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eminent victorians-第64章

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somehow convinced;' he wrote; they were captured by treachery。。。

Stewart was not a bit suspicious (I am made up of it)。 I can see

in imagination the whole scene; the Sheikh inviting them to

land。。。 then a rush of wild Arabs; and all is over!' 'It is very

sad;' he added; 'but being ordained; we must not murmur。' And yet

he believed that the true responsibility lay with him; it was the

punishment of his own sins。 'I look on it;' was his unexpected

conclusion; 'as being a Nemesis on the death of the two Pashas。'



The workings of his conscience did indeed take on surprising

shapes。 Of the three ex…governors of Darfur; Bahr…el…Ghazal; and

Equatoria; Emin Pasha had disappeared; Lupton Bey had died; and

Slatin Pasha was held in captivity by the Mahdi。 By birth an

Austrian and a Catholic; Slatin; in the last desperate stages of

his resistance; had adopted the expedient of announcing his

conversion to Mohammedanism; in order to win the confidence of

his native troops。 On his capture; the fact of his conversion

procured him some degree of consideration; and; though he

occasionally suffered from the caprices of his masters; he had so

far escaped the terrible punishment which had been meted out to

some other of the Mahdi's European prisoners that of close

confinement in the common gaol。 He was now kept prisoner in one

of the camps in the neighbourhood of Khartoum。 He managed to

smuggle through a letter to Gordon; asking for assistance; in

case he could make his escape。 To this letter Gordon did not

reply。 Slatin wrote again and again; his piteous appeals; couched

in no less piteous French; made no effect upon the heart of the

Governor…General。 'Excellence!' he wrote; 'J'ai envoye deux

lettres; sans avoir recu une reponse de votre excellence。 。。。

Excellence! j'ai me battu 27 FOIS pour le gouvernement contre

l'ennemion m'a feri deux fois; et j'ai rien fait contre

l'honneurrien de chose qui doit empeche votre excellence de

m'ecrir une reponse que je sais quoi faire。 JE VOUS PRIE;

Excellence; de m'honore avec une reponse。 P。S。 Si votre

Excellence ont peutetre entendu que j'ai fait quelque chose

contre l'honneur d'un officier et cela vous empeche de m'ecrir;

je vous prie de me donner l'occasion de me defendre; et jugez

apres la verite。' The unfortunate Slatin understood well enough

the cause of Gordon's silence。 It was in vain that he explained

the motives of his conversion; in vain that he pointed out that

it had been made easier for him since he had; 'PERHAPS UNHAPPILY;

not received a strict religious education at home'。 Gordon was

adamant。 Slatin had 'denied his Lord'; and that was enough。 His

communications with Khartoum were discovered and he was put in

chains。 When Gordon heard of it; he noted the fact grimly in his

diary; without a comment。



A more ghastly fate awaited another European who had fallen into

the hands of the Mahdi。 Clavier Pain; a French adventurer; who

had taken part in the Commune; and who was now wandering; for

reasons which have never been discovered; in the wastes of the

Sudan; was seized by the Arabs; made prisoner; and hurried from

camp to camp。 He was attacked by fever; but mercy was not among

the virtues of the savage soldiers who held him in their power。

Hoisted upon the back of a camel; he was being carried across the

desert; when; overcome by weakness; he lost his hold; and fell to

the ground。 Time or trouble were not to be wasted upon an

infidel。 Orders were given that he should be immediately buried;

the orders were carried out; and in a few moments the cavalcade

had left the little hillock far behind。 But some of those who

were present believed that Olivier Pain had been still breathing

when his body was covered with the sand。



Gordon; on hearing that a Frenchman had been captured by the

Mahdi; became extremely interested。 The idea occurred to him that

this mysterious individual was none other than Ernest Renan;

