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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。。。 

Dearest Augusta; pray for me; I beg of you。'



He was twenty…one; the Crimean War broke out; and before the year



was over; he had managed to get himself transferred to Balaclava。



During the siege of Sebastopol he behaved with conspicuous 

gallantry。 Upon the declaration of peace; he was sent to 

Bessarabia to assist in determining the frontier between Russia 

and Turkey; in accordance with the Treaty of Paris; and upon this



duty he was occupied for nearly two years。 Not long after his 

return home; in 1860; war was declared upon China。 Captain Gordon



was dispatched to the scene of operations; but the fighting was 

over before he arrived。 Nevertheless; he was to remain for the 

next four years in China; where he was to lay the foundations of 

extraordinary renown。



Though he was too late to take part in the capture of the Taku 

Forts; he was in time to witness the destruction of the Summer 

Palace at Pekingthe act by which Lord Elgin; in the name of 

European civilisation; took vengeance upon the barbarism of the 

East。



The war was over; but the British Army remained in the country; 

until the payment of an indemnity by the Chinese Government was 

completed。 A camp was formed at Tientsin; and Gordon was occupied



in setting up huts for the troops。 While he was thus engaged; he 

had a slight attack of smallpox。 'I am glad to say;' he told his 

sister; '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。'



Curiously enough a similar circumstance had; more than twenty 

years earlier; brought about a singular succession of events 

which were now upon the point of opening the way to Gordon's 

first great adventure。 In 1837; a village schoolmaster near 

Canton had been attacked by illness; and; as in the case of 

Gordon; illness had been followed by a religious revulsion。 Hong…

Siu…Tsuen for such was his name saw visions; went into 

ecstasies; and entered into relations with the Deity。 Shortly 

afterwards; he fell in with a Methodist missionary from America; 

who instructed him in the Christian religion。 The new doctrine; 

working upon the mystical ferment already in Hong's mind; 

produced a remarkable result。 He was; he declared; the prophet of



God; he was more he was the Son of God; he was Tien Wang; the 

Celestial King; he was the younger brother of Jesus。 



The times were propitious; and proselytes soon gathered around

him。 

Having conceived a grudge against the Government; owing to his

failure 

in an examination; Hong gave a political turn to his teaching; 

which soon developed into a propaganda of rebellion against the 

rule of the Manchus and the Mandarins。 The authorities took 

fright; attempted to suppress Hong by force; and failed。 The 

movement spread。 By 1850 the rebels were overrunning the populous



and flourishing delta of the Yangtse Kiang; and had become a 

formidable force。 In 1853 they captured Nankin; which was 

henceforth their capital。 The Tien Wang; established himself in a



splendid palace; and proclaimed his new evangel。 His theogony 

included the wife of God; or the celestial Mother; the wife of 

Jesus; or the celestial daughter…in…law; and a sister of Jesus; 

whom he married to one of his lieutenants; who thus became the 

celestial son…in…law; the Holy Ghost; however; was eliminated。 



His mission was to root out Demons and Manchus from the face of 

the earth; and to establish Taiping; the reign of eternal peace。 

In the meantime; retiring into the depths of his palace; he left 

the further conduct of earthly operations to his lieutenants; 

upon whom he bestowed the title of 'Wangs' (kings); while he 

himself; surrounded by thirty wives and one hundred concubines; 

devoted his energies to the spiritual side of his mission。 The 

Taiping Rebellion; as it came to be called; had now reached its 

furthest extent。 The rebels were even able to occupy; for more 

than a year; the semi…European city of Shanghai。 



But then the tide turned。 The latent forces of theEmpire

gradually 

asserted themselves。 The rebels lost ground; their armies were

defeated; 

and in 1859 Nankin itself was besieged; and the Celestial King

trembled 

in his palace。 The end seemed to be at hand; when there was a

sudden 

twist of Fortune's wheel。 The war of 860; the invasion of China

by 

European armies; their march into the interior; and their

occupation of 

Peking; not only saved the rebels from destruction; but allowed

them to 

recover the greater part of what they had lost。 Once more they 

seized upon the provinces of the delta; once more they menaced 

Shanghai。 It was clear that the Imperial army was incompetent; 

and the Shanghai merchants determined to provide for their own 

safety as best they could。 They accordingly got together a body 

of troops; partly Chinese and partly European; and under European



officers; to which they entrusted the defence of the town。 This 

small force; which; after a few preliminary successes; received 

from the Chinese Government the title of the 'Ever Victorious 

Army'; was able to hold the rebels at bay; but it could do no 

more。 



For two years Shanghai was in constant danger。 The Taipings;

steadily 

growing in power; were spreading destruction far and wide。 The

Ever 

Victorious Army was the only force capable of opposing them; and

the 

Ever Victorious Army was defeated more often than not。 Its first

European 

leader had been killed; his successor quarrelled with the Chinese



Governor; Li Hung Chang; and was dismissed。 At last it was

determined to 

ask the General at the head of the British Army of Occupation for

the loan 

of an officer to command the force。 The English; who had been at

first 

inclined to favour the Taipings; on religious grounds; were now 

convinced; on practical grounds; of the necessity of suppressing 

them。 It was in these circumstances that; early in 1863; the 

command of the Ever Victorious Army was offered to Gordon。 He 

accepted it; received the title of General from the Chinese 

authorities; and entered forthwith upon his new task。 He was just



thirty。



In eighteen months; he told Li Hung Chang; the business would be 

finished; and he was as good as his word。 The difficulties before



him were very great。 A vast tract of country was in the 

possession of the rebels an area; at the lowest estimate; of 

14;000 square miles with a population of 20;000;000。 For 

centuries this low…lying plain of the Yangtse delta; rich in silk



and tea; fertilised by elaborate irrigation; and covered with 

great walled cities; had been one of the most flourishing 

districts in China。 Though it was now being rapidly ruined by the



depredations of the Taipings; its strategic strength was 

obviously enormous。 Gordon; however; with the eye of a born 

general; perceived that he could convert the very feature of the 

country which; on the face of it; most favoured an army on the 

defence its complicated geographical system of interlacing

roads 

and waterways; canals; lakes and rivers into a means of 

offensive warfare。 The force at his disposal was small; but it 

was mobile。 He had a passion for map…making; and had already; in 

his leisure hours; made a careful survey of the country round 

Shanghai; he was thus able to execute a series of manoeuvres 

which proved fatal to the enemy。 By swift marches and counter…

marches; by sudden attacks and surprises; above all by the 

dispatch of armed steamboats up the circuitous waterways into 

positions from which they could fall upon the enemy in reverse; 

he was able gradually to force back the rebels; to cut them off 

piecemeal in the field; and to seize upon their cities。 



But; brilliant as these operations were; Gordon's military genius



showed itself no less unmistakably in other directions。 The Ever 

Victorious Army; recruited from the riff…raff of Shanghai; was an



ill…disciplined; ill…organised body of about three thousand men; 

constantly on the verge of mutiny; supporting itself on plunder; 

and; at the slightest provocation; melting into thin air。 Gordon;



by sheer force of character; established over this incoherent 

mass of ruffians an extraordinary ascendancy。 He drilled them 

with rigid severity; he put them into a uniform; armed them 

systematically; substituted pay for loot; and was even able; at 

last; to introduce regulations of a sanitary kind。 There were 

some terrible scenes; in which the General; alone; faced the 

whole furious army; and quelled scenes of rage; desperation; 

towering courage; and summary execution。 Eventually he attained 

an

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