feared
responsibility less than Gladstone. On the other hand, the expressed
desire of the nation was a force to which he had always bowed--to which,
indeed, he owed his political existence. Yet, in spite of the growing
agitation throughout the land, he remained stern and silent. Most men
do what is right, or what they persuade themselves is right; nor is
it difficult to believe that Mr. Gladstone did not feel justified in
involving the nation in operations in the heart of the Soudan for the
purpose, not of saving the life of the envoy--for Gordon had but to
embark on his steamers and come home--but simply in order to vindicate
the personal honour of a man. And it is possible that a feeling of
resentment against the officer whose intractable nature was bringing
such odium upon the Government may have coloured his resolution with a
darker tinge.

But for all his power and influence he was forced to give way. The
Government which had long ignored the call of honour abroad, was driven
to the Soudan by the cries of shame at home. Lord Hartington, at that
time Secretary of State for War, must be dissociated from the general
censure which his principal colleagues have incurred. He was the first
to recognise the obligation which lay upon the Cabinet, and through the
Cabinet upon the nation, and it was to his influence that the despatch
of the relieving expedition was mainly due. The Commander-in-Chief and
the Adjutant-General, who were fully alive to the critical position at
Khartoum, added their recommendations. But even at the last moment Mr.
Gladstone was induced to sanction the advance only by the belief that
the scale of the operations would be small, and that only a single
brigade would be necessary. The decision was taken forthwith by the
Ministry and announced to the nation. The Adjutant-General, however,
asked for a very different force from what the Government had
anticipated, and the single brigade was expanded into an expedition of
ten thousand men, selected from the whole army.

To reverse the decision was now, however, impossible, and the 'Gordon
Relief Expedition' began. The commander to whom the conduct of the
operations had been entrusted reviewed the situation. He saw himself
confronted with a task which was easy and safe if it were undertaken at
leisure, and which was doubtful and perilous if begun in haste. All the
fruits of a long and successful career were staked on the result, and
it is scarcely wonderf