of houfes along this interval, would connect these two places into one vaft city.

Ar Bulak is a certain kind of affes, always ready for carrying men and baggage; and the hire of one for an hour is no more than two pardes, or pence. These affes, tho' fmall, are, I believe, the fleeteft and moft fpirited in the whole world, trotting with fuch fwiftnefs, that few horfes can keep pace with them; and hence thefe affes are very juftly reckoned among the wonders of Egypt. We mounted thefe creatures, and in a very fhort time reached Cairo.

We went to the houfe of Mr. Moore, the English Conful at Cairo; and the fame day paid a visit to M. Le Maire, the French Conful, who has, for at least fifty years paft, executed that office in feveral parts of the Levant. At our return to the English Conful's, where we refided, we found in the court a very beautiful oftrich, and feveral ante'opes, a quadruped, refembling in fome manner a deer, and called by the Arabians, algazel. This creature appears to be the ftrepficeros of Egypt, or the dorcas of Libya. It is extremely fwift, flender, and its horns round and taper to a point. Some of these animals I alfo faw in the villa Borgbefia at Rome; but they were brought from Barbary (k).

I WAS alfo informed of a very fingular circumstance related of the oftrich. This bird, it feems, when brooding on her eggs, and near the time of hatching, breaks four of them, and placing them at the four corners of the neft, fuffers them to corrupt, and, by that means, to produce a great number of fmall worms, ferving for food to the young ones, on which they live till they are able to provide for themfelves. On this account, I fuppofe, it is faid by

(*) Concerning this creature, the reader may confult the Travels of Belon, and des Ouvrages adoptez par l'academie royale des fcient, avant fon renouvellement en 1669, in 4to. and Journ. Liter,

1729, p. 1.

Ælian, that the oftrich feeds its

young with parts

of its eggs, that is, fuch as are corrupted.

ous.

THE day after our arrival at Cairo, I found myfelf very much indifpofed; indeed it was the very worst season of the year, by reason of a land-wind, which begins to blow in April, and frequently lafts a fortnight without intermiffion; during which time the heat is infupportable, and the air extremely noxiThe fheets of our beds we found as hot as if heated by a warming-pan. The mofchitos alfo fwarm to fuch a degree, that it is neceffary to fpread a kind of curtain, made of very fine cotton, or gauze, over the bed. It is likewife common in this feafon for Cairo, and other parts of Egypt, to be vifited with the peftilence, which generally extends itself as far as Smyrna and the Hellefpont, fweeping away multitudes; and were it not for vifitations of this kind, Cairo would be one of the most populous cities in the world. The overflowings of the Nile, however, generally puts a period to the peftilence. The inhabitants are alfo afflicted with fore eyes, a diftemper which few escape. It is fuppofed to be owing to the duft or fand, of which large clouds feem fufpended in the air over the city. This fand is brought from the deferts by the land-winds already mentioned, and fills the whole atmosphere, tho' I think the nitrous particles, with which the air at this feafon abounds,' may be esteemed a collateral caufe of this diforder. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus mention this difor

der as very common in their time, and had its peculiar phyficians, as moft diftempers then had. Let me alfo by the way obferve, that ruptures are very frequent here, particularly that species called by phyficians, hydrocele. It is very neceffary here to keep the breast always covered, as a neglect of this will certainly be followed by fome difeafe of that part. Thevenot has given a pretty good account of the dif

eafes

eafes of this country. Profper Alpinus de Medic. Ægypt. may also be confulted on that head.

BEING happily recovered from my indisposition, I did not neglect to make use of a letter given us by the English Conful at Cyprus, to a certain officer called Mohamed Circas Bey. He received us in a very polite manner, and, according to the custom of the country, entertained us with coffee, fherbet, and perfumes.

THERE are generally twenty-four Beys at Cairo, each prefiding over a certain track of land, or number of villages. They are appointed by the Pafcha, and as their revenue is large, so they keep a court like petty princes: though they were originally only flaves brought from Circaffia.

