cklaces--one of
imitation sequins, the other of turquoise-hued beads. I am sure that he
would have felt much depressed if deprived of his charm against
magic--the morsel of parchment inscribed with Arabic characters which
decorated his breast. His tail and his short mane were dyed fashionably
with henna, but his legs had not been shaved in the pattern which
represents filigree garters, and whenever a comrade who had this
additional glory passed him, he became distinctly melancholy, and
brooded about it for several minutes. There is nothing in the world so
deprecating as the profile of one of these Cairo donkeys when he finds
himself obliged, by the pressure of the crowd, to push against a
European; his long nose and his polite eye as he passes are full of
friendly apologies. The donkey-boy, in his skull-cap and single garment,
runs behind his beast. These lads are very quick-witted. They have ready
for their donkeys five or six names, and they seldom make a mistake in
applying them according to the supposed nationality of their patrons of
the moment, so that the Englishman learns that he has Annie Laurie; the
Frenchman, Napoleon; the German, Bismarck; the Italian, Garibaldi; and
the Americans, indiscriminately, Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, and
General Grant.

In passing through the Abbasieh quarter, we always came, sooner or
later, upon a wedding. The different stages of a native marriage
require, indeed, so many days for their accomplishment that nuptial
festivities are a permanent institution in Cairo, like the policemen and
the water-carts, rather than an occasional event, as in other places.
One day, upon turning into a narrow street, we discovered that a long
portion of it had been roofed over with red cloth; from the centre of
this awning four large chandeliers were suspended by cords, and at each
end of the improvised tent were hoops adorned with the little red
Egyptian banners which look like fringed napkins. In the roadway, placed
against the walls of the houses on each side, were rows of wooden
settees; one of these seats was occupied by the band, which kept up a
constant piping and droning, and upon the others were squatted the
invited guests. Every now and then a man came from a gayly adorned door
on the left, which was that of the bridegroom, bringing with him a tray
covered with the tiny cups of coffee set in their filigree stands; he
offered coffee to all. In the meanwhile, in the centre of the roadway