EGYPT.
Resuming my narrative, my readers will be interested by a slight sketch
of Egypt. This country, now called by the natives “Messir,” was styled,
in the Hebrew Scriptures, “The land of Mizraim”—a strange similarity in
the two names, which places it beyond a doubt that, however much the face
of the country may have been changed since the days of Moses and the
children of Israel, and though consecutively under the sway of
governments and people whose language and dialects varied in the extreme,
the same original name has been faithfully preserved, though corrupted
and abbreviated by various pronunciations given to it by various people.
A land of troubles and misery it has been through many long centuries,
from the fearful days when Aaron’s rod manifested the supreme power of
the God of Abraham before the eyes of an unbelieving and stiff-necked
people, down to within the last few years. The frightful devastations
committed by the plague, and the extermination of the Mameluke power;
these have been the last manifest outpourings of the wrath of God. Let
us hope that the full cup of indignation has been poured out and emptied
to the dregs; and that the prophetic words of Isaiah have been fulfilled
as far as regards the curse, and that the predicted blessing is about to
fall upon the land. “The Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal
it; and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall heal them,” etc.
(Isaiah xix. 22–25).
The striking allusion made to the fertility of the soil of Egypt in Gen.
xli. 47—“The earth brought forth by handfuls”—is still exemplified by the
produce. Corn is so plentiful, that cargoes are annually shipped for the
maintenance of other lands, and when the famine was sorely felt in the
neighbouring countries, whole fleets of vessels, laden with corn from
Alexandria, brought to England timely succour to starving multitudes, and
enriched the coffers of not a few speculative merchants, who made the
miseries of their fellow-beings a means of advancing their own welfare in
the world.
There is little doubt but that Egypt has made great strides in
civilisation under the sway of the present enlightened viceroy; for we
have daily evidence of her continued improvement. Abbas Pasha is now
only about forty-five years of age; he is the son of the eldest son of
Mahomet Ali Pasha, and, therefore, according to the Egyptian rule, which
gives precedence to the brother or his children, became entitled to the
throne after the decease of Ibrahim, whose children, in some countries,
would have been considered lawful successors. Abbas Pasha, unlike his
predecessor, whose habits greatly contributed to curtail his life, is a
man of very moderate and temperate style of living; he has but one wife,
and, by this lady, an only son, now about twelve years of age. At the
recommendation of the honorable Mr. Murray, the late British
consul-general in Egypt, the viceroy sent to England to engage a tutor
for the education of this son in English, and Mr. Artin, an English
lawyer, was the lucky individual fixed upon.
No sooner had Mr. Artin arrived in Egypt, than Abbas Pasha promoted him
to the dignity of Bey, and he now ranks amongst the nobles of the land.
The Pasha having set the example himself, strongly recommended all his
ministers to have their children educated in like manner; and I have
little doubt but that this good advice will, in the course of time, be
adopted. He also sends annually a number of young men to England to be
educated, who naturally take back with them a strong predilection for the
people with whom they have for some time resided. This will tend greatly
to introduce a love of English civilisation and improvements in the
country.
Amongst other improvements, Abbas Pasha has built himself a magnificent
palace, Darr il Bedah, midway between Cairo and Suez. This good work
excited the satire and spleen of the French people, who insisted that it
was an act of insanity, throwing away money upon such a palace, situated
in the desert; but, apart from its having given occupation and bread to
thousands of starving inhabitants, the very fact of the Pasha making this
place his favourite summer resort, has drawn the attention of the natives
to the capabilities of the soil in the neighbourhood, and the place, from
being a barren wilderness, is being rapidly brought into cultivation;
villages are springing up; and, in addition to all this, the roads have
been put into excellent order—not a trifling boon conferred upon the vast
number of English travellers that are continually crossing this desert.
The steamers on the Nile, and the railway now in course of construction,
are still greater proofs of the Pasha’s enlightened and civilised mind.
Abdallah Pasha, an Englishman who some time since embraced Mahomedanism,
was appointed director of the transit, and the Pasha promoted him to that
grade because he thought no one else competent to discharge the duties of
the post. The truth of the matter is, that the English never commanded
greater influence than they do at this present day in Egypt; they are
looked up to and considered as everybody and everything; and for this
they have much to thank the able and honourable Mr. Murray. To give an
example of how far this influence with the Pasha extended, I may mention
that, some time since, two hundred Copts were compelled to enlist as
soldiers. Now these Copts are Christians, and their sufferings amongst
the Moslem Fellahs can be more readily conceived than described; their
friends and families succeeded in interesting Mr. Murray on their behalf,
who interceded with the Pasha; and the result was, that they were
immediately discharged from the army. But to shew how much and how
sincerely Abbas Pasha appreciates the worth of such a man as the late
British consul-general, the best proof I can give is, that when a sad
calamity befell Mr. Murray, and his amiable lady died, the viceroy
ordered all his ministers and head officials to go into mourning for her,
and to follow her remains to the grave. Such a funeral was never
witnessed in modern Egypt. All the nobles of the land, and the first
gentry, without distinction of creed, with black crape round their left
arms and round their red caps, following in mournful procession this
highly respected English lady to her grave. If a potentate had died,
greater honours could not have been rendered; this act is without
precedent in the East.
