The town of Khartoum, at the confluence7 of the Blue and White Niles, is the point on which the trade of the south must inevitably8 converge9. It is the great spout10 through which the merchandise collected from a wide area streams northwards to the Mediterranean11 shore. It marks the extreme northern limit of the fertile Soudan. Between Khartoum and Assuan the river flows for twelve hundred miles through deserts of surpassing desolation. At last the wilderness12 recedes13 and the living world broadens out again into Egypt and the Delta14. It is with events that have occurred in the intervening waste that these pages are concerned.
The real Soudan, known to the statesman and the explorer, lies far to the south—moist, undulating, and exuberant15. But there is another Soudan, which some mistake for the true, whose solitudes16 oppress the Nile from the Egyptian frontier to Omdurman. This is the Soudan of the soldier. Destitute17 of wealth or future, it is rich in history. The names of its squalid villages are familiar to distant and enlightened peoples. The barrenness of its scenery has been drawn18 by skilful19 pen and pencil. Its ample deserts have tasted the blood of brave men. Its hot, black rocks have witnessed famous tragedies. It is the scene of the war.
This great tract20, which may conveniently be called 'The Military Soudan,' stretches with apparent indefiniteness over the face of the continent. Level plains of smooth sand—a little rosier21 than buff, a little paler than salmon—are interrupted only by occasional peaks of rock—black, stark22, and shapeless. Rainless storms dance tirelessly over the hot, crisp surface of the ground. The fine sand, driven by the wind, gathers into deep drifts, and silts23 among the dark rocks of the hills, exactly as snow hangs about an Alpine24 summit; only it is a fiery25 snow, such as might fall in hell. The earth burns with the quenchless26 thirst of ages, and in the steel-blue sky scarcely a cloud obstructs27 the unrelenting triumph of the sun.
Through the desert flows the river—a thread of blue silk drawn across an enormous brown drugget; and even this thread is brown for half the year. Where the water laps the sand and soaks into the banks there grows an avenue of vegetation which seems very beautiful and luxuriant by contrast with what lies beyond. The Nile, through all the three thousand miles of its course vital to everything that lives beside it, is never so precious as here. The traveller clings to the strong river as to an old friend, staunch in the hour of need. All the world blazes, but here is shade. The deserts are hot, but the Nile is cool. The land is parched29, but here is abundant water. The picture painted in burnt sienna is relieved by a grateful flash of green.
Yet he who had not seen the desert or felt the sun heavily on his shoulders would hardly admire the fertility of the riparian scrub. Unnourishing reeds and grasses grow rank and coarse from the water's edge. The dark, rotten soil between the tussocks is cracked and granulated by the drying up of the annual flood. The character of the vegetation is inhospitable. Thorn-bushes, bristling30 like hedgehogs and thriving arrogantly31, everywhere predominate and with their prickly tangles32 obstruct28 or forbid the path. Only the palms by the brink33 are kindly34, and men journeying along the Nile must look often towards their bushy tops, where among the spreading foliage35 the red and yellow glint of date clusters proclaims the ripening36 of a generous crop, and protests that Nature is not always mischievous37 and cruel.
The banks of the Nile, except by contrast with the desert, display an abundance of barrenness. Their characteristic is monotony. Their attraction is their sadness. Yet there is one hour when all is changed. Just before the sun sets towards the western cliffs a delicious flush brightens and enlivens the landscape. It is as though some Titanic39 artist in an hour of inspiration were retouching the picture, painting in dark purple shadows among the rocks, strengthening the lights on the sands, gilding40 and beautifying everything, and making the whole scene live. The river, whose windings41 make it look like a lake, turns from muddy brown to silver-grey. The sky from a dull blue deepens into violet in the west. Everything under that magic touch becomes vivid and alive. And then the sun sinks altogether behind the rocks, the colors fade out of the sky, the flush off the sands, and gradually everything darkens and grows grey—like a man's cheek when he is bleeding to death. We are left sad and sorrowful in the dark, until the stars light up and remind us that there is always something beyond.
In a land whose beauty is the beauty of a moment, whose face is desolate42, and whose character is strangely stern, the curse of war was hardly needed to produce a melancholy43 effect. Why should there be caustic44 plants where everything is hot and burning? In deserts where thirst is enthroned, and where the rocks and sand appeal to a pitiless sky for moisture, it was a savage45 trick to add the mockery of mirage46.
The area multiplies the desolation. There is life only by the Nile. If a man were to leave the river, he might journey westward47 and find no human habitation, nor the smoke of a cooking fire, except the lonely tent of a Kabbabish Arab or the encampment of a trader's caravan48, till he reached the coast-line of America. Or he might go east and find nothing but sand and sea and sun until Bombay rose above the horizon. The thread of fresh water is itself solitary49 in regions where all living things lack company.
In the account of the River War the Nile is naturally supreme50. It is the great melody that recurs51 throughout the whole opera. The general purposing military operations, the statesman who would decide upon grave policies, and the reader desirous of studying the course and results of either, must think of the Nile. It is the life of the lands through which it flows. It is the cause of the war: the means by which we fight; the end at which we aim. Imagination should paint the river through every page in the story. It glitters between the palm-trees during the actions. It is the explanation of nearly every military movement. By its banks the armies camp at night. Backed or flanked on its unfordable stream they offer or accept battle by day. To its brink, morning and evening, long lines of camels, horses, mules52, and slaughter53 cattle hurry eagerly. Emir and Dervish, officer and soldier, friend and foe54, kneel alike to this god of ancient Egypt and draw each day their daily water in goatskin or canteen. Without the river none would have started. Without it none might have continued. Without it none could ever have returned.
All who journey on the Nile, whether in commerce or war, will pay their tribute of respect and gratitude55; for the great river has befriended all races and every age. Through all the centuries it has performed the annual miracle of its flood. Every year when the rains fall and the mountain snows of Central Africa begin to melt, the head-streams become torrents56 and the great lakes are filled to the brim. A vast expanse of low, swampy57 lands, crossed by secondary channels and flooded for many miles, regulates the flow, and by a sponge-like action prevents the excess of one year from causing the deficiency of the next. Far away in Egypt, prince, priest, and peasant look southwards with anxious attention for the fluctuating yet certain rise. Gradually the flood begins. The Bahr-el-Ghazal from a channel of stagnant58 pools and marshes59 becomes a broad and navigable stream. The Sobat and the Atbara from dry watercourses with occasional pools, in which the fish and crocodiles are crowded, turn to rushing rivers. But all this is remote from Egypt. After its confluence with the Atbara no drop of water reaches the Nile, and it flows for seven hundred miles through the sands or rushes in cataracts60 among the rocks of the Nubian desert. Nevertheless, in spite of the tremendous diminution61 in volume caused by the dryness of the earth and air and the heat of the sun—all of which drink greedily—the river below Assuan is sufficiently62 great to supply nine millions of people with as much water as their utmost science and energies can draw, and yet to pour into the Mediterranean a low-water surplus current of 61,500 cubic feet per second. Nor is its water its only gift. As the Nile rises its complexion63 is changed. The clear blue river becomes thick and red, laden64 with the magic mud that can raise cities from the desert sand and make the wilderness a garden. The geographer65 may still in the arrogance66 of science describe the Nile as 'a great, steady-flowing river, fed by the rains of the tropics, controlled by the existence of a vast head reservoir and several areas of repose67, and annually68 flooded by the accession of a great body of water with which its eastern tributaries are flushed' [ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA]; but all who have drunk deeply of its soft yet fateful waters—fateful, since they give both life and death—will understand why the old Egyptians worshipped the river, nor will they even in modern days easily dissociate from their minds a feeling of mystic reverence69.
