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Letter from Egypt.

houses; and how she scorned his silk clothes, and the sheep killed for her daily, and how at length she made him A black live in the desert with her. slave told a prosy tale about thieves; and the rest were more long than pointed. Hasan's Arab feelings were hurt at the small quantity of meat set before me. They can't kill a sheep now-a-days for an honoured guest. But I told him no greater honour could be paid to us English than to let us eat lentils and onions like one of the family, so that we might not feel as strangers among them. After a time, the merchant told us his heart was somewhat dilated,-as a man might say his toothache had abated, upon which we said Praise be to God,' all round.

"A short time ago, my poor friend the Maohn had a terrible tile' fall His wife, two married on his head. daughters, and nine miscellaneous children, arrived on a sudden, and the poor man is now tasting the pleasures which Abraham once endured between Sarah and Hagar. I visited the ladies, and found a very ancient Sarah, and a daughter of wonderful beauty.

"A young man here, a Shereef, has asked me to open negotiations for a marriage for him with the Maohn's grand-daughter, a little girl of eight. So you see how completely I am one of the family.'

"29th April.-My boat has not yet
made its appearance. I am very well in-
deed now, in spite, or perhaps because, of
But there is a great deal
the great heat.
of sickness, chiefly dysentery. I never get
less than four new patients a day, and
my practice has become quite a serious
business. I spent all day on Friday in
the Abab'deh quarters, where Sheykh
Hasan, and his slave Rahmeh, were
both extremely ill. Both are all right

now.

Rahmeh is the nicest negro I
ever knew, and a very great friend of
mine. He is a most excellent, honest,
sincere man, and an Efendi, i.e. he
writes and reads, which is more than
He has seen all the
his master can do.
queer people in the interior of Africa.
The Sheykh of the Bishareen, eight days'

journey from Aswán, has invited me,
and promises me all the meat and milk
I can eat ;-they have nothing else.
They live on a high mountain, and are
very fine, handsome people. If only I
were strong, I could go to very odd
places, where Frangees are not. Read a
very stupid novel (as a story) called
'Le Sécret du Bonheur," by Ernest
Feydeau: it gives the truest impression
of the manners of Arabs that I have
seen; the caressant ways of Arabs are
so well described. They are the same
here, the people come and pat and stroke
me with their hands, and one corner of
my brown abbaieh is faded with much
kissing. I am hailed as 'Sitt Betáana,'
our own lady;' and now the people are
really enthusiastic, because I refused
the offer which a Bimbashi made me of
some cavasses as a guard. As if I would
have such fellows to help to bully my
friends!

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"The said Bimbashi (next in rank to a Bey), a coarse man, like an Arnaoot, stopped here a day and night, and played his little Turkish game, telling me to beware, for the Ulema hated all Franks, and set the people against us; and telling the Arabs that Christian Hakeems were all given to poison Muslims. So at night I dropped in at the Maohn's, with Sheykh Yoosuf carrying my lantern, and was loudly hailed with a 'Salàm Aleykee' from the old Shereef himself, who began praising the Gospel I had given him, and me at Yoosuf had a little reed the same time. in his hand, the "Kalám" for writing, about two feet long, and of the size of a quill. I took it, and showed it to the Bimbashi, and said, 'Behold the Nebboot The by which we are all to be murdered by this Sheykh of the religion !' Bimbashi's bristly moustache bristled savagely, for he saw that the Arab dogs and the Christian "Khanzeereh" (feminine pig) were laughing at him together.

"Another steamboat-load of prisoners from Gow has just gone up. A little comfort is derived here from the news that, praise be to God! Moosa Pasha, governor of Soudan, is dead and gone to hell. must take no trifle to send him there,

It

and beat the Sakka' as sole payment. What will the soldiers do? The taxes are being illegally levied on lands which are "Sheragi"-totally unwatered by the last Nile-and therefore exempt by law, and the people are driven to desperation. There will be more troubles as soon as there comes any other demagogue, like Ahmad et-Teiyib, to incite the people; and now every Arab sympathises with him.

