enjoyed sacred 
 honours throughout ancient Egypt. It is said to 
 have been rendered so tame and docile by the care 
 that was taken of it, that it lived in a state of harm- 
 less quietude with the Egyptian children, and would 
 come upon the table, when called, to eat its food. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson says that the asp " was called 
 Thermuthis, and with it the statues of Isis were 
 crowned as with a diamond." — "Asp-formed crowns" 
 are often sculptured on the heads of Egyptian dei- 
 ties, " and the statues of the mother and wife of 
 Amunoph, (the Vocal Memnon,) in the plain of 
 Thebes, have crowns of this kind." This serpent is 
 said to have been " the emblem of invincible power ll 
 and royalty," and to have been worn in different col- 
 ours, ornamenting the crowns of the kings and queens 
 of Egypt. Mr. Wilkinson^ quotes a story of iElian, 
 about a serpent " called Parias or Paruas, dedicated to 
 Esculapius, and another which was sacred to the Egyp- 
 tian Melite, which had priests and ministers, a table 
 and a bowl. It was kept in a tower, and fed by priests 
 with cakes made of flour and honey, which they 
 placed there in the bowl. Having done this, they 
 retired. The next day, on returning to the apart- 
 ment, the food was found to be eaten, and the same 
 quantity was again put into the bowl, for it was not 
 lawful for any one to see the sacred reptile. On one 
 occasion, a certain elder of the priests, being anxious 
 to behold it, went in alone, and having deposited the 
 cake, withdrew, until the moment when he supposed 
 
 * Wilkinson's " Ancient Egyptians," Second Series, ii. 240. 
 
52 DANCING SNAKES OF INDIA. 
 
 the serpent bad come forth to its repast. He then 
 entered, throwmg open the door whh great violence; 
 upon which the serpent withdrew in evident indig- 
 nation, and the priest became shortly after frantic ; 
 and, having confessed bis crime, expired;' 
 
 In connexion with this subject, perhaps the read- 
 er will not be displeased with the perusal of the 
 following anecdotes of the dancing-snake of India, 
 from a gentleman of high station in the Honourable 
 Company's service at Madras : " One morning, as I 
 sat at breakfast," relates this gentleman, " I heard a 
 loud noise and shouting among my palanquin-bear- 
 ers. On inquiry, I learned that they had seen a large 
 hooded snake, and were trying to kill it. I imme- 
 diately went out, and saw the snake crawling up a 
 very liigh green mound, whence it escaped into a hole 
 in an old wall of an ancient fortification. The men 
 were armed with their sticks, which they always carry 
 in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill the 
 reptile, which had eluded their pursuit, and coiled 
 himself up securely in his hole, where we could dis- 
 tinctly see the bright shining of his eyes. I had often 
 desired to ascertain the truth of the report as to the ef- 
 fect of music upon snakes : I therefore inquired for a 
 snake-catcher. I was told there was na person of the 
 kind in the village ; but after a little inquiry, I heard 
 there was one in a village three miles distant. I accord- 
 ingly sent for him, keeping strict watch over the 
 snake, which never attempted to escape while we, his 
 enemies, were in sight. About an hour elapsed, when 
 my messenger returned, bringing a snake-catcher. 
 
DANCING SNAKES OF INDIA. 53 
 
 This man wore no covering on his head, nor any on 
 his person, excepting a small piece of cloth round 
 his loins. He had in his hand two baskets, one con- 
 taining some snakes, and one empty. These and his 
 musical pipe were the only things he had with him. 
 I made the snake-catcher leave his two baskets on 
 the ground at some distance, while he ascended the 
 mound with his pipe alone. He began to play : at 
 the sound of music, the snake came gradually and 
 slowly out of his hole. When he was entirely with- 
 in reach, the snake-catcher seized him dexterously 
 by the tail, and held him thus at arm's length ; while 
 the snake, enraged, darted his head in all directions, 
 but in vain. Thus suspended, he had not the power 
 to raise himself so as to seize hold of his tormentor. 
 He exhausted himself in vain exertions ; when the 
 snake-catcher descended the bank, dropped him into 
 the empty basket, and closed the lid. He then be- 
 gan to play, and after a short time, raising the lid of 
 the basket, the snake darted about wildly, and at- 
 tempted to escape; the lid was shut down again 
 quickly, the music always playing. This was re- 
 peated two or three times ; and, in a very short in- 
 terval, the lid being raised, the snake sat on his tail, 
 opened his hood, and danced as quietly as the tame 
 snakes in the other basket ; nor did he again attempt 
 an escape. This having witnessed with my own 
 eyes, I can assert as a fact."* 
 
 " The cabra de capella, or hooded-snake, is a large 
 and beautiful serpent, but one of the most venomous. 
 
 * Penny Magazine, No. 65, April, 1833. 
 
54 DANCING SNAKES OF INDIA. 
 
 It has the power of contracting or enlarging its hood 
 the centre of which is marked m black and white, 
 like a pair of spectacles, on which account it is called 
 the spectacle snake. Of this kind are the dancing 
 snakes, which are carried in baskets through Hin- 
 dostan, and procure maintenance for a set of people 
 who play a few simple notes on the flute, with which 
 the snakes seem much delighted- — and keep time by 
 a graceful motion of the head, erecting about half 
 their length from the ground, and following the music 
 with gentle curves." — " Among my drawings," writes 
 an Eastern traveller, "is that of a cabra de capella, 
 which danced for an hour on the table, while I paint- 
 ed it ; during which time I frequently handled it, to 
 observe the beauty of the spots, and especially the 
 spectacles on the hood, not doubting but that its ven- 
 omous fangs had been previously extracted. But the 
 next morning my upper servant came to me in great 
 haste, and desired that I would instantly retire, and 
 praise God for my good fortune. Not understanding 
 his meaning, I told him that I had already performed 
 my devotions. He then informed me, that while 
 purchasing some frqit, he observed the man who had 
 been with me on the preceding evening, entertaining 
 the country-people with his dancing snakes. They, 
 according to their usual custom, sat on the ground 
 around him ; when, either from the music stopping 
 too suddenly, or from some other cause irritating the 
 vicious reptile, which I had so often handled, it dart- 
 ed at the throat of a young woman, and inflicted a 
 wound of which she died in about half an hour."* 
 
 * Extracts of Travellers, p. 222. 
 
THE HORNED SNAKE. 55 
 
 The domestic, or house-snake, is said to have been 
 held in great estimation by the ancient Egyptians. 
 This animal destroyed the rats, mice, and other an- 
 noying vermin that collected in the dwellings and 
 other houses of the inhabitants, and was used as an 
 emblematical representation of eternity. Though 
 greatly respected, it is said not to have been sacred 
 to any of the deities of Egypt Still it is sometimes 
 seen in the mysterious subjects represented in the 
 tombs. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson says that "the snakes in former 
 times played a conspicuous part in the mysteries of 
 rehgion ; many of the subjects in the tombs of the 
 kings at Thebes, in particular, show the importance 
 it was thought to enjoy in a future state ;"'^ and 
 iElian mentions a " subterranean chapel and closet 
 at each corner of the Egyptian temples, in which 
 the Thermuthis asp was kept ;"f thereby indicating 
 the universal custom throughout the country of 
 keeping a sacred serpent. 
 
 Herodotus says that " in the environs of Thebes 
 is a species of sacred snake, of a very small size, on 
 whose head are two horns. They do no harm to 
 man; and when they die, they are buried in the 
 temple of Jupiter, to whom they are reputed to be 
 sacred."t This horned serpent is said, however, to 
 be very venomous, and is now often found in the 
 valley of the Nile and in the desert Instead of its 
 being harmless to man, it is considered very danger- 
 ous on account of its concealing itself in the sand, 
 
 * Wilk'iason's ' Ancient Egyptians,' 2d Series, ii. 243. 
 t^Iian, X. 31. t Herodotus, ii. 74. 
 
56 HONOURS PAID TO THE SNAKE. 
 
 which it SO nearly resembles in colour, that one is 
 unaware of danger until it is often too late. 
 
 The snake, in all ages of the world, seems, indeed, 
 " to have played a conspicuous part." And while 
 it has shared in the divine honours of some coun- 
 tries, it has ever been held in the most abominable 
 detestation and fear in others. Whether this enmity 
 is all in consequence of the curse of God pronounced 
 upon this odious creature, for insidiously beguiling 
 Eve, and entailing upon mankind such a weight of 
 sin, sorrow, and wo, as most people find upon their 
 shoulders in this wicked world, or not, some may 
 be inclined, perhaps, to doubt ; since the good 
 understanding that has subsisted between the snake 
 and its admirers seems to have been, with the an- 
 cients, more a matter of taste and whim than any 
 thing else, and is so among snake-fanciers at the 
 present day. So that the " enmity" which God de- 
 clared that He would " put between Eve and the 
 serpent, and between her seed and his seed," seems 
 not to have been an enmity that has not occa- 
 sionally been broken in upon by friendship, respect, 
 and adoration on the part of man toward this de- 
 testable reptile. 
 
 The serpent, however, was not always looked 
 upon by the ancient Egyptians with the same kind 
 of veneration ; for " some regarded it with un- 
 bounded horrors." And " some religions have con- 
 sidered it emblematical both of a good and a bad 
 Deity." 
 
 Isis, with " ten thousand other names," the wife of 
 
CAUSE OF CLEOPATRA'S CHOICE. 67 
 
 Osiris, " the judge of the dead," had the title of 
 Thermuthis, ''the giver of death,'' appHed to her; 
 and it is said the latter name was given to the asp, 
 or basilisk, with which the statues of Isis were 
 crowned. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson says, that " Isis was more fre- 
 quently worshipped as a deity in the temples of 
 Egypt than Osiris, except in his mystical character.""^ 
 If this be the case, this goddess, bearing the title of 
 " the giver of death," synonymous with the word asp 
 or basilisk, and "judge of the dead," whose statues 
 were crowned with asps — must have been held in 
 great veneration by the kings and queens of Egypt ; 
 and may be the reason, perhaps, why the beautiful, 
 but frail Cleopatra chose to yield her existence to 
 the poisonous coils of the deadly asp, rather than 
 fall into the victorious arms of Augustus. 
 
 ♦Wilkinson's ^Ancient Egyptians,' 2d Series, i. 366. 
 
 / 
 
 The Coil of the Modern Boa. 
 
 Vol. I.— 8 
 
58 A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A new Acquaintance. — Introduction to JYehhy Baood. — Cau- 
 tion against making acquaintance with the Humbug Fam^ 
 ily in Egypt. — Mrs. Firkins and the Out-runners of the 
 East. — A Ride to the Baths of Cleopatra and the Catacombs. 
 
 — An Egyptian Governor and his Footmen. — Almost a 
 Disaster. — The Store-houses of the Pacha. — Arabs at 
 Dinner. — Cause of the Egyptian Ophthalmia. — Manner 
 of Eating in the East. — Deference observed toward the 
 Master of the House. — Turkish Manner of Carving. — 
 Mode of Cooking in Egypt. — Onions and Garlic. — Marlins 
 of Civility shown to Guests. — Beverage of the Egyptians. 
 
 — Water of the Mile. — Contributions of the Pacha to the 
 Grand Sultan of Turkey. — Water-carriers at the Tombs 
 of the Saints. — Peasant-women and their Trinkets. — 
 Wind-mills^ and the way the Arabs carry Corn to Mill. — 
 Women cleaning the Streets with their Hands. — - Dog Pop- 
 ulation, and their Manners and Customs. 
 
 The next morning, when I came into the draw- 
 ing-room, I fomid the doctor in conversation with a 
 gentleman in an oriental cap and long beard, a coun- 
 tryman of ours, whom I was much gratified to meet 
 in that distant part of the world. 
 
 This gentleman bad been absent some years from 
 the United States, and had travelled through Russia, 
 Turkey, Syria, and Egypt He communicated to 
 
INTRODUCTION TO NEBBY DAOOD. 59 
 
 US manj^ items of valuable information respecting the 
 manners and customs of the countries that we were 
 about to visit. He particularly warned us against 
 " scraping an acquaintance" with the different branch- 
 es of the Humbug family, which he represented as 
 being very numerous in all parts of the Levant. 
 
 While we were engaged in conversation, we were 
 joined by another American, of less prepossessing 
 appearance at first glance, though there was that 
 subdued and sad expression pervading his face, that 
 could hardly fail to interest a stranger, and to excite 
 a curiosity to know something of his history. 
 
 His threadbare coat, broken out in several places, 
 hung upon his shoulders as if it had been made for a 
 figure of larger dimensions. His pantaloons, scarcely 
 reaching down to his ankles, were rudely patched on 
 the knees, and seemed ready to break down in other 
 parts. His boots, patched in several places in their 
 upper works, threatened a speedy dissolution of sole 
 and body. His hat, split off from the crown, and 
 running up to an uncouth height, was beaten in on 
 one side, and evidently in the last state of decay. He 
 had on a tattered waistcoat, and a little checked cra- 
 vat ; and his new-cropped beard indicated a soapless 
 shave, with a dull razor. 
 
 Doleful as was the appearance of this individual, 
 he was known and esteemed by the gentleman with 
 whom we were in conversation, who had the good- 
 ness to introduce us to Nebby Daood, from the State 
 of Ohio. 
 
 Poor Nebby Daood, a nick-name that some of his 
 
60 CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 friends had given him in the upper country, but for 
 what reason I do not know, was born to a cheerless 
 fortune. He appeared melancholy, and almost heart- 
 broken. He said little, and seldom or never smiled. 
 
 I felt touched and interested in him, and was con- 
 fident that there was an under-current working in 
 his soul, that few of the cold, selfish beings of the 
 world would have the least curiosity in contempla- 
 ting. A few words only, however, closed our inter- 
 view ; and I parted with him, on his giving his 
 promise to come and dine with me on that day at 
 five o'clock. Indeed, I was almost sure of his punc- 
 tual attendance, before I gave him the invitation ; 
 for it is seldom that one is mortified with a refusal on 
 such occasions by persons of Nebby's appearance. 
 
 After we parted with Nebby, my wife and I got 
 into the carriage with Mrs. Firkins, who had just 
 driven up, with two out-runners, to take us to the 
 baths of Cleopatra and the catacombs of Alexandria. 
 
 I now for the first time witnessed a custom, which, 
 in my subsequent wanderings, I found to be prevalent 
 throughout the eastern countries, and is doubt- 
 less a very old one — - that of runners by the side, or 
 before carriages; after the manner, I suppose, of 
 Elijah running before the chariot of Ahab.* Mrs. 
 Firkins had two ; but I have seen as many as four, 
 and even six of these runners attached to the skirts 
 of a distinguished personage in the East, who never 
 slacked the speed of his horse on account of the 
 runners ; and they, bearing the pipe, tobacco, etc., of 
 
 * 1 Kin^s xviii. 46. 
 
OUT-RUNNERS OF THE EAST. 61 
 
 their master, seem to endure the fatigue of running in 
 this way at the top of their speed, for a long distance, 
 without apparent inconvenience. 
 
 These runners accompany individuals on horse- 
 back, as well as in carriages. I recollect seeing the 
 governor of a town in Upper Egypt mounted upon 
 horseback, galloping at full speed, with no less than 
 
 An Eastern Gentleman^ with Out-runnees. 
 
 six running footmen, all of whom kept up with the 
 horse. It was an animated sight. He was dressed 
 in the gay costume of the country ; and his horse, 
 a fine Arabian, richly caparisoned, bounded off beau- 
 tifully over the plain, conscious, apparently, of the 
 dignity and important character of his rider. 
 
 In our case, there was little to boast of on the 
 score of runners or carriage. The runners had 
 scarcely a rag of clothes about them ; and the car- 
 
 I 
 
62 A RIDE OUT. 
 
 riage was so miserably cramped, that it was next to 
 impossible for more than two persons to sit in it. 
 Consequently, I took my seat on the front part of 
 the body, with my feet dangling down outside, and 
 resting upon the shafts. In this agreeable position, 
 the duty of driving the horse, which was rather a 
 spirited one, was assigned to me ; while, " more for 
 ornament than use," the two runners took up their 
 positions on the sides of the vehicle : and in this 
 manner we launched off, under a clear sky and burn- 
 ing sun, for a further inspection of the antiquities 
 and wonders of Alexandria. 
 
 We had scarcely driven out of the great Eu- 
 ropean Square, before I found myself somewhat in the 
 unenviable state of mind of the gentleman who, on 
 a certain occasion, was taking a nocturnal airing, 
 borne along by his neighbours, in a state of nudity, 
 upon a rail ; and being asked by some of his obliging 
 friends around him how he liked it, replied that, " if 
 it were not for the name of riding, he had much 
 rather go on foot." 
 
 This feeling was not mticli ameliorated by a cir- 
 cumstance which occurred in attempting to descend 
 a slight declivity in the road, when the carriage 
 rushed quite on to the horse's heels, so nettling the 
 noble animal as to threaten total destruction to the 
 carriage, and broken limbs to ourselves. I did not 
 fancy the prospect under that state of things at all ; 
 and if it had not been for an appearance of incivility 
 toward Mrs. Firkins, I certainly wottld have sent her 
 and her horse, carriage, and Arab runners home, and 
 
ARABS AT DINNER. 
 
 63 
 
 taken donkeys. But, as it was, I got out of the car- 
 riage, and proceeded to harness the horse sufficiently 
 far forward to prevent it from striking his heels. 
 This, however, was not accompHshed without some 
 difficuky, and coarse growhng and sour looks 
 from the Arab runners, who thought that I was 
 interfering with their prerogative; and that, although 
 I might drive the horse, yet I had no right to meddle 
 with the harness, though my omitting to do so might 
 cost me my neck. 1 differed from them in opinion. 
 We did not, however, exchange many words upon 
 the subject, but made up by looks and signs what 
 we lost by not understanding each other's language. 
 
 Arabs at Dinner. 
 
64 
 
 STORE-HOUSES OF THE PACHA. 
 
 En route, we passed the Pacha's storehouses of 
 corn, rice, cotton, and other productions of Egypt. 
 
 A large number of Arabs in the Pacha's service 
 were seated in front of the stores, eating their din- 
 ner. They were in groups of about a dozen each, 
 eating out of Httle tubs, or earthen pots, with their 
 fingers. They had neither knives nor forks. They 
 all dipped their hands and fingers into the same 
 dish, and enjoyed their meal as all people do who 
 possess that great blessing, a good appetite. 
 
 This is the universal manner of eating in Turkey, 
 Syria, and Egypt, and was the same, doubtless, in 
 the days of our Saviour, who said, on the night of 
 the last supper, " He that dippeth his hand with me 
 in the dish, the same shall betray me."* All classes 
 of the Egyptians, Turks, and Syrians, eat in the 
 
 '1' A--:. M 
 
 I; >r i jljf ■; \ 
 
 Washing Hands before and after Meal^ 
 * Matthew xxvi. 23. 
 
MODE OF EATING IN TURKEY. 65 
 
 same manner, seated on the floor, and around a 
 tray or platter containing the food. 
 
 It is the practice of the Eastern people to wash 
 their hands before and after their meals, though 
 they are not so particular about their faces ; which 
 look as though their possessors had a natural hydro- 
 phobia. This is one reason, I am inclined to think, 
 why there are so many persons in that warm climate 
 suffering with ophthalmia and almost total blindness. 
 
 The faces of the Arabs are oft-times loathsome 
 to look at, on account of the abominable filth that 
 hangs about them. This is particularly the case 
 with the children of the poorer classes, who are so 
 neglected, that the flies, and sometimes other insects, ,^ ^^ 
 gather on their faces and settle around their eyes in 
 large clusters, where they remain undisturbed, poi- 
 soning the eye, until they fly away of their own 
 accord. 
 
 The mode of eating in Turkey is generally con- 
 ducted with great decorum, and with much deference 
 to the master, or whomsoever presides over the repast, 
 though they all eat rather rapidly. The master of the 
 house commences first, and the guests or other mem- 
 bers of the family follow his example. The flowing 
 sleeve of the right arm of each person is tucked up 
 above the elbow, so as not to discommode the party 
 or get besmeared in the dish. The dishes are gen- 
 erally dressed so as to give no one any inconvenience 
 in eating without a knife and fork. 
 
 The dishes of the Arabs comprise, for the most 
 part, stewed meats, with onions cut up fine, and 
 
 Vol. I. — 9 
 
66 
 
 ARAB MODE OF COOKING. 
 
 sometimes other vegetables. Rice enters largely 
 into the diet of the orientals. A favourite way 
 of cooking lamb or mutton, is to cut it up in small 
 bits, and roast it on skewers. They eat large quan- 
 tities of vegetables, such as beans, peas, cabbage, 
 spinage, onions, garlic, etc. Some dishes are com- 
 posed of vegetables cooked in liquid butter. There 
 are no hogs kept in Egypt, and they have little else 
 to cook with except the butter made from sheep, 
 goat, and cows' milk, and being kept in the warm 
 season in goat-skins, it runs like oil. 
 
 The Arab mode of cooking is greasy, and their 
 victuals anwholesome. Garlic or onions enter into 
 the composition of almost every dish. I observed in 
 Greece and Syria, as well as in Egypt, that the peo- 
 ple were very fond of these vegetables, and they are 
 frequently seen eating them raw in the streets, and 
 about the market-places. The probability is, that 
 they are relished with as good an appetite by the 
 
 An Ancient Priest of Egypt making an Offering of Onions. 
 
ONIONS AND GARLIC. 67 
 
 miserable inhabitants of Egypt at the present day, as 
 they were by their more refined ancestors ; who, ac- 
 cording to some ancient writers, treated them as 
 gods, when taking an oath — which circumstance 
 laid them open to the ridicule of some, on account 
 of their veneration for such odoriferous deities. 
 
 Onions and garlic were sometimes forbidden to 
 the ancient priests of Egypt ; though, according to 
 Mr. Wilkinson,* they, together with other vegetables, 
 were not forbidden to the generality of the people, 
 to whom they were a principal article of food. 
 
 The garlic and onions of Egypt must, no doUbt, 
 have been in a high state of , perfection in the days 
 of Moses, and in great repute among his murmuring 
 and disobedient hosts, or they would not probably 
 have troubled their leader so much for bringing them 
 out from serving the Egyptians, and away from their 
 flesh-pots, where " they did eat bread to the full." 
 For they said, in their murmurings, " We remem- 
 ber the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely ; the 
 cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the 
 onions, and the garlic "\ 
 
 * Wilkinson's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, First Se- 
 ries, ii. 374. — " The onions of Egypt were mild and of an excellent flavour,, 
 and were eaten crude as well as cooked, by persons both of the higher and 
 lower classes ; but it is difficult to say if they brought them to table like the 
 cabbage, as a hors d'auvre, to stimulate the appetite, which Socrates recom- 
 mends in the Banquet of Xenophon. On this occasion, some curious rea- 
 sons are brought forward for their use by different members of the party. 
 Nicerates observes that onions relish well with wine, and cites Homer in 
 support of his remark. Callias affirms that they inspire courage in the hour 
 of battle; and Charmides suggests their utility in deceiving a jealous wife, 
 who, finding her husband return with his breath smelling of onions, would be 
 induced to believe he had not saluted any one while from home ." 
 
 t Numbers xi. 5. 
 
68 BEVERAGE OF THE EGYPTIANS 
 
 The Arabs seldom or never touch their food with 
 the left hand ; and when a fowl or turkey is to be 
 separated, it is frequently performed by the right 
 hands of two persons sitting near together ; though 
 some of them are so expert in this mode of carving, 
 as to dissect a fowl very handsomely with the right 
 hand alone. 
 
 Should the master of the table select any particu- 
 larly nice bit of meat and offer it to a guest, it is 
 considered a mark of great civility, and should be 
 received in one's mouth from his fingers. 
 
 The Arabs have a great variety of dishes, and 
 sometimes get up a whole sheep, lamb, or kid, stuffed 
 with onions, garlic, pistachio-nuts, etc. These, how- 
 ever, are never polluted by the sordid touch of iron 
 or steel after they are brought to table ; but, like the 
 boned fowl, are separated with the right hand by the 
 master of the repast, assisted occasionally by one or 
 more of the guests. It is a greasy business, as one 
 may well enough judge ; but when their hands are 
 washed, it is all over. There are no knives and 
 forks, and no plates, to clean. 
 
 The usual beverage of the Egyptians is the water 
 of the Nile ; and a more delicious or more healthful 
 beverage cannot be found, I think, in the world. Its 
 colour is not very tempting, at first,, being of a dark 
 yellow, and generally rather deeply charged with 
 small particles of vegetable matter. It is not always 
 drunk in this turbid state, though no injury whatever 
 results to one from drinking it freely before it is set- 
 
-I 
 
 THE WATER OF THE NILE. 69 
 
 tied, and many travellers prefer it fresh-dipped from 
 the Nile. 
 
 The Egyptians say, " if the Prophet had drunk of 
 the water of the Nile, he would have lived for ever." 
 This may be doubted ; yet I have no doubt if he 
 could have obtained plenty of that delicious water 
 to drink through life, instead of the stagnant water 
 from the brackish springs and pools of the desert, 
 that the old Prophet would have held on to existence 
 somewhat longer than he did. 
 
 In our journey through the desert, we carried a 
 supply of the Nile water ; and when we arrived at 
 Mount Sinai, we had several gallons of it left in a 
 barrel, which was then as pure and delicious as 
 when we left Cairo, if not more so ; while the water 
 that we filled our goat-skins and barrel with at Mount 
 Sinai, though pure, cold, and delightful to the taste 
 when we set out for Akaba, soon changed, and that 
 in the skins, after two or three days, was not fit to 
 drinL 
 
 A supply of the Nile water for the use of the Grand 
 Seignior, is included among the yearly contributions 
 of the Pacha of Egypt to the Sultan of Turkey. 
 The Nile water is generally distributed about the 
 streets of Cairo and Alexandria by water-carriers 
 from goat-skins, brought from the river on the backs 
 of camels or donkeys ; though some of these sackckas, 
 as they are called, being too poor to own those use- 
 ful animals, bring their goat-skins full from the Nile 
 on their backs — in which case, they generally do 
 business in a small way, and distribute water to per- 
 
70 WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 sons to drink in the streets. Their usual cry is — 
 " O, may God compensate me .'" They hold a cup in 
 one hand, and the mouth of the water-skin in the 
 other ; and while their customers are drinking, they 
 keep up an invitation to the thirsty to come and 
 partake of their water. 
 
 Water-carriers. 
 
 Water-carriers are numerous on all festive occa- 
 sions, and during great religious ceremonies. Some 
 are hired by the more conscientious and faithful, to 
 distribute water gratis on religious fetes to all who de- 
 sire to drink. This charity is generally performed in 
 honour of some saint ; and the carrier, as he raises 
 the welcome cry to the thirsty, of water "without 
 money and without price," invokes the blessings of 
 Heaven upon the soul of his employer, who thus 
 freely quenches the thirst of a fainting being. 
 
 None can appreciate the worth of this wholesome 
 
SCARCITY OF WATER. 71 
 
 Water-carrier at the Tombs. 
 
 and delightful beverage so well as a person of the 
 desert — one who has travelled in the burning heat 
 of those arid regions for days without tasting fresh 
 water, and perhaps without water of any kind. 
 
 The people of the eastern countries have always 
 been, more or less frequently, in their intercourse 
 with distant parts, exposed to privations of this kind 
 — a circumstance which must have given additional 
 force to the invitation of our Saviour : " In the last 
 day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, 
 If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 
 He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, 
 out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."* 
 And also to the words of the prophet : f " Ho, every 
 one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he 
 that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, 
 
 * John vii. 37, 38. t Isaiah Iv. 1 . 
 
72 ORMAMENTS OF WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 come, buy wine and milk without money and without 
 price." And again, the following : " For the Lord 
 thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of 
 brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring 
 out of valleys and hills."* And among the bitter ac- 
 cusations brought against Job by his friends, in the 
 days of his affliction, Eliphaz says : " Thou hast 
 not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast 
 withholden bread from the hungry."! But the Scrip- 
 tures are full of illustrations of this kind; and in 
 no country, perhaps, in the world, could the idea 
 of water, emblematically used, have such force and 
 meaning, as in the land of the Bible and of the proph- 
 ets. When God wished to make a great moral im- 
 pression upon the murmuring Israelites, he com- 
 manded Moses to bring water from the rock.J 
 
 The peasant-women are the water-carriers for 
 their own family uses in the East, particularly in 
 Egypt. They come down from the villages along 
 the Nile, in great numbers, generally toward evening, 
 and wade into the river a few steps, dip their water- 
 pots, and bear them off upon their heads to their 
 houses. 
 
 On these occasions, especially toward evening, I 
 always observed that they wore a greater profusion 
 of trinkets and rude jewellery than ordinarily ; though 
 it is the custom of the eastern women, among the 
 lower classes, to carry their fortunes upon their backs, 
 head, face, and hands. 
 
 The masks, which the Turkish and Arab women 
 
 * Deut. viii. 7. f Job xxii. 7. t Numbers xx. 8. Tyr 
 
DRINKS OF THE ARABS. 73 
 
 generally wear, are frequently covered with little 
 gold pieces of money, from their eyes down to a con- 
 siderable distance below the chin. This, of com'se, 
 depends upon the riches of the wearer; and some 
 can only afford to wear silver pieces, and very few 
 of them, while others have none at all. This is a 
 kind of sign hung out to indicate the flourishing con- 
 dition of the person making the display ; though, 
 when occasion requires, these bits of money are 
 taken off, and circulated in the market as readily as 
 other coins, that have never been so distinguished. 
 The consequence is, that most of the small gold and 
 silver coins of the East are pierced with holes, that 
 have been made in them for the purpose of fastening 
 them upon the masks and dresses of the women. 
 
 The Jewish women, also, of the East, who do not 
 wear masks, hang their gold and silver coins about 
 their necks. I have seen some of them so deeply 
 loaded as to be fairly encumbered with their wealth, 
 though that is not a very common thing among them. 
 
 The custom of wearing ornaments, among the 
 water-carriers of the Nile is no doubt a very old 
 one, and may be traced back further, perhaps, than 
 the time of Rebekah, when she came forth, with or- 
 naments, to draw water.* 
 
 The Arabs have other drinks than water alone — 
 such as sherbet of various kinds, coffee, beer, and 
 sometimes wines ; though this last, being a prohibited 
 beverage, is rarely taken in public, if at all, by the 
 faithful. Coffee is always passed round to guests, 
 
 * Gen. xxiv. 30. 
 
 Vol. L — 10 
 
74 CLEANING THE STREETS. 
 
 after sherbet and pipes, among the Arabs, as well as 
 by the Syrians and Turks, all of whom seem to be 
 exceedingly hospitable. 
 
 Bat to return to the great store-houses of the 
 Pacha, which are not quite so extensive, probably, as 
 were Pharaoh's, in the sunny times of Joseph, though 
 there appeared to be no lack of corn in Egypt even 
 in these degenerate days. And the Arabs were en- 
 gaged in carrying it from the Pacha's granary to his 
 wind-mills, about two hundred of which stood along 
 upon the beach, overlooking the sea, near by, and 
 giving to that quarter a very singular appearance. 
 
 The loose and wasteful manner in which the sim- 
 ple process of carrying corn to mill was conducted 
 by these loyal subjects of the Pacha, who, it is said, 
 work for nothing and board themselves, illustrated, 
 clearly enough to our minds, that very little regard 
 was paid to economy in point of time, or the saving 
 of corn. 
 
 An Arab with a little loose basket, holding scarce- 
 ly twenty quarts, started off at a lazy walk from the 
 granary, strewing the corn by the way at every step, 
 till he reached the mill. This seemed to excite no 
 surprise, as it was a common thing among them all ; 
 so that they literally walked upon a bed of corn from 
 the store-houses to the mills. 
 
 The streets had become excessively muddy, from 
 the powerful rains that had been pouring down in 
 floods the day before ; and we observed, as we drove 
 along, crowds of Arab women and children scraping 
 up the mud in the streets with their hands, collecting 
 
DOGS OF ALEXANDRIA. 75 
 
 it into baskets, pots, pails, and any thing else that 
 they could get for the purpose, and bearing it off 
 upon their heads. 
 
 This to me was a novel mode of cleaning streets, 
 and I observed to Mrs. Firkins, that it was really a 
 pity that those poor creatures should be obliged to 
 clear the streets of the mud and filth with no other 
 implements than their bare hands ; I thought the 
 Pacha ought at least to furnish them with hoes, wood- 
 en shovels, or something of the kind, to save their 
 hands from such rude and hard usage. 
 
 " !" says Mrs. Firkins, " those women were never 
 so happy in all their lives. They look upon that 
 mud, which they are scraping up with their hands 
 and bearing off upon their heads, as a kind of God- 
 send, somewhat with the same kind of pleasure, per- 
 haps, with which the children of Israel gathered the 
 manna in the desert." 
 
 " How is that V said I ; " are they not cleaning the 
 streets for the Pacha 1" 
 
 " Cleaning the streets for the Pacha !" replied Mrs. 
 Firkins — " nobody ever heard of such a thing. The 
 Pacha never has the streets cleaned. There are no 
 street-sweepers or scavengers in Alexandria, except 
 those evil-looking dogs that you see lying about the 
 streets, so much to the annoyance of every body." 
 
 " Why," said I to Mrs. Firkins, " do they not de- 
 stroy those dirty dogs, or compel their masters to 
 take care of them, and keep them out of the way ?" 
 
 " Masters !" said Mrs. Firkins, " they have no mas- 
 ters: and a Turk or Mussulman would no sooner 
 
76 DOGS OF EGYPT. 
 
 kill a dog than he would put a knife to his own 
 throat Consequently the dogs roam about the 
 streets from one year's end to the other, gathering up 
 such bits of meat as are thrown out from the butch- 
 ers stalls, and other garbage, with an occasional 
 crust from some who take pity upon them, subsisting 
 in that way, without house, home, or master, through 
 their whole lives. The only provision that is made 
 for the dogs at the public expense, is a supply of wa- 
 ter which a carrier is paid for putting into the dog- 
 troughs. That service is defrayed by a contribu- 
 tion on the part of the inhabitants in the neighbour- 
 hood where these troughs are established. What 
 is a little curious, these dogs form themselves into 
 clans, or companies, for mutual protection. Each 
 of these clans confines its operations to a particu- 
 lar section of the city, and seldom or never leaves it; 
 while a strange dog, who dares to show his head in 
 the precincts of its jurisdiction, is sure to fare roughly, 
 if he even escapes with his life." 
 
 This struck us at the time as being a singular trait 
 in the manners and customs of the Egyptian dogs ; 
 and a droll whim on the part of the people, who 
 suffered the canine race to go on in that sluggish and 
 useless way, without insisting upon a reform. We 
 found, on visiting other towns, that it was no pecu- 
 liarity of Alexandria; but, on the contrary, there 
 were fewer houseless dogs in that city, doing business 
 on their own account, than in almost any town, in 
 proportion to its inhabitants, that we visited in the 
 Turkish dominions. 
 
DOG POPULATION OF CAIRO. 
 
 77 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 Dog-matical Chapter. — Dog Population of Turkey. — Con- 
 dition of the Dogs not likely to be improved hy the inter- 
 ference of the " Great Powers.^' — Dog Funeral. — Dogs 
 accounted among the Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt. — 
 " Every Dog has his day.''' — Heads and Bodies shaved at the 
 death of a Dog. — Civil War on account of the Sacred Dogs 
 of Egypt. — Condition of ancient and modern Dogs con- 
 trasted. — Byron's Dog, and the Dog of Frederick the Great. 
 — Declining condition of the Dogs of Egypt since the Persian- 
 Conquest. — Sacred Ox Apis killed, arid his blood given to 
 the Dogs. — Arabs' Houses built of the Mud gathered from 
 the Streets. — Domestic Felicity. — An Arab whipping his 
 Wife. — How to make an Impression in Egypt. — Advice 
 of the American Consul. — Description of the Catacombs, 
 and the Baths of Cleopatra. 
 
 The dog population of Cairo is much greater 
 than that of Alexandria, and the dogs seemed to be 
 nearly as badly off there as the poor Jews — per- 
 haps scarcely more respected; while at Jerusalem, 
 Smyrna, and Constantinople, they appeared to be 
 
78 CONDITION OF THE DOGS. 
 
 sufficiently numerous, under proper organization, 
 to sweep all before them, and to devour, without 
 respect to persons or sects, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, 
 Christians, Catholics, Turks, and Dervishes. They 
 really exist in those cities to a most frightful extent ; 
 and in the evening, without a military escort of at 
 least one or two armed janizaries with lanterns, it 
 were unsafe for a stranger to walk the streets. 
 
 The dogs seldom or never molest the Turks, and 
 persons in the oriental costume ; but it is far from 
 being always safe for a Frank to perambulate the 
 streets undisguised. 
 
 Formerly,, the Franks had not only the prejudices 
 of the dogs to bear up against, in their w^anderings 
 through the Turkish dominions, but the Turks them- 
 selves would sometimes join in the attacks. This 
 bitterness, however, on the part of the Moslem 
 towards the " Christian dogs," as they used to call 
 the Franks, has been gradually wearing away ever 
 since the winding up of the crusades ; and I believe 
 the interference of the " Great Powers" in all East- 
 ern matters, during the last few years, has quite in- 
 clined the Turk to look upon Europeans rather 
 more favourably. However, the Moslem hatred 
 towards Christians rankles in the breasts of their 
 dogs ; whose condition, so far as I have been able to 
 learn, has been very little improved by this inter- 
 ference of the Allied Powers in Eastern questions, 
 in order, as is avowed, to maintain the balance of 
 power. It still remains a question with many, 
 whether the dogs, after all, have not about as much 
 
A DOG FUNERAL. 79 
 
 reason to be thankful for what has been done for 
 their country by European arms and diplomacy, 
 as the Syrians and Egyptians, or even the Turks 
 themselves. 
 
 Although there are dogs enough, one would think, 
 in the streets of every Turkish town to satisfy the 
 most enthusiastic admirer of that animal, (that is, so 
 far as numbers are concerned,) yet the Moslems 
 sometimes rear them in their houses, and treat them 
 with the greatest care and tenderness. 
 
 Mr. Lane, in his account of the manners and cus- 
 toms of the modern Egyptians, says " that a woman 
 in Cairo, who had neither husband nor child to sol- 
 ace her, made a companion of her dog. Death took 
 this her only associate away ; and in her grief and 
 her affection for it, she determined to bury it, and 
 not merely to commit it to the earth without cere- 
 mony, but to inter it as a Moslem, in a respectable 
 tomb in the cemetery of the Imam Esh-Shafeel, 
 which is regarded as especially sacred. 
 
 " She washed the dog, according to the rules pre- 
 scribed to be observed in the case of a deceased 
 Moslem ; wrapped it in handsome grave-clothes ; 
 sent for a bier and put it in ; then hired several wail- 
 ing women, and, with them, performed a regular 
 lamentation. This done, (but not without exciting 
 the wonder of her neighbours, who could not con- 
 jecture what person in her house was dead, yet 
 would not intrude, because she never associated with 
 them,) she hired a number of chanters to head the 
 funeral procession, and school-boys to sing and carry 
 
80 DOG FUNERALS. 
 
 the Koran before the bier; and the train went 
 forth in respectable order, herself and the hired wail- 
 ing-women following the bier, and rending the air 
 with their shrieks. But the procession had not ad- 
 vanced many steps, W/hen one of the female neigh- 
 bours ventured to ask the afflicted lady who the 
 person was that was dead, and was answered, ' It is 
 my child.' The inquirer charged her with uttering 
 a falsehood ; and the bereaved lady confessed that it 
 was her dog, begging, at the same time, that her in- 
 quisitive neighbour w^ould not divulge the secret; 
 but for an Egyptian woman to keep a secret, and 
 such a secret, was impossible ; it was immediately 
 made known to the bystanders, and a mob, in no 
 good humour, soon collected, and put an end to the 
 funeral. The chanters, and the singing-boys, and 
 the wailing-women, as soon as they had secured 
 their money, vented their rage against their employer 
 for having made fools of them ; and, if the police 
 had not interfered, she would probably have fallen a 
 victim to popular fury." 
 
 There is a case, somewhat similar, mentioned by 
 D'Herbelot, of a Turk who buried a dog, which 
 was a great favourite, with the honours usually ob- 
 served at the funeral of a Moslem, though in his 
 own garden, and was charged with the offence and 
 brought before the cka'dee. Here the Turk slipped 
 through the fingers of justice, by saying to the cka'- 
 dee that the dog had made his will previous to his 
 death, and left his honour a handsome sum of 
 money. 
 
DOGS ACCOUNTED SACRED ANIMALS. 81 
 
 The fact is, dogs have wondrously lost favour 
 with the Egyptians w^ithin the last three thousand 
 years or so, and have been going down hill in the 
 estimation of the people of that country ever since 
 the mischief that Cambyses did there. He unsettled 
 every thing ; overturned the gods, and killed the ox 
 Apis, of whose flesh the dogs were tempted to taste : 
 whereupon they fell from that pure state in which, 
 till then, they had stood, and which, with all their 
 privation and penance since, they have never been 
 able to regain. Before that act of folly and unpar- 
 donable sin on the part of those foolish Egyptian 
 dogs, they were numbered among the saci-ed animals ; 
 and, equally with the present race of European 
 kings and princes, enjoyed the highest honours, and 
 by " divine right." 
 
 The lamentable business of tasting the blood of 
 the sacred ox, brought a weight of misfortunes and 
 degradation upon the poor dogs, that they will hard- 
 ly shake off, I apprehend, in their degenerate state, 
 until the dissolution of the Turkish empire. I do 
 not know what provision is contemplated by the 
 " great powers," in that event, for these poor, degra- 
 ded animals ; or whether, among the fragments of the 
 wreck, they will get a bone to pick or not. It is 
 very doubtful, in my mind, whether they will rise into 
 that third heaven with the European cutters and 
 diplomatic carvers of nations and kingdoms, which 
 they enjoyed under the ancient dynasties of the 
 kings of Egypt ; when, as we are told, they took an 
 
 Vol. L — 11 
 
82 CEREMONIES ON THE DEATH OF A DOG. 
 
 honourable stand in church and state through life, 
 and were handsomely embalmed after death. 
 
 •These were honours, almost worth living a dog's 
 life to enjoy; honours, to which few of the po- 
 litical dogs of our day will or can attain. They 
 may stand high enough in the state, and lead the 
 church by the nose, it is true ; but the real old Egyp- 
 tian embalming of their worthless carcasses, after 
 death, they cannot obtain, for love, gold, or political 
 favour. The art of embalming is lost, probably for 
 ever. 
 
 As an illustration of the distinguished position oc- 
 cupied by the ancient dogs of Egypt, previously to the 
 Persian conquest, it may not be amiss to quote a line 
 or two from Mr. Wilkinson and others, who, I think, 
 may be considered very good authority upon all mat- 
 ters touching the manners and customs of the ancient 
 Egyptians. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson says, that " whenever one of these 
 animals died a natural death, all the inmates of the 
 house shaved their heads and their whole bodies ; and 
 if any food, whether wine, corn, or any thing else, 
 happened to be in the house at the time, it was for- 
 bidden to be applied to any use. The dog was held 
 in great veneration in many parts of E^ypt, particu- 
 larly at the city of Cynopolis, where it was treated 
 with divine honours." 
 
 Strabo tells us that " a stated quantity of provision 
 was always supplied by the inhabitants of Cynopolis 
 for their favourite animals ; and so tenacious were 
 they of the respect due to them, that a civil war 
 
CONDITION OF MODERN DOGS. 83 
 
 raged for some time between them and the people 
 of Oxyrhinchus, in consequence of the latter's having 
 killed and eaten them." 
 
 Herodotus says, speaking of the ancient Egyp- 
 tians, and their mode of burying their dogs, that 
 " every one inters them in his own town, where 
 they are deposited in sacred chests." 
 
 " We are told," says Mr. Wilkinson, " that, having 
 been perfectly prepared by the embalmers of ani- 
 mals, and wrapped in linen, they were deposited in the 
 tombs allotted to them, the bystanders beating them- 
 selves in token of grief, and uttering lamentations in 
 their honour." 
 
 So we see that, in those good old Egyptian times, 
 it was something to be even a " dead dog ;" for then^ 
 " every dog had his day." 
 
 Under the degenerate Turks and Arabs, how 
 strangely the lot of the dogs has changed ! They 
 are not only obliged to lead a houseless, vagabond 
 kind of life, suffering all manner of reproach, degra- 
 dation, and want ; but after death, they are denied the 
 rites of sepulture, and the benefit of clergy ! — ^ and so 
 unclean are they supposed to be, by many of those 
 spotless Moslems of the East, that, "should they, 
 by chance, happen to touch the nose or wet hairs of 
 the poor animal, they would consider themselves de- 
 filed, and bound to submit to purification from the 
 contact." 
 
 The old idolatrous Egyptians caii hardly claim the 
 exclusive honour of burying their dogs in a handsome 
 manner. What has been done, however, in that way^ 
 
84 DOGS OF DISTINGUISHED MEN. 
 
 since their time, must be considered merely a faint 
 imitation of their more enthusiastic virtue and Hber- 
 ahty, as exhibited in their unfeigned grief and sorrow 
 at the death of those faithful animals, and the pom- 
 pous ceremonial observed at their funerals. 
 
 Byron buried one of his dogs very handsomely, 
 and wrote some pathetic verses over his grave. 
 And " Frederick the Great," king of Prussia, interred 
 as many as three of his dogs in front of Sans Souci, 
 one of his most favourite palaces, whose graves are 
 always pointed out to strangers, as being among the 
 great things to be seen at Potsdam. 
 
 Other eminent instances of distinguished individ- 
 uals of modern times might be enumerated, in which 
 a proper respect has been paid to dogs after death, 
 were it necessary ; but I think enough has already 
 been said upon the subject to illustrate the present 
 wretched condition of the poor dogs in Egypt, con- 
 trasted with the elevated rank which they held in that 
 delightful country among the ancients ; and besides, 
 I must go back and pick up my wife and Mrs. Fir- 
 kins, whom I left in the mud, impatient for my 
 return. 
 
 " If these women and children," said I to Mrs. Fir- 
 kins, " are not cleaning the streets for the Pacha, 
 what in the world are they doing f 
 
 " O, my dear sir," replied Mrs. Firkins, " they are 
 working on their own account — gathering mud with 
 which to build their houses. Oftentimes," she con- 
 tinued, " they are obliged to bring the water a con- 
 siderable distance upon their heads, to mix with the 
 
MUD HOUSES. 85 
 
 dirt, and make mud for themselves. But now, hav- 
 ing the mud aheady made to their hands, they are 
 very happy — and go on v^ith their houses famously." 
 
 " Indeed !" said I ; " and really one half of the 
 w^orld not only does not know what the other half 
 is about, but the probability is, that more than one 
 half of those things which are looked' upon by a ma- 
 jority of mankind as hardships and evils, afflicting 
 others, are, after all, but pastimes and pleasures." 
 
 It would not be an easy matter, perhaps, to a per- 
 son used to no other than the rugged climate of our 
 country, or that of the north of Europe, to conceive 
 the possibility of erecting any thing like a substantial 
 and comfortable house with mud alone. Yet, even 
 here in Lower Egypt, where, as we have already 
 seen, the rain does not spare them much at certain 
 seasons of the year, the Arabs contrive to dare the 
 storm and tempest in their houses. erected of this 
 humble and easily-dissolved material. In Upper 
 Egypt, where it seldom or never rains, houses made 
 from the mud of the Nile, if properly taken care of, 
 will last for many generations. In fact, in many vil- 
 lages in the upper country, along the banks of the 
 Nile, no other composition enters into the walls of 
 any of their buildings. They also build the walls of 
 their towns of the same unburnt mud of the Nile. 
 And I recollect seeing the high and thick walls of 
 some of the ancient towns of Upper Egypt, which 
 are supposed to be thousands of years old, built of 
 the same material, and now stand in a very good 
 state of preservation. 
 
86 AN ARAB WHIPPING HIS WIFE. 
 
 As we passed by these women, and drove along 
 moderately, we soon came to a large gathering of 
 half-naked people of all sexes, shapes, and colours, 
 who were standing around a poor woman, with her 
 hands tied behind her, and looking on very indif- 
 ferently, while a large, ugly Arab was whipping 
 her with a corbash in the most cruel and unfeeling 
 manner. We supposed that this woman was a 
 criminal, suffering the penalty of some offence, and 
 that the man who had tied her up, and was then lay- 
 ing on the whip so lustily over her back and shoul- 
 ders, was the proper o^fficer, appointed by the Pacha 
 to perform this disagreeable duty upon his subjects 
 who may occasionally commit certain heinous crimes 
 against his decrees. Judge of our astonishment, 
 when, upon inquiring into the occasion of this pub- 
 lic whipping, we were told by one of the bystanders, 
 that " it was only a man whipping his wife !" which 
 was a mere matter of every-day occurrence. I ex- 
 pressed my surprise to Mrs. Firkins at a state of 
 things so revolting to humanity, and told her I had 
 not supposed it possible that such abominable out- 
 rages and cruelties on the part of a man toward his 
 wife could be tolerated in any country. 
 
 <' Why," said Mrs. Firkins, " nothing is more com- 
 mon in Egypt than for a man to whip his wife. I 
 inquired of one of my neighbours, the other day, how 
 his wife did. * O,' says lie, ' she is very well, very 
 well indeed : I gave her a sound drubbing a few days 
 ago, and she has been very good ever since.' " 
 
 Mrs. F. continued : " The Egyptians must be 
 
CURIOUS IDEA OF WHIPPING. 87 
 
 whipped pretty often, or there is no getting on with 
 them at all. When the corbash is used freely, there 
 is no difficulty, and they go on famously." 
 
 ^Mndeed!" 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Firkins, " and they expect to 
 be whipped — and are not satisfied unless they get 
 well dressed down, once or twice, and sometimes 
 oftener, each month. And servants, who do not get 
 whipped occasionally, think that they do not give 
 satisfaction, and that their masters are displeased 
 with them." 
 
 '' Curious idea, certainly," said L 
 
 ^^ Yes, it may appear so to you, perhaps, as you 
 have just come into Egypt ; but, upon my word," said 
 she, ^' no longer ago than last evening, Mr. Sneeze- 
 biter said to me that his old servant Ali came 
 to him the day before, and said he wanted to go 
 away. ' Why,' says Mr. Sneezebiter, ' what in the 
 world do you want to go away for ? You have very 
 little to do, except to feed the serpents and water 
 the lizards. I'm sure you cannot be so well off 
 any where else.' — *Why,' says Ali, ^I don't give 
 satisfaction, and I can't bear to live at a place where 
 this is not the case.' — ' Satisfaction !' said Mr. 
 Sneezebiter, 'I'm perfectly satisfied with you. How 
 did you get a notion into your head that I was dis- 
 satisfied with you f — * Why/ says Ali, * you have 
 never whipped me, and I supposed you were dis- 
 pleased with me, of course.' " 
 
 Whipping appeared to us to be a strange way of 
 expressing one's approbation of the faithful la])ours of 
 
88 ADVICE OF THE AMERICAN CONSUL. 
 
 a good old servant ; but I have learned, from other 
 sources than Mrs. Firkins, that many Europeans who 
 go into Egypt think the better way is to make an 
 impression at once ; and that entitles them to obe- 
 dience and respect on the part of the people ever 
 afterward. Such, as I was informed, was the advice 
 of the American consul to a clergyman from the Uni- 
 ted States, who, after completing his arrangements to 
 ascend the Nile, asked the consul what was the best 
 mode to adopt for the management of the sailors of 
 his boat ? 
 
 " Why," says the consul, " the better way is, to 
 pick a quarrel with them the first or second day out, 
 and whip all hands. That will establish your au- 
 thority over the crew, and ensure a prosperous and 
 an agreeable voyage." 
 
 But let us drive on to the catacombs and baths of 
 the beautiful ftueen of Egypt. The dogs, women, 
 etc. have detained us too long by the way. 
 
 The catacombs are about three miles from the 
 centre of the city, and quite out of the modern town 
 of Alexandria, near the seashore. Still, in the whole 
 distance of the drive, we were passing over the scat- 
 tered remains of the ancient city, which extend far 
 beyond, in all directions. It is not known, at the 
 present day, where the original entrance to these 
 catacombs was ; nor is it scarcely possible to form a 
 conjecture, with any degree of certainty, in regard 
 to their extent. They are cut in the solid rock, but 
 so choked up with sand and other rubbish that the 
 main entrance has long since been lost sight of, and 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CATACOMBS. 89 
 
 many of the chambers are quite inaccessible. We 
 entered, with our torches, by a low, dark passage, 
 broken in, on the side next the sea. The passage 
 was so cramped and low, that it was scarcely pos- 
 sible to effect an entrance even on one's hands and 
 knees. 
 
 After groping our way in that manner for the dis- 
 tance of some hundreds of feet, we came into a 
 temple, in the Grecian style of architecture, of large 
 dimensions. The principal hall of the temple had 
 a concave roof, handsomely chiselled ; and it opened 
 out, on three sides, into smaller chambers, finished 
 and roofed in the same manner as that of the prin- 
 cipal room of the temple, and having in each, 
 on three of their sides, handsome alcoves, or recesses 
 for sarcophagi. The whole plan, arrangement, and 
 finish of the principal hall of the temple and the 
 adjoining chambers were neat, pleasing, and effective. 
 The bottom, however, of these subterraneous halls 
 is so filled up with sand and rubbish, that they could 
 not have appeared in any thing like their pristine 
 elegance and grandeur. 
 
 There were numerous other chambers opening in 
 various directions along the passages, but they were 
 all choked with rubbish nearly to their roofs ; so 
 that we found an attempt to explore them quite use- 
 less. On coming out of these subterraneous tem- 
 ples of worship and sepulture, for which purposes 
 they were no doubt originally constructed, we walked 
 down to the sea-shore, to look into what are now 
 called the "baths of Cleopatra." These are small 
 
 Vol. L — 12 
 
90 THE BATHS OF CLEOPATRA. 
 
 chambers, cut in the soHd rock, like the rooms in 
 the catacombs, but so broken down that the sea now 
 rushes into them, and dashes about at will. Some 
 of them, however, are in a state of considerable pre- 
 servation ; though they are all small, and have no 
 appearance of ever having been constructed with 
 much elegance or taste. In these baths the beau- 
 tiful queen, whose personal charms fascinated and 
 turned the heads of some of the greatest and mighti- 
 est men of her time, may have bathed her enamelled 
 limbs ; although of that fact, in these skeptical and 
 degenerate days, many doubts have been expressed. 
 
 A Female entering a Bath. 
 
STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Incidental Story of JVebby Daood, an eccentric Backwoodsman 
 of the United States, travelling in Egypt. — His Reserve, 
 and his Impressions of Mankind. — The Object of JYebby^s 
 Wanderings. — His Desire for Foreign Travel. — Scenes of 
 his Youth. — JYebby^s Passion for Books and Thirst for 
 Knowledge. — " Tovm Library Association.^^ — Difficulties 
 encountered, andfnal Success. — Leaves his Father^ s House 
 and goes to JYew York. — Journey, and Arrival in the City. 
 — JYebby^s Impressions. — Desolation of his Feelings. — 
 JVebby among the Speculators of Wall-street. — Halts be- 
 tween two Opinions. — Slips through the Fingers of the 
 Speculators, with the Loss of their Friendship. — JVebby's 
 Ignorance of the World. — Meets with a Disaster and breaks 
 his Leg. — His Recovery, and Departure for England. 
 
 Precisely as we had supposed, Nebby was punc- 
 tual to the time, and ready for dinner the moment it 
 was announced. Indeed, he had anticipated our 
 arrival by a few moments, and had been waiting our 
 return to the hotel. This we construed, on the part 
 of Nebby, into a piece of true politeness and good- 
 breeding ; though I am aware how much at variance 
 it is with the etiquette observed by some sprigs of 
 fashionable society, by whom it would be considered 
 a breach of politeness, if not, in fact, an act of 
 downright vulgarity, to keep one's promises under 
 any circumstances. 
 
92 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 We were in hopes to have the pleasure of 
 the company of Mr. and Mrs. Firkins also ; but an 
 engagement on that day with the Wrinklebottoms, 
 where they were to meet Mr. Sneezebiter and a 
 large party of English ladies and gentlemen, just ar- 
 rived in Alexandria by the overland conveyance 
 from India — deprived us of that honour. 
 
 As it was, our party was small, but very select, 
 comprising only our good friend the doctor, Nebby 
 Daood, Mrs. C. and myself. 
 
 Dinner being announced, Nebby laid away his 
 beaver, and handed Mrs. C. down to dinner — if not 
 in the most courtly, certainly in a pleasing and ac- 
 ceptable manner. 
 
 We took seats at table, and the time passed quietly 
 away with the soup and the first courses. 
 
 Nebby was reserved at first, and only replied to 
 inquiries, and then in general terms. He was re- 
 spectful, however, and appeared more inclined to feel 
 his way along than to dash off obtrusively into con- 
 versation, before ascertaining what kind of ground 
 he stood upon, and whether he was actually among 
 friends, who were capable of fairly appreciating him 
 and his peculiarities, or more doubtful characters, 
 who had invited him to dinner merely for their own 
 amusement Nebby had sense enough to discern 
 that the world paid him no respect on account of 
 rich relations, his own wealth, titles, good looks, or 
 fine clothes. These shining qualifications, too, Nebby 
 knew, were quite sufficient, frequently, to introduce 
 the merest popinjays into what is termed by the fash- 
 
THE OBJECT OF HIS TRAVELS. 93 
 
 ionable world the highest circles ; although the in- 
 dividuals thus honoured, deprived of their tinsel 
 and exterior circumstances, might be little better 
 than " sounding brass and tinkling cymbals." There- 
 fore, he had very justly concluded that most people, 
 in their attentions to him, could only be actua- 
 ted by one of two motives — either a desire to 
 enjoy his little stock of backwoods common-sense 
 kind of conversation, or to deride him. Nebby 
 had found, in his distant wanderings, the latter 
 motive too frequently the spark that had kindled 
 up new acquaintances, to trust himself, unreservedly, 
 in the hands of strangers. He was poor and 
 badly clad, he knew; nor had he any pretensions 
 to genteel manners, or fascinating conversational 
 qualities. 
 
 Nebby was a man of sentiment and feeling ; and 
 the object of his wanderings in this apparently out- 
 cast and vagabond kind of manner, was no mean 
 purpose, but rather to build up and sustain the true 
 dignity of man. It was no other than an honest 
 thirst after intelligence ; a desire to see the world, 
 and study the whimsical and fitful fabric of human 
 nature. Nebby had already wandered over some of 
 the fairest portions of the globe ; admiring the beau- 
 ties of nature, and rejoicing in the goodness, and 
 transcendent glory and power of the Creator. But 
 his heart had often been saddened and crushed by 
 the conduct of those whom chance had thrown in 
 his way. He could no longer contemplate the cha- 
 racter of the generality of mankind but with a sor- 
 
94 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 rowful heart, a subdued spirit, and a deep conviction 
 that there is more real satisfaction in communing 
 with the wild, untamed glories of the Creator's hands, 
 in his own native wilderness, or among the silent 
 and sublime cliffs of Alpine mountains, than in the 
 fine-spun, cold associations of men, with all their 
 refinement, all their pomp, all their deceit, and all 
 their worthlessness. 
 
 In the great works of nature, there was a truth- 
 fulness and a reality so congenial to the mind of 
 Nebby, that they warmed his bosom, and often 
 melted him into tears. But his intercourse with his 
 fellow-man had almost sealed the tender springs of 
 his heart, and shod his soul with iron. He looked 
 upon man as a lie — a cheat — a thing born to dazzle 
 and deceive — a shining basilisk, glistening in the 
 barren sands of the wilderness of human existence 
 but to lure and to destroy. 
 
 That there were exceptions to be made to a sen- 
 tence of such severity, Nebby acknowledged, and he 
 well knew how to make them, and he appreciated 
 their value with a heart overwhelmed with gratitude. 
 But those green spots in the wretched waste of man's 
 wickedness, Nebby had found to be few, and separa- 
 ted by long and weary distances. Yet when, in the 
 course of his wanderings, he had reached them, he 
 knelt down, praised God, and clasped the inestimable 
 blessings to his heart with all the thankfulness, all the 
 enthusiastic joy of soul, with which a thirsty, weary 
 pilgrim kneels before a gushing fountain springing 
 up in the midst of a wide and desolate wilderness. 
 
HIS GRATITUDE, 95 
 
 Nebby was no ungrateful creature. A kindness 
 done him did not fail to make an impression upon 
 his mind, which was " wax to receive, but marble to 
 retain." 
 
 He spoke of the kindness that he had received at 
 the hands of the American Consul at Malta, and 
 sevei-al other individuals that he had fallen in with, 
 and by whom he had been aided, in different parts of 
 Europe, with a tenderness and feeling honourable to 
 human nature. He could not mention their names, 
 nor think of their attentions to him, a stranger, 
 and friendless as he was, and, as many would be 
 inclined to say, vagabond and wandering outcast in 
 a strange and distant part of the world, but with 
 deep emotion. He was not one to trifle with and 
 deride. He had formed his own estimate of man, 
 and weighed his actions as in a balance. The good 
 he treasured as jewels beyond price ; but the bad, 
 the selfish, and the sensual, he trampled under foot 
 with scorn and contempt. 
 
 Such may be considered an outline sketch of 
 Nebby Daood, his sentiments and feelings, at the 
 time we had the pleasure of meeting this unfortu- 
 nate but worthy American backwoodsman in Egypt. 
 Our acquaintance was brief, but I was in hopes to 
 renew it in our own country, and here to nurse 
 and warm it into a permanent friendship. Alas ! it 
 was soon broken for ever. As I have before re- 
 marked, Nebby was at first reserved, and not much 
 inclined to talk. I frequently replenished his plate 
 and renewed his glass, and otherwise exerted my« 
 
96 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 self to soften his feelings and bring him down 
 upon confidential ground, in hopes to hear from his 
 own lips, and in his own peculiar style of expression 
 and dialect, his personal history, or some part of it 
 at least. In this, I am gratified in being able to say, 
 I succeeded ; although to give any thing like a true 
 and faithful account of his conversation, and the 
 impressive effect which it made upon us at the time, 
 would be quite impossible. 
 
 The story of Nebby, and his manner of relating 
 it, were like a thousand other phenomena and deep- 
 ly interesting things, that can neither be imagined 
 nor adequately described. They must be witnessed, 
 to be known ; and studied, to be properly appreciated. 
 
 " You perceive," at length said Nebby, " I dare 
 say, that I am dining very heartily ; but the truth is, 
 I seldom have an opportunity of dining in this 
 manner." 
 
 I told him that I was glad to see him eat heartily, 
 and hoped he would have no delicacy in satisfying 
 his appetite with whatever there was upon the table ; 
 and if there was any thing else not there, that he 
 wished to have, it would give me pleasure to order 
 it for him at once. 
 
 Nebby thanked me, and continued : " I do not 
 pretend to travel like a gentleman — my means will 
 not permit me to do so ; and, since I left my 
 father's fireside, in the backwoods of America, I 
 have often known what it is to want food and 
 raiment. But I had a desire, nay, a restless passion 
 to see something of the world, and to become ac- 
 
SCENES or HIS YOUTH. 97 
 
 quainted with iiiankiiid a little more than my pre- 
 scribed circle in the West would allow ; and that im- 
 pulse has led me on, from country to country, and 
 from year to year, until, at last, I have reached this 
 distant part of the world, in the state in which you 
 now see me. But how I came here, I can hardly 
 tell you. It seems like a mystery ; and how, or when, 
 if ever I shall return to my own native wilds, it is 
 impossible for me to determine. Providence has 
 opened one door after another before me, and often 
 cheered my way when gloom and sorrow hung 
 around me. Therefore I am now full of courage, and 
 hope in the course of another year to reach home, 
 and receive the blessing of my aged parents, ere they 
 sink into their graves. Dear, tender, disinterested, 
 unbought friends ! How they did try to detain me at 
 home, and to dissuade me from this wild notion of 
 visiting distant, foreign lands ! But it was all fruit- 
 less. A restless spirit for roving possessed me, and 
 [ could neither rest day nor night, until I had fairly 
 set out upon this favourite, and, as my friends and 
 neighbours often termed it, wild, hair-brained, dis- 
 astrous career. 
 
 " I was born in the interior of the State of Ohio, 
 in the secluded wilderness of the West, away from 
 the jarring, dazzling, deceitful contact of man, as 
 seen in what is called his high state of civilization, 
 and fashionable, moral refinement. I knew nothing 
 of the world for many years ; and lived on, with my 
 parents and friends, in a state of primeval bUss. All 
 our neighbours, though few and thinly scattered 
 VoL.I — 13 
 
98 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 among the tall forest-trees for a great distance, were 
 our friends ■ — not ' after the fashion that the world 
 puts on,' in name only — but in deed, feeling, and sen- 
 timent, our near and dear friends. Our joys and sor- 
 rows were shared together. Often we startled the 
 wild beasts of the wilderness from their fastnesses — 
 hurled the ponderous buffalo and the vaulting deer at 
 our feet, and bore them upon our shoulders joyously 
 to our woodland-homes. Often we joined a willing 
 and an active hand with the weak, in the erection 
 of their rude cabin of logs, or in clearing the new-burnt 
 field of its rubbish, preparatory to the reception of 
 the seed for the first crop. Those were pleasing and 
 willing duties, in which all our happy little commu- 
 nity joined with light hearts and spirits of cheerful- 
 ness — indicative of the warmest friendship and the 
 purest devotion to the best interests and welfare of 
 all 
 
 " The rapid march of improvement in the West 
 brought among us new emigrants, new notions, new 
 books, new manners, new customs, and new regula- 
 tions. In short, a few brief years opened the wilder- 
 ness around us — let in the great world — and all was 
 changed ! 
 
 " I had, it is true, learned to read ; my mother had 
 taught me to read the Bible when I was quite a child ; 
 and I used to pore over the historical parts of that 
 holy book with an intensity of feeling of which I can 
 give you no conception. The Bible, a library of it- 
 self, and worth all other, nay, more than all other 
 books, was the only one we had. I had read it un- 
 
HIS PASSION FOR BOOKS. 99 
 
 til I could almost repeat it from memory, chapter by 
 chapter, verse by verse, and precept by precept, from 
 the beginning to the end. 
 
 " I had a strong desire to read other books, but had 
 no w^ay of procuring them except through the kind- 
 ness of our new neighbours, of whom I occasionally 
 borrowed one ; which, when I had read it, always 
 left me with a stronger desire for more, such was my 
 thirst for the fountains of knowledge. 
 
 " At last I collected a few of the young men of our 
 neighbourhood together, and told them that I had 
 been thinking for some time that it would be an ex- 
 cellent thing for us all, if we could by any means 
 raise a small sum, to lay out in books at once, to be 
 used with equal freedom by all ; and to replenish the 
 collection from time to time as we could, by a trifling 
 monthly contribution for that purpose. Some of 
 them had no taste for books, and cared so little about 
 any thing else but the wild, uproarious sports of the 
 West, that they derided me and my plan. A majority 
 of them at the time thought differently, and fell in 
 with my proposition at once. I then drew up a kind 
 of constitution of the society that we had formed, 
 which I dignified with the name of the ' Town Li- 
 brary Association.' We all signed the constitution 
 — chose officers, and adjourned, with an agreement 
 to come together again in a few days, and deposite 
 with the treasurer what money we could collect, to 
 be forwarded to New York, to be expended in books. 
 
 " When the appointed day of our meeting came 
 round, but few of the members of the ' Town Li- 
 
100 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 brary Association' made their appearance ; and those 
 who were assembled, said they found it almost im- 
 possible to raise any money- — spoke of the enter- 
 prise in the most discom*aging manner — and finally 
 proposed to dissolve the ' Town Library Association/ 
 and abandon the project of letters altogether. 
 
 " I had been elevated to the exalted station of 
 president of the ' Town Library Association/ at the 
 first meeting, by a unanimous vote ; and, upon this 
 proposition, being made, I rose from the chair, which 
 was a block of wood, and addressed the members 
 present to the following effect : I told them that I 
 was poor, poor enough, as they all very well knew ; 
 but that, poor as I was, I rejoiced that I had one dol- 
 lar in the world that I could call my own ; though I 
 deeply regretted that that one dollar was all the money 
 in my treasury, — nor did I know where or when I 
 should find another. But as small a sum as that 
 might be, and as feeble as I might find myself if de- 
 serted by the other members of the ' Town Library 
 Association/ I told them that I had determined to 
 send that one dollar to the city of New York by the 
 first opportunity, to purchase books. I knew it could 
 not buy many, but whatever it did purchase, should 
 be deposited in the place provided in the constitu- 
 tion ; and they should be called the books of the 
 * Town Library Association/ free for the use of all 
 its members. 
 
 " This had the desired effect. The members pre- 
 sent kindled into a feeling of enthusiasm ^ — promised 
 to make further exertions toward raising funds, and 
 
THE "TOWN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION" 103. 
 
 the meeting was adjourned to the next week, when 
 we again came together, and collected six or seven 
 dollars, which we sent off in a few days by a mer- 
 chant who was going to New York, with the request 
 that he would purchase as many books as he could 
 with the money. 
 
 " When he returned, he brought us some fifteen or 
 eighteen volumes ; and when those books were re- 
 ceived into the shelves of the ' Town Library As- 
 sociation,' it was the happiest hour of my life. It 
 was a sort of literary triumph over the unlettered 
 apathy and prejudice of ignorance, which rejoiced 
 my soul, and my spirit was exceedingly glad« 
 
 " The foundation-stone was laid — ^a commence- 
 ment had been made for the ' Town Library Asso- 
 ciation,' and I was sure it would prosper. Nor was 
 I disappointed in my expectation ; for we went on 
 adding new books from time to time, as fast as we 
 could collect a few dollars together, until we found 
 ourselves in possession of a very respectable library. 
 
 "A taste for reading sprang up in the neighbour- 
 hood ; and all became improved, and deeply interested 
 in the success and prosperity of the ' Town Library 
 Association.' 
 
 " I read the books as fast as they came to hand, and 
 was very fond of those that gave an account of dis- 
 tant countries. Finally, I resolved to set out for 
 Europe, as soon as 1 could possibly collect a suffi- 
 ciently large sum to defray my expenses across the 
 Atlantic. This sum, good health, industry, and the 
 general prosperity of the country, threw into my 
 
102 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 possession, and even more ; for, when I bade adieu 
 to my parents and home, I had nearly five hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 " It was in the depth of winter when I left my 
 native wilds. However, I swung my pack, bade 
 farewell to my friends, whom I left in much sorrow, 
 and engaged to accompany a drover, who was just 
 setting out with his cattle for the State of New York. 
 I was to assist him on the way until we arrived at 
 the place of his destination, and was to receive fifty 
 cents a day for my services. That was a hard 
 bargain. 
 
 " The weather was bitter eold, and I was half-leg 
 deep in the snow a great part of the distance from 
 Ohio to the State of New York. More than once 
 I wished myself fairly back again among my friends. 
 But I could not return to them so soon, without be- 
 coming the subject of derision to the whole neigh- 
 bourhood. Besides, when I got rid of the drover 
 and his troublesome herd of cattle, my desire to visit 
 foreign lands again revived, and became more impe- 
 rious than ever. I was driven forward, as it were, by 
 the hand of destiny ; and reached the city of New 
 York in process of time, on foot, but in safety, and in 
 perfect health. 
 
 " The magnitude of the place, the fine buildings, 
 the bustle and hum of business, the ' multitudinous 
 seas of people' hurrying through the streets — all had 
 a new and singular effect upon my mind. It pro- 
 duced an impression that I shall never forget. 
 
 " I knew no one in the city of New York ; and, 
 
HE FALLS AMONG SPECULATORS. 103 
 
 for the first time in my life, I felt the withering deso- 
 lation of my condition, and that I was really a 
 stranger and wandering pilgrim upon the earth. 
 
 " Every thing was new and strange to me ; and 1 
 was heart-sick and melancholy at the rude and cold 
 manner in which the people rushed by me and each 
 other ; and I was soon convinced that every one was 
 so absorbed in himself and his own private affairs, 
 as to have little or no sympathy or feeling for any 
 one else. There I took my first lesson in the world's 
 cold and heartless exclusiveness. 
 
 "After a few days' residence in the city, I began 
 myself to grow more indifferent with regard to other 
 people. I found that it was the way of the world 
 for every one to rely upon his own resources, and to 
 take care of himself. 
 
 "I was then richer than I had ever been before — 
 having in my possession, after pocketing the amount 
 of my services with the drover, something over five 
 hundred dollars. 
 
 " I fell in with several new acquaintances, and all 
 of them, believing that I had some money, advised 
 me to lay it out in land, and set up the business of a 
 speculator in real estate. They told me how soon 
 and easy immense fortunes were realized in that line 
 of business ; and, by way of illustration, or rather con- 
 firmation of what they had told me, pointed out sev- 
 eral burly, consequential individuals in Wdl-street, 
 who, they said, came from Boston and other places 
 to New York but a few months before, bankrupts in 
 fortune and character, and were then riding in their 
 
104 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 carriages, living in splendid houses, giving elegant 
 entertainments, and w^orth millions of dollars each. 
 They fmther said, if I had the least doubt of w^hat 
 they told me, I had only to ask the gentlemen them- 
 selves about it, and they would confirm all that my 
 new friends had stated, and more too. Besides, they 
 added, those men are gentlemen of the most un- 
 doubted veracity, whose words are just as good as 
 iheir notes of hand. 
 
 " My new friends then exhibited a variety of nice- 
 ly-coloured maps and plans of new towns, cities, and 
 villages that had recently sprung up in all parts of 
 the United States, in all of which there were more 
 or less vacant lots, belonging to my new companions 
 — a part of which, out of friendship, they proposed 
 to sell me, for a small per centage in ready money, 
 and a bond and mortgage on the property for the 
 balance, to be paid many years afterward. 
 
 " This account of theirs, so glowing with the pros- 
 pect of sudden riches, beyond the possibility of doubt, 
 I must confess, appeared very tempting, and at first 
 staggered me considerably; and when I seemed to halt 
 between two opinions, quite undecided what I would 
 do, abandon my wandering notions of travel and turn 
 land-speculator in New York, or persist in my peri- 
 grinations, they came to the charge again with re- 
 newed energy — fired off the same batteries a second 
 time, but more heavily charged than at first. They 
 exhibited more maps and plans, and immense piles 
 of finely-engraved scrip of the stock of 'land com- 
 panies,' — 'quarrying companies,' — 'lumber compa- 
 
IGNORANCE OF THE WORLD. 105 
 
 nies,' — ' companies' for the manufacture of barrel- 
 staves,— ' steam companies/ — patent-rights of grist- 
 mills, water-wheels, shingle-saws, spinning-jennies, 
 cutting-machines, and the deuce knows what all. 
 I became confounded and almost bewildered by 
 their papers and their eloquence ; but at last I made 
 up my mind that I would have nothing to do with 
 the matter. I excused myself as well as I could, and 
 told them that I knew nothing whatever about busi- 
 ness, and had rather not embark in such gigantic 
 operations. They saw that I was decided ; and, al- 
 though they had acted in a very friendly manner up 
 to that time, they now seemed to be displeased, and 
 never would have a word to say to me upon that or 
 any other subject afterward. I hardly knew what to 
 make of such conduct ; for, by their own showing, I 
 had committed no offence, but to refuse their lands 
 and stocks at a price greatly below their current and 
 intrinsic value. 
 
 " I thought I had a great deal yet to learn before 
 I should be able fully to comprehend the strange 
 ways of the world. I walked down to the wharves 
 to see if there were any vessels about to sail for any 
 part of Europe. The first vessel that I came to was 
 just on the point of sailing for Liverpool. I went 
 on board, and was looking about the ship a little, 
 making inquiries with regard to the price of passage, 
 etc., when, in stepping back a few feet to allow one 
 of the sailors to pass me with a water-cask, I pitched 
 down the hatchway into the hold of the vessel, 
 
 Vol. 1 — 14 
 
106 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 broke one leg, bruised my head, and seriously injured 
 myself in other respects. 
 
 " This was a dreadful blow to my future prospects. 
 The alarm was given, and I was fished up out of the 
 hold in a state more dead than alive. Some restora- 
 tives from the medicine-chest revived me, so that I 
 was enabled to inform the captain who I was, and 
 where I came from. I requested him to have me 
 conveyed to my lodgings, where my landlady received 
 me, mangled and broken to pieces as I was, in a 
 kind manner. 
 
 " The bone of my leg, on examination, was found 
 to be badly shattered, but it was well put together ; 
 and after three months' suffering I was again enabled 
 to crawl along the streets with the aid of a crutch. 
 
 " My money had suffered a wonderful diminution 
 during the process of curing my leg, and my health 
 was far from being as sound and robust as it had 
 been previously. However, feeble as I was in body, 
 and slender as might appear my pecuniary circum- 
 stances, I was stout in mind, and firmly resolved not 
 to abandon my favourite project of visiting foreign 
 countries. As soon as I recovered sufficient strength, 
 I hobbled down again to the wharf on my crutches. 
 I took a steerage passage on board one of the Liver- 
 pool packets, and went over to England, without 
 accident or the occurrence of any thing remarkable 
 on the voyage/' 
 
HIS VISIT TO ENGLAND. 107 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Story of JYebby Daood continued. — JYehhy in England. — - 
 His Visits to Scotland, Ireland, Wales ^ and London. — His 
 Jirst Impassions of the British Metropolis, and his Manner 
 of getting into the House of Parliament. — His Visit to 
 Westminster Abbey. — His Reception at the Mansion of a 
 Distinguished American in London. — His Opinion of the 
 two Houses of Parliament. — His Visit to France, and Wan- 
 derings to Switzerland. — His Journey across the Alps into 
 Italy. — His Visit to Genoa, Venice, Florence, Rome, Ma- 
 ples, and the long-buried Cities of the Plains. — His Reflec- 
 tions among the Ruins of Pcestum. — His Visit to Sicily ; 
 and Voyage to Greece. 
 
 "After the first few days out of New York, my 
 health much improved, and I gained strength daily, 
 until the voyage was accomplished, when I threw my 
 crutch overboard, and went on shore as light-hearted 
 as any man on board ship. 
 
 "After looking about the city of Liverpool, I set 
 out on a tour through the north of England, visiting 
 all the large towns en route ; and went up into the 
 highlands of Scotland ; lingered on the borders of the 
 lakes and rivers of old Scotia ; looked down into the 
 winding glens and beautiful scenery from her highest 
 mountains ; knelt before the grassless grave of Scott ; 
 visited the birthplace of Robert Burns ; wandered 
 
108 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 among the scenes of his early career, and wept over 
 his tomb. I then crossed to Ireland ; passed down 
 through that country, visiting all the most interesting 
 localities and surveying the finest scenery ; came over 
 to Wales, and at length reached London, in perfect 
 health, by a circuitous route through the south part 
 of the country. 
 
 " London presented an entirely new picture to my 
 view — contrasted with which, all other ci^s seemed 
 to sink into comparative insignificance. 
 
 " I wandered about London day after day, without 
 being able to understand it at all. I visited the 
 Tower, Saint Paul's, and Westminster Abbey, which 
 last place was the most interesting spot that I saw in 
 that strange, overgrown, world of a city. 
 
 "At Westminster Abbey, I found myself among 
 the monuments and tombs of all those estimable men 
 whose works I had read with so much pleasure and 
 profit, and so much admired, before I left home. 
 There, I passed some of the happiest moments of my 
 existence ; nor could I restrain the tears that trickled 
 down my cheeks, and fell in among the tombs of 
 those master spirits. This pleasure, thought I at the 
 time, is among the fruits that I have already reaped 
 from the * Town Library Association.' 
 
 " While in London, I was anxious to visit the 
 house of Parliament, which was then in session ; 
 and, on making application for admission at the door, 
 I was turned out of the lobby by a lubberly fellow, 
 who told me not to be seen lurking about the pre- 
 mises again ; if I did, he would hand me over to the 
 
HE VISITS A DISTINGUISHED COUNTRYMAN. 3 09 
 
 police ! I was thunderstruck at this, and learned, for 
 the first time, that a card of admission was necessa- 
 ry ; and that, too, from a member of Parliament. I 
 knew nobody in either house, of course, nor indeed 
 did I know any one in London. I was as lonely 
 there as one could well be. Still, I thought I must 
 get into the house of Parliament somehow or other. 
 
 "At last, I thought I would call upon a distin- 
 guished citizen of the United States, resident in Lon- 
 don at the time, in hopes, through his kindness 
 toward an unfriended fellow-countryman, to obtain 
 admission to the house. But my reception, at the 
 elegant mansion of this distinguished American citi- 
 zen, was sufficiently cold and formal to indicate that 
 he did not expect me to do myself the honour of call- 
 ing again ; and that he did not care to have much to 
 do with such a republican-looking chap as I appeared 
 in his eyes to be. My reception had been so cheer- 
 less, that I did not think it worth while to endeavour 
 to enlist him in my scheme of getting into Parlia- 
 ment; and when I came out through the hall, his 
 servants, in livery and powdered hair, put their fin- 
 gers to their noses, and looked very sagaciously in 
 each other's faces. Said I to myself, I will get into 
 the house of Parliament somehow or other ; and I 
 will be under no obligation to this popinjay, slipshod 
 American nobleman either. 
 
 " I succeeded in finding out the residences of sev- 
 eral of the members of both houses, and went from 
 one to the other, to ascertain if I could not procure 
 admission to see some of them, and obtain, through 
 
110 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 their influence, admission into the house of Parha- 
 ment Generally, where I called, the servants would 
 say that my ' Lord Q,.' or ' Duke O.' ' were not at 
 home ;' and then shut the door in my face, without 
 waiting to hear a word further. 
 
 " I was nevertheless determined in my purpose, 
 and followed up these visits of ceremony among the 
 English noblemen, day after day, until at last I came 
 
 to the splendid mansion of the Duke of B . I 
 
 rung at the door, and a good-natured servant opened 
 it and demanded what I wanted. I thought when 1 
 first saw him, that he was my man, and that if I did 
 not succeed with him, I might as well give up all idea 
 of getting into the house at all. I told him I wanted 
 
 to see his grace the Duke of B . The servant 
 
 surveyed my clothes, and looked me rather minutely 
 in the face. He replied that his grace was then 
 very much engaged, and would not be able to see 
 me. ' But,' said he, ' what do you want of the Duke V 
 
 " ' Why,' said I, ' the truth is, I am a stranger in 
 London from the United States of America. 1 know 
 no one here, but I have a great curiosity to visit the 
 house of Parliament, which I cannot do without a 
 member's ticket of admission ; at least so I have been in- 
 formed ; and I have taken the liberty of calling here to 
 
 ascertain whether his grace the Duke of B would 
 
 not have the kindness to grant me that privilege.' — 
 * Really,' said the obliging servant, ' I am not quite 
 certain of that, but if you wih be kind enough to call 
 here about this time to-morrow, I will take occasion 
 to mention your case to his grace the fust moment 
 
HIS EFFORTS TO VISIT PARLIAMENT. ill 
 
 that I find him at leisure, and will then give you an 
 answer,' I thanked the good fellow, and returned to 
 my lodgings. Good, thought I, as I wandered along 
 through the streets ; I have at last got my foot upon 
 the threshold of the house of Parliament, and my 
 hand hold of the latch ; I think I shall now get inside 
 of the walls. The next day, at the appointed hour, 
 I again presented myself at the door of the Duke's 
 residence, and was met by the same servant, who 
 smiled, and said that ' he was happy in being able to 
 say that he had succeeded with his grace, without the 
 least difficulty ;' and handed me tickets of admission 
 to both houses of Parliament. This was a great 
 gratification to me, but the tickets scarcely pleased 
 me so much, as did the manner in which they were 
 delivered. For, this servant seemed to be really 
 more gratified to think that he had obtained them, 
 than I was myself. His kindness touched my feel- 
 ings. It was almost the only instance that any one 
 had exhibited the least interest for me since my arri- 
 val in London. He seemed to comprehend me and 
 my motive, in making the request ^through him of the 
 obliging Duke, and entered into it with all the 
 warmth and interest of a friend. I took his hand on 
 parting, and thanked him over and over again ; and 
 we were both so much affected that we were scarce- 
 ly able to articulate a word. 
 
 " ' Well,' said I, as I hurried along toward the 
 House of Lords, ' this world is not all made of 
 rocks, stones, thorns, and thistles ; there are some 
 souls of men in it, eyeu where we do not look for 
 
112 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD 
 
 them. It is not by the exterior surface of the earth 
 that one can judge of the quahty, richness, and depth 
 of the mine ; or whether, in fact, there may not be 
 beneath a green turf, embelhshed with flowers, cold 
 springs of bitter waters, trickling churlishly among 
 gravel, brimstone, and mire ; while the pure and 
 crystal brook is often seen bursting out of the bosom 
 of the rocky and uncouth hillside, leaping over the 
 rugged cliffs, and spreading a cheerful and fertilizing 
 beauty far into the lowly vale.' 
 
 " I mused along in this manner, until I reached 
 the House of Lords, where, after some little scrutiny 
 and hesitation on the part of the door-keeper, I was 
 permitted to enter. 
 
 '' I saw nothing there to astonish me. Those 
 lords, said I to myself, are merely men, after all ; and 
 not the best specimen of the species that I have 
 seen, either. Some of them are more indebted to 
 their decorations, titles, and wealth, than to nature, 
 for the elevated positions they occupy. The lords 
 were lounging about, upon the great long seats, like 
 a dissipated gathering of high fellows just in from a 
 shooting party or a midnight debauch. They were 
 sitting with their hats on, apparently careless about 
 business, and seemed to have assembled merely to 
 talk over the incidents of the last carousal, and to 
 plan another with a view of winding up with cigars 
 and something to drink. Few seemed to pay the 
 least attention to what was before the house ; indeed, 
 there appeared to be little before it, of any kind, 
 except a cadaverous little old man, dressed in a black 
 
HE VISITS SWITZERLAND. 113 
 
 gown, and half enveloped in a large powdered wig ; 
 and he was squeaking away at the top of his voice, 
 seated on a wool-sack, but without being able to 
 make himself understood at a distance of ten feet 
 from the place where he sat. He was the presiding 
 genius of the House of Lords. 
 
 " I soon became fatigued with that kind of Hon, 
 and went down to the House of Commons, which I 
 found ' ditto to Mr. Burke.' 
 
 " Thinks I, as I walked away from the Parliament 
 House toward my humble lodging, ' this business is 
 hardly worth the candle ; but my curiosity is satis- 
 fied, and that is a point gained. — I have also been 
 among the lords, but the atmosphere does not seem 
 to be of the most celestial odour : still it was worth 
 seeing, if for nothing else but to ascertain how in- 
 sipid and insignificant it really was.' 
 
 " I went once more to Westminster Abbey, and, 
 having entirely satisfied my curiosity respecting Eng- 
 land, I left the country. I crossed to France ; visited 
 Paris, which is all that one can see in that kingdom 
 worth spending any time about. I afterwards went 
 to Switzerland, and wandered among the sublime 
 Alpine scenery, and held sweet communion with the 
 silent rocks, the snowy cliffs, and the rugged glaciers 
 of those hoary mountains. 
 
 " I knew neither the language of the country nor 
 the men that inhabit it ; but I was in the arms and 
 upon the very bosom of nature's glorious works. 
 These were intelligible to me — themes of truth and 
 instruction, which I delighted to revel in and study. 
 
 Vol. I. — 15 
 
1 14 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 " Switzerland ! How beautifully the poet has 
 spoken of it ! Here is a true picture : 
 
 " ' It is the land of beauty and of grandeur, 
 Where looks the cottage out on a domain 
 The palace cannot boast of. Seas of lakes. 
 And hills of forests ! Crystal waves, that rise 
 'Mid mountains all of snow, and mock the sun, 
 Returning him his flaming beams more thick 
 And radiant than he sent them. Torrents there. 
 Are bounding floods ! and there the tempest roams 
 At large, in all the terrors of its glory ! 
 And then our valleys ! Ah, they are the homes 
 For hearts ! Our cottages, our vuieyards, orchards, — 
 Our pastures, studded with the herd and fold ! 
 Our native strains, that melt us as we sing them ! 
 A free, a gentle, simple, honest people !'' 
 
 " Coming down from the frozen cliffs of the free 
 mountains of Switzerland, I entered upon the great 
 military road of Napoleon, and crossed Mount Ce- 
 nis, not far from the spot over which the intrepid 
 Hannibal led his veteran army to the plains of Italy. 
 In this fine road, over those fearful heights, leaping 
 from cliff to cliff, piercing the solid rock, grasping 
 the flinty sides of cheerless mountains ; then de- 
 scending by a spiral route, though easily, into an 
 awful and almost fathomless abyss, overhung with 
 mountains of rock, and glaciers of ice and snow ; 
 winding itself out gracefully, at last, to the sunny 
 plains — the daring, bold, and transcendent genius of 
 Napoleon displays itself, scarcely less gloriously than 
 in his most brilliant and consummate victories over 
 the contending armies of Europe. 
 
 "At Turin, I passed a day in looking at the sights 
 of the town, of which the fine collection of Egyptian 
 
HE VISITS GENOA. 115 
 
 antiquities pleased me most. I had already seen the 
 Egyptian relics in the Louvre and the British Muse- 
 um, and had a strong desire to visit this strange land. 
 But what I saw in the Egyptian Museum, at Turin, 
 fully resolved me in my determination to come here ; 
 and I at once incorporated it among my plans of 
 travel, to make the tour of Egypt. I then saw no 
 door open by which I could accomplish it. 
 
 " On my way down to Genoa, I passed over the 
 battle-field of Marengo ; and there, for some time, si- 
 lent and alone, I lingered, where so many brave men 
 had fallen, and poured out their blood like water 
 into the crimson river, that has more than once in- 
 undated that memorable plain. 
 
 " I entered on foot the ' City of Palaces' — -Genoa, 
 the birthplace of Columbus. The first place I in- 
 quired for was the house in which the bold and in- 
 trepid mariner was born. A spot was pointed out 
 to me, said to be the place of his nativity. But of 
 this there seems to be no certainty ; since the little 
 fishing- town of Cogoleto, on the seashore, toward 
 Nice, also claims the honour of having given birth 
 to the great navigator. 
 
 " I wandered over the town, admiring the beauties 
 of the rich treasures of architecture which it contains; 
 entered the splendid palaces, looked into the ' golden 
 room,' and feasted my eyes upon the gems of art 
 there so profusely displayed ; contemplated the ' Sacro 
 Catino,' deposited in the cathedral ; a green dish, said 
 to be an emerald, and the largest in the world. His- 
 tory and tradition say, that this celebrated 'Sacro 
 
116 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 Catind was brought from the Holy Land by the cru- 
 saders ; that it fell, at the close of the wars, to the 
 Genoese ; and that it was a present of the Queen of 
 Sheba to King Solomon ; and was used by our Sa- 
 viour on the night of the last supper. 
 
 " Of all that I saw in Genoa, I felt the most plea- 
 sure in lonely musing under the dilapidated walls of 
 the once splendid palace of old Andrea Doria. Once 
 it must have been a beautiful spot ; indeed, silent 
 and neglected as every thing is about it, even now it 
 has a thousand attractions. Its green and flowery 
 garden smiles upon the sea, and overlooks the deep 
 blue billows, which roll up their huge swells, and 
 dash themselves into spray on the shore. 
 
 " One cannot contemplate that old mansion and 
 ruined garden without deep regret, and even sorrow, 
 that the once cheerful residence of so noble and brave 
 a .man as Doria was, should thus be permitted to sink 
 into ruin, while his descendants are rich and influ- 
 ential ; and when, too, as all the world knows, the 
 present Doria family is indebted for most if not all of 
 its influence, power, and wealth, to the goodness and 
 bravery of their great progenitor. 
 
 " The fine paintings, statuary, and other portable 
 works of art that once adorned the palace of the old 
 sailor, have long since been conveyed to Rome, to 
 swell the princely collection of the Doria family, in 
 their splendid palace in the ' Eternal City.' 
 
 " Some of the descendants of the brave old admi- 
 ral have filled the pontifical chair at Rome, and have 
 added wealth and influence to the family ; so that now 
 
HE VISITS VENICE. 1^1 7 
 
 it is one of the most aristocratic, if not the richest 
 family in all the Italian states. 
 
 " In the contemplation of the pm*e, spotless, noble 
 character of the old admiral, his descendants and all 
 their dignity sink into silence and insignificance. He 
 was brave, skilful, generous, patriotic, with a soul over- 
 flowing with goodness. He was faithful to his coun- 
 try and friends, but terrible and desolating to his ene- 
 mies. At different times, he was the admiral of 
 Charles V., of the Pope of Rome, and of his own 
 country. He served them all faithf^ly, and with dis- 
 tinguished honour to himself. A single and unpre- 
 tending individual, he raised himself into power by 
 his own bravery and honest worth ; and at various 
 periods was cherished, courted, praised, loved, feared, 
 and hated by many of the kings and princes of Eu- 
 rope ; and in his own hand seemed to hold the des- 
 tiny of the nations that he assailed, or of those with 
 whom he attempted to grapple. Though his name 
 was destined to be immortal, his soul dwelt in a fabric 
 of clay, which, like that of other great men, crumbled 
 at last, and mingled with its kindred dust. 
 
 " I was in Venice, and pondered over the ' dying 
 glories' of that modern Tyre, Alas ! the ' golden 
 city' now weeps in ruins ! The gondolier no longer 
 cheers the silence of the sombre canals with his 
 song ; and the black gondolas themselves seem as if 
 in the melancholy weeds of sorrow, for the departed 
 glory and greatness of a fallen city. 
 
 " I leaned against the column on which stands the 
 •winged hon' of St. Mark, once emblematical of 
 
118 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 Venetian power. The flag-masts, from whose proud 
 tops once floated the standards of Venetian domin- 
 ion, now stripped and desolate, were but the silent 
 monuments of a by-gone glory. 
 
 " I saw the spot where old Dondolo received the 
 ducal crown, when the nations of the East trembled 
 beneath his sway. The well-worn steeds, the spoils 
 of many victories, once the ornament of Corinth, 
 once of Paris, but snatched from the gates of Con- 
 stantinople by the victorious hands of Dondolo, still 
 stand upon the tribune of Saint Mark's Cathedral, 
 waiting the final dissolution and ruin of all around 
 them. 
 
 " I admired the paintings, the statuary, the tem- 
 ples, the palaces, and the innumerable monuments 
 of art that there abound, of a genius and a spirit 
 that belong to a departed age. 
 
 " I entered the lofty halls of the Ducal Palace ; 1 
 stood in the chamber of the ' Council of Ten ;' 
 passed through the hall of the ' State Inquisition ;' 
 crossed the * Bridge of Sighs,' and went down into 
 the deep, black prisons beneath. A thousand mad 
 reflections filled my mind, as I there surveyed, by 
 the light of a glimmering torch, the scene of so much 
 agony, so many deaths, and so many tortures, as were 
 inflicted upon poor human nature under the iron rule, 
 and in the most glorious days of the republic. The 
 place is still pointed out, where many a bosom strug- 
 gled with the king of terrors in his most awful and 
 appalling form. And the deep, blood-stained portal, 
 through which the lifeless bodies of the victims were 
 
HE VISITS FLORENCE. 319, 
 
 thrust, is there also, though for humanity's sake it is 
 now walled up ; and, it is hoped, for ever. 
 
 "I mused in Aqua, beneath the simple tomb of 
 Petrarch ; and I plucked a flotver from Dante's 
 grave — from the grave of him who sleeps in the soil 
 of exile, but for whom a later generation weeps, and 
 whose ashes they would gladly gather to the bosom 
 of his native land. 
 
 " Dante in Ravenna sleeps, and leaves to Florence 
 his monument, unhonoured by his bones. 
 
 " Florence ! how fair and lovely are thy bright 
 hills and gentle slopes, hanging upon the silvery 
 skirts of Arno's floods I It is a delicious spot in the 
 warm bosom of nature : full of fascinations, fresh 
 from the pure hand of Heaven ! And yet what has 
 not man done, in by-gone time, to enrich with em- 
 bellishments what nature has so highly favoured ! 
 This, the cradle of European art, the 'Athens of 
 Italy,' though but a shadow of its former glorious 
 self, is still redolent of a thousand inestimable trea- 
 sures of art, that exist nowhere else. But the glo- 
 rious remains, the gems so much admired, the great 
 and gorgeous temples, the rich and lofty palaces, 
 and the cunning works of art, are the broken frag- 
 ments of another age — a glorious age, that of a re- 
 public ! Were not all her great men, too, or nearly 
 all, of the same epoch ? 
 
 "Florence, compared with her sister states in 
 Italy, may smile and look happy ; yet, contrasted with 
 herself — with what she once was — she weeps and 
 mourns, and ' hangs her harp upon the willows.' 
 
120 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 " I reposed my weary pilgrim-limbs at last in Rome 
 —Rome ! once the centre of the world, through which 
 its destiny vibratfed, like the crimson gush of man's 
 existence in the human heart ! How fallen now ! — 
 how sad, how desolate, how weak, how ruined I 
 Yet, who can stand in the hallowed spot of Rome's 
 ancient power and grandeur, but with silent awe and 
 wonder ! Rome is great and powerful still ; but the 
 pasteboard show of marshalled monks and gilded 
 priests adds nothing to her greatness, and augments 
 not her grandeur. She is great in ruin ! — great in 
 the glorious achievements of another age. Her 
 power and influence among the kingdoms and prin- 
 cipalities of the world, have long since passed away ; 
 and her sceptre has been broken. But still, all na- 
 tions must and do go there, to bend before the altar 
 of genius, and to pay a willing homage to her trea- 
 sures of art. There are the deathless tints, the im- 
 mortal touches of Michael Angelo's gigantic hand ; 
 there too are the divine and angelic impressions of 
 
 Raphael; there but why should I attempt an 
 
 enumeration of a thousand names, consecrated to 
 genius, and hallowed by antiquity, whose glorious 
 works so richly adorn the Eternal City ! They are 
 known to all, but not by all appreciated. 
 
 " I looked down from the brink of the deep cra- 
 ter's mouth into the black and fiery bosom of Vesu- 
 vius, where the raging flames, old as time itself, have 
 maddened into fury and awful storms of molten 
 anger, burying fair cities deep beneath their glowing 
 wrath ! What a scene ! I turned my eyes upon the 
 fair blue waters, so sweetly spread at the base. 
 
 1 
 
HE VISITS POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM. 121 
 
 like the smooth surface of a burnished shield, flash- 
 ing back the rajs of the sun in all the glory that he 
 sends them. 
 
 " It was a lovely day in spring, Avhen the flowers 
 were young and bursting into blossom, diffusing their 
 perfumes over the gay, embeUished, vine-clad hills. 
 The bay of Naples then reposed in beauty ; there 
 was no breeze to curl its surface, and the warm 
 sun smiled gently upon it. O ! how bright the pros- 
 pect over its blue expanse ! The city, too, was glo- 
 rious in the thin blue ethereal vapour, lightly tinging 
 the swelling domes and lofty spires of sunny Naples. 
 
 " I came down from the mountain, and entered the 
 buried cities of the plains. Pompeii and Hercula- 
 neum ! once gay cities — long buried beneath the red 
 crackling fires of the volcano's wrath ! How little 
 do we know of those beings who once gayly trod 
 the well-worn pavements of those silent streets ! 
 They have gone ; and myriads before them, too, have 
 stepped into the awful crater of eternity ! And those 
 cities have slept beneath the black cinders of Vesu- 
 vian fires for many centuries ; and now they open 
 their ponderous gates and sealed treasures to the 
 world's astonished gaze ! 
 
