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Show I Inside Story of a Diplomatic Tannest in the Far East j I One Who Helped Straighten Out Tangle Tells How Sultan Proved Embarrassing Guest of American Representative in Cairo Bv LIEUT. NEGLEY FARSON, R. A. F. I A GREAT Balkan statesman has Just L giv?n us his reminiscences Written as they were, after the smoke of the world war had cleared away, they stand ns a classic In the "I tokl you so" form of literature, and pointedly remind one of .lipoid .lip-oid Swedish proverl), 'You ran always pick the winner .niter the nice." And, ns all correctly written reminiscences should, they leave with you the Impression that their author must have been .a great man. In this case he was. I mention this because In following his example I am sure that I am committing no breach of diplomatic etiquette in revealing to the world the secrets of a certain dinner party in Cairo that nearly caused an open rupture between the two great friendly Powers Great Britain and America As T was fortunate enough, lr a modest way, to be of assistance In clearing up this incident. I feel that I am free, and In a rood position, to Give the true account of what actually took place. Fiad L, the present Sultan of Egypt, Is the eighth ruler of the dynasty of Muham-med Muham-med AM. who, appointed Governor o.' Egypt In 1S03. made himself absolute master of the country by force of arms In 1111. The till given to Muhammod All and his Immediate successors was the Turkish one of Vail or V'.ceroy, which was changed by the Imperial firman of June 12, 167, into the Persian Arabic of the Khidew-Mlsr. or as more commonly com-monly called tin- Khedive. Riie and Fall of Ismail I. Ismail I . father of the presen' Sultan, was recognized as Khedive by the Imperial Hattl Sherlf of February 13, 1841, issued under the guarantee of the five European Powers. B. a firman Issued .Tune 8. 1873. the Sultan Sul-tan o' Turkey granted to Ismail I. the rights hitherto withheld of coneludlng commercial com-mercial treaties with foreign powers and of mclntalnlng armies. Ismail I. did not play up to form, and in 1879 he was forced to abdicate under pressure pres-sure of the Pritish and French governments. On December 8. 1914. a British Protee-torate Protee-torate over Ezypt was declared, and on llw ifxt day a proclamation was issued learning learn-ing Abbas Ililmi and conferring the tlt.e of Sultan of Egypt upon Hussein Kami'., the eldest living Prince of the family of Mi hammed All. In 1917 he died, and October 9. 1917 the p.-ent Sultan. Ahmed Puad Pasha. G C R.. succeeded '.o the thrcne at the re.-.son-.'itlc ago of 49. This British Protortora was recognized by Prance. Russia. Belgium, Greece. PortugjJ and the United States, and under Its wise and beneficent guicuec Fuad I., remembering the unhappy errors of his predere---rs. has ruled as all crcil Sultans should, with the result that Egypt has had prosperity such as she has never known In modern history. If he has inherited inher-ited any of the warlike spirit of the original orig-inal Muh.'jmmed Ali he prefers not to shot it, but has been content to occupy his crnato palaces of Montaza. Ramle-h arid ethers; to maintain his racing stftnles and to carry out his official duller In th" man- B cr suggested by his advisers. England, H with her sagacious respect for the religions H and Institutions of the lands she occupies H accords him the greatest dlgn'ty in ber H teirtionship. 1 had occasion to witness an excellent H inrtanee of this deference paid to a oupp" H throne In the summer of 1918 when I was I a patient 'n the Ras el Tin military hos- H pital at Alexandria. During my stay the-- H we were inspected bv nearly all the dig- H nitarles who visited the city, among whmi B v. ere Gens. Boyle. 'Bull" Allenby mow 'h" HBSH High Commissioner of Egypt) unci Sir HBVH Reginald Wlngnte. then the High Commi'- HBSH Blotter. For all these notables both th hos HHVH pl'al and ourselves were scrubbed and HBVH placed In immaculate order for their officii HHVH Inspection; but these preparations -vere as HHVH naught compared to that which we under went to meet the approval of the Sultan. J-Hiad I. A perfect orgy of cleansing was indulcel in. until we actually felt embarrassed to be ill In siti h a spotless place. And on the morn-lllg morn-lllg of his Visit, to show a full and thriving hospital, nil iralkinn patients u:crc put hack tr hri!. where In long aconized rows we Swatted the pleasure of his Highness. It was n mnrk of signal esteem, and one I shall never forget, as T was forced to give up a luncheon engagement I had for that day at the Union Club in Alexandria! Dressed I. the red tarboonh and khaki uniform of an officer in the Egyptian army, the Sn.tan. followed by his lmposlnc staff, strode to my s.ck bed. "Vous ete." blesse. M'sleu?" "Ah