2 24 EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN.

its falling into the hands of the Mahdi. Gordon was killed a few moments after he had quitted the palace gate, and it would appear that, according to the barbarous custom of the Soudan, his head was struck off and exposed at Omdurman.

Of course there were other stories, some of them wild enough ; and a Greek, who represented that he had escaped in the Mahdi's uniform and reached Berber, appeared at Dongola with a tale in which he reported that an Arab had gone up into the room where Gordon was reading the Bible and had there killed him, cut off his head and stuck it on a spear to convey it to the Mahdi. A narrative of two other refugees, representing themselves to be Goldiers of Gordon's army who were taken and sold as slaves, is so characteristic that it is worth noting so far as a few extracts are concerned.

" That night Khartum was delivered into the hands of the rebels. It fell through the treachery of the accursed Faragh Pasha, the Circassian, who opened the gate. May he never reach Paradise! May Shaytan take possession of his soul! But it was Kismet. The gate was called ' Buri.' It was on the Blue Nile. We were on cruard near, but did not see what was eointr on. We were attacked and fought desperately at the gate. Twelve of us were killed and twenty-two retreated to a high room, where we were taken prisoners.

A cry arose, 'To the palace! to the palace!' A wild and furious band rushed towards it, but they were resisted by the black troops, who fought desperately. They knew there was no mercy for them, and that even were their lives spared they would be enslaved, and the state of the slave, the perpetual bondage with hard taskmasters, is worse than death. Slaves are not treated well, as you think; heavy chains are round their ankles and middle, and they are lashed for the least offence till blood flows. We had fought for the Christian pasha and for the Turks, and we knew that we should receive no mercy. We, the party I was with, could not help being taken prisoners. The house was set on fire. The fight raged, and the slaughter continued till the streets were slippery with blood. The rebels rushed onward to the palace. We