at Alexandria in July 1842; but that city, with its double harbour, its
quays crowded with a motley assemblage of every nation and language in
Europe and the Levant, and the monuments of antiquity in its environs, has
been too often described to present too much opportunity for novelty of
remark. Passing over, therefore, the details given of these well-known
objects, we find the party, after a rapid passage along the Mahmoodiyeh
canal in an iron track-boat, drawn by four horses, and a vexatious delay
of two days at the junction of the canal and the river, (during which the
want of musquitto-curtains gave them an ample foretaste of the quantity
and quality of the insect plagues of Egypt,) fairly embarked on the broad
stream of the Nile. The voyage to Cairo was performed in a _kanjeh_, or
passage-boat of the kind usual on the river--a long, narrow craft, with
two masts, bearing large triangular sails; and Mrs Poole, in common with
most travellers arriving for the first time in the East, was greatly
impressed by the simple devotion with which the Reyyis (or Arab captain)
and his crew commended themselves, on setting sail, to the protection of
Providence, by reciting altogether, in a low voice, the short prayer of
the _Fathah_, or opening chapter of the Koran. "The sight of the Muslim
engaged in his devotions is, I think, most interesting; the attitudes are
particularly striking and impressive; and the solemn demeanour of the
worshipper, who, even in the busy market-place, appears wholly abstracted
from the world, is very remarkable. The practice of praying in a public
place is so general in the East, and attracts so little notice from
Muslims, that we must not regard it as the result of hypocrisy or
ostentation."
As the kanjeh lay to at night to avoid danger from sand-banks, the
travellers were three days in reaching Cairo; and found little to interest
them in the contemplation of the banks of the Nile, which at this season
are destitute of the brilliant verdure which clothes them for some time
after the inundation. On arriving at Boulak, the authoress for the first
time shrouded herself in the cumbrous folds of a Turkish riding-dress, "an
overwhelming covering of black silk, extending, in my idea, in every
direction;" and mounted on a donkey, she followed her janissary guide
through the dilapidated suburb, "and at length we fairly entered Cairo....
The first impression on entering this celebrated city is, that it has the
appearance of having been deserted for perhaps a century, and suddenly
re-peopled by persons, unable, from poverty or some other cause, to repair
it, and clear away its antiquated cobwebs.... I wrote to you that the
streets of Alexandria were narrow; they are _wide_ compared to those of
Cairo. The _meshreebeyehs_, or projecting windows, facing each other above
the ground floor, literally touch in _some_ instances, and in _many_, the
opposite windows are within reach.... After passing through several of the
streets, into which it appeared as though the dwellings had turned out
nearly all their inhabitants, we arrived at an agreeable house in the
midst of gardens, in which we are to take up our temporary residence."
The plan of these gardens, however, intersected by parallel walks, with
gutters on each side to convey water into the intermediate squares, was so
much at variance with Mrs Poole's English notions of horticulture, that
she was almost tempted to conclude, "that a garden in Egypt was not worth
cultivation--so much for national prejudice!" As it was indispensable for
the health of the children that their residence should be fixed in the
outskirts of the city, some delay was experienced in finding a permanent
abode; but at the end of a month they considered themselves fortunate in
engaging a house "infinitely beyond the usual run," in the most healthy
and cheerful quarter, for which the rent demanded by the landlady, (who
bore the picturesque name of Lalah-Zar, or _Bed of Tulips_,) was only L.12
per annum. The arrangement of the apartments was nearly as described by Mr
Lane in his account of the private houses in Cairo--(_Modern Egyptians_,
i. p. 11:) on the ground-floor a court, open to the sky, round which were
the rooms appropriated to the male inhabitants, while a gallery, running
round the first floor, conducted to the hareem, consisting of two
principal apartments, and "three small marble paved rooms, forming _en
suite_ an antechamber, a reclining chamber, and a bath. Above are four
rooms, the principal one opening to a delightful terrace, considerably
above most of the surrounding houses, and on this we enjoy our breakfast
and supper under the clearest sky in the world." But scarcely had the
establishment been removed into this new residence, when it became evident
that something was _not right_. The two maid-servants, Amineh and Zeyneb,
disappeared one after the other without giving warning--strange noises
were heard, which were at first ascribed to the wedding rejoicings of a
neighbour, but an explanation was at last elicited from the doorkeeper.
