'Why, as to being a Christian prince, Eva, you must remember I aspire to
a dominion where I have to govern the Maronites who are Christians,
the Metoualis who are Mahometans, the Ansareys who are Pagans, and the
Druses who are nothing. As for-myself, my house, as you well know, is
more ancient even than that of Othman. We are literally descended from
the standard-bearer of the Prophet, and my own estates, as well as those
of the Emir Bes-cheer, have been in our registered possession for nearly
eight hundred years. Our ancestors became Christians to conciliate the
Maronites. Now tell me: in Europe, an English or French prince who wants
a throne never hesitates to change his religion, why should I be more
nice? I am of that religion which gives me a sceptre; and if a Frank
prince adopts a new creed when he quits London or Paris, I cannot
understand why mine may not change according to the part of the mountain
through which I am passing. What is the use of belonging to an old
family unless to have the authority of an ancestor ready for any
prejudice, religious or political, which your combinations may require?'

'Ah! Fakredeen,' said the lady, shaking her head, 'you have no
self-respect.'

'No Syrian has; it won't do for us. You are an Arabian; it will do for
the desert. Self-respect, too, is a superstition of past centuries, an
affair of the Crusades. It is not suited to these times; it is much
too arrogant, too self-conceited, too egotistical. No one is important
enough to have self-respect. Don't you see?'

'You boast of being a prince inferior to none in the antiquity of your
lineage, and, as far as the mere fact is concerned, you are justified
in your boast. I cannot comprehend how one who feels this pride should
deign to do anything that is not princely.'

'A prince!' exclaimed Fakredeen. 'Princes go for nothing now, without
a loan. Get me a loan, and then you turn the prince into a government.
That's the thing.'

'You will never get a loan till you are Emir of Lebanon,' said the lady.
'And you have shown me to-day that the only chance you have is failing
you, for, after all, Paris was your hope. What has crossed you?'

'In the first place,' said Fakredeen, 'what can the French do? After
having let the Egyptians be driven out, fortunately for me, for their
expulsion ruined my uncle, the French will never take the initiative in
Syria. All that I wanted of them was, that they should not oppose Riza
Pasha in his