During my stay in Egypt, I resided with my kind friend Mr. Raphael Abet.
Mr. Abet is one of three brothers; they were from Syria, and eventually
settled in Egypt. These three brothers were all eminent for their piety
and their charity. One unfortunately died prematurely; but he has left
behind him an undying name, having bequeathed an immense fortune for the
support of charity schools and other similar philanthropic institutions.
The brother, of whose kind hospitalities I so abundantly partook during
my sojourn in Egypt (and whom I cannot refrain from thanking through the
medium of these pages), is equally well known for his benevolence and
good deeds. On the occasion of the revolution in Greece, in 1823, when
the Turks took several females and children prisoners, and carried them
away to be sold as captives in other countries, several of these
unfortunates found a friend and deliverer in Mr. Abet. Not a few of the
captives were carried into Egypt, and there sold. Many of these were, at
a great outlay, purchased by him, who treated them in every respect as
though they had been his own children; he fed, clothed, and educated
them, and eventually they married and settled comfortably in life. One
of the Messrs. Abet is now established in London as a mercantile man; and
I am sure all who know him will bear me out in pronouncing him to be a
good man and a devout Christian.
Whilst on the subject of Egyptian friends and acquaintances, I must not
neglect to mention the name of that good man Mr. Larking, who has left
behind him in Egypt many a souvenir of which any Englishman might well be
proud; his name is gratefully remembered by all classes in Egypt, from
the viceroy himself down to the meanest peasant. Mr. Larking, on first
establishing himself in Egypt, so ingratiated himself with the Pasha,
that in a very short time he was permitted to purchase whole villages,
over which he ruled with as absolute sway as any Egyptian landowner. The
country round these villages he soon brought into the richest state of
cultivation: and so lenient a master, one under whom they reaped so many
hitherto unheard-of benefits, made the peasants almost adore the name of
Mr. Larking. Not only did he ameliorate the condition of his own land by
the introduction of a superior method of cultivation, but he conferred a
boon upon the whole of Egypt by procuring at some expense and trouble,
the Sea-Island cotton seed, which has succeeded beyond the most sanguine
expectations, and for the sample of it, which was shewn at the Great
Exhibition, Mr. Larking obtained the prize. The viceroy was, of course,
much gratified and pleased at this; and he has bestowed many costly gifts
on Mr. Larking as expressive of his approbation; besides which, that
gentleman has been appointed to act as the Viceroy’s confidential agent
in England. This is only one of the many instances in which commoners
have been raised to a high rank by Mehemet Ali Pasha, who being of
obscure origin, took delight in raising to power those whose personal
merits and talents brought them before his notice. Amongst the Viceroy’s
favourites was one who particularly deserves our notice, viz., the late
Boghas Bey. An Armenian by birth, and of no great opulence or particular
parentage, Boghas Bey was possessed of all those good qualities which
cannot fail to endear one even to the most savage breast: his charities
were proverbial even to the detriment of his own personal interest. Step
by step he rose in the Viceroy’s favour, till he had so far ingratiated
himself with the Pasha, that Boghas was created a Bey, and had other high
distinctions conferred upon him. He might have accumulated immense
wealth, for the Viceroy’s heart and hand were ever open to confer great
benefits upon him, but Boghas Bey preferred to serve his master
gratuitously; and even the produce of the gifts of land forced upon his
acceptance, went towards the maintenance of the poor, and many widows and
orphans bless his name even to this day. But to shew how dangerous it is
to be a favourite at Oriental courts, and how it subjects one to the vile
jealousies of courtiers, even Boghas, favourite as he was, was well nigh
falling a victim to the viceroy’s susceptibility and the villany of
others. Some miscreants had misrepresented his character and actions to
the Pasha, who, in a paroxysm of rage, ordered an officer in attendance
to go instantly to the supposed delinquent’s house, and have him drowned
in the Nile. As good fortune would have it, Boghas had on some previous
occasion saved this very officer’s head, and the man gratefully
remembering this, hid Boghas in his own house, intending to facilitate
his escape to some other country. This was a bold stroke, and one worthy
of great praise. Next morning the viceroy was sadly out of spirits; his
wrath had not only calmed down, but circumstances had actually transpired
which cleared his favourite of all suspicion. Great then was the
viceroy’s consternation and grief on being informed that his orders had
been executed to the letter: he tore his beard and gave way to
exclamations of such sincere sorrow, that the officer took courage to
prostrate himself at the viceroy’s feet, and explain how matters really
stood. It is needless to say that he was readily pardoned, and Boghas
received into higher favour than ever. At last, however, a sterner
executioner than the one sent by the Pasha knocked at Boghas Bey’s door.
