GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 118 that theBritish force shouldadvanceupon Khartoum by the road from Ambukol to Matamah, where five of his steamers with nine guns awaited it. His journals were onboard, he said, together with all details and a map of Berber. "Do not let any Egyptian soldiers come up here," he added, "take command of the steamers direct, and turn out theEgyptian fellaheen."

Gordon also furnished some interesting information respecting theposition at Khartoum. He stated thatthe Arabs had their Krupp guns with them, andhad often hulled his steamers. Theyhadmoreovercapturedtwoof the smaller ones at Berber, (perhaps on the occasion of Stewart's departure), and a third on the Blue Nile. Since then he had built two new ones. He was still issuing paper money, and also all the stores in the magazines. Three million rounds hadbeen firedby his troops since the commencement of the siege,but lately therehadonly been occasionalfights with the Arabs, who were stationed on the south, south-westand east of the town some distanceoff; all the north side, along the White Nile, being free.* The Mahdi was about eight miles away, and had all the European prisoners in his train. The nuns who were anxious to avoid an Arab marriage,wereostensibly married to Greek captives, and Gordonjocoselyalludedto this as "theunion of theLatin andGreekchurches." SlatenBey, whowaswiththeMahdi, had allhis property and was well treated, "but," added Gordonin the sameline,"Ihear to-day he is in chains." A mysterious Frenchman,f whohad come fromDongola, wassaid to be withthe FalseProphet; and the latterhad reportedthe surrender of Lupton Bey, the governor of Bahr-el-Ghazel. On the other hand Senaar was "all right," andknew that the British were coming.

and determined to take advantage of his numerical superiority, and to charge home at any cost. A square had been formed by the Camel Corps, two men deep, with the front rank kneeling,and the camels lying down inside;and the charge was sustainedmost successfully ; the report of the umpires, General StewartandColonel Vandeleur,beingaltogetherfavourabletothe CamelCorps, as the animalsshowed great steadiness, andexhibited no alarm when the enemycharged downupon them.

This promised well for the future,and,much as the men may have disliked camel riding, they were in a measure reconciled to their mounts by the bravery which the animalsdisplayedinstanding fire. The troops stationed at Dongola now longed for a bout with the enemy, but unfortunately, such were the difficulties of transport, that the main body of the expedition hadnot yet come up. It was more urgent than ever to press forward, for although the repeated rumours that Khartoum had already fallen were generally disbelieved, it was certain thatthe city was closely invested,anddelay, if prolonged, might result in that awful contingency— "Too late!"

CHAPTER XV.

The advance forthereliefof Khartoumpracticallycommences.— Gordon announces that he can hold out for forty days, and that he has sent fivesteamers tomeet the British troops.— Rebel successes.— The Egyptian prisoners in the Mahdi's camp.— Roman Catholic nunsmarried to Greek captives.— Slaten Bey well treated butin chains.— Olivier Pain, the Mahdi's chancellor. — Reported surrender of Lupton Bey.— Lord Wolseley returns to Wady Haifa.— General order to the troops.— £100 prize for the best passage.— Supplies on board the whaleboats.— Military stations along the Nile.— The difficulties of navigation.— The race up the river.— 4* Tommy Atkins " as an oarsman.— Scenery from Sarras to Dongola.— The Hannek cataract.— Lord Wolseley returns to the front, leaves Dongola and proceeds to Korti.— Reports from Khartoum. — Gordon challenges the Mahdi to dry up the Nile. — Casualties to boats and men.— Wear and tear of the oarsmen.— FalstafTs The most important newscontained in this despatch was the statement concerning the limited time that Khartoumcouldstillholdout;and,in viewofhastening the Britishadvance, Lord Wolseley leftDongola onNov. 13— the veryday thatParliamentvoted asupplementary estimateof a millionsterlingfor the expedition— andproceeded to Wady Haifa, where he gave orders for the troops to be hurried forward. This was all the more necessary as the Nile was now rapidly falling. During the Commander-in-Chief's absence from Dongola, the fieldtelegraphline wasput inorder, andto expedite the arrivalof the troops, arrangementsweremadeto establish a regular ferry at Haffir, twentymiles down the Nile. About the same time news came to hand thatthe rebels had returned in force to Omdurman, and that two steamers, sent by Gordon to shell them,hadbeen driven back to Khartoum by the fire of the Krupp guns— said to be pointed byTurkish topstis, commonlyreputed to be thebest marksmenin the world. Afew cases of smallpox occurredat this periodamongthe troops atDongola; and, as it was deemed advisable to change the campingground, GeneralSir Herbert Stewart andhisstaff started ragged regiment.— Head-quarters at Korti.— Testing the steadiness of the camels — Christmas festivities.— Lord Wolseley's plan. — Two columns formed under Generals Earle and Stewart.— Stewart's march to Gakdul Wells.— Capture of the enemy's supplies.— A running fight in the desert. — Return of Stewart to Korti.— News from Khartoum.— Gordon's secret message.

Before leaving Wady Haifa, Lord Wolseley had given orders for the troops to hurry forward withall possible dispatch. There was as yet but a mere advance guard at Dongola, including the 1st battalion of the Royal Sussex andsome squadrons of the 19th Hussars and the CamelCorps; the main body of the expeditionaryforce beingstillat Wady Haifa or even lower down theNile.

However, on Nov. 2, the general advance practically commenced by the South Staffordshire regiment embarking for Dongola. Some detachments of the Essex regiment, the Duke of Cornwall's regiment, the Royal Engineers and the Guards' CamelCorps, started shortly -afterwards, either by river or road;and as more than 400 whaleboatshadnow passed the second cataract, the prompt arrival of men and stores at Dongola was to be -expected. It soon became evident that the utmost diligence was necessary, for onNov. 14, the Commanderin-Chiefreceived information thatKhartoum couldhold out for another forty days, but thatafteiwvards"it would be difficult." This important news came in a despatch fromGeneral Gordon, which had been ten days on the road; so that Lord Wolseleyhadbut another month left to himin which to free the city fromits assailants. "Your expeditionis for relief of garrison, which I failedto accomplish. Idecline to agree thatit is for me personally,"wroteGordon, whoat thesame timesuggested This news was shortly afterwards confirmed by variousnatives, who reported thatKhartoum was besieged within a radius of twelve miles by 20,000 Arabs with 13 guns. t This was none other than M. Olivier Pain, the wellknown Communistic journalist. Transportedto New Caledonia after the Parisian rising of 1871, he made his escape with Henri Rochefort and returned to Europe. Joining the Sultan's army at the outset of the Russo-Turkish war, he took partin the memorable defence of Plevna under Osman Pasha ;and in 1884 heleft France for Egypt ostensibly as the special correspondent of the Fis/aro newspaper," but with the secret intention of joining the Mahdi. After several mishaps he finally succeeded in doing so, and since that date it has been persistently rumoured that he was acting as the Mahdi's "chancellor." Subsequently he seems to have endeavoured to makehis waydown theNile, on hearing of which theEgyptian authorities thought fit to offer £50 for the adventurous Frenchman'scapture.