18 A MATEENAL DEAGOMAN. 



we do not long remain on deck, but retire to the cabin, 

 where the dragoman is waiting to announce dinner. 



Our dragoman is a native of Egypt. He wears the fez 

 cap with the invariable yellow, red, and blue scarf tied round 

 it in the form of a turban, a flowing black coat, in shape 

 much resembling a dressing-gown, a long blue waistcoat, 

 much embroidered with no end of useless little buttons, and 

 lower down a pair of bags of the same material, through 

 which his legs appear clothed in cotton stockings of match- 

 less whiteness, terminating in black shoes with steel buckles. 

 He is a fair specimen of the present god of the Nile, the 

 dragoman, who is worshipped by the natives wherever he 

 goes, on the chance of backsheesh, which, by the way, they 

 seldom get for nothing. This peculiarly attired individual, 

 owing to his long dress, curious squeaky voice, and the 

 motherly care he takes of us, we nicknamed 'the Mother,' 

 while Abdallah and Salem, the two trusty attendants, owing 

 to their equally flowing robes, we called ' the Girls.' Ab- 

 dallah, a Copt or Christian, is always most anxious to thrust 

 his services upon us, and to keep Salem, whom he bullies, as 

 much in the background as possible ; and in this he is pretty 

 successful, for he is the ' Mother's ' favourite. He is not a 

 very bright specimen, and hardly understands a word of 

 English, while Salem speaks it tolerably fluently. The two 

 ' Girls ' differ in dress as well as in creed ; for although both 

 wear the red fez and red slippers with white socks, which 

 never tcill keep up, Salem has a black coat and vest after 

 the form of the ' Mother's,' with a yellow silk scarf tied 

 round the waist, while Abdallah, over a similar long black 

 waistcoat, wears a grev English shooting-coat. Both wear 