THIS Mohamed Circas Bey, when a youth, was purchased by one Giufep Bey, who had married a fultana out of the feraglio; and his widow, after the death of her husband, fold him for a hundred fequins to Ibrahim Bey, who, by his intereft with the Pafcha, procured this Mohamed, with four others of his flaves, to be made Beys; and Mohamed, after the death of his mafter, married his widow.

He was, when we faw him, about his forty-fifth year, a very perfonable man, and of an amiable behaviour. He bore alfo the character of a good foldier; remarkable for refolution and intrepidity, of which he gave fufficient proofs in the laft war against the Emperor, when he commanded the Egyptian troops, and received feveral wounds. He has not, however, been free from adverfity; for, by the combination of fome Beys against him, his houfe was fet on fire, his goods confifcated, and he himself obliged to fly to Cyprus, where he was well received by the English Conful, and continued with him, till, his party in Egypt beginning to recover, he determined to return thither. What haftened this refolution, was, certain advice he received, that the Grand Signior

was

was fending a Capigi Baffi to Cyprus, in order to fetch his head. This officer arrived while we were at Cy-. prus, but fome days after Mohamed had departed in an English fhip which his good friend the English Conful had hired for him, as was mentioned in the first volume.

SINCE that time his affairs have taken fo favourable a turn, that he is at prefent in high credit, and governs a great part of Egypt. His effects alfo have been reftored to him, and feveral Beys have entered into a compact with him, for mutually affifting each other. His late mafter's fon, now very young, but of an ancient family, is under his care; and his houfe, which was formerly burnt through private malice, has been rebuilt at the public expence. Several great events happened at this time at Cairo, particularly a remarkable revolution in the government; but this is not uncommon here..

THE Beys having joined in a league, had depofed the Pafcha, and at that time kept him as a prifoner in a private house. The occafion of this dangerous step was the rigour of his adminiftration, having already caufed the heads of three Beys, and fome other great men, to be ftruck off, relying too much on the intereft he had at the Porte, by his wife being filter to the Grand Signior. The prefent Beys therefore began to apprehend, that he would use them in the fame cruel manner he had done the former. Otherwife thefe Beys are generally at war with one another, but never are in a league of friendship, by which they work each other's destruction, especially as they have the Jani-' zaries against them. It is, indeed, to thefe differences between the Beys, that the Grand Signior owes his authority in this country; for his power here is much less than at Conftantinople and fhould thefe Beys heartily unite, they might eafily difpoffefs the Turks, and make themselves mafters of the country? In the mean time the Beys enjoy great privileges in

the

the city, and among others, if a Frank riding on an afs happens to meet one of thefe Beys, he muft alight. The fame honour is alfo paid to a Conful, who is confidered of equal rank with a Bey, and rides alfo on horse-back thro' the city. Whereas a private Frank, or even a Turk, unless he belongs to a Bey's court, or is invested with some principal employment, must be contented with an afs. The afs, however, except in appearance, is much better for travelling

than the horse.

CHAP. V.

Account of Grand Cairo, the castle, Jofeph's well, and ball, Egyptian gardens, and ovens for hatching chicken; with fome obfervations on the Coptis.

THE

HE city of Grand Cairo is known to the inhabitants of the country, by the name of Mifr, which the Greeks have alfo adopted into their language, calling it to Mire, which is well known to be derived from the Hebrew word Mifraim, and, in the facred writings, denotes the country of Egypt, whence, by degrees, it is become the Arabic name of the capital of this country.

THIS city is faid to have been founded by the Saracen Alcair, in the year 971; and hence it seems to have derived its modern name, being called Alcair, i. e. Grand or New Cairo, to diftinguish it from the Old, which lies at a small distance from it. However, in Sever. Afmonæor. Epiftcop. (1), we meet with a different opinion. He fays, "Cairo, in the Aràbic, Cabar, i. e. he hath overcome, was fo called (1) In Hifter. Patriarch. apud Renaudot. VOL. II. F

"by