oui. Votre Hnutesse " "C'est dnmrnage." "Ah. oui. Votre Hnutesse" "J'espere nue vous serai mlcnx bicntol." "Ah, oui. Votre Haul esse." He Impressed me as an extraordinarily kin 1 and human potentate, who. In that blistering beat, was suffering from too much ftdipoM tissue. As Egypt Is undrr the British Protectorate the position of the leading foreign diploma: accredited to the Sultan is of a necessity extremely amh.rcunus nnd a species of hybrid official, f cross between the diplomatic an 1 consular service. Is the way in which the problem has been solved. These officials, carrying water on both shoulders, have the title Consul General nnd Diplomatic Agent At the tl.ne of whlcfi I write the representative repre-sentative of the United States of America in this nfTVe was Hampson Gary, now the United Sv-ires Minister to Switzerland. Through no facl! of his own. this able diplo. mat was to discover that his position could have 'fs disadvantages and be fraugh4 with considerable embarrassment. One of the prime requisites for an Ambis-sador Ambis-sador abroad Is having the nbiUty and the finances with which to entertain lavishly, and In particular to provide good dinners. And it was n the excellent repast he laid before the Sultan In November. 191S. that Mr Gary unwittingly trod upon the toes of the British llon in the residency across the way. Clouds of Political Unreit. At that time the political unrest that broke out In 1919 was bimlng to smoulder among the Egyptian NStfonallsta mid ail realised IhaJ we Mood upon the verge of great trouble with the natives. The Mohammedan University Uni-versity of El-Azhnr at Cairo was responsible for most of this discontent, as from Its mosque protected portals emanated most of the fierce antl-Brltlsh propaganda that was so disturbing the followers of the Prophet. And not dcriring to make any move In the Cist that could be construed as an act asalnst the precepts of Islam, the British were restrained from taking any steps to curb this baleful Influence. In fact, so tolerant was the British administration toward this institution that I had often heard hlcrhly placed British army officials complainlnc lhat the political service did not seem to he even aware of the mn.tor part taken by th" students of this school In the agitation against the British rule throughout the entire en-tire East Having rome from Russia, where durtnc the revolution I had seen this same type ,.f conceited holf baked student plsylng about among the peasants with a lot of wild political polit-ical theories in much the same marner an inorart chili would carry an exposed candle through an open pr-vder magazine. I mt at once !n these popeyed students of El Azhar the same dnngerous. Ignorant conceit con-ceit and reallvd acutely the truth of the saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing Also having served nearly a year with the British army In Egypt, and witnessed the splendid qualities of English rule there. I sympathized with the Colonel of a Gurkha regiment, who discussing El-Azhar said to '" i , j FUAD V m with bitter emphasis: "If they'd Just let mo go in there with about two hundred of my men . . we'd cut the heart right out "t all this bally agitation." 1 don't know, c course, but I think thv Upon the night ho nnd the honor of entertaining enter-taining the Sultan Mr. Gary must have h irbored much the same strong sentiment. The Consul -General and Diplomatic Agent had no ulterior motive In asking the Sul-.in Sul-.in to dine with him other than to extend the rnurto-y of an official but nevertheless excellent dinner, and as one of the Sultan's chief duties is the eating of such dinners he accepted with alacrity. Native in Wild Demonstration Unfortunately the half-witted intelligence of the El-Ar.har students saw In this dinner the recognition by the United States of America of "Egypt for the Egyptians." their sir fan of the moment, and a few moments a'ter the arrival of the Sultan the street In front of the agency was packed with a howling mob of natives, screeching in a babel of Arabic and broken English. The. British Residency is on the diagoni' corner from the American Agency, and Sir Reginald Wingate nnd his staff, as u consequence, conse-quence, could not help but hear all that Hok place In front of the abode of th .American olllclul. f Mi Qary realised this, nnd when the cries cf Diwn with the English! Egypt for the Egyptians!'1 and "Long live America'' reached his ;i? tooln-ihed ears his appetite abruptly got up and left. He saw that he had made a diplomatic "bull"; the presence of the Sultan in the American Auency at such a time was a mlstakev It was obvloua that he could not ask theVsultan to leave, and the S :ltan. daintily tiltlvatlng with his prawns a la Gropple. appeared in r.o hurry to depart. On the contrary, he