now has the blessing of your government: in Ethiopia he was the emblem of eternity; in the country of the Roumi he was the effigy of health: amongst the people of the Yahoudi he was the object of idolatry: in all times he has been worshipped for his wisdom; and even now he has given a new proof of his sagacity. He says, there is one man in El Masr, who deserves to be called a Moslem; and that man is Mohammed Ali: and there was one woman who stood in his presence within this hour, and she deserved to die, because she was an impostor.

"Wallah el nebi !' cried the Pacha; it is a brave serpent, and it speaks wisely it would be a downright shame to bastinade the owner of so inspired a reptile. Go, kafir, and buy a new bag for it to dwell in.'

A hundred piastres were put into my hand,

and I was thrust out of the palace.

CHAPTER XVI.

I mean to write a book in prose,
And print it too, as I propose,
In quarto, with a long description
Of things outlandish and Egyptian,
Concerning consuls; it shall be
Called "Dogberry's Grand Jubilee,"
Or "Man dressed in a little brief
Authority" run mad; each leaf
Shall have a sketch quite Asiatic,

In Cruikshank's manner most emphatic.
The Barbaresque.

"I returned to Damiat to disinter the wealth which had been collected by the industry of my poor companion; and the only consolation I had for her loss was the reflexion that the dissolution of our partnership was followed by no division of the profits—I pocketed all.

66

During my residence in El Masr, having associated much with the dissolute infidels of

that place, I picked up a tolerable knowledge

of Italian, which I now resolved to turn to acThe Levantine rayahs, you are aware,

count.

are the consuls for the Christian nations in Damiat. The one who represented the French was in want of a dragoman, and he was in want of money, and he was very willing to give the office to a man who had a dozen purses to lend him. I became a dragoman, and in a little time I was plunged in a labyrinth of intrigue and jealousy, such as I never heard, read, or dreamt of, before I became an interpreter to a Christian consul. There were four giaours of them, English, French, Austrian, and Russian; they were all at war, and would have willingly cut the throats of one another, to have shown their respect for their different bandieras. The consul who had most flags on his house top, had the most honour; a consul of three flags took precedence of one who had only two; and he who had only one, moved heaven and earth together, to purchase a new bandierae.

"The warfare of the four great powers kept the unfortunate governor in perpetual perplexity; the animosity between the French and

the English had been the most violent of all, and the most fatal in its

consequences.

"At the period of my entering into the service of the French, my master had just lost his Levantine secretary, who was supposed to have been poisoned by the Greek who filled the office of grammatikos to the English.

"My predecessor was in prison for splitting open the head of the Janissary of our antago nist; in short, the servants were so involved in the quarrels of their masters, that it was impossible, in any part of the Turkish empire, to have had a livelier sentiment of the insecurity of human life.

of

"A few days after my commencing the duties

my office, I was summoned to the divan of the consul. I found all his kinsmen and "subjects" collected round him, with looks of such importance, that I had very little doubt but that the news of a revolution had arrived, or that a war was on the eve of breaking out between the sultan and the infidels.

"Yes,' said the consul, as I entered the room, in a slow and solemn voice, to-morrow

will be a day the most eventful that ever dawned on the interests of our bandiera: to-morrow will decide the important question, whether the snow-white flag of France, or the detestable jack of Britain, is to triumph in Damiat ; to-morrow, my friends and subjects, will settle the awful question of precedence between France and England, at the divan of the governor.

Come forward, Zadig,' he continued, and give your opinion on this momentous subject; much will depend on you. Were it only possible for you to keep the grammatikos out of the way, during the ceremony, our success would be certain. You must know, Zadig, that the Russian consul (confusion to his flag!) has lately purchased a new bandiera from the consul general of Spain, who represents his nation in Scanderia; and to-morrow is the day for reading the firman in the presence of the governor; for firing the one-and-twenty guns, and dressing the flag staffs of the different consulates. We are all to assemble at the governor's divan at noon; and the grand question to be decided is, which of us is entitled to the