Death came armed, and the good man died, to the universal sorrow of the
Pasha and all Cairo. Such had been his munificence during his lifetime,
that at his death he was almost a bankrupt. The viceroy, determined to
carry his esteem to the last, ordered him a public funeral, at which all
the Egyptian officials and European consuls and merchants were invited to
attend. So that Boghas was buried with honours such as are rarely paid
to a prince in that country.
Of course during my stay in Egypt, I had often opportunities of visiting
all the known antiquities, and amongst others the celebrated Pyramids,
those noble testimonies of the bygone splendour of the land, and whose
age and founders seem destined ever to remain a mystery. A friend of
mine, a great antiquarian, and one deeply read in profane and sacred
history, used to delight in holding forth to me his speculations as to
their origin. His opinion was, that it must be erroneous to imagine that
these pyramids were the handiwork of the Israelites. In support of this
argument he quoted from many authorities, and amongst others from a
well-known traveller who saw at one place the people making bricks with
straw cut into small pieces, mingled with the clay to bind it. Hence it
is, that when villages built of this brick fall into decay, the roads are
full of small particles of straw, extremely offensive to the eyes in a
high wind. These persons were engaged, exactly as the Israelites used to
be, making bricks with straw, and for a similar purpose, viz„ to build
extensive granaries for the Pasha—“_treasure cities for Pharaoh_.” Hence
my friend argued that the Israelites laboured in making bricks, not in
hewing stones such as the pyramids are constructed with; but I do not
pretend to enter into any argument upon so learned and obscure a subject:
I certainly was surprised at the magnificence of their structure, and
often wondered within myself where the stones came from, by what means
they were transported, and by what now unknown force or lever such huge
blocks were raised up one above another, and so left a firm memento
through centuries, despite convulsions of the earth, to stand forth as
objects of surprise and admiration to the visitors of the present
generation.
With regard to the climate of Egypt, I believe it to be as good as many
parts of Syria, though the heat is certainly more intense, and even I
myself suffered from languor and oppression; but then the mornings and
evenings fully recompense you for the sultrier heat of the day, and I
never recollect to have enjoyed a summer’s moonlight night more than I
did upon the Nile. The European residents in general enjoy excellent
health; and few that have resided there long would wish to change their
method of living, or the country they live in.
In Cairo, the Consular Square contains many very handsome buildings,
inhabited principally by the consuls of various nations, and some of the
more wealthy European merchants. With my friend Mr. Walne, the British
Consul at Cairo, I have spent many a pleasant hour, and for his great
kindness and hospitality, I am glad to have an opportunity of thus
publicly thanking him. Mr. W. is the head of the Egyptian Society, who
have a very fine library, consisting chiefly of works relating to the
antiquities and country of Egypt. The valuable books contained in this
library are at all times, with perfect goodwill, placed at the disposal
of strangers; and I gratefully acknowledge having derived useful
information and amusement from the well-stocked shelves of this
institution.
A great source of comfort to English families residing in Egypt, is the
punctual regularity with which the European mails arrive and depart; for,
besides meeting almost weekly with swarms of their countrymen and fair
countrywomen flocking to and from India, they have constantly fresh news
from home, and can, upon any great emergency, transport themselves from
the warm clime of Egypt to their own much-loved foggy island within the
fortnight. Besides this, they are continually receiving newspapers from
all parts of the world possessing the advantage over England of being
cognisant of Indian and Australian news a fortnight before such
intelligence could reach London; and this for merchants connected by
trade with both places, must naturally be of paramount importance.