showed a pc'lte lndifferer.ee to what Was taking place outside: that was his host's affair. In pleasing pleas-ing French he exchanged the customary bon mots with blsi beautiful hostess. The excitement In the street outside ln-cerscd ln-cerscd in violenco untlL rinding that he war. too choked with emotion to be able 'o willow even one prawn. Mr. Gary decided '.O have the mob removed pleading mie i xcuse, he succeeded In reaching tho te e- ""-one and there summoned the native po-'Ice. po-'Ice. Thepe spindle-shanked worthies, arriving upon the scene, were promptlv swallowed inline in-line crowd and the uproar continued with undiminished violence. M itters bad reached u fearful contretemps wh.n Mr. Gnry thought of tho lire brigade. this was summoned If there Is one thing tr it the native Egyptian loathes on tho outside It Is water. The city o Cairo's fire flsrhtcrs galloped up. resplendent In their brass Roman helmets. hel-mets. The long hose was unrolled and a Nrara of water descended upon the natives. na-tives. It PJ-vcd the night' With howls of execration the bedraggled students of El-Azhar El-Azhar nnd their converts dispersed to their respective homes, and Mr. Guy and the Sultan were left to continue their dinner The Sultan appeared o,ulto unmoved, but the representative of the United States of America could not fall in with his mood. He knew that within forty-eight hours Downing Street ar.d Washington would be bubbling with discussion over what had taken place lor him the Incident meant the beginnlns of reams of embnrrnsslng official explannMon and stiff correspondence. But Mr. Gary, as I have remarked, was an oble diplomat, he knew the art of throw-Inc throw-Inc up BtraWB to see which way the wind blows' And the next day, at tho sundown Hampson Gary's Plight Due to Demonstration b Natives That Threatened to Set British Lion to Roaring "Stand up" at Shepheard's bar, the Consul sought me out. After explaining the happenings hap-penings of the previous evening he stated that he had been instructed to ascertain how much Importance the different Englishmen in Cairo atfarhed to the incident It was f.om the manner of their reception of the affair that Mr Gary must take his cue for nctlrn. "Come over to the Turf Club," said the Consul "Wo will feel their pulse." This Is where I played my modest par: In assisting to clear up the incident. "Good evening. Mr. So-and-So," the Con-Mil Con-Mil bowed to a thirsty planter or civil ser-v ser-v re official," let me Introduce you to Mr. X .'' The Consul then bowed to me and gave the faintest flicker of a wink. I would shake hands with Mr. So-and-So and then, looking at the Consul, say in a dry voice. "I say. let's have a drink." "Certainly," would repiy the Consul to me. "Won't you Join Us. Mr. So-an l So?" And Mr So-and-So Invariably would' We would then sit down on the old Rh'-iiosreros Rh'-iiosreros hide divan under the head if th ( ape buffalo, and either the Consul or I v.ould casually remark. "Extraordinary. HftJI I " ' ! PLr, HAMPSON GARY . (S) y CLIHOlH&T . what a row those glpples' made In front of the Agency last night, wasn't It?" ' R.i-nther." was Mr. So-cnd-So's answer. Then we would pry ourselves loose from him and Inve gle the next Mr. So-and-So to have a drPik; whereupon we would diplomatically diplo-matically lead the conversation to last night's disturbance. rJftx "Ra-ather" seemed tn be the correct and I universal response to our leading question and the Englishman's talk upon the sub- W i Jec'. usually stopped with that one word 'B The End of a Diplomatic Day. Acting as a buffer state for the Consul's H conversation I found that I was consuming & an Inordinate amount of whiskey and sod.a, S so my part of the conversations became S smaller and smaller as the time, and the various Mr So-and-Sos. passed by And H finally, to m sincere relief, he announced that we were dirough for the day. ejjjj Driving back to Sherihenrd's the cool breeze rrvied me somewhat. "I think our mission was a dud." " I declared, 'all that you could get out of them was 'ra-ather.' " He smiled. "That was enough. It wasn't 1 what they said, it was the way they looked I nnd the way thej said it that I wanted to I see." Then he looked nt me and laughed, 1 "They're a great race, aren t they? 5 "Tha's a fac'." said I I "Listen, he said rerlously, "when dealing K With Englishmen and England here's a litUe I bit of poetry you ought to remember: I If England was what England seems. H "And not the England of our dreams. M "But only putt-, brass and paint. I "How tiulck we'd chuck her but she ain't." jjffi "That'a -i fac'," I said approvingly 'gharry' pulled up nt Shepheard's. "Com on.' said the Consul "I think 111 take 1 H you up to your room; you had better He W down for a bit " t H He smiled, ' This diplomatic life is wearing tjtt you out." H |