A SHIPWEECK OF SOETS 147 



" The amazing advance of Egypt since those dark 



days (1884) is, by common consent, due in the main 



Concerning ^^ Lord Cromer, and many have won- 



^o'"*^ dered how it is that necessary improve- 

 Cromer. . ^ 



A notable ments are so expeditiously effected 

 here, and how it came about that even 

 a big war was carried to a conclusion without any 

 muddle, hitch, or extravagance. I had an object- 

 lesson in this matter the other day, and any one 

 who has ever tried to bring any invention or sug- 

 gestion to the notice of a British Minister at home 

 mil appreciate my story. A friend, who heard I 

 was going to Khartoum, wrote asking me to make 

 certain inquiries about the * Sudd,' in the White 

 Nile, as he had an idea for turning it to profit- 

 able account. I never reached Khartoum, and 

 was unable to make the inquiries, but, in an idle 

 moment on the night of the 9th inst., I sent my 

 friend's letter to Lord Cromer, with one from 

 myself, stating that I personally knew nothing of 

 the subject, but I thought it a pity to miss any 

 chance of doing good to the country. In England 

 such a letter, if acknowledged at all, would have 

 received a stereotyped reply that it had been 

 * noted,' and it would probably have never actu- 

 ally been seen by the Minister to whom it was 

 addressed. Now mark what happened here. 



" The next morning, the 10th inst. — at 8.55 a.m., 



