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CHARLES   GEORGE   GORDON 


A  SKETCH 


REGINALD     H.     BARNES 

VICAR   OF    HEAVITREE 

CHARLES     E.     BROWN 

MAJOR    R.A. 


WITH  FACSIMILE  LETTER 


"Be  not  thou  greatly  moved  " 


^  0 11  b  0  n 
MACMILLAN     AND     CO. 

iS8s 


LONDON  : 
PillNTED    BY    WILLIAM    CLOWES    AND    SONS,     LIMITED, 

STAMFORD    STREET   AND   CHARING   CROSS. 


ID'  A 


TO  HER  MAJESTY 

THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  BELGIANS. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Reminiscences  . 

PAGE 
I 

II.  Inward  Life 

.                 .                 .13 

III.  Outward  Life  . 

.      49 

IV.  Khartoum  . 

.         .         .       69 

Appendix  .... 

•       97 

I. 


REMINISCENCES. 


CHARLES   GEORGE   GORDON. 


I. 

Early  In  1880,  before  the  cold  had  left 
the  mountains  around  the  Lake  of  Geneva, 
I  was  residing  with  my  family  in  the  Hotel 
du  Faucon  at  Lausanne.  The  party  con- 
sisted of  eight  persons,  including  five  chil- 
dren ;  and  the  reader  may  easily  picture 
them  seated  near  one  of  the  sunnier  win- 
dows of  the  salle  a  manger.  The  children's 
attention  was  soon  attracted  by  a  lad  and 
an  English  gentleman,  who  occupied  a 
corner  of  the  room  near  the  entrance  door. 
They  seemed  to  know  no  one  in  the  hotel, 
but  to  be  wholly  wrapped  up  in  each 
other.  The  gentleman  was  of  the  middle 
height,  very  strongly  built ;    his  face  was 

B 


2        CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

furrowed  with    deep   lines  ;    and   his   fine 
broad  brow  and  most  determined  mouth 
and  chin  indicated  a  remarkable  power  of 
grave    and    practical    thought.       He   ap- 
peared to  be  as  gentle  as  he  was  strong, 
for  there  was  a  certain  tenderness  in  the 
tones  of  his  rich,  unworn  voice  and  in  the 
glance   of    his    delicately  expressive   blue 
eyes.     By-and-by  he   spoke   to   me,   and, 
because  I  was  not  in  good  health,  offered 
to  take  such  a  walk   as   might   suit   my 
strength.     We  talked  of  the  most  serious 
subjects,  and  I  was  greatly  impressed  by 
the  directness,  simplicity,  and  earnestness 
with  which  he  discussed  them. 

For  some  days  I  did  not  know  his  name, 
and  even  after  I  knew  it,  it  did  not  occur  to 
me  that  he  might  be  the  famous  "  Chinese 
Gordon,"  who  had  been  for  years  ruling  the 
Soudan.  The  manner  in  which  I  learned 
the  truth  about  him  was  rather  striking. 
One  day,  after  the  midday  table  dliote^ 
while  he  was  smoking  a  cigarette,  he 
invited  me  to  accompany  him  to  his  room. 


REMINISCENCES.  3 

I  did  so,  and  at  once  noticed  some  strange 
documents  on  the  table.  "You  have 
been  in  Palestine  and  know  Arabic,"  he 
said ;  "  look  at  those  papers."  I  took 
several  of  them  in  my  hand  and  glanced 
at  them,  but  soon  laid  them  down,  re- 
marking that  I  knew  very  little  Arabic. 
"  They  are  Death  Warrants,"  he  said.  I 
was  so  startled  that  I  exclaimed,  "  Death 
Warrants  !  why,  who  are  you  ?  "  "  Don't 
you  know  me  ?  "  he  answered ;  "I  have 
been  Governor-General  of  the  Soudan, 
and  still  nominally  retain  the  position  ;  but 
nothing  now  remains  for  me  but  to  sign 
these  papers — that  will  end  it." 

Gordon  had  then  just  completed  his 
forty-sixth  year.  To  all  appearance  he 
had  for  ever  relinquished  his  work  in  the 
Soudan ;  and  he  was  occupied  chiefly  in 
displaying  most  tender  care  for  his 
nephews,  the  children  of  his  brother, 
Enderby  Gordon,  who  had  lately  died, 
and  during  his  illness  had  passed  part  of 
his   time   at    Lausanne.       One    of    these 

B    2 


4       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

children,  Charles  Gordon  (who  is  now  at 
his  own  work  in  Canada),  was  the  lad 
whom  we  had  observed  as  Gordon's 
companion  in  the  hotel. 

Durine  the  remainder  of  the  time  when 
we  were  together  at  Lausanne,  we  saw  one 
another  constantly,  and  our  friendship  soon 
became  so  close  that  I  had  some  difficulty 
in  realising  that  I  had  only  lately  made 
his  acquaintance.     I  have  never  known  any 
one  who  had  the  same  faculty  of  winning 
the  confidence,  love,  and  reverence  of  those 
who  happened  to  be  brought  into  relation 
with  him.      He  had   a   kind  of  spiritual 
power,  which  exercised  a  singular  fascina- 
tion when  one  talked  with  him  about  the 
subjects  on  which  he  most  frequently  and 
most  deeply  meditated. 

Our  conversation  related  chiefly  to  reli- 
gion, and  it  was  impossible  not  to  be  struck 
by  the  vividness  of  his  apprehension  of 
spiritual  truth.  It  was  evident  that  he 
was  incapable  of  regarding  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity  as  merely  a  set  of  propositions 


REMINISCENCES.  5 

to  which  the  intellect  ought  to  yield  assent  ; 
they  dominated  his  whole  nature,  and 
appeared  to  him  to  represent  the  supreme 
realities  of  existence.  He  was  especially 
emphatic  in  the  utterance  of  his  belief  as 
to  the  intimacy  of  the  relation  which  ought 
to  subsist  between  God  and  man.  On  this 
subject  his  modes  of  expression  often  had 
a  close  resemblance  to  those  of  the  great 
medieval  Mystics.  As  we  have  need  of 
God,  he  would  say,  so  God  has  need  of 
us,  and  He  created  mankind  in  order  that 
He  might  have  a  dwelling-place  in  the 
body — in  the  heart  and  conscience.  All 
spiritual  insight,  everything  good,  great, 
and  truly  beautiful  in  human  life  he  attri- 
buted directly  to  this  "indwelling;"  and 
hence,  as  he  was  never  tired  of  reminding 
himself,  the  necessity  for  complete  self- 
abnegation,  since  God  can  find  in  us  a  fit 
home  only  in  proportion  as  our  will  makes 
way  for  the  Divine  Will.  Gordon  was  a 
man  of  strict — in  some  respects  of  austere 
— morality ;    but    he    never    spoke    in    a 


6        CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

cold  or  harsh  tone  about  the  lawful  plea- 
sures of  the  world.  To  such  pleasures, 
however,  he  himself  was  absolutely  indif- 
ferent. To  him  the  only  real  joys  seemed 
to  be  those  of  the  spiritual  life  ;  and  he  had 
an  eagfer  desire  for  the  time  when  he  would 
possess  them  in  their  full  splendour  in 
another  state  of  being.  He  told  me  that 
he  could  not  remember  a  period  when, 
thinking  of  these  things,  he  had  not  longed 
for  death. 

The  seriousness  of  Gordon's  temper  did 
not  prevent  him  from  being  a  bright  and 
agreeable  companion,  especially  when  those 
with  whom  he  talked  could  join  him  in 
smoking  a  cigarette.  He  had  a  keen 
sense  of  humour,  and  on  every  matter 
about  which  he  cared  to  form  an  opinion 
he  spoke  clearly  and  decisively.  Although 
he  was  quick  to  perceive  the  passing  moods 
of  his  friends,  and  to  give  them  his  sym- 
pathy in  their  troubles,  there  was  always  a 
tone  of  self-restraint  in  his  ordinary  con- 
versation.     Perhaps   his   manner  may  be 


REMINISCENCES. 


most  accurately  described  as  that  of  jt-- 
professed  and  accomplished  diplomatist, 
using  the  word  "diplomatist"  in  its  best 
sense.  His  education  as  an  engineer ;  his 
intercourse  in  later  youth  with  men  of 
many  races,  first  in  the  Crimea,  afterwards 
on  the  Asiatic  and  European  confines  of 
Russia ;  his  study  of  the  weight  which 
might  be  attached  to  each  of  his  words  in 
China ;  his  long  periods  of  unbroken  silence 
in  the  Soudan — all  this  had  helped  to 
make  him,  not  sententious,  but  habitually 
impressive  towards  those  whom  he 
addressed. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  in  discharging 
diplomatic  duties  Gordon  always  displayed 
remarkable  tact  and  firmness.  On  one 
occasion  Ismail  Pasha  sent  him  on  a 
mission  to  the  King  of  Abyssinia ;  and 
when  Gordon  went  to  have  an  interview 
with  the  King,  he  found  that  a  chair  had 
been  placed  for  him  to  the  left  of  the 
throne  and  at  a  great  distance  off.  Before 
uttering  a  word   he  took   the   chair   and 


8        CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

placed  it  near  the  King,  on  the  right  hand 
side.  Said  the  King,  "  You  know  I  may 
kill  you  for  this  ? "  "I  do  not  fear  death," 
answered  Gordon.  The  interview  was 
completely  successful,  and  afterwards  the 
King  accompanied  Gordon  to  the  coast. 

Gordon  was  much  less  at  ease  in  talking 
to  women  than  in  talking  to  men.  While 
conversing  with  women  he  seemed  to 
exercise  even  more  than  his  usual  self- 
control  in  the  expression  of  his  thought 
and  feeling.  His  sympathy,  geniality,  and 
attractiveness  became,  as  it  were,  veiled ; 
and  he  was  "  himself  again  "  only  when  the 
restraint  was  removed.  He  was  seen  at 
his  best  in  the  society  of  young  children, 
his  keen  interest  in  whom  had  not  been 
dulled  either  by  solitude  or  by  the  neces- 
sity— which  had  often  been  imposed  upon 
him  in  other  relations — for  strictly  guarded 
intercourse.  With  children  he  was  quite 
at  home,  and  they  instinctively  felt  that  in 
him  they  had  a  friend  who  understood 
them  and  whom  they  could  trust  and  love. 


REMINISCENCES.  9 

It  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  faults 
the  farthest  removed  from  Gordon's 
character  were  those  which  the  French 
express  by  the  words  petit  maitre.  In  all 
his  aims  and  methods  he  was  simple, 
sincere,  disinterested  ;  and  his  predominant 
impulses  sprang  from  an  ardent  love 
towards  God  and  man.  Of  this  he  gave 
unmistakable  evidence  at  every  stage  of 
his  career,  and  no  one  who  saw  him  from 
day  to  day  could  doubt  that  his  action  was 
governed  by  high  motives  in  the  small 
incidents  of  ordinary  life,  not  less  than  in 
those  great  events  which  have  secured  for 
him  a  foremost  place  among  the  most 
illustrious  of  English  heroes. 


II. 


INWARD     LIFE. 


(     13     ) 


II. 

After  Gordon's  departure  from  Lausanne 
I  did  not  meet  him  again  until  shortly  before 
he  started  on  his  last  journey  to  Egypt. 
In  the  interval  he  had  revisited  China, 
where  he  had  written,  as  a  parting  gift,  a 
masterly  state-paper ;  he  had  acted  for 
England  at  the  Cape  and  other  Colonies  ; 
and  almost  the  whole  of  1883  he  had 
spent  in  Palestine.  During  those  years 
we  corresponded  as  frequently  as  our 
respective  duties  permitted,  and  while 
he  was  in  the  Holy  Land  I  received 
from  him  not  less  than  2000  pages  of 
manuscript  in  letters,  some  extracts  from 
which  were  included  in  the  little  book 
lately  published,  his  '  Reflections  in  Pales- 
tine in  1883.'  This  volume  was  issued 
at  his  own  request,  not  because  he  had  the 
slightest  wish  for  fame  as  a  writer,  but 
because  he  hoped  he  might  be  able  to  help 
some  of  his  readers  to  a  better  apprecia- 


14  CHARLES    GEORGE    GORDON. 

tion  of  the  truths  in  which  alone  he  himself 
U  found  strength  and  consolation. 

Gordon's  visit  to  Palestine  was  due  in 
part  to  a  desire  for  rest  after  great  exertions, 
but  he  would  in  any  case  have  wished 
to  spend  some  time  among  the  scenes 
associated  with  all  that  he  held  most 
dear  and  most  sacred.  He  found  much 
to  interest  him  in  the  study  of  the  topo- 
graphy of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  highest 
authorities  on  the  subject  have  accepted 
some  of  the  most  important  conclusions 
to  which  he  was  led  by  his  inquiries.  In 
his  letters,  however,  there  were  occasional 
indications  that  the  work  did  not  quite 
satisfy  him.  "  I  have  now  a  sense  of  very 
great  weariness,"  he  wrote  to  me  from 
Jerusalem  on  the  9th  of  July,  1883,  ''not 
discontent,  but  a  desire  to  put  off  my 
burden.  I  believe  it  is  good  to  be  here 
for  myself,  else  I  would  not  be  here, 
and  certainly  God  gives  me  comforting 
thoughts,  but  one's  body  is  tired  of  it — 
and  somehow  it  seems  a  selfish  life,  for   I 


INWARD    LIFE.  1 5 

see  no  one  for  weeks  sometimes.  All 
these  researches  are  interesting.  My  faith 
— which  is  God's  gift — prevents  me  saying 
it  is  a  useless  life.  Dr.  Wordsworth, 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  would  know  more  out 
here  than  any  explorer.  He  would  catch 
up  all  these  places  at  once,  for  he  is 
imbued  with  the  indwelling  of  God ;  only 
one  fault — he  is  hard  on  the  Roman 
Catholics." 

