General Gordon Part 4

It would be interesting to follow more in detail the career of this remarkable man at Gravesend, but s.p.a.ce forbids. Gordon only spent six years at this kind of work, and much of the time was engaged in his official duties, yet the results were so good, that one cannot but regret that a longer part of his career was not pa.s.sed in the same way.

From his letters written in the Soudan, it is evident that he often thought of devoting his old age to work among the poor, had he been spared. It was, however, willed otherwise, and we are only permitted to see how much can be done by a man in six years, when his heart is thoroughly in the work.

It has been remarked more than once, that Gordon's military career reminds one of the great soldier Cromwell, who did so much to rescue England from the degenerate condition into which it had fallen under the miserable rule of the Stuarts. In the same way the six years spent by Gordon at Gravesend, very forcibly remind us of the great religious philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury, who did perhaps more than any other man of this nineteenth century, or any other century, to relieve human suffering, and to solve some of those difficult problems that are a.s.sociated with the condition of the poor. Lord Shaftesbury had little in common with Cromwell, except that both loved G.o.d and hated tyranny and injustice. Their ways of going to work were very different, but one cannot help seeing that Gordon combined much of both characters; and had his lot fallen in different times or different circ.u.mstances, he might have undertaken the work of either. He had all the martial instinct of a Cromwell, and, with it, the love of relieving suffering which so characterised Lord Shaftesbury. His one object seems to have been to--

"Rescue the peris.h.i.+ng, care for the dying, s.n.a.t.c.h them in pity from sin and the grave; Weep o'er the erring ones, lift up the fallen, Tell them of Jesus, the Mighty to save."

Gordon was never allowed to carry on any work for any great length of time, and the six years at Gravesend pa.s.sed very quickly. In 1871 he was appointed British representative on the European Commission to superintend the improvement of the mouth of the Danube, so that it might be made more navigable for s.h.i.+ps. He was engaged in this work for two years, with his headquarters at Galatz; and the eminent war correspondent, Archibald Forbes, says that he "found his memory still green there in the early years of the Russo-Turkish war, fourteen years after he had exchanged the mosquitoes of the Lower Danube for the not less venomous insects of the Upper Nile."

Apart from the testimony of Archibald Forbes, we may be quite sure that he did some good work at Galatz, for it would be difficult to imagine him doing nothing but the ordinary routine of official duties. He always discovered an opening of some sort by which he could help his fellow-creatures, and his active mind and sympathetic nature were, in the words of Jean Ingelow, always asking the question of those with whom he came in contact--

"Are there no briers across thy pathway thrust?

Are there no thorns that compa.s.s it about?

Nor any stones that thou wilt deign to trust My hand to gather out?"

The time had now come when he was to be called to a new form of work, one to which he was to give the best years of his life, and for which ultimately he was to sacrifice life itself. In the Crimea and in China, he had shown what he could do as a soldier; at Gravesend he had set a n.o.ble example to the world of what a Christian philanthropist might do in his spare hours; and now he was to be called to wage war with the horrors of slavery. We had him in our midst for six years, and we found no work for him worthy of his abilities; but while we overlooked his merits, other nations were not so blind. Just as later on the King of the Belgians was anxious to secure his services which we were allowing to remain idle, so now Nubar Pasha, the far-sighted minister of Ismail Khan, Khedive of Egypt, persuaded him to enter the Egyptian service, and go to Africa as Governor of the Equatorial Provinces.

But before we follow him into the Soudan, it may be well to dwell for a little on the distinctly religious aspect of his life.

CHAPTER VIII

SIMPLE FAITH[4]

There are few young men who cannot remember having, in their boyhood, taken a caterpillar and shut it up in a box. Before long the creature a.s.sumed a chrysalis form, and finally developed into a b.u.t.terfly, with a completely new power not possessed by the caterpillar. Instead of only being able to grovel on the ground, the creature in its new existence is able to soar high into the air. This is one of Nature's conversions, and is a faint ill.u.s.tration of the spiritual change which takes place in the human heart, when the natural man becomes a new creature with new powers. It is customary for some to sneer at the doctrine of conversion, scorning the idea of a distinctly spiritual change taking place in the human heart. It would, however, be difficult to find any other term by which accurately to describe the change that took place in Gordon's life.

[4] In this and the following chapter, I have, in order to give Gordon's views, selected quotations from his letters at different periods of his life, but not always in chronological order. For want of s.p.a.ce a large number of extracts have had to be omitted; those that are given must be taken as specimens.

