the Khalifat of Baghdad. He also observes that "it abounds in every kind of fruits, and boasts many handsome buildings and the remains of ancient Egyptian monuments," which have certainly now disappeared.

So far as society was concerned, we had the opportunity of moving in the most fashionable native set, which, however, has always the disadvantage of being confined exclusively to the male sex; so that the hospitality of which we were the recipients, whether it took the form of visits or dinners, became somewhat monotonous. We were also most kindly furnished with gaily caparisoned donkeys for afternoon rides. One of these was a very proud animal, which was of a pure Mecca breed, and had cost his owner £80. Besides being a most persistent brayer, he had a loud and unpleasant manner of wheezing, or rather grunting, as he walked, which made me suppose he was broken-winded or asthmatic. So far from this being the case, I was assured that this wheezing was a highly esteemed quality in an ass, and was produced by a diet of ham, of which he was very fond, and which caused him to grunt like a pig when he walked, at

tracting universal attention: thus when we rode through the bazaar our donkey heralded his approach from afar in a proud and ostentatious manner, and so proclaimed both his own value and the distinction of his rider. He seemed to delight in these manifestations in crowded places, thus confirming my impression that donkeys are vain creatures by nature -a belief which it will be remembered that Huc says is entertained by the Chinese, who prove it by tying a stone to their tails when they begin to bray, which gives them such a feeling of humiliation that they instantly subside into a mortified silence. I often felt inclined to try the experiment with my wheezing friend, who had a habit of constantly stopping suddenly, and indulging in the most prolonged and portentous bray, during which time all attempts to induce him to move on were ineffectual. At other times he pulled at his bit, in his eagerness and impetuosity, like a high-mettled charger.

The most interesting social entertainment to which we were invited while at Minieh, was a festivity on the occasion of the marriage of the son and daughter of the two richest and

most influential Copts in the place. The ceremony is generally performed in church late on Sunday night; but on Saturday evening wedding festivities take place both in the houses of the bride and bridegroom. The sexes, however, are not allowed to mingle, but the women have theirs in their own separate apartments. At eight o'clock in the evening I followed my guide through the tortuous, unlighted streets of the town to the house of the bride's father. Here I was received by the old gentleman, and ushered into the inner court crowded with guests, beyond which a select circle was collected in the small reception-room. I found the governor of the province and all the principal officials assembled here. The whole of the ground floor was brilliantly lighted; and though all wore the red fez cap or tarboosh, the costume of the most aristocratic portion of the assembly was more or less Europeanised. When all had seated themselves on chairs round the room, and had partaken of the due allowance of sherbet and coffee, the performances commenced by the introduction of a dancing-girl, gorgeously attired in crim

son satin and brocade, abundantly spangled with tinsel, and adorned with jewels of some value. Masses of gold ornaments like coins were attached to her flowing tresses, and jingled on her back whenever she moved. In her dress, however, one could remark the growing influence of European habits: the gauzy loose trousers of the Ghawazee of old days have given place to a full skirt reaching almost to the ground; her feet, instead of being bare, were shod with Parisian brodequins; and under her small jacket was a chemise-like garment of tolerable thickness, which was also an innovation adapted to imported notions of decency. Her dancing was of the character usual in the East, excepting that the attitudes were considerably modified, and a general air of propriety prevailed, which was also a decidedly modern improvement. It is said that the modern Egyptian dance is an inheritance bequeathed by the ancients, whose priestesses in the temples dedicated to Hathor, the Egyptian Venus, indulged in religious exercises, which finally degenerated in purity and dignity; so that a return to these qualities is scarcely to be regretted. The

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march of civilisation has now so far advanced, that the native band and dance were, after the first performance, abandoned for bad European music by native artists, to which the Egyptian girl did her best to waltz without a partner, with a step which certainly had nothing in common with the trois temps. She was succeeded by a characteristic Arab concert -the orchestra being composed of four men, one of whom played a sort of zither, another reed-pipes, another a tom-tom, while the fourth trusted entirely to his vocal powers for contributing to the general harmony, which it was necessary to be an Arab to appreciate. When the wild discordant strains raised by this quartette ceased, we were treated to a performance of a very novel and grotesque kind. A loud "tintamarre" was heard in the street, and a procession, which was accompanied by shouts of laughter from the spectators outside, entered the house. It consisted of what was intended to represent an awkward squad of raw recruits. The officer in command was dressed in British uniform, but his men wore tall fool's caps of paper, and were otherwise fantastically attired. The principal performer was a clown, who,