The servant of a French nobleman had been murdered, and the Consul of that nation had rather hastily struck his flag because the murderer was not immediately executed. He had been tried and condemned, but nothing would satisfy the Consuls short of his immediate execution, however contrary to the military law of Egypt, which required the sanction of the Viceroy. A deputation was sent to Alexandria to demand his execution, which took place on board the flag-ship there; and on the return of the deputation the French Consul rehoisted his flag, under a salute. The French Government disapproved of his conduct, and he was recalled. On making inquiry, I found there had been one or two persons murdered by the Albanian troops, an occurrence not very extraordinary in Eastern countries, and not to be wondered at when we consider an army of nearly 15,000 men was collected in the neighbourhood of the town. I ascertained that the French Consul on striking his flag had put his countrymen under the protection of the Sardinian Consul, except this nobleman, whom Mr. Moore took charge of, and as it did not appear to me the British Consul had any authority to make a selection and give protection to this gentleman, I declined interfering; and a little more experience showed me that the outrages of the Albanians were as much exaggerated as the strength and respectability of the insurrection undoubtedly was. Mr. Wood, one of Lord Ponsonby’s dragomen, had been sent by the ambassador into the mountains of Lebanon, to ascertain the real strength of the mountaineers, and at his instigation a petition was signed and sent to the British Ambassador by five chiefs, one of whom, a sheik of inferior note, was styled the Seraskier[12]. In fact the insurrection was never of any consequence. The mountaineers were justly dissatisfied at being obliged to work in the coal mine of Corneille, and on being required to deliver up the arms which had been supplied them to assist in putting down another sect. An attempt was also made to introduce the conscription, which is quite at variance with their ideas, and is viewed throughout the whole district of Lebanon with horror and detestation; moreover, they were oppressed with heavy taxes, the greater part of which went into the coffers of their own prince, the Emir Bechir; the odium, however, was thrown on Mehemet Ali, who only received 30,000 dollars annually from the mountains. They were unprovided with either arms or ammunition, were headed by no chief of note, and never could assemble, even for a few days, a force of a thousand men; nevertheless with that number they showed a considerable degree of boldness, and occasionally advanced to the walls of Beyrout, and fired a few shot into the town. Mehemet Ali, seeing the danger of a rising in Syria, should the mountaineers succeed, with his usual promptitude and decision, at once sent a powerful army to Beyrout; on their arrival, pacific