Front matter
ISIS: AN EGYPTIAN PILGRIMAGE. LONDON : R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HIF.L. ISIS: AN EGYPTIAN PILGRIMAGE. UT JAMES AUGUSTUS ST. JOHN. " From town to town — from clime to clime — He stealeth along with the stealing time, Pausing nowhere — tarrying none, But wandering ever, away, and on." T. K. Hervey. 'H fietHTTT) TWl/ OeuJll TWV AlfVTTTlta V "\<Jlt. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 1853. TO HELEN CORNELIA ST. JOHN. My dear Daughter,, You have seen the following work, the record of one of my many wanderings, • and the depository of my best feelings and most carefully-formed opinions, grow up under my hands. You have sat with me through the winter's darkness and the summer's light. while I have been endeavouring to give per manence to my ideas of the Inner Life of Egypt ; you have watched the growth of those fictions — designed each to inculcate some opinion, or to illustrate some moral — which I have interwoven with my reminiscences ; DEDICATION. and to you, therefore, more fitly than to any one else, may I present these Volumes as a memorial of my affectionate gratitude.
What ever it may .prove to others, to you and to me it will always be the memento of happy hours. To us at least Isis has been a beneficent spirit; and in the hope that many daughters and many fathers will share our admiration for the land over which she once reigned as goddess and queen, I turn from her and from you, to consider with your brothers the Revolutions that disturb or menace the society in which we live. I am, My dear Helen, Your affectionate Father, JAMES AUGUSTUS ST. JOHN. CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
Part I. Page
A VISION OF ISIS 1 Beautiful Guide ... 2 Mystic Lake 3 Cavern Temples 4 Mummies of Flowers 5 Portal of Rose-granite 6 Mysterious Grandeur 7 Majestic Beauty 8 Sovereignty of Isis 9 Escape from Sleep 10 Autobiography 11 Secluded District— Sandy Shore ....... 12 Beauty of Autumn 13 The Golden Coffin 14 Miracle of Babel 15 Perfume of Flowers 17 The Breath of Woman 18 The Alexandrian Inn 19 The Solitary Stork 20 Love of Children 21 The Cemetery by Moonlight 22 A Picture of Home 23 Death The Unknown Tombs 25 Story of the Three Strangers 26 Departure with the Bedouins 27 The Catacomba 28 Desertion 29 Relationship 30 Subterranean Sounds 31 Expectation 32 Darkness and Famine 33 The Empty Bread-basket . 34 A Father's Love 35 Beautiful Youth 36 Increasing Agonies 37 Eve of Death 38 Departure of the Spirits 39 Why do we fear the Dead? 40 Unexpected Visitor 41 The Catastrophe 42 Loss of Friends 43 Reflections in a Mosquito-net 44 Helen and Cleopatra 45 Jesus — the Virgin 46 A Modern Barmecide 47 -idvent of Vere 48 Plans and Projects 49 The People 50 Simplicity of Manners 52 The Poor in Egypt 53 Anecdote 54 The Apostle of Commerce 55 Poverty in the East 56 Venus's Nipples 58 African Landscape 59 Shakespeare's Cleopatra 60 Pictures and Statues 62 Sea-baths - The Oriental Juliet 64 My Baby-friend 65 A Sicilian 66 Personal Appearance 67 Story op Viola 68 Match of Love 70 Piety of the Countess 71 Defects of the Sicilian 72 The Diplomatist 73 Fascination of the Countess 74 The Husband's Absence 75 Passion and Self-delusion 76 The Heart's Sophistry 77 The Winter Storm 79 The Cathedral 80 The Ball 81 The Boudoir 82 The Ring 83 The Poignard 84 Fruits of Broken Vows 85 The Sicilian's Tomb 87 Private Theatricals 88 Comic Situation 89 Humility of Pride 90 Easter Sunday 91 Female Beauty 92 Departure 94 Muslim Village 95 The Sea and Lake 96 Solitary Caravanserai 98 Wandering Osmanli 99 A Sleepless Night 100 Bedouin Visitors 101 Moonlight on Desert and Sea 102 The Birth of Dawn 104 Journey to Er-Raschid CONTEXTS OF VOL. I. PAGE Arab Apologue 106 Witchery of Music 108 Italian Songstress 109 First A'iew of the Nile HI Gardens of Er-Ra^chid 113 Magnificence of Sunset 115 Thoughts and Reminiscences 116 Milton's Pictures of the East 117 Beauty of the Night 118 Ideas of the Nile 120 Fascination of the Desert 121 Call to Prayer 122 Donkey-boys 123 Orange and Citron-Groves 125 Conspiracy against Manchester 126 My Fever 128 Friendly Arabs 129 Claude Lorraine 130 Gorgeous Landscape 132 Wine and Brandy 134 Arab Cookery 135 Character 137 Classes of Travellers 138 Night Ramble 139 An Adventure 140 Enter the Tomb Ill Beautiful Persian Maiden 142 Beauty of Tears 144 Sir James Brooke 145 Infection of Sorrow 146 Story of Azizi 149 Birth of Love 150 Grief of Hussein 151 The Spring-Throne 152 The Shah's Curiosity 153 Sale of the Throne CONTENTS OF VOL. 1.
