Dr. Guthrie once said, “It is very remarkable, and highly creditable to the loyalty and bravery of our British soldiers, that, notwithstanding all the wars in which they have been engaged, no foreign nation to-day flaunts a British flag as a trophy of its victory and of our defeat. Nor in the proud pillar raised by the great Napoleon in commemoration of his many victories—a pillar made of the cannons taken by him in battles, is there an ounce of metal that belongs to a British gun.” The characteristics of the bravest of our British
soldiers were pre-eminently displayed in Gordon. For—
“He holds no party with unmanly fears,
Where duty points he confidently steers:
Faces a thousand dangers at her call,
And trusting in his God surmounts them all.”
His soldierly qualities were very often put to the test in this strange land. Hung, the leader of this rebellion, had become so popular and made such marvellous progress that when Gordon had organized his ever victorious army, Hung had captured Nanking, one of the principal cities, and made this his capital; and here, under the very shadow of the Chinese metropolis, he established himself in royal state. His followers were held together by the force of his religious tenets; they believed in him as the Lord from Heaven, who would save the suffering minds and give them a celestial reward. A missionary who was in Nanking, Rev. J. L. Holmes, gives his impressions of this warlike devotee. “At night (he says) we witnessed their worship. It occurred at the beginning of their sabbath, midnight on Friday. The place of worship was the Chung-Wang’s private audience
room. He was himself seated in the midst of his attendants, no females were present. They first sang, or rather chanted; after which a written prayer was read, then burned by an officer; then they rose and sang again, then separated. The Chung-wang sent for me before he left his seat, and asked me if I understood their mode of worship. I replied I had just seen it for the first time. He explained that the Tien-wang had been to the celestial world and had seen the Great God and obtained a revelation! &c. . . . As the day dawned we started for the Palace of the Tien-wang. The procession was headed by a number of brilliantly coloured banners, after which followed a troop of armed soldiers; then came the Chung-wang in a large sedan, covered with yellow satin and embroidery, and borne by eight coolies. Music of a peculiar kind added to the scene, as the curious sightseers lined the streets on either side, who probably never saw such a sight before. Reaching the “Morning Palace,” we were presented to the Tsau-wang and his son with several others including the Tien-wang’s two brothers, who were seated in a deep recess
over the entrance of which was written “Illustrious Heavenly Door.” In another place was “Holy Heavenly Gate,” from which a boy of about fourteen made his appearance and took his place with the royal group; then they proceeded with their religious ceremonies again: this time kneeling with their faces to the Tien-wang’s seat. Then they sang in a standing position. A roast pig and the body of a goat were lying with other articles on tables in the outer court, and a fire was kept burning on a stone altar in the front of the Tien-wang’s seat. Afterwards, says the missionary, I was led through a number of rooms and courts to see Chung-wang privately. I was brought into one of his private sitting-rooms, where he sat clothed loosely in white silk, with a red kerchief round his head, and a jewel in front. He was seated in an easy chair, and fanned by a pretty slipshod girl. He asked me to a seat beside him and questioned me about a map he had seen with parallel lines running each way, said to have been made by foreigners, asked me to explain what it was. He also showed me a musical-box and a spy-glass, asking many
questions. From all I could learn by my visit to this pretender there was nothing in their religion to elevate, but everything to degrade. With them to rob and murder were virtuous deeds. “Slay the imps” was their watchword. Gordon found in this fanatic a foe of no mean order. But he soon found too that courage and faith in God had done and would still lead to victory. In a letter home he says—“I am afraid you will be much vexed at my having taken the command of the Sung-kiang force, and that I am now a mandarin. I have taken the step on consideration. I think that any one who contributes to putting down this rebellion fulfils a human task, and also tends a great deal to open China to civilization. I will not act rashly, and I trust to be able soon to return to England; at the same time I will remember your and my father’s wishes, and endeavour to remain as short a time as possible. I can say that if I had not accepted the command I believe the force would have been broken up and the rebellion gone on in its misery for years. I trust this will not now be the case, and that I may soon be able to comfort you on this subject. You must not
fret about me, I think I am doing a good service . . . I keep your likeness before me, and can assure you and my father that I will not be rash, and that as soon as I can conveniently, and with due regard to the object I have in view, I will come home.”
Gordon had hardly yet realized the difficulties and dangers which beset him. His troops were undisciplined and largely composed of all nationalities. Men bent on plunder, and exceedingly numerous; about 120,000 men. Gordon’s appointment as Chief in Command of the “Ever Victorious Army” proved to be a wise and good one for China.
Colonel Chesney thus writes:—“If General Staveley had made a mistake in the operations he personally conducted the year before, he more than redeemed it by the excellence of his choice of Gordon. This strange army was made up of French, Germans, Americans, Spaniards, some of good and some of bad character, but in their chief they had one whose courage they were bound to admire, and whose justice they could not help but admit. The private plundering of vanquished towns and cities allowed