"On arrival at Alexandria communicate with the Consul-General, who will, if necessary, indicate to you what you will have to do to give a moral support to the Khedive. You will abstain, until you have contrary instructions, from any material act of war, unless you are attacked or have to protect the safety of Europeans." Acting on the advice of the Consuls-General, the Khedive endeavoured to induce Mahmoud Sami and Arabi to resign. The dictators refused. The Consuls-General thereupon presented them with an ultimatum, and the Ministry resigned; but the Khedive was subsequently compelled by the threats of the army and the prayers of the terrified notables to reinstate Arabi Pasha. That leader at once published a proclamation stating that he guaranteed the public safety, which failed, however, to allay the public fears. On 29th May the European population of Alexandria drew up a memorial, which was telegraphed to the Foreign Office, stating that they were placed in extreme peril, against which the force at the disposal of the British admiral was totally inadequate. Upon the same day, Admiral Seymour reported that earthworks were being raised on shore, and asked for {178} reinforcements. On 30th May another line-of-battle ship arrived, with two gunboats, and three French warships. The rest of the British squadron in the Mediterranean were directed to cruise within touch of the admiral. On the 7th June an Imperial Commissioner, Dervish Pasha, dispatched by the Sultan, arrived at Cairo. He was instructed to play a double part, the object of his mission being to counteract European influence. It was a complicated intrigue; but it is not worth unravelling, because Dervish Pasha presently discovered that the ruler of Egypt was Arabi Pasha. Such is a summary of events up to the eve of the riots in Alexandria. At that moment, Arabi Pasha was military dictator; backed by the army and supported by popular sentiment: the Khedive, still nominally ruler, was deprived of power and went in peril of his life; the Sultan, his overlord, whose dominant motive was the desire to avoid foreign intervention in Egypt, wrapped himself in diplomatic ambiguity; England and France, the only interested foreign Powers, each afraid of the other and both afraid of incurring responsibility, were in a state of miserable vacillation, for which (as usual) many helpless and innocent persons paid with their lives and property. In these circumstances, the advantage lay with the man who knew his own mind. That man was Arabi Pasha. It seemed that nothing could better serve his ends than an organised massacre of Europeans by the populace, during which the police and the army should remain passive; for nothing could more effectually demonstrate the power of the dictator, bring the Khedive into contempt, flout the foreign Powers which had exhibited so contemptible a weakness, and delight the populace.