he honour and respect of all, and on
the fall of the town the Mahdi returned to him the property he had
captured; thereupon he at once set to work to relieve the distressed
Egyptian families who had been turned out of house and home, and whose
property had been taken. In his letter Mustafa Yawer asked his friend
Tobji if Mohammed Ahmed were the real Mahdi or not; this letter came
into the Mahdi's hands, and Tobji was at once sent for and asked what
reply he intended to give. Osman answered, "When the sun has risen over
the horizon it is visible to all, and no further proof of its existence
is required--thus if the Mahdi be the true Mahdi, his works will bear
witness of the truth." This evasive answer did not however satisfy the
Mahdi, who obliged Tobji to sign a letter declaring that Mohammed Ahmed
was the true Mahdi, and this letter was then despatched to the Mudir of
Dongola.

The Mahdi was well versed in the art of winning over people. His
unruffled smile, pleasant manners, generosity and equable temperament,
though at times somewhat severe, all tended to enhance the popular idea
of him. He attributed the execution of Said Pasha and Ali Bey Sherif to
the Khalifa Abdullah, and when the two little sons of the latter were
brought to him, the smiling hypocrite wept for their father's fate. The
popular belief in him and his cause almost amounted to worship: women
especially raved about him and thought him the most handsome of men.
They swore by him in the words "Hakk rabb el Mahdi" (By the Mahdi's God)
or "Hakk Sayidna el Imam" (By our Lord, the Imam); all solemn oaths and
statements began with the words "Aleik el Mahdi el Muntaser" (By the
Victorious Mahdi); his virtues were extolled in poems, and constant
reference was made to his good looks, wisdom, stature and to his
repeated victories over the Turks. The beggars used to learn off by
heart special laudatory verses, and by reciting them from house to house
they were sure to be given alms; to such an extent was this laudation
carried that if a beggar sang songs in which the Prophet's name
occurred, he was at once interrupted and told to substitute the Mahdi's
for the Prophet's name; at every street corner his praises were sung;
soldiers on the march sang of his glorious victories; female slaves
gathering wood, or laden with corn, or grinding it between the
stones--all sang the same refrain, which indeed might be called the
Mahdi's national anthem, and began with the wor