martial elbows of modern attire. Dimples, polished limbs,
dark, long-lashed eyes, and an indolent step are the ideals of the
hareem.

The legends of these jewelled sultanas, of the masked balls, of the long
train of royal visitors, of the orchids, the orchestras, and the
wax-lights, are followed at Gezireh by a tale of murder which is
singularly ghastly. Ismail's Minister of Finance was his foster-brother
Sadyk, with whom he had lived upon terms of closest intimacy all his
life. The two were often together; frequently they drove out to Gezireh
to spend the night. One afternoon in 1878 Ismail's carriage stopped at
the doorway of the palace in Cairo occupied by his minister. Sadyk came
out. "Get in," Ismail was heard to say. "We will go to Gezireh. There
are business matters about which I must talk with you." The two men went
away together. Sadyk never came back. When the carriage reached Gezireh,
Ismail gave orders that it should stop at the palace, instead of going
on to the kiosk, where they generally alighted. He himself led the way
within, crossing the reception-room to the small private salon which
overlooks the Nile. Here he seated himself upon a sofa, drawing up his
feet in the Oriental fashion, which was not his usual custom. Sadyk was
about to follow his example, when he found himself seized suddenly from
behind. The doors were now locked from the outside, leaving within only
the two foster-brothers and the man who had seized Sadyk. This was a
Nubian named Ishak, a creature celebrated for his strength. He now
proceeded to murder Sadyk after a fashion of his own country, a process
of breaking the bones of the chest and neck in a manner which leaves on
the skin no sign. Sadyk fought for his life; he dragged the Nubian over
the white velvet carpet, and finally bit off two of his fingers. But he
was not a young man, and in the end he was conquered. During this
struggle Ismail remained motionless on the sofa, with his feet drawn up
and his arms folded. A steamer lay at anchor outside, and during the
night Sadyk's body was placed on board; at dawn the boat started up the
river. At the same hour Ismail drove back to Cairo, where, in the course
of the morning, it was officially announced that the Minister of
Finance, having been detected in colossal peculations, had been banished
to the White Nile, and was already on his way thither. Sadyk's body
rests somewhere at the bottom of the river. But Ismail's little drama of