 " I looked at the relics, gathered from those long- 
 buried cities ; and then thought I saw convincing 
 proof that, in many things at least, the boasting 
 world, that vaunts its ' march of improvement,' has 
 not, after all, so much to be proud of on the score 
 of civilization ; or^ indeed, of any very rapid strides 
 in many works of art. 
 
 Vol. L — 16 
 
122 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 " I walked around the fair shores of Baise, (nice 
 the seat of Roman luxury ; now strewed with ruins ! 
 There emperors held their courts; and there the 
 voice of Roman eloquence resounded. But there a 
 haggard silence lingers now ! Paul landed there, or 
 at Puteoli, when he escaped from shipwreck, and 
 went to Rome a prisoner. 
 
 " I hung over Virgil's tomb, that looks out on the 
 fair bay of Naples, to the blue hills of Caprese where 
 Tiberias dwelt in his splendid palace, an outcast to 
 himself and to the world. 
 
 " In Psestum, where disease and death have deso- 
 lated all but the fresh ruins of her ancient temples, 
 I mused in silence and alone ! That w as the very 
 scene of a real desolation — a land of poisoned wa- 
 ters and haggard wo ! — The plain of death ! The 
 stillness of the grave was there ! I looked upon the 
 temples, brown with the rust of thousands of years ; 
 while the warm hands that reared them, long ages 
 past, mouldered in the dust. 
 
 "At Paestum Ulysses landed ; Jason was once be- 
 neath the temples, and Hercules himself; all three, 
 perhaps, have worshipped at the shrines of Posido- 
 nia's gods, and burned incense on her crumbled altars. 
 Calabrian hordes are now the only priests that kneel 
 in adoration there ! 
 
 " Sicily's green shores I measured round, and with 
 weary steps I scaled her highest mountains, which are 
 crackling and burning with volcanic fires. I surveyed 
 her shattered ruins ; and then sailed to Greece. 
 
HE VISITS ATHENS. 123 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JVehby Daood among the Ruins of Athens. — He visits Escu- 
 lapius^ Grove ; Argos, Mycence, Tyrrins, Corinth^ the JVe- 
 mean Plains, Mount Parnassus, Delphi, the Castalian 
 Spring, the Waters of Lethe, the Plains of Marathon, the 
 Straits of Thermopylce, Thebes, Platcea, Ancient Crete, 
 
 Egypt, and Syria. His Disappearance, and probable 
 
 Death ! 
 
 " I LANDED," continued Nebby, " on the Grecian 
 shore, and walked to Athens ; where Paul, eighteen 
 hundred years ago, waited for Silas and Timotheus, 
 disputing daily in the market-place with the Jews 
 and the Greek philosophers. 
 
 " I went to Areopagus, and ascended Mars-hill, 
 where Paul stood in the midst of the idolatrous 
 Athenians, and boldly declared the name of the 
 ' unknown God.' 
 
 " I climbed the old Acropolis, and mused a while 
 amidst the silent ruins of the Parthenon. As I 
 looked upon the fair face of that glorious ruin, bat- 
 tered rudely by the hand of time and the spoiler, I 
 thought I heard its well-earned anathemas on the 
 British hand that robbed it of its ornaments. Byron, 
 a noble bard, has damned that hand, that robber 
 hand, to everlasting infamy: Elgin's name — Lord 
 
124 STORY OF NEBBY DAGOD. 
 
 Elgin's shame, is * founded as a rock ;' it must go 
 down to ages yet unborn. 
 
 " I passed the temple of the winds, and stood 
 beside the lantern of Demosthenes. Thence I 
 walked beneath the well-turned arch of Hadrian, 
 and reached the ruins of the temple of Jupiter 
 Olympus. That must have been a temple worthy 
 of the gods. But of its hundred and twenty white 
 marble columns, sixteen alone remain to tell the 
 story of its pristine splendour. 
 
 " I loitered amidst the ruins of Theseus' temple, 
 and seated myself upon the rock that overlooked 
 the jEgean sea and Attica's fair vales and hills — the 
 rock from which Demosthenes moved the nation 
 with his lips. 
 
 " I left Attica's green and sunny vale, and crossed 
 the sea ; surveyed the temple on the ^gean island ; 
 went to the grove of Esculapius, and thence to the 
 plains of Argos. 
 
 " I strolled beneath the walls of Tyrrins and old 
 Mycenae and entered Agamemnon's tomb ; thence, 
 by the plains of Nemsea, where Hercules slew the 
 lion — the scene of the Nemsean games, and where 
 are still the remains of the temple oftheNemsean 
 Jupiter; I went to Corinth, where Paul made tents 
 with Aquilla, and preached the gospel of Christ to 
 the unbelieving Greeks and Jews. 
 
 " The ruins at old Corinth are now few and scat- 
 tered. I walked upon the summit of the Acropolis, 
 where once was Venus' temple. There I gazed on 
 Athens in the distance, with her temples dimly seen. 
 
VIEW OF CORINTH. 
 
 125 
 
126 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 The narrow belt of soil that separates Lepanto 
 from the ^Egean sea, Corinth's isthmus, lay at my 
 feet ; and the smooth, mellow seas that kissed its 
 shores, green with islands, spread out like liquid sil- 
 ver in the sun's broad glare. Attica's rugged hills 
 were glorious to the view, as were the snow-clad 
 tops of Helicon and old Parnassus. The Pelopon- 
 nesian mountains rose in billowy grandeur, till the 
 eye's dim vision rested on the clouds. Corinth and 
 its fertile plain lay along Lepanto's shore. Around 
 me were the hushed guns of nations long since 
 dead. There they repose amidst the gloom of broken 
 temples, mosques, and dwellings of a silent gene- 
 ration. 
 
 " 1 journeyed to Delphi, where Apollo's temple 
 stood, and drank Castalian water at the crystal spring 
 that gushes from Parnassus' bosom, and whose icy 
 caps, v^ith Alpine grandeur, mingle with the misty 
 clouds of heaven. To these at last I mounted, 
 and reached Parnassus' tops, where my locks were 
 bathed in the dew of heaven. Then I wandered on 
 to Lethe's springs, next to Platsea's ruins, and at length 
 to Thebes. I have been in the narrow gap of Ther- 
 mopylse, and crossed the plain of Marathon. I 
 passed over Patmos' Island to ancient Troy. 
 
 " I have been in Crete, and in Ephesus. I have 
 heard the Nile's cataract roar, and seen the Philsean 
 temples. I have kissed the vocal Memnon on the 
 Theban plain, and entered many of Pharaoh's 
 tombs, or palaces, hewn in the solid rock. I have been 
 beneath the scuphured roof of Dendera's fair tern- 
 
HIS CONTEMPLATED RETURN. 127 
 
 pie; that of Edfu, Esneh, Ombo, Luxor, Thebes; 
 and Karnack's wonders. I have seen them all ; and 
 placed my pilgrim feet upon the lofty pyramid of 
 Libya's desert. I have seen the bruised sphinx at 
 Ghizeh, and descended into the tombs of the mum- 
 mied birds and sacred beasts of Egypt I have been 
 in Memphis, in Heliopolis, and at last a kind Provi- 
 dence has safely brought me here. 
 
 " I have still a little coin in my pocket, and only 
 await the arrival of a Tuscan steamer, that is daily 
 expected at Alexandria, with which I go to Syria ; and, 
 after making a tour through the Holy Land, I will 
 return to Alexandria, and embark on board a vessel 
 freighted with wild beasts, which wiU then be ready 
 to sail for the United States. These wild animals, 
 from the interior of Africa, are to be my companions 
 on the voyage; and the service I am to render, in 
 taking care of them, is considered an equivalent for 
 my passage to New York.'' 
 
 This was the tale of the wanderings of a poor, 
 obscure, unknown, though worthy individual, from 
 the backwoods of the United States. We were 
 deeply interested with the simple manner in which 
 he related it ; and I now insert it here, to show the 
 indomitable and persevering spirit of the Americans, 
 who are often known to endure all kinds of sacri- 
 fices and privations, to accomplish a favourite project. 
 Nebby was one who thirsted for knowledge, and he 
 had a most distinct idea and comprehensive view of 
 
-1 28 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 all (he important objects that he had seen throughout 
 his long and perilous pilgrimage. His account of 
 what he had witnessed, was graphic, artless, and 
 strongly marked by that shrewdness, good sense, and 
 penetration, which distinguished him. We have 
 rarely met a more agreeable or a more amusing com- 
 panion. We separated from him at a late hour, with 
 tmfeigned regret ; not, however, without giving him 
 letters of introduction to some respectable gentlemen 
 in New York, who, I was in hopes, on his arrival in 
 that city, would be able to render him some assist- 
 ance. The last time we saw him, was on the morn- 
 ing of our departure for Cairo. He came down to 
 the canal-boat, to bid us adieu, and did not quit it 
 until it had fairly swung off ; so that, in regaining the 
 shore, he came near jumping into the canal. 
 
 A few days after we arrived in Cairo, I received a 
 letter from Nebby, in which he informed me that the 
 Tuscan steamer had arrived, and that he was just 
 embarking for Syria. He also wrote me that he had 
 been obliged to pay two dollars to a man from Den- 
 mark, for signing his passport. This Dane, in the 
 absence of the American consul, then passing the 
 winter in Upper Egypt, had been left in charge of the 
 affairs of the American consulate at Alexandria, and 
 to exact toll of all citizens of the United States who 
 might come into or go out of Egypt. 
 
 This exaction, Nebby wrote, he thought a hard- 
 ship ; and he supposed that all was not right about it. 
 I thought so too. And I thought it was not only 
 not right for this Danish gentleman to rob this poor, 
 
IMPOSITIONS OF A DANE. 129 
 
 unfriended man of two dollars under the broad seal 
 of the American consulate, but I had every reason 
 to believe that he was sinning against knowledge. 
 For, only three or four days before Nebby's two dol- 
 lars were thus abstracted from his almost penniless 
 
 pockets, an American gentleman, Mr. S , from 
 
 Boston, then in Alexandria, and about to sail for 
 Greece, had occasion for the seal and signature of 
 the American consulate on his passport, and called 
 on the Danish gentleman, mentioned above, for that 
 purpose. The Dane received him with great ur- 
 banity ; signed his passport ; and, on presenting it to 
 
 Mr. S with a bended body and a flourish of the 
 
 hand, told him that the fee for his viza was two dol- 
 lars ! Mr. S asked him if it was the usual 
 
 custom to demand this sum for each signature of the 
 American consulate at Alexandria, on passports 1 
 "Certainly," rephed the Dane, "in all cases." Mr. 
 
 S then requested Hhe gentleman to allow him 
 
 to look at the instructions of the State Department 
 of the United States, for the regulation of American 
 consulates abroad. He directed the Danish gentle- 
 man to a clause in said instructions, where the con- 
 suls are strictly enjoined not to take any fees for sign- 
 ing passports of the citizens of the United States. 
 Whereupon the Danish subject aforesaid appeared 
 to be much surprised ; bowed, scraped, and apologized 
 in a thousand ways, and in almost as many languages ; 
 said he felt under the highest obligations to Mr. 
 S for kindly calling his attention to that pro- 
 hibitory clause in the instructions of the Secretary 
 Vol. I.-— 17 
 
130 STORY OF NEBBY DAOOD. 
 
 of State ; and that, in future, he would be strictly 
 governed, in all similar cases, by those instructions ; 
 
 and Mr. S might be most positively assured, 
 
 that he would never demand any thing of the citi- 
 zens of the United States for signing passports there- 
 after. But in the course of three or four days, at 
 most, subsequently to these assurances, he again de- 
 manded and took two dollars of an American citi- 
 zen for signing his passport ! And from whom 1 Cer- 
 tainly not from a man to whom two dollars was of 
 so little importance that he could afford to lavish it 
 upon foreign agents of the American government, 
 especially when such agents were strictly enjoined 
 by the government at home not to receive it from 
 an]/ citizen of the United States. No ; it was from 
 a poor and almost friendless, though worthy creature, 
 wandering in a wild and barbarous part of the world, 
 with little more, perhaps, than those two dollars, in 
 his possession ; and with scarcely clothes sufficient 
 to cover his worn and emaciated limbs. 
 
 Poor Nebby did not live to relate in his own coun- 
 try the injury he had received from this heartless 
 Dane. He left Alexandria, took a deck passage on 
 board the steamer, and landed at Beyrout in safety. 
 From thence, after tarrying a day or two with the 
 missionaries, he set out for Jerusalem. He intended 
 to go on foot and alone, as was his custom in other 
 countries ; but was dissuaded, at first, from a resolu- 
 tion so beset with danger as was that of wandering 
 unarmed in this manner through a land infested with 
 banditti. He mounted a mule, and started with a 
 
HIS PROBABLE END. 
 
 131 
 
 single muleteer on his contemplated pilgrimage. In 
 a few hours, to the surprise of all who knew any 
 thing of the circumstances, the muleteer returned to 
 Beyrout, saying that, after riding three or four miles 
 from the town, Nebby had changed his mind, and 
 resolved to walk. He therefore paid the muleteer, 
 and sent him back. Poor Nebby, however, was 
 never heard of, by any of his friends, from that hour 
 to the present moment ! He was doubtless met by 
 some cowardly bandits, shot down, stripped of his 
 patched and threadbare garments, robbed of his few 
 last shillings, and his naked body then left a prey to 
 vultures and eagles, or to bleach upon the cheerless 
 mountains of Syria ! 
 
132 THE ARABIAN DEAGOMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Contemplated Visit to Upper Egypt. — Selim, the Arabian 
 Dragoman. — His Qualifications, and a Description of his 
 Person. — A Interview with the Consular Agent of the 
 
 United States. Flattering Expectations. Important 
 
 Standing of the Consul. — Ride and Reflections among the 
 Tombs. — The Wrinklebottoms at Pompey^s Pillar. — Scene 
 in the Graveyard at Alexandria. — Valorous Exploits of 
 the Dragoman with Beggars. — Admiration and Chagrin 
 of the Wrinklebottoms. — Lord Sweepstakes and Sir Jeffrey 
 Windfall. — -Dinner on the Summit of Pompey's Pillar. — 
 Affront to the Pacha. — Imagined Insult to the British 
 Flag. — Virtuous Indignation of the Wrinklebottoms. — 
 The Pacha's Decree. 
 
 Having resolved upon a visit to Upper Egypt, on 
 the strongest recommendation of Mr, Firkins and his 
 vicegerent, Mr. O'Statten, we engaged a person by 
 the name of Sehm to accompany us as dragoman, 
 servant, companion, and friend. He was an Arab ; 
 and spoke with considerable fluency five different 
 languages, though he could neither read nor write 
 any one of them. This fellow turned out to be a 
 great rascal We found him lazy, malicious, disobe- 
 dient, dirty, diseased, and dishonest. These were 
 qualifications not calculated to render our travelling 
 in Egypt the most pleasant thing in the world. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF HIS PERSON. 133 
 
 For two or three days, however, previously to our 
 leaving Alexandria, Selim made quite an energetic 
 and conspicuous display of himself. He was tolera- 
 bly clean in his appearance, and seemed, on the 
 whole, to promise pretty fairly for the future. But 
 the doctor was not much pleased with his ex- 
 cessive vanity, or his cruelty to the donkey-boys, from 
 the first ; nor was the bad impression, made in the 
 outset upon the doctor's mind, removed by Selim's 
 subsequent conduct This vain-glorious demon- 
 stration on the part of our new dragoman wore 
 away as his clothes became soiled ; and from a bus- 
 tling, bullying, brutal, quarrelsome tyrant at home, he 
 became a tatterdemalion abroad. Selim had on, when 
 he came into our service, a pair of Armenian bag- 
 breeches, red Turkish shoes, without stockings, a 
 Grecian jacket, embroidered with gold lace, and a 
 red Levantine cap, adorned with a long black silk 
 tassel, hanging by its side. He was a tall, attenua- 
 ted figure, and had a graceless stoop in the shoulders. 
 His face was long and lantern-jawed, and his eyes 
 and hair were black. He had a good set of teeth, a 
 well-formed mouth ; and a nose, though not altogether 
 faultless, yet, when contrasted with his high cheek- 
 bones and protruding chin, it looked like a divinely- 
 chiselled thing from the hands of a Grecian sculptor. 
 
 The next morning after he entered into our ser- 
 vice, he was at the hotel at an early hour, and had 
 wound off six or eight regularly pitched battles with 
 the donkey-boys, and some other harmless Egyp- 
 tians, before we had got through with our breakfast. 
 
] 34 AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 
 
 This we attributed more to a desire on his part to 
 impress us with a proper idea of his cleverness and 
 important standing at home, than to any necessity 
 that there might have been for inflicting such severe 
 chastisement upon his fellow-townsmen. Indeed, 
 some such display of cruelty and petty tyranny tow- 
 ard inferiors, the helpless and unoffending, is deemed 
 by English travellers, in whose service he had gen- 
 erally been, the highest recommendation that an 
 Egyptian dragoman can produce ; and one most 
 likely to procure him employment in the outset, and 
 to sustain him long in the favour and good graces 
 of his master. 
 
 The morning was lovely ; we were in good spir- 
 its ; and our new dragoman appeared so blooming, 
 that we thought the time rather propitious for ma- 
 king an acceptable figure in paying our respects to 
 the presiding genius of the consulate of the United 
 States. Accordingly, the doctor and myself mount- 
 ed donkeys, and set out with Selim, also on a donkey, 
 and three naked muleteers whipping our animals into 
 a gait of most unenviable locomotion. 
 
 As we drew up in front of the palace of the consul, 
 the dragoman and muleteers fell by the ears, and 
 made such an uproar, that we felt ashamed of our 
 company. 
 
 The doctor mildly admonished the ferocious drago- 
 man, and begged that he would be a little more gen- 
 tle with the poor donkey-boys, whom this fellow, in 
 red cap and peaked-toed Turkish shoes, seemed to 
 
CONSULAR AGENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 135 
 
 be desirous of whipping and banging about in the 
 most cruel manner, every leisure moment 
 
 We entered the vestibule, and ascended the great 
 stair-case conducting to the apartments of the Da- 
 nish gentleman, then the acting consul of the United 
 States, whom we found writing and busily employed 
 at the moment He put his quill behind his ear, or- 
 dered seats, and treated us with civility and much 
 apparent cordiality. So far as words are an indica- 
 tion, he seemed very desirous of being of service to 
 us in some way or other, during our stay in Alexan- 
 dria, and hoped that we would have no hesitation in 
 commanding him in any manner we might find con- 
 venient to ourselves. This was all a stranger could 
 wish or expect; and, since the gentleman appeared 
 so desirous to serve us in some way or other, we 
 thought it would not be improper to enlist his kind 
 offices in our behalf for the gratification of a wish — 
 the only one, that we knew of, in which he could be 
 of the least use — and that was, in obtaining for us 
 an audience with the Pacha of Egypt 
 
 At that time, Mehemet Ali was the greatest living 
 '' lion" of the East ; and the eyes of the whole world 
 were upon him. We had, therefore, a desire to be 
 introduced to him, that we might have an opportu- 
 nity, however slight it might be, of seeing him face 
 to face, and of judging from personal observation, 
 something of that extraordinary individual, more 
 than what we could learn from the published gossip 
 about him in the journals of the day. 
 
 Upon making known this wish to the consular 
 
136 POMPEY'S PILLAR. 
 
 functional')' of the American government, he threw 
 himself back a Httle more deeply into his capacious 
 arm-chair ; and, with increased complacency, and the 
 assurances of his desire to do something for us, said 
 that nothing in the world was easier, than for him to 
 obtain an audience with the Pacha for us. He set his 
 own time for it to take place, even without obtaining 
 leave of the Pacha for such an audience, and declared 
 it would give him the highest gratification to present 
 us to his Highness ; with whom he represented him- 
 self upon terms of intimacy and cordiality nearly as 
 enviable as the extraordinary favour in which Mr. 
 Firkins was held at the regal palace. 
 
 The next day was appointed for the presentation ; 
 and after some further conversation of a general na- 
 ture, we took leave of our new and remarkably polite 
 acquaintance ; and, being joined at the hotel by Mrs. 
 C, we rode out to review some of the ground that 
 we had hurried over so rapidly on our arrival in 
 Alexandria. 
 
 We passed along by a fine grove of date-trees, 
 then loaded with that luscious fruit, pending beneath 
 the graceful leaves and branches ; and directed our 
 course toward Pompey's Pillar. 
 
 We discovered, at a considerable distance before 
 us, rather a brilliant party, mounted on donkeys ; with 
 a long train of attendants, winding slowly through 
 the Arab burying-ground, up to the elevated spot 
 where stood the object of our excursion. When the 
 party arrived at the base of that noble monument, 
 they dismounted, and threw themselves into the most 
 
SCENE IN A GRAVEYARD. 137 
 
 amusing attitudes of admiration. At first, we ('ould 
 not imagine who tliey were. 
 
 At last, says the doctor : " I think they must be 
 the Wrinklebottoms and Mr. O'Statten." 
 
 " Yes," said our new dragoman, who had heard the 
 conversation, " it is. They passed the palace of the 
 American consul a few moments before you came 
 down stairs." 
 
 Seeing that the Wrinklebottoms and Mr. O'Statten, 
 with their long train of janizaries and Arab attend- 
 ants, had passed through the cemetery, we thought 
 that we would go that way too. It was a little nearer 
 than the usual route to the column, and it had the 
 additional attraction of a rather conspicuous monu- 
 ment erected over an Arab grave, near the centre of 
 the burying-ground, which we had a desire to see. 
 When we turned our donkeys in among the graves, 
 we saw several undertakers opening new receptacles 
 for the dead in the fresh sand, which they w^ere scoop- 
 ing out with baskets and a rude kind of hoes ; though 
 they dug the graves to such a sUght depth, that, were 
 it not for the hills of sand which are hauled around 
 them upon the top of the ground, the bodies would al- 
 most be blown out of their last resting-place. Neither 
 these grave-diggers, however, nor any of the large 
 crowds of public mourners and funeral-wailers that 
 were prowling about in the cemetery, seeking em- 
 ployment, made the least objection to our entering 
 the cemetery, and riding over it on donkeys. But 
 when we came along in front of the rude erection 
 which had attracted us thither, several sheet-envel- 
 
 VoL. L— 18 
 
138 
 
 SCENE IN A GRAVEYARD. 
 
 'I 
 
 
 ~f 
 
 1?^ •* 
 
 
 
 wmm. 
 
 -^^^^-^— ^^ 
 
 ^^^^^^l 
 
 ^- .. ~- _ — ^^mB 
 
 
 -—- - 
 
 
 .. . :^-~^ 
 
 'wm. 
 
 Public Mourners and Wailing- women of Egypt, 
 
SCENE IN A GRAVEYARD. 139 
 
 oped, hideous-looking objects in human shape, rushed 
 out as suddenly and unexpectedly as if they had risen 
 from their graves. They all had contribution-boxes 
 in their hands, which they thrust rudely into our 
 faces, demanding alms for their favourite saint, or 
 something else, in the most uproarious and clamor- 
 ous manner imaginable. 
 
 We did not stop to ascertain precisely the object 
 to which our donation, had we given them any thing, 
 would have been applied, nor were we in the right 
 kind of mood to make any satisfactory reply to their 
 noisy solicitations. Their style seemed to be a little 
 too ardent, perhaps, to suit the pensive tone of our 
 " meditations among the tombs ;" and this and some 
 other undefinable reasons had sealed the benevolent 
 springs of our hearts, and so entangled the strings of 
 our purses, that we did not give them a single para. 
 Whereupon these frightful images set up a most 
 clamorous hue-and-cry, with threatening gestures, 
 on account of our riding through the burying-ground. 
 And when I dismounted, and plucked a little flower 
 from one of the Moslem graves, the ghostly uproar 
 was increased to a frightful extent. So far as I could 
 judge from tone, gesture, attitude, and looks, they 
 thought the plucking of a flower from the grave of a 
 Moslem by the hand of a " Christian dog," as all 
 Franks are called by the faithful followers of the 
 Prophet, the very consummation and superlative of 
 all degrees of sacrilege of which human hands were 
 capable. 
 
 We had already seen enough of Arab bhistering 
 
140 EXPLOITS OF THE DRAGOMAN. 
 
 and fury, not to feel any serious apprehension from 
 the effects of their noise — supposing, as usual, that 
 hke the " crackhng of thorns under a pot," it would 
 all end at last in smoke. 
 
 Our gayly-attired dragoman, desirous of giving us 
 further and more substantial evidence of his bravery 
 and daring, put spurs and whip to his donkey, and 
 charged upon these spectres of the tombs in the most 
 heroic style conceivable. 
 
 The engagement was amusing and picturesque. 
 The rich and gay-coloured costume of the dragoman 
 contrasted strikingly with the grave-clothes of those 
 whom he assailed, making his figure appear con- 
 spicuous, and certainly to the greatest advantage. 
 He was so furious in the charge, however, that I was 
 fearful the fellow was determined to give no quarter, 
 but desired to kill and destroy every soul of his oppo- 
 nents ; if, indeed, images seen in such a place, and 
 under such circumstances, may be supposed to have 
 any souls. They saw how resolute the rascal was 
 in his onsets, and some sought safety in flight. He 
 was not satisfied in driving the enemy from their 
 stronghold, but followed up their retreat in a relent- 
 less and cruel manner, that would have done honour 
 to the Turkish arms in the sanguinary days of the 
 crusades. The poor creatures, in their flight, pitched 
 down over the graves, and uttered such frightful 
 noises, that I did not know but the very tombs would 
 open and send forth their inmates against this violator 
 of their silence and sanctity. 
 
 Things were really assuming a serious aspect; and, 
 
■Bill 11'^^- 
 
ENTHUSIASM OF THE WRINKLEBOTTOMS. 1 H 
 
 lest the contemplated enjoyment of the day's excur- 
 sion should be turned into the solemnities of a fu- 
 neral over the dead body of one or more of the vic- 
 tims of the new dragoman's valour, I called him ofif 
 from the pursuit, and we continued our route up to 
 Pompey's Pillar without further molestation. There, 
 as we expected, we found the Wrinklebottoms, in a 
 fume of admiration and hot enthusiasm — full of a 
 thousand strange surmises respecting the object and 
 period of its erection. They would doubtless have 
 felt an honest pride in tracing its history to the ge- 
 nius and munificent spirit of Englishmen, in com- 
 memoration of some glorious deed of the British 
 arms, or the perpetuation of some distinguished vir- 
 tue of some ancient English nobleman. In this, the 
 utmost stretch of their imagination and genius found 
 not the least chance of realization. Its known ex- 
 istence is so far anterior to the date of the English 
 nation, that on that score there were no grounds of 
 hope. They could not, therefore, but acknowledge, 
 that it was the work of other than English hands, 
 and commemorative of other than English glory or 
 English virtue ; and they were as much enraptured 
 with that beautiful monument as it is possible for the 
 Queen's loyal subjects to manifest for any thing not 
 created by British hands, and manufactured out of 
 England. 
 
 The two Misses Wrinklebottom were just at that 
 moment finishing their sketches of the monument ; 
 and, as they rose to put up their paper and crayons, 
 they both said, in the same breath — 
 
1|2 AMBITION OF THE WRINKLEBOTTOMS. 
 
 " I wish, papa, that we could get upon the top of 
 Pompey's Pillar ; it would be such a nice place to 
 drink a cup of tea !" 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Wrinklebottom, " I wish so too ; 
 and what a famous place it would be from which 
 to date our next letters to England !" 
 
 " O yes," said one of the Misses Wrinklebottom ; 
 " and if we could only write our names there too, up 
 near the top, in large letters, it would not get rubbed 
 out very easily, would it, mamma 1" 
 
 " No, dear," replied Mrs. Wrinklebottom ; and then 
 addressing herself to Mr. Wrinklebottom, — who 
 seemed to be mentally calculating the difficulties 
 naturally attending the ascension to the top of a 
 smooth granite column, something over a hundred 
 feet high — " I wish the girls could write their names 
 up there, it would look so well." 
 
 " Decidedly'' said Mr. Wrinklebottom, " it would be 
 ca/pital ; but it's not possible^ 
 
 "And," said one of the Misses Wrinklebottom, " if 
 we could take a cup of tea and date our letters 
 there!" 
 
 " But," said Mr. Wrinklebottom, " it's impossible, 
 decidedly impossible, my dear." 
 
 " O ! I wish we could, papa," said the other Miss 
 Wrinklebottom ; and, turning to Mr. O'Statten, she 
 added, " don't you think, Mr. O'Statten, that we can 
 get upon the top of the column to take a cup of tea, 
 date our letters there, and write our names with the 
 other English travellers ? How did they get up there, 
 pray, if we cannot ?" 
 
INDIGNATION OF THE PACHA. J 4^ 
 
 " The thing is impossible, dear," again exclaimed 
 Mr. Wrinklebottom, " decidedly impossibkr 
 
 " No," repHed Mr. O'Statten, addressing himself to 
 one of the Misses Wrinklebottom, " I do not think it 
 will be possible to get permission to ascend the col- 
 umn now ; although, until within the last three or four 
 years, nothing was more common for parties of En- 
 glish ladies and gentlemen going out to India or re- 
 turning, than to dine and take tea upon the column, 
 and they used to have famous times. But, when 
 Lord Sweepstakes and his friend Sir Jeffrey Wind- 
 fall, and their suite, came out to Egypt in their splen- 
 did yacht, a few years since, they raised the English 
 flag upon the top of the Pillar, and gave a superb 
 champagne dinner there — it was a most capital 
 thing. They got so tipsy, however, and were taken 
 down so soon themselves, that they forgot to take 
 their jlag down. The consequence was, that the 
 Pacha, when he arose the next morning and saw the 
 English colours flying on the top of Pompey's Pil- 
 lar, wanted to know what it all meant, and if Egypt 
 had recently been taken by the English \ He was 
 informed that the flag was raised in honour of a jo- 
 vial dinner-party that Lord Sweepstakes and his 
 friend Sir Jeflrey had been giving there the day be- 
 fore, and that it was .forgotten. ' Forgotten !' said 
 the Pacha, ' by Sir Jeflrey Windfall and Lord Sweep- 
 stakes ! Well, take their flag down for them, then ; 
 and never allow those drunken English rascals to 
 dine and get tipsy upon the top of Pompey's Pillar 
 again to the latest day of their lives. I'll have no 
 
144 AFFRONT TO THE PACHA. 
 
 more of this noting and drunkenness in such eleva- 
 ted circles !' The fact is," continued Mr. O'Statten, 
 "the Pacha had been quite soured by the conduct 
 of both Lord Sweepstakes and Sir Jeffrey at the 
 palace, the day before they gave their dinner-party, 
 and was still in bad humour on that account. They 
 were presented to the Pacha by the English consul- 
 general resident at Alexandria, and were received by 
 his Highness with his accustomed urbanity. Pipes 
 and coffee were brought in, as usual, and offered to 
 Lord Sweepstakes and Sir Jeffrey, both of whom, to 
 the astonishment of the consul-general, and to the 
 bitter indignation of the Pacha, refused the pipes, 
 and would not puff a single whiff at the splendid 
 amber mouth-piece pipes of the Pacha ! Nothing 
 could have been in worse taste, nor more ill-natured ; 
 and so indignant was the Pacha at their low breed- 
 ing, that he gave positive orders, with a most fearful 
 oath — a wicked oath, which I could not repeat with- 
 out offending the ears of the ladies — that henceforth 
 and for ever thereafter, no pipe should be offered to 
 any Englishman introduced at the palace, upon the 
 pain of death to the person so offending in violation of 
 said order of his Highness the viceroy ; and further- 
 more, that henceforth and for ever, no Englishman or 
 Englishmen, nor English lady or English ladies, or 
 any part thereof, should be allowed from that time 
 to ascend Pompey's Pillar for the purpose of dining, 
 taking tea, dating letters, writing their names on its 
 sides, nor for any other purpose whatsoever ! 
 
 "And," still continued Mr. O'Statten, "greatly to 
 
THE PACHA'S DECREE. 145 
 
 the regret of a large majority of the English travel- 
 lers (for most of them would like to dine or take tea 
 on the Pillar, and leave their names in large black 
 letters near the top), neither of those shameful de- 
 crees has, as yet, been revoked. A formal complaint, 
 and many petitions, have been laid before the English 
 ambassador at Constantinople in regard to it; but 
 nothing has been done. Whether, in the pending 
 negotiations of the ' great powers' for the settlement 
 of the eastern difficulties between the Grand Sultan 
 and his vassal, a provision for the ascension of Pom- 
 pey's Pillar by her Majesty's subjects travelling in 
 Egypt, for the purposes aforesaid, will be insisted 
 upon by her Majesty's ministers, of course has not 
 yet transpired. The dignity of the English nation 
 demands of her Majesty's government some prompt, 
 energetic, warlike remonstrances against a decree so 
 barbarous and unjust on the part of the Pacha ; and 
 I think a special agent on the part of her Majesty's 
 government ought to be sent out to Egypt, with posi- 
 tive instructions from her Majesty's ministers at home, 
 to make a \formal demand'' upon the Pacha for the 
 revocation and entire repeal of those two odious and 
 unjust decrees, which are a stain upon our national 
 honour." 
 
 "Certainly," said Mrs. Wrinklebottom ; "I think 
 so too, Mr. O'Statten, and there is one thing about 
 it — when we get home, Mr. Wrinklebottom shall 
 publish the abuse in every paper in England, and 
 that will prevent English gentlemen and ladies from 
 coming here,'* 
 
 Vol. I.— 19 
 
146 IMAGINED INSULT 
 
 " O ! but that would be really too bad, mamma," 
 observed one of the Misses Wrinklebottom. 
 
 " No," rejoined Mrs, Wrinklebottom, " it will not, 
 my dear ; it will teach this bloodthirsty barbarian of 
 an Egyptian Pacha better next time how to respect 
 the English character. And besides, dear Euphemia, 
 there is a point of dignity and national elevation in- 
 volved in this question, which you don't understand 
 at all, child. The national honour must be sustained, 
 and tlie dignity of the British crown must be kept up, 
 at home and abroad, in every part of the globe, dear ; 
 and her Majesty's loyal subjects must be protected 
 and defended in all parts of the universe by the gov- 
 ernment, or her Majesty's ministers can't keep their 
 places another day." 
 
 " True," said Mr. Wrinklebottom, who by this time 
 began to feel a little warmed by the loyal and spirited 
 tone of Mrs. Wrinklebottom's conversation — ^^deci- 
 dedly true ; and, immediately on my arrival in Con- 
 stantinople, I'll draw up a formal complaint against 
 this flagrant abuse and insult to the English flag, and 
 lay it before his Excellency the British ambassador, 
 who shall immediately demand his passports, or re- 
 cord it as an item, to be incorporated into the aflairs 
 to be settled by the ' great powers' in the pending 
 diplomatic negotiations." 
 
 " That is very just," rephed Mr. O'Statten. « It is 
 only by spirited remonstrances against insults like 
 this, and peremptory demands for immediate and sat- 
 isfactory redress of such intolerable grievances, that 
 the dignity and national honour of Great Britain can 
 
TO THE BRITISH FLAG. 
 
 147 
 
 be sustained upon its present elevated pinnacle. I'm 
 right glad, Mr. Wrinklebottom, to see your estimable 
 lady aroused on this business, for I'm sure something 
 will now be done." 
 
 " That there will," said Mrs. Wrinklebottom ; " and, 
 so soon as we arrive in England, it shall all be pub- 
 lished in a hook /" 
 
 By this time, they had all worked themselves into 
 a fever of patriotic excitement and glorious boasting 
 about what was to be done with this " bloodthirsty 
 old Pacha" for insulting the British flag ; and they 
 gathered up their paint-boxes, sketching-stools, draw- 
 ing-papers, etc., remounted their donkeys, and gave 
 orders to their janizary to conduct themselves and 
 cortege to Cleopatra's Baths. 
 
 Mrs. Wrinklebottom Trolloping the odious Pacha. 
 
148 POMPEY'S PILLAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Pompey's Pillar. — *^ X S. Buckingham, ex-Member of Par- 
 liament.^' — His Acco^mt of Pompey's Pillar and Cleo- 
 patra's JYeedles. — Wilkinson^ s Opinion and Conjecture of 
 their Origin. — Reign of Thothmes III., King of Egypt. — 
 Disinclination of Monarchs to record their own Disasters. 
 — Gold Bracelet of Thothmes III. — General Inclination 
 of all JYations for Plunder and Spoil. 
 
 Pompey's Pillar is by far the most interesting 
 and wonderful of all the visible remains of ancient 
 Alexandria. It is composed of a single shaft of finely- 
 polished Egyptian granite, seventy-three feet high, 
 and a little over nine feet in diameter. That immense 
 and stupendous monument of the powder, taste, wealth, 
 and mechanical skill of the ancient dwellers in Alex- 
 andria, stands upon a solid block of red oriental gra- 
 nite, each of the sides of which measures about fif- 
 teen feet. This block rests upon a sub-structure of 
 stone mason- work, which, I am sorry to say, is falling 
 to pieces ; and, should it not soon be repaired, it 
 would not be surprising to hear that this beautiful 
 monument of antiquity, like most of the other splen- 
 did erections of the old Egyptians, had tumbled 
 down, and was destined ere long to be buried in the 
 
POMPEY'S PILLAR. 
 
 t 
 
J. S. BUCKINGHAM. 149 
 
 drifting sands of the desert. The whole erection is 
 surmounted by a well- wrought Corinthian capital of 
 correspondirfg proportions, making the height of it 
 altogether something over one hundred feet. This 
 extraordinary pillar, though exposed to the humid 
 blasts of two seas, and having stood in its present 
 position from a period scarcely unveiled by the linger 
 of history, is even now, in every part of it, where it 
 has not been bedaubed with the names of European 
 travellers, beautifully polished, and glitters in the sun 
 like burnished steel. 
 
 If J am right in my recollection, Mr. Buckingham, 
 the " ex-member of Parliament," in his fanciful lec- 
 ture with which he enlightened the dark and benight- 
 ed inhabitants of the obscure city of New York, in 
 the winter of 1838, speaking of this " Pompey's Pil- 
 lar," told us that it was not " Pompey's Pillar," or 
 rather, it was not Pompey the Great's Pillar — but a 
 pillar that was erected to the memory of a certain 
 Popaios, who had imported a quantity of corn into 
 Alexandria, at a time when there was a great scarcity 
 of that article in Egypt, and distributed it among the 
 inhabitants gratis. The learned gentleman, however, 
 did not content himself with such a meager and beg- 
 garly account of this splendid monument ; but he 
 kindly continued its history — and no doubt much to 
 the amusement of the good people of Gotham, whose 
 notions, touching " Pompey's Pillar'' must have been, 
 until then, quite vague and unsatisfactory. He as- 
 serted that said pillar was only one of some hundred 
 or more which adorned a certain heathen temple 
 
150 BUCKINGHAM'S ACCOUNT 
 
 that once stood in the centre of ancient Alexandria, 
 in the angle of four streets of one thousand feet 
 ■broad each, terminating, or rather meeting, in the 
 square in which this temple stood ; which, the learn- 
 ed lecturer , said, was dedicated, I think, to Jupiter 
 Serapis, or some other god who was never much 
 known or esteemed by the ancient people of that 
 country, of all others most fruitful in deities of every 
 description. The " ex-member of Parliament" also 
 affirmed that the temple was erected upon a platform 
 or sub-structure of stone, one hundred feet high and 
 a thousand feet square ; and that there were flights 
 of steps the whole length of each side of this rather 
 broad and elevated platform, carried up all around 
 from the base to the top. The temple, supported 
 by one hundred or more of those fine Egyptian 
 granite pillars, seventy -three feet high, and twenty- 
 eight feet three inches in circumference, the learned 
 gentleman informed us, was erected upon the said 
 platform, with suitable Corinthian capitals, archi- 
 traves, pediments, etc. ; so that the whole struc- 
 ture, when completed, could have been little, if any 
 thing less than two hundred and fifty feet high ! 
 After building this fine " castle in the air," the lectur- 
 er, to give the whole a more poetical turn, and to 
 complete the picture, informed the large and crowd- 
 ed audience that it was subsequently destroyed by 
 an earthquake !^ This interesting historical account 
 
 * Gibbon says, in his " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," that the 
 temple of Serapis, in Alexandria, was destroyed by the Christians, in accord- 
 ance with an edict of Theodosius, prohibiting the worship of idols in thai 
 city. — Gibbon's " Decline, and Fally" London ed. in 1 vol. 8vo, p. 444. 
 
or POMPEY'>S PILLAR. 15 J 
 
 of " Pompey's Pillar," connected with a temple so 
 remarkable as that of the Jupiter Serapis of the " ex- 
 member of Parhament," natm-all j made an impression 
 upon my mind at the time, which I did not fail to 
 remember when I stood before that noble, chaste, and 
 truly beautiful erection. The thought, not very ex- 
 traordinary to be sure, suggested itself to me, if this 
 splendid pillar is indeed only one of some hundred 
 or more that once adorned a temple of such colossal 
 dimensions, in the centre of the city of ancient Al- 
 exandria, where are the rest of them ? Have none 
 of them, or not the least fragment of them, ever 
 been discovered 1 But upon making diligent inquiry 
 in Alexandria, I was unable to fall in with any one 
 who could give me the least information respecting 
 them, I did not see them in the British Museum, 
 among the confused wreck of the broken ornaments 
 pillaged from the Parthenon at Athens, and conclu- 
 ded that if they ever existed at all, except in the 
 learned gentleman's imagination, and were not actu- 
 ally brought away in his " breeches pockets," they 
 must be in the private cabinet of Lord Elgin, who 
 robbed the temples of Greece, or among the antique 
 relics and precious gems of Mr. Salt, the English 
 consul, who broke open and ransacked the tombs of 
 Egypt. 
 
 The learned " ex-member," in the course of the 
 same evening, if I am not at fault in my recollection, 
 continuing his interesting narrative of the wonderful 
 remains still visible among the crushed ruins of an- 
 cient Alexandria, came down upon the obelisks of 
 
152 ERUDITION OF MR. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 tl^leopatra with much emphasis and a great flourish 
 of learned phraseology in Arabic and other oriental 
 languages, which the distinguished " ex-member" 
 seemed to handle as familiarly and with as much 
 ease as ordinary mortals pull off and put on their 
 gloves and slippers. I think it was not the evening, 
 however, that he so enlightened his audience in a 
 lengthened and very learned discourse upon the defi- 
 nition of the word '^nigh" — a definition that the 
 people of New York, and the inhabitants of the 
 United States generally, could have known very lit- 
 tle about, until the arrival of the learned " ex-mem- 
 ber," who not only made us all acquainted with the 
 meaning of the little word ^^nighl' but he also told 
 us that in England the apothecaries sold the pow- 
 dered remains of Egyptian mummies for physic ! In 
 fact, as is well known, the learned " ex-member" was 
 full of intelligence, and enlightened our confiding and 
 rather easily- humbugged countrymen most prodi- 
 giously upon oriental subjects, especially in the mys- 
 teries of the antique, — in which the learned " ex- 
 member" seemed to be so well versed, that he dis- 
 cussed their age, merit, present, past, and future state, 
 as if he had been one of the family that entered into 
 the ark with Noah — came out safe and sound after 
 the flood; — and, having had a supervision of every 
 thing that has taken place in the world since that 
 event, expected to live till the downfall of all things, 
 and their final destruction by fire. But when he 
 came to the obelisks bearing the name of the cele- 
 brated queen of Egypt, it was really an interesting 
 
THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA. J 53 
 
 point in the learned " ex-member's" discourse. After 
 informing us that one obelisk was still standing, and 
 that the other, nearly buried in sand, had been pre- 
 sented by the cunning old Pacha of Egypt to half 
 the reigning sovereigns ih Europe, who, in return, 
 one after the other, had sent the Pacha gold snuff- 
 boxes, diamond rings, and other trinkets of great 
 value ; and then, finding it impossible to take their 
 obelisk away, had left it in the Viceroy's possession, 
 still to humbug other princes with — the learned gen- 
 tleman went on to state that those two obelisks stood 
 in front of the Library of Cleopatra. His descrip- 
 tion of the obelisks, and the buildings containing the 
 books of the voluptuous queen, was indeed a finished 
 specimen of the art of an able lecturer, and it sus- 
 tained the character of the " ex-member" wondrously 
 well for highly-finished fabrication. Nor did he for- 
 get to describe the library, and to tell us that the 
 books were a new-year's gift from Mark Antony to 
 Cleopatra ; and that they were so numerous at the 
 time of the Saracen invasion, when their destruction 
 was decreed, that they amply served the four thou- 
 sand bathing establishments, which he said then ex- 
 isted in Alexandria, six months for fuel ! 
 
 The celebrated library of Alexandria is said to 
 have been destroyed three times : once by Csesar, 
 once by the Christians, and again by the order of 
 Omar, who said, " If these writings of the Greeks 
 agree with the book of God (i. e. the Koran), they 
 are useless, and need not be preserved : if they disa- 
 gree, they are pernicious, and ought to be destroyed." 
 
 Vol. I. — 20 
 
154 CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLES. 
 
 Gibbon, however, after giving the account of its 
 destruction by the followers of Mohammed, says : " I 
 am strongly tempted to deny both the fact and the 
 consequences ....... The rigid sentence of Omar 
 
 is repugnant to the sound and orthodox precept of 
 the Mohammedan casuists ; they expressly declare, 
 that the religious books of the Jews and Christians 
 which are acquired by the right of war, should never 
 be committed to the flames ; and that the works of 
 profane science, historians or poets, physicians or 
 philosophers, may be lawfully applied to the use of 
 the faithful."* 
 
 By other travellers and various authors, the obe- 
 lisks, or Cleopatra's Needles, are said to have stood 
 before or in the palace of the Ptolemies ; which, 
 after the Roman conquest, was naturally called the 
 palace of the Csesars ; and the scattered fragments 
 that are still visible there are amply indicative that 
 a structure of no ordinary dimensions and richness 
 once stood near them. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinsonf says that they are of the time of 
 the brilhant reign of Thothmes III. — "one of the 
 most remarkable reigns that occur in the history of 
 Egypt. He was a prince," continues Mr. Wilkinson, 
 
 * Gibbon says that the famous Library of Alexandria was destroyed with 
 the temple of Serapis by the hands of the Christians, under the immediate 
 direction of " Theophilus, the perpetual enemy of peace and virtue ; a bold, 
 bad man, whose hands were alternately polluted with gold and with blood." 
 Theophilus was then upon the archiepiscopal throne of Alexandria ; and, in 
 pursuance of a decree of Theodosius, pronouncing destruction to the idola- 
 trous temples and gods of Alexandria, this zealous functionary of the church 
 destroyed the library of the heathens with their deities. — Gibbon'' s " Decline 
 and Fall," Lond. 4to ed., p. 444 ; ibid. p. 912. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., p. 56, note. 
 
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE. 
 
 155 
 
 Cleopatra's Nkedi.e. 
 
156 CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLES. 
 
 " who aspired to the merit of benefiting his country 
 by an unbounded encouragement of the arts of peace 
 and war." This remarkable Pharaoh is supposed to 
 have been upon the throne of Egypt at the time of 
 the Exodus of the Israehtes, which took place, as 
 Mr. Wilkinson"^ supposes, in the fourth year of his 
 reign ; and, as these obelisks, as well as others now 
 in Rome, and one in Constantinople, together with 
 numerous buildings which he founded in Ethiopia, 
 Upper and Lower Egypt, besides extensive additions 
 which he made to the temples of Thebes, Memphis, 
 Heliopolis, Coptos, and other large cities of the coun- 
 try, — were all achieved by him subsequently to the 
 departure of the Jews out of Egypt, he concludes 
 that Pharaoh could not have been drowned in the 
 Red Sea with the Egyptian troops who were pursu- 
 ing the hosts of Israel, as related in the Bible.f " In- 
 deed," he continues, " there is no authority in the 
 writings of Moses for supposing that Pharaoh was 
 drowned in the Red Sea ; and from our finding that 
 wherever any fact is mentioned in the Bible history 
 we do not find any thing on the monuments which 
 tends to contradict it, we may conclude that these two 
 authorities will not be at variance with each other." 
 
 Pharaoh was doubtless at the head of the Egyp- 
 tian armyf at the time of the pursuit ; but whether he 
 did or did not enter into the sea with the rest of the 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 54, 55. 
 
 t Exod. xiv. 9, 23 : " But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses 
 and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them 
 encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth before Baal-zephon. And the 
 Egyptians pursued and went in after them, to the midst of the sea, even all 
 Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen." J Ibid. xiv. 6-10. 
 
REIGN OF THOTHMES IIL 157 
 
 Egyptians, who perished amid the overwhehning 
 waves, I do not know that there is any positive rec- 
 ord in the Scriptures to determine — though it is 
 written that the Lord said unto Moses, "I will hard- 
 en the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow 
 them ; and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and 
 upon all his hosts, upon his chariots, and upon his 
 horsemen."* 
 
 If the honour alluded to, in the declaration of the 
 Lord to Moses, was to consist in the destruction of 
 the Egyptians, it would be a natural inference that it 
 was intended to destroy their leader as well as the 
 slavish hosts who followed him, and obeyed his com- 
 mands ; else the destruction of a few thousand troops, 
 and his chariots and horses, could have been no very 
 awful affliction, or have occasioned no very great 
 degree of embarrassment to a rich and powerful king, 
 such as Thothmes IIL was at the time : who then 
 had twenty thousand populous cities, and all the im- 
 mense resources of the valley of the Nile, from 
 whence to have raised and equipped a new army. 
 
 It is true that in the scriptural account of that very 
 extraordinary event, no mention is made of Pharaoh's 
 entering into the midst of the sea with his army in 
 person ; nor in the Song of Mosesf which the Israel- 
 ites sung to the Lord on the shores of the Red Sea, 
 after their miraculous deliverance and the overthrow 
 of the Egyptians, is any mention made of the drown- 
 ing or destruction of Pharaoh, further than might be 
 conveyed by the destruction of his army. It is said, 
 
 * Exod. xiv. 37. f Ibid. xv. 1. 
 
158 SUGGESTIONS OF MR. WILKINSON. 
 
 " Pliaraoli's chariots and his host hath he cast into 
 the sea : his chosen captains also are drowned in the 
 Red Sea. The depths have covered them : they 
 sunk to the bottom as a stone."^ 
 
 The death of so important a personage as the ipow- 
 erful and hard-hearted Pharaoh, v^ould, as Mr. Wil- 
 kinson suggests, have been " an event of sufficient 
 consequence at least to have been noticed, and one 
 w^hich v^ould not have been omitted."! 
 
 It is also true that David,J in recounting the won- 
 derful mercies of the Lord, and in his earnest exhor- 
 tation to give thanks to God for particular favours, 
 has said that Pharaoh and his host were overthrown 
 in the Red Sea ; from which we may infer at least, 
 let the fact be as it may, that at the period in which 
 David lived, it was the common belief that Pharaoh 
 was drowned in the Red Sea, as well as his army. 
 Mr. Wilkinson, however, thinks that this testimony 
 " can scarcely be opposed to that of Moses ;" when 
 the fact is, Moses does not say positively whether 
 Pharaoh was drowned or not. 
 
 But the most natural inference in the world would 
 be, from the declarations of the Lord to Moses con- 
 cerning that wonderful event, and from the other cir- 
 cumstances attending it, that Pharaoh was lost with 
 his army, and that they all alike shared a common 
 grave in the midst of the sea. David, to say the 
 least, was as likely to know the truth in regard to an 
 event so very extraordinary, and one of such exceed- 
 
 * Exod. XV. 4, 5. t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., p. 66. 
 
 X Psalm cxxxvi, 15. 
 
REIGN OF THOTHMES III. 159 
 
 ing interest to him and his nation, as any, even the 
 most intelligent author of our times : and, that he 
 supposed Pharaoh was in person destroyed, with his 
 chariots, his horses, his entire army, and every thing 
 appertaining thereunto, I think there can scarcely be 
 a doubt 
 
 But according to Mr. Wilkinson, this Pharaoh, 
 Thothmes III., came back from the disastrous pur- 
 suit of the Israelites in safety ; and, after extending 
 his arms and authority over Ethiopia and several 
 northern nations, from all of which he exacted and 
 received an annual tribute (of which fact he informs 
 us that the monuments* of Thebes at the present day 
 bear ample testimony), he greatly benefited his coun- 
 try by a successful cultivation of the arts of peace ; 
 embellished it with splendid temples, which he found- 
 ed himself; enlarged and greatly adorned those al- 
 ready in existence, and raised many statues, obelisks, 
 and other monuments, to record and perpetuate the 
 glory of his reign ; and that the two venerable obe- 
 lisks now in the city of Alexandria, are a part of the 
 fragments still existing of the works of art achieved 
 under his administration of the affairs of Egypt. 
 
 Unfortunately, in the historical paintings and mon- 
 umental erections of ancient nations, there was no 
 greater inclination, apparently, to record their own dis- 
 asters and defeats, than is manifested among differ- 
 ent communities of our time ; else much light might 
 have been disclosed in regard to the fact, whe- 
 ther Pharaoh was or was not lost with his army in 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., pp. 53-66. 
 
160 GOLD BRACELET OF THOTHMES IIL 
 
 the Red Sea, by the recent discoveries in hieroglyph- 
 ics on these very obeHsks and other monuments sup- 
 posed to have been erected soon after the departure 
 of the Israelites out of Egypt. But upon this sub- 
 ject the sculptures of Egypt are perfectly silent. No 
 mention is made of defeats and overthrov^s ; but, like 
 the historical paintings at Versailles, and many other 
 European galleries, victories alone are portrayed, and 
 defeats are left to be filled up by those that have 
 conquered. 
 
 When w^e weve in Holland, v^e saw, in the fine 
 Egyptian Museum of Ley den, a beautiful gold brace- 
 let, bearing the name of King Thothmes IIL of 
 Egypt. And if he w^as really the hard-hearted Pha- 
 
 GoLD Bracelet of Thothmes IIL 
 
 raoh that oppressed the Israelites so cruelly, may not 
 Moses, who was so frequently commanded to appear 
 before him, have seen him in his kingly robes, and 
 wearing this same beautiful bracelet 1 
 
 But the obelisks of Alexandria, whether erected 
 by order of the Pharaoh who " knew not Joseph," 
 and who so sorely afflicted his brethren, or not, are 
 nevertheless remarkable monuments ; and appear 
 
INCIJNATION OF NATIONS 161 
 
 much more interesting and impressive where they 
 now stand, amid the desolation and crumbled ruins 
 of an ancient city, than many similar works of art 
 which have been transported from Egypt to Europe, 
 at a vast expense, and may be seen in Constantino- 
 ple, Rome, and Paris, surmounted with crosses^ cres- 
 cents, and tawdry gilding — commemorative, in their 
 present positions, rather of the folly and pampered 
 vanity of those who have thus injudiciously removed 
 them, than of the munificence and wisdom of worthy 
 princes. 
 
 The spirit of pillage and plunder has been in- 
 dulged in by all victorious nations, which, by turns, 
 have themselves nearly all been plundered. The 
 Persians first plundered the Egyptians ; the Greeks 
 the Persians ; the Romans the Greeks ; the French 
 laid nearly the whole of Europe under contribution ; 
 and England has pillaged from all nations. But 
 never, I believe, until the formation of the black 
 league, and the downfall of Napoleon, was a general 
 restoration insisted upon by a combination of princes ; 
 and even then, it was only carried into effect to a 
 partial extent. The strong governments, and those 
 immediately dependant on, or under the protection 
 of such as were sufficiently powerful to make them- 
 selves respected, got back all the works of art that 
 Napoleon had taken from them and carried to Paris 
 to enrich the vast and splendid collections of the 
 Louvre. France was, of course, stripped and laid un- 
 der heavy contributions, while the old landmarks 
 were hauled up, old dynasties revived, and a day of 
 
 Vol. L — 21 
 
J. 62 FOE, PLUNDER AND SPOIL. 
 
 restitution instituted ; but its blessings did not extend 
 to all. 
 
 The light of some communities that had once 
 blazed through the world, was put out for ever. The 
 republic of Venice was crushed. She did indeed re- 
 ceive back her bronze horses, which in the plenitude 
 of her power she had snatched from the lofty portals 
 of Constantinople ; and the deathless touches of Ti- 
 tian and other of her old painters, were restored to the 
 walls where they had hung for centuries before. But 
 it was only that a foreign prince might possess them. 
 They received the sword and crown of the Emperor 
 of Austria with them. They were never to revive 
 again as a nation : the black league of Europe had 
 otherwise decreed. They were to become an insig- 
 nificant appendage to the Austrian empire ; and the 
 spoils which the French had collected in the course 
 of their invasions of Egypt, were deemed honoura- 
 ble and worthy plunder with which to enrich the 
 British Museum. The acquisition of these only 
 kindled a national taste for the more extensive pillage 
 of the defenceless states of the Levant. 
 
 While the resident English ambassador at Con- 
 stantinople was engaged in the work of demolition 
 and robbery of the Grecian temples, the English 
 consul-general at Alexandria was no less assiduous 
 in the destruction of those of Egypt, and in empty- 
 ing the graves of the dead. Tombs that had rested 
 in silence, and which had been respected as sacred 
 through the long centuries of Persian, Grecian, Ro- 
 man, and Turkish oppression, were now wantonly 
 
ROBBERY BY THE BRITISH NATION. 
 
 163 
 
 broken into. Coffins were emptied of their dust, 
 and sent into a distant land, to gratify the vanity of 
 ah Enghsh lord. The old monuments of Egypt 
 were torn up and broken into fragments, to swell the 
 lumber in the British Museum. A double robbery 
 was committed by the British nation : first, in pil- 
 laging Egypt, and again in the extortions inflicted 
 upon their own oppressed people, to pay dearly the 
 unworthy hire of the robbers themselves ! 
 
 Who is benefited by all this ? Are not the beau- 
 ty and interest of many gems of art greatly dimin- 
 ished — many of the noble achievements of the 
 genius and munificence of ancient nations nearly or 
 wholly destroyed I Is science advanced by it ? Has 
 it been the means of establishing free schools in 
 England ? Has it opened her cathedrals to public 
 inspection without a fee 1 Is there more political or 
 religious freedom enjoyed by the people on that ac- 
 count? Has the window-tax been diminished — the 
 monopoly of printing the Bible — the duty on bread, 
 received any modification on account of this pillage 
 among the antiquities of the East? If not, what 
 then has been the advantage derived from this reck- 
 less pluuder and spoil among the venerable remains 
 of ancient nations 1 
 
 English Mummy-Pill Factory. 
 
164 PLAOUES OF EGYPT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 '' Plagues of Egypt.^^ — An Evening with Mr. Firkins. — 
 His Opinion of Mehemet Mi and the Diplomacy of the 
 ''Great Powers.^' — Jealousy of the Allies, and Mehemet 
 AWs Check upon their Diplomatic Intrigues. — Subtlety 
 of the Pacha, and the Promises of France. — The Pacha's 
 Government, and its Effects upon the People. 
 
 This, though the last day of December, has been 
 hke May in New England; really most delightful 
 weather. Yet, with all the sunshine, dates, flowers, 
 and delicacies of the season, there is a chilliness in 
 the evening breeze ; though it is not quite cold 
 enough to stiflen the musquitoes, thousands of which 
 are buzzing about my ears ; and now and then a flea 
 drops in to disturb the monotony of their music. 
 
 "The ' plagues of Egypt' are not quite all out of 
 Alexandria yet," said I to Mr. Firkins, who came in 
 just at the moment— " although Mehemet Ali has 
 had the whole Turkish fleet riding at anchor so near 
 the door of his palace, that the smoke from his pipe 
 mingles with that from the cannon of the fine sev- 
 enty-fours and hundred-and-twenty-gun-ships that 
 cut such a capital figure here just now." 
 
 " True," said Mr. Firkins, " Egypt has plagues 
 enough in all conscience, decidedly ; and the Eu~ 
 
AN EVENING WITH MR. FIRKINS. 165 
 
 ropean plagues are among the most annoying of them 
 all. These ships are decidedly some of the most splen- 
 did in the world; and " 
 
 " Well they may be," said I, " for they were built 
 by an American : the Americans make some things 
 well, and scarcely any thing better than their ships." 
 
 " Or worse," said Mr. Firkins, " than speculations." 
 
 " True," said I, " Mr. Firkins ; then you have 
 heard of some of our whims and follies, even here 
 in Egypt?" 
 
 " In Egypt !" replied Mr. Firkins ; " that blue bub- 
 ble of painted cities in the woods, and lots in the 
 bottom of the sea, is the jest of the whole world. 
 My friends in India make a standing joke of Ameri- 
 can speculations. In all their letters to me, they 
 seem to chuckle over them like a cobbler over his 
 beer." 
 
 "But — ," 
 
 " But," rejoined Mr. Firkins, " you have not heard 
 me through." 
 
 " Pardon," 
 
 " Well, then," continued Mr. F., " these fine ships 
 are not among the most annoying ' plagues of Egypt,' 
 nor are they plagues at all ; what a really brilliant 
 display they make !" 
 
 " True," said I, " they do make a fine display ; 
 but " 
 
 " But," repHed Mr. Firkins, " Mehemet AH dined 
 on board one of these monsters of the deep to-day, 
 in company with about three hundred guests, inclu- 
 ding all the great men of the country." 
 
166 MR. FIRKINS'S OPINION OF MEHEMET ALL 
 
 " Indeed !" 
 
 " Yes," continued Mr. Firkins, " and a most capital 
 time they have had of it too. What a thundering 
 of guns, and burning of gunpowder ! what a rattling 
 of champagne-glasses and coffee-cups ! and above 
 all, what a cloud of smoke ascended from the fra- 
 grant fumes of three hundred pipes put in active 
 blast by Mehemet Ali and his three hundred guests ! 
 It was a famous time. No one here supposes that 
 the Pacha will give up this splendid fleet ; and, as 
 matters now stand, he is a great fool, in my opinion, 
 if he does. However, Mehemet Ali is no fool ; and 
 France will endorse his protection of the Turkish 
 fleet and the brave old admiral, who has thrown 
 himself and the Sultan's ships into such fine winter 
 quarters." 
 
 " Do you really think so 1" 
 
 " Think so !" repHed Mr. Firkins, " I not only 
 think so, but I know so. The Pacha has already told 
 me as much : not in the same words, to be sure, but 
 the same thing." 
 
 « Really!" 
 
 " Certainly he has," continued Mr. Firkins, " and 
 all this long-winded, diplomatic, nonsensical entan- 
 glement will end, if it ever end at all, in no good. 
 England has emancipated her slaves in the West 
 Indies, and greatly tightened the chains and fetters 
 with which she cruelly tyrannizes over and oppresses 
 her millions upon milUons of slaves in the East. She 
 starves her myriads of peasants at home, and keeps 
 up her odious corn-law system to fill the pockets of 
 
CLAIMS OP THE PACHA. 167 
 
 the rich landed-proprietors, out of the mouths and 
 collapsed bellies of her thousands upon thousands of 
 wretched subjects in Great Britain, who sleep on the 
 ground, live in hovels, burn dirt, clothe in rags, and 
 eat what drops to them from the unsteady hand of 
 chance ! She is about to marry her virgin Queen 
 to a German cousin, which will not probably lighten 
 the public burden, already too grievous. She 'pro- 
 tects the Ionian islands ;' lords it over Canada ; threat- 
 ens to make war upon the trade of her manufactures 
 with the United States ; and pledges herself not to 
 violate the integrity of the Ottoman empire. Me- 
 hemet Ali strokes his long silvery beard, deliberately 
 moves his amber pipe from his mouth, gives a signifi- 
 cant whifF, looks out upon his splendid fleet, and says, 
 ' France will stand by me to the last,' Great bodies 
 move the world." 
 
 " And yet," said I, " the emptiest things reverberate 
 the loudest sound." 
 
 " Yes, I understand all that well enough," contin- 
 ued Mr. Firkins. " But then you must know that 
 what the Pacha says, has something more in it than 
 mere vague and empty sound. He claims and de- 
 mands of the Grand Sultan full and absolute domin- 
 ion over Syria and Candia, as well as Egypt; and 
 that the undisputed right to reign over all these coun- 
 tries shall be hereditary in his family. With the 
 Turkish fleet at his door, and his victorious armies 
 in Syria, backed by the promises of France, I think 
 there can be no doubt of his ultimately obtaining all 
 he asks. After all, however, he would not insist upon 
 
168 DIPLOMACY OF 
 
 breaking off the nominal connexion that still exists 
 between him and the Porte ; but would doubtless be 
 willing to continue the accustomed tribute and pres- 
 ents to the Grand Seignior. To this reasonable de- 
 mand of the Pacha, it is said that the Sultan would 
 at once most gladly accede, if left to himself. But 
 Russia, fearing the consequences to her ambitious 
 designs, of so formidable a power as that would be 
 in the hands of so able a man as Mehemet Ali, 
 throws all sorts of obstacles in the way ; and, up to 
 the present moment, has prevented the consummation 
 of any arrangement whereby the unsettled state of 
 eastern affairs might be tranquillized and happily ter- 
 minated, without the further effusion of blood. The 
 whole affair is now entirely out of the hands of the 
 Grand Sultan and his nominal vassal ; and the ' five 
 powers' have attempted, though thus far ineffectually, 
 to manage the whole question in dispute by diplo- 
 matic negotiation. At present, however, it is not 
 known whether this business will be quietly ar- 
 ranged, or result in a general war, in which Eu- 
 rope and Asia may again be unfortunately deluged 
 in blood. So far, it is said, difficulties have sprung 
 up, one after another, sufficiently great to defeat 
 even the preliminaries to an amicable and defi- 
 nite adjustment. Russia has long had an anxious 
 and ambitious eye upon Constantinople, and is in 
 hopes, upon the downfall of the Turkish empire (an 
 event that must happen, sooner or later), to place her 
 foot firmly in that splendid city ; which, once fairly 
 beneath her gigantic tread, would become the key 
 
THE « GREAT POWERS." 3 69 
 
 to the destinies of Europe, if not also to all the vast 
 and important countries of the East. France, Eng- 
 land, Austria, and Prussia will not consent to any 
 measures that will be likely to give Russia the ad- 
 vantages of that position. They would therefore, 
 for the most part, prefer bringing about an adjustment 
 of existing difficulties in the Turkish empire, by di- 
 viding the territory between the contending parties, 
 to waiting the natural dissolution of it under its 
 own immoral weight of corruption, and then run the 
 risk of the chances of war : a war which would al- 
 most unavoidably immediately ensue. Indeed, there 
 would not probably be any difficulty in settling the 
 question in accordance with the original resolution 
 of the ' five powers,' were it not for the exceeding 
 jealousy that exists between the interfering parties 
 themselves. Neither of the umpire states is willing 
 to trust either of the others with the unrestrained 
 power to compel Mehemet Ali to do what was long 
 since decided, by the interfering nations, should be 
 the only basis of tranquillity to the Turkish empire, 
 and peace to Europe : that is, the evacuation of 
 Syria by the Egyptian troops, and the unreserved 
 surrender of the Turkish fleet. This, the ' great 
 powers' declared, should be done ; and that, should 
 Mehemet Ali refuse to comply with the demand 
 when made, he was to be compelled to do it. Al- 
 though either of the five powers would gladly enough 
 take the thing in hand, and march their troops to 
 the frontiers of Egypt, with a view to its accomplish- 
 ment ; yet neither is willing to trust any of the others 
 Vol. I— 22 
 
170 THE "GREAT POWERS." 
 
 with the finishing stroke. England says to France, 
 * We cannot trust you with the settlement of this 
 business, lest, when you have brought the Pacha to 
 subjection, you might be inclined to keep possession 
 of Egypt' France is equally afraid of the ambitious 
 designs of England. She thinks that England would 
 be glad to find a plausible pretext for throwing her 
 'protecting arms over the valley of the Nile, somewhat 
 in the same style that she * protects the Ionian isl- 
 ands.' Russia opposes all, or either of the other 
 powers^ in moving in what she thinks her peculiar 
 position and proximity to the seat of difficulty espe- 
 cially constitute her the natural agent for accom- 
 plishing. Again, Austria and all the other powers 
 stand out most valiantly against the active interfe- 
 rence of Russia, coercively, in the business ; because 
 they think they have pretty good evidence for 
 believing that she, after disposing of the Pacha, would 
 most probably take care of herself — and would not 
 only hold on to the fleet, and perhaps Egypt, but 
 would endeavour to keep possession of Turkey into 
 the bargain. Indeed, it is said that the ministers of 
 the late Sultan were corrupted by the Russian gov- 
 ernment ; and only waited to get possession of the 
 fleet, in order that they might, on the death of the 
 late Sultan, surrender it into the hands of Russia, to- 
 gether with Constantinople, and the dominion over 
 the Turkish empire. Such is the declared opinion of 
 the Capitan Pacha, who commanded the Turkish 
 fleet ; and so far from committing what most of the 
 world pronounces the basest piece of treachery upon 
 
GOVERNMENT OF MEHEMET ALL J 7 I 
 
 record in modern history, he claims to have done a 
 patriotic and praiseworthy action, in conducting the 
 fleet to Alexandria, and placing it under the protec- 
 tion of Mehemet Ali ; who is able to keep it out of 
 the hands of Russia, and is ready and willing to ren- 
 der the most efficient and essential assistance to the 
 Porte. Thus," continued Mr. Firkins, " when rogues 
 become suspicious of each other, and disagree, honest 
 men get their due : Mehemet Ali keeps what he has 
 got, and holds the united threats of the ' great pow- 
 ers' at naught, and of no great account." 
 
 " But," said I to Mr. Firkins, as he wound off the 
 last sentence, " you, living upon such famihar, hand- 
 and-glove kind of terms with the Pacha, can hardly 
 be considered a fair and impartial judge of his gov- 
 ernment and the wisdom of his policy." 
 
 " Perhaps not," said Mr. Firkins, " though I believe 
 I am better able to judge of his talents, and the ef- 
 fects of his government upon the country, than al- 
 most any man in Egypt. Mehemet Ali is now more 
 than seventy years of age. He is tyrannical and 
 despotic, beyond all manner of doubt. But I be- 
 lieve that, with all his tyranny, he has the best in- 
 terests of the country at heart, and his government, 
 despotic as it may be called, is not the worst gov- 
 ernment in the world for Egypt, after all. The 
 Pacha is exceedingly energetic, and perseveres in 
 whatever he undertakes with most commendable 
 activity. The country is improving, and daily be- 
 coming more and more productive ; and the Egyp- 
 tians themselves are gradually being brought into a 
 state of civilization " 
 
172 MEHEMET ALPS REVENUE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Further Conversation with Mr. Firkins. — Inhabitants, Reve- 
 nue, and Education of Egypt. — The Army and Military 
 Conscriptions. — Influence and Power of Mehemet Ali. — 
 Revolting Expedients of Mothers to exempt their Sons from 
 Service in the Army. — Their Cruel Practices rendered 
 unavailing. — One-eyed Regiment. — Pernicious Effects of 
 Climate upon the Eye. — Caution to Strangers. — Franks 
 mistaken for Conjurers and Physicians. — Eminence and 
 Skill of the Ancient Physicians of Egypt. — Fatal Experi- 
 ments punished by Death. — Ancient Quacks. 
 
 " The Pacha," continued Mr. Firkins, " has estab- 
 lished manufactories and schools in various parts 
 of the country, at a vast expense ; and it is said 
 that there are at least twenty thousand Egyptian 
 children regularly attending school. His revenue, 
 compared w^ith the population of the country, may 
 appear, at first sight, rather large. It is said to come 
 fully up to £6,000,000 f w^hile the number of in- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Egyptians, First Series, ii. 87 : — " With respect to the 
 public revenues of Egypt, Diodorus Siculus states them to have been, 
 in his time, equal to six thousand talents, or about one million two thousand 
 pounds." 
 
 Ibid. i. 225 : — "And under Ptolemy Auletes, the father of Cleopatra, the 
 revenue amounted to twelve thousand five hundred talents, or between three 
 and four millions sterling.^' 
 
EDUCATION IN EGYPT, 173 
 
 habitants in Egypt will fall somewhat under two 
 millions." 
 
 " That, of course," said I, " includes the amount 
 of revenue derived from Syria and Candia." 
 
 " Why, as to that matter," said Mr. Firkins, " both 
 Syria and Candia, thus far, have been a deadweight 
 upon the Pacha's hands, and have cost him a pro- 
 digious sum of money. He is obliged to keep up a 
 large army, under existing circumstances ; and this 
 revenue, though it may seem to be enormous for the 
 size of the country, is scarcely enough to defray the 
 expenses of the government. Besides, this can 
 hardly be considered as raised by a tax upon the 
 inhabitants of Egypt, since most of the soil and a 
 greater proportion of every other species of property 
 in Egypt are not only under the control of the Pacha, 
 but actually belong to him." 
 
 " So that," said I, " these six millions of pounds ster- 
 ling may be considered nothing more or less than the 
 nett proceeds of the sale of all the surplus products 
 of Egypt, over and above what is required for the 
 subsistence of the population of the country." 
 
 "Exactly," rejoined Mr, Firkins ; "just as it is in 
 England among the great lords and rich nobles in 
 that country. Mehemet Ali, perhaps, is a little more 
 extensively engaged in business than they are, and 
 conducts it on rather more liberal principles. For 
 instance, he has no odious corn-laws ; no minister 
 tax ; and he has introduced a system, to some extent, 
 of public education. He has sent some of the Arabs 
 abroad and educated them at his own expense, and 
 
174 INHABITANTS OF EGYPT. 
 
 Others he is instructing at home. These circum- 
 stances, together with the advantages of chmate and 
 cheap bread, give the poor people of Egypt a won- 
 derful advantage, in point of personal comfort, over 
 the wretched peasantry that drag out a miserable ex- 
 istence, in want and wo, in many parts of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland. There the climate is so se- 
 vere that the poor creatures must not only have bread 
 to eat, which often costs them more than all they 
 can earn, with the greatest care, prudence, and indus- 
 try, but they must have clothes of some kind ; and 
 houses to live in that will keep out the storm. The 
 peasantry of Great Britain must also have fuel to 
 warm their houses, or they will freeze to death in 
 winter. But here in Egypt, the real wants of the 
 poor people are fewer, and satisfied much more easily. 
 The delicious water of the Nile, more healthful than 
 London porter, is free to all ; and the article of bread, 
 the great thing with the poor in all countries, is about 
 five hundred per cent, cheaper in Egypt than in Eng- 
 land. As regards houses, the inhabitants of the up- 
 per country have very little need of any at all ; and 
 give them a little butter or some kind of oil* to grease 
 
 * Wilkinson's Egyptians, vol. iii. 379: — "The custom of anointing the 
 body is usual in hot climates, and contributes greatly to comfort. Even the 
 Greeks, Romans, and others, whose limbs were mostly covered with clothes, 
 and protected from the dryness of the air, found the advantage of its use ; and 
 those whose skins were much exposed, in consequence of their scanty cloth- 
 ing, as the Ethiopians and other inhabitants of Africa, felt the necessity of 
 softening and cooling the skin by the application of oils or ointments ; and 
 we find the custom most prevalent among the blacks who wear the least 
 covering to their bodies. The highest ambition of the Ethiopians is to ob- 
 tain a sufficient quantity of grease, whatever kind it may be, to cover their 
 
CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 175 
 
 their backs, to keep the sun from scorching the skin, 
 and they will do very well without clothes. Tobac- 
 co is so cheap, that there are few persons in Egypt 
 who do not smoke ; and the Pacha regulates the price 
 of sugar and coffee, and keeps them at such mode- 
 rate rates, that all drink coffee, and sweeten it too. 
 Latterly the Pacha has shown a disposition to give 
 to some few intelligent foreigners an opportunity of 
 becoming proprietors of the rich soil of Egypt, on 
 most advantageous terms. That shows his wis- 
 dom and good feeling toward the Egyptians, inas- 
 much as he receives a more certain and sure return ; 
 and the people themselves, who in all cases go with 
 the soil, are much better off under the administration 
 and government of the Franks, with the supervision 
 of the Pacha, than they can be under the unjust rule 
 and dishonest robbery of the Turkish governors and 
 tax-gatherers. The Pacha, under present circum- 
 stances, with his effective and numerous land forces, 
 added to his now respectable navy, presents a power 
 not to be despised. He unites with this power- 
 ful army and formidable naval strength, much mili- 
 tary skill, and great diplomatic shrewdness ; so that 
 the old fox is not likely to be caught in a trap, or 
 gulled into any measures that will not, in the end, 
 promote his own views, and augment his interest. 
 The probability is, that he will hold on to all that he 
 now has in his possession ; and that he will make 
 pretty good use of it, for the acquisition of more ex- 
 head, and to run down upon their shoulders, so as to give them a shining 
 gloss, which they delight to display as they walk in the sun." 
 
176 POWER OF THE PACHA. 
 
 tensive power and increased dominion. He is a man 
 of genius and great energy of character — carrying 
 out all his great plans of subjugation and improve- 
 ment, with the most indefatigable zeal and determined 
 perseverance. Few are in his secret councils. To- 
 day, he is in Alexandria ; to-morrow, he may be 
 rapidly pushing up the Nile, or stretching over the 
 sea to Candia. No one can anticipate his move- 
 ments ; and it is this astonishing rapidity of locomo- 
 tion from one place to another, wherever his presence 
 appears to be most dreaded by the vicious, and most 
 needed by the well-disposed part of the community, 
 that surprises the people. From the shores of the 
 Nile to the deepest recesses of the desert, they fear 
 and tremble at his presence. Even the trackless 
 and arid sands of the wilderness, to a great extent, 
 his armies have traversed, and tamed in their course 
 the wild men of those almost inaccessible wastes. 
 Such now is the fear of the formidable power of Me- 
 hemet Ali, that in the cheerless desert, where once it 
 would have been almost sure destruction to have ven- 
 tured unattended by a large military escort, or unac- 
 companied by an extensive caravan, it is now quite 
 safe, and comparatively comfortable, to travel unat- 
 tended and alone. Those wild, wandering marau- 
 ders of the burning sands of Arabia, are now often 
 seen giving up their vile pursuits of plunder and mur- 
 der, settling down upon the banks of the Nile, and 
 engaging in agriculture and other rational pursuits of 
 civihzed life. Such are the good effects of the pow- 
 er and influence of this despotic prince. It is really 
 
MILITARY CONSCRIPTIONS. 177 
 
 astonishing to notice the aptitude of those Arabs for 
 any thing that they earnestly undertake, and with 
 what surprising facihty they make themselves mas- 
 ters of any thing that promises to be of service to 
 them. Nothing is more common than to meet Arabs 
 who can readily speak five or six different languages ; 
 and, in all matters of farming, house and boat-build- 
 ing, trafficking, carrying produce, merchandise, and 
 travellers from one part of the country to the other, 
 they show themselves exceedingly capable and effi- 
 cient, and manifest a degree of shrewdness and in- 
 telligence that is certainly quite remarkable. The 
 inhabitants of Egypt are completely subjected to the 
 will, and, if you please, whim and caprice of Me- 
 hemet Ali. He can take them, in any numbers, 
 without regard to sex, age, or condition, and convert 
 them to any purpose that he chooses ; and no one 
 has the power to raise the least obstacle in opposi- 
 tion to his wish. His army is recruited, as occasion 
 requires, from the youth of the country, taken at an 
 early age from their parents, and trained up express- 
 ly for the service. To this service, the ignorance 
 and blind prejudices of the people have manifested 
 the strongest aversion. So extraordinary has been 
 this strange antipathy against serving in the Pacha's 
 army, that a most horrid and revolting practice has 
 been introduced to a considerable extent among some 
 of the poor ignorant parents ; who, upon the birth of 
 a son, immediately destroy the sight of one eye of 
 the child, by probing it with a hot needle !" 
 
 " Can that be true 1" said I to Mr. Firkins. 
 
 Vol. I. — 23 
 
178 REVOLTING EXPEDIENTS, 
 
 " Nothing can be more so," replied he ; " and to 
 such an alarming extent had this horrid practice pre- 
 vailed, that at length it attracted the Pacha's notice. 
 He inquired into the cause of so many cases of par- 
 tial blindness among his subjects ] Upon ascertain- 
 ing the cause, he at once resolved to do something to 
 counteract the motive that induced these poor crea^ 
 tures thus to destroy the sight of their offspring ; and 
 he immediately ordered a regiment of able-bodied, 
 one-eyed soldiers to be raised and drilled for the ser- 
 vice. This took them all by surprise ; for those who 
 had so cruelly extinguished an eye of each of their 
 children, thought that they were performing an act 
 of humanity toward the maimed offspring — as they 
 supposed, beyond a doubt, that they had exempted 
 them from the military service, for which they have 
 the most intolerable hatred. But they saw them- 
 selves completely foiled by the Pacha's shrewdness, 
 and their half-blind children dragged into the service, 
 and obliged to endure all the dangers and hardships 
 of the camp, notwithstanding what they had already 
 suffered in their most tender years to disqualify them 
 for it, at the cruel hand of parental kindness. Many 
 of them became desperate ; and I understand a cus- 
 tom has latterly prevailed to an alarming extent, 
 which is still more abominable ; and that is, of extin- 
 guishing both eyes of the male infants ! This is a 
 dreadful practice, to be sure ; but the mothers say 
 that their sons, though blind, willbe able to get a 
 Uving, by carrying water from the Nile, and that they 
 shall always have the pleasure of their society — - 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 179 
 
 whereas, had they not put out their eyes, they would 
 doubtless, in the course of a few months, have been 
 dragged into the service of the Pacha, and they, in 
 all probability, would never see them again. This 
 shows what an ignorant and hlinded people the Pacha 
 has to deal with. But what method he will adopt to 
 Counteract this dreadful and revolting practice, and 
 at the same time avail himself of the services of those 
 blind and miserable beings, is quite impossible to say. 
 Yet it is most probable he will devise some plan that 
 will meet the case, to render abortive the intention of 
 his misguided subjects. Besides putting out one or 
 both eyes of their male children, as is very frequently 
 the case among Egyptian mothers, in order to exempt 
 them from doing military duty, they often save both 
 eyes, and cut off one or two of the first fingers of the 
 right hand, to effect the same end ; and that is one 
 reason why we see so many blind, half-blind, and 
 maimed men and boys idling away their time in the 
 streets of Alexandria." 
 
 There are other causes which are scarcely less 
 fatal to the eyes, though much less to the fingers. 
 In addition to this barbarous mode of for ever extin- 
 guishing one of the most glorious and pleasing senses 
 that the Creator has bestowed upon mankind, there 
 are other annoyances in this peculiar country which 
 operate very unfavourably upon the sight, from which 
 many persons become totally blind at a very early 
 age; and thousands are afflicted with permanent dis- 
 eases of the eye, which are disgusting and painful 
 even to look at. There is something in the atir"^- 
 
180 EFFECTS OF CLIMATE UPON THE EYE. 
 
 phere that weakens and predisposes the eye to dis- 
 ease. Besides, the exceeding power and brightness 
 of the sun's rays in this part of the world irritate 
 and strain the sight of all residents in Egypt, but 
 particularly that of strangers ; and that too before 
 they are aware of it. Many have found their vision 
 so weakened, before they were made acquainted with 
 the danger, that they have found it almost impossible 
 to restore it to its original strength and brilliancy; 
 while many other too long neglected cases have re- 
 sulted in total blindness. Therefore every precaution 
 should be taken to guard against the pernicious ef- 
 fects of the Egyptian climate upon the eye, and to 
 ward off the danger as much as possible, especially 
 when first entering the country. Green veils answer 
 a very good purpose to use when exposed to the sun 
 and dust, and they are much worn, both by men and 
 women — that is, by Europeans, though the natives 
 of the country, I believe, never take the least pre- 
 caution in regard to this or any other disease. They 
 are the most perfect fatalists in existence. If at- 
 tacked by any malady, they tamely submit to its ope- 
 ration, and wait the result with a sombre and wretch- 
 ed countenance, and a mind weighed down with 
 despair. They do not think that they themselves 
 have any power over diseases, and they have no 
 physicians ; though they will place the most implicit 
 faith in what the Franks will say or do for them 
 w^hen sick ; and they take them all for conjurers and 
 doctors. 
 
 How different was the case with the ancient Egyp- 
 
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PHYSICIANS. 181 
 
 tians !* They had numerous and eminent physicians 
 for every disease, and paid the greatest attention to 
 heahh, and the treatment of their different maladies. 
 Physicians were anciently supported from the public 
 treasury ; though they might receive presents, and 
 sometimes fees, from their patients. There v^as a 
 regular course of study required of the physician, 
 before he could legally enter upon the practice of his 
 profession, as is the case in all w^ell-regulated com- 
 munities at the present day. All experiments, or 
 modes of treatment contrary to the established sys- 
 tems of practice, that proved fatal to the patients, 
 w^ere rigorously punished w^ith the execution of the 
 physician. Persuaded that most diseases proceed 
 from irregularity in diet, the old Egyptians had fre- 
 quent recourse to fasting and abstinence, as w^ell as 
 slight doses of medicine for the relief of the system. 
 The physicians w^ere doubtless skilful, and the 
 practice of medicine w^as under salutary regulations. 
 Their duties, in addition to the treatment of the dif- 
 ferent maladies of the people, extended to the embalm- 
 ingt of the bodies after death. The medical skillj 
 of the ancient physicians of Egypt v^as know^n and 
 appreciated in foreign countries ; for Cyrus and Da- 
 rius are said to have sent to Egypt for physicians. 
 The representations of the practice of medicine upon 
 the tombs of Egypt are, hov^^ever, very slight, and 
 
 * Wilkinson's Egyptians, First Series, vol. iii. p. 389. 
 t Genesis 1. 2 : " And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to 
 embalm his father ; and the physicians embalmed Israel." 
 t Wilkinson's Egyptians, First Series, vol. iii. p. 393. 
 
182 ANCIENT QUACKS. 
 
 only occur in one or two instances ; and these are in 
 the tombs of Beni Hassan. 
 
 Egypt was famed for its drugs and medicinal herbs, 
 found in the desert between the Nile and the Red 
 Sea, many of which are still known to the Arabs, 
 though little is understood at the present day of their 
 application anciently. These, however, were not 
 always sovereign remedies : for the balm of Gilead* 
 was recommended with the assurance that it was use- 
 less to take many medicines. Physicians were com- 
 mon in the days of the prophetsf without doubt; 
 though at the present day there are none in all 
 Byria. 
 
 There were also quacksj among the ancient, as 
 well as among the modern inhabitants of the world, 
 and the sufferings of the patients under their abom- 
 inable and unskilful treatment, were many and vari- 
 ous. When the skill of the physician was com- 
 pletely baffled, and the patient given over to die, 
 dreams§ were regarded in Egypt with religious re^v- 
 ence ; and the prayers of the devout were often re- 
 warded by the gods with an indication of the reme- 
 dies their sufferings required. Dreams and magic, 
 however, were a last resource, and only resorted to 
 when all other remedies had failed of success. Simi- 
 lar feelings of superstition induced them to offer ex- 
 votos in their temples for the same purpose. 
 
 * Jeremiah viii. 22. 
 
 f Ibid. : « Is there no balm in Gilead ? is there no physician there ?" 
 
 t Job xiii. 4 : " But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value." 
 Mark v. 26 : " And had suffered many things of many physicians ; and 
 had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse." 
 
 § Wilkinson's Egyptians, First Series, iii. 394. 
 
QUACKERY IN EGYPT. 183 
 
 These offerings were of various descriptions. Ma- 
 ny promised a certain sum for the maintenance of the 
 sacred animals belonging to the deity, whose interpo- 
 sition they had invoked ; which, in the case of the 
 children, was decided by weighing a certain portion 
 of the hair of the head, with all, or half, or a third, 
 shaved expressly for the purpose; and as soon as the 
 cure had been effected, they accomplished their 
 vows, by giving an equal amount of silver to the 
 curators. 
 
 These persons often visited different parts of the 
 country, bearing the banners of their respective dei- 
 ties ; and the peasantry, through their credulity, being 
 often induced to solicit their aid, and to barter the 
 uncertain assistance of the god, for the real rewards 
 lavished upon his artful servants, much money was 
 collected by them. So profitable was this imposi- 
 tion, that neither the simplicity of Islam, nor the 
 change of religion has been able to abohsh the cus- 
 tom ; and the guardians of the sheiks' tombs in like 
 manner send their emissaries with flags and drums 
 to different parts of the country, to levy contributions 
 from the credulous, in return for the promised assist- 
 ance of their patron saint. When the cure was ef- 
 fected, it was the custom to suspend a model of the 
 restored part, in the temple of the god whose inter- 
 position had been solicited. This is likewise the 
 custom in the sheiks' tombs of modern Egypt ; in 
 the Roman CathoHc churches in Italy; and in other 
 churches in various parts of Europe ; and wooden 
 ears, eyes, and distorted hmbs are suspended about 
 
184 ANCIENT BOOKS UPON MEDICINE. 
 
 the churches dedicated to the patron saint, as me- 
 morials of their gratitude and superstition. 
 
 " Indeed," says Mr. Wilkinson, " the study of 
 medicine and surgery appears to have commenced 
 at a very early period in Egypt, since Athothes, the 
 second king of the country, is stated to have w^ritten 
 upon the subject of anatomy ; and the schools of 
 Alexandria continued, till a late period, to enjoy the 
 reputation, and display the skill they had inherited 
 from their predecessors. Hermes was said to have 
 w^ritten six books upon medicine, the first of which 
 related to anatomy ; and the various recipes, known 
 to have been beneficial, were recorded with their 
 peculiar cases, in the memoirs of physic, inscribed 
 among the laws which were deposited in the princi- 
 pal temple of the place, as at Memphis, in that of 
 Pthah, or Vulcan."* 
 
 Physicians of Egypt. 
 * Willcinson's Egyptians, Fii'st Series, iii 396. 
 
UNPLEASANT NEWS. 185 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Unpleasant JYews. - — Disappointment. Reflections. — Un- 
 
 propitious Visit. — ■ Mutual Surprise. — " Sudden, Serious 
 Illness^^ of a Consul not so Serious as was apprehended. — ■ 
 Embarrassing Interview. — Animated Conversation of Mr. 
 Firkins and Mr. O^Statten abruptly terminated. — Brilliant 
 Party of Pleasure. — Mr. Firkins in a Rage. — Ride to the 
 Palace of Mehemet Mi. — Way to make an Impression. — 
 Palace and Guards of the Pacha. — Officers of State. — 
 Dress and Mdress of Mehemet AH. 
 
 While we were taking our coffee the next morn- 
 ing, and throwing out some conjectures with regard 
 to what would be the proper dress to wear, and the 
 etiquette to be observed, in our audience with the 
 Pacha — which, according to the promise of our 
 friend the Dane, was arranged to take place that day 
 — we were greatly pained at the receipt of a note, 
 by the hand of a messenger, stating that the Danish 
 gentleman " had been taken suddenly very seriously 
 ill ; and that he would not be able to do himself the 
 honour of presenting us to the Pacha, according to 
 the arrangement of yesterday." 
 
 " Suddenly seriously ill !" said the doctor, as he 
 held the note in his hand ; " he must be down with 
 the plague !" 
 
 Vol. L — 24 
 
186 MORAL REFLECTIONS. 
 
 " I hope not," said I, " but I am really grieved to 
 hear that this fine gentlemanly man is indisposed ; he 
 appeared so very affable and friendly to us yesterday, 
 and so desirous to do something for our gratification 
 during our short stay in the city, that I have begun to 
 feel a deep interest in the gentleman, and I am very 
 sorry to hear this intelligence of his sudden, serious 
 indisposition." 
 
 What seemed to add not a little to our alarm, and 
 to confirm more strongly the circumstance of his 
 " serious illness'' v^as, that the note w^as not v^^ritten 
 by the gentleman himself, but by another person ; 
 thereby carrying the idea upon the face of it, that his 
 " sudden illnesf was indeed so " serious' that he w^as 
 unable to v^rite ; and, possibly, far gone w^ith some of 
 those sudden and awful diseases so prevalent in the 
 East 
 
 The doctor observed, that in Egypt, the operation 
 of " sudden, serious' diseases was generally very rapid 
 in progress ; insomuch, that very often persons in 
 equally good health as the acting American consul 
 appeared to be yesterday, have been laid in their 
 graves ere twenty-four hours had elapsed thereafter. 
 
 " How very true it is," said Mrs. C, " that ' in the 
 midst of life we are in death !' No one knows what 
 an hour may bring forth ; health is no security against 
 ' sudden disease, the horrors of death, and the cheer- 
 less abode of the grave ! How insignificant and 
 vain are all earthly prospects, and how very suddenly 
 may their brightest promise be blasted and withered 
 for ever ! Man has verily but a few days to live, and 
 
MORAL REFLECTIONS. 187 
 
 is full of sorrow ; blooming fresh and beautiful to-day, 
 and to-morrow, perhaps, the places that once knew 
 him will know him never more !" 
 
 "Nothing," rejoined the doctor, "can be more 
 true ; and it behooves us all to be also ready. We 
 are in a strange land, a land where the mysterious 
 feet of sudden and fearful diseases walk in darkness 
 and waste at noonday. No man, however cautious, 
 is secure against the sudden and fearful attacks of 
 the strange diseases peculiar to this climate and coun- 
 try. Many are the victims that have fallen a sacri- 
 fice to them in these desolate, wild, and inhospitable 
 wastes." 
 
 " True," said I ; " the present is indeed all we can 
 call our own, and happy will it be for us if we im- 
 prove it aright. There are, however, certain duties 
 that we owe to our fellow-men, under all circum- 
 stances of this existence ; and none, perhaps, are more " 
 sacred, or strictly enjoined, than those of visiting and 
 ministering to our friends and neighbours in their 
 sicknesses and afflictions. I do not know that we 
 can be of the least service in the world to this Da- 
 nish gentleman, taken so ' suddenly and seriously ill ;' 
 but we can at least go over to his palace and inquire 
 after the state of his health, and ascertain some par- 
 ticulars, perhaps, in regard to the nature of his dis- 
 ease—which, after all, I am in hopes is not so serious 
 as is apprehended." 
 
 " Very good," said the doctor ; " we can do no 
 less than to call at his office, and inquire how he 
 is." 
 
188 VISIT TO THE AMERICAN CONSUL AT] 
 
 We accordingly mounted the donkeys which our 
 vahant dragoman had already saddled at the door, 
 and rode over to the palace of the American con- 
 sulate. 
 
 The feather-edge of the new dragoman's grit hav- 
 ing been worn off a little, in his quarrels with the 
 donkey-boys, and his feats of valour among the tombs, 
 in our excursion to Pompey's Pillar the day previous, 
 he was more tranquil and mild in his deportment and 
 bearing toward those needful accompaniments to a 
 donkey-ride on this occasion ; so that, with the ex- 
 ception of a slight scuffle and a few cuts of the cor- 
 bash, at starting, nothing took place to interrupt our 
 meditations and serious apprehension for the safety 
 and welfare of our new and valued friend, until we 
 arrived in front of his palace. 
 
 Not expecting to have the pleasure, on that day, 
 of meeting the Danish gentleman, after whose 
 health we felt such a natural and anxious solici- 
 tude, if indeed we were ever to see him again on 
 this side the grave (iox sudden, serious illness, in Egypt, 
 too frequently, alas! ends in sudden death) — we 
 hurried up stairs, and entered the office, without pre- 
 viously sending in our names, as we had done the day 
 before, and as we should have done on this occasion, 
 had it been an ordinary case, or with the least ex- 
 pectation of finding the presiding genius of the Ameri- 
 can consulate in his " official seat." Judge, therefore, 
 our mutual surprise, at seeing our new friend, about 
 whom we had made ourselves serious over our break- 
 fast, and conjured up so many unhappy forebodings, 
 
AN UNPROPITIOUS VISIT. 189 
 
 seated at his desk, with his goose-quill behind his ear, 
 in as perfect health, apparently, as ever fell to the lot 
 of a human being to enjoy ! 
 
 In our surprise and joy to see this gentleman so 
 far removed from the danger that we had imagined 
 him to be in from the tenor of the note, we advanced 
 and saluted him in the most cordial manner. It 
 seemed like welcoming an estimable being from the 
 jaws of death — from the sorrows of the tomb — and 
 restoring him to the charms and blessings of life. 
 For the moment, the feeling that rushed through our 
 bosoms might not be unlike that glow of tenderness 
 that quickened the pulsations of the parent's heart 
 at the return of the prodigal son, when the fatted 
 calf was killed, and music and dancing gladdened 
 the hearts of the young ; and festivity and joy reigned 
 throughout the paternal mansion. We would almost 
 say, that, although " thou wert lost, thou art found 
 again ; you are safe, and we rejoice that our idle ap- 
 prehensions were unfounded." 
 
 After the first salutation, and the impulses of the 
 moment had passed, we found that our friend did not 
 appreciate our emotions at all. He seemed to be 
 embarrassed ; said nothing about his influence with 
 the Pacha, or of our introduction to him ; tried to 
 turn the conversation upon the favourable change of 
 the weather, and other general subjects ; but in so un- 
 easy a style, as to render it impossible for him to get on 
 without awkwardness ; and his smile seemed to be 
 as embarrassing to him as any thing else. It did not 
 fit his face at all, the features of which had so changed. 
 
190 SOLUTION OF A MYSTERY. 
 
 that it was apparently quite out of his power to bring 
 it into a controllable shape. He was best at grave 
 subjects, and his words were few. He frequently 
 changed his position ; drew himself up to his full 
 length in his chair, and then suddenly let himself 
 down almost to the floor : first throwing one leg over 
 the other, and turning half way round, and then 
 quickly changing his position, he swung round on 
 the other side ; thrust his fingers through his hair, 
 blew his nose, and was at a loss what next to say 
 or do. 
 
 By this time we came to a right understanding of 
 the case, and saw through the whole mystery. It 
 was getting more and more embarrassing for us all, 
 every moment ; and, to relieve our new friend and 
 ourselves from the agonies of a prolonged interview, 
 we took leave of him, satisfied that all the fair prom- 
 ises of the day before were made, like pie-crust, only 
 to be broken; and that his gracious words, mellow 
 smiles, and all the soft blandishments of his compli- 
 ments, were " more for ornament than use." 
 
 As we were to leave Alexandria in a few days af- 
 terward, we did not think it best to inquire after the 
 acting American consul's health again ; nor have we 
 had the pleasure of seeing him from that day to this. 
 
 When we came down from the presence-chamber 
 of the American consulate, we saw Mr. Firkins and 
 Mr. O'Statten standing a little way from the Dane's 
 palace, conversing in a very energetic manner, and 
 in a tone of voice that might have been heard at the 
 distance of many rods in all directions. From the 
 
AN ANIMATED CONVERSATION. 191 
 
 elevated tone of their conversation, I judged it was 
 no very confidential chit-chat ; and that it would be 
 no breach of politeness to walk up and inquire after 
 their health and the news of the day. I accordingly 
 saluted them, and was received in a cordial manner. 
 After the usual salutations and inquiries, they resumed 
 the thread of their discourse, and went on, reflecting 
 in the severest terms upon the characters of all the 
 Wrinklebottoms, Mr. Sneezebiter,Mr. O'Screensbury, 
 the Rev. Mr. Dunderblix, Sir Danbury Rimtaper 
 and his three sisters the Misses Rimtaper, and .twen- 
 ty other names that I had never heard of before, all 
 of whom they represented as the very quintessence 
 and oil of pride, self-conceit, vulgarity, ignorance, 
 and meanness. 
 
