‘It certainly should be stopped.’
‘What amuses me most in this affair,’ continued Fakredeen, ‘is the cool way in which this Englishman comes to us for our assistance. First, he is at Canobia, then at Gindarics; we are to do the business, and Syria is spoken of as if it were nothing. Now the fact is, Syria is the only practical feature of the case. There is no doubt that, if we were all agreed, if Lebanon and the Ansarey were to unite, we could clear Syria of the Turks, conquer the plain, and carry the whole coast in a campaign, and no one would ever interfere to disturb us. Why should they? The Turks could not, and the natives of Fran-guestan would not. Leave me to manage them. There is nothing in the world I so revel in as hocus-sing Guizot and Aberdeen. You never heard of Guizot and Aberdeen? They are the two Reis Effendis of the King of the French and the Queen of the English. I sent them an archbishop last year, one of my fellows, Archbishop Murad, who led them a pretty dance. They nearly made me King of the Lebanon, to put an end to disturbances which never existed except in the venerable Murad’s representations.’
‘These are strange things! Has she charms, this Jewess? Very beautiful, I suppose?’
‘The Englishman vows so; he is always raving of her; talks of her in his sleep.’
‘As you say, it would indeed be strange to draw our sabres for a Jewess. Is she dark or fair?’
‘I think, when he writes verses to her, he always calls her a moon or a star; that smacks nocturnal and somewhat sombre.’
‘I detest the Jews; but I have heard their women are beautiful.’
‘We will banish them all from our kingdom of Syria,’ said Fakredeen, looking at Astarte earnestly.
‘Why, if we are to make a struggle, it should be for something. There have been Syrian kingdoms.’
‘And shall be, beauteous Queen, and you shall rule them. I believe now the dream of my life will be realised.’