"  A  traveller,"  Gordon  wrote,  "  should 
first  know  Holy  Scripture  and  then  visit 
Palestine."  This  condition  he  had  himself 
fulfilled.  Few  men  can  ever  have  sur- 
passed his  wonderful  heart-apprehension  of 
the  Bible.  St.  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy  : 
"  from  a  babe  thou  hast  known  the  sacred 
writings,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise 
unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus"  (2  Timothy  iii.  15).  And 
we  know  the  names  of  those  through 
whose  care  St.  Paul's  disciple  and  friend 
had  been  enabled,  "  from  a  babe,"  to  know 
the  Old  Testament.      In  early  childhood 


1 6      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

Gordon  had  obtained  similar  deep  instruc- 
tion from  some  who  survive  him,  and  In  later 
life  he  continued  to  "  search  the  Scriptures  " 
with  constantly  growing  ardour.  Every- 
where in  this  great  volume  of  law,  of 
poetry,  of  history,  of  correspondence,  he 
listened  with  humble  and  contrite  spirit, 
but  with  the  full  exercise  of  his  reason,  for 
the  voice  of  God.  He  never  attempted, 
as  some  Mystics  have  done,  to  read  into 
the  books  of  the  Sacred  Canon  a  forced 
Interpretation,  such  as  a  calm  and  diligent 
student  would  not  find  there.  Never- 
theless, he  often  appropriated  particular 
passages  as  messages  from  One  who 
ofuided  him  and  as  definite  answers  to 
prayer.  In  his  last  letter  to  me,  dated 
Khartoum,  the  6th  of  March,  1884,  he 
wrote  : — 

"Two  passages,  2  Chron.  xiv.  11,  and 
2  Chron.  xx.  1 2  are  helpful  to  me  this  day 
under  my  present  difficulties." 

These  passages  are  (i),  *'  And  Asa 
cried  unto  the  Lord  his  God,   and   said, 


INWARD    LIFE.  I  7 

Lord,  it  is  nothing  with  Thee  to  help, 
whether  with  many  or  with  them  that  have 
no  power  :  help  us,  O  Lord  our  God ;  for 
we  rest  on  Thee,  and  in  Thy  name  we 
go  against  this  multitude.  O  Lord,  Thou 
art  our  God  :  let  not  mortal  man  prevail 
against  Thee." 

(2)  "  O  our  God,  wilt  Thou  not  judge 
them  ?  for  we  have  no  might  against  this 
great  company  that  cometh  against  us ; 
neither  know  we  what  to  do :  but  our 
eyes  are  upon  Thee." 

As  another  example,  take  that  which 
was  known  among  his  more  intimate 
friends  as  his  watchword:  "  Be  not  moved," 
or  "Be  not  thou  greatly  moved." 

Gordon  did  not,  however,  content  him- 
self with  the  inspiration  he  derived  from 
individual  passages  of  the  Bible.  He 
sought  to  penetrate  to  its  meaning  as  a 
whole,  and  to  read  all  its  parts  in  the  light 
of  the  central  truth,  that  "  God  dwells  in 
us."  To  Gordon  this  seemed  the  deepest 
and   most   far-reaching   of  Christian    doc- 

c 


15       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

trines ;   and  he  attached  vast  importance 
to   the   effect   which,    as    he   beheved,    it 
produced     on    the    minds    of    intelligent 
Mahometans.       "  They   have   nothing    in 
their  religion,"   he  wrote,    "which   in  the 
least   answers   to   this  great  truth."      He 
regarded  it  as  the  master-key  for  unlocking 
the  inspired  writings,  and  while  he  was  in 
Palestine  he  applied  it  in  a  way  peculiarly 
his  own  to  the  earlier  chapters  of  Genesis. 
It  was  especially  prominent  in  his  thoughts 
when  he  contrasted  the  Divine  command 
to    Adam   and    Eve  :     **  Thou    shalt    not 
eat,"  with  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
**  Take,  eat."     What  can  be  more  tender 
to    the   ignorant,   more  attractive   to   any 
person    who    sincerely    desires    to     obey 
Christ's  word,  than  the  manner  in  which 
Gordon  discloses  the  significance  of  this 
contrast  ?       "  Man,"    he    says,     "  ate    in 
utter  ignorance  of  the  sequel,  in  the  case 
of  the  forbidden  fruit,  for  death  was  not 
then    known ;    so    man   may   eat  in    utter 
ignorance  of  the   sequel,   in  the   case   of 


INWARD    LIFE.  1 9 

sacramental  bread.  In  the  first  case  he 
ate  in  trust  in  self,  distrust  in  God,  and 
communion  with  Satan.  In  the  second 
case  he  eats  in  trust  in  God,  distrust  in 
self,  and  communion  with  God.  To  the 
world  both  eatings  are  foolishness,  yet  they 
are  the  wisdom  of  God." 

In  this  quotation  from  his  '  Reflections 
in  Palestine'  we  have  a  specimen  of 
Gordon's  practical  application  of  the  Bible, 
and  of  his  abrupt  style.  The  '  Reflections ' 
consist  of  passages  from  his  correspondence 
with  his  brother,  with  his  sister,  and  with 
myself.  The  proof-sheets  were  sent  to 
him  at  Khartoum,  and  he  expressed  full 
approval  of  the  selections  which  had  been 
made  ;  but  the  book  had  not  the  advan- 
tage of  his  own  revision,  and  in  his  absence 
it  was  impossible  to  add  a  single  note 
or  explanation.  It  is  fair,  therefore,  to 
plead  for  him  that  much  which  now  seems 
rugged,  and  hardly  capable  of  defence,  if 
pressed  by  the  strictest  rules  of  grammar 
or  loeic,  as  for  instance  the  final  sentence 

c  2 


20  CHARLES    GEORGE    GORDON. 

in  the  above  quotation,  is  yet  quite  true 
in  the  homely  and  direct  manner  in  which 
he  employed  the  words. 

The  '  Reflections  in  Palestine '  evidently 
took  many  critics  by  surprise.  They  were 
not  prepared  for  a  work  of  so  purely 
spiritual  a  character,  and  some  of  them 
expressed  the  belief  that  Gordon  knew 
httle  of  any  book  except  his  Bible.  This 
is  a  serious  error.  He  may  not  have  read 
a  very  large  number  of  books — the  circum- 
stances of  his  life  made  it  almost  impossible 
that  he  should  have  done  so — but  those 
which  he  attempted  to  master  he  mastered 
thoroughly,  and  they  were  by  no  means 
all  of  one  kind.  Of  the  devotional  books 
which  he  knew  almost  by  heart,  the  English 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  and  the  *  Imita- 
tion of  Christ'  by  Thomas  a  Kempis 
(Hutching's  translation),  may  stand  as 
specimens.  He  made  constant  use,  too, 
of  *  Daily  Prayer,'  by  E.  N.  Dumbleton, 
and  of  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke's  '  Scripture 
Promises,'     a     work     of    which,     before 


INWARD   LIFE.  21 

leaving  England  for  Khartoum,  he  pre- 
sented a  copy  to  each  member  ioi-ihe 
Cabinet.*  Among  books  of  a  different 
class,  well  known  to  him  in  1883,  and 
before  that  year,  were  the  works  of 
Josephus,  Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed, 
and  Bishop  Harold  Browne  on  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles,  of  which  latter  treatise  he 
wrote  expressly  that  it  was  of  much  use 
to  him.  All  of  the  voluminous  researches 
in  Palestine,  both  those  of  older  date  and 
the  treatises  written  by  his  comrades  and 
friends,  Sir  Charles  Warren,  Sir  Charles 
Wilson,  and  Captain  Conder,  with  the 
works  of  Bishop  Wordsworth  of  Lincoln, 
and  some  papers  by  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Birch 
of  Manchester,  had  been  exhaustively  ex- 
amined ;  and  he  did  not  fail  to  take  with 
him  to  Palestine  such  recent  books  as 
Bagster's  translation  of  the  Septuagint. 
He  had  acquired  a  considerable  amount  of 
knowledge   in   Patristic   Literature,  but   I 

*  He  liked  for  his  own  use  the  edition  published  by 
T.  Nelson  and  Sons,  1863,  and  marked  the  Promises  on 
pp.  125  to  130. 


2  2       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

am  unable  to  say  how  far  he  had  at  any 
time  studied  these  authors  in  the  languages 
in  which  they  wrote.  For  the  great  ethical 
writers  of  Pagan  times  he  had  a  cordial  ad- 
miration, and  several  of  them  he  read 
frequently.  The  writings  of  Epictetus  he 
knew  intimately ;  and  any  one  who  looks 
into  his  well-worn  copy  of  the  '  Thoughts ' 
of  Marcus  Aurelius  (Long's  translation) 
will  see  how  diligently  the  book  must 
have  been  studied.  There  was  no  secular 
writer  of  any  period  whom  he  held  in 
higher  esteem  than  Marcus  Aurelius,  and 
at  different  times  he  gave  away  many 
copies  of  the  '  Thoughts '  as  presents  to 
his  friends. 

Although,  however,  it  is  a  mistake  to 
say  that  Gordon  refused  "  to  know  any 
book  but  one,  and  that  one  the  Bible,"  it 
is  true  that  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  he 
subordinated  all  other  studies.  And  in 
the  '  Reflections '  were  embodied  some  of 
the  most  characteristic  results  of  his  inves- 
tigations. If  in  that  work  he  passed  by 
many  modern  controversies  as  if  he  had 


INWARD    LIFE.  23 

never  heard  of  them,  perhaps  he  may  be 
justified  by  the  old  Roman  proverb  that 
"  the  eagle  does  not  eat  flies "  {Aquila 
non  vo7'at  muscas).  His  mind  had  been 
in  contact  with  the  minds  of  many  men  in 
many  lands,  and  the  Arab,  the  Chinaman, 
the  Armenian,  the  Egyptian  were  equally 
well  known  to  him.  May  we  not  say  that 
he  sought  in  his  Bible  and  in  the  deep 
symmetry  of  its  many  books  for  that 
which  might  help  or  influence  men,  women, 
children  everywhere,  and  not  merely  for 
doctrines  corresponding  to  the  common  ex- 
pressions of  his  English  fellow  Christians  ? 
It  is  said  in  Holy  Scripture  that  "  Isaac 
digged  again  the  wells  of  water,  which  they 
had  digged  in  the  days  of  Abraham  his 
father."  (Genesis  xxvi.  i8.)  These  wells 
had  been  filled  in  by  others,  and  in 
Southern  Palestine  a  man  can  do  no 
greater  injury  to  an  enemy  than  by  the 
destruction  of  wells,  the  discovery  and 
excavation  of  which  cost  much  care  and 
labour;   but    Isaac   patiently  renewed  his 


24      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

'^  father's  work,  and  freely  forgave  the  men 
who  had  ruined  it,  so  far  as  they  could. 
There  was  something  in  Gordon's  use  of 
Holy  Scripture  which  exactly  accorded  with 
this  diligent  labour,  and  with  this  patience 
towards  others.  Some  wells  of  spiritual 
truth  which  seemed  to  him  to  have  been 
choked  he  sought  to  clear ;  but  he  never 
undertook  the  task  in  the  spirit  of  a  fault- 
finder. His  aim  in  the  study  of  the  in- 
spired Word  was  to  beckon  others  forward, 
that  they  might  come  with  him.  He  had 
no  desire  to  parade  something  rare  and 
precious  because  discovered  by  himself; 
he  wished  to  address  all  "  whose  hearts 
the  Lord  had  opened"  (Acts  xvi.  14),  to 
see  with  him  if  these  things  were  so. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  Gordon  was 
a  fatalist,  and  there  is  a  sense  in  which  he 
would  not  have  repudiated  the  name.  Of 
the  death  of  his  friend  Cralo^Ie  in  the 
Crimea  he  wrote  :  "  The  shell  burst  above 
him,  and,  by  what  is  called  chance,  struck 
him  in  the  back,  killing  him  at  once. 


INWARD    LIFE.  25 

"  It  is  a  delightful  thing  to  be  a  fatalist, 
not  as  that  word  is  generally  employed,  but 
to  accept  that,  when  things  happen,  and 
not  before,  God  has  for  some  wise  reason 
so  ordained  them  to  happen — all  things, 
not  only  the  great  things,  but  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  life. 

**  We  have  nothing  further  to  do,  when 
the  scroll  of  events  is  unrolled,  than  to 
accept  them  as  being  for  the  best.  Before 
it  is  unrolled,  it  is  another  matter  ;  and  you 
could  not  say,  '  I  sat  still  and  let  things 
happen,'  with  this  belief. 

"  I  cannot  separate  the  existence  of  a 
God  from  His  pre-ordination  and  direction 
of  all  things,  good  and  evil  ;  the  latter  He 
permits,  but  still  controls." 

If  this  was  fatalism,  it  was  a  kind  of 
fatalism  which  gave  Gordon  both  peace 
and  energy,  for  he  continued  : — 

"  All  I  can  say  is  that,  amidst  troubles 
and  worries,  no  one  can  have  peace  till  he 
thus  stays  upon  his  God.  It  gives  a  man 
superhuman  strength.      If  we  could  take 


26      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

all  things  as  ordained  and  for  the  best, 
we  should  indeed  be  the  conquerors  of  the 
world.  Everything-  that  happens  to-day, 
good  or  evil,  is  settled  and  fixed,  and  it  is 
no  use  fretting  over  it.  The  quiet,  peaceful 
life  of  our  Lord  was  solely  due  to  his  sub- 
mission to  God's  will." 

Gordon  had  not  only  a  clear  perception 
of  the  evil  in  the  world,  but  strong  convic- 
tions as  to  the  source  from  which  it 
originally  sprang.  Of  the  tree  of  know- 
ledge of  good  and  evil  he  says  in  the 
'  Reflections ' : — 

''  By  eating  of  this  tree  man  became 
as  God,  for  God  said,  *  Behold  man  is 
become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and 
evil.'  This  would  imply  that  though 
man  was  made  in  the  likeness  and  image  of 
God,  the  faculty  of  the  knowledge  of  evil, 
though  it  must  have  been  present  was 
not  developed  in  him  before  eating,  Satan 
works  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  and 
he  began  to  work  in  man,  when  man  dis- 
obeyed God  by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit. 


INWARD    LIFE.  27 

•'  Had  Eve  never  eaten  what  was  for- 
bidden, she  never  could  have  been  worked 
in  by  the  Spirit  of  disobedience." 

As  to  the  consequences  of  eating  the 
forbidden  fruit,  he  does  not  show  very 
distinctly  in  the  '  Reflections  '  whether  he 
believed  the  ruin  of  man  to  have  been 
complete  or  only  partial.  He  held  that  in 
Eve  were  all  mankind,  and  that  when  she 
ate  the  fruit  not  only  her  own  body  but 
those  of  all  her  children  were  poisoned. 
Of  the  soul,  however,  he  says  that  it  "  was 
breathed  into  man,  and  was  therefore 
divine."  This  leaves  us  in  some  uncer- 
tainty, as  the  body  is  generally  spoken  of 
in  the  Scriptures  as  simply  the  "tabernacle" 
of  the  soul.  His  views  are  more  plainly 
set  forth  in  a  private  unpublished  letter, 
written  in  Jerusalem  : — 

"  I  do  not  care  for  the  praise  of  the 
world.  If  one  truly  has  been  given  the 
sense  of  God's  indwelling  in  us,  and  of 
our  natural  depravity,  it  is  quite  impossible 
to  relish  even  the  slightest  taste  of  man's 


2  5      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

praise.  For  if  analyzed,  man's  praise  of 
another  is  the  denial  of  God.  For  this  is 
implied,  that  man  can  be  good  separate 
from  God." 

