i2 WARS OF THE NINETIES

At the moment it was intended only as a

defensive measure to meet a dangerous emer-

gency. But it required no prophetic insight

to foresee that once the sword of Britain and

the standards of Egypt pointed the way to the

lost fortress whereGordon had fallen,the move- mentcouldnotbestoppedtilltheDervishtyranny

was a thing of the past. A force likedestiny,

stronger than the decrees of statesmen, and reaching further than any conscious plan they had formed, was opening the way for events

that might well change the course of history in Northernand Eastern Africa.

Egyptian frontier. Unless something were done,

and done at once, to restore the prestige of the

whitesoldiers inNorth-easternAfrica, there was danger that GreatBritain might find herself face

toface with a newrevolt as dangerous as the first wild outburst of Mahdism. Above all, it was important that Kassala should not fall into the hands of the Dervishes;so in order to occupy

them in another direction,the British Govern- ment decided that the time had come to send an expedition across the frontier of Egypt into the Dongola province. Thus it was that the advance towardsKhartoum began.

THE NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE STARTING ACROSS THE DESERT FROM ASSOUAN.