[p.46]man of rank under a cloud, and you will receive much more
civility than perhaps you deserve," concluded my friend with a dry
laugh. The remark proved his sagacity; and after ample experience I had
not to repent having been guided by his advice.
Haji Wali, by profession a merchant at Alexandria, had accompanied
Khudabakhsh, the Indian, to Cairo on law-business. He soon explained
his affairs to me, and as his case brought out certain Oriental
peculiarities in a striking light, with his permission I offer a few of
its details.
My friend was defendant in a suit instituted against him in H.B.M.'s
Consular Court, Cairo, by one Mohammed Shafi'a, a scoundrel of the
first water. This man lived, and lived well, by setting up in business
at places where his name was not known; he enticed the unwary by artful
displays of capital; and, after succeeding in getting credit, he
changed residence, carrying off all he could lay hands upon. But
swindling is a profession of personal danger in uncivilised countries,
where law punishes pauper debtors by a short imprisonment; and where
the cheated prefer to gratify their revenge by the cudgel or the knife.
So Mohammed Shafi'a, after a few narrow escapes, hit upon a prime
expedient. Though known to be a native of Bokhara-he actually signed
himself so in his letters, and his appearance at once bespoke his
origin,-he determined to protect himself by a British passport. Our
officials are sometimes careless enough in distributing these
documents, and by so doing they expose themselves to a certain loss of
reputation at Eastern courts[FN#5]; still Mohammed Shafi'a