"I have received the Cairo version of the affair, cooked for the European taste, and monstrous it is. The Pasha accuses some Sheykh of the Arabs of having gone from Upper Egypt to India to stir up the mutiny against us! Why not to conspire in Paris or London? It is too childish to talk of a poor Saeedee Arab going to a country of whose language and whereabouts he is totally ignorant, in order to conspire against a people who never hurt him.

66

urged me to try hard to get my husband here as consul when Mr. Colquhoun leaves, on the assumption that he would feel as I do. I said,My master is not young, and to a kind and just man such a place would be a martyrdom.' Truly thou hast said it,' was the reply; but it is a martyr we Arabs want. Shall not the reward of him who suffers daily vexation for his brethren's sake be equal to that of him who dies in battle for the faith? If thou wert a man, I would say to thee, "Take the labour and sorrow upon thee."'

"The fellaheen are really worse off than any slaves. I am sick of telling of the daily oppressions and robberies. If a man has a sheep, the Mudeer comes and eats it; if a tree, it goes to the Nazir's kitchen. My poor Sakka is beaten by the cavasses in sole payment of his skins of water;-and then people wonder my poor friends tell lies and bury their money.

"I now know everybody, and 'the cunning women' have set up the theory that my eye is lucky; so I am asked to go and look at young brides, visit houses that are building, inspect cattle, &c. as a bringer of good luck, which gives me

"I went a few days ago to the wedding of the handsome Sheykh Hasan, the Abab'deh, who married the butcher's pretty little daughter. The group of women and girls, lighted up by the lantern which little Ahmad carried for me, was the most striking thing I have seen. The bride, a lovely girl of ten or eleven, all in scarlet; a tall, dark slave of Hasan's, blazing with gold and silver necklaces and bracelets, with long twisted locks of coal-black hair, and glittering eyes and teeth; the wonderful wrinkled old women, and the pretty, wondering, yet fearless children, composed a picture beyond description. The mother brought the bride up to me, and unveiled her, and asked me to let her kiss my hand, and to look at her. I said all the usual 'Bismillah, Mashallahs,' and after a time went to the men, who were eating,-all but Hasan, who sat apart. He begged me to sit by him, and whispered anxious inquiries about his 'Arooseh's' looks. After a time he went to visit her, and returned in half-anhour, very shy, and covering his face and hand, and kissed the hands of the chief guests. Then we all departed, and the girl was taken to look at the Nile, and then to her husband's house.

"Last night he gave me a dinner— a very good dinner indeed-in his house, which is equal to a very poor cattle-shed at home. We were only five; Sheykh Yoosuf, Omar, an elderly merchant, and I. Hasan wanted to serve us, but I made him sit. The merchant, a well-bred man of the world, who has enjoyed life and married wives everywhere, had arrived that day, and found a daughter of his dead here. He said he felt very miserable, upon which every one told him not to mind, and consoled him oddly enough according to English ideas. Then people told stories. Omar's was a good version of the man and wife who would not shut the door, and agreed that the first who spoke should do it—very funny indeed. Yoosuf told a pretty tale of a Sultan, who married a Bitt-elArab (daughter of the Bedaween) and how she would not live in his palace,

houses; and how she scorned his silk clothes, and the sheep killed for her daily, and how at length she made him. live in the desert with her. A black slave told a prosy tale about thieves; and the rest were more long than pointed. Hasan's Arab feelings were hurt at the small quantity of meat set before me. They can't kill a sheep now-a-days for an honoured guest. But I told him no greater honour could be paid to us English than to let us eat lentils and onions like one of the family, so that we might not feel as strangers among them. After a time, the merchant told us his heart was somewhat dilated,-as a man might say his toothache had abated, upon which we said Praise be to God,' all round.

