eard what a grand
occasion our opening day was?"

"No, madam, I haven't. You see, away at Suakim we was so constantly
taken up with the attentions of Osman Digna that we had little time for
anything but eatin' and sleepin' when we wasn't on sentry an' fightin',
so that we often missed bits of news. Was there a great turn-out o'
men?"

"Indeed there was," returned the lady, with animation; "and not only of
men, but of all the Alexandrian notables. It was on the 23rd of
February last (1885) that our Institute was opened by Major-General
Lennox, V.C., C.B., who was in command of the garrison. This was not
the first time by any means that the soldiers had paid us a visit. A
number of men, who, like yourself, Sergeant Hardy, sympathise with our
work in its spiritual aspects, had been frequently coming to see how we
were getting on, and many a pleasant hour's prayer and singing we had
enjoyed with them, accompanied by our little harmonium, which had been
sent to us by kind friends in England; and every Sunday evening we had
had a little service in the midst of the shavings and carpenters'
benches.

"But on this grand opening day the men came down in hundreds, and a
great surprise some of them got--especially the sceptical among them.
The entrance was decorated with palms. At the further end of the
reading-room the trophy of Union Jacks and the Royal Standard, which you
see there now, was put up by a band of Jack-tars who had come to help us
as well as to see the fun. Over the trophy was our text, `In the name
of the Lord will we set up our banners,' for we liked to feel that we
had taken possession of this little spot in Egypt for God--and we
believe that it will always be His.

"Everything was bright and hearty. There were about five hundred
soldiers and sailors, and between two and three hundred officers and
civilians of all nationalities. On the platform we had Osman Pasha--"

"Ha!" interrupted the sympathetic sergeant, "I only wish we could have
had Osman Digna there too! It would do more to pacify the Soudan than
killing his men does!"

"I daresay it would," responded the lady with a laugh, "but have
patience, Hardy; we shall have him there yet, and perhaps the Mahdi
too--or some future grand occasion. Well, as I was saying, we had
Osman, the Governor of Alexandria, on our platform, and a lot of
big-wigs that you know nothing about, but whose influence was of
importance, and whose appearance went far t