The union Democrat., 1870-08-20
An Egyptian Feilah.

elist. states that some ten years before hi
book entitled; 1.-The Fellah, or Recollection
of Egypt" was written, he was present on
bitter Winters day at deer hunt not man,
mile from Paris. The gamekeeper poste,
him at the corner of wood, saying "Don'
smoke, and don't make a noise. If rabbi
comes BY, let it pass; reserve your fire for tn
DEER When sportsman is thus posted
his first instinct is to look for his neares
neighbor and convey to him, by silent ges
lures, some such message as the following
ssYou know where am, and know wher
you are. Don't let us waste charge i,
shooting each other" About, sordinaril,
fcnd of young people. but he confesses tha
he rather breads youth with double -barrele,
gun in its hand; and when he found that BIZ
next neighbor was an awkward-looking
brown-complexioned young man of twenty
who stood shivering in sheepskin coat, b,
did not feel especially comfortable. Present
| IL, to our authors establishment. this youne
man retired some distance into the wood til
he come to the edge of a pond. lie broke th,
ice in the pond, stripped off nearly all hi.
clothes, and quietly bathed himself, with the
thermometer at twenty-five degrees Fahren.
heit just before he had finished dressing
he spread his overcoat on the ground, turned
to the East by aid of o pocket compass, and
then went through series of genuhections
and prostration. His prayers explained his
ablutions. Evidently he was a Mussulman
but how on earth came q Mussulman under
the oak trees of Brunoy? While About was
rejecting on this point, one or two shots were
fired, and q cry was heard of "Mark the
deer !" The young disciple of Mahomct had
all his wits about him. AS the game rushed
by be raised his gun, killed the buck spared
the doe, and then silently put in fresh cart
ridge.
| This young man proves to be the son Of an
! Egyptian peasant, of Fellah, who, with 9th.
er lads of his age, had been sent to be educat
ed at Paris. For some time About is puzzled
to discover his special line of study, for he
knows something about everything. The
host is an enthusiastic model farmer, and
Ahmed d-Ebn-Ibrahim, with the utmost mod
esty of manner, shows himself a thorough
master of the situation. At dinner, the mas
ter of the house, himself a capital shot, aston
ishes the company by telling them that this
| is only the sixth time in his life that Ahmed
has been out shooting. A barrister, sports
man of twenty years. standing, bat who could
only claim as the result of his rrowess that
day the third part of rabbit, exclaims, 81
thought Egypt abourded with game; is thai
only travellers tale ?"
ssNo," replies Ahmed; "Egypt swarm.
with game. As soon as Winter sets in, eve
rything in Europe that has wings takes figh
for the hospitable banks of the Nile. Yes
we have plenty of game, but we have no guns
never handled gun till | landed il
France"
''It's very strange" says the lawyer
"that Monsieur rotre pere-'
s'My father is no Monsieur" replies Ahm
ed; she is field laborer, who tolls from dawn
to dusk, and earns about fourpence day.
Our house is hut, without either roof OF
windows; our furniture consists of a couple OF
pitchers, two wooden bowls, and mat; and
we are as destitute of guns as of grand pi-
amos"
The Company becomes greatly interested
| in Ahmed. On ali sides he is piled with
questions and his replies are admirable.
''What is the real meaning of the word Eel
lah?' asked the lady of the house. "The
books which have read describe Fellah as
a miserable, lazy, dirty creature; yet you
print the name on your visiting cards as il
you were proud of it-as if it were title OF
u public function"
"And am proud of it," answered the
young man, his eyes flashing with enthus
asm. "If it be function to supply food and
light and clothing for the human race, ther
the poor Fellah who tolls to produce corn, oil
sugar and cotton, deserves great deal more
gratitude than some of your exalted officials
Travellers tell you that we are lazy, dirty anc
poverty stricken. l wonder they do no
charge us who drink even the Nile water
moderately, with being nation of drunk
ards. Oar laziness consists in toiling at leas
twelve hours day, Sundays and week day.
alike, under hroiiing sun. Our dirtiness il
such thatwe wash and change our clothes five
times day before each of our five prayers
We can scarcely be called gluttons, for we al
fast for month in the year. We practice
alms-giving and hospitality on somewhat
ridiculously small scale, must allow, for we
are poverty stricken-very poverty stricken;
that is the only epithet of the three which
can be justly applied to US. The Egyptian
Fellah works much harder than the peasant
of Europe, he consumes much less, and he
saves absolutely nothing,
In the smoking-room the talk assumes a
lighter tone, and the young men began to
cross-examine Ahmed about harem usages
and dancing g-girls. They are rather olsen
chanted by his replies.
In6 rGt00S, lie OOSerVeS. eau dnoiu
to be 2oligamists Muchwifedom is rich
mans luxury. They take one wife and stick
to her."
He almost disgusts fastidious young Par
isian by describing his mother and sister en-
gagged in the humble occupation of kneading
cowdung for fuel, while his account of the
aimee, or nautch-girI, who weighs nearly 200
pounds avoirdupoise. and dances till her face
is half inch thich with paint. and'cnst, and
sweat, fairly shuts up the gay young gentle
men, who anticipated string OF anecdotes.
A month later About reads in the OCCASION
al columns of newspaper that from motives
of economy the Viceroy of Egypt bad sup
messed the mission which had been establish
ed in Paris, and that with one exception the
youths educated there had re-embarked for
Alexandria One Of them had been left at
Marseilles, dead or dying. In a cafe he had
CHANGED to hear an offensive remark about
Said Pasha He had resented the express
sion; duel followed, and he was reported to
be nortally wounded. Hisname was Ahmed
Ebn-Ibrahim.
Years passed away. The Egyptian display
in the Exhibition of 1867 aroused About's de-
sire to visit that ancient country, and at
length. on the Cd of December of that year