recollections an egyptian princess - forgotten books

RECOLLECTIONS

AN EGY PTIAN PRIN CE SS

HER ENGLISHGOVERNESS

BEIN G

A RECORD OF FIVE YEARS’ RESIDEN CE AT THE

00URT OF ISMAEL PASBA,KHEDIVE

N EW ED ITION

W ILL IAM BLACKIVO OD AN D SO N S

ED INBURGH A N D L O NDO N

M D C C C XC I I I

INTRODUCTION.

VERY soon after my arrival in Egypt , I had occasion to

observe that the opin ion prevalent among Mahometans

was,that it was a disgrace to any woman for her face to

be seen , or her name to be heard , beyond the walls of the

harem. Every book published in London or Paris was

immediately procured in Cairo,and great displeasure was

manifested when (as occas ionally happened) some distin

guished V isitor to the harem gave her impressions to the

world at large.

I had always been in the habit of keeping a journal

when travel ling or residing in foreign countries , and as I

wrote openly it soon attracted the notice‘

and disapproba

tion of my pupils. “ Was I going to publish a book ? ”

they asked. I said,

“ N o ; but as everything was new

and strange to me,I wished to write down my impressions

while still fresh , to assist my memory in later years.‘

After a time they seemed satisfied , and had full con

fidence in me. Indeed the young Pasha often gave me

information.

When I left Egypt in the autumn of 1876 , all I

possessed was invested in Egyptian bonds,bought in at

CONTEN

—Prevalence of ophthalm ia—Bamadm — Sufiefi ngs o i “

th e

Length of day—Tempem tum—Bnfldmg even—where go ing

!on,

Inundacion subsided,and succeeded by gr een m ps

—Erom s ion

of the Mahmal—Firs '

t ride on a dmmedary—M elty of the

Arab s to horse s and as se ss

,

curs ion m Sakkm —The Sem peum—Tombs of Ti and of Fish

CONTENTS.

our voyage— Inconvenient separation from our effects—Stop

at Feshna for the n ight—Arrive at Minieh, and stop at the

palace—Voyage delayed

—Arrange my pupil’s studi es—N o

walking at Minieh—Flat -bottomed boats pass down the r iver

loaded w ith forced labourers—Animated appearance of the

r iver ,

CHAPTER V .

At Minieh—Voyage s till delayed—How w e spent our t ime—Belief

of the ancient Egypt ian s—A w oman

’s nam e never m ent ioned

out of the harem—Sudden return to Cairo—Death on the

r iver ,

CHAPTER VI.

Sight -seeing—Whirling dervishes—Howling dervishes—V isit t o

the petr ified forest—To the opera—Harem boxes—N o English

church at that t im e in Cairo—Service held in the N ewHotelVis it received from some Mahometan ladies—Invitat ion to a

w edding—Translation of the letter into English— Shem -elo

N esseem—Khamseen w inds,

CHAPTER VII.

The Viceroy and harem remove to Gez ireh—W’

e dr ive there daily—Great heat—Sand -

storm s—Receive some Ar ab sheikhs at

d inner Moulid -el-nebbee“ Doseh ”—Remova1 to Alex

andr ia—Daily visits t o Ras -el-Tin—Departure for Constant inople Voyage thither ,

CHAPTER VIII.

Mahroussah off Stamboul—Entrance into the BosphorusPort holes closed Landing at Emirghian Descript ion o f

palace and grounds—Our house on the hillside— Steamers on

the Bosphorus—First visit to I’era and Galata—Impedimentsto progress

—Turkish t ime—First vis it to St Sophia - Climate

of Constan t inoljle—Harem—Caiques—Turkish cemetery at

Scutari—Ascent from Kadikeui ,

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

On the Bosphorus—Mustapha’

s house—Roumeli -Hissar—Anniversary of the Sultan

’s access ion—Illum inations—Tramway in

Stamboul—Separate omnibuses for harem We make the

circuit of the walls of Constant inople—Frequent change of

temperature—Turkish money

—Turkish language,

CHAPTER X.

Picnic to the Forest of Belgrade—Sudden appearance of the cook

at d inner—The Viceroy returns to Egypt—Unexpected de

parture of the Pasha and his household—Am at first left un

provided for— Great improvement in afi’

airs— \Veather in

August—Slave children—Gandili— Charm ing residence thereRailway from Constant inople to the Seven Towers—Miss

the stat ion—Euphrates Valley scheme,

CHAPTER XI.

Turkish and Greek boatmen—Sudden irrupt ion of eunuchs into ourlittle garden Cliff walkon the Bosphorus—Dogs— Unexpectedreturn of the Pasha and his suite—Excursion to Eyoub

Cur iosity of Turkish women—Buffaloes in the water—View

from the cemetery at Eyoub—Tobacco m onopoly

—GandiliA Pers ian nurse

’s ideas about a bedstead—Brit ish cem etery at

Scutari,

CHAPTER XII.

Beicos—The Giant’s Mountain—The Pasha’s taste for building

Greek boatmen—Leave the Bospho’

rus—Crowded state of the

Masr—Voyage— Story of a pilgrimage to Mecca—Arr ival ofi'

Alexandria—Go to the Hotel de l’Europe—Journey to CairoWe are sent to the N ew Hotel—Lessons at the harem begin,

my pupil being shut up ,

CHAPTER XIII.

Palace of Abdeen—Difficult ies w ith harem carriage—I remonstrate

Am provided w ith another—Arab w edd ings—We leave the

N ew Hotel and return to Choubrah—Eunuchs Constant ihterruptions from the slaves—Bairam ,

i x

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

Opera— Four royal marriages announced as to take place during the

winter—Old Cairo , Nilometer and Mosque of Amrou—Pro

cess ion of the Mahmal—Mosque of Sultan Hassan— Drive toHeliopolis —Weather changes— Cold and wet—Funerals—De

parture of the pilgrims for Mecca—We are told we are to

leave Choubrah—Remove to the N ew Hotel—Arrival of twoof the Pr inces from England

—Cur ious instance of forgettingone

’s own language

—Photography in the harem—Royal trousseaux—Wedd ing fe

‘

tes begin—Marriage contracts ,

CHAPTER XV.

Races—Ballat Gez ireh—Weddingfétes begin—Dinners—Provisions

given t o the poor—Procession of the bride on the third even

ing—Dancing in the harem—The bride is brought out fainting

—Weight of the ornaments—ChristyMinstrels—Sudden death—Great d ifference in the treatment of Europeans during the

last twenty years ,

CHAPTER XVI.

Excursion to Toura—Death in the hotel—My pupil is betrothedTurkish comedians brought in blindfolded—The second be

trothal t akes place—Quail- shooting near the Pyram ids

—We

return to Choubrah—Bookcase turned into a meat -cupboard

Sprain my ankle—Court moves to Gezireh—We are ordered to

Constantinople ,

CHAPTER XVII.

Departure for Alexandria—Harem travel the same (lay—Conse

quent delay—Arrive too late for the boat—Hotels crowded

Proceed in the Mahalla to Constant inople—lVe are ordered to

Therapia—C c to the Hotel des Ambassadeurs—Remove to

Em irgh ian—Lessons in the harem—Fétc at the palace given to

the Sultane Validé ,

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Arrival of the Sultane Validé—Illuminat ions—The Sultan visits

Em irghian—Etiquette on the occasion—Signs of departure

Leave Turkey on the Dakahlieh—Obstruct ions to the view on

deck—Stop at Gallipoli—At Dardanelli—Mitylene—Smyrna

Stay there twenty-four hours—Great heat—C c ashore towardsevening

—Leave Smyrna Stop at Scio—At Syra -Land—Fineposition of the town—VVell built and well paved—Town dates

only forty years back— Cont inue our voyage—Arrival at Alex

andria,

CHAPTER XIX.

Ar rival at Alexandria— Go to the Hotel de l’Europe—Khédive and

harem not yet come—Preparations for illum inat ing the town—The hotel is photographed—Khédive and harem go to Cairo-Return of my pupil

—I begin lessons at Ramleh—Shaheen’s

story—Generosity of the second Pr incess— Our party d imin

ishes—We are ordered to Cairo—C c to the N ew Hotel—Remove to the Palace of Gez ireh—Descr ipt ion of it—Kiosk in the

garden,

CHAPTER XX.

Harem at Gez ireh—Daily lessons there—Departure of his Highnessand the harem from Gezireh to Abdeen— I remain at GezirehAgain difficulties about a carr iage

-October a trying m onthin Egypt—Ramadan b egins—Sudden removal to

‘

Choubrah

French cook and Ar ab sentinel Locks and keys—Mixed

nationalit ies among us—Copper coinage—Popular superst it ion

concerning Bairam commencing on a Friday,

CHAPTER XXI.

Weather—I go to the N ew Hotel Custom s in the harem—D ifferent opin ions of the same thing— Constant d ifficulties with theharem carriage

—The driver is bastinadoed—Treatment of new

born infants—European servants in the harem—Invalids in thehotel—Death of one—Strange story,

x i

CON TENTS.

CHAPTER XXII.

Dus t -storms and rain— Unceremonious hour for paying a bill

Marriage of the Princess- Panic in the chief saloon—Intrus ionof Arab women—Going home of the bride—D ine at Aur ique

’s ,

and afterwards drive ou t to see illum inations—Meet a funeralcar—Marr iage of the adopted daughter—Concert at Kasr -el

N il—First vis it to the two brides,

CHAPTER XXIII.

Visit the (so -called ) school of the third Pr incess—Excellent arrangem ents -Presents received—Persian shawls—Am summoned to

take up my abode in the harem—Go,but return to the hotel

-Excellent police of Cairo—Burglary committed by Greeks

Finally take up my residence in the harem—My apartments

C c to the opera attended by a eunuch—“7am of employment

in the harem,

CHAPTER XXIV.

Curious superstit ion about brides—Fantas ia in the harem—Againvisit the Pyram ids

—Photography in the harem - Summer heatbegins

—Amusements in the harem ,

CHAPTER XXV.

Married life in the Eas t contras ted w ith that in England—Amuse

ments in the harem—Dis tinct ion between the white and blackslaves—Sudden appearance of eunuchs in my room—Removal

to Alexandr ia—Story of the diamond buckle—Family life on

the Canal— I make a new acquaintance,

CHAPTER XXVI.

Go to res ide in the palace at Ramleh—We read a great deal—Din

ner-par ty at the harem—Am taken ill—Remove to Koum -el

Dikke—Maltese cook—Arab funeral—Corpse objects to be

buried—Return to the harem—Son born to Tewfik Pasha

CONTENTS. x i ii

CHAPTER XXVII.

Return to Cairo—Nu isance of cats in the harem—Purchase of slaves

—Two negresses whipped—Bez ique—English groom complains

of being robbed— Illness in the harem—Acciden t while drivingThe dada

’s leg is broken

—Blind doctor attends—D isastrousresult—Ramadan

,

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Ramadan in the harem,

CHAPTER XXIX.

The Night of Power at the Mosque—Bairam—The Prince and Princess leave for a t ime—Candle -stealing

—D iscover the thiefTransit of Venus—Slight shock of earthquake ,

CHAPTER XXX.

Kourban Bai ram—Arab saddles—Donkey-ride to Heliopolis —Ballat Gezireh—Dinner -

par ty at the harem—Particularly fine

spring—Many donkey

-rides—Readings with my pupil—Dithculty of procuring books unless specially ordered from Europe

- Good d isposition and unselfishness of the Princess—Cicolani

’s

‘

garden Doseh -Am taken ill,

CHAPTER XXXI.

Remove to the Hotel d’Orient—Remain there a fortnight—Returnto the palace

—Three wedd ings in the harem—The Prince is togo to Europe

—Departure—We go to Ramleh— I am taken ill, 352

CHAPTER XXXII.

Illness of the Princess—Her death,

CHAPTER XXXIII .

Funeral of the Princess—Conclusion,

PORTRAITS.

PRINCESS ZE YN EB,

PRINCE IBRAH IM AND THE PRINCESS ZEYN EB,

Kor sns,

n 276

RECOLLECTIONS

.AN EGYPTIAN PRIN CESS

CHAPTER I.

Introduction—A rr iva l in Egyp t.

WHEN I accepted the pos t of instructress to the Khédive’sdaughter

,the Princess Zeyneb, i t was beginn ing quite a

new life,and I was anxious to obtain every possible in

formation before undertaking the duty. All that I heardtended to encourage me.Some five years earlier

,the Khédive Ismael had en

gaged an English gentleman (General Maclean , a retiredIndian officer) to undertake the education of his fourthson

, Prin ce Ibrahim . The General was a married man,

and his wife and fami ly accompanied him to Egypt. Hewas lodged in a house in the vicinity of the palace, andthe young Pasha spent several hours with him daily.The w i fe and eldest daughter of the General went occa

A

2 RECOLLECTION S or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

sionally to the palace to pay their respects to the mother

of their young charge ; and this lady,the second wife of

the Khédive , was so much pleased with Miss Maclean

that she asked her to undertake the education of her

daughter, which Miss Maclean consented to do.Harem influences and surroundings are not favourable

to the development of young children ,e ither in mind or

body,and it was therefore settled that the young Prin

cess should,with her brother, pass the whole day at the

General’s house and with his family.

They came early,often before 8 A.M., and remained

until evening. They were always accompanied by twochildren , a boy and girl

,their compan ions in study and

their playmates in recreation. Had the Khédive soughtthrough all the Ottoman dominions he could not havefound two children more suitable for the posit ion in

which they were placed. The boy was Abyssinian ,the

girl C ircassian ; both were faithful , honest, and truth ful.This system of education had gone on for five years ,

when i t was interrupted by the departure from Egypt ofthe General and his family.A new educational staff was formed

,new with the ex

ception of a young Oxford graduate , Mr Michel l,who

had come out dur ing the las t year of the General’s stay

,

to teach the Pasha Greek and Latin,and to prepare him

for Oxford , to which un iversity the Khédive then in

tended sending his son.

The General’

s place was to be filled by Mr Freeland

(also an Oxford man). He was married , and accompaniedby his wife and three little children.

In October 1 87 1 we were all established in a charminghouse in the Choubrah Road

,which is the fash ionable

drive of Cairo, and i s a beautiful avenue of acacias andsycamores , extending three or four m iles. The house wasSpacious and handsomely furnished

,w ith every possible

i

ARRIVAL IN CAIRO . 3

convenience. We had all our separate suites of apartments , so as to enjoy privacy and social li fe at the sametime.On the second morning after my arrival at Choubrah

,

at a l ittle before n ine,our dragornan , Shaheen,

came to

tell me that the Princess was j ust driving up. She camein an English carriage

,driven by an English coaclnnan.

An English groom sat by the coachman and two tal lA rabs in flowing white robes , and carrying long sticks intheir hands

,preceded the carriage as runners (or syces, as

they are called in Arabic)— a by no means unnecessaryprecaution

,as progress is continually impeded by camels

,

donkeys,water- bearers, and even pedestrians

,there being

no footpath . The road is soft sand , no noise i s madeeither by animals or wheels

,so that these runners are

very necessary to clear the way for a carriage when drivenrapidlyThe Pr incess was accompanied by Zohrab Bey, an

A rmenian physician,and a prettly little C ircassian girl

named KOpses, the Sharer of her studies and amusements,

of about the same age as the Princess , or perhaps a l ittleolder. The latter came shyly to m e, and Zohrab Beystayed some time, that she might become familiarised withme. She was rather Short in stature ; but her face wasvery pretty—regular features , soft brown eyes (which she

had a trick of screwing up), and long eyelashes,well

shaped head , and very good hair. Beauty is the all

important qual ification among oriental women , and not

withstanding the personal advantages I have mentioned,

which were unden iable, the Princes s was in childhoodconsidered plain. On account of ill health , She was ratherbackward in her studies , and was painfully conscious of

her own deficiencies. Gentle and t imid to a fault,she

was of a character that developed late , and required greatencouragement. Her admiration for her l ittle companion

4 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

was unbounded,and without a shade of j ealousy. The

latter was indeed a remarkable child, and well worthythe love of her little mis tress. She was also small instature, but slim and agile as a young fawn. She excelledin everything that she attempted, and learned all that Shewas taught with ease and exactness ; but it would havebeen a false kindness to cultivate her powers according totheir capability

,at the risk of exciting ill - feeling on the

part of the Princess,on whom she was Wholly dependent.

She was very lively , but wonderfully reticent in all con

cerning the inner life of the harem . She had the greatestinfluence over her l ittle mistress

,but it was always exer

cised for good.Ibrahim Pasha had also a young companion , who shared

his studies and amusements ; Shefket, an Abyssinian boy,

a year or two older than the Pasha, equally reticent andtruthful as Kopses. But there was this difference betweenthe two children

,that with the best intentions , Shefket

was not able to keep pace wi th the young Pasha, whoseintellect was remarkably acute. Shefket was light and

active,and excellent in all athletic sports, as I had often

occasion to see._

He, as well as Kopses, was a un iversalfavourite with all the masters who had to do with thechildren.

When the lessons were over,the children played to

gether in the large garden belonging to the house, and

were general ly joined by some of us. AS there were.

a

good many hours in the day devoted to lessons , we chosethose games which involved running and bodily exercise.The Princess joined in them most heartily , and thoughShe never gained the palm hersel f

,she was quite as much

delighted when the victory fel l to Kopses or Shefket.

For the first week or so, Zohrab Bey accompanied thePrincess each morning to Choubrah ; and then consideringher sufficiently familiarised with me, he gave up the charge

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- 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

due precedence. I am told this created great astonishment

,but the regulation was adhered to.

A fter a short time Mrs Freeland and I paid a visit ofceremonyto the mother of the Princess , who was l iving atthe Khédive’s palace at Abdeen, at the southern extremityof Cairo. The great object of European ladies , either atConstan tinople or Cairo, is to get an introduction to the

harem ,but once visited the charm is generally broken.

On fe‘

te days the impression is gorgeous ; the magnificentdresses

,the splendid apartments, the flashing of j ewels ,

the open courts with the feathery palms , and the sound offall ing waters

,all produce a delightful effect. But o n

ordinary visits you were s truck with the entire absence of

anything to promote amusement or mental occupation .

N o books,music

,or any l ittle feminine work lying about.

The windows might look out on a garden,but there was

sure to be a high wal l which shut out. all outer li fe.The Khédive, to do him justice, was anxious to raise the

position of women ; he founded schools for girls , he endeavoured to promote education in his own harem

,and gave

much greater liberty and means , both of recreation and

instruction,to its inmates, than any sovereign had done

before him.

Ismael Pasha had four wives , the full proportion al lowedby the Koran. To the first and second he was marriedwhen quite young , and to the third soon after his accession. These three ladies lived with him in the samepalace. They

,of course, had separate suites of apartments,

but they l ived in perfect amity , as I had full opportunityof knowing later. I once said what a wonderful thing itwas for three wives to live together like affectionate sisters ,but I was answered immediately

,

“ That is because hisHighness never shows any preference for one more thanthe others i f one is favoured to-day, the others have theirturn to morrow.

” I thought him a wonderful man to keep

THE KHE’

DIVE’S WIVES. 7

the balance so even , and I think most people will be of myOpini on.

These ladies were called by Europeans the first, the

second , and the third Princess ; and by Mahometans theBug/uh Hana n or Great Lady , the 0rmngi E m em or

Middle Lady , and the KutschukHanem or L ittle Lady.These last were the titles given them inside the harem

,

but by the European and Levantine visi tors their titleswere numerically arranged. The first Princess (or Bug/u]:Hanem ) had two lovely daughters , the eldest of whom was

already married and had two children,the second still

under her father’s roof. The second Princess (or Ortangi

Hancm) had had six children ,the eldest of whom was the

Khédive’s firs tborn son ,

and,had he lived

,he would have

been the heir , but to the inexpressible grief of the parents

he and three others died in childhood. Two were left ,Ibrahim and Zeyneb ( the two placed under our charge),but in infancy they were both so delicate that there seemedlittle hope of rearing them . Ismael Pasha was then withhis harem on the Bosphorus , and the services of Dr Zohrab

,

an Armenian physician practising at Constantinople, werecalled in. The children improved so rapidly under hiscare that Ismael Pasha asked him to give up his practiceand enter permanently into his service, which after someconsideration Dr Zohrab agreed to do, under certain con

ditions. One of these conditions was, that he should haveas free access to his patients as he would have in a European household , and of course this implied free access

to the harem ,at all hours , without the intervention of

eunuchs.This was an unprecedented thing, but Ismael Pasha was

an enlightened man ; he doubtless knew that harem habitswere not favourable to the development of infant life, buthe could not overturn the institutions of ages , and he hadfull and j ust confidence in his physician. The mother , a


beautiful l ittle woman ,had been overwhelmed with grief

at the loss of so many children ,and could not sufficiently

express her gratitude to the man who had saved the l ivesof the two remain ing.The third Princess was childless , but she had the privi

lege of adopting one, so she selected a lovely little Circassian girl

,chosen of course for her early promi se of beauty.

It may be wondered perhaps why she did not choose a boy,

since the possession of a son is so much more coveted thanthat of a daugh ter. She could have done so, if the Viceroyhad had any motherless son at that time ; but though therewere other sons , the mothers were all l iving , and the tie of

mother and child is held so sacred that the two are neverseparated. The presence of an additional r ival might havebeen objected to by the other wives , so the third Princesschose a l ittle girl , who could always remain with her.The Khédive had other sons and daughters

,but they did

not reside under the same roof. As is well known at Cairo,

there are other harems in which the favourites reside ; andwhen a son or daughter i s born to the Khédive ,

motherand child are at once removed to the palace of the Validé

(mother of the sovereign). If a son,a separate establish

ment is provided for him when he is old enough,and he

holds equal rank with the son of a wife, the Mahometanlaw making no distinction in such a case. A few yearsago the Khédive , as is wel l known, purchased from the

Sul tan the right of primogen iture in the succession of his

own royal house, in contradistinction to the rule whichhad hitherto prevailed of the eldest male of the familysucceeding to the throne. When primogeniture was established in Egypt

,Tewfik Pasha,

the eldest surviving son,

was at once named heir- apparent, and his mother was elevated to the dignity of fourth wife, and was called thefourth Princess , or , in Turkish , DeurtundjuHancm. Thislady did not, however , l ive with the Khédive, but resided

ZOHRAB BEY . 9

with her son ,taking her due place with the other wives on

all State occasions.Thus it wil l be seen that although there were other sons

and daughters , the domestic circle under the roof of hisHighness , at the time of which I write , was l imited to thethree wives

,the Princess Fatma (the unmarried daughter

of the first Princess) , and Ibrahim Pasha and his sister thePrincess Zeyneb ,

children of the second Princess. Thesebreakfasted

,lunched

,and dined with hisHighness enfa 'mt

'

lle.

But the young Pasha and thePrincess Zeyneb ,being engaged

wi th their lessons , enjoyed that privilege only on Fridaysand Sundays. The advantages thus obtained by the children of the wives is obvious ; they were in daily close intercourse with their father. The Princess Fatma had a

Levantine governess residing in the harem with her ; butthe Princess Zeyneh was the only instance of a daughterbrought up outside the harem

,Ibrahim Pasha being the

only boy,was considered the joint property of the three

wives—he had three mothers , so to speak , instead of one.

The Pasha had frequently accompan ied his father on hisdifferent journeys , and had visited with him almost everyCourt in Europe. On occasion of the Khe

'

dive’s visit toEngland in 1869 , he had been lodged with his father inBuckingham Palace, attended by Zohrab Bev and byShefket.

I have said that Zohrab Bey was an Armenian physician

,and that at first he usually brought the Princess to

us. His presence was always very welcome,for he almost

seemed like a fellow- countryman. At the early age of

nine he had been taken to Scotland , where he remainedseventeen years

,and studied medicine at the College of

Aberdeen. He was an enthusiastic admirer of Burns andScott , and spoke English without the slightest foreignaccent ; rather like an educated Scotsman. He was a

kind -hearted man,and was constantly appealed to by the

1 0 RECOLLECTION S OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

numerous English emp loye’s of his Highness , who, not

understanding Turkish or Arabic,had recourse to him in

any diffi culty in which they m ight be placed. He held a

regular leve’

e every morning,and as he always found it

extremely difficult to say“ N o

,

”he would promise much

more than he was able to per form,and got himsel f into

many diffi culties in consequence.The Princess and her companion passed the whole morn

ing with me ; but in the afternoon she studied Turkishand Arabic, on alternate days, with her masters , MustafaEffendi and Sheikh Ali. At first I always remained inthe room during their lessons , until one day Zohrab Beytold me he had something very serious to say to me :

that the Turkish and Arabic masters took it extremelyamiss that I should think it necessary to be present at

their lessons ; that they did not require to be present atmine, and that they considered it an affront offered to

them. I replied that I had no idea of o ffending, that Iwas acting according to the customs of my country ; butthat I would discontinue doing so , since t hey took it somuch amiss. A fter that I sat in my own room adjoining

,

with the door open between us ; but as open doors areun iversal in the East , no offence was taken at this.Our household consisted of Mr and Mrs Freeland , with

their three children and two nurses , the young OxonianMr Michell , and mysel f. Our servants were—first, Sha

heen , the‘dragoman

,who spoke English indifferently ;

Hussein,the table-man (or footman as we should say) ;

Ali the cook , and his satellite in the kitchen ; and two

ferashes, whose business was that of housemaids , and

whose duties were most indifferently performed. Theiridea of sweeping was to make a great dust, get all the

sweepings into a corner, and then tuck them under thecarpet ; their notion of making a bed was to turn downthe sheet

,dust i t with a feather broom w ith which they

ARAB SERVANTS. 1 1

had previously dusted the furni ture, and then cover i t upagain. A fter this they would empty your bath and basinout of the window ,

take your sponge or towels to wipe upany slop they might make , and having devoted perhapsfive minutes to the entire performance, Mohammed wouldtriumphantly inform me that my room was

“ fini sh 1

I am far from saying that all Arab servants are likethese ; I have known many since who with careful trainingmake excel lent attendants ; but w e had th is disadvan tagewith thefcm shcs

,that their wages were paid by the Da

'

tm

of his Highness and not by us. By complaint we couldhave caused them to be dismissed ; but we should havehad others of the same stamp in their place , and thushave gained nothing by the exchange. Those servantswhom w e paid ourselves , and who were consequentlydependent on us

,gave us no cause of complaint. There

never was a better servant than Hussein,clean , active ,

and respectful . Ali the cook , who was also paid by us ,was a good servant and made capital dishes. He was a

very handsome man,of a tal l commanding figure and looked

so picturesque as he stood receiving orders for dinner thathis mistress longed to sketch him ,

and did so, I believe ,one day,

though I never saw the result.Up to the middle of November the heat was great, but

after that we had many weeks of glor i ous weather— ten

hours of uninterrupted sunshine every day. The gardenwas in perfection

,full of roses and other flowers , and all

the trees in the avenue were in full leaf. The only drawback to us strangers was the myriads of mosquitoes andsand -flies

,which were at first almost intolerable ; but after

two or three years I became accustomed to them , and at

last ceased to notice them altogether.

1 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

CHA PTE R II.

First visit to thePyramids—E nter the Third and the Grea t Pyram id

—The

Pr incess fi rst to go in—Torment of insects a t Choubrah : mosquitoes,sa nd -flies, wasp s , eta—D ogs and cats—Preva lence of ophtha lmia

Ramadan—Sufi er ings of the A rabs dur ing the fast—Fine clima te ofCa iro in the winter—Length of day—Temp era ture—Building every

where going on.

Early in November we made an excurs ion to the Pyra~

mids. It was all arranged by Zohrab Bey, who was to

meet us there with the Prince and Princess. Six AM .

was the hour fixed upon for our starting , and as this ihvolved getting up before five, there was some consultationamong us as to who could be the best depended upon forwaking. It was settled that I was the earliest riser of

the party, so I undertook to rouse them all in t ime. A ftersleeping some hours I awoke , and having lighted a matchdiscovered that it was ten minutes to one ! This wasrather too soon, so I again fel l asleep

,and was awoke in

a pan ic by Mrs Freeland at my door, telling me that itwanted a quarter to six , she being in an equal panic,thinking she had slept through my cal l ! We scrambledup , and as the carriage came punctually at six

,felt very

much ashamed of ourselves for being so late. A t abouttwenty minutes to seven we started. The morning wasdelightful , clear , and invigorating. We had a kind of

brake, or char -a- banc, very high above the dust, drawn byfour horses , and the driver rode postil ion. There was

room for eight or ten persons,but we were only four

,Mr

and Mrs Freeland, mysel f, and a gentleman whom we

called for en route. He kept us waiting a Short time,

and we afterwards ascertained from his own con fessionthat he had only j ust got out of bed when the carriagedrove up.


brought every Arab man,woman

, and child in the vicin ityaround us. Mr Freeland prepared at once to ascend theGreat Pyramid , but the rest of us remained with the

Princess and her brother. It was amusing,however, to

watch the ascent. A t first they walked sideways , butwhen at a certain distance

,began to mount straight up.

A number of Ar abs had accompan ied Mr Freeland ; onewas pushing h im from behind

,two others in front drag

ging him up by the arm s. A ltogether it did not lookpleasant. While I stood looking on

,Mrs Freeland came

to tell me that they were all starting to see the Sphinx .It was only a few minutes after n ine ; the heat was alreadygreat, though I was aston ished to find such a charmingpure air in the desert as greatly to temper the heat. We

went to the Sphinx,of which little more than the gigant ic

head rises out of the sand. A man climbed up to the ear,

which gave us a good idea of i ts preportions,as he looked

a mere pigmy upon it. The Princess and her little com

panion were delighted with everything. I found laterthey always were with all open - air excursions. They ran

about j ust like Engli sh children,and their merry peals of

laughter were chorussed by all around.‘We went on to the T rd Pyramid , which it was

intended we Should explore,The heat was great

,and the

young Pasha had loitered behind us ; so the Arabs laidhold of him

,as they do with great people

,as if they had

not the free use of their l imbs . He, however , shook themoff, and mounting a horse which had been prepared forhim

,galloped on to the Third Pyramid. A s we came up

we met him riding away ; he did not like the appearanceof the entrance, which certainly was far from inviting.We ladies stood outside for a minute debating whether weshould go in,

when the Princess, who had made up her

mind on the subj ect, suddenly disappeared down the opening with surprising alacrity. O f course we all followed

INSIDE THE PYRAMID. 1 5

immediately,Mrs Freeland and I, KOpses , Mr Michell ,

Edward Zohrab,

1and Shefket , and goodness knows how

many Arabs ! Some carried bi ts of candles ; some draggedus along— and their help was needed ! Sometimes wewere in passages about three feet high , crawling likereptiles , sometimes going down steep incl ines equallylow

, composed either of smooth slippery stone or of hugeboulders

,so that when you put out one foot vou migh t

have a yard to stretch before you had anything to plantit on. Sometimes you emerged into large chambers , wherewas some great sarcophagus

,new empty. Y ou were

always going up,or down , and generally on all- fours. At

last we again came out in the daylight , and I cannot sayI was sorry. One ought to have a particular dress forsuch occasions , as when one goes down into mines ; but toenter the Pyramids in a crinoline and in a fashionablehigh bonnet was quite a mistake. I must say theseBedouin Arabs are a fine race of men ,

tall athletic fel lowswith intelligent countenances ; and though in such closeproximity

,with an entire absence of fresh air

,there was

nothing more unpleasant than might have arisen in a

London ballroom.

We had explored the Third Pyramid, but our labourswere not over. Mr Michel l

,who had made weekly

visits to the Pyramids ever since his arrival in Egypt,now led us to Colonel Howard Vyse’s tomb , so namedas that gentleman had been the firs t to discover it.A s we approached

,Mr Freeland appeared at the opening ,

emerging at full length , and presently after Zohrab Beyand the young Pasha. This tomb pleased me better thanany. It was not so diffi cult of access , and though therewas plenty of crawling

,i t was on a level , and now and

then there was a l ittle daylight. There was one chamberwhich was exceedingly curious ; it had a series of pictures

1 N ow Sir Edward Zohrab .


in bas- relief of culinary and other domestic operations ,field-work, &c., and the owner at the beginning of eachpicture, much larger, as befitted his dignity. When we

came out of this tomb it was one o’clock

,and we had been

nearly four hours walking and exploring,so we went back

to the kiosk and had luncheon . How fresh and charming it was ! seated in a comfortable breezy room ,

with an

excellent luncheon to which our exertions made us do fulljustice

,looking on one side at the Great Pyramid with a

picturesque group of Bedouin Arabs at the foot of i t ,behind them the desert ; and on the other side the inundations of the N ile

,the little islands dotted about in the

water, and the long causeway stretching through it.We had not long fin ished luncheon when the Princessbegged to go into the Great Pyramid

,so off we started

again . The entrance i s considerably above the base. Theobject of the founders of these Pyramids seems to havebeen,

first,to secure for themselves a burying -place where

neither air nor water could penetrate, and for this purposethe tomb was constructed in the sol id rock ; and next

,to

make the entrance and passages so tortuous and di fficult,that i t would be almost impossible to penetrate into them.

As the Great Pyramid is the most important of all,so

much more difficult are the passages. This,however,

only added to the fun and merriment of the young girls,

and their laugh ter was contagious. I had three Arabs tomysel f

,and was carried through allwithout any resistance

on my part ; but upon comparing notes afterwards withthe other ladies

,I found I had not been more helpless

than they. I should have liked it better i f we had not

had the whole population with us ; but as i t i s not oftenthat a prince and princess visit the interior of the Pyramids

,all thought they had a right to assist in the cere

mony. It was twenty minutes past three when we cameout

,and then commenced the settling with the Sheikh

,

INSECT PESTS. 1 7

who always accompanies the Bedouins,and keeps stric t

order with them ,sternly prohibiting their receiving any

private backsheesh which they try very hard to obtainwhen he i s not looking at them . When the settling wasfin ished , the horses were put to the carriages , and we

drove back to Choubrah after one‘

of the most enjoyabledays I had ever spent in my life.At this time (early in November) the temperature at

mid -day was about 75°

in the shade , and 105°

in the sun ;

but the nights were getting cooler. The plague of mos

quitoes still continued ; the sand-flies were,if possible,

worse , because they are equally venomous , and so tinythat no net can protect you from them. Then we had

large wasps as big as hornets ; their sting was said tobe very painful

,but though we had such numbers , I don

’tremember any of us being ever stung. Upwards of

seventy were one day killed in my room. There werewindows to the wes t and one to the north

,and the wasps

,

it seems,had been in the hab it of flying in at one side

and going out at the other. There was rather a strongbreeze

,and I had shut the north window. Soon after ,

my attention was attracted by swarms of these insectscrawling up and down the window

,vainly seeking their

usual means of exit,their numbers constantly reinforced

by others . An indiscriminate slaughter was made , and

luckily no one was stung but it was not until some timeafter this that the plague ceased. Insects were not our

only tormentors , dogs and cats also abounded. They arenot domestic an imals in Egypt, but run wild, h iding themselves in the houses ( if they can get in) at the approach ofwinter. The Arabs were always leaving the doors open ,

even when the evenings became cold ; and it was no un

common thing,when we came out from dinner, to find

two or three dogs lurking about the hall or drawing- room ,

or rushing past you on the staircase as you ascended toB


your bedroom. At first i t was diffi cult to sleep at n ight ,on account of the incessant barking. They (the dogs)seem to have a general law among themselves, assigningcertain quarters to each troop , and the entrance of a

strange dog on their territory is resented by the wholepack. They raise dismal howls and chase the intruderuntil he succeeds in making his escape. Sometimes a

hunted dog would , through an open door,rush in to our

house,and some of his pursuers after him ,

and we wereawoke by the skirmishing just outside our bedroom doors.A t first sleep seemed ou t of the question in this country,so many were the interruptions ; but I got accustomed tothem in time, and slept peacefully without heeding any

noise.I had learned in my school - books that rain never fel l in

Egypt , but I found this a mistake , as owing to the millionsof trees planted by Mohammed Ali and his son IbrahimPasha, rain frequen tly falls on the coast

,and is by no

means uncommon during the winter in Cairo. Thesetrees are mostly acacias

,sycamores

,planes

,and cotton

trees ; there seems no limit to the productiveness of thecountry , as the sands have only to be irrigated and the

desert becomes a garden .

I was startled,as every one i s , by the number of blind

people I met with in the roads and in the streets. It wasgenerally among the poorer classes

,but the rich are by no

means exempt. What causes this frightful scourge of‘

ophthalmia seems by no means certain ; whether the sand ,the glare, or the insects , or all combined. Mrs Freeland’schildren were all attacked with it, one after the o ther.It begins with redness

,then a copious discharge, and on

the third day the eyes are totally closed,and the patient

sees nothing. It was curious to observe the differentmanner in which the children bore this sad infliction .

Little Bessie, who was a year and a hal f old, never uttered

RAMADAN . 1 9

a murmur, but sat in the nurse’s arms such a picture of

patient resignation as melted the hearts of all who saw

her. Tony,a pretty little fellow between three and four

,

was frantic with grief at his loss of sight, and doubly

wrung his mother’s heart,as she found her inabili ty to

soothe him. Poor Tony’s religious belief had been sorelytried by the mosquitoes , and he had earnestly asked hismother whether God had really sent them

,and now this

deprivation of sight shook him still further. The children

got well , however, in a short time,but the agony of the

parents during the infl iction was not easily forgotten .

On the 14th of November began the fast of Ramadan,

and though of course we did not keep it, we could not be

indifferent to its effect on all our A rab servants. N o

food,and, what i s almost worse in a hot climate, no water

passed their l ips from a couple of hours before sunriseuntil sunset

,when a l it tle coffee was drunk

, a cigarettesmoked , and as soon as it could be prepared , some lightfood eaten ,

the principal meal taking place after midnight,

as a preparative for the long fast of the next day. It wasof course doubly trying to our servants , because they hadto cook our food

,and to wait at table and see us eat. Had

they been in a Mahometan household they would probablyhave dozed away half the day ; but the Prince and Princess came to their lessons all the same

,and therefore the

servants’work must go on as usual. If the royal childrendid not come on any day, we found a good deal of difference , and meal - times would approach without any pre

paration for them . Hussein, our

“ table man ,

” being veryyoung , was probably keeping his first fast, and he movedabout like a ghost. He was naturally very act ive, and a

Short time before I used to meet him walking bri sklythrough the hal l with a heavy lamp in each hand, whichhe carried as lightly as if they were chamber candlesticks ;now

, I was always expecting.

to hear a grand crash , and


to find that he had fallen under the Weight of one of

them.

As the weather became cooler we generally made some

excursion,particularly on Fridays

,when our pupils did

not come to us. It was their Sabbath , SO they left usfree

,and Sunday being ours

,we had thus two holidays in

the week. This,however, only lasted while we l ived at

Choubrah ,which was two miles from the palace at Abdeen.

At other places,when the children were close at hand,

they would come to us much as usual,only they did no

lessons.One n ight towards the end of November I woke up

with cramp,occasioned by the cold. I was lightly clad ,

and had no woollen coverlets on the bed. So , feel ingunable to go to Sleep without additional wra ps , I got upto seek them. My bedroom faced the north , but theSitting- room adjoining

, the west ; and going into it toseek for a wrap , there was such a magnificent flood of

light from the moon that I stood for some time at the

window looking down upon the avenue , perfectly charmedwith the scene. It was then about five

,and

“

at twentythree minutes to six the gun fired to announce the dawn .

The commands of the Koran are to abstain from food or

drink during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. They are

not to wait for the rising of the sun,but to abstain “ from

the moment there is sufficient light to distinguish a blackthread from a white.” The gun i s supposed to fire at thatmoment. At 6 AM . i t was sufficiently light for me to lookat the thermometer hanging out of my bedroom window,

which was and at twentythree minutes to seven the

first rays of the sun l ighted up the stems of the acaciatrees opposite to my window

,being j ust an hour after the

firing of the gun at dawn. I timed the sunset on thatevening , and found the length of day to be ten hours andn ine minutes. What a change from the gloomy dark


mously high , and to new - comers livmg appears equallyso ; but this is really not the case, as I know from old

residents that i f you can speak a little Arab ic , and marketfor yoursel f

, you will find everything as moderate and

good as in most European capitals. This experience,however, may perhaps be dearly purchased.

CHA PTER III.

Bertram—First vis it to the harem—Gorgeous dresses of the slaves Visit the

Queen-Mother a t Kasr -cl-A li—Shaheen’s views of mora lity—Roses a t

Chr istmas—Second visit to the Pyramids— Inunda tion subsided , and

succeeded by g reen crops—Process ion of the AIahma l—First r ide On a

dromedarg~0rneltg of the A rabs to horses and asses.

On the 12th of December , at sunset , the gun fired,

announcing the close of the long fast of Ramadan !The Princess had brought me a message two or threedays before, to the effect that we (Mrs Freeland and I)were expected at the palace of Abdeen on the first day of

Ba'

i'

ram,between ten and eleven o

’clock a la franque. Itwas the first cold day I had known in Egypt : a keensouth -east wind , the coldest in winter , and the hottest insummer. We had an open carriage, for it was extremelydifficult then to procure any other— that is to say, amonghired vehicles and we had a very indifferent one, with apair of sorry horses, at the rate of three guineas the day.At the Bairam all carriages are charged double and treblethe usual price ; but, as a general rule, we paid more thanother people (that is to say,

than old res idents) , becauseour dragoman considered it a necessity of our position.

When we grumbled at any charge, he would say reprov

HAREM SLAVEs. 23

ingly,

“Highness’s people - everybody expect — lookswell ! and in our ignorance we then submitted .A t daybreak the Khédive went to the mosque of Mo

hammed Ali,up by the C itadel , and a salute of twenty

three guns announced when he went in , and was repeatedwhen he came out. Then began his levee at the C itadel ;and after having paid their respects to him

,the chief

dignitar ies hurried off to present their salaams to the

Queen - Mother ( V alidé Efi ndemie,literally Mother of

our lord) and to the Princesses,wives of his Highness.

The princes of the blood were allowed the privilege of

entering the presence of these ladies ; but the great dignitaries , ministers , pashas , and beys , merely sent a messageto each lady through the chief eunuch , asking permission

to lay their heads in the dust at her feet, and receiving a

gracious reply in return.

We left Choubrah at ten , and our drive through thetown presented a most an imated Spectacle. The largesquare in front of the palace of Abdeen was l ined withsoldiers. We drove through into an inner court, wherewe were received by several eunuchs

,who assisted us out

of the carriage, not in the way customary in Europe , butrather as persons who had lost the use of their limbs ; agreat honour , as we afterwards found. They escorted usacross an inner court to the entrance of the harem , and

there gave us over to the attendants. Our eyes weredazzled by what we saw . Could those gorgeously dressedladies who came forward to meet us be slaves, of whomwe had heard so much ? The word slave has a very different acceptation with us from what it bears in the East.There i s no degradation implied there in the term. Thosebelonging to a great harem have general ly been theresince their early childhood ; they have no recollection of

their previous li fe ; they have grown up with the family ,and identify themselves with it. They are confined , it is


true, within four walls , but they are allowed a degree of

l iberty within those walls astonishing to our habits. The

menial work of the harem is mostly done by the blackslaves ; and they, with few exceptions , are kept quite in

the background.

We were in a spacious saloon ,r ichly furn ished in the

French style, l ined with looking-glasses , couches , sofas ,and chairs, covered with yellow damask satin ,

hangings ofthe same at the windows , and numerous doors that ledfrom this saloon into inner apartments ; making it cooland pleasan t in summer, but rather draughty in winter.

R ich thick carpets on the ground , large lustres hung fromthe ceiling

,and girandoles from the walls.

Two or three ladies sat by us,but as we knew no

Turkish,conversation was. out of the question. We felt

that we cut a very indifferent figure amid all this splendour

,for we were plain dark silk dresses

,and the ladies

about us were in the richest silks and satins,of brilliant

colours , and with long trains. They were all in Europeancostume, as that was already generally adopted in the

Khédive’s harem. Presently some one came to conduct

us into the presence of the Princesses. The messengerwas a Levan tine lady, who spoke French , and who led usup a spacious staircase to an upper storey, iden tical withthe one we had left

,and we then found ourselves in the

“ presence chamber.”

The four wives of the Khédive were seated at a Shortdistance from each other ; they were magnificently dressed ,and blazing with jewels. We were presented to each inturn

,and each had something pleasant to say to us , which

was duly translated by the lady who offi ciated as interpreter. My pupil had taught me a Turkish sentence tosay to her mother—

“ Ba i ram cher i/iniz ni oabarch Olsonn ’

A llah nidjc’

senclcr i gettich darsin !”

(May Bai ram be

fortunate to you ! May A llah grant you many of them I) ;

V ISIT To THE HAREM. 25

and I thought I had it by heart, but I broke down in themiddle of it. The Princesses laughed and took it in verygood part , so after about ten minutes

’ stay we rose and

took our leave.

We were escorted down - stairs by the lady who offi ciatedas interpreter , and again seated on a divan in the saloonwhich we had first entered . As the European visitorshad not yet arrived , this lady kindly stayed with us , andanswered the inquiries which we made respecting all we

saw“ Who were these splendidly dressed ladies around

us ? They were all slaves,our informant told us

,only

the four Princesses , wives of hisHighness , and two youngerladies near them ,

who were his daughters,were excep

tions ; all the rest were slaves,and almost all C ircassians.

Their dress was a mixture of European and orientalfashions , being generally looser than those worn by us.W hen we first entered this saloon we had been presentedwith tiny cups of coffee. The drinking- cups are the shapeof an egg , but they are presented in l ittle stands in the

form of an egg-cup

,made of gold , and set with jewels.

Before we left the harem a delicious beverage was handedto each of us in gold cups , and presented on gold salvers.Vile were then escorted to the door

,and across the inner

court,and made over to the eunuchs .

The next thing w as to drive to the residence of the

Queen -Mother, who l ived in a palace on the banks of the

Nile, which struck us as handsomer and at the same timemore oriental than Abdeen. A fter crossmg the innercourts

,we found ourselves in an arcade which stretched

across the garden ,and was raised some feet above it.

Trellis -work enclosed the sides , covered with vines and

creeping plants. This arcade formed a covered way fromthe palace to the gates

,protecting from the heat of the

sun,and affording always a cool promenade. Two eunuchs

escorted us along the whole length , and led us into the

2 6 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

palace,where we were received by the attendan ts , as at

Abdeen , but there was an indefinable something whichlooked more Eastern. The inmates were as r ichly dressed ,but the cut of the garments was different. They led usup to one of the numerous couches with which the saloonwas filled

,but they themselves sat preferably on low seats

about a foot from the ground. Coffee and pipes werebrought and handed to us. Formerly it was de r igueur

to accept the pipe, b'

ut European visitors had become frequent in the harems , and the inmates soon saw that theirvisitorswere unaccustomed to smoking, so that decliningthe pipe gave no offence. I did not know this then ,

so

I took the pipe ,which was about five feet long , and the

attendant rested the bowl on a silver plate in front of me.Mrs Freeland sat placidly puffing her pipe as i f i t wereher everyday solace, though she had never had one. in her

mouth before ; but I held the tube between my lips forsome time , wondering how such a thing could give eitherpleasure or pain ,

when a slave crossed the room,and

turning the bowl , I found that I had been holding itdownwards ! I never tried smoking after that ; and further intercourse in the harem soon taught me it was not

taken amiss to refuse the pipe.We were soon sent for into the presence of the Queen

Mother. She was not dressed in European costume ; butit being a cold day, she had a beautiful Persian shawlwound round her body. She received us with a mixtureof dignity and courtesy that struck uS much. She lookedvery pleasantly at us , asked us a few questions , and then wecame out again into the large saloon which we had firstentered. Here we had to drink the “ sweet water,

”and

try to go through a li ttle conversation ; and then we wereconducted to the door , and again placed in charge of the

eunuchs. As we were walking through the arcade to thegates of the palace, I said ,

“ I’m so glad we came here ;

SHAHEEN THE DRAGOMAN. 2 7

this is capital— much more Eastern than the other,when

I heard an explosion of laughter behind me , and, lookinground , perceived that it came from one of the eunuchs.I found that he understood English

,and that he was so

transported with deligh t at having caugh t the sense of

my words,that he could not contain his joy. There was

nothing to laugh at,but his mirth was so infectious that

we joined in it heartily,and came away quite exhilarated

at the success of our visits to royalty.This was the first wintry day we had fel t in Egypt ,cold wind and no sun .

On the second day I had a visit from my pupil , aecom

panied by Zohrab Bey. It was a visit only,for during

Bai’

ram no lessons were done. The Princess was magnificently dressed in black velvet , made in the last Pari sianfashion. The trimming was of white ostrich feathers ; adiamond brooch , which , with the pendants attached to i t,was as large in circumference as an orange

,sparkled on

her chest. She wore diamond earrings , a clasp of the

same precious stones at the waist , black velvet boots withdiamond buckles

,and a velvet hat with the same feather

trimming as on the dress. She had a weary look, as i f allthis adornment did not add to her happiness , and takingmy hand , she asked me to go up

- stairs wi th her and reada story to her ! She sat by with rapt attention while Iread

,until Zohrab Bey’s voice was heard , calling out that

there were more visit s to pay.

I had received a letter asking me to call on Lady Dudley ,who with her husband (Lord Dudley), was then the Khédive s guest , and was lodged in a palace near us. Whenthe Princess was gone , I walked to Kasr- el-Nuss

,taking

Shaheen ,our dragoman ,

with m e. He pointed out a largehouse on our way, and said ,

One great English pasha ( theMaharajah Dulep Singh ) once l ived there ; he marry Arablady

,take her away to England.” I thought it a good


opportun ity to inst i l a little morality,so I said

,

“ Y ou

know, Shaheen ,

that in England a man can have only one

Wife , and he is though t very wicked , and i s severely punished by the law ,

if it is found out that he has two.Y es

,missus

,

” said Shaheen ,

“ me know. N ot Englishcustom here. Man marry one wife, two wife, three wife ,— many as he can keep.

“ But I hope,Shaheen

, you have only one wifeMe only two wife now ,

missus ; me can’t afford more,

j ust yet.”

And where are your two wives , Shaheen ?

‘

One wife up Firs t Cataract— my home other here at

Cairo.”“ And how long is it since you have seen the first ?

Long time, missus , —four, five year. Me want much

go and see her.”

During Christmas we had glorious weather , ten hoursof uninterrupted sunshine almost every day ; the thermometer at sunrise was generally about but for three or

four hours in the middle of the day it would be 65°

in the

Shade , and 80°

in the sun . In the house the temperaturewas wonderfully equal throughout the twenty - four hours

,

varying from 60° to so that in the middle of the dayit was warmer out of the house than in it. The garden wasin perfection ,

full of roses and other flowers. The beautiful Poinsettia pulcherrima was as brilliant as ever ; and theacacias in the avenue were in full leaf. The only drawback to the pleasure of walking in the garden was the

sandy paths , which were deep and heavy.At the close of the year I spent another day at the

Pyramids. It was not quite two months s ince my firstvisit

,but the drive was quite changed. Where the inun

dation had covered the land and all had seemed a vastlake , were now green crops. Some of our party

,upon

arrival , at once ascended the Great Pyramid ; but as it

30 REOOLLECTION S or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

space is l imited,and soon filled. When the Khédive (or

perhaps one of his sons whom he may depute to officiate

for him) has driven up and taken his seat, the processioni s formed , and fi les past him. It takes

,I think

,about half

an hour to pass. First come several regiments of infantry,carrying little pennon s (magenta and green) on their lances,then come the camels carrying the holy object

,the sacred

carpet, in a sort of box,and followed by two or three other

camels , on the last of which is seated a Sheikh , naked fromthe waist upward

, who rolls his head incessantly , and i ssaid to do i t all the way to Mecca. He certainly beganwell, every time I saw him ; but as he i s enveloped inclouds of dust very soon after he leaves the city , his movements are happily veiled. A fter him come hundreds ofcamels , bearing the numerous pilgrims , whose numbers arealways to be counted bv thousands. They pass slowlythrough the town

, amid crowds of people, who l ine thestreets

,the shops

,and the windows

,and then go out into

the desert near Abbassieh ,where they remain encamped for

some days, and at an uncer tain period,most difficult for

Europeans to ascertain,they break up and proceed on their

long march to Mecca.One day as Mr Freeland and I were standing at the

window looking at the motley objects which were alwayspassing along the Choubrah Road— camels

,donkeys

,water

bearers, and gay carriages and horsemen— we saw a ladyon a dromedary stopping at the gate

,whom we recognised .

at a second glance as our chaplain’s - wife (Mrs Potter).Her husband and son accompanied her, mounted on whitedonkeys , and looking ridiculously diminutive by her side.Her dromedary was led by a Bedouin Arab similarlymounted. I had always had the idea that a dromedaryhad two humps. This is a mistake : the Bac trian camelhas two humps , but the A rabian only one. The dromedary is to the camel what the race-horse is to the cart

DROMEDARIES. 31

horse, the one thorough -bred and handsome, the other

a mere beas t of burden. The dromedary had been lentto the lady by an Armenian gentleman resident at Cairo

,

deservedly popular among all travellers for his hospitality, his general information , and excellent English . Hehad been sent by Mohammed Ali in his youth to England

,

where he had received a first- class education,and was

afterwards employed by that ruler on many confidentialand important missions. The name of Hekekien Beywil l long be remembered by travellers for his genialhospitality and many amiable qualities. He kindly lentthe dromedary to many ladies , mysel f among the number ,and I had a very pleasant ride upon it, as the paces of

a good dromedary are very different from those of the

ordinary camels which may be had on hire. It is a

pretty Sight to see these gentle and docile creatureskneel down at a word for their riders to moun t and

dismount. I had many opportun ities of witnessing this ,but it is a very different thing to watch the ordinarycamels that pass along the Choubrah Road. I constantlysaw them lying down , and when urged to rise

,they

would make frightful noi ses,whether they were over

laden or not. They seemed to protest against any burdenon principle. It is generally bel ieved that the Arab is somerciful to his beast : this i s not my experience. I haveseen both horses and donkeys shamefully ill - treated without any provocation ; but the camel is rarely beaten , as it

has a good memory for inj uries , and will resent and re

turn them.


CHAPTER IV.

Prop osed journey up the N ile—Frequent p ostp onement—0r ig ina l p artygrea tly increa sed in numbers—Final departure- Excursion to Sahka ra.

- The Serap eum—Tombs of Ti and of Ptah-hotep—D onkey

-r id ing—The “ Flying Dutchma n

”-Proceed on our voyage

—Inconvenientsep a ra tion f rom our efi ects—Stop a t Feshna for the night

—Arr ive at

M in ieh, and stop a t the p a lace Voyage delayed—A rrange my p up il

’s

studies—A70 wa lking a t Ill inieh—Fla t-bottomed boa ts p ass down the

r iver loaded w ith forced labourers—Anima ted app earance of the

r iver.

For a couple of months there had been continual talk ofa voyage up the Nile. We were told it was to take placeimmediately after the Bai ram. Ibrahim Pasha and his

Sister were to go, and all the educational staff. The

Princess and Kopses were delighted at the prospect , andwere always talking of i t. Bearing in mind the periodicalcares of the laundry, which often made me seriously contemplate the possibility of substituting paper for linen

,I

begged the Princess to give me timely notice directly sheheard a day named , as I had been told a few hours hadbeen usually thought sufficient. She promised to do so,

and spoke to her mother, the second Princess , about it.The latter laughed heartily at the idea of my requiringtime for preparation

,and I asked my pupil how they

managed in the harem, so as to be ready at an hour’snotice. She explained to me that there were (at that .

t ime) no wardrobes , that everything was kept in boxes ;that her mother had abou t seventeen attendants , each of

whom had the charge of certain articles of clothing, and

was responsible for them. There were no books or anyof the thousand knick -knacks which European ladies possess , nothing but jewels and clothes , and they were alwayskept in boxes , consequently ready packed. “ But howabout the washing ? I asked. Each of the Princesses , I

PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARATURE.

was told , had a separate laundry , where washing went ondaily. There was no starching , everything was ironeddamp to give it the requisite stiffness ; in such a climateno time was lost in drying or airing , a few minutes in thesun accomplished both. Thus there was never any accumulation of work , and as all the slaves accompanied theirmistresses on any of these progresses , they could continuetheir daily labours wherever they might be. As with thePrincesses so with the upper and immediate attendants ,all of whom had slaves under them who looked after theirwants. Why could not we do the same I explained tothe Princess that we had nei ther the conven iences she

described nor those we should have in our own countrythat we had only Arabs to attend to us , who knew nothingof European requir ements ; so she promised to let me

know.

Directly after the Bairam in the middle of December,

the children came one morn ing and announced that wewere to start bada boukra

,

”the day after to-morrow. I

instantly sent for the washerwoman , and packed up whatI thought would be necessary for the voyage. The dayafter to-morrow came and I was ready , but the Princesscame to her lessons as usual and nothing was said of our

departure. This cry of “ wolf !” was repeated severaltimes , on each occasion with less and less effect, until webegan to disbelieve the whole affair. In the meanwhileseveral travellers who had brough t letters of introductionto us arrived in Cairo

,and many went up the N ile. In

January some of those who had only gone for a monthreturned

,and gave us the benefit of their experience.

One gentleman told us that the morn ings and n ights wereexcessively cold

,and that we should do well to provide

clothing for the changes of temperature. Perhaps our

deferred departure was an advantage in one respect, as

it enabled us to provide against all contingencies. The

C


weather during the first half of January was rather cold—the morn ings were often foggy , and rain fell on severaldays. This in a large well built house was of little con

sequence,but on a Nile boat with small cabins and low

ceil ings it would be more serious.On the 17th of January an official message was sent to

us to the effect that we were to go on board that afternoon. So we again set to work to pack , and -were justready to start

,when another order arrived , to tell us that

our departure was delayed for a few days . But on the

2oth came another order to saywe were to go on board thatafternoon ; and after waiting some time to see i f i t werecountermanded

,we went to Boulak and to the dahabieh.

We had been told that everything would be preparedfor us , that we had nothing to provide except our own

clothing. When w e went on board at 4 P.M.,we found that

nothing was ready for us ; there were no arrangements fordinner, no lamps or candlesticks , no bedroom crockery forwashing— in fact

,nothing but the barely furn ished cabins.

