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These two kinds of entertainment are precisely what are customary at the present day in Egypt. Among the ainusements of the ancient Egyptians was witnessing the performance of various gymnastic feats. They had several games, one of which probably resembled draughts. Under the old kingdom the chief occupations of the rich seem to have been those of a country life, in its duties, the superintendence of husbandry, of the taking stock of flocks and herds, and of the shipment of produce, and the examination of fisheries, or again in seeing to the efficient work of the people of the estate who were engaged in any craft; and the pleasures of country life filled up the leisure. In ancient times Egypt had far more cover for wild fowl than now. Thus we see from the subjects of the tombs that the rich Egyptian was in the habit of going into the marshes in a canoe, generally with some of his children, to spear the hippopotamus, or more frequently to knock down birds with the curved throw stick. In fowling, a cat was sometimes used as a retriever. At other times he fished in his ponds, or shot or coursed with hounds various auimals of the antelope kind. Every rich man in the age of the Empire had a chariot, generally drawn by two horses, which he usually drove himself, standing up in it. The life of the ladies was not unlike that of the men, except that they only joined in the sports as spectators. They seem to have passed their time in household matters, in visiting, and in the simplest country pleasures. Occasionally they rode in heavy cars drawn by oxen. Their manners appear to have been indolent and luxurious. Among the lower orders the lighter work usuaily fell to the women. Both men and women led hard lives, having scanty clothing and poor food; yet the genial climate, in which the wants of the labourer must always have been few, rendered their condition not so painful as one might suppose.

Language and Literature. The language of the people was the Egyptian, the later form of which, after they had become Christians, is called Coptic. Comparative philology has not yet satisfactorily determined its place. There can be no doubt that it is related to the Semitic family, but it has not yet been proved to belong to it. The grammatical structure is distinctly Semitic, and many roots are common to the Semitic languages. On the other hand, the Egyptian has essential characteristics which detach it from this family. It is monosyllabic, and its monosyllabism is not that from which scholars have endeavoured to deduce Semitic, but rather such as would belong to a decayed condition. This monosyllabism is like that of Syriac. Dr Brugsch strongly affirms the affinity of the Egyptian to the Indo-Germanic as well as the Semitic languages (Hist., 2 ed. 6), but the former relation has to be proved. It has been supposed that the monosyllabism of the Egyptian is due to its having in part originated from a Nigritian source (Genesis of the Earth and of Man, 2d ed. 255, seqq.). Certainly this is a characteristic of some Nigritian languages, and the want of any large agreement in the vocabulary would be sufficiently explained by the changes that the languages of savage nations undergo from the absence of a literature. It can therefore scarcely yet be asserted with Dr Brugsch that the Egyptian has no analogy to the African languages (l.c.), by which, no doubt, he intends those which have no Semitic element. The problem will probably be solved either by a careful study of all the African languages which show traces of Semitic structure side by side with those that are without such traces, or by the discovery of the unknown element in Egyptian in the Akkadian or some other primitive language of Western Asia, which cannot be called Semitic in the recognized sense of the term. During its long history the language underwent little change until it became Coptic. It had two dialects-those of Upper and Lower Egypt,

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(Brugsch, ibid.); and by degrees a vulgar dialect was formed which ultimately became the national language not long before the formation of Coptic. One curious innovation in the Egyptian language was the fashion under the Ramses family of introducing Semitic words instead of Egyptian ones. From the manner in which these words are spelt it is evident that the Egyptians at that time had no idea of a Semitic element in Egyptian, for they always treat them as foreign words and retain the long foreign forms. The chief change in Coptic was the introduction of many Greek words, especially to supply the place of religious terms eliminated from the vocabulary. The inscribed and written character of Egyptian was the hieroglyphic, a very complex system, which expressed ideas by symbols or by phonetic signs, syllabic and alphabetic, or else by a combination of the two methods. From this was formed the hieratic, a ruuning hand, or common written form of the hieroglyphic, principally used for documents written on papyrus. Its oldest records are not equal in age to the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions, but probably it is not much later in origin. The demotic or enchorial writing is merely a form of hieratic used for the vulgar dialect, and employed for legal documents from the time of Dyn. XXVI. downwards. The Coptic is written with the Greek alphabet, with the addition of six new letters and a ligature, these letters being taken from the demotic to express sounds unknown to Greek. For further details see the article HIEROGLYPHICS.

