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eminent victorians-第66章

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little armoured vessels close at hand on the river; with steam

up; day and night; to transport him; if so he should decide;

southward; through the enemy; to the recesses of Equatoria。 The

sudden appearance of the Arabs; the complete collapse of the

defence; saved him the necessity of making up his mind。 He had

been on the roof; in his dressing…gown; when the attack began;

and he had only time to hurry to his bedroom; to slip on a white

uniform; and to seize up a sword and a revolver; before the

foremost of the assailants were in the palace。 The crowd was led

by four of the fiercest of the Mahdi's followerstall and

swarthy Dervishes; splendid in their many…coloured jibbehs; their

great swords drawn from their scabbards of brass and velvet;

their spears flourishing above their heads。 Gordon met them at

the top of the staircase。 For a moment; there was a deathly

pause; while he stood in silence; surveying his antagonists。 Then

it is said that Taha Shahin; the Dongolawi; cried in a loud

voice; 'Mala' oun el yom yomek!' (O cursed one; your time is

come); and plunged his spear into the Englishman's body。 His only

reply was a gesture of contempt。 Another spear transfixed him; he

fell; and the swords of the three other Dervishes instantly

hacked him to death。 Thus; if we are to believe the official

chroniclers; in the dignity of unresisting disdain; General

Gordon met his end。 But it is only fitting that the last moments

of one whose whole life was passed in contradiction should be

involved in mystery and doubt。 Other witnesses told a very

different story。 The man whom they saw die was not a saint but a

warrior。 With intrepidity; with skill; with desperation; he flew

at his enemies。 When his pistol was exhausted; he fought on with 

his sword; he forced his way almost to the bottom of the

staircase; and; among; a heap of corpses; only succumbed at

length to the sheer weight of the multitudes against him。



That morning; while Slatin Pasha was sitting in his chains in the

camp at Omdurman; he saw a group of Arabs approaching; one of

whom was carrying something wrapped up in a cloth。 As the group

passed him; they stopped for a moment; and railed at him in

savage mockery。 Then the cloth was lifted; and he saw before him

Gordon's head。 The trophy was taken to the Mahdi: at last the two

fanatics had indeed met face to face。 The Mahdi ordered the head

to be fixed between the branches of a tree in the public highway;

and all who passed threw stones at it。 The hawks of the desert

swept and circled about itthose very hawks which the blue eyes

had so often watched。



The news of the catastrophe reached England; and a great outcry

arose。 The public grief vied with the public indignation。 The

Queen; in a letter to Miss Gordon; immediately gave vent both to

her own sentiments and those of the nation。 'HOW shall I write to

you;' she exclaimed; 'or how shall I attempt to express WHAT I

FEEL! To THINK of your dear; noble; heroic Brother; who served

his Country and his Queen so truly; so heroically; with a self…

sacrifice so edifying to the World; not having been rescued。 That

the promises of support were not fulfilled which I so

frequently and constantly pressed on those who asked him to go

is to me GRIEF INEXPRESSIBLE! Indeed; it has made me ill。。。 Would

you express to your other sisters and your elder Brother my true

sympathy; and what I do so keenly feel; the STAIN left upon

England; for your dear Brother's cruel; though heroic; fate!'



In reply; Miss Gordon presented the Queen with her brother's

Bible; which was placed in one of the corridors at Windsor; open;

