y extended about
six kilometres. The impression I gathered from the appearance of the
ditch, which at that time had been much damaged by the heavy rains, was
that it could not have been crossed, except near the White Nile where it
was quite choked up with mud and sand. At various points along the line
there were strongly-built forts manned with guns, and a little in rear
of the parapets were high structures which commanded the ditch; behind
every loophole were small mud shelters, evidently made by the troops to
protect themselves from the cold and strong winds.

The Messalamieh gate was built of burnt bricks and cement and was then
in a good state, but the iron gate lay unopened against the side of the
ditch. I counted about 150 bodies along the parapet; there they lay,
shrivelled up like mummies, while rats and mice had made their homes in
them. In one place I saw two bodies tied together by the feet, they had
evidently been killed in this position. It was impossible to distinguish
the Egyptians from the blacks, for the sun had burnt up and shrivelled
the skin into one black colour. Here, where there had been such bustling
activity, now only the stillness of the tomb prevailed. As one walked
along, lizards and other reptiles would creep from beneath the skeletons
and dart off to take refuge under others.

I strolled on from the Messalamieh gate to the European cemetery. Here
what desolation and desecration met my eyes! The crosses had been
smashed to pieces and lay strewn about in little bits. Graves had been
dug up and the bodies pulled out. I recognised from their clothes three
who had died in January 1881. The grave of Bishop Comboni, who had died
on the 11th of October, 1881, and had been buried in the Mission garden,
had also been opened, but the obelisk erected to his memory by the
townspeople of Khartum had not been destroyed. The church bells had
been pulled down, but lay there in the garden undamaged.

Shortly after my visit, Khartum was reduced to ruins. The Khalifa
Abdullah, jealous of the Ashraf, who had completely established
themselves in the town, and whose actions he could not therefore
sufficiently supervise, determined to order its evacuation. In August
the command was given to all to quit the town within three days; it was
carried out at once, and on the fourth day the destruction of Khartum
began. Houses were pulled down, the wood of the windows, balconies, and
doors was transported to Omdurman, a