They have conquered the grand-sultan,
have possessed themselves of all the lands, brought all the
Mamelukes into subjection, and have not rested until all Egypt has
been subjugated.
"And now you know, men of Cavalla, that the sons of the slaves, that
Mourad and Ibrahim, rule in the holy city El-Kahera, and in all
Egypt. Proudly do these Mameluke princes hold up their heads. From
slaves they have become heroes, and from heroes they have become
princes."
CHAPTER VII
DREAMS OF THE FUTURE.
In breathless attention, utterly oblivious of all else, Mohammed had
listened to the words of the scha-er; and long after he had
concluded, and the audience begun to disperse, he still sat, his
eyes widely extended, and gazing fixedly at the cushion on which the
sha-er had sat, as though he were still there, relating the deeds
and wonders of the Mamelukes. Suddenly the silence that surrounded
him aroused him from his preoccupation. He arose and walked slowly
out, still hearing the voice that related such wondrous stories of
distant lands. Thoughtfully he wandered on toward the rocky pathway.
He had forgotten all else: the mother on whose account he had been
so anxious, the boys whom he was in the habit of regarding so
contemptuously when he met them, and whom he now scarcely sees as
they pass by; the cave, too, his paradise, is forgotten. He would no
longer desire to return to this dark, dreary solitude.
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