THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 67 



Mr. Charles Manly to M. Ferdinand de Lesseps. 



" LONDON, July 28, 1857. 



" Mr. Stephenson returned this morning, and I at 

 once gave him your letter, which I had translated 

 word for word. He repeated what, as I had already 

 told you, he had said viz., that his remarks about the 

 canal were based upon the ideas he had formed in the 

 course of his two journeys to the desert, and that he 

 had only expressed his opinion in the House when 

 appealed to by Lord Palmerston and several members 

 who had your pamphlet in their hands. He has ex- 

 pressed his extreme regret that you should have sup- 

 posed that he meant to make any attack upon your 

 personal character, or that he endorsed any expressions 

 of Lord Palmerston which might be taken to have 

 this meaning. Upon the contrary, he has always held 

 you in high esteem, and has invariably spoken of you 

 in that sense. 



" Moreover, he has gladly written you the enclosed 

 letter which, I hope, will convince you that he merely 

 expressed a technical opinion upon a matter being 

 publicly discussed. Mr. McLean agrees with me that 

 Mr. Stephenson had not the slightest intention of 

 saying anything personally offensive to you." 



Reply of Mr. R. Stephenson to M. F. de Lesseps. 



"LONDON, July 28, 1857. 



" Dear Sir, Nothing could be further from my 

 intention, in speaking of the Suez Canal the other 



