used the enthusiasm of his hearers,
and the oath of allegiance was at once sworn by thousands. The ceremony
continued long after it was dark. With an amazing endurance he harangued
till past midnight, and when the exhausted Slatin, who hard attended him
throughout the crisis, lay down upon the ground to sleep, he knew
that his master's succession was assured; for, says he, 'I heard the
passers-by loud in their praises of the late Mahdi, and assuring each
other of their firm resolve to support his successor.'

The sovereignty that Abdullah had obtained must be held, as it had been
won, by the sword. The passionate agitation which the Mahdi had excited
survived him. The whole of the Soudan was in a ferment. The success
which had crowned rebellion encouraged rebels. All the turbulent and
fanatical elements were aroused. As the various provinces had been
cleared of the Egyptians, the new Executive had appointed military
governors by whom the country was ruled and taxed, subject to the
pleasure of Mohammed Ahmed. His death was the signal for a long series
of revolts of all kinds--military, political, and religious. Garrisons
mutinied; Emirs plotted; prophets preached. Nor was the land torn only
by internal struggles. Its frontiers were threatened. On the east the
tremendous power of Abyssinia loomed terrible and menacing. There was
war in the north with Egypt and around Suakin with England. The Italians
must be confronted from the direction of Massowa. Far to the south
Emin Pasha still maintained a troublesome resistance. Yet the Khalifa
triumphed over nearly all his enemies; and the greatest spectacle which
the Soudan presented from 1885 to 1898 was of this strong, capable ruler
bearing up against all reverses, meeting each danger, overcoming each
difficulty, and offering a firm front to every foe.

It is unlikely that any complete history of these events will ever be
written in a form and style which will interest a later generation. The
complications of extraordinary names and the imperfection of the records
might alone deter the chronicler. The universal squalor of the scenes
and the ignorance of the actors add discouragements. Nor, upon the
other hand, are there great incentives. The tale is one of war of the
cruellest, bloodiest, and most confused type. One savage army slaughters
another. One fierce general cuts his rival's throat. The same features
are repeated with wearying monotony. When one battle is understood, al