On their entering, I found that the water had unfortunately alighted on a French officer, who at that moment chanced to be passing in full-dress uniform. His indignation was such that I expected to be annihilated on the spot. I presume, however, that the people of the hotel would not permit him to wreak his vengeance on me, and so he contented himself by giving me into the charge of the police, who desired me the next day to appear before the magistrate (the complainant appearing in person). I of course made ample apologies through an interpreter, and the matter was at length satisfactorily settled. This officer and myself afterwards became very good friends; he explained to me that he had imagined I was an Arab from Africa, who had thus sought to revenge myself for injuries I might have received from their hands whilst in Algeria, and that this had determined him to have me punished, adding that had he known that I was a Syrian, and above all from Mount Lebanon, he would certainly have been disposed to be more lenient. This _contretemps_ shewed me the necessity of being acquainted with the customs and languages of the places through which I might be necessitated to travel.
I left Marseilles by the diligence, and was very surprised at the slow method of travelling adopted by the French. As compared to the railroad transit in England, they seemed a century behind. The idea seems quite absurd that a country like France, which aspires to rivalry in arts and sciences no less than in accomplishments, should compel unhappy travellers to lose three days in performing a distance that could almost be done in a few hours in England.
I made a short stay at Paris, where I met with great kindness from the Ottoman ambassador, Suliman Pasha, and was fortunate enough while there also to make the acquaintance of that celebrated statesman and profound scholar, M. Guizot. M. Thiers, also honoured with his friendship. With this last eminent statesman I had a long and interesting conversation respecting the Syrian campaign of 1840–41, and he evinced a most lively interest in the fortunes of the grand Emir Beschir. Under the pretence of collecting money for the sufferers of Mount Lebanon, an association was formed at that time in Paris, with the secret intention of making a tool of one of the Emir’s family, and through his instrumentality exciting a rebellion amongst the inhabitants, and then taking advantage of their civil discord.