Much ancient Egyptian literature has come down to us, and it must be allowed that from a literary point of view it has disappointed expectation. What it tells is full of interest, but the mode of telling rarely rises to the diguity of style. So unsystematic is this literature that it has not given us the connected history of a single reign, or a really intelligible account of a single campaign. The religious documents are still less orderly than the historical. It is only by the severe work of some of the ablest critics during the last fifty years that from those disjointed materials a consistent whole has been constructed.

The most important religious work is the Funeral Ritual, or Book of the Dead, a collection of prayers of a magical character referring to the future condition of the disembodied soul, which has already been noticed. It has been published by Dr Lepsius (Das Todtenbuch der Aegypter) and M. de Rougé (Rituel Funéraire), and translated by Dr Birch (Bunsen's Egypt's Place, v.). De Rougé, in his most interesting papers in the Revue Archéologique (n.s.), has done the utmost that a splendid critical faculty and an unusual mastery of language could achieve to present parts of the work in the most favourable form. Still it must remain a marvel of confusion and poverty of thought. Similar to the Ritual is the Book of the Lower Hemisphere. The other religious works and inscriptions are of a wider range. The temple inscriptions indeed are singularly stilted and wanting in variety; but the papyri contain some hymns which are of a finer style, particularly that to the Nile by Euna, translated by Canon Cook (Records of the Past, iv. 105), and that to RaHarmachis, translated by Dr Lushington (ibid. viii. 129) and Professor Maspero (Histoire Ancienne, 32, seqq.). The moral writings have a higher quality than the religious, if we may judge from their scauty remains. The historical writings fall into two classes according to their official or unofficial character. Those that are official present the worst form of the panegyrical style, the others are simple though wanting in method. The letters are of more interest, from their lively portrayal of ancient Egyptian manners. In works of fiction there is a greater degree of skill, and in the "Tale of Setnau" (Records of the Pust, iv.) we even find touches of humour. Egyptian literature VIL. · 91

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is not without its merits, but it has that want of lofty ideas and of charm which is characteristic of the literature of nations which have written very much and have had no other means of addressing mankind.

Science-Fresh information is being constantly acquired as to the knowledge of science possessed by the ancient Egyptians. Their progress in astronomy is evident from their observations, and still more from the cycles they formed for the adjustment of different reckonings of time. Their knowledge of geometry is attested by their architecture, and by a document on the lands of the temple of Adfoo; and the annual inundation must have made careful surveys and records necessary for the preservation of landed property. Very great mechanical skill must have been needed to move the vast blocks used in their buildings, sometimes for very long distances. in part by difficult landroutes, and then to place them in position. Considering the want of iron, aud of any but the very simplest mechanical appliances, the achievements of the Egyptian architects are an enigma to modern science (Brugsch, | Hist., 2d ed. 52). Chemistry and metallurgy had also made great progress. The hardening of the bronze tools with which they cut granite is a proof of this, and the manner in which Moses destroyed the golden calf is another evidence. Medicine and surgery were much studied, and the Egyptians were in those sciences only inferior to the Greeks. Arts. Of the arts architecture claims the first place, sculpture and painting being subservient to it among the Egyptians. Temples were not built to contain statues, but statues were set up to adorn temples, of which they were a part, and the walls were covered with sculptures and paintings which had a decorative purpose. The group of these arts may therefore be considered as a whole, and thus the principle they expressed may be best discovered. This principle seems not to have been accidental, but a deliberate choice. The country and climate afforded the best means of symbolizing the leading idea of the Egyptiau religion in the material forms of art. Life after death was that idea, and it found expression in the construction of tombs as lasting as the rocks on which they rested. The pyramid is the first form of Egyptian art, and modifications | of its form, in truncated pyramids, are seen in the main outlines of all later edifices or excavations. The decorations were subordinated to the idea of commemoration, and thus every building was at once religious and historical in its purpose. To this the Egyptian monuments owe a reserved grandeur that is not affected by the symmetrical qualities of hieratic art nor by the use of strongly contrasted colours. The art is always dignified, and the colours, being seen either in strong sunlight outside the monuments, or in dim twilight within them, are never glaring. The effect is exactly what was intended, and would probably not have been produced had the art been more advanced, the whole range of ancient art Egyptian may take its place next after Greek. Indeed in some instances it excels Greek, as when in animal forms the natural is subordinated to the ideal. The lions from Gebel Barkal, presented by the fourth duke of Northumberland to the British Museum, are probably the finest examples of the idealization of animal forms that any age has produced.

