ian difficulty. Without the
Khedive's support, and looked at askance by his own countrymen in the
Delta, called mad on this side and denounced as inconsistent on the
other, no good result could have ensued, and therefore he turned his
back on the scene of his long labours without a sigh, and this time
even without regret.

The state of his health was such that rest, change of scene, and the
discontinuance of all mental effort were imperatively necessary, in
the opinion of his doctor, if a complete collapse of mental and
physical power was to be avoided. He was quite a wreck, and was
showing all the effects of protracted labour, the climate, and
improper food. Humanly speaking, his departure from Egypt was only
made in time to save his life, and therefore there was some
compensation in the fact that it was hastened by official jealousy and
animosity.

But it seems very extraordinary that, considering the magnitude of the
task he had performed single-handed in the Soudan, and the way he had
done it with a complete disregard of all selfish interest, he should
have been allowed to lay down his appointment without any
manifestation of honour or respect from those he had served so long
and so well. Nor was this indifference confined to Egyptians. It was
reflected among the English and other European officials, who
pronounced Gordon unpractical and peculiar, while in their hearts they
only feared his candour and bluntness. But even public opinion at
home, as reflected in the Press, seemed singularly blind to the fresh
claim he had established on the admiration of the world. His China
campaigns had earned him ungrudging praise, and a fame which, but for
his own diffidence, would have carried him to the highest positions in
the British army. But his achievements in the Soudan, not less
remarkable in themselves, and obtained with far less help from others
than his triumph over the Taepings, roused no enthusiasm, and received
but scanty notice. The explanation of this difference is not far to
seek, and reveals the baser side of human nature. In Egypt he had hurt
many susceptibilities, and criticised the existing order of things.
His propositions were drastic, and based on the exclusion of a costly
European _regime_ and the substitution of a native administration.
Even his mode of suppressing the slave trade had been as original as
it was fearless. Exeter Hall could not resound with cheers for a man
who declared that he had boug