1-150-928 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Getting a Lift', 1884. Across the crocodile infested waters of the Egyptian difficulty, General Gordon can be seen wading with the Liberal Prime Minister, Gladstone, perched on his back. After the Mahdi's threat to Khartoum, Gladstone had requested that Gordon proceed to Egypt to ensure the continuing peace in that country and the safety of British citizens. Gordon, not a man to waste any time, arrived in Cairo and promptly set off for Khartoum without an escort and by the shortest possible route. From Punch, or the London Charivari, February 2, 1884.