I  have  already  quoted  from  the  '  Re- 
flections '  a  passage  in  which  Gordon 
contrasts  the  eatino^  of  the  forbidden 
fruit  with  the  eating  of  sacramental  bread. 
He  recognised  a  deep  significance  in  the 
use  of  the  same  outward  means  for  the 
trial  in  which  our  first  parents  fell,  and  for 
the  sacrament  in  which  Christ  gives  Him- 
self to  all  who  will  by  faith  receive  Him, 
Gordon,  however,  exhibited  extreme  sim- 
plicity of  faith  when  he  came  to  the 
practical  part  of  this  doctrine.  "  Do  not," 
he  says,  "let  us  fence  the  Tree  of  Life. 
God  gives  us  the  way  to  it  in  Christ. 
All  that  is  needed  is,  '  I  am  ill ;  I  wish 
I  were  well ;  /  hate  and  abhor  myself ; 
I  have  faint  hopes  of  deriving  any  benefit : 
but  I  will  trust  Him,  and  do,  in  remem- 
brance of  Him,  ivhat  he  bade  me  do! " 
There  is  nothing  superstitious  about  this. 


INWARD    LIFE.  29 

Here  he  ceases  to  reason ;  he  receives  the 
Scripture  as  a  Httle  child. 

His  conception  of  the  remedy  for  man's 
spiritual  maladies  he  expressed  in  unmis- 
takable terms  in  an  unpublished  letter, 
dated  from  Jafa  : — 

"  God  the  Son  took  man's  nature  and  is 
Man.  What  God  the  Son  did  is  not  de- 
rogatory to  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  do  ; 
and  we  have  the  Scripture  to  say  that  He 
lives  in  our  bodies.  '  Know  ye  not  that 
your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?' 
Christ's  sufferings  are  expiatory,  our  suffer- 
ings are  sequences  of  our  sins  and  for  our 
discipline.  Christ's  sufferings  are  the  full, 
perfect,  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  once 
and  for  ever  on  the  Cross." 

In  other  unpublished  letters  he  wrote  : — 

"  Christ  as  man  felt  all  the  sorrow  and 
grief  as  if  He  had  really  committed  the 
sins  for  which  He  suffered  the  exact  full 
punishment.  Our  Lord  would  remember 
each  sin  from  the  suffering  it  caused.  It 
is   this    transcendent    love   which    would 


30      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

break  our  hearts  in  the  end,  were  we  not 
then  to  know  that  our  offences  were  com- 
mitted in  ignorance,  and  that  when  en- 
lightened we  no  longer  took  pleasure  in 
them."  "It  is  very  wonderful  that  we 
should  be  so  imbued  with  Himself  that 
our  breath  is  drawn  without  that  realiza- 
tion. We  subsist  by  virtue  of  His  life  in 
us  ;  whether  we  are  pagans  or  not,  it  is 
His  life." 

Gordon  had  a  full  and  happy  sense  of 
Assurance,  and  he  thus  stated  the  grounds 
on  which  it  was  based :  "  You  believe  in 
your  heart  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God, 
then  God  dwells  in  your  body,  and  if  you 
ask  Him,  *  O  Lord !  I  believe  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God  ;  show  me  for  His  sake 
that  Thou  livest  in  us,'  He  will  make  you 
feel  His  presence  in  your  heart.  Many 
believe  sincerely  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God,  but  they  are  not  happy,  because  they 
do  not  believe  that  which  God  tells  them." 

He  did  not  profess  to  be  a  theologian 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term ;  but  in 
its  deeper  meaning  it  may  be  fairly  applied 


INWARD    LIFE.  3 1 

to  him,  since   it  includes  every  one  who 
tries   to   think    and    speak   rightly   about 
God.     In    the   words    of   the    Bishop    of 
Derry   (Dr.    Alexander)  :    **  The    General 
is    not    a    professional    theologian  ;     but 
he  is   something   far   higher   and   better  ; 
and  I  dare  not  criticize  one  so  immeasur- 
ably above  me,  even  if  I  were  not  intellec- 
tually convinced  by  all  his  arguments.     He 
is  an  example  of  faith  in  the  living  God." 
When   Gordon  was    in   Palestine,   Bishop 
Wordsworth  of  Lincoln  wrote  to  me  of 
him  :  "I  should  be  greatly  obliged  to  you, 
if  you    could    express    to  him    my   deep 
interest  in  his  investigations  and  thoughts. 
I  am  glad  to  know  that  the  very  interest- 
ing   subject    [Biblical    investigation]    has 
the   benefit   of  an    enquirer  like    General 
Gordon,  who  sees  Divine  things,  and  pla- 
ces, not  with  the  natural  organ  only,  but 
with  the  eye  of  faith.     I  wish  I  could  now 
give  the  time  to  such   Biblical  studies  as 
those  which  General   Gordon  is  pursuing 
with  so  much  ardour  and  success." 


32      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

To  this  message  General  Gordon 
answered  :  "I  shall  probably  never  see 
your  Lordship,  so  I  may  say  how  blessed 
you  have  been  in  your  Commentary.  You 
held  the  key  that  Christ  and  His  members 
are  one  and  indivisible ;  if  ever  spiritual 
men  arise  who  will  look  on  our  redemption 
like  this,  what  treasures  we  will  have  in 
the  Scriptures." 

In  another  letter  to  me,  the  venerable 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  wrote :  "  Anything 
that  can  be  done,  ought  to  be  done  to 
strengthen  and  comfort  a  man  who  has 
the  faults  of  a  saint  and  the  courage  of  a 
hero." 

On  the  14th  May,  1884,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  wrote  from  Lambeth  : — 

My  Dear  Prebendary, — 

Accept  my  best  thanks  for  your 
kindness  in  sending  me  General  Gordon's 
'  Reflections  in  Palestine,'  and  for  your  most 
kind  letter.  The  former  is  a  wonderful 
expression   of  a   devout   soul   with    deep 


INWARD    LIFE.  33 

resources,  and  full  of  faithful  life  towards 
.  God.  The  deep  interest  of  his  position, 
and  painful  eager  sympathy  with  the  man, 
are  surely  drawing  out  myriads  of  prayers 
for  him,  and  intercessions,  especially  in  the 
Communions  which  are  so  dear  to  himself. 
As  to  the  latter  point, — you  ask  about 
prayers  for  General  Gordon  in  our  public 
service.  It  is  quite  natural  that  some 
clergy  should  do  what,  I  believe,  many 
are  now  doing,  viz.  using  the  provided 
way  for  praying  for  all  in  danger  or 
anxiety,  with  mention  of  his  name  person- 
ally before  the  Prayer  for  all  conditions  of 
men,  or  before  the  Litany.  Those  who 
consider  him  to  be  already  in  danger,  or 
likely  soon  to  be  so,  as  well  as  those  who 
take  the  darkest  view  of  his  peril,  are 
all  enabled  by  our  very  rubrics  to  pray 
for  him  in  Church.  Doubtless  he  is  sure 
that  hearts  are  thus  being  poured  out  for 
him. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Edward  Cantuar. 

D 


34      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

But  to  return  to  the  position  assumed 
by  Gordon  himself  in  his  researches. 
Some  extracts  from  his  correspondence 
will  show  that  he  regarded  himself  rather 
as  a  student  than  as  a  teacher  of  Divine 
Truths.  On  the  24th  of  October,  1883, 
he  wrote  to  me  from  Jafa : 

"  I  have  not  heard  from  my  family  at 
Heavitree  for  two  mails.  I  have  asked 
my  sister  to  send  you  what  I  wrote  with 
no  delay,  and  not  to  hurry  you.  I  do  not 
want  you  to  read  in  dribblets,  for  some 
things  I  write  need  frequent  modification. 
I  am  sending  another  paper  this  mail. 
Have  not  the  words,  *my  Name  shall 
rest   there,'  reference   to  the  title  on  the 


cross 


?' 


On  the  27th  of  the  same  month  he 
wrote :  "  Thanks  for  your  letter,  just  re- 
ceived. I  have  sent  many  papers  to  you. 
They  are  crude,  but  they  give  me  much 
pleasure  to  write  them.  I  am  all  right, 
thank  God.  I  do  not  know  when  I  come 
home.     I  shall  hot  stay  long  in  England. 


INWARD   LIFE.  35 

I  go  first  to  Brussels.  I  am  glad  to  hear 
of  your  lambs,  dear  little  souls,  but  they 
have  a  kind  shepherd.  Good-bye.  In 
the  papers  you  read  my  thoughts,  nothing 
more.  I  am  not  bound  to  those  views,  so 
when  I  say  this  is  this  and  that  is  that,  I 
do  it  only  because  I  want  to  join  one 
thought  to  another." 

On  the  20th  of  November,  i  SS;^,  he  wrote 
again  from  Jafa :  "I  am  glad  you  are 
going  to  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  ;  he,  for  eight 
or  ten  years,  was  constantly  in  my  prayers. 
Do  7iot  prevent  my  writing  to  yon  [in  the 
original  underlined],  for  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
do  so — what  is  untrue  reject,  what  you 
accept,  tell  me." 

On  the  6th  of  December,  1883,  he 
wrote  from  Jerusalem  :  "  I  hope  to  leave 
Jafa  on  the  15th  instant.  I  assure  you 
your  kind  letters  refresh  me.  One  word 
about  fasting :  I  think  after  the  spirit  it  is 
most  beneficial,  but  I  do  not  practise  it. 
D.V.  I  will  do  so.  D.V.  I  will  give  you 
three  days  while  in  England.     I  have  put 

D  2 


^6  CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

Harding's  name  down  on  the  list.*  I  hope 
ere  this  you  will  get  all  the  papers.  I 
have  been  in  the  Abyss  all  November ;  it 
is  a  bad  month  with  me  always.  Kindest 
regards  to  you  all.  Mrs.  Barnes  will  give 
me  ^1,000,000,000,000,000,  a  thousand 
million  millions,  if  she  would  pray  I  may 
be  emptied  of  self.     Good-bye." 

On  the  1 6th  of  December,  1 883,  he  wrote 
from  Mt.  Carmel :  "  I  left  Jafa  on  the  12  th 
in  a  sailing  vessel  for  Port  Said.  We  got 
just  south  of  Gaza,  and  then  got  into  a 
storm,  which  drove  us  north,  and  after  two 
nights  and  days  of  cold,  wet  and  misery, 
put  in  here,  where  I  found  a  steamer  going 
to  Marseilles,  which  I  shall,  D.V.,  take. 
During  the  voyage  I  realized  that  the 
praise  of  the  Lord  is  quite  independent  of 
the  sorrow  of  body,  which  was  a  gain. 
Baker  liked  your  visit." 

On  the  2nd  of  January,  1884,  he  wrote 
from  Brussels:  "  I  was  with  you  that  night 

*  Mr.  Harding  is  the  clergyman  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
Chur€h  Missionary  stations  on  the  Lower  Congo. 


I.WVARD    LIFE.  2)7 

1 883-1 884,  hoping  for  you  to  have  much 
closer  union  with  the  Lord,  who  rules  all 
things    from    His   throne    on    the    Rock." 
To  Gordon    our    incarnate    Lord   seemed 
ever  present,  ordering  and  controlling  all 
things  by   His  good    Providence,   and   as 
though    His  unseen  Throne  on  high  had 
still  its  relation  to  the  Rock  on  the  site  of 
Solomon's  Temple.     His  next  words  are  : 
"  I   yearn  to  talk  to  you  of  these  great 
truths.     Do  not  &gg  on  ambition  in  me, 
— try   and    drown    it.      Our    Lord  works 
with  flies  (Exodus  viii.    21).     He  has  no 
need  of  man, — one  of  the  hardest  things  to 
believe  is  our  own  utter  insignificance,  and 
any  who  &gg  on  our  self-conceit  are  ene- 
mies of  His,  and  deny  His  rule.      D.V.,  I 
will  come  and  see  you  all.     I  hope  to  see 
Bishop    Temple  when   I   come  down,   es- 
pecially if  he  will  talk  about  those  things. 
Kindest  regards  to  you  all  and  to  Miss 
Freeman.     I  am  glad  to  say  that  through 
the   model    of    the    Rock    oriven    in    hieh 
places  [i.e.  to  persons  of  high  rank],  oppor- 


o 


8      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 


tunity  is  given  to  speak  of  the  Indwelling 
of  God  in  man.  The  union  with  our  God 
in  Christ  is  our  Force, — and  only  Force 
or  power,  thence  self  must  die ;  and  we 
must  never  indulge  the  thought  of  one's 
utility.  It  is  only  His  utility  in  us.  I  try 
to  keep  my  mind  as  if  it  were  situated 
at  the  foot  of  His  Throne.  We  can  keep 
a  continual  telegraphic  communion  with 
Him ;  that  is  our  strength.  The  rush  of 
angelic  Hosts  to  that  centre  must  be  im- 
mensely great,  for  He  intercedes  and  rules 
as  man  in  a  definite  place, — and  there 
is  an  ancient  belief,  from  the  history  of 
Abraham,  that  each  act  needs  one  angel  ; 
that  an  angel  can  only  do  one  thing  at  the 
time  ;  and  with  us  any  thought,  or  desire 
for  things  to  be  otherwise  {when  they  have 
happened),  is  a  harp  out  of  tune  with  the 
Heavenly  hosts.  Such  desires  imply  that 
Divine  Wisdom  does  not  rule.  Thus  for 
Egypt  He  is  working  out  His  wonderful 
embroidery  of  events  ;  those  events  are 
nothing ;  but  the  actions  in  men's  hearts 


INWARD    LIFE.  39 

are  everything.  That  which  cometh  forth 
out  of  a  man,  that  defileth  the  man.  Alex- 
ander, Titus,  the  Government,  &c.,  what 
signifies  what  they  did,  what  they  thought  ; 
their  motives,  these  are  eternal !  " 

These  extracts  show  how  Gordon  quieted 
all  earthly  anxiety  by  "making  every 
request  known  unto  God."  In  his  en- 
deavours after  the  Christian  life  he  looked 
far  beyond  that  which  has  become  in 
England  a  usual  but  dangerous  limit.  He 
never  let  himself  rest  short  of  the  hope  of 
complete  union  with  Christ.  He  did  not 
suppose  that  all  that  is  required  for  a 
man's  salvation  is  a  conviction  that  he  is 
unable  to  save  himself,  and  an  assured 
consciousness  that  he  has  been  saved  by 
Christ.  No  doubt  this  is  a  great  part  of 
saving  truth.  All  who  acknowledge  it 
believe  in  the  Sovereignty  of  God  the 
Father  ;  the  Righteousness  of  Christ ;  the 
satisfaction  made  by  Him  for  sin  ;  and  the 
renewing  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But 
these  statements  do  not  form  the  whole  of 


40  CHARLES    GEORGE    GORDON. 

Christianity, — they  must  not  be  allowed 
to  displace  all  other  truths.  Gordon  de- 
sired progress,  and  found  our  sanctification 
through  union  with  God  in  Christ.  Hence 
he  approached  and  understood  the  Sacra- 
ments as  a  part  of  that  which  has  been 
ordained  from  the  first,  even  before  the 
world  began.  He  did  not,  indeed,  regard 
Holy  Baptism,  or  Holy  Communion,  as 
channels  within  which  God's  Free  Grace 
can  be  restrained ;  but  he  ardently  pro- 
claimed their  value  as  vital  elements  of 
the  economy  of  faith.  The  priesthood  of 
every  Christian  man,  woman,  and  child, 
was  equally  present  to  him  with  the  ministry 
of  holy  orders ;  and  in  one  of  his  letters 
he  spoke  of  the  members  of  every  con- 
gregation as  being  marked  before  angelic 
hosts  by  the  living  symbol  of  the  Holy 
Ghost's  indwelling,  the  flame  over  each 
head  and  heart  burning  more  or  less 
brightly. 

