General Gordon | Page 2

of others; completely devoid of selfishness.
The fourth son, and third soldier of this happy pair, Charles George, was born at Woolwich in 1833. He was trained at Taunton. When about 15 years of age he was sent to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, to prepare for the army; a profession his father thought most worthy of the Gordons. While here at school an incident occurred which served to show that our young hero was no ordinary student. His tutor, with an air of contempt, rebuked him severely for some error or failure in his lessons, and told him sneeringly he would never make a general. This roused the Scotch blood of the budding soldier, and in a rage he tore the epaulettes from his shoulders, and threw them at his tutor's feet--another proof of the correctness of the old adage, "Never prophesy unless you know." By the time he reached the age of twenty-one, he had become every inch a soldier, and when tested he proved to have all a soldier's qualities--bravery, courage, heroism, patriotism, and fidelity, characteristics of the best soldiers in our army.
Archibald Forbes, writing of him, says "The character of General Gordon was unique. As it unfolded in its curiously varied but never contradictory aspects, you are reminded of Cromwell, of Havelock, of Livingstone, and of Captain Hedley Viccars. But Gordon's individuality stood out in its incomparable blending of masterfulness and tenderness, of strength and sweetness. His high and noble nature was made more chivalrous by his fervent, deep and real piety. His absolute trust in God guided him serenely through the greatest difficulties. Because of that he was not alone in the deepest solitude. He was not depressed in the direst extremity. He had learned the happy art of leaning upon the Omnipotent arm."
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Early in 1884 a leading newspaper said of him, "General Gordon is without doubt the finest captain of irregular forces living." About the same time Mr. Gladstone said of him, "General Gordon is no common man. It is no exaggeration to say he is a hero. It is no exaggeration to say he is a Christian hero." Mr. W. E. Forster also remarked of him, "I know no other man living for whom I have a greater admiration than General Gordon. He is utterly unselfish. He is regardless of money. He cares nothing for fame or glory. He cares little for life or death. He is a deeply religious man. The world to come, and God's government over this, are to him the greatest of life's realities. True heroism has been said to be a sacrifice of self for the benefit of others. If this is true, Gordon has well won the appellation, "The Hero of the Soudan." His soldierly qualities were first tested in the Crimea, where we find him in 1854 and 1855. Here for the first time in his military career he was brought face to face with all the horrors of actual war, and here for the first time he saw friend and foe lie locked like brothers in each other's arms. Here he got his first baptism of fire; and here he showed the splendid qualities which in after years made him so famous and so beloved. An old soldier who served under him during this terrible campaign says "I shall never forget that remarkable figure and form, which was an inspiration to all who knew him, and saw him on the field of carnage and blood."
He was utterly unconcerned in the midst of dangers and death. He would twirl his cane and good humouredly say "Now boys, don't fear, I see no danger." On one occasion when engaged in the very thick of a most awful struggle he said, "Now my boys, I'm your officer, I lead, you follow," and he walked literally through a shower of lead and iron with as little concern apparently, as if he were walking across his own drawing-room; and he came out of the conflict without a scar.
Sir E. Stanton in his dispatches home, making special reference to our hero, says--"Young Gordon has attracted the notice of his superiors out here, not only by his activity, but by his special aptitude for war, developing itself amid the trenches before Sebastopol, in a personal knowledge of the enemy's movements, such as no officer has displayed. We have sent him frequently right up to the Russian entrenchments to find out what new moves they are making." Amid all the excitement of war and its dangers he never omitted writing to his mother; an example I hope my readers, if boys, or girls, will studiously copy. He loved his mother with the passion of his great loving heart. Soldier lads often forget their mother's influence, their mother's prayers, and their