Footnote 1:
The “Sons of Ali,” or, as they are called, the “Oulâd-Ali,” have been
settled for many years in Egypt, but their legendary history is
carried back to the period when they dwelt in Upper Arabia, and they
claim affinity with a tribe which still pastures its flocks on the
borders of the Nejd.
Footnote 2:
A _kels_ is a long rope extended in line, and fastened to the ground
by pegs. Throughout its whole length, at intervals of eighteen inches,
are fixed two short nooses or slip-knots, into which the forefeet of
the goats are inserted at milking-time. In Persia it is usual on a
march to fasten the horses at night in a manner precisely similar.
Footnote 3:
For the information of the English reader it is necessary to mention
that the word Herâm, with a light aspirate of the initial letter, is
the conventional term in Egypt applied to the Pyramid (its plural is
Ehrâm), whereas Ĥharâm, with a slight guttural pronunciation of the
initial letter, signifies “shame” or “sin.” Although these two sounds
are scarcely distinguishable from each other in the mouth of a
European, they are perfectly distinct in that of an Arab; and thus the
expression “Ebn-Harâm,” according as the initial is pronounced, means
“Child of the Pyramid,” or “Child of Shame.”
Footnote 4:
Hassan El-Gizèwi, or Hassan of _Ghizeh_, the district in which, about
eight or nine miles from Cairo, stand the Great Pyramid and several of
the smaller pyramids.
Footnote 5:
The Mohammedan law acknowledges in full the custom of parental
adoption, and a child so adopted has legal right of inheritance; but
certain religious forms are prescribed for this adoption, which it
seems that Sheik Sâleh had not observed in respect to Hassan, probably
from a belief that some day he would be claimed by his real parents.
Footnote 6:
Sakkarah is a district lying twelve or fourteen miles to the
south-west of Cairo, and is familiar to all Egyptian travellers and
untravelled readers as being the site of several pyramids, near which
excavations have been made with highly interesting results.
Footnote 7:
One of the Arabic names of Cairo is “Omm-ed-doonia,” “Mother of the
world.”
Footnote 8:
The fellahs, or agricultural population in Egypt, are much despised by
the Bedouin Arabs.
Footnote 9:
Alluding to the horsetails which formerly designated the rank of a
pasha. When three in number they indicated the rank of a vizier. The
practice is now falling or fallen into disuse.
Footnote 10:
The Arabic letter _ain_. The Turks and Persians, in whose respective
languages this letter frequently occurs, never attempt to pronounce it
otherwise than as a broad Italian _a_. As the same letter is found in
the Hebrew alphabet, it may be an interesting speculation for the
learned to consider how it was pronounced by the ancient Jews; the
modern Jews in Germany and Asia pronounce it like the broad _a_. Its
pronunciation seems to have puzzled the learned Seventy in the time of
the Ptolemies; at least in the Septuagint version we find it
represented by various Greek letters; for instance, in the words
“Amalek” and “Eli” the commencing letter in Hebrew is _ain_, as is
likewise the last letter in the name of the prophet Hosêa.
Footnote 11:
For those who have not been in the East, it may be necessary to
mention that the folding the arms on the breast, which in Europe is
considered as a posture of meditation and sometimes of defiance, is
among Orientals the usual attitude of humility and respect.
Footnote 12:
It is customary among the Arabs, when using either complimentary
phrases or good wishes, to retort them on the speaker briefly, as in
the text.
Footnote 13:
Wâled-Ali is synonymous with Oulâd-Ali, the name of a tribe already
mentioned; the only difference is that Wâled is singular and Oulâd
plural. The former name, though less classical, is in more common use
in Alexandria.
Footnote 14:
The Causer of Causes is one of the highest of the attributive names
given by the Arabs to the Almighty.
Footnote 15:
It has been the custom of the Egyptians ever since the accession of
Mohammed Ali to the viceroyalty to call the reigning Viceroy by the
name of “Effendina,” “our Lord,” or “our Prince.”
Footnote 16:
The Kohèil and Saklàwi are two of the highest breeds of horses found
in the Nejd or highlands of Arabia.
