rode to the great square in front of the mosque, in which his
headquarters were established, and where both British brigades were
already bivouacking. The rest of the army settled down along the
roadways through the suburbs, and only Maxwell's brigade remained in the
city to complete the establishment of law and order--a business which
was fortunately hidden by the shades of night.

While the Sirdar with the infantry of the army was taking possession of
Omdurman, the British and Egyptian cavalry had moved round to the west
of the city. There for nearly two hours we waited, listening to the
dropping fusillade which could be heard within the great wall and
wondering what was happening. Large numbers of Dervishes and Arabs, who,
laying aside their jibbas, had ceased to be Dervishes, appeared among
the houses at the edge of the suburbs. Several hundreds of these, with
two or three Emirs, came out to make their submission; and we were
presently so loaded with spears and swords that it was impossible to
carry them, and many interesting trophies had to be destroyed. It was
just getting dark when suddenly Colonel Slatin galloped up. The Khalifa
had fled! The Egyptian cavalry were at once to pursue him. The 21st
Lancers must await further orders. Slatin appeared very much in earnest.
He talked with animated manner to Colonel Broadwood, questioned two of
the surrendered Emirs closely, and hurried off into the dusk, while the
Egyptian squadrons, mounting, also rode away at a trot.

It was not for some hours after he had left the field of battle that
Abdullah realised that his army had not obeyed his summons, but were
continuing their retreat, and that only a few hundred Dervishes remained
for the defence of the city. He seems, if we judge from the accounts
of his personal servant, an Abyssinian boy, to have faced the disasters
that had overtaken him with singular composure. He rested until two
o'clock, when he ate some food. Thereafter he repaired to the Tomb, and
in that ruined shrine, amid the wreckage of the shell-fire, the defeated
sovereign appealed to the spirit of Mohammed Ahmed to help him in his
sore distress. It was the last prayer ever offered over the Mahdi's
grave. The celestial counsels seem to have been in accord with the
dictates of common-sense, and at four o'clock the Khalifa, hearing that
the Sirdar was already entering the city, and that the English cavalry
were on the parade ground to the west, mounted a small