New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-12-13

- I;.n aieiorlty don't know what her draught
ia but q cannot he much more than ours. Ihe
Palnsa 10 drawing 16 feet inches and is, believe,
the deepest shin of the whole squadron. Inc oruer
of ships ia. LIST. the Aige with the French Empress
on board I'd, the Won Graf, with the Austrian En-
peror: Sd, the Prince of Prussia with her name
sake 4th the Dutch frgate carrying the Prince anu
Princess of Holland; 9Th, an Austrian ship Win an
Austrian archduke andsundry grand personageS; o'n
the Psyche carrying the English ambassador az Con-
stantinope. Mr. Elliot, with bis suite and some In
plisb enests of distinction; 18th. not known 10 me;
stb. Russianiship with Gen. Ignatef1, Russian En-
bassador at Constantinope, suite, and guests; 9th
the Peluse of the Messageres lmperiales, with the
administration ofSsthe Canal Company, and the
uests this morning sent on board from the Gulenne;
10th an Englishman of some sort 18th, ship OF inc
Austrian Lovds; 18TH French corvette, and so on
There are dozen more that started after u.s. Dut
none of them, | think interesting to anybody OK
cept those on board.
In its present state the canal, at any rate the
channel of the canal is not wide enough 10 ADMIT Vi
large vessels passing each other The breadth at Top
ia 100 mitres of the actual channel but o. IL Isl
railway with one track and has stations win
sidings that is with basins where ships coming III
opposite directions may pass safely Until the DUST
ness of the canal becomes great enough to pay lor an
enlargement there need not be much practical IN
convenience in this arrangement.
ENTHUSIASM CONTINUED.
Kantara 4j kilometcrs south of Port Said, was
reached at half past two, four hours ana man,
little more than six miles an hour Pilot captain,
officers, and all Of cannot help feeling KIND Oh
surprise that we have done so well. The strongest
believers in the canal confessed to it, Ones facul-
ties are in a state of continual amazement, wonder
II 4 %,
clors among us, used to all sorts of sensations,
familiar with all that is strangest. WELL II Is
the Oldest travellers whose delight and surprise
are freshest to-day. Most Of our passengers are
Frepch-not half dozen English and Amer
leans together on board the P6luse. The
flow of talk on the hurricane deck is itself something
wonderful and the French talent for gesticulation
never developed itself more fully. The EXPLANATIONS
and pcturesoue Intersections with which that tongue
abounds are exhausted before the day is half over
and our pmble-tOngued Gauls are occasionally re-
duced to tho condition of that celebrated sweafer
who on one occasion took refuge in silence because
he despairod of finding an oath expressive enough
l for my part despair of conveying to you the i'm
preston which this voyage through the desert made
upon me, and upon all of us.
Beyond Kantara the scene changes. We leave the
lake, and the canal pierces straight through the
earth-straght, with here and there an unaccount-
able bend, which the companys draughtsman has
not Thought it worth while to record on their pub
lished chart Here and there the scientific turn OF
the French MUD has got the better of the practical
They seem to have thought it enough tokeep within
the limits of what smathematcally possible care
less of tho inconvenience and risk which sailor
would have avoided at all hazards Of curves around
which long ships must be taken. We find it out to
our cost before the day ends For the first time after
passing Kantara there traces Of vegetation; tho
low sand-hills lift against the sky. and Mt last
one grows blue like distant mountain. There Is
nothing high enough to take the color Of the SKY; 1t
is the dark hue OF the soil. But it Is nl broken
and blue.
And there are the Dredges, the huge machines
which have followed out the canal, curiously
protesoue at distance often resembling suspension
railway bridges so closely that a mile or two away
Won are convinced you will pass beneath them, and
hear the rumble of the train overhead. But you do
not The machines so gigantic and OF such lnge-
unity and strength in construction that they deserve
a letter to themselyes-but not to-day. The work
men are mounted tho tops of them, fifty feet
above our heads stand on the upper deck OF
our ship. The cheers they gave rs, and which we
returned hat in hand, were not tho least pleasant
feature of the day. There was nothing, or
next to nothing arranged in these places for
show-a few flags sometimes, often only
the towering engines and the men, all begrimed and
hall naked clustering about them. Our cheers were
the due homage to Labor to the patient toiers who,
with aetual strain of muscle and steady work, have
moved tho hundreds Of millions of cubic yards Of
earth which lay fast in the place where at this mo-
ment fleet of ships sails on through the water of the
sea that flows through There were all nations and
colors and their Joy was as sincere ours. They
knew better than most of by what sacrifice the
triumph had been won. or the machines. there arc
in all moro than hundred Of different kinds. To
man Of engineering mind, they are worth journey
to the sthmus to SEQ.
Passing through higher land. wo are passing
through some of the uncertain spots, or what were
uncertain before this morning. Occasionally
the PGuse seems to straggle on her keel shrinking
from SO near n contact with the bottom. She is used
to deep water and the free Mediterranean. The mud
gurgles up sometimes to the surface. suppose we
| really have not more than foot to spare between
the keel Of the ship and the bottom of the canal.
From time to time there arc stops-some OF them
long enough to make us anxious. We get no news
from the ships in front. We judge only by what we
can see The stops have detained us so long that it
is plain we shall arrive at Ismaia in the dark and
il is even dark before we reach FL Guisr the highest
| land through which the canal passes north Of Is
MALTA and where there is scenery said to be hne
But we have a superb full moon to light it for us,
and the moon of Egyptis worth the sun OF England
almost.
Our only disaste, was to happen at the very en-
trance Of the lake Oh which Ismailia itself lies.
There are sharp turns just above, and the Peluse
there for tho first time touched the bottom. Her
keel scraped and rubbed heavily as the screw still
drove her on. So far as we could Judge, there was
water enough in the channel proper but the great
length of the ship-she is 315 feet lOngmade it mn