PAGE The Shah's Harim 155 Struggle of the Passions 156 The Shah's Fury 157 Flight with Azizi 159 The Hidden Treasure 160 Fate of the Younger Azizi 161 The Ruby-ring 162
Part II
The Dancing Girls 164 The Modern Eleusis 165 Costume of the Ghawazi 166 Manners 167 Power of Association 168 Hyperboreans in Cairo 170 Hotel del Giardino 171 Paolo Allegro 172 A Fat Englishman 174 Suliman 175 Superb Breakfast 177 Cairo at Night 178 Early Toil of the Arabs 179 Voice of the Muezzins 180 The Wind of Fifty Days 181 Worship of the Stars 182 Beauty of Morning 183 Young Arab Matron 185 The Memphian Plain . . . .186 High animal Spirits 187 Comic Incidents 188 Approach to the Pyramids 189 Sense of the Sublime 190 The Sphinx 191 The Guides .
Our Ascent 19* Builders of the Temples 195 Summit of the Pyramids 196 A Sonnet 197 Egyptian Mythology 198 Ancient Symbols 199 Servility of Genius 200 Sacrifice to Despotism 202 Downfall of Egypt 203 Public Gardens 204 Story of Ladaritz 205 A Koptic Beauty 206 Man without a Language 207 Scientific Elopement 209 Poverty knocks at the Door 210 The Borrowing Scene 211 The Marriage 213 The Nuptial Chamber 214 Truth and Tradition 215 Heliopolis 216 Fountain of the Sun 218 The Sycamore 219 The Obelisk . . . • 220 Extinction of a Language 221 The Loss Irreparable 222 The Hammams 224 The Brown Bather 226 The Retiring-room 227 Pipes and Music 228 Syrian Song 230 The Story-tellers 231 Beauty of Fatima 232 Style of Narration 233 Startling Incidents 234 The Oriental Character 235 Theory of Propriety Oriental Literature 238 Departure 239 Ruins of Memphis 240 Melancholy Thoughts 242 Anecdote of a Pope 244 Female Visitors 245 Put to Flight 246 Quitting the Village 247 Devotion natural to Man 248 Breakfast in a Sheik's Tomb 219 Fire-Arms 250 Enter the Desert 251 Project of Early Life 252 Vision of Perfect Love 254 Absorption of the Soul 255 Bad News 258 Insurgent Mograbins 259 Glimpse of Lake Mœris 261 Belief in Destiny 262 The Mahazi Chief . . . • 263 Anecdote 265 Leaving Tameia 266 Lake Mceris 267 Grandeur of the Scene 268 Dangerous Position 269 Escape 270 Olive-Groves and Rose-Gardens 271 Arrival at Medinet 272 Philosophy of Smoking 273 Insurgent Camp-fires 275 Longing for the Nile 276 A Bedouin Encampment 278 Women of the Desert 279 Bedouin Girl 280 Pyramid of Sakkarah 281 Trait of Character Bird-Munimy-Pits 283 The Labyrinth 284 Winged Ants 285 Benisooef 286 Noisy Revelry 287 A Trait of Eastern Manners 288
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