Footnote 17:
Courbatch is the name of the whip made from the hide of the
hippopotamus, in common use all over Egypt and Nubia. The name seems
to have an affinity with the French _cravache_, and I have been
informed (though perhaps incorrectly) that it is of Hungarian origin.
Footnote 18:
The practice in question is indeed as prevalent among the Arab dealers
in Egypt, Syria, and Bagdad as among those of London and Paris.
Footnote 19:
A _ràwi_ is a professional reciter of romances, around whom a circle
of listeners may always be seen gathered about sunset in Alexandria or
Cairo.
Footnote 20:
A _kawàss_, or janissary, in Egypt is an upper servant in attendance
on a pasha, a consul, or a person of rank; he is generally a Turk,
wears a sword, and is frequently dignified by the title of Aga.
Footnote 21:
Hassan’s experience seems to have taught him that, in addressing
Turkish officials, the use of that language in place of Arabic is the
likeliest method of obtaining attention and a courteous reply.
Footnote 22:
Two thousand piastres are about £20 sterling.
Footnote 23:
Arabs are divided into two classes, distinguished in their own
language by the names of “People of the tent” and “People of the
domicile”; the former, who are the Bedouins, and nomadic in their
habits, have a sovereign contempt for the latter, who live in villages
and cultivate the soil. In Egypt there are found on the borders of the
desert and arable land a few small tribes who partake of both
characters; that is, though Bedouins by birth, they have partially
settled down to an agricultural life, and pay a tax to the Government
for the land which they occupy. The prisoner under arrest belonged to
this latter class.
Footnote 24:
Fayoom is a fertile region in Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the
Nile.
Footnote 25:
The Arabs of the north-western shores of Africa are termed
“Moghrebin,” from the word “Moghreb,” “the place of the setting sun.”
Most of the _pehlivans_ or wrestlers seen in Egypt are Moghrebin.
Footnote 26:
_Pehlivan_ is the name common in Turkey, Arabia, and Persia for a
“wrestler” or “athlete.”
Footnote 27:
_Delì_ signifies “mad” in the Turkish language, but it is frequently
applied to those who have distinguished themselves in war by acts of
daring courage.
Footnote 28:
The word “uncle” is frequently used in Arabic as a term of respectful
affection.
Footnote 29:
Taking a _fal_, or an omen, is a very common practice all over the
East among persons who are in doubt as to the advisableness of any
scheme or project which they wish to undertake: it is done in various
ways, sometimes with beads, sometimes with books; but in matters of a
serious nature the Koran is usually resorted to. The person wishing to
consult the oracle takes up the sacred book, and after putting it
reverently to his forehead, opens it at random, and reads the first
passage that meets his eyes; if the text is favourable, or can be
construed favourably to his project, he follows it out with confidence
of success.
Footnote 30:
_Mirakhor_, a Persian word commonly used throughout Turkey, meaning
“master of the horse.”
Footnote 31:
Not the tree commonly called sycamore in England, but the “wild
fig-tree.”
Footnote 32:
The reader may perhaps not have heard, or may have forgotten, a reply
attributed to Dr Johnson, who being once present at a concert where an
Italian singer was executing some bravura ornaments at, if not beyond,
the highest notes of her voice, his neighbour observed to him, “How
wonderful are those trills.” “Would to Heaven they were impossible!”
was the Doctor’s surly answer.
Footnote 33:
It is a very common image in the popular songs of Egypt, and also in
more classic Arabic poetry, to liken a graceful youthful figure in
either sex to a spray or wand of the _bân_, or Egyptian willow.
Footnote 34:
In those days all Englishmen travelling in Europe, as well as in
Egypt, who spent their money more freely than the average of
travellers, were termed “lords.”
Footnote 35:
A true story, and one that Mohammed Ali used to tell with great glee.
Footnote 36:
Notwithstanding his long residence in Egypt, Mohammed Ali understood
but little Arabic, and could not speak it at all.
Footnote 37:
_Khaznadâr_ or “treasurer.” This officer often discharges the duties
of a private secretary.
Footnote 38:
The term _kassis_ is applied in Egypt indiscriminately to Christian
clergymen of every sect and denomination.
Footnote 39:
This term, _kiahya_, now common all over Turkey, is a corruption of
the Persian word _ket-khoda_, and signifies “master of the house,”
“vicegerent,” &c. The _kiahya_ in Egypt is next in rank to the
viceroy.
