APPENDIX. EASTERN LETTERS, SIGNATURES, AND SEALS.* ORIENTAL epistles are sometimes very curious productions: they are plain or ornamented, long or short, according to the rank of the individual to whom they are written, and the object of the address; but they are always complimentary. It is usual to leave a broad margin, and not to begin for at least two-thirds of the paper. We are informed that in the thirteenth century, some of the Tartar Princes of Asia, relations of the Eastern Monarchs, wrote letters which were from two to nine feet in length; and that Tamerlan, wishing to shew a great compliment to one of the Egyptian Sultans, sent him a letter which was seventy feet long! It is moreover recorded, that the letters addressed by the Kings of Persia to Louis XIV. measured three feet. In Turkey, the Authorities use on State occasions, paper which is much larger; and the letters which the Sultan and the Grand Vizier have at different times dispatched to the Crowned Heads of Europe, were sometimes seven feet long. It must not be supposed that these diplomatic documents were so verbose as to cover the paper, although always couched in adulatory terms: but the most punctilious observance is invariably paid to titles, and these are distinguished by particular colours; the name is put in the most conspicuous place, and it is considered a very marked compliment to emblazon it forth in gold letters. The signature of the Sultan is called "Togra," and it is the same as we see upon the coin of the Empire. The Orientals use no locks, but seals. We learn from history that the ancients sealed every thing which appertained to the State, as well as to wealth: (see Esther, chap. iii.) and to "give up the seal," was to give up all power :--it was the custom of the Doges of Venice, when they commenced their reign, to "wed the Adriatic" by means of a ring:-and in the present day, to "lose a ring," more especially a signet-ring, is considered a very bad omen. * Vide Vol. I. p. 322, and Vol. II. p. 5. 458 APPENDIX. AN ACCOUNT OF MOHAMMED ALI'S DOMESTIC CIRCLE.* Mohammed Ali, born in 1769, at Cavala, brought with him from his native place one wife, Amina Kh'anum; † she bore him four children, of whom two, viz., Toussoun Pascha and Ismael, are dead; and two living, viz., Ibrahim Pascha, aged 52 years, and Nazly Kh'anum, aged 46, widow of the Defterdar, Mohammed Bey, who has no children. Amina Kh'anum, now dead, is described as having been a most amiable woman, to whose good temper and invariable kindness Mohammed Ali owes much. As the Mohammedan law allows four wives, and numerous concubines, Mohammed Ali, at various periods, married three other wives, now living, viz., 2. Shan Shafa Kh'anum, a Georgian slave, who bore him four children, all dead; 3. Nourac Kh'anum, also a Georgian, but no children; and 4. Selwy Kh'alfa‡ Kh'anum, a Georgian slave, mother of Zenab Kh'anum, now sixteen years old. Mohammed Ali has several children by Shan Pezent Kh'alfa, from Abassa, near Georgia; he is father of Said Bey, now 20 years old; by Manthas Kh'alfa, a Russian slave, he has Hussein Bey, fifteen years old; by Shan Shacher Kh'alfa, a Circassian slave, a boy of twelve years called Aly Bey; by Zeeha Kh'alfa, a Georgian, he has Halim Bey, eleven years old; by Zelpha Kh'alfa, lately raised to the rank of fourth wife, and who resides at Alexandria, he is the father of Iskander (Alexander in Turkish), so called from the city of his birth; by a Georgian slave named Zipha Kh'alfa he had a son called Mohammed Ali, born in 1836, during his visit to Candia, and he is said to have other slaves pregnant. His Harem is arranged on the most magnificent, yet most orderly style; there are between 90 and 100 of the most beautiful slaves to be found in the East, and twelve musicians and twelve dancers, all girls under 15 years of age, who are taught, the former to play on every sort of instrument, and the latter to dress in the costume of every nation, and to dance according to the costume. There are at least 300 females in this building, which adjoins his palace, besides between forty and fifty eunuchs, and various Arab menial slaves. When he quits the Divan and enters the Harem, one of the young slaves with a silver wand is in waiting to receive him, and upon his appearance, announces his arrival to the Assembly. He then marches through a double row to his seat, where he is complimented and fêted; a female secretary, taught to write well and to keep secrets, attends him to write his dispatches; and occasionally, others read translations of the most remarkable articles from the London and Paris papers. At night, while he sleeps, half of the fair slaves are in continual waiting, and three are stationed at his feet and three at his head, to keep away the mosquitoes + Kh'anum signifies Lady. * See Vol. I. p. 404, et. seq. Kh'alfa means Mistress or Superior Slave. APPENDIX. 