Before Develour had ceased speaking, a door opened in the the lower part of the room, and an old man advanced, with a slow but firm step, towards the two friends.  The new-comer appeared to be a man of more than threescore years and ten, though not a falter in his step, not the slightest curvature of his lofty figure, evinced the approach of old age.  He was a little above the middle height, lofty in his carriage, and dignified in all his movements.  A high forehead gave an intellectual cast to a countenance habitually calm and commanding, and to which long flowing silver locks imparted the look of a patriarch ruler.  He was dressed in a velvet morning-gown, which was confined around his waist by a broad belt of satin, upon which several formulas in Arabic were worked with silver thread; and on his feet he had slippers covered with letters similar to those on his belt.  As soon as Develour became aware of his presence, he advanced to meet him, and said a few words in Arabic; then, introducing his friend, he continued, in English—­“M.  Delevert, permit me to make you acquainted with Mr. Filmot.  Nothing but a desire to afford him the pleasure of knowing you, the friend and admirer of his countrymen and their institutions, could have induced me to absent myself from my post this morning.”

“You are welcome, Mr. Filmot,” said M. Delevour, “even at a time when our good city affords us little opportunity to make it a welcome place to a stranger.”

“On the contrary,” replied Filmot, “to an American and a true lover of liberty, it seems to hold out a very interesting spectacle, if what I have seen and heard to-day is a fair indication of what is to come.”

“Ah,” said M. Delevert, with a sad smile, “I fear that the philanthropic part of your expectations will be doomed to disappointment.  But a fearful lesson will again be read to the oppressors of the people; a lesson which would have been more effectual if taught a year hence, but which circumstances prevent us to delay longer.  In a few minutes, messengers will arrive from all parts of the city to report progress and the probable result.  You will thus have an opportunity, if not otherwise engaged, to gain correct information of the insurrection in all quarters.”

“Will you be displeased with me, my friend,” said Develour, “if I tell you that not only of M. Delevert, but also of the Red Man have I spoken to Mr. Filmot; and I have even promised him that he shall hear from that mysterious being a detail of one of his visits to the emperors?”

“And can M. Develour think still of these things?” replied the old man, smiling good-humoredly.  “How can they interest your friend Mr. Filmot—­a citizen of a country where everything is worked for in a plain matter-of-fact way?  What interest can he feel in the various means that were employed in an endeavor to make the military genius of the great warrior an instrument to bring about a permanent amelioration in the condition of the people?”