OneofthelasttelegramssentbyGordonbeforethewirewascutseemedtosupportexactlyMr。Gladstone’sdiagnosisofthecase。
HetoldSirEvelynBaringthat，sincetheGovernmentrefusedtosendeitheranexpeditionorZobeir，hewould’considerhimselffreetoactaccordingtocircumstances。’’Eventually，’hesaid，’youwillbeforcedtosmashuptheMahdi’，andhedeclaredthatiftheGovernmentpersistedinitspresentlineofconduct，itwouldbebrandedwithan’indelibledisgrace’。Themessagewasmadepublic，andithappenedthatMr。Gladstonesawitforthefirsttimeinanewspaper，duringacountryvisit。Anotheroftheguests，whowasintheroomatthemoment，thusdescribesthescene：’Hetookupthepaper，hiseyeinstantlyfellonthetelegram，andhereaditthrough。Asheread，hisfacehardenedandwhitened，theeyesburnedasIhaveseenthemonceortwiceintheHouseofCommonswhenhewasangered——burnedwithadeepfire，asiftheywouldhaveconsumedthesheetonwhichGordon’smessagewasprinted，orasifGordon’swordshadburnedintohissoul，whichwaslookingoutinwrathandflame。Hesaidnotaword。Forperhapstwoorthreeminuteshesatstill，hisfaceallthewhilelikethefaceyoumayreadofinMilton——likenoneotherIeversaw。Thenherose，stillwithoutaword，andwasseennomorethatmorning。’
ItiscuriousthatGordonhimselfneverunderstoodthepartthatMr。Gladstonewasplayinginhisdestiny。HisKhartoumjournalsputthisbeyondadoubt。ExceptforoneortwoslightandjocularreferencestoMr。Gladstone’sminoridiosyncrasies——theshapeofhiscollars，andhispassionforfellingtrees，GordonleaveshimunnoticedwhilehelavisheshissardonichumouruponLordGranville。ButintruthLordGranvillewasanonentity。TheerrorshowshowdimtherealitiesofEnglandhadgrowntothewatcherinKhartoum。Whenhelookedtowardshome，thefigurethatloomedlargestuponhisvisionwas——itwasonlynaturalthatitshouldhavebeensothenearest——itwasuponSirEvelynBaringthathefixedhisgaze。Forhim，SirEvelynBaringwastheembodimentofEngland——orrathertheembodimentoftheEnglishofficialclasses，ofEnglishdiplomacy，oftheEnglishGovernmentwithitshesitations，itsinsincerities，itsdouble-facedschemes。SirEvelynBaring，healmostcametothinkatmoments，wastheprimemover，thesolecontriver，ofthewholeSudanimbroglio。
Inthishewaswrong；forSirEvelynBaring，ofcourse，wasanintermediary，withoutfinalresponsibilityorfinalpower；butGordon’sprofoundantipathy，hisinstinctivedistrust，werenotwithouttheirjustification。HecouldneverforgetthatfirstmeetinginCairo，sixyearsearlier，whenthefundamentalhostilitybetweenthetwomenhadleapttothesurface。’Whenoilmixeswithwater，’hesaid，’wewillmixtogether。’SirEvelynBaringthoughtsotoo；buthedidnotsayso；itwasnothisway。
Whenhespoke，hefeltnotemptationtoexpresseverythingthatwasinhismind。Inallhedid，hewascautious，measured，unimpeachablycorrect。ItwouldbedifficulttothinkofamanmorecompletelytheantithesisofGordon。Histemperament，allinmonochrome，touchedinwithcoldbluesandindecisivegreys，waseminentlyunromantic。Hehadasteelycolourlessness，andasteelypliability，andasteelystrength。Endowedbeyondmostmenwiththecapacityofforesight，hewasendowedasveryfewmenhaveeverbeenwiththatstaying-powerwhichmakesthefruitofforesightattainable。Hisviewswerelong，andhispatiencewasevenlonger。Heprogressedimperceptibly；heconstantlywithdrew；