the occult science. Upon the morning after our arrival, Miss E., who was always the first upon the alert, accepted the escort of a gentleman, who conducted her to a neighbouring shop; while making some purchases, a gipsey came and seated herself opposite, and by way of showing her skill, remarked that the lady was a stranger to Cairo, and had a companion also of her own sex, who pretended to be a friend, but who would prove treacherous. As we had ridden through the fair together on the preceding evening, it did not require any great effort of art to discover that two Frank ladies had arrived at Cairo; but in speaking of treachery, the gipsey evidently wished to pique the curiosity of my friend, and tempt her to make further inquiry. Much to my regret, she did not take any notice of the fortune-teller, whose words had been repeated by the gentleman who had accompanied her, and who was well-acquainted with the language in which they were spoken. I should like to have had a specimen of the talents of a modern scion of a race, in the country in which the learned have decided that the tribe, now spread over the greater part of the world, originated.

The arrival of the Berenice at Suez had been reported the evening before, and the mails had been brought to Cairo in the course of the night. All was, therefore, bustle and confusion in our hotel; gentlemen hourly arriving from the Nile, where they had been delayed by squalls and contrary winds, or snatching a hasty meal before they posted off to the pyramids. Our camels and donkeys had been laden and despatched to the outskirts of the city, to which we were to be conveyed in a carriage. I had observed in the court-yard of the hotel an English-built equipage, of the britschka fashion, with a dark-coloured hood, for, whatever might have been its original tint, it had assumed the common hue of Egypt; and I found that two spirited horses were to be harnessed to the vehicle, which was dragged out into the street for our accommodation. A gentleman volunteered his services as coachman, promising that he would drive carefully, and we accordingly got in, a party of four, taking the baby along with us. Although the horses kicked and plunged a little, I did not fancy that we could be in any danger, as it was impossible for them to run away with us through streets so narrow as scarcely to be passable, neither could we have very easily been upset. I, therefore, hoped to have enjoyed the drive amazingly, as it promised to afford me a better opportunity than I had hitherto possessed of seeing Cairo, seated at my ease, instead of pushing and jostling through the crowd either on foot or upon a donkey. The gentleman, however, bent upon showing off, would not listen to our entreaties that the grooms should lead the horses, but dashed along, regardless of the danger to the footpassengers, or the damage that the donkeys might sustain. So long as we proceeded slowly, the drive was very agreeable, since it enabled me to observe the effect produced by our party upon the spectators. Many sat with the utmost gravity in their shops, scarcely deigning to cast their eyes upon what must certainly have been a novel sight; others manifested much more curiosity, and seemed to be infinitely amused, while heads put out of the upper windows showed that we attracted some attention. My enjoyment was destined to be very brief, for in a short time our coachman, heedless of the mischief that might ensue, drove rapidly forward, upsetting and damaging every thing that came in his way. In vain did we scream and implore; he declared that it was the fault of the people, who would not remove themselves out of danger; but as we had no avant-courrier to clear the road before us, and our carriage came very suddenly upon many persons, I do not see how they could have managed

to escape. At length, we drove over an unfortunate donkey, which was pulled down by a piece of iron sticking from the carriage, and thus becoming entangled in the load he bore. I fear that the animal was injured, for the poor boy who drove him cried bitterly, and though we (that is, the ladies of the party) would gladly have remunerated him for the damage he might have sustained, neither time nor opportunity was permitted for this act of justice. On we drove, every moment expecting to be flung out against the walls, as the carriage turned round the corners of streets placed at right angles to each other. At length, we succeeded in our wish to have the grooms at the horses' heads, and without further accident, though rendered as nervous as possible, passed through the gate of the city. We drove forward now without any obstacle through the Necropolis, or city of tombs, before mentioned, and I regretted much that we had not left Cairo at an earlier hour, which would have permitted us to examine the interiors. The desert comes up to the very walls of Cairo, and these tombs rise from a plain of bare sand. I observed some gardens and cultivated places stretching out into the wilderness, no intermediate state occurring between the garden and the arid waste in which vegetation suddenly ceased. We might have performed the whole journey across the desert in the carriage which had brought us thus far, but as one of the ladies was a little nervous, and moreover thought the road too rough, I readily agreed to choose another mode of conveyance; in fact, I wished particularly to proceed leisurely to Suez, and in the manner in which travellers had hitherto been conveyed. The mighty changes which are now effecting in Egypt, should nothing occur to check their progress, will soon render the track to India so completely beaten, and so deeply worn by wheels, that I felt anxious to take advantage of the opportunity now offered to traverse the desert in a more primitive way. I disliked the idea of hurrying through a scene replete with so many interesting recollections. I had commenced reading the Arabian Nights Entertainment at the age of five years; since which period, I had read them over and over again at every opportunity, finishing with the last published number of the translation by Mr. Lane. This study had given me a strong taste for every thing relating to the East, and Arabia especially. I trust that I am not less familiar with the writings of the Old and New Testament, and consequently it may easily be imagined that I should not find three days in the desert tedious, and that I felt anxious to enjoy to the uttermost the reveries which it could not fail to suggest.

