,illustration3 ,,the ,,sphinx ,,by ,,moonlight ,illustration ,,an ,,artist ,,in ,,egypt ,,by ,,walter ,,tyndale ,r4,i4 ,,hodder ,,stoughton ,,new ,,york ,,london ,,preface ,i endeavoured1 in a former book on ,egypt1 to give my first impressions while the glamour of the ,east had not been dimmed by familiarity2 and the kind reception of that1 my first literary attempt1 has encouraged me to write again after spending some years in the ,nile ,valley4 ,though first impressions may have a charm which familiarity lacks1 it would be astonishing if a country so full of beauty1 and of such varied interests as is ,egypt1 had caused familiarity to breed contempt4 ,i may safely say that it has not had that result4 ,a lengthened stay has certainly added to my experiences as well as to my stock of drawings1 and ,i trust it has also given me some insight into the character of the people amidst whom ,i dwelt4 ,medival ,cairo is doubtless year by year the poorer by many picturesque #8bits' which have vanished4 ,but ,cairo is a large city1 and happily many years may elapse before artists will cease to go there for material4 ,what is still untouched by the jerry builder1 or has not been allowed to fall into ruin1 is probably more beautiful than anything other oriental cities can show4 ,less change is seen in the smaller towns1 and the villages are much the same in aspect as when the ,saracen invaders first occupied the valley of the ,nile4 ,every season adds to the knowledge of ,ancient ,egypt1 and gives us something which for centuries lay hid beneath the desert sands4 ,it was my good fortune to spend some winters at ,thebes while some of the most interesting of recent discoveries were made1 and through the courtesy of ,mr4 ,weigall1 the ,chief ,inspector of ,upper ,egypt1 ,i was enabled to dwell and do my work in these congenial surroundings4 ,i have also to thank him for the unique opportunities which our desert journey1 from the ,nile to the ,red ,sea1 offered2 of all my experiences in ,egypt1 none has given me more pleasure in recalling4 ,,haslemere1 #aiab4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,cairo ,,revisited #a ,,chapter ,,ii ,,renewal ,,of ,,my ,,acquaintance ,,with ,,mohammed ,,brown ,,and ,,some ,,reflections ,,on ,,matrimony #aa ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,mosque ,,of ,,murist,n ,,kala,n1 ,,my ,,experience ,,with ,,the ,,fak,r1 ,,and ,a ,,digression ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,dervishes #bb ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,festival ,,of ,,the #8,,hasaneyn' ,,and ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,princess ,,zohra #ca ,,chapter ,v ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,cairo1 ,,and ,,of ,a ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,sheykh ,,ammin ,,saheime #dc ,,chapter ,,vi ,,my ,,second ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,sheykh ,,and ,,my ,,experiences ,,with ,,an ,,unfaithful ,,servant #eg ,,chapter ,,vii ,,in ,,which ,i ,,get ,,another ,,servant ,,and ,,hunt ,,for ,a ,,crocodile2 ,,also ,a ,,continuation ,,of ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,princess ,,zohra #fg ,,chapter ,,viii ,,of ,a ,,cairo ,,caf ,,and ,,other ,,matters #gh ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,coptic ,,convents ,,of ,,wadi ,,natrun #ij ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,mosque ,,of ,,es-,,salih ,,talai #ajd ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,blue ,,mosque ,,and ,,kasr-,,esh-,,shema #aaf ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,sphinx1 ,,and ,a ,,dissertation ,,on ,,tommy ,,atkins #abg ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,hamseen1 ,,the ,,lamp-,,shop1 ,,and ,,the ,,accession ,,of ,,said ,,pasha #acf ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,mohammedan ,,festivals3 ,,the ,,holy ,,carpet--,,the ,,fast ,,of ,,ramadan ,,and ,,the ,,ashura #aea ,,chapter ,,xv ,,more ,,religious ,,observances1 ,,spring',s ,,awakening1 ,,and ,,the ,,cairene ,,house ,,of ,,count ,,zogheb #agj ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,der ,,el-,,bahri1 ,,and ,,some ,,incidents ,,which ,,took ,,place ,,during ,,my ,,stay ,,there #agh ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,der ,,el-,,bahri 7continued7 #aid ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,the ,,cross ,,desert ,,journey ,,to ,,kosseir #bjf ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,hammam,t #bba ,,chapter ,,xx ,,the ,,wadi ,,fowakiyeh ,,and ,b,r ,,hagi ,,suliman #bca ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,kosseir #bde ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,edfu ,,and ,,the ,,quarries ,,of ,,gebel ,,silsileh #beh ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,my ,,experiences ,,as ,,an ,,inmate ,,of ,a ,,native ,,hospital #bgj ,,illustrations ,,page ,,the ,,sphinx ,,by ,,moonlight ,frontispiece ,,water ,,melon ,,seller #h ,,an ,,arab ,,wedding ,,procession #af ,a ,,cheap ,,ride #bd ,,the ,,khan ,,khalil1 ,,cairo #cb ,,suk ,,es-,,selah1 ,,cairo #dh ,,entrance ,,to ,,the ,,hareem #ef ,,the ,,takhtabosh #fd ,,mosque ,,of ,,mohammed ,,bey #gb ,a ,,cairene ,,caf #hj ,,the ,,tomb ,,of ,,sheykh ,,abd-,,el-,,deym #hh ,,arab ,,school #ajd ,,the ,,blue ,,mosque #aab ,,persian ,,almshouses #abh ,,the ,,store ,,of ,,nass,n #acf ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,carpet #add ,a ,,fruit-,,stall ,,at ,,bulak #aeb ,a ,,theban ,,homestead #afh ,,the ,,jacaranda #agf ,,the ,,birth ,,colonnade ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,hatshepsu #ahd ,,the ,,hairdresser #aib ,a ,,market ,,on ,,the ,,edge ,,of ,,the ,,desert #bjh ,,the ,,tombs ,,of ,,the ,,khalifs #baf ,,the ,,mosque ,,at ,,kosseir #bcb ,,doorway ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,isis #bdj ,,pottery ,,bazaar ,,in ,a ,,nile ,,village #bfd ,,the ,,village ,,of ,,marg #bgb ,,chapter ,i ,,cairo ,,revisited ,after a lapse of some years1 ,i returned to ,cairo to attempt once again to paint its ancient buildings1 as well as the picturesque incidents seen in the shadows they cast or bathed in light against their sunlit walls4 ,i made an early start on the first morning after my arrival1 partly to look for a subject1 and more particularly to see whether the pictorial side of the old quarters of the city would still impress me as it did on my first visit4 ,it was a fateful morning1 for had what ,i saw failed to stir up my former enthusiasm1 ,i was resolved to pack up my traps1 and try my hand in ,upper ,egypt4 ,i hurried along the ,mousky as fast as its usual crowd of people would allow1 and turned down the ,khordagiyeh to see if an old favourite subject of mine had not been #8improved away4' ,needless to say1 it was a brilliant morning1 for the occasional grey days of midwinter were still a long way off4 ,great awnings hung across the street1 and on one side the shopmen were lowering blinds or rigging up matting1 in anticipation of the sun which would shortly be streaming down on them4 ,everything still had its summer look1 though ,october was far spent2--and ,cairo1 let me say1 is much more beautiful in hot weather than during the comparatively chill days of winter4 ,the particular houses ,i had gone in search of were happily untouched2 but had they been restored out of all shape or allowed to fall down for want of repair1 ,i should hardly have had room for a depressing thought4 ,from the crowd of country folk and the heavily laden camels and donkeys1 it was evident that a market was being held in the open space in front of the ,beit-el-,kadi4 ,locomotion was difficult till the ,nahasseen or coppersmith street was reached1 for here the road widens out at the ,muristn4 ,this handsome building1 together with the mosques of ,kalan1 en-,nasir1 and of ,barkk1 formed a magnificent group1 massed as they then were in a luminous shade4 ,it was a meeting of old friends1 and old friends looking their best4 ,the dark awnings stretched across the road gave this pile of masonry a light and ethereal look1 though they were dark in contrast to the azure above1 save where the sun tipped the domes and a face of the minarets4 ,the crowd allowed but little time for contemplation2 ,i had to move with it1 and reaching the short street which leads to the ,beit-el-,kadi1 a converging stream of people carried us along till we arrived at the market square4 ,i picked my way through the heaps of fruit and vegetables which littered the ground1 passed behind a group of camels1 and worked my way to the steps of the court-house1 which gives its name to the market4 ,from this point of vantage ,i was enabled to make some rough studies of the animated scene before me4 ,the sun had now risen high enough to flood the larger part of the square in light4 ,bits of matting1 sailcloth1 or anything which can cast a shadow1 were rigged up to protect the more perishable goods1 and the early comers had taken advantage of the shade of the acacia trees at the further end of the market4 ,the general impression is one of light1 colour1 noise and movement4 ,the detail is full of human as well as pictorial interest4 ,various combinations of colour--some beautiful1 some inharmonious--leave ample scope to the painter to arrange his scheme4 ,a pile of oranges and lemons1 with the black and deep purple dress of the fellaha saleswoman1 make a striking note in the foreground2 the stacks of pitchers brought down from ,balliana1 in ,upper ,egypt1 give a variety in buffs and greys1 and the blue garments of the buyers are sufficiently faded not to contrast too violently4 ,it is also a great study of types and characters4 ,the noisy ,cairene is chaffering with the quieter ,shami from far ,damascus for some pomegranates which are heaped before him2 the ,maghraby hawks a bundle of yellow slippers2 ,jew and ,greek are trying to outdo each other in a deal over a spavined horse4 ,through the motley crowd passes the brightly garmented lemonade-seller1 tinkling his brass cups2 his rival1 who retails licorice-water1 seems more in demand2 one1 carrying a heavy pitcher with a long brass spout1 invites the thirsty ones to partake of the charity offered them in the name of ,god4 #8,sebeel ,alhh y atchan1' he drones out at stated periods4 ,he is less often met at markets than at religious festivals1 and he is paid by some visitor to the tomb of a saint to distribute the water as a thank-offering4 ,a young camel about to be slaughtered is being led about and sold piecemeal1 intending purchasers chalking on the hide of the beast the joint they wish to secure4 ,the cheap-jack1 with his usual flow of language1 tempts the fellaheen to buy his ,european shoddy2 ,karakush1 the ,egyptian ,polichinelli1 is here1 and also the quack doctor4 ,the effect is now rapidly changing as ,bibar's ancient palace ceases to cast its shadow over the further part of the market1 and my vantage-ground becomes untenable as the sun creeps round to the steps of the court-house4 ,i work my way to the archway at the eastern side of the square1 and find another picture here well worth going to ,cairo to paint1 for from this point ,i get a view of the ,muristn and the domes and minarets of its adjacent mosques1 now in the full noonday sun4 ,a stately background to the busy scene before me4 ,the studies ,i had made of the market1 though far from satisfying me1 left me too tired to do more than make a few notes and a promise to come here again on a future occasion4 ,it is a relief1 after the glare and noise of a similar subject1 to turn down the narrow dark lanes which are found in the residential parts of ,old ,cairo4 ,the one entered from the archway winds through the ,hasaneyn quarter and ends at the eastern entrance of the ,khan ,khalil4 ,these lanes where the old houses are still intact are even more characteristic of ,cairo than are the busy streets1 for something similar to the latter can be seen in most eastern cities4 ,the projecting latticed windows1 which relieve the plane surfaces of the backs of the houses1 are a distinct feature of this city4 ,known generally as mushrbiyeh1 they were originally small bays in which the water-bottles were placed to cool4 ,the word is derived from the root of the ,arabic shirib1 to drink1 from which we also get our word sherbet4 ,the bays were gradually enlarged so as to allow two or three people to sit in them and see up and down the street without being seen themselves4 ,what corresponds to a glass pane in ,europe is here replaced by a wooden grating4 ,each joint is turned1 and so arranged as to make a pretty pattern4 ,this grating is much closer in the apartments of the hareem1 and though it freely admits the air and a sufficiency of light1 it effectually screens the inmates from those outside4 ,from the enlarged bays one or more smaller ones often project in which the earthen bottles are now placed4 ,there are also small windows in the lower panels1 through which ,i have often seen things hauled up in small baskets from the street4 ,sellers of fruit or sweetstuffs are often met in these lonely lanes1 and a stranger might wonder where they expect to find custom4 ,presently a little grating will open and a face will nearly fill the opening4 ,should the stranger have been seen through the lattice-work1 the face will be partly veiled unless it be that of a child1 and after some bargaining with the hawker1 a small basket containing a coin will be lowered4 ,the coin having been carefully examined1 the purchased article is placed in the basket and they are hauled up to the window4 #8,ma's salama1 ya sitt1' #8ya bint1' or #8ya ,amma1' according to the degree of the purchaser1 is usually the farewell salutation of the hawker4 ,but should the purchase not prove on further examination to be up to expectations1 a lively altercation is sure to ensue1 and voices from unseen parties behind the grating may also be heard4 ,it is sad to see how much of this mushrbiyeh is disappearing2 it is seldom now repaired and is often replaced by cheap sashes or is roughly boarded up4 ,there are several causes for this3 it is expensive1 and the owners of the larger houses have mostly gone to live in the modern quarters and have let out their old homes in tenements to the poorer people4 ,much also has been destroyed by fire4 ,the houses usually project over the lane as each story is reached1 so that the upper windows often nearly meet the ones of the opposite houses4 ,it is easily imagined how a fire will spread with so inflammable a material for it to feed on4 ,the cheap imported petroleum lamps1 which are replacing the earlier form of lighting1 have much to account for4 ,many of the best examples of mushrbiyeh have been bought up by dealers to be made into screens or re-used in the modern suburbs4 ,as seen from the lane1 the houses have a gloomy appearance2 but it should be remembered that the ,cairene dwelling was not built to make an outward display1--its beauty is seen from its inner courts or garden4 ,when he views them from the narrow sunless lane1 the visitor wonders how people can live in such unhealthy surroundings4 ,should he be fortunate enough to have the entre to a house which is still inhabited by a prosperous owner1 he will probably come to the conclusion that no more suitable plan could have been adopted in a country where the summer lasts for three-quarters of the year4 ,i shall attempt to describe a visit to a beautiful dwelling later on2 at present let us wander through the ,hasaneyn quarter1 thankful that the rays of the sun are so carefully excluded4 ,reaching the wider thoroughfare1 where stands the mosque which gives the district its name1 the difference in the temperature is immediately felt4 ,we carefully keep to the shady side of the road till we arrive at the entrance of the ,khan ,khalil4 ,this ,khan1 more commonly called the ,turkish ,bazaar1 is one of the few which every tourist is taken to see2 it is in reality a series of bazaars1 the most conspicuous being that of the metal workers4 ,passing through a massive doorway we enter a lane1 roofed in overhead with long rafters and matting2 the warm light1 which filters through this1 harmonises the various-coloured silks and stuffs which are piled up in every little shop or hung out to attract a customer4 ,each shop is little more than a square cupboard1 but as carriages do not enter here the owners have been allowed to retain the mastaba1 or raised seat1 on a level with their floors and projecting two feet or more into the roadway4 ,this was characteristic of every shop in ,cairo1 until carriages began to replace the litter and the ass as a means of locomotion4 ,the merchant drops his slippers as he enters his place of business1 while the customer can sit on the mastaba and keep his slippered feet in the street4 ,an old acquaintance recognises me and invites us to sit down2 he claps his hands1 and the boy from the coffee shop runs across to take his orders4 ,when it is decided whether we shall have coffee or green tea1 cigarettes are produced and a series of courteous inquiries then follow4 ,i in return ask after his health and that of his children1 but am not sufficiently intimate to allude to his wife4 #8,allah be praised1 all are well4' ,i ask how his business is1 and he tells me that it is ,allah's will that things are not what they used to be4 #8,large rival stores now exist in the modern parts of ,cairo and are injuring the trade of the ,khan ,khalil4' ,he might have added that prices are more fixed in these new stores and that visitors have not the time to spend hours over a purchase4 ,he asks me when ,i am coming to sit in his shop1 again to paint that of ,seleem1 his opposite neighbour4 ,he calls out to ,seleem and asks him if he has forgotten the ghawaga who painted him and his wares4 #8,ya salaam6' says ,seleem1 and crosses over to join in the conversation4 ,when the greetings are over it is time to begin the leave-taking1 and with a promise to come again and possibly bring a customer we continue our way4 ,i am glad to find that both men still retain the kuftn and ample turban1 and have not adopted trousers and the ugly red tarbouch1 as most of the metal workers have done4 ,illustration3 ,,water ,,melon ,,seller ,descending some steps we come to the handsome gateway built by ,garkas el-,khally in #adjj2 innumerable lamps1 copied from those which used formerly to adorn the mosques1 are exposed here for sale2 brass finger-bowls1 salvers and ewers cover the counters1 and tall damascened lamp-stands fill up every available place on the floor4 ,the original colouring of the gateway seems to have worn itself down to making a quiet and harmonious background to this sparkling mass of metal work4 ,i am soon recognised by the owner of one of the stalls1 from whose shop ,i had also painted a part of this bazaar1 and am again invited to sit down to coffee and a cigarette4 ,as some seven or eight seasons had passed since my last visit to ,cairo1 and considering the thousands of foreigners who must have passed through these bazaars during that time1 it is astonishing that he should have remembered my face4 ,there is1 however1 no time now to accept of the good man's hospitality1 but #8,in-shallh1' ,i shall return before many days4 ,each turning gives us a fresh scheme of colour and the interest of another handicraft4 ,the carpet bazaar leads out of that of the metal workers4 ,the small cupboard-shaped shop is here replaced by one or two important show-rooms1 and here and there a beautiful old ,persian rug makes one regret the crude colouring of the aniline-dyed modern ones which are replacing them4 ,be the colours ever so glaring1 the subdued warm light which passes through the awnings makes them part of one harmonious whole4 ,a mass of red and yellow is what catches our eyes as we look down the slipper market1 at a right angle from the carpet bazaar4 ,festoons of slippers hang from shop to shop1 they are piled in stacks on the counters1 and large skins1 both red and yellow1 are being cut up and hammered about as if the supply was not yet equal to the demand4 ,we have them on our right1 and pass through a double row of stalls where we are pestered to buy strings of beads1 amber mouthpieces1 cut and uncut stones1 #8,nice bangles for your lady1' besides many other things we are equally not in want of4 ,here we take our leave of the ,khan ,khalil1 and ,i also of the imaginary reader whom ,i have attempted to conduct through it4 ,i am fortunate enough to find an arabeyeh1 the ,cairene cab1 and can ponder over my morning while returning to the hotel4 ,yes1 ,cairo is good enough for a second visit1 and1 please ,god1 a good many more4 ,my second impressions were perhaps pleasanter than my first ones1 for ,i had not now that bewildering sense of how ,i should set to work1 and also if it were possible to give anything like a pictorial presentment of these scenes4 ,the physical inconveniences of working in crowded streets and amongst a strange people appalled me2 but ,i did not then realise1 as ,i do now1 how much a tactful guide can do to make this work a possibility4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,renewal ,,of ,,my ,,acquaintance ,,with ,,mohammed ,,brown ,,and ,,some ,,reflections ,,on ,,matrimony ,now the first thing to do was to look up my former servant1 ,mohammed el-,asmar1 now a dragoman known as ,mohammed ,brown1 the surname being the ,english interpretation of ,asmar4 ,i have described him fully in ,below the ,cataracts1 a previous book ,i have written when ,egypt was much newer to me than at present4 ,i went to that haunt of the dragomans1 the pavement outside the terrace of ,shepheard's hotel1 late enough to have allowed for the post-prandial nap4 ,i found one or two hanging about on the chance of some tourist who might be taking ,cairo on his way home from yet hotter climates4 ,they had not seen ,mohammed lately and did not know to what part of ,cairo he had moved2 but one of them knew a relation of his and promised that he should be made to know that ,i was in ,cairo4 ,that same evening ,mohammed was awaiting me in the hall of the hotel4 ,after the first greetings ,i remarked on what a swell he had become1 and asked him why he should have an ,english covert-coat over his becoming oriental dress1 on so hot an evening as it was4 ,instead of the old red slippers1 he wore ,european tanned-leather boots1 and the turban was replaced by the hideous tarbouch4 ,he had forgotten my dislike for this half-and-half get-up1 and he told me it was now quite #8the thing' amongst the better-class dragomans4 ,i was glad1 however1 to find that the seven seasons during which he had been preying on the tourists had not1 apart from these changes in his garments1 altered him much for the worse4 #8,well1 how is the baby8' ,i asked him4 #8,oh1 he is getting a big boy now4' #8,and the wife8' ,i ventured this time4 ,a rather crestfallen look prepared me that something was wrong4 #8,which wife1 sir1 do you mean8' #8,you must be doing uncommonly well if you can afford two wives1' ,i said2 #8most of us who have to earn our living in ,england find one as much as we can manage2 besides1 ,mohammed1 you used to agree with me that it was a very foolish thing for any one to have more than one4' ,he certainly seemed to agree with me now1 for it was evident that trouble began when number two made her appearance4 #8,it came about like this1' he went on4 #8,you remember ,i told you that my first wife1 the mother of our ,hassan1 was very pretty1 and that ,i loved her very much4' #8,yes1 ,i remember she was very pretty1 for you know ,i caught sight of her that day my wife and ,i dined at your house4' ,he smiled1 but shook his head1 as much as to say that he1 a ,moslem1 ought not to have allowed his wife to be seen unveiled4 ,as ,i1 however1 was not a ,moslem myself1 he tried to console himself that he had not transgressed ,mohammedan law4 #8,a pretty face1 sir1 she still has1 but her tongue gets worse and worse4' ,i asked the foolish young man if he expected to improve her tongue by introducing her to a second wife4 #8,i have been a great fool1' was his mournful reply2 and after a pause1 #8,i think ,i shall have to divorce her2 but ,i love her very much in spite of her temper4' #8,well1 now1 about number two8' ,i asked4 #8,it came about like this1' he began again4 #8,you must remember ,ahmed ,abd-er-,rahman1 the old dragoman that used to come here4' #8,i don't remember him1 but no matter4' #8,well1 ,i asked his advice about curing a wife's temper1 but got little encouragement from him4 ,the few remedies he suggested1 and which ,i tried1 only made matters worse4 #8,one day he said to me3 8,mohammed1 ,i have always loved you as if you were a son of mine1 and as ,i have still an unmarried daughter1 it would add to my happiness as well as to yours if you became my son-in-law4 ,i shall only ask a small dowry of you1 whereas if ,i were to marry her to the one-eyed ,mustpha1 he could and would give a much larger one4 ,she is young and beautiful1 and has the sweetest disposition2 and while ,i kept you waiting in the hsh the other day1 it was but to give her an opportunity of gazing on you through the mushrbiyeh4 ,you can divorce your ,rasheeda and live happily with my ,ftimah40 #8,this sounded very well1 and ,i tried to get the old man to fix the sum ,i should have to pay as the dowry4 ,he kept telling me of the price one-eyed ,mustpha was prepared to pay2 but ,i wanted to know nothing about ,mustpha1 and have since found out that this was all lies4 ,after many days he agreed to content himself with ten pounds1 and ,i paid him half that sum1 the other half1 as you know1 to be paid when the marriage had taken place4 #8,i had done well that season1 and spent much of my earnings on the wedding2 when ,i left my friends below to go to the hareem1 ,i gave my bride a handsome present as 8the price of the uncovering of the face10 and when ,i threw back the shawl1 and saw her for the first time1 ,i nearly fainted4' ,it was as much as ,i could do not to laugh1 but the poor fellow seemed so overcome in recalling his bad bargain that ,i tried to look sympathetic4 #8,i thought of divorcing her there and then1' he went on1 #8but ,i had not the heart to pronounce those terrible words on the day of the poor creature's wedding4 ,she was ugly and old--at least thirty--and had as brown a face as ,i have4' ,after a pause he went on4 #8,her father--may ,allah blacken his face6--did not lie as regards her temper2 but even the best of tempers could not withstand the jeering and scoffing to which ,rasheeda used to treat her4 ,my mother used to take her part1 and we had more rows between ,rasheeda and my mother4 ,when ,i could stand it no longer1 ,i went with two witnesses to the ,kadi's court and had her written a nashizeh1 and she returned to her own people4 ,ftimah tried to mother our little ,hassan1 but she could not console him4 ,he got ill1 and ,i was afraid we might lose him4 ,i then took a room near ,saida ,zenab1 and fetched ,rasheeda away from her people1 and she and the child are now living there4 ,my life has been more peaceful since then1 but the cost of two households makes me a very poor man4 ,i assure you1 ,mr4 ,tyndale1 that though ,i did very well last season1 ,i hardly know where to turn for a piastre4' ,it would be two months or more before the next season would be in full swing1 so we arranged that he would accompany me during that time1 and would procure me some one else while he was engaged with the tourists4 ,he promised to be in good time the next morning1 and took his departure4 ,probably nothing has tended more to separate the ,east from the ,west than their differing views as to the relation of the sexes4 ,such education as there is has until quite recently been entirely confined to the sons of the more well-to-do1 and even at present the instances of a girl being taught to read or write are very rare4 ,it therefore follows that as only one parent has had any mental training1 the offspring has less mental capacity to inherit than where both parents will have had some form of schooling4 ,the religious instruction which forms so large a part of a ,moslem's training is almost entirely withheld from the girls1 which accounts no doubt for the erroneous idea held by ,europeans that ,mohammedans believe women to have no souls4 ,religious text-books give pages as to a child's duty to its father1 and they sum up in a couple of lines the duty to the mother4 ,educated ,egyptians will often complain that their wives are no companions to them1 but what can they expect when their womenkind are brought up in a manner so distinctly inferior8 ,polygamy is less common than is generally supposed1 but a man can divorce his wife so easily that he has not the necessity of keeping more than one at a time4 ,it is true that a father will hesitate to give his daughter to a man who has often used the divorce court1 and that he will also advise his son to keep to one wife if he possibly can4 ,a young doctor1 who appeared to be happily married1 told me of the advice his father gave him previous to the wedding4 #8,don't be foolish enough1 ,o my son1 ever to take a second wife2 for if you do1 trouble is sure to begin4 ,should you tire of ,zenab1 get her another dress2 women are all much the same1 it is the clothes which make the difference4' ,i asked if this plan had succeeded4 #8,yes1 only too well1' said my friend1 #8for she is continually encouraging me to get her a new dress4' ,he also told me that previous to his wedding he had not even seen his wife veiled1 though they were brought up in the same town4 ,his sisters had described her so well to him that when he saw her for the first time1 she was very much like what he had anticipated4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,arab ,,wedding ,,procession ,i have described more fully elsewhere a marriage to which my wife and ,i were invited as guests1 and as such full details of the ceremonial are given in ,lane's ,modern ,egyptians ,i shall not dwell on it here4 ,lane's argument to those who severely condemn ,islamic marriage laws is this3 #8,as ,moses allowed ,god's chosen people1 for the hardness of their hearts1 to put away their wives1 and forbade neither polygamy nor concubinage1 he who believes that ,moses was divinely inspired to enact the best laws for his people1 must hold the permission of these practices to be less injurious to morality than their prohibition1 among a people similar to the ancient ,jews4' ,this sounds fairly plausible1 but we must not forget that ,mohammedans accept ,christ as a prophet as well as ,moses1 and also avow that each prophet taught them something higher than the preceding one had done1 and there is certainly no licence as to polygamy or concubinage allowed in the teaching of our ,lord4 ,their last prophet1 and according to them their greatest1 ,mohammed1 had overlooked this1 and probably only codified what had more or less become a common practice in his day4 ,as the modern ,jews now hold to one wife just as do the people amongst whom they live1 so it is possible that in time the ,moslems may also modify their marriage customs4 ,supply and demand has already had its effect1 for with the restrictions on slavery1 concubinage has of necessity lessened and respect for the husband of one wife is increasing amongst the better educated classes4 ,i started on a subject on the following morning1 of an old house built alongside and overhanging an entrance to a mosque4 ,a little coffee-shop under an archway1 on the opposite side of the street1 made an excellent point of vantage from which ,i could do my work without attracting too much attention4 ,mohammed1 who accompanied me1 made arrangements with the owner of the stall for my accommodation1 and sat on the high bench near me1 so as to keep off the more inquisitive4 ,an ideal post for him1 for he could smoke a nrgeeleh1 sip coffee1 and chat with the other clients as much as he pleased4 ,he would brush away the flies with one end of his whisp1 and poke with the other end any small boy who ventured too near me4 #8,if one comes it may not matter1 but if one stays fifty others will come also1' he would say1 as the stick of the whisp and a boy's head came in contact4 ,it was also in the interest of the owner of the coffee-shop1--as ,mohammed was careful to explain to him1--to make things comfortable for me1 as ,i should spend many mornings here if ,i were not molested in my work4 ,besides my subject1 which was a very beautiful one in itself1 this was a useful perch from which to make studies of the people and animals which passed4 ,it was in the ,nahasseen1 one of the busiest thoroughfares of ,cairo1 and scarcely an hour would go by without hearing the zaghareet1 the shrill cries of joy which told of the approach of a bridal procession1 or the doleful chorus1 #8,l ilha illa-llh1' would prepare one for the passing of a funeral4 ,it has happened that the zaghareet was not always the accompaniment of the more cheerful procession1 for these shrill cries of joy replace those of lamentation when a welee1 a person of great sanctity1 is carried to his last resting-place4 ,the idea conveyed is that the joys now awaiting him more than compensate those he has left behind for his loss4 ,there is a curious superstition1 or maybe some other cause which we cannot explain1 that if these cries of joy cease for more than a minute the bearers of the corpse cannot proceed4 ,it is also maintained that a welee is able to direct the steps of his bearers to a particular spot where he may wish to be buried4 ,lane tells the following anecdote1 describing an ingenious mode of puzzling a dead saint of this kind4 #8,some men were lately bearing the corpse of a welee to a tomb prepared for it in the great cemetery on the north of the metropolis2 but on arriving at the gate called ,bab-en-,nasr1 which leads to this cemetery1 they found themselves unable to proceed further from the cause above-mentioned4 8,it seems10 said one of the bearers1 8that the sheykh is determined not to be buried in the cemetery of ,bab-en-,nasr2 and what shall we do80 ,they were all much perplexed2 but being as obstinate as the saint himself1 they did not immediately yield to his caprice4 ,retreating a few paces1 and then advancing with a quick step1 they thought by such an impetus to force the corpse through the gateway2 but their efforts were unsuccessful2 and the same experiment they repeated in vain several times4 ,they then placed the bier on the ground1 to rest and consult2 and one of them beckoning away his comrades to a distance1 beyond the hearing of the dead saint1 said to them1 8,let us take up the bier again1 and turn it round quickly several times till the sheykh becomes giddy2 he then will not know in what direction we are going1 and we may take him easily through the gate40 ,this they did2 the saint was puzzled1 as they expected1 and quietly buried in the place he had striven to avoid4' ,i witnessed a similar thing in ,japan1 a year or two ago2 but in that case it was an idol which showed a similar obstinacy4 ,it was at the #8,gion ,matsuri1' which annually takes place at ,kyto1 when the ,shinto god ,susa-no-o is carried to his ,o ,tabisho--that is1 his sojourn in the country with his goddess4 ,no sooner had the god been placed on his portable throne than the wildest excitement was manifested by his bearers2 some wished to carry him one way and some another1 while others seemed rooted to the ground4 ,a ,japanese gentleman1 who was with me1 explained that until all the bearers felt drawn to pull one way1 it was not known by which route the god had decided to go4 ,it is singular that a similar superstition should obtain with people differing as much as the ,egyptians do to the ,japanese4 ,the constant funerals which passed between me and my subject seemed little heeded by ,mohammed and the other frequenters of the caf1 except when the chorus mentioned the name of the prophet1 some would murmur1 #8,god bless and save him'--#8,salla-llhu-'aleyhi wasellem4' ,the bridal procession1 on the contrary1 seemed to have a very depressing effect on my man1 and he would hardly cheer up till a distant wail suggested another funeral4 ,on one occasion ,i recognised the camels with the magnificent trappings used when the holy carpet is conveyed to ,mecca2 they were doing duty as a kind of vanguard to a bride who followed in a litter swung between two other camels4 ,it was a most picturesque sight1 and one to take as many notes of as possible for reference to in a future picture4 ,fortunately the progress of the procession is slow1 the traffic of the street compelling it frequently to stop4 ,this would enable me to get ahead of it and jot down some of the arrangements of colour4 ,the heavy gold and crimson trappings of one camel1 a combination of green and gold on a second1 while the gold brocade of a third was in a purple setting2 all this in a blaze of sunshine1 yet subdued compared to the light caught by the brass kettle-drums4 ,the background in some places1 too cut up in violent patches of light and shade by the awnings over the shops or too intricate with the drawing of a saracenic mosque entrance1 filled me with confusion as to how ,i could ever treat such a subject4 ,when the broad plain surfaces of ,barkk's and ,kalan's shrines made a setting to this gorgeous procession1 ,i felt that my task had become more hopeful4 ,the number of facts ,i had to crowd into my memory in a half-hour or so1 ,i found more exhausting than a long morning's work on a subject such as the one ,i had left to pursue this one4 ,to return to the little caf where ,i had left ,mohammed in charge of my painting materials1 pack up my traps and go back to the hotel1 was about as much as ,i was fit for during the rest of that morning4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,mosque ,,of ,,murist,n ,,kala,n1 ,,my ,,experience ,,with ,,the ,,fak,r1 ,,and ,a ,,digression ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,dervishes ,passing once more the mosque of ,kalan1 ,i was attracted to one of its windows2 not on account of its particular interest as such1 but of its possibilities as a point of vantage from which ,i might paint the opposite side of the road1 and1 unmolested1 make studies of the interesting incidents which take place in it4 ,there was still time to go to the ,wakfs ministry before it closed for the midday #8siesta4' #8,el ,wakfs' is the name of what we might term the ,board of ,religious ,endowments4 ,it is here where artists must apply for a pass to allow them to paint inside the mosques4 ,i fortunately found ,herz ,bey1 the architect of the ,wakfs1 and he very kindly gave me what ,i required4 ,apart from the window of ,kalan's mosque which would be of great use to me1 its interior is one of the finest and most ornate in the whole of ,cairo4 ,i had found several subjects there in former years1 and ,i looked forward to finding a pleasant asylum in which ,i could restfully do some work after the fatigue of some days of street painting4 ,the mosque was falling into a ruinous state when ,i had last entered it4 ,originally most gorgeous1 its colouring had then been softened down by more than six centuries since en-,nasir completed the dome which covers the tomb of his father4 ,i also looked forward to a cooler spot than my caf1 for ,cairo has far from cooled down during the first days of ,november4 ,though the thermometer may not register so high as in ,june1 the damp heat during the high ,nile is more felt than the greater1 but dryer1 temperature of early summer4 ,i was prepared not to find the mosque as paintable as in the earlier days1 #8,before ,decay's effacing fingers ,have swept the lines where beauty lingers'2 yet ,i was hardly prepared to find it to all appearance a brand new building4 ,it had been admirably restored1 and restoration was necessary1 ,i have no doubt1 to prevent its falling into complete ruin1 as so many other monuments have done4 ,but1 alas1 its poetry was gone4 ,nor is this likely to return so long as it is kept as a show-place merely1 and only visited by the tourist or student of ,saracenic architecture4 ,the hundred and one signs which suggested the worshippers who had gathered here during the six bygone centuries were all swept away2 the worn praying mats were gone1 and any of the movable furniture which is not now shelved and labelled in a museum may have found its way to some dealer's shop1--the place for which these things were designed knows them no more4 ,i started a large drawing1 for in spite of all it is a beautiful building1 and looks now in all probability very much as it looked when ,nasir's work-people left it4 ,i worked hard at this drawing2 spent whole mornings getting the intricate arabesque patterns into perspective and their relative tones2 but the longer ,i worked the more my drawing became the lifeless perspective elevation plate of some book on architecture4 ,some day1 when my last impressions of the place may fade and ,i may remember more clearly the shrine retaining its human associations1 ,i may possibly be able to take up this drawing again and infuse some life into it4 ,i did better from the window overlooking the ,nahasseen4 ,the ruinous domed mosque--built before the one of ,kalan--to shelter the remains of ,ayyub es-,salih1 has been heavily dealt with by #8decay's effacing fingers4' ,copper-smiths have rigged up their stalls against its crumbling walls1 and the mosque school still hangs together sufficiently to be used by the youths repeating their ,koran4 ,this and an ever-moving crowd of people had at all events a soul left in it4 ,my regrets at having lost so much time in producing an artistic failure decreased in proportion as the use ,i was able to make of this window increased4 ,facing immediately the street leading to the ,beit-el-,kadi1 ,i was able to take notes1 on a market day1 of all the incidents mentioned in the last chapter1 and at ordinary times there would always be more than enough subject-matter to furnish the foreground of the couple of drawings ,i made from here4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,cheap ,,ride ,the mosque being now a #8sight' more than a place of worship1 a fee is charged for admittance2 and even this matter1 which ,i was regretting before now1 proved an advantage to me1 for the attentions of the inquisitive are usually more marked while making figure studies than while painting some inanimate subject4 ,small boys would occasionally crawl on to the sill and hang on to the grating to try and see what ,i was doing1 till my man1 whom ,i kept outside1 would send them away4 ,a ragged fakir chose the bit of pavement just below my window to do a little basking in the sun4 ,mohammed whispered to me1 through the grating1 that he was a great saint1 and squatted next to him in the full odour of his sanctity4 ,a current of air would now and again bring some of this odour my way2 but ,i restrained ,mohammed from disturbing the fakir in his sleep4 ,others were not so considerate1 for1 in spite of the old man's saintly repute1 a number of young hooligans soon surrounded him1 and comments on his appearance provoked such laughter as to wake him up4 ,the fakir now seemed as one possessed of a devil2 he laid about with his staff and cursed his tormentors with a fluency which only a long practice1 during his unregenerate days1 could have given him4 ,a young woman at a safe distance called out to him that the ghawaga1 that is ,i1 was sketching him1 whereupon he turned round and directed the flow of bad language in my direction4 ,the grating was a protection from the old fellow's staff1 and an unused-up lot of curses soon fell on the head of ,mohammed1 who moved him off4 ,too much attention having been drawn to my window1 ,i retired with my materials within the shades of the mosque interior4 ,i made inquiries about the old man4 ,the term1 fakir1 is used in ,egypt to denote a wandering dervish1 and is also applied to any poor beggar4 ,his rags were not simply the torn garments of a poor man1 but a carefully made coat of many patches and of variously coloured stuffs1 known as a #8dilk4' ,shreds of coloured cloth were also fastened to the end of his staff4 ,he wore no turban1 and had supplemented his own hair with what ,i believe ladies call #8a front' made from a horse's tail4 ,i was told that he belonged to the ,rifaiyeh order of dervishes1 and was famous in his day for being able to pass swords through his body without leaving a wound2 he would also charm serpents and scorpions away from a house1 eat live coals and chew glass4 ,as ,i have seen many appear to do these wonders without necessarily being considered very holy men1 there remained a more potent reason for his reputed sanctity4 ,i tapped my forehead once or twice1 suggesting that an excess of miracles must have made him mad4 #8,his mind is in heaven and only his body remains on earth1' was the answer to my suggested question4 ,a superstitious awe for persons whose intellect is affected obtains all over the ,mohammedan world--the ,cairo hooligan being apparently the exception4 ,the great majority of dervishes are men of some trade or another and take part in a zikr during the religious festivals2 a few lead a tramp's life and beg their way from town to town where one of these festivals may be taking place2 while those who are mentally afflicted without being actually dangerous can generally find the wherewithal to live in the district to which they belong4 ,the latter are now rarely met with in the ,european parts of ,cairo1 and as they seem generally bereft of all sense of decency1 the police may have something to say in the matter4 ,i attended a zikr during my first visit to ,egypt1 when an evening with the ,howling or ,dancing dervishes was still looked upon as one of the #8sights4' ,these were often got up by the dragomans as an entertainment for the tourists4 ,h4 ,h4 the ,khedive has since forbidden these shows as liable to bring ,islamism into disrepute4 ,some wit remarked of the dragomans1 that they believed in ,mohammed and his profits4 ,the dervishes 7or darweesh1 as they are called in ,egypt7 were genuine ones1 and argued that their religious exercises might be just as acceptable even if they resulted in some profit in the shape of a #8baksheesh' from the unbelievers4 ,the first part of the performance was the same as may be seen any evening1 in any village1 during the month of ,ramadan4 ,about a dozen men sat in a double row facing each other1 and1 taking their time from a leader1 began by slowly repeating the first words of the ,moslem's confession of faith3 #8,l ilha illa-llh1' which they accompanied with a swaying of their bodies backwards and forwards4 ,gradually they would increase the speed of the repetition and the movements1 always taking their time from the leader4 ,this got faster and faster till their chief shouted #8,allh6' ,then1 repeating this one word1 the swaying of their bodies became so rapid that one or two fell down exhausted4 ,the remainder kept it up as long as their physical endurance would allow2 their mouths foaming1 their faces livid1 and a mad look in their eyes4 ,presently more would fall down2 some lying still1 and others to all appearance in their death agony4 ,the cry of #8,allah' finally ceased when the leader fell forward1 and1 saving a gasp or a gurgle1 all was still4 ,some of us were preparing to leave when a sign from the conductor of our party kept us in our seats4 ,these bodies stretched on the floor--to all appearance dead or dying--looked ghastly in the light of the flickering torches4 ,we sat on some time wondering what the next move would be4 ,a heavy breathing with alternate choking on the part of one of the performers directed our attention his way4 ,after making several attempts to rise1 he succeeded in getting into a sitting posture and stared vacantly at us4 ,when he seemed conscious of where he was and what he was doing1 he rose rapidly to his feet and spun round and round for several minutes2 he next seized hold of a torch1 continued his gyrations1 and without stopping held the lighted torch under his one garment1 allowing the flames to pass all over his body4 ,it reminded me horribly of the straw fires with which peasants are wont to burn the bristles off a stuck pig4 ,a foreign princess who was of our party1 and on whose behalf this zikr had been arranged1 had now seen as much as she could stand1 and she and her immediate suite went away4 ,the performers seemed quite unconscious of this disturbance2 the man kept on spinning round1 toasting his chest and then his back till he let fall the torch and sank down on the matting4 ,another had in the meanwhile come to life again and begun to spin like a teetotum4 ,he drew two knives from his girdle and1 while continuing his motion1 rested the points on his lower eyelids2 he next hacked his face and forehead1 and when the blood-letting had sufficiently cooled his frenzy he joined his companions on the floor4 ,the low muttered #8,allh' from the other dervishes showed that they were awakening from the kind of cataleptic sleep they had fallen into4 ,a third one now arose and startled one of the spectators by rushing forward and seizing a tumbler near him2 he bit off pieces of glass and crunched them in his teeth4 ,he looked absolutely loathsome as he appeared to swallow the glass1 with the blood streaming from his mouth4 ,his craving for glass was not satisfied yet4 ,the glass of an oil lamp near me caught his eye1 and catching hold of it1 hot as it was1 he chewed it up as a half-starved dog would chew a bone4 ,i had now had more than enough1 and slipped quietly off before a fourth began his #8turn4' ,mohammed followed me out4 ,he was not very communicative about the unnatural orgy we had assisted at1 and as he is a good ,moslem1 ,i fancy he seemed ashamed of the performance4 ,while walking down the ,mousky on the following morning1 a cabman seated on the box of his arabeyeh greeted ,mohammed with an unusually cheery #8,salaam ,alkum4' ,the answer1 #8,alkum es-,salaam1 ya ibne ,kelb1' with an accompanying shake of the finger1 was surprising2 that is1 #8,the peace be with you1 ,o son of a dog4' ,the cabby laughed and drove on4 ,mohammed looked rather consciously at me1 and seeing that ,i looked puzzled1 he asked me if ,i did not recall that cabman's face4 ,yes1 ,i had seen him before1 but when or where ,i could not say4 #8,why1 he is the darweesh who ate all that broken glass last night4' ,true enough1 it was the very man6 ,but no premire danseuse seen with her tinsel and spangles behind the footlights1 and afterwards met in everyday garb1 could have shown as great a contrast as did this cabby and the wild dervish of the previous night4 ,he was dressed in ,european clothes1 except for the red tarbouch1 and he seemed none the worse for his last night's glass supper4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,festival ,,of ,,the #8,,hasaneyn' ,,and ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,princess ,,zohra ,the promise ,i had made to my acquaintances in the ,khan ,khalil1 to come again1 was soon fulfilled4 ,this great bazaar attracts me most when the season in the modern quarters of ,cairo is over or not begun4 ,i have painted so many of its shops and corners1 that ,i and my faithful servant must be as familiar to the stall-holders as they are to us4 ,an opportunity occurred to see it by night1 for1 except on the great festival of the #8,hasaneyn1' the gates of the ,khan are closed before the evening prayer4 ,the mosque of ,hoseyn stands opposite the east entrance1 and it is the one most used by the shopkeepers of these bazaars4 ,it is a spacious building1 but of little interest from an architectural point of view4 ,its great popularity is one cause of this1 for money could always be found to restore it1 and unhappily a great wave of enthusiasm for the shrine of the martyred sons of ,ali obtained during a late period of debased ,saracenic architecture1 during which the mosque was almost entirely rebuilt4 ,before the ,napoleonic invasion of ,egypt no ,christian or ,jew dared pass down the street in which it stands1 and even at the present day1 when foreigners may visit the other mosques of ,cairo1 while the services are not being held1 the actual shrine where the head of ,hoseyn lies may only be entered by the faithful4 ,on the night in question it was possible to see as much as ,i wanted1 as the doors stood wide open1 and the interior was lighted with thousands of lamps4 ,the whole street was roofed over with particoloured tent-cloth1 which caught the light of the torches of the dervishes who filed in at the central doorway4 ,the noise of the cymbals1 drums1 and hautboys of the musicians mingled with the babel of voices which came from the mosque4 ,many inside were performing the zikr1 and others were marching round and reciting the ,fthah1 or a form of blessing on the prophet4 ,every house was profusely decorated with flags1 lamps1 and festoons of coloured glass globes4 ,the cafs were overflowing with customers1 and high benches on the pavements outside were all occupied with listeners to the professional story-tellers who related the deeds of ,hasan and ,hoseyn4 ,it seemed strange to hear the names of these two brothers from the lips of so many orthodox ,moslems1 for at a previous festival in their honour1 which ,i witnessed1 only such as were under police protection dared shout #8,hasan1 ,hoseyn4' ,it was when the heretic ,sheeas1 mostly ,persians1 paraded the streets of ,cairo--a gruesome sight it was--but at present we will confine ourselves to the doings of the orthodox ,sunnees1 to which sect the bulk of the ,egyptians belong4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,khan ,,khalil1 ,,cairo #8,though those dogs of ,sheeas1' an ,egyptian will tell you1 #8almost make gods of ,hoseyn and also of his father ,ali1 is that a reason why we should fail to honour his birthday8 ,was he not1 after all1 a grandson of the ,prophet8' ,it is fortunate1 however1 that both sects do not keep the festival on the same day1 or it would be more than the police could do to prevent them coming to blows4 ,how different the ,khan looked1 lighted up as it then was by hundreds of lamps in and around the shops6 ,in places brilliantly coloured tent-cloths stretched across the lanes1 and on every mastaba the store-keeper was entertaining his friends4 ,the dark intervals were the shops kept by ,christians or ,jews1 which were carefully shuttered up for the night4 ,the silk merchant1 ,mustpha1 and his opposite neighbour ,seleem were both here1 and ,i was not sorry to accept the former's kindly invitation to sit down4 ,being unused to smoking the nargeeleh or the almost obsolete shibook which were offered me1 he procured some cigarettes and clapped his hands to summon the boy from the coffee-stall4 ,he regretted that the mooled of the ,hasaneyn was not now as in former days1 when hardly a shop in the whole ,khan was not lighted up like as his and ,seleem's4 #8,jews1 ,nazarenes1 ,parsees1 and what not else1 were invading the stalls held by the faithful1' he said1 pointing to the shutters of those unenlightened people4 #8,allahu6 ,allahu6' from the street outside was clearly heard during the pauses in the conversation4 #8,was it possible now for a ,nazarene to enter the mosque and see the tomb where ,hoseyn's head lay buried8' ,i asked1 and also showed him the ticket ,i had1 