extremities, and of course a tolerably strong flow from the Red Sea towards the great Bitter Lakes, situated near the centre of the Canal.

"Every six miles there is a station-house (gare) and siding with signal-posts, fitted with black balls, by means of which the traffic is worked on the block system, and, as a rule, no ship is allowed to take less than one hour in steaming from one station to the next.

"Two ships advancing towards each other in opposite directions are never allowed to meet while in motion. One is compelled to draw off to a siding while the

other passes. This happened to

us at a station called Kantárá, where we were made to shunt while the Diomed, a Liverpool steamer, passed us. Here a road -once the great highway between Egypt and Palestine, and still a high road between Cairo and Syria | -leads over the Canal by a kind of flying bridge. A large caravan from Jerusalem, with hundreds of camels and a motley crowd of way-worn travellers-men, women, and children-were waiting to pass over close to our siding. It was a strange and interesting sight, which made us think of the going down of the Children of Israel into Egypt. Thence we glided on without interruption, but with the disagreeable accompaniment of an Egyptian plague of flies, passing on the right a statue of Lieutenant Waghorn, the pioneer and first organiser of the over

land route in 1837. At considerable intervals steam dredgingmachines-four or five of which are now sufficient to keep the bed clear-were seen in active work. One was of monster proportions, and appeared to be ingeniously constructed for raising the sand from the bottom and delivering it on an inclined plane over the bank. The desert is occasionally dotted with patches of a kind of scrubby bush, the only merit of which is that it serves to relieve the glare from the sand, and to furnish food for camels. Here and there high banks of sand hid everything from our view. At 4 in the afternoon (having left PortSaïd at 7 in the morning) we emerged in the first bitter lake, called Lake Timsah, steaming at increased speed close to the new town of Ismailia, named after the Khedive.

"On we steamed through the lake, and thence through a cutting to the second or great bitter lake, where we anchored for the night soon after sunset. These two remarkable lakes had nearly dry beds before the making of the Canal. That happened to them which is now going on in the Dead Sea. The water had evaporated, and left a deposit of seven or eight feet of solid salt. The French engineers foresaw that this circumstance might be turned to account for the deepening of the centre channel. When the waters of the Red Sea were allowed to flow in, the layer of salt was dissolved and nearly eight

feet of depth gained. The climate in the neighbouring districts is likely to be advantageously affected by the re-creation of these lakes. We had evidence next morning of an accession of humidity which may one day turn barren ground into fruitful fields. When we attempted to move on soon after daybreak, a thick mist enveloped us, and kept us stationary for more than an hour. Meanwhile, our ship's stern stuck in the sand, but with a little wriggling worked itself off. Then we glided out of the great lake through a deep cutting, which extended for some miles. At one o'clock the same afternoon we had entered the Gulf of Suez, and were steaming rapidly towards one of its spacious open docks and quays (constructed at an immense cost) almost before we became aware that we had emerged from the Canal, having accomplished the whole distance of 100 miles in about 15 hours. The total cost from first to last of the miracle of engineering skill which had transported our huge ships from one sea to the other so easily and pleasantly was only 18 millions. About two millions of the amount was freely given by the late Khedive in money and labour. The compulsory system was first tried, but soon given up. Cholera broke out, and English public opinion was brought to bear on the matter.

country like Egypt could never have been predicted. All honour to the indomitable will and scientific ability of one man, who, fighting his way through apparently insuperable obstacles,physical, social, and political,— carried out one of the greatest projects of this wonder-working century.

"But in appreciating to the full his energy and intellect, let us not withhold a tribute to the amazing tact and administrative capacity which enabled one man to train a whole army of ignorant and illiterate labourers, and inspire them with something of his own ardent, energetic, and enthusiastic spirit. Every individual, to the smallest donkey-boy employed on the Canal, seemed to take a pride and pleasure in doing his allotted task well, and contributing something towards the desired end. No great work has ever before been effected in Egypt with so much good will, cheerfulness, and activity, and with so small sacrifice of human life. This will appear more remarkable when it is borne in mind that nearly a hundred steam dredging-machines were in constant operation, for the effective working of which a large number of men and boys with interdependent duties was indispensable.

“And yet, after all, notwithstanding one's admiration of this great monument of scientific and administrative genius, it is singu

I believe to be that before the Canal can be pronounced really finished the width of the central channel must be doubled, and the banks from one end to the other lined with stone. If, when the success of the project was assured, and before the costly plant had been sold and the trained labourers dispersed, the principal European Powers had agreed to act in concert, each contributing its quota of a few millions, a really complete result might have been achieved, the capital expended might have been blotted out, and a canal of the right dimensions presented to the commerce of the world. Now the whole plant will have to be reconstructed, new workmen and labourers trained, and the entire process reorganised at a vast cost. Nevertheless, English enterprise and capital can do all that is needed, and English enterprise and capital will have to do it in the end. So surely as Russia is setting her face steadfastly towards Constantinople must England concentrate her attention on Egypt, Port-Saïd, and the Suez Canal. The day may be coming-and perhaps must come very soon— when no corner of Europe will be allowed to suffer any longer from the 'impotence' of Turkish rule. What then is to happen to Egypt? England's duty will be plain. We shall have to take the Khedive in

dependent Sovereign, and peremptorily insist on his governing his country well, righteously, and economically. To this end we must help him, not with money, but with men.

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The

We have a whole band of Indian civilians—men like Sir George Campbell, Mr. Seton-Karr, and Mr. Cust-who have served their time in India and yet have plenty of energy left, which they are ready to devote to the welfare of their fellow-creatures. Let them be lent to the Khedive, and simply do in Egypt the work they have done in India as Commissioners, Collectors, Judges, Magistrates, Members of Council, and Lieutenant-Governors. Province adjacent to the Indus, commonly called Sinde, has been significantly styled 'Young Egypt.' Old Egypt and 'Young Egypt' have certainly much community of character and many points of resemblance. Those who have made 'Young Egypt' prosperous under a strong, righteous, and energetic administration, are quite competent to raise old Egypt out of the depths of misgovernment into which she is fast sinking, and convert her from a poverty-stricken into a rich and thriving country. I submit that this is the only true solution of the Eastern Question, so far, at least, as England is concerned."