South of Khartoum and of 'The Military Soudan' the land becomes more fruitful. The tributaries of the Nile multiply the areas of riparian fertility. A considerable rainfall, increasing as the Equator is approached, enables the intervening spaces to support vegetation and consequently human life. The greater part of the country is feverish70 and unhealthy, nor can Europeans long sustain the attacks of its climate. Nevertheless it is by no means valueless. On the east the province of Sennar used to produce abundant grain, and might easily produce no less abundant cotton. Westward the vast territories of Kordofan and Darfur afford grazing-grounds to a multitude of cattle, and give means of livelihood71 to great numbers of Baggara or cow-herd Arabs, who may also pursue with activity and stratagem72 the fleet giraffe and the still fleeter ostrich73. To the south-east lies Bahr-el-Ghazal, a great tract of country occupied by dense74 woods and plentifully75 watered. Further south and nearer the Equator the forests and marshes become exuberant with tropical growths, and the whole face of the land is moist and green. Amid groves76 of gigantic trees and through plains of high waving grass the stately elephant roams in herds77 which occasionally number four hundred, hardly ever disturbed by a well-armed hunter. The ivory of their tusks78 constitutes the wealth of the Equatorial Province. So greatly they abound79 that Emin Pasha is provoked to complain of a pest of these valuable pachyderms [LIFE OF EMIN PASHA, vol.i chapter ix.]: and although they are only assailed80 by the natives with spear and gun, no less than twelve thousand hundredweight of ivory has been exported in a single year [Ibid.] All other kinds of large beasts known to man inhabit these obscure retreats. The fierce rhinoceros81 crashes through the undergrowth. Among the reeds of melancholy swamps huge hippopotami, crocodiles, and buffaloes82 prosper83 and increase. Antelope84 of every known and many unclassified species; serpents of peculiar85 venom86; countless87 millions of birds, butterflies, and beetles88 are among the offspring of prolific89 Nature. And the daring sportsman who should survive his expedition would not fail to add to the achievements of science and the extent of natural history as well as to his own reputation.
The human inhabitants of the Soudan would not, but for their vices90 and misfortunes, be disproportioned in numbers to the fauna91 or less happy. War, slavery, and oppression have, however, afflicted92 them until the total population of the whole country does not exceed at the most liberal estimate three million souls. The huge area contains many differences of climate and conditions, and these have produced peculiar and diverse breeds of men. The Soudanese are of many tribes, but two main races can be clearly distinguished94: the aboriginal95 natives, and the Arab settlers. The indigenous96 inhabitants of the country were negroes as black as coal. Strong, virile97, and simple-minded savages98, they lived as we may imagine prehistoric99 men—hunting, fighting, marrying, and dying, with no ideas beyond the gratification of their physical desires, and no fears save those engendered100 by ghosts, witchcraft101, the worship of ancestors, and other forms of superstition102 common among peoples of low development. They displayed the virtues103 of barbarism. They were brave and honest. The smallness of their intelligence excused the degradation105 of their habits. Their ignorance secured their innocence106. Yet their eulogy107 must be short, for though their customs, language, and appearance vary with the districts they inhabit and the subdivisions to which they belong, the history of all is a confused legend of strife108 and misery109, their natures are uniformly cruel and thriftless, and their condition is one of equal squalor and want.
Although the negroes are the more numerous, the Arabs exceed in power. The bravery of the aboriginals110 is outweighed111 by the intelligence of the invaders112 and their superior force of character. During the second century of the Mohammedan era, when the inhabitants of Arabia went forth113 to conquer the world, one adventurous114 army struck south. The first pioneers were followed at intervals115 by continual immigrations of Arabs not only from Arabia but also across the deserts from Egypt and Marocco. The element thus introduced has spread and is spreading throughout the Soudan, as water soaks into a dry sponge. The aboriginals absorbed the invaders they could not repel116. The stronger race imposed its customs and language on the negroes. The vigour117 of their blood sensibly altered the facial appearance of the Soudanese. For more than a thousand years the influence of Mohammedanism, which appears to possess a strange fascination118 for negroid races, has been permeating119 the Soudan, and, although ignorance and natural obstacles impede120 the progress of new ideas, the whole of the black race is gradually adopting the new religion and developing Arab characteristics. In the districts of the north, where the original invaders settled, the evolution is complete, and the Arabs of the Soudan are a race formed by the interbreeding of negro and Arab, and yet distinct from both. In the more remote and inaccessible121 regions which lie to the south and west the negro race remains122 as yet unchanged by the Arab influence. And between these extremes every degree of mixture is to be found. In some tribes pure Arabic is spoken, and prior to the rise of the Mahdi the orthodox Moslem124 faith was practised. In others Arabic has merely modified the ancient dialects, and the Mohammedan religion has been adapted to the older superstitions125; but although the gap between the Arab-negro and the negro-pure is thus filled by every intermediate blend, the two races were at an early date quite distinct.
The qualities of mongrels are rarely admirable, and the mixture of the Arab and negro types has produced a debased and cruel breed, more shocking because they are more intelligent than the primitive126 savages. The stronger race soon began to prey127 upon the simple aboriginals; some of the Arab tribes were camel-breeders; some were goat-herds; some were Baggaras or cow-herds. But all, without exception, were hunters of men. To the great slave-market at Jedda a continual stream of negro captives has flowed for hundreds of years. The invention of gunpowder128 and the adoption129 by the Arabs of firearms facilitated the traffic by placing the ignorant negroes at a further disadvantage. Thus the situation in the Soudan for several centuries may be summed up as follows: The dominant130 race of Arab invaders was unceasingly spreading its blood, religion, customs, and language among the black aboriginal population, and at the same time it harried131 and enslaved them.
The state of society that arose out of this may be easily imagined. The warlike Arab tribes fought and brawled132 among themselves in ceaseless feud133 and strife. The negroes trembled in apprehension134 of capture, or rose locally against their oppressors. Occasionally an important Sheikh would effect the combination of many tribes, and a kingdom came into existence—a community consisting of a military class armed with guns and of multitudes of slaves, at once their servants and their merchandise, and sometimes trained as soldiers. The dominion135 might prosper viciously till it was overthrown136 by some more powerful league.
All this was unheeded by the outer world, from which the Soudan is separated by the deserts, and it seemed that the slow, painful course of development would be unaided and uninterrupted. But at last the populations of Europe changed. Another civilisation reared itself above the ruins of Roman triumph and Mohammedan aspiration137—a civilisation more powerful, more glorious, but no less aggressive. The impulse of conquest which hurried the French and English to Canada and the Indies, which sent the Dutch to the Cape38 and the Spaniards to Peru, spread to Africa and led the Egyptians to the Soudan. In the year 1819 Mohammed Ali, availing himself of the disorders138 alike as an excuse and an opportunity, sent his son Ismail up the Nile with a great army. The Arab tribes, torn by dissension, exhausted139 by thirty years of general war, and no longer inspired by their neglected religion, offered a weak resistance. Their slaves, having known the worst of life, were apathetic140. The black aboriginals were silent and afraid. The whole vast territory was conquered with very little fighting, and the victorious141 army, leaving garrisons142, returned in triumph to the Delta.
What enterprise that an enlightened community may attempt is more noble and more profitable than the reclamation144 from barbarism of fertile regions and large populations? To give peace to warring tribes, to administer justice where all was violence, to strike the chains off the slave, to draw the richness from the soil, to plant the earliest seeds of commerce and learning, to increase in whole peoples their capacities for pleasure and diminish their chances of pain—what more beautiful ideal or more valuable reward can inspire human effort? The act is virtuous145, the exercise invigorating, and the result often extremely profitable. Yet as the mind turns from the wonderful cloudland of aspiration to the ugly scaffolding of attempt and achievement, a succession of opposite ideas arises. Industrious146 races are displayed stinted147 and starved for the sake of an expensive Imperialism148 which they can only enjoy if they are well fed. Wild peoples, ignorant of their barbarism, callous149 of suffering, careless of life but tenacious150 of liberty, are seen to resist with fury the philanthropic invaders, and to perish in thousands before they are convinced of their mistake. The inevitable151 gap between conquest and dominion becomes filled with the figures of the greedy trader, the inopportune missionary152, the ambitious soldier, and the lying speculator, who disquiet153 the minds of the conquered and excite the sordid154 appetites of the conquerors155. And as the eye of thought rests on these sinister156 features, it hardly seems possible for us to believe that any fair prospect157 is approached by so foul158 a path.
From 1819 to 1883 Egypt ruled the Soudan. Her rule was not kindly, wise, or profitable. Its aim was to exploit, not to improve the local population. The miseries159 of the people were aggravated160 rather than lessened161: but they were concealed162. For the rough injustice163 of the sword there were substituted the intricacies of corruption164 and bribery166. Violence and plunder167 were more hideous168, since they were cloaked with legality and armed with authority. The land was undeveloped and poor. It barely sustained its inhabitants. The additional burden of a considerable foreign garrison143 and a crowd of rapacious169 officials increased the severity of the economic conditions. Scarcity170 was frequent. Famines were periodical. Corrupt165 and incapable171 Governors-General succeeded each other at Khartoum with bewildering rapidity. The constant changes, while they prevented the continuity of any wise policy, did not interrupt the misrule. With hardly any exceptions, the Pashas were consistent in oppression. The success of their administration was measured by the Ministries172 in Egypt by the amount of money they could extort173 from the natives; among the officials in the Soudan, by the number of useless offices they could create. There were a few bright examples of honest men, but these, by providing a contrast, only increased the discontents.
