The Life of Gordon, Volume IIBoulger, Demetrius Charles
History
The Life of Gordon, Volume II
Boulger, Demetrius Charles
Generals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Gordon, Charles George, 1833-1885
"I send you a small note which you can make use of, but I beg you
will not let my name appear under any circumstances. When in
London I had printed a pamphlet in Arabic, with all the papers
(official) concerning Zebehr Pasha and his action in pushing his
son to rebel. It is in Arabic. My brother has it. It is not long,
and would repay translating and publishing. It has all the
history and the authentic letters found in the divan of Zebehr's
son when Gessi took his stockade. It is in a cover, blue and
gold. It was my address to people of Soudan--Apologia. Isaiah
XIX. 19, 20, 21 has a wonderful prophecy about Egypt and the
saviour who will come from the frontier."
The note enclosed was published in _The Times_ of 5th January, and
read as follows:--
"A correspondent writes that it may seem inexplicable why the
Mahdi's troops attacked Gezireh, which, as its name signifies, is
an isle near Berber, but there is an old tradition that the
future ruler of the Soudan will be from that isle. Zebehr Rahama
knew this, but he fell on leaving his boat at this isle, and so,
though the Soudan people looked on him as a likely saviour, this
omen shook their confidence in him. He was then on his way to
Cairo after swearing his people to rebel (if he was retained
there), under a tree at Shaka. Zebehr will most probably be taken
prisoner by the Mahdi, and will then take the command of the
Mahdi's forces. The peoples of the Soudan are very superstitious,
and the fall of the flag by a gust of wind, on the proclamation
of Tewfik at Khartoum, was looked on as an omen of the end of
Mehemet Ali's dynasty. There is an old tree opposite Cook's
office at Jerusalem in Toppet, belonging to an old family, and
protected by Sultan's Firman, which the Arabs consider will fall
when the Sultan's rule ends. It lost a large limb during the
Turco-Russian war, and is now in a decayed state. There can be no
doubt but that the movement will spread into Palestine, Syria,
and Hedjaz. At Damascus already proclamations have been posted
up, denouncing Turks and Circassians, and this was before Hicks
was defeated. It is the beginning of the end of Turkey. Austria
backed by Germany will go to Salonica, quieting Russia by letting
her go into Armenia--England and France neutralising one another.
"If not too late, the return of the ex-Khedive Ismail to Egypt,
and the union of England and France to support and control the
Arab movement, appears the only chance. Ismail would soon come to
terms with the Soudan, the rebellion of which countries was
entirely due to the oppression of the Turks and Circassians."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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