allowing me to paint in the mosques of ,cairo4 ,he read the instructions1 and pointed out a line which made an exception for that particular shrine as well as for two others4 ,the talk then drifted to an instance when one of my countrymen1 disguised as a ,moslem1 was accidentally discovered near the tomb while the mooled was being held2 of how he was nearly killed by the infuriated mob and saved by the intervention of the princess ,zohra4 ,the story is so full of dramatic interest that1 instead of giving the garbled versions which obtain in the bazaars1 ,i will try to tell it as ,max ,eyth tells it in #8,hinter ,pflug und ,schraubstock4' ,eyth was in ,egypt during the lifetime of the princess and heard all the details from a former member of her household4 ,zohra was the youngest living daughter of ,mohammed ,ali1 ,egypt's first viceroy4 ,she was the idol of her father and partook of his character more than did any of her numerous brothers and sisters4 ,her childhood was spent in the same hareem as that of her nephew ,abbas1 who was the same age as herself4 ,self-willed children as they both were1 quarrels were of frequent occurrence4 ,when ,abbas would taunt her that she was only a little girl1 she would remind him that she was the great ,ali's daughter1 whereas he was only the son of her brother ,tussn4 ,words ending in blows one day1 ,abbas was packed off to a school and a governess was found for the young princess4 ,wishing to have her taught both ,english and ,french1 they engaged the services of a young ,irish lady1 a ,miss ,o',donald1 who had been brought up in ,paris and spoke ,french as well as her own language4 ,western ladies had hitherto been little seen in ,egyptian hareems2 the ,mohammedan ladies disapproved of the greater liberty enjoyed by the newcomer and soon grew jealous of the great influence the governess held over her pupil4 ,as ,zohra grew older1 ,miss ,o',donald became more of a companion than a teacher1 and she remained in the viceroy's service for eight years4 ,abbas had in the meantime left his school and had a hareem of his own in his grandfather's palace4 ,he never forgave ,zohra for having been the cause of his banishment1 and awaited his time to wreak his vengeance4 ,mohammed ,ali had not yet found a husband for his daughter2 he aspired to marrying her to a ,sultan or to a son of the ,khalif himself4 ,it therefore happened that at the age of sixteen ,zohra still remained single4 ,it was at a festival of the ,hasaneyn that she met her fate4 ,accompanied by ,miss ,o',donald and two of the eunuchs1 she went to visit the tomb of ,hoseyn1 for women at all times1 says the narrator1 are more attracted to the shrines of heroes than to even that of the ,prophet himself4 ,the mosque was so crowded with people that the dervishes could hardly find room in which to perform the zikr4 ,the eunuchs managed to force a way through the crowd so as to allow the princess to approach the tomb1 and while she was saying her prayers at the shrine of the hero1 she was disturbed by an uproar which arose not far off4 ,shouts of #8a ,christian' resounded through the building4 ,sticks were raised and knives unsheathed by an infuriated mob1 who surrounded a tall1 fair-haired man who1 with his back to the wall1 was hitting out right and left to keep his assailants at bay4 ,his turban had fallen off1 and his fair and unshaven head showed only too clearly that he was not a ,moslem4 #8,it's my brother1' called out the governess1 and appealed to those near her to go to his rescue4 ,zohra1 who had now reached her side1 first saw the blood-stained and handsome face of the young ,irishman1 and uttering a piercing scream1 she ordered the assailants to desist4 ,seeing from her attendants that she belonged to the viceregal household1 there was a slight pause1 and those near her made way for her to reach the one they had been attacking4 ,she took the young man by the hand and led him1 through the murmuring crowd1 into the street4 ,as they disappeared1 loud cries of #8,allahu6 ,allahu6' resounded throughout the mosque4 ,the princess threw her arms in the air and victoriously repeated the cry3 #8,allahu6 ,allahu6'--,such was their first meeting4 ,two young mamelukes of the household of ,abbas also happened to have witnessed the scene1 and repeated every detail of it to their master4 ,the narrator goes on to say that #8,abbas was silent1 like a serpent who coils itself in readiness for a spring4' ,spies were sent forth to find out who this man in truth might be4 ,his name was ,o',donald1 and there was no doubt that he was the governess's brother4 ,he had first come to ,egypt in #ahdj1 when1 after the siege of ,beirut1 ,napier's troops lay outside ,alexandria4 ,fortune had then forsaken ,mohammed ,ali4 ,he could not prevent his enemies from drinking ,nile water as much as they pleased1 and as the ,arabs say3 #8,he who has drunk ,nile water will sooner or later return to the ,nile4' ,after the ,british troops had quitted ,egypt1 ,o',donald resigned his commission and returned to ,alexandria1 where he had got a situation as manager to the overland route from that port to ,suez4 ,his sister had doubtless described his pupil to him1 and had also entertained the princess with tales of his gallant deeds while serving in the army4 ,business matters had taken him to ,cairo at the time of this festival1 and his love of adventure had led to his disguising himself and entering a mosque forbidden to all save the believers4 ,zohra1 whose affections had so far been disengaged1 was all too ready to fall in love with this handsome ,irishman1 whose praises she had so often heard from the lips of his sister4 ,beholding him for the first time bravely repelling the attack of the infuriated mob1 he personified in her imagination the heroism of those who first spread the ,mohammedan faith4 ,to use the words of the narrator3 #8,she was taken as in a whirlwind4 ,love consumed her as a fire4 ,she wept through the whole of that hot night4 ,she implored one of her sisters to help her to meet her lover1 and on her refusal she bit her in the cheek4' ,miss ,o',donald was alarmed at the state of her pupil and also for the safety of her brother4 ,she wrote and warned him to keep away from ,cairo1 and if possible to get away from ,egypt4 ,unfortunately the eyes of the young princess confirmed the glowing descriptions of her beauty which his sister had given1 and the young ,irishman seems to have been consumed with the same fire as that of his lady-love4 ,instead of keeping away from ,cairo1 he contrived to get his company to give him a post in that city4 ,on the third night of ,bairam1 when rich and poor1 old and young1 repair to the cemeteries to pray at the graves of their belongings1 the young lovers seized on this opportunity to see each other once more4 ,zohra went with the women of her hareem to that great wilderness of tombs on the south-eastern outskirts of the city4 ,she was not slow in recognising her lover in the apparently devout ,moslem who came to pray at the tomb where she sat4 ,the wailing of the women and the howling of the dervishes1 performing the zikr1 were a sufficient noise to prevent the words the two interchanged from being heard by ,zohra's attendants1 and before they parted a future means of meeting had been arranged4 #8,i believe1' goes on the story-teller1 #8that she loved him as the heroes of our faith in the olden times loved the beautiful women whom ,allah had given them as a foretaste of ,paradise4 ,he also must have loved her as one bereft of his senses1 for he must have known that he moved amidst naked daggers or even worse4' ,on the night previous to the #8,ym ,gebr el-,bahr1' which signifies #8the ,breaking of the ,river' 7and when the dam is cut to enable the ,nile to replenish the canal which used to flow through ,cairo71 great festivities take place4 ,tents are erected on each bank of the canal and also on the edge of the island of ,rodah1 which faces the canal's entrance4 ,the river is crowded with boats lit up with numerous lanterns2 fireworks are let off and guns are fired2 yet they fail to drown the noise of the musical instruments and the eternal refrain of the singers4 ,cairo makes a night of it4 ,from the farther side of the island of ,rodah our princess stepped on to her dahabieh which was moored at the river edge of the palace gardens4 ,she was accompanied by the hareem1 and she gave orders to let the barge drift down the river and to drop the anchor where the crowd of boats was not so great4 ,the ladies of the hareem1 including ,miss ,o',donald1 remained on the deck1 from whence they obtained a good view of the fireworks and of the festivities taking place on the ,nile4 ,zohra retired to her cabin1 and might by the light of her candle have been seen by many of the folks outside1 were these not too much occupied in merry-making4 ,the candle was moved to and fro for a few seconds and then extinguished4 ,from the shadow of a clump of trees overhanging the edge of the river an ,english-built skiff issued into the main stream1 then shot along the side of the dahabieh and came to a standstill4 ,the lovers had met once again4 ,skilfully as this had been managed1 it had not been unobserved by ,miss ,o',donald1 who1 in a fever of anxiety1 paced up and down the deck4 ,the skiff could be seen by the lights of some boats which had drifted that far down the stream4 ,the governess also suspected that ,abbas had spies amongst the women of the hareem2 but she dared not breathe a word of warning to her brother below for fear of attracting attention4 ,not only had he been seen1 but from a neighbouring cabin an assignation had been overheard and in due time reported to ,abbas4 ,they were to meet the following night in the garden of the palace at ,rodah4 ,zohra felt sure of the silence of the eunuchs and also of her female attendants2 she had not1 however1 bribed some of the crew as highly as ,abbas had done4 ,o',donald1 the next night1 fastened his boat under the trees which project over the garden wall and picked his way along the edge of the river to the steps at the ,nile entrance4 ,he found the gates unlocked1 and walked in4 ,instead of his lady-love four armed mamelukes issued from the shrubbery and rushed to attack him4 ,the ,irishman dropped two with his revolver1 and the other two turned and bolted4 ,abbas was awaiting events at the garden door of the hareem1 which he had locked from outside4 ,when he heard the firing and the howls of his mamelukes1 he felt sure that events had not turned out quite as he had intended4 ,miserable creature as he was1 ,abbas was no coward1 and his agents having failed him1 he rushed down himself to attack the enemy4 ,a kick on his shin sent him sprawling into a flower-bed1 and ,o',donald made off to his skiff4 ,he had1 however1 recognised whom it was that he had knocked over4 ,but before he could take safety in flight he felt bound to send a warning to ,zohra and also to get his sister away4 ,the story-teller goes on to say3 #8,in such moments one's reasoning becomes confused4 ,allah alone can help one4 ,but why should ,allah stretch forth a helping hand to the unbeliever whose audacious conduct well merited punishment8' ,a ,french ,jewess1 known as ,madame ,ricochette1 resided in ,cairo at that time4 ,she used to visit all the principal hareems to trade in ,paris jewellery and bonbons4 ,o',donald went to see her early on the following morning1 and with promises and flattery induced her to take a note to the princess and to bring back an answer4 ,he was to meet ,zohra in the garden for the last time1 his sister was to come away with him in his boat1 and they were to leave ,cairo at once4 ,they never saw each other alive again4 ,he was shot on the threshold of the hareem in ,zohra's garden4 ,abbas had intercepted the letters and had apprised ,mohammed ,ali of the affair4 ,six ,arnauts--good1 dependable shots--were sent and were placed behind some bushes which the ill-fated man would pass on the way to his love4 ,six bullets ended his earthly career4 ,abbas was a clever organiser4 ,a mule was kept in readiness to carry the body away1 and two of the ,arnauts placed it on the beast while the others remained with the prince4 ,the hareem door was thrown open and1 as ,zohra approached1 ,abbas laughingly welcomed her to her lover4 #8,such women1' goes on the narrator1 #8do not go off in a faint1 as do yours in the ,west4 ,she flew1 as one possessed1 to the corpse of her beloved1 and steeped her hands in his blood4 ,she had to be dragged away and carried back to the hareem4 ,when she had recovered from her stupefaction1 she ordered two servants to see ,miss ,o',donald off to ,alexandria1 where friends would see her safely on board the first home-going steamer2 the princess also provided her handsomely with the means to get back to her country4' ,worse is still to follow4 ,the devil in ,abbas had become more potent than ever4 ,he had the body of the ,irishman taken to ,shubra and buried in an outlying field--upright1 with the head below and the feet sticking out of the ground4 ,then spoke ,abbas3 #8,allah1 do thou with him as thou wilt2 but the dogs shall devour the feet which kicked me4' ,the field was guarded during a week2 no one dared enter by day1 and at night the jackals and dogs did their work4 ,there in that field1 to this day1 stands with head downwards a footless corpse6 ,the ,o',donalds1 we are told1 had no influential relations to get this matter investigated1 and the ,english company to which ,o',donald belonged knew more than enough to keep them silent4 ,the young ,irishman had placed his life in the balance with his love and had lost4 #8,allhu6 ,allhu6 ,allh1 lh1 lh1 lh1' came the ever-increasing cries from the mosque outside the ,khan4 ,the dervishes were working themselves up into a state of frenzy2 and had my permit to work in the mosques not made an exception of the ,hasaneyn1 it would have taken a bolder man than myself to have entered then4 ,i bade my kindly host good night and found my way back to the ,european quarter4 ,,chapter ,v ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,cairo1 ,,and ,,of ,a ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,sheykh ,,ammin ,,saheime ,it is unfortunate that an artist1 residing in ,cairo for the purpose of painting its people and its buildings1 cannot live in the city where his chief interests lie4 ,for there are at present two ,cairos3 the one an old oriental city1 the other a nondescript modern ,european town1 placed1 as it were by accident1 between the ,nile and its more venerable neighbour4 ,the foreigner who speaks of ,cairo alludes to the great blocks of buildings and the palatial hotels which form this modern town1 and he usually terms those other parts which he has scarcely seen--the native quarters4 ,the true ,cairo1 and the one of which we speak1 lies in a rough parallelogram between the walls running from the ,citadel to the ,bab el-,futouh at the eastern extremity and the ,khaleeg1 or the old canal now filled in1 on the west4 ,the northern and southern extremities end at the mosques of ,hakim and of ,ibn ,tuln respectively4 ,two outlying bits still remain north and south of the new quarters1 and are known as ,bulak and ,old ,cairo4 ,there are remains here and there of a yet older ,cairo1 which stood on the south-west of the present city4 ,i should dearly love to live in that part spoken of as the native quarters1 instead of having to live at some distance and amongst surroundings which do not lend themselves to pictorial treatment4 ,i had the opportunity to live in a beautiful old house which has been carefully restored under the superintendence of ,herz ,bey1 and which stands in the very heart of the old town4 ,the inconvenience of housekeeping1 the putting in of necessary furniture1 and1 above all1 the insanitary condition of its immediate neighbourhood1 decided me not to avail myself of this opportunity4 ,there would also have been the fear of fire4 ,the beautiful mushrbiyeh work which encloses all the windows1 and is as dry as touchwood1 might at any moment be set on fire through the action of a careless servant4 ,the house is a perfect specimen of an old ,cairene dwelling1 and it has been wisely repaired and is kept in order at the expense of the ,wakfs administration4 ,possibly restrictions as to the lighting of fires would have been imposed on me1 which would have necessitated a journey to the ,european quarters whenever ,i wished for a hot meal4 ,no1 one cannot live here surrounded with what one loves to paint2 one may remain a lifetime in ,cairo and not be of it4 ,the joy of having bright sunny weather in midwinter is very great1 and it is also a pleasure to meet friends at the club or hotels1 and for those inclined that way balls and parties can be attended on most evenings during the season4 ,personally ,i would forego most of these things to live more in touch with the life of the old city4 ,as an illustration of how little the inhabitants of the ,european quarters are concerned with what takes place in ,cairo proper1 ,i will give the following3-- ,while ,i was painting in the ,suk es-,selah1 or the gun-makers' bazaar1 an old house fell in not many paces from where ,i was sitting4 ,as the house was inhabited1 willing hands were soon on the spot to assist in excavating those who might be buried under the ruins4 ,help was also soon available from official quarters1 and during the course of the day five dead bodies were unearthed4 ,i did not expect this to be given as important a space in the newspapers--edited and circulating in the modern quarters--as an account of the last ball at ,shepheard's would have received2 but ,i thought a line describing an event which cost the lives of five people might have appeared amongst the smaller items of news4 ,there was no mention of it in any of them4 ,when ,i remarked on this to some ,european residents1 ,i was casually told that a house felling down was of constant occurrence1 and a lady remarked on hearing of the five ,arabs who had been killed1 #8,il en reste encore bien assez4' ,from the little interest shown1 one might have supposed that this event had taken place somewhere in ,china1 instead of within a couple of miles from the hotel we were in4 ,i witnessed the funeral procession of a noted ,sheykh of ,islam this last winter4 ,the cortge was more than a mile in length1 and thousands of people crowded the streets to pay their last respects to so eminent a coreligionist4 ,a roar of voices1 repeating the profession of the ,mohammedan faith1 rose from every quarter of the ,arab city4 ,i looked for some information in the ,cairo papers1 but not a mention of it did ,i find4 ,the ,arabic papers were doubtless full of the event2 but as few ,europeans1 though they may speak the colloquial language fluently1 can read the written ,arabic1 the news of the old town rarely spreads to the new4 ,the older residents are seldom seen in the old parts of the city1 and that is easy to understand1 for familiarity with things eastern breeds an indifference with the majority1 even if it does not descend to contempt4 ,the surprise is that so few are met there of the thousands of people who flock to ,egypt for a short season4 ,a drive down the ,mousky--one of ,cairo's least interesting streets--a visit to the ,khan ,khalil1 then a walk round three or four mosques and a view from the citadel4 ,after this a feeling of satisfaction that the #8native quarters' have been thoroughly done4 ,the fear of smells seems to haunt them1 for the hands not carrying a kodak or fly-whisp often hold a handkerchief near their noses4 ,bad smells are to be found for those who seek them1 though not as many as in most old ,european towns4 ,these might be removed to advantage4 ,but how much would ,cairo not lose of its charm if1 deprived of the sense of smell1 one wandered through its bazaars or loitered about its market-places8 ,i cannot think of the coffee-stalls without their aroma of moka and of latakiyeh4 ,the spice bazaar recalls the warm land breezes from some tropic isle4 ,would the colour of the fruit-stalls charm the eye equally1 were the scent gone from their piles of russet and gold8 ,even the smell of tan seems to enhance the sight of the brilliantly hued skins in the leather-workers' bazaar4 ,though each sense may occasionally be shocked1 each plays its part in the enjoyment of all things4 ,to any one keenly interested in this medival city1 and who has studied its buildings1 the eye is unhappily more often now shocked than the nose4 ,uglinesses which are hardly noticeable in the ,european quarters are slowly invading the old parts of the city4 ,i have seen many a beautiful latticed window replaced by ready-made imported sashes1 or where the seclusion of the hareem is necessary1 an ugly fretwork in lieu of the turned mushrbiyeh which gave so much character to the ,cairene dwelling4 ,streets formerly covered in with rafters and matting are now exposed to the baking sun1 so as to allow more light on the cheap ,european goods behind the plate-glass windows4 ,the official mind is obsessed with the idea that official work needs trousers1 and all aspirants to official billets don these ugly garments and abandon the graceful kuftn and the flowing gibbeh4 ,the same thing has occurred in the government schools4 ,trousered policemen tread their beat by day1 while the night watch is allowed to go its rounds in the native costume2 presumably because it is less seen4 ,the metal fanus which swing before the mosque entrances are being replaced by ugly petroleum lamps4 ,the water-carrier will disappear as each stand-pipe is erected2 this doubtless has its hygienic advantages4 ,but had the well-to-do still the same pride in their city as had their forefathers1 the water would have been conducted to the beautiful fountains which are now allowed to fall into decay4 ,fortunately ,cairo is large1 and some years may yet elapse before ugliness will have crept into its innermost recesses4 ,round and about the ,tumbakiyeh--where the coarse ,persian tobacco is retailed to the smokers of the nrgeeleh and the sheesheh--the old-world look seems still stern enough to frighten off any shoddy ,european accessories4 ,massive doors1 nail-studded and heavily hinged1 close in the ,weklehs where the tumbak is stored4 ,more or less dilapidated gateways lead into spacious ,khans where formerly caravans from ,syria and ,arabia unloaded their merchandise4 ,the convent mosque of ,beybars1 the ,taster1 dominates this district4 ,from its pepper-box minaret one can look down on extensive warehouses now partitioned into tenements of the very poor2 houses of erstwhile merchant princes are now falling into decay1 and their gardens used as rope-walks or bleaching-grounds4 ,the mueddin's call to prayer sounds like the funeral dirge of the departed glories of the ,tumbakiyeh4 ,the main street1 known as the ,gamalieh1 has all the dignity of age2 it is too poor a district1 and too far from the present business centres1 to be rejuvenated with the lack of taste which has ruined the ,mousky4 ,down a narrow lane leading out of the ,gamalieh1 a fine old doorway and some well-preserved oriel windows gave every promise that this was the back of a fine old ,cairene house1 still inhabited by its owner1 and not allowed to fall into the ruinous state of most of its neighbours4 ,my man ,mohammed was with me when ,i made the discovery4 ,i asked him to inquire to whom it belonged1 and to try to find out if the interior was at all in keeping with what we saw from the lane4 ,illustration3 ,,suk ,,es-,,selah1 ,,cairo ,mohammed is a man of great resource4 ,after considering his mode of procedure for a moment1 he pushed open the door1 which stood ajar1 and we could see the bowab1 or doorkeeper1 asleep on the stone seat at the angle of the passage4 ,mohammed stepped lightly along this passage1 evidently in hopes of getting round the angle and obtaining a peep into the courtyard1 without awaking the sleeper4 ,not succeeding in this1 and being asked what he wanted1 he started inquiries after an imaginary relative who surely was once a servant in this household4 #8,is this not1 then1 the house of so-and-so8' giving the name of an imaginary owner4 #8,then who does live here8' ,the real name of the owner was then given by the doorkeeper4 ,by a few more leading questions1 it was found out that the owner was in his country place1 and would not return till the cooler weather set in4 ,mohammed had in the meanwhile got his peep into the court1 and had seen quite enough to feel satisfied that here was what ,i wanted4 ,as the hareem was in the country1 there would be no objection to the ghawaga also having a peep into the court1 especially as a baksheesh might follow on the peep4 ,i was then allowed in1 and here was a court similar in plan to many ruinous ones ,i had seen2 but in a perfect state of preservation1 and suggesting many beautiful things in the house which overlooked it4 ,i had never painted in the interior of a fine ,cairene house1 still kept up as in the days before ,ismael ,pasha uttered his boast--#8,l',egypte fait partie de l',europe4' ,i made inquiries amongst ,egyptian as well as ,european friends regarding the owner1 and whether it would be possible to get an introduction to him4 ,i was told that he was one of the old school1 lived as his forebears had done1 and did not frequent the modern quarters4 ,the more inaccessible this gentleman seemed to be1 the more ,i longed for an entre into his house4 ,years went by1 and this court remained in my memory as a beautiful picture which ,lewis only could have adequately painted4 ,towards the latter part of my last season in ,cairo1 ,i mentioned to my friend1 ,mr4 ,bowden ,smith1 how difficult it was to obtain permission to paint in the few1 yet remaining1 genuine old ,cairene houses4 ,his work1 connected with the ministry of finance1 had brought him in contact with many of the upper class ,egyptians1 and he named several houses he could take me to see4 #8,have you seen the house of the ,sheykh ,saheime near the ,gamalieh8' he asked1 and described the very place which years since had made so lasting an impression on me4 ,we went there the very next day1 and were fortunate in finding the ,sheykh at home4 ,we were received in the takhtabosh1 a spacious recess opening on to the court1 and under the principal guest-chamber1 which latter is supported by a handsome granite column4 ,a row of carved wooden benches line the three walls of the recess1 and rest on a paved floor a few inches higher than the open court4 ,cushions were placed for our accommodation1 and we were courteously asked to sit down4 ,here we took our coffee and conversed with our host4 ,i told him how glad ,i was to meet one who still had a pride in the beautiful things his country had produced1 and who preferred keeping up the home of his ancestors to living l',europenne in the modern quarters4 ,he could not foretell what his sons might do2 but as far as he was concerned1 he would keep to the dress of his forebears and end his days in the dwelling-places which they had built4 #8,should ,i better myself1' he asked1 #8if ,i left this house for one at ,kasrel-,aine1 or in the ,ismaelieh quarter8' ,a vision of the pretentious villas #8en style ,arabe1' #8en style ,egyptien1' or1 worse yet1 the ,levantine's conception of #8l'art nouveau1' rose up before me1 and by contrast made more beautiful the court we overlooked4 ,the gentle cooing of the doves1 and the sound of running water amidst the flowering shrubs1 would never here ill-tune with the hooting of a motor4 ,the roses1 which garlanded the trellised windows1 seemed more beautiful than those which try to hide the cast-iron balconies of modern ,cairo4 ,no sound from the outside world penetrated here till the solemn call to prayer from ,beybar's mosque recalled the hour of day4 ,we made a move1 thinking that our host might wish to attend the ,asr4 ,to our delight1 however1 he asked if we would care to go over the house with him4 ,nothing suiting us better1 he conducted us across the court to a door and passage leading to the mandarah or guest-room4 ,the anteroom we passed through suggested a good subject1 and ,i threw out some hints that ,i should like to do a sketch of it4 ,whether our host understood what ,i was driving at or purposely passed on to another subject1 ,i could not quite make out2 but a wink from my friend that he would have another try later on reassured me4 ,the room was sparsely furnished1 as is generally the case in oriental houses4 ,high wooden benches lined the walls1 and if we add to these a few cushions1 some rugs1 and one or two hanging lamps1 we shall have described about all this anteroom contained4 ,the light trickling through the latticed windows showed up the design of the mushrbiyeh1 and it is not appreciable how decorative these turned wooden gratings are until they are seen from the inside4 ,the wall surfaces were quite plain1 and gave a value to the ornamentation surrounding the lintels of the three doors which opened into the room4 ,on each lintel was a ,koranic text in raised lettering and relieved on a blue ground4 ,the simplicity of the anteroom served to enhance the rich decoration of the guest-room itself4 ,the durkh1 which is that part of the floor nearest to the entrance1 had a beautiful tesselated pavement4 ,in the centre stood a double-basined marble fountain sending up several jets of water1 which were caught in a shallow well around its base4 ,it is in the durkh that the guest drops his slippers before ascending to the liwn1 which is raised a few inches above the pavement and occupies about one-third of the apartment4 ,handsomely covered mattresses with heavy cushions line the three enclosing walls and form the diwaan or divan1 as we call it4 ,in this instance the ceiling of the liwn was several feet lower than the roof of the durkh1 and with its retaining arch bore much the same relation to the rest of the apartment as does that of the chancel to a one-aisled church4 ,the intricate pattern of the mushrbiyeh occupied the place of an east window4 ,cupboards with minute panels of varying arabesque designs1 and shelves with bowls and dishes of ,rhodian or ,egyptian ware1 furnished the walls above the divan4 ,the geometrical patterns on the ceiling and the vivid colours with which they were defined would have been disturbing to the eye1 were it not for the subdued light1 in which the decoration was partially lost4 ,everything was harmonious1 all seemed exactly right4 ,i would fain have lingered on the divan and heard our host relate of deeds which may have been done within these walls4 ,but there was more to see4 ,leaving this beautiful guest-chamber and crossing the anteroom1 we were taken up a winding staircase to the hammm4 ,our ,turkish baths are modelled on a similar plan1 but as this one was only for private use1 it was on a smaller scale than a public one1 and marble floors and seats here took the place of more ordinary materials4 ,from thence we were taken through a corridor and into another guest-chamber4 ,a slight smile on the face of our host seemed to express a question as to what we should say about this room1 having exhausted our terms of admiration on the one below4 ,here was the place where he wished us to linger and sip our coffee until the mueddin once more called to prayer at the close of the day4 ,some of the features of the mandarah--as the guest-room below is called--were here3 the two levels of the floor defining the limits of the durkh and that of the liwn2 the tesselated pavement and marble fountain in the one and the mattressed and cushioned divan of the other2 the mushrbiyeh also split up the light in a pattern suggesting the interlacing of strings of beads1 and the panelling of the doors and ceiling were as rich in arabesque design as that which we had seen below4 ,the one apartment was as truly ,egyptian as the other1 yet it left a distinctly different impression4 ,the more subdued light of the mandarah1 as well as the chancel-like appearance of the liwn1 had an impressiveness which was not here2 but it might easily have appeared gloomy had we visited this lighter and more highly coloured room first4 ,we were now in what was probably the ,k1 or principal apartment of the hareem of former days4 ,i have learnt since that the ,sheykh's family is a small one1 so the rooms overlooking the garden and in a wing of the house--which we were of course not shown--would be amply sufficient for the women-folk of his household4 ,the hareem1 or harem1 as it is often miscalled in ,england1 is also often misunderstood4 ,its true meaning is the #8prohibited1' that is #8sacred' to the master of the house4 ,it is that portion of the house which is confined to the women and children1 and is not necessarily a kind of luxurious prison for a number of wives1 which many unacquainted with the ,east often suppose4 ,the #8selamlik' is that part of the house used by the male portion of the household4 ,as the great majority of ,egyptians have only one wife at a time1 the hareem generally occupies less of the house than the #8selamlik4' ,the term #8el hareem' also applies to women collectively4 ,it would not have been proper to ask if the beautiful apartment we were in had ever been used as the ,k1 for one must be on very intimate terms with a ,moslem before alluding in any way to what concerns his women-folk4 ,a feminine touch of lightness absent in the selamlik convinced me that we were being entertained in what at one time formed a part of the hareem4 ,the chief attraction was the grand display of beautiful old tiles which covered the walls4 ,the design showed a ,persian influence1 and was not confined to the geometrical patterns of the more orthodox ,saracenic work1 and pretty as this is1 it is the colour which gives it its great charm4 ,blues tending to green played with blues of a violet shade1 touches of puce and emerald green joined in the revelry of colour4 ,no ornaments were hung or bracketed on these wall spaces1 for were they not ornament sufficient in themselves8 ,the mattresses and cushions of the divan had richer coverings1 were more elegant in pattern1 and less sombre in hue than those of the divan we had first seen4 ,what a studio this would have made for any one desirous to paint eastern subjects6 ,better that it remain as it is--a dignified setting to a worthy ,egyptian gentleman4 ,as the sun got more round to the west1 the shadow of the mushrbiyeh patterned the floor1 and gem-like touches of light crept slowly up the wall facing the great window4 ,above the turned wooden grating1 which showed its design so beautifully in the shadow it cast1 a second window admitted the light through numerous pieces of coloured glass set in deep mouldings of old plaster work4 ,mr4 ,bowden ,smith chatted with the ,sheykh about mutual acquaintances and of affairs pertaining to the present day2 but whether it was my insufficient knowledge of ,arabic or whether my surroundings had carried my thoughts elsewhere1 ,i lost the thread of their conversation4 ,when appealed to about some point1 ,i had1 before ,i could answer1 to disentangle my thoughts from #8,the story of the ,humpback' which ,i had pictured ,shahrazad rehearsing to her sister in anticipation of one of the thousand and one nights4 ,the two daughters of the ,vizir had hardly settled the point as to the working of this story into the one of #8,noor ed-,deen and ,enees el ,jelees1' when the deep wail #8,allhu ,akbar6' from ,beybar's minaret announced the maghrib4 ,the patterned shadow had left the floor1 and the touches of light from the stained glass1 intensified in colour by the declining sun1 crept from wall to ceiling as we rose to depart4 ,illustration3 ,,entrance ,,to ,,the ,,hareem ,,chapter ,,vi ,,my ,,second ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,sheykh ,,and ,,my ,,experiences ,,with ,,an ,,unfaithful ,,servant ,my friend explained to the ,sheykh my desire to set up an easel in some parts of his house4 ,a suspicious fear added to his wish to please gave me an uncomfortable feeling of having presumed on the good man's hospitality4 ,it took some time to clear his mind of any prejudicial effects which might ensue on my working here4 ,picture painting is so foreign to the ,moslem's education1 and strictly speaking is a breach of ,koranic law1 that a slight hesitation in giving me permission is understandable4 ,the likeness of nothing1 which is in heaven above or in the earth beneath1 hung on his walls to assist us in explaining the nature of my work2 and that veil which is ever in a degree between the western and the oriental mind seemed thickened for a while4 ,the wish to please1 however1 predominated over the suspicious fears1 and he bade us farewell with the assurance that his house was at my disposal4 ,it was days before ,i returned1 as ,i wished to complete a street scene ,i was then engaged on4 ,i had lost my guide1 philosopher1 and friend1 ,mohammed1 whom ,i did not wish to do out of a lucrative job up the ,nile1 and ,i had in his stead one with a plausible exterior1 but possessing none of the virtues and all the vices which go to make up a dragoman4 ,to work in the streets and bazaars in ,cairo without a man to keep off the small boys is almost an impossibility1 and much of one's comfort depends on the tact and willingness of the man one employs4 ,mansoor 7to give him an alias7 spoke and read ,english remarkably well1 and having learnt like a parrot some sentences concerning the ,pyramids and some of the chief monuments of ,cairo1 he was in hopes of soon obtaining a dragoman's licence4 ,without this licence1 happily1 none may guide the tourist1 and as an examination of sorts is now required1 and also a character from some previous employer as to the good behaviour of the applicant1 the tourist may run less risk in future of being hopelessly swindled than he did in earlier days4 ,but acting merely as my servant1 such licence was not a necessity4 ,he had an irritating way of giving me uncalled-for information4 ,the parrot-like sentences he had stored in his memory were repeated each time we passed a monument the tourist is taken to see4 ,these might have been amusing had ,i not heard them ad nauseam before4 ,i did not check him at first1 and ,i even tried to supplement some facts absent from the little book which he had learnt by heart4 ,his usual answer1 #8,this is all the dragomans say1' discouraged me from trying to teach him anything4 ,the ,khan ,khalil was the school in which the true tricks of his trade were to be studied4 ,while ,i worked there1 ,mansoor would crawl about listening to the prices paid for the various purchases1 and probably passed sleepless nights till he had found out about the commission the guides had obtained for bringing a customer4 ,his smart clothes and his fluent ,english must have imposed on many a stall-holder that he was either a licensed dragoman or was shortly to become one4 ,coffee and cigarettes were pressed on him at whatever mastaba he deigned to sit4 ,while ,i worked in a mosque not far from this bazaar he would sit at the window and watch for tourists4 ,several times he had an uncle to bury4 ,he would explain that there was only just time for him to pay his last respects to his deceased relative1 and if ,i would let him go he would be sure to be back by the time ,i was prepared to leave4 ,i would tell him to go and bury his relative1 and had he asked to bury himself1 ,i was prepared by this time to give him my full permission4 ,the last time he left me on his sorrowful errand1 ,i mounted on to the window-sill where he was wont to watch for the prey as yet withheld from him4 ,i saw a party of tourists just disappearing into an alley leading into the ,khan ,khalil1 while ,mansoor was questioning the driver of one of the cabs which they had left1 and then he also was lost in the shadow of the selfsame alley4 ,he returned some time after ,i was ready to start for my hotel1 and ,i told him that as he had taken so long in burying his uncle1 he should attend no more funerals while he was in my service4 ,to be told a lie is seldom pleasant2 but a very stupid lie reflects on the intelligence of the hearer1 and this may partly have accounted for my growing dislike of this man4 ,i had unfortunately not found another to take his place when ,i went to the house of the ,sheykh ,saheime to start a drawing4 ,i was most courteously received1 and was told to ask for anything which ,i might require4 ,i began a drawing from the anteroom of the mandara looking into the court and through the passage1 which also led to the stairs of the former hareem4 ,i did not wish to begin a too elaborate subject till ,i felt more sure that repeated visits were not inconvenient to my host4 ,mansoor joined the doorkeeper and the eunuch on their bench at the front entrance1 where he doubtless enhanced his own importance by lying about my riches and relationship to the various high ,english officials in ,cairo4 ,the inconvenience of such lies is that a tip proportionate to such imagined wealth is looked forward to4 ,he came presently as the bearer of a message from the ,sheykh1 that had the latter known ,i was coming that day1 he would have prepared a dinner for me2 but that he hoped ,i would return on the following morning and would honour him with my presence at the midday meal4 ,i was grateful for his kind intentions1 and yet sorry that ,i might be putting him to some trouble and inconvenience4 ,i wished to come here often1 and would only feel comfortable about doing so if ,i felt sure that ,i was not disturbing him4 ,not feeling sure as to my intentions1 he came himself1 and was not satisfied till ,i had promised to dine with him the next day4 ,mansoor was later cross-questioned as to whether ,i liked such and such a dish4 ,did ,i always eat with a knife and fork8 ,he supposed ,i sat on a chair while ,i fed1 and could ,christians get through a meal without strong drink8 ,such questions were duly repeated to me1 so ,i sent my man back to the ,sheykh with a message that the more the dinner was as he was accustomed to have it1 the more ,i should appreciate his hospitality4 ,i was there early on the following morning1 as ,i wished to complete my drawing before the meal took place4 ,i had a good long paint with no other company but a weasel1 which is often seen in ,egyptian houses to keep off the mice and rats1 or whatever one chooses to call that creature which is too large for the former and too small for the latter4 ,i know of but one name for either of these pests1 and firn does duty for both4 ,cats are also household pets1 but are less adaptable for spying out the secret places where the firn are wont to nest their young4 ,a message came from the ,sheykh to know if ,i wanted my dinner at twelve or at one o'clock4 ,i sent ,mansoor to find out what his usual hour was1 and being told that it was just after the midday prayer1 ,i sent word that no other time would suit me better4 ,about half-past twelve the ,sheykh appeared1 followed by a gentleman in ,european clothes and a #8tarbouch4' ,i was introduced1 and informed that this was a cousin and a judge of a native tribunal4 ,i was relieved to find that the judge spoke ,french fluently1 for my ,arabic is liable to fail me if put to too severe a test4 ,they seemed interested in my drawing1 and held it close to their eyes to enable them to decipher the text engraved on the lintel of the door4 ,it is a never-failing surprise to ,easterns if they can read any lettering which one may have introduced in a drawing4 #8,the ghawaga says he can't write ,arabic2 then how is it that we can read what he has here written8' ,my explanation that ,i had merely copied the strokes and dots which ,i saw before my nose seldom satisfied these inquiries1 and generally left a suspicion of something uncanny4 ,needless to say here that the lady now shown in the illustration was non-existent at that time1 and not being of the beau sexe myself1 the privilege of seeing one at any time in this house was not to be expected4 ,there are still some things left which the painter may do and which are still beyond the power of the camera4 ,now1 a word of warning to any one who may be about to dine for the first time with one of the ,near ,east4 ,to put it crudely3 ,come with an empty stomach and eat as sparingly of the first dishes as you can4 ,they may be very good2 but our powers of absorption may fail us1 and we might have to pass several subsequent courses untouched1 which might be taken as a slight to the quality of the fare4 ,i was prepared for this1 and had made a very light breakfast4 ,the grace1 repeated in a low voice by the master1 is always impressive3 #8,bi-smi-llhi-r-ramani-r-raeem' 7,in the name of ,god1 the ,compassionate1 the ,merciful71 and the smell of the savoury dish which had been placed before us made the #8,tafaddal' or invitation to sit down doubly welcome4 ,chairs had been borrowed1 as a concession doubtless to the requirements of the ,ferangi1 and a plate1 knife1 and fork were also placed before me4 ,i dismissed the latter articles as only being necessary to cut up the tougher food of ,europeans1 and as quite useless with the tenderer dishes of the ,muslemeen4 ,the ,sheykh seemed pleased at this and1 as is the custom1 first tasted of the dish4 ,when ,i tore a piece off the thin flat loaf placed before me and1 doubling it1 ,i hooked a piece of meat out of the dish1 he exclaimed that ,i had eaten in ,arab fashion before4 ,the judge agreed with me that with ,arab dishes he did not see where a knife and fork came in4 ,not partaking so freely of the yachnee as to satisfy our host1 he took a delicate morsel out of the stew and handed it to me4 ,the manner of eating with the fingers seems strange at first2 but it is astonishing how soon one gets accustomed to it1 and also how much more delicate it seems than when described to those who may never have witnessed it4 ,the right hand should always be used if possible1 and should a fowl be served1 it is polite to catch hold of one leg1 so as to enable the master to dismember the bird without having to use his left hand4 ,it may take as long to learn the etiquette pertaining to the ,arab mode of eating as for an ,arab to acquire all the niceties observed at an ,english table4 ,should a stranger1 however1 from want of experience do something contrary to the usages of the country1 an oriental will pretend not to notice it1 as a well-bred ,englishman would do if the cases were reversed4 ,dish followed on dish2 when some sweetstuffs were placed on the table my hopes revived1 till they were replaced by yet another stew4 ,my powers of absorption had about reached their limit4 ,i appealed to my host to consider the limited dimensions of my lower waist1 and that that only prevented me from doing full justice to his generous fare4 ,this had some effect1 and ,i was let off with a tit-bit which he politely handed to me in his fingers4 #8,el-amdu li-llh6' 7,praise be to ,god7 from the judge1 who rose up and continued the conversation while washing his hands1 was the abrupt sign that our feast was at an end4 ,a servant held a brass basin while a second poured the water from a ewer over my hands1 and1 our ablutions at an end1 we were conducted to the takhtabosh to sip our coffee and smoke4 ,i was asked where ,i had dined before in ,arab fashion1 and my host was interested to hear about some dishes peculiar to ,morocco1 also how ,i had fared with the ,druses in the ,lebanon4 ,an ,arab meal1 in fact1 was not in itself a novelty to me2 but1 as ,i explained to the ,sheykh1 ,i had never dined in such beautiful surroundings4 ,we got on to the subject of ,japan1 where the mode of eating is much more difficult to acquire than that of the ,near ,east4 ,my hearers showed a much greater interest in things ,japanese than ,i expected1 for as a rule a ,moslem's sympathies rarely extend to countries beyond the sway of ,islam4 ,how ,i had got on without meat1 bread1 milk or butter surprised them1 and settled any possible doubts as to whether they might wish to go there themselves4 ,i am told that during the ,russo-,japanese war events were followed with keen interest in ,egypt4 ,every victory of the ,japanese was construed into a victory of a non-,christian people over a ,christian power--of the ,asiatic over the ,european4 ,when a book ,i had written on my experiences in ,japan appeared at the ,cairo booksellers'1 ,i was interviewed by the editor of an ,arabic paper to give him as many particulars as ,i could concerning ,japan4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,takhtabosh ,i avoided all talk as to the present rgime in ,egypt4 ,though one of my hearers had a safe billet1 and the ,sheykh probably felt a greater security for the property he holds than he would if our occupation of ,egypt ceased1 nevertheless the sting of being governed by the unbelievers is always there1 let the unbeliever's yoke be ever so light a one4 ,a suspicion that ,i might be hindering the afternoon nap induced me to bid farewell to my host and the judge4 ,mansoor had been having a good time feasting with the servants1 and when he joined me ,i asked him to divide a riyal between those who had served me4 ,i watched him present the money to one of them and in the presence of the others1 for ,i had reason to suspect his honesty4 ,i could not hear the talk which followed1 but saw the money passed on to a boy1 who was told to go to a shop and change it4 ,i saw no object in waiting any longer1 so left the house4 ,mansoor wished to stay behind1 and as ,i did not see why he should get any of the tip1 ,i made him come with me4 ,in the main street ,i hailed a passing cab4 ,mansoor now seemed rather disturbed and asked if he could go back4 #8,the boy will not know where to bring the change of the riyal4' #8,did you not tell the boy to give the changed money to be divided among the servants8' ,i asked4 #8,no1 ,i did not say it was for the servants1' he answered1 with the look of a detected thief2 #8,i told him to bring the change back to you1 sir4 ,please allow me to return to the house and ,i will tell them what your intentions were4' ,i could not return myself to see the matter through1 as ,i remembered an appointment ,i had to keep1 and ,i let the man go4 ,it dawned on me as ,i drove to my hotel that ,mansoor's object in hanging behind was to intercept the boy returning with the change and to pocket the lot himself4 ,explaining the circumstances to one who had had a long experience of native servants1 ,i was assured that my suspicions were not unfounded4 ,this villain1 who had been well entertained by the servants of the house1 had conceived this ingenious manner of robbing them of their gratuity4 ,when he turned up the next morning ,i told him ,i should want him no longer4 ,seeming to question the reason of his sudden dismissal1 ,i suggested a police inquiry as to the disposal of the riyal4 ,he wished to hear no more1 and vanished like the ghost who was asked for a subscription4 ,now this is a type of man who1 but for the salutary regulation as to granting licences1 would have become a dragoman1 and have reaped a good harvest1 during the short season1 by robbing the tourist by day1 and conducting others by night to witness every kind of abomination4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,in ,,which ,i ,,get ,,another ,,servant ,,and ,,hunt ,,for ,a ,,crocodile2 ,,also ,a ,,continuation ,,of ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,princess ,,zohra ,i found a man1 who was used to attending artists on their rounds1 sooner than ,i had hoped for4 ,he was a rougher type of man than my last one1 but one to whom ,i took much more readily4 ,he spoke no ,english1 which was in his favour1 for though this might sometimes be inconvenient1 it suited my purpose better to practise my ,arabic than to have him airing his ,english on me4 ,mahmood ,hanafy is his name4 ,i give it with pleasure1 and in hopes that possibly these lines may be read by some one who might be glad of his services4 ,no two men of the same nationality could have been a greater contrast than this ,mahmood and the disgraced ,mansoor4 ,the more traps ,mahmood had to carry1 the more he seemed to like it2 when ,i suggested taking a cab1 he would say the place was no distance1 and cabs were very dear--he had evidently been well trained by former brother-brushes4 ,mansoor1 on the other hand1 always had a cab near the hotel when we started1 and would place my sketching things on the box in hopes ,i would take it4 ,distances were always enormous with him1 and when ,i took a cab1 he would declare that the doubled fare asked was none too much4 ,the extra squeeze he could then get out of the cabby harmonised with his natural laziness4 ,mahmood was a plucky fellow1 and ready to clear a street of people if he thought they were in my way2 while ,mansoor's bravery never went further than slapping a child if the parents were not present1 whereas1 if some hooligans promised to be a nuisance1 he generally slipped away4 ,mahmood had one drawback which his predecessor had not1 and that was a loud voice4 ,now1 as no pillow was ever thick enough to prevent my hearing my watch ticking1 a huge volume of sound was not necessary when he answered my questions4 ,if he thought ,i did not understand him1 he evidently took it for hardness of hearing1 and his answers would be loud enough to startle the street4 ,i could not correct him of this1 though he tried to mend4 ,trained as a donkey-boy1 this voice had doubtless been of use both in directing his beast and in the altercations which often end a ride4 ,possibly the deafest donkeys were placed in his care4 ,he was now the owner of many donkeys1 he told me1 and he let them out by the month instead of running after one himself4 ,he was always ready1 however1 to run after one if ,i should require it4 ,his dress was more humble than that of ,mansoor1 but he never pleaded poverty to try and get something over his wage4 ,he told me he had all he wanted1 and should ,i not wish to use him for a few days1 he would willingly rest till his services would be required4 ,the other man1 though smartly dressed1 had always some tale of poverty handy when ,i gave him his wage1 and always begged for an advance on his future pay4 ,had he not a number of people dependent on him8 and the cost of food1 had it not risen so much8 ,i found out afterwards that he had no dependants1 and that he sponged on his sisters when he was out of work4 ,he had the appearance of one addicted to hashsheesh1 and probably only smoked this of an evening1 for ,i could never detect the smell4 ,this drug is happily now forbidden to enter the country1 and strong measures are taken to prevent its use4 ,a certain amount does1 however1 get smuggled in1 and the ashshash or victim to the drug can still procure it if he can pay for its enhanced price4 ,the smell of its fumes was much more familiar formerly in the humbler coffee-shops2 but it is not quite absent now4 ,it is often mixed with tumbk1 a kind of ,persian tobacco1 and is smoked in the gzeh1 a pipe made of a cocoanut-shell1 which has a long cane stem4 ,one who indulges slightly in the habit would not be termed a ashshash any more than a moderate drinker in ,england would be termed a drunkard4 ,the opprobrium attached to the term is much increased through its association with the ashshashseyn of the time of the ,crusades1 whom we know as the ,assassins--the subjects of the #8,sultan of the ,castles and ,fortresses1' more commonly called #8the old man of the mountain4' ,they were said to indulge freely in hashsheesh when sent on some murderous errand by their chief4 ,rowdy or riotous people are often termed #8,hashshasheen' whether they be addicted to the drug or not4 ,seeing an excitable crowd quite recently1 in one of the principal squares of ,cairo1 ,i approached to see what was the matter4 ,a brutal-looking man was struggling with a couple of policemen who were taking him off to jail1 while others were placing on a stretcher a youth who was terribly hacked about his face and head4 ,on inquiry ,i heard that the man in charge of the police was employed at the public slaughter-house1 that he was given to hashsheesh1 and that in a fit of madness he had just assaulted with his butcher's knife the wounded youth4 ,the term hashshash1 which was freely used by the crowd1 had a particularly gruesome sound on that occasion4 ,loud and furious were the comments of ,mahmood1 and had he not been carrying my materials he would have joined in the struggle with the butcher4 ,as this took place just within the limits of the ,european quarter1 it was fully reported in the foreign ,cairo papers4 ,the youth succumbed to his wounds1 and the hashshash paid the death penalty4 ,i was on my way to the ,khaleeg to look for a subject which had attracted me on a former visit1 and before this canal had been filled in by the tramway company4 ,a change for the better1 possibly1 from a hygienic point of view1 and also as a means of communication2 but a sad loss to the picturesque4 ,many historic buildings which backed on to the canal have been pulled down1 and commonplace frontages will soon blot out all remembrance of them4 ,the tramway having come to stay1 it is as well to make the best of it1 and to use its cars along the couple of miles which bisect the city from north to south4 ,from this route many a peep into some old courtyard1 or the back of a mosque or palm-shaded shrine1 may induce a descent from the cars and a tramp along the dusty road4 ,just beyond the present governorat was an angle of the enclosure known as the #8guarded city4' ,this formed more or less of a square of rather more than half a mile each way1 and its western wall stood on the east side of the present filled-in canal4 ,the building of this enclosure marks such an important date in the medival history of ,egypt that a few words here may not be amiss4 ,stanley ,lane ,poole tells us1 in the ,story of ,cairo1 how in #iei ,gawhar1 the victorious general of el-,mo'izz 7the first ,khalif of the ,fatimid dynasty71 entered ,masr1 as the capital of ,egypt was then called1 and still is by its native inhabitants4 ,plague and famine had so reduced the population1 that scarcely any resistance was offered to the troops which ,gawhar had led from ,tunis into the valley of the ,nile4 ,his first thought was to build a fortified place away from the plague-stricken city1 and yet near enough to keep it in subjection4 ,beyond its northern extremity he pitched his camp on a sandy waste1 unobstructed by any buildings save an old convent4 ,the prevailing winds being from the north1 hygienic reasons were also in favour of this site4 ,when the boundaries of the enclosure were marked out1 astrologers were consulted as to an auspicious hour in which to start digging the foundations4 ,from poles stuck in the ground ropes were stretched1 from which bells were hung1 and thousands of men stood ready with shovel and pick to dig out the trenches as soon as the astrologers shook the poles1 and by the tinkling of the bells announced the auspicious moment4 ,the intentions of the astrologers were1 however1 forestalled by a raven who1 alighting on a rope1 set the bells aringing1 and every spade was instantly stuck into the soil4 ,it was during the hour when the planet ,mars 7el-,khir7 was in the ascendant--an evil omen for the future peace of the place4 #8,masr el-,khira' thus became the name1 not only of the fortified enclosure1 but also of the adjacent city4 #8,el-,khira1' or the ,martial1 is that from which we get our ,cairo4 ,the omen was turned to good account by the astrologers4 ,messengers were sent to ,mo'izz to announce that the foundations of a triumphant ,masr had been laid2 the name of the last of the ,abbasid ,khalifs was no more heard in the prayers which were offered up in the mosque of ,amr1 and ,mo'izz was proclaimed the ruler of ,egypt4 ,his conquests now extended from the ,atlantic to the ,arabian desert1 and for two centuries the ,fatimid dynasty ruled the country4 ,walls1 described as being thick enough to allow four horses to be driven abreast on them1 were built round the enclosure2 the foundations of a vast palace worthy of the great ,khalif were laid2 and buildings were planned to accommodate his court1 and those who would guard his sacred person4 ,the common folk were not admitted within the gates of the enclosure after the ,khalif had taken up his residence4 ,it was then designated #8,kahira-el-,mahrusa1' or the guarded city4 ,illustration3 ,,mosque ,,of ,,mohammed ,,bey ,the ,sheea heresy which ,mo'izz had fostered1 whether from conviction or from policy1 had a far-reaching influence on the destiny of the country4 ,in the mosques orthodox ,moslems were replaced by sheykhs of the favoured sect4 ,christians and ,jews were tolerated and often put in high positions4 ,what civilisation gained here it more than lost by cutting off ,cairo from the great centres of ,saracenic learning1 and though bent on destroying the power of the ,sunnee or orthodox ,moslems1 there is no reason to suppose that leanings of ,mo'izz were towards ,christianity4 ,to remedy this he built the university mosque of el-,azhar1 proudly called #8,the ,resplendent4' ,he endowed it liberally1 and gave the students every opportunity to study the ,sheea teaching which had caused the rift in the ,mohammedan world4 ,a great impetus was given to art by the removal of the prohibition to copy any natural objects2 and birds and beasts1 flowers and foliage were freely made use of in design during the ,fatimid period4 ,unfortunately little remains of this1 for1 when the orthodox party gained the ascendant during the rule of the ,house of ,salahedin1 these decorations were #8a mark of the beast' and were in most cases destroyed4 ,vivid descriptions exist of the splendour of ,mo'izz and the great #8,east ,palace' which he built4 ,but nothing of all this now remains except the ,azhar1 which justly is still one of the most famous monuments of ,cairo4 ,parallel to the canal runs a narrow street called #8,beyn-es-,sureyn' or #8,between the walls1' and this conducts into another called #8sharia el-,bent1' which means the street of the sisters4 ,it is here ,i have come to make a study of a doorway of little architectural pretensions2 it leads into a house built in the middle of the nineteenth century and which backed into the canal4 ,a terrific-looking crocodile used to hang over the door1 and this one as well as others had caught my attention during former visits as being a characteristic ornament of a ,nile city4 ,stories1 ,i have since heard1 refer to this crocodile1 and made me wish to make a drawing of it4 ,children used to pass it and speak with bated breath2 for it was said that it had grown to its size from feeding on the children1 the parents of whom the master of the house had slain in ,sennaar4 ,the house was built by the awe-inspiring ,defterdar ,ahmed1 whom ,mohammed ,ali had sent to the ,sudan to avenge the murder of one of his sons1 and so terrible were his acts of retribution that he is since known as the #8,tiger of ,sennaar4' ,his chief interest1 however1 for the present is1 that1 partly as a reward for his valour1 the great ,pasha gave him one of his daughters in marriage4 ,mohammed ,ali is reported to have said that the ,tiger would be a fitting mate to his ,tigress4 ,if my readers have not forgotten the fate of ,o',donald1 the young ,irish officer1 they may recognise in this ,tigress the lady of his undoing4 ,it is related that the princess ,zohra1 after the murder of her lover1 was for many days as one bereft of her senses4 ,the first conscious act we hear of her is when she stole from the palace in the dead of night and found her way to the field where ,o',donald was buried4 ,the jackals and dogs had left no trace visible of where the unfortunate man was placed1--they had done their work as well as ,abbas could have wished4 ,the poor woman was found at break of day1 grubbing with her hands in the soil to find the body of her beloved one4 ,she was forcibly led back to the palace and the matter was reported to her father4 ,the servants were severely punished for allowing her to escape from the hareem1 and ,zohra was kept in strict confinement4 ,when the ,defterdar returned soon after1 from his campaign in the ,sudan1 ,ali wished to honour him as highly as he could4 ,he saw also in him one who had strength of will sufficient to be a match for his wilful daughter4 ,ahmed was proud of the alliance1 and built and furnished a palace here in the #8sharia el-,bent1' worthy to be the home of his exalted bride4 ,whether the ,defterdar's life was a happy one we are not told4 ,but it was a short one3--his death was due to a stroke1 said the court physicians2 poison1 whispered the neighbours2 and poison1 said ,abbas1 whose hatred of his aunt and former playmate grew as time went on4 ,little was seen or heard of the widowed princess for some time after4 ,few ladies from the different hareems were bold enough to call on her1 and the huge crocodile seemed more like a bogey to frighten people off than an emblem of luck to the house which he adorned4 ,the mysterious disappearance of one or two young men became the talk of the neighbourhood1 and this increased as the absence of others was observed4 ,the body of one was found in the canal close to the water-gate of ,zohra's palace1 and shortly after this a second one was seen there4 ,no one dared voice their suspicions2 but when the public story-tellers 7the shoara7 told of ,kattalet-esh-,shugan1 the ,arabian ,messalina1 knowing looks were passed amongst the audience4 ,the tragedies were repeated from time to time1 and every mother of a handsome son trembled lest he should be caught in the toils of one she hardly dared name1 but whose name was in the thoughts of all4 ,abbas kept himself well informed as to what went on in ,zohra's palace1 but he abided his time until ,mohammed ,ali should return from the wars1 or until fortune should favour his accession to the viceregal throne4 ,in #ahda the firmn of investiture1 as it is called1 brought the wars1 which ,mohammed ,ali had waged with varying success1 to a close4 ,the hereditary sovereignty of ,egypt had been secured to the family of the great ,pasha and1 except for the annual tribute to be paid to the ,porte1 ,egypt had become an independent state4 ,prince ,abbas now informed his grandfather of the goings-on in his daughter's palace4 ,gentle persuasion was never a characteristic of the old gentleman1 and the manner in which he put a stop to these scandals reads like a story in the ,arabian ,nights4 ,it is related that thirty masons and twenty-five donkeys laden with bricks were immediately despatched to wall up1 during that very day1 every outside window and door except the one surmounted by the crocodile4 ,a company of soldiers were also sent to see that these orders were strictly carried out4 ,before sundown ,zohra's palace had become a veritable prison4 ,a modest house immediately facing the crocodile was inhabited by a ,coptic scribe4 ,this innocent man and his family were bundled out with all their belongings1 and his house was turned into a guard-room4 ,a watch was kept here day and night to see that no one1 or nothing but what was necessary to the upkeep of the household1 should pass through the one access to the palace4 ,we are not told how the princess passed the next few years in her prison4 ,mohammed ,ali sank into his dotage1 and the reins of government were taken over by his adopted son ,ibrahim4 ,prince ,abbas had not to wait long before the legitimate succession came to him1 for ,ibrahim ,pasha died within a year of his viceroyalty and shortly before the demented ,mohammed ,ali's decease4 ,abbas then became the ruler of ,egypt4 ,zohra now realised her danger in remaining in ,cairo4 ,in spite of the guard set to watch her movements she succeeded in escaping from the canal side of her palace1 and she crossed into ,syria before her flight became known to her nephew4 ,from ,syria she repaired to ,constantinople1 where she sought and obtained the protection of the ,sultan of ,turkey4 ,we will leave her there for the present1 and perhaps we may refer to her doings later on4 ,the crocodile ,i was in search of had disappeared1 and nothing remained whereby ,i could exactly locate the palace4 ,the story of ,zohra1 though of so recent a date1 seems now to take its place with the tragedies enacted within ,mo'izz's #8guarded city4' ,,chapter ,,viii ,,of ,a ,,cairo ,,caf ,,and ,,other ,,matters ,i had not far to go along the filled-in canal before a partly pulled down housefront enabled me to see the court of a once important dwelling4 ,it was similar in plan to many ,i have seen2 but it was the only instance ,i have met of a vaulted takhtabosh4 ,a wooden screen partly shut it off from the yard1 and an opening in one of the panels served as a doorway4 ,whether this screen belonged to the original building ,i cannot say2 but it certainly added greatly to its picturesque appearance4 ,the recess was now converted into a coffee-shop1 while the rest of the house was let out in tenements to poor people4 ,it is never safe to leave a good subject to a later period1 if it can possibly be helped4 ,some arrangement of line or colour1 often hard to define1 may be just what gives the subject its charm4 ,something may have disturbed this1 or some touch of colour may have gone1 before a second visit1 and it leaves the painter wondering as to what he could have seen in the place to have made him wish to paint it4 ,i started sketching in the caf at once1 hoping that some customers might arrive to suggest a grouping of figures4 ,should these customers be queer ones1 ,i could trust to ,mahmood to keep them from disturbing me at my work4 ,i had not long to wait before a half-dozen men came in4 ,they seemed sufficiently interested in something not to take much notice of me4 ,they squatted down on their heels1 forming a ring1 and two of them each pulled a game-cock from under their cloaks and pitched them on to the ground4 ,the ,cairene is usually very noisy during his entertainments2 but in this case few words were spoken1 though the men watched the varying success of their birds with intense interest4 ,i was too occupied in taking notes of the men and the action of the cocks to feel any interest in the sport1 and by the time one of the birds was at its last gasp1 and lay bleeding on the ground1 ,i felt a sufficient disgust for the whole thing to decide me not to make it the subject of a picture4 ,i saw them refer to ,mahmood as to who ,i might be1 for ,koranic law forbids all betting1 and ,i believe cock-fighting is contrary to police regulations4 ,they seemed satisfied that ,i was harmless enough1 and they departed as quietly as they had come4 ,the sport must be a very popular one1 for these birds1 with their combs closely cut and with plucked necks1 may be seen in almost any street in the poorer parts of the town4 ,whether the ancient ,egyptians indulged in cock-fighting1 ,i have never been able to ascertain4 ,i can recall no wall inscriptions depicting the sport1 neither does ,wilkinson refer to it in his ,manners and ,customs of the ,ancient ,egyptians4 ,it was probably introduced into ,egypt during the ,ptolemies or1 at the latest1 during the ,roman occupation4 ,quail-fighting is common in ,upper ,egypt1 though ,i have personally never witnessed it4 ,the sun soon made my place untenable1 so ,i decided to return in the afternoon1 when ,i might also expect to find more customers to suggest some figure arrangement suitable to my picture4 ,it was a grand place for ,mahmood--cups of coffee at two for a penny4 ,i could treat him to as many as he liked1 and please the ,kahwegee at the same time4 ,i confess to a good many cups myself1 for coffee made in ,turkish fashion is most seductive4 ,the cups are very small1 and there is only a sip of liquid before reaching the grounds1 which are allowed to settle at the bottom4 ,but it is a delicious sip1 and it is also very stimulating4 ,the habit of afternoon tea acquired in ,england is hard to break1 and to make a journey into the modern quarters to indulge it would have cut seriously into my work1 and ,i found in one of these little cups of coffee an excellent substitute4 ,paint where one wishes1 a coffee-shop is sure to be within easy reach1 and the ,kahwegee will always for a trifle bring coffee1 a chair1 and a glass of water1 and place them next to one's easel4 ,now that the native quarters are supplied with pure water1 one can drink the latter with safety4 ,coffee drinking is often carried to excess in ,egypt1 with deleterious effects to nerves and digestion2 but its victims are less objectionable neighbours to the sketcher than the fuddled ,european1 who may bore him with questions and breathe on him the odour of his complaint4 ,it is said that drunkenness is on the increase amongst the natives1 and it is true that tipsy men are occasionally seen4 ,they are chiefly the loafers who hang about the ,european quarters1 where modest coffee-shops hardly exist1 and where nearly every other house retails some or other intoxicant4 ,beer or spirits are hardly obtainable in the purely native parts of ,cairo4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,cairene ,,caf ,towards evening this quaint little caf would liven up4 ,the wooden bench which served as a mastaba might seat an lim 7as any one who can read is often called71 who would drone out the news from the daily paper to a group of listeners1 and the sound of the chequers slammed on a backgammon-board would make an accompanying click1 click1 from inside the recess4 ,this game has been borrowed from the ,firangi1 and is still called by its ,french name of #8tric-trac4' ,it is immensely popular amongst the effendi class1 and is gradually being adopted by those of a humbler station4 ,the more primitive mankaleh is still played in ,cairo1 and is still universal in the villages where tric-trac has not yet found its way4 ,i have been shown how to play it1 but space will not allow of a lengthy description of its details4 ,it is played on an oblong board with twelve hollows in two rows of six each1 each row forming an opposing camp4 ,there are seventy-two cowries1 or1 failing these1 small pebbles1 and it is according to the manner in which these are distributed into the hollows that makes the game4 ,an elaborate account of the various modes of playing it is given in ,lane's ,modern ,egyptians4 ,it is reported as having obtained in ,pharaonic times1 but this has never been satisfactorily confirmed4 ,turkish draughts is also a popular game1 and to my thinking much more amusing than the way we play it in ,england4 ,that this game was known 7or a form of it7 amongst the ancients is certain1 and most visitors to ,medinet ,hab will have been shown the presentment of ,rameses ,,iii4 playing it with his queen4 ,games of chance1 as well as betting1 are forbidden by the ,koran4 ,a point is1 however1 usually stretched in allowing the loser to pay for the cups of coffee4 ,in mankaleh the player backs his skill more than his luck1 whereas in backgammon the throw of the dice brings in a large element of chance4 ,a strict ,mohammedan will therefore abstain from the latter game4 ,as the day declined1 more customers would drop in1 and by the time the lamps were lit ,i often regretted that my hotel table d'hte called me away to the ,ismaeliyeh quarter4 ,the light from the primitive lamps piercing a blue atmosphere of smoke1 and falling on the groups of figures intent on their games1 left a picture in my mind which ,i hoped might not be dimmed by the more commonplace aspect of an up-to-date hotel4 ,perhaps1 after all1 it is as well that circumstances oblige me to reside away from that part which ,i regard as the true ,cairo4 ,putting aside matters of health1 it is a loss to be cut off from one's countrymen1 or those of other countries whose mode of life resembles one's own4 ,unless a man can take his wife with him1 he may pass months without seeing a woman's face1 or exchanging a word with one of his opposite sex4 ,this has been my experience in ,upper ,egypt and while camping in the desert1 where the woman will hide away from a strange man1 and where her voice will never be heard except she be screaming at one of her children1 or in altercation with a neighbour4 ,the servants are always males1 and the food bought in the villages is always sent by a man or a boy4 ,if ,i strolled in to see the ,omdeh or the village sheykh1 ,i should have to wait till his women-folk were well out of the way4 ,their conversation might not have been edifying2 but was that of the men always so8 ,life in a purely ,mohammedan country1 if separated from wife and family1 is a one-sex existence4 ,i have met cultured men in the ,near ,east1 who for long periods had had little intercourse with those of their own nationality1 and ,i noticed how ill at ease they seemed when brought in contact with ,european ladies and gentlemen4 ,life was strange enough away from the ,european settlements in ,japan1 but it was a more complete life4 ,though ,i might not understand a word spoken by the ,okosan or the mousume1 their smiles of welcome were perfectly understandable4 ,the hotel ,villa ,victoria1 which ,i have of late made my headquarters in ,cairo1 is out of the general rush of tourists1 and is frequented by many who are at times engaged in excavating1 or are in some way connected with the ,antiquities ,department4 ,there are also permanent guests in various ,government ,offices1 as well as others whose business brings them in contact with things ,egyptian4 ,i was here long enough for acquaintance with my fellow-lodgers to ripen into friendship1 and besides the pleasure of their company1 ,i was enabled to pick up a good deal of information4 ,i could also stay here at any time of the year1 whereas most of the huge caravansaries put up their shutters when the tourist season is over4 ,there were also ladies here who had the entre into the hareems of the principal houses1 and though they were careful not to give away what is not intended for general discussion1 ,i was yet able to get some idea of the life which is led in the #8prohibited places4' ,the interior of a princely home in ,cairo at present must resemble that of a large ,parisian or ,london house1 much more than that of the ,sheykh ,saheime which ,i attempted to describe in a former chapter4 ,the picture which a reception-room in the hareem conjures up in the western mind--of love-sick ,zuleikas sprawling on cushioned floors1 sighing for their ,selims and sucking sweets--may be safely dismissed4 ,diaphanous divided skirts no more conceal their lower limbs1 nor do gold-braided corsets set off the symmetry of their figures4 ,the ,parisian modiste #8a chang tout cela4' ,to us poor males1 who only catch a sight of them as they drive by in their broughams1 they look still as oriental as ever4 ,the black silk habarah entirely covers the #8creation' from ,paris1 and the coiffeur's art is hid beneath its folds4 ,the white muslin burko veils the face except the eyes1 and whether these veils be thinner than formerly ,i cannot say4 ,but they are not sufficiently thick to hide completely an often very pretty outline of cheek and chin4 ,my informant went there to read1 or hear read1 the ,french classics1 and though some of the ladies may have felt bored with extracts from ,corneille1 ,i was told that many were intelligently interested4 ,for fear lest my readers might take ,zohra as a fair specimen of an ,egyptian princess1 ,i hasten to assure them that she was as great an exception among the women as was her illustrious father amongst the men of his time4 ,there was much in common between father and daughter4 ,the great ,pasha let nothing stand between himself and his ambitions2 any means were good enough to remove those who obstructed his plans4 ,he was a brave man and a great soldier1 and yet he could stoop to treacherously murdering the mameluke ,beys and their followers1 when he considered his rule in ,egypt was safer without them4 ,his young daughter was prepared to sacrifice any one who might thwart her in her misplaced love2 and the form of madness which followed on her unsatisfied desires had its parallel in the loss of reason by her father1 when his ambitions to found a great empire were not realised4 ,he is reported to have had eighty-five children1 and strange it is that1 with a family of such dimensions1 the succession of the present ,khedive should have come through an adopted son4 ,therefore1 as far as we know1 there is no blood relationship between the actual members of the ruling house and ,mohammed ,ali and his descendants4 ,it is pleasant to turn from ,zohra to the mistress of a princely hareem1 who is now a great lady in ,cairo4 ,though having children of her own1 she still finds room in her affections1 as well as in her palace1 to mother many little girls who have either lost or have been abandoned by their parents4 ,she not only gives them a good education1 but1 as children by adoption1 she keeps them until suitable husbands are provided for them4 ,a kinder form of charity is hard to conceive4 ,entertainments and visits from lady friends are of constant occurrence in the wealthier hareems in ,cairo1 though the life of ,egyptian ladies in a general way must1 from a ,european standpoint1 be exceedingly dull4 ,girl schools are on the increase as well as home instruction2 but taking the whole female population of ,egypt1 it is barely one per cent4 as yet who can either read or write4 ,the percentage among men is low enough--about five in a hundred2 but as the enormous majority of ,egyptians are peasants1 five per cent4 may cover those who are above the status of labouring men4 ,i have heard the complaint from educated ,moslems that their wives were poor companions1 and that they therefore spent but little of their time in their company4 ,i don't know what else they could expect4 ,the fellaha woman may at times be overworked1 but her existence seems a happier one than that of many of her wealthier sisters in their enforced idleness4 ,a fashionable ,french modiste was for a while a guest at the ,villa ,victoria4 ,she spent her time running from one hareem to another1 getting orders for the latest things in hats4 ,as some of these hats1 at the time of which ,i am writing1 were about half the size of a billiard table1 we would see her driving to her clients nearly lost amongst colossal bandboxes4 ,for convenience she wore her chef-d'uvre1 that is the biggest1 on her own head1 and she would sometimes return crowned with a smaller one1 having1 as she told us1 disposed of the masterpiece in one of the hareems4 ,we were curious to know when and where her clients could wear them1 for they never appeared in ,cairo with a ,european hat on their heads4 #8,oh6 mais c'est pour ,paris ou ,vienne1' she said1 and assured us that they looked #8bien chics4' ,just think of it6--,zuleika in a ,paris taxi balancing one of these shapeless masses of millinery on the top of her head6 ,to see things as others see them may often be the wish of most of us4 ,i have never felt this wish stronger than when ,i have seen some old village sheykh asking his way about modernised ,cairo4 ,some evil ginn must have raised these huge blocks of buildings which house the unbelievers4 ,strange things to help them on their road to perdition are exposed in the stores1 and sheets of some invisible material which his eye can penetrate1 but which resists the touch of his finger1 hang before the accursed articles4 ,cars run along the streets with neither an ass nor a camel to draw them4 ,sparks which fly from beneath the wheels and overhead1 accompanied by a crackling sound1 must be sure evidence of the afrit who drives them4 ,naserene women talk in a strange language to men1 and shamelessly expose their faces to all4 ,he passes a large modern caf1 and sees coreligionists unturbaned and dressed as the ,frank1 partaking of forbidden drinks and disregarding the call of the mueddin1 which alone brings a ray of hope to the poor sheykh4 ,he hastens to the mosques--it is some way off1 for mosques are few and far between in this godless part--he makes his prostrations1 and he prays to ,allah that the ,muslemeen may come by their own again4 ,after he has rested in the native quarters1 and he meditates on his well-watered fields1 he may wish that some of his prayers be not too literally answered4 ,he may still remember the time when excessive taxation robbed his people of the fruits of their labour1 and scars may yet remain on his back of the ,kurbg which drove him to the forced labour4 ,i have much in sympathy with the old sheykh1 though we may see things from opposite points of view4 ,were the old town not being slowly robbed of its beauty and oriental character1 ,i might feel indifferent as to what was being done in the new1 for my object in spending so many seasons in ,egypt has never been to paint the modern city1 which at its best could never equal that which ,i could find nearer home4 ,the inconsistency of the old man's prayer1 and the contemplations of his better watered fields1 finds a parallel in my regrets that the old order gives place to the new2 while ,i am certainly not indifferent to the creature comforts which a ,europeanised hotel allows me to enjoy4 ,the discomforts ,i have endured in native inns in the unfrequented places may not have left permanent scars2 but they would recall some very unpleasant experiences had not the interest of what ,i was in search of given them a back seat in my memory4 ,apart from this selfish point of view1 it is a joy to know that the thousands who dwell in the old city can now drink an unpolluted water1 that their sick can have an enlightened medical treatment1 and that the education of their young is at present adapted to a useful citizenship4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tomb ,,of ,,sheykh ,,abd-,,el-,,deym ,our countrymen who are guiding the destinies of ,egypt1 and who are honestly working for the betterment of its people1 are not primarily responsible for the unsuitable planning of the modern ,cairo4 ,ismael ,pasha's boast1 #8,l',egypte fait partie de l',europe1' came after the remodelling of ,alexandria1 and since the time when ,clot ,bey drew the plans of a northern city to be built in a semi-tropical country4 ,from what ,i hear1 this unfortunate example is being followed in ,khartm1 which is well inside the tropics4 ,the wide sun-baked streets may be pleasant to those who only visit it during the short winter2 but they who have to remain there during the long summer months may long for the shady lanes which wind amongst the habitations of the ancient parts of ,cairo4 ,the well-to-do in the medival city were not obliged to migrate to ,europe during the hottest season1 as the clients of our modiste feel now constrained to do4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,coptic ,,convents ,,of ,,wadi ,,natrun ,amongst the guests who halted at the ,villa ,victoria1 it was my good fortune to make the acquaintance of ,mr4 ,palmer-,jones1 an enthusiastic architect who had measured up some of the early ,coptic convents1 and had also reconstructed on paper dynastic buildings of which little but the plan is at present traceable4 ,he was making preparations for a journey to ,wadi ,natrun to continue his work at the old convents which are dotted about that valley4 ,during a stay in ,professor ,garstang's camp at ,abydos1 a few years ago1 my interest in what concerns the ,copts had been considerably excited1 while ,i painted in the ,coptic settlement which is a mile or two distant from ,seti's temple4 ,although these convents are of recent date compared to far-off pharaonic times1 a period of fifteen centuries has nevertheless elapsed since many of them have been built4 ,they also have this1 which gives them a human interest above the earlier shrines1 and that is their preservation of the uses for which they were founded4 ,many are now no more than a heap of ruins2 but there yet remains a good number still inhabited by monks1 and where the ,christian liturgy of the early centuries is still repeated in the chapels4 ,when ,mr4 ,jones kindly proposed that ,i should join him in his expedition1 ,i was not long in making up my mind to do so4 ,his preparations took longer than mine1 for he had to procure a camp outfit for a stay in the desert1 a good distance from the rest-house where he and ,i proposed to spend a week together4 ,i could not afford the time to accompany him further afield1 and a week of desert air ,i hoped would suffice to shake off the evil effects of a touch of influenza4 ,it took over a week to get an answer from the manager of the ,salt and ,soda ,company1 in whose rest-house we proposed to stay1 although he wrote by return of post telling us we could come4 ,the distance was within a hundred miles from ,cairo2 but postal arrangements are not expeditious in the desert4 ,the delay gave me time to paint the street which has been reproduced as an illustration to this book4 ,the noise and dust1 as well as the importunities of the inquisitive1 made me long for the quiet and the fresh air of the desert4 ,a change of work and of interests now and again is wholesome1 and should but little work be the result of my expedition1 the interest and the fresh air would compensate me for any loss of time4 ,we started at midday by a train which runs along the edge of the ,libyan desert1 just outside the cultivation area1 and not far from the western bank of the ,rosetta branch of the ,nile4 ,this is the ,behera line1 and if any one could be found with sufficient patience1 he could reach ,alexandria by one of its trains1 and cover rather less ground than by the main route4 ,after a crawl along the fringe of the desert for some seventy miles in a north-westerly direction1 the train strikes into the ,delta1 and joins the main line at ,teh el-,bard4 ,fortunately we could leave it after a thirty-mile crawl1 at a station called el-,khatatbeh4 ,we were met here by the agent of the ,salt and ,soda ,company1 and invited to wait in his house until the steam-tram would take us to the rest-house4 ,this runs twice a week1 and carries coal and other necessaries to the works4 ,when the passenger carriage had been coupled on to the trucks1 we started on this novel desert journey4 ,there seemed something sinister in the name of our destination--#8,the ,valley of ,natron4' ,it lay in the direction of the reddening sky1 and seemed somehow to recall a valley with which ,bunyan has made us familiar4 ,the #8,lacus ,asphaltites1' as classical atlases call the ,dead ,sea1 is a name which in a similar way brought passages of the ,pilgrim's ,progress back to me1 when years ago ,i took a journey to ,jericho4 ,the engine1 which pluckily dragged us into the increasing darkness1 breathed sparks of fire into the clouds of smoke4 ,was it the mystery of the desert that got hold of me8 ,the fire and smoke which snorted from the funnel of the little engine brought ,apollyon clearly back to my mind4 ,i have passed months on end in the desert1 and yet that awe which it inspires at sundown never leaves me4 ,for three hours we continued our course through the dreary waste4 ,a crescent moon revealed an interminable series of low sand-hills2 broken flints caught its light and looked like the reflections of the stars on a billowy sea4 ,though our horizon was not a distant one1 the sense that we might have continued in our present direction for more than two thousand miles impressed us with the immensity of the great ,sahara4 ,the quickened pace of our train told us that we had reached the depression where the series of natron lakes lies4 ,before we came to a standstill my illusions had vanished into thin air4 ,a smell of caustic soda1 and the sight of the works1 of the coal trucks1 the shunting cabin1 and as we got nearer1 that of the men in greasy overalls1 carried me away from the ,sahara1 and set me down near some north-country manufacturing village4 ,we were met by the manager of the rest-house1 and some natives 7who might have hailed from ,wednesbury from their get-up7 shouldered our luggage while we picked our way to a long one-storied building we could see outlined against the starlit sky4 ,it had turned very cold1 as it often does in the desert1 even after a baking hot day4 ,i blessed the whole of the ,salt and ,soda ,company1 ,limited1 for having provided a good stove in the rest-house sitting-room1 and ,i poured more blessings on the ,italian manager1 who soon announced the dinner4 ,what with our long fast and the keen desert air1 we were able to do full justice to the padrone's efforts4 ,we asked him if he could hire us donkeys to take us to the convents the following morning4 #8,leave it to me1' he said1 #8and you shall have them at whatever hour you like4' ,we decided on half-past seven1 and were promised that they should be there to the minute4 ,we were up with the lark1 and ready to start at the appointed time2 but we might scan the horizon and never a donkey could we see1 and the padrone was as invisible as the donkeys he had promised4 ,after waiting an hour1 ,i proposed our walking down to the works to make inquiries4 ,amongst a number of natives1 who all knew nothing about donkeys--never seemed to have heard of such things--,i noticed a fellow-countryman4 ,he was stirring a bubbling1 oily-looking liquid in a huge caldron4 #8,look out1 sir1' he cried1 #8a drop of this'll burn right through your clothes1 and if you step on it1 your boots won't be worth sixpence4' ,the pot being sufficiently stirred and the lid duly adjusted1 the man stepped over to where ,i had retreated1 and seemed pleased to be able to talk in his own language again4 ,he was a genial fellow1 and was prepared to tell me all ,i might wish to know about natron4 ,i got on the subject of donkeys as soon as ,i could1 and learnt from him that the only three donkeys 7excluding the padrone7 which the company possessed1 were probably down at the salt-pits4 ,i explained that ,i did not expect to use the ,company's donkeys1 but understood that we could hire some4 ,i then learnt that there were none nearer than el-,khatatbeh4 ,later on the manager of the works appeared1 and ,i got ,jones to introduce me to him4 ,after thanking him for letting me use the rest-house1 ,i told him my difficulties4 ,all he could do1 he kindly told us1 would be to send the trolley to the rail-head1 and from thence we should have to walk to the convents1 as no donkeys were available that day4 ,ibrahim1 my friend's servant1 put our lunch and materials on to the trolley1 and as soon as the mule was harnessed1 off we went to the rail-head4 ,a thin black line on my map of ,northern ,egypt is drawn from the great ,sahara1 through this part of the ,libyan desert1 till it reaches ,cairo4 ,it then winds along the valleys of the ,arabian desert1 and disappears out of the map just north of ,suez4 ,about the spot where our trolley now runs the map describes this line as ,derb el-,hagg el-,meghrbe1 that is1 the #8,pilgrim's ,way of the ,westerns4' ,within a space of twenty miles on this route stand four ,christian convents1 two of which we then saw outlined against the sky4 ,they stood there before this desert tract was first used by ,moslem pilgrims on their way to ,mekka2 and until the ,behera railway was opened1 this same track was followed by the monks on their journeyings to and from ,cairo4 ,it was not an unfrequented route even before the early ,christians settled here4 ,the mineral alkali1 which these marshes produce1 was known and used while ,memphis was the capital city of ,egypt4 ,salt1 extracted from the poisonous-looking marshes below us1 lay in hillocks on each side of the little tramway1 as we neared its termination4 ,during the first mile of our tramp to the nearest convent the ground looked as if it were covered with hoar-frost4 ,it crackled under our feet as would thin ice1 and ,i longed to reach the sandy plain on the higher level4 ,the wintry appearance of this uninviting tract of land contrasted strangely with the hot sun which beat down on us4 ,the sandy plain1 when we reached it1 may have been pleasant to our eyes1 but it was infinitely more troublesome to walk over4 ,we sank ankle deep at every step we took1 and ,i now realised why the #8,pilgrim's ,way' ran through the plague-stricken-looking stretch which we had crossed4 ,as we neared our objective1 the ,dr ,amba-,bishai1 it looked more and more like a medival fortress than a retreat for the religious4 ,its massive outer walls now masked the little domes seen from a greater distance4 ,hungry ,moslem pilgrims journeying to ,mekka might have proved unwelcome visitors to the handful of ,gubti monks within1 and some recent repairs of the walls were probably done more for security than from any sense of tidiness4 ,the gateway was large and imposing2 but the door itself was small and sufficiently recessed to be defended through the loopholes in the projecting jambs4 ,we were glad to rest in the shadow of the walls till we managed to get admitted into the convent4 ,repeated pulls at the bell-rope seemed to have no effect1 though the noise broke violently the stillness of the desert4 ,ibrahim then picked up a big stone1 and using it as a battering-ram against the door1 explained that the sound would reach further than that of the bell which hung outside from the wall4 ,his exertions finally had some effect4 ,a shutter was slid back from an iron grating in the door1 and a voice called out1 #8,who's there8' ,we explained our errand to the man inside with the persuasiveness of those addressing one in an advantageous position4 ,the stupid face at the grating had no expression but that of suspicion2 a slight look of intelligence showed itself when the word baksheesh was whispered1 and we were told that the ,prior must first be consulted4 ,the man returned after a while1 and we heard him remove a heavy stone from behind the door4 ,heavy wooden bars had then to be unfastened1 and after several attempts to unfasten the lock1 the old door creaked back on its rusty hinges4 ,an angular passage1 through the square tower of the gateway1 led us into a spacious court1 in the centre of which stood the church and the monastic dwellings4 ,most of the latter were in a woeful state of disrepair1 and in some cases they had completely fallen in4 ,a well and a fig-tree1 as well as some green vegetables1 showed that this court might have been made into a garden4 ,this was a proof of the lethargic state of the monks1 for the ,egyptians as a rule will turn any ground into a garden if only water be available4 ,we were received by the ,prior in a bare and once whitewashed room1 with a wooden bench round the walls4 ,after the usual salutations1 he ordered coffee1 and even produced cigarettes2 but argue as long as we liked1 he would not give us permission to sketch in the convent4 ,the permission my friend had got1 from the ,patriarch in ,cairo1 mentioned the other convents1 and not the one we were in2 we should be allowed to see the church1 but no sketching was to be done4 ,as ,jones had worked here during the previous winter with a permit from the ,patriarch1 and had required ladders and other help to do his measuring up1 he did not think it necessary to get an authorisation merely to make a few sketches at present4 ,i suspected ill-will more than mere stickling about these formalities was the cause of this1 so ,i proposed that we should have a look at the church1 and then go off to the neighbouring convent4 ,the most aggravating part was that the little church was picturesque in the extreme4 ,its whitewashed walls and vaulted roof emphasised the rich colouring of the primitive altar4 ,i have been in the inner sanctuaries of wellnigh every ,egyptian temple1 and have entered most of the mosques of ,cairo2 but never had ,i been more impressed with the sentiment of any than with that of this rude place of ,christian worship4 ,i longed to sit down and paint it2 no #8treatment' would be required1 for the composition was perfect4 ,should ,i go back and offer the ,prior a baksheesh8 ,i even meditated on how1 #8to save his face1' ,i might pretend it was for the upkeep of the chapel4 ,on ,jones suggesting that the church in the other convent might suit my purpose as well1 we decided to take our departure4 ,we were told that the coffee was now ready for us1 and were asked to return to the parlour4 ,my irritation at not being allowed to paint was increased by the fleas which had got at my ankles1 and ,i neither wished to see the ,prior again nor touch his coffee4 ,though ,ibrahim had the ,moslem's poor opinion of the ,copts1 he implored me not to refuse the coffee1 as it would be such an insult to the whole convent4 ,ibrahim did not want to paint1 and he was probably less sensitive than ,i to the fleas1 so he could view the matter in a calmer frame of mind4 ,i saw1 however1 that he was right1 so we went and sipped our coffee1 made our salaams to the ,prior1 tipped the tatterdemalion of a lay-brother who had let us in1 and were once more in the outside world4 ,while writing these lines1 and missing the accompanying illustration of the chapel which might have fitted in so well here1 ,i feel mean for having drunk that coffee4 ,it took us less time to gain admittance to the next convent1 which was separated from its neighbour by about a quarter of a mile4 ,its outward appearance was much the same as the other1 it having been built about the same period and under the same conditions4 ,the dwellings and church also formed a group in the centre of the enclosure1 and though somewhat different in plan1 it had nevertheless much the same character4 ,a spreading sycamore-tree1 with a goat and one or two sheep lying in its shade1 gave the place a less dead-alive look than had its neighbour1 though the same signs of neglect and decay were visible everywhere4 ,as we turned the angle of the main building1 an expression of disgust escaped my friend4 ,what we saw was disgusting enough1 but not quite sufficiently so to account for my friend's expression1 as he is the least demonstrative of men4 ,a new erection between two wings of the earlier work had been run up by some builder whose architectural taste was of the caf chantant order4 ,it was already in a state of disrepair1 which failed to give it a look of respectable age1 but was merely a sign of bad material and still worse workmanship4 ,i told ,jones what a pity it was that they had not asked him to design something which would have been in keeping with the rest of the convent1 and ,i was answered that not only had he done so1 but that he had also gone carefully into the cost of the building1 and had given them his services for nothing4 ,what had been run up during the preceding summer must have cost more than if his designs had been carried out1 for workmen must have been got from ,cairo to do the tawdry ornamentation4 ,we were shown into this place1 with a certain amount of pride1 by the monk who conducted us4 ,the ,prior was having his post-prandial sleep1 and we were asked to make ourselves at home till he came to receive us4 ,we begged that he might not be disturbed just yet1 and asked to be allowed to have our lunch in the meantime4 ,it was now about two o'clock1 and our breakfast in the early dawn seemed a long way off4 ,we had a hen and a brood of chicks as company in this new reception-room4 ,the hen seemed to appreciate the samples of our lunch which fell her way1 and her clucking brought more poultry to join the company4 ,the monk appeared quite indifferent to the mess they made1 and he squatted on the floor and conversed with ,ibrahim4 ,he would not join us in our food1 but he willingly helped us with a bottle of wine we had brought4 ,before we had finished1 a very old man shuffled into the room from a neighbouring apartment1 and muttered some greeting4 ,we rose to meet him and to explain our errand4 ,jones tried to recall to his mind the days he had spent there during the previous winter2 but whether the old man had any recollection of this or not his blank expression did not reveal4 ,he wore a brown woollen habit1 such as the first ,christians who settled here would have worn1 and a great rent in the garment showed that this was all he had on4 ,he did not wish to see the ,patriarch's authorisation for us to work here2 all things pertaining to this world seemed indifferent to him4 ,he gave a shiver as if he felt the air passing through the rent in his garment1 and shuffled out to sit on the doorsteps in the sun4 ,i made signs to ,ibrahim to get a spirit-flask from out the basket and offer some to the old man1 who mechanically accepted it1 and drank it down4 ,this seemed to revive him a little1 and he passed the cup to have it refilled4 ,ibrahim gave him a second dose1 and asked him his age4 ,not getting an answer that we could understand1 the second monk told us that he must be more than a hundred years old4 ,the poor old man looked it1 and that was probably the only data which the other monk had4 ,the church was very interesting1 and a more important structure than the previous one2 but so dimly lighted that we had to wait till our eyes got used to the gloom before we could distinguish anything4 ,two or three minute windows in the vaulting admitted the only light4 ,as our eyes got used to the gloom1 the dilapidated condition of everything became more noticeable2 some grease marks on the floor1 beneath the few hanging lamps1 seemed all the evidence of the place having been used in recent times4 ,i started a drawing of an interesting subject1 one which might have consoled me for my disappointment in the other convent had ,i been able to see more clearly what ,i was about4 ,the heykel1 which corresponds to a chancel1 was not here divided from the nave by the wooden screen common to most ,coptic churches1 but by a wall reaching to the vaulted roof4 ,a high doorway was in the centre surmounted by a wooden grating1 through which we could trace the outlines of the ,coptic cross1 and a curtain1 as is usual1 hung in the place of the door itself4 ,a massive dresser stood to the left of the doorway1 and a lectern slightly to the right4 ,rude ,byzantine paintings hung from the top of the dresser1 and an ikon of the ,virgin and ,child was fixed above the curtain4 ,the afternoon being far advanced1 ,i hoped ,i might do better1 with more light1 on the following morning4 ,it was a long weary tramp we had back to the rest-house1 for no trolley awaited us at the rail-head1 in spite of the most solemn promises that it should be there4 ,we were more fortunate the next day1 as the donkeys were kindly lent us1 and we were able to be back at the convent in fairly good time4 ,though ,i was in the church nearly the whole day1 ,i witnessed no service1 and remarking on this to ,jones1 he told me that during the weeks he had worked there he could never remember one having taken place4 ,what on earth had the eight other monks who resided here to do8 ,they were supplied with corn and beans by the charity of others1 and all initiative to do anything for themselves seemed to have left them during their lethargic existence4 ,possibly1 when the dust of the old ,prior will have returned to the dust of the desert around him1 some one younger and more energetic may put some life into the ,sleepy ,hollow4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,mosque ,,of ,,es-,,salih ,,talai ,i returned to ,cairo little the richer in artistic material1 but feeling much the better for the few days of desert air4 ,though ,cairo stands on the fringe of a desert1 the three-quarters of a million of its inhabitants are bound to vitiate its air1 and they have certainly polluted its soil4 ,no drainage system as yet carries off the sewage from the main part of the native city1 where the dust is often laid by the slops emptied on the roadway4 ,it is true that the ,tanzm employs a large number of scavengers2 but their efforts are chiefly confined to the modern quarters1 where there is some hope of dealing with so difficult a task4 ,the ,arab's ideas as to road-cleaning1 when he is left to himself1 is to sweep the dust about rather than to clear it away2 the scavenger is therefore the greatest nuisance of all the nuisances the sketcher has to contend with4 ,when taken unawares1 a sweep from one of these idiots' brooms may cover with dust your drawing and your pallet before you can stop him or get out of his way4 ,were it not for the sun1 which sterilises this dust1 a large population could never have existed here4 ,illustration3 ,,arab ,,school ,cairo is unpaintable during the few grey days of midwinter1 and perhaps this is just as well1 for when the ,great ,germicide does not shine1 the place must be very unhealthy4 ,an overcast sky often drove me into the mosques1 where ,i could spend my time in drawing my subject1 until the warm reflections from the sunlit court should make me feel instinctively for my pallet4 ,i flattered myself that few nooks and corners existed in the old city which ,i had not explored1 till ,i turned up a narrow lane outside the ,bab ,zaweyla and found myself in the ruinous court of a delightful old mosque4 ,it is extraordinary that ,i should have overlooked this during the many seasons ,i have spent in ,cairo4 ,the lane is called ,haret es-,salih1 and the mosque servant informed me that this was the mosque of ,salih4 ,who this ,salih might be was more than the servant could tell--he had not been there more than twenty years--should it be a mosque called after the founder of the mameluke dynasty1 its date could not be earlier than the middle of the thirteenth century4 ,there is much remaining which suggests an earlier period1 both in the plan and in the construction of the arches2 the foliated background1 to the ,kufic lettering which decorates these arches1 seemed hardly in keeping with the work of the orthodox ,moslems who succeeded the ,ftimid dynasty4 ,i looked up all the ,salihs who crop up in ,stanley ,lane-,poole's ,story of ,cairo--a handy little volume1 published by ,messrs4 ,dent and ,co41 which no visitor to ,egypt should fail to get--and ,i succeeded in placing him as ,tali ibn-,russik1 who on his accession to power styled himself el-,melik es-,slih4 ,he was the last but one of the ,ftimid khalifs1 and he built this mosque in #aafj1 the sixth year of his reign4 ,there is little now remaining of all that was built in the enclosure which ,gawhar pegged out as the site of el-,mo'izz's #8guarded city'2 the small mosque1 el-,akmar1 happily still exists and enables students to study the less restricted forms of decoration which the ,sheea heresy permits4 ,the boundaries of el-,kahira were considerably extended during the two centuries of ,ftimid rule2 