not suffered at all--only I am stupid and
lazy. I had a pleasant visit lately from a great doctor from Mecca--a
man so learned that he can read the Koran in seven different ways, he is
also a physician of European _Hekmeh_ (learning). Fancy my wonder when a
great Alim in gorgeous Hegazee dress walked in and said: '_Madame, tout
ce qu'on m'a dit de vous fait tellement l'eloge de votre coeur et de
votre esprit que je me suis arrete pour tacher de me procurer le plaisir
de votre connaissance_!' A lot of Luxor people came in to pay their
respects to the great man, and he said to me that he hoped I had not been
molested on account of religion, and if I had I must forgive it, as the
people here were so very ignorant, and _barbarians were bigots
everywhere_. I said, '_Wallahy_, the people of Luxor are my brothers!'
and the Maohn said, 'True, the fellaheen are like oxen, but not such
swine as to insult the religion of a lady who has served God among them
like this one. She risked her life every day.' 'And if she _had_ died,'
said the great theologian, 'her place was made ready among the martyrs of
God, because she showed more love to her brothers than to herself!'

Now if this was humbug it was said in Arabic before eight or ten people,
by a man of great religious authority.

Omar was _aux anges_ to hear his Sitt spoken of 'in such a grand way for
the religion.' I believe that a great change is taking place among the
Ulema, that Islam is ceasing to be a mere party flag, just as occurred
with Christianity, and that all the moral part is being more and more
dwelt on. My great Alim also said I had practised the precepts of the
Koran, and then laughed and added, 'I suppose I ought to say the Gospel,
but what matters it, _el Hakh_ (the truth) is one, whether spoken by Our
Lord Jesus or by Our Lord Mahommed!' He asked me to go with him to Mecca
next winter for my health, as it was so hot and dry there. I found he
had fallen in with El-Bedrawee and the Khartoum merchant at Assouan. The
little boy was well again, and I had been outrageously extolled by them.
We are now sending off all the corn. I sat the other evening on
Mustapha's doorstep and saw the Greeks piously and zealously attending to
the divine command to spoil the Egyptians. Eight months ago a Greek
bought up corn at 60 piastres the ardeb (he follows the Coptic
tax-gatherer like a vulture after a crow), now wheat is at 170 piastres
the ardeb here, and the fellah