The rule of Egypt was iniquitous174: yet it preserved the magnificent appearance of Imperial dominion. The Egyptian Pro-consul lived in state at the confluence of the Niles. The representatives of foreign Powers established themselves in the city. The trade of the south converged175 upon Khartoum. Thither176 the subordinate governors, Beys and Mudirs, repaired at intervals to report the state of their provinces and to receive instructions. Thither were sent the ivory of Equatoria, the ostrich feathers of Kordofan, gum from Darfur, grain from Sennar, and taxes collected from all the regions. Strange beasts, entrapped177 in the swamps and forests, passed through the capital on their journey to Cairo and Europe. Complex and imposing178 reports of revenue and expenditure179 were annually compiled. An elaborate and dignified180 correspondence was maintained between Egypt and its great dependency. The casual observer, astonished at the unusual capacity for government displayed by an Oriental people, was tempted181 to accept the famous assertion which Nubar Pasha put into the mouth of the Khedive Ismail: 'We are no longer in Africa, but in Europe.' Yet all was a hateful sham182 ['The government of the Egyptians in these far-off countries is nothing else but one of brigandage183 of the very worst description.'—COLONEL GORDON IN CENTRAL AFRICA, April 11, 1879.] The arbitrary and excessive taxes were collected only at the point of the bayonet. If a petty chief fell into arrears184, his neighbours were raised against him. If an Arab tribe were recalcitrant185, a military expedition was despatched. Moreover, the ability of the Arabs to pay depended on their success as slave-hunters. When there had been a good catch, the revenue profited. The Egyptian Government had joined the International League against the slave trade. They combined, however, indirectly187 but deliberately188, to make money out of it. [EGYPT, No.11, 1883.]
In the miserable189, harassing190 warfare191 that accompanied the collection of taxes the Viceregal commanders gained more from fraud than force. No subterfuge192, no treachery, was too mean for them to adopt: no oath or treaty was too sacred for them to break. Their methods were cruel, and if honour did not impede the achievement, mercy did not restrict the effects of their inglorious successes; and the effete193 administrators194 delighted to order their timid soldiery to carry out the most savage executions. The political methods and social style of the Governors-General were imitated more or less exactly by the subordinate officials according to their degree in the provinces. Since they were completely hidden from the eye of civilisation, they enjoyed a greater licence in their administration. As their education was inferior, so their habits became more gross. Meanwhile the volcano on which they disported195 themselves was ominously196 silent. The Arab tribes obeyed, and the black population cowered197.
The authority of a tyrannical Government was supported by the presence of a worthless army. Nearly forty thousand men were distributed among eight main and numerous minor198 garrisons. Isolated199 in a roadless country by enormous distances and natural obstacles, and living in the midst of large savage populations of fanatical character and warlike habits, whose exasperation201 was yearly growing with their miseries, the Viceregal forces might depend for their safety only on the skill of their officers, the excellence202 of their discipline, and the superiority of their weapons. But the Egyptian officers were at that time distinguished for nothing but their public incapacity and private misbehaviour. The evil reputation of the Soudan and its climate deterred203 the more educated or more wealthy from serving in such distant regions, and none went south who could avoid it. The army which the Khedives maintained in the Delta was, judged by European standards, only a rabble204. It was badly trained, rarely paid, and very cowardly; and the scum of the army of the Delta was the cream of the army of the Soudan. The officers remained for long periods, many all their lives, in the obscurity of the remote provinces. Some had been sent there in disgrace, others in disfavour. Some had been forced to serve out of Egypt by extreme poverty, others were drawn to the Soudan by the hopes of gratifying peculiar tastes. The majority had harems of the women of the country, which were limited only by the amount of money they could lay their hands on by any method. Many were hopeless and habitual205 drunkards. Nearly all were dishonest. All were indolent and incapable.
Under such leadership the finest soldiery would have soon degenerated206. The Egyptians in the Soudan were not fine soldiers. Like their officers, they were the worst part of the Khedivial army. Like them, they had been driven to the south. Like them, they were slothful and effete. Their training was imperfect; their discipline was lax; their courage was low. Nor was even this all the weakness and peril207 of their position; for while the regular troops were thus demoralised, there existed a powerful local irregular force of Bazingers (Soudanese riflemen), as well armed as the soldiers, more numerous, more courageous208, and who regarded the alien garrisons with fear that continually diminished and hate that continually grew. And behind regulars and irregulars alike the wild Arab tribes of the desert and the hardy209 blacks of the forests, goaded210 by suffering and injustice, thought the foreigners the cause of all their woes211, and were delayed only by their inability to combine from sweeping212 them off the face of the earth. Never was there such a house of cards as the Egyptian dominion in the Soudan. The marvel213 is that it stood so long, not that it fell so soon.
The names of two men of character and fame are forever connected with the actual outburst. One was an English general, the other an Arab priest; yet, in spite of the great gulf214 and vivid contrast between their conditions, they resembled each other in many respects. Both were earnest and enthusiastic men of keen sympathies and passionate215 emotions. Both were powerfully swayed by religious fervour. Both exerted great personal influence on all who came in contact with them. Both were reformers. The Arab was an African reproduction of the Englishman; the Englishman a superior and civilised development of the Arab. In the end they fought to the death, but for an important part of their lives their influence on the fortunes of the Soudan was exerted in the same direction. Mohammed Ahmed, 'The Mahdi,' will be discussed in his own place. Charles Gordon needs little introduction. Long before this tale begins his reputation was European, and the fame of the 'Ever-victorious Army' had spread far beyond the Great Wall of China.
The misgovernment of the Egyptians and the misery of the Soudanese reached their greatest extreme in the seventh decade of the present century. From such a situation there seemed to be no issue other than by force of arms. The Arab tribes lacked no provocation216. Yet they were destitute of two moral forces essential to all rebellions. The first was the knowledge that better things existed. The second was a spirit of combination. General Gordon showed them the first. The Mahdi provided the second.
It is impossible to study any part of Charles Gordon's career without being drawn to all the rest. As his wild and varied217 fortunes lead him from Sebastopol to Pekin, from Gravesend to South Africa, from Mauritius to the Soudan, the reader follows fascinated. Every scene is strange, terrible, or dramatic. Yet, remarkable218 as are the scenes, the actor is the more extraordinary; a type without comparison in modern times and with few likenesses in history. Rare and precious is the truly disinterested219 man. Potentates220 of many lands and different degree—the Emperor of China, the King of the Belgians, the Premier221 of Cape Colony, the Khedive of Egypt—competed to secure his services. The importance of his offices varied no less than their nature. One day he was a subaltern of sappers; on another he commanded the Chinese army; the next he directed an orphanage222; or was Governor-General of the Soudan, with supreme powers of life and death and peace and war; or served as private secretary to Lord Ripon. But in whatever capacity he laboured he was true to his reputation. Whether he is portrayed223 bitterly criticising to Graham the tactics of the assault on the Redan; or pulling the head of Lar Wang from under his bedstead and waving it in paroxysms of indignation before the astonished eyes of Sir Halliday Macartney; or riding alone into the camp of the rebel Suliman and receiving the respectful salutes224 of those who had meant to kill him; or telling the Khedive Ismail that he 'must have the whole Soudan to govern'; or reducing his salary to half the regulation amount because 'he thought it was too much'; or ruling a country as large as Europe; or collecting facts for Lord Ripon's rhetorical efforts—we perceive a man careless alike of the frowns of men or the smiles of women, of life or comfort, wealth or fame.
It was a pity that one, thus gloriously free from the ordinary restraining influences of human society, should have found in his own character so little mental ballast. His moods were capricious and uncertain, his passions violent, his impulses sudden and inconsistent. The mortal enemy of the morning had become a trusted ally before the night. The friend he loved to-day he loathed226 to-morrow. Scheme after scheme formed in his fertile brain, and jostled confusingly together. All in succession were pressed with enthusiasm. All at times were rejected with disdain227. A temperament228 naturally neurotic229 had been aggravated by an acquired habit of smoking; and the General carried this to so great an extreme that he was rarely seen without a cigarette. His virtues are famous among men; his daring and resource might turn the tide or war; his energy would have animated230 a whole people; his achievements are upon record; but it must also be set down that few more uncertain and impracticable forces than Gordon have ever been introduced into administration and diplomacy232.
