CHAPTER VIII.

HICKS PASHA'S EXPEDITION.

The Execution of Said Pasha and the Brave Defender of El Obeid--Spread of Belief in the Mahdi's Divinity--Sheikh Sennusi is offered, but refuses, the Position of Mahdi's Khalifa--The Mahdi begins to organise his Government--The Spread of the Revolt in the Gezira--Criticisms on the Attitude of the Egyptian Government--The Despatch of Osman Digna to the Eastern Sudan--Hicks Pasha's Expedition enters Kordofan--Incidents on the March--Gallantry of Colonel Farquhar--The Diaries of Farquhar and Vizetelly--The Desertion of Gustav Klootz--The Mahdists harass the Expedition--The Final Attack on the Doomed Square--Incidents after the Battle--Extracts from O'Donovan's Diary--The Mahdi's Triumphal Entry into El Obeid 228