PRINTING.

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blishment; and the only thing worth mentioning, is, that an effort has been made to print a newspaper,- -the "Cairo Gazette." We can easily conceive that the difficulties which an Editor must have to contend with in such a country, must be enormous. Where the population consists of almost every nation and language, -where there are so many different interests to serve -such discrepancy and caprice in regard to religion, politics, taste, feeling, and principle, to say nothing of the jealousy and deeply rooted prejudices of the Ulemah, and the Scheikhs, and innumerable obstacles likely to be thrown in his way by the Pascha and his officers, the success of such an undertaking must be very doubtful. I am afraid the prospects at present are not very bright; let us hope they will improve; there is no want of talent if it is only encouraged. Credit is certainly due to those who have made the first attempt: the step is a very important one, and if promoted by the merchants, must ultimately lead to beneficial results.

The next point of attraction was "Joseph's Well," an object of some interest, as it reminded us of the famous Khaliphe Youssouff, or "Salah-ed-Din"-a designation which being interpreted, signifies "destroyer of infidels and heathens;" but which the moderns have converted into "Saladin."* It is certainly a wonderful excavation, having been cut to the depth of 270 feet, through solid calcareous rock, and measuring at the opening 45 feet in diameter. It was formerly intended to supply the citadel with water, but it would afford a very scanty supply now; and might be cut off altogether in the event of a siege. Moreover, the reservoir being on a level with the Nile, it has to percolate the intervening strata, and it becomes brackish in conse

VOL. I.

* See The History of the Crusades.

A A

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JOSEPH'S WELL-THE SARACENS.

quence. This is not the only work of the kind to be met with. According to Monsieur Maillet, there are five other wells of a similar description, at the foot of the mountains near Old Cairo. We descended the shaft by means of a winding, spiral stair; each person carrying with him a wax taper. There is plenty of room, and the air is not unpleasant; but the steps are broken, slippery, and dirty. Half way down, or at the depth of about 150 feet, is a large cistern, erected in a spacious chamber, which is filled by means of a wheel, turned by oxen, or buffaloes, in the same way as that above. The drivers and those employed with them, seemed to take it very easily, and were enjoying their pipe with perfect nonchalance. The staircase now becomes narrower, and there is no longer any parapet ; it is not worth the trouble of descending: there is nothing to see at the bottom but a pool of water, only made use of now to irrigate the palace gardens, within the walls of the citadel, to which it is conducted by pipes. On leaving "Joseph's well," we enquired for the ancient palace, the same in which the renowned "Salah-ed-Din" is said to have lodged. But alas! a few, and very few, upright monolithic columns, a gateway, and part of a heavy looking wall, alone remained to mark the spot. Heaps of masonry, broken shafts, scrolls, and architraves, more or less buried in rubbish, were strewed about; and a modern fountain or tank, built by Mohammed Ali, occupied part of this noble site. Some of the columns, still standing, were most beautiful: they were light and elegant, and surmounted by a richly ornamented capital. But I am sorry to say, that future travellers will see no more of them, as the workmen had commenced cutting them down for repairing the damage which was done in

HALL OF THE KHALIPHE YOUSSOUFF. 355

1824, by the explosion of a magazine; and those which were not then demolished, have since been appropriated to the engineering projects of the Viceroy. The fate of "Joseph's hall" is sealed!—the princely home of the mighty "Saladin" is destroyed! The favoured spot where the champions of Islam used to meet, and the banners of the Crescent were unfurled, will soon be forgotten, like a tale that is told the gilded domes, the lofty spires, the painted chambers, which were for ages the pride and boast of the Saracens, will have passed away like a dream; and generations yet unborn will say, when the early days of chivalry are named "Man, vain, all-sufficient man, moves like a shadow upon the earth, and disappears; -he struts his hour, and plays his part, but knoweth not the end thereof!"What would the Hero of the East have said could he have foreseen that the descendants of a line of kings, the faithful followers of the Prophet, would be treacherously overthrown; and the last blow to his own honour struck by a Moslem !—“Sic transit gloria mundi!"

CHAPTER XIII.

CAIRO VIEW FROM THE CASTLE TERRACE-TENDENCY OF MOHAMMED ALI'S PROCEEDINGS TO PROMOTE CHRISTIANITY-THE KHORAN-APOLOGY FOR THE PASCHA GALLOWAY BEY-THE FRANK POPULATION -MOSLEM ABHORRENCE OF IDOLATRY ESTIMATION OF EUROPEANS-ORIENTAL LITERATUREDISEASES OF THE HEART; ASTHMA; CONSUMPTION: -DONKEY BOYS-THE ASS OF L'HASSA-IDOLS OF MNEVIS AND APIS THE CITY OF "ON" — THE SHEPHERD KINGS-GOSHEN-THE COTTON PLANT— AIN SHEMYSS"-"TREE OF THE MADONNA"-THE NILOMETER OF HELIOPOLIS-BORING FOR WATER IN THE WILDERNESS, ETC.

THE view from the castle terrace is one of the finest that can be imagined. Near at hand, is the modern city, irregular in shape, but somewhat resembling a quadrant: rising above the flat roofs of the houses, we distinguish the gloomy walls of the Greek and Latin convents, numerous tapering minarets, and graceful domes interspersed with trees; and looking down upon the square in which the noble mos'que of Sultan Hassan is situated, we observe near the outlets of several streets, numberless persons of all descriptions moving about, camels reposing, or passing to and fro, and soldiers exercising:-the eye is then attracted by the Nile, its cand'gias, plantations, and kiosks; D'germs laden with cotton, earthenware, or grain; the

PANORAMIC VIEW OF CAIRO.

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beautiful little island of "Er-Rhouddah," thickly planted with acacias and sycamores; and an almost infinite variety of objects which the suburbs present. To the north-east are the buildings and port of Boulac, together with the gardens and palace of Shoubra on the one side; and on the other, the supposed site of Memphis, the ancient aqueduct, a Saracen fort, the pyramids of D'gizeh, Sakh'arah, Darshour, and Abousir :-to the east and south-east, the "Mokattam" hills, rocky and barren, extending in some places to the river; at others, receding and leaving a plain; which in former times was well cultivated, but which, is now, in many parts neglected :-stretching beneath these broken craggs, the new town, and the Nile, are the ruins and summer retreats of Fostât, (Old Cairo,) the Persian Babylon, and the site of a Roman garrison called Troy; beyond which, are the extensive quarries of Mount Attikêh, whence, we have reason to believe, the stone was taken for the building of Pharaoh's celebrated "Store Cities" &c.; but the view to the eastward, is more drear and melancholy, consisting only of sterile rocks, and mounds of sand, leading by the public burial grounds, and the cemeteries of the Kha'liphes, to the wilderness.

It has been justly remarked, that few spots present, in so small a compass, such an extraordinary assemblage of interesting objects; for ancient and modern times are strangely blended in the associations which they awaken. We are transported, at one moment, to the days of the Patriarchs,-at another to those of the Mamlûks and the Christians: if we look towards the north-east, our attention is directed to the Obelisque of Heliopolis, the mud villages of Matarieh, and the once fertile plains of Goshen, in the time of Jacob,