The Khedive is like his grandfather in many things, and is not easily thwarted when he has made up his mind to anything. He is a liberal ruler, and believes in the enterprise and progress of the Occident, rather than in the slow coach system of the Orient. Though a Mohammedan he is no bigot, as is shown by the perfect freedom accorded to all religions, and by his personal gift of land to any Christian society that wishes to build a church.
He has a difficult position to occupy, as he is a Mohammedan and ruler of Mohammedans; when he comes in contact with any of the prerogatives of the religion, he is obliged to devise a course that shall keep the religion inviolate. For example he wishes to abolish slavery and to destroy the slave trade, but here he comes in contact with the Koran, which permits the ownership of human property.
He sends an army into the regions of the Upper Nile, and destroys the business of kidnapping and the importation of slaves; he cannot liberate the slaves now held in Egypt, but he orders that when a slave runs away the machinery of the law shall not be used for his recapture. Any slave in Cairo may run away, and be safe from arrest; owners and slaves are aware of this state of things, and consequently the owners treat their slaves so well that they are not inclined to run away. I was told that slaves were generally better treated than free laborers. This state of affairs was not unknown in some parts of our own border states previous to our civil war.
As an illustration of the power of the Khedive over his subjects, I will mention an incident which was narrated to me.
When the Empress Eugenie was in Egypt she expressed a desire to witness an Egyptian wedding. The Khedive summoned an officer of his staff, and told him to be ready to be married the next day.
One of the ladies attached to the harem was designated as the bride, and the wedding came off in grand style, to the delight of the Empress and of all concerned. His Highness paid the bills and set up the couple in good style, including the present of a house, where the Empress paid them a congratulatory visit.
An Arab school is a curiosity. The pupils study their lessons aloud, and make the place about as noisy as a political meeting, and how they can learn, any thing is a surprise to a person from the Occident, where silence is considered desirable in a school-room.
I looked repeatedly into these schools, and generally