In parting with our friend and the carriage, he declared that he would indemnify himself for the constraint we had placed upon him, by driving over two or three people at least. Fortunately, his desire of showing off was displayed too soon; we heard and rejoiced at the tidings, that he upset the carriage before he got to the gate of Cairo. Two or three lives are lost, it is said, whenever the Pasha, who drives furiously, traverses the city in a European equipage. That he should not trouble himself about so mean a thing as the life or limb of a subject, may not be wonderful; but that he should permit Frank strangers to endanger both, seems unaccountable. No Anglo-Indian resident in either of the three presidencies thinks of driving a wheel-carriage through streets never intended for such conveyances. In visiting Benares, Patna, or any other of the celebrated native cities of India, elephants, horses, palanquins, or some other vehicle adapted for the occasion, are chosen. It, therefore, appears to be the more extraordinary that English people, who are certainly living upon sufferance in Egypt, should thus recklessly expose the

inhabitants to danger, to which they are not subjected by any of their own people under the rank of princes. Nothing can be more agreeable or safe than a drive across the desert, and probably the time is speedily approaching in which the rich inhabitants of Cairo will indulge, as they do at Alexandria, in the luxury of English carriages, and for this purpose, the streets and open spaces best adapted for driving will be improved and widened.

I cannot take leave of Cairo without paying the tribute due to the manner in which the streets are kept. In passing along the narrow lanes and avenues before-mentioned, not one of the senses were shocked; dust, of course, there is every where, but nothing worse to be seen at least; and the sight and smell were not offended, as at Paris or even in London, when passing through the by-ways of either. Altogether, if I may venture to pronounce an opinion, after so short a residence, I should say that, if our peaceful relations with Egypt should continue to be kept up, in no place will travellers be better received or entertained than in Cairo.

LINES FROM THE HADĪKAH OF HAKĪM SANĀĪ.

(PERSIAN TEXT.)

آنکه زهرت دهد بدو ده قند

و آنکه از تو برد بدو پیوند و آنکه بد گفت نيکوئي گویش

ور نجوید ترا تو میجویش و آنکه دشنام دادت از سر خشم خاک پایش گزین چو سرمه چشم و آنکه سیمت نداد زر بخشش و آنکه پایت برید سر بخشش

THE "GOLDEN ABODE" AT UMMERAPOORA.

UPON the occasion of Mendaragyee (commonly called Phoudou, or the royal grandfather) building for himself a new palace at Ummerapoora, he issued the following proclamation, and caused a book to be compiled for the use of the architects and builders engaged in its construction. This book has for its title, "The Introduction to the Golden Abode," and details with minute exactness the shape and plan of the palace, the various articles which compose the services of plate used at the king's meals, the royal umbrellas and state-boats; it also quotes the authorities for the forms observed at the king's departure from and return home, the dates when they were instituted, and the reasons for perpetuating them; a list of the thrones, their shapes, the materials of which they are made, and the images that decorate them, their postures, and the colours in which they are painted; the forms and lengths of the royal barges, and a table of the jewels employed in adorning the thrones and pieces of plate.

"Proclamation for the felling of Timber.

"The most powerful and excellent sovereign of the Tshaddan elephant, the master of white elephants, the possessor of the magic spear, the master of the world, the imperial sovereign of state; this is his command:-to the ruling spiritual brothers of Toung-Byoing (six other guardian deities are enumerated), and to all the spiritual protectors of the woods. I the king, &c. &c. &c. enjoin the numerous guardians not to offer molestation to my labourers employed in collecting materials in the teak forests for the construction of my royal abode in the golden city of Ummerapoora." (Here follows a lengthy statement concerning the felling of timber, &c.).

