CHAPTER X.
CAIRO—THE TURKISH BAZAAR—TEST OF A SWORD-BLADE—THE “LITTLE NILE”—RECOLLECTIONS OF THE PLAGUE—THE EGLINTOUN TENTS—PROCEEDINGS IN THE “GREAT SQUARE”—ASTONISHMENT OF THE PASHA—A MAHOMEDAN DINNER-PARTY—NOVEL DISHES—A JEWISH WEDDING—IMPERTINENT CURIOSITY—THE BRIDE’S DOWER—A CUNNING HEBREW.
CAIRO—THE TURKISH BAZAAR—TEST OF A SWORD-BLADE—THE “LITTLE NILE”—RECOLLECTIONS OF THE PLAGUE—THE EGLINTOUN TENTS—PROCEEDINGS IN THE “GREAT SQUARE”—ASTONISHMENT OF THE PASHA—A MAHOMEDAN DINNER-PARTY—NOVEL DISHES—A JEWISH WEDDING—IMPERTINENT CURIOSITY—THE BRIDE’S DOWER—A CUNNING HEBREW.
On arriving at Cairo, I refreshed myself with a bath, and accompanied Captain J—— to see my friend Bell, who was still located at the house ofDr.A. We found him dressed in a loose silken garment, squatted cross-legged on a low divan, whilst he alternately puffed at a large sheesheh of the doctor’s, and sipped his morning cup of coffee. Having finished his toilet, which the addition of a pair of slippers rendered complete, we took a long stroll through the Turkish Bazaar, which is one of the chief attractions of Cairo, where jewels and gems of all kinds, with golden stuffs and embroideries, and the varied productions of Eastern ingenuity are displayed before the wondering gaze of the stranger. The more precious goods are enclosed in glass cases on either side of the narrow file of shops, and behind these is seatedthe smiling merchant, who invites attention to his costly wares, or, should you be personally known to him, points to a vacant cushion, and replenishes your pipe withgebelee. We had a long chat in the sanctum of one of these gentlemen, with whom Bell appeared on terms of intimacy, and very civil and agreeable he was, explaining to us, through the medium of our friend, the uses of various little objects of luxury connected with the hareem and the domestic habits of the Mooslim, which we might otherwise have had difficulty in ascertaining.
My own object in visiting the Bazaar, was to effect the purchase of a sword or scymitar, in order to complete mycostume du pays, but as I found that those exposed for sale in the Turkish quarter were of a better quality than I needed, and of a price far beyond what I intended to give, we repaired to another portion of the Bazaar, where I could select from among some thousands of all kinds and qualities. As the weapon was to be used as an ornament only, and would have answered my purpose equally well, had the blade been firmly screwed to the scabbard, or altogether wanting, I selected an undeniable “Brummagem,” with a tastily ornamented horn handle, and goodly external appearance. For the silken cord and tassels which form the appendages,I had to walk to an entirely different quarter, where such articles are exclusively manufactured, and after a due proportion of bargaining, I succeeded in completing my purchase. On returning to the hotel, I submitted my weapon to the judgment of Raven andDr.A——, who resolved to test its value by actual experiment. A sword-blade is considered to be of good quality, when it will sever a nail at one blow. Placing, therefore, a full-sized tenpenny on a wooden door-sill,Dr.A., who acted asScharfrichter, took a deliberate aim, and let fly. The nail vanished, and I was about to pronounce my blade a genuine “Damascus,” when the doctor, lowering its point, coolly requested me to withdraw the nail, which was fairly notched therein, and was found unmarked by the blow. I then dared the doctor to a similar experiment with his own sword, which was unhesitatingly agreed to and tried, but with a very different result, the nail being severed; but as there is a knack in directing the blow, so as to fall at a particular angle, I doubt if he would have allowed me to perform his part in the ordeal.
As Captain J—— was anxious to be off to Alexandria, I ordered acafassof provisions to be sent down to Boulac, and one of our best boats to be got in readiness. We setsail with a fair wind, and a tolerably high Nile, at seven in the evening, and were one day and two nights in reaching Atféh. I much regretted the loss of my travelling companion, whose society had proved most agreeable, although his health was so impaired, that he appeared to move with difficulty. I lost sight of him on reaching Alexandria, and imagine that he joined some one in an extended tour into Upper Egypt.
On making my appearance in the morning at the “Agency Office,” I was introduced by Furner to a Captain Proudfoot, who had just arrived in a small steam-vessel called the “Little Nile,” recently purchased byMr.Waghorn, for the service between Cairo and Atféh. I was astonished, when I went on board, that so frail a cockle-shell could ever have lived in a rolling sea, like that of the Bay of Biscay. She is of iron, flat-bottomed, and used to ply on the Thames, above bridge, and it could scarcely have been any common inducement that tempted Captain Proudfoot and his little crew, to undertake so perilous a voyage. Off Cape Finisterre they encountered a severe storm, which lifted the very boilers from their fastenings, and drove her on shore almost a wreck, but they managed to repair her in such a way, that they reached Malta in safety, and there patched herup more effectually.Mr.Raven has now put her into the hands of one of the Pasha’s engineers, who is altering her to suit the nature of the Nile service, and when complete, she will be the fastest and most jaunty of the river steamers.
