The English ironclad _Orion_, Captain R. O. B. Fitz-Roy, arrived from Alexandria, _en route_ to Ismailia, on the 26th, and at once attempted to enter the Canal. Several objections were made by the Canal Company to her doing so. More than once she got under way, and was stopped under various pretexts. The last objection was that the _Coquette_ being already in Lake Timsah, there was no room for another vessel of war. Eventually, having embarked 142 officers and men from the _Agincourt_, the _Orion_ entered the Canal, ostensibly bound for Suez, and at 3 p.m. on the 27th she reached Lake Timsah. Captain Fitz-Roy took his ship out of the hands of the pilot, and anchored her about 800 yards from the town of Ismailia. On the 28th the Governor and Sub-Governor of Port Saïd, fearing that their lives were in danger from the military party, took refuge on board the P. and O. s.s. _Poonah_. The town of Port Saïd was, in consequence, left completely in the hands of the supporters of Arabi. Nevertheless, though considerable anxiety prevailed, no outbreak took place. On the 29th the German gunboat _Move_ was ordered to take part in the patrolling of the Canal. On the 31st July Admiral Hoskins telegraphed that the French Admiral at Port Saïd was ordered to suspend action, and the French ironclad _Thétis_ was to leave Ismailia. Rigid neutrality was to be observed. On the 3rd August Admiral Hoskins was directed for the present to confine his operations on the Suez Canal to maintaining the _status quo_, and not to land except for the protection of British subjects, or in the event of any attempt being made to block the Canal, as to which he was allowed discretion. This reservation, he was informed, was only temporary, and was contingent upon future military requirements. On the 5th the ships of war off Port Saïd comprised the _Penelope_, _Agincourt_, _Monarch_, and _Northumberland_ armoured ships, the _Tourmaline_ and _Carysfort_ sloops, and the _Ready_ and Beacon gun-vessels. The _Don_ and _Dee_, river gunboats, arrived a day or two later. What had been taking place at Suez was reported in a letter from Mr. West, the British Consul, to Lord Granville, from which the following are extracts:-- "The whole of the British residents, with one or two exceptions, had taken refuge afloat, and were living in discomfort on board boats, barges, and lighters in the open roadstead. Her Majesty's ship _Euryalus_ arrived on the 29th.