Luckily we had not dismissed the carriage,

_

and havingascertained that the s tart would not be made on that evening , we at once returned to Choubrah to procure all thatwas necessary. Having made a collection ,

and had an

impromptu dinner in our comfortable house, we returnedto the dahabieh by moonligh t between n ine and ten in theevening.Our party up the Nile was originally intended to be

composed of Ibrahim Pasha and the Princess , their twocompanions

,Shefket and Kops

‘

es , Zohrab Bey,his nephew ,

Mr Freeland, Mr Michell

,and mysel f. But the Khédive

was extremely fond of his son Ibrahim ,and was unwilling

to be separated from him. Then the wives of his Highness had heard so much from the children of the wondersthey were about to see

,that they were anxious to go,

so that finally our modest party swelled into a royal

THE NILE BOAT. 35

progress ! It consi sted of six large s teamers and sevendahabiehs, and this enormous increase was the cause of

the constant delay in departing. The Khédive i s a mostenergetic man of business

,and it was the hopelessness

of his finding leisure for a month or more which hadmade us think the voyage would never come off. Thisimmense addition to the party also affected our comfortsconsiderably. Had the number been on ly those originallyproposed , we should all have been together in one steamboat, as was proper and consistent ; but as i t was, the

larger vessels were taken up by his Highness , his harem ,

and his general suite , and the smallest steamer was

reserved for Ibrahim Pasha and the Princess. Whencabins had been allotted to them ,

to their two companions,

Shefket and Kopses , to the Princess’s French maid

,and

to Zohrab Bey and his nephew,there was no room left for

us. A dahabieh was towed on behind ; and we were tosleep on the dahabieh and spend the day on board thesteamer— a most uncomfortable arrangement , as, from the

moment of starting in the morning until we s topped at

night,there was no poss ibility of getting to our cabins

,

whatever we might require. We scarcely found out thefull discomfort of this until the second day of the voyage

,

when we began to realise it.Our dahabieh was very small. I had the s tern cabin ;

we had a tiny saloon ; and Mr Freeland , Mr Michell , andShaheen

,the dragoman ,

occupied the remain ing cabins.When we got up the first morning, we found all the fleetround us ; but the royal party had not yet come on board.However, we went on the steamer (A zaziah) to breakfast ;and immediately after we left it , our dahabieh fel l intothe rear , and w e found ourselves separated from all our

possessions.At mid -day, the Khédive and the harem being on board ,

the signal was given for starting. The first day was not


very long , for at 2 RM. we hal ted at Bedresheyn,intend

ing to visit Sakkara on the morrow.

It was rather a long process starting the next morn ing.First

,the Princesses , wives of his Highness , drove in two

carriages , escorted by several eunuchs. Then after an interval of a few minutes came a merry party on donkeys

, con

sisting of our pupils and ourselves , Shaheen at the rear withan enormous bundle of what he called “ s ilver ” in frontof him on the donkey. We passed through the ancientcity of Memphis , of which no vestige remains

,i f I except

the prostrate statue of Rameses the Great, which lies on

its face in a muddy pool , and which formerly stood beforethe Temple of Vulcan. Our road lay through forests ofpalms , until we came on to the desert

,and after two hours’

ride we reached Sakkara, the necropoli s of the ancientcity of Memphis. Between these two places , the abodeof the l iving and the dead, was formerly a lake (Acherusia), which during the inundations of the Nile becames till larger, and across this lake the corpse was ferried on

its way to its last resting -place. This is believed to bethe origin of the Greek fable of Charon and the riverStyx , which the early Greek travellers brought fromMemphis and incorporated with t heir mythology.A rough kind of house has been erected at Sakkara for

Mariette Bey, who is making excavations on the Spot bythe orders of the Viceroy , and this house was given up tothe ladies of the harem for the day. Spacious tents wereerected for the rest of the party.Our first visit was to the Serapeum ,

the tombs of thesacred bulls. The Princesses went in first with hisHighnessand Mariette Bey,

who explained everything. A fter theycame out

,we all went in ; we descended a few steps

,and

then walked along wide passages , lighted by three hundred

candles , held by Arab boys at equal distances , and who

stood immovable as s tatues. On each side of these pas

38 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

begging us not to rise. This was indeed rather a difliculty

,as , for want of chairs , we were all squatted on the

ground , with plates on our laps , in rather an undignified

pos ition.

A t twenty minutes past four we again left Sakkara inthe same order as we came. We ran races with eachother on our donkeys

,and there was nothing but laughter

and merry voices to be heard. The Princess deligh ted inthese excursions. She and her compan ions cantered gailyon

,Singing snatches of opera airs

,and exchanging with

voluble tongue those little passages of w it and reparteewhich make mixed society so attractive to young people.She had a peculiarly joyous ringing laugh , rather noisy

,

but so hearty and childlike that no one could help joiningin her merriment. Though not particularly quick at her

studies,she had great shrewdness and keen insight into

character, and general ly estimated at their due worth all

those about her.I said we ran races , but my donkey was a rather un

sociable animal , and having once been put upon his mettle,was not satisfied with winning , but carried me on far

beyond even the hear ing of my companions,and then at

las t thought fi t to ‘slacken his pace. A s I was walkingthus leisurely along, I began to examine the contents ofmy pocket, and took out my note- book to make someentries. While thus occupied

,the donkey-boy, who had

run noiselessly after me on the sand , and of whose proximity I was not aware

,suddenly rushed up

,and with

blows urged my donkey on again at full speed . Heneeded no such incentive . I had only time to grasp thereins , and away I went

,my treasures all scattered behind

me , and I shouting to the boy to desist from urging on mysteed . These boys run as fast as the donkeys

,and in

answer to all my objurgations he only replied,

“ Y es

missus, you very good donkey ; he called‘Flying Dutch

THE V OYAGE RESUMED . 39

and then , to keep up the honour of the name,another blow to urge him forward. In a few minutes Iwas on the bank of the river

,long before my companions

,

and then the boy had the effrontery to ask for backsheesh

for having got me there firs t ! It happened that ZohrabBey and Mr Freeland had walked back to the boat

,and

luckily in the same track which I had taken. The formersaw something gleaming in the sand , and picking it up

,

found it to be a pair of gold spectacles. They were dulyrestored to me

,and were what I could least have afforded

to lose.The next morning at about hal f-past six I heard the

steam getting up on all sides, and at a quarter before sevenfour large steamers passed my window ,

and our own

speedily followed in the rear. N o announcement hadbeen made to us , and at n ine I began to wonder i f wewere to be left all day without food , when at half-pasta signal was made from the steamer to inquire i f we wereready to come on board

,and without waiting for our

answer the steamer stopped , and the dahabieh was im

mediately alongside. Mr Freeland and I had alreadyheld a consultation as to the probable length of our fastand our capabilities of supporting it, so we stepped on

board with great alacrity ; but Mr Michell was leftbehind (though we did not know i t then), and withoutwaiting a moment the dahabieh immediately fell back ,and w e proceeded on our voyage.The day passed monotonously ; w e had had no time tobring any occupation on board with us, and when we hadcaused the book - boxes to be unpacked , and gone througha couple of hours’ lessons , we found the time hang veryheavily. It was cold on deck ; there was a head -wind

,

which would have stepped us altogether but for steam ;so we remained in the chief cabins (the Pasha had one

for his schoolroom,and the Princess and I the other) ;


and'

after having run about to her heart’s content , and

being prevented by Zohrab Bey from going on deck, thePrincess at last came to me and begged me to tel l her astory. She particularly delighted in tales of queens and

princesses , and as I was anxious not to spoil her interestin the many charming tales of fiction which I intendedher to read later on, I confined myself entirely to historical characters , chiefly those which had been men tionedin our morning reading. Like all Orientals

,she was in

satiable in this respect ; and no sooner was one storyended than another was demanded , until lungs and im

agination (or rather memory) were both at fault. Butshe was very thoughtful and considerate

,and you had

only to say you were really tired and she would desist atonce.At half-past 5 PM . the steamers s topped for the night

at Feshma, as the Viceroy wished to V isit some sugar -millswhich he has there.The next morning I awoke at Six as usual , but , con

trary to my usual custom ,did not rise immediately

,and

was j ust about to do so when a message came that allwere to be on board in half an hour. O f course I wasnot ready, so was left on the dahabieh , as Mr Michel l hadbeen the day before.A s soon as I was dressed I went on deck , and saw somevery pretty scenery on the east bank. Mountains camealmost to the water’s edge

,and of various forms. They

appeared to be of limestone,and were quite bare ; but

with groups of palm- trees interspersed at intervals,they

formed a very pretty change from the hitherto flat banks.Sometimes the desert skirted the river, and then ,

wherethe inundation had covered i t a couple of months back

,

there was beauti ful green verdure. Palms were the onlytrees I saw , and I was told they are all date-palms inEgypt

MINIEH. 4 1

In spite of my interest in the scenery, I began ,how

ever , to feel a void , and knowing there was nothing whatever to eat , I asked the rcis to get me a l ittle water. But

when it was presented to me, I felt no temptation to drinkit, it was so thick and muddy. Had we known to whatwe should have been exposed , we would have broughtwith us some preserved meat in tins , some HuntleyPalmer’s biscuits

,tea, coffee , and sugar

,a fi lter

,and an

Etna for boiling water. But we had been told that everything would be provided for us , and this was our firstexper ience. My powers of endurance were, however , notvery severely tried , for in the course of the morning theViceroy stopped to look at some sugar-mills

, and the

dahabieh was immediately brought alongside the A zaziah .

We waited about an hour and a half for his Highness ,and then proceeded on our voyage. On the previous day,

there being a head -wind,all the dahabiehs we passed were

drawn up close to the shore ; but on this day, the windbeing north

,they were all in full sail

,and we constantly

saw the English and American flags.At 5 RM. we stopped at Min ieh

,where the Viceroy has

extensive sugar-mills,and i twas a pretty sight to see the

squadron of s ix s teamers with the dahabiehs in tow, all

drawn up before the palace. The guns fired a royalsalute, the fron t of the palace was lined with soldiers ,who held up long awn ings

,only

,instead of being sup

ported overhead , they formed two walls which extendedfrom the harem steamer to the gates of the palace. Thiswas to enable the wives of his Highness and their suiteto di sembark w ithout being exposed to the gaze of men.

In the evening Zohrab Bey told us that his Highnessintended to stay two or three days at Minieh ; that hehad many sugar-factories there, and was not satisfied withtheir condition ; that he intended to remain until theywere in ful l work

,which might delay our voyage. In


the meanwhile his Highness wished the studies to be

exclusively devoted to the history of Egypt. As our own

ideas were in accordance with this,there was of course

no objection made on our part. Zohrab Bey, moreover,told us that there was a palace , which had been built forIbrahim Pasha

,at the southern extremity of the Viceroy’s

palace ; that i t was proposed we should have our mealsand spend the day there, and return to the boats only atnight. The Viceroy’s palace stands on the west bank of

the Nile ; the steamers and dahabiehs were moored closeto the shore, and planks were arranged to enable us topass freely to and fro. The banks are high at Minieh , sothat from the palace the view was far more extensivethan from the river.The next morning we arranged our studies,keeping the

same hours as at Choubrah. Our plan was to take Frenchone day and English the next. O f course I speak only ofthe Princess and Kopses, as we had nothing to do withthe gentlemen , except meeting them at meals and in

hours of recreation , when we all joined together. Both thePrincess and her companion were universal favourites

,

and every one exerted himself to please them . O f coursethe rank of the Khédive’s daughter would have ensuredthis , but her sweet disposition,

and thoughtfulness for all

about her , made it a labour of love. Kopses had greatvivacity , and wonderful tact for so young a person : she

never obtruded her opinions,but when required she ex

pressed them with a free and independent hearing ,which

to our preconceived ideas was totally inconsistent withslavery. Her manner to us was quite differen t from her

behaviour in the harem. With us she was the free out

spoken member of a free community—outspoken, that is

to say, in what concerned exclusively European mannersand ideas ; in the harem , as I afterwards had full occasionto observe , she was the quiet dignified Oriental , receiving ,

FORCED LABOURERS. 43

notice from her superiors with profound respect , but without a tinge of servility.The chief books on Egypt which we studied were, in

French , Mariette Bey’s ‘Apereu de l

’Histoire d’Egypte’

and his ‘ Itinéraire ’also L

’Egypte ancienne et moderne

from the Histoire universel le and Sharpe’s History of

Egypt ’ in English. Then w e had plenty of books on Egyptfor lighter reading , for Ibrahim Pasha was fond of sendingdirectly for any books descriptive of the country whichmight be published in Europe.On one of the fi rst days of our stay at Min ieh ,

MessrsFreeland and Michell went in a boat to the opposite shoreto shoot

,and as I soon found there was no walking, I

accompanied them ; but when I saw them carried on men’s

shoulders through the mud before they could be safelylanded , I thought it best to return to the dahabieh. Sometimes the river was like a sea,

with large waves rolling on ,

and at other times it was as smooth as glass,all the vessels

lying off the shore , and the sandhills on the opposite bankreflected in the water to perfection .

I saw a curious Sight one morn ing while dressing in mycabin. I heard a strange humming noise as of manyvoices

,and looking ou t

,I saw a large steamer coming

down the river,and behind it in tow were five immense

flat- bottomed boats and two dahabi ehs. The boats werecrowded with men,

forced labourers from the Upper Nile,who were brought down to work on the railway whichthe Viceroy was constructing in Upper Egypt. Theremust have been some thousands.The general V iew of the river , as seen from the palacewindows

,was very an imated ; dahabiehs were constantly

passing up and down,and we heard many familiar names

among them . One or other of the gentlemen was alwaysbringing us news

,and though chafing at the delay of our

voyage,our time passed, on the whole, not unpleasantly.

44. RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

CHA PTER V.

At Al iniehm Voyage still delayed—How we sp ent our time

—Belief of the

ancient Egyp tians—A woman

’s name never mentioned out of the ha rem

-Sndden return to Ca iro—Dea th on the r iver.

Day after day passed , and we were still at Min ieh.The sugar-mills were not yet in order , and his Highnesswould not leave them until they were. The voyageupward was still talked of

,but not even the favourite

term of bada bonhra was mentioned as the date of our

departure. Our time meanwhile passed with great regularity. A t about eight, or hal f -past , we all assembled at

breakfast in the palace— a party of about twelve or fourteen—as we were often reinforced by strangers who cameas visitors. There was a German doctor added to our

number, a very clever and amusing man,who contributed

not a little to the general entertainment. A fter breakfastwe went to lessons ; we learned by rote from MarietteBey the four epochs in to which the history of ancientEgypt has been divided. First, the Ancient Empire, theage of the Pyramids , a period when the art of engravingon stones in relief rose to a perfection which has neversince been attained. Then the Middle Empire

,which was

in existence when Abraham appeared,and to the last

king of which Joseph was minister. Then came the N ewEmpire, the age of Moses. In a voyage up the Nile themost frequent and glorious monuments belong to th isepoch . Lastly , the Lower Empire

,in which Egypt fell

under the domin ion of strangers,Greeks and Romans

, to

which epoch the temples of Philfe,of Edfou

, of Denderah ,&c belong. These epochs are subdivided into thirty- fourdynasties , and we had to portion out all the antiquitiesamong the several dynasties to which they belonged .

46 RECOLLECTIONS O F AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

the afternoon we sometimes took a boat,and went over to

the opposite shore— that is to say,when we could find

a landing-place sufficiently dry for us to walk ashore.The Princess did not , however, accompany us so often as

I could have wished , because Zohrab Bey con sidered himsel f responsible for her safety , and would never let her goin a boat unless he was of the party. AS he had a greatdeal to do in the way of harem- visiting, he could not

always find time,so then the Princess had her choice

of the palace , the s teamer, or the harem.

One day, as we were seated at luncheon ,a eunuch came

in and told Zohrab Bey that he was wanted in the harem .

“ For whom ? said b e ; upon which the eunuch stoopeddown and whispered something in his ear. Zohrab Beysaid he would go presently, and the eunuch disappeared.As this put the harem into my mind , I asked the Princessa question which had often occurred to m e,

“What washer mother’s name ? for I only knew her under theappel lation of the second Princess. My pupil madesome unintelligible answer, and no one volunteeredany information. I saw that I had committed an in

decorum,so I let the subject drop. I was told after

wards that a woman’s name was never mentioned beyondthe harem.

The weather continued cool , which was a great blessing ,as we had no mosqui toes nor any insects to speak of. As

we still slept on board the boat,where the attendance was

most imperfect, I shudder to think what we might havesuffered had the weather been hot. The crew were thereonly to manage the boat

, and their rough services wouldhave been of l ittle avail ; Shaheen was a dragoman , and

supposed to have nothing to do but to go on messages.He was always cheerful and civil

,but very careful of

over- exerting himsel f. So I forbade any one to entermy cabin , preferring to do all things for mysel f to

SHAHEEN. 4 7

having them continued on the footing of the first day or

two .

Our dahabieh was drawn close under the bank, and thecrew put a sailcloth up to screen them from the wind onthe opposite side. The poor fellows lived and Slept ondeck , and being unable ever to leave the vessel , they couldnot warm themselves by exercise. Their contrivances toexclude the wind must have made the fore-cabins occupiedby the gentlemen fearfully stuffy. For mysel f, my cabinbeing at the stern

,I always got a fresh current of air

passing through it,sometimes too much , and then I was

obliged to cal l for assistance to shut the windows, which ,being stiff, were beyond my powers.One even ing I was in my cabin for a few minutes

,and

I heard Mr Michell’s voice talking to some one in the

little saloon, but I did not pay any attention to what theywere saying ; and when I had finished what I had to do ,

I came out of my cabin , and heard Mr Michel l say,

Shaheen ,I’ll tel l Mis s Chennells of you !

”A t that

moment I appeared at the door,and was aston ished to

see Shaheen rush out of the saloon, and bolt himsel f inhis little cabin ,

while Mr Michel l burst into a violent fitof laugh ter. It was some time before I could learn the

cause of all this , bu t when he could speak for laughing,Mr Michell told me what had passed. He delighted indrawing out the Arabs , and as Shaheen entered the cabinwhere he was writing , he began to ask the dragoman i fhe was not looking forward to seeing the wife whom he

had left so many years,above the First Cataract

,and

whether he -had no fears that she might have consoledherself in his absence ? Shaheen looked very dark at

thi s question,but said he had no fear of that ; and,

further s timulated by Mr Michell’s apparent interest inhis affairs

,confided to him that , i f things went on well

,

he hoped soon to make a third addition to his harem.


At this j uncture Mr Michell uttered the threat abovementioned , and I appearing at the same moment, Shaheen

at once took to fl ight.We had now been three weeks at Minieh. Sometimes

the river was like a sea, and I had as much difficulty tokeep my equilibrium during my morn ing toilet as if Ihad really been at sea. When i t was calm ,

the V iew fromthe palace windows was very lovely. The broad , nobleriver , —the opposi te shore verdant to the water

’s edge,the long range of Mokattam hills , of most irregular outl ine, and rising sometimes perpendicularly to a height ofabout 300 feet, the constant passing of dahabiehs and

steamboats,all made a charming scene. I have said I

saw this from the palace windows but it must be remembered that I was in a palace built for a p r ince and not

for a princess ! The harem was also built along the

banks of the river , but no such V iew was open to itsinmates. High walls Shut out nature and the outer li feto those whose position placed them above manual labourthere remained nothing but to eat, drink , and sleep ! Oh ,weary life ! Oh

,hateful system which condemns so many

thousands of God’s creatures to lifelong imprisonmentand mental debasement !

To do the Khédive j ustice, I believe he would willinglyemancipate women from their present degraded positionin the East ; but he knows that education must precede .

l iberty , or i t will become licence. For this purpose hehas founded schools for girls

,the only fault to be found

being that they are on so l iberal a scale that the expensesare too great to enable them to be mul tiplied accordingto requirement. It is no part of the Mahometan religionto ordain polygamy and the shutting- up of women. Suchthings existed before Mahomet

,who attempted to set some

bounds to the universal licence which prevailed in histime.

END OF VOYAGE. 4 9

The Khédive’s harem is differently conducted from thatof other princes. He has four wives , i t is true, but theseladies are not outraged by the p resence of other favourites ,nor are the children of other mothers brought up underthe same roof with them.

As the Princess was constantly asking me for s tories , Itold her all the Bible stories relating to Egypt ; and thatof Joseph and his brethren made the same impressionupon her which it does upon all imaginative children.

She shed tears, which she was rather ashamed of,until

she saw that I was subject to the same weakness ; butKopses, who had l istened intently to every word , tho

-

ughwithout betraying any emotion ,

said emphatically at the

end, that it was the prettiest story she had ever heard inher l ife ! I often wished for the invention of Scheherazade,as my memory would become quite exhausted ; but as thePrincess always earnestly asked,

“ Is it true ? ” I neverdrew on imagination,

but kept strictly to history.Exactly a month from the day of our leaving Choubrah ,

our voyage came to an untimely end. Zohrab Bey cameto us at about ten o

’clock in the morning, to say that we

(Messrs Freeland and Michell and mysel f) were to returnto Cairo by special train (there is a railway into UpperEgypt) on that day at 2 RM. The Kourban Bairam was

coming on , and the Khédive’s presence at Cairo was neces

sary. This was natural , and to be expected ; the onlymistake in our opin ion being that we, the educational staff,had not been sent on with our pupils , while his Highnessand his harem remained at Minieh. It i s an Englishman’sprivilege to grumble

,and we availed ourselves most heartily

of this between ourselves. Our pupils preserved the mos timpassible demeanour : it was his Highness’s pleasure, andthat was enough for them.

Packing does not take long when one’s belongings are

within one small cabin, and in a very short time we wereD


all ready. We were told his Highness was going up inthe same train ; and we had j ust sat down to luncheonwhen a messenger came to tell us to go immediately, as

the train was about to start. So we hurried off,and,

arriving at the station,found no signs of departure , and

no shelter from the sun ,which was then very hot. We

waited about an hour, and then a message came that wewere to be sent on ,

as his Highness was not coming on

that day. At PM . we reached Ghizeh. Zohrab Beyhad undertaken to telegraph for a carriage to meet us , buthe had forgotten all about it

,and we were by land four or

five miles from Choubrah. It was moonlight, fortunately,and going down to the river

, we found a boat which tookus across

,and thus saved us a couple of miles and soon

after landing we got a carriage,which conveyed us to

Choubrah. It was eleven o’clock

,and the household was

gone to bed ; but we threw up sand against the windows ,and Mrs Freeland, looking out to see what was the matter,clapped her hands for joy, and hurried down to let us in ,

while Shaheen roused the servants and got us a comfortable supper.Just before we left Min ieh we heard a sad story. Lord

Charleville, accompanied by two other gentlemen ,had gone

on a pleasure trip up the Nile,when one of the party died

a little above the First Cataract. The body was embalmed,

and the dahabieh was returning with its sad freight, butthe wind blew from the north , and they made no progress.Lord Charleville availed himsel f, therefore, of a steamerwhich was employed in towing three large barges full offorced labourers for the railway. The steamer was, however, only going a short distance

,and Lord Charleville

applied to the Governor of Minieh to lend him one, for

which he was prepared to pay any amount. The Khédiveheard of the application

,and as he is never appealed to

in va in for any act of courtesy which can be rendered to

ARAB TIME - KEEPIN G. 5 1

an Englishman ,he immediately gave one

,and Lord Charle

ville proceeded as quickly as possible to fol low the firststeamer, and rel ieve it of i ts sad burden. How manysimilar cases I heard of during my five years

’ stay inEgypt—of some who had come out in pursuit of health

,

and of others struck down when apparently in vigorousenjoyment of it !

CHA PTER VI.

Sight-seeing Whirling derv ishes —Howling dervishes Vis it to the petrified

forest—To the op era—Harem boxes—N o English church a t tha t time in

Ca iro—Service held in the N ewHotel Visit received from some Maho

metan ladies—Invita tion to a wedd ing—Transla tion of the letter into

English—Shem -cl-N esseem —Khamseen winds.

On our return to Cairo we determined to devote our

leisure, while the weather was still cool , to sight - seeing.The first Friday we went to the whirling dervishes. Ihad made an attempt to see them before I went up theNile, but unfortunately arrived j ust as they were fi lingout. We had been told the performance began at two ,

and we were there punctually at that hour by our watches ;but different watches may not agree, and as all native performances take place according to the Arab computationof time, which varies with the hour of sunset, it is difficultto fix its exact equivalent according to our standard . We

were very punctual at Choubrah ,and had a great clock on

the staircase which regulated the household ; but the clockitself was not in fallible, and who was to regulate that ?The Khédive had not then introduced the custom , whichhe has s ince done ,

of having a gun fired from the C itadelto announce mid -day, so somebody went every day into


the town and brought back the exact time from Ricci ,l

who was considered the best authority. It i s curious toobserve the different methods of computing time in use

among different nations. The Arabs begin their day at

sunset, the Persians at sunrise, the ancient Greeks at noon ,

the Romans , l ike ourselves , at midnight. TheArabs reckontheir year by twelve lunar months , alternately of twentyn ine and th irty days’ duration ; the Copts also by twelvemonths

,but each of thirty days’ duration. All business

arrangements in Egypt were made by the Copti c calendar ,and the European population being numerous

,there were

three ways of computing the month in one country. To

obviate this inconvenience the Khédive has since orderedthat from a given date all payments shall be computed bythe Gregorian calendar ; and as money touches us all mostnearly , this calendar will no doubt gradually supersede thetwo others.On this our second visit to the whirling dervishes , we

took care to be early,and had the satis faction of finding

when we entered that the performance had not begun. It

takes place in a smal l building (in shape l ike an amphitheatre) adjoining their convent. There i s an upper gallery which looks down on the performance, and also

'

a spaceon the same level , outside the rails which enclose the circlefor the dervishes. The building is open to any one withoutpayment , nor is there any attempt to extract money fromthe V isitors , except that men are in waiting outside withchairs , for which a smal l coin i s asked , but which you are

quite at liber ty to refuse i f you prefer standing.At a few minutes after two

, thirteen dervishes , withtheir chief in front , entered the circle by a private door.They all wore dark serge cloaks down to the ground

, and

high felt hats shaped like a sugar - loaf ] They walkedgravely round the circle from right to left, and the chief

1 The principal watchmaker in Cairo.

5 -1 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

on the ground , covered their faces , wrapped their cloaksabout them , and then slowly rose and left the mosque inthe same order as they had entered it. A low monotonousmusic accompanied the whole ceremony , and the greatestorder and decorum prevailed.As we came out of the mosque we met some friends ,

and we agreed to drive to the so - cal led Tombs of the

Caliphs. I say so- called because the real tombs are all

destroyed with one exception,and the site i s now covered

with bazaars. The tombs which generally go by thatname are without the walls , on the north -east of the town ,

and are the tombs of the Memlook kings of the C ircassiandynasty who ruled from 1382 AD . to the invasion of the

Turks under Sultan Selim in 15 17. We went out of Cairoby the Bab -el-Azab , leaving the C itadel close on our left.For miles there was nothing to be seen but tombs

, all in

the sand , no verdu re whatever. O f course there are no

roads , and somtimes the way is very bad and heavy . Hereand there are large tombs , with mosques and minarets ;these are of sovereigns, and we went into several. Theyare all in ruins ; some in fair preservation— that is to say,

as ruins—but they are not l ikely to remain long so,as the

stones are often carted away for building purposes , andtravellers recklessly break away pieces of anything thatmay take their fancy , to be carried home as specimens. Inone of these mosques was a large lattice- screen of variouspatterns , which was almost perfect, and Mr P., one of our

party,looked about to see i f he could discover any part

where it was broken or decayed,so that he might carry off

a specimen. It was difficult to find,and he tried several

t imes before he could accomplish i t,but at last he suc

ceeded in detaching a piece. I thought it such a pitythat I remonstrated with him , but he replied it would all

crumble away sooner or later, and he would like to have a

bit of i t ; so he took i t. Ever after, on subsequent visits ,

THE HOWLING DERV ISHES. 5 5

this lattice-work went by us under the name of the P.

screen.

In this particular building there was a spacious courtyard , three domes , and two minarets. Two of the gentlemen went up to the top of one of the minarets , and saidthe s taircase was in good preservation and the View fromthe top magnificent but I did not try it.Before going to the so- called Tombs of the Caliphs , wevisited the family tomb of Mohammed Ali. That , of

course, was not in ruins. There was a great deal of brassscreen-work

,painted in brilliant colours

,and a man was

seated near one of the tombs reciting the Koran ,which , i t

is said,goes on constan tly n ight and day.

We made a complete circuit of the north side of the

city, all among the tombs, and re-entered it by the Babel-Nasr, which leads into the Mouskee

,though we might

have gone due south to the canal,and then turned up the

Choubrah Road.Another Friday we visited the howling dervishes , but Idid not like their performance so well as the “ whirlers.There are two or three sets of howlers ,

” but I think thebest are at Old Cairo. The building is tolerably large , and

the dervishes form a semicircle round their chief, who i sseated , and who i s a man in the prime of l ife, with a verycurly beard , and wearing a red turban edged with green.

First, each man goes up in turn to the chief, and after

standing upright for some seconds , probably reciting someprayer which we could not hear, he bent his forehead tothe ground , and then went back to his place. After thist he chief chanted a monotonous solo, which was presentlytaken up by the whole party, who incessantly repeatedabout four bars

,

“ La illaha A llah ve Mohammed resoul

A llah ! (There is but one God, and Mahomet is hisprophet.) They were at first all seated on their heels ,and they incessantly swayed their bodies to and fro

,


increasing gradual ly both in sound and motion. After

a time the chief again gave a solo, and then the circle

all rose to their feet , and swayed backwards and forwards ,bending their heads almost to the ground , throwing backtheir long black hair (having previously divested themselves oi their head-gear) , and gradually increasing inviolence, unt il their utterance became so indistinct that

the noise resembled that of many broken -winded horses.I should think there were about twenty : some elderlymen

,who took it quietly ; others became outrageous in

their howls and gestures , and were obliged to be helddown by their more sober companions. They foamed at

the mouth , and sometimes ran forward with their headsbent down

,as if they would butt somebody. A s tout lady

narrowly escaped being pinned to the wall by one of theseenthusiasts , but his compan ions held him back by force.I saw a lad of about sixteen among them

,who looked

very roguish , and seemed particularly to enjoy holdingthose who had thus allowed their feelings to carry themaway. The performance had , to my thinking, a very savagelook, but the faces of many of the men were intelligent.It lasted altogether more than an hour

,and when it was

over we lingered a little outside in a pleasant court , andthe chief came out and invited us to take coffee with him.

On another day we made an excursion to the petrifiedforest. It i s about eigh t miles from Cairo. We rodethrough the Arab quarter out into the desert by the Babel-Nasr. This quarter is close , dark , and damp. The two

first-named qualities it owes to the extreme narrowness ofthe streets and the height of the houses , which thus nearlyexclude air and light ; and the dampness is owing to thecopious watering of the streets , which effectually keepsdown the dus t

,by turning it into mud for a few hours

,

until the time for watering comes round again. The

streets are well watered everywhere in Cairo, but in the

THE PETRIFIED FOREST.

more Open thoroughfares they dry very quickly, so thatthe dust soon accumulates. My donkey seemed to thinka crowded and narrow street j ust the place for a gal lop

,

and how I escaped running down some of the childrenwho swarmed about and never tried to get out of the way,I cannot tell. When we came out of the Bab - el-Nasr our

way lay through the tombs we had visited a short timebefore. The desert is undulating

,because sometimes the

ground is rocky , and the Sand dri fts over it. It is verydiffi cult to drive , though I did once subsequently ; we hadfour horses , and yet we had hard work to get on. Withdonkeys it was very different

,and the ride was most enjoy

able ; but the day was rather hot, and I suppose mydonkey-boy had had enough , so he pointed to some brokenpieces of petrified wood which lay about

,and told me it

was“ finish ,

” meaning we had come to our journey’s end.

Mr Michell , however, knew better, and we went a greatdeal farther. We measured the length of some trunkswhich lay hal f buried in sand ; one was 45 feet, but theremight have been a good deal more under the sand. It

was far too heavy to move ; the grain was perfect —it wasno longer wood, but stone. We asked the donkey-boyswhat was the opinion among the Arabs as to how thesetrees came there. One of them told us that this was oncea beautiful garden , and that Mahomet , passing by, askedthe gardener to give him a rose, which the latter refused.Mahomet then prayed that the garden might be changedinto stone

,and his prayer was forthwith granted . This is

very much like many of the Roman Catholic legends,and

‘

of course there was no disputing the fact, for there werethe stones to prove it.The fresh pure air of the desert makes riding a deligh tful exercise. When we got back to Choubrah , I hadridden seventeen or eighteen miles without feeling any

fatigue, which I j ustly attributed to my excellent donkey ;


so wishing to secure him for future excursions , I askedhis name.

Yankee Doodle, said the boy.Oh

,he i s an American , is he ? said I.

Y es,missus ; in English , Lalla Rookh ! — rather a free

translation. I suppose he thought English and Americantwo distinct languages.I must not omit to mention our first visit to the opera.

The play was Aida,” which had been composed by Verdi

expressly for the Cairo Opera. It was doubly interestingto us

,as it recalled the scenes of our late voyage up the

Nile. I heard this opera very many t imes afterwards ,and l iked the music better every time ; but on thisfirst occasion the scenery made more impression on me

than the music. The harem boxes were a novelty to beseen in no other country. The principal one was nextto the stage, on the grand tier, and opposite the Viceroy’s.Four smal ler ones adjoined it. The whole front of theseboxes was covered with a fine network of iron

,painted

white , and covered with flowers in gold. It had the

effect of lacework,but it was all iron , and the elaborate

pattern of the flowers made it more difficul t to distinguishany person or thing within the boxes so covered. The

harem entrance is through a small garden,guarded by

sentinels , and through which no person i s allowed to

pass. Once in the building,there is a separate door and

staircase leading to these boxes,which communicate

with no other part of the house. Y ou can see veryfairly in them, though of course the wire prevents yourever leaning forward

, as is sometimes necessary whensitting in a side box.

We dined one evening with Hekekien Bey, the Armenian gentleman who had lent me his dromedary. In hisearly li fe Hekekien Bey had spent many years in England ,having been sent thither according to a practice which

AN ARMENIAN DINNER-PARTY. 5 9

still prevails in the family of Mohammed Ali,of choosing

intelligent children and sending them to Europe to be

educated. It is wel l known that Mohammed Ali did not

learn to read or write until he was past forty. The thingswhich he wished Hekekien Bey to learn were such as

would tax the powers of four ordinary boys to acquire ;but Mohammed Ali, being a man of remarkable abilities

,

put no limit to the capability of a boy who was to havethe advantages of early instruction under the best masters.There were about ten persons at the dinner-party , but Iwas struck by the picturesque effect of the attendance.The waitresses were two jet-black negresses , dressed inthe brilliant colours in which their race delight, with a

profusion of ornaments. There was the Bedouin who hadaccompanied me on my dromedary ride , and his little boy,dressed like himsel f in long snow-white garments. The

boy stood behind his master’s chair ; he was there to

learn,and he kept immovable as a statue

,except that

his eyes wandered everywhere. It was a pleasant party ;artists and travellers from many lands were collectedtogether

,and our host related to fius many of his past

experiences. We returned to Choubrah by brilliantmoonlight

,charmed with our visit and the picturesque

ness of all we saw.

It was now getting to the middle of March. The

winter had been delightful , but the hot winds had begun.

We had had rain occasionally in the winter , but nothingto what I afterwards saw. N ow , however, the hot Windshad set in early

,and very trying I found them. In a

few days the wind again shifted to the north , and re

freshing showers revived us. A gentleman who had

lived in Egypt upwards of s ixteen years , told me thatthe fi rst two or three winters that he spent at Cairohe saw neither rain nor fog ; the plantations , which are

always increasing round the city, and indeed throughout

6 0 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGY PTIAN rRIN oEss.

the country , make both of more and more frequent occurrence.At that time the English Church was not built

,and

divine service was performed in a large room at the

N ew Hotel. An absurd incident took place there one

day. The chaplain was often assisted by some clergyman who happened to be staying there

,and on this

occasion a sermon was preached by one of these clericalvisitors abounding in deathbed scenes , strung togetherwithout any connection. It was always ,

“ I stood bythe bedside of a dying omnibus - conductor

,850. At the

close of the sermon the Communion was celebrated , andonly eight persons remained, of whom Mr Freeland wasthe sole gentleman. When we came out the heat wasintense , and Mr Freeland left us a few minutes standingunder the long portico of the N ew Hotel , while he wentto seek a carriage. As we stood there the gentlemanwho had offi ciated came out

,and addressing us

,

‘

askedif he could do anything for us, to which Mrs Freelandreplied that her husband was gone to get a carriage,and pointed him out as just return ing. The clergymansaid

,

“ Oh ! i s that your husband ? ” and hastily walkedtowards him , presen ting him at the same time with a

tract,which Mr Freeland took with rather a blank coun

tenance, not knowing why'

he was selected as“the

sinner of the congregation. I mus t here mention that

Lord Northbrook, the new Viceroy of India in place of

poor Lord Mayo,was j ust then passing through Cairo

on his way to India,and had been one of the congre

gation in the morn ing,but not one of the commun icants.

In the afternoon Mrs Freeland’s maids went to the service,and on their coming out were accosted by the same clergyman

,who had again officiated. He asked them with whom

they lived in Cairo, and after sundry o ther inquiries , told

them he had had the Viceroy of India among his congre

6 2 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGY PTIAN PRINCESS.

sheikhs to dinner, and the even ing would pass absurdlyenough , Mr Michel l or a Coptic friend of his namedGhirghis serving as interpreter. Ghirghis spoke Englishvery well , but in translating he always preserved the

Arabic idiom,which had to us a very ludicrous effect.

One day he brought to Mr Michel l an invitation to a

wedding. It was couched as follows , Ghirghis makinga translation from the Arabic with great gravity

“ The nightingales of pleasure warbled in the gardensof enjoyment , and the sons of merriment shone on the

forehead of time, with safety. I request of your re

nowned help to honour me on Sunday next,the 8th of

A tour 1590, at ten o’clock

,hoping that enjoymen t will

have a turn to you.

He was very proud of his translation,and could not

see in the least what there was to excite our risibility.On the 29th of April took place the Arab fi le of the

Shem -el-N esseem ,or

“ Smel ling of the Zephyr,

”as i t i s

supposed immediately to precede the terrible khamseenwinds

,which are more or less prevalent during fifty

days. I considered that we had already had these windson several days , but I was told they were not the orthodox winds which belong to the regular khamseen season.

From a very early hour in the morn ing,on this fe

‘

te, every

Arab man , woman, or child is out for the day seekingwhatever country -place they can find where flowers andtrees are to be met with ; carriages and donkeys are ingeneral request

, and consequently dearer. This jet s of

the Shem - el-N esseem is calculated to commence immediately after the Coptic Easter, and to last until theirWhitsuntide. Certainly , immediately after this féte wedid get icltamseen winds , and terribly oppressive we foundthem. We were obliged to keep the doors and windowsclosely shut for two or three days and nights

,while the

outer air was like that of a furnace. O ur rooms were,

GEZIREH. 63

however , large and lofty , and we were able to keep upa tolerable circulation by having all doors of commun ication open,

so that we suffered less than might have beenexpected.

CHA PTE R VII.

The Viceroy and harem remove to Gezireh We dr ive there da ily—Grea thea t—Sand -storans—Receive some A rab sheikhs a t d irmer—“ lll oulid

cl-nebbee —Doseh—Removal to Alexandr ia—Da ilyvisits to Ras-cl-Tin

—Dep arturefor Constantinop le Voyage thither

Early in May, as the heat was getting great, theKhédive and his harem removed from Abdeen to Gezireh .The palace of Abdeen lies rather low , and the heat is felta good deal there. Gezireh is on the banks of the Nile

,

and is the summer palace of the Viceroy. It is a miniature Versailles , and consists of three or four palaces—one

for his Highness , another for the reception of illustriousstrangers , and a third for the harem. There is also a

beautiful kiosk, in which the Princess of Wales waslodged during her visit. All these palaces are enclosedin a large garden , artistically planned and laid out. Thereis an extensive collection of wild beasts and of curiousbirds. The former are of course at some distance fromthe palace, though when the wind blew from their direction I have on more than one occasion scented theirwhereabouts. The trees in the garden are very interesting, as being so different from what we see in Europe. Inoticed that the banana, l ike the palm

,seems to grow

from within,instead of from without like other trees. In

the centre is a stem with a large green banner furledround it and completely enveloping it. This gradually

6 4: RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

unfurls,and is thrown back a huge leaf to the length of

several feet,with a strong fibre runn ing up the centre.

At first it is all one leaf,but by degrees it splits into

several narrow ribbons,which separate from the central

fibre. As the leaf now hangs down ,another is formed

around the stem , to be also unfurled, and thus the stemrises

, one leaf springing from another, and forming a

graceful fringe round the parent stem.

Near the kiosk is a small lake,over which rustic

bridges are constructed. There is a rockery, and windingpaths ; and when the Court is not there , the kiosk , thestate apartments of the palace, and the gardens , are

open to the public by order. The servants engaged at

the palace are French , with Arabs under them , becauseeverything at Gezireh (except the harem) is European,

and would soon go to ruin if left solely to Arab supervision.

Ibrahim Pasha and his sister were placed under ZohrabBey’s charge in that part of the palace which I havementioned as set apart for i llustrious visitors. It was

delightfully situated ; some of the apartments looked downon the r iver

,others on the lovely garden. The room set

apart for the Pasha’s study was in an angle, so that the

many windows commanded views both up and down the

river,and gave a side view of the garden into the bargain.

In Mahometan countries the best of everything is putapart for the gentlemen ,

but my pupil was not then “ shutup

,

”

so she came in for her full share of all good things.When studies were over

,every room was free to us

,and

thc Pasha’s being a very large one and very airy,we used

to have games there , it being too hot to go out of doors.Messrs Freeland and Michel l and I drove every morn

ing early from Choubrah to Gezireh , which was not um

pleasant, unless i t were a khamseen wind , in which casei t was a terrible infliction. The palace is on the western

Mosourroms. 6 5

bank of the Ni le, so we had to cross a fine bridge to get toGezireh ; and from about twelve to . three this bridge i sopened for the passage of dahabiehs

,and necessarily closed

for carriages, which sometimes causes great inconvenience.There is , of course, always the remedy of taking a boatacross ; but then the palace is some distance from the

bridge , and no carriages are to be found at the landingplace. We usually returned to Choubrah at about hal fpast four or five o

’clock.One day we were seated at lessons when i t became

gradually very dark , and suddenly the windows burs topen (they had probably been imperfectly fastened) , andthe whole house resounded with the slamming of doorsand the crash of glass. The servants rushed in and

fastened the windows and ou ter blinds. During thisminute I looked out. The opposite shore was not visible,a whirlwind of dust seemed to rise in the air , and thenwe were shut up in darkness. This was a sand - storm , of

which I had so often read the terrible effects when occurring in the desert. A fter a time a sharp shower of raincame on,

and then it was comparatively cooler. Mr

Freeland and I returned to Choubrah at about 5 P.M.,the

storm having then subs ided. When w e entered the houseevery door and window

,as also shutters , had been care

fully closed to exclude the heat and dust ; w e groped ourway to the drawing -room

,and there a singular sight met

our eyes. Mrs Freeland and a gentleman v isitor werethere, each holding candles , and engaged in burningmosquitoes on the wall. A t Gezireh we had scarcely anymosquitoes , the breeze from the r iver keeping them off

,

but at Choubrah we were eaten up. Mrs Freeland had,

of course, been in darkness during the storm , as we had

been, and being of an active turn of mind

,she had ordered

candles , and seated hersel f at her writingtable. But themosquitoes allowed her no peace. They swarmed about

E


her in such a way that she got up , determined upon

trying to reduce their numbers. Her plan was to burnthem as they settled on the walls and curtains. Some

people even venture to do it on the mosquito-nets, wherethey are more easily seen ; bu t it requires great dexteritynot to set fire to the curtains. Mrs Freeland had capitalSight, and also great dexterity , so She entered fully into

the chase, and began to count her victims by hundreds ,when a visitor was announced. Mr W. was not aware of

our daily visits to Gezireh , and expected to find Mr Freeland at Choubrah as usual. He at once entered withSpirit into the pursuit , and armed with a candle added hisShare to the general slaughter. But in Spite of all theire fforts

, we were as much tormented as ever on that evening.Their name was legion ,

and a few hundred mosquitoessacrificed seemed to make no appreciable difference.About the middle of May a great festival took placecalled the Moulid - el-nebbee

,

”

or celebration of the birthof the Prophet. A large space between the Ezbekeah and

Boulak was covered with tents,in which all kinds of

performances went on at night— whirling and howlingdervishes especially. The whole A rab population is outto witness i t

,and travellers also make a point of seeing it.

The end of it all is the doseh,or treading,

” which isa fright ful performance. Two or three hundred men are

induced, either by enthusiasm or hashish (which producesintoxication) , to throw themselves across the road to betrampled upon by a horse, convinced that i f they are

killed they will go straightway to Paradise without passing through any intermediate state. They are packedtightly together, so that there i s not room for the horse

’sfoot to s tep between them ; and then the horse is ledover their bodies mounted by a Sheikh. Everybody goesto see this Sight, which is a very horrible one , as it isimpossible for many to escape either being killed or

SHEIKHS AT DINNER. 6 7

injured for life. As soon as the horse has passed over thebodies, they all (that is to say,

those who are uninj ured)Spring up and run after the Sheikh. Those who are

unable to rise are quickly drawn aside. It i s to be hopedthat this barbarous practice will be abolished as civilisation Spreads ; but as Europeans hurry to see it withas much eagerness as the natives do, it will hardly bethrough public opinion as it at present prevails .1

On the evening after the doseh we had invited Ghirghisand an Arab Sheikh to dinner ; but the latter unexpectedly brought two friends with him ,

which rather upsetMrs Freeland’s arrangements for the table, though I suppose such additions are quite in accordance with Arabideas , as i t would Simply involve two additional spoonsand a closer seat. One of these sheikh s wore a yellowturban and a long yellow robe ; the other two were Similarly attired

,only in white instead of yellow. They

evidently were unaccustomed to European ways of eating,and Ghirghis was their model for the use of the kn ife and

fork. Their faces beamed with animation i t was no doubtthe first time they had ever sat down to table with women ,

and everything was s trange and amusing to them. An

Oriental is naturally well- bred,so they did not laugh

until they saw us laugh ; but some trifl ing thing was toomuch for our gravity

,and when once we began , they

joined in most heartily. When they left, they thankedus through Ghirghis for a most deligh tful evening.During this month the femme de chambre or cozf euse of

the third Princess -was married to the mai tre d’hotel at

Gezireh. A breakfast was given in honour of the marriedcouple at the N ew Hotel ; and the bride received presentsfrom her mistress and the other Princesses , such as mightbe given to a lady of rank in England

,- brooches , ear

rings, bracelets , all set with diamonds—watch , shawls ,1 It was abolished by the late Khédive , Tewfik.


money ; and, to crown all,she continued in the service

,

going to her mistress whenever She was sent for , so thatShe gained much by her marriage and lost nothing.May was drawing to a close

,and we still continued our

daily visits to Gezireh. It was so much cooler there than

in Ca iro that we began to fear the harem would remainduring the whole summer. I had been tol d that thePrincesses always went every year to the Bosphorus, andour pupils had Spoken confidently for the last two monthsof our speedy departure ; but the long delay in our voyageup the Nile

,and its untimely end, had made us incredu

lous, and we did not in the least bel ieve that we Should

leave Egypt. But we knew that the Viceroy had pal

aces in the vicin ity of A lexandria, and we longedfor sea- breezes and a respite from the mosquitoes of

Choubrah. O ur departure was fixed several times , andalways postponed ; but at las t, on the 26th, we actuallys tarted.The heat was very great, and according to the ther

mometer there was l ittle difference in the temperatureof Cairo and A lexandria ; but in the latter city the seabreeze was always blowing , and there was a moisture inthe air very different from the dryness of Cairo. Thisdisagrees much with some people, but I did not feel anyi ll effects. There is no comparison in the in terest at

tached to the two cities. Cairo is thoroughly orientaland picturesque, in Spite of the European quarter so

rapidly springing up. Alexandria has also a handsomeEuropean quarter, but the Arab streets are squalid and

have nothing of the picturesque. O ur pupils went withhis Highness’s harem to Ras -cl-Tin

,a palace about two

miles to the west of A lexandria,built on the breeziest

Spot that could be found , and we were sent to theHdtelde l

’Europe on the Grand Square. It was settled that we

Should drive daily to RaS-el-Tin to give lessons,as until


was no beauty of Scenery at Ras- el-Tin ,no rocks , no pic

turesque bays, no hills , no verdure, but there was thefresh sea-breeze , and the constant murmur of the waves ,the most soothing of all music.Before we drove back, Zohrab Bey returned and told us

that hisHighness spoke of going at once to Constantinople,

so that we should do wel l to hold ourselves in readinessto depart at an hour’s notice. We had been too muchaccustomed to this sort of thing to lay much stress uponit : however, as we had not unpacked more than was absolutely necessary , we declared ourselves quite ready.The following day was Sunday, and I was just on my

way down - stairs to go to church , when Zohrab Bey ar

rived. He said that our pupils with their mother,the

second Princess, would start on that day, that Mr Michel land I were to accompany them ,

and Mr and Mrs Freeland

,with their children , were to follow in a few days

by the next post-boat.We were to be on board the Mahroussah at one o

’clock.This is a splendid steam -yacht belonging to the Viceroy ,and said to be one of the fastest boats built. We wenton board , but our pupils had not yet arrived

,so I amused

myself with going over the vessel. It is divided into threeparts , the stern for the Viceroy , the centre for the captainand officers , and the fore part for the crew and the soldiers.His Highness was not going wi th us

, so the stern was appropriated to the harem ,

and I went over it. The chiefsaloon was a magnificent apartment

,with seven large

windows at the stern and five on each side, all of courseof plate- glass. Below thi s saloon was a large state cabin,

which was made the sleeping apartment of the secondPrincess , and several smaller cabins adjoining

,used for

her immediate attendants. Below these were again cabins,

excellent in point of size and accommodation, but deficient

in one thing only— air ; the windows were high up , and

EMBARK FOR THE BOSPHORUS. 7 1

not made to Open , a most necessary precaution (though Ichafed at i t sadly , for I had one of these cabins) , as theywere only a few feet above the water

,and any careless

ness would have endangered the l ives of all on board.N O man had access to them except the eunuchs , and theywere probably more amused on deck than below.

In the centre of the vessel was another upper deck,

which was large , and had two charming kiosks upon i t ,one of which was for my Princess

,who came freely on

deck,and indeed Spent the whole day there. On the main

deck , between the stern deck and the bridge , was a squarecanvas awn ing , closed at the sides

,which covered a stair

case communicating with the harem. Here three or foureunuchs were always standing, Sitting, or lying on couchesunder the awning. O f course I passed freely up and

down,though I took care not to do i t more frequently

than was necessary ; but at this early stage of my residence in the harem

,I could not help thinking of what

constantly occurred to me afterwards,—namely

,the pro

bable effect of the employment there of European women

in various capacities. Either they must look upon us asthe most abandoned of our sex ,

or they must think thatwhat is harmless in us cannot be so very bad in them.

I said we were on board punctually, but it was not until

6 RM. that we started. I wen t to my cabin at about hal fpast n ine. I looked in vain for a fastening to my door ;there was no key,

and no bolt, so I dragged my carpet-bagand a small box before the door to make entry moredifficult

,and then went to bed and fell asleep. I was soon

awoke, however, by a light , and by hearing voices close tome, and upon opening my eyes found three or four personsin my cabin. I raised myself angri ly, and demanded theirbusiness. They did not understand the words, but thetone was suffi cient, and they all took to flight immediately. The next day the reason Of their intrusion was


explained to me. The second Princess had very properlysent two or three Of her attendants to look into everycabin

,to see that all ligh ts were extinguished, and every

thing safe. They knew perfectly well which was mycabin , and could have told by the ven tilator over the doori f any light had been there ; but curiosity prevailed , and

they busied themselves in examin ing the contents of mycabin

,and my toilet arrangements , my own presence

asleep adding piquancy to the investigation,when they

found themselves suddenly caught in the fact. A soundOf smothered laughter accompan ied their flight

,which I

was by no means in a state to reciprocate.The Mahroussah went well ; we made fourteen knots

an hour (though I believe that i s not her greatest Speed).

She is 400 feet long, has four engines , each Of 800-horsepower, and is 3550 tons burthen. A great drawback tous

,however, was that two tremendous chimneys were near

the centre of the vessel,so that the deck on which we

passed our time lay between them . The heat was intense ,and the only w ay of escaping in some degree from it wasto remain in one of the kiosks , which did not suit theyoung ladies at all. They preferred walking about andasking questions concern ing everything they saw. I wentto pay a visit to the second Princess , who always receivedme very kindly. She told me she had heard I did not

bel ieve we should ever go to Constantinople,and asked

me if I bel ieved i t now . She had with her a Turkishlady , who spoke a l ittle French , and who was very kindto me on several occasions. She was called NafiaHanem ,

and l ived on the Bosphorus.We had left the harbour of A lexandria at 6 PM . on

Sunday , and on the fol lowing day at PM . we weremidway between the islands Of Rhodes and Scarpanto (theancient Carpathos). At sunset we were Off Stanco (Cos).But we were not near enough to any of these is lands to

TEN EDos 73

see more than their general outline. Speed was our Object,

and to that all was sacri ficed. The sea was as smooth as

glass, and there w as no excuse for any one being ill ,

unless , indeed , it arose from the intense heat of the

chimneys .On Tuesday morning at seven we were Off Mitylene.

From that time our attention was absorbed by everythingw e passed . At we were off Cape Baba, a promontoryof Asia Minor. A t ten minutes to ten we entered thestraits between the island Of Tenedos and the mainland.We were a quarter of an hour passing through the straits ,and were nearer to the island of Tenedos than we had

been to any land before. The chief town (probably theonly one on the island) looked very picturesque. The

sea was not quite so calm as on the previous day,being

covered with white Sparkling waves. Zohrab Bey toldme he was once on a voyage to Constantinople

,and at

this very place a gale broke the mainmast, and so shattered the vessel that She was unable to proceed , and hewas obliged to land at Tenedos , and was taken up byanother boat on the following day. On a hill on the

northern extremity of the i sland a former grand vizier wasexiled

,soon after bowstrung, and a monument was erected

on the spot of his burial.A quarter Of an hour after we had entered the strai t, we

emerged from it again. The coast of A sia Minor was low ,

but there were mountains in the background. At

we passed the promontory Of Sed- cl-Bahar ( the ancientChersonesus) , which forms the entrance to the DardanellesOrHellespont, and an hour after came to the two fortressesof Europe and A sia which guard the narrowest part of thestrait ; here we appeared completely landlocked, no visibleoutlet before us. A quarter of an hour , and we came to a

point on the A siatic side cal led , I think , Nahara,and on

this spot is a lighthouse. At 2 RM. we were in the Sea Of


Marmora— it was like enchantment,the band was playing

airs from “ Aida.” They were stationed round the staircase which led down into the harem ; but the awn ing wasclosely drawn , even over the entrance.Between and 5 we were passing the Marmora

Islands,the largest of which appeared to me about the

size of Guernsey ; there i s a detached rock at some littledistance out. Behind was the little peninsula of Cyzicus

,

also mountainous , as is indeed the whole coast, islandsand mainland

,more or less. After that we went nearer

to the European shore, and at twenty m inutes past eightwe anchored near the entrance of the Bosphorus , havingbeen 50i hours on our voyage. NO vessel is allowed toenter the Bosphorus at n ight , but a smal l steamer wassent ashore with the third captain (as they called him)and the doctor with a bill of health , and we were told thatwe Should land on the morrow at an early hour.This third captain , or second lieutenant I suppose we

Should cal l him ,was named Shefter, and he, as well as the

pilot Suleiman ,had been very kind in giving me information

throughout the voyage. Both had been in England twoor three times with the Mahroussah ,

and as they Spoke a

little English , they liked talking to us. Suleiman alwaysaddressed me in a loud cheery voice with “ Good morning, sare !

”

and between him ,Shefter, and Zohrab Bey, I

learned the names of every point of land that we passedthroughout the whole voyage ; and what voyage could bemore replete with interes t and historical associations thanone through the Grecian Archipelago to Constantinople ?We all looked forward immensely to the first view of the

Golden Horn , and went to bed early, determined to be on

deck at sunrise, SO as to miss nothing of the glorious spectacle that awaited us.

OFF STAMBOUL. 7 5

CHAPTER VIII.

The Mahroussah ofi Stamboul—Entrance into the Bosp horus—Port-holesclosed—Land ing at Emirghian

—Descr ip tion of p a lace and grounds

Our house on the hillside—Steamers on the Bosp horus—First visit toPera and Ga la ta—Imp ed iments to p rogress—Turkish time—Fi rst visitto St Sop hi a

—Clima te of Constantinop le—Harem—Ca iques—Turkishcemetery at Scutar i—Ascentfrom Kadiheui.

I had been told that we were to leave our anchorage at

6 A.M. on the Wednesday morning,but long before then

I was on the bridge, having previously packed up everything in my cabin ,

so that I might not lose a minute whenthe time arrived for landing. I was met by Zohrab Bey,who told me (apparently with great concern) that theorders were very strict that no one could remain on the

br idge as we passed Constantinople. “ Could I not stayin one of the l ittle kiosks on the deck ? I asked. “ Theymight lock me in there i f they liked , but at any rateI Should see.

” It was impossible,” Zohrab Bey replied ;

I was in the service Of a Mahometan prince, and on a

vessel containing his harem , and in such circumstancesno woman could be allowed to Show hersel f on deck Iwas in despair , when a bright thought occurred to me. Ibelonged to the harem ; might I not go into the chiefsaloon,

as his Highness was not'

there ? Zohrab Bey wasan Old stager ; he knew wel l enough what

-

awaited me

there, but he was a lover of peace , and his object was toremove me from the deck.I had not seen my pupil , who was with her mother, soI made my way to the chief saloon. The eunuchs madeno difficulty to my entering it

,and I was presently after

joined by a Levantine lady in the service, and by N ufia

Hanem , the Turkish lady of whom I before spoke.The windows were large , and I was enjoying the beau


tiful views“

on bot-h sides,wh en , just as we were passing St

Sophia , the outer shutters slowly descended , and we wereleft in darkness ! It was like a pall thrown over me !There was no help for it. I must pass the next hour

,

while go ing through the lovel iest scenery in the world , towh ich I had looked forward so much , as one who has lostthe blessing Of sight ! I saw i t many times afterwards ,and could never do i t too often. From the deck of a

steamer, from a ca'

ique, from the different heights at

Scutari , at Pera, at the Seven Towers , at the top of the

Golden Horn,and from the Bosphorus.

At last the vessel stopped , and I went on deck. We

were Off Emirghian ,m idway up the Bosphorus

,and in

front Of us was the Viceroy’s palace close to the water’sedge. Our two Arab servants , Shaheen and Hussein,

had

remained behind with Mr and Mrs Freeland, and we soonfound the consequence of being thus unprovided. N O

por ters , no assistance of any kind ! My trunks were inthe hold with the rest Of the harem luggage , but I hadleft a carpet-bag and some light packages in my cabin , and

I went down to look after them . All had disappeared ;the eunuchs had been into every cabin ,

and had clearedaway their contents. This was Of course their duty ,and they had not made any distinction between my thingsand others’. But where were they taken ? N O one

could tell.The palace for his Highness

,and that for his harem

,

were close to the water,a road only separating them from

i t. The whole Shore of the Bosphorus on both Sides ismountainous

,occasionally precipitous , but generally rising

gradually from the water’s edge. The ground belonging

to the Khédive i s laid out in the English style , partakingOf park and garden. When purchased by his Highness

,

there were houses standing at different elevations , some ofwhich were allowed to remain, to lodge different members


formerly been a harem. There was a second entrance

to i t besides that from the small house in front (whichwas occupied by Zohrab Bey, his nephew ,

and MrMichell).It had an Open space in front Of it, which was plan tedwith trees ; and we put rocking- chairs and a table out

there, which made a pleasant shady resort, though the

high walls Shut out all view. From the upper storeythere would have been a beautiful view but for the

thick foliage of the trees and those dreadful lattice-workblinds outside the windows

,which impeded the view

without excluding the sun.

