Constance Frederica Gordon Cumming

“ This was the city especially sacred to the worship of the golden bull Apis, whose temple faced the rising sun; for although born of a cow-mother in the likeness of a jet-black bull, he bore on his forehead a white star, indicating Deity, and proving to the faithful that the young bull was indeed an incarnate ray of heavenly light. To him multitudes of pure white bulls were sacrificed, and, in later days, red bullocks also—red being the colour of Typho, the Power of Evil. ”

“ There is not an action in life that is not fraught with more or less danger from evil spirits; but the terror ever present to the Egyptian mind is that of the Evil Eye. Every admiring glance cast on whatever belongs to them is actually a pang, so certain is it that some mischief will ensue. It would not even be safe for a man to behold his own face in a looking-glass without blessing the name of the Prophet, lest his unconscious admiration of himself should work mischief. ”

“ Yet when these invisible fire-spirits venture too near the confines of the lowest heaven, the weapons wherewith the angels chase them away are brands hurled from the celestial altars, and men beholding these rushing lights believe that they are falling stars, and sometimes even find a charred fragment, which they call meteoric stones, showing how little they know about it. ”

“ Even the cries of the street hawkers bring in frequent allusions to a spiritual market, as when the poor water-carrier offers a cup of cool refreshing drink to all passers-by, crying aloud, "Oh! may God reward me !" ”

“ Most especially does this dread apply to children. You will see the nearest, cleanest Egyptian lady, whose own raiment is of faultless purity, followed by her own little ones, who are purposely left filthy, so as to attract less attention. Sometimes small boys are even dressed as girls, so as to excite less envy. A mother who, nevertheless, fears that her child has been admired, will at sunset cut off a fragment of its dress, burn it with a little salt and alum, and sprinkle her child with the ashes, having first fumigated it with the smoke. ”

“ We next passed by fertile ground, marking where the influence of the precious Nile waters had been. On every small hillock is invariably perched a native village, a mere cluster of square, flat-roofed, mud huts, built with unbaked bricks, dried in the sun, and perhaps white-washed, and covered with green leaves, cucumbers, and gourds. As soon as the inundations commence, they become a refuge for all manner of terrified reptiles; legions of ants, cockroaches, and lizards; scorpions, toads, centipedes, snakes, all come in swarms to share the homes of the luckless villagers. ”

“ But a camel and a bullock, or a mule and a buffalo, are always quaint pairs. A camel in any case looks out of place when employed for draught work, his nature being so entirely to carry, not to pull. It is always a curious sight to see these great creatures kneel down to receive their burden, and the indignant way in which they look round and show their wicked teeth if they consider they are being overladen. ”

“ The only energetic creatures are the patient, active little donkeys, with their gay scarlet saddles, and the wide-awake little Arabs who own them, and who must be possessed of amazing lungs and wind, as from dawn till sunset they never cease running and vociferating with shrill guttural cries at the top of their most unmelodious voices. ”

“ The legend of Osiris goes on to say that his sepulchre was at Philæ, in the Cataract of the Nile, where for long centuries the Pharaohs and their people made devout pilgrimage; and thence year by year he still sends blessings to the thirsty land in the overflow of the mighty river. Here still stands the temple of Isis, the sorrowing widow of Osiris, whose little child, Horus, is emblematic of life beyond the grave, and who sits for evermore enthroned on a lotus blossom before the judgment throne of Osiris and Isis, encouraging the spirits during their trial. ”

“ The runners who clear the road before great men shout some words equivalent to "Prepare ye the way"; and some years ago, when the royal guests of the Khedive were to be taken from Cairo to the Pyramids, the old order was given to "make straight in the desert an highway"—and very straight it was made, with trees on either side to give shadow to all future travellers. ”

“ Nothing strikes a new-comer more than this simple recognition of religion, at all times and in all places—all life seeming imbued with a constant reference to the presence of God. In every greeting, every gift, every common action of life, all acknowledge Him. ”

