THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 201 



an affair of this importance it is desirable to have two 

 independent opinions, even if they do not concur. 

 Linant knows the topography of the whole country ; 

 he has made a map of it, and has studied the geology 

 of it on the ground. The whole canalising system of 

 Egypt is familiar to him, while Mougel, on the other 

 hand, has carried out important hydraulic works in 

 Egypt ; and though no one can pronounce so well as 

 Linant upon the direction which the canal shall follow, 

 the opinion of Mougel will be preponderant upon the 

 question, not yet settled, as to the point of entry, both 

 on the Mediterranean and the Ked Sea. 



" My companions have not yet made their appear- 

 ance, so I go and wake them up and propose that in 

 the course of the day we should make an excursion 

 into the desert as far as the beginning of the canal 

 which had been made by the ancient kings. 



" We start after breakfast, some on horseback and 

 others in carriages, escorted by fifteen bashi-bazouks, 

 and when we reach the spot we find that the banks of 

 the canal are still distinctly visible. Measuring the 

 bed, we find that it has just the breadth of 90 cubits 

 spoken of by Herodotus. Upon our return we rest in 

 one of the tents prepared for our journey. Linant 

 has some excellent coffee served us by his maitre 

 d'hotel, the aged negro Abdallah. My friend Ibrahim 

 has been relegated to obscurity, for his head had been 

 turned by the exalted position to which he had 

 attained. In order, I suppose, that his appearance 



