THE NEWS FROM GORDON. 26/ "Get the newspapers to say I received letters through Kitchener from Sir S. Baker, my sister, Stanley, from Congo. Do not send any more letters private, it is too great a risk. Do not write in cipher, for I have none, and it is of no import, for Mahdi knows everything, and you need not fear him.

" I should take the road from Ambukol to Metammeh, where my steamers wait for you. Leontides, Greek consul-general, Hauswell, Austrian consul, all right.

" Stewart, Power, and Herbin went down in the Abbas.

"A letter came from Mitzakis, the 31st July, from Adowa.

" The messenger had a letter from King for me, but Mahdi captured it. Please explain that to his majesty.

" If journal is lost with Stewart we have no record of events from the 1st March to the 10th September, except a journal kept by doctor.

" Your expedition is for relief of garrison, which I failed to accomplish. I decline to agree that it is for me personally.

" Stewart's journal was a gem, illustrated with all the Arabic letters of Mahdi to me, &c.

" You may not know what has passed here. "The Arabs camped outside Khartum on the 12th March. We attacked them on the 16th March, got defeated, and lost heavily, also a gun. We then from that date had continued skirmishes with Arabs. Stewart was wounded slightly in arm.

" On one occasion when river rose we drove off Arabs in three or four engagements and fired their towns. Scut up to Sennar two expeditions; had another fight, and again was defeated with heavy loss; the square was always broken. This last defeat was on the 4th September; since then we have had comparative quiet.

" We fired 3,000,000 rounds. "The palace was the great place for the firing. Arabs have the Krupps here, and often have hulled our steamers. Arabs captured two small steamers at Berber, and one on Blue Nile. We have built two new ones, steamers. The steamers had bulwarks, and were struck with bullets 1090 times each on an average, and three times with shot each. We defended the lines