“In our own day, when a European official in Africa, let us say the Governor-General of the Sudan for his Britannic Majesty, or our Governor of Algeria, comes across a fakeer or a marabout, their conversation is naturally confined within restricted limits. St. Paul was to a proconsul what a marabout is to our civil Governor of Algeria. A conversation between Gallio and St. Paul would have resembled only too much, I imagine, that held by General Desaix with his famous dervish. After the battle of the Pyramids, General Desaix, at the head of twelve hundred cavalry, pursued into Upper Egypt the Mamelukes of Murad Bey. On arriving at Girgeh, he heard that an old dervish, who had acquired among the Arabs a wide reputation for learning and sanctity, was living near that city. Desaix was endowed with both philosophy and humanity. Desirous of making the acquaintance of a man esteemed of his fellows, he caused the dervish to be summoned to headquarters, received him with honour, and entered into conversation with him through an interpreter. “‘Venerable old man,’ he said, ‘the French have come to bring Egypt justice and liberty.’ “‘I knew they would come,’ replied the dervish. “‘How did you come to know it?’ “‘Through an eclipse of the sun.’ “‘How can an eclipse of the sun have informed you as to the movement of our armies?’ “‘Eclipses are brought about by the angel Gabriel, who places himself before the sun in order to announce to the faithful the misfortunes which threaten them.’ “‘Venerable old man, you are ignorant of the true cause of eclipses; I shall impart the knowledge of it to you.’ “Thereupon, taking a stump of pencil and a scrap of paper, he traced some figures: “‘Let A be the sun, B, the moon, C, the earth,’ and so forth... “And when he had come to the end of his demonstration, “‘Such,’ he said, ‘is the theory governing eclipses of the sun.’ “And as the dervish was mumbling a few words, “‘What does he say?’ asked the General of the interpreter. “‘General, he says that it is the angel Gabriel who causes eclipses, by placing himself in front of the sun.’ “‘The fellow is simply naught but a fanatic!’ exclaimed Desaix. “Whereupon he drove the dervish out with well-administered kicks. “I imagine that had a conversation been entered into between St. Paul and Gallio, it would have ended somewhat as did the dialogue between the dervish and General Desaix.”