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night. Enemy cannot take us except by starving us out. Do
not scatter your troops. ..." Specially "secret and confiden-
tial" were other words which doubtless were urgently pressed
upon the Arab's memory by those Khartoumese notables who had
hazarded their lives by aiding Gordon to defend the city. "Our
troops in Khartoum are suffering from lack of provisions. Food
we still have is little; some grain and biscuit. We want you to
come quickly. ... In Khartoum there are no butter, nor dates,
and little meat. All food is very dear." * (Blue-Book, 1885,
No. 1, p. 132.)

A written letter to Wolseley, dated 14th December, accompanied
the Journal and remained with it at Metammeh, so that Wolseley
never saw the letter until the result of the "great refusal" was
completed. He sent it to England on 10th February. Its terms
were: "... The state of affairs is such that one cannot foresee
further than five to seven days, after which the town may at any
time fall. I have done all in my power to hold out, but I own
I consider the position extremely critical, aimost desperate; and
I say this without any feeling of bitterness with respect to Her
Majesty's Government, but merely as a matter of fact. Should
the town fall, it will be questionable whether it will be worth the
while of Her Majesty's Government to continue its expedition,
for it is certain that the fall of Khartoum will ensure that of Kassala and Sennaar."†

One more communication from Gordon reached Wolseley's hands,
but it was only a fac-simile (Ib., p. 141) of the previous note– "Khar-
toum all right. 14 Dec. 1884." It was taken to Wolseley by a man
who had been sent by Wolseley fom Korti on the 18th December,
and who returned to him on the 11th January. He said he had been
one day in Khartoum, that he was taken prisoner on his return,
and that "Gordon's letters were taken from him." He bore marks
of having been bound and beaten. He brought no verbal message
from Gordon. He told Wolseley that the steamers sized cattle
and grain, and took them up river to Khartoum; and Mr.
Gladstone had the ineffable meanness to tell the House, in Feb-
ruary 1885, that "the despatch of 28th December overrides the
account of December 14th" (though the only despatch was a repetition
of that of December 14th), "and represents a state of things in which
there was not the smallest reference to a scarcity of provisions."

Such prevarication could deceive no one. No one could imagine

* Sir E. Baring telegraphed this to Lord Granville on the 1st January, 1885. (Blue-
Book, No. 1, 1885, p. 132.)

† The Blue-Book (No. 9., 1885) which contains this despatch (P. 23) is worth read-
ing for the sake of the despatches of Lord Wolseley and Sir C. Wilson, and their
testimony to the loyalty of Khasm-el-Mûs; a report from whom to Lord Wolseley is
included in the Blue-Book.