Ellen must have at least been aware of Lott’s books, and indeed seems to have had some hesitation in going to Egypt: “I was anxious to obtain every possible information before undertaking the duty [as Zeynab’s governess].”
It is perhaps unfortunate that Lott arrived in Egypt at a time when the Court was on the cusp between Ottoman traditions and western expectations. She does seem to have had certain genuine difficulties, such as not being paid. (It might have been that her books contained an element of revenge for this).
Lott also claimed that it had become suspected in the harem that she had become Ismael’s mistress. Whether or not this was true, it would at least explain Ismael’s obvious caution about who he next employed as governesses; Miss Maclean, who was living in Cairo with her father, and the elderly Ellen. Young women, unaccompanied, were plainly seen as too much of a potential embarrassment.
None the less, it is likely that Lott exaggerated, and sensationalised her books (which were, after all, plainly meant for the popular market). Furthermore, times had changed since she had been employed. As Ellen explained: “Manners and customs have become … modified in Egypt during the last few years by the increasing number of Europeans…” And so, after her initial doubts, Ellen could say that: “All that I heard tended to encourage me.”
Indeed, care had obviously been taken to assemble a professional, experienced educational staff for the Khedival family, and furthermore one that would be adaptable to conditions abroad. Ellen showed in her book that she was certainly a dedicated teacher; although it was also certainly a wonderful travel adventure for her, as it would be to anyone, she shows that she never lost sight of what she was there for. One of the main threads throughout her book is how, and what she taught Zeynab and Kopsès; how she varied her lessons, how she made them relevant, how she tried to ensure that lessons were not interrupted, and so on.
This is in contrast to Lott, who only rarely mentions what or how she taught. Indeed, she claims that her teaching responsibilities were progressively reduced, to the point of her finally being told not to educate Prince Ibrahim at all. (She is careful not to explain why).
Ellen quickly realised that Kopsès was more intelligent than Princess Zeynab. However, “it would have been a false kindness to cultivate her [i.e. Kopsès’] powers according to their capability, at the risk of exciting ill-feeling on the part of the Princess, on whom she was wholly dependent.” Indeed, Kopsès was one of those fortunate people who seem to have so many gifts; intelligence, athletic ability, and beauty. I have a feeling that it would have been hard for most people to have stood comparison with her! Indeed, for all her professionalism, there is little doubt that she was Ellen’s favourite (if never favoured) pupil.
On the other hand Zeynab seems to have been academically something of a slow developer: “She was of a character that developed late, and required great encouragement.” Which Ellen, naturally, gave, continually finding ways to hold Zeynab’s interest, for all that she was “not quick at lessons.”
This was one of the reasons why Ellen was opposed to the tradition of shutting all females up in a harem. Indeed, many visitors to them remarked on what dreary places they were; Emmeline Lott was particularly sarcastic about this, referring to them as “the abode of bliss.” Ellen found that in the Palace harem there was an “entire absence of anything to promote amusement or mental occupation”, and dreaded the day when Zeynab would – inevitably – be confined to one.
Given that she wore clothing that was almost absurdly unsuitable for the climate, it is not surprising that Ellen found the heat, and sometimes very considerable humidity of Cairo a constant problem. Indeed, heatstroke must have been a real danger. And at first she was also greatly irritated by “myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies”. However, she eventually became so used to them that “after two or three years I became accustomed to them and at last ceased to notice them altogether”.
Indeed, there is no doubt that Ellen had a very resilient character. After all, she was at the modern retirement age for women when she went to start a new life in Egypt, and yet remained physically very active, sometimes under quite demanding conditions. She does mention that she had two physical conditions – she was extremely short-sighted, and had to wear spectacles – and, towards the end of her time in Egypt she started to suffer from a mild heart-condition, which eventually contributed to her death.
Fortunately she seems to have escaped any major health-problems whilst in Egypt, although Mrs. Freeland’s children did suffer from opthalmia – a very common problem in Egypt.
She always rose early – usually at around 6 a.m., and often woke at dawn to watch the sunrise (which is indeed a special experience in Egypt; I have seen the sun rise over Luxor and Cairo myself, and it is truly a magical time). However, she does admit to over-sleeping on one occasion; when visiting the Pyramids with Zeynab and Ibrahim the educational staff were to set off especially early, to avoid the heat of later in the day, but due to the alarm-clock not having yet been invented(!) the carriage arrived for them before they were quite up and ready.
It is plain from Ellen’s book that she was a natural travel-writer. She was keen to explore, and was very observant, as well as extremely descriptive. She wanted to see as much as possible, and took every opportunity to do so. One of her favourite excursions was to the Ezbekea Gardens:
“The Ezbekea Gardens were very different then to what they have since become. At that time they were a quiet resort where one could walk or sit unmolested for an hour or two. There was, and is a rockery, something like that in the Bois de Boulogne; a cascade, a cavern, and paths in and out… comfortable seats were scattered all over the garden, but the Arabs seemed to think them especially placed for their convenience, and were generally found on them asleep, stretched out at full length.”
This passage is also interesting, in that it suggests that Ellen maintained some kind of link with Egypt; how else could she have known what the Gardens were like in the 1890s?
