Chapter XIII: Character (1)

The natural or innate character of the modern Egyptians is altered, in a remarkable degree, by their religion, laws, and government, as well as by the climate and other causes; and to form a just opinion of it is, therefore, very difficult. We may, however, confidently state, that they are endowed, in a higher degree than most other people, with some of the more important mental qualities; particularly, quickness of apprehension, a ready wit, and a retentive memory. In youth, they generally possess these and other intellectual powers; but the causes above alluded to gradually lessen their mental energy.

Of the leading features of their character, none is more remarkable than their religious pride. They regard persons of every other faith as the children of perdition; and such, the Muslim is early taught to despise.[404] It is written in the Kur-án, “O ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians as friends: they are friends one to another; and whosoever of you taketh them as his friends, verily he is [one] of them.”[405] From motives of politeness, or selfish interest, these people will sometimes talk with apparent liberality of sentiment, and even make professions of friendship, to a Christian (particularly to a European), whom, in their hearts, they contemn: but as the Muslims of Egypt judge of the Franks in general from the majority of those in their towns, some of whom are outcasts from their native countries, and others (though not _all_ the rest, of course), men under no moral restraint, they are hardly to be blamed for despising them. The Christians are, however, generally treated with civility by the people of Egypt: the Muslims being as remarkable for their toleration as for their contempt of unbelievers.

It is considered the highest honour among the Muslims, to be religious; but the desire to appear so leads many into hypocrisy and pharisaical ostentation. When a Muslim is unoccupied by business, or amusement, or conversation, he is often heard to utter some pious ejaculation. If a wicked thought, or the remembrance of a wicked action that he has committed, trouble him, he sighs forth, “I beg forgiveness of God, the Great!” The shopkeeper, when not engaged with customers, nor enjoying his pipe, often employs himself, in the sight and hearing of the passengers in the street, in reciting a chapter of the Kur-án, or in repeating to himself those expressions in praise of God which often follow the ordinary prayers, and are counted with the beads; and in the same public manner he prays.—The Muslims frequently swear by God (but not irreverently); and also by the Prophet, and by the head or beard of the person they address. When one is told anything that excites his surprise and disbelief, he generally exclaims, “Wa-llah?” or, “Wa-lláhi?” (by God?); and the other replies, “Wa-lláhi!”—As on ordinary occasions before eating and drinking, so also on taking medicine, commencing a writing, or any important undertaking, and before many a trifling act, it is their habit to say, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful;” and after the act, “Praise be to God.” When two persons make any considerable bargain, they recite together the first chapter of the Kur-án (the Fát’hah). In case of a debate on any matter of business or of opinion, it is common for one of the parties, or a third person who may wish to settle the dispute, or to cool the disputants, to exclaim, “Blessing on the Prophet!”—“O God, favour him!” is said, in a low voice, by the other or others; and they then continue the argument, but generally with moderation.

Religious ejaculations often interrupt conversation upon trivial and even licentious subjects, in Egyptian society; sometimes, in such a manner that a person not well acquainted with the character of this people would perhaps imagine that they intended to make religion a jest. In many of their most indecent songs the name of God is frequently introduced; and this is certainly done without any profane motive, but from the habit of often mentioning the name of the Deity in vain, and of praising Him on every trifling occasion of surprise, or in testimony of admiration of anything uncommon. Thus, a libertine, describing his impressions on the first sight of a charming girl (in one of the grossest songs I have ever seen or heard even in the Arabic language), exclaims, “Extolled be He who formed thee, O full moon!”—and this and many similar expressions are common in many other songs and odes; but what is most remarkable in the song particularly alluded to above, is a profane comparison with which it terminates. I shall adduce, as an example of the strange manner in which licentiousness and religion are often blended together in vulgar Egyptian poetry and rhyming prose, a translation of the last three stanzas of an ode on love and wine:—

“She granted me a reception, the graceful of form, after her distance
and coyness. I kissed her teeth and her cheek; and the cup rang in her
hand. The odours of musk and ambergris were diffused by a person whose
form surpassed the elegance of a straight and slender branch. She
spread a bed of brocade; and I passed the time in uninterrupted
happiness. A Turkish fawn enslaved me.

“Now I beg forgiveness of God, my Lord, for all my faults and sins;
and for all that my heart hath said. My members testify against me.
Whenever grief oppresseth me, O Lord, Thou art my hope from whatever
afflicteth me. Thou knowest what I say, and what I think. Thou art the
Bountiful, the Forgiving! I implore Thy protection: then pardon me.

“And I praise that benignant being[406] whom a cloud was wont to
shade; the comely: how great was his comeliness! He will intercede for
us on the day of judgment, when his haters, the vile, the polytheists,
shall be repentant. Would that I might always, as long as I live,
accompany the pilgrims, to perform the circuits and worship and
courses, and live in uninterrupted happiness!”

