was no alternative between my ‘forgiving him for the love of God’ or sending him to a certain death by a climate insupportable to these people.  Mustapha and Co. tried hard to prevent Sheykh Yussuf from speaking to me, for fear I should be angry and complain at Cairo, if my vengeance were not wreaked on the thief, but he said he knew me better, and brought the proces verbal to show me.  Fancy my dismay!  I went to Seleem Effendi and to the Kadee with Sheykh Yussuf, and begged the man might be let go, and not sent to Keneh at all.  Having settled this, I said that I had thought it right that the people of Karnac should pay the money I had lost, as a fine for their bad conduct to strangers, but that I did not require it for the sake of the money, which I would accordingly give to the poor of Luxor in the mosque and in the church (great applause from the crowd).  I asked how many were Muslimeen and how many Nazranee, in order to divide the three napoleons and a half, according to the numbers.  Sheykh Yussuf awarded one napoleon to the church, two to the mosque, and the half to the water-drinking place—­the Sebeel—­which was also applauded.  I then said, ’Shall we send the money to the bishop?’ but a respectable elderly Copt said, ’Malcysh! (never mind) better give it all to Sheykh Yussuf; he will send the bread to the church.’  Then the Cadi made me a fine speech, and said I had behaved like a great Emeereh, and one that feared God; and Sheykh Yussuf said he knew the English had mercy in their stomachs, and that I especially had Mussulman feelings (as we say, Christian charity).  Did you ever hear of such a state of administration of justice.  Of course, sympathy here, as in Ireland, is mostly with the ‘poor man’ in prison—­’in trouble,’ as we say.  I find that accordingly a vast number of disputes are settled by private arbitration, and Yussuf is constantly sent for to decide between contending parties, who abide by his decision rather than go to law; or else five or six respectable men are called upon to form a sort of amateur jury, and to settle the matter.  In criminal cases, if the prosecutor is powerful, he has it all his own way; if the prisoner can bribe high, he is apt to get off.  All the appealing to my compassion was quite en regle.  Another trait of Egypt.

The other day we found all our water-jars empty and our house unsprinkled.  On enquiry it turned out that the sakkas had all run away, carrying with them their families and goods, and were gone no one knew whither, in consequence of some ‘persons having authority,’ one, a Turkish cawass (policeman), having forced them to fetch water for building purposes at so low a price that they could not bear it.  My poor sakka is gone without a whole month’s pay—­two shillings!—­the highest pay by far given in Luxor.  I am interested in another story.  I hear that a plucky woman here has been to Keneh, and threatened the Moudir