I 



98 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



selves for a moment, with the intention of resuming 

 our route immediately, but a Copht, steward and 

 secretary to the Kiaschej^ and who possessed great 

 riches, begged mc to come and see him ; he was 

 ill. I thought that I might have got off on pre- 

 scribing some remedies to him, but he insisted that 

 I should remain near him, till his cure was per- 

 fectly completed. It was in vain for me to urge 

 as a pretext tor hurrying my departure, that the 

 prince of the Arabs, Ismdm Ahou All, expected my 

 arrival; he assured me, that being very well known 

 to that prince, he would write to inform him that 

 he was the cause of the retardation of my journey. 

 I earnestlv entreated him not to do this, for the 

 Arab Ismam\v2is perfectly ignorant of my existence. 

 I thought that interest would more nearly affect the 

 Cooht, the men of that nation being degraded by 

 a sordid spirit, and the love of money, the misera- 

 ble etFects of a long state of slavery; T represented 

 to him that having rather a numerous train, the 

 residence of such a crowd of strangers in his house 

 could not fail to occasion him great expense and 

 inconvenience. I received from this brute a reply 

 worthy of an insolent upstart: " Dost thou think," 

 said he to me, *' that Orientalists possess no more 

 '* magnanimity and generosity than you FrancSy to 

 ** whom the expense of one person more is a heavy 

 *' burden? Were there a thousand of you, I could, 

 " without being iiiconimoded, lodge and entertain 



" you." 



