EMIN PASHA.* WHEN the Soudanese, under the leadership of the

Mahdi, rose against Egyptian, or, as they called it, Turkish rule, there were three foreign gentlemen governing the outlying provinces,— Slatin Bey, an Austrian, in Darfur ; Lupton Bey, an English- man, in the Bahr-el-Ghazal; and Emin Bey, a Prussian, who held sway over the Equatorial Provinces, having been appointed to that post by Gordon himself. Ernin is spoken of throughout Dr. Felkin's instructive volume as Pasha; but in the last letter which it contains, dated Wadelai, April 17th, 1887, he signs himself "Dr. Emin Bey," and we have failed to discover when he attained the higher title. Slatin and Lupton were made prisoners, and are still, if alive, in captivity. Emin, who left Khartoum for his province just before the storm burst, and who retired up the river when it struck his frontiers, successfully held out, and even regained much, and justified his assumed name of Emin by clinging faithfully to the duty entrusted to him by Gordon when he was for the first time Governor-General of the Soudan. Out off from the African world, his last news from Khartoum was dated February, 1883; and the first report of the tragedy in that city, sent by the Mahdi, did not reach him in his wilderness until the end of 1885. He only got Nubar's despatch telling him that the Soudan was to be given up, and suggesting that he should take the way to Zanzibar as he might a "walk to Shnbra," and authentic news of "the whole of the sad drama which ended in Gordon's death, the retreat of the English, and the loss of the Soudan," in February, 1886. Then came war between Uganda and Unyoro, so that on every side there were enemies or tumults. Yet he stood firm, and worked on. In October, 1886, he writes :—

" We are certainly proud of the way in which we have been able to help ourselves, whilst out off from external supplies. I send you [Dr. Felkin] a sample of the beautiful pocket-handkerchiefs we have made from cotton that we planted and span ourselves. I hope, too, you will like the shoes. Instead of sugar, we use honey ; instead of coffee, the seeds of a species of Hibiscus ; instead of etearine, candles made of wax. Soap has been made from tallow and the ashes of various trees. With meat, a few vegetables and oil procured from the semsem seed have prevented as from starving."

A little later on he writes :—" We sow, we reap, we spin, and live day after day as usual We have docked our steamers, and renewed them as much as possible ; besides this, we have built several boats ;" and hold "nearly all the stations originally entrusted to me by General Gordon," adding, "I intend and expect to keep them alL" A man of strong will and high courage, he was resolved a year ago to stay-

" if a relief expedition comes to us; I will on no account leave my people. We have passed through troublous times together, and I consider it would be a shameful act on my part were I to desert them. They are, notwithstanding all their hardships, brave and good, with the exception of the Egyptians All we would ask England to do, is to bring about a better understanding with Uganda, and to provide us with a safe way to the coast. That is all we want. Evacuate our territory ? Certainly not."

Another passage in the same letter puts the case even more strikingly :—

"The work that Gordon paid for with his blood, I will strive to carry on, if not with hie energy and genius, still according to his intentions and in his spirit. When my lamented chief placed the government of this country in my hands, he wrote to me,—' I appoint you for civilisation and progress' sake.' I have done my best to Justify the trust he had in me ; and that I have to some extent been successful, and have won the confidence of the natives, is proved by

• Fusin Pasha in Central Africa. Being a Collection of his Letters and Journa's. Edited and annotated by Professor G. Schweinfurth, Professor E. Ratzel. Dr. R. W. Felkin, and Dr. G. Barthel's. Translated by Mrs. R. W. Felkin. London : George Philip and Bons.

the fact that I and my handful of people have held our own up to the present day in the midst of hundreds of thousands of natives. /

remain here the last and only representative of Gordon's staff Shall I now give up the work because a way will soon be open to the coast ? Never ! "