'who;' he wrote; in his last publication 'takes leave of the

world; and is said to have gone into Africa; not to reappear

again'。 He had met Renan at the rooms of the Royal Geographical

Society; had noticed that he looked boredthe result; no doubt;

of too much admirationand had felt an instinct that he would

meet him again。 The instinct now seemed to be justified。 There

could hardly be any doubt that it WAS Renan; who else could it

be? 'If he comes to the lines;' he decided; 'and it is Renan; I

shall go and see him; for whatever one may think of his unbelief

in our Lord; he certainly dared to say what he thought; and he

has not changed his creed to save his life。' That the mellifluous

author of the Vie de Jesus should have determined to end his days

in the depths of Africa; and have come; in accordance with an

intuition; to renew his acquaintance with General Gordon in the

lines of Khartoum; would indeed have been a strange occurrence;

but who shall limit the strangeness of the possibilities that lie

in wait for the sons of men? At that very moment; in the south…

eastern corner of the Sudan; another Frenchman; of a peculiar

eminence; was fulfilling a destiny more extraordinary than the

wildest romance。 In the town of Harrar; near the Red Sea; Arthur

Rimbaud surveyed with splenetic impatience the tragedy of

Khartoum。 'C'est justement les Anglais;' he wrote; 'avec leur

absurde politique; qui minent desormais le commerce de toutes ces

cotes。 Ils ont voulu tout remanier et ils sont arrives a faire

pire que les Egyptiens et les Turcs; ruines par eux。 Leur Gordon

est un idiot; leur Wolseley un ane; et toutes leurs entreprises

une suite insensee d'absurdites et de depredations。' So wrote the

amazing poet of the Saison d'Enfer amid those futile turmoils of

petty commerce; in which; with an inexplicable deliberation; he

had forgotten the enchantments of an unparalleled adolescence;

forgotten the fogs of London and the streets of Brussels;

forgotten Paris; forgotten the subtleties and the frenzies of

inspiration; forgotten the agonised embraces of Verlaine。



When the contents of Colonel Stewart's papers had been

interpreted to the Mahdi; he realised the serious condition of

Khartoum; and decided that the time had come to press the siege

to a final conclusion。 At the end of October; he himself; at the

head of a fresh army; appeared outside the town。 From that

moment; the investment assumed a more and more menacing

character。 The lack of provisions now for the first time began to

make itself felt。 November 30ththe date fixed by Gordon as the

last possible moment of his resistancecame and went; the

Expeditionary Force had made no sign。 The fortunate discovery of

a large store of grain; concealed by some merchants for purposes

of speculation; once more postponed the catastrophe。 But the

attacking army grew daily more active; the skirmishes around the

lines and on the river more damaging to the besieged; and the

Mahdi's guns began an intermittent bombardment of the palace。 By

December 10th it was calculated that there was not fifteen days'

food in the town; 'truly I am worn to a shadow with the food

question'; Gordon wrote; 'it is one continuous demand'。 At the

same time he received the ominous news that five of his soldiers

had deserted to the Mahdi。 His predicament was terrible; but he

calculated; from a few dubious messages that had reached him;

that the relieving force could not be very far away。 Accordingly;

on the 14th; he decided to send down one of his four remaining

steamers; the Bordeen; to meet it at Metemmah; in order to

deliver to the officer in command the latest information as to

the condition of the town。 The Bordeen carried down the last

portion of the Journals; and Gordon's final messages to his

friends。 Owing to a misunderstanding; he believed that Sir Evelyn

Baring was accompanying the expedition from Egypt; and some of

his latest and most successful satirical fancies played around

the vision of the distressed Consul…General perched for days upon

the painful eminence of a camel's hump。 'There was a slight laugh

when Khartoum heard Baring was bumping his way up here a

regular Nemesis。' But; when Sir Evelyn Baring actually arrived

in whatever condition what would happen? Gordon lost himself in

the multitude of his speculations。 His own object; he declared;

was; 'of course; to make tracks'。 Then in one of his strange

premonitory rhapsodies; he threw out; half in jest and half in

earnest; that the best solution of all the difficulties of the

future would be the appointment of Major Kitchener as Governor…

General of the Sudan。 The Journal ended upon a note of menace and

disdain: 'Now MARK THIS; if the Expeditionary Force; and I ask

for no more than 200 men; does not come in ten days; the town may

fall; and I have done my best for the honour of our country。

Good…bye。C。 G。 G0RD0N。



'You send me no information; though you have lots of money。 C。 G。

G。'



To his sister Augusta 
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