A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

AMUSEMENTS. 329
ever, that I am going to give you the remarks
elicited by my toilette ; for although everybody
talked to me, and that I talked to all, not one
word did we mutually understand, as I had no
interpreter with me. That trifling impediment
to conversation, not comprehending what is said,
did not, however, render us less loquacious ; and
at last everybody spoke at once, and no one list-
ened, and I really fancied that I had fallen into
a nest of magpies.
While this tintamarre was going on, I made
use of my eyes in noticing the peculiarities of
the hareem. No elegance — no nicety even ;
white-washed walls not over clean ; two or three
arched recesses, with water-bottles and sherbet
glasses in them; small Persian carpets spread
over the floor, and a low sofa running round two
sides of the room. In an adjacent apartment
were cane sofas ;
and the large projecting latticed
window, which forms so peculiar a feature in
Egyptian houses, was fitted up with a carpet
and cushions to lean upon. A number of female
visitors arrived one after another, invited no doubt
to look at the lion that had fallen among them
in the shape of a Frank stranger; and coffee,
sherbet, oranges, and dried raisins soaked in
aniseed were served to us ; and when the room