186 Egypt
But if Cromer had made the mistake of despising his
enemy the Nationalist, the Nationalist now made the
mistake of despising Gorst For this studious little man
in round spectacles had learnt his Egypt as Secretary
in the Agency (1886), as Controller of Revenue (1890),
as Adviser to the Interior (1894), as Financial Adviser
(1898), and as negotiator of the agreement with France
(1904). He knew the composite character of the ex-
tremist party and how to rule nationalism by dividing it.
With this very possibly in view, Gorst first restored
friendly relations with the young Khedive Abbas, who
found the new Agent-General's overtures very soothing
to a crowned head still smarting under the bludgeonings
of Cromer. The relationship, begun on both sides for a
political purpose, seems to have ripened into a real
friendship, for a few years later, when Gorst lay dying
in England, the Khedive travelled all the way from
Egypt to take farewell of his friend. From which we
may infer that the personality of Abbas had possibilities
that Cromer and Kitchener were unable to develop.
In thus detaching the Khedive from non-co-operating
nationalism, Gorst was no doubt helped by the rupture
between Abbas and Mustapha Kamil (1904), and by the
Young Turk revolution (1908) that showed the Khedive
the untoward turn that a nationalist movement might
take. But in any case, whether intentionally or no,
Gorst broke thereby the united front of nationalism.
For the association between the Agency and Abbas dis-
credited the Khedive with the Nationalists, who accused
him of disloyalty and declared for his deposition. In
consequence of this the more intransigent and timid had
to fly to Constantinople (1911), while another section
made submission and started a Khedivist faction of less
extreme Nationalists.