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diff --git a/old/50760-0.txt b/old/50760-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7304ea5..0000000 --- a/old/50760-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12397 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hassan: or, The Child of the Pyramid, by -Charles Augustus Murray - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Hassan: or, The Child of the Pyramid - An Egyptian Tale - -Author: Charles Augustus Murray - -Release Date: December 24, 2015 [EBook #50760] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HASSAN, CHILD OF THE PYRAMID *** - - - - -Produced by Carolyn Jablonski, Shaun Pinder and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - =HASSAN= - - - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - =HASSAN= - - OR - - THE CHILD OF THE PYRAMID - - - _AN EGYPTIAN TALE_ - - _WRITTEN AT BAGHDAD, WHEN H.B.M. MINISTER - TO THE COURT OF PERSIA_ - - - BY THE - - HON. CHARLES A. MURRAY, C.B. - - AUTHOR OF - ‘THE PRAIRIE BIRD,’ ‘TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA,’ - ETC. - - - WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS - EDINBURGH AND LONDON - MCMI - - _All Rights reserved_ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - =HASSAN;= - - OR, - - THE CHILD OF THE PYRAMID. - - -More than thirty years have elapsed since, on a summer evening, the -tents of an Arab encampment might have been seen dotting the plain which -forms the western boundary of the Egyptian province of Bahyrah, a -district bordering on the great Libyan desert, and extending northward -as far as the shore of the Mediterranean. - -The western portion of this province has been for many years, and -probably still is, the camping-ground of the powerful and warlike tribe -of the “Sons of Ali”; a branch of which tribe, acknowledging as its -chief Sheik Sâleh el-Ghazy, occupied the encampment above referred -to.[1] - -The evening was calm and still, and lovely as childhood’s sleep: no -sound of rolling wheel, or distant anvil, or busy mill, or of the -thousand other accessories of human labour, intruded harshly on the ear. -Within the encampment there was indeed the “watch-dog’s honest bark,” -the voices of women and children, mingled with the deeper tones of the -evening prayer uttered by many a robed figure worshipping towards the -east, but beyond it nought was to be heard save the tinkling of the -bells of the home-coming flocks, and the soft western breeze whispering -among the branches of the graceful palms its joy at having passed the -regions of dreary sand. It seemed as if Nature herself were about to -slumber, and were inviting man to share her rest. - -In front of his tent sat Sheik Sâleh, on a Turkish carpet, smoking his -pipe in apparent forgetfulness that his left arm was bandaged and -supported by a sling. - -At a little distance from him were his two favourite mares, each with a -foal at her side, and farther off two or three score of goats, tethered -in line to a _kels_,[2] surrendering their milky stock to the expert -fingers of two of the inmates of the Sheik’s harem; beyond these, -several hundred sheep were taking their last nibble at the short herbs -freshened by the evening dew; while in the distance might be seen a -string of camels wending their slow and ungainly way homeward from the -edge of the desert: the foremost ridden by an urchin not twelve years -old, carolling at the utmost stretch of his lungs an ancient Arab ditty -addressed by some despairing lover to the gazelle-eyes of his mistress. - -The Sheik sat listlessly, allowing his eyes to wander over these -familiar objects, and to rest on the golden clouds beyond, which crowned -the distant sandhills of the Libyan desert. The neglected pipe was -thrown across his knee, and he was insensibly yielding to the slumberous -influence of the hour, when his repose was suddenly disturbed by the -sound of voices in high altercation, and a few minutes afterwards his -son Hassan, a lad nearly sixteen years of age, stood before him, his -countenance bearing the traces of recent and still unsubdued passion, -while the blood trickled down his cheek. - -Although scarcely emerged from boyhood, his height, the breadth of his -chest, and the muscular development of his limbs gave the impression of -his being two or three years older than he really was; in dress he -differed in no wise from the other Arab lads in the encampment, nor did -his complexion vary much from theirs—bronzed by constant exposure to -weather and sun; his eyes were not like those of the Arab race in -general—rather small, piercing, and deep-set—but remarkably large, dark, -and expressive, shaded by lashes of unusual length; a high forehead, a -nose rather Greek than Roman in its outline, and a mouth expressive of -frank mirth or settled determination, according to the mood of the hour, -completed the features of a countenance which, though eminently -handsome, it was difficult to assign to any particular country or race. -Such was the youth who now stood before his father, his breast still -heaving with indignation. - -“What has happened, my son?” said the Sheik; “whence this anger, and -this blood on your cheek?” - -“Son!” repeated the youth, in a tone in which passion was mingled with -irony. - -“Whence this blood?” again demanded the Sheik, surprised at an emotion -such as he had never before witnessed in the youth. - -“They say it is the blood of a bastard,” replied Hassan, his dark eye -gleaming with renewed indignation. - -“What is that!” shrieked Khadijah, the wife of the Sheik, suddenly -appearing from an inner compartment of the tent, where she had overheard -what had passed. - -“Peace, woman,” said the Sheik authoritatively; “and prepare a plaster -for Hassan’s wound.” Then turning to the latter, he added, in a milder -tone: “My son, remember the proverb, that patience is the key to -contentment, while anger opens the door to repentance. Calm your spirit, -and tell me plainly what has happened. Inshallah, we will find a -remedy.” - -Hassan, having by this time recovered his composure, related how he had -been engaged in taking some horses to the water, when a dispute arose -between him and a young man named Youssuf Ebn-Solyman, in the course of -which the latter said to him— - -“How dare you speak thus to me, you who are nothing but an Ebn-Haram?” -To this insult Hassan replied by a blow; Youssuf retaliated by striking -him on the temple with a stone; upon which, after a violent struggle, -Hassan succeeded in inflicting on his opponent a severe beating. - -“And now,” said the youth, in concluding his narrative, “I wish to know -why I have been called by this hateful name—a name that disgraces both -you and my mother? I will not endure it, and whoever calls me so, be he -boy or man, I will have his blood.” - -“Are you sure,” inquired the Sheik, “that he said _Hh_aram and not -Heram?”[3] - -“I am sure,” replied Hassan, “for he repeated it twice with a tone of -contempt.” - -“Then,” said the Sheik, “you were right to beat him; but the name, among -mischievous people, will occasion you many quarrels: henceforth in the -tribe you shall be called Hassan el-Gizèwi.” - -“Why should I be called El-Gizèwi?” said the youth. “What have we, -Oulâd-Ali, to do with Gizeh and the Pyramids?”[4] - -After some hesitation the Sheik replied, “We were passing through that -district when you were born; hence the name properly belongs to you.” - -“Father,” said Hassan, fixing his dark eyes earnestly on the Sheik’s -countenance, “there is some secret here; I read it in your face. If I am -a child of shame let me know the worst, that I may go far away from the -tents of the Oulâd-Ali.” - -Sheik Sâleh was more a man of deeds than of words, and this direct -appeal from Hassan sorely perplexed him; thinking it better at all -events to gain time for reflection, he replied— - -“To-morrow you shall be told why you were called Ebn el-Heram, and why -there was no shame connected with the name. Now go into the tent; tell -Khadijah to dress your wound, and then to prepare my evening meal.” - -Accustomed from his childhood to pay implicit obedience to parental -orders, Hassan retired into the inner tent, while the Sheik resumed his -pipe and his meditations. The result of them may be seen from a -conversation which he held with Khadijah when the other members of the -family had retired to rest. - -“What is to be done in this matter?” said the Sheik to his spouse; “you -heard the questions which Hassan asked?” - -“I did,” she replied. “By your blessed head it is better now to tell him -all the truth; the down is on his lip—he is no longer a child; his -curiosity is excited; several of our tribe know the secret, and, -although far away now, they may return, and he would learn it from -them.” - -“That is true,” replied the Sheik; “yet if he knows that he is not our -child, he will not remain here—he will desire to find his real parents; -and I would rather part with my two best mares than with him. I love him -as if he were my son.” - -Now Khadijah, who had three children still living—two girls, of whom the -eldest was fourteen, and a little boy aged eight years—did not love -Hassan quite as she loved her own children; although she had nurtured -and brought him up, a mother’s instincts prevailed, and she was somewhat -jealous of the hold which he had taken on the affections of the Sheik. -Under these impressions she replied— - -“The truth cannot be long kept concealed from him; is it not better to -tell him at once? Every man must follow his destiny; that which is -written must come to pass.” - -“I like not his going away,” said Sheik Sâleh moodily; “for that boy, if -he remain with us, will be an honour to our tent and to our tribe. There -is not one of his age who can run, or ride, or use a lance like him. In -the last expedition that I made against the tribe of Sammalous did he -not prevail on me to take him, by assuring me that he only wished to -follow at a distance with a spare horse in case of need; and did he not -bring me that spare horse in the thickest of the fight, and strike down -a Sammalous who was going to pierce me with his lance after I had -received this wound?” Here the Sheik cast his eyes down upon his wounded -arm, muttering, “A brave boy! a brave boy!” - -Khadijah felt the truth of his observation, but she returned to the -charge, saying— - -“Truly you men are wise in all that concerns horses, hunting, and -fighting; but in other matters, Allah knows that you have little sense. -Do you not see that the youth already doubts that he is our son, and you -have never adopted him according to the religious law.[5] He will -shortly learn the truth, others will know it too: then what will the men -and women of the tribe say of us, who allow this stranger in blood to -dwell familiarly in our tent with Temimah our daughter, whose days of -marriage should be near at hand?” - -Khadijah was not wrong in believing that this last argument would touch -her husband in a tender point, for he was very proud of Temimah, and -looked forward to see her married into one of the highest families in -the tribe; he therefore gave up the contest with a sigh of -dissatisfaction, and consented that Khadijah should on the following -morning inform Hassan of all that she knew of his early history. - -Now that she had gained the victory, Khadijah, like many other -conquerors, was at a loss how to improve it. She was essentially a -good-hearted woman, and although while Hassan’s interests came into -collision with those of her own offspring, Nature pleaded irresistibly -for the latter, still she called to mind how good and affectionate -Hassan had always been to herself, how he had protected and taken care -of her little son, and tears came into her eyes when she reflected that -the disclosure of the morrow must not only give him pain, but probably -cause a final separation. - -The hours of night passed slowly away, but anxiety and excitement kept -unclosed the eyes of Hassan and Khadijah: the one hoping, yet fearing to -penetrate the mystery of his birth, the other unwilling to banish from -her sight one whom, now that she was about to lose him, she felt that -she loved more than she had been aware of. - -The hours of night! Brief words that should indicate a short space of -universal tranquillity and repose, yet what a countless multitude of -human joys, sorrows, and vicissitudes do they embrace! In the forest and -in the wilderness they look upon the prowling wolf and the tiger -stealing towards their unconscious prey, upon the lurking assassin, the -noiseless ambush, and the stealthy band about to fall with war-shout and -lance on the slumbering caravan. In the densely peopled city they look -not on the sweet and refreshing rest which the God of nature meant them -to distil from their balmy wings, but on gorgeous rooms blazing with -light, in which love and hate, jealousy and envy, joy and sorrow, all -clothed with silk, with jewels, and with smiles, are busy as the -minstrel’s hand and the dancer’s feet; on halls where the circling cup, -and laugh, and song proclaim a more boisterous revelry; on the riotous -chambers of drunkenness; on those yet lower dens of vice into which a -ray of God’s blessed sun is never permitted to shine, where the frenzied -gambler stakes on the cast of a die the last hopes of his neglected -family; on the squalid haunts of misery, to whose wretched occupants the -gnawing pangs of hunger deny even the temporary forgetfulness of sleep. -Yes, on these and a thousand varieties of scenes like these, do the -hours of night look down from their starry height, wondering and weeping -to see how their peaceful influence is marred by the folly and depravity -of man. - -Agreeably to Arab custom, Khadijah rose with the early dawn, and having -seen that her daughters and her two slave-girls were busied in their -respective morning tasks, she called Hassan into the inner tent in order -to give him the information which he had been awaiting through a -sleepless night of anxiety; but as the good woman accompanied her tale -with many irrelevant digressions, it will be more brief and intelligible -if we relate its substance in a narrative form. - -A little more than fifteen years previous to the opening of our tale, -Khadijah, with her husband and a score of his followers, had been paying -a visit to a friendly tribe camped in the neighbourhood of Sakkarah.[6] - -On returning northward, through the district of Ghizeh, near the Great -Pyramid, her child was born, who only survived a few days. It was buried -in the desert, and as her health had suffered from the shock, Sheik -Sâleh remained a short time in the neighbourhood, to allow her to -recruit her strength. - -One evening she had strolled from his tent, and after wailing and -weeping a while over the grave of her little one, she went on and sat -down on the projecting base-stone of the Great Pyramid. While gazing on -the domes and minarets of the “Mother of the world,”[7] gilded by the -rays of a setting sun, her ears caught the sound of a horseman -approaching at full speed. So rapid was his progress that ere she had -time to move he was at her side. - -“Bedouin woman,” he said to her, in a hurried and agitated voice, “are -you a mother?” - -“I am,” she replied. “At least, I have been.” - -“El-hamdu-lillah, praise be to God,” said the horseman. Dismounting, he -drew from under his cloak a parcel wrapped in a shawl and placed it -gently beside her at the base of the pyramid, then vaulting on his -horse, dashed his spurs into its flank, and disappeared with the same -reckless speed that had marked his approach. - -The astonished Khadijah was still following with her eye his retreating -figure when a faint cry caught her ear. What mother’s ear was ever deaf -to that sound? Hastily withdrawing the shawl, she found beneath it an -infant whose features and dress indicated a parentage of the higher -class. Around his neck was an amulet of a strange and antique fashion; -round his body was a sash, in the folds of which was secured a purse -containing forty Venetian sequins, and attached to the purse was a strip -of parchment, on which was written the following sentence from the -traditions of the Prophet, “Blessed be he that gives protection to the -foundling.” - -Hassan, who had been listening with “bated breath” to Khadijah’s -narrative, and who had discovered as easily as the reader that he was -himself the “Child of the Pyramid,” suddenly asked her— - -“Was that horseman my father?” - -“I know not,” she replied, “for we have never seen or heard of him since -that day. Nevertheless, I think it must have been your father, for I -could see that, just before springing on his horse to depart, he turned -and gave such a look on the shawl-wrapper that——” - -“What kind of look was it?” said Hassan hastily, interrupting her. - -“I cannot describe it,” said Khadijah. “It might be love, it might be -sorrow; but my heart told me it was the look of a father.” - -“What was the horseman like?” said Hassan. - -“I had not time nor opportunity to examine closely either his features -or his dress,” replied Khadijah; “and were he to come into the tent now -I should not know him again. But he seemed a tall, large man, and I -guessed him to be a Mameluke.” - -Khadijah’s narrative had deeply interested and agitated Hassan’s -feelings. As he left the tent and emerged into the open air, he mentally -exclaimed, “Sheik Sâleh is not my father; but Allah be praised that I am -not the son of a fellah.[8] Unknown father, if thou art still on earth, -I will find and embrace thee.” - -During the whole of that day he continued silent and thoughtful. He -cared not to touch food, and towards evening he strolled beyond the -borders of the encampment, lost in conjecture on his mysterious birth -and parentage. Ambition began to stir in his breast, and visions of -horsetails[9] and diamond-hilted swords floated before his eyes. While -engaged in these day-dreams of fancy, he had unconsciously seated -himself on a small mound near where Temimah, the eldest daughter of the -Sheik, was tending some goats, which she was about to drive back to the -tents. With the noiseless step and playful movement of a kitten, she -stole gently behind him, and covering his eyes with her hands, said, -“Whose prisoner are you now?” - -“Temimah’s,” replied the youth; “what does she desire of her captive?” - -“Tell me,” said the girl, seating herself beside him, “why is my brother -sad and silent to-day; has anything happened?” - -“Much has happened,” replied Hassan, with a grave and abstracted air. - -“Come now, my brother,” said Temimah, “this is unkind; what is this -secret that you keep from your sister?” - -“One which will cause me to leave you,” answered Hassan, still in the -same musing tone. - -“Leave us!” she exclaimed. “Where to go, and when to return? Do not -speak these unkind words. You know how our father loves you—how we all -love you. Brother, why do you talk of leaving us?” While thus speaking, -Temimah threw her arms round his neck and kissed his eyes, while tears -stood in her own. - -Touched by her affection and her sorrow, Hassan replied in a gentler -tone— - -“Temimah, I have no father, no mother, no sister here.” He then told her -the story of his infancy, as related by her mother, showing that he -could claim no relationship in blood to the Sheik Sâleh and his family. -As he continued his narrative, poor Temimah’s heart swelled with -contending emotions. She learned that the playmate and companion of her -childhood, the brother of whom she was so proud, and to whom she looked -for support in all her trials, and whom she loved she knew not how much, -was a stranger to her in blood. A new and painful consciousness awoke -within her. Under the influence of this undefined sensation, her arm -dropped from Hassan’s neck, but her hand remained clasped in his, and on -it fell her tears hot and fast, while she sobbed violently. - -Temimah was more than a year younger than Hassan, yet her heart -whispered to her secret things, arising from the late disclosure, which -were unknown to his. Although the idea of parting from her gave him -pain, he could still caress her, call her sister, and bid her not to -grieve for a separation which might be temporary, while she felt that -henceforth she was divided by an impassable gulf from the brother of her -childhood. - -Slowly they returned to the encampment, and Temimah took the earliest -opportunity of retiring into her tent to talk with her own sad heart in -solitude. - -Did she love him less since she learnt that he was not her brother? Did -she love him more? These were the questions which the poor girl asked -herself with trembling and with tears; her fluttering heart gave her no -reply. - -After these events it is not to be wondered at if Hassan permitted but a -few days to elapse ere he presented himself before Sheik Sâleh, and -expressed his wish to leave the tents of the Oulâd-Ali, in order to seek -for his unknown parents: the Sheik being prepared for this request, and -having made up his mind to acquiesce in it, offered but a faint -opposition, notwithstanding his unwillingness to part with one whom he -had so long considered and loved as a son. - -“By Allah!” said he to the youth, “if destiny has written it, so it must -be. My advice is, then, that you go to Alexandria, where I have a friend -who, although a merchant and living in a town, has a good heart, and -will be kind to you for my sake. I will write to him, and he will find -you some employment. While you are with him you can make inquiry about -the history and the families of the residents, Beys, Mamelukes, &c., and -learn if any of them were at Cairo sixteen years ago. If your search -there is without success, you will find means to go to Cairo and other -parts of Egypt, and, Inshallah! the wish of your heart will be -fulfilled.” - -Hassan thanked his foster-father, who forthwith desired a scribe to be -called to write from his dictation the required letter, which bore the -address, “To my esteemed and honoured friend, Hadji Ismael, merchant in -Alexandria.” - -The simple preparations requisite for Hassan’s departure were soon made, -and all the articles found upon him when he had been left at the foot of -the pyramid, and which had been carefully preserved by Khadijah, were -made over to him, and secured within the folds of his girdle and his -turban; a horse of the Sheik’s was placed at his disposal, and he was to -be accompanied by two of the tribe, charged with the purchase of coffee, -sugar, and sundry articles of dress. - -When the day fixed for his departure arrived, his foster-parents -embraced him tenderly, and the Sheik said to him, “Remember, Hassan, if -ever you wish to return, my tent is your home, and you will find in me a -father.” - -Temimah, foolish girl, did not appear; she said she was not well; but -she sent him her farewell and her prayers for his safety through her -little sister, who kissed him, crying bitterly. Thus did Hassan take -leave of the tents of the Oulâd-Ali, and enter on the wide world in -search of a father who had apparently little claim on his affection; but -youth is hopeful against hope, so Hassan journeyed onward without -accident, until he reached Alexandria, where his two companions went -about their respective commissions, and he proceeded to deliver his -letter to Hadji Ismael, the merchant. - -Hassan had no difficulty in finding the house of Hadji Ismael, the -wealthy Arab merchant, situated in a quarter which was then near the -centre of the town, though only a few hundred yards distant from the -head of the harbour, known as the Old Port. - -Alexandria being now as familiar to the world of travellers and readers -as Genoa or Marseilles, a description of its site and appearance is -evidently superfluous; only it must be remembered that at this time it -wore something of an oriental aspect, which has since been obliterated -by the multitude of European houses which have been constructed, and the -multitude of European dresses which crowd its bazaars. - -The great square, which is now almost exclusively occupied by the -residences of European consuls and merchants, was then an open area in -which soldiery and horses were exercised; and in place of the scores of -saucy donkey-boys who now crowd around the doors of every inn, dinning -into the ear of steamboat and railroad travellers their unvarying cry of -“Very good donkey, sir,” and fighting for customers with energy equal to -that of Liverpool porters, there were then to be seen long strings of -way-worn camels wending their solemn way through the narrow streets, -whilst others of their brethren were crouched before some merchant’s -door, uttering, as their loads were removed, that wonderful stomachic -groan which no one who has heard it can ever forget, and which is said -to have inspired and taught to the sons of Ishmael the pronunciation of -one of the letters of their alphabet—a sound which I never heard -perfectly imitated by any European.[10] - -Harsh and dissonant as may be the voice of the camel to our Frankish -ears, it was infinitely less so to those of Hassan than were the mingled -cries of the Turks, Italians, and Greeks assembled in the courtyard of -Hadji Ismael’s house, busily employed in opening, binding, and marking -bales and packages of every size and class. Pushing his way through them -as best he might, he addressed an elderly man whom he saw standing at -the door of an inner court, and whom he knew by his dress to be a -Moslem, and after giving him the customary greeting, he asked if he -could have speech of Hadji Ismael. Upon being informed that the youth -had a letter which he was charged to deliver to the merchant in person, -the head clerk (for such he proved to be) desired Hassan to follow him -to the counting-house. - -On reaching that sanctum, Hassan found himself in a dimly lighted room -of moderate dimensions, the sides of which were lined with a goodly -array of boxes; at the farther end of the room was seated a venerable -man with a snow-white beard, who was so busily employed in dictating a -letter to a scribe that he did not at first notice the entrance of his -chief clerk, who remained silently standing near the door with his young -companion; but when the letter was terminated the merchant looked up, -and motioned to them to advance. Mohammed, so was the chief clerk named, -told him that the youth was bearer of a letter addressed to him by one -of his friends among the Arabs. On a signal from Hadji Ismael, Hassan, -with that respect for advanced age which is one of the best and most -universal characteristics of Bedouin education, came forward, and having -kissed the hem of his robe, delivered the letter, and retiring from the -carpet on which the old man was sitting, stood in silence with his arms -folded on his breast.[11] - -The Hadji having read the letter slowly and carefully through, fixed his -keen grey eyes upon Hassan, and continued his scrutiny for some seconds, -as if, before addressing him, he would scan every feature of his -character. The survey did not seem to give him dissatisfaction, for -assuredly he had never looked upon a countenance on which ingenuous -modesty, intelligence, and fearlessness were more harmoniously combined. - -“You are welcome,” said the old man, breaking silence; “you bring me -news of the health and welfare of an old friend—may his days be -prolonged.” - -“And those of the wisher,” replied the youth.[12] - -“Your name is Hassan, I see,” continued the Hadji. “How old are you?” - -“Just sixteen years,” he replied. - -“Sixteen years!” exclaimed the Hadji, running his eye over the -commanding figure and muscular limbs of the Arab youth. “It is -impossible! Why, Antar himself at sixteen years had not a body and limbs -like that. Young man,” he continued, bending his shaggy grey brows till -they met, “you are deceiving me.” - -“I never deceived any one,” said the youth haughtily; but his -countenance instantly resumed its habitual frank expression, and he -added, “If I wished to learn to deceive, it is not likely that I should -begin with the most sagacious and experienced of all the white-beards in -Alexandria.” - -“True,” said the old man, smiling; “I did you wrong. But, Mashallah, you -have made haste in your growth. If your brain has advanced as rapidly as -your stature, you might pass for twenty summers. What can you do?” - -“Little,” replied Hassan. “Almost nothing.” - -“Nay, tell me that little,” said the merchant good-humouredly; “with a -willing heart ’twill soon be more.” - -“I can ride on camel or on horse, I can run, I can swim and dive, I can -shoot and——” here he paused, and the merchant added— - -“And I doubt not, from what my friend the Sheik writes, your hand is no -stranger to the sword or lance; but, my son, all these acquirements, -though useful in the desert, will not avail you much here—nevertheless, -we will see. Inshallah, your lot shall be fortunate; you have a forehead -of good omen. God is great—He makes the prince and the beggar—we are all -dust.” - -To this long speech of the worthy merchant Hassan only replied by -repeating after him, “God is great.” - -Hadji Ismael then turned to his chief clerk, and told him that, as the -youth was a stranger in the town and intrusted to him by an old friend, -he was to be lodged in the house, and arrangement to be made for his -board. - -It would seem that Hassan’s forehead of good omen had already exercised -its influence over the chief clerk, for he offered without hesitation to -take the youth under his own special charge, and to let him share his -meals; an arrangement which was very agreeable to Hassan, who had begun -to fear that he would be like a fish out of water—he, a stranger in that -confused mass of bricks and bales, ships and levantines. - -On a signal from the merchant, Mohammed Aga retired with his young -companion, and while showing him the storerooms and courts of the house, -drew him to speak of his life in the desert, and listened to his -untutored yet graphic description with deepening interest. - -Although born in Alexandria, the old clerk was of Turkish parentage, and -had followed his professional duties with such assiduity and steadiness -that he had never visited the interior of Egypt. He had frequent -transactions with Arabs from the neighbourhood on the part of his -master, but he usually found that, however wild and uncivilised they -might appear, they were sharp and clever enough in obtaining a high -price for the articles which they brought on sale; but a wild young -Bedouin, full of natural poetry and enthusiasm, was an animal so totally -new to the worthy clerk, that his curiosity, and ere long his interest, -was awakened to a degree at which he was himself surprised. Hassan, -notwithstanding his extreme youth, was gifted with the intuitive -sagacity of a race accustomed to read, not books, but men; his eye, -bright and keen as that of a hawk, was quick at detecting anything -approaching to roguery or falsehood in a countenance on which he fixed -it, and that of Mohammed Aga inspired him with a sympathetic confidence -which was not misplaced. - -On the following morning the merchant had no sooner concluded his -prayers and ablutions than he sent for Mohammed Aga, and asked his -opinion of the newly arrived addition to their household. - -“By Allah!” replied the clerk, “he seems a brave and honest youth, and -were you Sheik of the Wâled-Ali[13] instead of Hadji Ismael the -merchant, I doubt not he would have been a gain to your tent; but to -what use you can put him in Alexandria I know not.” - -“You say truly,” replied his master; “he is not a youth to sit on a mat -in the corner of a counting-house, or to go with messages from house to -house, where knowledge of the Frank languages is required. But Allah has -provided a livelihood for all His creatures: destiny sent the youth -hither, and his fate is written.” - -“Praise be to God!” said the clerk; “my master’s words are words of -wisdom and truth. A visit to the holy cities (blessed be their names!) -has opened the eyes of his understanding: doubtless he will discover the -road which fate has marked out for this youth to travel; for it is -written by the hand of the Causer of Causes.”[14] - -“True,” replied the merchant, “there is no power or might but in Him; -nevertheless, a wise writer has said, ‘When the shades of doubt are on -thy mind, seek counsel of thy bed: morning will bring thee light.’ I did -so the past night, and see, I have found that Allah has sent me this -Arab youth in a happy hour. Inshallah! his fortune and mine will be -good. Do you not remember that I have an order to collect twenty of the -finest Arab horses, to be sent as a present from Mohammed Ali to the -Sultan? Neither you nor I have much skill in this matter, and those whom -I consult in the town give me opinions according to the amount of the -bribe they may have received from the dealer. We will make trial of -Hassan, and, Inshallah! our faces will be white in the presence of our -Prince.”[15] - -“Inshallah!” said the clerk joyfully, “my master’s patience will not be -put to a long trial, for there are in the town three horses just arrived -from Bahirah, which have been sent on purpose that you might purchase -them on this commission. Does it please you that after the morning meal -we should go to the Meidàn and see them?” - -“Be it so,” said the Hadji. And Mohammed Aga, retiring to his own -quarters, informed Hassan of the service on which it was proposed to -employ him. The eyes of the youth brightened when he learnt that his -vague apprehensions of a life of listless confinement were groundless, -and that he was about to be employed on a duty for the discharge of -which he was fitted by his early training and habits. - -Mohammed observed the change in his countenance, and thought it prudent -to warn him against the wiles and tricks to which he would be exposed -among the Alexandrian dealers, kindly advising him to be cautious in -giving an opinion, as his future prospects might depend much upon his -first success. Hassan smiled, and thanked his new friend; he then added— - -“Mohammed, I have eaten the Hadji’s bread, and he is a friend of my -father’s” (the latter word he pronounced with a faltering voice). “I -will serve him in this matter faithfully. Until asked I shall say -nothing, and when asked I shall say nothing beyond what I know to be -true.” - -The morning meal despatched, Hadji Ismael proceeded to the Meidàn (then -an open space, and now the great square of Alexandria) accompanied by -Mohammed Aga, the _sàis_ or groom, and Hassan. They found the -horse-dealing party awaiting their arrival. It consisted of a _dellâl_ -or dealer, and two or three of his servants, and an Arab from the -neighbourhood of Damanhouri. They had two grey horses to dispose of, and -at a distance of some fifty yards were two _sàises_ holding by a strong -halter a bay horse, which was pawing the ground, neighing, and -apparently well disposed to wage war with any biped or quadruped that -might come within reach of its heels. - -“Peace be upon you,” said the _dellâl_, addressing the merchant. -“Inshallah! I have brought you here two grey horses that are worthy to -bear the Sultan of the two worlds—pure Arab blood—this dark grey is of -the Kohèil race, and the light grey a true Saklàwi.”[16] - -“Are they young?” inquired the merchant. - -“One is four and the other five,” was the ready reply. - -The merchant then desired his _sàis_ to inspect them and examine their -mouths. They were both gentle and fine-looking animals, with splendid -manes and tails, and their appearance prepossessed the merchant in their -favour. They stood close by the assembled group, and allowed their teeth -to be examined with the most patient docility. - -“The marks are as the _dellâl_ has said,” reported the _sàis_, after -having finished his inspection. - -The animals were then mounted by one of the _dellâl’s_ men, who walked -and galloped them past the merchant, who seemed as well pleased with -their paces as with their appearance. - -“What is their price?” he inquired. - -“Their price,” replied the _dellâl_, “should be very high, for they are -pearls not to be found in every market; but to you, excellent Hadji, -whom I wish to oblige, and whom I always serve with fidelity, they can -be sold for sixty purses the pair” (about £300). - -During all this time Hassan had never spoken a word, neither had a -single mark or movement of the horses escaped him; the merchant now -turned towards him, saying— - -“My son, tell me your opinion of these horses; are they not very fine?” - -“They are not very bad,” replied the youth drily; “but they have many -faults, and are much too dear.” - -“And pray what are their faults, master busybody?” said the horse-dealer -in a rage. - -“I am not a busybody,” answered Hassan, looking him steadfastly in the -face; “I merely replied to a question put to me by our master the Hadji. -As for their faults, if you do not know them better than I, you are not -fit to be a _dellâl_; and if you do know them, you must be a rogue to -bring them here and endeavour to pass them on the Hadji at such a -price!” - -Words cannot paint the fury of the _dellâl_ at being thus addressed by a -stripling whom he supposed to be as ignorant of his craft as the other -attendants on Hadji Ismael; the heavy courbatch[17] vibrated in his -hand, and he was about to utter some violent or abusive retort, when the -merchant, interposing between them, said to the _dellâl_— - -“Do not give way to anger, and remember if the words of the youth are -not true they can do no harm either to you or to the sale of your -horses.” - -The worthy merchant forgot at the moment that it was probably the truth -of the words which gave them their sting; but fate seemed resolved that -the horse-dealing transaction should not proceed amicably, for scarcely -had the merchant concluded his pacific address to the _dellâl_ when he -heard behind him a sharp cry of pain, mingled with a sound resembling a -blow, accompanied by the rattling of metal. - -It seems that the Damanhouri Arab entertained a shrewd suspicion that -Hassan was not a greenhorn in the matter of horse-flesh, and while the -merchant was making his pacific speech to the _dellâl_, he had crept to -the side of the youth and whispered to him— - -“Brother, say nothing about the faults of the horses; say that they are -very good: here is your bakshish” (present), and so saying he slipped -five Spanish dollars into Hassan’s hand. - -The reply of the latter was to throw them with some force in the face of -the speaker. Maddened by the pain and the insult, the Damanhouri drew a -knife from his girdle and sprang upon the youth; but Hassan, whose -activity was equal to his strength, caught the uplifted hand, wrenched -the knife from its grasp, and placing one of his legs behind his -assailant’s knee, threw him heavily to the ground. His blood was up, and -the anger that shot from his eye and dilated his nostril produced such a -change in his countenance that he was scarcely to be recognized; but the -change lasted only a moment. Placing the knife in the hands of the -astonished merchant, he briefly related to him the provocation which he -had received, and the dollars still lying on the ground confirmed the -tale. Attracted by the broil, several idlers and soldiers who were -accidentally passing had now joined the party, and one whispered to -another— - -“Mashallah, the youth must have a greedy stomach. A bakshish of five -dollars is dirt to him,” for it never entered into the head of any of -these worthy Alexandrians to suppose that Hassan’s indignation could -arise from any other cause than dissatisfaction at the amount of the -bribe offered to him. - -Peace was at length restored, the Damanhouri having picked up his -dollars and slunk away, muttering curses and threats against Hassan. The -merchant then asked him to state distinctly the faults that he found in -the two grey horses. - -“The dark one,” replied Hassan, “is not of pure race; he is a -half-breed, and is not worth more than ten purses. The light one is -better bred, but he is old, and therefore not worth much more.” - -“Old!” ejaculated the _dellâl_, his anger again rising; “by your head, -Hadji, your own _sàis_, who examined his teeth, said that he was only -five.” - -The eyes of the merchant and the dealer were now turned upon Hassan, -whose only reply was a smile, and passing the forefinger of his right -hand over that of his left, imitating the action of one using a file. -This was a hint beyond the comprehension of the merchant, who asked him -to explain his meaning. - -“I mean,” he said, “that his teeth have been filed, and the marks in -them artificially made;[18] but his eyes, and head, and legs tell his -age to any one that knows a horse from a camel.” - -The _dellâl_ was obliged to contain his rage, for not only was he -restrained by the presence of the merchant and the bystanders, but the -rough treatment lately inflicted on the Damanhouri did not encourage him -to have recourse to personal violence. He contented himself, therefore, -with saying in a sneering tone— - -“If the wise and enlightened merchant, Hadji Ismael, is to be led by the -advice of a boy whose chin never felt a beard, Mashallah! it were time -that the fishes swam about in the heaven.” - -“Allah be praised!” replied the merchant gravely, “truth is truth, even -if it be spoken by a child. Friend _dellâl_, I will not dispute with you -on this matter, but I will make a bargain with you, to which you will -agree if you know that you have spoken truth. I will write to old -Abou-Obeyed, whose tent is now among the Wâled-Ali. All men know that he -is most skilled in Arab horses, and he is himself bred in the Nejd. He -shall come here, and his bakshish shall be five purses. If he decides -that all which you have stated of the race and age of these two horses -is true, I will give you the full price that you have asked, and will -pay him the bakshish. If his words agree with those spoken by this -youth, I do not take the horses, and you pay the Sheik’s bakshish.” - -As the _dellâl_ knew that the old Sheik Abou-Obeyed valued his -reputation too highly to allow himself to be bribed to a deception so -liable to detection, he replied— - -“It is not worth the trouble. Allah be praised, there are horses enough -in Egypt and the desert; but if our master purchases none without the -consent of that strange youth, methinks it will not be this year that he -will send twenty to Stamboul. Doubtless he will now tell you that yonder -bay is a vicious, useless brute, not worth the halter that holds him.” - -“If he is not a vicious brute,” said Hassan, looking the _dellâl_ full -in the face and smiling, “mount him, and let our master see his paces.” - -The _dellâl_ bit his lip at finding himself thwarted at every turn by -the natural shrewdness of a mere stripling, for nothing was farther from -his intention than to mount an animal whose uncontrollable violence and -temper were the sole cause of its being sent for sale by its present -owner. It had not been backed for months, and the two _sàises_ who held -it by the head were scarcely able to resist the furious bounds which it -made in its endeavour to free itself from thraldom. While the _dellâl_ -went towards them to assist them in leading it up for the inspection of -the merchant, the latter turned to Hassan, saying— - -“My son, assuredly that is a vicious and dangerous beast. It can be no -use my thinking of purchasing that for the great lords at Stamboul.” - -“Let us see it nearer,” replied the youth, “perhaps we may learn whether -it be play or vice. Mashallah!” he muttered to himself as it drew -nearer, snorting, and bounding, and lashing out its heels, “that is a -horse—what a pity that it is cooped up in this town! Would that I had it -on the desert, with my greyhound beside, and the antelope before me!” -His eyes glistened as he spoke, and the merchant, tapping him on the -shoulder, said— - -“My son, you seem to like that horse better than the others. Is it not a -vicious, dangerous brute?” - -“It is violent now,” replied Hassan, “probably because it has been in -hands that knew not how to use it; but I do not see any signs of vice on -its head. It is evidently quite young—three or four at most—and it has -blood: more I cannot pretend to say.” - -The noble colt had now cleared a respectable circle with his heels, as -none of the bystanders chose to risk a near inspection, when the -merchant, turning to the _dellâl_, said— - -“That seems a violent, intractable animal; what is its lowest price?” - -“When it is taught and a year older,” replied the dealer, “it will be -worth fifty purses. As it is, I can sell it to you for thirty.” - -“Tell him,” whispered Hassan to the merchant, “to desire one of the -_sàises_ to ride it past you, that you may see its action.” - -The Hadji did so, but the endeavour of the dealer and his _sàises_ to -comply with the request proved utterly fruitless. No sooner did one of -them approach with the object of mounting than he reared, backed, struck -out with his forelegs, and played such a variety of rough antics that -they could not come near him. Perhaps none of them were over-anxious to -mount an animal in such a state of violent excitement, without a saddle, -and with no bridle but the halter passed round the head, and with one -turn round the lower jaw. The merchant stroked his beard, and looked at -the colt in dismay. Hassan drew near and whispered to him— - -“Tell the _dellâl_ that it is a violent, unruly brute, and offer him -twenty purses.” - -The Hadji had by this time acquired so much confidence in the opinion of -his young _protégé_ that he did so without hesitation. Then ensued a -long bargaining conference between the merchant and the _dellâl_, which -ended in the latter saying that he would take twenty-five purses and no -less. The merchant looked at his young adviser, who said— - -“Close with him at that price.” - -The merchant having done so, the _dellâl_ said to him— - -“Hadji, the horse is yours: may the bargain be blessed.” As he uttered -the latter words there was a sardonic grin on his countenance which, if -rightly interpreted, meant, “Much good may it do you.” - -The bargain being thus concluded, the _dellâl_ thought it would be a -good opportunity to vent the spite which he entertained against Hassan -on the subject of the two grey horses, so he said to the merchant— - -“Perhaps this youth, who has been so ready to offer his advice, and who -wished that I or the _sàises_ should mount the bay horse to show his -paces, perhaps he will now do so himself.” - -“And why not?” replied Hassan. “It is true that fools have made the -horse foolish and unruly, but Allah made him to carry a rider. If the -Hadji will give me leave, Inshallah! I will ride him now.” - -“You have my leave,” said the merchant, “but run no risk of your life -and limbs, my son.” - -Hassan smiled, and going quietly forward, took the end of the halter -from the nearest _sàis_, desiring the other at the same time to let go -and leave him alone. He then approached the colt, looking steadfastly -into its eye, and muttering some of the low guttural sounds with which -the Bedouin Arabs coax and caress a refractory horse. - -They seemed, however, to have no effect in this instance, for the colt -continued to back, occasionally striking at Hassan with its forefeet. -Never losing his temper, nor for an instant taking his eye off that of -the colt, he followed its retrograde movement, gradually shortening the -halter, and narrowly escaped, once or twice, the blows aimed at him by -its forefeet. - -At length the opportunity for which he had long been watching occurred. -As the horse tried to turn its flanks and lash at him with its -hind-feet, in a second, and with a single bound, he was on its back. It -was in vain that the infuriated animal reared, plunged, and threw itself -into every contortion to unhorse its rider. The more it bounded and -snorted under him, the more proudly did his eye and his breast dilate. -In the midst of all these bricks and houses he was again at home. - -Shaking his right hand on high, as if he held a lance, and shouting -aloud to give utterance to the boisterous joy within him, he dashed his -heels into the ribs of the horse, and having taken it at full speed -twice round the Meidàn, brought it back trembling in every joint from -fear, surprise, and excitement. “Mashallah!” “Aferin!” (Bravo! bravo!) -burst from every lip in the group. “A Rustum,” cried old Mohammed Aga, -delighted at his young friend’s triumph. - -Hassan seemed, however, of opinion that the lesson was not complete—the -horse was mastered, but not yet quieted. So he turned it round, and once -more took it at full speed to the farthest end of the Meidàn; then -leaning forward, patted its neck, played with its ears, and spoke to it -kind and gentle words, as if it could understand him. The subdued animal -appeared indeed to do so, for its violence had disappeared as if by -magic, and when he took it back to the side of the merchant, it stood -there seemingly as pleased as any one of the party. - -“I would give that imp of Satan twenty purses a-year to be my partner,” -muttered the _dellâl_ inaudibly to himself, as he turned away and -withdrew with the two rejected greys. - -The merchant returned to his house in high spirits, and willingly -acceded to Hassan’s request that he should have sole charge of the new -purchase. Hassan led the horse into the stable, fed and groomed it with -his own hands, and in the course of a few days they were the best -friends imaginable. - -These events created no little sensation in Alexandria, and Hassan’s -skill, courage, and his remarkable beauty of form and feature were the -general subject of conversation among those who had witnessed the -merchant’s purchase of the restive horse. All manner of speculations -were afloat as to who or whence he was, for those who had most nearly -observed him declared that, although his dress and language proclaimed -the Bedouin Arab, his features seemed to be those of a Georgian or some -northern race. - -Many questions were addressed to Hadji Ismael on the subject by his -friends, but he was either unable or unwilling to satisfy their -curiosity. All that they could learn was that the youth had been sent to -the merchant with a letter of recommendation from his old acquaintance -Sheik Sâleh, and that he was to be employed in the purchase of the -collection of horses to be sent to Constantinople. - -Meanwhile Hassan passed his time more agreeably than he had expected, -for he had abundance of liberty and exercise in his new vocation, and -was treated with the greatest kindness and confidence both by the -merchant and by the chief clerk. One remarkable feature they found in -his character, that under no circumstances whatever did he deviate in -the slightest degree from the truth. Whether money was concerned, or the -relation of an event, they always found his statements confirmed, even -in the most minute particular. He seemed, also, to have no care or -thought of the acquisition of money, and these two features of character -were so rare in Alexandria that some of the merchant’s friends, when -speaking of his young _protégé_, were in the habit of shaking their -heads and touching their foreheads significantly with the index-finger, -thereby indicating that probably he was somewhat deranged. - -These vague suggestions were confirmed by other traits of his character -very different from other Alexandrian youths of his own age. He was -never seen to enter a drinking-shop, nor to idle and lounge about the -bazaars. When not employed in exercising his horses, one of his -favourite amusements was to go down to the beach for a swim in the sea. -The boundless expanse of salt water was new to him: the more angry the -surf, the more it seemed to please and excite him. - -His companion on these bathing excursions was Ahmed, the chief clerk’s -son, a lad of some twenty years of age, to whom, notwithstanding the -difference in their characters, Hassan became much attached. He was -short and slight in figure, with a pale but intelligent countenance, and -remarkable for his studious and industrious habits. Having been for some -time employed as a junior clerk of an English mercantile house (there -were only two at that time in Alexandria), he had not only become a very -good English scholar, but had acquired a fair knowledge of Greek and -Italian. He was a bold and practised swimmer; but on one or two -occasions when he had followed Hassan to enjoy his favourite pastime in -the surf, he had received contusions which stunned him for the moment, -and might have cost him dear, had not the powerful arm of his athletic -comrade been always near and ready to assist him. - -This companionship, which soon ripened into friendship, was not without -its corresponding advantage to Hassan. His eager imagination had already -drunk in with avidity the feats of Antar, Sindebad, and other heroes of -Arab story; but his new friend could tell him yet stranger tales of the -regions beyond the sea—regions where from cold the waters grew as hard -as stone, and bore the passage of loaded waggons; where ships, by the -aid of fire, sailed against the wind and stream, and where the -inhabitants of one small island possessed and ruled at a distance of -many thousand miles possessions five times larger and more populous than -those of the great Sultan of Islam. - -These narrations, and especially the last, excited so forcibly the -ardent imagination of Hassan, that he was never weary of listening, and -he prevailed upon his new friend one day to take him to the -counting-house where he was employed, that he might see some of these -wonderful islanders. Probably he expected to find in them marvellous -beings, like the giants or jinns of Arab fiction; but after accompanying -his friend to the house of Mr ——, whom he saw through an open door at -the extremity of the counting-house, seated at a table writing letters -and tying up papers, he went out again, with disappointment evidently -written upon his countenance. - -“What tales are these which you have been telling me, Ahmed?” said he to -his companion; “by Allah, that is no man at all! He is smaller than I -am; he has not the beard of Hadji, and he has not even a scribe to write -his letters!” - -“Hassan,” replied his friend, smiling, “the habits of these islanders -are different from those of Turks and Arabs. The pen is their sword in -commerce, and they like to wield it themselves. Our chief writes on -matters of importance with his own hand; it is good, for no scribe can -betray him; but in the adjoining room he has two or three clerks who -write on his affairs from morning till night.” - -Hassan shook his head, thought of the swift horse and the open desert, -and said, “Allah be praised, I am not a merchant of these islanders.” -Nevertheless there was something mysterious about their history which -continued to excite his fancy, and as weeks and months passed on, they -found him, during the leisure hours of evening, employed in learning -English from his friend. - -As Turkish was the language habitually spoken in the family of Mohammed -Aga and in other places which Hassan’s avocations led him to frequent, -he soon acquired a sufficient knowledge of it to enable him to -understand and converse in it with tolerable fluency. - -During the next three years of our hero’s life he remained in the -employment of Hadji Ismael, who never repented having trusted him -implicitly in every commission with which he had been charged, and had -procured for him a teacher under whose instructions he had learnt to -read Arabic and to write a legible hand; but Hassan, though ready and -quick of apprehension, did not evince any fondness for the study of -books; his pleasures were a ride on the back of a fiery horse or a -crested wave, and listening after sunset to the popular Arab romances of -old, recited by some wandering _ràwi_.[19] - -Of these last he was so fond that he knew many of them by heart. Stories -of princes and princesses in disguise, mingled with the mystery hanging -over his own birth, floated in his imaginative brain, but the mystery -remained unravelled. He had kept the secret confined to his own breast, -never even communicating it to his friend Ahmed; nevertheless from him, -from his father, and from all his acquaintance, he had diligently -inquired into the early history of all the Turkish pashas, beys, and -officers in Alexandria, but no known episode of their lives threw any -light upon the object of his search. His passions were strong and -turbulent, but he generally kept them under the control of a determined -will, and the secret conviction that he was the son of “somebody” -imparted to his character a certain pride and reserve which assorted -better with his form and features than with his outward condition of -life. - -Connected with the mystery of his birth and with the events related in -the wild tales with which he had fed his youthful imagination, was the -image of a lovely princess whom he had clothed with all the attributes -of beauty ascribed by Arab poetry to such damsels; waking or dreaming, -she was constantly before his eyes: he had given her a name, and he -loved this creature of his imagination with all the ardent fondness of a -young and passionate heart. - -If it be true that such visionary dreams of youth are necessarily -followed by disappointment on awaking to the rude realities of life, it -is also true that in some cases, as in his, they preserve those who are -under their influence from the temptations to which that age is exposed. -It is one of the evils of modern education in what we are pleased to -call highly civilised countries to cultivate the understanding at the -expense of the heart. The simplicity, the trusting confidence, the warm -imagination, the love of all that is pure and high and holy, which are -the proper attributes of youth, are sacrificed to what is termed a -practical knowledge of the world, and the result is, that there is now -many a young gentleman at Eton and Oxford who would listen with a sneer -of contempt to a sentiment or a trait of character which would have -drawn a tear of sympathy and admiration from the eye of a Burke or a -Fox, a Pascal or a Newton. - -To return from this digression. Hassan loved his imaginary princess; -nevertheless, like a true lover, he put her in the deepest corner of his -heart, and never spoke of her. - -A short time afterwards Hassan was sent by the Hadji, in company with -Mohammed Aga, to collect a debt of considerable amount due to him in -Damanhour, a large village distant a day’s journey from the city. - -This affair occupied some little time, and might not, perhaps, have been -settled at all had not Mohammed Aga been provided with a handsome -Cashmere shawl and a pretty Damascus handkerchief, in one corner of -which a few gold pieces were secured by a silken cord. The former of -these presents found its way to the Governor, and the latter to his -chief scribe, after which the justice of the claim became as clear as -day, and the debtor was ordered to pay up without delay. - -While this affair was in progress, and Mohammed Aga was busy in the -Governor’s divan, Hassan was one day strolling near the village to pass -the time when his ear was arrested by the sound of female cries and -lamentations. Turning his head to the quarter whence the sounds -proceeded, he saw a man with his hands chained together walking between -two soldiers, who occasionally hastened his steps by blows from the -butt-ends of their muskets. Behind them were two women and two children -screaming at the top of their voices— - -“Oh! mercy, mercy! Oh! my brother! Oh! my husband! Oh! my father! Mercy, -mercy!” - -In front of this lamenting group, and by the side of one of the -soldiers, walked an individual with a paper in his hand, who seemed to -be the man under whose authority the prisoner had been seized, and who -bore the appearance of being one of the _kawàsses_ of the Governor.[20] - -“May your day be fortunate, O Aga,” said Hassan, addressing him in the -Turkish language.[21] “What is the fault of this man, and whither are -you taking him?” - -“Happily met, Aga,” said the _kawàss_, impressed by the commanding -figure of the young stranger. “This vagabond is now nearly two years in -arrears of his taxes due to the Government; his tents are near the edge -of the desert, and we never could find him. Praise be to Allah, I have -got him now, and to-morrow we shall see whether five hundred good blows -on the soles of his feet will help him to find the two thousand piastres -that he owes.”[22] - -The prisoner maintained a dogged silence, never even raising his eyes to -look at the _kawàss_ while speaking; but his wife now rushed forward, -and, throwing herself at Hassan’s feet, cried out— - -“Mercy, mercy, young Aga! I and my children—our sister—we are all -ruined. We have none to depend on but him. The sluices of the canal were -not opened; our lands were dried up. We had no crop; we sold our -animals; everything is gone. Speak to the Governor, young Aga; let him -give us time and we will pay all.” - -Hassan turned aside his head to hide his emotion, for to misery, and to -woman’s misery above all, his heart was soft as a child’s. Recovering -himself, however, in a moment, he turned to the _kawàss_, saying— - -“Would the Governor not excuse or delay the payment of this sum?” - -“Surely not,” said the other decidedly. “His Excellency is very angry -with him for the trouble he has already given: the amount is entered in -the accounts, and it must be paid. You are young, sir, and a stranger -here; you do not know the marvellous power of the sticks in bringing to -light hidden money; they are more powerful than the rods of the Cairo -magicians.” - -“By Allah!—by the life of your mother!” screamed the poor woman, still -at Hassan’s feet, “we have nothing; they may kill us, but we have no -money to give. For weeks past we have seen no bread, and eaten nothing -but a few dates. We are miserable, O Aga!—look at us—mercy, mercy!” The -emaciated appearance of the whole family bore witness to this part of -the woman’s statement. - -“My friend,” said Hassan, turning to the _kawàss_, “I know a merchant in -Damanhour who will perhaps advance this money, and take a bond for -repayment in one or two years. Promise me that you will not report this -man’s seizure till to-morrow at noon: the Governor will be better -pleased with your zeal if you are then able to present him with the -money required than if you beat the man to death without perhaps -obtaining a third of it. Promise, then, that you will wait till -to-morrow at noon.” - -“I will wait as you desire,” replied the _kawàss_; “and if you come to -the guard-house where this fellow will be confined, ask for Ibrahim the -_kawàss_.” - -During all this time the eyes of the unhappy wife were fixed upon -Hassan’s countenance with an expression of intense anxiety. She had not -understood a syllable of the conversation that had passed between him -and the _kawàss_, but instinct taught her that in some way he was -befriending her husband’s cause; and as the latter moved on with his -guards, she continued to overwhelm him with blessings and prayers -mingled with tears. - -“Be of good cheer,” he said to her, now speaking in his own language. -“Inshallah! all will yet go well. Meanwhile take this, and buy some -bread this evening for your children and yourselves;” and as he spoke he -slipped a piece of silver into her hand and turned hastily away. - -When the poor woman heard herself addressed in the deep and -not-to-be-mistaken tones of a Bedouin Arab, and felt the money, surprise -and gratitude deprived her for a moment of the powers of speech; and -Hassan was already at some distance when she recovered them, and -throwing herself into her sister’s arms, she exclaimed— - -“He will save us!—he will save us!—he is not a Turk!—why did I call him -Aga?—he is of the Sons of the Tent[23]—surely my husband and he have met -before in the desert and been friends—he will save us—the blessing of -Allah be on his head!” - -That same evening, at sunset, Mohammed Aga and Hassan were smoking their -pipes and drinking their coffee in front of their lodging, when the -former said to his companion— - -“Inshallah! we will return in a day or two to Alexandria. Our affair is -proceeding well: I have collected half the money, and the remainder is -to be paid to-morrow.” - -Hassan made no direct reply to this address, but after a pause of a few -minutes he abruptly asked the chief clerk— - -“Do you remember how much of my salary is still due to me, in your -hands?” - -“Assuredly I do, my son,” said the methodical clerk. “At the beginning -of the year the arrears of salary, added to what the Hadji allowed of -percentage on purchases, amounted to four thousand piastres (£40); then -at the feast you sent a present of a bale of tobacco and a Persian -dagger to your father the Sheik, two pieces of Syrian silk and some -embroidered napkins to your mother, two pieces—” - -“Enough, enough!” interrupted Hassan, distressed at this enumeration of -the mementoes which he had sent to his foster-parents; “how much -remained after these presents were paid for?” - -“They cost fifteen hundred piastres; so you still have two thousand five -hundred left.” - -“That is well,” said Hassan. “I want that money here. Will you give it -me, Mohammed, and repay yourself from the chest in Alexandria?” - -“The boy is mad,” said the old clerk, opening his eyes wide with -astonishment. “By the head of your father, tell me for what purpose can -you require all that money at once, here at Damanhour? Are you going to -buy beans and wheat for the market?” - -“No,” replied Hassan, with some confusion, “it is not my trade to -purchase grain; but indeed I require that money, and hope you will let -me have it.” - -“Allah-Allah!” said the old clerk, as a sudden suspicion shot across his -mind, “you have seen some Damanhour girl who has set your heart on fire! -The songs tell us that the girls are famed for their beauty here: you -have seen a moon-faced one behind a curtain, and you are going to be -married! Wallah-Billah! brimstone and tinder are like wet clay when -compared to the heart of a youth.” - -“Indeed,” said Hassan, laughing, “I have seen no moon-faced houri here, -and I have no thoughts of marriage.” He added more gravely, “I want the -money for a purpose which I cannot tell you, though if I did you could -not disapprove it.” - -Mohammed Aga, seeing that opposition was useless, and feeling that he -had in truth no right to keep back from Hassan what was his own, counted -out the money to him the same evening, and took his receipt, to be -presented to Hadji Ismael. - -The following morning, about three hours after sunrise, when Hassan had -made sure that the chief clerk was busily employed in the Governor’s -divan, he bent his steps to the guard-house, and on asking for Ibrahim -the _kawàss_, was at once admitted to the presence of that important -official. - -After the customary salutations, Hassan informed him that the merchant -to whom he had yesterday alluded had agreed to advance the money, and -that he was now prepared to pay the two thousand piastres due by the -Arab, on receiving a discharge in full for the debt, sealed by the -proper officer in the divan. - -“That is easily done,” said the _kawàss_; “take a pipe and a cup of -coffee, and in five minutes the paper will be here.” - -Having given the requisite instructions to one of his subordinates, he -resumed the conversation with Hassan upon general topics, it being -indifferent to him to know what merchant in Damanhour could be so -foolish as to advance money of which he would never be repaid a -farthing. - -In a few minutes the messenger returned, bringing a paper bearing the -seals of the treasurer and chief scribe of the Governor’s divan, and -setting forth that Abou-Hamedi, of the Gemeâl tribe, having discharged -all the taxes and charges due by him up to date, was free to return to -his place of abode. - -Hassan having paid the money and placed the document in his girdle, -inquired of the _kawàss_ where the prisoner was confined, and whether he -could see him alone. - -“He is in the room at the back of that small yard,” replied the -_kawàss_, “where you see the sentry walking before the door. I will tell -him to open it and come away, as his service is no longer required. You -will not find the Arab alone, because, as you had taken an interest in -him, I allowed his family to remain with him.” - -“May your honour increase and your days be long,” said Hassan, saluting -him, and going towards the door of the cell, which the sentry, by desire -of the _kawàss_, opened, and then came away. - -On entering the chamber, Hassan found that it was more spacious than he -had expected, and was partially lighted by two apertures near the roof, -secured by cross-bars of iron. The place being considered sufficiently -secure, the manacles had been removed from the hands of the Arab, and he -was seated on the floor, his sister and wife beside him, and his -children at his feet. - -No sooner did Hassan enter the room than the wife sprang from her -sitting posture, crying aloud— - -“It is he! it is he! we shall be saved yet.” - -Abou-Hamedi also arose, and all the rest of the family came crowding -towards Hassan. The Arab, who had been informed the preceding evening by -his wife of our hero’s generous intentions, as well as of his having -provided them with the bread on which they had supped, now expressed to -him with much emotion the gratitude which he felt for the sympathy he -had shown him. - -“You are of the desert blood,” he said; “and whether Allah give success -to your endeavours or not, you have our thanks.” - -“Brother, you are free,” said Hassan; “free as the winds of the desert. -Here is the Government receipt for your debt, and as you have been -stripped of all, and must have something wherewith to recommence your -toil for a livelihood, here are five hundred piastres; put them in your -girdle. Fate is uncertain, Allah only is enduring; I am now rich, some -day I may be poor and you rich, then you may repay me.” - -Words cannot paint the tumultuous joy of the poor women as they crowded -to kiss the hands and feet of Hassan, calling every blessing of heaven -on his head. The wife, however, on looking at her husband’s countenance -as he almost mechanically took the document and the money which Hassan -placed in his hand, was frightened at its strange and wild expression; -no word of satisfaction or gratitude escaped from his lips as, seizing -Hassan by the arm, he drew him to a part of the cell where a stray -sunbeam forced its way through the barred aperture; when it fell on -Hassan’s face, the Arab, scanning his features with eyes almost starting -from their sockets, said— - -“Years have passed; the youth has become a man; the eye, the voice, the -form are only his! Speak,” he continued, almost savagely; “do you -remember one who strove to stab you in the Meidàn of Alexandria, and -whom you threw to the ground by a wrestling trick? ’Twas I! and had you -known me yesterday, instead of giving me money and freedom, you would -have gone to that cursed Turk’s divan to feast your eyes with a sight of -my mangled feet.” So saying, he dashed the paper and the money furiously -on the ground. - -“Brother,” replied Hassan gravely, “I knew you yesterday at the first -glance as well as you know me now. You were in misfortune and misery, -and all that had passed before was forgotten.” - -The evil passions struggled for the mastery in that wild breast: it was -but for a moment; the sight of his children and of the paper which -secured his freedom called up the better feelings of his rude nature, -and casting himself into Hassan’s arms, he wept like a child. - -Without having read or heard of the Scriptures, the generous impulse of -Hassan’s heart had taught him how to “heap coals of fire on the head of -an enemy”; and the deadly hatred which Abou-Hamedi had entertained -against him since the day of their first meeting was melted in a moment. - -It was difficult for Hassan to tear himself away from the overflowing -gratitude of the Arab’s family. One only, the unmarried sister, had -preserved a continuous silence, as became her condition; but she looked -upon her brother’s preserver with eyes swimming in tears, and when he -bade them farewell and left the room, she felt as if life and sunshine -had departed with him. - -Little did Abou-Hamedi know when he thrust into his girdle the five -hundred piastres given him by Hassan, that the latter had not even a -dollar left. He had said, “I am rich,” and in truth rich he was—rich in -youth, and strength, and hope—rich in the esteem and affection of his -employer—above all, rich in the possession of a heart which felt in -giving his all to relieve distress a pleasure unknown to the miser who -has found a treasure. - -Hassan remained outside the guard-house talking to the _kawàss_ on -various subjects until he had seen Abou-Hamedi and his family clear of -its precincts, and retiring in the direction of the desert. The Arab, -looking back once at the figure of his preserver, muttered to himself: -“Allah preserve you, brave youth. If ever you meet Abou-Hamedi again -when you are in need, you shall find that he remembers good as well as -evil; but we will leave this cursed district, where sorrow and tyranny -pursue us; we will go to our cousins who have their tents near -Fayoom.”[24] - -When Mohammed Aga met his young friend in the evening, he asked whether -he had commenced that wonderful speculation which he kept so secret. - -“It is all laid out already,” replied Hassan, smiling. - -“Hasty bargains lead to repentance,” said the old clerk, shaking his -head; “pray, what makseb [profit] do you expect to make?” - -“It has paid me a good interest already, and I am quite satisfied. Do -not ask me any more about it,” said Hassan, looking rather confused, for -concealment was foreign to his nature. - -Mohammed Aga refrained from asking any more questions; but, partly from -curiosity and partly from the interest which he felt in Hassan’s -welfare, he was determined before leaving Damanhour to learn how he had -disposed of his little property. Nor was the task by any means -difficult; for in small towns in the East as well as in the West -everybody knows and talks about everything. The chief clerk, therefore, -had no difficulty on the following day in tracing Hassan to the -guard-house, where he had been seen talking to Ibrahim the _kawàss_. To -find that well-known individual was the work of a few minutes, and a few -more spent with him over a cup of coffee and a pipe drew from him all -that he knew of the transaction, including the release of the Arab -family on Hassan’s paying their debt of two thousand piastres. “You see, -Aga,” added the _kawàss_, concluding his narrative, “it was my duty to -release them when the money was paid, and not to inquire whence it came; -but if you are the merchant whom the young man mentioned as willing to -advance it on any security offered by the Arab, why, I fear——” Here he -looked very significantly at Mohammed, and threw out a long puff of -smoke from his chibouque. - -“Then you think the Arab cannot pay back the money?” inquired Mohammed. - -“Not a dollar of it,” answered the _kawàss_. “The Governor would have -ordered him the bastinado as an example to others, but two bad seasons -have left the poor devil’s purse as empty as my pipe.” So saying, he -shook out its ashes, and left Mohammed to his own meditations. - -“That boy will never have a farthing to bless his grey hairs with! Money -in his hand is like water in a sieve, and yet, and yet,”—here the old -clerk passed the back of his hand across his eyes,—“Allah bless him an -hundredfold.” He walked slowly home, and without saying a word to Hassan -of his meeting with the _kawàss_, he told him that, as the affairs for -which they had come to Damanhour were now settled, they might return to -Alexandria, which they did on the following day. - -The morning after their return Mohammed Aga went to the private room of -the merchant to deliver the money which he had collected, and give a -general account of his mission, in doing which he placed in the Hadji’s -hands Hassan’s receipt for two thousand five hundred piastres. - -“By your head,” said the merchant to his clerk, “tell me what has the -youth done with that money at Damanhour?” - -Mohammed then told him the whole story from beginning to end, as related -by the _kawàss_. - -“And what has he left in your hands?” inquired the merchant, walking up -and down the room in evident emotion. - -“Nothing,” replied the clerk. “Two thousand five hundred piastres were -due to him; two thousand he paid for the liberation of the Arab, and I -doubt not that he gave him the remainder.” - -“Mohammed,” said the merchant, “as he wished to keep this secret, do not -mention it to any one, nor let him know that you have told it to me. If -it were spoken about, it would take from the youth the pleasure he now -derives from it, and what say the traditions of the Prophet (on whose -name be glory and peace!), ‘The good deeds done by the faithful in -secret, He shall reward them openly on the day of judgment.’” - -During Hassan’s short absence from Alexandria an English family of the -name of Thorpe had arrived there—Mr Thorpe being an elderly gentleman of -good fortune and education, whose passion for antiquarian pursuit had -induced him to visit the land of the Pyramids, together with his wife -and their delicate daughter. Mr Thorpe had brought a letter of -introduction to the British merchant, who undertook to procure for him a -dragoman to accompany the family on their excursion up the Nile. A Greek -was recommended, by name Demetri, who possessed a fair smattering of all -the languages spoken in the Levant. - -Foyster, Mr Thorpe’s valet and confidential servant, having approved of -Demetri, he was forthwith engaged. After a short search a dahabiah was -found, which belonged to a pasha absent on service, and who had left -with his wakeel (agent) a discretionary power to let his boat, which was -large and well decorated. The wakeel, being a Greek, was an acquaintance -of Demetri, which rendered the bargaining easy and satisfactory to both -parties. It was agreed that Mr Thorpe was to pay £250 for the six winter -months, the wakeel refunding from that amount £15 to Demetri, and £15 to -Foyster. Mr Thorpe was informed by the English merchant that the charge -was unusually high; but as in those days there was much difficulty in -finding so large and comfortable a boat, the bargain was concluded and -the ratification duly exchanged. - -A few days after, Foyster and Demetri were walking homeward from the -bazaar, where they had been making some purchases for the boat, when -they fell in with Hassan, who was returning towards the house of Hadji -Ismael. - -Hassan was well acquainted with Demetri, who had frequently amused his -leisure hours with tales of the countries he had visited, and the -wonderful feats he had performed, in which latter branch the Greek had -drawn more liberally on his invention than on his memory. The youth had -also seen Foyster at the British merchant’s house, and knew him to be an -attendant on the rich English family, whose approaching excursion up the -Nile was already the theme of general conversation. The place where they -met happening to be immediately in front of a coffee-shop, Demetri -proposed that they should rest for a few minutes and take a cup of -coffee. While they were thus occupied—Demetri’s two companions listening -to his flowery description of the wonders of Upper Egypt—a Moghrebi,[25] -of gigantic and herculean proportions, who had probably been indulging -in a forbidden drink more stimulating than coffee, came up, and his -fanaticism being roused at the sight of Foyster’s dress, he cried out to -him, in an angry voice— - -“Get up, Christian dog, and give me your seat.” - -The valet, not understanding a word, looked at Demetri for an -explanation. The latter, much alarmed, and evidently not desirous of -exhibiting any feat of valour similar to those of which he had often -boasted, said to the Moghrebi— - -“He is a stranger, and does not understand your speech.” - -“Does he not?” replied the other; “then perhaps he will understand -this,” and so saying he kicked the seat from under Foyster with such -force that the latter fell backwards on the ground. - -While this was being enacted, Demetri whispered to Hassan— - -“Let us make haste to get away from this place. That is the noted -_pehlivan_.