THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 23 



" i The accounts were formerly submitted to the 

 Governor-General. But now that each province is 

 independent you will send your accounts every three 

 months to Cairo. 



" 'You will communicate the contents of this'order 

 to all the sheiks and notables ; you will make them well 

 acquainted with it, so that they may conform to it. 



" < Such is my will.' " 



" Arakel Bey had begged me to ask the Viceroy to 

 let him remain as Governor- General of the Soudan, 

 so I took this opportunity of pointing out to him that 

 it was no use to have good laws unless they were 

 administered by suitable persons, and recommended 

 Arakel Bey to him. The only objection he raised was 

 that he feared the climate of the Soudan might be fatal 

 to him, and he urged me to point this out to him, and to 

 say that during the last few days low fever had killed 

 half of the seventy Albanians who formed his escort. 



" Despite this, Arakel Bey told me that he was 

 anxious to have the honour of carrying out the noble 

 ordinances of the Viceroy, and that it was the height 

 of his ambition to be entrusted with this important 

 mission. We were encamped near Khartoum, and 

 upon my communicating Arakel Bey's decision to him, 

 the Viceroy, who was always very prompt in his 

 actions, at once sent for his ministers and generals, 

 and addressed them as follows : ' You are aware that 

 we are about to quit this terrible country, the climate 