In translating the first of the above stanzas, I have substituted the feminine for the masculine pronoun; for, in the original, the former is meant, though the latter is used, as is commonly the case in similar compositions of the Egyptians. One of my Muslim friends having just called on me after my writing the above remarks, I read to him the last four stanzas of this ode, and asked him if he considered it proper thus to mix up religion with debauchery. He answered, “Perfectly proper; a man relates his having committed sins, and then prays to God for forgiveness, and blesses the Prophet.”—“But,” said I, “this is an ode written to be chanted for the amusement of persons who take pleasure in unlawful indulgences; and see here, when I close the leaves, the page which celebrates a debauch comes in contact, face to face, with that upon which are written the names of the Deity; the commemoration of the pleasures of sin is placed upon the prayer for forgiveness.” “That is nonsense,” replied my friend; “turn the book over, place that side upwards which is now downwards, and then the case will be the reverse—sin covered by forgiveness; and God, whose name be exalted, hath said in the Excellent Book, ‘Say, O my servants, who have transgressed against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of God, seeing that God forgiveth all sins [unto those who repent], for He is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.’”[407] His answer reminds me of what I have often observed, that the generality of Arabs, a most inconsistent people, are every day breaking their law in some point or other, trusting that two words (“Astaghfir Alláh,” or “I beg forgiveness of God”) will cancel every transgression. He had a copy of the Kur-án in his hand, and on my turning it over to look for the verse he had quoted, I found in it a scrap of paper containing some words from the venerated volume; he was about to burn this piece of paper lest it should fall out and be trodden upon; and on my asking him whether it was allowable to do so, he answered, that it might either be burnt, or thrown into running water; but that it was better to burn it, as the words would ascend in the flames, and be conveyed by angels to heaven. Sometimes the Kur-án is quoted in jest, even by persons of strict religious principles. For instance, the following equivocal and evasive answer was once suggested to me on a person’s asking of me a present of a watch, which, I must previously mention, is called “sá-’ah,” a word which signifies an “hour,” and the “period of the general judgment.”—“Verily, the ‘sá’ah’ shall come: I will surely make it to appear” (chap. xx. ver. 15).

There are often met with, in Egyptian society, persons who will introduce an apposite quotation from the Kur-án or the Traditions of the Prophet in common conversation, whatever be the topic; and an interruption of this kind is not considered, as it would be in general society in our own country, either hypocritical or annoying; but rather occasions expressions, if not feelings, of admiration, and often diverts the hearers from a trivial subject to matters of a more serious nature. The Muslims of Egypt, and, I believe, those of other countries, are generally fond of conversing on religion; and the most prevalent mode of entertaining a party of guests among the higher and middle ranks in this place (Cairo) is the recital of a “khatmeh” (or the whole of the Kur-án), which is chanted by fikees, hired for the purpose; or the performance of a “zikr,” which has been before mentioned. Few persons among them would venture to say, that they prefer hearing a concert of music to the performance of a khatmeh or zikr; and they certainly do take great pleasure in the latter performances. The manner in which the Kur-án is sometimes chanted is, indeed, very pleasing; though I must say, that a complete khatmeh is, to me, extremely tiresome. With the religious zeal of the Muslims, I am daily struck: yet I have often wondered that they so seldom attempt to make converts to their faith. On my expressing my surprise, as I have frequently done, at their indifference with respect to the propagation of their religion, contrasting it with the conduct of their ancestors of the early ages of El-Islám, I have generally been answered—“Of what use would it be if I could convert a thousand infidels? Would it increase the number of the faithful? By no means: the number of the faithful is decreed by God; and no act of man can increase or diminish it.” The contending against such an answer would have led to an interminable dispute: so I never ventured a reply. I have heard quoted, by way of apology for their neglecting to make proselytes, the following words of the Kur-án: “Dispute not against those who have received the Scriptures”[408] (namely, the Christians and Jews), without the words immediately following—“unless in the best manner; except against such of them as behave injuriously [towards you]: and say [unto them], We believe in [the revelation] that hath been sent down unto us, and [also in that] which hath been sent down unto you: and our God and your God is one.”[409] If this precept were acted upon by the Muslims, it might perhaps lead to disputes which would make them more liberal-minded, and much better informed.

The respect which most modern Muslims pay to their Prophet is almost idolatrous. They very frequently swear by him; and many of the most learned, as well as the ignorant, often implore his intercession. Pilgrims are generally much more affected on visiting his tomb than in performing any other religious rite. There are some Muslims who will not do anything that the Prophet is not recorded to have done: and who particularly abstain from eating anything that he did not eat, though its lawfulness be undoubted. The Imám Ahmad Ibn-Hambal would not even eat water-melons, because, although he knew that the Prophet ate them, he could not learn whether he ate them with or without the rind, or whether he broke, bit, or cut them: and he forbade a woman, who questioned him as to the propriety of the act, to spin by the light of torches passing in the street by night, which were not her own property, because the Prophet had not mentioned whether it was lawful to do so, and was not known to have ever availed himself of a light belonging to another person without that person’s leave.—I once, admiring some very pretty pipe-bowls, asked the maker why he did not stamp them with his name. He answered “God forbid! My name is Ahmad” (one of the names of the Prophet): “would you have me put it in the fire?”—I have heard adduced as one of the subjects of complaint against the present Básha, his causing the camels and horses of the government to be branded with his names, “Mohammad ’Alee.” “In the first place,” said a friend of mine, who mentioned this fact to me, “the iron upon which are engraved these names, names which ought to be so much venerated, the names of the Prophet (God favour and preserve him!), and his Cousin (may God be well pleased with him!), is put into the fire, which is shocking: then it is applied to the neck of a camel; and causes blood, which is impure, to flow, and to pollute the sacred names both upon the iron and upon the animal’s skin: and when the wound is healed, how probable is it, and almost certain and unavoidable, that the camel will, when he lies down, lay his neck upon something unclean!”

