New-York tribune., 1900-07-08
THE hHEDITE or EGYPT.
MODE OF LIFE AND characteristics OF
AEBAS
AIBAS

ABEAs
From The London Chronicle
The life of His Highnaes is very, dirr.-.r+ e
lhat which in the Western world is iIs1IarI1-
associated with an Eastern sovereign To belri1
with, the hhedIve has received a SDIandid Euro
pean education He learned English as a child
under tutors specially selected and sent 10
1alFo Ior ms benefit and that Of his brother
Prince Mehemet. When twelve years Of age he
entered the celebrated Haxius School at Geneva
ana afterWdrd continued his scholastic career
at the Iheresianum, at Vienna from which he
was caHeo 10y the sudden death Of his father
the khediye TeWdk to ascend the throne of
Egypt at the age of eighteen in 1892 AT Vienna
ne was something Of a favorite with the Aus
TRAN Emperor. who also saw that the Prince
was given a military training in addition to his
ordinary school work Naturally highly jnteIIi-
and capable. He has the gift of tongues a
can talk in at least six Ianguages-EngIist
French, German, Italian Turkish and Arabic
the last being in common use throughout F,evDt
Every official day of his life he will most prob
ably converse in at least four of these Ian
Suages-
His Highness has a prodigious memory and
great capacity for mastering detail. He is a
hard worker, and every moment Of his time is
parcelled out with exactness. He usually rises
at 5.3O in the morning. and then goes out rid
ing. an exercise Of which he is passiOnataIv
fond, till about :, when ne has breakfast Soon
afterWard he is busily engaged in State affairs
with his secretaries and Ministers. and this fills
up the forenoon till luncheon. but that meal
over, he IS at work again with his staff until his
public reception hour comes around when he
meets all those who have the right to call upon
him and good number who haven't. In the
evening there are dinners. balls. receptions. the
opera and the theatre All this gives the
impression. a perfectly correct one that Abbas
is no IanEuid Oriental. but a Prince Of high
ability and remarkable energy.
Nor is he less interesting from the purely do
mestic point of view As d sovereign he has 70
he great deal at the State palaces of Abdiu,
at Cairo and Ras-el-Tin, at Alexandria the
former being the winter, the latter the summer
capital of Egypt but he likes nothing better
than to leave these for his more private palaces
of kOubheh or MOnta2ah- his seaside place.
Koubheh is some five miles from Cairo and here
His Highness lives after much the same fashion
as might great English landowner Of the most
modern type. He keeps a splendid stud, and his
beautiful horses, English bred as well Arabs,
are hls special pride. on the estate itself ne
has brought into use the latest things in Amer
lean agricultural machinery and he takes
active part IN the supervision OF ms numerous
farms and cotton plantations in the Nile Valley
from which, indeed. he derives the larger part
of his vast private wealth His official income
is t1u0OUo a year and equal amount is paid
to the other members Of the khediviaI family.
Besides his pronounced taste for the life of
country gentleman. Ahhas has Il taste. or rather
a passion, which is not generally shared by
country gentlemen. He is skilled musician.
and is devoted to music He keeps a private
band of.ahout nifty performers. who hnd IN him
a generous patron int a relentless critic. Woe
betide the man who makes a false note,
His Highness is strict Mahometan, and as
such es,heVs both wines and spirits. His db-
stinence goes even further, for in a country
where everybody smokes he viii have nothing
t. do with the fragrant weed Like his father,
he is mouogamist although his religion allows
him four WivtS-if he wants them. He is known
to be- greatly attached to his consort. who was
a Circassjan lady of the khediviaI household
before her marriage They have several daugh-
ters and one son, the heir apparent who was
born in February of last year BY special
decree of the Sultan. who is stiu suZerain Of
Egypt. the khediyiate desCendS directly from
father M son i'm the Western manner The do
nestle encourage of the Khedive is presided over
10y the DuWager khedIvah, or Khedivah mere
the princess is called This is in accordance
with usual Oriental custom. which accordS pre-
cedeuCe to q mans mother over his wife.