In the Torrid Sudan. By H. Lincoln Tangye. (John Murray.
12s. net.)—Mr. Tangye went out to the Sudan to kill game; we may feel sure that but for the game he would not have gone ; but he does not say overmuch about the killing. He has a conscience ; when he sees a rare kind of hunting cat asleep in a tree he cannot help regretting that these wild creatures have no safe refuge in which to sleep, and though ho is bound to kill, takes care to do this without any lingering pain. And ho can see something more in them than the prey of his rifle. Thus he notes the trait in the wild elephant, so like humanity, and humanity at its best, that it will do all it can to help a wounded comrade. And he has much to tell us about the people, about tho country, its past and its probable future. It has not been very happy in its rulers,—what country has ? The Egyptian occupation had purely selfish objects; it was a gigantic slave speculation. But of all the governments that it has ever had the Mahdi's was certainly the worst. It worked more ruin and desolation in the few years during which it lasted than had ever been known before. It is not saying too much to assert that the British rule is immeasurably better than any other. The people see, we might almost say for the first time in their experience, a dominant Power that really wishes to be just. Mr. Tangye is not without apprehension for the future. The spirit that moved the Mahdi is still alive. But every year increases the chance of peace. The sketches which the author gives of native life are vivid and full of interest. Altogether, the book is well worth reading.
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