A similar feeling is the chief reason why the Muslims object to printing their books. They have scarcely a book (I do not remember to have seen one) that does not contain the name of God: it is a rule among them to commence every book with the words “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” and to begin the preface or introduction by praising God, and blessing the Prophet; and they fear some impurity might be contracted by the ink that is applied to the name of the Deity, in the process of printing, or by the paper to be impressed with that sacred name, and perhaps with words taken from the Kur-án. They fear, also, that their books, becoming very cheap by being printed, would fall into the hands of infidels; and are much shocked at the idea of using a brush composed of hogs’ hair (which was at first done here) to apply the ink to the name, and often to the words, of God. Hence, books have hitherto been printed in Egypt only by order of the government: but two or three persons have lately applied for, and received, permission to make use of the government-press. I am acquainted with a bookseller here who has long been desirous of printing some books which he feels sure would bring him considerable profit; but cannot overcome his scruples as to the lawfulness of doing so.

The honour which the Muslims show to the Kur-án is very striking. They generally take care never to hold it, or suspend it, in such a manner as that it shall be below the girdle; and they deposit it upon a high and clean place; and never put another book, or anything else, on the top of it. On quoting from it, they usually say, “He whose name be exalted” (or “God, whose name be exalted”) “hath said, in the Excellent Book.” They consider it extremely improper that the sacred volume should be touched by a Christian or a Jew, or any other person not a believer in its doctrines; though some of them are induced, by covetousness, but very rarely, to sell copies of it to such persons. It is even forbidden to the Muslim to touch it unless he be in a state of legal purity; and hence, these words of the book itself—“None shall touch it but they who are purified”[410]—are often stamped upon the cover. The same remarks apply, also, to anything upon which is inscribed a passage of the Kur-án. It is remarkable, however, that most of the old Arab coins bear inscriptions of words from the Kur-án, or else the testimony of the faith (“There is no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle”); notwithstanding they were intended for the use of Jews and Christians, as well as Muslims: but I have heard this practice severely condemned.—On my once asking one of my Muslim friends whether figs were esteemed wholesome in Egypt, he answered, “Is not the fig celebrated in the Kur-án? God swears by it: ‘By the fig and the olive!’” (chap. xcv., ver. 1).

There is certainly much enthusiastic piety in the character of the modern Muslims, notwithstanding their inconsistencies and superstitions: such, at least, is generally the case. There are, I believe, very few professed Muslims who are really unbelievers; and these dare not openly declare their unbelief, through fear of losing their heads for their apostasy. I have heard of two or three such, who have been rendered so by long and intimate intercourse with Europeans; and have met with one materialist, who has often had long discussions with me. In preceding chapters of this work, several practices indicative of the religious feeling which prevails among the Muslims of Egypt have been incidentally mentioned. Religious appeals are generally used by the beggars in this country: some examples of these will be given hereafter. Of a similar nature, also, are the cries of many of the persons who sell vegetables, etc. The cry of the nightly watchman in the quarter in which I lived in Cairo during my first visit struck me as remarkable for its beauty and sublimity—“I extol the perfection of the living King, who sleepeth not nor dieth.” The present watchman, in the same quarter, exclaims, “O Lord! O Everlasting!” Many other illustrations of the religious character of the people whom I am endeavouring to portray might be added. I must, however, here acknowledge, that religion has much declined among them and most others of the same faith. Whoever has been in the habit of conversing familiarly with the modern Muslims must often have heard them remark, with a sigh, “It is the end of time!”—“The world has fallen into infidelity.”—They are convinced that the present state of their religion is a proof that the end of the world is near. The mention which I have made, in a former chapter, of some of the tenets of the Wahhábees, as being those of the primitive Muslims, shows how much the generality of the modern professors of the faith of the Kur-án have deviated from the precepts originally delivered to its disciples.

