The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1879-08-29
De LEssEPs.
HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
LIFE-HIs CHARACTER ILLUSTRATED
Paris Figoro.

| LIFE-HIs CHARACTER ILLUSTRATED.
/ - Paris Figoro. f23a
| De Lesseps' father was Count Mathiet
de Lesseps of Bayonne, and his mother wal
a Spaniard, and cousin of the Montijos
His uncle, Bartholemy de Lesseps, embark
ed on La Perouse's ship, the Astrolabe
La Perouse put him off on the coast o
kamtschatka, to carry home news of the
expedition. The journey across Siberia
was an awfu, one, but it was stroke Of
| good luck for De Lesseps, for the Astrolabe
was never heard from again. .'
Ferdinand de Lesseps embraced diplo.
matte career, like his father and uncle be-
fore him. He was made envoy extraordi-
nary to Rome, but suddenly resigned one
day because his views did not accord with
those of the Assembly on some question.
He wrote TO his father, 81 return to OBJ
security without regret" ("If God could
| have read those words how be would have
laughed p' writes NJ. de Lesseps' present
biographer, the Figaro man, In his re-
tirement M. de Lesseps developed his hob
by of the Suez Canal. The idea was an old
one, as old as the Pharaohs in fact, but it
had been abandoned.
1t is needless to give the history of this
great work. De Lesseps went straight aE
it, and succeeded in an Incredibly short
space of time.
The English were terribly opposed to the
scheme, because they were jealous of
France. Lord Palmerston called De Les
seps "a sort of pick-pocket." But the
English abuse incensed the French, who
rallied patriotically around De Lesseps.
One day venerable bourgeois came puff
fug up N. de Lesseps' three flights of stairs
and said as he entered the room:
"lwant to subscribe to your railroad
across the island of Sweden ~
"3ut, monsieur" said De Lesseps, sit
is not railroad, it's a canal; it's not an is
land, but an isthmus, and not in Sweden,
| but at Suez "
81 don't care what 1t is or where it is, !"
| said the capitalist, $50 long as it makes
| England mad %
When De Lesseps went to Egypt he was
quite as much at home as in Paris. He
was unpopular at Cairo. The Khedive did
not venture to invite him to audience, but
said to him: "When you see me carry this
big cane in public, come to me in the even
ing" M. de Lesseps has the cane among
his curiosities.
At last the work is done--at cost Of
300. 200, 600 francs. The Inauguration takes
place. Six thousand official representa-
tives of the civilized world are present. 1t
is not parterre of kings" it is parterre
of nations. At the supreme moment when
the trimuphal fotilla is about to sail the
length OF the canal, word is brought to M.
de Lesseps that an Egyptian frigate had
grounded and blocked the way. An ire
deemable disaster All Europe is there,
and everybody will laugh at the canal and
its protector. De Lesseps gave the order
that the procession should pass the frigate,
no matter how. The lfotilta managed to
squeeze by some way, and when the
grounded frigate was passed she fired sa
lutte In honor of the Empress of the French
adding greatly to the eesat OF the occasion.
France gave De Lesseps the grand Gordon
of the Legion of Honor, while England, who
had abused him literally like piek-pocket,
sent him the right of the city of London
an honor shared by no Frenchman living
in massive gold easket.
De Lesseps is small man, well built but
not thick set, though trifle rounded In
front. White hair. we'll conbed parted
with mathematical preeision. An ordinary
forehead. Moustache . little less white
than the hair. Mouth very giUants. Black
eyelids. Eyes black ;.nd full of sun. He
looks So, although the civil record pnts
him down at IA. His exterior is very at
tractive. He is thinking entirely of his
own ideas, and not all of yours, when he
talks, although he listens with polite suf-
france.
When at the height of his fame he mar
ried very beautiful and extremely hand
some woman, Mile. de Bragard. He was
40 years older than she. He said to the
Figaro man that life without Q love was
like magic lantern without light. By bis
first wife he had two sons, who were his
collaborators in his great enterprise. By
his present wife he has seven children, the
youngest of whom is still at the breast. 5.,i
Like an architect who reserves in ca
thedral niche for his own burial, M. de
Lssseps has hosen place on the banks of
the Suez canal for his internent. It is not
far from the sea, at place where the canal
makes large mirror, which reflects the
focks of birds of passage in their fight.
These feathered yoyagers of Africa sweep
down to see themselves in the placid water,
as women go ont Of their way to view the
reflection of their forms in o shop glass.
Over Lesseps' tomb an Arabic inscription
will tell how the black-eyed Frank made
the waters obey him as he would drome-
dary. e
The device of M. dc Lesseps -GperSgm
terrium gsntibgs--will also be written on
his tomb. He hit upon this superb device
in 1868, when he Was crossing the desert
now pierced by the canal De Lesseps is
one Of the few men of the century who
have been abls to celebrate, living, the re-
alization of their dreams. AL
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