The    depth    and    fervour   of    Gordon's 
relieious  convictions  are  brought  out  with 


INWARD    LIFE.  4 1 

extraordinary  distinctness  in  a  passage 
quoted  by  Mr.  William  Hurrell  Mallock 
in  the  'Fortnightly  Review'  for  July  i, 
1884  :  "  I  like  the  following  sort  of  prayer  : 
Thou  hast  moulded  me  out  of  dust,  every 
fibre ;  therefore  thou  knowest  every  fibre. 
Thou  gavest  me  Thy  own  life.  Thou 
didst  mould  me  in  Thine  exact  Image  and 
Likeness  (for  none  but  Thou  couldest  make 
me)  by  Thyself.  Thou  gavest  me  free 
will  to  be  altogether  like  Thyself.  I  have 
abased  and  defiled  Thy  sacred  image. 
Though  I  was  Thy  chief  work,  yet  so  low 
have  I  debased  Thy  image,  that  all  crea- 
tures turn  with  horror  from  me,  and  I  am 
a  horror  to  myself.  Though  I  had  Thy 
Life  in  me,  though  by  Thy  Life  I  exist  ; 
though  Thou  couldest  have  made  myriads 
with  no  trouble,  yet  didst  Thou  so  love 
me,  that  Thou  camest  in  my  form,  and  did 
so  suffer  every  conceivable  injury  that  I 
could  commit  against  Thee.  Yet  I  hin- 
dered Thee  by  every  possible  cruelty  and 
contempt.     Thou  didst  set  Thy  face  as  a 


42       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

flint,  and  bore  the  imputation  and  the 
punishment  of  every  sin  I  ever  committed 
— sins  which,  even  In  my  fellow-creatures,  I 
abhor  and  hate.  Thou  wast  so  pure  as  to 
cause  aneels  to  veil  their  faces  before  Thee. 
Yet  Thou  bore  the  guilt  as  entirely  Thine 
• — as  If  Thou  hadst  done  those  sins.  Surely 
now  Thou  hast  routed  Thy  enemies,  Thou 
wilt  not  permit  them  to  trample  and  scoff 
at  Thee.  Remember  Thy  sufferings,  for 
they  were  beyond  conception.  Are  those 
sufferings  to  go  for  naught,  as  they  do,  If 
Thou  permit  these  unconquered  enemies 
to  prevail  against  me,  Thy  own  flesh  and 
bone  ?     Thy  member  ?  " 

One  other  quotation  may  be  given  to 
indicate  more  fully  Gordon's  estimate  of 
the  present  life  and  his  concepHorTor  the 
nature  of  the  Christian's  union  witE 
Christ :  "  The  world  Is  a  vast  prison- 
house  under  hard  keepers.  We  are  in 
cells,  solitary  and  lonely,  looking  for  a 
release.  By  the  waters  of  earthly  joy  and 
plenty  to  this  world's  inhabitants,  to   our 


INWARD    LIFE.  43 

flesh  ;  but  by  the  waters  of  hvely  affliction 
to  our  souls,  we  sit  down  and  weep,  when 
we  remember  our  home,  from  which  death, 
Hke  a  narrow  stream,  divides  us.  We  hang 
our  harps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst 
thereof;  for  they  that  oppress  require  of 
us  mirth,  saying.  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs 
of  home.  How  shall  we  sing  the  song  of 
the  Lamb  in  a  strange  land  ;  in  the,  to  us, 
waste,  howling  wilderness,  in  the  land  of 
strangers  ?  Oh !  for  that  home,  where 
the  wicked  will  cease  from  troubling,  and 
the  weary  have  rest ;  where  the  good  fight 
will  have  been  fought,  the  dusty  labour 
finished,  and  the  crown  of  life  given  ;  when 
our  eyes  will  behold  the  only  One  that  ever 
knew  our  sorrows  and  trials,  and  has  borne 
with  us  in  them  all,  soothing  and  comfort- 
ing our  weary  souls.  No  new  Friend  to 
be  made  then,  but  an  old  Friend  !  Are  you 
weary  ?  So  was  He.  Are  you  sad  ?  So 
was  He.  Are  you  despised  and  laughed 
at  ?  So  was  He.  Is  your  love  repelled, 
and   does   the   world   not   care   for  you  ? 


44      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

Neither  did  it  for  Him.  He  has  gra- 
ciously taken  a  lower  place  than  any  of 
His  people.  Unutterably  weary,  sad  and 
lonely  was  He  on  this  earth.  A  Man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief,  strong- 
crying  and  tears.  And  shall  we  repine  at 
our  trials,  which  are  but  for  a  moment  ? 
We  are  nearing  home  day  by  day.  No 
dark  river,  but  divided  waters  are  before  us. 
and  they  let  the  world  take  its  portion. 
Dust  it  is,  and  dust  we  will  leave  it.  '  I 
heard  a  voice  from  Heaven  saying  unto  me. 
Write,  happy  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the 
Lord,  even  so  saith  the  Spirit,  for  they 
rest  from  their  labours', — rest  from  their 
troubles, — rest  from  works  of  weariness, 
from  sorrow,  from  tears,  from  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  sad  sights  of  poor  despairing 
bodies,  and  sighing  hearts,  who  find  no 
peace  in  their  prisons, — from  wars,  and 
strifes  and  words  and  judgments.  It  is  a 
long  weary  journey,  but  we  are  well  on  the 
way  of  it.  The  yearly  milestones  quickly 
slip   by ;  and,    as    our   days,    so   will    our 


INWARD    LIFE.  45 

Strength  be.  Perhaps  before  another  mile- 
stone is  reached  the  wayfarer  may  be  in 
that  glorious  Home,  by  the  side  of  the 
River  of  life,  where  there  is  no  more  care,  or 
sorrow,  or  crying,  and  rest  for  ever  with 
that  kind  and  well-known  Friend. 

"  The  sand  is  flowing  out  of  the  glass, 
day  and  night,  night  and  day;  shake  it  not. 
You  have  a  work  here,  to  suffer  even  as  he 
suffered." 


III. 


OUTWARD     LIFE. 


(     49     ) 


III. 

Gordon  was  a  man  of  such  perfect 
simplicity  of  nature  that  he  would  have 
been  well  content  to  pass  his  life  in  the 
discharge  of  common  and  humble  duties, 
but  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  great  tasks 
which  were  actually  imposed  upon  him. 
Nor  did  he  ever  falter  in  his  loyalty  to  his 
governing  principles.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  his  career  his  inward  and  his 

outward  life  were  in  absolute  accord. L 

Gordon's  first  experience  of  war  was  in 
the  Crimea,  whither  he  went  as  an  Engineer 
officer  when  he  was  about  twenty.     An 
incident  which  happened  before  Sebastopol 
may  suffice  to  indicate    his  spirit    at   this 
early  age.     Some  soldiers  in  a  trench,  who 
were  not  under  Gordon's    command,  had   1 
suffered  so  severely  that  not  even  a  non-  |     )s 
commissioned  officer  survived  to  command 
them.     Gordon,  seeing  the  danger  of  the  :    u. 
men,  sprang  in  among  them,  armed  only  i  7  . 

E 


50      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

with  a  stick — which  may  have  suggested 
the  use  of  the  **  wand  of  victory  "  at  a  later 
time  in  China.  He  at  once  raised  his  head 
above  the  earthworks,  thus  freely  exposing 
himself  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy ;  and  he 
did  not  quit  the  trench  until  he  had  enabled 
the  men  to  understand  exactly  what  they 
were  to  do. 

The  command  in  China  he  would  never 
have  thought  of  soliciting.  Owing  to  the 
death  of  Ward,  the  dismissal  of  Burge- 
vine,  and  the  subsequent  defeat  under 
the  English  Captain  Holland,  the  Chinese 
army  happened  to  be  urgently  in  want  of 
a  leader.  The  Chinese  Prime  Minister 
applied  to  the  English  Government,  and 
Gordon  Ivas  selected  by  General  Stanley, 
who  knew  him  well. 

This  difficult  position  he  accepted,  as  he 
himself  wrote  at  the  time,  simply  because 
he  hoped  that  it  might  be  in  his  power  to 
save  China  from  the  pillage,  fire,  and 
famine  with  which  it  was  threatened,  and 
to  open  the  country  to  civilisation.     His 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  5  I 

magnificent  energy  and  resource  in  the 
fulfilment  of  his  mission  soon  made  his 
name  famous.  The  "  ever-victorious  army  " 
was  composed  of  only  some  five  or  six  regi- 
ments, armed  with  smooth-bore  muskets, 
and  six  batteries  of  artillery.  The  officers 
were  chiefly  American,  French,  and  Ger- 
man adventurers,  who,  though  brave  and 
sharp,  were  extremely  quarrelsome,  and 
so  much  given  to  drink  that,  out  of  some 
one  hundred  and  forty  officers,  eleven  died 
of  delirium  tremens.  This  motley  crew  was 
thoroughly  drilled  and  provided  with  trans- 
port by  Gordon.  They  frequently  mutinied, 
it  is  true,  but  these  were  opportunities  for 
the  display  of  the  determination  and  deci- 
sion of  their  commander.  Mr.  Hake, 
Gordon's  biographer,  mentions  two  such 
occasions.  Once  when  the  artillery  refused 
to  "fall  in,"  and  threatened  to  shoot  their 
officers,  Gordon  called  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  together  and  asked  them 
to  give  up  the  name  of  the  writer  of  the 
proclamation    of    the    mutiny.      On    his 

E  2 


52      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

request  being  refused,  he  told  them  with 
quiet  determination  that  one  in  every  five 
would  be  shot — ^an  announcement  which 
was  received  with  groans.  Gordon  dragged 
out  of  the  ranks,  with  his  own  hand,  the 
man  who  was  making  the  greatest  dis- 
turbance, and  had  him  shot  by  some 
infantry,  who  were  standing  by.  This 
brought  the  men  to  their  senses — the  files 
fell  in,  and  the  writer's  name  was  given  up. 
He  happened  to  be  the  man  who  had 
been  shot. 

Again,  at  Quinsan  (Hake,  p.  232):  "  The 
artillery  refused  to  march  from  the  parade- 
ground  to  the  boats,  which  were  about 
fifty  yards  off,  and  on  which  their  baggage 
had  been  already  stowed.  Gordon  arriv- 
ing at  this  juncture,  unarmed,  and  as  usual 
exceedingly  quiet  and  cool  and  undemon- 
strative, ordered  every  man  who  had 
refused  to  embark  to  step  to  the  front. 
One  only  advanced :  Gordon  presented  a 
pistol  to  his  head  and  ordered  him  embark, 
which  he  did,  and  the  rest  followed  him.    It 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  53 

was  said  by  the  officers  that  the  success  in 
this  instance  was  solely  due  to  the  awe 
and  respect  in  which  General  Gordon  was 
held  by  the  men ;  and  that  such  was  the 
spirit  of  the  troops  at  the  time  (who  were 
much  demoralised  by  the  excessive  heat 
of  the  weather,  the  ravages  of  cholera  and 
their  consequent  inaction),  that,  had  any 
other  but  he  attempted  what  he  did,  the 
company  would  have  broken  into  open 
mutiny,  shot  their  officers  and  committed 
the  wildest  exesses.  In  less  than  a  week 
the  spirit  of  the  troops  was  as  excellent  as 
before." 

Gordon's  influence  was  of  course  mainly 
due,  as  Mr.  Hake  says,  first,  to  his  mili- 
tary genius,  and  second,  to  his  moral 
qualities,  which  were  such  as  to  cause  all 
brought  in  contact  with  him  to  have  un- 
bounded faith  in  his  capacity. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  battle  Gordon 
was  always  foremost,  and  never  armed, 
except  with  a  cane,  which  his  men  called 
the  "wand  of  victory."     We  are  told  that 


54      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

the  officers  of  his  force  would  sometimes 
hold  back.  "  Gordon,  in  his  mild  way, 
would  take  one  or  other  of  these  by  the 
arm  and  lead  them  into  the  thick  of  the 
fire.  When  he  was  once  wounded  in 
battle,  and  his  men  wished  to  carry  him 
out  of  it,  he  would  not  allow  it,  but  went 
on  leading  them  till  he  fainted  from  loss 
of  blood." 

