458 THE STORY OF THE KHEDIVATE.

defects of his own imperfect education as a Prince, was resolved that his two sons should have no cause to reproach their father for not having given them the education best qualified to fit them for the high position that one, or both of them, might in the course of nature be called upon to occupy. Within a very few years of his own accession, the late Khedive had come, however reluctantly, to the conclusion that England was destined to remain the paramount Power in the valley of the Nile, and, acting on this conviction, he deemed it desirable that his sons should be familiar not only with the English language, but with English ideas and modes of thought. The first object was undoubtedly obtained by the engagement of an English tutor as soon as the young Princes were old enough to be taught foreign languages. Of the fluency they thus acquired in the English tongue, all those who had the pleasure of hearing his Highness speak at the Guildhall a year ago, are well aware. The second object was more difficult of attainment.

I suspect that if Tewfik Pasha had followed his own wishes, he would have sent his sons, as his brothers Prince Hassan and Prince Ibrahim had been sent by his father, to complete their education in England. But what was possible for an independent Sovereign, such as Ismail was not possible for a Prince who held his throne subject to an unavowed British Protectorate. Tewfik was willing to accept the necessities of his position, J