with my cloak.’  I am told, also, that among the Arabs of the desert (the real Arabs), when a traveller, tired and wayworn, seeks their tents, it is the duty of his host, generally the Sheykh, to send him into the hareem, and leave him there three days, with full permission to do as he will after the women have bathed, and rubbed, and refreshed him.  But then he must never speak of that Hareem; they are to him as his own, to be reverenced.  If he spoke, the husband would kill him; but the Arab would never do it for a European, ‘because all Europeans are so hard upon women,’ and do not fear God and conceal their offences.  If a dancing-girl repents, the most respectable man may and does marry her, and no one blames or laughs at him.  I believe all this leads to a good deal of irregularity, but certainly the feeling is amiable.  It is impossible to conceive how startling it is to a Christian to hear the rules of morality applied with perfect impartiality to both sexes, and to hear Arabs who know our manners talk of the English being ‘jealous’ and ‘hard upon their women.’  Any unchastity is wrong and haram (unlawful), but equally so in men and women.  Seleem Effendi talked in this strain, and seemed to incline to greater indulgence to women on the score of their ignorance and weakness.  Remember, I only speak of Arabs.  I believe the Turkish ideas are different, as is their whole hareem system, and Egypt is not the rule for all Muslims.

Saturday, 12_th_.—­I dined last night with Mustapha, who again had the dancing-girls for some Englishmen to see.  Seleem Effendi got the doctor, who was of the party, to prescribe for him, and asked me to translate to him all about his old stomach as coolly as possible.  He, as usual, sat by me on the divan, and during the pause in the dancing called ’el Maghribeeyeh,’ the best dancer, to come and talk.  She kissed my hand, sat on her heels before us, and at once laid aside the professional galliardise of manner, and talked very nicely in very good Arabic and with perfect propriety, more like a man than a woman; she seemed very intelligent.  What a thing we should think it for a worshipful magistrate to call up a girl of that character to talk to a lady!

Yesterday we had a strange and unpleasant day’s business.  The evening before I had my pocket picked in Karnac by two men who hung about me, one to sell a bird, the other one of the regular ‘loafers’ who hang about the ruins to beg, and sell water or curiosities, and who are all a lazy, bad lot, of course.  I went to Seleem, who wrote at once to the Sheykh-el-Beled of Karnac to say that we should go over next morning at eight o’clock to investigate the affair, and to desire him to apprehend the men.  Next morning Seleem fetched me, and Mustapha came to represent English interests, and as we rode out of Luxor the Sheykh-el-Ababdeh joined us, with four of his tribe with their long guns, and a lot more with lances.