Anba' Abd al-Rahman Bey in Khartoum was asked to join us, and I heard him repeatedly express his regret about his presence, determined not to accompany us to El Obeid. An order was issued to His Excellency Effendi al-Hukdar, whose intention was only that when the commander of this detachment learned of his presence with us, and he also learned of his presence, he would rectify the corruption of the troops of this detachment, with his presence granting full pardon from the government. And in the hope of his further advancement and to disregard what we heard concerning him and his father while we were in Khartoum, he protested that he was determined to perform the pilgrimage and that he had sent his wife ahead with women to protect her from the vicissitudes of time. So, praise be to God, His Excellency was able to fulfill his intention, whether willingly or unwillingly, as there was no need to clarify what happened there. I told him that you should not repeat these words that I clarified to His Excellency since you were in Khartoum. His Excellency told him that with your master, whose honor you have been graced with and to whom you have been promoted to this rank, it is not fitting for you to say anything concerning your father and to express your sole regret concerning him without appreciating the outcome of our hopes, knowing for certain that your presence is merely the seal of our government. He neglected to mention that he was the first to leave the stronghold of El Obeid with Pasha to meet and support the detachment, and they allowed him to execute those who were executed and to seize the city of Kordofan, which the government knows well. What a great favor the government and His Excellency have bestowed upon you, and what a deed you have done to bring honor to the government. So Abd al-Rahman Bey replied, embarrassed by his current honor, saying, "Until when will I be clad in rags (the Qash robe), and I will call myself Abd al-Rahman if I possess more honor than I currently see myself adorned with." His Excellency was mixed with anger at the ugliness of these words, and I left immediately for my quarters, leaving His Excellency with him, and Basti Bey and Georgi Bey arrived. After a short while, I learned that His Excellency had ordered his imprisonment by the Bashir, the commander of His Excellency's expedition. And at one o'clock in the afternoon, His Excellency General Hicks Pasha, with two officials at His Excellency's table, to which we were invited with His Excellency Effendi al-Hukdar, expressed his extreme regret for these words and ordered him to be punished for what happened. We informed him, but in the hope that he would not intercede for him.