_To Sir Alexander Duff Gordon_.
NILE BOAT, _URANIA_,
_May_, 1865.
Happy as I was in the prospect of seeing you all and miserable as poor
Upper Egypt has become, I could not leave without a pang. Our Bairam was
not gay. There was horse riding for Sheykh Gibreel (the cousin of Abu'l
Haggag) and the scene was prettier than ever I saw. My old friend Yunis
the Shereef insisted on showing me that at eighty-five he could still
handle a horse and throw a Gereed 'for Sheykh Gibreel and the Lady' as he
said. Then arrived the Mufettish of Zenia with his gay attendants and
filled the little square in front of the Cadi's castellated house where
we were sitting. The young Sheykh of Salamieh rode beautifully and there
was some excellent Neboot play (sort of very severe quarterstaff peculiar
to the Fellaheen).
Next day was the great dinner given by Mohammed and Mustapha outside
Mohammed's house opposite Sheykh Gibreel's tomb--200 men ate at his gate.
I went to see it and was of course asked to eat. 'Can one like thee eat
the Melocheea of the Fellaheen?' So I joined a party of five round a
little wooden tray, tucked up my sleeve and ate--dipping the bread into
the Melocheea which is like very sloppy spinach but much nicer. Then
came the master and his servants to deal the pieces of meat out of a
great basket--sodden meat--and like Benjamin my piece was the largest, so
I tore off a bit and handed it to each of my companions, who said 'God
take thee safe and happy to thy place and thy children and bring thee
back to us in safety to eat the meat of the festival together once more.'
The moon rose clear and bright behind the one tall palm tree that
overhangs the tomb of Sheykh Gibreel. He is a saint of homely tastes and
will not have a dome over him or a cover for his tomb, which is only
surrounded by a wall breast-high, enclosing a small square bit of ground
with the rough tomb on one side. At each corner was set up a flag, and a
few dim lanterns hung overhead. The 200 men eating were quite
noiseless--and as they rose, one by one washed their hands and went, the
crowd melted away like a vision. But before all were gone, came the
Bulook, or sub-magistrate--a Turkish Jack in office with the manners of a
Zouave turned parish beadle. He began to sneer at the _melocheea_ of the
fellaheen and swore he could not eat it if he sat before it 1,000 years.
Hereupon, Omar began to 'chaff' him. 'Eat, oh Bulook Pasha and if it
swells thy belly the Lady will give thee of the physick of the English to
clean thy stomach upwards and downwards of all thou hast eaten of the
food of the fellaheen.' The Bulook is notorious for his exactions--his
'eating the people'--so there was a great laugh. Poor Omar was very ill
next day--and every one thought the Bulook had given him the eye.
Then came the Mufettish in state to pay his _devoirs_ to the Sheykh in
the tomb. He came and talked to Mustapha and Yussuf and enumerated the
people taken for the works, 200 from Luxor, 400 from Carnac, 310 from
Zenia, 320 from Byadyeh, and 380 from Salamieh--a good deal more than
half the adult men to go for sixty days leaving their fields uncultivated
and their Hareem and children hungry--for they have to take all the food
for themselves.
I rose sick at heart from the Mufettish's harsh voice, and went down to
listen to the Moonsheeds chanting at the tomb and the Zikheers' strange
sobbing, Allah, Allah.
I leaned on the mud wall watching the slender figures swaying in the
moonlight, when a tall, handsome fellah came up in his brown shirt, felt
_libdeh_ (scull cap), with his blue cotton _melaya_ tied up and full of
dried bread on his back. The type of the Egyptian. He stood close
beside me and prayed for his wife and children. 'Ask our God to pity
them, O Sheykh, and to feed them while I am away. Thou knowest how my
wife worked all night to bake all the wheat for me and that there is none
left for her and the children.' He then turned to me and took my hand
and went on, 'Thou knowest this lady, oh Sheykh Gibreel, take her happy
and well to her place and bring her back to us--_el Fathah, yah
Beshoosheh_!' and we said it together. I could have laid my head on
Sheykh Gibreel's wall and howled. I thanked him as well as I could for
caring about one like me while his own troubles were so heavy. I shall
never forget that tall athletic figure and the gentle brown face, with
the eleven days' moon of Zulheggeh, and the shadow of the palm tree.
That was my farewell. 'The voice of the miserable is with thee, shall
God not hear it?'
Next day Omar had a sharp attack of fever and was delirious--it lasted
only two days but left him very weak and the anxiety and trouble was
great--for my helping hands were as awkward as they were willing.
In a few days arrived the boat Urania. She is very nice indeed. A small
saloon, two good berths--bath and cabinet, and very large _kasneh_ (stern
cabin). She is dirty, but will be extremely comfortable when cleaned and
painted. On the 15th we sailed. Sheykh Yussuf went with me to Keneh,
Mustapha and Seyd going by land--and one of Hajjee Sultan's disciples and
several Luxor men were deck passengers. The Shereef gave me the bread
and jars of butter for his grandsons in Gama'l Azhar, and came to see me
off. We sat on the deck outside as there was a crowd to say good-bye and
had a lot of Hareem in the cabin. The old Shereef made me sit down on
the carpet close to him and then said 'we sit here like two lovers'--at
eighty-five _even_ an Arab and a Shereef may be "_gaillard_"--so I cried,
'Oh Shereef, what if Omar tells my master the secret thou hast let
out--it is not well of thee.' There was a great laugh which ended in the
Shereef saying 'no doubt thy master is of the best of the people, let us
say the _Fathah_ for him,' and he called on all the people '_El Fathah_
for the master of the lady!' I hope it has benefited you to be prayed
for at Luxor.
I had written so far and passed Minieh when I fell ill with
pleurisy--I've lots more to tell of my journey but am too weak after two
weeks in bed (and unable to lie down from suffocation)--but I am _much_
better now. A man from the Azhar is reading the Koran for me
outside--while another is gone with candles to Seyeedele Zeynet 'the
fanatics!'