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CRIMES OF THE HAREM.

sand miles from their parents and the female friends of their youth; the Georgian and Circassian women, confined in the harem, deeply feel the sting of neglect, and, while thus goaded, listen to no voice but that of their fury. Though it would be unphilosophical to generalise, in matters of this kind, where the experience, even of the best informed, must be extremely limited, it may yet, I think, be inferred that the voluptuous establishments of the Orientals are frequently shaken to their centre by the most tragical events. Women will still be women, in whatever climate they may be found; nor can custom, though long established and almost universal, ever reconcile them to that insulting kind of community of affection which forms the paradise of a Musulman. Jealousy is excited, perhaps, in wives already past the season of beauty, by the introduction into the harem of a young mistress in the flower of her age, wanton, petulant, and insolent, presuming upon her short-lived influence to treat with contumely ladies long domiciliated in the mansion. To her, for a time, the husband confines his attentions; their amours, carried on under the eyes of the legitimate wives, rouse their indignation; they consult together; each urges on the other; some fresh insult renders them desperate; and the seed of the hyoscyamus datura presents itself as the sole cure for their insufferable evils. But the women are not the only persons who avail themselves of this ready poison. Unscrupulous persons, dwelling in remote and little frequented parts of the country, are likewise sometimes known, when by

POISONING OF TRAVELLERS.

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chance a wayfaring man arrives at their habitation, to present him with bread containing a large proportion of these seeds, which, producing a long and lethargic sleep, enables them, as they may consider most expedient, to rob or murder him. On this subject numerous anecdotes are related by the Caireens. Not many months ago, an Arab, proceeding with twentyfive laden asses along the skirts of the desert, arrived about nightfall at a solitary hut, the owner of which,

a Black from the upper country, - observing him to be fatigued by his day's journey, kindly offered him food, and a resting-place for the night. Entertaining no suspicion, and confiding in the laws of hospitality, generally held sacred by persons of his race, the Arab led his asses into the court-yard; after which he accepted the invitation of the Black, and ate the food which was placed before him. The ordinary narcotic, however, having been mingled with the bread, sleep quickly succeeded to his meal; and when he awoke, at the expiration of twenty-four hours, the perfidious host had disappeared, with his asses and other property; and, having secured himself the advantage of so considerable a space of time, succeeded in entirely escaping detection. It is likewise common for housebreakers, who meditate a design against the property of their neighbours, to contrive, by bribing their slaves, or some other means, to administer this narcotic to the whole family. An example of this occurred the other day at Ghizeh, the village which gives its name to the greater pyramids, where a robber, in thus practising on a numerous family, actually

But

poisoned one of its members; the rest, after sleeping three days, recovered; but the miscreant, who, however, failed in his attempt upon the house, was never discovered. Libertines, when the ordinary arts of seduction fail, will sometimes administer these seeds, in small quantities, to young women, and take advantage of the delirium or stupefaction they produce. as, in moderate doses, the immediate effect is a kind of pleasing intoxication, resembling that which is caused by opium or hemp-seed, the profligate and vulgar of both sexes, who, in Europe, would have recourse to ardent spirits, make use of these seeds to procure a temporary oblivion of their cares; and women, under the influence of datura, may often be seen in the streets of Cairo, with inflamed countenances and flashing eyes, laughing, dancing, singing, and committing various other acts of indecency.

Saturday, March 2. CAIRO.

DXXXIV. Though it was now our principal object to procure dromedaries for the journey across the desert into the Fayoom, the delays unavoidably encountered in all dealings with Turks or Arabs, left us abundant leisure for enlarging our acquaintance with the curiosities in the environs of Cairo. Among the most remarkable of these, the site and solitary obelisk of Heliopolis, the On of the Scriptures,— should unquestionably be enumerated; and they were the things to the visiting and examining of which we devoted this day. The road leading to Heliopolis lying over the extensive sandy plain, north-east of

CAMP OF THE CARAVAN.

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Cairo, stretching from the city to the mountains, where, at this time, the military escort, designed to protect the pilgrim caravan in its march across the Arabian desert towards Mekka, was encamped, we deviated a little from our course in order to observe the tents and equipments of this diminutive host. Though the number of soldiers was small, the whole materiel of the scene, tents, horses, furniture, arms, all in their form and appearance Oriental,-presented an aspect highly striking and characteristic. On the countenance of every individual, the marks of having braved the sun and scorching blasts of the desert were deeply engraved. They were mostly veterans; men who, in the numerous shocks and vicissitude of life, had been entirely emancipated from the ingenuous prejudices of youth, from the influence of ardent enthusiasm, from the love of adventure, from the passion for distinction; all now replaced by that valour generated by habitual exposure to danger. To behold this and not to feel the desire to accompany it, camp, in its perilous marches over the sandy plains of Arabia, was impossible. In a few days it would be in motion, at the head of many thousand pilgrims, who had already, in their advance towards the Holy City, traversed the greater part of the African continent, from beyond Fez and Morocco; and, had fortune permitted, nothing could have been more flattering to my imagination than to have joined this vast body of enthusiasts, penetrated with them through the undescribed paths of the wilderness, and contemplated their wild but pious exercises at the birth

place and tomb of their Prophet. The tents of the common soldiers and inferior officers were white, and of the ordinary form; but those of the commander and treasurer of the troops, who probably claimed a descent from Mohammed, were of a light leaf green colour, and most elegantly fashioned. Numerous horses, several of them of rare beauty, were picketed, in the usual manner, on the plain, eating corn, in the London fashion, from small bags suspended on their noses; while their owners, in the gorgeous costume and sparkling decorations of the Egyptian cavalry, were sauntering idly through the camp. Formerly

it would have been highly imprudent in a traveller to venture among these fanatical Moslems, who, when preparing to visit their holy places, seem to have been animated by a double portion of the spirit of persecution; but the ordonnances and example of the Pasha have effected a wonderful change in these matters; for whatever may have been the secret feelings with which they beheld us ride among their tents, scrutinize their horses, accoutrements, and arms, their behaviour manifested no disposition to insolence, but rather a desire to exhibit to the best advantage all the politeness they were masters of. Supposing that all Englishmen, since they are admirers of horses, must necessarily be proficients in the veterinary art, they did us the honour to consult our judgment respecting the various ailments of their beasts; several of which, they said, had for three days rejected their food, while others ate a great deal without getting fat. In some of these cases Monro prescribed bleeding, in others