TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW
So far I have spoken of the Egyptians collectively, and I have aimed
at sketching as faithfully as possible, not the views or ideas of a
class but those which are common to the whole body of the people of
all ranks and grades. Whether there is any one Egyptian, or any class
of the Egyptians, to whom my description might be applied without any
qualification or modification is probably doubtful, but that that
description, taken in the sense and to the extent intended, is
absolutely correct there is no doubt whatever. The Egyptians of to-day
are divided in opinion upon many points, social, political, and
religious; how much so is evident in the fact that of their many
newspapers and periodicals not one is wholly and fully in accord with
any other. To have attempted to give the reader a well-defined
portrait of each and all of the classes thus formed--had it been
possible to do so--could only have resulted in bewildering him; all
the more so that, as yet, there is no one class in the country that is
not undergoing, more or less consciously, a process of change. It is
scarcely possible that it should be otherwise. I have written, so
far, entirely in vain if I have not succeeded in conveying to the mind
of my reader a clear conception of the fact that the people are as yet
but slowly feeling their way towards the adoption of a definite social
and political programme. In the maze of conflicting ideas resulting
from this condition there are clear and indisputable evidences of a
general tendency towards the final acceptance of certain principles
that, once definitely adopted, must dominate the whole future of the
people. Of these the most prominent is that internal and external
peace are absolutely essential to the welfare of the country and of
the people, collectively and individually. Of any one thousand
Egyptians taken at random from among any grade or large class of the
people, I am certain there are not ten who do not sincerely hold this
opinion. One and all desire a greater or less change in existing
conditions, but they desire that change to be wrought without any
sudden or violent disturbance of those conditions. This, without any
qualification whatever, is the fact that is the most essential to be
realised at the present moment by anyone who would understand the
Egyptian of to-day. It is the one influence that practically controls
all the others that are affecting the people. The existence of the
"Nationalist" party does not in the least disprove this, nor does the
popularity of the organs of that party disprove it. The attacks upon
the English occupation so widely spread in the country, and almost as
widely applauded, have no more influence upon the people than a
"transpontine" melodrama of the old type had upon the "gods" who
roared themselves hoarse in rapturous applause of its most virtuous
sentiments. All the Arab-speaking peoples are alike in this--that
there is nothing else that can so stir their enthusiasm or so fill
them with delight as the sonorous melody of well-turned phrases and
sentences in their native tongue. If the sense of what they hear be
clear and evident, they enjoy it the more, but however dense and
impenetrable its meaning may be, the music, the rhythm and harmony of
its sounds draws their applause. So even the most illiterate of the
people will listen with keen enjoyment to a long political article of
which the meaning of all but a sentence or two is wholly beyond their
comprehension. Thus the glowing periods of the Nationalist Press find
ready applause, but awaken no echo in the hearts of the people.
Unfortunately it is only too much the same with the papers of a higher
type, and these labour under the disadvantage that, of necessity,
their articles dealing with prosaic topics do not admit of the ornate
style of their rivals. None the less it is unquestionable that it is
these papers which are exercising the greatest influence upon the
thoughts and ambitions of the people, and their influence is, as I
have said, almost wholly one for good. The great mass of the people
listen to the reading of the newspapers just as the great majority of
church-going people at home listen to sermons--as most edifying and
commendable, but as having no practical bearing upon the affairs of
life--yet, as I have already pointed out, the _Moayyad_ has been, and
is, exerting a wider and always growing influence, and is not only
teaching the people to think, but teaching them to think clearly and
well.
And now we may look for a moment at the Egyptian as an individual. To
do justice to this subject would need a volume, not a paragraph.
Fortunately the reader can turn to "Lane's Modern Egyptians," in the
pages of which he will find a wealth of detailed information needing
but little modification to bring it up to date, though it fails to
give a clear, well-defined idea of the Egyptian in his daily life. Let
me attempt to supply this deficiency, by saying that, according to his
class, the average Egyptian corresponds very closely with the average
Englishman. Roughly, the whole of the people may be divided into five
classes. First, the Ulema, the natural leaders of all the others;
secondly, the wealthy landowners and others of independent means;
thirdly, the "educated," mainly professional men and Government
servants; fourthly, the great middle class of small land and house
owners, lower grades of the Government services, merchants, and so
forth; fifthly, the working classes, including artisans, craftsmen,
labourers, and all who work for their living. Of each class a book
might be written, yet I may sum up in broad but accurate outline the
character of each by saying that it is in the main that of the same
class at home. Let me take the middle-class man. Getting through his
morning and the day's work, his one idea is to reach home. On his way
by train or tram he greets cordially his acquaintances, discusses with
them the news of the day, compares their business or official
experiences, growls at the shortcomings of the Government or the
tramways, deplores the growing cost of living, and laughs over the
latest joke or jest. Once home, he has his favourite easy-chair and
newspapers, and has an hour or so of rest with these, seasoned with
the chat of the harem as to the misdoings of the children or of the
servants, the coming of visitors, household finance, and a hundred
other topics. Then out for an hour or so to this favourite _cafe_,
where he reads the latest papers--Moslem and Christian--and has a game
or two of backgammon, all the while taking an active part in the brisk
fire of conversation going on around him. Then home again to the ease
and comfort of the harem, or possibly to entertain some visitors with
the unstinted hospitality of his race. Then supper, and then to bed.
