an who was not a mere puppet. His
father, with all his faults, had great force of character, and made
himself respected in the kingdom. The son was as weak as the father was
strong, with the result that his rule soon became nominal. When weak
men get into such positions, there is great temptation for stronger
ones to rise up and seize the reins of government. It is unnecessary to
sketch the history of Arabi Pasha, or to recount in detail the
circumstances that brought him to the front. Enough for our purpose to
mention that his name, little known before, was suddenly associated
with a great military revolt, and that the powers of Europe took alarm
lest the Suez Canal should be blocked. But for that Canal, events in
Egypt might have taken a very different turn, and that country might
now have had, what it sorely needs, a strong man at the head of
affairs. England, having far more ships passing through the Canal than
all the rest of the world together, intervened. Our fleet attacked
Alexandria, and our troops under Lord Wolseley broke up the Egyptian
army at Tel-el-Kebir. From that time we have virtually been the rulers
of the ancient kingdom of Egypt, the Khedive being little more than a
puppet in our hands. He has all the social position and dignity of a
Khedive, without the trouble or responsibility of having to govern.

Unfortunately, soon after General Gordon relinquished the
Governor-Generalship of the Soudan, the Khedive, in spite of Gordon's
protest, appointed to the post about as bad a man as he could possibly
have selected. This was no other than Raouf Pasha, whom Gordon had
twice turned out of different appointments for playing the tyrant. No
sooner was he appointed than there was a revival of all the horrors of
cruel government, which Gordon had done so much to abolish. The
following are his own words in explanation of the origin of the
rebellion:--

"The movement is not religious, but an outbreak of despair. Three
times over I warned the late Khedive that it would be impossible to
govern the Soudan on the old system, after my appointment to the
Governor-Generalship. During the three years that I wielded full
powers in the Soudan, I taught the natives that they had a right to
exist. I waged war against the Turks and Circassians, who had
harried the population. I had taught them something of the meaning
of liberty and justice, and accustomed them to a higher ideal of
govern