they infpire melancholy, which infenfibly augments, till it melts in tears. The very Turks, enemies as they are to the arts, the Turks themselves, país whole nights in listening to them. Two people fing together fometimes, but, like their orcheftra, they are always in unison: accompaniments in mufic are only for enlightened nations; who, while melody charms the ear, wish to have the mind employed by a juft and inventive modulation. Nations, on the contrary, whofe feelings are oftener appealed to than their underftanding, little capable of catching the fleeting beauties of harmony, delight in thofe fimple founds which immediately attack the heart, without calling in the aid of reflection to increase fenfibility. The Ifraelites, to whom Egyptian manners, by long dwelling in Egypt, were become natural, alfo had their Almai. At Jerufalem, as at Cairo, it seems they gave the women leffons. St. Mark relates a fact which proves the power of the Oriental dance over the heart of man "And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a fupper to his lords, high captains, and chief eftates of Galilee; "And when the daughter of the faid Herodias came in, and danced, and pleafed Herod, and them that fat with him, the king faid unto the damfel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. "And he fware unto her, Whatfoever thou shalt afk of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom, + "And he went forth, and faid unto her mother, What fhall I ask? and fhe faid, The head of John the Baptift. And he came in ftraightway with hafte unto the king, and afked, faying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptift. "And immediately the king fent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought, and he went and beheaded him in the prison." The Almai are prefent at marriage ceremonies, and precede the bride, playing on inftruments. They alfo accompany funerals, at which they fing dirges, utter groans and lamentations, and imitate every mark of grief and despair. Their price is high, and they feldom attend any but wealthy people and great lords. I was lately invited to a fplendid fupper, which a rich Venetian merchant gave the receiver-general of the finances of Egypt. The Almai fung various airs during the banquet, and afterwards the praises of the principal guests. I was molt pleafed by an ingenious allegory, in which Cupid was the fuppofed interlocutor. There was play after fupper, and I perceived handfuls of fequins were occafionally fent to the fingers. This feftival brought them fifty guineas at leaft; they are not, however, always fo well paid. The common people have their Almai alfo, who are a fecond order of these women, imitators of the firft; but have neither their elegance, grace, nor knowledge. They are feen every where; the public fquares and walks round Grand * St. Mark, chap. vi. ver. 21. Cairo abound with them; the populace require ideas to be conveyed with ftill lefs difguife; decency therefore will not permit me to defcribe the licentioufnefs of their motions and postures, of which no idea can be formed but by feeing. The Indian Bayadieres are exemplarily modeft, when compared to the dancing girls of the Egyptians. This is the principal diverfion of thefe people, and in which they greatly delight." Some Account of the private life of the Egyptian women, their inclinations, morals, employments, pleafures; the manner in which they educate their children; and their cuftom of weeping over the tombs of their kindred, after having strewed them with flowers and odoriferous plants. Extracted from the fame work. Grand Cairo. N Europe women act parts of How different in Egypt, where they are bowed down by the fetters of flavery, condemned to fervitude, and Have no influence in public affairs! Their empire is confined within the walls of the harem. There are their graces and charms entombed: the circle of their life extends not beyond their own family and domeftic duties +. This Their first care is to educate their children, and a numerous pofterity is their moft fervent with; public refpect and the love of their husband are annexed to fruitfulness. is even the prayer of the poor, who earns his bread by the fweat of his brow; and, did not adoption alleviate grief when nature is unkind, a barren woman would be inconfolable. The mother daily fuckles her child, whofe infant fmiles, added to frequent pregnancy, recompences all the cares and pains they incurred. Milk difeafes, and those maladies which dry up the juices of the youthful wife, who fends her offspring to be nurtured by a stranger, are here unknown. That mo "I confequence, their young is reign fovereigns