And through all the day, at home, in his office, on his way to and
fro, if you could but follow his doings and his sayings, you would
find him in both a very close copy of the man of the same class at
home, interested in the same subjects, discussing the same matters,
laughing at the same type of jest, grumbling at the same grievances,
and withal a man anxious to please and be agreeable, and easily
pleased and conciliated. Freer than the Englishman in his amities and
friendships, ready to chat or joke with his barber or his baker, but,
like the Englishman, most at ease and enjoying himself best in his own
special circle.
And now I must hasten to a conclusion, and reply briefly to one or two
questions that my reader may possibly be inclined to ask.
What has the occupation done for the Egyptians?
It has secured them the personal freedom they so highly prize, it has
given them the liberty of getting, keeping, or spending wealth, a free
Press, a knowledge and keen appreciation of the advantages of a
properly organised Government, a clearer perception of the natural
"rights of man" and of the personal dignity of the humblest, and, as a
result of these, enlarged ambitions and aspirations, greater
independence of spirit, and a better conception of the interdependence
of each one upon his fellow-men.
Not much in mere words, but in the reality of the resulting whole an
entirely immeasurable amount of good--an amount of good no living man
can even approximately estimate, much less appreciate. Possibly some
of our children's children will be able to form some adequate
conception of its greatness. We of to-day can no more understand its
meaning than did the Barons at Runnymede understand the meaning of the
great charter they wrung from the unwilling John.
Has the occupation failed in any respect?
It has in two vitally important matters. It has not in any way
qualified the people or any class of the people to undertake the
government of the country. It has not educated the people, or done
anything whatever to ensure the permanency of the good that has been
done.
As to these failures, I do not think that any other result could have
been attained under the circumstances that have prevailed. Lord
Cromer, as a sincere well-wisher of the people and a man of advanced
liberal opinion and progressive mind, was the man of all others to
work for these things directly and openly if it had been possible for
him to do so; but it was not possible, or has only become so since the
evacuation of Fachoda. Up to that event the only possible form of
Government by which the welfare of the country and of its people could
be secured, was that which Lord Cromer adopted--a "benevolent
despotism." No other form of Government could by any conceivable
possibility have attained the results that have been attained, and
that form of Government could only attain those results when in the
hands of a man such as Lord Cromer. None the less, as Mill has said, a
benevolent despotism "is an altogether false ideal.... Evil for evil,
a good despotism, in a country at all advanced in civilisation, is
more noxious than a bad one; for it is more relaxing and enervating to
the thoughts, feelings, and energies of the people." In Egypt,
however, this effect is modified by the attachment of the people to
the Turkish Empire, by their objection to non-Moslem rulers, and by
all the unhealthy influences of which I have spoken; but while the
great mass of the people would much prefer to see the administration
of the country entirely in the hands of Mahomedans, they have
absolutely no desire for any other change in the present form of the
Government.
To-day, in spite of all that has been done, Egypt in one most vital
matter stands absolutely far behind the position it occupied when the
English occupation commenced. Then there was a governing class in the
country--a "misgoverning" class, if you will, yet a class that had
some conception of, and experience in the art of governing; a class
the members of which were accustomed to bear the responsibility of
Ministers. To-day that class, and those men, have ceased to exist.
If there had been no foreign intervention at the time of Arabi's
revolt, if the Egyptians had been left to work out their own destiny,
there would in all probability have been a long period of wild
disorder and anarchy such as followed the French evacuation. That in
its turn would have been followed by the rise of a new Mahomed Ali.
The occurrence of this sequence of events would have been absolutely
certain and inevitable, the only doubtful point being how long the
anarchy might have lasted. As it was, there was no man in the country
competent to deal with the crisis. Nor was there one in Europe.
England was the only country that had a man willing to face the task,
and he undertook it under conditions that for a long time rendered it
an almost impossible one. The success Lord Cromer has attained is the
one and only justification of the occupation as far as its initiation
is concerned. In itself the occupation was essentially a blunder.
Having been undertaken, only British pluck and resolution could save
it from disaster, and even these, without a man like Lord Cromer to
guide them, would very certainly have failed. But the Egypt of 1906 is
not the Egypt of 1882. A new revolt, could we imagine its occurrence,
would now bring a party, not an individual, into power. There is no
man in the country who could by any possible combination of favouring
circumstances establish himself as a despotic ruler. Nor is there any
one party that could seize the government of the country and hold it.
Anarchy would therefore be inevitable, yet it would not be the
helpless, hopeless anarchy of former days, but that of rival parties
with more or less definite aims and more or less stable cohesion. The
only possible salvation of the country after the departure of the
French was the rise of a despot like Mahomed Ali. The only possible
salvation it could have after a collapse of the existing system, would
be the triumph of a party, or a renewed occupation by England or some
other Power. But omitting all consideration of the latter contingency,
the rivalry of parties would be a rivalry of systems; the men engaged
in it would fight--as do those of all parties--largely and mainly for
their own interests, but they would fight under the banner of some
principle through the profession or adoption of which they would seek
the support of the people, and they would, one and all, at least
profess a standard consistent in the main with European ideas. The
struggle would be a long and exhausting one. The country and the
people would suffer heavily, but in the end the Egyptian--if left to
do so--would work out his own salvation and a strong Government, built
upon sound and healthy lines, would start a new era. Unfortunately the
one condition necessary to the attainment of this result--the
non-interference of any outside Power--this one condition would be
wanting. Hence the collapse of the British occupation would be fatal
to all the interests of the country and its people. Nor would the
withdrawal of the occupation with all adequate precautions for the
preserval of order and a capable administration be much less
disastrous, if prior to that something has not been done to qualify
the people for self-government.
