ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 259 



pamphlet, which, was published in London, though 

 only a very few copies were printed. 



" In 1846, the Prince received while still at Ham a 

 letter from M. de Montenegro, Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs in Nicaragua, who officially conferred upon 

 him, ' all the powers necessary for organizing a com- 

 pany in Europe,' and further informed him that the 

 Government of that State had determined that the 

 new route should be called the Canale Napoleone. 



"The French Government did not even reply to 

 a letter from the Prince, who asked that he might 

 be allowed to leave for America to undertake this 

 mission, and I have reason to believe that he was on 

 the point of going there from London when the Eevo- 

 lution of 1848 opened the gates of France to him. 



"Those who, like myself, did not rejoice at his acces- 

 sion or vote for the Empire, cannot fail to perceive, 

 when travelling in foreign countries, how much he 

 has raised the name of France, and must admit that 

 the good sense and instinct of the people were better 

 to be trusted than their own feelings of repugnance. 



"I have in my hands a memorandum which the 

 Prince wrote in English, and of which I translate you 

 a few extracts : 



" c Central America (if I substitute Turkey the 

 Prince's argument will hold good of the Suez Canal) 

 can only hope to emerge from its languor by following 

 the example of the United States, that is to say by 

 borrowing hands and capital from Europe. 



s2 



