66 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



Remarking one day on this very patent fact I was 

 amused by the contradiction of one who adduced the 

 fact that the departure of a certain officer on leave was 

 accompanied by the turning out of his men to bid 

 him good-bye. I happened to know that this was 

 a custom in the corps in question, and, although 1 

 knew that no officer had ever been more popular than 

 this one, the men would have turned out in as great 

 force for an unpopular one. 



The Sudan is full of anomalies. This has been 

 stated by a number of people whose words carry 

 weight, so I need not scruple to repeat it. Not the 

 least of them is the native officer. He is of three 

 kinds : the Turk, the Egyptian, and the Sudanese 

 (Arab and Negroid). 



There are only two classes of Turks — the good and 

 the bad ; a hero or a coward ; honesty itself or dis- 

 honesty personified ; a gentleman or a boor. Such 

 he is and will remain. 



We turn to the Egyptian officer. I echo the 

 wonder of the " lions/' of the Sudan, and ask — Do 

 the majority of British officers in the Egyptian Army 

 ever realise the amount of work done by these men ? 

 In spite of copy-book maxims, it is far easier to 

 command than to perform. The Gyppie officer is 

 far more the backbone of that army than is the 

 N.C.O. that of ours. The former keeps practically 

 all the accounts in his own handwriting. Officers of 

 less than five years' service will be entrusted with the 

 care of districts larger far than Indian cantonments, 

 will personally assess and collect taxes, try cases, see 



