Chapter III: Appendix: No. I. Illustration of Maps Page 445 (2)

_Government of Terané — Carlo Rossetti — The Trade in Natrôn — Manners — Journey to the Lakes — Observations there — Remarks on Natrôn — Coptic Convents and MSS. — Proceed to Kahira._

Terané is a town situated on the left of the most western mouth of the Nile, at a very small distance from the river. Its latitude is 30° 24′. The buildings are chiefly unburned brick, but there are also some of stone. The town and district, containing several villages, belong to Murad Bey, who usually entrusts its government and the collection of its revenue to one of his Cashefs. But the person who now holds it, May 1792, is Carlo Rossetti, a Venetian merchant, recently appointed consul-general of the Emperor of Germany, and well known to those who have visited the country. Observing, as he thought, the demands for natrôn increasing in Europe, he supposed that by obtaining an exclusive right to collect and export it, he should secure to himself an immense and increasing revenue. Till now, indeed, this article had never been productive of any advantage to the Beys. The officers who successively obtained the government there, exacting, without any settled rule, whatever they thought themselves entitled to expect from the people, who brought the commodity from the lakes to the river: and the European merchants obtained it by their agents at the cheapest rate they were able from the natives. The quantity supplied, the prime cost, and the contingent charges, were therefore variable and uncertain. It had never before, as I understood, been farmed by an European. Sre Rossetti wished for a clear and exclusive property in the produce of the lakes, on paying regularly an annual sum, to be determined by the quantity sold. He has attained, from long experience, a considerable local knowlege, and had, at that time, from various causes, great interest with Murad Bey. Pecuniary prospects singularly influence those regents, whose office being precarious, and at most for life, totally omit to reflect on any remote consequences, for the sake of an immediate advantage. The proposal was accepted, and Rossetti obtained over the district of Terané an authority almost equal to that exercised in former times by the Cashefs.

At that time the consumption was augmenting at Marseilles, Venice, and Leghorn, and the article had been tried with some success in Great Britain. Rossetti sent his nephew to reside at Terané as his deputy. But the young man, preferring the repose of his sofa to the Mamlûk exercises of arms, was little adapted to the government of a people accustomed to be ruled only by fear. He had a few Sclavonian soldiers, who could not prevent injuries being done to the little parties employed to fetch the natrôn. About three months after I left Terané the young man died, not without suspicions of poison; and Sre Rossetti has since sold a large share in the grant, which he now retains to little purpose.

During the year of the most extensive export, the duty to government amounted, as was said, to 32,000 patackes, which, at twelve piatres the pound sterling, may be estimated at 6000l. Hence the quantity must have been from 3500 to 4000 tons, of which the greater part was shipped for Marseilles. The present war exceedingly reduced the quantity exported.

On my arrival at Terané, my application to Sre Ferrari, nephew of Rossetti, for whom recommendations had been given me, was attended with assurances from that gentleman of his co-operation in all I might wish to undertake, and an invitation to reside with him. I passed a day in wandering over the adjacent ground, particularly that part of the Delta which is opposite the town, where are many columns and other considerable remains, which indicate the site of antient structures. I could, however, find no inscriptions, nor, indeed, any thing that was worth the search.

Sre Rossetti had made a very neat garden near his house, in which was cultivated a number of fruit-trees and useful plants. He had also attempted many other improvements, by planting trees, &c. in the suburbs; but in this laudable design he was far from being seconded by the natives, who refused even to water the trees he had been at the trouble of planting, and seemed to judge their forbearance remarkable in abstaining from their destruction. A striking lesson to those who would force refinement on any people, to which they must ever be stimulated by their necessities, or led by their personal conviction. Yet, perhaps, they had suspicions which are unexplained, or discontents at the appearance of novelty, concerning the sources of which we are ignorant. I have ever observed the Egyptians, as all the Orientals, passionately fond of trees and water; and if in this instance they preferred being without them, it might possibly be from distrust of bringing on themselves some real evil, by the pursuit of an imaginary advantage.

The ensuing night, when the Arabs were to go to the lake for a lading of natrôn, Sre F. appointed his company of five Sclavonians to attend me, and I set off at nine in the evening on horseback. We continued our march, chiefly in a western direction, till seven the following morning, at which time we came to a spring of fresh water, that rises among some rushes near the lake, which, though it afford no very copious supply of water, was yet a seasonable refreshment, as the heat of the sun was already inconvenient. The latitude at the eastern extremity of the most western lake I found 30°, 31′, north; but this is not decided by a single observation. The difference of time between Terané and the Convents of St. George, gave a distance, as nearly as I could compute it, of thirty-five miles.

The road from Terané is level, with very small exception, and generally firm and good, though with intervals of loose and deep sand.

The country we passed through, however, is destitute of water, and consequently barren, as is all that which borders on the lakes. The only buildings in the neighbourhood are three convents, inhabited by a few religious of the Coptic church; two of which are about a mile and half, the third about six miles from the eastern lake. There are some vestiges of other buildings, which also seem to have been convents that have long since ceased to exist. The antelope and the ostrich are seen rarely here, and they appear to be the only wild animals that frequent that part of the country. No vegetation appears, except reeds on the margin of the lake, which is very irregular in its form; so that it is not very easy to say what may be the quantity of ground covered with water, nor to discern the extremities. It is higher in winter than in summer; and, at this period, I could no where observe that the breadth of it exceeded a mile: its length may be nearly four.

