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SECTION III.

of the government, arts, and trade of egypt.

Chap. I

Of the Nature of the Egyptian Government.

The Turks, as is generally known, conquered Egypt in the beginning of the sixteenth century, from the Mammelukes; a mercenary militia, who had, for some centuries, usurped the Government of this province, which they administered by an elective chief, wlth the title of Sultan. This species of Government seems still to subsist, just as much as before the Turkish conquest; and, with all their despotic pride, they have never attempted to change it.

A form of Government that has prevailed so long, and which a haughty, and powerful conqueror durst not abolish, must have, within itself, some principle of stability, to maintain it against revolution. It might deserve to be better known, and explained by some intelligent person,

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who should study it in a long residence in the country. A traveller like me, who has had only a transient view of these objects, can neither discern, nor describe all the parts of so complex a machine.

I have learned enough, however, to enable me to distinguish, that this Government is at present an aristocracy, partly civil, partly military, but chiefly military. Under the protection, rather than the authority of the Sultan of Constantinople, a divan, or sovereign counsel, exercises the supreme authority, both executive and legislative. Even the revenue of the Sultan is rather a tribute paid to a protector, than a tax levied by a sovereign. It is, besides, so moderate, that the necessary expences of Government consume it entirely in Egypt; and the trunk, in which it is pompously conveyed to Constantinople, generally arrives there empty.

Such a Government must be frequently disturbed by factious insurrections. Cairo is constantly convulsed by cruel dissension; parties are continually jarring; and the great retain troops to decide their differences by force of arms.

The mutual jealousies of the chiefs, seem to be the only causes which still preserve to the Porte the shadow of authority over this country.—The members of the aristocracy are all afraid of losing their influence under a residing sovereign;

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and therefore agree in opposing the elevation of any of their own body to the supreme dignity. In our own days, Ali-Bey has found how difficult it is to ascend the throne of Egypt, or to maintain one’s self upon it (M).

Chap. II.

Of the Grand Signior’s Officers.

The Grand Signior sends always a Pacha of three tails, to exercise his precarious authority in Egypt, in the character of Governor. But the Pacha of Cairo, far from enjoying the same authority as the other Pachas of the Turkish empire, is entirely dependent on the Egyptian divan. That aristocratical body, regarding the Pacha as their tyrant, frequently depose him, unless he have the address to support himself by provoking and fomenting the contentions of the different parties, favouring each by turns.

During my stay at Alexandria, the inhabitants of Cairo expelled their Pacha. Mustapha Pacha was at the same time in Egypt, who had been already twice Grand Vizir, and rose, afterwards, a third time to that dignity. Having been sent by the Sultan to Djidda, he had remained

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in Egypt, on pretence of illness. The inhabitants chose Mustapha their Pacha, and found means to oblige the Sultan, however dissatisfied with the electors, and the person whom they had elected, to confirm their choice. But the new Pacha kept his place only seven months, and was then obliged to yield it to another from Constantinople. The latter died suddenly, upon the arrival of a Kapigi-Bachi, who was sent after him by the Sultan. Thus, in the short time while I was in Egypt, three Governors succeeded each other rapidly in the Government of that province.

The chief Cadi of Cairo is succeeded almost every year, by another from Constantinople, who is named by the Sultan, on the recommendation of the Mufti.

Except these two, the Sultan appoints no other officers in Egypt, unless indirectly. It is true, he seems also to dispose of the post of Bey, to which he nominates; but the Egyptians propose the candidates; and he dares not reject them; his nomination is therefore mere ceremony.

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Chap. III.

Of the Divan and the Beys.

The Divan, or supreme Council, consists of twenty four Beys, fourteen of the chief officers of the troops, and a number of people of the law, or rather of the church.