 It seemed that all these personages had been ma- 
 king very free with the sumptuous dinners and fine 
 old port and sherry of Mr. Firkins, and had done 
 very little business with him in other respects. This 
 was a breach of good breeding and manly feeling, 
 which Mr. Firkins and his vicegerent Mr. O'Statten 
 could not pass over in silence. Such was their style 
 of discussing the virtues and claims to title and con- 
 sequence of these English gentlemen and ladies, that 
 I was really shocked that Mr. Firkins should have 
 condescended to associate with such disreputable 
 characters in any way ; and moreover that he should 
 have invited them to his house, introduced them to 
 Mrs. Firkins, and then, day after day, treated them 
 with the greatest civility, and in the most cordial 
 manner. 
 
192 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 
 
 " What," thought I, " can all this mean? These 
 people can be none other than disreputable, unwor- 
 thy folks, whose real characters Mr. Firkins has just 
 found out, and it is no wonder that he is indig- 
 nant at the gross imposition ; but I am sure there is 
 an end now to all further intercourse, for certainly 
 Mr. Firkins will have nothing to say to them again, 
 nor Mr. O'Statten either." 
 
 Just at that moment, who should emerge from the 
 street near the consul's palace, and turn into the 
 great European Square near the spot where we then 
 stood, and mounted on donkeys, with several armed 
 janizaries, and a large train of Arab servants and 
 donkey-drivers, but all the Wrinklebottoms, Mr. 
 O'Screensbury, and one or two other English gentle- 
 men with large blue stocks, breast-pins, straw hats, 
 and linen great-coats, whom I did not know, and had 
 never before seen ! Their sudden apparition, how- 
 ever, put a stop to the spirited comments of Mr. Fir- 
 kins and Mr. O'Statten, who immediately advanced 
 toward the party with their hats raised, bowing, scra- 
 ping, and letting out their good-natured salutations 
 and wishes, mingled profusely with the most fascina- 
 ting smiles and respectful looks, attitudes, and ges- 
 tures, that the human face and figure can well be 
 worked into ! 
 
 I did not know how to account for conduct so 
 singular. They all appeared to be delighted to see 
 each other, and the Misses Wrinklebottom looked 
 more charming than ever — really very fresh and 
 blooming: — insomuch that Mr. O'Statten was taken 
 
Ml, (0) m. A M M 
 
 A IL l 
 
MR. FIRKINS IN A RAGE. 193 
 
 all aback bj their bewitching ogles and smiles; and 
 he ordered another donkey, joined the party, and 
 rode off to point out to them more of the lions of the 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Firkins stood in the square, with his hat off, 
 bowing and waving adieus, until the long, brilliant, 
 and happy party had got almost out of sight, when 
 he suddenly turned round, pulled his hat deeply over 
 his head, and began to curse and swear in the most 
 bitter manner. He was in a dreadful rage with all 
 the party, and talked as bad about Mr. O'Statten as 
 any of the rest of them. 
 
 I could not help thinking that there is no account- 
 ing for the whims and oddities of the world. Here 
 is Mr. Firkins, all smiles and affability one moment, 
 and all anger and chagrin the next ; and all about 
 the same thing. Either these English ladies and 
 gentlemen must be an abominable set, or they are 
 not so bad as they are represented to be ; but after 
 what has taken place this morning, what can one 
 think of Mr. Firkins and Mr. O'Statten ? 
 
 As I was ruminating upon this subject, I drew off 
 from Mr. Firkins, who still continued scolding and 
 swearing about the Wrinklebottoms, the Rev. Mr. 
 Dunderblix, Mr. O'Statten, and many others, whom 
 he denounced most cordially, all in a heap, as a set 
 of rascals ; then taking each name separately, he con- 
 signed it to a deep and awful destination, loaded with 
 the most violent and horrid execrations that I ever 
 heard uttered by human lips ! It was really an awful 
 scene. 
 
 Vol. [. — 25 
 
194 CONVERSATION WITH MR. FIRKINS. 
 
 We mounted the donkeys, and the noise of our 
 dragoman, getting the boys in trim to suit his taste 
 in these matters, had the effect to arouse Mr. Firkins 
 from his revery among the infernal regions, and to 
 notice our intended departure. Upon which he hght- 
 ened his hat a Httle from his brow, left off cursing 
 and swearing, and, approaching us with a smile, 
 wanted to know if we had seen the Pacha ? We, of 
 course, answered in the negative. 
 
 " What," said he, " are you going to leave Alexan- 
 dria without seeing the Pacha f 
 
 We replied that our time was necessarily limited, 
 and we were to depart for the upper country so soon, 
 that we must forego the pleasure at present, in hopes 
 that his Highness might find it necessary to visit 
 Cairo during the winter — when, perhaps, it might 
 be our good fortune to get a glimpse of him in that 
 city ; but under present circumstances, we did not 
 think it probable that we should be able to see him 
 in Alexandria. 
 
 " Why," said Mr. Firkins, " it is the easiest thing 
 in the world to see the Pacha ; and, if you leave this 
 city without seeing him, you will regret it all the 
 days of your lives." 
 
 " But how is it to be accomplished ?" I asked ; " we 
 depart in a day or two, and there is in the mean time 
 no public fete in which his Highness will appear ; 
 therefore I cannot imagine how it is possible for us 
 to get a look at him." 
 
 " True," said Mr. Firkins, " but I can bring it about, 
 notwithstanding. I sometimes present strangers to 
 
KINDNESS OF MR. FIRKINS. 195 
 
 the Pacha myself, but it is only when the consuls re- 
 fuse to present their countrymen, that I interfere in 
 the business ; and in such cases, when asked, I al- 
 ways obtain an audience of his Highness, and present 
 them." 
 
 We kept very quiet about the " sudden, serious ill- 
 ness' of our friend the Dane ; nor did we say any 
 thing about his strong desire to do something for us, 
 to render our short stay in Alexandria more agreea- 
 ble. We thought it better to pass over that business 
 as lightly as possible ; for the Dane was now out of 
 danger, and we were pretty sure that he would not 
 be ''taken suddenly very seriously ilV on our account 
 again, if we were never to see the Pacha till the final 
 adjustment of the eastern question. 
 
 So we let Mr. Firkins run on with the old story 
 of his influence and intimacy with the Pacha, and 
 the frequency and confidence of his interviews with 
 his Highness at the palace ; and how he was in all 
 the state secrets and intrigues of the court ; and fore- 
 told coming events with such accuracy, that when 
 he was not taken for a prophet, he was at least put 
 down as a fortune-teller and very skilful conjurer. 
 We had heard this egotistical, puffy narrative at least 
 twenty times before, and began to think that it had 
 lost much of its freshness and all the charms of nov- 
 elty. We supposed he would run out of that kind 
 of ware at last, and after a while come down upon 
 the only thing that we cared much about — an op- 
 portunity to see the Pacha. We sat on our donkeys, 
 and patiently listened to Mr. Firkins till he had fairly 
 
196 PREPARATIONS FOR A VISIT. 
 
 got through the whole story from beginning to end, 
 telhng some parts of it two or three times over ; and 
 he had actually commenced it anew, with a view, as 
 we supposed, of going over the whole ground again, 
 with suitable revisions, comments, and emendations, 
 copious enough to consume the day. 
 
 I looked the doctor in the face at this juncture 
 of our affairs, and observed that his nerves were suf- 
 fering considerably on account of future prospects ; 
 and, as we exchanged looks, the brave dragoman 
 came to our rescue amid an uproarious quarrel with 
 the donkey-boys, which completely broke in upon 
 Mr. Firkins's second, revised, and emended edition, 
 and spared us the pain of listening to it, or of the 
 impoliteness of interrupting him, with a view of 
 turning the conversation upon other subjects. 
 
 Seeing a favourable opportunity to slip in a word, 
 I did not fail to improve it; and again asked Mr. 
 Firkins how we were to get a glimpse of the Pacha ? 
 
 " O, nothing easier," replied Mr. Firkins ; "wait a 
 moment, until I order my donkey and a janizary or 
 two from the English consulate, and I will take you 
 down to the Pacha's palace directly." 
 
 He hurried off to give the necessary directions, 
 and in a few moments rode up to us, mounted on a 
 fine donkey, with a good Enghsh saddle, and silver 
 ornamented bridle, with little bits of red stream- 
 ers floating from the headstall, which set off the long 
 ears of his animal, and gave the tout ensemhle a very 
 cheerful and picturesque appearance. Mr. Firkins's 
 feet were stuck deep into a large pair of silver-plated 
 
I 
 
 RIDE TO THE PALACE OF THE PACHA. 197 
 
 Stirrups, which nearly touched the ground, and were 
 rather a drawback upon his personal attraction; 
 otherwise he would have appeared to very good ad- 
 vantage. The janizaries coming up, with their gir- 
 dles stuffed with loaded pistols, long Turkish sabres 
 dangUng at their sides, high silver-mounted staves, 
 and richly-embroidered dresses, of red, blue, and 
 white colours, ornamented with gold lace, and set off 
 with ample turbans, — and, placing themselves at the 
 head of our little cavalcade, we began to move down 
 toward the Pacha's palace. 
 
 " What is he about f said the doctor to me in an 
 under tone of voice, as we fell a little in the rear of 
 Mr. Firkins ; who, with a tall, picturesquely- dressed 
 janizary on each side of him, was moving on with 
 great apparent self-satisfaction — " Mr. Firkins is not 
 intending to attempt a presentation, surely ]" 
 
 " Really," said I, " I am quite at a loss to determine. 
 It is better, however, I think, to follow his directions 
 in the matter, and see what will come of it, I don't 
 think there is much danger of any 'sudden, serious 
 illness on the part of Mr. Firkins, for he seems to be 
 too well pleased with his own appearance to stop 
 short of the palace, I am sure ; and when there, it is 
 of course quite impossible to tell, at this distance, 
 what turn things will take.'* 
 
 Thus we proceeded on through the thickest part 
 of the town, while the natives gazed at us with won- 
 der. Mr. Firkins issued his orders in a loud and 
 commanding tone to his janizaries, at short intervals, 
 to clear the way of the rabble before us ; which, upon 
 
198 
 
 WAY TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION. 
 
 a threatening display of the canes of the janizaries, 
 scattered in all directions. 
 
 We rode along in this formal and stately order, and 
 finally reached the palace without accident, or even 
 a quarrel between the dragoman and donkey-boys. 
 The fact is, the fine appearance of the janizaries, 
 from the English consulate, who were leading off the 
 cavalcade, produced the most mortifying effect upon 
 Selim. He rather sought the friendly alliance of the 
 donkey-boys, than their enmity ; and endeavoured to 
 atone for his former cruelty toward them, by tender 
 looks and good-natured actions. But he had little 
 or nothing to say ; and when he looked forward to 
 the elevated position of the janizaries, it was evi- 
 dently with feelings of bitter jealousy. 
 
 We arrived in front of the Pacha's palace, which 
 stands quite upon the water's edge, overlooking the 
 harbour, much of the town, and the Isle of Pharos ; 
 and found it full of soldiers and mounted guards, 
 dressed in the oriental costume. They were armed 
 to the teeth, and their long mustachios gave them a 
 fierce and savage appearance. 
 
 Mr. Firkins boldly wheeled round to the left, and 
 dashed up to the broad steps of the palace, with a 
 flourish of janizaries' canes and John-Bull blustering, 
 that brought the eyes of every person in the court- 
 yard instantly upon us. This seemed to be exceed- 
 ingly gratifying to Mr. Firkins, who, in common with 
 most of his countrymen, imagined that when they 
 have blustered about sufficiently to attract the public 
 gaze, an important point is gained ; and that they are 
 
PALACE AND GUARDS OF THE PACHA. 199 
 
 then in a fair way to make an impression. We 
 thought so too ; and I have seldom seen an EngHsh- 
 man succeed in this, his favourite poHcy, more ef- 
 fectually. He possessed a w^onderfiil tact in all that 
 kind of flourish, insomuch that I w^ill be bound to say, 
 he w^ould not remain an hour in any large tow^n in 
 Europe, or any w^here else, vi^ithout becoming the 
 theme of general remark. 
 
 We entered a large hall, crowded with armed 
 guards and janizaries, who looked vicious enough 
 to carry into full effect the most deadly and diaboli- 
 cal commands that ever came from the polluted lips 
 of tyranny in any age or country. These we found, 
 as well as numerous servants, hurrying through the 
 rooms, with coffee, pipes, and sherbet, which they 
 were carrying into the state apartments of the palace. 
 We next came into a large, well-hghted room, with 
 high walls, painted in arabesque, hung with crim- 
 son curtains, fitted up with high, broad divans, and 
 looking out upon the sea. This was full of well- 
 dressed persons, mostly in the Turkish habit, armed, 
 and conversing with great animation, as they prome- 
 naded from one end of the room to the other. We 
 mingled with them, and began to walk up and down 
 the room too ; and Mr. Firkins opened into a bold 
 and animated strain of egotism, in a sufficiently ele- 
 vated key to notify all present that there were others 
 in the room beside themselves — who expected and 
 wished to be noticed. 
 
 When we had ascended about half the distance 
 through this great room, we came to large folding 
 
%, 
 
 200 
 
 MEHEMET ALL 
 
 doors, opening on the right into a well-furnished 
 apartment, hung with crimson, and fitted up with di- 
 vans, in which stood the Pacha of Egypt, his great 
 officers of state, and some twenty other individuals, 
 engaged in conversation. 
 
 " There, then," said Mr. Firkins, in a hushed tone 
 of voice, " there is my old friend the Pacha : ain't 
 he a fine-looking old chap ?" 
 
 " Indeed he is," said I. "And how old is he V 
 
 " Why," replied Mr. F., " he is seventy-one years 
 old this winter ; he was telling me his age the last 
 time I had a chat with him, and said that he, and 
 the Duke of Wellington, and Napoleon Bonaparte 
 were born in the same year. I told him that he was 
 the best and most talented man of the three." 
 
 " Did you 1" asked the doctor ; " and what reply 
 did his Highness make to that 1" 
 
 '' O, he told one of the servants to renew the to- 
 bacco in my pipe ; called for more coffee ; and said, 
 laughingly, ' That is just your way, Mr. Firkins — but 
 I know my own strength, and must bring my capacity 
 down to my means.' We then continued to con- 
 verse about the affairs of the East, until a late hour. 
 In the course of this conversation, he told me every 
 thing about his future plans, and the flattering prom- 
 ises of France. The fact is, the Pacha, old as he is, 
 expects to sit on the throne of Turkey before he dies ; 
 and no man in the East is so worthy, or could be as 
 powerful there. This, however, is strictly between 
 ourselves, and must be kept a profound secret ; it's 
 all under the rose — but time is big with eventuali- 
 
THE PACHA'S PREMIER. 201 
 
 ties — and will produce wondrous changes among 
 the nations of the East." 
 
 " Most probably," rephed the doctor. " But who 
 is that gentleman with whom the Pacha is now 
 conversing f 
 
 " That," returned Mr. Firkins, " is his secretary of 
 state — a prodigiously clever man — exceedingly intel- 
 ligent, and as full of diplomatic intrigue and political 
 shrewdness as old Talleyrand was in his best days." 
 
 " High commendation, that," said I, " for political 
 preferment ; and has he never been any thing more 
 than the Pacha's secretary of state f 
 
 " Never," replied Mr. Firkins ; " but when the Pa- 
 cha comes to the throne of Turkey, he will be sent 
 out as ambassador to England ; and they will then 
 find, at the court of St. James, that they have some- 
 body among them that is as deep in the black art as 
 any, even the best of her Majesty's ministers at home, 
 or even Satan's favourite grandson, the English am- 
 bassador at Constantinople." 
 
 Thus Mr. Firkins went on, naming one great char- 
 acter after another of those that were about the per- 
 son of the Pacha, concerning all of whom he had some- 
 thing to say in his extravagant style ; but he pro- 
 nounced them all " prodigiously clever" men in their 
 way. 
 
 The Pacha changed his position, and moved into 
 a part of the room sufficiently near where we stood, 
 to enable us to see the expression of his face and 
 eyes, and to give us a perfect impression of his form 
 and general personal appearance. 
 
 Vol. L — 26 
 
I 
 
 202 DRESS AND ADDRESS OF THE PACHA. 
 
 From the exaggerated accounts of the Pacha's 
 character which I had seen published in the Eng- 
 Hsh papers, and elsewhere, I expected to look upon 
 a "bloodthirsty," ferocious being, more resembling 
 some cruel monster than a comely and interesting 
 prince. Our surprise, therefore, on seeing in the 
 Pacha a fine, erect, and graceful form, with a mild, 
 conciliating expression of countenance, was no less 
 remarkable than agreeable. 
 
 He is a man something less than six feet in height, 
 well and compactly built, yet rather slight, wath an 
 intelligent and well-defined cast of countenance — 
 high forehead, mild, dark, and expressive, though 
 penetrating eyes, and a long flowing beard, silky 
 and soft as down, and as white as the drifting snow. 
 
 He had on a red oriental cap, red Turkish shoes, 
 white stockings, blue pantaloons, and the plain blue 
 and laced coat worn by the officers of the Turkish 
 navy. 
 
 His movements and gestures were easy and grace- 
 ful, and his manner was that of a man long accus- 
 tomed to the world. 
 
 He would be noticed, on account of his august 
 appearance in any part of Christendom ; although 
 few men could exhibit more apparent modesty or 
 propriety of manners than pervaded the whole bear- 
 ing and movements of the Pacha on that occasion. 
 He appeared like a mild, intelHgent, sensible, well- 
 disposed man, bent upon doing good rather than 
 evil in his day and generation ; and who, under other 
 
IMPRESSIONS OF THE PACHA. 203 
 
 circumstances, might not bQ unfit to sit upon the 
 most civihzed throne in Europe. 
 
 Our impressions of the general character of the 
 Pacha were decidedly favourable, and I was glad 
 that we had an opportunity of seeing him at all ; 
 although it appeared somewhat like looking at a 
 " lion" through bolts and bars. Yet, after the ''sud- 
 den, serious illness' of our estimable friend the Dane, 
 it was the only door left open through which we 
 might decently look into the " lion's den." In this 
 there was no impropriety, and it was a privilege, as 
 we afterwards discovered, that was free to every 
 body, although we at the time did not know it. 
 There were no questions asked by any one when 
 we went in or came out of the Pacha's palace ; and 
 there was an unrestrained and steady stream of 
 persons circulating through the entrance, as much 
 at home, and as easy in their bearing, as country- 
 people going out of and into the village tavern. 
 
 We continued to promenade the long room, with 
 a crowd of others, until the divan broke up ; when 
 the Pacha went to dine on board, with the officers 
 of the fleet, and many other gentlemen of distinction. 
 A hundred guns sent forth their fire and smoke ; 
 music filled the air ; and the fallen crescent of the 
 Prophet streamed from every spar. The scene was 
 grand and imposing. 
 
204 RETURN FROM THE PALACE. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Return from the Palace. — Mr. Firkins a Lion among the 
 Rabble. — Scene in the Bazar of Alexandria. — Turkish 
 and Egyptian Merchants. — Mode of Dealing. — Shopping 
 in Turkey a troublesome Business. — Tricks upon Strangers. 
 ' — Funeral Procession. 
 
 The public business of the day being over, and 
 the Pacha having gone to his dinner v^ithout inviting 
 his intimate friend Mr. Firkins, v^hich was certainly 
 a very great oversight, we prepared to return to the 
 hotel. 
 
 We mounted our quadrupeds, with considerable 
 flourish and form on the part of Mr. Firkins and his 
 fine-looking janizaries, and turned out of the grand 
 court of the palace, without accident or much diffi- 
 culty. We retraced our steps for some distance, 
 when, at the suggestion of Mr. Firkins, and under 
 his direction, we wheeled off to the right, and passed 
 through a sombre and gloomy part of the town, which 
 exhibited new and strange scenes in every direction. 
 We witnessed a state of wretchedness among the 
 people that surpasses all power of description, and 
 can never be adequately sketched by the most fertile 
 pencil. Mr. Firkins kindly pointed out to us every 
 thing that struck him as being at all worthy of 
 
r 
 
 MR. FIRKINS PLAYS THE LION. ?05 
 
 remark; and, whenever we approached near to a 
 group of the wretched beings that vegetated in that 
 loathsome part of the town, he would rein up his 
 donkey, call to his janizaries, in a loud and com- 
 manding voice, to clear the rabble out of the street, 
 and direct our attention to some object which he af- 
 fected to think remarkable, whether it was really 
 worth noticing or not. This naturally attracted the 
 gaze of the spectators, and gave an appearance 
 of commendable consistency to the character of Mr. 
 Firkins. In fact, he seemed to feel nearly as much 
 pleasure in playing the " lion" among those misera- 
 ble, squalid, half-naked fellahs, miring in the mud and 
 dirt of that obscure and dismal corner of Alexandria, 
 as when in the grand court of the Pacha's palace, 
 among the glistening arms and gay uniforms of the 
 Pacha's troops, — or even in the great room, gazing 
 at the Viceroy of Egypt, and mingling with crowds 
 of officers and other men who seemed to be at home 
 in the presence of kings and princes. 
 
 We wound slowly along through this dark and be- 
 nighted region, and at last came out into the bazar ; 
 our entrance to which was attended with a sufficient 
 display of Mr. Firkins's voice, and janizary-interfe- 
 rence with the crowds that were wedged into the 
 little, narrow, muddy passage-ways, to bring us under 
 the inquisitive gaze of all the Turkish merchants, 
 who took their pipes from their mouths, and leaned 
 out of their small box-kind of shops, to look at our 
 blustering little cavalcade with astonishment, while 
 the ti'embling natives, shivering half-leg deep in mud,, 
 
206 
 
 SCENE IN THE BAZAR. 
 
 seemed desirous to shrink into total annihilation. 
 The more they attempted to recede before the pom- 
 pous advances of Mr. Firkins and his relentless jani- 
 zaries, the more noisy and imperious he was in his 
 commands to " clear the way ! clear the rabble away ! 
 clear the streets of this filth and rubbish ! let us not 
 be impeded in our course ! make room for the don- 
 keys !" etc. It was really frightful to witness the 
 ravages and waste that these men made in their pro- 
 gress through the bazar ; among a set of people, 
 too, who had committed no offence, but who had 
 merely come there to gratify an idle curiosity — the 
 same motive that had conducted us thither ; or per- 
 haps to purchase a few ])aras worth of some kind 
 of food, to keep soul and body from absolute dis- 
 solution ! 
 
 The vast multitude of suffering and degraded be- 
 ings that hang on to a wretched existence in the city 
 of the Ptolemies, have so long shrunk beneath the 
 sway of foreign oppression — so long withered like 
 an autumn leaf under the cruel hand of tyranny and 
 despotism, that they no longer recognise any rights 
 as existing in themselves; — they timidly submit to 
 all sorts of imposition and insult, as well from for- 
 eigners and strangers in their land, as from the bar- 
 barous Turks themselves, who hold them in perpetual 
 bondage. 
 
 This was a scene perfectly unique, novel, and ex- 
 citing, beyond any thing that I have ever seen before 
 in the way of business. The bazars of Alexandria 
 are mostly skirting Httle narrow, muddy, unpaved 
 
THE BAZARS OF ALEXANDRIA. 207 
 
 passage-ways, so small and contracted as to render it 
 impossible to pass a carriage through them ; a thing, 
 indeed, which is never attempted. It is not usual 
 even to ride on horseback or on donkeys in the ba- 
 zars ; though when we were in Alexandria, it would 
 have been quite out of the question to have passed 
 dry-shod in any other manner than mounted, and 
 even then, the little low animals slumped into the 
 mud so much, that one's feet were not always clear 
 of the mire and water. 
 
 The passages of the bazars are generally covered 
 over with a flat roof of loose boards or matting, ex- 
 tending from the tops of the buildings on either side. 
 This covering merely affords a shade and protection 
 against the piercing rays of the sun, without even an 
 apology for a shelter from the drenching rain ; con- 
 sequently, when the rains come, the water pours along 
 these little narrow ways, which have no drainage or 
 pavement, and are constantly under the poaching 
 tread of a multitude of hoofs and human feet, until 
 the veriest slough or mudhole in a sunken marsh or 
 swamp can hardly be worse, or more difficult and 
 disagreeable to pass through. Yet, bad and miry as 
 they really are, they are crowded to suffocation by an 
 almost infinite multitude of wretched beings, splash- 
 ing through the mud, a great part of whom appear to 
 be actuated by no motive or view, other than to min- 
 gle with the throng, and idle away their time in list- 
 less, unmeaning conversation, and loud, vacant laugh- 
 ter. Over this sink and corrupt stew of filth, dung, 
 mire, and misery, the cross-legged Turks sit from 
 
208 
 
 AN EGYPTIAN MERCHANT. 
 
 day to day, and from year to year, in opposite stalls, 
 so near together that they might Hght their pipes in 
 the fire of each other's mustuheh, without raising 
 themselves from the floor of their own little box-hke 
 dens of Turkish gimcracks, drugs, gewgaws, and 
 scents. 
 
 An Egyptian Merchant, 
 
MERCHANTS OF ALEXANDRIA. 209 
 
 These stalls or shops are formed from a kind of 
 recess, opening out in its whole extent upon the 
 passage-way, with a raised floor about three or four 
 feet from the ground, upon which the merchant sits, 
 on a mat, with a long pipe in his hand, and transacts 
 the important business of his establishment. The 
 shop, or dookkan, as it is called, is seldom more capa- 
 cious than a small-sized pantry, and looks about as 
 elegant as a countryman's potato-bin fitted up with 
 shelves. It rarely contains more goods than a man 
 could carry on his back, and these are not always 
 worth taking as a gift. Still, dignified as an orang- 
 outang, and patient as a stagnant pool, the Turk sits 
 and smokes his days away over this little mess of 
 worthless trash, quite satisfied with the important 
 part that he is playing in the world's mysterious dra- 
 ma; — believing sincerely in the infallibility of the 
 Prophet — that they are faithfully working out the 
 destiny of their existence upon earth, and that they 
 are to be blessed in another world for the good they 
 have done in this. There are of course exceptions 
 to this picture ; and some of those rude-looking dook- 
 kans contain valuable and useful articles. Asa gen- 
 eral thing, however, it struck me as being quite oth- 
 erwise. Perhaps they have an object in appearing 
 thus poor, and showing little in their shops; lest, 
 were they to present a more affluent aspect, some 
 plausible pretext might be devised by those in au- 
 thority for disposing of the proprietor, and turning 
 over his effects to the account of government. That 
 may or may not be the case : at any rate, there they 
 
 Vol. I. — 27 
 
4 
 
 210 SHOPPING IN TURKEY. 
 
 sit, the turbaned merchants of Alexandria, in those 
 httle stived-up, confined boxes (for thej can hardly 
 be dignified by the name of shops), and dispose of 
 their wares, write, cook, eat, drink, smoke, and He 
 down and sleep ; seldom leaving these places of busi- 
 ness, except to say their prayers in the mosques at 
 noon or on Friday. They are often seen at their 
 devotions in their dookkans. The merchant gener- 
 ally sits quite in the front part of his little stall, smo- 
 king, with his shoes ofi* and feet curled up, a mat 
 under him, and a large pillow, stufled with cotton, 
 at his back, and apparently regardless of every 
 thing else. 
 
 Ordinary customers drive a bargain with the shop- 
 man standing in front of the stall ; while old, estab- 
 lished " patrons of the house," or persons of better 
 appearance, are invited to take a place beside the 
 merchant on the mat ; and if they make purchases to 
 any amount, they are treated to a pipe and a cup of 
 coffee. But to "go shopping" in a Turkish town, 
 with a view of purchasing any thing, is generally a 
 higgling, arduous, disagreeable business. 
 
 The merchant usually asks full twice the sum that 
 he is very willing, in the end, to take ; nor is he to be 
 brought down from this exorbitant position at once. 
 Consequently, the lower classes, in their little mer- 
 cantile transactions, wage a war of words, and ap- 
 pear to be just on the verge of appealing to bloody 
 noses to enforce their arguments. 
 
 Those who prefer to manage their business trans- 
 actions in a more quiet way, sit down deliberately, 
 
DILATORY BARGAINING. 21] 
 
 smoking one pipe-full after another, sipping their 
 coffee, conversing about the news of the day, and 
 matters and things in general, occasionally touching 
 upon the real object of their visit, but always with 
 that apparent indifference and carelessness which in- 
 dicate that their offer, though not at first equal to 
 a third of the price demanded, is their ultimatum. 
 The Turkish merchant, no less wary, and used to 
 the business and tricks of his profession, exhibits 
 great tact, shrewdness, and caution in his advances. 
 As one party gives way, the other yields a little, un- 
 til at last, after much useless conversation, much 
 smoking, and considerable waste of time and pa- 
 tience, besides some wear and tear of conscience, — 
 the parties clinch the bargain. 
 
 This deliberate mode of transacting business with 
 the people of the East, who appear to have so much 
 time upon their hands that it is valueless, may an- 
 swer very well indeed for mere pastime or amuse- 
 ment. But to a Yankee, who would wish to travel 
 through the world like a rocket, and live two or 
 three lives in one, it certainly is not without its in- 
 convenience and annoyance. 
 
 As a general thing, the servant of the customer 
 expects and receives a trifling present from the shop- 
 keeper ; and if it is not voluntarily handed over, he 
 knows the value of his situation and the custom of 
 the East too well to have any scruples about de- 
 manding it. Whereas a stranger, unacquainted with 
 the language of the country, makes his appearance 
 accompanied by a professed interpreter. Most com- 
 
212 TRICKS UPON STRANGERS. 
 
 monly the first conversation that takes place is — "I 
 have brought you a customer," says the interpreter, 
 " and I must have a per centage upon all he pur- 
 chases : and you must set your prices v^ith that 
 understanding." 
 
 The preliminaries being settled, they proceed to 
 fleece the duck betw^een them, and divide the fea- 
 thers at a more convenient season. To give the af- 
 fair more the appearance of close bargaining on both 
 sides, and general satisfaction to the customer, and 
 above all to convince him beyond a doubt that he 
 has a faithful and an honest friend in the person of 
 the interpreter, the merchant and the dragoman get 
 into a quarrel. The dragoman threatens to leave 
 him if he does not come down in his prices, and de- 
 clares that he w^ill never come near his shop again. 
 That elevated tone usually produces a trifling abate- 
 ment, whereupon a bargain is concluded, more to the 
 advantage of the two wolves than the lamb. 
 
 Few words only are really necessary in making 
 bargains. The merchant knows at once how much 
 he intends to receive for whatever he has to sell. 
 Therefore the customer, if he knows the money of 
 Egypt, and the name of the article that he seeks, 
 win get along much more expeditiously alone than 
 with an interpreter. Besides, he will make a con- 
 siderable saving in dragoman -fees and the per centage 
 which he almost invariably demands on the amount 
 of the purchase. 
 
 This is not all. The stranger will have the satis- 
 faction to know, that although he may have been 
 
BAZAR OF ALEXANDRIA. 213 
 
 slightly taken in by the tradesman, it is a single shave, 
 and he has not been fleeced by his servant. 
 
 When a traveller undertakes the disagreeable and 
 difficult business of shopping in a Turkish town, un- 
 accompanied by an interpreter, the shopman natu- 
 rally concludes that he knows something of the prices 
 of the articles which he wishes to purchase ; besides, 
 they suppose him sufficiently acquainted with the 
 ways and manners of the country, to detect gross 
 imposition ; consequently they will be less likely to 
 make a martyr of him, than when found under the 
 protection of a swindler, in the garb of an avowed 
 faithful companion, who knows the language and cus- 
 toms of the Egyptians, and is determined to avail 
 himself of all their advantages. 
 
 In Constantinople, Cairo, Smyrna, Jerusalem, and 
 most other Turkish towns of any importance that I 
 have visited, the different commodities of the mer- 
 chants are severally confined to certain sections of the 
 bazar, or certain streets, which are frequently known 
 by the name of the articles exposed there for sale. 
 But in the bazar of Alexandria, there were tinkers, 
 blacksmiths, watch-makers, jewellers, turners, tinmen, 
 tailors, shoemakers, pipe-sellers, oilmen, hosiers, cap- 
 sellers, gunsmiths, bankers, confectioners, money- 
 changers, barbers, head-dressers, cooks, and fish- 
 mongers, all within speaking distance of each other, 
 jumbled and mixed up together, with the most mot- 
 ley, disgusting rabble of half-clad wretches, splash- 
 ing along through the mud, mumbling and mutter- 
 
214 FUNERAL PROCESSION. 
 
 ing the most confused and hideously-sounding jar- 
 gon imaginable. 
 
 As if to heighten and render this picture still more 
 impressive and awful, the dead body of a person on 
 the way to the grave was brought along just at the 
 time that we were urging our difficult passage through 
 the dense crowd, making confusion more confused, 
 and adding terror to a scene already terrific. 
 
 The funeral procession was led by some ten or 
 twelve old blind or nearly blind men, clothed in rags, 
 chanting in a melancholy strain the song or service 
 usual on these occasions. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty that they struggled slowly along through the 
 mud and jostling crowd. They were followed by 
 some eight or ten other men, bearing a flag. Next 
 came some small boys, chanting at the top of their 
 half-formed voices ; then followed the corpse, resting 
 on a bier, and borne upon the shoulders of three rag- 
 ged men, who were succeeded by a crowd of wail- 
 ing women, enveloped in mourning robes such as are 
 worn on these occasions, and all screeching fearfully, 
 and wailing the death of the departed with tears and 
 gestures more indicative of madness and phrensy 
 than any deep-rooted sorrow or poignant grief. 
 These were pressed forward by twenty or thirty more 
 ill-visaged and evil-looking wights ; while to them 
 succeeded the giddy and noisy throng of half-naked 
 women, maimed men, water-carriers, fruit-sellers, 
 soap-boilers, rat-catchers, snake-eaters, jugglers, dan- 
 cers, " rag, tag, and bobtail." 
 
 It was indeed one of the most " extraordinary spec- 
 
FUNERAL PROCESSION. 
 
 215 
 
 tacles" that! have ever witnessed. The passage-vs^ay 
 was so narrow, so muddy, and so completely choked 
 up with the living, that it seemed to me to be the 
 
216 FUNERAL PROCESSION. 
 
 most ill-chosen route in the world for the passage of 
 the dead ; though it presented all the misery and the 
 doleful noises that the most fruitful imagination can 
 well picture as pertaining to the abode of unhappy 
 spirits in another world. 
 
 The old blind men and the bearers of the corpse 
 had a difficult task to perform : those, in opening the 
 way for the funeral procession ; and these, in keeping 
 the body upon their shoulders. Sometimes the crush- 
 ing of the unfeeling and heedless rabble against the 
 bearers would nearly pitch them down, and then 
 there was such a reeling and sliding of the body on 
 the bier, that I expected every moment to see it tum- 
 ble into the mud with the bearers, grave-clothes, 
 and all. But the bearers managed to keep them- 
 selves on their feet, and the dead body on their shoul- 
 ders ; and went on chanting in that impressive man- 
 ner, until they turned a corner in the bazar, and 
 disappeared. 
 
 All this Time, Mr. Firkins, having skilfully backed 
 our cavalcade into a little enlargement or elbow of 
 the passage-way, under the greasy stall of a cook, 
 and placed the two formidable and picturesque -look- 
 ing janizaries as a sort of body-guard in front, we 
 were enabled to witness the progress of the funeral 
 procession, through the bazar, in comparative se- 
 curity. 
 
 It was now late in the afternoon. The principal 
 business of the day was over; and most of those 
 turbaned sons of Mammon and the Prophet had 
 eaten their rice and kibab, or whatever else they had 
 
AFTERNOON HABITS. 217 
 
 for dinner, and were fuming away at their long amber 
 mouth-piece pipes, with most stoical indifference to 
 the strange scenes around them, and to all the rest 
 of the world. Some few, however, were still at their 
 frugal meal, which had been brought to them from 
 the neighbouring cook-shop, and were eating with 
 their fingers, out of little rude brown earthen pots or 
 pans, with all the gravity of an owl resting upon a 
 dry limb. Others of these singular men of business, 
 and cadaverous-looking Mussulmen, had eaten their 
 dinner, taken their opium, and smoked themselves 
 into a delightful sleep. They lay slumbering upon 
 their little dirty, flea-haunted divans, fly-blown — 
 bidding adieu to all the cares of the world, and de- 
 fiance to the Babel-like bedlam and confusion of the 
 bazar; and indeed to the thundering guns of the 
 Turkish and Egyptian fleets, which were then roar- 
 ing away most gloriously in the harbour. Business 
 of the day with them was finished ; nor could the 
 gold of Ophir or the wealth of Croesus tempt them 
 from their delicious and sweet repose. 
 
 Indeed, the merchants who were thus drowned in 
 all the delights and pleasing dreams of forgetfulness, 
 stretched out at full length in front of their stalls, 
 like dead hogs for sale in a butcher's shop, manifested 
 scarcely more indifference to the higgling throng, or 
 less desire apparently to drive a bargain with any of 
 the passing crowd, than did those dozing, half-stu- 
 pified, vegetable-looking shopmen, who still kept 
 their eyes open, and exhibited other symptoms of 
 animal existence. These looked out — when they 
 
 Vol. T —28 
 
218 
 
 TRICKS OF TRADERS. 
 
 deigned to look at all upon the motley crowd of 
 squalid wretches who wedged and blocked up the 
 passage — with perfect unconcern ; quite indifferent, 
 apparently, whether they ever sold a paras worth of 
 their merchandise or not. 
 
 This, however, was not the aspect of mercantile 
 affairs in some other sections of the bazar, and more 
 particularly in some of the side streets, where might 
 be seen Italians, Frenchmen, Armenians, Englishmen, 
 Greeks, and Jews, pushing a bargain with their cus- 
 tomers with all the shrewdness, determination, and 
 eagerness of a Yankee pedler. Customers, once in 
 their hands, did not escape purchasing something, 
 and at a price that left a liberal return to the mer- 
 chant for his trouble and the outlay of his capital. 
 They will not fail to represent their wares to their 
 customers as possessing all the qualities that fair 
 words and glowing promises, backed with oaths, can 
 give them. If a customer will not purchase of them 
 what he does or does not want, it is no fault of theirs. 
 If importunity and annoying solicitation can avail, 
 the idler will not pass through the hands of this class 
 of merchants without bearing off son^e memorial of 
 their skill and insidious arts. 
 
 Tricks of Trace. 
 
MODERN AND ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Modern and Ancient Alexandria. — Comprehensive Views of 
 its Founder. — Well-chosen Site for a Great Commercial 
 City. — Canal, connecting the Mile with the Mediterranean. 
 
 — Reservoirs of Alexandria. — Privileges enjoyed by the 
 Greeks in Egypt under the Motive Kings. — Cordial Re- 
 ception of Alexander and his Army hy the Egyptians. — 
 Wise and Conciliatory Administration of the early Ptole- 
 mies, — Extent and Splendour of Ancient Alexandria. — 
 Its Capture by the Saracens. — Wise and Humane Policy 
 of Amrou, the Arab Conqueror. — His Account of the 
 Conquest. — Policy of Mehemet AH and the Black League. 
 
 — Tomb of Alexander, 
 
 Alexandria is favourably situated for commerce ; 
 and, in consequence of the difficulty experienced in 
 entering the mouths of the Nile with vessels draw- 
 ing any considerable depth of water (owing to the 
 obstruction formed by the double action of the sea 
 and river), it is the most desirable port of entry in 
 all Egypt. Nearly the whole foreign trade of the 
 country passes through the hands of the resident 
 merchants in that city. 
 
 Under the Greeks and Romans, when the trade of 
 Arabia and India, or a greater part of it, came through 
 Egypt, Alexandria was the greatest commercial em- 
 
220 COMPREHENSIVE VIEWS OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 porium in the Levant, or, perhaps, in the known 
 world. Its origin and subsequent richness and splen- 
 dour, standing as it did upon the barren rocks of the 
 Libyan desert, were not entirely the result of the 
 caprice and arbitrary will of a powerful prince, the 
 conqueror of the world, — like, for instance, the 
 founding of the capital of Prussia, Bavaria, and some 
 other European cities, exhibiting more the prodi- 
 gality of a vain monarch, than any natural growth, 
 real commercial strength, or prosperity in the cities 
 themselves; — but of a well and judiciously-chosen 
 site ; such as could hardly have escaped the compre- 
 hensive mind and sound judgment of Alexander; 
 who, after subjecting a distant country to his author- 
 ity, and making it his own, sought not to pillage and 
 destroy, but rather to embellish and enrich it, from 
 its own legitimate and natural resources. 
 
 Long previously to the conquest of the country by 
 Alexander, there had been a canal, uniting the wa- 
 ters of the Red Sea with those of the Mediterranean ; 
 and, doubtless, almost the first thing that struck the 
 penetrating mind of that wonderful man, on deciding 
 to erect a city upon a site so desolate and barren as 
 that of Alexandria, was a canal to connect the river 
 of Egypt with the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 A canal was necessarily the first thing to be con- 
 structed, since all the material for building the city 
 must have been brought from Egypt ; for, properly 
 speaking, at that time the site of Alexandria could 
 hardly have been said to belong to Egypt. It was 
 a part of the desert ; and even at this time, I know 
 
./ 
 
 RESERVOIRS OF ALEXANDRIA. 221 
 
 of no part of the Libyan or Arabian deserts that ap- 
 pears more barren or desolate than the country just 
 without the walls of Alexandria. There is no 
 depth of soil, nor the least sign of vegetation, ex- 
 cept where art has done what nature has omitted 
 to do. Not even is fresh water to be obtained, but 
 from the Nile. 
 
 The houses of the ancient city were mostly erect- 
 ed upon a sub-structure of arched vaults or reservoirs, 
 into which the water of the Nile was conducted by 
 the canal. In these capacious reservoirs, it freed 
 itself from the sediment and vegetable matter with 
 which it was highly charged, and was then fit for use. 
 Some of these reservoirs are still well preserved, and 
 are used by the citizens of Alexandria at the present 
 day ; though the greater part of them have long since 
 disappeared, and are now buried beneath the crumb- 
 ling ruins of the ancient city. 
 
 When Norden, the Danish traveller, visited Alex- 
 andria, about a hundred years ago, most of the reser- 
 voirs were perfect, and were used by the citizens ; 
 but the canal had ceased to be a medium of commu- 
 nication between the Nile and the Mediterranean for 
 commercial purposes, and only served, during the 
 inundation, to conduct a supply of fresh water from 
 the river to the city. The sand had so filled in and 
 choked up the canal, that it was then no longer used 
 even for the smallest class of passage-boats. 
 
 On the accession of Mehemet AH to the govern- 
 ment of Egypt, all traces of the ancient canal had 
 nearly disappeared. 
 
222 PRIVILEGES OF THE GREEKS IN EGYPT. 
 
 The penetrating mind of the present ruler of 
 Egypt, in this respect not unlike the more remarka- 
 ble genius of the Macedonian warrior, perceived the 
 advantages to be derived from again opening the 
 communication by water between the Nile and the 
 sea. He summoned his subjects to the work of dig- 
 ging the canal, in such numbers, that it is said to 
 have been navigable for passage and freight boats 
 throughout its whole extent, in six weeks from the 
 time of its commencement. 
 
 Under the reign of Amasis, the last but one of 
 the native Egyptian kings, who died but a few 
 months previously to the Persian invasion under 
 Cambyses, the Greeks in that country had enjoyed 
 great commercial advantages ; and " such Greeks as 
 wished to maintain a regular communication with 
 Egypt, he permitted to have a settlement at Naucra-' 
 tis* . . . which soon became a flourishing town under 
 the exclusive privileges it enjoyed; and being the 
 sole emporium of the Greeks in Egypt, not only 
 was every man required to unload his cargo there, 
 but if he came to any other than the Coptic mouth 
 of the Nile, he was obliged to swear it was entirely 
 accidental, and was compelled to go thither in the 
 same vessel ; or, if contrary winds prevented his 
 making that passage, his goods were taken out and 
 conveyed in boats of the country, by inland naviga- 
 tion, through or round the Delta to Naucratis." 
 
 The Greeks were otherwise greatly favoured, and 
 had distinguished privileges in Egypt. They were 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., pp. 182, 183. 
 
FRIENDSHIP OF THE GREEKS AND EGYPTIANS. 223 
 
 allowed to erect temples, and enjoy the worship 
 of their gods in the land of Egypt, after the manner 
 of their own comitry. Many of their most distin- 
 guished scholars had been accustomed to visit the 
 vale of the Nile for the purpose of study and for other 
 objects of improvement, and had frequently met with 
 the greatest courtesy and attention from the ancient 
 priests and " the wise men" of Egypt. They had 
 often been in alliance too with the Greeks ; and had 
 fought in the same battles, and under the same ban- 
 ners, against the common enemy. 
 
 A friendship naturally sprung up between the two 
 nations, through an intercourse so cordial, and with- 
 out doubt mutually advantageous, which, happily, 
 was not wholly extinguished under the oppressive 
 and cruel reign of the Persian dynasties. Conse- 
 quently, the Egyptians hailed the Macedonian vet- 
 erans and their leader as friends and deliverers, on 
 their arrival in their country, rather than as invaders 
 and conquerors. 
 
 The Egyptians cursed and hated the Persians, 
 who had overrun their country, taken down their 
 temples, destroyed their monuments, and violated 
 their gods ; but at the same time they respected the 
 Greeks, and gloried in the genius and bravery that 
 had made them the rulers of their kingdom. 
 
 " So conciliatory was the conduct of the early 
 Ptolemies, that the Egyptians almost ceased to re- 
 gret the period when they were governed by their 
 native princes."* 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 214. 
 
224 SPLENDOUR OF ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 One of the first benefits conferred by the conquer- 
 or upon the rich and newly-acquired country, was 
 the founding of the celebrated city of Alexandria ; 
 which in time rose to be the second city of the 
 Roman empire. The extensive commerce of Arabia 
 and India naturally centred there, and the design of 
 founding the city was scarcely formed and carried 
 into effect, when it assumed an importance in the 
 commercial world worthy its noble founder, and its 
 well-chosen position. It was laid out with exceed- 
 ing elegance and taste, and comprehended a circum- 
 ference of fifteen R.oman miles. It was adorned 
 with temples, palaces, baths, and four hundred thea- 
 tres, or places of public amusement ; and contained a 
 population of three hundred thousand free citizens, 
 and nearly an equal number of slaves. It was the 
 seat of commerce and learning, of luxury and the 
 arts ; and after suffering a variety of fortune under 
 the too fickle, and at last hateful administration of 
 the Greeks, and the subsequent powerful rule of the 
 Romans, — it ultimately fell a rich spoil into the 
 hands of the Arab conqueror, embellished with all 
 the splendour of art, and enriched with the commerce 
 of a thousand years. 
 
 It was, however, far from being an easy conquest ; 
 and the Saracens did not make themselves masters 
 of this commercial emporium until after a siege of 
 fourteen months, and a loss of twenty-three thousand 
 soldiers, who fell before its walls. 
 
 Amrou, the Arabian conqueror, entering the gates 
 of the city, hung out the banners of the Prophet, and 
 
ITS CAPTURE BY THE SARACENS. 225 
 
 the standard of the Saracens waved victorious from 
 its lofty battlements. The Greeks mostly made their 
 escape in their vessels, and left Amrou in undisputed 
 possession of the rich spoil. But, unlike the dis- 
 graceful and savage slaughter, violation, and pillage 
 that have marked the bloody footsteps of many of 
 the victorious generals under the banners of Moham- 
 med since that period, he suffered not the slightest 
 insult or injury to be offered to the citizens. He 
 took an account of the inhabitants, imposed a tri- 
 bute — left the citizens not only in quiet possession 
 of their homes, but protected them against the law- 
 less inclinations of his soldiery, and the schismatic 
 feuds then existing in the bosom of the community. 
 He commanded his generals to preserve the wealth 
 of Alexandria and its revenues for the extension of 
 the faith and the benefit of the public service. 
 
 In the account given of this important event to 
 the Calif, Amrou said : " I have taken the great city 
 of the West. It is impossible for me to enumerate 
 the variety of its riches and beauty ; and I shall con- 
 tent myself with observing, that it contains four 
 thousand palaces, four thousand baths, four hundred 
 theatres or places of amusement, twelve thousand 
 shops for the sale of vegetable food, and forty thou- 
 sand tributary Jews. The town has been subdued 
 by force of arms, without treaty or capitulation ; and 
 the Moslems are impatient to seize the fruits of their 
 victory."* 
 
 Such, then, in part, was the picture of Alexandria, 
 
 * Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," London edition, 4to, p. 911. 
 
 Vol. L — 29 
 
226 RUINS OF ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 drawn by the commander of the faithful, twelve hun- 
 dred years ago — Alexandria, which, with the excep- 
 tion of the two obelisks of Cleopatra, and Pompey's 
 Pillar, presents little else, at the present day, besides 
 a shapeless mass of mouldering ruins. For miles in 
 all directions over the site of the ancient city, a 
 wavy surface of drifting sand rests upon the crushed 
 fragments of its departed glory, in all the silent deso- 
 lation of the desert and the grave. The once gay 
 and brilliant city, where emperors, kings, queens, and 
 warriors held their courts in all the splendour and 
 eclat common to ancient eastern princes, is now only 
 visited by the curious stranger, who silently muses 
 over its wreck, and by the labourer, who seeks 
 among its crumbled remains materials for new erec- 
 tions. It has been for many long centuries a mere 
 quarry, whence brick and stone have been drawn 
 to all parts of the Delta, and converted into new 
 buildings. 
 
 The modern town of Alexandria has been wholly 
 built from the rubbish of the ancient ciiy. Many of 
 the finest columns and other works of art that once 
 adorned it, have been carried to Constantinople, 
 Rome, and other parts of Europe. 
 
 The ancient town is still resorted to for the pur- 
 pose of extracting materials for modern buildings. 
 The old brick are well preserved, and better than 
 new ; and the limestone columns, architraves, and 
 walls are easily converted into lime, and are used in 
 the construction ot new edifices. Its site was much 
 more healthy and picturesque than that of the new 
 
 i 
 
LIBERAL POLICY OF MEHEMET ALL 227 
 
 town, being upon the declivity of the Libyan moun- 
 tains, from which the water and filth were easily 
 conducted off into the sea. 
 
 The modern city of Alexandria stands upon the 
 edge of the water, and in a sort of basin, as it were, 
 where the water that runs down during the rainy 
 season from the ruins of the old town, and the abomi- 
 nable filth of the wretched population of the new, 
 all concentrate, and foment into a thousand ills and 
 annoyances — resulting in fevers, plague, and all their 
 devastation and terrors. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, and its 
 exceedingly insalubrious situation, the present city of 
 Alexandria is gradually improving, and increasing in 
 trade. New buildings are frequently erected : and 
 when we were there, one or two large mansions 
 were in a rapid course of completion, at the head of 
 the European Square. Nearly all the buildings upon 
 that square are of large dimensions, and in the Eu- 
 ropean style of architecture. The foreign consuls 
 are all located in that part of the town ; and the' 
 standards of their respective countries wave from the 
 tops of their dwellings. 
 
 The liberal and enlightened policy of Mehemet 
 Ali toward foreigners, has been the means of greatly 
 increasing the trade and commerce of the city, and 
 of introducing into it many modern improvements; 
 and if this noble policy were seconded by a cor- 
 responding spirit of intelhgence, liberahty, and good 
 sense on the part of those who claim the honour 
 to reign by " divine right" over the civilized nations 
 
228 TOMB OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 of Europe, instead of that narrow-minded, self- 
 ish policy which seems to have been the control- 
 ling principle of the black league in their officious 
 and unjustifiable interference in his affairs, the proba- 
 bility is that the enterprising and spirited Pacha of 
 Egypt, though now advanced to a green old age, 
 would be enabled to sow the seeds, which, in the 
 course of time, under a wise administration of east- 
 ern affairs, would ripen into permanent benefits, and 
 a regeneration of the beclouded and oppressed na- 
 tions of the Levant. 
 
 The tomb of the Macedonian conqueror and 
 founder of the once opulent and splendid city of 
 Alexandria, is no longer to be found. It is said that 
 his remains were put into a glass coffin, and buried in 
 the ancient city ; but all traces of his dust, or the spot 
 where he was laid, have been lost. Not even the 
 doubtful glimmerings of tradition, shadowed forth by 
 the guides, exist. All are alike silent upon the sub- 
 ject ; and, like the second city of the world in the 
 splendour of its zenith, now mouldering beneath the 
 sands of the desert, little else than a name remains 
 of the conqueror or his works. How forcibly does 
 this circumstance remind us of the passage in the 
 writings of the immortal bard ! — 
 
 " Hamlet. — To what base uses we may return, Horatio ! Why may 
 not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping 
 a bung-hole ? 
 
 " Horatio. — 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so. 
 
 ^'Hamlet. — No, 'faith not a jot ; but to follow him thither with mod- 
 esty enough, and likelihood to lead us: As thus: Alexander died, 
 Alexander Avas buried, Alexander return eth to dust; the dust is earth; 
 of earth we make loam : And why not of that loam, whereto he was 
 converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel ? 
 
REGRET AT LEAVING ALEXANDRIA. 229 
 
 ' " Imperious Csesar, dead, and turned to clay, 
 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away : 
 O, that the earth, which kept the world in awe, 
 Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw !" 
 
 Alexandria has been the theatre of great and im- 
 portant events : once the emporium of commerce, of 
 learning, of luxm*y, and art ; the scene too of some 
 events important to religion. It is therefore inter- 
 esting and instructive to linger among its ruins, and 
 there contemplate the destiny of the fairest creations 
 of the human mind, and the fate of the world. For 
 that, too, and all that exist within it, shall succumb 
 at last, and give way to the relentless impress of 
 time, and finally sink into oblivion before the oblit- 
 erating influence of ages — like the atom that per- 
 ishes in the midst of the ocean ! The time had ar- 
 rived when we were to bid adieu to all the charms, 
 to all the wretchedness, to all the desolateness and 
 misery of Alexandria, and seek new objects of inter- 
 est and contemplation in the more venerable parts 
 of Egypt. This, however, was not without feelings 
 of regret ; for never in our lives had we passed time 
 under more agreeable excitation. Every object with 
 which we were surrounded seemed to remind us that 
 we were in a new world, even though treading among 
 the ruins of the old. Books may be read at a dis- 
 tance, but they can impart, at most, only a faint idea 
 of the reality and impressiveness of the scenes of an 
 eastern city. 
 
 The curious groups of citizens, with long frocks, 
 ample turbans, hideous masks, and dresses of every 
 variety of colour ; the strange guttural sounds of the 
 
230 SCENES IN ALEXANDEIA. 
 
 language, the long beards, the long pipes, the camels, 
 the dogs, and donkeys, the odd mixture of all na- 
 tions, that were crushed and mingled together in the 
 city of Alexandria, made up one of the most extra- 
 ordinary pictures that I have ever seen. Sometimes 
 we could scarcely realize that we were witnessing 
 scenes of real life ; and that the strange picture of 
 our contemplation was not, in fact, the restless and 
 imperfect fabric of a vision ! 
 
PREPARATIONS TO DEPART. 231 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Preparations to depart. • — Exchange of Adieus. — Affecting 
 
 Scene. — - Weeping and Laughter. Heavy JYews. 
 
 Change of Circumstances and Dress. — Quizzing-glasses 
 and Financial Prospects. — " Hot Mixture,'^ and Hunt for 
 the Door-latch. 
 
 Having completed all the necessary arrangements 
 for the commencement of our excursion up the Nile ; 
 and having, two days before, taken leave of our friend 
 the Dane, then vice-consul of the United States in 
 Alexandria, there were no other persons with whom 
 to exchange adieus, except Mrs. Firkins, Mr. O'Stat- 
 ten, and Mr. O'Screensbury. 
 
 Mr. Sneezebiter had gone off in a hurry, a day or 
 two previously, on hearing that a gentleman of Ro- 
 setta had found a curious snake in the Delta, which 
 he offered for sale, together with a very clever scor- 
 pion, said to have been brought with great care all 
 the way from the tombs of Petra by an Englishman ; 
 who, on his arrival at Rosetta, finding himself rather 
 short of funds, was reluctantly compelled to part with 
 it much below its real value. Mr. Sneezebiter had 
 pushed off to that city, upon the receipt of a letter, 
 bearing that important intelligence, in hopes to close 
 a bargain for the two reptiles on advantageous terms, 
 
232 AN AFFECTING SCENE. 
 
 and add them both to his already attractive, and, as 
 his EngHsh friends said, " very clever collection." 
 
 Mr. Firkins had also set out on the evening before, 
 up the Nile, and had gone to accompany the Wrin- 
 klebottoms as far as Cairo. 
 
 The French steamer had just left for Athens and 
 Malta, carrying off our American friend of Boston, 
 and a number of English travellers from India, whose 
 faces had begun to look famihar, as we saw them 
 daily dodging about for the sights of the city; and 
 the town itself was, just for the time, getting quite 
 dull. 
 
 Our turn had at last arrived, and we went over to 
 take leave of Mrs. Firkins and Mr. O'Statten ; but 
 we found it rather an affecting incident. I could not 
 have believed it possible that an accidental acquaint- 
 ance of such a brief existence could make such a 
 deep impression as we had apparently imprinted 
 upon the tender feelings of Mrs. Firkins. We found 
 her " like Niobe, all tears." She appeared to be all 
 emotion of the tenderest kind. She said it was al- 
 ways thus ; situated in that distant, barbarous part of 
 the world, she was only doomed to form new ac- 
 quaintances, with ladies and gentlemen of civilized 
 countries, which, when warmed into something like 
 a little cordiality and friendship, were always sud- 
 denly broken off — never to be renewed again on 
 this side of the grave ! She fairly sobbed aloud, and 
 kissed my wife over and over again ; and looked so 
 exceedingly sad and amiable in her ringlets and tears, 
 that I was almost tempted to kiss her myself, for very 
 
SKEPTICISM OF THE DOCTOR. 233 
 
 sympathy. It was really a touching scene. She 
 made us very melancholy, so that I was on the point 
 of giving her a solemn promise that we would cer- 
 tainly come back to her again, and go to Palestine 
 from Alexandria by water. She was so depressed 
 in spirits, so overwhelmed with grief, and so afflicted 
 every way, that I thought the least we could do, 
 would be to put off our departure for a day or two ; 
 at the expiration of which time I was in hopes she 
 would get calmer, and be more reconciled to the 
 separation. 
 
 Upon taking the doctor a little one side, and 
 broaching the matter to him, he would not hear a 
 word upon the subject. He said " It was all sheer 
 affectation — a scene got up for the occasion; and 
 altogether the most complete bit of cozening that 
 he had seen among all the cozeners of Alexandria." 
 
 " Do you really think so V said I to the doctor. 
 
 " Think so ?" said he, " I'm satisfied of it. — See 
 Mr. O'Statten. He can scarcely restrain himself from 
 applauding her aloud, she acts her part of the farce 
 so well." 
 
 " My attention has been so completely absorbed," 
 said I, " by the apparent grief and distress of Mrs. 
 Firkins, that I have not bestowed the least attention 
 upon Mr. O'Statten or the part that he is perform- 
 ing. You must acknowledge, however," said I to 
 the doctor, " that Mrs. Firkins feels very bad about 
 our departure from Alexandria ?" 
 
 " Not a bit of it," said the doctor, " it's all an imposi- 
 tion, — the veriest chicanery in the world. Come," 
 
 Vol. L — 30 
 
234 AFFECTING SEPARATION. 
 
 said he, " let us act a little more like sensible people, and 
 bid them adieu, sans ceremonie. ' For the wind sits 
 in the shoulder of our sail, and we are staid for.' " 
 
 "I must confess," said I to the doctor, in reply to the 
 summary mode he proposed for cutting short Mrs. Fir- 
 kins's grief, " that I cannot bring my mind to believe 
 that such apparently deep emotion is all fudge. How- 
 ever, I know that the human heart is deceitful above 
 all things, and desperately wicked ; and that truth is 
 said to lie ' at the bottom of a well.' You may be 
 right after all, doctor, and as the arrangements are 
 all made for our departure, perhaps it will be as 
 well not to give way too much to feeling ; but set 
 out on our journey, and let things at Alexandria 
 take their course." 
 
 "Certainly," said he, "that will be far better; 
 and I propose that we go to our hotel directly." 
 So, after another round of kisses and affectionate 
 squeezing of hands, all the way from the drawing- 
 room down two pair of stairs, across the court quite 
 to the gate of the bow-wab, we tore ourselves away 
 from the tender embraces of Mrs. Firkins, and left 
 her apparently in a deplorable state of affliction. 
 
 Mr. O'Statten, who had evinced little more than 
 the ordinary feelings of civility usual on similar occa- 
 sions, until we got into the street, was now moved 
 by a sudden impulse ; and, on the instant, became 
 nearly as much affected as Mrs. Firkins herself. 
 
 Mrs. C. was really down-hearted upon the occa^ 
 sion ; and I felt subdued and melancholy. 
 
TEARS AND LAUGHTER. 235 
 
 We walked along for some distance, and none of 
 us uttered a word. 
 
 Mrs. Firkins and Mr. O'Statten lingered at the 
 gate, and followed us with their brimful eyes until 
 we turned the corner of the street, then waved an 
 adieu with their hands and handkerchiefs ; and, as I 
 imagined, turned toward the door of their house — 
 
 " With visage sad, and footsteps slow, 
 Like parting friends who linger as they go.— 
 
 This was too much for the nerves of Mrs. C, and 
 the risible faculties of the doctor — the one burst 
 into a flood of tears — the other into a roar of merri- 
 ment. For my own part, I scarcely knew what to 
 make of it ; but I could not bid those good people 
 farewell for ever, without one longing, lingering look ; 
 so I retraced my steps, and turned my eyes in the 
 direction of the hospitable mansion that we had just 
 quitted ; when, what was my astonishment to see 
 Mrs. Firkins and My. O'Statten standing on the 
 very spot where we had left them, almost dying with 
 — laughter ! 
 
 When we came into the hotel, we had the pleas- 
 ure of meeting Mr. O'Screensbury. He had already 
 been waiting our return more than an hour; and had 
 come to say good-by. He had heard heavy news 
 from England, and put on a kind of dignified 
 sadness. He had just received the melancholy in- 
 telligence of the death of his father, by which afflic- 
 tive event he had lost an affectionate parent, with 
 whom he had not spoken a friendly word for six 
 
236 
 
 HEAVY NEWS. 
 
 years ; and, what made this heavy affliction the more 
 poignant was, he was left to heir the title of his father 
 and all the family estates. Neither the title nor the 
 estates could have been very unacceptable to him, 
 especially the latter, one would naturally have sup- 
 posed ; for, like his friend Mr. Sneezebiter, with 
 whom he passed a considerable part of his time, he 
 had not always conducted himself with that pru- 
 dence and sobriety requisite to gain a parent's confi- 
 dence and love ; and consequently had not always 
 received such prompt and ample remittances from 
 home as to place his pecuniary affairs beyond the 
 reach of embarrassment. His funds had been in 
 a more precarious condition during the last five 
 or six months previous to the death of his lament- 
 ed parent, than at any time anterior thereto since 
 his arrival in Egypt; and had it not been for the 
 important assistance which he had received from his 
 intimate friend and companion, Mr. Sneezebiter, he 
 would have been left almost or quite penniless. 
 
 Mr. O'Screensbury had mounted a large black weed 
 upon his hat, laid aside his white plush breeches 
 and blue stock, left off his gold chains and gilded 
 eye-glass, and put on the habiliments of mourning 
 throughout — exhibiting no ornament whatever, with 
 the exception of a little small iron-mounted quizzing- 
 glass, hanging down upon his breast by a little black 
 India rubber cord, which passed round his neck, of so 
 small a size as to be scarcely discernible. 
 
 It was very seldom that I saw Englishmen abroad 
 without the appendage of a quizzing-glass attached 
 
QUIZZING-GLASSES. 237 
 
 to their necks, although their eyes are proverbially 
 good. 
 
 " Those eyes, though their vision surpasses 
 The eagle's that pierces the light, 
 Must be aided by black quizzing-glasses, 
 Howe'er they embarrass the sight." 
 
 When we meet six or eight English gentlemen to- 
 gether, the manner in which they bring their eye- 
 glasses to bear upon each other, and almost every 
 other object around them, is "very peculiar," and re- 
 minds one of Napoleon's scientific corps, who fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of that great captain in their 
 researches and discoveries in Egypt, with their tele- 
 scopes in hand, rather than ordinary men in their 
 senses, with eyes in their heads. 
 
 It is impossible for them to recognise their old ac- 
 quaintances at the distance of a dozen feet, without 
 the aid of their eye-glasses ; and then the cordiality 
 and nonchalance with which they come together 
 upon ultimately finding one another out, is truly 
 laughable. Dropping their glasses simultaneously, 
 they seize each other's hands with the abruptness 
 and vigor of two Greek or Roman wrestlers ; shaking 
 at the same time hard enough to dislocate the arm. 
 " Ah, God bless you !" says one of them, " how are 
 ye ? how are ye I How have you been since the 
 shooting season was over ?" At the same time, and 
 without heeding in the least the affectionate inquiries 
 of his friend, the other, still keeping up the violent 
 and almost convulsing shake, roars out at the top of 
 his voice, " How are ye 1 how are ye ? Where the 
 d — 1 have you kept yourself since we had that set- 
 
238 QUIZZING-GLASSES. 
 
 down at the races 1 I'll be d d if I've had such 
 
 a clever rubber from that day to this." 
 
 I have actually seen English travellers standing 
 before a cathedral in Italy, studying and gazing at 
 the bare walls of one of its broad sides through the 
 medium of their quizzing-glasses, with as much ap- 
 parent intensity as is required to see to advantage the 
 celebrated " working-fleas" through a microscope. 
 They seem to be as fond of their eye-glasses as the 
 Italian monks are of sandals and snufl; although it is 
 notorious that they can see remarkably well without, 
 and scarcely at all with them. When their glasses 
 are gold-mounted, and swinging about like clock-pen- 
 dulums upon their breasts, they have quite a pleasing, 
 janty air, and contrast very agreeably with the large, 
 full-blown roses or daffodils which they fail not to 
 stick into the button-hole of their coats whenever 
 they can get them, and at all seasons of the year. 
 
 Mr. O'Screensbury was exceedingly partial to his 
 glass, and had used it in various ways for so long a 
 time, that the youthful lustre of his eye was already 
 considerably dimmed by it ; and it was supposed by 
 his friends that his grief for the death of his lamented 
 father would not meliorate its flushed and watery 
 condition. 
 
 For a long time, he had found it necessary to dilute 
 the Nile-water with alcohol, otherwise it was quite 
 impossible for him to drink it ; and, as it was, even 
 with that precaution, its eflects upon him were quite 
 visible. 
 
 He was now much cast down and depressed in 
 
MR. O'SCREENSBURY. 239 
 
 spirits, and it would be imprudent, of course, to 
 drink the water of the Nile without a more hberal 
 dilution than ever. Besides, he found it necessary 
 to indulge his rather ample propensity for the dis- 
 tilled liquids of Europe just at this juncture, in or- 
 der to keep him from sinking under the weight of his 
 recent heavy bereavement 
 
 As he would soon get possession of the O'Screens- 
 bury property, he would be quite able to discharge 
 all his obligations to his friend Mr. Sneezebiter, as 
 well as to defray any little extras, on account of 
 wine, women, and vipers, that might be necessary to 
 rally his depressed spirits, now in the days of his 
 affliction. 
 
 We could not say that we knew Mr. O'Screens- 
 bury intimately, although we had met him several 
 times at Mr. and Mrs. Firkins's, and at one or two 
 other places ; at all of which he made a figure, and 
 was conspicuous for the freedom and spirit of in- 
 quiry common to English residents in the East. He 
 was now, since the receipt of his last advices from 
 England, evidently an altered man, and put on an ap- 
 pearance of much more self-consequence and re- 
 serve than I had ever remarked in his conduct before. 
 
 I ascribed this alteration in his deportment to his 
 sorrow for the death of his lamented father. The 
 doctor thought that it was preparatory to his enter- 
 ing upon the title and family estates of the O'Screens- 
 burys. Our last meeting with him was not a long 
 one : we chatted a short time, after condoling with 
 him upon his late loss ; and, to wind off the eve- 
 
240 HUNT FOR THE DOOR-LATCH. 
 
 ning agreeably to his taste, he called for a large 
 tumbler-full of some kind of '^hot mixture',^ which 
 he drank off, bade us farewell, stuck his quizzing- 
 glass between his cheek-bone and eye-brow, and 
 leaving it there, began to feel his way to the door- 
 latch like one groping in the dark. Having found it, 
 he took his leave, and vanished. 
 
 J 
 
 The Glass of Fashion. 
 
AN EARLY START. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 An Early Start. — Inconveniences of Indecision. — Hint to 
 Ladies travelling in the East. — Effects of Trade. — Cruel 
 Suspension. — Passage on the Mahmoudieh Canal. — Ban- 
 ger, Difficulty, and Disaster. — Scenes on the Canal. — ■ 
 Camels of the Pacha. — Cruelty to Horses. — Egyptian 
 Darkness. 
 
 The next morning we were up at the call of the 
 muezzins from the minarets of Alexandria ; and, hav- 
 ing satisfied the host, the servants, porters, "hoots," 
 bow-wabs, and the rest of the retainers of the hotel, 
 we sent our baggage to the canal-boat, and took 
 leave of all parties. 
 
 Perhaps the reader will indulge me here with a 
 little familiar chat by the way, which may be useful 
 to all who visit the East. 
 
 Travelling in Turkey for amusement, and not 
 knowing at what particular point of the Levant it 
 might cease to be agreeable ; or whence, perhaps, 
 it might be more convenient to direct our course 
 toward home, rather than continue our wanderings 
 in that barbarous region, — we found ourselves some- 
 what in the predicament of the sailor who had turned 
 farmer in his old age. 
 
 Never being able to decide in the morning, before 
 
 Vol. L — 31 
 
242 
 
 INCONVENIENCES OF INDECISION. 
 
 he left his house, what particular branch of his busi- 
 ness he would take up for the daj, the old sailor 
 did liot fail, on going into the field, to encumber 
 himself with nearly all the implements of husbandry 
 that he had in the world. Having been used to run 
 up and down the rigging of a ship all his life, he 
 could not reconcile himself to the idea, on retiring 
 from the sea, of having nothing to climb in his de- 
 clining years. So he selected a farm on the side of a 
 steep mountain, with his house at its base ; and, on 
 daily climbing up to his eagle-nest fields, he sel- 
 dom omitted to load himself with his beetle and 
 wedges, axe, crowbar, hoe, pick-axe, and bush-scythe. - 
 " For," said he, " I cannot tell, before I get upon the 
 top of the mountain, whether 1 shall finally decide 
 to go to cutting and splitting rails, hoeing potatoes, 
 digging stone, or mowing brush. I always find it 
 convenient to have all my tools with 7ne, and then I 
 can easily turn my hand to any thing." And we, 
 with about the same amount of wisdom, and with 
 the same idea of convenience in our heads, on giving 
 up our carriage at Trieste, had embarked with a load 
 of trunks, boxes, and carpet-bags, containing a great 
 many superfluous articles of clothing, as well as a 
 variety of curiosities of one sort or another, which 
 we had collected during the previous six months, in 
 our rambles over Italy, Switzerland, and Germa- 
 ny, as reminiscences of travel. Perhaps it will be 
 useless to inform the reader, that we found this 
 redundance very troublesome. But travellers in 
 the East must necessarily carry their houses, bed,^ 
 
HINT TO LADIES. 243 
 
 kitchen, and provision along with them. We were 
 almost unavoidably adding to our already overgrown 
 and cumbersome burden every day. The question 
 most important had become, not how we ourselves 
 were to get on, but in what manner was it possible to 
 convey our baggage 1 
 
 It may not be amiss, in passing, to observe also, 
 that, as a general thing, ladies who may be travelling 
 in Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land, will have very 
 little use for ball-dresses, extra bonnets, and jewels, 
 for some forty or fifty years to come. All such 
 useful appendages to a lady's toilet under certain 
 circumstances, and in certain parts of the civilized 
 world, may as well be left at home, on setting 
 out to visit the East, or advanced no further than 
 the winter quarters of the Mediterranean fleet ; at 
 which point, should they be fond of gayety, and hap- 
 pen to hit upon '^the season" a few extras will be 
 found quite convenient. For the brave old commo- 
 dores in the Mediterranean, though sometimes, at the 
 rumours of war, exhibiting slight symptoms of timid- 
 ity and fear ; and, as is said, at the suggestion of the 
 late diplomatic oracle near the Court of St. James^ 
 slip their cables a little too hastily and run home to 
 take shelter in more secure quarters, are nevertheless, 
 as goes their fame, exceedingly valorous among the 
 ladies, and very excellent horse-jockeys. They un- 
 derstand perfectly well, too, it is said, the comparative 
 merits and intrinsic value of jackasses and mules. 
 Some of these horse-jockey, mule-driving, and jack- 
 ass-trading commodores, it is also said, have been 
 
244 
 
 CRUEL SUSPENSION. 
 
 pulled up a little by the bit latterly, and " hauled over 
 the coals" for their too eager propensity to deal in 
 mules and other animals on board ship, and have 
 been duly punished by a suspension from the service, 
 on full pay ! — a severe penalty, certainly, if true, and 
 one can hardly imagine how^ a man of spirit could 
 suffer existence in this censorious v^orld, after such 
 a deep and palpable degradation ! How^ever, I do 
 not vouch for the fact of what may be nothing but 
 malicious rumour, put forth by the backbiting tongue 
 of slanderers and bitter enemies. I can only say 
 that, in addition to the above, common fame gives 
 them undisputed claims to a fine taste in w^ines ; and, 
 hov^ever much or little they may have been fright- 
 ened at the recent " ten sail of the line" threat of 
 John Bull, they are not afraid of late hours, and 
 keep up, on board ship, through " the season," a se- 
 ries of soirees, balls, and fetes, nearly or quite equal 
 in brilliancy to the elegant entertainments given by 
 some of the resident diplomats near the courts of 
 the different kingdoms of Europe. 
 
 But, further east than the v^^inter station of the 
 Mediterranean fleet, w^ith the exception of a few gen- 
 teel dinner-dresses, which may perhaps be found ne- 
 cessary and convenient at Athens, in order to make 
 a decent and respectable appearance at the elegant 
 and hospitable mansion of Mr. and Mrs. Hill, the 
 worthy American missionaries ; who, for the good of 
 the cause, are making great sacrifices at that impor- 
 tant missionary station, by all means advance noth- 
 
ADVICE TO THE LADIES. 245 
 
 ing that is superfluous to your immediate wants, but 
 leave all extras behind. 
 
 One good substantial bonnet is quite enough, until 
 it is worn out ; and even then, as the Turkish ladies 
 wear none themselves, a lady from Europe or Amer- 
 ica, travelling in that country, would run no risk of 
 being thought singular in her dress, to go without any 
 bonnet at all. A few changes of plain, strong dress- 
 es, and their accompaniments, made with a view to 
 pretty rough work, rather than to grace the drawing- 
 room, will be found quite sufficient ; and much more 
 appropriate for travelling, in that rude and barbarous 
 part of the world, than a wardrobe stuffed to burst- 
 ing with the fragile dresses usually worn by ladies in 
 the cities of Europe and America. To the super- 
 latively refined ladies of the " literary emporium," 
 whose commendable sense of propriety dictated the 
 importance of putting petticoats upon Greenough's 
 Cupids, and who cannot descend to the vulgarity of 
 calling pantaloons by any more revolting name than 
 " inexpressibles'' I would beg leave to volunteer my 
 advice, not to go to Egypt at all. For there, vulgar 
 old Nature is exhibited in a style more obnoxious to 
 good taste and refinement, if possible, even than 
 Greenough's statues. Don't go ; by all means stay at 
 home; make petticoats and ''inexpressibles' to send 
 to the garden of Eden ; and attend to your " blues." 
 But whatever might have been our opinion in refer- 
 ence to the good or bad taste of the Egyptian cos- 
 tume, we had already advanced too far, to retreat 
 
246 DISAGREEABLE PASSAGE. 
 
 with satisfaction to ourselves, without going still 
 further, and seeing more. 
 
 We had taken some pains to visit the country ; and 
 we desired to see its inhabitants, its antiquities, and 
 Other peculiarities. If our eyes occasionally fell up- 
 on other than its beauties, its fertility ; if they some- 
 times dropped down upon the very nakedness of the 
 land — we did not deem the circumstance a sufficient 
 barrier to deter us from penetrating still deeper into 
 the mysteries, and the strange scenes of the East. 
 
 The boat's departure up the canal was advertised 
 for seven o'clock in the morning ; and, with much 
 perseverance and considerable pushing with Selim, 
 who by this time (as it was getting too late for us to 
 make new arrangements) began to feel his impor- 
 tance, we got down to the canal just in time, as we 
 supposed, to save our passage. 
 
 We soon discovered, however, that we should have 
 run no great risk in being a little more easy and de- 
 liberate in our movements ; for but very few passen- 
 gers had assembled, and it was nearly ten o'clock 
 before we finally got under way. 
 
 We were, however, at last, moving up the canal ; 
 but from the time we left the landing at Alexandria 
 until we pulled up against the banks of the Nile, at 
 Atfa, it was one almost unbroken scene of uproar, 
 confusion, disaster, and danger. 
 
 The moment the order was given for the boat to 
 start, the Arab drivers began to belabour the horses 
 stoutly with their corbashes, and set up a shout hide- 
 ous enough to frighten the poor animals out of their 
 
ARAB HORSES. 247 
 
 harness. The horses, fine Arabians, were all spirited 
 and noble creatures ; and when the Arabs began to 
 whip them, off they ran, kicking, plunging, and ca- 
 reering to their own music. The more spirited and 
 agitated the horses became, under the galling lash 
 and yelling of their drivers, the more assiduous were 
 they in the use of the whip. But the horses, evi- 
 dently displeased with such tumultuous and tantali- 
 zing fondling, soon broke away from the boat and 
 their " persuaders," kicked out of the harness, threw 
 their riders, set off at the top of their speed, and 
 directly disappeared. 
 
 The drivers picked themselves out of the sand, 
 and endeavoured, by running, to overtake the horses ; 
 but they soon lost sight of them, and gave up the 
 chase as hopeless. They, were now desired to go 
 to the next station, and order a new set of horses ; 
 and, in the mean time, the wind being favourable, we 
 hoisted sail, and moved on moderately before the 
 breeze. 
 
 We passed a large number of boats filled with 
 corn, slaves, and natives of the country, going down 
 to Alexandria ; and some hght boats crowded with 
 passengers, natives of Egypt, were making an easy 
 and indolent headway up the canal. We also saw 
 nearly two hundred of the Pacha's camels moving off 
 under the guidance of their drivers into the interior 
 of the Delta, after the government share of the wheat 
 and other produce of the country.^ 
 
 The sight was a novel one to us, for we had nev- 
 er seen above eight or ten camels together at any 
 
248 TREATMENT OF HORSES. 
 
 one time before ; and those of the Pacha were much 
 larger than any we had seen elsewhere — they 
 were immense creatm*es with one hmnp only — real 
 baggage camels ; any one of which would carry 
 seven or eight hundred pounds weight upon his 
 back with apparent ease. They tottled along slowly 
 over the plain ; and our eyes followed them until 
 they were lost to the sight. 
 
 We continued our course under an easy sail for 
 an hour or two, when the Arab drivers returned with 
 a fresh set of horses. They were four beautiful 
 Arabians. But they were no sooner attached to 
 the tow-line of the boat and mounted, than a new 
 scene of frolic, confusion, entanglement, and peril 
 commenced. All experience seemed to be lost 
 upon them ; and served, for little else, apparently, 
 than to harden them in folly and culpable obstinacy. 
 Regardless of the consequence of their violence to 
 the other horses, the drivers had no sooner mounted 
 and set out with these, than they began to apply 
 their whips as lustily over their sides and flanks as 
 ever. And, as might have been expected, the fresh 
 animals were no more gentle and docile under such a 
 brutal cudgelling, than were those which had al- 
 ready broken away and fled from their unmerciful 
 masters. 
 
 The horses frisked, kicked, squealed, and ran ; 
 and the drivers, to quiet them, and keep them steady, 
 laid the butt-end of their corhashes heavily over their 
 heads ; — hallooing and yelling at the top of their 
 voices as before, like maniacs endeavouring to tame 
 
TREATMENT OF HORSES. 249 
 
 wild beasts. These noble animals soon became per- 
 fectly frantic. They dashed along over the path 
 like the wind. Our old boat followed them like a 
 kite ; and created such an agitation in the water as 
 to be of no small detriment to the sandy banks of 
 the canal. Whenever we passed any of the httle 
 (lat-bottomed boats, filled with the Egyptians (many 
 of which were on the canal), they all screamed with 
 fright, lest we, in our fiend-like course, should cap- 
 size them. Their little frail barks, though deeply 
 laden, danced like bubbles upon the waves. Some- 
 times we were pushed with a dangerous crash 
 against the shore ; sometimes entangled with other 
 boats in the middle of the canal ; and sometimes 
 crushed against those that were moored along the 
 side of that fine avenue of water. Thus we floun- 
 dered along from bad to worse, until we were 
 brought up again with a round-turn. 
 
 One horse, through the mismanagement of the 
 drivers, was precipitated into the canal ; another 
 commenced such a violent kicking that he endan- 
 gered the lives and limbs of all around him. He 
 threw his driver, kicked out of the harness, and 
 broke away from his tormentors entirely. While 
 two of them held the horses still left in their pos- 
 session, the other drivers stripped themselves stark na- 
 ked, and plunged into the canal ; and, aided by sev- 
 eral hands from the boat, endeavoured to disentangle 
 the poor animal from his harness, and get him out 
 of the water. It was a long time, however, before 
 they succeeded ; and when they at last dragged him 
 
 Vol. L — 32 
 
250 ARRIVAL AT ATFA. 
 
 to land, the harness was found to be in sach a dilap- 
 idated state, so tattered and torn, that a full hour 
 was consumed in its restoration and adjustment ; 
 after which, we set out again for a new^ race. And 
 although the brutal drivers succeeded in keeping 
 possession of three of the horses for the remainder 
 of the distance, we were continually committing some 
 depredation or folly, by violently running against 
 other boats in the canal, or grounding upon the 
 banks. 
 
 This was the most abominably conducted public 
 conveyance that 1 have ever seen in any part of the 
 world ; worse even than the Austrian steamers on 
 the Adriatic and the Danube. As might have been 
 expected, under such unpropitious guidance, it was 
 nine o'clock in the evening before we reached Atfa ; 
 a distance which, with fair management, might have 
 been accomplished in two-thirds of a day. 
 
 The weather, from alternate squalls and calms, 
 drizzling showers and bright sunshine, at last settled 
 for the night into a steady and powerful rain-storm. 
 " It was as dark as Egypt ;" and, although we had 
 often been told that it never rains in that country, 
 yet, since our arrival, the rain had been pouring down 
 with the constancy and profusion of a Scotch dew 
 in harvest-time. 
 
AN AGREEABLE AbQUAINTANCE. 25 J 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 An Agreeable Acquaintance. — Enlightened Policy of Mehe- 
 met AH exemplijied. — Taxation, Soil, and Cultivation in 
 the Delta. — Unexpected Authority. — Wisdom, Justice, 
 and Mercy go hand in hand. — Tax-gathering, Retribution, 
 and Butchery. 
 
 On our passage up the canal, we had the pleasure 
 to make the acquaintance of Mr. Larkin, the Eng- 
 lish Vice Consul at Alexandria, whom we found to 
 be intelligent, affable, and every way agreeable — en- 
 tirely free from that conceited cant, vulgar affecta- 
 tion, and contemptible hauteur which are the pre- 
 vailing characteristics of the manners of a very large 
 majority of Englishmen whom we met in our orien- 
 tal wanderings. 
 
 Mr. Larkin left the boat on reaching his estates, 
 situated about two thirds of the distance from Alex- 
 andria to Atfa, where he has several thousand acres 
 of the finest land in the Delta. 
 
 This most excellent tract of land, Mr. L. informed 
 us, he had taken possession of two or three years pre- 
 vious to our arrival in Egypt. He was bringing the 
 * whole into cultivation as fast as the condition of the 
 
252 ENLIGHTENED POLICY OF MEHEMET ALL 
 
 inhabitants on the estates, and the circumstances of 
 the country would permit. 
 
 This grant of land to Mr. L. is one of the enlight- 
 ened acts of the Pacha of Egjpt ; and an illustration 
 of the liberal policy which he has ever evinced 
 in favour of all respectable foreigners. It was ne- 
 cessary to be in the good graces of the Pacha, and to 
 have his entire confidence, in order to get possession 
 of so large a tract of the rich soil of Egypt. All 
 arrearages of taxes upon the land were required 
 to be paid by Mr. L. previous to his taking pos- 
 session of it. 
 
 An annual rent of about $2 50 per acre on all 
 that is brought into cultivation is exacted as a tax 
 to be paid to the government. This tax is appa- 
 rently high, — but not so in fact ; since, on about 
 three thousand acres, which Mr, Larkin has already 
 brought into a state of productiveness, he is only 
 taxed on eight hundred. This is the amount which 
 he is estimated to have under cultivation. 
 
 The officers of the department, whose duty it is to 
 assess the taxes, have estimated and put him down 
 at that amount, without making any inquiry of Mr. 
 Larkin upon the subject ; thinking, probably, that it 
 would be quite impossible for him to have a larger 
 number of acres under cultivation. 
 
 The land is very productive ; and, in ordinary sea- 
 sons, with proper attention and plentiful irrigation, it 
 may be made to produce two or three crops a year. 
 His extensive territory spreads over several large 
 villages, all of which, including the inhabitants, are 
 
UNEXPECTED AUTHORITY. 253 
 
 comprised in the grant from government. In accord- 
 ance with the usual manner of conducting public 
 affairs in Eastern countries, the people on the soil 
 go with it, on the change of hands, and are under 
 the control of the proprietor. The consequence 
 was, that Mr. Larkin, unexpectedly to himself, at the 
 time he made arrangements for the land, suddenly 
 found his authority extended to a complete jurisdic- 
 tion, in all ordinary cases, over the whole population 
 of his land. This was made known to him upon 
 his application to the legal authorities of Alexandria 
 for the punishment of some of the Egyptians on his 
 estates. He was told that the people were in his 
 hands, entirely under his jurisdiction, and to be dealt 
 with as he, in his wisdom and mercy, might deem 
 just and advisable. 
 
 His authority, though quite complete and absolute 
 in all other respects, does not extend to cases of 
 life and death. But in all instances except those of 
 capital crime, the convicted party for all minor 
 offences is quite at the mercy of the proprietor of the 
 soil. 
 
 At first, it was very difficult, nay, next to impos- 
 sible, to impress the Arabs with the idea that they 
 had any thing like justice or humanity to expect 
 from any quarter. They looked upon Mr. Larkin 
 in the same light in which they and their ancestors 
 had been accustomed to view the odious Beys, 
 Memlooks, and all the Turkish oppressors for many 
 past centuries. All their possessions, heretofore, 
 had been at the mercy, and subject to the despotic 
 
254 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 
 
 will, of their tyrannical masters. Life and prop- 
 erty were both liable to be seized upon at any 
 moment, and snatched away from them by the 
 cruel hand of power, without equity or reason. 
 
 As an illustration of the manner in which justice 
 was formerly administered by the governor of this 
 very district, it may not be considered inapposite, 
 perhaps, to copy the following from Mr. Lane's 
 excellent work* on the Manners and Customs of 
 the Modern Egyptians. 
 
 The governor of El-Menoofeey eh, "a shorttime be- 
 fore my present visit to Egypt," says Mr. Lane, " in 
 collecting the taxes at a village, demanded of a poor 
 peasant the sum of sixty riyals (ninety fuddahs each, 
 making a sum total of a hundred and thirty-five pias- 
 tres, which was then equivalent to about thirty shil- 
 lings). The poor man urged that he possessed noth- 
 ing but a cow, which barely afforded sustenance to 
 himself and his family. Instead of pursuing the 
 method usually followed when a fellah declares him- 
 self unable to pay the tax demanded of him, which 
 is to give him a severe bastinading, the nazir (or gov- 
 ernor), in this case, sent the Sheykh el-Beled to bring 
 the poor man's cow, and desired some of the fellah- 
 een to buy it. They saying that they had not suffi- 
 cient money, he sent for a butcher and desired him to 
 kill the cow, which was done. He then told him to 
 divide it into sixty pieces. The butcher asked for 
 his pay ; and was given the head of the cow. Sixty 
 fellaheen were then called together ; and each of them 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. i. pp. 173, 174, 175. 
 
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 255 
 
 was compelled to purchase, for a rijal, a piece of the 
 cow. The owner of the cow went weeping and 
 complaining to the superior of the nazir, the late 
 Mohammed Bey, Defturdar. ' My master,' said he, 
 ' I am oppressed and in misery : I had no property but 
 one cow, a milch cow : and I and my family lived 
 upon her milk ; and she ploughed for me and threshed 
 my corn ; and my whole subsistence was derived from 
 her : the nazir has taken her, and killed her, and cut 
 her up into sixty pieces, and sold the pieces to my 
 neighbours ; to each a piece for one riyal ; so that he 
 obtained but sixty riyals for the whole, while the 
 value of the cow was a hundred and twenty riyals, 
 or more. I am oppressed and in misery, and a 
 stranger in the place, for I came from another vil- 
 lage ; but the nazir had no pity on me. I and my 
 family are become beggars, and have nothing left. 
 Have mercy on m^, and give me justice : I implore 
 it by thy harem.' The defturdar, having caused the 
 nazir to be brought before him, asked him, ' Where 
 is the cow of this fellah V — 'I have sold it,' said the 
 nazir. 'For how much]' — 'For sixty riyals.' — 
 ' Why did you kill it and sell it ?' — ' He owed sixty 
 riyals for land : so I took his cow, and killed it, and 
 sold it for the amount' — ' Where is the butcher that 
 killed it ?' — ' In Menoof The butcher was sent for, 
 and brought. The defturdar said to him, ' Why did 
 you kill this man's cow V — ' The nazir desired me,' 
 he answered, ' and I could not oppose him. If I at- 
 tempted to do so, he would have beaten me and de- 
 stroyed my house : I killed it, and the nazir gave me 
 
'^^^ ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 
 
 the head as my reward.' — ' Man/ said the defturdar, 
 * do you know the persons who bought the meat V 
 The butcher rephed that he did. The defturdar 
 then desired his secretary to write the names of the 
 sixty men, and an order to the sheykh of the village, 
 to bring them to Menoof, where this complaint was 
 made. The nazir and butcher were placed in con- 
 finement till the next morning ; when the sheykh of 
 the village came, with the sixty fellaheen. The two 
 prisoners were then brought before the defturdar, who 
 said to the sheykh and sixty peasants, ' Was the 
 value of this man's cow sixty riyals V — ' O, our mas- 
 ter,' they answered, ' the value was greater.' The 
 defturdar sent for the ckadee of Menoof, and said to 
 him, ' O ckadee, here is a man oppressed by the na- 
 zir, who has taken his cow and killed it, and sold its 
 flesh for sixty riyals. What is thy judgment V The 
 ckadee replied, ' He is a cruel tyrant, who oppresses 
 every one under his authority. Is not a cow worth 
 a hundred and twenty riyals, or more 1 And he has 
 sold this for sixty riyals. This is tyranny toward the 
 owner.' The defturdar then said to some of the sol- 
 diers, ' Take the nazir, and strip him and bind him.* 
 This done, he said to the butcher, ' Butcher, dost 
 thou not fear God ] Thou hast killed the cow un- 
 justly.' The butcher again urged that he was obliged 
 to obey the nazir. ' Then,' said the defturdar, ' if I 
 order thee to do a thing, wilt thou do it f — 'I will 
 do it,' said the butcher. ' Kill the nazir !' said the 
 defturdar. Immediately, several of the soldiers pre- 
 sent seized the nazir, and threw him down, and the 
 
RETRIBUTION AND BUTCHERY.. 257 
 
 butcher cut his throat, in the regular orthodox man- 
 ner of kilHng animals for food. ' Now cut him up/ 
 said the defturdar, ' into sixty pieces/ This was 
 done, the people concerned in the affair, and many 
 others, looking on : but none daring to speak. The 
 sixty peasants who had bought the meat of the cow 
 were then called forward, one after another, and each 
 was made to take a piece of the flesh of the nazir, 
 and to pay for it two riyals ; so that a hundred and 
 twenty riyals were obtained from them. They were 
 then dismissed ; but the butcher remained. The cka- 
 dee was asked what should be the reward of the 
 butcher ? and answered that he should be paid as he 
 had been paid by the nazir. The defturdar there- 
 fore ordered that the head of the nazir should be 
 given to him ; and the butcher went away with this 
 worse than valueless burden, thanking God that he 
 had not been more unfortunate, and scarcely believ- 
 ing himself to have so easily escaped, until he ar- 
 rived at his village. The money paid for the flesh 
 of the nazir was given to the owner of the cow/' 
 
 The Butcher with two Heads. 
 
 Vol. i — 33 
 
258 DESPOTISM AND DEGRADATION. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Despotism and Degradation. — Poverty preferable to Wealth. 
 — Justice and Humanity rewarded. • — " Reigning by Di- 
 vine Right.'' — Advantages of Commercial Intercourse to 
 Civilization. — Cheerfulness and Labour. — Multiplicity of 
 Wives offers no Impediment to Prosperity in Egypt. — Mah- 
 moudieh Canal. — Dikes and Canals of Egypt. 
 
 Unused to the protection or sympathy of the gov- 
 ernment, and ever a prey to the cupidity and mean- 
 ness of petty tyrants, the inhabitants of this district 
 had long since ceased to desire the possession of 
 v^eahh, or any thing more than the mere requisites 
 to their v^^retched subsistence, lest the jealousy of 
 their oppressors should be excited ; and, falling un- 
 der the dangerous suspicion of having more than 
 sufficient to keep life and body together, they should 
 be brought to the rack, the bastinado, and other 
 tortures : w^hich are sometimes vi^orse even than death 
 itself ! 
 
 Though basking in a genial sun, and residing upon 
 a soil of incomparable fertility and richness, they had 
 no desire to possess the land, or to avail themselves 
 of its great productive wealth; the bare necessa- 
 ries of life being their sole aim, and the utmost 
 
POVERTY PREFERABLE TO WEALTH. 259 
 
 height of their ambition. They, as well as their 
 forefathers for many long generations past, greatly 
 preferred the wrefchedness and misery that every 
 where pervaded the country, to the risks of perse- 
 cution, which the possession of property under a gov- 
 ernment like that of Turkey, seldom fails to bring 
 down upon the head of its proprietor. 
 
 In absolute poverty, these miserable beings have 
 found a kind of satisfaction in life, and the pro- 
 tection and security which naturally flow to the 
 possessor of wealth in civilized nations. But the 
 mere suspicion, on the part of their rulers, of their 
 having more than a competency for the moment, has 
 been considered sufficiently criminal to endanger 
 their lives. 
 
 Happily for the long-degraded and cruelly-oppress- 
 ed Egyptians upon Mr. Lar kin's estates, he possessed 
 the feelings of a noble and generous nature, and 
 was anxious to meliorate the sufferings of his fellow- 
 creatures. He adopted an equitable and enlightened 
 policy in his government of those over whom he ex- 
 ercises an almost unlimited control. He obliges them 
 all to work, and bring his land into cultivation. But, 
 while he imposes upon all the wholesome duty of 
 industry, he at the same time allows the labourers 
 undisputed possession of one half of the gross pro- 
 ducts of the soil. The other moiety he retains him- 
 self, to defray the expenses of machinery and cattle 
 to irrigate the land ; to pay the taxes and interest on 
 the original outlay; and other incidental expenses. 
 Even with such fair prospects before them, it was al- 
 
260 HUMANITY REWARDED. 
 
 most impossible to convince the Arabs, at first, of his 
 sincerity ; and that he, like all the petty Tm-kish of- 
 ficers who have hitherto tyrannized over them, had 
 not the secret intention to deprive them eventually 
 of all. Their confidence, however, was gradually 
 secured by his humane conduct toward them ; and 
 they now come forward with the greatest cheer- 
 fulness, and enter upon the labours of the field with 
 the most commendable assiduity. Looking up to 
 him as a friend and deliverer, they listen to his coun- 
 sel as to the voice of an oracle, and obey his com- 
 mands on all occasions. 
 
 He holds regular courts among them, to try all 
 petty offenders and violators of the established rules 
 for the government of the community ; punishes the 
 guilty, and protects the innocent. In order to make 
 the administration of justice as impressive upon their 
 minds as possible, and to let them know that they are 
 not to be punished if innocent, nor escape if guilty, 
 he introduces as much ceremony and form into the 
 " sitting of the divan" as is consistent with the de- 
 spatch of business ; hears the witnesses of both par- 
 ties, and decides the cases that come before him in 
 accordance with equity and the evidence adduced. 
 
 Should this gentleman's life be prolonged, and he 
 be permitted, under the protection of government, to 
 follow up his praiseworthy plans of improvement, it 
 cannot fail to produce a great moral and a most bene- 
 ficial effect upon the minds of all those of whom he 
 has been put in charge. 
 
 A few individuals like Mr„ Larkin, distributed over 
 
REIGNING BY "DIVINE RIGHT." 261 
 
 the Turkish empire, protected in their humane and 
 equitable endeavours to meliorate the condition of 
 the long-oppressed and degraded people, would do 
 much more to regenerate and enlighten the nation, 
 than the " ten sail of the line" operations of her Ma- 
 jesty's government, arming the barbarians of the 
 Syrian mountains, exciting insurrections among the 
 people, bombarding and destroying the large towns 
 upon the seacoast, and burying an unoffending popu- 
 lation beneath their ruins ! It should not be forgot- 
 ten, that one is the enlightened policy of the " old 
 blood-thirsty tyrant," the Pacha of Egypt, " the vas- 
 sal and illegitimate ruler ;" and the other, the barbarous 
 measure of immaculate England, whose sovereign, 
 according to the doctrine of her church, sedulously 
 inculcated throughout the realm, and in all the other 
 despotic kingdoms of Europe, reigns and tyrannizes 
 over millions upon millions of human beings, by 
 " divine right !" 
 
 The Turks, and all the other eastern nations over 
 which the religion of Mohammed has exercised its 
 influences, have ever been, until quite recently, ac- 
 customed to look upon Christians as dogs and infi- 
 dels, and to regard the Franks with a jealous and 
 suspicious eye, as unjust and wicked ; whom to rob 
 and murder was considered a virtue, and even a duty 
 in certain cases, rather than a crime. Could they 
 be made practically to see their error, and that the 
 Christians, disconnected with the sinister motives 
 which generally actuate their rulers, instead of op- 
 pressing, have a disposition to befriend, and a power 
 
262 CHEERFULNESS AND LABOR. 
 
 to do them good, they would change their beUef, throw 
 off those pernicious prejudices founded in ignorance 
 and superstition, and long clierished with demoniac 
 bitterness. They would gradually embrace a more 
 enlightened and consistent faith, and a course of 
 conduct more in accordance with that of civilized 
 nations. 
 
 A free intercourse and exchange of commodities 
 with other countries ; a liberal system of commerce 
 and trade, such as the Pacha of Egypt had been ena- 
 bled to introduce and protect in his dominions, previ- 
 ously to the bombardment of the English on the 
 Syrian coast, must effect this desirable change, if it 
 be ever brought about at all. It can never be ac- 
 complished by bolstering up a rotten, corrupt, super- 
 annuated, abominable system of tyranny, such as that 
 of the ^^ Sublime Forte'' — now taken into the very 
 bosom and hot-bed protection of the government of 
 England. 
 
