Lake Mareotis, dotted with small islands, and bounded towards the north-west by a long ridge of sandhills, forming a kind of barrier between it and the sea. The few catacombs which we saw were merely small apertures cut in the rock, a sort of sandstone, in this part composing the substratum on which the sand and soil rest; extremely soft, and easily broken; and, where exposed to the action of the air, fretted and honey-combed, like the rocks on the sea-shore. We thence returned, by the Mahmoodiyah, towards the city walls; on the outside of and parallel with which, one of the great streets of ancient Alexandria, described by Strabo, appears to have run. No traces of it, however, now remain : but, having passed Pompey's Pillar, we came in a few minutes to a long line of cisterns, running from the present city to the Mareotic Lake, seeming clearly to mark the course of the other great street which crossed the former at right angles. A little beyond, and almost parallel with this line of cisterns, is a branch of the great canal, which we traversed by a small bridge; and, proceeding eastward from the Canopic Gate, between immense mounds of ruins, broken pottery, sand, &c., arrived at an eminence commanding a prospect of the whole sweep of the new harbour, from the Pharos to the Pharillon, with a large portion of the shore beyond, towards Rosetta. At a little distance to the east was the battle-field of the Twenty-first of March; with that vast square inclosure, called the Castle of the Cæsars, which, on that me 24 BATTLE FIELD OF THE XXI. OF MARCH. * morable day, was so frequently and so fiercely contested by the English and French armies. At present, the traveller, who wanders over it in search of relics of military glory, finding neither cannon-balls nor entire skulls, is constrained to content his learned curiosity with some equivocal mouldering bone, or with one or two regimental buttons: and, still further to extinguish the spirit of romance within him, the young Bedouin girls, who offer these relics for sale, are neither very pretty nor very clean; and, if he be so inclined, -as Elwes-minded travellers sometimes are, -will wrangle with him half a day for a para. In returning from this excursion to the city, I looked in vain for those beautiful upright columns which, according to former travellers, marked the line of the ancient street leading to the Canopic Gate. But, to make amends for this disappointment, we discovered, at every step, extensive substructions in brick or stone, uncovered by the Pasha's workmen; whose trophies, consisting of fragments of capitals, shafts, friezes, and entablatures, are piled up near the inner walls. It is among the heaps thrown up by these excavators that, after heavy rains, the poor Arabs, by scraping with their hands, discover medals and other small antiquities. Wednesday, Nov. 14. IX. Volney has with great judgment and vivacity recapitulated the characteristic features of Alexandria ; *The fortieth part of three-pence. POLITENESS OF THE ARABS. 25 and his description was this day very forcibly brought to my mind by the sight of its motley population huddled together in fantastic groups in the bazārs and public places. But both the city and its inhabitants are now much less oriental in their appear ance than formerly. The constant intercourse kept up with Europeans, who at present constitute a large proportion of the population, the almost general abandonment of the turban, the absence of national articles of manufacture in the bazārs, and, more than all, the complete personal security which the traveller feels, greatly diminish the romantic interest which, under other circumstances, an Eastern city seems calculated to inspire. But the daily passage of strangers from all countries, in every variety of costume, has produced one exceedingly beneficial effect on the manners of the Egyptians: no description of raiment, however strange or extravagant, excites their curiosity; the half-naked negro from Darfoor, the muslin-clad Hindoo, the pompous Persian, the gorgeous Greek, and the plain Englishman,—all passing unheeded through the streets of Alexandria and Cairo, where the most clownish Fellah, the most impertinent slave, the silliest barber, is never betrayed into an offensive laugh or stare at the stranger. Every variety of costume is tolerated; and this single circumstance is more honourable to the Arab character than fifty victories obtained over the Turks; since it evinces a susceptibility of improvement, a flexibility of temper, and a degree of self-command (for they are naturally curious), which belong only to the most gifted and ingenuous natures. X. Few of the "sights" of Alexandria seemed more amusing than the bazārs, which afforded me an opportunity of observing the economy of oriental shopkeepers. The buildings which in England go under the name of bazārs in no respect resemble those of the East, which consist of a number of narrow streets covered above, generally crossing each other at right angles, and having on each side shops open in front, like the booths in a country fair, with floors, raised about three feet and a half above the level of the pavement, projecting about a yard beyond the wall of the house into the street, and forming a broad bench, which, joining with that of the next shop, extends the whole length of the bazar. Both the bench and floor of the shop are covered with neat mats or carpets, and the walls with deep shelves, divided into large compartments, in which the various kinds of merchandise are arranged, with little attention to display. The shopkeeper, with a nargeel or chibooque in his mouth, sits cross-legged on the bench in front of the shop. When a customer presents himself, he lays aside his pipe, receives him with a smile and a bow, but continues sitting. The salām is given and returned. A sort of conversation, not at all regarding the matter in hand, is then set on foot: "In the name of God, is your house well?” (when the parties are nearly of the same rank), "Kater khe roubené! (Thank God! it is well.)" And "The same." house?" your "Fih sakkar? (Have you any sugar?)" "Mafish (There is none).” "Wallah! mafish? (By God! Have you none ?)" "Wallah! (By God!)" The customer then inquires, perhaps, for some other article; the shopkeeper treats him with a whiff from his pipe; they smoke and talk together for an hour, after which the buyer strolls on to some other shop. In these narrow and crowded passages, while prying into the mystery of buying and selling, the safety of your head is frequently endangered by the passage of a string of loaded camels, which go shuffling along with burdens of grass, or vast panniers, reaching nearly across the street. The appearance and arrangement of the shops often recal to one's mind the descriptions in the "Arabian Nights." Here the barber, the draper, the money-changer, the jeweller, and even the schoolmaster, exercise their various arts and mysteries in the view of the public, and all, to judge from their appearance, conduct their business with a dignity and self-satisfaction, which must contribute greatly to their general happiness. Thursday, Nov. 15. XI. I this day rode out to examine Pompey's Pillar. The appearance, dimensions, and history of this famous column have so frequently engaged the attention and excited the controversial propensities of travellers, that nothing new can now be advanced |