Some singular intrigue appears to be going on in Egypt.
It has long been suspected that a party there desire to restore Ismail, and this week his second wife, with an immense retinue, arrived at Alexandria, and demanded permission, on plea of illness, to return to Cairo. It was suspected that some plot was hidden behind this request, and the Khedive asked that the lady should be seen by the doctors of the Palace. His request was denied, and permission was therefore finally refused. So deep is the dread of Ismail in Egypt, that the Palace thought even his agent would be formidable, and a rumour suddenly spread that the sick lady was the ex-Khedive in disguise. That is most unlikely ; but some intrigue in his favour is certainly going on, and greatly alarms the Sultan, who cannot forgive Ismail's attacks upon his orthodoxy. Ismail is not bold enough for his own far-reaching plans, but he has evidently still a bold upon the Army, and with his immense wealth may possess powerful adherents in Mecca, where the House of Mahommed Ali has many adherents. That House has no pedigree, and is not Arab, but it has for half a century made friends among the great Meccan
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