92 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



equivalent to temporary concubinage, which was a 

 grave insult to her father, the most important man 

 in the place. The Deftader was unable to resist ; 

 so he resigned himself, but gave orders secretly. 

 While Abbas Pasha with his suite were at dinner 

 and stupid with what they had drunk, the Pasha 

 noticed that great bundles of stalks of the native corn 

 were being brought in and stacked about the tent. 

 He asked and was told that it was forage and litter 

 for his Highness's horses. When enough of this straw 

 had been brought in, a signal was given to fire it, 

 and every man who attempted to break through was 

 massacred, including- of course Abbas himself. The 



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Deftader escaped to Abyssinia ; something more of 

 him will be said shortly. 



Finally we reached Khartum, then a group of 

 huts with a wagon-roofed hall for the audiences of 

 the Pasha. We heard of an extraordinary Frank, 

 believed to be English, who had arrived some weeks 



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previously. We went to call on him, knocked at the 

 door, were told to enter, which we did, and came into 

 the presence of a white man nearly naked, as agile as 

 a panther, with head shorn except for the Moslem 

 tuft, reeking with butter, and with a leopard skin 

 thrown over his shoulder. He was recognised at 

 once by my companions as an undergraduate friend, 

 Mansfield Parkyns. He had got into a College 

 scrape, and, leaving Cambridge prematurely, found his 

 way to Abyssinia, where during years of adventure 

 he had made friends with the just-mentioned Deftader 

 of Shendy, and was then acting as an intermediary 

 and the bringer of a substantial present whereby to 

 obtain, if possible, his forgiveness and restoration. 



