of
'death to the Christians' would excite every Mahomedan in the land,
almost to madness.

"Unfortunately, too, there is a general belief, whether truly founded
or not, that although the French representative here is apparently
acting in concert with ours, he and all the French officials are
secretly encouraging Arabi, and will take no active steps, whatever. In
that case, it is doubtful whether England would act alone. The jealousy
between the two peoples here is intense. For years, the French have
been thwarting us at every turn; and they may very well think that,
however matters might finally go, our interference would make us so
unpopular, in Egypt, that their influence would become completely
paramount.

"Supremacy in Egypt has always been the dream of the French. Had it not
been for our command of the sea, they would have obtained possession of
the country in Napoleon's time. Their intrigues here have, for years,
been incessant. Their newspapers in Egypt have continually maligned us,
and they believe that the time has come when they will be the real, if
not the nominal, rulers of Egypt. The making of the Suez Canal was
quite as much a political as a commercial move, and it has certainly
added largely to their influence here; though, in this respect, a check
was given to them by the purchase of the Khedive's shares in the canal
by Lord Beaconsfield; a stroke which, however, greatly increased the
enmity of the French here, and heightened their efforts to excite the
animosity of the people against us.

"Well, I hope that whatever comes of all this, the question as to whose
influence is to be paramount in Egypt will be finally settled. Even
French domination would be better than the constant intrigues and
trouble, that keep the land in a state of agitation. However, I fancy
that it will be the other way, if an English fleet comes here and there
is trouble. I don't think we shall back down; and if we begin in
earnest, we are sure to win in the long run. France must see that, and
if she refuses to act, at the last moment, it can only be because Arabi
has it in his power to produce documents showing that he was, all
along, acting in accordance with her secret advice."

A week later, on the 20th of May, the squadrons of England and France
anchored off Alexandria. The British fleet consisted of eight ironclads
and five gunboats, carrying three thousand five hundred and thirty-nine
men and one hundred and two guns, co