THi; COPT MALLEM CHAIXILL. 189 and coffee, taken four or five times, does not succeed in sooth* ing him, some thought will come perchance into his head, and the unfortunate secretary is at once sent for to write it down. Often during our journey have we pitied him ; for hardly had we, all worn out, dismounted at mid-day, or late in the evening, from our dromedaries or horses, fit for nothing but repose, when the unhappy Mallem was summoned to the Pascha, and often kept up the whole night through, writing and arranging letters and papers.

Pity, a Turk knows not. From all this, Challill is silent, melancholy, and drinks, in the evening (his day's work over), to keep up hia strength, six or eight fingan, or small coft'ee cups, of araki, as this, he fancies, more quickly cheers him tlian wine. Often have we warned him to mind what he did, and for his liealth's sake to take fewer of these destructive drams ; but he ever replies, that for his health's sake he dare not give them up, as he has been used to them from liis youth, and wore it not for them, he would not feel he was alive; nay, more, that now he had discovered it was impossible for him, once he commenced, to cease drinking as long as there was anything in the bottle. After such potations, Challill becomes somewhat more conununicative, and tells us stories in answer to our questions as to tlie customs of his race, of whom we have heard much from him. llo, indeed, often ventures to call the Turks an evil set, l)ut no one will or can get out of him the smallest hint as to the Pascha's affairs, be tiie matter ever so trifling, although he possesses his master's full confidence, and knows every thing. He has now been seven yeai-s absent from Cairo, all the time with the Paschn, and his wife and children are stiU in that city, as the Pascha will not permit her to join him, that his secrets may be better kept.

Challill is well acquainted with the old Coptish language and writing, which are no longer in use, and are only to be met with in the cliurch books. These books us(>d to be read by the stupid priests (chassies), though neither they nor the hearers understood them. The pres(!nt service in the churches is in Arabic, as it is now the prevailing language among them. The alphabet of tlie old Coptic language is tlie CJreek a, p, y, &<., and is written from left to right. It dates from the times of tiie Ptolemys, and tliis evident Grecian alphabet could only luive been forced on them by