And thus at Cairo there is always to be found a considerable population
of French, Americans, and of English. Oriental life is brought home to
us, dreadfully diluted by western customs, and the delights of the
"Arabian Nights" are shorn of half their value. When we have seen a
thing it is never so magnificent to us as when it was half unknown.

It is not much that we deign to learn from these Orientals,--we who
glory in our civilisation. We do not copy their silence or their
abstemiousness, nor that invariable mindfulness of his own personal
dignity which always adheres to a Turk or to an Arab. We chatter as
much at Cairo as elsewhere, and eat as much and drink as much, and
dress ourselves generally in the same old ugly costume. But we do
usually take upon ourselves to wear red caps, and we do ride on
donkeys.

Nor are the visitors from the West to Cairo by any means confined to
the male sex. Ladies are to be seen in the streets quite regardless of
the Mahommedan custom which presumes a veil to be necessary for an
appearance in public; and, to tell the truth, the Mahommedans in
general do not appear to be much shocked by their effrontery.

A quarter of the town has in this way become inhabited by men wearing
coats and waistcoats, and by women who are without veils; but the
English tongue in Egypt finds its centre at Shepheard's Hotel. It is
here that people congregate who are looking out for parties to visit
with them the Upper Nile, and who are generally all smiles and
courtesy; and here also are to be found they who have just returned
from this journey, and who are often in a frame of mind towards their
companions that is much less amiable. From hence, during the winter, a
cortege proceeds almost daily to the pyramids, or to Memphis, or to the