Saturday, November 29, 2008

Prayer Boxes


Prayer Boxes can be used for many different uses. Many people keep them upon their shrines and ask that their own tutelary Goddess Bless the prayers & wishes placed within the box.
The idea is that you write down your desire (or even write down a prayer on behalf of others) and place the wish inside the box.
You may also like to keep reiki symbols to enhance the manifestation process, or draw other meaningful symbols such as goddess spiral or pentagram or whatever else you may feel is appropriate.
You may also care to add crystals, herbs and elaborate the process as much as you want so it becomes more like a spell or you may just prefer to keep it simple,
The choice is personal.

My own small wooden box is one that I found in an occult shop which I like because it’s made from oak and has a silver pentagram inlaid on the lid. It just makes me feel happy to look at it.
I also have a large one that I made from an old recycled wooden toolbox which I painted silver inside and then embellished with silver glitter spirals. The outside is painted in the colours of either the rising/setting sun with a large dragon over the top which I am rather proud of.
I read in a Feng Shui book once never to put any kind of border around Dragons because they like to roam free and have a chance to grow bigger (I think they were talking specifically about Dragon logos on business cards) – anyway, this stayed in my mind so my dragon remains unrestricted J
I now use the Dragon box to keep my candles in & to bless them.

One final object I use is also a pink prayer basket, I found it in a charity shop I love its vibrant pink colour and the shape of it, this one was used more specifically for Reiki healing prayers, I write down the healing required either for a person, animal or situation and put in my pink prayer basket. At the bottom of it I keep Reiki symbols & as I close the lid I ask that the Goddess may assist with the healing process. Then whenever I can I hold the basket and envisage the healing assistance going to the named recipients in the pink basket.
Distance healing can be fun, its nice to be able to focus our intentions like this, I often feel tingling in my hands whilst holding them over the prayer boxes, also amulets, charms or just nice gifts for people may also be placed within to imbue with a special bit of magic.

I hope this inspires you to make a little prayer box of your own, you could even make one from cardboard and decorate with your own designs & embellishments. There are lots of box templates on the internet freely available to printout, you could even recycle old cereal boxes or any bits of old cardboard and transform into a beautiful personal prayer box.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)


Jack-in-the-Green and other entertainments
After ten days staying at the hotel, the educational staff were able to return to Choubrah. However, Ellen somewhat regretted this, as she was no longer able to see the kind of sights that – presumably – she had gone to work abroad for.

“My windows faced the east. I saw the sun rise every morning over the Mokattam Hills, and in the evening I went up to the promenade on the roof to see it set. It is impossible to imagine a more animated scene than upon which we looked down.

"Every morning Arab weddings passed, with a long file of carriages, in the last of which the bride was seated, with large shawls or carpets thrown across the windows to conceal her from the public gaze. Let us hope she can see, though she cannot be seen!


A 19th century Arab wedding - the bride is sitting on the camel, concealed by carpets.

"In the poorer weddings there are no carriages. All the party walk, accompanied by the clang of instruments, and the bride is in a sort of Jack-in-the-green, which screens her from the public gaze; but there is such a throng about her, and so much dust, that I think she must be stifled!”


An 18th - early 19th century "Jack-in-the-Green" in a Maytime celebration in London - doubtless a scene that Ellen remembered from childhood. Compare the appearance of the "Jack" to the bride in the picture above.


(A “Jack-in-the-green” is a traditional character in English Maytime celebrations, and is no doubt very ancient in origin, representing the annual re-growth of plants and crops. A person wears a conical or pyramid-shaped framework, covered in foliage. Traditional Maytime celebrations declined during the 19th century, but the Jack-in-the-green was obviously still a familiar character, at least in the 1870s. The revival of English folk-song and dance since the early 20th century has led to the character re-appearing, usually as part of a Morris-Dance).

Still, there was one festival that Ellen could experience – Ramadan. However, she was uneasy: “We had seen the effect of this formidable fast the year before, and by no means looked forward to it.”

Indeed, Princess Zeynab fell ill with a severe sore throat (although of course being ill, she was permitted to avoid, or postpone, her fast). She suffered a great deal from such sore throats, and indeed, her terminal illness began with one. Ellen found Princess Zeynab in bed, ill, “suffering from the throat, an indisposition to which she was very liable. Of course she could do no lessons, and at first she seemed unwilling that Kopsès should do any, saying that Kopsès would get on before her; but I counted nine persons around her bed, and said surely she did not want ten, so she gave up with her usual sweetness of temper, and Kopsès came with me.”

What was this disease? Certainly it recurred during Zeynab’s life, Ellen saying that “she had been subject to this illness from early childhood.” It involved “an enlargement of the uvula, which would sometimes swell so much as to touch the larynx and nearly choke her.” Fortunately most attacks seemed to have been of short duration, as Ellen was to describe playing duets (presumably on a piano) with her only a “day or two after.” One guess would be tonsillitis; this certainly appears to have been the diagnosis at the time, as a tonsillectomy was suggested, using a new method of surgery, which, however, the Princess unfortunately declined to have.

Indeed, the Princess’s last illness started with a severe sore throat, which might perhaps raise the possibility that her death at least partly resulted in septicaemia, from abscesses developing on her tonsils, although her death was diagnosed at the time as being the result of typhoid.

Ellen found that teaching in the harem was not easy. “We were constantly interrupted in our lessons by the slaves, who came in without scruple, sometimes talked either to my pupils or among themselves, and finally, finding themselves unnoticed, went away again, generally leaving all the doors open. As a rule all doors are left open; my shutting them was an innovation.”

The reason for this was because: “Every Princess has a great many attendants attached to her person, whose business it is to amuse her, and to anticipate her every want. To leave her alone would be considered a shocking neglect. …No place is sacred from their intrusion; they cannot understand any one wishing to be alone and undisturbed. My pupils knew this well, so they never rebuked them.”

Sometimes, however, the visitor was considerably more important. Whilst Ellen was teaching Kopsès during Princess Zeynab’s illness: “the door opened again for the seventh or eighth time, and looking around, I saw a gentleman standing in the doorway. I forgot for the moment that I was in an harem, and my near sight prevented me from distinguishing who it was.” In fact, it was Ismail himself. (Ellen was, unfortunately, very short-sighted). Ellen was disappointed that Princess Zeynab was not there, “as I should have been so glad for him [Ismail] to have seen the progress she had made.”

No sooner had Ismail left, than the Second Princess came in. “She asked me in Turkish how I was, and I was able to reply to that question, but could not remember one of the polite speeches which I had been getting up.”

One of the nice things about Ellen is that she never minded revealing her own small failings and weaknesses. After all, Recollections of an Egyptian Princess is partly autobiography (or, more accurately, a memoir). Indeed, Ellen herself appears in it far more than Princess Zeynab does. Yet Ellen is never quite her own heroine. She never glorifies, or tries to justify herself, and is always ready to reveal her own small, human failings, of health, or spirits, or – as now - of forgetfulness.

About a month after returning to Cairo, Zeynab moved into the Abdeen Palace from the house next door.


Entrance to the Abdeen Palace, early 20th century


Ellen didn’t like the Abdeen Palace. “The entrance was a most disagreeable one at that time, You first had to pass through an outer court, in which were soldiers, grooms, carriages, carts, &c., &c.; then into a second full of eunuchs. Here you left the carriage; but there were several doors, and you did not know which to take to enter the harem.” The Palace, indeed, was a maze. First she asked some unhelpful eunuchs, who eventually directed her to a door behind which was a “labyrinth of passages”. Here, she “met several girls, but they did not appear to understand my enquiries, or at any rate did not answer them. At last I emerged upon an inner court, and after crossing that, found myself in some of the best apartments. Here my enquiries were more successful, and I was presently led to her apartments.”

She had, in fact, entered the Palace from the rear. But entering from the front was not an option; “if I went to the chief gate, I might constantly find myself much delayed by the absence of the head eunuchs, and by the gate being locked.”

