GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 53 three of his assailants. Dr. Leslie, not having time to draw his revolver, dispatched two Arabs with his sword. He and Morice Bey fell nearly at the same moment.* Lieutenant Smith and Captain Foresticr-Walker, after shootingsome of their men whoattempted to run away from the guns, remainedat theirposts until speared. So sudden and rapid was the enemy's onset thatonly asingle round was fired, theEgyptian gunners boltinginstantly afterwards. It had now become a total rout, and the shattered column kept streaming across the plain towards Trinkitat, preceded by the flying cavalry, while the enemy pressed hotly on the rear, slaughtering at will. All mounted men unable to ride well were dismountedby the rush of the flying horsemen, and killed. For five miles thefight and pursuit were kept up, during which the Massowah black battalionbehavedremarkably well. For a portion of the distance they retired steadily,firing volleys into the enemy. Zebehr'sblacks were undrilled and hardly able to fire their rifles, not having been in camplongenough before the advance to enable their officers to instruct themproperly. It is not surprising therefore, that they boltedalmostas promptly as the Egyptians. Many very gallant actions wereperformedby theEuropeanofficers, who engagedinhand to hand struggles with the Arab spearmen bothduring the onslaughtof the latter and whilebeingpursuedby them to Trinkitat. Major Harveysaved his European servant, when exhaustedin the flight,by placinghim onhis horse andrunninghimselfon footbeside it.

Baker Pasha was among the last of the returning fugitives, andhad to facemore than one Arab spearman within a few feet of himas herodealong. He,however, reachedTrinkitatunscathed. Onreachingthe earthwork, where the troops had encamped the night before, the General made whatefforts he could to protect the rearof theflyingfugitivesbyorderinga chargeofTurkishcavalry and afewEgyptianhorsemen whoseflight hadbeen arrestedbytheofficers,but nothingwouldinducethemtocharge. Hegot them, however, to forminline at the earthwork, and to halt facing the enemy. The pursuit here ceased, the enemy doubtlessbeingafraidof the fireof the ships, thoughin factnogunboatwasin theharbour. The wearyfugitives, however, stillstreamedon, and horse and foot, withmany riderless horses here and there amongthem, made their way across the two intervening miles of deepmudtoTrinkitat. Onreachingthe shore they would have crowded into the few boats andswamped them,had not theEnglish officers,revolver inhand,kept themback. Then they stood huddled together on the beach like a flock of sheep, andif the enemyhad come on wouldhave beenbutchered withas littleresistance as so many sheep might havemade. Only whenit was foundthatthe rebels hadreally ceasedtheirpursuit, did the panic subside.

Allnight longthe work of embarkation went on, the General,theEuropeanofficers,andthecrewsoftheEnglish ships workingunceasinglyingetting the men,horses, and baggageonboard. None of the Egyptian officers lent their aid to keep order or to helpin the embarkation,but wereeitherinbed or skulking. The Arabsprowled round about the camp, but fortunately refrained from making any attack. By morningall themen wereonboard, and it was then seen that the total loss of the troops on the previous day's disaster amounted tomore than 2000men, including 96 officers, 16 of whom were on the staff.

Among the English officers killed were Morice Bey,Dr. Leslie, Major Watkins, Captain Forcstier-Walker and Lieutenants Carroll, Smith, Carrere, and Wills ; other officers killed were Colonels Abdul Rusac and Yussuf, Major Racca, Lieuten.ants Bertin, Morisse de Marchi, Cavalieri,Pallioko,Messeburg, Donabauer, Duporte,and Leonhardt. Only twoof the battalioncommanders were among the survivors. Of Zebehr's blacks, which left Trinkitat 678 strong, 410 were said to be killed. Of 636 men of the Alexandrian regiment noless than 496 were reported killed or missing. The Turks, too, lost heavily, while only threeItalians returned to Trinkitat out of 36 who started. Of 400 men fromSanheit,on the Abyssinian frontier, only 70 reached Suakim. It was believed that the majority of those killed were slain during the pursuit.

Themen onboardthe ships were all betterpleased at the prospect of being sent home again thanif theyhad wona greatvictory, and feltnodisgracewhateverat their defeat. It subsequently transpired thatthetotalnumber of the rebel force which assailedthe Egyptiantroops was only1800, or about half as many men as Baker Pasha hadunder his command. It was estimated that nearly one thirdof them werekilled, a considerable proportion of whom fell before the revolvers and swords of the European officers. The survivors regardedit as apiece of good fortune that the army was attacked so early onits march, the beliefbeing that had it been allowed to reach Tokar,not a single man would have returned. The spoilsecured by the rebels included fivo guns, with 36,000 lbs. of cannon ammunitionand a largequantityof rifle cartridges,and about 3,000 rifles thrown awayby the troopsduringtheir flight. The wholeof thebaggage was of course lost.

ThenewsofthedisastercreatedquiteapanicinSuakim. In order to provideagainst an attack by the rebels, and also to preserve order in the town, AdmiralHewett, on February 6,promptly landed a party ofblue-jackets and marines with some Gatling guns. Baker Pashahaving returned with the remnant of his troops, nearly 3000 men were availablefor the defence of the town,but the majority were completely demoralized. The mere sight of a handful of rebels would have caused a stampede from the camp to the island. In every part of the town and on the road to the camp there were heartrending scenes, women and children weeping for husbands and fathers killedin the latebattle. Evenfor the purposeof holdingSuakim theEgyptiantroops could not be relied upon, whilst the town-people, becoming infected with religious mania, threatened to turn on the Europeans. Luckily at this juncture the English Government telegraphed to Admiral Hewett, that he was invested with full powers,military and civil,at Suakim, andinstructed him to warnthe Arabs thatanyattack wouldberepulsed by British troops. The Admiralthereuponassumed supreme command, Hussein Pasha, the Governor-General, tendering his resignation, whichwaspromptlyaccepted. Orders were moreover despatched from Cairo for the withdrawal of Baker Pasha and the remainder of his routed forces, and arrangements were made for the despatch of aBritish expeditionto relieve Tokar.

Meanwhile Sinkat had fallen. Towards the end of January the news received from the town was most heartrending. The people had eaten all the dogs in the place, and were now feeding on the horses and skins. There was only one bag of barley,.and by February 1, nothingwould be left. Ifnoreliefcame, Tewfiksaid that * Morice Bey had joined Baker Pasha's army in the capacity of paymaster. He seems to have had a prescience of disaster, for on accepting the .appointment he wrote to his friends: "Ihave eaten the salt of Egypt for sevenyears,andIcannot deserther in her hour of need." He wasInspector-General of the Egyptian Coastguard,and after the trial of Arabi and his companions escorted them from Cairo to Cyprus.