My room had seven windows , four Of which werecompletely blocked up by trees. It was at the easternend of the house, and nearest to the water ; and fromthe other three windows there was a very lovely viewto the north up the Bosphorus, impeded only by the

lattice-work blinds. But the windows had no cords tothem ,

so that they were mos t diffi cult to open,and when

Open, very diffi cult to Shut. They had to be proppedopen with sticks

,and when the s ticks were withdrawn ,

great care had to be taken,or the window would come

down with a crash and some panes of glass would flyout.

My pupil did not come for the first few days , until thehouse was in some order, which was at last accomplished.On the second day I relieved my labours a little by .

taking a walk in the grounds , and most beautiful theywere. They were on the slope of the hill— clumps Of

trees , Open grassy swards, and flower- beds,broad gravel

paths,winding about so as to make the ascent easy , and

a large piece of ornamental water , with a rockery behind.Every path commanded a beautiful view

,which con

stantly widened as each walk rose terrace- like above thelast. At the foot of the hill was the Bosphorus

,which

like a broad r iver extends for about twenty miles, con

V IEW OF THE BOSPHORUS. 7 9

necting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora. The

width is irregular, and the outline of the coas t formsnumerous little bays. Emirghian i s about ten miles tothe north of Constantinople , but the windings of the

channel prevent the latter city from being seen until

you are close to it. Across the Bosphorus is the beautifulShore of A sia Minor, also hilly. At the top of the hillat Emirghian is a road to Pera, the best that has beencons tructed , but the Bosphorus is the great highway forall. Steamers start several times during the day fromYenimahalle to Constantinople

,and vice versa , stopping

at stated times at different stations. Some keep to theEuropean Shore, others go zigzag from one Shore to the

other,— tedious , i f speed is your Object ; but agreeable if,

as a s tranger, you are only seeking to charm your eye

and witness change of sceneryOn the third day, as I found my pupil was not coming,

I went into Constantinople. The s tation i s about fiveminutes’ walk from the palace, and I waited there untila steamer came

,which fortunately was one Of the best,

as it had an upper deck , from whence an excellent viewis obtainable. The panorama is exceedingly fine on bothSides

,hills rising sometimes from the water’s edge

,with

palaces , houses, and groves Of cypress and other treesto the summit. But what struck me most was

,what a

magnificent road might be made along this noble channel ,if in the hands of a civilised Government. . Every available site by the water was taken up either by a palaceor mosque, but more frequently by the wooden houseOf some Turk of the upper class, many of the roomspositively hanging over the water, while underneath weremoored the ca

’

iques belonging to the family. I landed atthe bridge at the entrance of the Golden Horn. It isa wooden structure, connecting Constantinople with the

European suburbs of Galata and Pera on the northern


Side of the Horn. This bridge is now quite inadequateto the traffic occasioned by the steamers , and this causesgreat delay in landing and embarking. They start withvery fair punctuality , but you may have often to wait a

long while, and finally lose your steamer through inabilityto get over the interven ing Obstacles.On this first visit, however , I had no second steamer

to catch,but Simply to walk ashore ; SO I waited patiently

until I could accomplish this,amply repaid by the extra

ordinary scene before me. Perhaps there i s no place inthe world more striking to a s tranger than that whichpresents itself on the first arrival at the bridge at Con

stantinople. The great variety Of costume worn by thepassers -by,

there congregated , as in one common centre,from every nation in Europe and A sia ; the city of

Stamboul to the left, with all its mosques and minaretsrising one above the other

,and the glorious view which

presents itsel f on every side,—all make a panorama of

unequalled beauty and interest. But once Off the bridgeand plunged into the narrow streets of Galata, and the

illusion is dispelled. In the steep ways which lead upto Pera there “ is no pathway. For carriages they are

impassable,but horses are led or ridden up and down

,

and it i s your business to get out of their way,not theirs

to avoid you. That would , however, be a small matter ,but for the many other impediments to progress. First

,

the way is paved with sharp pebbles , with occasionalhollows full of mud and water ; and it requires almostconcentrated attention to avoid the sharp angles and theholes. Then there are the hamals (or porters) alwaysascending or descending with some dreadful burden on

their backs , suffi cient to weigh down an ox. These menare bent down ,

and of course see nothing : as with thehorses , you must get out of their way,

not they out of

yours. Last Of all, there are the dogs , which lie stretched

THE PASHA’S COACHMAN. 8 1

across the streets,and never move for any one

,unless i t

is to join in a body to hunt Off some canine intruder thathas ventured to trespass on their territory.Once up the hill and at Pera, matters improve a little.

The streets are better paved ; and now and then , froman opening , you come upon a fine view. Here are all

the differen t European embassies and the best shops.But you have to get down again, and there i s no escapingthe same dangers and difficulties till you reach the bridge ,and again see the unequalled beauties of this grandest ofall Sites. I made up my mind after one visit to Galataand Pera that noth ing but sheer necessity should sendme there again ; but then some necessity was alwaysarising.AS the departure of the steamers (our only means oftransit) is all regulated by Turkish time, we soon foundthat our calculations enabled us generally to arrive at

the stations j ust aft-er the boat had left ; so we decidedto keep Turkish time with our watches

,while the large

clock in the hall , which we had brought from Choubrah ,

was kept a la franque to regulate the lessons. On the

fifth day after our arrival at Emirghian, Mr and Mrs

Freeland and their children came. They had been five

days on the voyage, but they had touched at severalplaces—at Rhodes

,Smyrna, &c.

The bright and at the same'

time cool weather,very

much like what we should have in England during a finesummer, seemed to me delightful after the heat of Egypt.Then the firm soil was so different from the soft sand ; buttastes do not always agree.One day I met Dick, the Pasha

’s coachman , who had

helped me SO kindly with my luggage,and I asked him

how he l iked the neighbourhood.“ Oh , I don

’t think anything of it,ma’am

,said he ;

you are always going up or down steps.”

F


Why, you don

’t mean to say you prefer Egypt 7

Y es, I do, ma’am

,

” said he,“ it

’s such a n ice level

country.The second Friday after our arrival we went in a body

to Stamboul , intending to visit the mosques. On the

bridge,however , we separated , and Mr and Mrs Freeland

and I , accompanied by our dragoman , Slowly proceeded,our attention attracted by every thing on our way. When

we got over the bridge there appeared to be a very goodroad to the left, and a tramway ; but as we did not know

whither it went , we thought it better to walk than to

enter one Of the omnibuses running upon i t. So we

toi led up the hill, unti l we came to the Mosque Of St

Sophia, and met Mr Michell and Shefket, who were j ustcoming out. We had been rather in doubt whether we

Should be admitted without an order ; but Mr Michellsaid they had had no diffi culty, and he was delighted withwhat he had seen , so on we went. Being Friday , it wasthe Mussulman Sabbath , and numbers of worshipperswere coming in and going out. All devoutly took Off

their shoes or slippers , and went in in their stockings,carrying their shoes in their hands. The floor is coveredwith matting , and at intervals of a few yards there are

Open channels, which are,I conclude

,to carry away more

easily the dust and dirt that must accumulate in the

building.We took Off our boots (Mr and Mrs Freeland both wore

laced boots , so it was a lengthy process), and carryingthem in our hands , entered in our stockings. It i s a

magnificent place , and we were walking slowly round,no one interfering with us or noticing us, when our

dragoman , anxious to Show us everything,led us across

the mosque, pas t many groups Of worshippers. Soon

there were angry countenances,several persons rose and

surrounded our dragoman,and insisted upon our going

ST SOPHIA. 83

out. Poor Shaheen resisted , and brought forward histalisman of “Highness’s people !” but it was Of no use

here ; he was in the hands of several fierce- looking Turks ,who were, I must say,

very fine- looking stalwart men.

One came up to Mr Freeland and took him by the

shoulder ; but the latter, knowing resistance to be vain ,

shook him Off, and calmly turned round to go out. A

few Turks escorted us to the nearest door, and watchedus while we put on our boots. Our dragoman was of

Opinion that a few francs would have smoothed mattersand enabled us to remain

,but I think he was mistaken ,

and that we were in the wrong in crossing the mosqueamong the worshippers ; had we kept to the outer circlewe Should have seen as well, and not interfered withthose who were performing their devotions . This wasmy first visi t to St Sophia

,now for four hundred years a

Mahometan mosque,and for a thousand years previous

a Christian church ! Will it ever become SO again ?

The climate Of Constantinople during the month of

June struck us as a good deal like that of England.During the first fortnight of our stay rain fel l on sixdays

,and the thermometer outside my window varied

from 66°

to An alley,with trees arching overhead ,

thus forming an effectual screen from sun or rain ,and

paved with smooth round pebbles,led from the house we

inhabited to the gates of the harem , so that weather neverprevented the Pasha and Princess from coming to us .

One evening I went to visit Mdlle. 0 . who resided inthe harem with his Highness’s second daughter. AS Iwas not going to one of the princesses , I did not enter at

the principal door, but at the general entrance for everyone who has business in the harem. A lthough I was asking for a European (or more properly a Levantine), I foundthe rule of never mentioning a woman’s name beyond theharem applied even here

,for I could not make them

8 -1: RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

understand whom I wanted,until I bethought myself of

the Turkish term hoja , which signifies“ teacher.

In front of the door, which was as wide as that of a

coach -house,sat two eunuchs ; i t was opened sufficiently

wide to allow you to enter, and formed thus a sort of laneto the doorway

,which was only the usual Size. This wide

door was in order to prevent the men in the courtyard,or

any passers -by through it , from seeing into the haremcourt when anybody went out or in

, as would otherwisehave been the case. When I got into the court, theSpectacle which presented itsel f was rather singular ; numbers of female faces looked down from the latticed w indows

,and groups stood about

,some talking , others loung

ing listlessly. Many of them were fair as Eur opeansthey were mostly Georgians or C ircassians ; others wereblack as ebony , and these were for the most menialOffi ces , as no idea Of beauty is connected with them.

The C ircassians all wore loose dresses , mostly white, butthe black women had very gaudy colours . There is a

garden round the harem,surrounded by high walls , and

that serves for exercise and recreat ion for all the slaves.It was only the princesses, accompanied by their immediate attendants and escorted by eunuchs, who had theprivilege of walking in the grounds beyond the haremwalls. This they usually did in the even ing betweenfive and seven ; and the appearance of the eunuchs whopreceded and followed them was a signal to any man to

get out of the way. It was the etiquette also for ladiesto turn aside

,unless desired to approach. Shefket, who

was then about fi fteen or sixteen years old, and who hadl ived in the harem during his childhood , would sometimescome suddenly upon the ladies at a sharp angle whichhad concealed their approach . The second Princess , whowas always very kind to those connected with her children ,

would cal l out,

“ Oh,never mind

,Shefket ; but


on account Of the view in ascending the hill to Scutari.A fter more than an hour’s walk we reached the Turkishcemetery. There is nothing to divide it from otherground

,the road runs through it, and on the Scutari

s ide , on the slope of the hill , there are many cafes closeby the tombs , and people sit among them and sip theirbeverage , whatever it may be. On the Scutari side theascent is very steep

,and there is no view. On the Kadi

keui Side the ascent is more gradual , and the view magnificent, but O ften behind you , SO that it is necessary toturn back to enjoy it fully. We had taken some luncheonwith us , and we sat down on one of the tombs , underthe shade of some cypress - trees

, and, facing Kadikeui ,

looked down on the exquisite scenery. Before us thel ittle Bay of Kadikeui

,Princes’ Islands

,and the Sea Of

Marmora. Opposite,on our righ t

, Stamboul with itsdomes and minarets ris ing like the seats Of an amphitheatre. There was plenty Of movement looking downon the water , wi th the numerous ca

'

iques and steamerspassing and repassing ; but around us was a city of thedead

,and during a full hour that we sat there no one

passed along the public road,which was a few hundred

yards from us. Then we slowly walked towards Scutari ,and as we drew nearer we found cafes abounding amongthe tombs , and many people seated there , smoking and

drinking. The cypresses were planted here so thicklythat all view was shut out ; and when the descent began

(a very steep and stony one), we seemed suddenly to passfrom the cemetery to the town , as there was no separationwhatever between the tombs and the houses

,the abodes of

the dead and Of the l iving.When we reached the port we found the steamer would

not go across for a full hour. We knew this pretty wellbeforehand , but as i t was our first visit

,we had reckoned

upon finding some place where we could Sit down and

BOSPHORUS BOATMEN. 8 7

feast our eyes on the view . N O such place was to be

found ; the shore was encumbered with boats and boatmen

,and cafes Of the lowest class. O ur inquiries respect

ing the departure of the steamer brought a number Of

boatmen round us , who almost overturned us in theirendeavours to get us into their respective boats. One

offered to take us across for five piastres (aboutanother had a four - oared boat, and would take us forseven ; then a dozen more rushed upon us , vociferatingto such a degree that w e turned back for shelter in thetown. But the Sharp pebbles and want Of Shade droveus back again

,and at last we got a four- cared caique, and

had a delightful row across to the bridge. There we founda s teamer waiting which luckily had an upper deck , andw e reached Em irghian at about 6 PM . We had beeneight or n ine hours walking or sitting in the Open air

without any feeling Of fatigue. Every week w e madeone or two such excursions , Of which the freshness and

charm were indescribable ; but we were yet in June, andthe great heat had not begun.

CHA PTER IX.

On the Bosphorus—IlIuslapha’s house—Roumeli-Hissar—Anniversary of

the Sultan’s a ccession - ]llam ina tions— Tramway in Stamboul—Sep ar

ate omnibuses for harem We make the circuit of the walls of Cons tantinop le

—Frequent change of temp era ture—Turkish money

—Turkishlanguage.

I have Observed that my room had seven windows , fourof which were blocked up by trees ; the remain ing three

,

however, commanding splendid views—two to the east,

across the Bosphorus and on the Opposite Shore of Asia


Minor,and the third up the channel towards the Black

Sea. Our house was a considerable height above the

water,nearly at the edge of a small platform of level

ground,so that the direct descent was very steep. At

the north - eas t corner of my room I looked out upon a

smal l grass plot,and after about a fortn ight’s stay at

Emirghian I saw a quantity of building mater ials heapedon this gras s plot, and wondered what was going to bedone. A l ittle observation made it quite clear to me thata building of some sort was about to be erected therewhich would effectually shut out my view. I made in

quiries, and was told‘

that a house for Mustapha the cock

was to be built on that spot ! N ow the name of Mus

tapha had been a bugbear . to us for a long time , and forthis reason : he had offi ciated as cook to our predecessors

(General Maclean and hi s family) ; but he was employed

for them and not by them , so that they had no controlover him. The complaints concern ing him had been so

many and frequent that when we arrived it was decided adifferent plan should be adopted ; a certain sum was to be

paid monthly,and we were to employ our own cook.

This plan was much more satis factory to us ; but whenwe left Cairo this” allowance ceased , and we dismissed our

cook,as we might be for an uncertain period staying at

hotels. When w e first arrived at Emirghian our household was not organ ised ; when it was, we found to our

dismay that Mustapha was to be our cook. I don’t knowwhether he was brought from Egypt for that purpose

,but

I should think it more l ikely that he managed to securehimself a passage on one of the Viceroy’s s teamers, havingpreviously ascertained that we had no cook with us

,and

then turned up j ust when one was inquired for. An

Arab does not want much accommodation,but he wants

a Shelter for the n ight,and there was none for him. I

don’t know how they had managed on former occasions ;


I went in a cai que to Roumel i-Hissar , where there are

Splendid remains of an Old fortress built by Mahommed

II. two years before the taking of Constantinople. I wasastonished at the vastness of the ruins. There are five

towers,and I went up the highest, from whence a mag

nificent V iew is obtainable. In three months this castlewas finished , the walls being thirty feet thick , and high inproportion ; but a thousand masons had been driven to

gether to construct the fortress , and multitudes wereassociated with their labours , bringing together the neces

sary materials. From the highest of the towers enormousguns threw stone balls of more than six hundredweight ,thus compell ing every passing Ship to pay tol l or be sunk ,for this fortress was built at the narrowest part of the

Bosphorus.The ruins cover a very large space of ground

, and withinthe walls are many smal l houses constructed from the

crumbling materials , for in the East ruins are not kept inpreservation ,

but any one helps himsel f from the debris i fhe can do i t conveniently.I went very often to Roumel i-Hissar

,but always by

caique or steamer. It was quite within a walk had therebeen one by the water- side , bu t this was taken up byhouses hanging over the stream

,and the only way was

behind them by narrow s tony paths and through a dirtyvillage. The best walk by the water- Side i s that fromTherapia to Buyukdere , which is on the coast the wholeway ; but then we had to take steamer or ca

'

ique to Therapia. A t this latter place are the summer residences ofthe principal ambassadors. It i s a charming breezy resort

,

looking up towards the Black Sea,and many degrees cooler

than at Pera.

The 25th Of June was the anniversary of the Sul tan’saccession , and from an early hour there had been a con

stant succession Of gay boats passing down the Bosphorus ,

ACCESSION FETE . 9 1

not the least interesting being those Of the different ambassadors , who went to Constantinople to pay their re

spects to the Sultan. The Khédive was expected to arrivefrom Egypt on that day ; but he did not come beforeevening

,having stayed some hours in Constantinople to

pay his respects to the Sultan. I went down the hill tothe water-side at about 5 PM . to see the arrangements forthe illuminations. Carpets were Spread close to the shore

,

and on these numbers Of women had taken up their pos ition for hours beforehand. Their bright feridjees and

white yashmaks had an exceedingly pretty effect ; but theTurkish yashmale is very different from the hideous Egyptian veil

,which makes a woman look like a spectre. Most

of these gashmales were of the thinnest material , so thatthe face was not in the least concealed, but rather embellished. They did not hide the features SO much as doesthe vei l worn by an English lady. The carpets which are

spread along the shore on these occasions are kept sacred

to the women ,and wherever there is an Open space be

tween the houses and the water, the best position s are at

once taken up. The men must content themselves withstanding behind. Every house along the shore contributesits quota to the illuminations

,and arrangements are made

for throwing up fireworks in the middle of the stream. Itis a very pretty sight to see the long line of light on eachside fringing the water and reflected in it. The palace of

Emirghian was of course one of the most brilliant sightson the Bosphorus , as were also the steam—yachts of hisHighness

,which were moored in front.

A day or two after,I went in to Stamboul on an explor

ing expedition ,and upon reaching the s tation found the

steamer had n ot yet arrived . There were some Turkishladies wai ting there

,escorted by a eunuch

,and they would

willingly have entered into conversation with me ; butwhen one

’s knowledge of the language is confined to de


clining the personal pronouns and counting up to a hun

dred , conversation becomes diffi cult, so our efforts failed.When the boat came , I saw that i t had no upper deck

,and

as it appeared rather crowded I thought I would go intothe part devoted to

“ harem ,SO fol lowed my Turkish

ladies. I found the part appropriated to the women was atthe fore of this vessel , though generally it is at the stern ,

and I had to pass a great crowd to get to it. It 13dividedfrom the rest O f the vessel by a screen of canvas , butwhen I had passed under that, I found matters muchworse. N ot only was every seat taken,

but there was no

standing-room,many being squatted on the ground, and

resenting highly any pressure, which under the circumstances it was impossible to avoid. A fter half an hour ofpurgatory, I determined upon extricating mysel f if posSible, and got out, trampling on somebody’s limbs

'

at

every step,and calling forth much animadversion. These

vessels are sometimes terribly crowded , particularly at

certain hours of the day. They are numbered , and I gotto know them all

,and tried to avoid those which had not

an upper deck.I first went to the Tower of Galata, which is on the hill

Side between Galata and Pera , and was constructed by theGenoese as a watch - tower to give notice to the inhabitantsof the outbreak of fire, an event of frightfully frequentoccurrence. There are 1 80 steps to reach the top, severalrooms in the upper part Of the tower, wi th windows commanding views on every Side, and an outer gallery, fromwhich the view is still more extensive. Looking from thisgallery upon the narrow and crooked ways leading downto the port

,I saw two new streets , broad , and with some

fine houses. The frequen t fires do a great deal to clearout the city

,and make the work of a Baron Haussman

much easier. The Government decreed that no housesShould be rebuilt of wood

,so that large tracts desolated

94 RECOLLECTION S OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

appeared very clear looking down the road from above,became very intri cate in practice, and I got into a verynasty crowded neighbourhood—near the water, it i s true,but with no apparent means of reaching the bridge. Iarrived there at last

,however, and then thought the Turk

ish Government perfectly in the right not to let such densbe rebuilt when once fire had cleared them away and purified the air.

On another day we started to make the circuit of thewalls of Constantinople. We had heard that a steamerleft the bridge at a certain hour every morning for theSeven Towers ; but although we were in very good time,we had the mortification of seeing this boat go off beforewe could leave the steamer , as, on account of the dififlcultyof approaching near enough to the bridge, we were fulltwenty minutes in landing. We, however, engaged a

caique to take us to the Seven Towers , and were carefulto make a bargain beforehand. As soon as we got roundSeraglio Point, w e found the sea very rough

,owing to a

strong south - east wind which blew on to the shore. Ourrowers pulled man fully for some t ime ; but then s topped,and urged us to land at Yeni Kapou

, about midway between Seraglio Point and the Seven Towers, refusing totake us further than that unless we paid treble the sumstipulated. When we engaged the ca

'

ique, i t was quitesheltered from this wind

,which was not felt until we were

in the Sea Of Marmora ; and as we saw that the men hadreally worked hard , and were streaming with perspiration,

we agreed to land at Yen i Kapou , though it entailed a

long walk through the town in addition to that from the

Sea ofMarmora to the GoldenHorn. We were also movedthereto by the roughness of the sea

,which caused more

motion than was quite agreeable. We had very much enjoyed the row hitherto, because it had given us quite a

new view. Before, when seen from the deck Of a steamer,

THE SEVEN TOWERS. 9 5

our attention had always been so engrossed by the panorama on the hillside, domes and minarets rising up one

above another , wi th the rich , dark cypress everywhere intermingling, that we had entirely overlooked the walls.But here in the ca

'

ique we were close under them ,and saw

nothing beyond. A t short intervals rose massive towers ,built to defend the walls , but, like them ,

crumbling awayin ruins. The waves beat against them ; and in imagination the memory goes back for centuries , for nothing livingis to be seen. The length of the walls from Seraglio Pointto the Seven Towers is Six miles ; from the latter to the

Golden Horn (being on the land Side) the distance is fourmiles , and on the harbour Side about three.Upon landing at Yen i Kapou we proceeded sometimes

through narrow streets , sometimes through open tractswhich had been desolated by fire

,and where we saw a rail

way in process of construction— it was the l ine to Adrianople, a small part of which was already open. This walkwas rather arduous

,but at last we reached the Seven

Towers , and then began the chief interes t for us. The

road for about four m iles run s along the edge of the moatwhich bounds the Outer wall— a scene of picturesquebeauty , and at the same t ime of desolation , which defiesdescription. On one side you have the walls

,with the

many towers , all intertwined with ivy, and every breachmade in them by the frequent sieges fi lled up by trees.On the other hand is a vast cemetery, extending the wholelength of the road, and shaded by groves of cypress - trees ,before and behind the glorious views over the GoldenHornand the Sea of Marmora. Such a walk as this

,taken as

we did in June,with all the exquisite tints which then

prevail on land , sea, and sky , can hardly be surpassed inthis world. For any one who can do it

,walking is on such

occasions far preferable to riding or driving,as the rests

under the cypress -trees and among the tombs are so de


lightful. Only I resolved another time to reverse the

rout e, and go by the Golden Horn ,instead Of returning by

it,as by far the finest views are towards the Sea of Mar

mora. There are five or Six gates on the land side leadinginto the town

,and near these gates were the only signs of

life. Here were cafes, and generally a few persons seated .A cafe is a very Simple affair in Turkey ; a man wants noother capital than a few chairs and a coffee-

pot, and thenhe sets up in business. We loitered about for nearly fourhours on this road, and at last got down to the GoldenHorn

,and engaged a ca

'

ique. One rower suffi ced for thiscalm water, and most refreshing it was to stretch one

’ssel f out in the ca

'

ique and glide along over the smoothsurface. The water is so deep that ships of the largestsize can be moored close to the Shore, with their prowsresting against the houses ; but in the upper part Of theharbour there are l ittle bays , where the water is Shallow ;and I saw many buffaloes’ heads j ust above the surface, asthese creatures delight to go and stand in it. Thirty-fiveminutes brought us to the bridge, where we found our

steamer, and returned to Emirghian.

As July advanced the weather became hotter,though

frequent rain modified the temperature. We found itvery difficult to keep free from cold

,on account of the

great transitions which occurred in the climate. Our

house faced the south , and was on the hillside, so i t

might appear very hot when we started on one Of our

numerous expeditions. Arrived on the steamer,and seated

on the upper deck , you found , if the wind blew from the

north,that a Slight wrap was desirable. Landed at the

bridge, the ascent to Pera was sometimes overpowering,

as no breath of wind came till you had reached the top.Later in the day you returned by steamer ; the northwind was in your face, and pierced you through. Therewas always the alternative Of descending to the main


The grammar is beautifully simple, but I found the characters very difficult. They have no capitals and no stops

,

and the letter is Often written differently, according as it

is in the beginning,middle, or end of the word. A book

commences on the last page, and ends on the first ; it iswritten from right to left, and not from left to right, asours are. I got Mallouf

’

s Grammar and Dictionaries withthe phonetic pronunciation ,

but unfortunately no com

bination of letters in our European languages can ade

quately give the sound of some Turkish and Arabic words.Sometimes we had two or three days Of wet weather

,

heavy drenching rain, and at such t imes we missed sadly

the ordinary conveniences of English li fe. Rain neverprevented our pupils from coming. I have mentionedthat there was an alley paved with smooth round pebbles ,and with thick foliage arching overhead , which led fromthe house we inhabited down to the harem ; and as it wason a rather steep slope, the wet ran Off quickly, but thel ittle garden surrounding our house was on such occasionsfull Of pools of water , which they had to get throughsomehow ; and as we had neither scrapers nor door-mats

,

the dirt brought in to the house may readily be imagined.When we firs t saw rain we were quite delighted , but thenovel ty soon wore Off

, and then we sighed for fine weather ,which came in due course ; but the months of July andAugust are generally very hot at Constantinople , exceptperhaps a day or two after the rain,

when i t would bevery pleasant.

A PICNIC. 9 9

CHA PTE R X.

Picnic to the Forest of Belgrade—Sudden app earance of the cooka t d inner

—The Viceroy returns to Egyp t—Unexpected dep arture of the Pa sha

a nd his household—Am a tfi rst lef t unp rovided for—Grea t imp rovementin afi

'

a irs Wea ther in Augus t—S lave children—Ca nd iti—Cha rming

res idence there—Ra ilway from Consta ntinop le to the Seven Towers

M iss the sta tion—Eup hra tes Valley scheme.

We had a picnic to the Forest of Belgrade , which isabout n ine or ten miles from Emirghian. Servants weresent Off the n igh t before to make preparations in a kioskbuil t near one of the reservoirs. They went in carts drawnby white oxen and laden with provisions. The Forest ofBelgrade contains the water - supply of Constantinople ;the trees are therefore carefully watched. It is the onlyforest on the Thracian side of the Bosphorus. There isthe fine aqueduct, consisting of twenty- one arches , builtby Sultan Mahmoud in 1 732, a noble structure , whichspans the valley. Under this, our road led us to the

kiosk Situated near one of the great reservoirs. The wholeway was hilly, and we . had occasional lovely glimpses of

the Bosphorus.The Princess and I , with two or three others ,

started at

once for a walk. She was as much inclined for activeexercise as an English girl would have been , and was

never so happy as when making one of these excursions.This was to be her last summer Of l iberty. What misgivings she might have had respecting the future I cannottell, as we never spoke of her approaching seclusion.Though the day was hot , the Shade of the forest was so

deep that we felt neither heat nor fatigue, but wanderedon until the lalla who attended the Princess was loud inhis remonstrances , as great people in the East are supposednot to have the free use of their limbs , and he feared a


scolding if his young mistress were fatigued. Thesepicnics are expensive affairs to the Viceroy

,particularly

when they occur in Turkey. £30 were actual ly distributed in backsheesh among the soldiers at Bagtchekeui andthe few inhabitants of the place

,not one Of whom did

anything for us !I have mentioned Mustapha the cook , and our disgust

at finding he was appointed as our chef. I must describea l ittle his way Of cooking, to account for our repugnance.The meat was cut up into square blocks , quite irrespectiveof joints ; it was wel l soaked in water, and then cooked.Thus there would be many pieces of meat on the table,very sodden and tasteless ; vegetables floating in water

,

and various sweet dishes which custom only can makepalatable. This would be at luncheon ,

when the Pashaand the Princess were present ; at dinner, in the evening

,

it was worse. An enormous quantity was cooked at

luncheon ,the greater part of which went away un

touched ; and this was reproduced at n ight, having beenplaced by the fire a sufficient time to make the outsideSkin warm ,

while the meat remained quite cold. As therewas no change , and the same dishes appeared every day,we gave them various names

,as the

“ inevitable, the“ invariable,

”&c.

,&c. A word to his Highness would

have changed all this , as was proved when it was Spokenlater ; but there was no one to Speak it. The Pasha wasat the schoolboy age, when everything goes down and the

palate is not critical ; the Princess took no notice of i t,

but we grumbled every day. On one occasion,however,

at luncheon,there was such a general chorus Of complaint

that I suppose one of the Arab attendants told Mustapha,

for he suddenly appeared at the door (which was alwaysOpen) , and addressing the Pasha, asked him what therewas to complain Of, adding that he had four cooks underhim ,

all employed in a room not large enough for one ;


Mr Freeland. With him theywere provided for ; without him , they would not have been. By-and-by the Princess and Kopses came up , and the former told me whathad occurred on the previous night. TheViceroy had settledto leave that night

,but the second Princess was drinking

the Broussa waters,upon which her life was said to de

pend , so she was to remain and her children with her.The Pasha had been rather hard worked Of late ; and

,

boylike, he longed for a little holiday. If his fatherwould only take him also

,there would be the voyage , and

the illuminations in Egypt on their arr ival , whereas if hestayed behind there would be nothing but lessons

,lessons

This wrought so much on his feelings that he began to

cry ; and the Viceroy , who was tenderly attached to the

boy, determined to take him with him. Then there wasa general outburs t of grief. The Pasha wept because hisfather was going ; the mother wept because her son wishedto leave her. The l ittle Princess had cried for some timepast to think how dull She would be when her brotherand all were gone ; she had only three months more Of

l iberty,and then all social intercourse would cease for

ever ! The Slaves all cried because everybody else did ,for both crying and laughing are infectious. SO the Pashawas got privately out Of the room ; and once on board withhis father, messages were sent for his things to be packedup

, and all his household to follow him in a day or two

and at daybreak the Mahroussah departed. One day was

given for packing up , and on the next the educationalstaff, consisting O f Mr Freeland (and his family), Mr

Michell ; Sheikh Ali and Mustapha Effendi , the Arabicand Turkish masters ; and Signor Luigi , the drawingmaster

,sailed. Shefket had been left behind by the

Pasha, and was also to accompany them.

The two l ittle girls came up to the house as usual,but

not with their customary buoyancy and merry laughter.

THE PRINCESS AND HER FRIENDS. 1 03

They went quietly through their lessons , and then loiteredabout

,looking on at the preparations for departure, and

saying little. A s the time for leaving drew near, one

after another Of the party came to the Princess to bid herfarewel l. She thanked them each in turn for the kindness they had shown her, of which She said she shouldalways have a grateful remembrance ; but when Shefketcame, suppressing with difficulty his own feelings , andrespectfully kissed her hand , she broke out into SObs

,and

was some time in recovering herself. The four childrenhad been for years companions and playmates , and thatwas to be over now for ever ! Kopses , who was Of a

different character , tried to laugh off the parting. “ Y ou

will never see us again, she said , but we shall see you ,

and hear everything concern ing you ; we shall O ften passclose to you , and you will not know us. But She felt theShock quite as much as the Princess.I walked down the hi ll w ith our friends , and went on

to the steamer with them ,coming away as soon as the

boat was ready to start. I watched it go down the stream ,

until it rounded the point of Roumeli-Hissar, when it waslost to view

,and I returned slowly to the house. I fel t

very lonely, for there was not a creature in it but myself.The Princess and Kopses had gone down to the harem,

and the servants had all departed in the Jafferia with themasters. Zohrab Bey was to come and occupy the otherend of the house on the following day. .I went to theselamlilc, which , as I have before said , was the

-

little housein front, and routed out Pancotti , Zohrab Bey

’s Greekservant

,asking him to find m e something to eat. He

brought me some bread and a l ittle coffee, but he hadnothing more. The evening passed sorrowfully enough.I had no dinner , SO I went on a foraging excursion throughall the rooms , and discovered some remnants of bread andwine, upon which I regaled mysel f. When I went to my


room,I soon perceived there would be no res t for me

there. A party of “ wretches ,”

as Mrs Freeland’s nursewould have called them,

but in plain English some Of the

Viceroy’s Arab followers, had seized upon the little woodenhouse built for Mustapha. the coOk. They sang in fullchorus a sort of demoniacal chant, varied with occasionalhowling and stamping. I descended in search Of ZohrabBey, who was not to be found , but I prevailed on

Paneotti to go to them , and after some parley the noiseceased.On the following day my pupil did not come, a nd I was

quite alone. Pancotti again got me some coffee,and lun

cheon was sent up to me from the table kept in the palacefor the di fferent emp lcgés , but to which I could not go

alone.Zohrab Bey came into the house that day, and some

Sl ight improvement took place, as a man was brought into sweep the rooms , but I could not get any dinner or anycoffee. I went several times in search of Zohrab Bey, buthe was never to be found. It was no part of lfis businessto minister to my wants—he was physician to the harem

,

but we had got into the way of applying to him in all

difficulties , and ,to do him justice

,he was always ready to

help us when he thought of i t. He had a great deal to do,and as he was verging towards seventy

,he began to find

that many Of the extra duties he had, through his goodnature

,taken upon himsel f

,were too much for him. He

did not like to say N O,

”SO he would sometimes keep out

of the way for days on such occasions.On the second day after the departure of the Pasha’s

suite the Princess and her companion came u p to me.

They came early as u sual (between seven and eight),expecting to breakfast with me

,but no preparations

whatever had been made. As Zohrab Bey was not to be

found , I spoke to his servant Pancotti, and asked him to


the Princess came back , and told me that her mother wasvery much vexed that I Should have been SO neglected ;she had inquired of Zohrab Bey,

directly after the Pasha’sdeparture, whether my wants were provided for , and hesaid he would see to them ; and so no doubt he meant to

do,only he forgot all about i t.All was now

,however

,rectified. One of the French

servants of his Highness’s household was charged to see

that a proper table was provided for me ; and M.Mouletwas not a man to neglect any duty which he undertook.Breakfast , luncheon , and dinner were brought to us at

fixed hours. The fare was excellent , the punctual ityadmirable. The Princess and Kopses came up everymorn ing to breakfast with m e and remained unti l abouthal f-past four.Up to this t ime we had always given a good half -hour

before luncheon ,and the same t ime after it , to play ; and

the Princess was not a person to pass this time in inactivity. But just now it was very hot, and there wereonly three of us ; consequently games were less amusing

,

so I was constantly urged to tel l stories. I had beenvery anxious for a long time to get the Princess into thehabit Of reading for her own amusement, and j ust then Isucceeded in doing i t

,to my great joy. The momen t

lessons were over,she and her compan ion ran out into the

little garden in front of the house, established themselvescomfortably in rocking- chairs , at a little distance fromeach other

,and there they read half aloud. One day

in our morn ing reading the Princess,who was always

very anxious to unders tand thoroughly what she read ,asked m e some question, and I in reply added

,

“ But

that will lead me into a long story,and as I know it will

interest you, I will tell you after lessons. A fter luncheonI remembered this , and proposed to tell her the story Ihad promised in the morning. In a general way She

CAN DILI. 1 07

would have laid aside anything to li sten ,but on this

occasion she said ,“ Oh , pray don

’t tell me now ! I

’m

so interested in my book , I can think of nothing else !”

O f course I was delighted , as of all things I wished her toacquire a love of reading.The day before leaving Emirghian Mrs Freeland hadkindly taken me over ‘

to Gandili,on the A siatic Side of the

Bosphorus , to introduce me to some friends ot hers , as Shej ustly thought I Should be very lonely

,and glad Of some

English acquaintances. The name Of this family was

Hanson , and Mr Hanson had been for many years one

of the leading bankers of Constantinople. Gandili islittle promontory j utting out on the Bosphorus

,with a

terribly steep and stony ascent from the water - side, SOuninviting that I was not at all prepared for the lovelyview which awaited me after entering the house and

passing a little way through the garden. It came uponme all at once while wandering among shady trees alongterraces of different heights, in all of which the treesarched overhead. Suddenly I found mysel f on a littlegrassy platform

,with an exquisite V iew of the Bosphorus ,

taking in Con stantinople and Scutari. Other views wereto the north , and commanded the upper part of the BOS

phorus towards Therapia and Buyukdere. Mr Hansontold me that a short time back the Sultan had come tohis house, and w as astonished to find so cool a place on

the Bosphorus. There was a complete colony of the

Hanson family established at different heights at Candili ,and the Sultan wished to purchase all the property and

build a kiosk there for himself. Mr Hanson had not

made up his mind whether he would sell it or not. Hetold me that many years before he was l iving at Therapia,and one of the Sultan’s predecessors had taken an equalfancy to that place, and had purchased it of him at doublethe price he had himsel f given.


I have said that our table had been wel l arranged,thanks to the second Princess ; but we were still verybadly Off for somebody to keep the rooms clean and in

order. Domestic service i s a great difli culty in the East.The natives have their Slaves

,and European or Levantine

residents are obliged to content themselves at first withvery indifferent attendance. I f they get a good servantthey take care to keep him ,

but it is rare that womenservants are to be met with. A t last we got a ferash, oregewass, as they call it in Turkish ; but as we had no

language in common,all efforts to come to a mutual under

standing were in vain. I set him to sweep the rooms ; heplaced all the furn iture in the centre , made an awfuldust

,then left the dust to settle, and me to settle the

furn iture. The heat for the last few days had beenintense, and the wind blew mostly from the south . Imistake

,however

,in saying i t blew

,for not a leaf stirred ;

but the quarter in which it laymade all the difference to thetemperature. It was 86

°

in the Shade in the little walledin garden in front of our house. When the wind blew fromthe north

,however high the thermometer might be, there

was always a cool breeze. A fter two or three daysOf such heat there would be thunderstorms and heavyrain. As all means of locomotion were by steamer or

caique, i t was very awkward to be caught in such stormyweather, as no Shelter is to be found ; so I went veryrarely beyond the large garden for two or three weeks.A S this garden was as large as a moderate - Si zed park , andcommanded the most exquisite views , being laid out bythe best landscape- gardeners , I might think myself fortunate to have such a charming place to walk in.

The second Princess had bough t a few Slave childrenwhom she was very anxious to have educated. She sentthem up to the school wi th the Princess , to Share her lessons as she said ; but I discouraged their coming, as I

1 1 0 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

seclusion was not a Mahometan doctrine— it had existedin the East long before Mahomet ; but in all countries,the more civil ised a state became, the higher did womenrise in the social scale. She used to moralise upon all

this,and speak Of her past life of liberty much as an

elderly lady might do of her youth ; but one thing wasvery certain ,

that She dreaded the life of retirement thatlay before her.Towards the end of August there was lovely weather

after near ly a week of rain,and I determined to make

another excursion to the walls of Constantinople. I hadseen in the newspaper that part Of the railway to Adrianople was open , that the terminus was near the water- sideat the Stamboul end of the bridge, and that the firststation was at the Seven Towers.A friend in the neighbourhood accompanied me. In

stead of going on to the bridge as I had usually done, Ileft the steamer at Beshichtash to take the lovely walkbetween the Sultan’s palaces of Beshichtash and Dolmabagtche. Then I took the omn ibus to Galata

,and cross

ing the bridge, proceeded to the terminus. I imagine therailway is on a piece of ground belonging to the SeraglioGarden ,

for it runs close under the walls of the city andnext the gardens ; from Seraglio Point i t does not followthe sea, but takes a short cut to the Seven Towers througha district desolated by fire. I had intended getting out atthe Seven Towers , and then walking along the walls tothe Golden Horn as I had done before ; but I had ex

pected the station to be near the Towers , as the name Of

it implied.I had become much interested in a conversation with a

gentleman in the Opposite seat to me. He was a Persian,

and Spoke French very well. He was speaking of the

project then much talked Of, for constructing a railwaycommunication between England and India through A sia

ST STEFANO . 1 1 1

Minor and the Euphrates Valley. This gentleman had

been much in Europe, both in Paris and London , and

seemed greatly to prefer the latter. He had been the lastyear in Turkey , and was on the following day going backto his own country. Like all educated Orientals , he feltthe backward state of the East in compar ison with thecountries ofWestern Europe. We were in the midst ofa most animated conversation when the train stopped , andI looked out to see i f the Seven Towers were visible ; butneither they nor any station was to be seen ,

so I continuedthe conversation. The ground on which we then werewas where the fire had raged, and as nothing had beenrebuilt all looked very desolate. In a minute or two

,

however, the train went on again ,passed beyond the wal ls

of the city, and into the

‘

open country. Then I knew wehad lost our station

,and had to consider what was to be

done. The walk we had projected was impossible ; therewas nothing for it bu t to stop at the first pretty stationwe came to , and then take the next train back again to

the bridge. Though a long summer day,there were very

few trains went, and we had always to think of being in

time to catch the last steamer from the bridge up theBosphorus.The next place (Macrikeui) at which the train stoppeddid not look very inviting

, but the Persian told us that hehimsel f was going to St Stefano, and that the next stationbeyond that was very pretty. So we settled to get out

there,and then returned to the Euphrates Valley scheme.

Soon the train stopped again,but the Persian was so in

tent upon explaining to me the exact line the railway wasto take

,that we never observed the stoppage. The train

went on,and then the Persian perceived that he had

passed his station ,the same as I had done mine. This

caused much merriment , and we made up our minds tokeep a Sharp look - out for the future. The next station


was Kutchuk -Tchekmedjie : i t looked very pretty, and

was close on the Sea Of Marmora, so we got out. Uponmaking inquiries, however, we found that a train would

go back directly , and another in about three hours. We

would willingly have stayed , but we might thereby losethe last boat , so we reluctantly returned by the next train ,

and the Persian got out at St Stefano.From what I heard afterwards , I had reason to think i t

was the Persian Min ister, who left Constantinople on the

following day.

CHA PTE R X I.

Turkish and Greek boa tmen—Sudden irrup tion of eunuchs into our little

garden—Clifi

”

walk on the Bosphorus—D ogs—Unexp ected return of

the Pasha and his suite—Excursion to Eyoub—Cur iosity of Turkish

women—Bufia loes in. the wa ter View f rom the cemetery a t Eyoub

Tobacco monop oly—C’and ili—A Pers ian nurse

’s ideas about a bedstead

—Br itish cemetery a t Scuta r i.

I went over one afternoon to Candili. This is on the

Asiatic side Of the Bosphorus , and although steamers crosszigzag from one side to the other, th e only prompt way isby ca

’

ique. I engaged one mysel f, settled the price inTurkish , and felt rather pleased at .

.my proficiency. WhenI left MrHanson’s house it was getting near sunset, andhis Greek servant escorted me down to the water-side bya Short cut

, which was like the rocky bed of a torrent,and in winter would probably be impassable. The Greekfound me a tolerably clean boat, but as he had no knowledge of Turkish he could not settle the price, and Ihad been told this was an indispensable thing beforeengaging a ca

'

ique. I began by O ffering the same sum

which I had paid coming over. A fter a glance around


amusing themselves by chasing one another about thegarden had suddenly discovered this door, and looking in,

saw a neat little lawn with rocking- chairs and a gOOd

swing. To rush in and take possession was the work of a

moment,and they signalised their entry by whoops and

yells of delight. My pupils shrieked with laughter, andI was Speechless with indignation. I had not then expe

rienced the dreary monotony of harem life,which w el

comes any grotesque incident as a relief to the pent-upspirits. I fel t that to reprove them for their intrusion inbroken Turkish might not produce a good effect

,so I Stood

at the window looking gravely down upon them ,and

they presen tly took their departure. These were, of

course,eunuchs belonging to the Viceroy. As a rule ,

these men are neither good - looking nor wel l-made, thoughthere are some exception s. I saw many at Constantinople who looked more like apes than men ,

particularlywhen seen on horseback. As they only belong to greathouseholds

,and implicit trust is reposed in them

,they are

treated with marked respect and cons ideration.

Mary Evans , his Highness’s dairy -woman,who provided

the butter for the royal table, and was consequentlyalways in the suite at every journey

,told me that many

Of the eunuchs were pashas . I had serious doubts on

the subject ; but as she told me She had repeatedly heardthem addressed as such

,I had no more to say. I found

afterwards that the real term She had heard was bachcaga ,

chief (or head) eunuch,which

,pronounced rapidly,

would sound like pasha, being called bash d’a.

During the month of August,as I had no one to join

me in excursions, I confined myself to l ittle s teamboattrips , getting out wherever I saw a walk along the Shore.At Yenimahalle, the last place where the steamers stop ,at the north Of the Bosphorus , is a charming cli ff walk,which looks on to the Black Sea, and Opens out many

AN INTRUDING DOG. 1 1 5

views not seen in other parts. I was obliged to go in toPera once a-week to the post, as I had no dragoman ( inthe absence of Shaheen) to send , and I also had occasionto go to the O ttoman Bank ; but it was in such a labyrinthof steep stony streets, so diffi cult to find, and when found,so diffi cult to get away from ,

that I did not care forexplorations in that quarter. I discovered an omnibusthat went by a circuitous route from Galata to Pera, andI thought I would try it ; but the shaking and jol ting wasso terrible that one trial suffi ced me.

I saw a funny Sight one day when waiting at Beshich

tash for a steamer to take me back to Emirghian. Therewas a little quay railed off as a landing-place ; but as thesteamer was not in Sight

,I got a chair and sat down on

the Shore,where I should be less crowded. A gentleman

came and sat down near me,waiting also for the steamer.

He had a l ittle dog with him ,and of course there were

plenty of dogs lying about as usual. They appeared to beasleep , but they scented the in truder at once and sur

rounded him,barking violently. In a minute their bark

ing was chorussed in every direction up and down the

Shore and upon the hills,and whole legions Of dogs were

seen hurrying to the spot to assist their compan ions to ex

pel the invader. The gentleman caught his dog up in hisarms

, and laid about him heartily with a stick which heheld in his hand

,backing in the

“ meanwhile towards therails , and flourishing his stick with great vigour. In thisway he got through the gate on to the little landing - place,and the army of dogs , after a few vain demonstrations ,disappeared.I went to pay a visit to the second Princess. She knewI had been studying Turki sh for a little while, and ex

pected I should be able to tel l her what I had seen in mymany excursions about Constantinople , but I could not

manage it at all. I said I had learned several dialogues ;


for instance , for engaging a ca'

ique, for taking rooms at anhotel , &c., &c. She told me to repeat them to her

,and I

did so as well as I could remember. She laughed heartily,and was good enough to tel l me that I Should Speak verywell i f I persevered. She always asked with great interestabout her daughter—was she making progress I reallythought my pupil was getting on very well , and I told hermother so

,at which she seemed much pleased.

A t the end of Augus t a great surprise awaited us. At

a very early hour one morning the Mahroussah arrived atEm irghian , and the Pasha and his suite had all landed before any of us had seen the boat. He wanted to surprisehis mother, and nothing whatever had been said or writtenabout his return. He had had his hol iday , had been present at the illuminations customary at the Viceroy’s re

turn ,and then had been established with his tutors at the

palace of Ras - cl-Tin near A lexandria. It had been a veryhot month with us on the Bosphorus , but it was muchmore so in Egypt

,and perhaps the Pasha might have re

pented a little having left a cooler climate but he becameindisposed : the doctors at once pronounced Egypt as toohot for him

,and recommended his immediate return to

Constantinople. SO the whole party came back again ,

with.

the exception of Mr Michell,who was given six

weeks’leave Of absence to visit England.

Very soon after their return,Mrs Freeland and I started

one day for an excursion up . the Golden Horn to visitEyoub. We did not contemplate visiting the mosqueof Eyoub, because it i s not permitted to Europeans toenter it, as i t is the holiest Of all to the Moslems. It

is there that each new Sultan girds on the sword Of

O thman, a ceremony equivalent to coronation in our

country.We went in by one of the usual steamer s as far as

the bridge and then parted company, agreeing to meet


the Golden Horn, but the greater part were moored inthe Bosphorus near O rtakeui.We landed at Eyoub ,

and bore always . to the rightuntil we came to the mosque

,which having almost cir

cumnavigated, we saw a steep path on the left hand,and

this led us through the cemetery of Eyoub on the hillside,thickly planted with cypress - trees. It is one of the mos tpicturesque and beau ti ful Sites that can be imagined.The weather was still hot, and the Shade of the cypresseswas very grateful. When we reached the top Of the hillwe had a view quite different from any w e had seen previously. The whole of Constantinople, the Golden Hornwith its numerous shipping, and the opposite suburbs ofPera and Galata, were spread out before us like a map.

In the background Of all, the.

chain ofMount Olympus inAsia Minor. The mosque itself is a very striking Object.We did not trouble ourselves about the steamer on our

way back to the bridge, but took a ca'

ique, which , on theGolden Horn , i s particularly enjoyable , as the water is socalm

,the harbour being quite Shut in. On the Bosphorus .

it is sometimes very rough ; and when on one or two

occasions we missed the last steamer,and had to return

to Emirghian in a ca'

ique, we saw plainly that in roughweather such a passage would not be wi thout some danger.Even in summer sudden gusts of wind frequently occur

,

and a caique is very easily upset. Near Roumel i-Hissar thecurrent i s so strong that for some distance the boats arealways towed along by men on the Shore, who thus maketheir l iving.A great sensation was occasioned about this time by

the fol lowing incident : The Turkish Government , as iswell known ,

has always been in dif ficulties through profuse expenditure, and i t was sugges ted to them that amonopoly of tobacco would be a profitable speculation.

Several merchants bid for i t, and i t was finally made over

THE TOBACCO MONOPOLY. 1 1 9

to a Greek for a term of five years ; the Greek agreeingto pay the Government Turkish pounds monthly.The Greek then formed a company

,and the Shares were

promptly taken up. All the tobacco brought into Constantinople and its suburbs was to pass through the handsof this company , and they sold at treble the price, andadulterated the qual ity. I have been told that about

persons in Constantinople, Pera, Galata, and Scutari l ive by the sale of tobacco, which is to the Orientalwhat beer is to the Briton. This monopoly thereforeoccasioned the greatest dissatis faction ,

smuggling to a

large extent prevailed , and many were the confl icts whicharose between the people and the excise Officers. It was reported that sixteen Of the latter had lost their l ives. Theystopped everybody in the streets and on the steamerswho had a parcel in their hands, lest it should containtobacco. They even penetrated into that part Of the

steamers which is appropriated to “ harem ,

”and attempted

to examine pockets , which so enraged the ladies that onone occasion the offender barely escaped with his life ,through the steamer s topping Opportunely at RoumeliHissar

,which gave him the chance of rushing off the

vessel. I am told that among Mahometans a woman maystrike a man

,but that he dares not l ift his hand against

her unless she i s his wife or Slave. A great many con

flicts had arisen , the people everywhere taking part againstthe excisemen , and matters began to look very serious.About the fi fth day the monopolist found placards

p osted up at his house, informing him that he wouldShortly be hanged at his own door, and he betook himselfin great trepidation to the Vizier for protection .

If they hang you,said the Vizier , I

’ll have them all

hanged.“ But that will not bring me to life again

,said the

Greek ;“ can’t you protect me now ? ”


N O,said the Vizier ; w e can only pun ish after the

crime has been committed.”

In this he exaggerated a l ittle, but he felt that theGovernment w as in an untenable position

,and i f the

Greek could be worked upon by his fears to break thecontract

,it would be less undignified than for the Gov

ernment to recede from the position it had taken. Be

sides , there was a penalty to be incurred by the partywhich broke the contract.The Greek had then recourse to the company , urging

them to withdraw from the contract ; but the shareholderstreated the matter with great indifference, and eventaunted him with cowardice. Time passed on

,smuggled

tobacco was to be met with everywhere, and the Government found themselves powerless to prevent its introduction

,without bringing the excisemen and the people into

serious collision. But the company , which had borne withso much equanimity the threats directed against the l ifeof the Greek , Showed much greater sensitiveness on

another point. Their receipts dimin ished day by day,

and were considerably below their expenditure. The

Government, seeing their advantage, no longer Showedthe slightest disposition to withdraw from the contract

,

and the company,with ruin staring them in the face

,

were glad to compromise the matter by forfeiting to theGovernment £T130,000 to be released from their con

tract. Nobody pitied them,and the tobacco- shops re

sumed their Old trade amid un iversal satis faction.

One day when at Candili,speaking of hotels as they

are and as they used to be in the Eas t, Mr Hanson toldus that when he first settled at Constantinople, any chancetraveller was always lodged at the house of some resident

,

i f he could get an introduction through his consul. Hehimself had taken in a great many travellers , some of

illustrious names. He related to us that once the English


CHA PTE R XII.

Beicos— The Giant’s ounta in—The Pa sha ’s taste for build ing—Gr eek

boa tmen—Leave the Bosp horu s~0rowded sta te of the Masr Voyage

—Story of a p ilgr image to Ill ecca—A rr ival of A lexa ndr ia—Go to the

Hdtel de l’E nrop e—J ourney to Ca iro We are sent to the N ewHotel

Lessons a t the harem begin, myp up il being shut up .

One of the most charming Of the many delightful excursions in the vicinity of Constantinople is that to

Beicos and up the Giant’s Mountain. It is a veryfavour ite resort for all classes , natives as wel l as

foreigners. It is on the Asiatic Side of the Bosphorus,

and nearly opposite Buyukdere. We took a caiqueacross, being about three- quarters of an hour’s row ; andafter passing through the village of Beicos

,entered a

broad lovely valley, in the centre of which was a roadplanted with trees

,affording a pleasant shade. A fter

half an hour’s walk through the valley we came to a

fountain under a large oak- tree,and about ten minutes’

walk farther on,a road turned off sharply to the left

,

taking a circuitous route up the hill. The ascent wasrather rough and stony , but the views were quite beautiful. The trees generally arched overhead , so that it wasvery lovely, even before we c ame to the views. Whenwe reached the summit, we felt ourselves amply repaid

for the long walk. To the north were the shores of theBosphorus , with the picturesque ruin of Anadol Kavak inthe foreground , and a large space of the Black Sea ; tothe south the windings of the channel were closed in byRoumel i -Hissar. But the rich vegetation , the undulatinghills

,and the blue waters , with the dark mass of cypresses

on different heigh ts , cannot be described. I timed our

descent, which took an hour and ten minutes from the

starting to reaching the boat ; but, of course,we were

IBRAHIM’S TASTE FOR BUILDING. 1 23

longer going up. People usually make the excursion in

bullock - carts — that is , in a kind Of waggon withoutsprings

,drawn by white oxen ; but we always preferred

walking when we could manage it. On our way up thismountain ,

in a lovely , shady , but very narrow road,we

met a bull coming down at a rapid pace and alone. At

seeing us he shied , and we certainly shied too ; but findingout

,luckily

,that he was afraid Of us

,we stood quite still,

and on he went.The Pasha

,who quite inheri ted his father

’s taste forbuilding

,but was unable as yet to grati fy it by con

structing palaces , spent his hours Of recreation in buildinga tiny house in a corner of our l ittle garden. It did not

add to the beauty of our surroundings,but it was an

immense amusement to him. He rushed ou t at everyinterval between his lessons , and was to be seen wi th atrowel in his hand plastering about the mortar

,and

directing two or three Arab servants who were labouringfor him. One day when thus engaged , the RussianAmbassador came to pay him a visit. He entered at

the gate close to the little mud but where the Pashawas at work ; but , Of course, he never thought of lookingin that dirty corner for his Highness Ibrahim Pasha !But the Pasha saw him from his l it tle corner ; and

directly the Ambassador had passed , he ran out by thesame gate, and having performed his ablutions

, enteredcalm and dignified by another door '

There were two lovely little girls on a visit at the

harem . They were the children of the Viceroy’s eldestdaugh ter, who was married to Monsoor Pasha. Thesel ittle creatures had an English nurse , and in their ramblesabout the garden , attended by their nurse and two or

three eunuchs , they O ften met Mrs Freeland’s children ,

with whom they were delighted to play. Tony, theyoungest of the boys , was an exceedingly pretty little


fellow ,very small

,but with pluck enough for a man ;

and as soon as the little girls saw him , they alwaysran joyfully to meet h im. They Spoke a li ttle English

,

but very little, and so mixed in a good deal of Turkishwith their prattle. But Tony, though he received theiradvances graciously, was a true Briton

,and tolerated no

foreign lingo. “ Don’t talk that nonsense to me

,

”

he

would say rather roughly ; speak English !” SO theydid their best. One day as Mr Freeland was passingin front of the palace he heard cries of

“ Papa ! papa !”

proceeding from behind the lattice -work blinds. Theycame from these children ,

who,having heard Tony apply

that epithet to him ,supposed it to be the name by which

he was generally known.

We took a ca'

ique one day and went to visit the Turkishlady whom I had met on the Mahroussah. She l ived atCourouchesme on the Bosphorus

,between Arnoutkeui and

Ortakeui. It was a large house by the water- side, and as

i s usual in Turkish houses , that for the m en is separatefrom that for the women ,

no man having access to the

latter but the master of the house. Our cai’

que stoppedjust in front of the harem , and we sent our dragomanShaheen ashore to ask i f the lady could receive us. Hewent straight to the selamlik (house for the men) , but of

course they could tell him nothing and referred him to

the harem. Shaheen had been brought up under the

shadow Of the harem, and though he had been l iving

for years with English people, he had a strong senseof the indecorum Of making any inquiry concerningwomen,

so he returned to us with a troubled counte

nance , and muttered something quite unintelligible. We

pointed out to him that he had gone to the wrong door ,that i t was into the harem we were going , not into theselamlik,

and told him to knock there. Thus goaded on ,

he went to the harem door ; but I suppose the absence Of


taining that number , as St Sophia has on ly four. The

Hippodrome occupies a beautiful Site, and in the time of

the Greek empire it is said that more gods and heroeswere there to be found , carved in stone or moulded inbrass , than there are inhabitan ts in the modern city. It

i s now much restricted in s ize , as it formerly occupiedpart of the Space taken up by the Mosque of SultanAhmed. It still retains the form of a circus, and the

space was first planned out by the Emperor Severus.Many nation s conspired at different times to rob thismagn ificent site of the treasures of art there accumulated.Many unrivalled masterpieces of antiquity disappeared at

the time of the conquest of Constantinople by the Latinsin 1204

,under Baldwin and Dandolo. The rows of seats

of white marble were carried off in the reign of Solymanthe Magn ificent, and the marble columns were used as

building materials for the Mosque of Suleimanyeh . Thenthere was a brick column ,

now all dilapidated , but thencovered with plates of gil t bronze and ornamented withbas - reliefs

,which from the weight and val ue of the metal

excited the cupidity of depredators,and was stripped of

the bronze plates.There is also a fine obel isk brought from Egypt, by

Theodosius , and bearing an inscription in Greek and Latinon the base

,to this purport— that the obelisk was raised in

thirty- two days by the praetor Proclus, and the machi nes

used in raising it are represented in bas- relief.A s I returned from one of these vi sits to Constantinople,I got into a steamer as usual at the bridge

,and Sitting

on the upper deck , was amusing mysel f with looking at

the unrivalled views on all sides. There had been a gooddeal of wind all day, but the atmosphere had been quiteclear. As we left the bridge, four steamers s tarted at

the same time - one for Princes’ Islands , one for Kadikeui,

one for the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus , and one for

GREEK BOATMEN 1 2 7

the European side. I was on the last ; and such a screaming Of engines and volumes Of black smoke arose as madethe atmosphere suddenly appear rather l ike that of Newcastle OrWolverhampton than the shores of the Bosphorus.It was l ike a thick fog, and was

,I think , occasioned

partly by the great number of steamers crowded in one

place, and partly by the very inferior quality of the coalused in them.

