THE MARITIME CANAL OF SUEZ. 249 



the cannon boomed, and the shouts of a vast multitude rent the air, 

 while the distinguished visitors, headed by the Emperor of Austria, 

 arm-in-arm with the Empress of the French, followed by the 

 Khddive, Ismail Pasha, the Prince of Holland, Abd-el-Kader, and 

 all the other notabilities, marched from the pavilions to the Harbour, 

 and embarked on board of their respective bateaux de vapeur, in 

 readiness to take a prorninent part in the morrow's proceedings. 



Punctually at 8.0 the following morning (Wednesday the 17th) 

 the French steamer Aigle, having on board the Empress Eugenie 

 and her escort, left Port Said, and steamed slowly into the Canal, 

 quickly followed by the Austrian, Prussian, and Dutch Royal 

 yachts. Their order was as follows : — 



The Aigle, French Imperial yacht ; The Greip, Austrian Imperial 

 yacht ; A Prussian frigate, with the Crown Prince on board ; A 

 Swedish yacht, with Prince Oscar of Sweden on board ; A Russian 

 War Ship, with Grand Duke Michael on board ; A Russian Ad- 

 miral ship ; A Dutch gunboat, with Prince and Princess of Holland ; 

 The Psyche, English Despatch Boat, with the English Ambassador 

 from Constantinople ; also Swedish, English, Austrian, and French 

 yachts ; An Austrian Lloyd steamer ; Les Messageries Imperiales 

 steamer ; and Russian, Italian, American, and Egyptian ships. In 

 all, a fleet of forty vessels entered the Isthmus the first day of its 

 opening, and passed through the Canal without experiencing any 

 serious accident or delay. 



Slowly the Aigle glided through the Canal, watched eagerly, with 

 lively emotions, by the crowds on the shores as she safely passed 

 the winding turns of the Canal, and when at last her masts were 

 seen by the vast concourse assembled around Lake Timsah, and 

 she ploughed her way through the waters of the Lake, there arose 

 a loud burst of cheering and the roar of cannon ; an outburst of 

 enthusiasm, not only because she was the first steamer that had 

 passed from Port Said to Ismailia, but, also, becaus(; the Aigle was 

 carrying the Imperial Consort of Napoleon HI., and the Empress 

 of the Nation that claimed Ferdinand de Lesseps as its citizen ; 

 and the subject of an Emperor, who, with his people had, through 

 all the fluctuations of the enterprise, been loyal and unwavering. 



This first section of the Canal was accomplished by the Aigle, 

 and the flotilla of vessels that followed her, in a passage of twelve 

 hours, and, by sunset, they were all securely moored in the waters of 