Were the English to leave Egypt to-morrow the people throughout the
country would hail the evacuation as they did the evacuation of the
French, and among the most blatant in celebrating it would be those
who would be the greatest losers by the change. Step by step all the
old abuses would be renewed. Individuals and classes alike would be
powerless to stay the flood of evil. Least and last of all the
Khedive, who would be the helpless puppet of the intriguing factions
that would fasten around him. No matter how pure his intentions, how
high his aim, how great his ability; no effort, no sacrifice on his
part would avail aught, for the one condition absolutely indispensable
to enable him to follow his own inclinations or to deal with his
people as a wise or benevolent ruler, would be wanting, since that one
condition would be the utter exclusion of all European influence from
his councils. It is not, therefore, the weakness or faults of the
Egyptians themselves that would render an evacuation disastrous, but
the selfishness of Europe, the very cause that to-day ensures the
prosperity of the country. Nor does it need any supposition of lust or
greed on the part of the Powers to bring about this evil issue. The
controlling hand of the British being withdrawn, it would at once
become the imperative duty of each of the Powers to seek to
strengthen its own position in the country; and let them strive as
earnestly as they might to do so in the most honest, most generous
manner, the clashing of interests would be such that none of them
could afford to withhold what pressure it could bring to bear in its
own favour. They, like Egypt itself, would be helpless. Nothing could
enable them to avoid the wrecking of the country save the immeasurable
impossibility of a common accord for the harmonising of their rival
claims. England must remain, therefore. Not to protect her own
interests in the country itself or in the Sudan, not that she may
control the Suez Canal, nor that she may carry the Cape railway to the
shores of the Mediterranean. All these she could do without a single
soldier or official in the country. She must remain to protect the
Egyptians, or rather that they may protect themselves. She must remain
that the Powers may, as I believe they most honestly desire to do,
preserve the common accord essential to the true interests of all;
that she may the better act as their intermediary in the prevention of
discord and ensure that each may benefit in just share from its own
contribution to the general welfare.
But if the cessation of the British occupation would thus inevitably
mean disaster, unhappily its continuance is not without the
possibility of evil. As I have shown, in spite of the earnest desire
of the Egyptian people for peaceful progress, there is much
dissatisfaction in the country. It amounts to-day to nothing more than
a want of harmony, but a Government that has not the confidence and
goodwill of the people it rules is like a seaman sailing into unknown
ports, ever liable to encounter unforeseen and unforeseeable dangers.
Apart from all other possibilities, and they are many, the continuance
of the occupation under a man less able than Lord Cromer to cope with
all the difficulties of the position might easily lead to endless
troubles. With a weak, rash, or obstinate man in Lord Cromer's
position, and an able diplomat, with a knowledge of Eastern ways, in
one of the other consulates, no one could foretell what the result
might be. England will, therefore, not have fulfilled her duty to the
Egyptians or to herself until she has taught the people to govern
themselves. That she may do this the people, not a class or section,
but the whole body of the people must be educated. There are some
among the Egyptians who have seen this, and there is strong reason to
believe that their views will ultimately prevail. Meanwhile schools
are being established throughout the country at the expense of private
individuals, and if they are marked by an anti-English bias, however
regrettable this may be, I am afraid it is but a natural result of the
existing conditions.
It must not be forgotten that the Government of Egypt to-day is
exactly the same in form and principle as that which existed before
the occupation. The Administration has been organised on sound lines,
but the Government is still that of an autocrat ruling through agents
responsible to him, and to him alone. In other words, it is
absolutely the worst form of government conceivable; the most
unstable, the most liable to disaster and calamity of every kind. As
Mill has said, the one of all others most tending to the degradation
of the people. So far, under the benign sway of Lord Cromer, it has
proved a beneficent institution, but that has been the accident, not
the property of its form, and as an accident it has been wholly
dependent upon the extraordinary combination of high abilities, and,
even more, the self-sacrificing zeal of Lord Cromer. Since the days of
the Caliphs no man that has ruled the land has ever had such absolute
power as Lord Cromer has had. With all the might of England to depend
upon, he has known how to secure the sanction of all Europe for his
work. Happily for Egypt and the Egyptians, he has sedulously sought to
use the unlimited power he has thus commanded solely for their good.
But it must be granted that, vast as has been the good he has wrought,
his task is incomplete, and must for ever remain so until the
Government of the country has been placed upon a footing that will
ensure the stability now wholly lacking.
* * * * *
The preceding pages were already in type when Egypt and Europe alike
were startled by the wholly unexpected announcement of Lord Cromer's
resignation.
