“And so,” interrupted the merchant, “as soon as we drove out the Greeks you behaved more unmercifully to them and their sanctuaries than we—­whom you scorn as infidels—­did to you!”

“Mercy?—­for them!” cried the Egyptian indignantly, as he cast an evil eye on the demolished edifice.  “They have reaped what they sowed; and now every one in Egypt who does not believe in your One God—­blessed be the Saviour!—­confesses the one sole nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.  You drove out the Melchite rabble, and then it was our part to demolish the temples of their wretched Saviour, who lost His divine Unity at the synod of Chalcedon—­damnation wait upon it!”

“But still the Melchites are fellow-believers with you—­they are Christians,” said the merchant.

“Christians?” echoed the guide with a contemptuous shrug.  “They may regard themselves as Christians; but I, with every one else great and small in this land, am of opinion that they have no right whatever to call themselves our fellow-believers and Christians.  They all are and shall be for ever accursed with their hundreds—­nay thousands of devilish heresies, by which they degrade our God and Redeemer to the level of that idol on the stone pillar.  Half a cow and half a man!  Why, what rational being, I ask you, could pray to such a mongrel thing?  We Jacobites or Monophysites or whatever they choose to call us will not yield a jot or tittle of the divine nature of our Lord and Saviour; and if the old faith must die out, I will turn Moslem and be converted to your One Omnipotent God; for before I confess the heresies of the Melchites I will be hewn in pieces, and my wife and children with me.  Who knows what may be coming to pass?  And there are many advantages in going over to your side:  for the power is in your hands, and long may you keep it!  We have got to be ruled by strangers; and who would not rather pay small tribute to the wise and healthy Khalif at Medina than a heavy one to the sickly imperial brood of Melchites at Constantinople.  The Mukaukas George, to be sure, is not a bad sort of man, and as he so soon gave up all idea of resisting you he was no doubt of my opinion.  Regarding you as just and pious folks, as our next neighbors, and perhaps even of our own race and blood, he preferred you—­my brother told me so—­to those Byzantine heretics, flayers of men and thirsting for blood, but yet, the Mukaukas is as good a Christian as breathes.”

The Arab had listened attentively and with a subtle smile to the Memphite, whose duties as guide now compelled him to break off.  The Egyptian made the whole caravan turn down an alley that led into a street running parallel to the river, where a few fine houses still stood in the midst of their gardens.  When men and beasts were making their way along a better pavement the merchant observed:  “I knew the father of the man you were speaking of, very well.  He was wealthy and virtuous; of his son too I hear nothing but good.  But is he still allowed to bear the title of governor, or, what did you call him?—­Mukaukas?”