It was curious that the Sudanese, who much dread this disease, should have attributed it to the English; but that they did so is a fact, and this is how it came about. When the English retired, from Gubat, they left behind them a quantity of preserved stores and tinned meat. The Dervishes, in spite of the belief that they contained pork, which is an abomination to them, were so hungry that they consumed almost everything they found, and it is said that almost immediately afterwards they were attacked by small-pox, which gave rise to the idea that the English had mixed their food with the germs of the disease, and this was implicitly believed in. Owing to the prevalence of small-pox in Omdurman, many people fled to Kordofan, Darfur, and other places, and consequently caused the disease to spread over the whole country. Several false doctors, with the sole object of making money, guaranteed to check the disease by inoculation; but as the inoculated matter was frequently in itself diseased, the epidemic was still further increased. Notwithstanding this national calamity, the Mahdi now gave himself up to a life of ease and luxury, in which the unfortunate women captured in Khartum played a prominent part. He represented that all those who died of small-pox were suffering God's punishment for being evil-minded or having appropriated the booty. People believed what he said, and would still believe him, if he were alive and told them even more incredible things. The capture of Khartum had, of course, raised his prestige enormously, and now the belief in his Divine message needed no further confirmation. Before the assault took place he said that he would divide the river into two parts, just as Moses had divided the Red Sea, so that his followers could cross to Khartum on dry land if they failed to take it by assault. His promise, too, that very few should fall by the sword, not only encouraged them in the attack, but its verification served only to further prove his divinity. His uncle, Sayid Abdel Kader, up to the time of the fall of Khartum, still doubted that he was the true Mahdi; but, once the town was taken, he doubted no longer. [Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN HAREM WOMAN.]