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proud bulwarks of Britain's liberties, whose names you have bedaubed upon this and other objects of antiquity throughout the Mediterranean, require no such homage to their greatness. In one of the efforts made to place a name high up on the pillar, the paint-pot upset, and has disfigured it very much.

A few Greeks had clambered to the top, by means of a rickety grass-rope ladder; they had fastened a dirty bit of paper to the base, stating, that gentlemen travellers would be insured a perfectly safe ascent for the sum of half a dollar. It was an amusement that none of our party were inclined to indulge in. Those at the top had hoisted the Greek revolutionary flag; strange to see it in this position in this country, and within sight of the villa of Ibrahim Básha. The French erected the cap of liberty upon it, which was afterwards removed by the British.

Quantities of fragments of different coloured marbles, and bits of polished porphyry are scattered around. In the plain beneath is the cemetery of the present city, the tombs of which are generally of mason-work, raised a couple of feet from the ground, narrow, and without any slab at top; at either end is an upright post or stele, that at the head being mostly expressive of the rank and sex of the deceased. In those erected to men, it is surmounted by a turban, such as was worn by the tribe, or descriptive of the office the person held during life, as that of Kádee, Mufti, or Memlook, &c. Those of females are without any ornament, and are only marked by the simple red cap or turboosh. On the front of the pillar is the name and station of the deceased, and also a verse of the Koorán; many of these inscriptions are beautifully executed in raised gilt letters, on an azure blue ground. All those pillars, and many of the tombs themselves are of white marble. A great number of them have a small open space in the centre of the top of the tomb, in which is planted a root of the aloe, which from its longevity, as well as its requiring so little sustenance, is considered a type of immortality, besides being believed by the Mooslims to be an infallible antidote against the evil eye, which they greatly dread, imagining that its power extends as well over the dead as the living. Others of the higher orders have small cupolas,*

* Dr. Shaw derives the word cupola from the Arabic term cubbha, which is applied to those small domes in Barbary.

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supported by corner pillars erected over them; and all are kept scrupulously clean and white-washed. I did not see any marabuts or tombs of saints among them; but each family mausoleum was enclosed by a low wall, and the different vaults were arranged side by side. The tombs of all those who had suffered decapitation were without any turban or ornament at top, and so their restingplaces were easily distinguished. As we passed along, we met several funerals of the lower orders; the body being carried upon a rude bier without any coffin, and attended by about a dozen people. On our return to the city, we passed a group of women of the lowest class, proceeding in procession to the house of mourning, in number about thirty, walking two and two, clapping their hands together, and chanting a funeral dirge, not unlike the keenen, or wild Irish cry. Many of them had disfigured their arms and faces and naked breasts with mud, a practice related by Herodotus as in use among the Egyptian women of his day. It is to this also that in all probability the Scriptures so often refer, when describing sackcloth and ashes as typical of mourning.

Shortly after our arrival, we were waited upon one morning by the surveyor of the navy, Mohammed Effendi, whose embossed card! in the latest London fashion, was certainly more than we expected to have found in Egypt. He was an exceedingly intelligent man, was educated in some of the best dock-yards in England, and had so far overcome the prejudices of Islamism, as to marry one of our countrywomen.

Attended by this gentleman, we visited the dock-yard and arsenal, which must certainly be admitted to be the greatest national undertaking of the present Básha; and, taken in connection with the cannon foundry and arms manufactory at Cairo, shows much of returning civilization, and of the introduction (perhaps we should say, revival) of the arts in this extraordinary country. Of all the modern works of Egypt, this is that best worth seeing, and is an object of much interest, even to those more conversant with naval works; for, with the exception of the three higher powers, I doubt whether any of the European states could exhibit a finer establishment of the kind. We were first ushered into an office near the entrance, where the commissioners of the dock-yard were seated cross-legged on a deewan. They were exceedingly courteous, as, indeed, we invariably found

ORIENTAL SALUTATION.

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the higher classes of Egyptian Mooslims. Coffee was presented, in small china cups holding about a third of one of ours, not on a tray, but handed to each individual by a separate servant, in a small silver stand, (zurf,) exactly like an egg-cup, which I always found very serviceable; as the cups are so hot, one is in great danger of burning their fingers. The coffee is far superior to that commonly used by us; it is drank without cream or sugar, boiling hot, and, as they never strain it, it is thick as mud; yet it has a most delicious fragrance. Who will say that it is not more grateful and more rational, while it is fully as refreshing, and a much less injurious beverage than those intoxicating liquors in use in our northern countries?

In this, my first visit into polite society in the east, I was surprised at seeing each of the Mooslims present make the usual salutation, by touching the forehead with the tips of the righthand fingers, on receiving their coffee. At first, I imagined that it applied to the servant; but I afterwards learned, that it is intended for the master of the house, who then returns it. To one another, their salute is peculiarly easy and graceful; they generally approach the open hand to the lips, and then touch the forehead; but to an intimate friend or superior, the salutation is, by laying the hand first upon the breast, and then touching the lips and forehead, accompanied by a gentle inclination of the body forward.