Influenced by their belief in predestination, the men display, in times of distressing uncertainty, an exemplary patience, and, after any afflicting event, a remarkable degree of resignation and fortitude, approaching nearly to apathy;[411] generally exhibiting their sorrow only by a sigh, and the exclamation of “Allah kereem!” (God is bountiful!)—but the women, on the contrary, give vent to their grief by the most extravagant cries and shrieks. While the Christian blames himself for every untoward event which he thinks he has brought upon himself, or might have avoided, the Muslim enjoys a remarkable serenity of mind in all the vicissitudes of life. When he sees his end approaching, his resignation is still conspicuous: he exclaims, “Verily to God we belong; and verily to Him we return!” and to those who inquire respecting his state, in general his reply is, “Praise be to God! Our Lord is bountiful!”—His belief in predestination does not, however, prevent his taking any step to attain an object that he may have in view; not being perfectly absolute, or unconditional: nor does it in general make him careless of avoiding danger; for he thinks himself forbidden to do so by these words of the Kur-án,[412] “Throw not yourselves[413] into perdition;” excepting in some cases; as in those of pestilence and other sicknesses; being commanded, by the Prophet, not to go into a city where there is a pestilence, nor to come out from it. The lawfulness of quarantine is contested among Muslims; but the generality of them condemn it.

The same belief in predestination renders the Muslim utterly devoid of presumption with regard to his future actions, or to any future events. He never speaks of anything that he intends to do, or of any circumstance which he expects and hopes may come to pass, without adding, “If it be the will of God;” and, in like manner, in speaking of a past event of which he is not certain, he generally prefaces or concludes what he says with the expression “God is all-knowing” (or, “— most knowing.”).

Benevolence and charity to the poor are virtues which the Egyptians possess in an eminent degree, and which are instilled into their hearts by religion; but from their own profession it appears that they are as much excited to the giving of alms by the expectation of enjoying corresponding rewards in heaven, as by pity for the distresses of their fellow-creatures, or a disinterested wish to do the will of God. It may be attributed, in some measure, to the charitable disposition of the inhabitants, that beggars are so numerous in Cairo. The many handsome “Sebeels,” or public fountains (buildings erected and endowed for the gratuitous supply of water to passengers), which are seen in this city, and the more humble structures of the same kind in the villages and fields, are monuments of the same virtue.

In my earlier intercourse with the people of Egypt, I was much pleased at observing their humanity to dumb animals; to see a person, who gathered together the folds of his loose clothes to prevent their coming in contact with a dog, throw, to the impure animal, a portion of the bread which he was eating. Murders, burglaries, and other atrocious crimes, were then very rare among them. Now, however, I find the generality of the Egyptians very much changed for the worse, with respect to their humanity to brutes and to their fellow-creatures. The increased severity of the government seems, as might be expected, to have engendered tyranny, and an increase of every crime, in the people: but I am inclined to think that the conduct of Europeans has greatly conduced to produce this effect; for I do not remember to have seen acts of cruelty to dumb animals excepting in places where Franks either reside or are frequent visitors, as Alexandria, Cairo, and Thebes. It is shocking to see the miserable asses which are used for carrying dust, etc., in Cairo; many of them with large crimson wounds, like carbuncles, constantly chafed by rough ropes of the fibres of the palm-tree which are attached to the back part of the pack-saddle. The dogs in the streets are frequently beaten, both by boys and men, from mere wantonness; and I often see children amusing themselves with molesting the cats, which were formerly much favoured.[414] Robberies and murders, during two or three months after my last arrival here, were occurrences of almost every week. Most of the Turkish governors of districts used to exercise great oppression over the felláheen: but since persons of the latter class have been put in the places of the former, they have exceeded their predecessors in tyranny; and it is a common remark, that they are “more execrable than the Turks.”[415]

Though I now frequently see the houseless dogs beaten in the streets of Cairo, and that when quite inoffensive and quiet, I still often observe men feeding them with bread, etc.; and the persons who do so are mostly poor men. In every district of this city are many small troughs, which are daily replenished with water for the dogs. In each street where there are shops, a sakka receives a small monthly sum from each shopman for sprinkling the street, and filling the trough or troughs for the dogs in that street. There is also a dogs’-trough under almost every shop of a sharbetlee, or seller of sherbets.—It may here be mentioned, that the dogs of Cairo, few of which have masters, compose regular and distinct tribes; and the dogs of each tribe confine themselves to a certain district or quarter, from which they invariably chase away any strange dog that may venture to intrude. These animals are very numerous in Cairo. They are generally careful to avoid coming in contact with the men; as if they knew that the majority of the people of the city regard them as unclean: but they often bark at persons in the Frank dress; and at night they annoy every passenger. They are of use in eating the offal thrown out from the butchers’ shops, and from houses. Many dogs also prowl about the mounds of rubbish around the metropolis; and these, with the vultures, feed upon the carcases of the camels, asses, etc., that die in the town. They are mostly of a sandy colour; and seem to partake of the form and disposition of the jackal.

