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The Old Coptic Churches in Cairo Itself 301
to show their joy at the Resurrection ; so there is no saying
where a Greek might not let off a firework at such a time.
We felt a little timid about going into the Greek cathedral on
such an occasion : it was nearly one o'clock in the morning.
But we need not have disturbed ourselves, for we had got no
farther than the open court in front of the cathedral when we
were involved in a crowd from which it seemed impossible for
any human being to emerge alive. So we turned tail, and it
took us an hour doing it.
We had, however, already seen the Greek cathedral, which
would be like an up-to-date Nonconformist church if it were
not for the ikon-hung screen and for the numerous pictures,
of no artistic merit whatever, with which the walls and
columns are hung. The courtyard is, however, fine and
picturesque, but not good enough to make up for the
inferiority of the present cathedral to the glorious and
ancient Greek Church of St. George at Old Cairo, which
has just been so admirably restored.