But it was in vain that
the imperialists clamoured; in vain that Lord Wolseley wrote
several dispatches, proving over and over again that to leave the
Mahdi unconquered must involve the ruin of Egypt; in vain that
Lord Hartington at last discovered that he had come to the same
conclusion. The old man stood firm. Just then, a crisis with
Russia on the Afghan frontier supervened; and Mr. Gladstone,
pointing out that every available soldier might be wanted at any
moment for a European war, withdrew Lord Wolseley and his army
from Egypt. The Russian crisis disappeared. The Mahdi remained
supreme lord of the Sudan.
And yet it was not with the Mahdi that the future lay. Before six
months were out, in the plenitude of his power, he died, and the
Khalifa Abdullahi reigned in his stead. The future lay with Major
Kitchener and his Maxim-Nordenfeldt guns. Thirteen years later
the Mahdi's empire was abolished forever in the gigantic hecatomb
of Omdurman; after which it was thought proper that a religious
ceremony in honour of General Gordon should be held at the palace
at Khartoum. The service was conducted by four chaplains--of the
Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist persuasions--and
concluded with a performance of 'Abide with Me'--the General's
favourite hymn--by a select company of Sudanese buglers.
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