In  return  for  his  splendid  services  to 
China,  Gordon  would  accept  only  the  dis- 
tinctions of  the  "Yellow  Jacket"  and  the 
"  Peacock's  Feather,"  which  correspond  to 
our  own  Orders  of  the  Garter  and  the 
Bath.  Of  these  rewards  he  wrote  to  his 
mother :  "  I  do  not  care  twopence  about 
these  things,  but  know  that  you  and  m}^ 
father  like  them."  The  Chinese  Govern- 
ment twice  offered  him  a  fortune.  On  the 
first  occasion  10,000  taels  were  actually 
brought  into  his  room,  but  he  drove  out 
the  bearers  of  the  treasure  and  would  not 
even  look  at  it.  On  the  second  occasion 
the  sum  was  still  larger,  but  this  also  he 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  55 

declined,  and  afterwards  he  wrote  home  : — 
"I  do  not  want  anything,  either  money 
or  honours,  from  either  the  Chinese  Go- 
vernment or  our  own.  As  for  the  honours, 
I  do  not  value  them  at  all.  I  know  that  I 
am  doing  a  great  deal  of  good,  and,  liking 
my  profession,  do  not  mind  going  on  with  my 
work."  "  Do  not  think  I  am  ill-tempered, 
but  I  do  not  care  one  jot  about  my  promo- 
tion, or  what  people  may  say.  I  know  I 
shall  leave  China  as  poor  as  I  entered  it, 
but  with  the  knowledge  that  through  my 
weak  instrumentality  upwards  of  eighty  to 
one  hundred  thousand  lives  have  been 
spared." 

Mr.  Hake  says  that  Gordon  not  only 
refused  two  fortunes,  but  spent  his  pay  of 
^1200  a  year  in  comforts  for  his  army 
and  in  the  relief  of  the  victims  of  the  in- 
surgent troops,  and  that  for  these  purposes 
he  even  taxed  his  private  means.  Who 
can  wonder  at  the  vast  influence  exerted 
on  the  Chinese  by  one  who  displayed  so 
great  a  spirit  ? 


56      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  counterpart 
to  Gordon  among  European  soldiers  who 
have  commanded  native  armies  in  the 
East.  Clive  was  a  man  of  unsurpassed 
energy  and  courage  ;  he  never  lost  control 
over  himself  in  the  presence  of  danger ; 
and  he  exhibited  high  genius  in  organising 
armies  out  of  mere  rabbles.  His  Influence 
over  Oriental  races  was  extraordinary,  and 
has  never  perhaps  been  excelled.  But, 
unlike  Gordon,  Clive  did  not  scruple  to 
promote  his  interests  by  falsehood  and 
hypocrisy ;  and  instead  of  refusing  two 
fortunes,  he  accepted  between  two  and 
three  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  his 
services,  and  after  his  return  to  England 
lived  in  the  greatest  luxury  and  splendour. 

When  Gordon  came  home,  he  refused 
to  be  treated  as  a  hero,  and  earnestly 
requested  that  no  record  of  his  deeds 
should  be  published.  He  even  went  so 
far  as  to  demand  back  his  Journal  of  the 
Taiping  War,  which  a  Minister  of  State 
had  borrowed   and  sent  to   the   printers. 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  $*] 

So  successful  (as  in  other  operations)  was 
Gordon  in  seeking  to  be  forgotten  that  he 
very  soon  ceased  to  be  even  talked  about. 
His  quiet  life  at  Gravesend,  as  an 
Engineer  officer,  was  not,  perhaps,  less 
remarkable  than  his  career  in  China, 
although  in  a  very  different  way.  There 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
poor.  "  His  house,"  says  Mr.  Hake, 
"  was  school,  and  hospital,  and  almshouse 
in  turn.  The  troubles  of  all  interested 
him  alike.  The  poor,  the  sick,  the  unfor- 
tunate were  ever  welcome,  and  never  did 
supplicant  knock  vainly  at  his  door.  Many 
children  he  rescued  from  the  gutter, 
cleansed,  clothed,  and  fed  them,  and  for 
their  benefit  established  evening  classes, 
over  which  he  himself  presided.  What  a 
livinof  likeness  this  seems  to  be  of  the  life 
of  the  God-man,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
durinof  his  short  residence  on  this  earth  ! 
What  sympathy  and  even  love  for  his 
poorer  brethren  !  How  the  Light — the 
true  Light — shines  !    What  a  '  single  eye  !' 


$S  CHARLES    GEORGE    GORDON. 

A  lover  of  God,  a  despiser  of  Mammon, 
In  this  he  outshines  Peter  the  Hermit, 
Savonarola,  and  Havelock." 

In  1876,  Gordon  was  again  brought 
prominently  before  the  world,  as  Governor- 
General  of  the  Soudan.  This  vast  region 
was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  slave-dealers, 
with  Zebehr  at  their  head.  Having  formed 
military  posts,  they  were  able  to  mono- 
polise the  trade  in  ivory,  and,  while 
kidnapping  human  beings,  to  depopulate 
and  turn  Into  deserts  great  districts  which 
had  formerly  been  flourishing.  The 
Khedive  Ismail,  rather  from  jealousy  than 
from  humane  motives,  requested  Gordon 
to  crush  Zebehr  and  his  vile  traffic. 
Gordon  accepted  the  appointment,  and  in 
doing  so  displayed  his  usual  generosity,  for 
he  was  offered  a  salary  of  ^10,000  a  year 
but  declined  to  take  more  than  ^2000 
a  year,  that  being  the  amount  he  had  for 
some  time  been  receiving  from  the  British 
Government  as  Commissioner  at  Galatz. 
The  reason  given  by  him  for  not  taking 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  59 

the  larger  sum  was  that  he  knew  It  would 
be  "  blood-money  wrung  from  the  wretches 
under  his  rule."  Afterwards  he  cut  down 
his  pay  one-half,  to  save  the  revenue  to 
that  extent ;  and  ultimately  he  left  the 
Soudan,  as  he  had  left  China,  no  richer 
than  when  he  entered  it.  "I  am  like 
Moses,"  he  wrote,  "who  despised  the 
riches  of  Egypt.  We  have  a  King  mightier 
than  these,  and  more  enduring  riches  and 
power  in  Him  than  we  can  have  in  this 
world." 

Aided  by  only  one  European,  the 
gallant  Italian  Gessi,  Gordon  overcame 
what  seemed  to  be  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties  in  the  Soudan.  On  the  eve  of 
resigning  his  Governor-Generalship  he 
wrote  :  "  I  do  not  profess  to  have  been  a 
great  ruler  or  a  great  financier  ;  but  I  can 
say  this,  I  have  cut  off  the  slave-dealers 
in  their  strongholds,  and  I  made  the  people 
love  me."  And  his  success  was  not 
surprising  to  those  who  knew  on  what 
principles  he  carried  on  his  work.     **  The 


6o      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

main  point,"  he  wrote,  "is  to  be  just  and 
straightforward,  to  fear  no  one,  or  no  one's 
sayings ;  to  avoid  all  tergiversation  or 
twisting,  even  if  you  lose  by  it,  and  to  be 
hard  on  all  if  they  do  not  obey  you.  All 
this  is  not  easy  to  do,  but  it  must  be  my 
aim  to  accomplish  it." 

By  his  courage,  resolute  will,  and 
humanity,  Gordon  gained  as  strong  a  hold 
over  the  imagination  and  feelings  of  the 
Soudanese  as  he  had  gained  over  those  of 
the  Chinese.  A  remarkable  proof  of  this 
was  afforded  by  the  results  of  his  now 
famous  ride  to  Dara,  which  Suleiman 
(Zebehr's  son)  was  on  the  point  of  attack- 
ing. The  rebel  camp  consisted  of  some 
3000  trained  warriors,  similar  to  those  who 
fought  so  furiously  at  Teb  and  Tamanib 
against  the  English  under  General  Graham. 
Gordon  rode  into  this  nest  of  slave-dealers 
with  only  a  very  small  escort  of  men,  who 
were  so  utterly  worthless  as  troops  that  he 
called  them  "sheep"  soldiers.  He  sent 
for  Suleiman,  told  him  plainly  that  he  knew 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  6  I 

what  he  was  about,  and  warned  him  that 
if  he  did  not  submit  he  and  his  tribes 
would  be  disarmed  and  broken  up.  Strange 
to  say,  Suleiman,  who  could  easily  have 
captured  Gordon,  submitted  uncondi- 
tionally. "  The  people,"  wrote  Gordon, 
"  were  paralyzed  when  they  saw  a  single, 
dirty,  red-faced  man  on  a  camel  ride  into 
their  camp." 

He  was  equally  fearless  when,  with  only 
ten  men,  he  entered  Walad-el- Michael's 
camp  of  7000  armed  warriors  and  was 
made  a  prisoner.  The  following  letter 
explains  how  he  came  to  expose  himself  to 
peril  on  this  occasion  : —    . 

"  I  do  try  and  think,  and  try  to  put  in 
practice,  that  God  is  the  Supreme  Power 
in  the  world,  and  that  He  is  Almighty  ; 
and  though  '  use  your  judgment '  people 
m.ay  say.  You  tempt  your  God  in  putting 
yourself  in  positions  like  my  present  one, 
yet  I  do  not  care.  I  do  not  do  it  to 
teinpt  Him.  I  do  it  because  I  wish  to 
trust    in  His   promises,  and    I  feel   sure, 


62       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

however  trying  it  may  be  (and  it  is  trying 
to  me  in  a  great  degree),  that  I  gain  in 
strength  and  faith  by  it.  If  He  wills  me 
to  fail,  so  be  it." 

When  marching  in  Darfour  on  Fasher, 
with  a  body-guard  consisting  only  of  sub- 
dued enemies,  whom  he  had  enUsted,  he 
prayed  that  the  Chief  whom  he  was  about 
to  meet  might  be  influenced  by  God. 
*'  Something,"  he  wrote,  *'  seems  already  to 
have  passed  between  us,  when  I  meet  a 
Chief  (for  whom  I  have  prayed)  for  the 
first  time.  On  this  I  base  my  hopes  of  a 
triumphant  entry  into  Fasher.  I  have 
really  no  troops  with  me,  but  I  have  the 
Shekinah,  and  I  do  like  trusting  to  Hi7}i 
and  not  to  7nen.  Remember,  unless  He 
gave  me  confidence  and  encouraged  me 
to  trust  Him,  I  could  not  have  it ;  and 
so  I  have  the  earnest  of  success  in  this 
confidence." 

He  was  once  defied  by  some  6000  Turks 
and  Bashi-Bazouks,  whom  he  had  employed 
as  his  frontier-guards,  but  who  would  not 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  63 

carry  out  his  orders  to  stop  caravans  of 
slaves.  He  resolved  to  disband  them,  and 
this  was  how  he  commented  on  his  deter- 
mination :  "  Let  me  ask  who  that  hath  not 
the  Almighty  with  him  could  do  that  ? 
I  have  the  Almighty  with  me,  and  I  will 
do  it.  Consider  the  effect  of  harsh  mea- 
sures among  an  essentially  Mussulman 
population,  carried  out  brusquely  by  a 
Nazarene  ;  measures  which  touch  the 
pocket  of  every  one." 

Hard  as  Gordon  could  be  on  occasions 
which  required  him  to  be  so,  as  when  he 
came  across  a  slave-dealer  carrying  on  his 
nefarious  trade,  his  soul  revolted  at  the 
sight  of  misery,  and  he  was  at  times  moved 
to  tears  by  the  sufferings  of  even  his 
enemies.  His  hand  on  these  occasions 
acted  in  unison  with  his  heart.  He  could 
not  bear  to  see  wretchedness  without  if 
possible  trying  to  alleviate  it.  Mr.  Hake 
describes  how  Gordon,  whilst  travelling 
in  the  Soudan,  used  so  freely  to  distribute 
grain  to  the  hungry  and  give  employment 


64      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

to  the  needy,  that  the  poor  negroes  flocked 
about  him  in  great  numbers.  Here  we 
find  him  bringing,  as  he  wrote  to  his  sister, 
''  a  poor  old  bag  of  bones  "  into  his  camp 
and  trying  to  restore  Hfe  by  feeding  her 
up.  To  another  wretched  woman,  who  is 
strugghng  along  the  road  and  is  such  a 
**  wisp  of  bones  that  the  wind  threatens  to 
overthrow  her,"  he  sends  some  doora. 
When  he  finds  a  baby  in  the  grass,  he  does 
not  pass  it  by,  or  even  direct  that  the 
infant  shall  be  looked  after  by  others,  but 
he  himself  pours  some  brandy  down  her 
throat,  carries  her  in  his  arms  to  a  hut  and 
has  the  mud  washed  out  of  her  eyes.  The 
dullest  natures  were  touched  by  the  spec- 
tacle of  this  inexhaustible  pity,  and  it  was 
not  strange  that  before  he  left  the  Soudan 
he  could  write,  "  I  have  made  the  people 
love  me." 

He  once  wrote  from  the  Soudan  :  *'  I  dare 
say  some  of  my  letters  have  been  boastful; 
but  I  know  that  my  conscience  has  remon- 
strated whenever  I  have  so  written.     Some 


OUTWARD    LIFE.  65 

of  my  letters  have  been  written  by  one 
nature  ;  others  by  another  nature,  and  so 
it  will  be  to  the  end."  No  one  else  would 
have  thought  of  accusing  him  of  boastful- 
ness.  His  most  astonishing  achievements 
he  recorded  as  if  honour  were  not  in  any 
way  due  to  himself.  And  the  secret  of  his 
modesty  is  to  be  found  in  his  own  words  : — 

"  How  often  do  the  Scriptures  claim  for 
Him  all  honour,  power  and  might,  and  yet 
all  of  us  claim  honour  from  our  fellow 
men."  "  As  Solomon  asked,  I  asked 
wisdom  to  govern  this  great  people,  and 
He  not  only  will  give  me  it,  but  all  else 

besides I  feel  my  own  weakness, 

and  look  to  Him." 

In  this  constant  and  devout  reference  to 
an  unseen  world  Gordon  was,  perhaps, 
more  like  Cromwell  than  any  other  great 
figure  in  our  history.  Nor  did  the  resem- 
blance between  them  end  here.  They  had 
the  same  vigour,  the  same  control  over 
a  naturally  fiery  and  masterful  temper,  the 
same    hatred   of  pretence,    the    same    un- 

F 


66      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

flinching  determination,  when  the  path  of 
duty  seemed  clear,  in  marching  straight 
to  their  goal.  And  both  were  equally- 
remarkable  for  their  power  of  fascinating 
and  dominating  other  minds. 


IV. 
KHARTOUM. 


F    2 


(     69     ) 


IV. 