[26] He carries four men on his shoulders; he is an -elephant.” - -“Why do you insult the stranger, and kick his seat from him?” said -Hassan to the Moghrebi. “He offered you no offence.” - -“Offence!” replied the Moghrebi scornfully; “his presence is an offence. -Is he not a dog of an infidel?” - -“There is no God but Allah, and Mahomet is his prophet,” said Hassan. -“Those who are ignorant of the truth are to be pitied; but our lord -(Mohammed Ali) has made friends with these Franks. They buy and sell -here in peace, and it is not right to strike or insult them without -cause in our streets.” - -“And who are you, youngster, who dare to preach to me?” said the athlete -contemptuously. “Are you perhaps a sheik, or a mollah, or a kâdi?” - -“I am a man, and I fear not a wise one, for wasting my words upon an ox -without understanding,” replied Hassan, his eyes kindling with anger. - -“You are a bastard (Ebn-Haram),” shouted the athlete; “and if you had -half a beard I would spit upon it.” - -Hearing this abusive epithet now applied to him before a score of -spectators, Hassan’s fury was no longer to be controlled. Springing upon -the Moghrebi with the bound of a tiger, he seized him by the throat, and -a fearful struggle ensued. - -Although the athlete was the heavier and more bulky man, it soon -appeared that Hassan was his equal in strength, and far his superior in -activity. After a contest of some minutes, in which each displayed a -complete mastery of all the sleights of wrestling, Hassan succeeded in -passing his hand under the leg of his gigantic opponent, and lifting him -fairly in his arms, dashed him with terrific force on the ground. Hassan -stood for a moment looking on his fallen opponent, from whose mouth and -nostrils flowed a stream of blood. The people from the coffee-shop now -crowded round him: some threw water on his face, and in a short time he -recovered sufficiently to raise himself up; but he was in no condition -to renew the struggle, and Hassan walked away with his two companions, -followed by the ejaculations of the bystanders—“Mashallah! -wonderful!”—the greater part of them being rejoiced at the discomfiture -of the athlete, who was indeed a notorious brawler and bully. - -The preparations of the dahabiah were now nearly completed. It had been -found, however, that after all she was too small to accommodate all the -party with comfort, so a second of a smaller size had been hired. - -It was about this time that, after receiving a letter from Cairo, Hadji -Ismael sent one morning for Hassan and told him that a new commission -had arrived, in the execution of which his assistance would be -requisite. - -“Upon my head and eyes be it,” said the youth. - -“I have received a letter from my friend Ali Pasha, commonly called Delì -Pasha;[27] he tells me that our lord, Ibrahim Pasha, saw the horses -which I sent to Constantinople two or three years ago, and was so much -pleased with them that he gave great praise to his servant (me), saying -that no horse commission had been so well executed as this. Our lord -Ibrahim Pasha has now desired Delì Pasha to write to me and find out who -purchased these horses for me, and if possible to send the person up to -Cairo, where his services are much required. Now, Hassan, as you had the -chief trouble and merit of that purchase, I propose to send you to Delì -Pasha on this matter. It may open you a way to fortune.” - -“You are my uncle,”[28] replied Hassan; “and I am ready to go where you -wish, and my fortune is in the hand of Allah.” - -“Nay, my son,” said the good merchant; “it is bitter to my heart to part -with you, but you know that it is not consistent with the circumstances -of your birth and early youth that you should remain always in this -town: you do not wish to go to Cairo? Perhaps, by the blessing of Allah, -you may learn things there which concern your happiness?” - -Hassan saw at once that his foster-father had communicated to the Hadji -some of the mysterious circumstances attending his early childhood, so -he replied— - -“It is true that I have a weight on my heart, and if I could remove it -by a journey to Cairo, it would be a blessed journey indeed.” - -“You would seek for a father; is it not so?” said the Hadji. - -“It is so,” replied Hassan. “I have made search and inquiry in -Alexandria without success; but I am sure I shall find him, for I have -taken a _fal_ in the Koran,[29] and the words that I found were, ‘The -faithful who seek shall not be disappointed in their hope.’” - -“Inshallah! your hope will be fulfilled!” replied the merchant. “Have -you anything with you by which a parent, if found, could recognise you?” - -Hassan undid his long girdle, and from its inmost folds produced the -relics given him by his foster-mother. The merchant examined them -attentively. - -“These would be sufficient,” he said, “to identify you; but, Hassan, if -you go to Cairo, remember that there are many accidents by water and by -land; you might be robbed, and could never replace them. You had better -leave some of them with me; I will keep them for you in my iron chest; -whenever you require them, you can send for them.” - -Hassan acquiesced in the proposal of his kind patron, and reserving only -the quaintly devised amulet, he gave up the remainder, receiving from -the merchant a paper describing them accurately and bearing the -merchant’s seal. - -The worthy Hadji was grieved to part with his _protégé_, for whom he -entertained an affection almost paternal; but having resolved to do so -for the youth’s own advantage, his chief anxiety now was to furnish him -well for the journey. For this purpose he desired Mohammed Aga to -procure a pair of stout saddlebags, into which he put two complete suits -of clothes, and also two small Cashmere shawls; with respect to these -last the Hadji whispered, “You need not wear these unless you find a -father in some great man, but they may be useful to you as presents.” He -gave him also a sword of excellent temper, a slight but beautifully -worked Persian dagger, and a pair of English pistols: to these he added -a well-filled purse; but observing some hesitation in Hassan’s -countenance, the kind-hearted Hadji added with a smile, “Nay, it is -almost all due to you for past services; but I shall write to Delì Pasha -and inform him that your salary is prepaid for three months from this -date.” Hassan kissed the hand of his benefactor, his heart was too full -for speech, and he could only utter— - -“If I find a father, may he be like Hadji Ismael.” - -Of personal vanity Hassan was as free as from the foibles which usually -attend it; but it cannot be denied that when he walked out in the full -dress and equipment proper to a young Bedouin Sheik, it was with a -prouder step, and the day-dreams concerning his future destiny took a -firmer hold of his imagination. - -“Whither bound, my brother?” called out to him Demetri, on meeting him -near the door of the merchant’s house. “Mashallah! you have the air and -costume of a bridegroom! Who is the moon-faced one whom you have chosen? -By our head, Hassan, it is not well to keep these things secret from -your friends. When is the wedding to take place?” - -“Nay, there is no wedding in the case,” said Hassan, laughing. “The -Hadji is going to send me on a commission to Cairo, and he has given me -this dress and these arms.” - -“May Allah reward him!” said the merry Greek. “To Cairo, said you? Why, -the Fates are propitious. We are going there likewise. Inshallah! we -will go together.” - -“How may that be?” demanded Hassan. “You are going with that rich Frank -family, and I hear that your boat will be so crowded with luggage and -people that there will not be room for a sparrow on board.” - -“Nonsense,” replied the Greek. “There is always room for a friend. The -English servant and I can do as we please, for the old Englishman -troubles himself about nothing so long as he has his books and a few old -bricks and tiles to look at.” - -“Bricks and tiles!” said Hassan. “Why, is he going to build a house in -Upper Egypt?” - -“No; but by my father’s head, he is mad about old bricks. The other day -he made me go with him all round the mounds near Pompey’s Pillar, and he -brought back with him nearly an ass-load of fragments of stone, bricks, -and pottery.” - -“Wonderful!” said Hassan. “But why do you think the English servant -would be willing to give me a passage in the boat?” - -“Why,” replied Demetri, “because ever since the day that you threw down -the Moghrebi bully who had kicked his seat from under him, he does -nothing but talk of you. Never fear; he will be delighted to have your -company; and we will tell the old gentleman that if we have you on -board, all the thieves and robbers within twenty miles of the bank will -disappear as by magic.” - -“Nay,” said Hassan, laughing; “do not tell him anything that might lead -him to think me a boasting fool. But you certainly may tell him that if -he gives me a passage, and any danger or trouble occurs, I shall be -ready to tender the best service in my power.” - -On this they parted, and Demetri communicated the plan the same day to -the valet, who relished it extremely, being well satisfied to have by -him in case of need a stouter heart and arm than that with which -Providence had blessed the Greek interpreter. They proceeded together to -Mr Thorpe, and explained to him the advantages to be derived from the -proposed addition to their party. - -“But,” said Mr Thorpe, “I fear we have no cabin vacant.” - -“Cabin!” echoed Demetri. “Does your excellency think that a son of the -desert like him would go into a cabin? No, no. With his _bornoos_ -[cloak] over him, and his _khordj_ [saddle-bags] under his head, he will -sleep like a prince on any part of the deck.” - -Mr Thorpe having no other objection to make, and the ladies being -curious to see the hero of Foyster’s narrative, no further persuasion -was requisite, and Hadji Ismael, on his part, was heartily glad that his -young _protégé_ had found so convenient and easy a conveyance to Cairo. - -It was with sincere and mutual regret that Hassan parted with Mohammed -Aga and his son Ahmed, who had shown him such invariable kindness during -the three or four years that he had spent in Alexandria. But “destiny -had written it,” and it is wonderful to see the composure with which -good Mussulmans resign themselves even to the heaviest misfortunes with -that phrase on their tongue. - -The chief clerk, in bidding adieu to Hassan, put a letter into his hand. -“Take this, my son,” he said. “It is addressed to Ahmed Aga, the -_mirakhor_[30], and favourite Mameluke of Delì Pasha. I have known him -long, and I trust he will be a good friend to you.” - -Hassan in quitting the merchant’s house left universal regret behind -him. Even the old Berber _bowàb_ [porter] said, “Allah preserve him. He -was a good youth. Every Bairam he gave me a dollar, and if I was half -asleep and kept him at the door, he never cursed my father.” - -On a fine autumnal day, about the middle of October, the Thorpe party -embarked on the dahabiahs destined to convey them on their Nile -expedition. The boats were moored to the banks of the Mahmoudiah canal, -just opposite the pleasant and shady garden then occupied by Moharrem -Bey, a relation of the Viceroy’s by marriage. - -As donkey followed donkey, and porter followed porter to the place of -embarkation, the active Greek distributed the packages in their several -places; but the space and his patience were wellnigh exhausted by their -variety and multitude. There were Mr Thorpe’s clothes and books and -measuring instruments, and a box of tools for excavation. Then endless -boxes and books and other sundries, the greater part of which Demetri -considered as useless, were all to be added to the well-filled hampers -of wine, spirits, tea, sugar, preserves, pickles, and a thousand other -things with which his assiduity and Mr Thorpe’s guineas had filled every -available bunker and corner of the boats. - -Hassan had gone down early to the place of embarkation, not knowing the -hour at which the start was to take place; so Demetri availed himself of -this circumstance to make him his lieutenant, in urging the porters and -the sailors to hasten the stowage of the multifarious baggage. - -“By your head, Hassan, you are welcome!” cried the busy Greek; “had you -not come, we should not have finished this work to-day, for these -fellows are asses and the sons and grandsons of asses. Here—here, you -blind dog!” shouted he to a sturdy fellow who was carrying a hamper into -the smaller dahabiah, “did I not tell you to put that in the large -boat?” - -Here he paused, and said in an undertone to Hassan— - -“Mr Foyster and I keep the wine-store in this boat, to have it under our -own eye. The tutor and the young gentleman are in the small boat, and -they cannot require wine.” - -“If they are to study,” replied Hassan, smiling, “I doubt not that Nile -water would be better for them; but you should know better than I, who -am not a student or a drinker of wine.” - -“That is the only fault you have, my lad,” said Demetri; “there is -nothing like wine to open the heart and brighten the eye. Oh! you pig,” -shouted he to another burly fellow going towards the cabin door; “are -you going to carry that _kafass_ full of fowls into the ladies’ sleeping -cabin?” So saying, he jumped upon the luckless porter, and with a few -smart blows of his courbatch sent him forward with his chicken-load. - -With the assistance of Hassan, Demetri contrived to get the multifarious -boxes into something like order and arrangement by the time that a cloud -of dust and the braying of half-a-dozen donkeys announced the approach -of the Thorpe party. - -Once fairly embarked, the boats, sometimes under easy sail, sometimes -tracked from the shore, wound their slow way along the waters of the -Mahmoudiah. - -The voyage from Alexandria to Atfeh, the point at which the canal joins -the Nile, is of itself dull, and is so familiar, either by experience or -description, to the world in general, that it scarcely merits a separate -notice. Still, as Emily Thorpe kept a journal, as many girls are in the -habit of doing, a few pages therefrom may be transcribed, to give a -further account of the voyage in the dahabiah:— - -“I am surprised to hear that the Mahmoudiah canal, although cut by the -present Viceroy at an enormous cost of money and of human life, through -a country perfectly flat, is as winding in its course as a path through -a labyrinth. On asking Demetri, our dragoman, if he could explain the -cause of this, he answered me by a story—for he has a story ready for -almost every occasion. The very same question, he says, was lately put -to Mohammed Ali by a French engineer travelling through Egypt. The Pasha -said to the engineer— - -“‘Have you ever seen rivers in Europe?’ - -“‘Yes, sir, many.’ - -“‘Are they straight or crooked in their course?’ - -“‘They are generally crooked, sir.’ - -“‘Who made the rivers?’ inquired the Pasha. - -“‘They were made by Allah,’ said the astonished engineer. - -“‘Then, sir,’ concluded the Pasha triumphantly, ‘do you expect me to -know and to do better than Allah?’ - -“The poor engineer had no reply to make to this strange argument, so he -took his leave and went his way. - -“I hope we shall soon see this extraordinary man, who has raised himself -from the position of a subaltern to the viceroyalty of Egypt. He is now -staying at a small country-house that he has built on the banks of the -Nile, about fifty miles above this place. - -“On the first day we had mostly contrary winds, and the tracking a boat -of this size is slower than a snail’s gallop. Hassan having seen some -wild ducks flying over a marsh at no great distance, went in search of -them. In the evening he brought back five or six. But yesterday was our -first adventure. - -“We were sailing up the canal, the breeze being favourable, though very -slight, when at a bend or sharp turn we came suddenly upon a large boat -like our own, coming from Atfeh to Alexandria. Whether owing to a sudden -change of course, or to some mismanagement on the part of one of the -pilots, I know not, but the two boats came together with a fearful -crash. The rigging of both was damaged, and for some minutes the vessels -were locked to each other near the prow, the men being unable to -extricate them. It seemed that the crew of the other boat was far more -numerous than ours, and amongst others I noticed a man dressed in a -military blue frock, who, Demetri told me afterwards, was a _kawàss_ of -the Viceroy. - -“The noise, the yells that ensued, and the volumes of (to me -unintelligible) abuse that were interchanged, baffle all description; -but as no one seemed to think of disengaging the vessels, but all were -bent upon gesticulations which became every minute more hostile, I felt -seriously alarmed. Hassan, who had been sitting in his usual place -behind our divan, seeing my alarm, came up to me and said with a smile -(for he speaks English tolerably well)— - -“‘Do not be afraid, lady; these fellahs make a great deal of noise, but -there is no danger.’ - -“Even as he was speaking, the man in the blue coat, who seemed to be in -a perfect fury, and to be urging his men to board our boat and beat our -crew, caught up a stone or brick, which happened to come within his -reach. Whether he aimed it at Hassan, or the _rais_, or me, I know not, -but it just grazed my head, drawing a little blood from the upper part -of my cheek. - -“Hassan’s countenance changed in a moment; his eyes shone like -lightning; it was terrible to see such concentrated fury in that young -face, so gentle in its habitual expression. Calling the _rais_ to hold -up his large cloak before me to shield me from further harm, he sprang -to the lower deck, and ran forward to the prow where the boat had been -entangled. Before he reached the spot they had become disengaged, I know -not how, and ours was beginning slowly to resume its course; clearing -the intervening space at a bound, he leapt alone upon the deck of the -other boat. There he was met and attacked by a man with what they call -here a _naboot_, a thick heavy stick. Hassan wrenched it from the man’s -grasp, and whirling it round his head, and calling on the others to -stand back, he forced his way to the spot where stood the _kawàss_ who -had thrown the stone; the latter drew his sword, but Hassan’s blow fell -with such terrific force that the sword was shivered, and the man fell -senseless on the deck. - -“We could see that four or five of the boat’s crew struck at Hassan and -grappled with him, endeavouring to throw him down and bind him, but he -shook them off by the exertion of his tremendous strength, and plunging -overboard into the canal swam to the opposite bank; two of the boat’s -crew jumped in and swam after him, but he reached the shore before them. -He then ran along the bank till he overtook our boat, which was now -going steadily through the water with a fair wind, and plunging into the -canal again, caught a rope thrown to him by our _rais_, and in a minute -was safely on board.” - -The two dahabiahs had passed through the locks of Atfeh, and were just -about to commence their course up the broad stream of the Nile when a -_kawàss_ from the Governor of the town came to the water’s edge and -desired the _rais_ of the larger boat to stay a few minutes, as he had a -message to deliver to the English traveller. - -On being presented to Mr Thorpe, at whose side stood Demetri as -interpreter, the _kawàss_ said he was instructed by the Governor to -desire that an Arab on board, charged with assaulting and beating one of -the servants of the Viceroy, might be given up to him. - -Mr Thorpe, whose experience of Eastern travel was small, but who was at -the same time too humane to think of giving up Hassan to the tender -mercies of the Atfeh authorities, consulted apart with Demetri, and then -replied— - -“Tell the Governor that I have a complaint to make against the captain -and crew of the boat which ran into and damaged mine; and also against -that servant of the Viceroy who, without any right or provocation, threw -a brick at my daughter, which struck her, and might have killed her. I -am now on my way to Cairo, where the rights of the case will be examined -by the English Consul and the Egyptian Government: then if any person in -this boat shall be judged to be in fault he can be punished.” - -The _kawàss_, not having any reply ready to meet this reasonable -proposal, permitted the boats to proceed on their way, and retired to -deliver the message to his principal. - -Unlike the Rhine, the Rhone, and other great rivers in Europe, which -are, as it were, merely beneficial accidents in the countries through -which they flow, the Nile is the creator and perpetuator, as well as the -fertiliser, of the whole soil of Egypt. Wherever its prolific waters -annually irrigate and subside, there spring up in exuberant abundance -the grains and herbs of the field, the flowers and fruits of the garden, -the almond and pomegranate, the fruitful palm, the fragrant orange and -lemon, the cotton-plant and the sugar-cane, and, more frequent than all, -the widespread shade of the sycomore.[31] In Egypt it is unnecessary to -inquire where vegetation ceases and the desert begins: from the -Cataracts to the Mediterranean the answer would be always the -same—whatever spot or line the waters of the Nile can reach there is, or -may be, cultivation; all beyond that line is desert. The feelings of the -party on attaining the fine view of this glorious river were various as -their habits and characters. - -Hassan reclined near the _rais_, reading snatches of his ‘Arabian -Nights,’ and occasionally casting his eyes over the desert sandhills to -the west, endeavouring to recognise among them some spot which he had -passed in his expeditions with the Oulâd-Ali. The boats glided swiftly -forward through the turbid stream under the impulse of a fair and fresh -breeze, their crews seated lazily round the mast, passing their pipe -from mouth to mouth, when Demetri, to whom everything like silence or -quiet was naturally repugnant, came aft and asked Mr Thorpe whether he -would like to hear the crew sing an Arab boat-song. - -Emily’s reply, “Oh! papa, let us hear it by all means!” anticipated and -ensured the old gentleman’s consent. Demetri acted as leader, and beat -the time with a cane in his hand, which he every now and then allowed to -descend pretty sharply on the shoulders of any luckless wight who did -not open his jaws and his throat to the utmost extent at the recurrence -of the burden or chorus which terminated every verse. - -The orchestra consisted of a miserable apology for a kettle-drum (called -in Egypt a _darabooka_) played by a fellow who swayed his head and -shoulders backwards and forwards to the time of the song. The tone was -so strange and its vibrations so shrill as the fellow half shut one eye -and threw up his head sideways to strain his voice to the utmost pitch, -that Emily was fain to put up her handkerchief to her face, to hide the -laugh which she could not resist, and shield her ears from the dissonant -shrillness of the sound. When, however, he came down from these -indescribable counter-tenor heights[32] to a more natural tone, and -Emily was able to follow the cadence of the song, especially of the wild -and irregular chorus which terminated every verse, she began to find it -more tolerable, and afterwards even pleasing in its effect. - -Hassan being called upon by Mr Thorpe to explain the words, felt not a -little confused; for independently of the fact that his knowledge of -English was imperfect, it is certain that these songs of the Nile -boatmen are extremely difficult to translate, sometimes from the -elliptical vagueness of their language, sometimes from its plain and -unveiled indecency; he succeeded, however, in giving the general meaning -of the song, which cast roughly into English rhyme would run as -follows:— - - “O night! O night! O night! you’re better far than day; - O night! O night! O night! the Eastern sky is grey; - O night! O night! O night! a little longer stay; - To the girls of Damanhour speed on our homeward way. - - _Chorus._ - - The girls of Damanhour, like young gazelles at play, - The girls of Damanhour, none half so fair as they. - - “O night! O night! O night! my love is far away, - O night! O night! O night! her form’s a willow spray;[33] - O night! O night! O night! my heart is fallen a prey - To Damanhour eyes, like those of fawn at play. - - _Chorus._ - - Oh the girls of Damanhour, like young gazelles at play; - The girls of Damanhour, none half so fair as they.” - -“Are the ladies of Damanhour so fair as they are described?” inquired -Emily. - -“I know not,” replied Hassan, smiling, “for I was never there excepting -once or twice, and then only for a day or two; but I doubt their beauty, -lady, for what are they but fellahs? Doubtless the song was written by -some Damanhour rhymer, and we have a proverb in Arabic, ‘My children are -fairer than yours,’ said the crow to the parrot.” - -“Do you despise the fellahs, Hassan?” said Mr Thorpe. - -“Despise them! No,” replied the youth (his countenance betraying the -pride which his tongue disavowed); “Allah made them, and they are good -to cultivate the ground—nothing more. The ox and the donkey are useful -animals, but neither is an Arab horse.” - -On the following day the dahabiahs continued their course up the Nile -without accident or adventure, when, as they reached a bend in the river -called Zauràt-el-Bahr, the party assembled on their decks saw before -them at the distance of a few miles a number of tents, horsemen, and -other indications of a large encampment. - -On interrogating the _rais_, Mr Thorpe learnt that from these -indications the presence of Mohammed Ali in person might certainly be -inferred, he having built near that spot a small country-house, to which -he occasionally resorted while inspecting the canals and other -improvements which he had recently ordered to be made in the province of -Menoufiah. - -As the dahabiahs drew near the encampment, and Mr Thorpe was doubting -whether he could gratify the curiosity he had long felt to see the -celebrated founder of the new Egyptian dynasty, a six-oared boat, with -an officer in the stern-sheets, darted out from the bank and was -alongside in a moment. Stepping on deck with a polite salute, he said he -believed that he had the pleasure of seeing the English lord who had -lately come up from Alexandria on his way to Cairo.[34] - -Demetri having been desired to reply in the affirmative, the officer -continued— - -“The Viceroy has heard of your coming, and orders me to say that he -hopes you will not find it inconvenient to remain here to-night, and to -breakfast with his Highness to-morrow morning, with all your party.” - -Mr Thorpe having desired Demetri to accept the invitation on his part -with due acknowledgments of the Viceroy’s courtesy, the Greek made a -most flowery speech upon the occasion, the half of which, at least, was -of his own invention. It conveyed, however, the required acceptance; and -the officer having withdrawn, the boats were made fast to the shore, a -few hundred yards from the garden attached to the Viceroy’s villa. -Guards were sent down to protect them from thieves during the night, and -half-a-dozen sheep, fifty fowls, and several baskets of fruit were sent -on board by his Highness’s order. - -Mr Thorpe and all his party were pleasantly surprised at the agreeable -opportunity thus offered by the Viceroy’s unexpected courtesy of seeing -one whom they justly considered as a celebrity of his time. Mr Thorpe, -though believing that the Viceroy’s invitation had been specially -intended to include the ladies, sent Demetri on shore, desiring him to -ascertain the point from one of the chamberlains. Demetri returned with -a message that, as Mr Thorpe was accompanied by his wife and daughter, -the Viceroy hoped to be honoured by their presence at breakfast. - -On the following morning, at the appointed hour, an officer and several -servants of the Viceroy’s household came down to the boats to conduct -the party to his Highness’s presence, Demetri accompanying them in his -capacity of dragoman. Mrs Thorpe and Emily had not omitted to follow the -advice given them by the British Consul in Alexandria, and on landing -from their boat they each wore a thick green veil over their face. The -precaution was not unnecessary, for they had to pass through a great -crowd of soldiers, Mamelukes, and attendants, all of whom stared with -eager curiosity at the Frank ladies, whose dress and appearance -presented a novelty to Egyptian eyes. - -On reaching the villa, after passing through an antechamber, at the door -of which were two sentries with musket and bayonet, they came to a silk -curtain fringed with gold. The conductor raised it, and they found -themselves in the presence of Mohammed Ali. - -At the period of our tale Mohammed Ali was at the high tide of his -personal and political career. Though upwards of fifty-five years—the -latter half of them spent in constant warfare or intrigue—had passed -over his head, they had not impaired either the energy of his mind or -the activity of his frame. - -All opposition to his government had been subdued: the scattered -remnants of the Mameluke beys whom he had overthrown were fugitives in -remote parts of the Soudan. The Divan at Constantinople had found itself -compelled to treat him rather like an independent ally than a powerful -vassal. Nubia, and the countries fertilised by the White and the Blue -Nile, had submitted to his arms. He had restored the holy cities, Mecca -and Medina, to the dominion of the Sultan, and had brought under -subjection the warlike and independent tribes of Arabia—the sands of -whose desert fastnesses had never before been trodden by the foot of a -foreign invader. Even the dreaded Wahabees, the terror of whose fanatic -arms extended across the Arabian peninsula from the Red Sea to the -Persian Gulf, had been unable to oppose any effectual resistance to his -well-disciplined troops. Their great chief, Souhoud, had fallen. -Deraiah, his capital, in the wild recesses of the Nejd, had been taken -and plundered, and his son and successor, Abdallah, with all his family, -had graced as captives the conqueror’s triumph in Cairo. - -After all these successes in foreign and domestic warfare, he turned his -attention to the improvement and development of his acquired dominions; -and in these pursuits evinced the same energy, if not always the same -sagacity, that had marked his military career. His first object was to -free the valley of the Nile from the depredations of the Bedouins on the -bordering deserts; and having learnt from experience the difficulty, not -to say the impossibility, of chastising the incursions of their flying -squadrons with his regular troops, he adopted the plan of weakening them -by division among themselves. With this view he cultivated the -friendship of the chiefs of several of the more powerful tribes, whom he -gained over to his interest by timely donations of money, dresses of -honour, and land for the pasturage of their flocks; in return for which -favours they were ready at his call to pour forth their numerous -horsemen in pursuit of any predatory bands of other Bedouin tribes who -ventured to make hostile incursions into his territory. By this prudent -adoption of the well-known principle of “divide et impera,” he had -succeeded in so far weakening their general power that the cultivated -provinces in Egypt already enjoyed a state of comparative tranquillity. - -This object attained, he turned the energies of his active mind to the -increase of his revenue; and not satisfied with those resources of -agriculture which nature has indicated to be the chief if not the only -wealth of Egypt, he already thought of rivalling at Boulak the silks of -Lyons, the looms of Manchester, and the foundries of Birmingham. It was -while his head was full of these projects, in the prosecution of which -machinery of every kind was daily pouring into the country, that he -received the visit of Mr Thorpe and his party. - -At the time of their entrance he was seated on a divan in the corner of -the room farthest from the door, and beside him stood a middle-aged man -whom they conjectured to be his dragoman. He rose from his seat and -received them with the polite urbanity for which he was distinguished, -and motioned to the ladies to take their seats on the divan. Chairs -having been prepared, the one nearest to his person was appropriated to -Mr Thorpe. While the first compliments were being exchanged, and the -coffee was handed round in small cups of enamel studded with diamonds, -they had full leisure to examine the features and appearance of the -conqueror and regenerator of the land of the Pharaohs. - -Although below the average height, his active and firmly knit form was -well calculated for the endurance of the fatigues and exertions which -his restless mind imposed upon it. On his head he wore a fez or cap, -around which was wound a fine Cashmere shawl in the shape of a turban; -for he had not yet adopted the tarboosh, which forms at present the -unsightly head-dress of Turks and Egyptians. His forehead was high, -bold, and square in its outline, subtended by shaggy eyebrows, from -beneath which peered out a pair of eyes, not large, but deep-set, -bright, and singularly expressive; when in anger, they shot forth fiery -glances which few could withstand, and when he was in mirthful mood, -they twinkled like stars. His nose was straight, with nostrils rather -wide; his mouth well-shaped, though somewhat broad, while beneath it a -massive chin, covered by a beard slightly grizzled by age, completed a -countenance on which the character of a firm, determined will was -indelibly stamped. He was dressed in a pelisse lined with fur, in the -front of which protruded from his Cashmere belt the diamond-studded hilt -of a dagger. Large loose trousers, and a pair of red slippers, according -to the fashion of the day, completed his costume, whilst on the little -finger of a hand small and delicate as that of a woman shone a diamond -of inestimable value. - -After the interchange of the usual complimentary speeches and -inquiries—such as, “Whether Mr Thorpe liked what he had seen of Egypt”; -“Whether they proposed ascending the Nile as far as the First Cataract,” -&c.—which the Viceroy’s interpreter translated into French, breakfast -was announced. On his Highness leading the way into the adjoining -apartment, they were surprised at seeing a table laid out in the -European fashion, with the unexpected luxuries, not only of knives and -forks, but likewise of chairs and snow-white napkins. The dragoman stood -behind his master’s chair, and Emily was rather confused at finding that -the chief part of the conversation fell to her share—on account of her -speaking French much more fluently than her parents. The Pasha was much -pleased at this, for he was devoted to the fair sex. - -With the exception of a pilau, and one or two Turkish dishes of pastry -and sweetmeats, there was nothing to distinguish the breakfast from one -served in Paris. As soon as it was concluded, and the fingers of the -guests had been duly purified by rose-water, poured from a silver-gilt -vase, they returned to the reception-room and resumed their former -places. Scarcely were they seated than there entered a row of -well-dressed young Mamelukes, each bearing before him a long pipe, with -a mouthpiece of amber, ornamented with diamonds, which they presented to -all the guests, as well as to the Pasha. Of course neither of the ladies -had ever held a pipe between their lips, and Mr Thorpe was as guiltless -of tobacco as they were. The Pasha smiled, and told them, through his -interpreter, that it was intended as a compliment, but the acceptance of -it was optional. - -Mrs Thorpe absolutely declined; but Emily took the pipe, and putting the -pretty amber between her pretty lips, and making believe to smoke, -pouted so prettily that the Viceroy heartily wished she were a -Circassian that he might buy her on the spot. Mr Thorpe, wishing to be -particularly civil, took two or three _bonâ-fide_ puffs at the pipe, the -result of which was that he was nearly choked, and his eyes filled with -tears. - -The attendants having retired, the conversation on general topics was -resumed; and the Viceroy explained to Mr Thorpe some of the projects -then floating in his active brain for introducing various branches of -manufacturing industry into Egypt. In reply Mr Thorpe, who, although by -no means a political economist, was a man of plain good sense, pointed -out to his Highness the difficulties that he would obviously have to -encounter from the want of hands (the agricultural population of Egypt -not being sufficient to cultivate the arable soil), and also from the -absence of the two most important elements of manufacturing -industry—iron and coal. - -“Ah!” said the Pasha, laughing; “I know all that; I shall have -difficulties; what can be done without difficulty? All my life I have -been contending against them; I have always overcome them, and, -Inshallah, I will do so still! Did you see,” he added, with increased -animation, “a canal that joins the Nile a few miles northward of this -spot?” Mr Thorpe had noticed it, but had not thought of inquiring -whither it led. “Well, then,” continued the Pasha, “that canal leads to -a large village in the middle of the Delta, from which and from the -neighbouring provinces it brings the produce down to the Nile. How do -you think I made that canal? You shall hear. Two years ago I stopped -here on my way to Cairo from Alexandria, and having determined to make a -canal from the Nile to that village, I sent for the chief engineer of -the province, and having given him the length, breadth, and depth of the -canal required, I asked him in what space of time he would undertake to -make it. He took out his pen and his paper, and having made his -calculations, he said that if I gave him an order on the Governor of the -province for the labour he required, he would undertake to finish it in -a year. My reply was a signal to my servants to throw him down and give -him two hundred blows of the stick on his feet. This ceremony being -concluded, I said to him, ‘Here is the order for the number of labourers -you may require; I am going to Upper Egypt, and shall come back in four -months; if the canal is not completed by the day of my return, you shall -have three hundred more.’” - -In relating this story the Pasha’s eyes sparkled, and he almost jumped -from his sitting posture with excitement, as he added, rubbing his -hands, “By Allah! the canal was completed when I returned.”[35] - -The Viceroy having enjoyed for a few moments the recollection of his -successful engineering, turned to Mr Thorpe and said, with a graver air— - -“I am sorry to have to speak on a disagreeable subject, but a letter has -been brought to me by a horseman from the Governor of Atfeh, in which it -is stated that a portion of the crew of your boat attacked the crew of a -Government boat on the canal, and that they were set on and led by a -young Arab of gigantic size, who nearly killed one of my _kawàsses_.” - -Here Demetri, whose office had hitherto been a sinecure, the translation -having all passed through the Viceroy’s interpreter, thinking it a good -opportunity for displaying his descriptive powers, came forward, and -addressing the Viceroy, said— - -“May it please your Highness, my friend Hassan——” - -“Silence, babbler!” said the Pasha, in an angry voice; “you may speak -when you are spoken to.” So saying, he darted upon the unfortunate Greek -a fiery glance that almost made his heart jump into his mouth. - -“Excuse me,” said the Pasha to Mr Thorpe, recovering himself -immediately, as he observed Demetri steal noiselessly out of the room; -“these servants, especially Smyrniotes, always tell lies, and I desired -to hear the truth of this story from yourself.” - -“I was in the cabin,” replied Mr Thorpe; “but my daughter was on deck -the whole time, and saw all that passed; she can give your Highness a -correct report.” - -“If the young lady will so far favour me, I shall be obliged,” said the -Viceroy. - -Emily then related what had passed with the utmost accuracy. She noticed -that at the pauses of her narrative the interpreter made sundry marks on -a letter which he held in his hand, and also that alternate smiles and -frowns followed each other on the expressive countenance of Mohammed -Ali. When she had ceased speaking he thanked her, and after conversing a -moment with his interpreter, proceeded to ask her a few questions -connected with the letter which he held in his hand. - -“Do you know whether it was by accident or design that the two boats ran -against each other, and if accident, whose fault was it?” - -“I think it was certainly accident, as there had been no quarrel or -cause of quarrel before; whose fault it was I am not able to judge.” - -“Are you sure that your crew did not attack the crew of the other boat -first, with sticks or other weapons?” - -“I am sure that nothing but words had passed on either side until the -_kawàss_ threw the stone or brick.” - -“Did you see him throw it?” said the Pasha, knitting his brows. - -“I saw him certainly, and he very nearly hurt me seriously, as your -Highness may see.” While thus speaking, Emily turned her cheek aside, -and lifting up one of the brown curls, she showed the hurt. - -“Kàhpe-oghlou pezevènk!” said the Pasha, in an angry tone, looking -towards his interpreter. (The words are untranslatable to ears polite, -although they may fall from a Turk fifty times in a day. They may be -rendered in this case, “The infernal scoundrel!”) “One more question,” -he added, “I would beg to ask the young lady. You say that the youth you -call Hassan jumped alone on the deck of the other boat; how many men -might there be on the deck at the time?” - -“I did not count them; there might be eight or ten; some were pulling at -a rope on shore.” - -“And how is it they did not drive him back, and prevent him from -striking the _kawàss_?” - -“I cannot tell; I saw them strike at him on all sides, but it seems they -had not power to stop him, for he reached the _kawàss_, broke his sword, -and beat him down before jumping into the canal.” - -“Ajàib!—wonderful!” said the Viceroy, turning to his dragoman. “What a -tale is this; and if it be true, what dirt have these lying dogs been -eating?” As he spoke, he pointed again to the letter he held in his -hand. - -“The Viceroy is astonished at your tale,” said the interpreter, -addressing Emily; “it differs so entirely from the report sent to him by -the _kawàss_.” - -“I grant that it seems improbable,” said Emily, slightly colouring; “but -as I own that I was very much frightened, if his Highness thinks that I -have stated anything incorrectly, it is easy to know the truth. The -_rais_ of our boat was close beside me all the time, and saw what -passed; let the Pasha send for him and make him relate what he saw.” - -When this was translated to the Viceroy, his eyes sparkled again, and he -said, turning to Mr Thorpe, “The young lady is fit to be a cadi; by -Allah! with your leave, it shall be as she says.” - -“By all means,” replied Mr Thorpe; “let the _rais_ be brought before his -Highness immediately.” - -Demetri, having been sent down to the boat, returned in a few minutes -with the _rais_, whose relation of the circumstances differed in no -essential particular from that made by Emily. - -“Mashallah!” said the Viceroy, “it is wonderful; with Mr Thorpe’s -permission I should like to see and question this youth.” - -Mr Thorpe having signified his acquiescence, Demetri was again sent to -the boat, and soon returned, accompanied by Hassan. - -During the brief absence of Demetri in search of Hassan, the Viceroy had -made further inquiries concerning the latter, in reply to which Mr -Thorpe informed him that the young man had been in the employment of -Hadji Ismael, and was now on his way to Cairo with letters for some -pasha whose name Mr Thorpe did not remember. - -“What, Hadji Ismael, our good Arab merchant?” said the Viceroy. - -“The same,” replied Mr Thorpe. - -Here the Viceroy spoke apart to the interpreter, by whose order an -attendant brought a small box, containing letters, which he placed on -the divan at his Highness’s side. The interpreter, by the Viceroy’s -desire, ran his eye over two or three letters from Alexandria, till he -found the one of which he was in search. He read a passage from it, at -which Mohammed Ali laughed and chuckled immoderately, repeating over and -over again, “Aferin! aferin!” (bravo! bravo!) He then turned to Mr -Thorpe, saying— - -“I wonder whether this can be the same youth as the one mentioned in -this letter, who threw the famous Moghrebi wrestler, Ebn-el-Ghaizi? It -is here written that he was in the employment of Hadji Ismael.” - -“There can be little doubt it is the same youth,” replied Mr Thorpe. “I -have heard the whole story from our English servant. Indeed, it was in -protecting him that Hassan got into a quarrel with the wrestler.” - -“Mashallah!” said the Viceroy, “the youth deserves a reward, for that -vagabond Moghrebi had beaten all the Egyptian wrestlers, and laughed at -our beards.” - -At this moment Hassan reached the door of the apartment, and the Viceroy -having given orders that he should be admitted, he came forward, and -having made the usual obeisance and touched his forehead with the skirt -of the Viceroy’s pelisse, retired a few steps, and drawing himself up to -his full height, awaited his prince’s commands in silence. - -Mohammed Ali had been accustomed from his youth to study the characters -of men from their countenance and bearing, and he now fixed upon Hassan -an eye whose piercing gaze few cared to encounter; but Hassan met it -with a calm and untroubled look. “Mashallah! a noble-looking youth,” -muttered he to himself, after scanning the athletic yet graceful -proportions of the figure before him. He then turned to his dragoman, -saying— - -“That youth is surely not an Arab. Of what race think you he may be?” - -Before the dragoman could reply, Hassan, addressing the Viceroy, said— - -“It is right that your Highness should know that I understand Turkish, -lest you should say anything not intended for my ear.”[36] - -“Ha! ha! I forgot that he had been in Alexandria some years,” said the -Viceroy in a low tone. He then added aloud, “Hassan—for so I hear you -are called—whence do you come?” - -“I was bred in the tents of your friends the Oulâd-Ali,” replied the -youth. - -“A proud and a stubborn set of rogues they are,” muttered the Viceroy in -an undertone. He then continued aloud, knitting his shaggy brows as he -spoke, “You are accused of having struck and nearly killed one of my -_kawàsses_. What have you to say to the charge?” - -“It is true, and he deserved it,” replied Hassan. - -“Deserved it!” repeated Mohammed Ali, his eye kindling with fire. “Do -you dare, youngster, to laugh at my beard, and to correct my servants at -your pleasure?” - -“Mohammed Ali,” said the youth, with manly simplicity, “I have been -taught to venerate and not to laugh at a beard silvered by time. How, -then, should I not honour yours, for I have longed to see you from my -childhood, having heard of your skill and courage in war and your -generosity in peace? But your Highness cannot know and cannot be -answerable for the insolence of all your servants. Had you been where I -was when that cowardly fellow threw a stone at the head of the young -lady beside you, you would not have beaten him—you would have cut his -head off.” - -“By the head of my father!” said the Viceroy, pleased rather than -offended at the unusual boldness of Hassan’s speech—“By the head of my -father! I believe the boy is right. I have heard the whole story from -these strangers and from the _rais_, and though I was prepared to be -angry with you, I now acquit you from blame. Where are you going to in -Cairo, and what commission have you from our good merchant the Hadji?” - -“I am going with a letter from him,” said Hassan, “to Delì Pasha.” - -“Delì [mad], well named,” said the Viceroy. “I can guess; it is about -horses. Have you the letter with you? Let me see it.” - -Hassan with some hesitation withdrew the letter from a small silk bag -which he carried in the folds of his girdle, and handed it to the -Viceroy, who, without the slightest ceremony, opened it, and gave it to -the interpreter to read to him, which he did in a tone audible only to -the Viceroy himself. - -“It is all right,” he said. “Give it back to Hassan, and let him take it -on to Delì Pasha.” - -“Pardon me,” said Hassan; “I cannot receive it so. Delì Pasha might -suspect me of having opened it. Let your Highness’s secretary write in -the margin that it was opened by your order, and reseal it with your -seal.” - -“By Allah!” said Mohammed Ali, “the youth has brains, as well as goodly -limbs. Call the _khaznadâr_.”[37] When that officer entered, the -Viceroy, giving him the letter, whispered a few instructions in his ear, -and he left the room. - -It had not escaped the Viceroy’s quick eye that Hassan had evinced some -awkwardness or constraint in opening the silk bag containing the letter -and replacing it in his girdle, and he said to him— - -“These Frank travellers tell me that, while you were attacking the -_kawàss_ on that boat, you received some blows and a stab from one of -the crew. Is this so?” - -“It is true,” replied Hassan; “but the blows were nothing, and the stab -was of little consequence; the bleeding from it was soon stopped.” - -“Does it hurt you now?” demanded the Pasha. - -“A little,” he replied. “But it is not worth your Highness’s notice.” - -“You are a madcap,” said the Viceroy; “and young blood thinks nothing of -wounds. Raise up your left arm to your head.” - -Hassan tried to obey, but the arm fell powerless at his side. - -“Ha!” said the Pasha, “I knew it was so.” Then turning to his -interpreter, who was also a Doctor, he continued, “Hakim Bashi, take him -into another room and examine his wound, and while you are away let that -Greek come in again to interpret. His tongue will not run so fast now.” - -The Doctor conveyed Hassan to his own apartment, and the conversation -was resumed through the medium of Demetri, who had been so thoroughly -abashed by his first rebuff that he would not risk a second, but -performed his interpreting duties with an accuracy which surprised -himself—for he did not add more than one-third from his own head. - -A quarter of an hour, then half an hour, passed away, and still neither -the Doctor nor his patient returned. Several cups of coffee had been -presented, and nearly an hour had elapsed ere the Hakim Bashi entered -the room alone. - -“Come here!” cried out the impatient Viceroy. “By Allah! your absence -has been long. Where is the youth?” - -“I left him lying on a divan in my room, your Highness, and he must not -be moved for at least twenty-four hours.” - -“Was his hurt, then, so bad?” inquired the Pasha. - -“It was such,” said the Doctor, “that if your Highness had not desired -me to examine and dress the wound, in a few days the amputation of his -arm at the shoulder might have been necessary. I found on the top of the -shoulder a large blue circle, which convinced me that there was -something seriously wrong below. I was obliged to cut it open, and to -cut deep, too. Then I took my probes and began to examine the bottom of -the wound. As the inflammation was great, the pain must have been most -acute; but, my lord, I never saw such a youth. He remained as firm and -unmoved as if he had been made of wood or stone; and in the middle of -the operation he said to me with a smile, ‘Hakim Bashi, Mashallah! what -an eye our Prince has got.’ At last my instrument met with some hard -substance, which, with some trouble, I succeeded in reaching with a -forceps, and I drew it out. It proved to be the point of the dagger with -which he had been stabbed, and which, encountering the bone, had broken -off. Here it is.” So saying, he produced to the Viceroy about half an -inch of the point of a steel dagger. - -“Aferin! aferin!” (bravo! bravo!) said the Viceroy. “Well have you done, -my good Hakim Bashi. The young man will recover the use of his arm now.” - -“Yes, if it be the will of Allah. But he must remain at least -twenty-four hours in the position in which I have placed him. I shall -dress the wound once or twice, and at this hour to-morrow I can tell -your Highness whether he is fit to pursue his journey.” - -“What do you think?” said Mohammed Ali, addressing Mr Thorpe; “if I had -two or three regiments composed of fellows like this Hassan, might I not -march to—any part of the world?” Another termination was on his lips, -but he checked it, and substituted the vague phrase. A slight smile -might have been noticed on the face of the medical interpreter, who well -knew the word that had nearly escaped his chief, although the idea was -not carried into execution until many years had passed. - -“I have travelled in many countries,” replied Mr Thorpe, “and can assure -your Highness that men of the stature, strength, and symmetry of Hassan -are rare everywhere; but your Highness knows better than I do, and has -proved it to the world, that however advantageous to the individual may -be the possession of these qualities, in an army there is nothing but -discipline among the men, and skill in their commander, that can ensure -success.” - -“May your life be long!” said the Viceroy, acknowledging the compliment; -“but now you must tell me what you wish to do, for you see this Hassan -cannot go forward for a day or two. Will you wait for him, or will you -pursue your journey, and I will have him sent on in the first boat that -passes?” - -“Nay,” said Mr Thorpe, “we are not so hurried but that we can wait for a -day; and it would be unkind to leave him behind, as he received his -wound in defending us.” - -“Be it so,” replied the Pasha; “and there is another advantage in your -staying. The Governor of Damietta has written me word that a Christian -_kassis_[38] is coming up the river on his way to the South. They say he -is a very learned man, and has been some years in these countries: -perhaps you might like to join him to your party?” - -“Willingly,” replied Mr Thorpe, “if he arrives in time. Meanwhile, I -will take my leave, having trespassed too much on your Highness’s time.” -So saying, he arose, but the Viceroy would not let him go until he had -made him promise to come again on the morrow to breakfast. - -The Thorpe party returned to their boat, and spent the remainder of the -day in talking over the occurrences of the morning, and in discussing -the character and qualities of the remarkable man whom they had seen for -the first time. - -A few hours later Demetri came into the cabin and stated that the -Viceroy’s interpreter was without, accompanied by a stranger. Orders -having been given for his immediate admission, he came in and said to Mr -Thorpe— - -“I have been charged by the Viceroy to present to you Mr Müller, -concerning whom his Highness spoke to you; and I do it with much -pleasure, as he is a friend of mine, and a most worthy person.” - -The new-comer was apparently about forty-five years of age. His -countenance was intelligent and benevolent, and his complexion, from -long exposure to sun and weather, was tanned almost to the hue of an -Arab. On his head he wore what had once been a German cap, but which, -from the folds of grey serge wrapped around it, might almost pass for a -turban; and his beard, which was bushy and slightly grizzled, fell -nearly half-way to his waist. His outer dress was composed of a long -robe or gaberdine of dark-grey cloth, with loose sleeves, and confined -at the waist by a leathern girdle, from which depended a bag, made from -the skin of an antelope, and containing all the sundries which the good -missionary most frequently required in his long excursions in the forest -and desert. His sandals were of undressed hide, and he had made them -himself; and he carried in his hand a stout staff which he had brought -from the Abyssinian woods, and which had been his constant companion in -many a remote peregrination. - -The two visitors remained some time, and the conversation turned on -Egypt and the wilder regions to the southward, with all of which Müller -seemed so familiar, and described them with so much truthful simplicity, -that the Thorpe party were delighted with him. - -On the following day they returned to breakfast with the Pasha, and were -glad to learn that Hassan had passed a quiet night, and that the -inflammation had so far subsided that he might go on board without risk. - -“I have no fear,” said the medical interpreter, “of any bad consequences -now that you have agreed on going with Müller; he has had so much -experience that he is half a Doctor himself: indeed,” he added, smiling, -“I doubt whether he has not more skill than many who hold the diploma.” - -The breakfast passed as agreeably as that of the preceding day, and -after it Hassan was summoned into the Pasha’s presence. He came in with -his left arm in a sling. His Highness spoke kindly to him, and after -receiving the thanks of the youth for the attention shown to him by the -interpreter, the latter was desired by the chief to reseal and restore -to Hassan the letter from the merchant to Delì Pasha, adding in the -margin that it had been opened by himself, and, in conclusion, he -whispered a few words in his ear, to which the interpreter only replied -by the customary “On my head be it.” - -A few minutes sufficed to execute this order, and when the interpreter -returned the letter to Hassan, he at the same time presented another to -Mr Thorpe, informing him that it contained an order to the Kiahya -Pasha[39] to furnish his party with an escort to the Pyramids, and a -guard while remaining there. His Highness also said that on their return -from Upper Egypt he should probably be at Shoobra,[40] and he hoped they -would come to see him there. - -Mr Thorpe having duly expressed his thanks for his Highness’s -hospitality and kindness, now rose to take his departure, and Hassan -came forward and touched his forehead with the skirt of the Viceroy’s -pelisse; Mohammed Ali looked at him with a smile, and said— - -“Good fortune attend you, Hassan—a mad follower going to join a mad -lord—but you are a good lad, and I am pleased with you.” - -They all retired to their boat, Hassan taking an opportunity before they -left to thank the medical interpreter for the service he had rendered -him in restoring him the use of his arm. - -Our party pursued their way merrily towards Cairo, Mr Thorpe’s -impatience to see his beloved pyramids becoming every hour more -uncontrollable. - -Müller’s _canjah_[41] kept company with them, and it had been agreed -before they started that he should pass the day on board the large boat -and at night sleep on his own; by this means he was enabled every day to -dress Hassan’s shoulder according to the advice given him by the medical -interpreter. - -The voyage was slow, and unaccompanied by incidents of interest to any -excepting our friend Demetri, who daily landed at some village to -purchase milk, fowls, and a lamb for the party; and as he only put them -down in his account at one hundred per cent over the cost price, Mrs -Thorpe, instead of complaining of the charges, only expressed her wonder -at the cheapness of provisions. We shall not be surprised at the good -lady’s satisfaction when we remember that at the period of which we -write one hundred eggs were bought for a piastre,[42] a couple of fowls -for the same amount, and a sheep for five piastres. - -We may here insert a few leaves from Emily’s journal:— - -“We have found the Missionary Müller a great addition to our party; he -is the best, and the queerest, and the cleverest creature I ever beheld; -he really seems to me to know everything. He has travelled a great deal -in Nubia and the adjoining regions, and speaks several of those -barbarous languages. His most constant companion on our boat is Hassan. -I could not resist asking him the other day, after a conversation which -seemed to me to have lasted above an hour, what he could find to -interest him so much in Hassan’s conversation, and whether it was about -fighting and hunting. - -“‘No,’ he replied, with a good-humoured smile, ‘it was about religion.’ - -“‘Religion!’ I exclaimed in astonishment; ‘I can understand that he -should listen to you on such a subject, but I observed that he spoke -more and more vehemently than you did yourself.’ - -“‘True, lady; but I could not blame him, for I attacked, and he -defended, his faith. I had before observed in him so much unselfishness, -modesty, and such a love of truth that I thought it my duty to try if I -might not lead him to the way of truth where we know it to be. With him, -as with all true Mussulmans, it is next to impossible. They have got the -one great undeniable truth—the Unity of God—so indelibly stamped upon -their conviction that any attempt to make them understand, or even -consider, the doctrine of the Trinity is attended with such difficulties -as amount almost to an impossibility! The words with which Hassan closed -our conversation were these: “There is no God but Allah; the days of -fighting the Mushrekin and planting the true faith with the sword are -gone—now we can only pity them.”’ - -“‘Who are the Mushrekin?’ I inquired. - -“‘The term signifies,’ he replied, ‘those who assign a partner; and it -is applied especially to Christians, who, in the estimation of the -Moslem, assign in their doctrine of the Trinity two other persons or -spirits as partners with the Creator.’ - -“‘Whence could Hassan,’ I asked, ‘learn to discuss such subjects; has he -any learning?’ - -“‘He has no learning,’ replied Müller; ‘but he knows his Koran well, and -reads it constantly. He knows not that all which is most valuable in its -moral precepts was taken from our Bible; but his heart is simple, his -faith fixed, and his will strong and determined. There is hardly a tribe -in the deserts of Southern Africa, or in the islands of the Southern -Ocean, where a missionary may not hope for some reward for his labours, -but to convert an honest and believing Mussulman is a task almost -hopeless.’ - -“The following day we continued our course up the Nile, passing by a -number of villages and palm-groves, and towards evening I resumed my -favourite seat on the upper deck, to see the beautiful Egyptian sunset; -the Missionary Müller was by me, and interested me much by descriptions -of the Soudan. Hassan was quite in the stern of the boat, reciting or -chanting in a low voice. I asked Müller if he knew what the young man -was repeating, but he could not catch the words, and said, “It is -doubtless some old Arab legend.” I felt a great desire to hear a -recitation of this kind, and I inquired of the missionary whether he -could prevail upon Hassan to repeat it to us. - -“He got up and made the request. I could see that some hesitation and -difficulties arose; but they were soon overcome, and Müller returned, -bringing with him Hassan, who sat down in his old place between me and -the _rais_. Müller said to me— - -“‘Hassan desires the young lady to be informed that he is not a _ràwi_ -[a teller of stories], but that he knows some old Arab legends. If it -pleases her, he will tell the tale of Rabîah. It is,’ added Müller, ‘a -legend of great antiquity, and its scene is laid in Arabia.’ - -“I told him it would give me great pleasure to hear it, so Hassan -commenced. - -“Although I could not understand a word, it moved me deeply. After the -first few lines his faculties seemed all wrapped up in the tale: now the -voice was deep and guttural, then it grew soft and sad; then came some -scene of anger or strife, and his eyes flashed fire; then came a -plaintive tone, which dropping almost to a whisper, suddenly stopped. I -felt sure that the hero or the heroine was dead, and the tears actually -stood in Müller’s eyes, and the old _rais_ at the helm uttered several -sighs, or rather groans, in succession. - -“On expressing my vexation that I could not understand the recital, -Müller kindly said that he would make me a translation of the tale on -the morrow, correcting it from Hassan’s lips. - -“Here is the translation of the Arab legend made by Müller:— - -“RABÎAH. - -“Rabîah was feeble, slowly recovering from severe wounds. Who has not -heard of Rabîah?—the Lion of the Nejd, whose eyes were like burning -coals, whose form was like the _at’l_ (oak), whose voice was as a -tempest; before his lance the brave fell bathed in blood, and the timid -fled like herds of antelopes. - -“When Rabîah came forth to battle and shouted his war-cry, the maidens -of the Otèbah wrung their hands, saying, ‘Alas for my brother!’ ‘Alas -for my beloved!’ and the mother, pressing her babe to her breast, cried, -‘Oh, my child, wilt thou see thy father to-morrow?’ - -“Now Rabîah was feeble. - -“Some months before he had borne away from the tents of the Otèbah, -Selma, the pearl of the tribe; her form was like the Egyptian willow, -her face like the full moon in its brightness, her eyes were those of -the antelope, and her teeth pearls set between two cushions of -rose-leaves, her neck was a pillar of camphor,[43] and her breasts two -pomegranates rivalling each other in rounded beauty. - -“But Selma’s eyes were averted, as if in scorn; and while Rabîah was -consumed by the fire of love, her heart was a locked casket whose -contents none might know. - -“The season was spring, and the tribe, with their warriors and tents, -their flocks and herds, had moved on to a higher region. Rabîah, -retarded by his wounds, had remained behind, keeping with him only a few -followers, his sister, and Selma; but anxiety came upon his mind, and he -said, ‘Let us go to join the tribe.’ - -“So they went, the two maidens riding in a _musàttah_,[44] and he on a -_shibriah_,[45] and thus they journeyed, and Rabîah sung in a feeble -voice the following words:— - - ‘Alas, my heart is bleeding! the arrows of the Otèbah have tasted my - blood; - But their hurt is nothing: it is the glance of Selma’s eye that hath - pierced my heart.’ - -“The maidens heard the song, but Selma spoke not, and his sister wept -for his wounds, but more for his unrequited love. - -“On the second day they passed a mountain, and, reaching a sandy plain, -journeyed slowly across it. - -“Suddenly a cloud of dust appeared in the distance, and one of the -followers sped on a swift horse to see whence it arose. The maidens -trembled like willow-leaves in the morning breeze, but Rabîah slept. The -man soon returned with a loosened rein and bloody heel, shouting— - -“‘It is a large body of the Otèbah, and they are coming this way; there -is no hope of escape; there is neither strength nor power save in -Allah!’ - -“‘Rabîah,’ cried his sister, distracted with fear, ‘canst thou do -nothing to save us? Wilt thou see Selma carried off before thine eyes? -The Otèbah are coming!’ - -“At these words Rabîah started up as if from a dream; his eyes shone -like two suns. - -“‘Bring me my led war-horse,’ he shouted to his men, ‘and fasten on my -armour; let us see what enemy dare come near Selma while Rabîah lives.’ - -“Still while they fastened on his armour his old wounds opened afresh, -and the blood trickled from them, and he sang the following lines:— - - ‘Truly, to be near her and not have her love is worse than twenty - deaths; - But to die for her is sweeter than to drink the waters of Keswer.’[46] - -“When Selma heard these words she turned towards him, and tears dropped -from her eyes upon her soft cheek, like dewdrops on a rose. - -“‘Rabîah,’ she cried, ‘thy great love hath torn away the veil of pride -and deceit from my heart; truly my love is equal to thine; come to my -arms, my beloved, let us live or die together.’ - -“Then the camels were made to kneel, and Rabîah came to the side of her -litter, and she cast her arms about his neck, and he kissed her on the -mouth, and their lips did not separate till their souls passed into each -other, and they forgot the world. - -“But the followers cried aloud, ‘Rabîah, the Otèbah are coming!’ and he -tore himself from her embrace; and his great war-horse stood beside him -stamping on the ground, for his ear caught the tramp of the steeds, and -his wide nostrils snuffed the coming fight. None but Tarrad could bear -that mighty warrior through the ranks of the foe; he was swift as an -antelope, and like an elephant in his strength. - -“Now Rabîah’s armour was fastened, and his helmet on his head. He looked -once more upon Selma, and repeated the following lines:— - - ‘Our souls have drunk together the water of life, - There is no separation now, not even in death.’ - -“Then he mounted Tarrad, and took his great spear in his hand, though -his limbs were stiff, and his wounds still bled beneath his armour. - -“‘Make all speed,’ said he, ‘with the camels to the Horseman’s Gap;[47] -beyond it is the plain where our tribe is encamped; there you will be -safe.’ - -“So they went; and when he saw the Otèbah drawing near, his great heart -rose within him; he forgot his wounds, and the fire shot from his eyes. -Then he rode towards them, and shouted his battle-cry aloud. Their -hearts trembled within them, and none came forth to meet him. - -“But Fèsal, the young chief of the band, who was brother to Selma, -reproached them, saying— - -“‘Are ye men, or are ye sheep, that one hundred are afraid of one? Has -he not slain our brethren, and carried away the pearl of our tribe? Now -is the hour of revenge.’ - -“And he went forth at speed to strike Rabîah to the earth with his -lance, but Rabîah met him in full career, and warded the blow. With the -shock of meeting, Fèsal and his horse rolled together on the ground. - -“Then Rabîah wheeled round to slay him, but the young man’s helmet had -fallen off, and Rabîah knew his face, and spared him, saying— - -“‘Thou art Selma’s brother.’ - -“Then he charged the band, and he raged among them like a wolf in a -sheepfold, and he pierced a strong warrior through the body—the man fell -from his horse, and the lance broke. Then they set up a shout of rage -and triumph; yet they would not come near him, for he had drawn his -limb-dividing sword, so they shot arrows at him from a distance. - -“Casting his eyes behind him, he saw that his camels were entering the -gap, and he retreated slowly, covering himself from the arrows with his -shield; thus he gained the mouth of the defile. There he stood and faced -them; and though the arrows showered upon him, and blood was flowing -fast down the flanks of Tarrad, he spoke and moved not, but sat still, -like a horseman carved in stone in the gap. - -“But soon an arrow entering the eye of Tarrad reached his brain, and he -fell dead. Then Rabîah lay down behind his horse’s body, covering -himself also with his shield, so that they saw him not; but they -continued shooting their arrows, until Fèsal, who had mounted another -horse, came up and stayed them, saying— - -“‘The horse is dead, and Rabîah must now be our prisoner.’ - -“Then he rode forward with a few followers, and called aloud, ‘Rabîah, -yield thyself; escape is now impossible,’ but Rabîah gave no answer. - -“Fèsal advanced still nearer, and repeated the same words, adding— - -“‘It is useless to shed more blood.’ - -“But Rabîah gave no reply. - -“He approached with the caution of a hunter coming near a wounded lion, -till he reached the spot, and looked upon his face. - -“Rabîah was dead! - -“Then pity took possession of the heart of Fèsal, and having told his -followers to place the body of Rabîah and of his horse gently on one -side, he galloped alone after the party which had retreated through the -gap. He knew that his sister was one; and seeing that they prepared to -shoot their arrows, he called to them— - -“‘Put away your weapons; this is the hour of grief and not of war.’ And -he drew near to the litter, and said— - -“‘Sad is the news of my tongue—Rabîah is dead—the Lion of the Nejd is no -more.’ - -“Then a piercing shriek came from the sister of Rabîah, and she cried— - -“‘Let us go back to him.’ - -“Selma spoke not a word; a great stone was upon her heart, and speech -and tears were denied her. - -“So they turned back; and when they reached the spot there was a dead -silence, while the camel was made to kneel down, and the two maidens -came forth. - -“Rabîah’s sister wept and sobbed, holding her dead brother’s hand; but -Selma threw herself on the body of her beloved, and cast her arms about -his neck, and again she pressed her lips to his cold lips. None dared to -move her, and Allah had mercy upon her, and her soul passed away in that -last kiss. - -“For many months there was wailing and lamentation among the tribes, and -there was peace among them, for war lay buried in the grave where Rabîah -and Selma slept side by side.”