130 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



Beaumont and Baron C. Dupin, our honorary presi- 

 dents, joined us, and we were most kindly greeted 

 by the Emperor, who was aware of the object of our 

 visit, and who, speaking to me, said, ' How is it, M. 

 de Lesseps, that so many people are against your 

 enterprise ? ' To which I replied at once, ' Your 

 Majesty, it is because they think you will not stand 

 by us.' The Emperor, twisting the tips of his mous- 

 tache with his fingers, as he is in the way of doing 

 when he is thinking of what he shall say, observed, 

 after a brief silence, ' Well, do not be uneasy. You 

 may count upon my assistance and protection.' 



" Speaking of the resistance of England, and re- 

 ferring to a recent reply of the London Cabinet, 

 which he called a i startling ' one (raide), he added, 

 ' It is a gust of wind. We must take in sail. 7 



" We then asked him to authorise us to announce 

 to our shareholders that as negotiations were in pro- 

 gress the general meeting would be adjourned, as other- 

 wise we should be obliged to refund them their money. 

 He assented to this, and also to our letting it be 

 known in Egypt that he had already given his 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs orders that our rights and 

 operations were to be upheld. We thanked him for 

 it, but we complained of the conduct of the French 

 Consul- General in Egypt, who had entirely failed to 

 protect our interests, and handed a written memoran- 

 dum in support of our statement. Thinking it time 

 to leave, I made a sign to my colleagues, and finally 



