On our arrival we at once made inquiries about the market, and sought news of the other Europeans. The market was a sort of maze, and arranged with no idea of system. Merchants never left their goods there over-night; but always took them to their own houses. A Greek had made a bakery, and drove a good trade, as long as people had money to buy. There were such crowds of people that it was almost impossible to make one's way through; there were quantities of provisions for sale, and trade seemed very lively. Egyptian merchants brought their goods as far as Ed Damer, whence they were brought by Arab merchants to Omdurman. The only tax levied by the Khalifa's order was 2-1/2 per cent. zekka (_i.e._ alms for the poor), and people seemed generally contented and happy. There were quantities of money in the beit el mal, and at that time there was no occasion to oppress the inhabitants. There were numbers of Greeks, Jews, and Syrians, all of whom were doing fairly well in business. I also saw Klootz. Slatin at that time happened to be absent, he was commanding some troops under the Emir Yunis at Wad el Abbas. Khalifa Abdullah was full of ideas of conquest and pretensions; he used often to announce publicly that the end of the Turks' rule in Egypt was approaching. He was most anxious to obtain possession of that country, and thought the time had now come. Several of the sheikhs and ulemas in Cairo and in other parts of Egypt had written to him inviting him to take possession of the country where, they assured him, he would be most cordially received.