A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

84 MOHAMMED BEY DEFTERDAR.
rejoicings that are to take place on the occasion-
Two days ago we were admitted to see the bridal
habitation, and really it will be a sumptuous af-
fair when completed, in spite of some of those
incongruities which are always to be detected
in eastern palaces, and are terrible flaws to the
practised eye of an European, which prefers less
glitter and more harmony.
The Defterdar's palace is situated in the Es-
bekieh (the great square of Cairo) ; it is the
mansion that was occupied by General Kleber
when he commanded the French forces here, and
the garden behind it was the scene of his assassination.
After the instalment of Mohammed
AH to the Pashalik of Egypt, the Sultan, dis-
trustful and jealous of the growing popularity
and energetic proceedings of his new represen-
tative, sent Mohammed Bey Defterdar from
Constantinople invested with the charge of Trea-
surer to the Egyptian government, but in reality
as a spy who was to report to head-quarters all
the doings of the Pasha. That shrewd and clear-
sighted individual at once perceived the real
nature of this functionary's mission, and feeling
that he could not rid himself of the annoyance,
contrived to neutralize it by converting the spy
into a son-in-law. He married the Defterdar