GORDON'S RETURN. 351 that, as the Soudanese insurrection was supposed to be a struggle for independence and for the overthrow of Egyptian rule, the Mahdi and his followers would, as soon as their freedom was secured, be only too glad to let the Egyptian soldiers and settlers in the Soudan depart in peace. This delusion was dispelled almost before the evacuation had been decreed. It became evident that the insurrection of the Soudan was not ended by the declaration of Soudanese independence, and that the Mahdi had ulterior objects utterly incompatible with any amicable separation between Egypt and the Soudan. When this truth dawned upon the public mind at home, there was a strong outburst of popular indignation, not so much against the evacuation, as against its logical and necessary consequences.

In spite of our repute as a practical nation, sentiment always plays a greater part in British politics than it does in those of any other country with which I am acquainted. The notion of some thirty thousand Egyptians, men, women, and children, being left to the mercy of the Mahdi and the halfsavage fanatics who followed his standard, without any attempt being made to secure their safety, shocked public feeling in England ; and this feeling was voiced by the British press. Something had got to be done ; such was the cry of the hour, and, as usual, something foolish was done in consequence. The credit, if credit it can be called, of suggesting the employment of General Gordon's services for the