The Arabs told me, that the water during the last winter had been remarkably low. There seem to be marks of its having occasionally risen about four feet higher than at present; which must greatly change the appearance of the whole. Towards the end of the summer, it is said, these lakes are almost dry; and the space that the water has retired from is then occupied by a thick deposition of salt. Not far removed from the eastern extremity, a spring rises with some force, which much agitates the rest of the water. Close to that spring the depth was far greater than my height, in other parts it was observable that it did not generally exceed three feet. The thermometer near this spring stood at 76, while in the open air it was 87. The more western lake differs not materially from the eastern in size, form, or productions. The colour of the water in both is an imperfect red, and where the bottom is visible, it appears almost as if covered with blood. Salt, to the thickness of five or six inches, lies constantly in the more shallow parts.

The surface of the earth, near the lake, partakes more or less generally of the character of natrôn, and, in the parts farthest removed, offers to the foot the slight resistance of ploughed ground after a slight frost. The soil is coarse sand. The water of the lake, on the slightest evaporation, immediately deposits salt. There is a mountain not far from the lakes, where natrôn is found in insulated bodies, near the surface, of a much lighter colour than that produced in the lake, and containing a greater portion of alkali. This kind more resembles the natrôn of Barbary, and what I have since observed in the road to Soudân.

How thick the substance of natrôn commonly is in the lake, I did not accurately determine, but those employed to collect it report that it never exceeds a cubit, or common pike; but it appears to be regenerated as it is carried away. The Arabs report that the natrôn country extends twenty days journey; and indeed I had remarked something resembling that substance near Siwa. I understood it was delivered at Terané for about a piaster the _cantâr_. But there are, probably, some other expenses attending it. Notwithstanding Sre R.’s exclusive right, the Arabs carry off some of the commodity, which they sell wherever they can find a market. The quantity exported to Venice was much decreasing in 1792, as it had been found on trial inapplicable to many purposes to which it was supposed it might be converted. I know not how far correct their experiments might have been; but if ever it should be brought to supersede the use of barilla, the quantity obtainable seems likely to answer every possible demand.

I detected much alkali in all the specimens which came into my possession; but not equal in all. And circumstances did not permit me to make an analysis so complete as to merit insertion here.

During my stay near the lakes, I visited two of the Coptic convents, that called the _Syrian_, and that of _St. George_; where I could observe no traces of any European traveller, but Baron Thunis, whom the Empress of Russia had sent, some years before, to negotiate a defection on the part of the Beys; but who having exhibited less prudence than courage, in the promotion of the designs of his mistress, had been privately put to death in Kahira, by order of the Beys, to avoid delivering him to the Porte, as had been required of them. These convents contain each of them several religious, who retain all the simplicity of the primitive ages.—They drink water, and eat coarse bread and vegetables; very seldom touching meat, wine, or coffee. They are ignorant indeed, but strangers to vice; and though their time is employed to no useful purpose, so neither is the application of it prejudicial to any.

They have each a small garden, which supplies common vegetables, and a breed of tame fowls, together with a well of water, within the walls; the rest of the necessaries of life are provided them by the voluntary contributions of the Christians of their own persuasion; and as the business of artificers and menials is all performed by the monastics themselves, their expenses are not very extended. The entrance to each is by a small trap-door, against which two great mill-stones are rolled within. The buildings appear to have lasted several centuries, and the walls are still firm and substantial. No praise is to be given to the religious for cleanliness; but as the list of their furniture and apparel is very small, they cannot be frequently renewed; human beings more ignorant of mankind and their transactions than some of those whom I conversed with, are scarcely any where to be seen. But the superiors in both were in a certain degree intelligent. One of them, when I was admitted, was mending his shoes, and seemed to think little of theological controversies. The other attempted to prove to me the Eutychian tenet of monothelism, and on my expressing myself persuaded by his arguments, he seemed highly gratified. Indeed I met with on their part every mark of hospitality.

I inquired for MSS. and saw in one of the convents several books in the Coptic, Syriac, and Arabic languages. Among these were an Arabo-Coptic Lexicon. The works of St. Gregory, and the Old and New Testament in Arabic. The superior told me they had near eight hundred volumes; but positively refused to part with any of them, nor could I see any more. The monks are strangers to all idioms but the vulgar Arabic.

Having thus spent two days and part of a third in the vicinity of the lakes, my attendants grew impatient, and I was obliged to return. After a short interval, having re-embarked for Kahira, I arrived there on the 16th May 1792[8].

CHAP. V.

KAHIRA.

_Topography — Government of Kahira and of Egypt — Pasha and Beys — Mamlûks — Birth, education, dress, arms, pay — Estimate of their military skill — Power and revenue of the Beys — The Chalige — The NILE — Mosques, Baths, and Okals — Houses — Manners and customs — Classes of people — Account of the Copts._

A residence in Kahira at distinct intervals, but extending in all to eleven months, may enable me to attempt some account of this celebrated city, with perhaps more advantages than have fallen to the lot of any recent traveller. A cursory glance of the manners and customs of a people is often fallacious, and a temporary exception is liable to be converted into a general rule.