The Beys are governors of different districts. The offices of Grand Treasurer and Governor of Cairo, are likewise held by members of this body. They entertain guards and bodies of soldiers, as well for their personal security, as to enforce obedience through the districts under their Government. The name of Bey, or Beg, denotes a powerful lord, and may perhaps be considered as nearly synonymous with prince. Their number is never complete; when I was in Egypt, there were, instead of twenty four, only eighteen. The revenues of the vacant places, were probably shared among the rest that were filled up.

Like the Mammelukes, who, having been all slaves, chose their chiefs only from among those who had risen to honour through the path of servitude, the present Beys have been almost all slaves, bought for fifty or not more than an hundred sequins. They are often Christian children, from Georgia or Mingrelia. But these places have, for

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some time, been conferred likewise on free and high-born Mahometans. Of the eighteen Beys who were in office when I was in Egypt, only five were of this latter character; the other thirteen were descended from Christian parents, and had been slaves in their youth.

Our surprize at the elevation of so many slaves will cease, when we attend more particularly to the manners of the people of the East. The Mahometans, in general, and especially the Egyptians, treat their slaves with great kindness. The Beys, and the principal inhabitants of Cairo, buy many Christian children, whom they educate with the same care as their own children, in every thing necessary to accomplish the character of a Mahometan lord. When their education is finished, they procure them employments in the army. Those emancipated slaves retain the most lively affection to the generous masters to whom they owe their fortune, and even their moral existence. By this means it often happens, that a master, when he finds any of his slaves to possess extraordinary talents, and tried fidelity, spares no pains or expence to raise him to a more considerable employment than that which he occupies himself. Thus the matter raises his credit and influence in the administration, by introducing into it his own creatures.

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It may not be improper to mention here some remarkable instances of this generosity of masters to their slaves. I knew a rich merchant, who kept only one servant, and who used to ride into the city no better mounted than upon an ass. He had procured to several of his slaves distinguished places in the Egyptian army: And those officers, although now greatly his superiors, had all imaginable respect for their old matter, and were upon all cocasions ready to defend and protect him.

One Hassan Kiaja, who was content himself with the employment of Kiaja, or lieutenant to the Aga of the janissaries, had advanced several of his slaves to the highest offices. His son Abderachman Kiaja, although, like him, only lieutenant to the Aga of the janissaries, was all-powerful in Egypt when I was there; not on account of his employment, for it was inconsiderable, but because many of the lords of the country owed their fortunes to his family. He was, besides, very rich; and, while he commanded respect, by the number of troops which he maintained, gained the love of the people and of the clergy by the liberality of his pious mortifications.

But the most extraordinary instance is that of Ibrahim Kiaja, who was never in any higher employment than the lieutenant to the Aga of

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the janissaries. This man had been slave to Othman Kiaja, who had been himself slave to Hassan Kiaja, mentioned above. Ibrahim, by means of his slaves, for whom he had obtained the first employments, acquired so great credit, that he for a long time governed Egypt. The number of his creatures is a proof of his influence. In my time, of the eighteen Beys, eight had been his slaves; and of the seven Agas of the great body of the militia, five were out of his family, and owed to him their liberty and fortunes. Many, also, of his old slaves occupied considerable posts in the army (N).

Among the Beys who held the government of Egypt, when I was in that country, was one, who, even then, had begun to distinguish himself, and has since made a great figure. This was the famous Ali Bey, who had been a slave to Ibraham Kiaja, and had risen to the employment of Schiech-el-belled, or governor of the capital. After my departure, he was banished to Ghassa. But he returned in the year 1768, put to death four Beys, and compelled the Pacha to forbid four others to return, who had saved themselves by flight. Becoming thus all-powerful, he aspired to the sovereignty of Egypt. With this view he entered into an alliance with Schiech Daher, and was, some time

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after, slain in a battle with Bey Aba Daab; who had formerly been one of his adherents (O).

Next after the Beys, in power and dignity are the principal officers of the forces. Of these, the seven Agas of the seven corps of the militia, have seats in the divan; as well as their seven Kiajas or lieutenants, for the year when they are in office. The janissaries have the greatest privileges, but are not the first in rank among those corps.