For five-and-twenty years he had guided and shaped the destiny of the
country, and by steady, patient, self-sacrificing labour had brought
it from a condition of desperate disaster to one of stable prosperity
such as but few countries enjoy and none other has ever attained in
such a brief period of time. From first to last during those long
years of indefatigable effort he has striven to exercise the powers
entrusted to him with the most absolute impartiality and justice
towards all the many conflicting interests with which he has had to
deal, and all the nations of Europe have borne voluntary and ample
testimony to their appreciation of his services in this respect. Yet,
as was but just, in doing this he never for a moment forgot that the
most even-handed justice demanded that the Egyptians were in all cases
entitled to a preference wherever their interests and those of other
peoples in any way clashed. So markedly was this the governing
principle upon which he acted that "Cromer's pets" has long been in
Egypt a synonym for the "Egyptians." The mere knowledge that this has
been so has been one of the factors most potent for the welfare of the
people, and has been sufficient in itself to prevent a host of little
evils that would otherwise have tended to mar the perfection of his
work. Without ever deviating in the smallest particular from what
rigid justice might have dictated, Lord Cromer might have enhanced his
popularity with the European colonists in Egypt and with their
Governments in Europe, but he has never wavered or hesitated for a
moment in giving to Egypt and the Egyptians the first and strongest
claim wherever and whenever there has been a conflict of interests, or
wherever and whenever a concession to the interests of others might
even only possibly have a liability to injure or trespass upon those
of the Egyptians. And what is the return that this people have offered
him? Guided by men whose influence in the country is wholly an
influence for evil, they have largely refused to join in any
expression of thanks to Lord Cromer for his long and brilliant
services.
It has been my object in writing this book to endeavour to promote
friendship and goodwill between Englishmen and Egyptians. I have tried
to bring into prominence the good points that I believe the Egyptian
to possess. For twelve years I have been an open advocate of an
autonomous government for Egypt, and I still believe that it is only
under such a government that the interests of the country and its
people can be ultimately secured, but, much as it may grieve my
Egyptian friends, I do not hesitate to say that their action in this
matter, apart from all else or anything else, demonstrates in the most
absolute manner the fact that they are not yet fit for self-government.
The very first qualification for a people who desire to govern
themselves is that they should be competent to weigh and value the
services of the men in whose hands the administration of the country
is placed or to be placed. A people who can see nothing in the
services of Lord Cromer worthy of their thanks are utterly incapable
of forming any accurate or reliable judgment upon the choice of
administrators, and therefore unfit for and incapable of self-government.
There is no room for doubt or discussion on the subject. I have
pointed out in the course of this work that the Egyptians have some
reason to be dissatisfied with various features of the occupation. For
these, as I have said, I do not think that either Lord Cromer or the
Government can be justly blamed. They are almost all the inevitable
incidents of the effort to plant Occidental civilisation in an
Oriental country. But neither these nor anything that has occurred can
in any way derogate from the fact that has been the most salient point
in the whole history of Lord Cromer's administration--that he has
persistently and consistently, in season and out of season, laboured
unceasingly with a single eye to the benefit of the Egyptians. If the
Egyptians are unable to see that this has been so, they are unable to
estimate the services of any administrator, and therefore unfit to
govern themselves.
Lord Cromer has himself been all through a steady advocate of an
autonomous government for Egypt, but he has seen that such a
government can, in the interests of the Egyptians themselves, as well
as in the interests of Europe, only be granted when, by the
self-education of the people, they shall have fitted themselves for
the task. I say self-education advisedly, for it is only by
self-education that the Egyptians or any other people can ever qualify
themselves to guide their own destinies. As I have said on a previous
page, I believe that if left to themselves the Egyptians could and
would work out a sound form of government for themselves, but the most
essential feature in the question of the future of Egypt is this--that
whoever undertakes to govern Egypt, whether the Egyptians themselves
or any other people, the government of the country must be one that
can and will govern it, not only with sufficient care and regard for
the interests of the people, but, with equal care and regard for the
interests of the European colonists and the other European interests
involved. It is the inability of Mr. Dicey and the other critics of
Lord Cromer to see this that stamps their writings and arguments with
futility. "Egypt for the Egyptians" in any literal interpretation of
the phrase is an idle dream. It is no more possible of realisation
than would be a cry of "the ocean for England."
It is, I think, Lord Cromer's belief that in time, if he would once
set himself the task of learning to govern on sound and healthy lines,
the Egyptian would become qualified to take charge of the destinies of
his country. If that time does not arrive it will be the fault of the
Egyptian himself. It is not England only but all Europe is ready and
willing to aid him in learning. No other people has ever had anything
like the same opportunity of self-advancement, and keenly as I
sympathise with them, warmly as I appreciate their good qualities, I
am assured that if they do not attain self-government the fault will
be their own and their own only. If they elect to be domineered over
by the Anti-Islamic "Nationalist" party, and to be false to their
country, their religion, and themselves, the fault is theirs, and it
is they who must bear the consequences.
The official statement that the administration is to be carried on by
Lord Cromer's successor in the same spirit and on the same lines as
those Lord Cromer has followed is the best guarantee that the
Egyptians or European nations interested in the country could have
that the magnificent work he has accomplished is not to be lost.