Footnote 40:
Shoobra, a very pretty garden and palace, built and occupied by
Mohammed Ali; it is about three miles from Cairo, on the bank of the
river.
Footnote 41:
A _canjah_ is a Nile boat, much smaller and lighter than a dahabiah.
Footnote 42:
A piastre is about 2½d.
Footnote 43:
Where in Europe it is customary to say as “white as wool” or “white as
snow,” the Orientals say “white as camphor.” The “camphor-neck” of a
beauty is an image constantly recurring in Arabic poetry.
Footnote 44:
_Musàttah_, a camel-litter for carrying two persons.
Footnote 45:
A _shibriah_, a camel-litter for a single person.
Footnote 46:
A perpetual fountain of the purest water in the Mohammedan Paradise.
Footnote 47:
The Horseman’s Gap is a singular cleft in the high rocks which met at
the end of the plain, just leaving a passage wide enough for horsemen
to pass in single file.
Footnote 48:
The legend of Rabîah is one of the most ancient now known in the East.
It was first communicated to me in the shape of an old Arab MS. by
that eminent Arabic scholar, M. Fresnel. I believe he translated and
sent it to one of the European Oriental magazines; but I have never
seen it myself in print. As it is ten years since I saw the MS., I
cannot remember exactly how far the tale in our text deviates from the
original. The names which I have introduced are taken at random among
names common in the Nejd; but I distinctly remember that of Rabîah,
and his heroic death in the gap, as forming the catastrophe of the
legend.
Footnote 49:
Whip made of rhinoceros-hide.
Footnote 50:
Shèitan, Arabic form of “Satan.”
Footnote 51:
_Salamlik_ is a reception-room in houses of Turkish construction,
generally on the first floor, and in the centre of the building.
Footnote 52:
Nejmet-es-Sabah, “Morning Star.”
Footnote 53:
The game of the jereed is almost too familiar to the reading world to
require description. It is a mimic fight, representing a combat with
the spear or javelin. The jereed is sometimes made of reeds or canes,
but more frequently of palm-sticks cut in the form of a javelin, with
a blunted point. It varies much in weight; and a heavy jereed thrown
by a vigorous arm is capable of giving a very severe, sometimes a
dangerous, bruise; for this reason, aiming at the face or head is
strictly prohibited in this game, though it necessarily happens in so
wild a sport, carried on with reckless riders and horses at full
speed, that the head and face often receive a serious hurt.
Footnote 54:
The rosary here alluded to (called in Arabic _tashbih_) is a string of
beads, generally one hundred in number, carried by the greater part of
Moslems of the upper and middling classes: they are used as “omens,”
“counter-charms,” &c.
Footnote 55:
_Kadaif_, a favourite Turkish dish, made of flour, honey, and other
ingredients.
Footnote 56:
The Crimean campaign has now made the name of these Bashi-Bazouks, or
irregular cavalry, familiar to all Europe. In Egypt, at the date of
our tale, they were mostly Albanians, and a more lawless set of
ruffians than they were could not be found on earth. On some occasions
their savage violence could not be controlled even by the iron hand of
Mohammed Ali. They would neither obey nor leave the country, and he
was compelled to bribe them to adopt the latter course, and also to
have them escorted by regular troops beyond the frontier.
Footnote 57:
The Mosque El-Azhar is one of the largest, wealthiest, and most
celebrated in Cairo. Although devoid of all pretensions to
architectural beauty, within its precincts is a college for the
instruction of youth; but little is taught beyond reading the Koran
and the commentators thereon, writing, and the first rudiments of
arithmetic. To the children of the poorer classes the instruction is
gratuitous, and even food and lodging are provided from the funds of
the endowment. Its revenues were much curtailed by Mohammed Ali.
Footnote 58:
It has before been mentioned that at this game it is forbidden to aim
at the head; but, moreover, in order to explain the expressions of
Delì Pasha, it must be mentioned that, according to the rules of the
game, every “bout” consists of two charges, in which each alternately
advances and retreats. It is then considered over, and cannot be
continued unless a regular challenge be given for another “bout.”