I could not learn what civil employments confer a right to a seat in the divan, I cannot therefore enumerate the priests or men of the law who have seats in it.

The members of this aristocracy are extremely haughty and insolent. In Cairo no Christian or Jew may appear on horseback. They ride only asses, and must alight, upon meeting even the most inconsiderable Egyptian lord. Those lords appear always on horseback, with an insolent servant before them, who, with a great staff in his hand, warns the riders on asses to shew the due marks of respect to his matter, crying out ensil, get down. If the infidel fail to give instant obedience, he is beaten till he alight. A French merchant was drubbed on an occasion of this kind. Our physician, too, was insulted for being too tardy in alighting from his ass. For this reason, no European dares walk

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the streets without having a person to attend him who knows all those lords, and can give him notice when they approach. At first, when I went about in Cairo, I made my janissary go before, and my servant follow, both mounted on asses as well as myself. But, after having the mortification to see these two Mussulmans remain upon their beasts, while I was obliged to alight, I determined to walk on foot.

It is true, that in Egypt, these distinctions between the Mahometans and persons of other religions, are carried a greater length, than any where else through the East. Christians and Jews must alight even before the house of the chief Cadi; before more than a score of other houses in which the magistrates distribute justice; before the gate of the janissaries; and before several mosques. They are not even suffered to walk by several mosques in high veneration for their sanctity; or by the quarter El Karafe, in which are a great many tombs and houses of prayer; they are obliged to turn out of their way, to avoid these places, as even the ground on which they stand, is so sacred in the eyes of the people, that they will not suffer it to be profaned by the feet of infidels.

I know not, if there be a formal prohibition, forbidding Christians to appear on horseback in the streets of Cairo. The last English Consul

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appeared always on horseback, dread like a Mahometan lord. But he was very rich, and gained the esteem of the great by giving them splendid entertainments; and of the common people by distributing large alms, whenever he appeared in public. The other Consuls never ride on horseback, except when they go to have an audience of the Pacha. As they then dress magnificently, they are exposed to the insults of the people, who think our short dresses very unbecoming for a person of dignity to wear. At other times, these Consuls ride modestly on ases, and alight with due humility whenever they meet an Egyptian lord.

Chap.IV.

Of the Police of the Cities.

In a city, like Cairo, inhabited by a number of petty tyrants, who are ever at variance among themselves, and seeking each others ruin, and who often proceed to open violence in determining their quarrels, private persons can never consider themselves, as in absolute security. The narrowness of the streets, and the crowds which are constantly pressing through them, are favourable to disorder. Yet, fewer instances of robbery,

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theft, and murther, are heard of here, than in the great cities of Europe. A few regulations, which are common through all the East, maintain tranquillity, and are nearly as carefully observed through all the cities of the province, as in the capital.

The magistrates contribute to the public security, by a very prompt administration of justice. The Cadi, and a number of other inferior judges, disposed through the different quarters of the city, never leave their tribunals, but are continually active in maintaining order, and pacifying the quarrels which arise, each in his own division.

At Cairo, and in all the other cities of the East, every trade has a head, who is intrusted with authority over them, knows every individual in the body to which he belongs, and is in some measure answerable for them to Government. Those heads of the trades preserve order among the artisans, who are a numerous body. Even the women of the town, and thieves, have each a head in the same manner; not that thief or robber is a profession licensed by law; but, the head is appointed to facilitate the recovery of stolen goods. At Tripoli in Barbary, the black slaves choose a chief, who is acknowledged by the regency; and this is a mean by

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which the revolt or elopement of those slaves is often prevented.

The great officers of the police and of justice visit the different parts of the city, both by night and day, attended by a numerous train, and at seasons when they cannot be expected, in order to inspect the markets, and to take up suspected persons. Those officers give instant sentence upon offenders, and condemn them to the bastinadoe, without any form of process; they will even hang them up if they take them in the act. The fear of being every moment surprised by these officers, restrains the people from mutiny or pillage. I have often witnessed the terror which those awful inspectors inspire. At sight of them, my Egyptian servant, was so struck with fear, that he ran hastily homewards, and I was obliged to use force before I could make him turn and proceed.