the three great gates and ,hakim's mosque remain as specimens of the work of that period1 and they also mark the limits of the extended city4 ,it was outside the walls of the ,cairo of those days where ,tali ibn-,russik built his mosque1 and it remained for ,saladin1 who succeeded the ,ftimid khalifs1 to yet further enclose and bring this mosque well within the walls of his enlarged capital4 ,the entrance is through a gateway supporting the minaret1 which latter is probably of a later period than the rest of the building4 ,the colonnade1 which surrounded three sides of the square court1 has almost disappeared1 as well as parts of the enclosing wall4 ,the liwn1 which is the subject of the accompanying illustration1 is still intact4 ,kept sufficiently in repair so as to prevent its falling down1 it has never suffered the hand of the renovator to sweep out every trace of the mellowing influence of near eight centuries of use4 ,an ugly wooden fence enclosed it from the court1 but ,i was able to see enough through the palings to paint it as if this disfigurement were not there4 ,the court is on a higher level to the liwn owing to the accumulation of rubbish which has not been cleared away1 and this accounts for the high horizon in the picture4 ,it also enabled me to see less of the exasperating fence4 ,though still used as a place of worship on ,fridays1 it serves as a school during the rest of the week4 ,the young students squatting on the matting and committing to memory verses of the ,koran form picturesque groups1 and the little crowd around the rostrum of the teacher centralises the subject4 ,the scenes are on a smaller scale than those which may be witnessed any day at the ,azhar1 or ,university ,mosque4 ,the latter has been so over-restored1 and not always in a judicious manner1 that ,i have never been tempted to paint there4 ,the students here are mostly lads1 and are either preparing for the university or are the children of parents who may not approve of the modernised form of instruction at the ,khedivial schools4 ,as in all purely ,arab schools1 the training is almost entirely confined to exercising the memory rather than the development of the reasoning faculties4 ,it is often quite sufficient qualification for a teacher to know his ,koran by heart1 so that he can detect any mistakes in the verses which he hears his scholars repeat4 ,as every lad repeats aloud what he tries to learn by heart1 the noise is easily imagined4 ,there seems little restraint2 the lads nibble at their lunch or buy drinks from the lemonade-seller when it pleases them2 those to whom the teacher's back is turned may indulge their liking for mankalah or any other games easily secreted under their cloaks2 and had it not been for the powerful lungs of ,mansoor1 most of the scholars would have taken up a position around my easel4 ,when the clouds dispersed and the further angle of the court formed a warm sun pocket1 the greater number would leave the liwn and repeat their verses in the warmth4 ,mansoor's work of keeping the lads away from me then became more arduous4 ,he found an ally in the mosque servant1 and when gentle persuasion failed more drastic measures were used4 ,the noise in the court did not in the least seem to disturb the good-natured teacher1 and when he left his rostrum he would come and have a look at the work ,i was doing4 ,i came here many times1 for not only did the drawing and detail of this subject take up several long mornings1 but ,i had a second one on hand of which these lads in the sun made the foreground4 ,that they should be curious to see what ,i had made of them was natural enough1 so ,i gave them an opportunity of satisfying their curiosity before ,i packed up to go4 ,in sketching a group of figures which is constantly on the move1 the head of one may be suggested on the body of another who may have moved away4 ,this seemed to perplex my spectators considerably4 ,when ,ahmed had identified his kuftan or galabieh1 ,seleem would point out the head as belonging to himself4 ,a good stare at me to see if any signs of the evil one were visible would follow3 if some afri't had not assisted me in this uncanny work1 how else was it to be explained4 ,as mornings begun in sunshine may turn to grey in winter1 or the other way about1 my having two good subjects in the same place was a great advantage1 for though a reflected sunlight improved my liwn1 ,i could nevertheless find plenty of detail to draw while the sky was overcast4 #8,good gracious6' it actually rained one morning1 and with my drawings ,i joined in the rush for shelter under the arches4 ,volunteers to carry my belongings were numerous1 but ,mansoor would only allow some privileged youngster to carry my stool4 ,the teacher would drone out the verses of the ,fthah quite regardless of the disturbance4 ,the profession of a fikee is1 ,i am told1 not a lucrative one4 ,a half-piastre1 i4e4 five farthings1 per week per pupil used to be his earnings1 though this may have increased slightly with the general increase of wages4 ,if we consider his intellectual equipment and compare it with that of a schoolmaster at home1 it is possible that the pay of the fikee may compare very favourably4 ,they often eke out this miserable pittance by reading a chapter of the ,koran in the houses of the well-to-do4 ,one recently #8killed two birds with one stone' by posing as a model to me1 while he also repeated the ,fthah1 outside the entrance to a hareem4 ,i am afraid that some giggling1 which ,i could hear through the mushrbiyeh1 may have been caused by my attempt at portraiture4 ,i turned my easel towards the wooden grating to satisfy a legitimate curiosity which might possibly have been excited in the #8prohibited place4' ,the giggles developed into loud laughter4 ,i rather fancied my sketch1 and1 in spite of this unfavourable criticism1 ,i still fail to see anything funny in it4 ,the fikee turned out to be as big a fraud as most of the natives whom ,i have induced to pose to me4 ,the value of time becomes enormous to any loafer who poses for an hour1 and1 according to this fikee1 it might have been as valuable as that of a ,harley ,street specialist4 ,some feminine jeers1 heard through the mushrbiyeh1 hastened his departure4 ,according to ,lane the schoolmasters in ,egypt are mostly persons of very little learning2 few are acquainted with any writings except the ,koran and certain prayers1 which1 as well as the contents of the sacred volume1 they are hired to recite on particular occasions4 ,it is fair to say that the ,egypt of ,lane is the ,egypt of full seventy years ago4 ,under the advisership of ,mr4 ,dunlop and his staff of able school-inspectors1 a sound education on enlightened lines is now obtainable even in the smallest towns for the children whose parents can or will afford the fees of the ,khedivial schools4 ,but the kuttb1 as the poorer and purely ,mohammedan schools are called1 seem to have drifted into a backwater1 and are little influenced by the stream of enlightenment which flows past them4 ,the story ,lane tells of a fikee of his time might still apply to present-day teachers in some of the villages1 and may be worth repeating here3 #8,i was lately told of a man who could neither read nor write succeeding to the office of a schoolmaster in my neighbourhood4 ,being able to recite the whole of the ,koran1 he could hear the boys repeat their lessons2 to write them1 he employed the areef 7or head-boy and monitor of the school71 pretending that his eyes are weak4 ,a few days after he had taken upon himself this office1 a poor woman brought a letter for him to read to her from her son1 who had gone on pilgrimage4 ,the fikee pretended to read it1 but said nothing2 and the woman1 inferring from his silence that the letter contained bad news1 said to him1 8,shall ,i shriek80 ,he answered1 8,yes40 8,shall ,i tear my clothes80 she asked2 he replied1 8,yes40 ,so the poor woman returned to her house1 and with her assembled friends performed the lamentation and other ceremonies usual on the occasion of a death4 ,not many days after this her son arrived1 and she asked him what he could mean by causing a letter to be written stating that he was dead8 ,he explained the contents of the letter1 and she went to the schoolmaster and begged him to inform her why he had told her to shriek and tear her clothes1 since the letter was to inform her that her son was well1 and he was now arrived at home4 ,not at all abashed1 he said1 8,god knows futurity4 ,how could ,i know that your son would arrive in safety8 ,it is better that you should think him dead than to be led to expect to see him and perhaps be disappointed40 ,some persons who were sitting with him praised his wisdom1 exclaiming1 8,truly1 our new fikee is a man of judgment60 and for a little while he found that he had raised his reputation by this blunder4' ,i must refrain from quoting from that fund of knowledge1 ,lane's ,manners and ,customs of the ,modern ,egyptians1 for since it has been so ably edited by ,mr4 ,ernest ,rhys1 it has been placed within the reach of every one by ,messrs4 ,dent in the #8,everyman's ,library' series4 ,as my view of the mosque is from the court1 there was no objection to my painting there during the duhr or midday service on ,fridays4 ,i was much tempted to make that my subject1 but ,i refrained from doing so1 as ,i have done that subject once or twice before4 ,the ritual has become more familiar to me1 and ,i was able to follow better what was going on4 ,the mosque servant1 who often helped my man to keep off the boys during the week-days1 increased in importance on ,fridays 7which1 ,i need hardly inform my readers1 correspond to our ,sundays74 ,half an hour before noon the mueddin ascends the minaret and chants the selm from one of the balconies4 ,this is not the adn or ordinary call to prayer1 but a salutation to the ,prophet1 the adn being called a little after the noon4 ,the worshippers soon arrive1 for there are the ablutions to be performed before they take their seats in the liwn4 ,a reader1 in the meanwhile1 ascends the rostrum facing the prayer-niche or mirhab1 and begins reciting the #8,soorat el-,kahf1' which is one of the chapters in the ,koran4 ,each worshipper drops his slippers before he steps on to the matting1 and places them sole to sole next to where he sits down4 ,he performs two prostrations and then sits patiently till the adn is called from the minaret1 when the recitation of the soorat ceases4 ,during this call the whole congregation1 which faces the prayer-niche1 kneels instead of sitting cross-legged as hitherto4 ,on the last syllable of the adn every man rises and1 holding his hands1 palm outwards1 close to his ears1 he repeats the #8,allahu ,akbar' which has descended from the minaret4 ,he then makes the various prostrations of the rekah1 repeating the same words at each different posture1 and concludes with the salutations to the ,prophet4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,blue ,,mosque ,the murakkee 7who was no other than the mosque servant and my ally of the courtyard7 then proceeded to open the folding-doors of the pulpit1 and took a wooden sword from behind them1 and holding it with its point to the ground1 he also repeated the salutation4 ,from a raised platform 7known as the dikkeh1 and standing at the entrance to the liwn7 an officiant now chants the praises of ,mohammed4 ,the servant then recites each verse of the adn1 and they are repeated in a sonorous voice by the man on the dikkeh4 ,during this the khateeb1 as the preacher is called1 advances to the pulpit1 and taking the sword from the murakkee1 he slowly ascends the steps1 and reaching the top one1 he waits till the recital is concluded4 ,the preacher stands1 holding the sword point downwards1 and delivers his address in a solemn and effective manner to his congregation1 who sit rapt in attention4 ,no special vestments are worn by those who officiate1 and the ordinary robes of a sheykh seem perfectly appropriate4 ,the sword1 the only object used in the simple ritual1 is to remind the hearers that ,islam was spread by the sword and that by its power it should1 if necessary1 still be maintained4 ,little outward reverence is shown to the mosque1 as such1 at ordinary times1 for ,i have seen it used as a convenient place to sleep in during the heat of the day1 and the playing amongst its columns of lads during the intervals of their tasks strikes no one as unseemly behaviour4 ,but at the call to prayer the demeanour of all present is strikingly reverent4 ,i have worked in a great number of mosques and must have seen thousands of men attending the services1 but ,i don't recall having seen half a dozen worshippers in any other but the native dress4 ,now that all the youth of the country1 who attend the ,khedivial schools or have of late years passed through their classes1 adopt the ,european garb2 that the numerous employees in the government and other offices have all forsaken the native dress--is it not strange that a trousered ,moslem should hardly ever be seen inside a mosque unless he goes there merely as a spectator8 ,the effendi1 a title loosely given to every native in ,european dress and tarbouch1 feels1 ,i'm sure1 ill at ease amongst his co-religionists when the services of his religion are being held4 ,the devout ,moslem views the western garb as #8a mark of the ,beast4' ,this is felt so strongly in ,morocco1 that should a ,moor appear in coat and trousers1 his co-religionists would tear them off him4 ,the encouragement given in ,egypt to the adoption of western clothes is a fatal mistake4 ,the courteous manners of the oriental seem to leave him with his cast-off kuftn2 his morals are distinctly worse when the ties of his creed are loosened2 and the ,christian missionary knows well enough that the westernised ,egyptian is not a fertile soil for the ,gospel seed4 ,we must not flatter ourselves that our hold on ,egypt is in any way strengthened by this silly fashion2 we have only to attend a nationalist demonstration to see how the trousered effendi out-numbers the robed ,egyptian4 ,should the sword of the preacher unhappily be held aloft and a holy war proclaimed from every pulpit1 this ,european veneer would vanish like smoke1 and the effendi would revert to the garb of the sheykh4 ,during my first season in ,egypt ,i painted a crowd of young students at the entrance of one of the ,khedivial schools4 ,the lads were all robed and turbaned1 and whatever their social positions may have been1 each individual looked a dignified young gentleman4 ,when next ,i visited ,cairo all this was changed4 ,the kuftn and the gibbeh were replaced by sweated tailor goods from some ,greek departmental stores4 ,i felt a personal dislike to the whole education department1 and especially to the ,british ,adviser4 ,i am glad to add that ,i have since learnt that our countrymen had nothing to do with it4 ,it was the ,egyptian officials who inaugurated the change4 ,education has made such advances since the ,british occupation1 through the efforts of a hard-working and certainly not overpaid ,british staff1 that ,i am glad to know that ,i was not justified in attributing to it so foolish a blunder4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,blue ,,mosque ,,and ,,kasr-,,esh-,,shema ,i have never passed a season in ,cairo without making a study of some sort in the ,blue ,mosque4 ,there are many mosques of much greater architectural pretensions1 as well as of more historical interest2 but so long as artists continue to flock to ,egypt in search of subjects1 so long will the ,blue ,mosque serve them for material4 ,on entering the blue-tiled liwn after a tramp through the glare and the dust of the open spaces around the citadel1 something of the pleasure is experienced of him who1 after a desert journey1 first rests his eyes on the green of cultivation4 ,the pleasure is as much a physical as an intellectual one1 for the hot season draws one there far more than does the cold4 ,the temperature would be no higher were the walls a scarlet1 but ,i'm sure it would be more felt2 and this is not only so to those whose training inclines them to search out beautiful colour1 for ,i have observed that more people come here to sleep through the heat of the day than to any other mosque4 ,the actual structure was raised by a certain ,aksunkur during the middle of the fourteenth century1 and many much finer mosques of that period are still remaining4 ,it was restored more than three centuries later by ,ibrahim ,agha1 and1 whatever the purist may have to say to the contrary1 it is these restorations which give the charm to the place4 ,blue tiles cover the whole wall of the vast liwn2 from the matted pavement to the spring of the vaulting they spread around the prayer-niche till1 high up1 they reach the ribbing of the dome4 ,this was a great undertaking of ,ibrahim ,agha1 for though the tiles were not worth the fancy prices of the present day1 it must have been a very costly affair even in his time4 ,the domed chapel1 containing the tomb of the founder1 is more beautiful still1 but it is almost too dark to make painting a possibility4 ,the look of neglect and gentle decay is not depressing1 as in many a ,cairene building which lies under the sentence of complete renovation or of a total collapse4 ,some structural repairs have lately been made1 which were doubtless badly needed2 but ,i hope it may stop at that4 ,the ,moslem has all he wants now for his frequent prayers or his midday nap1 and no renovation of the mosque would ever compensate for the loss of its present charm4 ,the mosques of ,cairo can be an endless source of instruction to any one interested in the builder's art1 their number is so great 7over four hundred7 and they are so varied in character2 they suit their surroundings as if they had grown into the spaces they occupy1 and those who worship there look as if they had been grown for that purpose4 ,interesting as are the temples of ancient ,egypt1 they have not the human interest of the ,cairene mosques4 ,old and decrepit as the latter may be1 the beauty of life is still there2 the temple at its best has but the beauty of a corpse4 ,the restoration of the mosques1 if well done1 as happily is often the case here1 may rob them of some temporary charm1 but it preserves to the people a valuable heritage2 whereas the restored temples will merely give future generations something to laugh at4 ,what temple is grander than ,tuln's mosque8 ,or in which of them did the builder's art excel that of the ,sultan ,hassan8 ,yet how few visit these mosques compared with the crowds who are rushed through the temples of ,upper ,egypt4 ,the one of all others which every tourist is taken to see is the mosque of ,mohammed ,ali1 which crowns the citadel heights4 ,it is imposing from its magnificent position2 but who ever leaves it with any higher thought than of the money which has been lavished on it8 ,an appreciative guide to the mosques may now be found in ,douglas ,sladen's ,oriental ,cairo1 and to do here inadequately what he has done so well is not the purpose of these pages4 ,if so much enjoyment is to be got out of the study of ,saracenic structures1 what about the early ,christian churches8 ,they provide less sthetic entertainment than do the mosques1 solely because their number is very much more restricted4 ,but where in this wide world can any one interested in the dawn of ,christianity find a spot to appeal more to his sympathies than in the seven ,coptic churches which cluster round the old fortress of ,babylon8 ,concealed as they are from public view1 one enters their precincts with much the same feelings as on entering the catacombs of ,rome4 ,within the walls of this ,christian settlement1 dark and narrow passages lead to the unobtrusive interiors of the churches4 ,the search for the doorkeeper1 and when he is found1 the primitive key with which he unbolts the ponderous lock1 and the man's dress1 which twelve centuries of ,mohammedan rule has not altered1 all tend to take one back to the days when in these hidden places the shrines of ,abu-,sarga and of ,kadisa-,barbra were raised4 ,the first of these two1 which is more familiar to us as ,saint ,sergius1 is usually visited before the others4 ,it dates from the tenth century1 when the more tolerant rule of the first ,ftimid khalifs would allow of its construction2 but it stands on the site of a church of a very much earlier date4 ,the crypt of its predecessor still remains1 and this takes one back to the times when ,memphis stood where some rubbish hills now only mark its site on the western banks of the ,nile2 when ,bab-li-,on was in truth the southern gate of ,on1 the #8,city of the ,sun1' of which nothing now is visible but the obelisk of ,heliopolis4 ,a tree marks the spot where the ,virgin and the child ,jesus are said to have rested4 ,it is about a mile this side of the obelisk1 and some fifteen miles from the fortress of ,babylon which the ,romans built on the site of the gate of ,on1 and whose name it retained4 ,tradition has it that near this tree the ,virgin bathed her child in some brackish water1 and this becoming sweet1 the pilgrims to this day drink of that fountain4 ,tradition helps us to trace the journey of the ,holy ,family from this tree to the crypt below the church of ,abu-,sarga1 for it tells us of another resting-place about midway1 and that is ,joseph's well on the citadel hill4 ,we are taken down some dilapidated steps to visit the crypt1 which we are told was the ,egyptian house of ,joseph and ,mary while they hid their child from ,herod's wrath4 ,needless to say that the crypt is a ,christian structure1 and of a later date than the ,roman fortress1 which at its earliest is placed in the second century of our ,lord4 ,but there is no reason why this spot should not have been chosen by the ,holy ,family after their flight into ,egypt4 ,some ruined shrine to a god of the decadent mythology may have stood here in which they may have made their home1 as the early ,christians oftentimes did some three centuries later4 ,to build a church on so hallowed a spot would have been the first thought of these ,christians1 if any record still remained4 ,when ,babylon was besieged by the ,mohammedan invaders1 this church might have then been destroyed1 or if it survived so long a siege1 it would have disappeared after ,merwn1 the last of the ,omayyad khalifs1 had set fire to ,fostat4 ,be this as it may1 it is quite probable that this pretty tradition has some foundation in fact4 ,there is little at present to see in the crypt by the light of the tallow dip which the ,coptic servant holds in his fingers1 but ,i should have regretted not to have seen that little4 ,the tenth-century church above it is a little gem1 and however much the dirt of those who attend it1 and the formal ritual which few of the worshippers can understand1 may prejudice one against the modern ,copts1 the fact remains that their faith has withstood centuries of persecution4 ,stanley ,lane-,poole wisely remarks that #8no one can stand unmoved in a ,coptic church during the celebration of the ,mass1 or hear the worshippers shout with one voice1 just as they did some fifteen hundred years ago1 the loud response1 8,i believe this is the ,truth10 without emotion4' ,the whole of the ,coptic settlement here is built within the girdle-wall of the ,roman castle of ,babylon1 or #8el-,kasr-esh-,shema1' as the natives still call it4 ,this ,arabic name1 #8,the ,castle of the ,sun1' emphasises the position it held in regard to ancient ,heliopolis1 of which it was a bulwark4 ,we also hear mention of this esh-,shema in the prophecies of ,jeremiah xliii4 #ac3 #8,he shall break also the images of ,beth-shemesh1 that is in the land of ,egypt2 and the houses of the gods of the ,egyptians shall he burn with fire4' ,perched up between two bastions of the ,roman castle1 and over its gate1 is the ,mu'llaka or the #8hanging' church4 ,less rich in traditions than its neighbour1 with some of its romance destroyed by a modern approach1 it gives the intelligent visitor even greater pleasure than ,abu-,sarga which he has seen4 ,he may confuse its plan with that of the neighbouring churches1 and time may obliterate the construction of its piers and barrel-shaped roof1 but never will he forget the little ,byzantine pulpit standing on the fifteen slender ,saracenic columns1 and relieved against as rich a screen as ever closed in a sanctuary4 ,i have attempted to enter into more of the details of these ,coptic churches in ,below the ,cataracts1 also of the history of ,fostat1 the #8,town of the ,tent1' which ,amr ,ibn el-s built around the fortress of ,babylon1 and which during successive dynasties of khalifs was extended until it covered the space now occupied by the old city of ,cairo4 ,the topography and history has been admirably given to us by ,stanley ,lane-,poole2 students of early ,christian architecture can find all that is known of the ,coptic churches in that scholarly work of ,dr4 ,a4 ,j4 ,butler1 ,the ,ancient ,coptic ,churches of ,egypt4 ,i cannot1 however1 refrain from mentioning the #8hanging garden' which adjoins the ,mu'llaka4 ,the palms which grow there1 high above the fertilising ,nile1 are watered by the faithful to perpetuate the tradition that the ,virgin ,mary1 on arriving at her new abode1 first broke her fast with some dates which she culled from a palm-tree growing near this spot4 ,four more ,coptic churches are within easy reach of this one1 and as parts of them date back to the third century1 there is much to occupy the time of the archologist even if the artist does not always find what is best suited to his brush4 ,the fortress of ,babylon and the ,coptic settlement within its walls are two or three miles south-west of the main part of the city1 and situated at the back of an old suburb1 opposite the island of ,rodah1 known as ,old ,cairo4 ,this name is misleading1 for the present medival ,cairo existed long before this suburb1 which was built on land recovered from the ,nile after ,fostat had become a ruinous waste4 ,it looks old enough now1 but it does not require many generations to impart an ancient appearance to the poorer ,arab dwellings4 ,the ,kasr-esh-,shema1 on the higher level1 is that part which might justly be called ,old1 for it is the nucleus from which the present huge city developed4 ,there are also several ,coptic churches in ,cairo proper1 and one in ,beyn es-,sureen1 near the ,armenian ,church1 is said to be the oldest in ,egypt1 and consequently one of the earliest churches in ,christendom4 ,a portion of the ,copts1 who have joined communion with the ,roman ,catholics1 have their church close by4 ,i saw a great deal of their priest1 and of some leading members of his community1 while ,i spent a summer in a village on the ,lebanon4 ,they had gone there partly for their health and partly to escape the hottest months of the ,egyptian summer4 ,the priest was a very different type of man intellectually from the lethargic monks ,i met in the convents at ,wadi el-,natrn4 ,i am indebted to him for much information about the ,catholic churches in the ,near ,east4 ,he had been prepared for ,holy ,orders in ,rome1 although he and his community are under allegiance to the ,pope1 and do not call themselves ,roman ,catholics1 but members of the ,coptic ,catholic ,church1 while they are very tenacious of the privileges which they secured when they seceded from the main body of the ,copts4 ,the priests are allowed to marry1 and also to say ,mass in the obsolete ,coptic language4 ,my friend told me that though allowed to marry if he wished to do so1 he had come to the conclusion that the ,latin ,church was right in enforcing celibacy on its clergy4 #8,no6 no6 no6' from the ladies who were present at our conversation1 shows that my friend's views were not popular4 ,similar privileges have been allowed to the other members of eastern ,christian churches when they submitted to the ,church of ,rome4 ,it is the exception when their priests go to a theological college at ,rome1 and the great majority evidently do not hold my friend's views on matrimony1 for few remain single4 ,as only the ,church of ,rome repeats the ,mass in ,latin1 it might have been expected that the eastern churches under her authority would have made use of languages understood by their congregations4 ,but this is not so4 ,no ,copt can understand the ,coptic liturgy which he hears repeated2 only a few cultured ,syrian ,maronites can follow the ,syriac ,mass1 and the ,catholic ,greeks1 the ,armenians1 and the ,chaldeans all hear the liturgy in languages long obsolete4 ,my friend could follow the meaning of the ,coptic phrases he daily used2 but apart from these1 ,coptic is a dead language to him4 ,he kindly repeated the ,lord's ,prayer to me1 and1 with possibly an ,arabic accent1 his words must have sounded the same as those in use in the days of the ,ptolemies4 ,a few ,coptic words have still survived and are in use amongst the peasantry of ,upper ,egypt1 and possibly philologists may discover some in the colloquial ,arabic of the ,delta4 ,it is in ,upper ,egypt that we still find the type portrayed in the ancient sculptures1 amongst the ,moslems as well as the ,christians2 but in the ,delta the ,copt shows his ancestry more conspicuously1 as the ,moslems amongst whom he dwells have there a greater admixture of ,arab blood4 ,i was very much struck with the resemblance a ,coptic gentleman1 who was staying at the same inn as myself1 bore to the celebrated #8,sheykh-el-,beled1' the fifth dynasty statue in the ,cairo museum4 ,he was younger and not as stout as the statue1 but he might have passed for a younger brother4 ,the broad nose and full lips1 the rather prominent cheek-bones1 and a slight upward inclination of the eyes from the nose1 were all there as in his prototype of some sixty centuries ago4 ,i remarked to him that while we were savages his forebears were the greatest people in the world4 ,his answer was1 #8,yes2 and now you are the greatest people in the world1 while we are the savages4' ,lane remarks that the ,egyptian1 in answering a question1 is more likely to say what he thinks may be agreeable to his hearer than to stick to the absolute truth4 ,this looked rather like it4 ,i have heard our missionaries accused of deceiving the subscribers to the missions1 by stating the numbers of their converts and not specifying whether these converts were from ,islam or were merely ,copts who had changed from one form of ,christianity to another4 ,if this is true1 the subscribers might justly feel that they had been deceived4 ,but ,i should like further proof of this accusation before accepting the truth of it2 the tendency of ,europeans in the ,east is to believe anything which may discredit the missionary4 ,that ,islam is a barrier which the missionary has so far failed to break through is true enough1 and missionaries whom ,i have met have been the first to admit this4 ,can one wonder1 then1 that they turn from so barren a soil to sow their seed amongst the ,copts1 who have shown some tendency to receive it8 ,the faith of the ,copts has sustained them through centuries of persecution2 but it is amazing how stagnant a faith may sometimes hold a people together4 ,when ,i think of those lazy monks at ,wadi el-,natrn2 their neglected chapels2 their barren gardens1 though water was there had they the energy to draw it2 ,i marvel how this people has ever risen to be a power in ,egypt4 ,that they are a power to be reckoned with we have lately seen4 ,the common mistake of judging a people from a few specimens who are forced into one's notice is evident here4 ,a very much larger proportion of them are literate compared with the ,moslem ,egyptians1 and they fill1 in consequence1 a much larger proportion of situations where some instruction1 other than that of the ,koran1 is necessary4 ,the grievance they are ventilating is that they do not get their share of the highly salaried government posts1 and as far as ,i could ascertain1 they have a subject of complaint4 ,their numbers will probably increase largely1 now that persecution no more drives their weaker brethren into the folds of ,islam4 ,they are fervent in business if they do not always serve the ,lord1 and some have accumulated great wealth4 ,the black and sometimes the blue turban1 which distinguishes them from the ,mohammedans1 was originally forced on them with other and more vexatious enactments2 they still wear it1 however1 though of course free to put on what they like4 ,the women used to wear the face veil when out of doors1 more as a protection than as an ordinance of their religion1 and at present most of them have discarded it4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,sphinx1 ,,and ,a ,,dissertation ,,on ,,tommy ,,atkins ,i well remember how sentiment was shocked when it was proposed to construct a tram-line to the ,pyramids of ,gizeh3 ,i may also have turned up the whites of my eyes at the mere thought of such a desecration4 ,it is now a well-established concern1 and we may congratulate ourselves that neither the ,pyramids nor the ,sphinx seem much the worse for it4 ,the line ends just below the plateau on which the ,pyramids have been raised1 and by the time these are reached the prosaic tram-cars are well out of sight4 ,the ,antiquities ,department holds all the ground which contains anything here of interest1 so we shall be spared the erection of anything tending to vulgarise it4 ,the tram is in truth a great boon to many1 and not the least to those who1 like myself1 spend much time in the bazaars and streets of the old city4 ,i can look back on nothing more pleasurable1 during my last sojourn in ,egypt1 than the moonlit evenings quietly spent on the glorious ,pyramid plateau4 ,i put this off until the season was well on the wane and the first great heat had emptied ,cairo of the bulk of its foreign sightseers4 ,a forty minutes' run--and1 my word1 there is no dawdling here6--along the ,gizeh road1 blows the heat and the bazaar stuffiness well out of one's system1 and the pure dry air of the desert1 when the higher level is reached1 prepares one to enjoy everything to the uttermost4 ,familiarity may have lessened the excitement which a first gaze at the world's greatest wonder must produce1 but familiarity has never robbed it of its awful impressiveness4 ,the rays of the declining sun or the light of the moon may glorify the most commonplace subjects2 but that which is always grand here reaches the sublime on a fine moonlight night4 ,let us cross the broad shadow cast by ,kheops' mighty tomb1 and glance up that vast surface1 rapidly receding and lessening1 yet more and more clearly defined as it rises into the deepening background of the star-spangled blue4 ,its base is hardly definable from the pale golden sand on which it rests1 and the distance to the further angle is hard to judge4 ,to our left three shapeless masses stand out dark against the eastern horizon3 they are the ruins of the small pyramids beneath which were laid the ,pharaoh's daughters4 ,was ,henwetsen young or fair when she found her resting-place beneath that heap of stones8 ,had no monument been raised to mark the spot1 the sixty centuries since elapsed might not have disturbed her sleep4 ,illustration3 ,,persian ,,almshouses ,following a straightish course over the sand-buried necropolis1 we soon see1 rising from a hollow in the plateau1 a mushroom-shaped rock1 and we know that our objective is in sight4 ,we skirt the depression in the soil till we are arrested by the huge human profile1 which is now clearly defined against the sky4 ,i leave my companion to his contemplations2 for the supreme moment1 when ,i consider the ,sphinx is to be at his best1 has now arrived4 ,i run round the edge of the hollow to compare a three-quarter view with his full face4 ,he seems too sunk and dwarfed by the ground behind him1 and ,i descend to the lower level till his shoulders just appear above the horizon4 ,i feel ,i can't better this view1 and ,i settle down to try and absorb as much as my memory will hold1 with a dim hope of being able to record it on the following morning4 ,the moon shines so brightly in these latitudes1 that ,i had looked forward to being able to paint by its light4 ,that was in my earlier days1 and the muddy-looking mess1 which the next morning's light revealed1 made me abandon any further attempts in that direction4 ,to take all the notes one can1 and to retain as much of the colour as one's memory can hold1 is the only possible way to battle with this subject4 ,there are moments when uncalled-for information might almost justify homicide4 ,i had flattered myself that1 hid away as ,i was in the shadow of the shelving slope of the hollow1 ,i might have remained unobserved by the ,pyramid pests who look upon every stranger as their fair prey4 ,some broken stones sliding down the slope make me look up1 and there to my horror ,i find one of these pests taking his seat just above me4 #8,hi1 mister1 you take my donkey2 ,roosevelt best donkey in ,egypt2 take you to ,mena ,house for two piastres4' ,i tell the man in ,arabic to go away and not to disturb me4 ,he is evidently disappointed in me when he finds ,i am not entirely new to the country2 possibly this is only a phrase ,i may have learnt in a guide-book1 so he begins again3 #8,yaas1 ,roosevelt best donkey in ,egypt2 two piastres not much money2 you ride my 444' ,i jump up on murder intent1 though ,i am the most peaceable of mortals4 ,the ,arab jumps up also and1 throwing himself on ,roosevelt's back1 moves off faster than he came4 ,when my irritation has calmed down1 ,i have to begin over again to try and impress on my mind the essentials of the grand subject before me4 ,i admit that the nuisance of the ,pyramid ,bedouins has been somewhat diminished of late2 but they are nevertheless a great nuisance still4 ,the fault lies to a certain extent with the tourists1 especially the ladies1 who take far too much notice of them4 ,if the ladies were aware of what these blackguards say of them1 they would perhaps keep them at a better distance4 ,they have lost all the virtues of the true ,bedouins1 and have acquired all the vices of the ,fellaheen4 ,they are a good-looking set of ruffians1 which accounts for the way some visitors spoil them2 but this does not excuse the police from stopping their importunities4 ,i found on the following morning that a second visit was necessary1 and allowing for the later rising of the moon1 ,i went a second time accompanied by a sympathetic friend4 ,we managed to shake off the ,pyramid limpets1 and my friend kept guard over me while enjoying his pipe4 ,i think ,i got what notes ,i wanted before another distraction came4 ,some half-dozen ,british soldiers were having an evening out1 and were also attracted to the moonlit ,sphinx4 ,their object was also to get a presentment of the #8,mysterious ,one1' though chiefly as a background to themselves4 ,the conventional group1 which may be seen here any day during the season1 did not satisfy the ,tommy with the camera4 ,he was probably a corporal1 for he directed his sitters as one accustomed to command4 #8,crawl up on to his mug1 can't yer1' to two or three who had found a safe seat on the shoulders4 #8,right you are1 ,cocky1' came from an adventurous sitter1 who proceeded to climb the neck and swarm up the wig till he reached a safe position in the ,sphinx's ear4 ,a more dangerous climb was that of one who worked his way round the cheek to find a foot-hold in a crack where the nose used to be4 ,another proceeded by a northern route and risked his neck to get on to the lip4 ,finding this an insecure place he appealed to the artist below4 #8',ang on to 'is eyelid and put your foot into 'is norstril1' came the word of command1 as well as plenty of advice from the ,arab spectators4 #8,now--ready--present--fire6' ,a dim light from a lucifer match was all the fire we saw1 and loud jeers from the ,arabs drowned what language was addressed to the defective flashlight4 ,an ,arab who had some magnesium wire saw his opportunity to do a deal4 #8,i give you plenty light for one shilling4' #8,one shilling1 you blighter1 for an 'aporth of wire6' came from the photographic artist1 with comments from the sitters up aloft4 ,the one safely fixed in the ,sphinx's ear was for holding out1 while the one hanging on to the eyelid proposed coming to terms4 #8,we'll give ye three piastres when ta job's feenished1' bawled out the latter in a strong ,north ,british accent4 #8,me know what them piastres feel like1' from the ,arab1 who had not yet learnt that the word of a ,briton is equal to his bond4 ,a ready-money transaction was clearly indicated1 and two piastres down was finally taken in preference to the promise of three from the ,scot hanging on to the eyelid4 ,a flash of white light and a #8,hip1 hip1 hip1 hurrah6' from the ,arab spectators1 brought the sance to a close4 ,the ,british infantry1 when quartered in the ,east1 develop a passion for riding some beast or another4 ,donkey-boys fought for its custom1 and the supply being greater than the demand1 satisfactory terms were arranged4 ,one ,tommy declaring that the #8commisairy camuel' was the boy for him1 camels were soon on the spot4 #8',ands off1 you measly son of the ,proofit1 or ,i'll give you a clip on the side of the ear1' was ,tommy's warning to an over-zealous claimant for his custom4 ,the driver moved off quickly to take his ear out of danger1 and a less presumptuous rival got the fare4 ,we heard1 as might be expected1 the well-worn jest about the camel having the hump when the beast showed a disinclination to rise1 and soon after the merry party disappeared in the shades of the desert4 ,times and oft have ,i heard our occupation of ,egypt criticised1 not by foreigners residing there1 but by those who could easily clear out if things looked awkward4 ,it is naturally also a reproach to the native that his people should not be considered fit to govern themselves1 even when he doubts that fitness himself4 ,but1 be this as it may1 the conduct of the ,british soldier is rarely a cause of complaint4 ,i will even go further and say that ,tommy ,atkins is popular with the very people whom he is called upon to hold in check4 ,he spends his money--often injudiciously1 ,i admit--more freely than does the ,levantine1 and the natives feel sure that the payment of a just debt can always be enforced4 ,besides this1 he is a jolly fellow1 and a bit of rough fun appeals to the lower orders in ,cairo4 ,british military police patrol the streets at night1 and woe betide ,tommy if he is caught in a broil4 ,how far ,cairo is conducive to our soldier's morals is another matter2 ,cairo1 however1 may be more to blame in this than the men we send there4 ,the military authorities do their utmost to ensure good behaviour1 but they can't prevent the men from enjoying themselves in their own particular way when off duty4 ,should we be anxious to know the latest #8turn' of the ,london music-halls1 we have but to walk down some of the streets north of the ,esbekiyeh an hour or two before tattoo1 and we will find ,tommy giving the #8turn1' with suitable action1 to an admiring crowd in the drink-shop4 ,there is also generally one to play a piano accompaniment1 and ,i have often wondered how and when this soldier could have found the opportunity to acquire a sufficient knowledge of his instrument4 ,a concertina obbligato is also of frequent occurrence4 ,when the ,levantine landlord's raw spirits begin to tell1 the songs do not of necessity become more uproarious1 as might be expected2 but a mawkish sentimentality is the chief characteristic4 #8,the sailor sighs' or #8,the soldier dropt a tear' is then more the type of song than the livelier ones with rollicking choruses4 ,donkey-boys hang about these drink-shops and other less reputable places1 and manage somehow to get the carousers back to barracks before tattoo has sounded4 ,unfortunately1 it is those who spend their evenings in the least profitable manner who are most in evidence4 ,the places where harmless recreation is provided for the soldiers are not in like manner open to the street1 and the number who use them may well resent being judged by the samples who frequent the drink-shops4 ,let us return to the ,sphinx3 the very thought of the gaslit streets near the ,esbekiyeh makes the air seem purer and cooler2 the expression of the #8,mysterious ,one' is no more ruffled by his late indignities than would be the face of a sheykh after having brushed off a few flies4 ,i had taken the notes ,i wanted and my companion had been well entertained by the comic interlude the soldiers had provided4 ,it was a glorious moonlight night1 the ,sphinx looked majestic despite his battered features1 the pale warm colouring of the neck and shoulders harmonised beautifully with the desert shades in which it was partly lost1 and the more sombre lines of the head were relieved against a low-toned blue of a quality as hopeless to attempt to describe as it seemed hopeless ever to match with the limitations of the pallet4 ,one leaves such a scene with much the same sensations as after having witnessed some grand and solemn function4 ,it is as well that these scenes are not of daily occurrence1 lest the critical eye rob it of its solemnity4 ,the tram-cars run us back across the five miles of cultivation which separate the ,pyramid plateau from the ,nile2 they cross by the new bridge to the island of ,rodah1 and then1 skirting ,old ,cairo1 we are carried along the east bank of the river till we are put down in the heart of the modern quarters4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,hamseen1 ,,the ,,lamp-,,shop1 ,,and ,,the ,,accession ,,of ,,said ,,pasha ,from the end of ,march1 when the wind shifts to the south1 we get a taste of summer's heat4 ,the talk in the hotels is of home-returning steamers1 and ,cook's offices are besieged with visitors anxious to secure early bookings4 ,the ,hamseen1 as this unpleasant wind is called1 causes a rapid rise in the temperature1 and while it lasts the whole aspect of northern ,egypt changes4 ,the sky partakes of the colour of the desert1 and has something of the look of a slight ,london fog2 the sun also reminds us of the pale orange sphere visible when ,londoners remark on its being a fine day4 ,apart from these appearances the sensations felt are very different4 ,neither moisture nor smoke give that yellowish look here2 it is the sand which the wind collects as it blows across the desert in its northern course4 ,as the wind increases1 so the temperature rises1 and the extreme dryness of the air causes those unpleasant sensations felt with the first symptoms of fever4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,store ,,of ,,nass,n ,cairo becomes unpaintable1 the sun hardly casts a shadow through the thickening clouds of dust1 and such shadow as it is has none of that blue reflected light which gives the true shadow quality4 ,did not experience teach me that it is only a passing phase1 my inclination would be to pack up and leave by the first available steamer and join the migration to the north4 ,it is useless to hunt about the streets for subjects2 for even if one were found sufficiently attractive1 the dust would render the work an impossibility4 ,some subject of a still-life nature in the shelter of the bazaars or an interior must be found1 unless one makes up one's mind to stay indoors until the wind sets in a more favourable quarter4 ,the word hamseen means fifty1 and is given to this wind because of the fifty days during which spells of it may be expected4 ,if street rows are more frequent1 if irritability or headaches are complained of1 the ,cairene shrugs his shoulders and says #8,hamseen4' ,it was a day of that kind that took me once more to the ,khan ,khalil4 ,i had often been attracted by a lamp-shop there1 but had put off painting it on account of the elaborate detail1 and doubts whether the results would be proportionate to the work involved4 ,a corner well sheltered from the wind and an obliging shopman induced me to set up my easel4 ,should the wind change1 ,i could always leave it and return when the next hamseen would make work impossible elsewhere4 ,every type of ,egyptian lamp hung round the entrance1 and lamps and lampstands lined the walls of the passage leading into the store beyond4 ,there1 in the deeper shades1 the sparkle of polished metal suggested innumerable lamps of which the near ones were samples4 ,brass bowls and trays1 teapots and candlesticks1 filled up the spaces where lamps could not be hung4 ,with the buff-coloured stone of the building1 this metal-work made a harmonious whole4 ,to pull this together so as not to lose the breadth of effect would be no easy task4 ,during the third day in this corner of the bazaar a ray of sunlight heralded a return of beautiful weather2 a drop in the temperature and the feel of one's skin were enough to tell one that the wind blew no more from the south1 and that once more the cool breezes from the sea ran counter to the flow of the ,nile4 ,the little sunlight which found its way between the awnings and matting which roof in this bazaar was enough to alter the whole effect of my subject4 ,my drawing looked leathery and sodden compared to the rich glow which lit up the shop1 and proved that even the nearest bit of still-life is better when the presence of the sun is felt4 ,i sponged out more lamps in two minutes than ,i had put in in two days1 and this corner knew me no more on hamseen days4 ,it was1 after all1 only during beautiful days that ,i could complete the drawing which illustrates these pages4 ,nassn is the proprietor of the shop1 and ,nassn seemed much exercised in his mind why ,i should have so ruthlessly made away with so many lamps1 though they were only on paper4 ,what did a ray of sunlight matter as long as the name of ,nassn was conspicuous on the signboard which hung over the entrance8 ,as new lamps replaced the old1 ,nassn's interest in my drawing reawakened1 and overtures were even made for its acquisition4 ,i told him ,i wished to take it to ,england1 as ,i wanted illustrations for a book ,i was about to write1 and he1 not wishing to lose a gratis advertisement1 got me to promise to say that he was prepared to supply any one with as many lamps as they could possibly wish4 ,he had recently furnished the ,heliopolis hotel with three hundred metal ones1 and his stock was not nearly exhausted4 ,i looked up ,mustapha1 the silk-merchant with whom ,i had spent an interesting evening during the ,hasaneyn festival4 ,while we sipped our coffee on the mastaba of his shop1 we reverted to the tragic story of the ,irishman ,o',donald and his first meeting with the princess ,zohra4 ,her history has been continued during this narrative1 and my readers may remember that we last saw her settled down in ,constantinople under the protection of the ,sultan of ,turkey4 ,how her hatred of ,abbas 7the then ruling ,viceroy7 outlived her thwarted love for ,o',donald will now be related4 ,from the account given by the ,german engineer1 ,max ,eyth1 ,i was able to tell the silk-merchant more of what happened than he knew2 for ,eyth had the details from ,halim ,pasha1 ,zohra's own brother1 who was an important actor in the drama4 ,but nothing to incriminate his sister fell from ,halim's lips2 the part she played was related by the servant ,rams1 from whom ,eyth obtained most of her history4 ,why no ,english edition of ,max ,eyth's ,hinter ,pflug und ,schraubstock should exist is a mystery to the present writer4 ,it will be remembered that when the great ,mohammed ,ali1 towards the end of his reign1 fell into a state of imbecility1 the reins of government were seized by his famous general and adopted son ,ibrahim1 and that the latter died within a year after becoming the ruler of ,egypt4 ,mohammed's death occurred soon after1 and the viceregal throne passed to his grandson1 ,abbas ,i41 who reigned from #ahdi to #ahed4 ,during these five years the ,europeanisation of ,egypt ceased4 ,abbas would have none of the ,frankish innovations which his grandfather encouraged2 ,european schools1 western legal procedure and military instruction were banished1 and the ulemas1 dervishes1 and fakirs came by their own once more4 ,his country nevertheless prospered during his reign4 ,as in so many instances in the history of ,egypt1 this ruler was a terror to his numerous near relatives who might be able to establish a claim to the succession4 ,of the eighty-five children of ,mohammed ,ali but few were living1 and this few were well alive to the danger of their august relationship4 ,even the princess ,zohra1 after she had fled to ,constantinople1 must be careful of what she ate or drank1 and of the loyalty of those who served her4 ,the ,taster became once more an important personage in the various palaces1 and not the least in that of ,abbas himself4 ,his two uncles1 ,said and ,halim1 were both much the same age as their nephew--a thing of constant occurrence in the hareem life in the ,east4 ,they lived on tenterhooks1 as being possible rivals to the succession of ,abbas's only son1 a delicate little boy called ,el ,hami4 ,said ,pasha lived at ,alexandria when he was not enjoying himself in ,paris4 ,he was the minister of the ,egyptian navy--not an arduous post1 for most of the ships had been destroyed during the wars of his father and those of ,ibrahim4 ,halim ,pasha lived in retirement in his mother's palace at ,shubra4 ,abbas and his large hareem divided their time at the palace at ,abbasiyeh1 at another which he built in the desert near ,suez1 and at a third on the banks of the ,nile at ,benha4 ,the chief ulema of the ,azhar who was tutor to ,el ,hami1 and ,elfy ,bey1 the ,governor of ,cairo and ,minister of ,war1 became the leading men in the state4 ,rumours soon spread through the bazaars that a holy war might any day be proclaimed1 and1 if so1 a general massacre of the ,christians would follow4 ,later on it was reported that the day of the horse races at ,alexandria was the day decided on for the rising4 ,said and ,halim1 who were both friendly to the ,europeans1 trembled at the consequences which might follow2 for in a general rising opportunities are easily found to dispose of relations who may be thought in the way4 ,the ,minister of the ,navy found an excuse for going to ,marseilles about the purchase of a frigate1 and he made preparations to sail the day before the races4 ,it was during the first days of the hamseen that these sinister rumours spread in the bazaars1 and ,abbas decided to migrate with his court to the palace at ,benha1 which is about a third of the way on the road from ,cairo to ,alexandria4 ,it was also decided to send the young prince ,el ,hami to ,syria for the good of his health4 ,from his stables at ,benha the ,viceroy would send his favourite horse1 el ,dogaan1 to compete in the ,alexandrian races4 ,the narrator goes on to say that #8man may propose1 but ,god disposes4' ,abbas and his court duly arrived at the palace at ,benha2 the hamseen increased in strength1 and with it the temper of ,abbas1 which at no time was a good one4 ,it was an easy task for the ulemas and dervishes1 who formed a part of his suite1 to dispel any misgivings which the ,pasha may have had as to the contemplated massacre4 ,the court astrologer1 ,soliman