How Mehmet Ali Pasha of Egypt Administered Justice

A Jewish merchant was in the habit of borrowing, and sometimes of

lending money to an Armenian merchant of Cairo. Receipts were never

exchanged, but at the closing of an old account or the opening of a

new one they would simply say to each other, I have debited or

credited you in my books, as the case might be, with so much.

On one occasion the Armenian lent the Jew the sum of twenty-five

thousand piasters, and after the usual verbal acknowledgment the

Armenian made his entry. A reasonable time having elapsed, the

Armenian sent his greetings to the Jew. This, in Eastern etiquette,

meant, 'Kindly pay me what you owe.' The Jew, however, did not take

the hint but returned complimentary greetings to the Armenian. This

was repeated several times. Finally, the Armenian sent a message

requesting the Jew to call upon him. The Jew, however, told the

messenger to inform the Armenian merchant, that if he wished to see

him, he must come to his house. The Armenian called upon the Jew, and

requested payment of the loan. The Jew brought out his books and

showed the Armenian that he was both credited and debited with the sum

of twenty-five thousand piasters. The Armenian protested, but in vain;

the Jew maintained that the debt had been paid.

In the hope of recovering his money, the Armenian had the case brought

before Mehmet Ali Pasha of Egypt, a clever and learned judge. No

witnesses, however, could be cited to prove that the money had either

been borrowed or repaid. The entries were verified, and it was thought

that perhaps the Armenian had forgotten. Before dismissing the case,

however, Mehmet Ali Pasha called in the Public Weigher and ordered

that both the Armenian and Jewish merchants be weighed. This done,

Mehmet Ali Pasha took note of their respective weights. The Jew

weighed fifty okes and the Armenian sixty okes. He then discharged

them, saying that he would send for them later on.

The Armenian waited patiently for a month or two, but no summons came

from the Pasha. Every Friday he endeavored to meet the Pasha so as to

bring the case to his mind, but without avail; for the Pasha,

perceiving him from a distance, would turn away his head or otherwise

purposely avoid catching his eye. At last, after about eight months of

anxious waiting, the Armenian and the Jew were summoned to appear

before the court. Mehmet Ali Pasha, in opening the case, called in the

Public Weigher and had them weighed again. On this occasion it was

found that the Armenian had decreased, now only weighing fifty okes,

for worry makes a man grow thin; but the Jew, on the contrary, had put

on several okes. These facts were gravely considered, and the Pasha

accused the Jew of having received the money and at once ordered the

brass pot to be heated and placed on his head to force confession. The

Jew did not care to submit to this fearful ordeal, so he confessed

that he had not repaid the debt, and had to do so then and there.