The people here are extravagantly fond of the bath. The women, eagerly seizing on every moment of li berty which they can command, meet in parties twice a week at the baths, when they make an ostentatious display to each other of their finery. In Cairo is prac tised, in its greatest perfection, the bathing operation, called madsing : this luxury consists in having your body rubbed all over by servants, who at the same time knead and press the limbs and joints till they crack, after being exposed to the hot or vapour bath. Euro peans have described, in terms of rapture, the sensa tions which they have felt after this operation ; though too frequent indulgence, we should suppose, must relax and debilitate the body. At Constantinople, and other oriental cities, the ladies have it in their power to take an airing in carriages ; here, however, nothing of the kind is known ; so that women of all ranks are obliged to ride asses, which are to be had in great numbers, saddled, bridled, and ready in the streets. A Jew or a Christian dares not ride a horse in this metropolis of pride, that being thought too great an honour for any but true believers ; and if he do not alight from his ass im mediately, on seeing a bey, or great man pass by, he is certain of being bastinadoed on the spot. The Christian and Jewish ladies, however, are exempted from this ho mage, out of regard for their sex.
One of the greatest sources of recreation here is the Nile, on which hundreds of elegant barks, with their long sail-yards and fantastic sails, are seen flying with great velocity in all directions. They are ingeniously carved and painted, and, being fitted up with fine cabins, carpeted over, allord a delightful shelter from the heat. Here, reclining in luxurious ease, the wealthy, some times accompanied by their whole harems, enjoy the delicious coolness of the water, and admire the ever varying landscape presented to their eyes, as they pur sue the frequent windings of this renowned river. Pe destrian parties are also seen frequently promenading along the banks, which arc here adorned with a profu sion of orange trees. the citron, and the pomegranate, planted without order, and growing high and tufted : these, together w ith the palm and the sycamore, tower ing above the rest in all the magnificence of their dark green foliage, afford an agreeable retreat from the dust noise of tile city, and from the fierce effulgence of an almost vertical sun.
The other amusements of Cairo are neither numerous nor inte re stii liope-danee rs, lire-eate•s, and tumblers of surprising agility, serve to amuse the populace. There are also to be seen some wretched at-tors, pup pet-shows, and dancing monkies ; these last being dressed, to make them die more ridiculous, in European habits, with their tails hanging down like swords, excite the merriment of the people at the expense of the Franks, who arc held in the utmost contempt. Fire-works are
sometimes displayed on public occasions. The princi pal games arc polish drafts and chess.
the diseases of Cairo are common to all Egypt, they are perhaps aggravated by local circum stances. The mean annual heat here is and is not a little increased by the vicinity of mount .Mokadclem, a dry naked rock which oNerlooks the city-, and powerfully reflects the rays of the sun. This circumstance, toge ther with the white glittering sand which every where CONTI'S the soil, produces delluxions in the eyes, often terminating in blindness. The other prevalent diseases are, a cutaneous eruption, proceeding, it is supposed, from the use of brackish water, but not much affecting the health ; a virulent smallpox, malignant fevers, hy droce)e, and venereal disorders. These last are said to be here rendered mild by the frequent use of the hot bath ; though, at the same time, they arc extremely ob stinate, and often prove dangerous on removing to a colder climate. The frequency of hydrocele is ascribed to these, and to the relaxing qualities of the hot bath : Denon thinks it is often produced by drinking brandy distilled from figs, or the fruit of the sycamore tree. From the filth, poverty, and famine prevalent among the lower orders, the diseases of the place are certainly tint a little exasperated; and to the same causes it is owing, that there are a greater number of deformed beggars, and emaciated sickly children, to be seen here than in any other city in the world. But of all the calamities and diseases to which Cairo is subject, the plague is undoubtedly the most terrible. It is not yet ascertained whether this scourge of the East originates in the filth of Cairo, or is imported from Constantinople. It gene rally rages in Egy pt once in every four or five years, and continues only during the winter season, when it has been known to sweep off 1500 souls a-clay from the popu lation of Cairo alone. It ix remarkable enough, that the Europeans, who reside on the very banks of the canal, are less subject to it than the natives. Their cleanliness, however, and the precautions which they adopt, sufficiently account for this circumstance : for no sooner does the plague appear, than they shut them selves up in their houses, often for several months, fu migating or washing the articles conveyed to them from without, and carefully avoiding the contact and near approach of persons exposed to the infection. It would appear, that the pestilential atmosphere possesses a con siderable specific gravity, as it is not found to ascend so high as the tops of the houses; w here the Europeans freely appear, and cy, in security, the havock of death in the streets.