Footnote 59:
“A cup of coffee” is a very common phrase in Egypt for expressing the
word “poison,” for which a cup of coffee is a frequent medium.
Footnote 60:
This peculiarity in Mohammed Ali’s character is historically true. He
was hasty and severe, often unjust, in his punishments; but there was
a fund of generosity in his heart, a reaction followed, and he
frequently elevated to the highest posts those whom he had previously
degraded.
Footnote 61:
An Eastern image proverbial among lovers.
Footnote 62:
It may not be amiss to mention that “Amina” is not only a genuine
Arabic woman’s name, signifying “trusty,” “faithful,” &c., &c., but is
also in high estimation, having been the name of the mother of
Mohammed. The root of the word _amin_ (true) is one of the original
primitives of the Arabic and Hebrew languages: it was the “verily,
verily” so often employed by our Saviour in His threats and warnings,
and is still familiar to all in the “amen” (“so be it,” or “may it be
true”) which terminates the greater portion of the prayers offered up
in Christendom.
Footnote 63:
Kaf, a lofty and inaccessible mountain, celebrated in Eastern romance
and mythology.
Footnote 64:
The last two lines are from a well-known Arabic love-song.
Footnote 65:
_I.e._, “treasurer of a very small treasure.”
Footnote 66:
These and other verses occasionally scattered through this tale are
translations from Arabic scraps of poetry and love-songs popular in
Egypt. The reader must not suppose that the interview related between
the father and daughter is intended to represent the ordinary
relations of domestic life in Egypt; on the contrary, it is an
exceptional picture, exhibiting the fondness of an eccentric and
warm-hearted father for an only child. It is scarcely necessary to say
that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, marriages in the East are
arranged by the parents and relatives without the slightest reference
to the inclinations of the bride.
Footnote 67:
Treasurer.
Footnote 68:
Few of my countrymen who have not resided in the East are probably
aware that it is contrary to custom, and indeed to good breeding, to
return thanks for a present. The system of present-giving is
widespread over the whole East. If a great man makes a present to an
equal, the bearer is rewarded and a present of equal value is
returned. If a present is sent by a great man to an inferior, the
latter gives as much as he can afford to the bearer; but in no case is
it considered good manners on the part of either giver or receiver to
allude to a present in after-conversation.
Footnote 69:
It must be remembered that thirty years before our tale the path or
paths leading from Ghizeh to the Pyramids were not beaten and trodden
as they now are; and even now, so long as the waters of the Nile are
high, the direct road is intercepted by a number of deep sluices or
creeks which oblige the traveller to make a considerable circuit under
the guidance of natives acquainted with the country.
Footnote 70:
Although the Thorpes are imaginary personages, and therefore did not
witness this scene, it actually occurred some years later exactly as
narrated in the text. It may afford food for reflection for those
benevolent philanthropists who would encourage the introduction of
sudden reforms and the abolition of corporal punishment among a
population habituated to the stick and to slavery for a period of five
or six thousand years!
Footnote 71:
Before mentioned as an Arabic name for Cairo.
Footnote 72:
Nebleh, in Arabic, means “arrow.”
Footnote 73:
A _dabboos_ is a kind of war-club or mace much in use among the
Mamelukes, in whose military equipment it hung at the saddle-bow. It
resembles a pin in shape, being a smooth round handle, surmounted by a
head or ball of iron; from the latter sometimes there protruded a
sharp spike. I have seen some of these weapons beautifully inlaid with
gold and silver, and the handles covered with velvet. They are not now
in use, and are only sold as relics or curiosities.
Footnote 74:
Mussulmans, when speaking of those who have died in their own faith,
always use the expression in the text, and never speak of them as “the
dead,” which latter expression is used when speaking of Christians,
heathens, or animals.
Footnote 75:
Up to the age of ten or twelve boys are freely admitted into the
oriental harems. After that age no males are admitted, saving fathers,
husbands, and brothers of the inmates. The privilege is sometimes
extended to some other near relation, who is then termed “Mahrem,”
meaning “one who is admitted to the harem.” Neither is it to be
supposed that brothers, or even husbands, can intrude upon a lady’s
privacy at pleasure. If she be of high rank, her husband cannot enter
her boudoir without sending to ask permission. I speak now of Turkish
harems especially.