Although the Egyptian Government might loudly proclaim their detestation of slavery, their behaviour in the Soudan was viewed with suspicion by the European Powers, and particularly by Great Britain. To vindicate233 his sincerity234 the Khedive Ismail in 1874 appointed Gordon to be Governor of the Equatorial Province in succession to Sir Samuel Baker235. The name of the General was a sufficient guarantee that the slave trade was being earnestly attacked. The Khedive would gladly have stopped at the guarantee, and satisfied the world without disturbing 'vested interests.' But the mission, which may have been originally instituted as a pretence236, soon became in Gordon's energetic hands very real. Circumstances, moreover, soon enlisted237 the sympathies of the Egyptian Government on the side of their zealous238 agent. The slave dealers241 had committed every variety of atrocity242 for which the most odious243 traffic in the world afforded occasion; but when, under the leadership of Zubehr Rahamna, they refused to pay their annual tribute, it was felt in Cairo that their crimes had cried aloud for chastisement244.
Zubehr is sufficiently described when it has been said that he was the most notorious slave dealer240 Africa has ever produced. His infamy245 had spread beyond the limits of the continent which was the scene of his exploits to the distant nations of the north and west. In reality, his rule was a distinct advance on the anarchy246 which had preceded it, and certainly he was no worse than others of his vile247 trade. His scale of business was, however, more extended. What William Whiteley was in respect of goods and chattels248, that was Zubehr in respect of slaves—a universal provider. Magnitude lends a certain grandeur249 to crime; and Zubehr in the height of his power, at the head of the slave merchants' confederacy, might boast the retinue250 of a king and exercise authority over wide regions and a powerful army.
As early as 1869 he was practically the independent ruler of the Bahr-el-Ghazal. The Khedive resolved to assert his rights. A small Egyptian force was sent to subdue251 the rebel slaver who not only disgraced humanity but refused to pay tribute. Like most of the Khedivial expeditions the troops under Bellal Bey met with ill-fortune. They came, they saw, they ran away. Some, less speedy than the rest, fell on the field of dishonour252. The rebellion was open. Nevertheless it was the Khedive who sought peace. Zubehr apologised for defeating the Viceregal soldiers and remained supreme in the Bahr-el-Ghazal. Thence he planned the conquest of Darfur, at that time an independent kingdom. The Egyptian Government were glad to join with him in the enterprise. The man they had been unable to conquer, they found it expedient253 to assist. The operations were successful. The King of Darfur, who was distinguished no less for his valour than for his folly254, was killed. The whole country was subdued255. The whole population available after the battles became slaves. Zubehr thus wielded256 a formidable power. The Khedivial Government, thinking to ensure his loyalty257, created him a Pasha—a rank which he could scarcely disgrace; and the authority of the rebel was thus unwillingly258 recognised by the ruler. Such was the situation when Gordon first came to the Soudan.
It was beyond the power of the new Governor of the Equatorial Province at once to destroy the slave-hunting confederacy. Yet he struck heavy blows at the slave trade, and when in 1877, after a short visit to England, he returned to the Soudan as Governor-General and with absolute power, he assailed it with redoubled energy. Fortune assisted his efforts, for the able Zubehr was enticed259 to Cairo, and, once there, the Government refused to allow their faithful ally and distinguished guest to go back to his happy-hunting grounds. Although the slave dealers were thus robbed of their great leader, they were still strong, and Zubehr's son, the brave Suliman, found a considerable following. Furious at his father's captivity260, and alarmed lest his own should follow, he meditated261 revolt. But the Governor-General, mounted on a swift camel and attired262 in full uniform, rode alone into the rebel camp and compelled the submission263 of its chiefs before they could recover from their amazement264. The confederacy was severely265 shaken, and when, in the following year, Suliman again revolted, the Egyptian troops under Gessi Pasha were able to disperse266 his forces and induce him to surrender on terms. The terms were broken, and Suliman and ten of his companions suffered death by shooting [von Slatin, Baron267 Rudolf Karl. FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SOUDAN, p.28.] The league of the slave dealers was thus destroyed.
Towards the end of 1879 Gordon left the Soudan. With short intervals he had spent five busy years in its provinces. His energy had stirred the country. He had struck at the root of the slave trade, he had attacked the system of slavery, and, as slavery was the greatest institution in the land, he had undermined the whole social system. Indignation had stimulated268 his activity to an extraordinary degree. In a climate usually fatal to Europeans he discharged the work of five officers. Careless of his methods, he bought slaves himself, drilled them, and with the soldiers thus formed pounced269 on the caravans270 of the hunters. Traversing the country on a fleet dromedary—on which in a single year he is said to have covered 3,840 miles—he scattered272 justice and freedom among the astonished natives. He fed the infirm, protected the weak, executed the wicked. To some he gave actual help, to many freedom, to all new hopes and aspirations273. Nor were the tribes ungrateful. The fiercest savages and cannibals respected the life of the strange white man. The women blessed him. He could ride unarmed and alone where a brigade of soldiers dared not venture. But he was, as he knew himself, the herald274 of the storm. Oppressed yet ferocious275 races had learned that they had rights; the misery of the Soudanese was lessened, but their knowledge had increased. The whole population was unsettled, and the wheels of change began slowly to revolve276; nor did they stop until they had accomplished277 an enormous revolution.
The part played by the second force is more obscure. Few facts are so encouraging to the student of human development as the desire, which most men and all communities manifest at all times, to associate with their actions at least the appearance of moral right. However distorted may be their conceptions of virtue104, however feeble their efforts to attain278 even to their own ideals, it is a pleasing feature and a hopeful augury279 that they should wish to be justified280. No community embarks281 on a great enterprise without fortifying282 itself with the belief that from some points of view its motives284 are lofty and disinterested. It is an involuntary tribute, the humble285 tribute of imperfect beings, to the eternal temples of Truth and Beauty. The sufferings of a people or a class may be intolerable, but before they will take up arms and risk their lives some unselfish and impersonal286 spirit must animate231 them. In countries where there is education and mental activity or refinement287, this high motive283 is found in the pride of glorious traditions or in a keen sympathy with surrounding misery. Ignorance deprives savage nations of such incentives288. Yet in the marvellous economy of nature this very ignorance is a source of greater strength. It affords them the mighty stimulus289 of fanaticism290. The French Communists might plead that they upheld the rights of man. The desert tribes proclaimed that they fought for the glory of God. But although the force of fanatical passion is far greater than that exerted by any philosophical291 belief, its sanction is just the same. It gives men something which they think is sublime292 to fight for, and this serves them as an excuse for wars which it is desirable to begin for totally different reasons. Fanaticism is not a cause of war. It is the means which helps savage peoples to fight. It is the spirit which enables them to combine—the great common object before which all personal or tribal293 disputes become insignificant294. What the horn is to the rhinoceros, what the sting is to the wasp295, the Mohammedan faith was to the Arabs of the Soudan—a faculty296 of offence or defence.
It was all this and no more. It was not the reason of the revolt. It strengthened, it characterised, but it did not cause. ['I do not believe that fanaticism exists as it used to do in the world, judging from what I have seen in this so-called fanatic200 land. It is far more a question of property, and is more like Communism under the flag of religion.'—GENERAL GORDON'S JOURNALS AT KHARTOUM, bk.i. p.13.] Those whose practice it is to regard their own nation as possessing a monopoly of virtue and common-sense, are wont297 to ascribe every military enterprise of savage peoples to fanaticism. They calmly ignore obvious and legitimate298 motives. The most rational conduct is considered mad. It has therefore been freely stated, and is to some extent believed, that the revolt in the Soudan was entirely299 religious. If the worst untruths are those that have some appearance of veracity300, this impression must be very false indeed. It is, perhaps, an historical fact that the revolt of a large population has never been caused solely301 or even mainly by religious enthusiasm.
