services. The importance of
his offices varied no less than their nature. One day he was a subaltern
of sappers; on another he commanded the Chinese army; the next he
directed an orphanage; or was Governor-General of the Soudan, with
supreme powers of life and death and peace and war; or served as private
secretary to Lord Ripon. But in whatever capacity he laboured he was
true to his reputation. Whether he is portrayed bitterly criticising to
Graham the tactics of the assault on the Redan; or pulling the head
of Lar Wang from under his bedstead and waving it in paroxysms of
indignation before the astonished eyes of Sir Halliday Macartney;
or riding alone into the camp of the rebel Suliman and receiving the
respectful salutes of those who had meant to kill him; or telling
the Khedive Ismail that he 'must have the whole Soudan to govern'; or
reducing his salary to half the regulation amount because 'he thought
it was too much'; or ruling a country as large as Europe; or collecting
facts for Lord Ripon's rhetorical efforts--we perceive a man careless
alike of the frowns of men or the smiles of women, of life or comfort,
wealth or fame.

It was a pity that one, thus gloriously free from the ordinary
restraining influences of human society, should have found in his
own character so little mental ballast. His moods were capricious and
uncertain, his passions violent, his impulses sudden and inconsistent.
The mortal enemy of the morning had become a trusted ally before the
night. The friend he loved to-day he loathed to-morrow. Scheme after
scheme formed in his fertile brain, and jostled confusingly together.
All in succession were pressed with enthusiasm. All at times were
rejected with disdain. A temperament naturally neurotic had been
aggravated by an acquired habit of smoking; and the General carried this
to so great an extreme that he was rarely seen without a cigarette. His
virtues are famous among men; his daring and resource might turn
the tide or war; his energy would have animated a whole people; his
achievements are upon record; but it must also be set down that few more
uncertain and impracticable forces than Gordon have ever been introduced
into administration and diplomacy.

Although the Egyptian Government might loudly proclaim their detestation
of slavery, their behaviour in the Soudan was viewed with suspicion by
the European Powers, and particularly by Great Britain. To vindicate his
sincerity the Khedive