The yet numerous population, the various nations with their several languages, dresses, and manners, conspire with the romantic fame of _Grand Cairo_, the second capital of the East, the metropolis of Africa, the scene of surprising events in history, and of yet more surprising incidents in Arabian fable, to impress the spectator with curiosity and admiration.

The city Kahira (مصر القهره) is situated on the East of the Nile, which devolves its majestic flood at some little distance. The suburbs, however, Misr el attiké, and Bulak, or the port, form two points of contact with the river. To the South-East and East is a ridge of the extensive chain which runs along the course of the Nile to Upper Egypt, sometimes receding, and leaving a plain of about a league broad, at other places opposing its barrier to the stream. To the North a plain extends to the Delta, which it resembles in soil and productions. Immediately under the mountain is the castle, now incapable of defence, though esteemed of great strength, before the invention of artillery.

To an eye accustomed to the cities of Europe, their wide streets, and general uniformity, the view of the capital of Egypt might appear mean and disgusting. Yet it is termed by the natives “Misr without an equal, Misr the mother of the world.” Convenience is comparative, and ideas of it must vary with manners and customs. The narrowness of the streets appears even necessary to a native, to protect him from the fierce effulgence of the meridian sun: a slight canopy, extended from house to house, affords him more pleasure than any architectural prospect could convey.

For about the space of three hundred years Egypt had been governed by the military aristocracy of the Mamlûks, when it was subdued by Sultan Selim, in the year 1517. Sensible of the distance, defended situation, and refractory spirit of the province, he thought it politic to enter into a compromise with its former government and antient prejudices. It was likewise well known, that the secure situation of the country, little exposed to any external attack, would have favoured the ambitious designs of a rival Pasha.

By an institution still observed in some instances, he ordained, that the Pasha should be contented to share the power of the Beys, and that the duration of his authority should depend on their collective will. The Beys must necessarily have separate personal interests, which sometimes lead them to intestine outrage and bloodshed; yet, with regard to any external power or influence, their interests are universally the same. As allies or as enemies they form one body and one soul. Selim was too confident in the power and splendour of the Ottoman arms, and in his own character of chief of their religion, to entertain any suspicion that the commands of the Porte would ever be treated except with distinguished respect.

The power of the Pasha was at first very extensive; but has, by the intrigues and ambition of the Beys, been gradually reduced almost to a cipher.

His jurisdiction was rather civil than military. He was always president of the Diwan, which was held in the castle where he resided. But that council now commonly meets in the palace of one of the chief Beys, except when a firmân or mandate is received from Constantinople, when the Beys are summoned to the castle to hear the commands of the Porte. The few who attend, as soon as the reading is finished, answer, as is usual, _Esmâna wa taâna_, “We have heard, and we obey.” On leaving the castle, their general voice is _Esmâna wa awsîna_, “We have heard, and shall disobey.”

In the year 1791, Salah Aga, a slave of Murad Bey, was deputed from the government of Egypt to negotiate their peace with the Porte.—He carried presents of horses, rich stuffs, &c. A spontaneous tribute, which the Porte was in no condition to enforce, implied obligation on the part of the latter.—He was well received, and afterwards was appointed _Waquîl es Sultân_, “Agent or Attorney to the Sultan in Kahira.” It is probable this office was given him to incline him to second the efforts of the Court in disuniting the Beys; but it was ineffectual. These had formerly experienced the evils of division, and now were united by common interest, grown rich, and well provided with slaves. So that, as I have understood, no tribute has since that time found its way to Constantinople.

As the Beys are chosen from among the Mamlûks, it may be proper to begin with some account of that extraordinary class of men. They remain, as they have ever been, military[9] slaves imported from Georgia, Circassia, and Mingrelia. A few have been prisoners, taken from the Austrians and Russians, who have exchanged their religion for an establishment. The Beys give general orders to their agents at Constantinople, to purchase a certain number every year, and many are brought to Egypt by private merchants on speculation. When the supply proves insufficient, or many have been expended, black slaves from the interior of Africa are substituted, and if found docile, are armed and accoutred like the rest.

Particular attention is paid to the education of these favoured slaves. They are instructed in every exercise of agility or strength, and are in general distinguished by the grace and beauty of their persons. The gratitude of the disciples is equal to the favour of their masters, whom they never quit in the hour of danger. If they have a disposition for learning they are taught the use of letters; and some of them are excellent scribes: but the greater part neither can read nor write, a striking example of which deficiency is observable in Murad Bey himself.

The inferior Mamlûks constantly appear in the military dress, and are commonly armed with a pair of pistols, a sabre, and a dagger. They wear a peculiar cap of a greenish hue, around which is wreathed a turban[10]. The rest of their dress resembles that of other Mohammedan citizens, and is restricted to no particular colour: but another singularity is their large drawers of thick Venetian cloth, of a crimson colour, to which are attached their slippers of red leather. On horseback they add to their arms a pair of large horse-pistols, and the _Dubbûs_ or battle-axe. In battle many of them wear an open helmet, and the antient ring armour of interwoven links of steel, worn under part of their dress, and thus concealed. These are dear, sometimes costing five hundred piastres, or about forty pounds. Some of them are made at Constantinople, others in Persia. Their horses are of the finest Arabian breeds, and are often purchased at three or four purses, 150l. to 200l. sterling.

