to say, are in ruins, bears the date of 755 A.H. (1354 of the Christian reckoning). A period of more than three years was employed in its construction, and if true, as the Imam Makirs tells us, no less than a thousand mitkals of gold was daily spent on the rising pile, the cost of the edifice must have been enormous. According to this reckoning the sum expended could have been no less than £800,000 sterling. The body of the founder rests in the temple thus erected by himself. Within the tomb, over which are suspended three lamps, is placed a copy of the Koran, beautifully transcribed by his daughter, and to this day the parchment of this manuscript looks as fresh, and the ink as black, as when the pious task was first undertaken. Your Highnesses are aware that a part of my daily duty as Kislar Agaci, consists in reading and expounding the Koran to my subordinates, many of whose studies I have directed from the period when they were first taught to read and write. My knowledge of Arabic, consequently, enables me to assert that the daughters of the Sultans of those days not only occupied their time most usefully in their harems by transcribing such copies of the Koran, but executed their task with as much beauty as precision. Unfortunately most of the precious manuscripts thus collected have not been spared to these times. Many have been destroyed by the hands of the despoilers; many, as it appears, have been stolen ; and many more have been notoriously sold by the rapacious guardians, in whose charge they had been left.

"To this mosque is attached a legend, which has been elaborately told, as I have read, by the Ingleez

book-maker, Baynes. It runs as follows:- The Sultan Hassan E'Náser Hassan, wishing to lay aside for a time the cares and anxieties of royalty, and to see the world, committed the charge of his kingdom to his Vizier, and taking with him a large amount of treasure in money and jewels, visited many foreign countries in the character of a wealthy merchant. His journey pleased him; he became so interested in the occupation he had assumed as a disguise as to increase his worldly store to an enormous extent, and he thus remained absent for a much longer period than he had originally intended. This protracted absence proved too strong a temptation, however, for the fidelity of the Vizier whom he had placed over his country as Viceroy. The traitor gradually formed a party for himself among the leading men of the country, and then, having publicly announced to the whole land that the Sultan Hassan was no more, quietly ascended the throne. Shortly afterwards the Sultan returned from his pilgrimage. As he approached his capital he learned the news of his own supposed death, and of the usurpation of his Vizier; but finding on inquiry that the party of the usurper was too strong to render an immediate disclosure prudent, he continued to preserve the mask he had hitherto worn. In his character of a merchant he soon became known in Cairo as the wealthiest of the wealthy. It excited no surprise, consequently, when he announced his pious intention of devoting a portion of his enormous gains to the erection of a spacious mosque. Lavishly spent as was the gold of the great merchant, the work proceeded with unexampled rapidity, and on

its completion the founder solicited the honour of the new Sultan's presence at the ceremony of inauguration. Anticipating the gratification of hearing his own name bestowed on the new edifice, the usurper accepted the invitation. At the appointed hour he was in the building surrounded by his immediate adherents. The ceremonies of inauguration had proceeded in due form up to the point when it became necessary to give the name to the new temple. The chief Moolah turned to the supposed merchant to inquire what this name should be. "Call it," replied the founder, “the Mosque of Sultan Hassan!" At the mention of this name a general commotion ran through the assembly. The questioner, as if unable to believe that he had heard aright, and desirous of affording an opportunity of correcting a mistake, repeated his demand. "Call it," shouted the disguised man once more, "the Mosque of me, the Sultan Hassan!" and throwing off his mask, the legitimate Sultan stood revealed before his traitorous servant. No time was given for reflection. Simultaneously with the revelation several trap-doors leading to the extensive vaults below were flung open, and a host of armed men, who had been there concealed, rushed up to Hassan's defence. The reign and the life of the usurper were terminated alike on the spot; his followers fell in the conflict which ensued, and Sultan Hassan was once again in possession of the throne of his ancestors, the Baharite Mameluke Sultans, or Kings of Egypt.'

"A passing visit was now paid by our party to the ruined Kal'-at-el kebsh (the castle of the ram) on its

rock, and thence to those much venerated mosques of the Seyyidehs-Zeyneb, the daughter of the Imam Ali ; Sekeeneh, the daughter of Hoseyn, the son of Ali; and Nefeeseh, the great-granddaughter of Hassan, the son of Ali.

"From these spots we walked on to the most sacred of all the religious structures in Cairo-the Mosque of Hassaneyn, one of the grandsons of the Prophet. This holy edifice has been several times reconstructed. The present building has barely the antiquity of a century. The entrance of this noble mosque consists of a roofed portico, supported by rich marble columns, and leads— over a flooring of the richest carpeting-into a fine square hall, under the pavement of which, beneath the dome, are said to be interred the head of the Islam martyr, El-Hoseyn, and the hand of Hássan. An oblong marble slab, covered with an elaborately worked green silk coverlet, bearing Koranic inscriptions, marks the spot where the sacred relics are reported to be. On the occasion of the fête in commemoration of the Mooled (the nativity of Hassaneyn), the ordinary covering is removed, and replaced by a superb velvet carpet, richly embroidered in gold, which on that day adorns the tomb of the Islam saint; on this occasion also the mosque is thronged with the densest crowds; the entire building is superbly illuminated, as well as all the houses in the immediate vicinity, where the populace amuse themselves with gala fêtes and fantasias. The resting-place of the relics is enclosed. within a lofty bronze fretwork screen, around the upper part of which are suspending scrolls, inscribed with

verses of the Koran in the most beautiful style of our Oriental calligraphy. As we entered this mosque, we found the building thronged with visitors, who, treading quietly along the exquisitely inlaid white marble pavements with an air of reverential awe, passed round the tomb from left to right, touched each corner of the bronze fretwork enclosure with the right hand, and then placed that hand to their lips and forehead, repeating the Fát'hah with due devotional zeal.

"Then, advancing in the direction of the Bab-elGhureiyib, we come upon the Mosque of El Zamé ElAzhar. This building covers a large space of ground; but it is not distinguished by its external appearance, and is greatly hemmed in by private dwellings. We entered it by the grand entrance gate, took off our shoes with reverence, and crossed the first spacious court to the place of namuz. In this court stand two smaller mosques to the right and left. Passing between them, we reached the great court, which is paved with stone and surrounded by porticoes, with a very elegant minaret on either side. The principal portico faces the entrance ; those on the other three sides of the court of the Azhar are divided into separate rinaks (cells), some of which are tolerably spacious halls. These compartments are destined for the reception of indigent Mussulman scholars, not only belonging to the country itself, or to the other portions of the Ottoman dominions, but coming from all parts of the known world. At the time of our visit, they were tenanted by students from Mekkah and Medinah, Syrians, Persians, and Affghans, as well as Egyptians. The scholars are maintained