and played practical jokes on a rascal who wanted a pound to guide me to
the tombs: we made him run miles, fetch innumerable donkeys, and then
laughed at his beard. Such is boatmen fun. On arriving at Luxor I heard
a _charivari_ of voices, and knew I was 'at home,' by the shrill pipe of
the little children, _el Sitt_, _el Sitt_. Visitors all day of course,
at night comes up another dahabieh, great commotion, as it had been
telegraphed from Cairo (which I knew before I left, and was to be
stopped). So I coolly said, 'Oh Mustapha, the Indian saint (Walee) is in
thine eye, seeing that an Indian is all as one with an Englishman.' 'How
did I know there was an Indian and a Walee?' etc. Meanwhile the Walee
had a bad thumb, and some one told his slave that there was a wonderful
English doctress, so in the morning he sent for me, and I went inside the
hareem. He was very friendly, and made me sit close beside him, told me
he was fourth in descent from Abd el-Kader Gylamee of Bagdad, but his
father settled at Hyderabad, where he has great estates. He said he was
a Walee or saint, and would have it that I was in the path of the
darweeshes; gave me medicine for my cough; asked me many questions, and
finally gave me five dollars and asked if I wanted more? I thanked him
heartily, kissed the money politely, and told him I was not poor enough
to want it and would give it in his name to the poor of Luxor, but that I
would never forget that the Indian Sheykh had behaved like a brother to
an English woman in a strange land. He then spoke in great praise of the
'laws of the English,' and said many more kind things to me, adding
again, 'I tell thee thou art a Darweesh, and do not thou forget me.'
Another Indian from Lahore, I believe the Sheykh's tailor, came to see
me--an intelligent man, and a Syrian doctor; a manifest scamp. The
people here said he was a _bahlawar_ (rope-dancer). Well, the
authorities detained the boat with fair words till orders came from Keneh
to let them go up further. Meanwhile the Sheykh came out and performed
some miracles, which I was not there to see, perfuming people's hands by
touching them with his, and taking English sovereigns out of a pocketless
jacket, and the doctor told wonders of him. Anyhow he spent 10 pounds in
one day here, and he is a regular darweesh. He and all the Hareem were
poorly dressed and wore no ornaments whatever. I hope Seyd Abdurachman
will come down safe again, but no on