“ The bazaars are in some respects different from those where we lingered so long, in Alexandria. They are partially boarded over, to afford a cool, grateful shade, and you look up between the rough planks and see the deep blue sky; everything seems more sleepy—shop-keepers, sentinels, guards, all alike seem to lounge in happy indolence, smoking or gossiping and drinking coffee, the livelong day. ”

“ A curious legacy was some years ago left by a wealthy burgher to enlarge the permanent income of the Cadi, on condition of his nourishing and cherishing all the unclaimed cats in Cairo. Like most Mohammedans, he must have shared the feeling which made the Prophet cut off the wide sleeve of his robe, sooner than disturb a favourite cat who had fallen asleep thereon. Consequently a large courtyard has been devoted to their especial benefit; and here the "nice, soft, furry creatures" lie and bask in the sun, and are fed at stated intervals, and altogether have a very good time of it. ”

“ One of the most striking features in the intricate labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys are the great square projecting windows of beautifully carved wood unglazed—a sort of lattice work which shuts out much light and heat, and screens the inmates from all observation, even from their opposite neighbours—though these are sometimes near neighhours indeed, the upper stories in some streets projecting so as literally to touch each other. ”

“ Other catacombs were entirely filled with the mummies of the beautiful ibis, and sacred cats and dogs, hawks, and mice and beetles, each of which was neatly strapped up in linen, and placed in a red earthenware jar, sealed up, and packed to the very roof, like the bins in some vast wine cellar, so stowed, tier behind tier, and tier above tier, that no estimate of their multitude could be made; but there they lay, in tens of thousands, seeming as if it must have taken centuries to accumulate so vast a multitude. ”

“ Even in killing animals for food, certain ceremonies must be observed; and the fatal blow is struck "In the name of God, who is most great," sometimes with the addition of such words as "God give thee patience to endure the pain which He hath allotted to thee!" Some of the more ignorant use the common formula, which is for ever on their lips, "In the name of God the Compassionate, the Most Merciful." ”

“ The marriage processions; the funeral at the gate of the city, when the uncoffined dead lies on the open bier, whence you almost fancy he might sit up and speak; the groups that continually pass you—a mother and child riding an ass or a mule, while the father walks carefully beside it; oftener the patient little beast carries some stately Oriental in flowing raiment, while his attendants bear long branches of palm or reeds or green sugar-cane. ”

“ They ride astride—their donkey decked with tassels and all manner of gay trappings; and as they pass, every man, with a proper sense of decorum, averts his face, lest his eyes should rest on so much veiled loveliness. Even the working drudges, who are often elaborately tattooed, are equally strict in keeping the face virtuously covered, though the rest of their drapery may be caught up or blown about in such style as scarcely suits our notions of decency. ”

“ So are even the piles of broken crockery thrown out on these same roofs, where all day long the doves "lie among the pots" cooing, nestling, and fluttering until sunset, when they rise up like a cloud, and their wings gleam like silver, and their feathers like gold, in the clear pure light of the after-glow. ”

“ Such of the Egyptian children as have escaped the dirt and flies are decidedly handsome, and smile brightly at you as they glance up with their large melancholy eyes; they are quaint, fat little fellows, all eyes and fez and trousers. The girls are tiny women, and rigorously veiled. ”

“ In the desolate, forsaken suburbs are ancient tombs and ruined mosques without number. These are the abode of the Effrits, some of whom are evil Genii, others the ghosts of the unhappy dead. One touch from the shadowy finger of an Effrit would leave his human victim a howling, hopeless demoniac; so it must be a bold man who will face such danger at mystic hours of night, or in divers phases of the moon. ”

“ Thus one man will refuse to stamp his name upon his pipe-bowls because it bears one of the names of the Prophet, which will thus be made to pass through the fire. Another man, less scrupulous, is blamed because he has branded his name, which is also a sacred name, on certain camels and horses. The sin thus committed is threefold: first, the iron brand is put in the fire, which is horrible sacrilege; secondly, it is applied to the neck of the camel, causing blood to flow and pollute the sacred name; thirdly, the camel is certain some day, in lying down, to rest his neck on something unclean. ”

