when the reins of administration are released by the
death of the present Pasha, the overland route to India may not be quite
so secure as it is at present.

But there is another, a modern wonder of Cairo, which, of late years, has
almost equally divided with the Pyramids the attention of Frank
travellers. We allude to the sheykh Abdel-Kadir el-Maughrabi, in whose
enchanted mirror of ink, poured into the palm of an unsophisticated Arab
boy, men from all parts of the earth were compelled to appear before the
tent of the Sultan, with its seven mystic flags, and submit to a
description of their persons and dress, which would have satisfied the
vigilance of the Russian police. The oracular sagacity of the _Quarterly
Review_ was unable to solve the mystery; and even Mr Lane, in his _Modern
Egyptians_, hesitates whether to doubt or to believe; but the bubble (as
we learn from Mrs Poole) has at last burst; and the two familiar spirits,
Turshoon and Turyooshoon, stand revealed in the late Osman Effendi,
interpreter to the British consulate. Since the death of this respectable
personage, who usually acted as master of the ceremonies at his
performances, the good fortune of the sheykh has totally deserted him, as
he himself inadvertently admitted to Mr Lane, when he not long since
accompanied two English travellers to witness the exhibition, which proved
an entire failure; and since that time his attempts have been even more
signally unsuccessful. Whatever may have been the means employed, there is
no longer any doubt that Osman Effendi, who sat quiet and demure in a
corner, without word or sign, was the prime agent in the deception; and
with him the reputation of the last representative of Pharaoh's magicians
has vanished for ever, like the visions in his own magic mirror.

* * * * *

The series of Mrs Poole's letters closes abruptly in April 1844, with the
relation of one of her visits to the friendly harem of Habeeb Effendi; and
no intimation is given either of the cause of the second cessation, or
whether a second series may be hereafter expected. We hope that this may
be the case; for, independent of the interest attaching to the subject,
and the difficulty of finding another equally qualified by opportunity and
powers of observation to do it justice, the time must inevitably soon be
past when it will be possible to depict the habitudes and manners of the
Arab population in their integrity. C