160 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



England, as well as of other countries, would certainly 

 contribute. 



" Let the isthmus only be pierced, let the waters 

 of the Mediterranean mingle with those of the Indian 

 Ocean, let the railway be continued and completed, 

 and Egypt, acquiring greater value as a country of 

 production, of internal trade, and of general transit, 

 will lose its perilous importance as an uncertain or 

 contested route of communication. The possession of 

 its territory, no longer being of any interest to Eng- 

 land, will cease to be a possible cause of contention 

 between her and France, the union of the two coun- 

 tries will become henceforward unalterable, and the 

 world be saved from the calamities which would 

 attend a rupture between them. This result offers 

 such great guarantees for the future that the mere 

 indication of it will suffice to command the sympathy 

 and the goodwill of the statesmen whose efforts are 

 bent upon placing the Anglo-French alliance upon 

 immovable foundations. You are one of these men, 

 my lord, and you have such a predominant part in 

 the discussion of great questions of state that I am 

 most anxious to acquaint you with my views and 

 aspirations." 