Years ago, in India, an engineer was busy putting the last finishing
touches to a great undertaking that had cost him years of thought and
labour. The success of his work seemed almost secured when the rising
floods of the rainy season, seizing on a weak and unprotected point,
threatened to wreck the whole. I trust I may never again behold such
awful agony of mind as that which almost crushed the unhappy man as he
gazed upon the roaring rush of the ruthless flood, slowly, surely
destroying the very foundations of his work.
Assuredly it would be a calamity of untold magnitude were the vastly
greater work of Lord Cromer to be imperilled for want of any
reasonable precaution!
Index
Abbass Pacha, 290
Agitation in Egypt, 369
Aim of all men the same, 186
Alexandria, English fleet at, in 1798, 11
Nelson arrives at, 37
Ali Bey, Sultan of Egypt, 46
_Al Moayyad_, Arabic newspaper, 321, 337
teaching the people to think, 384
Ambition, Egyptians regard it as folly, 183
"Amnesty" as interpreted by the French, 240
Anniversary of French Republic at Cairo, 155
Anti-Egyptian and Anti-Islamic party in Egypt, 379
Anti-English feeling of European colonists, 306
Arab and Egyptian character contrasted, 41
Arab Caliphate, Desire for, 33
Arabic language, Egyptians and the, 132, 384
Press in Egypt, 326
Arab invasion, Effect of, 28
Arabi's revolt, 389
"Are they not our people?", 232, 237
Armenians allied to European races, 18
and the Boer War, 327
Author, A famous Egyptian, 180
Author's aim, _Preface_, 396
criticisms of the French, 271, 272
Azhar University defiled by the French, The, 170
Bacchanalian festival at Cairo, A, 219
Balloon at Cairo, 174
Battle of Embabeh, or the Pyramids, 90
Matarieh, 225
Shebriss, 86
the Nile, 138
Bedouins, Character of the, 80
plunder Egyptian fugitives, 102
Bekir Pacha, Governor of Cairo, 48, 62
"Benevolences" in Egypt, 113
Berbereens, Character of, 373
Bey, Value of the title, 49
Bigotry of the Egyptians, Alleged, 249
Birket el Feel, quarter of Cairo, 63, 166
Birthday of the Prophet at Cairo, 140
Bishop Horsley on the rights of the people, 115
Boer War, opinions in Egypt, 327
Bonaparte and the Egyptians, 71, 130, 144
at Alexandria, 42, 64
character of, 217
claims to be inspired, 197
fails to learn the lesson of the revolt, 170
has a narrow escape, 154
leaves Egypt, 219
Luther greater than, 178
the "Great,", 285
"with his stockings half-down,", 286
yields to the opposition of the people, 144
Bonaparte's best deed for Egypt, 187
blundering, 144-148, 265
dream of an Eastern Empire, 109
erroneous conception of the people, 71
failure to understand the Egyptians, 144
massacre of his prisoners, 206
policy of cake or cane, 139
proclamation, 68
offensive to Moslems, 77
professed friendship for Islam, 69
suppression of free speech, 138
triumphal entry into Cairo, 218
Boulac besieged by the French, 229
Fall of, 232
the port of Cairo, 95
Bribery in Egypt, 40
British and Moslems, Friendship between, _Preface_
Government, Folly of, 223
_see_ English
Brotherhood of mankind, 15
Brutality of English laws in 1798, 241
Brutal sentence, A, 262
Cadi, or Chief of the Ulema, 160
Cairenes, Character of, 10
and French, Mutual satisfaction of, 107
a stiffnecked people, 168
attack the Cadi's house, 160
plundered by Bedouins, 102
resist the Mamaluk Beys, 113
their "baptism of fire,", 169
Cairo, a city of ineffable sadness, 290
Disorder in, 129
Improvements in, 9
in 1798 safer than London, 128
Lighting of streets in, 131
night in the old town, 9
Panic in, 98
in time of Mamaluks, 97
Reform of weights and measures in, 181
Cap of Liberty in Cairo, The, 155
Character of Egyptians,
_see_ Egyptian
Christian Missions, 353
protection of vice, 269
slaves in Africa, 50
Christians and European civilisation, Eastern, 213
better off than the Moslems, 245
defended by Moslems, 62, 227, 245
Christians in Cairo, Evil influence of, 199
Treatment of, by Moslems, 137
Two classes of, 58
join Moslems in opposing French reforms, 158
less oppressed than the Moslems, 200
of Cairo and the French, 201
Offensive conduct of, 137, 202
responsible for the sufferings of the Moslems, 247
Christ's philosophy, 192
Church of Rome, Credulity in, 178
Civilisation and Empire, incompatible aims, 273
Eastern views of, 213
Egyptian view of, 195
in 1798, 148
The highest, 380
True, 196
won with blood and tears, 215
Cockade in Egypt, The French, 67, 142
Gabarty on the wearing of the, 144
Commune in Paris, 58
Condition of Egyptians before the French invasion, 27
Copts, or native Christians of Egypt, The, 59
and Moslem Egyptians of same race, 59, 124
Causes affecting the character of, 124
their superiority to Moslem Egyptians, 124
Corruption in Egypt, Official, 304
Corsairs of the Barbary coast, 50
Council of State at Cairo,
_see_ Dewan
Credulity, Egyptian and European 177, 178
