The boys’ school, which had begun with a few ragged Moslem children in a room which was little better than a stable, increased rapidly.  In 1870 the pupils numbered one hundred and sixty in daily attendance.  About half were Moslems, the rest Copts and Syrians, with one or two little negro slaves or bronzed Nubians.  Many were very poor, but some belonged to the middle classes, and there were even a few from wealthy families, who would ride to school on donkeys from distant quarters of the town.  The two brothers Shakoor devoted much of their time to the superintendence of the school, and taught all the higher branches, being assisted in writing, spelling, &c., by several native teachers.  The girls’ school advanced less rapidly, because of the early marriages, which usually withdrew the pupils about the age of twelve, and because girls were more wanted at home than boys.  In 1870 there were about a hundred names on the roll, with an average attendance of seventy or eighty.

It was long Miss Whately’s desire to acquire a piece of land on which to build suitable school premises.  Her desire was gratified when in 1869 the Khedive, Ismail Pasha, at the kind suggestion of the Prince of Wales, made her a grant of the freehold of nearly an acre of land, just outside the old wall of Cairo, the only condition being that the building erected on it should have a handsome front, as it would face a main road.  Considerable delay was experienced in getting the necessary papers for making the possession secure, and it was not till 1871 that the building was erected.  Mansoor Shakoor, who had considerable knowledge of architecture, designed it, and superintended all the details of its erection.  By its side, and separated from it only by a garden, Miss Whately put up a house for herself, that she might be always close to her work.  About one fourth of the cost was contributed by those who in Cairo and in England took an interest in the work of the school, but Miss Whately herself contributed the remainder of the outlay, amounting to about four thousand pounds.[1]

[Footnote:  1 Letter from Mary L. Whately, The Christian, June 15, 1882.]

In consequence of the extension of the work, and because this large outlay had seriously diminished her resources, Miss Whately depended largely on the gifts of others for means to carry on her work.  After the addition of a medical mission in 1879, the expenses of the work amounted to some L1200 or L1300 a year, a sum which, of course, it was quite out of her power personally to provide.  L200 of this was derived from an annual grant from the Egyptian, Government, and about L150 from paying pupils, while occasionally grants were received from several English societies.  The new schools soon became one of the “sights” of Cairo, and the English and American tourists who visited them contributed considerably to the funds, while the rest of the money required was collected in England, mainly through the efforts of members of