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eminent victorians-第49章

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in a circle; beat time with their feet; and accompanied their 

gestures with a curious sound of clucking。 At last the Austrian 

Consul; overcome by the exhilaration of the scene; flung himself 

in a frenzy among the dancers; the Governor…General; shouting 

with delight; seemed about to follow suit; when Gordon abruptly 

left the room; and the party broke up in confusion。 



When; 1;500 miles to the southward; Gordon reached the seat of 

his government; and the desolation of the Tropics closed over 

him; the agonising nature of his task stood fully revealed。 For 

the next three years he struggled with enormous difficulties 

with the confused and horrible country; the appalling climate; 

the maddening insects and the loathsome diseases; the 

indifference of subordinates and superiors; the savagery of the 

slave…traders; and the hatred of the inhabitants。 One by one the 

small company of his European staff succumbed。 With a few hundred



Egyptian soldiers he had to suppress insurrections; make roads; 

establish fortified posts; and enforce the government monopoly of



ivory。 All this he accomplished; he even succeeded in sending 


enough money to Cairo to pay for the expenses of the expedition。 



But a deep gloom had fallen upon his spirit。 When; after a series



of incredible obstacles had been overcome; a steamer was launched



upon the unexplored Albert Nyanza; he turned his back upon the 

lake; leaving the glory of its navigation to his Italian 

lieutenant; Gessi。 'I wish;' he wrote; 'to give a practical proof



of what I think regarding the inordinate praise which is given to



an explorer。' Among his distresses and self…mortifications; he 

loathed the thought of all such honours; and remembered the 

attentions of English society with a snarl。 'When; D。V。; I get 

home; I do not dine out。 My reminiscences of these lands will 

not be more pleasant to me than the China ones。 What I shall have



done; will be what I have done。 Men think giving dinners is 

conferring a favour on you。。。  Why not give dinners to those who 

need them?' No! His heart was set upon a very different object。 

'To each is allotted a distinct work; to each a destined goal; to



some the seat at the right hand or left hand of the Saviour。 (It 

was not His to give; it was already given Matthew xx; 23。

Again; 

Judas went to 〃HIS OWN PLACE〃Acts i; 25。) It is difficult for 

the flesh to accept: 〃Ye are dead; ye have naught to do with the 

world〃。 How difficult for anyone to be circumcised from the 

world; to be as indifferent to its pleasures; its sorrows; and 

its comforts as a corpse is! That is to know the resurrection。'



But the Holy Bible was not his only solace。 For now; under the 

parching African sun; we catch glimpses; for the first time; of 

Gordon's hand stretching out towards stimulants of a more 

material quality。 For months together; we are told; he would 

drink nothing but pure water; and then 。。。 water that was not so 

pure。 In his fits of melancholy; he would shut himself up in his 

tent for days at a time; with a hatchet and a flag placed at the 

door to indicate that he was not to be disturbed for any reason 

whatever; until at last the cloud would lift; the signals would 

be removed; and the Governor would reappear; brisk and cheerful。 



During; one of these retirements; there was grave danger of a 

native attack upon the camp。 Colonel Long; the Chief of Staff; 

ventured; after some hesitation; to ignore the flag and hatchet; 

and to enter the forbidden tent。 He found Gordon seated at a 

table; upon which were an open Bible and an open bottle of 

brandy。 Long explained the circumstances; but could obtain no 

answer beyond the abrupt words'You are commander of the camp'

and was obliged to retire; nonplussed; to deal with the situation



as best he could。 On the following morning; Gordon; cleanly 

shaven; and in the full…dress uniform of the Royal Engineers; 

entered Long's hut with his usual tripping step; exclaiming 'Old 

fellow; now don't be angry with me。 I was very low last night。 

Let's have a good breakfasta little b。 and s。 Do you feel up to



it?' And; with these veering moods and dangerous restoratives; 