If, then, Emin has remained firmly fixed in that high resolve, hardened to that sense of what he thought his duty to others, Mr. Stanley, should he have reached Wadelai, will have had no easy task. May not the absence of news, either from the Congo or Zanzibar, respecting the expedition, arise from the fact that Emin has declined to be relieved, and that these two stout men have been engaged in discussing what should be done Except on the alternative supposition that calamity has befallen one or both, it is difficult to account otherwise for the lack of definite information, or even vague rumour of a plausible kind. But if Emin would not desert his people, if he has persisted in asking for a "safe road to the coast which shall not be at the mercy of the moods of childish Kings and disreputable Arabs—the only thing necessary to permit of the steady development of these countries "—then the delay may be explained by taking account of the dilemma in which Mr. Stanley would be placed. In that case, what a dramatic scene is offered to the imagination, and how these two heroic figures stand out amid the darkness, the indefatigable leader who brings relief vainly contending with the steadfast man who thinks that to accept relief in the shape of retreat from duty would be a "shameful act." And yet we are often told that the age of romance is dead and gone. Certainly it is not, nor likely to be so, unless the nature of man, under the stress of "improvement," loses the spirit alike of Ulysses, Columbus, and Xavier.

Dr. Felkin says he has been often asked, "Who is Emin Pasha?" and he supplies the answer from German sources. He is "Eduard Schnitzer," born at Oppeln, in Silesia, forty- eight years ago. He was educated first at Neisse, where his parents lived when he was a child, next at Breslau, and finally at Berlin. He chose the medical profession, and graduated in 1864. Led forth by a love of natural history and a passion for wandering, he went to Turkey, where he found employment, and saw much of Armenia, Syria, and Arabia, and became an adept in many languages. In 1875, he returned to his Silesian home ; but his old longing soon came back, and this time he bent his steps to Egypt. Taken into the service of the Government, he was sent to Khartoum, and thence to the Equatorial Province where Gordon was Governor. The two men were exactly suited to each other; and not long after he was appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, in 1878, Gordon handed over the local post to the tried and accomplished gentleman, Emin Bey. He adopted a Turkish name because it facilitated his labours. " Don't be afraid," he wrote home in 1871; "I have only adopted the name, I have not. become a Turk." He was and remains a Christian of the Protestant Church, and he does not "talk about the advan- tages of the Mahommedan religion as a civilising agent in Africa." The brief interval between the departure of Gordon and the appointment of Emin was one of slack rule, and he had to restore as well as to build up. But he did it producing for the first time a surplus revenue in 1882.

He banished the reviving slave-dealers, substituted native for Egyptian soldiers ; was chief doctor, road-maker, builder,

directing agriculturalist, promoter of commerce, and manu- facturer. He also "added large districts to his province," says Dr. Felkin, who twice passed through it, "not by the use of the sword, but by personal negotiations with the native chiefs." All

the time he snatched moments to increase his " collections " of flora and fauna, of plants and birds and beasts ; and by wise management and hard work, he converted a deficit of 232,600 into a surplus of £8,000. Surely a man deserving of ample recognition and gratitude. For five years he has been struggling alone as the champion and exemplar of civilisation. Reading the record of what be has done, and learning from his cheerful and animated letters the spirit in which he did it, one is not sur- prised that Gordon should have admired and trusted him, and that his character should have aroused in those who have watched his course a deep and genuine enthusiasm.

Dr. Felkin's book is a collection of letters written by Emin

to his friends. The first in the series dates so far back as 1877, and the latest, ten years afterwards. They are lively and familiar records of journeys in that immense region which borders the Upper Nile and the great lakes. Mr. Ravenstein has constructed an excellent map of Emin's territory, which the reader will find indispensable. As to the letters themselves, they

are delightful reading, despite the "certain amount of repeti- tion" which was inevitable. Dr. Felkin would not omit any- thing, because, and we agree with him, the details show the dogged perseverance of the man and the topography of the country, which should be of use. The letters are a mirror reflecting this strange, savage land, its aspect and its people, its manners and its rulers, and the net result is a real gain to the general reader, and a treasure to the student. Dr. Felkin, who speaks from personal experience, testifies to the accuracy of the vivid descriptions ; and we can say that he who does not enjoy them, and whose imagination is not fired, lacks the sense which makes good books of travel so fascinating. But most we are attracted by the man, Emin, who is a genuine hero of the finest unselfish type, and an honour to his native land.