... The great event I am looking forward to is the arrival of Chinese Gordon.^i He is, I think, by far the best man the Government really could have sent out, and if anyone can get the Egyptian Government out of their Soudan difficulties he will. At the same time, with all his remarkable qualities, he is very eccentric and impulsive, taking a strong liking one day which he turns the next into violent aversion; one of the objects of this latter feeling just now is, I understand, the Khedive. His present intention is not to come to Cairo, whether on account of the Khedive or not I can't say, but to go straight through the Canal to Suez direct. I hope he will be dissuaded from this course, as it is of consequence that he should consult with Sir E. Baring before proceeding on his mission. We are still very anxious about the safety of numerous garrisons, with their civil populations, in the Soudan, and as to how to get them out of the country. The enterprise is a most difficult one and makes us all very anxious. All this trouble with the Soudan has been brought about by the gross misgovernment, corruption, and abuse of power of Egypt and her officials. There was no reason for this outbreak if the people in these parts had only been governed by ordinary rules of justice and consideration for the welfare of the people; instead of which they have been oppressed, overtaxed, and treated like dogs. At last the various tribes revolted and the insurrection has to some extent assumed the appearance of a religious movement. I don't myself at present entertain any apprehensions upon the score of a religious war, but believe that by judicious management and by the administration of a little backshish, many of the tribes will fall away from the Mahdi, and that the people generally will feel satisfied with having got the Egyptians out of their country.
To his Sister
My dear Minny, —... You talk of reading the life of Chinese Gordon — he called upon me himself yesterday, and we had an interesting conversation, during which he told me that our Government had made up their mind irrevocably that the Soudan was to be abandoned, and that his mission consisted in employing the best means in his power by using his influence with the different tribes or otherwise, to effect the withdrawal of the different garrisons, civil population, with their women and children, etc., from the Soudan with as little loss as possible. Most of the tribes are in rebellion, and it will be an operation of difficulty and serious danger unless the wild tribes can be conciliated. Gordon is the most likely man to exercise this desirable result, and should he fail we must not be surprised to hear of loss of life among the fugitives during their retreat. Gordon himself is a man of moderate height, apparently a little over fifty, with greyish hair and eyes, and a quiet, unpretending manner which covers, however, a determined mind and a courageous spirit such as few men possess; he is thoroughly disinterested, never thinking of himself, and imbued with a deep religious feeling. He will enter upon his mission with his life in his hand, trusting to his fearless nature and the recollection of the influence he exercised a few years ago in that country. He leaves to-night, accompanied by Colonel Stewart," his military secretary, and no one else, travelling up the Nile to a place called Korosko, then across the desert for about 250 miles, until he strikes the Nile again, up which he will go as best he can for about 400 miles before he reaches Khartoum — total distance from Cairo about 1300 miles. Distances from place to place are great out here, and are not realised at home. The policy of abandoning the Soudan is a very large question, leading to important consequences which one cannot as yet wholly foresee,
1884] A DIFFICULT QUESTION 315
but which may seriously affect our own Government.— Yours very affectionately,
Fredk. Stephenson.
To his Niece, Agnes Henrietta Stephenson