Their dress was remarkably handsome. The outer cloak or beneesh of brown or drab cloth, trimmed with sable, fell in loose folds upon the deewan, where they sat cross-legged, leaving their red, pointed slippers on the floor beneath; their under garment of striped silk was confined round the waist by a splendid Cashmere shawl, in which was placed the ink-horn*-the badge of their profession; and the turban, bold, yet graceful, of white spotted muslin, over-shadowed a face, handsome, expressive, and intellectual. The eyes of all those men were of exceeding brilliancy, and their long silky beards gave a dignity to their appearance, such as is not to be found in the trim, well-shaven features of the European. Some few Christians, who were engaged in the office,

"The writer's ink-horn by his side."-Ezek. ix.

186

AN EGYPTIAN MAN-OF-WAR.

were dressed in black, the only colour they are permitted to wear in Egypt.

*

But we must visit those fine vessels now upon the stocks ;and here is one just ready to be launched, which I will tell you something about, without having your ears assailed by that most stunning of all noises, the calking and coppering of a man-ofwar. This is a two-decker, but corresponding in number of guns to our three deckers, than any of which it is larger; being 3000 tons. It is not so long, however, as some of ours, being but 189 feet, by 40 feet in beam; it will, however, when finished, mount 100 guns.* The timber of these vessels is confessedly very inferior, and much smaller than would be used in any English vessel of war; but as there are no forest trees in this land, considerable difficulty existed on this head, and most of it was imported from Trieste. They endeavour to make up in quantity for deficiency in quality, so that the bottoms of those vessels are perfect beds of timber. This was the tenth that had been built of this class, and there were eight in commission. The ninth was brought out of the docks yesterday to be rigged and got ready for sea. The complement of men on board each of these was 1005, including officers, who in rank and number correspond to those of the English navy. Besides the ten lineof-battle ships, there are seven frigates, an armed steamer, four corvettes, eight brigs, and several other small craft in commission. So far as the vessels go, they are, I suspect, rather more than a match for the Porte.t

In our walk round the yard, we were surprised at the number and extent of the works, all divided into their several departments-and at the order and regularity that prevailed. Brass founders, carvers, blacksmiths, carpenters, sail-makers, and all the different artisans, and requisites in ship-building, were upon a most extensive scale; and the workmen, who are all natives, amount to about 800. The arsenal and stores were as neat, as clean, and as orderly as could possibly be. Originally the heads

*The Rodney, of 92 guns, is 243 feet in length, and 2598 tons burden.

The events of the Syrian campaign, with regard to the Egyptian navy, are too recent, and too well known to require to be noticed in this place.

A MATRIMONIAL SPECULATION.

187

of the different departments were Europeans; but at present, the situations are nearly all filled by natives, who rose under their instruction, or were educated in France or England; among them was the principal mathematical instrument maker, a very intelligent young man. How very fluently, and with what a good accent, many of these people speak our language! There is an extensive rope-walk, where we saw some of the cables worked by an English patent machine; the head of this department was a Spaniard, but there was also a native fully capable of conducting the work. I was much struck with the skill and neatness of several of the tradesmen, particularly in brass-turning and carving, &c. We were also shown a handsome room set apart for the drawings, plans, engine-work, and models of several of the crack English vessels.

There is a mosque in the yard, whither the men go five times a day to pray, for about five or ten minutes at a time; it is a small but pretty building, covered with clematis and other creepers, now in blow, and has a pretty fountain attached to it, where the men perform their ablutions each time they go to worship. All these workmen are enlisted in the Báshas's service, as sailors or soldiers, and are drilled occasionally, so as to be capable of almost immediate service. They are fed, clothed, and get from fifteen to thirty piastres a month pay, which they and all the men in the service of Mohammad Alee receive into their own hands, to prevent any sort of peculation. The wages of these artizans are raised according to their merits, and are never in the same arrear as those of the army or navy. The greater number are married, their wives inhabiting some wretched hovels outside the town-if they have sons, each receives fifteen piastres a month from the government, and the child must be brought to receive it in his own hand. Their wives are all in some sort of traffic or huxtering, and thus tend much to the support of their husbands; so that the more wives a soldier or tradesman in Alexandria has, the better he lives! The majority have a plurality, and if sons are the result, it is rather a good speculation.

The men work from sunrise to sunset, with the exception of an hour at breakfast and at dinner; they get three meals a day, and during our visit the drum beat to the mid-day meal, which consisted of a plentiful supply of coarse brown bread and bean porridge; and for breakfast they are allowed, in addition, olives

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