by intriguers, who were scheming always for their own advantage.  He at first appeared almost as unprogressive as his great-uncle, Abbas I., but he later learned to understand the importance of British counsels.  During his visit to England in 1899 he frankly acknowledged the great good which England had done in Egypt, and declared himself ready to cooperate with the officials administering British affairs.  This friendliness was a great change from the disposition which he had shown in previous years, during the long-drawn-out dispute between himself and Sir Evelyn Baring regarding the appointment of Egyptian officials.  The controversy at one time indicated a grave crisis, and it is reported that on one occasion the British agent ordered the army to make a demonstration before the palace, and pointed out to the young ruler the folly of forcing events which would inevitably lead to his dethronement.  The tension was gradually relaxed, and compromises brought about which resulted in harmony between the khedive and the British policy of administration, and no one rejoiced more than Abbas Hilmi over the victory of Omdurman.

[Illustration:  227.jpg BAZAR IN ASWAN]

Agricultural interests are dearer to the heart of the khedive than statecraft.  He rides well, drives well, rises early, and is of abstemious habits.  Turkish is his mother tongue, but he talks Arabic with fluency and speaks English, French, and German very well.

An agreement between England and Egypt had been entered upon January 19, 1899, in regard to the administration of the Sudan.  According to this agreement, the British and Egyptian flags were to be used together, and the supreme military and civil command was vested in the governor-general, who is appointed by the khedive on the recommendation of the British government, and who cannot be removed without the latter’s consent.  This has proved so successful that the governor-general, Sir Reginald Wingate, reported in 1901: 

“I record my appreciation of the manner in which the officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and officials,—­British, Egyptian, and Sudanese,—­without distinction, have laboured during the past year to push on the work of regenerating the country.  Nor can I pass over without mention the loyal and valuable assistance I have received from many of the loyal ulemas, sheiks, and notables, who have displayed a most genuine desire to see their country once more advancing in the path of progress, material success, and novel development.”

In 1898 there were in all about 10,000 schools, with 17,000 teachers and 228,000 pupils.  Seven-eighths of these schools were elementary, the education being confined to reading, writing, and the rudiments of arithmetic.  The government has under its immediate direction eighty-seven schools of the lowest grade, called kuttabs, and thirty-five of the higher grades, three secondary, two girls’ schools, and ten schools for higher or professional education,—­the