The population of Kahira consists, 1. of the Arabs, or lower class of Mohammedans, who form the body of the people, and who pride themselves in the name of _ibn Arab_, son of an Arabian. 2. Of the Coptic Christians, who form a considerable number, here and in Upper Egypt; in the Delta they are rare. 3. Mamlûks. I was assured that, during the last eleven years, not fewer than sixteen thousand white slaves, of both sexes, have been imported into Egypt. A plague had carried off a thousand Mamlûks, and other causes had reduced their number to about eight thousand, so that there was a great demand for the article. Still I cannot venture to estimate the number of Mamlûks at more than ten or twelve thousand. 4. Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians; Muggrebîns, from Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco, who have a quarter to themselves, are remarkable for industry and frugality, and are attracted hither by the great profits of trade. Other Mohammedans from Arabia Proper, and yet farther East. There are very few Turks established in Egypt, but many come hither on business, and return to Constantinople. Jews were once numerous, but are now on the decrease. Exclusively of negro slaves in every house, there are blacks from Nubia, who act as porters at the gates of the rich, and sometimes sell _bouza_ and eatables. In general, the total population of Kahira cannot certainly be estimated at less than three hundred thousand souls. Egypt may contain, in all, two millions and a half. In speaking of the population of Egypt, and other countries under the same circumstances, it may be remarked, that among ourselves, to obtain a tolerably correct knowlege of the number of people in a town or city, it is sufficient to know the number of houses, and the average number of inhabitants in each house. In Egypt the case is widely different. A large proportion of the people has no visible dwelling. The slightest shelter suffices to protect them from the inconsiderable variations of a regular climate, and obscurity, under the falcon eye of power always a blessing, is here sought with peculiar avidity. Of all those descriptions of men, the Copts, or original inhabitants, most interest curiosity. There are some peculiarities of feature common to all of them. I was not struck with any resemblance of the negro features or form. Their hair and eyes are indeed of a dark hue, and the former is often curled; but not in a greater degree than is occasionally seen among Europeans. The nose is often aquiline, and though the lips be sometimes thick, by no means generally so; and on the whole, a strong resemblance may be traced between the form of visage in the modern Copts, and that presented in the antient mummies, paintings, and statues. Their complexion, like that of the Arabs, is of a dusky brown; it is represented of the same colour in the paintings which I have seen in the tombs of Thebes.