 By invitation of Mr. Larkin, when we arrived at 
 his estates, near the borders of the canal, we walked 
 out to his workmen, who were erecting a large build- 
 ing for a granary and stable. That, however, was 
 merely to form one wing of an immense establish- 
 ment which he intended to erect, including a palace 
 and the other necessary buildings. They were going 
 on rapidly with the work. Men, women, and chil- 
 dren were all busily engaged in the various depart- 
 ments, and they appeared to be exceedingly cheerful 
 and happy. Some were carrying stone, brick, lum- 
 ber, mortar, and the other necessary materials, while 
 
MULTIPLICITY OF WIVES. 263 
 
 Others were erecting the walls. They were using 
 the material excavated from the ruins of ancient 
 Alexandria, which are resorted to as the common 
 quarries of all Lower Egypt. They are freely open 
 to all who have an inclination to use them. 
 
 Among the labourers upon Mr. Larkin's new build- 
 ing, we saw a large number of young girls from ten 
 to fourteen years of age. We were surprised to 
 learn that most of them were already married. It 
 is singular how very young the Egyptian peasants 
 marry. Nine or ten years for girls, and twelve or 
 fifteen years for boys, is considered a marriageable 
 age. Both sexes have so little objection to the con- 
 jugal estate, that they get married as fast and as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 Being married once is only a beginning of matri- 
 monial connexions in Egypt. Three or four wives 
 apiece among the peasants is the most common thing 
 in the world. In addition to which, there are al- 
 most constant and continual changes. Old wives are 
 being divorced, and new ones are taking their places ; 
 so that the matrimonial ceremony, in some of its 
 various forms, is almost continually passing before 
 their eyes, and intermingled as it were with their 
 daily avocations. 
 
 The peasantry do not consider any number of 
 wives, an encumbrance ; all of them being expected to 
 work. An Egyptian, therefore, who has four good 
 hearty young wives is looked upon as a man, as the 
 English say, "well to do in the world;" — or, as 
 others would express themselves, " in a very flour- 
 
264 
 
 MAHMOUDIEH CANAL. 
 
 ishing condition." These are blessings, I suppose, 
 which those who find it hard work to support one, 
 would hardly wish to enjoy; — still the fellahs of 
 the vale of the Nile think otherwise ; and if they 
 can keep out of the army, and evade the suspicion of 
 the Turkish governors, they are pretty sure to enjoy 
 themselveSo They are a practical illustration of 
 the remark, that " poor and content are rich, and rich 
 enough/' 
 
 The Mahmoudieh Canal, communicating with the 
 Nile at Atfa, and connecting that noble river with 
 the Mediterranean at Alexandria, is a magnificent 
 work ; and a vast improvement to the country. It 
 is ninety feet broad, eighteen feet deep, and forty- 
 eight miles in extent. All are free to acknowledge its 
 utility, and praise the intelligent and enterprising spirit 
 which actuated the Pacha in projecting and executing 
 the work. Still, there are not wanting among the Eu- 
 ropean and American travellers those who are rather 
 profuse in their condemnation of Mehemet Ali for the 
 tyranny which he exercised upon the natives during 
 the progress of this most valuable improvement. It 
 has been stated that it cost the lives of 20,000 of his 
 subjects to accomplish it ; and that there were great 
 suffering and distress among hundreds of thousands 
 more ; an assertion that may or may not be true. But 
 no one can perceive the necessity for such a sacrifice 
 of human life in the completion of this undertaking ; 
 nor why it should have occasioned any great de- 
 gree of suffering among a population of two millions 
 of labourers to have excavated a canal that one or two 
 
CANALS OF ANCIENT EGYPT. 265 
 
 hundred thousand of their numbers could have com- 
 pleted with ease in a month or six weeks, even if, 
 as is commonly reported, they were compelled to 
 work for nothing. But, so far from this being the 
 case, each labourer had a month's wages in advance. 
 If the Pacha never employs his subjects upon any 
 enterprise of less utility to their country and of great- 
 er detriment to other nations than the Mahmoudieh 
 Canal, I think the English, who find it very conve- 
 nient in facilitating the progress of the Indian mail 
 through Egypt, and in the conveyance of their gov- 
 ernors and soldiers to carry on the work of tyranny 
 over the Asiatics, may, at least, keep silence about 
 the " blood-thirsty tyranny" of the Pacha on that sub- 
 ject. 
 
 The great canal, connecting the Red Sea with the 
 Nile, excavated a little more than six hundred years 
 before our era, cost the Egyptians " six score thou- 
 sand livres."^ According to Herodotus, that noble 
 work was commenced by Necho.f It was four days' 
 journey in length, one hundred feet wide, and 
 forty feet in depth. It was connected with the Red 
 Sea by sluices ; as was also the case at its other ex- 
 tremity with the Nile. These sluices were exceed- 
 ingly important, if, indeed, not absolutely indispensa- 
 ble; since the waters of the Red Sea are considera- 
 bly higher than the Nile, at all seasons of the year, 
 except during the inundation, when the waters of 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 70. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 161, note. — Strabo (17) says, "The canal was commenced by 
 Sesostris before the Trojan war. Some suppose by Psammaticus the son, 
 who only began the work and died. It was afterward finished by Darius.'* 
 
 Vol. L — 34 
 
266 DIKES AND CANALS. 
 
 the Nile, if allowed to enter the canal unrestrained, 
 would have been no less inconvenient and destruc- 
 tive to the work, than the current created by the 
 Red Sea, if admitted in full volume into it at all other 
 seasons of the year. This important work was 
 carried through a region of sand that every wind of 
 the desert puts in motion ; consequently, without in- 
 cessant care and attention, a few years were sufficient 
 to render it unnavigable and wholly useless. It was 
 repaired and kept open by the monarchs of Egypt 
 down to the times of the Ptolemies and Csesars ; 
 when it was neglected and permitted to go to decay. 
 On the revival of commerce with India, the commu- 
 nication by water between the Red Sea and the Nile 
 was again opened. This was accomplished by the 
 Califs ; and the canal continued to be used until the 
 passage round the Cape of Good Hope finally de- 
 stroyed the trade of Alexandria. Then it sunk into 
 comparative inutility, and was ultimately so far filled 
 up with sand as to leave at the present day but slight 
 traces of its existence. 
 
 In the most prosperous days of Egypt, when that 
 fertile and productive kingdom was governed by her 
 native princes, the country was intersected with ca- 
 nals and dikes in all directions. In consequence of 
 which, the invaluable waters of the Nile — once the 
 god, and ever the glory and wealth of the Egyptians 
 — were restrained or diffiised over the genial soil, in 
 accordance with the most fertilizing and enlightened 
 principles of irrigation. It was then that Joseph* 
 
 * Gen. xli. 49, 
 
IMPROVEMENTS OF SESOSTRIS. 267 
 
 gathered corn " as the sand of the sea, very much, 
 until he left off numbering ; for it was without num- 
 ber." 
 
 Sesostris, who, according to Mr. Wilkinson,* was 
 of the twelfth dynasty of the native Egyptian kings, 
 after conquering all Asia and Europe as far as 
 Thrace, employed the numerous captives which he 
 brought back from the conquered nations, " in dig- 
 ging large canals, and raising dikes and embank- 
 ments, for the purposes of irrigation, the protection 
 of the towns and lands, and the distribution of the 
 water of the Nile during the inundation. And though 
 these had been previously established throughout the 
 country by his predecessors, the superior scale on 
 which they were now constructed, the many wise 
 regulations he introduced relative to landed property, 
 and the accurate surveys he caused to be made in 
 order to ascertain the levels and extent of every per- 
 son's estate, obtained for Sesostris the credit of hav- 
 ing been the first to intersect the plains of Egypt 
 with canals, and of having introduced the science 
 of mensuration and land-surveying." 
 
 These highly useful public works were under the 
 especial care and direction of the government. Sol- 
 diers were appointed to watch over them, and proper 
 officers were directed to keep them in thorough 
 repair.! 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. pp. 29, 103. 
 
 t Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 101-103. — " Guards were placed to watch the dikes 
 which protected the lowlands, and the utmost care was taken to prevent any 
 sudden influx of water which might endanger the produce still growing there, 
 the cattle, or the village. And of such importance was the preservation 
 
268 DECAY OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 Under the Persians, all the public improvements 
 of Egypt suffered a decline, — and the Greeks were 
 scarcely more careful of them ; while, under the Ro- 
 mans, they ran to far greater dilapidation ; but the 
 consummation of their total ruin was reserved for the 
 Arabs and Turks. So that, with the exception of the 
 noble Mahmoudieh Canal, and a half-filled ditch con- 
 ducting the water of the Nile, during the inundation, 
 from the river to the city of Cairo, there is not a ca- 
 nal at the present day throughout the whole valley 
 of the Nile that is kept in decent repair, or that is 
 capable of being used to the least advantage to the 
 country. 
 
 of the dikes, that a strong guard of cavalry and infantry was always in at- 
 tendance for their protection, certain officers of responsibility were appointed 
 to superintend them, and large sums of money were annually expended for 
 their maintenance and repairs." 
 
 Canal (Alimentary) in good Repair. 
 
INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Introductory Letters from Mr. Firkins. — JYew Acquaintance. 
 
 — Inconvenient Delay. — ■ Necessity strengthens Confidence. 
 
 — Flattering Prospects not likely to be realized. — Disap- 
 pointments not always conducive to Humility. — JYile-hoat 
 and Fellow-passenger. — Unsatisfactory Investigation. — 
 Unpleasant Dilemma. — Sailor's Importunity rejected. — 
 Gloomy Prospect. — Arab Captain. — Departure. 
 
 Mr. Firkins, in order to give us the benefit of 
 passing through the hands of as many of his friends 
 as possible, was kind enough, previously to his setting 
 off with the Wrinklebottoms up the Nile, to write 
 several flattering letters in our behalf, which he in- 
 sisted upon our delivering. Among others, there was 
 one addressed to Mr. Menasseh Schlillinger, his com- 
 mercial correspondent at Atfa ; who, at the same time, 
 was the confidential agent of the British consulate 
 at Alexandria. On presenting us with these valuable 
 and highly -esteemed introductions, which we received 
 somewhat reluctantly, after what had happened, Mr. 
 Firkins was careful to remark, with great emphasis, 
 that Mr. Schlillinger was one of his particular friends, 
 who, on our arrival at Atfa, " would most gladly do 
 himself the pleasure to make all the necessary ar- 
 rangements for the continuation of our excursion 
 
270 ARRIVAL AT ATFA. 
 
 free of charge ; and that we would therefore expe- 
 rience no inconvenience or delay whatever, further 
 than what would be absolutely necessary to transfer 
 ourselves and luggage from one boat to another." 
 He also observed that he " was going through the same 
 route with his esteemed friends the Wrinklebottoms ; 
 and, anticipating us, he would not fail to apprize 
 Mr. Schlillinger of our expected arrival at Atfa ; and 
 would request him to be in perfect readiness to re- 
 ceive us, and make all the necessary arrangements 
 for our embarkation on the Nile." 
 
 Thus provided with this respectable recommenda- 
 tion to Mr. Schlillinger, in which our names were 
 not only mentioned in the most flattering terms, but 
 in which we were styled Mr. Firkins's particular 
 friends, we felt, on our arrival at Atfa, a little curious 
 about the future, though we congratulated ourselves 
 that we had made the Jehu kind of voyage of the 
 canal with unbroken limbs, and with our heads still 
 upon our shoulders. 
 
 As it was raining incessantly at the time, and as it 
 was too dark to venture into the village, we enclosed 
 the letter of Mr. Firkins, with our compliments to 
 Mr. Schlillinger, and requested the favour, if perfectly 
 convenient to himself, to engage next morning a good 
 boat and crew for us, so that we might proceed on 
 the voyage at as early an hour as possible. Selim, 
 who was the bearer of this despatch, made all conve- 
 nient haste, for the rain and Egyptian darkness ren- 
 dered loitering by the way, at that time of night, rather 
 an unpleasant amusement 
 
A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. 271 
 
 Luckily, Selim found Mr. Schlillinger at home, and 
 soon came back to us with a very polite note, in 
 which Mr. Schlillinger begged to excuse himself for 
 not calling upon us that evening (which of course we 
 did not expect him to do) ; and urged, as an apology, 
 the inclemency of the weather, and the exceeding 
 darkness of the night. Indeed, I have no recollec- 
 tion of ever experiencing so dark a night before in 
 all my life ; and it is very seldom that even the dark- 
 est day in England, when they get up the richest 
 and most aristocratic fog that ever obscured the din- 
 gy streets of London, can be compared to that night 
 for blackness. 
 
 Mr. Schlillinger kindly observed in his note, that 
 ^^his esteemed friend Mr. Firkins, on passing through 
 Atfa a day or two before, had mentioned our names 
 to him in a very kind manner ; and he was much 
 gratified in having it now in his power to do some- 
 thing for us ; and we might rest assured that we were 
 quite safe in his hands. Every thing should be ar- 
 ranged in accordance with our wishes by the next 
 morning, so that we might set off from Atfa, at latest, 
 by seven or eight o'clock." 
 
 Having received this pleasing intelligence from 
 Mr. Schlillinger, there being no hotel or khan in the 
 place, we unrolled our beds, lay down in the boat, 
 and slept soundly until daylight the next morning. 
 
 The perplexity of getting our luggage packed and 
 sent off to the boat ; the parting scene with Mrs. Fir- 
 kins and Mr. O'Statten the night before ; the rath- 
 er late hour's condolence with Mr. O'Screensbury ; 
 
272 INCONVENIENT DELAY. 
 
 and the fatigue and excitement of the voyage up the 
 canal, had all combined to prepare us for the silent 
 enjoyment of repose. 
 
 Day had no sooner dawned upon the desert, and 
 scattered its cheering influences through the rich 
 vale of Egypt, than we arose, and took up our 
 beds to walk. It had ceased to rain, though it was 
 still cloudy, and threatened another deluge. In ac- 
 cordance with Mr. Schlillinger's polite note which 
 he had done us the honour to write the evening 
 before, we expected the boat in which we were 
 to ascend the Nile would soon be ready. In the 
 mean time, we had a hasty breakfast prepared, which 
 we despatched in a hurried manner ; and, having put 
 our ponderous baggage in order, we were ready to 
 take possession of the boat. But, as was the case 
 the day before, we found there was no necessity 
 for hurrying ourselves, or of abridging the pleas- 
 ures of a more prolonged morning nap ; for it was 
 ten o'clock before our boat was announced as be- 
 ing ready. We, of course, trusting all to Mr. Schlil- 
 linger, to whom we came so highly recommended by 
 his ''esteemed friend" saw no necessity or propriety 
 in interfering with our own business, since we had 
 not only his assurance that we were " perfectly safe 
 in his hands," but the declarations of Mr. Firkins at 
 the time he gave us the letters of introduction, were 
 more than sufficient to annihilate all doubts that could 
 possibly obtrude themselves in ordinary circumstances. 
 
 In addition to the attention of Mr. SchhlHnger, 
 who was enlisted in our interest, and who was zeal- 
 
NECESSITY STRENGTHENS CONFIDENCE. 273 
 
 ously bent upon " doing something for us" while there 
 was yet an opportunity, we added the energies of our 
 gayly-attired, though, by this time, rather soiled Ara- 
 bian dragoman ; who, of course, to serve us in the best 
 possible manner, would not stick at any thing. There 
 could be little doubt that, between them both, a close 
 bargain would be driven, and the utmost care taken 
 to procure a boat every way convenient, so that the 
 remainder of our voyage to Cairo might be completed 
 in the most agreeable manner. Besides, it was not 
 only civil, perhaps, inasmuch as it showed the degree 
 of confidence which we reposed in the undoubted 
 integrity of Mr. Schlillinger, not to interfere with the 
 arrangements which he was kindly making in our be- 
 half, — but it was an unavoidable necessity, which 
 rather constrained us to that confiding course, since 
 neither the doctor nor myself knew a word of Arabic ; 
 and I do not suppose there was a single individual in 
 Atfa, with the exception of ourselves, Mr. Schlillinger, 
 and the dragoman, who understood a syllable of any 
 other language. In addition to which, the wretched 
 condition of the streets, being a complete slough of 
 mud, did not offer much inducement to ramble about 
 the village or the banks of the river, for business or 
 pleasure. 
 
 The doctor felt scarcely more inclined to interfere 
 directly with the pending negotiations for the boat, 
 than I did myself; though we both had a lurking sus- 
 picion that we might possibly be gulled a little in the 
 bargain. 
 
 However, about ten o'clock, the arrival of SeUm 
 
 Vol. I.-— 35 
 
274 FLATTERING PROSPECTS. 
 
 and Mr. Schlillinger dissipated and dashed all our evil 
 forebodings into bright and cheering prospects. They 
 informed us they had succeeded in getting one of the 
 best boats on the Nile, for the moderate price of four 
 hundred and fifty piastres, to convey us as far as 
 Cairo. We were to have the boat entirely to our- 
 selves, and a crew^ of ten good men to navigate it. 
 
 I thought, according to the flattering representa- 
 tions of Mr. Schlillinger and Selim, the arrangement 
 was a pretty fair one ; though I had been told at Alex- 
 andria that boats from Atfa to Cairo were usually ob- 
 tained at prices considerably less. But as Mr. Schlil- 
 linger gave us to understand that this boat and crew 
 of ten men were going up expressly on our account, 
 and that every thing was so commodious, comfortable, 
 and convenient — the price, since it was the best that 
 could be done, was not worth the least consideration. 
 We ordered Selim to take our luggage on board, and 
 soon prepared ourselves to follow it. 
 
 Mr. Schlillinger, in the mean time, presented an 
 agreement for our signatures, bagged the four hun- 
 dred and fifty piastres, urged as an excuse for not 
 attending us to the boat a press of important busi- 
 ness, bade us adieu with raised hat — a thousand 
 low bows — a thousand expressions of regret that it 
 was out of his power " to do any thing more for us," 
 begged a kind remembrance to his esteemed friend 
 Mr. Firkins, and then departed. 
 
 My wife made some remarks upon his affa- 
 bility, as soon as he was gone, and thought him a 
 very gentlemanly and obliging man. My mind 
 
DISAPPOINTMENT. 275 
 
 was quite as favourably disposed toward him ; but, 
 upon my making some further remarks in his praise 
 to the doctor, he said we had better go on board the 
 boat, and then we would probably be enabled to 
 make up a more correct judgment 
 
 Accordingly, we took the accustomed leave of the 
 servants on board the canal-boat, and left it. But, 
 the moment we stepped on shore, it was with the 
 greatest difficulty that we could stand upright ; and 
 our feet at the same time stuck to the ground as if 
 they had been pinned to the spot. We found it even 
 more difficult to move forward than to keep our legs 
 under us, though both required no small effort. 
 
 The drenching rain, the night before, had turned 
 the rich, black loam, of which the whole soil of the 
 Delta is composed, into a kind of paste or glutinous 
 mud, which w^as not only deep, but nearly as adhe- 
 sive as pitch, and almost as slippery as glass. How- 
 ever, bad as it really was, we succeeded, after making 
 sundry slips and stumbles, in safely reaching our new 
 boat. 
 
 If our hopes and expectations had been raised a 
 little too high by the flattering accounts given us of 
 the boat and its " ample accommodations" by Mr. 
 Schlillinger — they were, certainly, upon the first 
 glimpse of what he, in his zealous friendship, " had 
 been able to do for us," brought low enough to suit 
 the most fastidious inculcators of self-denial and 
 meekness in Christendom. Still, the effect of this, 
 disappointment, I am afraid, was far from being salu- 
 tary upon our minds. 
 
276 
 
 VEXATION. 
 
 To find one's self humbugged, cheated, deceived, 
 and villanously overreached, and still remain tran- 
 quil, reconciled, and perfectly at ease, though it may 
 be very amusing to some, requires the wisdom and 
 discipline of a philosopher, or the dark dull influ- 
 ences of the Mohammedan religion ; which teaches 
 the faithful to declare, under all circumstances, 
 though an assassin meet them with murder in his 
 hand, that " it was so decreed," and that it is their 
 duty tamely to submit to all sorts of imposition, pro- 
 vided they see no way to ward off impending danger, 
 and no channel through which to pour forth their 
 bitter revenge. But we, poor sinful mortals, claimed 
 no credit for Moslem piety, or philosophical sageness 
 and stoical tranquillity of mind. On the contrary, 
 when we saw ourselves decoyed, as it were, on board 
 one of the nastiest and most abominable looking 
 things that I have ever seen afloat and dignified with 
 the name of boat, although we could not help smil- 
 ing, we were at least a little, a very little, vexed. 
 
 The doctor thought it would be quite impossible to 
 ascend the Nile in such a crazy thing, and the at- 
 tempt scarcely appeared in a more favourable light in 
 my eyes ; while my wife, if she were not in fact actu- 
 ally indignant, I am sure her appearance indicated 
 no small degree of disappointment. I thought I 
 saw depicted in strong outline upon the doctor's 
 high intellectual brow these remarkable words : " all 
 is vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 
 The boat was a long, shabby, decayed structure, 
 with one mast, and an enormously large and tattered 
 
NILE-BOAT AND FELLOW-PASSENGER. 277 
 
 lateen sail ; all of a Pharionic age, if not, in fact, of 
 the time of Joseph. Even had we been told that it 
 was a fabric built from the fragments of Noah's ark, 
 and put into its present form soon after the subsiding 
 of the deluge, its venerable and decayed appearance 
 would have gone far to strengthen, in our minds, the 
 strong probability of the truth of the assertion. It 
 was deeply laden with bales, boxes, bags, and barrels 
 of merchandise. On the deck, in a heap of straw 
 that resembled an antiquated hog's nest, squatted an 
 old, gray-bearded Jew, with a few rags wrapped 
 about him ; over which, at the moment we stepped 
 on board, the Israelite was zealously poring, in or- 
 der to rescue them from the vile possession of 
 some of the numerous descendants of those plagues 
 which the celebrated ancestor of the Hebrew created 
 from the dust of Egypt, and with which he so cru- 
 elly afflicted Pharaoh and his people. This Jew and 
 ourselves were all the passengers that had " taken 
 places" at the time, though the rais was no doubt in 
 hopes to get a few more before we left the wharf. 
 
 Circumstances did not indicate very strongly that 
 " the boat was going up expressly on our account.'* 
 However, when we went into our " large and ample 
 cabin, with three separate rooms," as Mr. Schlillinger 
 informed us it contained, we found one of them to be 
 a water-closet ; and another, so cramped in size, that 
 the doctor could not possibly lie down in it at full 
 length ; while all three of them were so abominably 
 filthy, and so odoriferously perfumed, that it was ab- 
 solutely necessary to seek relief from the horrors of 
 
278 HOSTILE DEMONSTRATIONS. 
 
 the cabin, in the open air on deck. In returning 
 from this exploring expedition, we reached the door. 
 and found it beset and hemmed round by ten or 
 twelve broad-shouldered, heavy Egyptian sailors, 
 standing half-naked before it, with hands extended, 
 demanding ''buckshish! huckshish .'" These were the 
 boat's crew, the sailors with whom we were to make 
 the voyage ; and so determined did they at first ap- 
 pear in their uproarious demands, that it seemed we 
 were to pay toll, or remain prisoners. 
 
 I was in no humour to submit quietly to any fur- 
 ther imposition ; and I found it necessary to take a 
 stand against them at once. I accordingly raised 
 my cane, and rushed out upon them with no friendly 
 intention. I have not the least suspicion that I looked 
 very amiable on that occasion, as I swung my cane 
 about among them, threatening to break it over their 
 heads if they did not leave us to the pleasant reflec- 
 tions that naturally, under such circumstances, filled 
 our minds. My phraseology, so far as words were 
 concerned, they did not fully comprehend ; though 
 the " language of signs" and gesticulations, which ac- 
 companied my words, they did not mistake. The 
 speedy manner in which they cleared out from the 
 door and ran toward the fore part of the boat, spared 
 me the trouble of striking, and themselves the pain 
 of receiving the blow. The fact is, we had the 
 weakness to §ive way to the impulses of the moment, 
 and were in no mood to woo a panther or caress a 
 bear. We scarcely knew what to do. Mr. Schlil- 
 liiiger had taken our gold ; and " urgent business" had 
 
DEPARTURE. 279 
 
 made it convenient for him to be invisible. Nobody 
 could tell where he had gone. We had signed an 
 agreement to go in that boat, and we were in a hurry 
 to get up the river : not knowing for certainty that 
 we could better ourselves, even should we conclude 
 to sacrifice the piastres which we had already paid 
 to Mr. Schlillinger, and open the negotiation anew 
 with another rais. 
 
 The prospect was as gloomy as the weather, and 
 it began to rain. All our luggage was on board ; and 
 we finally made up our minds to let it remain where 
 it then was, and stay ourselves and take care of it. 
 In the mean time, the rais, or captain of the boat, a 
 gaunt, sharp-faced, robber-visaged fellow, having come 
 on board, we gave orders to get the boat under way. 
 But Arabs are never ready. It was then near twelve 
 o'clock ; still they must go out into the village and 
 purchase bread. And when the men returned with 
 the bread, two or three of the other sailors had gone 
 on shore to take leave of their friends. These were 
 sent for by a messenger, who loitered longer than 
 those he went to seek. At last the rais was obliged 
 to go himself in quest of his sailors ; whom, after 
 much delay, he collected on board, and we pushed 
 off into the stream. 
 
 There was a light northerly wind at the time, 
 which filled our ragged sail, and we glided along 
 moderately up the river. 
 
280 
 
 VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 
 
 Boats upon the Nile. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Commencement of the Voyage on the JYile. — Unpleasant Com- 
 pany. — High Wages and Sailors^ Dress. — JVile-boats and 
 their Rigging. — Fertility of the Delta. — Amrou's De- 
 scription of Egypt. — Rude Manner of cultivating the Soil. 
 
 — Scenery on the Mile. — Real " Plagues of Egypt.^' — 
 Perplexing State of Affairs. — Council of War. — Com- 
 mencement of Hostilities. — Pitched Battle with the Bugs. 
 
 — Unsatisfactory Result. 
 
 Soon after we swung out into the stream, it began 
 to rain again as copiously as ever ; and, from admir- 
 ing the beautiful prospect without, we turned our at- 
 tention to the charms within the cabin. We ordered 
 Selim and the cook to sweep and brush out the cabin 
 as well as they could, and to arrange our luggage so 
 as to enable us to sit down upon it. There were 
 
UNPLEASANT COMPANY. 281 
 
 none of the drawing-room elegances and comforts 
 about the cabin ; nor were we, though under cover, 
 entirely removed from the annoyance of the drench- 
 ing rain. A ragged awning was hung over the deck 
 in front of the cabin, which extended round over the 
 two side- windows, to ward off the piercing rays of 
 the sun in clear, hot weather, but which now only 
 served to make our wretched situation still more de- 
 plorable. This awning conducted the water into the 
 cabin, in streams, during the rain, and kept up a con- 
 stant dripping between the showers. But we were 
 glad to be off, at any rate ; and resolved to make the 
 best of every thing. We knew that we had been hum- 
 bugged by Mr. Firkins's '' 'particular friend," and we 
 had suspicions that our valiant dragoman had receiv- 
 ed his share of the spoils. The price, as we after- 
 ward satisfactorily ascertained, should not have ex- 
 ceeded one hundred and fifty piastres at most, for a 
 good, sea- worthy boat, entirely disencumbered of mer- 
 chandise and passengers. 
 
 We had, however, fairly embarked, and expected 
 to meet some, at least, of the vividly-described plagues 
 and annoyances of Egypt ; which, if the stories of 
 travellers are entitled to credence, all pilgrims on the 
 Nile, for many centuries past, have been forced to 
 encounter. 
 
 The deck of our boat was overrunning with wa- 
 ter, and slippery with mud. The forward part of it 
 was covered with dirty straw, filled with fleas, bugs, 
 and other vermin, against which the old Hebrew 
 waged war to extermination. 
 
 Vol. I. — 36 
 
282 HIGH WAGES OF SAILORS. 
 
 The crew consisted of ten large, well-built, ath- 
 letic sailors, and a rais ; making eleven men in all. 
 They wore no clothing except a loose frock each, 
 which buttoned close round the neck, and came down 
 a little below the knees. They furnished themselves, 
 and received the enormous amount of about ten cents 
 each per day ! The rais, having command of the 
 craft, received almost twenty cents a day. The wa- 
 ges of these men, for similar service in the United 
 States, could not be less than fifteen dollars per 
 month each, besides their board. In Egypt, allow- 
 ing them to have constant employment at the above 
 high prices, they would only receive about three dol- 
 lars to three and a half per month, and find them- 
 selves ! And that would be about twice the amount 
 which they would be able to realize for their services 
 were they to work on the land ! They all, however, 
 appeared to be lazy ; and the rais, though more pirati- 
 cal and ferocious in expression, and receiving nearly 
 double the amount per diem paid to the others, seemed 
 to possess scarcely more ambition or spirit than the 
 rest. They all required a great deal of urging for- 
 ward, and would make some excuse to go ashore at 
 every old village on the river. 
 
 Our sail, though hanging in shreds and tatters, was 
 as immense as it was curious. It was cut in the 
 form of a triangle, and stretched upon a spar of enor- 
 mous length, which hung and turned upon a block 
 fastened to the top of the mast. This block acted 
 as a kind of pivot or hinge, upon which the sail 
 and spar were easily shifted from side to side, as 
 
NILE-BOATS AND THEIR RIGGING. 283 
 
 occasion might require. In reefing, or clewing up 
 the sail, it was only necessary to lash the lower end 
 of it as far as the block, connecting the yard with the 
 top of the mast, when the other end could be brought 
 down and fastened to the deck, acting somewhat like 
 a country well-sweep — when the other end of the 
 sail could be tied up or arranged with the greatest 
 facility. All the Nile-boats were rigged in a similar 
 manner ; though most of them had two, and many 
 of them three sheets each. In saihng, one end of the 
 spar, which rests in the centre upon the top of the 
 mast, as described above, is brought down and fast- 
 ened to a ring for that purpose, on the deck ; while 
 the other end, extending upward at an angle of about 
 forty-five degrees, carries out the other extremity of 
 the canvass ; and the whole serves as a kind of back- 
 bone, being the only support the sail has throughout 
 its entire length. With a good breeze, these curi- 
 ously-rigged boats skim over the yellow bosom of the 
 Nile with the airy lightness of a feather. 
 
 Having got under way, our excited feelings began 
 to soften down a little. We thought it was as well 
 to submit patiently to what seemed to be our fate, 
 and to console ourselves with the reflection, that 
 " things without remedy, should be without regard." 
 The wind, though light, was fair ; and, for several 
 miles, the old crazy boat " floated sideways like a 
 majestic duck." Before the breeze, we could crowd 
 along with considerable facihty. 
 
 Soon after leaving Atfa, we passed a large brick 
 
284 FERTILITY OF THE DELTA. 
 
 building, said to be an extensive cap manufactory, 
 belonging to the Pacha. 
 
 Advancing moderately up the Nile, we were struck 
 with the exceeding depth, richness, and fertility of 
 the soil. Judging from the accounts given by an- 
 cient as well as modern travellers, of the productive- 
 ness of Egypt, we were prepared to witness some- 
 thing greatly exceeding in fertility any country that 
 we had before visited. But the utmost stretch of our 
 imaginations, and all our previous impressions in re- 
 gard to it, fell very far short of the reality. The rich 
 and lofty banks presented green fields of wavy grass 
 and grain, stretching off, on either hand, in almost 
 spontaneous luxuriance, farther than the eye could 
 reach. Nothing can surpass the Delta of Egypt in 
 point of richness and fertility ; and it is probably 
 unequalled, in this respect, in any other part of the 
 world. 
 
 The soil, in some places, for twenty or thirty feet 
 in depth, along the banks of the Nile, in the Delta, 
 is a deposite of black loam, of the richest description, 
 brought down by the river, in the long succession of 
 its inundations, from the upper country. Some part 
 of the glowing picture of Egypt, given by Amrou, 
 the Saracen conqueror, to his master the Calif Omar, 
 though drawn twelve hundred years ago, is true even 
 at the present day. He said to Omar : " O com- 
 mander of the faithful, Egypt* is a compound of 
 black earth and green plants, between a pulverized 
 mountain and a red sand. The distance from Syene 
 
 * Gibbon's Decline and Fall, London 8vo edition, p. 913. 
 
AMROU'S DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 285 
 
 to the sea is a month's journey for a horseman. 
 Along the valley descends a river, on which the bles- 
 sing of the Most High reposes, both in the evening 
 and morning, and which rises and falls with the revo- 
 lutions of the sun and moon. When the annual dis- 
 pensations of Providence unlock the springs and 
 fountains that nourish the earth, the Nile rolls his swel- 
 ling and sounding waters through the realm of Egypt : 
 the fields are overspread by the salutary flood ; and 
 the villages communicate with each other with their 
 painted barks. The retreat of the inundation depos- 
 ites a fertiUzing mud for the reception of the various 
 seeds : the crowds of husbandmen who blacken the 
 land may be compared to a swarm of industrious ants ; 
 and their native indolence is quickened by the lash 
 of the task-master, and the promise of the flowers 
 and fruits of a plentiful harvest is sure. Their hope 
 is seldom deceived ; but the riches which they extract 
 from the wheat, the barley, and the rice ; the legumes, 
 the fruit-trees, and the cattle, are unequally shared 
 between those who labour and those who possess. 
 According to the vicissitudes of the seasons, the face 
 of the country is adorned with a silver wave, a verdant 
 emerald, and the deep yellow of a golden harvest." 
 
 " What wonder, in the sultry climes that spread 
 Where Nile, redundant o'er its summer bed, 
 From his broad bosom life and verdure flings, 
 And broods o'er Egypt with its wat'ry wings ; 
 If with advent'rous oar, and ready sail, 
 The dusky people drive before the gale . 
 Or on frail floats to neighbouring cities ride, 
 That rise and glitter o'er the ambient tide !"* 
 
 * Mason's Gray, p. 199, 200, 
 
386 INUNDATION OF THE NILE. 
 
 Inundation of the Nile. 
 
 The whole of the Delta is annually overflowed 
 during the inundation of the Nile, and greatly en- 
 riched by the fertilizing deposite which remains upon 
 the soil after the water has subsided ; so that it is 
 productive beyond any other country in the known 
 world : though cultivation can scarcely be conducted 
 in a more rude and primitive manner than that pur- 
 sued by the natives. Indeed, little more seems ab- 
 solutely necessary to ensure a crop, after the inunda- 
 tion has subsided, than to scatter the seed upon the 
 ground, and turn a flock of sheep or goats on to tread 
 it in ; and then, in the course of a very short time, to 
 gather the harvest, which is brought to maturity in 
 that rich soil and genial climate with almost incredi- 
 ble rapidity. 
 
 In our progress, we passed, at short intervals, vil- 
 lages of mud-walled cottages and farm-houses, sur- 
 rounded with groves of palm and date trees, inhabited 
 by the most wretched beings that I have ever seen out 
 of the British dominions. Their dwellings, though 
 well enough looking when seen at a favourable dis- 
 tance, appeared to be, when approached, mere dens, 
 
EGYPTIANS DRIVING GOATS, 
 
 287 
 
288 SCENERY ON THE NILE. 
 
 without chimneys, windows, or doors. They are as 
 cheerless as the floorless, mud-buik hovels of the Irish 
 and Scotch peasantry. 
 
 Many of the inhabitants, naturally filthy and dis- 
 gusting in their habits, were half-naked, and some of 
 them appeared without any clothes at all. Their 
 religion, fortunately, imposes the necessity of wash- 
 ing before prayers, which all the faithful are scru- 
 pulously exact in doing ; otherwise, the people are so 
 indolent, that they would fairly rot alive in their own 
 dirt, even with the Nile at their feet. 
 
 The scene before us was every way novel, pecu- 
 liar, and interesting. Although our first day up- 
 on the Nile was rainy and disagreeably cold, which 
 necessarily compelled us to keep within our little 
 stived-up prison of a cabin most of the time — yet, 
 after the first shock, we did not regard the numerous 
 bugs and other creeping plagues with which our new 
 quarters were infested, further than to brush them off 
 as they fell down upon us from the ceiling, or crawled 
 up from the floor. 
 
 When the shades of evening, however, closed 
 around us, our real troubles commenced. A scene 
 indescribably stirring was now opened to our aston- 
 ished gaze. Where only here and there an insect 
 was discoverable through the day, thousands and tens 
 of thousands made their appearance as soon as we 
 struck a light : blackening the walls and ceiling of 
 the cabin, and pouring down upon us in a regular 
 shower. 
 
 These were no " humbugs." They were all genu- 
 
REAL « PLAGUES OF EGYPT." 289 
 
 ine black, thorough-going, winged bugs, of various 
 sizes, actively bent upon doing us all the mischief 
 that lay in their povi^er. They were every where, 
 on all sides, turn which way we would ; look up or 
 down, before or behind, on the right hand or on 
 the left, there was nothing but bugs, bugs, bugs ! 
 They were not of the diffident or unsocial kind ei- 
 ther. They made themselves as familiar with us as 
 though we had been old acquaintances. 
 
 Like the frogs* of Moses, which came up into the 
 houses and bed-chambers of the Egyptians, into their 
 ovens, and into their kneading-troughs ; that covered 
 the land, and came both upon Pharaoh and his ser- 
 vants, and upon all his people, — so those legions 
 of tormenting bugs came upon us, covering our backs, 
 legs, arms, necks, hands, and faces; crawling delib- 
 erately into our bosoms ; entering into our pockets ; 
 running down the back of our necks, and rummaging 
 over our persons and effects with all the vile vigilance 
 of the London custom-house officers examining a 
 Swiss jeweller. At last our case became desperate. 
 We could endure it no longer. We rose with a de- 
 termination to do something ; but what, we scarcely 
 knew. It was a new and a strange enemy ; so bold 
 and daring in attack, and pressing the siege in so per- 
 tinacious and determined a style, that we were really 
 more amazed than indignant. At first, we sought to 
 cover ourselves from their assault, rather than come 
 to a pitched battle at once, and manfully abide the 
 issue. But the attack was led on and kept up with 
 
 * Exodus viii. 3, 4. 
 
 Vol. L— 37 
 
290 PERPLEXING DILEMMA, 
 
 snch vigour, that even the lamb-like members of the 
 " New England Non-resistance Society," had they 
 been placed in similar circumstances with ourselves, 
 would have been justified before the world, and 
 heaven too, in girding up their loins, buckling on the 
 armour of war, and taking the field. Nor do I think 
 that they would have been much more wilhng, when 
 attacked on the one cheek, to have turned the other 
 to the assault of those vile insects, than we were. 
 I would not, however, wish to be understood as 
 laying any claims whatever to the well-earned and 
 stern virtues of that enlightened association, which 
 has declared itself absolved from all responsibility to 
 every other community under heaven, and openly at 
 war and rebellion (though with spiritual weapons) 
 against all the established organizations of society in 
 every part of the known world * But however con- 
 trary to the mild and heaven-taught spirit that pro- 
 fessedly pervades the virtuous bosoms of the " New 
 England Non-resistance Society," and however shock- 
 ing it may appear to the calm, pure, and spotless be- 
 nignity of all its members, individually or collectively, 
 who have beaten their swords into ploughshares, and 
 their spears into pruning-hooks, and who, alas ! T ap- 
 prehend, are so far " ahead of the age" as to have come 
 into this wicked world a little before their time, — ■ 
 we, after holding a deliberate council of war, resolved 
 upon a pitched battle ! 
 
 Having decided upon war, and having resolved to 
 rescue our rightful possessions from the enemy, we 
 
 * Vide " Principles of the Non-resistance Society," Boston, 1839. 
 
HOSTILITIES DECIDED UPON. 291 
 
 had next to decide upon the best mode of attack, and 
 the weapons to be used in the onset. We found our- 
 selves in a dilemma scarcely less embarrassing than 
 that of the " great powers" during the first year and 
 a half of their skilful diplomacy in reference to the 
 " pacification of eastern affairs," when they resolved 
 unanimously and most religiously upon making the 
 " old blood-thirsty tyrant" (to use a complimentary 
 English epithet) give up the Turkish fleet, and evac- 
 uate Syria; but, amid their jars and jealousies, una- 
 ble to decide what compulsory measures should be 
 adopted, and by whom the delightful and honourable 
 task of destroying the large towns on the Syrian 
 coast, and burying unoffending citizens beneath their 
 ruins, should be performed, the black league remained 
 in doubt, disagreed and disgraced, for eighteen months 
 — and much, no doubt, to the detriment of civiliza- 
 tion. Thus he, who, according to the sedulously in- 
 culcated doctrines of the Roman Catholic and Eng- 
 lish churches, and the cherished principles of Euro- 
 pean nobles, was born and destined by heaven to 
 rule, tyrannize, and reign over the entire empire of 
 Turkey — the miserable, drivelling, sensual boy, al- 
 ready decayed and declining under the excess of dis- 
 sipation and disease ; the Grand Seignior ! his Se- 
 rene Highness the Grand Sultan of Turkey, re- 
 mained shut out from his legitimate and rightful pos- 
 sessions, decreed him by heaven ; while the " old 
 blood-thirsty Pacha," who, according to the same re- 
 ligious creed and wise doctrine, has his power di- 
 rect from his Satanic Majesty, kept in his hands the 
 
292 
 
 PERPLEXING SITUATION. 
 
 thundering guns of the Turkish fleet, and stood upon 
 the Holy Land with drawn sword, arrayed against 
 heaven, the black league of Europe, and the Sublime 
 Porte ! 
 
 Our situation, previously to entering upon warlike 
 operations against the bugs, was nearly as perplexing 
 as that of the " great powers," and nearly as ridicu- 
 lous ; though 1 am willing to admit that we fell infi- 
 nitely below them in the ''sublimer 
 
 The doctor is rather a peaceable man in principle, 
 though I am not aware of his being a member of any 
 of those effective and highly useful associations in 
 the United States, denominated " Peace Societies ;" 
 whose intelligent and enlightened members declare, 
 and very satisfactorily maintain, that the revolu- 
 tion which our wicked predecessors got up against 
 the mother country, by which we were rescued from 
 the clutches of a European tyrant, was an oifence 
 against heaven, and a great moral wrong : and con- 
 sequently, I suppose, that George Washington, the 
 leader of that (in their estimation) unhallowed rabble, 
 and who has hitherto been thought entitled to the 
 respect, and even the gratitude of his countrymen, 
 was, after all, instead of that pure patriot and honest 
 Christian which all the world are willing to acknowl- 
 edge him, a very bad man, and did the wicked people 
 of the United States a great deal of moral mischief ! 
 
 I think our worthy friend the doctor did not belong 
 to any of those enlightened associations ; nor have I 
 the least suspicion that his notions, on the score of 
 peace, were as praiseworthy as the radical purity and 
 
CRITICAL STATE OF AFFAIRS. 293 
 
 metaphysical abstractions of any of the members of 
 those societies ; yet he was evidently so far an advo- 
 cate of pacific measm'es, as to throw pretty much the 
 whole burden of warlike operations upon my shoul- 
 ders. Like Goldsmith's giant, he failed not to carry 
 off a good share of the honours and advantages of 
 war ; while I, like the unfortunate dwarf, who was 
 so sadly handled in their united enterprises, came in 
 for more than a full share of the fighting and danger. 
 
 One or two suggestions relative to the most advi- 
 sable mode of attack were thrown out, but they were 
 so mild and ineffective in their character, that they 
 were scarcely taken into serious consideration. I 
 was perplexed, and did not know what to do. The 
 enemy, however, was momentarily augmenting his 
 forces upon the walls, assuming a more formidable 
 appearance ; and, if that were possible, taking a more 
 impregnable stand, and strengthening his position in 
 every way. 
 
 Our situation was evidently becoming more and 
 more critical every instant. Still we remained un- 
 decided as to the details of our future course. 
 
 In the midst of this doubt and embarrassment, we 
 luckily hit upon the idea of calling to our aid the 
 cook and our valiant dragoman, in order to take their 
 advice upon a subject which, though it may appear 
 trifling to persons indulging in the luxury of their 
 elegantly-furnished houses, richly- carpeted chambers, 
 and beds of down, five or six thousand miles from 
 that perplexing scene, was nevertheless important to 
 
294 ADVICE OF THE DRAGOMAN. 
 
 US ; and much of our future happiness or misery de- 
 pended upon the final result. 
 
 SeHm, as usual, was for violent and noisy meas- 
 ures. He was positive that a corbash w^ould be the 
 best weapon that could be used. Like the " patent 
 medicine" venders of modern times, it is true, he had 
 only one prescription for all cases ; but then that had 
 the pecuhar merit of being an " infallible and sove- 
 reign remedy" for every thing. He had always found 
 the corbash most potent in all his assaults upon beg- 
 gars and mule-drivers ; and even in the graveyard at 
 Alexandria, he had used it to the greatest possible 
 advantage. He was now ambitious to add new lau- 
 rels to his brow, by leading on the attack upon the 
 bugs, corbash in hand ! I was still undecided. I 
 had already ample evidence of Selim's valour, and 
 considered him every way worthy and competent to 
 take the lead in a warfare of that kind. He had my 
 full confidence, so far as real valour and courage were 
 concerned ; but, knowing " that the race is not always 
 to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," and feeling 
 some doubts as to the effect of the corbash on all 
 occasions, however powerful it may be on some, I 
 turned to our Arabian cook, and gravely asked his 
 opinion about the best mode of attacking the com- 
 mon enemy. 
 
 The cook replied without hesitation, and said — 
 ''Hot water and a ladle were the only weapons that 
 could be brought to bear upon them with the least 
 possible hope of victory." He promised, if we would 
 allow him to take the lead instead of Selim, he 
 
AMBITIOUS RIVALRY. 295 
 
 would obtain a complete and decisive victory over 
 the enemy, and drive him quite beyond the precincts 
 of our possessions. 
 
 This, though highly encouraging, was no 'more 
 than Selim had already assured us he could do in an 
 incredibly short space of time. Instead, therefore, 
 of finding any relief by consulting the cook, we 
 actually felt more embarrassed than ever. We had 
 no great faith in the proposed weapons of either ; 
 and now, for the first time, we discovered that there 
 was an ambitious spirit of rivalry kindling in their 
 bosoms, which might result in no trifling inconve- 
 nience in the present vexatious position of affairs. 
 We felt the importance of allaying all the improper 
 and ambitious desires to supersede Selim in the com- 
 mand, that might haunt the imagination of the cook ; 
 but at the same time, in order to ensure a harmonious 
 co-operation of the parties in some energetic and 
 well-digested warlike operations against our enemies, 
 it was necessary to conciliate the feelings of the 
 knight of the spit and ladle, by at least taking his prop- 
 osition into consideration, and comparing its relative 
 merits with the bold scheme of Selim, After some 
 little discussion and deliberation, we resolved to adopt 
 neither, and proposed a sort of compromise, if it may 
 be so termed. Instead of the corbash proposed by 
 Selim, and the boiling water and ladle insisted upon 
 by the cook, the doctor thought a broom was far 
 preferable ; and the adoption of this weapon was 
 cheerfully assented to on all sides. 
 
 It was, however, unanimously agreed that Sehm 
 
296 
 
 A BATTLE AND ITS RESULTS. 
 
 should have the command ; and he at once proceeded 
 to lead up his forces, and commenced the attack with 
 bravery and v^arlike vigour. The onset, hov^ever, 
 w^as conducted in such a disorderly and unsoldierlike 
 style, that, although it w^as uproarious and ferociously 
 savage, yet the advantages gained produced compara- 
 tively trifling results. 
 
 The enemy v^as driven from the walls, and obliged 
 to seek shelter from the furious 'pursuit of our troops ; 
 but it was only to come into the field again with 
 greatly increased numbers, and every way better 
 prepared for a second campaign. 
 
 Richard Third. 
 
 A thousand hearts are great within my bosom 
 Advance our standards! set upon our foes !" 
 
RECOMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 297 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Recommencement of Hostilities. — Selim supplanted in Com- 
 mand by the Cook. — Weapons and Mode of Attack. — San- 
 guinary Engagement with the Bugs. — Annihilation of our 
 Assailants. — Renewed Demonstrations of War. — Another 
 Battle. — Retreat from the Field. — " Military Glory." — 
 Repose. 
 
 Our valiant troops returned exulting from the field 
 of battle, and boasted of having overthrown the ene- 
 my and gained a decisive victory. Yet, when an 
 account was taken of the dead and wounded, it was 
 astonishing how small a number of the confused, 
 black, and disorderly hosts, which had provoked the 
 war, and kindled up the martial spirit of the drago- 
 man and cook, were left upon the field. Indeed, the 
 warriors were no less surprised at it than ourselves : 
 they were evidently so disappointed that they could 
 hardly believe their own eyes. Both of the veterans, 
 however, attributed the trifling carnage that ensued, 
 to the mode of attack, and the imperfect nature of the 
 weapons. They were liberal in their condemnation 
 of such unwieldy implements in an assault upon an 
 enemy so diminutive ; and certain that, had their fa- 
 vourite plans been adopted, the result would have 
 been far more destructive to the foe. 
 
 Vol. L — 38 
 
298 
 
 COMMAND GIVEN TO THE COOK. 
 
 The evening vi^as wearing aw^ay, and so far, little 
 had been done. The enemy, already recovered from 
 the noise and shock of the dragoman s wrath, again 
 began to make his appearance in greatly augmented 
 numbers. He was rapidly concentrating his forces, 
 and taking up a strong position in more fearful 
 array than before. Like the Goths and Vandals of 
 old, who desolated Rome, the hateful foe blackened 
 every prospect with his numerous hosts. Our po- 
 sition was becoming more and more critical every 
 moment. No time was to be lost ; and we confided 
 the command of the second campaign to the cook. 
 This circumstance could hardly have any other than 
 an inflating effect upon the ambitious feeling of the 
 knight of the spit ; who, in proportion to the mortifi- 
 cation of the despairing dragoman, elevated himself 
 into a delightful ecstasy of vain reflections. He 
 urged, with the most sanguine hopes and evident sin- 
 cerity, the importance of renewing hostilities with the 
 least possible delay ; and gravely declared it as his 
 deliberate opinion, that no weapons could be brought 
 to bear upon the enemy with half the eflect of that 
 of hot water. He proposed to deluge the whole cab- 
 in, from top to bottom, throughout all its innumerable 
 cracks, crevices, holes, nooks, and corners : literally 
 boihng it out, as it were, and simmering it over the 
 fire. 
 
 He insisted that destruction to the enemy under 
 that process, however formidable in point of numbers 
 or position, was inevitable ; and that they must suc- 
 cumb to his superior intelligence. He promised a 
 
WEAPONS AND MODE OF ATTACK. 299 
 
 complete triumph over our tormentors, and as deso- 
 lating a ruin as the troops of Pharaoh met with in 
 the Red Sea. 
 
 The trifling inconvenience, however, of having ail 
 our luggage drenched with water, and of being turned 
 out, during the process, to buffet the severity of the 
 storm on deck, opened our eyes to all the evils which 
 were likely to attend the cook's favourite scheme ; 
 though it was quite evident that the enemy must 
 thereby meet a signal defeat, if not in fact total de- 
 struction. 
 
 Upon a more deliberate consideration of all the 
 circumstances, we were obliged to reject the plan in 
 part. It was therefore proposed, instead of the inun- 
 dation which the valiant cook wanted to let off upon 
 the enemy (somewhat as the Dutch overwhelmed the 
 French at the time of the invasion of Holland by 
 Louis XIV.), that, armed with basins full of boiling 
 water, and Hghted torches, the forces should be drawn 
 up for a powerful attack upon the enemy's centre. 
 
 This mode of operation was at once adopted, and 
 ground was immediately broken. It was wisely de- 
 termined to commence the engagement with as little 
 noise as possible, in order not to frighten the invaders 
 from the walls by an unnecessary din of arms, with- 
 out cutting off his retreat, or in fact without doing 
 him any material injury, as had been the result of the 
 first attack. Our mode of warfare rendered it neces- 
 sary to approach the foe under a strong blaze of light ; 
 but that, so far from frightening him, and warning him 
 of his danger, had been the principal attraction that 
 
300 
 
 SANGUINARY CONTEST. 
 
 had tempted the present assault upon us. It was 
 easy, therefore, to advance upon the foe, and to carry 
 fire and destruction into the centre of his camp. This 
 occasioned not the least disturbance among his ranks, 
 until they fell before our blazing weapons, tumbled 
 from the walls, and met a horrid death in the boiling 
 bath that lay beneath. As the centre of their nu- 
 merous host was cut to pieces, it was filled by the 
 reserves which had taken positions on the right and 
 left, in the rear of the main army ; and were drawn 
 to the vortex of destruction by the constant fire of our 
 wasting implements, and soon plunged into the same 
 irretrievable ruin that had swallowed up their " illus- 
 trious predecessors." 
 
 Thus an incredibly short space of time was suffi- 
 cient to annihilate thousands of their troops ; and the 
 brave cook had the gratification, after throwing out 
 heaps upon heaps of their dead bodies into the Nile, 
 to rest from his labours, and repose under the shade 
 of his laurels. At first, it seemed to be a complete 
 victory ; and, as we were too easily encouraged to be- 
 lieve, a total annihilation of the entire army. But in 
 these pleasing reflections we found ourselves disap- 
 pointed. We had hardly decided on the programme 
 of the triumph which was to be given to the cook 
 in honour of his glorious victory, when — no less to 
 our surprise, perhaps, than the " Congress of Vienna" 
 were seized with, when, to their horror, they re- 
 ceived the unwelcome news that Napoleon had es- 
 caped from the island of Elba, and again ascended 
 the throne of France, — we discovered the ever ac- 
 
THE ENEMY RALLIES, 301 
 
 tive and apparently exhaustless foe again hurrying 
 his numerous recruits into the field ! Already he had 
 assembled his cohorts in formidable squares and dense 
 columns along the lines ; and the black hosts that 
 brought up the rear in the distance, indicated but too 
 clearly the legions with which we had still to contend. 
 The proud crest of the valorous knight of the frying- 
 pan evidently drooped, and his countenance collapsed. 
 His expressive mouth was pressed up into the shape 
 of the ominous and black capital letter O ! He put 
 the fore finger of his left hand to his lips, and for the 
 space of five or six minutes, was absorbed in all the 
 deep revery of the most profound meditation. He 
 uttered not a word, and looked almost as deploringly 
 as the dragoman. We were equally silent for the 
 same space of time ; and anxiously " watched the 
 mountain." 
 
 At length, greatly to our relief, we had the gratifi- 
 cation to see the rigid expression of the cook's sal- 
 low face relax from that despairing cast of visage 
 which had stamped it with such a gloom. As we 
 still continued to gaze upon the softening features of 
 his countenance, it gradually brightened, until it was 
 lighted up into a happy smile : and striking his fore- 
 head at the same time with his right hand, he said, in 
 an elevated tone of voice, " I told you so ; I knew 
 such would be the result Unless the whole premi- 
 ses be thoroughly drenched and inundated with boil- 
 ing water, there is no such thing as ejecting this in- 
 fernal enemy from our dominions." 
 
 He put himself upon a high horse ; threw all the 
 
302 ANOTHER BATTLE. 
 
 blame and responsibility of the partial failure in the 
 war of extermination upon the doctor and myself; 
 determined to bear no part of the disgrace (if so the 
 late conquest might be termed) ; and took a stand as 
 confident in his own ability now as ever, that, should 
 we accede to his proposition, and allow him to adopt 
 his own mode of carrying on the war, nothing was 
 easier than to annihilate the entire race of our as- 
 sailants at a blow. There was too much probability 
 in the cook's remarks to be flatly contradicted ; be- 
 sides, much of what he said had already become mat- 
 ter of history. Consepuently, the doctor and I could 
 make no reply. 
 
 Under almost any other circumstances, I am sure 
 the persuasive powers of the cook would have car- 
 ried all before him ; but the same reasons that dis- 
 suaded us from adopting his plan in the first instance, 
 sustained us firm and immoveable in our resolution 
 now. We gave him to understand, once for all, that 
 to think of inundating the cabin with boiling water, 
 so long as the storm without prevented us from 
 moving our luggage to the deck, was quite out of the 
 question ; and we directed him to draw up his forces 
 again before the enemy, and recommence hostilities 
 — showing no quarter to age, sex, or rank. 
 
 The cook bowed assent : and immediately com- 
 menced a furious onslaught upon the thickest squares 
 and most dense columns of the gathering foe, carry- 
 ing confusion, death, and destruction to the very cen- 
 tre of his " squares, his crescents, and his phalanx 
 firm." 
 
DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY. 303 
 
 The carnage was awful. The smitten ranks and 
 dying legions that fell before the arms of the chiv- 
 alric knight of the caldron, and the horror of the 
 scene, exceed all my descriptive powers, and make 
 my flesh crawl upon my bones when I think of it, 
 even to this very day. It was a regular Waterloo 
 slaughter. The number of nolle bug-families that 
 were put in mourning by the bloody fight waged by 
 our relentless champion, has never been satisfactorily 
 ascertained. It must have been immense ; scarcely 
 less, probably, than that which the sanguinary car- 
 nage of the French put in sombre weeds on that 
 memorable occasion which bound Napoleon like Pro- 
 metheus to a rock, with a vulture at his heart, and 
 raised the Duke of Wellington to 
 
 " A station like the herald Mercury, 
 New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill." 
 
 The enemy was driven back, routed, and cut to 
 pieces in every direction. He was apparently over- 
 thrown and destroyed; and our victorious troops 
 again returned from the field, " covered with glory." 
 Our dominions being once more happily swept of the 
 abominable presence of the assailants ; and we and 
 our valorous warriors, being greatly exhausted with 
 the distressing fatigues of the day, sought the con- 
 solations of repose. But, before we had fairly ar- 
 ranged our beds, again, to our amazement, the enemy 
 was seen concentrating his forces, and hanging out 
 his banners upon the walls ! Again the cook, with 
 fire and water in each hand, and wrath kindled in 
 each eye, rushed forward to the fight ; and, although 
 
304 DESPAIR OF THE VICTORS. 
 
 exhausted and battle-stained by the two late cam- 
 paigns, he nevertheless acquitted himself in the 
 bravest and most gallant style, driving the foe before 
 him on all sides. 
 
 Returning once more victorious from the toils and 
 dangers of war, the valiant knight was anxious to 
 lean upon his weapons, and seek repose in the calm 
 sunshine of peace. But alas ! again he was called 
 to share anew the perils of mortal combat ; again the 
 enemy had recruited and equipped a new army, and 
 was hastening forward to take up the old position 
 from which he had been so often driven and with 
 such signal losses. Poor knight ! long and tedious 
 were thy duties in the field. Like other eminent 
 commanders who have earned their fame in the san- 
 guinary and destructive fight, thou too hast had thy 
 hands deeply imbued in the work of death, and sent 
 thousands into eternity, whose dying maledictions 
 may tarnish the decorations that glitter upon thy 
 breast, and wither the green leaf of victory upon thy 
 warrior brow ! 
 
 To be serious : the innumerable insects that poured 
 in upon us in such dense and blackening crowds, 
 seemed rather to increase in numbers than diminish, 
 as the work of destruction proceeded. For, although 
 we destroyed host after host as fast as they made 
 their appearance upon the ceiling and walls, yet 
 they continued to come forward in such fearful 
 swarms, regardless of the fate of those that had been 
 already destroyed, that it was really a hopeless case. 
 We gave over the idea, at last, of being able to com- 
 
SHELTER AND REPOSE. 
 
 305 
 
 plete their ruin ; and endeavoured to shelter ourselves 
 as well as we could from their approach. This we 
 vv^ere enabled to do to some effect, by suspending a 
 sheet over our bed, attached at each corner by nails 
 driven upv^ard into the ceiling. From this canopy 
 we hung other sheets on three sides of the bed, which 
 so far sheltered us that we passed the remainder of 
 the night in comparative quietness. 
 
 Repose after Battle. 
 
 Vol. i. 
 
 39 
 
306 
 
 CLIMATE OF EGYPT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Climate, and Kamsin Winds of Egypt. — Effects of Habit. — 
 Mode of sailing on the JYile. — Rambles on Shore. — Shy- 
 ness of the Egyptians. — Volunteers. — Military Conscrip- 
 tion. — Press-gang. — Appropriation of the Spoils. — Dis- 
 advantages of being mistaken. — Effects of Tyranny and 
 Oppression. — Injustice of Tax-gatherers. firab Dwel- 
 lings. — Story of an aged Egyptian. 
 
 With the dawn, our eyes opened the next morn- 
 ing upon a clear sky. It had ceased to rain ; the 
 clouds had cleared away^ and the south wind whi^ 
 tied over the plains like the sharp blasts of March in 
 a northern clime. It was none of that scorching, 
 unendurable heat that some travellers have described 
 as almost always prevailing in Egypt. On the con- 
 trary, it was sufficiently cold to render our great- 
 coats no unwelcome appendages through the day, 
 even in the long walks in which we indulged upon 
 the high banks of the Nile. 
 
 The Egyptians, however, suiFered little or no in- 
 convenience from the keenness of the atmosphere, 
 though they generally wear but very little clothing ; 
 nor did I notice any additional garments used by our 
 sailors on that occasion, nor by the villagers that we 
 saw in our progress up the stream. 
 
EFFECTS OF HABIT. 307 
 
 Habit effects wonders with any people in any cli- 
 mate. The Egyptians, used from earUest infancy to 
 a very sHght covering of clothes, indeed, in frequent 
 instances, to almost none at all, little feel the necessi- 
 ty of those warm flannels and fur-garnished wrap- 
 pers which are deemed so essential, if not almost in- 
 dispensable, to the comfort of Europeans; though 
 furs and very warm clothing are sometimes worn by 
 the more opulent part of the inhabitants in Cairo and 
 Alexandria. They do not, however, appear more 
 healthy on that account ; and, from the fact of their 
 wrapping themselves up in furs on very warm days, 
 as well as when there may be some slight chilliness 
 in the air, I concluded that it was more for show and 
 effect than comfort. "As for our merchants," says 
 Volney, in his Travels in Egypt, " their sensibility is 
 owing to their improper use of furs, which is carried 
 so far, that in winter they have frequently two or 
 three coverings of foxes-skin ; and even in summer, 
 retain the ermine or petit gris. In excuse for this, 
 they plead the chilliness they experience in the 
 shade, as an indispensable reason But the se- 
 cret and real reason is, that the pelisse is to be con- 
 sidered the lace of Turkey, the favourite object of 
 luxury ; it is the sign of opulence, and the etiquette 
 of dignity ; for the investiture of important offices is 
 always accompanied with the present of a pelisse, as 
 if they were to say of him to whom they give it. He 
 is now arrived at so great an eminence, he need con- 
 cern himself with nothing, but perspire at his ease,"* 
 
 ♦ Volney's Travels through Syria and Egypt, i. 42. 
 
308 KAMSIN WINDS. 
 
 The climate of Egypt we had found thus far very 
 different from the descriptions usually given of it 
 Yet frost is rarely or never seen in any part of the 
 country ; never, certainly, in Upper Egypt, and rain 
 is of very rare occurrence above Cairo. 
 
 There was a stiff breeze blowing down the Nile 
 all day ; and what appeared to us as being peculiar 
 was, that the south winds of Egypt, though hot, re- 
 laxing, and disagreeable in the extreme, during the 
 warm season, are nevertheless, in the winter, the cold- 
 est and most bracing winds that blow. The north 
 wind, which prevails in Egypt for nine months in 
 the year, is never so cold as the south wind during 
 the winter months. The winds generally blow up 
 or down the Nile, throughout the year ; and an east 
 or west wind is said to be of exceedingly rare oc- 
 currence. 
 
 The most fearful and distressing wind, is the 
 hot wind, or kamsin. " When these winds begin 
 to blow, the atmosphere assumes an alarming as- 
 pect. The sky, at other times so clear in this cli- 
 mate, becomes dark and heavy ; the sun loses his 
 splendour, and appears of a violet colour. The air 
 is not cloudy, but gray and thick, and is in fact filled 
 with an extremely subtile dust, which penetrates eve- 
 ry where. This wind, always light and rapid, is not 
 at first remarkably hot, but it increases in heat in pro- 
 portion as it continues. All animated bodies soon 
 discover it, by the change it produces in them. The 
 lungs, which a too rarified air no longer expands, are 
 contracted, and become painful Respiration is short 
 
KAMSIN" WINDS. 
 
 309 
 
 and difficult, the skin parched and dry, and the body 
 is consumed by an internal heat Recourse is had in 
 vain to large draughts of water ; nothing can restore 
 respiration. In vain is coolness sought for ; all bodies 
 in which it is usual to find it, deceive the hand that 
 touches them. Marble, iron, water, notwithstanding 
 the sun no longer appears, are hot The streets are 
 deserted, and the dead silence of night reigns every 
 where. The inhabitants of towns and villages shut 
 themselves up in their houses, and those of the desert 
 
 Travellers overtaken by the Kamsin, 
 
 in their tents, or in wells dug in the earth, where they 
 wait the termination of this destructive heat 
 
310 RAMBLE ON SHORE. 
 
 Wo to the traveller whom this wind surprises remote 
 from shelter ; for he must suffer all its horrible effects, 
 which sometimes are mortal. The danger is most 
 imminent when it blows in squalls, for then the rapid- 
 ity of the wind increases the heat to such a degree, 
 as to cause sudden death."* 
 
 When the winds are unfavourable to the use of 
 sails in ascending the Nile, the sailors get out upon 
 the banks of the river and tow the boat along at a 
 snail's pace, by means of a rope attached to the top 
 of the mast. The wind from the south being di- 
 rectly in our teeth all day, made this mode of sailing 
 rather monotonous and slow. It was necessarily 
 adopted, however, as being the only means by which 
 we were enabled to make the least progress on the 
 voyage. 
 
 Availing ourselves of the opportunity thus afforded 
 for a little exercise, we got out of the boat when it 
 was run ashore to land the men, and rambled along 
 the banks of the river for many miles. We walked 
 much faster than the men could tow the boat, and 
 doubling a long bend in the river, we soon lost sight 
 of it 
 
 In passing through the streets of some of the nu- 
 merous mud- walled villages that skirt the borders of 
 the Nile, we were struck with the shyness and timid- 
 ity evinced by the inhabitants at our approach. The 
 small children viewed us with amazement ; and the 
 men, with the exception of some who were very aged, 
 were seen stealing glances at us from behind the dark 
 
 ^ Vplney's Travels, vol. i. p. 37. 
 
PRESS-GANG. 311 
 
 corners of their rude dwellings. When they ob- 
 served that they had attracted our attention, they 
 dodged back, as if fearful of being caught, and sought 
 greater security in their hiding-places. The women, 
 however, were much less timid than the men ; ex- 
 cept, perhaps, the younger females, who made their 
 escape with great precipitation whenever we, una- 
 wares to them, accidentally crossed their path. 
 
 During the whole day, I have no recollection of 
 seeing a boy who might be over six or eight years 
 old ; and these were invariably deformed or maimed 
 — having had one eye extinguished, or the fore finger 
 of the right hand cut off, or the front teeth knocked 
 out, by the hand of maternal affection and kindness. 
 A lad between the ages of ten and sixteen years, blind, 
 lame, or fingerless, or indeed of any description what- 
 ever, was not visible to us in any one of the many 
 villages that we entered during our peregrinations ; 
 they being, if any existed, (of which, among a popu- 
 lation so numerous, there can be little doubt,) all se- 
 creted, as we were informed, for fear of being pressed 
 into the army. 
 
 For a long time past, the following has been the 
 usual mode of raising native troops in Egypt. Re- 
 cruiting officers are sent out through the towns and 
 villages, to make as short work as possible of what, 
 in some countries, has been found rather a protracted 
 business, and seize upon all the boys they can lay 
 their hands on, and march them off to the garrisons 
 and military depots. Being once in the hands of the 
 military officers, they are immediately put in rapid 
 
312 MERITS OF THE PRESS-GANG. 
 
 training for servicCo Sometimes these juvenile vol- 
 unteers, thus collected in the upper country, receive, 
 on entering the service, a bounty of a pair of hand- 
 cuffs, and are seen on their way to the " tented field," 
 huddled together in large numbers, on board of trans- 
 ports descending the Nile, with iron rings round their 
 necks, fastened to long and heavy poles. In this man- 
 ner, their humane and brave commanders commence, 
 the drill ; and they are formed into rather rigid pla- 
 toons in the very outset of their military career. 
 
 This mode of recruiting an army by volunteers, 
 would not be in exact accordance with the rude, un- 
 cultivated, and bad taste of the inhabitants of that de- 
 plorable part of the world slightly known abroad by 
 the name of the United States of America ; though 
 in " British America," and in all other parts of the 
 English territory, its merits and advantages are fully 
 appreciated, I dare say ; and the right of her Majes- 
 ty's government to man British ships-of-war, and fill 
 the ranks of the army, by the just and equitable means 
 of the " press-gang act," is still loyally acknowledged. 
 In case of necessity, it would doubtless be as wil- 
 lingly submitted to at the present day by all her Ma- 
 jesty's devoted subjects, as it was during any part of 
 the bright and luminous periods of England's glorious 
 struggles with the naughty and refractory Yankees. 
 Indeed, I am disinclined to accord to England the 
 sole merit of adopting this virtuous, enlightened, and 
 humane policy ; for it seems to be that upon which 
 nearly all the " Great Powers" of Europe rigidly prac- 
 tise^ in keeping up the numerous and mercenary 
 
MILITARY CONSCRIPTION. 313 
 
 armies that overshadow every kingdom of the old 
 w^orld. 
 
 The Pacha of Egypt, v^ith his twenty, thirty, or 
 fifty thousand troops, thus snatched away from their 
 homes and pressed into the army, to be shot down at 
 some future day, is, after all that has been or may be 
 said about his " blood-thirsty tyranny," but a '' mere 
 circumstance" in the " press-gang" business, when 
 contrasted with the wholesale manner in which those 
 operations are conducted by the " Great Powers." 
 With them it is a gigantic monopoly, fearfully threat- 
 ening to the whole earth ; and it is no surprising 
 thing now-a-days, in this enlightened period of the 
 world, notwithstanding the salutary impressions and 
 powerful incentives to tranquillity already made by 
 the " New England Non-resistance Society" upon the 
 turbulent spirit of the universe — I say it is no matter 
 of surprise to one passing through the kingdoms of 
 Europe, to witness armies of many hundred thousands, 
 laced up in strait coats, with fancy facings, loaded 
 down with guns, beds, tin cups, and bottles, idling 
 their time away for the enormous salary of five or six 
 cents a day each, under the command of some super- 
 cilious sprig of nobility ; while the nations at large 
 groan under a weight of taxation almost insupporta- 
 ble, in order to keep up the military establishments 
 and the splendour of the courts. 
 
 We were informed that the recruiting officers of 
 Egypt, in their official rambles through the villages, 
 were accustomed, not only to kidnap, bind, handcuff, 
 and carry off all the decent-looking boys they could 
 
 Vol. I. — 40 
 
314 DISADVANTAGE OF BEING MISTAKEN. 
 
 find, but the " clever-looking girls" came in for a 
 share of their attention ; and were sometimes hurried 
 off too, in the same summary manner, to keep their 
 brothers company, perhaps, or for other purposes, 
 doubtless well known to their gallant captors. Be- 
 sides the fair sex and the sprightly lads, for which 
 these " officials" have evinced rather a threatening 
 fondness, it was reported to us that they had in- 
 dulged rather lavishly in a propensity for sheep, chick- 
 ens, eggs, milk, bread, and whatever else happened to 
 fall in their way, in the course of their " searching op- 
 erations." They do not hesitate to carry all these 
 things to their account — forgetting, at the same time, 
 to pass the amount to the credit of the owners, or in 
 fact without making them the least return whatever. 
 
 Being mistaken, as our valiant dragoman informed 
 us, for recruiting or other officers connected with the 
 government, it was not at all surprising, perhaps, 
 that our appearance was looked upon as rather an 
 unpropitious omen ; or that those who deemed them- 
 selves in danger at our approach, should seek safety 
 in flight, or conceal themselves in the dark recesses 
 of their hiding-places. 
 
 I am not aware of being mistaken for an officer of 
 any government, at any time previous, or even since 
 that period ; and however honourable, advanta- 
 geous, and gratifying to human pride it may be to 
 hold office, or to be even suspected of being under 
 government patronage in other countries, the bare 
 suspicion that we were the favourites of the Pacha, 
 proved to be of some inconvenience and embarrass- 
 
EFFECTS OF TYRANNY. 315 
 
 ment to us. For, being desirous to purchase a little 
 milk, a few chickens, and some eggs, at one of the 
 villages where we stopped, and the people mistaking 
 us for some of the " officials" of his Highness, and 
 fearful that we would not make them any return, they 
 refused to let us have any thing at all, and ran away 
 and left us. 
 
 The dusky children of Egypt have suffered much 
 oppression and indignity throughout every generation, 
 from the time of the Persian conquest down to the 
 present day; though the rule of the Pacha is no 
 more exacting or severe, if so much so, than fell upon 
 the necks of the Egyptians from the powerful hands 
 of the Greeks and Romans during some periods of 
 their domination over the country, and far less dis- 
 tressing than they experienced under the barbarous 
 and savage tyranny of the Memlooks. 
 
 The natural consequences of these long ages of 
 despotism and slavery are, that the people them- 
 selves, accustomed to be plundered by the govern- 
 ment and its officers, and unused to its care and pro- 
 tection, have lost all moral courage, and are strangers 
 to every principle of honesty. They have become 
 base and powerless recreants, and are perfectly indif- 
 ferent to every thing further than the bare necessa- 
 ries to a life of listless indolence. 
 
 We were informed that the governors and tax- 
 gatherers frequently came in with claims against the 
 peasants, nearly or quite sufficient to cover the whole 
 products of their labour ; and, where one man's crops 
 fall short of meeting these unjust and exorbitant de- 
 
316 INJUSTICE OF TAX-GATHERERS. 
 
 mands, thej hesitate not to levy the deficit upon his 
 neighbour, who may be found in possession of a 
 surplus. 
 
 In this way, one man is made accountable to gov- 
 ernment for another's liabilities ; and one town or 
 village, however remote, is sometimes called upon to 
 pay the arrearages of another, with which perhaps 
 the inhabitants have not the least connexion what- 
 ever ! 
 
 It necessarily follows, that men guilty of such fla- 
 grant acts of cruelty and injustice, are soulless and 
 void of the common feelings of humanity. The only 
 and most plausible pretext or excuse that these fiend- 
 like tax-gatherers and governors offer in justification 
 of their outrages and robbery upon the people is, that 
 " the money is owing to the Pacha, and the country 
 must pay it. And, since it must be paid, it matters 
 little to them whence it comes, so that they collect 
 the amount of the taxes ; and they must take the 
 property wherever they can find it." 
 
 Under a system every way so unjust — first intro- 
 duced by the Persians, improved upon and perfected 
 in all its cruelty and abomination by the Greeks, Ro- 
 mans, Arabs, and Memlooks, and which has been re- 
 ligiously observed and practised upon ever since by 
 the Turks — it cannot be expected that the withered 
 hopes and suppressed ambition of this morally low 
 and degraded people will ever be revived. There are 
 left to the Egyptians none of those powerful incen- 
 tives and noble promptings, so necessary to the eleva- 
 tion of the human mind. All have been swept away by 
 
ARAB DWELLINGS. 317 
 
 the hand of tyranny, and the land of beauty and fer- 
 tility now appears comparatively desolate — a wilder- 
 ness of moral darkness ! 
 
 In the villages, as we passed along, I looked into 
 some of the wretched abodes of the inhabitants, and 
 found them the same loathsome and filthy dens that 
 we had seen every where else inhabited by the peas- 
 antry. They were swarming with bugs, fleas, flies, 
 and lice. 
 
 At the door of one of these polluted dwellings, we 
 saw an aged man sitting upon the ground, clothed in 
 rags. He was smoking a rude pipe, with an air of 
 contentment beaming upon his countenance, which 
 attracted our attention. We saluted him in the usu- 
 al style of his country, and received a courteous re- 
 sponse. He rose from his seat, and returned our salu- 
 tation with the ease and grace of manner peculiar to 
 the dusky children of the East — a manner which 
 princes even of civilized countries might be proud 
 to imitate. 
 
 His form was still erect and graceful ; though his 
 flowing silvery beard, that hung far down upon his 
 bosom, and his wrinkled visage, indicated the long 
 course of years that had revolved around him, with 
 all their wearing, withering, wintry effects. We 
 asked him his age ; but of that he could not rightly 
 inform us. He said that he was much the eldest man 
 in the village ; and that he was there when Napoleon 
 marched his veterans to Cairo, to fight " the battle 
 of the Pyramids." He said that he had a most per- 
 fect recollection of those stirring times ; and they had 
 
318 STORY OF AN AGED EGYPTIAN. 
 
 Strong hopes that the day of their deliverance from 
 the tyrannical and barbarous hands of the Memlooks 
 had indeed arrived. He said that he and many of 
 his countrymen tried to take courage ; but " it vras 
 of no use. Egypt is a doomed land ; and must ever 
 rudely feel the yoke and burden of her oppressors." 
 
 He told us of the barbarous cruelties inflicted upon 
 some of the inhabitants of his village by the Mem- 
 looks, especially upon all w^ho were suspected of 
 having property. He said, " the only prudent course 
 was for a man in Egypt never to possess any thing 
 more than the bare necessities of the present moment 
 require ; and that he, ever acting on that principle, 
 had never attempted to accumulate any property du- 
 ring his existence. Consequently, he had never had 
 the misfortune to excite the jealousy of his neigh- 
 bours, or attract the attention of the Memlook tax- 
 gatherers or the governors of Egypt ; and, after a long 
 life, he was now likely to end his days in peace and 
 happiness." 
 
 I thought this man a philosopher, a modern Dioge- 
 nes — one who could ask no greater favour of an 
 emperor or king than for him to stand aside and let 
 the light and warmth of heaven descend upon him, 
 with all their true, sincere, and cheering influences. 
 
 We parted with the old man, and walked down to 
 the banks of the Nile, musing over the mysteries of 
 this strange existence. 
 
CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE. 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Continuation of the Voyage. — Bounties of JVature. — Pol- 
 lutions of Man. — Consolation drawn from the Contempla- 
 tion of Misery. — Administration of the Law. — Exciting 
 Incident. — First Glimpse of the Pyramids. — Termination 
 of the Voyage. 
 
 When the doctor and Selim came up, we went on 
 board, and the sailors swung the boat off the shore, 
 and began to tow it up the stream. In the evening, 
 the wind having subsided, we came to against the 
 shore ; and, having staked the boat according to the 
 usual custom on the Nile, remained tranquil through 
 the night. 
 
 We got under way again the next morning, and 
 resumed our slow and tedious voyage by towing the 
 boat against the current and a head wind. It was 
 slow work ; and, inasmuch as our vessel was not a 
 place where one would wish to remain just for the 
 pleasure of the thing, the hours passed heavily away. 
 The weather, though by no means pleasant, never- 
 theless improved. It was neither so wet as we found 
 
320 BOUNTIES OF NATUKE. 
 
 it at Alexandria and along the borders of the canal 
 nor so cold and blustering as on the day before. The 
 country every where bordering the Nile, exhibited the 
 same picture of fertility that we had seen and so 
 much admired in all parts of the Delta. 
 
 Nature had accomplished her part well ; and ap- 
 peared every where lavish in her bestowments. A 
 thousand natural charms were spread out in that 
 lovely region for man's enjoyment. But man him- 
 self appeared to be the same degraded, filthy, thrift- 
 less, savage creature that we had every where seen 
 him in the fertile vale of Egypt. 
 
 We were upon the banks of the river the great- 
 er part of the day, walking for exercise; but we 
 were careful not to lose sight of the boat. Our 
 situation on board was not an enviable one, cer- 
 tainly ; still, one's feelings easily adapt themselves to 
 circumstances. We began to think it not the worst 
 place in the world ; and its attractions were not a lit- 
 tle heightened when contrasted with the miserable 
 dens of mud that skirted the borders of the river ; 
 nor was our condition so lamentable either when 
 compared with the wretched beings that inhabited 
 them. 
 
 We endeavoured, therefore, to draw what conso- 
 lation we could by contrasting our situation with that 
 of those around us ; all of whom were evidently much 
 worse off than ourselves. 
 
 If this course were generally pursued, or rather 
 were we to compare the seeming ills and perplexi- 
 ties of life with those which are in reality far more 
 
MODERN EGYPTIANS. 
 
 321 
 
 MoDEKN Egyptians. 
 
 aggravated than our own, much imaginary pain and 
 mortification would be spared us, and the mind would 
 be an infinite deal more tranquil and happy. 
 
 In passing an old straggling village hanging upon 
 
 Vol. I. — 41 
 
322 ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAW. 
 
 the loft J banks of the river, we observed the inhab- 
 itants in a state of great excitement. Women v^^ere 
 running about the streets, vociferating hideous cries. 
 The J were gathering in groups along the borders of 
 the stream in front of the town, and evinced by their 
 hurried steps and menacing gesticulations great alarm. 
 We could not at first imagine the cause of it. But 
 casting our eyes upon the beach a little further up 
 the stream, we saw a confused crowd clustered round 
 a man who was thrust down upon the ground, and 
 held by several lubberly fellows sitting upon his arms, 
 legs, and breast. Another man with a heavy whip 
 was administering numerous stripes upon the pros- 
 trate individual 
 
 I was disgusted with the barbarous spectacle ; and, 
 had we been sufficiently near to the inhuman scene, 
 I might have had the indiscretion to interfere with 
 the legal authorities in their savage mode of admin- 
 istering the laws. 
 
 When the man of the whip had evidently become 
 wearied with the arduous blows which he had in- 
 flicted upon a fellow-creature, he rested from his 
 " official labours." The sufferer rose from his igno- 
 minious bed, jumped on board a boat, which lay 
 against the bank, and pushed off at a rapid rate down 
 the stream. 
 
 . The knight of the lash was surrounded by several 
 piratical fellows in costume, with pistols in their gir- 
 dles, and sabres at their sides. The boat was soon 
 out of sight, and the crowd dispersed. 
 
 We were curious to know the meaning of a scene 
 
AN EXCITING INCIDENT. 323 
 
 SO novel and strange. Upon inquiry, we learned that 
 the delinquent, who had been thus publicly whipped, 
 was a refractory rais. Unwilling to conform to the 
 articles of his agreement with a party which he was 
 conducting down the Nile, his bad conduct had com- 
 pelled his employers to hand him over to the governor 
 of the village for punishment. 
 
 This was the first public whipping by ''official 
 hands" that we had witnessed. Would that I could 
 say it was the last 
 
 The sun went down gloriously behind the Libyan 
 sands, and the evening set in calm and lovely. We 
 had finished our tea, and taken seats to note some 
 of the incidents of the day. The doctor, to enjoy 
 the air, left the cabin and seated himself on the up- 
 per deck near the steersman, with his legs hanging 
 over the water. This was a careless position ; one 
 in which he was certainly liable to accident. He 
 might have been precipitated into the Nile, and none 
 could have foreseen the consequences. 
 
 The evening breeze had filled our sail, and some 
 of the crew had lain down upon the upper deck 
 and fallen asleep. We were gliding along in a 
 more agreeable manner than at any time since our 
 departure from Atfa, when we heard a man tumble 
 from the deck, and dash into the water! The 
 boat, in a moment, was all in confusion. Every 
 Arab was bawling at the top of his voice, and vo- 
 ciferating commands. None obeyed. All were bent 
 upon doing something, yet they did little else than 
 render confusion more confused. Amid this wild 
 
324 MAN OVERBOARD. 
 
 uproar, the boat was hove off her course ; the wind 
 was shaken out of the sail on one side, and it till- 
 ed in upon the other, in a manner that nearly up- 
 set us. 
 
 I ran out of the cabin, and called for the doctor ; 
 for I had supposed from the first that it was he who 
 had fallen. 
 
 Selim had taken the alarm. He had mounted the 
 shrouds, and was " making night hideous" with the 
 variety and stentorian tones of his voice. He had 
 rung the doctor's name upon all the different lan- 
 guages of which he had any smattering ; and the cook 
 had come to his aid with a fresh pair of lungs that 
 grated upon the ear like the braying of an ass. The 
 scene was frightful The sailors run the boat ashore ; 
 and, amid the din, we had the satisfaction to hear 
 the doctor's voice. Our apprehension in regard to 
 his safety was now relieved. But still there was a 
 man overboard ! and we supposed he was rapidly 
 sinking into eternity ! 
 
 The moment the boat touched the bank, most of 
 the men caught up each an oar, leaped on shore, and 
 ran down the borders of the stream, calHng out for 
 their lost companion in tones loud and frightful 
 enough to have raised the dead. 
 
 The rapid current had prevented the drowning man 
 from gaining the land, and had borne him a long dis- 
 tance down the Nile ; consequently it was some time 
 before the sailors heard his shouts for help. When 
 at last they were abreast of him, they had run them- 
 selves out of breath. But no time was to be lost. 
 
FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE PYRAMIDS. 325 
 
 The man was near his end : instantaneous help alone 
 could save him. They all rushed into the river ; and, 
 instead of half our crevi^ perishing in the water, as 
 might have been the case, they all succeeded in re- 
 gaining the bank, and in dragging their drowning 
 companion out with them. He was, however, in 
 such a state of exhaustion, that he could not have 
 survived much longer. They brought him on board, 
 wrapped him up as well as they could, and stowed 
 him away in the straw. It appeared that he had 
 fallen asleep, and an unlucky swing of the boat, or a 
 careless turn of his own, had tumbled him off into the 
 river. The magic of his dream was quenched by the 
 chilly waves. 
 
 All things being once more put to rights, the boat 
 was again pushed out from the shore, and our old 
 ragged sail given to the wind. The breeze had fresh- 
 ened a little during the exciting scene which we had 
 just witnessed, and now bore us onward in gallant 
 style. The wind continuing fair and fresh through 
 the night, we had measured a good part of the remain- 
 ing distance of our voyage before morning ; and the 
 first thing we saw on looking out of our cabin, were 
 the great pyramids of Ghizeh, burnished by the fresh 
 tints of the rising sun, pouring its mellow beams over 
 the barren mountains that skirt the borders of Egypt. 
 On an elevated terrace in the distance rose the bold 
 and beautiful minarets and gilded domes of Cairo. 
 The villages of Bulak and Shoubra stood upon the 
 banks of the Nile, overlooking a vast extent of culti- 
 
 §. 
 
326 
 
 THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 vated plain, rich with the green crops of the year. 
 The obeUsk of HehopoUs stood against the eastern 
 sky ; and the boundless desert of Libya stretched off 
 toward the west, like an ocean of desolation. 
 
SITUATION OF SHOUBRA. 
 
 327 
 
 A Part of Cairo, with the Citadel, exhibiting the Mulgufs for 
 
 CAT-CHING THE WiND ON THE ToPS OF THE HoUSES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Palace and Gardens of Mehemet Mi. — Sandrgale. — Arri- 
 "val at Cairo. — First Impressions. — The Hotel and " mine 
 Host,^' — Ride to the Citadel. — Mosque of Sultan Hassan, 
 — Palace <f the Citadel. — - Joseph^ s Well. — - Brilliant Cir- 
 cle. — ^ Shaving Heads. — Sprig of JYobility. — Ji Member 
 of Parliam^ent, — "^ two-Bottle JkT^n," — Gloomy Pros- 
 pect. — Dinner-table Chat. 
 
 The usual port of entry to the capital of Egypt is 
 Bulak, which stands some distance above Shoubra, 
 into which the strong south wind had forced us, and 
 almost precluded the possibility of our ascending the 
 river any farther. Shoubra is delightfully situated 
 upon the east bank of the Nile ; and is the St. Cloud, 
 Windsor, or Potsdam of the Pacha of Egypt. Here 
 he has a palace of much taste and splendour ; beau- 
 
328 A SAND-GALE. 
 
 tiful gardens, embellished with shrubs, fruits, and 
 flowers ; and a pavilion of great extent and magnifi- 
 cence. Here he usually resides when in this part of 
 the country ; and a more charming residence could 
 hardly be imagined. Here, previously to the disso- 
 lution of the Pacha's harem, the numerous inmates, 
 adorned with princely elegance, displayed their vo- 
 luptuous charms in all the seductive extravagance 
 peculiar to the East. But the harem having been 
 broken up, and the Pacha being in Alexandria, occu- 
 pied with the perplexing affairs of state, Shoubra pre- 
 sented a lonely and quiet aspect The trees were 
 bending beneath the yellow fruits of the season ; the 
 air was redolent with the perfumes of a thousand 
 blossoms; and the broad fields of wheat and clover 
 waved before the breeze in their own peculiar beau- 
 ty. A few liveried servants and armed guardians of 
 the royal abode relieved it from utter loneliness and 
 gloom. 
 
 We made an arrangement for camels to convey 
 ourselves and luggage to Cairo ; and after handing 
 over the usual huckshish to the rais and sailors, we 
 bade them adieu, and entered the broad avenue, 
 skirted with trees, which leads from the palace of 
 Shoubra to the gates of the city. 
 
 We had now a sample of the cutting winds of 
 Egypt, charged with the fine sands of the droughty 
 plains. The atmosphere was thick and heavy, and 
 the sun's rays struggled obscurely through the dark- 
 ling gale. We endeavoured, by enveloping our faces 
 in green veils, to screen them from the pernicious 
 
ARRIVAL AT CAIRO. 
 
 329 
 
 effects of this storm of sand. These we found una- 
 vaihng ; we might as well have undertaken to stay 
 Niagara's downward rush with a lady's fan. The 
 wind pierced every thing, like a pestilential scourge. 
 Eyes, ears, neck, and bosom were soon loaded with 
 the gritty blast. No nook or corner escaped its pierc- 
 ing search. So extraordinary are these peculiar sand- 
 gales in Egypt, that it is said the pulverized particles 
 of dust will penetrate the shell of an egg. Nothing 
 can be more disagreeable to encounter. We had soon 
 traversed the distance, however, from Shoubra to 
 the town, and entered the gates of the city. We 
 urged our languid animals along the narrow, gloomy 
 streets, overshadowed by the sombre Moslem dwell- 
 ings which almost embraced each other above the 
 first story, and mingled themselves into one uncouth, 
 shapeless mass of mud, sticks, and stones. The gen- 
 eral aspect of every thing was dusty, prison-like, and 
 pecuhar. Arabs, Armenians, Copts, Egyptians, Greeks, 
 Jews, Syrians, and Turks were perambulating the 
 streets, dressed in their native costumes. They had 
 their long-stemmed pipes, and were pursuing their 
 various avocations with all that drowsy, slothful dul- 
 ness common to the subjects of the Subhme Porte. 
 Women, shrouded in long, loose robes, and masked, 
 were dodging their way through the dusky throng, 
 casting their voluptuous glances as they passed, and 
 apparently happy in all their filth and tawdry rags. 
 
 On reaching the hotel, we found it crowded, dark, 
 dirty, and dear. It was kept by a Frank. We were, 
 however, desirous to take up our abode in it for the 
 
 Vol. I. — 42 
 
330 
 
 MODERN EGYPTIANS. 
 
 Modern Egyptians. 
 
 time being ; but there were no vacant rooms in the 
 house. All had been occupied for several days by 
 Mr. Firkins, the Wrinklebottoms, Rimtapers, and sev- 
 eral other English parties, who had recently arrived 
 from Arabia, Europe, India, and Palestine ; and were 
 
AN EGYPTIAN WOMAN. 
 
 331 
 
 An Egyptian Woman maskeDo 
 
 now actively engaged with the sights of the town, 
 and in completing arrangements for their departm*e. 
 After much sounding conversation on the part of 
 " mine host" (who magnified himself into a kind of 
 martyr, in condescending to waste his precious time 
 and health in the wretched cHmate and barbarous 
 
332 
 
 HOTEL CHARGES. 
 
 land of Egypt, all for the benefit and convenience 
 of travellers like ourselves), he consented to lodge 
 our party in two small dark rooms in a neighbouring 
 house, and agreed to furnish us with meals at the 
 table d'hote for the ruinously low price of seven dol- 
 lars and a half per day ! He wished us, however, to 
 understand that he came down to this losing price, 
 and put himself to no little inconvenience, merely to 
 oblige us ; and that so far from its being of the least 
 benefit to him, it was really an operation by which 
 he would unavoidably make a considerable sacrifice. 
 Nothing but his friendship for us (which seemed to 
 have been almost as suddenly conceived as that which 
 inspired Mr. and Mrs. Firkins on our arrival in Alex- 
 andria) could induce him to consider our necessities, 
 and finally to take us under his paternal care and pro- 
 tection. His eloquence made us feel our dependance, 
 and the burden which we were upon his shoulders, 
 to such a degree, that we left him and his rooms in a 
 day or two after our arrival, and took a three-story 
 house, decently furnished, for the extravagant charge 
 of one dollar per day ! However, for the moment, 
 there was no other way but to lay ourselves under 
 many obligations to the obliging host. We were con- 
 ducted into the gloomy court of our new habitation, 
 where the camels knelt to be relieved from the bur- 
 den of our luggage, which the Arabs conveyed to our 
 lodgings. 
 
 We sat down for a few moments, ruminating upon 
 the strange scenes that had passed during the morn- 
 ing, when the doctor came in and proposed to take 
 
MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASSAN. 333 
 
 a look about the town. We sallied forth, and wound 
 our way through the complicated, noisy, narrow 
 streets, until we reached the citadel. 
 
 An obliging Enghsh officer, whose acquaintance 
 we had made on the voyage down from Trieste to 
 Athens, and who had been in Cairo waiting the arri- 
 val of the Bombay steamer, offered to act as our cice- 
 rone. We were happy to avail ourselves of his ci- 
 vilities. Having been daily and actively employed 
 in examining the town since his arrival in Cairo, and 
 made himself quite familiar with the locality of most 
 of the objects of general interest, he pointed out ma- 
 ny things as we rode along that were counted among 
 the wonders of Musr — the appellation given by the 
 Arabs to the metropolis of Egypt. 
 
 Many of the edifices are well built, and some of 
 the mosques exhibit much architectural elegance and 
 grandeur. The mosque of Sultan Hassan,* which 
 stands in a commanding position, is doubtless the 
 most beautiful erection in Cairo. Its lofty and well- 
 proportioned minaret is chaste and imposing. The 
 principal attraction of this mosque, however, consists 
 in its exterior beauty and embellishment. We were 
 permitted to enter it, without our shoes ; but there 
 was little within the walls to compensate us for the 
 trouble we took. This, we were informed, is con- 
 sidered by the faithful the most sacred mosque in 
 Cairo ; and it is by far the most expensive in its 
 whole adornment and extent. We saw several shoe- 
 
 * This mosque was " constructed with the stones of the pyramids." — Wil- 
 kinson's Topography of Thebes, note, p. 334. 
 
334 
 
 INTERIOR OiF A MOSQUE. 
 
 Interior of a Mosque. 
 
 less Moslems at their devotions, exercised with much 
 apparent fervom* and sincerity. 
 
 On leaving the mosque of Sultan Hassan, we rode 
 up to the citadel, v^hich stands upon an elevated 
 ridge of rock, called Mukattam. The citadel com- 
 mands the tow^n ; for v^hich purpose it w^as most 
 
MOSLEMS AT THEIR DEVOTIONS. 
 
 335 
 
 probably erected. The gates were guarded by drow- 
 sy one-eyed soldiers, who were reclining against the 
 walls, regardless of what was passing. 
 
 Moslems at their Devotions. 
 
 In a military point of view, the citadel and the 
 garrison did not exhibit much strength or discipline. 
 It is doubtless of far more importance to the Pacha 
 for keeping the dusky citizens in awe, than for any 
 other purpose. 
 
 We entered the palace of Mehemet Ali, which 
 stands within the enclosure of the citadel ; and, but 
 for the tempest of dust which was then driving over 
 the surrounding plains, we should have had an ex- 
 tensive view up and down the vale of the Nile. The 
 palace is a plain empty shell, with little or no furni- 
 ture, except straw carpets and broad divans. It is a 
 kind of glass house, having more large windows than 
 
336 
 
 JOSEPH'S WELL. 
 
 any other building in Egypt. There is a small flow- 
 er-garden attached, but the whole establishment has 
 more the appearance of a hunting-lodge of a Eu- 
 ropean sportsman, than the residence of a reigning 
 prince. 
 
 There are some other things to be looked into, 
 about the citadel, and the deepest of them all is 
 " Joseph's well." This extraordinary well, reaching 
 down through the soft calcareous rock to the depth 
 of more than two hundred and sixty feet, is nearly 
 fifty feet in circumference at the top, and is divided 
 into an upper and lower well, having a flight of wind- 
 ing stairs leading to the bottom. The water tastes a 
 little brackish, and is supposed to be from the Nile, 
 filtered through the rock. It is raised in buckets or 
 earthen pots, by means of two wheels. One is upon 
 the surface of the ground, and the other is placed 
 at the depth of one hundred and fifty feet beneath. 
 They are both turned by oxen. The garrison is par- 
 tially supplied with the water of Joseph's well, and 
 the surplus is used for irrigating the Pacha's garden 
 and other little verdant spots that cheer the general 
 gloominess of the interior of the fortress. 
 
 This well is supposed to have been excavated by 
 the ancient Egyptians. It was, however, filled up 
 with sand when discovered in the twelfth century by 
 Yoosef Saladin ; and was re-excavated by him, and 
 has borne his name ever since. 
 
 This warlike prince erected a fortress upon the 
 spot, walled it round, and built a splendid palace 
 within the enclosure. There is nothing now left of 
 
BRILLIANT CIRCLE. 337 
 
 the palace except a few prostrate columns called the 
 pillars of " Joseph's Hall." The shattered ruins of 
 the Caliph's palace have been swept away to make 
 room for an extensive mosque which the Pacha has 
 ordered to be erected upon its site. 
 
 The new mosque had been some years in the pro- 
 cess of erection when we were in Cairo ; and, judg- 
 ing from the clumsy, dilatory manner in which the 
 Arabs were going on with the work, many years more 
 must elapse before it is completed. The material of 
 this new erection is, indeed, very beautiful, being a 
 dark alabaster marble, which, in the hands of skilful 
 workmen, could hardly fail to make an edifice of 
 surpassing beauty and richness. 
 
 The sun, having been all day obscured by the drift- 
 ing clouds of sand, now sank behind the Libyan hills. 
 We left the citadel, and returned to the hotel We 
 found a brilliant party of Enghsh ladies and gentle- 
 men assembled in the drawing-room, waiting the an- 
 nouncement of dinner. It was still a mechanical 
 hour for English people to dine ; but having penetra- 
 ted so far into the dark and benighted corners of the 
 East, they no doubt thought themselves quite secure 
 from the cavillings of the fashionable world, and were 
 disposed to satisfy their imperious appetites, even at 
 this early hour. Here were the Wrinklebottoms, Sir 
 Danbury Rimtaper and his three maiden sisters, the 
 Reverend Mr. Dunderblix, Lord Scatterberry, Colonel 
 Builderdash, and his accomplished lady and daugh- 
 ter. Mr. Firkins too was subsequently of the party ; 
 but just at that moment he was with an Arab barber, 
 
 Vol. 1.-43 
 
338 
 
 AN EGYPTIAN BARBER. 
 
 having his head shaved. All the gentlemen present, 
 with the exception of Sir Danbnry, had gone through 
 the same operation. Thej had also put on the red 
 
 An Egyptian Barber. 
 
 caps of the country, and provided themselves vi^ith 
 long pipes and capacious tobacco-bags. Some of 
 them had made such extraordinary advances in the 
 manners and customs of the Arabs, that they ap- 
 peared in full costume, with flint and steel danghng 
 at their girdles, and ample turbooshes upon their 
 heads. 
 