Two things would be wonderful improvements in Constantinople : one, to have a new company of steamers todestroy the monopoly of the old and the other, to haveseparate quays for the different l ines of steamers. A t

present all start from this tumble- down Old bridge,which

is quite inadequate to the traffic.I went once only into the bazaars Of Constantinople

,

which did not please me at all. They are all covered,as

rain is so much more frequent in Turkey than in Egypt ;but I was so persecuted by men wishing to act as guides ,and had such diffi culty to steer clear of the dogs that lieabout

, that I was rather glad to get away from them. Ithink the bazaars of Constantinople much less interes tingthan those of Cairo.

I heard a great many stories of the misbehaviour of

Greek boatmen ,which made me congratulate mysel f

upon always having to do with Turks. An Englishman,

an engineer in the Viceroy’s service ( then engaged in the

Mahroussah,moored in front Of the palace), told us that

the evening before he had been at Bebek , and going downto the shore at about 1 1 RM. to seek a ca

'

ique to take himback to the vessel

,he found only one boat there, and the

man to whom it belonged had so villanous a countenancethat the friend who was accompanying him to the boathesitated to leave him in such company. But the en

gineer said he did not mind , that he must get on board ,and there was no other ca

'

ique, so his friend left him ;


and having made a bargain with the boatman ,they started

on their voyage. They had not got far when the engineerdiscovered that the boatman was drunk. (He was a Greek ,not a Turk.) He stood up in the boat, at the imminentrisk Of upsetting it

,and refused to pull another stroke

unless he received three medj idies instead of the one he

had bargained for. (A medj idie is 3S. 74d.) The engineercal led out angrily to him to Sit down ; bu t this producingno effect, and reflecting that in case Of an upset he couldnot swim

,he thought it better to compromise, so held up

two fingers to signify that he would give two medj idies ,and then the Greek took to his oars again

,and pulled to

the Mahroussah. Arrived there , the engineer first gotsafely out on to the steps of the vessel ; and then withone hand gave the man the medj idie he had bargained for ,while with the other he soundly boxed his ears. The

boatman certainly well deserved it but the engineer was

by his own account a very pugnacious fel low,and he was

always telling some story the end Of which was sure to be,SO I knocked him down !It was now the firs t week in October

,and the weather

was getting autumnal. It was something like a cool September in England

,delightful for all excursions ; though

the days were getting shorter, which was the only drawback. We were constantly expecting the order for our

return. At last it came , and we were told we were to goon board the Masr

, one of the steam -yachts belonging tohis Highness , which was moored in front of the palace.Our pupils were to return on the Mahroussah with thesecond Princess.We wen t to look at the accommodation on theMasr, andwere very well satisfied with it. The Mahroussah had

been bui lt ( in England) expressly for hisHighness and hisharem , so that every possible accommodation was given tothem

,and the res t was little regarded , speed being the


official,and obta ined a passage by favour. The captain

had no list of passengers given to him ; there were so

many cabins,and whoever arrived first got possession of

them. He was very civil to us , and did what he could ;but he had no power to expel the intruders , SO we wereobliged to manage as w e could.At 3R M. the second Princess and all her party went on

board the Mahroussah. The Masr had been moored withthe prow towards the Black Sea ; but upon the signalbeing given ,

it turned Slowly round and steamed down theBosphorus

,fol lowing the Mahroussah. A t we passed

the ruined fortress Of Roumeli—Hissar ; at we were Off

Seraglio Point ; and at four we had the Seven Towers onthe right, and the lovely group of Princes’ Islands on our

left. Then we were out in the Sea of Marmora. It wasbright moonlight ; but the bulwarks were so high , and thedeck so en cumbered, that we could only see

'

the'

coast

when in a s tanding posture.At the next morning we were passing the lighthouse in the Dardanelles , and at a quarter to eight wewere Off the southern part of Mitylene ; an hour after wewere between Mitylene and Scio. There is a peak nearthe north end, which makes it a sort Of landmark ; behindthis is a promontory

,which forms the western boundary

of the Bay Of Smyrna , and which stands ou t behind, but alittle in advance of Scio : in another hour we entered the “

passage between the little island Of Psara and Scio , andwere nearly two hours coasting the latter. These islandsare all mountainous and picturesque

,but most Of them

look bare,along the coas t at any rate ; there may be fer tile

valleys between the hills , but they are not seen from the

sea. A t PM . we were nearing the island of Nicaria,

and did not finally lose sight of i t until sunset. I t is acon spicuous object from its length and mountainous outl ine. A fter passing Nicaria

,we saw several smaller

ARRIVAL AT ALEXANDRIA . 131

islands on both sides,and one to the left was Patmos

,

where St John wrote the Revelation.

On the l 6 th when we went on deck no land was visible ; we had passed Rhodes and Scarpanto in the n ight

,

and were now in the open sea. The thermometer, whichI had kept hanging in my cabin

,had gradually risen

higher and higher. When I went on board on the Mon

day it was on Tuesday and on Wednesday i t wasThis was to prepare us for Egypt

,for I knew from

the experience of the preceding year that October was avery hot month there.The deck was very crowded and dirty. I wonder what

an English sailor would say to their mode of washing i t !They throw down a quantity of water

, and then dragalong a piece Of flannel to wipe i t up !At half -past ten O

’clock on the l 6th we stopped outsidethe harbour of A lexandria, as it is not considered safe forany vessel to enter the port at night. I got up earlynext morning

, and was on deck as we went in. I thoughtthe harbour presented a much more imposing appearancethan it had done the year before when I arr ived in the

P. 0.

We did not get off before eleven,there was so much

trouble in procur ing our luggage ; and though Shaheenwas extremely useful on these occasions

,we thought it

safer to verify the due arri val Of our trunks before leaving the vessel. The harem boxes were all to be got upfirst, and there were upwards of a thousand. I stoodwatching them drawn up, in hopes of catching sight of

my own , but I did not un til nearly all were out of the

hold.I heard a curious story while on board. Some years

ago one of the so- called widows Of the then late Sultanconceived a strong desire to make the pilgrimage to

Mecca,but she could only do i t as a married woman ;

132 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRIN CESS.

and, strange as it may appear

,I was told that temporary

marriages are Often made by rich women for that purpose. So the lady in question married a poor man , and

after the pilgrimage was accomplished she departed fromher temporary husband , making him a handsome presentin return for his protection.

A daughter was,however , the result of the connection,

who was brought up by her mother, and received a goodeducation. In the meanwhile the repudiated husbandwent to Egypt

,entered the service of the Viceroy , and

rose to rank and dignity. The mother died ; and the

father, now become a great man,conceived a wish to see

his daughter, who was married, and had one or morechildren. SO the lady was in the same vessel with us ,in the part devoted to the harem

,on her way to Egypt

to visit the father whom she had never yet beheld.AS soon as we landed we went to theHOtel de l’EurOpe,where we were told we were to stay for one night

,and to

proceed on the next day to Cairo. A t the hotel we foundMr Michell , who had arrived from England via Brindision the same morning , and the P. O. not being encum

bered with harem boxes , the passengers were enabled toland long before we did.The next day we went on to Cairo. It was very hot

and dusty. We had been five months absent from Egypt,and I found the mosquitoes and sand-flies as tormenting .

as I had thought them the year before on my fi rs t arrival.We were ordered to go to the N ewHotel , and i t wassaid we were not to inhabit the house at Choubrah again,

at any rate for the present , as i t was wanted to accommo

date part of the suite of the Grand Duke Nicholas,who

was coming to Egypt as soon as his visit to Constantinople was over. The Grand Duke himsel f was to be

lodged at Kasr- cl -Nuss,where Lord Dudley had been the

year before , and which was only a few minutes’walk from


CHAPTER XIII.

Pa lace of Abdeen—D ifiiculties w ith harem carr iage—I remonstra te—Am

p rovided w ith another - A rab wedd ings We leave the N ewHotel andreturn to Ohoubrah—Eunuchs—C’onstant interrup tions from the slaves

Ba i ram.

The palace of Abdeen, where the Khédive resides duringthe winter months , is situated at the southern extremityof Cairo. There is always palace-building going on somewhere in Cairo or its vicinity ; and just at this time thepalace of Abdeen was being considerably enlarged. Mypupil was therefore lodged for the first month in a largehouse adjoining , which belonged to Ismael Sadyk Pasha,

then Mouffettish (Min ister of Finance) , and in high favour ,but a few years after disgraced and exiled to Dongola at

the period ofMr Goschen’s visit to Egypt.There was a large archway

,with double gates : the outer

ones were Open ,and two or three eunuchs sat there ; my

business being explained by Lalla Jani,I was admitted

through the second gate , and a eunuch took me across awide courtyard into the harem

,and to the apartments of

my pupil.I found the Princess and KOpses waiting for me, ,with

books and everything prepared. They were very quiet,and said noth ing whatever Of the change that had takenplace in their condition since I last saw them.

The time of my going and coming was to be fixed bymysel f, and the Turkish and Arabic lessons were to be

arranged accordingly. We consulted for some time aboutthe hours ; the Princess no longer rose so early as she hadbeen accustomed to do when She came to us. Then she

got up briskly , knowing she was coming out to l ibertyand change of scene ; and even if She overslept hersel f,

FIRST LESSONS IN THE HAREM. 135

her attendants , who would be blamed i f she were late,would

,by Opening the shutters and bustl ing about the

room ,contrive that she Should awake, and then hurry

through the process of dressing, so as to make up for losttime.The Khédive was a very active man ,

and of early habits,

and i f his children wished to please him,they must not

indulge in idleness. His wishes were laws to the Princess , who looked upon him as the greatest man that hadever existed.But all this was changed in the harem

, as I soon had

occasion to see. Perhaps the Princess might have sat uplate at n ight

, and as a growing girl,she required much

Sleep. In the morning the rooms were all darkened,and

not a sound was to be heard until the Princess becamewide awake of her own accord , and called out to her slavesto come and dress her. There was one thing which mightcause the slaves to arouse her. From the time of her

seclusion in the harem , she always took breakfas t , luncheon

,and dinner with hisHighness , but the time for the

first meal was not very regular. His Highness transactedmuch business before breakfast , so that it might be late.Some one was on the watch to give notice when he wascoming, and then i f the Princess was sleeping

,her at

tendants did not hesitate to awaken her, and hurry

through the toilet.I did not find this all out , however , on the first day, SO

after consultation I settled that I would come every morning at hal f-past eight , and leave at twelve.I would willingly have stayed longer , but at twelve hisHighness took luncheon ,

and the Princess took it withhim. A fter luncheon there were the Turkish and

Arabic 1 masters , so my pupils could do nothing with

1 The lessons with the Turkish and Arabic masters took plac e in an

apartment just outside the harem ,but w ithin the gates. The Princess


me. When we had settled the hour at which I was tocome in the morning , we calculated its equivalent according to Turkish time (beginn ing each day at sunset), andthe carriage was ordered to fetch me from the hotel atthat hour.The next morning at ten no carriage had arrived , so Isent Shaheen on a donkey to ask the reason. He returnedshortly with the carriage, but upon my inquiring why itwas so late, I was told it was because I had objected togoing so early the day before ! SO no attention was paidto the order which the Princess had given. When Iarrived at the palace

,I found the Princess had been

waiting for me more than an hour. I was much vexed ,and requested that positive directions should be given tofetch me every morn ing at the time named. This wasdone, and the next morning a cavass came to my roomdoor in the hotel at seven o

’clock !I swallowed a hasty breakfast

,and went to the harem ,

where I found the Princess not dressed , and amazed at

my coming so early. The eunuch had simply told the

coachman he was to go earlier,so he thought he would

come in timeA fter ten days’ stay at the N ewHotel , we were told wewere to return to Choubrah. In some respects we weresorry. We had, i t i s true, many more comforts in the

house at Choubrah ; but the position O f the N ew Hotel isvery fine, and its vicinity to the opera and the Frenchtheatre made i t convenient. My windows faced the cast.I saw the sun rise every morning over the Mokattam

Hills , and in the evening I went up to the promenade on

the roof to see i t set. It is impossible to imagine a moreanimated scene than that upon which we looked down.

and her companion wore the ya slnnak and the fer idjee (ve il and cloak).It is the custom for natirc masters to give lessons in this manner to girls

under fifteen,but no Frank would be adm itted thus .


door of the harem , and drew m e gently into an apartmentjust at the entrance, while she herself waited the comingOf her father. A s the Khédive passed the room in whichI was

,he caught sight of the European dress , and I heard

him ask his daughter who it was.“ It is my governess , who is waiting for the carriage to

take her away.“ And why don’t you order it ? said his Highness.I have done so

,but they do not come.”

What ! not obey my daughter said the Khédive.He walked qu ickly towards the door , and called loudly

that a carriage was to come up immediately. It was an

hour and a quarter since it had been ordered , but at hisHighness’s command one was at the door in two or threeminutes. On ordinary occasion s I got in and out of the

carriage without assistance ; but his Highness had deignedto order i t for me

,and I was almost l ifted into it by two

eunuchs,as i f I had been a paralytic.

When I got back to Choubrah , I determined to writea letter to the second Princess , and I asked the Pasha (whocame regularly to his lesson s) i f he would give it to hismother, and translate it to her.A fter I left, the Khe

'dive questioned his daughter as towhether this delay with the carriage had ever happenedbefore, and was told it was Of daily occurrence. I did notknow this when I wrote the letter.I said in it that it was not the personal inconvenience

to mysel f which induced me to trouble herHighness , butthe serious interruption which it caused to her daughter

’sstudies ; that a much shorter time was given to them in

the harem than had been devoted before her seclusion ,

and that even out Of that short time more than an hourwas every day sacrificed. The Pasha took the letter

,and

promised to read it to his mother.The next morning , at eight o’clock , I was surprised to

NATIVE JEALOUSY. 139

see a pretty open carriage at the door,and to hear that

some one was wai ting to Speak to me from Mourad Pasha.I went down

,and was told that the Khédive had given

orders that a carriage should be sent for me every morning at eight, and that it was to bring me back at twelve ;that I was at liberty to order it whenever I wished fora drive in the afternoon

,or to go to the Opera or French

theatre in the evening. This was highly satis factory,and

I felt now it would be my own fault i f I were not punc

tual w ith the lessons.When I arrived at the harem ,

my pupil told me whathis Highness had said to her afterwards , so I scarcelyknew whether the new arrangemen t was caused by myletter or the accidental arrival Of the Khédive . Probablyby both .I had Often heard it said that any one who made com

plaints in this country,however well founded , though they

might Obtain temporary redress , were sure in the end to

get the worst of it.For the first week or two I had a very n ice carriage

,

then an inferior one was substituted , and I was told itwas solely to take me to and from the harem daily , thoughi t had been distinctly said at first that I was at l iberty touse it at other times. This was , however , a matter of

comparative indifference to me ; my great Object had beento ensure punctuality in the

'

lessons , and that I hadattained.I believe the Khédive wishes to act fairly and liberally ,

but there is such a jealousy existing , first, between nativesand foreigners , and ,

secondly , between the different nationalities

,that the offi cials manage constantly to evade the

Khédive’s orders ; and though you may sometimes succeedin making your complaint reach his ears , so as to Obtaintemporary redress

,the tables are sure to be turned on

you in the end.


I was told by a lady who held a post about one Of the

princesses , that she had repeatedly asked for a box at the

Opera, knowing that one was frequently given to the

French femmes de chambre in the harem. One day she

thought hersel f sure of one,as the Princess had given

orders in her presence to a eunuch to go to the directorat the opera

,to reserve one for her. Upon going at nigh t

with her friends,She found that no boxhad been ordered

,

and there was no remedy but to pay for one , or to go away.When she returned to the harem , she asked the eunuch

to whom the order had been given why he had not obeyedhis mistress

,and he told her the head eunuch had forbid

den him to stir out Of the house, because the order had notbeen given through him !We found the mosquitoes and sand -flies at Choubrah

quite as numerous as they had been the year before, buttheir sting was not quite so venomous to us as it had beenthen.

I very much enjoyed my drive every morning to the

harem,but oh

,how I wished that my dear l ittle pupils

could have taken it with me ! It really went to my heartto see them thus caged , because they had known whatliberty was

,and lost it j ust at the age when its deprivation

would be felt the most.Some persons have said to me,

“How cruel to havegiven the Princess her l iberty in childhood , and afterwards

to shut her up in the harem !”

but this is an unjust j udgmen t. The Khédive did all that lay in hi s power to givehis daugh ter careful and moral training in early youth

,

but he could not set aside the Opinion of allMahometans,

which would have been outraged by her retaining thatliberty when arrived at womanhood. Besides , the youngPrincess would not have been surrounded wi th the safeg uards which accompany a European lady. N0 mother, or0

persons Of her own rank , would have been w i th her, —none


duet, the door Opened again for the seventh or eighth time,and

, looking round,I saw a gentleman standing in the

doorway. I forgot at the moment that I was in a harem,

and my near Sight prevented me from dis tinguish ing whoi t was ; but Kopses immediately rose

,and saying to me

“His Highness ! walked to the door, and I heard himask “ where Zeyneb was. O f course I rose and made a

low curtsey,and his Highness made me a polite bow , but

he did not come in. I was rather vexed that the Princesswas not there

,as I should have been SO glad for him to

have seen the progress She had made.WVe had hardly got back to our duet when the secondPrincess came in

,attended by a dozen Slaves. YVe again

got up , and she asked me in Turkish how I was, and I wasable to reply to that ques tion ,

but could not remember one

Of the polite speeches which I had been assiduously ge tting up since I began lessons. She seemed fully aware of

the importance of not interrupting,and begged us to go

on,which we did ; and after l isten ing a few minutes

,She

went awayA day or two after, she came again ,

when I was engagedwith the Princess. She left all her attendants in the outerroom

,and came in very quietly , holding up her hand as a

Sign that we were to go on with our studies. She stoodbehind her daughter

’s chair,and l is tened while the latter

read , and looked at her writing, seeming much pleasedwith her progress .A fter a month

,the alterations in the palace of Abdeen

being completed , my pupil was removed there. It was

only a few hundred yards from w here I had gone before,but the entrance was a mos t disagreeable one at that time.Y ou first had to pass through an outer court, in whichwere soldiers

,grooms

,carriages

,carts

,&c.

,&c. ; then into

a second full of eunuchs. Here you left the carriage ; butthere were several doors , and you did not know which to

AT ABDEEN . 1 43

take to enter the harem. The first time I went I was aocompanied by Shaheen ,

lest any difficulty Should be madeabout admitting me. Three or four eunuchs were playingsome game at the farther extremity Of the courtyard. Iwent up to them and asked them by which door I Shouldenter to gain access to the apartments of the Princess.He to whom I spoke did not turn round , but Simply j erkedhis head in one direction. I went that way, but soon hearda loud call after m e, and turn ing round , found he was

pointing in the opposite direction. I changed my course ,and upon passing through the door, got into a labyrinth ofpassages. I m et several girls , but they did not appear tounderstand my inquiries , and at any rate did not answerthem. At last I emerged upon an inner court

,and after

crossing that , found myself in some of the best apartments.Here my inquiries after the Princess were more successful,and I was presently led to her apartments. I asked heri f i t was necessary that I should come into the palace bythe back way, and she seemed very much puzzled by whatway I had come in. Kopses was equally unable to giveme any assistance , SO I applied to Zohrab Bey. He toldme that he himsel f always went in by that entrance , as , i fI went to the chief gate

,I might constantly find myself

much delayed by the absence of the head eunuchs , and bythe gate being locked. So I continued as I had begun ;though it was a daily annoyance to me all the time I gavelesson s at the palace of Abdeen ,

and I did not meet withthis annoyance in any other palace. Later on

,another far

better entrance was made, but I had ceased to give lessonsthere then.

On the l st of December Ramadan ceased, and on the

2d the Bai ram began.

We went to pay our respects to the Princesses , as wehad gone the year before.I had asked permission of the second Princess to bring


some English friends with me,as travellers are always

very desirous of being present at these festivals. The

Princess had graciously consen ted, and we took threeladies with us. The usual coffee and pipes were given.

We were seated in a row opposite to the princesses, andMdlle. O. served as our in terpreter. It was rather formidable

,and after the customary inquiry after the health

of the ladies,and wishing them a happy Bairam

,We sat

perfectly mute, unable to think of anything to say. AmongOrientals i t is the custom on these visits of ceremony tomake elaborate inquiries respecting the health

“

of eachmember of the family in turn ; to this the hos tess makesa gracious reply

,and perhaps reciprocates the inquiry ;

then coffee i s presented,and there is a sala’am before

taking i t and after ; then come the pipes, which occupysome t ime, and again the sala

’am before and after smoking.

The wives of his Highness have become aware that itis not the custom in Europe for the lady of the house toask her visitors whether they are married or single ; i f thelatter

,why they remain so, and if the former, how many

children they have. Such questions are still asked whenthe hostess is either very young or unaccus tomed to receiveEuropean visitors ; but the wives of his Highness remainquiet and dignified.We had not even the resource of the weather

,an nu

fail ing topic Of interest in England. It is always fine inEgypt ; and we could not touch on any Of the topics of theday,

because the ladies of the harem neither read the

newspapers nor mixed in society. Then more visitorsarrived , and we came away.It s truck me on this second Bairam visit that everythinglooked more European than it had done the year before.The dresses of the slaves were made more in the Frenchfashion. As to the princesses, they were always in fullEuropean cos tume.


waist by a band,

’

high up to the throat, and the skirtforming trousers , which , however, are

’

not easily detected,as they are exceedingly full. They are made in this way,—suppose one of our ful l skirts (not gored) sewn up at

the bottom like a bag, with a small opening left at eachside sufficient to admit the foot. This dress is so remarkably decent, that , al though the dances usually end with asomersault

,there is no further display than the - soles Of

the feet ! The dance was by no means remarkable eitherfor grace or agility. The girls followed each other ina row

,the foremost deciding the step and movements ,

their long hair flowed down their backs,and was Shaken

from side to Side. The inevitable somersault terminatedthe performance. There was a constant succession of

visitors arriving and departing ; but the Princess Saidwas not at all got up for the occasion, being handsomelybut very plainly dressed.

CHAPTER XIV.

Op era—Four roya lmarr iages announced a s to take p lace dur ing the w inter

—01d Ca iro, N ilometer and Al osgue of Amrou—Procession of the

Mahma l—Jfl osque of Sultan Ha ssan—D r ive to Heliop olis Wea therchanges Cold and wet—Funera ls —D ep a rture of the p ilgrims forMecca We are told we are to leave Choubrah—Remove to the N ew

Hotel—A rr ival of two of the Pr inces from England- Cur ious instance

of forgetting one’s own language

—Pitatograp hy in the harem—Roya l

trousseaux Wedding fe’

tes begin—lll arr iage contracts.

My pupil told me that she could now give me a box

whenever I wished to go to the Opera, so I availed mysel fof this offer frequently. The mise en scene Of the opera at

Cairo i s really excellent, everything is so perfectly clean

FOUR ROYAL MARRIAGES. 1 47

and fresh . The director of course manages everything ,but all expenses which the general receipts do not coverare made up by the Khédive. I was told upon goodauthority , though I cannot pretend to vouch for the accuracy Of the figures , that came from the viceregalpurse the year before. There i s no expense for supernumeraries ,

'

for the Khédive’s band is always in attendance,and the soldiers make up a magn ificent procession in

A ida, and in other pieces. The ballet is always beautifully given

,both as regards the dancing and scenic effect.

Beretta Vien i was the p rem iere danseuse of that season.

Then,in addition to the salaries and various operatic

expenses , the chief artistes received at their departurehandsome presents from the Khédive

,his wives , and mar

r ied daughters , as his Highness is desirous of attractingfirst- rate talent to Cairo.We were told that four royal marriages were to takeplace during the winter, and rather a new s tate of thingswas to be inaugurated wi th them. Mohammed Ali hadhad the same kind Of harem as the Sultan

,consisting

exclusively of slaves , and thi s custom had been continuedby his successors down to the Khedive. But the latter inmature age wished to adopt the European law of one wife

,

and direct succession from father to son,instead of the

old Mussulman custom Of inheritance through the eldestmale of the family. The second he succeeded in establishing, by fixing the succession in the person of hiseldest son

,Mohammed Tewfik Pasha

,and the first

,by

restricting each of his sons to one wife of equal rank withhimsel f.Among the descendants Of Mohammed Ali there are

many to choose from . To Tewfik Pasha,the eldest son

,

was given AminaHanem ,the daughter of Elham i Pasha ,

and the great - great - granddaughter of Mohammed Ali.To Hussein Pasha,

the second son,was given Ain- el


Heidt , the daughter of Ahmed Pasha, elder brother Of

the Viceroy,and great-granddaughter of Mohammed Ali.

To Hassan Pasha, third son Of the Khédive, was givenKhadija Hanem,

the granddaughter of Mohammed Ali

(her father bearing the same name as her grandfather).The Khédive’s second daughter, Fatma Hanem ,

was to be

married to Toussoun Pasha, son of the late Viceroy

, SaidPasha, and grandson of Mohammed Ali. We were toldthat the festivities in honour of each marriage were to lasta week , so that a whole month would be devoted to fe

‘

tes

and rejoicings.I drove one afternoon to Old Cairo to visi t the i sland

‘

of Rhoda, and see there the palace formerly inhabited byMohammed Ali

,and also the Nilometer which is con

structed on the i sland to mark the height which the

waters attain each year. We went down a great manysteps before we reached the level of the water. It hadrisen in the previous season to the top s tep , and had beencons idered a good Nile.When we left the island we drove to the oldest mosque

in Egypt—and indeed the most ancient monument of

Islamism— that of Amrou , commenced in 620. It has theaspect Of a vast cloister ; round the sides are several rowsof columns

,and in the centre is a large Open space with a

fountain for ablutions. In a climate where the sky wasalways serene, an open temple was mos t appropr iate : thepillars are of marble and granite ; there are two so closetogether that the Mahometans have a tradition that onlythe good can pass between them. Shaheen contrived tosqueeze himsel f through

,but I do not think many Turks

could do so, as they are generally fatter than the Arabs.

We went again to the procession of the Mahmal , butthis time to a different spot—a l ittle beyond the mosqueof Sultan Hassan. There was the same old Sheikh rollinghis head ; and I thought his bare neck and shoulders must


fired and they began their march . He said there wereseveral thousands , and that the line of march extendedhal f a mile in depth . He tried to form an idea of the

numbers,and had counted two hundred camels , when he

was obliged to give up the attempt on account of theirirregular movements. There were eleven l itters , whichdoubtless contained women. There were no Europeans to

see the start (indeed it i s very diffi cult to find out when i twill be) ; and Mr Michell told me he had made two nu

successful attempts in former years. He did not like to

go very near, as he saw many unfriendly looks cast at

him. A few years ago ,if a European had thus ventured

among them ,he would have been pelted at the least ; but

now i t is easier to see such things.1

On Christmas Day a grand funeral procession passedour house at Choubrah .

I heard the noise at some distance— the hum O f voicesproduced by a multitude of pers ons

,mingled with the

shril l wail of women. I looked out in time to see the

whole procession.

Firs t came a number of Arabs on foot , and four camelsladen with large bags filled with provisions . A man rodeon each of the camels behind the bags , and distributedfrom them oranges , dates , and bread to the multitude of

followers. This is always customary , as they have a longway to walk, and require food to support them. A fter thecamels came a number of sold iers ; and lastly , the bier,with several women wailing and making a dismal noise ;

1 This w as in the latter part of December 1 872 but in the Times of

Decemb er 7 , 1 876 , is an excellent article wr itten byMr Michell,descr ib ing

the breaking up of the encampment,and the final departure of the p ilgrims

from Birket -cl-Hadj. The art icle is headed “Pilgrim s to Mecca.

” Lane,

in his Modern Egypt ians ,’says it takes thirty-seven days to travel across

the desert from Cairo to Mecca ; and as the se travellers were us ing the

same means of locomot ion as their forefa thers , they probably took the

same t ime.

REMOVAL FROM CHOUBRAH. 1 5 1

then immediately behind the bier were the chief mourners,

and a crowd of Arabs closed the procession.

It was so long that I felt sure i t must be some personof rank ; and i t proved to be the grandson of MohammedAli

, and the half-brother of the young lady about to bemarried to Hassan Pasha.

On the 6th of January ( 1873) Zohrab Bey came to

announce to us that his Highness wished us to move at

once to the N ew Hotel , as the house at Choubrah was

wanted for some dis tinguished vis itors from Constantinople, who were expected shortly , and would be presentat the approaching weddings. N ow this packing up wouldgive us as much trouble as i f we were going to leave thecountry. Nothing was to be left behind : a Mahometanhousehold was about to be established there for a time ,and the probability was that all the furniture we had usedwould be turned out of the house.lVe had capital wardrobes, book-cases , tables of all sorts

and shapes— some for use,others for ornamental knick

knacks. I f we left anything , Zohrab Bey told us,it was

at our own r isk ; there would be no one responsible for i t.I f it were of any use it would be appropriated ; i f not, itwould be thrown away.This was a great trouble to us. Mrs Freeland had

tables covered with all sorts of l ittle ornaments , and I hadquantities of books , which were then wel l arranged in an

excellent book - case,and always accessible , and were now

to be packed up in boxes,which renders them practically

useless. Every one knows what packing is when you

have to take with you everything belonging to you. We

almost envied the Mahometan ladies , who keep theirpossessions always in boxes , and having no tables strewedwith books

,music

,and the thousand trifles indispensable

to us Europeans,are always ready for removal at an hour

'

snotice.


Mrs Freeland had two English maids, and though theywere kept tolerably occupied with the three children

( the youngest of whom was about two years old) , theywere still able to help her to a certain degree ; but I hadno one, and at the end of my labours began to realisesomething of what a railway porter may experience aftera hard day’s work. We knew we should have good roomsat the N ew Hotel

,but we could not tell how long we

should stay there,and then there would be another

exodus. All the rooms on the fi rst floor at the N ew

Hotel were occupied,so we went to the second , which

I;

preferred,as the V iew was better. We had good apart

ments ; and as we were to move,i t was l ucky we came

when we did , as ten days after the hotels were all crowded ,and remained so throughout the winter.The house at Choubrah was so well built that I had

never felt cold during my first winter. The second and

third winters I spent mostly at the N ew Hotel,and that

was full of draughts , and the sun never penetrated intothe rooms , owing to the great balcony which surroundedboth the first and second storeys on three sides of the

building.There was one great advantage , however , which I highly

appreciated,and that was the promenade at the top of the

house,from whence you had an extensive view for miles

around,and also saw everything that passed in the road

between the hotel and the Ezbekeah Gardens .We are very apt to forget any plague after i ts cessation,

however i t may have tormented us while it lasted. I hadbeen more than a week at the N ew Hotel before Iremembered accidentally that “

the mosquitoes had disappeared. I had not felt one for nearly a month !A s my windows faced the east, I always saw the sun

rise over the Mokattam Hills. On the 1 2th of Januaryit rose at five m inutes past seven ,

and I watched it set

1 5 4 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGY PTIAN PRINCESS.

translated amused his Highness very much , and presently after

,seeing the boy standing there with his hands

in his pockets gaz ing about on the to him unusual scenewith the most perfect indifference and self-possession

,he

again laughed heartily,upon which Mahmoud Bey said

to his brother,If you both stand there laughing at me I

shal l run away. His Highness was altogether muchpleased with his son ; but as he was vexed at his havingso en tirely forgotten Turkish and Arabic

,he gave orders

that he should every day be sent to the palace of Kasr -el

Ali,the residence of the Queen -Mother

,where the mother

of Mahmoud Bey also resided,that by intercourse with

his mother and her attendants he might again recover hislost mother tongue.

1

Directly after their arrival the two brothers HassanPasha and Mahmoud Bey,

visited his Highness s haremand remained there for some hours. This was quite an

innovation,as formerly grown -up sons would not have

been admitted to their father’

s harem.

Prince Hassan sat in a corner wi th his two hal fsisters , the Princesses Fatma and Zeyneh

,and Mahmoud

Bey finding to his great joy that Kopses could speakEnglish , ran about with her.

‘ His remarks were all

thoroughly English , and I was so glad that my pupilshould see and talk to her brothers

,because his Highness

not understanding English , she was apt to lay muchmore stress on French (which she always spoke with herfather).Mahmoud Bey l ived with his brotherHassan Pasha at

Kasr - el-Nuss,but everybody spoke either French , Turkish ,

or Arabic,not one of which languages did he understand.

I I may here incidentally ment ion that he never did recover it , but had

to learn it as if it had been a new language to him ; and , principally on

that account , he never returned to England , but has remained up to the

present time in Egypt .

PHOTOGRAPHS. 1 5 5

When he went to his mother it was the same thingnothing but Turkish spoken.

“ It i s a jol ly place ,”he

told Kopses, and they let me run about as I like,but I

wish you were there to talk with me.

My pupil had several photograph -books , and one con

tained only portraits of the ladies of the harem. Photography was quite a man ia all the while I was in Egypt

,

and as the princesses could not be taken by any of the

chief photographers of the town,women went into the

harem to exercise the art. Some of the photographs'

thus

taken were passable , but none first- rate.The Princess was showing her photographs to her

brother Hassan Pasha, and when she had done with all

the public characters , she came to this particular book of

the ladies of the harem. Each photograph ,was named ,

and comments made, when suddenly the Princess put herhand hastily down on one and tried to turn over the page.Hassan Pasha rightly conjectured that this photographconcerned him more nearly than any of the others ; so hecaught up the book and ran away to get the photographout. His sister pursued him ,

laughing and call ing forhelp, and at last got the book back again

, though not

before he had possessed himsel f of the photograph,which

was,indeed , that of his intended bride , and quite pretty

enough to charm any unoccupied heart.Ap rop os of photographs , I must relate something which

had amused me exceedingly the previous winter, when mypupil still came to me at Choubrah . Both she and her

brother Ibrahim Pasha were always buying photographbooks and filling them. The Pasha’s fi rs t book was

occupied by the crowned heads and leading statesmen of

Europe. Mr Michell had written the names under each,

so that the Pasha might become familiarised with theircountenances. A fter a time he bought a handsomer book ,and the crowned heads were promoted to i t

,while their


places were filled up by others. Each book he boughtwas handsomer than the last

,and as he was always

shifting the photos , Mr Michel l had long discontinuedwriting their names. One day soon after my arrival Iwas looking over these books

,when I came upon one

belonging to the Pasha full of ballet- dancers. There wasone of an acrobat taking a flying leap in the air

,and under

it was written “ The Emperor William of Germany ”

;

another of a p remiere danseuse in the act of making a

pirouette,wi th one foot on a level with her head— that

was written “ Prince Bismarck another of an actresspersonating a very roguish—looking page—that was “ The

Emperor Napoleon ,

”

&c., &c. They were all placed quiteundesignedly by the Pasha, who paid no attention

'

to the

names written underneath .We were told that our house at Choubrah was inhabitedby fourteen Turks , and that one was a great personage, ashe ate alone. He must have been of the old school ofTurks

,as none of the Khédive

’s family ever eat alone.Mr Michell had left his two horses in the stables , havingbeen told by Zohrab Bey that he might safely do so ; but

upon going one even ing to see that they were properlycared for, he found they had been turned out into the

garden to make room for horses provided for the Turks !The time for the four royal weddings was approaching

,

and the harem was astir with the preparations for thetrousseaux. Every morn ing as I entered I saw no end of

chests and boxes fi lled with the household necessaries. Ihad a private view of the plate and jewels for each bride

,

but as they were pretty much the same in each instance,

I will only particularise one,which was that of the

Princess Fatma, second daughter of his Highness. In a

large saloon were thirty or forty women all carefully

arranging the jewels on crimson velvet cushions. Therewere tiaras , bracelets , necklaces , brooches , medallions,

1 5 8 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

to Sign the con tract in her name. These gen tlemen are

preceded by a couple of eunuchs crying “ Dustoor whichsign ifies “ Get out of the way, attend to Mahometan customs

,

”and all women hide themselves as the gentlemen

approach. The bride i s in an inner room , surrounded byher neares t relations and friends ; the door is ajar , but athick curtain is drawn before i t. The gentlemen stopoutside

,and one of them asks the important question ,

“ N .,wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded hus

band ? ” There is a dead silence, for , willing or unwilling, it i s not etiquette for the lady to be so easily won.

A fter a pause the question is repeated, and again therei s no respon se.N ow I have been told that if there is no reply to thethird time of asking

,there is an end of the business , and

the parties all go home again without any marriage takingplace. I don

’t suppose this often occurs

,but there is a

long pause between the second and third times of asking,to give time for the ladies to work on the bride, andinduce her to pronounce the equivalen t to “ I will.” At

last it is said , and then the gentlemen go back to the

selamlik, and the contract is signed. In the weddings Iam about to describe, a royal salute in each case an

nounced the accomplishment of the Signature.There was plenty of movemen t in the streets on this

day, gay harem carriages flitting about,their occupants

dis tinctly visible in their gleaming yashmaks and brightcoloured feridjees ; but there were no regularfétcs to whichEuropeans were invited. The house of the bride was fi lledwith friends , and a few European or Levan tine ladies mightbe invited , such as the wives of the various consuls , or anyone like mysel f connected with the household.It happened that the annual races began on this day,

and,irrespective of travel lers , the hotels are always fi lled

with A lexandrians coming to see them. I was told that

BALL AT GEZIREH. 1 5 9

Sir George Chetwynd sent a horse to run on this occasion ,

but it was beaten easily—I suppose from the difference of

ground and of temperature.

CHAPTER XV.

Races—Ba ll a t Gez ireh Wedd ing fe‘

tes beg in—D inners—Pr ovis ions given

to the p oor—Procession of the br ide on the third evening

—Dancing in

the harem—The bride is brought outfa inting Weight of the ornaments

—C’hr is ty JIinstreZs—Sndden dea th—Great d ifi’erence in the trea tment

of Europ eans dur ing the la st twenty years.

The races began on the 1 6th of January,the day of sign

ing the contract. They lasted two days , a dromedary racebeing given on the second

,very attractive from its novelty

to Europeans.On the next day, the 18th ,

was the ann iversary of theKhédive

’

s accession, and a ball i s usually given in honourOf it.It is held at Gezireh , in the State apartments occupied

by the Empress of the French during her visit to Egyptin 1869 at the Opening of the Suez Canal.They are magnificent apartments

,and the position of

the palace on the Nile,with the beautiful gardens all

illuminated,combine to make a bal l there a so rt of real i

sation of fairyland. Invitations are ardently coveted, andl iberally given— on this occasion almost too l iberally , forsome persons complained of being crowded. There isplenty of Space , but of course if every one will rush to theball-room ,

it may become rather too full for comfort.

The 19th was Sunday , kept by Europeans in the usualway ; but in the afternoon the bride of Tewfik Pasha,

who had remained in her mother’s house since the signing


Of the contract on the previous Thursday,removed to

Kasr - el-Ali , to the palace of the Queen -Mother, to remainthere until the following Thursday, when She was to be

taken to the house of her husband , whom ( I believe) shehad never yet seen. I mistake, however, in using theword seen

, as these ladies in their drives out see everybody perfectly : I ought rather to have said, had neverspoken to or been seen by him.

Monday,Tuesday , and Wednesday there were to be

fe’

tes all day at the palace of the Queen-Mother. Ma

hometan visitors were staying in the palace , and otherscame daily. European visitors came each evening. Twelvegrand dinners were to be given at this palace, three foreach wedding , and forty Europeans were to be invited toeach dinner. Many more had invitations for the evening.During these three days the bride remained in retirement in her own rooms , not visible to the general visitors ,though a favoured few might be admitted to her presence.On theWednesday evening she went in procession throughall the apartments , magn ificently arrayed , and blazing withdiamonds. She was conducted into an inner saloon ,

seatedon a throne between the Queen -Mother and her own

parent, and received there the general congratulations.A fter about a quarter of an hour she withdrew,

in the

same state as she came. To be present on the Wednes

day even ing was more coveted than the invitations forthe Monday and Tuesday, on account of seeing the brideand the procession. On Thursday

,accompanied by all

her female relatives , the bride left the residence of the

Queen -Mother,and proceeded to her husband’s house ,

there to remain.

This procession was a very gorgeous one,and lasted

two or three hours , as i t passed through all the principalstreets of the town.

On the same day the marriage- contrac t for the next


in front , on which tents were erected, and to whichadmission was obtained by ticket.A t the first gate of the palace we gave our invitationcards

, and were then admitted into an inner spaciousquadrangular court

,where we left our carriages and were

given over to the charge of eunuchs . These led us upa raised stone terrace

,with trel lis-work at the sides for

training creepers , so as to form an arched covered-wayto the palace. At intervals there were bowery walksbranching Off

,with long rows Of lights .

We entered the palace,and were received by two

European ladies,whose fluency in Turkish and Arabic

causes them to be engaged on these occasions to serveas interpreters between the Princesses and their European visitors. There were numbers Of gorgeously dressedSlaves

,some clad as pages

,with long wands in their

hands, with which they opened a way to let us pass.We were taken in to a large room to be uncloaked, &c.,

and tickets were given to us , and when we lef t we foundthe corresponding number pinned on to a velvet wrapperembroidered with gold. These wrappers were arrangedin chairs round the room

,according to number

,so that

each party had no difficulty in finding her own be

longings.We were then taken into the chief saloon ,

to make our

bow to whatever Princess m ight be there. Coffee and

cigarettes were handed to us, and we looked round to see

i f there were any familiar faces among the guests.When the Princesses had all arrived

,they rose to go

to dinner, and we all followed two by two. The diningroom was a Splendid apartmen t. From the centre Of the

ceiling hung an enormous lustre,and at each end of the

room was a tree of glass,the Shape of a palm ,

w ith a verythick stem ,

which,l ike a prism ,

reflected every Shade of

colour ; the lights were at the top ,and the looking-glass

D INNER IN THE HAREM. 1 63

all around the walls reflected them back again , so thatthere seemed to be quite a forest of crystal palms.The dinner was s erved a la frangue, and among the

attendants were two or three English women,who had

formerly been engaged as parlour -maids in the Khédive’s

harem ,when Frank customs were firs t introduced ; and

these were efficient wai tresses in themselves , and directedthe others at the same time.The table was shaped like a horse- shoe ; the Princesses

sat in the centre, and a slight space was left betweenthem and the other gues ts. They were radiant withdiamonds , t iaras , necklaces , earrings , and golden girdleswi th large clasps set in diamonds, butterflies , stars, andfeathery sprays of precious stones. Their dresses weremade in the las t Parisian fashion

,with trains two yards

long at the least , trailing behind them. The latter, of

course, could not be seen at the dinner-table,but they

kept every one at a respectful distance in the passage toand fro.

We had taken our places near one end Of the table ,which was un fortunate

,for we had not been seated many

minutes when the musicians entered,six in n iunber ,

and t ook up their station in our immediate vicini ty.Four had tambourines

,one a guitar

,and another a violin ;

and they twanged,and banged

,and strummed , and sang

at the full pitch of their voices,until we were nearly

deafened. An old lady , one of the Turkish visitors,sat

near me. She would probably have preferred the floor,

but as a chair was de r igueur , she compromi sed mattersby tucking one leg under her. She also had a decidedpreference for using her fingers instead of a kn i fe and

fork,because these new - fangled fashions had only been

introduced into the harem within the last five years, andShe probably did not unders tand them.

When a woman is Old in the East She resigns hersel f


to her fate,and does not think Of making up ; so this old

lady,though richly dressed

,wore a little Skull- cap, and a

wig under it, cut short like a boy’s , and as the hair wasblack

,and she looked old and withered , there was no

attempt at deception . N o flowers,no lace

,a satin dress

high up to the throat,and that was all.

When the dinner was over , the Pr incesses rose and led

the way out ; we following as we had come in,two by

two. We wen t back to the same saloon where we hadbeen before dinner ; coffee was handed round , and

“

cigarettes for those who chose them. Then we went up thegrand staircase into a saloon on the first floor . It was ofgreat s ize, and other apartments opened into it. At one

end sat the Queen -Mother,and we were each taken up in

turn to be presen ted to her. She had been an invalid forsome time past, so that She had not been able to attendthe dinner. A fter the presentation , dancing-girls camein

,and on the differen t even ings gave us difl

’

erent dances.On one occasion i t was like that at Indji Hanem

’s, s ix

or eight following one another,and the leader giving the

step and the measure. Another time i t was a sworddance

,which was executed with great spirit and dexterity.

And on another occasion they danced the mazurka, andwere dressed then something as ballet-girls are on the

European stage , only their dresses were not quite so short,nor SO transparent. Four were as cavaliers

,and looked

very pretty. A fter that they danced the polka. At

about ten o’clock the procession of the bride took place.

A double line of eunuchs was formed the whole length ofthe vast saloon. They held in their hands branch candlesticks , each containing six or eight candles. They stoodclose together, and the light was so dazzling i t was difficult to see anything within the line. Through this linethe bride came in the handsomes t of her bridal robes ,with a veil of silver threads (or gold) fas tened near the


care to be close to the folding- doors when the bride ispassing down the saloon

,between the double l ine of light

held by the eunuchs. As she approaches the doors,they

are thrown open,and a rush takes place. The eunuchs

keep the pressure Off her,but almost directly after her

entrance the doors are closed. I had got close up to themwhen they were shut, and as I was anxious to s ee her, Istayed near them

,hoping that some persons might come

out Of the room presently,and give their place to others.

A cry suddenly arose of The bride is ill ; she is comingout !

”and the eunuchs began to push vigorously to make

a way for her. I was jammed against the wal l,and the

line of eunuchs almost trod on me. The doors werethrown open, and the bride came out, and passed withintwo or three feet Of me. She was hal f carr ied , hal fdragged , by two tall eunuchs. She was a remarkablyhandsome girl

,very fair

,and Of middle height, but she

looked more like a corpse than a living person. Herhead was thrown back

,and her face was deadly pale , her

dress was resplenden t with diamonds from head to foot ,but i t was a ghastly spectacle.As I mentioned before, I had felt the weight of the

tiara and veil , and the various ornaments that She wouldhave to wear on this occasion

,and had observed at the

time that I should be very sorry to carry such a load.This

,added to the heat of the passage through the rooms ,

between the blaze Of so many lights , and the feel ing Of all

eyes being upon her,no doubt overcame her

,and she

fainted away. I thi nk it is a terrible ordeal that thesebrides have to go through.Directly after the bride had been borne out, the Prin

cesses rose ,and the party broke up. Everybody wanted

their carriages at the same time , and we had nearly an

hour to wai t for ours ; but it was a splendid moonlightnight

,and the spectacle around us was SO animated, and

THE BRIDAL PARTY. 1 6 7

to us so novel,that we did not mind waiting. A fter all,

compared with the dissipation of London hours,i t was

early, as we were back in the hotel soon after midnight.On Thursday , at about 2 P.M., the procession of the

bride, going home to her husband’s house,passed the

N ew Hotel. It consisted of, first, a band of music

,then

a regiment of foot- soldiers , a troop of cavalry in chainarmour

,and mounted on cream - coloured horses

,and a

succession of state carriages , con taining the female relatives of the bride ,— She herself was in a carriage drawnby six horses ; and, finally , a number of private carriagesclosed the train , which took about a quarter of an hour inpassing the hotel. It had previously made the round Ofall the principal thoroughfares in Cairo.1

I went every day to the'

harem ,notwithstanding the

fétcs, but little was done in the way of lessons. Kopses

was very steady,but the at tention of the Princess was

much distracted. The valuable services which Kopses

could render,made her much in request. There was a

constan t arrivalO

Of boxes from Paris , containing dresses,and an influx of French modistes

,to take orders from , or

to throw temptation in the way of, the Princesses and

chief ladies. Kopses understood four languages , Turkish ,Arabic

,French , and English. Mos t persons who settle in

Egypt acquire a little Arabic,but it is a foreign language

to the Prin cesses , and they much prefer the translationsinto Turkish , of the various bills Of the o

'

nodistes. SO

Kopses was constan tly called away to serve as interpreter,and the Princess being left alone with me , would seekrather to engage me in conversation than in study. Idon’t know that any English girl would , under the cir

1 This bride became a widow in lit tle more than three years after hermarriage, as her husband , Toussoun Pasha

,d ied on the 7th Of July 1876 ,

after a long and painful illness. This young Prince was highly educated ,

and universally beloved, both by Europeans and by nat ives.


cumstances,have been very studiously disposed , with the

weddings of three brothers and one sister going on,and

her own betrothal approaching !This last intelligence came upon me very unexpectedly.I had known that she was some day to be married to hercousin

,Ibrahim Pasha (the same name as her own brother) ;

but She was only fourteen ,and I had hoped the marriage

would not take place for three or four years,as her two

elder sisters,Tafita Hanem and Fatma Hanem

,had not

been married until they were eighteen.

One morning, when I went to the harem during the

fétes of the first marriage,upon entering the room where

our studies took place, I saw two persons close togetherin the further corner, whom I took for the Princess andKopses. I walked straight up to them ,

saying,

“ Com

ment donc, vous ne venez pas a ma rencontre ? ” whenI discovered they were strangers , and a second glanceShowed me they did not belong to the harem

,but were

evidently visitors of distinction. I apologised,and was

going away to seek my pupils elsewhere,when the elder

lady begged me to remain. I soon found it was mother anddaughter , and that the young lady was to be the brideof PrinceHussein ,

the Khédive’s second son . Also,what

interested me still more, she was the half-Sister of PrinceIbrahim

,to whom my pupil was shortly to be betrothed.

The young lady spoke French extremely well,and had

very n ice manners. I afterwards saw a good deal of herduring my residence in the harem with my pupil

,as she

was a frequent visitor and very much attached to herSister - in- law.

As my conversational powers in Turkish were soon ex

hansted , the elder lady put a good many questions to me

through her daughter. “Was I married ? If not, withwhom did I live Was I English or French and manyothers

,which I answered.


Alexandria without the great cloak which the Egyptianladies wear , which completely conceals the figure, and wasformerly O ften drawn over the head and face. They weresure otherwise to be insulted. N ow a European may go

about without molestation ; I never met with the slightestannoyance. She told m e at that time, when the Viceroy

’sharem wen t abroad

,which was a rare occurrence, any men

who might be in the streets turned their faces to the wal limmediately.

CHA PTER XVI.

Excursion to Toura—D ea th in the hotel—My pup il is betrothed—Turkishcomedians brought in blindfolded—The second betrotha l takes p lace

Qua il-shooting nea r the Pyram ids We r eturn to Choubrah—Bookcaseturned into a mea t - cup board

—Sp ra in my ankle—Court moves to

Gezireh We a re ordered to Constantinop le.

Towards the end of the fe‘

tes,we made an excursion to

Toura. It was on a Fr iday,when we never went to

the harem.

Toura is on the east bank Of the Nile, Opposite Sakkara

,and from the quarries of Toura the Pyramids are

said to have been built. It i s about eighteen mil es fromCairo. We s tarted at hal f-pas t eight , a. party of ten

in three carriages , having sent on donkeys for the wholeparty the nigh t before.Our way led through the Mouskee, pas t the C itadel

,

and then out into the desert. There is no road , thedeser t i s as billowy as a rough sea, and it was heavywork for the poor horses. Every now and then we had

to get out and walk, while the carriages were pushed to

get over a ridge. At last we came to the place where

EXCURSION TO TOURA. 1 7 1

the donkeys were waiting for us , and we all mounted.They were capital beasts

,and away we wen t at a smart

canter.Our party consisted of Mr and Mrs Freeland , Mr

Michel l and mysel f, Shefket , the English chaplain and

his wi fe, a Scottish doctor in the service , and an Irishmember of Parliament (an Ulster man ,

not a Nationalist)with his wife. The Iri shman played all sorts of pranksspringing to his feet on the saddle like a circus performer,then coming down suddenly with his face to the tail. Hechallenged Shefket to imitate him ,

which the latter didat once

,and the two kept us in a continual roar of

laughter with their antics. Sometimes in their leapsthey came down on the sands , in which case they ran

after their steeds and vaulted on again.

We had brought baskets of provisions with us , and

they were carried up to the appointed place, for the

quarries are on the hillside. They are extensively ex

cavated , and sometimes form complete gal leries. In theirrecesses we were not only s creened from the sun

,which

was hot in the middle of the day,but had at the same

time a beauti ful V iew of the r iver and opposite shore.On each side of the Nile was a long green belt Of vegetat ion ; beyond that on the west was desert ; and on the

east (on which we were) the long range of Mokattam

Hills. The colouring is one of the great charms inEgypt ; it is so different from anything one sees inEurope. I had lately seen some pictures by an eminen t

artist , Mr M‘

Callum ,which had been taken at Thebes ,

and gave a very good idea of the varying ligh t. Theywere “ Sultry Noon

,

” “ Mysterious Night,”and “ Ruddy

Dawn . The fi rst is quite Oppress ive in its pale , yel

lowish light, not a shadow anywhere ; the air seems laden

with dust. The second is strong Shadow , with the silverylight of the moon in parts. The third, gorgeous sunrise,

1 7 2 RECOLLECTION S OF AN EGY PTIAN PRINCESS.

with the red glow mantling on the ruins , and seeming toincrease as you gaze upon it.

We got back at about hal f- past six in the evening , andI always think this excursion to Toura (which I afterwards frequently made) one of the most enjoyable in the

vicin ity of Cairo not for its antiquities , but for the charm

ing views from the quarries , and the contrast presentedby the desert and the green banks of the river.But you must devote a whole day to Toura on account

Of the distance. If you want to make an afternoon ex

cursion ,and get a fine V iew over Cairo , you cannot do

better than mount the Mokattams behind the C itadel .A carriage can take you a little beyond the C itadel

,and

then the road becomes too heavy and too steep , s o youmust either walk or r ide ; but you will be amply repaidfor your trouble by the V iew which awaits you from the

top. The road winds through hills , with quarries on eachSide , in which large caverns have been hollowed out

,

forming cool retreats where you may rest in shade shouldthe sun prove too hot. It was here, on the top Of the

hill,that the Observations were made on the transit of

Venus.The day after our picni c to Toura, a sad event happened

in the hotel— a death ! We had noticed for some timepast a gentleman looking frightfully i ll , and who had j ustreturned from the Soudan. He was an English O fficer ofEngineers , and had taken service under the Khédive. Hehad been two years in the Soudan ,

had had nineteenattacks Of fever dur ing that time

,and was on his return

to England. A few days after his arrival at Cairo,he had

seemed a little better , and on the very day of his death hehad settled to cross from A lexandria for Brindisi.His attacks Of fever had made him exceedingly deaf

, so

that , although everybody observed his delicate state,it

was extremely diffi cult to enter into conversation with


Nile about twenty years ago. The second was betweenFa

'

i'

kHanem , adopted daughter Of the thi rd Pr incess, andMoustapha Pasha

,son of the Mouffettish

, then Min isterof Finance.The first betrothal took place on the 1 7th Of February.It was at the palace Of Abdeen under the Khédive’s roof ,not at Kasr-el—Al i the Queen -Mother’s palace, where all

the wedding fétes had been held. The l ittle fiancee wasdressed in white silk , covered with Brussels point and

orange flowers ; and after the contract had been signed ,She went through all the rooms leaning on her two marriedsisters

,and taking her seat under the canopy, as usual

with betrothed brides,received the presents of jewels

brought to her. She sat there a few minutes , and thenleft the room

,and soon after sent for me to Show me her

gifts. They were very costly, but she did not seem elated.She said the contract was a much more serious thing thanthe actual marriage, because you could never change yourmind after that had been signedThere were very few Europeans presen t

,nearly all the

visitors being Turkish or Egyptian ladies. There was a

grand luncheon in the European style, which was indeedalways used in the Khédive

’s harem ; but the amusementswere exclusively such as are common to harems. Therewas a troop of comedians brought in who were placed onone side of the saloon in a strong light

, and then latticework screens were stretched across the room to separatethem from the harem. Cushions were laid down in fron tOf the screens

,and there the ladies sat looking at the per

formance, while they themselves remained unseen . A t

intervals the men were led out for rest or refreshment,and it was a ridiculous sight to see them go in or out.

Their eyes were bandaged, and evidently effectually , for itwas done by the eunuchs and they were led in and out

thus blindfolded. A eunuch preceded them ,holding one

TURKISH COMEDIANS. 1 7 5

by the hand , who in turn gave his to the next , and so

on through the whole troop. About every third man was

grasped bv the arm by a eunuch in order to keep themsteady, as they were led along at a rapid rate. The eunuchsare always merciless to any men who fall into their power ;and the women were all laughing as the comedians wereled through. If one had been discovered peeping , whatwould have been his fate ! However, the eunuchs tookcare Of that ; and as the men were all Mahometans , theyknew better than to make any attempt at seeing whatwas forbidden. We came away in the afternoon ,

and saw

the large space in front Of the palace at Abdeen coveredwith tents : on one side a man was performing on a tightrope. The day had been rather cold for the time of year,the thermometer not rising above 63° in the shade. It hadbeen fine throughout the fe

‘

tes,which was fortunate, as so

much was done in the Open air.

The next morn ing when I went to the harem I foundmy pupil j ust out of bed. I don’

t know how long she hadsat up the previous n ight

,but she had had a t iring day.

All the jewels she had received were spread out beforeher, and she took up one after another to examine, whichrather retarded the process Of dressing. To give me a

stronger personal interest in the matter,she handed me a

dark -blue velvet case, saying it was de la part de sa bellemere. I had then never seen Or spoken to this lady , so Ithought she made a mistake, and I said ,

“ Y ou mean fromyour mother

N0,said She ;

“ from my mother- in-law.

I was told afterwards that it was the custom at the

betrothal for the mother- in - law to make presents to thoseabout the person of the bride

, and at the actual marriagefor the mother to do it. I opened the case, and found itcontained a gold watch , chain ,

and brooch. The watchwas in a double ease of pink enamel, set with diamonds ,


the brooch to match,and the chain having heavy gold

tassels . There was a large rose diamond in the centreof the watch

,and a similar one in the breech.

