Having prepared, as he supposed, a favorable reputation with the Cretan committee-men, he set out for the Apokorona, the rocky region which contains the passes to Sphakia, where the committee had moved its headquarters. There he commenced direct operations by distributing large sums of money amongst the influential Cretans, who, nothing loath, accepted the money, making no promises. At this juncture, the Governor-General, getting wind of Schahin's plans, insisted on attending him during his interviews with the committee, and joined him in the Apokorona. He had a plan of his own, with which that of Schahin militated, and for which he had been for several years preparing. This was, having prepared and precipitated the insurrection, and crushed it, as he confidently anticipated doing between bribery and force, to draw up a petition for signature by the Cretans, praying that the island might be made a principality, with Ismael as prince. He therefore did all in his power to prevent an understanding between Schahin and the committee. Many days passed thus in intrigues and counter-intrigues, until Ismael was struck down by a dangerous fever, and was brought back to Canéa scarcely alive, leaving the field open to Schahin, who thereupon made a rendezvous with the committee, but, with Egyptian faith, arranged a battalion of troops so as to catch them as they came to keep it. The wily mountaineers detected the trap, and broke off all communications, so that Schahin was obliged to return to Canéa, having gained nothing, and cursing the Cretans as a hard-headed, impracticable set of villains. He left, however, 4,000 troops at Vrysis, an important strategical point in the Apokorona, menacing the approaches to Sphakia and the headquarters of the committee, and holding the most direct communication between the eastern and western parts of the island. Having learned the worthlessness of M. Derché as a means of influencing the Cretans, he had begun to enquire amongst the islanders whose influence would best be employed to serve his purposes, and was referred to the Russian consul and myself; I presume primarily to myself, from the fact that all the new proposals and negotiations were directed at me, and, after many idle compliments and some magnificent entertainments, his Excellency condescended to open his plans with apparent frankness to me, and proposed to me in so many words to pay me any sum I should name if I could bring to bear the influence necessary to secure the success of the Egyptian scheme. I took his propositions into consideration, and immediately communicated them to our minister at Constantinople, by whom they were, I believe, laid before Lord Lyons, who, I presume, quashed the matter, as it never was heard of more in the island.