THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 129 



To Mr. D. A. Lange, London. 



" LA CHENAIE, October 15, 1859. 



" The Isthme de Suez newspaper will give full par- 

 ticulars about the mission of Muktar Bey to Egypt. 

 It is due, beyond all doubt, to the intervention of 

 Sir H. Bulwer, and I have information to that effect, 

 which comes from the fountain-head. The French 

 ambassador at first remonstrated against this mission 

 as hostile to the Suez Canal, but the action of the 

 English ambassador was of such a character that a 

 grave conflict might have ensued; so the French 

 ambassador, in compliance with his general instruc- 

 tions, which are to avoid anything of the kind, left 

 the field free to his English colleague. You may rely 

 upon this information, and the occurrence is a for- 

 tunate one for us, as no doubt that was what the 

 Emperor was waiting for, to inform Lord Cowley that 

 he intended to support us, and that the demands of 

 the company must be complied with. In fact, a des- 

 patch to this effect has been sent to our ambassador 

 in London, requesting him to communicate it to your 

 government. 



"I regard our cause as won, seeing that the 

 Emperor takes it under his protection." 



To M. de Ruyssenaers, Alexandria. 



"PARIS, October 24, 1859. 



" I am pleased to inform you that we were received 

 by the Emperor at St. Cloud yesterday. MM. Elie de 