Ramadan ended on 1 December in 1872, and as the year before, Ellen went to pay her respects to the Princesses. This year, however, she took three (female) English friends with her, “as travellers are always very desirous of being present at these festivals.”

Unhappily, it all fell rather flat, although on this occasion Ellen had an interpreter, a (presumably) French lady, referred to only as “Mademoiselle O”, who “resided in the harem with his Highness’s second daughter."
Princess Fatima Ismail

(Ismail's second daughter was in fact Princess Fatima Ismail (1853-1920), a pioneer of women's education in Egypt, who sold her jewellery and six feddans (acres) of her own land in Cairo, as well as the income from a further 658 feddans, to help pay for what is now Cairo University).

Usually, such visits would be filled with polite enquiries about families, then in drinking coffee and smoking pipes. But of course European ladies didn’t smoke pipes. Furthermore, the Princesses had “become aware that is not the custom in Europe for the lady of the house to ask her visitors whether they are married or single; if the later why they remain so, and if the former, how many children they have.” What was worse still “we had not even the resource of the weather, an unfailing topic of interest in England. It is always fine in Egypt; and we could not touch on any of the topics of the day, because the ladies of the harem neither read the newspapers nor mixed in society.”

Fortunately, after a while “more visitors arrived, and we came away”, no doubt to every one’s relief.

It did, however, get better. The day afterwards, Ellen visited Indji Hanem Effendi, who was generally known as the Princess Saïd to Europeans. Princess Indji “has been known for many years among Europeans, for her kind and courteous manners towards them.” What was more, “she had adopted in her palace many European improvements which conduce to sanitary reform”. In a hot climate, that was only too important; it is perhaps not impossible that Princess Zeynab’s illnesses and death could have resulted from inadequate sanitation.

Better still, “The Princess Saïd had a regular entertainment for us. She knew that European visitors wanted to see the amusements of harem life, and she always gratified this wish. So after the pipes and coffee, a few slaves came in with musical instruments… then five girls came in, and danced for about a quarter of an hour. They were in pale pink dresses, in the Turkish fashion – that is to say, loose, confined at the waist by a band, high up to the throat, and the skirt forming trousers, which, however, are not easily detected, as they are exceedingly full… this dress is so remarkably decent, that, although the dances usually end with a somersault, there is no further display than the soles of the feet!”


This does not seem to have been a belly-dance, but a traditional kind of dance similar to Ancient Egyptian ones. This 19th century picture shows what Ellen would have seen - right down to the traditional long-stemmed pipe (seen leaning against the table) and cup of coffee that was offered to guests.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

Back in Cairo
By October 1872, Ellen was: “constantly expecting the order for our return. At last it came, and we were told we were to go on board the Masr [in fact the ship's name was el-Misr, “Egypt”], one of the steam-yachts belonging to his Highness, which was moored in front of the palace. Our pupils were to return on the Mahroussah with the Second Princess.”

The el-Misr had taken part in the opening celebrations for the Suez Canal in 1869, when it had carried, amongst others, Sir Frederick Arrow, the Deputy Master of Trinity House. (Trinity House is the organisation responsible for lighthouses, and other navigational aids, in England and Wales). Sir Frederick described the ship as being “a large, powerful screw vessel, fitted up as a passenger vessel, but loaded with gilding and beautiful wood carving, her occupation being, about once a year, to take the Viceroy’s entourage for a sniff of the briny.”

Sir Frederick, a former Master Mariner, would not have approved of the running of the ship when Ellen voyaged on board it. “We, the educational staff, and Mrs. Freeland and her children, went on board the Masr on the morning of the 14th, [October] and were much annoyed to find that one of the cabins which we had taken had been appropriated to some one else… there was no one to regulate and arrange as on European ships.” What was more: “The hot deck was very crowded and dirty. I wonder what an English sailor would say to their mode of washing it! They throw down a quantity of water, and then drag along a piece of flannel to wipe it up!”

Still, apart from this, Ellen was generally pleased with the ship. “We went to look at the accommodation on the Masr, and were very well satisfied with it… the Masr had also splendid harem apartments; but there were many excellent cabins all over the ship … The windows in the cabins were large, so I hoped to see something of the land we might pass, while dressing in the morning.”

A fellow passenger had an interesting story, recounted by Ellen. Some years previously, a wealthy woman had wanted to make the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. However, she could only do this as a married woman. Ellen takes up the story: “Strange as it may appear, I was told that temporary marriages are often made by rich women for that purpose. So the lady in question married a poor man, and after the pilgrimage was accomplished she departed from her temporary husband, making him a handsome present in return for his protection.”

However, protection was not all that she got from him. “A daughter was, however the result of the connection, who was brought up by her mother and received a good education. In the meantime, the repudiated husband went to Egypt, entered the service of the Viceroy, and rose to rank and dignity. The father, now become a great man, conceived a wish to see his daughter, who was married and had one or more children. So the lady was in the same vessel with us, in the part devoted to the harem, on her way to Egypt to visit the father whom she had never yet beheld.”

Who says that stories never have happy endings!

But it was not to be so happy for Princess Zeynab, who would be confined to the harem on her return to Egypt. “My dear little pupil was now “shut up.””, Ellen wrote. “Her last day of liberty had bee that on which she left Emirghian. Henceforward I was now to go to her daily to give lessons in the harem.” Kopsès was also to live in the harem, with Zeynab; of course as a slave she had even less choice about it than Zeynab did. Both seem to have merely accepted it as inevitable; on her first visit to the harem to give them lessens, Ellen found they: “were very quiet, and said nothing whatever of the change that had taken place in their condition since I last saw them.”

Ellen, however, felt deeply for them. “It really went to my heart to see them thus caged”, she wrote, “because they had known what liberty was, and lost it just at the age when its deprivation would have been felt the most.” (Princess Zeynab was now aged 14, and Kopsès perhaps slightly older; evidently they had entered the harem at puberty).

Princess Zeynab, perhaps not long before she entered the harem. However her short (by the standards of the time) French style skirt indicates that she had not yet, however, quite reached puberty when this photo was taken.


William Loring, indeed, wrote that Princess Zeynab "rebelled when the time came for her incarceration, and that she lamented in tears her unfortunate fate." This may well be true, although Ellen (perhaps diplomatically) does not mention it.

Still, like so much else, neither Zeynab or even it seems Ismail himself, could have done anything about it, as Ellen explained:


“The Khédive did all that lay in his power to give his daughter careful and moral training in early youth, but he could not set aside the opinion of all Mahometans [sic], which would have been outraged by her retaining that liberty when arrived at womanhood.”

And Ismail could not have afforded that. He was already unpopular for favouring foreigners with the strong nationalist movement that was developing in Egypt during the 1870s; this was, after all, a mere seven years before the start of the Urabi Revolt against Ismail and the undue influence of foreigners – specifically Europeans, Turko-Circassians and Albanians.

Indeed, the two women closest to Princess Zeynab at this time, apart from her mother, the Second Princess, were two such: Ellen, a European, and Kopsès, who appears to have been Circassian. Ismail might have felt it best not to publicise this fact too much, as it certainly risked being commented on unfavourably by the popular, and increasingly nationalist Egyptian press of the time.

What was more, Ismail seems to have hoped that his daughter would carry forwards his plans for the increasing westernisation of Egypt. And that would require tact; according to Ellen the plan seems to have involved “marrying her early, and then encouraging her gradually and innocently to introduce European customs”.

It all inevitably lead to the question, did Ellen, however innocently and indirectly, have any kind of political role? Or to put it more simply, whose side was she on? After all, it would perhaps be naïve not to imagine that she was completely outside the political sphere, as one of the main influences on a member of the Egyptian Royal Family. And she certainly had associations, at least, with British Establishment circles.

The answer seems to have been that, if anything, she was loyal to the Khedival family, even delaying publishing her book – despite her need to earn money – until its appearance could not offend, or harm any of them. And indeed, it seems to have been her intention to remain in Egypt, even when her employment there had ended, as she wrote that she left it “with deep regret”, and felt that it had “an attraction surpassing that of all other countries.” (Including, evidently, Britain).