All the streets of Cairo have gates which are shut at night; but a porter waits to open to those who can allege satisfactory reasons for passing from one street to another, and approach with a light in their hands. The man, for a small acknowledgment, opens the gate, but stops every suspected person. This regulation prevents nocturnal assemblies and tumults among the people. It at the same time so entirely separates the several quarters of the city, that the

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Beys often contend with open violence, while the other inhabitants know nothing of the matter.

To support this establishment, there is a chamber near each gate, occupied by a guard of janissaries, who protect the porter by night, and, in the day, maintain order in the quarter. This guard is not relieved; the janissaries of whom it consists are liberally paid by the city; and they remain in this lucrative office, whlle their conduct continues to give satisfaction.

Chap. V.

Of the Egyptian Agriculture.

Having had few opportunities of observing the industry of this people, I shall have little to say concerning the state of the arts in Egypt, which is not yet very flourishing. But, there are some which afford articles of trade, and these it would be improper to overlook entirely.

Agriculture, the first and most important of all arts, is not in a very thriving condition here; at least, if we compare the present produce of the lands with what a country of such natural fertility might be brought, by cultivation, to produce. I have hinted above at the natural causes of this decline. But the local

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circumstances of this singularly situated country are such, that even an unhappy mode of government, and the misery of the husbandman, cannot extinguish the natural fertility of the soil. However ill-cultivated, it still continues to compensate richly the slight labour that is bestowed upon it, and to repay, with usury, the trifling expence laid out upon it.

The soil of the Lower Egypt seems to be a sandy earth that has been gradually deposited by the river (P). In a dry and torrid climate, and under an unclouded sky, such long seasons of drought as Egypt experiences would render it an arid and barren desert, were it not for the fertilizing waters of the Nile.

Some descriptions of Egypt would lead us to think, that the Nile, when it swells, lays the whole province under water. The lands adjoining immediately to the banks of the river are indeed laid under water. But the natural inequality of the ground hinders it from overflowing the interior country. A great part of the lands would therefore remain barren, were not canals and reservoirs formed to receive water from the river, when at its greatest height, which is thus conveyed every where through the fields, and reserved for watering them, when occasion requires.

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The best part, therefore, of Egyptian agriculture, is the watering of their grounds. The water which the husbandman needs is often in a canal, much beneath the level of the land which he means to water. The water he must therefore raise to an equality with the surface of the grounds, and distribute over them, as it is wanted. The great art of Egyptian husbandry is thus reduced to the having proper machines for raising the water, and enough of small canals judiciously disposed, to distribute it.

Those machines are commonly very simple; a wheel with buckets forms their whole mechanism. The largest are moved by oxen; the smaller by the strength of the arm. It is not easy to see how the Egyptians have come to be so much celebrated for the ingenuity of their machines. These are not of the invention of the modern Egyptians, but have been used for time immemorial, without receiving the slightest improvement.

Their instruments of husbandry are very bad. Their plough, which they call Marba, is no better than that of the Arabians, of which I shall hereafter have occasion to speak. To smooth the ground, they use a tree or a thick plank, drawn by oxen yoked with cords. The driver sits upon this machine; for the Egyptian peasants are not fond of walking.

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They use oxen, as the antients did, to beat out their corn, by trampling upon the sheaves, and dragging after them a clumsy machine. This machine is not, as in Arabia, a stone cylinder; nor a plank with sharp stones, as in Syria; but a sort of sledge, consisting of three rollers fitted with irons, which turn upon axles. A farmer chooses out a level spot in his fields, and has his corn carried thither in sheaves, upon asses or dromedaries. Two oxen are then yoked in a sledge, a driver gets upon it, and drives them backwards and forwards upon the sheaves, and fresh oxen succeed in the yoke, from time to time. By this operation the chaff is very much cut down. The whole is then winnowed, and the pure grain thus separated. This mode of threshing out the corn is tedious and inconvenient; it destroys the chaff, and injures the quality of the grain.

