"You will not care overmuch for my secular history, but will say, 'What did you learn on the passage?' Well, the passage was truly a fearful trial; dirt prevailed in everything; the bilge-water literally, when pumped out from decayed sugar, tore up the very inmost parts of the stomach, and showed me that, if that was wrong, life was unendurable. I am not generally sick at sea, but I was nearly dead with it; perhaps it was Mauritius fever coming out. Salt water had got into the tank and we had to drink it. I was very, very ill, but through it all I would not have changed one iota of the voyage....
"I am a rag; that voyage in the Scotia has killed me. I went to Dr. Abercromby, and he told me I was on the verge of an attack of jaundice. I am certainly better, but feel far from well. Listless, worried in body, not a bit in spirits, and as if I had eaten copper. I want to get into the position of delighting to accept and do His will, yet I feel so very much inclined to wish His will might be my release....
"Earth's joys grow very dim, its glories have faded. My Mauritius sojourn has quenched to a great degree my desire for anything but to be with Jesus. Everybody is very kind here and complimentary, but all compliments are to me but sounds of the wind. If it was Jesus' will, how delighted I should be to be called away, to be a nail in His footstool, and how willingly I would have every one to be higher than me in heaven!"
There was, however, some mitigation to the horrors of this voyage, for, during it, he heard of his promotion to the rank of major-general, which gave him very great satisfaction, as he was beginning to fear that, as the War Office authorities had failed to offer him an appointment worthy of his merits, they might also see fit to pass him over in the matter of promotion. Before he had heard the news he had written:—
"Why am I not in the Gazette? I will not move, but it seems odd. Anyway, if they do not promote me, I shall hope for strength to bear it. He is ruler, and I love Jesus irrespective of His mighty rank and power. At Communion this morning I asked Christ to let me rest, and then He should take the post of Commandant-General, and that I should be passive in the matter. Good-bye, my dear Augusta, fifteen years more."
He arrived at the Cape on May 3rd, 1882, and at once made the acquaintance of the Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, and the Premier, Mr. Merriman. He found things in a very unsatisfactory condition, and nearly decided to have nothing to do with them. The Cape Government were in an awkward position, the affairs of the Basuto war being in the hands of Mr. Orpen, in whom the Government had no confidence, but whom, for party reasons, they did not like to remove. Consequently they could not entrust matters entirely to General Gordon. He good-naturedly yielded to pressure, accepted the post of Commandant-General, on £1200 per annum, and undertook to report to the Cape Government his suggestions for the improvement of the army generally, as well as the best means for bringing the Basuto trouble to a speedy termination. The arrangement was a very unsatisfactory one, but, with that public spiritedness which so characterised him, Gordon threw himself thoroughly into the business, and, before the end of the month, he drew up a most able, statesman-like paper on the whole subject. With most it would have been a piece of presumption for a man during a single month, much of which was spent in travelling, to attempt such a task, more especially as some of the questions were extremely difficult. But such was Gordon's capacity for work, and for grasping complex questions, that not only was the paper he drew up most exhaustive, but, read in the light of subsequent events, it shows how well-informed he was, and what an impartial mind he brought to bear on the subjects before him. He read very quickly, he could at a glance grasp the salient points of any question, and, having a wonderfully retentive memory, no important detail was lost sight of. He wrote both quickly and clearly, and had the faculty of presenting his points in a lucid manner. Like many military men, who are, when young, taken from their studies, he did not always write in the best of English, but he made up for this in the remarkable manner in which he could marshal facts and arguments, and the ease with which he carried his reader along. In his letters and journals he does not do himself justice as a writer, but in his official despatches and memoranda he shows that, not least among his accomplishments, was the gift of being able to write well, and to the point. His memorandum on the reform of the Cape army was very able, though too long to reproduce here. Briefly stated it showed how an army of 8000 men could be maintained instead of the 1600 men then under arms, and at a reduced cost of £7000 per annum! He also pointed out how unjustly the Basutos had been treated, and suggested as a remedy that they should be invited to assemble a general council in which to ventilate their grievances, and that steps should be taken to remove these grievances. He advocated giving them a semi-independent position, with power to manage their own affairs, and to administer justice without the intervention of foreign magistrates, some of whom, in Gordon's opinion, were very corrupt.
Those who have studied the affairs of South Africa, and the history of Christian missions there, will not need to be told what an interesting people the Basutos are. But for others, it may be as well to say that this branch of the Kaffir race are not only among the most civilised of all the African races, but a large proportion of them are Christian in something more than name. The old chieftain Moshesh, who reigned some fifty years ago, was a man of marked ability, and, though a great soldier, he hated war. Having heard of the work of the celebrated Dr. Moffat among the Korannas, he sent to invite this "man of prayer, and teacher of the Christian religion," to visit him. To cut a long story short, some French Protestant missionaries responded to the invitation, and were wonderfully blessed in their work. Hundreds of converts were received into the Christian Church, and instead of war and bloodshed prevailing, men were instructed how to cultivate fields and build houses.
In the Kaffir war of 1852 Sir George Cathcart was informed that Moshesh was the centre of intrigue, and, ill-advised, he attacked that chieftain and was defeated. When the attack was about to be renewed, he received from Moshesh the following message: "O my master, I am still your servant; I am still the child of the Queen. Sometimes a man beats his dog, and the dog puts his teeth into his hands, and gives him a bite: nevertheless the dog loves the master, and the master loves the dog, and will not kill it. I am vexed at what happened yesterday; let it be forgotten." Fortunately Sir George Cathcart had sufficient nobility of character to appreciate this message. Peace was made, and Sir George afterwards said of Moshesh, "I found him not only to be the most enlightened, but the most upright chief in South Africa, and one in whose good faith I put the most perfect confidence, and for whom, therefore, I have a sincere respect and regard." Moshesh died in 1870, and the policy he had initiated was carried on by his successor Masupha.
Unfortunately the Cape Government wanted to deprive the Basutos of their right to carry arms, and this they resented. Gordon's sympathies were entirely with them. There were other abuses, such as bad magistrates, which were even admitted by the Secretary for Native Affairs, and Gordon came to the conclusion that the Basutos had been very badly treated. They were loyal to the Queen, but objected to being put under the Cape Government, disliking the Dutch element which has such influence at the Cape.