When  Gordon  left  the  Soudan,  the  old 
system  of  oppression,  by  means  of  Cir- 
cassians, Turks,  and  Bashi-Bazouks,  was 
restored,  and  all  the  results  of  his  labour 
seemed  about  to  be  swept  away.  He  had 
warned  the  Khedive  that,  if  this  were 
done,  Egypt  would  soon  find  herself  in  a 
position  of  extreme  difficulty.  As  he 
afterwards  said  to  Mr.  Stead,  "  I  had 
taught  the  natives  that  they  had  a  right 
to  exist.  I  had  taught  them  something  of 
the  meaning  of  liberty  and  justice,  and 
accustomed  them  to  a  higher  ideal  of 
government  than  that  with  which  they 
had  previously  been  acquainted."  He 
believed,  therefore,  that  the  Soudanese 
would  not  again  tamely  submit  to  tyranny, 
and  events  proved  that  he  was  right. 
Under  the  Mahdi,  whose  religious  claims 
Gordon  believed  to  have  been  in  the  first 
instance  merely  a  mask   for  political  de- 


70      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

signs,  a  number  of  tribes  revolted  against 
Egyptian  rule  ;  and  they  had  the  enthu- 
siastic support  of  the  slave-dealers,  whose 
traffic  Gordon  had  so  earnestly  striven  to 
destroy  at  Its  source. 

The  attention  of  British  Ministers  being 
absorbed  by  their  troubles  In  Egypt 
Proper,  they  gave  little  heed  to  what  was 
going  on  In  the  Soudan ;  and  about  six 
months  after  the  battle  of  Tel-el-Keblr 
the  Egyptian  Government  were  allowed 
to  dispatch  a  force  thither  under  Hicks 
Pasha,  a  retired  officer  of  the  Bombay 
army.  Egypt  being  unable  or  unwilling 
to  send  the  large  reinforcements  which 
Hicks  Pasha  frequently  and  urgently  de- 
manded, his  troops  were  annihilated  by 
the  Mahdl  In  November,  1883.  After  this 
the  MahdI's  power  rapidly  increased,  and 
SInkat,  Trinkltat,  Tokar,  and  Souakim 
were  besieged  by  the  "  rebels." 

Meanwhile,  Gordon  returned  from  Pa- 
lestine, having  been  Invited  by  the  King 
of  the  Belgians  to  succeed  Mr.  Stanley  in 


KHARTOUM.  71 

the  government  of  the  Upper  Congo  in  its 
equatorial  regions.  At  Brussels  he  made 
some  arrangements  with  the  Belgian  King 
as  to  his  mission,  and  early  in  January, 
1884,  he  arrived  in  England.  He  found 
time  to  spend  a  night  at  Heavitree  Vicar- 
age, and  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  the 
nth  of  January,  he  received  Holy  Com- 
munion in  the  parish  church.  This,  so  far 
as  I  can  trace  his  course,  was,  with  one 
exception,  his  last  communion.  On  the 
same  morning  he  visited  Bishop  Temple, 
with  whom,  as  we  have  seen  from  a  letter 
already  quoted,  he  had  wished  to  "talk 
about  those  things  " — the  only  things  which 
seemed  to  him  to  be  of  really  vital  interest 
and  importance. 

Later  in  the  day  he  went  on  to  Sandford 
Orleiofh,  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  house  ;  and 
to  those  who  accompanied  him  it  was 
pleasant  to  see  the  meeting  between  the 
two  ex-CTovernors  of  the  Soudan.  While 
we  were  drivinsf  from  Newton  Abbot 
Station  to  Sandford  Orleigh,  Sir  Samuel 


72       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

Baker  pressed  on  Gordon  the  expediency 
of  his  again  going  to  the  Soudan  as 
Governor- General,  if  Her  Majesty's  Go- 
vernment should  require  it.  Gordon  was 
silent,  but  his  eyes  flashed,  and  an  eager 
expression  passed  over  his  face  as  he 
looked  at  his  host.  Late  at  night,  when 
we  had  retired,  he  came  to  my  room,  and 
said  in  a  soft  voice,  "  You  saw  me  to- 
day?" "You  mean  in  the  carriage?" 
"  Yes  ;  you  saw  me — that  was  myself- — the 
self  I  want  to  get  rid  of." 

The  possibility  of  his  going  to  the 
Soudan  was  really  being  talked  of,  and  on 
the  1 2th  of  January  a  telegram  from  Lord 
Wolseley,  asking  him  to  go  to  London, 
was  delivered  at  my  house.  This  tele- 
gram was  forwarded  to  Gordon  at  South- 
ampton after  he  left  Sandford  Orleigh, 
and  on  the  15th  he  had  an  interview  with 
Lord  Wolseley.  Their  conversation  led 
to  no  definite  result,  and  next  day  Gordon 
went  to  Brussels.  On  the  forenoon  of  the 
1 7th  Lord  Wolseley  again  summoned  him 


KHARTOUM.  ']'}, 

by  telegraph  to  London  ;  and  Gordon 
spoke  of  the  matter  to  the  King  of  the 
Belgians,  who  was  greatly  disappointed  at 
the  prospect  of  even  a  temporary  loss  of 
his  services.  Gordon  started  from  Brussels 
in  the  evening,  and  early  next  morning 
(the  1 8th)  he  was  at  Lord  Wolseley's 
office.  Later  in  the  day  he  saw  Lord 
Granville,  Lord  Hartington,  Lord  North- 
brook,  and  Sir  Charles  Dilke  ;  and  after  a 
brief  consultation  it  was  decided  that  he 
should  proceed  to  the  Soudan  as  the  re- 
presentative of  the  British  Government, 
but  in  no  way  responsible  to  the  Khedive. 
His  mission  was  to  superintend  the  evacu- 
ation of  the  Soudan,  He  was  to  withdraw 
the  Egyptian  garrisons,  the  civil  officials, 
and  as  many  of  the  Inhabitants  as  might 
wish  to  be  taken  away.* 

Having  spent  much  time  In  seeking  for 
Colonel  Stewart,  who  was  to  go  with  him, 
Gordon  started  for  Khartoum  the  same 
evening  at  eight  o'clock.      He  was  accom- 

*  See  Appendix,  B. 


74      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

panled  to  the  station  by  H.R.H.  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge  and  by  Lord  Wolseley. 
Lord  Wolseley,  it  may  be  mentioned,  was 
Gordon's  comrade  at  the  Crimea,  and  he 
declared  some  time  ago  that  Gordon  was 
one  of  the  only  two  heroes  whom  he  had 
ever  personally  known ;  the  other  being 
Lee  of  the  Southern  army. 

Gordon  realised  distinctly,  as  he  alone 
was  in  a  position  to  do,  all  the  perils  which 
might  attend  the  fulfilment  of  the  mission 
undertaken  on  this  memorable  day.  Yet 
never,  perhaps,  had  he  experienced  a 
deeper  feeling  of  inward  serenity.  In 
the  eveninor  I  received  from  him  the  fol- 
lowing  telegram,  dispatched  from  the  War 
jOffice  at  5  P.M.  :  "  I  go  to  the  Soudan  to- 
jnight.  I  came  from  Brussels  this  morn- 
ling.  If  he*  goes  with  me,  all  must  be 
^well."  To  those  who  read  Gordon's  cha- 
racter aright,  the  whole  story  of  his  life  will 
seem  to  be  written  in  these  simple  words. 

*  The  word  "  He  "  has  no  capital  letter  in  the  telegram, 
but  no  one  who  knew  Gordon  could  doubt  what  was 
meant. 


KHARTOUM.  75 

At  Cairo  Gordon's  functions  were  greatly- 
extended.  He  accepted  from  the  Khedive 
the  office  of  Governor  -  General  of  the 
Soudan,  and  in  the  firman  conferring  on 
him  this  appointment  he  was  instructed 
not  only  to  effect  the  evacuation  of  the 
Soudan,  but  to  "  take  the  necessary  steps 
for  establishing  an  organised  government 
in  the  different  provinces  of  the  Soudan, 
for  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the  ces- 
sation of  all  disasters  and  incitement  to 
revolt."  At  that  time  it  appeared  to  Gor- 
don that  the  best  course  would  be  to  re- 
store the  country  to  descendants  of  the 
petty  Sultans  who  had  existed  at  the  time 
of  Mehemet  All's  conquest,  and  to  try  to 
form  a  confederation  of  the  new  rulers. 
In  this  view  the  Egyptian  Government 
concurred ;  and  he  received  full  discretion- 
ary power  to  retain  the  troops  nntil  the 
completion  of  such  arrangements  as  would 
enable  the  evacuation  to  be  accomplished 
"  with  the  least  possible  risk  to  life  and 
property." 


76       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

In  Gordon's  camel-ride  across  the  desert 
he  may  be  said  to  have  been  accompanied 
in  imagination  by  the  whole  civilised 
world.  Everywhere  his  heroic  devotion 
was  spoken  of  with  glowing  admiration. 
It  seemed  like  a  gleam  of  poetry  in  the 
prose  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

On  the  19th  of  February  I  received 
from  him  the  following  note,  written  on  a 
post-card  on  the  ist  : — 

"  Arrived  borders  of  Desert,  am  quite 
well.  Hosts  with  me  through  your  kind 
prayers.  I  do  not  believe  in  advance  of 
Mahdi,  who  is  nephew  to  my  old  guide  in 
Darfour,  who  was  a  very  good  fellow. 
The  little  letter  your  children  gave  me  is 
now  before  me.  I  shall  have  no  eating 
[Holy  Communion]  in  Soudan.  The 
Roman  Catholic  priests  have  all  left  and 
are  at  Assouan-  Several  will  want  copies 
of  the  book.  It  must  be  all  on  the  point 
*  God  in  you.'  I  see  28th  January  Psalm 
is  *  Remember  David  and  all  his  trouble,' 
— how  he  sware  he  would  find  habitations 


KHARTOUM.  77 

[tabernacles]  for  the  Mighty  God,  who  is 
houseless  if  not  in  our  hearts.  Kindest 
regards  to  you  all,  and  to  Mr.  Maclelland, 
to  the  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Temple.  I  am 
very  hopeful,  for  men's  hearts  are  in  His 
hand. — C.  G.  Gordon." 

From  Abou  Hamed  he  wrote  to  me  on 
the  8th  of  February  : — 

"  Thanks  to  all  your  kind  prayers,  we 
arrived  safely  here  yesterday.  People  are 
quite  quiet,  and  all  seems  hopeful.  Evi- 
dently the  defeat  of  Hicks  has  been  much 
less  thought  of  here  than  at  Cairo,  and 
now  it  seems  as  if  it  would  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  get  the  Egyptian  element  out  of 
Soudan  than  I  expected,  for  they  will  not 
go.  They  think  that  things  will  settle 
down,  and  wish  to  stay.  I  hope  (d.v.) 
that  in  a  month  the  country  will  be  quiet 
and  the  roads  open.  The  cold  was  great 
in  desert  at  night,  and  heat  ditto  by  day. 
It  is  a  terrible  desert  [between  Korosko 
and  Abou  Hamed],  worse  than  any  in  the 
Soudan I  am  glad  to  have  come, 


78      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

for  somehow  I  think  God  will  bless  my 
mission,  aided  as  I  am  by  so  many 
prayers.  His  glory,  the  people's  welfare, 
my  humiliation  (/.<?.  an  increased  sense  of 
His  indwelling  in  me,  which  is  the  se- 
quence of  a  humble  heart,  to  be  nothing 
in  this  world,  the  dust  of  His  feet,  for 
who  has  caused  Him  greater  pain,  greater 
shame  than  myself,  who  had  so  much 
light  ?) 

"  I  saw  two  pleasant  things  at  Cairo, 
Baring's  and  Wood's  chicks,  and  I  heard 
one  pleasant  thing — Mrs.  Amos  wanted 
me   to    see    her    lambs.       Good-bye,    my 

dear    Mr.    Barnes P.S.    We    are 

now  on  Nile,  the  river  of  Egypt,  the 
strength  of  the  Flesh,  in  which  the  Law 
was  nearly  destroyed  In  Moses.  It  is 
a  mighty  river  with  its  Leviathan  the 
crocodile." 

On  the  1 8th  of  February  he  arrived  at 
Khartoum.  He  was  received  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm,  and  the  city  was 
illuminated  in  his  honour.     "  I  come,"  he 


1 


KHARTOUM.  79 

said,  "without  soldiers,  but  with  God  on 
my  side,  to  redress  the  evils  of  the  Soudan. 
I    will    not   fight   with    any   weapons   but 
justice.     There   shall   be  no  more   Bashi- 
Bazouks.     I  will  hold  the  balance  level." 
He  then  held  a  levee,  at  which  the  poorest 
might  attend  and  pour  out  their  grievances. 
The  people  appeared  in  their  thousands 
to  kiss  his  feet,  styling  him  "  The  Sultan 
of  the  Soudan."     With  the  aid  of  Colonel 
Stewart,  he  inquired  into  their  grievances, 
remitted  public  debts,  publicly  burnt  instru- 
ments of  torture,  and  delivered  prisoners 
of  all  ages,   old  men  and  boys,  who  had 
been  unjustly  imprisoned  for  years,  many 
of  them  without  even  the  form  of  a  trial. 
"  Backsheesh,"  without  which  it  had  been 
impossible  for  suppliants  to  obtain  a  hear- 
ing  from    their   superiors,  was  abolished, 
and  in  several  places  he  set  up  boxes  into 
which   petitions   might   be   dropped.      At 
the  same  time  he  issued  a  proclamation 
declaring  the  independence  of  the  Soudan, 
granting   an   amnesty,   and  repealing  the 


8o       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

laws  against  slavery.  *'  Henceforth  none 
shall  interfere  with  your  property  ;  who- 
soever has  slaves  shall  have  full  right  to 
them."  "  Such  is  the  influence  of  one 
man,"  telegraphed  the  Khartoum  corre- 
spondent of  the  Times,  "that  there  are  no 
longer  any  fears  for  the  garrison  or  people 
of  Khartoum." 

Gordon  at  once  proceeded  to  send  down 
sick  men,  women,  and  children  to  Egypt  ; 
but  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  remove 
the  ofarrisons  and  civil  officials  until  he  had 
taken  steps  for  the  establishment  of  a 
stable  government.  He  was  of  opinion 
that  only  about  one-third  of  the  population 
were  favourable  to  the  Mahdi.  If,  however, 
the  whole  machinery  of  administration  had 
been  suddenly  withdrawn,  the  remaining 
two-thirds  would  have  had  no  alternative 
but  to  recognise  the  pretensions  of  the 
False  Prophet,  whose  supremacy  would 
at  least  have  been  better  than  anarchy. 
Gordon's  proposal  was  that  Zebehr  should 
be  made  ruler  of  Khartoum  ;    and  there 


KHARTOUM.  8 1 

can  be  little  doubt  that  if  this  plan  had 
been  adopted  a  tolerable  settlement  would 
have  been  rendered  possible.  Whatever 
may  have  been  Zebehr's  crimes  as  a  slave- 
dealer,  he  is  a  man  of  ability  and  energy  ; 
and,  as  Gordon  urged  again  and  again, 
power  might  have  been  granted  to  him  on 
terms  that  would  have  provided  for  some 
time  an  adequate  guarantee  for  his  good 
behaviour.  But  the  British  Government 
peremptorily  refused  to  sanction  Zebehr's 
appointment ;  and  Gordon  knew  of  no 
other  native  of  the  Soudan  who  was  com- 
petent to  gain  the  allegiance  of  those  who 
feared  or  disliked  the  Mahdi. 