[48] - -The dahabiahs arrived safely at Boulak after an uneventful voyage. -Hassan, having taken leave of his hospitable friends, and promised to -pay them an early visit, proceeded to discover the house of Delì Pasha, -in order to enter upon his new duties. - -He learnt that the Pasha did not live in the city, but in one of the -large houses recently built on the banks of the Nile, above the Port of -Boulak, and below the palaces constructed by Mohammed Ali and Ibrahim -Pasha for the harems of the viceregal family. - -On reaching the door of the house Hassan was informed by the Berber -porter that the Pasha was within, so he passed into the entrance-hall, -at the end of which he observed one or two slaves lounging about, from -whom he learnt that their master had lately come down from the upper -apartments, and was now in the courtyard at the back of the palace. -Availing himself of the guidance of one of the slaves, he soon reached -the courtyard, a large space covering two or three acres of ground, and -surrounded by a high wall. Here he found a motley crowd assembled, -consisting apparently of Mamelukes, grooms, and servants of all -descriptions, and the shouts, and cries, and turmoil proceeding from -them baffled all description. - -In the centre of the group he saw a horse, held by two or three grooms -by long ropes, rearing, kicking, and plunging like a wild beast, and -near him a middle-aged, strong-built man, with a turban on his head and -his sleeves tucked up above his elbows, striking at the horse with a -long courbatch,[49] and cursing the animal, together with its sire, dam, -and all its ancestry, in the most approved terms of Turkish abuse. As -Hassan came forward, looking around in vain for any figure which he -could conceive likely to be the Pasha, the person above-mentioned -stopped a moment from his flogging and malediction to take breath, so -Hassan took the opportunity of inquiring whether he could inform him -where Delì Pasha was to be found. - -“And what may be your business with him, young man?” said he, turning -towards Hassan a face in which heat, anger, and good-humour were -strangely blended. - -“I have a letter for him from Hadji Ismael, the merchant,” replied -Hassan. - -“Where is the letter?” said the speaker. - -“It is here,” said our hero, producing it from his girdle; “and I wish -to deliver it to the Pasha in person, if you will tell me where I can -find him.” - -“Let me see the address,” said the strange man with the bare arms. -Hassan handed it to him, and as he cast his eye on the outer seal, he -said— - -“Why, this is not the seal of Hadji Ismael, it is that of the Viceroy;” -and he was proceeding leisurely to open it when Hassan snatched it from -him, saying— - -“How dare you open it! I must deliver it unopened into the Pasha’s own -hands.” - -“Why, you young hot-blood,” said the other, holding out his two large -muscular hands, “whose hands are these if they are not Delì Pasha’s?” - -“Is it so, indeed?” said Hassan, in some confusion. “I was not aware -that I was speaking to his Excellency.” - -“There is no harm done, boy,” said the Pasha, smiling good-humouredly. -“You did not expect to see his Excellency with his arms bare and a -courbatch in his hand. Now that you know me, give me the letter.” - -Taking it from the youth’s hand, he read it carefully, stopping every -now and then to give a scrutinising glance at the bearer; and when he -came to the postscript added by the Viceroy’s order, he laughed till the -tears stood in his eyes. - -“By my father’s beard!” he said, “all will soon be mad in this house. -Mohammed Ali sends you to me, saying that you are as mad as myself; and -it is only yesterday that Ibrahim Pasha sent me that cursed horse, -telling me that it was as mad as myself. If the father’s statement prove -as true as the son’s, you must be mad indeed, for such a devil I never -beheld.” - -“Devil,” said Hassan, looking at the furious and struggling animal with -unrepressed admiration; “he seems to me beautiful as an angel.” - -“You say true,” replied Delì Pasha, “his form is perfect; and Ibrahim -brought him away as a colt from the Wahabees. He is of pure Kohèil -blood; but Shèitan[50] is his name, and Shèitan is his nature; nothing -can tame him. He has nearly killed two of Ibrahim Pasha’s grooms, and he -sends the animal to me as a present, telling me that it is just like -myself.” - -“If he be a Kohèil,” said Hassan, “he will never be tamed by such means -as I saw your Excellency using when I came into the courtyard.” - -“You speak boldly, youngster,” said the choleric Pasha with a frown. “Do -you think that, with my beard beginning to turn grey, I do not know how -to tame an unruly horse?” - -“I speak boldly, Excellency, because I speak truly; not from any wish to -offend. Does Ibrahim Pasha know your Excellency well?” - -“Wallàhi! [by Allah!] I believe you he does; we have marched together, -bivouacked together, fought together for many years.” - -“Then,” said Hassan, “as his Highness has likened your Excellency to -that horse, permit your servant to ask you, if you were in an angry and -fretful mood, and any one were to attempt to haul at _you_ with ropes, -and strike you with a courbatch, in order to tame you, how would he -succeed?” - -“Wallàhi! I would cut his head off,” exclaimed the Pasha, feeling -mechanically for the sword which he had left behind him in the palace. -“Do you think that you could mount him?” - -“It is better not now,” said Hassan quietly. - -“Mount him!” said a voice from behind; “he is afraid to go near the -horse.” - -Hassan turned to look at the speaker, and saw a large, powerful man of -about thirty-five years of age, to whose harsh features a deep scar on -the cheek gave a still more forbidding appearance. - -“Silence, Osman Bey,” said the Pasha; “because the young man speaks his -mind freely, you have no right to insinuate that he is afraid. What say -you, Hassan? What do you propose about the horse?” - -“If your Excellency desires it,” said Hassan, drawing himself up and -casting a look of contempt on Osman Bey, “I will mount the horse -immediately, and he shall kill me or I will kill him; but if you ask me -what I would advise, I would say leave him alone now: his flank is -panting, his eye bloodshot, no good can come from gentle usage now. Let -him be taken back to the stable; give orders that no one may tend or -feed him but myself, and let me show him to your Excellency after two -days are past.” - -The Pasha was just about giving his consent, when Shèitan thought fit to -settle the matter otherwise for himself. With an unexpected bound he -broke the halter held by one groom, and rushing upon the other, threw -him to the ground, and grasping the unfortunate man by the middle, with -his teeth shook him as a terrier does a rat. - -None seemed desirous of approaching the infuriated animal; but Hassan, -snatching a _nabout_ (a long thick staff) from the hand of one of the -bystanding servants, rushed to the spot, and striking the horse a severe -blow on the nose, obliged him to drop the _sàis_ (groom), who crawled -away on all-fours and placed himself behind his protector. - -Shèitan seemed resolved to be worthy of his name, for no sooner did he -see Hassan standing before him than he ran furiously at him with open -mouth, with the intention of worrying him as he had done the _sàis_; but -Hassan had watched him with too steady an eye to be taken unawares, and -no sooner did the animal in furious career come within reach than he -dealt him a blow on the top of the head between the ears with such force -that the staff was broken in half, and the horse stood still a moment -completely stunned and bewildered. That moment was not unimproved by -Hassan, who vaulted lightly on his back, and sat waiting until the -animal’s senses fully returned, during which time he gathered up the -halters hanging from the horse’s head and made therewith a sort of -extempore bridle. - -No sooner did Shèitan recover his senses and become aware of the -audacious rider on his back, than he began to rear, plunge, and perform -the wildest gambols in order to dislodge him. Hassan sat like a centaur, -and the savage animal, determined to get rid of him, reared bolt upright -and fell backwards; but Hassan was prepared for this manœuvre, and -sliding off on one side, alighted on his feet, while the horse fell -alone. - -Hassan’s blood was now up, and he determined to subdue his enemy by -force. Giving the horse several severe blows with the broken staff which -he held in his hand, he forced the animal to rise, and just as it was -gaining its feet jumped once more on its back. - -“Aferin! aferin!” (bravo! bravo!) shouted the old Pasha at the top of -his voice, as the infuriated horse once more commenced its wild career, -bearing its immovable and relentless rider. The large arena in which -this scene took place was shut in by the house in front, by high walls -on the two sides, one of which divided the outer house from the interior -or harem, and at the farther end was a lower wall, between five and six -feet high, which separated it from another large court beyond, in which -were the Pasha’s stables. Shèitan, goaded to madness by his vain efforts -to get rid of his merciless rider, now rushed with full speed towards -the stable-court. To stop him with that halter bridle was impossible, -so, instead of attempting it, Hassan gave him his head, shouted aloud -his wild Arab cry, and, to the surprise of the bystanders, horse and man -cleared the wall and alighted in safety on the other side. Whether it -were owing to the tremendous exertion that he had made, or to the -concussion on alighting on hard ground after so unwonted a leap, Shèitan -was no sooner over the wall than he stopped, trembling and panting. - -Hassan allowed the affrighted animal a few moments to recover its -breath, and then began to canter it round the stable-yard. “Now, friend -Shèitan,” he said, “thou hast come over this wall once to please -thyself; thou must go over it again to please me.” So saying, he again -urged the horse to full speed with heel and stick, and charging the wall -with the same success as before, galloped him to the spot where Delì -Pasha and his followers stood. There, without difficulty, he pulled up, -and the foaming, panting sides of the exhausted steed sufficiently -proved that he was subdued. - -“That will do for the first lesson,” said Hassan good-humouredly, -patting the neck of Shèitan. “To-morrow we shall know each other -better.” - -Delì Pasha was so delighted with Hassan’s performance that he could -scarcely find words to express himself. - -“See your horse safe in the stable,” he said; “give your own orders -about him, and then come up to me in the _salamlik_;[51] I have much to -say to you.” Turning to the _mirakhor_, or head of the stable, he added, -“Give him a good _sàis_, and see that his orders about Shèitan are -punctually obeyed.” - -On inquiry Hassan found that the _sàis_ who had been seized by the horse -had not been injured, as the teeth had only caught his outer clothes and -his broad girdle. This _sàis_ was the one who habitually fed Shèitan in -the stable, and Hassan accompanied him thither, telling him to walk the -horse about for an hour, but to give it neither water nor barley till -his return; to ensure his fidelity Hassan slipped a few piastres into -the man’s hand, and returned towards the house to present himself to his -new patron. - -We must now change the scene to the interior or harem of Delì Pasha’s -palace, which was separated by a high wall from the exterior building. -There was, however, a private door pierced in the wall, by means of -which the Pasha could pass from his _salamlik_ to his harem, which door -was, as usual in Turkish houses, guarded by several eunuchs, who -relieved each other on guard day and night. One wing of the harem was -assigned to the Pasha’s two wives and their attendants, while the other -was assigned to his only daughter, Amina, whose mother had died in her -infancy, her place being supplied by a middle-aged Turkish lady, named -Fatimeh Khanum, who enjoyed the title and authority of Kiahia, or chief -of the harem. - -All the Pasha’s affections were centred in his daughter Amina, and she -was one of whom any father might be proud; she was about sixteen years -of age, and though her figure was rather above the average height, it -was so beautifully formed, and rounded in such exquisite proportions, -that every movement was a varied though unstudied grace. - -Her face was one of those which defy the poet’s description or the -portraiture of the artist; for although each lovely feature might be -separately described, neither pen nor pencil could depict their harmony -of expression nor the deep lustre of those large liquid eyes, whose -fringes, when she cast them down, trembled on the border of her downy -cheek. - -Her beauty was already so celebrated in Cairo that she was more -generally known by the name of Nejmet-es-Sabah[52] than by her own. Many -among the highest of the beys and pashas had demanded her in marriage, -but she was so happy with her father, and he loved her with such intense -affection, that he had never yet been able to make up his mind to part -with her. He spoilt her by indulging her in every whim and caprice, and -yet she was not spoilt, partly owing to the gentleness of her -disposition and partly owing to the care which Fatimeh Khanum, who was -an unusually sensible and well-informed woman, had taken in her -education. - -From the latticed window in her boudoir, Amina had witnessed the whole -of the scene described already; clapping her hands together with -excitement, she had called Fatimeh to her side. - -“Fatimeh,” she cried, “who is that stranger, taller by the head than all -the others?” - -“I know not, my child,” said Fatimeh. “I have never seen him before.” - -“Oh, the wild horse will kill him,” said Amina, with a half-suppressed -shriek, as she saw the horse rear and fall backwards. “No, he is on it -again, and unhurt,” she cried, again clapping her hands together for -joy. Another half scream burst from her as she saw the wild horse and -horseman clear the wall, and again when he repeated the same perilous -leap. - -Amina often sat behind the lattice of her window and amused herself by -looking at her father’s retainers when playing the jereed,[53] and -though herself invisible to them, she knew many of them by name, and -almost all by sight. - -“Oh, Fatimeh,” she cried, “when you go downstairs do not forget to make -one of the slaves inquire who is that strange youth. We never saw such a -horseman, did we, Fatimeh? and then he has such a——” Amina paused and -blushed a little. - -“You were going to say such a handsome face and figure,” said Fatimeh, -smiling. “I daresay he is a new Mameluke of your father’s, but I will -find out and tell you who he is this evening.” - -They then withdrew into the outer apartment, and resumed the work which -the noise made by the wild horse had interrupted. - -Amina was making a beautiful embroidered purse for her father, and -Fatimeh arranging some ornament of her favourite pupil’s dress, when a -slave entered and said that the Pasha required Fatimeh Khanum’s presence -in the _salamlik_. Throwing her veil over her head, she immediately -obeyed the summons. - -The Pasha was alone, having ordered his attendants to withdraw. - -“How is my Amina, my Morning Star, to-day?” he exclaimed as soon as -Fatimeh entered. - -“Praise be to Allah, she is well, and her fingers are employed on a -purse for your Excellency.” - -“The blessing of Allah be upon her,” said the Pasha; “she is my heart’s -delight. Inshallah! when I have finished the business now in hand I will -come to her. Tell her that I will sup with her this evening.” He then -proceeded to inform her that he had been appointed by the Viceroy to be -Governor of Siout in Upper Egypt, and that in a few weeks he should take -his departure, with all his family, to his new post. He proceeded to -discuss with her the arrangements which it might be advisable to make -for the conveyance of his daughter and for the other ladies of his -harem. - -Meanwhile Hassan, after seeing Shèitan secure in the stable, had -returned to the house and inquired where he might find the Pasha. - -“He is upstairs, in the _salamlik_,” said the young Mameluke whom he -addressed. “You will find him in the large room at the end of the -passage on your right; he has dismissed us from attendance, but he has -asked twice for you; better that you make haste; Delì Pasha does not -like to wait.” - -Hassan rapidly mounted the stairs, and following the direction he had -received, ran rather than walked along the dimly lighted passage which -led to the Pasha’s room. Just as he reached the end, and was about to -enter, he encountered a woman coming out, and the concussion was such -that she must inevitably have fallen had he not caught her in his arms. -As it was, the shock was such that it displaced her veil, and for a few -seconds she was unable to speak. Hassan saw that she was a middle-aged -woman, who still retained traces of early beauty; it was Fatimeh Khanum -retiring from her interview with the Pasha. - -“I hope you are not much hurt, lady,” said he in a tone of respectful -solicitude, and depositing her gently on a stone seat at the side of the -passage. - -“Not hurt,” she replied, with difficulty regaining her breath, “but very -much frightened.” - -“I cannot forgive myself for being so careless,” he continued; “but I -was in haste to obey the Pasha’s summons. I hope you forgive me; you can -be sure I meant no rudeness to you.” - -“I believe it, young Aga,” she replied with a smile, fixing her eyes -involuntarily on the open and animated countenance before her. “I am -recovered now; you had better go in to the Pasha, who is waiting.” - -Hassan, after saluting her respectfully, left her and entered the -Pasha’s room. - -“You have not been very quick in obeying our summons,” said the latter, -with a slight frown on his brow. - -Hassan explained the accident by which he had been detained in the -passage. - -“What!” he cried, bursting out into a fit of laughter, “so you nearly -knocked down our poor Kiahia Khanum, did you? I am glad she was not -hurt. She is a good, kind-hearted soul. Now come here, Hassan, and tell -me if you know anything of the postscript added by Mohammed Ali’s order -to the merchant’s letter?” - -“Nothing,” replied Hassan. “His Highness gave his orders in a whisper to -the interpreter.” - -“Well, it is written in this letter that I am to pay you ten purses -[£50], and I shall order the money to be given to you this evening.” - -The Pasha made Hassan give him an account of his interview with the -Viceroy, and of his affray with the Government _kawàss_ on the canal, at -which latter Delì Pasha laughed heartily; he then continued—“Hadji -Ismael speaks so highly of you in his letter, that I propose at once to -offer you the vacant post of _khaznadâr_ in this house. My _khazneh_ -[treasury] is not very full, and will not occupy you much, so I shall -expect you to assist in the purchase of horses which I am making for -Ibrahim Pasha.” - -Hassan stepped forward, and having placed the edge of the Pasha’s -pelisse to his forehead in token of acknowledgment, retired from the -room. - -“I like that young giant,” said Delì Pasha to himself as Hassan -withdrew. “His manners are so quiet and his face so prepossessing; but -there is the devil in his eye when his blood is roused, as I saw this -morning.” - -Hassan was no sooner alone than he remembered the letter given him by -his old friend Mohammed Aga, in Alexandria, to Ahmed Aga, Delì Pasha’s -master of the horse, and hearing that he had gone to the stables, -followed and rejoined him. Ahmed Aga, who had been an admiring spectator -of Hassan’s performance with Shèitan, was already prepossessed in his -favour, and when he read the letter which Mohammed Aga’s partiality had -dictated, he welcomed Hassan with great cordiality; and as Ahmed himself -was a man of open, honest countenance and sterling good qualities, they -were disposed to like each other from the very first. - -Hassan having communicated to his new friend that he had received the -appointment of _khaznadâr_, the latter exclaimed— - -“Mashallah! that is a good beginning; but the post is not so agreeable, -for it brings you into constant collision with Osman Bey, the wakeel, -who has charge of all Delì Pasha’s lands and property. He is a spiteful, -jealous, and dangerous man. I fear he has taken a dislike to you -already.” - -“To me!” said Hassan, in surprise. “What can I have done to offend him?” - -“You have offended him mortally by riding that horse Shèitan, which he -was unable to mount; and as he is a good horseman, and very proud of his -horsemanship, he is very angry at your having subdued that which he -described this morning to the Pasha as a wild beast, perfectly -untameable.” - -“If he is spiteful against me on such grounds as those,” said Hassan, -smiling, “I cannot help myself. I shall do my duty, and not trouble -myself about his spite.” - -Ahmed Aga shook his head, as if Osman Bey were not a pleasant subject to -speak upon. - -“Come,” he said, “let us go into the house. As _khaznadâr_ you are -entitled to a separate room, a privilege enjoyed by none of the -Mamelukes.” - -When Fatimeh Khanum had recovered from the shock occasioned by running -against Hassan in the passage, she pursued her way to the private door -leading to the harem, where she was admitted by the eunuchs on guard. - -No sooner had the good lady reached Amina’s apartment than she threw -herself down on a divan in the corner, and the quick eyes of her pupil -discovered that she was labouring under some violent agitation. - -“What has happened, my dear Fatimeh?” said Amina, seating herself beside -her governess. “What has agitated you thus?” - -Fatimeh related to her pupil her accidental meeting with Hassan in the -passage, and that he was the same youth whom they had seen from the -window riding the wild horse. - -“He carried me so gently,” she continued, “to a seat, and he was so kind -in inquiring whether I was hurt, and his manner was so respectful, so -unlike those young Mamelukes, that I could not take my eyes off him, I -felt as if I were bewitched.” - -“Oh!” cried Amina, clapping her little hands together; “Fatimeh Khanum, -my wise monitress, has fallen in love with the young stranger.” - -“My dear child,” replied Fatimeh, “the love you speak of has been dead -within me for many years and can never be revived; and that which -frightens me so much is, that I cannot account for the agitation into -which I was thrown by his looks and his voice otherwise than by saying -that I must have been bewitched.” And here the good lady began to recite -some verses from the Koran as a charm against the evil eye, and to count -the beads of her rosary.[54] Having performed this counter-charm against -witchery, Fatimeh proceeded to inform her pupil of their change of -residence and departure for Siout, and also of her father’s intention to -sup with her. - -“Oh!” cried the light-hearted Amina, “I will prepare him a dish of -_kadaif_[55] with my own hands. He says that no one can make it so well -as I do.” So saying, she bounded away to give the requisite orders to -her slaves. - -Meanwhile Hassan, aided by his new friend Ahmed Aga, had found a vacant -room on the second floor, which was appropriated to his use, and his box -and saddle-bags were transported thither. As he might, in his new -capacity of _khaznadâr_, be called upon to take charge of sums of money -belonging to Delì Pasha, he desired that a strong lock might be put on -the door, of which he proposed to keep the key about his person. There -was not much fear of thieves coming in at the window, as the only -aperture for the admission of light or air was in the side-wall of the -house, forty or fifty feet from the ground, and eight or ten feet above -the floor of Hassan’s room. The remainder of the day, with the exception -of a visit made to Shèitan, Hassan spent with Ahmed Aga, who gave him -many useful hints as to the character of his new chief—hasty, impetuous, -and choleric, but warm-hearted, and soon appeased. - -The moon was high in the heavens when Hassan retired to his own room, -where he busied himself in arranging his few movables before throwing -himself on his mattress to sleep. While thus occupied, a Turkish song, -with the words of which he was perfectly familiar, caught his ear; the -voice was evidently that of a woman, and it was rich, low, and musical. - -Hassan listened like one in a trance to that sweet sound, wafted into -his room, he knew not from whence, by the night breeze. The song -consisted of three stanzas, two of which the songstress completed, and -then her fingers wandered over the strings of a lute, as if to recall -the third to memory. Moved by an impulse which he could not restrain, -Hassan took up the song, and in a low voice sung the concluding stanza. -After this there was a profound silence, broken only by the distant -barking of dogs and braying of donkeys, sounds which never cease day or -night in Cairo, and Hassan fell asleep with the song on his lips. - -He was up before sunrise, and went straight to the stables, where he -hoped to find that Shèitan, having been kept all night without barley or -water, might be more disposed to cultivate acquaintance. Such, however, -was not the case; for when he endeavoured to approach with sieve or -bucket, the horse laid back its ears and struggled with the heel-ropes, -endeavouring to kick at him. - -“Softly,” said Hassan; “no more violence now, we shall soon be better -friends;” and putting away the corn and the water, he contrived with the -assistance of his groom to saddle and bridle him. Armed with a good -courbatch, he mounted and went out by a back gate, the horse fretting -and plunging, but still evidently recognising his rider of yesterday. - -Hassan gave him a good gallop of some ten miles over the desert, and -brought him back much subdued to the stable. “Not a drop of water nor a -grain of barley,” said he to the _sàis_, “until he takes it out of my -hand.” So saying, he walked into the house and went up to his room, his -thoughts ever reverting to the unseen songstress of yesterday evening. -As he went along the passage his eye accidentally fell upon a small -ladder, which appeared to have been lately used for whitewashing the -upper wall and ceiling of the passage. A sudden idea struck him, and -catching up the ladder, he carried it into his room, and after locking -the door, by the help of the ladder he climbed up to the aperture which -served as a window and looked cautiously out. - -Opposite him, at a distance of not more than eight or ten yards, he saw -a latticed window, which he at once knew to belong to the harem portion -of the palace, and he guessed that from that window must have come the -strain which he had heard the preceding night. Hiding the ladder, or -rather the steps, under his bed, he went down to attend upon Delì Pasha, -who received him with much kindness, and gave him several commissions -connected with his new appointment. Having executed these, and dined as -on the preceding day with Ahmed, he retired to his room, but not to -sleep, for his imagination still fed upon the soft, musical voice of the -night before, and he hoped that he might hear it again. Nor was he -doomed to disappointment, for about two hours after sunset his ear again -caught the same voice, singing, perhaps, in a lower tone and a different -air. - -Gently placing his steps against the wall below the aperture, he -mounted, and found that the sound proceeded from the latticed window -opposite. The moon shone full upon it, though he was in the shade. He -fancied that through the little diamond-shaped apertures in the lattice -he could distinguish a woman’s figure behind it. Holding his breath, he -remained for some time on the watch, when the fair songstress, having -finished her lay, threw open the lattice to look out for a few minutes -at the moonlit scene. - -Hassan gazed at the lovely apparition as if under a fascination. Her -gorgeous black hair was falling in clusters over her neck and shoulders, -veiling at the same time half of the arm on which she rested her rounded -velvet cheek. Sometimes her large lustrous eyes were raised to the moon, -and then they dropped under the shadows of their long dark fringes. - -“My dream—my destiny,” murmured Hassan to himself, “there she is—she of -whom I have dreamt—she whom I have adored from my earliest youth—her -picture has been long in my heart, but my eyes never saw it till now!” -In his excitement and agitation he sprang to the ground, and throwing -himself on his bed, gave vent to all the impetuous and long-suppressed -impulses of his romantic passion. He had not remained there many minutes -ere the Turkish song of the preceding evening reached his ear, and the -fair songstress paused at the conclusion of the second stanza. Moved by -an impulse that he could not resist, Hassan caught up the air, and sang -to it, with a voice trembling with agitation, the following lines:— - - “Thy name is unknown, yet thy image is in my heart; - Thine eyes have pierced me, and if thou show not mercy, I die.” - -Again he crept softly up the steps and looked out; but the lattice was -closed, and the fair vision had disappeared. - -On the following morning Hassan was afoot before sunrise, and in walking -across the space between the house and the stable he turned round in -hopes of discovering the latticed window opposite to his own room. On -carrying his eye along the wall that separated the outer palace from the -harem, he easily recognised the window that he sought, in the upper -storey of the harem, which faced the quarter of the house where his own -room was situated, and being at the corner of the building, commanded a -view of the space where he was walking, which was the Meidàn, where the -Mamelukes and followers of the Pasha played at the jereed, and other -equestrian sports in vogue at the time. - -His thoughts still bent upon the lovely vision of the preceding night, -he reached the stable, and on his approaching and speaking to Shèitan, -the horse turned round and looked at him, seemingly more desirous of -receiving something from him than of kicking or biting him. “So,” said -Hassan, smiling, “we shall be friends after all!” The half-pail of water -that he carried up to the horse’s head was swallowed, and Shèitan no -longer disdained to eat the barley out of his hands. Allowing the horse -only a few handfuls, Hassan gave him another canter over the desert, -stopping every now and then to coax and caress him. After his return he -gave Shèitan his full meal of barley, and from that day they grew more -and more intimate, until at the end of a week the formerly vicious horse -was as gentle as a lamb, and followed him like a dog. - -During the first days of his stay he was chiefly employed in examining -the accounts of his predecessor, in which he received great assistance -from his friend Ahmed Aga; but the task was far from being easy, as the -Pasha was very thoughtless and extravagant in all that regarded money, -and the preceding _khaznadâr_ had thought it his duty to follow his -chief’s example. - -Hassan had also formed the acquaintance of the chief eunuch of the -harem—a venerable-looking negro, with a beard as white as snow—and the -old man took pleasure in relating to so enthusiastic and intelligent a -listener some of the stirring and tragical scenes that he had witnessed -in the days of the Mameluke beys and the French invasion, at which -period he had been in the service of the famous Ibrahim Elfi Bey. Hassan -had another motive in cultivating the acquaintance of Mansour Aga; for, -as the old man seemed to know something of the history of every -influential family in Egypt, he hoped through him to find some clue to -his own parentage. - -Every evening Hassan crept softly up to the aperture in the wall of his -room; but the lattice was lost in the shade, owing to the change in the -position of the moon. Nevertheless, though he could see nothing, he -remained for a long time with his eyes fixed upon the lattice, as if the -insensible wood could feel or return his gaze. - -Lovers are never very good calculators, and thus Hassan forgot that the -same change in the position of the moon which had thrown the latticed -window into the shade, had also thrown her beams full upon his own face, -and that the tenant of the opposite room could now, while perfectly -concealed herself, trace every emotion that passed over his countenance. - -The lovely songstress, behind her latticed shield, gazed in silence, -night after night, on what was in her eyes the noblest face they had -ever beheld; and when his longing and ardent gaze seemed to him to be -arrested by that envious lattice, it fell in reality on the lustrous -orbs and blushing cheeks of the lovely girl within, who, although -concealed, trembled at her own audacity, and at the new emotions that -agitated her. Having waited for some time in the vain hope of seeing a -symptom of movement in the lattice, Hassan descended to his room, having -sung before he left the following verse in a low voice:— - - “Oh, sleep! fall like dew on that rosebud’s eyelids; - Let her know in her dreams that Hassan’s heart is burnt with her love.” - -On the following day Hassan had gone into the city on business intrusted -to him by the Pasha, and on his return had just entered that part of the -Frank quarter now called the Esbekiah when his attention was attracted -to a tumultuous noise, occasioned apparently by some drunken -Bashi-Bazouks.[56] He was about to pass on, when he heard his own name -called aloud by a voice which he easily recognised as that of Mansour -the eunuch, “Help, Hassan! help!—they will murder me!” - -Snatching a heavy club from the hands of one of the fellahs standing by, -Hassan rushed into the fray, and arrived just as one of the -Bashi-Bazouks was dragging poor old Mansour off his mule by his snowy -beard. A blow from Hassan’s staff on the fellow’s shoulder made him let -go his hold, and his arm dropped powerless by his side. His two -companions (for the Bashi-Bazouks were three in number) now turned upon -Hassan, and one of them, drawing a pistol from his belt, fired it as he -advanced; fortunately for our hero, the ruffian’s aim was unsteady, and -the ball, passing through his sleeve, lodged in the shoulder of a boy -who was an accidental spectator of the fray. The two then drew their -swords and rushed upon him together, but the clumsy drunkards were no -match for the steady eye and powerful arm of Hassan. Parrying their -ill-directed thrusts, he struck first one and then the other over the -head with the full weight of his club, and the contest was over; they -both lay helpless on the ground. - -Hassan then assisted the terrified eunuch to remount his mule, and the -crowd was beginning to disperse when the _wali_ (or police magistrate), -who happened to be passing by, rode up and inquired into the cause of -the disturbance. - -It was soon explained by Mansour that the Bashi-Bazouks had been the -aggressors, and therefore the _wali_ ordered them to be conveyed to -their quarters and delivered to their own officers. He then pursued his -way, as did Mansour, after cordially thanking Hassan for his timely -assistance. - -Hassan was just returning to the spot where he had left his horse under -the care of the _sàis_, when his eye fell upon the unfortunate boy whose -shoulder had received the pistol-ball aimed at himself. On approaching -to see whether he were seriously hurt, Hassan saw that he looked faint -from exhaustion, and that his vest was stained with blood. Drawing near -to examine the wound, he inquired whether he felt much pain; the poor -boy, whose countenance was prepossessing and intelligent, answered only -with a faint murmur, pointing at the same time to his mouth. - -“The ball cannot have wounded you both in the shoulder and the mouth,” -said Hassan. The sufferer shook his head, and again pointed to his -mouth. Then Hassan understood that he was dumb. - -“Poor child!” said Hassan compassionately; “I have been the cause of thy -wound. I cannot leave thee here to suffer—perhaps to die. Where is thy -home?” - -A melancholy shake of the head was the only answer. - -“Hast no parents?” Again the same reply. - -Tearing a piece of linen off the edge of his shirt, Hassan stanched with -it the blood still flowing from the boy’s shoulder, and binding a -handkerchief over the wound, he lifted the sufferer gently in his arms; -then placing him on his horse, and having desired the groom to go -immediately for the Italian surgeon who attended Delì Pasha’s family, he -walked slowly home, supporting the wounded boy on the saddle. - -Mansour, the eunuch, after being so opportunely rescued by Hassan, -pursued his way to Delì Pasha’s harem, and went up to give to the Lady -Amina an account of the commission which he had been executing for her -in Cairo. - -After he had produced the gold thread which he had purchased for the -completion of the purse which Amina was working for her father, the -young lady remarked in his countenance the traces of recent agitation, -and inquired the cause. The old man proceeded to relate to her his -adventure with the Bashi-Bazouks and his timely rescue by Hassan. In -speaking of the latter he launched forth into the highest praises of his -courage and prowess, as well as the kindness of his nature and -disposition. - -Had the room not been darkened by curtains, and the old man’s eyesight -not been somewhat dimmed by age, he could not have failed to notice the -tell-tale blood rush to the cheeks and temples of Amina as she heard -these encomiums on one whom she knew to be the same whom she had seen -from her lattice, and whose voice had taken up her song; nor could she -doubt from the expression which he had used, and from the deep and -earnest gaze which he had fixed upon her lattice, that she was herself -the object of his romantic attachment. - -Repressing her emotions with a slyness which is one of the earliest -lessons that Love teaches to his votaries, she asked Mansour, in a tone -of seeming indifference, who this new follower of her father’s might be, -and what his rank and parentage. - -To these inquiries Mansour was unable to give her any satisfactory -answer. He had heard that some mystery hung over Hassan’s birth, and all -that he knew was that his form was a model of strength and activity, -that as a horseman he was unequalled, that from his good-humour and -obliging disposition he was already a great favourite in the house, and -that Delì Pasha entertained so high an opinion of him as to give him the -appointment of _khaznadâr_. - -Little did the old eunuch think that every word which he uttered was -adding fuel to the fire already kindled, and that while Amina sat with -downcast eyes and fingers busily employed on her purse, her ear was -drinking in every word that he uttered in praise of Hassan, and her -little heart was beating with throbs so violent that she feared Mansour -must hear them. Her secret was, however, safe for the present, and the -eunuch, changing the conversation, said— - -“Have you heard that on the day after to-morrow there is to be a grand -match at the jereed in the courtyard? The Kiahia Pasha is coming with -some of his _golams_, and they will take a part in the game.” - -“No,” replied Amina; “I had not yet heard of it. Are you sure if the -match is to be the day after to-morrow?” - -“Yes; I was told so as I came in by Ahmed the _mirakhor_. I hope that -some of those brought by the Kiahia will be strong and skilful, so as to -make head against that tyrannical, ill-natured Osman Bey, our Pasha’s -wakeel. Here we have no one who can contend with him. I dislike him,” -added the old eunuch, “but, to say the truth, I have not seen his match -at the jereed.” - -“Will not the young stranger whom you spoke of?” said Amina, hesitating -to mention the name. - -“Hassan?” said Mansour. - -“Yes, Hassan; will not he play at the jereed, and may he not be a match -for Osman?” - -“I doubt it,” replied Mansour, shaking his head; “notwithstanding his -strength, activity, and horsemanship, he is but a youth, and he can -scarcely have had opportunity for acquiring the skill and experience -requisite for complete proficiency in this game.” - -While this conversation was passing, Hassan had brought the wounded boy -to the house, where he had carried him gently upstairs and deposited him -on his own bed. Shortly afterwards the surgeon arrived, and having -examined the wound, he found, to Hassan’s great satisfaction, that the -ball had passed clean through the fleshy part of the arm, just below the -shoulder, without injuring any bone or ligament, and the patient was -only suffering from loss of blood. - -Having dressed the wound, he said, “Let him have rest and light -wholesome food; in a few days he will be well.” The doctor then took his -leave, and Hassan, by the assistance of his friend Ahmed Aga, found a -small empty room, not far from his own, in which he placed a bed, and -having conveyed thither his patient, went to find some refreshing -draught, for which he stood much in need. In a few minutes he returned -with a cool lemonade, and having drunk it, the dumb boy looked up in his -face with tears of gratitude in his eyes. - -Hassan was desirous of ascertaining something of the history of his -helpless companion, who began to converse with him by rapid movements of -his slight and delicate fingers. This, however, being a sealed alphabet -to our hero, he shook his head in token that he did not understand a -syllable. The boy then began with his right (his unwounded hand) to -imitate writing with a pen on paper. - -“You can read and write, can you?” said Hassan. The boy nodded his head. -Hassan then went down to his office below, and soon returned, bringing -with him an inkstand, a reed, and some paper. The result of the written -conversation was that Hassan learned that the boy’s name was Murad; that -he was an orphan, ignorant of his parentage; that as a child he had been -in the house of a captain of Bashi-Bazouks, who one day, in a fit of -drunken fury, had cut off more than half of the poor child’s tongue -owing to some hasty word that had escaped him; that having been kicked -out of the captain’s house, he had been kindly treated by one of the -mollahs attached to the Mosque El-Azhar,[57] where he had remained for -several years learning to read and write, fed from the funds of the -institution; and that for the last two years he had picked up a -precarious subsistence by carrying letters and parcels all over the -town. He ended his artless tale by saying that everybody in Cairo knew -him, and he knew everybody. - -While this conversation in writing was passing, Hassan received a -summons from Delì Pasha, whom he found in his _salamlik_ on the first -floor. - -“Hassan,” said the Pasha, “there are thirty horses just arrived, sent by -an agent in my employ, for the service of a cavalry regiment which the -Viceroy has ordered to be raised for Upper Egypt. I wish you to examine -and try them, and cast any that you think unfit for the work. When you -have seen them, bring me your report.” - -Hassan replied, “Upon my head be it,” and was leaving the room when Delì -Pasha called him back and asked him for an account of what had happened -between his chief eunuch and the Bashi-Bazouks, a rumour of which had -already reached him. Hassan recounted briefly, passing over his own -services as lightly as possible, and concluded by mentioning the hurt of -poor little Murad, and of his being now under the Pasha’s roof. - -“Poor child!” said Delì Pasha, “I have heard something of his history. -After the massacre of the Mameluke beys he was found in a house that -belonged to one of them, and afterwards fell into the hands of one of -those Albanian savages, who cut out his tongue. I have often seen the -little boy in the streets, and I pity him much. You may keep him and -take care of him as long as you please, and while he remains I will give -orders that he has his regular allowance sent from the kitchen.” - -Hassan thanked the Pasha for his kindness, and was about to leave the -room when he was again called back by his chief, who said— - -“In describing your interference to rescue old Mansour, you made little -mention of yourself; but it seems clear that you must have knocked down -three of these fellows with the _nabout_. Did you hit them very hard—do -you think any of them are killed?” - -“I think not,” said Hassan quietly. As one had fired a pistol, and the -two others used their swords, I was obliged in self-defence to strike -rather quick and hard; but I did not use all my strength, nor endeavour -to do more than prevent them from doing further mischief at the time. -The rascals have thick skulls, which will stand many a tap from a club -before they break.” - -“Well, Inshallah! may you not have killed any of them,” said the Pasha; -“for they are a revengeful race, and would never rest till they had your -blood by fair means or foul. When you go out, keep a sharp eye upon any -stray parties of them whom you may meet.” - -Hassan thanked the Pasha for his advice, and spent the remainder of the -day in trying and examining the horses sent for approval, twenty-five of -which he retained and cast the remainder. On the following morning he -went out before sunrise to the horse-market and selected five, which -completed the number required: they were forthwith sent on to the -appointed depot, and Hassan was ordered to write to Ibrahim Pasha’s -agent to inquire whether any more were to be provided. When he brought -this letter to his chief to be sealed the latter abruptly asked him— - -“Have you ever played the jereed?” - -“Often,” replied Hassan; “we had a game somewhat similar when I was a -boy among the Bedouins, and afterwards I practised it now and then among -the Mamelukes of some of the beys and pashas in Alexandria.” - -“I am glad of that,” said Delì Pasha; “to-morrow, Inshallah! there is to -be a match in our courtyard, and Kiahia Pasha is coming with some of his -Mamelukes. I have given it up myself,” he added with a sigh, “but I love -to look at it still.” - -Hassan spent the greater part of the afternoon with his little patient, -conversing by notes which they handed one to the other. This, however, -was too slow a process to satisfy the quick and intelligent boy, who -proposed to teach his protector the alphabet which he had either learnt -or invented with his fingers. Hassan assented, and studied his lesson -with so much assiduity that after a short time, to the great delight of -little Murad, they were able to converse together without the aid of pen -and paper. - -On the following morning all the house was astir early, making -preparations for the jereed-playing and for the reception of the Kiahia -Pasha, who had written to ask whether he might bring with him some -English visitors, recommended to him by the Viceroy, and who were -anxious to see the Oriental tournament. To this Delì Pasha had replied -by a hospitable affirmative; and while refreshments, flowers, and -sherbets were heaped upon a table in the large saloon, carpets and sofas -were spread along the verandah which ran along the whole back part of -the house, overlooking the large arena where the games were to take -place. - -At the appointed hour the Kiahia arrived in great state on horseback, -with a gay and numerous retinue, for there was only one _carriage_ in -Cairo—that belonging to the Viceroy. Immediately following them came the -whole party of the Thorpes, the strangers in whose favour the Kiahia had -asked for an invitation. - -Delì Pasha welcomed them with his accustomed frank hospitality, and -Hassan, who was in attendance on him, received and returned the friendly -salutations of all the party. Demetri’s talents were now called into -exercise, and as he had not the piercing eye of the Viceroy fixed upon -him, he ornamented the phrases he was called upon to translate with all -manner of Oriental tropes and figures. Hassan detected his additions and -embellishments, but he only smiled and made no comment on them. - -After the usual ceremony of pipes and coffee had been duly observed, -Delì Pasha led his guests to the verandah, placing the Kiahia in the -centre, in the seat of honour, and left the others to arrange their -seats according to their own fancy and convenience. - -“Let the games begin,” shouted Delì Pasha to Ahmed Aga, his _mirakhor_, -and in a moment all was hurry and confusion in the space below. The -Mamelukes of the Kiahia Pasha first entered the arena, well mounted and -superbly dressed; after them poured in those of Delì Pasha, most of them -wild youths, but admirable horsemen, and well skilled in the games about -to be played. - -Immediately in front of the verandah was a thick post or column of wood, -on the top of which was placed a human head cut out of wood, not unlike -those on which European barbers model wigs. The first exercise for the -horsemen was to ride past this head at full speed and carry it off with -the point of the lance. Just as the games were about to commence, Delì -Pasha noticed that Hassan was standing in an attitude of abstraction a -few yards off, at the back of the verandah. - -“Why, Hassan, are you not going to play?” said the Pasha -good-humouredly; “I thought you had said you were fond of the exercise.” - -“If your Excellency has no need of my service here,” replied Hassan, “I -will join the game.” - -“Go, my lad,” said the Pasha; “but do not ride that ungovernable -Shèitan, or his mad freaks will get you into trouble.” - -“Shèitan is quiet and well-behaved now,” replied Hassan; “your -Excellency will see that he is not bad at the jereed.” - -The game began, and the Mamelukes galloped in succession at the wooden -head with their long spears, some carrying it off, and the greater -number missing it; and while they were thus employed Hassan entered the -arena from the stable entrance mounted on Shèitan. Whether it was that -the latter had been left unexercised the preceding day, or that he was -excited by the crowd and the galloping and neighing of strange horses, -certain it is that his behaviour seemed much more to justify Delì -Pasha’s caution than Hassan’s good report. He reared, he plunged, he -shook his long mane, and every now and then he bounded into the air as -if maddened by anger or excitement. Hassan sat easy and unconcerned, and -his usual good-natured smile played over his lips as he patted the -horse’s neck and said— - -“Shèitan, you are playful this morning.” - -“Mashallah! what a noble horseman is that Mameluke of yours!” exclaimed -the Kiahia, addressing Delì Pasha; “where is he from?” - -“He is not a Mameluke,” replied Delì Pasha; “he is my _khaznadâr_, -lately arrived. He was brought up among the Bedouins; in a room he is as -quiet and still as a cat, but on a horse he is as mad as the animal he -is now riding,” and as he spoke he shouted aloud to Hassan to come under -the verandah. - -In a second Hassan’s stirrup touched the flank of Shèitan, who bounded -into the air, and then came at full speed to within a few yards of the -house, when he stopped dead short, while Hassan looked up to inquire the -orders of his chief. - -“Hassan,” said Delì Pasha, “I told you that it would be impossible for -you to play at these games on the back of that wild, unruly beast; had -you not better change it for one more manageable? You may ride one of -mine if you will.” - -“Bakkalum [we shall see], my lord,” was Hassan’s only reply, and -wheeling his horse, he charged in full career at the head on the post. -Lowering his lance as he approached, he struck the head so full in the -centre that the point of the lance entered several inches into the wood, -and there it remained, while Hassan, galloping round the arena, came -again under the verandah, and, holding up his lance, presented the head, -still fixed on it, to Delì Pasha. - -“Aferin! [bravo! bravo!] my son!” said the old Pasha, and it was echoed -by many a surrounding voice. - -The post was now taken away, and the lists were prepared for the jereed. -The Mamelukes divided themselves into parties preparatory to the mimic -fight, which was indeed nothing more than a succession of single -combats. In the centre of the arena were a score of active _sàises_, or -grooms on foot, whose duty it was to pick up the jereeds as they fell -and hand them to the mounted combatants. - -At this moment Osman Bey, Delì Pasha’s wakeel, who thought the preceding -game beneath his dignity, entered the arena, followed by several of his -Mamelukes. He was dressed in a rich costume which was well calculated to -show off the proportions of his strong and muscular figure, and mounted -on a grey Arab, which for the first two years of its life had been fed -on camels’ milk in the deserts of the Nejd, and though not remarkable -for size, was compactly and beautifully proportioned. Osman Aga was a -practised horseman—firm in the saddle, strong in the arm, and proud of -the reputation that he had gained in the mimic combats of the jereed. -With a grave salute to the Kiahia and Delì Pasha, he took his place at -the centre of one side of the arena, and the game began. - -While Osman Bey and the elder Mamelukes engaged each other in a -succession of these trials of skill and speed, Hassan hovered on the -outskirts of the combatants, at some distance from the house, apparently -engaged in repelling the attacks of half-a-dozen of the youngest of the -Mamelukes of Delì Pasha’s household. He was a general favourite with -these lads, for whom he had on all occasions a kind word and a -good-humoured smile, and the merry youngsters well knew that however -they might pursue and torment him with their jereeds, they had no reason -to fear his putting out his strength to injure them in repelling their -attacks. Thus one would call out to him, “Hassan! Hassan!” and charge -him at full speed on the right; and scarcely had he time to catch or -avoid the jereed ere another attacked him with similar shouts on the -left. Some of them struck him more than one smart blow on the shoulder -with a jereed, and they shouted and laughed, while Hassan joined in -their merriment. - -But it was not only to play with these merry youths that Hassan had -withdrawn to a part of the ground at some distance from the place where -the older combatants were engaged. His quick eye, which ever and anon -roved to a certain lattice high up in the adjoining building, had -detected that it was partially opened, and revealed to him half of the -lovely face ever in his thoughts peeping out upon the arena; he believed -that those eyes followed his movements, and he availed himself of every -opportunity, when he could do so unnoticed, to cast an upward glance to -meet them. But he was not destined to remain long without more serious -employment, for several of the older and more experienced of the -combatants in turn challenged him, by shouting his name and charging him -at full speed. The first was his friend Ahmed Aga, whose jereed passed -close over his back without touching him. - -Hassan pursued him in turn, and, pretending to use much force, struck -him lightly on the shoulder; next he was charged by the chief of the -Kiahia Pasha’s Mamelukes—a very handsome Georgian, and the only one who -had this day interchanged several bouts with Osman Bey with nearly equal -success. - -Hassan prepared for this encounter with more caution. On the charge of -his opponent he fled (as is the custom of the game) at full speed, -looking back over his shoulder. The Georgian threw his jereed with -faultless aim, when Hassan, instead of avoiding, caught it in the air, -and, wheeling suddenly, pursued the Georgian, and struck him on the back -with his own jereed. This feat, which is one of the most difficult of -those practised in the game, elicited a loud “Aferin!” from Delì Pasha. - -Osman Bey no sooner heard it than, fired by spite and jealousy, he shook -his jereed in the air, shouted the name of Hassan, and bore down upon -him at the full speed of his high-mettled Arab. Hassan had barely time -to avoid the charge by wheeling Shèitan and striking the spurs into his -flanks. Still over his shoulder he watched every movement of his -pursuer. At length the Bey’s jereed sped through the air with unerring -aim; every one thought that Hassan was fairly hit, but he had thrown -himself suddenly over the right side of his horse, hanging only by the -left leg on the saddle, and the jereed passed harmlessly over him. -Recovering himself instantaneously, he now pursued in turn, and his -jereed struck Osman Bey fairly on the shoulder. The bout being over, -Hassan was cantering leisurely away, when the Bey, goaded to madness at -having been defeated by one whom he considered a boy, galloped again -after him, and hurled a jereed with all his force at Hassan’s head. - -Hassan, hearing a horse approaching at full speed from behind, had just -turned his head to see what it might be, when the jereed flew past him. -The movement had saved him from a serious blow, but the stick grazed the -edge of his cheek and drew blood as it passed. A loud shout broke from -Delì Pasha, “Foul, foul! shame, shame!”[58] - -All the fire that slumbered in Hassan’s impetuous nature was kindled by -this cowardly outrage. Forgetting the rank of his opponent, and every -other consideration but revenging the blow he had received, he snatched -a jereed from the hand of a _sàis_ standing by. Striking his sharp spurs -into the flanks of Shèitan, he pursued his adversary with such terrific -speed that even the grey Arab could not carry its rider out of his -reach. Rising in his stirrups, he threw the jereed with all his force, -and it struck the Bey full in the back, just between the -shoulder-blades. The blow sounded over the whole arena, and having taken -effect just in that part of the back which is nearest to the action of -the lungs, the unfortunate Bey’s breath was for the time totally -suspended. He seemed paralysed, and after swaying backwards and forwards -for a few seconds in the saddle, fell heavily to the ground. Had not his -docile Arab stopped immediately beside him, his hurts would probably -have been much more serious. - -After a few minutes, during which water was thrown in the Bey’s face by -his Mamelukes, he recovered the power of speech; but he was still faint -and weak, and after casting on Hassan a look of concentrated, -inextinguishable hate, he withdrew, supported by his servants, from the -ground. This accident occurring to a man of such high rank, and -universally feared, broke up the sports for the day. - -“I am sorry for it,” said Delì Pasha, addressing Mr Thorpe; “but Hassan -was perfectly justified, and Osman Bey only got what he deserved.” - -The spectators and combatants were gathered into little knots and -groups, all uttering similar sentiments, and some adding, “This is an -unlucky thing for Hassan—Osman Bey never forgives—’tis a brave youth, -but the cup of coffee or the dagger will be his fate.”[59] - -After the breaking up of the games, Hassan, having given over Shèitan to -the groom to be taken to the stable, before he re-entered the house cast -a furtive glance upward at the well-known lattice in the harem. This -time he could not be mistaken—a white forehead and dark lustrous eyes -were certainly visible at the curtained aperture, but they were hastily -and timidly withdrawn when they encountered his eager glance. - -“’Tis she—’tis the star of my destiny—the life-blood of my heart,” said -Hassan to himself, “whoever and whatever she may be. Well! she has this -day seen that, humble and unknown as I am, the proudest bey in Egypt -shall not insult me with impunity.” And he strode into the house so -completely occupied with dreams of the future that he nearly ran against -Ahmed Aga, who was coming to tell him that the Pasha had sent for him. -On reaching the upper room where they were assembled, the Kiahia Pasha -paid him so many compliments on his uncontested superiority over all his -competitors that Hassan looked quite confused; indeed, he had been so -much taken up with other thoughts that he had not been aware, until Delì -Pasha called his attention to the fact, that the blood was still -trickling from the wound he had received in his cheek. - -“It is nothing,” said Hassan, smiling, and applying his handkerchief -carelessly to it. “I hope Osman Bey’s back will suffer as little.” - -“Hassan,” said Delì Pasha, addressing our hero, “the Kiahia informs me -that in the course of a day or two our English guests are going to pay a -visit to the Pyramids, and that he sends with them a guard of fifty -horsemen. They have expressed a desire that you should join their party, -as you are already old acquaintances. If you wish to do so, you have my -full permission.” - -Hassan accepted the invitation readily, for, notwithstanding the -latticed window, from which it was difficult to tear himself away, he -had an undefined longing to visit a spot connected with his earliest -years and the mystery of his birth. - -After the departure of the Kiahia and the Thorpe party, Delì Pasha -detained Hassan alone and said to him— - -“This is a bad business, Hassan; Osman Bey is now your enemy, and he is -a dangerous man. I will tell you something of his life. Years ago, when -he was in charge of some money to pay the troops, Mohammed Ali -discovered that he had appropriated a portion of it to his own use, and -forthwith caused him to be severely beaten and thrown into prison; after -his release he accompanied Ibrahim Pasha to the war against the -Wahabees, where he gained a high reputation—for, to give him his due, he -is a good soldier—and regained his Highness’s favour. Since then -Mohammed Ali, whose habit is to raise up those whom he has -disgraced,[60] has made him a bey, and treated him with much regard. Now -he is named to be my wakeel or vice-governor at Siout, and as I know him -to be a cruel and revengeful man, I fear he will find some opportunity -of doing you an injury.” - -“I fear him not,” said Hassan boldly. “I have nothing to do with him; I -serve your Excellency, and if he seeks a quarrel with me, let him do so; -I am ready.” - -“He will not seek a quarrel with you,” said Delì Pasha, smiling at -Hassan’s simplicity. “Have you heard of calumny and slander? Have you -heard of poison in a cup of coffee? Have you heard of stabbing in the -dark? These are the weapons that great men in Egypt use when they wish -to get rid of one whom they hate.” - -“I fear him not,” repeated Hassan with the same frank boldness. “My life -is in the hand of Allah, and neither Osman Bey nor any other man can -take it until the predestined day arrives. Let him try his treacherous -schemes if he will, he may perhaps learn the truth of our Arabic -proverb, ‘He dug a pit for his neighbour, and he fell into it himself.’” - -While this conversation was going on between Delì Pasha and Hassan, -Amina was sitting in her upper room, to which her slaves had just -brought up a tray covered with sweetmeats and fruits. Mansour, the old -eunuch, followed, bearing a cool sherbet of pomegranate. The younger -slaves being ordered to retire, there remained only with Amina, Mansour -and her governess, Fatimeh Khanum, both of whom had witnessed the jereed -play—the eunuch from the front building, and the elder lady from another -window in the harem, for Amina had not made the latter the confidant of -her secret visits to the lattice in the boudoir. With well-assumed -indifference Amina asked Fatimeh Khanum and Mansour to relate all the -particulars of the games, which she had followed with an eye a thousand -times more eager than theirs. - -Hassan was a great favourite with them both, and as they expatiated on -his noble figure, his grace and skill in the use of the jereed, and his -unequalled horsemanship, Amina’s blushes mantled on her cheeks and -overspread her neck. Not satisfied with hearing the praises of Hassan -from the lips of her attendants, she wished to hear them also from those -of her father, and after Mansour had retired to the other wing of the -harem, she said to Fatimeh Khanum— - -“Fatimeh, I have a great desire to see my father this evening, and to -hear from him all about those Franks who were his visitors to-day. Go to -him and ask him if he will take supper with his little Amina. I will -have prepared for him all the dishes that he best likes.” - -Fatimeh, who could never refuse anything to her beloved pupil, and who, -from her mature age and position in the harem, was always permitted by -the Pasha to come to him in his outer apartments through the private -door of communication whenever she had any message from his daughter, -willingly undertook this commission. After passing the eunuchs at the -curtained door, she proceeded along the narrow passage which led towards -the room usually occupied by Delì Pasha, but before reaching it she had -to pass through an anteroom, in which, to her surprise, she found Hassan -walking up and down alone. She was about to withdraw, when he came -forward and said to her, “Lady, do not retire on my account. You were -going to seek our Pasha; he will soon be disengaged. A visitor, a Bey -whose name I did not hear, has just called, and has something for the -Pasha’s private ear. His Highness ordered all the other attendants into -the outer hall, and told me to remain here.” - -Fatimeh Khanum knew that she ought to retire, but there was something in -Hassan’s voice and appearance which detained her in spite of herself. -“Am I mad? Am I under sorcery? What is there that draws me to this youth -by unknown cords?” - -Such were the thoughts which followed each other through Fatimeh’s -troubled brain, when her eye happened to fall upon Hassan’s wounded -cheek, on which a patch of blood was visible. A woman’s instincts -impelled her at once to exclaim— - -“Allah! Allah! you are wounded. Why has no one stopped or washed away -the blood?” And without waiting for his permission, she caught up one of -the porous jugs of water found in almost every Egyptian room and drew -near to Hassan. - -“It is nothing, my aunt,” said Hassan, calling her by the name of -affectionate respect given by the Arabs to elderly ladies; “but I will -submit to your kind surgery.” - -While she was gently washing off the blood, and afterwards binding up -the wound with a fine Turkish handkerchief, a sudden idea seemed to -strike Hassan, and scarcely had she completed her simple dressing of his -wound than he seized her hand, saying, “Thank you; may Allah prolong -your life! I see you have a heart. Have pity on me.” - -“What is it, my son?” said Fatimeh in surprise. “Wherein can I serve -you?” - -“Oh, my aunt, my heart is on fire with love—my liver is roasted[61]—and -if you do not find some remedy I shall die.” - -“My son,” said Fatimeh compassionately, though unable to repress a -smile, “the complaint is not uncommon at your age; but how can I assist -you? What is the name of your love, and who is she?” - -“I know not her name, nor who she is,” replied Hassan passionately; “but -you must know her, for she dwells in the harem with you.” - -“In the harem!” said Fatimeh, surprised. “There are doubtless some fair -maidens in our Pasha’s harem, but how can you have seen them?” - -“Ask me not how,” said Hassan, who would not disclose the secret of the -lattice and of the aperture near the roof; “but I have seen her, and she -is lovely as a Houri of Paradise.” - -“It is strange,” said Fatimeh, musing; “but do not despair. Our Pasha -has already married more than one of his favourite Mamelukes to fair -maidens from his harem, and if you serve him faithfully you may yet -realise your hopes.” - -“Inshallah! Inshallah!” replied Hassan; “yet, Khanum, I would like to -know her name, that I might whisper it to my heart and in my prayers.” - -“Agaib!” (wonderful!) said the Khanum, still in a musing tone. “Can it -be Zeinab, the Circassian, who came last year from Stamboul?—she is -small, with dark-brown hair and deep blue eyes.” - -“No, no, it is not she,” said Hassan impatiently. - -The Khanum then proceeded to name one or two others, giving a slight -sketch of their features and appearance. But the same “No, no” broke -from the impatient Hassan. She was sorely puzzled; for supposing that -Hassan had by some accident caught a glimpse of one of the young slaves -while attending the Pasha’s wives to the bath or to some visit, the idea -of her young mistress, who had not once left the harem since Hassan’s -arrival, never entered her head. - -“I fear, Hassan, that I cannot help you. Methinks you must have seen -some stranger coming to visit at our harem, for I have named all those -who are young and attractive within our walls. Cannot you describe her -in such a way as to assist my conjecture?” - -“Describe her!” said Hassan, lowering his voice to a tremulous whisper. -“Every feature, every look, every hair of her head is written in my -heart!” He then proceeded to describe the features, the eyes, the looks, -the complexion, the hair, with such accurate fidelity that Fatimeh, -fairly thrown off her guard, exclaimed— - -“Allah! Allah! it is Amina Khanum, our Pasha’s daughter!” - -“Amina!” cried Hassan. “Thrice blessed name,[62] henceforth thou art the -locked treasure of my breast. I thank thee, Khanum, for giving me the -beloved name to think of by day and to dream of by night.” - -“Are you mad?” said the Khanum, wringing her hands in agitation and -distress. “Do you remember your own position, and who the Lady Amina is? -Do you know that the highest and proudest in the land have sued for her -hand in vain?” - -“I know,” said Hassan with deep feeling. “I know who I am—that I am a -poor unknown orphan, without name, without fortune. It is the love that -I bear to Amina, not the thought that she is a pasha’s daughter, which -prompts me to bow my head and kiss the dust on which she treads. Were -she a slave-girl in the harem my worship of her would be still the same. -It is herself, her own pure image—not her station or her jewels—that I -treasure in my heart of hearts. You say that her hand has been sought by -the great and the rich. What are they,” he added, drawing himself -proudly up, “that I may not become? Pashas and beys, forsooth—what were -they at my age?—‘Mamelukes,’ ‘pipe-bearers,’ and so forth. What was -Mohammed Ali at twenty? Let the proudest and the best of them stand -forth before me with sword and lance and prove who best deserves her. -Will they climb for her as I would to the highest summits of the -Kaf?[63] Will they dive for her as I would to the lowest depths of -ocean? Will they live for her, toil for her, bleed for her, die for her, -as I would? My kind aunt,” he added in a low and pleading tone, “have -pity on me, speak to Amina for me; tell her that Hassan’s heart is in -her hand, and that it is only for her that he lives and breathes.” - -“Alas! alas!” said the kind-hearted Khanum, moved by the young man’s -earnest passion. “What misfortune has befallen? There is no refuge but -in God, the compassionate. I pity you, Hassan, with all my heart; but -you know that I dare not speak to Amina on such a subject. I am the -guardian and protector of her youth, and I can name to her no suitor who -does not appear with her father’s sanction. Surely she can have no -knowledge or thought of this insane passion?” she added in a tone of -inquiry. - -“I know not,” replied Hassan confusedly. “It seems to me that she has -been in my heart and in my dreams from my earliest youth; her image is -interwoven with my being, with my destiny; it floats in the very air I -breathe, impregnating it with sweetness and with life. I know not -‘whether the zephyrs and the spirit of dreams have wafted the odour of -my vows to the pillow on which the roses of her cheek repose.’”[64] - -The Khanum was about to reply when the sound of approaching footsteps -was heard, and a servant entered to inform Hassan that the Pasha’s -visitor had departed and that his attendance was required. - -“Khanum,” said Hassan, who had by a strong effort recovered his -composure, “if you have business with the Pasha, I pray you enter first; -I can await his Excellency’s pleasure.” - -Poor Fatimeh, though scarcely able to control the agitation into which -the events of the last few minutes had thrown her, adopted the -suggestion of Hassan, and entering the Pasha’s apartment delivered the -message with which she had been charged by Amina. - -“Tell my Morning Star,” said Delì Pasha, “that I will willingly come and -sup with her; indeed, I was going to propose it myself, for I have much -to say to her. Draw nearer, Khanum,” he added in a lower voice. “I know -you are a discreet woman, and that you are much attached to Amina, -therefore I may tell you that Hashem Bey (Allah knows what a rich old -miser he is) has just been here, and the object of his visit was to -propose a marriage between her and his son Selim.” - -This sudden announcement was too much for the poor Khanum’s already -over-excited nerves; she staggered and would have fallen had not the -Pasha started up and supported her to the divan on which he had been -seated. - -“What is the matter, O Khanum?” he said. “What is there in this news to -cause you so much agitation? Is not Selim a youth well-born, well-spoken -of, rich, and high in the favour of our lord the Viceroy?” - -“Forgive me,” said the Khanum in a broken voice; “a sudden faintness, a -giddiness came over me—perhaps—perhaps it was the thought that this -marriage would separate me for ever from my beloved child.” - -“Nay,” said the rough old Pasha, moved by her grief and the cause to -which she had attributed it. “I know the love you bear to my Amina, and -you must also know that the separation of which you speak would be yet -more hard for me than for you to bear, but some day it must be endured. -Amina is now of an age to marry, and it would be difficult to find a -husband more worthy of her choice than Selim. But no more at present; -compose yourself; say nothing of this to Amina—I will break it to her -myself; only tell her that I will come and sup with her at sunset.” - -Fatimeh Khanum retired, and as she hurried through the room in which she -had left Hassan, he marked her agitated step and caught the words, “Oh, -grief! oh, misfortune!” ere she disappeared behind the curtained door -that led to the harem. - -After her departure Hassan remained for some time with Delì Pasha, -receiving orders and writing letters on subjects connected with his -private affairs; and when these were concluded he retired, and passed -the remainder of the afternoon in finger-talk with his dumb _protégé_, -whose intelligence and knowledge of all that was passing at Cairo he -found to be much beyond his years. The boy seemed so happy and grateful -that Hassan found a real pleasure in perfecting himself in the practice -of finger-conversation. - -At sunset Delì Pasha proceeded to take his supper with Amina, who, with -the instinctive tact of an affectionate daughter, had not only taken -care to provide the dishes that he most fancied, but had arranged the -cushions of his divan so that they were perfectly adapted to his -habitual attitude—they were neither too soft nor too hard, nor too high -nor too low, nor too broad nor too narrow; and as she knelt playfully -before him, and placed in his hand the gold-thread purse which she had -just finished, he stooped to kiss her fair forehead, and meeting the -upturned glance of her eyes beaming with affection, he said, “Allah -bless thee, my child!” with an earnest tenderness, of which those who -had known him in the days of his wild and wayward youth, would not have -believed his nature capable. - -Fatimeh Khanum was not present. The supper was brought up to the door by -eunuchs, and served by the women attendants who usually waited on Amina. -Delì Pasha did not fail to praise several dishes which had been prepared -expressly for him with unusual care, not that the old soldier was a -gourmand, but he recognised and appreciated the affectionate zeal -evinced by Amina to please him. - -During the supper he talked about the events of the morning and the -English strangers, and it was arranged that he should send an invitation -to Mrs Thorpe and her daughter to visit his harem. They were to be -received by his eldest wife, but Amina might be present, as she would be -interested in seeing the Frank ladies’ manners, appearance, and dress. -The Pasha also alluded to the jereed game, and to the actors therein, -and while so doing, he mentioned Hassan in terms which brought the -tell-tale blood into Amina’s cheeks. He spoke of him not only as being -unequalled in horsemanship and skill in arms, but as being remarkable -for his truth, modesty, and integrity. - -“I like the lad,” said the old Pasha; “he is of a kind rarely found -nowadays—a hot head, a ready arm, and a warm heart, but no _laf guizaf_ -[talk and boasting]. If we had another war with the Wahabees, or with -any other nation, that lad might soon be a Pasha; but in these dull -times there is no fortune to be won by the sword. So Hassan must remain -_khaznadâr_ of a very small _khazneh_.[65] Such is destiny, Amina—all is -destiny.” - -Little did the unconscious father think that in every word which he was -then uttering he was fanning a flame already kindled in his young -daughter’s breast. - -No sooner was the supper over, and the Pasha had enjoyed his pipe and -his coffee, than he called Amina to his side, and pushing back the -tresses from her face, said to her, “Morning Star, you are no longer a -child—you are a little woman now.” - -The fair girl’s heart had lately explained to her this truth in language -more expressive and convincing than her father’s. - -He then proceeded to relate to her the visit of Hashem Bey and its -object, together with the reasons which made him take a favourable view -of Selim’s proposal, in words nearly similar to those which he had used -when speaking to Fatimeh Khanum in the morning. Had the lights not been -at some distance from the divan, and the room itself rather dark, he -would have been frightened at the paleness which overspread his -daughter’s face, though one little hand strove to cover it. She did not -speak, but he felt the death-like coldness of the other little hand, -which was clasped in his. “Speak, my child; what ails thee?” he said. -“Marriage is the destiny, the blessing of women. What is there to -terrify thee in these proposals from a youth who is rich, worthy, and of -a condition equal to your own?” She sank on her knees before him and -sobbed rather than said— - -“Spare me, father! spare me!—save me from this hated marriage.” And as -she bowed her head upon his hands, he felt her tears falling hot and -fast upon them. - -Astonished at this excessive and unexpected emotion, the fond father -spoke gently to her, and used all the arguments which he could think of -to reconcile her to the proposed match. For some time tears and sobs -were her only reply. At length she found strength to say— - -“Father, I will obey you in everything. My life is in your hands. But if -you do not wish to break my heart and send me to an early grave, save me -from this marriage. I do not wish to leave you, father. At least give me -a year’s or six months’ delay.” - -Delì Pasha could not resist the pleading grief of his beloved child. -Secretly unwilling himself to part from her, he consented to the delay -for which she so earnestly entreated. - -“Be comforted, light of my eyes,” he said; “it is only your welfare and -happiness that I wish. Dry up your tears and let me see you smile again. -I have not passed my word to Hashem Bey. I will write to him that I wish -you to go with me to Siout, and that the time for betrothal is not now -opportune. That if after six months he desires to renew the subject, it -can be then taken into consideration. Will that satisfy you, Amina?” - -Amina did look up, and though her eyes were still bedewed with tears, -rays of hope and joy and gratitude shone through them like sunbeams -through an April shower. Covering his hands with her kisses, she -exclaimed, “Oh, father, you have given me a second life—you are always -too good, too kind to your Amina.” - -What bright hopes, what sunny visions had the young girl’s sanguine -imagination conceived and crowded into the space of six months! Selim -would be gone to Turkey or the other world, Hassan would be a bey or -pasha! - -“My child, it is time for you to go to rest,” said Delì Pasha. “Allah -bless you! may your night be happy, and to-morrow let me see my Morning -Star shine as brightly as ever.” With an affectionate kiss on her -forehead he went across to his own apartments. - -Delì Pasha was neither a suspicious nor a reflecting man, but he had a -fair share of good sense when he chose to exert it, and the more he -mused on the events of the day the more did he feel puzzled and unable -to explain them: the strange emotion and agitation of Fatimeh Khanum, -usually so staid and tranquil in her bearing, the still more violent -emotion and agitation of his daughter on receiving proposals of marriage -from a suitor altogether unexceptionable, and whose name he imagined -must be unknown to her. “Surely,” he said to himself, “these women must -have heard some story against Selim, that he is hateful, or cruel, or -brutal. I must inquire of Fatimeh Khanum and find this out.” - -While he was indulging in these meditations Amina had locked herself -into her boudoir, and having loosened the bands that confined her hair, -left it to fall all over her lovely neck and shoulders; then, drawing -forth her small praying-carpet, she went through her accustomed prayers, -bowing her fair forehead upon it, and thanking Allah for having -preserved her from a danger the recollection of which still made her -shudder. - -She went to the lattice and gently, very gently, opened the side of it. -She could see nothing, for the moon was not up, neither could she be -seen, though Hassan was watching like a true sentinel of love: the -creaking of the half-opened lattice did not, however, escape his quick -ear, and ere she retired from it she heard in a half-whispered tone, -that seemed to hover in the air, the following verses:— - - “Extolled be the Lord who hath endued with all beauty she who hath - enslaved my heart. - I see her not, I hear her not, yet I feel the fragrance of her presence - like concealed spikenard. - My love is the moon, and I am a solitary cloud wandering over the face - of the sky— - A cloud obscure and unnoticed; but let the moon shine upon it, and - straightway it is robed in silver.”