She does not say, indeed, why she had to return. All that we do know is that she went to live with her older sister, Anne Lydia, in Cheltenham, so it may be possible that it was to care for Anne Lydia, who may possibly have been in poor health, as she was not to live for many more years.

Ellen did not immediately return to the house in Choubrah on her return to Cairo, as it was needed for part of the retinue of Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia (whether the elder or the younger of that name is not specified), visiting Egypt after having visited Constantinople. For Ellen, this simply meant having to live in an hotel for a while. But it would seem likely that the Grand Duke’s visit concerned the tensions that were increasingly building up in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the Balkans, and which were to lead to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, and the increased intervention of European powers in the region.

In the past, Princess Zeynab and Kopsès had travelled to Choubrah for their lessons. Now Ellen had to travel to the palaces to teach them. Ellen only regretted that the two young women were thereby deprived of a daily ride outside.

The Khedive, and his family had returned from Constantinople to the Abdeen palace, which, according to Ellen, they used as their winter palace.

Entrance Hall of the Abdeen Palace, early 20th century


The Palace was, at that time, still under construction. Building had started in 1863, and was to continue until 1874; evidently, however, by late 1872 enough of it was complete for the Khedival family to move in. Following Ismail’s taste for Parisian style architecture, it had been designed by a French architect.

Ellen gives a description of the Khedival family’s life at Abdeen, which has a certain rarity value, as in fact the Khedival family were to spend very little time there in the future, with the Palace being mainly used as government offices.

Construction work meant that, at first, Princess Zeynab and Kopsès did not live in the Palace itself, but in an adjoining house, belonging to the then Minister of Finance, Ismael Sadyk Pasha. Sadyk, Ellen explains, was at that time: “in high favour, but a few years after disgraced and exiled to Dongola.”

“The time of my coming and going”, Ellen wrote “was to be fixed by myself, and the [Princess’s] Turkish and Arabic lessons were to be arranged accordingly.” However, she rather ominously went on to mention that “the Princess no longer rose so early as she had been accustomed to do when she came to us.” In other words, Princess Zeynab, like all other teenagers, had a tendency to sleep in!

The Princess had previously been awoken in time to go for her lessons by her attendants, “who would be blamed if she was late… But all this changed in the harem, as I soon had occasion to see. Perhaps the Princess might have sat up late at night, and as a growing girl she required much sleep. In the morning the rooms were all darkened, and not a sound was to be heard until the Princess became wide awake of her own accord, and called out to her slaves to come and dress her.”

This was only the start of a sort of comedy of every one not arriving on time.
On the first morning of lessons at the harem, a carriage came to the hotel for Ellen at seven o’clock in the morning. Ellen had not yet even breakfasted, so she arranged for the carriage to come again at nine, which it did. Ellen then (somewhat optimistically, as it turned out) arranged the times when she would come, and leave in future, with Princess Zeynab.

“After consultation,” Ellen wrote, “I settled that I would come every morning at half-past eight, and leave at twelve”. (The Princess had Arabic and Turkish lessons in the afternoon). “…the carriage was ordered to fetch me from the hotel at that hour.”

19th. century Egyptian carriage driver
But: “the next morning at ten no carriage had arrived so I sent… to ask the reason. …On enquiring why it was so late, I was told it was because I had objected to it going so early the day before! …When I arrived at the palace, I found that the Princess had been waiting for me for more than an hour. I was much vexed, and requested that positive [i.e. firm] directions should be given to fetch me every morning at the time named.”

The following morning, the carriage came for Ellen again at seven o’clock. “I swallowed a hasty breakfast and went to the harem, where I found the Princess not dressed and amazed at my having come so early. The eunuch had simply told the coachman that he was to go earlier, so he thought he would come in time!”

Princess Zeynab herself awoke at varying times. “From the time of her seclusion in the harem, she always took breakfast, luncheon, and dinner with his Highness [i.e. Ismail], but the time for the first meal was not very regular. His Highness transacted much business before breakfast, so that it might be late. Someone was on the watch to give notice when he was coming, and then if the Princess was sleeping, her attendants did not hesitate to awaken her, and hurry through the toilet.” A late breakfast would affect the time when Ellen was able to start lessons.

Things did not improve much. “The same unpunctuality with the carriage went on in spite of the repeated orders of the Princess. It sometimes came an hour before time, and sometimes an hour after. There was always the same difficulty in getting away.” That is, a carriage was never available to taker her back.

However, by chance, whilst Ellen waiting for a carriage home one afternoon, Ismail walked past. Princess Zeynab seized the opportunity, and “drew me gently into an apartment just at the entrance [of the harem], whilst she herself waited the coming of her father. As the Khédive passed the room in which I was, he caught sight of the European dress, and I heard him ask his daughter who it was.
“It is my governess, who is waiting for the carriage to take her away.”
“And why don’t you order it?” said his Highness.
“I have done so, but they do not come.”
“What! not obey my daughter!” said the Khédive.
He walked quickly towards the door, and called loudly that a carriage was to come up immediately…”

Still, by now Ellen had had enough of this, and so wrote a letter of complaint to the Second Princess. And sure enough, “The next morning, at eight o’clock, I was surprised to see a pretty open carriage at the door… the Khédive had given orders that a carriage wshould be sent for me every morning at eight, and that it was to bring me back at twelve; that I was at liberty to order it whenever I wished for a drive in the afternoon, or go to the opera, or French theatre in the evening.”

However:

“For the first week or two I had a very nice carriage, then an inferior one was substituted, and I was told it was solely to take me to and from the harem daily…”

Ellen more-or-less gave up. “I believe the Khédive wishes to act fairly and liberally” she wrote, “but there is such a jealousy existing, first, between natives and foreigners, and secondly, between the different nationalities, that the officials manage constantly to evade the Khédive’s orders; and though you may sometimes succeed in making your complaint reach his ears, so as to obtain temporary redress, the tables are sure to be turned on you in the end.”

For Ellen, this jealousy between natives and foreigners and between different nationalities was a mere inconvenience. For Egypt itself, it was soon, unfortunately, to have tragic and far-reaching consequences.
To be continued

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Charges of The Goddess.