RAPID TRAVELLING. 339 
 
 The Egyptians, as is generally known, shave their 
 heads, and let their beards grow at full length. This 
 pleasing feature in the barbarous habits of the Arabs, 
 took well with the brilliant circle around us. The 
 gentlemen had nearly all entered into it with a lively 
 spirit, and a becoming respect for the manners and 
 customs of the country. Mr. Wrinklebottom acted 
 as master of ceremonies, in the absence of Mr. Fir- 
 kins ; and was so obHging as to give us a formal in- 
 troduction to Lord Scatterberry, Sir D anbury Rimta- 
 per and his charming sisters. Colonel Builderdash and 
 his ladies, the Reverend Mr. Dunderbhx, several offi- 
 cers of her Majesty's army, and sundry other person- 
 ages of more moderate distinction. Colonel Builder- 
 dash, his ladies and retinue, had just arrived from Je- 
 rusalem. They had made the journey through the 
 desert, by Gaza and El-Arish to Cairo, in twenty 
 days ! This unexampled velocity was the wonder 
 and admiration of the whole party. The colonel 
 appeared to be in excellent health, and Mrs. Builder- 
 dash and her daughter, with their femme de charribre^ 
 had borne the journey remarkably well They had 
 rode full ten miles a day, and most of the distance, on 
 camels \ — though in addition to twenty-three camels 
 which it required to convey this interesting family 
 and their cortege through the desert, the colonel had 
 provided himself with mules for the ladies, so that 
 they had at last accomplished this remarkable jour- 
 ney with comparative ease and comfort. They were 
 now the lions of all the lions ; and the measure of 
 their gratification was full to overflowing. Th6 
 
340 A SPRIG OF NOBILITY. 
 
 colonel was an amiable, communicative creature, and 
 told me, sub rosa, that he was one of the younger sons 
 of a noble English family, and that he was then a 
 member of Parliament. This information was inter- 
 esting to me, and it was evidently important to the 
 colonel to disseminate it as widely as possible. He 
 contemplated making a voyage on the Nile to the 
 upper country ; and his dragoman, valet de chambre, 
 physician, and the young lady's drawing-master were 
 all exceedingly busy in making arrangements for their 
 departure. They had already engaged several of the 
 best boats at Bulak ; and little else remained to be 
 accomplished, than to replenish their stores, and set 
 out on the voyage. 
 
 Lord Scatterberry had been in Cairo several weeks. 
 He had not been idle. He informed me that he had 
 made the acquaintance of every man of distinction 
 in the place. He had also seen all that was curious^ 
 and had nearly completed his arrangements for his 
 departure to the cataracts of the Nile. He was a 
 thorough emancipationist, and was a member of the 
 House of Lords at the time of the passage of the 
 celebrated emancipation act He had, however, been 
 to the slave-market that afternoon, and purchased the 
 handsomest Nubian female slave that he could find. 
 She was to accompany him on the voyage. He spoke 
 of her beauty in rapturous terms ; and said, " if she 
 was a clever girl, on his return he would set her free !" 
 Lord Scatterberry, as we subsequently learned, had 
 been a gay young man, and immense sums had 
 slipped through his fingers at the gaming-table, and 
 
 'I 
 
A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. 341 
 
 in other ways scarcely more to his credit He was 
 a professed wit ; or rather prided himself upon his 
 piquant conversational powers, and the happy satiri- 
 cal cuts with which he equally lashed his friends and 
 foes. His pungent remarks had led the way to more 
 than one duel, in which his lordship had sometimes 
 escaped by the skin of his teeth He was then daily 
 suffering the penalty of his imprudence, and had the 
 ball of one of his duelling antagonists still festering 
 in his arm. His lordship had been married three 
 times, but all his wives were dead. His conduct, 
 after their decease, had marked a becoming respect 
 for the departed, which had done much to silence the 
 impudent and malicious ebullitions of scandal He 
 made a splendid and pompous funeral at the death 
 of each of the accomplished Ladies Scatterberry, and 
 erected magnificent monuments with endearing epi- 
 taphs over their graves. He would have married a 
 fourth time, but decayed fortune and declining years 
 offered some obstacles to a union suited to his incli- 
 nations and rank. His health had latterly much de- 
 clined, in consequence, as he said, of his domestic 
 afflictions, and the damp, wretched chmate of Eng- 
 land. He was limping with the gout, and his arm 
 was handsomely suspended in a well-arranged sling. 
 He came off to Egypt, he said, to " cheat the winter," 
 and his hopes were high of the beneficial effects of 
 its mild chmate upon his shattered constitution. 
 
 The Reverend Mr. Dunderblix was a gentleman of 
 immense figure and singular construction. He was 
 full six feet 5.Ye in height; broad across the shoulders ; 
 
342 « A TWO-BOTTLE MAN." 
 
 slouching in his gait, and imperious in his expression. 
 He had fallen in with the customs of the country so 
 far as to shave his head and wear a red cap. He 
 also smoked the long pipe with a gusto equal to that 
 of any one of his countrymen. But while Mr. Dun- 
 derblix gave way to the harmless Egyptian fashion 
 of shaving the head, letting the beard grow at large, 
 and putting on certain tawdry and outlandish habih- 
 ments upon his person, he did not neglect the weigh- 
 tier matters of his taste, formed in earlier years, in his 
 own country. He drank as copiously of heavy wines 
 and strong liquors as when he reposed quietly amid 
 all the comforts of an English home, surrounded by 
 the dear people of his charge. He was what would 
 be called in England, " a regular two-bottle man ;" 
 consequently he was enabled to preserve the scarlet 
 hue of his rubicund visage, which defyingly vied in 
 depth and vividness with the lively colour of his cap. 
 The general aspect and bearing of the Reverend 
 Mr. Dunderblix was so slightly clerical, that, at first 
 sight, he was the last man I should have taken for a 
 clergyman. He had much more the appearance of 
 a seafaring man ; and, had he been a little more lofty 
 in his gait, I should have taken him for a well-fed 
 '' half-pay officer" of her Majesty's navy. There was 
 a sort of forbidding expression about the face of Mr. 
 Dunderblix ; but after the icy forms of an introduc- 
 tion had melted away, he became another being : he 
 was affable, and preferred talking about his own af- 
 fairs to those of other people. He informed me that 
 he held a " living" in the south of Ireland ; though. 
 
CLERICAL HABITS. 343 
 
 when at 'ome, he resided in the city of Dublin ! He 
 said the condition of his parish was most lamentable. 
 In a community of nearly one thousand souls, all of 
 whom were com;pulsory contributors to his " living," 
 there were not more than forty or fifty belonging to 
 his church. All the rest were CathoUcs of the most 
 confirmed and obdurate character, and would not, 
 under any circumstances, sit under his ministry, nor 
 pay him a single farthing except by compulsion. He 
 said he had experienced much inconvenience and 
 loss, and sometimes personal peril, in collecting his 
 tithes. But now he was congratulating himself upon 
 the favourable change that a recent act of ParUament 
 had brought about in his affairs. This act had re- 
 duced the nominal amount of his " living" one fourth, 
 but it had secured the punctual payment of the re- 
 maining three fourths, upon the estates of the landed 
 proprietors. He anticipated no pecuniary embarrass- 
 ments for the future, and said he could depend upon 
 the prompt remittance of his *' living" regularly each 
 quarter-day. 
 
 Mr. Dunderblix further said : " I have already been 
 from 'ome three years, you know ; I have been trav- 
 elling for my health, you know; and after a tour 
 through Arabia and the Holy Land, you know, I con- 
 template a journey into Russia, Sweden, and Norway, 
 you know. I think it may be quite two years before 
 I wilLbe able to return 'ome, you know, you know." 
 
 This appeared to me an easy way of performing 
 clerical duties, and I expressed as much to the Rev- 
 erend Mr. Dunderblix at the time. He informed me, 
 
344 COMPENSATION OF CURATES. 
 
 however, that nothing was more common in England. 
 *' The beneficiary," said he, " seldom attends to the 
 active duties of the chm*ch, you know. These are 
 matters that are left entirely to the curate, you know. 
 If a clergyman, enjoying a church living, has a con- 
 scientious, efficient, industrious curate, you know, he 
 has little or no occasion to be embarrassed with the 
 monotonous details of the church service, you know." 
 He informed me that he had an honest and devoted 
 curate, who read the prayers, and went regularly 
 through with all the forms in a manner so acceptable 
 that every thing was done quite as satisfactorily as if 
 he were on the spot himself. 
 
 I made some inquiries respecting the emoluments 
 of this responsible office of curate, to a travelling 
 beneficiary of the English church. Mr. Dunderblix 
 said, " That depends, you know, sometimes more and 
 sometimes less, you know. Twenty-five, thirty, and 
 occasionally as much as fifty pounds sterling a year 
 are paid to a curate, you know. The curate of my 
 parish receives forty pounds. But he is an excellent 
 man, and has the interest of the church quite at heart, 
 jou know, you know." 
 
 Here our interesting conversation was interrupted 
 by Sir Danbury Rimtaper, who wished to learn if I 
 intended to go into the upper country. I replied in 
 the affirmative. "You will be demmed fortunate," 
 said Sir Danbury, " if you succeed in getting a boat, 
 'pon honour. I have already been in Cairo three 
 weeks, backed by all the powers of the EngHsh and 
 American consulates ; and, up to this time, I have 
 
SIR DANBURY RIMTAPER. 345 
 
 not been able to engage a boat of sufficient size to 
 accommodate myself and ladies, 'pon honour." — 
 " Possibly," said I, " you may be a little fastidious in 
 your taste, Sir Danbury. I dare say there are boats 
 to be had, although they may not be so large or ele- 
 gant as an English gentleman could desire." — " Not 
 a plank, 'pon honour," replied he ; " there is nothing 
 down the Nile, at present, but some demmed lousy, 
 pent-up, nasty hulks — not decent enough to carry a 
 convict to the gallows, 'pon honour. I want an am- 
 ple boat, with four separate cabins. Each of the 
 Misses Rimtaper must have a state-room to herself, 
 'pon honour." 
 
 Sir Danbury was a tall, spindle-shanked bachelor, 
 with a bald head, hooked nose, red whiskers, and a 
 gouty foot. He was limping about, and grumbling at 
 every thing in Egypt ; and swore " he had not seen a 
 pretty woman since he came into the country, 'pon 
 honour." He was a passionate admirer of the fair 
 sex, and embellished every sentence he uttered with 
 oaths and imprecations. He was ascending to a high 
 pitch of fault-finding and profanity, when Mr, Firkins 
 returned from the barber's. Dinner was then an- 
 nounced, and the ladies were handed down to table 
 with considerable form. 
 
 Sir Danbury, on reaching his place, previously to 
 taking his seat, raised a ponderous gold-mounted 
 quizzing-glass, and brought it to bear in the most 
 searching and amusing style upon the various dishes 
 that were set before us. For the space of a minute, 
 Sir Danbury passed his eye up and down the table, 
 
 Vol. L — 44 
 
346 DINNER INSPECTIONS. 
 
 and looked things unutterable. He then let his glass 
 drop, sunk into his chair, and exclaimed, " Dem me ! 
 if this ain't dubious enough !" He looked as if every 
 bone ached in his body. 1 thought he was suddenly 
 seized with a more aggravated attack of the gout, 
 and observed, " Sir Danbury, you must be ill." — " 111 I 
 who the d -1 could be otherwise under these, cir- 
 cumstances 1 Such a dinner ! John, fetch me the 
 brandy ; I'm faint, 'pon honour." Lord Scatterberry, 
 in the mean time, had drawn up his quizzing-glass ; 
 Colonel Builderdash had pulled out his ; and the 
 Reverend Mr. Dunderbhx, not a whit behind his 
 friends, held his also in his hand. The ladies, too, 
 were all inspecting the dinner through powerful mag- 
 nifiers, and with a disaffected cast of visage. Affairs 
 had suddenly assumed an ominous aspect, and the 
 dinner did not promise a very happy deliverance from 
 the melancholy dilemma. A Bologna sausage, som^ 
 dried tongue, a few small fish from the Nile, a leg 
 of mutton half boiled, two chickens, watery mac- 
 caroni soup, a bottle of pepper-sauce, and several 
 plates of onions and vinegar were placed before us. 
 " Mine host" was all attention to his guests, and ex- 
 <jeedingly solicitous in his inquiries to know " what 
 kind of wine we would take V He said " he kept 
 none but the best, and those only from the London 
 docks. Twelve and sixpence a bottle were the 
 poorest wines ever ordered at table. Nothing but 
 the best of every thing was allowed in his house. 
 The reputation of his hotel was not to be trifled with ; 
 and nothing but good wine, a good table, and the 
 
DINNER-TABLE CHAT. 347 
 
 best of attendance, could sustain its present fame." 
 He also added, that he " made a point of consulting 
 the comfort and interest of his guests rather than 
 his own." 
 
 After the soup, wine began to circulate pretty freely. 
 The conversation and expression of faces assumed a 
 little more animation. The ladies launched off into 
 quite an amusing and interesting strain. The Misses 
 Rimtaper were suddenly delighted with Cairo, and 
 admired almost every thing they saw ; " it was all 
 so odd." 
 
 I happened to be rather propitiously seated, and 
 found myself in the very centre of " rank and fashion." 
 I had Lady Builderdash on my right. Lord Scatter- 
 berry. Sir Danbury Rimtaper, and the Misses Rimta- 
 per opposite, and the colonel and Miss Builderdash 
 on my left. The Wrinklebottoms grouped around 
 the head of the table. The Reverend Mr. Dunder- 
 bhx and Mr. Firkins were seated vis-d-vis, a little 
 lower down. After two or three glasses, they im- 
 mediately entered into an animated discussion about 
 the church and state policy of Great Britain, and 
 the government of Mehemet Ali. They violently 
 disagreed, however, upon almost every point that was 
 started. The more they endeavoured to soothe the 
 asperity of their feelings with rather lavish libations 
 of wine, the more fierce and alarming the fire of dis- 
 cord raged. At last, after a stormy sitting, during 
 which they had emptied several bottles, Mr. Dunder- 
 blix called Mr. Firkins " a poltroon and a stupid ass, 
 you know ;" and Mr. Firkins retorted that Mr. Dun- 
 
348 A DISCUSSION. 
 
 derblix was " an infernal hypocrite, and was no more 
 deserving the ' church Hving' which he held in Ire- 
 land, than he (Mr. F.) merited the throne of Turkey." 
 
 Lord Scatterberry attacked me upon the slave ques- 
 tion. He said slavery was one of the greatest evils 
 and abominations of the United States. I defended 
 myself and country as well as I could, and observed 
 to his lordship that slavery was one of those blessings 
 entailed upon us by the mother country ; an inherit- 
 ance which, up to the present time, we had not been 
 able to shake oif. I told his lordship, also, that I be- 
 lieved a large number of the people of the United 
 States were opposed to slavery ; but it was the opin- 
 ion of some of the most intelligent citizens of the 
 Union that it was nevertheless a subject of extreme 
 delicacy, and ought to be treated with caution and 
 wisdom. Some wholesome preparatory measures 
 were supposed to be absolutely indispensable to the 
 slave, previously to his emancipation, in order that 
 he might enjoy the full benefit of his freedom. I 
 was aware that England had acted with other views 
 in emancipating the black population of her colonial 
 possessions in the West Indies ; but it was supposed 
 by many that the experiment had not been satisfacto- 
 rily tested ; and it still remained a question with some 
 of his countrymen, whether the condition of the 
 blacks had been much improved by the philanthropic 
 course of Parliament in their behalf. 
 
 His lordship rejoined : " It will never do for an 
 American to talk of freedom, so long as there is a 
 slave owned by a citizen of the United States." 1 
 
AN AMICABLE ADJUSTMENT. 349 
 
 observed, in reply, that I had heard much about free- 
 dom and the inahenable rights of man, in my rambles 
 through Great Britain, but I was greatly mistaken if 
 the slaves in the United States were not as much 
 civilized, as intelligent, as well fed, and as happy as 
 a large proportion of the wretched peasantry in his 
 own country ; and, if it were considered to be an act 
 of such criminality, as his lordship supposed, to be- 
 come the owner of a slave, I could not but be sur- 
 prised at what his lordship had done on that day in 
 the slave-market of Cairo ! — Whereupon his lord- 
 ship requested the pleasure of taking wine with me, 
 and the slave question dropped into our glasses, and 
 was not again revived. 
 
 Onje of Johnny Bull's Free and Happy Subjects. 
 
 ih a < 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 I am trusted with a muzzle, and enfranchised with a clog." 
 
350 THE MISSES EIMTAPEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Rimtapers, Wrinklebottoms, and Cats. — Moslem Bequest. — 
 Sacred Animals of Egypt. — -Feast of Mr. Firkins. — Dis- 
 aster and Fright. — Theatrical JYovelty, and Fashionable 
 Squeeze. 
 
 The three enchanting Misses Rimtaper had all 
 passed the meridian splendour of their teens some 
 twenty years before, which threw them on the shady 
 side of forty. They were passionately fond of oddi- 
 ties : thereby affording further illustration of the fact 
 that " all things are after their kind." They were 
 enabled, however, through the transforming influen- 
 ces of dentists, perruquiers, milliners, and perfumers, 
 still to keep up a fashionable form and figure ; and 
 they displayed their charms at the dinner-table with 
 much success. They made a good many of what 
 might be called " capital hits ;" one of which was an 
 accidental thrust of the elbow in the side of Lord 
 Scatterberry, which nearly threw his lordship into 
 convulsions. Another, that produced no little sensa- 
 tion at the time, was an unfortunate crush of a deli- 
 cate slipper upon the gouty foot of Sir Danbury Rim- 
 taper, who roared out applaudingly, " Curse me, if 
 I'm not to be flayed alive !" The tone of their con- 
 versation touched a high key, and they burst into a 
 
COMPARATIVE BEAUTY OF CATS. 351 
 
 Strain of touching eloquence, during an animated dis- 
 cussion with the Wrinklebottoms, upon the important 
 subject of the public cats ! 
 
 Both the Rimtapers and the Wrinklebottoms had 
 passed the morning at the ckadee's, where they had 
 been to see that distinguished functionary feed the 
 houseless cats of Cairo. They were all dehghted with 
 " this extraordinary spectarkal!' and thought it second 
 only in interest to the snakery of Mr. Sneezebiter. 
 They were unanimous upon this point, but upon al- 
 most every thing else they very much differed in 
 opinion. 
 
 The comparative beauty of the cats was an exci- 
 ting theme, and one which kindled the whole party 
 into more warmth and animation than any other that 
 was started during their entertaining debate. The 
 Rimtapers greatly preferred the cats with white feet 
 and black noses ; and the Wrinklebottoms, while they 
 affected equal detestation and horror of these, were 
 enraptured with those which had black tails and 
 spotted faces. It seemed to be impossible for them 
 to agree upon this important question ; which, after 
 all, was a mere matter of taste. At length, they re- 
 ferred the whole matter to Sir Danbury, and desired 
 to know what was his candid opinion about it. Sir 
 Danbury replied, with characteristic urbanity and 
 chasteness, that " he'd be d — — d if he could tell 
 which were the handsomest ; he couldn't, 'pon hon- 
 our !" Here the subject of the cats was dropped by 
 common consent, and the conversation turned upon 
 other topics of equal interest. 
 
352 A MOSLEM BEQUEST. 
 
 It is a singular and good-natured provision of the 
 Moslems —though it may be doubted by intelUgent 
 persons at a distance, yet it is nevertheless a fact — 
 that the public cats are daily fed by the ckadee of 
 Cairo ; and considerable sums have frequently been 
 left, at the death of Moslems, in aid of the funds for 
 this charity. "The Sooltan Ez-Zahir Beybursbe- 
 queathed a garden, vi^hich is called gheyt el-ckoottah 
 (or the Garden of the Cats), near his mosque, in the 
 north of Cairo, for their benefit."^ But, although the 
 funds left for the support of the houseless cats v^ere, 
 at one time, quite ample, owing to the mismanage- 
 ment and profligacy of his predecessors, " almost the 
 whole expense of supporting them has fallen upon 
 the ckadee, who, by reason of his office, is the guar- 
 dian of this and all other charitable and pious lega- 
 cieSo Latterly, however, the duty of feeding the cats 
 has been very inadequately performed. Many per- 
 sons in Cairo, when they wish to get rid of a cat, 
 send or take it to the ckadee's house, and let it loose 
 in the great court"! The Moslems evince a sur- 
 prising fondness for this animal, especially the torn, 
 and allow it to be not only a constant companion of 
 their children, but permit it to eat out of the same 
 dish with themselves. 
 
 Cats in Egypt are said to be much more teachable 
 than in Europe. " The cat and dog are not there 
 the emblems of discord."J 
 
 The tender regard manifested by the modern Egyp- 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. p. 393. f Ibid. 
 
 X Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. p. 44» 
 
SACRED ANIMALS OF EGYPT. 353 
 
 tians toward the cat, naturally reminds one of the 
 esteem in which these animals were held by their 
 ancestors ; by whom, one would suppose from the 
 care with which they were embalmed after death, 
 they were considered very sacred. Many of the 
 Egyptians think it wrong to kill the cat, or even to 
 ill-treat it; though they do not now, as anciently, 
 shave off their eyebrows at their death. " In what- 
 ever family a cat by accident happens to die," says 
 Herodotus, " every individual cuts off his eyebrows ; 
 but on the death of a dog, they shave their heads 
 and every part of their bodies."* 
 
 The regard in which all the sacred animals were 
 held by the ancient Egyptians, is certainly very sur- 
 prising. " When any one of them dies," says Diodo- 
 rus, " they wrap it in fine linen, and with howling 
 beat upon their breasts, and so carry it forth to be 
 salted ; and then, after having anointed it with the 
 oil of cedar and other things, which both give the 
 body a fragrant smell, and preserve it a long time 
 from putrefaction, they bury it in a secret place. He 
 that wilfully kills any one of these beasts, is to suffer 
 death ; but if any kill a cat or the bird Ibis, whether 
 wilfully or otherwise, he is certainly dragged away 
 to death by the multitude, and sometimes most cru- 
 elly, without any formal trial or judgment of law 
 And such is the religious veneration impressed upon 
 the hearts of men toward these creatures, and so 
 obstinately is every one bent to adore and worship 
 them, that even at the time when the Romans were 
 
 * Herod, ii. 66. 
 
 Vol. 1 — 45 
 
354 ANCIENT REGARD FOR CATS. 
 
 making a league with Ptolemy, and all the people 
 made it their great business to caress and show all 
 civiUty and kindness imaginable to them that came 
 out of Italy, and through fear strove all they could 
 that no occasion might in the least be given to diso- 
 blige them, or be the cause of a war ; yet it so hap- 
 pened, that upon a cat's being killed by a Roman, the 
 people in a tumult ran to his lodging, and neither the 
 prince sent by the king to dissuade them, nor the 
 fear of the Romans, could deliver the person from 
 the rage of the people, though he did it against his 
 will ; and this I relate not by hearsay, but was myself 
 an eye-witness of it at the time of my travels in 
 Egypt."* 
 
 The solicitude of the ancient Egyptians for the 
 safety of this object of their extreme veneration, 
 seems to have occasioned them no little pain and 
 trouble. In the city of New York, with all the pen- 
 alties of our fires, follies, and whims thick upon us, 
 we have abundant reason, perhaps, to congratulate 
 -ourselves that the love and veneration for cats do 
 ffiot glow in our breasts with that fervour which 
 warmed the bosoms of the old Egyptians. Were 
 that the case, the town would be burnt down over 
 our heads a dozen times a day, and we should have 
 little left but the smouldering ashes of its ruin and 
 our cats. " In every accident of fire," says Herodo- 
 tus, " the cats seem to be actuated by some super- 
 natural impulse; for the Egyptians, surrounding the 
 place which is burning, appear to be occupied with 
 
 * Diod. L 84. 
 
OBSERVANCES ON THE DEMISE OF CATS, 355 
 
 no thought bat that of preserving their cats. These, 
 however, by steahng between the legs of the specta- 
 tors, or by leaping over their heads, endeavour to 
 dart into the flames. This circumstance, whenever 
 it happens, diffuses universal sorrow. In whatever 
 family a cat by accident happens to die, every indi- 
 vidual cuts off his eyebrows."* 
 
 Herodotus also observes, that " the cats, when dead, 
 are carried to sacred buildings, and after being salted, 
 are buried in the city Bubastis."t 
 
 " It is reported," says Diodorus, " that at a time 
 when there was a famine in Egypt, many were driv- 
 en to that strait, that by turns they fed one upon 
 another ; but not a man was accused to have in the 
 least tasted of any of these sacred creatures. And 
 when they have been abroad in the wars in foreign 
 countries, they have with great lamentation brought 
 dead cats with them into Egypt ; when, in the mean 
 time, they have been ready to starve for the want of 
 provision."! 
 
 Immediately upon the abrupt and discourteous ter- 
 mination of the conversation between Mr. Firkins and 
 the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix, Mr. Firkins rose from 
 the table, and repaired, with a hurried and tottering 
 gait, to the great open court of the hotel. Here he re- 
 ceived the uproarious salutation of some fifty or sixty 
 mule-drivers ; who, in accordance with an invitation 
 from Mr, Firkins, sent out the day previous, had as- 
 sembled to pay their respects to him, and to partake 
 of a repast prepared for their entertainment. It was 
 
 * Herod, ii. 66. f Ibid. ii. 67. t Diod. i. 84. 
 
356 FEAST OF MR. FIRKINS. 
 
 a dirt J, ragged, jovial throng, but perhaps no less 
 interesting to Mr. Firkins on that account, nor less 
 amusing for our contemplation, Mr. Firkins was 
 perfectly at home among them ; and gave them a re- 
 ception worthy of his own character and that of his 
 guests. Here, as elsewhere, he acted in perfect keep- 
 ing with his well-established reputation, and endeav- 
 oured to make an impression that would not easily 
 pass away. He had hired several Arab musicians, 
 who were mounted upon a platform placed on one 
 side of the court, and supported by some empty water- 
 casks. After the warmth of the salutations had a 
 little subsided, the musicians, at a significant and 
 lofty wave of the hand by Mr. Firkins, struck up a 
 kind of doleful overture, and began to rend the air 
 with their music. When the band commenced, the 
 half-naked cooks, in large white turbans, emerged 
 from the greasy kitchen of the hotel, bearing upon a 
 rough board a whole sheep roasted, and stuffed with 
 garlic. There was also a large kettle of maccaroni 
 soup, several baskets of bread, and a back-load of 
 raw carrots and onions. Mr. Firkins now attempted 
 to proceed in the distribution of the sumptuous feast, 
 with some little decency and form ; but all his efforts 
 to maintain any thing like order among his voracious 
 guests, were ineffectual. The moment the cooks ad- 
 vanced into the court, the hungry ragamuffins rushed 
 upon them in a confused mass, overturned the soup, 
 and, seizing the sheep, bread, and vegetables, began 
 to tear and devour the whole, regardless of the loud 
 
MUSICIANS OF EGYPT. 
 
 357 
 
 remonstrances of their host, and without the least 
 respect for each other. 
 
 Musicians of Egypt. 
 
 The scene was absolutely frightful. Mr. Firkins, 
 in his endeavours to restore order, had the old sheep 
 
358 A FIGHT FOR THE SPOILS. 
 
 drawn around his neck by two adverse parties, pul- 
 ling in opposite directions with might and main, each 
 desirous to possess the rich viand. Mr. Firkins was 
 at last thrown down and nearly trampled underfoot 
 
 The noise and uproar grew more astounding every 
 moment ; and as the crowd continued to quarrel 
 among themselves for the mastery of the smoking 
 viands and savoury dressing, they moved toward the 
 band of musicians ; and at length, in their clamorous 
 scuffle, rudely overturned the water-casks upon which 
 rested the temporary orchestra, and tumbled the mu- 
 sicians, with their corn-stalk fiddles, kettle-drums, 
 tambourines, and darabookas heels over head to the 
 ground. 
 
 The fight for the spoils now became general The 
 musicians unsparingly used their broken instruments 
 over the heads and shoulders of their assailants, and 
 endeavoured to lay hold of some portion of the tat- 
 tered sheep, which flew from hand to hand, with 
 more velocity than ceremony. Corbashes, fists, 
 sticks, whips, and fragments of ruined fiddles were 
 dealt around in profusion. The shouts and yells of 
 the combatants were hideous. 
 
 Mr. Firkins, with some difficulty, gathered himself 
 up from under the feet of his guests, and made his 
 escape into the hotel. The landlord, having become 
 alarmed, sent for some of the Pacha's one-eyed sol- 
 diers, who came in and dispersed the mob at the 
 point of the bayonet. 
 
 This mortifying and almost tragical termination 
 of Mr. Firkins's entertainment, was by no means 
 
WRETCHED PLIGHT OF MR. FIRKINS. 359 
 
 flattering to his vanity, or creditable to the breeding 
 of his guests. He presented a most pitiable plight 
 when he came up stairs. He was besmeared with 
 the grease and stuffing of the sheep from head to foot. 
 He had lost his hat in the scuffle, and his coat was 
 rent in several places. His face was covered with 
 dirt and grease, and the blood was running from his 
 nose. 
 
 Mr. Dunderbhx appeared highly delighted with the 
 whole scene. He met Mr. Firkins as he entered the 
 room, and critically surveying him from top to toe 
 through his quizzing-glass, burst into a roar of laugh- 
 ter. The ladies huddled around Mr. Firkins, all 
 condolence ; but the figure which Mr. F. cut was so 
 " very peculiar," that they found it absolutely impos- 
 sible to maintain a respectful gravity. 
 
 Sir Danbury Rimtaper, having hobbled down from 
 the balcony where he had witnessed the strange pro- 
 ceedings just terminated in the court, came up, raised 
 his quizzing-glass deliberately to his eye, and after 
 surveying Mr. Firkins for a moment, exclaimed, — 
 " Dem me. Firkins, if this isn't the most extraordina- 
 ry spectacle that I've witnessed since I've been in 
 Egypt ! I never saw any one look more sheepish in 
 the whole course of my life, 'pon honour 1" 
 
 Lord Scatterberry had crawled along toward the 
 gathering, with his quizzing-glass swinging upon his 
 breast, which he suddenly raised to his eye : then 
 letting it as suddenly drop, and holding it half sus- 
 pended in his right hand, said, with an air of as- 
 tonishment, " Why Firkins, is that you ? Where the 
 
360 THEATRICAL NOVELTY. 
 
 (J 1 have you been ? Curse me if you don't look 
 
 as if you had been an extensive traveller in Greece r 
 The whole household was now collecting around ; 
 some were condoling with the sufferer, and others 
 were laughing at his misfortunes, but all were aston- 
 ished at his sudden metamorphosis. 
 
 Poor Firkins appeared to be so mortified and de- 
 jected that he could not utter a word. He saw that 
 all eyes were fastened upon him, and that he was 
 likely to become the butt of the whole party. He 
 suddenly buttoned up his coat to his chin, pressed his 
 hat over his forehead, plunged his hands deep into 
 his breeches pockets, wheeled about upon his heels, 
 and marched out of the room in a tornado of rage, 
 from straps to whiskers ; and I never saw him from 
 that day to this ! Like the witches in Macbeth, he 
 " melted into air ;" and, to quote a line from the wit- 
 ticisms of the late Secretary of the Navy, J. K. Pauld- 
 ing, Esq., nothing was ever afterward seen of him in 
 Cairo, " except a grease-spot on the place where he 
 stood !" 
 
 The excitement occasioned by the disastrous ter- 
 mination of Mr. Firkins's feast soon subsided ; and, 
 having been presented with tickets, we accompanied 
 Colonel Builderdash, Sir Danbury Rimtaper and their 
 ladies, the Wrinklebottoms, and the Reverend Mr. 
 Dunderblix to the theatre. 
 
 A theatre in Cairo was a novelty. It had been 
 got up by the resident Franks, in a hasty manner, to 
 accommodate two or three " brief, abstract chroni- 
 clers of the times^' from Italy, of whom, it is said, 
 
A FASHIONABLE SQUEEZE. 361 
 
 " you had better have a bad epitaph after your death, 
 than their ill report while you live." The Spanish 
 consul and several other amateurs took parts in the 
 performance. The house was crowded to suffoca- 
 tion. Fortunately, however, we were accompanied 
 by distinguished personages, whose rank was appre- 
 ciated by the officers at the door. They forced a 
 passage some how or other, so that we contrived to 
 follow, and we succeeded in wedging ourselves in the 
 dense mass of assembled spectators. 
 
 The piece selected for the occasion was a kind of 
 tragi-comico opera, done in barbarous Italian. The 
 players were full of energy and gesticulation, and trod 
 the stage like English gipsies and Spanish bandits. 
 They raved, ranted, and bawled themselves hoarse in 
 their endeavours to please the audience ; and, judging 
 from the rapturous applause which they elicited, they 
 succeeded to the utmost of their ambition. The spec- 
 tators stamped, clapped, shouted, and often drowned 
 the bellowing of the actors. They applauded every 
 thing, good, bad, and indifferent ; and the whole affair 
 appeared to me to be what is called, in green-room 
 phrase, " a decided hit." 
 
 We had not long mingled in the gay and joyous 
 throng, before we found ourselves in a foam of per- 
 spiration. The heat engendered by the vocifer- 
 ous and energetic applause of the audience, inflated 
 the theatre like a steam-boiler ; and rendered a va- 
 pour-bath, " if not a matter of choice," as the politi- 
 cians say of a national bank, " one of supreme ne- 
 cessity." To get out of the house was more difficult 
 
 Vol. I. — 46 
 
362 
 
 LEVANTINE COSTUME. 
 
 than it had been to get in ; nor could we effect an 
 egression from our melting situation, until an armed 
 janizary penetrated the crowd with drawn sword, 
 and escorted us to the door. 
 
 This was the first night of the theatre, and all the 
 " rank and fashion" of Cairo were in attendance. 
 The scene was truly novel and exciting. There 
 were a large number of Levantine ladies present, 
 
 Levantine Costume. 
 
 and their appearance was worthy of commendation. 
 Some of them were beautiful All were gorgeously 
 
LEVANTINE COSTUME. 
 
 363 
 
 arrayed in brilliant and rich costume. They wore 
 their long glossy hair parted in front, and braided in 
 numerous plaits, thickly spangled with gold orna- 
 ments, and hanging at full length down the back. 
 Over a red turboosh, with long tassel, spangled with 
 gold, they wore a neatly-embroidered turban, adorned 
 with brilliants. They also had on, over their loose 
 striped raw silk dress, a short jacket of fine cloth or 
 velvet, richly embroidered and faced with gold lace 
 These showy habihments of the ladies seemed to be 
 in perfect keeping with the red caps and flowing 
 dresses of the gentlemen ; and, all combined, they 
 formed one of the most singular groups that I have 
 ever witnessed. 
 
364 THE CONSUL'S CHAMBER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Interviev) with the Consul at Cairo. — Description of his Au- 
 dience-hall, — Incidental Attack. — Egyptian Janizary. — ■ 
 Bridal Procession. — Marriage Contracts. — Match-making 
 Brokers. — Bridal Dowries. — Law respecting Matrimony. 
 — Wives and Concubines. — Law of Divorce. — Blessings 
 of Fruitfulness, and Curse of Barrenness. — Ancient Mar- 
 riage Customs. — Cheap Mode of raising Children. 
 
 Having several introductory letters to the elder Mr. 
 
 G— , acting consul at Cairo in the absence of his 
 
 son, who was on an excursion of pleasure for the win- 
 ter in the upper country, I called upon him the morn- 
 ing after my arrival. It was past ten o'clock when 
 we were ushered into the audience-chamber of the 
 consul, but the great " official was not " quite ready 
 to receive." This chamber of the consul's was " a 
 specimen of the tallest" room of its size that I have 
 any recollection of ever entering. It was about 
 twenty-iive feet long by fifteen feet in width, and it 
 appeared to be at least thirty feet in height. There 
 was an old straw carpet on the floor, and the ceiling 
 was " done off" with rough boards and palm beams. 
 A wide calico divan was run round on three sides ; 
 and a broad and lofty window, partly covered with 
 
INCIDENTAL ATTACK. 365 
 
 lattice-work, looked out upon a gloomy court. At the 
 further end, about six feet from the floor, hung a six- 
 by-eight snuff-coloured board, on which was daubed 
 the eagle, and the stripes and stars of the United 
 States. High above this caricature of the arms of 
 my country, were suspended, in disdainful contrast, 
 and in liery colours, the royal arms of Great Britain. 
 In the centre of the room stood a small, low table, 
 covered with a faded dusty green spread, upon which 
 were a late number of the " London Times," a small 
 black glass inkstand, a pewter syringe, a little piece 
 of sponge, and a tall vial half filled with some kind 
 of liquid resembling dirty goose-oil, with a long hen's 
 feather stuck into the neck of it. These, and one old 
 chair, as near as I can recollect, comprised the sum 
 total of the "fixtures" of the audience-hall of the 
 consul. 
 
 I dropped down upon the divan, awaiting the 
 pleasure of the " great official," and was casting my 
 eyes alternately from one interesting object to anoth- 
 er about the room, when my attention was most sen- 
 sibly attracted by an attack made upon my right hand 
 and arm, which rested upon the large cotton pillow 
 at my back. I found, to my horror, that I was in a 
 nest of fleas ! This seat becoming any thing but a 
 bed of roses, I got up, and had strode up and down 
 this lofty apartment several times, when I heard the 
 mincing footsteps of the consular functionary, and 
 immediately thereafter a tall, gray-headed, pursy fig- 
 ure, in robe de chamhre and Turkish slippers, stood 
 before me, with an inquisitive, supercilious expres- 
 
366 INTERVIEW WITH THE CONSUL. 
 
 sion of visage, which said, as plain as look can speak, 
 "To what may I attribute the honour of this unwel- 
 come visit of yours at such an abominable mail-car- 
 rying hour in the morning f ' Here was the object 
 of my search — the consular dignitary — the real 
 " Baron Pompolino," as some of his friends in Alex- 
 andria called him. I had had an amusing descrip- 
 tion of this personage and his manners by our 
 Boston acquaintance, at Alexandria. He put on an 
 air of great pomposity, and appeared conceited, in- 
 sincere, and vain. He was just the picture that I 
 had formed in my mind, from the description I had 
 already received of him. 
 
 After a slight inclination of the head on the part 
 of " Baron Pompolino," which I respectfully returned, 
 I observed to him, that I had the honour to be the 
 bearer of several letters, which I came to present to 
 him in person : hoping that I had not disturbed him 
 by calling at so early an hour. 
 
 Without making any reply, he took the letters, tore 
 off the envelopes, and threw the pieces on the floor, 
 with most " official" dignity and hauteur. He opened 
 one of the letters ; and, casting his eye down to the 
 bottom, saw the name of the American minister at 
 Constantinople ; and then asking me to take a seat, 
 he proceeded to read them all. Having run his eyes 
 over the letters in a hurried manner, he deliberately 
 placed them under the pewter syringe on the table, 
 near to which he drew up a chair, and commenced a 
 formal string of catechetical interrogatories about my 
 journey, railroads, steamboats, canals, governors, and 
 
A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. 367 
 
 statesmen ; and finally wanted to know who I thought 
 would be the next President of the United States ! 
 
 To all of the numerous interrogatives of " Baron 
 Pompolino," which were put in a kind of country- 
 schoolmaster style, I gave such answers as their im- 
 portance seemed to demand ; after which I ventured 
 to make a few inquiries about the affairs of Egypt, 
 and the best mode for a stranger to pursue, wishing 
 to see and become acquainted with the great objects 
 of interest in that country. But in all these matters, 
 although a resident of Egypt for nearly twenty years, 
 he seemed about as ignorant as an old Egyptian 
 mummy, just pulled out of the tombs, by some of the 
 English resurrectionists, for dissection. Our interview 
 soon became rather cheerless ; and after taking a lit- 
 tle cup of black coffee with Monsieur le Baron, and 
 receiving the stereotyped offer of " his janizary to 
 conduct us round the city" — I was about to depart; 
 
 when in came Mr. J , a citizen of the United 
 
 States, to whom I had also a letter of introduction. 
 
 Mr. J had been in Cairo about a year ; and 
 
 knew something of the Arabic language, as well as 
 the tricks that are played by the inhabitants upon 
 strangers. He was also acquainted with all the in- 
 teresting localities in the city and vicinity ; and, being 
 a man of leisure, he very obligingly offered to show 
 us every thing of interest, and to aid us in making 
 the necessary arrangements for our contemplated ex- 
 cursion to Thebes and the cataracts of the Nile. I 
 was too happy to take him at his word. But he had 
 not been with us two days, when, being met by the 
 
368 EGYPTIAN JANIZARY. 
 
 Egyptian janizary of the consul, he was told that, 
 " by showing us the curiosities of the town, he was 
 taking the bread out of his (the janizary's) mouths 
 
 This janizary, like most other personages of simi- 
 lar rank attached to the doors of foreign consulates 
 in the uncivilized countries of the East, was a kind 
 of armed porter, serving the consul for little or noth- 
 ing, besides protection from the exactions of his own 
 government, with the expectation (and possibly the 
 promise) of enriching himself by thrusting his value- 
 less services upon all strangers pilgrims who might, 
 like ourselves, wend their way to the metropolis of 
 Egypt. He could speak very little else but Arabic, and 
 had the reputation of leaguing himself with his coun- 
 trymen against the interests of whatever strangers 
 he might have under his care. In addition to his 
 share of the sums arising from the joint peculations 
 of himself and all others of his nation with whom 
 he might bring the stranger in contact, he expected, 
 and generally received, about twenty piastres per day. 
 This was the protecting genius whom the amiable 
 consul proposed to place over me ; and he was not a 
 little miffed, I believe, that I did not at once put 
 myself and party under his banners. The obliging 
 offer of Mr. J rendered that unnecessary. Ta- 
 king leave of the consul, we rode down to Bulak, in 
 quest of a boat and crew, for the continuance of our 
 excursion up the Nile. 
 
 After an ineffectual search for some time among 
 the sailors of Bulak, we returned to Cairo. We 
 were loitering among the stalls of the bazar, when 
 
TURKISH BAZAR. 
 
 369 
 
 we suddenly found ourselves wedged in on all sides, * 
 by a dense mass of beings of the most mixed, various, 
 
 TuKKisH Bazar. 
 
 and hideous aspect. They came upon us like the 
 locusts of old, and nearly overwhelmed us before we 
 found out what was the meaning of such a rush of 
 men, women, children, horses, camels, dogs, and dust. 
 We sought and found a safe retreat from the crush 
 of the crowd, in a little nook on one side of a tinker's 
 stall ; and, as the long stream of animated objects 
 poured through the narrow passage, we learned that 
 it was a bridal procession ! The bride was on her 
 way to her future lord, whom, as yet, she had never 
 seen ! She was a person of some distinction, as we 
 were informed, and as a stranger even might have 
 Vol. I.— 47 
 
370 
 
 BRIDAL PROCESSION. 
 
 supposed, from the parade and show. It were im- 
 possible to give an adequate description of the singu- 
 lar appearance of this strange mingled mass, as they 
 
 moved forward to the tinkUng and jarring sounds of 
 music that " marred all tune," and added an exciting 
 wildness to the scene. The procession was headed by 
 
BRIDAL PROCESSION. 
 
 371 
 
 some half-blind musicians. Next came a crowd of 
 women, enveloped in black silk, and wearing long 
 white masks. Then the bride approached. She was 
 
 completely shrouded in an immense Cashmere shawJ, 
 richly embroidered round the edges, and reaching 
 down to her feet. She wore a small coronet, decked 
 
372 
 
 DANCING-WOMEN OF THE EAST. 
 
 with brilliants, and was led by two women in long 
 white masks, and dressed in black silk. The bride 
 and her attendants walked along at a slow pace, un- 
 der an ample canopy, supported by four old men. 
 Then came more musicians, two of whom were beat- 
 ing upon two kettle-drums each, and mounted upon 
 camels. After these, followed a crowd of old men. 
 A fantastically-dressed individual on stilts now ap- 
 peared in the procession. The stilts were about six 
 feet in height, so that, as the fellow strided through 
 the bazar, his feet were on a level with the heads of 
 the tallest persons. Another crowd of old men and 
 boys succeeded the gentleman on stilts ; after whom 
 bounded a number of dancing-girls, begging, dancing, 
 and playing upon tambourines. 
 
 Dancing-women of the East. 
 
 A noble Arabian horse, splendidly caparisoned, and 
 led by his groom, now appeared. Another beautiful 
 
MARRIAGE CONTRACTS. 373 
 
 horse, led also by a groom, and as pompously deco- 
 rated as the first, next came, rode by a small boy, 
 gayly dressed and supported by two men, who slowly 
 walked on each side. The boy was followed by a 
 kind of gilded ark, borne upon men's shoulders. Then 
 came another camel, and more men ; and the uproar, 
 dust, and abomination succeeded, and made up alto- 
 gether, as Sir D anbury Rimtaper would have said, 
 " the most extraordinary spectacle that I had seen 
 since I came into Egypt, 'pon honour !" 
 
 The bride had previously been to the bath with 
 great form, according to custom. The marriage con- 
 tract had been performed at the house of the bride, 
 by proxy on her part, and she was now being con- 
 ducted to her destined home. Her intended was no 
 less in the dark respecting the personal charms of the 
 object of his affections, than she was in regard to 
 those of him under whose protection she was about 
 to place herself. 
 
 So discreetly is the marriage arrangement con- 
 ducted in Egypt, that the intended parties can scarce- 
 ly obtain a glance of each other, even by stealth, un- 
 less they belong to the lower classes ; in which case, 
 the bridegroom may generally see the face of his 
 intended without much difficulty. But should they 
 unfortunately move in the " higher circles," the bride- 
 groom would be quite ignorant of the value of his 
 prize until she was absolutely in his possession. One 
 would naturally suppose that the husband about to 
 lift the veil for the first time from the face of his bride, 
 must experience feelings of a pecuhar nature ; and 
 
374 MARRIAGE-BROKERS. 
 
 should he be a youth whose glowing fancy had pic- 
 tured to his mind an object of surpassing beauty, the 
 state of his feelings, on raising the veil from his wife, 
 should she chance to be a person of exceeding ugli- 
 ness, may be more easily imagined than described. 
 
 Marriage contracts in Egypt are generally effected 
 through the agency of near relations, or a class of 
 individuals who may not inappositely be termed mar- 
 riage-brokers. The parties to be united rarely or 
 never have any thing to do with the preliminaries or 
 the final accomplishment of the marriage agreement, 
 further than to authorize their lawful agents to enter 
 upon negotiations for that purpose. Most commonly 
 the mother, sister, or some other near female relative, 
 describes the personal attractions and qualifications 
 of some one of her acquaintances to the man desi- 
 rous to be married, and makes the selection for him. 
 Should he have no female relatives to whom he could 
 confide this important commission, the order is placed 
 in the hands of a woman, whose regular occupation 
 is to aid men in search of the " better half." 
 
 The commission given by Abraham to his eldest 
 servant,* who was to obtain a wife for Isaac, was not 
 dissimilar, perhaps, to the mode of procedure in many 
 cases in Egypt at the present day. 
 
 The marriage-broker visits the various harems, 
 where she does not fail to be introduced to all the 
 inmates who are of marriageable age. She then re- 
 turns to her employer with an account of her dis- 
 coveries. She represents some of the ladies that she 
 
 *Gen. xxiv. 
 
MARRIAGE PORTIONS. 375 
 
 lias seen as possessing great beauty ; others, not so 
 attractive in personal charms, but rich. The man 
 desirous of obtaining a wife, if satisfied with her re- 
 port, makes her a present, and sends her back to the 
 family of the object of his choice, to acquaint them 
 of his request. She gives an exaggerated account 
 of his wealth, beauty, and excellent qualities. " For 
 instance, she will say of a very ordinary young man, 
 of scarcely any property, and of whose disposition she 
 knows nothing, ' My daughter, the youth who wishes 
 to marry you is young, graceful, elegant, beardless, has 
 plenty of money, dresses handsomely, is fond of deli- 
 cacies, but cannot enjoy his luxuries alone ; he wants 
 you as his companion ; he will give you any thing 
 that money can procure ; he is a stayer-at-home, and 
 will spend his whole time with you, caressing and 
 fondling you.' The parents may betroth their daugh- 
 ter to w hom they please, and marry her to him with- 
 out her consent, if she be not arrived to the ag€ of 
 puberty ; but, after she has attained that age, she may 
 choose a husband for herself, and appoint any man to 
 arrange and effect the marriage."^ 
 
 A marriage portion must in all cases be paid by the 
 bridegroom to his wife. Generally, however, only 
 a part of it is paid before the marriage contract is 
 performed ; the balance being reserved to be handed 
 over to the wife at the time she may be divorced 
 (should that event happen), or at the death of the 
 husband, should she survive him. The amount of 
 the bridal dowry depends upon the wealth of the 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 216, 217. 
 
376 BRIDAL DOWRIES. 
 
 parties to be married, and is usually a subject of some 
 higgling on the part of those who negotiate the match. 
 A much larger sum is usually demanded at first by 
 the friends of the bride, than she expects to receive ; 
 while the agent of the bridegroom is instructed to 
 offer an amount considerably below what he is wil- 
 ling ultimately to give. But after a little chaffering 
 over the matter, the bargain is chnched at a price 
 somewhere between the amounts already named; 
 and both parties doubtless enjoy the silent satisfac- 
 tion of believing that they have made an excellent 
 bargain. 
 
 If the parties are in decent circumstances, and en- 
 joying an income competent to a respectable style 
 of living, a dowry of about one hundred dollars is 
 considered a handsome thing ; though sometimes, un- 
 der similar circumstances, scarcely half that amount 
 is given. This, however, applies only to females in 
 their first marriage, or virgin brides ; while those who 
 may have been once or oftener divorced, or widows, 
 receive a much smaller amount. 
 
 When the parents or friends of the bride are in 
 prosperous circumstances, she is usually presented at 
 the time of her marriage with a decent outfit of fur- 
 niture, jewels, and dresses ; all of which are paraded 
 through the streets on camels, and form a part of the 
 bridal procession. But where the bride happens to 
 be of the lower classes, her parents generally make 
 as good a bargain as they can for themselves, pocket 
 the marriage dowry, and return very little else to the 
 bridegroom except his bride. 
 
LAW RESPECTING MATHIMONY. 377 
 
 This would seem to be scarcely more honourable 
 than the ancient custom that prevailed among the 
 Assyrians, if so much so ; who, says Herodotus, " as- 
 sembled together such of their virgins as were mar- 
 riageable, at an appointed time and place, and some 
 public officer sold them by auction, one by one, be- 
 ginning with the most beautiful. When one was 
 disposed of, and, as may be supposed, for a consid- 
 erable sum, he proceeded to sell the one who was 
 next in beauty, taking it for granted that each man 
 married the maid he purchased. The crier, when he 
 had sold the fairest, selected next the most ugly, or 
 one that w^as deformed ; she also was put up to sale, 
 and assigned to whomsoever would take her with the 
 least money. This money was what the sale of the 
 most beautiful maidens had produced, who were thus 
 obliged to portion out those who were deformed, or 
 less lovely than themselves. No man was permitted 
 to provide a match for his daughter, nor could any 
 one take away the woman he had purchased, without 
 first giving security to make her his wife!'^ 
 
 " The law respecting marriage and concubinage, 
 though express as to the number of wives whom the 
 Moslem may have at the same time, namely, four, is 
 not considered by the less strict as perfectly explicit 
 with regard to the number of concubines he may 
 keep. It is written : ' Take in marriage, of the wo- 
 men who please you, two, three, or four ; but if ye 
 fear that ye cannot act equitably [to so many], take 
 one ; or take those whom your right hands have ac- 
 
 * Herod, i. 196. 
 
 Vol. I.— 48 
 
378 ANCIENT MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 
 
 quired,' that is, slaves, (Koran, chap. iv. 5, 3.) Many 
 of the weakhy Moslems, interpreting this text ac- 
 cording to their desires, marry two, three, or four 
 wives, and keep, besides, several concubine slaves."^ 
 With the exception of the priests, who could only 
 marry one, it was the custom of the ancient Egyp- 
 tians, says Diodorus, " to have as many wives as they 
 pleased ; and all were bound to bring up as many chil- 
 dren as they could, for the further increase of the in- 
 habitants, which tends much to the well-being either 
 of a city or country ."f 
 
 Notwithstanding this liberal license, however, He- 
 rodotus informs us that the ancient Egyptians, " hke 
 the Greeks, confined themselves to one wife." J This 
 assertion is nevertheless contradicted : " That the 
 Greeks did not confine themselves to one wife, we 
 learn from certain authority. Euripides was known 
 to be a woman-hater ; ' but,' says Hume, ' it was be- 
 cause he was coupled to two noisy vixens.' " 
 
 " Of the marriage contracts of the Egyptians," says 
 Wilkinson, " we are entirely ignorant, nor do we find 
 the ceremony represented in the paintings of their 
 tombs. We may, however, conclude that they were 
 regulated by the customs usual among civilized na- 
 tions."§ 
 
 The strange custom of marrying brothers and sis- 
 ters was not uncommon in Egypt in her most en- 
 lightened days. And the marriage of Osiris and 
 Isis,|| the revered deities of Egypt, who were also 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 137. f Diod. i. 82. 
 
 t Herod, ii. 92. Vide note 172. § Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 58. 
 
 J! Diod. i. 27-32. 
 
ANCIENT MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 379 
 
 brother and sister, is supposed to have given pecuUar 
 authority and sanctity to this practice. 
 
 " Many individuals, even among the priesthood of 
 early Pharaonic periods, are found, from the sculp- 
 tures of Thebes, to have married their sisters ; and 
 the same authorities agree v^ith the accounts of an- 
 cient Greek and Roman writers, in proving that some 
 of the Ptolemies adopted this ancient custom."* 
 This custom doubtless prevailed among the people 
 of Abraham, v^^ho also married his sister, and said of 
 his v^ife, "And yet indeed she is my sister : she is the 
 daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my 
 mother: and she became my wife."t 
 
 The Athenians, likevs^ise, w^ho " were a colony of 
 the Saites, which came out of Egypt,"{ are said to 
 have adopted the Egyptian custom of marrying bro- 
 ther and sister ;§ and the connexion of Jupiter and 
 Juno, who were reported to be brother and sister, 
 was no doubt derived from the fabulous account of 
 Osiris and Isis. Herodotus says, that before Cam- 
 byses, " no Persian had ever been known to marry 
 his sister ; but he, being passionately fond of one of 
 his, married the sister he loved, and not long after- 
 ward a second. The younger of these, who accom- 
 panied him to Egypt, he put to death." || 
 
 Many of the modern Egyptians do not avail them- 
 selves of the full extent of their religious license, which 
 allows them four wives ; and still more dispense with 
 the addition of slaves and concubines. Some, for 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 385. « 
 
 t Gen. XX. 12. t Diod. i. 34. § Herod, iii. 31, note. || Ibid. iii. 31. 
 
380 LAW OF DIVORCE. 
 
 the sake of domestic peace, or other reasons, content 
 themselves with one or two wives, and keep no slaves 
 or concubines at all. Others prefer to keep one or 
 more female slaves, and dispense with the more ex- 
 pensive establishment of the wives altogether. 
 
 It is usual for each wife, when there are more than 
 one, to occupy separate rooms ; and even with these 
 arrangements, the jealousies that frequently spring up 
 in the harem render the establishment more like Bed- 
 lam, than the quiet abode of the Christian, who is 
 satisfied with one wife. " Though a man restrict 
 himself to a single wife, he may change as often as 
 he desires ; and there are certainly not many men in 
 Cairo who have not divorced one wife, if they have 
 been long married. The husband may, whenever he 
 pleases, say to his wife, * Thou art divorced :' if it 
 be his wish, whether reasonable or not, she must re- 
 turn to her parents or friends."* 
 
 The liability of a wife to be turned off at any mo- 
 ment by her husband, and in very frequent instances 
 to be cast out destitute upon the world, occasions 
 more uneasiness among the Egyptian women than 
 any other circumstance attending their degraded lives. 
 Sometimes, however, the consoling hope of being able 
 to better their condition in a second, third, or fourth 
 marriage, as the case may be, quite balances the poig- 
 nancy consequent upon a divorcement. They occa- 
 sionally seize with avidity the first opportunity that 
 offers for their legal separation. 
 
 Instances have occurred, where the husband, hav- 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 247. 
 
BLESSINGS OF FRUITFULNESS. 381 
 
 ing divorced his wife in a passion, wished, in a cooler 
 moment, to recall his hasty words ; but she, desirous 
 of being released from the annoyance of his caprice 
 and tyranny, and to try her fortune again in a new 
 alliance, refused to return to him, and availed her- 
 self of the legal steps for continuing the separation. 
 
 A woman may be legally taken back by her hus- 
 band after a divorcement, provided she has not been 
 divorced by him more than twice. After a third di- 
 vorce, however, she cannot be legally taken to wife 
 again by him who has thus divorced her, until she 
 first be married to another husband ; and, having been 
 divorced by him, she may then return to her first 
 love, and marry her old husband, who has already 
 thrice turned her adrift upon the world. 
 
 " The estimation in which the wife is held by her 
 husband and acquaintance, depends in a great degree 
 upon her fruitfulness, and upon the preservation of 
 her children. By all classes, rich and poor, barren- 
 ness is still considered in the East a curse and a re- 
 proach ; and it is regarded as disgraceful in a man to 
 divorce, without some cogent reason, a wife who has 
 borne him a child, especially while her child is living. 
 If, therefore, a woman desire her husband's love, or 
 the respect of others, her giving birth to a child is a 
 source of great joy to herself and him ; and her own 
 interest alone is a sufficient motive for maternal ten- 
 derness. Very little expense is required, in Egypt, 
 for the maintenance of a numerous offspring."* In- 
 deed, so great a blessing and honour is the bearing of 
 many children considered by both sexes in the East, 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 80. 
 
382 CARE OF CHILDREN. 
 
 that a higher or more flattering comphment could 
 hardly be paid to a young lady than to wish her well 
 married, and that she may be the mother of a large 
 number of children. 
 
 On the birth of a child, it is usual for the friends 
 of the mother to make her presents, in proportion to 
 their means and standing. This is generally in mon- 
 ey ; and if the child happen to be a son, a good piece 
 of money is given, and if a daughter be the issue, it 
 is the custom to present a bad piece, or one of very 
 trifling value. 
 
 One would naturally suppose that the importance 
 which Egyptian customs attach to fruitfulness of mo- 
 thers, and the preservation of their ofl*spring, would 
 induce them to be exceedingly watchful over their 
 health and comfort, until they were no longer under 
 their control. Such, I believe, among the more weal- 
 thy Egyptians is the case ; and I have been informed 
 that their children are often spoiled by confinement 
 and efleminate indulgence. But the children which 
 are seen running about the villages of Egypt, often 
 in a state of nudity, present the most neglected ap- 
 pearance imaginable. 
 
 Anciently, it is said to have cost very little to raise 
 children in Egypt. " Owing to the warmth of the 
 climate, they required few clothes, and young chil- 
 dren were in the habit of going without shoes, and 
 with little or no covering to their bodies ; and so tri- 
 fling was the expense of bringing up a child, that it 
 never need cost a parent more than thirteen shilHngs, 
 English, until arrived at man's estate."* 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 53. 
 
PEASANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 
 
 383 
 
 " They bring up their children," says Diodorus, 
 " with very httle cost, and are sparing upon that ac» 
 
 Peasant Women and Children of Egypt, 
 
 count to admiration : for they provide for them broth, 
 made of mean and poor stuff, that may easily be had ; 
 and feed those that are of strength able to bear it, 
 
384 CHEAP MODE OF RAISING CHILDREN. 
 
 with the pith of bukushes, roasted in the embers, and 
 with roots and herbs got in the fens ; sometimes raw, 
 and sometimes boiled, and at other times fried and 
 boiled. Most of their children go barefooted and 
 naked, the climate is so warm and temperate. It 
 costs not the parent, to bring up a child to man's es- 
 tate, above twenty drachms."^ 
 
 Such seems to have been the mode of treatment 
 pursued by the ancient Egyptians toward their chil- 
 dren. It is much the same with the moderns ; and, 
 judging from appearances, I should say that in the 
 common run, it can hardly cost more to raise a child 
 in Egypt at the present day, than was required for 
 that purpose two thousand years ago. 
 
 * Diod. i. 82. 
 
INVITATION FROM DR. O'SQUEEBEY. 
 
 385 
 
 Interior of an Egyptian Tomb, and a Violator of the Dead. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Politeness and Accomplishments of Dr. O^Squeehey. — Dis- 
 section of a Mummy. — Present for the Ladies. — Untoward 
 Accident. — Painful Situation of the Wrinklebottoms. — 
 Sir Danhury Rimtaper sensibly touched. — Violators of the 
 Tombs. — Their Condemnation. — Description of the Egyp- 
 tian Mode of Embalming. — Veneration of the Ancients 
 for the Dead. — Invocation for the Rites of Burial. 
 
 Not long after our arrival in Cairo, w^e received 
 an invitation from Doctor O'Squeebey to accompany 
 his friends the Rimtapers, Builderdashes, Wrinkle- 
 bottoms, and the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix to the 
 Egyptian Library, to witness the dissection of a 
 mummy. 
 
 Doctor O'Squeebey was a thorough- going rene- 
 gade — that is, so far as related to the costume and 
 religion of his native country. He was perfectly 
 au fait with the Arab dress, and their manners and 
 
 Vol. L — 49 
 
386 
 
 ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF DR. O'SQUEEBEY. 
 
 customs. He mounted the red turboosh and flowing 
 turban ; the gay sash, and Turkish shoes ; the heavy 
 pistols, and hanging sabre. He sat cross-legged at 
 his meals, ate with his fingers, and smoked the hoo- 
 kah. He put on, as occasion required, so much of 
 the religion of the Prophet as circumstances and his 
 interest seemed to demand : otherwise he did not trou- 
 ble himself much about serious matters. He was pro- 
 fessedly a zealous emancipationist ; but a great ty- 
 rant in a small way. The only thing he admired in 
 his own country, was its equitable system of govern- 
 ment. He revered the nobility, loved the Queen, and 
 gloried in the exalted idea of still being able to name 
 himself among " her Majesty's most loyal subjects." 
 He had passed many years in Egypt, and was es- 
 teemed the most accomplished phlebotomist and blis- 
 terer in the country. His skill in the latter depart- 
 ment surpassed all praise, and his reputation in the 
 former made the blood of the Egyptians run cold at 
 the very thought of him. With such a reputation, 
 and sentiments so exalted, he could not fail to make 
 an impression, alike gratifying to his own feelings, 
 and enviable in the eyes of his countrymen. Nor 
 did his bearing toward others indicate any ignorance, 
 on his part, of the important position which he occu- 
 pied in the elevated circle that he adorned. To his 
 regular profession of practitioner, Spanish-fly dealer, 
 and pill-merchant, he added the collateral occupation, 
 so common to his countrymen in the East, of tomb- 
 robber and relic-vender. He boasted of having ran- 
 sacked every ancient sepulchre that has yet been dis- 
 
O'SQUEEBEY IN TilE CHARNEL-HOUSE. 387 
 
 covered throughout the vale of the Nile, from Alex- 
 andria to the cataracts. His " scientific researches" 
 among the tombs of the old Egyptians had been at- 
 tended with abundant success, and he was master of 
 the most choice and extensive collection of mummied 
 cats, dogs, snakes, hawks, and lizards ; images, band- 
 ages, incense-pots, jars, jugs, and other fragments of 
 the dead, that had been gathered by any former viola- 
 tor of the tombs. The success which had thus far 
 rewarded his labours, had only served to increase his 
 admiration for the antique, and to fire his ambitious 
 thirst after new discoveries and more unlimited plun- 
 der in the silent abodes of the dead. He was still 
 pushing his operations with a hvely assiduity ; and 
 scarcely a day passed, when he did not knock to 
 pieces one or more old mummy, and pulverize the 
 whole mass in his fingers, in search of little images, 
 rings, or other relics, that are frequently discovered 
 about the bodies of the ancient Egyptians. Indeed, 
 the business of tearing off the grave-clothes and 
 breaking up the mysterious remains, had become an 
 occupation so regular with him, that his love for 
 it amounted to a passion. He was perfectly wed- 
 ded to it. It was a second nature to him. He could 
 no more exist, deprived of this delightful employ- 
 ment, than Mr. Sneezebiter could survive the loss of 
 his snakes. In short. Doctor O'Squeebey and Mr. 
 Sneezebiter were two of the most eminent and dis- 
 tinguished personages in their particular pursuits that 
 were to be found in the country. Mr. Sneezebiter in 
 the snake line, and Doctor O'Squeebey in violating 
 
388 DISSECTION OF A MUMMY, 
 
 the tombs, left all competitors in the distance, and 
 they enjoyed a reputation which none, not even the 
 most envious, had the hardihood to dispute. 
 
 Being aware of the frequency with which Doctor 
 O'Squeebey broke up the old mummies, Mrs. Wrin- 
 klebottom and her amiable daughters had more than 
 hinted a desire to be present to witness the operation. 
 The obhging doctor, with a spirit of gallantry worthy 
 of his own reputation, and characteristic of his coun- 
 trymen, did not fail to take the earliest opportunity 
 possible to gratify the wishes of the Wrinklebottoms 
 and the other English travellers, and he had the kind- 
 ness to give us an invitation also to join the brilliant 
 party, and witness the destruction of the mummy. 
 
 The hour appointed for this exhibition was twelve 
 o'clock, noon ; and all were requested to be punctual 
 at the time, as the dissection would commence pre- 
 cisely at the above-mentioned hour. We had a few 
 trifling articles to pick up in the bazar that morning, 
 and loitered away so much of our time, that we did 
 not return to the hotel in season to accompany our 
 English friends to the library. When we arrived 
 there, we found them all assembled ; and the opera- 
 tion about to commence. The subject for dissec- 
 tion was evidently a man of more than the ordina- 
 ry size, and was thrown down upon his back in the 
 centre of the court of the library. Doctor O'Squee- 
 bey, in a commanding attitude, stood at the head of 
 the mummy, with an old Arab, leaning upon the han- 
 dle of a rusty axe, at his side. The Rimtapers, Buil- 
 derdashes, Wrinklebottoms, the Reverend Mr. Dun- 
 
PRESENTS TO THE LADIES, 389 
 
 derblix, and several other English travellers had 
 formed a hollow square about the mummy, and 
 stood wdth their quizzing-glasses raised, and so in- 
 tent upon the interesting subject before them, that 
 our arrival did not interrupt their fixed regard, nor 
 disturb in the least the solemnity of their meditations. 
 It was then a few minutes past twelve ; and the dis- 
 section would have been already commenced, had 
 not a succinct preliminary account of the art of em- 
 balming, which the doctor was then delivering to the 
 estimable group, delayed it 
 
 The doctor's remarks were pronounced in a deep^ 
 sonorous tone of voice ; and, judging from the appear- 
 ance of his hearers, their effect was interesting and 
 impressive. They were, however, brought to a close 
 as we joined the circle, and the doctor ordered the 
 Arab to commence operations. 
 
 The Arab raised his axe, smote off the head of 
 the mummy, cut it in pieces, and knocked out the 
 teeth. " These," said the doctor, taking the teeth in 
 his hand, " are capital for setting ;" and then put them 
 in his pocket The work of demolition was contin- 
 ued. The bandages were removed from the legs and 
 arms ; and the feet and hands being laid bare, the 
 nails of each were found to be gilded with great care. 
 The ladies, seeing these, were suddenly seized with 
 a taste for forming collections ; and begged some por- 
 tion of the gilded feet and hands, as mementoes of 
 the occasion. These requests were readily granted 
 by the doctor, who proceeded to deal out the shat- 
 tered fragments of the dead to the ladies, as cheer- 
 
390 PROGRESSIVE DEMOLITION OF THE MUMMY. 
 
 fully as Italians distribute flowers at a fete or an an- 
 niversary of a saint. Mrs. Builderdash and daugh- 
 ter received one of the hands and some of the ban- 
 dages. The Misses Rimtaper.were presented with 
 the other hand and a jawbone ; while to the Wrin- 
 klebottoms were presented both feet and a fragment 
 of some other part — but what it was, the distance 
 between them and myself, and the hurried manner in 
 which they concealed it, rendered it impossible for 
 
 me to determine The distribution having taken 
 
 place, and the acknowledgments of the ladies having 
 been returned to Doctor O'Squeebey, the further de- 
 struction of the mummy was resumed. The Arab 
 now gave a heavy blow upon the breast, and laid 
 open the trunk of the body. Nothing extraordinary, 
 however, was discovered by this development ; and, 
 contrary to the general expectation, no images, rings, 
 or valuable ornaments whatever were found, though 
 the doctor was indefatigable in the examination, — 
 crumbling the particles and fragments in his fingers, 
 and shaking the rags and patches, as they were 
 stripped off, with the most scrutinizing search. With 
 the exception of occasional exclamations of surprise, 
 an almost profound silence reigned among the spec- 
 tators. 
 
 Sir Danbury had pronounced it " a demmed extra- 
 ordinary spectacle, 'pon honour ;" and Mr. Wrinkle- 
 bottom thought the fragments which had been pre- 
 sented to his ladies " were decidedly most capital spe- 
 cimens." Very little else had been uttered by any 
 one ; and all eyes and glasses were most intently riv- 
 
AN UNTOWARD ACCIDENT. 
 
 391 
 
 eted upon the work of destruction. The old Arab 
 had knocked off the arms and legs, and broken the 
 upper part of the body to pieces ; and was endeav- 
 ouring to shatter the more obdurate and compact part 
 across the hips. He had given this several smart 
 blows, but it still remained inflexible. At last, as if 
 piqued at the slight effect of the blows already in- 
 flicted, the old man raised his weapon to a more ele- 
 vated and determined point, bit his lips, and brought 
 down his axe with all his strength. This last unfor- 
 tunate attack was a side stroke ; and, most sad to re- 
 late, it missed the object at which it was aimed, and 
 the axe, flying from the hands of the Arab, struck 
 Mrs. Wrinklebottom a most violent blow on one of 
 her legs ! On the occurrence of this accident, the 
 whole party were thrown into a state of painful con- 
 sternation. Mrs. Wrinklebottom uttered a frightful 
 scream, fell helpless upon the ground, and said " she 
 was a dead woman !" One of the Misses Wrinkle- 
 bottom swooned, and the other was so overcome with 
 fright as to be nearly insensible. Doctor O'Squee- 
 bey was so much incensed at this awkward stroke of 
 the Arab, that he drew his sabre and threatened to 
 cut him down on the spot ! Possibly he would 
 have carried his threat into execution, had not the 
 old Arab taken to his heels and run away. Mr. 
 Wrinklebottom was in great trepidation. His ladies 
 and their mummy fragments were all scattered upon 
 the ground, and to all appearance, two of the ladies 
 were in the agonies of death ! He seized hold of 
 Mrs. Wrinklebottom, and endeavoured to raise her in 
 
392 DISTRESS OF THE WRINKLEBOTTOMS. 
 
 his arms. The Builderdashes, at the same moment 
 rushed forward and offered their assistance ; but it 
 seemed to be of httle use. The Reverend Mr. Dun- 
 derbhx, in making commendable efforts to lend a 
 helping hand, unfortunately came down with an iron- 
 shod boot and the whole weight of his body upon 
 the lame foot of Sir Danbury Rimtaper ! Sir Dan- 
 bury let his glass drop from his eye, and danced 
 about the court with painful agility. He swore " it 
 was the most extraordinary spectacle that he had 
 ever seen. Dem me," said he, " I believe we are all 
 to be martyred on the spot, 'pon honour !" The 
 uproar, fright, and confusion that prevailed among us 
 for a few moments were very great. However, we at 
 length mustered sufficient presence of mind to pick 
 up the ladies who had fallen, and convey them into 
 the library. Mr. Wrinklebottom caught up a pitcher 
 of cold water that stood upon the table, and dashed 
 the whole of it into the face of the Miss Wrinkle- 
 bottom who had fainted, and she revived. Some 
 slight restoratives, which Doctor O'Squeebey hap- 
 pened to have about him, being administered to Mrs. 
 Wrinklebottom, she came to herself sufficiently to 
 permit a partial examination of her wound. Her leg 
 was found to have been struck a violent blow by the 
 head of the axe, a little above the knee. The con- 
 tusion was very severe. The skin had already be- 
 come much discoloured, and the part began to swell. 
 It seemed to be the opinion of Doctor O'Squeebey, 
 at first, that the bone was fractured. She was in 
 great agony ; and a litter being brought, she was car- 
 ried to the hotel for a more thorough examination. 
 
# 
 
 SACRILEGIOUS VIOLATION. 393 
 
 Among the greatest curiosities of Egypt, a country 
 where almost every object is peculiar to a degree 
 which often strikes the traveller with surprise, the 
 embalmed bodies of the ancient inhabitants, and their 
 extraordinary preservation for a period of more than 
 thirty centuries, through all the changes and convul- 
 sions of nature, and the ruthless revolutions of man, 
 may perhaps be considered the most remarkable. 
 
 The gilding and colours upon the coffins are still 
 fresh, and the wood of which they were constructed 
 exhibits no indication of decay. Raise the lid ! — 
 There is the body of the silent inmate, preserved in 
 perfect form. The bandages, though browned with 
 age, are yet entire ; and the mysterious writing upon 
 the historical roll of papyrus resting upon the breast, 
 is still legible. The head, the hair, the teeth, the 
 arms, the legs, the hands, the feet, the skin, the 
 bones, the sinews are all preserved, and the whole 
 mortal fabric is there, laid in its narrow house, 
 wrapped in the habiliments of the grave, with all the 
 care and neatness that friendship could dictate, or • 
 art achieve. These sad but astonishing remains 
 of a civihzed and enlightened people, having for a 
 period of more than three thousand years been per- 
 mitted the sanctity and repose of death's long, cold 
 sleep, are now rudely torn from their silent tombs, 
 where they were laid by the hands of piety and af- 
 fection ! their coffin-shrouds sacrilegiously stripped 
 away ; their trifling trinkets filched by the spoiler ; 
 and their naked bodies crumbled and scattered to 
 the winds by Christian hands ! 
 
 Vol. L — 50 
 
394 SENTIMENTS OF PAUSANIAS. 
 
 How Strangely does this wanton and sacrilegious 
 feeling ol those who are ambitious to be numbered 
 among the inhabitants of Christian natians, contrast 
 with the high and noble feelings of respect for the 
 dead evinced by the ancients ! 
 
 Who can wander through the extensive halls of 
 the British Museum, and there witness the cart-loads 
 of dead bodies, coffins, and grave-clothes filched from 
 the tombs of Egypt by the English tomb-violators, 
 untouched by the just sentiments of their country- 
 man, who, in reference to such outrages upon the 
 grave, has said : — 
 
 " What guilt 
 Can equal violations of the dead ? 
 The dead, how sacred ! — sacred is the dust 
 Of this heaven-laboured form !"* 
 
 The scorn and indignation with which Pausanias 
 received the advice of his noble friend of iEgina, 
 Lampon, who proposed to the Spartan conqueror at 
 the battle of Platsea to offer the same indignities to 
 the body of Mardonius which Mardonius and Xerxes 
 inflicted upon the remains of his uncle Leonidas, who 
 was slain at Thermopylae, strikingly indicates the ab- 
 horrence with which every violation of the dead, not 
 of their friends only, but even of those of their ene- 
 mies, was looked upon by the ancient Greeks. 
 
 " Friend of iEgina," replied Pausanias, " I thank 
 you for your good intentions, and commend your fore- 
 sight ; but what you say, violates every principle of 
 equity. After elevating me, my country, and this re- 
 cent victory to the summit of fame, you again de- 
 
 * Dr. Young's Complaint, Night iii. 190. 
 
ANCIENT MODE OF EMBALMING. 395 
 
 press us to infamy, in recommending me to inflict 
 vengeance on the dead. You say, indeed, that by 
 such an action I shall exalt my character ; but I think 
 it more consistent with the conduct of barbarians 
 than of Greeks, as it is one of those things for which 
 we reproach them." And he said, in conclusion — 
 " I would advise you in future, having these senti- 
 ments, to avoid my presence ; and I would have you 
 think it a favour, that I do not punish you.'"^ 
 
 The same sentiment has often been expressed by 
 ancient and modern authors. Homer says, — 
 
 " T' insult the dead is cruel and unjust." 
 
 The Egyptian art of embalming is supposed to 
 have been lost. Some accounts of the process, how^- 
 ever, given by ancient authors who travelled in Egypt 
 and became acquainted with their manners and cus- 
 toms, when this art was successfully practised, are 
 still extant ; and it is not a little curious and interest- 
 ing to examine them. 
 
 Herodotusf informs us that the Egyptians had three 
 modes of embalming. The first and most expensive 
 was only adopted in embalming the bodies of distin- 
 guished personages and those of ample fortunes. In 
 cases of this kind, the brain was extracted through the 
 nostrils by an infusion of a certain kind of drug, and 
 by means of crooked iron instruments made for that 
 purpose. The intestines were taken out through an 
 incision made in the side, and thoroughly cleansed, 
 washed with palm wine, and then sprinkled with 
 
 * Herod, ix. 79. t Ibid. ii. 85-87. 
 
396 ANCIENT MODE OF EMBALMING. 
 
 powdered aromatics. The body was afterward filled 
 with the powder of pure myrrh, cassia, and other 
 perfumes. Being then sewed up, it was covered with 
 nitre, and lay in that state during the space of sev- 
 enty days. It was then washed and closely wrapped 
 in bandages of cotton saturated with a liquid gum, 
 used by the Egyptians as glue. In this condition 
 it was returned to the relatives or friends of the 
 deceased, who enclosed it in a wooden case having 
 the resemblance of the human figure, and placed it 
 against the wall in some apartment of the house ap- 
 propriated to that use, or it was immediately depos- 
 ited in the family tomb. This was the most costly 
 style of embalming practised among the Egyptians. 
 
 Another mode, which was much less expensive, 
 though attended with equal success, was adopted in 
 embalming the bodies of those in more moderate and 
 less pretending circumstances. In cases of this kind, 
 no incision was made in the body, nor were the in- 
 testines drawn out, as in the above-mentioned in- 
 stance. An unguent, made from the cedar, was in- 
 jected into the body, and proper means being used 
 to prevent the escape of the injected oil, it was then 
 covered with nitre for the space of seventy days. At 
 the expiration of this period, the liquor introduced 
 into the body by injection was withdrawn, and the 
 bowels and intestines came away with it. The nitre 
 having eaten away the flesh, nothing remained but 
 the skin and bones. In this state the body was re- 
 turned to the relations, and no further care or expense 
 was bestowed upon it by the embalmers. 
 
ANCIENT MODE OF EMBALMING. 397 
 
 The poor were embalmed in a manner far less 
 costly even than this. . A particular kind of ablution 
 having been passed through the body, it wrs laid in 
 nitre the usual time of seventy days ; after w^hich it 
 was taken out and cleansed, and then returned to 
 the hands whence it had been received. 
 
 The account given by Diodorus,* though slightly 
 varying in some particulars from the description of 
 Herodotus, is nevertheless strongly confirmatory of 
 what is said by the latter concerning the Egyptian 
 mode of embalming, and is even more minute. He 
 informs us that forty, instead of seventy days, were 
 required for the process of embalming; and he is 
 borne out in this assertion by the following Scriptural 
 account given of the embalming and burial of Jacob : 
 "And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians 
 to embalm his father : and the physicians embalmed 
 Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him (for so 
 are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed), 
 and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and 
 ten days."t 
 
 The bodies of the dead were considered so sacred 
 by the ancient Egyptians, that the least injury inflict- 
 ed upon them, even by the embalmers, was sure to 
 bring down the indignation of the people. The in- 
 cision made in the side for the extraction of the in- 
 testines, required in the most costly mode of embalm- 
 ing, was made with "an Ethiopian stone ;"{ and the 
 person whose duty it was to inflict this necessary 
 wound was supposed to have offered an indignity, 
 
 ♦ Diod. i. 90. t Gen. 1. 2, 3. \ Diod. i. 91. 
 
398 ANCIENT MODE OF EMBALMING. 
 
 and to have caused an injury to the body of the de- 
 ceased ; and immediately upon cutting so much of 
 the flesh as was prescribed by law, he ran away, 
 might and main, and all persons that were present 
 pursued him with execrations, and pelted him with 
 stones, as if he were guilty of some horrid offence ; 
 for they looked upon him as a hateful person, as also 
 upon all who offered violence to a dead body, or did 
 it any injury whatever. "As soon as they come to 
 the wounded body," says Diodorus, " one of the em- 
 balmers thrusts up his hand through the wound, into 
 the dead, and draws out all the intestines, but the 
 reins and the heart. Another cleanses all the bowels, 
 and washes them in Phoenician wine, mixed with di- 
 vers aromatic spices. Having at last washed the body, 
 they first anoint it all over with the oil of cedar and 
 other precious ointments for the space of forty days 
 together ; that done, they rub it well with myrrh, cin- 
 namon, and such like things, not only apt and effec- 
 tual for long preservation, but for the sweet scenting of 
 the body also, and so deliver it to the kindred of the 
 dead, with every member so whole and entire, that 
 no part of the body seems to be altered, till it come 
 to the very hair of the eyelids and the eyebrows, in- 
 somuch that the beauty and shape of the face seems 
 just as it was before. By which means, many of the 
 Egyptians laying up the bodies of their ancestors in 
 stately monuments, perfectly see the true visage and 
 countenance of those that were buried many ages 
 before they themselves were born/'* 
 
 * Diod, i, 91. 
 
ANCIENT VENERATION FOR THE DEAD. 399 
 
 Another singular custom which prevailed among 
 the Egyptians was, as Herodotus says — "At the en- 
 tertainments of the rich, just as the company was 
 about to rise from the repast, a small coffin was car- 
 ried round, containing a perfect representation of a 
 dead body : it was in size sometimes of one, but never 
 of more than two cubits, and as it was shown to the 
 guests in rotation, the bearer exclaimed, ' Cast your 
 eyes on this figure : after death, you yourself will re- 
 semble it ; drink then and be happy.' Such were the 
 customs they observed at their entertainments."* 
 
 The veneration and respect for their departed kin- 
 dred, imposed by the natural ties of blood, and the 
 powerful promptings of their religion, doubtless re- 
 ceived no trifling stimulus among the Egyptians in 
 thus honouring their dead, from the fact of its being 
 lawful among them to pledgef the mummied body of 
 a parent or friend to a creditor for debts or loans of 
 money. In case of pledging the dead bodies of their 
 friends, the creditor took possession of the family 
 tomb, and held it until the liquidation of his claim ; 
 and so disreputable was it considered among them 
 not to redeem this sacred deposite, that those who 
 were guilty of it could not be buried themselves in 
 the family tomb, or any other vault, nor could they 
 bury any one of their descendants.J Such as were 
 in debt, were denied the right of burial ; and their 
 dead bodies might be attached and held by their cred- 
 itors until their kindred came forward and discharged 
 the claims against them. If T am not very much mis- 
 
 * Herod, ii. 78. t Diod. i. 92. t Herod, ii. 136. 
 
400 ANCIENT VENERATION FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 taken, a similar law of Great Britain exists in full 
 force at the present day. 
 
 Though there may be little in the cold, damp pre- 
 cincts of the tomb to cheer the melancholy feelings 
 of a dying mortal ; yet in every age, mankind have 
 evinced a strong aversion to their lifeless remains be- 
 ing left unburied, a prey to accident, and to the rapa- 
 cious beasts of the field and birds of the air. 
 
 Upon the minds of the superstitious Egyptians this 
 idea must have acted with immense power. Their 
 religion, to which they were politically wedded and 
 bigotedly devoted, taught them that their lives could be 
 of little use further than to build their tombs and pre- 
 pare for the long repose of death. And the harrow- 
 ing thought, if seriously entertained, of being deprived 
 of the right of burial after death ; the eclat, pomp, 
 and ceremonies usually attendant upon their fune- 
 rals, could hardly fail to haunt the dying Egyptian, 
 and fill his soul with gloom and despair. This im- 
 pression, it is supposed, could have acted with scarce- 
 ly less weight in the early ages of the world upon 
 the inhabitants of contemporaneous nations. 
 
 Their sentiments upon this point are probably no 
 more beautifully than faithfully expressed by Homer, 
 in the following invocation of the ghost of Patroclus 
 to Achilles, for the last sad offices of his surviving 
 friend : 
 
 " Thou sleep'st, Achilles ! while Patroclus, erst 
 
 Thy most beloved, in death forgotten lies. 
 
 I would pass the gates of Hades ; for the shadows of the dead 
 
 Now drive me from their fellowship afar, 
 
 And, the wide river interposed, I roam 
 
 The yawning gulfs of Tartarus alone. 
 
 4 
 
INVOCATION FOR BURIAL RITES. 401 
 
 And grant, grant, that, joining hands, we take 
 One mutual, long farewell ! for, favoured once 
 With my last rites, I visit earth no more. 
 * # * # Refuse not to perform 
 My last injunction. Bury not my bones 
 From thine apart, but in one social tomb. 
 
 So, in one vase, the golden one, by gift 
 
 From Thetis thine, our mingled bones may rest." 
 
 And Ulysses, of his visit to the infernal regions, 
 says: 
 
 " There, wandering through the gloom, I first surveyed, 
 New to the realms of death, Elpenor's shade ; 
 His cold remains, all naked to the sky, 
 On distant shores, unwept, unburied lie." 
 
 And the spectre, asking Ulysses' aid in obtaining 
 the rites of the tomb, — 
 
 •' But lend me aid, I now conjure thee lend, 
 JBy the soft tie and sacred name of friend ; 
 By thy fond consort, by thy father's cares. 
 By loved Telemachus's blooming years. 
 
 The tribute of a tear is all I crave, 
 And the possession of a peaceful grave." 
 
 Vol. I. — 51 
 
402 
 
 JEWS IN EGYPT. 
 
 Memlooks. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Jews in the Metropolis of Egypt. — JYatural Hatred of Jews 
 and Moslems. — Mode of executing Jews. — • Slave-market 
 of Cairo. — Tombs of the Memlooks. — Memlook Kings. — 
 Their Origin, Power, and Destruction. — Circassian Slaves, 
 — Parents sell their own Children. 
 
 After the unhappy termination of the mummy 
 scene, having a few leisure hours to dispose of, we 
 resolved to turn them to some account in further 
 exploring the curiosities of Cairo. On our way to 
 the slave-market, we passed through the section of 
 the town inhabited by the Jews. We did not require 
 to be informed when we had reached it ; for the same 
 peculiar cast of visage which identifies the poor He- 
 
MUTUAL HATRED OF JEWS AND MOSLEMS. 403 
 
 brew in all other parts of the world, met us here in the 
 little dark, stived-up passage-ways of the Jews' quar- 
 ter in Cairo. As is usual in most of the large cities 
 of Europe, the Jews in the metropolis of Egypt hud- 
 dle together, and live in a close, filthy, and vile part 
 of the town. Many of the lanes (they cannot be 
 called streets) in the Jews' quarter are so narrow that 
 two persons can scarcely pass abreast. There are 
 about three thousand Hebrews in Cairo, and between 
 five and six thousand altogether in Egypt. Those 
 we saw in Cairo, with few exceptions, appeared mis- 
 erable in the extreme. They looked more wretched 
 than the Arabs. They had sore eyes, swollen, ca- 
 daverous faces, long beards, tattered garments — and 
 a more degraded race of beings could not be found 
 in any part of the world. 
 
 Hated and contemned by the Moslems, they are 
 compelled to pay tribute to the Turks ; and they 
 tamely submit to insult and indignity from the mean- 
 est Arabs. The animosity of the Moslems toAvard the 
 Jews is no less proverbial than that of the Jews to- 
 ward the Moslems. So abominable are the Jews in 
 the eyes of the Turks, that when any of them are 
 condemned to suffer death, they are invariably hanged 
 — lest, should they be beheaded, according to the 
 usual mode of executing criminals in the East, the 
 sword should he defiled hy the Hood of a Jew ! The 
 name of Jew, among the Egyptians, is synonymous 
 with the most opprobrious epithets. The mule- 
 drivers, when nettled by the obstinacy of their head- 
 strong animals, after exhausting their strength in 
 
404 TYRANNY OF JEWISH RABBIS. 
 
 whipping them, and their imaginations in endeavour- 
 ing to find words for an adequate expression of their 
 displeasure, find a consohng revenge by applying to 
 their mules and jackasses the hateful name of Jew ! 
 
 The Jews have several synagogues in their quar- 
 ter of the town, and are very strict in their devotion- 
 al services. They are organized and governed con- 
 formably to the law of Moses ; and submissively range 
 themselves under their rabbis and high priests, who 
 are tyrannical and oppressive in their administration. 
 
 A Jew, one morning w^hile it was yet dark, passing 
 the cofFee-shop of a Moslem with whom he was ac- 
 quainted, and seeing a person there whom he mistook 
 for the master, said, " Good morning. Sheik Moham- 
 med ;" but the only response to this civil salutation 
 was an angry rebuke from one of his brethren for 
 addressing a Jew by a name so despicable. The of- 
 fender was forthwith dragged before the high priest, 
 who caused him to be severely bastinaded for the 
 crime, notwithstanding the protestations of the delin- 
 quent that he committed this offence unintentionally.* 
 
 This anecdote will serve to illustrate the hatred 
 which the Jews entertain toward the Moslems, as 
 well as to exhibit the tyranny and wanton cruelty of 
 their high priests. 
 
 Some of the Jews are wealthy ; but, fearful of ex- 
 citing the envious and marauding disposition of the 
 Moslems, they make little display of their riches, ex- 
 cept at home. When going into the street, they are 
 careful to change their dress, and to give themselves 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 345. 
 
JEWS OF CAIRO. 405 
 
 as shabby and mean an appearance as possible. The 
 Jews of Cairo, as in all other places, have not only 
 a pecuHarity in appearance, but their occupations are 
 also peculiar, or such as Jews, wherever situated, are 
 found to engage in. Money-changers, jewellers, gold 
 and silver smiths, pawnbrokers, and old clothes-ven- 
 ders are found in any quantity among the Jews of 
 Egypt. The same spirit of avarice, and the same 
 disposition to overreach in commercial transactions, 
 which distinguish the lower classes of Jews in other 
 countries, where they are less oppressed, act with 
 much stronger force upon the Jews in Cairo ; and 
 often bring them into perilous contact with the 
 government, where, frequently, their lives only can 
 atone for indulging their inordinate desires after 
 wealth. A Jew money-changer once lost his life in 
 Cairo for five cents ! The Pacha having issued a 
 decree prohibiting the circulation of a certain Turk- 
 ish coin, called 'adleeyehs, for more than fifteen pias- 
 ters ; and a Jew who had demanded and taken sixteen 
 for the same piece of money, being convicted of the 
 offence, was hung forthwith.* 
 
 The Jews have found Egypt, ever since the death 
 of Joseph, a country of oppression and tyranny 
 toward the people of their nation ; and, with the ex- 
 ception of some brief periods, particularly under the 
 early reign of the Macedonian dynasty, their condi- 
 tion in that country has been little better than was 
 that of their ancestors in the days of Moses. They 
 have existed there only in a state of bondage, degra- 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 346, 347. 
 
406 SLAVE-MARKET OF CAIRO. 
 
 dation, and fear. They have always been tributary 
 to government, and often in a state of Uteral slave- 
 ry. Ptolemy Philadelphus, in his reign, ransomed 
 a hundred and twenty thousand Jews who were then 
 slaves in Egypt. When Alexandria fell into the 
 hands of the Saracens, there were forty thousand 
 tributary Jews in that city alone. Their numbers 
 in Egypt have greatly dwindled with the decaying 
 power and declining civihzation of that country; 
 while their physical and moral condition cannot be 
 said to have improved. They are generally the first 
 to suffer in case of any sudden outbreak among the 
 people : are frequently plundered, and almost daily in- 
 sulted. They live in a state of perpetual fear, re- 
 ligiously contemning the Christians, bitterly hating 
 the Moslems, and receive little or no sympathy from 
 any quarter. When the plague breaks out in Egypt, 
 its ravages among the Jews are most appalling. Death 
 sweeps down their ranks, threatening total annihila- 
 tion to their race in the land. What stronger evi- 
 dence can be adduced of the truth of Holy Writ, 
 than the present condition of the poor Israelites 1 
 
 We entered the court of a dilapidated old building, 
 with a rickety balcony run round the second story, 
 having little dark cells opening upon the court on all 
 sides. This was the slave-market. Here we saw 
 man in a state of ignorance, degradation, and misery, 
 but little removed from the mere animal or brute cre- 
 ation. It would be impossible to exhibit more de- 
 plorable specimens of our species than we saw in 
 that sink of filth, disease, and death. There were 
 
SLAVE»MARKET OF CAIRO. 407 
 
 slaves (mostly from Nubia, Abyssinia, and Dongola) 
 in all the stalls, or in groups, sitting upon the ground 
 or on the balcony. Some were handsome figures, 
 and compactly built ; though by far the greater num- 
 ber were ugly, deformed, and diseased. Their teeth, 
 without exception, were white and beautiful. Some 
 were comely, had well-formed faces, and large, dark, 
 expressive eyes. They had scarcely any clothes on 
 them, and what they had were swarming with vermin. 
 The slave-dealers, watching over the stale articles 
 of their traffic, CAddently anxious to be relieved from 
 the responsibility of their charge, were importunate 
 to strike a bargain ; and thought that we, like our no- 
 ble friend Lord Scatterberry, were in pursuit of beauty 
 and youth. They spared no pains in exhibiting their 
 fairest specimens ; and turned them round and round 
 before us, that we might see on all sides of them, and 
 then ordered them to walk up and down the court. 
 The poor slaves, looking forward to a life of servi- 
 tude and toil as a happy release from a den of such 
 misery, tried to show themselves off to the best ad- 
 vantage. But when we passed along without making 
 an offer, the slaves assumed a disconsolate, gloomy 
 air, and the dealers harshly upbraided them for not 
 conducting themselves toward us in a more winning 
 manner. Many sat or lay upon the ground, appa- 
 rently unconscious of what was passing. The rava- 
 ges of disease were upon them ; and death, to all ap- 
 pearance, would be but too happy an exchange for 
 their miserable existence in a state of so much want 
 and wretchedness. Their sunken eyes rolled witli a 
 
408 TOMBS OF THE MEMLOOKS. 
 
 ghastly and vacant gaze ; their emaciated bodies and 
 withered hmbs lay motionless, or were drawn into 
 a collapsed and inanimate heap, revolting to the sight, 
 and touching to the feelings of humanity. We soon 
 satisfied our curiosity in the slave-market ; and, ta- 
 king a turn through the Turkish bazar, went out at 
 the " Gate of Victory," to view the tombs of the 
 Memlooks. 
 
 These extraordinary monuments of an extinct dy- 
 nasty of Egyptian rulers, stand on the east side of 
 the town ; and, although within full view of the city, 
 they rest amid all the gloom and desolation of the 
 wilderness. Were they in the centre of Arabia, they 
 could not be more completely in the desert. They 
 are of the Saracenic order of architecture, and have 
 an imposing and grand effect. To each is attached 
 a mosque, school, and dwelling. But they are all in 
 a state of rapid decay. Like all things else in Turk- 
 ish hands, the tombs of the Memlooks will crumble 
 into dust, without having the least effort made to 
 arrest their gradual fall. 
 
 The Memlook kings raised themselves from bond- 
 men to the throne, and governed Egypt for the space 
 of two hundred and sixty-seven years, with a rigour 
 equalled only by the barbarous atrocities of their 
 Turkish conquerors. Becoming at last tributary and 
 degraded vassals of the Sultan of Turkey, the rem- 
 nant who were left still held the semblance of power 
 which was intrusted to them by the conqueror, to 
 restrain the ambitious designs of their nominal mas- 
 ter, the Pacha of Egypt. Though pohcy dictated a 
 
NAPOLEON IN EGYPT. 409 
 
 show of obedience to the decrees of the Porte, 
 treachery, intrigue, poison, strangulation, and the 
 sword again virtually raised the Memlooks to abso- 
 lute power over the country. 
 
 When Napoleon invaded Egypt, whatever may 
 have been his ulterior designs, he declared war against 
 the Memlooks only ; who, at that time, composed the 
 military strength of the country. The twenty-four 
 beys, who at that period governed Egypt, were se- 
 lected from the ranks of the Memlooks ; and they 
 rendered the power of the Pacha, who received his 
 appointment from the Porte, a complete nullity. He 
 was often made the pitiful tool to carry into effect 
 their ambitious designs, and to consummate their 
 atrocious enormities. Napoleon chastised and drove 
 them from the country. But, upon the general resto- 
 ration instituted by the " Holy Alliance" subsequently 
 to the downfall of Bonaparte, a lurking, lingering 
 remnant of the Memlooks again made their appear- 
 ance in Egypt, and essayed to exercise their former 
 sway and control over the Pacha. But a fearful 
 change had come over them ; and a man of stern de- 
 cision and undoubted bravery held the destiny of the 
 country. Mehemet Ali, through the various arts and 
 intrigues common to the East for the acquisition of 
 power, had raised himself to the viceroyalty of Egypt. 
 The Memlooks had tried in vain to annihilate him 
 and his power ; and the Sultan, in conjunction with 
 them, had made frequent efforts to defeat his ambi- 
 tious purposes. But, with that consummate address, 
 bribery, and intrigue which he brought effectually to 
 
 Vol. T.-— 52 
 
410 
 
 BRITISH ATROCITIES PUNISHED. 
 
 bear upon the imperial court, he successfully baffled 
 the cunning designs of the Porte ; while he held the 
 Memlooks at defiance by the inflexible bravery and 
 attachment of his Albanian soldiers. 
 
 After various ineffectual struggles with the viceroy, 
 in all of which the Memlooks suffered severely, they 
 proposed, upon the invasion of Egypt by the English 
 in 1807, to form a friendly alliance with the Pacha 
 for the purpose of inflicting a merited chastisement 
 upon their common enemy. A proposition at once 
 so conciliatory and so favourable at that interesting 
 moment, could not fail to be listened to by the vice- 
 roy, and was embraced by him with alacrity. 
 
 The united forces of Mehemet Ali and the Mem- 
 looks met the English invaders (who had already 
 landed in Egypt, possessed themselves of Alexandria, 
 and committed their usual atrocities upon the defence- 
 less citizens), cut them to pieces, and hung their de- 
 voted heads over the " Gate of Victory," as an im- 
 pressive trophy, upon the walls of the metropolis. 
 The country being no longer a prey to the rapacity 
 of foreign invaders, now left the seeds of jealousy, 
 discord, intrigue, and assassination, which deeply 
 rankled in the bosom of the rival powers, ample op- 
 portunity to germinate and shoot into fearful activity. 
 
 The authority of Mehemet Ali was still acknowl- 
 edged and obeyed by the Memlooks, and the sem- 
 blance of friendship subsisted between them and the 
 viceroy. But each, actuated by the base motives 
 prompted by mutual and bitter hatred, only sought a 
 favourable opportunity for wreaking vengeance up- 
 
THE PACHA AND THE MEMLOOKS. 411 
 
 on the other, and to be rid for ever of a hated 
 and detested foe. Fortunately for the viceroy, and 
 perhaps for the cause of humanity, a plausible pre- 
 text was afforded for calling the Memlooks together ; 
 and for their voluntarily placing themselves in the 
 pov^er of the Pacha, w^ithout exciting on their part 
 the least suspicion of the intended execution of his 
 murderous designs, until it was too late for them to 
 effect an escape from impending destruction. A 
 youthful son of Mehemet Ali had been presented by 
 the Grand Seignior with the dignity and order of a 
 pacha. His father had appointed him general of the 
 army which was soon to march, in conformity to the 
 commands of the Porte, to commence a hostile attack 
 upon the Wahabees in Arabia. The 1st day of March, 
 1811, was appointed for the investiture of the young 
 general ; and a splendid fete was to be given in hon- 
 our of the event at the citadel where the ceremony 
 was to take place. The Memlooks were invited to 
 join in the festivities. They accordingly appeared 
 at the time appointed, with Chahin Bey at their head, 
 attired in their richest and most splendid uniforms. 
 They presented themselves at the audience-chamber, 
 and congratulated the viceroy, by whom they were 
 cordially received and treated with much affability. 
 They were presented with coffee and sherbet, and 
 Mehemet Ali, with great openness of heart and appa- 
 rent sincerity, addressed himself to each, with many 
 flattering expressions of friendship and esteem — a 
 course of conduct calculated to lull all lurking sus- 
 picions in the breasts of the Memlooks, if any at that 
 time had disturbed them. 
 
