A Voyage to Egypt



September 2, 2014

What excitement there must have been when the Reverend Christopher Smyth and his wife Clementina left the quiet parish of Woodford, Northamptonshire for an epic journey to Egypt in 1862, with a promise of regular letters home for the village children. It is not hard to imagine how they and probably many adults too would pour over every detail, marvelling at the charming illustrations and enjoying the wry observations of a genial and kind man.

Girgeh on the Nile by Christopher and Clementina Smyth
Girgeh on the Nile by Christopher and Clementina Smyth, 1863 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

 The journey to Cairo took more than a month, the couple stopping for a rest in various places along the way. On their arrival in Paris they are surprised to find “hundreds and hundreds of people sitting outside certain shops which they call cafes, sipping coffee”.

Far from being the archetypal stuffy, po-faced English vicar abroad, the Reverend  Smyth is thoughtful and liberal. Having reached Egypt they are introduced to some of the local populace “who think nothing of a woman who does not wear a ring in her nose. Perhaps you will laugh at this. But if we wear rings in our ears and think them pretty, why should we not wear them in our noses. It is only making a hole in one part of the body instead of another”

All the letters are addressed to “My dear Children” and are full of affection for his distant young parishioners, his letter of 13th January 1863 finishes “Goodbye dear children – you know what ‘Good bye’ means. It means God be with ye. This is my earnest wish, the best of blessings. Believe me. Your affectionate friend and pastor”

A street in Cairo by Christopher and Clementina Smyth,
A street in Cairo by Christopher and Clementina Smyth, 1863 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The densely and sometimes cross-written text is all in the Vicar’s neat, legible, hand but the couple worked on the illustrations together, he providing the architectural outlines and Clementina, the colour and figures.

Boy learning his lesson by Christopher and Clementina Smyth
Boy learning his lesson by Christopher and Clementina Smyth © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

We know that the Smyths returned safely to Woodford where they lived for the next 40 years.

 

Diane Spaul. Letters to my dear Children by Rev. Christopher Smyth NAL 38041800855413 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

 

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