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From these observations we may form some idea of the character of the ancient Egyptians. They were religious, but superstitious; brave without cruelty, but tyrannical; hospitable, but not to strangers. In'dress they were plain, but luxurious in their ornaments; simple in their food, but given to excess in wine. With respect for family ties, they were careless in their morals. The women enjoyed great freedom, yet their character does not seem to have been higher than it is among their descendants, subject to the lowering influence of the hareem seclusion. Though the

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chief object of every man's life was the construction of his tomb, and the most costly personal event was the funeral, the Egyptians were singularly mirthful, delighting in music and the dance, and so given to caricature that even in the representation of a funeral ceremony the artist cannot omit a ludicrous incident. The double origin of the race seems as apparent here as in their physical type and their religion. The generous qualities of the Shemite are being perpetually perverted by the inferior impulses of the Nigritian; and again the bright elements of the Nigritian character are strangely darkened by the shadow of the gloomy tendency of the Shemite.

The industrial arts were carried to a high degree of excellence by the ancient Egyptians. In weaving and all the processes connected with the manufacture of linen they have never been surpassed. Their pottery was excellent in quality and suitable to its various purposes, and their glass but slightly inferior to that of the Greeks. In the making of furniture, and instruments of music, vessels of metal, alabaster, and other materials, arms and domestic imple ments, they showed great taste and skill, and their influence on Greek art through the Phoenicians is undoubted, though they did little more than afford suggestions to more skilful artists of Hellas.

The Egyptians had a great variety of musical instruments, the number of which shows how much attention was paid to the art. Various kinds of harps are represented, played with the hand, and of lyres, played with or without the plectrum, and also a guitar. There are other stringed instruments, for which it is difficult to find a modern name. The Egyptians had also flutes, single and double pipes, the tanıbourine of various forms, cymbals, cylindrical maces, drums of different kinds beaten with the hands or sticks, the trumpet, and the sacred sistrum. The military music was that of the trumpet, drum, and cylindrical maces; but almost all the instruments were used in the temple services. It is impossible to form any conjecture as to the character of the music, unless we may suppose that with many of the old instruments the modern inhabitants have preserved its tradition. It may therefore be mentioned that they are ignorant of harmony, but have fineness of ear and of execution. The musicians often sang or danced while they played. The dances of both men and girls were of various kinds, from what may be called feats of agility to slow movements. The dancers were chiefly girls, whose performances evidently resembled those of their modern successors, and whose clothing was even more transparent or scanty.

