EGYPT. 



315 



Pigott, of the mounted infantry, and three 

 men, were dispatched with the news to Lord 

 Wolseley, at Korti, where they arrived in safe- 

 ty on the 28th. Lord "Wolseley had already 

 dispatched a strong convoy of re-enforcements 

 to Gakdul, and other regiments subsequently 

 followed under command of Sir Redvers Bul- 

 ler. On the 28th of January Sir Charles Wil- 

 son advanced within sight of Khartoum under 

 a hot fire of rifles and siege -pieces posted 

 on the river-shore. The flag-staff, it was 

 claimed, was seen on the summit ef the Gov- 

 ernment-House, but Gordon's flag no longer 

 surmounted it. Sir Onarles Wilson, therefore, 

 determined to return, and proceeded down 

 stream under a heavy tire. It was reported to 

 them that Khartoum had fallen, through the 

 treachery of Farag (this has been denied), and 

 that Gordon had been killed. The steamer 

 Borddne, on the 31st, struck upon a rock and 

 was wrecked ; the troops, however, were gal- 

 lantly rescued by Lord Charles Beresford, and 

 returned safely to Gubat. Sir Charles Wilson 

 has been severely criticised for his failure to 



Kroceed to Khartoum on the 22d, and not hav- 

 ig pushed into Khartoum in order to ascertain 

 Gen. Gordon's fate beyond a doubt. These 

 charges have been made the subject of parlia- 

 mentary discussion and investigation, but noth- 

 ing has been found to justify the reflections 

 made against Sir Charles. 



The conflicting accounts of the manner of 

 the death of Gen. Gordon and the Europeans 

 said to have been slain at the same time, are 

 entirely apocryphal, and may be discarded, in 

 which case there is room for the belief ex- 

 pressed in some quarters that Gordon may be 

 alive, and that he abandoned Khartoum, and 

 in his steamers either went to join the garri- 

 son at Sennaar, or kept on his way to Gondo- 

 koro, his former seat of government. A few 

 months more may determine that which, at this 

 moment, is presented as a possibility only. 



Prince Hassan, brother of the Khedive, on 

 the 18th of February was sent up to join the 

 English forces with the ulterior object of nam- 

 ing him the Governor-General of the Soudan. 



Lord Wolseley began his retrograde move- 

 ment on the 23d of February. On the 28th 

 Gen. Buller and Lord Charles Beresford ar- 

 rived back at Korti. Gen. Brackenbury, who 

 succeeded to Gen. Earle, killed on the 9th Feb- 

 ruary near Dulka Island, also was ordered back 

 to Korti. Lord Wolseley established his head- 

 quarters at Dongola. 



In July of this year Lord Wolseley was 

 summoned by telegraph to return to England. 

 He transferred the chief command of the Brit- 

 ish force in Egypt to Lieut.-Gen. Sir F. Ste- 

 phenson. It is assumed that Lord Wolseley 

 returned for the purpose of conferring with 

 Lord Salisbury and his colleagues with refer- 

 ence to future military movements in the Sou- 

 dan, and to determine the line of frontier that 

 may be ascribed to Egypt. 



The Situation at Suakin. Osman Digna has 



proved more than a match for Gen. Graham, 

 who was charged with the operations from 

 Suakin. On the 22d of March Sir John Mc- 

 Neill, in command of the Berkshire regiment, 

 the marines, and a part of the Indian contin- 

 gent, moved out of camp five miles from Sua- 

 kin in the direction of Tamai. The squares 

 advanced across the desert, the Berkshire regi- 

 ment and marines in front, with four Gardner 

 guns, the Naval Brigade, and a detachment of 

 engineers following, and a second square com- 

 posed of Indians and a camel-train. They were 

 suddenly surprised by a large force of the 

 enemy and considerably cut up. The enemy 

 charged with reckless courage, leaping over 

 the low zeriba to certain death. Their loss is 

 estimated at 1,500, while that of the English 

 was very severe, and a number of officers were 

 killed or wounded. 



As late as August 29 of this year, H. M. S. 

 Grappler bombarded the rebels and put them 

 to flight. Osman Digna, it is said, has gone 

 to command the operations in the siege of Kas- 

 sala, which town, notwithstanding the many 

 accounts of its capitulation, still holds out. 

 Later information reports that Ras Aloui, the 

 Abyssinian general, with a considerable army 

 of Abyssinians, has gone to the rescue of Kas- 

 sala, and has defeated Osman Digna, and slain 

 3,000 of the Arabs. 



Admiral Hewitt, of the British navy, the 

 reader will remember, was ordered to proceed 

 to Adowa from Massowah in January, 1884, to 

 make a treaty with King John, and the expe- 

 dition of this Abyssinian command is supposed 

 to be the result of the negotiations of Admiral 

 Hewitt, with a view to obtaining the aid of 

 King John in opposing the Mahdi. 



Arrest of Zebehr Pasha. On the 15th of March 

 of this year, Zebehr Pasha, in consequence of 

 information received from Lord Wolseley, was 

 arrested at the suggestion of the latter. He 

 was taken on board of H. M. S. Iris, at Alex- 

 andria. His two sons, in charge of the police, 

 were also brought down from Cairo and placed 

 on board the same ship, which sailed from 

 Alexandria with sealed orders. It has since 

 transpired that father and sons have been in- 

 carcerated at Gibraltar. Zebehr is charged 

 with being in secret correspondence with the 

 Mahdi, cognizant of the Mahdi's movements, 

 and a party to the death of Gen. Gordon. 



Hussein Pasha Khalifa was the Governor of 

 Berber in 1874 and in 1884. He was highly 

 esteemed by Gen. Gordon and his chief of 

 staff, and when the former returned to the 

 Soudan in 1884, it was Khalifa who escorted 

 him safely from Korosko to Berber, and thence 

 to Khartoum. He surrendered Berber when 

 overpowered by the troops of the Mahdi, and 

 was taken prisoner. He arrived in Alexandria 

 on the 12th of July, and claims that he was 

 sent into Lower Egypt to announce the coming 

 of the Mahdi, but that he took the occasion 

 to come in and submit to the Khedive. 



The Mahdi is reported to have died on the 