Creeds, Influence of, 201
Cromer,
_see_ Lord Cromer
"Cromer's pets," 395
Crusades, Traditions of the, in Egypt, 49
"Custom of the East, The," a false excuse, 240
Cutting of the Khalig, ceremony at Cairo, 140, 219
Daily life of the Egyptians, 385
Dawn of the Modern period, 34, 271
Demagogues in the East, 252
Denshawi incident, The, 374
Dervishes, or "Monks of Islam," 96
Despotism, Mill on a benevolent, 388
Dewan, or Council of State, 43, 48, 133
Last official act of the Mamaluk, 63
of Cairo suspended and reformed, 157
reformed a second time, 197
revived by General Menou, 264
Discipline, glorious and inglorious, 206
Discontent in Cairo under the French, 135
Dress, The healthiest, in the East, 214
Dupuy, Death of General, 165
East, The glamour of the, 20
Eastern Christians and European civilisation, 214
ideas of justice and mercy, 253
Eastern peoples chiefly divided by their religions, 256
Easterns are led, not driven, 252
Education in Egypt, 350
Eed, The, or day of sacrifice, 207
Egypt and the Powers, 391
Condition of, in 1798, 46
Foreign rulers of, 23
in 1906 and 1882, compared, 389
"for the Egyptians,", 398
Egyptian, A brilliant, scholar, 180
and Arab character contrasted, 41
adaptability, 151
a mystery to Europeans, 17
anxious to please and easily pleased, 386
credulity, 177
desire for peaceful progress, 383
"Fatalism,", 112, 124
faults and failings, _Preface_
fond of novelties, 175
gratitude, 242, 334
greatly misunderstood, _Preface_
hero-worship, 189
incapacity for self-government, 111, 396
impulsiveness, 83
"Ingratitude,", 185, 263
lack of initiative, 363
lax in their religion, 163, 249
love of freedom, 123, 344
loyalty, 263, 345
to the Sultan and Islam, 30, 32, 72
misunderstood by Bonaparte, 144
national character not yet formed, 312
naturally honest, 85
not always tactless, 104
not bigoted, 151
reticence, 301
self-control, 372, 380
undergoing change, 382
wrongly accused, 243
The, as an individual, 385
The, historian Gabarty,
_see_ Gabarty
history, The most interesting century in, 13
Six great landmarks of, 25
Three periods of, 22
idea of civilisation, 195
idea of freedom and liberty, 123, 145, 344
ignorance of other countries, 34
indifference to the invasion of Syria, 205
standard of good and evil, 212
reasoning illustrated, 39
mosques monuments of shame, not of glory, 23
newspapers, 376, 382
opinion of England's duty in Egypt, 359
of Bonaparte's government, 184
of Bonaparte's proclamation, 69
of the French, 195
of English, how formed, 298, 300
Egyptians accustomed to free speech, 139
allied to Asiatic peoples, 18
Causes affecting the character of, 117, 378
and French after the revolt, 171
and the Boer War, 327
and their rulers, 73
ask for Mamaluks as officials, 133
begin to have a political existence, 28
compared with the Anglo-Saxons, 115
to Scotch Sabbatarians, 353
Condition of, compared with that of French and English, 116
their grievances under the Mamaluks, 145
in 1798 better than that of the English, 115
under the Arabs, 30
Mamaluks, 73, 145
Pharaohs, 27
Turks, 31
oppressed by Christians, 247
difficulty in understanding Englishmen, 361
distrustful of the English, 12
divided in opinion, 382
five classes of, 385
Tourists' opinions of, 18
uninfluenced by those of former times, Modern, 25
Empire and civilisation incompatible aims, 273
Links between ancient and modern, 22
Philosophy of the, 192
their attitude towards the French, 84
their conversion to Islam, 28
their sufferings due to Christians, 247
tortured by the French, 130
England's best gift to Egypt, 334
duty to Egypt, 393
strength in the East, 302
English
and French rivalry, Effect of, 35
and Islam, 381
approaching Islamic ideals, 196
aristocracy, Decay of the, 349
cads, Evil influence of, 347
Empire-makers, 347
Government in 1798, 273
must remain in Egypt, 392
occupation, Newspaper attacks on, 383
self-sufficiency, 151
taxpayer's most costly luxury, 350
Unpopularity of the, 347
Englishmen imperfectly understood by Egyptians, 361
in Egypt in 179, 34
Europe and the East, 274
of to-day and of a century ago, 241
European and Egyptian cannot coalesce, 186
and Oriental thought, 17
civilisation in the East, Hall-mark of, 270
colonists in Egypt, Anti-English feeling of, 306
credulity, 177
fear of epidemics, 208
may study Orientals, How a, 19
ignorance of life in the East, 150
kindness and Egyptian gratitude, 242
misconception of Egyptians, 319
soldier in 1798, The, 108
vice in Cairo, 128
Europeans in Egypt, Influence of, 318
Europeans, slaves to Moslem masters, 50
"Even-handed Justice,", 258
Evil-doing cannot be justified, 240
Fachoda, Capt. Marchand at, 294
"Faithless French, The," a Turkish phrase, 152
Fanaticism of Egyptians, Alleged, 30, 249
at Cairo and in Europe, 57
due to spiritual leaders of the peoples, 61