[66] - -The following morning Hassan was for some time with Delì Pasha -explaining to him the results of his examination of his predecessor’s -accounts, and pointing out defalcations and deficiencies in some -quarters, and certain sums due, but not collected, in others. Delì Pasha -hated accounts and business, but he saw so much earnest zeal in Hassan’s -desire to render them clear that he forced himself to give them some -attention, and even that little sufficed to make it evident that his -former _khaznadâr_[67] had complicated them on purpose to cheat him, and -that his present one made them as simple as possible, and compensated -for his want of experience by his conscientious industry. Scarcely had -he got through the summary which Hassan had drawn up, ere he clapped his -young treasurer on the shoulder and broke out into a fit of laughter. - -“Hassan,” he said, “you are the cream of _khaznadârs_, and I am sensible -of all the zeal and industry you have shown, but I cannot help laughing -when I see my young Bedouin-Antar doing the work of a Coptic clerk.” - -“I grant,” said Hassan, smiling, “that the pen is not so familiar to my -hand as the lance; but if I know too little, I see plainly that my -predecessor knew too much, and I hope that the _khazneh_ will furnish -you with more purses this year than the last. It is my wish and duty to -do you good service, and be it with lance or pen, Inshallah! I will do -it.” - -“Would you like a little exercise for your lance?” said Delì Pasha. “I -do not mean a jereed game, but a few sharp thrusts and hard blows in -earnest.” - -“On my head be it—I am ready,” said Hassan, his eyes brightening. “Where -is such occupation to be found?” - -“I have this morning received a note from the Kiahia,” said Delì Pasha, -drawing it out as he spoke from under a cushion of his divan, “and he -tells me that a band of the Sammalous tribe have lately come up on a -plundering expedition from their own country, near the Bahirah, and have -ravaged several villages near Ghizeh, carrying off money and horses. It -is said that they are now not very far from the Pyramids. The Kiahia -proposes to send eighty horsemen instead of fifty to escort the English -party going to-morrow to the Ghizeh Pyramids: forty can remain to guard -them, and the remaining forty can make an excursion into the desert and -try to find and capture these Sammalous thieves. He adds in his note -that he should be glad if you could accompany that party, as you were -trained in Bedouin warfare, and he has formed a high opinion of your -skill and courage. What say you to the proposal?” - -“Most willingly will I go,” replied Hassan, “to have a bout with those -rascally Sammalous, who are the enemies of my old tribe the Oulâd-Ali. -The very last fight that I saw among the Arabs was with them, and they -wounded my adopted father.” - -“El-hamdu-lillah” (Allah be praised), said Delì Pasha, “that the -expedition is to your taste. I will write to the Kiahia that you accept, -and will advise him to put the horsemen sent after the Sammalous under -your command. And now as a chance hurt may befall from lance or bullet, -and you might be unwilling to expose a horse not your own, to make your -mind easy on that score I make you a present of your friend Shèitan: you -have well deserved him, and, to say the truth, I do not believe he would -obey any other master.” - -Hassan carried the Pasha’s hand to his lips and said, “May your life and -happiness be prolonged.”[68] - -“Go, then, to-morrow morning,” continued Delì Pasha, “and Allah go with -you: the Kiahia’s horsemen will meet you at Ghizeh, where you will also -find one or two of those who were plundered by the Sammalous, and who -will aid you in tracking the party.” - -Hassan took his leave, and as he went to his own room he met his dumb -_protégé_. Greeting him kindly, he informed him that he was going on an -excursion which might detain him a few days, and at the same time -thinking that the boy might be in want of some necessary during his -absence, he offered him a few small pieces of silver. - -Murad smiled, and declined the money, showing his protector a few coins -of similar value in his own possession. In his rapid finger-language he -then explained to Hassan that he was now sufficiently recovered to run -with messages as before, and that he was already employed in this way at -a coffee-house and one or two other houses in the neighbourhood. With a -few words of encouragement Hassan left him and went on to his own room, -where he busied himself in examining and cleaning his pistols, which he -carefully loaded. He took care to see that both his sword and dagger -were loose in the sheath, and that the point of his lance was sharp. -While busied in these preparations, and in putting into his saddle-bags -the few articles of clothing which he meant to take with him, he hummed -rather than sung snatches of old Arab songs. - -All at once the thought struck him that Amina might be at the lattice. -He crept up the ladder and peeped through the aperture, that could not -be called a window. There, indeed, was Amina, and the lattice was open, -and though the twilight was darkening, Hassan could see that she was -weeping, for the snowy Damascus kerchief was often applied to her eyes. - -Hassan knew not what to do. He longed to comfort her, to sympathise with -her, but he knew that if he showed himself or made her aware of his -presence by addressing a word to her, she would immediately close the -lattice and withdraw. So he looked on in silence, and partook of her -unknown grief till the tears stole into his own eyes. - -At length, unable any longer to keep silence, he drew his head away from -the aperture so that he could still see her but she could not see him. -He began to sing a well-known Turkish love-song in a very low tone. The -sound of the air, though not the words, reached her ear; she cast her -eyes furtively at the aperture in the opposite wall, but seeing nothing, -she did not withdraw. A little louder he sung, and the words reached her -ear, and she dried her tears and listened. It was a popular song, about -Youssuf and Zuleika, which, even if others could have heard, would not -compromise her; but her beating heart told her who was singing, and for -whom the song was meant. In the last verse the voice sank nearly to a -whisper. Still she caught the words, and the name of Amina was -substituted for Zuleika. With a deep blush she disappeared from the -casement, and all was silence and darkness. - -On the following morning early Hassan set forth, mounted on Shèitan, and -crossed the Nile to Ghizeh by a ferry, which then, as now, existed at a -short distance to the southward of Boulak. He was accompanied by his -_sàis_, who drove before him a donkey carrying our hero’s saddle-bags, -and the large cloak and Arab blanket which served him on such occasions -for a bed. - -On reaching Ghizeh he found the whole Thorpe party, with the horsemen -who were to accompany them, already arrived: there were also forty or -fifty donkeys laden with tents, bedding, cooking-utensils, and all the -creature comforts which Demetri’s foresight had prepared for a residence -of several days in the desert. - -Hassan saluted them all in turn, and Demetri and Foyster insisted on -shaking hands with him in English fashion. After exchanging a few words -he turned towards the Kiahia’s horsemen, and was pleased to recognise in -their leader the same good-looking young Georgian whom he had seen at -the head of the Kiahia’s Mamelukes at the jereed play. Calling him on -one side, Hassan inquired whether he had any precise instructions as to -the course to be pursued for the discovery and seizure of the Sammalous -Arabs. - -“Yes,” he replied; “I have a letter to the Governor of this district -ordering him to provide one or two villagers well acquainted with the -road to guide the English party to the Pyramids,[69] and also to place -under our charge two Arabs now waiting here who belong to the villages -robbed by the Sammalous, and who are supposed to have some knowledge of -the direction in which they have retreated.” - -It was deemed advisable that the whole party should proceed towards the -divan of the Governor of Ghizeh, which was at no great distance from the -spot where they were now assembled. They moved onward accordingly, and -as they approached the Governor’s house the Georgian and Hassan rode -forward to demand an interview with that personage, while the remainder -of the party halted at a short distance from the house. They had not -been there long before their ears were saluted by sounds too familiar to -all who have passed any time in the neighbourhood of a Government divan -in Egypt—namely, the heavy and swiftly-descending blows of a stick, -accompanied by shrieks and cries of the victim, “Amân! amân! [mercy! -mercy!] I am dead. Mercy! mercy! You may kill me, but I have not a -farthing.” - -The Europeans stopped their ears to shut out these painful sounds, while -Demetri, more accustomed to such sights, went forward to witness the -punishment, and ascertain what might be its cause and issue. The cries -died away into moans and groans, which soon became altogether inaudible, -leaving the Europeans to imagine that the sufferer was dead or had -fainted; and Mr Thorpe was virtuously and indignantly inveighing against -the barbarous cruelty of the Turkish governors when Demetri arrived. - -As he approached they saw that he was convulsed with laughter, which -only redoubled Mr Thorpe’s indignation; and he asked the dragoman, in an -angry voice, how he could be so brutal as to jest over the agony and -torture of a fellow-creature. - -“You shall hear, you shall hear, O my master,” said Demetri, still -unable to compose his features to a serious expression. “The man whom -they were beating is a fellah who occupies some land in the -neighbourhood, and though he sells his beans and his wheat like others, -he never has any money to pay the taxes on the day that they are -collected: either he has been robbed, or the crop failed, or the rats -devoured half of it, or he lost his purse on the road as he was coming -to pay in the money due to the Government—always some excuse; and though -for two successive seasons he has been severely beaten, they never could -find a piastre about his person nor extract one from him. This morning, -just as your Excellencies came, the same scene had been repeated: he had -vowed his inability to pay, and the Governor ordered him two hundred and -fifty blows on the feet. The fellow took them all, bawling and screaming -and groaning as you heard; and a stranger might well suppose that he was -almost, if not quite, murdered. As soon as he had received the number of -blows ordered, he was released, and began to stagger out of the -Governor’s presence as if he could scarcely stand on his feet. In doing -so he nearly ran up against one of the _kawàsses_ standing by, a strong, -rough fellow, who struck him a smart blow on the cheek with his open -hand. The suddenness of the blow took him so by surprise that it opened -his mouth unawares, and there dropped from it to the ground something -enveloped in a piece of rag. The _kawàss_ darted forward and seized it. -On opening it they found within four gold sequins, being the exact -amount of the sum which he owed to the Government. The rascal had come -with a full determination not to pay if he could help it, and rather to -take any amount of punishment he could conveniently bear: if he found -the beating carried to a length that his patience could not endure, he -could at any time stop it by producing the money. It seems that the two -hundred and fifty which he had received had produced little or no effect -on his leathern feet, and he was going off, chuckling at having cheated -the Government once more, when that accidental blow on the cheek made -him spit out the money.”[70] - -It may be believed that this version of the story changed the compassion -of the Thorpe party into an inclination to laugh, and shortly afterwards -the fellah who had received the beating, and had unintentionally paid -his taxes, was pointed out to them by Demetri walking homeward to his -village, apparently with as little suffering in his feet as if he had -been beaten by children with straws. - -While Mr Thorpe was discussing with the Missionary Müller the peculiar -features of character exhibited by the Egyptian fellah in the scene -which had just occurred, Hassan and the Georgian returned, accompanied -by the guides required, so the whole party set off merrily towards the -Pyramids. - -Mr Thorpe had now reached the goal of wishes long entertained, for -although Thebes, Memphis, and other places of antiquarian interest had -mingled in his dreams, there was something in the grand and antique -simplicity of the Pyramids which had assigned to them a pre-eminence in -his imagination. Immediately on arriving he commenced his tour and -survey of the Great Pyramid with his daughter and Müller. Hassan went -with them also, rightly judging that his services might be necessary not -only to interpret for them, but to protect them against the importunity -of the Arabs, who had flocked in considerable numbers to see the -strangers, and to devise various projects for extracting money from -them. There were not then, as now, crowds of Arabs, half Bedouins, half -villagers, who make a living at the Pyramids by running up and down them -for prizes and assisting the numerous travellers to reach the top; but -there was even then a remnant of some tribe located there in tents, who -enjoyed a kind of prescriptive right to the custody of the place, and -Hassan and the Georgian had agreed to pay a score of these to act as -guards or watchmen while the party remained. - -Mr Thorpe and Müller were already engaged in a discussion concerning the -history of the Pyramids; Emily had fallen a little behind, and was -turning to ask some question of Hassan, who had spoken to her a moment -before, when she observed him standing on a large stone at the base of -the Pyramid, his eyes cast down to the ground in a fit of profound -abstraction. There was an air of melancholy in his countenance, so -different from its usual expression, that she could not resist the -impulse which led her to ask him the subject of his meditations, which -she imagined to be something connected with the story of the Pyramids. - -“Lady,” he replied in a tone of deep feeling, “the dream of my infancy -passed across my mind. This stone on which I stand was once my cradle.” - -“Your cradle, Hassan! How mean you?” - -“It is now about twenty years ago,” said Hassan, “that my foster-mother -was sitting here—perhaps on this very stone, for she said it faced -towards Cairo—when a horseman, believed to be my father, placed me—an -infant wrapped in a shawl—at her side, and fled at full speed. He has -never since been heard of. I know not who he was, nor whether he yet -lives. I know not who was my mother—I am a stray leaf blown about by the -wind of destiny.” - -“Be assured he was no mean or ignoble man—it could not be,” said Emily. -“I hope you may yet find him, and be happy with him.” - -“May Allah bless you, and grant this and all your other prayers,” said -Hassan. “But, lady, do not speak of this matter to others: though known -to many, it pains my heart to hear it spoken of.” - -After making the tour of the Great Pyramid, and admiring with reverence -and wonder the architectural energy and skill which, in the infancy of -mankind, had piled upon each other those enormous blocks, brought from a -distance of many hundred miles, Mr Thorpe proposed to ascend, and to see -from the top the effect of a sunset on the valley of the Nile. A score -of Arabs were already on the alert to assist the worthy gentleman and -his party in the ascent, and so zealously obtrusive were they in their -manner of bestowing their assistance that Hassan was obliged to tell -them angrily not to pull and haul the strangers as if they were baskets -of dates. When they reached the top, what a magnificent spectacle -awaited them! There lay the broad and verdant valley of the Nile -stretched out beneath them. Far as the eye could reach were gardens, -villages, and palm-groves, among which the Nile, studded with white -sails, wound its sinuous course, while beyond its eastern bank rose the -Mother of the World,[71] her multitudinous domes and minarets all bathed -in the golden flood of the sun’s descending rays. All there felt the -softening influence of the hour—the imposing magnificence of the scene. -None dared to break the spell by an exclamation of admiration. Emily -glided to her father’s side and looked up in his face, and as he -returned the silent pressure of her hand, she saw that the heart of the -kind and enthusiastic antiquarian was filled with emotions that could -not find vent in words. After a while they descended as they had come -up, and found that the servants had prepared in their tent a dinner, -which, following the fatigues of the day, was far from unwelcome. - -No sooner was Hassan free from the charge that he had undertaken, of -escorting Emily and her relatives to the Pyramids, than he hastened to -the Georgian’s tent to ascertain whether any intelligence had reached -him respecting the course taken by the Sammalous. - -“Much,” replied the Georgian; “an Arab has arrived, a friend of those -whom we brought with us, who followed them stealthily at a distance and -saw the spot where they encamped, about fifteen miles to the north-west -of this place. They do not travel fast, as they are encumbered with the -number of the horses which they have captured, there being among them -some mares with foal.” - -“Can I see and speak with this man?” said Hassan. - -“Assuredly,” replied his friend, at the same time ordering his servant -to summon the Arab. The latter entered, and displayed to Hassan’s -scrutinising gaze a light sinewy frame and a shrewd intelligence. The -answers which he gave to Hassan’s minute inquiries were clear and -satisfactory, and from them he ascertained that the marauding party were -about fifty strong, mostly armed with lances, some heavy guns, and -pistols. “To overtake them will not be difficult,” added the Arab, “nor -to retake the horses—that is, if your own be swift and strong; but you -will never capture their leader, for he is mounted on Nebleh.” - -“And what is Nebleh?” inquired Hassan. - -“Have you never heard of Nebleh?” replied the Arab, eyeing our hero with -an expression something between surprise and contempt; “I thought every -one had heard of Nebleh.[72] She is the fleetest mare in the desert: -when or how the Sammalous stole her I know not, but none can catch her.” - -“We will see that,” replied Hassan, smiling; then turning to the -Georgian he said to him, “My friend, it is true that I am younger than -you, and have less experience; nevertheless I am half a Bedouin, and -have seen something of these desert forays: will you be guided by me in -this expedition?” - -“Willingly,” replied the Georgian, with corresponding frankness. “I and -my men will follow your counsel in everything.” - -After a few minutes more of earnest conversation with the Arab, during -which Hassan learnt from him further particulars respecting the nature -of the ground, the existence or non-existence of water, &c., he turned -to the Georgian and said— - -“My counsel, then, is that you select thirty-five of the best mounted of -your men, leaving the remainder here to guard the English party under -the charge of the Mameluke whom you consider most trustworthy: you and I -will both go in pursuit of the Sammalous. Let men and horses take food -now and rest till midnight, at which hour the moon will rise; let each -man secure to his saddle a bag containing eight or ten pounds of bread -and a few dates; our guide can lead us to water, not much nor good, but -for two days it will suffice, and in that time, Inshallah! we will -capture the rogues, and perhaps Nebleh too. Allah knows!” - -The Georgian cheerfully acquiesced in Hassan’s proposal, being inspired -with confidence by the prompt decision with which he formed and uttered -it. The two friends then supped together, and separated to make the -preparations agreed upon. - -At midnight the party moved silently out of the encampment, and, guided -by the Arab who had brought the intelligence, commenced their march over -the desert. For several hours there was no need for any precaution, and -Hassan and the Georgian, riding side by side at the head of their men, -conversed together with the frankness congenial to their age and -spirits. Both were eager for distinction, and both hoped for an -adventure that would do them honour. They talked much of Nebleh, and -Hassan said, as he patted the sleek neck of his now miscalled steed— - -“If Shèitan once comes within ten spear-lengths of her and she escapes, -she must be swifter than any horse I have seen.” - -“Truly he is a noble horse,” said the Georgian; “mine is not slow, and I -remember that on the day of the jereed I could neither escape your horse -nor your spear.” - -“Nay,” replied Hassan, laughing, “these are but the chances of the game: -had your horse been swift as Shèitan my shoulder would have felt your -jereed.” - -Thus discoursing, they followed their silent guide, who had not struck -into the heart of the desert, but had pursued a route parallel to that -taken by the Sammalous, and nearer to the cultivated ground. He halted -in a small hollow in which was a pool left by the receding waters of the -Nile, and around its edge a few patches of the herbs and grasses which -grow on the borders of the desert. - -“We are now nearly opposite their last night’s encampment,” he said to -Hassan; “the moon is low, and we must remain here till dawn.” - -The party dismounted accordingly to rest and refresh the horses and -await the first grey approach of dawn: no sooner did it appear than they -were again in motion, and from the summit of a small mound the guide -pointed to a curiously shaped hill to the westward, saying— - -“Just below that hill they encamped last night.” - -As soon as they reached its base the party was halted, and Hassan went -up with the guide to reconnoitre. When near the top they crept on their -hands and knees, and looked over into the plain below: it was of -considerable extent, and although they strained their eyes in every -direction, no trace could they see of man or horse. - -“They have travelled faster than I expected,” said the Arab, in a tone -of disappointment; “they must already have passed over that ridge -opposite, for that is the way to the tents of their tribe.” - -Hassan thought it now a good opportunity for trying the virtue of the -present that he had received the day before. Unslinging his telescope, -and adjusting its focus to the mark he had made on the brass, he -directed it to the range of hills pointed out by the guide: for some -time he looked in vain, but suddenly an exclamation of joy broke from -him. - -“Praise to Allah, I have them now! one, two, three horsemen just going -over the ridge; the rest must have passed before.” - -“Which way are they going?” inquired the guide. - -Hassan pointed with his finger. “Good, good!” exclaimed the guide. “Wait -till you are sure that the last is past.” - -After some minutes of careful and minute survey with the glass, during -which he satisfied himself that none remained on the near side of the -ridge, he made a sign to the party to advance, and informed his Georgian -friend of what he had seen. “El-hamdu-lillah!” was the joyous reply, and -Hassan having vaulted into the saddle, the party soon crossed the plain -at an easy canter. When they reached the ridge the same manœuvre was -repeated, and Hassan and the guide, creeping cautiously to the top, saw -the whole party of the Sammalous crossing the plain beyond, their -leisurely movement plainly indicating that as yet they had no idea of -pursuers being on their track. - -Hassan now took a careful survey of the country, from which, as well as -from the opinion of the guide, he ascertained that at no great distance -on the right hand a valley or hollow ran in a direction nearly parallel -with that taken by the Sammalous. His decision was formed in a moment, -and he hastily descended to communicate it to his companions. - -“There they are in that plain below,” he said. “I will take a dozen of -the best mounted of your men and gallop down that valley, so as to get -ahead of them and cut off their retreat. Give me two hours and then fall -on their track; we shall have them between us, and, Inshallah! they will -not escape us.” - -No sooner said than put in execution. Hassan led the way down the valley -at a hand-gallop, checking, however, the speed of Shèitan so as not to -exhaust the horses of the troopers behind him. The ground favoured their -manœuvre, and they had already passed half the space requisite to enable -them to head the enemy when they suddenly came upon an Arab riding -leisurely up from a hollow at right angles to that which our hero was -following. - -“It is one of the Sammalous,” he said, “who knows the country; he has -been down to a well in that hollow. If he once gets to the crest of the -hill he will give the alarm to his party, and our plan is spoiled: he -shall not do so if Shèitan’s breath holds good. Do you move gently -forward and spare your horses; leave me to deal with him.” So saying, he -struck the stirrups into Shèitan’s flanks, who darted forth like a bolt -from a crossbow. - -The Sammalous no sooner saw a horseman approaching at full speed than he -divined that his followers were in pursuit of his party; he therefore -urged his horse to his utmost speed. But Hassan had been too quick for -him, and had got so far ahead on the hillside that he had nothing for it -but to fight or be taken prisoner, and being a bold, stout fellow, he -did not feel disposed to yield to a single enemy. - -Hassan having got between the Sammalous and his party, reined up Shèitan -and called to him to lower his lance and surrender. The Sammalous, -seeing that Hassan’s followers were already visible in the distance, and -that no time was to be lost, made no other reply than by charging him at -full speed. Our hero, observing that his adversary’s lance was three or -four feet longer than his own, and that he could not await the charge, -dexterously avoided it by wheeling Shèitan suddenly to the right, and as -he passed in full career dealt him a blow on the head with his -_dabboos_,[73] which hurled him senseless from the saddle. - -“Aferin! [bravo!] Ahmed Aga, my friend,” said Hassan to himself; “when -you gave me this weapon I did not think to employ it so soon and so -well!” So saying, he dismounted, and commenced operations by securing -the fallen man’s horse: after that he turned to examine the rider, whom -he found to be stunned and bruised, but not mortally hurt. Hassan kept -guard over him until the arrival of his friends. No sooner did they -appear than he said— - -“We have no time to lose. The Sammalous knew that this fellow came -hither for water over that ridge; if he does not return they will begin -to suspect, and send a party to look for him, who would discover us -before our plan is ripe. I must throw dust in their eyes!” So saying, he -coolly proceeded to take off the striped blanket which the Sammalous -wore, and taking also the _kufiyah_ or kerchief which formed the -head-dress of the latter, he wrapped it round his own head. - -Having thus disguised himself, Hassan mounted the horse of his fallen -adversary, who at that moment came to his senses, and sitting up, looked -on at what was going forward, and rubbed his eyes as if he were waking -out of a dream. Hassan desired one of the troopers to bind the man’s -hands fast behind him and to tie his feet, after which the party -proceeded according to his orders along the valley, whilst he himself, -trusting to his disguise, took the way towards the top of the hill which -divided his party from those of whom he was in pursuit. - -As soon as he reached the summit he had the satisfaction of seeing them -in the plain immediately below. They were going at a slow pace, some of -the slaves and boys stopping and diverging to the right and left to -drive up the lagging mares and foals, while the main body pursued their -route, evidently unsuspicious of the vicinity of danger. Hassan had not -been a moment on the crest of the hill ere they perceived him; but as -they expected their comrade to reappear from that quarter, and they -recognised his horse, blanket, and head-dress, it was impossible for -them at that distance to distinguish the features or figure of the -rider, and the motions of Hassan were such as to disarm all suspicion, -as he rode leisurely and in a lazy attitude on a parallel line with -themselves, apparently allowing the horse to pick his own way. Meanwhile -he noted accurately their numbers and rate of march, so that he was able -to calculate with considerable exactness the most favourable point for -sweeping over the hill with his party to intercept their retreat. This -latter manœuvre he was obliged to defer until the appearance of the -Georgian and his followers in pursuit, his own being too few in number -to make a successful attack alone. - -Hassan had not long to wait, for the time arranged between himself and -the Georgian had scarcely elapsed ere the latter appeared on the hill in -the rear, and began to cross the plain with his men at an easy gallop. -That he was noticed by the Sammalous was ere long evident from the -sudden stir and movement observable among their ranks, as they held a -hasty consultation whether they should abandon their booty or make a -stand in its defence. The party in pursuit being apparently not more -than half their own number, they resolved on the latter course; and from -the shouts and signs which they made to Hassan to come down and join -them, he conjectured that the man whom he had discomfited was of some -rank or consequence among them. Regardless of their signals, he -disappeared over the hill to join his own party, while the Sammalous -leader exclaimed to his followers, “Curses on Abd-el-Atah, on his -father, and on his mother; he sees we are about to be attacked, and he -gallops off to save his own skin!” - -Having rejoined his party, Hassan vaulted on Shèitan, threw off his -disguise, and led them swiftly forward for about a mile, when perceiving -a small gorge or cleft in the hill which opened upon the plain, he -conducted his men through it, and had the satisfaction of seeing that -the body of the Sammalous were between the Georgian and himself. - -“El-hamdu-lillah, we have them!” he exclaimed, and as he spoke he -loosened his sword in its sheath, looked to the priming of his pistols, -and there was a joyous, exulting expression in his countenance which -gave confidence to all the party. - -The time for concealment was past, for the Georgian was now within an -arrow’s shot of the Sammalous. The latter had gathered their captured -animals in the rear, and were preparing to resist the onset of the enemy -in front, when shouts from the boys and servants in the rear caused them -to turn their heads. They saw Hassan and his little band approaching in -that direction. Escape was now impossible, and it only remained for them -to conquer or be captured with all their booty. - -The number of combatants was nearly equal; the Sammalous had, perhaps, -eight or ten more than their opponents, besides a score of servants and -boys on foot, who had each a sword or lance. Twenty of the fighting men -of the Sammalous were quickly wheeled to the rear to oppose Hassan and -his twelve horsemen, who now came on in a gallop, and in better order -than might have been expected from their habitually irregular -discipline. - -“Gently, gently, my men,” said Hassan, reining in Shèitan to a moderate -hand-gallop. “Keep your horses in breath till you are at close quarters, -then let them out. A gold sequin for the first empty saddle among the -Sammalous.” His men answered with a loud and cheerful shout, and in a -few minutes the conflict began. - -As Hassan had expected, the Sammalous did not await his charge in a -body, but dispersed to the right and left, so as to reduce the fight -rather to a succession of single combats. They fought well and bravely, -nevertheless they were unable to contend with the impetuous force with -which Hassan directed the attack of his small party; in fact, his -appearance and his deeds contributed to strike a panic into them. His -large and powerful figure, the joyous and exulting shouts that he raised -as man after man fell under the sweep of his sword, together with the -wonderful dexterity with which he guided and wheeled his strong and -fiery horse amidst and around them, contributed to throw them into -amazement and consternation. - -The Georgian on his side was not idle, and it was soon evident to the -leader of the Sammalous that all hopes of saving their booty must be -abandoned: many of his men were killed, many wounded, when he -reluctantly shouted aloud to the remainder words that may best be -rendered by the French “Sauve qui peut!” Mounted on Nebleh, the chief -had shot about the field like a meteor—now here, now there, darting and -wheeling in every direction. Nebleh seemed to be unapproachable in her -matchless speed and activity. Never had that gallant mare and her no -less gallant rider better deserved the high reputation they had acquired -than on this day so fatal to his tribe. One of the Turkish horsemen he -had transfixed with his lance, and had grievously wounded two more; but -now destiny had decided against him, and with a sigh he turned to fly -from the luckless field. - -Hassan had been so much occupied in the _mêlée_ that he had not had time -to seek out the Sammalous leader, and accident had not brought them -together; but when the latter shouted to his men to fly, and turned -Nebleh’s head to the desert, Hassan struck his stirrups into Shèitan’s -flanks and darted forth in pursuit, and now commenced a race for victory -on one side, for life on the other. - -The Sammalous had a start of nearly fifty yards, which Shèitan’s first -furious bound had reduced to thirty. For nearly half a mile the speed of -the horses seemed equal, but even in the heat of that exciting moment -Hassan had the presence of mind to reflect that Shèitan’s strength and -speed had been severely tried by a long gallop on the other side of the -hill, and also that his own weight was one-third greater than that of -the light and sinewy form of the Sammalous chief, hence he rightly -judged that in a long race he must be the loser. Both had hitherto kept -their horses somewhat within their speed preparatory to a trial of -endurance. - -Hassan now resolved to call upon Shèitan for one great effort, and if -that failed, to give up the pursuit. Once more he slackened the rein and -struck the sharp stirrup into the flanks of Shèitan. The high-bred -horse, responsive to the touch, bounded forward with an impetuosity that -brought him within a few yards of Nebleh’s flank. At this crisis the -Sammalous chief drew a pistol from his girdle, and, turning round in his -saddle, fired at his pursuer with so true an aim that the ball passed -through Hassan’s clothes and grazed his ribs, inflicting a slight flesh -wound in its passage. - -With a motion almost simultaneous Hassan drew out one of his pistols and -aimed it full at the back of his enemy. The ball took effect between the -unfortunate man’s shoulders and passed through his lungs. After reeling -for a few minutes in the saddle, he fell heavily to the ground, his hand -still grasping Nebleh’s bridle. The intelligent and faithful animal -stood by the side of her dying master, putting her nose down towards his -face as if inquiring what ailed him and why he stopped. Hassan -dismounted, and leaving his panting steed at a little distance, -approached the spot. The Sammalous chief was no more. - -Hassan remained for a few minutes silently contemplating the body. A -smile of satisfaction passed over his countenance as he reflected how -well he had avenged the wrongs of his foster-father, but it quickly -passed away as he said gravely, “He was a brave horseman, but his time -was come—destiny had written it—Allah have mercy on his soul!” He then -commenced an examination of the dead man’s clothes, and found, as he had -expected, in the shawl around his waist several small bags of money -which the deceased had plundered from the villages whence he had taken -the horses. Securing these in his own belt, he proceeded to lead away -Nebleh, who was apparently bewildered by the death of her master, and -accompanied him with the gentleness of a lamb. - -Two or three of his men, who had followed the headlong chase as fast as -their wearied horses could carry them, now drew near. Intrusting Nebleh -to them, he slowly returned to the scene of the affray. - -Hassan and the Georgian, after congratulating each other on the success -of their expedition, began to examine into its results. Of their own -party four were killed and ten wounded; of the Sammalous nine were -killed and thirty made prisoners, of whom seventeen or eighteen were -wounded. Several bags of money had been found besides those in the -possession of Hassan, and forty mares and foals carried away from the -villages, besides twenty-five horses belonging to the Sammalous -themselves. These items, added to a goodly collection of swords, -pistols, and other accoutrements, made up a very respectable prize to -lay at the feet of the Kiahia. - -The solitary Arab whom Hassan had thrown from his horse and had left -bound had wandered from his party to drink at a neighbouring well, -whither, being at no great distance from the scene of the affray, Hassan -and the Georgian now determined to proceed, there to pass the night, the -state of the wounded rendering it impossible to carry them back direct -to the Pyramids. To the well, therefore, they bent their course, the -wounded being placed and supported on the quietest horses. They found -the prisoner bound in the spot where he had been left, and he was not a -little surprised to see his comrades and all their booty captured like -himself. He bore it, however, with the resigned indifference common to -oriental fatalists. - -Having arrived at the well, arrangements were made for the night -encampment. The prisoners were all placed, disarmed, in a body, with a -strong guard over them, and they were told that any attempt at escape -would be punished by instant death. The horses were picketed, and Hassan -intrusted Nebleh to his own groom, with orders to sleep close to her, -and with one eye open: over these a guard was set, which was relieved -every two or three hours, Hassan and the Georgian agreeing to watch each -one-half of the night. The barley and bread captured from the Sammalous -was more than ample for the wants of the party, and half-a-dozen torn-up -shirts supplied the bandages necessary for the wounded. - -The night passed without incident or interruption, and the following day -they pursued their course leisurely to the Pyramids, where their arrival -with their captives and booty created no little sensation. After -consulting with Hassan the Georgian sent off a fresh horseman with a -letter to the Kiahia, informing him of the result of the expedition, and -requesting that one or two surgeons might be sent to attend the wounded -of both parties: he also desired to know the Pasha’s pleasure whether he -should convey the prisoners and recaptured booty into Cairo, or to the -divan of the Governor of the province at Ghizeh. - -The generous Georgian did not tell Hassan that in his account of the -affray he had given the whole credit of its success to our hero, both -from his having laid and carried out the plan, and crowned it by killing -the Sammalous chief with his own hand. - -Those who have lived or travelled in the East will exclaim, “This is -unnatural; no Oriental was ever capable of so unselfish a trait.” Rare -fruit in that clime we admit it to be, nevertheless the exception does -not disprove the rule. However contrary it may appear to general -experience, truth, modesty, and unselfishness _may_ be found in the -East—that is, among the Arabs, Turks, and those brought up with them. He -that would seek such fruit farther East—that is, in Persia—had better -settle his affairs before he starts, and be prepared for a journey of -indefinite duration and worse than doubtful result. - -Having despatched the messenger, and sent another to the villages which -had been plundered by the Sammalous to desire their sheiks to come on -the following morning to identify and claim their lost property, Hassan -and the Georgian proceeded without delay to render such assistance as -lay in their power to their wounded comrades: in this work of humanity -they found an efficient coadjutor in Müller. For most of the wounds, -after cleaning them, cold bandages were his panacea, and these he -applied with remarkable skill and expedition. In two instances he had to -employ probe and forceps for the extraction of a pistol-ball: in these -he was equally successful, and he plied his hands and instruments with -much knowledge. - -Hassan, as soon as he could leave the wounded, was summoned to Mr -Thorpe’s tent to give an account of the expedition and the affray, which -he did with his accustomed modesty, passing lightly over his own share -in them, and praising the gallantry of the Georgian and his comrades. -But when he came to relate the chase, and what might be termed his -flying duel with the Sammalous chief, his eye sparkled, and he told his -tale with a force and vigour that produced the liveliest interest and -excitement in his auditors. Emily gazed on the speaker in silence, and -when he had concluded his narrative Mr Thorpe said— - -“Hassan, you mentioned that the chief’s bullet grazed your side: in -attending to the wounds of others, have you seen to your own?” - -“Mine is a mere scratch; I have not even looked at it,” he replied. - -“The very words you used before,” said Mr Thorpe, shaking his head, -“when you had a ball in your shoulder which threatened to cripple you -for life. I insist upon it that you allow Müller to examine it.” - -“To please you, and to show you that I am grateful for the interest you -take in me, I will do so,” said Hassan, rising, and he went with Müller -into the adjoining tent. On examination the latter found that our hero, -though not seriously injured, had very narrowly escaped. The ball had, -as he termed it, grazed his side: the application of some lint and a -plaster was all that Müller thought necessary. He returned to give his -report to the Thorpes, while Hassan went to sup with his friend the -Georgian, who had already invited the doctor to join them. - -On the following morning at daybreak the messenger returned, bringing an -answer from the Kiahia to the effect that Hassan and the Georgian, -together with those who had accompanied them, were to convey the -prisoners, horses, and other booty to the Governor’s divan at Ghizeh, -where the Kiahia proposed himself to attend and to superintend the -proceedings. The village sheiks having arrived, the party set forth to -Ghizeh, and on arriving, Hassan was surprised and pleased to find there -his chief, Delì Pasha, in attendance on the Kiahia. The hearty old Pasha -welcomed Hassan with a smile, saying— - -“Welcome, my son; you have done well, and have made my eyes glad.” - -The Kiahia then sat down in the centre, with Delì Pasha on one side and -the Governor on the other, Hassan and the Georgian standing near their -respective chiefs. The proceedings commenced by an inquiry into the -amount claimed by the several sheiks as having been stolen from their -villages. - -It were an endless task to relate the falsehoods and exaggerations -uttered by each of these worthies as to the losses they had sustained: -certain it is that five times the amount of money recovered would not -have satisfied their claims. Hassan and the Georgian laid before the -Kiahia the bags which they had found on the persons of the Sammalous, as -well as the prisoners and the dead. Some of them were distinguishable by -marks and seals: these were restored to their owners, and the others -distributed according to the best judgment of the Kiahia. Still the -claimants were dissatisfied, and one old sheik said— - -“Would it not be well if your Excellency ordered these two young -Mamelukes and their soldiers to be searched?—perhaps they have secreted -some of the money.” - -Hassan and the Georgian cast on the speaker looks of silent contempt, -but the impetuous Delì roared out, “By my life, thou son of a dog, thou -deservest to have thy white beard rubbed in the kennel! Dost thou think -that these brave youths would risk their lives to recover your dirty -piastres and then steal a portion of them? and if they had been thieves -like thyself, dost thou think, thou father of asses, that they would -have brought those piastres with them to this divan?” - -The abashed sheik held his peace, and soon afterwards slunk out of the -court. - -The mares and foals claimed by the villagers were next distributed, and -with less confusion and contention than the money, being more easily -identified. This ceremony over, the Kiahia Pasha said— - -“As the goods of the villagers have now been restored, the persons and -property of the Sammalous thieves are at the disposal of the -Government—the prisoners are condemned to three years’ imprisonment. -Kawàsses, take charge of them, and remove them to Cairo. Now, Hassan and -Reschid” (addressing the Georgian), “stand forth.” The young men obeyed. -“Hassan,” continued the Kiahia, “the mare of the Sammalous chief whom -you killed is yours. There are twenty-five horses, with arms and -accoutrements, belonging to the Sammalous: of these fifteen are for you, -as you took the principal lead in the expedition; the remaining ten are -for Reschid.” - -“My lord,” said Hassan hastily, interrupting the Kiahia, “pardon my -freedom of speech. It is not just that I should take one horse more than -Reschid: he is my senior, and he commanded your Excellency’s men; he -fought and risked his life as I did. Whatever lead I had in the -expedition was owing to his modesty and friendship: as we divided the -duty equally, I beg your Excellency to divide the horses equally.” - -The Kiahia smiled aside to Delì Pasha and replied, “Wallàhi! Hassan, -your sentiment is friendly and good, but it is out of my power to comply -with your wish. There are twenty-five horses; how can I divide them -equally?” - -“May your servant speak freely?” inquired Hassan. On receiving an -approving sign from the Kiahia he continued, “Four of the brave soldiers -who fought with us fell in the affray; they will have left behind them -perhaps poor parents, perhaps poor families. I would beg your Excellency -to give me eight of the horses, the same number to Reschid, and to allow -the remainder to be sold in the horse-market and the money to be given -to those poor families.” - -“Mashallah!” said the Kiahia, “you have spoken kindly and wisely; it -shall be done as you wish. Do you and Reschid take all the horses, -choose each your eight, sell the remainder yourselves, and give the -amount to the families of those on whom Allah has had mercy.”[74] - -Hassan bowed, and was about to retire when the Kiahia again called him -and Reschid before him, saying to them, “You have both done well, and -the Viceroy is pleased that those who do good service should be -rewarded; my _khaznadâr_ has orders to pay you each five purses [£25] on -leaving this presence.” - -The young men answered with the customary “May your years and honours be -abundant,” and withdrew. Hassan having received permission to send his -mare and his eight horses into Delì Pasha’s stable, went back with -Reschid to the Pyramids in order to take leave of his English friends, -while the Kiahia and Delì Pasha returned to Cairo. - -Our hero and Reschid, whose liking for each other had already ripened -into a warm attachment, rode side by side, conversing on many topics, -when the former suddenly said to his companion, “Reschid, I know not how -you may feel, but I do not like being paid in money for doing our duty -in scattering, capturing, and killing those thieves of Sammalous, and -methinks it were a more fitting reward for those soldiers who shared our -danger and who have got nothing. What think you if we were to divide -among them these purses which have been given to us, and allow some -additional share to the wounded?” - -Reschid eagerly embraced and seconded the proposal, saying, “You are -right, Hassan; we have all that we need under the shadow of our Pashas. -The money will be better bestowed among these fellows, whose trade it is -to take hard blows for money.” - -The idea was no sooner conceived than it was put in execution. Halting -under a clump of palm-trees, they called up the men, and after a few -words of encouragement and praise for their good conduct, divided among -them all that they had received, reserving, as they had proposed, a -somewhat larger share for the wounded. As they again rode forward -towards the Pyramids, one of the horsemen said to his fellows— - -“If our Pasha would give us leaders like that young Hassan, we would -follow them to the last drop of our blood. How unlike he is to our -captain, whose hands are idle in the fight, and busy only in gripping -the money.” - -Hassan was very anxious to learn something of his new friend’s origin -and early history; but the latter was not able to satisfy his curiosity, -answering with a smile to his inquiries, “Our fates seem somewhat -similar. You tell me that you are a foundling and know not your parents. -I am much in the same case; for I was brought over here from Stamboul, -in company with two of my sisters, when I was four or five years of age: -the elder was betrothed and married; the younger was destined for some -great harem, but she fell in love, married secretly—I know not -whom—escaped, and has never since been heard of. As I never could learn -the name of her husband, I have not been able to trace her.” - -“As our fates are alike, so let our hearts be alike,” said Hassan -cordially; “and may Allah some day reunite us both to those whom we have -lost.” - -“So may it be! You are not a woman, and not very like one either,” -replied Reschid, casting his eyes on the athletic proportions of his -companion, “and yet my heart leaned towards you from the first moment I -saw you. Inshallah! now we are friends, we will see each other much and -often.” - -“I should be truly glad,” answered Hassan; “but our intercourse will be -soon interrupted, for Delì Pasha goes shortly to Siout as Governor, and -I am to accompany him.” - -“You will not remain there long,” said Reschid, “neither you nor your -chief. Mohammed Ali likes him and his blunt ways. You will see that he -will not leave him long at Siout.” - -Thus conversing, the friends arrived at the Pyramids, where the report -of their generosity to the soldiers and the wounded was soon spread over -the whole encampment. - -On the morning succeeding these events, Hassan, after taking leave of -the Thorpe party, and recommending them to the care of his friend -Reschid, returned to Delì Pasha’s palace on the banks of the river, -where he was cordially welcomed by his chief and by Ahmed Aga. The fame -of his exploits, if so they may be termed, had already spread over the -whole house, and indeed had been painted in glowing colours by the old -chief himself to his daughter. - -No greeting of all those which met him on his return pleased him more -than that of the little dumb Murad, who looked up into his protector’s -face with eyes that scarcely required the aid of the tongue’s -interpretation, as his nimble fingers signed the words, “Allah give you -a long and prosperous life—I have heard all, and oh! I am so happy.” - -Hassan patted the head of his young _protégé_ and inquired what he had -been doing during the last few days. The little boy had much to tell, -and it required all Hassan’s attention to follow and understand the -language of those fingers, whose rapidity of motion almost confused his -sight. Murad had taken many messages, and got into high favour with old -Mansour, who knew that he was himself the unintentional cause of the -hurt which the dumb boy had received. Finding him very faithful and -intelligent in the execution of commissions, Mansour had sent him -frequently to the city to bring trifles and samples for the ladies of -the harem, and had even conducted him to the ladies themselves, his age -not rendering that step objectionable.[75] He had taken some silks to -Zeinab Khanum, and some otto of roses[76] to Ayesha Khanum (probably the -two wives of the Pasha); also some beads and turquoises to the lovely -Amina Khanum. - -“To whom?” cried Hassan, grasping the little boy’s arm with a grip which -almost paralysed it. - -“To the lovely Amina Khanum,” repeated Murad, astonished at Hassan’s -outbreak. “And is she not beautiful as a houri?” - -“And did you speak with her?” said Hassan, releasing the boy’s arm and -striving to master his emotion. - -“In truth I did,” he replied, “and she spoke to me kindly, and pitied my -want of speech, and said she could almost weep for me.” - -“Allah! Allah! would that I were twelve years old and dumb,” ejaculated -Hassan. - -“What said you?” inquired Murad, looking up into his face with -astonishment. - -“Nothing—nothing, boy; go on and tell me what passed with Am——, with the -lady you were speaking of.” - -“She patted me on the cheek, and made me tell her what happened on the -day that you saved Mansour from the soldiers. She asked me whether you -had been kind to me, and what could I say of my protector but that you -had been to me more than a father or a brother? She wished to know where -you were gone, and whether there would be bloodshed, and when you were -coming back. I wrote all my answers on slips of paper (for I have taught -my finger-talk to none but you), and while she was reading them her -breath was quick, and her colour changed, and she was so agitated—by -Allah! just as you are now, Hassan. What has happened?” added Murad -timidly; “have I said anything to offend you?” - -Much of what had fallen from Murad was music to Hassan’s ear and balm to -his heart; yet a sort of dread came over him when he reflected how he -had betrayed his feelings, and she hers, to a child, and one whose -vocation it was to go from house to house with messages and commissions! -Looking steadily into Murad’s eyes, he said, “Were you alone with the -lady when this passed?” - -“I was,” he replied, “for some time: two of the slave-girls were -occupied at the other end of the room, but they were too far to hear -what the lady said to me, and you know, Hassan, they could not hear what -I said to her.” - -This reply somewhat reassured Hassan, while its closing words moved his -compassion. Fixing his eyes earnestly, yet kindly, on the boy’s -countenance, he said to him, “Murad, do you love me?” - -“Better than my life,” replied Murad, eagerly seizing his protector’s -hand and pressing it to his lips. “Whom should I love, if I love not -you? I have none on earth to care for, none to love, if it be not -Hassan.” - -“Then I charge you by that love,” said Hassan solemnly, “never to -communicate what you have told me to any human being—not even to -Mansour. Were you to do so,” he added, with a stern expression, “much as -I pity and love you, Murad, I would rend your limbs asunder and give -them to the vultures.” - -Although hurt and surprised by the unwonted tone of his protectors -language, Murad looked up in his face with a calm, untroubled -countenance, and using his little fingers with slowness and precision, -he said, “Kill me now if you doubt me! I am not noble nor honourable in -birth, but I have a heart. Has Hassan forgotten our proverb, ‘The good -man’s breast is the secret’s tomb’?”[77] - -“Enough,” replied Hassan, in the usual tone of kindness in which he -addressed his young _protégé_. “I will trust you, and did wrong to doubt -your truth. If you are again called to the Lady Amina, serve her and -obey her faithfully in all things, but never communicate to any living -creature what she may say or ask about me. You are too young to -understand the dangers, the intrigues, and calumnies of a harem—only -remember that one unguarded expression from you might be the cause of -misery and shame worse than death to her.” - -Hassan, having received a message from Delì Pasha, dismissed his little -_protégé_ and presented himself before his chief, who began talking to -him on the subject of his expedition against the Sammalous, and in the -course of conversation asked him what he proposed doing with the eight -horses taken from them, to which Hassan replied that it was his wish to -send them as a present to his foster-father among the Oulâd-Ali. - -“That is well,” said the Pasha, smiling; “youth should repay the bread -of infancy. But what mean you to do with the beautiful mare Nebleh?” - -Hassan thought for a moment, and then replied, “She is, indeed, -beautiful and swift beyond any horse that I have seen; but she is small -and light—too much so to bear me either after an enemy or an antelope, -too much so even to bear your Excellency with freedom.” Here Hassan cast -his eyes on the large and vigorous, though somewhat corpulent, -proportions of his chief. “I was thinking that it would be well if your -Excellency were to make her a present from yourself to Mohammed Ali, for -it does not become one in my rank to make him such an offering. His -Highness is small and light in person; nor do I believe that he has a -mare like Nebleh in his stable.” - -“Wallàhi! you say well,” replied Delì Pasha. “Nebleh would fly under -him; it shall be as you wish. But as she is your property, if I present -her from myself I must buy her from you. How many purses shall I give -you for her?” - -“Under your Excellency’s favour I have no need of money,” replied -Hassan, with an abstracted, melancholy air that struck the Pasha. “Some -day I may have a favour to ask of you; then, if you choose, you may pay -me for Nebleh.” - -“As you will,” answered Delì Pasha. “I will write a letter to his -Highness, which you shall deliver yourself with the mare; he is coming -to Shubrah[78] in a day or two. Now,” continued the Pasha, “you must go -to your office, for the _nazir_ [steward] of my village in Karioonbiah -has been here with the year’s account—you know how I hate accounts—so I -told him to wait your return. Look through his accounts, receive his -money, and send him back.” - -Hassan had scarcely taken his seat in his office, and was beginning to -look among his papers for the last year’s accounts of the -above-mentioned village, when a servant announced to him the expected -_nazir_. On entering he made a profound and ceremonious salam to Hassan, -and remained standing until the latter desired him to be seated; and -when he obeyed this order, it was with a feigned reluctance that he -placed himself in the attitude of most respectful humility by sitting on -his heels, carefully covering them with the edge of his robe and his -hands with its sleeve. Hassan, rather surprised at this overstrained -humility, bestowed upon the _nazir_ a scrutinising glance, the result of -which did not predispose our hero in favour of his visitor. - -While the usual pipe and coffee were being offered and discussed a few -indifferent and customary phrases were exchanged, and Hassan had more -opportunity for studying the countenance of the _nazir_. It offered one -difficulty to his scrutiny, as the eyes squinted so remarkably that he -could not tell when they were looking at him or when directed elsewhere. -Though not superstitious, Hassan was not free from the strong prejudice -entertained by all his countrymen against this unpleasant -peculiarity;[79] and he noted that in the _nazir_ it was accompanied by -a pinched nose, a narrow forehead, and a mouth round which a false, -sneering smile perpetually played. The servants having retired, the -new-comer began, after his own fashion, to take (as a sailor might say) -the soundings of Hassan’s character. - -“A very pleasant office this, O Aga, upon which you have lately -entered.” - -“Pleasant enough for those who prefer the pen and the carpet to the -lance and the desert,” replied Hassan. - -“There is a time for all,” answered the _nazir_. “Your respected -predecessor found it so; he was fond of both; he and I were great -friends.” He laid much stress upon the last two words, which did not -raise him much in the estimation of Hassan, who had already discovered -among his papers not a few proofs of his predecessor’s dishonesty. While -assuming a careless air, he resolved to watch the man more narrowly. - -“Doubtless,” he said, “those who serve the same chief should be friends -together.” - -This observation, which was merely general, misled the _nazir_ into a -belief that he was understood and met half-way. - -“What a good chief he is to serve,” said the _nazir_, with his sneering -smile. “Open hands and eyes closed, never looks into an account, that is -the kind of master I like.” - -“Yes,” replied Hassan; “I believe he trusts a great deal to his agents -without looking after his own affairs.” - -“Wallàhi! that he does,” said the _nazir_; “and as he has plenty, why -should not others also eat bread? Do you know,” he added, lowering his -voice, while his eyes, apparently directed towards the door, were fixed -upon Hassan—“do you know how much your predecessor had for his share out -of our village last year?” - -“No, I know not,” replied our hero; “I have not looked through the -accounts.” - -The _nazir_ smiled at his companion’s simplicity as he said, “Accounts, -indeed! Oh, they are all right and signed by me, while mine are signed -by the Sheik-el-Beled.[80] We must all three be friends, you understand. -The village is rated to pay Delì Pasha two hundred purses a-year -[£1000], but we easily raise a great deal more, and that we divide -amongst us for our trouble. Last year we got each of us fifty purses, -and, Inshallah! by your good fortune, we have as much this year.” - -“You must explain more to me,” said Hassan, dissembling his indignation -under a semblance of simplicity. “I do not understand all the details of -your village affairs. I had understood that in the new measurement of -the lands which the Viceroy ordered to be made throughout Egypt a few -years ago, far heavier demands were made on the fellah than under the -old measurement: how comes it, then, that your village produces so much -more than is written against it in the books of the Defterdar?”[81] - -“The land was then only half cultivated,” replied the _nazir_, “and was -rated at only three _ardebs_[82] the _feddan_ [acre]. Since then Delì -Pasha has spent much money on it in irrigation, and he is quite -satisfied that it produces, as you see in our books, five _ardebs_; but -we generally get seven out of it, and besides this there are many -methods which we employ for getting an honest penny here and there out -of the village. The recruiting time is our best harvest, for then all -those who do not wish a son or a brother to be taken must pay the sheik -well, and I have my eye always steadily fixed upon him to see that he -shares fairly with us.” - -“Then,” replied Hassan, “it is clear that the signature or seal of the -sheik is necessary for all these papers, in case they should be suddenly -called for and examined. How do you propose to arrange them with me in -his absence?” - -“He is on his way,” said the _nazir_, “and will be here to-night. -To-morrow morning we will come to you together, sign the papers, pay you -the money, take your receipt, and divide the little perquisite that we -take for our trouble.” - -He accompanied these last words with what he meant to be a knowing wink, -but what was in fact a grimace so odious that Hassan could scarcely -resist the impulse, which had been gradually growing, to kick him out of -the room. But his resolution to seize and convict his accomplice the -sheik enabled him to master the impulse, so he contented himself with -saying— - -“Well, bring him to-morrow morning and we will make it all right.” - -“I will be here,” replied the _nazir_, who then rose and took his leave. - -No sooner was he gone than Hassan’s indignation found vent in words -which, although not uncommon among the Arabs, are scarcely fit to be -translated for ears or eyes polite. As he was not aware what spies or -partisans the _nazir_ might have among the servants in the house, he -took no immediate step in reference to the late interview, but strolled -down to the stable and spent some time in directing the exertions of his -groom towards the rubbing and polishing the satin coats of Shèitan and -Nebleh, and beautiful they both were in their several styles—the one -above the ordinary size, fleet, proud, strong, and fierce in his bearing -to all but one; the other gentle, sagacious, unequalled in her speed as -in the fine and delicate proportions of her limbs. Still when any -stranger approached, she turned to look at him, as if expecting again to -see the form, again to hear the voice, of her Arab lord. - -Hassan understood the gesture, and went up to caress her, saying, -“Faithful creature, thou shalt see him no more; his destined hour was -come, and you are separated. But you shall at least go where you will be -sheltered in all seasons, nurtured with all care, fed with all fresh -grasses and grains; thy sleek sides will be covered with velvet and -jewels, a gold-adorned bit in thy mouth, and on thy back will be a rider -like thyself—slight, indeed, and small in size, but unwearied in energy, -and of a spirit unquenched by danger and fatigue: wilt thou be happy, -Nebleh?” - -While thus speaking, or rather half audibly murmuring, he stood with one -arm thrown over Nebleh’s neck and the other hand shading his own eyes, -as his thoughts unconsciously wandered to Amina, and might have been -embodied thus in words: “Were I lying on those sands where the Sammalous -chief’s bones now rest, would she start and turn at every approaching -step; and if afterwards they wedded her to wealth and splendour, and her -robes were studded with jewels, and gold and pearls were upon her neck, -would she be happy?” - -Hassan was roused from his wayward and dreamy thoughts by the cheerful -voice of his friend Ahmed Aga, who had come to inspect the far-famed -Nebleh, and was surprised to find Hassan apparently asleep, though -standing on his feet and his arm over her neck. “Why, how is this, my -Antar?” he cried; “asleep, and with your arm on Nebleh’s mane.” - -The sudden effort made by Hassan to recover his composure was not -entirely successful; besides, he was too natural to feign with his -friend a gaiety that he did not feel, so he replied— - -“In truth, Ahmed, I was thinking of this poor animal’s former master, -the Sammalous: she looks in vain for his return, and pricks her ears at -every approaching footstep. Who knows what other loving hearts in the -tents are also waiting in vain for that returning footstep?” - -“Wallàhi!” said Ahmed; “if thou hadst only one-half thy size, and -one-quarter of thy strength and courage, thou wouldst be a charming -girl, and methinks I could court thee myself, for thy heart is as tender -as that of Leilah herself. The Sammalous chief died like a brave robber, -as he was, and far happier was it for him than to be captured and taken -to Alexandria, and drag timber about the arsenal with two heavy chains -round his ankles. Come, be pleased to remove thy giantship from the side -of thy pet, that I may see her fair proportions.” - -Hassan, relieved and restored to his wonted good-humour by the bantering -tone of his friend, complied with his request, and after they had stood -for some time commenting on the beauty and symmetry of the Arab, they -returned together towards the house. On the way Hassan, having first -ascertained that Ahmed was but slightly acquainted with the _nazir_, -told him all that had passed, and at the same time communicated to him -the plan that he had formed for the morrow. - -“You may remember,” he said, “that in my office is a recess, covered -over with a curtain, behind which, unobserved by any of the servants, I -wish you to place yourself. There you will hear the rascality of these -two confessed by themselves, even if they have not signed or sealed -enough to convict them. At a signal from me you will come out; we will -then seize them and deliver them over to the Pasha, to be punished as he -sees fit.” - -“With all my heart,” said Ahmed. “On my head be it; and, Inshallah! that -squinting rogue’s feet will get a lesson that will mend his morals.” - -On the following morning Hassan’s plan was carried out with complete -success, and scarcely had Ahmed Aga ensconced himself in the curtained -recess of Hassan’s office than the _nazir_ entered, accompanied by the -Sheik-el-Beled. The latter was what would be usually termed in Egypt a -respectable-looking man, for one of his class; his turban and his dark -serge robe well became the gravity of his countenance, and it required a -close observation to detect the cunning that lurked in his small dark -eyes. The servants who brought the pipes and coffee having retired, the -_nazir_ entered into the business which had been discussed at the -interview of the preceding evening. He had not proceeded very far in his -discourse when Hassan, interrupting him, said— - -“This is a serious affair; it will not do to have servants coming in -with messages until we have terminated it. I will lock the door.” While -he was doing so the _nazir_ said to the sheik in an undertone— - -“The young greyhound takes well to the game; after he has tasted blood” -(here he rattled the money in his bag) “he will be keener yet.” A grim -smile, accompanied by “Inshallah!” was the sheik’s reply. - -In order that the unseen auditor might hear the whole scheme of fraud -developed, Hassan now caused the _nazir_ to repeat what he had stated on -the preceding day, under pretext that he had not thoroughly understood -its details. Our hero also put from time to time a question to the -sheik, whose replies, brief though they were, proved him to be a -thorough participator in the villainy of his colleague, and rather led -Hassan to think him the deeper rogue of the two. - -The discussion being closed, they now, as the _nazir_ said, “proceeded -to business”—_i.e._, to the signature of the falsified accounts—which -ceremony was accompanied by the delivery to Hassan of a bag containing -fifty purses (£250), which the _nazir_ drew from an inner pocket of his -ample vest. Hassan weighed the bag in his hand without untying it, then -placed it in a niche of the wall above his head.