On that day week , February 24, the betrothal of FaikHanem ,

the adopted daughter,took place. There is a

Mahometan superstition that two brides or betrothedpersons should not remain under one roof during the

same moon ,SO Faik Hanem’

s betrothal took place at

Kas r- el-Ali,instead of at Abdeen,

where she alwaysresided.I had the right of being in the room with the bride,

but by acciden t I remained in the large saloon adjoining,

which the Pashas would pass through when they came toask the important question

,

“ Wilt thou have this man ,”

&c.,&c.

There were a great many ladies of the harem in the

saloon,besides a French lady, Mrs Freeland, and myself.

A eunuch came in to give notice of the approach of the

Pashas, upon which all the ladies hurried into the neighbouring rooms

,and the doors were closed upon them.

One, however, concealed herself behind Mrs Freelandand m e, determined if possible to witness the ceremony.There were several eunuchs, who looked all round the

saloon ,and seeing no one but three European ladies , had

Of course nothing to say to them. We were standing,and were not aware that any one was hiding behind us ;but suddenly we sat down,

and then the intruder becamedistinctly visible. It was too late to screen her

,which

we would willingly have done ; a eunuch caught sight Ofher, and walked quickly across the room. She knewher danger, and rushed to the nearest door before he gotup

,but I fear he had recogn ised her.The Pashas came to the curtained door, and put themomentous question ,

which after being thrice repeated ,and a due interval having elapsed , appeared to be answered


lessons. Poor girl ! no doubt she found it trying to begin

directly after her dinner, particularly as she was taughtin a language wh ich she very imperfectly understood. Iwould set her to copy something while I was engagedwith Faik Hanem

,and when I looked at her performance

I was quite amazed at the erratic movements of her pen .

I did not discover at first that she dozed during the whole

time, cont inui ng her writing mechanically, but with a

very indifferen t result.The 28th Of February Of that year ( 1 873) was the N ew

Year’s Day of the Mahometans , the 1st of Moharrem 1290

A.H. Dur ing this month no marriages take place.Sometimes on Fridays we drove out to the Pyramids

the chaplain,his wife

,mysel f

,and Mr Michell. The two

gentlemen took guns and went shooting , while we re

mained in the carriage or walked about. There is excellent snipe and quail shooting after the inundation has

subsided , and wherever they saw a chance for their gunsthey got out

,and then joined us later. As they had no

dogs , they Of course los t a great many birds , but we alwaysbrought back a fair quantity

,and they were very welcome ,

as our menu at the hotel was very limited , and very mon

otonous , and there was a good deal of difference in the

plump little birds shot,and the poor half- s tarved little

things which had been first snared and then sold to thehotel.On the 20th Of March we were told we were to go back

to the house at Choubrah ,and we left the N ew Hotel

after a stay of ten weeks. It had been very pleasant andl ively, enabling us to see much more Of the fe

‘

tes than we

Should have done at Choubrah. Carriages were an ex

orbitant price during the month of weddings , but stayingat the hotel we had found friends to share with us theexpense.When we went back to Choubrah many changes had

RETURN To CHOUBRAH. 1 7 9

taken place by no means satisfactory to us. Severalcherished pieces Of furni ture had disappeared , or werequite spoiled. A large and excellen t bookcase whichused to s tand in the Princess’s schoolroom ,

and whichwas for my use, had been removed , and after many in

quiries I found it in an outhouse where it had been usedfor keeping meat ! The greater part of the shelves hadbeen removed and burnt, and those stil l left in were so

stained and dirty that i t was no longer fit for its Originalpurpose. The chairs and sofas in the drawing—room hadbeen covered with crimson SILK velvet in per fectly goodcondition. When we came back it had been removed ,and new cotton velvet substituted. The Springs had been

taken out, and a very hard stuffing pu t in their place.

Whenever any visitor came his Highness always gaveorders that the house in which he was to be lodged shouldbe carefully looked to, and new furniture put where

necessary, and somehow it always was found necessary,and the new furn iture was seldom an improvement on

the old.

The khamseen winds were rather prevalent during themonth Of March

,and I found return ing from and going

to the harem in the middle of the day rather trying.On the 27th I went as usual in the morn ing , and found

there were to be no lessons , as his Highness was going togive a grand fe

‘

te at Gezireh man the harem of Abdeen.

The gardens were to be i lluminated at n igh t,and they

were all looking forward to i t immensely. The preceding day had been fresh and cool

,with a north wind

,and

that morning had been promising ; but in a few hours itveered to the south , and became one of the most oppressivedays I ever remember. We kept our doors and windowsclosely shut all day, and towards even ing the wind rosevery high. A t 9 PM . I went to the door ; i t was like theblas t of a furnace

, so stifling and overpowering. This was


very un lucky for the garden fete at Gezireh. The nexttwo days the weather was delightful .We were very pleased to go back to our own housekeeping, as we had again our cook of the previous winter

(he was luckily disengaged) , but one evening we had a

l ittle contretemp s. Mrs Freeland had ordered some greenpeas, having been told they were to be bought in the

market, and when they were brought up to table theywere floating about in some watery fluid called meltedbutter, but unshelled , cooked in their pods !A gentleman at Shepheard

’s Hotel— the Honourable

Murray Finch Hatton (now Earl of Winchilsea) - who

had j ust returned from a voyage up the Nile, had broughta young lioness cub with him, and kept i t chained in thegarden. He had got i t at Assouan ,

had always fed it regularly himsel f, and the creature was very tame , both to himand to every one else. Its owner told me that when hehad it on board the dahabieh. its great amusement was tohide behind the thing to which its chain was attached ,and then suddenly spring out on some unwary passer-by,to whom

,however

,i t did no further harm than a blow

with its paw .

At the end Of the month (March ) I calculated that therehad been since the 1 st, n ine days on which the thermometer had been in the shade from 80

°

to and sevendays on which it had been from 90° to A t the beginning of the month the nuisance Offleas had become almos tintolerable ; but towards the middle they disappeared , andonly a stray one was seen occasionally. Their disappearance had been already foretold in the A rab calendar, andwe found it quite correct. But no sooner were we rid ofthe fleas than the mosquitoes and sand -flies came in abundance. The latter were to me worse than the first.I heard a curious story about this time. An English ;

man had come to Cairo for his health , and suddenly de


or three others to the bazaars. None of them had any

particular intention of purchasing , but our embryo barrister amused the party by constant bargaining. He hadbeen a long time thus employed with an Old Persian , and

the latter perceiving at last that there was not the slight

est intention Of purchasing , quietly locked up all his stores ,put the key in his pocket, took out his pipe , and sat calmlysmoking

,apparently quite oblivious of his tormentor. The

latter was not to be discouraged ; he took up a piece Of Oldiron which happened to lie near and inquired with greatinterest the price Of that. A t this moment a lad came up

and handed a bag Of money to the merchant. It was evidently some accoun t which had j ust been paid

,and the

Persian began counting the money. Upon this the Engl ishman changed his tack , and clamoured loudly for backsheesh

,which is the universal A rab cry. The Persian

finished his counting , calmly put two pieces of gold intohis tormentor’s hand , and put his purse in his pocketwithou t taking any further notice of him. The youngman was in a diffi culty. O f course he

, a gentleman,

could not take the money ; his chaff had fallen harmlessly on the Oriental , so he quietly laid down the goldand walked on.

Towards the end Of April , the Court removed to Gezireh.Ibrahim Pasha occupied the same apartments as he haddone the year before, but my dear little pupils were nowshut up in the harem. I had not been to them manydays , however , before an accident happened to me. I wassitting in my room reading

,with the windows shut on

account of the great heat of the outer air , when I felt thesharp sting Of a mosquito. My feet were crossed on a

footstool , and one had gone to Sleep without my beingaware Of it. I sprang up immediately to put some ammonia on my hand , and the foot being asleep , I rol led overon the floor and sprained my instep. I was unable to get .

ORDERED TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 1 83

up for some time on account of the pain,and could not

walk for nearly a fortnight.When I again w ent to the harem to give lessons

,there

were as many cries of Hoeh gueldiniz ! Sefa gueldiniz !(salutations of wel come) as i f I had been a dear old friend.I do not refer to my pupils

,but to the eunuchs and slaves

whom I generally passed in my way into the harem.

Their lives are so monotonous that they welcome anyfamiliar face.The treatment for my sprain was very simple and very

effi cacious. I had constant applications of wet bandagessteeped in arnica and water ( the proportion being a teaspoonful Of arnica to hal f a pint Of water). A fter threeor four days the foot was rubbed for a quarter of an houras O ften as conven ient, and after ten days

,cold compresses

applied at night. The foot was very much swollen and

discoloured , and fel t weak for two or three months.In the middle Of May we received orders to go to Con

stantinople. We were told we were to leave Cairo by the8 A.M. express

,which reaches A lexandria at that

we were not to step there, but to take t ickets at once, andproceed by the post-boat to Cons tantinople, which wouldleave the port at 4 PM .

We should not be the usual party, as Mrs Freeland andher three children were going to England by the nextP. O. boat, so there would

‘

be only Mr Freeland , Mr

Michell,and myself. The P. O. boat was not expected

to leave A lexandria for some days (as it always dependson the arrival of the mai l from India) but , as the establishment at Choubrah would be broken up at our departure, Mr Freeland decided that his wife and childrenshould travel with us , intending to see them safely in the

hotel before our departure.


CHAPTER XVII.

D ep arture for A lexandr ia—Harem travel the same day—Co-

nsequent

delay—Arr ive too la te for the boat- Hotels crowded—Proceed in the

Maha lla to Constantinop le We are ordered to Therap ia—Go to the

Ho‘tel desAmbassadeurs—Remove to Emirghian—Lessons in the harem—Fete at the p alace g iven to the Sultane Va lidé.

As the orders were not countermanded, we were at the

station next morn ing at half-past seven, with all our

luggage. But before we got there, the fi ring Of guns

announced that his Highness was leaving Cairo. This

occasioned our train to start half an hour later than thespecified time, and very soon two special trains followed.The first con tained the Valide (Queen-Mother) and herhousehold ; the second , the Princesses and their suite.We had s tarted before them , but nevertheless the expresshad to give way to the specials

,and we were always

stepping at s tations , and being shunted, to allow thesetrain s to pass. Consequently, we arrived at Alexandriaat 3P.M. instead of at our steamer was to leave at4 P.M.,

and there was j ust a possibility Of our being therein time. But the last harem train was still in the station ;every carriage outside had been pressed into the serviceOf the harem , and how were we to get to the steamer 7

and, above all, how were we to get our luggage ?

The station was not then,as it is now

,close to the end

of Sheriff Pasha Street, but a long drive and the eunuchswere rushing frantically about , seizing upon every porter ,and making him bring out the harem luggage. To avoidthe chance of leaving any behind , the eunuchs told themto take every trunk they could lay their hands upon ; andas few of them could read , addresses were Of little use

under such pressure.

Under these circumstances, our dragoman,Shaheen, was


Mr Freeland had to pass through a narrow street, and

there in another carriage he met a cousin who had j ustarrived in Egypt from England , and being on his way tothe Mauritius

,thought he would land at A lexandr ia

,and

taking Cairo on his way,rejoin his steamer at Suez. One

of the principal inducements to this was , to visit hiscousin at Cairo ; and had they not met in this unex

pected way, the cousin would have been Off by the nexttrain . As it was

,he turned back with Mr Freeland , and

accompanied him to the quay , expressing his intentionafterwards to go to the HOtel de l’EurOpe and - see Mrs

Freeland and her children.

In the meanwhile, Mr Michel l and I hurried on boardthe mail-boat. We found the steam already getting up ,but upon speaking to the captain were told that everyberth was occupied. We

“ were rather urgen t ; and the

captain , calling the steward, said , after consultation ,that

an arrangement would be made to accommodate us. Pre

sently Mr Freeland came on board,but had seen nothing

of Shaheen nor Of the luggage ! The captain told us thatour luggage could fol low by the next boat, that we should

get it in about ten days’ time,and urged us to make up

our minds whether we would go or s tay,as the mail-bags

were on board, and he was anxious to be Off. We had

nothing with us but the clothing upon us , and we hadseen enough on our voyage last year to know that , onceseparated from our luggage

,it was an even chance i f we

Should ever see it again ,independent of the discomfort to

which we should be exposed in the meanwhile by beingwithout it. So we came Off

,and the vessel began to turn

slowly and get under way. We were only a few hundredyards from it when we saw Shaheen approaching it, in a

large boat, with all the luggage , and making frantic gesticulations for the vessel to stop and take him and hisboxes on board. We felt rather anxious lest he should

DEPARTURE DELAYED. 1 8 7

succeed , and so bring about the consummation to avoidwhich we had left the vessel , but we were relieved presen tly by seeing the mail -boat slowly steam on

, leaving

Shaheen far behind. He, too, was not a little delightedat meeting us , as he would have been rather embarrassedat having all the luggage on his hands

,and being left

without a ticket or funds !When we reached the hotel , we found it was crowded ,

and there was not a room to let anywhere. A gentlemanhad given up his room to Mrs Freeland , but it was verysmall

, and in i t were crowded her three children, two

nurses , and hersel f. As we belonged to his Highness’sservice, the landlord made every effort to accommodateus

, and at last induced two gentlemen to give up a largedouble-bedded room to Mrs Freeland and me. The arrivalO f his Highness always makes the hotels very full. On

previous occasions the rooms had been ordered for usbeforehand, so that we had found no difficulty. This timewe had been told to go on board at once, and we could havedone it easily but for the delay in the train

,which was no

fault Of ours.Mr Freeland went Off immediately to RaS- el-Tin to

announce that we were still at Alexandria,and should

await his Highness’s orders. Either the matter was misinterpreted to him ,

in order to screen those who werereally responsible for the delay (for we learned that theKhédive himsel f had been quite punctual in starting a

full half -hour before the express) , or he thought we hadnot been sufficien tly act ive in striving to execute hisorders. However that might be, we were told that hisHighness was displeased

,and that we were to leave the

next day by the Chimdi,one of the Khédive’s steam

yachts , which was to be got ready for some of the Officials.We had been told that the Chimdi was to start the next

day at eleven ,and to avoid the crowding we had seen on


the post-boat,we determined to go on board at n ine and

secure our berths. We were j ust ready to start when wewere told that it was the Tanta , not the Chimdi, we wereto go by ; and having got down to the quay, some one

came to say it was not the Tanta,but the Mahalla. SO

to the Mahalla we went,and early as we were, we found

all the best places taken,and scraps of paper gummed or

pasted on to the doors with the names Of some pasha or

bey. A very small end cabin,where the motion would be;

most fel t,was marked for Mdlle. Gem ila (myself I), but.

Mr Freeland and Mr Michell were still worse Off. Ten ,

eleven ,twelve O

’clock passed,and no Sign Of moving ; at.

last,at 4 P.M.

,the pashas

'

and beys began to come on

board,and by degrees we got up the steam.

At s ix we were j ust starting, when a signal was madethat we were to stop for another passenger. This wasMary Evans

,

1 his Highness’s dairy -woman,who had only

received one hour’s intimation to prepare hersel f for thevoyage. She was got hastily on board , and off we started.But there was no accommodation for her

,and She stoutly

declared she mus t have a cabin. They proposed (withoutmy knowledge) to put her into mine , but this she wouldnot hear of. She said I was a lady , and she was a servant

,

and she would not incommode me,but firmly maintain ed

that she had a right to a private sleeping -place,and must

have it. At last a good-natured bey offered to give uphis cabin to Mary

,and the offer was gratefully accepted.

She was a respectable hard -working woman,who for good

pay had accepted the post of dairy -woman to his Highnessthe Khédive, and, I believe , gave full satisfaction. She

had l ived for one year in the harem ,with several other

European servants , but, as was to be expected,the way of

li fe was so different that there were continual complaintson both sides , and at last i t was settled that they should

1 Referred to previously.

1 90 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS .

We went into the hotel,and, ordering breakfas t, con

sul ted what was to be done. Should one of us go to

Mysseri’s at Pera ,

and see i f there were rooms for us , asit was no trifle to take all the luggage back to Cons tantinople , and up the hill to Pera

,if on arriving there we

were to find all apartments taken ? While discuss ingwhat we were to do

,somebody said a new hotel was

about to be opened on the Opposite side of the litt le bay,

on the northern extremity of whi ch theHOtel d’Angleterreis Situated. Would it not be well to go and look at thisfirst , be fore undertaking the troublesome transport of our

luggage to Pera ? So we walked round the little bay

to the HOtel des Ambassadeurs as the house was called,and were agreeably surprised by all we saw. It had beenthe res idence of a Greek merchant ; the front of the houselooked on to the li ttle bay, at the back of it was a lovelygarden on the hills ide , fragrant with roses , and echoingwith the melodious notes of the nightingale. IVe brokeout simultaneously w ith Moore’s ballad,

“ There’s a bowerof roses by Bendemeer

’

s stream , and hastened to in spectthe domestic arrangements , to ascertain whether they werein keeping w i th the charming exterior. The large ball

was Of marble , the staircase ditto, the bedrooms fresh and

clean. IVe were the firs t comers ; we struck the bargainat once , sent Shaheen back for the luggage, and took our

rooms. I chose one looking on to the bay,Mr Freeland

did the same ; but Mr Michell , who had had enough of

water during the voyage , chose a room looking on the

garden, and revelled in the roses and the night ingales.IVe had had such a week of turmoil and dis com fort,that w e seemed in a perfect haven of res t

, and we wentabout all day with beaming countenances , quot ing poetry ,and thinking li fe was not a bad thing after all.The cuis ine was excellent, and at dinner there were

some new arrivals , who turned out to be college friends

EMIRGHIAN 1 9 1

of Mr Freeland’s . They had,like ourselves , gone to

the HOtel d’Angleterre , and finding accommodation thereimpossible , had come on to theHOtel des Ambassadeurs.The next morn ing our sat isfaction was considerably

damped by hearing that one of the gentlemen of our

party,who had chosen the garden apartment

,had spent

the whole night in the capture of B flats ! Thi s statement ,and the diffi cul ty we found in making ourselves understood by the wai ters when we wanted anything , madethe roses and the nightingales a l ittle les s attractive.The waiters were Greeks ; they understood a little Frenchand a l ittle Italian

,and they j umbled both together wi th

Greek , so that with the best intentions we all found a

mutual understanding very diffi cul t.AS we who slept in the front rooms had seen no B

flats , we dec ided upon consideration that these unwelcomevisitors were to be ascribed to the bed in the gardenapartment bem cr placed in a recess with wooden supporters under it ; and in thi s cl imate

,wherever wood is ,

these insects are sure to abound,and are almos t impos

sible to eradicate. In the other rooms the bedsteads wereof iron , which served as a non- conductor. The sufferertherefore at once changed hi s room ,

and saw no more Of

his tormentors.A fter three days we removed to Emirghian . The

weather was fine and very clear. From the kiosk at the

top of the garden at Emirghian ,the chain of Mount

Olympus,covered wi th snow,

was di stinctly visible. The

day temperature in the shade ranged from 60°

to

deligh t ful when compared with the hea t of Egypt. IVe

were still in May, and w e remembered the 29th , not onlyas the ann iversa ry Of the Res toration ,

but as tha t of thetaking of Cons tantinople by the Turks in 1453, four hundred and twenty years back Four- and- twenty times hadConstantinople been besie

ged , and taken six. I

V

as the


capture under Mohammed II. in 1453to be the last ? Itspossession in all ages has been fiercely contested. Amongthe ancients

,by Persians , Spartans , and A thenians. In

340 BC. the Athenians , instigated by Demosthenes, helpedto defend the city against Philip ofMacedon. One darknight the Macedonians were on the point of taking thecity by assault , when the new moon suddenly appearedand revealed to the sentry on the walls the danger awaiting them. This gave r ise to the crescent being used as asymbol on Old Byzantine coins , and the Turks finding thesame, adopted the hal f-moon as their device.1

Several fires took place during the first fortnight afterour arrival. One was on the Bosphorus , and we saw the

flames distinctly from the top Of the garden ; two were inStamboul

,and one at Pera. I went through the ruins Of

the last three days after it occurred , and they were stillsmoking

,and the heat was great. But it was not alone at

Constantinople that fires were raging. The pretty Operahouse at Malta, where I had so O ften been ,

was burntdown in the same week . It had cost ten yearsbefore. The tremendous conflagration at Boston was dailytelegraphed.I repeated all the excursions Of the year before , finding

sometimes new ways of getting to them. There was thetramway , which with a slight interruption led almost tothe Yedi Koullerler Kapoussi (Seven Towers), and the

rai lway , which lay in the same direction. Both these wereavailable for the walk round the city walls, an excursion

1 I met while in Egypt a lady who had had a handsome brooch given toher , shaped like a crescent

,which she objected to wearing , as she con

s idered it a symbol of Mahometan ism but upon my telling her the origin

of the device,She put it on with alacrity, saying She would now have no

further misgivings. Later on,when I was living in the harem , a.very

pretty coral cross was sent by a.European lady as a present to a young

lady in the harem, but the latt er rejected it at once as a symbol of

Christianity 1


kept closed. I thought only Of the interruption to the

lessons,and begged my pupil to remonstrate with her

mother on the subject , as hitherto I had had full libertyto open or close the Shutters as I thought proper, everSince I had given lessons in the harem. Besides , I had

a lurking suspicion that my pupil might be thereby en

deavouring to Shirk her lessons , and as I considered itinjur ious to the eyes to read or write in so dim a light,I expected she would presently ask me to relate to her a

story,instead of studying ; but I was mistaken in this

supposition. She repeated earnestly that She could not

Speak to her mother ; that the first Princess had'

ordered

the shutters to be closed , and from her order there wasno appeal.I mention this as an instance of harem discipline. Any

order from the first wife is paramount throughout thehousehold. This lady considered that harem etiquettewas violated by unveiled women being seen at open windows and so it was , according to their notions . Had i tbeen the mother Of my pupil who gave the order , I couldhave represented to her the inj urious effect upon the lessons

,and the order would doubtless have been rescinded

as long as I remained in the room.

The 25th Of June was the anniversary of the SultanAbdul Aziz’s accession -to the throne. This was always a

fe‘

te,but it was to be made a still greater one on this occa

sion,as the Viceroy had invited the Sultane Validé on a

visit to Emirghian . A particular part Of the palace wasto be set aside for this lady and her suite, and to be newlyfurn ished for the occasion. The gardens were to be i llum inated

,all the paths to be festooned with lamps

,of which

Ibrahim Pasha told . me there were They weresmall globular glasses , hal f full of water, with O il at the

top , and the wick floating on i t. It was the business offive hundred men to attend to these lamps. They com

THE SULTAN’S FETE. 1 9 5

menced putting in the Oil two days before , and there wassuch a dropping along the walks as almost to overpowerthe scent of the roses , and remind one Of an Italian warehouse. The three fine steam -yachts that lay moored infront of the palace were also to be illuminated.There was a rumour that all the gentlemen in our littlehouse on the hillside would have to leave , or be locked upin the house ( from whence they could see nothing) ; andthough I was not a gentleman

,it would probably have ex

tended to me,or

,i f I had succeeded in getting out

,I could

not have got in again.

At a certain hour , the lamps being all l ighted, the gardens were to be left free for the Sultan’s harem to wanderabout as they pleased. The best place from whence togain a view of the whole was from the Bosphorus

, and

numberless cai’

ques , and even steamers,were engaged for

the night.I was invited to join a party who had taken a steamer ;

but I Should have been obliged to remain out all n ight,

and I thought that paying rather too dearly for the pleasure. I

_

had seen the previous year what a crowd hadlined the shore all the afternoon and evening

,and the

fete on that occasion was merely that celebrated on everyann iversary of the accession. This would be something

p ar excellence.


CHA PTER XVIII.

A rr iva l of the Sultane Va lidé—Illuminations—The Sultan vi sits Emirghian—E tiquette on the occasion—Signs of dep arture—Leave Turkey on the

Dakahlieh—Obstructions to the view on deck—Stop a t Ga llip oli—A i

Dardanelli—M itylene—Smyrna—Stay there twenty-four hours—f Greatheat—Go ashore towards evening

—Leave Smyrna—Stop a t Scio—A t

Syra—Land—Fine position of the town Well built and well p aved

Town da tes only forty yea rs ba ck— Continue our voyage—Arriva l at

Alexand r ia .

At hal f-past two ‘

in the afternoon the Sultane Val idéarrived. We had hoped she would come by boat, but shedrove

,followed by her suite in about twenty carriages ,

and attended by a great many eunuchs. The road led

to the garden gate at the top of the hill , and there theKhédive and the Princes of his family awaited her, andled her to the palace at the foot of the hill and by thewater - Side. The Khédive drove, and the Princes preceded her carriage on feet.

We had been on the watch Since morning for herarrival , but missed i t after all. I walked through the

garden down to the Shore,but found it so crowded that

I soon returned. People had taken up their stationhours before n ight ; benches were arranged all along thewalls ; women had spread their carpets , and allowed no

intruders on them.

The lamps began to be lighted before sunset,because

it would be a long process. At about 9 PM . I went outwith Mr Freeland to see the effect of the illuminatedgardens. At the top Of the hil l was a belvedere, and

we went up to that, as affording the finest view. The

whole extent of the gardens,the palace , and the Bos

phorus , with the opposite shore, was spread out beforeus. Every serpentine path was a line of light ; the out

line Of the yachts was Shown to perfection ; and the


and the Princes of his family. If the Sultan asked a

question ,of course he received an answer ; but if he

merely made an observation ,it was heard in silence, with

profound reverence and low salaams. Those who enteredhis presence kept their eyes fixed on the ground , and

their arms folded lest they Should by any inadvertencebe betrayed into the indecorum of swinging them ! Hewas conducted in state to the kiosk which had been fittedup for him

, and there he dined. N o one was present'

but

his own attendants ; and when he had fin ished his repast ,the magnificent gold service, then used for the first time,was packed up and sent to his palace as a present !The scenery and excursions about Constantinople are

so beautiful that I repeated some of them over and overagain, and was always finding fresh points Of interes t.Sometimes , however, I came back with disgust and disappointment. One day,

after waiting nearly half an hourat the Em irghian station in a burning sun and high wind ,I found

,when the steamer came, that there was no upper

deck , and the awnings were down on both sides , becauseon one side was the sun and on the other the wind ; theboat was very crowded, and a great many people weresmoking. Arri ved at the bridge , I found some Greek

fe‘

te was going on,and the passage of the streets Of Galata

up to Pera was more diffi cult than ever. I had heardthe year before that an underground railway w as aboutto be constructed between Galata and Pera, and that itwas to be open in 1 873, but funds had failed and it was

s till uncompleted. Omn ibuses drawn by four horses tooka circui tous route up the hill

,and small broughams plied

on the bridge ready to take you up by the same road fora beshlik ( 1 1d ) I tried each conveyance by turns , butthe jolting was so frightful that I pre ferred walking upthe usual way,

in Spite Of the sharp pebbles , the mudholes , the hamals (porters), and the dogs. The two

THE DAKAHLIEH POST-BOAT. 1 9 9

latter obstructions were dreadful. Sometimes two or

four men would be met carrying long poles,which re

quired some ingenuity and nimbleness to avoid , particularly as it was a case of Scylla and Charybdis. The dirtand refuse thrown into the s treets were terrible. For

the last the dogs were the scavengers,and for the first

the streets were swept and watered twice a-day ; but itwas not pleasant to come in for that either.On the last day of July

,upon entering the harem as

usual, I saw Signs of departure. I knew the Khédivewas about to return to Egypt, but I had taken i t forgranted that the second Princess and her children wouldremain until the middle Of October , as they had done theyear before. I was mistaken . The second Princess wasin better health than she had been for sonre time

,and

did not approve Of being left behind . In Eastern countries

, to be with the sovereign is l ight and li fe , and to

be away from him is banishment. The Khédive was

going,SO all wished to go.

Even my pupils did not seem sorry to go. They couldno longer run freely about the gardens ; indeed theycould not go into them at all

,unless with one of the

Princesses towards evening. The bright spot in mypupil’s li fe was now the short time She could Spend eachday in her father

’s presence. To be away from him was

always a serious grievance to her from the time Of her

seclusion in the harem.

We were told we were to return to Egypt by a postboat

,the Dakahlieh , which was advertised to leave the

Golden Horn at 4 PM . on the 6th of August. Our partyconsis ted of Messrs Freeland and Michell

,Skefket

,and

mysel f. We left Emirghian by the ordinary steamboat ,Shaheen being with us to look after the luggage. The

Khédive and his family were stil l at the palace , but as

they would travel faster than we , they would probably


reach Egypt about the same time. The Dakahlieh , beinga post-boat , would touch at several places , and be at any

rate s ix days on the voyage.When we got out of the steamer at the bridge and had

seen all our luggage safely landed, we took three ca'

r'

ques

and went on board the Dakahlieh .

We were very much pleased with the beat ; it was quitenew

, the accommodation excellent, and there were veryfew passengers.Four P.M. had been advertised as the time for starting ;

but four,five

,six O

’clock came,and no signs Of moving.

At last we slowly started , but to our surprise , insteadof rounding Seraglio Point into the Sea Of Marmora, westeamed up the Bosphorus. The Khédive

’s private posthad not come on board

,SO w e went to Emirghian to fetch

it. It was not ready ; We Slowly steamed back again,and

stopping near Seraglio Point, wai ted until hal f -past ten ,

when it was brought,and we started on our voyage. The

day had been lovely and the even ing bright moonlight , sowe took our farewell Of the Bosphorus , with all its beauties, under the most favourable circumstances.When I looked out Of my cabin window at Six O

’clockthe next morning

,I found we were j ust passing the nearest

rocky part of the Marmora Islands. My accommodation

was first-rate. I was (until we reached Smyrna) the onlyfirst-class

i

lady passenger, SO I had a large cabin to mysel f,with an excellent bath - room adjoin ing. The windowswere large, and allowed of a very good view when we

were near the coast.When I went on deck , however , I was disappointed.

There was an excellent upper deck for the first classpassengers

,but half Of i t was rai led off for third -class , so

that standing upon it you could never see on both sides at

once. There was a kind of lattice - work screen , withinwhich women and children were put, and the men were


the town is on the east Side of the island , j ust oppositethe A siatic coast, and not in the little bay to the southwhere I had imagined it to lie. I was on deck beforefour , but it was in such a state that I went back to mycabin , until others of the party joined me. At 5 A.M. we

left Mitylene, and I watched the coast narrowly to find

the entrance to the southern bay. A sailing~vessel was

close on the coast,and was evidently making for th is bay.

I kept my glass fixed on it for a long t ime, hOping tosee the entrance

,but my attention was distracted for a

moment,and when I looked again the vessel

'

had disappeared !I saw the sun rise over the mountains of Asia Minor at

eighteen minutes past five (August 8th). At we

reached Smyrna. It is finely s ituated in an almost circularbay, with mountains all round

, but they looked parchedand bare. The heat was intense. We had intended goingashore directly

,taking a carriage

,and seeing what was to

be seen ; but we all with one voice agreed that it was impossible

,and decided to wai t on board for the five-O

’clockdinner , and drive afterwards. It was full moon thatnight, SO we thought we Should have light enough to prolong our

'

drive at pleasure.Immediately after dinner we went ashore. The largeheavy boats are very different from the light ca

'

r'

ques Of

the Bosphorus,and perhaps it is well they are, for the

landing- places are not very commodious , and one sometimes has to make j umps which would infall ibly upset a

ca’

r’

que.

When we landed,we had intended taking a carriage at

once, but unfor tunately (not seeing one) we took the

wrong turning, and found ourselves en tangled in streets

without hope Of finding that of which we were in search.Had we gone to the righ t, we should have come almostimmediately on a s tand

,but we went to the left, and

SMYRNA. 203

after walking for some time,stopped at a little inn to ask

for a carriage. At that moment one drove up with a

gentleman in it,and he stopped

,and told us he was going

to the railway station. Should he send the carriage backfor us, or would we enter it at once

,and leaving him at

the station,retain the carriage for ourselves ? The

weather was very hot,and the streets were wretchedly

paved,so we thankfully accepted his O ffer and got in.

People had before told us to be sure to see this railwaystation, as the Snryrn iotes looked upon it as one Of the

sights Of the town . We had not come to the East to see

railway stations,but under the circumstances thought we

might as wel l take a look at it.It was indeed a very pretty one, and having depositedthere our obliging new acquaintance

,we continued our

drive over a great many bridges,with the water on our

left hand,gradually narrowing from a bay to a r iver.

The road was extremely pretty , and we congratulatedourselves much upon having taken it. We first wenttowards Bournabat (which is on the branch line to

Cassaba), and then from a northerly direction turnedeastward and came round by Boojah ,

passing through a

large cemetery (walled in) , wi th very fine cypresses on

both Sides of the road. At last we got back into the

town again,and for about half an hour had all our joints

dislocated by jol ting over the wretched pavement. We

were rather under the impression that our driver took usthere to Show us the town

,but we found afterwards that

it was the regular way back. My compan ions (MrMichel land Shefket) left me at the Briti sh Consulate while theywent to explore further. At the Consulate I met Mr

Freeland,and returned with him later to the vessel.

We remained in the Bay of Smyrna the next day untila quarter past one. The heat was overpowerin

ov'

not aO

breath of wind was stirring. We seemed in a lake,for

204'

RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

we were surrounded by land on all Sides , but what seemeda smal l opening to the west. The panorama was a fine

one. Before us , along the shore and on the brow Of the

hill,lay Smyrna, forming a large semicircle. On the

heights,and on the s ite Of the ancient acropolis , the

Byzantine castle formed a prominent Obj ect ; a littlefarther southward , lower down on the hill , was a cypressgrove of considerable dimensions. We longed to

'

explore

it all,but the

‘heat forbade any movement, - we could onlysit

“

on deck and look at i t all. While we were at anchorin the Bay Of Smyrna not a breath of wind was stirring ;but at when we began to move

,and made our way

to the en trance Of the bay, we found there w as a stronghead-wind

,and all the por t- holes were fastened down as if

rough weather m ight be expected. But as we get wel linto the s traits between the peninsula Of Karabournou

and the island of Scio, the sea again became calm,and at

half - past seven in the even ing we stopped at Kastro, thechief town Of the island

,and on the east side of it. An

hour after the moon rose like a great crimson ball. We

stayed two hours Off Kastro,and I should like to have

gone ashore, but i t did not seem feasible, and perhaps ,seen in the moonlight from the water, i t might have lookedmore attractive than it really was.I had been told that we should stop for some hours at

Syra, one of the Cyclades , and that we Should probablyreach it early the next morning. I slept very little thatnight

,but at last went Ofl

’

so soundly that I was only

awoke by the stopping of the vessel at AM . I gotup directly , and looking from my cabin window,

saw we

were in a lovely little bay j ust Oppos ite the Lazaretto.

Very soon after Mr Michell called to me outside my door

to ask i f I was ready to go ashore , and hearing I was not,promised to return for me in an hour. A t seven I wen t

ashore , and rema ined until half -past ten .


steamed into the harbour ofAlexandria . N O orders awaitedus

,SO upon landing we went at once to the HOtel - de

l’EurOpe.

CHA PTE R X IX.

A rr iva l a t A lexandria—Go to theH6tel de l’Europ e—Khedive and haremnot yet come—Prepara tions for illumina ting the town - The hotel is

p hotograp hed—Khed ive and harem go to Ca iro

—Return of my p up il

I begin lessons a t Ramleh—Shaheen’s story

— Generosity of the second

Pr incess—Our p ar ty d iminishes We a re ordered to Ca iro—Go to the

N ew Hotel—Remove to the Pa lace of Gezireh—Descr ip tion of it

K iosk in the garden.

Upon reaching the hotel we found all the front roomswere bespoke. They were not only the best , but theyfaced the north

,consequently had the cool breeze. In

the back rooms,looking to the south

,the air was that

Of a vapour - bath,so hot and . damp. The hotel was

full Of pashas and beys awaiting the arrival Of hisHighness. Telegrams had come announcing that he

had left Em irghian on the n ight of the l0th ,that he

did not intend coming direct,but should stop at some

of the islands , and would probably reach A lexandriaabout the 14th or 15th.

Until the arr ival of his Highness we knew nothingOf our own destination. We hoped it might be eitherRamleh or Ras - el-Tin ,

for the hotel was very hot and

suffocating.1

Great preparations were being made for i lluminatingthe town in honour Of his Highness’s return. The whole1 The palace of Ramleh is about four or five m iles to the east of Alex

andr ia, and connected by a railway w ith the town . Beyond the palaceare num erous villa res idences inhabited by the European merchants of

Alexandria.

ILLUMINATIONS AT ALEXANDRIA. 207

front of the hotel was hung with coloured lamps. Theywere at every window , and this reconciled me in somemeasure to having a back room ,

as I Should have beenkept awake the whole n ight by the glare and heat , as

well as by the noise below on the Grande Place. The

illuminations were to last for three n ights .

The paving of the Grande Place was at last finished,

and i t looked very handsome. It is of great breadth,

and still greater length. All down the centre i s a

promenade wi th a double row of trees on each side,

and between this centre and the houses is again a broadcarriage-road and excellent pavements. To the east are

several handsome streets , which connect it with the roadsleading to Ramleh , and to the Mahmoudieh Canal. All

the chief people of A lexandria have houses either on the

canal or at Ramleh.The English colony is a large one, and we made many

acquaintances. One friend introduced another, and we

soon formed a large social circle, SO that we hoped our

stay might be prolonged,if only w e could be at Ramleh

and not at A lexandria. The great want of this last townis a marine promenade. It is close upon the sea

, but thewhole coast Of the town is taken up by the backs Of

wretched houses. The Shore is neither beach , sands , norshingle, such as we have in England , but a loose substancein which you sink ; and every opening to the sea is contaminated by bad drainage.On the 14th

,as I went down to breakfast , a prodigious

firing Of gun s announced that the Mahroussah had enteredthe harbour. Presently after there was mi li tary music ,and a number of soldiers passed down the Grande Placeto meet his Highness at the landing-place. Then anothervolley told us that the Khédive had landed.The illuminations lasted four n ights instead Of three ,

the fourth being in honour Of the inauguration Of a statue


to Mohammed Ali. During this time the entire front ofthe house , with the broad balcony which stretches alongthe whole way,

was given up to the i lluminations. Al

together , including the preparations and the removal ,eight or ten days were taken up , and during that interval I could not go in to the balcony, the only cool Spot.The streets were inconven iently crowded towards even ing

,

and the days were far too hot for taking any exercise. Iwas obliged to keep the Shutters closed in my room on

account Of the glare and heat,so that I sat in semi- dark

ness all day,and when I Opened them at n ight I was kept

awake by the fiddling and singing going on in two cafesOpposite.A S i s always the case on such occasions in Egypt

,

carriages , being much in request,were charged at an

exorbitant rate, so that I had not the resource of driv

ing. When one has to pay £1 or 30s. for a drive of a

couple Of hours , one i s rather disposed to put it Off un tilcarriages become a little cheaperOn the 17th his Highness went to Cairo to be presen t

at the Khalidj , or cutting of the canal , to admit the waters

Of the Nile to overflow the land. A great many officialswent with him , and we were enabled to secure a suite Of

rooms in the fron t, which was a great comfort.In the course of the day I received a summons to go to

Ras- el-Tin on the following morning , and I gave notice at

once to Shaheen to have a carriage in readiness for me

at 8 AM .

When I went down the next morn ing at the appointedtime, I was agreeably surprised to find the passages anddoorway quite in order , and free from Obstruction : i t hadbeen a work of diffi culty to get in and out ever Since our

arr ival , but now all was clear. The illumination para

phernalia had not been removed , it is true, but there wasan air of order which was quite unusual. N O carriage was

2 1 0 RECOLLECTION S OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

a crowd Of satellites , eunuchs,Arabs, and generally the

Greek lalla , to receive any order that might be sent outfrom my Princess. Sen tinels walked up and down in

front of the gates to guard the entrance, but a nod fromthe chief eunuch decided everything.The palace at Ramleh i s situated very near the sea , and

indeed it i s several palaces , not one. The first is theharem ,

occupied by the wives of his Highness,with all

their attendants. The next is the Khédive’s own palace,

with a subterranean communication to that of his wives.Then came two or three more, which have been recentlyadded for his married daughters

,the last being built for

my pupil.I was quite del ighted with the palace when I entered it.Having passed the gate where the chief eunuch sat

,I drove

into an inner court , and then leaving the carr iage, wentinto a sort Of vest ibule , where were several eunuchs . Thedoors were always kept locked , so that any one who mightby chance have succeeded ( in the absence of the chiefeunuch) in passing the first gate

,would here again be

subjected to rigid scrutiny. I saw in this vestibule a doorleading into an inner room

,where lessons were given by

the var ious Turkish and Arabic masters and as this partof the building belonged to the eunuchs

,there was suffi

cient surveillance. Having passed through this vestibule,

another door led me into the garden and up a fl ight Of

steps to the entrance Of the harem. It was upon going inhere that the coup d

’ceil was so agreeable. A long and

broad corridor extended the full length Of the buildingfrom south to north. A t the northern ex tremity was a

very large terraced balcony, wi th a verandalr overhead,

and lattice-work screen about ten feet high on the threeOpen sides. This balcony was full of rocking -chairs , where

you might sit and l isten to the ceaseless murmur of thewaves breaking on the Shore. The corridor was Of the

SRAHEEN’S MISFORTUNE. 2 1 1

cruciform shape, the floors were covered with Indian mat

ting, and the walls l ined with divans ; in the transepts

were all sorts of easy - chairs , couches , &c.,but no Sign Of

occupation— no tables,books

, or work. A great manydoors opened on both sides into inner apartments, and

from the transepts s taircases led to an upper floor exactlysimilar.My pupil , the Princess Zeyneh, had a suite of rooms on

the west side, and to her and Kopses I devoted all the

mornings. Faik Hanem’

s were on the east, and my afternoons were given to her.I took luncheon with the second and third Princesses

and my pupils, and after we had finished I sat studyingTurkish in the large balcony overlooking the sea until itwas time to go to Fa

’

r’

k Hanem’s apartments. Sometimes ,

however, I remained with the second Princess while wetook coffee

,and I tried to talk with her. Whatever I

learned , however, was by sheer study ; I could not catchthe language by car as some people do.I could not help remarking how anxious both these

ladies (second and third Princesses) were respecting theeducation Of their children

,and indeed respecting the edu

cation of any of the slave children in the harem. I havealready mentioned that it is common to purchase veryyoung children ,

and to have them brought up in the greatharems to ensure a more careful train ing. I never metwith the slightest interruption from either Of these ladies ;on the contrary

,they seemed much pleased with the dis

c ipline and punctuality that I maintained. Whateverinterruptions I had came from the slaves , and they ceasedafter a time.Shaheen returned on the same day as the Princess, but

with a sad story. He had not told us why he was so

anxious to go to Cairo, or w e might perhaps have arrangedit

,—not that his presence could have altered the event.

2 1 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGY PTIAN PRINCESS.

He was expecting the birth of a child , and the mother wasvery young. When he reached Cairo the child was a dayOld

,but the mother had been buried the morn ing Of his

arrival ! He stayed a few days to arrange a nurse for thechild

,and settle other claims , and then came back to us.

He was very sad, but bore it with the resignation of a

Mussulman,saying “ it was the will of God !”

He always accompan ied me to the harem,and as I got

out he said,

“ Y ou tell Zeyneb Hanem ; She very sorry !”

I promised I would , and SO I did. Both the Princess andKopses looked sad, heard it all, but said nothing.When I returned , Shaheen asked me with great anxietywhat the Princess had said tO my communication.

Oh,

” I replied ,“

she was very sorry ! ”

Sorry that all ! I thought She help me !

Help you ?” said I ;

“ what can the Princess do for

you ? you have got a nurse !”

“ Y es,

” said he, sadly ,“ but me poor man ! funeral cost

much ! many people ! much meat ! much bread ! cost muchmoney !”

Oh,I said , I understand ; you thought the Princess

would give you something to help to pay the expenses ?”

“ Y es,said he,

“She very good ! I thought she help

me !

The next day I repeated the story again to the Princess ,telling her that as Shaheen had been long in the service,I thought he had some claim to assistance in his troublethat I would try and raise a subscription , i f she wouldhead it with a donation .

To this both the Princess and Kopses objected strongly.The latter said that Zeyneb Hanem , as daughter of hisHighness , could not possibly give a small sum ,

and thatShe had so many demands on her purse that She could notgive what would be expected of her. To this assertionKopses remained fi rm

, and her Opinion on all matters Ofharem etiquette was final. “ Well

,said I

,

“at any rate


any fault having been found. His family were in England ,but about to return shortly.These sudden dismissals are not understood in England ,but here they are very common . Plans are changed, andthe parties in the way of them are at once removed.Some compensation ,

more or less , may be given them,and

there is an end of the matter. In this case the seclusionOf the Princess made a household with a family unnecessary ; her governess could give her lessons in the harem ,

and the Pasha’s establishment would henceforth be com

posed of gentlemen only . TO me personally, this breakingup Of the English household we had formed for nearlytwo years was a subject Of great regret. We had all fourl ived on excellent terms , and had had as few rubs as

could well be expected from persons thus thrown togetherwithout any previous acquaintance.My pupil had asked me if I would go and live in the

harem ,but I was unwilling to do this for many reasons.

I felt that I should be so entirely dependent on her thati t would al ter our relative positions , and probably makeher studies merely nominal. I presume she was toldto ask me ; for soon after

,the second Princess

,dur ing

luncheon one day, asked me i f I would live with herdaughter when she was married , and I agreed to do SO.

I knew very wel l from her character that she was not

l ikely to do lessons after her marriage ; but I mightacquire a moral influence over her that would be moreimportant. Besides , she was so gentle and lovable that I

had become very much attached to her.I had been asked to dine and sleep at the house of somefriends , two or three stations beyond the palace at Ram.

leh. I did so, and the next morning Mr Gisborne droveme in his waggonette to the harem gate. I sat on the

front seat by him , and the sa i s ran before, as i s customaryin

.

Egyp t , to clear the way. When we reached the gate,Mr Gisborne got down Off the box and gave me his hand

GEZIREH. 2 1 5

to assist me. The carriage was high , and I j umped downon the sand , —a very Simple thing , and so much a matterof course with uS that i t seems absurd to relate it but themoment I had done so I felt what an incongruity it wasto enter a Mahometan royal harem in such a way. Theresat the chief eunuch in state, an A rab standing behindhim flapping a great feather fan to keep off the flies

,and

another in fron t holding a tray with coffee. I shookhands with my friend and bade him good-bye , and thenwalked in. How would a Mahometan lady have entered ?

Cloaked and veiled , she would have been lifted by twoeunuchs out of the carriage like a paralytic

,the others

standing by with low Obeisances.The Ramleh palace was so delightfully cool and fresh , thatI quite enjoyed going there every day, as much as I alwaysdisl iked going into the harem at Abdeen. But the Khe

dive remained in Cairo,and the ladies were most anxious

to join him ; so on the twentieth Of September I found ongoing to my pupil that they were all about to return to

Cairo. N O orders had arrived for us (Mr Michel l andmyself) , though we knew our departure could not be longdelayed. A t midnight a telegram arrived to say we were

to go tup by the express next morn ing , but w e were not

told where to go. SO we wen t to the N ew Hotel, whichwe found almost empty, with the exception Of Sir Samueland Lady Baker.We heard that his Highness and the harem were all at

Gezireh , and as I had now the free entree,I drove there

the next morning to see my pupil and to hear our plans.I found it was intended that Mr Michel l and I shouldtake up our abode at Gezireh for a time ; and I was gladOf i t

,for it was extremely hot at Cairo , and the daily

transit in the heat would have been very fatiguing. We

were to reside in that part Of the palace where my pupilhad been with Zohrab Bey in the Spring Of 1872, before

her seclusion in the harem; Zohrab Bey had now retired ,


the heat Of Egypt having seriously affected his health (hewas living at Broussa) ; another doctor was there to lookafter the Pasha

, bu t Of course no one could fi ll his place.Our household was therefore composed Of the Pasha (byday) and his doctor, Edward Zohrab ( the nephew of Zoh

rab Bey) , Shefket, Mr Michell,and myself. We had

French servants and a French cuisine, so that both apartments and attendance were first - rate.

I think I have before said that the part of the palacewhich we inhabited was that usual ly devoted to illustrious visitors , except that, Of course, we did not occupy thestate apartments. The shape was something like this

Balcony.

Balcony. Balcony.


Of these are two beauti ful marble tables in mosaic,won

derfully well executed. One came from Florence ; theother was a present from the Pope to the Khédive. Whathis Highness gave in return I do not know ; but, no

doubt,it was something to exemplify the French saying

,

On lui donne un oeuf pour attraper nu boeuf.” It isalmost impossible to believe that these tables are not

paintings instead Of mosaics , so exquisitely is the marbleshaded to represent the figures and the borders of flowersaround them.

On the other side Of the vestibule is a drawing- room,in

which is a beautiful Aubusson carpet,presented by

Marie Aurelie, Queen Of the French, to Mohammed Ali.

There i s a second drawing-room , which was fitted up as

a bedroom for the Princess of Wales,and beyond is a

charming bath -room. I was told that it cost the Khédive£8000 a-year to keep this place in constant repair. The

framework Of the building is Of iron,which gives a partien

larly light and elegan t effect to all the pillars.

CHAPTE R XX.

Harem a t Gezireh—D a ily lessons there—Dep ar ture of his Highness and

the harem from Gezireh to Abdeen—I remain a t Gezireh —Aga in dip’iculties about a carr iage

—October a trying month in Egypt—Ramadan

beg ins—Sudden remova l to Choubrah—French cook and A rab sentinel

—Lochs and keys—M ixed nationa lities among us—Copp er coinage

Popula r sup erstition concerning Ba iram commencing on a Fr iday.

The harem where my pupils now resided with the wivesof his Highness was about five minutes’walk from thatpart of the palace which I inhabited

,and which was on

HAREM AT GEZIREH.

the banks Of the Nile. All the buildings were enclosedgardens , menageries , aviaries , &c., &c .

,all included) by

high walls Of vas t extent, and any one once within thesewalls (by no nreans easy of entrance) could go aboutpretty freely , except that there were sentinels near theapproaches to the harem to warn Off intruders. I walkedto the harem every morning at about eight, returning at

twelve ; and again in the afternoon at two,coming back

at five. The walk was so pleasant and breezy that Iquite enjoyed it , except that it always gave me a pangwhen I entered and saw my dear little pupils. I had tocross two rustic bridges and pass along shady walks , skirting the lake by the kiosk

,until I came to the chief en

trance O i the harem. The entrance, like that to the palaceat Ramleh

,was thoroughly oriental in character, though

otherwise very dissimilar. At Ramleh the desert cameup to the gates , and the only shade to be found was inthe deep archway where the chief eunuch sat. At Gezireha broad semicircular drive was in front Of the haremgates , and trees gave their thick Shade all round. Severalchairs were scattered under these trees , and there sat thechief eunuch and perhaps a dozen followers. Many Arabsentinels were stationed near.I entered without opposition (as I was known) through

the first gate, where some eunuchs were seated , and one

took down a ponderous key and opened the heavy ironbarred door which formed the second gate. His Highnesswent in and out by this gate, but plenty of eunuchs wereon the watch for his coming in and going out, and at suchtimes no one could enter

,but must stand aside until he

had passed. When the second gate was unlocked I en

tered a large paved court, upon which countless windowslooked drearily down

,and behind which were perhaps a

hundred imprisoned women. The best apartments do not

look on these paved courts,but upon an inner garden sur


rounded by a high wal l where the ladies of the haremwalk. The room in which I sat with my pupils was on

the ground -floor , Opening on to the harem garden. It was

spacious and airy,and would have been very pleasant but

for one reminder. The windows had strong iron bars, sothat no one could get either in or out. It might seemunnecessary to have these barred windows when the high

walls and the guarded gates are considered ; but men are

O ften at work in the gardens , and these men are not

eunuchs. The gardeners are engaged there a good part Ofthe day, and during that time one or two eunuchs patrolup and down and close the venetian blinds of the apartments on the Side where the men are at work. O f courseif all were shut it was semi-darkness

,but I always took

care that some should be open ; and though at firs t theeunuchs would close them

, yet when I remon strated and

they saw in passing to and fro that we were always em

ployed, they were very good-natured and took care to keepone or two Open or partially so.These daily walks through the garden to and from the

harem lasted rather more than a for tnight ; but one morning in October, going there as usual , I found a number Ofvans drawn up near the gates , and soon discovered therewas a general fl itting. His Highness had felt the placedamp the last night or two

,and had decided upon remov

ing to Abdeen , though the palace was being altered and'

enlarged, and numbers Of workmen were still employedupon it. When I entered the harem

,I found general re

joicing at the prospect Of moving. There is always rejoicing at any move, no matter where ; i t makes a l ittlechange in the monotony of their l ives. The Pasha was

to continue his lessons at Gezireh,sleeping at Abdeen,

and driving out thither for some hours in the day. We

( the educational staff) were therefore to continue in the

same quarters for the present. For a considerable time


as an incubus upon the revenue of the country, had proved

a total failure ; and retrenchment was the order Of the

day. This Operated unfavourably on me , for the carriagewhich had been given to me the previous autumn

, to go

to and from the harem ,was taken away. There were

in the Khédive’s coach - houses so many carriages

,and SO

many English grooms and stablemen ,that it was a thing

inexplicable to us why one of these carriages,thus lying

idle,Should not be ordered to come at a stated hour to

take me to the harem gates , and bring me away again.

These m en would have received their order s , and obeyed

them punctual ly, and there would have been an end of the

matter. Instead Of which an outdoor carriage was orderedfor me

,and when I wen t to the harem morn ing and after

noon,a napoleon a - day was charged for it. Naturally

that seemed very high ; SO as retrenchmen ts were beingmade, I found, when I had to go from Gezireh to Abdeen ,

that I was to return to the first plan of having a haremcarriage sen t for me. N ow this was the inconvenienceof a harem carriage. There were only a l imited numberwhich drove into the outer court of the harem at an earlyhour every morn ing. The Princesses might give a standing order (and they did do so) that a carriage was to besent for me at a fixed hour every day ; but every orderwas given through the eunuchs

,and these latter always

set aside the standing order , to execute one that might be'

given at the moment. One Of the Princesses wan ted tosend for a modiste, or some vis itor staying in the haremwanted to go to the mosque or to the bazaars

, or one of

the eunuchs wanted to go somewhere , having received an

order from the head eunuch to get something ; so a car

riage that ought to have been sent for me was taken for

one , two, or three hours , and then despatched for me whenit returned.During the first four days that I was supposed to go

EGYPT IN OCTOBER. 223

from Gezireh to Abdeen,on two occasions no carriage

whatever was sent for me. The firs t time that this emission occurred I managed to catch a broken -down brougharnthat had j ust brought back Martini Bey, the doctor. Iarrived two hours behind time, and in a carriage Of whichone door was broken O ff and tied on with a rope. Hadthe Khédive known it

,he would have been very angry

,

and have given stringen t orders on the subject,which

would have been obeyed for a few days, and then the same

thing would have gone on again. I had to do with theharem ; all orders nrust pass through the eunuchs , and

these people have no idea Of time,order

,or instruction.

The commands Of the Princesses are heard with apparentreverence

,but are virtually disregarded. The Khédive

himsel f is the only person obeyed , and Of course he cannotlook into everything.The month Of October is , I think, one of the most try

ing in Egypt. The waters are subsiding , and the fl ies ,mosquitoes

,and sand - flies are most troublesome and

venomous. There is a heavy dew night and morning , andit is unsafe to keep the windows Open at night on accountOf the damp. Many people do it, but also many sufferfrom it. A few days a fter the harem had left GezirehI had a feverish attack

,loss of sleep and appetite, and

accompanied by great weakness. We had then an excellent cuisine

,but I took such a disgust to food I could eat

nothing. For more than a week I did not go to Abdeen,

and during all that time I heard (particularly at n igh t)the barbarous sound of Arab music , which always aecom

‘

panics the weddings of the lower classes. Ramadan wasapproaching , when no marriage can take place. The

Opposite side Of the river (Boulak) i s thickly populated ,and the sounds were incessant. There had been nothingbut marriages ever Since we landed from Constantinople.The poor l ittle bride, often a girl of ten or eleven ,

i s


paraded through the streets in a sort of Jack- in - the-green ,

where she must be nearly stifled with heat and dust. Men

dance round her and play all sorts of antics.The facilities for divorce are very great : there i s no

occasion for any cause— the man is tired of his wife,that

is quite a sufficient reason. Can it be wondered at thatthe rate of infan t mortality is SO great 7

A fter nine days’absence, I wrote to my pupil to tell herI was able to resume the lessons , and to ask her to orderthe carriage to fetch me the next day at the usual hour

(eight O’clock). At five minutes past Six the next morn

ing (the sun had not risen) there were two persons at thedoor Of my room to tell m e that a carriage had been sent totake me to Abdeen . A t the driver himself came upto the door, and finding I was not to be induced to go at

so ear ly an hour, he went away , and when at eight O’clockI went down quite ready , he was gone, and no carriage tobe seen The chief eunuch had told him to fetch me and

to return immediately, and the driver dared not disobey.It was so damp that the flagstones in the courtyard were aswet as i f it had been raining heavily ; the carriage did notcome again,

and I remained in the house all day. The

next day was the first Of Ramadan,

1and the carriage came

for me two hours later than i t ought to have done.While I was staying at Gezireh , and the harem at Ah

deen ,I was unable to return to luncheon as I had hitherto

done,because the bridge over the Nile , which I had to

cross,i s Open for three hours daily

,from about twelve to

three , to enable dahabiehs to pass up and down,and is

consequently closed for carriages. I was obliged,there

fore, to stay to luncheon at the harem. A t Ramleh thishad been very pleasant ; I had taken i t with the Princesses , and there was the charming breezy bal cony to sit

1 The m onth Of fast ing is called in Arab ic Ramadan,and in Turkish

Ramazan.


At Gezireh the en tire cuisine and attendance are French.A few days before our departure the cook had sen t outa boy with a couple Of ducks

,telling him to take them

back to the poulterer’s , as they were unfit for cooking.

This was the cook’s version. The sentinel at the palacegates took the ducks from the boy, and accused him of

intending to di spose of them. The cook went to the

rescue. Many Arabs and Frenchmen joined,and a great

altercation ensued. The Arabs said that the cook struckthe sentinel , which the French den ied. A t any rate, hisHighness took the A rab version ,

and the cock was dismissed ou the spot ; whether deservedly or not we had no

mean s Of j udging. All the Frenchmen Spoke Of the cookas a civil

, obliging man,and he had been upwards Of two

years in the service ; but such universal peculation goeson in Egypt

,that i f here and there an honest man i s to

be found,he is not believed in.

The next day we moved into the house at Choubrah

which I had inhabited on my first arrival. It was one of

the handsomest and best built houses in Cairo,and the

first winter of our arrival i t had been provided with everycomfort supposed to be necessary for English people.This was now about the fifth time Of our return to i t , andalthough at every removal the Khédive had been chargeda large sum for i ts being refurn ished

,we found things

worse and worse at each return. We had been providedwith good , sol id, and, at the same time , handsome furniture, wardrobes , dressing and wri ting tables , work and

card tables , bookcases , &c., all fi tted wi th good patentlocks and keys. When we came back

, we always foundthe keys lost , and the locks ei ther broken or hampered.To the Arabs one key i s the same as another ; if they canonly get it into the lock, they will force it, until theysucceed in opening it. Locking it again i s

,Of course ,

quite another matter,but that is no business of theirs.

