234 EXTRACTS FROM 
as, while they were working, we made the painful discovery 
that on one side of the field the cutting of the canes had 
already begun. 
A large number of labourers, wretchedly poor, slightly 
clad fellaheen, some of whom had splendid figures, were here 
toiling under the superintendence of an overseer arrayed in 
long flowing garments and armed with a whip of rhinoceros 
hide. This fine fellow walked up to me while the hunt was 
going on, and delivered an oration accompanied with haughty 
gestures, and, after much trouble, I at last understood him 
to mean that he wished me to leave the place. 
As the tone of his voice and the movements of his hand 
began to be more energetic I called up Osman, Baron 
Saurma’s black kawass, and as soon as the worthy Oriental 
saw the rich livery of a consular servant, his voice sank into 
mild suppliant tones, and he hurried in among the sugar- 
canes to avoid further unpleasantness. We then returned to 
the carriages, having failed in our first brief attempt at 
killing wolves, though we had shot some small game. 
Baron Saurma now took us to Old Cairo, which lies to- 
wards the south and is the most ancient part of the town. 
The bridge had to be crossed again, and then the road 
turned to the right, and running close to the Nile and near a 
viceregal palace, soon brought us into a most interesting maze 
of rubbish and ruins, dirt and débris. There the poorest part 
of the population were living in miserable dilapidated houses, 
and there the driving-road came to an end among stones and 
sand-hills, so we had to get out of the carriages near two 
tall palm-trees and continue our way on foot. 
The outermost house of the town was formed by the ruins 
of an old wall and a high heap of rubbish, and from this 
spot, where the hyzenas, jackals, and half-wild dogs hold their 
nightly concerts, we had a splendid view. Wreathed in 
