H.H. replied he wanted the man A., and could not
send him. To-day I got a request for L7, 10s., stating that I had
asked for A., who was at Port Said; that in consequence A. went to
Cairo and said that he did not want to come; so they ask me to pay
the L7, 10s. for his passage from Port Said to Cairo and return,
which I have refused to do."

[8] The abbreviation he generally used for His Highness
the Khedive.

Closely associated with this question of finance was the still more
important question of slavery. The Khedive's Government were at this
time at their wit's end for money. They wrote to Colonel Gordon asking
him to send them L12,000, and he replied that he had no funds
available. Nubar Pasha, who was Minister at the time, was casting about
to see how money could be raised, and not being troubled with
conscientious scruples on the subject of slavery, he made overtures to
the great slave-dealer Zebehr, who, it will be remembered, was
practically a prisoner in Cairo. Zebehr jumped at the offer, and
promised to send L25,000 per annum to Cairo from the Soudan, if he were
made Governor-General in place of Gordon. This of course meant that he
would be allowed a perfectly free hand to kidnap as many slaves as
possible, in order to make up the annual deficit in addition to this
subsidy of L25,000. Writing from Khartoum on February 18, 1879, Gordon
says that he was ordered to return to Cairo for consultation. This,
however, he steadily refused to do, on the ground of certain
disturbances which had occurred. There was a simultaneous rebellion of
slave-dealers in the Bahr-Gazelle, and also risings in Darfour and
Kordofan, and Gordon felt it to be his duty to go and assist his
lieutenant, Gessi, who was endeavouring to crush Zebehr's gang. Again
all the horrors of the slave-trade were forced upon Gordon's mind.

"I declare if I could stop this traffic I would willingly be shot
this night. This shows my ardent desire; and yet, strive as I can,
I can scarcely see any hope of arresting the evil. Now comes the
question, Could I sacrifice my life and remain in Kordofan and
Darfour? To die quickly would be to me nothing; but the long
crucifixion that a residence in these horrid countries entails
appalls me. Yet I feel that, if I could screw up my mind to it, I
could cause the trade to cease, for its roots are in these
countries.... I have written to the Khedive