there came an intensification of the queer and violent elements 

in the temper of the man。 



His eccentricities grew upon him。 He found it more and more

uncomfortable 

to follow the ordinary course。 Official routine was an agony to

him。 His 

caustic and satirical humour expressed itself in a style that

astounded 

government departments。 While he jibed at his superiors; his

subordinates 

learned to dread the explosions of his wrath。 There were moments

when his 

passion became utterly ungovernable; and the gentle soldier of

God; who 

had spent the day in quoting texts for the edification of his

sister; would 

slap the face of his Arab aide…de…camp in a sudden access of

fury; or set 

upon his Alsatian servant and kick him until he screamed。



At the end of three years; Gordon resigned his post in Equatoria;



and prepared to return home。 But again Providence intervened: the



Khedive offered him; as an inducement to remain in the Egyptian 

service; a position of still higher consequence the Governor…

Generalship of the whole Sudan; and Gordon once more took up his 

task。 Another three years were passed in grappling with vast 

revolting provinces; with the ineradicable iniquities of the 

slave…trade; and with all the complications of weakness and 

corruption incident to an oriental administration extending over 

almost boundless tracts of savage territory which had never been 

effectively subdued。 His headquarters were fixed in the palace at



Khartoum; but there were various interludes in his government。

Once; 

when the Khedive's finances had become peculiarly embroiled; he 

summoned Gordon to Cairo to preside over a commission which 

should set matters to rights。 



Gordon accepted the post; but soon found that his situation was 

untenable。 He was between the devil and the deep sea between

the 

unscrupulous cunning of the Egyptian Pashas; and the immeasurable



immensity of the Khedive's debts to his European creditors。 The

Pashas 

were anxious to use him as a respectable mask for their own

nefarious 

dealings; and the representatives of the European creditors; who

looked 

upon him as an irresponsible intruder; were anxious simply to get

rid 

of him as soon as they could。 One of these representatives was 

Sir Evelyn Baring; whom Gordon now met for the first time。 An 

immediate antagonism flashed out between the two men。 But their 

hostility had no time to mature; for Gordon; baffled on all 

sides; and deserted even by the Khedive; precipitately returned 

to his Governor…Generalship。 Whatever else Providence might have 

decreed; it had certainly not decided that he should be a 

financier。



His tastes and his talents were indeed of a very different kind。 

In his absence; a rebellion had broken out in Darfur one of the



vast outlying provinces of his government where a native 

chieftain; Zobeir; had erected; on a basis of slave…traffic; a 

dangerous military power。 Zobeir himself had been lured to Cairo;



where he was detained in a state of semi…captivity; but his son; 

Suleiman; ruled in his stead; and was now defying the Governor…

General。 Gordon determined upon a hazardous stroke。 He mounted a 

camel; and rode; alone; in the blazing heat; across eighty…five 

miles of desert; to Suleiman's camp。 His sudden apparition 

dumbfounded the rebels; his imperious bearing overawed them; he 

signified to them that in two days they must disarm and disperse;



and the whole host obeyed。 Gordon returned to Khartoum in

triumph。 

But he had not heard the last of Suleiman。 Flying southwards from



Darfur to the neighbouring province of Bahr…el…Ghazal; the young 

man was soon once more at the head of a formidable force。 A 

prolonged campaign of extreme difficulty and danger followed。 

Eventually; Gordon; summoned again to Cairo; was obliged to leave



to Gessi the task of finally crushing the revolt。 After a 

brilliant campaign; Gessi forced Suleiman to surrender; and then 

shot him as a rebel。 The deed was to exercise a curious influence



upon Gordon's fate。



Though Suleiman had been killed and his power broken; the slave…

trade still flourished in the Sudan。 Gordon's efforts to suppress



it resembled the palliatives of an empiric treating the 

superficial symptoms of some profound constitutional disease。 The



root of the malady lay in the slave…markets of Cairo and 

Constantinople: the supply followed the demand。 Gordon; after 

years of labour; might here and there stop up a spring or divert 

a tributary; but; somehow or other the waters would reach the 

river…bed。 In the end; he himself came to recognise this。 'When 

you have got the ink
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