Now look at his Ministry. Are they not aliens to Egypt? They are all
slaves or of low origin. Put their price down:
Riaz Pasha, a dancing-boy of Abbas Pasha, value. . . . 350
A slave, Osman, Minister of War, turned out by me. . . 350
Etc., etc., etc., each--five . . . . . . . . .350 = 1,750
Total = 2,450
So that the value of the Ministry (which _we_ think an enlightened one)
is 490 pounds. What do they care for the country? Not a jot. We
ought to sweep all this lot out, and the corresponding lot at Stamboul.
It is hopeless and madness to think that with such material you can do
anything. Good-bye. Kind regards to your husband.
"Believe me,
"Yours sincerely,
"C. G. GORDON."
"PARIS, 2.4.80.
"MY DEAR MRS. BURTON,
"Thanks for your telegram and your letter. Excuse half-sheet (economy).
No, I will not write to Cairo, and your letters are all torn up. I am
going to Brussels in a few days, and after a stay there I come over to
England. I do not like or believe in Nubar. He is my horror; for he
led the old ex-Khedive to his fall, though Nubar owed him everything.
When Ismail became Khedive, Nubar had 3 pounds a month; he now owns
1,000,000 pounds.
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