Expedition, of which he had supreme command. For this he was knighted. Then followed a period at the War Office, where he did more to convert our army into a modern fighting machine than any of his predecessors. A short campaign in Ashantee brought him the thanks of Parliament, a grant of £25,000, a K.C.B., and the freedom of the City of London. He was then sent out to Natal to carry out a change of Government. One of the papers stated that "a new Governor had come out to drown the independence of the country in champagne and sherry," so liberal was he in the entertainments he gave. After a year at the Indian Office he was appointed the first Governor of Cyprus, in 1878. Then the Zulu war broke out. Lord Wolseley had a most amusing anecdote to tell about Cetewayo.
Lord Wolseley and Lord Edward Cecil.
From a Photo. by Elliott & Fry.
"For six weeks," he said, "we were trying to capture him. He was eventually betrayed into my hands by his Prime Minister. He was surrounded in a kraal, and there was no escape for him. I never spoke to Cetewayo—I refused to—but I can see him now, walking into camp, very dignified, very fat, very kingly in appearance. When I took him he was accompanied by several hundred wives. I gave him three out of these, and shipped him away in a man-o'-war to an island in Table Bay. He was continually asking for more wives—a request I never granted. But at last, when he heard I was returning to England, he sent me a message to the effect that "if I wouldn't give him any more, would I exchange the three he had for three others!"
Not the least interesting part of the time spent at the Royal Hospital was passed in listening to stories associated with the Egyptian Campaign, and reminiscences of General Gordon.
"The Duke of Connaught," said Lord