The Charges of the Goddess

The Charge of the Goddess is a beautiful poetic affirmation that I like to recall every full moon as do many other Goddess devotee’s.The original version which follows by Doreen Valiente was purported to have been found in a Gardenerian book of shadows and adapted by renowned Priestess Doreen.
Many people prefer to adapt these words into something more personal which resonates with their own belief system. The Charge of the Goddess is a powerful spell which reminds us to honour the divine feminine & also affirm that we can focus on our own goals at this time.
I particularly like the paragraph by Starhawk which states:
“And you who seek to know me, know that the seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.”
It’s very easy to believe that we need something external to make us happy & that we can not enjoy life without acquiring the love of some particular person or some magical item or even a boob job!I think that she is telling us to trust in ourselves and the love of the Goddess.
The following are the most popular versions but you may find some others of your own or even prefer to write/adapt one to honour the Goddess at the time of the Full Moon.
By Doreen Valiente
Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod, Isis, Dana, Bride, and by many other names:
Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all the witches.There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, and make music and love, all in my praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and mine also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all beings.
Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside.
For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land of Youth, and mine is the cup of the wine of life, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality.
I am the Gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before.
Nor do I demand aught in sacrifice; for behold, I am the Mother of all living, and my love is poured out upon the earth.
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess; she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, and whose body encircles the Universe.
I who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white Moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man, call unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return; and before my face, beloved of Gods and of men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you
.And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery;that if that which thou seekest thee findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
By Starhawk.
Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was calledArtemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite,Cerridwen, Diana, Arionrhod, Brigid, and by many other names:
Whenever you have need of anything, once a month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me Who is Queen of all the Wise.
You shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites.
Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in my presence, for mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and mine also is joy on Earth.
For My law is love unto all things. Mine is the secret that opens the door of youth, and mine is the cup of wine of life that is the Cauldron of Cerridwen, that is the holy grail of immortality.
I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal, and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.
Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the Mother of all things and my love is poured out upon the Earth.
Hear the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of Heaven, Whose body encircles the universe. I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars and the mysteries of the waters, I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed and unto Me they must return.Let my worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
And you, who seek to know me, know that the seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
by Stewart Farrar
There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deeper secrets; to these will I teach all things that are as yet unknown, And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign ye be truly free, you shall be naked in your rites, and ye shall dance, sing and feast, make music and love, all in my praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and more and mine is also Joy on Earth; for my law is love unto all beings.
Keep pure your highest ideals; strive ever towards them, let nothing stop you or turn you aside. For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land of Youth, and mine is the cup of the of the wine of life, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Vessel of Immortality.
I am the Gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon Earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before.
Nor do I demand sacrifice for behold, I am the Mother of all living, and my love is poured out onto the Earth.
I am the beauty of green earth, and the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man.
Call unto thy soul, arise, and come unto me.For I am the soul of nature. Who gives life to the universe.
From me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return; and before my face, beloved of Gods and men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Therefore, let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
And thou who thinketh to seek for me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knoweth the mystery; that if that which thy seekest thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never it without thee.
For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire. So says the Goddess...
by Silver RavenWolf
Hear my words and know me! I shall be called a million names by all who speak!
I am Eternal Maiden! I am Great Mother! I am the Old One who holds the immortal key!
I am shrouded in Mystery, but am known to every soul.
Hear my words and know me!
Whenever the moon rises in the Heavens shall my children come to me.
Better it be once a month when the moon is full, shall ye assemble in some secret place, such as this, and adore the spirit of I.
I, who am the Queen of Witches! And under my watchful eye, my children shall be taught the mysteries of Earth and Nature, of the ways of all Magick!
That which is unknown shall be known, and that which is hidden shall be revealed, even the secluded soul shall be pierced with my Light.
From my cauldron shall be drunk all knowledge and immortality! Ye shall be free from slavery and ye shall dance, sing, and feast.
Music shall surround you, for mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine is also the joy of the earth!
I do not demand sacrifice! For behold, I am the Mother of all living things!
Create and heal! Be strong, yet gentle. Be noble, yet reverent.
Bring forth and replenish. And, as does the cycle of the Moon ever begin to wax and wane and to grow forth again, as do the seasons from one to the next flow in smooth rhythm, from sowing to reaping, to seeming death and rebirth.....So will my children know their own pattern in both worlds!
And ye shall say these words...I will love and harm none.
I Will live, love, die, and live again. I will meet, remember, and know. And embrace once more
.For the free will of ALL, and with harm to None As I will it now is done So mote it be!
by Charles G. Leland - Aradia
Whenever you have need of anything, one in the month and be it better when the moon is full, then shall you assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am the Queen of all witches.
When I have departed from this world, Whenever you have need of anything, Once a month, and when the moon is full, Ye shall assemble in some desert place or in a forest all together join to adore the potent spirit of your Queen My mother, great Diana, She who fain Would learn all sorcery yet has not won Its deepest secrets, then my mother will Teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

Bad food and wonderful excursions
The Lonely Planet guide says that: “Istanbul is hot. And we’re not talking about the weather.” Ellen would have agreed wholeheartedly – that’s plain from her book. And in an age when few people still travelled far beyond their native town or village, to arrive at the “City of the World’s Desire”, on board a royal yacht must have been like a fairy-tale come true. It would be for anyone.
Constantinople (Istanbul) in the 19th century


“Perhaps there is no place in the world more striking to a stranger than that which presents itself on the first arrival at the bridge [sic] at Constantinople” she wrote, after arriving on the ferry from Emirgan. (“Bridge” was an old-fashioned term for a pier). "The great variety of costume worn by the passers-by… the city of Stamboul to the left, with all its mosques and minarets rising one above the other, and the glorious view which presents itself on every side, - all make a panorama of unequalled beauty and interest.” This is still true (apart from the “variety of costume”). And now, as then, the ferry is still one of the best ways to see the city.

Emirgan from the Bosphorus in the 19th century. The hillside, now a park, is where the palace buildings and Ellen's lodgings were situated.


Still, the Constantinople of the 1870s was not entirely the same city as the Istanbul of today. For example one of Ellen's first excursions was to Pera, still a popular spot to get a view over the city. But she was to find that: “in the steep ways which lead up to Pera is no pathway… horses are led or ridden up and down, and it is your business to get out of their way, not theirs to avoid you… the way is paved with sharp pebbles, with occasional hollows full of mud and water… then there are the hamals (or porters) always ascending or descending with some dreadful burden on their backs, sufficient to weigh down an ox. These men are bent down, and of course see nothing: as with the horses, you must get out of their way… Last of all, there are the dogs, which lie stretched across the streets, and never move for any one, unless it is to join in a body to hunt off some canine intruder that has ventured to trespass on their territory.”

Yet Ellen was always the same, indefatigable Ellen, and she concludes with almost a wink that: “I made up my mind after one visit to Galata and Pera that nothing but sheer necessity should send me there again; but then some necessity was always arising.”

A road in 19th century Constantinople like the one Ellen desribed. The view is indeed worth the climb!


There was to be another somewhat unpleasant experience, when Ellen, together with Mr. and Mrs. Freeland, paid a visit to the Mosque of Haga Sophia, with their dragoman (interpreter) Shaheen. It was a Friday, the Islamic holy day, and there were of course many worshippers in the Mosque. Still, all went well at first: “We were walking slowly round, no one interfering with us or noticing us”. But then (somewhat surprisingly for someone who was, presumably, a Moslem): “our dragoman, anxious to show us everything, led us across the mosque, past many groups of worshippers.” The result was only to be expected. “Soon there were angry countenances, several persons rose and surrounded our dragoman, and insisted upon our going out. Poor Shaheen resisted, and brought forward his talisman of “Highness’s people!” but it was of no use here; he was in the hands of several fierce-looking Turks, who were, I must say, very fine-looking stalwart men."

Haga Sophia in the 1870s, as Ellen would have seen it


Shaheen seems to have thought that the worshippers could actually have been bought off, although Ellen knew better: “Our dragoman was of the opinion that a few francs would have soothed matters and enabled us to remain, but I think he was mistaken, and that we were in the wrong in crossing the mosque among the worshippers; had we kept to the outer circle we should have seen as well, and not interfered with those who were performing their devotions.”

Still, as with Pera, it was to be only the first of many visits to the Mosque.

The Second Princess, a very thoughtful and kind lady, allowed Ellen to use a local type of rowing-boat called a caïque, belonging to the Court, to help her explore the city. Unfortunately, its use was not entirely free of charge: “as backsheesh is an institution in the East, I soon found that unless I gave the rowers about the same amount as a public boat would have cost, the caïque was not forthcoming when ordered. However, it was a better boat [than the public ones], and then there was the honour of the thing!”

Caiques at Constantinople in the 19th century


You feel that not much could have spoilt Constantinople for Ellen. But one thing nearly did. And this was Mustapha the cook. “The name of Mustapha had been a bugbear to us for a long time, and for this reason: he had officiated as cook to our predecessors (General Maclean and his family): … the complaints regarding him had been so many and so frequent that when we arrived it was decided a different plan should be adopted; a certain sum was to be provided monthly, and we were to employ our own cook.”

Unfortunately, however, they did not take their own cook with them to Constantinople. And: “we found to our dismay that Mustapha was to be our cook. I don’t know whether he was brought from Egypt for that purpose, but I should think it was more likely that he managed to secure himself a passage on one of the Viceroy’s steamers, having previously ascertained that we had no cook with us, and then turned up just as one was enquired for.”