taught to Moslems by Christian missionaries, 354
"Fatalism" in Egypt, 112, 124
Franks or European Christians in Egypt, The, 59
"Fraternity" in Egypt, 199
French and Cairenes, mutual satisfaction of, 107
in Egypt, 35
and Mamaluk rule compared, 275
and the Egyptian Christians, The, 201
Arrival of the, 42
Attitude of the people towards the, 70
Author's criticisms of, 271
Condition of, compared with that of the Egyptians, 116
destroy public buildings in Cairo, 157
distrusted by the people, 78
enter Cairo, 107
experts with Bonaparte, 134
invasion, the starting-point of the modern period, 24
Influence of the, 36
leave Egypt, 267
occupation, cause of its failure, 273
Effect of, upon trade, 203
Evil effects of, 267
Good effects of, 270
"Most important event" during, 209
opinion of Egyptians, 71
relations with Ireland and India, 37
welcomed by the Christians of Cairo, 136
Frenchmen in Egypt in 1798, 34
of high ideals, 270
Friendship between British and Moslems, _Preface_, 380
Gabarty, Egyptian historian, 96, 181
censures the Mahomedans, 96, 221
character of his history, 209
personal character, 179, 181
his criticisms of Moslems and Christians, 96, 99, 221, 246
origin and family, 180
on the wearing of the cockade, 144
praises the French, 175
Gates of the Harahs in Cairo, 135
Gordon riots in London, 57
Governing class in Egypt extinct, 389
Government by force, 251
of Egypt in 1798, 42
Governor of Cairo, 45
Greeks and the English occupation, 306
Haeckel and the Monists, 15
Hall-mark of European civilisation, 270
"Handyman, The," training of, 364
Hero of civilisation, The great, 217
Hero-worship of the Egyptians, 189
Hindoos and their gods, 189
Historians, Admissions of, 248
Mistakes of the, 213, 243
of Egypt, 268
perplexed by Mahomed Ali, 284
by the Copts, 124
History, Character of true, 15
Most interesting century in Egyptian, 13
of Egypt, Early, 12
Two kinds of, 27
Unity of, 13
Honest man, The, 270
men and rogues, 85
Horsley on the rights of the people, Bishop, 115
Humanity, The lowest type of, 193
Ibrahim Bey, Governor of Cairo, 46, 54, 93
protects the Christians, 63
Ideals, English and Oriental, 258
Influence of, 196, 201
Indian peoples incapable of self-government, 112
Moslems' loyalty to the Sultan, 32
sepoys in Egypt, 267
Influence of French occupation upon the English occupation, 267
"Ingratitude" of the Egyptians, 185, 272
Inventor, A famous Egyptian, 180
Irish rebels, Pursuit of, 57
Islam, Despotism in, 78
favourable to freedom, 30
Fidelity of Egyptians to, 30, 33
inconsistent with radicalism, 379
Progressive thought natural to, 144
Democratic spirit of, 77
teaches self-respect, 200
Islamic ideals being approached by England, 196
spirit affects the Egyptians less than other peoples, 29
Ismail Pacha, 292
Jaffa, Massacre by the French at, 206
Jews, Character of the, 126
in Cairo, 249
join the Moslems in opposing French reforms, 158
Journalism of to-day, 323
Justice and Mercy, Eastern idea of, 253
Even-handed, 258
under the French and the Mamaluks, 198
Kasr el Aini Hospital, 48
Khedive, difficulty of his position, The, 391
Kleber succeeds Bonaparte, General, 220
Assassination of, 259
Knowledge in Egypt, Spread of, 356
Koran, the "Word of God," The, 77, 258
Korbag, its use in Egypt, 123
Laboratory at Cairo, French, 176
Law of retaliation, Moslem, 257
Leaders of the people, 252
Legislative Council of Egypt, 28
Liberty, Egyptian ideas of, 123, 145, 344
"Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity,", 130, 197, 243
of Press in Egypt, 330
Library at Cairo, French, 175
in Cairo founded by an Egyptian, 181
Lighting of London and Cairo in 1798, 131, 132
Links between the Egyptians of the present and past, 22
London, Safety in Cairo and in, 128
Lord Cromer and the Press, 330
Attack on, 376
a well-wisher of the people, 387
Egyptian Press on, 376
his devotion to the Egyptians, 395
his "pets,", 395
his resignation, 394
his work incomplete, 394
Loyalty of Mohamedans to the Sultan, 281
of Cairenes to their treaties, 235
Luther greater than Bonaparte, 178
Lying policy, The price of a, 285
Mahars and Mangs of India, 14
Mahomed Ali, an Arnout, 283
and his successors, 275
their influence on the people, 311
Death of, 289
essentially a European, 315
his early history, 277
impoverishes the people, 288
his tomb, 290
the "Great," 285
Mamaluk and French role compared, 275
Beys, their contempt for Europeans, 50
their loyalty to the Sultan, 52
Mamaluks, better than the French for the Egyptians, 184
Character of, 44, 126
and the Egyptians, The, 251
Marchand at Fachoda, Captain, 294
effect of his withdrawal, 307
Massacre by Bonaparte at Jaffa, 206, 285
of Christians proposed at Cairo, 56
opposed by Egyptians, 82
ordered, 226
of Jews in Russia, 58
of the Mamaluks, 285
Mecca, The pilgrimage to, 209