“ The Copts are the descendants of the early Egyptian Christians, and are said to derive their name from the ancient city of Coptos, which was a place of note in Upper Egypt. You know that very early in the day Christianity did spread all over this country; all the more rapidly, perhaps, because the new sect found so ungenial a soil in Alexandria, the great city whose wealth and luxury exceeded that of even Rome; and whose wickedness was such that many saintly men despaired of teaching others, and fled to the deserts, hoping at least to save their own souls. ”

“ I suppose it must be some such lingering tradition of Oriental fashion which makes the Jews wear their hats in the Synagogue even in Western lands.
And so, whereas our poor folk in Scotland, even smart lassies with fine bonnets, will rarely put on their shoes and stockings till they are near the kirk, or "the big hoose," no Hindoo or Mahometan of the highest rank would enter your drawing-room, or any temple, or mosque, with his slippers on—the dust of the outer world must not pollute any dwelling worthy of honour. ”

“ The Patriarch of Alexandria is the supreme head of the Coptic Church, and claims to be the lineal successor of St. Mark, who is regarded as the founder of the Egyptian Church, and accordingly receives the same reverence that the Western Church bestows on St. Peter. The Patriarch, in contradistinction to his subordinate priests, who must all be married men, is himself a celibate. He is invariably chosen by lot from among the monks of St. Anthony, whose convent, in the desert of the Red Sea, was founded by St. Anthony himself, and claims to be the most ancient of all Christian. monasteries. ”

“ The marvelIons phase of reverence which led to this strange adoration of the brute creation seems to have been only the development of that faith which recognised all animated beings as emanations from the Great Centre of life, and as therefore containing within them a spark of the divine fire. For we must bear in mind that the great central mystery of the Egyptian faith was the adoration of One Supreme Being, whose name was unutterable, and whose very existence was revealed only to the priests, who jealously concealed from the people all the direct knowledge of this their awful wisdom. ”

“ Even their language is dead; for though their liturgy is written in Coptic, Arabic is now the vulgar tongue, and multitudes, even of the illiterate priests, cannot understand the prayers in the dead Coptic which they have learnt to gabble by rote, as many of them cannot read. As to the laity, they cannot be supposed to be wiser than their teachers, and few understand a word of the service, though they join in responses to them meaningless. ”

“ And here we find one of those strange parallels with the Christian creed which so often startle the student of ancient mythologies—parallels utterly unaccountable unless we can see in them something of a prophetic foreshadowing of the mission of the great Messiah. For Osiris, leaving his place in the presence of the Most High, appeared on earth in human form, and went about doing good to men, revealing himself to them as the manifestation of the Supreme God. ”

“ Should the inundation be a few degrees higher than usual, the chances are that half the huts will resolve themselves into their pristine mud, and produce a soil more fertile than what Father Nile himself bestows.
I believe that in this "land of Egypt, where there is no rain," the heavy dews in great measure supply the lack, and when the Arabs wish to raise a plantation of young date palms, they frequently plant the young tree in an earthenware jar, thus keeping a cool hollow place round its tender roots, where the dew may collect. ”

“ A little alum, or a few cowrie shells worn about the dress, avert this evil; and this is the reason why so many trappings for horses and camels are all trimmed with cowrie shells.
Perhaps the most curious thing of all is to hear of men declaring that they would sooner eat poison than taste the fat meat hung up in the butchers' shops, lest any hungry beggar should have beheld and coveted it. They prefer going to distant shops, where the meat is concealed from the passers-by. Only think of the row of carriages outside some fashionable confectioner's shop ”

“ The Effrits can assume either human or animal form; and though they can wander at will through earth and sky, their favourite haunts are among the ruins, so no Arab will approach these without muttering some words of homage to these spirits, acknowledging their power; at the same time they specially commit themselves, and each thing that they possess, to the care of God the Most Merciful. ”