1893] The Khedive's Mistakes Begin 119 



respectable. Of news we have as yet heard little; poor Ahmed Bey 

 Sennari (a neighbour) is dead; old Eid Diab, too, gathered to his 

 fathers, and Prince Ibrahim, our neighbour on the other side, gone in 

 an apoplectic fit, or as the fellahin round here say, ' poisoned ' by his 

 uncle Ismail, whose daughter he recently married, but left behind at 

 Constantinople. ' Ismail, I suppose, was angry,' I suggested. ' Oh no/ 

 they said, ' it was on account of the inheritance, three twenty-fourths 

 of which will have come to her. Ismail has poisoned very many people 

 for their money ' — such is the talk. 



" Sth Dec. — Visitors. Mahmud Bey from Menoufieh, an old fox, 

 formerly Arabist, his object to borrow £30, which he did not get. He 

 tells me Riaz and Mukhtar are now working harmoniously with Cromer. 



Selim Bey Faraj, another neighbour, who has let his land at £5 the 

 feddan, etc., etc. 



" gth Dec. — Mohammed Moelhi called. He tells me the Khedive's 

 reception at Constantinople was as bad as could be. He is now angry 

 with the Sultan, and angry with Mukhtar, who persuaded him 

 to go there ; has quarrelled with Tigrane on a personal mat- 

 ter; cannot get Riaz to go fairly with him. Riaz lets things 

 slide as when last in office, giving in to Cromer in all im- 

 portant matters, only from time to time making show of opposition. 

 Nevertheless the English don't like him, and want to get rid of him ; so, 

 he says, would the Khedive, too, but he has nobody but Mazlum to put 

 in his place. The Khedive wished the Legislative Council to oppose 

 the estimate for the extra regiments of Occupation this year, but Riaz 

 has yielded the point and nothing will be done. Thus Abbas every day 

 is losing prestige in the country, and the trimmers are making their 

 peace with Cromer. 



" The journey to Constantinople was a fatal move. Some strong 

 influence must have been brought to bear on the Sultan, German prob- 

 ably, and Abdul Hamid was partly frightened, partly bought, Moham- 

 med thinks, by financial promises. Edgar Vincent was probably the 

 medium of these. The Khedive has no option now but to keep quiet, 

 maintaining himself as he can at the head of the National party and 

 waiting his opportunity. It would be rash for him to take up the strong 

 position he held in the spring now that he can no longer count on the 

 Sultan. The Sultan was always the dangerous card in his hand. 



" i$th Dec. — Osman Ghaleb and Mohammed Moelhi to breakfast. 

 Osman had an interview with Gladstone in England this autumn or 

 summer. Gladstone asked him two questions : whether the English 

 officials in Egypt were working hard and whether the late Khedive 

 Tewfik was regretted. Osman's answer to the second question was 

 that ' Death was always regretted, but the Egyptians were consoled by 

 having his son Abbas.' Gladstone hoped that Abbas would become 



