WARS OF THE NINETIES. 140 breadth of the city is considerably less than its length, and it is in no place over three milesin width."

relatives, whilst the Emirs and most of the wealthypeople followedhis example."

The principal building of the city next to the Mahdi's tomb and themosque was the Khalifa's palace, a vast enclosure, surrounded by a high and thick redbrick wall,and dividedinto several inner courts. His private apartments, harem, stables, storehouses and quarters for his guard and attendants were large detached buildings in the courts, some with an upper storey, and The map prepared by Slatin Pasha for the Intelligence Department, and issued in the summer of 1878, makes the city, including its suburbs, nearly sevenmiles long and just two and a half miles wide at its greatest breadth; but the northern and southern portions arenot more than a mile wide. Anyone who knows London will realise the enormousextent of the surrounded by shady verandahs. There was a Khalifa's city if he notes that from north to south it was as far as from King's Cross to Putney Heath, the widest part being about as broad as from Charing Cross to the west end of Kensington Palace Gardens. An extentlike this represents a vast population. Omdurman, in the days of the Khalifa's power, must have been one of the largest and most populous citiesinall Africa.

garden for whichhundreds of tons of earthhad been brought from the Nile bank. Close by was the luxuriously furnished house of his son Osman, whomhe hoped to make his heir,anda smallerhouse belonging to his brother Yakub. Near Yakub's house, but separated from it by a large open space, was the Beit-el-Amana, or arsenal, where arms and warlike material w-ere stored. Onits north side were two storehouses, one for the banners of the Emirs presL Omdurman, the other for the Khalifa's wardrums;east of these was a large buildingused as a cartridge factory and repairing shop for rifles. There was another arsenal installed in theold building ot the Catholic Mission across the river at Khartoum,and a powder magazine 01 > -Btl Island, at the junction of the rivers.

" At first," says Slatin," it consisted of thousands and thousands of straw huts, and the mosque wasoriginally an oblong enclosure, surroundedby a mud wall 460 yards long and350 yards broad;but this has been replaced by one made of burnt brick and whitewashed over. After this the Khalifa began building brick houses for himself and his brother, then for his