[83] The _nazir_ and the -sheik having attached their seals to duplicate copies of the accounts, -the latter were handed to Hassan to be certified by him in a similar -manner. - -“Before doing so,” said he, “I will call another witness to my sealing. -Ahmed Aga, come forth.” - -No sooner did the two accomplices see the _mirakhor_ emerge from the -curtain than they knew they were detected and lost. The falsified -accounts were in Hassan’s hand, and it flashed across the _nazir’s_ mind -that if he could recover and destroy them, proof might be difficult -where two would have to swear against two; and, quick as thought, he -threw himself on Hassan as the latter was rising from his sitting -posture to his feet. But Hassan had his right hand free, and the -unfortunate _nazir_ never knew what a right hand it was until he found -himself lying prostrate and bruised at the farthest end of the room. -Ahmed Aga burst into a fit of laughter. - -“Mashallah!” he said, “a cheating, squinting, cut-purse dog like you to -lay your dirty hands on our Antar. Ha! ha! ha! Come,” he continued, -addressing the discomfited _nazir_, “give me up that sword, which you -are unworthy to wear, or we shall have you trying to stab some one in -the dark.” - -Having received the fallen _nazir’s_ sword, he opened the door, and -calling aloud, ordered two servants to bring cords to tie the hands of -the two miscreants and conduct them to the presence of Delì Pasha, -whither they themselves at once proceeded, Hassan bearing with him the -bag of money and the falsified accounts. - -Whilst Hassan was narrating to his chief the manner in which he had been -cheated by these scoundrels for years past, the Pasha’s brow was -clouded. The written proofs of their guilt having been laid before him, -and Ahmed Aga having testified to having heard from their own lips a -confirmation of Hassan’s statement, Delì Pasha called aloud to his -attendants to take the culprits into the court below and to give them -each 250 blows on the feet,—“and mind that they are well laid on,” he -added sternly. Then turning to the prisoners, he said, “You have owned -to having continued this robbery for some years: after your punishment -you will be shut up for a week, during which time you will find means to -refund each 100 purses, the avowed spoil of the last two years. If you -fail to do so, I hand you over to the Mehkemeh [the public tribunal], -where, as you know, the galleys will be your fate. Begone!” - -In a few minutes the shrieks and cries of “Aman!” [Mercy!] that arose -from the court satisfied the Pasha that his orders were faithfully -executed, and he turned with a cleared brow to Hassan, whom he warmly -praised for his fidelity and intelligence, adding, “You have well -deserved that bag of fifty purses, and I would willingly give it you, -but I know, my brave lad, that the offer would offend you; if, however, -it would give you pleasure to wear an old soldier’s sword, that has -drunk no little Wahabee blood in its day, you are welcome to it. I know -it could not be in better or in braver hands.” As he said this he -unbuckled his sword and gave it to Hassan, who pressed the holy legend -on the blade[84] to his lips and forehead, saying, “May your honours -increase with your life, and may I never be unworthy of your favours.” - - -We must now transport the reader to the interior of a house, or rather a -palace, which stood, and indeed still stands, on the banks of the Nile, -about a quarter of a mile from the site of that which we have before -described as being occupied by Delì Pasha. This palace was larger and -better built than others in the neighbourhood; its foundations of solid -stone formed a kind of pier, capable of resisting and controlling the -waters of the Nile in their wildest mood, so that a person at one of the -windows facing the river might drop a stone into the flood below. At the -back of the palace was a large garden filled with orange, lemon, citron, -and pomegranate trees, and protected by a high wall; while the lateral -front of the building, on which side the windows were all closely -latticed, commanded a view of the streets and of the passengers coming -to and going from the port of Boulak. - -In a private apartment of this palace, adjoining the _ka’ah_ or large -central saloon, sat a lady, apparently between thirty and thirty-five -years of age, the character of whose remarkable countenance was hard to -read and define. The features were not regular in detail, yet they were -not wanting in a certain beauty of harmony, and though they betrayed -strong passions, they denoted a still stronger will to command them. The -eye small, but full of fire; and though the stature was below the -average height, yet the form seemed imbued with command, and the -gestures, though imperious, were not devoid of grace. - -Opposite this lady, whom we shall so far involve in mystery as to give -her no name but that of the Khanum, sate, or rather crouched, at a -respectful distance the figure of a little old woman, whose features -were a true index of her odious character. She was what is called in -Arabic a _dellaleh_ or saleswoman, a class who frequent oriental harems -for the ostensible purpose of selling to the inmates jewels, silks, -shawls, and toys of all descriptions, but are usually employed as the -medium of all love affairs or intrigues in which the imprisoned beauties -are or wish to be engaged. - -“And is he then so very beautiful?” inquired the Khanum, with apparent -listlessness. - -“My lady, I am told that he is indeed beautiful as Youssuf,[85] and -strong and valiant as Antar, nevertheless the down of manhood is newly -written on his lip.” - -“Who may be your informant as to this wondrous youth?” said the Khanum, -in a tone in which curiosity was veiled under a semblance of -haughtiness. - -“May it please you, my lady, it was Ferraj, the confidential servant of -Osman Bey, who has seen this youth called Hassan both in the street and -at the jereed play; and Ferraj is a man who has eyes—Mashallah! he is -not blind. I have before now served him in luring birds of beauty to his -master’s net, and——” - -“Peace, woman,” said the lady sternly. “Think you that I care to hear -the intrigues of that ruffian Bey?” then dropping her voice to a lower -key, she added, “Well, I will see this youth—I think you called him -Hassan. When can you bring him hither?” - -“It is not difficult, lady; to-morrow, if you will—unless he is absent -on duty. Ferraj says that though all are afraid of him if he is angry, -yet he is good-natured and simple as a child, and that if I only tell -him that some one is in danger or in trouble, he is sure to come at -once.” - -“Well, be it for to-morrow,” said the lady impatiently; “only let me -know in time whether you have succeeded.” - -“And if I do succeed,” said the crone, “and if he be as beautiful as I -have said, what will the generous lady bestow on her slave?” - -“That,” replied the Khanum, pointing to a small European purse -ornamented with pearls which lay upon a stool of ebony inlaid with -mother of pearl beside her, and through the network of which a certain -number of gold coins were visible. “Go now, be silent and faithful, or -... you know me.” - -“That do I,” muttered the crone between her teeth, as she made her salam -and left the room. “I know thee for the veriest dragon that ever wore -the form of woman.” - -That same evening, when Hassan retired to his small sleeping-room, he -felt as happy, if not happier, than ever he had felt before: he had -rendered to his chief an important service, and had received from him a -sword of honour, a trusty blade of the finest Damascus temper, with -which he hoped to carve his way to honour, distinction, and Amina. - -As the image of the latter rose to view in his imagination, an -irresistible impulse led him to close his door, mount the steps which he -withdrew from behind his bed, and look through the aperture at the -well-known window of his beloved. To his surprise and delight the -lattice was open, and he could distinctly see the lovely form and -features of Amina as she reposed upon a low ottoman; two candles in high -silver candlesticks were on the carpet beside her; no other figure was -visible, but Hassan knew that she was not alone, as he heard a voice -addressing her in a low tone, which he fancied (although he did not -catch a word) he recognised as that of Fatimeh Khanum. - -In explanation of the open lattice, it must be remembered that Amina’s -apartments were high from the ground, and that on the side of the outer -palace on which they looked there was not a single window, save only the -aperture made by two displaced bricks, through which Hassan had already -drank so many deep draughts of love. - -Now he could hear Amina’s sweet voice replying to her companion; but he -saw that a kerchief was applied to her eyes, and that she was weeping -bitterly. At the same time he thought—nay, he was sure—that he heard his -own name uttered by the other speaker. Abhorring even the thought of -eavesdropping, he came down from the steps and replaced them behind his -bed, on which he threw himself in an agony of conflicting emotion. - -“Allah! Allah!” said the unhappy youth. “I have caused her tears to flow -for whose happiness I would sacrifice my life.” He then thought of the -words of Fatimeh Khanum—of the high destinies reserved for Amina—of his -own unknown birth and humble fortune; thence his thoughts passed to the -kindness and trusting confidence shown to him by her father. “And shall -it be said that I, Hassan, rewarded him by trying to steal the -affections of his only daughter, the prop and pride of his old age. Why -did I see her lovely face—why did I hear her sweet voice—why did I -respond to her song? Allah! Allah! I have done very wrong—I have been -blinded, bewitched, deprived of my reason. Ye cursed steps, ye have -brought me to this evil.” So saying, he rose in haste, and after -ascertaining that there was no one in the passage, he carried out the -steps and replaced them in the same corner whence he had first removed -them. - -More than half the night he spent in framing resolutions to tear the -image of Amina out of his breast, or if this proved impossible, as his -heart whispered to him it would be, at least to bury it within him, and -permit no temptation to induce him to seek a return of his ill-starred -passion. “Inshallah! I will never cause her to shed another tear, unless -some bullet or lance removes me from the earth, and she drops one on my -grave.” With these resolutions Hassan fell asleep and dreamt of Amina. - -The Easterns have a proverbial saying, that Fortune when serving Vice -rides on an Arab horse, and when serving Virtue rides on a camel,—the -moral being that she is generally swift to aid the vicious in their -undertakings, whilst she is more slow, though more sure and steady, in -aiding those of the virtuous. In illustration whereof it fell out that -on the following morning Hassan rose early, and strolled in a musing -mood on the road which led along the bank of the river to Boulak: he did -not observe that he was followed by two persons at a little distance, an -old woman and a man. “That is he,” said the latter in a low voice to his -companion, and immediately withdrew. - -Hassan walked slowly forward, and just as he came to a part of the road -where passengers were few and an unfrequented by-street led from it, he -felt his elbow lightly touched by some one from behind, and turning, he -saw a woman, respectably dressed and covered with a long black veil, -whom he knew at once from her round shoulders and stooping gait to be -advanced in years. - -“What would you with me?” he inquired. - -“I have a message for the private ear of Hassan,” she replied, “if he -will accompany me for a few paces up the street”; and without waiting a -reply she walked on before him. - -The _dellaleh_, for she it was, felt that she required great caution and -tact in order to secure the acquiescence of Hassan in her demand; for -she had ascertained some particulars of his habits and character, whence -she inferred that if she abruptly proposed to him any affair of -gallantry he would turn on his heel and leave her. Having reached a -secluded part of the street, she stopped and said, “I have been asked by -a lady who is in trouble to see Hassan, and inquire whether he is -disposed to render her a service.” - -“I do not understand or love mysteries,” replied Hassan frankly. “Who is -the lady, and what service does she require at my hands? Has she not -father, or brother, or sons, or friends, that she asks you to apply to a -stranger?” - -“My son,” said the old woman, modulating her voice to its softest tones, -“know you not that in our country there are cases where ladies are -deprived by fate of all these supports which you name? Know you not our -proverb, ‘He is thy brother who befriends thee, not he who came forth -from thy mother’s womb’?” - -“True, my mother,” said Hassan, smiling; “yet I would fain know what -service is required of me—is the lady oppressed, and has she need of my -sword?” - -“I am not in the Khanum’s confidence,” replied the wily crone. “She has, -I suppose, heard of your courage and fidelity, and wishes to consult you -on some matter touching her honour or safety.” - -“If that be so,” answered Hassan, “I am ready—lead on.” - -“Not now,” she replied, “spies are about; and you yourself know that it -would be impossible to admit you to the door of the harem in the -daytime. Meet me this evening at sunset under the large sycomore by the -river on the road to Boulak, and I will conduct you to the house.” - -“I will be there,” answered Hassan; and the crone left him to make -report of her success to her employer. - -“I have half a mind not to do it,” she muttered, as she went. “So young, -so handsome, so unsuspicious; and after a few days’ revelling in wine -and luxury, to be consigned to the cord or the deep well.” A shudder -passed over her frame; but the tempter was at hand—if aught so foul and -hardened as she could be said to require a tempter—the purse of gold -flitted before her eyes, and she pursued her course to the side-door of -her patroness’s house. Admitted at once to the presence of the latter, -she reported the success of her mission, adding, “He will be here just -after sunset.” - -“Is he then so well-favoured as he had been described?” inquired the -Khanum. - -“Mashallah! you shall see with your own eyes, lady; my words are weak to -describe what you will see.” - -“It is well,” said the Khanum. “Go; I shall expect him at the hour.” - -“What strange folly have I now committed,” said Hassan to himself, “in -offering to assist this unknown person, and risking my neck within the -walls of a harem? However, I have promised, and they shall not say that -I held back from fear.” So saying, he secured his dagger within his sash -under his inner jacket, buckled on his old sword, leaving the splendid -jewel-hilted present of Delì Pasha in his room, and sallied forth to the -place of appointment enveloped in a dark-coloured _aba_ or cloak. He -found the old woman under the tree, and followed her through several -streets without exchanging a word, until they reached the postern door -before mentioned, at which she tapped three times: it was opened -immediately by a Berber _bowàb_, or porter, beside whom stood two Nubian -eunuchs of large stature. - -“Follow your conductor,” whispered the crone to Hassan; “my task is -done.” And so saying, she withdrew from the door, which was closed and -bolted. - -Fear was a sensation as foreign to the heart of Hassan as to that of any -man who ever walked on earth, but the closing of the bolts behind him, -and the grim smile which he observed on the faces of the swarthy -eunuchs, made him for a moment repent of having embarked in this -mysterious enterprise; but recovering himself immediately, and placing a -hand on the hilt of his dagger, he followed his guides in silence. They -led him through several winding passages, and at last to a curtained -door which opened on the larger room before described as the saloon of -the palace, and, making him a sign to enter, retired. Four large candles -in silver stands of unusual height lighted up the farther part of the -saloon, by the side of which stood several trays loaded with the finest -fruits and rarest sweetmeats, while on another were ranged rows of -sherbet-bottles of various hues, and others that might contain the -forbidden juices of the grape: all these things Hassan noted with a -rapid glance, and also that for the present he was the sole occupant of -the splendid apartment. - -“If the lady be mistress of all this wealth and luxury,” said Hassan -half aloud, “how strange that she should need aid or service from one so -humble as myself.” He then walked forward over the soft and silent -carpets towards the lights, and with the curiosity of youth began to -examine the fruits, which surpassed in beauty all that he had seen, and -wondered how such could be collected and procured in the end of -November. - -Hassan was not aware that while the lofty saloon in which he stood -reached to the roof of the palace, there were adjoining rooms of half -the height, and that through the beautifully painted lattice-work which -ornamented the sides of the saloon there was a woman sitting in one of -those dark rooms above, who, invisible herself, could see every feature -of his countenance as he stood in the full glare of the wax-lights. - -“Wallàhi!” as a dark fire flashed from her eyes, “for once that old -daughter of Shèitan has not lied. None so handsome have I seen in this -land; who, whence can he be? Bakkalum” (we shall see). So saying she -left the room, ordering the eunuch who stood without to give her the -key. The corresponding rooms, she knew, were closed and the keys she -held. This strange woman trusted none of her women slaves—they were all -sent to another part of the house; the only confidants of her wickedness -being four powerful black eunuchs and the porter of the postern door. - -Meanwhile Hassan began to weary of his splendid solitude, and finding -his head almost giddy from the aromatic odours which rose from a censer -burning in the room, he threw open the large latticed casement, which, -from the sound of the rushing waters, he judged to look out upon the -Nile. A young moon was rising, and not a boat was visible: the thought -of the grim eunuch below flashed on his recollection, and as he gazed -from the window on the turbid stream boiling below at a distance of -thirty feet, a smile passed over his face. Retiring from the casement, -he found himself suddenly standing before one whom he felt to be the -lady of the palace. - -Her appearance has been described, and she had not neglected to -embellish it by all the resources of art. Her dress was tasteful rather -than splendid, and only one or two jewels of price betokened the rank -and wealth of the wearer; her hands were small and graceful, to which -point a single brilliant of the purest water attracted the eye; and the -natural fire of her dark eyes was now heightened as much by the passion -which burnt within them as by the kohl,[86] which had shed a darker hue -on their lids and on the arching brows above. - -“Pardon me, lady,” said Hassan, “if I have done wrong in opening the -casement; my head is not accustomed to these odours of aloes and -frankincense, and I admitted the air of heaven. If you fear the cold I -will close it.” - -“I have no fear of cold,” she replied, as a ray shot from those piercing -eyes; “let it remain open. But come and sit down on this divan; I have -much to say to you in confidence. We can dispense with servants here; -the fruits and sherbets will not spoil our conversation.” - -Hassan did as he was desired, wondering not a little at the unrestrained -language and manners of the Khanum, who had allowed her veil to fall -from her head; but he observed that, from the height of the sill of the -open casement and of the floor of the room itself, nothing of its -interior, save the ceiling, could be seen from the river. - -The Khanum, with all her vices, was a woman of shrewd and sagacious -intellect, and when she was in the mood few of her sex in the East could -be more agreeable and prepossessing. She now employed all her powers to -please her young and inexperienced companion, not omitting the artillery -of her dark eyes. She observed, however, with secret spite, that the -latter fell harmless on the impenetrable armour of Hassan’s inexperience -or insensibility. When at length, after something that she had said -about love, conjoined with money, pleasure, luxury, &c., Hassan -understood her meaning, he replied with a cold and constrained air— - -“Lady, we have been mistaken in each other. I came here believing that -you were in trouble, and requiring such aid as an honourable man might -give you with sword or counsel; and you brought me here thinking that I -was a minion or a toy that might be bought with gold, and afterwards -cast away like a worn-out dress.” - -“Wallah! it is not so, Hassan. Whatever I have been or done before, I -love you truly; and if you will only give me your love, all my time and -wealth and power shall be spent in making you happy.” - -“Lady,” replied Hassan with frank simplicity, “I will not mislead or -deceive you. A man cannot give what is not his; I have only one heart, -and it is given away. The gold in the Viceroy’s treasury could not -repurchase it.” - -“Then you refuse and scorn my love,” she said, with kindling fire in her -eyes. “Beware how you awaken my hate; none have ever done so and lived -to tell it. I have means at hand for breaking your proud spirit. There -are dungeons below which never see the light of day; a few weeks or -months passed in them, with only black bread to feed on, will perhaps -bring you to another frame of mind.” - -“Khanum,” he cried, springing to his feet, “I replied to your offered -favours with frankness and with courtesy,—your threats I despise.” - -“Despise!” she cried, no longer mistress of her rage; “and this to me!” -As she spoke she clapped her hands loudly together; one of the eunuchs -appeared. “The man and the cord,” she said. The slave retired. - -“Lady,” said Hassan, drawing his sword, “methinks you are scarcely -prudent to trust yourself so completely in the power of one whom you -threaten with the cord and the dungeon: before your slaves appear I -could sever your head from your body. But I have said it—I pity and -despise you.” - -Her eye quailed beneath his stern glance; but at that moment the four -black slaves, armed with swords, and one of them bearing a strong cord, -entered the room. - -“Seize and bind this villain,” she cried, “who has threatened and -insulted me.” - -“Lady,” said Hassan in a low, determined tone, “you are mad. I could -shout so loudly from this open window that neighbours and passengers -would know what was passing in your harem. I must, if you force me to -it, shed in your presence the blood of your slaves; but I would fain -spare you. Think again, and let me depart in peace.” - -Her only reply, as she arose and stamped her foot on the ground, was, -“Seize him and bind him, ye cowardly slaves.” - -“Must it be so?” said Hassan, grasping his dagger in his left hand and -his sword in his right, while his eyes shone with that fierce fire which -always animated them in the fight. “Come on, ye wretched slaves, and try -your destiny!” - -As he spoke these words, and, drawing up his towering form to its full -height, placed himself in a posture of defence, the Khanum cast upon him -a look in which love, admiration, and hate were strangely blended; but -still she stamped her angry foot and ordered the slaves to do her -bidding. - -The negroes rolled their great eyes from their mistress to the powerful -and well-armed youth before them, as if the job was not much to their -liking; but their fear of the terrible and relentless Khanum prevailing, -the boldest and strongest of the party advanced, whispering to his -companion with the rope, “I will engage his sword in front, while you -approach on one side and throw the cord over him”; and in this order -they came forward, the two other slaves, with drawn swords, following -close behind their leader. - -Hassan saw their manœuvre at a glance, and before they could put it in -execution he sprang like a tiger on the foremost, and guarding the cut -which the other made at his head, he dashed the horny knob of his -sword-hilt with such terrific force on his forehead that, after reeling -backward several paces, he fell senseless at the feet of his advancing -comrades. At the same instant, quick as lightning, he turned on the -negro who had nearly reached his side with the cord, and with one cut -laid open his right arm to the bone, the rope falling harmless on the -carpet. Uttering a yell of pain, the negro sprang backward to the side -of the two who had not yet ventured within reach of Hassan’s sword, and -whose livid lips revealed their terror of an antagonist who in a few -seconds had disabled the two strongest of their party. - -“Come on! come on!” said Hassan, with a scornful laugh. “This game is -more to my taste than the Khanum’s sweetmeats and frankincense.” But the -men, instead of moving, cast their uncertain eyes on their disabled -companions, and fear seemed to root them to the spot. - -“Lady,” said Hassan in a stern voice, “there is no honour to be gained -by me in wounding or killing coward slaves like these; once more I warn -you bid them retire, and spare me the trouble of defiling your fair -carpets with their blood.” - -The Khanum looked at her disabled and trembling slaves, and from them to -the bright, proud eye and commanding form of the young man; her spirit -failed her, and her pride quailed beneath his glance. - -“Retire,” she said, “and carry out that body, be it alive or dead.” The -men obeyed, and the Khanum turning to Hassan, said in a trembling voice, -“You have subdued one who was never conquered before. What is your -purpose now—do you intend to kill me?” - -Hassan, from whose brow the expression of anger had not yet passed away, -looked at her in silence for a minute before he replied— - -“Khanum, do I look like one who could strike a woman? It is punishment -severe enough for you that I leave you alone with your own bitter -thoughts. I know you, lady—yes, I know your name and rank, and others -say what you have yourself avowed, that of those who have offended you -none have ever lived to tell it. But I warn you that, if you pursue me -with your hate and commission others to try and take my life, I will -cleave their skulls with this good sword, and will report to the Viceroy -what goes on in this house. If you choose that for the future there -shall be peace between us, we will both forget this evening, and your -secret is as safe with me as if I were dead: the choice rests with you. -Now, lady, I shall go away;” and as he spoke he moved across the carpet -towards the door. - -“Stay—stay a moment,” cried the Khanum in affright. “Let me call back -the slaves and give them their orders. The passages are long and -narrow—you may lose your way; slaves are there armed; the porter too is -armed, and he alone has the secret of that door-lock.” - -“I had thought of all these things, lady,” said Hassan calmly, as he -returned from the edge of the carpet where he had taken up his -slippers,[87] which he placed under his belt, tightening the latter at -the same time so as firmly to secure them as well as his dagger. “It is -not my intention to trust to the good faith either of yourself or your -armed slaves in those dark passages; I prefer a road that is open and -familiar to me as the expanse of the desert.” So saying, he leisurely -approached the open casement, and looked out to see that no boats were -below or in the neighbourhood. - -“Stay!” she cried, looking out with a shudder on the rapid current that -swept along the base of her house. “I swear to you by the Koran and by -the head of my father that my slaves shall conduct you safely out of the -palace.” And perhaps she spoke the truth, for at that moment a passion -that she would have called love, and admiration for the youth’s -dauntless courage, had banished from her mind the affront he had offered -to her pride; but he calmly replied— - -“Lady, if you are not treacherous, your slaves might be so. The Nile and -I are old friends: if you are silent and your slaves faithful, you have -nothing to fear for or from Hassan.” So saying, he sprang head-foremost -from the casement into the rushing waters below. Uttering a faint -shriek, she looked forth from the window, and soon afterwards, at a -distance of fifty or sixty yards from where he dropped, she saw by the -moonlight that he had risen to the surface, and was swimming leisurely -down with the swift current of the Nile. “Mashallah! Mashallah! what a -man is that! and what a woman am I!” And for the first time—perhaps for -the last—during a period of many years that victim of ungoverned passion -buried her face in her hands and wept tears of shame and remorse.[88] - -During the same evening Osman Bey, who had received orders to precede -his chief to Siout, and who was now on the eve of departure, sat in the -corner of a private room in his house, leisurely smoking a chibouq, and -questioning his confidential servant, Ferraj, who stood before him with -his hands crossed on his breast. - -“So the old woman told you that she saw the young vagabond safe within -the door of the harem, did she?” - -“It is even so, my lord, and she heard the bolts of the door shut upon -him by the _bowàb_” [porter]. - -“Allah be praised!” said the Bey, with a grim smile; “that upstart will -not cross my path again—he will never leave that house alive. Be on your -guard, Ferraj, and warn that old gossip to put a key on her tongue; for -if it were to be known that you or she had a hand in this matter, your -feet would be beat into a pudding, and she would sup with the fishes of -the Nile.” - -Leaving this worthy vice-governor to continue the preparations for his -journey, let us return to our hero, whom we have most unkindly left -swimming down the river on a cold November night. His course was rapid -enough, and ere long he saw some lights on the right bank which he knew -to mark a café where he often smoked his evening pipe, and which was not -very far from Delì Pasha’s house: there he landed, and having wrung the -water from his clothes, walked on towards the café, which he found -occupied by only two or three drowsy smokers, the night being now far -advanced. - -Making his way into the host’s room, with whom he was well acquainted, -he asked him to afford him lodging for the night, and to lend him a dry -blanket or two, explaining his present appearance by saying that he had -accidentally fallen into the water. - -The host, with whom Hassan was a favourite, from his quiet habits and -from his always paying ready money for his coffee and pipe, willingly -granted his request, and ordered a fire to be lighted, at which our -hero’s clothes were hung that they might be dry by daylight. Hassan -himself, after drinking a cup of hot coffee, lay down on the floor in -his blanket, and in a few minutes was in a sleep as profound as if he -had been reposing on the softest bed in Cairo. Rising at the first grey -of dawn, and making the best toilet that the circumstances admitted, he -proceeded to Delì Pasha’s house before any of the servants were -loitering about the door, and reached his own room unobserved. - -Very few hours elapsed before he was summoned to the presence of his -chief, whom he found in one of the private apartments, and before him -stood a woman’s figure, in whom, although she dropped her veil over her -face on his entrance, he recognised Fatimeh Khanum, the Kiahia, or -governess of the harem. She was about to retire, but the Pasha stopped -her, saying, “It is not necessary that you should go; I have but a few -words to say to Hassan, and they contain no secrets.” - -The Khanum withdrew a few steps aside, while the Pasha proceeded to -inform Hassan that the Viceroy had suddenly arrived at Shoobra, and as -it was necessary that a messenger should be sent to compliment his -Highness on his arrival and inquire after his health, it would be a good -opportunity for Hassan to take the message, and also to present the Arab -mare Nebleh. - -“I have written a letter,” he added with a smile, “which you will also -bear, and which will inform our lord how I came to offer him this -present.” - -“May your bounties always increase,” replied Hassan; “on my head be it -to obey your orders, but if I might be bold enough to make an -observation——” here he hesitated, and cast his eyes aside at the Khanum, -as if he would rather communicate what he had to say to his lord’s ear -alone. - -“Speak out, man,” said the impatient Pasha; “mind not our good Kiahia -Khanum. She has been long in our house, and we know her discretion.” - -“I wished to say,” replied Hassan, “that your _mirakhor_, Ahmed Aga, is -a true and faithful servant of your lordship, and he is a true and good -friend of mine: it is his right and privilege to convey to the Viceroy -any horse presented by your lordship. On such occasions you know that -his Highness gives a liberal present to the bearer. Were you to send me -with the horse, it would be an unjust slight to a faithful servant, and -would give me the pain of supplanting a friend.” - -“Wallah! Wallah! you are right, boy. I had not thought of it. You shall -go together: you may deliver the compliments and the letter, while he -presents the horse.” - -Before Hassan could reply, a servant came in to say that the Viceroy’s -secretary was in the saloon with a message from his Highness. Starting -up from the corner where he sat, Delì Pasha told them to remain where -they were, while he went in to learn the secretary’s business with him. -Thus were Hassan and the Khanum again accidentally left together. - -“My mother,” said our hero in a low and melancholy voice, “I remember -well what you said to me when we last met: your words cost me much pain, -but they were wise and true. I feel how far more humble I am in rank -than the priceless pearl whom you guard, and that it would be selfish in -me to do aught that could mar her high fortunes. Inshallah! I will never -cost her a tear; but there is no harm in my loving her with my whole -heart and soul as the Gheber loves and worships the sun, though he knows -he never can reach it. Such is my destiny; Allah has willed it; and I -could more easily pluck out my eyes from my head than her image from my -heart. Tell me, then, is she well and happy?” - -“She is well,” replied the Khanum in a trembling voice, while she -muttered to herself in an agony of sorrow, “Allah, Allah, what is to be -done? Both these young loving hearts will be broken, for her love is as -deep and passionate as his!” - -Hassan saw that she was weeping; a secret instinct told him that he was -loved by Amina. The ominous question shot from his eager eyes and rushed -to his lips, but by a strong and determined effort he conquered himself, -and compressed within him the words on which his destiny hung. He saw -that the Khanum pitied him, that her heart was under the influence of -tender sympathies, and he would not tempt her to forget her duty and -betray a secret which she was bound to preserve. - -Fatimeh Khanum saw the struggle, and loved him the more for it. The -Pasha’s returning steps being now audible, she had just time to say, -“Allah preserve and bless you with all good,” when he re-entered the -room and resumed his seat. - -“Hassan,” he said, “I have informed the secretary of your mission to -Shoobra, and he says that the Viceroy will be disengaged about the time -of the _âs’r_ to-day [three o’clock P.M.] Ahmed Aga shall go with you, -and present the mare as you propose, and you will deliver to his -Highness this letter.” - -Having received the letter, Hassan withdrew, leaving his chief to -continue his conversation with the Khanum. - -“What is the matter with Amina?” he said; “I have lately found her sad -and weeping.” - -“How can your servant tell?” replied the Khanum. “Perhaps my young lady -is still afraid that your lordship will oblige her to marry some one -whom she cannot love—you had spoken to her on some such subject.” - -“Foolish child!” replied the Pasha. “Tell her, then, to dry her tears, -for, Wallah! I only wish to see her happy, and I will not marry her by -force to any one.” - -“I will convey your gracious message, and it will give her much -comfort,” said the Khanum, glad to escape from her lord’s presence; for -she felt oppressed by the secret of the mutual passion of the young -lovers, and dreaded lest by some unforeseen word it should come to -light. - -Nebleh had been washed from head to foot in tepid water, and then rubbed -dry with cloths until her coat shone like the finest satin. Her sweeping -mane and tail had been carefully combed, and as she walked by the side -of the _sàis_ who led her, with a light elastic tread that scarcely -touched the ground, Ahmed Aga sighed to think that such a beautiful -animal was about to leave the stable of his chief. - -When they reached the garden and mentioned their names to the porter at -the gate, they were at once admitted, and found the Viceroy reclining on -the crimson damask cushions of a divan in the corner of his kiosk, and -smoking a chibouq. On the floor, at a little distance, sate a Bedouin -sheik from the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai; and a little farther stood, -in respectful silence, a good-looking boy, with a round chubby face and -dark eyes, whose dress and jewel-hilted sword showed him to be of high -birth. - -Hassan and Ahmed Aga having entered and made their salam, the former -informed the Viceroy that he was charged by Delì Pasha to present his -respects, and to congratulate his Highness on his safe arrival. Having -said this he came forward, and touching his forehead with the hem of the -Viceroy’s pelisse, delivered his letter. Mohammed Ali took it, and -bending his keen eyes on the bearer, as was his custom, with a -scrutinising look, he desired his secretary, who then entered the room, -to read it to him.[89] - -The latter did so in a low voice that reached only his master’s ear, but -it was easy to see from the twinkling of his eyes and the expression of -his countenance that he was both interested and pleased by the contents. -When it was concluded he simply said, “Peki, peki” (Very well, very -well), then asked Ahmed Aga his business. - -“May your Highness’s life be prolonged. I am your servant, Ahmed Aga, -_mirakhor_ to Delì Pasha, who has charged me to present to you in his -name the Arab mare Nebleh, who is, I believe, mentioned in the letter -just honoured by your perusal.” - -“Where is she?” said Mohammed Ali; “I would see her.” - -“I left her outside the garden gate,” said Ahmed. “The walks in your -Highness’s garden are not for horses’ feet.”[90] - -“True, true,” replied the Viceroy. “Inshallah! we will go out and see -her. Come along, Sheik Abou-Fazl, you should know an Arab mare; and you -too, Abbas, will like to see one.” So saying he walked to the garden -gate, followed by the party and preceded by a dozen of his _kawàsses_. - -When they reached the gate, Ahmed Aga stripped Nebleh of the light -gold-edged cloth which he had thrown over her to keep the dust from her -glossy coat, and the Viceroy’s eye fell on her form, in whose -symmetrical proportions neither envy nor criticism could find a flaw. - -Mohammed Ali looked at her in grave and silent admiration, the Arab -sheik gave a strange grunt conveying a similar impression, while the -young Abbas’s eyes told the same tale, though he could not venture to -speak until spoken to in the presence of his grandfather. After being -led about for a few minutes amidst the “Mashallahs!” of all who saw her, -she was saddled and bridled by the Viceroy’s order, who turned to -Hassan, saying— - -“We know your horsemanship well; we should like to see her gallop and -play.” - -“My lord,” replied Hassan, casting down his eyes upon the large -proportions of his frame, “although Nebleh could carry me, and would -carry me until she dropped dead, she would look better and move more -easily under a lighter rider. If your Highness will permit this young -Prince (for such I take him to be) to mount her, I think it would please -him much, and would show the mare to better advantage.” - -“Well, be it so,” said the Viceroy, adding in a lower tone, “She is not -violent or restive, is she?” - -“Quiet and docile as a lamb, though swift as an eagle,” was the reply. - -With eyes sparkling with joy the young Prince jumped into the saddle, -and in a moment Nebleh was in full career: now wheeling to the right, -now to the left, at the slightest touch of the heel or bridle, and after -a few minutes returning to the spot whence she had started, with her -transparent nostril widely dilated and her proud eye awakened by the -inspiriting gallop. - -“Aferin! aferin! [well done] Abbas,” said the Viceroy; “it is enough for -the present. Ahmed Aga and Hassan, you may return to Delì Pasha, and -convey to him our friendly greeting and our wish that Allah may prolong -his days.” - -The two friends made their obeisance and slowly returned towards Boulak. - -“Do you know who is that youth?” said Ahmed Aga to his companion. - -“I know him not,” replied Hassan; “but from his dress and bearing I -suppose him to belong to the Viceroy’s family.” - -“You conjecture rightly, and the Viceroy is said to be very fond of him: -he is the son of Toussoun Pasha, Effendina’s second son,[91] who -distinguished himself so much in the war against the Wahabees. Alas! his -fate was a strange and sad one.” - -“I have heard,” said Hassan, “that he died in the prime of life, but I -know nothing more.” - -“After his successes in Arabia,” continued Ahmed Aga, “he was so popular -in the army that Ibrahim Pasha grew jealous of him and hated him; but -what is more strange is that his own father also grew jealous of him, -and of his popularity with the soldiers: perhaps his suspicions were -strengthened by the tales of slanderers, who told him that Toussoun -meant to rebel against him and dethrone him. Certain it is that the -unfortunate Prince died of poison administered to him in some sherbet or -wine that he drank during a feast given by him to some of his friends: -he died immediately, and it is believed that the poison was given by -Mohammed Ali’s order.” - -“Horrible!” ejaculated Hassan. “Father and son! As it is not proved, let -us hope it is not true.”[92] - -“The Discoverer of Secrets [_i.e._, Allah] knows,” replied Ahmed; and -conversing on various matters, they reached the house of Delì Pasha. - -No sooner had they put their feet on the stairs leading to the saloon -than they became aware that something unusual had occurred: a crowd of -servants had gathered near the door of the room, and from within was -heard the voice of the Pasha pouring forth at its highest pitch a -torrent of threatening vituperation. “You have never seen him in one of -these fits of passion,” whispered Ahmed Aga to Hassan; “when they seize -him he is mad and ungovernable.” - -Hassan having inquired from one of the servants the cause of this storm, -was informed that it was about a sword with a jewelled hilt of great -value which Mohammed Ali had given to the Pasha after the war with the -Wahabees. It had been in charge of a young Mameluke named Kasem, who -filled the office of Master of the Wardrobe, and as it was now missing, -Delì Pasha charged him with stealing it, and threatened to have him -beaten to death. As this lad was one of those who had sportively -attacked Hassan on the day of the jereed play, and from his frank and -merry character was one of our hero’s favourites, he would not believe -him guilty of such a crime without the strongest proofs, and he resolved -at once to hear what those proofs were. - -Forcing his way through the crowd at the door, he entered the room, and -his eye immediately fell upon the youth accused, standing apparently -under arrest, between two of the servants. Hastily walking up to him, -Hassan fixed his searching gaze on the countenance of the youth and -said, “Kasem, tell me, by your life and by your father’s head, have you -committed this crime?” - -“Wallah, I have not!” replied the youth, looking up in Hassan’s face -with a firm voice and clear, untroubled eye; “but our lord will not hear -nor listen: the sword has been stolen from my room, but who is the thief -is only known to Him to whom the absent is present.” - -During this short dialogue the Pasha had continued, like an angry lion -in a cage, pacing up and down the upper end of the room as if “nursing -his wrath to keep it warm” by rapid motion as well as by curses and -threats; his eyes were inflamed, and his face red up to the very -temples. These violent bursts of passion, although of late less frequent -than of old, when they procured him his name of Delì (mad), were well -known to his followers and servants, and while they lasted none dared to -speak a word to him. Suddenly he stopped and shouted to the youth, -“Viper! son of a dog! wilt thou confess thy crime, and where thou hast -hid the sword?” - -“My lord,” replied the youth in a humble yet sincere tone of voice, “I -have told you all I know: the sword has been stolen from my room—I know -not where it is.” - -“Dog of a liar!” cried the Pasha in a still louder tone. “Take him away -and beat him till he confesses: give him three hundred on the feet, and -throw him into the dungeon. Away with him!” - -With a hasty signal to the man who held the youth to delay a moment, -Hassan came forward, and, to the astonishment of all the household, -walking composedly to within a few feet of the Pasha, said to him— - -“My lord, let me entreat you to have a little patience, and defer the -punishment of this youth; perhaps we may find the sword or discover the -thief.” - -“And who are you?” cried the Pasha, astonished at this unwonted -audacity; “who are you that dare to offer me your unasked counsel, and -come between me and my revenge?” - -“I am your servant Hassan, whom you have already loaded with favours, -and therefore it is that I love my lord so well that I wish his -displeasure rather than see him commit an act of injustice.” - -“Begone,” roared the Pasha, “if you would not drive me mad. When that -imp of Satan has stolen a sword, the reward of my services and my blood, -am I to be told by an upstart like you that I may not punish him?” - -“You may punish him, doubtless,” said Hassan calmly; “you may punish any -in your house, for you have the power: but if you do punish him now, and -after a few days we bring you the sword, or proof that it was stolen not -by him but by others—I know your generous heart—you will then suffer -tortures; you will curse this hour of hasty passion, and will say, ‘Had -I not one faithful servant to say to me, Do not stain your name with -this act of cruelty?’” - -During this speech the rage of the Pasha had been burning with a fiercer -fire: to be thus lectured and reproved in the height of his fury by a -mere youth, and in the presence of all his household, was a trial to -which his fierce temper had never before been exposed. His lip grew -white, and his limbs literally trembled with concentrated passion. - -“Son of a dog!” he cried, “if thou wilt not hold thy peace this shall -silence thee——” - -As he spoke he drew his dagger from his shawl-sash and rushed at Hassan, -who was standing a few yards in front of him. - -Hassan plainly saw the movement, and with his activity and gigantic -strength could easily have either sprung back a few feet and drawn his -sword or have wrested the dagger from the feebler hand of the Pasha, but -he saw before him only Amina’s father. Opening wide his arms, with a -calm, unblenching eye, he presented his broad chest to the descending -blade: it fell, but harmlessly over his shoulder, for the demon-spirit -had overpowered the frame which it possessed, and muttering, “Allah! I -cannot do it,” Delì Pasha staggered back a few paces, and would have -fallen to the ground had not Hassan caught him in his arms and borne him -gently to the divan whence he had so lately risen in the full tide of -excited passion. - -All the attendants now crowded round the insensible form of their lord, -whom, by the order of Ahmed Aga and Hassan, they caused to be instantly -transported to the private apartments of the harem, while servants were -sent in all directions for the most skilful surgeon that could be found. -Not many minutes elapsed before the arrival of one possessed of some -skill and of presence of mind; blood was freely taken from the arm; soon -afterwards twenty or thirty leeches were applied to the back of the -neck, and before nightfall the symptoms that threatened a dangerous -brain fever had passed away. - -Meanwhile Kasem was confined to his room and a guard placed at the door. -He was a general favourite, and none believed him guilty of the theft; -but as the sword had been in his custody, it was judged necessary to -keep him in confinement until some further light could be thrown on the -case, or the Pasha’s ulterior pleasure be ascertained. - -In the course of two days, during which the invalid was tended by the -affectionate and unremitting care of Amina, the Pasha made rapid -progress towards recovery, but he observed a sullen and profound silence -as to the cause of his illness, neither did he issue any orders -respecting the punishment of Kasem; but all the circumstances were -already known throughout the harem, the eunuchs having gathered them -from the servants and repeated them, with various additions and -exaggerations, to the women under their charge. On one subject all the -reports agreed—namely, that Hassan had mortally offended his chief, and -that his dismissal was certain. - -Meanwhile all the exertions made by Ahmed Aga, Hassan, and others to -trace the missing sword or discover the thief had been unavailing, until -on the third day Reschid, the favourite Mameluke of the Kiahia Pasha, -came to see his friend Hassan, and the smile on his countenance -announced that he had some good news to communicate. - -“Hassan,” he said, “you may remember that on the evening of your Pasha’s -illness I was sent here to make inquiries after his health by my lord: -you told me about the missing sword which he so much valued. One was -brought to me for sale this morning by a Jew who resides in the farthest -part of Cairo, which formerly belonged, as he said, to Ibrahim Elfi, the -great Mameluke Bey. I doubt the story. Should you know your Pasha’s -sword if you saw it?” - -“Yes,” replied Hassan eagerly, “for I have seen it more than once in the -hands of young Kasem when he was rubbing the blade to keep it bright. I -know the sword even if the scoundrel has picked the diamonds out of the -hilt.” - -“Come, then, with me,” said his friend; “we have no time to lose, for I -told the Jew this morning that I was busy and had not leisure to bargain -with him then for the price, but that he might leave it till the _âs’r_ -[3 P.M.], when he might return, and if we agreed on the price, I would -pay him the money.” - -A short hour’s ride brought the two friends to the Kiahia’s palace, -where they dismounted and proceeded at once to Reschid’s room, in one -corner of which was a sword. Hassan drew the sword from its sheath and -exclaimed— - -“Wallah! it is the same. See, near the hilt is a lion of inlaid gold, -and below the words Fath-min-Allah [Victory is from God]. But, as I -expected, the rascally Jew has taken the diamonds from the hilt and -replaced them by these strips of gold.” - -“El-hamdu-lillah!” cried Reschid; “the character of poor young Kasem -will, I trust, now be cleared.” - -The Jew having arrived at the appointed hour, was surprised to find -himself in the grip of Hassan, who threatened to shake the life out of -his body if he did not confess from whom he had got the sword. The -affrighted Jew, finding that denial was vain, owned that it had been -brought to him by a servant of Delì Pasha’s, named Youssuf, a few days -before, and that he had himself taken out the diamonds to prevent its -recognition. The two friends followed up the investigation with energy. -Under the wholesome discipline of the stick Youssuf confessed that he -had stolen the sword from Kasem’s room while he was in attendance on the -Pasha. The diamonds were immediately recovered and replaced. On the -fourth evening the sword was sent up into the harem by the chief eunuch -with the following note:— - - “HONOURED AND RESPECTED LORD,—The sword was stolen by the slave - Youssuf while Kasem was waiting in your presence. This from your - faithful and devoted - - HASSAN.” - -Delì Pasha had read this note aloud. When he had finished it, Amina -sprang up, and saying, “Allah be praised!” burst into tears of joy. - -“Whence this strong emotion?” said he, surprised at her feeling so much -interest in the subject. - -“Because,” she replied, while blushes mantled over her face and -neck—“because I knew how much you valued that sword.” - -Oh, you little hypocrite, Amina! - -Delì Pasha recovered slowly, and for several days never left his harem: -something seemed to weigh upon his mind, and all Amina’s caresses and -endearments were unable to restore his usual spirits. She could not -understand the cause of this melancholy, for his lost sword had been -recovered, the young Mameluke Kasem had been liberated by his order, and -Mohammed Ali had shown his regard for him and his appreciation of the -Arab mare Nebleh by sending an officer specially to inquire after his -health, and to present him with a diamond ring on the part of his -Highness, accompanied by a handsome sword for Ahmed Aga and a cashmere -shawl for Hassan. - -By dint of coaxing she at length elicited from him that his proud spirit -was chafing at the humiliation to which he had been exposed by the -outbreak of his ungovernable temper before all his household, and that -exposure he most unjustly laid to the account of Hassan. - -“My father,” she said as she sat at his feet, while his hand -unconsciously played with the dark, redundant tresses that fell over her -shoulders, “now that anger and illness have passed away, and that your -good health and judgment are returning, do you not see that what Hassan -did was done in fidelity and true service to you? Had he not spoken and -stayed you in a moment when wrath had clouded your reason, the poor -Mameluke would have been beaten nearly to death for a fault of which he -was innocent. What would then have been said of my father’s justice and -humanity? Now that all has terminated so happily, ought you not rather -to thank Hassan than to blame him?” - -“I will thank him,” said her father, “for you speak truly; he deserves -it. But methinks you plead his cause with great earnestness, Amina.” As -he said these last words he looked fixedly at his daughter, who cast -down her eyes, deeply blushing. - -“My father,” she replied timidly and with suppressed emotion, “you know -our proverb, ‘El-rghàib ma lehu nàib’ [The absent has no advocate], and -I have often heard from you that it is right to defend those who are -absent and who are unjustly blamed. You have yourself spoken to me of -the zeal, the courage, and good qualities of this Hassan, and I -therefore felt sure that it was from his devotion to you, and not from -insolence, that he spoke to you at a moment when your mind was not your -own, and thus prevented you from doing that which would have cost you -after-pain, in the experience of our saying, ‘Precipitation is from -Satan, but patience is the key of contentment.’ You are not angry with -me, are you, father?” - -“Who could be angry with you, light of my eyes and treasure of my -heart?” exclaimed the old Pasha, kissing her forehead. “No, my child; -yet you know not what sufferings my mind has undergone. When one of -those fits of fury is upon me, if any one opposes or remonstrates with -me, I become mad. Hassan’s speech, though true, drove me to the extreme -of madness and to the verge of murder.” Here his voice became husky with -emotion. “Yes, Amina, I rushed at him with a drawn dagger; he never -stirred, but opened his breast to me. I was in the act of striking when -I met his large dark eye fixed upon me, not in fear, not in anger, but -in love—yes, Amina, it was a look he might have fixed upon his mother, -if he had one, poor youth! It conquered me! for the last thing that I -remember was, that I passed the weapon purposely beyond his shoulder; -but how he must hate—how he must despise me now!” - -Amina’s tears gushed from between the fair fingers that vainly strove to -hide them. That her father should have been on the verge of murdering -the idol of her heart,—that he, in the pride of youth and strength, -should have bared his breast to the dagger rather than raise an arm -against her father,—these thoughts produced contending emotions of -horror and tenderness sufficient to overpower her self-control, and she -wept without interruption, for Delì Pasha himself was much overcome by -the feelings which he had just expressed. - -At length she looked up, smiling through her tears, and said, “Father, -if he is brave and generous as you say, he will not hate you. Tell him -frankly the truth—that in a moment when your mind was overclouded by -anger you did him injustice—and he will love you, and you will love him, -better than before.” - -“Inshallah! dear little prophetess, it shall be as you say, and, -Inshallah! this shall have been the last time that men shall say of Delì -Pasha that his passion blinded his eyes and overcame his reason.” - -Here we may add that the future confirmed the strength of his -resolution. The mental shock which had followed this last outbreak was -never forgotten. When, a few days later, he left the harem, his first -act was to send for Hassan and to make the frank _amende_ suggested by -Amina. He read in the young man’s glowing eyes, as he kissed his lord’s -hand with an eagerness and devotion such as he had never before -exhibited, the truth of her prophecy that he should find himself not -hated or despised, but better loved than ever. - -Little Kasem was reinstated in favour, and it need not be said that his -gratitude to Hassan was unbounded: neither will it excite surprise that -the influence of the latter in the household had been much increased by -the scene which they had so lately witnessed; for never before had they -seen any one successfully venture to brave the wrath of their -proverbially irascible chief. - -Hassan spent the few days which yet remained before the migration of the -whole family to Siout in making the few arrangements which he had for -some time proposed. He sent off the eight horses taken from the -Sammalous, with a respectfully affectionate letter, to his -foster-father, accompanied by fitting presents to his foster-mother and -sister; he wrote also a grateful letter to his former patron, the Hadji -Ismael, in Alexandria, and another to his old friend the chief clerk. He -went then with Ahmed Aga to the village in Karioonbiah, armed with the -Pasha’s authority to appoint another _nazir_ and Sheik-el-Beled in the -place of the two scoundrels who had been detected and dismissed. When -they had made the best selection in their power, and arranged the -village accounts, they turned their horses’ heads again towards Cairo, -Ahmed Aga saying as they mounted— - -“I suppose now we have made two more rogues, for the saying in the -country is, ‘If you want to find a match for the priest and the _câdi_, -you must go to the _nazir_ and the Sheik-el-Beled.’” - -“I am glad that they omitted the _khaznadâr_ in the proverb,” said -Hassan, laughing. - -“The _khaznadâr_ and the _mirakhor_,” replied his friend, “are bad -enough in general, but, as the Arabs say, they are ‘tied by a shorter -rope,’ and cannot eat so much of their neighbours’ corn.” - -It was during the long ride from the village back to the city that -Hassan related, in confidence to his friend, some of the details of his -early life—the name that he had borne in his youth, and the mystery in -which his birth was still involved. - -“It is very strange,” said Ahmed, who had mused in silence after Hassan -had finished his narrative. “I have lived in Cairo now many years, and -have known or heard the history of many families, high and low, yet I -cannot recall any occurrence similar to what you relate; neither can I -understand how it has come to pass that neither of your parents has ever -made inquiries after you among the Arabs in the neighbourhood.” - -“That is easily explained,” said Hassan. “My father, who was probably a -soldier, may have been killed in battle, and my mother may never have -seen him since he carried me off an infant, probably to save my life: if -so, she may never have heard of my having been given into the charge of -a Bedouin woman.” - -Hassan spoke these words in a tone so sad that to cheer him his friend -replied, “Inshallah! this knot will one day be untied by the Revealer of -Secrets,[93] whatever be the secret. I will swear by my life that your -father was a brave man and your mother a good woman; for you know the -proverb, ‘Grapes are not borne by the thistle-bush.’ Meanwhile, you must -comfort yourself by remembering the saying of the Persian sheik and poet -[Sâdi], ‘On the Day of Judgment Allah will not ask you who was your -father, but who are you, and what deeds have you done.’” - -Conversing on this and other topics, the friends concluded their -journey, and were just re-entering Boulak about sunset, when, in passing -a narrow by-street at right angles to that in which they were riding, -Hassan saw at a little distance a figure in which, by the dress and -gait, he at once recognised the old woman who had inveigled him into the -house of the Khanum. Springing off his horse and giving it over to the -_sàis_, he requested Ahmed Aga to continue his way homeward with the -servants, promising to rejoin him shortly. Following the old woman until -she reached a part of the street where not a passenger was to be seen, -he quickened his step, and overtaking her, seized her by the arm and -said to her in a stern voice— - -“Mother of evil, tell me at once who urged you to take me to that -house?” - -The crone, trusting to the concealment of her thick veil, endeavoured at -first to persuade him that he was mistaken in the person whom he -addressed, but her voice only made him more sure than he had been -before: then she tried sundry kinds of subterfuges and falsehoods, until -his patience being exhausted, he exclaimed— - -“Wallah! unless you tell me the truth, and that instantly, I will drag -you straight to the Kiahia Pasha, and tell your story to him: you well -know that in a few hours you will find yourself at the bottom of the -Nile.” - -Under the terror of this threat she confessed that it was by Ferraj, the -servant of Osman Bey, that she had been induced to address him and to -introduce him to the house in question. - -“Osman Bey!” said Hassan bitterly. “Well, I am his debtor; meanwhile do -you, if you value your life, hold your peace and begone. I owe you no -illwill. Wretched instrument of malice,” he muttered to himself as he -strode homeward, “thou art beneath my notice. What says our proverb, -‘The anger of the arrow-stricken man is kindled not against the bow but -against the archer.’ Osman Bey, we shall meet again, and, Inshallah! -with some weapon in our hands better than a jereed.” - -Little did Hassan know, when he breathed this wish, how soon it would be -realised, and what an influence that meeting would have on his -after-destinies. When we see in life how often the blessings that we -pray for become, when granted, sources of misfortune, and the events -which we dread and deprecate result in our happiness, it seems an act of -folly, if not of impiety, to pray for earthly goods in any other form -than that of “Not my will, but thine be done.” - - * * * * * - -Most of our _dramatis personæ_ are now to be separated for a season. The -Thorpe family having finished their examination of the Pyramids, had -re-embarked on the Nile for Upper Egypt, and Delì Pasha’s preparations -for the journey to Siout were just completed. He himself, with his -official secretary, pipe-bearers, and the greater part of his household, -were embarked on board of a large dahabiah; a second of similar -dimensions, the cabin-windows of which were provided with damask -curtains within and venetian blinds without, was allotted to his harem, -with their eunuch attendants, and was ordered to remain always -immediately in the wake of the first; while Hassan and Ahmed, with a -score of armed followers, were to perform the journey along the banks of -the river on horseback, and to bivouac as a guard every night at -whatever place the boats might be made fast at sunset.[94] - -All was ready for departure, and the harem was already embarked, when an -officer from the Viceroy came to Delì Pasha and told him that his -Highness wished him to remain a few days to attend a council on some -matters of importance. “He knows,” added the officer, “that you are on -the point of departure, and part of your family already embarked, -wherefore he desires that you will not take the trouble to detain them, -but let them go leisurely on their journey, retaining two or three -servants to attend upon you. When the council is over, his Highness will -give you a swift _canjah_ of his own, which will bring you to Siout as -soon as your large heavy dahabiahs.” - -“On my head be it,” replied Delì Pasha. And having retained only a few -Mamelukes for the service of his wardrobe and chibouq, he desired his -own boats to go forward as originally designed, placing the -_kateb-es-serr_, or chief secretary (a quiet, respectable, and elderly -Turk), in charge of the leading dahabiah, and in command of those whom -she contained. To Ahmed Aga and Hassan he said, “I know that I can trust -my boats and harem to your vigilance at night; there are many thieves in -Upper Egypt, so you must not indulge in more than a hare’s sleep.”[95] - -Under these instructions the dahabiahs started on their voyage -northward, and pursued it without accident or interruption until they -reached a point of the river not more than twenty miles below Siout. -Night was coming on, a strong gale of wind from the eastward had set in, -which, in spite of all the exertions of the pilots and sailors, drove -the dahabiahs against the west bank of the Nile, where the current was -running with terrific violence, and the waves dashed over the low sides -of the boats. - -Fearful of being carried down by the stream, the _ràises_ ordered the -men to jump out ashore and make fast the boats with the anchors, and -also by ropes passed round sharp staves driven into the ground. With the -leading boat the manœuvre succeeded, and she was brought to in a bight -of the bank, where she was in comparatively smooth and sheltered water; -but the boat containing the harem broke from her moorings, and in spite -of all the exertions of her crew hauling on her from the shore, she was -carried some way along the rough and jagged bank, thereby scraping off -her cabin paint and terrifying the timid inmates. - -Suddenly she came against some broken timbers of an old disused _sakìah_ -or water-wheel, which smashed in all the cabin windows on the land side, -shivering in pieces the Venetian blinds and tearing the damask curtains -in shreds. Immediately all was panic on board the boat, and the -affrighted eunuchs and women, thinking that the cabin would be flooded, -rushed on to the upper deck, which was entirely deserted by the crew, -who were busily employed forward in endeavouring to bring the boat to. -All were pulling, and hauling, and shouting, and ordering; but no one -was listening or obeying. The consequence was that their exertions, -without direction or unity, were fruitless, and the boat continued to -drift down, still grating her sides against the high and jagged bank. - -Among the affrighted women assembled on what we may call the poop, Amina -and her faithful Fatimeh had withdrawn quite to the stern of the boat, -the place usually occupied by the steersman, where the former sat -herself down on a hen-coop and looked out in terror on the dark and -turbid waters, when suddenly the tiller, which had been left unsecured, -swept across the deck with such force that it threw Amina and her -hen-coop overboard, at the same time knocking down and stunning Fatimeh -Khanum, who fell against the low railing that surrounds the poop. - -At the time Hassan and Ahmed Aga were some hundred yards astern of the -boats, followed by their own men and by a dozen fellahs whom they had -brought from the nearest village as night-watchers. Hearing the shouts -and cries ahead, they conjectured that some accident had happened, -though they could not see any distant object, as the dusk of evening was -darkened by a gloomy sky and the dust borne on the wings of the angry -blast. Suddenly a faint cry from the water reached the ear of Hassan, -and turning his eyes in the direction whence it came, he thought he -descried something like drapery hurried along by the current about fifty -yards from the shore. - -Quick as thought he sprang from his horse, cast his cloak on the ground, -threw his pistols on it, and crying to Ahmed, “Wallah! there is a woman -or child drowning,” plunged head-foremost into the dark and boiling -waters. - -Ahmed Aga, who had seen no object in the water and heard no cry, thought -that his young friend must be mad. Nevertheless, he could not help -admiring the daring gallantry which prompted him to brave the roaring -rushing waters on such a night with the hope of rescuing a -fellow-creature, but he had no time left for musing, for the cries and -shouts continued to rise from the dahabiah, and his duty bade him hasten -thither without delay. - -Ordering one of his men to secure Hassan’s horse, cloak, and pistols, he -went forward, and by the aid of his own presence of mind, and the force -that he brought with him, succeeded at last in securing the dahabiah to -the bank. It was not until order was somewhat restored, and the eunuchs -went up on the poop to reconduct the ladies and women slaves to the -cabin, that they found Fatimeh Khanum lying half-stunned, and her head -still confused by the blow from the tiller. Amina was nowhere to be -found. The cries and confusion thence ensuing can be more easily -imagined than described. - -To return to Hassan. No sooner did he rise to the surface from his -plunge than he swam down the stream with all his might, looking on both -sides, and calling aloud as he went. For some time his humane endeavours -met with no success, but at length, in answer to his call, a faint cry -caught his ear. Striking out in that direction, he came up with a -hen-coop made of palm-sticks, and over it he could distinguish female -drapery. - -“Take courage! take courage! I am here to help,” he shouted aloud; and -as he neared the hen-coop he heard his own name faintly uttered. - -Who can paint the tumultuous rush of feelings as he recognised the voice -of his idolised Amina—feelings compared to the moral force and -impetuosity of which the rushing and turbid waters of the Nile were calm -as a mill-pond. Terror, pity, joy, love,—all were poured into the -thrilling tone in which he called aloud her name. “Fear not, my -beloved,” he continued; “you are now safe. Your arm over the hen-coop; -your chin resting on your arm, my love. Hold fast to it, and do not -speak; keep your sweet mouth shut, or these rough and angry waters might -choke you. Thus, my love; my arm is close to you, so you have nothing to -fear; I will guide the hen-coop towards the bank.” - -The tender and cheering tone in which he spoke as he swam beside her -giving her these instructions, placing her hand himself on the centre -and most buoyant part of the hen-coop, inspired the courageous girl with -hope and confidence. Hitherto she had clung to her frail cage-support -with the grasp of despair, and more than once the cold, and the water -that had forced its way into her lips, eyes, and nostrils, had almost -compelled her to let go her hold. But now she felt herself possessed of -new life, and such was her confidence in Hassan’s skill, courage, and -devotion, she felt that with him beside her, whether in mid-ocean or -mid-desert, she could know no fear. At the worst, to die in his arms -would be bliss far beyond life without him. She now proved her own high -courage by obeying implicitly his directions without uttering a word. - -Hassan had noted in his evening ride that for some miles below the bank -which he had left was high and precipitous; he well knew, therefore, -that the opposite bank would be shelving, and the current less -strong.[96] This consideration compelled him to push the hen-coop before -him to the opposite bank, the first object being to get Amina out of the -water as soon as possible. This he accordingly did, though, much to her -surprise, he kept talking loudly all the time, splashing and making as -much noise as he could with hands and feet.[97] - -He thus succeeded in bringing his fair charge safely ashore, and -opposite the point where he landed he descried a faintly-glimmering -light, like that of a nearly extinguished fire. His first care was to -wring the water from her drenched clothes, then casting off his own -jacket and wringing it, he threw it over her shoulders to shelter her -from the cold and biting wind. - -Seeing that she was too much exhausted to walk, he lifted her gently in -his arms and carried her towards the dim light. On reaching it he found -that it proceeded from the dying embers of a fire which had been made in -front of a small hut such as are often constructed in Egypt by shepherds -or fishermen for temporary shelter. It was unoccupied, though he -surmised that the tenant could not be far distant, as he perceived in -one corner of it a striped blanket (such as is used by the fellahs in -winter), and on it the owner’s _nabout_ or cudgel. - -“El-hamdu-lillah! Praise be to Allah!” said he, as he possessed himself -of these invaluable treasures; and in another moment he had wrapped -Amina from head to foot in the blanket, and laid her gently in the -corner of the hut. - -Then he ventured to ask her how she felt. - -“Faint and very cold, dear Hassan,” was the gently murmured reply; for, -notwithstanding her delicate nurture, the brave girl’s spirit had -sustained her so long as the danger endured, but now the reaction had -come, and with it exhaustion, which seemed to deprive her of all bodily -and mental energy. - -“Patience,” whispered Hassan; “this blanket will soon make you warm. -Meantime I will see if there be wood or dry weeds to restore this dead -fire.” With the staff in hand he went round and round the hut, but his -search was fruitless. He lay down, and, putting his ear to the ground, -thought he could distinguish some sound: he crept quietly up to the top -of a bank at a distance from the water, and could descry, about a mile -inland, a large fire and some tents. - -“Dry clothes and some warm drink she must have,” he said to himself, -“and there is no time to lose. I know not what men these may be, but the -risk must be incurred.” He felt his girdle, and to his great joy found -that his dagger was safe in its place: he then returned to the hut and -asked Amina if she felt herself sufficiently recovered to go to some -tents and a fire not far off. - -“Let me die here,” she murmured; “you have saved me from those cold and -rushing waters. Let me go to sleep here, Hassan, while you sing to me. -Sleep, sleep.” - -Hassan saw that her mind was overpowered by exhaustion, but he so much -feared the effect of the wet clothing on her delicately nurtured frame -that he decided to reach the fire with as little delay as possible. - -“Light of my eyes!” he said, sitting down beside her, “Hassan lives only -to serve you, and were it safe I would sing you to sleep and watch at -your door while you rest, but danger and pain would follow, unless you -can reach the warmth of the fire.” - -“Where is the fire?” said Amina, trying to shake off the lethargy that -threatened to overpower all her faculties. - -“It is not far,” he replied; “if you will come, I will soon carry you -there, and you can sleep as you go.” - -“I will do whatever you say,” murmured the exhausted girl, whose ideas -were still so confused that she knew not what she said. “Let us go to -Boulak, and there you shall sing to me, and I will not tell anybody -except Fatimeh how I love you; but do not let us go into that cold water -again.” - -Sweet to Hassan’s ear were some of these words, though spoken in -half-unconsciousness; but his first thought now being to convey Amina to -the fire, he grasped the staff in his hand, and carefully wrapping the -blanket around her so that nothing but her face was exposed to the -night-air, he lifted her gently in his arms. - -The motion, together with the warmth of the blanket, restored her -scattered senses, and also the circulation of her young blood, which had -been chilled by long immersion in the water. Who shall tell what were -her sensations as she found herself thus tenderly borne along by her -devoted lover, or what were those of Hassan when, from the position of -her head, he felt her warm breath upon his glowing cheek? When Hassan -arrived within three or four hundred yards of the fire he could perceive -that it was in the midst of an Arab encampment, containing at least a -dozen tents. - -As he had passed over the tract near the river, which was overgrown with -_khalfah_ (brushwood and rushes), and had reached an open tract of -smooth ground, he knew that his approach would ere long be descried, and -judged that, to prevent being mistaken for a lurking enemy, his wisest -course would be to make it known by calling aloud. Having gently lowered -Amina’s feet to the ground, and in reply to his inquiry having -ascertained that she was sufficiently recovered to walk, he readjusted -the blanket so as to cover her head and leave her the use of her feet. - -“Honoured and beloved, light of my eyes,” he whispered, “Allah knows -whether we shall find friends or enemies in these Arabs: at all events, -their watch-dogs are likely to be troublesome. I will try to move these -men by words of friendship, but if they prove thieves and treacherous, -we must trust to Allah. Do you remain close behind me, and leave me the -free use of my arms.” (As he said this he grasped the cudgel in his -right and the dagger in his left hand.) “Before they shall offer you -insult or injury, they must tear me limb from limb,” he added. “It will -perhaps be safer and better if among these people you pass for -my—sister.” - -A blush came over her face, for she knew that another and dearer name -had rushed to his lips and been checked in utterance. - -“Hassan,” she said, looking up into his eyes with the full confidence of -a first and guileless affection, “to you I owe my life and all that -makes life dear; how then can I refuse to do your bidding? for I swear -by the memory of my sainted mother, on whose ashes be peace, that never -did sister love a brother as——” Here she hesitated, fearful that she had -said too much. How she would have finished the sentence we know not, for -Hassan, stooping fondly over the sweet upturned face, now lighted by a -moonbeam that struggled through the angry, flitting clouds, caught on -his trembling lips the murmured confession that was denied to his ear. -It was the first kiss of mutual love, and wet and cold and danger were -awhile forgotten. Gently withdrawing herself from his fond embrace, she -added, “Hassan, in dealing with the people of these tents, be they bad -or good, curb your daring courage, and be cautious of your life for my -sake.” - -“Blessed treasure of my heart, I will do as you desire: I will be -patient and gentle as a lamb with them unless they offer you insult, and -then—— But no; if they are Arabs[98] they will respect the law of -hospitality.” - -So saying, he advanced from the shade of the copse directly towards the -tents. Scarcely had they proceeded one hundred yards when, as he had -expected, the watch-dogs began to bark, and two or three dusky figures -were seen to move about near the fire: continuing his progress steadily -until he came within hail, he shouted aloud at the full pitch of his -powerful voice, “Brother Arabs, strangers in distress demand -hospitality.” - -The encampment was now all astir; dogs rushed out, followed by their -masters armed with spears. Hassan again repeated the same shout, and the -men were seen driving back the dogs and advancing to meet him. To the -first who came up he said— - -“Brothers, we have seen trouble; my sister has fallen into the Nile and -is half-perished with cold; if you have a sheik or chief, bring me -before him.” - -With the brief reply of “You are welcome,” they conducted him and his -timid companion to the largest tent of the encampment, before which the -well-fed fire was blazing: the owner came forth to meet his guest, when -at the same instant the words “Abou-Hamedi” and “Hassan” broke from -their respective lips. It was the Damanhour Arab, formerly rescued by -Hassan, on whose encampment he had thus unexpectedly fallen, and, to the -astonishment of Amina the Arab’s wife and sister rushed out of their -tent and crowded round her lover, kissing his hand and calling him -brother and preserver. - -A few words sufficed to explain the condition of Hassan and Amina, and -in a few minutes the latter was in the recesses of the harem-tent, -covered with dry clothes, rubbed until she was in a glow of warmth, and -drinking a bowl of hot fresh milk sweetened with honey. Hassan fared no -less hospitably with his host, and they related to each other their -adventures over a pipe and coffee. - -Whilst Hassan warmed himself by the fire he exchanged a recital of -adventures with Abou-Hamedi. Those of the latter were not of a character -to raise him in the estimation of the citizens of a civilised state, -although they were far from being degrading in the eyes of an Arab, for -he had become a leading member of a band of freebooters who had lately -exercised their vocation with no little success in the province of -Siout. - -They were mostly Arabs from the interior of the Tunis and Tripoli -deserts, who, having performed the pilgrimage to Mecca by way of Keneh -and Cosseir, left the caravan on its return and levied blackmail on the -villages of the left banks of the river in Upper Egypt. In order to -avoid suspicion, Abou-Hamedi had located his family, and a few others of -the Gemàat tribe who had accompanied him from Damanhour, on the spot -where they were now encamped, on the right or eastern bank of the river, -where they cultivated a small tract of ground, and passed for -industrious, inoffensive people, as indeed they were, with the exception -of Abou-Hamedi himself, whose notions of _meum_ and _tuum_ were somewhat -indistinct, and who had “exchanged horses,” as he termed it, with a rich -merchant of Siout. This exchange had been effected by the simple -presentation of a pistol at the head of the latter in an unfrequented -spot; and although Abou-Hamedi had obtained a fleet and powerful horse -in exchange for a sorry, broken-down nag, he was so ill-satisfied with -the bargain that he had politely compelled the Siout merchant to throw -in his purse as compensation. - -All this he detailed with imperturbable gravity to Hassan, adding that -he and his companions always carried on their plundering expeditions on -the other side of the river, so that his encampment was undisturbed and -unsuspected. The band met at certain intervals and by preconcerted -signals; when he joined them it was by night; and among his talents one -of the most remarkable was his power of disguising himself in such a -manner that the roving freebooter of the left bank and the peaceable -fellah of the right were never suspected to be one and the same person. - -Hassan was much amused by his adventures, and was pleased to find that -in the rough breast of his lawless host there existed towards himself a -feeling of gratitude and devotion that he had not expected to find: the -latter even pulled a leathern purse from his girdle and proposed to -repay a portion of the money advanced by Hassan for his liberation; but -to this he would not consent, saying, with a smile, “Not now, my -brother; I promised you that when I required it I would ask you for it. -You have a family, and I have none; keep the money, therefore, until I -ask you for it. Let us now talk of other things. Do you know whose are -those two boats which lately passed?” - -“Well do I know,” replied the Arab. “They are the dahabiahs of the new -Governor of Siout, Delì Pasha.” - -“True,” replied Hassan, “and I am in his service. My sister, now in your -tents, is in the Pasha’s harem: she fell overboard in the storm, and -they must think her drowned. As they must all be now searching, and -weeping and wailing, is it possible to convey her to the dahabiah -to-night, or must I go to inform them of her being safe here?” - -“It is quite possible,” said Abou-Hamedi, “if she be not too feeble and -tired from having been so long in the water: we have several donkeys -here with saddles, and there is a good path to the ferry just above the -place where the boats are made fast for the night.” - -By Hassan’s desire the Arab’s wife was then called, and desired to -inquire whether Amina felt herself sufficiently recovered to ride to the -ferry. An affirmative answer being eagerly returned, the donkeys were -soon caught and saddled, and the party ready for departure. - -“I will not go with you myself,” said Abou-Hamedi aside to Hassan. “It -is better that none of the Governor’s people should see my face.” - -“I understand,” replied Hassan, laughing; “and if I meet you in Siout, I -will take care not to know you; but as my sister is young, and -unaccustomed to the presence of men, I wish you could let one of your -harem go with her to the boats.” - -The wife and sister of Abou-Hamedi had anticipated the wish. No service -that they could render seemed to them sufficient to repay their -obligation to Hassan; and the extraordinary beauty of Amina, together -with the gentle gratitude which she had shown for their attentions, had -so won their affections that they determined not to leave her until they -had seen her safely deposited in the harem. They now appeared at the -door of their tent ready for their night journey, Amina clad from head -to foot in the warmest clothes they possessed, her own wet suit wrapped -in a bundle and intrusted to one of the three young Arabs selected to -guide the party to the ferry, while one ran on before to rouse up the -ferryman and to get ready his boat. The easiest-paced donkey was -assigned to Amina, and Hassan walked beside her, his arm ever ready to -support her in case of the animal stumbling over the dimly-seen bushes -or earth-clods that might obstruct the path. - -What a delicious hour for the lovers. Amina, now warmly clad and free -from all alarm, recalled to mind the brief and thrilling moments in -which she had exchanged with Hassan the confession of their mutual love; -and as they spoke together in Turkish, which none of the party but -themselves understood, they renewed the same sweet confession in a -thousand forms of tenderness, such as love alone can invent, and in -which love alone finds no satiety. - -“I am very jealous,” said Amina, while the little hand that trustfully -reposed in his belied her words. “Do you know, Hassan, that these Arab -women, both of whom are young, and one of them very comely, have done -nothing but talk to me of my brother’s amiability and generosity? They -say that their service, their lives, all that they have, are at your -disposal. When and how did you steal away their hearts, Hassan?” - -“Perhaps they told you,” he replied, “of a service which I rendered to -the family, and their gratitude overrates its extent. They have kind -hearts, I believe, and this is the custom of kind hearts. Look at -yourself, sweet light of my eyes; you have filled my lonely heart with a -joy it never knew before—you have quenched its burning thirst; from the -Keswer of your love you have turned the night of my destiny into the -sunshine of noon; you have bestowed on a humble _aga_, of unknown birth, -who has nought but his truth and his sword, a treasure which the highest -and the wealthiest in the land would be proud to solicit; and yet it is -scarce an hour since you, teller of sweet untruths, said that you were -my debtor.” - -“Is life and all that makes it dear no debt, Hassan?” replied Amina. - -“If you will have it so,” said Hassan, smiling, “you shall be my debtor, -as the earth is debtor to the showery cloud, and repays it with a -thousand fruits and flowers delicious to the taste. Yet, sweet light of -my eyes, forget not that again our separation is at hand: at Siout you -will be shut up in the harem, offers of marriage from the great and the -rich will be made to your father, he will urge you to consent—how can -you resist his will?” - -“Hassan,” replied Amina, with a firmness and solemnity of which he had -scarcely thought her capable, “I love my father, and it would grieve me -to disobey him, but Allah is greater than he. I have sworn, and I repeat -the vow, by your mother’s head, that neither force nor entreaty shall -induce me to marry another. If destiny forbids our union, I can die.” - -“Allah forbid!” said Hassan, pressing her hand to his lips. “Destiny -will not be so cruel. But tell me, as it seems to me necessary to my -life that I should sometimes see your blessed face, even if it be for a -moment and afar off—tell me, do you know the cry of the wit-wat?”