At last the Austrian
Consul, overcome by the exhilaration of the scene, flung himself
in a frenzy among the dancers; the Governor-General, shouting
with delight, seemed about to follow suit, when Gordon abruptly
left the room, and the party broke up in confusion.
When, 1,500 miles to the southward, Gordon reached the seat of
his government, and the desolation of the Tropics closed over
him, the agonising nature of his task stood fully revealed. For
the next three years he struggled with enormous difficulties--
with the confused and horrible country, the appalling climate,
the maddening insects and the loathsome diseases, the
indifference of subordinates and superiors, the savagery of the
slave-traders, and the hatred of the inhabitants. One by one the
small company of his European staff succumbed. With a few hundred
Egyptian soldiers he had to suppress insurrections, make roads,
establish fortified posts, and enforce the government monopoly of
ivory. All this he accomplished; he even succeeded in sending
enough money to Cairo to pay for the expenses of the expedition.
But a deep gloom had fallen upon his spirit. When, after a series
of incredible obstacles had been overcome, a steamer was launched
upon the unexplored Albert Nyanza, he turned his back upon the
lake, leaving the glory of its navigation to his Italian
lieutenant, Gessi.
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