Up to a certain period, while he had done well all that he was called upon to do, and had completely outstripped his peers, showing himself, in his professional capacity, to be a head and shoulders above his fellows, there were nevertheless latent powers within him, which had not yet been called into play. Who can study his life without being convinced that he had a power with G.o.d, in later life, that he did not possess earlier? Christ said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." He was lifted up before Gordon's eyes, and there was a distinctive response to the magnetic influence of the Cross; and, as in the laws of magnetism, the instrument that has been charged can in its turn charge metal brought into contact with it, so in the life of Gordon we see, that not only had the Redeemer a distinct influence on his whole nature, but that he was himself so charged with Divine love, that he was able to exert a magnetic influence over others.

Ecclesiastics may fight and wrangle about names and terms; we have to deal with facts. It matters little by what name we call it, the fact remains that a distinct spiritual change came over Gordon, leaving him a man who had power with G.o.d. But though the effect of this change in Gordon's life was most marked, it is not so obvious when it took place.

As a boy and a cadet he was full of animal spirits, and somewhat given to practical joking; but, though not a religious boy, he never was bad in the ordinary acceptation of the term. After he had obtained his commission, before he went out to the Crimea, there were distinct indications of a feeling after G.o.d, and some have affirmed that this was brought about through the influence of his mother. That good mothers are blessed by G.o.d as the means of conveying spiritual light to their boys, is a fact so frequently evident, that writers and others are often led to a.s.sume it must always be the case. Now, though Gordon possessed an excellent mother, of whom he was very fond, and who in later years became a true Christian, as a matter of fact in early life she was somewhat worldly. She was always a remarkably clever and sensible woman, but in the matter of religion she never attempted to influence her son. Whatever of spiritual good there was in him, was therefore not due to her. That he had great affection for her is clear, even if there were no other evidence, from a letter written during her illness in October 1873, when he was abroad, to his sister, in which occurs this pa.s.sage:--

"Kiss my dear mother, and do not fret for me. I have, thank G.o.d, all comfort, peace, and happy reminiscence with the knowledge that the Comforter is with you all; that He is able, willing, unselfish, and kind, and that He will keep you all till you reach the land where the 'sun never sets,' and where you will see Him, and know why 'Jesus wept' at Lazarus' grave. Feed by the living pastures; they will fatten you."

A few days later he says:--

"By keeping my watch at your time, I feel enabled to know what you are doing. It will be a sore trial for you to see my dear mother leave her worn-out sh.e.l.l, but you will feel that G.o.d takes her to Himself. My dear mother has spent a useful, hard-working life, and a happy one; it seems as if it is for you she is kept."

Still the truth expressed in the following lines applied to Gordon's case:--

"They talk about a woman's sphere, As though it had no limit.

There's not a place in earth or heaven, There's not a task to mankind given, There's not a blessing or a woe, There's not a whispered yes or no, There's not a life, or death, or birth, That has a feather's weight of worth, Without a woman in it."

Writers have too often ignored the influence of an elder sister in the formation of a man's character. There can be little doubt that even before Gordon went out to the Crimea, he was indebted to his sister for much spiritual help, as the following letter, written from Pembroke in 1854, shows:--

"MY DEAR AUGUSTA,--Write another note like the last, when you have time, as I hope I have turned over a new leaf, and I should like you to give me some hope of being received.

"... I got your very kind letter to-day, and am very much obliged to you for it. I have not had time to look out the texts, but will do so to-morrow. I am lucky in having a very religious captain of the 11th, of the name of Drew; he has on the mantelpiece of his room the 'Priceless Diamond,' which I read before yours arrived. I intend sending to you, as soon as possible, a book called 'The Remains of the Rev. R. M'Cheyne,' which I am sure you will be delighted with. I told Drew to go to Mr. Molyneux; and he did so, and of course was highly pleased. I cannot write much in favour of our pastor; he is a worldly man, and does not live up to his preaching; but I have got Scott's 'Commentaries.' I remember well when you used to get them in numbers, and I used to laugh at them; but, thank G.o.d, it is different with me now. I feel much happier and more contented than I used to do. I did not like Pembroke, but now I would not wish for any prettier place. I have got a horse and gig, and Drew and myself drive all about the country. I hope my dear father and mother think of eternal things. Can I do or say anything to either to do good? When you get my book, read the 'Castaway.'

"You know I never was confirmed. When I was a cadet, I thought it was a useless sin, as I did not intend to alter (not that it was in my power to be converted when _I_ chose). I, however, took my first sacrament on Easter day [16th April 1854], and have communed ever since.

