ANEl LOWER EGYPT. 2O5 



But they all agreed In forbidding the operation, 

 which Nature, In giving a superabundant excres- c^SruM^'-cl 

 cence to the Egyptian girls, has rendered necessary. 

 It was sufficient that the cutting of that part, which 

 was at least useless, bore some resemblance to cir- 

 cumcision, to make monkish stupidity perceive in 

 it a Jewish or Mahometan practice, and hurl against 

 it what they called the thunder of the church, 

 which happily was not dangerous, except in the 

 eyes of those who were afraid of it. But it was a 

 powerful weapon In countries where ignorance 

 reigned exclusively; and the Egyptian Catholics, 

 who were consequently the slaves of the monks, 

 determined to retain an inconvenient exuberance 

 rather than not obey the precepts of folly and h}'- 

 pocrisy. 



Besides, these men, so busy in Intermeddling with 

 secret details, about which they have, in every part 

 of the world, been at all times extremely curious; 

 these very men, so careful to avoid in some points 

 every thing which could have the slightest refer- 

 ence to the customs of the Jewish or Mahometan 

 religion, did not trouble themselves to do away 

 among their proselytes certain habits brought in 

 vogue by the disciples of Mahomet. The Catholic 

 women, probably visible to their ghostly director 

 alone, conceal themselves, like the Turkish ladles, 

 from all observation, A thick veil covers their 



face. 