on the world's vast theatre; they influence manners and morals, and decide on the most important events; the fate of nations is frequently in their hands. a law as ancient as the world; it is exprefsly commanded by Mahomet. "Let mothers fuckle their children full two years, if the child does not quit the breaft; but the fhall be *The Egyptians never mention their wives in converfation; or, if obliged to fpeak of them, they fay, the mother of fuch a person, the mistress of the house, &c. Good manners will not permit the vifitor to afk, How does your wife do, Sir? But in imitation of their referve, it is neceffary to fay, How does the mother of fuch a perfon do? And this they think an infult unless asked by a kinf man or an intimate friend. This I relate as perfectly characteristic of Eastern jealoufy. The compiler Pomponius Mela pretends women do the out-door business in Egypt, and men that of the household. Every writer who has been in this country difproves the opinion. permitted permitted to wean it with the confent of her husband *." Ulyffes, Ulyffes, in the Elyfian fields, beholds his mother, his tender mother there, who had fed him with her milk, and nurtured him in infancy †. When obliged by circumstances to take a nurse, they do not treat her as a ftranger; fhe becomes one of the family, and paffes her days amidst the children she has fuckled, by whom he is cherished and honoured as a fecond mother. Racine, who poffeffed not only genius but all the knowledge neceffary to render genius confpicuous, stored with the learning of the fineft works of Greece, and well acquainted with Oriental manners, gives Phædra her nurfe as her fole confidante. The wretched queen, infected by a guilty paffion fhe could not conquer, while the fatal fecret oppreffed a heart that durft not unload itself, could not refolve to speak her thoughts to the tender none, till the latter had faid, Cruelle, quand ma foi vous a-t-elle déçue? Songez-vous, qu'en naiffant, mes bras vous ont réçue ! When, cruel queen, by me were you deceiv'd ? Did I not first receive you in these arms? The harem is the cradle and fchool of infancy. The new-born feeble being is not there fwaddled and filleted up in a fwathe, the fource of a thoufand difeafes. Laid naked on a mat, expofed in a valt chamber to the pure air, he breathes *Coran. + Odyffey, Book XXIII. freely, and with his delicate limbs fprawls at pleafure. The new element in which he is to live is not entered with pain and tears. Daily bathed beneath his mother's eye, he grows apace; free to act, he tries his coming powers, rolls, crawls, rifes, and, fhould he fall, cannot much hurt himself, on the carpet or mat which covers the floor ‡. He is not banifhed his father's houfe when feven years old, and fent to college with the lofs of health and innocence; he does not, 'tis true, acquire much learning; he perhaps can only read and write; but he is healthy, robuft, fears God, refpects old age, has filial piety, and delights in hofpitality; which virtues, continually practifed in his family, remain deeply engraven on his heart. The daughter's education is the fame. Whalebone and bufks, which martyr European girls, they know not; they run naked, or only cover ed with a shift, till fix years old, and the drefs they afterwards wear confines none of their limbs, but fuffers the body to take its true form, and nothing is more uncommon than rickety children and crooked people. Man rifes in all his majefty, and woman difplays every charm of perfon, in the eaft. In Georgia and Greece thofe fine marking outlines, thofe admirable forms, which the Creator gave the chief of his works, are beft preferved. Apelles would ftill find models worthy of his pencil there. The care of their children does The rooms are paved with large flag-ftones, washed once a week, and covered in fummer with a reed mat, of artful workmanship, and a carpet in winter. not Subject to the immutable laws by which custom governs the East, the women do not affociate with men, not even at table +, where the union of fexes produces mirth, and wit, and makes food more sweet. When the great incline to dine with one of their wives, fhe is informed, prepares the apartment, perfumes it with precious effences, procures the most delicate viands, and receives her lord with the utmost attention and respect. Among the common people, the women ufually ftand, or fit in a corner of the room while the husband dines, often hold the bafon for him to wash, and ferve him at tablet. Cuftoms like thefe, which the Europeans rightly call * Pope's Odyffey, Book XV, barbarous, and exclaim against with justice, appear fo natural here, that they