They have no pay, as they eat at a table in the house of their master, the Bey, Cashef, or other officer. Any military officer may purchase a slave, who becomes _ipso facto_ a Mamlûk. The name, from _Malek_ to possess, implies merely a person who is the property of another. After a proper education, the candidate thus constituted a Mamlûk, receives a present of a horse and arms from his master, together with a suit of clothes, which is renewed ever year in the month Ramadân. The generosity of their masters, and rewards or extortions from others, afford them supplies of money either for avarice or debauchery. Some of them, admitted to peculiar favour by the Beys, as chasnadars or pursebearers, &c. acquire great wealth. They are rather gay and thoughtless, than insolent; fond of shew, and unprincipled in their means of acquiring it. They seldom marry till they acquire some office.

Though born of Christian parents, they seem highly satisfied with their condition; which they have been known to refuse to exchange for freedom. The majority are regarded by the Arabs as little strict in the principles or duties of Mohammedism.

It is worthy of remark, that though the Mamlûks in general be strong and personable men, yet the few who marry very seldom have children. As the son even of a Bey is not honoured with any particular consideration, the women perhaps procure abortions. However this be, of eighteen Beys, whose history I particularly knew, only two had any children living.

Hardy, capable of every fatigue, of undaunted courage, and eminent skill in horsemanship and the use of the sabre, the Mamlûks may be regarded as by far the best troops in the East. But in a regular battle, conducted by manœuvres, and large or rapid movements, they are equally inferior to European troops.

Being distinguished by favouritism or merit, the Mamlûk becomes a Cashef, and in time a Bey. The chief cause of preference arises from political adherence to some powerful leader.

The government of Kahira, and Egypt in general, is vested in twenty-four Beys, each of whom is nominally chosen by the remaining twenty-three, but in fact appointed by one of the most powerful. The _Yenk-tchery aga_, and several other officers, are enumerated among the twenty-four Beys.

Besides being governors of certain districts of Egypt, several of the Beys receive other dignities from the Porte. Such are the _Shech el Bellad_, or governor of the city; the _Defterdar_, or accountant-general; the _Emîr el Hadj_, or leader of the sacred caravan; and the _Emîr es Saïd_, or governor of the upper Egypt[11]. These officers have also revenues allotted them by the Porte, ill-defined, and liable to much abuse.

Of the other Beys, each appoints all officers and governors within his district, putting into it some slave of his own, who is compelled to render an account of the receipts; of which a part passes to support the grandeur of his master. An opulent Bey may have from 600 to 1000 purses annually; the revenue of Murad Bey more than doubles that sum. The inferior Beys may have 300 purses or 15,000l.

The chief judicial authority in Kahira is delegated to a _Mulla_, who is annually appointed from Constantinople; but his jurisdiction is principally directed to cases of doubt and difficulty. There are besides _Cadis_ in all the districts, or _parishes_, if so it may be expressed, which, in this great city, amount to more than two hundred. There are Imâms, or priests of the four sects, each having the direction of the adherents of that sect. The _Shech-el-Bikkeri_ is an office of great respect, having special authority over the she-rîfs. There are other exclusive jurisdictions, which need not be specified.

The revenue of the Cadis arises solely from a tenth of the value of the thing litigated. Justice or injustice is speedily administered, but is often influenced by bribery.

Every Bey sits in judgment on cases of equity. These personages are very observant of their respective jurisdictions; and no Bey will imprison a man liberated by another. Though sometimes too impetuous, they nevertheless display great acuteness and knowlege of characters. This government at least possesses every advantage of publicity, as every Bey is a magistrate.

But the justice of the rulers is ever open to the omnipotent influence of gold. During my residence at Kahira an instance happened worthy of commemoration. Two Syrian Christians, of the Maronite persuasion, had been successively farmers of the customs, and had acquired great wealth: a quarrel arising between them, one made a reflection peculiarly grating on the other, who went to the Bey, and thus addressed him: “This city is not wide enough for me and such a one. You must put one of us to death. If you will put him to death, here are ten thousand sequins.” Said and done instantly.

Each Bey appoints his Cashefs or lieutenants. These officers preside each over a town or village, collecting the revenues, and judging small causes; but an appeal lies to the Bey. The Beys and Cashefs are, from their ignorance, constrained to employ Copts as accomptants in adjusting and receiving the revenues, that duty being of an intricate nature, and requiring great local knowlege. The authority of a Cashef is as arbitrary as that of a Bey.

_Revenue of Egypt._

The more considerable sources of revenue, as well of the Porte at this day, as of the Chalifé while the sovereignty remained with the Arabs, are nearly coëval in their institution with Mohammedism itself.

The innovations which have since had place derive their authority from the dispensing power of the sovereign, or are reconciled with the primitive institutes by the ingenuity of the legal professors.

The most antient tribute due from the subject to government was the _zecchât_, a tenth of all the permanent productions of the earth. According to its original establishment, this did not affect property under a certain value, and was exigible of an unbeliever in a twofold proportion. It was imposed by Mohammed himself, and applied, as would appear, to the relief of the necessitous; the prophet expressly forbidding his own family to share in it, as unworthy of their rank, and, at the same time, allotting to them a fifth part of the plunder obtained in war. This impost continues to be levied, but is applied to needful expenses or unnecessary prodigality, rather than to soften the lot of the indigent, its original purpose. Ostentatious charities satisfy the scruples of the monarch, and blind the eyes of the people to this misapplication. The tax is not now applicable to land or houses, but to the merchandize imported into the country. The duties on these, when demanded of Mohammedans, are taken under the name of _zecchât_.

