Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-03-01

t|oe<. h Of tic mort acut6 kiad - per-
spauJ sQrrpw v3der whjpb men could
We<P for pity snd disappointment: aud
i Fetchss down 10 tllc Iowest grades Of
eeciety. In England. though perhaps
M keen. owing 70 difference IN the
natioaal capacity for enthusiasm. 1t Is
equally sincere. and IN the towns at
leaet equally diffascd. Throughout the
hlsnd The whole people rrieves Tor
Gepcsxl Gordon with strong grief,
with sense OF loss which is
personal and wholly independent
81 the sense OF disaster created By
Ne fsll Of Khartorm. They would
have let II fall, IL only in the ex-
trtm< hour be could have escaped to the
hkes. General Gordon's personality
ives, IN fact, possession Of the whole
people, wanting which every man feels
senethine The poorer. lie was man
After their own heart, hero OF the
precise type which they deem the most
heroic; and could his body be brought
10 EngIsnd Il would be followed to the
srave Nv multitude such as even this
esnsraticn never witnessed; while the
msnaIncnt which viii yet rise above his
bepes in Khartoum, If he has fallen
there. wculd, IL IL fully realized ma
tionsl feeling, ovcrtop tho Pyramids.
This reverence and affection for a
nan VINO was neither King nor Minister
nor hero Of many battles, felt by an
entire nation. is the more wonderful be
cause II was inspired almost entirely by
the.hcro's character. A man may be
: severe Calvinist like Sir Henry Have
lock, or . semi Catholic like General
Gordon, or anything between the two ;
bat IL he holds visibly and Enthusiastically
that God rules--rulcs directly and i'm
nediately. taking heed for the world
end that obedience TO His will is the
iirst, or indeed the only, duty Of the
Just rnan---the English heart goes out
to him. He is regarded as one who IS
subjee; only to the higher law. is released
to = marvellous extent, not only from or
binary rules, butfrom military discipline,
and Is left free TO take his course, as the
in some sense acknowledged agent Of q
Higher Power. IL General Gordon adj
yised that he should be sent alone, that
was wise, and the solitary traveller
q camel - was expected to control
all Arabia /; If he wrote for armies, that
Was wise too. and the Government was
constrained to send them. A notion
that General Gordon's faith would give
him insight, that he would be specially
protected from danger, and that how
ever the clouds might gather he would
emerge unhurt. was rooted in the popu-
lar mind. and can be seen yisibly de-
Aectipg the views even Of classes which,
like journalists, are little given to ere
dulity. Half of the lingering belief in
his safety springs from this source.
Next to his faith, and partly as proof
Of his faith, the people worshipped in
Gordon his disinterestedness. They
knew that he had rejected fortunes in
China and grand salary in the Sou
dans that he cared nothing for honors,
and exceedingly little for earthly dig
nifty Of any kind--he actually, after he
had been yiceroy and more. accepted
the private secretaryship TO Lord
and they leaped to the conclu-
sion, perfectly accurate, that he was
man released from the curse Of self;
that he was not, in any act Of his life,
thinking of Gordon at all. but only of
the work to be done. The average
English and Scotch, though they are
not naturally disinterested, but tend
rather to make the best Of both worlds,
and to become what Amiel calls
:. the bonrgeoisie Of the Skies"
admire the quality Of disinterestedness
beyond measure, regarding it. we be-
lievc. not so much as quality in itself
as a supreme test of the existence Of
ether qualities. IL is not supreme
test by any means, ambition being often
found though selfishness never is-in
connection with the loftiest aspirations
and men having constantly appeared in
whom. as in Pope. Hildebrand, and Wes-
ley, the passion for rule and the pas
sion TO enforce Gods rule have been
almost equally blended. The belief in
ssceticism lies, however, very deep in
the least ascetic Of peoples and the
nan who gave his guests brewis because
his money had gone to the poor-as on
enc occasion Gordon did while at Chat
hsm-is the man to whom they are
readiest to attribute nobler qualities.
And after Gordon's faith and disin-
the English admired his
the imperturbable serenity Of
mind which made danger of no account,
and which in General Gordon, as pre-
viously in Sir Henry Hayelock, rose to
that calm height of positive indifference
which indicates that the courage is more
than either bravery or valor that it is
spiritual as well as aphysical quality
that self is either non-existent or has
been finally got under. Those three
qualities-faith. disinterestedness, and
courage--were recognized as existing in
Gordon in the highest degree and the
English seeing them, believed in him
with devotion which sometimes stood
the severest trials. II was trial TO see
the General who believed Egyptian rule
. mere curse to the Soudan ac-
cepting . Goycrnor-General's commits
sion from the Khedive, trial to have
him ask over and over again for Zebchr,
. trial to read proclamations promising
to respect slavery, q trial TO receive
dispatches asking for Turkish brigades,
. trial to study book full Of incohe-
rent mysticism wholly at variance with
the faith Of Englishmen, if not in
places with common sense; but the
general fidelity survived them all. The
people felt somehow that under all that
muddie Of imaginipgs, projects, and
dreams, was hero--a man always
seeking the service Of God, and so
resigned to His will that fear. or com
promise. or the inefhciency which
comes Of doubt was not in him,
and they cared little about mere
scts--not even when they suggested,
~ they undoubtedly did for a time, tina,
the hero's mind had failed. What did
Il signify il it had failed. if he could