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lizard made its appearance in every chamber, CHAP. having circular membranes at the extremity of its feet, which gave it such tenacity, that it walked upon window-panes of glass, or upon the surfaces of pendent mirrors. This revolting sight was common to every apartment, whether in the houses of the rich or of the poor. At the same time, such a plague of flies covered all things with their swarms, that it was impossible to eat without hiring persons to stand by every table with feathers, or flappers, to drive them away. Liquor could not be poured into a glass; the mode of drinking was, by keeping the mouth of every bottle covered until the moment it was applied to the lips; and instantly covering it with the palm of the hand, when removing it to offer to any one else. utmost attention to cleanliness, by a frequent change of every article of wearing apparel, could not repel the attacks of vermin which seemed to infest even the air of the place. A gentleman made his appearance, before a party he had invited to dinner, with lice swarming

The

(2) A similar membrane terminates each foot o. a common fly; beneath which, a vacuum takes place, and the animal maintains a footing upon ceilings, owing to the pressure of the external air upon this membrane.

CHAP. upon his clothes. The only explanation he could

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give as to the cause, was, that he had sat for a short time in one of the boats upon the canal. Perhaps objection may be made to a statement, even of facts, which refers to no pleasing theme; but the author does not conceive it possible to give Englishmen a correct notion of the trials to which they will be exposed in visiting this country, without calling some things by their names. The insects of the Nile are many of them also common to the Don: other instances of similarity in the two rivers have been before noticed'. The gardens of Caïro are filled with turtle-doves, whose melancholy notes suit the solitary disposition of the Turks. Their national music has the same plaintive character. The houses of the city are larger and better built than those of Constantinople; the foundations being of stone, and the superstructure of bricks and mortar; but they have the same gloomy appearance externally. The interior consists principally of timber. The French had pulled down many houses, in order to obtain fuel: owing to this, and to the commotions that had taken place, a considerable part of the city appeared to be in

(1) See Vol. I. Chap. XIII. p. 355. 8vo. edition.

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of Caïro.

ruins. The inhabitants generally ride upon mules CHAP. or asses: the latter are so active in this country, and possess such extraordinary strength, that Statistics for all purposes of labour, even for carrying heavy burthens across the sandy desert, they are next in utility to the camel, and will bear work better than horses. The horse in Egypt is rather as an animal of parade, than for essential service. The vast army of the Wahabees in the desert were said to be mounted upon camels and upon asses. The population of Cairo consisted at this time of Arabs and Mamlukes, for the chief part; and, besides these, were Copts, Jews, and Greeks, together with the adventitious multitude caused by the events of war, which had filled the streets of the city with the Sepoys and various casts of India, with Turks, Italians, French and English soldiers, merchants, and adventurers of every description. The Indian army, under British Army from General Baird, was encamped in the Isle of India. Rhouda, and presented the first military spectacle it is possible to conceive; offering a striking contrast to the appearance of the troops from England, which were encamped upon the Alexandrian Plain. The Indian army, in possession of abundant supplies, and having all the comforts which wealth and power could bestow, might be considered rather as an encampment

CHAP. of powerful princes than of private men.

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The

tents of its subalterns were superior to the marquees of general-officers in the English army, where the Commander-in-chief lived as the poorest soldier, and wretchedness and privation were the standing orders of the day'. Every morning, at sun-rise, as in Lord Hutchinson's army, a gun was fired, and the whole line of the troops from India were under arms, amounting to 3000 men. At this hour, we often resorted to the Isle of Rhouda, to view the magnificent parade. An immense grove of the most enor

(1) The luxury and pomp of the Indian army may be conceived, by simply stating the fact, that glass lustres, manufactured in London, exported to India, and thence conveyed, after a voyage up the Red Sea, upon the backs of camels across the desert from Cosseir to the Nile, were suspended in the audience-pavilion of the Commander-inchief. Breakfasting with a lieutenant of the sixty-first regiment, we were regaled with white bread, and fresh butter, made upon the spot for the occasion, (which perhaps had never been seen before in Egypt,) fruit, cream, tea, coffee, and chocolate. The impression made by external splendor, upon men characterized as are the inhabitants of the Turkish empire, is more effectual for the advancement of our political interests in the East, than the operations of war. An ignorant Moslem attaches higher ideas of power to the appearance of wealth, than to any effect of military strength.

(2) The author may here notice the visit he made, upon one of these occasions, to the Mikias, or Nilometer, upon this Isle, in company with Mr. Hummer. As the interior of this building was long concealed from the observation of Europeans, it may be proper to mention, that the roof is supported by pointed arches erected early in the ninth century. Mr. Hummer copied some Cuphic inscriptions upon

the

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mous sycamore fig-trees, larger than any of our CHAP. forest trees, secured almost the whole army from the rays of the sun. Troops in such a state of military perfection, or better suited for active service, were never seen, not even in the famous parade of the chosen Ten-thousand belonging to Buonaparte's legions, which he was so vain of displaying, before the present war, in the front of the Thuilleries at Paris. Not an

unhealthy soldier was to be seen. The English

inured to the climate of India considered that of Egypt as temperate in its effects; and the sepoys seemed as fond of the Nile as of the Ganges. After General Baird had inspected the line, the sepoys were marched to Caïro, where, having piled their arms before one of the principal mosques, they all joined the Moslems in their

the walls, stating, that the building was constructed by the Caliph Al-Mamoun, in the year 211 of the Hégira, answering to the year 833 of our æra. The same fact is attested by the observations of Le Pere, as read to the French Institute at Caïro, January the 11th, 1799. (Voy. Decade Egyptienne, tom. II. p. 278. au Kaïre, An viii de lu République.) For the rest, the building has been recently so often described, that it was not thought necessary to give a particular account of it.

(3) The Editor of Hasselquist's Travels has mistaken his measure of circumference for diameter:-" This is a huge tree, the stem being often fifty feet tkich." See Hasselquist's Travels, p. 259. Lond. 1766. It cannot surely be intended that the sycamore-trees of Egypt were nearly nineteen yards in diameter.,