West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-04-03
GENERAL GORDON.
rh" Unique ChnractcrlstIcs of the Hero Of
Ikhartoum.

rhc Unique Charactc crIstIcs OF the Hero of
hhartoum.
The life of General Gordon is without
parallel in history. He had will as
imperious as Napolcon's; he had n
nature rs inilcXible rs Cromwclrs; he
had Gives genius for war and fertility
of resource; he had Jan Lawrenca's
capacity for governing scmi-civili1ed
races; he had Francis Xavier's over
mastering love of humanity. But with
these traits were combined chivalrous
devotion TO the races for whom he
labored, with contempt for the states
manship of Europe. an unquostioning
reliance upon the law of his own con
science, and an intense religious nature
that reelected at once the mysticism of
the middle ages. the austerc virtues Of
Purltanism and the fatalism of the East.
man of commanding genius i'm achiev-
ing great results by means of insig-
niiicant instrumentalitics. and i'm con
ciliating the prcjudices and overcoming
the resistance of barbaric hordes. he
was at once hero among men, and n
solitary figure removed from them by
unique characteristics
There Is, perhaps, no other country
I'm the world where such a character ns
General Gordon's would be so easily
misunderstood as England. His som
brc genius, his medieval piety and his
devotion To- the interest of semi-civilzcd
races. had little i'm common with the in
tenscly practical instincts of the Nation.
His contempt for the tedious processes
nN Il
the fate of ministries and the policy of
governments. marked him out rs n mys-
tcriOu, idealist, whose Judgment was
not to be accepted without hesitation
and reserve. He returned from China
to face storm Of obloquy and rcproach
from the humanitarans who mistook
him Tor cold-bloodcd butcher of the
Chinese population. His work i'm the
equatorial provinces and his battles
with the slave-hunters were neither un-
derstood nor appreciated by English
men, while he incurred the hostility Of
the ring Of pacha- at Cairo through his
administrative reforms At Mauritus.
in BasutO-Land and in India he found
1t impossible 10 endure official restraint.
Ills mission 10 South Africa was com
pltte failure, and il was not until as an
arbitrator he had personally decided
that China should not declare
war against Russia that the
English people began TO comprehend
the genius OF this grim Puritan warrior.
His rowing commission as miracle work
cr i'm the SOujau was regarded ut first
with enthusiasm. but the moment he ar
rived at KhartDum every proclamation
that he issued every proposal that he
made. wa, criticised and misconstrucd.
The Government which had dispatched
him across the desert refused to follow
his advice. The humanitarinus de-
nOunced him as the shareholders ally.
Practical politicians condemned his
nomination Of /ebchr as his successor
a- the act Of fanatical madmap.
But even Englishmen awoke at last
10 % consciousness Of General Gordon
hcro.c qualities FOr nearly wear that
solitary European has held his ground
against % horde of barbariaus He ma.
raised armies and paid them without
money He has conducted marvel
lous campaign bv promising liberty 10
several thousands Oi black. and b,
mounting rusty artillery ON ncc. Of
leaking hulks. lc has stood ON the
bro cn rampant, q solitary English sem
try refusing % desert those who had
trusted in him, and awaiting an army
OF fcscucrs which never came. Aud
there hc viii remain jon thc memory Of
the nation sublime figure. never 10
bn forgotten. his horOi-m. fOrtitudc.
chiyalro1s loyalty and Christian faith
understood at la-lN y IrbUHe