Schools are very numerous, not only in the metropolis, but in every large town; and there is one, at least, in every large village. Almost every mosque, public fountain, and drinking place for cattle in the metropolis, has a school attached to it, in which children are instructed at a very trifling expense; the fickee or master of the school receiving from the parent of each pupil about three cents of our money, or something more or less, every Thursday.
The master of a school attached to a mosque or other public building in Cairo, also generally receives yearly a piece of white muslin for a turban, a piece of linen, and a pair of shoes; and each boy receives at the same time a linen skull-cap, eight or nine yards of cotton cloth, half a piece of linen, and a pair of shoes, and in some cases from three to six cents. These presents are supplied by funds bequeathed to the school, and are given in the month Ramadan. The boys attend only during the hours of instruction, and then return to their homes.
The lessons are generally written upon tablets of wood painted white, and when one lesson is learnt, the tablet is washed, and another is written. They also practise writing upon the same tablet. The schoolmaster and his pupils sit upon the ground, and each boy has his tablets in his hands, or a copy of the Koran, or one of its thirty sections, on a little kind of desk made of palm sticks. All who are learning to read, recite their lessons aloud, at the same time rocking their heads and bodies incessantly backwards and forwards; which practice is observed by almost all persons in reading the Koran, being, thought to assist the memory. The noise may be imagined.
The schoolmasters in Egypt are mostly persons of very little learning; few of them are acquainted with any writings except the Koran, and certain prayers, which, as well as the contents of the sacred volume, they are hired to recite on particular occasions. I have read of a man, who could neither read nor write, succeeding to the office of a schoolmaster in some village. Being able to recite the whole of the Koran, he could hear the boys repeat their lessons; he employed the head boy in school to write them, pretending that his eyes were weak. A few days after he had taken this office upon himself, a poor woman brought a letter for him to read from her son, who had gone on a pilgrimage. The fickee pretended to read it, but said nothing; and the woman, inferring from his silence that the letter contained bad news, said to him, “Shall I shriek?” He answered, “Yes.” “Shall I tear my clothes?” “Yes.”
So the woman returned to her house, and, with her assembled friends, performed the lamentation, and other ceremonies usual on the occasion of death. Not many days after this, her son arrived, and she asked him what he could mean by causing a letter to be written stating that he was dead. He explained the contents of the letter, and she went to the schoolmaster and begged him to inform her why he had told her to shriek and to tear her clothes, since the letter was to inform her that her son was well and arrived at home.
Not at all abashed, he said, “God knows futurity! How could I know that your son would arrive in safety? It was better that you should think him dead, than be led to expect to see him, and perhaps be disappointed.” Some persons who were sitting with him praised his wisdom, exclaiming, “Surely, our new fickee is a man of unusual judgment.” And for a while, he found that he had raised his reputation by this trick.
Varieties.
Admiral Duncan addressed his officers, who came on board of his ship for instructions, previous to the engagement with Admiral De Winter, in the following words: “Gentlemen, you see a severe winter approaching. I have only to advise you to keep up a good fire.”
“Come in,” as the spider said to the fly.