The house was haunted by an 'Efreet, (ghost or evil spirit,) in
consequence of the murder of a poor tradesman and two slave girls by the
previous owner, who had bequeathed it to Lalah-Zar, with reversion
(perhaps in hope of expiating his crimes) to a mosque. One of the victims
had perished in the bath, and like Praed's[17] Abbess of St Ursula, who
"From evensong to matins,
In gallery and scullery,
And kitchen and refectory,
Still tramp'd it in her pattens,"
the angry spirit stalked at night, apparently in heavy clogs like those
worn in the bath, knocking at the doors, and uttering unearthly sounds,
which allowed no sleep to the inmates. In vain had poor Lalah-Zar
endeavoured to appease this unwelcome intruder, which had driven tenant
after tenant from the house, by distributing bread to the poor at the
tomb of the late owner; the annoyance continued undiminished--pieces of
charcoal were left at the doors, equivalent to the imprecation, "May your
faces be blackened!" and no female servant would remain in the house, it
being universally believed that the touch of an 'Efreet renders a woman a
demoniac. The Ramadan (during which it is held that all 'Efreets are
chained up,) brought a temporary respite; and they flattered themselves
that they had succeeded in barring out the intruder; but with the
conclusion of the fast the disturbances were resumed with increased
violence. At length a new doorkeeper, worn out with want of sleep,
obtained permission to fire at the phantom, which he said he saw every
night in the gallery, alleging that 'Efreets were always destroyed by the
discharge of fire-arms. At midnight the house was startled by the report
of a pistol, which it afterwards appeared had been loaded, contrary to
orders, with a brace of bullets: the voice of the doorkeeper was heard
crying, "There he lies, the accursed;" and sounds and cries were heard,
which convinced them all that _somebody_ had been shot. "It passed me in
the gallery," said the doorkeeper, "when I thus addressed it, 'Shall we
quit this house, or will you do so?' 'You shall quit it,' he answered; and
he threw dust into my right eye: this proved it was a devil. It stopped in
that corner, and I observed it attentively. It was tall, and perfectly
white. Before it moved again I discharged the pistol, and the accursed was
struck down before me, and here are the remains." So saying, he picked up
a small burnt mass, resembling more the sole of a shoe than any thing
else, but perforated by fire in several places, and literally burnt to a
cinder. This he asserted (agreeably with a popular opinion) was always the
relic when a devil was destroyed.
The mystery remained unexplained, though we fear that most sober Franks
(in spite of the corroboration afforded to the doorkeeper's theory by the
high authority of the _Thousand and One Nights_[18]) will be tempted to
share Mrs Poole's scepticism as to the remains of a devil assuming the
shape of the calcined sole of an old shoe: but after an interval of peace,
they were eventually compelled, by a renewal of the attack, to abandon the
haunted house--and those who succeeded them fared even worse. Six families
were driven out in as many weeks--their windows broken, and their china
demolished by invisible hands, not only by night, but in broad day--"and
now," says Mrs Poole, "I have done with this subject. I have said much
upon it; but I must be held excusable, as ''tis passing strange.'"
