EGYPTIAN ATROCITIES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 2992, 27 January 1881, Page 4

EGYPTIAN ATROCITIES.

The Daily Telegraph of November 18th states that " Cairo has recently been plunged into profound consternation by the discovery of an appalling crime—or rather series of crimes—perpetrated in that city by a religious recluse, Sheikh Hamundn J3erda, hitherto enjoying a high reputation for sanctity, and even popularly credited with supernatural powers of extraordinary efficaciousness in the way of curing female patients by holy spells imparted to him by the Prophet. "Women were wont to make Jrilgi'fmages from all parts of Lower Egypt to the house of this supposed saint, in order to solicit his intercession with Allah on their behalf. Abont three weeks ago the wife of an Egyptian officer betook herself to the sheikh's residence for this purpose. When, however,t several-hours had elapsed without anything having been heard or seen of her since she entered Hamuda's doors, her husband applied to the Cairo police for assistance to discover her whereabouts, and a rigid search was forthwith instituted in the holy man's domicib. To the horror of the Tinfortunnte officer his wife's body was found with several other female corpses, thrust into a huge cistern standing in the sheikh's garden. The cistern, in fact, was brimful of murdered women. Hamunda Berda, arrested on the spot and conveyed to prison, subsequently confessed to the cadi that it had been his practice for some time, ■whenever consulted by a female possessed of rich jewels or other portable property of value, to invite his visitor to take a turn with him in the garden, where he would then proceed to strangle her, despoil her remains, and fling them into his cistern. Egyptian justice , has probably by this time made an example , of this saintly personage by hanging him up in firo-nt of- his own house door."