The reasons which forced the peoples of the Soudan to revolt were as strong as the defence which their oppressors could offer was feeble. Looking at the question from a purely302 political standpoint, we may say that upon the whole there exists no record of a better case for rebellion than presented itself to the Soudanese. Their country was being ruined; their property was plundered303; their women were ravished; their liberties were curtailed304; even their lives were threatened. Aliens ruled the inhabitants; the few oppressed the many; brave men were harried by cowards; the weak compelled the strong. Here were sufficient reasons. Since any armed movement against an established Government can be justified only by success, strength is an important revolutionary virtue. It was a virtue that the Arabs might boast. They were indeed far stronger than they, their persecutors, or the outside world had yet learned. All were soon to be enlightened.
The storm gathered and the waters rose. Three great waves impelled305 the living tide against the tottering306 house founded on the desert sand. The Arab suffered acutely from poverty, misgovernment, and oppression. Infuriated, he looked up and perceived that the cause of all his miseries was a weak and cowardly foreigner, a despicable 'Turk.' The antagonism307 of races increased the hatred308 sprung from social evils. The moment was at hand. Then, and not till then, the third wave came—the wave of fanaticism, which, catching309 up and surmounting310 the other waves, covered all the flood with its white foam311, and, bearing on with the momentum312 of the waters, beat in thunder against the weak house so that it fell; and great was the fall thereof.
Down to the year 1881 there was no fanatical movement in the Soudan. In their utter misery the hopeless inhabitants had neglected even the practices of religion. They were nevertheless prepared for any enterprise, however desperate, which might free them from the Egyptian yoke313. All that delayed them was the want of some leader who could combine the tribes and restore their broken spirits, and in the summer of 1881 the leader appeared. His subsequent career is within the limits of this account, and since his life throws a strong light on the thoughts and habits of the Arabs of the Soudan it may be worth while to trace it from the beginning.
The man who was the proximate cause of the River War was born by the banks of the Nile, not very far from Dongola. His family were poor and of no account in the province. But as the Prophet had claimed a royal descent, and as a Sacred Example was sprung from David's line, Mohammed Ahmed asserted that he was of the 'Ashraf,'(descendants of the Prophet) and the assertion, since it cannot be disproved, may be accepted. His father was a humble priest; yet he contrived314 to give his son some education in the practices of religion, the principles of the Koran, and the art of writing. Then he died at Kerreri while on a journey to Khartoum, and left the future Mahdi, still a child, to the mercies of the world. Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong; and a boy deprived of a father's care often develops, if he escape the perils315 of youth, an independence and vigour of thought which may restore in after life the heavy loss of early days. It was so with Mohammed Ahmed. He looked around for an occupation and subsistence. A large proportion of the population of religious countries pass their lives at leisure, supported by the patient labour of the devout316. The young man determined317 to follow the profession for which he felt his talents suited, and which would afford him the widest scope. He became a priest. Many of the religious teachers of heathen and other countries are devoid318 of enthusiasm and turn their attention to the next world because doing so affords them an easy living in this. Happily this is not true of all. It was not true of Mohammed. Even at an early age he manifested a zeal239 for God's service, and displayed a peculiar aptitude319 for learning the tenets and dogmas of the Mohammedan belief. So promising320 a pupil did not long lack a master in a country where intelligence and enthusiasm were scarce. His aspirations growing with his years and knowledge, he journeyed to Khartoum as soon as his religious education was completed, and became a disciple321 of the renowned322 and holy Sheikh, Mohammed Sherif.
His devotion to his superior, to his studies and to the practice of austerities, and a strange personal influence he was already beginning to show, won him by degrees a few disciples323 of his own: and with them he retired324 to the island of Abba. Here by the waters of the White Nile Mohammed Ahmed lived for several years. His two brothers, who were boat-builders in the neighbourhood, supported him by their industry. But it must have been an easy burden, for we read that he 'hollowed out for himself a cave in the mud bank, and lived in almost entire seclusion325, fasting often for days, and occasionally paying a visit to the head of the order to assure him of his devotion and obedience326.' [I take this passage from FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SOUDAN, by Slatin. His account is the most graphic327 and trustworthy of all known records of the Mahdi. He had terrible opportunities of collecting information. I have followed his version (chapter iv.) very closely on this subject.] Meanwhile his sanctity increased, and the labour and charity of the brothers were assisted by the alms of godly travellers on the river.
This virtuous and frugal328 existence was disturbed and terminated by an untoward329 event. The renowned and holy Sheikh made a feast to celebrate the circumcision of his sons. That the merriment of the auspicious330 occasion and the entertainment of the guests might be increased, Sherif, according to the lax practice of the time, granted a dispensation from any sins committed during the festivities, and proclaimed in God's name the suspension of the rules against singing and dancing by which the religious orders were bound. The ascetic331 of Abba island did not join in these seemingly innocent dissipations. With the recklessness of the reformer he protested against the demoralisation of the age, and loudly affirmed the doctrine332 that God alone could forgive sins. These things were speedily brought to the ears of the renowned Sheikh, and in all the righteous indignation that accompanies detected wrong-doing, he summoned Mohammed Ahmed before him. The latter obeyed. He respected his superior. He was under obligations to him. His ire had disappeared as soon as it had been expressed. He submissively entreated333 forgiveness; but in vain. Sherif felt that some sort of discipline must be maintained among his flock. He had connived334 at disobedience to the divine law. All the more must he uphold his own authority. Rising in anger, he drove the presumptuous335 disciple from his presence with bitter words, and expunged336 his name from the order of the elect.
Mohammed went home. He was greatly distressed337. Yet his fortunes were not ruined. His sanctity was still a valuable and, unless he chose otherwise, an inalienable asset. The renowned Sheikh had a rival—nearly as holy and more enterprising than himself. From him the young priest might expect a warm welcome. Nevertheless he did not yet abandon his former superior. Placing a heavy wooden collar on his neck, clad in sackcloth and sprinkled with ashes, he again returned to his spiritual leader, and in this penitential guise338 implored339 pardon. He was ignominiously340 ejected. Nor did he venture to revisit the unforgiving Sheikh. But it happened that in a few weeks Sherif had occasion to journey to the island of Abba. His former disciple appeared suddenly before him, still clad in sackcloth and defiled341 by ashes. Careless of his plain misery, and unmoved by his loyalty, which was the more remarkable since it was disinterested, the implacable Sheikh poured forth a stream of invective342. Among many insults, one went home: 'Be off, you wretched Dongolawi.'
Although the natives of the Dongola province were despised and disliked in the Southern Soudan, it is not at first apparent why Mohammed should have resented so bitterly the allusion343 to his birthplace. But abuse by class is a dangerous though effective practice. A man will perhaps tolerate an offensive word applied344 to himself, but will be infuriated if his nation, his rank, or his profession is insulted.
Mohammed Ahmed rose. All that man could do to make amends345 he had done. Now he had been publicly called 'a wretched Dongolawi.' Henceforth he would afflict93 Sherif with his repentance346 no longer. Reaching his house, he informed his disciples—for they had not abandoned him in all his trouble—that the Sheikh had finally cast him off, and that he would now take his discarded allegiance elsewhere. The rival, the Sheikh el Koreishi, lived near Mesalamia. He was jealous of Sherif and envied him his sanctimonious347 disciples. He was therefore delighted to receive a letter from Mohammed Ahmed announcing his breach348 with his former superior and offering his most devoted349 services. He returned a cordial invitation, and the priest of Abba island made all preparation for the journey.
This new development seems to have startled the unforgiving Sherif. It was no part of his policy to alienate350 his followers351, still less to add to those of his rival. After all, the quality of mercy was high and noble. He would at last graciously forgive the impulsive352 but repentant353 disciple. He wrote him a letter to this effect. But it was now too late. Mohammed replied with grave dignity that he had committed no crime, that he sought no forgiveness, and that 'a wretched Dongolawi' would not offend by his presence the renowned Sheikh el Sherif. After this indulgence he departed to Mesalamia.
But the fame of his doings spread far and wide throughout the land. 'Even in distant Darfur it was the principal topic of conversation' [Slatin, FIRE AND SWORD]. Rarely had a Fiki been known to offend his superior; never to refuse his forgiveness. Mohammed did not hesitate to declare that he had done what he had done as a protest against the decay of religious fervour and the torpor354 of the times. Since his conduct had actually caused his dismissal, it appears that he was quite justified in making a virtue of necessity. At any rate he was believed, and the people groaning355 under oppression looked from all the regions to the figure that began to grow on the political horizon. His fame grew. Rumour356, loud-tongued, carried it about the land that a great Reformer was come to purify the faith and break the stony357 apathy358 which paralysed the hearts of Islam. Whisperings added that a man was found who should break from off the necks of the tribes the hateful yoke of Egypt. Mohammed now deliberately entered upon the path of ambition.
