The Arabs this morning fired from their guns from Bourré, from the White Nile, and from Omdurman; they are also keeping up a musketry fire. At the Mahdi’s camp they had another “church parade” to-day. I suppose they are working up their fanaticism. The Arabs have a Nordenfeldt opposite the little steamer Husseinyeh. The town people are pleased at the new steamer being called the Zubair; the Anti-Slave Society will be furious.[234] If Zubair had come up, I should have had news long before now.[235] It does seem ridiculous that when our apparent policy is to hand over the Soudan to the Mahdi, who with his people are far more slave hunters than Zubair ever would be, we should not have utilized this man in this expedition. There are about two hundred people on the Isle of Tuti, yet last night an Arab came over, killed a man and carried off three donkeys; they do not deserve the name of men. How Zubair would touch up these fellows; he would go to Tuti and give all the men between eighteen and fifty at least thirty blows of Kourbatch. I am obliged to content myself with lamentations.
(“Count the months—March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and half November! Why, I declare, it is a breach of contract.”[236])
If it be true about the repulse of the Abyssinians at Keren, I expect there were roars of laughter in Downing Street at the greenness of His Majesty the Emperor John (as Mitzakis calls him). It is very odd, but we have had no news of Kassala for months, not since September ... to .... “You said it was too dreadful; what will you say when I tell you he has made sketches of you and ME? and how, horrible to relate, put them in his demi-official journal; and we can do absolutely nothing, for if he is attacked as being a British officer, he says he made the sketches as Governor-General, and vice versâ.”
Independent of my regret for Stewart, the loss of his journal affects me, for there were lots of things in it of interest. All the powers (including the Pope, and excluding England and France) were appealed to in a touching memo., to raise an auxiliary force under Baker, &c., &c., and to stop the wave of Dervish fanaticism. I also wrote to the Sultan. I do not know if these appeals ever got through, but Stewart had them all copied in his journal. Events and my discourses had almost made him latterly, as vicious as I am. Baring’s ears ought to have burned, for the last eight months, he was nicely dissected by us all (Power aiding). If Herbin, the French Consul, had got down Baring would have had a time of it, for Herbin says that Barère, the French minister, went to Baring before Herbin left, and Baring did not tell (Barère) any thing about the evacuation of the Soudan. Of course Baring will shelter himself under the “fiction” that he, as British minister, had nothing to do with it. What a farce, if it did not deal with men’s lives.
When one thinks that Baring works harder than a galley slave for such wretched results, one ought to pity him.
I have sent 150 of these superior troops (the Shaggyeh), to the Isle of Tuti, in consequence of the outrage of last night (which I do not believe in, for that one man came over and killed another man, and carried off three donkeys in a small boat is absurd). However, the Shaggyeh are safer in the Isle of Tuti than in the North Fort. At 7 p.m. the Arabs came down and fired on Bourré from the left bank of the Blue Nile. The officer (a full colonel of my creation), asks me “Is he to fire back?” I said, “Better not ask me that question, unless you want to catch it.” 7.15 p.m. Omdurman Fort is firing away. I certainly lay claim to having commanded, more often than any other man, cowardly troops, but this experience of 1884 beats all past experiences; the worst of the matter is, that you cannot believe one word the officers say. With respect to the major who was absent from the Fort Mogrim last night, he says he was in the telegraph station, which is a direct falsehood. However, I did nothing to him, more than call him a liar, which he probably considers a compliment. A sort of adjutant-major, whom I had borne with for a long time, told me two cold lies in two days, so I bundled him out. Can it be wondered at that, after nine months and more of this sort of military worry, and ditto of civil worry, I am heartily sick of the whole affair, and provided I am not made a party (and I will not be) to a shabby retreat, I should be glad to be out of this place.
The Arabs fired fifteen shells against the Fort of Omdurman; only one seemed to strike the keep; one man was wounded at Mogrim with the splinter of a shell. The Arab gun-carriages must be in bad state of repair, for our carpenters are continually at work making new ones, and the Arabs have no means of so doing. The Husseinyeh lies just off the division of the White and the Blue Niles, and not as I showed her position, page 327. All the scratched out portion is abuse of Baring.[237] Some one said, “If you feel angry, then write your angry letter, and then tear it up.” It certainly does relieve the mind to write one’s bile, and it is good also to scratch it out, for I dare say Baring is doing his duty better than I am; he is certainly more patriotic, if patriotism consists in obedience to the existing Government of one’s country.[238]
Doctor reports that the shells and bullets of the Arabs fell all around the hospital this morning, but did no harm, they came from Bourré.
November 18.—Everything quiet all round the place; they fired a few shots with their guns at the lines near the White Nile.