From heaven the power that moved him came.
And welcome as the mountain air,
The voice that bid him do and dare.
Onward he bore and battled still
With a most firm enduring will,
His only hope to win the prize
Laid up for him beyond the skies."

The Emperor wished the British Minister to bring before the notice of Her
Majesty the Queen of England his appreciation of the splendid services
which Gordon had rendered. He hoped that he would be rewarded in England
as well as in China for his heroic achievements.

A subsequent letter in the _Times_ said that Prince Kung, who was then
the Regent of China, had waited upon Sir Frederick Bruce, and said to
him, "You will be astonished to see me again, but I felt I could not
allow you to leave without coming to see you about Gordon. We do not
know what to do. He will not receive money from us, and we have already
given him every honour which it is in the power of the Emperor to bestow;
but as these are of little value in his eyes, I have brought you this
letter, and I ask you to give it to the Queen of England that she may
bestow on him some reward which would be more valuable in his eyes."

Sir Frederick Bruce sent this to London with a letter of his own:--"I
enclose translation of a despatch from Prince Kung, containing the decree
published by the Emperor, acknowledging the services of Gordon and
requesting that Her Majesty's Government be pleased to recognise him.
Gordon well deserves the favours of your Majesty for the skill and
courage he has shown, his disinterestedness has elevated our national
character in the eyes of the Chinese. Not only has he refused any
pecuniary reward, but he has spent more than his pay in contributing to
the comforts of the officers who served under him, and in assuaging the
distress of the starving population whom he relieved from the yoke of
their oppressors."

It does not appear that this letter was ever sent to the Queen, or
noticed by the Government, and so the heroic deeds of a man of whom any
nation might justly be proud, were forgotten.

CHAPTER III.

"We are to relieve the distressed, to put the wanderer into his way,
and to share our bread with the hungry, which is but the doing good to
others."--SENECA.

Our hero having returned to his native land, and to settle for a little
while at the quiet town of Gravesend, refused to be lionized, and he
begged that no publication of his deeds of daring