_To Sir Alexander Duff Gordon_.
CAIRO,
_November_ 14, 1863.
Here I am at last in my old quarters at Thayer's house, after a tiresome
negotiation with the Vice-Consul, who had taken possession and invented
the story of women on the ground-floor. I was a week in Briggs' damp
house, and too ill to write. The morning I arrived at Cairo I was seized
with haemorrhage, and had two days of it; however, since then I am
better. I was very foolish to stay a fortnight in Alexandria.
The passage under the railway-bridge at Tantah (which is only opened once
in two days) was most exciting and pretty. Such a scramble and dash of
boats--two or three hundred at least. Old Zedan, the steersman, slid
under the noses of the big boats with my little _Cangia_ and through the
gates before they were well open, and we saw the rush and confusion
behind us at our ease, and headed the whole fleet for a few miles. Then
we stuck, and Zedan raged; but we got off in an hour and again overtook
and passed all. And then we saw the spectacle of devastation--whole
villages gone, submerged and melted, mud to mud, and the people with
their animals encamped on spits of sand or on the dykes in long rows of
ragged makeshift tents, while we sailed over where they had lived.
Cotton rotting in all directions and the dry tops crackling under the
bows of the boat. When we stopped to buy milk, the poor woman exclaimed:
'Milk! from where? Do you want it out of my breasts?' However, she took
our saucepan and went to get some from another family. No one refuses it
if they have a drop left, for they all believe the murrain to be a
punishment for churlishness to strangers--by whom committed no one can
say. Nor would they fix a price, or take more than the old rate. But
here everything has doubled in price.
Never did a present give such pleasure as Mme. De Leo's bracelet. De Leo
came quite overflowing with gratitude at my having remembered such a
trifle as his attending me and coming three times a day! He thinks me
looking better, and advises me to stay on here till I feel it cold. Mr.
Thayer's underling has been doing Levantine rogueries, selling the
American protege's claims to the Egyptian Government, and I witnessed a
curious phase of Eastern life. Omar, when he found him in _my_ house,
went and ordered him out. I was ill in bed, and knew nothing till it was
done, and when I asked Omar how he came to do it, he told me to be civil
to him if I saw him as it was not for me to know what he was; that was
his (Omar's) business. At the same time Mr. Thayer's servant sent him a
telegram so insolent that it amounted to a kicking. Such is the Nemesis
for being a rogue here. The servants know you, and let you feel it. I
was quite 'flabbergasted' at Omar, who is so reverential to me and to the
Rosses, and who I fancied trembled before every European, taking such a
tone to a man in the position of a 'gentleman.' It is a fresh proof of
the feeling of actual equality among men that lies at the bottom of such
great inequality of position. Hekekian Bey has seen a Turkish Pasha's
shins kicked by his own servants, who were cognizant of his misdeeds.
Finally, on Thursday we got the keys of the house, and Omar came with two
_ferashes_ and shovelled out the Levantine dirt, and scoured and
scrubbed; and on Friday afternoon (yesterday) we came in. Zeyneb has
been very good ever since she has been with us, she will soon be a
complete 'dragowoman,' for she is learning Arabic from Omar and English
from us fast. In Janet's house she only heard a sort of 'lingua franca'
of Greek, Italian, Nubian and English. She asked me 'How piccolo bint?'
(How's the little girl?) a fine specimen of Alexandrian. Ross is here,
and will dine with me to-night before starting by an express train which
Ismail Pasha gives him.
On Thursday evening I rode to the Abbassieh, and met all the schoolboys
going home for their Friday. Such a pretty sight! The little Turks on
grand horses with velvet trappings and two or three sais running before
them, and the Arab boys fetched--some by proud fathers on handsome
donkeys, some by trusty servants on foot, some by poor mothers astride on
shabby donkeys and taking up their darlings before them, some two and
three on one donkey, and crowds on foot. Such a number of lovely
faces--all dressed in white European-cut clothes and red tarbooshes.
Last night we had a wedding opposite. A pretty boy, about Maurice's
size, or rather less, with a friend of his own size, dressed like him in
a scarlet robe and turban, on each side, and surrounded by men carrying
tapers and singing songs, and preceded by cressets flaring. He stepped
along like Agag, very slowly and mincingly, and looked very shy and
pretty. My poor Hassan (donkey-driver) is ill--I fear very ill. His
father came with the donkey for me, and kept drawing his sleeve over his
eyes and sighing so heavily. '_Yah Hassan meskeen_! _yah Hassan ibn_!'
(Oh poor Hassan! oh Hassan my son!); and then, in a resigned tone,
'_Allah kereem_' (God is merciful). I will go and see him this morning,
and have a doctor to him 'by force,' as Omar says, if he is very bad.
There is something heart-rending in the patient, helpless suffering of
these people.
_Sunday_.--Abu Hassan reported his son so much better that I did not go
after him, having several things to do, and Omar being deep in cooking a
_festin de Balthazar_ because Ross was to dine with me. The weather is
delicious--much what we had at Bournemouth in summer--but there is a
great deal of sickness, and I fear there will be more, from people
burying dead cattle on their premises inside the town. It costs 100
_gersh_ to bury one outside the town. All labour is rendered scarce,
too, as well as food dear, and the streets are not cleaned and water hard
to get. My _sakka_ comes very irregularly, and makes quite a favour of
supplying us with water. All this must tell heavily on the poor.
Hekekian's wife had seventy head of cattle on her farm--one wretched
bullock is left; and, of seven to water the house in Cairo, also one
left, and that expected to die. I wonder what ill-conditioned fellow of
a Moses is at the bottom of it. Hajjee Ali has just been here, and
offers me his tents if I like to go up to Thebes and not live in a boat,
so that I may not be dependent on getting a house there. He is engaged
by Lady Herbert of Lea, so will not go to Syria this year and has all his
tents to spare. I fancy I might be very comfortable among the tombs of
the Kings or in the valley of Assaseef with good tents. It is never cold
at all among the hills at Thebes--_au contraire_. On the sunny side of
the valley you are broiled and stunned with heat in January, and in the
shade it is heavenly. How I do wish you could come too, how you would
enjoy it! I shall rather like the change from a boat life to a Bedawee
one, with my own sheep and chickens and horse about the tent, and a small
following of ragged retainers; moreover, it will be considerably cheaper,
I think.