Footnote 76:
This is one of the many instances which our language affords of the
changes which words undergo in passing from the Arabic into European
tongues, especially when the words contain that impracticable _ayn_,
to which the reader’s notice has already been called. This word is
written in the original _ayn_, _t_, and _r_, and should therefore be
rendered _âtr_ or _ôtr_. Some English dictionaries correctly write it
“attar.”
Footnote 77:
The original word rendered “good” in the translation of this fine
proverb signifies more usually “free,” “noble,” “honourable”; in fact,
includes those qualities which ought to be comprised in the character
which we designate as a “gentleman.” After studying with some care the
proverbs of many European nations, I am bound to say that, in variety
of illustration, in terseness and felicity of diction, those found in
the Arabic language surpass every other.
Footnote 78:
Shubrah, a very pretty garden on the right bank of the Nile, about
three miles below Cairo, which was planted and laid out with some
taste by a Greek gardener under the instructions of Mohammed Ali. He
built a small country house at one extremity, and a very handsome
kiosk in the centre of it, containing a large basin of water. At the
four corners of the kiosk were richly furnished apartments, in one of
which was a billiard-table, at which the old warrior used sometimes to
recreate himself during his latter days with his officers or guests.
After his death the garden was neglected and almost destroyed.
Footnote 79:
Squinting is considered in the East an ill omen, and those affected by
it are generally avoided. “May you be blind,” or “May you squint,” is
not an unfrequent Arab curse. It is curious that the word for
“squinting” is identical in the French and Persian languages,
_louche_.
Footnote 80:
Every _beled_ or village in Egypt has its sheik or headman, who is
responsible for the payment of the taxes, rents, and dues, as well as
for the military recruits leviable on its population. Generally
speaking, these sheiks are the greatest rascals and tyrants in the
country, though they themselves are frequently oppressed and beaten by
their Turkish masters.
Footnote 81:
The Defterdar at the period of our tale was a relative of Mohammed
Ali, and was an officer possessed of vast power and influence. It may
be added that his cruelty was commensurate with his power. The
re-mensuration of the cultivable lands had been intrusted entirely to
him, and he was responsible for the revenues of the enormous extent of
land which the mistaken policy of Mohammed Ali had led him to take
into his own hands. Despite the energetic vigour of the Viceroy and
the severity of the Defterdar, these lands never produced one-half of
the amount which they would have returned had they been farmed to a
number of tenants, or to the villagers themselves.
Footnote 82:
One hundred _ardebs_ are equivalent to sixty-three imperial quarters.
Footnote 83:
The reader is doubtless aware that in oriental houses there exist
neither tables, chairs, cupboards, nor shelves. The last are replaced
by niches and recesses of various forms and sizes made in the walls of
the room, and in well-furnished houses these niches exhibit goodly
rows of china, glass, scent-bottles, &c.
Footnote 84:
Most of the finely-tempered oriental blades, especially those of
ancient manufacture, have stamped upon them, near the hilt, “There is
no God but Allah,” or some short sentence from the Koran.
Footnote 85:
Among the Orientals, Youssuf—_i.e._, Joseph—was and still remains the
proverbial type of manly beauty in the prime of youth. In the Eastern
legends the frail helpmate of Potiphar has been changed into a lovely
and high-born maiden, called Zuleika. The loves of this couple are
referred to in one of the most eloquent chapters of the Koran, and
have since been celebrated by Arab and Persian poets innumerable.
Footnote 86:
A dark powder used in the East.
Footnote 87:
I suppose it is well known that on entering a carpeted apartment in
the East it is customary to leave the slippers near the door, or at
all events on the stone or marble floor at the outer edge of the
carpet.
Footnote 88:
The sketch given of this Egyptian Messalina is not imaginary, neither
will it be difficult of recognition to any of the older residents in
Cairo. The author, while passing in a boat before that window which
has been made the scene of Hassan’s leap, has often been told by the
Nile boatmen, “That is the window from which the bodies of her hapless
lovers were thrown when she was tired of them.” The tale may be
exaggerated, or perhaps invented; but at all events it shows the
reputation enjoyed by the lady in question. Her crimes were not
unknown to Mohammed Ali, for the author was once informed by a near
relative of the old Viceroy that, on the occasion of some flagrant
outrage similar to that described in the text, he was himself ordered
by the indignant Prince to put her to death; and it was only by dint
of urgent entreaties that he succeeded in procuring a commutation of
the bloody sentence to a stern threat of summary punishment in case
the offence should be repeated.
