GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 57 my sister,'Iwillfly on Wednesday the16thto Brussels;' soIsaid to Wolseley,'Iwill come up on Tuesday, the 15th,and go to Brussels on 16th.' Ireached London at 2 p.m.,Tuesday,stayed with WolseleyinWolseley's office from 2 till5 p.m.,whilehe talked toMinisters. Nothing, however, came of it;so Isaid,'Iwill go to Brussels.' Ididnot see Ministers. Iconsequently went to Brussels on Wednesday,and got there Wednesday night. At noon on ThursdayIgot telegram from Wolseley saying, 'Come overat once;' so Isaw the King,who did not like my going,and left Brussels at 8 p.m., Thursday, reachingLondon at 6 a-m., Friday. Isaw Wolseley at 8 a.m. He saidnothing was settled,butMinisterswould see me at 3*30 p.m. No oneknewIhad comeback. At noon he,Wolseley, cameforme,and tookmeto Ministers. He wentin andtalked to the Ministers, and came back and said,'Her Majesty's Government wantyou to understand this— Government are determined to evacuate Soudan, for they will not guarantee future government.

Will yougo anddoit]' Isaid' Yes.' Hesaid,'Goin.' Iwentin and saw them. They said,'Did Wolseley tell you our orders.' Isaid, 'Yes.' Isaid, 'You willnot guarantee future government of Soudan, and you wish me to goup to evacuate now.' They said,'Yes,' and it wasover, and Ileft at 8 p.m. for Calais. Verylittle passedbetween us. The Dukeand Wolseley cameto sec me off * so thatis over LordGranvillethankedme for going very nicely. Government are right,if they will not guarantee future government of Soudan, to evacuateit."

difficulty of my task. Ifeel now more than ever the absence of your powerful hand and loyal heart. Iam goingbecauseIam a soldier, whose creedis to obey."

The Khedive telegraphed in reply his best wishes for GeneralGordon's success, and his earnest hope that his intelligenceand energywould enable him to overcomeall difficulties.

On January 25, Gordon reached Cairo, where he received a further and much moreextendedbatchof instructions fromSir EvelynBaring. By these his mission was formally changedfrom one of merelyreportingupon the best modeof proceedinginto one of actuallyeffecting theevacuationof the Soudan, and furthermoreofre-establishing thegovernmentof the different pettySultans who existed at the timeofMehemet Ali's conquest. This was Gordon's own suggestion,as was alsothe onethat anendeavour shouldbe made to form a confederacy of these Sultans. He was givenfulldiscretionarypower to retain the Egyptian troops for such reasonable period as he might think necessary, in order that the abandonment of the country might be effected withthe least possible risk to life and property. He was at the same time assured by Sir Evelyn Baring that no effort would be wantingon the part of the Cairo authorities, whether English or Egyptian, to afford him all the co-operation andsupport intheir power.

On the morningfollowing his arrival, General Gordon had an interview of a very cordial character with the Khedive Tewfik,and received a firman appointing him Governor-Generalof the Soudan. By this firmanhe was empoweredto carryinto executionthe evacuationof the respective territories and the withdrawalof the troops, civiloffici.als,and such of the inhabitants as wishedto leave forEgypt. He wasifpossible aftercompletingthe evacuation to take steps for establishing an organized governmentin the different provinces.

On January 27, Gordonstarted for Khartoum in the jointcapacityofBritishHighCommissioner,andGovernor-Generalof the Soudan for the Khedive. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Stewart and Ibraham Pasha, and also had with him a youth named Ameer Abel-el-Shakour, to whom, as heir of the Sultan of Darfour, the Khedivehad, so far as his authority extended, restored his paternal dominions. The Suakim-Berber route being closed, the part}' went by way of Assouan. Fromhere GeneralGordon telegraphedup to Khartoum, "You are men, not women. Be not afraid. Iam coming"; and down to Cairo to say that the youth sent with himas Sultan of Darfour had been incapable fromdrink ever since he left Cairo, and was totallyunfit for theresponsibilities of hisposition. It was then discovered that the wrong man had been sent, and that, insteadof a youth, aged eighteen,with forty-two wives, the rightful claimant was a man, thirty-two years old, with only two wives. Such a blunder as this was of course calculated to cast contempt upon a Government already seriouslycompromised inthe eyes of the people.

On reaching Korosko on February 2, Gordon and Stewartquitted the Nile Valley and struck across the Nubian Desert on a lonelyride of 240 miles to Abou Hamed. Theyhad no escort, and the risk was one that the boldest might have shuddered at. Nor could anysure news be hoped for till they had actually reached Berber. The interestexcitedwasintense, and the attentionof theentirecountry was fixedonthefigure of Gordon flittingonthe backof aswift-pacing dromedary across the sandyandwaterlesstractswarmingwithdeadlyfoesinorder to do what in himlay to save the imperilledgarrisonof Khartoum. By a strangecoincidencehe was encountered Gordon's original instructions from the Foreign Office were dated the same day, January 18. They simply directed him to report on the militarysituation in the Soudan,andthemeasuresadvisable for securingthesafety of the Egyptian garrisons in that country, and of the Europeanpopulation at Khartoum; on the best modeof evacuating the interior,and securing the good administration of the Red Sea ports; on the steps to be takento counteract the stimulus given to the slave trade by the insurrectionary movement,and to secure the safe withdrawal of the Egyptian troops. He himself described the missionon whichhe wasproceedingin the followingterse phrase *— "Igoto cut thedog's tailoff. I'vegotmy orders, andI'lldo it coute que coute." He left Charingcross station,accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart ashis militarysecretary, andchiefof the staff,* and Lord Wolseley, it is recorded,carried his portmanteau to the carriage,Lord Granville took his ticket forhim,and the Duke of Cambridge held open the carriagedoor.

General Gordon who had always kept up a friendly correspondence with the Khedive Ismail, sending his congratulations to him on every anniversary of the Moslemfetes, wrote to expresshis regretat beingobliged to start upon his mission without receiving the advice and good wishes of hishighness, who was then inRome. He added, "Icannot conceal mymisgivings as to the * ColonelJohnDonaldHammill Stewart, who was bornin 1845,receivedhisfirstcommission as ensignin the11thHussarsin1869,andbecame alieutenant-colonelin1881. Two yearspreviously hehad been appointedBritish Vice-Consulin Asia Minor. Having been selected in 1882 toreport on the stateof the Soudan,he started for Khartoum, andafter furnishing a full report on the population, position, manufactures and trade of that town, he continued for some months to forward informationrespecting the variousmilitary operations in the Soudan provinces. On his mission ceasing in April, 1S83, the Earl of Dufferin expressedon his own behalf as well asin the name of the Egyptian Government, his high appreciation of the energy and industry with which, in spite of innumerable difficulties, Colonel Stewart had discharged his duties. It was doubtless because of his Soudan experiences that Gordon selected Colonel Stewart for his secretary. E 2