The annoyance of this spectral warfare, which continued many months, had
not prevented Mrs Poole (in spite of the _desagremens_ of flies, "black
thick-legged spiders," and handmaidens, "who scarcely ever wash themselves
except when they go to the bath, which is once in about ten days or a
fortnight") from becoming gradually at home in her Egyptian residence, and
tolerably familiarized with the language and manners of the country. She
had even adopted the native manner of eating; and had habituated herself
to wear the Turkish dress with such ease, as to witness unsuspected the
splendid procession of the _Mahmal_,[19] or emblem of royalty, which
precedes the march of the pilgrim caravan to Mekka--an occasion on which
the boys of Cairo enjoy a kind of saturnalia, and are privileged to
maltreat any Christian or Jew who may be detected near the route. Under
the guidance of an elderly Muslim friend of her brother, she had also
entered the principal mosques of Cairo, including that of the Hasaneyn
(the grandsons of the prophet, Hasan and Hoseyn) and the Zame-el-Azhar,
the two most sacred edifices of Cairo. But the Azhar (splendid mosque) is
not only the _cathedral_ mosque of the Egyptian capital, but the
principal, and perhaps in the present day the only Moslem university. In
the _riwaks_, or apartments appropriated to students from different
countries, chiefly poor scholars supported by the funds of the mosque,
"after passing successively among natives of different divisions of Egypt,
we find ourselves in the company of people of Mekkeh and El-Medeeneh; then
in the midst of Syrians; in another minute among Muslims of Central
Africa; next among Magharbeh, (or natives of Northern Africa west of
Egypt;) then with European and Asiatic Turks; and quitting these, we are
introduced to Persians, and Muslims of India; we may almost fancy
ourselves transported through their respective countries. No sight in
Cairo interested me more than the interior of the Azhar; and the many and
great obstacles which present themselves when a Christian, and more
especially a Christian lady, desires to obtain admission into this
celebrated mosque, make me proud of having enjoyed the privilege of
walking leisurely through its extensive porticoes, and observing its
heterogeneous students engaged in listening to the lectures of their
professors."
A far different _locale_ from the cloisters of the Azhar, into which Mrs
Poole was, perhaps, induced to penetrate by the example of Mrs Dawson
Damer, was the _maristan_, or madhouse, perhaps the oldest public
establishment of the kind in the world, as it was attached by the Baharite
Sultan Kalaoon to the mosque which he founded in 1284. "Our ears were
assailed by the most discordant yells as soon as we entered the passage
leading to the cells," where the lunatics were chained like wild beasts,
the men in one court and the women in another. Each was confined in a
separate cell with a small grated window, and with nothing but the bare
floor to rest upon--while many, especially of the women, had not an
article of clothing--yet they appeared to be sufficiently supplied with
food, and mildly treated by their guardians; "and I think this gentleness
of manner in the keepers was not assumed for the time, for the lunatics
did not appear to fear them."--"I was ill prepared for the sight of such
misery, and was leaving the court, when I heard a voice exclaiming in a
melancholy tone of supplication, 'Stay, O my mistress; give me five paras
for tobacco before you go.' I turned, and the entreaty was repeated by a
very nice-looking old woman, who was very grateful when I assured her that
she should have what she required; and the woman who was the
superintendent gave her the trifle for me." This establishment was then,
however, on the point of being broken up, as the patients were to be
removed to another hospital, where they would be placed under the care of
the pasha's French surgeon-general, Clot Bey.
"The Turkish is the only European language," says Mr Urquhart in his
eloquent but fanciful work, the _Spirit of the East_, "which possesses, in
the word _harem_, a synonyme for home, but it implies a great deal
more.... To picture a Turkish woman, I would beg the reader, if possible,
to fancy to himself a women without vanity or affectation, perfectly
simple and natural, and preserving the manners and the type of her
childhood in the full blossom and fructification of her passions and her
charms." This is indeed the language of an enthusiast, in whose eyes all
is light which comes from the East; but the winning grace and gentle
courtesy of the Turco-Egyptian ladies of rank, as portrayed in Mrs Poole's
interesting sketches of the domestic life of the hareems which she
visited, go far to justify the character given of them by their eulogist.
