386 THE NILOMETER OF MATARIEH. have derived its name from this source; and some have imagined it to be identical with the "BethShemish" of the Old Testament. But the latter was in Canaan, thirty miles west of Jerusalem.* At one season of the year, the whole of this district is flooded by the Nile, and the Obelis'que may be seen rising as it were, from the midst of an immense lake; indeed it forms a very good Nilometer; a few feet above the ground there is a distinct line formed by the accumulation of the waters; it becomes, therefore, a correct indicator of the extent to which the country has been inundated, the preceding year, and the relative amount of prosperity: for the overflowing of the Nile is the greatest blessing which can possibly happen to the Egyptians, notwithstanding it does occasionally carry away a few villages. We have no reason to believe, however, that the inundations extended so high in that direction, in the days of the glory of "On." It is most probable that the waters were collected into a canal, for the convenience of the city, similar to that of "Es-Bekieh" at Cairo. We returned home highly delighted with our excursion. It was one of the most interesting we had made; and so much was the mind engaged, that we scarcely felt the fatigue of the journey. We began to get accustomed to the heat, and to the mode of travelling. The temperature of Cairo is generally about ten degrees of Fahrenheit higher than that of Alexandria, which may be accounted for by the sea-breezes, which seldom fail to visit the latter, every morning and evening, during ten months of the year. In the neighbourhood of Heliopolis, the Viceroy has * 1 Sam. vi. 9. 21. A BORING FOR WATER IN THE WILDERNESS. 387 erected barracks, and a military college. There is also a hospital, and what has been called a school of Medicine. I shall have occasion to speak of these by and bye. The Franks who are here employed, have watered detached portions of land bordering on the desert, and have been well rewarded for their trouble; for it is a rich loamy soil, and only required irrigation. Many little gardens have thus sprung up, where all was previously a parched, and arid wilderness. Great efforts were made to obtain a regular supply of water by boring. I am happy to say that the labour was not thrown away. Experiments have been since tried in the Desert, between Cairo and Suez, and in other parts, and in many instances, with abundant success. CHAPTER XIV. THE ORIENTAL TRADING USURY BAZAARS AND OATHS-VISIT TO MOHAMMED ALI-HALL OF AUDIENCE-ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS-THE COUNCIL CHAMBER-PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE PASCHA -HIS ORIGIN AND HISTORY; HABITS AND ATTACHMENTS-IMPARTIAL CONSIDERATION OF HIS LIFEDESTRUCTION SCHEMES ADOPTED FOR HIS THEREFROM WITH AND TURKEY HIS TALENTS AS A DIPLOMATIST; ASSERTION OF HIS INDEPENDENCE-REMONSTRANCE OF THE EUROPEAN POWERSTREACHERY OF THE OTTOMAN ADMIRAL, ETC. THE bazaars of Cairo do not differ from those of every other large town in the East; they are spacious, well watered, and covered with canvass, in order to keep off the dust and the sun's rays, or the heat would be intolerable:* besides, the merchants often expose at their stalls, goods of considerable value, and the spot is usually one of great bustle; the whole place is in motion; people of all ranks and professions are passing and repassing all day long, and many beggars obstruct The most noisy of the groups that pass in the way. * The principal bazaars are the "Gho'riih," and the "Khan-Khá-leél.” See Mr. Hay's illustrations of Cairo. STREET-PASSENGERS AND SHOP-KEEPERS. 389 review before us, are the pedlars or hawkers, a set of people who get their living by buying and selling any thing they can pick up; they go the round of the bazaars in the morning, when the commotion is at its maximum; they walk at a prodigious rate, proclaiming at the very top of their voice, the qualities of their wares, some of which, they exhibit in their belt or on the shoulders; and they may generally be distinguished at some distance, holding up above the heads of the multitude a sword, a gun, or a brace of pistols. There is a distinct bazaar for each trade. I used sometimes to take my seat among the merchants as a looker-on, in one of these great thoroughfares of Cairo, and never lacked amusement. I do not know a more curious spectacle than that which this moving panorama presents; there is a constant succession of changes, incident, and character, according as the pedlar, the fakir, the Bedoueen, the tax-gatherer, the Jew, the Greek, the English gentleman, and the Frank employé, in turn appears-rapidly followed by the kavaass, the vender of sweetmeats or sherbet, the slave, the conjurer or diviner, the serpent charmer, the buffoon, and the Jack in office,cum multis aliis. In the midst, sits the grave and thoughtful Turk, surrounded by his goods, and apparently indifferent to the passing scene,-taciturn, and, except when a customer approaches, counting his gains, and digesting his plans over a pipe; or conning the pages of his pocket Khoran:-he makes no attempt to solicit business; but should a purchaser draw near, he lays the one or the other aside, to listen to his request; he is polite and obliging, firm, but just in all his dealings and for the most part, honest. He generally invites his patron to be seated while he finds the article he wants; and not unfrequently, sends for coffee, and offers him his pipe, with many salutations. 390 ORIENTAL TRADING.-USURY.—OATHS. : He is not afraid to leave his stall, although there is no other inspector or overlooker than his customer, (of whom perhaps he knows nothing,) and his brother merchants, who sit about on their boards like himself, attending to their own affairs, in their respective shops, which line the avenue on either side. When the Muezzin call the hour of prayer from the minarets, he either kneels down in a corner with his face towards the "Kebleh," or retires to the mos'que; leaving his goods exposed to the mercy of hundreds of passing strangers but he is sure to find everything on his return, precisely as he left it! Should a customer want him in the mean time, his neighbour, notwithstanding he is perhaps a rival in trade, so far from enticing him to his own stores, unhesitatingly sends to fetch the other, and presents the new comer with coffee and a pipe to beguile the time. Whatever may be thought of this by our London tradesmen, I beg to assure them that in the East, this course is universally adopted; it is regarded as a point of honour and every respectable dealer considers that by thus acting, he is doing no more for his fellow-men, than he would expect his neighbour to do for him; a generous, high-minded principle, professed indeed, by every Christian; but I fear too often disregarded in practice! Again; the Turks admit not of usury or oaths; a word is enough, and a bargain once struck, remains sacred. It is seldom that he suffers himself to take less than he asks, or that he asks more than he considers himself entitled to take. The Arabs are very similar in their character as merchants; but although equally honest and true to their word, they have not the same firmness; and will often be induced, by a *Or "Kha'aba"-the shrine of the Prophet. |