Ellen made it clear just why the complaints about Mustapha were justified. “I must describe a little his way of cooking, to account for our repugnance. The meat was cut up into square blocks, quite irrespective of joints; it was well soaked in water, and then cooked. Thus there would be many pieces of meat on the table, very sodden and tasteless; vegetables floating in water, and various sweet dishes which custom only can make palatable. This was at luncheon, when the Pasha and the Princess [i.e. Zeynab and Ibrahim] were present; at dinner, in the evening, it was worse.”

Furthermore, a small house was built for Mustapha not far from Ellen’s room. For privacy, therefore, she had to keep the blinds on the windows facing it drawn. But unfortunately trees blocked the view from her other windows. It was not often that Ellen complained, but on this occasion she let rip, and “complained most loudly; and my pupil [i.e. Princess Zeynab], instigated by me, spoke to her mother [the Second Princess] on the subject.” Again, the Second Princess showed her consideration, and ordered the trees to be cut back, allowing Ellen a view. Her complaints were certainly justified; the view from the park at Emirgan (where the palace buildings were) is indeed not something anyone would want to be forced to miss.

It was not to be the last difficulty Ellen had with the cooking arrangements. Later on, indeed, she was left without anyone at all to cook for her, and almost had nothing to eat.

But despite the inconveniences Ellen was determined to make the most of being in Constantinople, and described excursion after excursion that she made. In all, it gives us a fascinating picture of a city and way of life that was on the edge of far-reaching change, and is especially valuable for that alone.

The Bosphorus at Constantinople in the 1870s, as Ellen would have seen it, showing caiques and a (very smoky) ferry; this was part of the view that Ellen was so disappointed not to have seen from the Mahroussa.


Ellen describes steamers like the one in this picture. "Volumes of black smoke arose as made the atmosphere suddenly appear rather like that of Newcastle or Wolverhampton [industrial cities in Britain] than the shores of the Bosphorus. It was like a thick fog, and was I think occasioned partly... by the very inferior quality of the coal used in them."

Princess Zeynab also seems to have largely enjoyed the visit. She was a lively and active young woman, and, like Ellen, made the most of her trips out. For example, on a picnic in the Forest of Belgrade, Ellen described how “The Princess and I, with two or three others, started at once for a walk. She was as much inclined for active exercise as an English girl would have been, and was never so happy as when making one of these excursions.”

Ellen pointed out with foreboding that it was soon to end, however. “This was to be her last summer of liberty [before going to live in the harem]. What misgivings she might have had regarding her future I cannot tell; as we never spoke of her approaching seclusion.”

None the less Ellen was certainly to learn of Zeynab’s misgivings, as later on she wrote that Zeynab would: “speak of her past life of liberty much as an elderly lady might do of her youth; but of one thing was very certain, that she dreaded the life of retirement that lay before her.”

Indeed, another westerner employed at the Khedival Court realised that Zeynab would take her enforced seclusion hard.

This was William Loring, one of the many American soldiers who, following the American Civil War, were employed to help modernise the Egyptian army. In his book, A Confederate soldier in Egypt, published around 1884, Loring wrote that:

William Loring in his Egyptian army uniform

“While the more mature princesses were caged behind lace, his [i.e. Ismail’s] sweet and pretty daughter of thirteen, Zaneeb [sic], for several years took her seat in a box [at the opera] with her young brother unveiled… It was afterward when another year was added to her young life that, much against her will, the traditional veil was forced upon her, and she, too, sat at the opera behind lace curtains [in fact, decorative wire screens], and with others of her sex was compelled to undergo the seclusion of the harem.”

The situation as regards slavery in Egypt was, at this period, somewhat confused. Ismail had promised to end slavery during his lifetime, and indeed had engaged British officials to try to suppress the slave-trade in both Egypt and the Sudan (the best-known of these being General Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum). However, claims that slavery, and slave-trading was still in existence at the time of the British invasion in 1882, are borne out by Ellen:

“The Second Princess had bought a few slave children [presumably whilst in Constantinople] whom she was very anxious to have educated. She sent them up to the school with the Princess, to share in her lessons as she said; but I discouraged their coming, as I wished as much as possible to cultivate the mind of my pupil during the short space of time she would still be under my charge, and the presence of these children much interfered with my plans.”

This may have been a diplomatic excuse on Ellen’s part. She seems to have regarded slavery in much the same way as she was obliged to accept other customs, such as eunuchs and harems. Still, it would certainly have raised certain moral issues for her. We wonder, for instance, what she truly felt about having to educate Kopsès, who was plainly more intelligent than Zeynab, to a lesser level befitting her status as a slave.

Ellen describes one of these slaves, a six year old girl called Behrouse, and for its historical interest this is worth quoting at length:

“I was told her price was £160; but it was quite inexplicable to me how a child could be worth so much [in current terms, using the retail price index, this would be the equivalent of about £10, 240; when compared to average earnings, it would be the equivalent of no less than £83,768], as there was all the trouble of bringing her up, and ultimately of providing for her for life This purchasing of slaves is a very costly way of procuring servants, and I fully believe the Viceroy [i.e. Ismail] would gladly dispense with it; but in the present state of things there is no remedy.”

(Incidentally, it is interesting here that Ellen momentarily forgot to use the past tense in the last paragraph; evidently she quoted directly from her journal).

To follow Ellen’s many excursions in and around Constantinople would take up a great many posts, so full is this part of her book. In October 1872 the Second Princess and her children set off back to Cairo. And so the next post must leave Constantinople as reluctantly as Ellen did, and set sail once again.

Sultanahmet and Haga Sophia in the 1870s; the Constantinople Ellen knew


To be continued...

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

Sailing to Byzantium
The Khedival royal yacht Mahroussa, on which Ellen travelled from Alexandria to Constantinople in 1872 is, happily, still afloat, and this beautiful old ship is certainly a wonderful sight.

It was built in London, in 1865, to the same design as the British royal yacht, the Victoria and Albert II. Therefore, this picture of the Victoria and Albert II gives a good idea of what the Mahroussa looked like when Ellen sailed on it, with paddle-wheels, tall masts, and two chimneys.

Victoria and Albert II

The Mahroussa remained as the Egyptian royal yacht until 1951, and it was to take the last King, Farouk, into exile. On board it on that occasion was the last of the Royal family’s English governesses, Miss Anne Chermside, who was therefore following her predecessor of 80 years before, in the same ship.

Anne Chermside
By then, the Mahroussa had changed in appearance. Its paddle-wheels had been replaced by a propellor, and one of its chimneys had been removed. It is now used as a naval training-ship, and has been re-named El-Horria.

This picture shows the Mahroussa as it later appeared:


It was – is – an impressive ship, and Ellen was fascinated by it, taking, as ever, the first opportunity to explore. It was divided into three parts; the stern for the Viceroy (or in this case the Harem), the middle for the captain and officers, and the front for the crew and soldiers. It was certainly very elegant inside. “The chief saloon was a magnificent apartment, with seven large windows at the stern, and five on each side, all of course of plate-glass.

Below this saloon was a large state cabin, which was made the sleeping apartment of the Second Princess.” Ellen’s cabin was on the floor below this. It was “excellent in point of size and accommodation, but deficient in only one thing only – air; the windows were high up and not made to open, a most necessary precaution… as they were only a few feet above the water.” As Ellen was soon to find, the cabin had another deficiency – the door did not lock.

It was to be a hurried voyage. Ellen described the Mahroussa as “said to be one of the fastest boats built”, and that “speed was to be our object, and to that all was sacrificed.” The ship travelled at 14 knots per hour (that is, slightly over 16 m.p.h.) “though I believe that is not her greatest speed.” Indeed, it had no less than “four engines, each of 800 horsepower.” On the other hand, such a powerful and fast ship was not always comfortable. “A great drawback to us, however, was that two tremendous chimneys were near the centre of the vessel, so that the deck on which we passed our time lay between them. The heat was intense…”

Zeynab and Kopsès during the voyage “preferred walking about and asking questions concerning everything they saw”, even though a small kiosk had been erected for Zeynab on the deck, which at least allowed Ellen to make frantic notes about what she saw during the voyage. No doubt now she would have been taking dozens of photos instead, for her descriptions are often photographic in detail. She had the ability to sketch with words; we so often see a scene just as she saw it. Obviously she was a skilled writer, with a knowledge of narrative, and how to hold a reader’s attention; so much so, indeed, that it is tempting to wonder if any other of the journal entries she made over the years appeared in print, perhaps in a magazine.

