Alexandrian. Ross is here,
and will dine with me to-night before starting by an express train which
Ismail Pasha gives him.

On Thursday evening I rode to the Abbassieh, and met all the schoolboys
going home for their Friday. Such a pretty sight! The little Turks on
grand horses with velvet trappings and two or three sais running before
them, and the Arab boys fetched--some by proud fathers on handsome
donkeys, some by trusty servants on foot, some by poor mothers astride on
shabby donkeys and taking up their darlings before them, some two and
three on one donkey, and crowds on foot. Such a number of lovely
faces--all dressed in white European-cut clothes and red tarbooshes.

Last night we had a wedding opposite. A pretty boy, about Maurice's
size, or rather less, with a friend of his own size, dressed like him in
a scarlet robe and turban, on each side, and surrounded by men carrying
tapers and singing songs, and preceded by cressets flaring. He stepped
along like Agag, very slowly and mincingly, and looked very shy and
pretty. My poor Hassan (donkey-driver) is ill--I fear very ill. His
father came with the donkey for me, and kept drawing his sleeve over his
eyes and sighing so heavily. '_Yah Hassan meskeen_! _yah Hassan ibn_!'
(Oh poor Hassan! oh Hassan my son!); and then, in a resigned tone,
'_Allah kereem_' (God is merciful). I will go and see him this morning,
and have a doctor to him 'by force,' as Omar says, if he is very bad.
There is something heart-rending in the patient, helpless suffering of
these people.

_Sunday_.--Abu Hassan reported his son so much better that I did not go
after him, having several things to do, and Omar being deep in cooking a
_festin de Balthazar_ because Ross was to dine with me. The weather is
delicious--much what we had at Bournemouth in summer--but there is a
great deal of sickness, and I fear there will be more, from people
burying dead cattle on their premises inside the town. It costs 100
_gersh_ to bury one outside the town. All labour is rendered scarce,
too, as well as food dear, and the streets are not cleaned and water hard
to get. My _sakka_ comes very irregularly, and makes quite a favour of
supplying us with water. All this must tell heavily on the poor.
Hekekian's wife had seventy head of cattle on her farm--one wretched
bullock is left; and, of seven to water the house in Cairo, also one
left, and that expected to die. I wonder what ill-conditioned fe