1893]' Jemal cd Din at Yildiz 101 



duced me to the German Ambassador as ' the Englishman most strongly 

 opposed to our Occupation of Egypt.' Nicholson married a sister of 

 Lady Dufferin, and was in Egypt at the time of Dufferin's special mis- 

 sion of 1882-3. He gave me a less rosy-coloured picture of Turkish 

 Finance than Vincent, who is negotiating a new loan, and so makes the 

 best of things here. 



" At three on with Judith to Nishantash, in the Musafir Khaneh, an 

 official lodging house for distinguished visitors attached to Yildiz, where 

 Jemal ed Din has rooms. The old Afghan received us with open 

 arms and embraced me on both cheeks in a room filled with reverend 

 Turks, and made Judith sit in the armchair of state, and gave us tea 

 and coffee and entertained us for an hour and a half. Anne had writ- 

 ten him a note of excuse in Arabic, which was read out two or three 

 times with great admiration at its style and correctness. Then we had 

 a long talk on politics, partly in Arabic, partly in French, which Jemal 

 ed Din talks pretty fluently. Ibrahim Moelhi was there, but the others 

 did not understand us (very few Turks know Arabic). Jemal ed Din 

 asked my opinion of the various personages in Egypt, the Khedive, 

 Riaz, Mukhtar, Tigrane and I also explained to him the situation in 

 England. He was there some months last year, and had got rather 

 incorrect ideas — for one thing, that the evacuation of Egypt was only 

 prevented by the Khedive's coup d'etat. He did not understand that 

 the English Liberal party had long before surrendered to Rosebery. 

 About the state of things here we did not talk except that the Sultan 

 would certainly support Abbas as long as he opposed us in Egypt, and 

 that no claim would be put forward by Abdul Hamid of interfering 

 with the Administration there. Altogether a satisfactory visit. There 

 seems a good chance now of my getting my audience at Yildiz, but I 

 told Jemal ed Din that I cannot wait longer than Monday. 



" 27th April. — To the bazaars with Judith and the Walter Blunts 

 (General Walter Blunt Pasha, an A.D.C. of the Sultan, who had called 

 two or three days ago with his wife claiming relationship, though I 

 hardly know on what ground). He talked of his family as connected 

 with Plaw Hatch, in Sussex, a fine-looking old man in a very smart 

 uniform. He has been in the Turkish service since 1878. On our re- 

 turn we found Jemal ed Din and Ibrahim Moelhi calling on Anne, who 

 told us wonderful tales of the system of Palace management. It is 

 arranged that I am to be taken by the superintendent of the Musafir 

 Khaneh to see Munir Pasha to-morrow during the Selamlik. I am not 

 to ask for an audience, but only to deliver my letter from Mukhtar 

 Pasha. They seem to think, however, that it will require a week or 

 more to prepare the ground for an audience, since nothing here can be 

 done in a hurry. I am determined all the same to leave on Monday, 

 for if I am to do any good I must be back in England before Whitsun- 