[99] - -“I believe not,” said Amina, laughing. “Why do you ask?” - -Turning aside his head for a moment, he imitated the cry of the bird so -exactly that the most experienced fowler would have thought that a -curlew had just passed by. - -“Be it my task,” he said, “to find out the window of your apartment. -When you hear that cry after sunset you will know that your wit-wat is -watching below it for a glance from those loved eyes, or a word from -that tongue which is more musical than ‘the bird of a thousand -songs.’”[100] - -Thus discoursing they reached the ferry, and crossed it without -accident. On approaching the spot on the opposite bank where the -dahabiahs had come-to for the night, they could see by the number of -moving lights and figures on the bank that all the party was still astir -and in unwonted agitation. One of the Arab youths who had accompanied -our hero and his fair charge ran forward at full speed until he reached -the boats, where he shouted at the top of his voice, “The Khanum is -safe; Hassan has drawn her out of the river. They are coming.” - -The news spread with the rapidity of lightning. Men and women, masters -and servants, all crowded forward to greet the advancing party; and -Amina, on dismounting from her donkey, found herself in the arms of her -beloved Fatimeh, who had been nearly deprived of reason by the supposed -loss of her young mistress, whom she loved like a daughter. - -The Arab women who accompanied her, and whose kind and hospitable -attentions to her wants she explained, were taken into the harem cabin -and so loaded with kisses, caresses, and presents that they began to -think that Amina must be a daughter of Mohammed Ali himself, that her -recovery should be attended with such extraordinary and generous -demonstrations; nor were the Arabs without entertained with less -hospitable warmth. - -As for Hassan, the eunuchs of the harem crowded round him to kiss his -hand, and the tears of the faithful creatures bore testimony to the -attachment which they felt towards their young mistress, whose life he -had saved. Neither on board nor on the bank was there any thought of -sleep that night. The tale of Amina’s miraculous escape was repeated -from mouth to mouth, with a score of variations and exaggerations, by -groups assembled around blazing fires on the bank, while interminable -pipes and coffee beguiled the hours of night. - -Hassan contrived ere long to withdraw from these wonder-loving circles -to a spot where he was able to enjoy in quiet the hearty congratulations -of Ahmed Aga, and one or two others of his intimate companions. - -On the following morning the Arab party returned to their encampment, -loaded with presents forced upon them by the generosity of the Pasha’s -major-domo and the ladies of the harem, while the dahabiahs pursued -their course without accident or interruption to Siout. - -The official residence assigned to the Governor was a large and -tolerably convenient house, which had been built not many years before -by order of Ibrahim Pasha, at the northern extremity of the town. The -front looked upon an open square or _meidàn_, where the troops were -paraded; while the back, occupied by the harem, was surrounded by -gardens in which orange, lemon, and pomegranate trees flourished in -considerable abundance. - -Love, though proverbially blind to danger and to consequences, is -quick-sighted and quick-witted. Thus not many days had elapsed ere the -cry of the wit-wat was heard under one of the windows that looked upon -the garden; the casement was cautiously half-opened, and the lovers -enjoyed a few moments of stolen conversation, which, for fear of being -overheard, they carried on chiefly by signs and glances, or as the Arab -distich has it— - - “Walls have ears, and rivals are ever on the watch. - Our tongues were silent; but our eyes mutually spoke, and were - understood.” - -Notwithstanding these precautions, it unfortunately happened that one -evening a gardener, who had remained beyond the usual hours of labour, -saw Hassan spring over the wall at the bottom of the garden. Impelled by -curiosity, he watched our hero’s movements, heard his signal, and saw a -window in the harem half-opened, partially disclosing a woman’s form, to -whom Hassan addressed a few words in an impassioned undertone. - -No sooner was the casement reclosed and Hassan had retired from the -garden than the gardener emerged from his hiding-place, and, in the -anticipation of a good reward, hastened to communicate what he had seen -to Ferraj, the confidential servant of Osman Bey, the deputy-governor, -with whom he, the gardener, happened to be acquainted. - -Ferraj being the unworthy pander to his master’s passions in sensuality -as in revenge, and who instinctively knew the hatred which he bore to -Hassan, hastened to impart to his chief the information he had received. -A grim smile passed over the features of Osman Bey. He had already heard -of Amina’s rescue by the devoted courage of Hassan, and easily divined -the object which led him to the garden. He anticipated, therefore, the -double satisfaction of punishing a man whom he hated for an infraction -of the sanctity of the harem, and of wounding by publicity the tenderest -feelings of Delì Pasha, whom he both feared and disliked. - -“Take with you,” he said, “three stout fellows and conceal yourselves in -the garden after sunset, according to the directions given you by the -gardener; repeat this every evening until you find this insolent -harem-breaker. Have with you a large cloak and some cord; while he is -looking up at the window throw the cloak over him and bind him fast, for -the fellow is strong and active as a wild ox,[101] and might otherwise -escape. When you have got him, bring him straightway before me.” - -These instructions were only too punctually executed, and two or three -evenings after, just as Hassan had reached the spot from which he gave -his accustomed signal, and was watching for the opening of the casement, -a large blanket was thrown over his head from behind, and, before he -could extricate his limbs from its folds, he was thrown to the ground -and bound hand and foot. In this condition he was carried before Osman -Bey, who, in order to make his crime as public as possible, summoned -Ahmed Aga and all the chief officers of Delì Pasha’s household to attend -the investigation. - -The news spread like wildfire throughout the palace and the neighbouring -houses, so that in less than an hour the Bey’s divan was crowded with -wondering spectators. Investigation was scarcely required, for the -evidence was clear; the culprit had been taken in the forbidden -precincts. The gardener swore to the fact of the casement having been -twice opened, and that a woman appearing there had held communication -with the prisoner; while the eunuchs of the harem, when interrogated, -could not deny that the casement in question belonged to the Lady -Amina’s private apartment. - -Osman Bey, cloaking his revengeful hatred towards Hassan under a -semblance of zeal for the Pasha’s honour, ordered a pair of iron -manacles to be fixed on the prisoner’s wrists, and then having caused -the cords and blanket in which he had been bound to be removed, ordered -him to stand up and state what he had to say in his defence. - -Hassan, drawing himself proudly up to his full height, and darting on -Osman Bey a glance of withering scorn, replied in a loud voice, “Delì -Pasha is father of the lady and Governor of the province; for him I -reserve what I have to say: to you I shall give no reply.” - -“Take him to the guard-house prison,” cried Osman Bey in a fury; “we -will see if that insolent tongue will not find another kind of speech -to-morrow. Let four soldiers with loaded pistols attend him to prison -and watch at the door: if he escapes, their lives shall answer for it.” - -After Hassan had been removed in obedience to this order, Osman Bey -remained for some time in consultation with the commander of the troops -and other officers respecting the punishment to be inflicted on Hassan. -Ahmed Aga lingered among these, and in order to disarm the -Vice-Governor’s suspicions of his sentiments towards the prisoner, he -was loud in his condemnation of the offence, although he took no part in -the discussion that arose regarding the punishment. - -Osman Aga declared that the honour of the Pasha required it to be both -prompt and severe, so as to deter others from invading the sanctity of -his harem, and before the consultation closed he avowed his -determination to have Hassan publicly beaten on the following morning in -the open _meidàn_ in front of the palace, and be afterwards reconveyed -to prison to await Delì Pasha’s arrival. Ahmed Aga, who well knew that -all opposition to a decision based on motives of personal revenge and -hatred would be fruitless, feigned acquiescence in its justice, and -suggested to the Governor that it would be improper that the prisoner -should be confined and punished in the dress of _khaznadâr_ to the -Pasha: he proposed, therefore, that he should be authorised to see him -deprived of his household dress and arms, and that he should be clad in -a costume more befitting his disgraced position. - -To this Osman Bey, willingly assenting, gave an order that the prison -should be opened to Ahmed Aga to allow him to make the change; but he -knew so well Hassan’s popularity in the Pasha’s household, that he -intrusted the custody of the prisoner, both in prison and at the place -of punishment, solely to his own followers and to the soldiers now under -his orders as Vice-Governor. - -Ahmed Aga, having provided himself with a suit of clothes such as was -worn by the humbler attendants of the Pasha, proceeded in company with -two of Osman Bey’s followers to the prison, and being aware that his -every word and gesture would be closely watched and reported, he -affected a tone of the greatest harshness in addressing the prisoner. - -Hassan, to whom his secret motives were unknown, was more hurt at the -conduct of his former friend than he could have been by any indignity -inflicted on him by the spite of Osman Bey. Had he known Latin and -history, he might have ejaculated, “_Et tu, Brute!_” but as it was, he -observed a proud and haughty silence while delivering over his -_khaznadâr_ dress, together with his shawl-girdle, purse, and dagger, of -all of which Ahmed Aga took possession. Scanning with a rapid glance the -walls and dimensions of the prison, Ahmed Aga noticed that it was -lighted only by one small aperture, so high that escape was impossible; -and he had already heard the orders given to the sentries who paced -before the door with loaded pistols, and who knew that their lives were -made answerable for the prisoner’s safety. - -“Give him bread and water,” said he to the guards, “and let him have a -light burning in the cell; it may be useful if you want to look in at -any hour before morning to see what he is doing. He is a desperate -fellow; beware, my men, that you do not let him escape.” - -“You may trust us for that,” they replied gruffly, “as we have no wish -to take his place or share his punishment.” - -Poor Hassan made his solitary bread-and-water meal with the proud -stoicism of a Bedouin, though his heart bled at the apparently hopeless -issue of his love and the treacherous ingratitude of Ahmed Aga. - -The early hours of the night had passed, and he was just about to lose a -sense of his troubles and dangers in sleep, when he was aroused by -seeing something drop near his feet, which had evidently been thrown in -at the aperture in the wall. Reaching out his manacled hand, he found it -to be a lump of clay, to which was attached a note containing a small -file and the following words:— - - -“LIGHT OF MY EYES, BELOVED FRIEND,—Your condition is very perilous; all -I could do I have done. Osman Aga swears you shall be publicly beaten -to-morrow, and he will keep his oath. The place will be the wooden -pillar in the middle of the _meidàn_; if you try to escape before you -reach it you will be killed, according to his orders. The cords by which -they tie you will be rotten; with the file you can cut nearly through -one of the manacles near the wrist, where the cut will not be seen, and -you may then break them with a sudden effort. Immediately in front of -the post will sit the Bey, and behind him you will see a large clump of -date-trees, at the back of which is a ruined sheik’s tomb, where you -will find your clothes, your arms, and your horse ready saddled; if you -have courage and fortune to reach that spot you are safe. You must turn -northward behind the date-trees, and I will direct the pursuit westwards -toward the desert. Allah bless you. I have been obliged to seem your -enemy to obtain the means of serving you, but Hassan knows the truth of -this heart and hand.” - - -“I should have known and trusted,” said Hassan, pacing up and down his -cell in agitation; “but I doubted thee, Ahmed, and am unworthy of thy -friendship.” - -After giving himself up awhile to these thoughts, he reverted to the -letter. “Beaten!” he said, while he crushed the paper in his gyved hand. -“I, Hassan, the Child of the Pyramid, whose lance has emptied the -saddles of warriors; I, the betrothed of Amina, to be exposed in the -_meidàn_ and beaten like a thief or a slave—by Allah! rather will I die -ten thousand deaths.” He cast his eye scornfully down on the rusty -manacles that fettered his wrists. “Fools,” said he, “to think that the -hands of Hassan could be held by brittle toys like these! The intention -of Ahmed in sending me the file was friendly, and it may yet be needed, -but not now. The slaves might examine these chains before leading me -out, and my escape be thus rendered impossible.” - -So saying, he hid the file in the folds of a linen girdle that supported -his _serwal_ (or drawers), and having carefully reperused Ahmed’s letter -so as to fix it firmly in his memory, he tore it piecemeal and buried it -in the dust in a corner of his cell, so that in case he should fall in -his attempted escape there might not be found anything to compromise his -friend. - -Having made these preparations and recited his evening prayer, he lay -down and slept soundly till he was awakened by the drawing of the bolts -of the prison-door, and the entrance of half-a-dozen armed men appointed -to conduct him to the place of punishment. - -In obedience to their orders, before leaving the prison they examined -the manacles, which Hassan held up to their inspection with an air of -good-humoured confidence, which, together with his noble and -distinguished mien, impressed the rough fellows in his favour. - -They were strangers to him personally, but they thought it a pity that -so handsome a youth should be subjected to a degrading punishment for -speaking a few words in the garden beneath the window of a Khanum whose -life he had saved only a few days before. However, they knew Osman Bey’s -character, and dared not disobey his orders, so they marched their -prisoner to the appointed spot, where a man stood ready to tie his hands -to the post mentioned in Ahmed’s letter. - -While performing this office, his back being turned to the Bey, a single -wink of the eye sufficed to show to Hassan that he was a friend, and -that the cord was either half-cut or rotten. Osman Bey sat on a -cushioned carpet smoking his chibouq, some of the officers of his -household standing on either side, while behind him Hassan recognised -many friendly faces of Delì Pasha’s attendants, on which sympathy and -indignation were legibly written: beyond these again he noticed the -palm-grove, where his horse and liberty awaited him if he could escape -from stab or bullet on the way. The attempt seemed desperate; yet, -although Hassan had resolved to risk it, none could read any agitation -or emotion in that calm, proud eye, which, after surveying the -surrounding crowd, rested its scornful glance on the Vice-Governor. - -“Osman Bey,” said Hassan in a loud, firm voice that was heard by all -present, “I warn you to desist from this unjust punishment. I have -appealed to Delì Pasha; it is he alone who should judge his own -_khaznadâr_.” - -“Dog!” replied Osman Bey, “dost thou teach me my duties and my powers? -Am I not Governor till Delì Pasha arrives; and shall I not punish a -scoundrel who dares to invade his harem? I will have thy back beaten -till thou canst not speak, and I will leave thy feet for Delì Pasha to -beat till thou canst not stand. Slaves,” he continued, addressing two -men armed with sticks who had silently taken their places on each side -of the prisoner, “strike! and if you do not lay it soundly on, by my -head you shall taste the stick yourselves.” - -Even as he ceased speaking the fall of a heavy blow on Hassan’s back -sounded over the _meidàn_, and an involuntary groan burst from many of -his former comrades in the Pasha’s household. Uttering the single word -“Allah!” in a voice of thunder, Hassan burst the cord that bound his -hands to the post, and dashing them apart with the full power of his -gigantic strength, the rusted manacles snapped like whipcord: a single -bound brought him to the side of the astonished Bey, who had scarcely -time to take the pipe from his mouth ere he received from the iron chain -still hanging from Hassan’s right hand a blow which broke his nose and -deluged his face in blood. Without turning even to give him a look, -Hassan dashed impetuously forward, brandishing a sword that he had -snatched from the Bey’s nearest attendant. Some made way for him -apparently paralysed by fear or surprise, some doubtless from secret -friendship, so that, here and there parrying a random cut or thrust, he -succeeded in gaining the palm-grove. - -Such was Hassan’s extraordinary fleetness of foot that he had distanced -all pursuers when the Bey, rising from the ground and holding a -handkerchief to his bleeding face, roared aloud in fury to his -_kawàsses_ and Bashi-Bazouks to mount in pursuit. “A hundred purses to -any one who takes him dead or alive!” - -It may well be believed that a reward of such unheard of magnitude sent -many of the greedy soldiers to their saddles with all possible speed. - -Hassan meanwhile sped his way to the sheik’s tomb, beneath which he -found a friendly young Mameluke of the Pasha’s mounted and holding -Shèitan by the bridle. - -“Quick, quick!” said the youth; “here is your belt and pistols—they are -primed and loaded; here your sword and dagger; in these small bags, -firmly tied to the saddle, are your clothes and purse. Away, away to the -right, round these palms; I will gallop off to the left and shout as if -in pursuit.” - -With a grasp of the hand, and without exchanging another word, Hassan -fastened his arms in his girdle, and vaulting into the saddle, went off -at full speed; while the young Mameluke galloped off in the opposite -direction, shouting aloud, and followed, as he expected, by the first -horsemen who came up, and who, supposing him to be in sight of the -fugitive, hastened in pursuit, hoping to snatch from him the coveted -prize of one hundred purses. - -One of the mounted _kawàsses_ only, a powerful fellow, and greedy, like -the rest, to secure the promised reward, had heard the sound of -Shèitan’s retreating hoofs, and followed in the right direction; nor was -it long ere, leaving the palm-grove and entering on the adjoining open -fields which bordered the desert, he caught a view of Hassan in full -flight before him. Well knowing that he could trust, if necessary, to -his horse’s speed, Hassan did not wish to distress him at the -commencement of a chase the length of which was uncertain. He contented -himself therefore with going on at a moderate hand-gallop, which soon -allowed the impatient _kawàss_ to gain on him. Hassan perceiving, as he -came nearer, that the man was armed like himself with sword and pistols, -drew one of the latter from his belt and quietly awaited his adversary’s -approach. - -The _kawàss_, thirsting for the hundred purses, and trusting to his -skill in the use of his weapon, galloped by our hero, discharging his -pistol as he passed. The ball whizzed by Hassan’s head, but missed its -mark; and, driving the stirrup into Shèitan’s flanks, he brought him -quickly within range of his opponent, when he fired with so true an aim -that the _kawàss_ fell dead at the first shot. - -“Fool!” said Hassan; “what harm had I done you that you must strive to -take me?” - -He dismounted, and, seeing that no other pursuers were in sight, dressed -himself in the _kawàss’s_ clothes, and throwing the body into an -adjoining ditch, added a second brace of pistols to his own means of -defence, and led off his late opponent’s horse, which he resolved to -retain or turn loose as circumstances might render it advisable. - -A few days after these events Delì Pasha, who had been released from his -attendance on the Viceroy, and had performed the voyage up the Nile in a -light Government _canjah_, arrived at Siout, where he learnt the various -“moving incidents” that had occurred in his household: the imminent -peril of his favourite child, rescued by the devoted courage of Hassan, -her name become the subject of scandal in connection with that of her -deliverer, and the disgraceful punishment awarded to his _khaznadâr_ by -Osman Bey, who, as Delì Pasha well knew, had gratified his own -revengeful hatred under a semblance of zeal for the honour of his chief. - -All these things combined to rouse the feelings of the choleric old -soldier to the highest pitch of excitement. He was angry with Hassan, -angry with his daughter, angry with Osman Bey, and angry with Destiny, -which had brought all these troubles on his old age. His attendants saw -the cloud settled on his brow, and waited in silent apprehension to see -when and how the storm would burst. - -At last it fell, as is too often the case in this world of injustice, on -the feeblest and most innocent head. Amina alone, of all the objects of -his wrath, was under his roof and entirely in his power; she had heard -from Fatimeh Khanum and the eunuchs the indications of her father’s -gloomy state of mind, and as on arriving he had neither come to see her -nor sent her any message of affection, she dreaded the first interview. -When, after the lapse of some days, he visited her apartment and ordered -all the attendants to retire, she advanced to meet him, and observing no -welcome sign of parental embrace, she kissed the hem of his robe and sat -down in silence at his feet. - -Notwithstanding all his stoic and stern resolves, the feelings that -struggled for the mastery in his breast betrayed themselves; and as he -contemplated her surpassing loveliness, and the touching and subdued -melancholy by which it was shaded, he could not forbear the reflection -that, had it not been for the courageous devotion of Hassan, that face -and form, which he had so often caressed with all a father’s love, would -now be sleeping cold and lifeless in the muddy bed of the Nile. - -“Better so than disgraced and dishonoured,” said he to himself, rousing -his own angrier passions, and giving them vent in a volume of reproaches -directed against herself and her lover. For a long time she bore them in -silence and in tears; but when at length he reproached her with giving -her affection to a nameless adventurer, and said that he would rather -see her dead than united to one who had ungratefully brought dishonour -on his house, she started to her feet, and while the eyes so lately -bathed in tears now flashed with the fire of indignation, she said— - -“Father, you shall have your wish. Death has no terror for me, and I -would meet it in any hour and in any shape rather than renounce a faith -that I have plighted in the sight of Allah. Cruel and unjust father, how -dare you tax with ingratitude one who risked his own life to save that -of your child? Father, neither your anger nor your power can arrest the -decrees of destiny. Was it Hassan’s fault or was it mine that on that -dark and stormy night I was cast into the waves of the Nile? He heard a -faint cry, and though he knew not who uttered it, he plunged into those -troubled waters and reached me just as I was about to sink from cold and -exhaustion. Cheering and sustaining me, he brought me to the shore. In -the very jaws of death I vowed to devote to him the life that he had -saved; he stripped off his own cloak to shield me from the cold; he bore -me to the friendly Arab tents, and his heart beat against my heart as I -rested in his arms. He had seen my face uncovered, and we mutually swore -to love each other faithfully until separated by that death from which -we had just escaped. Cruel father, do you think that after this any -other man would wish or dare to wed your daughter? In the sight of -Allah, Hassan is my husband. The cruelty of man or Fate may doom me -never to see him again; but I warn you, father, that I am Delì Pasha’s -own daughter, and if you compel me to become the bride of another, the -bridal bed shall be the grave of one or both.” - -The Pasha gazed with mingled awe and astonishment on the flashing eyes -and dilated figure of his transformed Amina as she uttered these words; -while one of her hands rested on her girdle, as if seeking the hilt of -that dagger to which her closing sentence had so plainly alluded. - -“Amina,” he said in a voice rendered tremulous by emotion, “you are -right; it has been the work of destiny. I meant not to be cruel to you -or unjust to Hassan. Come to my arms.” - -Who has not experienced the pleasure of seeing a dusky summer cloud, -which lately obscured the sun and sent forth the lightning’s flash and -the thunder’s growl, suddenly dissolve and pass away in gentle rain, -while the sun resumes its empire over the sky, and the shower-spangled -leaves and herbs and flowers exhale the grateful incense of their -odorous breath? - -Such, only so much more lovely as moral is superior to natural beauty, -was the change wrought in Amina by a word of parental love. Throwing -herself into his arms with a wild cry of irrepressible joy, she looked -up in his face, and pressing his hand fondly to her lips, said— - -“Father, dear father, I fear that my words have pained you; tell me that -you forgive me. I can bear anything but to hear him ill-spoken of; then -my heart jumps to my mouth, and my tongue knows no restraint; but now I -am your own little Amina again. Kiss me, and love me, dear father, and, -Inshallah! I will never do anything to offend you.” - -Delì Pasha could not trust himself to speak, but he folded her to his -heart in a silence more eloquent than words, and the reconciliation -between father and daughter was complete. - -Often afterwards, when alone together, they spoke of Hassan, and -wondered what had become of him, till at length reports reached them -which, although they threw a light upon his fate, filled them with grief -and dismay. - -In order to explain these more fully we must resume the thread of our -narrative at the point where we left our hero clad in the dress of the -_kawàss_ whom he had despoiled, and journeying northward along the -border of the desert, leading his spare horse by the bridle. - -He had travelled some four or five hours at a round pace without -halting, when he met half-a-dozen wild-looking Bedouin Arabs, -well-mounted and armed with lance and sword. Forgetting at the moment -that the dress which he wore might not find favour in the eyes of these -children of the desert, he rode forward to meet them, when one who -seemed their leader, after conversing for a few moments with his -companions, called aloud to him— - -“Halt, you _kawàss_, servant of some grasping Turk; if you would have us -spare your life, dismount and give us up those two horses.” - -“I am no _kawàss_,” replied Hassan, addressing the surprised Arabs in -the deep-toned guttural accents of a Bedouin, “but a son of the desert -like yourselves. ’Tis but a few hours since a _kawàss_ attacked me, and -I killed him and took his horse. If you wish to fight, the same arms -that killed him are ready for you. If you desire peace, Bismillah! I am -your friend.” - -While speaking, he deliberately drew a pistol from his girdle and -brought round the hilt of his sword ready for his hand. The Bedouins -were completely puzzled by his appearance and language; his powerful -figure, noble mien, and the perfect coolness with which he challenged -six men to combat, compelled their involuntary admiration, while his -dress denoted hostility to their predatory band, and his horses excited -their cupidity. - -While they were holding a brief consultation as to the course which they -should pursue, another Arab belonging to their party, who had followed -them at some distance, came up: he was a broad-shouldered, stout fellow, -with a black patch covering one-half of his face, and from the eagerness -with which they crowded round him it was evident that his voice was not -without weight among them. - -“Let me see this _kawàss_ who pretends to be a Bedouin,” said he, -pushing his way through them; “I will soon tell you whether he be lion -or jackal.” So saying, he advanced to within a few yards of our hero. - -“Mashallah! Mashallah!” exclaimed the new-comer; and, to the -astonishment of his comrades, he jumped off his horse, and running up to -Hassan, kissed his hand, crying aloud, “Ya sidi, ya sidi,—My master, my -master,—do you not know your faithful Abou-Hamedi?” - -It was, indeed, no less a personage than our old friend the Damanhouri -whom Hassan had thus unexpectedly encountered, and who was now out upon -a marauding expedition with a fragment of the lawless and numerous band -of which he was a member. - -“The black patch could not disguise Abou-Hamedi from the eyes of a -friend,” replied Hassan, cordially returning his greeting. In a few -minutes hasty salutations and mutual inquiries had passed, and Hassan -found himself on his way to the Bedouin encampment, where he was invited -to sup and pass the night. - -Abou-Hamedi took the bridle of the led horse, and treated our hero with -such evident deference that the other Arabs unconsciously adopted a -similar manner towards him, and he entered their encampment rather with -the air of its chieftain than of a homeless fugitive. - -The band consisted of forty-five or fifty men, who were sitting in a -circle round a large fire, at which a couple of black slaves were -roasting several sheep and baking Arab bread on the cinders. The horses -were picketed in a semicircle at the back of the party, and other black -slaves were bringing them their evening supply of forage. Tents there -were none, these hardy sons of the desert contenting themselves with a -blanket for a bed and the open sky for a canopy. - -Hassan saw at a glance that more than half of the band were Arabs from -the West—rough, powerful fellows, who, having come across the Great -Desert to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, had on their return been -attracted by the “fleshpots of Egypt,” and had remained behind to do a -little business in the plundering line, while the rest of their caravan -had continued its course to the desert borders of Tripoli and Tunis. The -residue of the party was composed of Arabs who were either outlawed for -some offence against the Egyptian Government or had been compelled to -fly from some Bedouin tribe to avoid retaliation for a deed of blood. - -Hassan had no sooner taken his seat among them than he was expected and -requested to relate the circumstances which had brought him among them -in the dress of a Turkish _kawàss_, and with iron manacles attached to -each wrist. This he did in a simple and unpretending manner, which would -have carried conviction with it even without the confirmatory evidence -of the manacle chain which still hung from his right hand. - -The Bedouins listened with grave attention and interest to his tale, and -at the end of it Abou-Hamedi drew near to his side, and asking him for -the file which the forethought of Ahmed had provided, set about the task -of delivering our hero from bracelets which were neither convenient nor -ornamental. This was a more tedious task than it appeared; and when at -length they were removed, they were passed from hand to hand, the Arabs -casting their eyes from the broken chain to the powerful limbs which it -had failed to fetter, and paying that involuntary tribute to lofty -stature and manly beauty which these qualities command still more in -savage than in civilised life. - -No sooner was Hassan relieved from his gyves than he rose up and went to -see that his faithful Shèitan was duly cleaned and fed. He found a -grinning negro belonging to Abou-Hamedi already employed on this -service, whose goodwill he further stimulated by a smile of -encouragement and a five-piastre piece slipped into his palm. The horse -taken from the _kawàss_ likewise received his due allowance, and both it -and Shèitan were provided with a coarse rug to protect them against the -cold of approaching night. - -While Hassan was thus engaged, and in the subsequent recital of his -sunset prayers, which, like a true Mussulman, he never omitted in any -presence or under any circumstances, Abou-Hamedi was eloquently -haranguing the listening Arabs concerning his character and qualities. -He related to them how he himself owed his life and liberty to Hassan’s -youthful generosity; and after extolling in the highest terms his -deliverer’s daring courage and aptitude for command, he proposed that -the band should invite him to become their leader. - -One of the party, named Abou-Hashem, who had hitherto acted in that -capacity, listened to this address with a clouded brow. He was a strong, -active man, well skilled in the use of his weapons, bold and resolute in -danger, and versed in the various modes of Arab warfare. He expressed -his dissent from the proposal of Abou-Hamedi, and said that he for one -would not agree to surrender his own claims to command to a stranger, -and one of less age and experience than himself. Abou-Hamedi replied, -and the discussion was so warmly sustained on both sides that they did -not perceive the return of Hassan, who had taken his seat in the circle -and listened to the arguments of the disputants. - -“Let this discussion cease, my brothers,” he said in a voice whose deep -authoritative tone commanded general attention. “I seek not to be your -leader, and would not accept the charge otherwise than by your unanimous -choice. So long as I remain among you I will be faithful to your cause; -and if I see amongst you treachery or cruelty, or aught else that I do -not approve, I shall leave you and follow my solitary path. In a band -like this, where there is no hereditary title to command, the boldest -heart, the strongest hand, and the wisest head must be your chief. In -the first fair day of fight that we may have, show me the man who is -first in the fray, stoutest in the _mêlée_, and last to leave it,—let -him be our leader; I will cheerfully follow and obey him.” - -This speech was received with general acclamation. The party having set -their guards, retired to rest, and thus Hassan found himself transformed -from a Turkish _khaznadâr_ into a comrade of predatory outlaws. - -Not a week had passed ere Abou-Hamedi went disguised into Siout to -perform various commissions and to gather information. On his return he -told his companions that after two days the great annual caravan of -_gellabs_ (slave-dealers) was about to set out for the Soudan; that -their sacks would be full of money and trinkets for the purchase of -slaves; and that they were to be escorted by fifty Bashi-Bazouks, or -irregular Turkish cavalry. - -He also informed them that he had seen Osman Bey in his divan with a -large black plaster covering his broken nose and lacerated cheek, at -which intelligence a smile of satisfaction played over Hassan’s -features, which had worn an unusually grave expression. It was -unanimously resolved to plunder the caravan, and a council was held as -to the place and plan of attack, in which Abou-Hamedi and Abou-Hashem, -as being best acquainted with the localities, were the principal -speakers. After the council had broken up, Abou-Hamedi retired with -Hassan, and produced from his saddle-bags a complete Bedouin dress, -which our hero gladly donned in place of the Turkish costume which he -had of late been accustomed to wear. - -On the day fixed for the departure of the _gellabs_, our band, guided by -Abou-Hamedi and Abou-Hashem, was posted behind a desert sandhill on the -caravan-road to the south, at a distance of about fifteen miles from -Siout. Swords were loosened in their scabbards, the priming of pistols -and the points of lances duly examined, when towards four in the -afternoon the caravan was seen slowly approaching, half of the armed -escort in front, half in the rear, with the wealthy _gellabs_ and their -baggage containing money, jewels, trinkets, and numerous sets of -manacles, in the centre. - -Our Bedouins were awaiting them in profound silence, when suddenly their -ambush was betrayed by one of their horses, a fiery and impatient -animal, that began to neigh, snort, and execute various curvetings which -exposed his rider to the view of the leading soldiers of the escort, -who, seeing that the Bedouin endeavoured again to find concealment -behind the sandhill, suspected the true state of the case and began to -look to their arms and prepare for action. - -“Upon them at once,” shouted Hassan, “and overthrow them before the -rear-guard has time to come up to their support! Strike only the -soldiers; the merchants and travellers must be ours.” - -As he spoke these words he struck the stirrups in Shèitan, and charged -at headlong speed the leading column. It was in vain that Abou-Hashem, -jealous of his honour, strove to be first in the fray: he urged his -horse with voice and stirrup, but before he came up Hassan had already -emptied two troopers’ saddles, and was dealing death among their -fellows, uttering terrific shouts that rose high above the din of arms -and the cries of the dismayed merchants. - -At first the freebooters seemed about to gain an easy victory, but the -rear-guard of the escort came up, and for some time the fight was -continued upon nearly equal terms. Abou-Hashem, who fought that day with -a fierce emulation, was wounded in the sword-arm by a pistol-shot, and -having been thrown from his horse, was about to be despatched by a -trooper, when Hassan’s sword flashed above his head and the trooper fell -senseless beside the body of his intended victim. - -To dismount from his horse and remount his fallen comrade was to Hassan -the work of a moment: springing again on the back of Shèitan, he plunged -into the thickest of the _mêlée_, and ere long the discomfited troopers -were in rapid flight towards Siout. - -The Bedouins, not caring to pursue them, surrounded the caravan and -commenced the work of plunder and distribution of the spoil with a -readiness and order which proved them to be adepts at the trade. Hassan -stood at a little distance wiping his stained sword and tying a -handkerchief over a flesh-wound in the arm, from which the blood freely -flowed. - -The booty proved greater than the most sanguine of the Bedouins had -expected, and Abou-Hashem himself proposed and demanded that the -leader’s share should be set apart for Hassan. Our hero, scarcely -deigning to cast a glance at the heap thus placed before him, gave his -hand to his late rival, and inquired kindly after his hurt. Abou-Hashem -felt that, morally and physically, he was in presence of a superior, and -from that day Hassan was uncontested chief of the band. - -The merchants and other trafficking members of the caravan, with their -servants, sat in melancholy silence on the ground, looking on at the -distribution of their goods and money among the captors. - -When Hassan, at the request of Abou-Hamedi, condescended to examine the -share of booty allotted to him, he found that it consisted of two black -slaves, three mules, a number of jewels and trinkets, and nearly £100 in -money. Of the slaves, one was a sickly-looking youth, to whom Hassan -gave a piece of money, saying, “Go where you will—you are free.” - -The other was a tall, powerful fellow, with a look of pride and -resolution in his eye which pleased Hassan’s taste: he was a native of -Darfour, and had accompanied the caravan as an interpreter among the -tribes of that region. In appearance he was more like one of the Lucumi, -or other warrior tribes of South-Western Africa, than the woolly-headed -negroes usually met with in the Egyptian slave-market. At his girdle -hung a short club made of the heavy ironwood of his native land, and in -his hand he carried a long stick or cane, one end of which was tipped -with a kind of fibrous cover of basket-work, while at the other end was -an iron hook, which gave to the stick the appearance of a shepherd’s -crook. - -“What is your name, and whence are you?” inquired Hassan. - -“From Darfour, and my name Abd-hoo,” replied the black.[102] - -“Have you been a warrior in your own country?” - -“I have seen some fighting,” said Abd-hoo with a grim smile. - -“Why did you not, then, fight when we attacked your caravan?” - -“Because that _gellab_ broke his faith. He promised me forty piastres -a-month and has paid me only twenty. I would not move a finger to save -his life.” - -As he said this he pointed to one of the slave-dealers, who was looking -in mute despair on his rifled bags and boxes. - -“If your muscles answer to your appearance, you should be a strong -fellow,” said Hassan. - -“Try me,” replied the black, thrusting out from beneath his blanket an -arm that would have done credit to the champion of the fistic ring in -England. - -A laugh among the Bedouins followed this sally of the sturdy negro. -Hassan noticed it, and simply answering, “I will try a wrestling -fall[103] with you, and if you throw me you shall go free,” threw off -his _abah_ (outer Arab scarf) and laid aside his weapons. The negro -followed the example, and though he was half a head short of Hassan in -stature, the vast size of his bull neck and shoulders, and the muscular -development of his arms and legs, created an impression among the -Bedouins (none of whom, excepting Abou-Hamedi, had any experience of -Hassan’s extraordinary powers) that their newly-appointed chief would be -no match for the Darfouri. - -When, however, they grappled, and all the sleights and desperate -exertions of the negro failed to move Hassan from his firm position of -defence, or to disturb the quiet and confident smile that played upon -his countenance, it soon became as evident to the bystanders as it was -to Abd-hoo that he was in the grip of his master, and not many minutes -elapsed before he measured his length upon the sand. - -Hassan then resumed his _abah_ and his weapons, and continued the -conversation with his defeated opponent as if nothing had occurred to -interrupt it. - -“Abd-hoo, you are a stout fellow, though you have yet some sleights to -learn in wrestling. Canst thou be faithful?” - -“Where I promise I keep my word,” said the negro. - -“Enough,” replied Hassan; “I want no slave. Here is a piece of gold for -you; take it. You are free to go where you will or to serve me: if you -choose the latter, you shall have your share of my bread and my purse.” - -“I will follow you to death,” replied Abd-hoo, looking up to his new -master with a reverence inspired by those physical powers which, in his -rude breast, afforded the highest claim to respect. - -Hassan, having given into his charge the horses which had fallen to his -share, cast his eyes over the disconsolate group of merchants and their -followers, among whom his quick eye detected a feeble old man whom he -had more than once seen at the Governor’s house at Siout. Approaching -him, he inquired what had brought him on this route. - -“My son is a merchant who deals in gum and senna in Soudan,” replied the -old man. “He has fallen into illness and trouble, and I was going to -Dongola to see him, and to give some money to the Governor’s secretary -to get him released from trouble. Now my fifty dollars and my mule have -been taken from me, I am ruined and my son is lost.” - -“I hope your case is not so bad,” said Hassan, smiling good-humouredly; -“here are one hundred dollars to make good your loss. You must now -return to Siout, and, Inshallah! you will soon set out again for Soudan -with a better escort and a more fortunate caravan.” He then turned to -the group of _gellabs_, and said in a voice that carried dismay to their -already trembling hearts— - -“Hark ye, I know you all, and shall know all your doings in Siout: if ye -dare to touch one _para_ of what I have given to this old man, your -lives shall answer for it. Now gather up what you have left of clothes -and goods and be gone.” - -The discomfited traders collected the goods and the sorrier nags and -mules which the freebooters had left as useless to themselves and -retraced their way to Siout, while Hassan and his band went off with -their booty into the desert. - -The news of this audacious _razzia_, exaggerated as it was by the -defeated troopers and the despoiled _gellabs_, created the greatest -consternation in Siout. Hassan’s band was magnified into a force of two -or three hundred ferocious and well-armed desperadoes, and he himself -into some _jinn_ or _afreet_ in human shape, equally proof against -lance, sword, or bullet. - -Osman Bey was furious at this new triumph of his mortal enemy, the more -so as a portion of the money captured by the Bedouins had been advanced -by himself to the _gellabs_ on speculation. - -Delì Pasha was scarcely less vexed at the lawless and desperate course -of life on which his late favourite had been driven to enter, although -his former feelings towards him were kept alive by the trait of -compassionate generosity which he had shown to the old man, who had -himself related it to the Pasha with tears in his eyes. Hassan’s warning -threats to the _gellabs_ had not been without effect, for none had dared -to take from him a _para_ of the hundred dollars given to him by the -dreaded leader of the plundering band. The latter ere long acquired a -notoriety equalled by that of Robin Hood in the olden time of England; -nor were Hassan’s character and conduct very different from those of our -prince of archers and foresters. To take from the rich and bestow -generously on the poor and oppressed was the base of his system. Thus in -every village he had voluntary and grateful spies, who gave him timely -notice of the approach of any troops sent against him, and according to -their numerical force or his own inclination, he either defeated or -eluded them. - -The attention of Mohammed Ali was ere long aroused by the depredations -of this formidable band; but although he sent the most angry and severe -orders to his provincial governors to seize the audacious rebel who set -his authority at defiance, their exertions remained infructuous. - -Tales of Hassan’s deeds of prowess, daring, and generosity became -current among the villagers of the whole valley of the Nile, among whom -he was generally spoken of as “Hassan eed-el-maftouha,” or -“eed-el-hadid”—that is, “Hassan of the open hand” (_i.e._, the -generous), or “Hassan of the iron hand”; and the provincial governors -were completely stupefied by his apparent power of ubiquity, for no -sooner did one of them send a force in pursuit of him near some village -where his presence had lately been reported, than they heard of his -having plundered some Sheik-el-Beled or caravan one hundred miles off. - -This latter circumstance, though devised by Hassan, was carried out by -the versatile talents of Abou-Hamedi, who had secret friends and spies -in most of the Nile villages. These fellows were instructed from time to -time to run to the nearest town or residence of a governor bawling for -help, and stating that they had seen Hassan and his band prowling near -their village on the preceding night. Soldiers would be sent to watch -for him, and then news would arrive that some depredation had been -committed by his band in another province. - -Meanwhile Hassan did not neglect the precaution of maintaining a good -understanding with the Bedouin tribes: totally indifferent to money -himself, all his share of booty that he did not bestow on the poor and -helpless he gave in presents to the most powerful of the Bedouin sheiks, -so that when Mohammed Ali tried to employ against Hassan his favourite -method of “setting a thief to catch a thief,” by calling upon some of -the Arab chiefs to assist in apprehending our hero, they apparently -obeyed the Viceroy’s wishes, but it was after having sent a secret and -timely notice to Hassan, and, as might be expected, their ostensible -efforts were without result. - -We have said that the wild and lawless career upon which our hero had -entered caused deep regret to Delì Pasha, and it may be imagined that it -caused the tears of his daughter to flow. Neither these tears nor these -regrets were much diminished by a letter which the Pasha one day -received, and which was brought by a stranger, who disappeared as soon -as he had delivered it. Allowing for the difference between Turkish and -English idiom, it ran as follows:— - - - “_To the High in Rank, the Honourable and Honoured - Delì Pasha, Governor of Siout._ - -“Hassan, his faithful servant, having been driven from his honourable -place in his Excellency’s service, and having been degraded in the eyes -of the household and others by the tyranny of Osman Bey, has had no -other choice than to maintain his honour and life as the chief of a -Bedouin band. He may be exiled—outlawed, perhaps—if such be the will of -Allah, put to death by the Egyptian Government, but no act of cowardice, -treachery, or cruelty on his part shall cause his Excellency to blush -for having once extended to Hassan his generous protection. His life is -in the hands of Allah; but so long as it endures, his thoughts, his -hopes, his heart, and his faith are a sacrifice at the feet of Amina, -and his prayers are for her and for her honoured father.” - - -Nothing can be more dull, hot, and disagreeable than a summer in Upper -Egypt; we therefore take the liberty of skipping over the following six -months, briefly mentioning the changes that took place in the destinies -of our principal _dramatis personæ_. - -Mr Thorpe and all his party had gone to pass the summer among the cool -breezes of the Lebanon; but as the health of his daughter caused him -some disquietude, he had determined to return to Upper Egypt in the -following winter, for which purpose he re-engaged the two dahabiahs in -which he had before made his voyage up the Nile. - -Delì Pasha had obtained the Viceroy’s permission to return with his -family to Cairo, leaving Osman Bey in charge of the government of Siout; -and the latter received a significant hint from his Highness that if he -did not contrive some means of apprehending the formidable outlaw whom -his ill-timed harshness had driven to revolt, it might prove the worse -for himself. - -As for our hero and his band, the heat of summer and the cold of winter -were alike to their hardy frames, and the terror of his name spread far -and wide with every succeeding month. The reports of his daring -achievements excited the Viceroy’s anger, sometimes mingled with -admiration, sometimes with mirth, which he cared not to suppress. - -On one occasion Abou-Hamedi (who had received several flesh-wounds in a -late encounter) went into Siout disguised as a fellah, and, rushing into -the presence of Osman Bey, claimed redress of his wrongs, stating that -not more than five leagues from the town he had been plundered, beaten, -and wounded by Hassan and a part of his band. His ghastly appearance, -the blood on the bandages that bound his head and arm, the tone of -helpless misery in which he told his tale,—all conspired to induce the -Bey to give credit to it. A surgeon was ordered to remove the bandages, -and there were the unhealed wounds to speak for themselves. - -On being asked where Hassan now was, and how many of his band were with -him, the pretended fellah named the place, and said that the greater -part of the band had gone elsewhere to plunder some caravan, and that -Hassan had with him only six or eight of his followers. - -When told that he must guide a party to the place, he evinced such a -dread of Hassan, and bargained so obstinately for the amount of his -reward when the formidable chief should be captured, that all doubts of -the truth of his tale were removed. - -Osman Bey resolved at once to whiten his face before the Viceroy by -heading in person the party selected for this important service, which -was to consist of twenty of the best mounted and armed of his followers, -each man being provided with a coil of cord to bind the prisoners. - -Without relating all the details of the expedition, it is sufficient to -say that the unlucky Bey fell into an ambush laid with admirable skill -by Hassan. He and his party found themselves suddenly attacked in front -and in the rear by two bands, each of which was as well mounted and more -numerous than his own, so that after a brief resistance he and his -followers were all captured, and bound with the same cords which they -had brought to secure the freebooters. Their arms and horses having been -taken from them, and having been placed at some distance under a strong -guard, Hassan ordered them all to be released from their bonds; and -Osman Bey having been brought before him, he said— - -“Illustrious Governor, I think that two hundred and fifty was the number -of blows which you once ordered to be administered to the back of your -humble servant, and in dealing with so high a personage I surely ought -not to show myself less liberal in my measure of reward. Neither have I -forgotten the debt that I owe you for the kindness which you showed me -in Cairo, when you endeavoured to take by treachery a life which you had -not the courage openly to attempt. Inshallah! I will now pay my debts; -after which we will be friends or enemies, as you may choose.” - -At the conclusion of this address two of the freebooters stepped forward -by Hassan’s order, and, in spite of Osman Bey’s struggles and cries, -applied their courbatches vigorously to his shoulders until Hassan -called out “Enough!” They then tied him firmly, with his arms pinioned, -on a lively young donkey, to the tail of which they fastened a bunch of -prickly shrubs to quicken its movements, and having started it on the -road to Siout, left the discomfited Governor to re-enter his capital in -this humiliating guise, amid the suppressed jeers of its population. - -As for the troopers, Hassan gave them a good supper, expressed to them -his regret that he could not restore to them their arms and horses, -which had become the property of his band; told them it was a great pity -that such brave, honest fellows should be obliged to serve under so -unworthy a chief, and having given each of them a present of five -piastres, told them that they were at liberty to return to their several -homes, or to their service in Siout, as it might suit their own -convenience. - -On another occasion Abou-Hashem, who had been engaged with a small -portion of the band in a predatory excursion not far from the town of -Girgeh, had been attacked by a party sent for that purpose by its -governor, and in spite of a desperate resistance had been taken -prisoner. His comrades, most of them wounded, escaped and brought the -news to Hassan, who was with the remainder of the band encamped at a -well a few leagues distant from the scene of the affray. - -After reproaching them bitterly for their cowardice in surviving the -capture of a comrade who had once been their chief, and after -ascertaining from them that the soldiers were too numerous to afford him -a reasonable prospect of rescue by open force, he resolved to effect it -by stratagem, or perish in the attempt. Dressing himself in his _kawàss_ -costume, and taking with him only the trusty black, Abd-hoo, on whose -fidelity and presence of mind he could confidently rely, he mounted -Shèitan and set off at speed towards Girgeh, hoping to intercept the -party before they reached the immediate neighbourhood of the town. Both -he and his follower were fully armed, and the latter bore with him a -chibouq and tobacco-bag to support his character of attendant on the -supposed _kawàss_. Hassan gave his instructions to Abd-hoo as they -galloped across the plain, and the confident grin of the sturdy negro -assured him that he was understood, and would, if possible, be obeyed. - -Fortune so far favoured our adventurers that several miles before -reaching Girgeh they saw the party of which they were in search seated -on the ground near a spring of water, and refreshing themselves with the -fragrant fumes of the pipe. - -Slackening his speed as he approached, Hassan drew near the group, and -saluting them courteously in Turkish, sat down in the midst of them, -nearest to one who by his dress he knew to be their _yuzbashi_, or -captain, and ordering Abd-hoo to fill his pipe, our hero commenced a -conversation on the heat, and indifferent subjects, with a careless ease -that would have done honour to an old diplomatist. The captain was -charmed with the polite frankness of his new guest, who failed not to -call him colonel by mistake, and who ere long drew from him an account -of the object and success of his morning’s expedition. - -No sooner did he hear that one supposed to be of some rank in the band -of the formidable Hassan had been captured than he started with feigned -surprise, and inquired, pointing to Abou-Hashem, who sat disarmed and -pinioned at some distance, whether that was the fellow whom they had -captured? A reply being given in the affirmative— - -“By your head, colonel,” he said, “I will go and look at the vagabond: -they have done much evil to my lord the Pasha, and I have seen service -against them. You son of a dog,” continued he, drawing near the -prisoner, and addressing him in a loud and angry voice, “methinks you -are the very fellow who killed my brother near Siout; you have just his -ugly, villainous look, and now I will have your blood.” - -So saying, he drew a sharp poniard and brandished it over the head of -the prisoner. - -“Do not kill the vagabond, O Aga!” shouted the captain, still lazily -smoking his pipe, “for I hope to get five or six purses for his -apprehension: could I have caught his chief, Mashallah! I would have -claimed one hundred.” - -“Inshallah! you will claim them another time,” said Hassan politely. -“Meanwhile, I must give this vagabond a prick with my poniard. I will -not touch his life, but I wish him not to forget me.” - -So saying, he brandished his poniard again, and advanced close to the -prisoner in order to see how with one rapid cut he could sever his -bonds. - -“Do not touch him, Aga, with your knife,” cried out Abd-hoo; “here is a -courbatch wherewith to beat him.” - -Under this pretext Hassan led Shèitan and his own horse near to the -prisoner: at the distance of only a few yards a groom was holding a -horse which, from its appearance and trappings, seemed to be that of the -captain. - -“Now is the moment,” whispered Hassan to Abou-Hashem; “be ready to -spring on that horse.” - -As he spoke he raised his knife as if about to strike, at the same time -continuing to threaten and abuse Abou-Hashem in a loud voice, while the -Turks were laughing at the anger of Hassan and the assumed terror of the -captive, who called out “Aman! aman!” (Mercy!) With one swift stroke of -his knife he divided the cords with which he was pinioned, and, -springing aside, knocked down the unsuspecting _sàis_ who held the -captain’s horse. No sooner done than Abou-Hashem was in the saddle; -Hassan and Abd-hoo jumped on their horses, and in a second the -freebooters were at full speed on their way to the desert. Shots were -fired at them from pistols and carabines, some of which took effect, but -not enough to stop their headlong course. - -Hassan received a ball in the arm and another in the side, but he -succeeded in his daring attempt. A few of the best mounted of the Turks -who were able to keep the fugitives in sight found themselves, after a -gallop of several leagues, in sight of Hassan’s band, who received their -chief and his rescued lieutenant with shouts of triumph; while the -troopers, seeing that all chance of recapturing them was hopeless, -wheeled their wearied horses towards Girgeh, glad to escape themselves -unpursued. - -One other instance of our hero’s humorous audacity which reached the -Viceroy’s ears during that summer, and which excited his mirth almost as -much as his anger, deserves to be recorded. - -His Highness had collected a body of troops in a camp near the town of -Esneh, in Upper Egypt, who were undergoing drill and training for -service against the refractory tribes in the Soudan. - -Hassan had received intelligence from one of his spies that a large sum -of money had just been transmitted to Esneh for the payment of these -troops, and was in the keeping of a certain Moktar Effendi, who resided -in a village a few miles distant from the encampment, and who on account -of this charge was dignified in the neighbourhood by the title of -Defterdar. - -Of this sum Hassan resolved to endeavour to obtain possession by -stratagem, and he set about it with the confident coolness which -characterised all his proceedings. Leaving the greater part of his band -in the desert, at a considerable distance from the village, he dressed -himself in his former _khaznadâr_ uniform, and six or eight of the most -resolute and best mounted of his followers in dresses becoming the -attendants of a man in authority, gathered from the spoils of plundered -caravans: he took with him also a firman bearing the seal of Mohammed -Ali, which had been obtained by similar means. This firman stated in -general terms that Latif-Aga, the bearer, was on duty in Upper Egypt on -Government service, and ordered the governors of towns and provinces to -afford him all necessary assistance. - -Armed with this instrument, and with others of a more deadly kind in -case of necessity, Hassan proceeded leisurely about midday to the -village, having desired his followers to observe the strictest gravity -and decorum in their demeanour, and having, as usual, invested the -ready-witted and faithful Abd-hoo with the office of pipe-bearer, while -Abou-Hamedi was to be left in charge of the horses and of the -attendants, who were not expected to accompany their chief to the -presence of the Defterdar. - -Hassan had no difficulty in finding the residence of that well-known -personage, and having announced himself as being charged with an -important message from the Viceroy, was immediately ushered into the -room where sat the Defterdar. - -Moktar Effendi was a fat, pursy little man, and, though extremely timid, -puffed up with a high sense of his own local importance. Hassan, as is -the custom in the East, began the conversation with all sorts of -commonplace observations, which he took care to interlard with fulsome -compliments gratifying to the vanity of his host; and after two pipes -and cups of coffee had been with due ceremony discussed, he prepared to -enter upon the business with which he was supposed to be intrusted. But -having observed a small room at the side, which seemed better suited to -his purpose than the reception-room, which commanded a view of the court -below, he proposed in a confidential tone that they should retire -thither for a conference, which he said it was necessary that their -attendants should not overhear. - -To this proposal the Defterdar, who had read the firman presented to him -by Hassan, made no objection, and they retired thither. No sooner were -they seated than our hero, who had taken care to place himself between -his host and the door, proceeded to inform him that he had come to -relieve him of the charge of the money which had been transmitted to him -for the payment of the troops. The astonished Defterdar said in a -hesitating tone that, although he had no doubt of the authority under -which his guest was acting, he could not transfer such a charge without -direct instructions from the Viceroy. - -“I will show you the authority under which I act,” said our hero in the -same polite and affable tone which he had hitherto used; and as he spoke -he threw open his outer pelisse, and drawing a pistol from his belt, -presented it within two feet of the Defterdar’s forehead, who observed -with horror another pistol and a dagger suspended from the same -formidable belt. “Excellent Defterdar,” he continued, “I do not wish to -expose you to any unnecessary alarm or danger, but it is necessary for -your safety that you give up to me the money in question. I am not -Latif-Aga, but Hassan, the Child of the Pyramid, of whom you have -perhaps heard, and who, as you may know, am not to be trifled with.” - -At the sound of that dreaded name, and at the sight of the pistol still -pointed at his face, the unfortunate Defterdar grew speechless with -affright; a cold perspiration broke out upon his forehead, and his -tongue clove to his palate. - -“For the love of Allah,” he gasped, “do not murder me!” - -“I have no intention of hurting you,” said Hassan, “if you only do as I -bid you without delay; but I warn you that if you utter a sound to -compromise my safety you are a dead man. My pipe-bearer, at your outer -door, and all my attendants below, are armed as I am, and we are strong -enough, if it be requisite, to destroy you and all your household. But -though I am not ‘Latif’ by name, I desire to be so in my conduct;[104] -therefore if you are quiet and reasonable you have nothing to fear. You -will please now to call whichever of your confidential servants has the -care of this money, and tell him to bring it here and deliver it to me, -as I am charged to convey it to the commanding officer at the camp. If -in giving him this order you endeavour to betray me by word or sign, you -die where you sit, and your servant will be killed by my pipe-bearer -without.” - -The unhappy Defterdar, after giving vent to sundry suppressed groans, in -which “Allah!” “Oh my misfortune!” “Mercy and destiny,” were feebly -uttered, and seeing no hope of saving his life excepting in implicit -obedience to the orders of his formidable guest, clapped his hands, and -on the entrance of his servant desired him forthwith to bring the money -which Latif-Aga was charged by the Viceroy to convey to the camp. - -The servant noticed the evident tremor and perturbation under which his -master spoke, but like a true Oriental he attributed it to regret at -losing so fair an opportunity of appropriating a certain portion of the -money to his own advantage by cheating the soldiers in its distribution, -and he soon reappeared, bearing with him three or four bags of gold, and -one of larger dimensions containing Austrian dollars. - -“Is the whole sum here?” said Hassan in a stern voice. “Bring me the -letter that accompanied the money, and then count it before me, that I -may see whether the amounts tally.” - -His orders having been obeyed, the servant counted the money before him, -which (wonderful to relate of Egypt) agreed precisely with the letter of -advice. - -“You are a faithful servant,” said Hassan, “and although I cannot touch -this money which belongs to others, here is a bakshish for yourself.” So -saying, he threw him two or three pieces of gold from his own purse, -adding, “Send hither my pipe-bearer and _mirakhor_ [chief groom], that -they may take charge of this money; and bring me a _dooàyeh_ [oriental -case containing pens and ink] and some paper, that I may give your -master a receipt in due form.” - -Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo having been summoned and taken charge of their -trust with a gravity and deportment suited to their assumed characters, -our hero wrote the receipt in a bold hand, and in the following terms:— - -“I, Hassan, Child of the Pyramid, hereby acknowledge that I have -received from Moktar Effendi the sum of one hundred and twenty purses -[£600] belonging to the Egyptian Government, and that it is my intention -to repay the same when it suits my convenience. I further add that the -said Moktar Effendi only delivered me this money when under fear of his -life, and when he had no means of resisting the force which I had at -hand: he should therefore be held exempt from blame by his humane and -just lord, Mohammed Ali.” - -Having delivered this receipt to the still bewildered Effendi, Hassan -said to him, “My good friend, now that our business is terminated, we -will have one more pipe of fellowship before we part; but remember that -my eye is upon you.” - -The pipe having been duly smoked and the attendants dismissed, Hassan -addressed his terrified host— - -“Effendi, the most disagreeable part of my duty remains to be performed, -as I would fain have parted from you with politeness and friendship; but -as your duty would require that you should alarm all the village as soon -as my foot is in the stirrup, it is necessary for my safety and for -yours that I should secure your quietude: your servants will soon come -to release you, but for a while it is requisite that you should be -bound.” So saying, he produced a cord, which he had brought for the -purpose, and having bound his terror-stricken host hand and foot, and -stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth to prevent his calling out, he -left the room, and leisurely descending the stairs, mounted his horse, -giving pieces of silver to the servants at the door with a liberality -worthy of a Bey or Pasha. - -He and his party proceeded slowly on the road towards the soldiers’ -encampment until they were out of sight of the village, when they -suddenly turned off towards the desert, and after an hour’s gallop -rejoined the remainder of the band. On the following morning at daylight -they were eighty miles distant from the scene of this feat. - -It is needless to portray the astonishment of Moktar Effendi’s servants -when they found their master bound and gagged in a corner of his room, -grunting and sputtering in his vain endeavours to call for help. When -they released his tongue and his limbs, his first act was to ask in a -trembling voice, “Is he gone?” - -“Who?” they replied; “his Excellency the Bey, your visitor?—yes, he is -gone.” - -“The Bey!” muttered Moktar Effendi, whose courage was now partially -restored. “Know ye not, sons of dogs and asses that ye are, that the -scoundrel was no Bey, but Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm, the outlaw chief, who has -plundered me and laughed at my beard. Allah! Allah! what dust has fallen -on my head—what dirt have I eaten! There lies his cursed receipt for the -money. How can I send it to Mohammed Ali? he will defile the graves of -my forefathers. Alas! alas! there is no power nor trust save in Allah.” - -Such were the terms in which the unhappy Defterdar bewailed his fate, -and prepared to enclose to the Viceroy a full report of his misfortune, -together with the receipt left by the audacious outlaw. Mohammed Ali, in -one of those moods of clemency and generosity which were not unfrequent -with him, forgave the poor Defterdar, and replaced the plundered money -from his own purse, saying, “Hassan shall one day fulfil his promise of -repayment.” - - * * * * * - -The cool breezes of November had returned, and the Thorpe party were -again at Cairo, on their way to Thebes, where they proposed to pass the -winter. During the few days that they spent in the capital before -prosecuting their voyage, they visited the various objects of interest -which they had not found time to see during their former stay. One -scene, however, which they witnessed was so illustrative of the -superstition of the “Cairians,” or inhabitants of Cairo, that it is not -unworthy of notice. - -Returning one day from an excursion to the Mokattan hills, they saw an -immense crowd of persons, of all ages and conditions, on horses, mules, -donkeys, and on foot, flocking to a spot called Sabaâ Benât (the seven -daughters), on the edge of the desert. Piercing through the outskirts of -this mixed assemblage, they were surprised to see beys, effendis, -merchants, priests, and beggars all divested of their outer garments and -rolling themselves with frantic energy and gesticulation in the sand. - -On inquiring through Demetri what was the meaning of this strange -ceremonial, they learnt that it was a miracle wrought through the -instrumentality of a Moghrebi saint (such as in Algeria are termed -Marabouts), who had been warned in a religious trance that the sand in -this spot possessed a healing virtue, and that all who rolled themselves -therein should be immediately cured of any malady. - -News of this miracle had spread through the city, and for several days -all who were, or imagined themselves, under the influence of any disease -hastened to avail themselves of the holy panacea. - -In some instances the pious fraud worked out its own verification. One -fat bey, whose only ailment was plethora, brought on by gluttony, -actually rolled himself so energetically and effectually that he -perspired and vomited under the unwonted exertion. He returned home so -much relieved that he spread the fame of the miraculous spot throughout -all the members of the divan, and thus the superstition of the fanatic -Arabs was communicated to the grave and influential portion of the -Turkish community. - -Mr Thorpe and his party made their way through this motley crowd with no -little difficulty, and they found the whole road from the sacred spot to -the city dusty and thronged as that from London to Epsom on a Derby -day.[105] - -“How can they believe,” said Mr Thorpe to Demetri, “that by rolling in -that sand they can cure all diseases? Have the saints and dervishes so -much power over the people’s belief?” - -“Saints and dervishes,” said Demetri, “can make them believe that the -Nile comes from the moon, or that the Pyramids were built of cheeses -made from the milk of Pharaoh’s cows. But that is nothing; priests can -do as much in my country. If you want to see what the Cairians can -swallow, you should go to that dome, under which you will find a jackass -daily fed on the best of provender at the public expense, and almost -worshipped by the people.” - -As he spoke he pointed to a cupola erected over the tomb of a saint or -sheik, in the interior of which a donkey was contentedly chewing his -straw and beans, totally unconscious of the religious honours paid to -him. - -“How came the donkey to obtain this great measure of respect?” inquired -Mr Thorpe. - -“He belonged,” replied Demetri, “to a builder who was engaged in -repairing some tombs in the neighbourhood: this donkey had been one of a -score employed in carrying bricks and mortar. It would seem that he had -contrived to shake off his load, and had gone for shelter into that -half-ruined sheik’s tomb: meanwhile his owner, with the other donkeys, -had been suddenly called off to do some building-work at a distance for -the Viceroy. - -“That night it appears that a _fikih_ [priest] of some celebrity in -the town had a dream, warning him that if he wished his prayers to be -heard he must go to the sheik’s tomb in question and pay honour to -whomsoever he might find under its roof. Hastening thither in the -morning, he found it tenanted by a donkey, to which, in order to obey -the warning he had received, he made an offering of some beans and -barley. Having communicated his dream to his religious brethren, it -was soon spread all over the town. Pious Mussulmans flocked thither to -pray for their sick relatives, and the long-eared recluse tasted of -the sweets of idleness, plenty, and all the other ingredients in the -cup of donkey-happiness.”[106] - -“Why, Demetri,” said Mr Thorpe, laughing, “you have finished your tale -in a style worthy of the ‘Arabian Nights.’” - -“It is no wonder,” replied the Greek; “I hear so many of those -story-narrators at the Arab cafés in the town that I borrow their style -almost without knowing it.” - -“Mohammed Ali well knows,” continued the Greek, “how to take advantage -of this popular reverence for the tombs of sheiks. A short time ago one -stood close to a garden of his, and the visitors who flocked to it -disturbing his privacy, he determined to remove it in a manner that -should offer no offence to the reputation of the sheik or the fanaticism -of the people. - -“Collecting in secret a large body of labourers from one of his distant -villages, he caused them in the course of a single night to destroy the -tomb and to rebuild it at a spot about two miles distant, in the same -form and of the same materials, after which they were sent back to their -own village as secretly as they had been summoned. - -“On the following day all Cairo was full of the new -miracle—Sheik-el-Ghazi had transported his own tomb two miles in the -course of the night. Thousands flocked to the miraculous shrine, which -is to this day an object of the deepest reverence in the -neighbourhood.”