on a white satin cushion; and enclosed in a crystal case。 In the

meanwhile; Gordon was acclaimed in every newspaper as a national

martyr; State services were held in his honour at Westminster and

St Paul's; £20;000 was voted to his family; and a great sum of

money was raised by subscription to endow a charity in his

memory。 Wrath and execration fell; in particular; upon the head

of Mr。 Gladstone。 He was little better than a murderer; he was a

traitor; he was a heartless villain; who had been seen at the

play on the very night when Gordon's death was announced。 The

storm passed; but Mr。 Gladstone had soon to cope with a still

more serious agitation。 The cry was raised on every side that the

national honour would be irreparably tarnished if the Mahdi were

left in the peaceful possession of Khartoum; and that the

Expeditionary Force should be at once employed to chastise the

false prophet and to conquer the Sudan。 But it was in vain that

the imperialists clamoured; in vain that Lord Wolseley wrote

several dispatches; proving over and over again that to leave the

Mahdi unconquered must involve the ruin of Egypt; in vain that

Lord Hartington at last discovered that he had come to the same

conclusion。 The old man stood firm。 Just then; a crisis with

Russia on the Afghan frontier supervened; and Mr。 Gladstone;

pointing out that every available soldier might be wanted at any

moment for a European war; withdrew Lord Wolseley and his army

from Egypt。 The Russian crisis disappeared。 The Mahdi remained

supreme lord of the Sudan。



And yet it was not with the Mahdi that the future lay。 Before six

months were out; in the plenitude of his power; he died; and the

Khalifa Abdullahi reigned in his stead。 The future lay with Major

Kitchener and his Maxim…Nordenfeldt guns。 Thirteen years later

the Mahdi's empire was abolished forever in the gigantic hecatomb

of Omdurman; after which it was thought proper that a religious

ceremony in honour of General Gordon should be held at the palace

at Khartoum。 The service was conducted by four chaplainsof the

Catholic; Anglican; Presbyterian; and Methodist persuasionsand

concluded with a performance of 'Abide with Me'the General's

favourite hymnby a select company of Sudanese buglers。 Every

one agreed that General Gordon had been avenged at last。 Who

could doubt it? General Gordon himself; possibly; fluttering; in

some remote Nirvana; the pages of a phantasmal Bible; might have

ventured on a satirical remark。 But General Gordon had always

been a contradictious personeven a little off his head;

perhaps; though a hero; and besides; he was no longer there to

contradict。。。 At any rate; it had all ended very happilyin a

glorious slaughter of 20;000 Arabs; a vast addition to the

British Empire; and a step in the Peerage for Sir Evelyn Baring。



BIBLIOGRAPHY



General Gordon。 Reflections in Palestine。 Letters。 Khartoum

Journals。 

E。 Hake。 The Story of Chinese Gordon。 

H。 W。 Gordon。 Events in the Life of C。 G。 Gordon。 

D。 C。 Boulger。 Life of General Gordon。 

Sir W。 Butler。 General Gordon。 

Rev。 R。 H。 Barnes and C。 E; Brown。 Charles George Gordon: A

Sketch。 

A。 Bioves。 Un Grand Aventurier。 

Li Hung Chang。 Memoirs。* 

Colonel Chaille…Long。 My Life in Four Continents。 

Lord Cromer。 Modern Egypt。 

Sir R。 Wingate。 Mahdiism and the Sudan。 

Sir R。 Slatin。 Fire and Sword in the Sudan。 

J。 Ohrwalder。 Ten Years of Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp。 

C。 Neufeld。 A Prisoner of the Khaleefa。 

Wilfrid Blunt。 A Secret History of the English Occupation of

Egypt。 

Gordon at Khartoum。 

Winston Churchill。 The River War。 

F。 Power。 Letters from Khartoum。 

Lord Morley。 Life of Gladstone。 

George W。 Smalley。 Mr Gladstone。 Harper's Magazine; 1898。 

B。 Holland。 Life of the Eighth Duke of Devonshire。 

Lord Fitzmaurice。 Life of the Second Earl Granville。 

S。 Gwynn and Gertrude Tuckwell。 Life of Sir Charles Dilke。 

Arthur Rimbaud。 Lettres。 

G。 F。 Steevens。 With Kitchener to Khartoum。



* The authenticity of the Diary contained in this book has been

disputed; notably by Mr。 J。 0。 P。 Bland in his Li Hung Chang。

(Constable; 1917)









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