When  Gordon  became  convinced  that 
Zebehr  would  not  be  sent  to  Khartoum, 
he  asked  for  the  dispatch  of  troops  both 
from  Cairo  and  from  the  Red  Sea ;  and, 
after  General  Graham's  victories  in  the 
Eastern  Soudan,  it  was  the  opinion  of 
the  highest  military  authorities  that  the 
opening  of  the  route  between  Souakim  and 
Berber  was    not    impracticable.      Gordon 

G 


82       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

felt  so  confident  that  he  would  receive  the 
aid  he  had  declared  to  be  necessary  that 
he  "  ordered  messengers  to  be  sent  along 
the  road  from  Berber  to  ascertain  whether 
any  English  force  was  advancing."  But 
he  was  again  to  be  cruelly  disappointed. 
The  Government  procrastinated,  and 
finally  decided  that  his  request  should  be 
refused. 

The  inevitable  consequence  was  that 
the  friendly  and  the  neutral  tribes  began 
to  lose  confidence  in  Gordon's  professions. 
Knowinof  that  the  connection  between  the 
Soudan  and  Egypt  was  to  be  severed,  and 
perceiving  no  sign  that  a  new  administra- 
tive system  was  to  be  substituted  for  the 
old,  they  naturally  reflected  that  it  might 
be  prudent  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the 
Mahdi,  who  alone  seemed  likely  to  have 
permanent  authority.  At  the  same  time, 
the  loneer  Gordon  remained  in  Khartoum, 
the  more  deeply  he  was  pledged  not  to 
desert  the  inhabitants.  He  had  encouraged 
them  to  hope  that  a  Soudanese  Govern- 


KHARTOUM.  83 

ment  would  be  formed  ;  he  had  called 
upon  them  to  make  serious  sacrifices  ;  by 
the  mere  fact  of  his  presence  among  them 
he  had  prevented  them  from  coming  to 
terms  with  the  only  rising  power  in  their 
country.  Having  done  all  this,  he  could 
not  honourably  go  away  and  leave  them 
exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  their  enemies. 
How  bitterly  he  resented  the  conduct  of 
the  Government  he  showed  in  the  famous 
dispatch  of  the  i6th  of  April — the  last 
received  before  the  final  severing  of  the 
telegraph  :  "  As  far  as  I  can  understand, 
the  situation  is  this  :  you  state  your  in- 
tention of  not  sending  any  relief  up  here 
or  to  Berber,  and  you  refuse  me  Zebehr. 
I  consider  myself  free  to  act  according  to 
circumstances.  I  shall  hold  on  here  as 
long  as  I  can,  and  if  I  can  suppress  the 
rebellion  I  shall  do  so.  If  I  cannot,  I 
shall  retire  to  the  Equator,  and  leave  you 
the  indelible  disgrace  of  abandoning  the 
garrisons  of  Senaar,  Kassala,  Berber,  and 
Dongola,  with  the  certainty  that  you  will 

G  2 


84      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

eventually  be  forced  to  smash  up  the 
Mahdi  under  great  difficulties  if  you  would 
retain  peace  in  Egypt." 

Abandoned  by  the  Government,  Gordon 
tried  in  desperation  to  obtain  help  by  other 
means.  Before  he  was  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  the  outer  world  he  tele- 
graphed to  his  friend,  Sir  Samuel  Baker, 
to  ask  whether  "an  appeal  to  the  million- 
aires of  America  and  England,  for  the 
raising  of  _;^200,ooo,  would  be  of  any 
avail."  "With  this  sum  you  might  get 
permission  of  the  Sultan  for  the  loan  of 
2000  or  3000  men,  and  send  them  up  to 
Berber.  With  these  men  we  could  not 
only  settle  our  affairs  here,  but  also  do  for 
the  Mahdi,  in  whose  collapse  the  Sultan 
would  be  necessarily  interested.  I  would 
not  send  many  Europeans  with  them,  as 
they  cost  too  much,  and  I  will  put  Zebehr 
in  command." 

In  the  midst  of  his  perplexities,  Gordon 
was  able  for  some  time  to  give  his  friends 
an  occasional  glimpse  of  the  thoughts  and 


KHARTOUM.  85 

aspirations  which  no  external  troubles 
could  quench.  On  the  24th  of  February- 
he  wrote:  "An  eventful  day  in  1870  for 
all  your  circle.  [The  reference  is  to  the 
birthday  of  Angela  Annie  Barnes.]  I 
hope  God  will  bless  you  all.  I  am  all 
right,  but  there  is  no  '■eating^  up  here, 
which  I  miss.  Things  look  settling  down 
a  little,  but  I  have  the  weight  on  me  at 
times  very  heavily,  and  the  natural  in- 
firmity of  human  nature  brings  me  down. 
It  is  as  well  it  should  be  so,  for  the  for- 
bidden fruit  is  glorying  in  self,  which  one 
is  prone  to  do.  Herod  was  eaten  by 
worms  for  not  giving  glory  to  God  when 
the  people  cheered  him.  I  have  no  time. 
C,  G.  Gordon." 

The  next  letter  he  sent  me  was  dated 
the  3rd  of  March  : — 

"Thanks  for  your  letter  of  28th  Janu- 
ary, received  to-day.  Thanks  for  all  the 
pains  you  have  taken  about  the  Reflections. 
As  to  the  title,  I  am  interested,  for  I  hope 
the  book  may  tend  to  show  forth  God's 


86      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

dwellinof  in  us.  This  is  the  sfreat  secret. 
I  would  sooner  pay  more  than  £2^  than 
have  any  bother  to  you.  About  Congo, 
there  is  no  issue.  I  shall  (d.v.)  start  for  it 
in  September,  1884,  when  I  hope  to  be  at 
Brussels.  God  made  us,  to  have  a  house 
to  live  in  :  without  us  He  is  houseless.  He 
needs  us,  and  how  much  more  do  we  need 
Him !  I  am  comforted  up  here  in  my 
weakness  by  the  reflection — Our  Lord 
rules  all  things,  and  it  is  dire  rebellion  to 
dislike  or  murmur  against  His  rule.  May 
His  name  be  glorified  —  these  people 
blessed  and  comforted,  and  may  I  be 
deeply  humbled,  and  thus  have  a  greater 
sense  of  His  indwelling  Spirit.  This  is 
my  earnest  prayer.     Kindest  love  to  you 

all,  and  to .     Believe  me,  yours  ever 

sincerely,  C.  G.  Gordon." 

His  last  note  to  me,  dated  the  6th  of 
March,  ended  with  the  words :  **  Let  no 
news  from  hence  move  you.  He  over- 
rules all  for  good." 

The  Arabs  began  to  attack  Khartoum 


KHARTOUM.  87 

on  the  1 2th  of  March,  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  Gordon  was  engaged  in 
defending  the  city  against  its  assailants. 
The  record  of  his  achievements  in  this 
memorable  sieofe  will  form  one  of  the  most 
heart- stirring  pages  in  English  history. 

Khartoum  is  situated  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Blue  Nile,  and  within  about 
three  miles  of  that  river's  junction  with 
the  White  Nile.  Both  the  rivers  are  from 
600  to  800  yards  in  width  at  their  lowest 
point.  The  Blue  Nile,  though  fordable 
at  its  lowest  season  in  many  places  above 
the  town,  has  very  steep  banks.  The 
White  Nile  is  fordable  only  in  one  or  two 
places  far  up,  and  has  a  dyke  on  its  right 
bank.  The  ferry  over  this  river  can  be 
strongly  defended,  and  adequate  measures 
were  taken  by  Gordon  for  its  defence. 

Gordon  had  several  Yarrow-built 
steamers,  which,  with  remarkable  inge- 
nuity, he  made  bullet-proof.  He  also 
erected  on  them  towers  capable  of  de- 
livering  a   powerful   fire.       He   thus   not 


88      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

only  rendered  himself  perfectly  secure 
from  the  north  and  west,  but  was  able  to 
make  sorties  and  gather  provisions  for  his 
garrison. 

Towards  the  south,  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  town,  Khartoum  was  defended 
by  earthworks  with  ditches,  extending 
from  the  White  Nile  to  the  Blue  Nile,  a 
length  of  about  three  miles.  Within  this 
exterior  line,  the  outskirts  of  the  town 
formed  a  good  second  irregular  line ;  and 
in  Khartoum  itself  guns  were  mounted  on 
the  public  buildings,  the  Palace  being,  in 
Gordon's  words,  "  the  great  place  for  the 
firing."  It  was  his  habit  every  morning, 
shortly  after  sunrise,  to  scan  the  surround- 
ing country  from  these  dominating  points, 
and  to  note  any  change  in  the  enemy's 
situation. 

The  first  battle  was  fought  on  the  i6th 
of  March,  and  this  engagement  Gordon 
himself  described : 

"At  8  A.M.  on  the  i6th,  two  steamers 
started  for    Halfaya.     Bashi-Bazouks  and 


KHARTOUM.  89 

some  regulars  advanced  across  plain  to- 
wards rebels.  At  lo  a.m.  the  regulars 
were  in  square  opposite  centre  of  rebels' 
position,  and  Bashi-Bazouks  were  extended 
in  their  line  to  their  right.  The  gun  with 
regulars  then  opened  fire.  Very  soon  after 
this  a  body  of  about  sixty  rebel  horsemen 
charged  down  a  little  to  the  right  of  centre 
of  Bashi-Bazouks'  line.  The  latter  fired  a 
volley,  then  turned  and  fled.  The  horse- 
men galloped  towards  the  square,  which 
they  immediately  broke.  The  whole  force 
then  retreated  slowly  towards  the  fort  with 
their  rifles  shouldered.  The  horsemen 
continued  to  ride  along  flanks  cutting  off 
stragglers.  The  men  made  no  effort  to 
stand,  and  the  gun  was  abandoned  with 
63  rounds  and  15  cases  of  reserve  am- 
munition. The  rebels  advanced,  and  the 
retreat  of  our  men  was  so  rapid  that 
the  Arabs  on  foot  had  no  chance  of  at- 
tacking. Pursuit  ceased  about  a  mile 
from  stockade,  and  the  men  rallied.  We 
brought  in  the  wounded.     Nothing  could  be 


90       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

more  dismal  than  seeing  these  horsemen, 
and  some  men  even  on  camels,  pursuing 
close  to  troops  who,  with  arms  shouldered, 
plodded  their  way  back." 

Most  commanders  would  have  aban- 
doned the  hope  of  being  able  to  do  any- 
thing with  such  troops.  Not  so  General 
Gordon.  Two  Pashas  who  had  disgraced 
themselves  in,  the  battle  were  tried  and 
found  guilty  of  cowardice,  and  by  his 
orders  they  were  shot.  His  "sheep"  he 
made  determined  efforts  to  convert  into 
soldiers. 

After  this  defeat  there  was  continual 
skirmishing  with  the  Arabs.  On  one 
occasion,  when  the  river  rose,  they  were 
driven  off  in  three  or  four  engagements, 
and  their  towns  were  burned.  Gordon 
sent  up  two  expeditions  to  Senaar  ;  and  in 
a  battle  fought  on  the  25th  of  August  his 
troops  took  the  Arab  camp  and  killed  the 
Arab  commander-in-chief.  On  the  4th  of 
September  the  Arabs  gained  a  victory  ; 
but  they  derived  from  it  no  solid  advan- 


KHARTOUM.  9 I 

tage,  and  for  some  time  afterwards  there 
was  "  comparative  quiet."  In  a  letter  to 
the  officer  commanding  the  royal  navy  at 
Massowah,  dated  August  24th,  Gordon 
mentioned  that  his  steamers  had  been 
doing  "splendid  work."  "You  see,"  he 
added  with  grim  humour,  "when  you  have 
steam  on,  the  men  can't  run  away,  and 
must  go  into  action." 

During  the  whole  course  of  the  siege  he 
displayed  his  usual  dauntless  spirit  and 
inexhaustible  resource.  When  the  Arabs 
captured  two  small  steamers  at  Berber  and 
one  on  the  Blue  Nile,  he  caused  two  new 
steamers  to  be  built.  His  exterior  lines 
he  defended  by  means  of  wire  entangle- 
ments, with  live  shells  as  mines  ;  and  these 
land-torpedoes  (used  for  the  first  time) 
"  did  great  execution,"  They  were  ignited 
with  lucifer  matches.  On  the  nth  of 
November  (the  date  of  an  important  letter 
to  Lord  Wolseley)  his  soldiers  were  only 
half-a-month  in  arrears  ;  and  he  had 
evidently  succeeded  in  inspiring  many  of 


92      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

them  with  something  of  his  own  courage 
and  vigour. 

He  had  never  ceased  to  resent  the 
strange  indifference  of  the  authorities  at 
home  to  the  events  in  which  he  was  play- 
ing so  great  a  part.  On  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember he  wrote  to  the  Khedive,  Nubar 
Pasha,  and  Sir  E.  Baring:  "How  many 
times  have  we  written  asking  for  reinforce- 
ments, calling  your  serious  attention  to  the 
Soudan  ?  No  answer  at  all  has  come  to 
us  as  to  what  has  been  decided  in  the 
matter,  and  the  hearts  of  men  have  become 
weary  of  this  delay.  While  you  are  eating, 
drinking,  and  resting  on  good  beds,  we 
and  those  with  us,  both  soldiers  and 
servants,  are  watching  by  night  and  day, 
endeavouring  to  quell  the  movement  of 
this  false  Mahdi,  Of  course  you  take  no 
interest  for  suppressing  this  rebellion,  the 
serious  consequences  of  which  are  reverse 
of  victorious  for  you,  and  the  neglect 
thereof  will  not  do."  It  was  in  order  that 
the  English  Government  might  learn  the 


KHARTOUM.  93 

whole  truth  about  the  state  of  the  Soudan, 
that  Colonel  Stewart  and  the  French  and 
English  Consuls  started  in  September  on 
the  journey  which  was  to  have  so  sad 
a  close. 