The second impost is the _charâge_, which signifies the product of lands. It is intended to denote, not only any tax on land, but also on the persons of _dhummies_, i.e. Christians and Jews; though in the latter case it receives the appellation of Jizie (جزيه), the capitation tax, or _salvage_ for their persons, which otherwise, according to the letter of the Korân, the true believer is not bound to spare.

In modern times, the public revenue of the Porte, which is derived from various sources, is known under the name of Miri; the private one of the emperor is supplied in a different way, and termed _Chasné_.

The nature of the revenue of each province depended at first, in a great measure, on the manner in which that province was originally acquired; and, even now, the same distinction in some cases operates. Irak was to be protected under one condition of tribute, Egypt under another. The immediate successors of Mohammed appear to have been guided in many instances by sound policy, and to have tempered the rage of fanaticism, by some attention at least to the well-being even of their heretical subjects. The imposts in Egypt, one of their earliest territorial acquisitions, and the inhabitants of which had many of them embraced Islamism, were not distinguished by any remarkable severity; and if that country have since been impoverished and depopulated, it appears not to result from the original institutions, so much as from the abuses which happened at an early period of the Egyptian Chalifat, and which may contaminate the mildest and most reasonable establishments. These abuses, which have long been gradually increasing, are now multiplied to a point, beyond which, consistently with the being of the peasantry, they cannot well be extended.

The principal local tribute is a tax on land of two patackes each _foddân_, all over the country; which, whether the effect of a compact between the Arabian victor and the natives, or an impost in force under the former government, was continued by Sultan Selim. Taking the cultivable lands in Egypt at two million one hundred thousand acres, this should give the sum of twelve thousand nine hundred purses, or at the present exchange of 630,000l. sterling; but at this time only two-thirds of these lands are actually cultivated, which reduces the sum to 420,000l. On the other hand, however, the Beys are not contented with this legitimate revenue, but insist on receiving in many instances five or six patackes per foddân[12], which again raises this single branch of revenue to a million and a quarter, or even more. There are however some districts in the Upper Egypt always several years in arrear.

The other articles are, the customs of Alexandria, Damiatt, Suez, Cossîr; and what is drawn from the commerce of Africa in its passage by Charjé, Assiût, and at Kahira itself. Of these it is difficult to form any correct idea. The caravan with which I returned to Assiût paid, in duties on the commodities it brought, a sum not less than 150 purses. I estimated the value of those commodities at nearly two thousand three hundred purses, or 115,000l. sterling.

The _Jizié_ is much less considerable than it might be supposed, from the following considerations. 1. That though there be many entire villages of Copts in the Upper Egypt, several of them are rebellious, and pay nothing. 2. The same people is very numerous in the towns; but a great proportion of them consists of ecclesiastics, or of persons in the service of the Beys, and both these descriptions are exempt. The Greeks and Armenians are but few, and many of them pay the _Jizié_ in other places, being only travellers. On the whole, I doubt whether that tax in Egypt amounts to more than fifteen hundred purses. The remaining revenue is made up of casualties; as forfeitures, small imposts, and tolls, passing on the Nile, and other parts of the interior; and above all, the incalculable profit arising from continued plunder of all ranks and denominations. Five, ten, twenty to thirty thousand patackes are demanded, in one day, of the Christians engaged in commerce, at another of the Mohammedans, and at another of the Franks. Advantage was taken of the unprotected state in which the French merchants found themselves after the commencement of the war, and all, except three, were in consequence obliged to leave Kahira, and retire to Alexandria.

I never could learn that the wandering Arabs, or Bedouins, paid any regular tribute. They were often plundered and repulsed when they came in bodies too near the city; but in general the Beys appeared to be inclined to keep them in good humour, for their personal security, in case of being expelled from the government. The article of salt, for there are _salines_ close to the sea, which supply all Egypt with culinary salt, pay a low impost in entering Kahira, and another at Assiût. All the prostitutes, the public baths, the places where brandy is sold, (_Chummari_,) &c. &c. are under a particular jurisdiction, and pay something to government.

In Kahira every trade or profession has its shech or leader, who has great authority over the rest of his order; and this circumstance tends much to the good order of the city. The gates no less, which are at the end of every street, and which, though not capable of resisting violence, impede the progress, and render difficult the escape of ill-intentioned persons. The articles above enumerated form collectively the _Miri_ or public revenue; 1200 purses of which should be annually forwarded to Constantinople, but it is retained by the Beys, under pretence of repairing mosques and other public works.

The Pasha receives, for his whole expenses, one thousand mahbûbs, or three thousand piastres per day. His establishment however is large, so that this is not esteemed a rich pashalik.

Murad Bey is accustomed to have from the mint daily, for his pocket expenses, five hundred half mahbûbs, and his wife the same. This amounts to fifteen hundred piastres, and is only a small part of his disbursements.

The value of land in Egypt is far from being inconsiderable, as is evident from the large amount of the annual impost which is paid for it. Yet not having been present at the formalities of bargain and sale, I feel myself unprepared to give an exact estimate of it.