The general opinion of the Muslims, which holds the dog to be unclean, does not prevent their keeping this animal as a house-guard, and sometimes even as a pet. A curious case of this kind occurred a short time ago. A woman in this city, who had neither husband nor child nor friend to solace her, made a dog her companion. Death took this only associate from her; and, in her grief and her affection for it, she determined to bury it; and not merely to commit it to the earth without ceremony, but to inter it as a Muslim, in a respectable tomb, in the cemetery of the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, which is regarded as especially sacred. She washed the dog according to the rules prescribed to be observed in the case of a deceased Muslim, wrapped it in handsome grave-clothes, sent for a bier, and put it in; then hired several wailing-women; and, with them, performed a regular lamentation. This done (but not without exciting the wonder of her neighbours, who could not conjecture what person in her house was dead, yet would not intrude, because she never associated with them), she hired a number of chanters, to head the funeral-procession, and schoolboys, to sing, and carry the Kur-án before the bier; and the train went forth in respectable order; herself and the hired wailing-women following the bier, and rending the air with their shrieks: but the procession had not advanced many steps, when one of the female neighbours ventured to ask the afflicted lady who the person was that was dead; and was answered, “It is my poor child.” The inquirer charged her with uttering a falsehood; and the bereaved lady confessed that it was her dog; begging, at the same time, that her inquisitive neighbour would not divulge the secret; but, for an Egyptian woman to keep a secret, and such a secret, was impossible: it was immediately made known to the by-standers; and a mob, in no good humour, soon collected, and put a stop to the funeral. The chanters and singing-boys and wailing-women vented their rage against their employer (as soon as they had secured their money) for having made fools of them; and if the police had not interfered, she would probably have fallen a victim to popular fury.[416]

It is a curious fact, that, in Cairo, houseless cats are fed at the expense of the Kádee; or, rather, almost wholly at his expense. Every afternoon, a quantity of offal is brought into the great court before the Mahkem′eh; and the cats are called together to eat. The Sultán Ez-Záhir Beybars (as I learn from the Básh Kátib of the Kádee) bequeathed a garden, which is called “gheyt el-kuttah” (or the garden of the cat), near his mosque, on the north of Cairo, for the benefit of the cats: but this garden has been sold, over and over again, by the trustees and purchasers: the former sold it on pretence of its being too much out of order to be rendered productive, excepting at a considerable expense; and it now produces only a “hekr” (or quit-rent) of fifteen piasters a year, to be applied to the maintenance of the destitute cats. Almost the whole expense of their support has, in consequence, fallen upon the Kádee, who, by reason of his office, is the guardian of this and all other charitable and pious legacies, and must suffer for the neglect of his predecessors. Latterly, however, the duty of feeding the cats has been very inadequately performed. Many persons in Cairo, when they wish to get rid of a cat, send or take it to the Kádee’s house, and let it loose in the great court.

The affability of the Egyptians towards each other has been mentioned in a preceding chapter. Towards foreigners who do not conform with their manners and customs, and profess the same way of thinking, they are polite in their address, but cold and reserved, or parasitical, in conversation. With such persons, and even among themselves, they often betray much impertinent curiosity. They are generally extremely afraid of making to themselves enemies; and this fear frequently induces them to uphold each other, even when it is criminal to do so.

Cheerfulness is another remarkable characteristic of this people. Some of them profess a great contempt for frivolous amusements; but most take pleasure in such pastimes; and it is surprising to see how easily they are amused: wherever there are crowds, noise, and bustle, they are delighted. In their public festivals, there is little to amuse a person of good education; but the Egyptians enjoy them as much as we do the best of our entertainments. Those of the lower orders seem to be extremely happy with their pipes and coffee, after the occupations of the day, in the society of the coffee-shop.

Hospitality is a virtue for which the natives of the East in general are highly and deservedly admired; and the people of Egypt are well entitled to commendation on this account. A word which signifies literally “a person on a journey” (“musáfir”) is the term most commonly employed in this country in the sense of a visitor or guest. There are very few persons here who would think of sitting down to a meal, if there were a stranger in the house, without inviting him to partake of it, unless the latter were a menial; in which case, he would be invited to eat with the servants. It would be considered a shameful violation of good manners if a Muslim abstained from ordering the table to be prepared at the usual time because a visitor happened to be present. Persons of the middle classes in this country, if living in a retired situation, sometimes take their supper before the door of their house, and invite every passenger of respectable appearance to eat with them. This is very commonly done among the lower orders. In cities and large towns, claims on hospitality are unfrequent; as there are many wekálehs, or khans, where strangers may obtain lodging; and food is very easily procured: but in the villages, travellers are often lodged and entertained by the Sheykh or some other inhabitant; and if the guest be a person of the middle or higher classes, or even not very poor, he gives a present to his host’s servants, or to the host himself. In the desert, however, a present is seldom received from a guest. By a Sunneh law, a traveller may claim entertainment, of any person able to afford it to him, for three days.—The account of Abraham’s entertaining the three angels, related in the Bible, presents a perfect picture of the manner in which a modern Bedawee sheykh receives travellers arriving at his encampment. He immediately orders his wife or women to make bread; slaughters a sheep or some other animal, and dresses it in haste; and bringing milk and any other provisions that he may have ready at hand, with the bread, and the meat which he has dressed, sets them before his guests. If these be persons of high rank, he stands by them while they eat; as Abraham did in the case above alluded to. Most Bedawees will suffer almost any injury to themselves or their families rather than allow their guests to be ill-treated while under their protection. There are Arabs who even regard the chastity of their wives as not too precious to be sacrificed for the gratification of their guests;[417] and at an encampment of the Bisháreen, I ascertained that there are many persons in this great tribe (which inhabits a large portion of the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea) who offer their unmarried daughters to their guests, merely from motives of hospitality, and not for hire.

