AND LOAVER EGYPT. 87 



opulence to the eyes of despots, who, accustomed 

 to look upon the fortune of others as if it belonged 

 to themselves, barbarously sport with the property 

 and the lives of men. 



One of the opulent Cophts of Siout insisted on 

 sivins me a dinner. The interior of his house was 

 genteel and commodious : every thing there an* 

 nounced a man at his ease; but I no more saw a 

 woman than if it had been the house of a Mus- 

 sulman. The repast was served up with profu- 

 sion ; we drank copiously of some excellent date- 

 brandy, which was presented every moment in 

 small glasses of Venice crystal. 



In other respects their manner of taking their 

 meals is the same with that of the Turks and the 

 Arabs. They are seated, with their legs crossed, 

 around a table with onqt/oot, in form of a large 

 circular teaboard, on which dishes are placed, 

 without either tablecloth, plates, knives, or forks. 

 They make, with the right hand, the circle of the 

 dishes, from whence they take successively, and 

 according to their taste, little morsels with their 

 fingers. The left hand, destined for ablutions, 

 is unclean, and must not touch provisions. They 

 sometimes transfer what they have taken from one 

 dish to another, to form a mixture of it ; of this 

 tbey make a large ball, which they convey to a 



G 4 widely- 