The same may be said of the value of labour; for as the agricultural labourer is paid in the produce, a number of circumstances combine to diminish the value of what is thus received. Comparing the wages of the husbandman with the price of other labour, I should be inclined to state them at about six medines, or one-seventh of a piastre per day, which, as his toil is often remitted, cannot exceed forty-five piastres annually. Exclusively of the value of the peasant’s clothing, which lasts long, it is scarcely possible that the maize, lentils, milk, butter, &c. on which he feeds, can amount to less than three paras or medines daily, for each individual.

_Tenure of Lands._

An explicit declaration of Mohammed himself, “That property, after the death of the proprietor, cannot be detained from division among his heirs,” shews in how great respect inheritance was held by him, and how little he was inclined to consider as annexed to the sovereign power, the property of the lands of the countries it governed.

But the same moderation and good policy has not been found among his successors. His code has been perverted to sanction abuses, or trampled on by the insolence of power.

In many of the countries over which the Othman emperor exercises or claims the sovereign authority, the property of the land is claimed by the Government in right of conquest; and though material exceptions must have had place in Egypt, with respect to the great number who embraced Mohammedism, or consented to pay the _Jizié_, and who consequently did not forfeit their lands, all these distinctions are now confounded, and, alienations, forfeitures, and, more than all, violence, have reduced the whole to one undistinguished mass.

The greater part of the lands in Egypt, is to be considered as divided between the Government, and the religious bodies who perform the service of the mosques, who have obtained possession of what they now hold by the munificence of princes and rich men, or by the measures taken by individuals for the benefit of their posterity. The property of the mosques is called _wakf_, a term signifying, in its technical acceptation, the appropriation of a thing in such a way, that the proprietor’s right in it shall continue, but the profit belong to some charitable establishment.

From the right which the Government claims to inheritances, and the ruinous fines paid on readmission, those who have landed property frequently make this appropriation to the mosque, and their lands become part of the _wakf_ of that establishment. The Government then has no farther claim on them. But the appropriator takes care, at the same time, that his next heir, or if a minor, trustees on his behalf, under the name of _Mutwâlli_, shall receive the rents, and so on, as long as any heirs remain in the family. The individual continues in the secure receipt of his income, paying however annually a small proportion of it to the administrators of the mosque.

It will hence be observed, that in Egypt, a large proportion of the tenants and cultivators hold either of the Government, or the procurators of the mosques. To the personal ease of the cultivator, and the general good of the whole, it is of little consequence which. For there is one circumstance common to them both, viz. that their lands, becoming unoccupied, are never let but on terms ruinous to the tenant. For as there is a number of bidders, and the managers of them are exorbitant in their demands, the tenant becomes accessory to his own misery, by engaging to pay the owner so large a portion of the product, that his profits are absolutely insignificant.

These contracts are of various forms, but commonly made for a given number of years, or for life, in the nature of leases. The occupier, assisted by his family, is the cultivator; and in the operations of husbandry scarcely requires any other aid. When the Nile rises, those who are employed to water the fields are commonly hired labourers. Volney[13] has said generally, that the peasants of Egypt are _hired labourers_. It will hence be seen to how small a portion of them those terms can be properly applied.

The hired servants of the great are paid chiefly by having their food provided for them, and receiving occasionally presents of clothes; excepting what they obtain by extortion, opportunities of which are given even to the lowest menial, by the system of terror established in the country.

The tenant of land commonly holds no more than he and his family can cultivate, and gather the produce of. Yet he is far from being a villain, attached to the soil, having always the power of quitting his farm to obtain another in a different quarter. It however often happens, that families are connected with a particular spot for a great length of time. I have met with persons of that description at _Ben-Ali_ near Assiût, whose ancestors of the fifth remove had resided in the same spot. “I used to smoke tobacco,” (said one of them, a very old man,) “but it cost me almost a para a-day, and times are always growing worse, so now I am satisfied with a dry reed, till the master (ربنا) free me from these embarrassments.”

I shall now return to the topography and population of this great city. It has been originally walled, but at present only fragments remain. The dimensions of the city from North to South[14] greatly exceed those from East to West. There are several open spaces, but the houses, generally speaking, are close to each other. The _Chalige_, which pierces the city from North to South, commencing near Misr-el-Attiké, assumes various aspects, according to the season of the year. Its most permanent character is that of a dunghill, a public receptacle for all kinds of offal. Before the rise of the Nile, it is cleaned, and becomes a street; it is then filled by the increase of the river, and exhibits the appearance of a canal covered with boats.

Here it may be remarked in general concerning that noble river, that its rise seems to remain the same as in the most antient times, namely, sixteen cubits, or twenty-four feet in perpendicular height. The medium increase is nearly four inches a-day; and takes place, as is well known, from the end of June to the beginning of September, from which period to the following solstice it is gradually falling, again to rise. Those versed in antient astronomy know, that the rise of the river was indicated by the heliacal rising of Sirius, or the Dogstar, a few mornings before; whence that star was denominated, as resembling the fidelity of a dog, in warning his master to remove his effects from the ravages of the stream. It is asserted that Sihor, or Sihir, is an antient name of the Nile, as well as the Indus, whence _Siris_, corruptly _Sirius_, another appellation of the most brilliant of all the fixed stars.

