Egypt
incapacitated him but for his determination to deal effec-
tively with his difficulties before he died. When he left
Egypt (1911) everyone knew that he was dying, but only
those few who knew Egypt could see that what he had
set himself to do was done. * * The killing of the nationalist
movement was Sir Eldon Gorst's," wrote Al Ahrarn.
"He had fought his fight, and, where the world saw
failure, had succeeded/' wrote Sir R. Storrs, Oriental
Secretary to the Agency.
The arrival of Lord Kitchener (November, 1911) as
Sir Eldon Gorst's successor was at once recognised in
Egypt as meaning a return to the dictatorial methods of
Cromerism and a renunciation of the diplomatic methods
of Gorst. Nationalism was thereafter handled with the
iron hand of the last phase of Gorst's administration, not
with the velvet glove of his first phase. A Criminal Con-
spiracy Act, a Press Censorship Act, and a School Dis-
cipline Act show by their titles the line of attack against
nationalism. And this special legislation was not a mere
rod in pickle. Many active nationalists found themselves
interned under the 'c exile actJ' introduced a few years
before to check an outbreak of brigandage. The
nationalist leader, Farid Bey, was made an example of.
For writing a preface to a book of nationalist verse by a
young patriot, Ghayati Bey, Farid was tried by a special
Assize Court set up under a Bill (May, 1910) intended
for brigandage cases and rejected by the Legislative
Council but passed by decree. This special Court gave
him six months. Soon after, on coming out, he made a
speech, which seems mild enough to-day, but which got
him a sentence of twelve months. He, however, escaped
to Switzerland, and resigned a leadership that was prov-
ing too exacting after our Liberal Foreign Secretary had
somewhat shocked some of his party by applying for