el ,habeshi1 had fixed the auspicious hour on which to begin4 ,the hamseen favoured their designs1 for we are told that the wind increased in violence1 and that el ,habeshi had to make his calculations when no stars were visible1 owing to the clouds of dust which hid them4 ,rames1 the servant of ,halim ,pasha1 now relates to ,eyth what followed4 #8,i had long been supplanted in my post of pipe-filler to ,abbas1 who at that time was my master1 by two handsome young mamelukes called ,hassan and ,husseyn4 ,they were twins1 the same as were the heroes after whom they were named4 ,they had been sent from ,constantinople as a present from the ,sultan to the ruler of ,egypt4 ,abbas had every confidence in them and loaded them with marks of his favour1 while ,i was relegated to the stables4 ,i did not mind that1 for ,i always loved horses1 and el ,dogaan was as the apple of my eye4 ,as no one could ride this horse as ,i could1 it was decided that ,i should do jockey in the coming races4 ,i was in the seventh heaven1 and was attending to my charge one night1 when ,i was startled by the appearance in the stables of the astrologer4 ,his wild looks and gestures were alarming4 8,be silent1 ,rames60 he said1 8the all-knowing ,god ordains what is right1 but our ,lord the ,basha is in his bath6 ,he bathes in his own blood60 #8,the horror of this awful news gave way to a sense of relief that ,i was at last freed from a lifelong tyranny4 ,i ran to the palace and crept silently up the stairs and through the passages which led to the bathroom4 ,a lamp hung outside the curtain at the entrance4 ,i feared to pull this aside--,i listened1 and hearing no sound my curiosity overcame my fear4 ,i pulled back the curtain1 and a red ray from the hanging lamp fell on to the marble bath4 ,a naked arm hung over the further edge and a head lay against the end wall4 ,as if to make him look ridiculous1 his assassins had slit the mouth till it nearly reached the ears1 and a horrible grimace added to the awfulness of the scene4 ,a gash in the throat showed how the ,basha had met his death1 and a dark red stream still trickled from this to colour the water in which the body lay4 #8,i still see1 when ,i close my eyes1 that bloodless face with its diabolical smile1 lit by the red rays of the hanging lamp2 though the ,basha was dead1 the evil spirit which possessed him still clung to its tenement4 ,the costly marble bath1 the gilded stalactites which hung from the dome-shaped roof1 and all the luxury with which this room was fitted only added to the horror of the spectacle4 #8,i heard voices not far off1 and knew the danger ,i ran if ,i were caught here4 ,i slipped off as fast and as silently as ,i could and returned to my stables1 where ,i saddled el ,dogaan and led him along the footpath to the bank of the river4 ,huddled in a heap1 there sat the astrologer1 who trembled as the aspen leaf4 ,i asked him what he was doing there1 and1 putting his fingers to his lips1 he whispered1 8,do you not know1 ,o ,rames1 that they seek to kill me8 ,the court physician is already under lock and key1 and all who know of this murder must die--you also--for the secret must on no account leak out until ,el ,hami can be placed on the throne40 8,they must catch me first10 ,i called out1 and jumping into the saddle ,i stuck my spurs into el ,dogaan and rode towards ,shubra as fast as ,i could4 #8,halim ,basha had oft befriended me1 and he would not forsake me now in my dire necessity4 ,el ,dogaan raced along the ,cairo road as fast as if he took part in the ,alexandrian meeting4 ,in two hours he covered the ground between ,benha and the ,shubra palace1 where we arrived before daybreak4 ,allah el ,azeem6 how he ran4 ,i thought not only of my safety1 but of the far-reaching effects my news might have4' ,the prince ,halim here continues the narrative3 #8,i was awakened when the first light of the rising sun was visible over the edge of the desert beyond the ,abbasiyeh palace4 ,they told me that a man had brought a message which had to be delivered at once4 ,i descended to the courtyard and found ,rames2 but so covered with dust was he that ,i could hardly recognise him4 ,after the greeting he whispered in my ear3 8,god is just6 ,your nephew lies dead in his bath at ,benha40 ,you may imagine the shock this news gave me4 ,but was this mameluke to be trusted8 ,might it not be a ruse of ,abbas to trap me with a word or gesture1 which would have been my undoing8 8,god's will be done10 ,i said1 and ordered ,rames to return at once to ,benha and let no one know that ,i had knowledge of the crime4 ,illustration3 ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,carpet #8,no time was to be lost in apprising my brother ,said1 as he was to have sailed that very day from ,alexandria1 and1 unless ,rames had lied1 our country was now without a ruler4 ,the lad ,el ,hami was at ,damietta on his way to ,syria1 and if that child were made ,viceroy1 ,egypt and all of us would be at the tender mercies of ,elfy ,bey and the ,ulema4 ,the ,english had lately set up a telegraph office in ,cairo2 but how could ,i word this message so as to be only understood by my brother8 ,the following at last suggested itself1 and ,said would not have been a son of his father had he misunderstood the meaning3 8,the house thou seekest in ,cairo is empty4 ,the door stands open4 ,walk in40 ,said understood4 #8,he told me later that my message was only just in time1 for he was about to start for the steamer4 ,he decided promptly to leave for ,cairo instead1 and he and his bodyguard were on the road before the steamer had disappeared beyond the horizon4 ,they reached ,damanhur that evening1 and at an early hour next morning1 when he arrived at ,benha1 he was informed that ,abbas and his court had just left to return to ,cairo4 ,he questioned some of the notabilities of the town1 only to hear with what pomp the ,viceroy had set out on his journey4 ,what was my brother to make of all this8 ,was this telegram a trap8 or had he perhaps misunderstood its meaning8 ,the palace was deserted1 so he and his followers rested there till the following day1 and then continued their journey to ,cairo4 #8,i spent an anxious morning at ,shubra1' continued ,halim ,pasha1 #8but imagine my astonishment when a runner in my employ arrived from ,kalioub to inform me that ,abbas had passed through that village1 and would in all probability arrive at ,shubra towards five o'clock that very afternoon4 8,that damned mameluke must have lied10 said ,i to myself1 and ,i had to make preparations1 as the custom is1 to welcome the ,viceroy1 or 7should he not wish to break his journey7 to greet him at the door of my palace4 ,i had hardly put on my court dress when two messengers were announced1 and they informed me that they had been sent ahead by ,his ,highness1 my nephew1 to beg me not to stay his journey1 as he was in great haste to reach his palace at ,abbasiyeh that evening4 ,in one of these messengers ,i recognised ,rames1 who hung back while the other spoke4 ,he drooped his head and closed his eyes--was this a sign8 ,and what could be the interpretation8 #8,towards midnight of the following day ,said and his guard arrived4 ,we had to hide the latter as well as we could in the stables and outhouses1 for it was a dangerous business4 ,some trusty servants whom ,i had sent into ,cairo reported on the crowds of people who had gathered to witness the ,viceroy's progress through the city1 and declared that ,his ,highness bowed in acknowledgment of the ovations he received4 ,our anxiety increased with each fresh report4 ,my mother1 however1 did not share our misgivings4 8,rames has not lied10 she said2 8,i watched him carefully1 and his actions told me clearly that ,abbas was dead40 #8,we spent the following day here awaiting some report which might help to clear up the mystery4 ,towards evening some servants of mine brought in the astrologer1 ,soliman1 whom they had picked up more dead than alive on the road from ,benha4 ,i told them to feed the old blackguard1 and when he had somewhat recovered ,i questioned him4 ,he wished to tell me what the stars had revealed1 but ,i soon was satisfied in my mind that ,rames had not lied4 ,there was still time to take action before the young prince ,el ,hami could have reached ,cairo from ,damietta1 and we could not anyhow have kept ,said and his thirty retainers here without exciting suspicion4 ,i sent word at once to the ,commandant of the ,citadel to open the gate at midnight and admit the ruler of ,egypt4 #8,that very night my brother ,said rode into the old fortress as ,viceroy of this country4 ,the artillery had orders to defend the place should the necessity arise4 ,before daybreak we learnt that ,el ,hami had arrived from ,damietta1 and presently the ,ulema rode up and demanded the gates to be opened to admit the ,viceroy of ,egypt4 ,said admitted the learned scribe into the audience-chamber and complimented him on his zeal in coming so early to greet his new master4 ,the ,ulema stared as one bereft of his senses4 ,said1 my brother1 was a good-hearted man1 and did not seize on this opportunity to destroy the enemy whom fortune had delivered into his hands4 ,he was fond of a little joke1 and felt that now he could afford to indulge in one3 a barber was summoned to cut off the ,ulema's beard1 and the poor man was sent off with a message to ,elfy ,bey to inform the latter that his game was up1 and that he would be received by his new master as soon as he wished to present himself4 #8,elfy1 though a devout ,moslem1 was not the man to bow to the decrees of fate--a self-inflicted pistol-shot ended the career of the ,governor of ,cairo and ,egypt's ,minister of ,war4 ,the ,ulema did not long survive the loss of his beard1 and the young prince ,el ,hami was allowed to start once more for ,syria for the good of his health4' ,the reader may now be curious to learn how ,abbas's progress from ,benha to ,cairo was accomplished1 for when we left that prince in his blood-stained bath his earthly journey was doubtless over4 ,rames now continues the narrative3--#8,by ,allah1 the compassionate1 the merciful1 how ,i rode back to ,benha6 ,what dangers ,i incurred in returning to that palace no one knew better than myself2 but to serve my present master1 ,halim ,basha1 was my chief thought4 ,it was barely ten o'clock1 as you ,franks reckon the time1 when ,i and el ,dogaan arrived4 ,none of the horses in the stables had been attended to1 and two of them were missing4 ,i had hardly been ten minutes there when ,i was called and had to repair to the anteroom of the bath4 ,the mamelukes who personally attended our late ,basha had also been summoned there2 but ,i noticed that of the twelve two were missing1 namely ,hassan and ,husseyn4 ,their non-appearance was evidently accounted for and no one spoke of them4 ,presently ,elfy ,bey and the ,ulema entered4 ,they ordered us to repeat the profession of our faith1 and each one had to take an oath that what we should now see should not be revealed to any living creature4 ,we all solemnly swore that we would keep the secret1 and then ,elfy ,bey warned us that if a word escaped our lips1 our tongues should be torn out and our flayed bodies would hang from the walls of ,sultan ,hassan's mosque4 ,he then drew back the curtain1 and by the light of day ,i again witnessed the terrible sight of the previous night4 #8,six mamelukes were ordered to lift the body out of the bath and to dress the mortal remains in the garments used on state occasions4 ,i and three others had to return to the stables to prepare the state coach and to harness six white horses4 ,when this was brought round to the door of the hareem1 as ordered1 the body of ,abbas was placed in a sitting posture on the back seat of the carriage1 and the ,ulema sat beside it to hold it in position4 ,elfy ,bey and the favourite eunuch sat with their backs to the horses4 ,a veil was wound round the corpse's turban1 and an embroidered litm concealed the lower part of the face1 as the fashion often is with the ,bedouin1 as a protection from the dust4 ,two sat on the box and two stood1 as is the style of the ,franks1 on the backboard of the coach4 ,six cavaliers1 of whom ,i was one1 served as an escort4 #8,such is the manner in which we started on that progress to the capital6 ,the fellaheen greeted us as we passed through the villages4 ,i heard some remark that our lord looked ill1 and they committed him to the protection of ,allah4 ,as ,i rode el ,dogaan1 which is famous for his speed1 ,i was fortunately sent ahead with the second messenger to announce the viceregal progress to ,halim ,basha4 ,i dared not speak2 but hoped that my signs would be understood4 ,by night-fall we reached ,cairo and1 as was customary1 we carried lighted torches on each side of the coach4 ,thousands witnessed our progress through the streets2 ,i heard again the remark that the ,effendina looked ill1 and there was also a silence amidst the onlookers which made me wonder whether any suspected the truth4 ,when we had passed through the ,bab en-,nasr and were crossing the tract of desert which separates that gate from the palace at ,abbasiyeh1 the ,ulema praised ,god and let the corpse fall forward4 ,elfy ,bey cursed the old man and lifted the body into position again4 #8,once inside the palace there was nothing further to do than to await the return of ,el ,hami from ,damietta4 ,it would then be time enough to announce the death of ,abbas and to proclaim his young son as successor to the viceregal throne4 ,elfy would then have been the virtual ruler of ,egypt4 ,by the mercy of ,allah his plans were frustrated and a bullet ended his earthly career4 ,i was not long in seeking out my present master1 and what services ,i may have rendered have been liberally rewarded4 #8,you may wish to know more of ,hassan and ,husseyn1 whose disappearance after the murder ,i had noticed4 ,i have since heard that they are now in the service of ,princess ,zohra1 and1 to tell you the truth1 they were in her service before they ever set foot in ,egypt4' ,zohra had at last avenged the death of her first love4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,mohammedan ,,festivals3 ,,the ,,holy ,,carpet--,,the ,,fast ,,of ,,ramadan ,,and ,,the ,,ashura ,woman so seldom figures in the history of the ,mohammedan world that when she appears in the long records of the khalifs1 the emirs and the vizirs1 she is as welcome as a treble solo after a prolonged bass chorus4 ,the story of the beautiful but unhappy ,zohra may not be edifying in all its details1 but it lifts for a moment the veil which conceals the hareem life1 and gives us an insight into the tragic events occasionally enacted behind these closed doors4 ,the curtain has but recently descended on the drama in which ,zohra took a leading part4 ,if we change the names and omit a few details referring to present times1 it would be hard to believe that this was not some medival story such as the shoara recite in the market-places4 ,we have to go back to the thirteenth century to find the name of a woman who played an important part in the government of ,egypt4 ,there is something refreshing in her name1 ,sheger-ed-,durr1 which means #8,the ,spray of ,pearls1' coming as it does amongst the list of the blood-stained warriors of those stirring times4 ,she was a slave who became the wife of the mameluke1 ,emir es-,salih1 not of him who built the ,ftimid mosque mentioned further back1 but of the ,salih who founded the mameluke dynasty when he usurped the throne of the last of the house of ,saladin4 ,he was killed while fighting the ,crusaders shortly after ,sheger-ed-,durr had become his queen4 ,the heir to the throne was a son of es-,salih by a former wife1 and some time elapsed before he could be brought from the outlying province where he also was endeavouring to hold the ,crusaders in check4 ,the widowed queen undertook the management of affairs in the meanwhile1 keeping the death of her husband a secret until the succession should be established4 ,the new khalif1 ,turn-,shah ibn es-,salih1 was not long on the throne before he met his death in a brawl1 and ,sheger-ed-,durr once more took up the reins of government4 ,she sank her identity in that of her baby son1 and ruled under the title of #8,mother of the victorious ,king ,khalil4' ,illustration3 ,a ,,fruit-,,stall ,,at ,,bulak ,while this baby king's victories were confined to the nursery1 his mother's generals were defeating the ,crusaders in every part of his dominions4 ,the battle of ,mansra decided the fate of the last ,crusade1 and ,louis ,,ix4 was taken prisoner by the ,emir ,beybars4 ,the mother of ,khalil arranged the ransom which was paid to release the ,king of ,france2 and1 though not in name1 she in fact governed the country during some seven or eight years4 ,the baby king died1 and ,mohammedan prejudice could not brook a woman at the head of affairs4 ,the khalif of ,baghdd was appealed to1 and a husband was chosen for her in the person of ,aybek4 ,it appears that she ruled her husband with as firm a hand as she ruled her country4 ,but this rule was not of long duration4 #8,like a true woman1' says ,stanley-,lane ,poole1 #8she could be jealous2 she made him divorce another wife1 and when ,aybek ventured to propose a fresh marriage with a princess of ,mosil1 the queen gave way to a regrettable act of resentment2 having lured him by fair words to the ,citadel--the facts unhappily can't be softened--she had him murdered in his bath'--not unlike ,zohra's vengeance of six centuries later4 #8,her punishment was speedy and terrible4 ,in three days all was over4 ,the mamelukes shut her up in the ,red ,tower1 where she vindictively pounded her jewels in a mortar that they might adorn no other woman1 and then she was dragged before the wife whom she had made ,aybek divorce1 and there and then beaten to death with the women's clogs4 ,for days her body lay in the ,citadel ditch for the curs to worry1 till some good ,samaritan buried it4 ,her tomb may be seen beside the chapel of ,sitta ,nfisa1 and a pious hand of these latter days has shrouded it with a cloth on which the ,arabic name 8,spray of ,pearls0 is worked in gold4' ,the object of the present writer is not the ambitious one of attempting a history of ,egypt1 but to give a simple account of such things as he saw and heard while in pursuit of his work as an artist4 ,the story of ,zohra is still told in the bazaars1 and the professional reciter still entertains his audience with the doings of ,sheger-ed-,durr4 ,this queen has also a bearing on that vexed question of the origin of the ,holy ,carpet4 ,the departure of the ,mahmal and its return from ,mekka are the two events in ,cairo which annually excite the greatest interest4 ,the hodag1 or the gorgeous covered litter borne by a camel1 is usually taken by the foreign sightseers to be the covering of the ,holy ,carpet which is destined to be placed on the ,kaabah at ,mekka4 ,there is little wonder that this should be so1 for it is by far the most striking object in the procession4 ,it does not1 however1 contain the carpet1 or for that matter anything else4 ,its origin dates from the pilgrimage which #8,the ,spray of ,pearls' made to the ,holy ,city six centuries and a half ago2 and though she is only reported to have gone once1 her camel and litter were yearly sent to represent her4 ,the original hood of this litter has since been replaced1 and the ,mahmal1 as it is called1 has ever since been sent with the pilgrims to represent ,royalty at the yearly hagg4 ,i have had the good fortune to see the procession of the ,mahmal several times1 both on its starting for ,mekka and on its return to ,cairo4 ,the ,kisweh1 as the carpet itself is called1 is taken in four separate pieces1 which are enclosed in boxes and borne by camels4 ,though handsome cloths cover these boxes1 and the trappings of the camels are magnificent1 they yet look far less important than the empty litter which precedes them4 ,a new carpet1 or1 properly speaking1 a new covering for the ,kaabah is annually made1 and1 when the fast of ,ramadan is over1 its component parts are deposited in the mosque of the ,hasaneyn1 there to remain for the few weeks which elapse before the pilgrimage sets out4 ,when the great day arrives1 all ,cairo assembles in the large open space on the south of the ,citadel walls1 and east of the great mosques of ,sultan ,hassan and of el ,rifaiya4 ,his ,highness the ,khedive and all the great state functionaries are here1 and smart up-to-date soldiers keep back the crowds of sightseers to make way for as picturesque and truly oriental a spectacle as any one could wish to see4 ,i confess that familiarity has in this case robbed the proceedings of some of its charm2 for ,i have seen and sketched some of these camels in their gorgeous trappings when they have done duty at weddings1 and also in the courtyard of the man who hires them out4 ,the pictorial effect is there1 however1 none the less4 ,i have enjoyed it more while seeing it pass through the old medival streets1 or file out into the desert through the ,bab en-,nasr4 ,until quite recently its route lay through the passes in the ,mokattam hills1 and by the desert track which leads to ,suez4 ,it is now taken by train to ,alexandria1 and shipped to ,jiddeh1 as the nearest port to the ,holy ,city4 ,my illustration to this chapter is the return journey to ,cairo1 and though ,i may have taken some liberties with the background1 it will give some idea of its aspect during its desert march4 ,my picture of the marriage procession in the earlier part of this book shows some of the properties which figure in this yearly spectacle4 ,as the ,mohammedan year is composed of lunar months1 it is eleven days short of the year as we understand it4 ,thus these and all other religious festivals are set back eleven days annually4 ,when1 in the course of time1 the pilgrims will start on their journey during the summer months1 few foreigners will have an opportunity to see this picturesque pageant4 ,the ,great ,beiram will also fall during the time when ,cairo is empty of visitors1 and this is the most important holiday in the ,mohammedan world4 ,it is the day of the sacrificial feast which the pilgrims partake of in ,mekka after they have heard the sermon on ,mount ,arafat4 ,as this impressive gathering on the holy mount is only to be witnessed by the followers of the ,prophet1 we must content ourselves with seeing all we can of its commemoration in more accessible places4 ,the ,lesser ,beiram1 with which we must not confuse it1 is the holiday and feastings which follow the last day of the fast of ,ramadan4 ,to be spared the month of ,ramadan is a loss no visitor need regret4 ,he will not be much aware of it in his modern hotel1 where ,frankish servants may eat and drink their fill2 but should his occupation lie amongst the natives1 he will indeed rejoice when the last gun is fired to herald the advent of the ,lesser ,beiram4 ,as in many other matters1 this fast fells much more heavily on the poor than on the rich4 ,the well-to-do can pass most of the hours1 between the rising and the setting of the sun1 in sleep or in their cool and comparatively dustless homes4 ,but just think what a long day spent in the sun and the dust must be to a man who may not let a drop of water pass his lips6 ,the callous remark that they are used to it is nonsense4 ,they are used to a drink of water whenever they feel inclined during the eleven months preceding the fest1 and this must quite have broken the habit of a rigid abstinence4 ,i spent one ,ramadan in the camp of the ,egyptian ,exploration ,fund1 and have seen two or three hundred men and boys working the whole day in a perpetual dust4 ,what their cravings for a drink of water must have been was easily imagined2 for though ,i worked in the shade and as far from the excavation dust as ,i could1 the dry desert air often induced me to have a pull at the water-bottle4 ,mr4 ,currelly1 who directed the work1 was considerate enough to alter the hours1 when we appreciated how these men suffered2 and by starting at daybreak and working till dark1 a long rest during the extreme heat of the day was permissible4 ,in the streets and bazaars of ,cairo the fast seems to affect the tempers of the people even more than the hamseen is wont to do4 ,quarrels are much more frequent1 and the only occasion when ,i had a serious row with a native which might have led to very unpleasant consequences was during ,ramadan4 ,i had secured a comfortable seat on the mastaba of a little shop and was painting a fruit-stall on the opposite side of the road4 ,my man ,mohammed induced the woman who kept the stall to pose to me while she squatted amidst the apples and oranges which she sold4 ,the usual bargaining took place between my man and the woman1 and inquisitive neighbours were interested as usual in the proceedings4 ,when it was agreed that she would pose for about the value of her whole stock in trade1 ,i set to work4 ,she was a young woman and wore no face-veil1 which suggested that she was of easy virtue4 ,i was1 however1 more concerned with my drawing than with the morals of my model4 ,a rough-looking fellow presently started an altercation with her1 and as he stood between me and my subject1 ,i told ,mohammed to ask him to stand aside4 ,it appeared that the man objected to the woman being painted1 and he turned furiously on ,mohammed when the latter tried to induce him to move on4 ,had ,i then had ,mahmood as a servant1 he would have made short work of my interrupter2 but ,mohammed had neither the courage nor the physical strength for such strong measures4 ,gentle persuasion had no effect on the brute1 and he suddenly ended his arguments with my model by giving her a violent slap on her cheek4 ,he then rushed across to where ,i was sitting and roughly sat down beside me4 ,i was new to ,cairo then and could not understand what he said1 and ,i put my materials aside before attempting to rid myself of my unpleasant neighbour4 ,leaning over me he stuck his fingers right on to my drawing1 and was rewarded by a blow in his ribs which sent him sprawling on to the road4 ,that was one for touching my drawing and two for the slap on the woman's cheek4 ,personal courage is not a characteristic of the ,egyptians2 but when they #8see red1' as they describe it1 they become like raving madmen4 ,a crowd collected before the man had hardly picked himself up1 and ,i did not at once know what the attitude of the crowd towards myself might be4 ,mohammed's persuasive powers were of good service now1 and several onlookers held back the man1 who made frantic efforts to get at me4 ,he then ran back to the shop1 and picking up the thickest piece of sugar-cane1 he yelled out his curses and made another rush at me4 ,the crowd seemed happily to side with the ,nusranee1 or possibly wished to prevent the ,moslem from getting into further trouble4 ,however that might have been1 the man was well guarded until ,i could get away4 ,mohammed had doubtless been of great service to me2 he had most likely lied to the crowd that ,i was a nephew of ,lord ,cromer's1 or son-in-law to the head of the police1 as ,i found out on later occasions that he had inspired a certain respect for me by similar falsehoods4 ,be this as it may1 ,i was fortunate to have got out of the row as well as ,i had4 ,but why should ,mohammed have been so alarmed when ,i insisted on his going with me to the nearest police-court8 ,he was about to turn tail when we reached the entrance2 ,i was1 however1 in no mood to argue the matter--he should either come in or leave my service4 ,the ,moslem magistrate and his clerks fortunately spoke ,french1 and ,i was able to state my case4 ,they questioned ,mohammed in ,arabic1 and he1 having got over his fears of the police-court1 gave a fair account of what had taken place4 ,i was assured that the man would be found1 and that ,i should hear again from them before long4 ,i returned the next day to the fruit-stall1 and made some compensation to the woman for the slap on her cheek of which ,i had been the innocent cause2 but nothing would persuade her to sit to me any more4 ,when ,i got to work she closed up her shop and departed4 ,i consoled myself1 while ,i put in the detail of the mushrbiyeh oriel which projected over her closed shutters1 that the solatium ,i had given her would more than cover any loss of custom during a ,ramadan morning4 ,when an ,arab in the poorer quarters buys an orange1 it is for immediate consumption4 ,to be seen buying one1 unless just before or after the gun announces the setting of the sun1 would awaken suspicions as to the orthodoxy of the purchaser4 ,a stray ,jew or ,copt might turn up as a customer2 but the chances were slight1 as we were far from either the ,jewish or ,coptic quarters4 ,i had to finish my fruit-shop as best ,i could from other studies1 and find another woman to help me to finish the figure4 ,days went by1 and ,i heard nothing further about my aggressor1 and concluded that either he had not been found1 or that my statement had been pigeon-holed1 and its existence forgotten4 ,i was anyhow singularly free from interruptions when ,i worked in the street where ,i had been molested1 and did not much mind if ,i heard no more about it4 ,after a fortnight or so1 ,i received a letter from the ,british consulate1 telling me to appear at the police-court on such and such a day4 ,i went at the appointed time1 and waited in the magistrate's office until my case should come on4 ,the clerk was pleased to air his ,french1 and tell me about the prisoner1 and the punishment he would probably undergo4 ,had he called me a ,kelb8 seemed a matter of great import4 ,he had probably called me the #8son of a dog'2 but ,i was more concerned at the time as to what he would do with the thick cane than hurt by these reflections on my parentage4 ,i was asked if ,i would go into the hall and see the man1 and ,i did so4 ,i not only found him there1 in the custody of a policeman1 but ,i was introduced to a crowd of his relations4 ,one and all beseeched me to let him off1 and ,mohammed told a woeful tale of how many were dependent on the loafer's earnings4 ,the starvation of a numerous offspring would be laid to my account should the prisoner be prevented from loafing in his own particular manner4 ,the tears of his mother had some effect--but what could ,i do8 ,i did not run this show1 ,i got ,mohammed to explain1 and the decision must rest with the magistrate4 ,i would1 however1 make as light of the case as ,i could1 seeing that it was during ,ramadan that it happened4 ,there being no skirt to my garments1 the old mother had a try at kissing the hem of my trousers1 and as to the prisoner himself1 ,i could hardly recognise in the poor lachrymose creature the furious ruffian of the fruit-stall4 ,the result of all this pleading put me in the unusual position 7when our case was called7 of advocate for the defence rather than that of the prosecutor4 ,when the man got off with sixteen days1 ,i had to slip away quickly to avoid the marks of gratitude from his relations4 ,the part which struck me as odd was that none of his sentence was due to his violent slap of the poor woman's cheek4 ,she was not his wife1 ,i explained to the clerk while ,i waited in the office4 #8,there had been matrimonial relations of a sort1' he explained1 and he seemed to hold that that might cover his right to administer corporal punishment4 ,it was my first season in ,egypt1 so ,i had still much to learn4 ,had the sixteen days of my aggressor's confinement been passed while the fast lasted1 it would have been a light sentence4 ,but ,ramadan was now far spent1 and the term lasted over the holidays of the ,lesser ,beiram4 ,that must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow1 for there are great rejoicings and feastings on the first day of ,shauwl4 ,except those under lock and key1 few ,arabs sit down to a meal where a bit of mutton does not enrich their stew4 ,some months after1 while ,i passed through the street of my fruit-shop1 ,i noticed a man smiling at me1 and making his salaams2 ,i seemed to remember his face1 though ,i could not quite place him4 ,i asked ,mohammed who my acquaintance might be1 and he said1 #8,do you not remember the man you had put in prison8' ,i have met with many cases since1 where an ,egyptian has been justly punished1 and has shown as little resentment4 ,i have asked large employers of labour as to whether any spiteful action ever followed to the master who had sent one of his men to the lock-up4 ,i was told that acts of vengeance were common enough2 but never in a case where punishment was merited4 ,they are not slow to wrath1 but the sun seldom goes down on their anger4 ,i have known cases1 however1 where some fellah having been grossly cheated1 and not being able to get justice in the courts1 has nursed his revenge for a long while4 ,a burning stack or a lighted thatch may be so long after the first wrong that suspicion may fall on others than the incendiary4 #8,never hurry your revenge2 it will be just as sweet in two years' time1' is a saying amongst the fellaheen2 but nothing but the grossest injustice will excite this passion in so light-hearted a people4 ,it is a matter of congratulation to every one in ,mohammedan countries1 whether he be a follower of the ,prophet or not1 when the festivities of ,shauwl announce that the fast of ,ramadan is over4 ,the streets are full of colour during the first days of the month of ,shauwl4 ,parents take their children from house to house to show them off in their new garments2 for all who can possibly afford it cast off their old clothes at the end of the fast and appear in new ones to enjoy the feast4 ,primitive merry-go-rounds are erected in the vacant spaces1 and the various eatables appropriate to the ,little ,beiram are on sale everywhere4 ,the rich give of their substance to the needy1 and happy faces contrast pleasantly with the saddened looks so frequent during the great fast4 ,there is a pause in the festivals during the month of el-,kaadeh1 which follows ,shauwl1 and el-,heggeh1 which is the last month of the ,mohammedan year1 makes up for this in the excitements pertaining to the ,mekka pilgrimage4 ,the ,great ,beiram1 or the #8,eed el-,kebir1' as it is called by the ,egyptians1 falls on the tenth day and it lasts during the three following ones4 ,its advent is noticeable from the flocks of sheep and goats and also the buffaloes which enter ,cairo from the fertile plains of the ,delta4 ,sheep are brought round to the bazaars to sell to the merchants who may not wish to attend the markets1 and they are frequently to be seen tethered outside the stalls in the poorer quarters1 where they are fatted for the sacrifice which takes place at the same hour as the one offered up by the pilgrims at ,mekka4 ,almsgiving is an important duty and is well observed in the ,mohammedan world3 on the tenth day of el-,heggeh those who cannot afford a sheep partake of the sacrificial offerings of their well-to-do neighbours4 ,the new garments of the ,lesser ,beiram appear again on the greater festival1 and the gaily coloured dresses of the children once more enliven the streets4 ,for three days all business is at a standstill1 and merry-making and religious exercises go on all the while4 ,on the third night it is usual to visit the tombs of the deceased relatives--a less mournful ending to the festivities than might be supposed4 ,the approaches to the cemeteries are gay with booths and tents1 rigged up either for entertainments or for religious zikrs4 ,should the festival fall during the hot season the tomb visiting is somewhat of an all-night picnic4 ,moharram is the month which follows the last1 and with it begins the ,mohammedan year4 ,the tenth day is called the ,ashura1 and an event which takes place on the evening of that day is not easily forgotten by any strangers who may happen to have witnessed it4 ,the ,sheeas in ,cairo 7mostly ,persians7 then commemorate the death of ,husseyn1 the twin brother of ,hassan and grandson of the ,prophet4 ,they claim that as ,hassan had died1 the succession should have continued through ,husseyn and his son1 ,ali ,akbar1 after him2 whereas the ,sunnees claim that as ,abubekr was chosen by the ,prophet himself as his successor1 ,abubekr's descendants had a claim prior to that of ,mohammed's actual blood relations4 ,this caused the great split in the ,mohammedan world4 ,the ,sunnees revere the memory of the twin brothers1 and the festival which takes place on their birthday is one of the great events in orthodox ,egypt4 ,the ,sheeas commemorate the day of ,husseyn's death1 which he met on the field of ,kerbala while fighting the usurper of his rights to the ,khalifate4 ,that they should do so in ,persia is easily understood2 but that they should be allowed to parade the streets of ,cairo and proclaim their heresy to the crowds of orthodox ,sunnees1 speaks well for the toleration of the latter4 ,it is true that the police rope the streets through which the procession passes1 and a large body of them guard the processionists from molestation4 ,but were the fanaticism of the populace really stirred1 the events which ,i witnessed could never take place4 ,i got a seat in a coffee-shop close to the ,hasaneyn mosque about an hour after sunset2 and although the ,persians would not be allowed to enter the mosque itself1 ,i felt sure that their enthusiasm would be stirred to the highest pitch when they passed by the shrine where the head of ,husseyn is said to be buried4 ,crowds of people awaited alongside the route which the ,sheeas would take2 the display of so much heresy seemed to trouble them very little1 and1 like myself1 they looked forward to an evening's entertainment4 ,the street was not lighted up as on the day of the birth of the twin brothers1 so that the light which presently appeared at the further end of the street attracted the attention of every one at once4 ,a number of flaming cressets lit up the grey houses where the procession turned from out the ,mousky into the ,hasaneyn street4 ,as it approached1 the short jerky chorus of the men was more often repeated3 #8,hassan1 ,husseyn6 ,hassan1 ,husseyn6' ,the shouts got wilder and more frequent as the procession drew near to the mosque4 ,the first to pass us was a man on horseback1 who harangued the crowd during an interval in the chorus4 ,he told of how the young ,husseyn died in fighting for his faith and against the usurper of his throne4 ,the crowd seemed as little inclined to contradict him as ,i was1 although a few murmurs of dissent came from some who sat on the bench beside me4 ,the men who carried the flaming cressets followed next1 and then several mounted policemen4 ,these were not necessarily ,sheeas1 but were there to preserve the heretics from any hostile demonstrations on the part of onlookers4 ,a number of men carrying tall banners and others with more cressets followed the guardians of the law4 ,two led horses between a long double file of ,persians carrying lanterns were the next objects of interest1 for these horses represented the twin sons of ,ali1 who both were killed while mounted on their steeds4 ,the ever-increasing noise at the further end of the procession prepared me somewhat for an exciting scene2 but ,i hardly expected the gruesome sight which now followed4 ,a number of men1 some half-clad and others in long white garments1 were literally streaming with blood4 ,they carried naked swords1 with which they occasionally slashed their foreheads1 and the white garments which caught the jets of blood seemed as if they had been worn with the purpose of making the sight more ghastly4 ,some swayed as if about to fall1 and had hardly any voice left to shout the names of their heroes4 ,others1 in a state of frenzy1 brandished their swords and shouted1 #8,hassan6 ,husseyn6' ,we were so near some of these men in the narrow street that ,i had to withdraw my legs so as not to touch their blood-stained garments4 ,they wore no turbans1 and the awful wounds on their close-shaven heads made me feel sick4 ,there were some without swords who preferred to flog their naked bodies with chains1 and though this ordeal may have been worse than the other1 it was1 at any rate1 less gruesome to behold4 ,a small boy on a led white horse followed1 and blood ran down his face and stained his white robes4 ,i felt indignant that a child should take part in this ghastly orgy2 but a suspicion that the blood had been skilfully placed there before the procession had started cooled my indignation4 ,i witnessed the above some fifteen years ago1 and it is possible that some of the worst features may have been modified4 ,it might well be prohibited1 for these ,sheeas are strangers in the land1 and no orthodox ,egyptian could object to the prohibition of practices carried on by those whom they consider heretics4 ,when the ,dseh was stopped soon after the ,british occupation1 it was a much greater interference with the religion of the people1 for the ,dseh was not a ,sheea practice2 it was1 on the contrary1 one of the great events during the ,moolid en-,nebi1 the birthday of the ,prophet4 ,it was a barbaric performance and many people were seriously injured1 though to this day ,moslems have tried to assure me that when the ,sheykh rode over the prostrate bodies of the faithful1 none were injured by the horse's hoofs1 and all received great blessings through this act of faith4 ,they have1 however1 quietly submitted to the prohibition of being trampled on1 and would doubtless raise no objection to the heretics living in this country being similarly prohibited from practising the barbarities of the ,ashura4 ,towards the end of ,safar1 the second month1 the return of the ,mekka caravan may be expected1 and we again witness the picturesque procession of the ,mahmal which has been described4 ,the third month1 or ,rabeea el-,owwal1 is the month of the ,prophet4 ,his birth and death are both said to have taken place on the twelfth day2 and any one wishing to see as much of the life and character of the ,egyptians as possible will find something of interest during the first two weeks of that month4 ,with the exception of the ,dseh1 all the ceremonies which ,lane describes as having taken place in his day may now be seen during the latter end of the tourist season1 for the first day of the ,mohammedan year #accj was on the twenty-second day of ,december #aiaa4 ,three lunar months added to that date takes us into the middle of ,march #aiab4 ,as these dates get a set-back of eleven days each year1 visitors in the near future will not have to wait to as late a date to assist in the festivities of the ,moolid en-,nebi4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,theban ,,homestead ,if not pressed for time and a certain amount of heat can be borne1 both ,april and ,may are delightful months in ,egypt1 always excepting the days of hamseen4 ,apart from this festival 7which then fell in ,april7 modern ,cairo is beautified with its numerous blossoming trees4 ,the trying hot winds cease early in ,may1 and though that month is1 ,i admit1 a hot one1 ,i consider it and also ,june to be the months when the painter may do his best work in ,egypt4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,more ,,religious ,,observances1 ,,spring',s ,,awakening1 ,,and ,,the ,,cairene ,,house ,,of ,,count ,,zogheb ,the religious observances1 the festivals1 and the superstitions of ,islam have been so fully described by ,lane that it seems presumptuous to attempt to do so here4 ,but they are so intimately associated with the life and character of the ,egyptians that it is impossible to describe the people amongst whom ,i have so long lived without referring to these observances4 ,from the first day of the month of the ,prophet every street and bazaar in ,cairo show some signs that the ,moolid en-,nebi will soon be on us4 ,bands of dervishes1 carrying the banners of the sects to which they belong1 make happy incidents in the streets through which they pass4 ,should we go past a dervish tekke the sound of a zikr will be heard2 and should we be bold enough to peep in we may see a group of men swaying backwards and forwards1 and hear them repeat in unison the name of ,allah till physical exhaustion causes a pause4 ,queer-looking fakirs beg for alms in the name of the ,prophet2 and whether they have lain low during ordinary times and only donned their rags for the great occasion1 ,i cannot tell1 but they turn up now like butterflies on a fine spring morning4 ,it is pleasant to wander about the streets of the old quarters after sunset4 ,their usual dark and deserted appearance is enlivened here and there by a display of lanterns hung beneath a marvellously patterned awning1 and one's curiosity is incited to know with what thrilling romance the sher is engaging the attention of his audience4 ,it is also curious to find men who1 after the religious excitement of a zikr1 will sit in ecstasies in the little theatres while the sensuous dance of the ghazeeyeh is performed4 ,arabic music can also be heard at its best4 ,incomprehensible at first1 as a strange language to the foreigner1 it has a subtle charm which increases as the sounds become more familiar4 ,a dark lane1 where one or two small lanterns mark the entrances of some old mameluke palaces1 may of a sudden be lighted at one end by the approach of a band of dervishes carrying now flaming cressets in lieu of the banners we may have seen in the daytime4 ,i neglected the old quarters1 during my last stay in ,cairo1 when the month of the ,prophet was on us4 ,the commonplace1 but luxurious1 modern quarters were made glorious by the wreath of blossoming shrubs and trees which adorned them4 ,the ,esbekiyeh gardens1 which ,i usually avoid1 were a great attraction to me then4 ,a large and rather gimcrack grotto1 which ,i thought a horror during the winter1 was now almost smothered by the gorgeous blossom of the bougainvillea4 ,seldom have ,i seen such an orgy of colour4 ,i made some studies of it which ,i have since found useful2 but ,i should then have left the bougainvillea severely alone4 ,i heard of a fine display of its blossom in the zoological gardens1 where ,i knew that the small entrance fee as well as the other attractions would allow me to work with less of an admiring crowd4 ,captain ,flower 7to whom we are indebted for having made this collection of the fauna and birds of ,africa one of the most interesting in the world7 gave me every facility for working in the gardens which he controls4 ,besides the masses of bougainvillea1 ,i found the bohenia in full bloom2 the hibiscus was in flower1 the poinciana regia1 as well as many other subtropical shrubs4 ,i started a morning as well as an afternoon drawing of the bougainvillea1 and much as ,i was taken by this display of colour in nature1 ,i found that somehow or another ,i could not get it to look pictorially right on my paper4 ,the purplish-crimson fought unpleasantly with the green1 and with the blue of the sky4 ,it is a pity2 for the otherwise delightful days ,i spent at the ,gizeh gardens have this black mark against them4 ,the bougainvillea had hardly shed its blossom when the jacaranda began to show what it is capable of1 both as to its beauty as in the difficulties it sets before the painter who attempts to record the delicacy of its colouring4 ,i thought nothing more of the bougainvillea when the jacaranda put on its spring garments4 ,leafless trees of a graceful growth1 which may be seen in almost every garden1 but which we simply label in our minds as trees without paying them any further attention1 become each one an object of admiration when ,april glides into ,may4 ,i had generally been in ,upper ,egypt during that season1 or had left the country too soon to see the jacaranda in bloom4 ,the cherry-blossom had attracted me to ,japan the previous year1 ,i have made studies of the almond tree and the peach during one or two seasons in ,italy1 and ,i never fail to get at the apple-blossom should ,i happen to be in ,england in ,may4 ,each in its turn has filled me with enthusiasm4 ,but there is none to compare with the beauty of the jacaranda4 ,its local colour is a pale violet1 but when the declining sun plays amongst its bloom-laden twigs1 it tells as a mass of warm pink against the turquoise sky4 ,the fear of a hamseen increases as the blossom gets to perfection1 for two or three days of the hot dry wind may rob the trees of most of their beauty4 ,the colour is so different under a sand-laden sky that it is hopeless to continue a drawing begun when the wind came from a better quarter4 ,should the hamseen have done its worst before these trees break into blossom1 we may enjoy their beauty for a fortnight or more4 ,when once the green buds show between the blossoms1 we know that in a day or two all will be over4 ,the rapidity with which a leafless tree changes to a mass of green is surprising to any one who has spent his years in northern climes4 ,whether the oleander was exceptionally fine that season ,i cannot tell1 but ,i had seen nothing like it anywhere--and an oleander in flower is a thing no one with any sthetic sense would pass unnoticed4 ,the scorching winds may have shrivelled up some of its bloom1 but the profusion of buds was ever ready to fill up any gaps left by the falling petals4 ,where water is available anything seems to grow in this rich alluvial soil4 ,flowers were in plenty during the whole winter1 but the flower gardens in ,egypt attracted me less than do those nearer home4 ,the blackish mud from which they grow makes an unpleasant setting4 ,the large flowering shrubs get their moisture deeper in the soil1 and little or no irrigation seems required4 ,cairo is but a few feet above the level of the ,nile1 and the roots of the larger trees probably reach down to where a continuous supply of water is ever available4 ,i can only account in this way for the luxuriance of growth often seen in a dry and sandy courtyard4 ,it is difficult to say when the rose season is at its best2 we were seldom without them4 ,the bushes possibly take a rest during the hottest months of summer2 during the autumn1 the winter1 and the spring they are hardly ever denuded of their bloom before they show signs of renewed efforts to break into flower4 ,the new suburbs1 which are ever stretching out to the north and south of the modern ,cairo1 have little to attract one4 ,architectural studies may be made there to learn what to avoid4 ,i avoided them altogether until the blossoming trees1 the flowering shrubs1 and the gorgeous colour of some of the creepers attracted me from one otherwise villainous house to another4 ,there are scarcely any flowers to be seen in the old parts of the city1 so that the houses and mosques could wait2 but not so the blossoming trees in the gardens of the modern quarters4 ,count ,zogheb kindly showed me over his house1 which forms a striking exception to the many tasteless buildings in its neighbourhood1 and it was a pleasure to find that the planning and decoration of the best mameluke palaces can be adapted to modern requirements if the possessor has the means and the good taste to appreciate them4 ,herz ,bey designed the building1 and though it is no slavish copy of any existing old ,cairene house1 it has the spirit and the good taste of the best ,saracenic work4 ,i was also glad to see that it is possible to reproduce the handsome tiles1 which ,i had repeatedly heard to be a lost art4 ,some panels which the owner pointed out to me were made up partly of old and partly of modern tiles1 and ,i confess ,i found it difficult to tell which were which4 ,connoisseurs in old faience may smile at this1 and they might have pointed out some differences in the glaze2 but in the decorative effect on the walls one was quite as useful as the other4 ,i wish they had been made in ,egypt1 for any signs of a revival of the lost handicraft would be most welcome4 ,the ,count informed me that some were made in ,venice from patterns he sent there1 and others were manufactured in ,austria4 ,nassan1 he of the lamp-shop1 must have acquired a good customer in my new acquaintance1 for a great number of his lamps were seen here1 and they were beautifully adapted to the electric light4 ,a fear ,i had before entering the house was that it might look theatrical and not suitable to present-day use2 but ,i lost that completely after ,i had been there some while4 ,there was no affectation on the part of my host and his family to live as medival ,moslems1 any more than the possessor of an old ,english house attempts to live as did his predecessors4 ,chairs1 tables1 books and all other modern requirements were there1 and they looked no more incongruous than did the unveiled faces of the handsome wife and daughters of my host4 ,it was a bold venture1 and if a less able architect than ,herz ,bey had had the designing of this home1 it might have been a deplorable failure1 instead of an encouragement to other wealthy ,cairenes to try to do likewise4 ,the first attempt at a revival of ,saracenic domestic architecture was the ,french ,agency4 ,i can only judge of it from its exterior1 which is a dignified and handsome building2 competent judges have assured me that the interior is very beautiful4 ,it is singular that this noble attempt to build according to the traditions of ,cairo's best period went on while ,ismael ,pasha was tearing down fine old mameluke palaces and destroying one of the most picturesque parts of the old city1 in order to construct the hideous #8,boulevard ,mohammed ,ali4' ,this act of vandalism went on under ,french influence while a ,french architect was constructing the #8,maison de ,france1' as the agency is called1 and endeavouring to give it the appearance of the houses the ,cairenes were destroying4 ,fine old mushrbiyeh work was to be had in plenty1 and the furniture of a fine mosque1 which was partly demolished in order to preserve the alignment of the ,boulevard1 were available to the architect of the agency4 ,it contains1 therefore1 much genuine old work which was not procurable when ,count ,zogheb recently built his home4 ,it is as well that this should be so4 ,age does little to improve the woodwork1 whose chief beauty consists in the design1 and of this plenty of examples remain4 ,it is a hopeful sign that all that ,i saw in the ,count's beautiful house can still be achieved1 providing an able architect be selected4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,jacaranda ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,der ,,el-,,bahri1 ,,and ,,some ,,incidents ,,which ,,took ,,place ,,during ,,my ,,stay ,,there ,from #aije and onwards ,i spent five long seasons in ,upper ,egypt4 ,i was engaged during a part of that time in reproducing a series of eighteenth dynasty bas-reliefs for four different museums4 ,by the courtesy of the ,antiquities ,department ,i was allowed the use of the hut built by the ,egyptian ,exploration ,fund1 when1 under the direction of ,professor ,naville1 the excavations of the ,mentuhoteb temple at ,thebes were begun4 ,i joined the camp during the last season of its work there4 ,i spent a delightful winter in the companionship of four enthusiastic excavators4 ,the exciting finds while ,professor ,currelly was in charge of the camp1 as well as the epoch-making discovery of the