"I am sure I do not wonder at the time you spent in your room, and the eagerness with which you catch at useful books--no novels or worldly books come up to the Sermons of M'Cheyne or the Commentaries of Scott. I am a great deal in the air, as my fort is nine miles off, and I have to go down pretty often. It is a great blessing for me that in my profession I can be intimate with whom I like, and have not the same trials among my brother officers as those in a line regiment have. I ought not to say this, for 'where sin aboundeth, grace aboundeth more fully;' but I am such a miserable wretch, that I should be sure to be led away. Dearest Augusta, pray for me, I beg of you."

For several years after the date of the above letter, he alludes very little to religion, and if we may accept his own statement on the subject, in a letter from China, dated Taku Forts, 15th March 1862, it is probable that he went back for a time.

"The climate, work, and everything here suits me, and I am thankful to say I am happy both in mind and body. I have had a slight attack of small-pox--it is not necessary to tell my mother this, as it will trouble her. I am glad to say that this disease has brought me back to my Saviour, and I trust in future to be a better Christian than I have been hitherto."

Then followed the stirring adventures he went through in command of the Ever-Victorious Army in China; but that he could not, during that period, have had the full a.s.surance which characterised him later on, and which arises from the witness of the Holy Spirit, is evident from the fact that he once remarked to his aunt, Miss Enderby, that he could not make out how it was that he had feared death so little, when all the time he did not know that he was prepared to die.

On the 19th September 1865, his father pa.s.sed away a few months after he had taken up his appointment at Gravesend. This event seems to have marked an important crisis in his spiritual life. He shut himself up in complete retirement for a few days, and emerged a very different man from what he had been before. From that time to the day of his death, he was known as an out-and-out Christian. During the previous ten years it is clear, from his letters, that he was in the highest and truest sense a child of G.o.d, but there seems to have been something wanting in his character. From the time of his father's death, he seems to have had such a firm a.s.surance in Christ, that religion was the prevailing element of his life.

It is interesting to note that Gordon dedicated himself to the service of G.o.d not only in the full vigour of health and strength, but at a time when he might have been, had he chosen, one of the world's favourites. In the case of some, broken health, advancing age, or disappointed hopes and ambitions, are the causes that lead to a search for something more lasting than this world can offer. Thankful as we may be when any man yields to the higher claims of his Heavenly Father, whatever the prompting cause may be, it is satisfactory to be able to record an instance in which apparently none but the highest motives were at work. Gordon at the time of his father's death was only thirty-two years of age, and though young, he had done deeds of heroism which might make many a Victoria Cross hero envy his opportunity and courage. He had seen what the world had to offer, and he decided that there was a n.o.bler life to be led. To that new life he dedicated his remaining years, and, it need hardly be added, he never regretted the choice. As late as the 26th March 1881, after he had just recovered from a severe illness, he remarks: "B---- said, when dying, how glad he was he had sought G.o.d in his time of strength, for when he was sinking he could not do so, and so I feel."

If we may form any opinion from expressions in his letters, dating from this time to the day of his death, Gordon's religion brought him that "peace of mind which pa.s.seth all understanding," and which the world can neither give nor take away. The following are but specimens of many remarks which he let fall from time to time on this subject:--

"I may say that I have died suddenly over a hundred times; but in these deaths I have never felt the least doubt of my salvation."

"I would that all had the full a.s.surance of life. It is precisely because we are despicable and worthless that we are accepted. Till we throw over that idea that we are better than others, we can never have that a.s.surance."

Nor must it be thought that the joy and happiness he experienced in religion arose from any inward sense of self-satisfaction. Never had a man a humbler estimate of himself than Gordon, but his faith in this respect took a very healthy form. Instead of morbidly looking into his own heart for evidences of his union with Christ, he ever kept his eye on the precious work of his Saviour for him. s.p.a.ce will not permit many quotations from his writings, so the two following must suffice. The one was written soon after his conversion, the other near the end of his life.

"_May 3, 1867._--We are _born_ corrupt, and, if the devil had his way, we should be kept in ignorance of it; our permitted transgressions show us our state; it is the root that is evil, and evil must be its emanations, yet we feel much more oppressed by the outward sin than by the inward corruption."

"_May 7, 1883._--Give me a ream of foolscap and I will sign it: it may be filled with my demerits and unworthiness, which I agree to; but my so doing is a proof of how much I accept the free gift of G.o.d. Unless our Lord's sufferings were in vain, it is just that sheet of demerits that I have signed which gives me my right to Him; had I a clean sheet I should have no right to Him."