Throughout Nubia the Shukri belief prevails: some day, in a time of shame and trouble, a second great Prophet will arise—a Mahdi who shall lead the faithful nearer God and sustain the religion. The people of the Soudan always look inquiringly to any ascetic who rises to fame, and the question is often repeated, 'Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?' Of this powerful element of disturbance359 Mohammed Ahmed resolved to avail himself. He requested and obtained the permission of the Sheikh Koreishi to return to Abba, where he was well known, and with which island village his name was connected, and so came back in triumph to the scene of his disgrace. Thither many pilgrims began to resort. He received valuable presents, which he distributed to the poor, who acclaimed360 him as 'Zahed'—a renouncer361 of earthly pleasures. He journeyed preaching through Kordofan, and received the respect of the priesthood and the homage362 of the people. And while he spoke123 of the purification of the religion, they thought that the burning words might be applied to the freedom of the soil. He supported his sermons by writings, which were widely read. When a few months later the Sheikh Koreishi died, the priest of Abba proceeded forthwith to erect363 a tomb to his memory, directing and controlling the voluntary labours of the reverent364 Arabs who carried the stones.
While Mohammed was thus occupied he received the support of a man, less virtuous than but nearly as famous as himself. Abdullah was one of four brothers, the sons of an obscure priest; but he inherited no great love of religion or devotion to its observances. He was a man of determination and capacity. He set before himself two distinct ambitions, both of which he accomplished: to free the Soudan of foreigners, and to rule it himself. He seems to have had a queer presentiment365 of his career. This much he knew: there would be a great religious leader, and he would be his lieutenant366 and his successor. When Zubehr conquered Darfur, Abdullah presented himself before him and hailed him as 'the expected Mahdi.' Zubehr, however, protested with superfluous367 energy that he was no saint, and the impulsive patriot368 was compelled to accept his assurances. So soon as he saw Mohammed Ahmed rising to fame and displaying qualities of courage and energy, he hastened to throw himself at his feet and assure him of his devotion.
No part of Slatin Pasha's fascinating account of his perils and sufferings is so entertaining as that in which Abdullah, then become Khalifa of the whole Soudan, describes his early struggles and adversity:
'Indeed it was a very troublesome journey. At that time my entire property consisted of one donkey, and he had a gall369 on his back, so that I could not ride him. But I made him carry my water-skin and bag of corn, over which I spread my rough cotton garment, and drove him along in front of me. At that time I wore the white cotton shirt, like the rest of my tribe. My clothes and my dialect at once marked me out as a stranger wherever I went; and when I crossed the Nile I was frequently greeted with "What do you want? Go back to your own country. There is nothing to steal here."'
What a life of ups and downs! It was a long stride from the ownership of one saddle-galled donkey to the undisputed rule of an empire. The weary wayfarer370 may have dreamed of this, for ambition stirs imagination nearly as much as imagination excites ambition. But further he could not expect or wish to see. Nor could he anticipate as, in the complacency of a man who had done with evil days, he told the story of his rise to the submissive Slatin, that the day would come when he would lead an army of more than fifty thousand men to destruction, and that the night would follow when, almost alone, his empire shrunk again to the saddle-galled donkey, he would seek his home in distant Kordofan, while this same Slatin who knelt so humbly371 before him would lay the fierce pursuing squadrons on the trail.
Mohammed Ahmed received his new adherent372 kindly, but without enthusiasm. For some months Abdullah carried stones to build the tomb of the Sheikh el Koreishi. Gradually they got to know each other. 'But long before he entrusted373 me with his secret,' said Abdullah to Slatin, 'I knew that he was "the expected Guide."' [Slatin, FIRE AND SWORD, p.131.] And though the world might think that the 'Messenger of God' was sent to lead men to happiness in heaven, Abdullah attached to the phrase a significance of his own, and knew that he should lead him to power on earth. The two formed a strong combination. The Mahdi—for such Mohammed Ahmed had already in secret announced himself—brought the wild enthusiasm of religion, the glamour374 of a stainless375 life, and the influence of superstition into the movement. But if he were the soul of the plot, Abdullah was the brain. He was the man of the world, the practical politician, the general.
There now commenced a great conspiracy376 against the Egyptian Government. It was fostered by the discontents and justified by the miseries of the people of the Soudan. The Mahdi began to collect adherents377 and to extend his influence in all parts of the country. He made a second journey through Kordofan, and received everywhere promises of support from all classes. The most distant tribes sent assurances of devotion and reverence, and, what was of more importance, of armed assistance. The secret could not be long confined to those who welcomed the movement. As the ramifications378 of the plot spread they were perceived by the renowned Sheikh Sherif, who still nursed his chagrin379 and thirsted for revenge. He warned the Egyptian Government. They, knowing his envy and hatred of his former disciple, discounted his evidence and for some time paid no attention to the gathering380 of the storm. But presently more trustworthy witnesses confirmed his statements, and Raouf Pasha, then Governor-General, finding himself confronted with a growing agitation381, determined to act. He accordingly sent a messenger to the island of Abba, to summon Mohammed Ahmed to Khartoum to justify382 his behaviour and explain his intentions. The news of the despatch186 of the messenger was swiftly carried to the Mahdi! He consulted with his trusty lieutenant. They decided383 to risk everything, and without further delay to defy the Government. When it is remembered how easily an organised army, even though it be in a bad condition, can stamp out the beginnings of revolt among a population, the courage of their resolve must be admired.
The messenger arrived. He was received with courtesy by Abdullah, and forthwith conducted before the Mahdi. He delivered his message, and urged Mohammed Ahmed to comply with the orders of the Governor-General. The Mahdi listened for some time in silence, but with increasing emotion; and when the messenger advised him, as he valued his own safety, to journey to Khartoum, if only to justify himself, his passion overcame him. 'What!' he shouted, rising suddenly and striking his breast with his hand. 'By the grace of God and his Prophet I am master of this country, and never shall I go to Khartoum to justify myself.' [Slatin, FIRE AND SWORD, p.135.] The terrified messenger withdrew. The rebellion of the Mahdi had begun.
Both the priest and the Governor-General prepared for military enterprise. The Mahdi proclaimed a holy war against the foreigners, alike the enemies of God and the scourge385 of men. He collected his followers. He roused the local tribes. He wrote letters to all parts of the Soudan, calling upon the people to fight for a purified religion, the freedom of the soil, and God's holy prophet 'the expected Mahdi.' He promised the honour of men to those who lived, the favour of God to those who fell, and lastly that the land should be cleared of the miserable 'Turk.' 'Better,' he said, and it became the watchword of the revolt, 'thousands of graves than a dollar tax.' [Ohrwalder, TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP.]
Nor was Raouf Pasha idle. He sent two companies of infantry386 with one gun by steamer to Abba to arrest the fanatic who disturbed the public peace. What followed is characteristically Egyptian. Each company was commanded by a captain. To encourage their efforts, whichever officer captured the Mahdi was promised promotion387. At sunset on an August evening in 1881 the steamer arrived at Abba. The promise of the Governor-General had provoked the strife, not the emulation388 of the officers. Both landed with their companies and proceeded by different routes under the cover of darkness to the village where the Mahdi dwelt. Arriving simultaneously389 from opposite directions, they fired into each other, and, in the midst of this mistaken combat, the Mahdi rushed upon them with his scanty390 following and destroyed them impartially391. A few soldiers succeeded in reaching the bank of the river. But the captain of the steamer would run no risks, and those who could not swim out to the vessel392 were left to their fate. With such tidings the expedition returned to Khartoum.
Mohammed Ahmed had been himself wounded in the attack, but the faithful Abdullah bound up the injury, so that none might know that God's Prophet had been pierced by carnal weapons. The effect of the success was electrical. The news spread throughout the Soudan. Men with sticks had slain393 men with rifles. A priest had destroyed the soldiers of the Government. Surely this was the Expected One. The Mahdi, however, profited by his victory only to accomplish a retreat without loss of prestige. Abdullah had no illusions. More troops would be sent. They were too near to Khartoum. Prudence394 counselled flight to regions more remote. But before this new Hegira395 the Mahdi appointed his four Khalifas, in accordance with prophecy and precedent396. The first was Abdullah. Of the others it is only necessary at this moment to notice Ali-Wad-Helu, the chief of one of the local tribes, and among the first to rally to the standard of revolt.