RETURN To CHOUBRAH. 22 7

All the good furni ture that had been left in our roomshad been removed to outhouses , where i t had becomedirty and spoil t. If we disliked leaving our wardrobes ordrawers unlocked , the only remedy was to send for a

locksmith. He would charge us exorbitantly,and put

the commonest things in place of the good locks broken.

His keys were of no sort of use, as they would Open any

lock,so you might as wel l leave your things open . I

remember the Pr incess had a great box in which herbooks

,&c., were removed , whenever we went anywhere ,

as her things were never mixed with ours. The lock wasvery common and was out of order, SO I sent for a locksmith

,who at once said he must put a new one

,to

which I assented. But when he had done having put anew lock and also hinges

,all Of the commonest descrip

tion ,he had the effrontery to ask a napoleon for the job !

I absolutely refused to pay i t , and,after a great deal of

altercation ,compromised the matter for 8s. The box was

quite new,a great cumbersome thing , bought in the

Mouskee , but lock and hinges had both given way on the

first removal. The locksmi th whom I have mentionedwas an Italian , not an A rab.Our household at Choubrah was now differently com

posed from what it had been on my firs t arr ival. An

Armenian gen tleman,Yakoub Bey,

was called the Pasha’s“ Governor ,

”

as Mr Freeland and General Maclean had

been before styled. He did not give lessons , but had thegeneral superintendence of the household. Mr Michell

,

who had been originally engaged as Greek and Latin tutorto the Pasha (his Highness having then the inten tion Of

sending his son to Oxford) ; Martin i Bey, an Italiandoctor ; and Shefket

, the Abyssin ian compan ion of

Ibrahim Pasha. These formed the household , to whichwas soon after added Mahmoud Bey, the fi fth son Of hisHighness , who had come from England on occasion of the


four royal marriages,and had remained in Egypt ever

since. The Pasha was at the house from abou t 8 A.M. to

4 RM. Mahmoud Bey lived with us entirely. We werea strangely mixed household

,composed Of seven nation

alities,Egyptian (or Turkish , whichever we may call the

Pasha), Armen ian,Abyssinian ,

Italian,English

,and

French,and Arab servants. When Mahmoud Bey joined

us,he was accompan ied by a Turkish gentleman,

TurabiBey,

which made eight nationalities under one roof.Turabi Bey had, many years previously, l ived in Englandwith the Turkish Embassy

,and had then acquired , with

the language, such an admiration of English manners andinstitutions , that he had actually married an Englishlady

,and

,moreover

,had prevailed on her to accompany

him toEgypt upon his taking service with the Viceroy.Perhaps it was a dangerous experiment for an Englishwoman to make

,not only to marry a Turk

,but to settle

with him in a country where polygamy is the law ; butI presume She had j ust reliance on her own attractions

,

and,moreover, on her excellent quali ties as mistress

of a household ; for, with all the difficulties attendantOn housekeeping in Egypt , She contrived somehow to

keep up a capital table, and a very comfortable Englishhome. As she was hospitable , and freely imparted hergood things, I believe many of her husband’s Mussulmanfriends would willingly have renounced polygamy

, and

its attendant discomforts , if they could only have foundany like her. AS to her husband

,he knew when he was

wel l offIt is customary for all Europeans engaged in the

Khédive’s service to have a contract,which stipulates

not only the conditions but the coin in which paymentis to be made. Now copper is much depreciated in valuein Egypt, and one of the gentlemen I have mentionedwas complaining to me one day that about one -fifth Of


the long fast was over , and the Khédive gave the usualBairam reception at an early hour on Thursday the 20thOf November.

CHA PTER XXI.

Weather—I go to the N ew Hotel—Customs in the harem—D ifferent op in

io ns of the same thing— Constant d ifi culties w ith the harem carr iage

The dr iver is bastinadoed—Trea tment of new-born infants—Europ eanservants in the harem—Inva lids in the hotel—Dea th. of one—Strangestory.

On the l st of November ( 1873) we had the first rainwhich had fallen in Egypt since the previous winter.During the month

,it fell on five days ; and in the course

of the winter there were many which m ight , even in our

cl imate, be called wet days. One inconven ience i s , thatno one is ever prepared for rain in Egypt. On the secondday Of the Ba

'

r’

ram,when the races were held at Abbassieh ,

it came down in such a way that people fled for shelterin all directions , for no one is ever provided with a greatcoat or waterproof

,and very few with an umbrella. The

roads were soon seas of mud ; and in the narrow streetswhere there is much traffi c they remained so for severaldays.On the 6th Of December it was announced to us that

the house at Abdeen,intended for the educational staff of

Ibrahim Pasha,was ready for their reception , and I was

to remove to the N ew Hotel , there to remain un til themarriage of my pupil

,when I had agreed to live with her.

It was a great wrench to me leaving Choubrah ,and fin

ally breaking up the English household which had beenmy home since my coming to Egypt. A t the hotel Isoon made plenty of acquaintances ; but then we had not

LUNCHEON IN THE HAREM. 231

the same interests in common which had bound me to

those with whom I had hitherto resided. I continuedmy daily lessons at the harem ; and as I had still thesame trouble with the carriage , I did not come away inthe middle Of the day, as I had done the previous winter ,but stayed to luncheon , and gave lessons to Fa

'

r’

k Hanemin the afternoon. When I first began to take luncheonin the harem at Ramleh

,I sat at table with the Prin

cesses ; but now at Abdeen his Highness ate with themalways en f ami lle, so a second table was provided

,where

I sat with Kopses and Charissas Hanem (a very prettyyoung lady who acted as amanuensis to the second Pr incess) , and also any visitors who might happen to be staying in the palace. The table was served a la franque,but during Ramadan that of course ceased ; and afterwards , when the regular meals began , the slaves , dislikingthe extra trouble which a dinner a la franque gave them ,

and having received no fresh orders on the subject,gave

us everything a la turque. Thi s service is extremelysimple : a round table, on which a large circular tray isput ; the dish is in the middle, and is frequently changed ;and a small plate and spoon are put for each guest

,with

a large piece Of bread ; the Spoon is to be used i f the dishcontains any l iquid food , but i f it is meat or anything solid ,the fingers are applied. A kn ife and fork were put forme. I was helped , or rather I- helped mysel f, before any

one else ; but when I saw each hand in turn dipped intothe dish , I did not care to eat, and the next day toldKopses that I did not want any luncheon. She asked me

‘ particularly why , upon which I said I did not feel hungryenough to eat after that fashion . She made me no reply

,

but the next day I found that an express order had beengiven that the dinner (or luncheon) should always beserved a la franque, and th is continued as long as I gavelessons in the palace. I mention this as an instance ,


amongst many , of the courtesy and kindness Of theseladies

,and their readiness to adapt their customs to

European requirements.As both the Princess and Fark Hanem were to be

married in the following February,there were naturally

endless interruption s with modi stes, See. It'

is Turkishetiquette for a young lady to appear totally ignorant of

the cause of these preparations. My pupil , the Princess,having been brought up among Europeans , did not observethis etiquette ; but Fa

'

I'

kHanem did so str ictly. One day

she complained of being very t ired Of standing. “ Whyhave you been standing ? said 1.

“ Oh,I have had ten

dresses to try on she replied. “ Ah,for your wedding

I suppose, said I.“ My wedding ! I don

’t know what

you mean !”

she answered so coldly , and with so sur

prised a look , that I should have thought mysel f misinformed if I had not been so sure of the fact. Anothertime I mentioned something I had heard of her futurehusband, and she replied very quietly

,

“ I don’t know Of

whom you are Speaking.”

As I had promised to live with the Princess after hermarriage, I spoke to her sometimes of the rooms I shouldoccupy, and the way in which I should wish them to be

furnished—things so matter of course with us , that i tmay appear unnecessary for me to trouble mysel f aboutthem ; but my Observation in the harem had taught methat i t was highly essential I Should look after them mysel f in time. The Princess told me candidly that at presentshe could not move in the matter, that she was not at

liberty to express any wish , that her mother had the solemanagement of everything.

“Well but surely,

” said I, you can Speak to your own

mother ? “ N ot even to my own mother ,”She replied.

Kopses corroborated this. It was considered immodestfor a young lady to allude to her approaching marriage.


whole thing was a“ take in and a

“ sell , and wishedthey had remained in Europe, where, at any rate

,they

would have had better food and accommodation for theirmoney.Mr Crowfoot

, a Cambridge man,who came out to

search in Coptic monasteries for Biblical manuscripts ,paid his first visit to the Pyramids. “ What di d you

think of them ? ” said I to him on his return.

“ Oh,I

was much disappointed in them ,he replied. “ A mere

mass Of stones , noth ing more. I should never care tosee them again. I was interested in the Temple Of the

Sphinx , but the Pyramids are nothing !”

Professor Flower, with his wife , came at the same timeto winter in Egypt

,and after their first visit to the Pyra

mids , I put the same question to them.

“ Oh, said he,“ they are overpowering !” He and his wife started fromthe hotel in the early morn ing, as people usually do.When they got hal f-way, and first saw them , they stoppedthe carriage at once to revel in the view. I wonder howwe ever got there at all

,

” they said to me.“ Did you go

inside ? ” N Or up ? ” “ Oh,no ! we only walked

round them, and stood and looked at them

,and could

have spent days in doing so. SO they came back inthe even ing

,with their hearts and minds full Of what

they had seen and felt.There was a gentleman sat by me at the table d

’ho

‘

te,

who had just come from Constan tinople , where he hadbeen living for three years. I was talking to him one

day about an article in the ‘Times,

’ which spoke of

the opening of a new railway from Haider Pasha, near

Scutari , to Ism idt. The reason of its being noticed inthe ‘Times ’ was, because i t might eventually become thebeginning of the highroad to India. The writer dilatedmuch on the beautiful scenery of this completed bit of

railway , and its classical associations. I had looked

AN UNENTHUSIASTIC ENGLISHMAN. 235

forward much to making this excursion in the previoussummer during our stay at Constantinople

,but had been

prevented , first by the heat, and secondly by our suddendeparture. I asked this gentleman i f he had been on the

line , and i f so , what he thought Of it. He said he hadmade the excursion

,but he did not see much to admire in

i t. “ But,said I ,

“the railway skirts the sea, and you

would have on your right the Sea Of Marmora and the

group of Prin ces’ Islands , and on the lef t,in the back

ground , the chain of Moun t Olympus !” “ Oh yes,”he

replied , you had all that, but there is nothing particularin i t that I can see.

” He thought Constantinople a

nasty,dirty place

,and the surroundings very much over

praised. A few even ings ago he had been up to the

C i tadel to see the sun set , and there were some people,strangers to him ,

who came up wi th the same Objectprobably , and who s tood near him. He Supposed theyhad read that i t was a fine sight, SO they were in

raptures,but he only saw a wide waste of sandy desert

,

and a great mi st ! He went to see the procession of the

Mahmal , but he looked upon i t as the same kind of thingas a Lord Mayor’s Show ! “ What kind of thing do youadmire ? I asked. Well

,he replied

,I was returning

once at 3A.M. on a summ er’s morning from a volunteerreview at Windsor, and as I crossed Waterloo Bridge

,I

was struck with the aspect of London at that early hour,

and though very tired , I stood on the bridge hal f an hourlooking at i t. I have never seen anything to equalthat.”

I went very frequently to the opera,as my pupil gave

me a box whenever I wished for one,and the distance

from the N ew Hotel being only a few hundred yards , Ihad no occasion for the expen se Of a carriage. Very fewpeople indeed used a carriage to take them to the operaonly those who l ived in the outskirts Of the town ; but


the majori ty of travellers , staying at the hotels in the

immediate vicinity , generally walked.This was my third winter in Egypt, and i t was very

different from the two preceding , and also two followingwinters. There were certainly many fine days worthyof Egypt

,but there were also many stormy Ones. Some

times there were southerly winds (the coldest in winter)and clouds Of dust— then nothing was to be heard butthe slamming of doors and windows , ,

and occasionalbreaking Of glass. A few invalids

,who came out hoping

for a warm climate,thought they had much better have

stayed at home. Those who went in a good dahabi ehup the Nile , and came back at the end of the win ter

,

declared it had been del ightful but for those who stayedat the hotels in Cairo

,the di scomfort was great. People

wen t down to breakfast wrapped up in shawls and in

greatcoats,for the draughts were terrible. There were

some days on which we had torrents Of rain,and the

streets were almost impassable for mud. The poorArabs complained terribly

, and the old residents saidthe climate was undergoing an entire change

,since such

winters were formerly unknown in Egypt. It was all

to be ascribed to the plantations which had been madein the vicin ity of Cairo. A few people in the N ew Hotelhad fires in their rooms. This hotel being one of the

last buil t, many Of the apartments were provided withfireplaces out of regard to English prej udices. I wentto the harem all the same every day,

though very littlewas done. One day, during the bad weather I havementioned , I had occasion to go into the Mouskee, and

took a carriage from the door to convey me there. Therehad been heavy rain on the two preceding days

,but i t

was then fine. The Mouskee was,a few years ago,

before the European element predominated so much,the

chief street in Cairo,but i t is a Frank and not an A rab


and hurrying along, and keeping m e in a state Of con

tinual trepidation ,not for myself, but for the un fortunate

donkeys who came in his way, which he would sendspinni ng away for several yards, by com ing in violentcontact with the pann iers with which they were laden.

He considered it a point of honour , in the narroweststreets , to dar t in front of any vehicle which might be

before him.

AS 8 A.M. was the time at which I ought to Start for

the harem,Shaheen was not in waiting before that hour ;

i f,therefore , as sometimes happened , Hassan came at

seven,he would leave his horses and make hi s way up

to my room,telling me rudely (I kept the door locked)

that the carriage was there,and he could .not wai t. On

such occasions he would go away,and not return at all.

It was he who came up to my room at Gezireh at 6 A.M.

before sunrise. He often asked for backsheesh, which Idid not consider myself bound to give , as he never didanything for me, and was extremely uncivil. At last Idid give him a florin on two different occasions, but hewas much worse after it

,and would, when driving,

stoop down and look through the front window Of the

brougham,shouting “Backsheesh ! He grew so insolent

that, although I knew redress would only be temporary,I determined to complain to the Princesses , and did so.

The next morning he did not appear un til nine, but wasvery silent

,and I was too disgusted to make any inquiry

as to the cause of his being late. When I got to the

harem I found out the reason. He had driven into thecourtyard as usual , had been told by the eunuchs todescend from the box ,

had been conducted into an innerreceptacle, where he wel l knew what awaited him , and

then and there he had been bastinadoed. The next daythere was a marked difference in his manner. He wasquite punctual in the morning at eight

,and when I came

ENGLISH NURSES IN THE HAREM. 239

out of the harem in the afternoon,I found him waiting

for me. He said something very earnestly to Shaheen ,

and the latter,grinning from ear to ear

,explained to

me, while the driver stood by watching my countenance ,

“ that Hassan always come right time ; he wait for me

till I ready ; he wait for me , no matter how long ; he gladto wait ; he do anything I want.” I said “ Taib, taib

(good, good) to this astonishing change,and there the

matter ended, for a time ’

There had been a son or daughter born of each of the

royal marriages that had taken place in the beginning of

1873. An English nurse was engaged for one of thesechildren,

and she arrived about a week after the child wasborn. This nurse had been in Egypt before, and had madeup her mind , for the sake of the high pay,

to undertake a

post , the discomforts of which , to an Englishwoman habituated to all the conven iences of l ife in Our country, canhardly be exceeded. It is the custom in Egypt

,when a

child is born ,to Wash it in wine, and then bandage it up

for forty days. It had been intended that the forty daysShould expire before the child was given up to the new

nurse. I don’t know whether the young mother had anymisgivings, or whether she had been influenced by anyone ; at any rate, the child was given up at once to thenew nurse. The latter immediately undressed it, and

holding it over a cold bath,Sponged it wel l from head to

foot. Some Old harem nurses looked on all the while,frown ing much at the innovation

,and auguring the dires t

effects to the ch ild. Some always remained presentthroughout the day, going out occasionally to relieve thei rminds by relating what they had witnessed , and then com

ing back to see i f the child was still alive. They wereevidently astonished at his vitality, and argued that hemust be a wonderfully strong infant not to succumb tosuch treatment. Almost all the Princesses have now


English nurses ; there are a few Swiss, but the English

predominate.When first Ismael Pasha became Viceroy, and European

fashions were introduced into the harem,several English ,

French , and Italian women were engaged to l ive there as

parlour-maids,ironers, dressmakers , and hairdressers. The

pay was high , but the terms of their contract were generally rather stringent, as it was a grave experiment tointroduce free women among the inmates Of the harem ,

taught from childhood that it was the greatest indecencyto Show their faces to a man . In the earli est contracts, Iwas told, it was inserted that they were to have free accessto the harem gardens , but never to go beyond the gates ,under pain of instant dismissal. This restriction was

afterwards taken Off, and liberty gi ven to go out, permis

sion having been first asked. A fter three or four years ,most of the Europeans employed in the Viceroy

’s haremwere dismissed

,as there were constant complaints on both

Sides. A few st ill remained in the families Of the marriedsons and daughters. One of those formerly employed asironer in the Khédive’s household told me that duringRamadan she had O ften been obliged to go out and pur

chase water for drinking. It is all fi ltered , and the placewhere the fi ltering goes on is kept locked. The Slaves and

eunuchs were either asleep or did not care to take thetrouble of bringing water to a Giaour ( infidel) when theywere debarred the use of i t themselves. This person ,

who

was a very steady respectable woman ,told me that She

had sometimes ironed all daywith the thermometer in theroom standing at O f course this was during a

khamseen ; but the work was at all times very arduous , asin a hot climate only washing materials are worn , and the

quantity was something enormous. A wardrobe-keeper ofone of the Princesses told me that she had upwards of 500dresses to keep in order, all belonging to her mis tress.


thing was, that the rich man was married and had grownup children ; and yet , knowing his critical state, he preferred to come out to Egypt with only a dependant. Mr

Wilson had been three years engaged in looking aftersome mines in Sardinia belonging to Mr Robertson , and

upon landing at Southampton had received a telegram to

await there the arrival of his employer. When Mr Robertson’s death was approaching , MrWilson begged him to let

his family be told of his Situation ; but the invalid refused ,and died with only his faithful attendant. When all was

over,Mr Wilson telegraphed for instruct ions. The answer

came at once—The body was to be buried at Cairo,and

Mr Wilson was to return at once to the mines !

CHA PTE R XXII.

Dust-storms and ra in Unceremonious hour for p aying a bill—Marr iage

of the Pr incess—Panic in the chief saloon—Intrusion of A rab women

Going home of the bride—D ine a t Aur igue’s , and afterwards dr ive out

to see i llumina tions—Meet a funera l car—Alarr iage of the adop ted

daughter—Concer t a t Kasr -el-N il—First visit to the two br ides.

The Kourban Barram this year fell on the 28th of

January,a very bleak and ungenial day, with a south -west

wind. The south wind is the coldest in winter,but there

is nothing bracing in the cold. It i s SO impregnated withdust that it not only nearly blinds you,

but fi lls up all thepores Of the Skin. Y ou by no means escape i t by re

maining indoors,as with few exceptions the houses are

draughty and the windows and doors fi t very badly. Ihad been asked to join a party to the Pyramids on thesecond day of the Ba

'

r'

ram,and fel t rather doubtful about

accepting, but in the night such a storm of wind arose,

0PREPARATIONS FOR THE PRINCESS

’S MARRIAGE.

and continued more or less throughout the day, as effec

tually put an end to the party. Such a day in the desertwould have been one never to be forgotten ; it was badenough in the N ew Hotel. The air was so full of dustthat the Ezbekeah Gardens Opposite were not visible.The total absence Of comfort in the hotel made it stillmore trying ; there was no shutting out the wind and thedust. The only thing that could be said was, that according to the newspapers it was a very bad winter throughout Europe.The festivities fo

'

r the marriage Of my pupil had beenfixed to begin on the 1st Of February, but they were forsome reason postponed to the 8th. This was fortunate, asthere are always alfrescofetes on such occasions , and theweather could not have been worse than it was during thefirst week in February. I had had a quantity of lacesent to me from Mal ta, purchased for me by a lady whomI had known during my residence in the island, and Iwas waiting an Opportunity Of sending the money to payfor it. A gentleman who was j ust leaving by one of the

P. and O. boats via Southampton ,which always stop at

Malta, offered to pay for me,and I accepted his Offer, and

gave him the money. But unluckily the steamer did not

get to Malta until near midnight ; and as - it would leaveagain at 4 A.M., my friend went at once ashore and reachedthe Strada Mezzodi at 1 A.M. The hostess was in bed and

asleep , but persistent knocking roused up the household.A parley took place from the windows , explanationsensued, and the gentleman was admitted. The moneyWas paid , a Sl ight account of what was going on in Egyptwas given

, and the gentleman took his leave and returnedon board.AS the contract for the marriage of my pupil had beensigned the year before

,the festivities only commenced on

Monday the 8th of February. On the previous day she


had left her father’s palace for that of her grandmother atKasr- el-Ali

,where the wedding fetes had been given the

preceding year. Monday,Tuesday

,and Wednesday there

were dinners and entertainments , as on the former occasions

,bu t I will only particularise the Wednesday, when

the procession of the bride took place. As carriages werevery expensive (about £3for the night) , I had asked mypupil if She would order a harem carriage to be sent forme , and she promised that she would not forget it. The

dinner was to be at seven ,but as the line Of carriages

might be long , I wished it ordered to fetch me at six. Ihad j ust come up from luncheon at half-past one

,when

Shaheen came to me to say that a carriage was at the

door , and that I was wanted at the harem immediately.My first impulse was to go off directly

,thinking my

pupil really wanted me, but a l ittle con sideration mademe hesitate , and decide that the immediate urgency of

my departure might be a ruse Of the eunuchs who wantedthe carriage. There were several ladies staying in the

hotel who took the liveliest interest in the marriage Of

my pupil,and these surrounded me with suggestions as

to why I was wanted in such haste. N ow backsheesh isan institution in the East, and the first Europeans whowere engaged in the Viceroy’s harem received at the

Bairam and also at other times handsome presents injewellery , &c. Gradually it had been discovered thatit was not a European fashion , and .when the new staffappoin ted to Ibrahim Pasha and his sister arrived fromEngland , the practice was discontinued. With regardto weddings, however, it still held good. I had seen thatall persons connected with the br ides or bridegroomsof the preceding year had received presents

,and I mysel f

had,from the future mother- in - law of my pupil

,received

a handsome present at the signing of the contract. The

ladies around me therefore argued that my pupil had sent


saloon s to pass the two or three hours that still remainedbefore the European visitors could arrive. There was thesame monotonous music and the same dancing. One

dance was by a party of n ine girls,and one Of them , a

negress Of very stout proportions , was dressed in tights ,one side yellow,

the other red, and a very h igh peaked

cap—in fact, a fool’s cap. This creature performed all

sorts of con tortions Opposite to the eigh t girls,

-and the

latter imitated. The dance began and ended with a somersault ; and they did not do it lightly by anymeans, spring

ing to their feet as I have seen boys do in England , butcame down on the floor with eight distinct bumps and

then rose to their feet. This dance was performed inTurkish costume , SO there was not the slightest displaymade ; but after that came the mazurka

,in which the

four ladies were clad in short full petticoats stopping at

the knees , but with much more decorous trousers thanour poor ballet-girls wear. The cavaliers were in red silktights covered with gold spangles and embroidery , and

looked very pretty. A little before seven the Europeanvisitors began to arrive

,and I did not feel so lonely. Vast

as were the saloons, .they were crowded, and I was struckwith the presence of SO many Arab women of the lowerclass. I was told afterwards that custom has author ised

the entrance Of these women to either a birth, a marriage ,

or a death , in any great household. On occasion of the

former marriages I had noticed many in the large saloonon the ground-floor where the guests took coffee immediately after dinner, but I had not Observed them upstairs. On this occasion, however, they were everywhere,and in far greater numbers than at the previous weddings.AS the t ime for the procession of the bride approached

,

these women began to congregate near the entrance of the

throneroom where the Shower Of gold is scattered. The

moment the doors were Opened there was a rush. I hap

PANIC IN THE HAREM. 247

pened to be close up to them and got in among the first,but so great was the crush that several eunuchs closed thedoors

’

again to Shut out the numbers who were forcing an

entrance. Presently the doors were reopened and the

bride was brought in , pale and trembling , the eunuchsinstantly Shutting them after her entrance. I did not

know then what had passed in the large saloon during theinterval O f the closed doors

,but I looked in vain in the

throne-room for many English ladies who I knew were at

the dinner, and who would be sure to have tried to getinto the throne - room . The poor little bride had evidentlybeen much frightened by something that had happenedbefore her entrance. She sat under the canopy holding alarge fan before her face

,. and after a very short time was

led out. When we went again into the great saloon wefound very few persons there, and I heard from them ,

and again from English ladies afterwards , what hadhappened.It appears that when the procession of the bride entered

the great saloon ,as numbers were mounted on chairs and

couches to see her through the line Of ligh t made by theeunuchs , a crash was sudden lyheard ,

and a cloud of dustrose from the floor at the end farthest from the throneroom . A cry arose that the floor was giving way,

and the

pan ic was terrible. The bride was hurried at a rapid rateinto the throne - room

,the doors of which were instantly

locked to conceal from the inmates what had happened ,as wel l as to take measures for security. There was a

frantic rush to the grand staircase, and in the struggle‘

to get away many fell , and others rolled over them.

Valuable,jewels were lost— at least SO many said

,while

those belonging to the harem denied it. A lady whoin the crush told me that when she got home She misseda handsome gold bracelet , which She knew she had on at

dinner, and upon going the next day to the harem with little

248 R ECOLLECTIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

hope of recovering it, She was overjoyed to receive it fromone of the head eunuchs , who told her that an Arabwoman had been seen with it in her hand, and as it wascertain not to belong to her, it had been taken from herand kept until inquiry should be made.The next day the bride was taken home to her husband’s house ; and, in virtue Of my O ffice

,I was invited

to be present to receive her there. There were_

no otherEuropeans present but Mdlle. Ott and a Greek lady whowas on a visit to FatmaHanem ,

one of the brides of thepreceding year. I left the hotel at one O

’clock. I hadheard before starting that the procession was then on itsway through the Mouskee ; but i t made such an enormouscircuit that it was three before it reached the palace

,

where my pupil was to reside. A magnificent pile of

buildings was in course of erection on the banks Of , the

Nile, a l ittle to the left Of the fine bridge which you haveto cross to go to Gezireh , or to the Pyramids. A palacebelonging to Ahmed Pasha

,the elder brother of the

Khédive, had formerly stood on this site, but this hadbeen pulled down to make room for a much handsomerone ; only , as is always the case in Egypt, it was not

ready when wanted. There were two smaller palaces incourse of erection ,

which had been intended for otherpurposes , but the completion Of them was hurried on ;

the one being destined for the temporary abode of my,

pupil the Princess Zeyneh,and the other for the adopted

daughter, Faik Hanem. In Size , number, and dispositionof rooms , they were exactly identical ; each had a largegarden

,and each garden was surrounded by a h igh wall.

From the chief rooms in the upper storeys it was evenpossible for the ladies to commun icate with each other bysigns

,so nearly did they adjoin ; in fact, on one side they

were separated only by the garden wall. The entrances ,however , were so wide apart, being on Opposite sides , that


and afterwards . drove out to see the illuminations and

outdoor entertainmen ts in the vicin ity of Kasr- el—Ali.

The whole road was a line of coloured lamps. Triumphal

arches were erected near the palace of my pupil , which

was very near that Of her grandmother. AS we were re

turning amidst a glare of light , fireworks going up, and

Ar ab music on all sides , we saw a funeral car comingtowards us ; i t was open

,and on i t was a coffin.

‘A gen

tleman had di ed at theHOtel du Nil on that day. Whena death occurs in any of the hotels , the body is alwaysremoved either in the n ight , or , i f i t can be got out priv

ately, during the even ing table d’

ho‘

te. The position of the

HOtel du Nil made the latter time very opportune ; butthere was no way to the cemetery except pas t Kasr-el-Ali

,

where the fi reworks and fetes were going on. SO the body

was carried along through the illuminations to be depos

ited in the l ittle chapel until the burial nex t day. HadI been a believer in omens , I might have looked uponthis meeting a corpse on its way to burial as an evil porten t—meeting it as I did just in front of my pupil

’s palace,and on her wedding -day AS i t was, i t Shocked me much .

The following week was devoted to the fe‘

tes for Fa’

r’

k

Hanem’s marriage. She was to be married to Moustapha

Pasha, son of the Mouffetish. The en tertainmen ts weremuch the same as they had been in the preceding week

,

but great care was taken to avoid a repeti tion of the

scenes that had occurred on the previous Wednesday.

The flooring of the saloon had been examined and

strengthened. I t was impossible to exclude any Mahometan woman who Should present herself, but at any

rate care was taken to confine such visitors to the“base

men t floor. When ,some time after dinner, the guests

began to go upstairs (for which a proper signal was

given), several eunuchs were placed at the foot and at

the head Of the staircase , to prevent any but invited

FAIK HAN EM’S MARRIAGE. 25 1

guests passing into the upper storey. At the same time ,entertainments were going on below to amuse those whochose to stay there , or who had come uninvited. SO all

passed in easily and readily by turns,from the great

saloon to the throne - room ; and when the shower of goldcame

,there was not such a pouncing down upon it as had

been at the last wedding. My near sight was always a

subject of anrusernent in the harem ; and on this occasionthe second Princess , who had O ften thrown a handful Ofgold towards m e

,which quicker- sighted people had picked

up,stretched out her hand and poured such a quantity of

coins into mine that I came away richer than any.

This marriage,and the pomp attendant on it

,was a

Singular illustration of Eastern life and manners. Herewas a young lady , purchased in in fancy for her beauty ,adopted by a childless wife of the sovereign ,

tenderlyreared

,and educated in a palace , and finally married with

the same honours as those bestowed on the Khédive’sown daughter ; the bridegroom the son of a man who

,

l ittle more than twenty years before , was one of the poorfellaheen

,bu t who had in that time amassed a fortune

second only to that of the sovereign. Recently , as is wellknown

,this colossal fortune has been confi scated, and he

himself has been sent on exile to the Upper Nile.On the following day I went to the house of FarkHanem

, to await the coming home Of the bride. The

house itsel f, furniture and general arrangements , wereexactly the same as what I had seen the preceding weekat the marriage of the Princess Zeyneb. The bride and

bridegroom entered about the same hour, and the latterwent out again almost immediately to the mosque. I onlyObserved one difference, and that was that the musicianswere not attired as boys

,but in the richest white satin

dresses,with green sashes tied across the chest. There

were a great many pretty girls among the Slaves , and my


attention was continually attracted to some richly dressedperson ,

with long velvet or satin train ; but upon asking whoShe was

,I invariably received for answer

,

“ Oh,quelque

esclave ! There were two little girls richly dressed ,daughters of the Mouffetish, who had European or Levantine governesses with them ; but no one l iving in the

harem could exercise moral training , and without that themere acquisition Of a little European knowledge would beof small avail. Turkish and Arab music was continuallyplayed , and theatricals were going on behind a screen.

The day was cold , and the wind high , and every door and

window in the house was open ,so that the draught was

terrible. I left at about six o’clock. The next evening I

went to a concer t and theatrical entertainmen t at Kasrel-Nil

,one of the Khédive’s palaces on the eastern bank

(Cairo Side) Of the Nile. This entertainment was forEuropean ladies and gentlemen. The Khe

'

dive was at

the head of the grand saloon , and each lady who arrivedwas led up to him ,

formally introduced, and his Highness

shook hands with her. The ladies then passed into a sidesaloon

,while the gentlemen walked about until all had

arrived. Then the Khédive led the way to the concertroom

,giving his arm to the wife Of the Ital ian Consul

,

and everybody followed. The English Consul’s wife wasnot present on this occasion , but I have understood thatprecedence i s not given to any particular nation ,

but to the

longest resident , and that happened to be the Italian Consul.Everything was extremely well conducted ; there was

no crush or confusion whatever. First,there was a selec

tion Of music performed by the Opera company and then ,

after a short interval , during which people went out and

took refreshments , there was a little French vaudeville

called “ Le Bouquet.” When the performance was over ,all went to supper , which was laid out in the great saloonwhere the Khédive had received us. Everything had been


and comprised every ornament that can be worn ; butShe had also a dressing- case in which the backs Of all

the brushes (even the clothes-brush) were studded withdiamonds. I passed on then to the house of Fa

’

r’

k Hanem ,

who had had the same concourse of vi sitors all day. Theywere

,however, all gone, and after remaining some time ,

I also took my leave.

CHAPTE R XXIII.

Visit the (so-ca lled ) school of the third Pr incess—Excellent a rrangementsPr esents received—Persian shawls—Am summoned to take up my abode

in the harem— Go, but return to the hotel—Excellent p olice of Ca iroBurglary committed by Greeks

—Finally take up my res id ence in the

harem—My ap artments—Go to the op era a ttended by a eunuch Want

of emp loyment in the harem.

I had O ften heard of a school for girls s ituated near thepalace ofHelmire

,just below the C itadel. It was founded

by the Khédive,and is kept up entirely at his expense ;

but as he always wishes to associate his family with hisundertakings , i t is generally cal led the school of the thirdPrincess , and is supposed to be under the patronage of

that lady. It i s a very large building ; part Of it was

already standing, and had been formerly a palace, but theremainder has been added. There is a large Open courtin the centre , where, in the summer- time , a fountain plays.The whole building is airy

,spacious , and wel l ventilated.

At my first visit there were two hundred children boardedin the establishment , and one hundred day- scholars ; butsubsequently the whole number were received as boarders,going home to their parents every Friday. They werechildren from all classes

,but put on a perfect equality.

THIRD PRINCESS’S SCHOOL. 25 5

Six years was the time fixed upon for their residence inthe school ; and they were not admitted after a certainage (which I think was ten). They were taught to readand write in Turkish and Arabic ( later on in Frenchalso) ; they were instructed in arithmetic , geography and

history , needlework , embroidery , worsted -work , and kni tting. They were also taught to cook , to wash , to iron ,

and

to sweep and clean their rooms. A certain number (six)were employed for a week in the kitchen under a cook ,and these s ix girls sat for that week at the same tablewith their teachers , that they might be taught to eat

properly , and to learn to use a kn ife and fork. At the

end of a week they went to their books and work , andothers took their places . The same rule was applied tothe washing and ironing ; Six alternately were employedin these departments. There were many servants in the

house,but the girls were nevertheless taught to do every

thing. On my first‘

visit the school had only been Opensix months

,but the progress made in that time was very

satisfactory. I did not go on a visiting day, but quite um

expectedly,and I found everything in excellent working

order. I inspected every part of the building— dormitories,

lavatories,workroom

,schoolroom ,

&c.,and everywhere

there was perfect cleanliness. There were at the beginning three Levantine and five Arabic resident teachers ,and three Arabic masters came . daily. There were largemaps hanging on the walls of the schoolroom ; and on

subsequent visits I saw the girls examined in reading,

writing,geography, and arithmetic. One girl was called

up who wrote: from the teacher’s dictation on a large slate

on the wall, and another was summoned to read it. One

wrote the figures of a sum in addition ,and another added

them up . The e xpense of such an establishment is of

course great, and it all falls on hisHighness. There is as

yet no public spirit in the country ; everythi ng that is


done, is done by the Government. It is impossible thatthese girls , when they leave the school , can fal l back intothe degraded state from which they were taken. A girlin the East never chooses her own husband ; and thesewill probably be bestowed in marriage by hisHighness ;and having been properly trained to fulfi l the duties ofwife and mother

,a new era of things will be inaugurated

for the women Of Egypt.At the end of February ( 1874) I calculated that we had

had n ine wet days Since the N ew Year , and seven teenSince the 1st Of November. I may add that out of five

winters passed in Egypt,i t was the only one In which we

had such weather.There i s perhaps no place where one sees and hears

more Of the vicissitudes Of life than when staying in a

hotel. A gen tleman had for several days sat next to me

at the table d’ho

’

te,who had recently returned from a three

mon ths’voyage on the Nile , and was then debating withinhimself what to do until April , when he purposed returning to England. He at las t decided that he would go toPalestine, and had arranged everything to start

,when he

heard by telegram that the Russian beat by which hepurposed going from Port Said to Jaffa had somehowfailed to call

,and that he must wait for the next boat.

Soon after, going into Robertson’s (the English bookseller’s) , where many letters and telegrams are sent fortravellers whose exact whereabout may not be known

,he

saw one addressed to himself,informing him Of the death

Of a distan t relation from whom he inheri ted a large property. It had j ust arrived by the Brindisi mail.

’

O f coursehis plans were settled immediately ; he went off to A lexandria by the next train , and caught the Brindisi boatreturning on the following day.I had had an invitation to go up the Nile directly after

my pupil’s marriage,and I. had consulted her whether or


sounds Of Arab music passing the hotel , and upon goingto the windows to see the cause, I found it was pilgrimscoming from Mecca. One procession had eight carriages ;the two foremost had the windows covered with shawls ,showing that they con tained women,

who had made thepilgrimage, and thus ensured their salvation. Four or fiveparties passed every day.

At last, five weeks after my pupil’s marriage

,a summons

caure to me from the harem to take up my abode there.I had at first made up my mind to go and see the roomsdestined for me before taking my luggage ; but reflectingthat I had explained all my requirements to my pupils ,and that the Princess had now been her own mistress forsome time; I decided upon taking everything with me.

I fel t exceedingly my approaching “ shutting up,

”as i t

seemed to involve separation from everything which hadinterested me during the whole of my past l ife. Nothingbut the great affection I felt for my pupil , and my hope of

being able to influence for good her future l ife, could haveinduced me to submit to a residence in the harem. Duringthe fifteen months in which I had given lessons there, Ihad seen enough to convince me of the low estimation inwhich Europeans were held by the eunuchs and slavesgenerally. How could it be otherwise ? They saw the

inconven ient and absurd fashions in dres s in which manyindulged— how for presents of dresses or jewellery thePrincesses were fawned upon and flattered— and theynaturally looked upon every present made to a Giaouras so much taken away from themselves. Besides , theeunuchs were the guardians Of the harem , and any womanwho resided in one, and was able to go in and out freely ,might be engaged in intrigues. O f course, after a t imethey learned to ' discriminate.A t 3PM . I went away from the hotel

,taking my luggage

and Shaheen with me. The first thing I noticed was, that

REMOVAL TO THE HAREM. 2 5 9

I was taken to the back door, not that at which I hadpreviously entered on occasion of the two or three visits Ihad made. Although I noted this fact , I thought it mightperhaps be explained by the diffi culty Of getting in myluggage, which must otherwise have passed through all

the chief apartments. Shaheen accompanied me into an

inner court, and appeared very much scared by hisposit ion. A slave was called to the door, but was

immediately ordered back by the eunuchs on account ofShaheen

’s presence

,and I went inside, leaving him in

charge of my luggage and several parcels until my return.

I found myself in a perfect labyrinth of passages,where I

met several black girls who only stared at me,but made

no reply to my inquiries. At last I found my way intothe chief apartments , and then one of the white Slavesconducted me to the Princess. Two or three eunuchswere in the apartment with money-bags

,and the Princess

and her dada were busy count ing out a pile of sovereigns.It seemed too important an occupation to be interrupted ,and the Princess

,after hastily giving me her hand

,went

on with her counting. I waited until i t was concluded,

and then asked if She would give orders for my trunks,&c.,

to be taken up into my rooms, and that some one should

go with me to Show me the way. A Slave led me up thechief staircase, and then down a long passage, past thePrincess’s dressing- room and bath-room ,

to a l ittle staircase which led to a suite of rooms set apart for me

, and

to which no one else was to have access. I had been toldthis

,but as I drew near I heard some one strumming on

a

’

piano, and upon entering the apartments I saw two

girls seated at the instrument, another looking out of thewindow and calling to some one below in one of the innercourts ; and one or two others loitering about the room s .They did not concern themselves in the least at my

entrance , but seemed quite at home. I examined the


room which was to serve as Sleeping apartment. Manyindispensable conven iences were wanting. My dear pupilhad given orders for everything, but the head slaves and

eunuchs had never known the use of some things ordered ,and had taken no trouble about them. I knew very wel lthat if I once entered the rooms to take up my abodewithout these conveniences , I Should probably never havethem at all, as it would be argued , i f I could do withouta thing for two or three days

,I could do without it

altogether. In the meanwhile my luggage had beenbrought up , and I felt I must make a decision. I wentdown - stairs to find Shaheen in the outer court to tel l h im

to keep the carriage , but Ire was already gone. The

eunuchs had hurried him Off directly after I had goneinto the palace. I went to the Princess and told her it

was impossible for me to remain with the rooms in theirpresent state ; that she had promised me that everythingshould be properly arranged for me when I had agreed tol ive in the harem ; that I should never ask anythingunreasonable, but that what had been agreed upon must

be done before I could live there. The Princess said she

had given the orders , and appealed to her dada , who onlylaughed in reply. AS my luggage was in the rooms

,I

locked the outer door, gave the key to Kopsés, and cameaway as soon as I could get a carriage, the Princesspromising to send for me as soon as the necessaryarrangements were completed.Whatever there might be amiss in the l ife at Cairo,there was one thing which had hitherto been highlyappreciated , and that was the safety to life and property.Any amount of petty pilfering might go on throughleaving about money or any useful articles, but highwayrobbery and burglary had been unknown since the accession Of the Viceroy Ismael. During this winter

,however,

there had been several instances. A young man going


as heavy rain came on directly after my arrival. The

palace was exceedingly cold and draughty, the venetian

blinds were all closed, but the windows and doors wereopen in every direction ; a semi-darkness prevailed , whichin the hot season might be agreeable , but on this cold wetday it was unspeakably cheerless , bleak , and gloomy. On

the platform outside a eunuch Walked up and down, en

veloped in a thick shawl,while two or three smaller

eunuchs crouched together in a corner to get out of the

draught. Nothing to look upon all day but the high barewall surrounding the enclosure, which was one day to be a

garden,

1 but was then merely a bare Space.I went back to the hotel ; telegrams were up announc

ing that five steamers were outside the port of A lexandriaunable to come in ; and the next morning , the 19th of

March , when we went down to the large breakfast- room ,a

fire was lighted for the first time during the whole winter ,though people had been sh ivering in shawls and greatcoatsfor more than two months past. I note this fact for thebenefi t of inval ids with limited means who may think Of

wintering in Cairo,adding at the same time that this was

quite an exceptional winter. The thermometer outsidemy window in the balcony was at 8 A.M. In an ex

posed place it was no doubt lower . The next day the fivesteamers got into port , after having been beat-eu about forfour - and - twenty hours ; and, w hat concerned me morenearly, a second summons came to me from the harem , to

say that all was ready for my reception. I went at once,and found things were as ready as they were likely everto be , and whatever might be wanting the Princess gaveme carte blanche to order for mysel f, as the requirementsof a European are so foreign to their habits that i t is notto be expected they can be easily met. My rooms con

1 It was a.very pretty garden a few months later the soil of Egypt has

only to be watered, and trees spr ing up as if by magic.

APARTMENTS IN THE HAREM. 203

s isted of what the French would cal l five p ieces - a largebedroom , two anterooms (one Of which served for myboxes), bathroom ,

&c. I had stipulated to have keys toall the doors, and they were provided , only none of themfi tted , except that to the outer door

,which would lock on

the outside, but not on the inside, so that I could not

fasten myself in at night.The arrangement of my rooms seemed at first fairlysatisfactory

,but I soon became aware of the drawbacks

,

which were quite insupportable. All the best part of thepalace (the loftiest rooms , &c both on the ground-floorand on the firs t) was appropriated to the Princess. If anyvisitors of distinction came to stay, beds were arranged forthem in some of these rooms at n ight , and cleared away inthe morning. These beds consisted of mattresses broughtin and laid on the carpets , and imp romp tu curtains proppedover them. There were lavatories all over the palace, andto them the visitors went to perform their ablutions. ThePrincesses had bedrooms fitted up in some measure in theEuropean style, but that was quite an innovation

, and not

to be thought of for any one else. N ow,if I had been

lodged in the best part Of the house I should have wantedmy room or rooms to mysel f, and that would have interfered with the general harmony of the suite of apartments .All this was intell igible enough

,but I soon found

, as the

warm weather came on, that my position was perfectly in

tolerable. The rooms were low , a terrible thing in a hot

climate, the windows Of course Open at night,and the

noises so great that I could not sleep. The slaves or

eunuchs would cal l and shout to each other all day and

hal f the n ight,whereas in the best apartments every sound

was hushed. When we left Cairo I told the Princess Inever could return to these rooms again ,

and during thenext winter I was much better lodged in a corner of thebest apartments.


The first night of my stay in the harem I never closedmy eyes, partly on account of the novelty of my position

,

partly on accoun t of a high wind , and the incessant Slamming of a door in the courtyard below ,

which was l ike a

series of thunder- claps. I did not see the Princess untilthe next afternoon . I was sitting with her then, and her

dada and a number of her chief slaves were standinground , when her husband , Ibrahim Pasha, came i n. The

selamlik in which he passed his days was a separate building close by, and commun icating with the harem by a

private gate, which led from one garden into the other.A eunuch always sat at this gate ( it was a double gate ,w ith a small room between for bad weather) to preventany one else but the Prince from passing. I had O ftenheard him Spoken of as a j Olly good -tempered young man

,

and was quite prepared to be prepossessed in his favour.And here I may say that nothing could exceed his kindness and courtesy to me during the whole of my residencein the harem. He began talking to me of the opera, whichwas then about to close, and asked me i f I were going thateven ing.I repli ed,

“How can I ? I am shut up !Oh no,

” said he, laughing , you can go in and out

when you l ike.”

“ Well , even supposing that to be the case, said I ,“ I

have no Opera box ,and no carriage

,and I could not go

alone.“ I’ll order a carriage for you, and you shall have my

And where will you Sit said I.Ch , I

’l l go into my cousin’s box. (The two Ibrahim

Pashas,husband and brother of my pupil

,stood to each

other in the double relationship of cousin and brotherin -law.)

And as to being alone, said the Princess, my brother


for an hour at a time, and those who had nothing elseto do would sit and listen. She was a great impedimen tto me at first

,but She ceased to be so after a time,

perhaps when She found that I did not inter fere withher in any way. The mother of my pupil came Oftento see her daughter

,and always asked me i f the Princess

went on with her studies , to which I replied in the

negative. The second Princess looked vexed, and mypupil hung her head , and afterwards I induced her to

let me read to her a little, i f She would not read hersel f,to which she consented. But the dada and one or two

others made such a noise talking and laughing that Icould not be heard. I would then ask the Princess tosend them into an adjoining room ,

which She did hesitatingly and timidly. The dada would then laugh aloud

,

and say something disparaging as she left the room,but

this was only at the beginning ; after a t ime the Princesstook more and more interest in reading, and I scarcelyleft her frOm morning till night.

CHA PTE R XXIV.

Cur ious sup erstition about br ides—Fantasia in the harem—Aga in visit thePyram ids

—Photography in the harem—Summer heat begins—Amuse

ments in the harem.

There is a popular superstition that when two bridesare married fr

'

om the same house, they Should not meetfor a period of forty days , and that the neglect of thisobservance entails sterility on one of them. The PrincessZeyneb , youngest daughter Of Mohammed Ali (whosemarriage in 1 845 was described by Miss Martineau inher book on Egypt), had come expressly from Constant i

CURIOUS CEREMONY 2 6 7

nOple to be present at the wedding of her grand -nieceand namesake, and had laid great stress on the observ

ance of this ceremony. She herself had been marriedat the same time as a young companion

,who had lived

with her ; the latter had become a mother, but the

Princess remained childless , and ascribed the fact to herneglect of this Observance.I was s itting with the Princess one morn ing

,when her

dada came hastily in,saying ,

“ Fa°

r'

k Hanem is coming !upon which the Princess ran into an inner room laughing.I thought this very strange conduct

,and went forward

to receive Fa'

r'

k Hanem. She was conducted into the

chief reception - room,and I sat there talking to her for

some little time,when an attendant came to announce

that the Princess was coming,and Fa

’

r‘

k Hanem got uplaughing

,and stood in the middle of the room ,

with herback turned to the door at which the Princess wouldenter. Presently the latter appeared , led by two attendants

, and walking backwards. The two brides wereplaced dos a dos, they intertwined each other’s arms ,exchanged gold coins , which they stuck on their foreheads

,and then turned round and kissed each other.

Tire ceremony being completed , they walked hand in

hand to a couch,sat dov

’

vn there , and were soon deepin conversation ,

which was quite private, though therewere twenty or thirty persons present ; because the bandformed in a line opposite to them

,and struck up a

deafening noise,two or three Singing at the Same time.

The instruments were two tambourines, two fifes, two

violins,and two guitars.

Some ladies may wish to know whether the due oh

servance of this ceremony produced the desired result,to whom I reply, It did not.

Some dancing-girl s then came in ,and gave the per

formance which I have before described. A l ittle wretch


of a negress,dressed as a boy in particoloured tights and

pointed cap, made the most uncouth contortions oppositeto eight girls ; and here a most ridiculous scene took place.The Princess had a pretty little dog called Fido (pets werequite an innovation in the harem) , which was an immenseamusement to all the slaves. Fido sat on the sofa by hismistress , looking on at all that was done for her amusemen t ; but when he saw the uncouth gestures of the

negress , he showed his disgust by barking violently , andj umping down amongst the dancers , hoping to put an end

to such a demonstration. But at that moment all the n ineswept round in a circle

,driving Fido before them ,

and thischase continued throughout the whole dance. A t everyhalt Fido s tood at bay, darting al ternately upon each fee tthat was jerked out, and on ly restrained by the doubtwhich to fix upon. When the dance was over, he chasedthe girls all out

,and feeling then triumphant, returned to

the side of his mistress,still slightly ruffled, and venting

his feelings by occasional short barks.One evening there was a fantasia (as they cal l any cn

tertainment) , which was very well done, and amused megreatly. We, the persons entertained , were seated on one

Side of the room ; at the end of it was the band (consistingOf eight, ten,

or sometimes twelve players), which of courseopened the performance. When a lull occurred in the

music,two beings entered the space be fore us. They were

dressed in very loose trousers , frock- coat, and broadbrimmed wideawake ; the one in black

,the other nankeen.

They looked very like the p éres de fami lle usual ly repre

sented on the stage. One of them brought in a smal ltable

,and the other sat down to i t

,and pretended to be

very busy arranging some papers. A large ape glided inand performed all sorts of antics

,of course quite unex

pected by the two old gentlemen ,who were ignorant of i ts

presence, and each absorbed in his own occupation. It


harem ,or indeed into the outer one either, and at that

early stage of my residence in the harem I could not

depend upon the eunuchs letting me know that a mixedparty Of ladies and gentlemen awaited me without. It

was too great an outrage to all their customs and traditions to expect them to do it, so I had settled with myfriends to be near the outer gate at a certain hour, andthat I would be there waiting. For excursions to thePyramids , one always put on the worst dress one had.

I should have thought nothing of going out of the hotelthus clad, but felt rather ashamed of going out of the

palace.The day was delightful, 70

°

in the Shade close to theentran ce of the second Pyramid , where we climbed up andhad our luncheon . We visited all the same places overagain—ColonelHoward Vyse’s tomb , where you can onlylook down ,

as the descent is too difficult for any but theBedouins. We crawled into that of Leipsius to look at

the hieroglyphics on the walls , and also visited the Templeof the Sphinx ; but the on ly drawback is the constant at

tendance of the Bedouins,who will not leave you , and are

all the time urging you to buy scarabeii , or some otherantiquity

,probably manufactured at Birmingham. But

the desert air is so invigorating that with all these drawbacks one is never tired of the excursion.

When I got back to the harem I took leave of myfriends outside, and walked in

,but saw immediately in

the outer court that some distinguished visitor was within.

It proved to be the first Princess,and all were in gala

costume. I was covered with dust after my day’s excursion ,

and desirous of escaping unseen ,but the band sta

t ioned in the entrance saloon caught sight of me, and

(jokingly) struck up a selam,only given for dis tinguished

visitors. The mother- in -law had also arrived to stay a

few days , and in the evening there was a fantasia for her.

THE PRINCESS PHOTOGRAPHED. 2 7 1

About s ix Arab musicians were led in blindfold, and

placed behind one of the large lattice- screens which dividethem from the rest of the company. Cushions were thenplaced on the ground , upon which the ladies sat, gazingthrough the screens

,themselves unseen.

A memorable event in harem annals occurred at thistime — the Princess was photographed. She had beentaken two years before, and a very good likeness was produced ; she was then thirteen ,

and now,though still a

child in years , she was a woman in outward appearance,

and a very pretty one. There were female photographerscame to the harems , but they were not skilful

,and did

not produce good likenesses. The Princess saw this,and

having been brought up with Europeans , she thoughtthere would be no harm in being photographed again , as

She had formerly been. There was only one drawback,

a European photographer might sel l her likeness , or sendit to Europe for sale, and that would violate all ideas oforiental propriety. So i t was decided that an Arab photographer , said to be very good , Should be introduced , andhe being an Egyptian subject, could not possibly eithersell or Show the portraits to other persons. The man

could not , however , be admitted into the harem ; the busi

ness was to go on in the garden ,and i t was rather diffi

cult to find a place not too sunny or too windy. The

only Shade was made by the walls , as there were no trees ,and t hat was a Shade which varied every half-hour, SO

that there was a continual shifting of the apparatus.Several eunuchs stood by, but they gave no assistanceWhatever. The poor man had to do everything himsel f

,

and i t was evident that he felt very nervous in his un

usual position . The Princess was taken standing, sitting,alone , in groups , and in several different dresses. While

she went in to change them ,others sat for their like

nesses, and two whole days were consumed in this way.

2 72 RECOLLECTIONS o r AN EGY PTIAN PRINCESS.

The reason of this was that we were constantly shiftingour place all over the garden ; and towards the middle of

the day, there being no shade at all from the walls , wewere obliged to go into the palace for two or three hours.A few days after, the proofs came and were utter failures. Some of us looked like dwarfs , others like giantesses. The perspective was at fault in all,— some handscame out as clubs , and plump figures swelled i nto something Gampish. The Princess tore her own likeness intothe smallest fragments, but laughed heartily at the caricatures of her friends. One of the slaves , who alwaysexpressed a great regard for me

,begged the Princess to

give her my photograph , which was done ( I not beingpresent) ; and some t ime after the girl showed it to meas a triumph of art. I got possession of it by ruse, destroyed the atrocious thing, and presented her instead witha very good likeness

,which had been taken by Abdullah

on my last visit to Constantinople.By the help of photography two or three of the Prin

cesses had had full- length portraits of themselves taken inoils ! First a fair photograph was produced , which was

sent to Paris,measures as to height and size were given,

dress and ornaments added , and a few hints as to com

plexion, colour of eyes , &c. In one or two cases theresult was not bad

,in others total failure. One lady

,as

fanciful as she is pretty , having grey eyes of her own,but

with a preference for dark blue, desired that colour to begiven in the painting , which was done accordingly. One

must not be too hard upon the A rab photographer for hisfailure, as I am afraid a first- rate European would hardlyhave succeeded under such circumstances. N o one gavehim the slightest help, and he was not allowed to have an

assistant. Every time that the changing light or wind

(and there was no escaping the latter) necessitated a

move, there was not only his own apparatus to shift, but


The Princess Ahmed , mother- in-law of my pupil,came

occasionally to stay for a few days. She was the widow ,

and had been the sole wife , of Ahmed Pasha, elderbrother of the Khédive. She was a handsome statelywoman

,of about six or seven and thirty

,an exemplary

mistress of her household , and devoted mother to her

only child. She had been his nurse as wel l as mother ,a very rare thing in high classes , according to my expe

rience in the East. She l ived a very quiet retired life,and had had l ittle or no intercourse with Europeans. She

had not adopted any of their fash ions, but I never discov

ered that she had any prej udice against them. She was

always most kind and courteous to me,and often urged

my going out , which showed she saw no harm in it, as

most Mahometan women would have done.It is the custom for the mother of the husband to reside

with the marr ied couple, and she ranks before the wife,and i s in fact the mistress of the house. According toEuropean notions this is bad

,but there i s a great deal to

be said for it in the East . The wife is not chosen for love,but by chance ; she may or she may not (more probablythe latter) be the sole mother of her husband

’s children,

therefore the tie that . binds mother and child i s muchstronger than that between husband and wife. Then thewife i s probably, when married , a young inexperiencedgirl

,quite unfit to be the mistress of a household. But

the daughter of the Khédive , like that of the Sultan ,must

be sole mistress in her own house, so the usual custom

was not carried out in this establishmen t.During the first visit of the Princess Ahmed , a singular

scene, il lustrative of oriental manners, occurred one evening. The day had been very hot

,with a south wind

,

and towards sunset we were all assembled in the largeentrance-saloon , which went the entire depth of the house,opening back and front on the garden. All the windows

THE PRINCESS AHMED. 2 7 5

and blinds were thrown open,and though it was stil l very

hot,the dada walked out into the garden

,and presently

called to KCpSés to join her. There were all the symp

toms of a khamseen wind coming on , when exerci se is no tvery pleasant

,so Kopses decl ined . The dad a

,who was

very fond of rough play,said she should come

,and ran in

after her. Kopses gave her a fine chase, but as the dada ,

laughing heartily , called to others to help,she was at last

captured , upon which she threw hersel f on the groundso as to make it as diffi cult as possible to drag her out.

Every one was looking on laughing to see which wouldgain her point. The dada was a strong woman,

and had

weight on her side, whileKopses was a little slight creature ,but very muscular and active. Suddenly She sprang upwith an impetus which sent the dada several yards forward

,and threw hersel f at the feet of the Princess Ahmed ,

who had been quietly looking on. The latter immediatelygranted her protection

,and getting up, overturned the

dada on the carpet,and rolling her about, tickled her

violently. The dada screamed with laughter, and de

fended herself as well as she could, but that was not

much,as she was prevented by respect from retaliating.

A fter a l ittle puni shment of this kind, she was allowed to

get up , with her hair all down,and her dress sadly disar

ranged ; and the Princess Ahmed passed on to an innerroom

,whither I fol lowed , with K opses and some of the

slaves. I observed an embroidered carpet placed on the

floor, and I was trying to make a little conversation in

Turkish with the Princess , when Kopses said to me, She

i s going to pray ; will you go I went directly , bu t thedoors remained open as usual

,and the slaves were grouped

about in the room and in the doorway.It was the 20th of March when I went to reside in the

harem , and the 23d of May when we left Cairo for

Alexandria. During these nine weeks the time passed

2 7 6 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

very heavily with me. My pupil would spend wholedays at Abdeen at her father’s palace, which was of coursenatural and proper

,and Kopses always accompan ied her.