During winter, the Europeans at Cairo are much given to festivities;
dinner-parties and balls and soirées are then the order of the day, and
great good feeling exists amongst the residents. Even private
theatricals have been attempted; but it is during the Carnival that Cairo
resounds with merriment, and masques and grotesque-looking figures, with
torches and music, parade the streets from house to house till long after
midnight, few enjoying the fun better than the native Cairines
themselves. The gentlemen have shooting parties and coursing matches;
the ladies ride out in the environs; they have healthy exercise, good
houses, and the best of fare—all the productions of the East blended with
the luxuries imported from European markets; and in this respect, as well
as in conversing with and meeting more frequently ladies and gentlemen of
their own nation, the English at Cairo possess advantages over the
English in Syria. All the former have to complain of is the sultry heat
of the weather, whilst the latter are isolated, and bemoan their solitude
and the great lack of intelligent society.
On leaving Egypt, I came back to England _viâ_ Marseilles. I had barely
arrived at this latter port before I again had the misfortune of coming
into contact with the gendarmes. On a former occasion, as the reader may
recollect, I got into a scrape by inadvertently emptying a basin of water
out of the hotel window over the head and shoulders of a fiery French
officer. This time I had brought with me a little parcel of tobacco, to
distribute amongst a few of my friends. They wanted to make out a case
of smuggling against me; but no sooner did I produce my passport, to shew
that I was attached to the Turkish embassy, than these officious
officials changed their conduct, and quite overpowered me with their
civilities. Truly Marseilles is an unlucky place for me. I here also
had a sample of the bad management of travelling in France. I took a
first-class ticket direct from Marseilles to Paris by diligence. On my
arrival at Lyons, I was told that I must remain until next morning,
unless I consented to travel in an inferior part of the carriage. This,
notwithstanding my urgent remonstrances, I was compelled to do, owing to
the necessity of my being in Paris by a certain date; and, though exposed
to many inconveniences, I was so fortunate as to arrive there in time.
My stay at Paris was limited to a few days, and I then came on to London
and delivered my despatches to his excellency our respected ambassador,
who immediately recognised me as one of his suite, and who has ever since
continued to treat me with the greatest urbanity. So soon as my official
duties permitted, I went the round of my kind friends in London, and
amongst others, was delighted to see the Honourable George Massey, my old
and well-tried friend, who insisted upon my taking up my abode at his
house, where I remain surrounded by every comfort and luxury that
kindness and forethought can provide, and happy in the enjoyment of the
society of a genuine English family.
The handsome present of horses lately sent by Abbas Pasha to the Queen of
England, clearly testifies the good feeling existing between the two
governments, and how much the viceroy wishes to keep up those friendly
feelings so successfully cultivated and maintained. One of the horses
above alluded to is of the largest and most valuable and rare breed; and
there is little doubt but that the English nation will hereafter be
indebted to Abbas Pasha for the possession of a breed of horses now
unknown in England. The horses were sent to this country under the
charge of Nubar Bey, an Armenian, a native of Smyrna, a relative of
Boghas Bey, who is much esteemed by the Pasha and the Egyptians. He
received a first-rate education in Europe, and speaks several of its
languages with fluency; he accompanied Ibrahim Pasha on his visit to this
country a few years back as interpreter-secretary, and since that time
has visited several European courts on various diplomatic missions, and
now holds a high appointment under the Egyptian government.
The grooms who accompanied these horses were much astonished on seeing
the Queen; they could not believe that so mild and gentle a lady could be
possessed of such power and influence over the whole world; they were
confident she must have a most clever magician in her employ, through
whose arts she had attained so elevated a rank, and won such a share of
their viceroy’s admiration. When they called to see me at
Cambridge-square, amongst other articles of furniture, etc., which
attracted their attention and admiration, was a little mantle-piece
ornament, representing the three graces, of exquisite workmanship; they
immediately set these down as household gods of the English, and it was
with difficulty I could convince them to the contrary, and assure them
that these, in common with many other nic-nacs, were simply used as
ornaments to the room. These poor fellows were very grateful for the
kindness shewn them by Mr. Massey and his family, who procured for them
tickets of admission to many of the most interesting sights in London;
and after partaking of his hospitality, they returned in a few days to
Egypt, begging me to assure my friend and his family that, if ever he
chanced to travel in Egypt, they hoped to have it in their power to shew
him the antiquities of that country; and, though they could not boast of
so magnificent a seraijah, or such furniture, or such sumptuous fare,
still a good pillaf, a chibuk of tobacco, and a finjan of coffee, should
be always at his disposal. Mr. Massey was much pleased at the simple
good nature of these people. Before taking leave, I asked them their
opinion of England and its people. They replied, both were wonderful;
but they still preferred their own native country. That the English
thought but of the present, and lived for this world alone; but that they
looked forward to a hereafter, in which they hoped to be amply
recompensed by all the sensual enjoyments a Mahomedan paradise promises
for the numerous mortifications now endured in the flesh.