The bombardment of Alexandria is absolutely without a parallel, in
one respect. All Europe seemed to hear the dis- charges from the Fleet. The correspondent of the Standard, stationed in the Invincible,' 800 yards from shore, telegraphed incessantly to his journal, and a record of the actual firing was published and read in London within three hours. Each event, as it occurred, was made known in London ; and in Malta, a thousand miles off, men actually heard the firing of the cannon. A telephone had been fitted to the cable, the other end of which was on board the ' Chiltern,' and though words were inaudible, the roar of the cannon could be distinctly heard. It is to be regretted that the Standard did not keep a correspondent on shore with the Khedive. We should have known all that passed within the city, even if he had not, by some ingenuity in signalling, warned the Admiral of the catastrophe impending. Jules Verne hardly exaggerates the fidelity of some of these correspondents to their work, which seems to arouse in them a passionate sense of duty. Three, at least, took their lives in their hands, and went on shore to collect "early news."
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