As he prodded Rameses' back with the point of his stick, he would chatter to me in a limited vocabulary in which English, French and Arabic were intermingled; he enjoyed telling me of the travellers whom he had escorted and who, he believed, were all princes or princesses; but if I asked him about his relations or his companions he remained silent, and assumed an air of indifference and boredom.

When cadging for a promise of substantial baksheesh, the nasal twang of his voice assumed caressing inflexions.

He thought out subtle stratagems and expended whole treasuries of prayers in order to obtain a cigarette.
Noticing that I liked to see the donkey-boys treat their beasts with kindness, he used, in my presence, to kiss Rameses on the nostrils, and when we halted he would waltz with him.

He often displayed real ingenuity in getting what he wanted.

But he was far too short-sighted ever to show the slightest gratitude for what he had obtained.