184 liGYPT AND THE SOUDAN.

' Take this, and more we have to give,' they said. And those who gave not in money gave in kind. Depots were formed, and one might laugh right heartily at some of the strange gifts that came pouring in, were it not that they were given with the heart to do something at this great time. In a couple of days chaos was reduced to order, and the work went on speedily and regularly, but the enthusiasm never flagged. It was no passing passion, but a deep-seated, firmly-rooted desire that filled men's hearts. We read— ' The commandant has received with gratification and wonder the urgent appeals of staid business men, surrounded with families and many other ties, not to refuse them the privilege of serving the empire.' Old military officers, who had turned their swords into ploughshares, and had never dreamed of war again, brightened the dull metal of their cast-off uniforms, and buckling the belt around them, turned once more to war. Young men whose eyes had never seen the lands beyond the ocean, but who had the love of England with the life from their mother's breast, threw down the axe or the stock-whip, and came into the city to give their lives to the empire. It was a rich burst of chivalry that lifted men out of the life of every day into an atmosphere of generous emotion and exalted feeling. The excitement caused by the acceptance of the colonial offer of troops was no less great in the country than in the metropolis. Each day brought news of the departure of country volunteers for Sydney. The enthusiasm was manifested in all manner of ways. The volunteers were escorted by torchlight processions to the railway-stations, a patriotic address having been delivered on the way by the local mayor from the balcony of the chief hotel, which for the time became a fountain at which all quenched their thirst. Then, amid the hurrahs of the whole population, down to the babes in arms, the ' Soudan lads took their seats in the carriages, the fife and drum bands striking up ' The girl I left behind me,' and with a final cheer that hid the sobs of many a wife, sister, or mother, the train moved off, and not till it was lost to sight did handkerchiefs cease to flutter or the cheering stop. The news was wired down the lines, and each station was crowded with people, who cheered the lads as they