Mohammed Aly had some notions of the English parliament; the name of
Wellington was familiar to him. He was a great general, he said; but
he doubted whether, if his Lordship had commanded such bad soldiers as
the Turkish troops are, he would have been able to do with them as much
as he (the Pasha) had done in conquering Egypt and the Hedjaz. He
betrayed great anxiety about the fate and future possession of Corfu and
the Seven Islands. On the one hand, he wished the Russians to make war
on the Porte, and to drive the Sultan out of Europe; on the other, he
feared that, if the Russians should seize Turkey in Europe, the English
would not remain quiet spectators, but would take their share of the
Turkish empire, which he was firmly persuaded would be no other than the
province of Egypt.
I am still ignorant of the Pashas real opinion concerning my sincerity
in professing the Mohammedan faith. He certainly treated me as a
muselman, and I flattered myself that the boldness of my conduct at Tayf
had convinced him that I was a true proselyte. As to the Kadhy, who was
a shrewd Constantinopolitan, most people supposed that the Porte had
sent him to watch the proceedings of Mohammed Aly, and give information
accordingly to the Sultan; and it struck me that his behaviour towards
myself was connected with an intention of accusing the Pasha, on his
return to Constantinople, of having protected a Christian in his visit
to the holy cities, a crime which would be considered unpardonable in a
Pasha. Mohammed Aly, after his return to Cairo,