The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-18

Arab sprang into the air and attacked /
him. Niliers ran for 1t, trying to draw |
his revolver as he raced over the sand. |
with the boy so close at his heels that |
he felt his hot breath and heard the
swish of the descending knife as his
pursuer struck and missed. Still clench
ing the knife, the boy fell from the shot
OF one OF the soldiers.
Villiers was in the broken square n
Tamai The night before that battle
he slept with his revolver under his
head sprawled out on the sand and
looking at the stars.
The expedition up the Nile for the
relief of Khartum quickly followed. and
the march across the desert with Stew
art and the battles of Abu Klea and
Gubat. When Gen Sir Herbert Stew
art was organizing the flying column of
2. 900 to make "a dash across the desert
at the news OF the sore straits of Cor
don at Khartum Nilliers was in his
tent For that whole column the fight
at Abu Klea was what the artist called
"a narrow shave" 1t was there that
Fred Burnaby, the soldier and corre-
spondent. was killed. That night the
force pushed on for the Nile. Villierv
tells how Stewart next day received his
fatal wound, while "he was standing on
a commissariat box. looking through
his glasses at the encirCling swarm Of
Dervishes stealing up through the bush
| from Nehemiah" The artist saw the
General fall and was by his side at
once. although Frank Rhodes the
brother Of Cecil Rhodes. was the first
| to minister to him before the surgeons
| came.
In 1856 Nilliers was back in the Bal
kans Witnessing the Servian-B bulgarian
| hasco which eliminated at Prot
Now this world wanderer spent some
years in lccturing, and he covered"
the Chicago exposition OF 1898. going on
| the warpath once more when China and
Japan were at odds in 1894. Having
| again toured the globe as n lecturer
land sketched the coronation OF the
Car in 1896 he Joined the Greek army
in the little war with Turkey in 1897
using the bicycle and experimenting
with the cinematoCraph camera. Then.
having visited Crete. he Joined the OK
pedtionary force for the Sudan and
found himself in familiar territory on
the Nile -
Through all those campaigns Nilicrs
made his way. but there was not so
much of color or incident in these later
/ expeditions for the reConqucst OF the
Sudan The host Of war specials who
went out to see the last Of Mahdism
found little comparatively to make their
| narrative. picturesque in the machine
like precision with which war was or
/ ganizcd and conducted 10y the S!rdar.
nor were the reporters helped any at
headquarters in getting the news Oc-
casionaly in very desperation they
Il -. 4
go with il to the censor, gravely simu-
lating faith in it and the intention Of
wiring 1t to London. Then sometimes
the authorities would deny so vehc-
mently that they would get on the track
Of some real item of importance Of
which they had had no inkling what
ever. But gratu.tously." says Niliers
mot a single piece Of news of any inn
portanCe was ever afforded TO the
press" The achievement in that cam
paign In which he had most satisfac-
ton wac the taking OF q bicycle n
Omdurmtn TIL" natives used to think
he machine WiS alive. and when he
blew loud blast with tho trumpet at
tdrhei lu the handle bars they would
flee in terror.
Late in 1895 Nil.icrs was in South
Africa, where he found his frienc
Frank Rhodes. formerly Of the >taff OF
e Gen. Sir Herbert Stewart. from whom
. he received letter to Cecil Rhodes
Thus 1t came about that Christmas eve
was passed by the artist as a guest oi
Cecil Rhodes at the old Dutch resdcnC,
at GrOote Schuur He dined sitting be-
tween Rhodes and Alfred Belt, and they
. amazed him by breaking open ordinary
envelopes and spillnC from them scores
Of diamonds which "Capered abou
among the plates Of the guests Thu
= stones had just arrived from Amster
dam. where they had been sent to III
cut. Rhodes took a liking to the art
i ist and through his secretary almos
,. insisted that he foreGo his intention L
d sail from Cape Town the next day. Tn
o times were too stirring. ne was assured
a for him to leave South Africa just a
$ that time. Nilliers waited until the las
|. moment. but no special message came
d and. marvelling a little. the artist wen
8 aboard the steamer. Then at Madeira
r, when the kilograms with the news q
= the world were brought aboard, Their
d was one which Niliers says sent
s thrill through every soul on the ship
o This was the despatch which Curtl
e described Jameson's raid into the Trans