s at his post the question will
soon be settled, and peace and quiet will be restored to this
unfortunate, but sorely tried country."

In all the strange and trying experiences of this Chinese Campaign Gordon
bore himself with a bravery and courage seldom equalled, we think never
surpassed.

Dr. Guthrie once said, "It is very remarkable, and highly creditable to
the loyalty and bravery of our British soldiers, that, notwithstanding
all the wars in which they have been engaged, no foreign nation to-day
flaunts a British flag as a trophy of its victory and of our defeat. Nor
in the proud pillar raised by the great Napoleon in commemoration of his
many victories--a pillar made of the cannons taken by him in battles, is
there an ounce of metal that belongs to a British gun." The
characteristics of the bravest of our British soldiers were pre-eminently
displayed in Gordon. For--

"He holds no party with unmanly fears,
Where duty points he confidently steers:
Faces a thousand dangers at her call,
And trusting in his God surmounts them all."

His soldierly qualities were very often put to the test in this strange
land. Hung, the leader of this rebellion, had become so popular and made
such marvellous progress that when Gordon had organized his ever
victorious army, Hung had captured Nanking, one of the principal cities,
and made this his capital; and here, under the very shadow of the Chinese
metropolis, he established himself in royal state. His followers were
held together by the force of his religious tenets; they believed in him
as the Lord from Heaven, who would save the suffering minds and give them
a celestial reward. A missionary who was in Nanking, Rev. J. L. Holmes,
gives his impressions of this warlike devotee. "At night (he says) we
witnessed their worship. It occurred at the beginning of their sabbath,
midnight on Friday. The place of worship was the Chung-Wang's private
audience room. He was himself seated in the midst of his attendants, no
females were present. They first sang, or rather chanted; after which a
written prayer was read, then burned by an officer; then they rose and
sang again, then separated. The Chung-wang sent for me before he left
his seat, and asked me if I understood their mode of worship. I replied
I had just seen it for the first time. He explained that the Tien-wang
had been to the celestial world and had seen the Great God and obtained a
revelation! &c. . .