In the beginning of September,Mr.Raven paid us a visit, in order to see what progress had been made, and to carry out some ideas of his own, with respect to the interior arrangements of the new vessel. Finding that he intended to send back to England her binnacle and compasses, I remarked, that he might find them useful in the event of plague breaking out, as he could then make a run for one of the islands in the Archipelago, and so avoid a tedious imprisonment. The idea seemed to strike him as feasible, the more so, that he remembered being shut up for six months in a house at Cairo, without once being permitted to cross the threshold, the doors being sealed, and a watchman constantly on the look-out. Provisions were drawn up in baskets, and paid for by money let down in a bucket of water. These precautions were rendered necessary, by the critical state of one of the household, who was attacked with plague, but eventually recovered. Poor Raven aired himself on the house-top, and almost got by heart every book in the place, until the seals were knocked off, and he was sufferedto escape; but, as may well be imagined, the remembrance of his captivity, and its horrors, is not easily to be effaced, and he will scarcely suffer himself to be entrapped a second time. The compasses were, therefore, safely deposited in our store, and I got Captain Proudfoot to explain to me the arrangement of the magnets, with which a sea-going iron boat is always furnished, so that I might be able to replace them, in the event of their being wanted.
Some person having mentioned to the Pasha, that some curious tents belonging toMr.Waghorn, were lying in the custom-house, we have received intimation of a vice-royal wish to see some of them erected. It seems that the tents in question, formed part of those put up at Eglintoun Castle, on the occasion of the famed tournament, and that they were afterwards purchased byMr.Waghorn, to serve as sheltering-places on the desert, between the Stations.Mr.Raven accordingly gave directions that the cases should be transported to the far end of the square, where a fit spot, near the Greek Consulate, was selected, Furner and I being deputed to unpack and overhaul them. We soon found this to be no easy task, as they appeared to have been huddled up together, without the slightest regard to arrangement; and although we possessed an invoice, which enabled us ina measure to identify them, we could only succeed in finding the component parts of one out of the whole half-dozen.
We commenced our operations, by laying down the poles, and digging a couple of deep holes to plant them in, but on attaching the roofs of the tent thereto, and raising them into perpendicular position, our edifice bore the appearance of two gigantic green umbrellas, and the sides, when rigged up, failed to approach the ground by seven or eight feet. We had therefore to shorten the poles, and erect a sort of scaffolding, in which latter operation, we were assisted by the crew of the “Little Nile,” but all our efforts to produce anything like a tent were unavailing. Our sailors too, soon discovered that pitching tents was very dry work, and struck for a supply of beer, which we were but too glad to furnish; so availing ourselves of the agreeable shelter afforded by the thick tarpaulin, we converted our marquee into a beer-shop, very much to the astonishment of Mehemet Ali, who, calling upon us as he took his usual afternoon airing, found half-a-dozen jolly tars smoking their clay pipes, and discussing bottled beer in the quondam shrine of the Queen of Beauty.[12]
We could not induce the Pasha to cross the threshold and inspect our handiwork, although some of his suite had the curiosity to take a peep at the interior. His Highness seemed fully satisfied with this one visit, as he never again honoured us with a call, and the tent was soon after taken down, and reconsigned with its fellows to the custom-house, where I think it not unlikely that they still remain.
A few days after this, I was invited with Furner and our Greek friend L——, to an entertainment at the house of a Mahomedan acquaintance, who wished us to partake of a dinner served in the Eastern way. On reaching his dwelling, situated in the most agreeable portion of the Arab quarter, or old town, we were ushered up some outside stairs, into a long room on the first floor, which was tastefully carpeted and fitted with low divans. As we entered at one door, there was a great rustling of silks and shuffling of feet through another at the far extremity, which we attributed to the rapid escape of a portion of our friend’s hareem, who had been taking a sly peep at us from a window above, as westood talking in the court-yard. Placed on the carpet were half-a-dozen little octagonal tables of coloured reeds, about eighteen inches high, and upon these, as soon as we had squatted ourselves down, were deposited as many dishes of pewter, of enormous size, filled with a great variety of meats and poultry, baked, stewed, and roasted, from among which a whole kid and a gigantic turkey, greeted us conspicuously. Our host apologized to us for having the whole of the first course placed upon the table at once, as such is not customary, but he felt more satisfied that we should “see our dinner,” and thus partake of what pleased us best. It was impossible for us to make any objection to so excellent an arrangement, so, having carefully cleansed, or rather moistened our finger-ends with rose-water, we fell to without ceremony. In deference, however, to our European habits, knives and forks were placed within our reach, and I soon succeeded in making a hole in the kid, which was elaborately stuffed with raisins and pistachio nuts. It would be useless for me to attempt an enumeration of all the dishes, of which indeed I have but an imperfect recollection: I had already dined, when another course was brought in, consisting of sweets and vegetables, and a large rice-pudding, in a red sea of damson-juice; love-apples and pumpkins, elegantlyfarçies,and fruits both stewed and dried, completed our repast; and as it is said, that good eating requires good drinking, there was no lack of excellent wine. Pipes and coffee followed as a matter of course, and we were afterwards favoured with an instrumental performance by the Pasha’s private band, from which infliction, we made as speedy an escape as possible, although our host would not allow us to depart, until the whole five were put completely “hors de combat,” by Furner’s timely administration of brandy-and-water, alluded to in a former chapter.
