When one thinks of the enormous loss of life which has taken place in the Soudan since 1880, and the general upset of all government, one cannot help feeling vicious against Sir Auckland Colvin, Sir Edward Malet, and Sir Charles Dilke, for it is on account of those three men, whose advice was taken by Her Majesty’s Government, that all these sorrows are due. They went in for the bondholders, and treated as chimerical any who thought differently from them ... by letting Sir Auckland Colvin and Sir Edward Malet stay in Egypt when he went there, got let into their ways. Time has shown the result of their policy, and we shall hear of them no more. In a minor degree the Times correspondent at Cairo and Alexandria is a sinner, for he backed them. We are an honest nation, but our diplomatists are conies, and not officially honest.
September 13.—Sent out notifications to all the authorities in Egypt and the Soudan to search Cuzzi closely, for I think he is an emissary of the Mahdi; this can be done under pretence of customs. I am inclined to think that Cuzzi betrayed Berber to the Arabs, for how else can the different treatment he received from the Mahdi from all other Europeans be accounted for?
Five of our soldiers captured at Obeyed came in to-day; they report the Arabs not strong, and not meditating immediate action (they brought their arms with them); they say the Arabs knew of our expedition to Berber.
The Ulemas sent a letter[33] to the Mahdi to-day; these letters are interesting, for they show the views of these people.
The steamers are reported to have passed the Shoboloha defile safely; they ought to be at Berber to-day.
Note that I do not call our enemy rebels, but Arabs, for it is a vexed question whether we are not rebels, seeing I hold the firman restoring Soudan to its chiefs.
The Greek who came in yesterday told the Greek doctor here that the superior of the mission at Obeyed alone has kept his faith; his name is “Luigi Bonorni;” the other priests and nuns all have become Muslims (so he says); the nuns have nominally married Greeks to save themselves from outrage. He says Cuzzi received two horses, a wife, a slave, and $60[34] from the Mahdi, with whom he was on the closest terms of intimacy. He says, Slatin had 4000 ardebs[35] of dhoora and 1500 cows, and plenty of ammunition when he surrendered; he has been given eight horses by the Mahdi (all this information must be taken with reserve). The Greeks here made up £38 for their compatriots in captivity, and the Austrian Consul sent $100 to the mission at Obeyed.[36] I gave the Greek $5, which I expect was wasted, and I doubt if the Greek will not keep all the money he has received. I grudge the $20 I gave Cuzzi, for I expect he is a vile traitor. I expect he gave the Mahdi all the cyphers; fortunately he had not the Foreign Office cypher, which Stewart has carried off. Had I known this information about Cuzzi I ought to have decapitated him, but it is as well I left him to his fate.
If what the Greek says is true about the apostacy of all but Don Luigi, what a spectacle! for certainly these people came to this country with more faith than those that stay at home; they could not expect any comforts in it, but much self-denial. Some of those nuns had as much as £1000 a year, which they left to come here. Of course the Greek’s statement is open to much doubt.
Slatin’s name is Abdel Kadi; Cuzzi’s name is Mahomet Yusuf. Mahdi proposes I should put myself, on my surrender (?) under Abou Gugliz, who is a notorious breaker of the Dervish rules. I forgot in my letter to remark on this. It appears each of these men have a spiritual adviser with them, who acts as a spy as well.