The word “Islam” means the resigning or devoting oneself entirely to God and His service, i.e. self-sacrifice: consequently a true Christian is of the Islam religion, as far as the name goes (this is Sale’s translation of the word Islam).
It is curious how quick the people forget their disasters and losses; it is only ten days ago that we lost in killed nearly one thousand men, yet no one speaks of it now; it takes about four or six days to obliterate the bitterness of a disaster.
The old bugbear of the defection of the Shaggyeh has sprung up again. Saleh Pasha, who is a prisoner with the Mahdi, has written to his brother to say he and the Mahdi are coming, and that he is not to join me. These sort of things, which are taken up as gospel truth by those around me, are one of the most disagreeable parts of my position; those who will one day declare that the Shaggyeh are faithful, will two days after urge one to take the sharpest measures of repression against them, which is, to my mind, just the way to push them into rebellion, if they had any tendency that way (I mean by rebellion, joining the Arabs).
Saleh Pasha’s brother came in to-day to see me; he has heard that his brother is with the Mahdi at Schatt, a place inland from Duem, on White Nile. He seems to think this is authentic; if so, we shall have the Mahdi here ere long; he has been there nine days.
The news of the near approach of the Mahdi has not troubled me, for if he fails he is lost, and there will be no necessity for an expedition to Kordofan; if he succeeds, he may, by his presence, prevent any massacre. I have always felt we were doomed to come face to face ere the matter was ended.
I toss up in my mind, whether, if the place is taken, to blow up the palace and all in it, or else to be taken, and, with God’s help, to maintain the faith, and if necessary to suffer for it (which is most probable). The blowing up of the palace is the simplest, while the other means long and weary suffering and humiliation of all sorts. I think I shall elect for the last, not from fear of death, but because the former has more or less the taint of suicide, as it can do no good to any one, and is, in a way, taking things out of God’s hands.
Schatt is twenty miles inland from Duem, which is one hundred miles from here, on left bank of White Nile.
The Greek who came in told the Greek Consul that the Mahdi puts pepper under his nails, and when he receives visitors then he touches his eyes and weeps copiously; that he eats a few grains of dhoora openly, but in the interior of the house he has fine feeding and drinks alcoholic drinks.
The Greek says the Mahdi has lots of letters from Cairo,[42] Stamboul, and India; that his constant conversation is Kartoum, and his chance of its capture.
After this pepper business! I think I shall drop any more trouble in writing him letters, trying to convince or persuade him to reasonable measures.