ALEXANDRIA.

CHAPTER IV.

STATISTICS AND RESOURCES.. - PROCEEDINGS OF MOHAMMED ALI.-EGYPTIAN MARINE. -THE ARMY.-CLIMATE AND DISEASE.-INCIDENTS. -RECORDS OF THE PAST, &c.

WE returned home much delighted with our excursion, but chafed from the heat and the jolting of the donkeys. We took refuge on the divan, and having dispatched a "pilaf,"* were regaling ourselves with a quiet "t'chibouque," † some coffee, and a modest cup of Cyprus, when we received a visit from Mr. Chas. Barker, who came to conduct me to Mr. Harris and other merchants to whom I had brought letters. We passed the evening at Mr. Gliddon's, had some interesting conversation about the country, and retired early to bed, but not to sleep; for it was excessively hot, and the fleas were both numerous and nimble. They seemed to have a pretty good understanding too, with their friends and contemporaries, the mosquitoes, which opened upon us right and left, as soon as the light was extinguished; and kept up an incessant whizz, the whole night through. Towards morning, we both fell into a dose; for the fleas and the flies began to get tired, and went to roost. We

* A standing dish in the East, consisting of rice boiled in the Indian fashion, in the liquor in which a chicken has been cooked. The chicken being smothered with the rice, the whole is well soaked in butter, and seasoned. Sometimes small pieces of broiled meat are substituted for the chicken, and garnished with onions or tomata.

The term given to the long Egyptian pipe.

BOGHOS YOUSSOUF.

97

awoke weary, irritable, and feverish, as a matter of course, and fain would we have encroached a little on the day; but being once fairly roused, we found it impossible, on account of the continued din and bustle without.

As soon as breakfast was over, I went to the Seraglio Point, to pay a visit to Boghos Bey-cunning Boghos -Boghos Youssouf, the Pascha's first Drogueman, and Minister of Commerce in Alexandria: a shrewd, crafty, subtle, calculating fellow, who is constantly at His Highness' elbow; a very convenient, useful, scheming, and effective sort of machine. I had brought a letter to him from his brother, a merchant in Trieste; and to whom he has secured by his influence, the principal part of the trade between the two ports.

I was conducted to a building contiguous to the new palace, set aside for business, and the residence of various officers. Here I was shown into a large room, with several windows, and very little furniture; indeed nothing but a divan extending along three sides of the apartment, and some matting on the floor. After waiting a short time, enter Signor Boghos, a tall, pale, care-worn, meagre-looking personage, dressed in the long loose Syrian d'goobba, shawl, and turban ; and bearing in his girdle a handsome silver ink-case, peculiar to the countries of the East. It is made to contain also the pens, which consist of reeds, and answer very well, as they best suit the form of the Arabic characters, which have no fine strokes, and require to be written from right to left. I rose on his admission. He motioned me to be seated; placed himself in a corner of the divan, and eyed me from head to foot. Thus, Ecce Boghos! the celebrated Boghos, whose very manner and appearance marked

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CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE.

the character and calling of the individual. He was ceremonious; and at first, I thought, more distant than was to be attributed to the cold habits even of such men. Supposing that, like other adventurers, I had some interested scheme on foot, he asked me "In what capacity I wished to serve?" "In no capacity at all," I replied, and gave him to understand that I was merely travelling for information and amusement. "And do not want to enter the Pascha's service?" "Certainly not." Immediately his countenance brightened up, and his manner changed. Accustomed to continual solicitations from an endless variety of Europeans who visited Egypt, only to probe the depth of the Pascha's pocket,-without reflecting upon the contents of his brother's letter, he jumped to the conclusion that I only came there, like the rest, for what I could get; but the moment he was undeceived, he grew civil, screwed his mouth into a smile, and tendered his services with great politeness. He bowed, he promised, he acknowledged the favor I had conferred on him by calling, ordered pipes and coffee, and begged to know what he could do to serve me, &c. &c. I told him I wanted to see Mohammed Ali, and Ibrahim: and that I should be glad of any letters, firmauns,† teskerèhs, and the like, which he thought might be useful to me in prosecuting my journey. He then questioned me as to the precise nature of the object which I had in view. I told him, that "in addition to the antiquities, and the institutions established by Mohammed Ali, of which in Europe we had heard so much, I felt chiefly interested about the diseases of the climate; and that if I met with the plague, I should doubtless have enough to do." For a moment

Passport, receipt, or other official document. + Royal decree, permit, or passport.

DIPLOMATIC CIVILITIES.

99

his countenance betrayed surprise; but his features soon recovered their wonted state of rigid apathy. He remarked that the people would be very glad of my services, and that he would insure me a good reception wherever I went; but that although there was always a great deal of fever and other bad complaints, they had seen very little of the true plague in Egypt, during the last six or seven years. He promised, and afterwards sent me, letters of introduction to Habbeb Effendi, the Pascha's Prime Minister, and Monsieur Walmas, his chief interpreter at Cairo, various persons about the arsenal, the dock yard, &c.; and offered to introduce me to Ibrahim, who was then with the fleet, and likewise to Mohammed Ali, if he came to Alexandria as was expected. He also gave me instructions about the new palace, which I had no difficulty in inspecting.

This man is descended from an ancient Armenian family. He has been a long time in the Viceroy's service. His duty is strictly to attend to all commercial affairs, presentations, and the like; he distributes the Pascha's orders, and is, in fact, the obsequious instrument of his authority and caprice. Of course he possesses his confidence. But to show

"How poor indeed is he

Who builds on princes' favours”—

it is related (and the account is to be depended on), that some years ago, having given offence, in consequence of the failure of a scheme which perhaps he had recommended before it was sufficiently matured, the Pascha in a paroxysm of rage,

"Heaped curses on his head,"

and condemned friend Boghos, to a cold bath at midnight. But the manner of the bath was not exactly suited to his taste; and only being a Mussulmaun by

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THE DANGERS OF THE GREAT.

profession, he would rather have performed his ablutions in his own way, and at a more convenient season. He began to entertain serious thoughts of recanting; for he did not at all relish the idea of bathing in sackcloth by moonlight, beneath the Pharos rocks. It was allowed by all to be a dangerous place, and many had taken "a dip" there, and not returned. "What !"

said he, "is this my reward for past services? Is it come to this?" But he was interrupted, and reminded that the executioner was waiting to conduct him to the rocks! And, sure enough, there he was, sack in hand: and we are informed that our friend the minister was actually put into it, and would have been cast into the sea, but for the timely interference of an individual whom Boghos had formerly assisted, and who being now invested with authority, had it in his power to show his gratitude, by saving his benefactor's life at the risk of his own.* It was duly reported to the Pascha that Boghos was no more; and His Highness was led to believe that his orders had been implicitly obeyed. Time passed on; Boghos kept out of the way; and although circumstances often recalled him to the Pascha's mind, (for he had been in the habit of consulting him on a great variety of matters), some months elapsed before he was seriously missed by him. Boghos had been a very useful sort of person in his vocation, and things did not work quite so well without him. Sometimes, when put to any great inconvenience, the Pascha would exclaim, "If Boghos had been here now, this would not have happened!"—and then he would pace the room, and

* It is asserted, that the person here alluded to, is M. Walmas, who secreted Boghos in his house, until the danger was over: but the man who was to have executed the Pascha's will, disappeared from that moment, and has never been heard of since. It is not known whether he suffered for his disobedience, or whether he absconded.