RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY 

 YEARS. 



CHAPTER IV. Continued. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 



Journey to the Soudan. 



i. 



" AS soon as an International Commission of En- 

 -JL gineers had fixed the mode of making the 

 canal, and pointed out the preliminary works which 

 should be undertaken before entering upon the enter- 

 prise itself, the British Government showed itself hos- 

 tile to the project, and made overtures at Constantinople 

 for a change in the order of succession, representing Mo- 

 hammed Said as bereft of his senses. The Prince got 

 wind of this, and confided to me how uneasy he felt. 

 So, in order to escape the worrying of the English 

 agents, he suggested that I should go with him to the 

 Soudan. He was anxious to deliver that country from 

 the misery and oppression by which it had been 

 weighed down since the conquests and administration 

 of Mehemet Ali. During our absence the investiga- 