Then the retreat began; but it was more like a triumphal progress. Attended by a considerable following, and preceded by tales of the most wonderful miracles and prodigies397, the Mahdi retired to a mountain in Kordofan to which he gave the name of Jebel Masa, that being the mountain whence 'the expected Guide' is declared in the Koran sooner or later to appear. He was now out of reach of Khartoum, but within reach of Fashoda. The Egyptian Governor of that town, Rashid Bey, a man of more enterprise and even less military knowledge than is usual in his race, determined to make all attempt to seize the rebel and disperse his following. Taking no precautions, he fell on the 9th of December into an ambush398, was attacked unprepared, and was himself, with fourteen hundred men, slaughtered399 by the ill-armed but valiant400 Arabs.
The whole country stirred. The Government, thoroughly401 alarmed by the serious aspect the revolt had assumed, organised a great expedition. Four thousand troops under Yusef, a Pasha of distinguished reputation, were sent against the rebels. Meanwhile the Mahdi and his followers suffered the extremes of want. Their cause was as yet too perilous402 for the rich to join. Only the poor flocked to the holy standard. All that Mohammed possessed403 he gave away, keeping nothing for himself, excepting only a horse to lead his followers in battle. Abdullah walked. Nevertheless the rebels were half-famished, and armed with scarcely any more deadly weapons than sticks and stones. The army of the Government approached slowly. Their leaders anticipated an easy victory. Their contempt for the enemy was supreme. They did not even trouble themselves to post sentries404 by night, but slept calmly inside a slender thorn fence, unwatched save by their tireless foes405. And so it came to pass that in the half-light of the early morning of the 7th of June the Mahdi, his ragged406 Khalifas, and his almost naked army rushed upon them, and slew407 them to a man.
The victory was decisive. Southern Kordofan was at the feet of the priest of Abba. Stores of arms and ammunition408 had fallen into his hands. Thousands of every class hastened to join his standard. No one doubted that he was the divine messenger sent to free them from their oppressors. The whole of the Arab tribes all over the Soudan rose at once. The revolt broke out simultaneously in Sennar and Darfur, and spread to provinces still more remote. The smaller Egyptian posts, the tax-gatherers and local administrators, were massacred in every district. Only the larger garrisons maintained themselves in the principal towns. They were at once blockaded. All communications were interrupted. All legal authority was defied. Only the Mahdi was obeyed.
It is now necessary to look for a moment to Egypt. The misgovernment which in the Soudan had caused the rebellion of the Mahdi, in Egypt produced the revolt of Arabi Pasha. As the people of the Soudan longed to be rid of the foreign oppressors—the so-called 'Turks'—so those of the Delta were eager to free themselves from the foreign regulators and the real Turkish influence. While men who lived by the sources of the Nile asserted that tribes did not exist for officials to harry409, others who dwelt at its mouth protested that nations were not made to be exploited by creditors410 or aliens. The ignorant south found their leader in a priest: the more educated north looked to a soldier. Mohammed Ahmed broke the Egyptian yoke; Arabi gave expression to the hatred of the Egyptians for the Turks. But although the hardy Arabs might scatter271 the effete Egyptians, the effete Egyptians were not likely to disturb the solid battalions411 of Europe. After much hesitation412 and many attempts at compromise, the Liberal Administration of Mr. Gladstone sent a fleet which reduced the forts of Alexandria to silence and the city to anarchy. The bombardment of the fleet was followed by the invasion of a powerful army. Twenty-five thousand men were landed in Egypt. The campaign was conducted with celerity and skill. The Egyptian armies were slaughtered or captured. Their patriotic413 but commonplace leader was sentenced to death and condemned414 to exile, and Great Britain assumed the direction of Egyptian affairs.
The British soon restored law and order in Egypt, and the question of the revolt in the Soudan came before the English advisers415 of the Khedive. Notwithstanding the poverty and military misfortunes which depressed416 the people of the Delta, the desire to hold their southern provinces was evident. The British Government, which at that time was determined to pursue a policy of non-interference in the Soudan, gave a tacit consent, and another great expedition was prepared to suppress the False Prophet, as the English and Egyptians deemed him—'the expected Mahdi,' as the people of the Soudan believed.
A retired officer of the Indian Staff Corps417 and a few European officers of various nationalities were sent to Khartoum to organise384 the new field force. Meanwhile the Mahdi, having failed to take by storm, laid siege to El Obeid, the chief town of Kordofan. During the summer of 1883 the Egyptian troops gradually concentrated at Khartoum until a considerable army was formed. It was perhaps the worst army that has ever marched to war. One extract from General Hicks's letters will suffice. Writing on the 8th of June, 1883, to Sir E. Wood, he says incidentally: 'Fifty-one men of the Krupp battery deserted418 on the way here, although in chains.' The officers and men who had been defeated fighting for their own liberties at Tel-el-Kebir were sent to be destroyed, fighting to take away the liberties of others in the Soudan. They had no spirit, no discipline, hardly any training, and in a force of over eight thousand men there were scarcely a dozen capable officers. The two who were the most notable of these few—General Hicks, who commanded, and Colonel Farquhar, the Chief of the Staff—must be remarked.
El Obeid had fallen before the ill-fated expedition left Khartoum; but the fact that Slatin Bey, an Austrian officer in the Egyptian service, was still maintaining himself in Darfur provided it with an object. On the 9th of September Hicks and his army (the actual strength of which was 7,000 infantry, 400 mounted Bashi Bazuks, 500 cavalry419, 100 Circassians, 10 mounted guns, 4 Krupps, and 6 Nordenfeldt machine guns) left Omdurman and marched to Duem. Although the actual command of the expedition was vested in the English officer, Ala-ed-Din Pasha, the Governor-General who had succeeded Raouf Pasha, exercised an uncertain authority. Differences of opinion were frequent, though all the officers were agreed in taking the darkest views of their chances. The miserable host toiled420 slowly onward421 towards its destruction, marching in a south-westerly direction through Shat and Rahad. Here the condition of the force was so obviously demoralised that a German servant (Gustav Klootz, the servant of Baron Seckendorf) actually deserted to the Mahdi's camp. He was paraded in triumph as an English officer.
On the approach of the Government troops the Mahdi had marched out of El Obeid and established himself in the open country, where he made his followers live under military conditions and continually practised them in warlike evolutions. More than forty thousand men collected round his standard, and the Arabs were now armed with several thousand rifles and a few cannon422, as well as a great number of swords and spears. To these proportions had the little band of followers who fought at Abba grown! The disparity of the forces was apparent before the battle. The Mahdi thereupon wrote to Hicks, calling on him to surrender and offering terms. His proposals were treated with disdain, although the probable result of an engagement was clear.
Until the expedition reached Rahad only a few cavalry patrols had watched its slow advance. But on the 1st of November the Mahdi left El Obeid and marched with his whole power to meet his adversary423. The collision took place on the 3rd of November. All through that day the Egyptians struggled slowly forward, in great want of water, losing continually from the fire of the Soudanese riflemen, and leaving several guns behind them. On the next morning they were confronted by the main body of the Arab army, and their attempts to advance further were defeated with heavy loss. The force began to break up. Yet another day was consumed before it was completely destroyed. Scarcely five hundred Egyptians escaped death; hardly as many of the Arabs fell. The European officers perished fighting to the end; and the general met his fate sword in hand, at the head of the last formed body of his troops, his personal valour and physical strength exciting the admiration424 even of the fearless enemy, so that in chivalrous425 respect they buried his body with barbaric honours. Mohammed Ahmed celebrated426 his victory with a salute225 of one hundred guns; and well he might, for the Soudan was now his, and his boast that, by God's grace and the favour of the Prophet, he was the master of all the land had been made good by force of arms.
No further attempt was made to subdue the country. The people of the Soudan had won their freedom by their valour and by the skill and courage of their saintly leader. It only remained to evacuate427 the towns and withdraw the garrisons safely. But what looked like the winding-up of one story was really the beginning of another, much longer, just as bloody428, commencing in shame and disaster, but ending in triumph and, let us hope, in peace.