tomb of ,queen ,tyi in the ,valley of the ,tombs of the ,kings1 all tend to make the winter of #aije-aijf a memorable one in the annals of ,egyptian research4 ,it was an exciting time2 but as these events1 as well as my own work for the museums1 has been given in detail in ,below the ,cataracts1 ,i propose now to recount some of the incidents which occurred since the ,egyptian ,exploration ,fund broke up their camp to carry on their work at ,abydos4 ,the reproduction of the bas-reliefs in the ,hatshepsu temple1 which ,i originally undertook rather as an experiment1 brought me numerous commissions from various museums4 ,the work was interesting as well as lucrative2 but after some months of it ,i yearned to get back to my water-colour drawings4 ,i therefore engaged an artist in ,paris to come out the following season to assist me4 ,we then had the hut to ourselves1 and we turned the antiquities store-room into a studio for such work as we had not to do in the temple itself4 ,we led the #8simple life' here with a vengeance4 ,we slept under the canopy of the starlit heavens2 we fed on what our ,arab cook could find in the village between us and the cultivated land1 supplemented with preserves ,i had sent out from ,england2 we rose with the sun and retired not very long after it had set4 ,hatshepsu's temple rises in terraces a couple of hundred yards from the hut1 and the foundations of the newly excavated shrine of ,mentuhoteb lie beside it1 the former more or less an enlarged copy of its neighbour of twelve centuries earlier date4 ,an amphitheatre of imposing limestone cliffs backs the two ruins and divides us from the ,valley of the ,tombs of the ,kings4 ,the great ,theban necropolis spreads over the desert between us and the cultivation1 and stretches some two miles both to the north and to the south of our hut1 the vast temple of ,medinet ,habu being at the southern extremity and the road to the ,valley of the ,kings at its northern end4 ,in these two to three square miles of broken ground1 raised above the limits of the ,nile's overflow1 can we read most of what is known of the history of ,egypt from the ,middle ,empire up to the ,mohammedan invasion4 ,little is known from the decline of the twelfth dynasty until the rise of the ,new ,empire some five-and-thirty centuries past4 ,but the story of the renaissance during the eighteenth dynasty1 the conquests of the second and the third ,rameses1 as well as the gradual decline of the empire until the foreign domination1 can be read here by the ,egyptologist as in an open book4 ,of the rule of the ,tanites1 of the ,libyans1 and of the ,ethiopians1 we find fewer indications4 ,some remains remind us of the second renaissance during the late ,egyptian period1 and we are also reminded of ,cambyses and the ,persian domination1 when we behold the overturned colossal image of ,rameses4 ,a beautiful little temple of ,nektanebos carries us forward to when the ,egyptians came by their own again4 ,the ,ptolemaic faade at ,medinet ,habu1 the beautiful little shrine at ,der el-,medineh1 and the inner sanctuary of ,hatshepsu's temple remain as examples of the work done under the ,ptolemies4 ,if we go a mile beyond ,medinet ,habu we find a little temple of ,isis erected by ,hadrian and ,antoninus ,pius1 and bearing the inscriptions of ,vespasian1 ,domitian1 and ,otho4 ,the early ,christians have left their mark in ,hatshepsu's shrine to ,ammon ,ra2 unfortunately little of their constructive work is seen1 but a great many obliterations of beautiful eighteenth dynasty bas-reliefs make us regret their pious zeal4 ,until recently a partly ruined ,christian church stood in the centre of the second court of the ,rameses ,,iii4 temple at ,medinet ,habu4 ,misplaced zeal on the part of ,egyptologists caused this primitive place of ,christian worship to be cleared away so as not to obstruct the view of the earlier building4 ,a broader view of archology might have spared such an interesting structure4 ,to settle down to a stay of seven consecutive months in an arid waste1 surrounded by tombs and the crumbling remains of a bygone age1 might strike the man in the street as holding out a gloomy prospect4 ,the idea that ,i had not been particularly favoured never entered my head till1 after four or five months passed here1 ,i received a visit from a relative4 ,this lady had picked her way on a donkey1 through a mile or more of pit tombs1 rock tombs and broken mausoleums1 on a hot and dusty day1 before she reached my hut4 ,after our greetings she remarked1 #8,you must be fed up with this place by now4' ,she asked me to come and stay1 as her guest1 in the huge new hotel which we could see from here outlined against the eastern horizon4 ,that ,i had become an object of pity instead of one to be envied was a new and strange idea to me4 ,to give up my free life in this fine air1 surrounded as ,i was with an infinity of things which filled me with interest1 and my only regret being that the days were far too short--to give this up to loaf about the hotel at ,luxor amidst a crowd of people whose one object is to kill time--the very thought of it gave me a shudder4 ,i tried to console my kindly intentioned relative that she would think better of my locality when she had seen the beautiful things ,hatshepsu's temple had in store for her4 ,the beautiful series of reliefs illustrating the expedition to the ,land of ,punt1 the presentation of ,queen ,aahmes to ,ammon ,ra and the divine birth of ,hatshepsu1 all executed during the best period of the eighteenth dynasty1 did less to expel the gloomy thoughts of my relation than did the cup of tea which my ,arab cook had prepared for her4 ,the frank admission that the chipped and cracked examples of an archaic art did not appeal to her was refreshing1 and ,i began already to have my suspicions as to the genuineness of many exclamations of admiration ,i had heard4 ,early ,egyptian art must ever remain as caviare to the masses until they learn that art is not merely a slavish reproduction of some natural objects4 ,they would do well to credit those who have studied it and who assure them that it is in truth a very great art1 and that it well repays any intelligent person who approaches it with proper reverence4 ,the absence of perspective and of all foreshortening in these low reliefs shocks the tyro1 and he may express himself that the figures must be wrong when an attitude is depicted which it is impossible to hold4 ,the mind1 however1 soon accepts these conventions and is free to admire the wonderful drawing of the outline1 the sense of proportion1 and the marvellously suggested modelling in a relief that seldom surpasses the eighth of an inch in thickness4 ,apart from the purely sthetic pleasure the eighteenth dynasty work gives us1 it is a delight to be carried back to a remote age and to see depicted not only the gods and the kings1 but the everyday life1 with its joys and its sorrows1 of a people who flourished more than three millenniums ago4 ,the past may seem too remote to awaken much sympathy in many who are always surrounded by the comforts of the present day4 ,but if we enter into the life of the fellaheen who dwell in the villages where desert and cultivation meet1 we find much in common between the early ,egyptians and this country-folk4 ,some actually live in the tombs1 using the forecourts for their beasts4 ,where exceptionally interesting wall inscriptions exist in the ancient sepulchres1 the ,antiquities ,department has stepped in and protected them from the risk of being damaged4 ,the evicted tenants then build their homes nearer the cultivation4 ,the one ,i give as an illustration to this chapter is a fair sample of a modern ,theban homestead4 ,the dress of the people has altered slightly from that of their remote ancestors1 and the camel was presumably non-existent in pharaonic times2 but little else has been changed4 ,the rude bins made of dried mud are of early ,egyptian rather than of ,saracenic design4 ,the stone in the right-hand corner with which the fellaha grinds the corn1 finds its prototype on the walls of many an adjacent tomb4 ,the farming operations have little changed during this great lapse of time4 ,the scenes depicted on the walls of the tomb of ,nakht3 the men reaping with sickles1 the women gleaning2 others packing the ears of corn or measuring the garnered grain--all this can be seen now1 in any of these villages1 and it is done in the same simple and primitive manner4 ,the types of the labouring people are less changed than their simple garments4 ,the women plucking durra or winnowing the corn in ,nakht's sepulchre might have been drawn from any of the women we now see carrying their pitchers of water from the wells4 ,all are now followers of the ,prophet save a few ,coptic ,christians2 the worship of ,isis gave way to that of the risen ,christ1 and the crescent has since replaced the cross4 ,but many a superstition has survived these changes4 ,the mental characteristics of the ,upper ,egyptian differ very much from those of the true bred ,arab2 it is therefore rational to believe that these have been transmitted as well as the cast of the features4 ,some allowance must be made for the inhabitants of ,gurna1 the long straggling village at the base of the necropolis4 ,year after year tourists pass by its hovels1 and from a coin thrown now and again to the children1 a breed of beggars is replacing an otherwise hard-working people4 ,the demand for #8antikas' has caused a supply of false ones1 or tempted the men to steal from the temples whenever a favourable chance presents itself4 ,many have lost the habit of work in consequence of these evil influences2 thus1 on the whole1 the ,gurna peasants compare badly with those of less frequented villages4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,birth ,,colonnade ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,hatshepsu ,with the exception of a few friends who were connected with the excavations1 or an occasional visit from acquaintances who were spending a season in ,upper ,egypt1 ,i saw few human beings beside the ,gurna peasants4 ,i endeavoured to see the best side of their natures1 and to make allowances for the centuries of bad government under which they have existed4 ,i found them not quite so bad as they are painted4 ,their ingratitude1 of which ,i had heard a good deal1 can be explained in two ways2 firstly1 hospitality is a duty of the ,mohammedan religion1 and hospitality of a kind is expected and taken for granted4 ,we are seldom grateful for what we consider our due4 ,secondly1 many favours conferred by the foreigner are little more than common humanity demands1 and he is liable to place too high an estimate on what he may have done4 ,where too much gratitude was not expected for some service performed1 ,i generally found that the fellah could be as grateful as the peasant nearer home4 ,their greed for money is a characteristic which the tourist cannot fail to perceive2 but the tourist seldom meets any of the fellaheen save those who live near the frequented #8sights4' ,the annual influx of sightseers has become as a crop1 to these peasants1 from which a harvest should be gathered4 ,in their eyes the ,sauwhn are all millionaires1 and1 according to the oriental mind1 the rich man should pay out of the abundance of his riches1 and not necessarily in proportion to the services rendered4 ,our medival #8largess' was taken in that light by our forebears1 and corresponds very much to the fellaheen's notion of baksheesh4 ,this is not expected of those who live and work amongst them1 for #8,how can a man be rich if he works daily with his hands8' ,baksheesh from such as myself would be expected not as largess1 but more as a gratuity after a certain period of service4 ,i remember a man asking where the ,beled es-,sauwhn was1 that is1 the #8,land of the ,foreigners4' ,on being told that the ,english1 the ,french and ,germans1 who were all ,sauwhn1 had each a separate country1 my questioner retorted1 #8,but surely you are not one of them8' ,i told him that as ,i was an ,englishman1 ,i was of course one of them1 and ,i1 in my turn asking him a few questions1 managed to arrive at his views on the subject4 ,he was aware that there existed beyond the seas a land of the ,ingleesi1 also one of the ,fransowi1 and one of the ,nemsawi2 but besides these there was a land of the ,sauwhn1 a rich people who apparently did no work1 and annually migrated to the south to visit the temples and tombs of the ancient ,egyptians for some obscure purpose which he had not quite fathomed4 ,they are superstitious to a greater degree than the pure ,arab1 who1 to my thinking1 is less so than most other illiterate people1 and it would be an interesting study to sift the superstitions which date back to the ,pantheism of the early ,egyptians from those which have been imported since the ,mohammedan invasion4 ,they seem to credit every foreigner who lives amongst them with a certain amount of medical knowledge1 and when their own treatment will have failed in its object1 any ,european living amongst them may expect a visit from the sufferer4 ,a supply of ,epsom salts and a solution of boracic acid1 left in my hut by the last tenants1 did duty for most internal and external complaints which were brought to me during my first season2 and these remedies1 largely assisted by the antiseptic air of the desert1 soon established my reputation as a hakeem4 ,the remedies being gratis1 and a bottle thrown in1 it is possible that the bottle may have attracted some of my patients4 ,there is a well-appointed hospital at ,luxor to which ,i vainly tried to persuade many to apply4 ,wild stories of imaginary horrors practised there1 and the usual fear that some means would be used to extract money from them1 prevents many an excellent hospital from being the blessing it should be4 ,a painful case that was brought to my notice decided me to augment not only my medical stores1 but also to gain some elementary knowledge as to first-aid treatment4 ,in early ,november scorpions are still active1 and are not hibernating1 as they do while the tourist's season is on1 and only those who live here in the hot season have any idea what a pest scorpions can be4 ,the case in point was that of a little girl who had been stung1 and the father hurried round to my hut to ask me for a remedy4 ,the only treatment ,i had then heard of was to take alcohol in sufficient quantities to counteract the poison of the scorpion4 ,as the child was only eleven years old1 ,i put more water than whisky in the bottle1 and told the man to give his girl a teaspoonful about every half-hour1 and to be careful to keep the wound clean4 ,i saw the man the next day1 and he told me that the child was well again2 how far he had applied the whisky solution ,i could not tell4 ,a suspicion crossed my mind that he had probably drunk the whisky1 and possibly rubbed the wound with the empty bottle4 ,the child1 however1 being well1 ,i thought no more about it till ,i again met the man1 a week or so later4 ,i playfully remarked that ,i hoped no more whisky might be required for scorpion stings1 and received the startling answer that the child was dead4 ,the man took his loss in the resigned fatalistic manner of most ,mohammedans4 #8,it was the will of ,allah1 and we must accept that as all for the best4' ,i sent a letter the next day to the dispensary which is attached to the ,american mission1 and begged the man in charge of it to supply me with any known remedies for the sting of the scorpion1 and also to kindly write out how the remedies should be applied4 ,my servant brought back two preparations of ammonia1 some lint1 and detailed instructions how to use them4 ,there was no mention of alcohol1 so ,i trusted that my suspicions as to who had swallowed my whisky had been well founded4 ,as we got into ,december1 we heard and saw little of scorpions1 and1 during the season of hibernation1 ,i forgot about these creatures as well as about the remedies1 till a very rude reminder of their existence brought one and the other back to me4 ,while lifting up some stones in the ,ramesseum so as to arrange a level place to stand my sketching-stool1 ,i put my hand inadvertently on a sleeping scorpion4 ,he was soon awake1 and the sting ,i got in my hand caused the most acute physical pain ,i can ever remember4 ,i was a mile away from my hut and the remedies2 but remembering the first instructions1 ,i endeavoured to tie my handkerchief tightly round my wrist1 so as to stop the poison1 which ,i felt shooting up my arm4 ,i could not manage this with one hand1 and had to call in the assistance of two ,american ladies who happened to be viewing the temple4 ,when one kindly tied the handkerchief as tight as ,i could stand1 the shooting pains up my arm lessened1 and the poison then worked its way to my finger-tips4 ,my good ,samaritan tried to induce me to mount her ass and ride into ,luxor to see a doctor4 ,this and the crossing of the ,nile would have taken me over an hour1 and the pain in my finger-tips became too acute to make an hour of it even thinkable4 ,besides which1 ,i was keen on trying my new remedies4 ,the treatment which my missionary friend had written out worked very well2 the application of ammonia to the wound1 and the drops taken internally1 soon had some effect1 and ,ebers's ,bride of the ,nile1 which ,i was reading1 and on which ,i tried hard to concentrate my thoughts1 probably did some good also4 ,a native acquaintance called to suggest a cure4 ,i was to repeat certain words accompanied by some signs1 and ,i know not what else1 for ,i was not in the mood to take his instructions in4 ,not wishing1 however1 to throw cold water on his good intentions1 ,i told him that1 good as his remedy might be1 ,i was afraid that it might act counter to the one ,i was trying4 ,the cabalistic words and signs might not agree with the ammonia treatment prescribed by one who had no belief in these words1 and my friend admitted that he had never thought of that4 ,i also pretended to fall asleep1 and succeeded thereby in ridding myself of my well-intentioned visitor4 ,a peculiar stiffness hung about my finger-joints for nearly a week and then left me2 it was my left hand1 so it did not interfere with my work4 ,one detail ,i had omitted may be well to mention1 in case a reader be similarly circumstanced1 and that is1 when using some sharp instrument to open the puncture so as to squeeze out as much poison as possible1 be sure to disinfect this instrument properly4 ,i imagined a good wipe of the hypodermic syringe ,i used for the purpose would be a sufficient precaution2 but a sore place which took some time to heal has taught me in future either to dip the instrument into carbolic acid1 or1 failing that1 to heat it in the flame of a candle before trying any surgical operations with it4 ,no patients from scorpion stings applied to me again1 for the death of the poor little girl may have been put to my charge4 ,as an eye doctor ,i was in great request4 ,dirt being the chief cause of the complaints1 a wash with the boracic solution did no harm1 and generally did some good4 ,some brought blind people to my hut--rather a lot to expect from a little boracic acid6 ,some cases were probably only cataract1 and quite curable2 but say what ,i would1 ,i could not persuade these people to go to the ,luxor hospital4 ,since then ,i hear that a member of the ,khedivial family has devoted a large sum of money to send properly equipped medical men to the villages to see how far they can cope with the various eye maladies4 ,a wiser and better charity it is hard to conceive4 ,had my patients dwelt in the towns or on the cultivated land1 my cures might have been few and far between4 ,the pure desert air had much to do with my healings4 ,i mentioned the case of the little girl who had died to a medical friend who happened to be spending the season at ,luxor4 ,in his opinion the poison from the scorpion was not the cause of the death2 but when picking at the little wound some poisonous matter must have got in and caused blood-poisoning4 ,i went out the next season more fully provided with medical stores1 and our good doctor in ,haslemere had given me some hints as to bandaging a wound and applying first-aid treatment4 ,i had not long to wait before putting my freshly acquired knowledge to a test4 ,one of the guards at the ,hatshepsu temple trod with his naked foot on a jagged bottle end which some careless picnickers had left there4 ,it was a ghastly wound1 and though ,i told the man ,i would pay for a donkey to take him to ,luxor1 and would see that he lost no wages while he might be laid up1 he would not go1 and preferred taking the risk of losing his foot4 ,as all persuasion failed1 ,i set to work to do my best4 ,i washed his foot and bandaged it with the antiseptic material ,i had1 and sent him home with a broomstick for a crutch4 ,he and the broomstick appeared early next morning to have the wound dressed1 and his visits were repeated twice daily for the best part of a week4 ,the rapidity with which that foot healed up made me doubt as to whether ,i had not missed my vocation4 ,no ,london surgeon could have effected a cure as rapidly with all his experience and his up-to-date appliances4 ,but lest ,i should become too conceited1 ,i reflected that the ,london surgeon had neither the desert air to operate in1 nor had he as abstemious patients as mine was4 ,no strong drinks had ever heated his blood1 and his simple fare was sufficient for the easy work he had to do1 but not enough to produce the acids of the often overfed ,britisher4 ,now this man was grateful for the trouble ,i had taken1 and ,i'll be bound to say1 more so than many ,london hospital patients who take all that is gratuitously done for them as a matter of course4 ,he tried to show his gratitude one day in a manner ,i had to decline4 ,i found him shaving the head of his fellow-guard with pieces of broken glass4 ,i watched him for some time performing this dry shave3 he would break a piece off a bottle and then jag the sharp edge over his mate's skull4 ,when the edge was blunted1 he would break off another piece of glass and continue the operation1 till finally the head appeared as free of hair as a billiard ball4 ,it took the best part of an afternoon to complete the job to his satisfaction4 ,it was past the season when visitors to the temple might be expected1 and time was therefore of no object4 ,seeing that my hair wanted cutting badly1 my late patient seriously offered to shave my head in like manner4 ,i dislike long hair1 especially in hot weather1 but ,i thought ,i might dislike the broken glass still more4 ,neither ,i nor my assistant from ,paris wished to lose a whole day by going to ,luxor to visit the hairdresser1 and the latter decided that he would let our cook try his hand on his head4 ,our cook appeared to be as expert a barber as the temple guard1 and time being rather more valuable to him1 he cleared the hair off my companion's head very quickly4 ,even this did not encourage me to submit to the operation1 and ,i reflected that as my time was more valuable than that of a native ,luxor barber1 ,i would get a barber from thence to come to me4 ,i also prefer these artists in hair to use my own brushes to any they may themselves possess4 ,the brushes were1 however1 of little use1 for there was nothing to brush for a fortnight after the ,luxor hairdresser's visit4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,hairdresser ,i have no picture of the broken bottle school of barber2 but ,i painted one of the craft1 at a recent date1 plying his trade in a street in ,cairo4 ,he had a pair of scissors to take off the main crop1 and a dry shave 7where no blood was spilt7 followed with a razor4 ,he got through his job very much quicker than the amateurs at ,der el-,bahri1 but he did not do it as cleanly4 ,while ,i painted my street corner1 ,i noticed several heads the worse for the razor1 and though some talk as to the charge for the operation usually preceded it1 there were seldom any complaints about the cuts in the scalps4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,der ,,el-,,bahri--7continued7 ,from the middle of ,january till the beginning of ,march not a day went by but some parties of visitors passed through ,der el-,bahri to see ,hatshepsu's temple4 ,they usually went to the ,valley of the ,tombs of the ,kings first1 and then crossing over the mountain which separated us from that valley1 we would see them defiling down the steep incline which leads to ,cook's rest-house4 ,after lunch the guide would rush them through ,hatshepsu's shrine1 and then start them off to see the tombs of ,sheykh ,abd-el-,gurna2 the ,ramesseum would then be visited1 and with hardly a pause for breath every one would remount their donkeys or get into their litters to be rushed off to ,medinet ,habu4 ,the ,valley of the ,tombs of the ,queens might then be visited1 and a long ride1 with a short halt at the ,colossi of ,memnon1 would take them to the ,nile1 to be crossed after sunset1 before the ,luxor hotels could be reached4 ,i have no doubt that most of these good people were thankful when so fatiguing a day was well over1 and vowed that no power on earth would ever induce them to go through it again4 ,a week would barely suffice to get more than a cursory glance of all the sights which are crowded into this one long day4 ,the following day is usually devoted to #8doing' the ,luxor temple1 and being rushed through the ruins of ,karnak4 ,these people who do their sights at such a giddy speed usually take part in a tour up the ,nile organised by some travelling agency4 ,a few well-advised ones remain at ,luxor till the steam dahabieh1 which has taken them so far1 picks them up on its return trip from ,assuan4 ,this gives them time to see at their ease that which the ill-advised ones had merely been rushed through4 ,it was amusing1 after some months of solitude1 to see my fellow-creatures again1 but before the tourist season was over ,i longed to get back to the usual quietude of our valley4 ,the trippers would arrive in batches of from one to two hundred1 and add to this an equal number of donkeys and their drivers--,der el-,bahri on those occasions became a veritable pandemonium4 ,fortunately they generally swept down on us at about the same hour of the day--in time to lunch at the rest-house opposite my hut2 by three o'clock they were driven off1 by the guide in charge of the party1 to see the ,ramesseum4 ,i had to rearrange my day and feed when they fed1 and take a #8siesta' until the temple was empty once more4 ,until the tripper season we were almost flyless1 being sufficiently far in the desert to be away from that pest4 ,the donkeys and the dbris of the picnickers brought the usual swarms of flies with them1 and work in any of the temples was as bad in that respect as in the bazaars at ,cairo4 ,the smaller parties who dropped on us unawares were most to be feared4 ,i might be making some studies in one of the tombs1 which are airless enough at the best of times1 and be suddenly aware that a party was approaching by hearing1 #8,dis way1 ladies and shentlemens1 to de ,tomb of ,rekmar4' ,there would be no help for it but to pack up my traps and be off4 ,if ,i returned after the crowd had been rushed off somewhere else1 the air would be unbreathable1 both from the numbers who had been there1 and from the extinguished tapers or magnesium wire4 ,by the end of ,march ,i1 and possibly some artist friend1 would again reign supreme at ,der el-,bahri4 ,it is a hot valley1 for it is shut off from the northerly breezes1 and the cliffs throw back the rays of the sun4 ,by rearranging our days we managed to avoid the worst of the heat4 ,we breakfasted at daybreak1 and we took our midday meal about eleven1 and from twelve till four we would sleep in some recess where the sun's rays had never penetrated4 ,after that1 and a cold bath and some tea1 we could get to work till sundown4 ,the hut became unbearable in ,april1 for it had no double roof4 ,the coolest spot ,i could find for the midday rest was in the ,ptolemaic sanctuary in ,hatshepsu's temple4 ,this is cut deep into the overhanging cliffs1 and in the hot season would be some twenty degrees cooler than my hut4 ,i put an ,arab bed in here1 and by lying with my head to the entrance1 there was just light enough to be able to read myself to sleep4 ,there was no fear of trippers now1 and the few visitors who remained on in ,luxor would only arrive before or after the heat of the day4 ,on first entering my temporary boudoir nothing would be visible on the dark walls2 but on getting accustomed to the dim light1 rows of gods and goddesses would appear4 ,the hawk-headed ,homs1 jackal-laced ,anubis1 and the unspeakable ,min of ,koptos were all here2 also the rounded forms of ,euergetes's ,queen1 and ,maat1 the goddess of truth4 ,the tiger-headed ,sekhmet1 ,bellona's prototype1 and ,sobk with his crocodile snout made a foil to the rounded features of ,hathor and ,isis4 ,a squeaky sound somewhere above would make me aware that ,i was not the only living tenant of this sanctuary4 ,bats have long since discovered that it is fairly cool here in summer1 and not too cold in winter4 ,a noise like gentle taps from a hammer would draw my eyes to a wide crack in the wall1 and around two shiny little beads ,i would make out the form of a large lizard4 ,the little beads would stare at me for some time1 and if ,i just moved my head they would disappear into the depths of the wall4 ,the bats like myself only used this place as a shelter from the heat1 and would venture out towards night to find a living2 but what could this lizard 7a gecko1 ,i believe1 it is called7 find here to subsist on8 ,flies kept away from this dark sanctuary1 and except the water ,i had in my water-bottle no moisture finds its way here4 ,the guards occasionally shot a snake1 but all ,i have seen in this temple appeared to be harmless ones2 anyhow1 none ever shared my resting-place with me4 ,it was different in the enclosure of the ,ramesseum1 which is nearer the moisture of the cultivated land4 ,i was returning from my work there one evening1 and passed close to a large cobra4 ,it was curled round a stone which was partly hid in the scrub growing near the pylon4 ,i had no stick with me1 or ,i might have been able to kill it4 ,it was the first ,i had ever seen1 except in captivity1 and ,i was very interested in comparing it with its numerous presentments in every temple in ,egypt4 ,to kill it1 with as little risk as possible of its killing me1 became my chief wish when ,i had watched it for some time1 and reflected what a danger this beautiful creature was to the numbers of people who roam about the temple4 ,when ,i picked up a good-sized stone1 it shifted its place and disappeared in the scrub4 ,i came to the spot on the following evening with ,mr4 ,howard ,carter and a shot-gun2 we also brought some milk in a pan1 and placed it near where ,i had seen the cobra4 ,we waited till dark in the hopes of our bait attracting it1 but ,i am sorry to say we saw it no more4 ,professor ,flinders ,petrie told me that he had killed several with his walking-stick4 ,they are easily destroyed2 but if one merely wounds the creature with a blow1 it may strike its fangs into one before a second blow can be dealt4 ,we told the guardians of the temple1 and they promised to try to shoot it4 ,i never heard of their having done so1 and ,i have a suspicion that the prospect of a gratuity from a snake-charmer may have prevented them4 ,whether this cobra has since hearkened to the voice of the charmers1 charming never so wisely1 and is now occasionally pulled out of a sack to perform on the pavement in front of ,shepheard's hotel1 ,i cannot say4 ,i have never seen as large a specimen in ,cairo1 and ,i expect they are taken when they are young4 ,as this is an art practised now as in pharaonic times1 it may be of interest to hear what ,canon ,tristram says about it in ,the ,natural ,history of the ,bible3 #8,the art of serpent charming1 referred to in ,ps4 lviii4 #d and ,jas4 iii4 #g1 is of immense antiquity1 and is practised not only in ,africa but in ,india4 ,in the latter country it is exercised on another species of cobra 7naja tripudians7 very like the haje4 ,the resources of the charmers appear to be very simple--the shrill notes of a flute1 which are the only kind of tones which the serpent1 with its very imperfect sense of sound1 is capable of distinctly following3 and1 above all1 coolness and courage1 combined with gentleness in handling the animal1 so as not to irritate it4 ,the charmers are not impostors2 for though they may sometimes remove the fangs1 it is a well-attested fact that they generally allow them to remain1 and they will operate on the animals when just caught as willingly as on individuals which have long been in their possession2 but they are very reluctant to make experiments on any other species than the cobra4 ,when a cobra has been discovered in a hole1 the charmer plays at the mouth until the serpent1 attracted by the sound1 comes out1 when it is suddenly seized by the tail1 and held at arm's length4 ,thus suspended1 it is unable to turn itself so as to bite1 and1 when it has become exhausted by its own efforts1 it is put into a basket1 the lid of which is raised while the music is playing1 but1 at each attempt of the serpent to dart out1 the lid is shut down upon it1 until it learns to stand quietly on its tail1 swaying to and fro to the music1 and ceases to attempt to escape4 ,if it shows more restlessness than ordinary1 the fangs are extracted as a precaution4 ,instances are not uncommon in which1 with all their care1 the jugglers' lives are sacrificed in the exhibition4' ,we were surprised one evening by a much more alarming creature than a cobra1 and that was a raving madman4 ,my friend ,erskine ,nicol was staying with me1 and we had asked ,howard ,carter to dine with us4 ,when the latter arrived within sight of our hut1 he was accompanied by a native who farmed a large part of the land between the fringe of the desert and the ,nile4 ,the man appeared very excited about something1 and ,carter was doing his best to pacify him4 ,as they got nearer1 we heard him accusing some one who had cut down a tree belonging to him1 and he kept pointing to our hut1 and saying that the culprit lived there4 ,nicol then approached the man1 and asked what the excitement was about1 and after some conversation he called out to me not to let the man in as he was out of his mind4 ,it was dusk at the time1 and my cook had lighted the lamp and set the table2 we had a lot of inflammable material about1 as ,i and my assistant were packing a large number of casts to send off to ,america4 ,a madman amongst our casts was about the last thing we wanted1 besides the danger of his upsetting the petroleum lamp4 ,the man of a sudden dodged away from my two friends and made a dash for the hut4 ,i was just in time to close the door1 and my assistant and ,i had to lean against it to prevent the madman from bursting it in4 ,it was a frail double door and could not long resist the onslaughts of our unwelcome visitor4 ,i managed to reach a crowbar1 and1 by sticking one end in the floor and jamming the other under one of the transoms1 it made a powerful buttress4 ,finding that that half of the door resisted his efforts too stubbornly1 the man threw himself on his back and kicked his foot through a panel and forced his leg well inside4 #8,hold on a bit longer1' called out my friends outside1 #8we have sent for the temple guards and some rope4' ,i had to dislodge that leg or we should have had the whole man in through the broken panel4 ,a severe bastinado on the sole of the foot finally made the man withdraw it4 ,he then butted the door with his head and1 making several rushes1 threw the weight of his body against it4 ,another panel had just given in when the guards arrived4 ,my two friends then closed with the man and called on us to come out1 and we also threw ourselves on to the poor fellow4 ,the guards handed us a bit of rope1 but would not touch the man1 not through physical fear so much as apprehension of making an enemy of one who from his wealth was a power in the village4 ,with his turban we pinioned his arms1 and we tied his ankles together with the rope1 and then sat on his body till his relations had been sent for4 ,we did our best not to hurt the unfortunate man2 but as he was powerfully built1 it was all we could do to master him4 ,when his relations arrived he was sufficiently exhausted to allow of his being lifted on to a donkey and taken away into the darkness4 ,that same evening we had several of his relatives round1 as well as the ,omdeh of the village1 and they all implored us not to let the authorities in ,luxor know about it4 ,they would keep him locked up till he was safe to be at large2 whereas1 if he were taken to the ,mamr1 he would be sent to the madhouse at ,keneh1 and there1 according to these villagers1 he would be treated with the utmost cruelty4 ,now the right person to report him was the ,omdeh of the village1 and we reminded him of this1 and told him that if any one was harmed by this madman we should report the ,omdeh for having neglected his duty4 ,the latter promised to take all responsibility1 and said that we could rest assured that the man would never come near my hut again4 ,for a couple of days we had peace1 for the poor madman had probably not recovered from his exhaustion4 ,after that time we saw him rushing about the neighbourhood with half the village-folk after him4 ,we called on the ,omdeh to tell him that he must inform the authorities at ,luxor1 or we should do it ourselves1 and he promised that he would send a messenger that very day4 ,i did not expect him to keep his promise1 and decided to write to the ,mamr the next day to report on the madman as well as on the ,omdeh for neglect of duty4 ,this time1 however1 the latter did not lie1 and we heard that some mounted police and a litter had arrived and had taken the man off4 ,an important official and his secretary rode over to my hut on the following day and gave us a good example of ,egyptian red-tapism3 age1 place of birth1 nationality1 profession1 etc41 of all the witnesses had to be taken down by the secretary2 each one in turn down to the cook and our messenger had to give their testimony4 #8,did the man call you names1 and if so how many8' was one of the questions put to me2 as if it mattered what a madman said1 for the poor man had been pronounced insane by the doctor that very morning4 ,it is also difficult to see how our ages and places of birth bore on the subject1 unless one had the mind of an ,egyptian and that of an official as well4 ,we heard that the patient had gone out of his mind once before some years previously1 and that he had now been sent to the lunatic asylum at ,keneh4 ,madness must either be quickly cured there or else the rumours--that baksheesh 7if in sufficient quantity7 can get a patient out--must be true1 for in less than three weeks the man was in our neighbourhood again4 ,he was1 however1 carefully watched by his relatives1 and we had no further visits from him4 ,to give some idea of the dread the fellaheen have of hospitals 7unless they go as out-patients71 as well as of lunatic asylums1 ,i will repeat what one of these peasants maintained takes place in the latter4 ,he declared that those of unsound mind were hung by their heels from the ceiling1 over a charcoal brazier1 and then holes were bored in their heads to let out a valuable juice for which the doctors got a large price4 #8,a piastre a drop1' said one2 #8,no1 three piastres a drop1' declared another4 ,it would be curious to trace the origin of such an absurd statement4 ,in some of the out-of-the-way places1 ,i am1 however1 sorry to hear that some native doctors are not above extracting baksheesh from their patients4 ,i heard this from an ,englishman and his wife1 whose words ,i cannot doubt4 ,a man whom they employed as gardener in ,upper ,egypt1 where they were living1 had to go to a hospital owing to some accident to his leg4 ,the doctor who attended him said he could cure the leg1 but might possibly have to amputate it4 ,he then asked the patient what he earned and what his relatives were worth1 and on being told1 suggested that a certain sum would be necessary to save the leg4 ,the poor gardener could not pay this1 and1 after the usual bargaining1 the sum agreed on was obtained from the patient's people1 and the man soon left the hospital with both his legs4 ,of course1 had the doctor's villainous behaviour been reported to high quarters he would have been summarily dealt with4 ,let us hope that he has been found out since4 ,any one seeing the poor hovels many of the fellaheen dwell in would be surprised at the attachment they have for their homes4 ,during my second winter at ,thebes we had a poor ,nile1 and a large portion of the land near us had not had its usual share of inundation2 besides this1 the ,egyptian ,exploration ,fund having started their work elsewhere1 the three hundred men and boys it had been employing for some years past had not this work to do4 ,it was therefore a singularly bad year for the people of ,gurna4 ,work at the ,assuan dam was being paid at three times the rate these men got while the excavations were on1 and now a great many were stranded with no means of a livelihood4 ,it was useless to try and persuade any to apply at ,assuan for work1 the idea of going more than a hundred miles to better their circumstances was abhorrent to them4 ,it was pitiable to see the number of men who applied for the little work ,i could give them in connection with the reproduction of the bas-reliefs4 ,towards the end of the season the view of the ,ramesseum was being spoilt by a great bank of earth that was being raised round it as an encircling wall4 ,i was sorry to see this1 as it ruined the effect of the temple from a distance2 but ,i had some consolation in the fact that it gave employment to a number of the villagers4 ,let us hope that a similar amount of work in pulling it down again may be reserved for the next bad ,nile4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,the ,,cross ,,desert ,,journey ,,to ,,kosseir ,i propose now to break the sequence of events during my second season at ,thebes1 and attempt to describe a desert journey ,i took early in ,november4 ,during the months ,i spent at ,der el-,bahri1 when ,i joined the camp of the ,egyptian ,exploration ,fund1 ,i was awakened every morning by the first light in the eastern sky1 and daily saw the sun rise above the distant hills which shut off the ,nile valley from the ,arabian desert4 ,the ,libyan desert1 on the eastern fringe of which we camped1 stretches for two thousand miles and more in a westerly direction till it reaches ,morocco1 that land of the setting sun known in ,egypt as el-,maghrib1 the ,west4 ,the #8call of the desert' could easily have been satisfied without crossing the ,nile valley2 but the ,libyan desert called me no further into its tractless wastes than to the ,valley of the ,tombs of the ,kings4 ,distance lent an enchantment to the view of the low-lying hills between me and the rising sun1 and as ,alice wished to see what went on in the room beyond the looking-glass1 so ,i felt drawn to the land which lay between those hills and the ,red ,sea4 ,it was across that tract that the ,thebans of old journeyed to the port of ,kosseir to bring back the products from the far ,east4 ,beyond those hills gangs of slaves were driven to dig for the gold now found in the tombs of the ,pharaohs--,king ,solomon's mines are spoken of as being there--and the ,rehenu valley of the ancient ,egyptians1 shut in with black breccia cliffs1 echoed to the sounds of hammer and pick1 while many a statue was there being fashioned1 to be dragged down to the ,nile and floated to far-away ,gizeh or ,memphis4 ,from the earliest dynasties right up to the present day each generation has left its mark on the rock surfaces between those hills and the sea-coast4 ,ancient ,kosseir1 which remained a port of some importance to within a quite recent date1 had often been the goal of imaginary journeys ,i had made across the desert which lay between it and my present camp4 ,imagine my surprise when1 shortly after ,i and my assistant from ,paris had settled down at ,der el-,bahri1 ,mr4 ,weigall1 who is ,chief ,inspector of ,antiquities in ,upper ,egypt1 told me he was about to take that desert journey1 and wondered whether ,i would care to accompany him4 ,i had only to provide my own camel and to share in the provisions we should need on the way2 the chief expense of the train of camels and men to take the tents1 the water-supply1 and the other necessaries of a desert journey1 would be borne by the government1 as ,mr4 ,weigall was going to get information connected with his department4 ,mr4 ,charles ,whymper1 who had come out from ,england with me1 and ,mr4 ,erskine ,nicol1 whom ,i had long known in ,egypt1 were also asked to join the party4 ,none of us wished to lose such a chance1 and in three or four days after first hearing the proposal1 we mounted our camels and started from ,luxor for the over and beyond which had been my dream for many a long day4 ,our caravan consisted of twenty-three camels1 fourteen of which left an hour or two before us1 to take our heavy baggage to that night's halting-place4 ,we four started in company of the sheykh of the camel-drivers1 two guards1 ,mr4 ,weigall's servant1 who carried our lunch1 and an ,ababdi son of the desert1 who acted as our guide4 ,we struck inland for a short distance and then took a northern course parallel to the ,nile2 we skirted the further side of the ruins of ,karnak1 and shortly after left the cultivation to continue our route on the higher level of the desert4 ,during the twenty miles of our first day's ride nothing could have been more dissimilar than the country on our right to that which we beheld to the left of us4 ,the contrast was startling--the scorching desert on one hand1 and on the other the shady palm groves on the fringe of the cultivation1 with the rich dark soil covered in places by the ,nile's overflow or just turning to green by the lately sown crops4 ,yet this very contrast is more characteristic of ,egypt than anything else2 and it is this which must have called forth the saying of ,herodotus that #8,egypt is the gift of the ,nile4' ,illustration3 ,a ,,market ,,on ,,the ,,edge ,,of ,,the ,,desert ,we halted for lunch under the shade of the tamarisk trees1 which seem able to grow on a slightly higher level than the palms4 ,the shade was more than welcome2 for sitting still in the noonday sun is a very different matter to passing through it even at the gentle trot of our camels4 ,it was a beautiful spot1 for no trees harmonise with a desert background as do the tamarisks1 and these had an especially massive and plumy leafage of an even more delicate grey than usual2 their gnarled and twisted trunks seeming a mute protest to the poor soil in which fete had forced them to grow4 ,we did not remain here long1 as we wished to reach the ,coptic convent1 ,maris ,bughtra1 while there was still daylight1 and there we proposed to pitch our camp for the night4 ,though the sun was hot1 the crisp air was so invigorating that what would be a very fatiguing day elsewhere is easily borne in the desert4 ,the motion of the camel is trying till one has got accustomed to it1 and a few miles will cause the beginner an incredible amount of stiffness4 ,there being no stirrups1 it takes some time to learn to rise and fall with the motion of the beast1 and until that is acquired every stride means a bump for the would-be rider4 ,i had unhappily not acquired this1 and felt rather stiff and sore when ,i dismounted for lunch2 when we halted at the end of that day's journey the stiffness was positive pain4 ,i had misgivings as to how ,i should feel by the time ,kosseir was reached and when longer hours in the saddle would be the order of the day4 ,to lie down seemed more painful than to walk about1 for on whatever part of one's anatomy one rested that part seemed more painful than any other--until one tried that other4 ,outside the walls of the ,coptic convent we came on our baggage1 and found the men already pitching our tents1 hobbling the camels1 and boiling some water over a fire of dry brushwood4 ,we sent some one to ,qus 7on the outskirts of which little town this convent is situated7 to find the priest who could show us over the building4 ,no monks dwell there at present and the chapel is only used on the day dedicated to ,saint ,bughtra1 whoever he may be4 ,all that remains of the convent1 except the chapel1 could be seen before the priest arrived1 as the fortress-like wall which encircled it had crumbled down in several places4 ,a few cells were still roofed over1 but for the most part ugly ruin had disfigured the buildings4 ,except where some fine columns or portals have endured the wear and tear of ages1 as in the case of some of the temples1 a desert ruin is a depressing sight2 no growth to hide the shapeless bits of fallen masonry are there1 neither moss nor lichen give it the beautiful colouring associated with the remains of bygone structures4 ,a shrine which may have crumbled down centuries ago might have fallen in the day before yesterday unless the desert winds had swept a covering of sand to give it a partial burial4 ,the little many-domed church still stood erect amidst the fallen masonry1 and when the priest arrived and fumbled with his wooden key to loose the bolt in the ponderous lock1 our expectations somewhat revived4 ,some tawdry objects of piety showed that some folks still remained who gave this place of worship a passing thought2 but in the otherwise neglected interior these tawdry ornaments reminded me horribly of the patches of paint ,i have seen on the cheeks of a corpse laid out for burial in ,portugal4 ,the simile may be far-fetched1 but there it was1 and ,i was pleased when we had gone through the farce of giving the priest his gratuity--called1 to save his face1 #8for the upkeep of the church4' ,we found our camp all prepared for us when we rejoined it4 ,the packing-cases which served as a table were neatly set for dinner1 and our saddles were arranged to do duty as chairs4 ,our two sleeping-tents stood primly one on each side of the small marquee which served as a dining-room4 ,weigall's servant was an excellent cook1 and a long day in the desert had prepared us to do justice to his dishes4 ,the saddles make very good chairs when sitting is not a painful operation2 they are covered with sheepskin1 but the thickest fleece1 in my condition1 could not disguise the hard wooden skeleton beneath it4 ,an air-cushion helped matters a trifle1 though the air seemed harder than it usually is4 ,stiffness crept over the bodies of the two of us who had most recently come from ,england2 but on comparing our complaints ,i fancied that ,i had more than my share--,i was more conscious of it anyhow4 ,when the dinner was cleared and pipes were alight1 we discussed our several interests in our desert journey4 ,to ,charles ,whymper the birds we had seen along the fringe of the cultivation were of the greatest importance4 ,we had passed many white ,egyptian vultures2 we had also put up some coveys of cream-coloured coursers2 the desert lark1 the sand-grouse1 and desert martins had all been seen as well as the familiar hoopoes1 the black kite1 the little owl1 and green bee-eaters--or shall we call them blue1 for they can be either colour according as the light catches their plumage8 ,the archological interests were still before us1 and though these had not been explored for some time1 records of journeys in this eastern desert have been left by the ,german ,egyptologist ,lepsius1 by ,golenischeff1 the ,russian1 as well as by the more recent ,schweinfurth4 ,its pictorial aspects appealed to each of us1 and as ,i had brought my sketching materials ,i hoped that there might be sufficiently long halts to allow of my doing some painting4 ,erskine ,nicol is well versed in the habits of the wandering tribes who pitch their tents on the higher levels where the cultivation stops short4 ,the ,ababdi and the ,bishareen territories meet on this desert highroad1 and we should probably come across a few of both one and the other4 ,as we were to start soon after sunrise the next morning1 we deferred our topics of conversation to another occasion4 ,it was still dark in our tents when we were awakened1 because the heavy baggage was to be got off as soon after daybreak as possible4 ,the tents were lowered and stowed away on the camels1 leaving us to pack our bedding in the open1 and it was surprising to find what a difference in temperature there was when our canvas shelters were removed4 ,it was bitterly cold1 and much movement was impossible in my case1 for ,i was rigidly stiff4 ,i stuck to a couple of blankets1 and with some straps improvised a primitive garment2 my camel served as a shelter from the cold breeze and made a warm back to lean against1 while we squatted in a circle to have our breakfast4 ,the blankets would serve later1 when the sun got up1 as extra padding to the saddle4 ,our cross desert journey began this morning1 for on the previous day we had skirted the cultivation to reach at ,qus the medival route from the ,nile to the ,red ,sea port4 ,we started before the baggage train of camels1 which would overtake us before we reached ,lakta1 a small oasis where we should spend the night4 ,selim1 as the cook was called1 and our ,ababdi guide accompanied us4 ,the former looked a quaint object1 seated on his camel amidst pots and kettles1 photographic apparatus1 sketching materials1 and any other odds and ends which we might require before the camp would again be pitched4 ,the rising sun was very beautiful2 when ,i have tried to paint it1 it has always risen and lost its rich colouring too quickly4 ,this morning ,i was concerned with the slowness of these proceedings1 for until it rose well above the distant hills ,i felt perished with the cold4 ,we could plainly see the cliffs around ,hatshepsu's temple1 right across the ,nile valley2 they and the ,theban hills were pink in the early sunlight whilst we were still in the shade4 ,slowly the light caught us on our high mounts1 while the soil beneath us was still in a blue grey tone4 ,looking back after a while camel legs a mile long could be seen in pale shadow on the track behind us1 and by the time they contracted to a lengthened silhouette of a comprehensible form1 ,i began to feel my blankets were more than ,i could stand4 ,to unrobe on a trotting camel was no easy matter1 and to make the camel do anything different from those ahead of it was an impossibility4 ,i had practised making the peculiar noise of the bedouin when they wish to make their beasts kneel down--it spells something like this1 #8ghrrr1' and is repeated at rapid intervals4 ,laura1 as my camel was called1 either affected not to understand me or felt too great a contempt for her rider to heed what he said4 ,she was very nearly riderless before the unrobing was completed1 and ,i am not sure that ,laura had not that wish in her mind4 ,when ,i was near landing on her neck1 ,i thought ,i saw ,laura's mouth working up