and in 1884, was ultimately discovered to be baseless. With
restored health returned the old feeling of restlessness. After five
weeks he found it impossible to remain any longer in Lausanne. Again
he exclaims in his letters: "Inaction is terrible to me!" and on 9th
April he left that place for London.

Yet, notwithstanding his desire to return to work, or rather his
feeling that he could not live in a state of inactivity, he refused
the first definite suggestion that was made to him of employment.
While he was still at Lausanne, the Governor of Cape Colony sent the
following telegram to the Secretary of State for the Colonies:--"My
Ministers wish that the post of Commandant of the Colonial Forces
should be offered to Chinese Gordon." The reply to this telegram read
as follows:--"The command of the Colonial Forces would probably be
accepted by Chinese Gordon in the event of your Ministers desiring
that the offer of it should be made to him." The Cape authorities
requested that this offer might be made, and the War Office
accordingly telegraphed to him as follows: "Cape Government offer
command of Colonial Forces; supposed salary, L1500; your services
required early." Everyone seems to have taken it as a matter of course
that he would accept; but Gordon's reply was in the negative: "Thanks
for telegram just received; I do not feel inclined to accept an
appointment." His reasons for not accepting what seemed a desirable
post are not known. They were probably due to considerations of
health, although the doubt may have presented itself to his mind
whether he was qualified by character to work in harmony with the
Governor and Cabinet of any colony. He knew very well that all his
good work had been done in an independent and unfettered capacity, and
at the Cape he must have felt that, as nominal head of the forces, he
would have been fettered by red tape and local jealousies, and
rendered incapable of doing any good in an anomalous position. But
after events make it desirable to state and recollect the precise
circumstances of this first offer to him from the Cape Government.

While at Lausanne, General Gordon's attention was much given to the
study of the Eastern Question, and I am not at all sure that the real
reason of his declining the Cape offer was not the hope and
expectation that he might be employed in connection with a subject
which he thoroughly understood and had very much at heart. He drew up
a memorandum on t