Alexandria and its Monuments--The Egyptian "Fellahs"--The Mohammedans
and Their Religion--The Voyage Through the Suez Canal--The Red
Sea--The Indian Ocean--The Arrival at Calcutta.
I was now in Africa and Egypt, among the remnants of ancient glory of
which I had read so much, and which I so often had longed to see, in
the wonder-land of Egypt, with which every Christian child is made
acquainted through the first lessons in Bible history, the country to
which Joseph was carried as a slave, and whose actual ruler he finally
became by dint of his wisdom and virtue. I was in the Nile valley where
Pharaoh built his magazines and stored up grain for the seven years of
famine, and whence Moses conducted the children of Israel by means of "a
pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire." In the land of the pyramids
everything seemed strange and wonderful, and different from anything I
had seen before. The streets crowded with people, the bazaars, the
oriental costumes, the Babylonian confusion of all the tongues of the
earth,--all this combined made on me an overwhelming impression.
Cleopatra's needle; Pompey's pillar; the caravans of camels on their way
into the desert; the old graves and catacombs; the palm groves, the oxen
turning the old-fashioned water-wheels which carry the water from the
Nile for irrigating the fields, just as in the days of Moses,--all this
was reproduced in actual, living pictures before my wondering eyes.
Side by side with these remains of the past we meet with the great
European improvements of our days,--the large ships in the harbor, the
churches, the schools, the universities, the modern markets for trade
and commerce, the splendid hotels and exchanges.
[Illustration: ALEXANDRIA.]
I stopped two days in Alexandria. The second day I visited the summer
palace of the khedive, or vice-king, on which occasion a funny incident
took place. Like every other foreigner coming to Egypt I had bought a
sample of the head-gear generally used in that country, consisting of a
red cap called "fez," which is made of very thick, soft felt, and fits
very closely to the head. With this cap on and wearing a tightly
buttoned black coat I rode in the equipage already mentioned to the
palace. Ishmael Pasha, the former khedive, who had just abdicated and
left the country, had been very popular among his servants and
adherents. I was of the same size and build as he, my beard was cut like
his, and in my red fez I looked so much like him that when our carriage
passed through the gateway to the palace some of the servants whispered
to each other that Khedive Ishmael had returned, and when the coachman
stopped at the entrance I was surrounded by a number of servants who
greeted me and evinced the greatest joy. The poor creatures soon
discovered their mistake. Their good friend the khedive will never
return to Egypt, for England and France will not allow it. He was too
sincere a friend of his own people, and too independent in dealing with
the shareholders of the Suez canal built during his reign.
Alexandria has a population of two-hundred-fifty thousand. It was
founded by Alexander the Great three hundred years before Christ, on
account of the great natural advantages of this place as a seaport. At
the time of Christ it had about half a million inhabitants. It was
repeatedly ravaged by destructive wars, and finally completely pillaged
by Caliph Omar, who is also said to have burnt its library, the largest
and most valuable collection of books of antiquity, an act by which
civilization suffered an irreparable loss, the library containing the
only copies of a number of ancient literary works. It is claimed that
the caliph gave his generals the following characteristic answer, when
asked what was to be done with the library: "If it contains anything
contrary to the Koran it is _wrong_; if it contains anything that agrees
with the Koran it is _superfluous_; therefore, at all events, it ought
to be burnt."
[Illustration: PILLAR OF POMPEII.]
The most remarkable of the ancient monuments still remaining in
Alexandria is Pompey's pillar, which is a monolithic shaft of polished
red granite, seventy-three feet high and twenty-nine feet eight inches
in circumference. One of the most interesting objects of a more recent
origin was the Cafe El Paradiso. It consists of an immense restaurant
and concert hall, or rather halls, for there are many of them. One of
these extends over the water, so that when one sits there drinking
genuine Mocha coffee and smoking a Turkish nargileh one can hear
the beating of the waves and feel the undulations of the azure
Mediterranean. I drove out into the country a few miles to see the
Egyptian fellahs, or peasants. No--I shall not disgrace the name
"peasant" by using it here; for the Egyptian fellah is an ignorant,
superstitious, absolutely destitute, and, in every respect, miserable
wretch, and is worse off than a slave. Four walls of stones or earth
make one or two rooms, with a floor of clay and a roof of straw or sod.
A wooden box, a couple of kettles, and some mats made of grass or palm
canes, are the only pieces of furniture. A couple of goats, an ass, or,
at the very best, a yoke of oxen, are all he possesses in this world. He
works hard, and his fare is exceedingly plain. He neither desires nor
expects anything better, nothing stimulates him to acquire wealth; for
that would only give the tax-gatherer a pretext for extra extortions.
Miserable Egypt! I have seen much poverty and much misery among men; but
of everything I have seen in that line nothing can be compared with the
wretched condition of the Egyptian fellah.
[Illustration: FELLAH HUT.]
Still these unfortunate people seem to find happiness in their religion.