412 DESTRUCTION OF THE MEMLOOKS. 
 
 The ceremonies at the citadel being completed, the 
 procession was formed and ordered to move into the 
 town. The troops of the viceroy, as usual, preceded 
 the Memlooks. When they were all compactly 
 wedged into the narrow passage cut through the sol- 
 id rock, with high and insurmountable barriers on 
 each side — the troops of the viceroy having passed 
 out, the portals at both ends of the deadly pass were 
 immediately closed ! Soldiers had been ordered to 
 the heights overlooking the Memlooks, thus caught 
 in a trap ; and they now poured a destructive fire 
 upon their victims, until they were slaughtered almost 
 to a man ! The town was subsequently ransacked 
 and plundered by the soldiers for two whole days, 
 under the pretence of searching for the Memlooks. 
 Some were found in the harem of the viceroy and 
 the house of his son, having taken shelter there in 
 the hope that their lives might be spared ; but they 
 were all dragged from their hiding-places, and imme- 
 diately decapitated. The body of their leader was 
 treated with every possible indignity. A rope was 
 passed round the neck, and his lifeless carcass dragged 
 through the most public streets of Cairo. Five hun- 
 dred houses are said to have been sacked in the pop- 
 ular fury, before the brutal excesses of the soldiery 
 could be arrested. Nearly five hundred of the gal- 
 lant enemies of the viceroy lay dead at his feet ; and 
 a much more numerous host of their attendants, who 
 usually accompanied them as servants, were mingled 
 with the lifeless bodies of their masters. Not less than 
 eleven or twelve hundred lives were sacrificed on the 
 
PERILOUS ESCAPE. 41 3 
 
 spot. Orders were given to pursue the devoted Mem- 
 looks w^ho yet survived, to the utmost borders of the 
 country. One man alone, of all their number, made 
 his escape. He, being detained on business, did not 
 leave the palace in time to join his companions be- 
 fore they had entered the fatal pass. The gates were 
 closed as he mounted his horse ; and he was left, shut 
 in on all sides, and completely in the hands of his 
 enemies, who thirsted for his blood. His suspicions 
 were at once aroused, and the brisk firing of musketry 
 which immediately ensued along the whole line of 
 the passage from the summit of the rocks, confirmed 
 the worst construction that he had put upon the ex- 
 traordinary circumstances of the case. He was fully 
 aware that the fatal moment had arrived, and that 
 there was not an instant to be lost. There was no 
 way of escape, however, except down a perpendicu- 
 lar precipice forty feet in height ! Already he was a 
 doomed man, and death hung suspended over him as 
 by a hair. He hesitated not ; but spurred his noble 
 Arabian to the brink, and leaped the fearful height ! 
 His horse was killed dead on the spot, and he him- 
 self escaped the dangers of the fall and the showers 
 of the enemy's fire, which was now poured after him, 
 as by a miracle. He succeeded in mounting another 
 horse, rushed through the guards, and fled alone into 
 the desert. He was afterward joined by a small suite, 
 and settled in Palestine. 
 
 Thus awfully perished the remnant of a barbarous 
 race of tyrants, who, for a period of more than five 
 hundred and fifty years, had rendered a portion of 
 
414 CIRCASSIAN SLAVES. 
 
 the fairest part of the world the theatre of anarchy, 
 bloodshed, demoralization, barbarism, and oppression. 
 The Memlooks were introduced into Egypt early in 
 the thirteenth century. Their name imports military 
 slaves ; and such in fact they were originally, being 
 Circassians, Mingrelians, and Abazans, who, as the 
 spoils of war among the barbarians of the East, had 
 been crowded into the slave-markets of Asia, and 
 were bought by the rulers of Egypt and formed into 
 military corps. 
 
 The Circassian slaves of both sexes have ever been 
 held in the highest estimation of any by the Turks. 
 " The Abazans stand next in favour with them ; the 
 Mingrelians next ; after them the Georgians, then the 
 Russians and Poles, next the Hungarians and Ger- 
 mans, then the Negroes ; and, last of all, the Span- 
 iards, Maltese, and Franks, whom they despise as 
 drunkards, debauchees, idle and mutinous."* 
 
 It is a fact worthy of remark, that of the many 
 thousands of slaves of both sexes brought from the 
 borders of the Caspian Sea and the region of the 
 Caucasus mountains, and settled in Egypt in mar- 
 riage with natives of their own country, not a soul 
 has been able to perpetuate its kind.f Every family, 
 after the first generation, has become extinct. The 
 same is also true of the Turks, who can only secure 
 the continuance of their families by marrying the 
 Egyptians. A fresh supply of slaves from the East 
 has usually found a ready market in Egypt, from the 
 time they were first introduced there to the present 
 
 * Volney's Egypt and Syria, i. 72, note. t Il>id. i. 66. 
 
KIND TREATMENT OF SLAVES. 415 
 
 day. The Circassian and Georgian female slaves are 
 most highly valued by Turkish grandees ; and Mr. 
 Lane informs us that at Cairo, "they are often their 
 only female companions, and sometimes their wives ; 
 and being generally preferred by them before the free 
 ladies of Egypt, the slaves hold a higher rank than 
 the latter in common opinion. They are richly 
 dressed, presented with valuable ornaments, indulged 
 frequently with almost every luxury that can be pro- 
 cured ; and, when it is not their lot to wait upon 
 others, may in some cases be happy ; as latterly has 
 been proved, since the termination of the war in 
 Greece, by many females of that country, captives in 
 Egyptian harems, refusing their offered liberty, which 
 all of those cannot be supposed to have done from 
 ignorance of the state of their parents and other rela- 
 tions, or the fear of exposing themselves to poverty."* 
 It is no strange thing to see poor parents in Egypt 
 publicly offering their own children for sale ; though 
 it very rarely occurs, except in cases of extreme dis- 
 tress and destitution. 
 
 * Lane^s Modern Egyptians, i. 256. 
 
416 CEMETERY OF CAIRO. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Visit from Monsieur le " Baron Pompolino.^' — Cemetery of 
 Cairo. — Tomh of Mehemet Ali. — Ancient Sepulchres. — 
 Excursion to the Petrified Forest. — Brilliant Cavalcade. — 
 Disconcerted Understanding. 
 
 The complaisance de Monsieur le " Baron Pompo- 
 lino," in honouring us with a morning call, delayed 
 somewhat our departure on an excursion to the great 
 cemetery of Cairo and the petrified forest in the 
 Syrian desert. Monsieur le Baron is literally an enor- 
 mous man — in bulk, " a prodigiously clever fellow." 
 
 Having disposed of the consular dignitary, we rode 
 outside the walls of the city, and entered the fields 
 of the dead. We were at once in a wilderness of 
 graves ! This, the largest cemetery in the Pacha's 
 dominions, extends from the walls of the metropolis 
 to the base of the mountains of Mukattam. Thick- 
 ly dotted with tombs and swelling graves, it amply 
 testified to the imperious sway of Death, even in the 
 sunny vale of Egypt. 
 
 Here, with dishevelled hair and rueful visage, a 
 sheet-enveloped group of women were wailing over 
 a new-formed tomb. There a shallow grave yawned 
 to receive the uncoffined remains of one " new to the 
 
SEPULCHRE OF MEHEMET ALL 417 
 
 realms of death." On the other hand, a funeral 
 group had just deposited a corpse, sprinkled it with 
 dust, and were then performing the last sad rites of 
 humanity. In the distance, towered the family tomb 
 of Mehemet Ah. Desolation and the gloom of death 
 were around us. No leaf fluttered in the breeze, no 
 flower blossomed there ; no tree waved its shade, and 
 no green herbage cheered the gloom of those eternal 
 sands. 
 
 The sepulchre of Mehemet Ali is an imposing 
 structure ; as eflective, when seen at a distance, as 
 any modern edifice in Egypt. It is built of stone, 
 and crowned with two lofty domes. The floor is 
 covered with Persian carpets. The numerous monu- 
 mental erections over the Pacha's favourite wives, 
 his sons, and the other distinguished personages there 
 interred, are spread with Cashmere shawls. Lamps 
 are suspended from the ceilings, and the recesses are 
 fitted up with divans. The Pacha, mindful that he, 
 too, like other men, is mortal ; and that when his 
 destiny upon earth shall have been accomplished, he 
 must lay down the sceptre and mingle with the dust, 
 has reserved a place for himself in this tomb. 
 
 In their plenitude and greatness, the Egyptian 
 kings took particular thought about their tombs. 
 Immense sacrifices of life, toil, and treasure, were 
 made in their wonderful achievement. Mountains 
 of hving rock were penetrated to the centre ; and the 
 sound of the artist's implements ceased not till pa- 
 laces of surpassing beauty, embellished with sculp- 
 ture and painting, existed in their flinty bosoms. The 
 
 Vol. L — 53 
 
418 THE PETRIFIED FOREST. 
 
 vast pyramids, which pierce the sky, and defy the 
 obhterating effects of time, were raised to gratify the 
 vanity of Egyptian despots and hold their faded dust ! 
 This ambition to be pompously housed after death, 
 has pervaded the minds of Egyptian rulers through- 
 out every period of her known history. It exists 
 still ; and, in striking contrast with the degradation 
 of her fallen condition, it may conspicuously be seen 
 in the lofty mausoleum of the reigning prince of 
 Egypt 
 
 Leaving the tomb of the Pacha, we passed those 
 of the Memlooks, and rode to the " Petrified Forest." 
 The surface of the desert presented a wavy aspect 
 of gentle vales and swelling ridges. It was covered 
 with pebbles, jasper, and agate. Occasionally, we 
 saw pieces of petrified wood, long before we reached 
 the extended mound upon which the main bulk of it 
 was strewed. Ascending the rocky acclivity, we 
 stood amid the fallen fragments of a forest that once 
 waved a grateful shade over that desolate region. 
 The surface of the desert is, to a great extent, thick- 
 ly strewed with the petrified trunks and shattered 
 limbs of full-grown trees. Some are well defined 
 throughout, — with every appearance of having re- 
 mained in their present posture, and with little or no in- 
 terruption, from the time they were first thrown down 
 to this day. I measured the trunk of one of the most 
 perfect specimens to the extent of eighty feet. The 
 main stem and its branches extended much further. 
 But above this point, their flinty ruins lay in a less 
 perfect state. Others of large dimensions might have 
 
BRILLIANT CAVALCADE. 419 
 
 been measured with equal facility ; and innumerable 
 specimens of petrified wood, of every variety, were 
 scattered in all directions. 
 
 I have seen these petrifactions recorded by travel- 
 lers ; but I had not the least conception of their ex- 
 tent or interest, until I visited the spot. The fairest 
 and most numerous specimens lay upon rather ele- 
 vated ground, while in the valleys that run toward 
 the Nile, there were very few pieces, and those had 
 the appearance of being tumbled down from the ele- 
 vated swells on either side. 
 
 It may be a question not unworthy the considera- 
 tion of the naturalist to investigate the cause of this 
 immense mass of petrifaction, elevated upon a sur- 
 face so high as to preclude the possibility of its being 
 covered with water, unless the whole desert between 
 Cairo and Suez be inundated. This, however, is not 
 more remarkable than the petrified sea-shells which 
 are found upon the high mountains of Upper Egypt. 
 I have now in my possession perfect specimens of 
 these, which I picked up in our rambles about the 
 mountains of Thebes. 
 
 As we were descending the declivity, we saw, in 
 the distance, a long procession of camels, horses, 
 and donkeys, mounted by suspicious-looking indi- 
 viduals, armed with guns, pistols, sabres, swords, 
 daggers, and other warlike implements. Their long 
 beards, red caps, and oriental air filled our minds with 
 some doubts of their honesty. At first, we thought 
 they were some marauders, seeking in the solitude 
 of those cheerless wastes for plunder and spoils. We 
 
420 A FLATTERING SALUTATION. 
 
 had neither guns nor any other weapons of defence ; 
 and were ruminating upon our defenceless situation, 
 when, greatly to our relief, we discovered that the 
 party coming down upon us with such a warlike as- 
 pect, comprised none other than our estimable Eng- 
 lish friends. When we saw their ponderous eye- 
 glasses swinging upon their breasts and glistening in 
 the rays of the sun, all our fears were suppressed. 
 Had the broad colours of her Majesty been let loose 
 to the wind, streaming from the tallest camel, we 
 could not have been more certain of the origin of 
 this outlandish, bandit-looking cavalcade, than we 
 were when we saw the dazzling display of eye- 
 glasses. 
 
 The Builderdashes, Rimtapers, Doctor O'Squee- 
 bey, and several others were of the party. They 
 were unable to divine who we were, until, quizzing- 
 glass to eye, they had approached the spot where we 
 stood. Then, with one accord, letting fall their glass- 
 es, the gentlemen roared out in the accent and modu- 
 lation of voice peculiar to the " sea-girt isle" — " How 
 are ye ? how are ye ? What the devil brought you 
 here 1 Is there any thing extraordinary among these 
 demmed old sand-hills T 
 
 This flattering salutation having been responded 
 to, the party dismounted, and related to us the disas- 
 ters of the day. The ladies declared they had been 
 " knocked up before ten o'clock in the morning !" 
 But notwithstanding these vigorous efforts to " take 
 time by the forelock," it was half past eleven o'clock 
 before the Arabs were ready to depart. In passing 
 
A SUDDEN BREAK-DOWN. 421 
 
 out at the gate of the city, a baggage-camel crushed 
 against the wall, tore the goat-skins, and let the water 
 out upon the ground. This mischief was scarcely 
 repaired, when Mrs. Builderdash's donkey plunged 
 off at full speed among the tombs, endangering his 
 own neck, frightening Mrs. B., and carrying disorder 
 through the whole party. Dr. O'Squeebey, mounted 
 upon a fleet horse, pursued the absconding quadru- 
 ped, and beat him with a club until he forced him 
 to resume his place in the procession. They now 
 moved forward ; but had proceeded only a short dis- 
 tance, when the saddle of one of the Misses Rimta- 
 per broke down, and precipitated the young lady into 
 the sand ! Luckily she received no material injury ; 
 and the saddle being replaced and well secured with 
 a fresh supply of ropes, order was again restored, and 
 the procession was once more put in motion. It was 
 soon discovered that the servants had forgotten the 
 beer, bread, and charcoal. A small detachment being 
 sent off to town for these important supplies, the re- 
 mainder proceeded on, and came through the rest of 
 the distance without further accident. But these un- 
 toward circumstances had carried them deep into the 
 afternoon before they arrived upon the field of their 
 inspection. 
 
 Sir Danbury had nearly recovered from the gout, 
 and was in excellent spirits. He advanced a few paces 
 in front of his companions, and, through the medium 
 of his glass, surveyed the petrified fragments that were 
 thickly strewed over the land ; then, wheeling round, 
 and holding his glass half suspended to his eye, he 
 
422 PATHOS OF DR. O'SQUEEBEY. 
 
 said : " This is a demmed extraordinary spectarkle, 
 'pon honour !" Advancing toward Colonel Builder- 
 dash, and taking him confidentially by the arm, he 
 observed, " It would be a demmed clever plan to pur- 
 chase the petrified forest and send it out to England, 
 'pon honour." 
 
 Sir Danbury thought an honest penny might be 
 made by turning it over to the British Museum, and 
 wished to induce Colonel Builderdash to join him in 
 the enterprise. The colonel, however, expressed 
 doubts, under the diminished revenue of the govern- 
 ment, and the contemplated marriage of her Majesty, 
 whether an appropriation sufficiently large could be 
 obtained from Parliament for that purpose. He was 
 of opinion that, unless it could be worked on to the 
 public at an enormous amount as other oriental col- 
 lections had been, there was little encouragement to 
 move in such weighty matters. Sir Danbury swore 
 that " he was of the same opinion, 'pon honour." 
 
 Doctor O'Squeebey, in full Turkish costume, with 
 pistols in his sash, stood poised upon one leg, with 
 his left hand upon the hilt of his sabre, and his right 
 on his heart, delivering a semi-confidential lecture to 
 the pretty Miss Builderdash on the subject of fossiU- 
 zation and conchylaceous substances. Connected 
 with his scientific exordium, the learned doctor made 
 some touching remarks about the affections. He 
 was demonstrating to the young lady, by argument, 
 elegant gesticulation, and pathetic expression of face, 
 the astonishing capabilities of the human heart. The 
 sudden appearance of Mrs. Builderdash, who at that 
 
THE SORROWS OF SIR DANBURY. 423 
 
 interesting moment joined her amiable daughter, pro- 
 duced a slight pause in the affecting discourse of the 
 doctor, and finally turned it again upon shells and 
 fossil remains. 
 
 The Misses Rimtaper were " delighted with the 
 petrified forest, it was so odd." One of them, ap- 
 proaching her brother with an ecstatical exclamation, 
 desired to know if Sir Danbury " had ever witnessed 
 any thing so extraordinary — so very odd V 
 
 Sir Danbury, who, glass to eye, was contemplating 
 a large petrifaction which he held in his right hand, 
 and which, by some unaccountable accident, at that 
 moment slipped from his grasp and fell upon his gouty 
 foot, bounded in a paroxysm of wrath, and chastely 
 exclaimed, " Dem it, my dear, I shall be murdered — 
 absolutely martyred, in this demmed desert, 'pon 
 honour !" 
 
 " Pray what's the matter, dear Dan 1 you appear to 
 be completely knocked up," affectionately observed 
 Miss Rimtaper. 
 
 " Matter !" responded the agonized Sir Danbury, 
 "why, dem it, my dear, I shall be sacrificed — com- 
 pletely ruined : my foot is mashed to jelly with this 
 demmed stone !" 
 
 " Did the rock fall on your toe, dear Dan V touch- 
 ingly inquired Miss Rimtaper. 
 
 " My toe !" rejoined Sir Danbury ; " will you hold 
 your demmed tongue, my dear ! You'll take my life ; 
 would you like to have your foot ground to powder 
 in this demmed desert ?" 
 
 " 'Pon me word, this is very extraordinary, Sir Dan- 
 
424 PREPARATIONS FOR A MEAL. 
 
 bury, very odd !" observed Miss Rimtaper, miffed at 
 the last reply of her affectionate brother. 
 
 " 'Tis devilish odd ; v^ill you hold your demmed 
 tongue, though, my dear, and call Doctor O'Squeebey, 
 Miss Rimtaper ?" said Sir Danbury. 
 
 " No, indeed I vv^on't. Sir Danbury !" repHed Miss 
 Rimtaper, in a more elevated tone of voice. 
 
 " Then go to the devil, my dear, and be demmed 
 to you !" was the response of Sir Danbury. 
 
 Perceiving that the good understanding of Sir Dan- 
 bury and his affectionate sister w^as considerably dis- 
 turbed, and that it w^as not Hkely to assume a more 
 genial aspect by our presence, v\^e moderately rode 
 past their tents, which were pitched in the valley. 
 
 A large train of Arab attendants were active in the 
 culinary department. A blazing fire was kindled, and 
 the smoke of fat was curling upward like that of 
 burning incense on an idol's altar. The ground was 
 strewed with demijohns, bottles, beds, kettles, pans, 
 plates, water-skins, hams, chickens, and various mate- 
 rial in the raw state ; and, as we bade adieu to the 
 petrified forest, every thing in this quarter was going 
 swimmingly on. 
 
 Loitering slowly toward Cairo, we reached the 
 " Gate of Victory" just as the sun dipped his broad 
 and luminous disc behind the Libyan hills. It was 
 then the depth of winter ; but the air was balmy, the 
 breeze gentle, and the climate lovely as an Itahan 
 May. 
 
VISIT TO THE HAREMS. 425 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Expedition of Discovery among the Harems. — Mysteries and 
 Miseries of a Turkish Bath. — Propensity of Egyptian 
 Ladies for its Pleasures. — Baths of the Ancient Egyptians, 
 Greeks, and Romans ; and of the Scythians and Finlanders. 
 
 Our English friends having returned from the pet- 
 rified forest, Mrs. C. was notified that the ladies, in- 
 cluding Mrs. Wrinklebottom (who had nearly recov- 
 ered from her late injuries), had planned a new en- 
 terprise ; and she was invited to share with them in 
 its expenses and pleasures. 
 
 They proposed to visit the harems of Cairo ; and 
 the arrangements for this adventure were already 
 completed. Accordingly, at an appointed hour, there 
 was a great commotion in the street ; and the party, 
 preceded by four armed janizaries and the interpreter 
 of the English consulate, accompanied by the usual 
 number of out- runners, drew up in front of our abode. 
 With one exception, no accident occurred to mar the 
 opening scene of this expedition. 
 
 Mrs. Wrinklebottom, still weak from the effects of 
 her late disaster at the museum, rode a headstrong 
 
 Vol. L — 54 
 
426 TURKISH BATHS. 
 
 creature, which took a notion to run through a low, 
 narrow gate, scarcely large enough to admit his body 
 disencumbered of every thing else. Go he would, 
 and go he did, in spite of the most vigorous efforts 
 of Mrs. W. and the muleteer to prevent him. The 
 consequence was, a clean sweep of every thing on 
 his back ; and Mrs. Wrinklebottom was most uncom- 
 fortably plunged into the sand. She was fortunately 
 more agitated than injured ; and, being mounted on a 
 more tractable animal, the procession set off again 
 with no httle noise and parade. The Egyptians gath- 
 ered around, anxious to discover their destination. 
 
 As no gentlemen were to be of this party, and the 
 doctor having an engagement with Mr. Lieder, the 
 worthy missionary at Cairo, I was left alone. Though 
 not quite so far gone as poor Burns represented his 
 case to be, when he hesitated " whether to get drunk 
 or to hang himself;" I had nevertheless recourse to an 
 amusement which was far more exhausting than the 
 former, and, for a time, I was not without my fears 
 of its resulting as fatally as the latter. I took a 
 Turkish bath. 
 
 Entering the vestibule of the establishment, I stood 
 in a large circular room, with concave ceiling, lighted 
 by small apertures in the dome. Placing myself in 
 the hands of one of the " knights of the bath," I was 
 conducted into a side room of small dimensions, simi- 
 lar in form and finish to the entrance-hall, though of 
 much higher temperature. The marble floor was 
 spread with mats, and the light was admitted through 
 the roof Here my clothes were placed in the hands 
 
BATHING AMUSEMENTS. 427 
 
 of an Arab for safe keeping ; and being swathed from 
 head to foot in coarse towels, with high wooden clogs 
 on my feet, I launched off, preceded by my conductor, 
 for a more deep investigation into the mysteries of 
 the bath. Descending two or three steps, I entered 
 a large apartment crowned with a dome, and lighted 
 and constructed in a similar manner to the last It 
 was very warm, and filled with steam. 
 
 Several Arabs lay about the room like panting dogs 
 in a kamsin. One man was having his head shaved 
 — another his beard relieved from its vermin. 
 
 This process being neither new nor pleasing, I had 
 a strong desire to proceed. But in stepping from this 
 room into the next, I "jumped out of the frying-pan 
 into the fire." Where I had only scorched, I now^ 
 burned and blistered. From a moderate simmering, 
 I found myself on the point of boiling over in the 
 steam and hot air of the room. It was even worse 
 than the baths of Nero at Baise ; and, as one of 
 Squire Thornhill's fashionable ladies chastely ex- 
 pressed herself while dancing at the Vicar of Wake- 
 field's, I " was all of a muck of sweat." 
 
 Fountains of boiling water were playing in differ- 
 ent parts of the room, and rushing down upon the 
 marble floor. I stumbled over one or two half-inani- 
 mate Egyptians, who had hauled themselves out of 
 the water, and lay upon the floor more dead than 
 alive. As the steam occasionally broke away, I could 
 perceive, in the apartments that opened still more 
 deeply into the bosom of these " infernal regions," 
 other dusky sons of the Prophet indulging in all the 
 
428 
 
 ROUGH HANDLING. 
 
 delights of the boihng luxury. I had no disposition, 
 however, to penetrate the steaming ocean any further. 
 And when the guide, who had conducted me thus far, 
 handed me over to the real Vulcan of the place, 1 
 began to feel alarmed for my safety. 
 
 The old salamander, into whose hands I had at 
 last fallen, was a tall, gaunt figure, in a state of per- 
 fect nudity. He had a cadaverous, parboiled visage, 
 shaved head, and sepulchral voice. He kept up a 
 constant jabbering in Arabic, which was as intelhgi- 
 ble to me as my language was to him. He at once 
 proceeded to unfold the mysteries of his art. Seiz- 
 ing me round the waist with a determined grip, he 
 prostrated me upon the side of a large marble tub, 
 into which the water was pouring at a high tempera- 
 ture. He pulled my legs and arms until every joint 
 cracked like the whip of a French postillion ; then 
 clasping my head with both hands, he wrenched 
 it back and forth till my neck-bone uttered a nimble 
 sound. My ears were the next object of his attack. 
 These he pulled and mashed in his fingers till they 
 snapped like parched peas. Then my fingers and 
 toes came in detail under his dislocating inspection. 
 Every joint in them audibly testified to their peril, 
 and the danger they were in of being torn out by the 
 roots. This done, he made a painful attempt upon 
 my back-bone. To prevent this stem of my body 
 from being broken, I resisted the executioner by main 
 strength. Being foiled in his wrenching operations 
 upon my back, he poached the flesh on every part 
 of my body till it was ready to drop from my bones. 
 
HOSTILE DEMONSTRATIONS. 429 
 
 Having exhausted his strength in this department of 
 his art, he caught up a coarse, raspy stone, and began 
 to rub the soles of my feet. They were at length 
 on the point of blistering ; he nevertheless continued 
 to rasp RW3.y, nor could I prevail upon him to desist, 
 until, vexed with his pertinacity, and stung with pain, 
 I gave him a kick, and tumbled him into a boihng 
 fountain. 
 
 I had now, as I supposed, come to an open rup- 
 ture with him, and was determined to fight my way 
 out once more to the hght of day. But the fel- 
 low, on picking himself out of the water, smiled so 
 good-naturedly, that I suffered him to approach again, 
 and he continued the process in a modified style. 
 He took a woollen bag, dipped it frequently in boil- 
 ing water, and rubbed me for some minutes, and then 
 introduced my feet into the tub at my side. I thought 
 it would be impossible for me to endure the intensity 
 of the heat of this water. But he proceeded in a 
 manner so gentle, dipping me in little by little, that 
 he finally succeeded in plunging me all over into the 
 scalding bath. This produced a strange sensation. 
 I soon began to like it ; and remained in so long, that 
 when I was fished out, I could scarcely stand alone. 
 I was now conducted into an adjoining room, and 
 seated beside a bubbling fountain. A basin of sweet 
 water being brought, the Arab, with soap in one hand 
 and palm shavings in the other, lathered me from 
 head to foot. He then brought me an old razor, and 
 proposed to shave my head. This honour I de- 
 clined. The soap being washed off, and having 
 
430 BATHS IN CAIRO. 
 
 been re-enveloped in warm napkins, I was conducted 
 back to my toilet. Here I found a mattress spread 
 with sheets and cushions, upon which I reclined. I 
 drank a cup of coffee, though I dechned the pipe 
 which accompanied it. 
 
 I now supposed the operations of the bath were 
 over ; but I found myself doomed to undergo another 
 pulverization. Two beardless Arabs commenced 
 gently rubbing the soles of my feet. This done, they 
 pulled my toes till they cracked as before. Then 
 they pressed back my shoulders, and endeavoured to 
 expand my chest by pressing, pulling, twisting, and 
 kneading my flesh until they were fatigued and I was 
 sore. On desisting from their labours, I gave them 
 a trifle, in gratitude for their indulgence. I lay upon 
 the mattress for half an hour, and then dressed, and 
 gave the keeper of the bath five piastres, with which 
 he was perfectly satisfied. 
 
 I passed an hour and a half in the bath, and was 
 under the hands of the operators nearly all the time ; 
 yet the trifling sum which I gave for this attention 
 (being about twenty-five cents) was five times the 
 amount usually paid by the natives for a similar 
 service. 
 
 The bath is a favourite luxury of the Egyptians, 
 and is every where indulged in by the orientals. 
 In Cairo alone, there are seventy public baths, and 
 the wealthier part of the inhabitants have baths in 
 their own houses. The public baths are accessi- 
 ble to all classes of citizens. Some of them are for 
 women and children only ; others are exclusively for 
 
EGYPTIAN LADIES AT THE BATH. 431 
 
 men. Some of them are for both men and women : 
 the men occupying them in the forenoon, and the 
 women frequenting them in the afternoon. Some 
 of the more opulent inhabitants visit the bath twice 
 or three times a week ; others once ; and those who 
 cannot afford the expense, bathe in the Nile " scot 
 free." 
 
 " The women, when they can afford to do so, visit 
 
 the bath frequently In general, all the females 
 
 of a house and the young boys go together 
 
 There are few pleasures in which the women of 
 Egypt dehght so much as in the visit to the bath, 
 where they frequently have entertainments ; and of- 
 ten, on these occasions, they are not a little noisy in 
 their mirth. They avail themselves of the opportu- 
 nity to display their jewels and their finest clothes, 
 and to enter into familiar conversation with those 
 whom they meet there. Sometimes a mother chooses 
 a bride for her son from among the girls or women 
 
 whom she chances to see in the bath In the 
 
 case of the preparations for a marriage, the bath is 
 hired for a select party, consisting of the women of 
 two or more families ; and none else are admitted .... 
 Where all are friends, the younger girls indulge in 
 
 more mirth and frolic On particular occasions 
 
 of festivity, they are entertained with the songs of 
 two or more 'Awalim, hired to accompany them to 
 the bath."^ 
 
 The Turks indulge to an immoderate extent in the 
 use of the bath. 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 49, 60. 
 
432 BATHS OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 
 
 By the ancient Egyptians, the bath was considered 
 a luxury ; since, during the seventy days of mourning 
 observed at the death of a king, when they rent their 
 garments, closed their temples, cast dust upon their 
 heads, made no sacrifices, withheld themselves from 
 all feasts, girded themselves, and went about from 
 day to day singing mournful songs, " none dared to 
 use the hath or ointments."* 
 
 Diodorus, speaking of the expense lavished upon 
 their sacred animals, informs us that the Egyptians 
 " forbore not to wash them in hot haths, anointed 
 them with the most precious unguents, and perfumed 
 them with the sweetest odours/'f 
 
 The priests used the bath twice each day, and as 
 often during the night ; and every third day they 
 shaved every part of their bodies.f 
 
 Wilkinson, speaking of the baths of the ancient 
 Egyptians, says : " The only instances I have met 
 with in the paintings is in a tomb at Thebes, where 
 a lady is represented with four attendants, who wait 
 upon her and perform various duties. One removes 
 the jewellery and clothes she has taken off, or sus- 
 pends them to a stand in the apartment. Another 
 pours water from a vase over her head, as the third 
 rubs her arms and body with her open hands ; and a 
 fourth, seated near her, holds a sweet-scented flower 
 to her nose, and supports her as she sits."§ 
 
 Whatever may have been their taste for the bath 
 previously, there can be no doubt of the partiality of 
 
 * Diod. i. 75, t Ibid. i. 85. % Herod, ii. 37. 
 
 § Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, First Series, iii. 388. 
 
REMAINS OF ROMAN BATHS. 433 
 
 the Egyptians for its luxuries under the reign of the 
 Greeks. In the city of Alexandria alone, there were 
 several thousand baths. 
 
 The Romans, too, were famous for bathing ; and 
 conclusive evidence of their extent and splendour is 
 still visible in the shattered fragments of their bathing 
 establishments strewed in ruins about the " Eternal 
 City." Wherever the Romans permanently located, 
 they erected theatres and baths ; and in a style of 
 solidity which has survived, in many instances, all 
 other traces of their works. Among the hot springs 
 of Germany, they found every facility for indulging 
 their propensity for the bath ; and in many places, 
 through the vale of the Rhine, the remains of the 
 Roman baths have dared the convulsions of more 
 than eighteen hundred years ! 
 
 The Germans are very fond of the bath. They 
 frequently indulge in it for hours together. I have 
 witnessed at some of the watering places twenty or 
 thirty ladies and gentlemen in a bath at the same 
 time — -all seated, enveloped to their chins in water. 
 There they pass the morning, discussing the incidents 
 of the times ; taking their coffee ; reading the papers ; 
 and smoking. 
 
 In the metropolis of Hungary, I recollect seeing 
 a bathing-house, where a warm bath may be had for 
 a sum less than one cent ! This bath, however, was 
 supplied by a hot spring, and was frequented only by 
 the peasants, who bathed in it promiscuously, without 
 regard to age or sex. 
 
 Vol. L — 55 
 
434 BATHING AMONG THE ANCIENT GREEKS. 
 
 The Scythians,^ who, as Herodotus says, " never 
 hathed themselves," indulged in a vapour hath never- 
 theless, v^^hich " excited from them cries of exulta- 
 tion." It was obtained by means of red-hot stones, 
 upon which were thrown hemp-seed. From this 
 ascended a delightfully perfumed vapour. 
 
 The Finlanders obtain a bath in a similar manner. 
 " The poorest peasants have a small house built for 
 the purpose. It consists of a small chamber, in the 
 innermost part of which are placed a number of 
 stones, which are heated till they become red. On 
 these stones water is thrown, until the company with- 
 in are involved in a thick cloud of vapour."! 
 
 Media is said, by the process of the bath or " boil- 
 ing," to have " restored youth to the aged. She in- 
 vented baths, and nourished with warm vapours all 
 who wished it .... It was supposed that her patients 
 were in reality boiled. Pelias, an old and infirm man, 
 using this operation, died in the process."} 
 
 The ancient Greeks, too, were a bath-loving peo- 
 ple ; and female attendants performed the offices of 
 the bath : 
 
 " Their necks and limbs from stains of toil they cleansed, 
 And, so refreshed and purified, their last 
 Ablution in bright tepid baths performed. 
 Each thus completely laved, and with smooth oil 
 Anointed, at the well-spread board they sat, 
 And quaffed, in honour of Minerva, wine 
 Delicious, from the brimming beaker drawn. "<5> 
 
 •Herod, iv. 75. f Ibid. Note 82. t Ibid. § Homer's D. x. 
 
RETURN FROM THE HAREMS, 
 
 435 
 
 Oriental Costume. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIIL 
 
 Visit to the Harems. — Bathing and Dancing. — Importance 
 of the Veil. — Ladies of the " Higher Circles.'^ — Harems 
 of the Patriarchs. — Seraglio of the Sultan, and his hun- 
 dred Wives. — Harem of Mehemet Mi, and its Dissolution. 
 ■ — Banishment of Egyptian Prostitutes, and Effervescence 
 of English Spleen. 
 
 The ladies returned at a late hour ; and, with one 
 exception, all were delighted with their reception and 
 discoveries at the harems. They found the fair pris- 
 oners of these establishments adorned with precious 
 jewels and costly attire, seated upon the floor, with 
 their pipes in their mouths, listening to the soft mur- 
 murs of gushing fountains, and surrounded by nu- 
 merous female slaves, all in dazzling costume. Their 
 reception was cordial and hearty, though the princi- 
 
436 AJV INVITATION TO DANCE. 
 
 pals did not rise from their seats. Indeed, that may 
 have been a difficuh thing ; for the real belles of the 
 harem are literally immoveable mountains of fat. 
 
 In one house, after sherbet and coffee had gone 
 round, the guests were invited to dance. The Eng- 
 lish ladies readily assented to this proposition on 
 condition that the inmates of the harem, or rather 
 those w^hose obesity did not constitute them " perma- 
 nent fixtures," w^ould join them. Preliminaries hav- 
 ing been easily arranged, the ladies, regaled w^ith the 
 sounds of the tambourine and darabookah, com- 
 menced the mazy dance. The young ladies, and the 
 Misses Wrinklebottom and Rimtaper in particular, 
 acquitted themselves with infinite credit, and amused 
 the Egyptians beyond measure. 
 
 The Misses Rimtaper and Wrinklebottom were all 
 tall, without any protuberances of surface, and of 
 nearly the same circumference throughout their en 
 tire altitude. This style of figure pleased the Egyp- 
 tian ladies wondrously ; and after the dance was over 
 they proposed to dismantle one of the Misses Wrinkle- 
 bottom, under pretence of studying the Enghsh fash- 
 ion of dress. The young lady, however, positively re- 
 fused. Desisting from their importunities with Miss 
 Wrinklebottom, they took off their own jewellery and 
 many articles of their clothing, exhibiting one thing 
 after another to their guests for their amusement, 
 whom they expected to see imitate their example. 
 None of the ladies, however, were inclined to indulge 
 this curiosity. 
 
 These endeavours at nudation proving abortive, 
 
MRS. WRINKLEBOTTOM AT THE BATH. 437 
 
 the Egyptians next proposed the luxuries of the bath. 
 This civility was also declined by all excepting Mrs. 
 Wrinklebottom ; she, not having taken a bath since 
 her departure from England, and thinking a warm 
 ablution might be serviceable to her, politely availed 
 herself of this opportunity for initiation into the mys- 
 teries of an Egyptian bath. 
 
 She entered the bathing-room attended by five or 
 six black slaves, who somewhat coarsely disrobed 
 her, and commenced their operations in a manner 
 that shocked her nerves, and seemed to endanger her 
 personal safety. Still weak from the effects of her 
 late injury, she was a mere bawble in the hands of 
 the Nubian girls, and they tossed, patted, dragged, 
 thumped, rubbed, scrubbed, raked, and scraped her, 
 till the poor woman was in a pitiable plight. They 
 cracked every joint in her frame ; and when they 
 brought their cracking skill to bear upon her back 
 and neck, she thought they were about to sever her 
 head from her shoulders. 
 
 In the mean time, the young Egyptian ladies, anx- 
 ious to participate in the amusement, left the saloon, 
 flocked about her, minutely inspecting her person, 
 and assisted the slaves in poaching her flesh to a 
 jelly. After which they seized the various articles 
 of her toilet, and commenced a destructive investi-' 
 gation of every object in detail : petticoat, chemise, 
 cape, cap, collar, shawl, bonnet, shoes, stockings, stays, 
 and satchel, all passed unceremoniously from hand to 
 hand among the crowd. They even began to rip 
 
438 SORROWS OF MRS. WRINKLEBOTTOM. 
 
 certain articles to pieces, in order to study more sat- 
 isfactorily their construction ! 
 
 It has seldom fallen to the lot of lovely woman to 
 be more unhappily situated than was Mrs. Wrinkle- 
 bottom in the bath. Exhausted and faint with its 
 frightful process ; still in the hands of her tormentors, 
 who continued to pommel her poor frame ; no one 
 near who understood her language ; and her clothes 
 literally torn in shreds ! — she thought her time had 
 verily arrived. She resolved to make a desperate 
 effort to rescue herself and garments from the 
 hands of the barbarians ; and, strange to say, suc- 
 ceeded. She looked upon her escape, however, as 
 being effected through the agency of some super- 
 natural power. When she was ushered back to the 
 drawing-room, she was an altered person. Her ap- 
 pearance was doleful indeed. She could scarcely 
 stand alone ; her garments were in great disorder, and 
 some of them hung in tatters ! The ladies imme- 
 diately took leave, and returned with her to her 
 lodgings. 
 
 The Egyptian ladies have little freedom of action, 
 being seldom permitted to walk the streets unattend- 
 ed by the eunuchs who watch the harems ; and then 
 they are smothered in long thick veils and cumber- 
 some robes, which conceal every part of the person 
 except the eyes. 
 
 So essential is the veil to the Egyptians, that it is 
 considered far more disreputable for a woman to ex- 
 pose her face to the view of strangers than any other 
 part of her person !* On this account, one not unfre- 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 245. 
 
IMPORTANCE OF THE VEIL. 439 
 
 quently witnesses the peasant-women covering their 
 faces on the approach of a man, while their legs and 
 breasts are bare, and Httle or no covering is seen upon 
 their bodies. Indeed, if their faces are concealed, they 
 give themselves very little concern about other parts. 
 
 An Egyptian Lady, attired for the Promenade. 
 
 The hideous custom of veiling the face, now in- 
 dicative of virtue among the Moslems, was considered, 
 in the days of Jacob, a sure sign of immorahty, the 
 veil being hung out upon harlots, as in the case of 
 Tamar,* Judah's daughter-in-law ; whom, in his way 
 as he went up to the sheep-shearers to Timnath, he 
 met : and " when Judah saw her, he thought her to 
 
 * Gen. xxxviii. 14, 15. 
 
440 LADIES OF THE " HIGHER CIRCLES." 
 
 be an harlot, because she had covered her face. She 
 had put her widow's garments off from her, and cov- 
 ered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in 
 an open place." 
 
 When the ladies of the " higher circles" go out, 
 they are so disguised that they cannot be recognised 
 by their nearest friends. Sometimes the more opu- 
 lent are seen upon donkeys ; then their appearance is 
 indeed unique. Their head-dress, masks, and orna- 
 ments, being adjusted ; their eyebrows and lashes in- 
 geniously touched with kohl ; their feet and hands 
 embeUished with henna ; their slippers and yellow 
 boots put on ; and all being enveloped in a capacious 
 black silk covering, with every part concealed from 
 view except their eyes (not even the hands are seen), 
 they are mounted upon donkeys, with high saddles, 
 where they are not unfrequently held by the eunuchs 
 who accompany them. 
 
 Thus they go out for exercise and complimentary 
 visits. Their figure is rather ridiculous, as they ride 
 through the little narrow streets of a Turkish city, 
 resembling bales of merchandise done up in cloaks, 
 with painted eyes, rather than ladies of quality. 
 
 Such is the custom of the country ; nor do I think, 
 with the exception of their being half smothered in 
 the abominable masks, that they present a more re- 
 markable figure than the ladies of civilized nations, 
 decked in some of the modern fashions and whimsi- 
 calities— -for both are absurd, and obnoxious to good 
 taste. This, however, is the only way in which a 
 Moslem lady of " standing" can go abroad. As she 
 
HIGH-BORN EQUESTRIANS. 
 
 441 
 
 seldom goes outside the town, she reaps Httle advan- 
 tage from the change of air ; since that, in the stived- 
 up, fikhy streets, is scarcely more pure than that of 
 the confined apartments of her own dwelling. 
 
 Moslem ladies are never taught to read, and seldom 
 even so much as to say their prayers. Consequently 
 the door to intellectual improvement and all literary 
 
 Vol. I — 56 
 
442 PLURALITY or WIVES. 
 
 enjoyment is shut against them. They are watched 
 Hke birds in a cage, fed Hke beasts in a den, Hve in 
 sufferance, never in the confidence of their husbands, 
 and see Httle of their society but when required to min- 
 ister to their caprice and pleasures. Can a condition 
 more painful than this be depicted 1 Death, under 
 ordinary circumstances, were preferable ; and even 
 with the absolution of some Tetzel-vender of indul- 
 gences, being broken upon the wheel of the pontifical 
 inquisition, amid the corruptions and enormities of 
 the dark ages, could hardly be worse. 
 
 " Solomon loved many strange women, together 
 with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moab- 
 ites. Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. 
 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and 
 three hundred concubines."* — "David had seven 
 wives and ten concubines, and David took him more 
 concubines and wives out of Jerusalem after he was 
 come from Hebron."! And Rehoboam had eighteen 
 wives and sixty concubines.} Abraham, also, besides 
 his wife Sarah, by whom he had Isaac, who heired 
 his estates, had two concubines, Hagar and Keturah, 
 by whom also he had children.§ And " Abijah waxed 
 mighty, and married fourteen wives." 1| 
 
 Thus it appears that a multiplicity of wives was 
 not uncommon among the patriarchs and Jews ; — 
 though under the dispensation of the Saviour, this 
 abominable custom was abolished, and the matrimo- 
 nial state brought back to its primitive simplicity.^ 
 
 * 1 Kings xi. 1, 3. f 2 Sam. iii. 2-5 : v. 13. t 2 Chron. xi. 21. 
 § Gen. xvi. 3 : xxv. 1. 11 2 Chron. xiii. 21. ir Gen. ii. 18, 21, 24. 
 
EVILS OF POLYGAMY. 443 
 
 Since that period, though polygamy is justly con- 
 demned, and is no longer the custom of civilized na- 
 tions ; yet, among Mohammedans, nothing is more 
 common than for a man to have four w^ives and a 
 numerous train of concubines ! 
 
 We have abundant testimony, in every age of the 
 world, to prove the evils of this pernicious custom ; 
 and that it has been attended with infinite mischief 
 both to individuals and communities. In Abraham's* 
 family it created a schism which no gratification or 
 advantage arising from his having more than one 
 wife could possibly compensate. 
 
 To Solomon it was the source of the greatest evils, 
 both to himself and the kingdom of Judah. His heart 
 was turned away from the Lordf through the influ- 
 ence of his strange women ; and but for his fatherj 
 David's sake, his kingdom would have been taken 
 from him in his old age. It was no doubt under a 
 deep conviction of this folly, and in allusion to the 
 condemnation of heaven for allowing his heart to 
 become corrupt through their seductive influences, 
 that he pronounced these remarkable words : " The 
 mouth of strange women is a deep pit ; he that is ab- 
 horred of the Lord shall fall therein. The lips of a 
 strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth 
 is smoother than oil ; but her end is bitter as worm- 
 wood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down 
 to death ; her steps take hold on hell."§ 
 
 The perplexities and sorrow of David, occasioned 
 by his love of strange women, are proverbial. 
 
 * Gen. xxi. 9 IL f 1 Kings xi. 4, 7, 8, 9. — Nehemiah xiii. 26. 
 
 t 1 Kings xi. 2-4. § Prov. xxii. 14 : v. 3-5. 
 
444 EVILS OF POLYGAMY. 
 
 The children of Israel were led into difficulty, and 
 cursed with a devastating plague, on account of the 
 trespasses which they committed against the Lord, 
 at the instigation of the Midianitish women.* 
 
 The spirit of jealousy and backbiting on account 
 of the Ethiopian woman, one of the wives of Moses, 
 was fraught with evil, though this marriage was jus- 
 tified of the Lord, who visited Aaron and Miriam 
 with his judgments. 
 
 The Jews, after enjoying a variety of good and 
 bad fortune ; sometimes exalted to heaven, as it were, 
 and then suffering in bondage, w^ere full of affliction 
 in the days of Ezraf on account of their " strange 
 wives." Other instances might be mentioned, were 
 it necessary, wherein the inhabitants of the old world 
 were brought into sore difficulties on account of too 
 many strange women. Those of the present day 
 who still indulge in a multiphcity of wives, are often- 
 times no less perplexed and in doubt how to dispose 
 of the schisms that spring up in the bosom of the 
 harem. 
 
 While marriage, under the abuses with which Mo- 
 hammedans still entangle it, and with which the an- 
 cients were no less prone to envelope it, has seldom 
 in any age resulted otherwise than in dishonour and 
 afflictions, — marriage, as instituted by God, in the 
 first setting out of man, and restored, confirmed, and 
 blessed by Jesus Christ, is conducive to the happiness 
 and civilization of mankind. Nevertheless it is cu- 
 rious to examine this peculiarity of the East, which 
 
 * Num. xxxi. 16. t Ezra ix. J, 2. 
 
THE PACHA OF SALONICA. 445 
 
 illustrates, in no small degree, the strange state of 
 society in the land of the patriarchs. 
 
 When we were in Hebron, we passed two nights 
 and a day at the house of a man who had four wives. 
 We saw them and all their numerous progeny. None 
 of these ladies were what would be called handsome 
 among our fair and gentle countrywomen ; and the 
 withered, downcast individual, who was at the head of 
 the establishment, was the personification of misery. 
 
 In contemplating this unhappy family, crowded to- 
 gether in a state of confusion and filth, the thought 
 suggested itself that such, in some respects, might 
 have been the domestic circle of the Psalmist, living 
 in a state of polygamy in the same city ; when " unto 
 David were sons born in Hebron : and his first-born 
 was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess ; and his 
 second Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Car- 
 melite ; and the third, Absalom, the son of Maacah, 
 the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur ; and the 
 fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith ; and the fifth, 
 Shephatiah, the son of Abital ; and the sixth, Ith- 
 ream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to 
 David in Hebron."* This has probably been the cus- 
 tom of the Hebronites ever since the time of Abraham. 
 
 While on our way from Smyrna to Constantinople, 
 we had but just entered the Dardanelles, when the 
 Pacha of Salonica came on board with his wives and 
 their " maids of honour," comprising some sixteen in 
 all, who, together with their offspring, cradles, and 
 napkins, took up their quarters on deck. The loving 
 
 * 2 Samuel iii. 2-5. 
 
446 
 
 THE SULTAN OF TURKEY. 
 
 husband was handsomely provided with a good state- 
 room in the gentlemen s cahin. The Pacha scarcely 
 spoke to his wives while on board ; and when they 
 left the steamer, his women were placed in charge of 
 some under servants, while he went on shore with 
 much form, accompanied by armed janizaries. 
 
 The harems of eastern princes are upon a mag- 
 nificent scale : they include the handsomest women 
 in the realm, who are kept in a state of seclusion — 
 never seen unveiled, except by the lord of the harem, 
 or some very near relatives. They are richly attired, 
 and adorned with pearls and precious jewels. 
 
 The harem of the Sultan of Turkey is closed at 
 his death, and his women pass the remainder of their 
 days in all the retirement of the most rigid commu- 
 nity of nuns. Their fate is like that of David's " ten 
 concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and 
 put them in ward and fed them, but went not in unto 
 them ; so they were shut up unto the day of their 
 death."* 
 
 Upon the accession of a prince to the throne, he 
 commences a new harem. It is thus with the present 
 Sultan, who, at the time we were in Constantinople, 
 had been upon the throne scarcely nine months ; and 
 yet he had one hundred wives and concubines ! To 
 this round number, each of the pachas, as they came 
 to Constantinople with the accustomed tribute, ac- 
 companied it with one or more of the fairest girls in 
 their respective pachalics, as presents to his Serene 
 Highness. Consequently, this debauched creature, 
 
 * 2 Samuel xx. 3. 
 
COMPETITION OF THE SULTAN'S WIVES. 447 
 
 diseased and declining with excess — whose attenua- 
 ted frame seemed but a shadow, around which his 
 long black cloak assumed the collapsed form of a 
 blanket swung over a stake — is in a fair way to en- 
 sure himself an early grave, and to make generous 
 additions to the public burden. 
 
 Nine months had scarcely elapsed after his acces- 
 sion to the throne, when the inhabitants of Constan- 
 tinople were big with expectation for the result. 
 Preparations for a general illumination were com- 
 pleted ; and the full-charged guns of the Turkish 
 fleet, drawn up in front of the Golden Horn, were 
 ready to breathe forth their thunders at the first offi- 
 cial signal of a new-born prince. 
 
 While this anxious watching of the mountain agi- 
 tated the Moslems without, there was no little excite- 
 ment existing within the walls of the seragho. A 
 strong competition prevailed among the Sultan's wo- 
 men for the honour of giving birth to the heir-appa- 
 rent There was nearly a tie between some eight or 
 ten of them ; or, as the English jockeys say, " they 
 were neck and neck." It was a matter of the great- 
 est uncertainty which of them all would be the fa- 
 voured one. The time of all was near at hand, and 
 each was anxious to come out ahead. There was one 
 whose chance for the prize, in a fair, honest course, 
 was as good as any of the other hundred better halves 
 of the Sultan, if not better. She, however, at the 
 suggestion of some silly person, had the folly to take 
 some kind of nostrum, with a view to bring on her 
 labours before the time. Instead of an heir to the 
 
448 HAREM OF MEHEMET ALL 
 
 throne, by this proceeding she produced an abor- 
 tion ; and she, poor thing, instead of a crown of hon- 
 our, received a watery grave. She was thrown into 
 the Bosphorus ! 
 
 Mehemet Ah, though a mere governor of a part 
 of the Turkish empire, had, until within the three or 
 four years last past, one of the best-regulated harems 
 in the Orient. In point of splendid costume, it might 
 not equal the brilliancy appertaining to the seraglio. 
 But, touching the no trifling matter of pretty women, 
 he is said to have quite outstripped the Grand Seign- 
 ior. It was under the direction of his three most es- 
 teemed wives, by all of whom he has had children. 
 They took a deep interest in it ; and, being charmed 
 by its varied attractions, they deeply regretted its dis- 
 solution. 
 
 " There is," says Solomon, " to every thing a sea- 
 son, and a time for every purpose under heaven ; a 
 time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones 
 together ; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain 
 from embracing ; a time to love, and a time to hate."* 
 — "The time has come," said his physician to the 
 Pacha, " when you must abandon the harem, or pre- 
 pare for death !" 
 
 This was an unexpected blow. The harem was 
 a darling hobby with his esteemed wives ; and hu- 
 manity, if not affection, had warmed the Pacha into 
 more than an ordinary regard for all its inmates. 
 Doubtless some of the women had a stronger hold 
 upon his sympathies than others ; but, after an inti- 
 
 * Eccl. iii. 1, 5, 8, 9. 
 
ITS DISSOLUTION. 449 
 
 macy for a succession of years, in a country where 
 these establishments are regarded as the most sacred 
 thing pertaining to a Turk ; and considering that the 
 Pacha was raised among them, — possessed of the 
 strong predilection in their favour common to his 
 countrymen, — he must have been even worse than 
 the " blood-thirsty tyrant" that the Enghsh represent 
 him, not to have been touched at the idea of turning 
 them out unprotected upon the world. To cage them 
 up, like the women of the old Sultan, struck him as 
 being little better than death ; or rather, it was a kind 
 of entombment of his old favourites, with the breath 
 of life still active and gnawing upon their minds with 
 all the horrors of a thousand deaths. Nor was it a 
 trifling thing to overcome the vanity naturally at- 
 tendant upon keeping up a brilliant harem. 
 
 In the East, every man of fortune is expected to 
 be master of a harem, proportionate in splendour to 
 his reputed wealth. To abandon it, therefore, alto- 
 gether, can be scarcely less mortifying to the pride 
 of an orientalist, than for an Enghsh lord to give up 
 his horses and hounds, and the red plush breeches and 
 powdered wigs of his servants ; or for a worthless 
 rake of New York to surrender his " turn-out" to the 
 sheriff. These deprivations are all equally wounding 
 to the feelings of men of a certain stamp ; for they 
 are looked upon as essential to " keeping up appear- 
 ances." 
 
 A crisis had arrived in the affairs of the Pacha, 
 requiring the sacrifice of his harem, and he resolved 
 to make it manfully. His wives, perceiving their 
 
 Vol. I. — 57 
 
450 DISPOSITION OF THE PACHA'S WOMEN. 
 
 master decided, wisely entered into his views, with 
 the secret hope, doubtless, of bringing out a new 
 harem, at some future day, even more brilliant and 
 attractive than that which they were called upon to 
 abandon. The Pacha told them that he was about 
 to marry off all the women, and to endow each with 
 a sum of money ; and said that he would furnish the 
 money and the men^ and leave to them the trifling 
 task of pairing the parties, and paying out the wed- 
 ding dowries. 
 
 This was a poor consolation ; but, since it was all 
 that they could reasonably expect under the circum- 
 stances, the wives submitted with a grace becoming 
 their exalted standing. Indeed, it was rather flatter- 
 ing to their vanity ; for it evinced a continuance of 
 the Pacha s esteem for them, though about to dissolve 
 for ever his connexion with all his other women. 
 
 The ladies were to be married to the officers of the 
 army ; and it was arranged that the grooms should 
 file along through the regal apartments at a certain 
 hour, and that the wives, intrusted with the important 
 commission of deciding to whom of the fair each of 
 the sons of Mars was to be wedded, should sit in an 
 adjoining room, concealed from the gaze of the offi- 
 cers ; but, at the same time, where they could have full 
 view of the latter, and then book the parties, who, in 
 their opinion, judging from appearance, were best suit- 
 ed to be united with each other for life. This plan 
 having been consummated, and the ladies apprized 
 of their destiny, the Pacha commanded the attend- 
 ance of the officers designated for the honour ; in- 
 
MARRIAGE FESTIVITIES. 
 
 451 
 
 formed them of his pleasure, and ordered them to the 
 harem for exhibition before the ladj umpires. 
 
 This mark of distinction was wholly unexpected ; 
 and the regret of the officers at the dissolution of the 
 harem was as deep as that of the wives of his High- 
 ness, or the women with whom they were about to 
 form " matrimonial connexions." Long used to the 
 dangers and pleasures of the camp, to which thou- 
 sands of females are always attached, they had little 
 felt the want of wives, nor had they been assiduous 
 in cultivating a taste for the sw^eets of the conjugal 
 state. 
 
 Their position was not unlike those who may be 
 compelled to take office against their will ; or perhaps 
 more like that of poor Burns ; who, having been raised 
 by his Majesty's government to the important station 
 of ganger, was emphatically told by the nobles then 
 in power, that he " had been elevated to office to acty 
 not to think r Thus it was with the officers of his 
 Highness : the command had gone forth, and there 
 was no alternative but to obey. 
 
 The nuptial hour arrived ; the officers appeared, 
 and received their respective wives and their dow- 
 ries ; the old harem resounded with music ; festivity 
 crowned the closing day, and hermetically sealed 
 the Pacha's harem for ever. And all the eloquence 
 of his wives has not been able to re-open it. 
 
 The Pacha had no sooner resolved to live a virtu- 
 ous life himself, than he commenced a reform among 
 his subjects. He restricted every man to the lawful 
 number of four wives, and such " maids of honour" 
 
452 NOVEL OBJECT OF ENGLISH SPLEEN. 
 
 as their circumstances would enable them to support. 
 Accordingly, with this laudable object in view, he 
 banished all prostitutes from Lower Egypt, and de- 
 creed death to all who might thereafter infringe this 
 moral regulation. 
 
 This proceeding, as I was informed, produced great 
 commotion among the Franks, particularly the Eng- 
 lish, who immediately found Cairo the dullest, " nas- 
 tiest," and most unpleasant place in the Orient ; — 
 " there were no amusements." 
 
 Some of them thought a " formal complaint" ought 
 to have been at once forwarded to his Excellency the 
 English ambassador at Constantinople. Others were 
 of opinion that a petition to her Majesty was the bet- 
 ter mode of procedure. Others again, more deeply 
 vexed at this " high-handed measure," as they termed 
 it, thought the subject sufficiently grave to justify her 
 Majesty in sending out " ten sail of the line," with a 
 " formal demand" for the immediate restoration of the 
 pubUc women, accompanied with orders to blockade 
 Alexandria forthwith, in case of the Pacha's refusal 
 to comply with this extremely modest request. They 
 insisted that her Majesty's government was bound to 
 protect the rights of all " her loyal subjects" in every 
 part of the world ; and that this was an oppressive 
 grievance, which called for immediate reparation, or 
 bold and prompt warlike measures. There were oth- 
 ers who, though languishing with ennui, and greatly 
 displeased at the new regulation, were nevertheless 
 for diplomatic temporizing. They were wisely of 
 opinion that, unless an opium question or something 
 
ENGLISH EFFERVESCENCE. 453 
 
 else could be connected with it, this of itself could 
 hardly form a justifiable pretext for war ; and were 
 her Majesty to commence hostilities against his High- 
 ness the Pacha for this alone, they were fearful that 
 it might make an unfavourable impression on the 
 minds of other nations. These were fiercely replied 
 to by the more desperate of her Majesty's subjects, 
 who said : — 
 
 " What the devil does England care for other na- 
 tions 1 If other nations have any thing to say about 
 England's doing as she pleases, why, that can be ar- 
 ranged at the cannon's mouth, under the ' wooden 
 walls.' — ' Ten sail of the line* will settle this busi- 
 ness directly, England is not to be insulted ; and if 
 the vested rights of ' her Majesty's loyal subjects' are 
 to be thus trampled under foot, ' where is the dignity 
 of her Imperial Majesty's crown f — 'Englishmen 
 have but one word ;' they are not to be trifled with. 
 No ! we are for no half-way, temporizing measures. 
 ' Ten sail of the line,' a ' formal demand,' and abso- 
 lute, positive war — war to the hilt, unless our griev- 
 ances are forthwith redressed, and suitable guarantees 
 given by the Pacha that henceforth and for ever here- 
 after, all ' her Majesty's loyal subjects' who may visit 
 Egypt for amusement, business, ' scientific research' 
 (such as violating tombs and robbing temples), or any 
 other purpose whatsoever, shall be respected ; and 
 their rights, privileges, and innocent amusements shall 
 remain inalienable, sacred, and undisturbed." 
 
 This made a terrible noise at the time, and the fra- 
 gile-nerved part of the community thought war would 
 
454 THE « GREAT POWERS." 
 
 be the consequence ; but the EngHshmen subsequent- 
 ly came into the slave-market as competitors with 
 the Turks for the " cleverest" Nubian and other fe- 
 male slaves ; and the vs^hole affair happily blew over 
 without bloodshed. 
 
 The regulation of the prostitutes of Egypt is now 
 about the only thing that remains undisturbed by the 
 "Great Powers" — who, under pretence of maintain- 
 ing what they sophistically call " the balance of pow- 
 er" (i. e. to balance all power in their own hands), 
 have cut up the Pacha's dominions, dashed the scep- 
 tre from his hands, substituted anarchy for order, sti- 
 fled the voice of reform, and arrested the progress of 
 civilization. 
 
 John Bull in a Fume. 
 
HELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. 
 
 45e5 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Religious Intolerance. -— Jipostacy of Women punished with 
 Death. — Infidelity legally protected. — Penalty of Bahhling 
 and Backbiting, — State of Female Society. — Effects of 
 Public Opinion. — Fashion and Finery of the Old Egyp- 
 tians. — Exalted Privilege of the Ancient Women of Egypt. 
 • — JYovel Mode of punishing Delinquents, 
 
 " The Prophet did not forbid women to attend pub- 
 lic prayers in a mosque, but pronounced it better for 
 them to pray in private ; but in Cairo, neither females 
 nor young boys are allowed to pray with the congre- 
 gation in the mosques, nor even to be present at any 
 time of prayer. Formerly, women were permitted, 
 but were obliged to place themselves apart from the 
 men, and behind the latter ; because the Moslems are 
 of opinion, that the presence of females inspires a 
 different kind of devotion from that which is requisite 
 in a place dedicated to the worship of God. Very 
 few women in Egypt ever pray at all."* How- 
 ever small the part which the Egyptian women are 
 allowed to share in public worship, they are never- 
 
 ♦ Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 1 17. 
 
456 PUNISHMENT OF APOSTACY. 
 
 theless held accountable for their apostacy from the 
 inculcated creed and dogmas of Mohammedanism. 
 Apostacy is considered one of the most heinous sins ; 
 and nothing short of the death of the. inflexible apos- 
 tate is regarded as a sufficient atonement for an of- 
 fence of such enormity. 
 
 Mr. Lane says : " I once saw a woman paraded 
 through the streets of Cairo, and afterward taken 
 down to the Nile to be drowned, for having aposta- 
 tized from the faith of Mohammed, and having mar- 
 ried a Christian. Unfortunately, a blue cross which 
 she had tattooed on her arm, led to her detection by 
 one of her former friends, in a bath. She was mount- 
 ed upon a high-saddled ass, such as ladies in Egypt 
 usually ride, and very respectably dressed, attended 
 by soldiers, and surrounded by a rabble, who, instead 
 of commiserating, uttered loud imprecations against 
 her. The ckadee, who passed sentence upon her, 
 exhorted her, in vain, to return to her former faith. 
 Her own father was her accuser ! She was taken 
 in a boat to the midst of the river, stripped nearly 
 naked, strangled, and then thrown into the stream."* 
 
 Detected infidelity seldom meets a punishment less 
 fearful than awaits the fair delinquent in religious 
 faith. As four Moslem witnesses, however, are re- 
 quired to bring this serious charge effectually home 
 to the unfaithful spouse, the Egyptian ladies are sel- 
 dom found otherwise than pure, legally speaking, 
 in regard to all breaches of faithfulness toward their 
 lords. 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 147. 
 
INFIDELITY LEGALLY PROTECTED. 457 
 
 The requisition of four eye-witnesses, to establish a 
 charge of unfaithfulness, is said to have been decreed 
 by the Prophet, to meet an accusation of that kind 
 brought against his own wife. She was consequently 
 honourably absolved from punishment ; and subse- 
 quent " revelations" cleared her character from every 
 malicious stain that had settled upon it through the 
 vile calumniators of her fair name. 
 
 Such a law may appear to be extraordinary ; but I 
 suppose it was promulgated by the Prophet on pretty 
 much the same principle that actuated the Pope of 
 Rome under somewhat similar circumstances, per- 
 haps, wherein sixty-four witnesses were required to 
 convict a cardinal of adultery — a law which was 
 sure to keep the cardinals quite above suspicion. 
 
 The penalty and mode of punishing convicted 
 adulterers and adulteresses among the modern Egyp- 
 tians are the same as were promulgated in the old 
 Levitical law,* and observed by the Jews, even after 
 the birth of the Saviour ;t though in cases of male de- 
 linquents, the penalty of death is rarely or never ex- 
 acted. But the women, who have been found guilty 
 of a crime so revolting, seldom escape the utmost 
 rigour of the law. Their nearest relatives are often 
 their accusers and executioners ! 
 
 " When a Fellah is found to have been unfaithful 
 to her husband, in general he or her brother throws 
 her into the Nile, with a stone tied to her neck ; or 
 cuts her in pieces, and then throws her remains into 
 the river. In most instances, also, a father or brother 
 
 * Lev. XX. 10. t John viii. 5. 
 
 Vol. L — 58 
 
458 A CAUTION TO BACKBITERS. 
 
 punishes in the same manner an unmarried daughter 
 or sister who has been guihy of incontinence. These 
 relatives are considered more disgraced than the hus- 
 band by the crime of the woman, and are often de- 
 spised if they do not thus punish her."* 
 
 The salutary provision of the Prophet, wherein 
 he has declared four eye-witnesses to the fact re- 
 quisite to the conviction of the accused, naturally 
 renders the legal infraction of it rather rare. In- 
 deed, so well did Mohammed hedge round this odious 
 crime, it is dangerous for slanderers idly to babble 
 about their fair neighbours, unless they have four 
 faithful Moslem witnesses that they can rely upon to 
 estabhsh what they may have intended only to utter 
 in a corner. 
 
 The Koranf has the following favourable clause 
 in behalf of the women, which hangs fearfully over 
 the heads of wanton backbiting babblers, who may 
 desire to injure the good name of the fair sex with- 
 out a cause, or rather without being able to con- 
 vict the fair subject of the crime alleged against 
 her: — "Those who accuse women of reputation, 
 and produce not four witnesses, scourge them with 
 eighty stripes, and receive not their testimony for 
 ever, for such an infamous prevarication, excepting 
 those who shall afterward repent ; for God is gracious 
 and merciful. They who shall accuse their wives, 
 and shall have no witness besides themselves, the tes- 
 timony of one of them, that he swear four times by 
 God that he speaketh the truth and the faith, the 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 272. t Chap. xxiv. 2-9. 
 
STATE OF FEMALE SOCIETY. 459 
 
 curse of God on him if he be a Har ; and it shall 
 avert the punishment, if she swear four times by God 
 that he is a Har, and if the fifth, the wrath of God on 
 her if he speak the truth." 
 
 It is also provided that unmarried people convict- 
 ed of this offence, be punished by scourging with 
 one hundred stripes. Sometimes married women, 
 guilty of infidelity, are privately put to death, even 
 without being legally convicted of the crime. 
 
 Many ancient and modern authors, who have writ- 
 ten with much intelligence upon the customs of the 
 Egyptians, have informed us that women, in the glo- 
 rious days of Egypt, occupied a position scarcely 
 less honourable than the rank they hold in civilized 
 countries at the present day. They were allowed 
 much more freedom, and exercised a much greater 
 influence over the men, than was ever enjoyed by 
 the women of Greece, even in her most polished and 
 refined age, or of Rome at any period of her impe- 
 rial splendour. 
 
 The ancient Egyptians indulged a strange license 
 respecting the number of wives that each might pos- 
 sess. But pubhc opinion failed not to correct an evil 
 that was not properly provided for by judicial enact- 
 ments. It was considered no less disreputable for a 
 man to have two wives in Egypt than it is with us at 
 the present time, where it is justly regarded as an 
 infamous crime. 
 
 The women of Egypt, three thousand years ago, 
 are said to have exhibited a fondness for dress that 
 would not dishonour the best regulated taste, in mat- 
 
460 
 
 FINERY OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 
 
 ters of that kind, of the ladies of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. At their parties, as pictured upon the walls 
 of the tombs of Thebes, the ladies are represented, 
 admiring their jewels and finery, with no less inter- 
 est than such things are often dwelt upon by the 
 ladies of this enlightened age. 
 
 Rings, Signets, Bracelets, and Ear-rings of the Ancient Egyptians. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson^ says : "The patterns or the value 
 of trinkets were discussed with proportionate interest. 
 The maker of an ear-ring, and the shop where it was 
 purchased, were anxiously inquired ; each compared 
 the workmanship, the style, and the material of those 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 366, 367. 
 
DOWRIES OF ANCIENT QUEENS. 
 
 461 
 
 she wore, coveted her neighbour's, or preferred her 
 own ; and women of every class vied with each other 
 in the display of jewels of silver and jewels of gold,* 
 in the texture of their ' raiment,' the neatness of their 
 sandals, and the arrangement or beauty of their hair."t 
 
 Diodorus says that the revenues accruing from the 
 fisheries of the lake Moeris, after that monarch " had 
 arranged the sluices for the introduction of the water, 
 and established every thing connected with it, he as- 
 signed, as an annual dowry to the queen, for the pur- 
 chase of jewels, ointments, and other objects connect- 
 ed with the toilet.J The provision certainly was 
 very liberal, being a talent every day, or upward of 
 ^70,700 sterling a year ; and where this formed only 
 a portion of the pin-money of the Egyptian queens, 
 to whom the revenues of the city of Anthylla, famous 
 for its wines, were given for iheir dress, it is certain 
 that they had no reason to complain of the allowance 
 they enjoyed." § The same privilege was continued 
 to the queens of Egypt after the Persian conquest. 
 
 If such was the liberality of the Pharaohs to the 
 queens of Egypt, it is not unreasonable to suppose 
 that the opulent citizens were equally indulgent in 
 proportion to their wealth ; and that they lavished 
 large sums upon their wives and daughters for ob- 
 jects of dress, jewelry, and other finery. 
 
 * Exod. xii. 35. 
 
 t The Egyptian women appear to have been very proud of their hair, and 
 locks of it, when very long, were sometimes cut off and wrapped up sepa- 
 rately, to be buried in their tombs after death. 
 
 I Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 64. 
 
 § The queen of England has an annual income of about $3,000,000 ! 
 
462 ANCIENT FEMALE PRIVILEGES. 
 
 From the great amount of jewels* borrowed by tlie 
 Israelites when they fled from Egypt, we may infer 
 that it was not unusual for the Egyptian ladies to deck 
 themselves with ornaments. They not only indulged 
 in the richest articles of dress, and jewels, but they 
 were allowed to come out into the world, and to 
 mingle in society. Representations of social enter- 
 tainments are frequent on the tombs. 
 
 " We find," says Wilkinson, " men and women 
 sitting together, both strangers as well as members 
 of the same family ; a privilege not conceded to fe- 
 males among the Greeks, except with their relations. 
 This not only argues a very great advancement in 
 civilization, especially in an eastern nation, but 
 proves, among many other Egyptian customs, how 
 very far this people exceed the Greeks in the habits 
 of social life."t 
 
 The women of Egypt were welcome guests at the 
 festive board ; where, if the paintings that represent 
 those scenes are to receive literal credence, they 
 were not forbidden the use of wine — which they in- 
 dulged in occasionally, until their situation became 
 scarcely less enviable than the Englishmen, who, a 
 year or two since, committed such abominations in 
 the palace of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. They, 
 like all the descendants of Eve, were not exempt from 
 the weaknesses of their common mother, and could 
 not withstand all sorts of temptation, any more than 
 
 * Exod. xi. 2 : — " Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man 
 borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver 
 and jewels of gold." 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 389. 
 
MALE AND FEMALE EXCESSES. 
 
 463 
 
 the other sex. Consequently, while the men are 
 sometimes represented on the walls of the tombs, re- 
 turning home from a drinking party, borne along in 
 
 Retubning Home 
 
 a state of intoxication by their servants, the ladies are 
 seen supported by their maids, throwing off from their 
 acidiferous stomachs that redundancy of poisonous 
 fluid in which they in an evil hour had too freely 
 indulged. 
 
 After Dinner. 
 
 The women of Greece* were not permitted to ap- 
 pear at any of th^ir entertainments, except those to 
 which relatives onlv were invited ; " and, in early 
 
 Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 389. 
 
464 PRIVILEGES OF ANCIENT LADIES. 
 
 times at Rome, it was unlawful for women, or indeed 
 for young men below the age of thirty, to drink wine, 
 except at sacrifices. And so scrupulous were they 
 on this point, in the time of Romulus, that Egnatius 
 Mecennius caused his wife to be put to death for in- 
 fringing this law, as if guilty of a crime.* While 
 the imperious Romans were guilty of such barbarity 
 toward the ladies, we are assured that the Egyptians, 
 in their contracts of marriage, gave authority to their 
 wives over their husbands, at which time the hus- 
 bands promised to be obedient to their wives in all 
 things."! 
 
 "In this country," says Herodotus, "the women 
 leave to the men the management of the loom in the 
 retirement of the house, whilst they themselves are 
 engaged abroad in the business of commerce." J The 
 honour of ascending the throne was conceded by the 
 Egyptians to the ladies at a very remote period ; 
 " and it was a custom among them," says Diodorus, 
 " to honour a queen, and allow her more power and 
 authority than a king."§ But however great were the 
 privileges and powerful was the authority exercised 
 by the higher classes of the ancient Egyptian women, 
 there were nevertheless those among them who were 
 doomed to incessant toil, under circumstances little 
 less deplorable than those which surround the de- 
 generate females of modern Egypt. 
 
 During the early ages of the world, the duties and 
 occupations of women varied very considerably from 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 166. 
 
 t Diod. i. 33. i Herod, ii. 35. § Died. i. 32. 
 
EMPLOYMENTS OF WOMEN. 
 
 465 
 
 those of a later and more civilized period, and were 
 regulated according to the peculiar manners and hab- 
 its of different communities. " Among pastoral tribes, 
 
 they drew water, kept the sheep, and superintended 
 the herds as well as the flocks. As with the Arabs of 
 the present day, they prepared both the furniture and 
 the stuffs of which the tents themselves were made ; 
 and like the Greek women, they were generally em- 
 ployed in weaving, spinning, and other sedentary oc- 
 cupations within doors. Needle-work and embroide- 
 VoL. L — 59 
 
466 
 
 WOMEN USING THE DISTAFF. 
 
 rj were favourite amusements of the Grecian wo- 
 men, in which it is highly probable the Egyptian la- 
 dies occupied much of their time ; and we have posi- 
 tive evidence, from the sculptures, of numerous fe- 
 males being employed in weaving and in the use of 
 the distaff. But Egyptian women were not kept in 
 
 Egyptian Women using the Distaff, 
 
 the same secluded manner as those of ancient Greece; 
 who, besides being confined to a particular part of 
 the house, the most remote from the hall of entrance, 
 and generally in the uppermost part of the building, 
 were not even allowed to go out of doors without 
 a veil, as is the case in many oriental countries at the 
 present day. Newly-married women were almost as 
 strictly kept as virgins ; and by the laws of Solon, no 
 lady could go out at night without a lighted torch* 
 before her chariot, or leave home with more than 
 three garments. They were guarded by men, and 
 oftentimes by old men and eunuchs ; and the seclu- 
 ded life they led was very similar to that imposed up- 
 on females among modern Moslems. But the Egyp- 
 
 * No person can lawfully walk the streets of Athens in the evening with- 
 out a lantern or a lighted torch, at the present day. 
 
EXCISION OF THE OLFACTORY ORGAN. 467 
 
 tians treated their women very differently, and in a 
 manner much more worthy of a civiUzed people."* 
 
 The lenity and indulgence of the ancients did not 
 extend so far as to blind their eyes to palpable crimes, 
 which the ladies of old Egypt sometimes had the 
 weakness to commit. Some of the punishments 
 partook more of the barbarous feeling that pervades 
 the breasts of oriental rulers of our time, than of the 
 highly cultivated state of society which is supposed to 
 have existed in Egypt thirty-five hundred years ago. 
 Death was seldom exacted as the penalty of crime, ex- 
 cept in cases of murder.f 
 
 A more common way of punishing women for the 
 crime of adultery, was to cut off their noses. Whe- 
 ther a chastisement of such severity had the effect to 
 restrain crime and enforce chastity or not, all must 
 concede that the penalty was savage in the extreme. 
 
 Male delinquents, in all cases of this kind, suffered 
 a bastinading to the amount of a thousand blows, ex- 
 cept in cases where violence had been used against 
 a free woman, when they were punished in a signal 
 manner. 
 
 In the loss of the nose, it was supposed that the 
 fair would be deprived of a most useful, and if not 
 always the most ornamental feature of her face, at 
 least it was the last that she would desire to part 
 with. In any case, it could hardly fail to detract 
 considerably from her personal beauty. 
 
 The women, however, did not enjoy an undivided 
 monopoly of having their noses cut off. The privi- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 59. t Ibid. ii. 39. 
 
468 A CITY OF NOSELESS CONVICTS. 
 
 lege was sometimes conferred upon the men ; who, 
 by their dexterity in house-breaking, and their skill in 
 robbery, exhibited claims sufficiently strong to merit 
 that distinction. Diodorus informs us that " after a 
 just and strict inquiry, and certain knowledge of their 
 guilt, they were ordered to have their noses cut off, 
 and to be banished into the uttermost parts of the 
 desert ; to a city built for them, called, from the cutting 
 off the noses of the inhabitants, Rhinocorura, which 
 is situated in the confines of Egypt and Syria, in a 
 barren place, destitute of all manner of provision."* 
 Thus the lives of the culprits were spared ; and, as 
 they were never allowed to return again to their na- 
 tive land, but obliged to support themselves by indus- 
 try in a barren and inhospitable region, all must ad- 
 mit that their punishment was sufficiently striking to 
 convince all that " the way of transgressors is hard." 
 
 * Diod. i. 64. 
 
 N-ASAii Embellishments. 
 
HELIOPOLIS. 
 
 469 
 
 Heliopolis, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Visit to Heliopolis, the On of the Scriptures. — ■ The Obelisk.— 
 Temple of the Sun. — Schools, Scholars, and Priests of 
 Heliopolis. — The Phcenix. — Tree under which reposed the 
 Holy Family. — " Mad-House.''^ — Sir Danbury Rimtaper 
 and the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix. 
 
 Heliopolis, where Joseph * in accordance with 
 the wishes of Pharaoh, married Asenath, daughter of 
 Poti-pherah, priest of On, is about two hours' ride 
 from Cairo. It lies in a north-easterly direction from 
 the latter, and is approached by a well-beaten path 
 along the border of the Syrian desert. 
 
 A lofty obelisk of red granite marks the site of the 
 ancient city. Though thirty-five hundred years have 
 faded into oblivion since this relic of Egyptian art 
 was erected, it is still as beautiful as when fresh from 
 the hands of the sculptor. Like a venerable patri- 
 arch, who has survived every kindred and friend, this 
 
 * Gen. xli. 45-50. 
 
470 PRIESTS OF HELIOPOLIS. 
 
 lonely object is all that now remains of the pristine 
 splendour of the Temple of the Sun. Besides this, 
 there is nothing left of all the by-gone glory of the 
 city of On. 
 
 Heliopolis was the ancient University, whence the 
 celebrated philosophers of Greece " drew the wisdom 
 of the Egyptians." 
 
 The priests of the Temple of the Sun were re- 
 nowned for their learning. They restrained them- 
 selves from the use of wine, and were devoted to 
 study and meditation : " hearing and teaching those 
 things which regard the divine nature."* They were 
 the teachers of the most celebrated Egyptians ; and 
 Plato, Eudoxus, Pythagoras, and other Greek sages, 
 were numbered among their scholars. Until the ac- 
 cession of the Ptolemies to the throne of the Pha- 
 raohs, Heliopolis continued to hold its literary rank ; 
 though it never recovered from the desolating blow 
 which it received from the hands of the Persian con- 
 querors. When Strabo visited the place, " it was 
 entirely deserted, though the houses in which Eu- 
 doxus and Plato had studied were still shown to the 
 Greek travellers."! The inhabitants are represented 
 to have been " the most ingenious of all the Egyp- 
 tians."! When Alexandria became the metropolis, 
 the seat of learning and the arts, Heliopolis went to 
 decay. 
 
 Mnevis, one of the sacred bulls of Egypt, conse- 
 crated to Osiris,§ was kept at HeliopoHs, and hon- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 301, 302. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Thebes, 317. t Herod, ii. 3. § Diod. i. 28. 
 
OBELISKS OF HELIOPOLIS, 471 
 
 oured by the Egyptians next to Apis, which was kept 
 at Memphis, These two animals were worshipped 
 as deities in all parts of Egypt 
 
 Lions* are said to have been kept in the court of 
 the temple, and were considered emblems of the sun. 
 The statue of the cat, too, had a conspicuous place 
 assigned it in the temple. 
 
 Herodotus gives a singular account of the loss and 
 recovery of the sight of Pheron, son and successor 
 of Sesostris, who, in gratitude for the return of his 
 vision, " sent magnificent presents to all the more 
 celebrated temples. To that of the Sunf he sent two 
 obelisks ...... Each was formed of one single stone, 
 
 one hundred cubits high and eight broad." 
 
 Wilkinson says, the obelisk now standing in Heli- 
 opolis " was erected by Osirtasen L, about seventeen 
 hundred years before our era."J During the reign 
 of this prince, the Temple of the Sun "was either 
 founded or received additions, and one of the obelisks 
 bearing his name attests the skill to which they had 
 attained in the difficult art of sculpturing granite."§ 
 
 Of the many obelisks abstracted from Egypt by the 
 Romans, the first were taken from Heliopolis. These 
 " being dedicated to Re, the divinity of the place, the 
 Romans were led to conclude that all others belonged 
 to the same god. But the obelisks of Thebes were 
 ascribed to Amun, the presiding deity of that city ; 
 and though several of those at Rome came from 
 Thebes, and were therefore dedicated to Amun, the 
 
 * Diod. i. 296. t Herod, ii. 91. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 9. § Ibid. i. 44. 
 
472 THE PHCENIX. 
 
 first impressions were too strong, to be removed ; and 
 the notion of their exclusive appropriation to the Sun 
 continued and has been repeated to the present day."* 
 
 HehopoHs was also famous for the visit of the Phoe- 
 nix, which came from Arabia to Egypt once in the 
 course of five hundred years, to solemnize the funeral 
 obsequies of the parent bird, by burning its remains 
 upon the altar of the Temple of the Sun. Herodo- 
 tus, in his account of the Phoenix, does not pretend 
 to have seen, while in Egypt, any thing but the pic- 
 ture of this bird, to which, if it bear any resemblance, 
 " the wings are partly of a gold and partly of a crim- 
 son colour, and its form and size are perfectly like the 
 eagle. They say that it comes from Arabia to the 
 Temple of the Sun, bearing the dead body of its pa- 
 rent, enclosed in myrrh. It makes a ball of myrrh 
 shaped like an egg, as large as it is able to carry, 
 which it proves by experiment. This done, it exca- 
 vates the mass, into which it introduces the body of 
 the dead bird : it again closes the aperture with myrrh, 
 and the whole becomes of the same weight as when 
 composed entirely of myrrh. It then proceeds to 
 Egypt, to the Temple of the Sun."t 
 
 Wilkinson says : " There is reason to believe that 
 the god Re" (the name of the deity of Heliopolis) 
 " corresponds to the Syrian Baal, a name implying 
 ' Lord,' which was given "par excellence to the sun : 
 and the same idea of peculiar sovereignty vested in 
 that deity may have led the Egyptians to take from 
 Re the regal title of their kings. HeHopolis, in Syria, 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 295. f Herod, ii. 73. 
 
A WINTER SCENE. 473 
 
 Still retains the name of Baalbek, ' the City of (the 
 Lord, or) the Sun.' "* 
 
 The wretched village of Matarea now pollutes the 
 borders of the ancient Heliopolis. From the filthy 
 dens of mud, a throng of miserable old men, women, 
 and children saUied forth at our approach, demanding 
 buckshish in a manner so determined, that canes were 
 called in requisition to keep them from literally tear- 
 ing our clothes from our backs. 
 
 A short distance from the site of the ancient city, 
 we were conducted into one of the gardens, once 
 celebrated for the balsam they produced, though now 
 no longer cultivated — where we were shown a syca- 
 more-tree, said by tradition to have afforded shade to 
 the Holy Family, at the time of the flight into Egypt. 
 The tree looks old and ugly enough to be at least 
 a hundred years of age ! 
 
 As we leisurely retraced our steps to Cairo, we 
 could not but admire the goodness of Providence, 
 every where displayed. The green crops were has- 
 tening on to maturity ; the peasants, warmed by a 
 summer sun, blackened the fertile fields ; the ma- 
 chinery for irrigating the thirsty plains was all in 
 motion; the palm-groves waved their pendent branch- 
 es to the breeze ; the towering pyramids of Ghizeh 
 lifted their huge forms against the heavens ; the ever- 
 lasting sands of the desert stretched off in gentle un- 
 dulations ; and the bounding Nile, diffusing blessings 
 and bounties on all sides, swept boldly on. It was a 
 rare picture, — a lovely winter scene. 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 299. 
 
 Vol. L — 60 
 
474 A MAD-HOUSE. 
 
 In winding through the narrow streets, we passed 
 near the " Mad-house," as is denominated the wretch- 
 ed abode of those unfortunate beings of Cairo, whose 
 minds, deprived of chart and compass, and floating gid- 
 dily upon the sea of uncertainty, are tossed by the tem- 
 pest of confusion. On expressing a desire to visit the 
 shelter of the truly wretched, we were conducted into 
 the open court of a shattered building, situated in the 
 most dense, dirty, noisy part of the city. On all sides, 
 in small cells looking out upon the court through 
 grated windows, the hapless inmates, covered with 
 vermin, steeped in filth, and almost clotheless, sat 
 chained to their dens like wild beasts caged for pub- 
 lic exhibition ! Each had a heavy iron ring around 
 his neck, to which a chain was attached and fastened 
 to the wall. These cells were about eight feet in 
 length by four broad, and not of sufficient height to 
 admit one to stand erect. In the rear of every cell 
 there was a small door, through which the miserable 
 objects entered, never to return till death kindly steps 
 in and delivers them from torments more awful, were 
 it possible, than those which haunt the spirits of 
 despair. 
 
 The object of the managers of this doleful place is 
 apparently no other than to keep the subjects of their 
 charge out of harm's way, and to prevent their com- 
 mitting acts of violence. The sooner, therefore, they 
 are relieved from this thankless task, the more agree- 
 able it becomes to them. No attention is paid to 
 their diet or condition, with a view to mehorate their 
 forlorn state. Exercise, they have none ; the air they 
 
REMARK OF SIR DANBURY RIMTAPER. 475 
 
 breathe is loaded with impurities ; and they are stran- 
 gers to repose. Publicly gazed at from day to day 
 by the unfeeling crowd, whose jests and ribaldry of- 
 ten fall like iron upon their wretched souls, they lay 
 writhing in their dens of misery, till the frail fabric 
 of their existence crumbles beneath its appaUing 
 burden ! 
 
 We had completed our observations in this man- 
 sion of misery, and turned away in a melancholy 
 mood. We gave the keeper a few piastres, and were 
 about taking leave, when we heard the loud laughter 
 and blustering conversation of two gentlemen who 
 had just entered at the further end of the passage, 
 and with lofty strides were advancing toward us. 
 They were so disguised in the barbarous habiliments 
 of the country, that we could not at first imagine who 
 they were. We were not long, however, in doubt ; 
 for we soon recognised our noble friend Sir D anbury 
 Rimtaper, leaning most confidingly upon the arm of 
 his clerical companion, the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix. 
 They kept up an animated conversation until they 
 had advanced into the court ; then suddenly raising 
 their glasses to their eyes, and directing them upon 
 the unhappy prisoners in the cells — " I say, Dunder- 
 blix," observed Sir Danbury, " this is a demmed ex- 
 traordinary spectacle, 'pon honour !" 
 
476 EXCUESION TO THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Excursion to the Pyramids. — Friends by the Wayside. — View 
 from the Summit of the Pyramid of Cheops. — Ancient 
 Tombs. — " Scientific Antiquarians. '''' — The Sphinx. — In- 
 terminable Pay-roll. — Brilliant Cavalcade. 
 
 For many days, the mighty pyramids of Ghizeh 
 had been the theme of our admiration. Every where, 
 except in threading the gloomy streets of Cairo, these 
 huge monuments rose Hke lofty mountains conspicu- 
 ous to the view, overshadowing the plain, and im- 
 parting beauty and grandeur to the scene. Day after 
 day, as we gazed upon the massive piles, they swelled 
 upon the vision, augmenting equally in interest and 
 apparent magnitude. At length, having made the 
 necessary arrangements, we set out on an excursion 
 to these wonders of the world. 
 
 The morning was delightful ; and, accompanied by 
 
 our esteemed friend the doctor, and Mr. J , we 
 
 crossed the Nile in an Arab boat, and directed our 
 course over the fertile plains. On all sides, the fruit- 
 ful soil, green with the exuberant crops of the year, 
 was dotted with villages, reposing amid groves of 
 spreading palms. 
 
FRIENDS BY THE WAYSIDE. 477 
 
 The pyramids, when seen from the city, appeared 
 close at hand. But as we advanced toward them, 
 they seemed to recede from us, and actually assumed 
 a greater distance than when viewed from a point 
 twenty miles below Cairo. 
 
 We had not rode far after crossing the river, when, 
 to our surprise, we observed, radiating in direct lines 
 from the surrounding villages, long files of half-clad 
 Arabs, armed with clubs, and running down toward 
 us at the top of their speed. Our little party was the 
 centre to which the advancing columns converged. 
 The doctor was destined to feel the force of the first 
 onset : two men seized his donkey by the bit, and 
 conducted him forward ; several others, walking on 
 either side, held his feet in the stirrups ; while as ma- 
 ny more were bracing him up behind, to prevent (as 
 they said) his tumbling off backward. I immediately 
 found myself in the iron grasp of a dozen lusty, lousy 
 rascals, who held me as in a vice. Mrs. C. was in no 
 less peril. She was hemmed round by a tumultuous 
 throng, who wanted to take her and the animal she 
 
 rode, and carry them both in their arms. Mr. J 
 
 was kept steady in his seat by the kind assistance of 
 another dusky crowd ; and fresh supplies augmented 
 the number of our attendants at every step. 
 
 Each new arrival afforded a theme for contention, 
 which usually resulted in a pitched battle, involving 
 the whole mass in an uproarious squabble. Al- 
 though they were very bitter among themselves, we 
 discovered that they had no hostile designs upon us. 
 Most of them lacked an eye ; many were minus a 
 
478 THE CHIVALROUS DRAGOMAN. 
 
 finger ; and some had their front teeth knocked out ; 
 yet they were all owx friends. They had leathern 
 bottles filled with water for us to drink, candle ends 
 to light us through the dark avenues of the pyramids, 
 and clubs to fight our battles and defend us against 
 the assaults of the Bedouins, who, they said, would 
 come from the desert to rob us. They were ready 
 to die in our cause ; wanted to accompany us to the 
 ends of the earth ; and were determined to stand by 
 us, whether we would or not. 
 
 Apprehending no danger from robbers, and having 
 provided ourselves with all necessary articles for the 
 excursion, we had little occasion for their proffered 
 attentions. We, however, took two of them into 
 pay, and endeavoured to dismiss the others. They 
 nevertheless all considered themselves fairly enlisted 
 for the day, and refused to leave us ; their unremitted 
 attentions were, however, oppressively irksome. We 
 could endure it no longer. 
 
 Selim, anxious to add fresh lustre to his faded lau- 
 rels, first broke ground in our defence. He valiantly 
 stood forth, corbash in hand, and charged upon the 
 whole body of our new friends, right and left. The 
 Arabs, flying before his fearful advances, led the art- 
 less dragoman into serious difficulty. They precipi- 
 tately leaped a half-filled ditch, into which Selim, in 
 hot pursuit, plunged himself and donkey pell mell. 
 This disaster greatly amused our tormentors, and ef- 
 fectually damped the miUtary ardour of the aspiring 
 dragoman. After a perilous struggle, he extricated 
 himself and quadruped from the mud, and tamely 
 
A WEIGHTY SUBJECT. 479 
 
 slunk into the rear of our cavalry, a rueful object, of 
 disappointed ambition. We never felt more seriously 
 the inconvenience of officious kindness in our lives ; 
 and wei'e in danger of being " hugged to death" by our 
 friends ! 
 
 A kind of running scuffle was kept up betv^een us, 
 until our progress was partially arrested by the stag- 
 nant waters of an old canal. Here we were obliged 
 to dismount and be borne over the slough upon men's 
 shoulders. Our friends now fell upon us en masse ; 
 resolved, at all hazards, to aid us in crossing the gulf. 
 For a moment the tumult and confusion were over- 
 whelming, and the result was poised upon the finger 
 of doubt. They seized upon Mr. J with Hercu- 
 lean grasp, raised him high in air, and tried in vain 
 to seat him upon their shoulders and convey him over 
 the water. He kicked most furiously ; and so in- 
 terrupted the equilibrity of their heads, ears, and 
 noses, that they soon relinquished their embrace, and 
 sought the advantages of retreat. 
 
 A select circle pitched upon the doctor with the 
 same benevolent design, but they were soon con- 
 vinced that he, standing six feet three in his stock- 
 ings, and weighing near three hundred pounds, was no 
 bawble ; and, after several ineffectual attempts to 
 raise him from the ground, they resigned him to the 
 arms of those whom we had concluded to patronise. 
 These with some difficulty mounted the doctor upon 
 their shoulders, and staggered across the slough. He 
 was scarcely set down on the opposite side, however, 
 when a crowd of Arabs from the villages near the 
 
480 FEMALE OFFICIOUSNESS. 
 
 pyramids gathered round, and endeavoured to raise 
 him in their arms and carry him back to the spot he 
 had just left. They had nearly poised his ponder- 
 ous frame upon their shoulders, before he fully com- 
 prehended the extent of their beneficence. Perceiv- 
 ing himself again in danger of the peril he had for- 
 tunately just escaped in crossing, he cut and thrust 
 right and left v^ith his umbrella, and kept the assail- 
 ants off, until, being reinforced by the muleteers, he 
 was enabled to establish and maintain his position 
 with comparative ease. 
 
 Many ineffectual attempts at kidnapping had been 
 made upon us ; but we successfully parried them all, 
 and crossed the slough in safety. Our candle-end 
 and water-bottle friends were as numerous and noisy 
 on this side the canal as those we had left on the 
 other. Although among these were comprised a large 
 number of the fair sex, we had been so intolerably 
 annoyed by the assiduous attentions of our unexpect- 
 ed friends, that we treated the flattering advances of 
 the ladies as ungallantly as we had repulsed the offi- 
 cious aid of the gentlemen. 
 
 From the moment we crossed the Nile, until we 
 approached the rocky terrace on which the pyramids 
 stand, they had continued to diminish in apparent 
 size ; and now, leaning against the heavens, with no 
 surrounding object by which to compare them, they 
 dwindled in appearance to dimensions far less than 
 when viewed from any other point. Having ascend- 
 ed the terrace, we were at the base of the most huge 
 and hoary monument ever constructed by human 
 
THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS. 481 
 
 hands. Then we were no longer in doubt of its 
 overwhelming extent and grandeur ; though, until we 
 had ascended half way up its Cyclopean sides, and 
 there seen the gigantic masses of rock below, and the 
 towering ledges that still rose above us, we had no 
 adequate idea of their vastness, and the immense la- 
 bour requisite in their achievement Layers of stone, 
 which, when seen from the plain, looked like those 
 of brick, we found on examination consisted of blocks 
 of well-hewn rock, from twenty to thirty feet in length, 
 and three to four feet square. Then were we enabled 
 to appreciate the power of this monument, not only 
 to have withstood the ravaging influences of more 
 than forty centuries, which have already discharged 
 their fury upon it— -but, to all human appearance, to 
 stand unshaken till time itself shall cease, and this 
 earthy ball crumble into its primitive chaos and con- 
 fusion. Amazed and awe-struck, we clambered up- 
 ward until we stood upon the summit of the pyramid 
 of Cheops, This astonishing pile rises from a base 
 or area equal in extent to about eleven English acres, 
 terminating at an altitude of four hundred and sev- 
 enty-four feet, with a square surface, measuring thirty 
 feet on either side. Each side at the base measures 
 about seven hundred and thirty- two feet This, how- 
 ever, does not include the coating or outward tier of 
 stone which once covered it. The total height of the 
 pyramid, if entire, with the casing, would be about 
 five hundred and two feet* We were thirty minutes 
 in ascending it, but accomplished the task without 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 323. 
 
 Vol. I. — 61 
 
482 VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF CHEOPS. 
 
 difficulty. We required none of that lifting, tugging, 
 and pulling which the learned " ex-member of Parlia- 
 ment"* informed us he and his noble friends resorted 
 to in their miraculous ascent, at the time of the " ex- 
 member's" celebrated visit to the pyramids. 
 
 From the summit, the view on all sides was im- 
 pressively grand. The hoary sands of Africa stretched 
 toward the west, till their arid surface met the heav- 
 ens. A long line of pyramids, standing upon the bor- 
 ders of Egypt, reached upward far beyond the palm- 
 shadowed site of Memphis. The eastern horizon 
 was fringed by Arabia's barren mountains, whose 
 bleak and flinty sides are pierced with ancient sepul- 
 chres. At their base, the metropoHs of Egypt, crown- 
 ed with lofty^ swelling domes, reposed amid palm- 
 groves and fruitful fields. The rushing Nile mean- 
 dered through the vale, glistening like shields of sil- 
 ver, fringed with living green. Egypt's expanding 
 plains, sprinkled with towns, leaped onward in the 
 view, till the heavens kissed the soil, and closed on 
 either hand the range of vision. Than was here ex- 
 hibited, it would be impossible to present a contrast 
 more impressive. The wind whistled along the de- 
 sert waste like ceaseless murmurs of the ocean waves 
 upon a barren beach. On one hand, nature revelled in 
 beauty and fertiUty, and nothing could be more lovely 
 to the sight On the other, far as vision's utmost 
 bounds, all was cheerless, desolate, wretched. 
 
 Glancing our eyes hastily over the names of the 
 " immortals," or those travellers who have made the 
 
 * J. S. Buckingham, 
 
INTERIOR OF THE PYRAMID. 483 
 
 pyramids, temples, tombs, and other works of eastern 
 art, famous for their chisellings and spoil, — we com- 
 menced the descent, which is easy and safe. 
 