I saw no wheeled carriages in Egypt; every thing is conveyed backwards and forwards on camels or asses. When the canal of Cairo was to be cleansed, a peasant brought two oxen drawing a sort of open tray upon the dry ground, and when it was filled, led them with it to the bank. Within the city, where the bottom of the canal was not dry, the persons employed in cleansing it, threw dust from the street, upon the mire in the canal, and then, with their hands,

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into panthers upon asses, and thus removed it to a proper distance. Such is the boasted industry of the Egyptians.

I have seen neither wind nor water-mill here. A few large mills there are, which are moved by oxen turning a post that forms the axle-tree of a large wheel. The poorer people have only hand-mills to grind their corn; and these they use also in breaking the beans with which the asses are fed.

Recourse is had to the impression of the elements, in the management of no other machine. Oxen are employed in working the oil-mills saffron-presses, &c. Among the different manufactures of Egypt, that of saffron merits particular notice; the process by which the Egyptians prepare this article gives it a livelier colour than what is made elsewhere.

Chap. VI.

Of the Arts of Sublimating Sal Ammoniac, and of hatching Chickens.

As Egypt is without wood, its inhabitants are obliged to burn the dung of their domestic animals. The dung of asses and camels is chiefly used

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used for fuel, because these two species are the most numerous, and the most common. Little girls go about, gathering the dung in the streets, and upon the highways; they mix it with cut straw; and of this mixture make cakes, which they place along the walls, or upon the declivity of some neighbouring eminence, to dry them in the sun.

The lower class live usually in chambers vaulted with unburnt bricks. In these chambers, those cakes are burnt, with a little straw intermixed, or instead of it, stalks of certain plants; and this both for warming the apartments in winter, and for dressing the victuals. A soot, very rich in salts, is thus produced, which fastens to the roofs of the chambers. It is sold to the merchants, who judge of its quality by its taste, and employ it in the manufacture of sal-ammoniac. The soot of wood is of a very different nature. Sal-ammoniac was long thought to be a production peculiar to Egypt. It was thought that it could be obtained only from camel’s dung. But the truth is, that soot is equally good for the manufature of sal-ammoniac, whether prepared from horse’s, ass’s, sheep’s or camel’s dung; and this salt may be prepared in any other country, where dung is burnt instead of wood, as well as in Egypt.

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Since the nature and origin of sal-ammoniac have become better known, several authors have described the process used in Egypt for sublimating the soot. It would be improper to repeat those descriptions at full length. I shall only observe, that this sublimation is performed in large bottles of thick glass, shaped like bombs, and put into a furnace which is heated with dung. For three days and three nights, an equal heat is kept up, and that intense enough to vitrify the potter’s earth with which the bottles are coated, to make them resist the violence of the fire. The furnace is then suffered to cool, the bottles are broken, and the sal-ammoniac taken out of their necks, into which it has been raised by sublimation.

Some travellers mention the mode of hatching chickens in use here, as a very wonderful invention, and a very useful art. But it is much neglected at present by the Egyptians, who probably did not find all the advantage in it that is imagined. Unless at Cairo there are no furnaces for this purpose; these belong to the Pacha; they are used only in summer, for the hatching is said not to succeed so well in winter. Private persons indeed carry some eggs to the furnaces, and pay so much a-hundred, to a person who undertakes to manage the hatching of them. The owners mark their eggs; and the

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the hatcher is obliged to shew the marks upon those which misgive in the hatching. But I did not learn that the number of chickens hatched in this way was very considerable.

