376 VISCOUNT FERDINAND DE LESSEPS. 



A few little touclies of nature in the journal of Lesseps, at this 

 critical turning point of his career, reveal the entire consecration of 

 every faculty to the great mission of his life. As he left his tent in 

 the early morning of that anxious day, when the Viceroy was to hear 

 his story and decide upon building the canal, he beheld a rainbow in 

 the sky : " I confess that my heart beat violently, and that I was 

 obliged to put a rein upon my imagination, which was tempted to see, 

 in this sign of alliance spoken of in the Scriptures, the presage of the 

 union between the Western and the Eastern world, and the dawning of 

 the day for the success of my project." And again, on the same day, 

 " When I leave the Viceroy to go and get my breakfast, I jump my 

 horse over the parapet. You will see that this foolhardy act was one 

 of the reasons that induced the Viceroy's entourage to support my 

 scheme, — the generals at breakfast telling me as much." On the 

 same day there was target practice, and a wliole regiment had failed 

 to hit the mark. M. de Lesseps seized a musket and put a bullet 

 through the bull's-eye. Again, as he stood there, a bird hovered in 

 the sky, — he raised his piece and fired, — an eagle fell at his feet. 

 Even misfortune betokened success, as when on the Nile his cabin 

 took fire and he was severely burned, he said, "The accident was of 

 good omen, in that we had acquitted our debt to ill luck." Later, he 

 found himself accidentally a lodger in the building which had once held 

 the Institute of Egypt, and " this too was a good sign." All signs 

 point our way when we are on the right road. 



The gods were propitious, the prince was gracious. M. de Lesseps 

 did not pause to consider whether these gods were of his own creation, 

 or this prince only his docile pupil. Besides, he was not alone to 

 carry the burden of this project, even in its initial stage. He had 

 taken two friends into his counsels long ago. These were Linant 

 Bey and Mougel Bey, engineers of the Barage and countrymen of 

 his. These three put their earnings together, and with a capital 

 of six thousand dollars they formed the nucleus of the " Compagnie 

 Universelle." 



Linant Bey had long before tried to raise a company to build the 

 canal, and he and Bourdelau had run double lines of levels reconciling 

 the two seas. He had also traced a line of location, which was very 

 nearly that adopted in exploitation. Mougel, well known since as the 

 chief engineer of the Barage, was recognized as the essential third point 

 of support. In his journal of this initiatory period, M. de Lesseps 

 notes down his dependence upon the knowledge, skill, and devotion of 

 these two friends ; and in his days of greatest glory he published 