towards my boot1 which was her way of smiling4 ,i tried to fix the blankets over the saddle1 for the wooden skeleton beneath the sheepskin seemed painfully near parts of my skeleton2 but ,i only gave ,laura fresh cause to smile4 ,the clatter of ,selim's pots and pans was not far behind me1 so ,i yelled out to the cook to overtake me and to stow my blankets amongst his ironmongery4 ,laura disapproved of this1 for1 as the clatter1 clatter behind me got louder1 she quickened her pace4 ,there are no reins to check the creatures2 the camel rope is merely fastened to a face strap1 which is held in place by a second strap passing behind the nape of the neck4 ,i lugged on to the rope as hard as ,i could1 but as there were no stirrups ,i should have pulled myself off the saddle before ,i could have bent the beast's stiff neck4 ,not to be beaten1 ,i placed my foot on her neck1 and thus got a sufficient leverage to pull her head sideways till ,i could see her ugly profile2 by this means ,i checked her pace sufficiently for the cook to overtake me1 and ,i threw the blankets amid the pots and pans4 ,we reached ,gebel el-,korn about noon2 we had seen this hill for the last two hours reflected in what appeared to be a lake1 and as this effect of the mirage disappeared here1 we saw it repeated in the distance beyond4 ,three routes to ,kosseir join at this point2 the medival one we had been on was a part of the highway which the caravans took since the ,mohammedan invasion and until ,keneh eclipsed ,qus as a ,nilotic town4 ,the ,keneh route1 starting some twenty miles further down the river1 is still used by the ,arabs1 who bring camels from ,arabia to barter in the ,nile valley4 ,the ancient ,egyptian road was from ,kuft1 known as ,koptos in ,grco-,roman times1 and starts about midway between the two others to join the one great highway uniting the ,thebaid to the sea4 ,gebel el-,korn1 or the ,hill of the ,horn1 would have been more attractive had it been steep enough to shade us from the midday sun4 ,the rise in temperature in the moist air of cultivated lands is as nothing to what it is in the dry air of the desert4 ,we saw some bushes ahead1 along what appeared to be a dried watercourse1 and we decided to move on and possibly to find some shade in which to pass our midday halt4 ,this1 however1 was nothing more than camel-thorn--a dried-up mass of prickles--as useless for shade as it apparently was for fodder4 ,but ,laura and the other camels thought differently2 the absence of shade did not trouble them1 and the way they started devouring these long sharp thorns reminded us that of the twenty-three camels which formed our caravan not one carried anything in the shape of fodder4 ,they would be away no less than a fortnight from the cultivation1 and on questioning our guide as to what the creatures would have to eat1 he seemed to think that enough fodder could be picked up on the journey4 #8,you forget the hump1' said one of our companions4 ,camels having #8the hump' is an old and well-seasoned jest1 but their feeding on their humps was news to me4 ,i decided to examine ,laura's hump when next she was unsaddled and see if it held a fortnight's nutrition1 also to take daily observations of its disappearance4 ,the throaty noise spelt #8ghrrr6' from our guide brought his camel down on its haunches4 ,i made the same noise1 or thought ,i did1 and1 like descending a lift in two shifts1 ,laura came down to the ground4 ,she looked at me when ,i jumped off1 as much as to say1 #8,don't flatter yourself that ,i have come down owing to the silly noise you made2 ,i was only following the example of my husband over there4' ,laura was not her real name1 it was more like ,laharrha with a throat-scraping sound in the middle4 ,this was not euphonious1 and all the throat-scraping sounds ,i could produce were to be reserved for when a halt should be called4 ,we decided to lunch on the top of a low-lying hill where1 if there was no shade1 we should at all events get the benefit of what breeze there was4 ,my word6 we did enjoy that lunch4 ,i forget what we had1 and can only remember the appetite with which we ate it4 ,i kept some back for ,laura1 to see if kindness could overcome the dislike ,i felt sure she had for me4 ,she gobbled it up1 and nearly took a bit of my hand with it4 ,i think she preferred this to the sharp thorns of her last snack2 but if she felt any gratitude1 she carefully disguised it4 ,it was probably more contempt for me as a rider than a dislike of me personally4 ,her expression was as a sealed book with an ugly cover4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tombs ,,of ,,the ,,khalifs ,now was the time to fix the blankets on to the saddle1 and the ,ababdi guide and ,selim made a good job of it4 ,the trot at which we started was less painful in consequence1 and ,i had also1 by carefully watching the motion of our guide1 fallen into the movement myself1 and the bump1 bump of the previous day1 which had caused my discomfiture1 disappeared1 and ,i rose and fell to the motion of my mount4 ,when once this is acquired1 a long day's ride will cause less stiffness than an hour's journey to a novice4 ,it was not until we had reached ,gebel el-,korn that we finally lost sight of the ,der el-,bahri cliffs4 ,a feeling of being far away from home and of venturing into the unknown got hold of me1 though ,i was barely twenty miles in a direct line from the hut beneath those cliffs4 ,i consoled myself that the assistant ,i had brought out from ,paris had some ,french neighbours close by1 who could assist him with his novel housekeeping4 ,m4 ,baraize and his wife would also appreciate having a near neighbour who spoke their language4 ,nothing much in the way of archological finds were made during the day1 and these were not to be expected till the wide track closed in between the rock surfaces4 ,we saw in the distance the little oasis of ,lakta1 with its palms upside down in illusive sheets of water at their bases2 for a moment it looked like an island shimmering in the sunlight1 and which might vanish as easily as the reflections it cast4 ,it looked as if it might be reached in a half-hour's trot2 but it had that look for a long while--the appearance of water gave way to that of the arid waste all around us more than an hour before the oasis was reached4 ,how strange it looked when we were near enough to see some crops1 between the palms1 growing apparently out of the desert soil4 ,we then caught sight of a man working a shadoof1 and after that we could distinguish the chessboard patterning of the ground1 so familiar in the ,nile valley4 ,the whole oasis seemed little more than three or four acres in extent2 but probably a good deal more cultivable soil had been covered by the sand drifts where no walling existed to prevent this4 ,some half-dozen ,ababdi families lived here2 our guide found friends amongst them1 and we heard some greetings in their dialect4 ,the people seemed very little surprised to see us1 and this not being a tourist-ridden spot1 we had no beggars4 ,a building with a many-domed roof stood here1 and looked very like a deserted ,coptic convent1 though ,i was told that it was formerly built for an ,arab caravanserai4 ,i watched a woman patching up the mud runnels to carry the water from the shadoof to the furthest squares of cultivated ground1 and ,i tasted the water when the man first tilted it out of his leathern bucket4 ,it was distinctly brackish--the only thing1 of course1 which these poor creatures had to drink4 ,the man did not seem to mind that2 but he complained that it was a thirsty soil1 and that working all day at the shadoof hardly brought up a sufficiency of water to irrigate his little patch of corn4 ,taking me for an official1 he asked me if ,i could not induce the government to place a small pumping station here4 #8,were it only known what a lot could be grown here if enough water could be got up1 the government would not hesitate to bring the machinery4' ,the poor man might genuinely have thought so2 but the cost of the fuel1 brought to this out-of-the-way place to raise the brackish water1 had evidently not entered the man's calculations4 ,canon ,tristram mentions in his book1 ,the ,great ,sahara1 that artesian wells were used by the ,rouaras centuries before the principle of those wells was acknowledged in ,europe4 ,what a blessing they might be here6 ,possibly the sub-soil would not be suitable for such borings or they would have been in use4 ,the sun was still hot enough for us to enjoy our tea in the shade of the tamarisks which grew here4 ,the children watched us from a distance and spoke in hushed voices4 #8,were these people dangerous who spoke in an unknown tongue and wore a strange garb8' ,a smile and a hint that sugar was good brought them a little nearer4 ,a venturesome little tot came near enough to pick up a lump1 and then scampered away2 by the time we had finished our tea1 the juvenile population of ,lakta knew the taste of a ,huntley and ,palmer biscuit and a lump of sugar4 ,a little bird1 the green willow-wren1 according to our ornithologist1 was less shy than the children1 and picked up crumbs long before the latter ventured so near us4 ,our baggage camels were only just in sight when we sat down1 and at their rate of travel it would take an hour and a half before they reached us4 ,i tried to make a sketch of the little oasis1 which looked charming in the evening sunlight1 but ,i was too stiff and tired to do much4 ,a vague hope that it might look as well on our return journey induced me to put up my materials and lie on my back and stare at nothing in particular1 till ,i became unconscious of my surroundings4 ,it was dark when ,i was awakened by the noise of the men driving in the tent-pegs4 ,the four tents1 including the little one which served as a cook-shop1 were being erected1 camp beds and bedding sorted out and fixed up1 and all the other bustle was going on of pitching a camp4 ,while ,i slept1 ,weigall had found our first graffiti3 it was a fragment of stone on which we could read the name of the ,emperor ,tiberius ,claudius4 ,a very good account of the archological finds we made during our journey is given in ,mr4 ,arthur ,weigall's ,travels in the ,upper ,egyptian ,deserts1 published by ,messrs4 ,blackwood and ,sons4 ,these have been so fully described in that handy volume1 that ,i do not purpose to mention more than one or two4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,hammam,t ,we left ,lakta at dawn the next day4 ,being on higher ground and so much further in the desert1 we felt the cold more than on the previous morning1 and it was hard to realise that we should be seeking a shady spot for our luncheon at midday4 ,we trotted our camels faster than previously1 as if in a hurry to get nearer the luminous red disk which was peering over the distant hills4 ,the desert so far was hard surfaced1 and not the sandy waste one is given to expect4 ,when ,i attempted to make ,laura go at more than a fast trot1 ,i soon looked anxiously about for soft places below1 and ,i was lucky in having kept my seat till she caught up with the rest of the party1 when she as usual took her pace from that of the leader4 ,we passed nothing of exceptional interest during the first ten miles4 ,the valley we followed would widen out to a mile or more1 and sometimes contract to a few hundred feet4 ,the rows of camel tracks1 marked here and there by the skeleton of one which had fallen on the way1 showed that this was still an important highway4 ,i counted over twenty of these skeletons during one hour's ride4 ,some may have been bleaching there for many years1 but a few were of sufficiently recent date to make it advisable to keep on the windward side of them4 ,the hackneyed camel ribs in the foregrounds of pictures of desert incidents are not the stage property ,i used to think they might be4 ,the ,kasr el-,benat1 or #8the ,castle of the ,maidens1' was the first object of real archological interest we reached4 ,it is a ,roman station known formerly as the ,hydreuma1 and is still in a very fair state of preservation4 ,no new builders have been at work near here since1 to use it as a quarry with ready-cut stones2 and ,time in the desert deals gently with the structures of bygone ages4 ,roman soldiers in charge of gangs of quarrymen have used the little vaulted chambers within the large rectangular enclosing wall4 ,a huge rock close by was covered with inscriptions and rude drawings1 dating from the early dynasties to the times when ,arab traders began to use this highway to the coast4 ,drawings and photographs were duly taken of these records2 and during most of that day we zigzagged across the valley to wherever a smooth rock surface showed any likelihood of inscriptions being found4 ,we were seldom disappointed1 and on one rock in particular our interest was particularly excited1 for the graffiti here threw some light on the much vexed question as to the age of ,akhnaton when he first came to the throne4 ,i have described elsewhere our excitement at ,thebes when1 during the previous season1 the royal tomb of ,queen ,thiy was discovered2 how1 after the body had been bereft of its royal casing1 the archological world was startled to find that the body was that of a young man4 ,since then ,weigall has made out a strong case in favour of the mummy being that of the heretic ,queen's son1 ,ammonhotep ,,iv4 7vide the ,october number of ,blackwood's ,magazine for #aijg74 ,this same ,ammonhotep1 when secure of his throne1 at the instigation of his mother1 proclaimed the worship of ,aton--the one supreme ,god whose earthly manifestation was the sun's disk--and1 so as to sever every tie with the worship of ,ammon and the lesser divinities of that pantheism1 the young ,pharaoh changed his name from ,ammonhotep to ,akhnaton1 i4e4 the ,beloved of ,aton4 ,the weak point in ,weigall's contention was the youth of the mummy1 which ,dr4 ,elliot ,smith declared could not have exceeded some five-and-twenty years of age1 and it was doubtful whether he could have inaugurated and carried out a great religious revolution had he died at so early an age4 ,the three cartouches on this rock face are3 one of ,queen ,thiy1 one of her son as ,ammonhotep ,,iv41 and one of the same prince under the name of ,akhnaton4 ,the symbols of royalty are placed beneath each cartouche1 while the rays of the sun's disk embrace the three from above4 ,this clearly proves that the ,pharaoh was still a child when he came to the throne1 and that his mother ruled in fact if not in name1 otherwise the royal cartouches would not have been united as here they are2 and it also proves that the worship of ,aton had begun while the prince was still under the tutelage of his mother4 ,as the images of ,ammon and the lesser divinities were destroyed during the youth of ,akhnaton1 so did the priests of ,ammon1 when the old religion was restored1 deface the inscriptions relating to the newer creed4 ,the cartouches here of both ,thiy and ,akhnaton were partly erased2 but the rays1 terminating in hands1 from the disk above were left intact as if the workmen1 sent to obliterate the #8marks of the beast1' feared to desecrate the divine symbol4 ,thus after three and a half millenniums this rock gives an echo of the religious movement which caused the fall of the eighteenth dynasty4 ,i have so far encroached on a subject fully treated by ,weigall because ,i had devoted a chapter to it in ,below the ,cataracts and sent this into print before the subject had been so fully thrashed out1 and while speculation was rife as to whom to ascribe the mummy found in the royal sarcophagus of the great ,queen ,thiy4 ,shortly after losing sight of the tell-tale rock and the ,roman ,hydreuma1 our path lay through a narrowing valley which contracted to a pass between imposing masses of granite1 now known as el-,mutrak es-,salm4 ,it was an awe-inspiring pass4 ,these gigantic and shiny black rocks which rose up on each side of us1 deprived as they were of every vestige of growth1 seemed hardly terrestrial1 and suggested some landscape in the moon4 ,there was no difficulty in finding a shady place for our midday meal and rest2 but ,i was glad when we moved on1 for there was something as oppressive in the aspect of the pass as there was in the atmosphere4 ,more graffiti were found and duly photographed2 but wishing to get into a more open country ,i pushed on ahead4 ,i was safe not to lose my way as long as ,i followed the tracks of previous caravans1 which were plainly visible4 ,after a couple of hours of this pass the black shiny rocks became hateful to me1 and when ,i emerged into a wide valley again my spirits rose rapidly4 ,ranges of sandstone rock were to the right and left of me1 and though not as beautiful in form as the limestone cliffs of ,der el-,bahri1 they were congenial in colour1 and set off the intense blue of the distant mountains4 ,my solitary ride had to come to an end when the road branched off on two sides of a range of hills on both of which were camel tracks1 though not in equal quantities4 ,there is no risking a wrong route in a wilderness such as this1 so ,i chose a shady place1 and felt proud when ,i induced my camel to go down on its knees4 ,i tied up its foreleg in the approved fashion to stop its running away in case ,i might fall asleep4 ,my companions might easily fail to see me1 but they would be sure to catch sight of the camel4 ,i tried to analyse the charm of the desert1 the #8,call of the ,desert1' as ,hichens aptly names it2 for while ,i rested here its inexplicable charm pervaded my whole being4 ,i am fond of my fellow-creatures and am in no wise cut out for the life of a hermit2 besides1 many lonely places exist far removed from desert wastes where solitude can still be enjoyed4 ,it was not1 therefore1 the feeling of solitude that could alone explain the desert's attraction1 now that ,i had left behind me the oppressive blackness of the ,mutrak es-,salam pass4 ,a drowsiness soon began to displace my futile analysis1 when a slight tickling of my ankle prevented me from felling asleep4 ,my presence was being resented by a colony of ants whose operations ,i was impeding4 ,i had to shift my position1 and there being room enough for them as well as for myself in this vast desert1 ,i returned those1 which were exploring my leg1 to their companions4 ,we were some fifty miles from any cultivation1 except the little oasis where we had last camped1 so what on earth could have induced these ants to choose this spot8 ,the inexplicable charm of the desert would soon fizzle out were we cut off from water and provisions2 and where could these ants have found either8 ,i followed the trails1 which started from the nest1 to discover what means of subsistence they had1 and found that some camel's dung1 buried beneath the sand-drift1 was the #8call' which had attracted them so far4 ,hardly an hour had passed since we left the ,nile valley but we had seen some animal life4 ,birds follow the camel tracks and flies and beetles infest the ,mabwala1 or stations1 where the caravans rest4 ,these are often in the only shady places1 and they often obliged us to take our midday meals in the blazing sun2 for we could hardly add a tent to the load which was carried on ,selim's longsuffering camel4 ,we had seen two butterflies that very morning1 and accounted for them as having been carried here by the prevailing wind4 ,a poor look-out for them1 for the desert reaches to the ,red ,sea coast4 ,the ants puzzled me1 for ,i saw no signs of any organic matter when ,i chose my resting-place4 ,meditations in this climate soon end in sleep1 and ,i became unconscious of my surroundings till ,i heard my name being shouted4 ,i looked up1 and behold1 my camel was gone1 and following the track in the loose sand ,i saw ,laura hobbling on three legs1 about half a mile away1 and making for the guide who rode the leading camel2 my companions in the meanwhile were zigzagging across the valley to find me4 ,when ,i caught the beast up and satisfied my friends that ,i was not lost1 ,i made ,laura go down on her knees to allow me to mount1 and now all the cussedness of her camel nature showed itself4 ,i had to undo the end of the halter which tied the foreleg into its bent position and also keep at a safe distance from ,laura's teeth4 ,the instant ,i got it undone1 up she would jump before ,i had a chance of getting my seat4 ,she did this several times1 till ,i was obliged to hang on to her as best ,i could and climb into my saddle while she moved off4 ,canon ,tristram says3 #8,the camel is by no means an amiable animal1 and its owner never seems to form any attachment to his beast1 nor the animal to reciprocate kindness in any degree4 ,i never found one camel valued above his fellow for intelligence or affection4 ,a traveller always makes a friend of his horse1 most certainly of his ass1 sometimes of his mule1 but never of his camel4 ,i have made a journey in ,africa for three months with the same camels1 but never succeeded in eliciting the slightest token of recognition from one of them1 or a friendly disposition for kindness shown4' ,canon ,tristram never wrote truer words4 ,laura was a beast6 ,i would do my best to get something for her to feed on1 other than on her hump1 when we should reach ,kosseir2 but no corner of my eye would moisten when ,laura and ,i should part company4 ,when we got to a further reach in the valley1 we were surprised to see some gazelle4 ,this was more surprising than the ants1 for surely gazelle could find neither fodder nor water here4 ,that the poor creatures had been frightened further and further away from the cultivation was probable1 but until they returned there nothing but a long fast awaited them2 if they were making for the coast1 nothing to feed on awaited them there4 ,we were near enough to have shot some with a rifle1 but ,i am glad to say that none of us had a rifle2 we had even packed up our revolvers with the baggage4 ,we regretted the latter for a moment the next day1 but of this anon4 ,we reached a second ,roman station as the shadows were lengthening2 it was considerably smaller than the ,hydreuma of the morning1 and was also in a worse state of repair4 ,we heeded it little beyond using one of the walls for our backs while ,selim brewed us some tea4 ,the guide climbed one of the hills to see if there was any sign of the baggage1 and on his reporting that none was visible1 we could take the next ten or twelve miles to ,br ,hammamt at our ease4 ,the colour of the landscape took extraordinary combinations as the sun declined1 and as we again approached the blackish hills which contracted the caravan route4 ,the lower-lying sandstone hills turned a greyish violet1 except where a roseate light caught their summits1 and purple black hung about the base of the ,hammamt mountains4 ,the altitude of the latter being considerably more than any we had so far seen1 the heights still reflected the light from the setting sun--a flame-colour split up in violet patches of shade4 ,it was wonderful1 but was it beautiful8 ,where strange combinations of colour and form are first seen1 this question is often difficult to answer4 ,we watched the dark shades rise and spread over these mountains till they told black against an ash-grey sky4 ,the ,rehenu ,valley of the ,egyptians was a spooky place to enter4 ,our path wound through great masses of breccia rock1 and it contracted in places so that we could hardly ride abreast4 ,the darkness increased till the camels of my companions were lost in the gloom1 and the white helmets rising and falling with the motion of the beasts were soon all that ,i could see of our party4 ,our track becoming quite invisible1 there was just a chance that our ,ababdi guide might take a wrong turning1 and if once well out of the beaten road1 in a wilderness such as this1 it is doubtful whether we could find our way before our water-supply gave out4 ,the longed-for moon showed herself at last1 and by her light we pursued our way to the well where we had settled to camp for the night4 ,the valley opens up here to a considerable width1 and the well1 known as ,br ,hammamt1 is a conspicuous object in the centre4 ,there was nothing now to do but to wait for our baggage camels1 and to keep ourselves as warm as we could4 ,our guide rode back to reconnoitre1 and when we could distinguish an answer to his calls1 other than the echo1 we were filled with a sense of relief4 ,lakta is only thirty miles from ,br ,hammamt1 but with our crossing and recrossing the valleys in search of graffiti we must have ridden half again as far4 ,dinner and sleep1 and an easy day to follow1 were pleasant things to contemplate4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,the ,,wady ,,fowakiyeh ,,and ,b,r ,,hagi ,,suliman ,we slumbered till the sun beat down on our tents4 ,there was enough water obtainable to fill our collapsible baths to the brim1 and good enough for the camels to drink--poor brackish stuff we should have found it1 had we depended on it for our own consumption4 ,the well seemed an immense depth1 and had a spiral staircase down it1 though it was dangerous to descend more than a few yards4 ,a mining company had of late years partially restored the building which stood over it1 and for the first time since we left ,luxor we saw the names of some fellow-countrymen who had put this well in workable order4 ,unfinished sarcophagi lay near by1 with some flaws in the stone to account for their having been left here by the workmen of one of the ,ptolemies4 ,we did not propose to travel more than a few miles that day1 for the ,wady ,fowakiyeh1 as the natives call it1 is that part of the ,hammamt valley where ,lepsius and other former explorers made their greatest finds4 ,now1 as ,mr4 ,weigall devotes to this valley many pages in his ,travels in ,upper ,egyptian ,deserts1 ,i shall not attempt to describe what he has so ably given to the public4 ,i will quote what he says of our arrival there1 and of the earliest inscription which was found3 #8,amidst these relics of the old world our tents were pitched1 having been removed from ,br ,hammamt as soon as breakfast had been finished2 and with camera1 note-book1 and sketching apparatus1 the four of us dispersed in different directions1 my own objective1 of course1 being the inscriptions4 ,the history of ,wady ,fowakiyeh begins when the history of ,egypt begins1 and one must look back into the dim uncertainties of the archaic period for the first evidences of the working of the quarries of the valley4 ,many beautifully made bowls and other objects of this tuff are found in the graves of ,dynasty ,i41 fifty-five centuries ago2 and my friends and ,i scrambling over the rocks were fortunate enough to find in a little wady leading northwards from the main valley a large rock-drawing and inscriptions of this date4 ,a 8vase-maker0 here offers a prayer to the sacred barque of the hawk-god ,horus1 which is drawn so clearly that one may see the hawk standing upon its shrine in the boat1 an upright spear set before the door2 and one may observe the bull's head1 so often found in primitive countries1 affixed to the prow2 while the barque itself is shown to be standing upon a sledge in order that it might be dragged over the ground4' ,illustration3 ,,the ,,mosque ,,at ,,kosseir ,by the modern ,german school of computation1 which ,mr4 ,weigall accepts1 the period of the ,shepherd ,kings was but of two centuries' duration2 but according to the reckoning of the majority of ,egyptologists1 this period lasted a millennium longer4 ,should the latter be right these graffiti would date back sixty-five centuries2 and from that remote period 7with the exception of the dark ages known as that of the ,hyksos or ,shepherd ,kings7 some signs of human activity were visible in this valley1 telling us something of the various peoples who ruled ,egypt until the three ,englishmen scratched their names with a penknife shortly after the ,british occupation4 ,every collection of ,egyptological objects will have some specimens of sculptured stone quarried out of these tufa and breccia rocks4 ,i found a large smooth surface of stone1 forming the back wall of a hollow quarried out of a gigantic mass of breccia1 which1 in ,ptolemaic times1 had been made to serve as a shrine to the god ,min of ,koptos1 the protecting deity of the ,upper ,egyptian deserts4 ,there were signs that this shady nook had recently been used as an ,arab encampment1 and it suggested a delightful subject to paint4 ,i was torn with conflicting emotions3 whether to secure so good a background for a figure subject1 or whether to join my companions in their search for archological treasure4 ,the background won the day4 ,a faint hope that we might spend a second morning here on our return journey1 which would make it possible to complete my study1 finally decided me4 ,the smooth stone at the back of the hollow was decorated with very delicately incised ,ptolemaic work4 ,the spacing of the panels containing the deities was most artistically done1 and the figures were chiselled with a delicacy and style not usually seen in work of that period4 ,i had seen little ,ptolemaic sculpture on any other material than on sandstone1 and this was bound to look coarse compared to the eighteenth dynasty work on the finer grained limestone4 ,the hard breccia rock surface gave the sculptor a chance2 and though it lacked the distinction of earlier work1 it compared well as to delicacy of treatment4 ,greek influence seemed more apparent than ever4 ,hathor looked less of a goddess1 and was possibly more charming as a pretty little mortal2 ,ammon ,ra without his headdress would have passed for a lithe and well-proportioned ,greek slave2 but the god ,min1 owing to his conventional pose1 combined the ,hellenic sensuosity with the severer ,egyptian traditions4 ,the ,ptolemy who made offerings to the above trilogy was a ,greek grandee in the pose and apparel of a ,pharaoh4 ,the figures measured about two feet high except that of an attendant priest1 who1 as modesty demanded1 was a few inches shorter4 ,there were one or two more panels in which ,min figured conspicuously4 ,the bold forms of the massive rock which overhung this wall may have helped to emphasise the delicacy of the sculpture4 ,the colour of the rock formation is as extraordinary as its drawing3 the untouched portions are a chocolate brown1 and those parts exposed by the work of the quarrymen vary from green to a bluish black4 ,when the sun shifted to where ,i sat1 the effect changed so much that it seemed hardly worth risking sunstroke by continuing my study4 ,my companions calling out their several discoveries tempted me to join in the hunt4 ,so much of interest was crowded into the one day spent at ,wady ,fowakiyeh that the thirteenth day of ,november #aijh will remain as a landmark in my somewhat varied existence4 ,one long inscription1 which ,mr4 ,weigall interpreted1 tells us of #aj1jjj men who were sent during the eleventh dynasty to work the quarries4 ,amongst this army of quarrymen there were miners1 artists1 draughtsmen1 stone-cutters1 gold-workers1 and officials1 and full directions were given as to the work they were sent to do4 ,when one thought of the voices of this host of men1 awakening the echoes of the cliff-bound valley1 the present silence became almost oppressive4 ,as the shades deepened with the declining sun1 the impressiveness of our surroundings seemed to have got hold even of our escort4 ,we could just hear them muttering their evening prayer1 and when that was over nothing but the crackling of the fire1 round which they sat1 disturbed the stillness of the night4 ,till this point in our journey1 the road we trod is sufficiently hard and smooth to allow a motor-car to do it in three or four hours4 ,we had now reached the highest part of the desert highway1 but the incline is so imperceptible that only the aneroid could prove that we were on a greater altitude than when we left ,qs4 ,no motor-car could1 however1 cross the mile or two of boulders which choked up the road on which we made an early start the following morning4 ,most of this we did on foot1 jumping from boulder to boulder1 the men leading the camels a serpentine route or assisting them over the rocks which blocked the way4 ,we followed up a narrow pass in the mountains to inspect the abandoned workings of the gold-mines4 ,we soon came across some huts used by miners who had in quite recent years come here to glean where the early ,egyptians had reaped a good harvest4 ,the huts were already in worse repair than many we saw at the ,roman ,hydreuma4 ,from what ,i have heard since1 the modern working of these mines had soon been abandoned as a hopeless task4 ,there are1 however1 other mines north of these which are now worked at a profit4 ,we decided to continue on this pass and join the main route to ,kosseir a few miles further on1 the baggage train1 of course1 following the usual caravan road4 ,our guide declared that he knew the road1 so there seemed nothing to apprehend4 ,nevertheless we took the precaution of leaving a trail behind us1 as boys do on a paperchase1 for there were tracks in the sand of other camels than our own1 and the road1 such as it was1 split up into several winding passes through the hills4 ,as one of our party had chosen to follow the baggage1 we decided to send back ,selim to the main highway to tell him when and where we expected to join him1 and ,selim had also instructions to prepare our midday meal at that spot4 ,the landscape became more extraordinary than ever when we left the tuff and breccia rocks behind us4 ,on either side of us rose sandstone cliffs worn into the most fantastic shapes4 ,it is difficult to associate rain with such a country as the one we were in1 yet rain and nothing else could have worn this stone into the shapes we now beheld4 ,an inscription which ,weigall had carefully copied described a torrential shower which descended on the quarrymen in early dynastic times1 and which they considered a good omen of a successful issue to their labours4 ,rain descends at long intervals1 but during periods as counted by geologists an immense amount of water had fashioned these sandstone rocks into their unearthly shapes1 for no growth is here to impede the action of the torrential streams4 ,we wound amongst these hills for two or three hours1 and ,i was delighted when we regained the highway and returned to less strange1 though more beautiful scenery4 ,but where was ,selim8 ,we fortunately could see our companion in the distance1 while the baggage camels which he followed were disappearing round an angle in the range of hills4 ,we managed to make him hear1 and he rode back to meet us4 ,he had neither seen nor heard anything of our cook1 and had the latter followed the trail he should have joined the main body a couple of hours ago4 ,our guide went back to try to find the lost cook1 and as he was born to the desert1 we had little fear of losing him4 ,after a hunt of a couple of hours the guide returned1 hoping that ,selim might have found his way to us by the main road4 ,there was nothing to be done but to send the guide back to try some of the passes which he had considered too unlikely for the cook to have taken4 ,it was awkward to lose the man on whom depends your midday meal4 ,but worse than a long day's fast was the possibility that the man had completely lost his bearings1 in which case1 his bones and those of his mount might1 at the time ,i am writing1 be bleaching in the desert surrounded by his pans and kettles as well as by our sketching and photographic paraphernalia4 ,about four o'clock a clatter1 clatter awoke us from a doze we had indulged in under the shade of a projecting rock4 ,the cook had turned up at last1 still trembling with the danger of being lost which he had experienced1 and also expecting a blowing up for being so late with our lunch4 ,a puff of wind had1 it appeared1 blown some of our paper trail over a low hillock into a pass which we had not taken1 and seeing camel tracks there he followed it up and got lost in the labyrinth amongst the sandstone cliffs4 ,though he rode his camel well1 his practice had hitherto been confined to the cultivated land where he could hardly go a quarter of a mile without meeting some one to direct his way4 ,we made a hasty meal1 for we had a long ride before we could reach our night's camping-place4 ,we passed two more ,roman stations1 but could not give them much time4 ,the scenery increased in grandeur and beauty1 for the ,hammamt mountains we had left behind us are in truth more extraordinary than beautiful4 ,a high range of limestone mountains caught the evening light1 while the meaner hills in the foreground were lost in a subtle grey-violet shade4 ,twilight is of short duration1 and not long after admiring the after-glow on the limestone heights1 we had to trace our way in no other light than that from the starlit sky4 ,when we reached our halting-place for the night we found our tents pitched1 table set1 and our meal ready to be served up4 ,selim had got over his fright1 and was anxious to do his best to make up for the inconvenience he had put us to during the day2 the ,ababdi guide likewise arrived before we turned in for the night4 ,our camp was near another ,roman station1 known by the name of the well close by1 ,br ,hagi ,suliman4 ,whatever else of interest there may be in a desert highway1 the vital importance of water 7even though it be brackish7 is such that the name of the supply is the name the district is known by4 ,beer runs this close in ,london1 judging from the names of public-houses being so conspicuous on any omnibus route4 ,should you ask an ,ababdi ,arab where the ,hydreuma was he would shrug his shoulders2 but if you mention a well1 el ,br1 anywhere within fifty miles1 he will be able to direct you4 ,the similarity in the name of their water-supplies to that of the ,british favourite drink is a curious coincidence4 ,the domed enclosure of the ,br ,hagi ,suliman was in good repair1 and a tablet in the wall bore these three names and a date3 #8,briggs1 ,hancock1 and ,wood1 #ahcb4' ,probably the names of three ,englishmen who were prospecting for gold in these regions4 ,we decided the next morning to follow the caravan road1 and that we should return from ,kosseir by a second route which joins this one near the well4 ,no archological find was as welcome as the first rays of sun which fell on our perishing bodies4 ,to get out of the cold wind and creep along the rocks which first caught the morning sun was our only thought4 ,one is obliged to dress in thin summer clothes1 as these valleys are very hot by the time the sun is high in the heavens4 ,i strapped enough blankets round me to give me the appearance of a well-packed breakable object stowed on the top of a camel1 and ,i kept near the useful ,selim1 so as to enable him to catch the blankets as ,i shed them4 ,i had hardly got down to my cotton suit when we arrived at another ,roman station4 ,it seemed as difficult to avoid ,roman ruins here as to get away from trippers in the ,nile valley4 ,some ,cufic inscriptions on a doorpost interested us the most1 as an indication of this route being used soon after the ,mohammedan conquest of ,egypt4 ,our ornithologist had his sketch-book out to note the flight of some sandgrouse which rose from amongst the ruins as we entered them4 ,we had met but one or two nomad ,arabs since we left the oasis of ,lakta1 so that our interest was considerably excited when we perceived a considerable caravan advancing towards us in the distance4 ,they were undoubtedly ,arabs from the ,hedjaz who had crossed the ,red ,sea to barter their camels in the ,nile valley--queer customers for so small a party to meet in this lonely place4 ,we were miles ahead of our baggage train1 and ,i found that my companions had1 as ,i had done1 packed their revolvers in their kit-bags4 ,we consoled ourselves with the thought that our want of precaution would not be suspected by the people we were approaching1 and ,i was more anxious to get a shot at them with a hand camera than with any more deadly weapon4 ,they were a most picturesque lot1 and might have posed for a group of ,hyksos invaders1 or1 to come to modern times 7which only their long-barrelled guns suggested71 they might have been a small host of the ,midianite ,arabs who plunder the pilgrims on the ,mecca road4 ,some of their womenfolk were with them1 but enclosed in litters on the camels' humps4 ,illustration3 ,,doorway ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,isis ,i managed with difficulty to get a couple of snapshots3 the head of my own camel had to be avoided1 and ,i wished not to attract too much attention from the evil-looking men1 who greeted neither us nor the two ,arab servants in our party--a most unusual occurrence anywhere in the ,near ,east4 ,the first bit of news we heard1 when we got back to ,luxor1 was that a party of three ,egyptians had been attacked by ,arabians travelling from ,kosseir to ,keneh1 and the date given was that of the day after we had met these people4 ,one ,egyptian had been killed1 and the two others had managed to escape4 ,the attacking party could have been no other than the one we passed4 ,whether they were ever brought to justice1 or whether they were able to recross the ,red ,sea and get safe back to the ,hedjaz1 ,i was never able to ascertain4 ,little news1 except that which an occasional ,european paper gave us1 reached my camp at ,der el-,bahri when ,i was reinstalled there4 ,we halted at midday at a well in an open plain4 ,br el-,ingliz1 as this well is called1 and also the names of two ,frenchmen1 on a rock near by1 and dated #agii1 vaguely recalled some incidents in the fight between ,france and ,england during the ,napoleonic wars4 ,desaix1 who commanded the ,french troops in ,upper ,egypt #agii1 must have sent his men by this route to garrison the still existing fort at ,kosseir4 ,we know of no record that the young ,french general was ever at ,kosseir himself2 but we know that in ,january #ahjj both ,desaix and ,kleber signed the convention of el-,arish1 six months after ,buonaparte had left ,egypt4 ,the two ,frenchmen1 ,forcard and ,materon1 whose names we find near the well1 were therefore in all probability returning with a detachment from ,kosseir to join ,desaix before he went north to el-,arish4 ,the ,english could not have restored this well till two years later1 as it was not till ,may #ahja that an ,anglo-,indian force1 under ,baird1 landed at ,kosseir and drove the garrison back into the desert4 ,though the well is known as ,br el-,ingliz1 it is probable that the ,english put an already existing one into working order1 and built the well-house as a protection to it4 ,some of its slightly brackish water may have been the cause of these ,frenchmen resting here4 ,a magnificent range of limestone cliffs1 which came into view soon after our rest1 shut us off from any glimpse we might have had of the sea4 ,these were the finest mountains ,i had seen in ,egypt2 their formation is very similar to that of the ,der el-,bahri cliffs1 but they were more imposing from their greater altitude4 ,as we approached the northern extremity of the range1 a patch of vivid green had a singular attraction for us1 and hastened the trot of our camels4 ,it could not be a mirage1 for the form that phenomenon took1 as far as our experience went1 was that of reflecting1 in what appeared water1 objects above our horizon4 ,our ,ababdi guide knew it as the ,br ,ambagi4 ,we had been only a few days in the desert2 but we felt some of the excitement of pilgrims in the wilderness who1 after a prolonged journey1 catch their first glimpse of a land of ,canaan4 ,our oasis turned out to be nothing more than a mass of rushes surrounding some pools of water2 it was1 however1 a refreshing sight to our eyes1 and possibly more refreshing to the stomachs of our camels--there was not much left of ,laura's hump when ,i had last taken observations4 ,a half-dozen goats--sole milk-supply of ,kosseir1 as we later on found out--grazed peacefully here1 while the young goat-herds stared round-eyed at the newcomers4 ,the air we breathed was different1 and though no air is purer than that of the desert1 there was something singularly exhilarating in that which was here4 ,the sea1 which we could not yet catch a glimpse of1 had sent its breezes to welcome us to its shores4 ,on remounting our camels we followed the dry bed of a river--a wash-out1--and after descending it for a few miles1 we turned the corner of some low-lying sand-hills1 and the ,red ,sea was before us4 ,how intensely blue it looked6 ,i had not at that time gone down the ,red ,sea1 or ,i might have been prepared for its being no redder than a blue band-box4 ,it is just as well that its colour was no other1 for no sight could have given us greater pleasure4 ,we kept our camels at the trot1 and it looked as if we should be there in half an hour4 ,the low white houses of ,kosseir were on our left horizon1 with some huge ugly erection over-topping them4 ,in a couple of hours we cleared the sandy waste1 and jumped off our camels on the strand4 ,one of our party threw off his clothes to have a swim1 in spite of our warning him that the water might be infested with sharks4 #8,i'll risk it anyhow1' he called out1 and we watched him splashing about with mixed feelings of sour grapes4 ,weigall sent our guide with a note to the ,mudir to tell him of our arrival1 and ,selim lighted the spirit lamp to prepare our tea4 ,we strolled some way along the beach1 when we came on the body of a young shark1 with its throat cut1 lying on the edge of the water1 and our looks at our venturesome companion silenced his boastings of how he had enjoyed his bathe4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,kosseir ,we had not long to wait before the ,mudir1 or ,governor of ,kosseir1 arrived to welcome us4 ,he was a stout1 good-natured1 middle-aged ,maltese2 he spoke ,english fluently1 but with the accent of his countrymen4 ,his pleasure at seeing us was very genuine1 and the more we heard him tell of life in ,kosseir1 the more we appreciated what an event in his dull existence our arrival must have been4 ,besides his wife and little daughter there was not a ,european in the place1 except an ,austrian mechanic who attended to the sea-water condenser4 ,a ,syrian doctor had been sent here to attend to the sick1 and as no one ever was sick1 and the ,mudir never had any cases to try1 their only topic of conversation was of the dulness of the place4 ,there were #aejj souls in ,kosseir when the ,mudir was first appointed1 and now there are barely #cjj4 ,they lived on the fish they caught and some bags of flour which a coasting steamer left here at long intervals4 ,the arrival of the steamer was the one event which awakened the inhabitants1 who1 during the intervals1 spent most of their time in sleep4 ,i asked what the large building was which we noticed when first we caught sight of the place1 and ,i was told that it was a condenser which the government had erected so as to save the people having to go four miles to the nearest well to fetch the brackish water it supplied4 ,the ,mudir would show us over it the following morning1 as well as the other objects of interest in the town4 ,we were told we could not get some necessaries we thought we might be able to procure for our return journey4 #8,there is nothing here1 nothing1 nothing1' and which he pronounced #8,nozing1 nozing1 nozing1' while the tears almost started from the poor man's eyes4 ,it appeared that when he was first sent here the people were often reduced to eating chopped straw with their fish4 ,the little trade1 which had hitherto kept the place going1 disappeared when ,suakin and ,suez became the only places of call on that coast4 ,the great condenser had supplied the ships with water1 and a trade in fish gave the men an occupation and brought a little money into the place4 ,the ,mudir sent a report to the government on the starving condition of the inhabitants1 and a grant was voted to transplant the population to more prosperous districts4 ,three-quarters of the people left when the means were given them to do so1 and as none but the aged remained1 it was hoped that ,kosseir would soon cease as an inhabited town4 ,so great1 however1 is the native's attachment to his locality1 that a certain number returned1 after a while1 to the semi-starvation of their natal place4 ,we asked if the people were honest and well-behaved4 #8,dere is nozing to steal1 and when they are not fishing dey sleep1' was our answer4 ,the doctor had as little to do as the ,mudir in his capacity as magistrate1 for1 in spite of the poor living1 old age was the only physical complaint from which any one suffered4 ,on this barren coast1 where no blade of grass can grow1 the germs of disease do not easily spread1 and the filth from the habitations is soon sterilised in the perpetual sunshine4 ,to rust out takes longer than to wear out in such a climate1 and this must account for the great age which most of the inhabitants attain4 ,our baggage had arrived during these tales of woe1 and we tried to induce the governor to share our dinner4 ,he would not stay1 but promised to have tea with us the next day1 and to bring his daughter1 the ,austrian mechanic1 and the ,syrian doctor4 ,he had hardly taken his departure when some men arrived bringing half a dozen chairs and a present of fish1 with a message that if there was anything ,kosseir could supply1 it was at our orders4 ,i think the kind-hearted ,mudir left to spare us our expressions of gratitude4 ,to lie on the soft sand within a few yards of the gentle plashing of the incoming waves1 and to watch the full moon slowly emerging above the sharp-cut line of the blue waters1 consoled us that ,kosseir could at least supply a half-hour of as exquisite enjoyment as any wealth could command in the most prosperous of cities4 ,the fizzling sounds which proceeded from ,selim's cooking-tent did not jar in the least1 for the anticipation of some fresh fish1 after a rgime of tinned meats1 was far from disagreeable4 ,after a course of crayfish and of a well-served belbul1 we told ,selim that he could give his tin-opener a thorough rest4 ,we returned to our soft couches in the sand1 and lay there till the moon was high in the heavens1 when we turned in for the night4 ,the ,mudir was awaiting us when we arrived at his office at eight o'clock on the following morning4 ,it was in a large building1 for our host's duties were various3 he was consul to many nations1 of whom a subject might be here cast ashore2 he was also postmaster-general1 in case a letter ever arrived2 head of the customs--on what dutiable articles was not related4 ,as captain of the coastguards a chance of some work might occur1 for were this coast not guarded1 hasheesh would be sure to find an inlet and poison some of the people in the ,nile valley4 ,he was here also to enforce the orders given by the sanitary inspectors in regard to pilgrims returning from ,mecca through this port4 ,in spite of these and other duties1 ,mr4 ,wirth 7as we discovered his name to be7 had plenty of time to place at our disposal1 and when we had sipped the usual cup of coffee we started to see ,kosseir under his guidance4 ,the huge and unsightly building which housed the condensing machinery was1 as might be expected1 the pice de rsistance1 and with pride we were shown the one thing left in which some lingering signs of vitality remained4 ,the government had spent #ad1jjj to put this thing up4 ,it was large enough to supply water to #aj1jjj souls1 and now by working it during two mornings per month it more than supplied the present population4 ,a paternal government had decreed that a charge of one millime1 that is a farthing1 should be made for each pailful supplied2 but as many had not the farthing1 it was a case of #8thank you for nothing4' ,the governor informed us that many women filled their pitchers at the brackish well1 four miles off1 from want of this money to pay for the distilled water3 a case of farthing wise and pound foolish on the part of the government4 ,i was glad when we got out of the place and proceeded to inspect the chief mosque4 ,when we had awakened the caretaker1 he started removing the matting1 so as not to oblige us to take off our shoes4 ,mr4 ,wirth wittily remarked that the ground would be less likely to dirty our shoes than would the mats if we stepped on them4 ,we prevented the man from moving one of them1 so as not to disturb the sleep of one or two worshippers who lay there4 ,it was a picturesque old mosque1 and ,mr4 ,whymper and ,i decided to return and make a drawing of it when we had seen what else ,kosseir had to show4 ,the fort stands close by1 and we were taken to see the place where ,desaix had quartered some troops1 and where these ,french soldiers pined1 during two years1 for their native country1 until they were hurriedly dislodged by the ,anglo-,british force under ,baird4 ,our ,maltese friend1 being a ,british subject1 pointed out with pride the gate through which the ,english and ,indian soldiers effected an entrance1 and at the back of the fort he showed us from whence the poor ,frenchmen escaped to try and reach the ,nile across the desert4 ,how many succeeded1 history does not relate4 ,knowing what preparations have to be made to make a desert journey1 it is awful to contemplate the fate of these soldiers with only the food they could hurriedly grab up1 and the wells guarded by the enemy4 ,we are told that the ,british troops reached ,keneh1 and that the ,french had by that time evacuated ,egypt4 ,general ,desaix had joined ,napoleon's army more than a year before1 and fell in the battle of ,marengo on the #adth of ,june #ahjj4 ,his brilliant career was cut short while only in his thirty-second year1 his greatest achievement being the conquest of ,upper ,egypt1 where he became known by the natives as the ,just ,sultan4 ,the custodian of the fort told us how the ,british fired water from their ships on to the ammunition of the ,french1 and the latter1 then being unable to return the fire1 tried to reach ,keneh as best they could4 ,strange things are often related by ,arab custodians6 ,the main street of ,kosseir is picturesque1 with the minaret towering above the deserted shops1 or rather it might have been1 had the coloured stuffs and fruits and a busy throng been there to furnish it with the usual properties which make up an oriental street picture4 ,the two stalls which had something to sell had no other customers than a swarm of flies1 and we should hardly have had the heart to wake the shopman from his profound sleep had there been anything worth buying4 ,the ,mudir had had the little quay repaired1 as well as the wooden pier which formed the breakwater to a small harbour4 ,he had also fenced in a space of about a hundred yards square in the sea1 so as to allow any one who wished to bathe to be able to do so in safety from the sharks4 ,we mentioned that one of our party had bathed near our camp1 and he was horrified1 for the sea1 he told us1 was alive with sharks4 #8,had we not noticed a shark lying on the strand with its throat cut8' ,we mentioned that we had1 though not till after our friend's bath4 ,we were then told that a youth was standing there with his feet