When at home, she passed nearly all her time in receivingvisits , in playing at backgammon

,and in listen ing to in

terminable stories from her dd da ; also in consulting withher dressmaker about some new toilet. A fter the first fewweeks , when the khamseen winds set in ,

i t became too hotto go out, and I passed whole days in the house

,with no

one to talk to, no books or papers to read , and nothingbut my piano for recreation. I began to doubt whether Iwas right to sacrifice the few remaining years of healthand strength which might be in store for me

,to this

dreadful monotony of harem life. I took to teaching twoor three of the young slaves , and they were very docileand anxious to learn ,

but it was simply A B C work.We had no language in common by which I could explainaway diffi culties , and convey to them simple informationon

_ _

common subjects. A person who understands two or

three European languages finds the acquisition of a fourthcomparatively easy, but they do not help the least inlearning an oriental language. During all the time Ilived in Egypt I never met with more than two or threepersons who could r ead and wri te Arabic or Turkish. Ispeak of Europeans long resident in the country. Theycould talk and make themselves understood in some p atoisor other. As long as I only wanted something , I couldmake mysel f understood, but conversation was a verydifferen t thing. I used to sit about in the saloons withmy Turkish books ( in which the sound of the words wasrendered in Latin characters .) or at work , sometimesl isten ing to what passed around me

,and trying to under

s tand it. The upper slaves went freely about the apartments. If their mistress was there, they stood ; i f shewere absent, they sat on the floor in groups. There was


CHA PTER XXV.

llla rr ied life in the East contra sted w ith tha t in England—Amusements inthe harem—D istinction between the white and bla ck slaves—Suddenapp ea rance of eunuchs in my w orm—Remova l to A lexandr ia—Storyof the d iamond buckle—F amily life on the Cana l—I make a new

a cqua intance.

I could not help being struck even at this early stagewith the differen t l ife led by a young married couple in

the Eas t and one in our country. My pupil’s husband

had been in love with her from a child,and was devoted

to her after marriage as he had been before. Still theyhad no pursuits in common ; they could not walk out

together, ride , drive , or go to the theatre together, or haveany mutual acquaintance. Any wish she might expresswas immediately gratified by him ; he got a pretty l ittlepony - carriage and pair of ponies and taught her to drive,but she grew weary in a few days of driving round thegarden ,

with or without him,and gave up using it. One

pet after another was given her ; the poor child wan tedliberty , as a bird pines in i ts cage

, and cared for noth ing

else. When they went to the theatre or opera it was inseparate carriages , and they sat in separate boxes. Whenany gentleman came to see the Prince it was at the

selamlz’

h,and he could not introduce them to her. If any

of her brothers came they were brought in at once, and theintercourse was a great pleasure both to them and to her.

Some of them had been brough t up in France and England,

and they highly appreciated having as sis ter a charmingyoung woman

,full of the l igh t graceful badinage which is

always so attractive in the society of young people. Butafter all

,the visits of the brothers were only occasional ;

there were a great many weary hours to get through. ThePrincess generally drove out towards evening , and Kopsés

A HAREM JOKE. 2 7 9

went with her. She had a very elegan t carriage and fine

horses , two sa t s (pronounced syces) preceding with longsticks

, and white dress terminating at the knee,and

sleeves which the wind inflated as they ran, so that they

looked like wings. There were also generally a couple of

outriders in handsome uni forms , and two or three eunuchson horseback , who ,

however, fell behind , not riding,as a

few years before was the custom ,in front of the carriage

windows,with the blinds drawn down. N ow , the blinds

were up and the carriage was nearly all windows,and the

two pretty girls,in their bright dresses and transparent

yashonahs, were distinctly visible. The other Princesses

got similar carriages and drove out in the same style,and

the Choubrah or Abbassieh road presented quite a l ivelyscene

,for the hack - carriages used by travellers do not

produce an elegant effect. But last winter all this hadpassed away

,and a harem carriage driven in such a style

was an unfrequent sight !One warm evening the gates were closed and the ladies

were wandering about in the garden. Two months beforeit had been a waste , and already it was full of plants andflowers. The Princess was seated near a l ittle lake

,which

had been constructed of a serpentine shape, winding aboutunder rustic bridges. She was laughingly scolding one

of her attendants , when the girl broke away,crying out

“ My mistress is angry with me ! I’ll drown mysel f !and rushed into the water. The Princess cal led out, Oh ,s top her ! stop her !” and three or four more followedimmediately. But the fi rs t knew well enough that theWater was not more than three feet deep , so she had donei t for a joke

,and she turned round and threw water in

the faces of her pursuers . The Princess had seen the jokedirectly after the cry had escaped her , and now laughedheartily at the chase

,and urged others to join in the cap

ture. The general harem dress when warm weather set


in was white Indian grass -cloth , more or less fine,made

loose,and confined at the waist by a coloured sash , a

ribbon to match being usually worn round the throat , andto tie back the hair. The dress could not hurt by theimmersion , but the ribbons might be spoiled. Some wereseen to cast a glance on their pretty t ies

,which was a

signal to those who saw the look to rush upon them at

once and push them In. There was nothing but screaming and laughing , several disporting themselves in the

water,others pursued all over the garden ,

met at the

cross -paths,turn ing and doubling on their pursuers. The

Princess clapped her hands with del ight and laughed umrestrainedly , and the girls themselves were so immenselytickled with the joke that they tried to renew it on two or

three occasions , though not with the same success.I had often heard people talk of the mys tery in the

harem ,and the diffi culty there was in knowing what went

on within the walls,to those who lived in the outer world.

This was true enough,but I soon observed there was no

mystery amongst each other. What one knew (as a rule)everybody knew. The mistress was never alone ; therewas no place, however private, where her attendants couldnot penetrate. When visitors came, the chief slaveswaited in the room

,forming a semicircle at a slight dis

tance, but within ear - shot. The only way to speak inprivate appeared to m e to be under cover of the bandplaying , when the noise was deafen ing

,and the voice could

only be heard by the next neighbour. Where a foreignlanguage was spoken ,

privacy was always ensured, and mydear little Princess was not a l ittle pleased to be able totalk to her husband

,to Kopses, and to me, in French ,

which no one else understood ; and to Kopses and me

also in English , which the Prince did not understand. Iheard an anecdote concerning this custom of the constantpresence of the attendants. A European went one day to

2 8 2 RECoLLECTIoN S OF AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

of black girls swept from end to end,driving all the dust

before them. Then came another row of thirteen or fourteen black girls with mops and water , which was plentifully thrown about. Two or three white girls stood bywith brooms in their hands to appear to do something , buttheir work was usually limited to urging on the blacks ,and themselves talking to any one who happened to belooking out of the windows. Their feet were bare, andthey were general ly in high wooden clogs (which theyleft outside when they entered the house), a large th icktowel , with broad red stripes , was drawn tightly roundtheir persons , and fastened somehow behind. One had on

a green satin paletot , which had probably once figured at aBai ram

,but then did duty as bodice. These thick towels

formed the ordinary working costume, and sometimes ongrand cleaning occasion s I would see a dozen in a row

making an onslaught in the saloons , with the calfa (oroverseer), a long stick in her hand with which to reachany idler, and give due admon ishment. On such occasions they would be all white girls , as the furniture wastoo costly to be entrusted to the blacks. Indeed , whereverthe calfa was presen t, the whites could not shirk theirduty. The calf a, the dada ,

the cahir (housekeeper), and

all the head slaves , had slaves (their own property) underthem , either purchased by themselves or presents from

their mistress. These “ slaves of slaves ” sat on the flooroutside, or j ust within their mistresses

’ doors, and were as

a rule much more submissive than their mistresses. Thusall the upper attendants in the harem were better servedin their rooms than I, for as an Englishwoman I could nothave a slave, and although the Princess appointed one toattend on me

,the girl evidently looked upon it as a degra

dation to wait on a Giaour , and took so little pains to un

derstand my requirements,however they m ight be ex

plained to her, that I found it far less irritating to do every

DEPARTURE FOR ALEXANDRIA . 2 83

thing for mysel f than to depend on her. As long as I waswell this state of things , though very inconven ient, mightbe bearable, but i f ill i t became at once insupportable.There was a black girl called Zora about the Princess

who was allowed great freedom. She was the daugh terof one of the many foster-mothers that the Princess hadhad, for Oum Ayesha was not the only person to whomthis high privilege had been accorded. When a royalinfant was born ,

more than one nurse migh t be procured ,and the child itsel f made its choice ; later on

, the childmight turn away

,on which another nurse was directly

procured , so that i t might happen that many had been inturn promoted to the high dignity. Sometimes in the

evening at sunset , the girls being all in the garden , the

Princess would set them to run races with each other,she

looking on,and applauding the winner. Then one of

them proposed a j umping race,and after that to hop

round the garden on one leg ! They were all young ,light and active ; the gates were closed , the eunuchsstanding about looking on

,and

, but for their presence ,the whole had the effect of a girls’ school out at play.Their laughter must have been heard afar Off.On the 9th of May the second and third Princesses

came to tel l us that we were to leave for A lexandria the

next day early, by special train . There was no mentionof Constantinople. We were to take up our summerresidence at a new palace at Ramleh , which was being

built for the Princess. I packed up everything, and wasup the next morning at five , to be in readiness when calledfOr. But no one came, and at ten I met the Prince on hisway down-stairs , who told me the departure was delayeda few days . The few days were a fortn ight

,and on the

23d we finally started. The Prince had told me the daybefore that the palace which was being built for the

Princess’s reception not being quite finished

,they were


going first on a visit to Hussein Pasha, who l ived on theMahmoudieh Canal

,and that I was to go to the HOtel de

l’Europe until I could join the Princess at Ramleh. Uponhearing this , I begged that I might not be obliged to travelwith the harem ,

because as I was not bound for the samedestination ,

my luggage would infallibly be mixed up withthat Of the harem ,

and I Should be unable to get it whenI reached A lexandria. The Prince consented , though apparently quite unable to follow my reasoning , and saidthat his secretary , M. Eugene , should travel with me tolook after me. As his house lay midway between the

palace and the station,it was settled I should cal l for him

on my way thither in the morning.I then retired to my own apartments , and having

finished my packing , and the heat being very great,I

took a bath . I have before mentioned that I was

furnished with a key for the outer door, which would lockon the outside , but not on the inside. I therefore usuallyfastened it with a string , which by no means kept out anintruder, but retarded her entry and thus gave me not-ice

of her approach. I had just got out of the bath , and put ona dressing- gown

,when I was startled by a vigorous kick

which burst the door Open in a moment , and two eunuchsentered the room. They did not appear in the least disconcerted at my appearance

,or to consider their visit ill

timed , but one of them who spoke a little English told methat his father (l) wished to know how many boxes I had.N ow i t had never entered my head that a eunuch couldhave a father, any more than he could have a son , but

that that father should be l iving in the harem with him

was quite a revelation to me. Had he spoken in Turkishor Arabic , the oriental imagery might have suggested to

me some figure of speech but in matter- Of- fact English I

took the relationship as matter of fact , and could only

ejaculate ,“ Your father ! Y es , my father,

” said he.


travelling with the harem when not bound for the samedestination.I heard a curious story just before leaving Cairo. One

of the Princesses was dressing, with jewel - caskets Openon the tables near her , when a l ittle eunuch came in withsome message. Among the j ewels was a diamond buckle

,

and the boy watched his opportun ity and took possessionOf it. He carried it to a jeweller

’s in the Mouskee, sayinghe had been sent to sel l it , and asked £20 for it. The

jewel ler was an honest man : he examined it, and keepingit in his hands

,said

,

“ This buckle is worth more than

£20 ; i f you will take me to your harem I will find out

where it was purchased, and give the value of it.” The

boy said his harem was a long way Off ; but the jewellerrefusing to give up the buckle , he became frightened, andat last fairly ran away. The j eweller took the buckle toone or two Of the royal harems , and at last came to theright one, and great was the joy of the slaves who hadthe charge of the jewels , as they were in hourly dread of

a flogging when their mistress might ask for the buckleand it should not be forthcoming. The mistress was told ,and she gave instan t orders that the boy should be sold atany sacrifice. But the worst of the matter in my Opinionwas , that it was added that my Princess

’s establishmentbeing then in formation ,

the boy was bought for her, andcautioned that i f ever he stole again,

he would be takenout to sea and drowned. I believe, however, my pupilwould have had all her diamonds stolen before she wouldhave ordered him to be flogged, much more drowned !Very soon after my arrival at Alexandria, I went to the

Mahmoudieh Canal to pay a visit to my pupil,who was

on a visit to her half-brother Hussein Pasha. It was a

double connection , as the Prince had married the halfsister of my pupil’s husband. The Princess Hussein wasa very amiable, agreeable person. She spoke French very

THE PRINCESS HUSSEIN. 28 7

well , and read a great deal. I went very early in the

morning, and was Shown into a room where a numberof French books were lying on a table. This was quitedifferent from Eastern habits

,and presently after I heard

voices in the adjoining room,mixed voices of ladies and

gentlemen. The door Of the room in which I sat was

opened , and the Princess Hussein looked in , and seeingme

,came forward, and led me into the next room

,where

I found Tewfik Pasha andHussein Pasha ( the two eldestsons Of the Khédive), and Ibrahim Pasha ( the husband ofmy pupil), the Princess, and Kopses, to whom were now

added the Princess Hussein and mysel f. They were all

talking merrily together , without gé’

ne,j ust as young

people would do in Europe. The mother of HusseinPasha was also there. She lived with her son

,and was

therefore,according to Eastern custom

,the mistress of the

house. She did not speak French , nor, as far as I couldever see, adopt European customs ; but we went in to

breakfast presently (cafe an latt, in the French style), andshe kindly urged me to stay

,and also to repeat my visit.

The three Princes took their leave before we went in tobreakfast, but I was told that they usually spent theevenings all together.During my stay at the HOtel de l’EurOpe at A lexandria,I visited my pupil always two or three times a-week at

the Canal , and renewed acquaintance with those familiesI had known the previous year. I was invited one day

to Ramleh to meet Miss Harris, a lady Of whom I hadO ften heard , and whose name i s from that t ime connectedin my mind with many pleasant memories. On this occasion there were several other friends, and two Of themaccompanied m e back to A lexandria by the last train ,

which is (or was, for it no longer exists) called the“ horse

train,

”

and conveyed to my mind the idea that it was exelusively for horses

,and that the accommodation might be


confined to a Spare box but I found it was a large omnibus

,with a horse doing duty as locomotive. A day or two

after Miss Harris cal led upon m e,and subsequently in~

vited me to her house,which was situated on the heights

behind the town,and called Koum - el-Dikke. I was quite

charmed with the position,and also with the house itsel f,

which was very quaint, with rooms in all sorts of unex

pected shapes and places,wooden balconies and - terraces,

commanding very extensive views. The house was full Ofantiquities , and also of English comforts

,and the hostess

was quite a character.I will give a little outline of her. Her father was a

famous Egyptologist,and also a great favourite Of Mo

hammed Ali. She lost her mother (a native woman) ata very early age ; and as her father l ived frequently formonths under tents or in a Nile boat, he sent the child tobe educated in England , under the care Of his sister , andwith her children. A t twenty years of age she returnedto Egypt to keep her father

’s house, or to accompany himin his wanderings and scientific researches. She was O ftenwith him for months in the desert

,l iving among tombs ,

his willing and useful assistant. All the scientific men of

the day who went to Egypt visited at her father’s house.

A fter some years he was struck wi th paralysis, and lin

gered for a considerable time,leaving his daughter sole

heiress Of all that he possessed , including valuable anti

quities , some of which are now in the possession of the

British Museum.

Miss Harris was an accomplished musician ,and the

house in which she resided with her father (when at

A lexandria) was very near the palace of the notoriousN uzzli Hanem , eldest daughter Of Mohammed Ali. In

this climate,where windows are almost always Open,

music travels far, and the sweet sounds were carried to

N uzzli Hanem . One morning, while Miss Harris was


even looked at them , MissHarris and her friend remainedimmovable. SO N uzzli Hanem condescended to make a

slight movement of the head , and to tell them to be seated.Now MissHarris’s companion was a very stout lady

,and

to sit on a cushion on the floor,and afterwards to have to

get up again,was a feat to which she was not equal. Be

sides, Mis s Harris stood out, on the ground that they wereEnglishwomen , and not accustomed to “ squatting. SO

she looked about her as if for a chair, and not seeing one,kept in the same position. Nuzzli Hanem then orderedchairs to be brought

,and after a little while said

,I hear

you play very well ; there is a piano ; play.”

NO,I can

not,

” said Miss Harris. “ Why not 21 “ Because I am not

accustomed to be ordered.” “ Oh,please play ! “ Ah

,

that is a different thing ; when I am asked politely , Ialways do what I am asked. Miss

.Harris sat down and

played for some t ime. Can you play anything you haveheard ? said Nuzzli Hanem.

“ Pretty wel l.” Presentlya number Of women seated on the ground with instrumentsin their hands began ,

at a signal from their mistress , to playa native air. A fter a t ime she made a signal to them to

stop,and then turn ing to MissHarris , asked i f she could

play that. Miss Harris had an excellent ear , and she

played i t. Nuzzli Hanem then said , I want you to comeevery day for three or four hours , to teach some Of thesegirls to play as well as you do.

” Oh , I cannot, saidMiss Harris. “ I have my father and my house to attendto ; there

’s the master who taught me, send for him !

A fter this , N uzzliHanem often asked Miss Harris to cometo her, and appeared to take quite a fancy to her , the moreso

,no doubt

,from her independent behaviour, to which

this lady was little accustomed , everybody around her

being in the greatest awe and terror of her.

THE PRIN CEss’s PALACE.

CHAPTE R XXVI.

Go to res ide in the p a lace a tRamleh We read a grea t dea l—D innernp a rtya t the ha rem—Am taken ill—Remove to KOum -cl-D ihhe—Ma ltese cook—A rab funeral—Corp se Objects to be bur ied—Return to the ha remSon born to Tezqfik Pasha .

About the middle Of June,my pupil’s palace being ready

for her, she leftHussein Pasha’s palace on the Canal andtook up her abode at Ramleh. It had been rumoured thatthere would be no room for me

,because I had refused to

have apartments among the slaves , and none of the bestrooms could be isolated and set apart for one person

,nu

less it were the mistress , and even her privacy I saw on

several occasions was not respected. A few days beforemoving

,however

,the Princess told me that there would

be a room for me,and I had better go and see it

,that I

migh t not have Objections to make when too late. I went,and felt that as the building stood , my dear pupil couldnot have done better for me. The palace was the last tothe east, of the block Of palaces at Ramleh which havebeen built in the present reign. It was in two distinctdivisions

,connected by a large square courtyard, and

surrounded by , a high wall. The division to the southwas entirely for the slaves , the best rooms looking intothe centre court , and the inferior ones into smaller courtsbehind. It was of two storeys . The divi sion to the

north was also of two storeys , the basement being entirelyO ffices , and the upper floor containing the bes t apartments.The entrance to it was by a double flight of steps fromthe centre court. These led on to a terrace and an outervestibule. Within were about fi fteen apartments

,exclu

sive of bath - room , lavatories , passages, &c. The roomswere three deep from south to north

,the centre line being

lighted by skylights. These rooms consisted of a large


reception- saloon, the Princess’s dressing - room , and so on.

The rooms to the north were the Princess’s bedroom ,the

Prince’s bedroom ,

two saloons , and the din ing- room. On

the south were five rooms, all looking into the centrecourt

, and the corner one to the east also commanded awide view of the desert and the l ine of railway. The

next year a further piece was enclosed , bounded by a

h igh wall, which shut out the V iew ; but the first “summeri t was very pleasant.All these apartments commun icated one with the other,

and the doors being always Open,there was a constant

current Of air, so agreeable and necessary in a warmclimate. The room proposed for me was at the south

east corner ; the next,to the south

,was our schoolroom ,

fitted up much more comfortably than any other apartment—with piano

,large bookcase

,tables , &c., and with

the most cheerful look - out, after my bedroom. The nextroom to mine

,on the north

,was the Princess’s dressing

room ,and on this side came the refreshing sea-breeze.

But I saw at once that,unless this door was locked, my

room would be made a constant passage by the slaves ingoing to and from their mistress’s apartments. SO Iasked the Princess to allow me to lock this door, and tokeep the key in my own possession. By so doing I lostthe sea-breeze

,but ensured privacy.

I found my pupil greatly improved by her stay atHussein Pasha’s. A fter her marriage she seemed to havemade up her mind that

,as her life was henceforth to be

passed in the harem among uneducated women ,it was

useless for her to cultivate any Of the attainments she hadpreviously acquired. She was confirmed in this by theindolence natural to the climate, and almost inseparablefrom harem life

,and also by the adulation of the slaves ,

who took complete possession Of her. But her visit at

the Canal had changed all this. She had for the first time


finished,she spent a day or two talking about the char

acters in it as if they had been familiar friends,and was

unwilling to begin another, as she was sure she shouldnever be so interested again. In vain I repeated the proverb that there were as good fish in the sea as ever werecaught ; She would turn over the next book for some time ,shaking her head , but after a day or two was j ust as deepin that as she had been in the preceding. She enteredmuch more into pathos than into humour. I never could

get her to take much interest in Moliere, but she was veryfond Of the C id.’

She did not care for fancy-work , but liked making littlearticles of millinery , bows , neckties , &c. She would sendfor pieces of silk and satin that her dressmaker mighthave remaining , and make such a litter with the cuttingsas quite scandalised the head slaves that a Princess shouldbe thus employed. One day the calfa ran in in a hurryto herald the approach Of an important visitor. I wasreading , and the Princess working , with a quantity O f

cuttings as usual lying about the floor. The calfa lookedreprovingly at me

,Is this well ? ” said she. Very

well,said I ;

“anything is better than idleness . The

calfa smiled and shook her head,and then called quickly

to some attendants to collect the l itter , while the Princesswith both hands scattered on the floor everything withinher reach , laughing merrily all the while.The li ttle dog Fido had soon been given up, and a C ircassian slave ch ild Of about three years old taken instead.This child cost £125. She was a pretty little thing witha very intell igent countenance

,and the Princess talked of

having her brought up and educated in every possiblebranch. In the meanwhile she had a regular trousseaumade, both as a l ittle girl and as a boy,

and one day she

appeared in the fi rst character,and soon after in the next.

Half-a- dozen slaves were busy working for the child, and

THE PRINCESS’S DINN ER-PARTY. 29 5

for a few weeks she was made quite a pet Of, and then putaside. Domestic slavery is a poli tical blunder as well as amoral wrong. It is a terrible expense

,and no country can

thrive financially where such an institution exists.The Khédive Often came to pay his daughter a visit.

On such occasions I was always present,and he invariably

did me the honour Of speaking to me. The PrincessAhmed

,mother-in-law of my pupil

,came to Ram leh on a

visit for a few days ; and to signalise the event the Princess gave a dinner - party. Tewfik Pasha and HusseinPasha came ; her own brother Ibrahim Pasha

,Toussoun

Pasha (son of the late Said Pasha), who had married hersister Fatma Hanem ; her younger (half) brother Mah

moud’

Bey, and her husband Ibrahim Pasha, made up sixgentlemen. The Princess hersel f

,her mother- in-law

,my

sel f,Kopses, and Charissas Hanem were the ladies. The

two last were pretty girls , who in any European societywould have been Objects Of general attraction

,but such

mixed company was entirely new to Mussulman habits ;and so, though all the gentlemen would talk freely enoughto Europeans , they never looked at or addressed these twoyoung ladies

,lest by so doing they might shock their

feelings of propriety. To the Princess they spoke freelyenough , first because she was their hostess and near relative ; and secondly , because she behaved with all the easeand sel f- possession of a person brought up in society. To

me they also talked freely,as to a European. The Prin

cess Ahmed sat at table between her son and Tewfik

Pasha,but she spoke little, and retired directly we

rose from table. The conversation was carried on in

French,English

,and Turkish. All the gentlemen spoke

French , and most Of them English. We all rose fromtable at the same time, and most Of the gen tlemen groupedthemselves round the piano. The doors were all open ,

and the slaves stood about,looking at the unwonted


spectacle of six gentlemen making themselves at homein a harem. The evening passed quickly and pleasantly ,and at about hal f-past ten the gen tlemen all rose to go.There was no moon,

and the slaves stood forming a doubleline of light down the steps and across the courtyard tothe gate. My Princess and her husband accompanied theguests to the threshold , and there the latter turned roundagain to take their leave, but the Princess insisted uponaccompanying them to the gate. On their way downthe steps , at the foot of them , and two or three timesacross the . courtyard

,one or other of the Princes turned

round to disclaim the honour done to them and to stoptheir hostess from going further , but with much laughingand many compliments she persisted in going on as far

as she could— that is , to the firs t door of the outer gate.Here the gentlemen all turned , and with low salaamswere making their final compliments when an absurdincident illustrative of harem customs took place.I have mentioned what great liberty, I may say licence,

is allowed to a few privileged persons in the harem,such

as nurses , &c. The Princess’s dada had not been accus

tomed any more than others to the presence of gentlemen,

but she was by no means abashed by it, and being fond ofpractical jokes

,she thought i t amusing to give a good slap

on the back to a male visitor at the moment of parting.Why she singled outHussein Pasha from all the rest I donot know

,unless i t was that he was a handsome young

man,very light and active, and with an exceedingly glib

tongue. While, therefore, making his final bow , the Princelooked narrowly round, and espied the dada j ust preparingfor the usual accolade. He darted forward, gave her a

hearty slap on the back,and then ran out of the gate

which a eunuch held ready to Open , and through whichshe could not follow him. I have no doubt she repaidhim on his next visit

,but I did not happen to be there to

29 8 RECOLLECTIONS OE AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

begin immediately and drink a bottle a-day. I was not

to eat at all,unless I felt the want of something

,in which

case meat was the best thing for me.

During the whole day there was an influx of visitors,

the Princess Ahmed came to see m e, and sent two or

three times to inquire. Nothing could be kinder thanShe, her son

,and the Princess ; but no one understood

anything Of nursing , and nothing that the two doctorshad ordered had arrived. At 6 RM. one of the doctorscame again

,and

‘

finding that neither powders nor Vichywater had arrived , advised me s trongly

,if I had any

friend to go to, to leave the harem for a few days , sayingthat

,though there was no present danger, there was never

any telling to what such things might lead. Al so, thatwhen I began to get better, nourishment would be all

important, and I could not have suitable food in the

harem. There was plenty to eat, but nothing fit for mein the state in which I was. Soon after his departure,the Vichy water arrived , and I began it immediately. Ihad no sleep that n ight

,was in great pain , and had

continual diarrhoea. My dear pupil came in to me fre

quently the next day, and so did the Prince. The slaveswere coming in all day long. Are you wellN0

,very bad

a“ Ah

,then , you will be well to-morrow

,

inshallah Inshallah I was all I could repeat.I happened to be better for two or three hours in the

afternoon ; so when the doctor came again,I told him I

thought of going to Koum - el-Dikke the next morning tobe nursed , i f he considered I could bear the journey. Headvised me decidedly to go , and I afterwards told mydear Princess. She understood it all

,but her husband

did not so well , and seemed , I thought , a little vexedthat I should persis t in going, as it might appear a

reflection on their hospitali ty. This was far from beingthe case ; but I felt that in the harem the patient

,no

REMOVE TO KOUM- EL-DIKKE. 2 9 9

matter who she might be, was left to fight it out w ithnature, unassisted by remedies. So having skilful friendswithout, I preferred going to them. A carriage was

ordered for me,and I wen t, dreading the journey , which ,

however , I got through better than I could have ex

pected.

But my arrival at Koum - el-Dikke was extremely inopportune. My hostess had, it is true , invited me to

come to be nursed ; but as she had not'

heard from me

for a week, and had seen me only at the beginn ing of myillness

, she had taken it for granted I was quite recovered ,and through the urgent persuasion Of some young friendshad issued invitations for an evening party and dance !Upon hearing this

,I proposed to change my destination

to the hospital,which was near, and where I knew I

should be wel l cared for. My hostess would not for a

moment listen to such a suggestion,so I was installed at

once in an upper room,though feeling mysel f sadly in the

way during the tumult Of preparation going on in the

house. The party was to take place in two days ; nearlyfi fty invitations had been sent out (and one to me

,which

never got farther than the gate). Mis s Harris was building a small house at the end of a little garden ; i t was ina very unfinished state but i t was decided that

,the walls

being covered with flags,and a few temporary arrange

ments made, it would do very well for a dance, and the

house would then be free for supper-room , card - room,

drawing- room , music , &c.There was plenty to be done ,—hams to boil, sirloins ofbeef to roast , also turkeys and fowls ; pigeon -pies to make

,

jell ies , blancmange , &c. MissHarris was a first-rate cookand housekeeper ; but there was so much to do that sherequired help , and a friend stopping in the house said she

knew a Maltese cook , then out of place , who , She thought,would be very glad to earn a pound. He was sent for,


came,and was told what was required . It was then

Wednesday ; the party was to be on Friday. It wouldtake all day Thursday and Friday , he said , and he couldnot do i t alone ; but he knew a friend who could comeand help him .

Well,what would his charge be 7

That he would rather leave to the lady.N o ; he must fix his price.

Well, then , £5 a -day each man.

What ! £20 for the two daysY es.

”

MissHarris’s indignation got the better of her. “ Verywell

,there

’s the door you may go“ Oh , I think you had better do the cooking yoursel f,said the man.

Of course he was sent Off. An hour or two after, hecame back. He had been considering the matter , he said ,and he thought it might perhaps be done in one day. Hewould get an assistant , and undertake the entire job for£2. The lady to whom he spoke thought that chargetoo high , so he came down to £1 ; but the matter beingreported to Miss Harris, that lady said she would not

engage him on any terms, because he had been overreaching and impertinent. There was no time to find any one

else,so with the help of her cook , and her own unceasing

exertions , she managed the whole thing herself.I fel t so much better, even in one day, through the

change to more suitable food, that I looked forward to a

sound sleep , which I had not had for many nights. Sun

ri se,however

,found me still wide awake, and in a sort Of

despair at my position. While I was meditating on whatwould become of me

,I fell fast asleep while there was

still no sound but the twittering Of sparrows. At 6 A.M.

the carpenters began hammering the flags on the walls,but I slept on for three or four hours , and woke much


house. Then the persuasions began again ; and the by

standers,among whom were all Miss Harris’s servants ,

said the corpse must have been a very holyman to Objectso strongly to being buried. N o doubt he felt that he hadplenty more work to do on the earth , and was unwilling toleave it until it was accomplished. At last, whether thecorpse was really mollified by the compliments paid him ,

or Whether the bearers had become tired of the farce, is anOpen question ,

but they suddenly took up the bier, turnedround two or three times , so as to puzzle him with regardto the exact points Of the compass , then charged down thesteepest part Of the hill , and bore him triumphantly off,to the great edification of all the beholders.I was told afterwards that the law being strict (for

sanitary reasons) that all burials should take place out

side the town,the idleness Of the bearers caused them

continually to go through this farce of pretending thatthe dead man refused to go on , and then burying himeither in the road or in some convenient garden whichmight happen to be in the way. The piety or supersti

tion of the Moslems made them think it Obligatory on

them to build a mosque,or at any rate a fountain

,on the

spot where the body was buried,which became in time

such an intolerable tax on the district , that MohammedAli determined to try the effect of the coarbache on the

bearers. This was found to produce the desired result,but it was not always forthcoming at the moment, so thenuisance was still repeated occasionally

, and Miss Harristold me that She once narrowly escaped having an Old

Sheikh buried in her garden. She saw the cor te’

ge com

ing, and having her suspicions, ordered the garden door

to be locked forthwith. The Objections of the corpsewere made j ust outside the door, and the bearers bumpedagainst it a great many times ; but as i t held good,they were obliged at last to take the body up

,and the

SON BORN To TEWFIK PASHA. 303

Old saint was final ly deposited without the city gates , ashe should be.On the 14th of July , a day or two after my return to

the harem ,a son was born to Tewfik Pasha. There were

great rejoicings,and the next day the Prince came him

self to see his sister and talk of the auspicious event.He stayed a full hour , and told us he had sent for an

English nurse to bring up the child. We had up to thistime had gentlemen visitors on several occasions in the

harem , sometimes simply calling and occasionally dining ,but they were all blood relations of my Princess

,as her

brother- ih -law Toussoun Pasha was at the same time hercousin. Now

,however

,we had a visit from TafitaHanem ,

the Khédive’s eldest daughter (usually cal led by Europeans the Pr incess Monsour) , and her husband MonsourPasha

,the latter being only a connection by marriage, as

he is not a descendant Of Mohammed Ali. They dinedand slept in the palace. These incidents would not be

worth mentioning,but to show that the system Of entire

seclusion which has existed for so many ages among thewomen of the East is gradually giving way.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Return to Ca iro—N uisance of cats in the harem—Purchase of slaves—Twonegresses whipp ed

—Be’zique—E nglish groom comp la ins of being robbed

—1 llness in the harem—A ccident while dr iving—The “ dada

’s”leg is

broken - Blind doctor a ttenda—D isastrous result—Ramadan.

The Khédive soon left A lexandria, where he never staysvery long

,as the climate does not agree with him. The

first Princess went with him ,and the third had some time


before gone to Constantinople with the Queen -Mother.

The second Princess was still left at Ramleh , but both she

and my pupil became restless after the departure of hisHighness

,and were anxious to return to Cairo. I don

’

tthink the cl imate of A lexandria ever suited my Princess,but upon grounds of economy no journey to Constantinople (except that of the Queen-Mother, who went forhealth) was contemplated that year, nor during the succeeding summer. The expense Of a sojourn on the Bos

phorus was enormous ; it was not only the money spenton the voyage

,and the living in Turkey, but the back

sheesh that was always given to the Sultan’s harem and

eunuchs,and the presents to the Sultan himself.

At the end Of August the Queen -Mother was expectedback

,and it was settled that as soon as the Mahroussah

came into port with her, my pupil and her mother shouldmeet her at landing, and all should proceed to Cairo together. I obtained leave to go to Koum -el-Dikke for a

few days, and was then to join my pupil in Cairo. The

luggage was all sent Off,and the majority of the slaves ,

only a very few remaining about the person of the Princess. We went to bed early , but a messenger was sentat a late hour to in form the Princess that the Mahroussah

was outside the harbour, and would come in at daybreak.I was asleep , and did not know of this

,but

,waking about

five the next morn ing, I was surprised at the perfect quietthat prevailed, and getting up soon,

wondered that I sawnone Of the slaves about the courtyard

,as they were gen

erally stirring soon after daybreak. Presently Mlle. Caroline, the Princess

’s Italian dressmaker, who l ived on the

other side of the court, entered my room to askme when

I thought of going, and to tell me that everybody hadleft the harem—mistress

,slaves , and eunuchs. They went

at 4 A.M. to meet the Queen-Mother on her landing. She

(Caroline) had been outside the gates , and found an Arab


in the daytime,except an hour before sunset , when the

slaves were out in the garden. Thus any authorisedvisitor could drive or walk in at once, up to the door of

the harem . It would be diffi cult enough for any intrudersto make their way in. But nothing could keep out cats ,which ran wild about the country ; and as winter cameon

,they would dart through the gates , hide themselves in

the garden, and towards evening get into the house. Now

and then the nuisance would become so serious , and the

dirt made by them so great,that orders were given to

chase them out, and eunuchs and slaves would join in

a hunt ; but that was only for a day or two ; in a weekthey were as plentiful as ever. As the spring advanced ,they began to seek out comfortable nooks for com ingfamilies ; and as my windows were a convenient heightfrom the ground

,and my bedroom was less of a passage

than any other apartment in the palace , the cats favouredme much more frequently than was agreeable. Theywere not quiet domestic animals , but frightened, rushingcreatures , springing past you when you least expected it.With all my care

,I had one or two families born in my

room ; and one day walking down the passages leadingto the Princess’s apartments

,I found five or six parties

established behind the heavy curtains which were alwaysdrawn before each door (in winter). I did not find thisnui sance for a long time

,however , as, when I returned to

Cairo in September, the weather was too warm at nightfor any an imals to seek the shelter Of a house.During the whole of September I scarcely went outside

the harem gates. There was no one in town whom Iknew. There was no divine service , except from aboutthe middle of November to Easter. It

'

used always to beperformed in a large room at the N ew Hotel, but in thewinter of 1875 - 76 the English Church was at last opened.There is , however, as yet no house for a clergyman. The

SLAVES ON INSPECTION. 307

chaplain i s obliged to stay at one of the hotels , and as the

English residents in Cairo are very few ,all expenses are

defrayed by contributions from travellers.One morning the Prin cess was going to Gezireh to

spend the day with his Highness ; the carriage was al

ready at the door , and the slaves were grouped about inthe en trance - saloon awaiting her com ing down . She

came with her husband , and they walked through to

gether to an inner room. I saw some reception was goingto take place , and I followed them. The Prince and

Princess seated themselves on a couch at one side of the

saloon,and presently. twelve “ ladies ” entered

,and stood

in a row Opposite the young couple. They were all gailydressed

,in the half - European style which has become

general among the young. They were slaves sent for inspection with a view to purchase. NCW and then one of

them was called up for a closer view,but no decision was

made ; the Princess went Off to Gezireh , and the Prince tothe selamlik, the slaves remain ing for further examination.

They were treated as visitors by those of the household,were taken into every part of the palace and over the

garden. Four of them were musicians,and upon invita

tion they produced their instruments and twanged awayfor more than an hour for the amusement Of their hosts.They paraded about the saloons all day,

and the slaves ofmy Princess dressed themselves in their best to impresstheir visitors with the wealth of the establishment . It

must not be supposed that the head slaves took the trouble

of entertain ing , or indeed of taking any notice of, thesevisitors . Those immediately about the person of the Princess were of higher rank : they aspired to be ul timatelythe wives of boys or pashas , and their white hands werenever soiled by any menial work. But there were fromten to a dozen sofradjis, who waited at table ; otherswhose business it was to carry drinking - water to the


different apartments, and who kept the keys of the roomscontaining the fi ltering machines ; others , again ,

who heldthe ofli ce of upper housemaids , &c. These made up a

goodly number,and when their regular work was done

they lounged,

‘

about in the central saloon awaiting thereturn of their mistress , or , if they had needlework to do,sat in groups on the floor in one of the passages adjoining.I f any new white slaves were purchased they would probably fall into this class

, so they met on terms of equality.The new arrivals were all about the average class

,ages

from sixteen to eighteen ,wel l grown and fairly good

looking. I heard that the price demanded for the fourmusicians was £1000 ; but then,

no doubt, a large marginwas allowed for abatement. A very beautiful slave wouldcost several thousand pounds , but I never saw one Of

these overpowering beauties. The Khédive’s two eldestdaughters were the handsomest w omen I saw in Egypt.I believe nothing would have induced my dear pupil to

allow any of her slaves to be flogged,but she did not know

all that took place under her roof. I was told one dayby a looker-On of a scene that occurred in one of the innercourts. Two negresses were flogged, one at a time. Threeeunuchs presided

,one held the head of the victim and

another the legs,the third administering the blows. The

housekeeper stood by. The chastisement was administeredbecause these two negresses had not hurried out of the wayat the cry of “Dustoor raised by the eunuchs who precede the men carrying in the heavy trays for the haremmeals. The cry is heard from a distance, so there is alwaysplenty Of time to get out of the way. The negresses weretherefore clearly guilty of contumacy

,and liable to punish

ment. It appeared to me that the influence of European

women in the harem mus t have been the cause of thisoffence, because the Moslem women must either look upon

us as the most abandoned creatures, or they must think


had lost some money and was crying bitterly (The Princess had French coachmen and grooms

, and the PrinceEnglish.) I went out , and found the groom with a party ofeunuchs round him. The man was sobbing

,and as wel l

as he could speak , he explained to me that he had justbeen robbed of two hundred sovereigns

,which he had kept

in bags locked up in a trunk in his room (also looked),which was situated near the stables on the opposite sideof the road. I asked him if he could form an idea whowas the thief and when the money had been taken . Hesaid that about a couple of hundred workmen were eu

gaged in building a palace on the Nile, and that everyeven ing at about sunset they passed his window. On thisevening in question he had been out driving the Prince as

usual , and that,unlocking his door on his return and

striking a light , he had at first seen nothing amiss , butpresently remarked that his box was broken in at the top

and the contents turned topsy- turvy. Further exami nation showed him that the money -bags had been abstracted ,and that the window had been broken sufficiently to admi tof a slim person getting in and out again. During thi snarration the Prince stood by listening to the translationwhich I gave from time to time, and the group of eunuchspressed sympathisingly round. I asked the groom how

he could be so rash as to keep so large a sum in a

detached room from which he was necessarily so manyhours absent. He replied that his contract was justexpiring, that he had not heard that it was to be renewed ,and he had therefore preferred keeping all his savings byhim ,

so as to be ready to start at once for England whenhis contract expired. All this was told me with manysuppressed sobs , and was duly translated to the Prince.The latter after a l ittle consideration said ,

“ Tel l him not

to distress himsel f any further. I wil l make up the moneyfor him.

” I exclaimed,

“ Pray , think of what you are prom

A ROBBERY. 31 l

ising,s ir ; you must not raise false hopes in the man

you may repent later of so hasty a promise ! “ N o,

said he , I shal l not repent ; tel l him that I will make themoney good.” Upon this I told the groom what thePrince had said. The man touched his hat to the Prince,thanked him heartily , and went away. I told the Princess all that had passed

,and referring to the approaching

expiration of the contract,the Prince said , I shal l renew

it. I am very well satisfied with the man,and do not

w ish to part with him.

”

Some time after, I happened to see another Englishgroom in the Prince’s service, and I asked him aboutHarry, and if he had heard anything of the lost money orof the thieves. The man answered me very civilly, but Isaw by his manner that he did not wish to speak on

the subject. I was astonished at this, and said to him ,

“Why,surely you do not disbelieve that he lost the

money ? I don’t know anything about it,madam ,

”

said he ;“ he SAYS he los t it. I said no more

,but at the

next Opportun ity asked the Prince if he had renewed thecontract with Harry. Oh

,said he

,

“ i t has been a verydisagreeable business. When I told the eeleeel (steward)to pay him the £200, he flatly refused to do i t

,saying

there was no evidence that the money had been stolen,

and that the man was trying to impose on me. Then

when I told the eeheel to renew the contract, I foundthat the other English groom declined remaining i fHarry was kept on.

”This looked rather suspicious ,

and upon asking the Prince i f he had any reason himsel ftosuspect the man had not told the truth concern ing thealleged thefts , he related to me that about nine monthsbefore , Harry had complained in the same manner Of

having had £40 stolen from him ,and that he (the Prince)

had then given him the money from his own pocket. All

the emp loy/es were of Opin ion that the man was imposing


on the Prince,and he was naturally not exactly pleased

at this view of the matter. The Pr ince was exceedinglygood -natured and imp ulsively generous. If his wife, or

even I,noticed and admired any new thing which he

might be wearing,such as watch , pin ,

the he wouldimmediately take it Off and present it. This happened tome more than once, but I never would accept the gift, asit looked like asking for i t

,which was far from my

thoughts. The Princess , however , had of course no suchscruples.A curious scene occurred in one of the great haremswhich was related to me by an eyewitness. The mistresshad been suffering about four-and- twenty hours with a

severe fit of indiges tion ,and was writh ing in agony.

N ow diet is quite a minor consideration ,or rather no

consideration at all,in the harem. The quantity of

sweets,and of unripe fruit, and crude vegetables con

sumed is something amazing. The whole household wasconvulsed by the indisposition of the mistress. Messengers were despatched to find the doctor : he was out, butat last returned, and was ushered in by several eunuchs.But the lady refused to see him ,

or to let him hear fromher own lips what ailed her. The doctor was broughtinto the adjoining room ; and there , the door being ajar,and a heavy curtain drawn before i t

,a stout middle- aged

lady detailed the symptoms of the patient, two or threeeunuchs standing on each side of the door to prevent thedoctor from storming the passage. The medico urgedmuch that he might see the patient

,upon which he was

led in, the lady being enveloped in a great black silkcloak ; a hand was protruded from under the folds thathe might feel the pulse

,and then a tongue appeared from

under the hood ; and the doctor , thus enlightened, pre

scribed M. Purgon’s remedy. The doctor was to remain

to know the result. The eunuchs took a lively interest in


sidered, by having a particular kind Of boot made, and

wearing it with a splint, the mischief might still beremedied. It was very shocking to the poor dada to

have four men close round her in this manner, and she

showed her face much more than she would otherwisehave done , in her anxiety to see that they did not takepossession of her foot without her consen t. At last theboot and the splint were decided on

,and it was settled to

order it immediately. A few weeks passed ; I went veryoften to see the dada

,and heard that the boot and Splint

had not been sent, so I made a point of going to the

doctor and telling him of the omission. He inquired,and assured me that it had been sent a day or two afterhis visit ; and so it proved to have been ,

for after manyfruitless inquiries , i t turned out that the dada had triedit

,found it extremely uncomfortable

,and left it off at once,

but had concealed the fact of its arrival,hoping that i t

would be forgotten,and that no further inquiry would be

made. The consequence i s that the poor woman has

never recovered the free use of her leg, and probablynever will. If she were a European ,

it could be brokenunder chloroform and then reset ; as it is , she will doubtless be lame for life.The new moon of the 10th of October ushered in Ram

adan ,and as it falls eleven days earlier every year

,i t was

thirty-three days nearer to hot weather than the firstI had passed in Egypt. Oc tober is a trying month , hotand moi st. I had given lesson s in the harem the previousyear during Ramadan , and had found that unpleasant

enough ; but it was far worse to l ive in i t. I did not fastmysel f, nor did the Princess , therefore I had no troublein getting food ; but it was very painful to me to see the

effect produced on the poor girls.I had noticed for some days an erection being made

(opposite the harem door, and close under the wal l) , such

RAMADAN IN THE HAREM. 31 5

as musicians are ensconced in in public gardens. I foundit was intended for a Sheikh to read or recite the Koran.

This is begun soon after sunset, and con tinues for severalhours. The whole day before Ramadan there was a

general cleaning throughout the harem. The girls wentabout in bands of a dozen or more, and charged each roomin succession, the calfa acting as overseer, with a longswitch in her hand ; and as th e weather was very warm,

they were all barefoot, and clad in the lightest of neglige'

es,

drawn tightly round the person , l ike the drapery of a

statue, so as to leave no room for imagination with regardto their proportions. During Ramadan the girls cannotbe called upon to do much work , SO there was little morecleaning unti l the end of the month

,when the preparations

for Bairam began.

CHAPTE R XXVIII.

Ramadan in the harem.

The apartments to which I had removed were so quietby night that the unwonted sound Of running about inthe passages between 2 and 3A.M. which occurred throughout Ramadan awoke me the first

.

night, and I felt a sort ofdespair at what awaited me throughout the month. A ftertwo or three nights

,however

,I got accustomed to it, and

slept through it. This was the programme of the four-and

twenty hours. Immediately after sunset some l ight refreshment was taken, and soon after a regular meal. Abouttwo hours before daybreak another and heavier meal wastaken ,

and then after prayer all went to sleep. In the greathouses where work is not compulsory the inmates sleepuntil mi d-day,

sometimes till two in the afternoon ; the


slaves and eunuchs know the habits of their masters andmistresses , and regulate their Slumber accordingly. N O

visits are paid in the daytime, for no one is either disposed to go out or receive at home. The entire changeof habits produced by thus turning day into n ight and

night into day causes much illness ; and although the

poor , who are obliged to work during Ramadan the sameas throughout the whole year, suffer much more at the

time,I am not sure that they do not in the end come

off better than the rich,as their food is lighter and exer

cise helps them to digest it.The Khédive is a hard-working man

,and knows that

work cannot go on well without food and sleep , so he doesnot fast himsel f or allow his family to do so. The

Princes , his sons, had. all to be at their appointed postsat an early hour

,so they followed their father’s example ;

and my pupil was,I believe from constitution

,physically

incapable of long fasting. In such cases dispensation i sgiven as freely as in Catholic countries. All the upperslaves had been about the Princess from her infancy, andknew how del icate she had been ; how four Of her brothersand sisters had died in early childhood

,and how her l ife

and that of her brother Ibrahim Pasha had been savedentirely by the care and watchfulness of Zohrab Bey.But as the Princess was now grown up and appearedstrong , her dada was anxious , as a true believer , to impressupon her the necessity of occasional fasting

,and had actu

ally induced her to abstain from food one day during theRamadan of the preceding year. Her room was darkenedand she slept till mid-day, but soon after became so clamorous in her inquiries whether the sunset gun had firedthat her example did not tend to edification or induce herdada to urge her again on the subject.The Prince had been brought up strictly by his mother

,

and with exemplary regularity with regard to meals,and

31 8'


hold out for some time ; would say i t was very hard thatshe, the mistress , should be obliged to eat , whether sheliked i t or not ; but always finished by doing as I asked ,because

,in spite of any occasional childish petulance , she

was always anxious to do right, and she did me the

justice to see that my influence was exerted solely for hergood

,and not to further any end of my own. Sometimes

she was out,and then the luncheon waited for one or two

hours,sometimes even more, for her possible return ; and

if she came late and then ate, the dinner would also bedeferred an hour or two. Nevertheless it was cooked at

the same hour and sent in,so that we had to eat it half

cold. This extreme irregularity in meals is one of the

evils of harem life. I was far less exposed to it thanmost Europeans who enter the service, and this partly bythe influence I acquired with my pupil , and partly bythe great kindness and consideration with which I wasalways treated by every member of his Highness’s family.It can be easily understood , however, that this irregularity in meals was not altogether pleasant to the husbandOf my pupil. As the Khédive’s daughter, she was suprememistress over all her household ; and as he could give no

orders in the harem,he very wisely took his meal s in the

selamlik,where he could keep up the regular hours to

which he had always been accustomed . His table was ,

l ike the Princess’s,served a la franque in the most elegant

style ; but as he intended to keep Ramadan strictly , andwould return during that time to old Mahometan customs

,

all the dinner services and plate were carefully put awayuntil the fast was over. The Princess and I had our

meals as usual,only with less state, and at breakfas t and

luncheon we were alone. Indeed we were constantlyalone together , except when the Princess went to Abdeento see his Highness. We read and worked nearly all day,her immediate attendants having entirely discontinued the

NEGLIGENT FASTERS. 3I 9

practice of waiting in the room . It was only one or two

of the more privileged , such as the dada , who had everventured to interrupt us

,and she had left it Off, seeing

it was distasteful to the Princess. I f I left the roomfor one minute, I was sure to find several slaves lyingasleep in the anterooms or on the staircase ; they wereobliged to be near

,in case their mistress wanted them.

There was one thing that was a great relief to me,and

that was, that during Ramadan we had no music at meals.A fter so many hours’ fasting , the girls could not be calledupon

,when nearly fainting for wan t of food, either to

scrape the violin, bang the tambourine, or shout to the

full extent of (sometimes) very powerful lungs. I do not

mean to say anything disrespectful of Turkish or Arabmusic

,but I doubt whether anybody in our country

,no

matter how fond they might be of music , would care tosit at dinner every day, with the best brass band inexistence thundering away within a few feet of them. Ifthe musicians had been placed in an adjoin ing room

,and

had exerted themselves a trifle less,I might have got to

l ike the soun d, but as it was close to my ears,i t was

simply deafening.On the very first day of Ramadan

,I was walking up

and down the central saloon with the Princess afterdinner, when the quiet was disturbed by a rushing soundoccasioned by the whole household giving chase to one

or two girls , and presently all burst into the saloon .

TO my surprise,the Princess , instead of rebuking the

intruders,began to laugh and clap her hands. Thus

encouraged , the assembly continued to chase the fugitivesuntil they were captured , when they were rolled overon the ground , and there was a general hissing, and criesof “ Fatra ! fatra ! ” I inquired with amazement whatwas the meaning of this, and was told it was becausethey had not kept the fast ! I have before said that


i t was not difficult on the score of health to Obtain a

dispensation, but although winked at, it was not openlypermitted, and the person thus offending had to run the

gauntlet of ridicule among her companions. The l ife inthe harem was so dull and uneventful

,that a very small

matter served as a joke, and a cry of“ Fatra !

”was

enough to bring them all out, as ready to join in the

chase as a pack of hounds to follow the fox. As Ramadan advanced

, the spirits became more subdued and the

non - tasters escaped better,but during the first hal f of

the month some case would occur daily and was alwayshailed with enthusiasm.

On the second day we had a vi sit from Tewfik Pasha,

the hereditary Prince. He stayed about hal f an hour,

and j ust as he had taken his leave, the calf a came upand whispered to the Princess that one of her chiefattendants

,a pretty black -haired girl , then standing near

her mistress , had been caught eating privately, and askedpermission to give chase to her. The Princess readilyagreed , and a tumultuous assemblage looking somethinglike morris - dancers rushed in. They had a band of

music , and one of them was habited something as a

travelling Englishman is usual ly represented on the

French stage, in very loose trousers and long overcoat,all of whitey -brown colour, and a s louched hat , his facepowdered like a clown in a pantomime. This individualseized the girl and tried to dance with her , the bandfol lowing after, and the whole assembly alternately hissing and shouting ,

“Fatra ! fatra ! ” The victim was byno means disposed to submit quietly ; they rolled overon the ground together

,the girl

’s long black hair becoming whitened by the powder from her tormentor.‘

At las t she succeeded in darting out Of the saloon,and

the chase went off to another part Of the palace , whereit may have continued some time, but I ceased to hear i t.


and Ibrahim Pashas. Hassan Pasha had j ust returnedfrom Berlin ,

and this was his first visit to his sister sinceher marriage. He is a handsome man

,and having been

educated at Oxford,speaks English wel l. A fter a l ittle

while the harem corp s de ballet appeared , and performedbefore the gentlemen . They stayed an hour or two, and

then left,and were succeeded by several other visitors ,

including one or two of the Princesses. When they wereall gone the Princess and I each retired to bed.There is one thing which a little enlivens Ramadan for

the slaves , and that is the distribution of Bairam dresses ,which are given very early in the month

,and having to

be made up , furnish useful employment. On the fourthday of the month bales of goods were brought into theharem. The Princess and her chief attendants sat in

solemn conclave, and settled the dresses which were to be

given to each ; then the slaves were called in one by one,and received what was allotted to them. This was foreach person three dresses

,one being perhaps of the richest

silk or satin,and the other two fine woollen . In addition

to this , some of the upper slaves had also a velvet jacket,or something of the sort. N ow every one of these personshad cost a good round sum as purchase-money. Eachreceived a monthly stipend

,more or less , according to her

position. This would cont inue to be paid to her up to theend of her life. In addition were these Bairam presents,with o ther occasional windfalls in the course of the year.I f she married there was her dower and trousseau. Willnot everybody agree with me that slavery is a very costlyins titution

,and that the country would gain much

,finan

cially as well as morally , by the emancipation of women ,

and the gradual introduction into households of hiredfemale labour ? Every night the saloons were brilliantlylighted up in expectation of visitors

,who generally arrived

between nine and eleven. We usually sat in the centre

THE HAREM IN RAMADAN. 323

saloon because it was the coolest,or in a large reception

room facing the north , but both of these were dedicatedon these evenings to visitors. The Princess was generallydead asleep at an early hour

,and would yawn most demon

stratively almost in the face of her visitors. She had

become quite Europeanised in disliking to sit unemployed ,which greatly scandalised the dada , who considered that aprincess should never be found by visi tors otherwise thanseated on a divan or couch , with folded hands , perhapscondescending to listen to somebody, but certainly not

doing anything. Nevertheless the Princess persisted inplaying at bezigue, but the moment a carriage was hearddriving up

,table and cards were shuffled away by the

dada’s orders , with which , as concerning Ramadan visitors ,

I did not pretend to interfere.On the 1 6th of October I drove to the Pyramids. It

had been the highest Nile on record,and great fears had

been entertained of a terrible inundation. The water wassubsiding

,but still a vast lake stretched for miles before

reaching the Pyramids. I returned at sunset , j ust in timefor dinner ; and afterwards was walking about with the

Princess,when i t occurred to her that there had not been

a case offatra for a day or two. She called the calfa ,and

inquired i f no one had been discovered eating in the daytime. The latter did not know but would go and see.

Presently after visitors arrived , and we were engaged withthem in the inner reception - room , when we heard a scufflegoing on in the central saloon. A fatra had been discovered , and had allowed hersel f to be captured quietly ; butarrived in the saloon ,

had suddenly darted out into the

garden,and the moon be ing still young and giving but

l ittle light, had succeeded in hiding hersel f there , hopingto watch her opportun ity , when she thought hersel f forgotten , and escape back to her own room. About twohours after we heard a great commotion without, as at the


arrival of a visitor of importance. Everybody went forward to meet the personage, when in walked , supportedby two eunuchs , and followed by half- a- dozen othersbearing flags

,the un fortunate fa ira ,

for whom the eunuchshad been watching as a cat watches for a mouse, and whowas at last caugh t in the act of escaping. The band hadstationed themselves on each side Of the doorway , andstruck up derisive music

,while t he victim was paraded

round the saloon ; but whether she was t ired and chilledby her long hiding in the garden ,

or thought she would

get Off better by remaining entirely passive,'

I know not,

but she made no resistance, and this affording less sport,she was soon allowed to go free. Such are the amusementsof the harem during Ramadan !One even ing I Went to bed leaving the Princess up.

She was j ust about to retire also when visitors arrived.The next morn ing I waited long for breakfas t , and at lastwalked about through all the rooms and passages, ,

but

found nobody stirring. It was 1 P.M., yet the house was

as quiet as in ordinary times at 1 A.M. N o Sign of any

meal could I see, and I began to feel very sulky and surly.Meals were especially ordered for the Europeans

, of whomthere were three in the house—myself

,and two Italian

dressmakers- but there would have been very little chanceof our ever getting any i f it had not been known that thePrincess ate also

,and no meal was brought in unless she

was there and had asked for it. Even then i t was verydiffi cult to get anything. First because all food is broughtfrom without, and is not procurable except through the

intervention of the eunuchs. The latter fast and are all

hidden away asleep , and i t is the most diffi cult thing inthe world to unear th them. The doors of the harem are

locked on the outside, and the eunuchs have the keys.The girls go and stand there and clap their hands—whichis the signal for the eunuchs—but often stand there hal f


accoun t of her health , did not keep the fast, I inquiredwhy she was singled out for the honour Of this visit , asshe was the third daughter of his Highness. TO this Iwas told some strange incoherent story ; that the motherof my pupil having lost four children, she and her Offspringwere under the power of this dervish , as he was somehowable to ensure eternal life for the lost ones. The firstPrincess had never lost a child , the third had never hadone , so upon the second fel l the care of entertaining thevisitor. During Ramadan all who kept the fast laid asidewhatever Frank habits they might have adopted

,and re

turned to the customs of their ancestors. The Princessand I had con tinued to eat a la franque ; but now ,

as

long as this visitor remained and until the fast expired ,the Princess must eat with her , and according to the

ancient rigid Mahometan custom. This was the ser

vice according to the old fashion : A round tray was

put upon a round table , and a dish containing food,and

frequently changed,was put in the centre. From this

dish all helped themselves with their fingers , using theirbread as a plate , for there were neither knives

,forks

,

spoons, nor plates. The dishes were generally eitherdried-up pieces of meat called kebab (roti), or sloppydishes of vegetable floating in Oil and water. Then therewere sweets

,and a dish Of rice-milk which was not bad.

