GORDON'S RETURN. 357 period which elapsed between Gordon's arrival at Khartoum and the investment of the town by the Mahdi's forces.

When the news of Baker's defeat at El Teb arrived in England, public feeling was not satisfied with Gordon having been sent to Khartoum on a special mission of a pacific character. Something had got to be done, and again, in accordance with the maxim I have quoted at the commencement of this chapter, what was done, was something foolish. The home Ministry, influencod, I have no doubt, by the British military authorities in Egypt, who bitterly resented their enforced inaction, resolved to employ British troops to try and rescue the garrison of Tokar. The arrangements for the expedition were completed with great promptitude. The British fleet was ordered to Alexandria, so as to enable the British garrison stationed there to be transferred to Cairo, and on the 24th of February a force of 4000 British troops was landed at Trinkitat, under the command of General Graham. In the course of the same day, news of a trustworthy character arrived to the effect that Tokar had already capitulated. Under these circumstances, there were two rational courses open to our Government, either to recall the expedition at once, or to employ it in a serious attempt to restore the authority of Egypt in the Eastern Soudan, whose sea coast was excluded from the edict of evacuation imposed on the Khedive by his British advisers. Instead of adopting either of these