why do we see thee thus?  Mashallah, I once ate of thy bread when I was of the soldiers of Said Pasha, and I saw thy riches and thy greatness, and what has God decreed against thee?’ So El-Bedrawee who is (or was) one of the wealthiest men of Lower Egypt and lived at Tantah, related how Effendina (Ismail Pasha) sent for him to go to Cairo to the Citadel to transact some business, and how he rode his horse up to the Citadel and went in, and there the Pasha at once ordered a cawass to take him down to the Nile and on board a common cargo boat and to go with him and take him to Fazoghlou.  Letters were given to the cawass to deliver to every Moudir on the way, and another despatched by hand to the Governor of Fazoghlou with orders concerning El-Bedrawee.  He begged leave to see his son once more before starting, or any of his family.  ‘No, he must go at once and see no one.’  But luckily a fellah, one of his relations had come after him to Cairo and had 700 pounds in his girdle; he followed El-Bedrawee to the Citadel and saw him being walked off by the cawass and followed him to the river and on board the boat and gave him the 700 pounds which he had in his girdle.  The various Moudirs had been civil to him, and friends in various places had given him clothes and food.  He had not got a chain round his neck or fetters, and was allowed to go ashore with the cawass, for he had just been to the tomb of Abou-l-Hajjaj and had told that dead Sheykh all his affliction and promised, if he came back safe, to come every year to his moolid (festival) and pay the whole expenses (i.e. feed all comers).  Mustapha wanted him to dine with him and me, but the cawass could not allow it, so Mustapha sent him a fine sheep and some bread, fruit, etc.  I made him a present of some quinine, rhubarb pills, and sulphate of zinc for eye lotion.  Here you know we all go upon a more than English presumption and believe every prisoner to be innocent and a victim—­as he gets no trial he never can be proved guilty—­besides poor old El-Bedrawee declared he had not the faintest idea what he was accused of or how he had offended Effendina.

I listened to all this in extreme amazement, and he said, ’Ah!  I know you English manage things very differently; I have heard all about your excellent justice.’

He was a stout, dignified-looking fair man, like a Turk, but talking broad Lower Egypt fellah talk, so that I could not understand him, and had to get Mustapha and Omar to repeat his words.  His father was an Arab, and his mother a Circassian slave, which gave the fair skin and reddish beard.  He must be over fifty, fat and not healthy; of course he is meant to die up in Fazoghlou, especially going at this season.  He owns (or owned, for God knows who has it now) 12,000 feddans of fine land between Tantah and Samanhoud, and was enormously rich.  He consulted me a great deal about his health, and I gave him certainly very good advice.  I cannot write in a letter which I know you will show what drugs a Turkish doctor had furnished him with to ‘strengthen’ him in the trying climate of Fazoghlou.  I wonder was it intended to kill him or only given in ignorance of the laws of health equal to his own?