 The entrance to the pyramid is on the north side, 
 nearly in the centre, and about forty-five feet above 
 the base. It is three feet three inches square, and is 
 lined with polished granite. Preceded by an Arab 
 bearing a lighted torch, we entered this passage, and 
 descended at an angle of twenty-seven degrees to the 
 distance of one hundred feet Here we found an un- 
 finished chamber ; and the passage from this point, 
 ascending at about the same angle as the descent from 
 the entrance, conducted us to what is called the 
 " Great Gallery." On the right of the entrance to 
 this gallery, a well opens to an unknown depth. Here 
 a horizontal passage conducts the explorer to what is 
 termed the " Queen's Chamber." The " Great Gal- 
 lery," ascending at the same angle as the passage, 
 leads to a small vestibule which opens into a spacious 
 apartment, cased on all sides with polished blocks of 
 granite. In this room, which is called the " King's 
 Chamber," there is a highly-polished granite sarco- 
 phagus, seven feet four inches long and three feet 
 square. Besides the sarcophagus, there was little in 
 this apartment to detain us. The air was hot and 
 impure ; and the Arabs who rushed in after us, kicked 
 up the dust so much, that respiration became diffi- 
 cult. The bats too had taken the alarm, and were 
 revolving round our lights in a manner that threat- 
 ened their total extinction. We therefore deemed it 
 
484 THE WELL OF THE PYRAMID. 
 
 advisable to feel our way back through the passages, 
 and emerge once more into day. 
 
 The well at the bottom of the " Great Gallery" is 
 sunk through the solid rock ; and it is supposed to 
 have connexion with a passage at the bottom, lead- 
 ing up thence to the entrance of the pyramid. Wil- 
 kinson* thinks that the workmen, after closing the 
 passage which conducts from the first chamber to the 
 " Great Gallery," must have descended the well, and 
 made their final egress through this subterranean pas- 
 sage, which they also closed after them. Champol- 
 lionf says, the well is known to extend to the depth 
 of two hundred feet, and that it has been explored 
 to a point forty feet below the level of the Nile. 
 
 HerodotusJ says that the water of the Nile was 
 conducted into this pyramid and surrounded an isl- 
 and, where the body of Cheops, its founder, was de- 
 posited. If that were the case, the well must have 
 reached down to the channel for the admission of the 
 Nile. But Wilkinson^ discredits this assertion ; and 
 Pliny, who he thinks was not easily led away by cre- 
 dulity and want of judgment, observes that the Nile 
 is much lower than the bottom of the well. Cham- 
 pollion represents the descent as being neither diffi- 
 cult nor dangerous, there being small niches cut in 
 the sides, on which to rest the feet and hands. 
 
 The present passage to the interior of the pyra- 
 mids was opened by Belzoni, in 1816; though he 
 found abundant evidence there to show that he was 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 324. f "Egypte Ancienne," 282. 
 
 t Herod, ii. 124-127. § Wilkinson's Thebes, 328 : note. 
 
THE SARCOPHAGUS. 486 
 
 not the first discoverer. A forced passage was ef- 
 fected in the year 820, by the CaHf Mamoon, " and 
 a statue, resembling a man, was found in the sarco- 
 phagus ; and in the statue was a body, with a breast- 
 plate of gold and jewels, and characters written with 
 a pen, which no one understood."* 
 
 Mr. Stephens, speaking of the sarcophagus, says : 
 " It is exactly the size of the orifice which forms the 
 entrance of the pyramid, and could not have been 
 conveyed to its place by any of the known passages."! 
 Wilkinson, however, says the sarcophagus is three 
 inches smaller than the entrance ; and thinks it must 
 have been " placed there before the roof was added, 
 or introduced by means of the screw."t 
 
 It is conjectured that many other chambers, yet 
 undiscovered, are contained in this pyramid ; for the 
 structure, after making due allowance for partition- 
 walls and secret avenues, is sufficiently large to con- 
 tain thousands of chambers, of the dimensions of 
 those already opened. The veil of mystery hangs 
 over the history of this stupendous fabric ; and there 
 is much disparity of opinion among authors who have 
 written upon the subject, in regard both to its age, 
 and the purpose for which it was constructed. Since 
 there is no authenticated record to indicate either, all 
 that is not apparent resolves itself into mere conjec- 
 ture, unsupported by a single fact. That it was origi- 
 nally designed for the tomb of its founder, would seem 
 to be the most natural conclusion ; and the sarcopha- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 325 : note. 
 
 t Incidents of Travel in Egypt, &c., i. 48. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Thebes, 224 : note. 
 
486 CONJECTURAL ORIGIN OF THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 gus in the "King's Chambei*" appears to me strong 
 evidence in support of this conjecture. 
 
 Some suppose that the pyramids were Joseph's 
 granaries ; others think they were erected for astro- 
 nomical purposes. It has been conjectured by some 
 that they were anciently used as temples of idolatrous 
 worship. Pliny thought they were built by vain 
 monarchs for ostentatious show, and to give employ- 
 ment to an idle population. Voltaire justly consid- 
 ered the construction of them as a proof of the slave- 
 ry of the Egyptians ; for Herodotus informs us that 
 Cheops, who succeeded the mild and paternal prince 
 Rhampsinitus, under whose reign " Egypt was not 
 only remarkable for its abundance, but for its excel- 
 lent laws, degenerated into the extremest profligacy. 
 He barred the temples, and forbade the Egyptians 
 to offer sacrifices ; and proceeded n€xt to make them 
 labour severely for himself."^ Some were employed 
 in the quarries of Arabia, extracting the stones for 
 the great pyramid. Others dragged them to the Nile, 
 and put them on board the transports of those who 
 conveyed them thence to the mountains of Libya ; 
 and in this service alone one hundred thousand men 
 were employed twenty years ! 
 
 " Ten years were consumed in forming the road 
 over which the stones were to be drawn ; a work in 
 my estimation," says Herodotus, " of no less difficulty 
 than the pyramid itself." He also mentions the ma- 
 chinery by means of which the massive blocks were 
 elevated ; the style in which the pyramid was fin- 
 
 * Herod, ii. 124. 
 
INFAMY OF CHEOPS. 487 
 
 ished ; and that " upon the outside were inscribed the 
 various sums of money expended in the progress of 
 the work, for radishes, onions, and garlic consumed by 
 the artificers. . This," he continues, " as I well re- 
 member my interpreter informed me, amounted to no 
 less a sum than one thousand six hundred talents."* 
 
 Herodotus also informs us that " Cheops, having 
 exhausted his wealth, was so flagitious that he pros- 
 tituted his daughter, commanding her to make the 
 most of her person." And, although he was not in- 
 formed what sums she procured by the prostitution 
 of her charms ; yet, " it is reported," he remarks, that 
 from this source, " the middle of the three pyramids, 
 fronting the larger one, was constructed, the elevation 
 of which on each side is one hundred and fifty feet."f 
 According to the same author, Cheops reigned fif- 
 ty years ; and his brother Cephren, who succeeded 
 him on the throne, pursued a similar course— built a 
 pyramid, and reigned fifty-six years. " Thus for the 
 space of one hundred and six years, the Egyptians 
 were exposed to every species of oppression ; not 
 having, all this period, permission to worship in their 
 temples."! 
 
 Diodorus§ relates that Chemmis the Memphite, the 
 same king whom Herodotus calls Cheops,|| " reigned 
 fifty years, and built the greatest of the pyramids, ac- 
 counted among the seven wonders of the world." 
 He says : " Though it be a thousand years since it 
 was built (or as some say about three thousand and 
 
 « Herod, ii. 125. Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 126. Diod. i. 66. 
 
 t Herod, ii. 126. t Ibid. ii. 128. 
 
 § Diod. i. 65. II Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 24. 
 
488 FATE OF CHEOPS AND CEPHREN. 
 
 four hundred), yet the stones are as firmly jointed, 
 and the whole building as entire and without the 
 least decay, as they were at the first." He confirms 
 the account of Herodotus, of the stone's being taken 
 from the Arabian mountains, though he says the num- 
 ber of men employed upon the work was " three hun- 
 dred and sixty thousand, and the whole was scarcely 
 completed in twenty years."* He also says : " Al- 
 though the kings designed these two pyramids (Che- 
 ops and Cephren) for their sepulchres, yet it hap- 
 pened that neither of them was there buried. For 
 the people being incensed at them by reason of the 
 toil and labour they were put to, and the cruelty of 
 the kings, threatened to drag their carcasses out of 
 their graves, and pull them by piece-meal, and cast 
 them to the dogs ; and therefore both of them upon 
 their death-beds commanded their servants to bury 
 them in some obscure place/'f 
 
 " Instead of useful works, like nature, great. 
 Enormous, cruel wonders crushed the land. 
 And round a tyrant's tomb, who none deserved. 
 For one vile carcass perished countless lives." 
 
 Wilkinson, after pronouncing the pyramids of Ghi- 
 zeh the oldest monuments in the world, observes that 
 *' the absence of hieroglyphics and of every trace of 
 sculpture precludes the possibility of ascertaining the 
 exact period of their erection, or the names of their 
 founders."! He thinks, however, that from all that 
 can be collected in reference to their history, they 
 were erected by Suphis and Sensuphis, two brothers, 
 
 * Diod. i. 66. f Ibid. J Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 19. 
 
PYRAMID OF CEPHREN. 489 
 
 who were successively upon the throne of Egypt 
 about 2120 B. C* He is also of opinion that Su- 
 phis was the fourth king before Apappus, whom he 
 supposes to have been the cotemporary of Abraham, 
 B. C. 1920. 
 
 The pyramid next in size to that of Cheops, sup- 
 posed to have been reared by Cephren, was evident- 
 ly built in an inferior style to the first. Its actual 
 height is said to be four hundred and thirty-nine feet 
 — the length of each side of its base is six hundred 
 and ninety feet.f The passages in this are similar to 
 those in the first, and a sarcophagus, sunk to a level 
 with the floor, was found in the largest chamber. 
 There were originally two entrances to this pyramid, 
 one of which is unopened ; the other, through which 
 the interior is now explored, was opened by Belzoni. 
 This is four feet high, and three feet six inches wide. 
 He found the chamber of the sarcophagus to be forty- 
 six feet in length, sixteen feet three inches wide, and 
 twenty-three feet six inches high ; and hewn out of 
 the solid rock from the floor to the roof 
 
 This fact favours the idea advanced by Bruce, that 
 the great pyramids of Ghizeh were formed out of 
 immense isolated rocks, which stood upon the spot. 
 The fact too of the well in the pyramid of Cheops, 
 commencing at an elevation of some forty or fifty 
 feet above the base of the structure, being sunk 
 through the solid rock, also favours this theory. 
 
 Bruce says : " Whoever will take the pains to re- 
 move the sand on the south side, will also find the 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 150. f Wilkinson's Thebes, 330, 
 
 Vol. I. — 62 
 
490 
 
 PYRAMIDS OF GHIZEH. 
 
 Plan of the Pyramids of Ghizeh. 
 
 A, entrance to the pyramid d T, small pyramids. 
 
 Cheops. 
 
 B, entrance to the pyramid of Ce- 
 phren. 
 
 C C, long pits. 
 
 D, pyramid of Cheops' daughter. 
 
 H and I, ancient tombs. 
 
 P, site of ancient tomb, supposed 
 to have been the temple of Osiris. 
 
 Q, tombs. 
 
 R, pit closed with stone. 
 
 S, pyramid of Mycerinus. 
 
 U V, ruins of ancient buildings. 
 
 "WWW, fragments of stone wall. 
 
 Y, southern causeway. 
 
 Z, northern do. 
 
 a, ancient tombs. 
 
 d d, tombs in the rock. 
 
 g, the sphinx. 
 
 /g, mummy pits. 
 
 i, doorway of the causeway. 
 
 k, grotto. 
 
 ly inclined causeway. 
 
 m m, ancient tombs. 
 
INFERIOR PYRAMIDS. 491 
 
 solid rock hewn into steps. And in the roof of the 
 large chamber, where the sarcophagus stands, as also 
 in the top of the roof of the gallery, you see large 
 fragments of the rock, affording an unanswerable 
 proof that these pyramids were once huge rocks, 
 standing where they now are ; that some of them, 
 the most proper from their form, were chosen for the 
 body of the pyramid, and the others hewn dow^n to 
 serve for the superstructure, and the exterior parts 
 of them."* 
 
 The third pyramid, supposed to have been built by 
 Mycerinus, son of Cheops, who ascended the throne 
 after the death of Cephren, has not yet been opened. 
 It is much smaller than those already described, and 
 more elegant in its external surface — having been 
 coated from the summit to the base with red granite. 
 Much of the exterior coating of this pyramid is still 
 entire. Its form is somewhat different from the lar- 
 gei* ones ; the angle of its sides being much more 
 acute. 
 
 In addition to those mentioned above, there were 
 many other pyramids in the vicinity, which, could 
 they be seen any where else, might justly excite ad- 
 miration. But there, the all-absorbing interest of the 
 more mighty structures of Cheops and Cephren cast 
 surrounding objects into comparative insignificance. 
 
 From the summit of the great pyramid, those of 
 Sakhara and Dashour were distinctly seen. These 
 are much smaller than those of Ghizeh, though they 
 are striking remains of a powerful nation, whose de- 
 
 * Bruce's Travels in Egypt arid Abyssinia, vol. i. 
 
492 PYRAMIDS OF SAKHARA. 
 
 parted greatness still lingers amid the ruined frag- 
 ments of her early achievements. The pyramids of 
 Sakhara, like those of Ghizeh, are smrounded by 
 tombs, which have all been violated by the " scien- 
 tific antiquarians" from England and other parts of 
 Europe. 
 
 Dr. Robinson says of his visit to Sakhara : " Pits 
 leading to the chambers of death have been opened 
 in all directions ; and the ground is every where 
 strewed with the bones and cerements of mummies. 
 Such a field of dead men's bones, I have nowhere 
 else seen."* He is of opinion that the whole dis- 
 tance along the edge of the Libyan desert, from the 
 pyramids of Ghizeh to those of Dashour, formed the 
 great Necropolis of the city of Memphis. The He- 
 liopolitans probably deposited their dead in the tombs 
 about the pyramids of Ghizeh, since none have been 
 discovered about the ancient city of On. 
 
 The numerous tombs adjacent to the pyramids are 
 supposed to have been excavated six hundred years 
 after those at Thebes.f The paintings upon the 
 walls, representing the wine-press, dancing, festive 
 groups, trades, boats, and agricultural scenes, are still 
 preserved with much freshness ; though greatly infe- 
 rior in execution to those in the sepulchral chambers 
 of the Theban Necropolis. 
 
 Wilkinson mentions some tombs to the north of 
 the pyramids, where he saw the names of some very 
 old kings, having merely the title of priests. " In- 
 
 * Dr. Robinson's Biblical Researches in Palestine, &c., i. 38- 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 285. 
 
THE SPHINX. 493 
 
 deed," says he, " I believe these sculptures and build- 
 ings to be the oldest in Egypt, not excepting the 
 catacombs of Beni-Hassan."* 
 
 We explored their vacant chambers until we be- 
 came fatigued and hungry ; and, after lunching in one 
 of them, we came down to the sphinx, a relic of an- 
 tiquity, which, though crouched beneath the huge 
 pyramids, and nearly enveloped in sand, cannot be 
 witnessed but with admiration and surprise. This 
 extraordinary monument, hewn out of the ledge on 
 which it rests, is one hundred and twenty feet in 
 length ; and, although in a cumbent posture, its head 
 is elevated sixty feet above its legs, which are thrust 
 out fifty feet in advance of the body. The head rises 
 thirty feet above the top of the back. It measures 
 thirty-three feet across the breast 
 
 Combined with the colossal body of a lion, the 
 sphinx has the head, neck, and breast of a beautiful 
 woman ; a figure which is said to have been emble- 
 matical of intellectual power and physical strength.! 
 Though the nose, eyes, and one ear have felt the rude 
 touch of the spoiler, the expression is still benign, 
 placid, and impressive to a degree that I have rarely 
 seen produced by the sculptor's art : 
 
 Say, canst thou tell me what and why thou art, 
 
 Fair Sphinx, that e'en in all thy ruin smiles 
 
 So sweetly o'er these drifting sands ? What part 
 
 Hadst thou in Egypt's golden days, when files 
 
 Of gorgeous priests, in all their mystic wiles, 
 
 Stood, knelt, or bowed before thy bruised face, 
 
 And worshipped ? Then, thou wert young, and the Nile's 
 
 Fair wonder ; for, thy beauty, grandeur, grace, 
 
 Still cling around thee, and adorn this desert place ! 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 332. f Ibid. 332 : note. 
 
494 GREAT DEMAND FOR BUCKSHISH. 
 
 At our departure from the sphinx, the Arabs, who 
 had annoyed us all day, gathered round, clamorous 
 for their wages, crying huckshish ! with the voice of 
 Stentor. We felt rather pacific, and thought the 
 easier way to escape their importunity was to give 
 each a few paras, and thus satisfying their imperious 
 demands, take a tranquil leave of all hands. We 
 soon found, however, that the pay-roll was likely to 
 be as interminable as a circle. One's claims were 
 no sooner liquidated, than, slipping behind his com- 
 panions, he emerged again from a different point, and, 
 while holding what he had already obtained in one 
 hand, he would thrust out the other, vehemently de- 
 manding a fresh donation. Add to this rather dis- 
 couraging circumstance, the inmates of a cluster of 
 mud huts near at hand, perceiving what was going 
 forw ard, came up in breathless haste, all as solicitous 
 to share the distributions of the spoil as those who 
 had harassed us in our perambulations about the pyra- 
 mids. Of the two, these were the more entitled to 
 our bounty. But there was too fierce a run for any 
 bank to stand it long ; and we found ourselves " under 
 the disagreeable necessity of suspending payment." 
 
 About half way down the cliffs, we found an Arab 
 dwelling in a tomb. He was " mine host" of the 
 pyramids. He actually kept a public house. In 
 front of his sepulchral abode, two tents were pitched, 
 and the English colours were flying from their tops. 
 The steam and savoury smell ascending from the pots 
 and pans over the blazing fire, indicated the quality 
 of the guests who were to honour this spectre of the 
 
TRAVELLING GEAR OF MRS. BUILDERDASH. 495 
 
 tombs at dinner ; and the profusion of jugs and bot- 
 tles that strewed the sand promised a jovial cheer. 
 
 Casting our eyes down upon the plain, we descried 
 a long, confused column of Franks and Arabs, slowly 
 advancing toward us. It comprised the Builderdash- 
 es, the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix, Doctor O'Squee- 
 bey, and about sixty Arabs, pressing forward to see 
 the sun set, from the top of the pyramids. The Rim- 
 tapers would have been of the party, but they had 
 preceded their friends a few days, and dated their 
 last letters for England from the summit of the great 
 pyramid; whence, as Sir Danbury said, — "they saw 
 the sun rise and set in a demmed extraordinary man- 
 ner, 'pon honour." 
 
 Mrs. Builderdash was swung between two don- 
 keys. Two long poles being lashed at each end on 
 either side of the animals, supported a chair in the 
 centre, upon which Mrs. Builderdash sat, bound and 
 strapped to her seat in a style which gave her some- 
 what the resemblance of a fly in a cobweb. A large 
 umbrella, fastened to the chair with cords, expanded 
 over her head. This singular vehicle swung to and 
 fro like the slack wire of a rope-dancer ; and the ar- 
 dent bobbing up and down of her ladyship, occasion- 
 ed by the unsteady gait of the donkeys, affected her 
 nerves most seriously. She looked pale and dejected ; 
 and held a Cologne-bottle in one hand, and a scent- 
 box in the other. 
 
 Colonel Builderdash, dressed in sky-blue, trimmed 
 with red, with a gun swung across his back, support- 
 ed on either hand by armed janizaries, rode near his 
 
496 
 
 A CLERICAL REARGUARD. 
 
 ladij, evidently somewhat alarmed for her safety. 
 Miss Builderdash was sustained on the right by Doc- 
 tor O'Squeebey ; and the Reverend Mr. Dunderblix, 
 astride a donkey, with his feet dangling on the ground, 
 brought up the rear. He had a sort of Vulcanic as- 
 pect, and he brandished a long weapon in his hand, 
 resembhng the trident of Neptune. The natives, who 
 circled at a respectful distance round, thought him no 
 common howdgee ; and I must confess his appearance 
 did wonders toward giving the procession a classical 
 termination ! 
 
THE RIVEB NILE. 497 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 The JVile, and its Annual Inundation. — Sacrifice and Festi- 
 vals in honour of the God of the JYile. — JYileometers and 
 Criers of the JYile. — Bikes and Canals, — The JVile di- 
 verted from its original Channel, and Memphis founded 
 upon its Bed.-— Apis, the Sacred Bull of Memphis.— 
 Splendour of the Ancient City of Memphis. -— Its Ruin^ 
 and the " Scientific Antiquarians^^ 
 
 The Nile has many interesting peculiarities ; and 
 it is not a little remarkable that this majestic river 
 sweeps on with a broad, deep volume, diffusing its 
 blessings through the whole extent of Egypt, without 
 a single tributary stream. Herodotus* says, " No 
 stream or fountain enters into the Nile." 
 
 " Where'er the Lion sheds his fires around, 
 And Cancer burns Syene's parching ground, 
 Then at the prayer of nations comes the Nile, 
 And kindly tempers up the mouldering soil ; 
 Nor from the plains the covering god retreats, 
 Till the rude fervour of the skies abates, — 
 Till Phoebus into milder autumn fades, 
 And Meroe projects her lengthening shades; 
 Nor let inquiring skeptics ask the cause — 
 'Tis Jove's commands, and these are nature's lavirs." 
 
 * Herod, ii. 50. 
 
 Vol. L — 63 
 
498 INUNDATION OF THE NILE. 
 
 The inundation was a phenomenon which puzzled 
 the wise men of Egypt, and baffled the subtlety of 
 the philosophers of Greece. They were not able to 
 agree in their solution of the question. Some super- 
 stitiously beheved that it was occasioned by the an- 
 nual sacrifice of a young lady which they made to 
 the deity of the river. She was splendidly adorned, 
 and with much ceremony was cast into the stream. 
 This custom having been abohshed by Amrou after 
 the Saracen conquest, and the Nile not evincing any 
 signs of an increase of its waters until nearly three 
 months after the usual time of the inundation, the 
 Egyptians became alarmed in the belief that a fam- 
 ine would be the consequence ; and their superstition 
 led them to attribute this calamity to the neglect on 
 the part of the government to make the usual barba- 
 rous sacrifice. Thje Arab general wrote to the com- 
 mander of the faithful for advice. Omar returned an 
 answer approving the conduct of his vassal, and en- 
 closed a note to the following effect, which he com- 
 manded him to cast into the Nile : " From 'Abd allah 
 'Omar, Prince of the Faithful, to the Nile of Egypt : 
 If thou flow of thine own accord, flow not ; but if it 
 be God, the One, the Mighty, who causeth thee to 
 flow, we implore God, the One, the Mighty, to make 
 thee flow." This command having been obeyed, the 
 Nile rose sixteen cubits in the following night !* 
 
 A superstition still pervades the minds of the Egyp- 
 tians in regard to the sacrifice ; and, to this day, a 
 column of earth is annually raised upon the banks 
 
 ♦ Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 263, 264. 
 
CONJECTURAL CAUSES OF IT. 499 
 
 of the canal, near the island of Rhoda, which is called 
 the " bridco" This is washed away ; and a boat, gau- 
 dily decorated, mounted with guns, illuminated with 
 lamps, having a silk awning over the cabin, and pen- 
 nants streaming from its masts, is displayed in the 
 river near the entrance of the canal, the day before 
 the cutting of the dam, to represent the magnificent 
 vessel in which the Egyptians used to convey the 
 virgin they threw into the Nile.* 
 
 Some thought the inundation was occasioned by 
 the north-east winds. These were supposed to blow 
 with such effect as to choke the mouths of the Nile, 
 and cause the water to overflow the country .f An- 
 other opinion was that " the Nile has these qualities, 
 as flowing from the ocean, which entirely surrounds 
 the earth."t Others attributed this extraordinary oc- 
 currence to the dissolving snows on the Ethiopian 
 mountains. § Herodotus, after enumerating several 
 suggestions of others, gives what he supposed to be 
 the true cause of the inundation, which appears to 
 be about as rational as the reasons adduced by some 
 politicians of our generation for the rise and fall of 
 the speculators. " It is my opinion," says he, " that 
 the Nile overflows in the summer season, because in 
 the winter the sun, driven by the storms from his 
 usual course, ascends into the higher regions of the 
 air above Libya."|| It is true, he gives what he terms 
 an explanation of his theory ; but, like a majority of 
 Congressional speeches, " his going more at length 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 164. f Herod, ii. 24 : note 43. 
 
 t Herod, ii. 21. § Herod, ii. 22. !| Ibid. ii. 24. 
 
500 INUNDATION OF THE NILE. 
 
 into the argument"* tends rather to shroud and per- 
 plex what before was clear and self-evident, than to 
 throw new light upon the subject. 
 
 The gods of Egypt had probably about as much 
 influence over the Nile as they had in 1835 over Salt 
 river and Sam Patch ; and their agency is as potent 
 now as it was in the days of Joseph and Jacob, — or 
 even at the time the " ex-member of Parliament"t 
 was in Egypt Very little mystery hangs over the 
 Nile's inundation. It is all accounted for by natural 
 causes. Diodorus, who derided the fabulous stories 
 of the Egyptians and Greeks about the sources of the 
 Nile, and the causes of its annual inundations, says : 
 " In the mountainous parts of Ethiopia, there are 
 yearly continual rains from the summer solstice to the 
 equinox in autumn ; and therefore there is just cause 
 for the Nile to be low in winter, which then flows 
 only from its own natural spring-heads, and to over- 
 flow in summer through the abundance of rains."t 
 Pococke ascribes the inundation to the rains in Ethi- 
 opia ; though he thinks that the north winds, which 
 begin to blow the latter end of May, drive the clouds, 
 formed by the vapours of the Mediterranean, against 
 the mountains of Ethiopia, when they condense and 
 fall down in violent rains. "At this time," he ob- 
 serves, "not only men from their reasons, but the 
 wild beasts from a sort of instinct, leave the moun- 
 tains." 
 
 There can be no doubt that the annual rains of 
 Ethiopia have ever been the real cause of the over- 
 
 * Herod, ii. 25. f J- S. Buckingham. 1 Diod. i. 47. 
 
POPULAR IGNORANCE OF ITS CAUSES. 501 
 
 flow of the Nile ; and it is not improbable that the 
 waters are sometimes considerably increased in depth 
 by the prevalence of the north winds, which con- 
 tinue with much steadiness at that season of the year. 
 Yet, so mysterious an incidence was the inundation 
 esteemed by the ancients, that they religiously be- 
 lieved that, if from any accident they failed to cele- 
 brate the " Niloa Festival" at the proper time, and 
 with becoming pomp, the tutelary deity of the river, 
 in whose honour this fete was given, would become 
 incensed, and the Nile would refuse to overflow the 
 land. This, therefore, was one of the most remarka- 
 ble of all their festivals. The towns and villages 
 were crowded by men and women assembled from 
 all parts of the country. " Grand festivities were 
 proclaimed, and all the enjoyments of the table were 
 combined with the solemnity of a sacred festival. 
 Music, the dance, and appropriate hymns marked the 
 respect they felt for the deity ; and a wooden statue 
 of the river-god was carried by the priests through 
 the villages in solemn procession, that all might ap- 
 pear to be honoured by his presence and aid, while 
 invoking the blessings he was about to confer."* 
 
 Singular as it may appear, the Egyptians of the 
 nineteenth century are as deep in the fog of super- 
 stition on this subject as were their ancestors two 
 thousand years before the Christian era. On the eve 
 of the 17th of June, they believe that a miraculous 
 drop falls into the Nile, and causes it to rise. This 
 is called the " Night of the Drop ;" and astrologers 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, ii. 292. 
 
502 FESTIVITIES ON CUTTING THE DAM. 
 
 calculate the moment with much precision when this 
 supernatural " drop" is to descend. The Egyptians 
 in all parts of the country assemble on the banks of 
 the river, and there pass the " Night of the Drop." 
 
 The women on this occasion observe the singular 
 custom of placing upon the terraces of their houses 
 a small lump of dough for each person in the family. 
 If, upon a careful examination of these lumps the 
 next morning, any of them are found cracked, they 
 infer that those persons for whom they were intended 
 are destined to enjoy long hfe ; those, however, whose 
 lumps remain entire, are thereby reminded of their 
 speedy dissolution. This is also a test with some 
 for determining the height of the inundation the en- 
 suing season.* 
 
 The most brilliant fete of the Egyptians is cele- 
 brated on the night before cutting the dam of the 
 canal to conduct the water of the inundation to the 
 metropolis. The inhabitants repair in crowds to the 
 island of Rhoda, the banks of the canal, and of the 
 river, and there pass the night with music, songs, 
 dancing, and story-telling, amid the roar of cannon 
 and the glare of rockets which are continually blazing 
 through the heavenSo Thousands are sailing up and 
 down the Nile in illuminated boats, rending the air 
 with their uproarious rejoicings. 
 
 At the break of day, the cutting of the dam is com- 
 menced. An hour after sunrise, the governor of 
 Cairo, attended by other great officers of state, ar- 
 rives and alights at a large tent in front of the dam. 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 256. 
 
EGYPTIAN VENERATION FOR THE NILE. 503 
 
 The ckadee is also present. He draws up a docu- 
 ment testifying to the fact of the Nile's having at- 
 tained a sufficient height to justify the opening of the 
 canal, and of its having been accomplished. This 
 instrument, being signed and sealed, is despatched 
 w^ith all haste to the Grand Seignior at Constantino- 
 ple. The governor throv^s purses of gold to the 
 workmen ; the water rushes into the canal, bearing 
 upon its troubled bosom numerous boats filled with 
 happy beings rejoicing, into the city. The lake of 
 Ezbekeeyeh, within the walls of Cairo, being filled 
 with water, the metropolitans pass the night upon its 
 borders, in bathing, and other amusements. The 
 women, who elsewhere are superstitiously exact in 
 concealing their faces from the sight of men, " expose 
 their persons to the passengers and idlers on the 
 banks, in a surprising manner."* 
 
 The Egyptians have always looked upon their in- 
 estimable river with extreme veneration. To it the 
 country is indebted for all its fertility. Indeed, Egypt 
 in the fullest sense is the ''gift of the Nile." There- 
 fore, when they have a " full Nile," the country re- 
 sounds with rejoicings : the people are then happy 
 in the prospect of an abundant harvest. 
 
 Herodotus informs us that Pheron hurled a javelin 
 into the Nile when " it was at its extreme height of 
 eighteen cubits," and was immediately deprived of 
 his sight, and remained blind for the space of ten 
 years.f This, and the manner in which his sight 
 was afterward restored, were among the tales related 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 268. t Herod, ii. IIL 
 
504 NILEOMETERS AND CRIERS OF THE NILE. 
 
 by the priests. One is quite absurd, and the other is 
 perfectly ridiculous. That this Pharaoh was blind 
 for a season, and subsequently received his sight, is 
 highly probable ; but that the cause of his blindness 
 was that ascribed to it, and the cure effected by the 
 singular remedy* related by Herodotus, it would re- 
 quire the credulity and dulness of an Egyptian to 
 believe. 
 
 In accordance with the custom of the ancients, the 
 height of the Nile during the increase of its waters is 
 daily proclaimed by public criers ; and the Nileome- 
 ters, although the Pacha possesses almost the entire 
 soil of the country, now subserve the important ends 
 for which they were originally constructed. An old 
 law exempting the people from paying the land-tax, 
 unless the river rises to the height of sixteen cubits, is 
 so far respected, that the criers of the Nile, under the 
 sanction of government, daily proclaim the increase 
 of the waters.f 
 
 Nileometers were very early established,! and it 
 was unlawful for the inhabitants to measure the height 
 of the inundation ; consequently the Nileometers be- 
 ing strictly in the hands of the public authorities, the 
 river rarely failed to reach the tax-sanctioning height 
 of sixteen cubits. 
 
 About the middle of June, a gradual rise in the Nile 
 is perceptible at Cairo ; though at the cataracts, the 
 banks denote an increased fulness two or three weeks 
 earlier. At this time the water becomes more turbid, 
 and is changed from a state of comparative clearness 
 
 * Herod, ii. 111. f Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 259. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 11. 
 
THE LAKE OF MGERIS, 505 
 
 to a red dirty hue. It then assumes a greenish ap- 
 pearance ; and while it retains this colour, it is con- 
 sidered unwholesome. Anciently, the banks being 
 generally full about the first of August, the cands 
 were opened and the water covered the plains.* The 
 canals and dikes were then considered of so much 
 importance, that " large sums of money were annu- 
 ally expended for their maintenance and repairs." 
 They were under the supervision of government, and 
 were strictly guarded night and day. The ancient 
 dikes having all disappeared, the inundation now 
 sweeps unrestrained where it listeth. 
 
 To the fertilizing influences of the inundation, and 
 the judicious mode of irrigation adopted by the an- 
 cients, Egypt was indebted for the almost incredible 
 productions of its soil. The dikes and canals, like 
 those of Holland at the present day, were considered 
 great national works ; they received the most scrupu- 
 lous care of government, and while they restrained 
 the redundant waters, they at the same time served 
 the purpose of roads, over which the country was 
 traversed in all directions. 
 
 The great lake of Moeris, "four hundred and fifty 
 miles in circumference and two hundred cubits deep," 
 was constructed to relieve the country from the evils 
 of too copious an inundation, and to supply the defi- 
 ciencies of a partial overflowing of the plains. " For 
 six months," says Herodotus, " the lake empties itself 
 into the Nile, and the remaining six the Nile supplies 
 the lake. It is entirely the product of human indus- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 101, 
 
 Vol. L — 64 
 
506 
 
 RAISING WATER FROM THE NILE. 
 
 try, which indeed the work testifies : for in its centre 
 may be seen two pyramids, each of which is two 
 hundred cubits above, and as many beneath the wa- 
 tef. Upon the summit of each is a colossal statue 
 of marble, in a sitting attitude."^ The pyramids 
 have disappeared, and the lake is now scarcely forty 
 leagues in circumference. 
 
 Raising Water from the Nile. 
 
 The horizontal wheel now in use in Lower Egypt 
 for raising the water from the Nile, was not intro- 
 duced till after the country was subjugated by the 
 Persians. The simple pole and bucket, or shadoofy 
 
 * Herod ii. 149. 
 
ANCIENT BED OF THE NILE. 507 
 
 of the modern Egyptians swung upon the banks of 
 the Nile forty centuries ago f and the Fellahs have 
 a tradition that this contrivance has descended to 
 them from their Pharaonic predecessors.! The Per- 
 sian w^heel, as it is called, was formerly much more 
 generally in use than it is at present. In consequence 
 of a tax of fifteen dollars per annum which is laid up- 
 on each, its use is nearly abandoned in Upper Egypt, 
 and the primitive shadoof B.dopted in its stead. The 
 appearance of the labourers at the shadoof, who toil 
 from sunrise till sunset for four or five cents each, is 
 animated and picturesque. The accompanying cut 
 is an illustration of these scenes on the banks of the 
 Nile. 
 
 We are assuredj that Menes, the founder of Mem- 
 phis, diverted the course of the Nile, and reared the 
 city upon its ancient bed. Until then, the river 
 " flowed along the sandy mountain on the side of 
 Libya."§ At some distance to the south of the sup- 
 posed site of Memphis, it sweeps to the right, flowing 
 toward the Arabian mountains ; after which it takes 
 a more direct course through the central part of the 
 valley. Present appearances, therefore, corroborate 
 the statement of Herodotus, who also informs us that 
 " under the dominion of the Persians, the artificial 
 channel was annually repaired. If the river were 
 here to break its banks, the whole town of Memphis 
 would be greatly endangered." || Wilkinson is of opin- 
 ion that the Nile was turned out of its original chan- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 137-139. f Ibid. i. 53. 
 
 t Herod, ii.. 99.. § Ibid. 1| Herod, ii. 99. 
 
508 THE ANCIENT CITY OF MEMPHIS. 
 
 nel by Menes, who he says " was the reputed found- 
 er of Thebes and Memphis," and is allow^ed by uni- 
 versal consent to have been the first sovereign of the 
 country. He also says: "Judging from the great height 
 of several mounds still existing near Memphis, that 
 city could not have been overwhelmed at any period 
 by the rising of the Nile."* We are however inform- 
 ed, that among the mighty achievements of Sesostris, 
 he " raised many mounds and banks of earth to which 
 he removed all the cities that lay low in the plain, 
 that both man and beast might be secure at the time 
 of the inundation."! As this monarch, who was 
 styled " king of kings and lord of lords," after con- 
 quering Libya, Ethiopia, Scythia, all Asia, and Thrace, 
 returned home victorious, with the annual tribute of 
 the vanquished nations pouring into his coffers, set 
 about improving his kingdom ; and " cut deep dikes 
 from the river all along as far as from Memphis to the 
 sea ; and adorned all the temples of Egypt with rich 
 presents ;"J it is most probable that he did not wholly 
 neglect the capital ; and that Memphis was raised 
 with " all the cities that lay low in the plain," and se- 
 cured from the ravages of the waters. Though twen- 
 ty generations before the birth of Sesostris, at the 
 time Memphis was built, and many generations after 
 it became the capital — " it might have been greatly 
 endangered by the river's breaking its banks." 
 
 Diodorus says that Menes was the first king of 
 Egypt ; and that the course of the Nile was changed, 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 340,341 : Ancient Egyptians, i. 41. 
 
 t Diod. i. 6L \ Diod. i. 60, ^\, 
 
THE EGYPTIAN GOD APIS. 509 
 
 and the city of Memphis built in its former channel. 
 But he also remarks* that Thebes was founded by 
 Busiris, who succeeded to the throne some sixty gen- 
 erations after Menes ; and that Memphis was founded 
 by Uchoreus,t eight generations after the building of 
 Thebes, and " became the most famous city of Egypt." 
 It stood at the head of the several branches of the 
 Nile, forming the Delta, and commanded all the ship- 
 ping on the river.J It was one hundred and fifty 
 furlongs in circuit, with a lofty rampart on the south 
 side, serving as a defence against the waters of the 
 Nile (which it effectually turned into a new channel), 
 and as a bulwark against the approach of an enemy 
 by land. A deep fosse encircled the rampart, into 
 which the waters entered, fortifying the city after the 
 manner observed in similar works, through all suc- 
 ceeding ages. This city, so commodiously situated 
 and so strongly fortified, became at once the resi- 
 dence of the court. Thebes, deprived of this advan- 
 tage, began from that period to decline. Memphis 
 continued to be the royal residence, and increased in 
 splendour and riches, till Alexandria finally eclipsed 
 its glory, robbed it of the royal favour, and left it to 
 sink into total decay and ruin. 
 
 Memphis was not only " the most famous city of 
 Egypt," but it was there that divine honours were 
 paid to Apis. "Apis," says Herodotus, " is the calf 
 
 of a cow which can have no more young On 
 
 this occasion the cow is struck with lightning, from 
 which she conceives and brings forth Apis The 
 
 * Diod. i. 51. t Ibid. i. 55. t Ibid. 
 
510 
 
 APIS AND HIS ORNAMENTS. 
 
 skin of Apis is black, but on his forehead is a white 
 star of triangular form. It has the figure of an eagle 
 on the back, the tail is divided, and under the tongue 
 it has an insect like a beetle."* This sacred bull 
 was worshipped as a real god, for the Egyptians be- 
 lieved that the soul of Osiris had taken up its abode 
 in that animalf 
 
 Apis and his Ornaments. 
 
 The worship of Apis was conducted with great 
 pomp. He had a temple, and festivals in his honour 
 were celebrated for many days together.J During 
 these fetes, the people assembled at Memphis ; and 
 Apis was conducted through the streets in solemn 
 procession, greeted by the citizens, who came forth 
 to welcome him. Children crowded about the bull, 
 for it was believed that those of them who smelt his 
 breath were thereby inspired with the gift of prophe- 
 cy.§ Great attention was paid to his food, and he 
 was not permitted to drink of the Nile, lest its fat- 
 tening qualities should make this deity too corpulent. 
 
 * Herod, iii. 28. t Diod. i. 86. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 351. § Ibid. i. 357. 
 
OBSEQUIES OF THE BULL APIS. 511 
 
 As soon as his time was accomplished, as prescribed 
 in the sacred book (which was twenty-five years), 
 he was led to the fountain of the priests, and there 
 drowned with much ceremony. His body was em- 
 balmed, and his funeral celebrated with great magnifi- 
 cence. This having been accomplished, the priests, 
 with doleful lamentation, sought another bull to take 
 his place. Detailed instructions were laid down in 
 the sacred books for their guidance in this important 
 research.* When the successor of the defunct deity 
 arrived in Memphis, the event was celebrated with 
 festive rejoicings, equalled only in enthusiasm by the 
 splendour of their grief for the death of his prede- 
 cessor. 
 
 Whenever Apis died a natural death, his obsequies 
 were consecrated upon a scale of extravagance that 
 often ruined those who had charge of him. On one 
 occasion, besides vast sums otherwise provided, fifty 
 talents (something over forty-three thousand dollars) 
 were borrowed to defray the expense of burying the 
 bull.t 
 
 However great were the honours and devout the 
 homage paid to this animal by the Egyptians, he was 
 held by the Persian rulers of Egypt in very sUght re- 
 gard. Cambyses, returning from a disastrous expe- 
 dition against the Ethiopians, vexed at the loss of an 
 army of fifty thousand men which was overwhelmed 
 in the sands of the desert, and finding the Egyptians 
 in their best attire, the priests decked in their richest 
 robes, all rejoicing, and celebrating the festival of 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 352. t D'od. i. 85. 
 
512 PERSIAN CONTEMPT FOR APIS. 
 
 Apis, he put the magistrates of Memphis to death, 
 scourged the priests, and stabbed the sacred bull with 
 his dagger.^ About two centuries after this barbarity, 
 Ochus, the last but two of the Persian tyrants who 
 reigned in Egypt, killed the sacred Apis, and served 
 him up at a banquet If 
 
 Diodorus says : " There are two sacred bulls espe^ 
 cially, the one called Apis, and the other Mnevis, that 
 are consecrated to Osiris, and reputed as gods by all 
 the Egyptians."! He also assures us that Osiris and 
 Isis were both buried in the grove of Vulcan at Mem- 
 phis. But, as the learned world have greatly differed 
 in regard to this, and the colour, spots, marks, and 
 exact form of the tongue and tail of Apis (as they 
 seldom fail to write upon all important matters), I 
 leave the whole subject, with much confidence, in their 
 hands, and beg to refer the curious reader, for their 
 opinions and other particulars of this Egyptian god, 
 to Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians,§ where he will 
 find many interesting remarks upon this subject. 
 
 The temples of Memphis were of the most splen- 
 did description, especially that of Vulcan, which was 
 commenced by Menes,|| though it was not completed 
 till many generations after his reign. Moeris erected 
 the north entrance,1[ Psammitichus the south,** and 
 Mycerinus built the western portico, " which," says 
 Herodotus, " was by far the greatest and most mag- 
 nificent."tt Each of the vestibules was adorned with 
 statues and other works of art. Amasis placed a co- 
 
 * Herod, iii. 26-28. f Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 213. 
 
 t Died. i. 28. § Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 347. 
 II Herod, ii. 99. IF Ibid. 101. ** Ibid. ii. 153. ff Ibid. ii. 136. 
 
RUINS OF MEMPHIS. 
 
 513 
 
 lossal recumbent figure, seventy-five feet long, in front 
 of this temple. Upon the same pediment, formed out 
 of the same stone, w^ere tvi^o other colossal figures 
 twenty feet high.^ Here was also the Temple of 
 Isis, " the grandeur of which excited universal admi- 
 ration/'! The Temple of Apis too, and the edifice 
 in which this deified animal was kept, were grand 
 and imposing structures. The latter fabric, erected 
 by Psammitichus, was supported by colossal figures 
 twelve cubits high, and richly decorated with sculp- 
 ture. J 
 
 These were among the embellishments of the an- 
 cient metropolis ; but Memphis, once the seat of so 
 much splendour, is now so entirely wasted, that great 
 disparity of opinion exists in regard to the identity 
 of its site. It is not a httle surprising that a city of 
 such fame and extent, long the capital of Egypt,—- 
 adorned with temples, palaces, and all that art and 
 wealth could achieve to give grandeur and perma- 
 nency to its structures — should have become so com- 
 pletely obliterated as to render its local position a 
 question of uncertainty. Yet such is the mutability 
 that destructively sweeps over every work of man's 
 invention, that the crumbled vestiges of antiquity, 
 which now strew the supposed site of Memphis, are 
 insufficient to clear the mind from doubt, and prevent 
 cavilling and dispute in regard to the locality of this 
 ancient city. 
 
 We saw amid the smouldering mass at the base 
 
 * Herod, ii. 176. f Ibid. t Ibid. ii. 153. 
 
 Vol. L — 65 
 
514 ENGLISH PLUNDER AND BOASTING. 
 
 of the mounds, fragments of columns, capitals, and 
 other architectural remains. There was also a half- 
 buried, mutilated colossal statue, which is called by 
 Wilkinson the statue of Rameses II.* The " scien- 
 tific antiquarians" have robbed this noble specimen 
 of Egyptian art of both its feet, one arm, and a part 
 of its cap. If entire, it would be upward of forty 
 feet in height. It is supposed to be one of the co- 
 lossal statues mentioned by Herodotusf and Diodo- 
 rus,J which were erected by Sesostris in front of the 
 Temple of Vulcan.§ 
 
 A British author boasts of his country's posses- 
 sion of the fragment, which, with a spirit of Van- 
 dahsm worthy the immortal renown of Lord Elgin, 
 was taken by the spoilers of this statue. " One of 
 the trophies," says he, "brought by our victorious 
 army from Egypt, is the fist of a colossian statue, 
 found among the ruins of Memphis, and very possi- 
 bly it belonged to a statue of Vulcan." I think I 
 have seen this boasted " trophy" in the British Mu- 
 seum ; and there are some other fragments of " a co- 
 lossian statue" in the same collection, which " very 
 possibly belonged to" the same relic, and were " very 
 possibly" abstracted by the same " victorious army" 
 that spoiled this noble statue, and purloined its " fist." 
 With the exception of these, and the fragments of 
 another granite figure of colossal size, nearly covered 
 by the earth, there is little to arrest the traveller's at- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 338. f Herod, ii. 110. 
 
 t Diod. i. 57. § Wilkinson's Thebes, 339. 
 
THE VILLAGE OF MIT-RAHENNY. 
 
 515 
 
 tention about Mit-rahenny, the name of the wretched 
 village that now stands upon the ruins of " the most 
 famous city of Egypt !" 
 
 Colossal Fist — not yet in the possession of the British Museum 
 
 SUPPOSED TO BE UnCLE SAm'S. 
 
516 SEPARATION OF FRIENDS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Separation of Friends. — Flare-up, and Boat-hunting. — Or- 
 der of the Pacha and " Baron Pompolino." — Embarkation, 
 Pyramids of Dashour, and a Wild-goose Chase. — An Eve- 
 ning Circle. — Dancers of Ancient and Modern Egypt. — 
 Dance of Miriam, David, Hippoclides, Herodias, and the 
 Daughters of Shiloh. 
 
 The total evaporation of Mr. Firkins, and the sub- 
 sequent departure of Lord Scatterberry and his Nu- 
 bian slave up the Nile, created a vacuum in the Eng- 
 lish circles at Cairo that was doomed to suffer a still 
 more deplorable breach. Parliament w^as to be con- 
 vened this year a month earlier than usual ; and it 
 had been heralded throughout the universe that her 
 Majesty v^ould open the sittings in person, with ex- 
 traordinary pomp. In order that the colonel might 
 be in his seat in time to hear the royal speech from 
 the throne, the Builderdashes had, for the present, 
 abandoned all idea of extending their researches fur- 
 ther in Egypt, and were to return immediately to 
 England. 
 
 The Wrinklebottoms, flea-bitten, vermin-haunted, 
 chagrined and disheartened by a multiplicity of mis- 
 
BOAT-HUNTING. ^17 
 
 haps, had deUberateiy made up their minds that Cairo, 
 without exception, was the " nastiest" place they had 
 ever visited. Ahhough the original plan of their 
 travels embraced a much larger field than they had 
 investigated, yet so disgusted had they become with 
 every thing under the dominion of the Pacha, that 
 they packed up their fire-arms, air-beds, musquitoe- 
 nets, fly-traps, sketching-tools, and gin-bottles, and 
 set ofi* down the Nile — singing "Rule Britannia," 
 and " God save the Queen !" 
 
 The Reverend Mr. Dunderblix had struck hands 
 with two young Frenchmen, and was deep in the 
 chaos of preparation for an immediate departure 
 across the Syrian desert to the Holy Land. 
 
 A month had elapsed since the commencement of 
 the daily donkey rides of Sir Danbury Rimtaper from 
 Cairo to Bulak, in an unsuccessful search for a boat 
 of sufficient size and elegance to convey him and his 
 three maiden sisters to Thebes. Engaged in a simi- 
 lar pursuit, we encountered that distinguished indi- 
 vidual, limping from boat to boat, in a most cheerless 
 state of mind. The north wind whistled through 
 the vale, scattering the fine sands annoyingly on all 
 who ventured within its blasts. The eyes of Sir 
 Danbury, naturally inclining to a scarlet tinge and an 
 excess of mucus, having been attacked by ophthal- 
 mia, now presented a fiery aspect. His beard had 
 attained an enormous length, resembling in its disor- 
 dered, bristly condition, a pitch mop. The rheuma- 
 tism had monopolized the use of his right arm ; and 
 the gout was again developing itself in his lower ex- 
 
518 A FLARE-UP. 
 
 tremities. Sir D anbury swore most bitterly, and said 
 he had " never been caught in such a demmed extra- 
 ordinary predicament in all his life, 'pon honour !" 
 
 Doctor O'Squeebey had indulged in a vaUant flare- 
 up with our doughty dragoman, and had struck him 
 several violent blows with his sabre. Selim swore 
 revenge, and declared he would dissect the doctor 
 with his corbash ! The dragoman had shown him- 
 self so unworthy of our confidence, that we were at 
 last determined to get rid of him. Upon giving him 
 a hint that his resignation would be accepted, he ten- 
 dered it to us ; and we left him and Doctor O'Squee- 
 bey to settle their affair in the way they should deem 
 most compatible with their respective positions in 
 Egyptian society^ 
 
 On our first visit to Bulak, we were accosted by 
 an Arab, who desired to charter a half-finished boat 
 which lay upon the bank, assuring us, as he clinched 
 his long beard, that it would be finished and ready 
 to sail " to-morrow." Knowing the fellow's story to 
 be untrue, and that it would take many days to com- 
 plete it, we passed on with the expectation of being 
 able to resume our voyage long before his boat would 
 be in a condition to launch. Our expectations, how- 
 ever, were not realized ; and the rais of the unfin- 
 ished boat, constant from day to day in his importu- 
 nities, induced us at last to examine it A bargain 
 was the result ; and we agreed to pay him fourteen 
 hundred piasters per month for the boat and nine 
 men, all found. The cabin was to be fitted up as we 
 desired ; the boat was to have two masts, plenty of 
 
AN ORDER OF THE PACHA. 519 
 
 canvass, an awning — in short, every thing that heart 
 could wish was promised, and " all," as the rais said, 
 " should be ready to-morrow." This we knew would 
 be impossible ; and we had an understanding that he 
 should have three days more to complete every thing, 
 and for every day's delay thereafter, he was to forfeit 
 three days' pay of men and boat. Although every 
 thing was amicably agreed upon, our difficulties had 
 but just commenced. 
 
 An order of the Pacha, prohibiting the sailing of 
 any boat from Bulak, had just reached Cairo, and the 
 governor was pressing boats and sailors into the Pa- 
 cha's service, to carry corn from Upper Egypt to Alex- 
 andria. This prohibitory order was generally waived 
 in favour of the Franks ; but the rais was neverthe- 
 less afraid to make application for leave to sail his 
 boat, lest by so doing he might become a candidate 
 for the bastinado. Consequently, the permission could 
 only be obtained by us, through the medium of Mon- 
 sieur le ^^ Baron Pompolinoy 
 
 Upon making our wants known to the consular 
 dignitary, he pulled himself up to his full official alti- 
 tude, assumed a grave and consequential demeanour, 
 and began, in an inflated and affected style, to state 
 the delicacy and difficulty of the negotiation. He 
 more than hinted at our imprudence in not placing 
 ourselves under his paternal care, and the guidance 
 of his retainers ; informed us that no American could 
 make a valid contract in Egypt without the broad 
 seal pertaining to his office ; and stated the instance 
 of Mr. C tt, who had sailed a few days previous 
 
520 BOAT-HUNTING, 
 
 without his ratification of the agreement. He said that 
 in case of any difficuky between Mr. C— — tt and 
 his men, he could not interpose the "powers of the 
 consulate." He ordered his janizary and dragoman 
 to go with us to the boat and arrange every thing. 
 
 Being put under arrest, or rather, as it was called^ 
 under the protection of these appendages of the con- 
 sulate, we posted off to Bulak. When we arrived at 
 the boat, the dragoman condemned it as a miserable 
 affair ; said it would not do at all, and could not pos- 
 sibly be ready to sail short of ten days ! We were 
 then conducted to another boat, bearing the French 
 flag. To our surprise, the dragoman began to chaffer 
 for the price of this boat ; and the rais, though al- 
 ready engaged to a Frenchman, considered the prom- 
 ise of increased wages a just pretext for violating his 
 contract, and changing the tri-colours of a kingdom 
 for the stripes and stars of a republic. 
 
 We saw that our business was now in other hands ; 
 and we had little more to do than to follow the drago- 
 man from boat to boat, and from Cairo to Bulak, and 
 from Bulak to Cairo. Two days were consumed 
 by this diversion, and nothing accomplished. The 
 Frenchman, however, ascertaining that his rais had 
 endeavoured to charter his boat to the dragoman of 
 " Baron Pompolino," caused him (the rais) to be 
 severely bastinaded, and then pushed off down the 
 Nile. 
 
 The dragoman finally came back to the new boat 
 which he had at first so emphatically condemned ; 
 and, after a few minutes' very confidential chat with 
 
BARON POMPOLINO. 521 
 
 the rais, he found " it was just the very thing for us : 
 nothing could answer our purpose half so well" He 
 enlarged, in the oriental style, upon the good qualities 
 of the boat and the amiability of the rais ; whereupon 
 the old bargain being revived, the learned dragoman 
 sat down on the floor and wrote an agreement. This 
 document being drawn up in Arabic, we should have 
 been left in the lurch at last, had it not been for the 
 presence of a clever Syrian, who explained to us the 
 import of the mysterious chirography, by which it 
 appeared that we were firmly bound in the agree- 
 ment ; but the fulfilment of the Arab's part of it was 
 to be taken pretty much for granted. This Syrian 
 was called a great rascal by " Baron Pompolino" and 
 his household ; but we found him quite obliging and 
 useful in this business. 
 
 Permission to sail the boat having been obtained 
 merely by asking, and the three days allowed the rais 
 for putting every thing in sailing order having ex- 
 pired, this lying son of the Prophet came and told us 
 that all was ready, and requested us to take our lug- 
 gage on board. We found, however, on going to 
 the boat, that he, as usual, lied to us ; and that the 
 deck was to be calked, the cabin finished, and the 
 rudder made ; there were no sails, and only one mast ! 
 
 Upon our making known this imposition to Baron 
 Pompolino, he blustered about — said he would bring 
 the "whole powers of the consulate to bear upon 
 the case," and despatched his subtle dragoman and 
 gay janizary with us back to the boat. A long con- 
 versation with the rais ensued, to no purpose. By 
 
 Vol. I. — 66 
 
522 EMBARKATION. 
 
 the assistance of the Syrian, who had kindly aided 
 
 us during the illness of Mr. J , we brought the 
 
 case before the captain of the port. He was a greasy 
 Turk, with a most Tartarious countenance. Before 
 we had informed him of half the circumstances, he 
 said — "I will send for the rais, and bastinade him as 
 long as you wish !" 
 
 Our desire being merely to have the rais fulfil his 
 agreement, we declined this proposition, and endeav- 
 oured in vain to persuade him to go on and com- 
 plete every thing as he had promised. This he re- 
 fused to do, saying that his boat would sail as fast 
 with one sail as other boats would with two ! To 
 give this boasting all the eclat of eastern declamation, 
 he said he would forfeit two hundred piasters per 
 month if such did not prove to be the case. Upon 
 asking him to reduce this proposition to writing, he 
 declined ; and his friend the dragoman assured us it 
 was quite unnecessary — "For the thing is under- 
 stood," said he, " and that is sufficient." Our expe- 
 rience had taught us the importance of putting agree- 
 ments with the Arabs in writing ; and, in this case, 
 we insisted upon it, with an intimation of an appeal 
 to the virtues of the captain of the port's sovereign 
 remedy, the bastinado. Seeing us determined, the 
 rais complied with our request ; and after a further 
 delay of a day and a half, we set off with one sail.^ 
 
 Embarking at Old Cairo, a favourable breeze soon 
 wafted us past the palm-groves of Memphis and the 
 crumbhng pyramids of Dashour. Having adverse 
 winds the two following days, the pyramids still re- 
 mained in sight„ 
 
THE PYRAMIDS OF DASHOUR. 523 
 
 Two of these pyramids, which are of stone, have 
 been opened. The summit of one is finished at a 
 more obtuse angle than the lower part. This, as is 
 supposed, was done for the more rapid completion 
 of the structure.* One of the brick pyramids of 
 Dashour bears this inscription : " Compare me not 
 with the stone pyramids, for I am as much superior 
 to them as Jove is to the other gods. Thus was I 
 made : men probing with poles the bottom of a lake, 
 drew forth the mud which adhered to them, and form- 
 ed it into bricks."! Some have conjectured that these 
 pyramids were constructed by the Israelites. 
 
 Myriads of wild fowl hovered over the Nile, and 
 we often saluted them with discharges of musketry. 
 
 Mr. J shattered the wing of a goose so severely 
 
 that it was unable to rise from the water ; and the 
 Arabs, thinking it an easy prey, put the boat about, 
 and after a vain pursuit of an hour, we gave it up as 
 a regular " wild-goose chase." 
 
 On the third day, as the sun's last rays tinged the 
 hoary tops of Libya's heights, the sailors hauled the 
 boat up in front of a palm-shaded village on the left 
 side of the river, and staked it for the night. The 
 full moon shone brightly in the heavens ; the golden 
 current of the Nile glided gently down, and mirrored 
 back the dark forms and faces of the village nymphs, 
 as they dipped their jugs into the water, and bore 
 them off upon their heads. Music rose upon the still- 
 ness of the night, and dancing, beneath the pending 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 338. 
 
 t Herod, ii. 136, and Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 131. 
 
524 
 
 DANCING-GIRLS OF EGYPT. 
 
 leaves of spreading palms, soon commenced. We 
 walked to the scene of mirth, and found the half-clad 
 villagers revelling in the v^ild delights of their rude 
 amusements. As we approached, the joyous throng 
 hospitably enlarged its circle, and we sat down in the 
 space kindly made for our accommodation. 
 
 Dancing-Girls of Egypt. 
 
 The music was primitive and peculiar. An old 
 man, with a venerable beard and ample turban, sat 
 upon the ground, torturing a two-stringed instrument 
 His doleful strains were accompanied by the wild, in- 
 congruous notes of a gipsy-looking female sitting near 
 him, beating upon a tambourine. In the centre of 
 
DANCERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT. 525 
 
 the ring, two young and beautiful girls, with graceful 
 forms and flowing attire, were " tripping it on the 
 light fantastic toe" in a style which I have never seen 
 imitated in any other country. 
 
 " With sports like these were all their cares beguiled; — 
 The sports of children satisfy the child." 
 
 Dancing- women are numerous in all the large 
 towns of Egypt Though venal and abandoned in 
 character, they are the most beautiful women in the 
 country. They are said to form a distinct race;^ 
 never intermarrying with other classes, and devoting 
 themselves to the same occupations from generation 
 to generation. Their husbands are looked upon in 
 the light of servants ; who, like the old Egyptians, are 
 governed by the whims and caprices of their " better 
 halves." Their dress is usually the same as is worn 
 in the harems, and they are often adorned with a pro- 
 fusion of ornaments. 
 
 The delineations upon the ancient tombs testify to 
 the antiquity of dancing in Egypt. The dancers at 
 some of their private entertainments are represented 
 even more licentious than the exhibitions of the cour- 
 tesan dancers of the present day — "Though in the 
 presence of men of high station, they are depicted 
 in a state of perfect nudity ."f These scenes are 
 painted upon some of the oldest tombs ; and we are 
 assured that " the 'pirouette delighted an Egyptian 
 party more than thirty-five hundred years ago."t 
 From the varied attitude and gestures of these repre- 
 sentations of the ancients, their movements were 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. 101. f Ibid. ii. 102. 
 
 X Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 333. 
 
526 ANCIENT DANCERS. 
 
 diversified and graceful. " That they danced at the 
 temples in honour of the gods, is evident from the 
 representations of several sacred processions, where 
 individuals performed certain gestures to the sound 
 of suitable music, and danced as they approached the 
 sacred courts."* 
 
 This amusement v^as unquestionably indulged in 
 by the Egyptians before the Exodus of the Israelites ; 
 and the dance of Miriam and the vromen who went 
 out after her " with timbrels and with dances,"t sub- 
 sequent to the crossing of the Red Sea, was probably 
 the same as those of the Egyptians of that period. 
 David, after a solemn sacrifice, " danced before the 
 Lord with all his might ;"J and he says, " Let them 
 praise his name in the dance."§ When he was re- 
 turning from the slaughter of the Philistines, the wo- 
 men came out to meet him " from all the cities of 
 Israel, singing and dancing."|| Solomon assures us 
 that " there is a time to dance ;"^ and the prophet 
 says : " O virgin of Israel, thou shalt again be adorned 
 with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of 
 them that make merry."** 
 
 The daughters of Shiloh unwittingly danced them- 
 selves into the matrimonial state.ft But Hippoclides, 
 with his heels in the air, " danced away his wife."|t 
 All nations have their peculiar dances ; and possibly 
 the dance of the frail daughters of the Nile, which 
 we saw while seated with the Arabs upon its banks, 
 may be the same kind of performance with which 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, ii. 340. f Exodus xv. 20. 
 
 X 2 Sam. vi. 14. § Psalm cxlix. 3. (| 1 Sam. xviii. 6. IT Eccl. iii. 4. 
 ** Jer. xxi. 4. ft Judges xxi. 21-23. |t Herod, vi. 1^9. 
 
ANCIENT DANCING. 
 
 527 
 
 the earliest Pharaohs were entertained. Jacob, Jo- 
 seph and his brethren, Moses and Aaron — all maj 
 have been amused with the same kind of exhibitioD, 
 upon the borders of the same river ; and, for aught we 
 know, it may not have been dissimilar to that of He- 
 rodias, which delighted Herod and his drunken lords, 
 and cost John the Baptist his head !* 
 
 * Mark vi. 22-28. 
 
 A Tattooed Egyptian Girl. 
 
528 A SUDDEN DEMAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 Sudden and pressing Demand. — ■ Idiots and Lunatics regarded 
 as Saints. — Female Devotion to the Holy Persons, — De- 
 scription of the Crocodile and its Habits, — Worshipped as 
 a Deity by the Ancients. — Ghenneh, its Manufactures, and 
 His Excellency the Governor. — Rough Reception of the 
 Rais. — Solicited to enter upon the Practice of Medicine. — 
 A Mystery solved, and a rare Specimen of Smoking. 
 
 After two days' baffling against wind and current, 
 with the men at the rope, a light breeze had partially 
 filled our sail, and we were gliding moderately past 
 a high ledge of sand-stone rock that hung over the 
 stream, blackened with wild fowl, taking their places 
 
 in the shelvy crevices for the night. Mr. J raised 
 
 his gun to discharge its contents among them, when, 
 to their alarm and our surprise, two men suddenly 
 rose upon the summit of the ledge, vociferating, — 
 '' Buckshish ! huckshish ! Cristidno hawdgee, — huck- 
 shish r Mr. J — — dropped his gun, and the two 
 strangers rushed down the precipice with fearful ra- 
 pidity. One plunged into the stream and swam tow- 
 ard the boat, in order to press his demand more em- 
 phatically on board. The breeze swept us on, and 
 the current bore him far astern. Missing his aim, he 
 
SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS. 529 
 
 was compelled to land far down on the opposite side 
 of the river. But he had no sooner touched the 
 shore, than, taking to his heels, he ran on a consid- 
 erable distance above us, plunged in again, and came 
 down in fine style. He soon had hold of the boat, 
 and pleaded hard for huckshish ; but having lost our 
 shot at the ducks by his noisy importunities, we w ere 
 not in a mood for " casting our bread upon the wa- 
 ters" in such an equivocal vessel. On being made ac- 
 quainted with the obduracy of our hearts, he returned 
 to his companion, the faint outline of whose figure 
 was still visible through the dim shades of twilight ; 
 and his voice resounded upon the gathering night — 
 " Buckshish ! Cristidno howdgee, huckshish !" 
 
 The superstitious sailors, shocked at our stupidity 
 in refusing to satisfy the clamorous demands of these 
 strangers, religiously believed that we had thereby in- 
 curred the displeasure of the Prophet, and that we 
 would surely all be cast away ! These were some 
 friars, who, with many more of their brethren, waste 
 their existence in an old convent in the cliffs of the 
 mountain, begging their bread from the Egyptians, 
 who regard them as saints. 
 
 On the seventh day, we touched at Minieh, an old 
 town on the left bank of the river, with several thou- 
 sand as wretched beings as we had seen in Egypt. 
 None of them were very lavishly decked with cloth- 
 ing, and one, an idiot, was perambulating the streets 
 stark naked ! This would not have surprised us 
 much, were it not for the flattering attentions he re- 
 ceived from the women. They flocked about him, 
 
 Vol. I. — 67 
 
530 LUNATICS REGARDED AS SAINTS, 
 
 and almost smothered the filthy creature with their 
 embraces. We were informed that this man and all 
 others similarly afflicted, as well as harmless lunatics^ 
 are regarded by the Egyptians as the especial favour- 
 ites of Heaven, whose minds, having been absolved 
 from all impurity, and taken their upward flight, re- 
 pose in the celestial regions ; while their bodies, unfit 
 for heaven, linger in giddy vacancy upon the earth I 
 " Most of the reputed saints of Egypt are lunatics, 
 idiots, and impostors. Some of them go about en- 
 tirely naked, and are so highly venerated that the wo- 
 men, instead of avoiding them, sometimes suffer these 
 wretches to take any liberty with them in the public 
 streets ; and, by the lower orders, are not considered 
 disgraced by such actions."* 
 
 Availing ourselves of a favourable breeze, we loos- 
 ened our boat, and swept away on the voyage. We 
 were soon in the region of crocodiles, and saluted 
 them with many harmless discharges of musketry. 
 This produced no other effect than to rouse these 
 sluggish monsters from their dull repose, and cause 
 them to plunge their huge black forms beneath the 
 waves. 
 
 " He maketh the deep to boil like a pot. Who 
 can open the doors of his face ? his teeth are terri- 
 ble round about His scales are his pride, shut up 
 together as with a close seal. None is so fierce as 
 dare stir him up : who then is able to stand before 
 him I He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rot- 
 ten wood."t 
 
 * Lane's Modern Egyptians, i. 313. f Job xli. 10, 14, 15, 27, 31. 
 
CROCODILE OF THE NILE. 
 
 531 
 
 This representation of the leviathan answers very 
 v^ell for that of the crocodile ; and by many it is sup- 
 
 Crocodile of the Nile. 
 
 posed the latter was the monster described by the 
 Lord unto Job " out of the whirlwind."* I have seen 
 crocodiles of various sizes — -some, I should judge, of 
 twenty-five or thirty feet in length ; and they are rep- 
 resented in some instances as of the enormous length 
 of fifty feet ! We were often near enough to dis- 
 charge a ball with full force against their impervious 
 sides ; but all attacks of this kind were ineffectual. 
 They are invulnerable in all parts except the belly, 
 which may be penetrated by a musket-ball or spear. 
 Their voracity and strength are surprising. " With 
 one stroke of his tail," says Mallet, " I saw one of 
 twelve feet, which had eaten nothing for thirty-five 
 days, throw down five or six men and a bale of coffee." 
 
 * Job xl. 6. 
 
532 HABITS OF THE CROCODILE. 
 
 Herodotus says : " During the four severer months 
 of winter, it eats nothing .... No animal that I have 
 seen or known, from being at first so remarkably di- 
 minutive, grows to so vast a size .... The eggs are 
 not larger than those of geese .... It has eyes like a 
 hog, teeth large and prominent ; but, unlike all other 
 animals, it has no tongue. It only moves its upper 
 
 jaw .... Its feet are armed with strong fangs The 
 
 skin is protected with scales .... In the open air its 
 sight is remarkably acute, but it cannot see at all in 
 
 the water Its throat is always full of leeches ; 
 
 beasts and birds universally avoid it It reclines 
 
 itself on the sand with its mouth open : the trochilus, 
 entering its throat, destroys the leeches ; in acknowl- 
 edgment for which service, it never does the trochi- 
 lus injury.""^ 
 
 Diodorus says that were it not for the ichneumon, 
 which destroys the crocodiles and their eggs, " croco- 
 diles would abound to that degree, that there would 
 be no sailing in the Nile .... The ichneumon rolls 
 himself in mud, and then, observing the crocodile 
 sleeping upon the bank of the river with his mouth 
 wide open, suddenly whips down through his throat 
 into his bowels, gnaws his way through the belly, and 
 so escapes himself, with the death of his enemy."! 
 
 The ancient Egyptians living at Thebes and about 
 the lake Moeris, regarded this monster as a god. 
 " They select one," says Herodotus, " which they ren- 
 der tame and docile, suspending gold ornaments from 
 its ears, and sometimes gems of value ; the fore feet 
 
 * Herod, ii. 68. t Diod. i. 87. 
 
ARRIVAL AT GHENNEH. 533 
 
 are secured by a chain. They feed it with the flesh 
 of the sacred victims, and with other appointed food. 
 While it hves, they treat it with unceasing attention ; 
 and when it dies, it is first embahned, and afterward 
 deposited in a sacred chest."* 
 
 While crocodiles were worshipped at Thebes, they 
 were devoured by the inhabitants of Elephantine,! 
 and destroyed as an obnoxious and detested creature 
 by the citizens of Dendera.J Near el-Maabdeh, op- 
 posite Maufaloot, there are extensive chambers cut in 
 the rock, and filled with crocodile mummies.§ 
 
 The fourteenth day's struggling with the current, 
 head winds, and lazy sailors, brought us to Ghenneh, 
 one of the largest towns in Upper Egypt. It is built 
 of mud and sun-dried brick, and contains twenty-one 
 thousand inhabitants. It stands on the right bank of 
 the river, in the midst of a broad and fertile plain, 
 backed by the Arabian mountains, which stretch am- 
 phitheatrically round on three sides. Here the Pacha 
 has a cotton factory and large storehouses. As the 
 granaries of his Highness had no roofs, the pigeons, 
 in countless thousands, were dividing the spoils, while 
 the stupid guardians, seated in the sand at the gate, 
 were smoking their pipes, regardless of almost every 
 thing else passing around them. Here too is an 
 extensive pottery or manufactory of water-jugs. As 
 a specimen of the price of the products of Upper 
 Egypt, it may be sufficient to say, that a dozen good- 
 sized jugs cost only five cents ; milk two and a half 
 
 * Herod, ii. 69. t Ibid. J Ibid, note 130. 
 
 § Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 401. 
 
534 
 
 AN ORIENTAL POTTER. 
 
 cents per gallon ; fifty-six eggs, five cents ; and the 
 sailors bought a hundred and sixty loaves of bread 
 for ten cents ! These are among the effects of the 
 " corn laws" of Egypt. 
 
 An Oriental Potter. 
 
 While our servant was making a few purchases in 
 the bazar, we called to pay our respects to the Gov- 
 ernor of Ghenneh. We found his Excellency seated 
 upon a mat in an upper chamber, surrounded by his 
 myrmidons in costume, armed to the teeth. The 
 court of his residence was filled with soldiers ; and 
 the great staircase conducting to the audience-hall 
 was lined wdth janizaries, loaded with pistols, sa- 
 bres, and staves. We were received with much cor- 
 diality ; and, after coffee and pipes, and a little chat 
 of a general nature, we revealed to the governor the 
 perplexity we had experienced from our rais. 
 
ROUGH RECEPTION OF THE RAIS. 535 
 
 This fellow, who was by his agreement to do the 
 work of two men, that is, perform the duties of cap- 
 tain and pilot, had really done nothing but embarrass 
 us. He had annoyed us in every possible manner, 
 and used all his influence with the crew to make them 
 as bad as himself Immediately upon hearing our com- 
 plaint, the governor ordered the refractory rais to be 
 brought before him. Several armed janizaries being 
 despatched for that purpose, soon returned with the 
 awe-struck delinquent, who prostrated himself in the 
 dust, and kissed the governor's feet. As he obsequi- 
 ously raised himself from the floor, the governor 
 pierced him with a look that made him shudder, and 
 then vociferated a thunder-gust of angry words upon 
 the slavish Egyptian, which really made us apprehen- 
 sive for his safety. 
 
 The governor proposed to bastinade him, but we 
 were only desirous that he should be brought to a 
 sense of his duty, and interposed in his behalf; and 
 the trembling rais was finally dismissed from the ter- 
 rible presence of this Turkish governor, with the 
 threat, that " should he hear the least complaint on 
 our return, he would half kill him (the rais) and all 
 the crew !" 
 
 Taking respectful leave of his Excellency, we re- 
 turned to the boat, found the rais and all the men at 
 their posts, and, giving our sail to the wind, we bore 
 off again upon the voyage. 
 
 In our rambles on shore, we had numerous appli- 
 cations from the natives for " medical advice and at- 
 tendance." One had a scorched head and sore eyes ; 
 
536 A STRANGE CRAFT. 
 
 another had a spUt toe and a battered shin ; a third a 
 shattered shoulder and a cracked scull ; a fourth was 
 doubled into a crescent with the cramp ; a fifth was 
 leprous ; a sixth wanted her nose bored, and a dose 
 of pills. In short, sick or well, all wanted physic, 
 and placed the most implicit confidence in our medi- 
 cal skill. They would have taken any thing at our 
 hands ; and had we been furnished with material, and 
 a disposition for such wickedness, we might, for aught 
 I know, have poisoned half the Arabs of Upper Egypt. 
 However, we wandered on, curious to know how 
 they found out that we were all physicians, and im- 
 pressed with the richness of this field for the patent 
 nostrums, red-pepper doses, and steam-filtering prac- 
 tice so extensively in vogue in this enlightened age. 
 
 Resuming our places on board, we glided on with- 
 out meeting a crocodile all day. We began to thirst 
 for wonders and excitation. While we were thus 
 struggling in the uneasy arms of ennui, we descried 
 in the distance an unwieldy lumbering craft floating 
 down sideways. She had the American flag stream- 
 ing over her, and made such a sluggish, water-logged 
 kind of headway, that we at first thought it a wreck. 
 Her masts were taken down, and she was drifting at 
 random. It was the first Frank boat we had seen ; 
 and, although under the protection of the stars and 
 stripes of our own country, her appearance was every 
 way so outre, her movements so indolent and ana- 
 conda-like, that we concluded some renegade Dutch- 
 men or vegetating Turks had assumed our spangled 
 banner ; and, abandoning themselves to the sluggish 
 
A WELL-STOCKED BOAT. 537 
 
 current, were fuming their hours away in Hstnessness 
 and ease. It was some time before we discovered 
 any signs of animal existence on board. No Kving 
 thing was visible, and the attention of all our men 
 was riveted upon the approaching phenomenon. 
 
 We ordered one of the men, a Nubian, who had a 
 stentorian voice, to hail the enigmatical craft ; and, 
 should there be Americans on board, to request the 
 favour of an interview. The old sailor, advancing 
 to the bow of the boat, vociferated a salutation that 
 filled the vale, and resounded far up toward his na- 
 tive hills. This roused the torpid voyageurs, and af- 
 ter a voluble " how-d'ye-do" between our respective 
 crews, both boats were run against the bank. 
 
 The boat of the stranger was nearly as large as the 
 ship in which Columbus discovered the New World. 
 The deck was filled with men ; and a small flock of 
 sheep were penned up on one side, with a capacious 
 hen-coop, well stocked with poultry, suspended over 
 their heads. Bird-cages, fishing-nets, traps, guns, pis- 
 tols, and daggers, hung in well-arranged lines in front 
 of the cabin. The main-mast, lashed down length- 
 wise of the boat, at an elevation of five or six feet 
 above the deck, was strung from one end to the other 
 with stuffed Hzards, alligators, crocodiles, salaman- 
 ders, mummied cats, bats, snakes, and hawks ; while 
 hippopotamus shields, spears, bows, arrows, and jave- 
 lins were mingled with numerous other reminiscences 
 of travel, and suspended from different parts of the 
 rigging. The whole resembled a " curiosity shop," 
 
 Vol. L — 68 
 
538 ELABORATE SMOKING. 
 
 or rather a vessel of discovery returning from a three 
 years' cruise off the coast of Barbary. 
 
 The American (for there was only one on board) 
 v^as a little dapper man of slender figure, standing, 
 in his spangled, peaked-toed Turkish slippers, about 
 five feet one. His head vs^as shaved, and the strag- 
 gling red hairs vegetating about the corners of his ca- 
 daverous mouth vi^ere carefully gathered into a kind 
 of fiery mustache, giving to his freckled visage an air 
 of striking significance. His face, burnt to a crisp 
 by the sun, might not inappositely be compared to 
 the face of a red cornelian letter-stamp, with his name 
 engraved upon it in the Arabic characters. He wore 
 a red turboosh and fancy jacket, of eastern cut. His 
 "inexpressibles" were of an ambiguous character, a 
 sort of fabrication between the Highland kilt and bag 
 breeches of the Greek sailors. He held a quizzing- 
 glass in one hand, and a long-stemmed, full-charged, 
 fuming pipe in the other. He saluted us in the ori- 
 ental manner ; and his squeaking voice, set to a fal- 
 setto key, was skilfully modulated to the foreign ac- 
 cent. Every sentence he uttered was a perfect study, 
 and came forth with an exactness and elevation wor- 
 thy the reputation of " Lord Burleigh." He embel- 
 lished his brilliant and edifying conversation with 
 some of the most elaborate and highly-finished whiffs 
 from his Arab pipe that I have ever seen burst from 
 human lips ! Each puff of smoke, as it mingled with 
 the air, seemed but the very embodiment or fac simile 
 of both the outer and inner man of the accomplished 
 smoker. This acquirement was particularly remark- 
 
SUDDEN FORGETFULNESS. 539 
 
 ed and greatly admired by all our party, and conce- 
 ded at once to be the prettiest thing of the kind we 
 had ever seen. From the well-dressed blackleg who 
 picks his teeth upon the door-steps of the " Astor ;" 
 the Enghsh swell, who sports his gig and hounds ; the 
 imperturbable German, who vegetates and expires in 
 the delightful fumes of his favourite narcotic ; the 
 sombre Dutchman, who shrouds the dull waters of 
 his gloomy country with the eternal blasts of his pipe ; 
 the plethoric Turk, who beclouds his existence in 
 perfumed exhalations bursting from costly amber, to 
 the filthy Arab, who trims his corn-stalk pipe in the 
 sands of Egypt — I have never seen any thing of the 
 kind in point of finish to equal the performance of 
 our own little countryman whom we encountered on 
 the banks of the Nile. 
 
 He was a little bewildered as to his whereabouts ; 
 said he had lost the day of the week, and the day 
 and name of the month ; he could not rightly inform 
 us when he set out from Cairo, but believed it was in 
 the beginning of winter. He did not know precisely 
 where he had been, or what he had seen, and apolo- 
 gized for forgetting his native tongue ! He said he 
 had rarely spoken any other than the French lan- 
 guage during his voyage, and offered that as an un- 
 necessary apology for his bad English. I congratu- 
 lated him upon still being able to speak his own 
 language tolerably well ; and I afterward remarked 
 to my companions, that such was my estimation of 
 his abilities, I had little doubt that, were he to drop 
 his French and apply himself strictly to the English 
 
540 
 
 RUINS OF THEBES. 
 
 for a few weeks, he would master his mother tongue 
 so effectually, that no one would have the least suspi- 
 cion of his ever having spoken a word of French in his 
 life. The doctor said, " He was a promising young 
 man, and was Ukely to return home wondrously im- 
 proved by foreign travel." Exchanging adieus and 
 good wishes with our countryman, we unfurled our 
 sail, and were soon wafted amid the indestructible 
 ruins of Thebes. 
 
 View of the Memnonium at Thebes during the Inundation. 
 
msmf,/, 
 
THEBES. 541 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Thebes. — Temples of Luqsor and Karnak. — Esneh and the 
 Temple of Latopolis. — An agreeable Meeting. — Ameri- 
 can, Scotch, and English Amalgamation. — JVatives of 
 Upper Egypt. — Quarries of Gebel Silsili. — Ruins of 
 Kom Ombos. — Arrival at the Cataracts. — The American 
 Consul. — Peter J. Scantletrash and his Servant Paul. — 
 Elephantine. — Quarries of Syene. — - E^Souan. 
 
 " Not all proud Thebes' unrivalled walls contain, 
 The world's great empress on the Egyptian plain, 
 That spreads her conquest o'er a thousand states, 
 And pours her heroes through a hundred gates ; 
 Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, 
 From each wide portal issuing to the wars !" 
 
 DioDORUS says : " Thebes was in circuit a hundred 
 and forty furlongs, adorned with stately public build- 
 ings, magnificent temples, and rich donations and rev- 
 enues to admiration ; and not only the most beautiful 
 and stateliest city of Egypt, but of the whole world."* 
 
 The mind is forcibly impressed with the truth of 
 this glowing picture of Thebes, even in contempla- 
 ting the ruins that strew her desecrated site. The 
 Arabian and Libyan mountains, rising into a bold out- 
 line, encircle, as with half-clasped arms, its crushed 
 
 * Diod. i. 51. 
 
542 THEBES. 
 
 temples and fallen colossi, which mingle with the soil 
 on either side of the river, whose broad current sweeps 
 through the fertile plain. The violated tombs of its 
 ancient inhabitants, perforating the surrounding ac- 
 clivities, are now the polluted abodes of the modern 
 Egyptians, and defiled with the excrement of their 
 goats and donkeys ! 
 
 Yet, amid all this desecration and defilement, 
 Thebes abounds in rich and astonishing relics of 
 departed greatness, remains of enlightened genera- 
 tions long since passed away ; remains which, though 
 crushed and spoiled by successive conquerors, and 
 robbed by Vandal relic-venders, grow not old with 
 time ; but, with venerable centuries thick upon them, 
 retain the freshness and finish of new achievements. 
 The mysterious, unread, and unreadable writing of 
 three thousand years ago, now embellishing the dese- 
 crated tombs and fallen temples of Thebes, is yet 
 vivid and glowing with all the brightness of new-laid 
 tints ! Mossless and unbrowned with time, the pol- 
 ished obelisk, glistening like burnished brass, with 
 thirty centuries poured upon its heaven-directed apex, 
 still soars sublime and beautiful amid dissolving ruins ! 
 Founded as hills of living rock, and towering before 
 the crumbled temples, lofty gateways, through which 
 Egypt's Pharaohs strode in state to worship at their 
 golden altars, stand yet unshaken, the proud monu- 
 ments of a faded glory ! Bereaved columns and 
 bruised colossi, rearing their time-defying summits 
 above the expanding plain, bear not the marks of age, 
 but rather the Vandal crush of the spoiler ! 
 
TEMPLE OF LUQSOR. 543 
 
 The ruin at Luqsor, where we landed, and which 
 occupies a part of the site of ancient DiospoHs, or 
 Thebes, is a temple, the work of successive mon- 
 archs, who were upon the throne of Egypt nearly 
 thirty-two hundred years ago !^ It stands upon 
 a slight elevation on the right bank of the Nile, 
 from the encroachments of which it is defended by 
 a substantial pier, constructed of massive stone, ap- 
 parently of Greek or Roman workmanship. The 
 entrance to this temple is through a lofty gateway 
 two hundred feet long, which rises nearly sixty feet 
 above the level of the soil. On either side of the 
 portal are two colossal statues, in a sitting posture ; 
 and, though shrouded nearly to the breast in sand, 
 about twenty feet of each are still visible, and bear 
 incontestable proof of the wanton depredations of the 
 relic-hunter. Before the statues, two beautiful obe- 
 lisks of red granite, measuring nearly ten feet square 
 at the base, rose to the height of eighty feet. One 
 of these has been removed at a vast expense by the 
 French, and now soars above the blood-stained soil 
 of the Place Louis XV. at Paris. The other, still 
 fresh and beautiful, rears its majestic proportions over 
 the battered ruins that encumber its base. Entering 
 the portal, we stood in an area about two hundred 
 feet long and a hundred and seventy broad. This is 
 surrounded by two rows of columns. Leaving the 
 area, we passed a colonnade of colossal structure, a 
 hundred and seventy feet in length ; this conducts to 
 an open court, a hundred and sixty-seven by a hun- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 166, 167 ; and his Ancient Egyptians, i. 48^ 
 
544 TEMPLE OF KARNAK. 
 
 dred and fifty-five feet, encircled by a peristyle with 
 twenty-four columns, and connected with a portico, 
 a hundred and eleven by fifty-seven feet, supported 
 by thirty-two columns. To this succeeds the princi- 
 pal rooms of the temple, which were of different di- 
 mensions, and are now in a state of complete dilapi- 
 dation. The Arabs have built their cabins of mud 
 against the temple on all sides ; and perhaps where 
 Pharaoh knelt before his gilded god, surrounded by 
 all the vain " pomp and circumstance" of royalty, a 
 donkey now brays and mires in filth ! 
 
 This temple was connected with those still more 
 splendid and extensive of Karnak by an avenue lined 
 on either hand by colossal sphinxes. The remains 
 of many of these are yet visible above the rank grass 
 and accumulations which have been long gathering 
 upon the consecrated path. 
 
 The remains of the temple at Karnak are the glory 
 of all the ruins of Thebes ; in the contemplation of 
 which all other objects of the kind dwindle into com- 
 parative insignificance. Contrasted with these, the 
 Parthenon, the Theseum of Athens, and the time- 
 worn temples of Psestum seem but delicate bawbles, 
 that may be tossed from hand to hand, and mingled 
 with the ornaments of a lady's casket ; the Coliseum 
 of Rome might be converted into a turboosh, and 
 the lofty columns of the temple of Jupiter Olympus 
 at Athens may be used as walking-sticks ! 
 
 No language can convey to the reader an adequate 
 idea of the vastness and extent of these ruins, nor 
 their overpowering influence upon the mind of the 
 
RUINS OF KARNAK. 545 
 
 beholder. We traversed them over and over again, 
 rode around them, measm-ed comts, encompassed 
 columns, surveyed chambers and porticoes, ascended 
 towers, and mused over broken statues, until, fatigued 
 with wonder and excitement, we left the desolate 
 heap almost bewildered, and without a satisfactory 
 conception of the detailed plan of this indestructible 
 ruin. All that I shall attempt, therefore, will be to 
 give some idea of the general plan and arrangement 
 of this mighty ruin, as it appeared to us in our cur- 
 sory examinations. 
 
 It had originally twelve entrances, nearly all of 
 which had connexion, by long avenues of sphinxes, 
 with other temples. That conducting to the temple 
 at Luqsor was a mile and a half in extent ; and that 
 leading from the gigantic gateway on the north-west 
 side, to the river, was nearly of the same length. This 
 was the grand front, and faced a magnificent tem- 
 ple on the opposite side of the river, where its 
 ruins are yet conspicuous. The great propylon on 
 the north-west side, built of undressed stone, is three 
 hundred and fifty feet long, thirty in width, and rises 
 seventy feet above the rubbish at the base, which 
 seemed to be at least thirty feet in depth. This 
 enormous gateway, therefore, was originally at least 
 one hundred feet in height. The pylon, twenty-three 
 feet in width and fifty feet high, opens upon a court 
 two hundred and seventy-five feet wide and tbrjee 
 hundred and thirty feet long. On either side there 
 are a close wall, and a row of columns twenty-seven 
 feet in circumference. The columns and walls are 
 
 Vol. I. -"69 
 
546 RUINS OF KARNAK. 
 
 covered with hieroglyphics, and nearly concealed by 
 fallen rubbish. A double row of columns, sixty feet 
 in height and twenty-seven in circumference, ex- 
 tended through the centre of the court. Only one 
 of these is standing, and with its expansive capital 
 overshadowing its fallen companions, it is a sublime 
 and beautiful object. The court terminates with a 
 second propylon, three hundred and three feet long, 
 and, according to the best measurement we could ob- 
 tain, fifty feet thick at the base. This Cyclopean 
 structure now lies in ruins, and resembles a small 
 mountain of rock, broken and thrown down in great 
 confusion. The doorway opening through this pro- 
 pylon into the grand portico of the temple, is nearly 
 perfect, and richly embellished with sculpture and 
 painting. It cannot be less than sixty feet in height, 
 and yet some of the sand-stone blocks forming the 
 top of it are forty feet ten inches long and five 
 feet two square !* The grand hall, three hundred 
 and thirty feet in length and a hundred and seventy 
 in width, is adorned with a hundred and thirty-four 
 massive columns. These are all elaborately sculp- 
 tured and painted. Twelve of them, thirty-six feet 
 in circumference, are sixty-six feet high, exclusive of 
 the pedestal and abacus ; but with these, they are over 
 seventy feet in height. The one hundred and twen- 
 ty-two others are twenty-seven and a half feet in cir- 
 cuHiference and forty-two feet high. This gorgeous 
 hall is terminated by a massive propylon on the east, 
 beyond vs^hich is a large court with a magnificent obe- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 332. 
 
RUINS OF KARNAK. 547 
 
 lisk nearly one hundred feet high. Another of simi- 
 lar dimensions lies in shattered fragments at its base. 
 Passing a fourth propylon, there are two other obe- 
 lisks of surpassing beauty, surrounded by rows of 
 broken colossal figures. To these succeed another 
 dilapidated propylon, and another court of similar di- 
 mensions. Beyond this a granite gateway opens into 
 the court of the sanctuary. The sanctuary, construct- 
 ed of polished granite, comprises two apartments with 
 azure roofs, spangled with stars of gold, and surround- 
 ed by numerous chambers, of various size and embel- 
 lishment We have now reached the sanctuary, 
 through only one of the twelve entrances. Corre- 
 sponding to that already described, and commencing 
 at a distance of twelve hundred feet east of the sanc- 
 tuary, another passage opened through propylons, 
 courts, colonnades, and porticoes, and conducted to 
 the sanctum sanctorum, or holy of holies. Tottering 
 gateways in all directions open their vacant and deso- 
 late portals upon the ruined temple, whose massive 
 walls that now strew the plain were sculptured with 
 the battle-scenes, conquests, and sacrificial offerings 
 of the long line of Pharaohs, who contributed to its 
 vast extent, and added to the sumptuosity of its adorn- 
 ment. 
 
 The wind being favourable for the continuation of 
 our voyage, we postponed the further examination of 
 the ruins of Thebes till our return from the cataracts. 
 
 In two days we were at Esneh, the ancient La- 
 topolis. On the morning after our arrival, we rose 
 with the sun, delighted with the gladsome face of na- 
 
548 TEMPLE OF LATOPOLIS. 
 
 ture. The beauteous songsters of the Nile flitted 
 along its green-fringed banks, revelling in joy. But 
 man, sombre and sad, walked forth from his rude 
 habitation the incarnation of misery ! Why is it 
 that, surrounded by scenes so delightful, basking be- 
 neath a perpetually cloudless sky, which is hghted up 
 with a sun that never disappears but to rise again 
 with renewed splendour, — man, loathsome, filthy, 
 wretched man, is the only blotch upon the fair pic- 
 ture ! Yet so it is. 
 
 Esneh is situated on the left bank of the Nile, 
 overlooking a broad and fertile plain which, when we 
 were there (first of February), was green with volup- 
 tuous herbage. This is the residence of a number 
 of Coptic families ; but it is mainly interesting to the 
 general tourist on account of the portico of an an- 
 cient temple, said to be the most perfect specimen of 
 Egyptian architecture extant 
 
 The portico is supported by twenty-four columns, 
 beautified with sculpture and vivid colours. The 
 devices upon the capitals are slightly varied one from 
 another. On one, the lotus-leaves are shooting up 
 their prim and formal proportions ; another is encir- 
 cled with the hanging vine ; a third is decked with 
 the graceful palm-leaf ; a fourth is entwined with ivy 
 festoons : thus all are slightly varied ; but so regular 
 in their irregularity, and so beautiful withal, that, to 
 the cursory observer, the difference is not perceptible. 
 The zodiac is sculptured on the ceiling, and on some 
 of the deified figures the ignoble names of vain trav- 
 ellers are deeply chiselled ; though for what purpose, I 
 
AN AGREEABLE MEETING. 549 
 
 do not know, except it be to record the fact that on a 
 certain time some fools were there. The entablature is 
 composed of massive blocks of stone, stretching from 
 column to column, and comprising in each piece 
 architrave, frieze, and cornice — sitting back at the 
 same time far enough to cover the columns, which 
 are about six feet in diameter. The portico is cov- 
 ered on all sides with hieroglyphics. This beautiful 
 relic of Egyptian art is now half concealed by sand 
 and filth. Arab huts are clustered round, and Pha- 
 raoh's temple contains Mehemet Ali's cotton-bags, 
 mustard-seed, and beans ! 
 
 As we were chatting over a cup of tea in the 
 twilight of the second day after we left Esneh, we 
 saw a large boat coming down, with two flags. As 
 they neared us, a salute was fired, signals were ex- 
 changed, and we discovered that it was an amalga- 
 mation company of American, Scotch, and Enghsh. 
 Boats were run ashore, calls exchanged, corks drawn, 
 pipes lighted, coffee circulated, and mutual inquiries 
 made and responded to with a cordiality that did 
 one's heart good. Though we were strangers to each 
 other, it was a social and an agreeable meeting. I 
 cannot but think, however, that it was owing in a 
 great measure to the influence of the American over 
 his two companions. One was an Enghsh " half pay 
 officer," with brown gaiter boots, red cap, blue stock, 
 shaved head, and flashy vest ; the other an easy Scotch 
 gentleman, with long beard and tartan breeches. They 
 had chartered the boat together, but the American 
 insisted upon sailing under the flag of his own coun- 
 
550 AN AMALGAMATION. 
 
 try ; and the stars and stripes were flying at one end 
 of the boat, while the Enghsh colours streamed from 
 a flag-staff at the other. They had been a long time 
 on the Nile, and looked rather brown from the effects 
 of sun, toil, and pleasure. The American, free in 
 conversation, intelligent, and easy in manners, was 
 inclined to take things quietly, and to allow him- 
 self the necessary time to see every object of interest 
 in a rational way. He was in no hurry ; thought the 
 voyage had been delightful ; in short, nothing went 
 amiss with him. The red-haired Scotchman took 
 snuff and smoked most profoundly. He had nothing 
 to say about the voyage, except that " it had been 
 rather expensive." The " half pay ofificer" was not 
 so tranquil. He swore most characteristically ; noth- 
 ing had gone right ; " the boat was too heavy, the 
 men bad, and the rais a fiend." He was afflicted 
 with a bile, had sore eyes, could not drink the " nasty" 
 water ; fleas bit him, vermin annoyed him through 
 the day, and rats cantered over him during the night. 
 As he gave us the list of his grievances, his face as- 
 sumed a convulsive scowl, resembling a collapsed 
 bagpipe. When we informed him of the warlike 
 aspect of affairs in Lower Egypt, and that it was 
 possible, on his return to Cairo, he might find Alex- 
 andria blockaded by British ships of war, and himself 
 a prisoner in the clutches of the viceroy, he raved 
 like a mad bull ; cursed Mehemet Ali, damned the 
 Turks, and looked vile enough to blow up the fleet 
 and the "Great Powers." I have seldom seen a 
 worse looking man, in a worse passion ; and, the 
 
NATIVES OF UPPER EGYPT. 551 
 
 wind being favourable, we made that an excuse for 
 epitomising the pleasures of a more prolonged meet- 
 ing. We left the " half pay officer" in a tornado of 
 wrath. 
 
 The natives were actively employed with the pole 
 and bucket, raising water to irrigate the thirsty soil. 
 They were well-proportioned figures, with large dark 
 eyes ; and, without exception, their teeth were regular 
 and of ivory whiteness. They were much blacker 
 than the fellahs of the Delta, and the women, adorned 
 with ornaments, were frequently seen unmasked. 
 
 At Gebel Silsili, the ancient sand-stone quarries, 
 the mountains reach quite down to the water's edge. 
 In a little ramble through the vast excavations, we 
 were surprised at the extent and regularity of the 
 openings, and the freshness retained by the smooth 
 cuts and chips of the quarry after the lapse of thou- 
 sands of years ! Deep avenues were opened in the 
 rock from the banks of the river to the bowels of the 
 mountain, where the quarries are perpendicularly cut 
 down on all sides many hundred teet in depth, re- 
 sembling the smooth sides of a well cut hay-mow. 
 
 We clambered up the high banks on the east side 
 of the river to look at the fallen temples of Kom 
 Ombo, anciently Ombos, whose enlightened citizens 
 worshipped the crocodile-headed deity,* and waged a 
 desperate conflict with the Tentyrites, on account of 
 the contempt of the latter for the gods of the former. 
 Many Hves were lost, and, as is usual in " holy wars," 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, ii. 36. 
 
552 
 
 A WOMAN OF UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 much mischief was done, and no converts were made 
 on either side. 
 
 A Woman of Upper Egypt. 
 
 The view of these fine old ruins from the water 
 is very imposing. They comprise the fragments of 
 two temples and a lofty gateway. One wing only of 
 
ARRIVAL AT THE CATARACTS. 553 
 
 the latter is standing. It was reared upon a terrace 
 overhanging the river, and the fallen wing strews 
 the bank. The large temple had two entrances, 
 and two sanctuaries ; bat the latter, and all the inner 
 chambers are destroyed, and filled with sand. The 
 portico is all that remains preserved. Fifteen of the 
 massive columns are quite entire ; they are twenty- 
 two feet in circumference. Every part of this temple 
 is painted and sculptured. The great doors, crowned 
 with the winged globe, and opening into the sacred 
 rooms, are choked with rubbish. Ponderous beams, 
 shattered architraves, broken columns, and crumbled 
 walls, lie in confusion amid the drifting sands, which 
 will soon wrap them all in oblivion ! 
 
 Another day's fair wind wafted us up to the cata- 
 racts. As we were hauling our little bark against the 
 bank, we observed two boats with English flags lying 
 a little distance up the stream. At first we supposed 
 these, like some twenty others that we had seen with 
 the same colours, were tinctured with British frigidity. 
 But, as we touched the shore, the glorious banner of 
 our own country was seen ascending the shrouds of 
 one of them in honour of our arrival ! We were im- 
 mediately waited upon by George R. GHddon, Esq., 
 consul of the United States, who politely tendered 
 us his services in any w^ay they might be required. 
 We found him and his companion, another English 
 gentleman, intelligent, affable, and very obliging. We 
 met them afterward at Thebes and Edfoo, and shall 
 long retain a pleasing recollection of their urbanity 
 and polite attentions. 
 
