355

LADIES' HEAD-DRESS.

exposed than in England; indeed, it is generally stripped in front as low down as the waist, which is worn immediately under the arm-pits. The upper part of the person is clothed in a velvet spencer, broidered with gold, hanging below the waist, open in front, the sleeves reaching half way down to the elbow. Notwithstanding that there is much of beauty, taste, and elegance in the costume of the upper ranks of ladies, yet according to our notions of form, they are wretched figures, and evidently made for the ottoman, and not the dance. Their eye-lids were painted with the kohl,* and the hands, fingers, and nails, stained with henna, (lawsonia inermis, or Egyptian privet.) This marking of the eyelids is, I confess, only seen in perfection in persons of very dark complexion, and natural depth of colour; in persons of light complexion, it is by no means pretty. But I here saw a style of head-dress peculiarly oriental, and surpassing everything I could have conceived of grace and beauty. The whole of the hair, which was in many of vast length and jetty blackness, was plaited in numberless small plaits, about the size of a piece of whipcord, and at every inch or two of their length was fastened a small gold coin, worked into the plait, which hung down on the neck

its

* A black powder used by all classes of females to darken the edges of the eyelids, produced by burning a kind of liban, an aromatic resin, or shells of almonds; also lead, and formerly antimony.

THE FARO TABLE.

357

and shoulders far below the waist, and when sparkling in the light of the ball-room, had quite the appearance of a delicately-embroidered veil, this is called the safa. One or two plaits were brought round the head, and on the front was hung an ornament formed by a number of small thin coins, set in a kind of mail-work, that fell some way over the forehead. Others wore the turboosh; while the more elderly had their heads enveloped in the folds of broad and highly-ornamented turbans, and all wore a profusion of gold and precious stones, and costly shawls were tied round the lower part of the body, that hung down behind to the very ground. The room, which was small, was crowded to excess, and hot in proportion. The disagreeably loud and discordant music of Pandean pipes, harpsichord, guitars, and mandolins, was only overcome by the authoritative roar of the master of the ceremonies, who marshalled the dancers through the quadrille.

There cannot be much amusement in these balls, and I fear we must proceed into an adjoining apartment, where a certain stillness, and a dense crowd surrounding a long table, may offer some explanation. Here the collection of anxious faces, and the display of gold and cards solve the mystery.

Faro is, I believe, the true and only incentive to these meetings. Some Jews held the table, and although I understood they paid a large sum for having it in this gentleman's house, yet it seemed a thriving speculation. The rage

358

EXCURSION TO THE PYRAMIDS.

for gambling, both here and at Alexandria, is almost incredible. You cannot go into a Frank coffee-house, or any place of public entertainment, without seeing cards and dice at every moment of the day. The Mooslims are proverbial gamblers, and meet ready companions in the Greek and Italian residents, and an occasional gull in some English sea-captain, trading to the Levant.

Presently an Arab servant entered, crying punch! punch!" and carrying a tray of half-andhalf, composed of raw new rum or brandy, and boiling water; by way of distinction, it was pressed upon the British who were present, and their polite refusal of the scalding liquid not a little astonished the Turks, who all imagine, and with some reason I confess, that spirits, in some shape or another, are necessary to the existence, or at least to the enjoyment of these western islanders.

I left the assembly at an early hour, to prepare for an excursion I had purposed to the tombs and pyramids of Sackara and Dashoor, while my friends remained to share in the more social pleasures of the capital.

Jan. 28th. Having prepared provisions and other necessaries, I procured three donkies and two Egyptian guides, and accompanied by our Maltese servant Paulo, set out early in the morning. About an hour's ride cleared us of the city, and brought us to the ferry at Old Cairo; as soon as our approach was espied, we were assailed

FERRY AT OLD CAIRO.

359

by a whole host of boatmen, several of whom made attempts to carry the donkeys on board by main force, and the koorbag alone prevented similar treatment of ourselves. The width of the river here is about five hundred yards, and a few minutes transported us bag and baggage to the village of Geza, on the opposite bank, the site of Memphis, and of all that remains of that once flourishing city. It is a great thoroughfare, and at this early hour of the day, a scene of considerable interest. The grain and green feeding for the cattle of the city, which consists, for the most part, of a small vetch, grown in the country beyond the Nile, is every morning ferried across this part of the river, carried on camels, the animal with its burden being shipped on board a boat, just large enough to contain it and the boatman. I remained some time watching this novel scene, and the instinct and dexterity of this noble animal, in placing itself in the frail vessel, were beyond conception. Arrived at the water's edge, the boat is brought as close as possible, and a plank laid from it to the shore; on this the camel steps, and cautiously feeling its way, plants itself in the centre, and going down upon its knees, adjusts its body and the load, so as to preserve the balance of the whole; here it sits with the greatest patience, and without a stir, till it is ferried across. In this crouching attitude, with the load of corn or vetches projecting over the sides, and often dipping in the

stream, and their heads turned to the prow, they form curious pictures floating to the opposite side.

Leaving the village we entered upon one of the most picturesque, and luxuriant plains I beheld in Egypt, perhaps, I might add, to be seen in the world. The soil is a rich brown mould, without the admixture of a single stone or pebble, and every inch of it productive; no sort of fence, or inclosure is to be seen for miles around, but one vast undulating line of green, which in our immediate vicinity, sparkled with the diamond drops of morning dew, that fringed the threads of the gossamer, gently undulating in the momentarily increasing sunbeams.* Occasional mounds formed the sites of villages, over-canopied by the tallest and most splendid date trees. Some of these superb groves, especially along the river side, are acknowledged to be the finest in the country; each of them bears a heavy tax, and once the view of the plantation is made, and the price fixed, the people are compelled to pay it, even though several of the trees should die; but at the same time, care is taken to place every new plant on the tax-gatherer's book, even before it commences to bear. This duty is one loudly complained of by the people, and requires

*

I have so frequently remarked this action of the spider's web at times when there was not a breath of wind stirring, that we must suppose it to arise either from the action of the sun's rays, the vapour rising from the earth, or the vibrating motion caused by the falling of the drops of water.