Menchawi Pacha, Trial of, 365
Mercy and Justice, Eastern ideas of, 253
Methodists' anxiety for salvation, 200
"Ministers" and "Advisers,", 363
Miracle, A modern, 178
Moayyad newspaper, The,
_see Al Moayyad_
Mokattam newspaper, The, 336
"Monks of Islam,", 96
Morality, European and Oriental ideas of, 269
Moslem and Christian persecutions contrasted, 61
distrust of European friendship, 322
to the Sultan, 281
"pride,", 200
sentiment outraged, 266
Moslem treatment of Christians in Cairo, 244
Moslems and Copts of Egypt of the same race, 124
in Egypt more oppressed than Christians, 200
protect Christians, 62, 227, 245
Mosques destroyed by the French, 157
Murad Bey, his character, 54
Military Chief of the Mamaluks, 46
Music, Effect of Arab, on the people, 96
National character, Effect of circumstances on, 16
"Nationalist" party, 378, 383
Negroes and their leaders, 253
Nelson at Alexandria, 37
New era, Birthday of the, 309
Newspaper attacks on the English occupation, 383
Newspapers, Influence of Arabic, 384
"No Popery" riots in London, 57
Object of this book, _Preface_, 21, 396
Occupation, Good done by the English, 386-7
Official corruption, 304
Officials in Egypt, Minor, 302
Training of, 365
Oriental and European thought, 17
Orientals capable of high education, 18
Orientals' difficulty in understanding Europeans, 18
Panics in Europe and elsewhere, 100
Pan-Islamism, 324
Pan-Islamism the true interest of the Moslem world, _Preface_
Peace, The people of Cairo refuse, 232
price of, 237
without honour, 197
Persian deserts, The villagers of the, 13
Pharaohs, Egypt under the, 27
Philosophy, Christ's, the philosophy of the East, 192
Pilgrimage to Mecca, The, 209
Pitiable "Greatness,", 287
Plague in Cairo, 156, 208
Police, An infamous Chief of, 260
Policy, Price of a lying, 285
Politeness has a limit, Egyptian, 142
Popular science in 1798, 176
Poverty in Egypt and in India, 129
in England and the East, 122
Prayer, An omitted, 207
Precision, French love of and Egyptian dislike to, 131
Pro-English Press, 369, 371, 374-5
Progress, a flight from evil, 215
The great hindrance to, 318
Progressive thought in Islam, 144
Prosperity of Egypt under Said Pacha, 292
Radicalism inconsistent with Islam, 379
Ramadan, Fast of, 205
Reform of weights and measures in Cairo, 181
Reforms, French, opposed by Moslems, Christians, and Jews, 158
how regarded by the Egyptians, 145
in Cairo under Bonaparte, 130
Reign of Terror in France, 58
Religion the chief division among Orientals, 256
Representative government not desired by the people of Egypt, 357
Retaliation, The Moslem law of, 257
Revolt of the Cairenes, 165
"Rights of Man, The," in Cairo, 155
Rise of the Nile feast in Cairo, The, 140, 219
Rogues and honest men, 85
Ruskin's parable of the children, 191
Said Pacha, 291
Sayed Mahomed Kerim, Governor of Alexandria, 40
Execution of, 146
Sayeds or Shereefs, Respect paid to, by Mahomedans, 40
Scotch Sabbatarians, Egyptians compared to, 353
Servants in Egypt, Character of, 373
Sheikh Ali Youssef, 331
Siege of Cairo, 217, 229
Slaves, Christian, in Africa, 50
Statesman's first study, 265
Sultan and the Ulema, 281
Moslem loyalty to, 281
Survival of the unfittest, 189
Syria, French invasion of, 204, 217
Syrians accuse Moslems falsely, 204
Tabah, the incident, 369
Telescope of the Egyptians, Mental, 39
Tewfick Pacha, 293
Tombs destroyed by the French, 157
Torture in Cairo under the French, 130, 240, 260
Tourists' opinions of Easterns, 18
Training of officials, 365
Treasures that are ours for eternity, 192
Turkish army arrives from Syria, 220
conquest, Effects of, 31
estimate of the French, 152
Turks in Cairo, Outrageous conduct of, 222, 276
Tyranny, Bonaparte's petty, 140
in England, France, and Egypt, 117
of Turkish troops, 222
of the French in Egypt, 244, 264
Ulema, The, advocates of the people's rights, 116, 357
and the Sultan, 281
authority of, 356
beneficial influence of, 357
Bonaparte's treatment of, 149
character of, 50
intercede for peace, 168
their relations to the people, 51
to the Mamaluks, 52
the term defined, 50
the true representatives of the people, 356
Ungrateful people, An, 259
Vice in Cairo under Consular protection, 128
Open, in Moslem lands under Christian protection, 269
Wine-shops in Cairo, 137
Zikrs, religious chanting so called, 141
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Transcriber's note:
Archaic spelling and variations in spelling and hyphenation have been
retained except in obvious cases of typographical error.
Page 244: (And all this was done to "Our people" in virtue of the
"Amnesty"). The closing quotation mark after 'people' has been
supplied by the transcriber.
Page 405: Index item--Englishmen imperfectly understood by Egyptians,
361 in Egypt in 179 , 34.
There appears to be a digit missing after 179.