The British Occupation 129
methods open to them of continuing the struggle—either
street-fighting in Cairo or a guerilla campaign in Upper
Egypt. The first had been prevented by the promptitude
of the British pursuit and by the pusillanimity of Arabi.
Any chance there may have been of the second was pre-
vented by the authority in Upper Egypt of Sultan Pasha,
who with other provincial notables had joined the
Khedival party. But, above all, the nationalist move-
ment, having become mainly military, had received a com-
plete knock-out at Tel-el-Kebir. Its ten thousand half-
drilled regulars and as many more undisciplined reservists
had been called on to show c< two o'clock in the morning
courage'' against a surprise bayonet attack by an equal
number of the pick of the British Army. " I hope to hit
Arabi very hard/3 Lord Wolseley had written to Lord
Cromer in India before the action. And he had. It was,
perhaps, the most merciful method. But when the first
exultation of the knock-out was over, the feeling that we
had not hit a man of our own size brought a reaction in
favour of Arabi. So it came about, while the fickle mob
of Cairo acclaimed the Khedive and clamoured for the
blood of the Nationalist leaders, British public opinion by
no means approved the demands of their jingo journals
for the execution of Arabi.
The restoration of the Khedive was accompanied by
the usual severities of an Oriental reaction. The village
sheikhs were again reduced to being tax collectors for the
Pashas and the more active Arabists among them
were arrested or assassinated. The Turco-Circassian
*c terror*' was, however, soon checked by British
authority. Arabi, after unpleasant experiences at the
hands of the Khedive's eunuchs, escaped execution out of
hand. Mr. Blunt and his British friends sent him counsel,
and his British enemies secured him a State trial. But