There used to be, in Cairo, a numerous class of persons called “Tufeyleeyeh,” or “Tufeylees” (that is, Spungers), who, taking advantage of the hospitality of their countrymen, subsisted entirely by spunging: but this class has, of late, very much decreased in number. Wherever there was an entertainment, some of these worthies were almost sure to be found; and it was only by a present of money that they could be induced to retire from the company. They even travelled about the country, without the smallest coin in their pockets, intruding themselves into private houses whenever they wanted a meal, or practising various tricks for this purpose. Two of them, I was told, a little while since, determined to go to the festival of the seyyid El-Bedawee, at Tanta; an easy journey of two days and a half from Cairo. Walking at their leisure, they arrived at the small town of Kalyoob at the end of their first day’s journey; and there found themselves at a loss for a supper. One of them went to the Kádee; and, after saluting him, said—“O Kádee, I am a traveller from the Sharkeeyeh, going to Masr; and I have a companion who owes me fifty purses, which he has with him at present, and refuses to give me; and I am actually in want of them.” “Where is he?” said the Kádee. “Here, in this town,” answered the complainant. The Kádee sent a rasool to bring the accused; and in the meantime, expecting considerable fees for a judgment in such a case, ordered a good supper to be prepared; which Kádees of country towns or villages generally do under similar circumstances. The two men were invited to sup and sleep before the case was tried. Next morning, the parties were examined: the accused admitted that he had in his possession the fifty purses of his companion; and said that he was ready to give them up; for they were an encumbrance to him, being only the paper purses in which coffee was sold. “We are Tufeylees,” he added; and the Kádee, in anger, dismissed them.

The natives of Egypt in general, in common with the Arabs of other countries, are (according to our system of morals) justly chargeable with a fault which is regarded by us as one of great magnitude: it is want of gratitude.[418] But this I am inclined to consider a relic of the Bedawee character; and as arising from the very common practice of hospitality and generosity, and from the prevailing opinion that these virtues are absolute duties which it would be disgraceful and sinful to neglect.

The temperance and moderation of the Egyptians, with regard to diet, are very exemplary. Since my first arrival in Egypt, I have scarcely ever seen a native of this country in a state of intoxication; unless it were a musician at an entertainment, or a dancing girl, or a low prostitute. It hardly need be added that they are extremely frugal. They show a great respect for bread, as the staff of life,[419] and on no account suffer the smallest portion of it to be wasted, if they can avoid it. I have often observed an Egyptian take up a small piece of bread, which had by accident fallen in the street or road, and, after putting it before his lips and forehead three times, place it on one side, in order that a dog might eat it, rather than let it remain to be trodden under foot. The following instance of the excessive and unreasonable respect of the Egyptians for bread has been related to me by several persons; but I must say that I think it hardly credible.—Two servants were sitting at the door of their master’s house, eating their dinner, when they observed a Memlook Bey, with several of his officers, riding along the street towards them. One of these servants rose, from respect to the grandee, who, regarding him with indignation, exclaimed, “Which is the more worthy of respect, the bread that is before you, or myself?” Without waiting for a reply, he made, it is said, a well-understood signal with his hand; and the unintending offender was beheaded on the spot.

The higher and middle orders of Muslims in Egypt are scrupulously cleanly; and the lower orders are more so than in most other countries: but were not cleanliness a point of their religion, perhaps it would not be so much regarded by them. From what has been said in a former chapter of this work,[420] it appears that we must not judge of them, with respect to this quality, from the dirty state in which they generally leave their children. Their religious ablutions were, certainly, very wisely ordained; personal cleanliness being so conducive to health in a hot climate. The Egyptians in general are particularly careful to avoid whatever their religion has pronounced unclean and polluting. One of their objections against wine is, that it is unclean; and I believe that very few of them, if any, could be induced by any means, unless by a considerable bribe, to eat the smallest piece of pig’s flesh; excepting the peasants of the Boheyreh (the province on the west of the western branch of the Nile), many of whom eat the flesh of the wild boar, and rats.[421] I was once amused with the remark of a Muslim, on the subject of pork: he observed that the Franks were certainly a much calumniated people: that it was well known they were in the habit of eating swine’s flesh; but that some slanderous persons here asserted that it was not only the flesh of the unclean beast that was eaten by the Franks, but also its skin, and its entrails, and its very blood. On being answered that the accusation was too true, he burst forth with a most hearty curse upon the infidels, devoting them to the lowest place in hell.

