84 GRAND CAIRO. 
devotions — to the surprise and satisfaction of the 
Turks and Arabs, who speedily circulated a re- 
port over Cairo, that the English army was filled 
with soldiers belonging to the Faithful. These 
men were all volunteers ; and no instance had 
ever occurred of their being conveyed so far 
from their native land at any former period. 
Dinner p^ dinner sfiven by General Baird to all the 
given by o j 
the Com- English officers, and others of our countrymen 
in-Chief, in Cdiro, took place while the camp remained 
upon the Isle oi Rhouda. We were invited: and 
the scene was so extraordinary, that it ought to 
be noticed. The dinner was given in the pavi- 
lion before mentioned : this was illuminated by 
glass lustres suspended from an enormous 
bamboo cane, sustaining the inner covering of the 
tent ; and by wax candles in glass cylinders. 
English porter, roasted pigs, and other English 
fare, together with port, claret, and Madeira 
wines, appeared upon the table. The dinner 
was cooked by Indian servants, upon the sand 
near the tent ; and a view of the extraordinary 
cleanliness observed by these cooks, as well as 
of their peculiar habits, were among the most 
curious parts of the exhibition. Having drawn 
a Ime around them, they suffered no person to 
pass this boundary. The rules of their cast 
