is reached, no
man of British birth can read the last words, 'Now mark this, if the
Expeditionary Force--and I ask for no more than two hundred men--does
not come within ten days, the town may fall; and I have done my best for
the honour of our country. Good-bye,' without being thrilled with vain
regrets and futile resolutions. And then the account stops short. Nor
will the silence ever be broken. The sixth instalment of the Journals
was despatched on the 14th of December; and when it is finished the
reader, separated suddenly from the pleasant companionship, experiences
a feeling of loss and annoyance. Imagination, long supported, is brushed
aside by stern reality. Henceforward Gordon's perils were unrecorded.

I would select one episode only from the Journals as an example of
the peculiarity and the sternness of Charles Gordon's character--his
behaviour towards Slatin. This Austrian officer had been Governor of
Darfur with the rank in the Egyptian service of Bey. For four years
he had struggled vainly against the rebellion. He had fought numerous
engagements with varied success. He had been several times wounded.
Throughout his province and even beyond its limits he bore the
reputation of a brave and capable soldier. The story of his life of
suffering and adventure, written by himself, is widely known, and he is
thought by those who have read it to be a man of feeling and of
honour. By those who enjoy his personal acquaintance this belief is
unhesitatingly confirmed. He had, however, committed an act which
deprived him of Gordon's sympathy and respect. During the fighting in
Darfur, after several defeats, his Mohammedan soldiers were discouraged
and attributed their evil fortune to the fact that their commander was
an infidel under the curse of the Almighty. Slatin therefore proclaimed
himself a follower of the Prophet, and outwardly at least adopted the
faith of Islam. The troops, delighted at his conversion and cheered by
the hope of success, renewed their efforts, and the resistance of the
Governor of Darfur was prolonged. The end, however, was deferred,
not averted. After the destruction of General Hicks's army Slatin was
compelled to surrender to the Dervishes. The religion he had assumed
to secure victory he observed to escape death. The Arab leaders, who
admired his courage, treated him at first with respect and kindness, and
he was conducted to the Mahdi in his encampment before Khartoum. There
during the sieg