“I hope he may find one with the intelligence of Halidé Hanoum, and with her womanly charm. To me she seems wholly delightful. She can advance, and remain a woman, as our Anglo-Saxon reformers have seldom done.” “We shall see; but you must make no mistake. You imagine that women ‘do not count’ in the East, yet I assure you a foolish marriage for M. Kemal Pasha would be a national disaster.” “I wish you were not so much against British rule.” “I must face facts. You have been doing strange things here for the last twenty-three years. We do not object to you because you are rulers, but to the way in which you now rule. In Islam all the faiths co-operate. Israel has its place, and we venerate Christ no less than our Prophet. It is the same in England itself, yet the very men whom you receive in your London drawing-rooms are spoken of in Egypt and India as ‘natives.’” “Neither can I understand that.” I agreed. “No, _you_ would not; but, if you really want to know the truth, we are discouraged and hurt. How can your Empire accept your ex-Premier’s pro-Greek campaign after his _glorious_ speeches in support of democracy?” “The more I think about it,” said I, “the less I understand.” “Well, the consequences for us are black. We were so long content to pass our days in confidence that all was well with British at the helm. Now we are watching with anxious eyes; only we pray that the ‘to-morrow’ which all good Moslems desire, may yet come with M. Kemal Pasha. I have sons, who must all be soldiers, since we no longer trust the West.” “Will they be educated in England, at Oxford?” “No, alas! They are in Germany. They must learn to put the responsibilities of citizenship before sport. They must not associate with men who might afterwards settle in Egypt and call them ‘niggers.’” These were bitter truths for my pride in England. The cheik, by the way, was born in Egypt, and regarded as a dangerous Moslem foe! I wonder if that can in any sense justify his exile from his native land? As he tells me: The victory of M. Kemal is the direct result of an attempt to express the spirit of nationalism, which will not be kept down. For the first time Moslems have adopted the Nationalist appeal. If that fail, you will be confronted by a Pan-Islam uprising. The eyes of all Moslem are on Turkey. Strike her, who is Islam’s head, and every limb will rise in protest against the blow. “As a man of God,” I protested, “you have no right to speak of war. There must _not_ be war.” “When responsible British Ministers refer to Salonika as the Gate of Christendom, we can no longer stand aside.” * * * * *