Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-07-17
cun1os1r1Es OF CAIRO.
s...st Cries and Queer Costumes
odd WAY Of Carrying Infants

odd way of Carrying inian's'
~. ..root cries that itinerant vendors .
{ eatables indulge in at Caro- are inos'
urious, very long and often MUSES. Iaas
heir sound is, however, somet'ihes US
.ns;col than the meaning Of the wo'us,
e 81 arc cuyiously poetical, considering
a ~ sSiects with which they nave 70
Il, .sc Mia wiz, n,Ae lemon seller crlcs ou,,
@ oen;u WIN n lt,d w$e, words which mean
meaning ns hs so oe t NM slight oh, lemons,
lite form of food. The r. are 4 favor
place called Embabch,s. crown at
called sometimes 'childrcn ofSl,ev are
because they have to be soaked Sspr },
water for some time to soften theIn,a
fore boiling them. All this informatioh
is necessary to enable one 10 understand
the cry of the bean seller, which being
interpreted means, "Help, oh, Embabeh,
helpl The lupins of Embabeh are better
than almonds. Oh, how sweet is the
little son of the river!' The man who
sells roses cries, 'The rose was II thorn !;
it blossomed from the sweat of the pro-
phet!"
One of the most striking of the Won
derful costumes to be seen here is the
dress of the runner or sails. This is a
very striking piece OF ostentation which
all wealthy people here indulge in,
whether Easterns or Europeans. In
front of every fine carriage, perhaps
twenty yards, run two men, in gor-
geous but very light uniform, carrying
long, light rods in their hands, and
shouting loudly at intervals to clear IA
way for the carriage coming behind
fez with long black tassel, much longer
and fuller than the ordinary asselwhich
only comes Just down to the bottom of
the fcz. A light, small urban, often
striped with color, is wound around the
! fez. The waistcoat or vest. over which
they wear nothing, is thickly covered
with gold embroidery on rich colored
rcd or purple ground. They have inn
mensely full sleeves of the finest possible
lawn. These, however, only come to the
elbows, and are tied back to the small
of the back to prevent their being in the
way. Their legs are enclosed in very
| full knickerbockers of similar very fine
linen down to the knees, below which
they are bare. The pace they continue
to run before quick trotting horses and
the amount of breath they can afford for
| stentorian shouts is most astonishing.
When, however, the drive is extended
beyond the city the runners arc left be-
hind at the outskirts to await their mas
ters return. Really these runners, which
at first sight arc rather an Objectionable
institution to Western eyes. are not so
purely ornamental as might appear. Where
streets are crowded as they ARE here, II
these men did not clear u way for the
carriage, the driver would have to be
continually shouting and cracking his
whip, as the drivers of hack carriages
always do. Even so the pace would
have to be slow, and the danger for the
blind men, Of whom there are an appalling
number to be seen about the streets OF
Cairo, would be very great.
The number of blind and half-bli
people is very sad fact Of life here, as
indeed is the terrible proportion OF the
population which is deformed or Grip
pied in some way. believe II per cent.
Of the population have eye disease; NOT
can it be wondered at when one sees the
frightful state of dirt in which the chill
dren's eyes arc left. The Arab women
think it very unlucky thing for any
child to be admired, survival Of the
old idea Of jealousy of gods, suppose,
and they take good care that their chill
dren shall look SO unattractive that no
passer-by shall be likely to admire them,
Their faces are always filthy, especially
about the eyes, clustered round when,
in the case Of young babies too small to
protect themselves, there may be seen
dozens Of dirty flies. The women carry
the children in way which ! have moi
seen in other parts Of the world, that i,
sitting on one shoulder, with one small
leg hanging down behind and the Other
| in front, which the woman holds to kecI
the child in its place. The poor things
look as if they got dreadfully tired o.
the position, and go to sleep sprawllne
over their mothers heads in most pa
thetic way.-[san Francisco Chronicle