The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-26
;nuatorial Lakes. His task.here8as

Which he had so successfully dealt
in China "a Here some Of his greatest
difficulties were unknown .and:taeFer
fore unforeseen. Later ne was :ap-
pointed pasha and then governoT5off
the Soudan. AS champion Of dis
tressed humanity he did noble sFerk.77
sparing. no, effort to lighten.the suffer-
ings. Rarely has Sc much been
achieved with so small and ses
untrustworthy a force. Gordons
shattered the rebellion, and 4 inss
crease the enlightenment Of the &
races oyeE whefn be gas ggt lass
ruler Serving with reduced pay and
without any desire for fame, he toiled
for five years in this cause, succeed
ing iu that time, in putting al end
to the worst evils of the slave trade,
and in paving the way for the future
emancipation of the Soadanese.
= For some time Gen. Gordon was
without special employment, and in
the winter of 1883, was requested BY
the King Of the Belgians to go to
the Congo on mission for the Inter
national Society. There was chaos
IN the Soudan. The Mahdi was grow
ing rapidly and had annihilated the
Egyptian army, commanded by Hicks
Pasha. The English Government
had not determined what course to
take, and it was suggested that it
was rare piece Of good fortune that,
at the critical moment in the destin
I-ies of the Soudan and the Nile Val
ley, the ablest Englishman who ever
held command in Equatorial Africa
should be within reach of London.
At this point it was announced thst
Gen. Condor, in order to fulfil his
engagement on the Congo, had been
compelled to resign his commission in
the British army. The official cb-
iections w,re overruled, however,
and Gen. Gordon prepared to start.
The popular. sentiment III favor Of
securing the services of Gordon in
the Soudan expressed itself in I'M"
rnistakable terms. He was recalled
to London on Jan.H, l884,and on the
following day he started for kartoum'
as the accredited representative Of
the Britishv Goyernment.-sJe"1oasly
Was his progress watched, and there
was sigh Of relief when the news
was received that Gordon had reach
ed his destination safely. There
Twas q wonderful demonstration of
welcome by the people, thousands OF
them crowding to kiss his hands and
feet. The Government books,record.
ing from time immemorial the out.
standing debts Of the oyertaxed peo.
pie, were publicly burned in front of
the palace. The kourbashes. whips
ard implements for administ, ring the
bastinado from Government House
were all placed on the blazing pile.
The evidence Of debts and the imple.
ments of oppression perished>oto'
| cethcr. Gen. Gordou was confident
that there was not the least Chance of
danger being incurred by Kl.artoum,
and this opinion he held long after,
ward. 1t is doubtful that he ever
realized the extent Of his danger, or
fully uv1erstood the character Of the
harbarians whom he had deal .ng with.
The.news Of Gordon's death brings
q cp:9inan pain and sorrow to every
part Of the civilized world, not only
because Of the metcoric bril'iancy Of
his career, hut because OF the nobility
and ihs mingling sweetness and
I ferceness Of his character, The vol.
canic fire of'his nature blazed ont
when during the: Tai Ping var, he
hunyed ,Li.upng,Chang, revolver IN
hand, from house to house, day af'er
day, in order to stay the man! who
had dishenored and lpassacred the
prisoners whom he had pledged his
word to save. But there was also
in him the tenderness Of q woman
and the gentleness of, d child; q ready
sympathy with, the sorrows and 'suf-
ferings of others, combined with. the
iron will and hardness which are in
dispensible to the ruler OF men: in
the, ,Sopdan, in carly days, be Eas an
incarnste terrorsto evil doers: From
province TO province he sped like en-
angel Of wrath, Yet, while even the
rage Of the Berserker aash-in his
eye, infinite compassion for'the weak,
the helpless and the oppressed treln:
bled in his voice. Again and again,
in his letters, he refers with pity and
affection to the poor people OF the
Saudan. IL would give my life for
them,' be said How can ! LeIp
feeling for them. All the time /
was there, every night used to pray
that God would lay upon me the bur
den of their sins and crush me with
it instead of these poor sheep To
!, them and not for them he Las given
his exalted life. These poor sheep
are rayenine wolves.