November 11, 1862: Mrs. Austin


_To Mrs. Austin_.
GRAND CAIRO,
_Tuesday_, _November_ 11, 1862.

Dearest Mutter,

I write to you out of the real Arabian Nights. Well may the Prophet
(whose name be exalted) smile when he looks on Cairo. It is a golden
existence, all sunshine and poetry, and, _I_ must add, kindness and
civility. I came up last Thursday by railway with the American Consul-
General, a charming person, and had to stay at this horrid Shepheard's
Hotel. But I do little but sleep here. Hekekian Bey, a learned old
Armenian, takes care of me every day, and the Amerian Vice-Consul is my
sacrifice. I went on Sunday to his child's christening, and heard Sakna,
the 'Restorer of Hearts.' She is wonderfully like Rachel, and her
singing is _hinreisend_ from expression and passion. Mr. Wilkinson (the
Consul) is a Levantine, and his wife Armenian, so they had a grand
fantasia; people feasted all over the house and in the street. Arab
music _schmetterte_, women yelled the _zaghareet_, black servants served
sweetmeats, pipes, and coffee, and behaved as if they belonged to the
company, and I was strongly under the impression that I was at
Nurreddin's wedding with the Vizier's daughter. Yesterday I went to
Heliopolis with Hekekian Bey and his wife, and visited an Armenian
country lady close by.

My servant Omar turns out a jewel. He has _deterre_ an excellent boat