I desire for a moment to take a more general view of the Mahdi's movement than the narrative429 has allowed. The original causes were social and racial. But, great as was the misery of the people, their spirit was low, and they would not have taken up arms merely on material grounds. Then came the Mahdi. He gave the tribes the enthusiasm they lacked. The war broke out. It is customary to lay to the charge of Mohammed Ahmed all the blood that was spilled. To my mind it seems that he may divide the responsibility with the unjust rulers who oppressed the land, with the incapable commanders who muddled430 away the lives of their men, with the vacillating Ministers who aggravated the misfortunes. But, whatever is set to the Mahdi's account, it should not be forgotten that he put life and soul into the hearts of his countrymen, and freed his native land of foreigners. The poor miserable natives, eating only a handful of grain, toiling431 half-naked and without hope, found a new, if terrible magnificence added to life. Within their humble breasts the spirit of the Mahdi roused the fires of patriotism432 and religion. Life became filled with thrilling, exhilarating terrors. They existed in a new and wonderful world of imagination. While they lived there were great things to be done; and when they died, whether it were slaying433 the Egyptians or charging the British squares, a Paradise which they could understand awaited them. There are many Christians434 who reverence the faith of Islam and yet regard the Mahdi merely as a commonplace religious impostor whom force of circumstances elevated to notoriety. In a certain sense, this may be true. But I know not how a genuine may be distinguished from a spurious Prophet, except by the measure of his success. The triumphs of the Mahdi were in his lifetime far greater than those of the founder435 of the Mohammedan faith; and the chief difference between orthodox Mohammedanism and Mahdism was that the original impulse was opposed only by decaying systems of government and society and the recent movement came in contact with civilisation and the machinery436 of science. Recognising this, I do not share the popular opinion, and I believe that if in future years prosperity should come to the peoples of the Upper Nile, and learning and happiness follow in its train, then the first Arab historian who shall investigate the early annals of that new nation will not forget, foremost among the heroes of his race, to write the name of Mohammed Ahmed.
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1
tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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confluence
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| n.汇合，聚集 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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converge
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| vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近 | |
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spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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recedes
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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rosier
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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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silts
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| v.（河流等）为淤泥淤塞( silt的第三人称单数 )；（使）淤塞 | |
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alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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quenchless
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| 不可熄灭的 | |
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obstructs
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| 阻塞( obstruct的第三人称单数 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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arrogantly
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| adv.傲慢地 | |
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tangles
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| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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caustic
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| adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的 | |
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45
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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51
recurs
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| 再发生，复发( recur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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53
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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54
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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55
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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56
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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57
swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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58
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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61
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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63
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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64
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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65
geographer
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| n.地理学者 | |
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66
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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67
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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70
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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72
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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ostrich
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| n.鸵鸟 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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beetles
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| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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afflict
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| vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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indigenous
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| adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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103
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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110
aboriginals
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| （某国的）公民( aboriginal的名词复数 )； 土著人特征； 土生动物（或植物） | |
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111
outweighed
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| v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过 | |
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112
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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113
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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114
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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115
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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116
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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117
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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118
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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119
permeating
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| 弥漫( permeate的现在分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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120
impede
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止 | |
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121
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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122
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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123
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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124
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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125
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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126
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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127
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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128
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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129
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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130
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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131
harried
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| v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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132
brawled
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| 打架，争吵( brawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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134
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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135
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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136
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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137
aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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138
disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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139
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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140
apathetic
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| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
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141
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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142
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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143
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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144
reclamation
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| n.开垦；改造；（废料等的）回收 | |
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145
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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146
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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147
stinted
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| v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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148
imperialism
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| n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策 | |
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149
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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150
tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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151
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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152
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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153
disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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154
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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155
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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156
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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157
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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158
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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159
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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160
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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161
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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162
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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163
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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164
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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165
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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166
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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167
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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168
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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169
rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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170
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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171
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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172
ministries
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| （政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期 | |
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173
extort
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| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
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174
iniquitous
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| adj.不公正的；邪恶的；高得出奇的 | |
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175
converged
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| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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176
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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177
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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178
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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179
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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180
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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181
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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182
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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183
brigandage
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| n.抢劫；盗窃；土匪；强盗 | |
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184
arrears
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| n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作 | |
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185
recalcitrant
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| adj.倔强的 | |
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186
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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187
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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188
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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189
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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190
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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191
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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192
subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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193
effete
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| adj.无生产力的，虚弱的 | |
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194
administrators
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| n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师 | |
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195
disported
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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196
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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197
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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198
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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199
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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200
fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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201
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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202
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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203
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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204
rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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205
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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206
degenerated
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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207
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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208
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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209
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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210
goaded
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| v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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211
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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212
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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213
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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214
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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215
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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216
provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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217
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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218
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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219
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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220
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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221
premier
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| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 | |
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222
orphanage
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| n.孤儿院 | |
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223
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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224
salutes
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| n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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225
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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226
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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227
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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228
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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229
neurotic
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| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
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230
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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231
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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232
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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233
vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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234
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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235
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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236
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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237
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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238
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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239
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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240
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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241
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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242
atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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243
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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244
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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245
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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246
anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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247
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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248
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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249
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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250
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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251
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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252
dishonour
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|
| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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253
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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254
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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255
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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256
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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257
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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258
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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259
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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260
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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261
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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262
attired
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|
| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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263
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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264
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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265
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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266
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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267
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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268
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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269
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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270
caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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271
scatter
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|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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272
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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273
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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274
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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275
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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276
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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277
accomplished
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|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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278
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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279
augury
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| n.预言，征兆，占卦 | |
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280
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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281
embarks
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| 乘船( embark的第三人称单数 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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282
fortifying
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|
| 筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品） | |
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283
motive
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|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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284
motives
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|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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285
humble
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|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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286
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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287
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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288
incentives
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|
| 激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机 | |
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289
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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290
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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291
philosophical
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|
| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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292
sublime
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|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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293
tribal
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|
| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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294
insignificant
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|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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295
wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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296
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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297
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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298
legitimate
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|
| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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299
entirely
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|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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300
veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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301
solely
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|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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302
purely
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|
| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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303
plundered
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|
| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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304
curtailed
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|
| v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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305
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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306
tottering
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|
| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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307
antagonism
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|
| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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308
hatred
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|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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309
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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310
surmounting
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|
| 战胜( surmount的现在分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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311
foam
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|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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312
momentum
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|
| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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313
yoke
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|
| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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314
contrived
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|
| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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315
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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316
devout
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|
| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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317
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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318
devoid
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|
| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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319
aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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320
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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321
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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322
renowned
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|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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323
disciples
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|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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324
retired
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|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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325
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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326
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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327
graphic
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|
| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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328
frugal
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|
| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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329
untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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330
auspicious
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|
| adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的 | |
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331
ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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332
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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333
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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334
connived
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| v.密谋 ( connive的过去式和过去分词 )；搞阴谋；默许；纵容 | |
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335
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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336
expunged
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| v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 )；除去；删去；消除 | |
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337
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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338
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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339
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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340
ignominiously
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|
| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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341
defiled
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|
| v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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342
invective
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|
| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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343
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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344
applied
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|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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345
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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346
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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347
sanctimonious
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|
| adj.假装神圣的，假装虔诚的，假装诚实的 | |
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348
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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349
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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350
alienate
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|
| vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等) | |
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351
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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352
impulsive
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|
| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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353
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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354
torpor
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| n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠 | |
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355
groaning
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|
| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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356
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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357
stony
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|
| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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358
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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359
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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360
acclaimed
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|
| adj.受人欢迎的 | |
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361
renouncer
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| [法] 放弃人，放弃继承权的人，拒绝承认人 | |
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362
homage
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|
| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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363
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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364
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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365
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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366
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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367
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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368
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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369
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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370
wayfarer
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| n.旅人 | |
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371
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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372
adherent
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| n.信徒，追随者，拥护者 | |
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373
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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374
glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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375
stainless
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| adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的 | |
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376
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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377
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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378
ramifications
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| n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 ) | |
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379
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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380
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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381
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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382
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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383
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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384
organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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385
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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386
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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387
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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388
emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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389
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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390
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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391
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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392
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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393
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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394
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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395
hegira
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| n.逃亡 | |
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396
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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397
prodigies
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| n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 ) | |
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398
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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399
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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400
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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401
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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402
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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403
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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404
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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405
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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406
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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407
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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408
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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409
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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410
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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411
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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412
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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413
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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414
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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415
advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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416
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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417
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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418
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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419
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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420
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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421
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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422
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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423
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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424
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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425
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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426
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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427
evacuate
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| v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便 | |
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428
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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429
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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430
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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431
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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432
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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433
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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434
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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435
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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436
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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