GENERAL GORDON'S LETTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7341, 30 May 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL GORDON'S LETTERS.

ft? view of the conflicting statements which have been made as to the natnre of General Gordon's mission to Khartoum, Gordon's own account of his instructions will be read 'with ' Interest. This it contained in a book just published by Messrs. Macmillao, containing fetters received by the Rev. Reginald Barnes, one of the executors of Gordon, about the time of his being sent by the Government to the Soudan. Mr. Barnes, who first made Gordon's acquaintance at Lausanne, sstys .— "For some days I did not know his name, and even after I knew it, it did not occur to me that it might be the great 'Chinese Gordon' who had been for years ruling the Soudan. The manner in whioh I learned the truth abont him was rather striking. One day, after the midday table d'hole, while he was smoking a cigarette, he invited me to accompany him to his room. I did so, and at once noticed some strange documents on the table. ' You have been in Palestine, and know Arabic,' he said; 'look at these papers.' I took several of them in my hand, glanced at them, but soon laid them down, ram/i'.'king that I knew very little Arabic 'They are death warrants,' he said. I was bo iitartled that I exclaimed, 'Death warrjMvts ! Why, who are you ?' ' Don't you know me!' he answered; ' I have been GovernorGeneral of the Soudan, and still nominally retain the position; but nothing now remains Mor me but to sign theee papers ; that will end it.' . . . After Gordon's departure from Laouanne I did not meet him again till Bhortly before he started on his last journey to Egypt. In the interval he had re-visited China, where he had written, as a parting gift, a masterly State paper; he bad acted for England at the Cape and other colonies, and almost the whole of 1883 he had spent in Palestine. Dnringthose years we corresponded as frequently as our respective duties permitted, and while he was in the Holy Land I received from him not less than two thousand pages of manuscript in letters, some extracts from , which were included in the little book lately published, his ' Reflections in Palestine in 1883.' General Gordon spent a night at Beavitree Vicarage, and on January 11, 1884, he received Holy Communion in the parish church. OnPthesame day he went on to Mandford Orleigh, Sir Samuel Baker's house, and Mr. Barnes says : —'To those who accompanied him it was pleasant to see the meeting between the two ex-Governors of the Soudan. During a drive Baker pressed upon Gordon the expediency of his again going to the Soudan as Governor-General, if her Majesty's Government should require it. Gordcn was silent, but hie eyes flashed, and an eager expression passed over his face as he locked at his host. Late at night, when he bad retired, he came to my room, and said in a β-oft voice, * You Baw me to-day ?' ' You m/ian in the carriage ?' ' Yes; you saw me— that was myself—the self I want to get rid of !' Gordon realised distinctly, as he alone was in a position to do, all the perils which might attend the fulfilment- of the mission undertaken on this memorable day; yet sever, perhaps, had he experienced a deeper ieeling of inward serenity. In the evening I received from him the following telegram, despatched from the War Ufficeatfive p.m. : —'I go to the Soudan to-night. I came from Brussels this morning. If He goes with me all must be well. , " When Gordon was on his way to the Soudan, Mr. Barnes received the following letter from the General :— •' Moat.Cenis, 19.1.84. My dear Mr. Barnes, —I left last night for Soudan to arrange for evacuation. I enclose cheque for book; if more is wanted up to £10,1 will send it, for it ought to be done well. Colonel Sir C. Warren, lt.E,, Chatham, would give a good plan of Jerusalem without the debris. I hope you, Mrs. Barnes?, and the six are well; also Miss Freeman! Ministers said they were determined to evacuate. Would I go and superintend it? I said ( Ye 3.' Good night. With kindest love to you. I expect Eater here, but he may be at Brindisi." "At Sea, 22.1.84. My dear Mr. Barnes,— Your letter, written on Epiphany, has been read, but 1 have teen you since. The repentant: thief was on right side—the side pierced —this is another point which fixes the side pierced. On the left was the unrepentant thief. You must be told shortly what passed. You know Wolseley seat a telegram to me at your house, but I did not know it until Sunday. He said, ' Come up at once.' This telegram came when I was so bothered that I said to my sister, ' I will fly on Wednesday, the 16tb, to Brussels ;' so I aaid to Wolseley, 'I will come up on Tuesday, the lath, and go to Brußsela on the 16th.' I reached London at two p.m., Tuesday, stayed with Wolseley in Wolseley's office from two till five p.m., while he talked to Ministers. Nothing, however, came of it, lo I said, 'I will go