1896] Frederic Harrison at Cricket 233 



Mesaoud has taken first Arab Prize, Meijliss second. This is satis- 

 factory, though in truth no great triumph, seeing what a poor competi- 

 tion it was. 



" ijth July. — Went 'to see Bowles and consult him about Egyptian 

 affairs, and as to bringing forward the case of Rhodes' 220 Soudanese, 

 which certainly ought to be done. Bowles has made for himself by 

 his cleverness a certain position in the House of Commons, and I would 

 rather he took the case up than the Radicals. 



" 18th July. — I have written to 'the ' Times ' about Cecil Rhodes and 

 his 220 Soudanese recruited at Cairo, and never since heard of. 



" In the afternoon I started for Blackdown, going by way of Pet- 

 worth, where I left cards, nobody being at home. Then on by Lods- 

 worth Common. This is, I think, the easiest, though 'the longest road, 

 and may be about twenty-one miles. I found Harrison at cricket with 

 his boys, now grown-up young men, but they came in presently, and I 

 played a set of lawn tennis with the philosopher, and spent a pleasant 

 evening discussing his creed of Humanity and mine of anti-Humanity. 

 It seems to be pretty much the same thing as far as politics are con- 

 cerned, for the principal wish of both of us is to see the break-up of, 

 'the British Empire. He has some right to believe in Humanity, as he 

 has never had a pain or ache or a sleepless night in his life, and he is] 

 past sixty. Thus in half serious humour we passed the evening. There 

 is nobody in the world less like a philosopher or a religious leader than 

 the good Harrison. 



" igth July (Sunday). — Off at five in the morning, having said 

 good-bye overnight, going by Lodsworth and Ebenhoe, Kirdford and 

 Wisborough Green, an old-fashioned bit of country as any in Sussex, 

 belonging, I think, all to Leconfield. Long may it so remain. 



" yd Aug. — Dr. Jameson has been sentenced to fif'teen months im- 

 prisonment, a sentence at once too much and too little. The Govern- 

 ment has made him a first-class misdemeanant, so as a punishment it is 

 very little. At the same time if 'the sentence had been carried out it 

 would have been a savage one. He ought to have been hanged at 

 Pretoria. The ' Times ' has refused to publish my letter about Rhodes' 

 Soudanese. 



" 6th Aug. — There has been heavy cholera up the Nile. Captain 

 Fenwick dead, and one of 'the young engineer officers I saw at Korosko 

 last November. He was under twenty-four, and was receiving £1,000 

 a year from the Egyptian Government, and thought himself a lucky 

 fellow to be there. They are to advance on Dongola at the end of the 

 month. What our Jingoes want is to wait 'till the Egyptian army is 

 exhausted by heat, hard fighting, and cholera, and then to send an 

 English army to Khartoum in cool weather to reap the profits of the 



