The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-12

Hiimi II, Khedive of Egypt. is as un- like the oriental potentate of fiction and of history as night Is unlike day. There is curious contrast between Ismail Pasha, to whose thrifuessness the English occupation of Egypt IS directly due. and his grandson Eho today has the title his progenitor bore. without the power he abused. Ismail was despot and tyrant. an ignoraunus who could hardly write Q letter, and a fool in finance" upcn such a scale that his extravagances challenge the imagination. Abbas is as well trained for a throne as 2 prince could be, but be is a ngurenead in international affairs. While he might prove himself the equal of a Pharaoh in administrative ability, If he had the chance, he could not do the damage to Egypt that Ismail wrought if he combined in hfs own person ali the vices of Nero and ell the follies of Ismafl.
 Of the line of Khedives beginning with Mehemet Ali, merchant, favortte of the Sultan of Turkey. brilliant but brutal soldier. viceroy. tyrant. would- be usurper of his benefactor's throne. and founder of the semi Of Egypt. Isnail was the most conspicu- ous failure. Abbas, seventh of his dynasty. Is by far the best equipped of the Khedives In point of education ana all-round mental fitness. His admirers say that he would make an excellent ruler if the reins of government were really in his hands. But this is mere- ly an estimate of the man. It does not mean that if Europeans were cut or Egypt this young Turk could remain in his place as the head of a nation to which his line is alien.
 While his father, Tewfik. was Khe- dive, and while the tolls of British domination were gradually closing about the government of Egypt as a result of the after effects of Isnails misrule, Abbasi was getting his educa- ton in Switzerland and later in Aus tria. He was taught, among other things, languages diplomacy. the art of war, and engineering. He travelled during his vacations to every impor- tant country in Europe. A tour of the United States. including visits to the great industrial centers as well as to Washington, was projected. But the death of his father called Prince Abbas to the vieeregal throne when he was only eighteen years old. He still re- grets that he was unable to see America.
 That he was a student while at school and in college is evident from the fact that he speaks and writes fluentiy English, French, German, Turkish and Italian. as well as Arabic. He Is a pianist of marked attainments, a first rate horseman. scientific farmer, enough of an egineer to run locomotive, and to know what Is wrong when the engine does not run, and how to remedy the evil. A lover of good literature and grand opera. he Is versatile in conversation and an interested, as well as interesting, talk CT to guests he receives. He attends punctually to the various duties of his rulershdp, which are as many and in- tricate as if his hands were not guided by superior power. He arises at o'clock in the morning, and, from the saddle, superintends the farm work upon one of his estates before driving to Abdin Palace, if 1t is winter, or Ras-el-Teen If it Is summer.
 In personal appearance the Khedive Is prepossessing. By many persons he Is considered singularly handsome. He will be thirty-flve years old this July, and seems somewhat older than his years. He is not democratic in the sense that he would be slapped on the back by an acquaintance and greeted with hello" but he is sufficiently sensible not to- violate the popular canon against taking one self too seri- ously. He dresses quietly in the Euro pean style, except that he habitualiy wears a red Fez indoors as well as out. He is a bird of bright plumage only when he dons his uniform as com mander in chief of the Egyptian army. In uniform he is not a mere figure head, but a finely trained soldier who can direct the manoeuvers of his regi- ments like a war-worn veteran. He IS more interested in America than In any other country. American farming implements and machinery in opera ton on his various farms give evil dence of an intelligent attention to the march of progress in a more progress sive country than his own. An Amer ican stallion, as we'll as blooded Arabian horses, Is included in his breeding stable.
 A striking characteristic of the Egyptian peasant is his abiding love for the soil. He is never so happy as when cultivating. by primitive meth ods, the rich fields that border the Nile When he is serving in the army his dream is to return to agricultural pursuits, although his opportunities for earning a competency are slender and he usually passes his life in what an American would consider the extremity of poverty. If the Khedives is not really an Egyptian he Is at least an Egyptian in his fondness for country life and for the tilling of the land. IT he should be removed from the Khe- deviate he would probably spend an active life as a wealthy landed pro- prietor.
 Being 9 Mohammedan, the Khedive is bound by his religion not to indulge in intoxicants. Unlike Mehemet Ali, who is said to have died from the eff fects of drinking three bottles of champagne when overheated. he nVes up to the requirements of the Koran In this respect. In a country where not only men and women, but also children of both sexes, smoke cigarettes, he is a total abstainer from tobacco. Although he might, without arousing criticism in his capital or violating the rules of conduct laid down by the pro- phet, have four wives, he is content with one.
 When the announcement that the Khedive had married a slave was made in the capitals of the western world. many readers of Occidental papers be- lieved that a salty sandal had devel- oped in Cairo. Not only difference in the point of view. but also diff. ference In definitions of the word "slave" explains the fact that Egyp- ttans considered the match eminently suitable. The "slaves'' of an Egyp- tian princess are not women of low caste, They are Circassian ladies-in- waiting. as unlike real slaves as they are unlike the beautiful Ciroassians" seen in a circus tent in the United States.
 In Egypt at present there are no real slaves within the Western mean ing. The harem slaves" are educated. after Oriental standards, as ladies. l. n1A