The book commences with the usual invocation, viz. "Reverential prostration before the worshipped of the three orders of intellectual beings-men, angels, and demi-gods ;" and then proceeds to state, that the centre of the palace should be surmounted by a graduated spire, in which should be enclosed an image of the protecting deity chosen to preside over the spot; a canopy should be raised over the thrones, and the area of the palace should be partitioned off into apartments for the different members of the royal family; the service of plate should consist of goblets for liquids, trays, and betel-boxesone in the shape of a sphinx, and the other like a Hentha or swan, the exclusive emblem of royalty; the imperial umbrella should be white, and one of that colour should be at all times unfurled in front of the palace. On one side of the wooden abode should be another, built of brick or masonry; the first should be ornamented with fret-work, gable points and pinnacles carved out of the solid teak, and the walls should be relieved with cornices and surbaces; five regiments of body-guards should be stationed on the west side, and five on the east; and the floors of certain apartments should be covered with matting, which should be kept even in their proper places by slabs of stone or marble. In the front part of the palace, on the west side, upon an elevated platform, a throne ornamented with images should be constructed; on one side should be a theatre; on the roof of the palace a number of cabins should be provided for the people whose duty it is to scare away the birds; within the statechambers should be rows of burnished pillars; a private sleeping sofa, of stone or masonry, should be specially provided for the king; a miniature fac-simile of the shrine should be cast in lead and preserved in one of the apartments; drums should be beat upon the occasion of the king's issuing from and returning to the royal abode; a silver gong should be then struck five times, an impe

rial drum should be beat, and a bell should be rung eleven times, twenty-two times, or more, according to the season, the time of day, or the purpose of the royal outgoing; and upon the reading of an imperial proclamation, on the fifth day of the waxing of the moon of July, should the large drum of the palace be beat. Within the enclosure of the palace, an imperial hall for the council of state should be erected, and beyond the gates, on the outside of the barrier, should another court-house stand. Concerning the councillors of state, there should be four woongyees, or chief burden-bearers, four ministers of the palace, and four others of an inferior order, gaolers, city governors, and other officers; boats of state, with carved prows and gilded sides, should be built for the use of the king, his family, and attendants; race-boats also, and barges. With regard to the ornaments of the capitals of the pillars, there shall be nine precious stones employed, viz., pearls, corals, rubies, diamonds, cats-eyes, lapis lazuli, topazes, emeralds, and sapphires. The thrones must have various effigies of fabulous animals carved upon them or placed near them; one should be surrounded with figures of lions, another with those of elephants, and a third with creatures of monstrous appearance, interspersed with flowers and wreaths of gems.

It would be tedious to follow the original literally from point to point, and detail the precedents for the numerous observances and ceremonies of state; I will, therefore, conclude by explaining the ground-plan of the palace, and its courts and inclosures. The principal entrance is on the east-side, by a gateway in the centre of the outer barrier; on the right hand are stables for state elephants, and on the left a temple and guard-house. Proceeding across the court-yard, on the left hand, stands the Hloot, or imperial court, an open building, constructed wholly of teak, and richly ornamented with carved work. This is outside, and immediately adjoining the second barrier, through which you pass by a semi-circular passage to the right, into the interior of the palace-yard, there are large doors called "The Scarlet Entrance;" but these are always shut, excepting upon state-occasions, when members of the royal family, with their retinues, ambassadors, and ministers, are alone permitted to pass; on the right and left are cannon and guard-houses, and exactly opposite are the steps leading into the interior of the palace. Ascending these, you reach a large apartment, the floor of which is formed of highly-polished chunam; on either hand are ante-chambers, for the use of the officers in waiting. In a diagonal direction, on the left, is a passage leading to the chamber of audience; entering which, and turning to the left, you have the throne of state before you, at the south end of the chamber. These form the public apartments of the palace; but by continuing onward from the ante-chambers, instead of turning to the left, you arrive at the private suite of rooms: on the right is the throne, on which the king reclines whenever he is not engaged in public affairs; on the right, still farther on, is the barrack of the imperial guard, composed of natives of Tavoy; beyond these are the imperial swordsmen; to the right of them, another corps of life-guards of Tavoyers, and opposite the throne-room, the barrack of the archers; to the south of the palace is the stable of the white elephant, surmounted by a graduated spire, the peculiar mark of royalty; to the left, in a diagonal direction, stands the treasury, and beyond it are gardens and pools of water for the use of the female inmates of the palace, and on the right, the space between the walls of the palace and the barrier is occupied in the same manner with pleasure. gardens and baths.