Note 56 — HASSAN OR THE CHILD OF THE PYRAMID (continued 3)

The Crimean campaign has now made the name of these Bashi-Bazouks, or irregular cavalry, familiar to all Europe. In Egypt, at the date of our tale, they were mostly Albanians, and a more lawless set of ruffians than they were could not be found on earth. On some occasions their savage violence could not be controlled even by the iron hand of Mohammed Ali. They would neither obey nor leave the country, and he was compelled to bribe them to adopt the latter course, and also to have them escorted by regular troops beyond the frontier.