At 9.30 pm., Ellen went to her cabin for the night. But not, unfortunately, to rest for very long. “I looked in vain for a fastening to my door… so I dragged my carpet-bag and a small box before the door to make entry more difficult… I was soon awoke, however, by a light, and by hearing voices close to me, and upon opening my eyes found three or four persons in my cabin.” She shouted at them angrily, and they ran off, laughing. The next morning she found out what had happened. The Second Princess had sent some of her attendants round to see that the lights in each cabin were extinguished (no doubt for risk of fire; they were not, of course, electric lights) and that everything was safe. However, instead of merely looking at the ventilator over the door, to see if any light shone through “curiosity prevailed, and they busied themselves in examining the contents of my cabin, and my toilet arrangements, my own presence asleep adding piquancy to the investigation.” Ellen was not amused.

It was not to be the last upset. The most longed-for part of the voyage was along the Bosporus, past the city of Constantinople, and indeed, anyone who has been lucky to have

Constantinople as Ellen saw it, in the 1870s


seen the view from the water will understand just why Ellen looked forward to it. She went up onto the bridge of the ship to get the best view. But here Zohrab, the doctor “told me (apparently with great concern) that the orders were very strict that no-one could remain on the bridge as we passed Constantinople.” Ellen would not even be allowed to remain in one of the little kiosks erected on the deck. Ellen then went downstairs, into the chief saloon, but even here was to be frustrated. “I was enjoying the beautiful views on both sides, when, just as we were passing St. Sophia, the outer shutters slowly descended, and we were left in darkness! … I must pass the next hour, while going through the loveliest scenery in the world, to which I had looked forward so much, as one who had lost the blessing of sight!” Happily, she was to see it many times in the future.

Ismail’s palace at Emirghian was on the banks of the Bosphorus, and its grounds are now a beautiful park. Three pavilions, which were originally palace buildings can be seen, including the Sarı (Yellow) Pavilion, built by Ismail in the 1870s. Ellen and the rest of the educational staff stayed in a house further up the hillside that had previously been a harem. It was not ideal. It merely “consisted of two storeys, and in this Mr. and Mrs. Freeland, their children, nurses, and myself were to be lodged; an in addition, two schoolrooms must be provided for the Pasha and Princess. It required a great deal of management to arrange…” Not least, because there “We found nothing ready for us – the barest furniture, no table or bed linen, no water laid on or to be got.” Still, the resourceful Ellen, the seasoned traveller, coped, even though she “had hard work to arrange matters for the first two or three days.”

On top of it all, Ellen had lost her luggage. “The eunuchs had been into every cabin [of the ship] and had cleared away their contents… But where were they taken? No one could tell. … The fact is, that on these royal progresses a vast number of people travel together without anyone having the management. … I don’t know how I should ever have got my luggage but for Dick, the Pasha’s English coachman, though of course it was not his business.”

There were, of course, many compensations. Ellen was, at long last, in Constantinople! She had plainly all too obviously longed to go there; on the voyage the Second Princess had joked to her that “she had heard that I did not believe we should ever go to Constantinople, and asked me if I believed it now.” Not surprisingly, when Zeynab did to come for lessons for a few days after arrival, Ellen took the first opportunity to go into the city.

The sixty or so pages of Recollections of an Egyptian Princess that are about the visit to Constantinople are perhaps the most descriptively intense of the whole book. Certainly nothing about the city and its surroundings were wasted on Ellen, who plainly spent some of her happiest days there.

To be continued...

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

For some time I have left Ellen marooned here, as it were – although I have indeed found out more about her during a visit to England. It is now time that I went on with her story.

What motivated Ellen?
What motivated Ellen, a woman no longer young, to take up what can only have been a somewhat arduous and challenging post in a foreign country? After all, in her late 50s it is likely that she would have been contemplating retirement when Admiral Milne’s daughters no longer needed a governess.

Part of the answer may have been that conditions of employment with the Khedival family, "the service" as she always referred to it as, seem to have been far more generous than in England. For example, when one of the Third Princess’s servants got married, she “received presents from her mistress and the other Princesses, such as might be given to a lady of rank in England… and to crown all, she continued in the service.” (In England a servant would usually lose her job if she got married).

Equally, Ellen undoubtedly gained status from her post as governess to a royal family. She was certainly very proud of having been governess to the Khedival family, to the point of having it mentioned in the announcement of her death in the local Cheltenham newspaper, the "Cheltenham Examiner" on Wednesday 18 November 1896. If nothing else, it would have marked her out as being someone who was different to most governesses.

Still, we might wonder just what her social status was anyway. After all, this would certainly have mattered a great deal to everyone at the time. There are clues that she was from at least well-connected origins; she was employed only by aristocratic families, and was also, on one occasion, asked by Ismail to pay a call on the Earl and Countess of Dudley, then staying in Cairo, who to say the least would not usually feel particularly flattered by a visit from a family’s governess.

There is no doubt that Ellen enjoyed working as a governess; she plainly liked children, and liked teaching. In an age when women had very few careers open to them, it was, for her, a rewarding profession – although of course it was by no means so for all governesses.

Besides, Ellen aimed to do far more than simply teach Zeynab and Kopsès. She had, in fact, an agenda; through Zeynab, she hoped to improve conditions for all Egyptian women.

“I wished”, Ellen wrote, “as much as possible to cultivate the mind of my pupil during the short space of time she would still be under my charge… I told her I thought much would depend on herself. She was in a high position, and would be looked up to as an example. If she by her conduct could show that liberty was not inconsistent with modesty and innocence, there was no doubt but a few years would bring about an entire revolution in the present system with regard to women… in all countries the more civilised [in the Western sense] a state became, the higher did women rise in the social scale.”

Ismail himself would have agreed with this. Indeed, he actually did a great deal himself to improve conditions for women in Egypt, particularly encouraging the setting-up of girls schools. Ellen wrote that he: "was anxious to raise the position of women: he founded schools for girls, he endeavoured to promote education in his own harem..." Indeed, Ellen explains that his ambition for Zeynab was by “encouraging her gradually and innocently to introduce European customs… and had she lived, I believe a thorough change would in a few years have taken place in female society in Egypt”.

Unfortunately of course Zeynab did not live, and “European customs” were unfortunately to be introduced not by persuasion, but by the British invasion and occupation of Egypt. Still, both Ismail and Ellen had done their best.

Ismail has had a very bad press, both at home and abroad, both at the time and ever since. Yet he sincerely tried to modernise Egypt, even if the unfortunate result was to bankrupt the country. Perhaps in the end he was unfortunate in having to face Western imperialism and capitalism at its most ruthless. He saw that the Ottoman Empire, to which Egypt still belonged, was the past, that even then it was the "sick man of Europe", and - for better or worse - that the west represented the future. Ellen recognised his hard work, and his capacity for thoughtfulness towards others, and was loyal to him long after she ceased to be his employee. And yet, she had to recall that, despite his efforts, he all too often was unable to realise his aims.

For instance, she writes that he "gave much greater liberty and means, both of recreation and instruction, to... [his harem's] inmates than any sovereign had done before him." And yet she was to find when she moved into the palace harem with Zeynab and Kopsès that it could still be a dreadfully boring place. “I passed whole days in the house, with no-one to talk to, no books or papers to read, and nothing but my piano for recreation. I began to doubt whether I was right to sacrifice the few remaining years of health and strength which might be in store for me, to this dreadful monotony of harem life.” (In fact, happily Ellen was to have another 20 years of comparative health and strength afterwards).

