THE ARAB CHARGE. 67 gravel ridge occupied by the great force of the enemy between them and the Nile. It was slow work, for though the bare gravelly ground was better than the savass grass, the camels could only move at a very deliberate pace. Our frequent change of position as the square zigzagged to keep upon these open spaces rather frustrated the tactics of the enemy, who had to shift their position also from the points at those inclosed or grass-covered spaces through which they thought we should pass and where they were prepared to attack. They kept up a continuous and harassing fire, and our men had now and then to lie down and fire volleys at the places from which the puffs of smoke were seen to come from amidst the long grass. Occasionally the shifting of the enemy could be observed from the seriba, where our men were at the guns and contrived to put several shells among them. The march was a terrible one, however, and the number of times that our men were halted to fire at those " hot " places where many were killed or wounded, consumed hours, so that the sun was sinking low when they were still about 600 yards from the ridge. Lord Arthur Somerset was wounded, many men had fallen, for the firing had now become furious, so that the men fell quickly, and the cacolets and stretchers were filled with the wounded. It was an awful time. To go on perhaps meant fighting to the last man; to retreat meant being utterly destroyed. Suddenly from the right front of the square the enemy moved to the left front, the firing ceased, and the spearmen came rushing down the hill with several horsemen before them bearing towards the left-hand corner of the square.

At sight of this a kind of low sigh of relief was uttered by our men, and as they halted to receive the charge they gave a wild cheer, and remembering Abu-Klea, fired as coolly and regularly as they would have done on a field-day at Aldershot. The bugle sounded "cease firing;" the order was obeyed; there were a few seconds of rest, and when, with the enemy at 300 yards, the call to "commence firing" was heard, the advancing host seemed to melt away before the steady and tremendous discharge. The leaders with their fluttering banners went down. Only one