Footnote 89:
It must not be inferred from this that Mohammed Ali could not read:
though not a good scholar, he could decipher a plainly written letter;
but he rarely did so, and disuse made it daily a more troublesome and
difficult task.
Footnote 90:
The walks in the Shoobra garden were then fancifully paved with
parti-coloured pebbles. These walks have all been destroyed, and
carriage-roads made through the garden.
Footnote 91:
It has before been noted that the Egyptians, when speaking of the
Viceroy, always use the word Effendina or Effendiniz—the former being
the Arabic form, the latter the Turkish, for “Our lord.” The English
word Viceroy has been generally used in this tale as being shorter and
better known.
Footnote 92:
It would be unwarrantable to introduce, even in a work of fiction,
such a charge against the memory of a man who, with all his faults,
was certainly a great and sagacious Prince, had it not some foundation
in truth. But it was stated to the author by Abbas Pasha himself that
he fully believed that his father had been poisoned by Mohammed Ali’s
order. The author asked him whether there was any circumstantial
evidence to corroborate this suspicion. “Yes,” he replied. “The news
of his death was conveyed from Lower Egypt to Mohammed Ali’s
confidential household officer by a swift courier. The officer,
ignorant of his master’s views, and afraid of the effect which might
be produced on him by the sudden announcement of his son’s death,
proceeded to break the intelligence to him with caution, saying, ‘My
lord, news is arrived of Toussoun Pasha.’ ‘When—how did he die?’ was
the answer. How,” continued Abbas Pasha, “could he have known or
guessed that a man in the prime of life had suddenly died unless he
had himself decreed it?” There was certainly force in the argument;
but as all substantial evidence is wanting, we must be satisfied with
the universal Arabic conclusion on such matters—“Allah knows.” Another
reflection naturally arises from this tragedy—namely, that when we
remember the energy and severity of Mohammed Ali’s character, it seems
incredible that if a favourite son, and one of the bravest commanders
in his army, had been suddenly carried off by poison in the prime of
life without any order or connivance of his own, no open and diligent
examination of the officers of the Prince’s household should have been
made, and no medical inquiry as to the causes of death have been
instituted. Such domestic tragedies are so common in the East that
they create but little sensation on the spot. The fate of the son
resembled that of the father. There is little doubt but that Abbas
Pasha, the late Viceroy, was strangled in his bed by two Mamelukes who
had lately entered his service, highly recommended by certain persons
in Constantinople. They had stolen money from his harem, and he had
threatened them with punishment. They were the only two on duty close
to his bedroom on the night of his sudden death. They disappeared
immediately after it, yet no real search was made for them; no public
or satisfactory medical examination of the body was allowed; it was
buried in unseemly haste, and with nothing of viceregal pomp. Crowds
of sycophants flocked to the divan of the successor, and a very short
time afterwards the author was informed that one of the supposed
murderers had become an officer in the Egyptian army!
Footnote 93:
One of the ninety-nine names of God among the Arabs.
Footnote 94:
On account of the strong currents and numerous shoals and mudbanks
that occur in the Nile, it is usual to fasten the boats to the banks
at sunset and pursue the navigation at daybreak. During the night a
certain number of guards or watchmen are hired from the nearest
village, and while they watch (or sleep, as it may be) on the banks
near the dahabiah, its owners and their property are usually secure
from robbery.
Footnote 95:
This phrase is rather Persian than Turkish, and arises not only from
the fine sense of hearing supposed to be conferred by the long ears of
the hare, but also from a popular belief that even when asleep pussy
has one eye open.
Footnote 96:
In the Nile, as in most alluvial rivers, the strongest currents are
always under the high and precipitous bank; and it often happens that
for several miles successively the strongest swimmer could not land on
that side.
Footnote 97:
Hassan’s object being to frighten away any crocodiles which might be
near.
