TO GRAND CAIRO. 53 
Temoved them, in their full costume, to one of chap. 
the London theatres. They had their colours v ^\ 
flying; yellow and green. Passing through the 
villages, they continued to beat small kettle- 
drums; proceeding always in a sluggardly man- 
ner, with their knees quite up to their chins ; 
being evidently annoyed by a situation so hostile 
to their natural indolence as that in which a cer- 
tain degree of active exertion was unavoidable. 
Their ludicrous appearance was a source of 
mirth to the cavalry of the French army, even 
in the heat of battle ; among whom the order 
for making a charge was frequently expressed, 
according to their natural levity, by the words 
" Bas les Pasteques /'' Down with the fVater- 
melons f alluding to the appearance presented 
by the bulky swathing of their large turbans, 
which give to their heads something of a simi- 
litude to those enormous melons : but of this 
order the Moslems rarely awaited the result; 
they fled as soon as they heard it, in the utmost 
dismay and confusion. 
The ylrab crew of our boat washed their ^rab cus- 
hands, faces, and teeth, before and after eating; 
cleansing their teeth with wood ashes, which 
they collected for this purpose from the fire for 
boiling our kettle. The common fuel used by 
