A horse escaped from the Arabs, formerly belonging to Government. It gave no information; but from its action, may be supposed not to believe in the Mahdi.
Simmons[97] and I agree on one subject—that Egypt is useless to us, unless we have command of the seas; and if we have command of seas, Egypt is ours; therefore it is not worth bothering about. We will never be liked by its peoples; we do not go the right way to be liked. To my mind, if we looked after the Cape and Mauritius, &c., it would be far more beneficial, and less expensive, than wasting our money on Egypt and the Soudan; but because Egypt used to be important, we think it is always so. Whereas, the introduction of steam has quite altered its importance, while the creation of other Naval Powers in the Mediterranean renders that sea no longer a question of supremacy of France or England.
I have mentioned reports of troops moving on Kassala, yet not one word is said, either one way or another, by Kitchener. Surely he must know that if this is the case, I ought to be told; or if no movement is being made in that direction, I ought to be informed.
Arabi’s clerk, Ahmet-Eff-Awaan[98] (Stewart knows him well) was, on Stewart’s departure, represented to me as in utter misery, so I gave him back £10 a month. To-night I heard my friend had been positively preaching for the Mahdi! so I have shut him up. An attempt was made the day before yesterday morning to set fire to one of the houses near the magazine at the Roman Catholic Mission. It was discovered; it was evidently the work of an incendiary. I have ordered all houses to be pulled down in the neighbourhood. This is not comfortable, for it shows we have some evil-disposed people here.[99]
October 3.—Small church parade to-day on South Front. Some twenty-five horsemen came near the lines, and four shots were fired at them.
An inquiry is going on about the fire near the magazine. Some little suspicion that Awaan is mixed up with it, for his house was near; indeed, it adjoins the place where the fire was. It burned four tents. It will go hard with him if he is found guilty: certainly his preaching in favour of the Mahdi is against him.
I visited the place of the fire, and also Awaan’s house. My impression is against Awaan’s being the culprit; but I have no doubt the Court of Inquiry will find him guilty. Wilfred Blunt will be crying out about this ill-used martyr, so will Arabi the blest. I am paying for the houses pulled down. There is no doubt the fire was the work of an incendiary. To-day ends the Bairam.
Stewart will not believe it of Awaan; but it appears that in disputing about the Mahdi, Awaan took off his slipper[100] and struck his opponent—he was so strong in his opinion. A more fawning, wretched fellow one never saw. I should send him to the Mahdi, but that he knows English, and is a born intriguer.
I reason thus, respecting the slackness of the Intelligence Department not sending in spies. As noted in the Journal, on an average four or five men come in daily from the Arabs, therefore they do not keep so very strict a look-out; also now there are vast gaps in their lines around the place, and one may say from here to Shendy is open. It is more difficult to go out than to come in, for in going out one may stumble on some new emplacement of the Arabs, while in coming in a man can ascertain such emplacements beforehand; it is evident also, that as all the information we have had has come from my return spies, that no effort has been made by the Intelligence Department. Had that Department initiated any such step, in any energy, it is unlikely that all their men would have been stopped—my spies get caught, though, so frequently passing the lines of Arabs.