Je Vous Conjure
De Ne Pas Entrer Dans La Ville - Vous Seriez Dans Une Ville
Empestee."
"Oui, je sais, mais - "
"Mais monsieur, je dois donc vous avertir tout bonnement que si
vous entrez dans la ville, vous serez - enfin vous serez COMPROMIS!"
{32}
"Oui, je sais, mais - "
The Frenchman was at last convinced that it was vain to reason
with a mere Englishman, who could not understand what it was to be
"compromised." I thanked him most sincerely for his kindly meant
warning; in hot countries it is very unusual indeed for a man to go
out in the glare of the sun and give free advice to a stranger.
When I arrived at Cairo I summoned Osman Effendi, who was, as I
knew, the owner of several houses, and would be able to provide me
with apartments. He had no difficulty in doing this, for there was
not one European traveller in Cairo besides myself. Poor Osman! he
met me with a sorrowful countenance, for the fear of the plague sat
heavily on his soul. He seemed as if he felt that he was doing
wrong in lending me a resting-place, and he betrayed such a
listlessness about temporal matters, as one might look for in a man
who believed that his days were numbered. He caught me too soon
after my arrival coming out from the public baths, {33} and from
that time forward he was sadly afraid of me, for he shared the
opinions of Europeans with respect to the effect of contagion.
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