Note 128 — Chapter XLVI · THE NILE COLUMN.

A private of the Duke of Cornwall's Regiment found in a donkey's saddle-bag a letter in Arabic from the Governor of Berber to the Governor of the district, and which was as follows:—"I inform you that to-day, after the mid-day prayer, we received a letter from the faithful Khalifa Abdullah Eben Mohammed, in which he tells us that Khartoum was taken on Monday, the 9th Rabi, 1302, on the side of El Haoui, in the following manner:—The Mahdi prayed his dervishes and his troops to advance against the fortifications, and entered Khartoum in a quarter of an hour. They killed the traitor Gordon, and captured the steamers and boats. God has made him glorious. Be grateful and thank and praise God for His unspeakable mercy. I announce it to you. Tell your troops." Dated the 13th Rabi.