GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 157 march first to Abu Klea, thence to Gakdul and finally to Korti, the bearers displayed the utmost patience"and perseverance,andLord Wolseley fittingly recognizedtheir services when they reached the headquarterscamp. Unfortunatelyhowever,but afractionof the wounded arrived there. Numbers of them succumbed on the way,and notablyat Gakdul,wherethey wereconsignedto alonely cemetery ina gorgenear the reservoirs. Here also were burieda number of men who had fallensick, for enteric fever, due to exhaustion,badquarters and poor feeding, was becoming very common and fatal, as the doctors coulddo but littleto stay its ravages. Every day added to the number of graves over which the dead men's comrades raised mounds of stones, adorned with rough crosses bearing the letters R.I.P., and the name and regimentof the deceased.

Guards and a contingent of colonial volunteers from Australia,had been musteredat Suakim,under General Sir GeraldGraham. It was proposed to utilise theseto cever the formation of a railwayalong the alternative Suakim and Berber route, and even after the news of General Gordon's death and of the fall of Khartoum there appeared to be a likelihood of this design being persisted in. OsmanDignaand his Hadendowas were on the alert to oppose Sir Gerald Graham's advance, and several severe engagements ensued. Sir John McNeill, having been entrusted with the task of forming an advancedzereba, chose a spot surrounded by thick scrub, out of whichahorde of Arabssuddenlybroke and assailed the working parties. It was with some difficult}- that these wererallied,and astampedeamongst the camp followers and baggage animals increased the dangerby hinderingthemenfromgettingintoformation. An almostidentical surprise was effected at Hasheen, on March 22, and although the loss inflicted on the Arabs, especially on the last occasion, wasverysevere,a number of sheikhs beingshot down,and the banner presentedby theMahdi to Osman Digna captured, the British were temporarilycrippledby- the slaughter of their transport animals, which werestampededandspearedby hundreds. Under these circumstances the construction of the railway was pushed on, and early inApril by its aidGeneral Grahamadvancedto Handoub, wherea strongzerebawas formed.

One ofthe first to pass awayon the return to Gakdul, wasthe gallant soldierwhohadled thecolumn to victory across the desert,,the brave and energetic Sir Herbert Stewart. Thebattle of Abu Kleahad wonhimthe rank ofMajor-General and the admirationof all classes of his countrymen. When it becameknown that he hadbeen woundedat Gubat, the greatestsolicitude was expressed for his recover}-, and at first the reports of his condition weremost hopeful. But it appearsthat the doctors had despaired of saving him from the very first. He expired on arriving at Gakdul Wells, on February 16; and was buried, like so many others,in the little graveyardnear the reservoirs. The scene was a most impressive one. The troops formeda procession in the valley headed by the firingparty and the bandof theRoyalSussex. The pall-bearers were Majors Byng and Gould, Lieutenants Lord, Browning, Douglas, and Dawson, and Captain Rhodes. ColonelTalbotread the service, and therewas not a moisteye amongall those present when the brave soldier's remains were consigned to their last resting place amidthe desert sands.

Reconnaissances were made in force, the enemy's cattlebeing" lifted," their huts burned and their wells blown up with dynamite, the last tactic leading to a humanitarian protest in the House of Commons. Otao and Tambouk were in turn seized upon and occupied, and the railway carried forwardto these points, despite the repeatedattemptsof the Hadendowasto tear up the line at night. They did not venture, however, to showfight in the open field,and OsmanDigna wasreportedto be at the head of a very reduced following. At the beginningofMavr, Lord Wolseley, whohadreturnedfrom Korti to Cairo, came on to Suakim and inspected the troops there and also the raihvay,thescheme of whichhe condemned. However,bythis time,indeferencetopublic opinion, or rather popular clamour, coupled with the possibleneed of all the forces of the empireintheconflict withRussia, thought to be impending,ithad finally been decidedto abandon the Soudan. Aspecial generalorder announcingthis intention, and thanking the troops, was issuedby Lord Wolseley, and their withdrawalfrom the neighbourhood of Suakim and fromthe upper Nile wasrapidly carriedout. The force at Suakim, with the exceptionof a garrison strong enough to hold the town, was re-embarked, and by the end of May the garrisons along, the Nile began to fallback. It was resolved to O *"*1 hold Wady Haifa, Korosko, and Assouan;and Tumbal Walid Hamid, descendant of the kings of Argo, was appointedgovernor of the territorybetweenSukkot and Hannek, on the evacuation of .Dongola, which took placeinJuly. On the 9th of thatmonth, Lord Wolseley left Suakim, arrivinginLondonfourdayslater. He wasshortly afterwardsraised to thedignityof a viscount, and numerous honours and rewards were accorded to the officers whohad taken a prominentpart in thecampaign. A voteof thanks to the whole force was also moved on August 12, in the House of Lordsby LordSalisbury, and in the House ofCommons by Sir MichaelHicks-Beach.

Whilst the retirementof the British troops wasinprogress, intelligence wasreceivedof thedeathof theMahdi, which took place from small-pox on June 20. His position had previously been considerably weakened by But little if anything now remains to be recorded. The incidents of General Buller's masterly retreat from AbuKru are still fresh in the minds of every one. By March 8, the whole of Lord Wolseley's troops were once more assembled at Korti, and the Commander-in-Chief wasable to thank themfor their servicesinthe following general order, by which he, moreover, announced that the campaign was at anend.

" The Queen, who has watched withthe deepest interest the doings of her soldiers and sailors, has desired me to express to you her admirationforyourcourageand yourself-devotion. To havecommanded suchmenis tome a source of the highest pride. No greater honour canbe in store for me than that to whichIlook forward of leading you,please God! into Khartoum before the yearis out. Your noble efforts to save General Gopdon have been unsuccessful, but through no fault of yours, lioth on the River and in the Desert you have borne hardships and privation without murmur;in action you have been uniformly victorious ;all that men could do to save a comrade youhave done, butKhartoum fell through treachery two days before the advanced troops reached it. A period of comparative inaction maynow be expected. This Army was not constituted witha view to undertaking the siege of Khartoum, and for the moment we must content ourselves with preparations for the Autumn advance. You will, Iknow, face theheat of Summer and the necessary, though less exciting, work which has now to be done with the same courage and endurance yon haveshown hitherto. Ithank you heartily for all you have doneinthepast. Ican wishnothing better— Ican ask nothing more of yon in the future than the same uncomplaining devotion to duty which has characterised your conduct during the recent operations."

In thus announcing a contemplated advance in the autumn, Lord Wolseleyproved a falseprophet, for a very few months were to witness thedefinitewithdrawal ofthe British troops. Whilst he had been advancingup the Nile a strongexpeditionary force, including a brigade of