Footnote 98:
In Hassan’s mouth the word Arab signified Bedouins; for he would not
apply that honourable name to fellahs or the dwellers in villages.
Footnote 99:
The wit-wat is the Arabic name for a kind of curlew very common in
Egypt.
Footnote 100:
One of the Eastern names for the nightingale.
Footnote 101:
The word literally translated in the text “wild ox” is the
_bakr-el-wachsh_, a very large and powerful species of antelope found
in the deserts bordering on Egypt.
Footnote 102:
It is probably known to most readers that nine out of ten Arabic
proper names have reference to the Deity or the religion of Islam. The
name Abd-hoo, literally “His servant,” means “the servant of God.” The
pronoun “He,” when standing apart from any person referred to in a
sentence, always has reference to Allah.
Footnote 103:
Wrestling-matches (called _musàara_ in Arabic and _kushty_ in Persian)
are a very favourite exercise among the populations of both countries,
and at them, as at the games of cricket in England and curling in
Scotland, the higher and lower classes contend on a footing of
equality. A highly respected and talented British Minister at the
Court of Tehran used frequently to “try a fall” with some of his own
servants at a gymnasium near the mission residence. We insert this
note in order to prevent our readers from supposing that our hero had
degraded himself by accepting the unexpected challenge of the
Darfouri.
Footnote 104:
_Latif_ signifies courteous, polite, amiable, &c.
Footnote 105:
Lest the reader should suppose that this scene has been exaggerated or
represents a state of superstition no longer existing at Cairo, it may
be as well to mention that it was witnessed by the author exactly as
here described in the summer of 1852.
Footnote 106:
This incident actually occurred at Cairo in 1849-50.
Footnote 107:
This incident also actually took place, though somewhat later than the
period of our tale.
Footnote 108:
Loose trousers, generally made of cotton.
Footnote 109:
_Moharrabin_ are deserters from the Egyptian army, who sometimes
infest the provinces in considerable numbers; and as many have with
them their arms and accoutrements, and are always joined by thieves
and runaways from justice, they are marauders very formidable to
travellers and caravans.
Footnote 110:
_Sant_, the Arabic name for the _Acacia nilotica_. It is a
thorn-bearing variety, its wood very hard, and its yellow flower
extremely fragrant.
Footnote 111:
Thebes, in Upper Egypt, is vulgarly called “Luxor,” a corruption of
its proper Arabic name “El-Uksor.” The name Thebes is completely
unknown to the natives.
Footnote 112:
Dervish Bey had never heard of the “gallant Ormond”; but the feelings
and instincts of parental love are in all ages and climes alike.
Footnote 113:
The Fat’hah is the opening chapter of the Koran. It is recited at
least once on all solemn occasions among the Moslems, and, being very
short, is known by heart by many among them, who, like Mohammed Ali,
know little more of the contents of their sacred book.
Footnote 114:
A slang term for arrack.
Footnote 115:
Alluding to a popular tale, in which four or five women, wives of a
_bakkal_ or grocer, came before the _câdi_ to make a complaint against
their husband. They stormed and scolded all at once, and made such a
din in the court that not a word could be heard or understood. When at
length they stopped for want of breath, the _câdi_ dismissed the case,
saying, “There is no crime of which the man can have been guilty that
is not sufficiently punished by his having those women for wives.”
Footnote 116:
_Yuzbashi_, literally centurion, or captain over one hundred—a rank in
the Egyptian army corresponding to that of lieutenant.
Footnote 117:
The “Ezn-el-âshah” is the muezzin’s call to prayer about two hours
after sunset.
Footnote 118:
A very common phrase in Turkish for a “mad-cap.” It means literally
“mad-blood.”
Footnote 119:
The episode of the conspiracy described above is founded on fact but
it took place some years before the date assigned to our tale. One day
when I was sitting _tête-à-tête_ with Mohammed Ali, he spoke very
disparagingly of Ibrahim Pasha. I observed, “Yet on the occasion of
that dangerous conspiracy against your Highness’s life Ibrahim behaved
well, and gave no encouragement to it.” “He dared not,” replied the
Old Lion; “but it was only fear that withheld him.” I shall never
forget the fire that flashed from his eyes as he uttered these words.
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