AND LOWER EGYPT. 253 



dent effrontery, and wretches have been seen 

 abandoning themselves to it, at Rossctta, in open 

 day, in the more retired streets. 



But let an impenetrable curtain drop over scenes 

 so shocking, and let us penetrate into the retreats 

 where beauty languishes, where, like the flower 

 which the caresses of the zephyr abandon, and re- 

 sign to the blighting breath of the impetuous 

 south wind, deprived of the homage of sensibility, 

 it withers and wastes under the yoke of a jealous 

 barbarian, who torments her with his suspicions, 

 and pollutes her with his profaned touch. 



The wives of the masters of Egypt, of the other 

 Mamelucs, of the Turks settled in the country, of 

 the rich inhabitants of the cities, were not Egyp- 

 tian women : they were originally from other 

 countries of the East, and particularly from the 

 parts of Greece in which beauty is a valuable and 

 constant property. 



Perpetually secluded, and going abroad very 

 rarely, and under a veil, or, to express myself more 

 accurately, under a mask, with which the face is 

 completely covered, the sun can impress no ble- 

 mish on the freshness, on the colouring of their 

 complexion ; and an acrid and saline air can never 

 affect the fairness and the delicacy of their skin. 



And 



