STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 
477 
On the 4th of June we celebrated the King's birth-day with the 
greatest festivity, and with all the splendour that Alexandria could 
afford. A royal salute was fired at sun rise, at noon, and at sunset, 
from brass pateraroes in fiont of Mr. Briggs' house. The British flag 
was hoisted, and the populace were liberally regaled with coffee 
and sherbet, in the street before the door of the Consul General, 
while paras were thrown in profusion from the windows. 
On the 5 th I paid a farewell visit to Emim Aga, and in return for 
the numerous attentions I had received from him, requested his 
acceptance of a pair of richly ornamented pistols. I heard, in the 
evening, of the death of Signor Filippo Agnelli, at Rosetta. He was a 
very worthy man, and particularly skilful in preserving specimens of 
fish and birds. The composition he used was a mixture, in equal 
proportions, of white and yellow arsenic, and allum. He died of a 
fever brought on by imprudently bathing in cold water, after 
having fatigued and heated himself by dissecting an ostrich. I 
greatly regretted that the entire collection of Abyssinian birds 
would probably, by his sudden death, be lost to the public, as there 
was little hope that they could reach Vienna in a state to be pre- 
served. I, however, wrote to Mr. Rosetti, as Consul General of the 
Emperor of Germany, requesting that he would lose no time in 
forwarding them, and the other things which I had entrusted to the 
care of Signor Filippo, to be presented in my name to his Imperial 
Majesty. . 
June 11.-- "In consequence of intelligence received by Major 
Missett, of a war being probable between Russia and the Porte, in 
which England would be involved, we -were impatient to escape, 
and only waited till the northerly winds enabled us to do so. Our 