For her introduction to these, the _exclusive_ circles of Cairo, as well
as for the more than friendly reception which she there met with, Mrs
Poole professes herself indebted "to the kindness of Mrs Sieder, the lady
of our excellent resident missionary, who has gained the confidence of the
most distinguished hareems," aided in no small degree, we have reason to
believe, by the general estimation in which her brother was held among his
Muslim acquaintance. In this novel species of social intercourse, Mrs
Poole showed much tact, wearing the Turkish dress, which is admirably
adapted to the climate, in her visits to ladies of the middle class, as
well as at home; "but in visiting those who are considered the noble of
the land, I resume, under my Eastern riding-costume, my English dress. In
the Turkish dress, the manner of my salutation must have been more
submissive than I should have liked; while, as an Englishwoman, I am
entertained by the most distinguished, not only as an equal, but,
generally, as a superior." Thus, at the hareem of Habeeb Effendi, the
ex-governor of Cairo, she was received at the door of the first apartment,
on dismounting from the "high ass" on which all visits of ceremony must be
paid, by the eldest daughter of the house, who herself disencumbered her
of her riding-dress--an office left to slaves in families of rank, except
in the case of a visitor of high distinction--and was then placed by her
on the divan at the right hand of her mother, the first cousin of the late
Sultan Mahmood. The second daughter appeared soon after, and Mrs Poole
proceeds to describe her dress. "She wore on her head a dark handkerchief
twisted round a _tarboosh_, (red cap,) with a very splendid sprig of
diamonds attached to the right side, and extending partly over her
forehead. It was composed of very large brilliants, disposed in the form
of three lutes in the centre, from each of which a branch extended,
forming an oval shape at least five inches in length. High on the left
side of her head, she wore a knot or slide of diamonds, through which was
drawn a bunch of ringlets, which, from their position, appeared to be
artificial; her tarboosh had the usual blue silk tassel, but divided and
hanging on either side. Her long vest and trousers were of a dark-flowered
India fabric; she wore round her waist a large and rich Cashmere shawl;
and her neck was decorated with many strings of very large pearls,
confined at intervals with gold beads. She was in one respect strangely
disfigured--her eyebrows being painted with _kohl_, and united by the
black pigment in a very broad and unbecoming manner. Many women of all
classes here assume this disguise. Some apply the _kohl_ to the eyebrows
as well as the eyes, with great delicacy; but this lady had her eyebrows
so remarkable, that her other features were deprived of their natural
expression and effect."
The same graceful kindness which had marked the reception, was continued
throughout the interview. After the usual refreshments of sweetmeats and
coffee had been handed round by the slaves, the eldest daughter, throwing
her arm round the neck of their guest, (the Oriental equivalent for
walking arm-in-arm,) conducted her through the various apartments of the
house; and was preparing, on her departure, to re-equip her with her
riding-dress, when the younger sister remarked, "You took them off: it is
for me to put them on." The friendship thus commenced with the amiable
family of Habeeb Effendi continued uninterrupted during Mrs Poole's stay
in Egypt; and the honours with which she was received were almost
embarrassing--the chief lady, on her second visit, even resigning her own
seat, and placing herself below her. The ladies of this hareem were
particularly well informed. They had heard of the publication of Mrs
Dawson Damer's "Tour," all were very curious to know what had been said of
them, expressing much gratification on hearing the terms in which she had
described them. Of the eldest daughter,[20] in particular, Mrs Poole
speaks in language of the warmest personal regard:--"I have not met with
her equal in Eastern female society, in gentleness, sweetness, and good
sense; and, withal, she has decidedly a cultivated mind." She made a copy
in colours of the portrait of the present Sultan in Mrs Damer's book,
"which will doubtless excite great interest in every visiter; and, unless
protected by a glass, it will perhaps, in the course of a few weeks, be
kissed entirely away, like a miniature portrait of a Turkish grandee of
which I was lately told." The political relations of the Porte with
England and Russia frequently became the subject of conversation; and on
one occasion, when the concession lately exacted from the Porte, of
allowing converts to Islam to return unmolested to their original faith--a
concession of all others most galling to the Moslem pride--was brought on
the tapis, this lady remarked, "with an earnestness of manner which
interested me and my friend extremely--'It is but the fulfilment of
prophecy! When I was a little child, I was taught that in this year great
