“First of all he was made to put on different clothing, which felt tight and uncomfortable, and was not nearly so nice to look at as his Egyptian clothes. He was no longer allowed to bow, with his arms crossed upon his breast, when he wished to show his respect to any one. Instead he was taught to raise his large black felt hat with one hand, and make a slight obeisance. He was not allowed to sit cross-legged upon a cushion, as is the pleasant custom in the East, but was made to sit upon a high-legged chair and let his legs hang down. The mode of eating, too, was most trying, for everything he put into his mouth had to be conveyed there by means of a steel fork.
“The doctor was a stern and cruel man who gave the boy no peace. If he forgot and said to a visitor: ‘Salem aleicum,’ he had a good beating, for he had been taught to say: ‘Votre serviteur.’ He was not allowed to speak or write in his own language, and he might even have forgotten his native tongue had it not been for a man who lived in that town, and who was very kind to him.
“This man was very learned and understood a great many Eastern languages, Arabic, Persian, Coptic, and even Chinese, and made a great deal of money by teaching them to other people. He invited Almansor to visit him several times a week, gave him fruit and cakes, and made him feel very much at home. He was a most extraordinary old man, for he ordered clothes for Almansor such as high-class people in Egypt wear, and kept them in a certain room in his house. When Almansor came to visit him he was sent to this room, with a servant, who helped him to dress himself in these garments, and then he was taken into what was called ‘The Arabian Hall.’
“This hall was decorated with palms, cedars and all sorts of flowers that grow in Eastern countries. Persian carpets were laid on the floors, and cushions were placed against the walls, but there was no sign of a chair or table. The old professor was seated upon one of the cushions, but he was dressed quite differently to his usual attire. He wore a Turkish turban on his head, a false grey beard that reached to his waist. On his legs he had wide Turkish trousers, and besides this he had a robe made from a brocaded dressing gown, and yellow slippers.
“Although he was of a very peaceable nature, he wore a Turkish sabre, and had a dagger, set with imitation jewels, thrust into his girdle. He smoked a pipe with a stem at least four feet in length, and was waited upon by servants clad in Eastern attire, with hands and faces coloured dark brown.
“At first Almansor only thought how very curious it all was, but after a while he began to think of what great advantage to him the hours spent with the old man might be. At the doctor’s he was forced to converse in the French tongue, but at the old man’s house he was encouraged to speak the Egyptian language. On entering he was expected to give the Eastern greeting, to which the old man solemnly responded; then he was told to sit down, and the host conversed with his guest in a mixture of Persian, Arabic and Coptic. He had a servant beside him, who on these occasions was called a slave, and this slave held an enormous dictionary, and whenever the old man was at a loss for a word, he beckoned to the slave to turn over the leaves of the book until he came to the word he wanted, and then he went on talking again.
“The pretended slaves served sherbet and such-like drinks in Turkish drinking-vessels, and if Almansor wanted to please the old man very much he used to tell him that everything looked as it did in his own home in the East. Almansor could read Persian very well, and this was of great use to the old man, for he made the boy read aloud from Persian manuscripts, and repeated the words carefully after him, and so learnt the correct pronunciation.
THE STORY OF ALMANSOR
The slave held an enormous dictionary
(p. [168].)