"A short time ago, my poor friend the Maohn had a terrible tile' fall on his head. His wife, two married daughters, and nine miscellaneous children, arrived on a sudden, and the poor man is now tasting the pleasures which Abraham once endured between Sarah and Hagar. I visited the ladies, and found a very ancient Sarah, and a daughter of wonderful beauty.

"A young man here, a Shereef, has asked me to open negotiations for a marriage for him with the Maohn's grand-daughter, a little girl of eight. So you see how completely I am 'one of the family.'

"29th April.-My boat has not yet made its appearance. I am very well indeed now, in spite, or perhaps because, of the great heat. But there is a great deal of sickness, chiefly dysentery. I never get less than four new patients a day, and my practice has become quite a serious business. I spent all day on Friday in the Abab'deh quarters, where Sheykh Hasan, and his siave Rahmeh, were both extremely ill. Both are all right now. Rahmeh is the nicest negro I ever knew, and a very great friend of mine. He is a most excellent, honest, sincere man, and an Efendi, i.e. he writes and reads, which is more than his master can do. He has seen all the queer people in the interior of Africa.

journey from Aswán, has invited me, and promises me all the meat and milk I can eat;-they have nothing else. They live on a high mountain, and are very fine, handsome people. If only I were strong, I could go to very odd places, where Frangees are not. Read a very stupid novel (as a story) called Le Sécret du Bonheur," by Ernest Feydeau it gives the truest impression of the manners of Arabs that I have seen; the caressant ways of Arabs are so well described. They are the same here, the people come and pat and stroke me with their hands, and one corner of my brown abbaieh is faded with much kissing. I am hailed as 'Sitt Betáana,' 'our own lady;' and now the people are really enthusiastic, because I refused the offer which a Bimbashi made me of some cavasses as a guard. As if I would have such fellows to help to bully my friends!

"The said Bimbashi (next in rank to a Bey), a coarse man, like an Arnaoot, stopped here a day and night, and played his little Turkish game, telling me to beware, for the Ulema hated all Franks, and set the people against us; and telling the Arabs that Christian Hakeems were all given to poison Muslims. So at night I dropped in at the Maohn's, with Sheykh Yoosuf carrying my lantern, and was loudly hailed with a 'Salam Aleykee' from the old Shereef himself, who began praising the Gospel I had given him, and me at the same time. Yoosuf had a little reed in his hand, the "Kalám" for writing, about two feet long, and of the size of a quill.

I took it, and showed it to the Bimbashi, and said, 'Behold the Nebboot by which we are all to be murdered by this Sheykh of the religion!' The Bimbashi's bristly moustache bristled savagely, for he saw that the Arab dogs and the Christian "Khanzeereh" (feminine pig) were laughing at him together.

"Another steamboat-load of prisoners from Gow has just gone up. A little comfort is derived here from the news that, praise be to God! Moosa Pasha, governor of Soudan, is dead and gone to hell. It

judging by the quiet way in which Fadl Pasha is mentioned. You will think me a complete rebel, but I may say to you, what most people would think 'like my nonsense,' that one's pity becomes a perfect passion when one sits among the people as I do, and sees it all. Least of all can I forgive those among Europeans and Christians who can help to break these bruised reeds. However, in Cairo, and still more in Alexandria, all is quite different. There, the same system which has been so successfully copied in France prevails; the capital is petted at the expense of the country people; prices are regulated in Cairo for meat and bread, as they are, or were, in Paris, and the dangerous classes enjoy all sorts of exemptions. The Cairenes eat the bread, and we eat the stick.

"The people here used to dislike

who arrived poor and grew rich, but they all bless him now, and say that at his place a man eats his own meat and not the courbash of the Mudeer. He has refused soldiers, as I refused them on my small account, and, please God, he will never repent it. One man said to me, What the Turkish government fears is not for your safety, but lest we should learn to love you too well;' and it is true. How often does one hear, 'Oh that we had the laws of the Christians!' In Cairo, the Franks have dispelled this illusion, and have done the Turks' work as if they were paid for it, but here come only travellers

who pay with money and not with stick, -a degree of generosity not enough to be adored. I perceive that I am a bore, but you will forgive my indignant sympathy with the kind people who treat me so well. Would that I could excite the interest of my countrymen in their suffering! Some conception of the value of public opinion in England has penetrated even here. Fancy an Alim el Deen ul Islam wanting to call for help to the Times!

