1906] He Praises Saad Zaghloul 163 



ing and the ice was broken between them, and the Sultan sent him 

 away with presents. Then, while the Khedive was still at Constanti- 

 nople, the Denshawai executions took place and the Khedive was so 

 angry at his name having been used for the hangings and floggings, 

 and pardon having been refused in his name without his being con- 

 sulted, that for two hours he was like a man out of his mind walk- 

 ing up and down in absolute silence while his entourage stood bent 

 like this (making a gesture) round him. Since then he would have 

 nothing to do with the English in Egypt. He stayed at Alexandria 

 so as not to be present at the review on the King's birthday. Then 

 Cromer got up the story of his having subscribed £20,000 for the new 

 Egyptian " Standard," or rather Faris Nimr got up the story and 

 foisted it on Cromer, who was very angry and went to the Palace and 

 charged the Khedive with it. On this the Khedive said, " I will an- 

 swer you in three ways : first, things have not yet come to such a pass 

 in Egypt that you have a right to ask me what I do with my own 

 private money ; secondly, Mustapha Kamel has not set his foot in my 

 house for three years, and, thirdly, he has had no money at all from 

 me for any purpose." So Cromer got no satisfaction from him, and 

 we have taken Abbas back into favour. You must not write any 

 more against him, as he may be useful to the Nationalist Party. All the 

 same he and the whole of his branch of the family of Mohammed 

 Ali are worthless. They ought to be eliminated from the succession. 

 The sons of Halim are respectable and liberal. 



" Of the Sultan he, Mustapha Kamel, said he had behaved miserably 

 in the Tabah business. But he spoke highly of the Grand Vizier, 

 Jawdat Pasha; Mukhtar was a 'brave homme dont on respecte le 

 passe miliiaire, mais naif, trop naif.' I asked about Idris Bey Ragheb, 

 the proprietor of the ' Egyptian Morning News ' and ' l'Egypte,' and 

 the Doctor (Osman Ghaleb) said, ' He tried to go against us but has 

 been obliged to give it up.' 



" About Saad Zaghloul, Kamel said he was the antipodes of his 

 brother, the traitor of the Denshawai case, a perfectly honest, good 

 man. He has begun well at the Ministry of Public Instruction, in- 

 sisting that all papers should be brought to him, not to Dunlop, the 

 English Adviser, that the examiners in Arabic should know Arabic, 

 and that Dunlop should come to him on business, not he to Dunlop. 

 We shall see how long he is able to maintain his command of the situa- 

 tion. 



" Of Cromer they all talk as of a lost force in Egypt. He no 

 longer has any native following. The Denshawai case did for him 

 entirely, for every one knows he was solely responsible for the hang- 

 ings. ' We wish Lord Cromer to remain on now,' Kamel said, ' he 

 does us more good by staying than he could possibly do by going.' 



