The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-12
Twentieth Century Egypt
XIII. His Highness, the khedive.
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKIN.

Cairo, Egypt.-EIis Highness, Abbas Hill
nj II, kheoive Of Egypt, is as unlike the
Oriental pOteutate Of fiction and OF history
as night Is unlike day. There is curious
contrast between lsmail Pasha TO whose
thrifuessness the English occupation of
Egypt Is directly due. and his grandson.
VINO today has the title his prOgenitor
bore, without the power he abused. Ismail
IVES a despot and tyrant, an ignoramus
VINO could hardly write a letter. and a
fool in finance upon such a scale that
MS eXtraVag ances challenge the imazlna-
ton ADbas is as we'll trained for a throne
as a prince could be, but he is a figure
mead IN international affairs White ne
might prove himself the equal OF a
Pharaoh in administrative ability If he
mad the chance, he could not do the dam
age 10 Egypt that Ismail wrought if he
combined IN his own person all the vices
OF Nero and all the follies OF lsmail
OF the line of khedives beginning with
Mehemet Ali. merchant favorite Of the
sultan Of Turkey, brilliant but brutal
soldier. VicerOr, tyrant Would-be uslIrper
of his benefactor's throne and founder Of
the seml-autonomy of Egypt, lsmail was
the most conspicuous failure. ApDas, sew
enth Of his dynasty, is by far the best
equipped of the khedives in point of edu-
cation and all-rOdnd mental fitness. His
admirers say that he would make an ex-
celient ruler II the reins Of gOverI3nent
were really in his hands. But this Is
merely an estimate Of the man. 1t does
Egypt this young Turk could remain IN
his place as the head Of nation 20 which
his line is alien.
While his father, Tewfik, was khedive
and while the tolls of British domination
were gradually closing about the govern
ment OF Egypt as a result Of the after
effects of lsmails misrule, Abbas was
getting his education in Switzerland and
later in Austria. He was taught. among
other things, languages, diplomacy. the
art Of war and engineering. He trav-
eled during his vacations to every impor-
tant country in Europe. A tour of the
United States, including visits to the
great industrial Centers as we'll 10
Washington, was projected But the
death of his father called Prince Abbas
TO the viceregal throne when he was only
IS years old. He still regrets 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 fluently Eng
tish, French, German, Turkish and itaI-
ian, as well as Arabic. He is a pianist
Of marked attachments. a first-rate horse
man, a scientific farmer enough of an
engineer 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. ne
is versatile In conversation and an inter-
ested as well as interesting talker TO
guests he receives. He attends punctually
to the various duties of his rulership,
which are as many and intricate as if his
hands were not guided by a superior
power. He arises at o'clock in the morn
ing and, from the saddle, superintends
the farm work upon one Of his estates De
fore driving 20 Abdin palace, If IL is win
ter, or Ras-el-Teen if it is summer.
In personal appearance the khedive is
progressing. BY many persons he is con-
sidered singularly handsome. He will be
s. years old this July, and seems soTne-
what older than his years. He is not
democratic in the sense that he would be
Snapped on the back by an acquaintance
and greeted with hello but he is sur
ficiently sensible not to violate the pop
ular canon against taking ones self too
seriously. He dresses quietly in the Euro
pean style, except that he habiJuafIy
wears a red fez indoors as we'll as out.
He is a bird Of bright plumage only when
he dOns his uniform as cOmmandeT-in-
chief Of the Egyptian army. In uniform
he is not a mere figurehead. but a finely
trained soldier who can direct the maneu-
vers Of his regiments like a war-wOrn vet
eran. He is more interested in America
than In any other country. American
farming implements and machinery in
operation on his various farms give EVIL
dence of an intelligent attention to the
march Of progress in a more progressive
country than his own. An American stall
lion, as well as bloOded Arabian horses,
is included in his breeding stable.
A striking characteristic of the Egyp-
ton peasant is his abiding love for the
soil. He is never so happy as when Gull
tivating by primitive methods, the rich
fields that border the Nile. When he Is
serving in the army his dream is to re-
turn 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