Travels in Arabia; comprehending an account of those territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans regard as sacred by John Lewis Burckhardt
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page 100 of 566 (17%)
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Switzerland were meant; a town and country which, I am sorry to say,
were not comprised in the geographical knowledge of a Turkish viceroy. The mistake, how-ever, was easily made; for in Turkish, Geneva is written like Genoua, and Sweden is pronounced Shwit. The Pasha observed that much yet remained to be done, before all differences between the parties could be settled; and I clearly saw how impatiently he looked forward to a war among the European powers, which would relieve him from any apprehensions for his own safety, and at the same time occasion a great demand for corn at Alexandria. With respect to Bonaparte, he seemed quite certain that the English would one day seize him in Elba. "Have the English, then," he exclaimed, "fought for nothing these twenty years? They have only got Malta, and a few other islands!" He was impressed with the fear that there were secret articles in the peace, which assigned to them the possession of Egypt. The notion of their having re-established the balance of power in Europe, and secured their own safety and independence, did not enter into his mind. "They should not leave Spain," he continued, "without [p.82] being handsomely paid by the Spaniards; and why now abandon Sicily?" That the English were guided in their policy by the laws of honour, and a sense of the general good of Europe, he could not comprehend. "A great king," he exclaimed, with much warmth, "knows nothing but his sword and his purse; he draws the one to fill the other; there is no honour among conquerors!"--a frank avowal of the sentiments which guide even the most petty of the Turkish rulers. 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 |
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