ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND EGYPT. Ill 



his embattled hosts were victorious everywhere. The Cabinet of 

 England knew, or ought to have known, that Hicks Pasha was 

 organising an expedition to go forth and meet the invaders ; but with 

 all this knowledge, they gave him no assistance, no advice, no 

 authority, but, wrapping themselves up in the cloak of irresponsibility, 

 they allowed Hicks Pasha and his army of ii,ooo men to go straight 

 to their doom, and fix, irrevocably fix, English occupation, with all its 

 perils, and all its responsibilities in Egypt and the Soudan. 



EGYPT IN 1884. 



Events now marched rapidly. The terrible disaster to the army 

 of Hicks Pasha, in the Equatorial Provinces of the Soudan, in the 

 attempt to relieve El-Obeid, was followed by as great a catastrophe in 

 the Eastern Soudan, where Baker Pasha and his scratch army of 

 3,500 men were completely overwhelmed, in an heroic attempt to 

 relieve Sinkat and Tokar, and in that catastrophe fell, fighting against 

 overwhelming numbers of the Arabs, many brave English officers, 

 Morice Bey, Leslie, Forrester, Walker, Carroll, and others. 



This defeat of Baker Pasha was followed by the fall of Sinkat, the 

 garrison of which, under the intrepid Commander, sallied out, in the 

 hope of being able to cut their way through, but they were sur- 

 rounded and massacred, and the Commander of Tokar, rather 

 than risk a similar fate, surrendered. 



These disasters at last compelled the British Government to 

 abandon their policy of "masterly inactivity,'' and "irresponsi- 

 bility," and to adopt a "spirited policy," in order to check the 

 further advance of Osman Digma, who was acting as the Mahdi's 

 lieutenant in the Eastern Soudan. 



Under the command of General Graham, a large army was there- 

 fore despatched from England in March, 1884, and landing at 

 Suakim, moved forward to encounter the undisciplined hosts of 

 a brave people, " struggling to be free."* 



At El-Teb and Tamai, two murderous battles were fought, at 

 which not less than 5,000 brave Soudanese bit the dust ; and 

 General Graham and his army, satisfied with their victories, returned 

 home. 



* Byron. > 



