danger that an accident might precipitate a fight, and all the
friendly consuls be murdered. In this request Derché and Dickson
refused to join, on the ground that the presence of a man-of-war of a
Christian power (we had plenty of Turkish at Suda) might encourage the
Christian Cretans. These on their side gathered, with such arms as
they had, to protect the committee, sitting in the Apokorona, and face
to face with the Turkish-Egyptian troops, a movement of whom forward
would at once bring on the collision we were working to prevent and
Ismael and Derché to bring on, but which was really prevented by the
discord between Ismael and Schahin. The irregulars, proud of their new
rifles, were firing in every direction, and one heard balls whistling
through the air, falling on the roofs. On one occasion, when my wife,
with other ladies of the consular circle, was walking between Canea
and Kalepa, some of the Mussulmans amused themselves by firing as near
their heads as it was safe to do. I begged Laura to take the children
and go to Syra until the troubles were over, but she refused, saying
that the women gathered around the friendly consulates, seeing
her yielding to the panic, would lose all courage and fly to the
mountains.

We were then at the end of August, 1866. My vice-consul lived in the
city and provided for our communications, and when I had to go to the
konak I went armed, and with a cavass also armed _cap-à-pie_, but I
received several warnings not to be out after nightfall, as the Turks
had decided to kill me, though my known and often ostentatiously
displayed skill with the revolver made them timid in any attempt in
broad daylight, lest if their first shot failed I might have the
second.

Weeks passed. The nervous strain became very great. I found myself