VI. CAIRO, CONTINUED.

THE next morning, at the appointed time, the tailor came with our clothes. In this exactness, as in many other points, I was forced to recognise the superiority of the Turkish over the French tailor. Some of our countrymen, attracted by curiosity, came to assist at our metamorphosis. The tailor brought a barber as his companion, through whose hands, or rather through whose legs, it was necessary to pass before getting to him. Baron Taylor, who was engaged with the business of the mission, had gone to the consul, and left us to the cares of our toilette. The barber placed himself on a chair and made me sit on the ground; he then drew from his girdle a small iron instrument, which I discovered to be a razor, from seeing him strop it on the palm of his hand. The idea that this species of saw was about to run over my head made me arrange my hair, but almost immediately I found myself fixed between my adversary's knees as if it were in a vice, and I saw that the best thing I could do was not to stir. In fact, I felt the bit of iron I had so despised, run over my head with a gentleness, skill, and velocity, which went to my very heart. In about five minutes the barber relaxed his hold, I

raised my head, I heard everybody laugh, I looked in the glass, I was completely shorn, there remained no other trace of hair on the whole cranium than the charming blueish tint which adorns the chin when the beard is cleverly removed. I was stupified by this promptitude, I had never seen myself in such a condition, and had some difficulty in recognising my identity. I searched on the top of the bump of philosophy, for the lock of hair by which, they say, the archangel Gabriel is to raise the pious Mohammedans; even that was not there. I thought that I had a right to protest; but, at the first word on the subject, the barber stated that this ornament had only been adopted by a particular sect, little venerated by the rest on account of the irregularity of its morals. I stopped him in the midst of his reply, assuring him, that I would only belong to a sect eminent for purity, because, whilst I was in Europe my morals had been the theme of general admiration. This point settled, I passed without regret into the hands of the tailor, who began by placing on my head a white skull-cap, over this cap a red turban, and round the turban a shawl neatly folded, which almost transformed me into a true believer. He then put on my robe and abbayes, and girdled my waist with a shawl; and, to this shawl I proudly hung my sabre, and also fastened a dagger, pencils, paper, &c. In this costume, which did not make a

single wrinkle on my person, my tailor declared that I was fit for any company. made no doubt of the

fact, so I waited with the greatest impatience, like an actor about to make "his first appearance on any stage," until the metamorphosis of my companions was completed. They were forced, in their turn, to undergo before my eyes, the operation which I had. sustained before theirs, and decidedly I was not the person whose head cut the most ridiculous figure. Finally, when the toilette was completed, we went down the stairs, crossed the threshold, and made our debut in Turkish life.

I was greatly embarrassed by my dress; my forehead was weighed down by my turban; the folds of my robe and mantle embarrassed my walking; my slippers and feet, not yet well acquainted with each other, committed frequent breaches of continuity. Mohammed walked at our side, marking time by the words, "gently, gently." Finally, when our French petulance was a little calmed, and a more slow and measured pace permitted us to observe the balancing of the body necessary to give the Arabic finish to our gait, everything went on better. This costume, admirably suited to the climate, is far more commodious than ours, for it only restrains the waist, and leaves all the joints perfectly free. With respect to the turban, it forms a species of wall round the head, permitting it to perspire without

inconveniencing the rest of the body, which does not fail to afford great satisfaction.

Having spent half an hour in Mohammedanizing ourselves, we began our investigations. Our first visit was to the palace of the Pacha; the road which led thither was filled with fragments of exquisite taste, from the contemplation of which Mohammed was forced to tear us every minute. It is imposrible to give any idea of the exquisite beauty of Arabian ornament; in every direction Cairo is great in its details, as well in the tout ensemble, when it allows you only to see the end of a street, or the corner of a mosque, as when it displays in the general view its three hundred minarets, its seventytwo gates, its extensive walls, its tombs of the Khaliphs, its pyramids, its Nile, and its desert.

We traversed rapidly sumptuous bazaars and streets covered with tents; then we came to the great mosque of Sultan Hassan, separated by an open space from the citadel, towards which its principal front is turned. We took the scarped path leading to Joseph's divan, near which is a remarkable well, to which Baron Taylor directed our attention. It is a quadrangular edifice, intended to supply the citadel with water, and its depth, they say, is carried down to the level of the bed of the river; it is sunk in the solid rock, the descent is by steps, lighted at first by loop-holes; but after

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going down a certain distance, torches are indispensable.

With respect to the mosque, called Joseph's Divan, it is sustained on monolithic columns of beautiful marble, which support arches, in a slight degree reentrant, on their Corinthian capitals; they are sculptured with Arabic characters, representing particular verses of the Koran. Continuing our ascent, we at length reached the platform of the rock; the palace of the Pacha has been erected on this culminating point; it is a confused heap of stones, wooden pillars, and Italian pictures in the most detestable taste; the whole badly suited to the exigencies of the climate."

Karah-Kúsh, the captain and prime minister of Salah-ed-Din, as we have already said, built the citadel, sunk the well, and traced the walls of the new city; consequently, his memory is very popular; and as he was a hump-backed dwarf, his name has been given to the Arab punch, who enjoys great liberty in the streets of Cairo, and ventures upon the most grotesque and scurrilous jests.

We were accompanied in our excursion by M'Moara, interpreter to the consulate, and formerly dragoman to the Mamelukes of the guard, whom we had found on our arrival established in the hotel. To his old business, he had joined a new trade, namely, that of a traffic in antiquities; he possessed,