But most of all, I think, Ellen accepted the post of governess to the Khedival family for the travel opportunities it gave her. Recollections of an Egyptian Princess is, above all, a travel-book. Its descriptions of contemporary Cairo and Constantinople (now Istanbul) are wonderful; they are detailed, insightful, descriptive and lively. If there was ever a born travel-writer it was plainly Ellen; she must have spent hours making notes.

Ellen was a natural traveller; she was resourceful, plainly quite physically and mentally tough, and valued different cultures. She tried out every experience that she could; whether diving inside a Pyramid in her crinoline, or being rowed in a tiny boat across the Bosphorus. At every possible opportunity she went on an “exploring expedition”.

I wonder, was it her love of travel that led to the somewhat enigmatic epitaph on her tombstone: In my father's house there are many mansions to go to. It is a curious adaptation of a biblical passage that she must have known well. Is it taking speculation too far to read into to go to her wish to see many places, many more "mansions"?

She spoke at least three languages fluently: English, French, and Italian. Very likely as a governess of the time she would also have had at least some familiarity with German. She also tried to learn as much Turkish (the official language of the Khedival Court) as she could, describing how she would “sit about in the saloons with my Turkish books… or at work, sometimes listening to what passed around me, and trying to understand it.

Still, she did not find it easy to learn Turkish, explaining that “a person who understands two or three European languages finds the acquisition of a fourth comparatively easy, but they do not help the least in learning an oriental language.” Other Europeans seem to have had the same difficulty. “I never met" she wrote, "with more than two or three persons who could read and write Arabic or Turkish. I speak of Europeans long resident in the country…”

I shall now take up Ellen’s story again, at the point where she was about to leave for Constantinople, where she was to spend so many happy hours (and a few challenging ones). In May 1872, the Khedival family escaped from the growing heat, firstly to the summer palace at Gezireh.

The Gezireh Palace


Ellen compared the Gezireh Palace to a “miniature Versailles”; it had elaborate gardens, and even a private zoo. The place was even run on French lines: “The servants engaged at the palace are French, with Arabs under them, because everything at Gezireh (except the harem) is European”. Zeynab and her brother Ibrahim lived in a wing of the palace that was usually reserved for important visitors. This was “delightfully situated; some of the apartments looked down onto the river [Nile]; others on the lovely garden. Ellen was fascinated by the exotic trees growing in this garden.

Still, Ellen was very much looking forward to visiting Constantinople, where she knew the Court usually spent some of the year, and feared that it would remain instead at Gezireh, which meant that she would have gained no “respite from the mosquitoes of Choubrah.” So she was very glad when towards the end of May the harem moved to the Ras-el-Tin Palace at Alexandria, as the prelude to voyaging to Constantinople.


The Ras-el-Tin Palace


In Alexandria, the educational staff were lodged at the Hôtel d l’Europe, in the Grand Square, driving each day to Ras-el-Tin, which was then about two miles west of Alexandria. After the dryness of Cairo, Ellen found the sea air at Alexandria very refreshing, and every one seems to have enjoyed themselves: “Our days passed very pleasantly. We were a very united party, never interfered with one another, and enjoyed each other’s society when we met. As at Minieh [on the excursion up the Nile] and at Choubrah, every one tried to please the Princess, and as she was very easy to please, everybody succeeded.”

Meanwhile, Ismail remained at Cairo, on business. And with the political and economic situation of Egypt worsening, no doubt he had a great deal to concern himself with. However, on 1 June 1872 he arrived in Alexandria. Even so, Ellen was unsure if this meant “an immediate departure for Constantinople… Zohrab Bey [the doctor]… told us that His Highness [i.e. Ismail] spoke of going at once to Constantinople, so that we should do well to hold ourselves in readiness to depart at an hour’s notice.” But Ellen had heard this before, and remembering the constant delays to the excursion up the Nile, felt that “we had been too much accustomed to this sort of thing to lay too much stress upon it.”

None the less, the following day, Sunday, Ellen and Mr. Mitchell were told to go aboard the steam-yacht Mahroussah by one o’clock, to be ready to accompany Zeynab and the Second Princess on the voyage. Fortunately this presented no difficulty, as the educational staff had not “unpacked any more than was absolutely necessary”, since arriving in Alexandria.

And so, finally, Ellen was to set off on her long hoped-for adventure, one of her trips of a lifetime, to the ancient, beautiful and fascinating city of Constantinople…


To be continued.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Apples, Halloween & little Molly Hawkins


The traditions of Halloween that we see now in our westernized world of ‘trick or treating’ actually stem from Ireland hundreds of years back when the local farmers would gather together and organise a posse which went around the village knocking on each door and asking for food and items which could supply the village with a huge feast and a bonfire.
People who gave generously were promised good luck whilst those that didn’t were cursed with warnings of bad luck to follow through the coming year.
When many Irish immigrants went across to America in the 1800s they also took their Irish traditions with them which finally became adapted to the Halloween celebrations which we see today.


Here in the UK I recall celebrating Halloween back in the 60s at home with my sister and a few school friends; we had nothing like the kind of Halloween celebrations that are evident today with wonderful costumes and groups of children going out trick or treating.
Our celebrations back then consisted of activities such as ‘Bobbin for apples’ where a big basin sized bowl was filled with water and we had to try to get one out of the bowl with our teeth whilst keeping our hands firmly clasped together behind our backs.
By the time you actually managed to get an apple you’d probably be absolutely drenched from head to foot.
Also on an apple theme we used to hang them from strings along the top of a door frame and try to eat them this way also with hands behind back. Easier said than done I might add.
Apples must have been the one thing we had in abundance because I also recall us peeling them in one continual strip and throwing the peel over our shoulders and seeing what letter the peel looked like as we turned round, this we were told meant to represent our future husband’s first initial. Although in my case after being married 3 times I’d must have gotten a different initial every time, which might have meant me getting through quite a few apples!

We always made a jack O lantern from turnips which we placed in the window; apparently it was more traditional in England to use turnips rather than pumpkins.
Once again this idea stemmed from us carving out the turnips and putting a light inside to scare off the evil spirits. This was another custom which the Irish immigrants took with them to America but found pumpkins there in plentiful supply so adapted the humble turnip into the wonderful Jack O lanterns we all know and love so well.

Older more ancient customs date back to the ancient Celts who celebrated the 1st of November as the beginning of the New Year. Whilst October the 31st was the festival of Samhain or the Feast of the dead, Celts believed that the souls of the dead could return at this time and were able to mingle with the living as the veil between the two worlds were at the thinnest, also fairies and goblins along with all sorts of other-worldly creatures of the may cross unseen realms may cross over to our world at the special time of Samhain.
The dead ancestors were honoured by laying places at the table and food being left out for them.
Farmers also had the task of deciding which of the livestock needed to be slaughtered to see them through the dark winter months ahead.
The big village bonfires were a time of much merriment and feasting, people wore masks, costumes and danced, this also was meant to scare off evil spirits,
Divinations took place, often involving the village bonfire.


Bonfire traditions in ancient Ireland insisted that every fire (including hearth fires) throughout the emerald Isle be put out until the Samhain fire be lit at a sacred site known as Tlachtga, once the fire burnt brightly here it was then acceptable to relight the fires throughout Ireland.
Tlachtga is a hill named after the daughter of the druid Mogh Ruith whom some folk say was at one time a Goddess.
The tribes gathered at the ritual centre of another sacred site 12 miles away at one of the most known sacred sites in Ireland called ‘Tara’ for what was called the Feast of Tara, this unique centre it is steeped in a rich diverse tapestry of tales consisting of The Goddess, Kings, druids, and ancient folklore.
Tara is a beautiful serene mound in Co. Meath, recently it has been sadly vandalized by the Irish government who refuse to stop the building of a motorway destroying a beautiful irreplaceable site of cultural & historical importance, despite massive ongoing global protests.