Here some one might object that this is a wretched happiness, because
their religion is Mohammedanism or Islamism. Man feels himself drawn to
a higher power. No matter what his condition, he longs for a life after
this, and searches after an object for his worship, and when he has
found this object he will give up his life rather than give up his
faith. And still that object for which a person or a nation is willing
to sacrifice even life itself is ridiculed and despised by another
person and another nation. If the ignorant were the only ones who
disagree in matters of faith, this condition might be easily explained;
but even the highest civilization has failed in its attempts to
harmonize the different religions, and, in my opinion, this fact ought
to make all thinking men tolerant and liberal toward those who hold
different religious views. The Mohammedan faith has made a deep and
lasting impression on a population scattered over a large part of the
surface of our earth, and no one dares deny that its adherents are much
more devoted to their religion and much more conscientious in observing
its rites than we as Christians are with reference to our religion.
[Illustration: FELLAH WOMAN.]
The adherents of Mohammed now number one hundred and thirty millions,
and the number is constantly growing. Many believe that this religion
gains so many adherents because it is sensual, and allows all kinds of
debauchery. But this supposition runs counter to the facts. It is true,
that Mohammed allowed a man to have four wives; but it must be
remembered that he limited the number to four, and that the number had
been unlimited before. The life of an orthodox Musselman is an unbroken
chain of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and, in this respect, we must
acknowledge that he is superior to us Christians. His chief article of
faith is expressed in this dogma: "There is no god but Allah, and
Mohammed is his prophet." The leading commandments bearing on the
practice of their religion are prayer, ablutions, alms-giving, fasting,
and a pilgrimage to Mecca. The use of intoxicating drinks is strictly
prohibited, hospitality is recommended, gambling and usury are not
allowed. Friday is the Mohammedan's day of rest. Since my first visit in
Egypt I have been very closely connected with many Mohammedans, several
of whom have been members of my own household, and it affords me great
pleasure to testify that, as far as my observations go, they have lived
faithfully according to the precepts of their religion. Nay, I am
convinced that in most cases they would renounce property, liberty, and
even life itself, rather than violate any of the cardinal precepts of
the Koran. But as to the Egyptian fellah, he has no comfort to
renounce, his whole life being made up of continual fasting and
abstinence from sheer necessity, so that it is comparatively easy for
him to be a good Mohammedan.
[Illustration: IRRIGATION MILL.]
Having engaged a berth for the voyage from London to India on the
steamer City of Canterbury, which I was to take about this time at the
west end of the Suez canal, I could not remain any longer in Egypt, but
took the Austrian steamer Apollo to Port Said, at the entrance to the
Suez canal. On September 25th, in the evening, I embarked on the City of
Canterbury where I made myself comfortable in a fine state-room which
had been reserved for me. It takes two days to pass through the Suez
canal, which runs through a great sandy plain that was formerly covered
by the waters of the Red Sea. Among the many memorable places which were
pointed out to us during this passage was also the spot where Moses is
said to have conducted the Israelites across the Red Sea. The work on
the Suez canal was commenced in 1859 and completed in 1869, and it cost
about $95,000,000. The length of the canal is one hundred miles, its
width at the surface of the water is three hundred and twenty-eight
feet, at the bottom seventy-two feet, and its depth twenty-six feet. To
a ship sailing from Sweden or England to Bombay in India, the distance
by way of the Suez canal is five thousand miles shorter than by the
passage around the Cape of Good Hope.
I recollect an anecdote which dates from the opening of the canal in
1869. On that occasion an irreverent speaker is claimed to have said in
toasting De Lesseps, the French engineer who planned and executed the
work, that the latter was the only man who had improved upon the work of
the creator: He had connected the waters of the Red Sea and those of the
Mediterranean. Thus the significance of a great work may also find an
expression in the garb of a bold joke.
Having remained in Suez a short while, the steamer glided out on the Red
Sea, keeping close up to the naked coast of Africa. On the second day of
our Red Sea voyage we saw Mount Sinai looming up some distance from the
coast of Arabia. September is the hottest month of the year in that
region, and as we had the wind with us, the customary breeze caused by
the motion of the steamer was neutralized, and the heat was terrific. We
slept on the deck, and we hailed the morning hour with joy on account of
the shower-bath which was afforded when the sailors washed the deck. It
is a conundrum to me why this body of water is called the Red Sea, for
there is nothing whatever to suggest this color. One day we had a
miniature illustration of a sand storm. A strong wind carried the sand
from the coast of Africa several miles into the sea and covered the
steamer with a layer of fine, white sand, which looked like fresh snow.
We also had a chance to see flying fish which flew over the ship, and
occasionally fell down on the deck. These fish were small and
silver-colored, their fins looking a good deal like the wings of the
bat. They can not turn in their course, nor can they fly up and down at
pleasure, but only upward and forward in a straight line; and when they
fall down on the deck they are just as helpless as any other fish out of
water.
Having reached the Indian ocean, the temperature became more pleasant,
so that we no longer suffered so much from the heat. At last our
splendid steamer plowed its course up the majestic Ganges, the sacred
river with its one hundred mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and
millions of human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a distance
of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river, and on either side
we could see cities, temples, palm groves, and large crowds of people.
On October 15th we arrived at Calcutta, where I was received by the
American vice-consul, and comfortably quartered in the Great Eastern
hotel.