Ceremonies. We know little of the private festivities of the ancient Egyptians. In particular no representation of a marriage ceremony has yet been discovered on the monuments. The greatest ceremony of each man's life was his funeral. The period of mourning began at the time of death, and lasted seventy-two days or a shorter time. During this time the body was embalmed and swathed in many linen bandages, the outermost of which was covered with a kind of pasteboard, which represented the deceased, in the form we call a mummy, as a labourer in the Elysian fields, carrying the implements of husbandry, the face and hands being alone seen, and the rest of the body being painted with subjects relating to the future state, and bearing a principal inscription giving the name and titles of the Osiris, justified." The viscera were separately preserved in vases having covers in the forms of the heads of the four genii of Amenti. The mummy was inclosed in a case of wood having the same shape, and this was again inclosed, when the deceased was a rich man, within either another wooden case, or more usually a sarcophagus of stone, sometimes of the same form as the mummy, but generally rectangular, or nearly so. The mummy was then placed on a sledge, drawn by oxen or by men, and was frequently taken

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to the bank of the river, or the shore of a sacred lake, which was to be crossed in order to reach the place of burial. sacred boat carrying the mummy, attended by mourners, was towed by another boat, and followed by others containing mourners, offerings, and all things necessary for the occasion (Anc. Eg., pl. 83-86). On reaching the tomb the sarcophagus was placed in a sepulchral chamber, usually at the bottom of a pit, and offerings for the welfare of the deceased were made in a chapel in the upper part of the tomb. One tomb sufficed for each family, and sometimes for some generations; and in the case of the less wealthy, many were buried in the sepulchiral chambers of a single pit, above which was no structure or grotto. It has been already noticed that, according to Diodorus, every one was judged by a legal tribunal before the right of burial was permitted, and of this there may be a survival in the practice of the modern Egyptians, which prescribes that a witness must answer for the good character of the deceased before his burial (Modern Egyptians, ch. xxviii.). After the burial, offerings were made at stated times each year by the family, and the chief inscription begged the passer-by to say a prayer for the good of the inhabitant of the tomb. These customs led to many abuses. The maintenance of the costly prescribed offerings inust have been most inconvenient, and for this and other purposes the burial-grounds were peopled by a tribe of hungry professional embalmers and lower priests, who made their living not only by their profession but also by fraud and even theft. Yet we must admire the generosity with which the Egyptians lavished their riches upon the most tender form of affection. They were repaid not merely by a natural satisfaction, but also by the wholesome recognition that there are unselfish and unproductive uses for wealth.

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Of the present population of Egypt, the Muslims constitute seven-eighths, and nearly four-fifths of that of the metropolis; and to this class, and more particularly to the people of Cairo, the following sketch of personal characteristics and customs will relate, save in some few cases, which will be distinguished from the rest.

In describing the personal characteristics of this remarkable people, Mr Lane, in the first chapter of The Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (which was written just before European influence was felt in the country, and still deservedly ranks as the only book of authority on the subject), says:

"In general the Muslim Egyptians attain the height of about 5 fert 8 or 5 feet 9 inches. Most of the children under 9 or 10 years of age have spare limbs and a distended abdomen; but as they grow up their forms rapidly improve. In mature age most of them are remarkably well-proportioned; the men muscular aud robust;