Mr. Gray’s well-known description of Egypt, as immersed under the influx of the Nile, is exquisitely poetical, but far from just. In Upper Egypt the river is confined by high banks, which prevent any inundation into the adjacent country. This is also the case in Lower Egypt, except at the extremities of the Delta, where the Nile is never more than a few feet below the surface of the ground, and where inundation of course takes place. But the country, as may be expected, is without habitations. The fertility of Egypt arises from human art. The lands near the river are watered by machines; and if they extend to any width, canals have been cut. The soil in general is so rich as to require no manure. It is a pure black mould, free from stones, and of a very tenacious and unctuous nature. When left uncultivated, I have observed fissures, arising from the extreme heat, of which a spear of six feet could not reach the bottom.

The greatest breadth of this majestic river may be computed at two thousand feet, or about a third of a mile. Its motion is even slower than that of the Thames, and does not exceed three miles an hour. The water is always muddy: in April and May, when it is clearest, it has still a cloudy hue. When it overflows, the colour is a dirty red. It is replete with a variety of fish; those I have chiefly observed are, _Bûlti_, Labrus Niloticus; _Kelb-el-bahr_; _Farhôn_; _Charmût_, a round fish about eight inches long, and said to be poisonous; _Tabân-el-bahr_, the eel, Muræna Anguilla; _Nefâsh_, apparently a species of salmon, and found of very large size. It seems not now determinable of what species, or whether of any now known, was the fish called _Oxyrynchus_, so famous in the antiquities of Egypt. D’Anville says it is the one now called _Kesher_. The best is the _Bûlti_, somewhat like the white trout, but sometimes attaining such a size as to weigh fifty pounds. Except good and large eels, none of the fish have a strict similitude of the European.

From Kâhira to Assûan, a distance of about three hundred and sixty miles, the banks, except where rocky, present no natural plant; they somewhat resemble the steps of stairs, and are sown with all sorts of esculent vegetables, chiefly that useful plant the _Bamea_. It grows to a little more than three feet in height, with leaves like those of the currant-bush; and produces oblong aculeated pods, which lend a pleasant flavour to the repast.

Among several kinds of water-fowl which frequent the Nile, may be mentioned what is here called the Turkey goose, _Anas Nilotica_, LIN. a large fowl, the flesh of which is palatable and salubrious food.

Other striking and antient features of this distinguished stream, are the rafts of _Belasses_, or large white jars, used for carrying water; little rafts of gourds, on which a single person conducts himself with great philosophical dignity across the stream; and the divers, who, concealing their heads in pumpkins, approach the water-fowl unperceived, and seize them by the legs. Concerning the crocodile and hippopotamus so much has been said, that I despair of adding any thing new. The latter I never saw or heard of in Egypt; in Nubia they are said to abound. The crocodile itself seems reduced in number, and is confined to the district above Assiût, where he is dangerous to bathers. A young man bathing at Dendera, a day or two before I arrived, had his leg bitten off by one of those unwieldy animals.

Parallel to the _Chalige_[15] runs the principal street. It should be observed that the houses of the Europeans are all on the _Chalige_, the stench of which has been supposed to operate in producing the pestilence, to which that order of men is however the least subject. The mosques in Kahira are computed at more than three hundred; four or five of them far exceeding the rest in splendor. The _Jama el Az-her_ is a very considerable eleemosynary establishment, supplying chiefly poor ecclesiastics, to the amount of some thousands, with broth and other articles. Most of the mendicants in Kahira are ecclesiastics, who urge their studies as an excuse for idleness. Blindness, I know not from what cause, affecting one or both eyes, is extremely common among the Egyptian beggars. The mosque called _Jama el Az-her_ is one of the most magnificent of Kahira, ornamented with pillars of marble, and Persian carpets. The property attached to this mosque is immense. A shech, being an ecclesiastic of the highest order, presides over the establishment; which also supports a number of persons distinguished for their profound skill in theology, and accurate knowlege of literal Arabic. It is furnished with an extensive collection of MSS. and lectures are read on all subjects which are here called _scientific_, being commonly removed farthest from science.

The other mosques most frequented are, that of _Sultan el Ghouri_, _el Hassanein_, and, of later date, that erected by Mohammed Bey Abudhahab. For the construction of the latter the most costly materials were provided, and it is esteemed a _chêf-d’œuvre_ of oriental magnificence.

The Saracenic structure on the island _Rouda_, which contains the _Mokkias_, or Nilometer, has been represented in various designs, and repeatedly described. The graduation of it is confused, imperfect, and not to be depended on: so that they who would inform themselves correctly as to the Nile’s increase, should make their observation on some smooth surface, washed by the river, and perpendicular to its plane; never depending on the public report, which the cryers are suborned to make agreeable to the will of government; and which at the beginning of the increase generally exceeds the truth, and afterwards falls short of it.

Large and sumptuous reservoirs are found in various parts of the city, where water is given to passengers. Baths, adorned with marble, and provided with every possible convenience, and plenty of water, also abound. The attendants are extremely dextrous, and the charge very reasonable.

The Okals, or warehouses, are spacious, strongly built, commodious and clean. These are for wholesale goods. For retail, are the bazârs, as _Khân Chalîl_, _Hamsâwi_, &c. extensive buildings, with convenient shops, each trade in its allotted quarter, and copiously supplied with every commodity.

