an insurrection headed by Arabi occurred in Alexandria the following month, France for some reason withdrew her ships and left England alone. And again, when it became evident in July that a military force could alone restore order, notwithstanding the oft repeated desire of the British Government that the two nations should act in concert, the French Chamber, which on the 19th of July had voted the necessary supplies for their part of the expedition, on the 29th reversed their policy, and by a majority of 375 declined to take any part in the campaign. Judging by the debates in the French Chamber at the time, it would appear that their Ministers were disinclined to embark on a distant expedition on two grounds: (1) that they had anxieties nearer home and wished to keep themselves free; (2) that the people of France were really sick of campaigns, and would not therefore give their support to a policy of distant adventure--not perhaps an unnatural view on their part. So uncertain, indeed, was the policy of the French Government up to the last moment that towards the end of July, when I was appointed Chief of the Staff to the expedition, I received instructions to proceed to Paris, to discuss with the French military authorities as to the place of landing, and to ascertain their views on the joint operations. The vote of the Chamber on the 29th, however, of course rendered my visit unnecessary. The policy of Turkey as to Egypt was still more uncertain. It would naturally have been supposed that when one of its tributary States had broken out into insurrection, and when the power of the local ruler had been subverted, the Sultan's Government would have been anxious to quell the revolution, as we invited them to do, and would have welcomed the assistance of allies like ourselves who had a similar object in view. Instead of that the Turkish Government not only hesitated, but after the outbreak at Alexandria in June actually conferred the Grand Cordon of the Medjidi on Arabi Pasha, the rebel leader. The Sultan, however, must be a man of great impartiality and discrimination, for when I arrived at Cairo in September, after the short desert campaign, he also conferred on me the Grand Cordon of the Medjidi. Whether he was under the impression that I was a friend or an enemy of Arabi I never cared to inquire.