The Colfax chronicle., 1903-12-26
THE KHEDIVE AT HOME.
Ruler of Egypt Is a Man of Advanced
Ideas and Is Faithful to
the Koran.

The visit to Great Britain of Abbas
Pasha, khedive Of Egypt, inspired
| good deal of literature about him and
| his interesting country. naturally, since
| England has larger stake in Egypt
than has any other nation. According
to one book, Cairo and the Khediye,
by Mr.. G. M Fem, this ruler, who was
born in 1874 and came to his throne in
1892, is an open-minded man OF high
culture and intelligence, says Youths S
Companion.
When receiving the diplomatists In
audience, he can converse in English
with the British or United States min
listers, and in French with the repre-
sentative of that republic; and he is
as\much at home i'm German as in the
language spoken by the representative
of the Ottoman empire, or in that most
difficult of oriental languages, Arabic,
in which he is frequently obliged to
discuss intricate details of policy.
The khedive's advanced ideas are not
confined to political affairs. Although
he is devout son of Islam. he has chosen
to renounce some of the customs of his
race. Thus his wife, the khedivah, to
whom he is devotedly attached, is the
sole partner of his life, and the oriental
love of ease, luxury and display finds
little expression in his habits.
He is an early riser, and never in
dulges in the afternoon siesta. He scru-
pulously abstains from wine or spirits,
as the Koran commands. What is more.
he is total abstainer from tobacco
probably for the purpose of setting an
example to the youth among his peo-
ple-and this in land where every
body smokes cigarettes from morning
till night.
Like many other men who "shun de-
lights, and live laborious days. Abbas
Pasha finds time for variety of en-
ployments. Not only ruler. states
man, a linguist and a soldier. he prac-
ticesfarming and stockraising, and takes
keen interest in mechanics. One of his
favorite pursuits is TO purchase and re-
deem waste and desert lands, trans
forming them by drainage and irriga-
tion into rich and fertile fields
BY way of pastime the khedive will
mount the engine and drive the train
which runs through Montaza to Ras-el-
Tin; or on other occasions he will de-
scend into the engineroom of his steam
yacht, Mahroussa, and manipulate the
levers during one of the voyages that he
often makes.
1t would be too much to expect that
even so liberal-minded a Moslem as the
khedive should set aside all the preju-
dices of his race; and SO, although the
salons of his palace are
Ehronged with foreign visitors and
guests of both sexes on the occasion of |
balls and receptions. the khedivah is |
never present However, she is not en-
tirely shut off from the gayetyiof such |
assemblies.
One of the windows of the grand ball |
room opens into the domestic portion, so |
10 speak. of the palace A heavily |
throne-like chair occupies
he recess behind the window. This is |
The khedivah's chair, from which she |
and the khediye's mother can witness
a ball-themselves unseen because of |
the trelliswork with which the onen-
nr is covered. Seldom does Moham-
medan woman come any nearer to TAX
Ing part in public assembly. and the
khedive's subjects would bitterly re-
sent any suggestion that she should.