Towards   the   end   of   1884   there   was 
much   hard  fighting   at    Khartoum  ;    and, 
notwithstanding    Gordon's    written    mes- 
sages,    he    had    forebodings    of     coming 
disaster.     The   runner   who   brought   the 
famous  note  of  the   14th  of  December — 
"  Khartoum  all  right" — was  instructed  to 
say,  "  Our  troops  in  Khartoum  are  suffer- 
ing  from   lack  of  provisions.      Food   we 
still  have  is  little  ;  some  grain  and  biscuit. 
We  want  you    to   come  quickly.  ...   In 
Khartoum  there  are  no  butter  nor  dates, 
and  little  meat.     All  food   is  very  dear." 
On  the  very  day  on  which  he  wrote  that 
Khartoum  was  "all  right,"  he  also  wrote 
to  a  friend  in  Cairo  :  "All  is  up.     I  expect 
a  catastrophe  in  ten  days'  time.     It  would 
not  have  been  so  if  our  people  had  kept 
me  informed  as  to  their  intentions.     My 
adieux  to  all." 


94      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1885,  soon 
after  the  hard-won  victory  at  Abou-Klea, 
in  which  Sir  Herbert  Stewart  received  his 
fatal  wound,  Sir  Charles  Wilson  ap- 
proached Khartoum  with  soldiers,  food, 
and  ammunition.  A  heavy  fire  was 
opened  on  his  steamers,  and  he  was  un- 
able to  land.  The  town  which  had  been 
so  grandly  defended  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Mahdi.  Two  days  before  Sir  Charles 
Wilson's  arrival  the  besiegers  had  been 
admitted  by  traitors,  and  Gordon  had 
been  killed. 

So  ended  a  career  as  romantic  and  as 
noble  as  any  that  the  modern  world  has 
seen.  When  the  terrible  tidings  were 
made  known,  England  mourned  for 
Gordon  as  she  has  seldom  mourned  even 
for  her  heroes.  His  unworldly  temper, 
his  ardent  faith,  his  magnificent  energy, 
his  sublime  unselfishness — in  all  this  there 
was  something  that  captivated  the  heart 
of  the  nation ;  and  it  needed  but  the 
crowning  glory  of  his  death  to  evoke  an 


KHARTOUM.  95 

expression  of  love  and  reverence  to  which 
there  is  hardly  a  parallel  in  our  history. 
They  who  knew  him  best  knew  that  his 
countrymen  had  obeyed  a  true  instinct  in 
placing  him,  even  while  he  lived,  beside 
those  whose  names  are  "  on  fame's  eternal 
bead-roll  worthy  to  be  filed."  With  regard 
to  Gordon's  character  there  are  no  popular 
illusions  to  be  dispelled.  The  more  closely 
it  is  studied  the  deeper  will  be  the  admi- 
ration excited  by  his  strength,  his  tender- 
ness, his  purity,  and  his  honour. 


APPENDIX. 


II 


98       CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 


A. 

Gordon's  family  is  of  Scottish  origin.  In 
the  service  of  Peter  the  Great  there  was 
a  General  Gordon,  who  in  a  barbarous 
and  coarse  society  maintained  his  inte- 
grity ;  and  it  is  worth  noting  that  his 
favourite  author  was  Thomas  a  Kempis. 
A  distinguished  officer  who  was  one 
of  Gordon's  immediate  ancestors  served 
under  Wolfe  on  the  plains  of  Abraham. 

Gordon's  grandfather,  Captain  William 
Augustus  Gordon,  R.A.,  lived  in  Exeter; 
and  in  the  present  church  of  St.  Thomas, 
a  suburb  of  Exeter,  there  are  monuments 
which,  with  the  more  recent  monuments 
in  the  cemetery  at  Southampton,  give  the 
family  history  through  a  full  century. 
Over  one  of  the  vaults  in  the  church  of 
St.  Thomas,  near  Exeter,  is  the  following 
inscription  :— "  Anna  Maria  Gordon  died 
in  Exeter,  25th  February,  1796,  aged  47, 
after  two  days'  illness,  and  her  son  on  the 


APPENDIX.  99 

8th  March,  1796,  by  a  fall  from  his  horse 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  the 
19th  year  of  his  age."  These  were 
Gordon's  grandmother  and  uncle.  Captain 
Gordon,  the  bereaved  husband  and  father, 
died  at  Exeter,  in  June  1809,  and  his  body 
was  buried  in  the  same  vault. 

Gordon's  father,  the  late  Lieutenant- 
General  Henry  W.  Gordon,  R.A.,  was 
born  in  Devon,  and  always  reckoned  him- 
self a  Devonshire  man.  Both  he  and 
Gordon's  mother  (whose  maiden  name 
was  Enderby)  were  alive  at  the  time  of 
their  son's  successes  in  China. 

The  family  is  one  of  soldiers,  and  they 
have  served  chiefly  in  the  Royal  Artillery. 


lOO     CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 


B. 

The  following  letters  were  written  in 
January,  1884,  when  Gordon  was  on  the 
way  to  Egypt  : — 

Mont  Cenis,  19.  i.  84. 

My  dear  Mr.  Barnes, — 

I  left  last  night  for  Soudan  to  ar- 
range for  evacuation.  I  enclose  cheque 
for  book  ;  if  more  is  wanted  up  to  ^10 
I  will  send  it,  for  it  ought  to  be  done  well. 
Colonel  Sir  C.  Warren,  R.E.,  Chatham, 
would  give  a  good  plan  of  Jerusalem 
without  the  debris.  I  hope  you,  Mrs. 
Barnes  and  the  six  are  well,  also  Miss 
Freeman.  Ministers  said  they  were  deter- 
mined to  evacuate.  Would  I  go  and 
superintend  it  ?  I  said  "  Yes."  Good 
night.      With    kindest   love    to   you.       I 


LETTERS.  lOI 

expected  Baker     ere,   but  he  may  be  at 
Brindisi. 

[No  signature  follows.] 


At  Sea,  22.  I.  84. 

My  dear  Mr.  Barnes, — 

Your  letter  written  on  Epiphany  has 
been  read,  but  I  have  seen  you  since. 
The  repentant  thief  was  on  right  side — 
the  side  pierced — this  is  another  point 
which  fixes  the  side  pierced.  On  the  left 
was  the  unrepentant  thief. 

You  must  be  told  shortly  what  passed. 
You  know  Wolseley  sent  a  telegram  to 
me  at  your  house,  but  I  did  not  know  it 
until  Sunday — he  said,  "  Come  up  at  once." 
This  telegram  came  when  I  was  so  bothered 
that  I  said  to  my  sister,  "  I  will  fly  on 
Wednesday,  the  i6th,  to  Brussels;"  so  I 
said  to  Wolseley,  "  I  will  come  up  on 
Tuesday  the  15th  and  go  to  Brussels  on 


I02      CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

1 6th."  I  reached  London  at  2  p.m.,  Tues- 
day, stayed  with  Wolseley  in  Wolseley's 
office  from  2  till  5  p.m.,  while  he  talked  to 
Ministers.  Nothing,  however,  came  of  it  ; 
so  I  said,  "  I  will  go  to  Brussels."  I  did 
not  see  Ministers.  I  consequently  went 
to  Brussels  on  Wednesday,  and  got 
there  Wednesday  night.  At  noon  on 
Thursday  I  got  telegram  from  Wolseley 
saying,  "  Come  over  at  once  ;"  so  I  saw  the 
King,  who  did  not  like  my  going,  and  left 
Brussels  at  8  p.m.,  Thursday,  reaching 
London  at  6  a.m.,  Friday.  I  saw  Wolseley 
at  8  A.M.  He  said  nothing  was  settled, 
but  Ministers  would  see  me  at  3.30  p.m. 
No  one  knew  I  had  come  back.  At  noon 
he,  Wolseley,  came  for  me,  and  took  me 
to  Ministers.  He  went  in  and  talked  to 
the  Ministers,  and  came  back  and  said : 
"  Her  Majesty's  Government  want  you  to 
understand  this — Government  are  deter- 
mined to  evacuate  Soudan,  for  they  will 
not  o^uarantee  future  grovernment.  Will 
you  go  and  do  it  ?"     I  said  "  Yes."     He 


LETTERS.  103 

said,  "  Go  in."  I  went  in  and  saw  them. 
They  said,  "Did  Wolseley  tell  you  our 
orders?"  I  said  "Yes."  I  said,  "You 
will  not  guarantee  future  government  of 
Soudan,  and  you  wish  me  to  go  up  to 
evacuate  now."  They  said  "  Yes,"  and  it 
was  over,  and  I  left  at  8  p.m.  for  Calais. 
Very  little  passed  between  us.  The  Duke 
and  Wolseley  came  to  see  me  off,  so  that 
is  over. 

The  day  after  to-morrow  I  reach,  D.V., 
Port  Said,  and  go  through  Canal  on 
to  Suakim  by  H.M.S.  'Carysfort,'  and 
reach  that,  D.V.,  on  my  birthday.  I  am 
quite  restored  to  my  peace,  thank  God  ! 
and  in  His  hand  He  will  hide  me.  You 
and  I  are  equally  exposed  to  the  attacks 
of  the  enemy.  Me  not  a  bit  more  than 
you  are.  Kindest  love  to  you  all.  I  am 
sorry  not  to  have  time  to  write  to  you 
graphic  details.  Lord  Granville  thanked 
me  for  going  very  nicely.  Government 
are  right,  if  they  will  not  guarantee  future 
government    of   Soudan,    to    evacuate    it. 


I04  CHARLES    GEORGE    GORDON. 

Good  bye,  kindest  regards  to  the  Temples, 
Bowring,  Blackmore,  and  you  all. 

Yours  sincerely, 

*         My  dear  friend, 

C.  G.  Gordon. 

The  Hosts  are  with  me,  "  Mahanaim."  * 

*  Gordon  frequently  referred  to  the  word  "  Mahanaim," 
and  he  liked  the  full  explanation  of  its  meaning  given 
in  Smith's  '  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.'  It  means  "  the 
two  hosts,"  and  is  so  used  by  the  patriarchs  in  Holy 
Scripture. 

It  is  necessary  to  add  that  these  letters,  although  appa- 
rently private  and  confidential  in  their  character,  were 
not  intended  by  the  writer  to  be  so  regarded.  They 
belong  to  a  series  of  which  the  first  letter  states  that  I  am 
to  make  them  known  as  I  may  see  tit,  and  whensoever 
I  may  see  fit.  He  called  on  me  as  a  friend,  to  whom  he 
had  said  "  that  he  should  probably  not  see  me  again  on 
earth,"  both  "  to  defend  his  character  and  to  make  known 
his  religious  views ; "  adding  that  I  was  to  "  act  on  my 
sole  discretion  and  responsibility." 


LONDON:    PRINTED    BY   WILLIAM    CLOWES  AND   SONS,    LIMITED, 
STAMFORD   STREET   AND   CHARING   CROSS. 


llE88RS.    MACMILLAN    &   CO.'S    PUBLICATIONS. 


BY  THE  LATE  GENERAL  GORDON. 

REFLECTIONS  IN  PALESTINE,  1883. 

By  CHARLES  GEORGE  GORDON. 

Crown  8vo,     3J-.'  6;/. 

'•It  must  command  the  most  respectful  attention.  '1  lie  earnestness  of 
General  Gordon  is  stamped  on  every  line,  while  his  strong  and  original  views 

are  expressed  with  characteristic  self-contidence lie  only  knows  one 

book,  and  that  is  the  Bible  ;    but  of  tlie  Eible  his  knowleilge  is  exhaustive 

and  profound But  we  have  said  enough  to  show  that  the  '  Rellections  ' 

are  a  clue  to  the  heroic  character  of  the  man,  who  has  set  liefore  him  ideals 
impossible,  indeed,  of  attainment,  but  towards  which  he  is  always  striving  to 
elevate  hi)iiself ;  who  seeks  to  mortify  self,  like  his  model,  Thomas  a  Kem[ns, 
and  carries  with  him  the  profound  conviction  that,  happen  \\hat  will,  his 
prayers  are  being  heard  and  his  footsteps  directed." — I'lincs. 

"  It  is  a  very  distinct  indication  of  how  much  the  appreciation  of  historical 
and  sacramental  Christianity  is  'in  the  air.'  It  is  evidence  of  the  hold  which 
this  Christianity  has,  even  of  tliose  who  may  be  most  unconscious  of  its 
presence,  or  who  believe  themselves  inimical  to  its  progress.  Short  of  a  miracle, 
no  soldier,  however  pious  and  heroic,  of  the  last  or  the  last  but  one  generation, 

could  have  written  the  book, Whatever  may  be  the  secret  of  its  inceptioM 

the  phenomenal  value  of  the  book  is  incontestable." — Satjtrday  RcvienK 

EGYPT,   the  NILE,  ^nd  the   SOUDAN. 

Sir    Samuel    W.    Baker's    Records  of*  liis  Joumeyings,   and 
Exploring   Expeditions  in  ABYSSINIA,  THE  VALLE7  of  the 
Nile,  and  The  Soudan,  contain  full  and  detailed  accounts 
ol  these  rarely  travelled  Districts. 
Works  by  Sir  Samuel  White  Baker,  M.A.,  F.R.G.S.,  F.R.S. 

ISMAILIA.  A  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  to  Central  Africa  for  the 
Suppression  of  die  Slave  Trade,  organised  by  Ismail,  Khedive  of  Egypt.  With  Maps, 
I'liruaits,  and  numerous  Illustrations,  by  Zwkcker  .and  JJikanh.  New  and  Cheaper 
Edition,  with  New  Preface.     Crown  8vo,.     6.s-. 

THE    NILE   TRIBUTARIES    OP    ABYSSINIA,   AND   THE 

SWORD  HUNTERS  OF  THE  HAMRAN  ARABS.     With  Maps  and  Illustration,. 
New  and  Cheaper  Edition.     C'rowu  8\o.     6j'. 
V  This  Work  aftbrds  the  most  complete  Account  of  THE  SOUDAN  and  snrronnd- 
11,^  distant  portions  of  Egyptian  'territory.-. •:/  ———^.^ 

THE  ALBERT  N'YANZA  GREAT  BASIN  OF  THE  NILE, 

AND  EXPLORATION  OE   THE   NILE    SoUKi.KS.      New  and  Jheaper  Editinn. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.     Crown  8vo.     6.v. 

THE    EGYPTIAN    QUESTION.      Being  Letters  to  tiie    '/'whs  and 

\\\<:  Tail  Mali  Gazette.     With  Map.     Demy  8vo.     2*' 

MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  LONDON, 

1. 


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