Many of the butchers who supply the Muslim inhabitants of the metropolis with meat are Jews. A few years ago, one of the principal ’ulama here complained of this fact to the Básha; and begged him to put a stop to it. Another of the ’ulama, hearing that this person had gone to make the complaint above mentioned, followed him, and urged, before the Básha, that the practice was not unlawful. “Adduce your proof,” said the former. “Here,” answered the other, “is my proof, from the word of God—‘Eat of that whereon the name of God hath been commemorated.’”[422] The chief of the Jewish butchers was then summoned, and asked whether he said anything previously to slaughtering an animal: he answered, “Yes: we always say, as the Muslims, ‘In the name of God! God is most great!’ and we never kill an animal in any other way than by cutting its throat.”—The complaint was consequently dismissed.

A few days ago, a man, purchasing a fateereh of a baker in this city, saw him take out of his oven a dish of pork which he had been baking for a Frank; and, supposing that the other things in the oven might have been in contact with the unclean meat, and thus contaminated, immediately brought a soldier from the nearest guard-house, and caused the baker (who was in no slight alarm, and protested that he was ignorant of there being any pig’s flesh in his oven) to be conducted before the Zábit. This magistrate considered the case of sufficient importance to be referred to the Básha’s deewán; and the president of this council regarded it as of too serious and difficult a nature for him to decide, and accordingly sent the accused to be judged at the Mahkem′eh. The Kádee desired the opinion of the Muftee, who gave the following sentence:—That all kinds of food, not essentially or radically impure, were purified, of any pollution which they might have contracted, by fire; and consequently, that whatever thing of this description was in the oven, even if it had been in contact with the pork, was clean as soon as it had been baked.

A short time since the Básha received, from Europe, a set of mattresses and cushions stuffed with horse-hair, to form a deewán for his hareem. The ladies opened one of the cushions, to ascertain what was the substance which rendered them so agreeably elastic; and, disgusted in the highest degree at seeing what they supposed to be hogs’ hair, insisted upon throwing away the whole deewán.

A Frenchman who was employed here, a few years ago, to refine sugar, by the present Básha, made use of blood for this purpose; and since that, very few of the people of this country have ventured to eat any sugar made by the Franks: the Básha was also obliged to prohibit the use of blood in his own sugar-bakeries; and the white of eggs has been employed in its stead. Some of the Egyptians, seeing the European sugar to be very superior to that made here, use it; holding the doctrine that what is originally clean may become clean again after pollution: but I am obliged to keep the coarse Egyptian sugar for the purpose of making sherbet for my visitors; some of whom hold long discussions with me on this subject.

It is a general custom among the Egyptians, after washing clothes, to pour clean water upon them, and to say, in doing so, “I testify that there is no deity but God; and I testify that Mohammad is God’s Apostle.”[423] In speaking of their religion, I have mentioned several other practices instituted for the sake of cleanliness; most of which are universally observed. But, notwithstanding these cleanly practices and principles, and their custom of frequently going to the bath, the Egyptians do not change their linen so often as some people of more northern climates, who need not so much to do this frequently: they often go to the bath in a dirty shirt, and, after a thorough washing, put on the same again.

Filial piety is one of the more remarkable virtues of this people. The outward respect which they pay to their parents I have already had occasion to mention. Great respect is also shown by the young to those far advanced in age;[424] particularly to such as are reputed men of great piety or learning.

Love of their country, and more especially of _home_, is another predominant characteristic of the modern Egyptians. In general, they have a great dread of quitting their native land. I have heard of several determining to visit a foreign country, for the sake of considerable advantages in prospect; but when the time of their intended departure drew near, their resolution failed them. Severe oppression has lately lessened this feeling; which is doubtless owing, in a great degree, to ignorance of foreign lands and their inhabitants. It was probably from the same feeling prevailing among the Arabs of his time, that Mohammad was induced to promise such high rewards in a future world to those who fled their country for the sake of his religion. I have heard it remarked as a proof of the extraordinary love which the Egyptians have for their native place, that a woman or girl in this country will seldom consent, or her parents allow her, to marry a man who will not promise to reside with her in her native town or village; but I rather think that the reluctance to change the place of abode in this case arises from the risk which the female incurs of wanting the protection of her relations. The Bedawees are so attached to their deserts, and have so great a contempt for people who reside in towns, and for agriculturists, that it is a matter of surprise that so many of them were induced to settle even upon the fertile banks of the Nile. The modern Egyptians, though mostly descended from Bedawees, while they resemble their ancestors in love of their _native_ country, have a horror of the desert. One journey in the desert furnishes them with tales of exaggerated hardships, perils, and wonders, which they are extremely fond of relating to their less experienced countrymen.

Indolence pervades all classes of the Egyptians, excepting those who are obliged to earn their livelihood by severe manual labour. It is the result of the climate, and of the fecundity of the soil. Even the mechanics, who are extremely greedy of gain, will generally spend two days in a work which they might easily accomplish in one; and will leave the most lucrative employment to idle away their time with the pipe: but the porter, the groom, who runs before his master’s horse, and the boatmen, who are often employed in towing the vessels up the river during calm and very hot weather, as well as many other labourers, endure extreme fatigue.