To make her excursions she was happy to find a particularly good donkey to carry her. And:
“… wishing to secure him for further excursions, I asked his name.
“Yankee Doodle,” said the [donkey] boy.
“Oh, he is American, is he?” said I.
“Yes missus; in English, Lalla Rookh!” – rather a free translation.”
(Lalla-Rookh was the Persian heroine of a poem by Thomas Moore, published in 1817).
Ellen also, naturally visited the then new Cairo Opera-House, which had opened in 1869 (it burned down in 1971, to be replaced by the present Cairo Opera House).
“I must not omit to mention our first visit to the opera. The play [sic] was “Aïda”… it was doubly interesting to us as it recalled the scenes of our voyage up the Nile”. (This will be described in the following post).
Verdi’s Aïda – which was not in fact, despite popular belief, written for the opening of the Suez Canal - had finally been completed in 1871 after various delays, and was to have 12 performances during the 1871-2 season. It was to remain a favourite at the Cairo Opera House (and of course elsewhere).
To Ellen, the interior furnishings of the Opera House, especially the boxes reserved for members of the Khedival harem, were as interesting as Aïda itself. The harem boxes were covered with a decorative metal mesh to prevent their occupants from being seen. They also had a separate entrance from outside.
Ellen first visited a harem when she was invited to the Abdeen Palace during Id al-Fitr, or as the Ottomans (and therefore Ellen) called it, Bairam. This festival follows the holy month of Ramadan, and traditionally involved receptions and visits to friends.
So it was that Ellen and Mrs. Freedland were invited to visit by Ismail’s wives, and also by his mother Princess Hoshiar, the “Validè Effendimiz” (translatable as “Mother of our Ruler”), who was usually referred to in western accounts as the “Validè Princess.”
Ellen and Mrs. Freedland first called on Ismail’s wives. Princess Zeynab had taught Ellen a polite greeting in Turkish to say to her mother during her Bairam visit. Somewhat embarrassingly, however, Ellen “thought I had it by heart, but I broke down in the middle of it. The Princesses laughed, and took it in very good part…”
However, the formal visit was soon over, and Ellen and Mrs. Freedland went on to meet Princess Hoshiar. Some years before, Emmeline Lott had also been invited to call on the Validè Princess during Bairam, and had all too predictably decided to hate her, describing her in her book as “a most shrewd and accomplished intriguante, one who would … “stick at nothing”, absolutely nothing”. (This perhaps says more about Lott herself than about Hoshiar).
It was whilst visiting Princess Hoshiar that Ellen and Mrs. Freedland were invited to drink coffee and smoke pipes; a traditional form of hospitality. Lott had complained that on her Bairam visit the coffee and pipes had only been offered to the princesses. If this was indeed so, then we might wonder why Ellen and Mrs. Freedland were more warmly welcomed than Lott had been!
Although she did not of course usually smoke, Ellen none the less took a pipe, explaining that:
“Formerly it had been de rigeur to accept the pipe, but European visitors had become frequent in the harms, and the inmates soon saw that their visitors were unaccustomed to smoking, so that declining the pipe gave no offence. I did not know this then, so I took the pipe.”
The pipe itself was huge. It was “about five feet long, and the attendant rested the bowl on a silver plate in front of me.” However, with her usual ability to smile at herself, Ellen then described what happened:
“I held the tube [i.e. stem of the pipe] between my lips for some time, wondering how such a thing could give either pleasure or pain, when a slave crossed the room, and turning the bowl, I found that I had been holding it downwards! I never tried smoking after that.”
No lessons were given during Bairam, although Zeynab did call upon Ellen at the house in Choubrah Road. It was plainly just one of a number of formal visits that Zeynab was making that day, as she “was magnificently dressed in black velvet, made in the last [i.e. latest] Parisian fashion. The trimming was of white ostrich-feathers; a diamond brooch, which, with the pendants attached to it, was as large in circumference as an orange, sparkled on her chest. She wore diamond earrings, a clasp of the same precious stones at the waist, black velvet boots with diamond buckles, and a velvet hat with the same feather trimming as on the dress.”
Although this was impressive to adults, poor Zeynab herself was not enjoying herself. “She had a weary look, as if all this adornment did not add to her happiness, and taking my hand, she asked me to go up-stairs with her and read a story to her!” Diamonds, evidently, are not always a girl’s best friend…
Ellen received a letter asking her to make a Bairam visit to the Countess of Dudley (Lady Georgina Ward, 1846-1929), as the Earl and Countess of Dudley were at that time guests of the Khedive. Evidently Ellen’s experience in aristocratic households was valuable in more ways than one to Ismail!
In January 1872 Ellen, always ready to see as much as she could of Egypt, went to see the start of the pilgrimage caravan to Mecca which accompanied the Mahmal, a highly decorated litter, carried by camels, which contained a holy carpet.
A 19th century Mahmal setting off
The Khedive, or one of his sons, always took part in the starting ceremony. Therefore awnings, with tables and chairs under them, were provided for the comfort of the Khedive and the chief dignitaries, and this was by far the best place to watch from – “if by favour you can get to them” Ellen points out (as by implication she did). “It is necessary, however, to be very early, as the space is limited and soon filled”.
The Khedival family were at this time looking forward to a voyage up the Nile…
To be continued...
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