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the women very beautifully formed, and plump; and neither sex is too fat. I have never seen corpulent persons among them, excepting a few in the metropolis and other towns, rendered so by a life of inactivity. In Cairo, and throughout the northern provinces, fhose who have not been much exposed to the sun have a yellowish but very clear complexion, and soft skin; the rest are of a consider. ably darker and coarser complexion. The people of Middle Egypt are of a more tawny colour, and those of the more southern provinces are of a deep bronze, or brown complexion-darkest towards Nubia, where the climate is hottest. In general the countenance of the Muslim Egyptians (I here speak of the men) is of a fine oval form: the forehead of moderate size, seldom high, but generally prominent; the eyes are deep sunk, black and brilliant; the nose is straight, but rather thick; the mouth well-formed; the lips are rather full than otherwise; the teeth particularly beautiful; the beard is commonly black and curly, but scanty. I have seen very few individuals of this race with grey eyes; or rather, few persons supposed to be of this race; for I am inclined to think them the offspring of Arab women by Turks, or other foreigners. Felfáheen, from constant exposure to the sun, have a habit of halfshutting their eyes;s is also characteristic of the Bedawees. Great numbers of the Egyptians are blind in one or both eyes. They generally shave that part of the cheek which is above the lower jaw, and likewise a sinall space under the lower lip, leaving, however, the hairs which grow in the middle under the mouth; or, instead of shaving these parts, they pluck out the hair. They also shave a part of the beard under the chin. Very few shave the rest to grow to the length of about a hand's-breadth below the chin of their beards, and none their moustache. The former they suffer (such at least is the general rule, and such was the custom of the Prophet), and their moustache they do not allow to become so long as to incommode them in eating and drinking. The practice of The Egyptians shave all the rest of the hair, or leave only a small dyeing the beard is not common; for a grey beard is much respected. tuft (called 'shoosheh') upon the crown of the head..... From the age of about 14 to that of 18 or 20 [the women], are generally models of beauty in body and limbs; and in countenance most of they have attained their perfect growth, they rapidly decline." them are pleasing, and many exceedingly lovely; but soon after The relaxing nature of the climate, and other predisposing causes, contribute to render many of them absolutely ugly at the age of 40. "In the Egyptian females the forms of womanhood begin to develop themselves about the ninth and tenth year: at the age of 15 or 16 they generally attain their highest degree of perfection. With regard to their complexions, the same remarks apply to them ally veiled when they go abroad, are not quite so much tanned as as to the men, with only this difference, that their faces, being gene those of the men. They are characterized, like the men, by a fine oval countenance, though in some instances it is rather broad. The eyes, with very few exceptions, are black, large, and of a long almond-form, with long and beautiful lashes, and an exquisitely soft, bewitching expression-eyes more beautiful can hardly bo conceived: their charming effect is much heightened by the concealment of the other features (however pleasing the latter may be), and is rendered still more striking by a practice universal among the females of the higher and middle classes, and very common among those of the lower orders, which is that of blackening the edge of the eyelids both above and below the eye, with a black powder called 'kohl.'"

Both sexes, but especially the women, tattoo several parts of the person, and the latter stain their hands and feet with the red dye of the hinnè.

The dress of the men of the upper and middle classes consists of cotton drawers, and a cotton or silk shirt with very wide sleeves. Above these are generally worn a waistcoat without sleeves, and a long vest of silk, called kaftán, which has hanging sleeves, and reaches nearly to the ankles. The kaftán is confined by the girdle, which is a silk scarf, or cashmere or other woollen shawl. Over all is worn a long cloth robe, the gibbeh (or jubbeh) somewhat resembling the kaftán in shape, but having shorter sleeves, and being open in front. The dress of the lower orders is the shirt and drawers, and waistcoat, with an outer shirt of blue cotton or brown woollen stuff; some wear a kaften. The head-dress of all is the turban wound round a skullcap. This cap is usually the red cloth fez, or tarboosh, but the very poor wear one of coarse brown felt, and are often without the turban. Many professions and religions, &c., are distinguished by the shape and colour of the turban, and various classes, and particularly servants, are marked by the form and colour of their shoes; but the poor

go usually barefoot. The ladies wear a shirt and drawers, | a very full pair of silk trousers, and a close-fitting vest with hanging sleeves and skirts, open down the front and at the sides, and long enough to turn up aud fasten into the girdle, which is generally a cashmere shawl; a cloth jacket, richly embroidered with gold, and having short sleeves, is commouly worn over the vest. The hair in front is combed down over the forehead and cut across in a straight line; behind it is divided into very many small plaits, which hang down the back, and are lengthened by silken cords, aud often adorned with gold coins and ornaments. A small tarboosh is worn on the back of the head, sometimes having a plate of gold fixed on the crown, and a handkerchief is tastefully bound round the temples. The women of the lower orders have trousers of printed or dyed cotton, and a close waistcoat. All wear the long and elegant head-veil. This is a simple "breadth" of muslin, which passes over the head and hangs down behind, one side being drawn forward over the face in the presence of a man. A lady's veil is of white muslin, embroidered at the ends in gold and colours; that of a person of the lower class is simply dyed blue. In going abroad the ladies wear above their indoor dress a loose robe of coloured silk without sleeves, and nearly open at the sides, and above it a large envelop ing piece of black silk, which is brought over the head, and gathered round the person by the arms and hands on each side. A face-veil entirely conceals the features, except the eyes; it is a long and narrow piece of thick white muslin, reaching to a little below the knees. The women of the lower orders have the same out-door dress of different materials and colour. Ladies use slippers of yellow morocco, and abroad, inuer boots of the same material, above which they wear, in either case, thick shoes, having only toes. The poor wear red shoes, very like those of the men. Among the upper classes, however, the dress is rapidly becoming assimilated to that of Europeans in its most preposterous form.