to Brussels. , I did not see Ministers. I consequently went to Brussels on Wednesday, and got there Wednesday night. At noon on Thursday I got n telegram from Wolseley saying ' Come over nt once, , so I saw the King, who did not like my going, and left Brussels at eight p.m. on Thursday, reaching London at six a.m. on Friday. I saw Wolseley at eight a.m. He said nothing was settled, but Ministers would send me at half-past three p.m. No one knew I had come back. At noon he (Wolseley) came for me, and took me to the Ministers. He went in and talked to the Ministers, and came back and said, 'Her Majesty's Government wants you to understand this—Government are determined to evacuate Soudan, for they will not guarantee future government. Will you go and do it ?' I f>3 id ' Yes.' I said ' You will not guarantee future government of Soudan, and you wish me to go up to evacuate now.' They Bfcid ' Yes,' and it was over, and I left at eight p.m. for Calais. Very little passed between up. The Duke and Wolseley came to see me off, so that is over. The day after to-morrow I reach (D.V.) Port Said, and go through Canal on to Suakim by Her Majesijy'e ship Caryefort, and reach that {D. V.) on my birthday. I am quite restored to my peace, thank God! and in His hand He will hide me. You and I are equally exposed to the attacks of the enemy—me not a bit more than you are. Kindest love to you all. I am sorry not to have time to . write to you graphic details. Lord Granville thanked me for going very nicely. Government are right, if they will not guarantee : luture government of Soudan, to evacuate it. ! Good-bye; kindest regards to the Temples, Bo wring, Blackmore, and yon all. Yours aincerely, my dear friend, C. G. Gsrdon. The hosts are with me. ' Mahanaim. , " To these letters Mr. Barnes appends the following note:—" Gordon frequently referred to the word 'Mahanaim,' and he liked the full explanation of its meaning given in Smith's 'Dictionary of the' Bible.' It means 'the two hosts,' and it ia us used by the patriarchs in Holy Scripture. It is necessary to add that these letters, although apparently private and confidential in their character, were b ot intended by the writer to be so regarded. They belong to a series of which the first letter states that I am to make them known as I may see fit, and whensoever I may see fit. He called on me as a friend, to whom he had Raid * that he should probably not see J me again on earth, , both 'to defend his character and to make known hin religious views ;' adding than I was to ' act on my sole discretion and responsibility. , " On February 19 Mr. Barnes received from Gordon the following, written on a postcard on the Ist of that month :—" Arrived borders of desert; am quite well. Hosts with me through your kind prayers. I do aot believe in advance of Mahdi, who is nephew to my old guide in Darfur, who was a very good fellow. The little letter your children gave me is now before me. I shall hare no ' eating' (Holy Communion) in Soudan. The Soman Catholic prieats have all left, and are at Assouan. Several will want copies of the book. It must be all on the point ' God in you' I see 28th January Paalm is ' Remember David and all his trouble , —how he rwore he would find ihabitations [tabernaoles] iot the Mighty God, who is houseless if not ' in our hearts. Kindest regards to you all, and to Mr. Maclelland, to the Bishop and Mrs. Temple. I am very hopeful, for men's hearts are in His band.—C. G. Gordon." Gordoa wrote from Aba Ahmed to Mr. Barnes on February S :-«'Thanks to all your kind prayers, we arrived safely here yesterday. People are quite quiet, and all seems hopeful. Evidently the defeat of , Hicks has been much less thought of here than at Cairo, and now it seems as if it would be more difficult to get the Egyptian element out of Soudan than I expected, for they will not go. They think that things will settle down, and wish to stay. I hope (D. V.) that ' in a month the country will be quiet, and ; the roads open. The cold was great in i desert at night, and heat ditto by day. It is a terrible desert between Korosko and Abu Ahmed, worse than any in the Soudan. • • .1 am glad to have come, for somehow 'I think God will bless my mission." On February 24 Gordoa wrote as follows :—"An eventful day in 1870 for all your circle. . fThe reference is to the birthday of Angela ■ Annie Barnes.] I hope God will bless you v)U, I am right, but there is no ' eating ' up

here, which I mies. Things look settling down a little, bat I have s -wssgh* oa me at times very heavily, and *^ e ' nn " rm * ity of human nature brings me down. It U as well it should be ao, for the forbidden fruit ie glorying in eelf, which one is prone to do. Herod was eaten by worms for not giving glory to God when the people cheeped him. 1 have no time.—C. G. Gobdon." Gordon's last note to Mr. Barnes, dated March 6, ended with the words, " Let no news from hence move you. Hβ over-roles all for good."