For the sloppy dishes a spoon was given, never changed ,and each person alternately put her spoon into the dishand then in to her mouth. When dinner was over, waterwas brought , and each drank alternately according to

rank , but from the same glass. The Princess asked mecould I eat l ike this ? I f not , I must have my mealstaken into my own room

,where I should certainly have

a kni fe and fork and plate ; but she could neither answerfor the food that would be brought to me, nor for thehours when I should have it, as She could not hersel f be

A V ISITOR TO THE HAREM. 327

with me. I chose the latter alternative, as I felt I couldnot have supported the other.The Princess spent the next day at Abdeen wi th hisHighness , and at about hal f-past one the visitor arrivedeu elderly lady

,quite independent of external adornment

,

and clad apparently in her n ightgown. I must add thatthe Eastern nigh tgowns are much more decent than ours.It is a loose full dress , confined at each ankle and hanging over the feet , in no way defining the figure. A shawlis wound round the loins. The dada and the housekeeperreceived the visitor ; and I did not know whether she wasless rigid than I had been led to expect

,or i f it were

merely to recover the fatigue of her voyage and subsequentrailway journey , but she accepted the refreshment of a

cup of coffee and a long pipe. The next day I had a

l ittle conversation with the visitor. I was sitting by thewindow in the chief saloon ,

and she was near me, when a

European arrived who O ften procured articles from Parisfor the Princess. The two last disappeared at once intoan adjoining room to con over the last fash ions

,which

seemed to be more extravagant than ever. The wife of

the chief dervish looked after Madame in a very dis

paraging manner, as her costume was of the most outre’

description. She said there was a mania for everything ala franque, and then asked me with some hesitation if Iwere English or French ; and upon my answer , spoke hermind very freely about the French , and by mo means intheir favour. Indeed nothing can be more unsuitable tothe Egyptian climate than European costume as at presentworn ; heavy tight-fi tting silks , and velvet jackets loadedwith trimmings

,and ever changing in cut and fashion ;

and those frightful high-heeled shoes or boots,rising four

or five inches from the ground,on which every one tottered

about. The harem costume during eight months in the

year (when not expecting visitors) is the prettiest that can


be imagined , and I often assured my pupil that she lookedfar better in that than in any other . It was of white

(Indian) grass~cloth ,long and flowing

,shaped at the

shoulders,but confined at the waist only by a coloured

band. A ribbon of the same hue was worn round theneck

,and another tied back the hair from Off the face.

It was impossible to imagine anything more simple and

elegant than this costume. My pupil had magnificenthair

,and thus her natural attractions were shown off to

the greatest advan tage , without any aid from art.

A fter dinner every even ing during Ramadan the chiefsaloon would be filled with slaves , and a number of littlecarpets were spread at the east end for prayer. Therem ight be twenty or thirty— the number varied and eachslave went through her stated prayers and prostrations onher own particular carpet

,her face turned eastward. The

windows were all open , but the venetian blinds closed ,and a murmur Of voices came from without . It was thesheikhs reciting the Koran. In the meanwhile, not in theleast sobered down by what was going on

,several girls

would run in and out of the saloon ,talking and laughing.

One evening I was looking on at this scene,when Kopses

and the calfa came up and asked me for pins , as theyknew I carried a pin

- cushion about with me. I gavethem all I had

,and presently found out i t was to pin all

the back row of the worshippers together,which was done

with such neatness and dexterity that when they finallyrose to disperse they found themselves inextricably eu

tangled together ! Nobody offered to assist them ; theyhad to struggle out as wel l as they could

,amid un iversal

laugh ter. This gave me a curious specimen of the reverence attached to their prayers and genuflections.


a friend in and out of the many groups scattered about,and finding that exercise inadequate to calm her exuberantspirits

, she actually turned a series of somersaults withoutattracting anj7 particular attention ! The tomb ofMohammed Ali was l ighted up, and we went round it. It is in a

l ittle side chapel. At a few minutes before 10 PM . the

lights were being put out , and we came away.The l 0th of November was the first day of Ba

'

i'

ram,and

the Princess was off at a very early hour to breakfastwith his Highness before he went to the C itadel. At ten

minutes past 7 A.M. the twenty- one guns announced thathe had arr ived there. The Princess had given an orderin my presence the preceding even ing to the chief eunuchto have a carriage at the door at ten to take me to Abdeento pay my respects to his Highness s wives. f Relying on

this , I was dressed soon after eight, and waited in vainunti l mid -day. N o carriage came ! The slaves paradedabout in the r ichest silks and satins. A dozen musicianswere dressed as boys , and looked uncommonly like them.

A t about 3PM . the Princess returned from Abdeen. She

was dressed in a salmon - coloured silk , trimmed withostrich - feathers of the same hue, and the most costly lace.It had been presented to her by her husband as a Bairamgift

,had been sent from Par is

,and had cost, I was told ,

£700 ! She had a girdle, tiara ,bracelets

, earr ings , and

stomacher, all of diamonds,besides numerous stars that

flashed all over her. Nobody concerned themselves inthe least about the non -arrival of the carriage for me. Itwas taken as a matter of course. Soon after the return of

the Princess , the gentlemen of her family began to arriveone after the other. HisHighness came also, and stayedten minutes or a quarter of an hour. The second day wasfor European visitors

,but there are very few English

residents in Cairo,and travellers seldom arrive before the

end of November. The band remained in the hal l each

OUM AY ESHA’S BUFFOONERIES. 331

day, striking up at the arrival and departure of eachvisitor. The third day we had a continual stream of

native visitors , which went on from 10 A.M. to 5 PM

There must always be a buffoon, and Oum Ayeshaplayed that part in the Princess

’s harem ,where she spent

hal f her time. On the third day of Bai ram , a flourish ofmusic announcing that a visitor was driving into the courtyard , some of us went into the centre saloon to receiveher. The harem doors were thrown open by the eunuchs ,and somebody was supported in covered w i th the greatblack cloak worn by Arab women . This being removed

,

Oum Ayesha was disclosed to view in a loose whitenegligee, advancing with grotesque skips , amid generallaughter. The eunuchs had taken care to send a carriagefor her

,and she was hurried into a side-room and a

handsome satin dress put over her white gown ,in which

she paraded about in mock dignity for the rest of the day.This woman was kind - hearted , and had been the onlyperson who O ffered to do anything for me when I was il lat Ram leh , but she was coarse and impudent in the highestdegree. I should not have understood her words i f theyhad not been accompanied by gestures which there was nomistaking. I was determined not to tolerate this

,either

in my presence or in that Of my pupil,and I reproved her

so sharply that she changed her tact ics, u ttered her coarsejokes in Arabic instead Of Turkish

,and wholly discon

tinned the gestures . I think this rather added pungency

to the jokes,and I suppose there was a great drol lery

about the woman , as I often saw the face of the person

talking to me quit-e convulsed with suppressed laughterwhile trying to carry on an indifferen t conversation.

Oum Ayesha meanwhile would walk about the saloontalking to hersel f aloud , and taking care always to passfrequently close to any of the Princes who might bepresent.


There were often fantasias (as they cal l any entertainment), regular burlesques , the characters in which weresustained by girls in the Princess

’s harem. If any Frankswere introduced , which they usually were, they were madeto play the same part assigned to the English in Frenchplays— that is to say,

they made themselves ridiculous. Ihave said that my apartments were in an angle on the

ground -floor. Some trees had been transplanted there,

and had grown so much during the year that I wasanxious to have the branches pruned , as they were toonear the window. One morning early I was in my room ,

with the blinds closed to keep out the sun,when I heard

the voices of men j ust under the window ; and knowingi t to be the gardeners

,I rose quickly , threw back the

shutters,and called out to them ,

intending to show themwhat I wanted done. To my astonishment they dartedaway like thieves detected in the act of burglary

,and paid

no attention to my calls. There were iron bars to thewindow

,so I could not get out

,and I knew that the

venetian shutters in the central saloon adjoining had not

yet been unlocked by the eunuchs. The gardeners hadsupposed it was one of the slaves speaking to them ; andas i t would have been a dire Ofi

’

ence for them to be foundtalking to any of the inmates of the harem

,they fled at

once to avoid such a catastrophe. As soon as the shutterswere un locked I went out into the garden ,

and having foundthe men , took them into the corner under my window and

showed them what I wanted done,which was forthwith

executed cheerfully.The Prince’s long fast had brought out upon him one of

the plagues of Egypt, most of which,I am sorry to say,

flourish as much in the present day as they did in the timeof Pharaoh . As the Princess and all her attendants wereyoung and knew nothing of nursing

,her husband went to

his mother, who l ived in a large mansion in a street lead


ments,far away from the chief saloons , from which long

passages and staircases separated them. I took all mymeals alone

,but in the diningroom

,in the same manner as

if the Prin cess had been there. Being winter, it was darkat five O

’clock. To sit five hours alone in my room was a

dreary prospect ; for the sake of ventilation I must eitherhave a door or window open. If I chose the latter

,a stray

cat was sure to come in and secrete herself somewhere, soas to wake me up in the night. I usually, therefore, satwith the door open

,and thus looked down a long vista Of

saloons,which the looking -glass on the walls seemed to

make interminable. To sit there, and every time I raisedmy head to look into a vast black space, was very spectraland unpleasant. When the Princess was at home, all thesaloons were lighted up with wax candles ; but in her

absence all was darkness,except in the slaves’ division ,

which was lighted by gas—rooms,passages , staircases, 850.

But no gas was allowed in the best part of the palace.When I first went to l ive there, and occupied my originalrooms , I was often struck in the evening with the s trongodour of gas which pervaded the passages. The eunuchsat a certain hour turned it on

,and later turned it Off

,

but from the main ; the slaves never troubled themselvesabout turning it Off from within. Every arrangemen t inthe harem had its inconveniences. If the eunuchs wentto bed e arly ( their movemen ts depending entirely on thoseof their mistress) , they turned Off the gas , perhaps leavingsome persons in darkness who had still employment.When they turned it on , the slaves might delay lightingit

, or altogether omit some burners , the gas escaping ,meanwhile, and filling the passages. If the smel l becameunbearable, they would. go with a long pole lighted at oneend , until they found the place from whence it proceeded,and quietly light the gas , at the imminent risk, as it appeared to me, of an explosion. This , however, was not so

EXERCISE IN THE HAREM. 335

l ikely as I at first supposed,on account Of the constant

current of air that passed through these passages.A s I did not like looking into the black space, and was ,besides , always in the habit of walking up and down the

centre saloon for hal f an hour or more every evening,I

asked the cahi r (housekeeper) to let me have a couple of

wax candles lighted in the adjoining room every evening ,and four in the centre saloon ,

two at each end, that Imight pursue my accustomed exercise. She agreed , andthey were lighted regularly. But though I always saw

them when I came out from dinner,they would suddenly

disappear at about seven— by what agency I could not

make out. I mysel f sat in a bright light at my writingtable opposite to the Open door , and was visible enoughto any one ; though looking up into comparative darknessI could not see the thief

,who migh t easily stand in the

shade,and watching the moment when my eyes were

fixed on my book or writing, noiselessly possess herself ofthe candles. This being repeated every even ing annoyedme a great deal , and I suspected one of the black slavesrather than the white. Among the girls who had occasion to come to my room was one who brought me twicea - day a large dish con taining two goulahs

lof fi ltered

water and a glass to drink from. She was a fair pleasantlooking girl

,and she always l ingered in the room , and at

the slightest en couragement was profuse in her profes

sions of attachment “ Sen i tchoq severim , she wouldsay (I love you very much). I did not take these professions as gospel truths , but stil l it was rather pleasant than

otherwise to hear them ,and I told her about the candles

1 These goulahs are of earthenware, made u p the N ile , and being exceed

ingly po rous they preserve the w ater deliciously cool. They must be

placed by an open w indow ,and if it is in the shade and there is a current

through the room,the water remains as fresh as if iced. and is more

wholesome.


being stolen at n ight,and asked her who was likely to

have done it. She was very sympathising, but was sureit was one of the black girls (bou A rabdy

’

e) , as the whiteslaves con temptuously class all the dark-skinned, from the

del icate- limbed Arab to the swarthy negro.One evening I was sitting as usual reading Opposite the

open door. A minute before,I had looked up , and the

rooms beyond were dimly lighted as usual. A few secondsafter

,I again looked , and the lights were ext inguished. I

rose quickly and noiselessly, for the carpets were thickand my shoes were thin

,and crossing the next room

arrived in the centre saloon j us t in time to see a girl ,with her back turned to me, in the act of stretching out

her hand to reach the candle, the only one still alightthe others

,already extinguished , being in her left hand.

I was upon her in a momen t,before she was aware, and

grasping her by the shoulder, while I took the lightedcandle with the other hand , held it in her face that Imight recognise the thief. It was my water- bearer, whohad sympathised w ith m e so much '

I never was familiar with the slaves , or put mysel f ona level with them. If they came to me I answered themalways civilly , but allowed no l iberties

,as I saw it would

not answer, and if treated with disrespect I either passedit unnoticed or took the law into my own hands. In thiscase I did the latter, for the girl was caught in the veryact of theft. Presently I let her escape and went backto my room. The next day no drinking-water was broughtto me. I waited unti l near evening, and then seeing thecahir (housekeeper) told her what had happened , and thatno water had been brough t. About a quarter of an hourafter , the girl entered my room with the dish and goulahs,stopping before me on her way out to revile me in the

choicest language. I raised my head for a moment, andthen wen t on with my writing as before without taking


apartments and the rooms for the slaves , I would see a

girl seated on the ground at work with a cane-bottomedchair near her, which served the double purpose of tableand a piece of candle being lighted and

stuck in one of the holes formed by the plaiting of the

cane. As the girls rarely troubled themselves to ex

tinguish the candle, when it burnt low it generally ignitedthe cane and made a great hole. Many a candle did Iput out in this way, j ust as i t was burning low ,

the girlperhaps fast asleep with her head on the chair ! The

recklessness was frightful ; the masters and“

mistresseswere quite aware of i t

,but they could do nothing. It

was not pleasant to think how easily a fire might occurin one of these great harems , and how impossible escapewould be

,with all the doors firmly locked on the outside ,

and every window with iron bars ! I had plenty of timeto think of such contingencies during these lonely weeks ,when I was quite isolated from everybody else. Whenthe Princess and her husband were in the house I did notfeel quite so unprotected, as I knew the Pasha

’s stentorianvoice could be heard a long way off. He did not relishthe possibility e ither , and we O ften discussed what weShould do in case of an outbreak of fire , when we talkedof the extreme carelessness of the slaves. Perhaps suchan event had never occurred to him before, as

,when

l iving with his mother,harem and selamlik' had been all

under one roof, commun icating through a passage, so thatescape by that into the selamlik, and from thence into thestreets , would not have been difficul t. But it was appall ing to think what m ight happen in case Of fire in thesegreat isolated harems , all looked and barredOne evening I went up to the dada ,

who kept her roomand appeared to suffer a good deal . I found the cahi r 1

1 Cahir and calfa both s ign ify housekeeper, but there is a slight difference in their dut ies.

TRANSIT OF VENUS. 339

with her and one of the eunuchs named Sofian ,a rather

superior man of his class and not bad looking. Myentrance appeared to interrupt a serious conversation.

A few compliments passed between us,and when they

were exhausted , after a pause Sofian continued the discourse which I had interrupted. “ Namaz bordjoudour

(Prayer is our duty) , he began ,and then went on to say

that A llah was everywhere, and would hear us whereverwe might be and whenever w e called upon him ,

&c. Ilistened to him for some time

,and made out his meaning

perfectly, going away at last rather favourably impressed.There was great interest at this time about the transit

Of Venus,many scientific men having been sent out from

different capitals to various countries to watch for it. A

large tent was pitched on - the Mokattam Hills behind theC itadel , and astronomers were there to take observations.The greatest interest was felt in some of the harems abouti t

,and particularly by the Princess Said Pasha,

widow of

the late Viceroy. The wives of his Highness were alsovery keen on the subject, and observation s were, I wastold

,taken from the roof of the harem. They heard that

expeditions had been sent out from different EuropeanGovernments , and as they could see from their own housetops , they were determined not to be outdone. Everybodyin the hotels was full of it, and I knew a party of seven

gentlemen who started at 3A.M. on the 9th of December ,mounted on donkeys , to get a good view on the Mokattam

Hills,and I was told they were repaid. I spen t that

evening at Shepheard’s Hotel with some fr iends , and as

we sat in one of the rooms lip- stairs

,the door began to

rattle and the ground to shake under us. It was a slightshock of earthquake

,but I d id not hear of any damage

done.I had several friends about this time going up the Nile.

One party, consisting of a lady , two gentlemen , maid , and


courier,engaged a dahabieh for a month

,going only as far

as Thebes. For this they paid £240, exclusive of wineand backsheesh. They were to return by rail to save t ime.The other party consisted of four persons. They went asfar as the Second Cataract, and were three months absent.Their expense was £ 180 each person ,

also exclusive of

wine and backsheesh. I noted these charges , as peoplenever seem to know what they ought to pay, and they aresure to be asked a great deal too much at first. As a rule,the longer the voyage the cheaper it is in proportion to

the time, as a month’s trip may prevent the boat beinghired again ,

and is therefore charged very high.

CHA PTER XXX.

Kourban Bertram—A rab saddles—Donkey-r ide to Heliopolis

—Ba ll a t

Gezireh—D inner -

p arty a t the ha rem—Pa rticularlyfine sp r ing—Many

donkey-r ides—Readings w ith my p up il—D ifi

'iculty of p rocur ing booksunless sp ecia lly ordered from E urop e

—Good d isp os ition and unselfishuess of the.Pr incess—Cicolani

’s garden Doseh —Am taken ill.

There was an almanac formerly published by Kauffmanin the Mouskee which gave the five different computationsof time

,as calculated in the Arab , Coptic, Greek , Hebrew,

and Gregorian calendar. Since the adoption of the latterby the Khédive for all Government payments the publication has been discontinued , as it ceased to pay,

but it was

a very useful little book. In this ‘Calendrier de l’O rient ’

for 1875 the Kourban Bai ram had been calculated to fal lon the 17th of January. But it appeared that the sheikhscould not agree among themselves about the date ; somesaid it would be on the 1 8th, others on the 1 9 th , and wheneverybody had made their arrangements about carriages


but my donkey refused to go beyond a walk,and soon

showed symptoms of a desire to lie down. Mr Michel lwith his usual good -nature had kept near me, and he now

O ffered , i f I liked , to change donkeys with me. SO we

stopped and changed saddles. As the others had got considerably ahead of us during this proceeding , we hurriedon our donkeys to overtake them. I soon found that itwas a case of Scylla and Charybdis. There was no occasion to urge on this donkey , but his paces were so joltingand uneasy that I was obliged to hold on by the pommelsof the saddle in order to keep my seat. In this undignifiedride I heard a cavalcade behind me

,and presently hal f- a

dozen harem carriages passed en grande tenue, with out

riders and splendid liveries. It was the Princesses goingto pay a visit to the Queen-Mother, who was then stayingat Abbassieh. Formerly no one could have gone in blackto visit a harem ,

and there was still a prejudice against itamongst the greater number. My pupil had, however, atthis Bai ram worn a black velvet dress

,with no colour

whatever upon her. She had,it is true, the most magn i

ficent diamonds,which perhaps sufficiently relieved the

sombre hue.A day or two after , there was a ball at Gezireh , at which

the Duke of Connaugh t was to be present. Balls had beengiven there in preceding winters , to which I had had invitations, but I had not gone for various reasons. Car

riages were enormously expensive, and I never was fondof late hours. On this occasion , however, both the Princess and her husband urged me so strongly to go that Iagreed to do so. They furnished me wi th everything thatwas needful , and the Prince said he would see that I wasproperly looked after the whole evening. He amply redeemed his promise. The invitation was for 9 P.M.

,but

there were such stories of people spending two and threehours on the road , as they were obliged to keep the line,

A HAREM DINNER -PARTY. 343

that I Ordered the carriage at eight , and arrived at halfpas t. I found a great many had gone before me for the

same reason , but the coup d’

eeil from the windows on the

Nile and on the illuminated gardens was so beauti ful thatno one regretted being early. His Highness came punctually at n ine O

’clock , and all those who were before himwent at once to make their salaam. He had some graciouslittle speech to make to every one. Then the Duke of

Connaught arrived , and after dancing once wi th the wifeof the English Consul -General , walked about the roomswith Prince Tewfik. Supper was at 1 A.M., and those whowished to get away early ordered their carriages immediately after. I had not taken this precaution, and onlyreached the harem at a little after five. I should havehad some trouble to get in , but the Prince was not re

turned,and the eunuchs Were obliged to sit up for him.

Two or three days after, my pupil gave a dinner-party.Her brother Hassan Pasha had come from Berlin abouttwo months previous , and was now about to return. The

Princess sen t out several notesi

of invitation , some writtenby herself and some by Kopses. They were written inEnglish

,French , and Turkish , according to the person

addressed. I don’

t know who had put the idea intoher head . I had nothing to do with it. ! Invi tations weresent to the Princes Tewfik,

Hussein , andHassan ,and to

their respective wives , also to her own brother PrinceIbrahim ,

and her younger (hal f) brothers Mahmoud Beyand Fuad Bey ; to her sisters, the Princesses Tafita and

Fatma, to the third Princess , and the Princess Said , and

to Faik Hanem , the adopted daughter of the third Princess—Charissas Hanem accompan ied the latter. My dearPrincess busied hersel f all day in arranging about thedinner and giving instructions to the attendants. She

settled who was to take in who , when the champagne was

to be drawn ,&c.

,and was as anxious about the success of


her party as a fashionable lady in our country when she

tries quite a new th ing. The guests arrived punctually,

with Toussoun Pasha (whom I omitted to mention amongthose invited), and the husband of my pupil

,Prince

Ibrah im. The Princess received them as naturally and

gracefully as i f i t were a daily occurrence, and her

brothers assisted her to the utmost. But the ladieswere not quite so much at ease in the, to them , very novelposition.

1 This feeling only showed itself before dinner,and that is always a dull time even with us ; conversationflows much more freely afterwards. Then dinner wasannounced , and the Princess having requested her husband to give his arm to the Princess Said

,and allotted to

each gentleman his particular lady, quietly took the arm

of one of her brothers,and waited her turn to go in.

There was a momentary pause the ladies seemed ratherin doubt. Then the Princess Said looked round at mypupil

,and laughing merrily, linked her arm with that of

her cavalier,all the rest following. At dinner the ex

ample soon became infectious, and conversation was

pretty general. Mahmoud Bey sat by me , and whiletaking wine

,which

,having lived in England, he did

without scruple,he told me that his sister , GemilaHanem

(a girl of about thirteen , who often came to school to see

him and his brother , Fuad Bey), having been urged to tastesome wine

,refused, saying that i t would make her become

a Christian !I went to the opera a great deal this winter, as the

Prince was so kind as to lend me his box very frequently.It was a very fine winter, and I joined many picni cs andexcursions. The Princess took great interest in hearingof them ,

and l iked to see the ladies who had accompaniedme. Her character was becoming more formed ; there1 It was the first t ime in the ir lives that these ladies had been in m ixed

society, that is of lad ies and gentlemen


always rather difficult to get books ; not that there wasany dearth of printed matter, but I rarely could get whatI asked for. There was a good English bookseller , buthis stock consisted almost entirely of guidebooks and

travels , and perhaps the shilling railway library, the bestof which were sure to be bought up immediately. At the

French booksellers’ (of whom there were several) thestock also consisted mostly of travels , voyages, and guidebooks

,with a good sprinkling of trashy French novels.

There was no circulat ing library ; everything must bebought. I therefore made a list of books

,French and

English , and in about three months’ time they wouldarrive ; and it was then the Princess’s great delight tolook over them for two or three days to see which she

would like and which she would not, for she alwayscondemned some as looking dry. In that case I putthem aside

,and tried to introduce them later on as new

arrivals ; but she was rarely to be taken in in that way.In turning over others , she would come upon l ittle passages which pleased her, and then those books would goon her own shelves to be read in turn. European visitorssoon talked to her about her readings

,and she would

sometimes say that we had j ust finished such a book , andwere uncertain what to begin

‘

next ; upon which th e

visitor would probably propose some book which she

was herself reading, and send it to the Princess. Itgenerally turned out to be some story of the demi -monde.

I f very bad, I refused to read it altogether ; but sometimes I would read a little, and then point out the evilof such works by trying to bring it home to hersel f aswife and mistress of a household. Though born in a

harem ,she had a high idea of the sanctity of marriage

,

and of the tie being equal ly binding on both parties.She was wel l aware of the laxity that prevailed in someof the great harems, but she never alluded to i t

,except

PRINCESS HUSSEIN’S CRITICISM. 347

by an occasional observation, Que voulez -vous ? ce ne

sont que de pauvres esclaves ! elles n’

ont pas de choix !

on n’est pas libre comme chez vous !

One day she presented me with a beauti fully boundand illustrated edition of by Flammarien.

A s I always got all the books for her,I wondered where

she had procured it,and why she had chosen so scientific

a work. This was the story of i t. When my Princesswent to stay at her brother’s palace on the Canal , a fewmonths after her marriage , the two young wives beingboth smitten with a desire to read and improve theirm inds

,sent to a bookseller in Alexandria for a parcel of

books. Among the packet were a few containing ratherdry reading

,and the rest trashy French novels. On my

first visit my Opin ion was asked respecting the books , andafter a slight survey I condemned some. When asked myobjections

,I handed one of them to the Princess Hussein ,

who being a year or two older than my pupil , was betterable to form an Opinion. She read the page , and thentore the book in two and threw it on the ground. Sometime after, when we were settled in the palace at Ramleh ,I was taken i ll, and removed to Koum - cl-Dikke to benursed. The Princess then again in my absence wanteda NEW book

,so she sent to the booksellers for one, with

strict inj unctions that he was to send the best book hehad ! He sent magn ificently bound incrimson and gold , and beautifully illustrated.

“

The poordear child ( for she was not sixteen) pored over it , andtried to be interested , but could not, so she settled that

good books were very dry ! She begged m e to keepit

,as she thought I should understand i t, but she could

not ! She o ften went to Abdeen to breakfast and lunchwith hisHighness , and that was always a great pleasure

to her. On her return she would talk of him ,of his

labours for the greatness of Egypt, and would assure me


that he gave himsel f no rest in his anxiety for the publicgood.I had always Since my arrival in Egypt been in the

habit of having the Fridays and Sundays to myself, andthis continued after I went into the harem. One Thursday even ing the Princess was mentioning rather sadlythat there would be no readings ou the morrow ,

and criedout

,

“ Oh, je m

’ennuie, je m

’

ennuie ! mais je ne m’ennuie

pas autant quand vous etes avec moi !” I was very

much touched,and at once O ffered to stay the next day,

which offer she accepted. The next week I renewed myproposal

,but she replied at once decidedly , N0 ; you are

accustomed to liberty, and have no recreation but what

you meet with among fr iends on Friday and Sunday. It

would not do for you to lose that.” It was true thesewere the arguments I had mysel f used to her on my firs tresidence in the harem

,when she was wholly under the

influence of her dada ; but as months had elapsed sincethen ,

i t showed she had adopted them as her own sentiments , and was, I think , a proof of the unselfishness of

her Character.Her anxiety to do r ight was very marked. One day a

visitor was strongly recommending a book to her,and

o ffering to send it at once,when the Princess said

,

“ Butis i t pure ? The visitor was rather out of countenance,and said to me ,

“ It is by Dumas Fils ” ! When we hadfinished a book, she would discuss all the characters , statewhat she admired , and where she considered any had

failed. She l iked to have the ‘A lmanach de Gotha,

’and

to look over all the sovereigns of Europe, and to know i fthere was any particular story connected with any of

them. She was very much interested in the unfortunateMaximilian and the poor Empress Charlotte ; also in th e

marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh,which took place

only a fortnight previous to her own. I don’t think there


mounted our donkeys,and cantered down the Choubrah

Road. The duke was staying at the house which we hadformerly inhabited

,and he invited us all to go in and take

tea with him. We had scarcely dismounted , and had not

had time to get into the house, the duke preceding us ,when a messenger hastily came up to his Grace to informhim that the Khédive was at the gates to pay him a visit.The duke went back immediately, and received hisHighness, while we all formed in line to salute him as he

passed. The visit was not long , and very soon the Khédivecame back

,saluting us as he passed, and was

“

escorted tothe gate by the duke

,who remained unti l his Highness had

driven off, and then ushered us in to tea. HisHighness had

been driving from the Choubrah Palace, and had given ordersto call on the duke, when , as his carriage approached C icolan i’s

,he saw all the party emerge from the gates and mount

the donkeys. HisHighness then gave orders to keep at adiscreet distance unti l the duke had gone into the house,and then to drive rapidly up to the gates, which was done.One day, as I was going out of the harem door to drive

into Cairo, one of the upper slaves , whom I had oftennoticed for her gentle manner

,called out to me,

“ Oh,

madam , take me with you !” I turned back directly, and

went up to the couch where she was sitting. “ Are you

then so anxious to go out ?” said I. “ Oh yes, she re

plied ,“ it i s so very sad here ; nothing to live for day

after day, year after year—nothing to l ive for ! I wasmoved , for I saw how much she felt it. “ Sleep ! sleep !”

said she, making the gesture of laying her head on her

hand— “

nothing else to look forward to !” She was not

very young , and I believe for some years past they hadtalked of marrying her ; but I doubt whether she lookedforward to that even , she seemed so thoroughly impressedwith her melancholy lot, and she was by no means theonly one who produced that effect on me.

THE DOSE]! PROCESSION. 35 1

Abou t the middle of Apri l I was taken with a seriousillness. I had been wi th a party to the Pyramids , and

coming back about sunset, was seized with a shiveringfit and oppression at the chest

,so that I felt almost

choked. I t did not pass off in the evening , but the next

day I was as usual . Some days after, I went to the pro

cession of the doseh , when a Sheikh on horseback ridesover a long line of prostrate human beings packed closelytogether across the road , so that there is not room for thehorse’s hoof to step between them. Whoever i s killed or

hurt during the passage of the horse is sure of Paradise ,so that there are annually hundreds offer themselves tothe sacrifice. The day was lovely, and we were on the

ground at 1 1 A.M.,but it was not until one that the l ine

was formed and the Sheikh there. IVe were in a verygood place, and should have had an excellent V iew , but

j ust before the horse came, three harem carriages droveup and placed themselves between us and the line of men .

Such a thing would not have been allowed to any one

else, but to a great harem strange latitude is permitted.I only saw the sheikh’s head and the horse

’s head,and

perceived that he was going as gingerly as i f treading onglass. As the Sheikh passed on, the crowd behind pressedforward , and if any were killed or hurt they were immediately removed by their fr iends , and no one was the

wiser. This happened on a Friday,and i t had been

settled with the Princess that I should remain a few

days with Miss Harris,who had taken a small house

near Cairo in the Abbassieh road for the winter,and

would shortly leave it and return to A lexandria. I hadmuch diffi culty in ge tting i n and out of the carriage ,which I ascribed to cold in the limbs ; but in the n igh tI suffered so much pain that I determin ed to call in a

doctor early in the morning , and as soon as i t was daylight tried to get up to go and askMiss Harris to send


for one,but found to my con sternation that I had quite

los t the use of my limbs By the time MissHarris cameto my room I was unable even to raise my hand or turnin bed

, so Dr Gran t was sent for,who at once pronounced

it to be a severe attack of rheumatic gout. As the painwas inten se , he prescribed injections Of morphia underthe skin

,which greatly soothed the pain ,

but producedsuch drowsines s that I was in a continual state of som

nolence for three days. I woke up when spoken to,but

fell asleep again while answer ing. Miss Harris sen t totell the Princess of my state

,and the cahir came at once

to see me. It was clear that I was not fit to return ,so it

was decided that I should remain where I was for a short

time until my illness took a favourable turn.

CHAPTE R XXXI.

Remove to the HOtel d’O r ient—Rema in there a fortnight—Return to the

p a lace—Three weddings in the ha rem—The Pr ince is to go to Europ e

—.Dep ar ture We go to Ramleh—I am taken ill.

I had been i ll a week when the time expired for whichMiss Harri s had taken her house at Cairo ; and as I waswell enough to be moved , I went , with the Princess

’s consent

,to the HOtel d’Orient, on the Ezbekeah. I chose

this hotel partly because it was within two minutes’walkof Dr G rant’s house , and partly because I had j ust heardof an invalid who had been very well satisfied with thetreatment she met with there. I stayed a fortnight, andcan fully endorse the same opinion. The attendance wasgood

,and so was the l iving , and the charges not out of

proportion. The chief attraction to me was, however, the


wife sits also. But in this case it was a very solemnaffair ; the bridegroom did not interfere with the pre

scribed etiquette,feeling probably uneasy at the unseen

eyes which he suspected watched all his movements.Then the Old woman conducted them into an adjoiningroom to give the ladies concealed behind the curtains anopportun ity of escaping , of which they promptly availedthemselves.A day or two after , the bride came to pay a visit at

the palace, and remained the greater part of the day.

There was something that puzzled m e very much in herappearance and manner. A fter l uncheon I was seatedreading in the centre saloon , and (the Princess being out)the bride was walking up and down , with six or seven of

the principal slaves . She was evidently undergoing a

rigid cross-examination ,and her answers elicited bursts

of laughter and approbation. I could not help hearinga little as they passed , and what I heard made me pay

great attention to the rest. What I am going to relate isno doubt the result of intercourse with European women.First

,all the slaves in the great harems insist on being

the sole wife of the man they marry ; and as it is bothan honour and advantage for the man

,this is always

agreed to. N ot only has she a dower and annuity forl ife, but her influence in

'

the harem may be all- importantto him in his future career. She always keeps up the

connection w ith her former mistress,and becomes an

established and recognised visitor in the house where sheformerly served. Secondly , the slaves have begun to

wish they could have a little choice themselves in the

selection of a husband ; but as that cannot be, they havedetermined to be wooed before they are won,

and as the

wooing cannot come before marriage , it shall come afterit. This i s therefore made a pact among themselves inall the great harems, and any one infringing it would be

DEPARTURE OF THE PRINCE. 35 5

held to have disgraced all her companions. A day or two

after the marriage the bride goes to visit the harem whereShe had formerly resided , and there has to undergo a

s trict cross - examination. I f she passes i t triumphantlyevery one feels that the posi tion of woman has beenraised by her

,and she is proportionably elated.

Perhaps the man is a little astonished at this “ standOff proceeding, which he had never anticipated , or heardof before. He may be angry or even rough— all the

worse for him. He has chosen to marry into a greatharem

, and he must abide by their cus toms. He hadbetter do the courting with a good grace and get it over,for there’s no help for him.

Some months after , this person came to visit the Princess at Ramleh , and was urged to stay the nigh t ; but shesaid her husband was not quite well , and she would not

be happy in leaving him , so preferred returning. I hope ,therefore, that the marriage had turned out a happy one.The Prince’s health had never been very good since

Ramadan,and his Highness (who settles everybody’s

movements in Egypt) had decided that he should go to

Vichy for a month , from thence to England , and remain

there until after Ramadan. A European princess would ,of course, have accompanied her husband , but a Mahom

etan woman cannot go into a Christian country. It was

finally settled that he should leave Cairo by s pecial trainat 4 A.H. on the 25 th of May, and embark at nine for

Marseilles by the Messageries rid Naples.The house was besieged by visitors the day preceding

hi s departure, and he himsel f seemed to feel his going

away as much as if he were going to the North Pole, witha doubtful prospect of ultimate return. It was the firs t

time he had left his country and friends (except once for

a short stay at Constantinople) , and being of a very affec

t ionate and domestic character , he felt much more the


parting from his wife and mother than the pleasure whichmight await him in new scenes and countries.It had been settled that the Princess should leave Cairo

for Ramleh two days after her husband’s departure ; butas usual

,building was going on

,and her palace was not

ready for her. His Highness would remain st il l sometime in Cairo

,and the first and third Princesses with him ;

bu t the second Princess could not bear heat, and she and

her daughter (my pupil) were to take up their abode at

his Highness’s harem at Ramleh until the palace of the

Princess should be ready for her reception. For myself,I had the choi ce Of be ing with my pupil or with friends.As I knew she would do nothing wi th me while on a visit,I preferred the latter. The departure was of course, as

usual,fixed two or three times, and again postponed ; but

as I could not change the day cont inually when goingto friends , I kept to the third appointment. Talking with

one of the Princes in the morning about my intention of

leaving by that night’s express at 6 P.M.,he asked me

when I expected to reach Alexandria. I replied that thetrain was due at and that friends would be thereto meet m e. The Pr ince remarked I might think mysel flucky if I got there at midnigh t

,or even later. This

was unpleasant. - I knew I could rely on one friend at

any rate .who had promised to meet me,but I did not

like the idea of anybody having to wait for me a coupleof hours ! It happened , however, that the train reachedA lexandria ten m inutes before the appointed time. Therewere very few passengers , so the guard had plenty of timeto attend to m e. I wanted to remain 011 the platformuntil the arrival of my friend , who, I fel t sure, would not

fail me ; but I could speak no Arabic,and the guard

understood no other language. He thought the rightthing was to hurry me into a carriage with my luggageas quickly as could be managed , and he did so. The


Ras- cl -Tin,I never stirred out

,but sat reading the whole

day in a rocking - chair on the balcony. I began to feelthat a hot climate had quite changed me. I ceased to

go out on the Fridays, and bel ieve I should have g ivenup going out altogether but for an arrangement that wasmade , that I should go in to Koum - el-Dikke everySaturday even ing at sun set , returning early on the

Monday morn ing. As I drove from one houSe to the

other,that did not seem to require much exertion.

One morning the Pr incess went very early to RaS- el

Tin to breakfast with his Highness and spend the day,

Kopses as usual accompanying her. I sat in the balconyfor hours , unable to work or to read

,but listlessly rocking

mysel f backwards and forwards. These rocking - chairshad often been the chief exercise of the slaves , but hadnot hitherto been mine.The next day the same langour continued , and I '

could

nei ther eat nor sleep. The Princess observed it, and saidI had better go for a few days to my friend Miss Harristo be nursed , to see what change of diet would do forme.

I went, but got no better. As doctors are very expensive in Egypt , and I could not make out what was thematter with me, I thought I would see the harem doctor,and wrote to the Pr incess to ask her to send him to me.

He came,heard my symptoms

,and ordered a seidlitz

powder. This scarcely seemed to me sufficient to meetthe case

,and I told him so

,upon which he suggested a

bottle of soda-water ! 1

On the 9th Ibrahim Pasha,the brother of my pupil

,

was to leave for Europe with all his suite. I knew thiswould be a great grief to my Princess

,not only on account

1 This was an Arab doctor. Zohrab Bey, the deservedly trusted

Armenian doctor , was in England w ith Prince Ibrahim , the Khéd ive’sfavourite son.

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE. 35 9

of her love for her brother,and regret at parting from

him , but also as a vivid reminder of her lost l iberty.Formerly, wherever he went, she went too ; her l ibertyhad been as great as his. N ow it was all changed , andnever could be otherwise for her, she O ften said

, and

felt.A day or two after

,I went to see her. I was no better ;

I could neither eat nor sleep,and was very feverish ; but

although very much disinclined to exertion ,I was not

incapable Of going out— at any rate, of driving out. Iremained some hours with my dear pupil

,and we talked

together much. She seemed so though tful for others ,and so anxious to do right

,that I went away quite im

pressed by it. Miss Harris had taken a little house at

Ramleh quite close to the sea ,and was going to move into

i t in a day or two ; and it seemed to me that i f I couldspend a few days there , close to the murmur of the waves ,I should get back sleep and strength , and be all rightagain . The Princess though t so too— at any rate

,she

said it was worth the trial .I had known a good many people whose strength had

given way in a hot climate, and friends had said to me,

Y ou will not feel i t so much, as long as you have the

change to Constantinople every year.” The first two

summers I had been to the Bosphorus,and had kept well.

N ow these same friends would say to me,

“ Y ou havebeen two years in Egypt without leaving it, and you

will not get well un less you have a complete change. Ask

the Princess to give you a holiday of a couple of months,

and go to Europe for that time.” I began to think of this

seriously , and to bel ieve that my friends were right. ButI was very unw illing to leave her , and I put off fromday to day making the request.

“ A fter all,

” I said to

mysel f,

“ what is the matter with me I am not in pain ;I can neither sleep nor eat

,but I am not hungry so what


does it matter ? But at night,as I lay awake hour

after hour, I fel t much more despondent. The murmurof the waves did not revive me. I heard them n ight andday, and they did not soothe m e in the least.

CHAPTER XXXII.

Illness of the Pr incess—Her death.

I had been about a fortnight in this state , going veryO ften to see the Princess , when I found her one day

Suffering much from the throat. It was a complaint towhich she had all her life been liable, an en largementof the uvula

,which would sometimes swel l so much as

to touch the larynx and nearly choke her. When suffering from this she could not lie down ; but instead of

being propped up by pillows , two or three of her chie fattendants took by turns to recline behind her and

support her,— a most uncomfortable position ,I should

say,for both

, as in a hot climate the close proximityof another person for hours must be anything but agr eeable. The Princess was far too gentle and unselfish to

desire any one to suffer inconvenience on her accoun t,

but she had been subject to this illness from earlychildhood

,and the slaves had always accustomed her to

this prepping up , so she made no resist-ance. Presentlythe doctor arrived

,and gave her a gargle

,which always

rel ieved her for a time ; but the swelling would only

go down as the cold left her, and that O ften lasted fora long time. There was a remedy for all this suffering

,

as an instrumen t has been invented which , being putdown the throat

,cuts Off this excrcscence as quickly as


laid down for her to recline upon,and She sank down

on one. Nobody spoke, glances of sympathy were ex

changed , and no sound was heard but the meaning of

the poor sick child. A slave knelt down with a trayto Offer her food , but she turned away from it. All

the windows to the north were carefully closed ; it wasoppressively hot , and the rooms were crowded. Kopses

passed near me, and I asked her what ailed the Princess ,as I knew nothing of her being in this state. Kopses

only replied ,“ She i s VERY ill !” Presently I inquired

of some one else if the Princess was s till suffering fromthe throat , and was told

,

“

N O ; she was very feverish ,and could neither eat nor sleep. These appeared ex

actly like my own symptoms . I sat there about an hour ;the silence and heat were very oppressive. I fel t I onlyadded to the number Of person s

,without being able to

do anything for the sufferer , so I came away. This wasTuesday morning. I heard later in the day of the telegram sent to his Highness , which was to the effect thatthe Princess was not seriously indisposed , and would beable to go to Cairo in a day or two.

The next day I heard that the same telegram had beensent , and as my strength seemed to be fai ling me, I madeup my mind that I would ask for leave of absence, and

go to Europe by the next boat, as I felt that i f I deferredit much longer I might be too weak to bear the fatigueof travelling alone and unaided.I thought I would go again in a day or two to the

harem ; and as the Princess might very soon move to

Cairo ,I determined to write a letter , in which I would

explain all I had to say, and i f she were already gone ,the letter should be forwarded at once, that no timem ight be lost.The next night was again sleepless , and I got up at

daybreak , determined to write the letter, and to go later

DEATH OF THE PRINCESS. 363

on to the palace , to speak to the Princess i f I had an

opportunity , and i f not , to leave mv letter with Kepses.

I was a long time dressing , and then writing my letter.Miss Harris w as not an early ri ser

,but j ust as I had

finished she came into my room , and I told her what I haddone.

“ Y ou had better “wait a little , said She ;“

there hasbeen another telegram sent to Cairo in the night.

“ What !” exclaimed I ,“

you don’t mean to say the

Princess is in dangerVVOI‘Se than that, I am afraidHow can it be worse

,

” said I,impatientlv,

“ unless shewere already dead ? ”

She IS dead Y

I sat stunned and speechless,quite unable to realise

the blow.

“ I must go , said I at last— “ I must go to the palacedirectly ; but how ? I cannot walk ! there’s no getting a

carriage here !”

“ I will askMrs M‘Killup to lend you hers , said MissHarris. It was through this lady that the news hadcome ; her husband , Admiral M

‘Killup ,had received

orders that all flags in the harbour should be hoistedhal f-mast high— there could be no mistake ! In hal f anhour the carriage was at the door , and I drove to the

palace. It was settled between us that Miss Harri s shouldorder a carriage from A lexandria to fetch me away fromthe harem . It would never be my home again and painful as would be the task , and unfi t as I was to do it,everything belonging to me must be packed up and

removed from the palace within a few hours , or I shouldrisk losing all '

I possessed ! I knew very wel l that beforefour- and- twenty hours were over the palace would be

deserted !The carriage passed through the outer and inner courts


without opposition,and s topped at the harem gates. It

was Mrs M‘Killup’s sa

'

i s who drove me , and as the horseswere very spirited

,he got down and stood at their heads.

I was hardly able to get out,partly from weakness and

partly from agitation . Hal f- a- dozen eunuchs sat by thegates , but not one stirred to help me. Perhaps they wereas much stunned by the shock as I was. The loss was aheavy one to them also. As I passed through the doublegates , such sounds from within struck my ears as harrowedme to the soul

,as did al so the sight which met my eyes.

The Princess’s slaves were all sitting or lying'

about , in

the unrestrained grief always indulged in by untutorednatures. There were no hired mourners . Their demonstrations were frantic , but genuine. They had most ofthem been about the person of their dear mistress fromher infancy where would they ever meet with another sokind and good ? But this was not all. They knew thefate that awaited them ; they knew that it was consideredunlucky in other households to have slaves who had losttheir mistress through death All prospect of future ad

vancement was gone ; the rest of their lives would be passedin strict seclusion

,without hope of change ! Some tore

their hair and shrieked ; others sat on the floor sobbing ;others , again,

rolled about in agony. I spoke to one or

two,but they did not answer me ; their faces were swollen

and distorted with grief. This was all in the entrancesaloon. I could not go farther I sat down ,

hoping soonto see Kopses. I knew the loss to her would be terrible,bu t she had more self- restraint than these poor girls ! A t

last Mlle. Caroline (the Princess’s Italian dressmaker)

entered , and seeing me,came at once to me. She was

crying , as every one else was , but had more commandover her feel ings than the poor slaves. She gave me anaccount Of all that had passed , as far as she had hersel fwitnessed.


She shrieked aloud , and in a moment all were around her.The poor mother was awoke by the cry ; she ran to her

daughter’s bed,gave one look

,and then rushed distracted

into the harem court shrieking Hekim . hekim ! (doctor !doctor !) The doctor was found

,but he could not rean i

mate that prostrate form ! he said the illness had turnedto typhoid fever ! My informant added that she was

awoke by the mos t fearful cries,and that She got up

immediately and hurried across the court to the Princess’s

apartments. The face was then,she said , calm and sweet

as in l ife , but She had j ust heard that a terrible changehad come over it within the last hour or two

,and as I was

weak and ill,I had better not go to see it. I felt the

same, and did not go.

Mlle. Caroline told me it was about 4 A.M. when all thishappened

,and that directly after the doctor had pro

nounced all hope gone,the distracted mother had left the

house with all her attendants. She had taken Kopses

with her, and they were to go to Cairo that very day.

The body was to be removed in the afternoon, to be

conveyed by special train to Cairo. The slaves and

eunuchs would probably leave the follow ing morning.I asked Mlle. Caroline what she was going to do herself.

She said she should go to Cairo with the harem , as she

did not know what else to do for the present,and that if

she could assist m e with my luggage by taking care of it

until I was able to take charge of it mysel f,She would

be glad to do so.

My head was distracted ; I did not feel equal to any

thing, but I knew there was much to do, and that it mus tbe done. I went into my room ,

but found I could donothing there. The door had been unlocked which Openedfrom my room in to the Princess’s dressing- room. The

body was lying in the latter,and my room was made use

of as a passage. The wardrobe draweIs tIunks, &c.,were

REMO VAL OF THE BODY . 36 7

all placed in the middle of the room, and the fi rs t thing

that met my eyes was the mannequin in the dress whichmy dear pupil had proposed wearing for her next visit toher father ! Lugubrious sounds were going on in the

dressing- room , and I came out again into the saloon ,feel

ing it quite impossible, wi th the presence of Death so near

me, to do what I had to do.The day were weari on. Men kep t passing through

accompanied by the eunuchs,who vainly tried to remove

any slaves who might be in the way. They were pas t allfear of showing themselves , and sobbed and cried withoutin termission. A t las t at 4 RM. the bier was slowly broughtout

, carried through the rooms , down the s teps , and out of

the harem gates ! There was a fresh outbreak of grief,which soon gave way to utter exhaustion , and then a

silence,as great as had been the previous wailing , fell on

all. A eunuch came in and announced that everything wasto be packed and removed to Cairo the next morn ing , andthat then everybody would leave the harem. The slavesheard him , but they took no notice ; they lay about on the

ground,perfectly inanimate , and he passed on farther.

I felt that I now must begin ,and went back into my room.

I heard through the closed doors the sheikhs chantingthe Koran in the adjoining chamber, and was nearlymaddened at the sound. What that packing was I shal lnever forget ! Any sort of order or method was impossible.The con tents of the wardrobe and drawers were throwninto the boxes and pressed down. At last I had finished

,

and then I began to look uneasily ou t for the carriagewhich Miss Harris had promised to send for me. I couldnot see it from the windows of my room ,

and tried topersuade a slave whom I met in the court to inquire of

the eunuchs if a carriage were waiting without. She

looked at me vacantly , as if not understanding me. The

palace had been enlarged this summer, and after going out


of the harem gates there were two courts to pass throughbefore reaching the outer world. There was an archwayat the chief entrance

,and I could see that all the eunuchs

were seated there,and a number of men with them. I

could not bear to pass through all this concourse of men,

and seeing a l ittle eunuch, begged him to go to the gatesand look if a carriage was without waiting for me. Hecame back presently

,saying that there was no

'

carriage

there ; but I had afterwards reason to believe that he hadnot been through the gates. I went back into the harem,

and having begged Mlle. Caroline to look after my luggageand see that it was locked up in my room in the palace at

Cairo, I came out again ,feeling that I should die also i f I

stayed the night within those walls where death had so

lately been.

The sun had already set, and darkness soon comes onin these latitudes. The house by the sea which MissHarris had taken was about a mile and a half distantacross the desert

,but if it became too dark I might lose

my way, and then I was afraid of the wild dogs. SO Idetermined to walk along the l ine

,which would take me

to the next station , and then I could go into some friend’s

house, and get a guide and a donkey to take me to MissHarris. N o food whatever had entered the harem all day,

but I did not feel the want of food.When I got into the outer court of the palace and

looked towards the archway,I felt an invincible repug

nance to passing through the throng of men and eunuchscollected there. I saw a little door on the east side

,which

was used by the workmen and was hal f open,and I re

flected that by going through that I should save a con

siderable detour, and get down more easily to the railway,besides getting out of the palace unobserved. I walkedalong the line to Bulkeley station,

and then went into thehouse of some friends living there

,and begged them to


the money and jewels out , and that I had not done so ;

also,that afterwards wanting the keys for some other look,

I had taken them out and left the drawer unlocked ! Ihad been in such a state of agitation that I hardly knewwhat I was doing ; and besides , at last the carriage hadfailed me and darkness had come on.

These consideration s disturbed me so much that I wentoff soon after daybreak to the palace, and found the courtyards full of soldiers watching the transport of the luggage.Carol ine was there looking after her own. I said a few

hasty words to her,begging her not to allow mine to go

out of the court , as I wished to keep it at Alexandria, andthen went to my room. I found the drawer un locked , asI had thought, but the money and jewels were untouched.I took possession of them ,

and came out again,gave orders

that my trunks should be taken to Koum - el-Dikke, andnot to Cairo

,which order was strictly attended to ; and

then having begged Mlle. Caroline to look after the thingsI had left in the palace at Cairo

,I went back to the li ttle

cottage by the sea,to think over my future plans.

CHA PTE R XXXIII.

Funera l of the Pr incess - 00nolus ion.

The Princess Zeyneh had died on the 19th of August,

and on the same afternoon her mortal remains were con

veyed to Cairo.On the 20th , at an early hour

,the funeral cortége left

Kasr-el-Ni l (palace on the Nile) for the new mosque (stilluncompleted) situated near the C itadel , and opposite tothe mosque of Sultan Hassan. This was the order of

THE FUNERAL CORTEGE . 37 1

the procession ,as told me by eyewitnesses

,for it will be

remembered that I was stil l at Ramleh °

l. Twenty- four buffaloes.

(To be slaughtered after the funeral, and the meat d istributed to the people.)2. Twenty- four camels.

(Laden w ith dates , bread , and fruit, to be thrown from time to time amongthe people.)

3. Six water-carts.

4. A number of porters carrying pitchers for drinking.

5 . Infantry band , but not playing.

6 . Infantry lining the street in two files, while the following religiousand civil corporations passed between them °

Sect of dervishes chanting, and carrying flags.Sheikhs and Arab merchants.

Pupils of Arab schools.More sheikhs.

Pupils ofm ilitary schools.

7. Moslem sheikhs and Christian 1 priests.

8. Men and boys w ith incense.

9. A boy carrying the Koran .

10. THE BIER

(covered wi th the richest cashmere shawls, on which weresewn all the jewels belonging to the deceased).

l l . Immediately behind itthe Brothers and Brothers-in -law of the deceased

,

and around them and behind them the chief dignitaries of the S tateand of the Household, wi th foreign consuls

,merchants

,chief

residents , &c.

12. Eighteen harem carriages containing the femalerelatives of the deceased.

The newspapers of the day said that upwards ofpersons followed the funeral. Whether this number was

1 Wh en the priests of different Christian sects asked permission of the

Khédive to follow the Pr incess’s funeral, his Highness replied ,“All serve

the same God , and I des ire the prayers of all in behalf of my daughter.!

37 2 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS.

over- estimated or not,I cannot tell. I know that never

was mourning more general or grief more s incere. The

gentle unassuming manners of the Princess , as well as

her real goodness of heart, had made her un iversallybeloved by all who approached her. Her own motherseemed almost to lose her reason in presence of this greataffliction

,and has never yet recovered it. The Khédive

was stunned by it ; but he has immense energy of character, and though he fel t i t as a man

,he bore it also as

one. He was often seen,in the intervals of business ,

with eyes full of tears and fixed on the ground. A

gentleman repeated these words to me which the Khédive had spoken to him in alluding to his lost daughter“ She was the light of my eyes : she had a better influenceover me than any one else ; and that I ascribe entirelyto the excellent English training she had for so manyyears. To the Mahometan women of Egypt the loss ofthis dear young lady cannot be too highly estimated.The efforts which his Highness makes to promote femaleeducation would have been doubly efii cacious enhancedby the example of his daughter.In ordinary Eastern households , when the mistress of

a family dies , her slaves are probably sold , and the new

mistress knows nothing of where her new purchase livedbefore, or with whom. In great harems

,such as those

belonging to the Khédive, the slaves are never,or very

rarely, sold again ; but if any of them are un fortunateenough to lose their mistress by death , it is very diffi cultfor them to find another

,as there is a great prej udice

agains t them as bringing ill- luck. The Khédive himsel fis far too enlightened to entertain such ideas ; but hecannot openly overrule strong prej udices, especially whenthey exist among those who are near and dear to him.

So the second Princess , in her distracted grie f, refusedto see any one that had belonged to the household of her


in attendance to take them to Gezireh , where, they weretold

,they would meet the whole family assembled.

Those were his Highness’s orders ! that was quite enoughfor them. Then,

when all were assembled, his Highnesstold them ,

with a breaking hear t,of the loss that had

befallen them ! A gentleman who was much about thePrince related to me what passed , and said that thegrief of the young widower was so violent that theyfeared for his reason ! I saw him a few days after

,and

he was then quite calm ,though sad. He inquired most

minu tely into every circumstance of the illness and death ,and I told him all that I knew.

I remained at Ramleh a few days after my pupil’s

death,quite overcome with all I had gone through , and

the low fever and sleeplessness continuing. I then cameup to Cairo, telegraphed to Dr Grant to meet me at the

station,and went at once to Shepheard

’s Hotel , where

I kept my room for nearly a month. One of the peculiarities attending illness in a hot climate is the longtime which the patient takes to rally after the attackis over.By the time I had recovered my strength the autumn

was far advanced,and the change to a colder country was

no longer desirable. My contract st ill held good , and Iwaited orders. I heard that his Highness intended toemploy me again

,and at first the idea was insupportable

to me. I felt so shattered in health , and I had been so

much attached to my dear pupil,that I could not bear to

undertake another. Gradually,however, I familiarised

myself with the thought ; but i t was not to be. The lossof his beloved daughter was the beginn ing of the series ofmisfortunes which have since befallen the Khédive. Theyare wel l known to all my readers

,and I need not re

capitulate them.

MOURNING FOR THE PRIN CEss. 37 5

Forty days is the longest period of mourning everknown among Mahometans. These forty days were moststrictly kept. They sat in darkened rooms

,mute images

of woe. Then came an interval of one day, and Ramadanbegan , kept more strictly than everRamadan ended on the 80th of October. I had not

seen the Khédive’s wives,as they had l ived in the strictest

seclusion , so I felt I must go to the Bairam. I had seenthe Princess Said several t imes

,also the Princess Ahmed

(mother- in- law of my dear pupil) , as also some of the

younger Princesses , but the wives had received no one

hitherto.I had heard that the Khédive had forbidden black , say

ing that mourning was in the heart, and not in the colourof the garments. I do not know if this were true ; at anyrate it made me feel very doubtful what to wear at the

Bai’

ram. I could not bear to go in colours , but did not

wish to offend by wearing black, i f indeed it had been forbidden. So I chose a dark -grey silk

,with a black hat and

white feather.When I wen t into the courtyard there was not a singlecarriage there. The slaves were all dressed either in whitewith black bands, or in grey linen ,

or black -and-whitestriped cottons. Only the first Princess showed hersel f,very plainly dressed in white, and she wept the wholetime I was there ! It was the same in all the otherharems, and except that it was a religious fe

‘

te, I believethe Bai ram would not have been observed at all.

At the Kourban Bai ram ,which began on the 6th of

January I again visited all the royal harems withsome European ladies. In all

,the same sombre colours

prevailed, an entire absence of jewels , and of fantasia of

any description. One of the Princesses was dressed inblack velvet trimmed with ermine , one or two others inblack and whi te silks, none in gay colours. This was so

37 6 RECOLLECTIONS or AN EGYPTIAN PRIN CEss.

entirely at var iance with all former habits that I cannotbut note it. Up to the l0th of January none of the

Princes nor any of the harem had visited the Opera. HisHighness did not go, and of course none of the emp loyés

in his service cared to go. Then I believe a representationwas made to the Khédive of the inj ury done to the arti stesby this total abstention from all places of amusement,and his Highness went one n ight with two or three of

his sons.The hotels were very full throughout the winter , but

those who came expecting to see the usual gay life of

Cairo were disappointed.I remained in Egypt a year after the death of the

Princess, and then left it with deep regret. There is a

fascination in the country,felt

,I think

,by most persons

who have visited it. Its beautiful climate , its wonderfulBibli cal and historical associations

,combine to give it

an attraction surpassing that of all other countries.There i s a proverb ,

“He who has drunk of the Nilewater will long to taste“ it again ;

”and i t is a proverb

which I think most travellers and residents in Egyptwill fully endorse.

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