"I went to church on Good Friday with the Copts. The scene was very striking. The priest was dressed like a beautiful Crusader, in white robes with crimson crosses. One thing has my hearty admiration. The few children who are taken to church are allowed to play. Oh my poor little protestant fellow-Christians, can you conceive a religion so delightful as that which permits 'Peep bo!' behind the curtain of the sanctuary? I saw little Botros and Scandarah at it all church time, and the priest only patted their little heads as he carried the sacrament out to the hareem. Fancy the parson kindly patting the little sinner's head, instead of the beadle whacking him! I am entirely reconciled to the Coptic rules.

"Mustafa has just sent to say the steamer is coming. There is a fearful simoom, and the dust won't let me write more. My Dahabeeyeh is reported three days off."

THE BROAD STREET PUMP:

AN EPISODE IN THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC OF 1854.

BY THE REV. H. WHITEHEAD.

EARLY on the morning of September 1st, 1854, in the Berwick Street district of St. James's, Westminster, where I had spent some hours of the preceding day without hearing any mention of cholera-and where, in former epidemics, the mortality from that disease had been inconsiderable-I was asked to visit a house in which lay, already collapsed, four persons who had been seized with cholera during the night; and, on leaving this house, whichever way I turned, I came upon similar scenes. At noon, when I met my brother curate and the Scripture-reader for a short time in the vestry of St. Luke's, Berwick Street, I learned that they had each been occupied all the morning in the same way as myself. The rest of the day was spent in the same manner; and, as an indication of the severity of the outbreak, I record that, of all the cholera patients visited by me on that day, only one recovered.

This state of things apparently continued for four days, during which time the medical men of the neighbourhood —whose labours day and night in behalf of the sufferers were beyond all praise declared, with one consent, that specific remedies were unavailing; and as for "premonitory symptoms," there were, they said, few, or even in some cases none at all.

On the fifth day we were all agreed that a change for the better had taken place, as we perceived that fewer persons were attacked than at first, and that the attacks were less severe. This change, however, was subsequently seen, when the statistics of the outbreak were collected and examined, to have been more gradual, and to have begun at an earlier period, than we had supposed; for, though the deaths were as numerous

on the 3d and 4th of September as on the 1st, yet the greatest number of fatal attacks occurred on the 1st, after which there were fewer fatal attacks on each succeeding day, the number positively decreasing 50 per cent. on the 3d as compared with the 2d, and 10 per cent. on the 2d as compared with the 1st. Perhaps the most fatal period of attack was the hour or two before midnight on August 31st. The deaths were the most numerous on September 2d, the excess of mortality on that day being due to attacks of the previous day. By the 10th the number of fatal attacks throughout the whole parish of St. James's had declined to the low average of the preceding month.

But during those ten days the ravages of the disease, in a small and remarkably well-defined part of the parish, were very severe-nearly 700 persons having been fatally seized, in that short time, within a circuit of 250 yards radius from the point of junction between Broad Street and Cambridge Street. Such was the intensity of the outbreak, that of 45 contiguous houses, extending in different directions from that point, only 4 escaped without a death; and at an average distance of 15 yards from St. Luke's church, situated within the compass of the said radius, were 4 houses which collectively lost 33 inhabitants. Of the streets thus devastated Broad Street itself suffered the most severely, its population having been just decimated-90 of its 896 inhabitants having died, besides 28 non-resident workpeople. Other streets, however, had nearly as high a rate of mortality.

Thus limited in its extent, brief in its duration, and continually on the wane from the very first moment of

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