things would commence, which would require three years for their
completion!' Surely she drew a beautiful conclusion," adds Mrs Poole, "and
under circumstances of painful feelings to one strictly attached to the
laws of her religion." But the allusion appears to have been a belief long
current in the East, that a mysterious combination was involved in the
number 1260, (the year of the Hejra which has just closed,) portending
"the beginning of the end" of Islam, if not of the world; and of which
this infringement of Moslem supremacy appeared to be the first
manifestation.[21]
The advantages of the English costume were strongly evinced on Mrs Poole's
presentation, by her friend Mrs Siedler, to the haughty Nezleh Hanum, the
widowed daughter of Mohammed Ali, in her apartments at the
Kasr-ed-Dubarah, a palace in the midst of Ibrahim Pasha's plantations on
the banks of the Nile, which is the usual residence of the ladies of the
Pasha's family. Mrs Dawson Damer has drawn a sufficiently unamiable
picture of this princess, whose cruelty to her attendants she represents
as emulating that displayed in his public character by her late husband,
the Defterdar Mohammed Bey.[22] But nothing but the _patte de velours_ was
seen by the English stranger, who, though Nezleh Hanum was severely
indisposed at the time of her visit, was, by her express command, shown
into her bedroom, and received "with the sweetest smile imaginable;" while
the youngest son of the Pasha, Mohammed Ali Bey, a boy nine years old, sat
on a cushion at his sister's feet, conversing with the visitor in French;
his mother, and other ladies, sitting on Mrs Poole's left hand. The day
happened to be the fourth of the festival of the Great Beiram, when it was
customary for those ladies who had the privilege of the _entree_, to pay
their respects to the princess. But to not one of those who presented
themselves at this levee, did Nezleh Hanum deign to address a word in
acknowledgment of their salutation, as they silently advanced, with
downcast eyes, to kiss her hand or the hem of her robe, and then as
silently withdrew, without once raising their eyes to her face. "This
etiquette, I an informed, is not only observed during her illness, but at
all times: and here I felt peculiarly the advantage of being an
Englishwoman; for she kept up with me a lively conversation, and really
treated me as an equal." On taking leave, a second cup of sherbet was
presented--"This is always intended as a distinguishing mark of honour.
Several ladies accompanied us to the door; and the treasurer followed me
with an embroidered handkerchief from her highness. Do not think me
egotistical, because I describe thus minutely my reception; I consider it
important in a description of manners, especially as the receiving and
paying visits is the everyday business of an Eastern lady."
This was not, however, the first occasion on which Mrs Poole had visited
the Kasr-ed-Dubarah, as she had some months previously been present, in
company with her invaluable chaperon, Mrs Sieder, at an entertainment
there given by the Pasha's hareem; when she had formed the acquaintance of
the mother[23] of Mohammed Ali Bey, and of another wife of the Pasha,
"both young; the one a dignified and handsome person, and the other
especially gentle and very lovely." At the time, she supposed that these
were the _only_ wives of his highness; but, on a subsequent visit to the
hareem in the citadel, she was introduced to a third, the mother of a son
named Haleem Bey--and she shrewdly conjectured that the full number of
four was not incomplete. These ladies, with the daughter of Mohammed Ali,
the widow of Toosoon, (a deceased son of the Pasha, whose son, Abbas, is
the reputed successor to the pashalik,) and Abbas Pasha's fostermother,
were the only persons at table, with the exception of the French
guests--the widow of Toosoon Pasha, in virtue of her seniority, leading
the way to the _salle-a-manger_, and taking the place of honour at "a very
large round silver tray, covered with small silver dishes filled with
various creams, jellies, &c., and most tastefully garnished with exquisite
flowers; in the centre was a forequarter of lamb, on pilav. The lamb was
succeeded by stew; the stew by vegetables; the vegetables by savoury
cream, &c.; sweet dishes, most delicately prepared, succeeded these in
rapid succession; and each was removed, and its place filled, when perhaps
only tasted. Ladies attended close to our divan with fly-whisks; behind
them about thirty formed a semicircle of gaily dressed, and in many cases
beautiful women and girls; those near the door held large silver trays, on
which the black slaves, who stood without, placed the dishes." During the
repast, Mrs Poole frequently received morsels from the hand of Toosoon
Pasha's widow--one of the highest compliments according to Eastern
manners--and, before taking leave, she received an invitation to a grand
marriage festival, which was shortly to take place in the hareem. The
nuptials were not, however, celebrated during her stay in Egypt, the main
difficulty being, as she was informed, _the choice of a bridegroom_!