THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 291 



ing myself now and again whether I was in the pre- 

 sence of a maniac or a statesman. There was not one 

 of his arguments which would hold water for five 

 minutes in a serious discussion. I replied to all his 

 objections as best I could, but I saw that it was only 

 a waste of time to prolong the discussion. Seeking 

 as I do to have the ground clear, I am not at all sorry 

 to know how things stand, and I shall prepare my 

 batteries accordingly. 



" Please report all this to M. Thiers, and let me 

 know what he thinks. I should not be surprised if 

 Lord Palmerston, his old opponent in 1840, believed 

 him to be the author and the continuer of the machia- 

 velian policy in question." 



To M. Ruyssenaers, Alexandria. 



" LONDON, April 21, 1856. 



u We now know the true motives of Lord Palmer- 

 ston' s opposition. It is that he is afraid of favouring 

 the development of Egypt's power and prosperity. 

 Fortunately, this is not the kind of motive likely to 

 discourage the Viceroy in the pursuit of his noble 

 enterprise. 



" I suspected this to be the case some time ago, 

 and I pointed it out to his Highness last year when 

 speaking to him of a despatch of the ex-Governor of 

 India, in which he said, that if England should ever 

 succeed in obtaining a footing in Egypt, as she had 

 done in India, she would be the mistress of the world. 



u2 