In religion the Muslim Egyptians are Sunnees, professing the creed which is commonly termed "orthodox," and are principally of the persuasion of the Sháfe'ees, whose celebrated founder, the imam Esh-Shafe'ec, is buried in the great southern cemetery of Cairo. Many of them are, however, Hanafees (to which persuasion the Turks chiefly belong), and in parts of Lower, and almost universally in Upper, Egypt, Málikees.

The civil administration of justice is conducted in four principal courts of judicature,-that of the Zábit, or chief of the police, where trivial cases are summarily disposed of; the Divan el-Khedivi, in the citadel, in which the khedive or his deputy presides, and where judgment is given in cases which either do not require to be referred to the two other courts yet to be mentioned, or which do not fall within their province; the Divan el-Mahkemeh, the court of the cadi (kádee), or chief judge, who must be a Hanafee, and who was formerly a Turk sent annually from Constantinople, but is now appointed by the khedive, and paid a fixed salary of 4000 napoleons a year; and that of the muftee of the Hanafees, or chief doctor of the law, who decides all cases of difficulty. There are besides five minor mahkemehs, or courts, in Cairo, and one in each of the neighbouring towns of Boolák and Masr El-'Ateekah, from which cases are always referred to the court of the kadee; and each country town has a native kádee, whose authority is generally sufficient for the villages around. The Council of the 'Ulemà, or learned men, consists of the sheykh, or religious chief, of each of the four orthodox persuasions, the sheykh of the great mosque called the Azhar, who is of the persuasion of the Sháfe'ees, and is sometimes its sheykh, the kádee, and the chief (nakeeb) of the Shereefs, or descendants of the Prophet, with several

other persons. This body was until lately very powerful, but now has little influence over the khedive. Cairo is divided into quarters (Hárah), each of which has its sheykh, who preserves order among the people; and the whole city is partitioned into eight larger divisions, each having a sheykh called Sheykh et-Turan. Various trades also have their sheikhs or chiefs, to whom reference is made in disputes respecting the craft; and the servants have similar heads who are responsible for their behaviour. The country is divided into governments, as before stated, each presided over by a Turkish officer, having the title of mudeer, and subdivided into districts under the control of native officers, bearing the titles "Mamoor" and "Názir.” A responsible person called Sheykh el-Beled (or “sheykh of the town" or "village") presides over each small town and village, and is a native of the place. It must also be mentioned that the Sa'eed, or Upper Egypt, is governed by a pasha, whose residence is at Asyoot. Notwithstanding the consistent, able, and in many respects commendable, code of laws which has been founded on the Korán and the Traditions, the administration of justice is lamentably faulty. As is the custom throughout the East, judgment in Egypt is usually swayed by bribes, and a poor man's case is generally hopeless when his adversary is rich. To this rule there have been some notable exceptions, and the memory of a few virtuous judges is cherished by the people; but such instances are very rare. The moral and civil laws observed by the Muslim Egyptians, being those of El-Islám, will be noticed elsewhere. A great abuse formerly existed in Egypt in the system of consular jurisdiction. Natives were compelled to sue a foreigner before the latter's consul, and in nine cases out of ten lost their cause. larly it was very difficult for a foreigner of one nation to obtain justice against one of another nation at the latter's consulate. This abuse has now been done away. At the instance of Nubar Pasha, and after the deliberations of a European commission, three Courts of First Instance at Alexandria, Cairo, and Ismailia, and a Court of Appeal at Alexandria, were established in 1876, presided over by mixed benches of Europeans and natives, the former being the majority, and employing a new code based on the Code Napoléon, with such additions from Muslim law as were possible. These courts decide all cases between the Government or native subjects and foreigners, and between foreigners of different nationalities; and there can be no doubt that they will exercise a great influence for good on the administration of justice in Egypt. It is to be hoped that in course of time they may supersede the old native system in all causes. At present they do but supersede the consular system.