do not suspect it can be otherwife elsewhere. Such is the power of habit over man: what for ages has been, he supposes a law of nature. Though thus employed, the Egyptian women have much leifure, which they spend among their flaves, embroidering fashes, making veils, tracing defigns to decorate their fofas, and in fpinning." "Labour has its relaxations; pleasure is not banished the harem. The nurse recounts the hiftory of past times with a feeling which her hearers participate; cheerful and paffionate fongs are accompanied by the flaves with the tambour de bafque and caftanets. Sometimes the Almai come, to enliven the fcene with their dances and affecting recitals, and by relating amorous romances; and, at the close of the day, there is a repaft, in which exquifite fruits and perfumes are ferved with profufion. Thus do they endeavour to charm away the dulnefs of captivity. Not that they are wholly prifoners; once or twice a week they are permitted to go to the bath, and vifit female relations and friends. To bewail the dead is likewise a duty they are allowed to perform. I have often feen distracted mothers round Grand Cairo, reciting funeral hymns over the tombs they had ftrewed with odoriferous plants." "The Egyptian women receive † Sarah, who prepared the dinner for Abraham and his guests, fat not at table, but remained in her tent. I lately dined with an Italian who had married an Egyptian woman, and affumed their manners, having lived here long. His wife and fifter-in-law ftood in my prefence, and it was with difficulty I prevailed on them to fit at table with us, where they were extremely timid and disconcerted. each each other's vifits affectionatevery ly: when a lady enters the harem, the mistress rifes, takes her hand, preffes it to her bofom, kiffes, and makes her fit down by her fide; a flave haftens to take her black mantle; the is entreated to be at ease, quits her veil and her outward shift*, and discovers a floating robe, tied round the waist with a fash, which perfectly displays her fhape. She then receives compliments according to their mannert. " Why, my mother, or my fifter, have you been fo long abfent? We fighed to fee you! Your prefence is an honour to our houfe; it is the happiness of our lives!" &c. Slaves prefent coffee, fherbet, and confectionary; they laugh, talk, and play; a large dish is placed on the fofa, on which are oranges, pomegranates, bananas, and excellent melons. Water and rofewater mixed are brought in an ewer; and with them a filver bafon to wash the hands, and loud glee and merry converfation season the meal. The chamber is perfumed by wood of aloes in a brazier; and, the repaft ended, the flaves dance to the found of cymbals, with whom the miftreffes often mingle. At parting they feveral times repeat," God keep you in health! Heaven grant you a numerous offspring! Heaven preferve your children, the delight and glory of your family!" While a vifitor is in theharem, the husband must not enter; it is the afylum of hospitality, and cannot be violated without fatal confequences; a cherished right, which the Egyptian women carefully maintain, being interested in its prefervation. A lover disguised like a woman may be introduced into the forbidden place §, and it is neceffary he should remain undiscovered; death would otherwife be his reward. In this country, where the paffions are excited by the climate, and the difficulty of gratifying them, love often produces tragical events. The Turkish women go, guarded by their eunuchs, upon the water alfo, and enjoy the charming profpects of the banks of the Nile. Their cabins are pleafant, richly embellished, and the boats well carved and painted. They are known by the blinds over the windows, and the mufic by which they are accompanied. When they cannot go abroad they endeavour to be merry in their prison. Toward fun-fetting they go on the terrace, and take the fresh air among the flowers which are there carefully reared. Here they often bathe; and thus at once enjoy the cool limpid water, the perfume of odoriferous plants, the balmy air, and the starry host which thine in the firmament. Thus Bathsheba bathed, when * A habit of ceremony, which covers the drefs, and, except the collar, greatly resembles a shift. It is thrown off on fitting down, to be more at eafe; and is called in Arabic, camis. Such titles as madam, mifs, or mistress, are unknown in Egypt. A woman advanced in years is called my mother; when young, my fifter; and, if a girl, daughter of the house. I mention these wishes, very ancient in the East, because they are found often in the Holy Scriptures. I have faid harem fignifies forbidden place. |