The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-14
How the Nineteenth Century
Pharoah Looks, Talks and Acts.
PRIVATE LIFE OF 4 GREAT RULER
He Gives Our Correspondent an Audience at
the Palace-His Pretty Children and
Their European Manners.


sian-Arabic word, meaning king, and
Mohamed tewfik occupies much the same
position now as the Phar oahs did in
THE DAYS OF MOSES AND JOSEPH.
1t is true that he is in measure the vassal
of the sultan to whom he pays tribute of
shout three and three quarters of million
dollars year, and that he has also several
European advisors who keep sharp watch
over the revenues of his kingdom to see
that great part of them go to pay the in
terest on the debts which his predecessors
and his government have contracted and
which are held by the bankers of Eu-
rope. But he is, nevertheless, the king Of
Egypt, and as kings go to-day, he has more
power than most of the monarchs of Eu
rope. His residence in Cairo is a grand
palace with hundreds of rooms filled with
magnificent furniture. He drives about
the city with soldiers carrying swords,
riding prancing horses in front of his car
riage and with a S cor3 af cavalry following
behind. His personal expenses are limited
to $500, 900 year and he has several pal
aces outside of the one which he occupies
in Cairo. One of these is the Raseltin pal
ace, which Me Hamet Ali bailt on the sea
shore Iear AieXaI dria; another is at He
iouaD, in upper Egypt, and a third is
Koubeh, the khedives country seat just
outside of Cairo near the site of the old
city of the sun where Plato taught philoso-
ply and Herodotus studied history.
THE KHEDIvE's PRESENT RESIDENCE
Is the Alden palace in the heart of Cairo
And it was here that l met his highness
this morning. The interview had been ar
ranged by the American consul general,
Colonel Cardwell, and the consul general
and myself left the colsulate at a little
after ten in the consular carriage. The
Gragoman of the legation, bright-eyed
Syrian, in the most gorgeous of Turkish
clothes of brown covered with gold EN-
broidery, and with great sword shaped
like a cymeter clanking at his side, opened
the carriage door for US and took his seat
by the coachman. The Arabian Jehu
cracked his whip ard away we went
through the narrow streets of Cairo. We
drove by the modern European mansions of
the rlch Greeks, past the palaces of Egyp-
tian princes from which the sweet smell of
the orange flowers came, and over which
whispered broad spreading palms. We
then went through business street of
Cairo, amid droves of donkeys, through u
caravan of camels, by yelled women clad in
black and looking like balloons upon don
keys, in front of the palace in which Ismail
Pasha had his harem when he was khedive
and in which 1 doubt not the present
khedive played as a boy when his father
was on the throne, and on into great
square of many acres, on the right of which
were vast barracks filled with Arab troops
in blue uniforms and fez caps, and in the
midst of which a regiment of Egyptian
troops were going through a gymnastic drill
and performing the motions as well to-day
as they did at the time when our American
General Stone was their commander and
when General Grant reviewed them and
said that they seemed to be good soldiers
for everything except fighting.
AT THE END OF THIS GREAT SQUARE,
in the form of horse shoe is the Alden
palace. 1t is vast building of two stories,
of brown stucco, with many windows and
a grand entrance way in the center. At
the left there is a door which leads to the
harem, and as our carriage drove up we
were passed by closed coach drawn by
two magnificent Arabian horses, on the
box of which, beside the liveried coachman,
sat sober-faced eunuch whose black skin
and dark clothes were ell the more somber
under the bright red skull cap which he
wore. In the front of the carriage ran two
feet scyces with Wands or staffs held up in
the air in front of them, warning plebe;ans
70 get out of the way, and l was told that
the carriage was that of prince who was
about to make call upon the khedivieh or
queen. These scyces are part of every
nobleman's turnout when he drives through
out Egypt, and the runners are among the
most picturesque sights Of this land of the
Pharoahs.
AT THE DOOR OF THE PALACE
stood two pompous soldiers with great
swords in their hands. They were clad in
a Turkish costume with embroidered
jackets of blue and gold and with full zouave
trousers of blue broadcloth. Upon their
heads were turbans and the faces that
shone out under these were such that they |
made me think Of the troops that conquered
this oriental world in the days of the prop |
het Mohamet. Passing up the massive |
steps, the palace door was opened by an |
Arab clad in European clothes and wearing |
the red fez cap, which the Egyptian never |
takes off in the house or out. We entered |
grand entrance hall. foored with marble |
mosaic, the walls of which were finished in |
cream and gold. In front of US staircase
so wide that two wagon loads of hay could |
be drawn up 1t without touching, lead by |
easy flights to the second floor, and at the
right and the left were the reception rooms
for visitors, and halls leading to the apart
ments reserved for the chamberlains, mas
ters of ceremonies and other officers of the
kings household. We chatted moment
with one or two Of the khedive's cabinet
ministers, who were just passing out after
a council with his highness, and then moved
on up the stairs. In one of the drawing
rooms On the second floor we were met by
another Egyptian official in black clothes
and red fez cap and by him were conducted |
to reception room, the door of which |
stood open, and were motioned to enter.
IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM,
which was not larger than good sized |
American parior, all alone stood man Of
about thirty-six years Of age He was
dressed in a black broadcloth coat which |
buttoned close up at the neck like that of
a preacher. Lavender pantaloons showed
cut below this, fitting well down over a
pair of gaiter-like pumps, and on the top of
his rather handsome head was fez cap of
dark red with black silk tassel extending
from the center of the crown and falling
down behind. The costume of this maa,
barring the fez, might have been that of an
American, and his Circassian cream colored
complexion was such that he would have
passed unnoticed in a crowd in New York.
This man was the khedive of Egypt. He
IS, Judge, about FIVE feet six inches in
height and he does not weigh more than
one hundred and fifty pounds. He is
rather fleshy than thin, his frame being
well rounded, his head large, and his
features clean cut. He has nose slightly
inclined to the Roman.
HIS FOREHEAD IS HIGH
and the dark brown eyes which shine out
from under it change from the grave to
the smiling during his conversation. He
is plain and simple in both his habits and
dress. He shook Colonel Cardwell's hand
cordially as he entered, and upon the con-
sal general presenting me as an American
citizen, he extended his hand to me and