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It is very worthy of notice, that in Cairo, as in some other Muslim cities, any one may obtain gratuitously an elementary education, and he who desires the fullest attainable education may receive that also without the payment of a single fee, by joining a class of students in a collegiate mosque. The elementary instruction which most boys receive consists chiefly of reading, and learning the Korán by heart; day-schools, as charitable institutions, abound in Cairo, and every town possesses its school; a trifling fee to the fikee (or master) is the only expense incurred by the scholars. Girls are seldom taught anything beyond needlework. The children of both sexes, except those of the wealthy. have generally a very dirty and slovenly appearance; and often intentional neglect is adopted to avert the effects of the "evil eye," of which the Egyptians entertain great dread. The children of the upper classes are excessively indulged, while the poor entirely neglect their offspring. The leading doctrines of El-Islám, as well as hatred for all religions but their own, and a great rever ence for their parents and the aged, are early inculcated.

This deference towards parents cannot fail to strike every foreigner who visits Egypt, and does not cease with the children's growth, presenting an example well worthy of imitation in the West. Circumcision is observed at about the age of five or six years, when the boy is paraded, generally with a bridal procession, on a gaily caparisoned horse, and dressed in woman's clothes. Some parents, however, and most of the learned, prefer a quieter and less expensive ceremony (Modern Egyptians, chap. xxvii.).

It is deemed disreputable for a young man not to marry when he has attained a sufficient age; there are therefore few unmarried men. Girls, in like manner, marry very young, some even at ten years of age, and few remain single beyond the age of sixteen; they are generally very prolific. The bridegroom never sees his future wife before the wedding night, an evil which is somewhat mitigated by the facility of divorce. A dowry is always given, and a marriage ceremony performed by a fikee (a schoolmaster, or one who recites the Koran), in the presence of two witnesses, the ceremony is very simple, but constitutes a legal marriage. The bridal of a virgin is attended with great festivity and rejoicing, a grandee wedding sometimes continuing eleven days and nights. On the last day, which should be that terminating with the eve of Friday, or of Monday, the bride is taken in procession to the bridegroom's house, accompanied by her female friends, and a Land of musicians, jugglers, wrestlers, &c. As before stated, a boy about to be circumcised joins in such a procession, or, frequently, a succession of such boys. A Muslim is allowed by his religion four wives; but advantage is rarely taken of this licence, and very few attempt to keep two wives in one house; the expense and discomfort which polygamy entails act, therefore, as a restriction to its goneral adoption. A man may, however, possess any number of concubine slaves, who, though objects of jealousy to the legal wife, are yet tolerated by her in consideration of her superior position, and conceded power over them, a power which she often uses with great tyranny; but certain privileges are possessed by the concubine, especially if she have born a son to her master. Such slaves are commonly kept only by grandees, the generality of the Muslim Egyptians being content with one wife. A divorce is rendered obligatory by the simple words "Thou art divorced," and a triple divorce is irrevocable under ordinary circumstances. The hareem system of appointing separate apartments to the women, and secluding them from the gaze of men, is observed in Egypt as in other Muslim countries, but less strictly. Mr Lane (ibid. ch. vi.) says "I believe that in Egypt the women are generally under less restraint than in any other country of the Turkish empire; so that it is not uncommon to see females of the lower orders flirting and jesting with men in public, and men laying their hands upon them very freely. Still it might be imagined that the women of the higher and middle classes feel themselves severely oppressed, and are much discontented with the state of seclusion to which they are subjected; but this is not commonly the case; on the contrary, an Egyptian wife who is attached to her husband is apt to think, if he allow her unusual liberty, that he neglects her, and does not sufficiently love her; and to envy those wives who are kept and watched with greater strictness." The females of an Egyptian household never sit in the presence of the master, but attend him at his meals, and are treated in every respect as inferiors. The mother, however, forms a remarkable exception to this rule; in rare instances, also, a wife becomes a companion to her husband. On the other hand, if a pair of women's shoes are placed outside the door of the hareem apartments, they are understood to signify that female visitors are within, and a man is sometimes thus excluded