459 and flies. The utmost regularity and order are observed, and punishments, such as flogging-even death by strangulation or drowning, are inflicted, it is said, by the black eunuchs. Curiosity in looking out of the windows, &c., is one of the greatest offences. His eldest son, Ibrahim Pascha, has two wives in Cairo, but no children by them; by three favourite slaves he has three boys,-Achmet Bey, 17 years; Mustapha Bey, 14 years; and Ismael Bey, 13 years old. There are also fifty slaves in his Harem. Mohammed Ali had twelve brothers and two sisters, all of whom are dead; by one of the latter he has three nephews-viz., 1st, Achmet Pascha, aged 38, who went to Yemen as Commander-in-Chief; and 2d, Ibrahim Pascha, aged 36, lately General of a division in Syria, and who was to go as Governor to Yemen when his brother had subjugated it fully; and 3d, Hussein Bey, who was placed at the head of the monopoly of spirits. Those three brothers have also children. The second son of Mohammed Ali, viz., Toussoun Pascha, left at the time of his death a boy, now 36 years old, named Abbas Pascha, who is also father of several children. The third son, Ismael Pascha, burnt to death some years ago in Sennaar, left a widow, the sister of the Cadi of Cairo, appointed in 1835 by the Porte. A relation of Mohammed Ali, named Toussoun Bey, left two daughters in the Harem, besides a third married to the Admiral Osman Noureddin Pascha, who deserted. The son of the master whom Mohammed Ali served when a boy, was subsequently married to his daughter (dead without children), and is now known as Moharem Bey, who was made Governor of Alexandria. It may be a satisfaction to persons who commiserate the fair prisoners of the Harem, all of whom value the customs of Europe, to learn that it is a frequent practice to give them as wives to officers, and that many an orison is uttered for that blessing, as they then become important in their husbands' houses. THE EGYPTIAN CURRENCY.* The coins of Egypt are of comparatively uncertain real value: the material of which they are composed being thin and flimsy, they are constantly deteriorating. The coins of Constantinople are seldom met with, and there are others which are only nominal, being referred to for convenience-sake in mercantile and Government transactions. 460 Venetian Sequin APPENDIX. Piastres. 34 75 English Sovereign A Pound sterling, according to the rate of exchange, about 70 Kháyréëh of Egypt Half Kháréëh of Egypt 9 4 pieces of 5 parahs. These silver coins contain at least half their weight of copper, and they are so light, that they are easily blown away by the wind. Pias. Parahs. The Mahboob is a nominal sum of 3 2 10 Being the value of the old Mahboob and Dollar. A Purse or "Kees" is a nominal sum of 500 Piastres, from about`51. to 61. English. A "Kazneh" means a sum of twice this amount. In 1831, the Purse was estimated at about 71. 3s.; but in consequence of the great deterioration of the coin, its actual value is now considerably reduced:—it is only estimated at 51. Memo. On the 16th of January, 1842, the people were represented to be overwhelmed with losses sustained since Mohammed Ali's new Tariff of the Mint was issued. (See Vol. II. p. 135.) The Egyptian money became ideal only, because the merchants refused to pay in any other currency than that of Constantinople, and according to the same rate of exchange. From this it appeared that the only gainers were the Saraafs, the money-changers, and the merchants. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. There is not any standard for these used indifferently; but it is fixed in reference to the nature of the merchandise. The weights in common use are chiefly the following: 1.-The Rotal or Rut'l, estimated at about 15 oz avoirdupois. This answers to our pound, and it is equal to 144 dirh'ems, or drachmæ. |