chap, i.] EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES. 13 
the Soudan. This man was a rather exaggerated 
specimen of Turkish authorities in general, combining 
the worst of Oriental failings with the brutality of a 
wild animal. 
During his administration the Soudan became 
utterly ruined; governed by military force, the 
revenue was unequal to the expenditure, and fresh 
taxes were levied upon the inhabitants to an extent 
that paralysed the entire country. The Turk never 
improves. There is an Arab proverb that “ the grass 
never grows in the footprint of a Turk,” and nothing can 
be more aptly expressive of the character of the nation 
than this simple adage. Misgovernment, monopoly, 
extortion, and oppression, are the certain accompani¬ 
ments of Turkish administration. At a great distance 
from all civilization, and separated from Lower Egypt 
by the Nubian deserts, Khartoum affords a wide field for 
the development of Egyptian official character. Every 
official plunders; the Governor-general extorts from 
all sides ; he fills his private pockets by throwing every 
conceivable obstacle in the way of progress, and embar¬ 
rasses every commercial movement in order to extort 
bribes from individuals. Following the general rule of 
his predecessors, a new governor upon arrival exhibits 
a spasmodic energy. Attended by cavasses and 
soldiers, he rides through every street of Khartoum, 
