It is said that the rumour that the English are
to be com- pelled to evacuate Egypt is embarrassing trade and speculation in that country. The theory is that the Sultan, who, it is certain, was markedly discourteous to Sir E. Thornton on his departure, is about to demand formally the evacuation of Egypt, and that he will be supported by both France and Russia, who will in this way announce their alliance to the world. Egypt is, in fact, France's price for assistance to Russia in her Bal- garian difficulty. The story is supported by the language of the French papers, which almost without exception exalt in the downfall of Great Britain ; and of the Russian pipers, which, forgetting that we entered Egypt under orders from Europe, condemn the English feeling for Bulgaria as a manifestation of the usual "British hypocrisy." There is as yet no evidence of any reason for Egyptian alarm. The Russians are naturally angry with their defeat in Bulgaria, and the French are in a mood to quarrel with their own shadows. It is not very likely that either Russian or French statesmen will compel England to join with her whole heart the Austro-German alliance. As to the Sultan, Asiatics are rarely courteous to officials who they think have been superseded.
