[354] Marginal note by my sheykh.
[355] Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ch. xiii.
[356] I may suffer in public estimation for my differing in opinion from this accomplished traveller and most estimable man; but I cannot, on that account, abstain from the expression of my dissent. Our difference, I think, may be thus explained. He conformed, in a great degree, to the habits of the Arabs; but not to such an extent as I consider necessary to obtain from them that confidence in his sympathy which would induce them to lay open to him their character; and when a man is often treated with coldness and reserve, I doubt whether the people from whom he experiences such treatment can be judged by him with strict impartiality. To be received on terms of equality by Arabs of the more polished classes, an undeviating observance of their code of etiquette is absolutely indispensable: but Burckhardt, I have been assured, often violated this code, by practices harmless enough to our notions, and probably, also, in the opinion of the Arabs of the Desert, but extremely offensive to the people who enjoyed the least share of his esteem: his most intimate acquaintances in Cairo generally refused, in speaking of him, to designate him by the title of "sheykh" which he had adopted; and yet the heaviest charge that I heard brought against him was his frequent habit of whistling!—This fact has been mentioned, as corroborating an observation of the same kind, by Mr. Urquhart ("Spirit of the East," vol. i. pp. 417 and 418), all of whose opinions relating to the East, expressed in the work here referred to, and especially those regarding the characteristics of the Eastern mind, are entitled to the highest respect.
[A very remarkable instance, confirming Mr. Lane's opinion of the existence of true love among the Arabs, occurred during my residence with him in Cairo. The wife of a man of good birth, and holding a high position in that city, was accused of carrying on an intrigue while visiting the tombs of her relations. Her family claimed her in accordance with the law, and threatened to put her to death, as the law would undoubtedly have justified them in doing, if the case were proved against her. Her husband was much attached to her—she was his first and only wife—and he believed, with reason, that the accusation was false: at the same time he knew that she would in all likelihood find it impossible to clear herself in a court of law, where justice is only accidentally awarded, and had good cause to fear that her male relations would put her to death without a hearing. He therefore adopted the extraordinary expedient of taking her secretly to the house of a married European gentleman of his acquaintance. There she remained concealed for some time, her husband visiting her daily, and shewing the most perfect confidence in his friend; while the latter was almost confined to one room, never venturing into the ḥareem without calling "Permission!" at every few steps. In the mean time, the indignation of the lady's friends cooled, and the affair was cleared up. She has since lived in perfect happiness with her husband.
To any one familiar with Eastern customs and modes of thought, a stronger proof of sincere love could scarcely be given, than that a man should thus set aside the strongest prejudices of his nation to save the honour, and perhaps the life, of his wife, disbelieving a report which, from its plausibility, might have been accepted without hesitation. The facilities afforded by the visits to the cemeteries are notorious, and the state of morals among the women of Egypt unfortunately makes their defence difficult in a suspicious case.—Ed.]
[357] Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáïd en-Niswán (MS. in my possession).
[358] This word slightly varied (changed to ḍa'eefih) bears another meaning; namely, "his weak one:" the final vowel being suppressed by the rule of waḳf.
[359] Kitáb el-'Onwán, &c.