Last year I celebrated Halloween in my town by researching some of our local folklore and finding the best spooky stories I could.
This culminated in me organising a Halloween ghost walk and taking several children along all in fancy costume. I couldn’t resist going as a witch myself. J

One of the more well known local stories is of a little ghost girl who haunts the Old Town of Hastings her name is little Molly Hawkins.
Her tale is quite sad; she was the daughter of a local fisherman back in the times when a river ran through the town to the sea and a great divide between the wealthy and poor existed (even more so than today!!!)

Molly’s mom had died in childbirth leaving her to take care of 5 younger brothers and sisters. Despite living in abject poverty little Molly had a reputation for skipping along and laughing. Sometimes Molly had to resort to stealing food from the local traders whom usually turned a blind eye to it knowing of her family circumstances.
Unfortunately however times grew hard for the traders and they decided to put a stop to Molly stealing and on this particular occasion she stole four big rosy red apples, concealing them in her raggedy dress pockets as she skipped her way home, suddenly behind her she heard a whistle blow and the cries of “stop thief”.
Three guards chased poor Molly as she ran up the High Street to a place known as ‘Waterloo passage’ which had a wooden bridge over the river Bourne; it was here that little Molly lost her footing along with her life.
The traders decided to just watch and let her drown as a clear message to other children not to steal from them.

Since then her spirit lingers in Waterloo Passage and many people claim to have sighted her skipping along laughing with her raggedy clothes, shawl and hair braids. Quite frequently a single apple is found in the passageway which the locals say is Molly returning what she stole from them.

When we went on our Halloween ghost walk we decided to take little Molly a new ribbon for her hair which my daughter had kept safely tucked in her pocket all evening, the plan was that we’d leave it in Waterloo passage for the spirit of Molly. When we got to the passage the children all stopped and were pointing at the floor and there we saw a big rosy red apple.
I said to my daughter that it was probably off Molly and that we should leave her the ribbon in exchange, but when she went to get the ribbon out it had already mysteriously vanished. My daughter insists that little Molly had already taken it.

We all liked to think of little Molly on our way home, imagining her skipping along,
Laughing and being very pleased with her new hair ribbon. Suffice to say we had a most memorable Halloween last year; perhaps I’ll take Molly a big bag of apples all for herself this year.

By Rosie Weaver



Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

Ellen and Lucie Duff-Gordon; the bad times amongst the good
I have, in this thread, tried to put Ellen’s description of life in the Khedival court into a historical perspective by comparing it with other generally contemporary accounts. In my last posting, I mentioned Lady Lucie Duff-Gordon (1821-1869) – not to be mistaken, by the way, with the later, Lady Lucy [note spelling] Duff-Gordon, a fashionable dressmaker and a somewhat controversial survivor of the Titanic.

Lucie became very much attached to the ordinary Egyptians, and so wrote a great deal about the disastrous effects of Ismail’s high taxation and forced labour on the ordinary Egyptian population. She wrote two well-known books about her experiences, Letters from Egypt (published 1865) and Last letters from Egypt (published posthumously by her daughter in 1875). The books take the form of collections of letters, written to her friends and relatives since her arrival in Egypt in 1862.

It is possible that Ellen could have read Letters from Egypt before taking up her appointment with the Khedive, although (possibly diplomatically) does not say so.

Indeed, Ellen may have felt that the political situation of the time was nothing to do with her, which was no doubt true; her opinions would have counted for very little – whilst Lucie, on the other hand, was a well-connected, titled woman, with an independent income, who was already an established author when she went to Egypt. Ellen’s place was simply to teach two children.

Besides, Ellen was plainly no-one’s fool; she would have been very careful about what she taught, and said to Zeynab. In fact she was reminded now and then by people such as Zohrab, the doctor, that she was in the Khedive’s pay, in effect one of the harem, and expected to that extent, to act accordingly. However, to compensate for this her pay may have been very good – she mentions that other European servants were attracted to work for the Khedival Court by high wages – and in addition, she was gaining opportunities for travel, and new experiences, that she could never hope to obtain otherwise.

Still, there are rare glances at the Egypt beyond the Palace windows. One such was when the Nile excursion had come to a premature halt at Minya. Ellen describes it thus:

“I saw a curious light one morning while dressing in my cabin [on board the dahabieh]. I heard a strange humming noise as of many voices, and looking out, I saw a large steamer coming down the river, and behind it in tow were five immense flat-bottomed boats and two dahabiehs. The boats were crowded with men, forced labourers from the Upper Nile, who were brought down to work on the railway which the Viceroy [i.e. Ismail] was constructing in Upper [sic] Egypt. There must have been several thousands.”

Lucie Duff-Gordon witnessed much the same thing a decade earlier, in 1862:

“The other day four huge barges passed us towed by a steamer and crammed with hundreds of the poor souls [i.e. conscript labourers] torn from their homes to work at the Isthmus of Suez, or some palace of the Pasha’s, for a nominal piastre a day, and find their own bread and water and a cloak… One of my crew… recognised some relations of his from a village close to Assouan. There was much shouting and…[he] looked very mournful all day. It may be his turn next.”
(Letters from Egypt)

Indeed, Lucie had much to say about the human misery behind forced labour (usually known as corvée labour):

“…the Europeans applaud, and say, ‘Oh, but nothing could be done without forced labour,’ and the poor Felaheen [farmers] are marched off in gangs like convicts, and families starve, and (who’d have thought it) the population keeps diminishing.”
(Letters from Egypt)

It is true that corvée labour had been used in Egypt since ancient times. However, it was to be used during the 19th century to a greater extent than before, in order to construct projects like the Suez Canal, new irrigation work, and railways, and this was to cause increasing hardship to the fellaheen – leading, of course, to increasing resistance to it. It was to eventually come to and end during the 1880s (it was sometimes used after its official cessation).

Lord Cromer, who effectively became the ruler of Egypt following the British occupation in 1882, unsurprisingly claimed that its abolition had been a British accomplishment. However, its end was due more to the changing economic and political nature of Egypt; British officials had actually been ambivalent about banning it, at least until the large agricultural estates bought by rich Englishmen in Egypt had been developed by its use.

Forced labour was not the only bad thing to be found in Egypt at the time. Another was the looting of antiquities and old buildings, and both Ellen and Lucie wrote about it.

Ellen went on several occasions to see the Tombs of the Caliphs, part of Cairo’s huge Northern Cemetery. The tombs date from around 1382-1517, and by the 19th century had fallen into bad repair, as this photo from the 1870s, when Ellen visited them, shows:


On one of these occasions, a member of the party that Ellen was with was a tourist, referred to by her only as Mr. P. “P” decided to help himself to one of the surviving carved lattice-screens of the tombs: “at last he succeeded in detaching a piece. I thought it such a pity that I remonstrated with him, but he replied that it would all crumble away sooner or later, and he would like to have a bit of it; so he took it.”

Lucie Duff-Gordon also visited these tombs, and wrote that:

“Omar [her Egyptian servant] witnessed the destruction of some sixty-eight or so of the most exquisite buildings – the tombs and mosques of the Arab Khaleefehs, which Said Pasha [Ismail’s predecessor] used to divert himself with bombarding for practice for his artillery… Thus the Pasha added the piquancy of sacrilege to barbarity.”
(Letters from Egypt)

It was, unfortunately by no means an uncommon attitude, at the time. Ismail himself was busy demolishing huge areas of old Cairo in order to rebuild the city to make it look like Paris, and the first ruler of his dynasty, Muhammad Ali, had even wanted to demolish the Pyramids themselves, to provide building-material for a barrage across the Nile!

Yet another example is a businessman called George Pangals built a exhibit themed on a Cairo street, for the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, USA, in 1893. He searched the older parts of Cairo for any historical architectural features that he could find, and was to boast later that he: “went to work with a vim that would have done credit to a vandal… in about nine months, over fifteen residences had been despoiled of their entire woodwork, and over fifty others had contributed their share of carved panels, doors, etc.”
(Quoted in Whose Pharaohs, by D. M. Reid, 2002, University of California Press).
To be continued...