ht, but already too hot for
comfort. The American vice-consul was in waiting to receive us--a Syrian
merchant of some substance, whose office was a sinecure, and who spoke
no word of English, but to whom the position was of much importance as a
protection from any petty persecution of the local authorities. He
seemed to be quite overwhelmed by the honor done him by the visit, which
would add immensely to his social and business standing.

Forming a sort of procession, we walked slowly toward the centre of the
town, preceded by the six cavasses, who shouted to the motley crowd to
make way for their high lordships, and when the promptest obedience was
not rendered whacked the offenders with their canes with great
impartiality and no light hand. Hardly a curse or a scowl resulted from
this treatment, the crowd mostly seeming to take the stick discipline as
a joke.

The town of Tantah is, for Egypt, a very modern place, on flat ground of
course, containing the usual bazaars, mosques, barracks and pasha's
residence or konak, with some substantial private buildings near the
centre, from which the houses soon dwindle to the ordinary mud residence
of the Fellah. The place was said to contain some fifty or sixty
thousand people, while more than double that number was just now drawn
to it by the fair.

The vice-consul, swelling with pride and shiny with perspiration, led us
straight to his residence, a large house in one of the principal
streets. Here we had breakfast, with coffee and pipes, which occupied an
hour, the whole large establishment seething and working with the
unwonted excitement of entertaining such distinguished guests. This was
evident even to such utter strangers as ourselves, for we were
constantly aware of a scuffling and whispering outside the large room
in which we were entertained, and every now and then became aware of
eyes surveying us curiously from some coign of vantage; which eyes, on
meeting ours, suddenly and silently disappeared.

As soon as possible we sallied out to pay the necessary visit to the
pasha of the district. Our coming had been duly announced, and upon
arriving at his residence we found him at the landing of the staircase
ready to receive us, for consuls-general are great people in Egypt,
having diplomatic functions, and being, in all but name, ministers
resident. The pasha was a small, spare, dark little man, with his black
beard clipped as close as scissors could do it. He was dre