The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1893-06-14
a "REMINISCENCES.
Visiting the SueE Canal With the Khedive
and De Lesseps.


81 was dining at the Abddeen palace"
writes correspondent, land after din
ner, while coffee and cigarettes were
being served to the khedive's guests in
luxurious apartment adjoining the
banquet room, his highness came up to
me with handful of his own exclusive
papelitos-he used to carry them abont
him loose in an inside breast pocket of
his frock coat-and said: Would it
amuse you to make little excursion
with me tomorrow? / am going down
with NJ. De Lesscps to lsmailia, and
then we shall pass through the canal
from end to end. Several of your friends
here are going as my guests; hope
you will come. too. and will try to
make you all as comfortable as may
lie in the power of poor prince in
difficulties
II gratefully accepted this gracious
invitation, and congratulated myself
upon the prospect of visiting the cele-
brated canal in the company of the two
eminent personages to whom 1t owed
respectively its genesis and completion.
Unfortunately, something occurred on
the following morning which prevented
Ismail Pasha from making the con-
templated trip. He placed his guests,
however under the care OF his friend,
DeLesseps, and, furthermore, sent an
aide-de-camp to the station next day,
just as we were starting for Ismailia,
to offer us a vice-regal apology for his
unavoidable failure to keep his APP
| pointment. As a matter of fact, the
| khedive was our host throughout the
ensuing week, and his illustrious repre-
| sentative treated us right royalty.
AT the time of which am writing
M. De Lesseps, if | mistake not, had
| entered his seventy-third year, and yet
his activity and capacity of enduring
fatigue were equal to those of any fair
| ly robust and athletic man of half his
age For example. may recall
| quaint incident that occurred during
our railway journey from Cairo to Is
MALTA. 1t had been arranged that we
| should make Il brief halt at Rhameses,
where couple of sphinXes had just
1
gineer in the employ of the canal COM
pany, while digging. for some uneX-
| planned reason, outside his garden
| fence, in the so-called Arab desert
"As the khedive was expected with
his guests, the complete disinterment
of these venerable images-which, in
Marietta Bey's opinion, had been hid
den from view for nearly 1000 years.
| had been deferred in order that it
might take place in his highness' pres
ence. Consequently, when we alighted
at Rhamses station we found a large
number of mounts" in waiting to con-
vey us to NJ. Papaneau's bungalow
several magnificent grey Arab stall
lions, as many superb white and dove
| colored donlleys and three stately cam
els for the gentlemen; brakes and
wagonettes for the ladies. Have a
gallop on the sand with me-" exclaimed
! M. De Lcsseps. giving me a friendly
pat on the shoulder and instantly
mounting a particularly fiery steed,
upon which he showed myself and the
other equestrian the way at full speed
for a squirt of mile or so, afterward
| putting his vivacious young charger
through its various PAGES with all the
skill and aplomb Of an experienced
riding master. Such headlong scam
per, ventre-a-terre, have never before
or since seen executed by a septuagen-
aran diplomatist. London Telegraph.