 Vol. L — 70 
 
554 MR. SCANTLETRASH. 
 
 The other boat, a dark, rakish looking craft, was 
 the bearer of Peter J. Scantletrash, an EngUsh bache- 
 lor, who was poUshing himself by foreign travel ; and, 
 with the notable Paul (made famous in Stephens's 
 Incidents of Travel), had thus far ascended the Nile. 
 Scantletrash was a little, red peppery individual, with 
 a shaved head, roundabout jacket, Turkish shoes, 
 drab " inexpressibles," variegated vest, high London 
 stock, gold breast-pin, quizzing-glass, and a large 
 flower stuck in the button-hole of his coat. His nose 
 was of the hawk-bill genus, and his eyes were dim and 
 heavy. Unlike most of his countrymen, who pride 
 themselves upon etiquette and hauteur, Scantletrash 
 dashed eccentrically to the other extreme. He 
 thought all matters of form quite useless, and en- 
 deavoured to be exceedingly affable. He came on 
 board and introduced himself by calling " John Bull 
 a demmed hog;" for his part he "saw no necessity 
 for the cold forms of an introduction, and thought the 
 better way was to throw off all restraint, and present 
 one's self without ceremony." 
 
 Although a decided stickler in matters of birth and 
 royalty, Scantletrash affected a generous contempt 
 for the pretensions put forth by all " her Majesty's 
 loyal subjects," who cannot trace their blood une- 
 quivocally to a source of legitimate nobility. That 
 point satisfactorily settled, Scantletrash, cap in hand, 
 hail, snow, rain, thunder, or lightning, come what may^ 
 all the same to him — he is ready to bow down and 
 do homage to the divinity of the blood royal. But 
 to all of doubtful lineage, he turned up his nose in 
 
ELEPHANTINE. 555 
 
 contemptuous scorn. He had a great deal to say 
 about horses, hounds, hunting season, coal mines, 
 and fishing tackle ; and stoutly boasted of his gun 
 privileges upon the grounds of certain noblemen 
 in the north of England, and his grouse shooting 
 upon the Highland heaths. He said : " I and Paul 
 get on famously. Paul knows that I can swear as 
 hard as he ; and when he gets knocked up with the 
 cramp, of which he invariably thinks he is going to 
 die, I stand cursing and swearing over him, until he 
 gets vexed and goes about his business as well as 
 ever !" 
 
 Scantletrash, loquaciously following up his atten- 
 tions, obligingly gave himself an invitation to be one 
 of our party in an excursion to the island of Elephan- 
 tine. We crossed over in a little clam-shell boat, 
 navigated by a three-fingered, clotheless patriarch ; 
 who, for aught we knew, might have been a ferryman 
 in the days of Moses. He certainly was the oldest 
 looking man I ever saw ; and unless he gets drowned, 
 or comes to some untimely end, he may live in the 
 delightful climate of Upper Egypt for many long 
 years. 
 
 Elephantine, once adorned with temples, quays, and 
 other public edifices,^ presented to us a scene of per- 
 fect desolation. The ground was strewed with bro- 
 ken pottery, over which a noisy crowd of naked 
 Nubians were poring in quest of bronze images and 
 other relics. As soon as we landed, they gave up 
 their " scientific research," and fell upon us with a 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 464. 
 
556 E'SOUAN. 
 
 most clamorous demand for buckshish. They greatly 
 annoyed Mr. Scantletrash, who threw stones at them, 
 and called lustily for Paul to " come and beat their 
 brains out !" That celebrated dragoman, understand- 
 ing the natives and his master, gave both a wide berth, 
 and kept at a distance that favoured the belief of his 
 ignorance of what was going on. Scantletrash soon 
 abandoned the charms of the " Flowery Island," and 
 went to his dinner and grog. 
 
 We remained to look at the old Roman quay, 
 which is still preserved. It stands high above the 
 water at low Nile, and is about a hundred feet in 
 length. Near the quay, were slight remains of a 
 small temple, and a shockingly mutilated colossal 
 statue. The temple was dedicated to Kneph, who 
 presided over the inundation, and received the adora- 
 tion of the Elephantines. It was erected by Amu- 
 noph III., 1430 B. C* The Nileometer is yet nearly 
 entire. This was a strong military depot during the 
 Persian, Greek, and Roman domination over Egypt ; 
 and it is not improbable that the Pharaohs availed 
 themselves of the natural advantage of the position 
 for a similar establishment. 
 
 E'Souan is in latitude 24°, 5', 30". It is shaded 
 by palm-groves on one side, and looks out upon the 
 desert on the other. The ruins of ancient Syene are 
 conspicuous a short distance to the south, on an ele- 
 vated swell overlooking the cataracts, the island of 
 Philse, Elephantine, and the desert. 
 
 In the mountains, a little to the east, are the fa- 
 
 ♦ Wilkinson's Thebes, 461. 
 
QUARRIES OF SYENE. 557 
 
 mous granite quarries, whence were taken the obe- 
 lisks and colossal statues to adorn Thebes, Memphis, 
 Heliopolis, and other Egyptian cities. There is an 
 unfinished obelisk, partly covered with sand, lying in 
 the quarries, which is ninety feet long and ten feet 
 square. The appearance of these ancient excava- 
 tions is such, as in any other country would indi- 
 cate that the work had been but recently suspended, 
 though thousands of years may have rolled away 
 since the sound of the hammer has ceased to vibrate 
 through the vacant and desolate cliffs. The scars 
 of the chisel, drill, and wedges are distinctly visible, 
 and the chips and scattered scales of rock exhibit all 
 the freshness of new wrought quarries. 
 
 We found the bazar of E'Souan crowded with 
 ragged, lazy, lousy men, filthy women, and squalid 
 children. A slight examination sufficed ; and when 
 we returned to the boat, it was surrounded by a dense 
 mass of indelicately attired individuals, endeavouring 
 to sell their baskets, knives, spears, ostrich-eggs, old 
 coins, bronze images, shells, chickens, shields, cor- 
 bashes, sheep, milk, bread, eggs, and dates. It was a 
 regular fair ; and Johnny, our old servant, being the 
 only purchaser, prices had ranged uncommonly low. 
 
558 
 
 EXCURSION TO PHIL^. 
 
 View of the Ruins and Vicinity of Phil^. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 Excursion to the Island of Philce. — Singular Taste of Mr. 
 Scantletrash. — Temple of Lis, — Tomh of Osiris. — Phi- 
 lce consecrated to their Worship. — JVovel Mode of naviga- 
 ting the JYile. — Cataracts. — Apostacy of the Cook. — Se- 
 rious Predicament, and overwhelming Effect of Egyptian 
 Corn-laws. — Departure from E'Souan. — Temple of Ed- 
 foo. — Tombs of El Kah, 
 
 In an excursion to the island of Philae, we rode 
 over the site of Syene. Considerable portions of the 
 old walls are yet to be seen ; though they are broken 
 down in some places, and in others covered with sand. 
 The walls, like the houses, are constructed of sun- 
 dried brick. 
 
 Descending from the picturesque site of the ancient 
 city, we traversed a vast cemetery, extending far into 
 the desert, and profusely strewed with the faded har- 
 vest of death. Leaving the cemetery, we entered a 
 broad vale, with high granite ledges on either hand, 
 through which the ancient Egyptians transported 
 
MR. SCANTLETRASH. 559 
 
 their obelisks and other ponderous masses of granite 
 from the quarries to the Nile. The peculiar features 
 of the scenery indicate that the Nile itself may have 
 flowed through that avenue, and roared amid the huge 
 and craggy rocks jumbled together there in impressive 
 confusion. Passing two wretched villages, we were 
 again upon the borders of the river. Here we dis- 
 missed our cavalry, and were ferried over the river to 
 the green-fringed island. 
 
 Mr. Scantletrash, who, with Paul, joined us as we 
 were emerging from the palm-groves of E'Souan, 
 made commendable exertions to render himself ex- 
 cessively entertaining. He was badly mounted, and 
 his saddle galled both him and his donkey, between 
 whom there appeared to be a community of feeling. 
 He related many apocryphal tales of his adventures 
 with certain English noblemen ; boasted oi their enor- 
 mous revenues, and the liberality of their expenditures ; 
 spoke eloquently of " her Majesty's stag hounds ;" in- 
 formed us of the quality and quantity of wine he was 
 accustomed to take at his dinner ; dilated upon the 
 important advantages of being a member of some of 
 the " clubs" of London ; dwelt fervently upon " mar- 
 riage settlements," " three per cents.," "life annuities," 
 •' bank shares," " India bonds," and " exchequer bills ;" 
 expatiated upon country-seats, hedge-rows, fish-ponds, 
 and fashionable tailors ; alluded to high betting, and 
 heavy winnings ; spoke enthusiastically of government 
 patronage, pensions, and church-Kvings ; admired the 
 corn-laws, window-tax, and church-rates ; deprecated 
 all reforms ; thought it best to let well alone, and 
 
560 THE ISLAND OF PHIL^. 
 
 wanted to wring every radical's neck in Christendom. 
 These were some of the topics upon which Mr. Scan- 
 tletrash discoursed by the way ; and, notwithstanding 
 his professed passion for every thing " odd and extra- 
 ordinary," we had not been on the beautiful island 
 of Philse half an hour, when he " saw nothing to ad- 
 mire among the ' nasty rubbish,' and did not care how 
 soon he returned to his boat." Nor should we have 
 regretted his departure ; but Paul, who was an enthu- 
 siastic admirer of the antique, felt scandalized at the 
 total absence of taste for things of this kind exhibited 
 by his master. He had great difficulty in amusing 
 him ; but fortunately hit upon the happy expedient 
 of recording their names upon the temples. This was 
 a pleasing task, upon which Mr. Scantletrash entered 
 with a becoming energy. Paul was provided with an 
 old chisel and hammer ; and, after several atte-^ 
 they were enabled to cut their names very well, 
 first, Paul would dig his name into the face of sculp- 
 tured walls or painted columns, at some distance apart 
 from that of his master ; but they had not been long 
 engaged, when he set his name, by way of endorse- 
 ment, directly under that of Mr. Scantletrash, with 
 the additional word " dragoman" affixed. 
 
 The island of Philse, situated a short distance above 
 the cataracts, exhibits one of the most agreeable and 
 impressive landscape scenes that I have ever wit- 
 nessed. Encircled by the eddying rush of the Nile, 
 and overlooked by wild and lofty ledges, its own 
 green banks and spreading trees adorn the time-worn 
 ruins of its ancient glory. It is nearly surrounded by 
 
I 
 
THE TEMPLE OF ISIS, 561 
 
 a high, well-preserved wall, and its desolated temples, 
 beautiful even in ruin, declare its former magnificence. 
 This was the scene of the sacred and pompous wor- 
 ship of Isis and Osiris, " the greatest of all the gods."* 
 Divine honours were universally paid to these deities 
 throughout Egypt;! but this spot was particularly 
 consecrated to their service. It was esteemed so sa- 
 cred, that " no one was permitted to visit the holy 
 island without express permission." J Here were 
 celebrated " the great mysteries ;" and at an appoint- 
 ed time, the tomb of Osiris was visited by the priests 
 in solemn procession, and crowned with flowers.§ 
 Diodorus says, none but priests were allowed to visit 
 the isiand.|l The sepulchre of Osiris, says the same 
 author, " was religiously reverenced by all the priests 
 of Egypt Osiris was worshipped at Philse under the 
 figure of the Ethiopian hawk."l[ " Isis was represent- 
 ed in her statues under the form of a woman with 
 horns.** .... Her festivals were magnificent, and cele- 
 brated with all the pomp which rehgion and supersti- 
 tion could invent."tt 
 
 The temple of Isis, supposed to occupy the site of 
 one destroyed by the Persians, is the largest and most 
 splendid ruin on the island. " It was commenced," 
 says Wilkinson, " by Ptolemy Philadelphus and Ar- 
 sinoe."tt The principal entrance is through an ob- 
 long area two hundred and forty feet in length, hav- 
 
 * Herod, ii. 40, 86. f Ibid. ii. 42. 
 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 345. § Ibid. i. 345. 
 
 il Died. i. 28. IT Herod, ii. 66 : note. 
 
 ** Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 381. ff Ibid. i. 385. 
 
 tt Wilkinson's Thebes, 466. 
 
 Vol. I — 71 
 
562 THE TEMPLE OF ISIS. 
 
 ing colonnades on either side, supported by forty-six 
 columns in front and a dead wall in the rear, with a 
 handsome entablature. The first propylon, in the 
 form of two pyramidal towers, rises from a base of 
 one hundred and twenty-five feet by thirty, to the 
 height of seventy feet, and is adorned with colossal 
 figures. The principal portal, ornamented with sculp- 
 tured hieroglyphics, opens upon a grand court with 
 side corridors, and terminates with a propylon, cor- 
 responding in size to that already described, though 
 more profusely decorated. 
 
 Here the French army recorded the event of their 
 arrival at the cataracts. The names of the com- 
 manders are particularized, — an excusable piece of 
 vanity, considering the circumstances ; but the ten 
 thousand other names that, like blots, disfigure these 
 noble ruins, as well as almost all others in the old 
 world, " are damned to everlasting fame." 
 
 Passing the second propylon, we entered a beauti- 
 ful portico, remarkable for its light and elegant ap- 
 pearance. The columns were surmounted with va- 
 ried and flowing capitals. Carved hieroglyphs, and 
 deified figures, painted in colours of surpassing fresh- 
 ness, adorned this and every part of the rooms of the 
 temple. Traversing four elaborately adorned rooms, 
 we entered a fifth, which was still more beautiful. 
 This was the sanctuary of the temple. On all sides, 
 the mysterious characters of the Egyptians were pro- 
 fusely spread, and mingled with the symbolical figures 
 of their idolatrous worship. These were invariably 
 
THE TOMB OF OSIRIS. 563 
 
 painted ; and the colours, though laid thousands of 
 years ago, still retain a vivid brightness and beauty. 
 
 In the sculptures of a small retired chamber, lying 
 nearly over the western adytum, " the mysterious his- 
 tory of Osiris is curiously illustrated .... His passage 
 from this life to a future state is indicated by the usu- 
 al attendance of the deities and genii, vs^ho presided 
 over the funeral rites of ordinary mortals."* 
 
 On the walls of a chapel on the left of the grand 
 court, the figure of a hawk is conspicuously sculp- 
 tured ; having on the right the figures in outline of a 
 man and woman kneeling at the foot of a pole, upon 
 which a serpent entwines his hideous length, and 
 looks down from the summit upon the prostrate forms 
 beneath. On the left, another figure of the serpent 
 is seen ascending a similar elevation. 
 
 It were vain to attempt a description of the cham- 
 bers, corridors, passage-ways, subterraneous and other 
 apartments, and the varied and peculiar embellish- 
 ment of this magnificent erection, which is nearly 
 four hundred and forty feet in length, and more than 
 a hundred in width. 
 
 On the eastern side of the island, reared upon a 
 broad terrace, substantially supported by a massive 
 wall, stands the tomb of Osiris. This is adorned 
 with chastely-wrought columns. 
 
 Ruins of different dates and descriptions are 
 strewed in all directions, and are encumbered with 
 the dunghills and rubbish of the Arabs. 
 
 After lunching in the temple of Isis, we embarked 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Second Series, i. 189. 
 
564 ANTICIPATIONS OF DINNER. 
 
 on board an old boat, navigated by two aged men, 
 and descended the river. Two Nubian lads, ten or 
 twelve years of age, who had followed us all day, 
 stripping off their rags and fastening them upon their 
 heads, embarked upon a small log, and descended the 
 stream with us. They sat upon the stick, which was 
 about six feet in length and six or seven inches in di- 
 ameter ; and, extending their feet in front, with their 
 legs close to the log, they used their hands for oars, 
 and easily kept up with the boat, shouting all the way 
 for huckshish. (Quitting their log at the landing, they 
 ran down the borders of the. stream, and, with some 
 twenty of their countrymen, who were awaiting our 
 arrival, leaped into the Nile, and came dancing down 
 the most rapid part of the catracts ! The scene was 
 animated, and will serve to illustrate in some degree 
 the force and danger of these rapids. The cataracts 
 present an agreeable picture ; but it is only by mere 
 courtesy that the stiff current, which rushes around 
 the rocky isles in this place, is called a cataract. We 
 saw a boat ascending, while we were there, with the 
 aid of sails alone ! 
 
 Fatigue and excitement had stirred up within us a 
 gnawing propensity. We began to draw largely in 
 anticipation upon the deliciousness of the dinner 
 which " Johnny" was to prepare against our return. 
 
 Johnny was an Egyptian, a son of the faithful, and, 
 up to this memorable day, so far as we knew, he had 
 conducted himself like r faithful son. He had served 
 in an English kitchen, and was with Wellington in 
 the Peninsular War. Johnny had conducted himself 
 
APOSTACY OF THE COOK. 565 
 
 SO well in the upward voyage, that we thought him, 
 what is rarely to be found, an honest, faithful, sober 
 Egyptian. This day we had reckoned largely upon 
 his abilities, and we looked with pleasing anticipations 
 to the result of his cuhnary art, as well as to the tidy 
 manner in which every thing was to be arranged for 
 our descent of the Nile. Cheered by agreeable re- 
 flections, we hastened onward through the heat and 
 dust ; but imagine our surprise on drawing near the 
 boat, to find it surrounded by half the inhabitants of 
 E'Souan, shouting in wild uproar. 
 
 Johnny, instead of getting our dinner, had got 
 drunk ! He was stupidly reeling about the deck, en- 
 deavouring to close a bargain for a Nubian girl's neck- 
 lace. She was bawling at the top of her voice, en- 
 circled by some twenty of her companions, who were 
 equally clamorous in their efforts to sell their trin- 
 kets. Johnny was greatly perplexed ; the competi- 
 tion was too ardent for the unsettled state of his 
 mind. At last, deeming himself insulted by some of 
 the men, he staggered out with clinched fists, struck 
 a convulsive blow upon the vacant wind, and pitched 
 down into the sand. Alas ! poor Johnny. He was 
 picked up by the sailors, and stowed away in a state 
 of insensibility. 
 
 We were now made acquainted with the wretched 
 condition of our affairs. The rais had the key to 
 our stores ; one of the sailors had been arrested, and 
 most of the others were revelUng about town. John- 
 ny, by way of augmenting our supplies, had purchased 
 a little black lamb, so thin and sickly that it could 
 
^66 A SERIOUS PREDICAMENT. 
 
 scarcely stand alone. It braced itself against the side 
 of the boat, and was bleating, as with its last breath, 
 to be set on shore. Every thing on board was in con- 
 fusion ; and the two dollars' worth of bread which 
 Johnny had purchased, being brought on board, add- 
 ed to our embarrassment. Basket full after basket full 
 came tumbling in upon us until we were literally over- 
 whelmed with the loaves. We told the baker to 
 bring no more ; else, for aught I know, they would 
 have sunk our boat with " the staff of life." This 
 we attributed to the ruinous effect of the " corn laws" 
 of the " blood-thirsty old Pacha/' But we had no 
 time to waste upon the ruler of Egypt ; the donkey- 
 boys set up a deafening shout for their wages ; a thou- 
 sand voices rang through our ears from those desirous 
 to dispose of their javelins, spears, knives, shields, and 
 baskets ; the women, not a whit behind the men in 
 their vociferations, were ardent in their efforts to 
 strike a bargain, though they had little to dispose of 
 except the scanty rags upon their backs. The " cap- 
 tain of the port," a sombre -looking functionary of the 
 government, observing our perplexity, obligingly came 
 forward, and swept his spear around^ scattering the 
 crowd right and left, like the assets of the Bank of 
 the United States. We had scarcely liquidated his 
 demand of twenty paras (about two and a half cents) 
 for this " official act," when our tormentors returned 
 again, as dense, dirty, and noisy as ever. 
 
 The wind blew up stream^ and we wanted to go 
 down ; one man was wrested from us, and most of 
 the others were missing ; the very dense reigned with- 
 
DEPARTURE FROM E'SOUAN. 567 
 
 in and without ; and a more hungry, unhappy party 
 has rarely taken leave of the cataracts, than ours, 
 when we swung the boat into the stream. We float- 
 ed down for some time in all the disorder of a wreck ; 
 and we were not a mile from E'Souan when we stuck 
 fast in a sand-bar ! After much talking and lifting, 
 we were again afloat ; and began to clear away the 
 bread and other things, which had been tumbled on 
 board during the day. This done, we mustered 
 strength and culinary skill sufficient to get a cup of 
 tea, and retired. 
 
 It was not long, however, before we were aroused 
 by the boat's being run against the bank, and by the 
 din of female voices. We were informed that the sai- 
 lor, reputed to have been arrested, was in a house near 
 
 by, under guard. Mr. J went out to the village, 
 
 found the man under keepers, and was requested to 
 pay thhty piasters for his release ; but Mr. J , sus- 
 pecting the whole aflair to be a ruse to extort this 
 pitiful sum from us, forcibly took the soi-disant pris- 
 oner from the hands of the authorities, and marched 
 him on board the boat. 
 
 The next morning, as the sun rose upon the unruf- 
 fled bosom of the Nile, we were gliding past the no- 
 ble and impressive ruins of Kom Ombos. Johnny 
 was up with the peep of day, and went about his 
 business ; but he looked sad, and was never the same 
 servant afterward. Another day, and we were at 
 Edfoo, the ancient Apollinopolis Magna. It is on 
 the Libyan side, about a mile from the Nile, and con- 
 tains three thousand Arabs, who, for filth and vermin, 
 
568 TEMPLE OF EDFOO. 
 
 may successfully vie with the wretched inhabitants 
 of any part of Egypt 
 
 Entering the village, we passed a crowd of wailing 
 women, with dishevelled hair, grouped round the door 
 of a man who had just died. As we drew near, the 
 vehemence of their music and mourning wondrously 
 increased ; but when we passed by, they threw oif the 
 bitterness of their grief, abandoned their instruments 
 and tears, and set up a clamorous demand for buck- 
 shish ! 
 
 The temple of Edfoo, though half enveloped in 
 filth, is an imposing structure. The entrance is 
 through a magnificent gateway two hundred feet long, 
 thirty feet thick, and one hundred in height. It was 
 constructed of sand-stone from the quarries of Gebel 
 Silsili, and is adorned on all sides with sculpture. 
 This gateway opens upon an area two hundred feet 
 in length and a hundred and twenty-five in width ; a 
 sculptured corridor extends along the sides, supported 
 by a massive wall, which is continued round the tem- 
 ple. Traversing the court, now converted into a 
 granary of the Pacha, we approached the portico, 
 which is a hundred and eight ieet by forty, and sup- 
 ported by columns twenty feet in circumference. 
 These are crowned with sculptured capitals thirty- 
 seven feet in circumference. Every part of the tem- 
 ple and corridor was covered with hieroglyphics and 
 deified figures. The great door being choked up 
 with rubbish, we could only enter through a small 
 aperture in the roof We found quite a village on 
 top of the temple : Arabs, goats, sheep, calves, hens, 
 
TEMPLE OF EDFOO. 
 
 569 
 
 YoL, L™~72 
 
570 TOMBS OF EL KAB. 
 
 dogs, and dirt were there mingled in rank confu- 
 sion. 
 
 We entered one of the rookeries, and descended 
 with Hghted torches, by a small dark hole, into the 
 rooms of the temple. Crawling upon our hands and 
 knees from one apartment to another, we found the 
 interior filled with dirt almost to the ceiling. Every 
 part was covered with hieroglyphics, which were fresh 
 and unimpaired. The Arabs rushed in after us till 
 there was scarcely room to move round ; the air was 
 close, and the dust intolerable. When we drew our- 
 selves out of this dust-hole, we were half suffocated. 
 
 After examining the more imperfect ruins of anoth- 
 er small temple, we returned to the boat, and dropped 
 down the river to El Kab, anciently Eilethyas. The 
 walls of this city, four miles in circuit, were con- 
 structed with the mud of the Nile. They are about 
 thirty feet thick at the base, thirty in height, and well 
 preserved. The ruins of the ancient city afforded 
 us little amusement. Ascending the mountain, how- 
 ever, we found its sides perforated with tombs. They 
 have all been violated, and have suffered much from 
 the " scientific research" or Vandalism of European 
 antiquarians. We penetrated one to the distance of 
 fifty feet. It was hewn in the rock, twelve feet in 
 width, and the same in height. The paintings on the 
 walls exhibit a variety of domestic and agricultural 
 scenes. On one side, a lady and gentleman entertain 
 a party of friends : musicians are introduced to en- 
 liven the scene. On the opposite wall, various im- 
 plements of husbandry are represented. Many of 
 
ARRIVAL AT ESNEH, 
 
 571 
 
 these are similar to those seen in the hands of the 
 Egyptians at the present day. Scribes are taking ac- 
 count of the flocks and herds. The wine-press is 
 also represented, together with fishing and fowling 
 scenes, ploughing, sowing, reaping, treading out, win- 
 nowing, measuring, and housing the grain. Other 
 tombs are similarly decorated, and similarly despoiled 
 and disfigured by the charcoal and chiselled names 
 of visiters. 
 
 Leaving the plains of El Kab, we resumed our 
 boat, and the next morning were at Esneh, where we 
 touched for a slight reinspection of the temple, and 
 then continued on to Thebes," 
 
 A Woman embracing and weeping before her Husband's Mummy. 
 
572 TEMPLE OF REMESES. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 Palace-Temple of Remeses the Great — His Conquests and 
 Progeny. — Statue of Remeses the Great. — Vocal Memnon. 
 — Shrine of Latona at Butos. — Ruined Temples of Me- 
 deenet Hdhoo. 
 
 We landed on the western bank of the river, and 
 rode across the plain to the " Memnonium." This 
 was the palace-temple of " Remeses the Great," or 
 " Sesostris," a Pharaoh who had a long and prosper- 
 ous reign in what is called the "Augustan age of 
 Egypt." Ascending the throne 1355 years B. C.,^ 
 he triumphantly carried his arms through Asia, and 
 passed into Europe.f Diodorus represents his con- 
 quests as being more extensive than those of Alexan- 
 der. He says : " Sesostris not only invaded those na- 
 tions which the Macedonian afterward subdued, but 
 likewise those he never set foot upon. He passed the 
 river Ganges, and pierced through all India to the 
 Main Ocean."! Loaded with the spoils of his ene- 
 mies, he returned to Egypt, fired with an ambitious 
 desire " to leave behind him eternal monuments of his 
 memory ."§ This temple is one of those monuments ; 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 48. f Herod, ii. 102-110. 
 
 t Died. i. 59. § Ibid. i. 60. 
 
TEMPLE OF REMESES. 573 
 
 " which," says Wilkinson, " for symmetry of architec- 
 ture, and elegance of sculpture, can vie with any 
 other monument of Egyptian art."* The names and 
 figures of his " twenty-three sons and three daugh- 
 ters are introduced in the Memnonium."t 
 
 The entrance to this splendid edifice was through 
 a propylon, constructed of stone, two hundred and 
 twelve feet in length, thirty in width, and rising in the 
 form of two pyramidal towers to the height of eighty 
 feet. This is now in ruins ; though the battle-scenes 
 of Sesostris, sculptured on the west side, are in part 
 preserved. In the first court, which is two hundred 
 and twelve feet by one hundred, are the broken frag- 
 ments of the statue of Remeses the Great. This 
 statue was sculptured from an entire piece of granite, 
 taken from the quarries of Syene, one hundred and 
 thirty-eight miles from Thebes, and weighed eight 
 hundred and eighty-nine tons !{ It measured from 
 the shoulder to the elbow twelve feet ten inches ; 
 twenty-two feet four inches across the shoulders, and 
 fourteen feet four inches from the neck to the elbow. 
 Its foot was eleven feet in length, and four feet ten 
 inches in breadth.§ It sat upon a pedestal formed of a 
 single block of granite twenty -nine feet long, seven- 
 teen wide, and it is now nine feet above the accumu- 
 lated rubbish. The desolating hand of invasion threw 
 down this mighty column and shivered it in ruins ! 
 
 The second court was a hundred and seventy feet 
 by a hundred and forty, and adorned on all sides with 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 10. f Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 72. 
 I Ibid. iii. 330. § Wilkinson's Thebes, 10 : note. 
 
574 TEMPLE OF REMESES. 
 
 columns and " Osiride pillars ;" — eight of the latter, 
 with folded arms, are holding in their hands the sa- 
 cred emblems of Egyptian worship. 
 
 Three flights of steps conduct from the court to a 
 corridor of ten massive columns, where stood two 
 other statues of Sesostris. Three entrances open 
 into the grand hall, whose roof, composed of massive 
 blocks of sand-stone, was sustained bj forty-eight col- 
 umns, all beautified with elaborately-wrought capitals; 
 which, together with the ceiling and doorways, were 
 covered with hieroglyphs. This hall was about a hun- 
 dred and thirty -three by one hundred feet, and was 
 succeeded by several other chambers, which are near- 
 ly all destroyed. The remains of this sumptuous and 
 imposing structure are strewed over an elevated site, 
 looking off upon the plains of Thebes and the Ara- 
 bian mountains. In the rear, are the tomb-perforated 
 hills of Libya ; on the right, are the ruins of the tem- 
 ple of Medeenet Haboo ; on the left, those of Gour- 
 noo ; while those of the palace-temple of Luqsor are 
 on the opposite side of the river, bearing a little to 
 the south, with the incomparable ruins of Karnak di- 
 rectly in front. Thus the principal temples of Thebes, 
 though far apart, were distinctly in view of each other ; 
 and the shattered sphinxes, that are seen obtruding 
 above the deposites of the Nile, indicate that in Thebes' 
 proud and palmy days, broad avenues, Hned with im- 
 posing statues, extended from one to the other of 
 these magnificent temples throughout their entire cir- 
 cuit. Were this the case, no one can doubt the im- 
 pressive effect of the religious ceremonial — when, in 
 
COLOSSAL STATUES. 575 
 
 solemn processions, the numerous priesthood were 
 moving from temple to temple, in all the glitter of 
 their sacred robes, accompanied by music, banners, 
 and every imaginable device that could lend brilliancy 
 to the scene or ^we to the spectacle ! 
 
 How^ever this may have been, all is silent now, and 
 sad ; and little remains to declare the ancient glory 
 of Thebes, except the ruined temples and violated 
 tombs, and a few colossal statues that seem to mourn 
 over the desolation of the city they were reared to 
 adorn. Two of these, bruised and broken by the 
 hand of man, and defiled by the birds of the air, sit 
 lonely in the cultivated plains. These are the statues 
 of Amunoph III., and were part of a double line of 
 colossi that adorned the dromos conducting to a tem- 
 ple erected by that monarch, who reigned 1430 B. C* 
 
 These statues are forty-seven feet in height, a little 
 more than eighteen feet across the shoulders, sixteen 
 feet and a half from the shoulder to the elbow, ten 
 feet and a half from the crown of the head to the 
 shoulder, about eighteen feet from the elbow to the 
 tip of the fingers, nearly twenty feet from the top of 
 the knee to the sole of the foot, and ten feet and a 
 half from the heel to the extremity of the toes ! Each 
 sits upon a sand-stone pedestal thirty-two feet long, 
 eighteen wide, and twelve or thirteen feet thick, ma- 
 king their total altitude about sixty feet ! They were 
 constructed of entire blocks of coarse grit-stone, a 
 material not known within several days' journey of 
 Thebes ;t and each contained eleven thousand five 
 
 * Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 47. ; Second Series do. i. 109. 
 t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 329 ; and his Thebes, 34. 
 
576 
 
 THE VOCAL MEMNON. 
 
 hundred cubic feet. These, and the broken statue 
 at the Memnonium, are some of the ponderous blocks 
 of stone which the Egyptians transported from one 
 extremity of the country to the other ; and, though 
 immense, they are by no means the largest which 
 they were accustomed to handle — for at Butos, near 
 the Sebennitic mouth of the Nile, the shrine of the 
 goddess Latona, formed bf one solid stone of equal 
 height, breadth, and thickness, measured on each side 
 sixty feet !^ This, " supposing the walls to have been 
 only six feet thick, must have weighed upward of five 
 thousand tons !"t How such stupendous masses of 
 granite were safely conveyed over a space of many 
 hundred miles, is a question that may perplex, in its 
 solution, the most daring engineers of " this enlight- 
 
 ened age '" 
 
 The two Colossi on the Plain of Thebes, with the Ruins of Luqsob 
 
 IN THE DISTANCE, DUKING THE INUNDATION. ThE StATUE ON THE 
 LEFT IS THE VoCAL MeMNON. 
 
 One of the sitting colossi in the plain of Thebes 
 is the reputed " Vocal Memnon" It was broken off 
 
 * Herod, ii. 155. f Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, iii. 331. 
 
RUINS OF TEMPLES. 577 
 
 near the middle by the shock of an earthquake, and 
 was restored by horizontal layers of sand-stone. Its 
 feet and legs are thickly engraved with the records 
 of its vocal powers ; and great names of Greece and 
 Rome bear testimony to its audible greetings. Mem- 
 non, however, is no longer but a mock of his former 
 self ! His voice is mute, his eyes are dimmed, and all 
 the fore part of the head has disappeared at the Van- 
 dal touch of man ! Yet no one can look upon this 
 mangled image, untouched with pity at its ruin, or un- 
 moved with sorrow for the fate of its founder, whose 
 death-slumbers have been violated, and his powdered 
 dust scattered to the winds of heaven ! 
 
 Passing the fallen fragments of several other colossi, 
 and the remains of the demolished temple in the rear, 
 we continued on until we came to the ruins of Me- 
 deenet Haboo. Here, half entombed by the rude huts 
 of modern erection, is the sublime wreck of temples 
 and palaces that once vied in splendour with any 
 other in Egypt. Here was one of the four temples 
 of Thebes, which, we are assured by Diodorus, were 
 " greatly to be admired for grandeur and beauty."* 
 One of the other three is the temple of Luqsor, facing 
 this, on the opposite side of the river. The others are 
 the temple of Karnak and the Memnonium.f I shall 
 forbear any attempt at a detailed description of these 
 ruined piles ; a task which it is not easy to accomplish. 
 
 The great palace-templej of Remeses HI, who 
 reigned 1235 years B. C.,§ is the most conspicuous 
 
 * Diod. i. 52. t Wilkinson's Thebes, 4L 
 
 X Ibid. 50. § Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 76. 
 
 Vol. L — 73 
 
578 
 
 PAVILION OF REMESES. 
 
 among the ruins of Medeenet Haboo, and the most 
 elaborately embellished. Two lodges flank the sides 
 of the spacious entrance conducting to the pavilion 
 
 "' T^"^^^=^s^4^ 
 
 Pavilion of Remeses IIL at Medeenet Haboo. 
 
 of the King. Several of the royal chambers yet 
 remain in a state of tolerable preservation, and are 
 adorned with representations of the scenes of the 
 private life of the Pharaoh. Passing from the pavil- 
 ion over the dromos of two hundred and sixty-five 
 feet, the first court of the temple, a hundred and thir- 
 ty-five feet by one hundred, with massive colonnades 
 on either side, is entered by a lofty pyramidal gate- 
 way, two hundred feet long, and twenty-nine thick. 
 At the opposite end of the court, another gateway, 
 of similar form and size, rises to a corresponding 
 height. Both sides of each of the propylons, and 
 every part of the colonnades, are adorned with his- 
 torical delineations, deeply sculptured and vividly col- 
 oured. The second court is even more splendid and 
 spacious than the first, and the doorway of red gran- 
 
TEMPLES OF MEDEENET HABOO. 579 
 
 ite, through which it is entered, is truly superb. The 
 hieroglyphics on its sides are engraved to the depth 
 of two or three inches. The height of this court, 
 " from the pavement to the cornice, is thirty-nine feet. 
 It is surrounded by an interior peristyle, whose east 
 and west sides are supported by fiiVe massive columns, 
 the south by a row of Osiride pillars, and the north 
 by a similar number, behind which is an elegant cor- 
 ridor of circular columns, whose effect is unequalled 
 by any other in Thebes.""^ The circular columns, 
 though only twenty-four feet high, are nearly twenty- 
 three feet in circumference ; which, with their crown- 
 ing capitals, the bold and massive entablature, the pon- 
 derous beams and ceiling of the corridor, and the 
 close wall of the court, were all embellished with hie- 
 roglyphical sculpture. 
 
 The painting, too, was profuse in all directions ; 
 and, in many parts, preserved with astonishing fresh- 
 ness. The hand of mutilation has wantonly touched 
 the adornments of this splendid court; and the Chris- 
 tians, who, previous to the Saracen conquest, erected 
 a place of worship here, covered the sculptures with 
 stucco. This, however, instead of destroying, was 
 the means of preserving the interesting dehneations 
 upon this part of the building ; and many striking 
 battle-scenes and ceremonial groups are still exhibited 
 in pristine spirit and beauty. 
 
 Wilkinson says : " If the sculptures of the areas 
 arrest the attention of the antiquary or excite the ad- 
 miration of the traveller, those of the exterior of this 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 60. 
 
580 
 
 OFFERINGS TO THE DEAD. 
 
 building are no less interesting in an historical point 
 of view,"^ 
 
 The main body of this temple, together with the 
 rooms of one of scarcely less dimensions, a little fur- 
 ther to the north, is filled up with the huts and rub- 
 bish of the Copts, who, in the days of the empire, 
 resided here in considerable numbers. 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 68. 
 
 Offerings to the Dead in Presence of the Family of the Deceased. 
 
TOMBS OF THE KINGS. 581 
 
 CHAPTER XLIIL 
 
 Excursion to the " Tombs of the KingsP — Annoyance of the 
 Relic-venders, — Indefatigable Arab and his Jar. — Tomh 
 of Osirei^ violated and robbed by BelzonL — Belzoni^s Din- 
 ner to his English Friends in the Grave of Pharaoh. — 
 Tomb of the Harper. — The oldest Tomb of the Kings, — ■ 
 Temple of Gournoo. — Moonlight View of Karnak. 
 
 I WILL not detain the reader with an account of 
 our long rambles among the sepulchres of the vast 
 Necropolis of Thebes, and our explorations of their 
 deep, dark, devious, and violated chambers ; the dust 
 and mangled remains of whose sacred deposites strew 
 the rocky sides of the mountain, while the gorgeous 
 tombs from whence they have been sacrilegiously 
 thrust, are now the polluted abodes of the wretched 
 Arabs of Thebes. I will only crave indulgence for 
 some account of a single day's excursion among the 
 incomparable " Tombs of the Kings," and will then 
 resume our descent of the Nile. 
 
 At the dawn of day, we were aroused by a multi- 
 tude of the natives, crowding along the banks, with 
 horses, donkeys, and the relics of the tombs. We put 
 ourselves under the direction of an Egyptian guide, 
 and went on shore. Here we were so hemmed in 
 
582 
 
 ANNOYANCE OF RELIC- VENDERS. 
 
 on all sides by the resurrectionists, that it was almost 
 impossible to advance a single step. In addition to 
 all sorts of mummies and minute fragments of each, 
 from the head of a king to the tail of a cat, there 
 v^as a great variety of images, rings, beads, buckles, 
 and bandages on sale ; and a robber-visaged, clothe- 
 less Arab assailed me with an old jar, which he said 
 I inust purchase. I did not fancy it, and declined 
 this preference, akhough I had Uttle doubt of his as- 
 sertion that " it was taken from one of the oldest 
 tombs in Thebes." 
 
 In order to clear our skirts of these relic-venders, 
 we bought a quantity of their commodities, ere the 
 thought came into our minds that we were six thou- 
 sand miles from home, and that it was a hundred 
 chances to one that not an article of them all would 
 ever reach the United States. This, however, would 
 have been of little consequence, had the object in 
 view been attained, for the whole cost only a mere 
 trifle. But our situation became little less alarming 
 than that of the fox in the fable ; for we had no soon- 
 er bought one man's stock, than a hundred more 
 rushed before us, more imperious and importunate 
 than the last, to dispose of theirs. I had purchased 
 the mummy of a hawk ; Mr. J. had that of a sacred 
 serpent ; and my friend the doctor was importuned to 
 purchase those of a cat and a buzzard ; — and here 
 again, furiously pressing forward, and filling the air 
 with the deafening tones of his cracked voice, was 
 the fiend-like object with his jar ! It mattered little 
 that I had told him a dozen times I would not pur- 
 
THE ARAB AND HIS JAR. 583 
 
 chase it ; — he said no one else would buj it, and I 
 must I 
 
 Rudely pressed on all sides, we could neither move 
 forward nor backward, nor indeed could we stand 
 where we were, for the crowd was momentarily in- 
 (^reasing in confusion and density. To linger in in- 
 decision, was to subject ourselves to greater annoy- 
 ance ; we therefore plied our canes and whips right 
 and left, until we cleared our way to the muleteers. 
 Here, again, we had difficulty. In their eagerness to 
 serve us, the muleteers rushed up with their animals, 
 and had well nigh trampled us under foot before we 
 had time to select such of their quadrupeds as we de- 
 sired. As I was taking my seat in the old Turkish 
 saddle, who should again accost me but the indefati- 
 gable owner of the jar 1 If I answered his impor- 
 tunity with a cut of my whip, he only vanished from 
 one side of my horse to reappear immediately upon 
 the other, just as smiling and eager as ever to dispose 
 of his jar, which he again assured me I must pur- 
 chase ! Fairly mounted, I put spurs to my horse, 
 and left him and his companions to press their solici- 
 tations upon Mr. Scantletrash and Paul, who had just 
 arrived. 
 
 Passing over the plain, we entered a winding gorge 
 among the Libyan hills, and traversed the dry bed 
 of a mountain-torrent. Mingled with vast quantities 
 of curious flint-stDne, we saw various petrified shells 
 in considerable abundance. On either hand the rocky 
 cliffs hung high and loosely over us ; the way was as 
 lonely and silent as the grave. No spot, perhaps, 
 
584 A SCENE AMID THE TOMBS. 
 
 could be more appropriate for the quiet repose of man, 
 when the active and busy scenes of hfe are over, and 
 the sorrow^s and trials of this existence are exchanged 
 for the long, silent slumbers of the tomb. Here no in- 
 trusive footstep trampled, no noise resounded through 
 the sun-scorched vale, save the funeral dirge, and the 
 mournful processions bearing the mummied bodies of 
 the mighty dead, vi^ith pompous ceremonial, to their 
 last abode ! Even now, little breaks upon the noise- 
 less scene, except here and there the stranger's step, 
 winding upward to the magnificent chambers of the 
 dead, there to admire the splendour of the vacant 
 tombs, — and, generally, to add fresh ravages to these 
 despoiled and desecrated sanctuaries ! Alas ! how 
 hard and heavily has the hand of the living pressed 
 upon the bones and shelter of the dead ! 
 
 Lingering slowly behind my companions, I mused 
 pensively over this strange scene ; the brevity of man's 
 existence ; the solemn sleep of death ; the joys of 
 heaven ; the brightness of the Christian's hope ; the 
 beauty of his religion contrasted with the dim per- 
 ception of Egypt's Pharaohs, who dwelt in golden 
 palaces through life, and at last lay down in sepul- 
 chres of living rock, deep in the mountain's bosom, 
 vainly anticipating an undisturbed repose till their de- 
 parted spirits should again return to reanimate their 
 faded, fallen clay ! How different the sequel ! Like 
 an unclean thing, the dust of Egypt's kings has been 
 cast out and scattered to the winds ; their violated 
 tombs despoiled of their glory ; and their shrouds and 
 coffins conveyed to the extremities of the earth ! 
 
 L 
 
THE ARAB AND HIS JAR. 585 
 
 I was meditating upon these things, when I heard 
 approaching footsteps. Imagine my sm*prise on look- 
 ing round, to encounter an Arab, with a sepulchral 
 figure and face, brandishing the mummied head of a 
 man just from the tomb ! He thrust it in my face, 
 and clamorously desired me to purchase it The 
 teeth, exhibiting death's ghastly grin, were still firm 
 in their sockets ; the skin, dry and shrunken, was 
 closely drawn over the bones and muscles of the face ; 
 the hair hung in matted clusters over the brow ; one 
 ear was smitten off, and the eyes were veiled in eter- 
 nal darkness ! The unexpected manner in which 
 this relic of the tombs had obtruded upon my path, 
 occasioned an involuntary shudder. I turned, half 
 affrighted, from the disgusting spectacle ; and who 
 should haunt my vision then but the imperturbable 
 Egyptian with the old jar ! In the distance, I saw 
 a crowd of his tomb-relic companions rapidly advan- 
 cing. Flight, under such circumstances, appearing 
 the better part of valour, I apphed the broad shovel- 
 stirrups to the horse's flanks, and left my besiegers to 
 meditate new modes of attack. 
 
 On joining my friends, we rode leisurely on, gath- 
 ering here and there a curious stone or a petrifaction, 
 until we approached the abrupt and lofty barrier of 
 limestone rock rising in front and on either side, de- 
 claring — " Thus far and no farther." We were now 
 at the doors of the " Tombs of the Kings," which are 
 excavated in the living rock, and extend, in various 
 directions, far into the bosom of the mountains. 
 
 Furnished with blazing torches, we entered " the 
 
 Vol. L — 74 
 
586 TOMB OF OSIREI. 
 
 tomb which, of all others, stands pre-eminently con- 
 spicuous as well for the beauty of its sculpture, as the 
 state of its preservation."* It was discovered, vio- 
 lated, and robbed by Belzoni ; and it has been de- 
 spoiled by succeeding visiters, until nearly the whole 
 palace-hke sepulchre presents a picture of lamentable 
 dilapidation. 
 
 This was the tomb of Osirei I.,f father of " Reme- 
 ses the Great," who ascended the throne 1385 B. C. 
 He extended the glory and dominion of Egypt by 
 foreign conquest, and adorned her cities with mag- 
 nificent edifices ^and sumptuous works of artj He 
 was the twelfth Pharaoh, in a direct line, from the 
 " king who knew not Joseph," and reigned about two 
 centuries after the birth of Moses.§ 
 
 The entrance to his tomb is by an ample flight of 
 stairs, conducting down through the solid rock to a 
 depth of twenty-four feet. From the foot of the stairs, 
 a passage, nineteen feet by eight, leads to a second 
 staircase, similar to the first ; and from these, a pas- 
 sage twenty-nine feet in length conducts to a cham- 
 ber, twelve feet by fourteen. This room is adorned 
 with representations of the offerings of Osirei, and 
 opens into a second chamber, twenty-seven feet 
 square, whose roof is supported by four square pillars, 
 which have painted in vivid hues upon their sides the 
 reception of the king by the deities after his death. 
 This apartment is otherwise ornamented by various 
 representations in a style of great elegance and sur- 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 101. f Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 48-62. 
 t Ibid. 62, 63. § Ibid. 47, 48. 
 
VIOLATION BY BELZONI. 587 
 
 prising freshness of colour. Descending a few steps, 
 we entered another apartment of similar dimensions, 
 supported by pillars in the centre. The ornamental 
 figures of this room are apparently fresh from the 
 hand of the draftsman, and untouched by the sculp- 
 tor. They are, however, exceedingly interesting, and 
 exhibit the taste and skill of an artist of high attain- 
 ments. Descending another staircase, we entered a 
 broad and beautiful passage-way, embelHshed with 
 the funeral ceremonial of the deceased. This pas- 
 sage terminated by a few steps, which landed upon 
 another corridor of equal extent, but surpassing the 
 former in ornamental beauty. A vividly-painted 
 room, seventeen feet by fourteen, succeeds, and com- 
 municates by a door through its inner wall with the 
 grand hall, which is about twenty-seven feet square. 
 The ceiling of this room is supported by two rows 
 of pillars. Its walls are profusely spread with hiero- 
 glyphical sculpture, which, reflected by the glare of 
 our torches, presented a scene of inconceivable bril- 
 liancy. Two lateral chambers, eight feet by ten, 
 opened on either side, which are no less profuse in 
 hieroglyphical adornment than the other apartments. 
 The grand hall terminates in the saloon of the sar- 
 cophagus, a lofty and beautiful apartment, about thir- 
 ty feet by twenty, with a vaulted roof, and decorated 
 in a style of elegance worthy the conspicuous posi- 
 tion it occupies. Here was once an alabaster sarco- 
 phagus of curious workmanship, which contained the 
 mummy of the king. This was abstracted by Bel- 
 zoni, who sold it to an English lord. Here, too, the 
 
588 BELZONI'S DINNER TO HIS FRIENDS. 
 
 " scientific" violator of the dead gave a dinner to his 
 English friends ; and the grave of Pharaoh loudly re- 
 sounded M^ith the bacchanalian shouts of its plun- 
 derers ! 
 
 On the right of the saloon of the sarcophagus is a 
 small room in an unfinished state ; and still deeper in 
 the rock, there is a plain apartment, forty feet by eigh- 
 teen, supported by four square pillars. On the left, 
 there is another chamber, about twenty-three feet 
 square, which is highly ornamented with hieroglyphi- 
 cal sculpture, and brilliantly painted. 
 
 The horizontal extent of this tomb is three hun- 
 dred and twenty feet, and it is nearly a hundred feet 
 in depth !* When Belzoni opened it, there was an 
 inclined plane starting from the centre of the hall of 
 the sarcophagus, with a staircase on either side, pene- 
 trating the rock to the distance of a hundred and fifty 
 feet further, making the entire length of this catacomb 
 four hundred and seventy feet ! The inclined pas- 
 sage is now entirely closed, and the tomb throughout 
 exhibits the wanton Vandalism of man in its most 
 reprehensible light. 
 
 As we emerged from this splendid work of Egyp- 
 tian art, we were beset by a host of dusky resurrec- 
 tionists, clamorously thrusting upon us their filched 
 fragments of the dead. Heads, arms, legs, hair, teeth, 
 grave-clothes, beads, and rings were comprised in this 
 collection ; and tne first article that met my eye was 
 the old jar I 
 
 Our guides dashed among them, and cleared our 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 105. 
 
TOMB OF THE HARPERo 589 
 
 way to the next tomb, which, though less gorgeously 
 adorned, was in some respects still more impressive 
 than the last. It extends into the rock by a gently 
 inclined plane about three hundred and fifty feet 
 The passage-way, twelve feet in height, and adorned 
 throughout with painted sculpture, conducts to the 
 hall of the sarcophagus, whose vaulted roof is sup- 
 ported by massive columns. Here, thrown in broken 
 fragments upon the floor, was the ruined coffin of the 
 king ! This chamber is about forty feet by thirty ; 
 and, together with the apartments opening in differ- 
 ent directions, were all embellished with the sculp- 
 tured and painted representations of the religious 
 rites, ceremonies, and customs of the Egyptians ; the 
 whole, however, is in a state of deplorable ruin. 
 
 Once more we emerged into the bright sun and 
 clear sky, which perpetually hang over these lonely 
 mountains ; but it was again to encounter the hide- 
 ous mummy-dealers, who grouped round the entrance 
 of the tomb, dense, dark, and devilish as the fallen 
 angels. Among them was my omnipresent friend 
 with the magic jar ! 
 
 The next tomb we entered, called the Harper's, is 
 remarkable for its length and decorations. It reaches 
 through an ample and lofty passage-way into the rock 
 to the distance of four hundred and five feet ! Side 
 rooms, adorned with painted sculpture, open on either 
 hand throughout its entire length. At the extremity 
 of the passage-way, the excavation enlarges into a 
 vaulted chamber, about forty feet by twenty- five. 
 Here was once the sarcophagus of the king ; but an 
 
590 TOMB OF THE HARPER. 
 
 English consul* swept it of its dust and sent it to the 
 British Museum. 
 
 Besides the deified images and symbolical figures 
 usual in the mystical ceremonies of the Egyptians, 
 the scenes represented upon this tomb embrace those 
 of agriculture, the navigation of the Nile, culinary 
 operations, warlike implements, and those of husban- 
 dry. One room exhibits a variety of furniture, evin- 
 cing an elegance of form, finish, and richness indica- 
 tive of wealth, civilization, and refined taste. This 
 tomb has long been exposed to the Vandal crush of 
 man ; and destructive are the blows received upon its 
 beauteous walls. 
 
 Leaving the chambers of this grotto-palace, and 
 pushing through the relic-venders at the door, we en- 
 tered another which penetrated the rock to the dis- 
 tance of three hundred and sixty-three feet ; but, with 
 the exception of the representation of some chairs, 
 couches, boxes, mirrors, vases, necklaces, arms, and 
 fans, there was nothing to detain us. 
 
 We came out again, and passing in review before 
 the resurrectionists, we penetrated the rock through 
 the passage-way of another tomb to the distance of 
 two hundred and eighteen feet. In the vaulted cham- 
 ber of the king are the shattered remains of his gran- 
 ite sarcophagus, which was eleven feet six inches by 
 seven, and nearly ten feet in height ! The robbers 
 who burst in and despoiled the tomb, not being able 
 to raise the lid of the sarcophagus, dashed in its sides 
 and ruined it for ever. Near this there are two other 
 
 * The tomb-relic Salt, Wilkinson's Thebes, 144. 
 
OLDEST TOMB OF THE KINGS. 591 
 
 tombs of considerable interest and elegance. One is 
 two hundred and forty-three feet in extent, and the 
 other is a hundred and thirty-two : both are deco- 
 rated with hieroglyphical sculpture and painting. 
 Those, however, which I have enumerated, comprise 
 but a small part of the royal catacombs. 
 
 The last which we entered is supposed to be the 
 oldest of all the " Tombs of the Kings." Its entrance 
 is nearly closed ; but, with dijSiculty, we could crowd 
 our bodies through the constrained aperture. None 
 of our party were inclined to attempt the exploration 
 except Mr. J. and myself. And I must confess, as I 
 slid down the rapid and deep descent, and looked 
 back upon the pile of loose stones, threatening, at the 
 removal of the least rubbish at the bottom, to rush 
 down upon us and entirely close the grotto, that the 
 scene appeared " rather pokerish." I did not much 
 fancy the idea of being buried alive, even in Pharaoh's 
 tomb. 
 
 Carefully feeling our way down to the distance of 
 two hundred feet, we came to the vaulted chamber 
 of the sarcophagus, ornamented with frescoes, and 
 containing the violated coffin. Besides this, there 
 was little to be seen, and the chambers were filled 
 with loose stones. Mr. J. selected a bone as a me- 
 mento, but whether it was that of a king or a peasant, 
 we did not stop to determine, but hastened to join 
 our companions at the entrance of the tomb, where I 
 met a warm reception from my inexorable friend with 
 the jar, and found our party more thoughtful about 
 the good things of this life, than regardful of the im- 
 
592 RELIC- VENDERS. 
 
 portant provision for the next. We were all much 
 fatigued, and as hungry as cormorants. 
 
 Quitting this lonely and secluded spot, we soon 
 came out upon the cheerful plains of Thebes. We 
 passed the ruined temple of Gournoo, the great gate- 
 way of which is demolished ; but the columns, facade, 
 grand hall, and some of the rooms are yet preserved. 
 The sculpture and paintings are badly mutilated. We 
 were, however, too much fatigued to remain long un- 
 der a blazing sun, with the thermometer at 80^ ; and, 
 after again encountering my man of the y^r, who, to- 
 gether with the black host of his companions, had by 
 this time come up, we rode down to the boat. 
 
 While we were sitting under the awning after din- 
 ner, a silky breeze gently rippled the face of the Nile, 
 and the high bank over our heads was black with a 
 dense crowd of relic-men. It was now proposed to 
 examine their trinkets ; peradventure we might find 
 something worth carrying away. On being informed 
 that we would treat with them one by one in ro- 
 tation, and give all in turn a chance, they jumped 
 from the bank as one man, and assailed the boat like 
 so many pirates. The uproar was indescribable ; all 
 determined to be first, and they were so in fact. The 
 most conspicuous of them all was the fellow with the 
 old jar ! He resolved that I should no longer escape. 
 This Arab had haunted me with his jar from daylight 
 in the morning until that hour ; and, though refused 
 a hundred times, and cuffed, kicked, and stoned by 
 the guides at the door of every tomb we entered, he 
 had not given me up! What was to be done? — - 
 
MOONLIGHT VIEW OF KARNAK. 593 
 
 Why, lest the creature she aid follow me through the 
 desert to the Holy Land, Europe, across the Atlantic, 
 and, jar in hand, renew his importunities with me in 
 the streets of New York, I concluded the better way 
 was to purchase his jar, arid get it out of my sight ! 
 
 As the sun went down, leaving his golden tints up- 
 on the deep blue sky, the moon, half rounded, assumed 
 the helm of night, and mingled its mellow beams with 
 the stars of heaven. Hills, plains, mountains, river, 
 temples, and statues, all assumed new beauty, and a 
 peculiar and inexpressible grandeur rested upon the 
 scene. At this dehghtful hour, while we were taking 
 a cup of tea, quietly seated in the tent of our boat, 
 we ordered the sailors to haul over to the right bank 
 of the Nile, with the view of passing the next day 
 among the ruins of Karnak. We had no idea of 
 leaving the boat till the next morning ; indeed, the 
 exciting scenes of the day seemed to render rest in- 
 dispensable. But the effects of the vivifying plant 
 of China, and the splendour of that glorious night, 
 brought over us a magic change. We felt like new 
 creatures ; the spring-floods of life rushed through our 
 worn frames, and reanimated them, for the moment^ 
 with the smiles, hopes, and buoyancy of youth. Coats, 
 canes, and arms were mounted, and we were cheerily 
 traversing the plain for a moonlight view of the ruins 
 of Karnak ! 
 
 Although we had more than a mile to go, we soon 
 stood in the great court of the temple. In the soft 
 light of the moon, the fallen fabric of our contempla- 
 
 VoL, L — 75 
 
594 RUINS OF KARNAK. 
 
 tion assumed a grandeur and sublimity that we had 
 been strangers to in our previous visits. In the centre 
 of the court, a lonely column, expanding its ample 
 capital like a canopy over our heads, rose in all the 
 majesty, entireness, and perfection of its pristine ele- 
 gance. How changed, beautified, and enlarged seem- 
 ed the whole massive pile ! Order rose from chaotic 
 ruin ; what had before seemed like a crushed, crum- 
 bled, and confused world, now assumed the perfection 
 of art and regularity. Imagination could almost bring 
 up the fallen roof, raise the broken wall and prostrate 
 pillars, add lustre to the tarnished gilding, restore the 
 bruised sculpture, re-open the imposing aisles, and 
 breathe fresh existence into the brilliant groups that 
 once bowed in pompous worship at the feet of Pha- 
 raoh's god ; — and the music of their golden harps 
 seemed ready to burst voluptuously upon the stillness 
 of the night ! But the gorgeous ceremonial has long 
 since passed away. The crafty priest with his gilded 
 robe and pompous offering is veiled in darkness, and 
 the record of his name is obliterated. 
 
 We ascended the great propylon, whence we were 
 enabled to comprehend the gigantic plan of the ruin 
 with much satisfaction. The great gateways, rising 
 in the distance north, south, east, and west, opened 
 their lofty portals with augmented interest and mag- 
 nificence. The vast western court was encumbered 
 with the spoils of art ; the incomparable columns of 
 the grand hall, the sublime obeUsks, the bruised stat- 
 ues, the ruined sanctuary, the half-broken colonnades, 
 the crumbled walls, shaded here and there by grace- 
 
DEGRADATION AND MISERY. 595 
 
 fill palms, — all combined a most exciting and inter- 
 esting scene ! 
 
 Descending from this position, we walked to a ruin 
 strewed a little to the south, which was beautified 
 with a profusion of statuary ; among which we dis- 
 covered two large sphinxes, with female heads. 
 They had been cruelly broken ; yet there was a calm 
 placidity and graceful sweetness about their features 
 that I had never before seen impressed upon inani- 
 mate objects. They seemed like wronged and in- 
 jured creatures of real life, patiently and silently 
 suiFering a thousand abuses, yet meekly enduring all 
 with a purity of sentiment and resignation belong- 
 ing to happier realms. 
 
 As we turned pensively from these objects, and di- 
 rected our steps toward the Nile, we passed through 
 a cluster of huts, standing like a loathsome blotch on 
 the skirts of the noble ruins. 
 
 A silent group of aged men, perched upon a heap 
 of rubbish in the street, were smoking. There was 
 a noisy party in one of the hovels, engaged in the 
 dance, keeping time with their feet and distorted 
 bodies. How changed, alas ! — 
 
 " The world's great empress on the Egyptian plain, 
 That spread her conquest o'er a thousand states. 
 And poured her heroes through a hundred gates !" — 
 
 Her miserable, degenerated inhabitants, now dwin- 
 dled to an insignificant band, trembling at the shght- 
 est frown of a foreign vassal, seek a wretched sub- 
 sistence from the sale of the bones and coffins of 
 their ancestors ! 
 
596 
 
 FORMS OF MUMMY-CASES. 
 
 We returned to the boat, and swung into the 
 stream. The sailors raised their deep voices, while 
 the dipping oars kept time to their coarse music ; and 
 the next day we were before the temple of Dendera. 
 
 Different Forms of Mummy-CAses. 
 I, 2, 4j 9i of wood,— 3^ 5, 6, 7, 8, of stone.— 10, of burnt earthenware. 
 
TEMPLE OF DENDERA, 
 
 597 
 
 ExTERiOR View of a Tomb cut in the Rock at Beni Hassan. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 Temple of Dendera. — A Cook in danger of being cooked. — 
 Capture of a Pelican, — Siout, and the " Beautiful, bright- 
 eyed little Arab GirV^ — Mr. Scantletrash and Paul. — His 
 Excellency the Governor. — Ancient Tombs, Modern Ceme- 
 tery, Fox-hunt, and Death of a Bat. — Ruins of Antinoe. 
 — Tombs of Beni Hassan^ and our last Interview with the 
 Rimtapers. 
 
 The temple of Dendera stands about three miles 
 from the Nile, on the Libyan side. We approached 
 it through two ancient pylons, standing about half 
 a mile apart. The intervening spaces betw^een the 
 gateways and the temple were strewed with old brick- 
 work, pottery, mud-huts, and other rubbish. 
 
598 TEMPLE OF DENDERA. 
 
 Passing over the broken walls of the modern town, 
 which are constructed of the mud of the Nile, we 
 soon came to the temple, which is surrounded by the 
 filthy dens of the Arabs, which are also built upon 
 its roof. This is the most perfect and entire of all 
 the Egyptian temples. It faces the east, and is about 
 two hundred and twenty-five feet in length and forty- 
 two in width. The portico is supported by twenty- 
 four sculptured columns ; it is somewhat higher and 
 wider than the main body of the temple, and was 
 added by Tiberias * The grand and imposing fa- 
 cade rises forty-five feet above the base of the col- 
 umns. A large globe with wdngs and serpents sur- 
 mounts the principal entrance, and the whole temple 
 is deeply loaded with sculptured and painted embel- 
 lishments. The grand hall is fifty-one feet by forty- 
 two, and supported by Isis-headed columns, fifteen 
 feet in circumference. The second room is forty- 
 two feet by eighteen, and the two which succeed it 
 are each of nearly the same dimensions ; all dark, and 
 choked up with the filth of the Arabs. The walls, 
 roof, columns, and nearly all other parts of this tem- 
 ple are well preserved ; though its sculptures are cru- 
 elly defaced, and the whole is neglected and left to 
 the ravages of time, travellers, and " scientific re- 
 search." 
 
 Near by are the remains of another small temple ; 
 and in various directions we saw other vestiges of 
 the ancient city, whose inhabitants were celebrated 
 for their hatred of the crocodile, and their daring and 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 403. 
 
A COOK IN DANGER. 599 
 
 successful manner of attacking him. The modem 
 village is deserted ; not a soul was visible ; and the 
 surrounding plains wore a neglected aspect. 
 
 Again resuming our downward course, we swept 
 prosperously on with the wind and current until the 
 next morning, when a gale springing up from the 
 north, subjected our little vessel to some of those dis- 
 agreeable lurchings, pitchings, rollings, and tumblings 
 which distinguish an autumnal trip in a long, shallow- 
 bottomed steamer round Point Judith. Mrs. C. was 
 sick, the doctor upset his ink, and a disaster occurred 
 which came near cooking the cook. One of John- 
 ny's furnaces capsized with a boiling tea-kettle ; and, 
 although the poor fellow escaped without much in- 
 jury, the steam and ashes which ascended veiled him 
 from sight, and resembled the blowing up of a steam- 
 er. Affairs seemed to have approached a crisis ; and, 
 fearful of more serious consequences, we ran the boat 
 ashore and staked it to the bank. The wind con- 
 tinuing unfavourable for the two following days, our 
 progress was greatly retarded. While we were strug- 
 gling with the unpropitious blast, we saw a fine craft 
 pressing gallantly up the Nile, with the flag of our 
 own country. It was no sooner discovered that we 
 too were protected by the stars and stripes, than the 
 wind was shaken out of the sails of the ascending 
 boat, and she was run against the bank. We were 
 alongside with all practicable haste, and received a 
 cordial greeting from the learned and estimable Dr. 
 
 M , of New York. We made the voyage from 
 
 Trieste to Athens with Dr. M , and left him amid 
 
600 CAPTURE OF A PELICAN. 
 
 the classicai remains of Greece ; and were now most 
 happy to meet him upon the banks of the Nile. Af- 
 ter an agreeable chat for some time, we separated 
 with mutual good wishes and a round of musketry. 
 Our friend filled his sail, and swept off pleasantly be- 
 fore the gale, w^iile we were doomed to the further 
 annoyance of head winds. 
 
 The only event of any importance the next day, 
 was the capture of a peHcan, which Mr. J., after sev- 
 eral shots, brought within the grasp of one of the 
 sailors, who, supposing the huge bird dead, caught 
 hold of it by one wing, and received for his civility 
 a most uncomfortable nip from its bill, which made 
 the poor Egyptian cry pecavi. 
 
 Upon the summit of the mountains, on the Arabian 
 side, we picked up some fine crystaUizations, and sev- 
 eral well-preserved petrified marine shells. The wind 
 disappeared with the sun ; and the next day, while 
 Johnny's pans and pots were odoriferously fuming 
 with the garlic and flesh of Egypt, we ran the boat 
 up in front of Siout Deeming it a bad plan to visit 
 graveyards and tombs with an empty stomach, we 
 deferred our excursion to the grottoes till after dinner. 
 That important meal being despatched, we were soon 
 upon the causeway that conducts from the river to 
 the city of Siout, which is situated in the midst of the 
 most fertile plain in Upper Egypt 
 
 We had not rode far, when we met what I mistook 
 for a lad of about fourteen, dressed in a short blue 
 frock, sitting with folded arms upon a donkey, which 
 was tripping along unguided by its rider, whose legs 
 
THE LITTLE ARAB GIRL. 601 
 
 were dangling down its sides. I noticed something ra- 
 ther agreeable in the expression of this little muleteer j 
 but I thought no more of the matter until I heard one 
 of our party saj — " There goes Stephens's donkey- 
 girl." 
 
 " Where T said I 
 
 " There she is," said he, pointing to the muleteer 
 who had just passed me. 
 
 This gentleman had been in Siout before, and 
 knew her to be the " beautiful, bright-eyed little Arab 
 girl" mentioned by Mr. Stephens in his visit to this 
 place. Recollecting the story, and the favourable im- 
 pression she made upon my worthy countryman, I 
 felt a curiosity to see her again, and in a few moments 
 I had the pleasure ; for, giving her donkey in charge 
 of another, she came dancing and laughing along to 
 Mrs. C, caught the stick from the driver's hand, and 
 insisted upon attending her, to the no small chagrin 
 of the fellow whom she displaced. 
 
 She was lively and talkative, and desirous to render 
 us all the assistance in her power. Her eyes were 
 really very beautiful, and her slender frame was grace- 
 fully turned ; still I was not able to discover that ex- 
 cessive charm so much admired by Mr. S. Fortu- 
 nately, " Paul" was at hand, and saved his master and 
 friend's judgment from the slightest imputation touch- 
 ing the no trifling item of female beauty. 
 
 " You must recollect," said Paul, " it is now five 
 years since Mr. Stephens saw her ; and five years fre- 
 quently makes great ravages in the fair visage of beau- 
 ty. She was quite pretty five years ago ; but she has 
 
 Vol. L — 76 
 
602 SCANTLETRASH AND PAUL. 
 
 grown very ugly since. Now, she is like a boy ; but 
 when Mr. Stephens saw her, she was quite another 
 thing." 
 
 Paul called her to his side as he rode along, and 
 she rested her hand upon the back of his saddle, at- 
 tentively listening to all he said. He told her that 
 Mr. Stephens had written a book, which had circu- 
 lated in all parts of the world ; and that Mr. S. had 
 greatly praised her beauty and pretty manners. Upon 
 hearing this unexpected intelligence, she looked Paul 
 anxiously in the face, and asked him if it was really 
 true. Paul assured her of the authenticity of all he 
 had said, and added, that his name too was mentioned 
 in the book ; but not always in the enviable terms in 
 which she had been spoken of Upon this further 
 assurance of the truth of Paul's story, she drooped 
 her head, kissed her hand fervently several times, and 
 smiled. Her teeth were regular, and white as ivory. 
 
 Scantletrash now joined us, handed his gun to 
 Paul, and wanted to know " why the devil he did not 
 get that girl to drive his donkey ?" 
 
 Paul replied — " Ce nest pas possible, Monsieur ;" 
 and, seeing a turtle dove sitting upon a stone by the 
 way, he drew up and gave the poor bird a charge of 
 buckshot. The feathers flew, and so did the bird ; 
 but Paul thought he had committed murder never- 
 theless. It was not until he had taken up the fea- 
 thers one by one, and examined every nook and cor- 
 ner for some paces round, that he could be convinced 
 that the bird he saw flitting so merrily away was in- 
 deed that from whose tail he had knocked out a few 
 
THE GOVERNOR OF SIOUT. 603 
 
 feathers ! Then shaking his head with a mysterious 
 air, he said : " I can't make it out ; I'm sure I killed 
 the bird 1" 
 
 Scantletrash, who had advanced a little way ahead, 
 bawled out — " Why the devil don't you come along, 
 Paul, and not stand there all day, shaking the tail- 
 feathers of a pigeon !" 
 
 " I'm sure I killed it," said Paul. 
 
 " Devil the bit of it," said Mr. Scantletrash ; " you'd 
 not have hit had it been within a yard of the muz- 
 zle. Hand the piece here, and I'll give her a new 
 charge." Paul handed the gun to Mr. Scantletrash, 
 gave a significant grunt, and rode on. 
 
 Just before passing the stone bridge at the entrance 
 of the city, we unexpectedly found ourselves in the 
 august presence of the governor of Siout. His Ex- 
 cellency was holding a dismal-looking levee under a 
 sycamore which stood before his door. Some fine 
 Arabian horses, attended by armed grooms, standing 
 a little way from the governor's circle, appeared more 
 desirable than any thing I saw about the gubernato- 
 rial mansion. 
 
 Siout is better built than any town above Cairo, 
 and contains twenty-one thousand inhabitants. We 
 made the tour of the bazars, traversed the principal 
 streets, and rode up to the tombs in the mountains, 
 looking out upon a delightful view. 
 
 The principal grottoes are ample and lofty, and 
 some of them are elaborately adorned with painting 
 and sculpture. They have, however, all gone to de- 
 cay. In exploring one of them, we were assailed in 
 
604 A FOX-HUNT. 
 
 the face by bats. Scantletrash at the same time dis- 
 charged his gun, which caused them to rush out in 
 thousands. Some of them were wounded, and one 
 or two killed, and the report reverberated through the 
 gloomy cavern with deafening echoes. 
 
 Paul caught up one of the wounded quadrupeds, 
 and carried it to the light for examination. He count- 
 ed the shot-holes in its wings, and lavished his sym- 
 pathy and condolence upon the unclean bat in the 
 tenderest manner. While he was caressing it, it 
 caught the honest dragoman's thumb between its 
 teeth, and gave it a close, though bitter embrace. 
 Paul's soothing tones were now changed into a strain 
 of violent anathemas. He abused the bat like a Turk, 
 called it an ungrateful wretch, and wound up by put- 
 ing the poor creature to death. 
 
 While Paul was thus making much ado about his 
 thumb, a fox came leaping from rock to rock down 
 the mountain, and Scantletrash, " passionately fond 
 of the chase," dashed after it at the top of his speed. 
 He called out loud enough to split his throat for Paul 
 to follow. Paul set out ; but ere he had proceeded 
 ten rods, the fox entered a tomb ; and Scantletrash, 
 tripping against a stone, tumbled over a precipice, 
 and came near breaking his neck ! He soon re- 
 appeared, with a battered shin, a bruised face, and a 
 broken gun-stock, — and poured forth a shower of 
 abuse upon his faithful dragoman, more bitter than 
 that fluent linguist had heaped upon the unfortunate 
 bat. It was an exciting interview ; and, long ere the 
 discussion was over, we descended the dechvity of 
 
TOMBS OF BENI HASSAN. 605 
 
 the mountain and entered the cemetery, — which, 
 without exception, is the most respectable modern 
 burying-ground that we saw in all the Turkish do- 
 minions. 
 
 Having satisfied our curiosity, we resumed our 
 boat, and the next morning we were at Shekh Aba- 
 deh. We landed for a slight inspection of the ruins 
 of Antinoe, which are strewed along the eastern bank 
 of the Nile. They present little except a few bro- 
 ken columns and a pulverized mass of bricks and old 
 pottery. We purchased a few antique coins of the 
 natives, and then passed down to the tombs of Beni 
 Hassan. 
 
 These grottoes are in the mountains, about a mile 
 and a half from the river. Though far less magnifi- 
 cent than the " Tombs of the Kings," they are never- 
 theless interesting, and throw much light upon the 
 state of Egyptian society at an early period. They 
 were excavated during the reign of Osirtasen I.,"^ who 
 reigned 1740 B. C.;t and show by their chasteness 
 of style, that the beauties of architectural effect were 
 then understood and appreciated. 
 
 Wilkinson says that " the fluted columns of Beni 
 Hassan are of a character calling to mind the purity 
 of the Doric, which indeed seems to have derived 
 its origin from Egypt." J 
 
 Osirtasen I. is supposed to have been a contempo- 
 rary with Joseph. Were that the fact, he was proba- 
 bly the Pharaoh who " took off his ring from his hand, 
 
 * Wilkinson's Thebes, 375. t Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, i. 42, 
 t Ibid. 44. 
 
606 TOMBS OF BENI HASSAN. 
 
 and put it upon Joseph's hand ; arrayed him in ves- 
 tures of fine hnen ; put a gold chain about his neck, 
 and made him ruler over all the land of Egypt."* 
 
 There is a group of strangers in one of the tombs, 
 supposed by some to represent the arrival of Joseph's 
 brethren in Egypt. The Israelitish cast of counte- 
 nance which characterizes the group, strengthened 
 this conjecture. 
 
 That the Egyptians had attained a high degree of 
 refinement at this period, is evident from the jewels 
 and fine linen with which Pharaoh arrayed Joseph. 
 The various scenes of manufactures, arts, and agri- 
 culture, exhibited upon the walls of these tombs, how- 
 ever, bear still more satisfactory testimony to the de- 
 velopment of civihzation. Here are representations 
 of glass-blowers, manufacturers of linen, goldsmiths, 
 potters, painters, sculptors, and other artisans. Vari- 
 ous implements of husbandry, the mode of irrigation, 
 the chase, fishing and fowling scenes, are also vividly 
 depicted. Among their amusements, may be men- 
 tioned the games of chess, ball, wrestling, and feats 
 of agility, performed by both men and women. On 
 one side, a physician is represented in the exercise of 
 the mysteries of his art — apparently letting blood. 
 The bastinado is not overlooked • and both men and 
 women are made impressively to believe in its effi- 
 cacy. It were useless to attempt a description of all 
 the varied delineations upon the walls of these cata- 
 combs. They are well worth a visit ; and, if possi- 
 ble, should be seen by the traveller before examining 
 the more splendid tombs of Thebes. 
 
 * Gen. xii. 42, 43. 
 
THE RIMTAPERS. 607 
 
 Putting our boat before the breeze, we descended 
 to Minieh by ten o'clock the same evening. The 
 moon was high and full ; not a cloud flitted across 
 the heavens. As we swept rapidly past the town, a 
 long-sided craft lay against the bank, with a flag flap- 
 ping loosely down the mast, by which we knew it 
 belonged to the Franks. There were lights on board, 
 and several men rushed out and ran down the bank, 
 hallooing — " Stop 1 stop ! stop !" Not knowing the 
 meaning of this hue-and-cry, and imagining there 
 might be some one in distress, we came to as soon as 
 possible, and were surprised to meet the janizary of 
 Sir Danbury Rimtaper. On being informed that Sir 
 D anbury and his three maiden sisters were in the 
 boat we had just passed, and desired to see us, we 
 walked back to meet them. 
 
 It will be recollected, that, about the time of our 
 departure from Cairo, we encountered Sir Danbury 
 at Bulak in quest of a boat. He had then been one 
 month engaged in an unsuccessful pursuit of the same 
 object. They were finally obUged to wait for a new 
 boat to be built ; and, after a further delay of twenty- 
 five days, it had been completed. It was an immense 
 thing, and stuffed as full of men as the piratical cutter 
 of Captain Kid. The river was getting so low that 
 they could scarcely float it ; they were continually 
 aground, and encountering other difficulties, which 
 seemed to preclude the possibility of their reaching 
 Thebes unaided by the blessing of the next inunda- 
 tion. As room, however, seemed to be an impor- 
 tant desideratum, they had succeeded in that respect 
 
608 PERPLEXITIES OF THE RIMTAPERS. 
 
 to their hearts' content, for each had an apartment as 
 large as an EngUsh tap-room. Sir Danburj's was 
 quite at the stern of the boat He was down with a 
 comphcation of diseases, embracing, among the most 
 prominent, gout, ophthalmia, and lumbago. As we 
 stepped on board, he was reciting an emphatic string 
 of curses in a sepulchral tone, which echoed through 
 the boat like the voice of an angry man at the bottom 
 of a well The apartments of the Misses Rimtaper 
 succeeded to those of Sir Danbury, with a dining 
 and receiving room built out in front of the cabin, in 
 which the dragoman and janizary, loaded with arms, 
 took up their posts as an advanced guard. 
 
 There was great animation on board ; all hands 
 were in a bustle ; and the whole resembled a priva- 
 teer just ready for sea. We met, however, a very 
 cordial reception from the ladies, who had a thousand 
 inquiries to make, and a great variety of interesting 
 matter to relate about themselves, which was " ex- 
 ceedingly odd" and very amusing. 
 
 They were not a little anxious about the power 
 which they had delegated to their janizary, into 
 whose hands they had resigned the rais and crew, 
 and he was flogging some of the men every hour in 
 the day. Thus far, however, the janizary had hardly 
 come up to their ideas of discipline ; but they fore- 
 saw that " he might exercise his authority in a cruel 
 manner." They were in as much of a quandary to 
 know how they were to restrain the too lavish exer- 
 cise of power by this functionary, as were the con- 
 siderate friends of the United States Bank. All 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE JANIZARY. 609 
 
 were agreed that, with the government deposites, and 
 " Old Nick" at its head, the " monster" had the abihty 
 and the will to keep a stiff check upon the over- 
 banking propensities of all kindred institutions ; but 
 they were not so clear with regard to the conduct 
 of that gigantic machine " should it happen to drop 
 under the control of had men!' 
 
 Thus it was with the Rimtapers. So long, how- 
 ever, as the janizary confined himself to the use of 
 the bastinado, they little regarded the consequences ; 
 it was quite congenial with their sense of propriety, 
 " But, should the fellow take a fancy to resort to ex- 
 tremities — what are we to do then ?" said they to me. 
 
 Never having had much experience with these 
 armed, silver-headed cane gentry, I could throw no 
 light whatever upon the perplexing obscurity which 
 hung over the solution of their inquiry. Just at this 
 moment, I descried the sombre visage of the janizary, 
 darkening a side door opening into the saloon. He 
 was a tall, gaunt figure, in full costume, with pistols 
 in his belt, a sabre at his side, and a face hke that 
 of a hangman. He was in the act of emerging from 
 the pantry with some refreshments which one of the 
 Misses Rimtaper had hospitably provided for our en- 
 tertainment, — comprising some dried dates, a loaf of 
 cake, and a cold fowl. These, together with two 
 tall bottles of some kind of liquid, and a profusion of 
 wine-glasses, tumblers, water-jugs, knives and forks, 
 were arranged upon a circular wooden tray ; which, 
 hke the family picture of the Vicar of Wakefield, 
 was too large to be admitted through the door with- 
 
 Vol. L — 77 
 
610 LAST INTERVIEW WITH THE RIMTAPERS. 
 
 out destroying its horizontal position, so essential to 
 the just equiUbrium of the bottles, jugs, and glasses. 
 The janizary, cane in hand, grasped the expansive 
 machine, and vainly endeavoured to press it into the 
 saloon. He turned and twisted it, until the glasses 
 rattled, the bottles tumbled, — and, to save the whole 
 from sliding off, he let go the tray with one hand, 
 made a convulsive thrust, got the sabre between his 
 legs, and pitched headlong into the saloon, amid bro- 
 ken bottles, smashed tumblers, and the total wreck of 
 the whole contents of the tray. The ladies screamed, 
 and Sir Danbury came muttering along with his night- 
 cap on, thrust his head through the door, and vehe 
 mently exclaimed ■ — " I'll be demmed if this is not the 
 most extraordinary spectarkal I ever witnessed, 'pon 
 honour !" I was of the same opinion. 
 
 We apologized for abbreviating the pleasures of a 
 more prolonged interview, bade our amiable friends 
 adieu, and in three days thereafter we were in Cairo, 
 engaging Arabs, camels, and tents, preparatory to our 
 tracing the footsteps of the Israelites through the 
 desert to Mount Sinai, Petra, and the Holy Land. 
 
IMPORTANT WORKl 
 
 Now in the course of Putolication, 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF 
 ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES; 
 
 CONTAINING A CLEAR EXPOSITION OF THEIR PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE : 
 
 BY ANDREW URE, M. D., F. R. S., &c. &c. 
 
 IlyliUSTRATBD WITH 
 
 1241 ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 This is, unquestionably, the most popular work of the kind ever published, and a book 
 most admirably adapted to the wants of all classes of the community. The following are 
 the important objects which the learned author endeavors to accomplish : — 
 
 1st. To instruct the Manufacturer, Metallurgist, and Tradesman, in the principles of 
 their respective processes, so as to render them, in reality, the masters of their business; 
 and to emancipate Ihem from a state of bondage to such as are too commonly governed 
 by blind prejudice and a vicious routine. 
 
 2clly. To afford Merchants, Brokers, Drysalters, Druggists, and Officers of the Rev- 
 enue, characteristic descriptions of the commodities which pass through their hands. 
 
 3dly. By exhibiting some of the finest developments of Chemistry and Physics, to lay 
 open an excellent practical school to Students of these kindred sciences. 
 
 4th]y. To teach Capitalists, who may be desirous of placing their funds in some pro- 
 ductive branch of industry, to select judiciously among plausible claimants. 
 
 5thly. To enable gentlemen of the Law to become well acquainted with the nature of 
 those patent schemes which are so apt to give rise to litigation. 
 
 6thly. To present to Legislators such a clear exposition of the staple manufactures, as 
 may dissuade them from enacting laws which obstruct industry, or cherish one branch of 
 it to the injury of many others. 
 
 And, lastly, to give the general reader, intent, chiefly, on Intellectual Cultivation, views 
 
 of manV of tbe noblest achievempnfs nf Spiprir-P in pfppntincr thoeo ttvajr,.A ♦i^ov.^r .i.4- 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 The continuation of this work, comprising an account of 
 the author's journey through Arabia Petrsea and the Holy 
 Land, is in course of preparation, and will be put to press 
 as soon as ready. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 Page 42. Definition of cut, for "Asp-formed Crowns of Egypt," read " Head-dress of Isis." 
 " 50. Note f for "Herodotus i. 406," read "Herodotus ii. 74." See also Wilkinson's An- 
 cient Egyptians, 2d series, i. 246. 
 
610 
 
 LAST INTERVIEW WITH THE RIMTAPERS. 
 
 out destroying its horizontal position, so essential to 
 the just equilibrium of the bottles, jugs, and glasses. 
 The janizary, cane in hand, grasped the expansive 
 machine, and vainly endeavoured to press it into the 
 saloon. He turned and twisted it, until the glasses 
 rattled, the bottles tumbled,- — and, to save the whole 
 from sliding off, he let go the tray with one hand, 
 made a convulsive thrust, got the sabre between his 
 legs, and pitched headlong into the saloon, amid bro- 
 ken bottles, smashed tumblers, and the total wreck of 
 the whole contents of the tray. The ladies screamed, 
 and Sir Danbury came muttering along with his night- 
 cap on, thrust his head through the door, and vehe 
 mently exclaimed- — " I'll be demmed if this is not the 
 most extraordinary spectarkal I ever witnessed, 'pon 
 honour !" I was of the same opinion. 
 
 We apologized for abbreviating the pleasures of a 
 more prolonged interview, bade our amiable friends 
 adieu, and in three days thereafter we were in Cairo, 
 
IMPORTANT WORKl 
 
 Now in the course of PuMication, 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF 
 ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES5 
 
 CONTAINING A CLEAR EXPOSITION OF THEIR PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE : 
 
 BY ANDREW URE, M. D., F. R. S., &c. &c. 
 
 Ilil/USTRATED WITH 
 
 1241 ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 This is, unquestionably, the most popular work of the kind ever published, and a book 
 most admirably adapted to the wants of all classes of the community. The following are 
 the important objects which the learned author endeavors to accomplish : — 
 
 1st. To instruct the Manufacturer, Metallurgist, and Tradesman, in the principles of 
 their respective processes, so as to render them, in reality, the masters of their business ; 
 and to emancipate Ihera from a state of bondage to such as are too commonly governed 
 by blind prejudice and a vicious routine. 
 
 2dly. To alford Merchants, Brokers, Drysalters, Druggists, and OiScers of the Rev- 
 enue, characteristic descriptions of the commodities which pass through their hands. 
 
 3d!y. By exhibiting some of the finest developments of Chemistry and Physics, to lay 
 open an excellent practical school to Students of these kindred Sciences. 
 
 4thly. To teach Capitalists, who may be desirous of placing their funds in some pro- 
 ductive branch of industry, to select judiciously among plausible claimants. 
 
 5thly. To enable gentlemen of the Law to become well acquainted with the nature of 
 those patent schemes which are so apt to give rise to litigation. 
 
 6thly. To present to Legislators such a clear exposition of the staple manufactures, as 
 may dissuade them from enacting laws which obstruct industry, or cherish on« branch of 
 it to the injury of many others. 
 
 And, lastly, to give the general reader, intent, chiefly, on Intellectual Cultivation^ views 
 of many of the noblest achievements of Science, in eifecting those grand transformations 
 of matter to which Great Britain and the United States owe their paramount wealth, rank, 
 and power, among the nations of the earth. 
 
 The latest statistics of every important object of Manufacture are given from the best, 
 and, usually, from official authority, at the end of each article. 
 
 The work will be printed from the second London edition, which sells for $11 a copy. 
 It will be put on good paper, in new brevier type, and will make about 1400 8vo pages. 
 It will be issued in twenty-one semi-monthly numbers, (in covers,) at twenty-five cents 
 each, payable on delivery. 
 
 0:7- To any person sending us five dollars at one time, in advance, we will forward the 
 numbers, by mail, post paid, as soon as they come from the press. 
 
 To suitable Agents, this affords a rare opportunity, as we can put the work to them on 
 terms extraordinarily favorable. In every manufacturing town, and every village through- 
 out the United States and Canada, subscribers may be obtained with the greatest facility. 
 Address, post paid, D. Appleton & Co., 200 Broadway, New York. 
 
 %* To every editor who gives this advertisement entire twelve insertions, we will for- 
 ward, to order, one copy of the whole work, provided the papers containing this notice be 
 sent to the New York Watchman, New York. 
 
 « DR. URE'S DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES, is 
 reprinting in this city from the last London edition, and sold in twenty-one semi- 
 monthly numbers at twenty-five cents each— in all $5 25, for a work which now 
 costs eleven dollars, and is illustrated by twelve hundred and forty-one engravings. We 
 doubt not that the mechanics, artists, and manufacturers of this country will amply jus- 
 tify the enterprise ; and we are confident that five thousand copies of this standard work 
 in the hands of our miners and artificers will doubly pay its cost in their increased pro- 
 duction, even within two years." — New York Tribune. 
 
HECTOR O'HALLORAN. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 " ' Hector O'Halloran' is full of Maxwellian spirit and military fire. The opening scene is laid 
 in an old mansion in a wild part of Ireland. There are a Romish and a Protestant priest, and sundry 
 other personages. A treacherous night attack by Whiteboys on the residence of the O'Halloran family, 
 and its fearful repulse, are vividly described ; and then a change comes over the fortunes of the inmates. 
 The hero and his foster-brother, Mark, arrive at manhood, and begin life. The narrative goes rapidly 
 on — so rapidly that we will only recommend it to all those who can run to read. They will be gratified 
 with the tale. Faugh-a-hallagh, the Irish for ' Clear the way,' is its motto, and the first fasciculus does 
 so in capital style." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " The name of Maxwell is too well known to need encomium from us ; but certainly the 
 work is, judging from this part, graphic and racy enough of itself to give him celebrity. In 
 true Hibernian fashion, the hero begins his autobiography soon enough — the first three chapters 
 being devoted to the memorable circumstances attending his ' first anniversary.' The memorable '95 
 is the time when this ' true history,' as we are assured, opens. The night attack on Knockloftie is 
 spiritedly described. Of this scene an excellent illustration is also given. The author has succeeded 
 in awakening no inconsiderable amount of interest in the personages thus introduced to our notice. 
 The characters, too, are dashed oif with a vigorous hand : the clear-headed, cool, yet high-spirited 
 Colonel ; the portly, kind-hearted Father Dominic ; and the hero's foster-brother, Mark Antony 
 O'Toole — a 'broth of a boy' for fun and fighting — are all, we doubt not, drawn from the life. We 
 beg to recommend this clever work to the attention and patronage of our readers." — Derbyshire 
 Courier 
 
 " ' Hector O'Halloran' seems to have been born under an auspicious star ; he has all the elements of 
 a right good rattling fellow about him ; and he and his man Friday will, we have no doubt, be extreme- 
 ly well received by the public. His autobiography commences with ver)' great spirit, and we feel as 
 sured will not flag in interest." — Conservative Journal. 
 
 " The first number of a; dashing story of love and war, fighting and drinking, embellished by two 
 engravings, and destined to be published like ' Charles O'Malley' and ' Harry Lorrequer,' in monthly 
 instalments. We have little doubt, from the sample before us, that the warm-hearted, open-handed, 
 rollicking Irishman, wiU prove a most amusing fellow. The part before us contains one or two very 
 stirring scenes ; the night attack on Knockloftie, for instance, may vie with the best things which we 
 have met with in similar attempts. The Irish Rebellion, and its scenes of domestic treachery, savage 
 and vindictive murder, and wild and heroic gallantry, is a field as yet unploughed by any writer of this 
 class, and one which will afford Mr. Maxwell abundant materials." — United Service Gazette. 
 
 " Maxwell, the well-known author of ' The Stories of Waterloo,' ' The Bivouac,' and ' Captain Blake,' 
 may be considered to have led the way in our times, in the agreeable field of military romance. The 
 arms and the cjestus which he had laid down were taken up by Mr. Lever. Maxwell excels Lever much 
 more in descriptive power, than Lever excels Maxwell in the nature and smartness of Irish brogue. 
 The best description in the first number of ' Hector O'Halloran,' is that of the ' Night attack upon the 
 Castle of Knockloftie.' " — Cambridge Independent Press. 
 
 " The description of the attack upon Knockloftie affords an excellent specimen of the author's 
 powers : it is an exceedingly graphic and well-executed picture of one of those innumerable scenes by 
 which the troublesome times of '95 were characterized. Hector himself starts under most favorable 
 auspices, and we expect from him and his man Mark Antony O'Toole much pleasurable excitement." — 
 Age. 
 
 " Hector O'Halloran, and his foster-brother, Mark Antony O'Toole, promise to be two of as adven- 
 turous and amusing companions over a jug of smoking potteen, as ever crossed the channel which 
 separates us from that region of fun, frolic, and adventure, the Emerald Isle. We are in this number 
 merely introduced to them ; nevertheless, we can predict that each of them will approve himself the 
 ' broth of a boy,' whether in fighting, love-making, or punch-making — all Hibernian qualifications for 
 greatness of the very first order. The story opens with great spirit. Col. O'Halloran, the father of 
 our principal hero, having lost an arm in the service of his country, settles upon his paternal estate in 
 a lonely part of the county of Donegal in the year 1795, when disaffection in the North of Ireland was 
 at its height. With a young wife, an infant child, and the straggling household of an Irish gentleman, 
 he occupies the Castle of Knockloftie, where he gives mortal offence to the peasantry, by granting 
 refuge to persons suspected of betraying their leaders in rebellion into the hands of the Government 
 
 A midnight attack upon the castle is resolved upon, but the one armed Colonel, who fights like a hero, 
 triumphs over force without and treachery within. The description of the night attack of the rebels 
 is excessively vivid and picturesque. We prefer, however, as a specimen of the story, Mr. Maxwell's 
 account of the ' birth and parentage' of the future illustrious Mark Antony O'Toole."— Sun. 
 
D. APPLETON 86 CO. 
 
 Have just published the following valuable work. 
 THE 
 
 DAUGHTERS OF ENGLAND: 
 
 THEIR POSITION IN SOCIETY, 
 
 CHARACTER, AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 
 
 BY MRS. ELLIS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND." 
 
 Complete in one handsome volume, 12mo. 
 
 -Amiable and holy are these lessons, calculated to elevate and purify the young 
 
 hearts into which they may be received, and to carry those best blessmgs of bve and 
 
 peace into many a family. Mrs. Ellis is not a stern moralist, who frightens with her 
 
 severity, but a winning instructress to whom it is sweet to listen. 
 
 T' TW , her last, is also her best book. Its purity, its ^^"f^-fl^^'/^^^^l^^^^.^y'^^^^.^.^i 
 unblemished; and no parent or friend can place a book likely to befol owed by more 
 worthy impressions, in the hands of any of the Daugliters of England. -The Metro, 
 politaa Magazine. 
 
 " Admirable work, full of truth and eloquence, and will be productive of great even- 
 tual to^Edrati^n, taste, beauty, fashion, and the affections form themes on 
 which Mrs. Ellis enlarges with great earnestness."— Co«ri Journal. 
 
 « Mrs. Ellis has poured forth a succession of elegant and instructive volumes des- 
 tined we trust, to'find their way, and to carry pure enjoyments -^J^-^^ ^^^^^ 
 a strict attention to their teachings will ensure, to the bosom of many an Enghsh 
 home 'The Daughters of England' is a manual of sound practical wisdom, admira- 
 bly adapted to aSt in develoj^ng and forming, in the best and most lovely mould, 
 the female mind ''—Liverpool Standard. 
 
 " We are indebted to the publishers for an elegant volume, and to the author for a 
 work abounding in excellent sentiment clothed in rich language ; and we commend 
 TheLkas adaVed^ instruct, and elevate and adorn the daughters of America as 
 well as of the mother country. Mrs. Ellis addresses herself to young ladies who pro- 
 7ess to believe Te re/igion of^the Bible, and sets before them their high responsibilities 
 [n a hght that commands attention and secures conviction."-iVez«- For^ Observer. 
 
 "This work is addressed to females in the middle ranks of life, and of an age just 
 rineninl i^^?o womanhood. But though addressed to the daughters of Britam, it is not 
 s^tS Tn itrXa'acter and teachings, but is equally applicable to our own country 
 and to the un versal Anglo-Saxon race, if not the universal sex. With us its lessons 
 will come hom^ to every 'young woman's heart, from ^^-^-^^J-^-^^ ^.f ^^^^^^^ 
 of the merchant to the lonely cottage among the woods ^^^^^^^^ . Jj^^.^^^^j^^^^^ 
 opens with ' Important Enquiries.' These are to this effect- What am I ?-How am 
 iTacTi-and what are mV capabilities of action? or in other words-What is my 
 position in society ? what do I aim at ? and what means do I intend to employ for the 
 accomol shr^ent of my purpose ?' Chapter 2d treats of ' Economy of Time.' Chapter 
 sLf ' Clev^r^^^^ Lemming, Knowledge.' Chapter 4th, 'Music Painting, Poetry^ 
 Chapter 5th "Taste, Tact, and Obsel-vation.' Chapter 6th, ' Beauty, Health and 
 Temper 'Chapter 7th, 'Society, Fashion, and Love of Distinction.' Chapter 8th, 
 ?^iaSdeand Affectiok.' Chap'^er 9th, ' Friendship and Fhrtation.' Chapter Oth 
 ' Love and Courtship.' Chapter 11th, ' Selfishness, Vanity, Artifice, and Integrity. 
 Chapter 12th, ' Dedication of Youth.' . 
 
 "The foundationof the work is the axiom that the law of woman's existence is Love, 
 and every page seems to impress that divinest maxim of a heavenly religion, ' Do unto 
 Xrs asVou'should wish that they should do to you^ It will form an -va uable ac 
 auisition lo a vounff lady's library, a fit companion to her lonely hours-a mentor, whose 
 ^:ruti?ulandltStive^h 
 
 fulness and honour, to the seats reserved for the most lovely and noble of her sex. It 
 any one of this class were told of a charm which would render the in far more beauti. 
 ful and admired, how would they struggle to obtain it^ Yet a few hours sober com- 
 rSuning with th^ pages of this book, and a little daily effort to carry into practice what 
 ™e they learn, will accomplish all this. If it did not make the face and form more 
 atLactive^ndit would even that, it would render the mind the -onl^^'^-wom^s 
 heart, a yet deeper, richer, purer fount of blessings, whose gushmgs forth is the happi- 
 nesB of the world."— Boston Traveller, 
 
HYDRAULICS AND MECHANICS. 
 
 SHORTLY WILL BE PUBLISHED^ 
 
 Complete in one Handsome Volume of Six Hundred Pagesj 
 
 ■ ■ ■♦' 
 : a' ' .. •. . . 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTOEICAL, ACCOUNT 
 
 HYDRAULIC AND OTHER MACHINES 
 
 ■ RAISING WATER, • 
 
 Ancient una J^otretn : 
 WITH OBSERVATIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS 
 
 CONNECTED WITH THE 
 
 MECHANIC ARTS: 
 
 INCLUDING THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 " THE STEAM ENGINE: 
 
 Descriptions of every variety of Bellows, Piston, and Rotary Pumps — Fire Engines- 
 Water Rams— Pressure Engines — Air Machines — Eolipiles, &c. ^ Remarks on An- 
 cient Wells — Air Beds — Cog Wheels— Blowpipes— Bellows of varioxis People-- 
 Magic Goblets — Steam Idols, ar^d other Machinery of Ancient Temples. To 
 which are added Experiments on Blowing and Spouting Tubes, and oth- 
 er original Devices — Nature's Modes and Machinery for Raising 
 Water. Historical Notices respecting Siphons, Fountains, 
 Water Organs, Clepsydrae, Pipes, Valves, Cocks, &c. 
 
 IN FIVE BOOKS. ■ 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY NEARLY THREE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY THOMAS EWBANK. 
 
 It IS a cruel mortification ia senrchiu!? for what ia instractive in the history of past timRS, to -ind the 
 eiploita of conquerors who have desoLited the enrtii, ;mil the freaks of tyrants who have roiiden"! luilions 
 ■uniappy, are recorded with rainvite and often dis,?astiag' accurac) — while tlie discovery of useful arts, and 
 the prog^-ess of tire most beneficial branches of commerce, are pused over in silence, and suffered to sink 
 into oblivion. 
 
 X 2 0-9-*^^^ 
 
 OC?" Orders for this valuable work to be addressed to the Publishers, 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 200 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
 

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