Quitting our friend’s house, and gaining the more frequented portion of the city, we were astonished by the unusual appearance of an enormous crowd of persons of both sexes, and the still more uncommon sound of military music. Upon inquiry, we learned that the hubbub was caused by a long bridal procession, in celebration of the “noces” of a Jew and a Levantine girl, and being anxious to see all we could, Furner and I joined in with the rest. The band, composed of amateurs, led the way, followed by the bride and her attendants, with a “posse comitatus” from all quarters. We walked I suppose, about half-a-mile, accompanied by ambulating pots of fire, halting at every fifth or sixth house to perform a “serenata.” At length we reachedthe dwelling of the bridegroom, where the bride and her immediate suite were forthwith admitted, and I, having in vain looked round for my friend, was making an effort to cross the threshold with the rest, when the door was unceremoniously slammed in my face.
The old “bawaub,” however, was not proof against a nine-piastre piece, which is an infallible open-sesame, and having ascended the flight of stone-steps, which led to the upper story, I found myself in a large room, in presence of some fifty or more persons of all ages, and, to judge by their costume, from every part of the Mediterranean. I soon discovered that I was the only Englishman in the company, and with one or two exceptions, the only individual in a Frank dress, and my casual glance round the room failing to reveal one single face that was known to me, I began to feel in rather an awkward situation. It was too late to retreat, as I had been already noticed, and concluding that I should best avoid an appearance of singularity, by doing as the rest, I made a profound salutation to the husband, who escorted me to a divan at the upper end of the apartment, and in a manner the most obsequious, motioned me to a seat, and remained near me until I was served with sherbet and a pipe. I was at a loss to assign a cause for so much courtesy towardsa pork-eating unbeliever, though the reason was shortly afterwards, rendered sufficiently obvious.
At midnight there was a great commotion at the other end of the room: the bride was introduced, and placed on a chair in the middle of the floor, covered with a very thin veil of pink gauze, and resplendent with jewels. All her attendants were more or less shrouded in veils, most of them weighed down with rows of gold twenty-piastre pieces, by way of fringe. The bride appeared, as well as I was able to judge, very beautiful, and was in a charming state of confusion, every now and then glancing stealthily at her husband, whom she now saw, in all probability, for the first time. No sooner were the company gathered round the trembling girl, than two of the attendants held up the corners of her apron, to receive the contributions of such as were inclined to make her a wedding present, and now my mind was enlightened as to the unlooked for politeness of the Jew bridegroom. I turned round, and encountered his gaze full upon me, but I felt myself a match for him. Keeping close to the side of a jolly old Alexandrian, who was fumbling in his girdle, and seizing the moment when he ostentatiously let fall a shower of gold coin, I suddenly put forth my hand and dropped my modest donation, in such away as entirely to conceal its amount from the eyes of the wily Hebrew. Judging from the quantity of money collected, I should say that the newly-married couple made a very good thing of it, as every one contributed, and nothing but gold was offered. This ceremony over, the bride, half-fainting with fatigue and terror, was led away to her apartments; and not wishing to encroach farther on the hospitality of the Jew, I quitted thefantasia, and returned home.
FOOTNOTES:[12]Our invoice led us to infer, that the tent in question, was that which had been appropriated to Lady Seymour at the Eglintoun festival, but from the style of its furniture, we were compelled to judge differently, believing rather, that those purchased byMr.Waghorn, though very substantial and costly, could never have occupied a very prominent place at the tournament.
[12]Our invoice led us to infer, that the tent in question, was that which had been appropriated to Lady Seymour at the Eglintoun festival, but from the style of its furniture, we were compelled to judge differently, believing rather, that those purchased byMr.Waghorn, though very substantial and costly, could never have occupied a very prominent place at the tournament.
[12]Our invoice led us to infer, that the tent in question, was that which had been appropriated to Lady Seymour at the Eglintoun festival, but from the style of its furniture, we were compelled to judge differently, believing rather, that those purchased byMr.Waghorn, though very substantial and costly, could never have occupied a very prominent place at the tournament.