There is nothing extraordinary about the furnace in which the process is performed. The great furnace contains several smaller, arranged in two divisons, where the eggs ly upon straw, and are turned several times by night, as well as by day. Whatever is peculiar in the construction of the ovens, is intended solely for the purpose of keeping a gentle and equal heat. This is effected by the circulation of the heat, through a sort of galleries which run along the openings of the smaller furnaces. They begin with heating the large oven with smoke, and the proper degree of heat is kept up, by placing lighted lamps in the galleries. That degree must be precisely the same as in the baths. When the chickens are produced, they are shut up very close in a square apartment beside the furnace, where they enjoy the same degree of heat, as if under a hen. These chickens sell very low, and are very puny.

What appeared singular to me about this furnace, was its being entirely buried in a sort of hill. The chimnies and spiracles are holes made in the earth; and when one enters one of those furnaces, it is like going into a grotto. I was

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told by persons of intelligence, that this position was indispensibly necessary, in order to the obtaining of the due degree of heat.

Chap. VII,

Of the Trade of Egypt.

Egypt, although so greatly declined from its ancient grandeur, still affords many productions which are capital articles in commerce. By its situation too, it is well fitted to be an emporium for foreign merchandise. It has communication by the Red Sea, with Arabia, Persia, and the Indies; by the Nile, upon one side, with Nubia and Abyssinia,—and on the other, with Europe, Barbary, Syria, and all the provinces of the Turkish empire, While thus happily situated for the advantages of navigation, it lies also in the midst of those nations who are accustomed to travel in caravans, and is, of consequence, the natural centre of their commerce.

Cairo, by means of these circumstances, has become the residence of a great number of rich merchants, who carry on trade in a manner very different from that in which it is conducted in Europe. For want of establishments favourable to a regular correspondence of agents, merchants

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are obliged to make frequent voyages for the management of their affairs, or to send some of their servants or slaves to act for them.

This inconvenience is, however, in part, compensated by a custom generally prevalent through the East. Merchants from the same country, and often such as deal in the same sorts of goods lodge all in the same kan, or caravanserai, so that you can easily learn where to find what you want. A considerable number of couriers, always attend to guide or direct enquirers upon such occasions.

Staying so short a time as I did in Egypt, I had not enough of opportunities to become sufficiently acquainted with the nature of the Egyptian trade. But a very intelligent French merchant favoured me with the communication of some important facts concerning both the foreign and internal trade of this province.

I must first observe, that several branches of the internal trade, those of leather, rice, and sienna, have greatly decayed, by the imprudent conduct of Government. Ibrahim Kiaja, who for ten years governed almost all Egypt, thought fit to farm out the duties upon these branches. The farmers have raised the duties to so high a rate, that the articles upon which they are paid are no longer saleable.

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Raw hides are still a considerable object in the Egyptian trade: about 80,000 hides of buffaloes, camels, cows, and oxen, are exported yearly. Near 10,000 go to Marseilles, and a still greater number to Italy. The buffaloe-hides being thicker and heavier than the others, are chiefly transported to Syria. As the pastures of Lower Egypt are excellent, the hides of its cattle, in consequence of their being so well fed, are of the very best quality for leather. A prodigious quantity of those cattle are killed in the months of the sacrifices, that is, while the pilgrims are assembled at their devotions at Mecca.

1,800,000 pound weight of saffron is annually prepared in Egypt. The greater part of it goes to Marseilles and Italy; the rest to Syria and Arabia. The best saffron grows in the vicinity of Cairo; that of Upper Egypt is not reckoned so good.

The exportation both of lint and linen-cloth is an important article in this trade. They are exported to Syria, Arabia, Turkey, and even to Marseilles and Leghorn. What cotton remains, after the home-consumpt is supplied, goes to France and Italy. But this is not much, however, for no cotton grows except in Lower Egypt. There is even sugar produced here, the canes growing in Upper Egypt; but it is so

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prepared, that they cannot sell it so cheap as the American sugars.