Through the greater part of the city the houses are built with stone, two, or sometimes three stories high, with flat roofs. The windows of the upper stories are latticed, the ground floor being either a shop or having no windows to the street. Sometimes the lattices suffice; a few have paper windows, some of the rich have glass.

The houses of the great chiefly surround _Birket-el-fîl_, a pool which receives the Nile water from the _Chalige_. The palace of a Bey contains a square court, one or two sides occupied by his Mamlûks. Apart is the Harem. The room in which the Bey generally sits in summer has a contrivance in the roof to admit a copious supply of fresh air. In Kahira fire is only employed in cookery, the effects of cold being sufficiently obviated by warmer clothing.

The apartments of the women are furnished with the finest and most expensive articles; but those of the men are only remarkable for a plain style of neatness. The houses in general are irregular, but substantial and commodious.

The Mamlûks breakfast before sun-rise, make their second meal at ten, and the third about five in the afternoon. Animal food abounds. A large dish of pilau appears in the middle of the table, surrounded with small dishes of meat, fish, and fowls. The meat is cut into minute pieces before it be dressed. Drink only water, and immediately after the meal, coffee is served. At the tables of the great _sherbet_ is introduced. Egypt produces no wine; the Greeks and Franks procure that commodity from other quarters.

The Egyptians still make a fermented liquor of maize, millet, barley or rice, but it bears little resemblance to our ale. It is of a light colour, and in the hot season will not keep above a day; but it is sufficiently pleasant to the taste. It is drank in considerable quantities in Kahira and in Saïd. The native Christians mostly distil for themselves, from dates, a liquor called by the general name _Araki_; it is also made from currants, or the small grapes imported from Cerigo.

When brought into the houses, the water of the Nile is put into jars, called _hammam_, previously rubbed, in the inside, with a kind of paste, made of bitter almonds. Thus preserved, it becomes quite clear and limpid in two hours. But it is often drank in its most muddy state, without any ill effects.

The eyes and fingers are the only parts of a woman that are visible in public. In general, the women of Kahira are not tall, but well formed. The upper ranks tolerably fair, in which and in fatness, consist the chief praises of beauty in the Egyptian climate. They marry at fourteen or fifteen, and at twenty are passed their prime. For what reason the natives of hot climates ordinarily prefer women of large persons, I have not been able to discover. Nevertheless, the Coptic women have interesting features, large black eyes, and a genteel form.

The population of Kahira consists, 1. of the Arabs, or lower class of Mohammedans, who form the body of the people, and who pride themselves in the name of _ibn Arab_, son of an Arabian. 2. Of the Coptic Christians, who form a considerable number, here and in Upper Egypt; in the Delta they are rare. 3. Mamlûks. I was assured that, during the last eleven years, not fewer than sixteen thousand white slaves, of both sexes, have been imported into Egypt. A plague had carried off a thousand Mamlûks, and other causes had reduced their number to about eight thousand, so that there was a great demand for the article. Still I cannot venture to estimate the number of Mamlûks at more than ten or twelve thousand. 4. Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians; Muggrebîns, from Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco, who have a quarter to themselves, are remarkable for industry and frugality, and are attracted hither by the great profits of trade. Other Mohammedans from Arabia Proper, and yet farther East. There are very few Turks established in Egypt, but many come hither on business, and return to Constantinople. Jews were once numerous, but are now on the decrease. Exclusively of negro slaves in every house, there are blacks from Nubia, who act as porters at the gates of the rich, and sometimes sell _bouza_ and eatables.

In general, the total population of Kahira cannot certainly be estimated at less than three hundred thousand souls. Egypt may contain, in all, two millions and a half.

In speaking of the population of Egypt, and other countries under the same circumstances, it may be remarked, that among ourselves, to obtain a tolerably correct knowlege of the number of people in a town or city, it is sufficient to know the number of houses, and the average number of inhabitants in each house. In Egypt the case is widely different. A large proportion of the people has no visible dwelling. The slightest shelter suffices to protect them from the inconsiderable variations of a regular climate, and obscurity, under the falcon eye of power always a blessing, is here sought with peculiar avidity.

Of all those descriptions of men, the Copts, or original inhabitants, most interest curiosity. There are some peculiarities of feature common to all of them. I was not struck with any resemblance of the negro features or form. Their hair and eyes are indeed of a dark hue, and the former is often curled; but not in a greater degree than is occasionally seen among Europeans. The nose is often aquiline, and though the lips be sometimes thick, by no means generally so; and on the whole, a strong resemblance may be traced between the form of visage in the modern Copts, and that presented in the antient mummies, paintings, and statues.

Their complexion, like that of the Arabs, is of a dusky brown; it is represented of the same colour in the paintings which I have seen in the tombs of Thebes.

The Coptic language may be considered as extinct. Numerous and minute researches have enabled me to ascertain this fact. In Upper Egypt, however, they unknowingly retain some Coptic words, such as _Boyúni_, the name of a month.

Nevertheless, in the Coptic monasteries, the prayers are read in Arabic, and the epistle and gospel in Coptic; but the priest is a mere parrot, repeating a dead letter. Coptic manuscripts are found in some of the convents, and leave to copy them might be obtained from the Patriarch.