further
communication he left Bombay. As he had insisted on repaying Lord
Ripon his passage-money from England to India which, owing to his
resignation, the Viceroy would otherwise have had to pay out of his
own pocket, Gordon was quite without funds, and he had to borrow the
sum required to defray his passage to China. But having made up his
mind, such trifling difficulties were not likely to deter him. He
sailed from Bombay, not merely under the displeasure of his superiors
and uncertain as to his own status, but also in that penniless
condition, which was not wholly out of place in his character of
knight-errant. But with that solid good sense, which so often
retrieved his reputation in the eyes of the world, he left behind him
the following public proclamation as to his mission and intentions. It
was at once a public explanation of his proceedings, and a declaration
of a pacific policy calculated to appease both official and Russian
irritation:

"My fixed desire is to persuade the Chinese not to go to war with
Russia, both in their own interests and for the sake of those of
the world, especially those of England. In the event of war
breaking out I cannot answer how I should act for the present,
but I should ardently desire a speedy peace. It is my fixed
desire, as I have said, to persuade the Chinese not to go to war
with Russia. To me it appears that the question in dispute cannot
be of such vital importance that an arrangement could not be come
to by concessions upon both sides. Whether I succeed in being
heard or not is not in my hands. I protest, however, at being
regarded as one who wishes for war in any country, still less in
China. Inclined as I am, with only a small degree of admiration
for military exploits, I esteem it a far greater honour to
promote peace than to gain any paltry honours in a wretched war."

With that message to his official superiors, as well as to the world,
Gordon left Bombay on 13th June. His message of the day before saying,
"Consult Campbell," had induced the authorities at the Horse Guards to
make inquiries of that gentleman, who had no difficulty in satisfying
them that the course of events was exactly as has here been set forth,
and coupling that with Gordon's own declaration that he was for peace
not war, permission was granted to Gordon to do that which at all cost
he had determined to do. When he reached Ce