The Egyptians are also excessively obstinate. I have mentioned, in a former chapter, that they have been notorious, from ancient times, that is, from the period of the Roman domination, for refusing to pay their taxes until they have been severely beaten; and that they often boast of the number of stripes which they have received before they would part with their money. Such conduct is very common among them. I was once told, that a felláh, from whom the value of about four shillings was demanded by his governor, endured so severe a bastinading rather than pay this paltry sum, which he declared he did not possess, that the governor ordered him to be dismissed; but, striking him on his face as he limped away, there fell out of his mouth a gold coin of the exact value of the sum demanded of him; so that his beating, terrible as it was, fell short of what was necessary to make him pay. This disposition seems a strange peculiarity in their character; but it is easily accounted for by the fact that they know very well, the more readily they pay, the more will be exacted from them. In other respects, however, they are extremely obstinate and difficult to govern; though very obsequious in their manners and professions. It is seldom that an Egyptian workman can be induced to make a thing exactly to order: he will generally follow his own opinion in preference to that of his employer; and will scarcely ever finish his work by the time he has promised.

Though very submissive to their governors, the felláheen of Egypt are not deficient in courage when excited by feuds among each other; and they become excellent soldiers.

In sensuality, as far as it relates to the indulgence of libidinous passions, the Egyptians, as well as other natives of hot climates, certainly exceed more northern nations; yet this excess is not to be attributed merely to the climate, but more especially to the institution of polygamy, to the facility with which divorcements are accomplished whenever a man may wish to marry a new wife, and to the custom of concubinage. It is even said, and, I believe with truth, that, in this respect, they exceed the neighbouring nations, whose religion and civil institutions are similar;[425] and that their country still deserves the appellation of “the abode of the wicked,” which, in the Kur-án,[426] is, according to the best commentators, applied to ancient Egypt, if we take the word here translated “wicked” in its more usual modern sense of “debauchees.”—A vice for which the Memlooks who governed Egypt were infamous was so spread by them in this country as to become not less rare here than in almost any other country of the East; but of late years, it is said to have much decreased.

The most immodest freedom of conversation is indulged in by persons of both sexes, and of every station of life, in Egypt; even by the most virtuous and respectable women, with the exception of a very few, who often make use of coarse language, but not unchaste. From persons of the best education, expressions are often heard so obscene as only to be fit for a low brothel; and things are named, and subjects talked of, by the most genteel women, without any idea of their being indecorous, in the hearing of men, that many prostitutes in our country would abstain from mentioning.

The women of Egypt have the character of being the most licentious in their feelings of all females who lay any claim to be considered as members of a civilized nation; and this character is freely bestowed upon them by their countrymen, even in conversation with foreigners. Numerous exceptions doubtless exist; and I am happy to insert the following words translated from a note by my friend the sheykh Mohammad ’Eiyád Et-Tantáwee, on a passage in “The Thousand and One Nights.” “Many persons reckon marrying a second time among the greatest of disgraceful actions. This opinion is most common in the country-towns and villages; and the relations of my mother are thus characterized, so that a woman of them, when her husband dies while she is young, or divorces her while she is young, passes her life, however long it may be, in widowhood, and never marries a second time.”—But with respect to the majority of the Egyptian women, it must, I fear, be allowed, that they are very licentious. What liberty they have, many of them, it is said, abuse; and most of them are not considered safe, unless under lock and key; to which restraint few are subjected. It is believed that they possess a degree of cunning in the management of their intrigues that the most prudent and careful husband cannot guard against; and, consequently, that their plots are seldom frustrated, however great may be the apparent risk of the undertakings in which they engage. Sometimes, the husband himself is made the unconscious means of gratifying his wife’s criminal propensities. Some of the stories of the intrigues of women in “The Thousand and One Nights” present faithful pictures of occurrences not unfrequent in the modern metropolis of Egypt. Many of the men of this city are of opinion that almost all the women would intrigue if they could do so without danger; and that the greater proportion of them do. I should be sorry to think that the former opinion was just; and I am almost persuaded that it is over-severe, because it appears, from the customs with regard to women generally prevailing here, that the latter must be false. The difficulty of carrying on an intrigue with a female in this place can hardly be conceived by a person who is not moderately well acquainted with Eastern customs and habits. It is not only difficult for a woman of the middle or higher classes to admit her paramour into the house in which she resides, but it is almost impossible for her to have a private interview with a man who has a hareem in his own house; or to enter the house of a man who is neither married nor has a concubine-slave, without attracting the notice of the neighbours, and causing their immediate interference. But, as it cannot be denied that many of the women of Egypt engage in intrigues notwithstanding such risks, it may be supposed that the difficulties which lie in the way are the chief bar to most others. Among the females of the lower orders, intrigues are more easily accomplished, and frequent.