al influence over each one
individually. With a small class he could get to know each by name, and
win the affections of all one by one. The words, "He loved little
children," which were the only epitaph on the tomb of a certain
Sunday-school teacher, might well be applied to Gordon. It is difficult
to say what kind of teacher he was, or whether he availed himself of
the latest developments in the art of instructing children; but this is
quite clear, that he had one of the best qualifications a teacher can
possess, love for his pupils. There is a tale of a lady visitor who
once asked a little boy why he went so far to his Sunday-school, when
there were as good ones nearer at hand. The reply was, "They may be as
good, but they are not so good for me;" and when the lady asked him
"Why not?" he said, "Because they love a fellow over there." Love is a
qualification that is too often lacking in teachers, but it was one
that Gordon displayed very prominently. Need we wonder that the "dear
little fellows," as he used to call them, responded by loving him in
return?

Nor was it only in the Sunday-school that Gordon's love for the young
was exhibited; he also had a class in the ragged school, and used to
invite his boys to his house for instruction in the evening on week
days, as well as on Sunday evenings. When three or four of them had
scarlet fever, he nursed them in his own house, and would sit up at
night talking to them, till he could get them to drop off to sleep. He
used to call these boys "kings," a name suggested to him when reading
Rev. i. 6, "And hath made us kings and priests unto God." He exclaimed
to his sister, "Why then, these are little 'kings,'" and he stuck to
the name. He took great pains to secure good posts for his boys in
ships going to sea, and on a map on his wall he kept a number of little
flags representing the boys he had sent abroad. These flags he used to
move about as he heard from time to time where the lads were. We need
not be surprised that among these boys were some who ardently loved
him, and that they used to give expression to their feelings by
scribbling on the wall with a piece of chalk, as boys will do, "God
bless the Kernel," "C. G. is a jolly good fellow," or "Long life to our
dear teacher, Gordon." The ragged school at Gravesend still retains the
Chinese flags which he presented to the boys, flags which he had
himself captured from the Taiping rebels. They are now kept as precious
r