THE DERVISH INVASION OF EGYPT Anticipations of Dervish raid on Egypt — Advance delayed by sudden death of the Mahdi — Abdullah el Taashi becomes ruler of the Soudan as Khalifa — Battle of Toski — Rout of Dervishes — Cessation of active hostilities between the Soudan and Egypt.

From the day when the British forces begun to withdraw from the Soudan, the Mahdi commenced his preparations for the invasion of Egypt. He was too wise, however, to give any outward sign, until the bulk of the British troops, sent out in order to rescue Gordon, had actually quitted Egypt. Then, as I have mentioned, on the eve of his advance northwards, he died suddenly. Had he lived, the ultimate outcome of the great raid he contemplated would probably have been the same ; but the struggle, I think, would have been far more severe. Throughout the villages of Lower Egypt, and even in the towns where the European and Christian elements are most powerful, a belief in the approaching triumph of the Mahdi prevailed widely amidst the native population.

If this was the case in the parts of Egypt dominated by European influences, it is easy to understand how much greater must have been the prestige of