from the upper portion of his own house for many days. Ladies of the upper or middle classes lead a life of extreme inactivity, spending their time at the bath, which is the general place of gossip, or in receiving visits, embroidering, and the like, and in absolute dolce far niente. It is therefore no cause for wonder that their toue of morals is generally low. Both sexes are abstemious in their food, though fond of pastry, sweetmeats, and fruit. The principal meals are breakfast, about an hour after sunrise; dinner, or the mid-day meal, at noon; and supper, which is the chief meal of the day, a little after sunset. Coffee is taken at all hours, and is, with a pipe, presented at least once to each guest. Tobacco is the great luxury of the men of all classes in Egypt, who begin and end the day with it, and generally smoke all day with little intermission. Many women, also, especially among the rich, adopt the habit. Men who can afford to keep a horse, mule, or ass, are very seldom seen to walk, and numberless excellent asses are to be hired in Cairo. Ladies always ride asses and sit astride. The poorer classes are of course unable to observe the hareem system, but the women are in general carefully veiled. Some of them keep small shops, and all fetch wator, make fuel, and cook for their households. The food of the poor is very meagre; flesh meat is rarely tasted by them, and (besides bread) dates, raw cucumbers, and onions are their common food, with soaked beans, roasted ears of Indian corn, &c.

In their social intercourse the Muslim Egyptians are regular, and observe many forms of salutation and much etiquette; yet they are very affable, entering into conversa. tion with strangers at shops and elsewhere. Their courtesy and dignity of manner are very striking, and are combined with ease and a fluency of discourse. Of their mental qualifications Mr Lane (ibid. ch. xiii.) remarks-"The natural or innate character of the modern Egyptians is altered, in a remarkable degree, by their religion, laws, and government, as well as by the climate and other causes; and to form a just opinion of it is therefore very difficult. We may, however, confidently state that they are endowed, in a higher degree than most other people, with some of the more important mental qualities, particularly quickness of apprehension, a ready wit, and a retentive memory. In youth they generally possess these and other intellectual powers; but the causes above alluded to gradually lessen their mental energy." Their principal virtues are piety and strong religious feeling, a strict observance of the injunctions of El-Islám, and a constantly professed sense of God's presence and over-ruling providence, combined, however, with religious pride and hypocrisy. Their common discourse is full of asseverations and expressions respecting sacred things, often, however, used with a levity which it is difficult for a person unacquainted with their feelings easily to reconcile with their respect for God. They entertain an excessive reverence for their Prophet; and the Korán is treated with the utmost respectnever, for example, being placed in a low situation-and this is the case with everything they esteem holy. They are fatalists, and bear calamities with perfect resignation to the Divine will. Their filial piety and respect for the aged have been before mentioned, and benevolence and charity are conspicuous in their character; poverty is therofore not accompanied by the distressing circumstances which too frequently attend it in Europe. Humanity to dumb animals is another virtue, and cruelty is openly discounte nanced in their streets, even to unclean animals; this is," however, unfortunately wearing off in consequence of their intercourse with Franks. Their affability, cheerfulness, and hospitality are remarkable, as well as frugality and temperance in food and drink, scrupulous cleanliness, a love of country, and honesty in the payment of debt. It should

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