‘Ah, noble Emir, these are questions of the high diplomacy. They cannot be treated unless by the cabinets which have traditions.’
‘I could settle the Eastern question in a month, if I were disposed,’ said Fakredeen.
Mr. Consul-General Laurella smiled superciliously, and then said, ‘But the question is, what is the Eastern question?’
‘For my part,’ said Hillel Besso, in a most epigrammatic manner, ‘I do not see the use of settling anything.’
‘The Eastern question is, who shall govern the Mediterranean?’ said the Emir. ‘There are only two powers who can do it: Egypt and Syria. As for the English, the Russians, the Franks, your friends the Austrians, they are strangers. They come, and they will go; but Syria and Egypt will always remain.’
‘Egypt has tried, and failed.’
‘Then let Syria try, and succeed.’
‘Do you visit Egypt before you return from the East, noble sir?’ asked Besso, of Tancred.
‘I have not thought of my return; but I should not be sorry to visit Egypt. It is a country that rather perplexes us in Europe. It has undergone great changes.’
Besso shook his head, and slightly smiled.