[107] - -The next day Mr Thorpe and his party went to pay a visit to Delì Pasha -previous to their departure for Upper Egypt. Emily and her mother were -conducted to the harem, where, after a brief and uninteresting visit to -the senior Khanum, they went to the apartment occupied by Amina. - -Both were struck by the change which a year had wrought in her -appearance. She was not less lovely than before, but her bright and -mirthful glance had given place to a look of saddened tenderness and a -general expression of melancholy. - -Neither did it escape Amina’s observation that Emily looked more pale -than on her former visit; and when her two guests were seated, one on -each side of her, with the wife of one of the Italian doctors, who -officiated as interpreter, she began to inquire after Emily’s health, -and how and where she had passed the summer. - -These inquiries having been replied to, and the customary compliments -exchanged while they sipped their coffee from lilliputian cups enclosed -in _finjâns_ of gold filigree studded with diamonds, the conversation -assumed a more general turn; for Amina soon found that neither of her -guests could bear the pipe, although the tobacco was of the mildest -fragrance and the jewelled amber mouthpieces were such as might tempt -the lips of a smoke-abominating admiral. - -In the course of the conversation Mrs Thorpe observed— - -“How sad it is that young Hassan, who came up with us in the dahabiah -last year, and who seemed so gentle and polite, should now be a -ferocious captain of outlaws and banditti! I hear that he has become a -terror to the whole country.” At these words a burning blush mantled -over Amina’s neck and crimsoned her cheek up to the temples. - -“The subject is painful,” she said, in a tone in which anger was -discernible through embarrassment. “You forget, madam, that he risked -his life to save mine, and was afterwards driven from our roof by an act -of cruelty never sanctioned by my father. He is now once more a Bedouin -in his native desert, and an English lady should know that Bedouins, -although wild and warlike in their lives, are not banditti.” - -Mrs Thorpe saw by the hurried accent and kindling glance of the Turkish -maiden that she had ventured on dangerous ground, and she and her -daughter rose to take leave, and rejoined their dahabiah on the Nile. -They passed Siout and Keneh, and were already within a day of Thebes. Mr -Thorpe held in his hand a volume of Diodorus Siculus, but his eye -wandered often from its pages and rested on Emily’s countenance, where -he gladly traced the symptoms of improving health which the climate had -produced. - -Suddenly were heard loud cries for “help” and “mercy” from the boatmen -on the shore who had been employed in slowly towing the heavy dahabiahs -from the bank against an adverse wind and current. Immediately above the -path was a dense copse of low brushwood, from which twenty or -twenty-five men, well armed, sprang upon them, and in an instant they -were thrown to the ground and secured, whilst the steersman, and the few -others who remained on board, exclaiming, “It is the band of Hassan -Ebn-el-Heràm,” gave themselves up for lost. The dahabiahs having been -hauled up to the bank (during which operation loaded carabines were -presented at the helmsman to warn him of the consequence of resistance), -the freebooters sprang on board, and having bound all the men of the -party, they proceeded to ransack the cabins and collect the spoil with a -coolness and deliberation which could only be the result of long -practice. - -“Quick, my men,” shouted Abou-Hashem, for he it was who led the party; -“let us collect the spoil and mount for fear of interruption.” - -The last package brought out from the cabin contained Mr Thorpe’s -writing-desk, and he called to Demetri, who was likewise tied on the -deck, to tell them that he would willingly give them his money, but that -the desk contained papers of value to him but of no use to them, for -which reason he hoped they would leave it. While Demetri was explaining -this to Abou-Hashem a crashing noise was heard among the bushes of the -copse on the bank, and in a second Hassan, followed by Abou-Hamedi and -Abd-hoo, stood on the deck of the dahabiah. The perspiration that -streamed from his face, and the crimsoned foam that stained the lower -border of his _serwal_,[108] betokened the furious speed at which he had -ridden; the veins on his forehead were swelled, and there was a -dangerous fire in his eye, which his habitual self-command was unable at -the moment to quell. - -“Allah have mercy upon us!” groaned the Arab boatmen, recognising at -once by his haughty look and towering stature the terrible outlaw of -whose predatory feats they had heard so much; “we are all dead men now.” - -“Mashallah! what an eye!” muttered another, who had been on hunting -expeditions in Soudan; “it is like that of a lion who has been struck by -a javelin.” - -The freebooters dropped the half-raised packets of booty and listened in -sulky silence as, addressing Abou-Hashem, who stood within a few paces -of him, Hassan said— - -“How have you dared to disobey my orders? Did I not tell you last night -when our spy reported and described these dahabiahs that they belonged -to Franghis who were my friends, whose bread and salt I had eaten, and -that I would not permit them to be injured?” - -“And why are we to be cheated of our spoil?” replied Abou-Hashem, -furious at being called upon to resign so rich a booty; “why are we to -be robbed of the fruit of our risks and toil by your sympathy with these -unbelieving dogs? Am I not right, comrades?” said he, looking round at -the armed men grouped behind him. “We will no longer submit to this -tyranny; our arms shall keep what our arms have won.” A murmur of -applause from his brother-plunderers followed this speech. - -“Hark ye, men,” said Hassan in a voice which seemed to gather stern -composure as the danger grew more imminent. “I am your chief, freely -elected by yourselves, and, by Allah! while I live amongst you I will be -obeyed. Not a parcel of booty, not a morsel of bread, shall ye plunder -from these boats.” - -“Take, then, example from me,” shouted Abou-Hashem to the freebooters -behind him; and as he spoke he drew a pistol from his belt to level it -at his leader’s breast. But Hassan’s eye had been upon him, and quick as -thought one blow from the mace sent the pistol high into the air, and a -second stretched Abou-Hashem senseless on the deck. - -“Take example from him,” said Hassan to the freebooters in a tone of -bitter scorn; “it is a deed worthy of the warriors of the desert to -murder their chief and to plunder those whose bread he has eaten.” -Observing symptoms of hesitation in the fierce and lawless band, he -continued, “Return to your duty, and I may yet forgive you: if you -refuse, the consequences be on your own heads.” - -With a pistol in each hand he calmly awaited the result of the -conference which they held in a few brief and broken sentences. During -this time Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo stood beside their leader, pistol in -hand, and ready to spend the last drop of their blood in saving or -avenging him. - -Hassan took advantage of the brief pause to say to Emily, who still -stood trembling near her bound father, “Sit down, sit down, lady, beside -your father; pistol-balls may be flying in a moment, and a stray one -might strike you. It is only my life now that they seek; and if I fall, -tell them in Cairo that Hassan’s death redeemed the last year of his -life.” - -Having uttered these words in the low and gentle tone so well preserved -in Emily’s remembrance, he once more addressed the still hesitating -mutineers. - -“Quick, men! declare your choice—obedience or death. There is no path -between the two.” None spoke, nor dared to meet the eye of his chief. -“It is enough, my men; I see that you are ashamed, and I may yet forgive -this morning’s work. Abd-hoo, unbind the Franghi bey. Abou-Hamedi, shoot -the first man dead who moves an arm to interrupt him.” - -Whilst this order was being obeyed, and Abd-hoo was cutting the cords by -which Mr Thorpe had been bound, Hassan stood silently but keenly -scanning the countenances of the mutineers. - -“What, my men,” he called aloud, “still hesitating to repair a fault -into which you were led by this headstrong fool!” pointing to the -motionless form of Abou-Hashem. “Since I have been your chief have I -been last in the attack or first in the flight? Have I been miserly in -spending with you my blood or my money?” A murmur of “Never” broke from -the group. “Why, then, when I have so often led you to plunder and to -victory, did you desire to cover my head with ashes, my name with -infamy? You did not know, what Abou-Hashem knew, that these dahabiahs -belonged to my friends—that I had eaten from their table and shared -their salt! When all the provinces of Egypt are open to our swift horses -and our sharpened steel, could you, brave warriors of the desert, find -no more honourable foray than to attack defenceless strangers, and -those, too, the friends of your leader? If such be your mind, I know you -no more. Go and choose another leader from among thieves and -_moharrabin_,[109] for Hassan will no longer be your chief.” - -“We never knew that these Franghis were your friends, or that you had -eaten their salt,” said one, who undertook to be spokesman for the rest. - -“I thought so,” replied Hassan; “but he, Abou-Hashem, knew it well. He -deceived you, and he has paid the penalty. Come hither, men, and remove -him to yonder _sant_-tree[110] on the bank: perhaps he yet lives, and -may be wiser hereafter. Remember that not a man is to remove the value -of one _para_ from these boats. I have sworn it, and, Wallah! if I live -I will keep my oath.” - -Like hounds chidden by a huntsman, the subdued freebooters mechanically -obeyed. - -Whilst they were employed in removing their stunned and still senseless -lieutenant, Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo busied themselves, by Hassan’s -order, in cutting the bonds of the captives, all of whom, Mr Thorpe -included, came to shake hands with Hassan and to thank him for his -generous interposition on their behalf, and would not listen to his -expression of deep regret that they should have been exposed to so much -alarm and inconvenience by his followers. But the victory had been won, -for they slowly left the dahabiahs without attempting to remove one of -the parcels of plunder which they had collected on the deck. - -Mr Thorpe, after listening with grave attention to a few words whispered -in his ear by Emily, said to Hassan— - -“My brave young friend, we owe all we have on board, perhaps even our -lives, to you, and we cannot bear that you should again incur the risk -of living among those lawless and bloodthirsty men: they will owe you a -spite for depriving them of their spoil, and perhaps when you are off -your guard will assassinate you.” - -“Alas! sir, you are in error,” said Hassan, in a voice whose melancholy -and soft cadence contrasted strangely with the stern, deep tones in -which he had lately addressed his followers. “You owe me nothing but -forgiveness; for were it not for me, this lawless band might not have -existed, and you might have pursued your journey without this vexatious -incident. My lot is cast among them for the present; least of all could -I leave them now, when my doing so would be attributed to fear. We all -of us owe a life to destiny, and if a sword or bullet put an end to -mine, where is the father or mother, sister or child, to shed a tear on -the tomb of Hassan. No; these men must know and feel that I am their -master and fear them not! The day will come, Inshallah! before long when -I can part with them without regret or shame. May your journey be -prosperous and your days prolonged.” - -As he said these words he bade them adieu, and in the Franghi fashion -shook hands with all the Europeans, without distinction of rank. - -“Hassan,” said Mr Thorpe, taking him aside and speaking in a low voice, -“before we left Cairo my wife and Emily paid a visit to the harem of -Delì Pasha: they saw his daughter, and I must tell you that your present -mode of life makes them both most unhappy.” Hassan averted his face and -spoke not. Mr Thorpe continued, “Yes, Hassan, it makes every one unhappy -who has an interest in your welfare. It is a career in which you are -exposed every day to lose your own life, or to take that of others, -without honour or glory. Be persuaded to abandon it ere it is too late.” - -Mastering his emotions by a strong effort, Hassan replied— - -“You know how I was driven from society by injustice. I feel that the -advice which you give is kindly meant, and I thank you for it; but we -who are children of the desert attach no dishonour to the life that I -now lead: it is such as our fathers have led before us for centuries.” - -“But you are not in the desert, Hassan,” said Mr Thorpe gently; “those -to whom your band is a terror are merchants, villagers, and travellers. -Even now it was only at the risk of your life that you saved us and our -property from the ferocity of those who call you chief. Can you wonder -that the daughter of Delì Pasha should weep when your name is -mentioned?” - -“Did she weep? when and where?” said Hassan. - -“Yes; she wept in my daughter’s arms. She could not speak, but her -altered appearance shows how much she has suffered.” - -“Allah! Allah!” said Hassan, hiding his face for a moment in his hands; -then, as if ashamed of his emotion, he wrung Mr Thorpe’s hand with an -energy that nearly dislocated the worthy antiquary’s fingers, and -hastily uttering, “Farewell, sir; I will not forget what you have said,” -he leapt ashore, followed by Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo, and rejoined his -band beyond the copse whence they had attacked the dahabiah. - -For many days the life of Abou-Hashem was despaired of, and even when by -slow degrees he recovered somewhat of his strength, and was able to sit -on horseback, his senses seemed wavering and unsettled. Many amongst the -band wore a sulky and dissatisfied air, and Hassan saw that on the first -favourable opportunity they were not unlikely to desert or betray him. -With the bold frankness which formed the leading feature of his -character, he resolved to come to an open explanation with them, and -then to resign the office which they had conferred on him. Having called -them all together, he said— - -“My men, I see that you are still vexed at my having disappointed you of -the spoil of those dahabiahs. As for the blow which I gave to -Abou-Hashem, I speak not of it: you saw that he attempted to take my -life, and I defended it. How much, think you, would you have obtained -had I permitted you to plunder those Franks?” - -“We might have divided perhaps twenty purses [£100], besides the Franghi -clothes, which were indeed of little value to us,” replied one fellow, -in a sulky tone. - -“How much have you belonging to me?” said Hassan to Abou-Hamedi, who had -charge of that portion of the spoil which had fallen to his share as -leader. - -“I have forty purses,” replied Abou-Hamedi, after examining the contents -of a bag which he carried in his belt. - -“Here then, my comrades, are thirty purses,” said Hassan, again -addressing the freebooters; “take them and divide them among you: they -will compensate for your disappointment. Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo, you -have both been true and faithful to me; here are five purses for each of -you. Now I resign my command, and leave you to follow your own counsel -and your own path. We part as friends, I hope?” - -“Mashallah! your hand is always open,” shouted the freebooters, ashamed -of their late conduct. “Stay with us, and be still our leader; we will -never disobey you again.” - -“It cannot be,” said Hassan; “my destiny compels me to go to Cairo, -where certain death would await you all, and where it is not unlikely to -await me also: but what is written must come to pass—there is neither -power nor strength but in Allah. Abd-hoo, bring me my horse. Farewell, -comrades; may happiness attend your path.” - -So saying, he vaulted on the back of Shèitan and rode slowly away in a -southerly direction. - -It was evident to all the band, from his abstracted air and the grave -melancholy of his voice, that something weighed heavily on his spirits, -and they noticed also that although he spoke of going to Cairo, the path -he had taken went in the direction precisely opposite. - -For an hour he rode slowly forward, revolving in his mind the last words -addressed to him by Mr Thorpe, when, hearing behind him the sound of -horses’ feet, he turned and found he was followed by Abou-Hamedi and -Abd-hoo, the latter driving a mule laden with saddle-bags containing -Hassan’s clothes and spare arms. - -“What is this?” said Hassan; “did I not bid you farewell?” - -“And did you think,” said Abou-Hamedi, in a tone in which indignation -almost mastered his habitual respect for his chief, “that Abd-hoo and I -would take your money and leave you thus? What have we done that you -should think so meanly of us?” - -“Forgive me,” said Hassan, “I have done you wrong; but my heart was -heavy, misfortune hangs over me, and I thought it best to meet my fate -alone.” - -“Be it misfortune, or prison, or death, we will share it with you,” was -the exclamation of Abou-Hamedi, echoed by a hearty “Yes, by Allah!” from -the faithful black. - -“Be it so,” said Hassan, much affected by their devoted attachment; “we -will part no more.” So saying, he rode once more forward in the same -direction as before; but Abou-Hamedi, who had in gaining his point -recovered his former spirits and energy of character, came up to him and -said, with a comic gravity— - -“Hassan, you told us you were going to Cairo; have you forgotten that -the path we are following will take us to Esnah and Assouan?” - -“I know it,” he replied; “but before returning to Cairo I wish to see -El-Uksor[111] and the wonderful monuments of which I have heard so much. -The party of Franks are there, and I must speak to them again before I -visit Cairo.” - -“There is a governor at El-Uksor; will the Franks not betray us to him?” -said Abou-Hamedi doubtingly. - -“Never!” replied Hassan with something of his former energy. “Allah has -not given them light to dwell in the true faith, but they have hearts -open to kindness and friendship.” - - -We may here mention that the band lately commanded by Hassan, dispirited -by the loss of a chief who had been the life and soul of every daring -enterprise, and anxious to retain, without molestation from the Egyptian -authorities, the considerable booty which they had amassed, were not -long in breaking up, some seeking concealment among the Arabs bordering -the desert, and the greater number joining a large caravan of pilgrims -returning from Mecca to the west by the route of Cosseir and Keneh. - -About a week after the occurrence of these events the Thorpe party were -assembled at Thebes. Mr Thorpe, accompanied by Müller, was busy in -copying hieroglyphic inscriptions. At a little distance from them Emily, -seated on a fragment of stone, was sketching the interior of that -magnificent temple whose massive proportions and antique beauty excited -the admiration of the Romans eighteen centuries ago. - -“What a picturesque and appropriate addition to this classic scene!” -said Emily, half aloud to herself, as her eye rested upon the figure of -a stranger who had just entered the temple from the side, and was -looking up, apparently awed and surprised, at its gigantic though -harmonious proportions. - -He was a large, powerful man, considerably above middle height. His dark -eye, sparkling with the fire of vigorous manhood, belied the age which -the massive grey beard descending on his breast might seem to indicate, -while the folds of his ample turban, the cashmere shawl around his -waist, in which were two silver-mounted pistols, and the sword that hung -at his side, bespoke at once a man of rank and a soldier. - -“Do you know who he is?” said Emily, addressing Demetri. - -“Yes, signora,” replied the loquacious interpreter; “though he only -arrived here yesterday, I have found out all about him. His name is -Dervish Bey, known as Es-Seyaf, or the Swordsman. He was one of the most -celebrated warriors in Mohammed Ali’s army of Arabia. He has lately been -Governor of Assouan, but is now on his way to Cairo. His boats are gone -on and wait for him at Keneh, to which place he travels on horseback -attended by two or three mounted followers. They say that with that very -sword now at his side he has often cut off the head of an ox at a single -blow.” - -“I hope he will not cut off any of our heads,” replied Emily, smiling. - -“Were he to attempt it, lady, you would not be without a defender,” said -a low voice in English immediately behind her. At the sound of that -well-known voice the blood rushed to Emily’s temples as she turned and -saw Hassan before her. - -“I beg pardon for having startled you by my sudden appearance,” said -Hassan. - -“I was, indeed, surprised at your unexpected appearance,” said Emily, -recovering herself; “but you know we are always glad to see you, Hassan. -Will you come and speak to my father?” and she led the way to the spot -where Mr Thorpe was transferring hieroglyphics to his album. - -From him, as well as from Müller, Hassan received a friendly welcome, -and in a brief conversation which ensued our hero informed them that he -had finally quitted his roving life and his lawless band. Whilst they -were still conversing, Dervish Bey approached the party, and observing -that Hassan spoke to them in their own language, saluted him, adding, -“Will you ask the Frank ladies whether one of them has lost a ring?” - -Hassan having repeated the question, Emily, looking at her hand, -observed that in the surprise which his sudden appearance had occasioned -a ring had dropped from her finger. “Yes,” she replied, “I see that I -have lost my small emerald ring.” - -“I have had the good fortune to find it,” said Dervish Bey, “near to the -spot where the Khanum was sitting.” So saying, he handed it to Hassan, -who delivered it to the owner. - -“Pray express my thanks to him,” said Emily. - -In obeying this command Hassan employed language so correct and -courteous that the Bey’s curiosity was excited, and he fixed upon him a -glance of keen scrutiny. His eye was met by one frank and fearless as -his own; and while the Bey looked with admiration at the noble features -and commanding form of the young Bedouin, our hero thought that he had -never seen the vigour of manhood so happily united to a snowy beard—that -object of profound reverence to youth in the East. - -No sooner had the Bey left than Mr Thorpe asked Hassan if they had ever -met before. - -“No,” he replied; “I am only just arrived, and know not who he is.” They -then communicated to him the intelligence which Demetri had obtained -respecting his name and history. - -“What!” exclaimed Hassan, “is that the famous Dervish, the swordsman? -Often have I heard Delì Pasha speak of his gallant feats in Arabia, and -he looks like what they say of him: would that I had met him when he was -twenty years younger!” - -“Wherefore, Hassan?” inquired Emily, timidly. - -“That I might have proved my sword against his,” replied Hassan, his -eyes flashing as he spoke. - -“Surely, Hassan,” said Mr Thorpe, mildly, “you could not indulge in -hostile feelings towards one whose manner and appearance entitle him to -respect.” - -“I was wrong, sir,” replied Hassan; “I should ask pardon for my hasty -speech. I have lived so much of late among those who are always engaged -in strife, that I almost forgot that life has any other occupation. -Believe me that I pay due honour to his white beard, and in the hasty -words which I spoke I only meant that I envied him the honourable fame -that his sword has obtained for him.” - -A moonlight November evening at Thebes—who that has once enjoyed can -ever forget it? The mild and temperate air; the noble river—the author -and nourisher of all the fertility of Egypt—rolling its majestic tide -beneath the time-honoured remains of the temple of Luxor; a mile or two -to the northward the yet more ancient and magnificent ruins of Karnak; -while at some distance inland, on the opposite banks of the Nile, are -dimly discernible the Memnonium, celebrated in classic fable, and the -hills, within whose chambered sides repose the ashes of the mighty of -olden time—monarchs who had conquered kingdoms and raised imperishable -monuments of architecture and art ere Greece or Rome had emerged from -the insignificance of barbarism. - -Such was the scene where the Thorpes were assembled on the evening which -followed the events just related. Hassan was with them, and had already -during the day drawn from Mr Thorpe a detailed account of the ladies’ -visit to Amina; and as he heard recounted the deep emotion caused by the -mention of his name, hope had once more arisen within his breast. Near, -too, sat Dervish Bey, who had deferred his departure, and had -courteously accepted Mr Thorpe’s invitation to take a cup of coffee with -their party. None of them failed to observe with how scrutinising a -glance his eye rested upon Hassan, and Mr Thorpe felt convinced that the -ex-Governor either had learnt or suspected that the young Bedouin before -him was no other than Hassan, the far-famed outlaw. Upon Mr Thorpe’s -hinting as much to Hassan, he replied with a smile— - -“If it be so, there is no harm. Dervish Bey is a brave soldier, not a -spy or informer.” - -On the following morning Abou-Hamedi, who had been absent the greater -part of the night, reported to Hassan that he had obtained information -of a band of thieves in the neighbourhood who seemed to have evil -intentions towards Dervish Bey. He had accidentally fallen in with one -of these fellows at a small coffee-house in the village of Luxor, and -suspecting from casual expressions that he belonged to some band who -meant mischief, he plied him so well with arrack and the intoxicating -drug called _hashish_ that he was able to learn from the man that he was -associated with a body of thieves and _moharrabin_, the latter of whom -had escaped from the conscription lately issued in Upper Egypt for the -levy of troops to march into Sennaar. Several of these fellows had been -flogged for insubordination by Dervish Bey, who was a severe -disciplinarian, and having ascertained that he was travelling down to -Keneh on horseback with only a few followers, the greater part of his -suite being on board his boats, they had laid a plot to waylay and rob -him in some unfrequented part of the road. Abou-Hamedi encouraged his -tipsy friend to believe that he highly approved the scheme, and hoped to -participate in its execution. - -Hassan lost no time in returning to Luxor in order to put Dervish Bey on -his guard, and was disappointed to find that the old soldier had started -at daybreak, and was already some miles on his way. - -Hassan resolved to follow him immediately. Before doing so he called on -Mr Thorpe, and having informed him of the intelligence that he had -received, recommended him to communicate it without delay to the -Governor of Luxor, and to have the guards doubled for the protection of -his own dahabiahs, lest the predatory band should be tempted to pay him -a visit. - -Mr Thorpe thanked him for his warning, and placed in his hands a letter, -which he requested that he would find means to deliver to the Viceroy’s -interpreter, a commission which Hassan promised to fulfil. He was not -aware that it contained an account of the attack made upon his boats by -Abou-Hashem’s band, and of the manner in which his party and his -property had been rescued by Hassan at the imminent risk of his life. -Our hero was so anxious to overtake Dervish Bey, and to warn him of the -plot laid by the _moharrabin_, that, bidding the Thorpes a hasty but -cordial farewell, he galloped off in the direction of Keneh. - -Meanwhile Dervish Bey, unsuspicious of any danger, passed the ruins of -Karnak and continued his course to the northward, intending to reach at -nightfall a small village called Solemieh, which belonged to him, and -the rents of which had fallen somewhat in arrear. He was accompanied -only by his _khaznadâr_, his _chibouqchi_, two armed servants, and a -couple of _sàises_, who looked after his baggage-mules, which were three -in number. - -He had journeyed about ten miles, and was crossing a desert plain on -which no human habitation was visible, and where the neglected soil -produced nothing but that rank mixture of tall weeds called in Egypt -_khalfah_. His thoughts were dwelling on his unexpected meeting with the -Frank party at Luxor, and, more than all, on the young Bedouin, whose -remarkable appearance and qualities had strongly excited his interest. -That the latter was, indeed, the formidable outlaw of whom he had heard -so much he had no doubt; yet, instead of the fierce, rough bandit whom -he had pictured to himself, he had found a gentle-mannered, -noble-looking youth, speaking the language of the Franks, and evidently -esteemed by them; one, moreover, the characteristic expression of whose -countenance seemed to be a thoughtful melancholy, and whose taste for -poetry and conversation appeared totally at variance with the deeds of -lawless violence and daring attributed to him by report. - -Whilst he was riding slowly on, musing on these things with an interest -which he could scarcely explain to himself, his _khaznadâr_ rode up and -called his attention to a party of about twenty men who were -approaching, and whose appearance was anything but reassuring. They were -a strangely-assorted band, half on horseback, half on foot, some armed -with guns, some with lances, and all with swords of different fashion. -From the weather-stained and tattered remains of uniform still visible -in the attire of some of the party, the experienced eye of Dervish Bey -recognised them at once as _moharrabin_,—men who, as they rob and -plunder with a halter round their necks, are generally the most cruel -and bloodthirsty of lawless bands. - -Dervish Bey lost not a moment in ordering his small party to get ready -their swords and pistols, and as the robbers drew near he called out to -inquire what they wanted. The only reply was a musket-ball, which passed -close by his cheek. - -Regardless of the disproportion of numbers, the brave old soldier struck -his stirrups into his horse’s flanks, and, followed by his attendants, -charged full at the centre of the band. So well did he wield his -once-renowned sword that several had already fallen victims to its edge -when an unlucky ball entered the eye of his horse, which reared and fell -on its side. In vain did he struggle to withdraw his leg from the -carcass of the dead horse, which pinned it to the ground; but his right -arm was free, and he still continued to ward off the cuts which one or -two of the cowardly miscreants on foot were making at his head. - -At this moment a black steed passed like a meteor by the fallen Bey, -while a single groan announced the fate of one of those who had been -cutting at him. Again the black horse wheeled and was at his side, and -the second robber fell dead by his companion. - -The Bey caught sight of the rider’s face, changed indeed from what he -had seen on the preceding day. Now the angry veins swelled on the brow, -fire darted from the flashing eyes, and the sweep of the vengeful arm -was like a tempest. Again and again did he charge among the astonished -banditti, shouting and dealing his terrible blows, each of which bore -with it a life or a limb. Cuts and bullets were aimed at him during his -headlong course, but it seemed as if he were proof against lead or -steel. - -His impetuosity had carried him to some distance from the prostrate -soldier, when he saw that again several of the miscreants on foot were -approaching to despatch him. Shouting aloud his war-cry of “Hassan -Ebn-el-Heràm” in a voice that rose high above the din of the conflict, -he dashed his stirrups into Shèitan’s flank, and in a few bounds was -again beside the fallen chief. - -For a second the sound of that dreaded name seemed to paralyse every -arm, and Hassan had time to throw himself from his panting horse and to -cover with his own person, and with his sweeping sword, the helpless -form of the prostrate Bey. - -Indignant at being foiled by a single man, they crowded around him, and -had he not succeeded in snatching from one of the robbers a round shield -of hippopotamus-hide, such as is used by the natives of Soudan, he must -soon have fallen beneath the blows aimed at him from so many quarters. -As it was, he fought like a lion at bay, and, though wounded in several -places, was still maintaining the unequal contest, when Abou-Hamedi and -Abd-hoo, who had been unable to keep up with the furious speed at which -Shèitan had borne his impetuous rider, now appeared on the scene. Two of -the ruffians who were attacking Hassan fell at once beneath the swords -of his faithful followers, and the remainder, astonished and -disheartened at this unexpected reinforcement, slowly retired. - -Hassan vaulted once more on the back of Shèitan, refreshed by the short -breathing-time which his rider’s conflict on foot had allowed him, and -again shouting his war-cry, charged the hesitating band, accompanied by -his two brave attendants. - -The robbers, not knowing how many more of Hassan’s followers might be -approaching, fled as fast as their legs and horses could carry them. -Several were killed and wounded by Abou-Hamedi and Abd-hoo, and two they -seized and brought back prisoners. While thus engaged, Hassan returned -to Dervish Bey and exerted all that remained of his fast-failing -strength in extricating him from the carcass of the dead horse—an object -which he had scarcely effected ere he sank down beside him, weak and -exhausted from loss of blood. - -A happy smile passed over his features as he observed that the brave old -soldier was altogether unhurt. The latter, with the ready presence of -mind gained in many a former fight, wasted not a moment in thanking his -deliverer, but busied himself in examining and binding up his wounds. - -The worst of these proved to be two deep sabre-cuts, one in the side and -another in the thigh. These he carefully closed and bound, and then he -observed that blood was still trickling down his chest from a cut -between the neck and shoulder-blade. While engaged in stanching and -dressing this, his eye fell upon the amulet which Hassan wore round his -neck, and the trembling hand of the veteran was scarcely able to -accomplish the task ere he whispered with a faltering tone— - -“Hassan, whence got you that amulet?” - -“It was on my neck when I was left an infant on the base of the -Pyramid,” replied Hassan in a faint voice. - -“My son! my son!” ejaculated the old soldier in a voice in which joy, -fear, and tenderness were strangely blended. - -“Father! father! Allah be praised and thanked that I have found thee, if -it be only to die on thy breast,” murmured Hassan, as he threw his arms -round the veteran’s neck and fainted. - -“Thou shalt not die, my beloved, my gallant boy,” said the Bey, almost -fiercely. “And yet,” he added in a softened tone, as a tear trickled -down his weather-beaten cheek and fell on the unconscious form of -Hassan, “by Allah! and by my father’s grave, wert thou now to die, I -would not change thee for the proudest and noblest of the living.”[112] - -Hassan was laid gently on the ground, and Abou-Hamedi brought water from -a neighbouring creek, which they sprinkled on his forehead; while -Dervish Bey produced from one of his saddle-bags a small phial -containing a cordial, which he always carried with him on his journeys, -and a few drops of which soon restored Hassan to consciousness. - -“Was it a dream? Father! father!” were the first words he uttered. - -Beckoning to Abd-hoo to assist him, Abou-Hamedi collected the mules, -which had strayed to some distance, and placed on them the Bey’s -_khaznadâr_ and _chibouqchi_, who were both severely wounded: then he -carefully reloaded his pistols and made Abd-hoo do the same, with a -significant hint to the two prisoners that if they attempted to escape, -their brains should be blown out. He then came up to the Bey and -whispered to him— - -“Excellency, we must lose no time in returning to Luxor: Hassan and the -only two of your followers who survive are badly wounded. The Franks -have always plenty of medicines, and Müller is a skilful hakim; let us -place Hassan on my horse, and Abd-hoo will walk beside his saddle and -support him. You can ride Abd-hoo’s horse and watch the prisoners, while -I follow on foot and look after the mules.” - -Dervish Bey, who had somewhat recovered his composure, saw that the -advice was good. The _cortége_ having been organised as Abou-Hamedi -suggested, and Hassan having been gently lifted into the saddle, where -his half-inanimate form was supported by the powerful arm of Abd-hoo, -they set out on their return, Abou-Hamedi bringing up the rear and -leading the faithful Shèitan, who, like his master, was badly wounded -but not disabled. In this guise they returned slowly, but without -accident, to Luxor. - -Müller’s surgical practice and readiness of resource were now productive -of the best results. His own bed was given up to Hassan, whose wounds -were skilfully dressed, and who soon fell asleep, although the murmured -words of “Father,” “Shèitan,” and “Amina” which escaped his lips proved -that his wandering thoughts were busy with the past, and that a fever -crisis was yet to be feared. - -That evening, after the wounds of all the sufferers had been attended to -and every arrangement made for their comfort, Dervish Bey related to the -Thorpes the strange accident by which he had recognised his long-lost -son, and the heroic gallantry with which he had defended an unknown -father’s life against such overwhelming numbers. - -On the following day the Governor of Luxor, who was only a colonel, and -consequently of inferior rank to Dervish Bey, went out by desire of the -latter with a party of soldiers and fellahs to the scene of conflict in -order to bury the dead. They were guided by Abou-Hamedi, who easily -recognised and pointed out the spot where the Bey’s horse had fallen -upon its side, the rider having been unable to withdraw his leg from its -pressure. There still lay the horse, and around it seven dead bodies of -the thieves attested the desperate valour with which Hassan had defended -the fallen Bey. - -A very short time elapsed ere Müller was able to assure Dervish Bey that -the youth and vigour of Hassan’s constitution had triumphed over all -dangerous symptoms. His strength was prostrated by great loss of blood; -but this very circumstance saved him from the fever which had threatened -to result from his severe wounds. Hassan learned with grateful pleasure -that his faithful Shèitan had come in for his share of the attendance of -the indefatigable Müller, who had sewed up the sabre-cuts and -successfully extracted two balls which the gallant horse had received in -the affray. - -As soon as Hassan was able to sit up, an easy-chair was placed for him -in the open air by his English friends, and daily he sat there with his -father beside him, each looking upon the other with an affection too -deep for words—an affection that seemed as if it were endeavouring by -its intensity to make amends for the long separation to which they had -been exposed by Fate. - -This new and blessed sensation of filial love, and the happy feeling -that he had been the fortunate instrument of saving that honoured -parent’s life, gave to Hassan’s mind a feeling that now he had not lived -in vain, and hope whispered to him that the son of Dervish Bey might -aspire without presumption to the hand of Amina. - -He was thus gradually recovering his health and strength, and during the -hours of his convalescence listened with eager interest to the history -of his father’s fortunes, a brief abstract of which we will now subjoin. - -About seventeen years before the opening of our tale Selim Aga, a young -man of good birth and connections in Constantinople, being a son of a -former Governor of Damascus, came to Egypt in the train of the chief -eunuch, who had been despatched, with a numerous and honourable suite, -as bearer of a diamond-hilted sword and other valuable presents from the -Sultan to Mohammed Ali,—the chief object of his mission being to incite -the warlike Governor of Egypt to undertake an expedition against the -Wahabees, who were threatening to subvert the imperial power in Arabia. -In the suite of the chief eunuch there were also Ingòu Khanum, a young -lady of high rank, who had been betrothed to Mustapha Bey, the Viceroy’s -brother-in-law, and her younger sister, for whom the chief eunuch -proposed to find an honourable alliance in the viceregal family. But by -one of those accidents which occur in voyages, the latter saw Selim Aga, -and they fell in love with each other. - -She contrived to escape from the harem to which she had been brought in -Cairo, flew to her lover, who married her secretly and conveyed her to a -house which he had taken for the purpose in Ghizeh. - -The rage of the chief eunuch knew no bounds. All Cairo was searched, but -in vain; her disguise as an Egyptian woman, residing in a cottage at -Ghizeh, protected her for a time, and the chief eunuch returned to -Constantinople without having been able to discover her retreat. - -The young couple lived for some time happily in their retirement, Selim -Aga continuing to serve the Viceroy in Cairo and visiting his wife by -stealth. However, some one who entertained a spite against him -discovered his secret, and orders were given for the immediate seizure -of his wife and himself: he fortunately received notice of this order in -time to hasten to his cottage at Ghizeh and warn his wife of their -perilous situation. - -Not a moment was to be lost: disguised as a fellah, she sought and found -refuge in the house of a kind-hearted neighbour; whilst he, snatching up -their only child, with the few articles of value that he could secrete -about his person, galloped off to the desert and placed his child in the -hands of an Arab woman whom he found seated at the base of the Great -Pyramid. Thence he fled towards Lower Egypt as fast and as far as his -horse could carry him. In the neighbourhood of Alexandria he threw off -his Turkish dress, having procured and assumed that of a wandering -dervish. - -When his beard and his hair had become sufficiently long and matted, and -his face stained enough to ensure him against recognition, he ventured -to return to Cairo in order to inquire into the fate of his wife; but -all his researches proved unavailing, although he had the satisfaction -of learning that she had eluded the search of those who were ordered to -seize her. - -Still habited and disguised as a dervish, he found his way with a -caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, and thence, following the bent of his -early habits and predilections, joined the army of Ibrahim Pasha, -engaged in hostilities with the Wahabees. - -On one occasion, when Ibrahim was nearly surrounded and hard pressed by -a body of the enemy, he was surprised by hearing beside him the loud -shout of a dervish (“Allah-hoo! Allah-hoo!”), who, armed with an -enormous club garnished with iron spikes, came forward to the rescue. -Horse and man went down before the sweeping blows of the dervish’s -terrible weapon. Apparently reckless of life, he went forward striking -to the right and the left, and shouting “Allah-hoo!” in a voice that -terrified the Arabs, who, thinking that he must be a _jinn_ or _afreet_, -fled before him. When the battle was over, Ibrahim sent for him to his -tent and inquired what he could do to reward him. - -“Give me a horse and a sword,” was the reply of the dervish; “I ask no -more.” - -“That you shall have,” replied Ibrahim; “and, Wallah! if thou canst use -a sword as thou dost handle that knotty club, it will not be long before -thou dost attain to honour and distinction.” - -The horse and the sword were given, and in every succeeding action the -dervish, still clothed in the same wild attire, was in the foremost -ranks, shouting “Allah—hoo!” and striking down all before him. Such was -his skill in the use of the sword that he was soon known in the Egyptian -army as Dervish the Swordsman; and although, as he rose in rank, he laid -aside the mendicant dress for that of an officer, he never thought fit -to resume his original name, but retained that under which by his valour -he had attained the rank of bey. He had the rare good fortune to be -equally a favourite with Mohammed Ali and Ibrahim, as he never mixed in -any political intrigues, but simply did his duty as a brave soldier. - -“And have you never succeeded in learning what became of my mother?” -inquired Hassan when the veteran had concluded his narrative. - -“Never,” he replied. “I learnt indeed that she visited her sister in -disguise, who received her kindly, and procured for her, under a feigned -name, a home in the harem of one of our pashas; but her sister is dead, -and her secret died with her, unless, indeed, it be known to an old -woman who was her favourite slave, and whom, if she be yet alive, I will -try to find in Cairo.” - -“Inshallah!” ejaculated Hassan earnestly, “may we find her.” - -He then related to his father the incidents of his own brief but -eventful life, which he did with the unassuming simplicity and -truthfulness natural to his character. He made no secret of his -attachment to Amina, or of the circumstances under which it had been -fostered, and renewed hope arose in his breast when he found that his -father and Delì Pasha were old companions in arms and intimate friends. - -Hassan’s impatience to reach Cairo, in the hope of seeing Amina and -tracing his mother, became now so great that Dervish Bey could not long -resist it; but before setting out he determined, with the usual energy -of his nature, to break up the band of thieves by whom he had been -attacked, and who, notwithstanding the severe loss they had sustained, -might still be sufficiently strong to do much mischief in the -neighbourhood. - -A liberal application of the stick to the two who had been captured soon -induced them to betray the habitual rendezvous of the band, and Dervish -Bey, accompanied by the Governor and a party of fifty horsemen, having -made a rapid night march to the indicated spot, came upon them at dawn -so unexpectedly that they had not time to make an effectual resistance -or escape. A few were killed, and the greater part of the remainder were -led back prisoners to Luxor, whence they were forwarded under a guard to -Cairo, the galleys at Alexandria being their ultimate destination. - -Having accomplished this task, Dervish Bey no longer resisted the urgent -entreaties of Hassan that he should proceed to Cairo without delay. Mr -Thorpe having brought up with him two tents, which were pitched on the -river-bank, and sufficed for the accommodation of his party, he was able -to lend his smaller dahabiah to convey Dervish Bey to Keneh, where his -own boats awaited him. It was agreed that Abd-hoo should accompany -Hassan, while Abou-Hamedi led Shèitan by slow stages to the capital. - -Before leaving his kind English friends Dervish Bey testified his -gratitude for the care and attention which they had shown to Hassan by -giving them two curious relics which he happened to have with him, and -which Hassan assured him would afford them the greatest pleasure. - -To Mr Thorpe he gave a rare antique scarabæus, attached by a gold chain -to a ring of the same metal, with a hieroglyphic inscription: it had -been found near Assouan, and though only of the Ptolemaic date, was a -very fine specimen. To Müller he gave a very old MS. of the New -Testament, found in a ruined Coptic convent in the Said: one-half the -page was written in Coptic and the other half in Greek. To Müller the -volume was a great prize. - -When the hour of leave-taking arrived, Hassan shook hands with all the -party after the English fashion, thanking Mr Thorpe and Müller for all -their kindness during his illness in few but feeling words. - -Dervish Bey, who had followed close by Hassan in his leave-taking, now -preceded him into the dahabiah, from whence they accomplished the voyage -to Cairo without accident, and proceeded at once to a fine house -belonging to the Bey, situated near the centre of the city, adjoining -the Birket-et-Fil, or the “Lake of the Elephant.” - -The old soldier, knowing the severity of Mohammed Ali in all cases where -his authority had been publicly braved, hastened to the Viceroy’s -presence to explain to him the strange circumstances under which he had -recovered his long-lost son, and to solicit a full pardon of the -latter’s offences against the laws in Upper Egypt. He delivered also to -the interpreter the letter written by Müller, which was forthwith read -to the Viceroy. Mohammed Ali, who had listened with grave attention to -all the arguments adduced by Dervish Bey and to the contents of the -letter, said— - -“Dervish, you know how highly I regard your services and your long-tried -fidelity, and how willingly I would grant any request of yours. I -rejoice, also, that you have recovered a son who is in many respects so -well worthy of you; for I confess to you that I took a great liking to -the lad, and our good hakim here is always speaking in his favour. I own -that I owe him a debt for saving your life, my faithful old comrade, -when he did not know that you were his father.” - -So far Mohammed Ali spoke in a kind and friendly tone: he added, with -somewhat of severity in his manner, “But, Dervish, you must not forget -that Hassan for some time openly defied my authority, and I am bound to -listen to the complaints of the villagers and caravans who were -plundered by his band: such deeds cannot go unpunished while I rule in -Egypt. The government of the interior I intrust to the Kiahia Pasha, and -I must consult with him before coming to a decision. Meanwhile go to -your home, and consider Hassan as being under arrest in your house: you -are answerable for his appearance when required, and I will cause the -orders issued for his apprehension to be cancelled. For the present be -satisfied with this. You may retire, and Allah be with you!” - -Dervish Bey well knew from the tone in which these words were spoken -that all further appeal at the time was unavailing, so, with a -respectful salam to the Viceroy, he withdrew and returned home to report -to Hassan the result of his interview. - -Our hero was by no means discouraged thereby, for he saw that he stood -high in the Viceroy’s opinion, and he felt tolerably sure that both in -Delì Pasha and in the Kiahia himself he would find advocates of his -cause. On the subject his mind was soon made easy by his old friend and -comrade Reschid, who no sooner heard of his arrival in Cairo than he -hastened to him and embraced him heartily. - -“Mashallah!” said Reschid, gazing at Hassan, whose countenance was -bronzed and his figure developed by a year passed in constant exercise -and exposure; “I left you a lion, and I find you an elephant. By the -life of the Prophet, Hassan, I have often secretly envied your Bedouin -life. I laughed heartily, and I can tell you that my Pasha in his -private room laughed heartily also, at your having sent that -ill-favoured cur Osman Bey into his own town tied on the back of an -ass!” - -“Then you do not think,” said Hassan, “that the Kiahia will be very hard -on my follies? Much will depend upon it, for the Viceroy told my father -that he intended to consult the Kiahia on the subject.” - -“In the _mejlis_” (_i.e._, the council), “and in the presence of -others,” replied Reschid, “the Kiahia will talk before Mohammed Ali with -great solemnity and severity about offences against the laws, &c., but -when they are together in private, he will tell him that you were a -hot-blooded youngster, driven mad by the insulting cruelty of Osman Bey; -and it is fortunate that even the merchants and villagers who have sent -in complaints of having been plundered by your band have always written -that you never permitted any bloodshed, and that you often restored to -the poorest the booty taken from them. No, no, Hassan; you have nought -to fear, for we will bring such a battery to bear upon the Viceroy that -he will not be able long to hold out. We will attack him in front, while -a certain Khanum, whom I could mention, will besiege the harem; for we -have all heard how you saved the life of Delì Pasha’s daughter, and as -Fate seems to have destined you to be a robber, you began your trade by -stealing her heart.” - -“Not so, Reschid,” replied Hassan, laughing; “I gave her my own first, -and if she would not give it me back, but chose to give me hers in place -of it, you cannot accuse me of theft.” - -“I wish some dark-eyed houri would steal mine,” said Reschid, “for it is -a very troublesome article to keep in one’s own possession. I know not -why I should have lent you a large slice of mine from the date of our -first acquaintance, for you do not deserve it; you have not even offered -me your congratulations.” - -“On what event?” said Hassan. “On your marriage?” - -“Marriage? no,” replied his merry friend; “on becoming a great man! Have -you not heard that since we parted I have been made _khaznadâr_ to the -Kiahia? Mashallah! it is a wonderful office. Bakshishes are plentiful as -petitioners, and if I wanted money I should only have to stand for a -minute before our divan with my hand open and my eyes shut. Wallah! -Hassan, I am in a fair way to become a greater robber than ever you have -been.” - -“I will not dispute the precedence with you,” replied Hassan. “I -congratulate you heartily; but as I am now a poor prisoner, and have no -bakshish to offer, I fear I cannot expect that your Excellency will -intercede with the Kiahia on my behalf.” - -“Bakkalum! we shall see,” answered Reschid with mock gravity, and took -his leave. - -Another of the earliest and most frequent of Hassan’s visitors was his -old friend Ahmed Aga, who brought him many kind messages from Delì -Pasha, although the latter had been forbidden by the Viceroy for the -present to visit Hassan in person. Neither did our hero long remain -without secret communication with his lady-love; for he had not been two -days in Cairo ere the _bowàb_ sent up word that a dumb boy wished to see -him, and Murad rushed into the room and kissed Hassan’s feet and hands -with every demonstration of overflowing attachment. - -Our hero was much touched by the grateful affection of his mute -_protégé_, whom he received with all his former kindness, and he soon -found himself seated by the side of the intelligent boy practising over -again the finger-language that he had partially forgotten. His efforts -did not long go unrewarded, for he was soon able to comprehend that his -youthful companion was a frequent visitor to Delì Pasha’s harem, where -he was a great favourite of the old chief eunuch and of Fatimeh Khanum, -and that he sometimes had the honour of being introduced into the -presence of Amina herself. The young lady flattered herself that the -interest which she felt in the dumb boy arose entirely from compassion -for his infirmity, but it _may_ have been partially owing to his having -been a _protégé_ of Hassan. - -How happily Hassan made him relate all his little tales of the harem—how -he had bought some fine blue beads for the eunuch and some sweetmeats -for Fatimeh, of which she had given him a portion to eat. “And see what -I got from another,” and as he spoke he pulled out a little bouquet of -flowers. - -“Who gave you these? and for whom were they intended?” said Hassan, -impatiently. - -“I must not tell,” replied the sly little messenger, giving them to -Hassan; “but I have done with them as I was bid.” - -“And I,” replied Hassan, “must not give you any message concerning them, -but you may say what became of them,” and as he spoke he pressed them to -his lips, and opening his vest placed them near his heart. The little -boy smiled, and kissing his protector’s sleeve, withdrew to give an -account of his mission. - -Cheered by such visits, Hassan’s time passed agreeably enough. Nor was -his confinement irksome, for at the back of his father’s house was a -space sufficiently large to admit of his taking his favourite exercise, -and he employed several hours in breaking in and training for the jereed -game several high-couraged young colts which he found in his father’s -stable. - -Nevertheless, day after day passed without bringing any material change -in his situation. The exertions of his friends seemed to have failed in -inducing Mohammed Ali to grant him a free pardon, and Dervish Bey -refused to make any second application, saying— - -“If the fact of the brave boy’s having saved the life of Mohammed Ali’s -faithful soldier and servant does not merit reward in his estimation, I -would rather cut out my tongue than apply to him again.” - -Time wore on, and Hassan’s spirits, which had begun to be depressed by -the monotony of his life, were again refreshed by the arrival of -Abou-Hamedi leading Shèitan, who had entirely recovered from his wounds, -and whose coat, saving two or three honourable scars, was as bright and -glossy as ever. - -A packet also reached Cairo from Hadji Ismael, the merchant, sent in -reply to a letter written to him by Hassan immediately on his arrival. -The packet contained all the relics which had been found on Hassan’s -infant person. Although not necessary to confirm Hassan’s identity, of -which the veteran had never entertained a doubt, a tear fell as he saw -these reminiscences of his youth and of his long-lost wife. - -“Hassan,” said his father, “I have ascertained that the old woman from -whom I had hoped to learn something of your mother’s fate is dead; but -we must not abandon hope. Allah is great, and he is the revealer of -secrets. Our proverb says, ‘Patience is the key of happiness’; let us be -patient, my son, and trust in Allah.” - -One day Dervish Bey, in consequence of a message received from Delì -Pasha, had gone to Boulak to pay him a visit. After the interchange of -the customary pipes and compliments the attendants were dismissed, and -Delì Pasha told his old comrade that he had just seen the Kiahia Pasha, -and had learnt from him that he entertained a good hope that Hassan -would soon receive a full pardon from the Viceroy, in confident -anticipation of which he wished to speak with him on the subject of the -marriage of their children, of whose mutual attachment there could be no -doubt. - -Dervish Bey assured his old comrade of the sincere pleasure which the -alliance would give to himself, and after a brief and friendly -discussion respecting the dowry and the provision to be made for the -young couple, which terminated to their mutual satisfaction, Delì Pasha -said— - -“Now, Dervish, that we are to be related by the marriage of our -children, and as you have no wife to settle these harem affairs for you, -it is right that you should see your intended daughter-in-law, and I -will send and inquire whether she is in her apartment and can receive us -now.” He clapped his hands and delivered the message to a servant, who -speedily returned from the harem door with the reply, “On our head be -it, we shall be honoured by your visit.” - -Amina remained in her inner room. How her heart beat at the thought that -she was going to see Hassan’s father, and as she reflected that her -father could not have brought him to the harem had not the marriage been -agreed upon between them. Fatimeh Khanum was charged to receive them and -pay the first compliments in the outer apartment, after which she was to -introduce both to Amina’s presence. - -As soon as they entered the harem curtain-door Fatimeh, in her capacity -of Kiahia Khanum, received them with a courteous salam, and commenced -the usual complimentary phrases of welcome, when her tongue began to -falter: she threw back her veil to see more clearly the features of -Dervish Bey, and then, throwing wide her arms in the attempt to embrace -his knees, she exclaimed, “Selim! Selim!” and fell fainting at his feet. - -Raising her gently and placing her on a divan which was near, the -veteran gazed upon her altered but pleasing features, and tears of -joyful emotion started in his eyes as he said, “It is, indeed, my -long-lost Zeinab! Allah be thanked! what blessings has he poured on my -grey head.” - -Amina, alarmed at the exclamation and the fall of her faithful friend, -whom she loved almost as a mother, rushed into the room, and giving a -rapid glance of greeting to her father, hastened to the side of the -insensible Khanum. - -With what overwhelming emotions did the rude old soldier, who had been -for so many years cast out from all the comforts and tender ties of -domestic life, contemplate the lovely figure bending with all the -anxious care of a daughter over his newly-found wife. She sprinkled her -brow with water, chafed the cold hands within her own, and when she -found that her efforts were successful, and that the Khanum began to -recover her senses, she threw back the redundant tresses that had fallen -over her face and neck, and looking up in her father’s face, said, -almost in a tone of reproach— - -“Father, what has been said or done to reduce my dear Khanum to this -state?” - -“Come into the next room, my child, and I will tell you all,” said Delì -Pasha, leading her away; and then observing that the Khanum was fast -coming to herself, he added, addressing the other attendants, “Begone, -all of you, and wait without.” - -While Delì Pasha was explaining to his daughter the unexpected accident -by which Dervish Bey had found in their Kiahia Khanum, whom they had -always known as Fatimeh, his long-lost wife Zeinab, the reunited couple, -left alone, were recounting to each other the incidents and adventures -that they had met with during their long separation; and when Fatimeh -learnt that Hassan was indeed her son, tears of grateful pride and joy -streamed from her eyes as she said— - -“Oh, Selim, a secret voice in my heart whispered this to me, and yet I -dared not believe it. I saw him, and I loved him with an affection that -I could not explain to myself. In fear and terror I was the confidante -of his love for Amina. I thought that I was doing wrong; and yet, while -I warned and reproved them both, Allah knows how my heart bled and -longed to see them united. Allah be praised for all his goodness. They -will yet be happy! for in truth, Selim, there lives not in all Egypt a -maiden so sweet, so adorned with all high and lovable qualities, as my -Amina. Let us go in and see her, and let her know how happy we are.” So -saying, she led the way into the inner room, where Amina threw herself -into the Khanum’s arms. The tender words of “my mother” and “my child” -interchanged between them could scarcely add anything to the affection -which they had borne to each other in their former relation of -instructress and pupil. - -Seldom does it happen that a Mohammedan soil, so sterile of domestic -affections, can witness so happy a kindred group as was there assembled; -and the news soon spread throughout the house that their Kiahia Khanum -was the mother of Hassan and the wife of Dervish Bey. All the eunuchs -and slave-girls in the harem crowded round her to kiss her hand, and she -found in their sincere congratulations a reward for the gentle rule that -she had exercised over them. - -The other wives of Delì Pasha also sent over from the opposite wing of -the harem a message that they wished to come over and pay her a visit of -felicitation; and as it was contrary to etiquette that Dervish Bey -should see them, he availed himself of the opportunity to rise and take -his leave, saying— - -“I must go and communicate this happy news to our dear boy: you know not -how his heart has longed to find and embrace his mother. Amina, may I -take him a message from you? What shall I say to him?” - -A blush passed over the face of the maiden as she replied in a low -voice, “Say to him what your kind heart dictates. With my father’s -permission I will not gainsay your words.” - -“May I tell him, then,” said the veteran, “that his faithful love is -returned?” - -Amina raised her liquid eyes to her father’s face, and meeting there an -approving smile, she murmured, “Now, and for ever!” - -With what a light and buoyant heart did the old soldier mount his horse -to return to his house and communicate his budget of glad tidings to his -son; but he was doomed to disappointment, for on inquiring for Hassan he -was nowhere to be found. One of the _sàises_, on being questioned, -stated that he had ridden out early in the morning, accompanied by -Abou-Hamedi, but no one knew whither he had gone. - -“Rash boy!” exclaimed Dervish Bey; “now has he overthrown all our plans, -and dipped our hands in scalding water. He was under arrest, and ordered -to remain within these walls. Mohammed Ali will be furious, and Allah -knows how we shall appease his anger.” - -Let us now explain the circumstances which had led to Hassan’s sudden -disappearance. - -Before the dawn of this same day Hassan had been roused from his sleep -by the entrance of Murad, the dumb boy, who had with the greatest -difficulty awakened the drowsy _bowàb_ and obtained admittance. Our hero -saw at a glance that his young _protégé’s_ countenance was haggard and -careworn, and that he was exhausted by fatigue. - -After ordering some bread and a cup of coffee to be brought immediately, -he asked Murad in his usual kindly tone what had led him to come before -daylight, and why he looked so pale and fatigued. The little boy gazed -at him earnestly, and then with his fast-moving fingers said, “A matter -of life and death.” - -“Rest and compose yourself for a few moments,” replied Hassan, who saw -that the boy was in a state of nervous excitement, and he would not -permit him to begin his story until he had eaten some bread and drunk -his cup of coffee. But the secret with which Murad’s breast was charged -was of such a nature that he longed to unburden it to his protector, -fearing that the loss even of a few minutes might be productive of -disastrous consequences. - -His narrative was as follows: On the preceding day he had accidentally -passed by a café situated near the Bab-en-Nasr (the Gate of Victory), -when he heard a voice within, which he thought he recognised as that of -Osman Bey, in conversation with another man, and he distinguished -plainly the names of Mohammed Ali, Delì Pasha, and that of the Kiahia, -mentioned in rapid and eager tones. In conclusion the one speaker said -to the other— - -“It must be done quickly: meet me here again to-night, two hours after -sunset, and bring the others with you.” - -Murad felt an irresistible curiosity to learn the subject of this -evening conference, and he did not anticipate much difficulty in doing -so, as he was well known to the keeper of the coffee-shop, a bluff old -Arnàout, who had often allowed the friendless and mutilated child to -earn or beg a few coppers at his door before the kindness of Hassan and -Amina had placed him beyond the reach of absolute want. - -Hastening home, Murad took out of his box an old and ragged dress, which -he had not worn for a twelvemonth, and having put it on, hung round his -neck a tablet with which he had formerly solicited the assistance of the -charitable, and on which was written in Turkish and Arabic, “Give a few -_paras_ to the deaf and dumb for the love of Allah!” - -He sallied forth about an hour after sunset, and made his way to the -café. Old Arnàout, on noticing him, said, “Murad, poor little fellow, it -is long since I have seen you; where have you been?” Receiving no reply, -he added, “I forgot that he can neither hear nor answer me”; so saying, -he dropped one or two copper coins into his hand, which Murad put into a -little tin box which was slung beside his tablet. He then entered the -café, as had been his custom of old, assisting the urchin who waited on -the guests in carrying them lighted coals for their pipes or taking away -empty _finjâns_ of coffee. But the guests were few, for the café was in -an unfrequented part of the town, and the weather was cold. - -The last of them were just retiring when Osman Bey entered, accompanied -by three or four other men, all of whom, like himself, were wrapped in -large cloaks. It was evident that they were desirous of preserving an -incognito, for they had brought with them neither servants nor pipes: -they sipped, however, some coffee, and smoked the rude _chibouques_ of -the café. - -After a short time they were joined by another party, consisting also of -four or five men, in the foremost of whom Murad recognised Ali Bey, the -colonel of the regiment of Bashi-Bazouks who were on duty at the -Esbekiah, and guarded Mohammed Ali’s palace in that quarter. For some -time they conversed on indifferent subjects, but ere long they called -for arrack, which seemed to loosen their tongues, while Murad went about -among them renewing their pipes. - -“Who is this youngster?” said Ali Bey, catching him by the arm, while he -addressed the coffee-house-keeper. - -“He is a poor child whom I have known for several years,” replied the -Arnàout. “He comes here sometimes to earn or beg a few _paras_; he is -deaf and dumb.” - -“Is he?” replied Ali Bey, drawing the boy towards him and reading the -tablet on his breast; “then he is just the boy for us. Send out those -lads of yours, and Wallah! if we catch one of them coming within earshot -we will clip their ears for them; we want to talk over our private -affairs.” He added a few words in Greek which Murad did not understand, -to which the Arnàout replied by a wink and disappeared. - -“Bring me a pipe,” said Ali Bey, suddenly turning to Murad and speaking -in a loud stern voice. Murad never stirred, but stared in the Colonel’s -face and opened his little tin box. - -“Jaffier spoke the truth,” muttered the Colonel half aloud. “I thought -he would not dare to deceive me; the imp is as deaf as a stone.” They -then continued to drink their cans of arrack, which Murad refilled for -them, while they spoke without reserve of the plans which they had met -to arrange, and which were neither more nor less than to seize or kill -Mohammed Ali and overthrow his Government. - -“Are you sure of your Bashi-Bazouks, Ali?” inquired Osman Bey. - -“Never fear them,” replied Ali; “the dogs are as savage as bears. We -have drawn their pay from the Treasury, but we have not given them a -_para_ of it for some months, and have told them that Mohammed Ali -refuses to pay them and threatens to bastinado any of them that demand -their pay. They are all on guard at the Esbekiah Palace, and if he falls -into their clutches he will not give us much more trouble. The -difficulty is how to bring him there, for the guards at Shoobra are -obstinate fellows, and would fight like devils!” - -“I will manage that matter,” said Osman Bey. “Those Shoobra guards are -from Delì Pasha’s regiment. I will go there to-morrow morning and ask an -audience of Mohammed Ali, and will easily persuade him that those guards -are not to be trusted, for that Delì Pasha wants to marry his daughter -to that outlawed robber Hassan, who is now in Cairo, and as they have -not been able to obtain his pardon, they are conspiring against the -Viceroy and tampering with the guards, who are of Delì Pasha’s own -regiment. Mohammed Ali will assuredly believe there is some truth in -this statement, and will agree to my proposal of coming in at once to -his palace at the Esbekiah.” - -“Have you succeeded yet in introducing the brother of your man Ferraj -into the household at Shoobra?” inquired another of the conspirators. - -“Yes,” replied Osman Bey. “Hadji Mohammed is employed in the house, and -tells me all that goes on. If our other plans fail, that scoundrel can -do the job for us with a cup of coffee; and he _must_ do my bidding, for -he knows that a word of mine can send him when I will to the _gellad_ -[executioner] or the galleys.” - -“How are your fellows, Nour-ed-din?” said Ali, the Colonel, addressing -one of the conspirators. “Can we count upon them?” - -“I am not sure,” replied the officer thus interrogated. “I have kept -back their pay too, and have thrown out a few phrases to stir their -discontent. They grumble enough, and if our first blow succeeds they -will doubtless join us; but they are much afraid of Ibrahim Pasha. How -is he affected in this matter?” - -“We must not tell it him beforehand,” replied Osman Bey; “for with all -his cruelty he is a craven at heart and might betray us, not from the -love but the fear that he has for Mohammed Ali. Let us put the Old Lion -out of the way, and I will answer for managing Ibrahim afterwards. He -will not be very angry, depend upon it.” - -They then exchanged a few more sentences to regulate their proceedings -for the following day, of which Murad only caught the words, “You all -meet at my house at noon.” This was spoken by Ali Bey, who as he rose up -to go away almost stumbled over the prostrate form of Murad, who had -rolled himself in his old torn cloak and lay on the floor feigning -sleep, but listening with eager anxiety to the dangerous secrets of -which he had accidentally been made the partaker. - -“What is this son of a dog doing here?” said Ali Bey, pointing with his -foot to the recumbent form of Murad. - -“It is only the deaf and dumb child,” replied one of the others -contemptuously. - -“Supposing he should prove to be neither deaf nor dumb, nor asleep?” -said the suspicious Arnàout. - -“I will just give him six inches of my dagger in the ribs, and then I -shall be sure that he is deaf and dumb.” So saying, he drew his dagger, -and held over the boy’s face a half-expiring lamp that he snatched from -the table. A start, a tremor, the slightest indication of consciousness, -would have been Murad’s instant death-warrant; but the brave little boy -bore the severe ordeal. Not a muscle nor a quickened respiration -betokened aught but the quiet slumber of youth. - -“Pish!” said the rough savage, “his sleep is fast enough, whether he be -deaf or not. Inshallah! before long my dagger will drink better blood -than his.” So saying, he strode out of the café, followed by the other -conspirators, who separated and went to their several homes. - -For nearly an hour after they were gone Murad remained motionless -collecting his scattered thoughts, which, unaccustomed as they were to -dwell on conspiracies or political revolutions, seemed oppressed and -overwhelmed by the terrible secret which he bore about him. - -No sooner, however, did he recover from the terror which he had endured -from the Arnàout’s dagger than he resolved at once to hasten to Hassan -and tell him everything. This he did before dawn, as we have above -mentioned; and our hero, having heard his tale, and made him repeat -certain portions of it so as to feel assured of the accuracy of his -memory, told Murad to remain in his room till he returned. - -Having armed himself with a brace of pocket-pistols and a short dagger, -which he concealed within his vest, he mounted his horse, and, -accompanied by Abou-Hamedi, rode out towards the desert by the Gate of -Victory. After skirting the desert for a couple of miles he turned to -the left, through some cultivated fields and olive-plantations, until he -found himself at the gates of the Shoobra garden. His only fear was that -he might be denied access to the Viceroy; but he had made up his mind to -demand it through his old acquaintance the medical interpreter. - -Assuming, therefore, an authoritative air, he said to the gatekeeper in -Turkish, “I wish to see the Hakim-Bashi, and my business with him is -urgent.” - -The man, influenced by Hassan’s commanding figure and the use of the -Turkish language, immediately led the way to a small pavilion occupied -by the hakim, and adjoining the private apartments of the Viceroy. - -When Hassan entered he found the Doctor sitting in a comfortable -dressing-gown drinking his cup of coffee and looking over the last -Italian journal. When he saw our hero, and received his salutation, he -seemed sorely perplexed, for a year and a half of hardship and exposure -had changed the youth into a powerful man; yet the frank, open -countenance, not easily forgotten, was there unchanged, and it was not -necessary for him to name himself, for the hakim broke out suddenly, -“_Cospetto di Bacco!_ it is Hassan himself. Why, man, I am glad to see -you—no, I am not; I am sorry to see you, for you must be mad. You know -that you are under arrest and forbidden to leave your father’s house—the -Viceroy will never forgive disobedience to his orders.” - -“Excellency,” said Hassan gravely, “I have come upon a matter of life -and death, and I must see the Viceroy immediately and alone. It is not -my life or death that is at stake, but one of greater value to me, to -you, and to Egypt.” - -“Per Bacco!” said the hakim, “your forehead looks like a thunder-cloud, -and you speak like a man who is in earnest. You wish to see the Viceroy -immediately and alone, you say?” - -“Immediately,” repeated Hassan impatiently; “and alone.” - -“But,” replied the cautious physician, “Mohammed Ali is a fearless -man—the world knows it; but would it be usual, would it be right, that -he should be left alone with——” Here the worthy physician hesitated as -he cast his eyes upon the powerful figure before him. - -“With a freebooter and outlaw, you would say,” interposed Hassan, with -one of his frank smiles. “But I am not an assassin. I only said alone -because I know not who of all his Highness’s attendants are trustworthy! -However, I suppose you are, and therefore if the Viceroy pleases, you -may be present, and you may hold a loaded pistol at my ear all the time -that I am in his Highness’s presence.” - -“I ask your pardon,” said the Italian hakim, offering his hand. “I did -not mean to offend or to hint at your being an assassin; but you know -what mischievous tongues wag in these Turkish _serais_, and how I should -be blamed were I not cautious in all that regarded the safety of my -chief. Now help yourself to a cup of coffee, and I will do your -commission at once.” So saying, the hakim disappeared through a -side-door that communicated directly with the Viceroy’s apartment. In -five minutes he reappeared, and making a sign to Hassan to follow, led -him to a small room where Mohammed Ali was seated in the corner on a -divan covered with rich crimson damask. - -“You have broken your arrest,” said Mohammed Ali, fixing his piercing -eyes on Hassan as he entered; “I trust you have sufficient reason for -your disobedience.” - -“Your Highness shall judge,” replied Hassan, “when you have heard what I -have to tell. I knew that I had already given you such serious ground of -offence that I would not for a light cause have added another to the -list.” - -“Wallah! it is true that you have committed enough already in pillaging -my villages and my people,” said Mohammed Ali sternly; “let that pass -for the present, and say what you have to say before the Hakim-Bashi.” - -Hassan proceeded to give a clear and distinct account of the conspiracy -as communicated to him by Murad. The expressive features of Mohammed Ali -underwent various changes during the narration, and his fingers more -than once clutched the handle of the sword that lay across his knee when -Hassan mentioned the names of the conspirators. - -As soon as Hassan had concluded his narrative, Mohammed Ali, bending his -shaggy brows on the speaker, said, “By the head of my father, if this -tale be true, I will defile the graves of the fathers and mothers of -these ungrateful dogs. But how can I feel assured that the whole is not -an invention of this crazy, mutilated child?” - -“I believe it is all true,” said Hassan with simple earnestness, “for -the boy, though dumb, is faithful and intelligent. I am sure he would -not deceive me, neither has he knowledge sufficient to refer to all -these names and plots if he had not heard them as he states. Moreover, -it is easy for your Highness to ascertain some points which may satisfy -you as to the truth of the whole.” - -“Which points?” said the Viceroy hastily. - -“First,” replied Hassan, “is it true that a man called Hadji Mohammed, -the brother of Osman Bey’s servant, Ferraj, has lately entered your -Highness’s service?” - -“That is true,” interrupted the hakim; “for I have seen the fellow, and -an ill-looking dog he is.” - -“Secondly,” continued Hassan, “if the boy’s story be correct, Osman Bey -will visit your Highness within an hour or two, and recommend you to -leave Shoobra and go into your palace of the Esbekiah, where Ali Bey’s -Bashi-Bazouks are on guard.” - -“That is true,” replied the Viceroy; “a few hours will remove all doubt. -Hakim-Bashi, you remember that only a day or two ago the Kiahia wrote a -note to say that some strange rumours were afloat as to these -Bashi-Bazouks and another regiment being almost in mutiny from not -having received their pay.” - -“It is so,” replied the hakim, “and I went to the pay-office, by your -Highness’s order, and got Ali Bey’s receipt for the whole amount due to -them duly sealed and certified. I have it here,” and he produced the -paper in question. - -“These hornets must be crushed, and there is no time to be lost,” said -the Viceroy in a musing tone; then suddenly bending his shaggy eyebrows -on Hassan, he added, “Young man, you have done your duty in bringing us -this news, bad though it be. What is the course which it is now best to -pursue?