EGYPT AND HER PASHA. 297 



from a distance beyond the cataracts. The men were all tall, athletic 

 fellows, with skins as black as ebony, and their hair plaited in the 

 manner now seen on the heads of the sphinxes and female figures of the 

 ancient Egyptian statues. Their dress was strikingly picturesque ; a 

 close jacket of white cotton, with trowsers of the same material, open 

 at the knees ; a broad crimson girdle, and a turban of bright red, 

 which harmonized richly with the sable complexions of the wearers. 

 They were armed with a lance of uncommon length, which they wielded 

 with great dexterity, and a Turkish scimitar. Such was the appearance 

 of the Nubian cavalry of the Pasha of Egypt, the fac-similes, perhaps, 

 of the warriors who surrounded the war-chariot of the great Sesostris, 

 when, through the hundred gates of Thebes, he led the swarthy host to 

 conquest. None of the Egyptian cavalry have yet been trained to 

 European tactics ; they have, from the first, obstinately refused to relin- 

 quish their own. The riding and the training of the horses of these 

 Nubians was exquisite ; they gave those et demi voltes" in the air which 

 none but the children of the desert can give. 



Delighted with our ramble, we now retired to the tents of our French 

 acquaintance, to make preparation for the more important feature in our 

 day's adventure an introduction to Ibrahim himself. Our youngsters 

 revelled in the idea of smoking a pipe with a Pasha. 



Passing the Albanian guard, we were ushered into a large and splendid 

 tent, at one of the extremities of which, on a low divan, sat the redoubted 

 Ibrahim, surrounded by his officers. Immediately behind the Pasha 

 stood an officer in the Mameluke costume, near to him a French colonel, 

 in the tactico uniform, on whose breast glittered the star of the Legion 

 of Honour ; in the foreground, the swarthy Arab stood contrasted with 

 the fair Albanian, and the beautiful features of the Greek, with the flat, 

 broad physiognomy of the Nubian. The rich and varied dresses, the 

 court-like air of the attendants, the proud superiority of the chief, round 

 whom the assembled officers appeared, produced an ensemble which it 

 would be difficult to forget. 



When I first saw Ibrahim Pasha on his divan, it struck me that his 

 appearance was typical of the present condition of his father's domi- 

 nions a strange mixture of European civilization with Turkish barba- 

 rism. He wore a blue surtout coat, richly embroidered, while the 

 remainder of his costume was strictly Turkish. Ibrahim appeared to 

 be a man verging on fifty ; in person, short and ungraceful ; and his 

 countenance distinguished by a peculiarly ferocious expression, causing 

 the spectator almost to shudder. His reception, however, of our party, 

 was dignified and affable. He conversed briefly with our chaplain, after 

 which the usual formalities of coffee and pipes were introduced. Shortly 

 after, we took our leave, and returned on board, highly delighted with 

 the day's excursion. Our interview might not have passed off so well ; 

 for our chaplain, who liked nothing better than to hear himself preach, 

 took upon himself, previous to the introduction, to lecture us on the 

 manner we were to conduct ourselves in the presence of Ibrahim. When 

 introduced, the visage of the parson assumed such a ridiculous air of 

 gravity and importance, that one or two of the youngsters were obliged 

 to screen themselves with their cocked hats, in order to conceal the effects 

 on their risible muscles. 



About a week afterwards, at five in the morning, the final assault, 

 which added Acre to the dominions of Mohammed Ali, took place. The 



M. M. No. 81. X 