just in the sea when a shark made a dash at him1 and1 missing his prey1 landed too high on the beach to be able to get back into the water before the youth cut its throat4 ,this had only happened a couple of days before our arrival at the coast4 ,two high-sterned dhows were beached near here for repairs2 they added considerably to the characteristics of the place1 which had something un-,egyptian about them4 ,kosseir is a ,red ,sea port1 and it bears something1 hard to define1 but which is not to be observed till on this side of ,suez4 ,the people dressed as ,egyptians2 but on studying their features more carefully1 one could discern that nothing of the old ,egyptian stock was here4 ,their blood is ,arabian intermixed with that of the ,ababdi tribe4 ,we were neither pestered with beggars nor importuned by the officiousness met with in the ,nile resorts4 ,i returned to the mosque to start my drawing1 and remained there until it was time to join our tea-party at the camp4 ,two or three men dropped in during the midday prayer1 but the caretaker beckoned to me not to move my easel4 ,some boys arrived later on and sat around an old sheykh who expounded the ,koran to them4 ,a date stone of two hundred years ago1 probably only alluded to a restoration4 ,i should place the original construction some five centuries earlier1 though in an out-of-the-world place such as this architectural style changes very slowly4 ,i arrived at the camp in time for our tea-party4 ,the governor regretted that ,mrs4 ,wirth was not well enough to accompany him2 his daughter was a pretty girl of about thirteen years of age4 ,the poor child seemed very conscious of having outgrown her frock1 judging from the way she kept smoothing it down over her knees4 ,she had plenty to say for herself1 and could say it in four different languages4 ,her father regretted that no means of educating the child existed except such instruction as her mother could give her1 and that there was not another child in ,kosseir for her to associate with4 #8,if ,i could only get her to ,alexandria and get there myself also1' he said with a sigh4 #8,it is four years since we had an opportunity of getting her some frocks4' ,the poor girl coloured up and seemed more conscious of her legs than ever1 and had the last pleat of her skirt not been newly let out to its full limits1 we should probably not have seen her at our party4 ,the ,austrian mechanic was pleased to find some one who could speak ,german2 but he1 poor man1 seemed conscious of being without a collar to his shirt4 ,it was difficult to put him at his ease till he got well launched into the subject of what a dismal hole ,kosseir was to live in4 ,the ,syrian doctor seemed disappointed at not seeing a possible patient amongst us2 we all looked in disgustingly rude health4 ,we promised to look in at his dispensary the next day1 where he assured us he had the means of coping with every ailment2 but as the whole population was always in the best of health1 time hung heavily on his hands4 ,he amused himself by fishing occasionally1 and told us of the extraordinary number of crayfish which were to be got by the simple process of getting on to the coral reefs at night and holding a candle over the pools4 ,the stupid creatures then come to have a look at the light1 and you have only then to pick them out of the water and put them in the basket4 ,should we care to have a try1 he would be delighted to take us to the best place that very night4 ,the moon was the difficulty1 for a dark night was necessary4 ,it was settled that he should bring some men and lanterns at midnight1 when he reckoned that the moon would have disappeared4 ,we turned in after our dinner1 so as to get what sleep we could before starting on our fishing expedition4 ,when the doctor summoned us that night1 the moon was so high in the sky that we were loath to turn out4 ,bed was so comfortable2 while pottering about on a sunken reef1 with the moon to spoil our sport1 seemed hardly good enough4 ,the doctor hoped that the moon would be down before we reached the coral reefs1 and for the first time we realised that the reefs were three miles away4 ,it seemed1 however1 ungracious not to go1 so off we started4 ,the doctor was rather depressed when he heard moonlight effects being discussed1 though we were thinking more of its pictorial aspects than of its influence on crayfish4 ,early recollections of coral islands1 in a book which made my tenth birthday memorable1 excited my curiosity to see at last what a coral reef was like4 ,grottos as pink as a necklace1 of a ten-year-old little girl ,i associated with my book1 rose in my imagination1 and to see these in a brilliant moonlight might more than compensate me for a poor catch of crayfish4 ,we found several fishermen on the reefs1 and we were puzzled to guess what they were up to4 ,they appeared to be walking on the water1 for when we first saw them they were some distance out at sea1 and the water looked no shallower than that which we had hitherto skirted4 ,some were running about and beating the surface with long sticks1 and the proceedings had an uncanny look until we got near enough to follow what they were about4 ,a long net1 which a couple of men hung on to at the water's edge1 reached some distance into the sea1 making a slight curve to its furthest extremity1 which was held by some men far out on the partially submerged reef2 the water was being beaten with the object of driving the fish into the net4 ,the men furthest out presently advanced towards the shore1 dragging the net through the deep water while they walked along the edge of the reef4 ,we were able to reach them by seldom being more than ankle deep1 taking care1 however1 to avoid the deep holes in the coral4 ,as the net curved more and more on the advance to the shore of its further end1 our interest to see what it would bring in became as great as that of the fishermen4 ,when finally the whole net was drawn on to the strand1 we beheld as strange an assortment of creatures as can be seen in the ,naples ,aquarium4 ,some had transparent bodies with long filmy tentacles1 others were difficult to class1 whether as fish or as marine plants1 for they were so rapidly picked up and thrown into baskets that we had little time to examine them4 ,the queer things left on the shore might safely be classed as unedible4 ,the men telling us that the moon would not be down till three o'clock1 ,i bothered no more about crayfish1 but found plenty of entertainment in peering into the holes in the reef4 ,the water was so transparent that1 where the moonlight reached the bottom1 the shadow of my head was clearly defined4 ,i might have been looking into a depth of one or two feet instead of into several fathoms of water4 ,some of the beautifully arranged tanks in the ,aquarium at ,naples might have been modelled on what ,i saw here4 ,the holes were sometimes globular in shape1 though passages might have existed where the moonbeams did not fall4 ,two lights1 an inch or two apart1 moved about in the shadow of one of these holes1 and disappeared whenever they reached the moonlit part4 ,i crept down on my knees to see if ,i could distinguish any form around these weird lights1 and as ,i could not do so1 ,i concluded that they were the eyes of a transparent fish such as those we had seen taken out of the fishermen's nets4 ,the lights disappearing1 ,i crept round to a hole a few yards off1 and there ,i could distinguish the entrance to a passage leading towards the hole ,i had left4 ,the two lights reappeared1 were lost again as they passed through the moonlit space1 and seen once more until they were lost in some cavern in the darkness4 ,sea-anemones stuck to the sides and hung from the roofs of these fairylike chambers1 the claws of a hermit crab just distinguishable in a hollow at the base of what looked more like some hot-house plant than of a conscious creature4 ,on touching the spreading tentacles with my stick1 they rapidly contracted to a conical knob4 ,the reefs in themselves were a disappointment1 for ,i should hardly have known them as coral had ,i not been told so2 but what we saw of the marvellous forms of life contained in their caverns well repaid us for our night's excursion4 ,some attempts were made to beguile the crayfish with lighted candles2 three were brought back to our camp1 but ,i never quite got rid of a suspicion that the ,syrian doctor had caught these out of the fishermen's net by means of a piastre4 ,he need not have looked so sad about his miscalculations1 for each one of us had spent a most interesting hour or more on the reefs4 ,it became too cold for us to remain any longer in our wet clothes1 and we were glad to tramp briskly back to our camp4 ,weigall and ,erskine ,nicol rode on the following morning to the ruins of ,old ,kosseir1 some five miles north of the ,arab town1 while ,whymper and ,i returned to the mosque to finish our drawings4 ,we paid the doctor a visit in his dispensary1 and were shown how up-to-date was its equipment4 #8,but what is the use of all this1' he said1 #8if no one is ever ill8'--one more proof of the ingratitude of the native4 ,we bid farewell to the kindly governor1 and hoped for his sake that he might soon be transferred to some more congenial place1 trusting that one who had the welfare of the people at heart as much as he had might be found to fill his post4 ,may his charming little daughter be where suitable companions abound1 and also frocks long enough to reach to her ankles4 ,the doctor may now be surrounded with patients more than enough1 for the two years' exile he then anticipated are now over4 ,let us hope that the ,austrian engineer has been replaced by one whose orders may allow him to distribute the distilled water without having to exact the farthing per bucket from the impoverished people of ,kosseir4 ,we bought some pretty shells--about the only things the town had to sell4 ,the good ,mudir spoke the truth when he said1 #8,in ,kosseir dere is nozing1 nozing1 nozing6' ,some fish was sent to us as a departing present when we were starting on our return journey to the ,nile valley4 ,the whitewashed town was pink in the light from the rising sun when we again mounted our camels4 ,kosseir was asleep1 and ,kosseir has probably slept ever since1 just waking up for a short while when the coasting steamer brings the bags of flour4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,edfu ,,and ,,the ,,quarries ,,of ,,gebel ,,silsileh ,the few incidents which occurred during the following six months1 after ,i was reinstalled in my hut at ,der el-,bahri1 have been related in previous chapters4 ,during the short season at ,luxor friends and acquaintances often paid me a visit when going the rounds on the ,theban side of the ,nile4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,herbert ,parker induced me to leave my camp to spend ,christmastide with them in the delightful house they had lately built at ,assuan4 ,it is one of the few new houses in ,upper ,egypt which in aspect fits in exactly with its surroundings4 ,situated as it is on the western bank of the ,nile1 it commands a beautiful view both up and down the river1 and ,elephantine ,island1 the only green spot near ,assuan1 lies just opposite4 ,a more ideal residence in which to pass the winter months would be hard to conceive4 ,would that he who built it had been spared to enjoy it for more than a few short seasons6 ,two years previously ,i had spent three months with them on their dahabieh4 ,henry ,simpson1 the artist1 was of our company4 ,we visited everything worth visiting between the first and second cataracts1 mooring the ship wherever we found a subject we wished to paint4 ,this is the ideal way of seeing the ,nile1 and when1 as in this case1 congenial companionship is added to the comforts of a well-equipped dahabieh1 no more delightful way of tiding over the winter months is imaginable4 ,a diary in the form of caricatures of the daily events1 which ,mr4 ,simpson had left with the ,parkers1 brought those pleasant times vividly back to us4 ,mrs4 ,parker and ,i made several excursions to ,philae while there was still a chance of recording some of its beauty before it would be entirely submerged by the raising of the ,assuan dam4 ,as it is proposed that ,i should treat of ,nubia in another volume1 ,i shall defer what ,i may have to say on ,assuan and of the country south of it4 ,towards the end of my season at ,der el-,bahri1 which as usual was two months after the hotels at ,luxor had put up the shutters1 ,mr4 ,weigall suggested my spending ,june with him in the tombs and temples south of ,thebes4 ,the valley in which ,i camped had become a veritable oven1 and my hut was untenable till the sun sank behind the cliffs which form the amphitheatre behind ,hatshepsu's shrine4 ,some work ,i wished to do in the temple of ,edfu1 as well as to get shelter from the burning sun1 tempted me to accept this kind invitation4 ,the quarries and shrines at ,gebel ,silsileh1 the tombs of ,assuan and the courts and colonnades at ,philae1 all held out hopes of shady places in which ,i should find plenty of subjects to paint4 ,our preparations were soon made4 ,on the first day of ,june we took the train from ,luxor to ,edfu1 and were encamped that afternoon in the dark shades of the great temple of ,horus4 ,the thermometer fell to #ajj ,fahrenheit in the hypostyle hall1 and we were grateful for this comparative coolness4 ,our attire could safely be of the scantiest1 as there was no fear of a party of trippers arriving at this time of the year4 ,shoes were advisable till the pavements had been examined1 for in some seasons the temple is infested with scorpions4 ,happily this was a poor scorpion season1 and barely a dozen were killed during the eight days we spent there4 ,we decided on the hypostyle hall as our dining-room1 unless the open court should cool down sufficiently after sundown2 our beds were to be made on the roof of the great vestibule1 and no cooler spot could be apportioned for our midday siesta than in one of the corridors which run round the sanctuary4 ,what earthly potentate could claim so majestic a dwelling-place8 ,if an apology for its modernity be needed to those whose interests lie in the earlier dynastic remains1 we at all events had a roof over our heads1 and ,edfu temple1 though shorn of its furniture1 is not a ruin4 ,going back to pre-,ptolemaic times1 no temple in ,egypt exists where imagination has not to fill in great portions which are not in the places which the builders designed for them4 ,edfu temple is doubtless the grandest preserved edifice in the world which can date back rather more than two thousand years4 ,some portions are out of repair2 but let us hope that no more attempts at restoration may be made1 more than to tie or buttress such places that may be in danger of falling4 ,all credit is due to ,mariette1 who1 under the auspices of ,sad ,pasha1 cleared the temple of the rubbish which in places filled it to the roofing slabs2 a part of the town actually stood on the roof4 ,the rubbish hills which surround it are gradually lessening1 for the septic material of which they are composed serves as a valuable manure to the fields around4 ,the entire building took #ahg years to complete1 its progress going on more or less uninterruptedly during the rule of eleven of the ,ptolemies4 ,the design is so complete that it is hard to believe that one architect did not draw up all the plans4 ,i do not purpose to give the details of this vast building1 as this has been so adequately done by ,baedeker and in other guide-books4 ,curiously enough the ,baedeker1 which so accurately describes the most interesting details to be observed1 makes no mention of the dimensions1 though the first thing which impresses the visitor is the vastness of the building4 ,actual measurements are liable to do little more than give an impression of size1 but a comparison with well-known structures often conveys a truer conception4 ,the area of ,st4 ,paul's1 in square feet measurement1 is #bh1jej1 that of ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome is #ed1jjj1 while the temple at ,edfu covers an area of #hj1jjj square feet4 ,there is but one other temple in ,egypt with which we can compare it1 and that is the temple of ,denderah4 ,but in every way it is ,denderah's superior4 ,the great temple of ,ammon at ,karnak was raised when ,egyptian art was at a higher level than at the time of the ,ptolemies1 and1 grand as that ruin may be1 it fails to impress one as much as the almost intact structure here at ,edfu4 ,the temples of ,edfu1 of ,denderah1 and of ,esneh1 though all three were raised during a debased period of ,egyptian art1 owe their impressiveness chiefly to the fact that they still have a roof above them4 ,the subdued light of the vestibule1 the dimmer light of the hypostyle hall1 and the increasing darkness as one passes through the next two chambers till the blackness of the sanctuary is reached1 strikes the imagination to a degree which no sunlit ruins can do1 be they ever so fine4 ,the reliefs which cover every wall space and column are not to be compared with the refined work in ,hatshepsu's shrine2 but in this dim religious light they serve their purpose1 and the general effect is in no wise diminished4 ,the sculptured reliefs1 on the girdle-wall and the pylons1 which are seen in broad daylight1 suffer greatly in comparison with the eighteenth dynasty work4 ,but taken as a whole1 the design of these temples is probably more beautiful than was that of the earlier structures1 of which only fragments now remain4 ,a ,greek most likely furnished the design1 the detail being left to ,egyptians who had lost much of their artistry4 ,we ascended to the roof by a long inclined plane in the thickness of one of the walls1 and in the comparative coolness of the evening we watched the sun dip into the coloured mists which hung over the cultivation between us and the ,libyan desert4 ,edfu spreads round three sides of the temple1 and we got a bird's-eye view of the medley of mud huts1 little courtyards1 and modest places of worship which go to make up a small ,nilotic town4 ,children were at play amidst the cattle and fowls in the yards1 while their elders were attending to their household duties on the roof4 ,the houses were on a higher level as they neared the temple1 and the piles of dbris on which they stood were sharply cut away a few yards from the girdle-wall1 forming a second enclosure on that side of us4 ,it was easily seen that before the temple was cleared the incline of the rubbish mounds would have reached to the roof we stood on4 ,in a letter which ,mariette wrote in #ahfj to the ,rvue ,archologique1 he says3 #8,i caused to be demolished the sixty-four houses which encumbered the roof1 as well as twenty-eight more which approached too near the outer wall of the temple4 ,when the whole shall be isolated from its present surroundings by a massive wall1 the work of ,edfu will be accomplished4' ,something similar to what ,mariette found here fifty years ago may still be seen at the north end of the ,luxor temple1 where a mosque and a cluster of houses still remain on the top1 on the yet unexcavated portions4 ,the apertures in the roofing slabs 7which now at midday allow of some rays of sunlight to lighten the interior7 served as drains to carry off the filth from the houses on the roof4 ,no wonder that the fellaheen gladly now fatten their land with the scourings from the temple enclosure4 ,many of the smaller objects now seen in the ,antika shops are found by the peasants while they load their asses with this septic rubbish4 ,sub-inspectors and guards are told off to watch these operations2 but it is seldom that anything which is not too heavy to carry off can be saved to the ,antiquities ,department4 ,it is no sinecure being ,chief ,inspector over as extended an area as that which is in ,mr4 ,weigall's charge4 ,by the light of a couple of candles we dined in the courtyard4 ,the afterglow caught the top of the propylon as we sat down--from a deep rose it sank to a slaty grey1 and then slowly darkened to a black mass against the starlit sky4 ,the two guardians preceded us with candles1 so that we could find our way to the stairway entrance at the further end of the temple4 ,thousands of bats squeaked and fluttered above1 disturbed by these unwonted lights2 and from the rounded columns1 whose summits were lost in the darkness1 beast and bird headed gods seemed to resent our intrusion into the sacred precincts4 ,when we ascended the inclined stairway we rubbed shoulders with the divinities and the ,ptolemies which lined the wall surfaces of the narrow passage to the roof4 ,selim had fixed up our camp beds above the great vestibule1 which is considerably higher than the inner precincts of the temple2 and here we slept well above the gods1 but beneath the canopy of the heavens4 ,we arose with the first glimmer of light in the eastern sky and found ,selim preparing our bath on the roof4 ,when we descended to the interior of the temple we found that the thermometer had only fallen three degrees4 ,the courtyard was again our coolest breakfasting place1 besides being more or less free from the smell of bats1 which is a distinctive feature of all enclosed temples4 ,illustration3 ,,pottery ,,bazaar ,,in ,a ,,nile ,,village ,the town is as unspoilt as any on the banks of the ,nile1 and the early morning and evening are the only times when it is possible to explore it in comfort at this time of the year4 ,i found some delightful subjects in the little bazaar1 and could paint here till the sun drove me from where ,i had set up my easel4 ,the temple interior1 even at a hundred degrees of ,fahrenheit1 then became a welcome shelter from the burning sun4 ,my companion was engaged on some literary work and never stirred out of the temple till dusk4 ,after lunch we would retire to improvised beds near the sanctuary1 and a ray of sunlight descending through a slit in the roof gave us light by which we could read till we fell asleep4 ,we spent eight days in the shades of this majestic shrine1 and though ,weigall had brought quite a library of books on things ,egyptological and was also able fluently to read the inscriptions with which the walls are covered1 we could only cull a fraction of the flowery descriptions of the deeds that were done while this temple of ,horus was being raised4 ,i made a careful study of a fine panel on the inner side of the western girdle-wall4 ,it represents a ship with expanded sail1 with ,isis kneeling at the prow and ,horus astride on the deck launching a javelin into a minute hippopotamus near the edge of the river2 both he and the goddess hold a cord which is attached to the beast4 ,the king stands on the bank and is also driving a spear into the victim4 ,the figures are so beautifully drawn and the panel is so decoratively filled1 that when we speak of the debased art of the ,ptolemies1 it must be understood as being so only in comparison with the superlatively fine work of some of the earlier dynasties4 ,we left ,edfu in the early morning to step on to a steam-launch which would run us up to ,gebel ,silsileh in six hours4 ,i seemed awakened from a sleep gently disturbed with dreams in which the great1 of an age long past1 and their strange divinities had slowly filed before me1 to be lost in the darkness of ,edfu's sanctuary4 ,the steam-launch seemed an anachronism after the eight days during which we had been transported back to times before the dawn of ,christianity4 ,running against the current our progress was slow2 but it was a giddy speed compared with that of the ,nile boats we overtook1 though their great sails were swelled with the wind blowing up the river4 ,lying on a mattress in the shade of an extemporised awning and enjoying the breeze which overtook us1 we could thoroughly enjoy some hours of complete laziness which we glorified by the name of well-deserved rest4 ,it seemed a pity to fall asleep and to lose consciousness for a moment of this delicious feeling of fresh air and pleasant coolness4 ,objects we passed were just of sufficient interest not to over-excite us1 but just to prevent any feeling of monotony4 ,the remains of a ,byzantine fortified town with the ruins of a convent spread picturesquely over the crest of the hill es-,serg4 ,i should like to have made a sketch of this1 though ,i soon found consolation in the thought that ,i might pass here again and catch it in a more pictorial lighting4 ,consolation for most ills comes easily while afloat on the ,nile4 ,the character of the landscape changes considerably here4 ,the nummulite limestone hills1 with their pretty crag and cliff drawing1 give place to the sandstone rocks4 ,ancient quarries with inscriptions abound1 and had we not been making for the far-famed quarries of ,silsileh1 we might have felt inclined to stop and examine some4 ,we reached our destination in the early afternoon1 and moored on the west bank of the river4 ,gebel ,silsileh 7the ,mountain of the ,chain7 is so called on account of a tradition that ancient kings here blocked the river with a chain stretched across it from the cliffs on either side4 ,the ,nile contracts to within a couple of hundred yards1 and the rocks rise1 in most places1 sheer out of the water4 ,that a more natural barrier than this chain once blocked the river is evident1 and also that it held up the waters in ,lower ,nubia sufficiently to force a second arm of the river to flow along the low-lying land between the first cataract1 and on the western side of ,assuan4 ,a great disruption of the barrier is said to have taken place towards the end of the ,hyksos period1 when until then it was probably a rushing cataract4 ,but in prehistoric times1 when the course of the ,nile was completely blocked at this gorge1 the river must have flowed through other channels for a hundred miles or more4 ,we fixed on a tomb recess1 cut out of a rock facing north1 as our living-room1 and put off deciding where we should sleep till we found which place might be the coolest after the sun had gone down4 ,selim improvised a kitchen in a disused tomb nearer the edge of the river4 ,these arrangements being completed1 we visited the numerous objects of interest on our side of the ,nile4 ,the rock chapel1 known as the ,speos of ,haremheb1 lies furthest north1 and it contains some very beautiful late eighteenth dynasty work4 ,a relief of the young king taking the divine milk at the breast of a goddess can be compared in beauty with the similar subject in the ,seti temple at ,abydos4 ,the workmanship appearing coarser here is owing to the sandstone not having the marble-like surface of the nummulite limestone in the latter temple4 ,the relief of ,king ,haremheb returning in triumph from ,cush 7generally supposed to be the district between the first two cataracts1 which we now know as ,nubia7 is also very beautiful1 and reminds one strongly of some of the ,der el-,bahri work4 ,the ,speos itself is very interesting1 being a form of shrine of a plan different to any ,i had so far seen4 ,it is a long narrow chamber parallel with the rock-face1 and entered by five doorways which are separated from each other by four square pillars hewn out of the rock4 ,in the centre of the back wall is an entrance to an inner chamber also covered with reliefs1 except the end which faces the doorway where damaged statues of the ,pharaoh and of six gods occupy each a recess4 ,for the best part of half a mile we scrambled over the rocks and through disused quarries1 examining a number of little shrines1 tomb recesses and stele1 all of which are more or less ornamented with reliefs while some show traces of colour4 ,three imposing chapels hewn out of the solid rock are at the south end of the quarries4 ,these are votive shrines to ,seti ,i41 ,rameses ,,ii41 and to the son of the latter1 ,merenptah--proscenium-shaped alcoves supported by columns of the clustered papyrus type1 and surmounted with bold cornices4 ,a rank growth of scrub on the strip of land between the shrines and the river relieved the amber hues of the sandstone1 and some touches of pure colour in the shrines themselves helped to make this a promising subject for a picture4 ,our camp was about midway between the ,speos and these votive shrines4 ,selim was preparing our dinner when we returned1 and during these odd moments we enjoyed a swim in the ,nile4 ,as usual we cut our evenings short by retiring early to bed1 and we began our days with the first glimmer of light4 ,we spent four delightful days here1 ,weigall collecting ,egyptological facts1 and ,i increasing my number of drawings4 ,we should have stayed here longer2 but how this sojourn1 as well as the remainder of our expedition1 came to an end1 will form the subject of another chapter4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,my ,,experiences ,,as ,,an ,,inmate ,,of ,a ,,native ,,hospital ,i had placed my bed on a rock high enough to get the benefit of any breath of cooler air which the north breeze might bring2 the nightly drop in the temperature usual in the desert does not obtain in like manner on the edge of the ,nile4 ,our exalted position on the roof of ,edfu temple had been conducive to sleep1 and during the first three nights ,i slept well1 perched up on my rock4 ,strange dreams1 however1 disturbed the fourth night4 ,my identity got hopelessly mixed up with that of ,horus2 the steam-launch and the ship ,i had copied at ,edfu temple became a composite craft1 with the lassoed hippopotamus serving as a drag anchor4 ,i resented the anxiety shown by the goddess in the prow to meet the handsome young king on the bank1 and felt ,i was handicapped in my courtship by having a hawk's head4 ,my divinity was outweighed by the good looks of the mortal1 and ,i was preparing to use my spear in as effective a manner on him as ,i had on the hippopotamus1 when the boat bumped heavily against the bank and awoke me4 ,i was shivering on the rock1 having fallen out of my bed1 and was soon conscious enough to know that ,i had fever4 ,i never sleep out of doors without having a blanket handy to pull over me in case of a sudden drop in the temperature1 and ,i made use of it now4 ,i could not trust myself to climb down the rock and get to the more sheltered place of my companions1 nor could ,i make any one hear me4 ,slowly the night went by1 shivering fits alternating with fantastic dreams--yet no inclination to rise came with the dawn4 ,i heard shouts from below that breakfast was ready1 but all the breakfast ,i wanted was a dose of quinine4 ,my friend climbed up bringing me the drug1 and was anxious to see what was the matter4 ,thinking it was a touch of the malarious fever which for years ,i had been subject to1 ,i hoped that in a day or two ,i should be all right again4 ,i could not1 however1 remain where ,i lay1 for as the sun got up1 so my rock became untenable4 ,getting into the shade of the tomb1 which we called our living-room1 ways and means were discussed1 ,i acquiescing in whatever my friend proposed4 ,assuan was the nearest place where a doctor could be found1 and a four-mile ride would take us to the nearest station on the line4 ,a train left about two o'clock1 and donkeys might be obtainable at the nearest village4 ,we drifted down the ,nile to the nearest spot from which we could ride to the station1 and while writing these lines that ride comes back to me as a horrible nightmare4 ,the midday sun of ,june in ,upper ,egypt is carefully avoided by those in the best of health1 even when a well-saddled donkey is obtainable4 ,but ill as ,i was1 with nothing but a sack of straw for a saddle1 the trials of that ride are indescribable4 ,my sketching umbrella and pith helmet were a protection from the direct rays of the sun1 but none from the scorching heat which rose from the baked soil4 ,when we left the sandstone rocks on our right we got on to the cultivated land1 and ,i could see the little station1 across the plain1 trembling in the heated air4 ,i managed somehow to get there without tumbling off the straw sack1 and ,i had that sack taken off my donkey to use it as a pillow on the station floor4 ,some fellaheen were lying about on the flags1 and even they seemed overcome with the oven-like heat of the station1 on the flat roof of which the vertical rays of the sun had been beating4 ,the train service in ,upper ,egypt is excellent while the tourist season is on2 but1 as may be supposed1 few trains crawl along the desert track in midsummer4 ,happily there is generally one first-class car attached1 on the chance of some official being obliged to make a journey1 and in this car there is often a sunk well in the floor1 which serves as a small ice cellar4 ,i had at other times unfavourably contrasted the luxuriousness of the official car with the cattle trucks which seemed good enough for the natives4 ,i forgave them readily enough now1 while ,i greedily drank of the cold water obtainable by means of the ice cellar4 ,fortunately1 also1 one decent hotel remains open at ,assuan after the more luxurious ones put up their shutters4 ,i could1 therefore1 look forward to a comfortable bed after the five long hours of the train journey4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,village ,,of ,,marg ,when the proprietor seemed satisfied that ,i had neither the plague nor cholera1 a room was got ready for me1 and the only ,european doctor then in ,assuan was soon at my bedside4 ,he was a kind-hearted ,swiss missionary1 who had still four days to remain here before he left for ,jerusalem1 and should ,i not be well enough to move then1 the permanent medical man at the dam could be sent for from ,shellal4 ,he said ,i was down with sunstroke1 and ordered an ice-bag to be put to my head1 and told me ,i could put another on my chest if ,i liked4 ,he looked in again about midnight1 and several ,englishmen also called to offer any assistance they could give4 ,who they were and what they said ,i only found out when ,i returned to ,egypt the following season4 ,one sentence1 however1 ,i understood1 and that was that the thermometer had reached #abd degrees in the shade during the afternoon4 ,i was also conscious enough1 when left alone1 of a cutting pain in the right side of my chest1 and decided to dispense with the ice-bag there until ,i knew what this pain meant4 ,i heard voices in another room1 and a declaration of #8no trumps1' also an argument about #8going diamonds1' and ,i felt a certain comfort that countrymen of mine were near at hand4 ,while ,i lay awake that night a curious sensation that ,i was two people got hold of me4 ,was it ,i or my double who felt this cutting pain8 ,and whose turn was it to take the medicine the doctor had left8 ,it was very nasty1 and ,i rather resented that my double had not fairly shared in the taste4 ,the ,ka 7which the ancient ,egyptians believed was born with the body1 as distinct from the soul7 served as a guardian spirit or #8double1' who accompanied the mortal during his lifetime and tended to his wants after death as long as his remains were preserved in their mummy state4 ,one of us must be this ,ka1 ,i thought2 and whether ,i or the other fellow was the #8double' exercised what little mind ,i could bring to bear on the subject4 ,the ,swiss missionary came early the next day1 and was evidently not satisfied that sunstroke was entirely my complaint4 ,he sounded my chest1 and called out1 #8,oh1 it is pleurisy4' ,he seemed very excited1 and said that1 though occupied most of his time with people's bodies1 it was their souls which concerned him most4 #8,as a doctor ,i can give you no hope1 but as a missionary ,i can tell you that everything is possible with ,god4 ,what is your name8' ,i told him this1 and1 startled as ,i was1 ,i still puzzled whether the name applied to me or to my #8double4' ,i can just recall the good man going down on his knees1 and also his loud and earnest prayers2 but owing to my semi-delirious state ,i can recall nothing of the latter but the good man's foreign accent4 ,why pleurisy should have so much alarmed him ,i cannot say1 as ,i can recall many who have got the better of it4 ,one good thing about it was that ,i could be attended to by the hotel servants1 who up till that time would not answer my bell2 they evidently were not satisfied till then that ,i was not down with cholera4 ,the fever abated somewhat with the new treatment1 and ,i was able to recognise ,weigall and one or two other acquaintances who looked in4 ,the doctor was most attentive1 and advised my going with him as far as ,assiout1 where there is a good hospital run by the ,american ,mission4 ,he called in the native medical man to get a second opinion as to whether ,i could do the journey1 and between the two of them it was decided that ,i had better risk the journey than risk remaining in the terrible heat of ,assuan without any means of proper nursing4 ,the ,swiss doctor would accompany me as far as ,assiout1 and he would wire to the mission to have me met at the station and take me to the hospital4 ,we left ,assuan after ,i had been there four days1 and a friend who was a manager of the line got a sleeping-car put on to the train4 ,we started in the morning1 and after a thirteen-hour journey we reached ,assiout in the dead of night4 ,here ,i had to part company with the ,swiss doctor1 who was on his way to ,jerusalem4 ,now1 whether the telegram ever reached the mission or not ,i can't say2 anyhow1 the doctor looked in vain for any one connected with the hospital4 ,a good ,samaritan in the shape of a ,scot1 connected with the government1 had fortunately travelled down in the same train1 and by good luck ,assiout was his destination also4 ,i can recall his carrying me to a carriage1 and ,i can also recall his slapping the cheek of a native who tried to force his way in while he clamoured for baksheesh4 ,he rang up the hall-porter at the hospital1 when we reached it1 and asked if ,i was not expected4 ,the porter knew nothing about it1 and said every one had retired for the night2 there was1 however1 an empty bed in the room kept for occasional paying patients4 ,i was then placed on that bed while the porter was sent to inform the head of the mission of my arrival4 ,on his return he told us that the hakim was dressing and would be down in a few minutes2 there was therefore no occasion for the ,scotsman1 who had been such a friend in need1 to wait any longer4 ,it was then about one o'clock1 and ,i lay on that bed till half-past seven in the morning before ,i saw another soul except that porter1 and he kept out of my way as much as he could1 for ,i don't believe he ever went to the doctor's rooms4 ,never shall ,i forget that night1 and how ,i regretted that ,i had not spent it in the train and gone to a hospital in ,cairo4 ,the porter snored in the passage until it was time for him to give out doses to the patients1 and then he rang a bell just over the entrance to my room and bawled out the names of those who were to take their medicine4 ,the watchmen in the street1 at intervals1 called wahed with a long plaintive drawl on the last syllable1 and this started every sleeping dog barking once more4 ,a fretful baby in a dormitory next to my room put a treble to the bass notes of the watchmen and the howling of the dogs4 ,i tried to awaken the snoring brute of a porter so that ,i might get something to drink2 but my voice was not strong enough to have any effect1 and ,i had to lie there perishing with thirst till the time came for that dreadful bell to be rung4 ,when finally he brought me a glass of milk my #8double' was once more keeping me company--and one small glass for two people seemed a perfect mockery of my thirst4 ,thus ,i lay in the clothes ,i travelled in till a vision of a ministering angel1 in white cap and pinafore1 appeared in the doorway4 ,she asked the porter who ,i was and when ,i had arrived1 for until that moment no one in the hospital was aware of my existence except that lying porter4 ,she sent for the doctor1 got a sleeping-suit out of my trunk1 and with the help of a male attendant she put me to bed4 ,dr4 ,henry1 an active1 rather over-middle-aged ,american who has charge of the mission1 was about as great a contrast to the little ,swiss doctor as it is possible to conceive4 ,he asked no questions till he had sounded my chest1 and then gave the ministering angel1 otherwise ,sister ,dora1 orders to prepare a pneumonia jacket4 #8,ever had pneumonia before8' he jerked out1 and on my saying that ,i had not1 and also that the ,swiss doctor said ,i had pleurisy1 he retorted1 #8,guess you've got both4' ,possibly lying all night between the open window and door had added this to the list of my complaints4 ,dr4 ,henry was too practical a man to waste much thought on idle speculations as to causes2 here was something definite to go for1 and he went for it in good earnest4 #8,that lung is clearing itself tiptop1' he would say with professional pride after the fourth or fifth examination4 ,the sunstroke was curing itself1 unless my #8double1' who had left me1 had gone off with it4 ,the pneumonia jacket and the night noises were my chief discomfort after a few days4 ,assiout was distinctly cooler than ,assuan1 though there is plenty of room for heat without reaching #abd of ,fahrenheit in the shade4 ,a cotton-wool jacket about two inches thick was a severe trial and it stuck to me like a wet hot sponge1 and before it was thinned down to vanishing point ,i was covered with prickly heat which ,i did not lose till after ,i had got back to ,england4 ,i was very anxious to write home1 as my wife must have been alarmed at not having heard for some time4 ,the ,swiss doctor's gloomy forecasts might easily be correct1 and ,i wished to put my affairs in order4 ,writing was1 however1 such an exertion that ,i decided first to ask ,dr4 ,henry whether my chances of recovery were good1 and if so to put off correspondence until ,i could more easily manage it4 ,i asked him to tell me if ,i was likely to die1 and his short #8,guess not' acted as a stimulant1 and one also which was not followed by a reaction4 ,had ,i not had that irritating prickly heat ,i should have enjoyed the feeling of daily gaining strength4 ,three other nurses used to come and relieve ,sister ,dora2 the head one was a fine strapping ,american lady with a strong and cheery face which acted like a tonic4 ,there was also a sister from ,holland who could wash me as clean as a ,dutch milk-can4 ,i could chat with her in her own language1 and while we talked of the juicy green meadows of her country1 it seemed to make my room feel cooler4 ,i saw least of the ,german sister1 who had some accident cases which took up most of her time4 ,what a godsend to have educated women who will devote their lives to alleviating the sufferings of so many people6 ,the hospital was full to overflowing2 but1 being the only ,european patient1 ,i had the room allotted to them to myself4 ,the two assistant doctors were both ill themselves1 and the whole burden fell on ,dr4 ,henry alone and his excellent nurses4 ,no wonder he had not much time for conversation4 ,sister ,dora had been in ,morocco before she came to ,egypt1 and was able to tell of her experiences while nursing the sick in ,fez4 ,i was also interested to hear about this mission1 and how it is supported2 for it is a large building1 equipped for a hundred in-patients1 which number was at that time using it4 ,it is a great work1 and though ,assiout has a good government hospital1 there is more than room enough for both4 ,subscriptions to the mission fell off when statistics showed that converts from ,mohammedanism were few--a proof of ,dr4 ,henry's honesty2 for the converted ,egyptian ,moslem hardly exists1 whatever other statistics may attempt to prove4 ,he did a great work amongst the ,copts1 ,assiout being more or less their headquarters1 and a large proportion of the patients in the hospital were ,copts4 ,one ,sunday afternoon a chorus of men singing in the next ward surprised me4 ,the tune seemed familiar1 and tunes rendered by unassisted ,egyptians are not always easy to follow4 ,it was an ,arabic version of ,sankey's #8,safe in the ,arms of ,jesus4' ,loud prayers to ,allah followed1 asking ,him to look down in compassion on these sick people4 ,it was very touching to hear the afflicted ones calling out ,ameem6 ,ameem6 whenever there was a pause in the deep voice of the ,elder4 ,i was informed by ,sister ,dora that a ,coptic ,plymouth brother visited that ward 7which was set apart for the ,christian patients7 every ,sunday1 and held a service4 ,a sermon in ,arabic with no mention of ,mohammed was new to me1 and familiar texts in that sonorous language sounded very much as they must have sounded to ,hebrew ears4 ,the ,arabic of an educated ,egyptian has a strong affinity with the original language of the ,old ,testament4 ,after about ten days ,dr4 ,henry told me that my lung was cleared1 #8and1 mind you1 if you had not been a teetotaller1 you could never have pulled through this4' ,i had to disappoint him by telling him that ,i had never taken the pledge2 the disappointment did not abash him1 as ,i expected it would4 #8,the little you've taken has made no difference1 anyhow1' was his answer4 ,i seldom feel the want of stimulant1 but ,i felt it strongly then4 ,i longed for a glass of port1 and ,i told him so4 ,he shook his head3 total abstinence was the rule of the mission4 ,there was something1 however1 in my next medicine that proved that the word #8total' must not always be taken too literally4 ,it tasted very like a favourite prescription friends in ,oporto order on the least provocation4 ,i drank ,sister ,dora's health in it1 likewise that of the three other ladies who brightened the lives of all who entered this hospital4 ,the only health the three doctors seemed to neglect was their own4 ,one had to leave1 during my stay1 to try to recruit in a cooler climate1 another was awaiting an operation1 and ,dr4 ,henry looked as if the strain of overwork was telling on him4 ,i left ,assiout by the same night train which had brought me there from ,assuan1 and recruited sufficiently during ten days in ,cairo to enable me to take the homeward voyage4 ,having arrived at ,assiout and having left it also during the night1 ,i have seen no more of what is considered the capital of ,upper ,egypt than ,i could see from my bedroom window in the hospital4 ,i often feel indignant at the sneers the very word missionary provokes amongst the self-indulgent people ,i meet in the hotels in eastern countries2 for whatever the religious or moral convictions of these critics may be1 their self-indulgence contrasts unfavourably with the self-denial of the many missionaries ,i have happened to meet4 ,after a stay of three months in ,england1 ,i was ready to return to ,egypt to complete a series of water-colour drawings for a future one-man show in ,london4 ,the incidents related in this volume have not always followed a consecutive order3 some took place after my return to ,cairo1 when also several of the illustrations to this book were painted4 ,at ,luxor ,i ran across my ,scottish good ,samaritan1 whom ,i had not seen since he left me to the care of the hospital porter4 ,he asked me if ,i remembered his slapping the face of the man who had importuned us while we drove from ,assiout station1 and on my replying that ,i did1 he told me that on the following day he received a summons to appear before the ,mamoor for assault and battery4 ,this might have led to very serious consequences had the ,mamoor reported him to his chief in ,cairo1 for to strike a native is as much as an ,englishman's place in a government office is worth4 ,it would also have been an easy way for the ,mamoor to gain popularity with the ,moslems1 to have got a ,british official dismissed for such an offence4 ,fortunately the ,scotsman had made the ,mamoor's acquaintance on a previous visit to ,assiout1 and both men liked each other4 ,when the native had told his version of the services he had rendered and the brutal reward he received1 my friend explained what really happened1 namely1 that while he was lifting an apparently dying compatriot into the cab1 this man1 who had done no more than to pick up the hat which had fallen off the sick man's head1 tried1 in his greed for baksheesh1 to force his way into the cab as it was driving off4 ,for this impertinence he received his slap in the face4 #8,come here1' said the ,mamoor1 #8and show me exactly where you were struck4' ,the man approached and showed his left cheek1 whereupon the modern ,solomon gave him a smart slap on the right one1 and told him that neither cheek could then be jealous of its fellow4 ,for once ,i left ,egypt before the exodus of the tourists1 as ,i was due in ,japan before the cherry-trees had shed their blossom4 ,as the ship slowly moved through the ,suez ,canal1 the remembrance of unpleasant hours ,i had spent in ,egypt vanished with the smoke from the funnel1 and only happy recollections sped me on my voyage from the ,near to the ,far ,east4 ,,index ,aahmes1 ,queen1 #ahb4 ,ababdi1 #bab4 ---- guide1 #bjh1 #bbi1 #bcg4 ,abbas1 ,prince1 #cd1 #cf1 #dj-a1 #gf-g1 #aci4 ---- murder of1 #adb-d4 ---- his post-mortem honours1 #adh4 ,abydos1 #ij4 ,arab nomads from the ,hedjaz1 #bda-b4 ,ashura1 the festival of1 #afd-g4 ,assiout1 #bhj4 ---- hospital at1 #bge-hj4 ,astrologer1 the court1 #adb4 ,azhar1 el-1 #gc1 #ajg4 ,bab en-,nasr1 #ai4 ---- ,zaweyla1 #aje4 ,babylon1 ,roman castle of1 #aba-b4 ,baird1 ,general1 #bdb4 ,baksheesh1 #di1 #ahe4 ,barber1 primitive procedure of the1 #aib-c4 ,baths4 ,see ,hammm4 ,bazaars1 #d1 #g1 #h1 #ca1 #eh4 ,beiram1 #afc4 ,beit-el-,kadi1 #b4 ,below the ,cataracts1 #aa1 #aba1 #agh1 #bbd4 ,birds seen in the desert1 #baa1 #bai4 ,blue ,mosque4 ,see ,mosque of ,aksunkur4 ,bougainvillea1 #aga4 ,bowden ,smith1 ,herman1 #ej1 #ef4 ,bride1 ,mohammedan1 #ad4 ,british troops in ,cairo1 #aca-d4 ,butler1 ,dr4 ,a4 ,j41 author of ,ancient ,coptic ,churches of ,egypt1 #abb4 ,camels1 #acb1 #ahc1 #bjh-i1 #bac-ad4 ---- skeletons of1 #bba-b4 ,carter1 ,howard1 #aih1 #bjj4 ,characteristics of the modern ,egyptians1 #ahe4 ,clothes1 #h1 #aa1 #af1 #aad-ae1 #abf4 ,cobra1 #aih-i4 ,cock-fighting1 #gi4 ,coffee1 #hj1 #ih4 ---- shops1 #ag1 #ah1 #gh4 ,copts1 #ij-ajc1 #abd-e1 #bgi4 ---- their churches1 #aah-ba4 ---- ,catholic1 #abd-e4 ,coral reefs1 #bec-f4 ,crayfish1 #bec-f4 ,currelly1 ,professor ,c4 ,t41 #aeg1 #agh4 ,defterdar1 ,ahmed el-1 #gd4 ,der el-,bahri1 #agh1 #aid4 ,dervishes1 #bf-cj4 ,desaix1 ,general1 #bdb1 #bdi-ej4 ,desert1 the ,sahara1 #ib1 #ie4 ---- antiseptic air of1 #ahf1 #aij-a4 ---- journey in the ,arabian1 #bjf-bdd4 ,diwaan1 or divan1 #eb4 ,doctors1 ,missionary1 #bgc-e1 #bgg-hj4 ---- ,native1 #bjc-d4 ---- the ,syrian hakim1 #beb-c4 ,dogaan1 el-1 #ada1 #adc4 ,dseh1 the1 #afg-h4 ,dragomans1 #aa1 #eh-i4 ,drink1 the consumption of1 #hj4 ,durkh1 #eb4 ,edfu1 camping in temple of1 #bei-ff4 ,egyptian ,art1 beauty of early1 #ahb1 #bcc-d1 #bfb1 #bfe4 ---- ,exploration ,fund1 #aeg1 #agh-i4 ,elfy ,bey1 #ada1 #adg-h4 ,esbekiyeh gardens1 #aga4 ,eye-doctor1 #aij4 ,eyth1 ,max1 #cd1 #aci1 #adb4 ,fakirs1 #be-f4 ,fatimid ,khalifs1 #ga-c1 #ajf4 ,fellaheen1 #ahb-e4 ,festivals1 #aec-afh1 #agj-a4 ,fikee1 or schoolmaster1 #aji-aj4 ,flies1 #aie1 #aig4 ,foreigners1 as regarded by natives1 #ahe-f4 ,french ,agency in ,cairo1 the1 #agf4 ---- army in ,egypt1 #bda-b1 #bdi-ej4 ,funerals1 ,mohammedan1 #ah-bj1 #de4 ,gamalieh1 el-1 #dh4 ,games1 #ha4 ,gawhar1 #ga4 ,gebel-,silsileh1 #bei1 #bfg-i4 ,graffiti1 #bbj1 #bbb-d4 #8,guarded city1' #ga4 ,gurna1 #ahd-e4 ,halim ,pasha1 #add4 ,hammm1 #ec1 #adc4 ,hamseen1 #acf1 #ada1 #afd4 ,hareem1 #e1 #ad1 #eb1 #hd4 ,hasaneyn1 festival of the1 #ca4 ---- quarter1 #g4 ,hasheesh1 #bdh4 ,hashshah1 #fi1 #gj4 ,hatshepsu1 temple of1 #agi1 #aha-b4 ,henry1 ,doctor1 #bgg-hj4 ,herodotus1 saying of1 #bjh4 ,herz ,bey1 #bb1 #age-f4 ,hinter ,pflug und ,schraubstock1 #cd1 #aci4 ,holy ,carpet1 festival of the1 #aec-e4 ,holy ,family1 journey of the1 #aai4 ,hoseyn1 #cb-c4 ,hospitals of the ,american ,mission1 #ahh1 #bgg-hj4 ---- natives' fear of1 #ahg1 #bjc4 ,insane fellah1 experiences with an1 #bjj-b4 ,insanity regarded as a form of saintliness1 #bf4 ,inscriptions1 #bbj1 #bbb-d1 #bcc-e1 #bci4 ,ismael ,pasha1 #di1 #hi1 #agf4 ,jacaranda1 the blossom of the1 #agb-c4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,palmer1 #ij1 #ih-i4 #8,kahira-el-,mahrusa1' #gb4 #8,kasr-esh-,shema1' #aba4 #8,khaleeg1 el1' #dc1 #gj4 ,khan ,khalil1 #d1 #g1 #h1 #ca1 #eh4 ,kisweh1 el4 ,see ,holy ,carpet4 ,kosseir1 #bde-eg4 ---- mosque at1 #bdi1 #bea-b4 ,lakta1 oasis of1 #bag-bj4 ,lane's ,modern ,egyptians1 #af1 #aaa4 ,liwn1 #eb1 #ajf4 ,mahmal1 el-1 #aec-ee4 ,mahmood ,hanafy1 #fg4 ,mamelukes1 #cf1 #dj1 #adb1 #add1 #adh-ej4 ,mandarah1 #ea4 ,mankaleh1 #ha1 #ajg4 ,manners and ,customs of the ,ancient ,egyptians4 ,see ,wilkinson4 ,mansoor1 #eh1 #fe4 ,mariette1 #bfc4 ,marriages1 ,mohammedan1 #ab1 #ac4 ,mastaba1 #g1 #h1 #cc4 ,missionaries1 #abe1 #bha4 ,modiste1 ,french1 #hf4 ,mohammed ,ali1 #cd1 #da1 #gd1 #gf1 #he1 #aci4 ,mohammed ,brown1 #aa1 #eg4 ,mo'izz1 #ga-b4 ,mosques of ,cairo-- ,aksunkur1 #aaf4 ,ayyub es-,salih1 #bd4 ,barkk1 #b1 #ba4 ,beybars1 #dh4 ,hassaneyn1 #ca1 #afe4 ,kalan1 #b1 #ba-d4 ,slih ,tali1 es-1 #aje4 ,tuln1 #aah4 ,restorations of1 #bc1 #ajg4 ,mousky1 the1 #a1 #df4 ,mu'llaka1 el-1 #aba4 ,mudir of ,kosseir1 #bde-eb4 ,muristn1 el-1 #d4 ,mushrbiyeh1 #e1 #f1 #dg1 #eb1 #agf4 ,nahasseen1 #b1 #ah4 ,nakht1 tomb of1 #ahc4 ,nicol1 ,erskine1 #bjj1 #bjg1 #bab4 ,o',donald1 ,captain1 #cd-db1 #acd4 ---- ,miss1 #ce1 #ci1 #db4 ,omdeh of ,gurna1 #bjb4 ,parker1 ,herbert ,r41 #beh-i4 ,petrie1 ,professor ,flinders1 #aih4 ,pilgrims1 #ie1 #aed-e4 ,polygamy1 #af1 #ag4 ,ptolemies1 period of the1 #ahj1 #bcc-d1 #bfa1 #bfe-f4 ,pyramid ,bedouins1 #abg4 ,pyramids1 #abg4 ,queen ,thiy1 #agh1 #bbb-c4 ,ramadan1 the fast of1 #aef-g1 #afj-b4 ,rames1 #adb1 #adf1 #adh4 ,red ,sea1 #bdc4 ,reliefs1 #bfb1 #bfe1 #bfh4 ,saheime1 ,sheykh ,ammin1 #ej4 ,said ,pasha1 #adj1 #ade2 accession of1 #adg4 ,salih1 es-1 #aea4 ,salt and ,soda ,company1 #ia1 #ic4 ,saracenic ,art1 #gc4 ,schools1 #aag4 ,scorpions1 #ahg-ij1 #bfj4 ,shadoof1 #bah4 ,sharks1 #bdd1 #bea4 ,shauwl1 month of1 #afc4 ,sheea ,heresy1 #gc1 #ajf4 ,sheeas1 #cb-c1 #afd-g4 ,sheger-ed-,durr1 #aea-b4 ,shiites4 ,see ,sheeas4 ,shoara1 #gf1 #aea4 ,sladen1 ,douglas1 #aah4 ,smells of ,cairo1 #df4 ,sphinx1 the1 #abg-cd4 #8,spray of ,pearls4' ,see ,sheger-ed-,durr4 ,surgery1 amateur1 #aia4 ,tarbouch1 #h4 ,temples of-- ,denderah1 #bfa4 ,edfu1 #bei-ff4 ,hatshepsu1 #agi1 #aha-b4 ,medinet ,habu1 #agi4 ,philae1 #bei4 ,thebes1 #agh1 #beh4 #8,tommy ,atkins1' #aca-d4 ,tourists1 #ei1 #aid-f4 ,tramways1 #gj1 #abg4 ,tristram1 ,canon1 #aii1 #bbg4 ,tumbakiyeh1 el-1 #dg4 ,ulema1 an ,azhar1 #ada1 #adg4 ,villa ,victoria ,hotel1 #hc4 ,wadi ,natrun1 #ib4 ,wakfs' administration1 #bb1 #dd4 ,weigall1 ,arthur1 ,preface1 #bjg1 #bbj1 #bbc1 #bca-b1 #bgd4 ,welee1 #ah1 #ai4 ,whymper1 ,charles1 #bjg1 #baa4 ,wilkinson1 #gi4 ,zikr1 #bf-bh1 #cb1 #afd4 ,zogheb1 ,count1 #agd-f4 ,zohra1 ,story of the ,princess1 #cd-db1 #gd-g1 #hd1 #he1 #aci1 #aea-c4 ,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his ,majesty at the ,edinburgh ,university ,press ,transcriber's ,note3 ,attempts have been made to retain variations in hyphenation1 spelling1 capitalisation1 and accented characters as they appear in the original publication4