Were the trade in rice under no restraint, a considerable quantity might be exported. But, for the exportation of this article, the ports of Egypt are shut, and therefore the Europeans dare not carry off any of it, unless by Damietta. The Americans are even said to have brought rice hither, for some time, from Carolina: And if this be so, there can be no better proof of the astonishing decline of agriculture in Egypt.

Sal ammoniac, yellow wax, and senna, which come, in part, from Upper Egypt, are articles that can never contribute greatly to increase the opulence of a country. The administration appear to gain more by these articles than the traders; for the duties charged upon them are in no just proportion to their value.

In exchange for these commodities, with which Egypt supplies other nations, its inhabitants need various articles that are imported from other countries. The French export at least 800 bales a year of cloth of Languedoc to Egypt; for even the very servants make a point of having a new suit every year, to wear at the feast of Beiram. The Emir-Hadgi of the Mecca caravan uses no fewer than seventy bales himself; for he is obliged to make presents of suits of clothes to the Arabs, who meet the caravan

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upon their journey, as well as to a number of persons at Mecca. The Egyptians never dress in silk; when, by any accident, it happens that they do, they prefer the rich stuffs of the isle of Scio to the manufactures of France and Italy.

Venice and Marseilles dispose of more than a thousand bales of paper in Egypt, every year; one part of it intended for the consumpt of Egypt, the other for Arabia. All the writing-paper must be glazed: for the people of the East use reeds and very thick ink, in writing. A great quantity of paper is used in windows; for, in this hot country, panes of glass are seldom to be seen.

The Europeans likewise import cochineal into Egypt, 80 barrels of which are used there, and 200 sent to India. Were not the industry of the Dutch so well known, it might appear surprising that the Egyptians should be reduced to the necessity of supplying themselves with spiceries from European merchants, from whom they purchase pepper, cloves, ginger, &c. It is more natural to see Egypt receive from us the productions of those arts in which we excel, such as needles, cutlery ware, lead, mercury &c.

Coffee is an article that is both consumed in the country, and conveyed through it. As this is the favourite beverage of the Turks, they are

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desirous of having it in the most genuine purity. The importation of American, and the exportation of Arabian coffee, are equally forbidden. But these prohibitions are eluded, by means of presents to the great, and to the officers of the customs; so that the Europeans procure, every year a considerable quantity of their Levant coffee out of Egypt. But a very small quantity, indeed, of the island coffee is used, and solely in mixture with that of Yemen. It is not long since coffee from Martinico was the only sort drunk in Upper Egypt; but it became dear during the last war. The Egyptians then resolved to bring good coffee from Arabia, by the way of Cassur, and they have it at present for a reasonable price; whereas that of the West Indies was sold exorbitantly high.

Gum-arabic is one of the most considerable articles of commerce that pass through Egypt. Every year, in the month of October, two or three small caravans of the Arabs, from the neighbourhood of Par and Mount Sinai, arrive with about 70,000 pound weight of the gum. Those Arabs are very much in the way of debasing their goods with an intermixture of extraneous matters; and yet oblige the Mahometan merchants to take them without any examination of their quality. Out of an aversion to cities, or probably to avoid corporal punishment

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for their frauds and robberies, these Arabians never enter Cairo. They encamp at half a league’s distance from the walls. The merchants are obliged to go out to them, in order to transact for the purchase of the gum. The Arabs don’t take money, but clothes, and such other things as they stand in need of in the desert.

A great many caravans arrive from different parts of Africa, in the months of June and July, with three different sorts of this same gum. A quantity comes also from Habbesch, by the way of Djidda and Suez, which, though inferior in quality, passes all into Europe, which receives annually 500,000 pound weight of this article.

Those African caravans bring, at the same time, several other commodities; slaves, ivory, ostrich-feathers, tamarinds, and gold dust. They take, in exchange, Egyptian cloth, false pearls coral, arms, and even full suits of clothes, which the inhabitants of Cairo make up, according to their taste. This is what has, of late, increased the demand for broad-cloth in Egypt.