Gordon's, however, was not a faith which contents its possessor merely with a sense of the forgiveness of sins. That he possessed this happy a.s.surance, is evident. But no sooner had he entered into possession of some of his privileges as a child of G.o.d, than he pressed on to obtain more spiritual advantages. The indwelling of G.o.d in his heart was a truth to which he attached much importance, and the following extracts are but specimens of much that might be quoted showing that he held the same truth from a period very soon after his father's death to the year which preceded his own death.

"_July 31, 1867._--I have had very nice thoughts on 1 John iv.

13--'Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of G.o.d, G.o.d dwelleth in him, and he in G.o.d.' I think it is the key to much of the Scripture. I am more than ever convinced that the secret of happiness and holiness is in the indwelling of G.o.d. The same truth is shown in many other verses, but the above, to my mind, shows it more clearly. Let a man seek the teaching of the Holy Spirit on such verses, and he will grow much in grace. As we believe _that_ text, so we shall realise the presence of G.o.d in our hearts, and, having Him there, we have as a sequence holiness and love. He alone can make us believe the truth and keep it in mind."

_"March 15, 1882._--It had struck me before, in 1865, that the ordinary Christian life of _non-a.s.surance_ was not a sufficient gain to have come from Christ's incarnation and death; then I learnt _a.s.surance_, then followed the knowledge of His indwelling, then the solution in my mind of the problem of the safety of others; and then I halted, having given up the thought that in this life it was possible to regenerate the body, putting down its failings as venial and connected with our human infirmities. In time it came to me that surely some growth, some improvement, ought to be made, some increased sanctification ought to be expected, one ought not to be so very barren; glimpses of selfishness, self-seeking pride, and a certain weariness of one's _chateaux d'Espagne_ came to me, and led to this--Christ dwelleth in us, and His light enlightens all dark places."

He held very strongly the teaching of the Apostle in Rom. vii., that we have two natures contending for the mastery, the one good and the other evil. Writing to his sister he says:--

"We are torn in twain by our two natures, namely, our own judgment and our faith, and the result must be inconsistent work. How can it be otherwise? In appearance the Bible is inconsistent, and so must we be who fulfil it. The only consolation is to fall back on the text, 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.'"

And again on the 6th October 1878:--

"You cannot evade it: we are each composed of two beings--one of which we see, which is temporal, which will fulfil certain works in the world; and one unseen, eternal, and which is always in conformity with G.o.d. One is sometimes uppermost, sometimes subdued, but rules in the long run, for it is eternal, while the other is temporal."

Gordon was a remarkable instance of the truth of the text, "The people that do know their G.o.d shall be strong, and do exploits," a truth which is as applicable to individuals as it is to nations. Gifted by nature with a strong character, its strength was greatly developed by the way in which he came into personal contact with G.o.d in the study of His Word. He yielded no slavish subservience to any Church or priest, however good, but tested all doctrines by the unerring standard of G.o.d's truth. "Take the Holy Spirit," he used to say, "for your teacher, and you will never want another word from man on questions of doctrine." He never shrank from facing difficulties, or new theories, as some do who are not quite sure of the ground on which they stand, but would ask all who propounded novel doctrines for chapter and verse for their authority. When difficulties arose, he used to treat them as that great scholar, the late Dean Alford did, as shown in the following words: "I find difficulties in the Bible as well as others, but I am so convinced of the general truth of that sacred volume as a whole, that I can easily afford to suspend my judgment on those matters which for some purpose perhaps G.o.d has not permitted me to understand."

The Bible was to Gordon a living oracle, to which he used to apply at all times. Here are extracts from two of his letters showing how he regarded it:--

"Out of commiseration for our dual condition, G.o.d _has_ given us an oracle which will answer any question, advise, instruct, and guide us; now this oracle must be His voice, for, if not, it would not be His word. He has in His infinite wisdom incarnated His voice in the Scriptures; His voice is to be understood by the highest or lowest intellect; it gives answers, &c., through all time. To the carnal man it is an ordinary book, to the spiritual man it is alive and makes alive."

"Whether we may apprehend it or not, the Scripture contains the mind of Christ, and is, when illuminated with the Spirit, as if Christ was ever talking to us. Now, we should think that if Christ was ever near to talk with us, _that_ should suffice us, and consequently, _as I believe that in theory_, I try to realise it in practice."