—speak your mind.” - -“Nay, your Highness,” said Hassan modestly; “if my arm or my life can be -of use, they are at your service, but I am too young and inexperienced -to offer an opinion in the presence of the best soldier in Islam.” - -“Nevertheless,” replied the Viceroy, a certain malicious fun twinkling -in the corner of his keen grey eye, “I would have your opinion, even -though I should not choose to follow it. If all be true that I have -heard, you have shown more skill in eluding or defeating my troops with -your lawless band of vagabonds than could have been expected from so -young a beard. I would see whether your wit be as sharp, now that you -profess a desire to serve me. Speak, therefore, and without fear or -reserve.” - -After a few moments of reflection Hassan replied, “Were I to speak as my -own impulse would prompt, I should say to your Highness, Summon to your -side the Pashas, Beys, and regiments in whom you can trust, place me in -the foremost rank, and let us straightway attack, bind, or destroy these -conspirators.” - -Mohammed Ali read in his bright, eager glance and bold, open front the -sincerity which dictated these words. Hassan continued, “But I know that -your Highness would gladly avoid, if possible, the bloodshed of your -subjects, and the punishing the ignorant and the misled in the same -degree as the scoundrels who have misled them. I therefore suggest that -we meet stratagem with stratagem, and when Osman Bey comes, let your -Highness pretend to be persuaded by his arguments, and agree to go into -the Esbekiah Palace to-morrow. This will throw them off their guard, and -all the conspirators will be gathered at Ali Bey’s house. Meanwhile I -have a trusty follower here, little known in Cairo, for whose fidelity I -will answer with my life: let him go forthwith to the Kiahia with a few -lines, written by your Highness’s order, instructing him to send a -regiment that he can trust, and two or three hundred horsemen silently -and secretly to the Esbekiah before dawn to-morrow; let two or three -guns be placed there, pointed at Ali Bey’s house and your Highness’s -palace; let Delì Pasha take five hundred men from this regiment at -Shoobra and march it at the same hour and in silence to occupy the -gardens behind Ali Pasha’s house and the road to Boulak; let the guards -in the citadel be doubled at night, and the regiment of Dervish Bey, now -encamped outside of the town, be brought in to keep in check that of -Nour-ed-din, which is supposed to be in a state of mutiny. My follower -shall then pass the night among them, and when they know that they have -been cheated of their pay by their own officers, they will not raise a -musket against your Highness. The most difficult task is to manage these -Bashi-Bazouks, but I am not without hopes of reclaiming them without -bloodshed. Let your Highness give me that receipt of Ali Bey’s for their -money, and let me hide it under my belt; order me now to be seized and -taken by your soldiers into the guard-house of the Esbekiah Palace, -where you intend to have me tried and judged to-morrow. As soon as it is -known that Hassan the outlaw is confined there, they will flock in -numbers to see me; I will talk with them; I will show them the receipt, -and explain to them how they have been cheated and duped by Ali Bey. -Inshallah! at dawn to-morrow, when the troops close in on all sides to -surround the Bey’s house and take prisoner himself and his confederates, -I will have these Bashi-Bazouks’ minds so changed that instead of -fighting against your troops they will cry ‘Long life to Mohammed Ali!’” - -While Hassan was speaking the Viceroy never took his piercing eyes off -the young man’s countenance, and when he had concluded he said— - -“Hassan, you have not disappointed me: your plan is good, and I will -have it followed out. But I do not like to send you in among those -mutinous Bashi-Bazouks; they are bloodthirsty fellows, and if they find -from your speech that you are exhorting them in my behalf to return to -their duty, they will tear you to pieces.” - -“Fear not for me, your Highness,” replied Hassan calmly. “In dealing -with and leading turbulent spirits like these I have had much, too much, -experience; let me try it once more in a good cause, and if my life is -sacrificed, why, Allah is merciful, and your Highness will perhaps tell -Delì Pasha and Dervish Bey that Hassan was not unworthy of your trust.” - -A bright gleam shot from the eyes of Mohammed Ali as he replied— - -“You are a brave youth, Hassan, and all shall be done as you desire. Go -in with the hakim to his room, prepare the letters, and despatch your -messenger. Allah be with you.” - -Hassan retired, and in a short time Abou-Hamedi was despatched with the -letters and full verbal instructions. An hour later our hero was -arrested and sent into the Esbekiah Palace under a strong guard, and the -news was spread all over Cairo that Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm was to be tried -and judged on the following day. - -Hassan had not left the Shoobra gardens more than an hour when Osman Bey -arrived and demanded an audience, which was immediately granted, the -Hakim-Bashi remaining in attendance on his chief. - -After the usual preliminaries of respect and compliment, Osman Bey -proceeded to unfold the object of his coming, which proved to coincide -exactly with what had been stated by Hassan. The Viceroy listened in -silence, and although Osman Bey could not avoid noticing the fire that -gleamed in those deep grey eyes, he attributed it to the anger felt by -Mohammed Ali against those whose treacherous designs he had pretended to -expose. - -“We thank you as you deserve for your communication,” said the Viceroy, -“and we will take all the requisite precautions. To-morrow, as you -recommend, we will go to the palace of Esbekiah.” - -“May your Highness’s life be prolonged,” replied Osman Bey. “I rejoice -to find that you have seized that dangerous robber Hassan. I met him on -the road under the escort of your Highness’s guards.” - -“Yes,” said the old chief. “Inshallah! to-morrow you shall see him -treated as he deserves—you shall see that Mohammed Ali knows how to -punish traitors.” - -“Inshallah!” replied Osman Bey, taking his leave with a salutation of -profound respect. - -Scarcely was he out of sight ere Mohammed Ali muttered between his -hard-set teeth, “Dog! hyena! serpent! Inshallah! to-morrow he shall see -and feel how traitors are punished! Hakim-Bashi, you are a learned man, -and read many books: I never read anything but men’s faces, and, -Mashallah! I rarely read them amiss. I have long had my eye -mistrustfully on this scoundrel: look from his false and malignant -countenance to the open face and clear bold eye of Hassan; why, man, -there is truth written there as plainly as in the Fat’hah.[113] I have -been somewhat slow in forgiving him because he has a daring spirit that -requires to be checked, and example requires that acts such as he has -committed should be punished; but if he survives and succeeds to-morrow, -by the head of my father, I will reward and promote him!” - -“I am glad to hear your Highness say so,” said the good-natured hakim, -“for I liked him from the first day that I saw him; and his Bedouin -education, added to the insults received from that hypocritical traitor, -offer some excuse for the lawless life that he led for a while.” - -“Wait till to-morrow. Bakkalum, we shall see,” said the Old Lion, -smiling grimly. “Now send me Abd-el-Kerim, who commands the regiment on -duty here. He, I know, is faithful, and I will give him orders for his -night march on the gardens to the rear of Ali Bey’s house, as Hassan -suggested. Mashallah!” he continued, “did you notice how clear and -complete were his plans to entrap and secure the scoundrels, after -saying that he was too young to offer an opinion. Wallah! if ever I am -obliged to send my troops there, that Hassan shall command a division.” - -“Send your troops where, your Highness?” said the hakim inquiringly. - -“Peace, man,” said Mohammed Ali, recovering from a momentary fit of -abstraction. “I was thinking of—of—of—perhaps of Darfour and Abyssinia.” -A scarcely perceptible smile lingered on the lips of the medical -interpreter, who had for some time suspected the ambitious views of his -chief on Syria and Asia Minor, but he made his salam in silence and -withdrew. - -Meantime, while Abou-Hamedi was faithfully delivering the letters and -messages intrusted to him, Hassan was no less diligent in the execution -of the difficult task which he had undertaken. After being ushered into -the precincts allotted to the Bashi-Bazouk guard, which included all the -extensive area in front of the palace itself, Hassan remained for a -considerable time apart, as if undesirous of communicating with them. -His object was that they should come to him; nor was he long in -attaining it. - -Struck by his commanding figure and features, some of the loiterers -about the door inquired his name of the guards who had brought him, and -when they learnt that it was Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm, of whom they had heard -so much, all flocked around him to scan more closely the appearance of -the celebrated outlaw. Neither had he much to fear from their hostility, -for being themselves engaged in a mutinous rising against the -Government, they looked upon him as a sure ally during the outbreak -expected on the morrow. - -The intelligence of his capture and presence among them soon reached the -farthest part of the barracks, and it happened that seven or eight were -there who had formed a part of the band which, under Osman Aga’s -guidance, had made so unsuccessful an attack on Hassan near Siout, and -whom, it will be remembered, our hero had dismissed unhurt, after giving -them some dinner and some money, and telling them it was a pity to see -such fine fellows in so mean a service. - -These men no sooner heard of his presence in their barracks than they -hastened to greet him, calling out as they approached— - -“Welcome, Hassan eed-el-maftouha, do you not remember us? We were of the -party whom you treated so well when we were in your power, and when you -sent back Osman Bey to Siout on a donkey.” - -“I believe, comrades,” he replied, “that on that day I maltreated none -excepting Osman Bey, and he had deserved it at my hands.” - -“He was a brute,” said the first speaker, lowering his voice; “but Ali -Bey, our present chief, is better: he always takes our part against -those who rob and injure us.” - -“Who are they who rob and injure you?” inquired Hassan. - -“Why, Mohammed Ali, to be sure, and his rascally Paymaster-General.” - -“I had always heard,” said Hassan, “that Mohammed Ali paid his brave -Bashi-Bazouks regularly.” - -“He used to do so,” said the fellow sulkily; “but for eighteen months we -have not had a piastre of pay. See, our clothes are all in rags, and we -have nothing wherewith to buy a pound of tobacco or a little rice -water.[114] Ali Bey and Osman Bey have petitioned and laboured for us in -vain. But we will have our rights. Inshallah! we shall see something -to-morrow.” - -“Yes, our rights and our pay, or else blood and plunder!” said -half-a-dozen rough voices around. - -It is unnecessary to detail all that passed between Hassan and the -mutineers; suffice it to say that he completely gained their confidence, -and occupied himself during the remainder of the day in ascertaining the -character and views of those who seemed the more influential among them. - -It was not his purpose to attempt putting in execution the plan that he -had formed until nightfall, when the gates would be shut and none could -go out to give notice of his proceedings to Ali Bey, whose house was -only separated from the palace by a walled garden. No sooner had that -hour arrived than Hassan desired those whose confidence he had gained, -including the men from Siout, to call together all the regiment in front -of the guard-house, as he had something of importance to communicate to -them, and guards on whom they could depend were placed at the front and -postern gates to prevent the ingress or egress of any one unchallenged. - -As soon as they were all assembled he said in a clear and sonorous -voice, that was heard by the farthest of that rough and turbulent band— - -“Comrades! some of you have known me personally, and most of you have -heard of Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm: did you ever hear of him that he aided the -tyrant to trample on the oppressed, or the rich to plunder the poor?” - -“Never!” shouted a score of voices. - -“Did you ever hear,” he continued, “that he was sparing of his blood or -his money, or that he ever betrayed a comrade?” - -“Never!” shouted they again. - -“Then, by Allah!” said Hassan, “he never will. He is here among you now -alone. You may take his life to-night, or the Government may take it -to-morrow; but so long as he has an arm to strike, it shall strike at -the false and the oppressor in defence of the oppressed!” - -“Hassan for ever!” shouted they again; “he is the man for us! Let us see -the Government come to take his life to-morrow!” - -“Then,” said he, raising his voice above the tumult, “if you believe me -and trust me as you say, let me tell you that you have been falsely -betrayed!” - -“We know it!” they cried. “We have been betrayed; we have been robbed of -our pay, and we will have it now, and plunder to boot!” - -“You have been robbed and betrayed,” said Hassan in a deep, stern voice; -“but you know not the robbers nor the traitors who have injured you. I -now denounce them to your just anger—they are Osman Bey, Ali Bey, and -your own officers! who have drawn your pay and have spent or locked it -up themselves, in order to lead you to mutiny and to destruction!” - -It is impossible to describe the confusion that prevailed in that -lawless assemblage at the conclusion of this speech. Some shouted, “It -is false!” others cried, “Kill him; he is a spy of Mohammed Ali!” - -Pistols were drawn, daggers gleamed in the fitful torchlight; many -cried, “Down with Ali Bey and the traitors!” but still the more numerous -and moderate party in the regiment called aloud, “Proof! proof! we must -have proof!” - -“Proof you shall have, if you will be silent and patient like men, and -not scream like the _bakkal’s_ wives before the _câdi_.”[115] - -Silence having been restored, Hassan called aloud, “Bring hither those -torches, and come to my side any of you who can read!” Half-a-dozen -approached in answer to this appeal. - -“This is not enough,” said Hassan; “where is the _yuzbashi_[116] who -commands the guard? Let him also come forward.” That functionary had -hitherto remained a distant spectator of the scene; but he was now urged -forward by some of his own men to the spot where Hassan stood, who -shouted as they advanced, “Proof! proof! we want proof!” - -“Are you one of those,” said Hassan, fixing a stern and penetrating look -on the _yuzbashi_, “who have taken a share of these brave men’s pay, and -withheld it in order to induce them to revolt?” - -“I?” said the astonished _yuzbashi_. “No, Wallah! No pay have I seen -myself for a year. See the holes in my shoes, and these ragged clothes; -do these look like robbing the pay of my men? By the beard of my father, -it is the Government who have robbed me and them of our due! But who, in -the name of the Prophet, are you who are haranguing my men, and -questioning me as if you were a _miralai_ [general]?” - -“I applaud your spirit,” replied Hassan frankly. “My name is Hassan -Ebn-el-Heràm, my voice has no authority excepting that of truth, and I -have no motive but to prove to these brave men who they are who have -wronged and betrayed them. Canst read, _yuzbashi_?” - -“Ay, Wallah! that can I. For two years was I clerk in a divan before I -entered the army.” - -“Well, then, read that aloud to your men,” said Hassan, placing a paper -before him. - -As the _yuzbashi_ read the contents all the words in Turkish which -correspond to “cheat,” “rogue,” “traitor,” and “scoundrel” burst in -succession from his half-closed lips. - -“What is it? what is it?” shouted a score of impatient voices at once. - -“It is a receipt in full showing that the Paymaster has regularly placed -in the hands of Ali Bey the whole amount of pay due to you up to last -month. And here is Ali Bey’s seal at the bottom. I can swear to it, as I -have often to countersign papers bearing his seal.” - -Curses on Ali Bey’s father, mother, and all his ancestors, now issued in -torrents from the lips of the indignant assemblage; and not the least -loud in venting maledictions was the _yuzbashi_ who had been unjustly -suspected of sharing in the peculation of his superiors. - -Hassan watched in silence the progress of the storm which he had raised; -for he rightly judged that they would soon return to ask his advice as -to the course which they should now pursue. Nature had formed him to -lead either in the council or in the field such rough, bold spirits as -those by which he was surrounded, and they now came back to ask him what -was to be done as naturally as if he had been appointed their chief. - -“My brave fellows,” said Hassan, “if your eyes are now open, and you are -satisfied that you have been deceived and betrayed by your officers, -there is but one course by which you can save yourselves and punish -them.” - -“Name it,” shouted a score of rough voices. - -“You know that I was brought here this morning from Shoobra; while there -I was neither blind nor deaf. I can swear to you by the head of my -father that the treachery of Ali Bey, Osman Bey, and the others is known -to Mohammed Ali. Even now troops from all quarters are surrounding this -palace and Ali Bey’s house in the darkness of night. At daybreak you -will see them with your own eyes—escape or resistance is no longer -possible.” - -“Curses on Ali Bey’s head and on his father’s grave!” shouted the -_yuzbashi_; “what dirt has that vile dog caused us to eat! But you have -not told us yet, Hassan, what is to be done. Are we to stay here and be -butchered like sheep?” - -“Allah forbid!” said Hassan. “I will answer with my head that if you -follow my counsel not a hair of your beards shall be touched. How many -men are there now in Ali Bey’s house?” - -“If we count his and Osman Bey’s, and Nour-ed-din Binbashi’s Mamelukes -and followers, there may be two hundred of them in the house and -buildings round his courtyard,” replied the _yuzbashi_. - -“A mere handful,” said Hassan scornfully; “you are enough to master them -in five minutes. My advice, then, is this. As the Beys do not know that -your eyes have been opened to their treachery, they will of course admit -you at any hour. Let the _yuzbashi_ knock at the gate and say that he -has something of importance to communicate to the Bey; he will be -admitted at once. As soon as the gate is opened for his admittance, a -party of us following close behind him will rush in and overpower the -_bowàbs_ or sentries that may be there. We will then let in the -remainder of our brave fellows, leaving only a small guard in this -palace, and we will go and make prisoners of the Beys and all their -followers. When Mohammed Ali’s troops appear in the morning I will go -out to their commanders and tell them that you had been deceived and -misled, but that you had now returned to your duty, in proof of which -you had seized and were ready to deliver up to them the conspirators. I -will answer for you receiving your full pardon and your full pay -besides.” - -“Mashallah!” cried several voices, “the plan is good; let us follow it -at once.” - -“It is not so easy as it seems,” said a cautious old fellow, who had a -habitual dread of his commander. “Ali Bey is a desperate and dangerous -man to take; he has always four pistols in his belt, and he fights like -a devil.” - -“Give me a sword, my lads, and leave Ali Bey to me,” said Hassan, his -eyes lighting up as they always did at the approach of strife. - -“Hassan’s the leader for us!” shouted one of those whom he had released -at Siout—“open hand in peace, and iron hand in the fight.” - -As he spoke his own and half-a-dozen other swords were offered to -Hassan’s choice. Selecting with the eye of a connoisseur the trustiest -blade, he said, “Now, my lads, let us go; but remember, no bloodshed -excepting in self-defence. Our business is to take them alive; and, -Wallah! we will take them if you are firm and steady. Now assemble at -the gate in silence, and be ready.” - -Whilst the men were collecting for the expedition, Hassan whispered to -the _yuzbashi_ the course that he was to pursue, adding, “I do not know -you, but I shall be close to you and observe you well. If you are -faithful, you will be rewarded; but if you attempt to betray us, your -head shall be the first to fall.” - -“You shall see,” answered the _yuzbashi_ with a grim smile, “whether I -do not pay my debt to Ali Bey and those other scoundrels.” - -The evening was now advanced, the Ezn-el-âshah[117] had long since been -chanted from the mosques, but there seemed to be no symptoms of retiring -to rest in Ali Bey’s house. He himself, surrounded by Osman Bey, -Nour-ed-din, and the other leaders of the conspiracy, were seated in his -large salamlik, or reception-room, arranging their plans for the morrow -and discussing eagerly the course they should adopt towards Ibrahim -Pasha after they had got rid of his father. - -All of them felt confident that he would gladly profit by their crime; -but few felt sure that he would not punish its authors. - -“He dare not punish us,” said Ali Bey boldly; “we are too many. See -here,” he continued, drawing a paper from his vest, “here are the seals -of twenty-five, none of whom are without power or friends. He may, -indeed, affect to be angry at first, but he will be obliged to pardon -and reward us.” - -While he was yet speaking a servant came in and said that the -_yuzbashi_, Suleiman Aga, followed by a number of the Bashi-Bazouks, was -without, and wished to see the Bey. - -“These fellows,” said the latter to his companions, “are ready for any -mischief. I have worked them up to such a pitch of discontent that I can -scarcely prevail on them to defer plundering the palace until to-morrow, -when we shall have Mohammed Ali in our power. Let him come in.” - -As he spoke, the _yuzbashi_, followed by a number of his men, entered -the room, and the first words that he uttered were— - -“Bey, I can no longer control these men: they demand justice and their -pay.” - -“Justice and our pay!” said a number of rough voices, as they kept -pouring into the room. - -“You shall have it, my lads, to-morrow—pay and plunder to your heart’s -content,” said Ali Bey. “Only be patient to-night, and you shall have -vengeance on those who have robbed you of your right.” - -“They shall have it now!” cried Hassan, coming suddenly forward, sword -in hand. - -“And who in the name of the Prophet may you be?” said Ali Bey. - -“Wallah! Wallah! it is that traitor scoundrel Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm,” -cried Osman Bey, astonished at the sudden appearance of our hero, whom -he had seen some hours before under arrest. - -“Present!” said Hassan in a deep, stern voice; and immediately the -Bashi-Bazouks, who now lined the side of the room, presented their -pistols at the knot of conspirators seated at its upper end. - -“Ali Bey, Osman Bey, and you others who have deceived and betrayed these -brave men by withholding their pay, their hour of vengeance is come, not -against Mohammed Ali to-morrow, but against you to-night. Yield -yourselves prisoners, or I give the word to fire.” - -“Never!” cried Ali Bey, springing with the others to his feet. “We have -adherents below enough to punish these mutinous scoundrels.” - -“Ali Bey,” replied Hassan sternly, “your adherents are already -overpowered—your whole plot is known to Mohammed Ali—his troops surround -your house—you have no means of defence or escape; you can only now -trust to the Viceroy’s clemency.” - -“You, at least, shall never live to boast of this treachery,” cried -Osman Bey, who was literally foaming with rage, as he drew his sword and -sprang upon Hassan. - -The result was such as might have been expected where strength, skill, -and coolness were on one side and ungovernable fury on the other. -Scarcely a few seconds elapsed ere Osman Bey’s sword-arm, severed by one -cut, fell to the ground. - -“Bind up his wound and secure him,” said Hassan coolly to one of the -Bashi-Bazouks who was near him; and without deigning another look at his -fallen adversary, he addressed himself to Ali Bey, saying— - -“I would fain avoid useless bloodshed; will you yield yourselves -prisoners or not?” - -Ali Bey, though a cruel and vicious man, was not deficient in courage; -but the hapless fate of his confederate, the determined language and -commanding appearance of Hassan, and the formidable row of -pistol-barrels that gleamed at his back, might well have intimidated a -bolder spirit. In the countenance of his companions he read nothing but -dismay, so he replied, “We yield ourselves,” and sullenly threw his -sword on the floor at Hassan’s feet. - -His comrades followed his example, and in a few minutes they were all -disarmed and pinioned. Their persons were searched by Hassan’s order, -and he thus obtained possession of the paper to which the seals of the -conspirators had been affixed. - -Hassan spent the remainder of the night in visiting all the quarters of -the house and seeing that the prisoners of all ranks were duly guarded. -The Bashi-Bazouks who had witnessed the summary chastisement that he had -inflicted on Osman Bey, and who seemed to feel an intuitive conviction -that he was armed with the authority which he assumed, obeyed him -without a murmur. - -No sooner had the day dawned than he took the _yuzbashi_ and a few more -of the men to the roof of the house, whence he showed them two -field-pieces already in position in their front and the troops of -Mohammed Ali drawn up and surrounding them on every side. - -“Did I speak the truth,” said Hassan, “when I told you that if you -continued in mutiny you would be cut off to a man?” - -“Wallah! Hassan, you spoke the truth,” they replied. “Our only hope is -now in you, for you said that if we obeyed you we should have our pay -and our pardon.” - -“Fear not, I will make my words good. I will go out now alone and speak -to the officer in command of these troops in front: I think I should -know him.” - -Descending from the roof, he walked alone out of the gate and advanced -to the front of the column, the Bashi-Bazouks watching his movements -from the roof and from the windows with the deepest anxiety. - -“Mashallah!” cried one, “what miracle is this? See, Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm -is embracing that old officer, who by his uniform must be a Bey or -Pasha. He is embracing also another younger officer: see, they are -coming this way.” - -“I know them well,” cried a soldier beside the first speaker. “The old -officer is Dervish Bey the Swordsman, a brave old fellow; I served with -him in Arabia: the other is Reschid, _khaznadâr_ of the Kiahia Pasha.” - -“Ajaib!” (Wonderful!) exclaimed several voices, “that Hassan the outlaw -should be so familiar with these Beys.” - -As they slowly approached the front of the palace Hassan had time to -explain briefly to his father the events of the night, and the manner in -which he had effected the capture of the conspirators. - -On hearing his report Dervish Bey desired Reschid to ride with all speed -to Shoobra to inform Mohammed Ali of what had passed, and to ask his -further orders. He also sent messengers to inform Delì Pasha and the -commanders of the other troops that had been drawn towards the palace -that the conspiracy was already crushed. - -“What news?” said the Viceroy to Reschid as the latter entered his -salamlik breathless and dusty from his gallop. - -“May your Highness’s life be prolonged; the conspirators are all -prisoners awaiting your sentence.” - -“El-hamdu-lillah!” (Praise be to Allah!) said the Viceroy. “Had you much -fighting? did the scoundrels make a stout resistance?” - -“We had no fighting at all,” said Reschid, smiling; “Hassan did it all -himself.” - -“How was that?” said Mohammed Ali, surprised. - -“In the course of the night he explained to the Bashi-Bazouk regiment -how they had been misled, robbed, and betrayed by their officers; he -showed them Ali Bey’s receipt, proving that your Highness had done them -no injustice. Having convinced and brought them back to their duty, he -led them into the adjoining house to arrest their own officers. Osman -Bey made a sudden spring at him, but Hassan cut his arm off, and the -rest surrendered without resistance.” - -“Aferin! [bravo!] Hassan,” said Mohammed Ali; then turning to Reschid, -he added, “Let them await my coming at the palace; I will be there -within the hour.” - -In less than the time specified the Viceroy appeared at the Esbekiah -Palace gates mounted on Nebleh, who had become his favourite charger, -and surrounded by a numerous guard. Having received the reports of his -Pashas and generals as to the events of the night, and the names of the -conspirators captured at Ali Bey’s house, he said in a loud and stern -voice— - -“Let Ali Bey, Osman Bey, and Nour-ed-din, who have robbed the troops of -their pay, incited them to mutiny, and conspired against the Government, -suffer the doom of traitors—off with their heads; and their villages, -houses, and properties are confiscated. Let that villainous servant of -Osman Bey named Ferraj, whose crimes are known to me, and his brother, -Hadji Mohammed, who came into my service to poison me, receive one -thousand blows of the stick; let the other prisoners await further -inquiry and orders. Where is Hassan Ebn-el-Heràm? Let him stand forth.” - -Our hero, thus called upon, came out and stood in front of that numerous -assemblage. - -“Hassan,” said Mohammed Ali, “if the disgrace imposed upon you by that -dog Osman Bey led you for a time to forget your duty, your fidelity and -good service now and on former occasions deserve reward; you are a -worthy son of a worthy father. Hassan, son of Dervish Bey, I appoint you -in the place of the traitor Ali Bey to the command of the Bashi-Bazouk -regiment which he betrayed or misled. I grant them, for your sake, a -full pardon, and they shall have all their arrears of pay. I present you -also with the houses, lands, and property of Ali Bey, which have been -forfeited to the Government.” - -“May your Highness’s honour and prosperity be boundless as your bounty,” -said Hassan, coming forward to kiss the Viceroy’s sleeve. He then -retired a few steps, awaiting further commands or the signal to -withdraw. - -He thought not of the lands or the wealth he had acquired, but one of -the brightest dreams of his youth was realised: he had been publicly -recognised, by one whom he held to be the hero of the age, as a worthy -son of the gallant Dervish Bey. This was the feeling which filled his -breast with a bounding and tumultuous joy, and his eye sought and met -that of his father. But Hassan’s thoughts were speedily recalled to the -presence in which he stood by the voice of Mohammed Ali, who, once more -addressing him, said— - -“I have rewarded your services only as you deserve; I wish now to add a -favour from myself. Have you any request to make? Speak it boldly.” - -“If your Highness will pardon my freedom, I would ask you to give to my -friend Reschid the command of the regiment vacant by the punishment of -Nour-ed-din. These men, like the Bashi-Bazouks, have been misled by the -treachery of their commander; but when they learn how they have been -deceived, their hearts and swords will return to your Highness’s -service. I have seen the courage and fidelity of Reschid put to the -proof, and under him that regiment will be as true and efficient as any -in your army.” - -“What say you, Kiahia?” said Mohammed Ali to his chief Pasha; “shall -Hassan’s request be granted?” - -“Hassan has robbed me of a good _khaznadâr_,” said the old Kiahia, -smiling, “but he has given your Highness a good colonel, so I must -forgive him; neither will I deny that Reschid’s fingers, when employed -on the seal or the pen, are always itching for the lance and the sword.” - -“Be it so, then,” said the Viceroy; “make out the order to our War -Office and we will seal it. And now, Hassan, as you would not ask -anything for yourself, I must select for you. Strength and youth, and, -Mashallah! good looks and a good name you have; it is a shame that you -remain unmarried,—I have chosen you a wife from a noble harem, and I -will give her a dower myself.” - -Hassan’s lip grew pale and quivered as he said in a hesitating voice— - -“Pardon me, your Highness, if I decline the honour. I have made a vow -that——” - -Here Mohammed Ali interrupted him, saying— - -“Peace, _delikànloo_,”[118] and he fixed on the young man one of those -piercing glances in which anger and humour were so strangely blended -that it was difficult to know which was predominant. “Is there already -so much wind of prosperity in your head that you despise the alliance of -the daughter of Delì Pasha?” - -At the sound of that name the blood rushed to Hassan’s temples. He dared -not testify his rapturous delight before so many witnesses. Mohammed Ali -read it in his eyes, while the lips only said— - -“Your Highness has loaded me with benefits that the gratitude and -service of a life cannot repay.” - -“How obedient he became at once as soon as he heard the name,” said -Mohammed Ali in an undertone to Delì Pasha, who stood near him. - -“Your Highness knew their attachment,” said the old soldier gratefully; -“to see them united under the shadow of your protection was my fondest -wish.” - -The Viceroy now retired into the palace, and on entering his private -apartment said to his Hakim-bashi— - -“There is one thing yet I forgot to learn from Hassan; send him here -immediately, and send my seal-bearer into Ali Bey’s house with a guard, -and tell him to seal every door, box, and cupboard till Hassan goes in -to take possession, otherwise the thoughtless boy will find nothing but -empty walls.” - -Our hero was just receiving the congratulations of his father and Delì -Pasha when he was directed to reappear immediately in Mohammed Ali’s -presence. On entering the room the Viceroy said to him— - -“When you captured the conspirators, did you learn anything certain of -their numbers or associates without? Wallah! I forgot myself, or I would -have ordered the scoundrels to be tortured to make them tell before -their heads were cut off.” - -“Men under torture,” said Hassan, “often tell falsehoods to gratify -spite and revenge; but I took from Ali Bey’s vest a paper supposed to -contain the seals of all those who had joined his plot. I have not shown -it either to the Kiahia or to my own father, for I thought it might -contain names which, for various reasons, had better be known to none -but yourself.” - -“Mashallah!” said Mohammed Ali, “though you are sometimes a -_delikànloo_, you have a head fitted for older shoulders than yours; but -I have long known that you could keep a secret. Do you remember the -night that you passed in a certain palace near the Nile?” - -“Did your Highness know of that?” said Hassan in surprise. - -“Everything that passed,” replied Mohammed Ali. “One of the blacks in -the service of that lady was a spy in my pay: her conduct compelled me -to have recourse to these measures, but I have taken that house away -from her. The old woman who plotted with Ferraj to entice you into the -house is at the bottom of the Nile. You behaved nobly, and you have -nobly kept secret events which, if known, would have brought disgrace on -my family. Go on as you have begun, and, Inshallah! so long as Mohammed -Ali lives you shall not want a friend. Now you may retire.” - -Hassan kissed the hand extended to him and left the presence with an -exulting heart, repeating as he went out the Arabic proverb, “The -husbandman prayed for a shower, and, lo! an abundant rain,” which -answers to our proverb, “It never rains but it pours”—_i.e._, that -blessings, like misfortunes, seldom “come single” in life.[119] - -A month has passed, and Hassan’s mother has wept tears of joy on the -breast of her long-lost son, and they have reiterated to each other the -mysterious attraction which had linked them in sympathy from the first -moment that they had met in Delì Pasha’s house, and Zeinab Khanum (whom -we have so long known as Fatimeh) has refused to leave Amina, now doubly -dear to her, until her marriage. - -And Amina—who can paint her happiness?—a happiness such as not once in a -century can fall to the lot of a daughter of Islam: to be united to one -whom her virgin heart has so long worshipped as an idol—one whose -courage and devotion she has so surely proved—one whom her pure and -trusting heart tells her, and tells her truly, will love her alone. - -What an intensity of joy is mingled with the blushes on her cheek as she -tries on the diamond ornaments with which the munificence of Mohammed -Ali had decked the bride of Hassan. For his sake she is content to allow -the busy tirewomen to exhaust their efforts in enhancing the brilliancy -of her beauty: they stain her delicate fingers with henna, they draw a -shaded line of kohl along the lids of her large and lustrous eyes, and -they anoint her redundant tresses with the most sweet-scented unguents -of Araby. - -As Mohammed Ali had undertaken to dower the bride, all the city seemed -disposed to take a share in the marriage festivities. For a week -Hassan’s house had been illuminated every evening, and had been open to -all visitors. Lambs, fowls, pilaws, and sweetmeats were demolished -wholesale, and thousands of the poor were daily fed in the courts below. - -The last day of these ceremonials had now arrived, and Amina was -conducted in state to her bridegroom’s house. The procession, of immense -length, was preceded by a band of tumblers or buffoons, who amused the -public by their antics and somersaults; while in front of them walked a -_sakkah_, or water-carrier, staggering under the weight of an enormous -goat-skin sack filled with sand and water, which entitled him (if he -could carry it to the bridegroom’s house without setting it down) to a -liberal present. Some malicious urchin contrived, unperceived, to cut a -large hole in the bottom of the skin, and escaped in the crowd. The -_sakkah_, feeling the water trickling down his legs and the lightened -load on his back, soon became aware of the trick that had been played -him, and attributing it to the tumblers and jugglers behind him, turned -round and began to belabour them with his half-empty sack, covering them -from head to foot with sand and water, to the infinite amusement of the -spectators. - -Behind these buffoons there followed several open cars, one containing a -_kahweji_, or maker of coffee, with the implements of his profession; -another a _helwaji_, or sweetmeat-maker; a third a _faterji_, or -pancake-maker,—all of whom dispensed their good things to the bystanders -as they passed. - -After these came a band of musicians, who were followed by a dozen -married ladies of rank mounted on white donkeys, their saddles adorned -with crimson silk and gold embroidery: to these succeeded a troop of -unmarried girls on donkeys similarly accoutred. - -Then came the bride, veiled from head to foot, a cashmere shawl over the -veil concealing completely her face and figure from the envious eyes of -the spectators. - -It is usual for brides of rank to ride on donkeys, but on this occasion -Amina was mounted on Nebleh, splendidly caparisoned by the Viceroy’s -order, the beautiful Arab’s embroidered reins being held by eunuchs who -walked on each side of her head. The procession was closed by a party of -Mamelukes richly accoutred and a band of Turkish music. - -On reaching Hassan’s house the bride and her attendants sat down to a -repast prepared for them, the bridegroom being, according to etiquette, -absent at the bath. After a certain time he returned with his party and -a _cortége_ scarcely less numerous than that of the bride. - -On entering the house he left his friends to refresh themselves below, -while he went to an upper apartment where Amina was seated, still -completely veiled, between Zeinab Khanum and one of Delì Pasha’s wives. - -Agreeably to custom, Hassan went through the form of giving to each a -piece of money, called the “unveiling fee” (for up to that moment the -bridegroom is supposed not to have seen the face of the bride); the two -elder ladies retired, and Hassan was left alone with Amina. According to -the prescribed rules of their faith, he gently lifted the veil from her -face, saying as he did so, “In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the -merciful.” - -But not strange to each other were those eyes that now exchanged their -glances of unutterable love. Not the blush of a timid virgin on first -seeing the stranger who is hereafter to be her tyrant was the rosy hue -that tinged the neck of Amina as she listened in breathless silence to -the prayer which, according to Mohammedan rite, he uttered before he -ventured to embrace his wedded bride. Placing his right hand on her -head, he said with a deep-toned earnestness which thrilled to her heart— - -“Oh, Allah, bless me in my wife, and bless my wife in me. Unite us, as -thou hast united us, for our good, and separate us when thou hast -decreed to do so, likewise for our good.” - -Here let us take the veil which Hassan had removed from Amina’s head and -hang it over the portal of the room where their love is crowned with -that “sober certainty of waking bliss,” which heretofore they had only -seen in the visions of hope and in the land of dreams. - - - THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Footnotes - - -Footnote 1: - - The “Sons of Ali,” or, as they are called, the “Oulâd-Ali,” have been - settled for many years in Egypt, but their legendary history is - carried back to the period when they dwelt in Upper Arabia, and they - claim affinity with a tribe which still pastures its flocks on the - borders of the Nejd. - -Footnote 2: - - A _kels_ is a long rope extended in line, and fastened to the ground - by pegs. Throughout its whole length, at intervals of eighteen inches, - are fixed two short nooses or slip-knots, into which the forefeet of - the goats are inserted at milking-time. In Persia it is usual on a - march to fasten the horses at night in a manner precisely similar. - -Footnote 3: - - For the information of the English reader it is necessary to mention - that the word Herâm, with a light aspirate of the initial letter, is - the conventional term in Egypt applied to the Pyramid (its plural is - Ehrâm), whereas Ĥharâm, with a slight guttural pronunciation of the - initial letter, signifies “shame” or “sin.” Although these two sounds - are scarcely distinguishable from each other in the mouth of a - European, they are perfectly distinct in that of an Arab; and thus the - expression “Ebn-Harâm,” according as the initial is pronounced, means - “Child of the Pyramid,” or “Child of Shame.” - -Footnote 4: - - Hassan El-Gizèwi, or Hassan of _Ghizeh_, the district in which, about - eight or nine miles from Cairo, stand the Great Pyramid and several of - the smaller pyramids. - -Footnote 5: - - The Mohammedan law acknowledges in full the custom of parental - adoption, and a child so adopted has legal right of inheritance; but - certain religious forms are prescribed for this adoption, which it - seems that Sheik Sâleh had not observed in respect to Hassan, probably - from a belief that some day he would be claimed by his real parents. - -Footnote 6: - - Sakkarah is a district lying twelve or fourteen miles to the - south-west of Cairo, and is familiar to all Egyptian travellers and - untravelled readers as being the site of several pyramids, near which - excavations have been made with highly interesting results. - -Footnote 7: - - One of the Arabic names of Cairo is “Omm-ed-doonia,” “Mother of the - world.” - -Footnote 8: - - The fellahs, or agricultural population in Egypt, are much despised by - the Bedouin Arabs. - -Footnote 9: - - Alluding to the horsetails which formerly designated the rank of a - pasha. When three in number they indicated the rank of a vizier. The - practice is now falling or fallen into disuse. - -Footnote 10: - - The Arabic letter _ain_. The Turks and Persians, in whose respective - languages this letter frequently occurs, never attempt to pronounce it - otherwise than as a broad Italian _a_. As the same letter is found in - the Hebrew alphabet, it may be an interesting speculation for the - learned to consider how it was pronounced by the ancient Jews; the - modern Jews in Germany and Asia pronounce it like the broad _a_. Its - pronunciation seems to have puzzled the learned Seventy in the time of - the Ptolemies; at least in the Septuagint version we find it - represented by various Greek letters; for instance, in the words - “Amalek” and “Eli” the commencing letter in Hebrew is _ain_, as is - likewise the last letter in the name of the prophet Hosêa. - -Footnote 11: - - For those who have not been in the East, it may be necessary to - mention that the folding the arms on the breast, which in Europe is - considered as a posture of meditation and sometimes of defiance, is - among Orientals the usual attitude of humility and respect. - -Footnote 12: - - It is customary among the Arabs, when using either complimentary - phrases or good wishes, to retort them on the speaker briefly, as in - the text. - -Footnote 13: - - Wâled-Ali is synonymous with Oulâd-Ali, the name of a tribe already - mentioned; the only difference is that Wâled is singular and Oulâd - plural. The former name, though less classical, is in more common use - in Alexandria. - -Footnote 14: - - The Causer of Causes is one of the highest of the attributive names - given by the Arabs to the Almighty. - -Footnote 15: - - It has been the custom of the Egyptians ever since the accession of - Mohammed Ali to the viceroyalty to call the reigning Viceroy by the - name of “Effendina,” “our Lord,” or “our Prince.” - -Footnote 16: - - The Kohèil and Saklàwi are two of the highest breeds of horses found - in the Nejd or highlands of Arabia. - -Footnote 17: - - Courbatch is the name of the whip made from the hide of the - hippopotamus, in common use all over Egypt and Nubia. The name seems - to have an affinity with the French _cravache_, and I have been - informed (though perhaps incorrectly) that it is of Hungarian origin. - -Footnote 18: - - The practice in question is indeed as prevalent among the Arab dealers - in Egypt, Syria, and Bagdad as among those of London and Paris. - -Footnote 19: - - A _ràwi_ is a professional reciter of romances, around whom a circle - of listeners may always be seen gathered about sunset in Alexandria or - Cairo. - -Footnote 20: - - A _kawàss_, or janissary, in Egypt is an upper servant in attendance - on a pasha, a consul, or a person of rank; he is generally a Turk, - wears a sword, and is frequently dignified by the title of Aga. - -Footnote 21: - - Hassan’s experience seems to have taught him that, in addressing - Turkish officials, the use of that language in place of Arabic is the - likeliest method of obtaining attention and a courteous reply. - -Footnote 22: - - Two thousand piastres are about £20 sterling. - -Footnote 23: - - Arabs are divided into two classes, distinguished in their own - language by the names of “People of the tent” and “People of the - domicile”; the former, who are the Bedouins, and nomadic in their - habits, have a sovereign contempt for the latter, who live in villages - and cultivate the soil. In Egypt there are found on the borders of the - desert and arable land a few small tribes who partake of both - characters; that is, though Bedouins by birth, they have partially - settled down to an agricultural life, and pay a tax to the Government - for the land which they occupy. The prisoner under arrest belonged to - this latter class. - -Footnote 24: - - Fayoom is a fertile region in Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the - Nile. - -Footnote 25: - - The Arabs of the north-western shores of Africa are termed - “Moghrebin,” from the word “Moghreb,” “the place of the setting sun.” - Most of the _pehlivans_ or wrestlers seen in Egypt are Moghrebin. - -Footnote 26: - - _Pehlivan_ is the name common in Turkey, Arabia, and Persia for a - “wrestler” or “athlete.” - -Footnote 27: - - _Delì_ signifies “mad” in the Turkish language, but it is frequently - applied to those who have distinguished themselves in war by acts of - daring courage. - -Footnote 28: - - The word “uncle” is frequently used in Arabic as a term of respectful - affection. - -Footnote 29: - - Taking a _fal_, or an omen, is a very common practice all over the - East among persons who are in doubt as to the advisableness of any - scheme or project which they wish to undertake: it is done in various - ways, sometimes with beads, sometimes with books; but in matters of a - serious nature the Koran is usually resorted to. The person wishing to - consult the oracle takes up the sacred book, and after putting it - reverently to his forehead, opens it at random, and reads the first - passage that meets his eyes; if the text is favourable, or can be - construed favourably to his project, he follows it out with confidence - of success. - -Footnote 30: - - _Mirakhor_, a Persian word commonly used throughout Turkey, meaning - “master of the horse.” - -Footnote 31: - - Not the tree commonly called sycamore in England, but the “wild - fig-tree.” - -Footnote 32: - - The reader may perhaps not have heard, or may have forgotten, a reply - attributed to Dr Johnson, who being once present at a concert where an - Italian singer was executing some bravura ornaments at, if not beyond, - the highest notes of her voice, his neighbour observed to him, “How - wonderful are those trills.” “Would to Heaven they were impossible!” - was the Doctor’s surly answer. - -Footnote 33: - - It is a very common image in the popular songs of Egypt, and also in - more classic Arabic poetry, to liken a graceful youthful figure in - either sex to a spray or wand of the _bân_, or Egyptian willow. - -Footnote 34: - - In those days all Englishmen travelling in Europe, as well as in - Egypt, who spent their money more freely than the average of - travellers, were termed “lords.” - -Footnote 35: - - A true story, and one that Mohammed Ali used to tell with great glee. - -Footnote 36: - - Notwithstanding his long residence in Egypt, Mohammed Ali understood - but little Arabic, and could not speak it at all. - -Footnote 37: - - _Khaznadâr_ or “treasurer.” This officer often discharges the duties - of a private secretary. - -Footnote 38: - - The term _kassis_ is applied in Egypt indiscriminately to Christian - clergymen of every sect and denomination. - -Footnote 39: - - This term, _kiahya_, now common all over Turkey, is a corruption of - the Persian word _ket-khoda_, and signifies “master of the house,” - “vicegerent,” &c. The _kiahya_ in Egypt is next in rank to the - viceroy. - -Footnote 40: - - Shoobra, a very pretty garden and palace, built and occupied by - Mohammed Ali; it is about three miles from Cairo, on the bank of the - river. - -Footnote 41: - - A _canjah_ is a Nile boat, much smaller and lighter than a dahabiah. - -Footnote 42: - - A piastre is about 2½d. - -Footnote 43: - - Where in Europe it is customary to say as “white as wool” or “white as - snow,” the Orientals say “white as camphor.” The “camphor-neck” of a - beauty is an image constantly recurring in Arabic poetry. - -Footnote 44: - - _Musàttah_, a camel-litter for carrying two persons. - -Footnote 45: - - A _shibriah_, a camel-litter for a single person. - -Footnote 46: - - A perpetual fountain of the purest water in the Mohammedan Paradise. - -Footnote 47: - - The Horseman’s Gap is a singular cleft in the high rocks which met at - the end of the plain, just leaving a passage wide enough for horsemen - to pass in single file. - -Footnote 48: - - The legend of Rabîah is one of the most ancient now known in the East. - It was first communicated to me in the shape of an old Arab MS. by - that eminent Arabic scholar, M. Fresnel. I believe he translated and - sent it to one of the European Oriental magazines; but I have never - seen it myself in print. As it is ten years since I saw the MS., I - cannot remember exactly how far the tale in our text deviates from the - original. The names which I have introduced are taken at random among - names common in the Nejd; but I distinctly remember that of Rabîah, - and his heroic death in the gap, as forming the catastrophe of the - legend. - -Footnote 49: - - Whip made of rhinoceros-hide. - -Footnote 50: - - Shèitan, Arabic form of “Satan.” - -Footnote 51: - - _Salamlik_ is a reception-room in houses of Turkish construction, - generally on the first floor, and in the centre of the building. - -Footnote 52: - - Nejmet-es-Sabah, “Morning Star.” - -Footnote 53: - - The game of the jereed is almost too familiar to the reading world to - require description. It is a mimic fight, representing a combat with - the spear or javelin. The jereed is sometimes made of reeds or canes, - but more frequently of palm-sticks cut in the form of a javelin, with - a blunted point. It varies much in weight; and a heavy jereed thrown - by a vigorous arm is capable of giving a very severe, sometimes a - dangerous, bruise; for this reason, aiming at the face or head is - strictly prohibited in this game, though it necessarily happens in so - wild a sport, carried on with reckless riders and horses at full - speed, that the head and face often receive a serious hurt. - -Footnote 54: - - The rosary here alluded to (called in Arabic _tashbih_) is a string of - beads, generally one hundred in number, carried by the greater part of - Moslems of the upper and middling classes: they are used as “omens,” - “counter-charms,” &c. - -Footnote 55: - - _Kadaif_, a favourite Turkish dish, made of flour, honey, and other - ingredients. - -Footnote 56: - - The Crimean campaign has now made the name of these Bashi-Bazouks, or - irregular cavalry, familiar to all Europe. In Egypt, at the date of - our tale, they were mostly Albanians, and a more lawless set of - ruffians than they were could not be found on earth. On some occasions - their savage violence could not be controlled even by the iron hand of - Mohammed Ali. They would neither obey nor leave the country, and he - was compelled to bribe them to adopt the latter course, and also to - have them escorted by regular troops beyond the frontier. - -Footnote 57: - - The Mosque El-Azhar is one of the largest, wealthiest, and most - celebrated in Cairo. Although devoid of all pretensions to - architectural beauty, within its precincts is a college for the - instruction of youth; but little is taught beyond reading the Koran - and the commentators thereon, writing, and the first rudiments of - arithmetic. To the children of the poorer classes the instruction is - gratuitous, and even food and lodging are provided from the funds of - the endowment. Its revenues were much curtailed by Mohammed Ali. - -Footnote 58: - - It has before been mentioned that at this game it is forbidden to aim - at the head; but, moreover, in order to explain the expressions of - Delì Pasha, it must be mentioned that, according to the rules of the - game, every “bout” consists of two charges, in which each alternately - advances and retreats. It is then considered over, and cannot be - continued unless a regular challenge be given for another “bout.” - -Footnote 59: - - “A cup of coffee” is a very common phrase in Egypt for expressing the - word “poison,” for which a cup of coffee is a frequent medium. - -Footnote 60: - - This peculiarity in Mohammed Ali’s character is historically true. He - was hasty and severe, often unjust, in his punishments; but there was - a fund of generosity in his heart, a reaction followed, and he - frequently elevated to the highest posts those whom he had previously - degraded. - -Footnote 61: - - An Eastern image proverbial among lovers. - -Footnote 62: - - It may not be amiss to mention that “Amina” is not only a genuine - Arabic woman’s name, signifying “trusty,” “faithful,” &c., &c., but is - also in high estimation, having been the name of the mother of - Mohammed. The root of the word _amin_ (true) is one of the original - primitives of the Arabic and Hebrew languages: it was the “verily, - verily” so often employed by our Saviour in His threats and warnings, - and is still familiar to all in the “amen” (“so be it,” or “may it be - true”) which terminates the greater portion of the prayers offered up - in Christendom. - -Footnote 63: - - Kaf, a lofty and inaccessible mountain, celebrated in Eastern romance - and mythology. - -Footnote 64: - - The last two lines are from a well-known Arabic love-song. - -Footnote 65: - - _I.e._, “treasurer of a very small treasure.” - -Footnote 66: - - These and other verses occasionally scattered through this tale are - translations from Arabic scraps of poetry and love-songs popular in - Egypt. The reader must not suppose that the interview related between - the father and daughter is intended to represent the ordinary - relations of domestic life in Egypt; on the contrary, it is an - exceptional picture, exhibiting the fondness of an eccentric and - warm-hearted father for an only child. It is scarcely necessary to say - that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, marriages in the East are - arranged by the parents and relatives without the slightest reference - to the inclinations of the bride. - -Footnote 67: - - Treasurer. - -Footnote 68: - - Few of my countrymen who have not resided in the East are probably - aware that it is contrary to custom, and indeed to good breeding, to - return thanks for a present. The system of present-giving is - widespread over the whole East. If a great man makes a present to an - equal, the bearer is rewarded and a present of equal value is - returned. If a present is sent by a great man to an inferior, the - latter gives as much as he can afford to the bearer; but in no case is - it considered good manners on the part of either giver or receiver to - allude to a present in after-conversation. - -Footnote 69: - - It must be remembered that thirty years before our tale the path or - paths leading from Ghizeh to the Pyramids were not beaten and trodden - as they now are; and even now, so long as the waters of the Nile are - high, the direct road is intercepted by a number of deep sluices or - creeks which oblige the traveller to make a considerable circuit under - the guidance of natives acquainted with the country. - -Footnote 70: - - Although the Thorpes are imaginary personages, and therefore did not - witness this scene, it actually occurred some years later exactly as - narrated in the text. It may afford food for reflection for those - benevolent philanthropists who would encourage the introduction of - sudden reforms and the abolition of corporal punishment among a - population habituated to the stick and to slavery for a period of five - or six thousand years! - -Footnote 71: - - Before mentioned as an Arabic name for Cairo. - -Footnote 72: - - Nebleh, in Arabic, means “arrow.” - -Footnote 73: - - A _dabboos_ is a kind of war-club or mace much in use among the - Mamelukes, in whose military equipment it hung at the saddle-bow. It - resembles a pin in shape, being a smooth round handle, surmounted by a - head or ball of iron; from the latter sometimes there protruded a - sharp spike. I have seen some of these weapons beautifully inlaid with - gold and silver, and the handles covered with velvet. They are not now - in use, and are only sold as relics or curiosities. - -Footnote 74: - - Mussulmans, when speaking of those who have died in their own faith, - always use the expression in the text, and never speak of them as “the - dead,” which latter expression is used when speaking of Christians, - heathens, or animals. - -Footnote 75: - - Up to the age of ten or twelve boys are freely admitted into the - oriental harems. After that age no males are admitted, saving fathers, - husbands, and brothers of the inmates. The privilege is sometimes - extended to some other near relation, who is then termed “Mahrem,” - meaning “one who is admitted to the harem.” Neither is it to be - supposed that brothers, or even husbands, can intrude upon a lady’s - privacy at pleasure. If she be of high rank, her husband cannot enter - her boudoir without sending to ask permission. I speak now of Turkish - harems especially. - -Footnote 76: - - This is one of the many instances which our language affords of the - changes which words undergo in passing from the Arabic into European - tongues, especially when the words contain that impracticable _ayn_, - to which the reader’s notice has already been called. This word is - written in the original _ayn_, _t_, and _r_, and should therefore be - rendered _âtr_ or _ôtr_. Some English dictionaries correctly write it - “attar.” - -Footnote 77: - - The original word rendered “good” in the translation of this fine - proverb signifies more usually “free,” “noble,” “honourable”; in fact, - includes those qualities which ought to be comprised in the character - which we designate as a “gentleman.” After studying with some care the - proverbs of many European nations, I am bound to say that, in variety - of illustration, in terseness and felicity of diction, those found in - the Arabic language surpass every other. - -Footnote 78: - - Shubrah, a very pretty garden on the right bank of the Nile, about - three miles below Cairo, which was planted and laid out with some - taste by a Greek gardener under the instructions of Mohammed Ali. He - built a small country house at one extremity, and a very handsome - kiosk in the centre of it, containing a large basin of water. At the - four corners of the kiosk were richly furnished apartments, in one of - which was a billiard-table, at which the old warrior used sometimes to - recreate himself during his latter days with his officers or guests. - After his death the garden was neglected and almost destroyed. - -Footnote 79: - - Squinting is considered in the East an ill omen, and those affected by - it are generally avoided. “May you be blind,” or “May you squint,” is - not an unfrequent Arab curse. It is curious that the word for - “squinting” is identical in the French and Persian languages, - _louche_. - -Footnote 80: - - Every _beled_ or village in Egypt has its sheik or headman, who is - responsible for the payment of the taxes, rents, and dues, as well as - for the military recruits leviable on its population. Generally - speaking, these sheiks are the greatest rascals and tyrants in the - country, though they themselves are frequently oppressed and beaten by - their Turkish masters. - -Footnote 81: - - The Defterdar at the period of our tale was a relative of Mohammed - Ali, and was an officer possessed of vast power and influence. It may - be added that his cruelty was commensurate with his power. The - re-mensuration of the cultivable lands had been intrusted entirely to - him, and he was responsible for the revenues of the enormous extent of - land which the mistaken policy of Mohammed Ali had led him to take - into his own hands. Despite the energetic vigour of the Viceroy and - the severity of the Defterdar, these lands never produced one-half of - the amount which they would have returned had they been farmed to a - number of tenants, or to the villagers themselves. - -Footnote 82: - - One hundred _ardebs_ are equivalent to sixty-three imperial quarters. - -Footnote 83: - - The reader is doubtless aware that in oriental houses there exist - neither tables, chairs, cupboards, nor shelves. The last are replaced - by niches and recesses of various forms and sizes made in the walls of - the room, and in well-furnished houses these niches exhibit goodly - rows of china, glass, scent-bottles, &c. - -Footnote 84: - - Most of the finely-tempered oriental blades, especially those of - ancient manufacture, have stamped upon them, near the hilt, “There is - no God but Allah,” or some short sentence from the Koran. - -Footnote 85: - - Among the Orientals, Youssuf—_i.e._, Joseph—was and still remains the - proverbial type of manly beauty in the prime of youth. In the Eastern - legends the frail helpmate of Potiphar has been changed into a lovely - and high-born maiden, called Zuleika. The loves of this couple are - referred to in one of the most eloquent chapters of the Koran, and - have since been celebrated by Arab and Persian poets innumerable. - -Footnote 86: - - A dark powder used in the East. - -Footnote 87: - - I suppose it is well known that on entering a carpeted apartment in - the East it is customary to leave the slippers near the door, or at - all events on the stone or marble floor at the outer edge of the - carpet. - -Footnote 88: - - The sketch given of this Egyptian Messalina is not imaginary, neither - will it be difficult of recognition to any of the older residents in - Cairo. The author, while passing in a boat before that window which - has been made the scene of Hassan’s leap, has often been told by the - Nile boatmen, “That is the window from which the bodies of her hapless - lovers were thrown when she was tired of them.” The tale may be - exaggerated, or perhaps invented; but at all events it shows the - reputation enjoyed by the lady in question. Her crimes were not - unknown to Mohammed Ali, for the author was once informed by a near - relative of the old Viceroy that, on the occasion of some flagrant - outrage similar to that described in the text, he was himself ordered - by the indignant Prince to put her to death; and it was only by dint - of urgent entreaties that he succeeded in procuring a commutation of - the bloody sentence to a stern threat of summary punishment in case - the offence should be repeated. - -Footnote 89: - - It must not be inferred from this that Mohammed Ali could not read: - though not a good scholar, he could decipher a plainly written letter; - but he rarely did so, and disuse made it daily a more troublesome and - difficult task. - -Footnote 90: - - The walks in the Shoobra garden were then fancifully paved with - parti-coloured pebbles. These walks have all been destroyed, and - carriage-roads made through the garden. - -Footnote 91: - - It has before been noted that the Egyptians, when speaking of the - Viceroy, always use the word Effendina or Effendiniz—the former being - the Arabic form, the latter the Turkish, for “Our lord.” The English - word Viceroy has been generally used in this tale as being shorter and - better known. - -Footnote 92: - - It would be unwarrantable to introduce, even in a work of fiction, - such a charge against the memory of a man who, with all his faults, - was certainly a great and sagacious Prince, had it not some foundation - in truth. But it was stated to the author by Abbas Pasha himself that - he fully believed that his father had been poisoned by Mohammed Ali’s - order. The author asked him whether there was any circumstantial - evidence to corroborate this suspicion. “Yes,” he replied. “The news - of his death was conveyed from Lower Egypt to Mohammed Ali’s - confidential household officer by a swift courier. The officer, - ignorant of his master’s views, and afraid of the effect which might - be produced on him by the sudden announcement of his son’s death, - proceeded to break the intelligence to him with caution, saying, ‘My - lord, news is arrived of Toussoun Pasha.’ ‘When—how did he die?’ was - the answer. How,” continued Abbas Pasha, “could he have known or - guessed that a man in the prime of life had suddenly died unless he - had himself decreed it?” There was certainly force in the argument; - but as all substantial evidence is wanting, we must be satisfied with - the universal Arabic conclusion on such matters—“Allah knows.” Another - reflection naturally arises from this tragedy—namely, that when we - remember the energy and severity of Mohammed Ali’s character, it seems - incredible that if a favourite son, and one of the bravest commanders - in his army, had been suddenly carried off by poison in the prime of - life without any order or connivance of his own, no open and diligent - examination of the officers of the Prince’s household should have been - made, and no medical inquiry as to the causes of death have been - instituted. Such domestic tragedies are so common in the East that - they create but little sensation on the spot. The fate of the son - resembled that of the father. There is little doubt but that Abbas - Pasha, the late Viceroy, was strangled in his bed by two Mamelukes who - had lately entered his service, highly recommended by certain persons - in Constantinople. They had stolen money from his harem, and he had - threatened them with punishment. They were the only two on duty close - to his bedroom on the night of his sudden death. They disappeared - immediately after it, yet no real search was made for them; no public - or satisfactory medical examination of the body was allowed; it was - buried in unseemly haste, and with nothing of viceregal pomp. Crowds - of sycophants flocked to the divan of the successor, and a very short - time afterwards the author was informed that one of the supposed - murderers had become an officer in the Egyptian army! - -Footnote 93: - - One of the ninety-nine names of God among the Arabs. - -Footnote 94: - - On account of the strong currents and numerous shoals and mudbanks - that occur in the Nile, it is usual to fasten the boats to the banks - at sunset and pursue the navigation at daybreak. During the night a - certain number of guards or watchmen are hired from the nearest - village, and while they watch (or sleep, as it may be) on the banks - near the dahabiah, its owners and their property are usually secure - from robbery. - -Footnote 95: - - This phrase is rather Persian than Turkish, and arises not only from - the fine sense of hearing supposed to be conferred by the long ears of - the hare, but also from a popular belief that even when asleep pussy - has one eye open. - -Footnote 96: - - In the Nile, as in most alluvial rivers, the strongest currents are - always under the high and precipitous bank; and it often happens that - for several miles successively the strongest swimmer could not land on - that side. - -Footnote 97: - - Hassan’s object being to frighten away any crocodiles which might be - near. - -Footnote 98: - - In Hassan’s mouth the word Arab signified Bedouins; for he would not - apply that honourable name to fellahs or the dwellers in villages. - -Footnote 99: - - The wit-wat is the Arabic name for a kind of curlew very common in - Egypt. - -Footnote 100: - - One of the Eastern names for the nightingale. - -Footnote 101: - - The word literally translated in the text “wild ox” is the - _bakr-el-wachsh_, a very large and powerful species of antelope found - in the deserts bordering on Egypt. - -Footnote 102: - - It is probably known to most readers that nine out of ten Arabic - proper names have reference to the Deity or the religion of Islam. The - name Abd-hoo, literally “His servant,” means “the servant of God.” The - pronoun “He,” when standing apart from any person referred to in a - sentence, always has reference to Allah. - -Footnote 103: - - Wrestling-matches (called _musàara_ in Arabic and _kushty_ in Persian) - are a very favourite exercise among the populations of both countries, - and at them, as at the games of cricket in England and curling in - Scotland, the higher and lower classes contend on a footing of - equality. A highly respected and talented British Minister at the - Court of Tehran used frequently to “try a fall” with some of his own - servants at a gymnasium near the mission residence. We insert this - note in order to prevent our readers from supposing that our hero had - degraded himself by accepting the unexpected challenge of the - Darfouri. - -Footnote 104: - - _Latif_ signifies courteous, polite, amiable, &c. - -Footnote 105: - - Lest the reader should suppose that this scene has been exaggerated or - represents a state of superstition no longer existing at Cairo, it may - be as well to mention that it was witnessed by the author exactly as - here described in the summer of 1852. - -Footnote 106: - - This incident actually occurred at Cairo in 1849-50. - -Footnote 107: - - This incident also actually took place, though somewhat later than the - period of our tale. - -Footnote 108: - - Loose trousers, generally made of cotton. - -Footnote 109: - - _Moharrabin_ are deserters from the Egyptian army, who sometimes - infest the provinces in considerable numbers; and as many have with - them their arms and accoutrements, and are always joined by thieves - and runaways from justice, they are marauders very formidable to - travellers and caravans. - -Footnote 110: - - _Sant_, the Arabic name for the _Acacia nilotica_. It is a - thorn-bearing variety, its wood very hard, and its yellow flower - extremely fragrant. - -Footnote 111: - - Thebes, in Upper Egypt, is vulgarly called “Luxor,” a corruption of - its proper Arabic name “El-Uksor.” The name Thebes is completely - unknown to the natives. - -Footnote 112: - - Dervish Bey had never heard of the “gallant Ormond”; but the feelings - and instincts of parental love are in all ages and climes alike. - -Footnote 113: - - The Fat’hah is the opening chapter of the Koran. It is recited at - least once on all solemn occasions among the Moslems, and, being very - short, is known by heart by many among them, who, like Mohammed Ali, - know little more of the contents of their sacred book. - -Footnote 114: - - A slang term for arrack. - -Footnote 115: - - Alluding to a popular tale, in which four or five women, wives of a - _bakkal_ or grocer, came before the _câdi_ to make a complaint against - their husband. They stormed and scolded all at once, and made such a - din in the court that not a word could be heard or understood. When at - length they stopped for want of breath, the _câdi_ dismissed the case, - saying, “There is no crime of which the man can have been guilty that - is not sufficiently punished by his having those women for wives.” - -Footnote 116: - - _Yuzbashi_, literally centurion, or captain over one hundred—a rank in - the Egyptian army corresponding to that of lieutenant. - -Footnote 117: - - The “Ezn-el-âshah” is the muezzin’s call to prayer about two hours - after sunset. - -Footnote 118: - - A very common phrase in Turkish for a “mad-cap.” It means literally - “mad-blood.” - -Footnote 119: - - The episode of the conspiracy described above is founded on fact but - it took place some years before the date assigned to our tale. One day - when I was sitting _tête-à-tête_ with Mohammed Ali, he spoke very - disparagingly of Ibrahim Pasha. I observed, “Yet on the occasion of - that dangerous conspiracy against your Highness’s life Ibrahim behaved - well, and gave no encouragement to it.” “He dared not,” replied the - Old Lion; “but it was only fear that withheld him.” I shall never - forget the fire that flashed from his eyes as he uttered these words. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - - -Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with -_underscores_. Spaced out phrases are presented by surrounding the -text with =equal signs=. - -Minor changes in presentation have been made from the layout of the -original paper publication. - -Footnotes have been renumbered and relocated at the end of the book. - -Punctuation has been normalized. Variations in hyphenation have been -retained as they were in the original publication. The following assumed -printer's errors were corrected: - -In Footnote #3, the word Ĥharâm as represented by an H capped by a -circumflex was represented in this edition by an H capped by a tilde or -possibly a pokrytie in the original edition, the fonts for which are not -as commonly available. - - every —> Every {Page 8} - - mothor —> mother {Page 12} - - arrear —> arrears {Page 46} - - choloric —> choleric {Page 120} - - untamable —> untameable {Page 132} - - Skeik-el-Beled —> Sheik-el-Beled {Page 230} - - know —> Know {Page 241} - - Acacia hilotica —> Acacia nilotica {Page 364} - - Deli —> Delì {Footnote 27} - - and are alway —> and are always {Footnote 109} - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hassan: or, The Child of the Pyramid, by -Charles Augustus Murray - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HASSAN, CHILD OF THE PYRAMID *** - -***** This file should be named 50760-0.txt or 50760-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/6/50760/ - -Produced by Carolyn Jablonski, Shaun Pinder and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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