."

To these undoubtedly prudent representations, supported as they were
by at least one of those present, Mr Henry Dent, who got up and said
that, in his opinion, Dr Macartney's advice ought to be followed,
while the others who wished the war to go on from interested motives
remained silent, Gordon did and would not listen. The hot fit of rage
and horror at the treacherous murder of the Wangs, kept at fever-point
by the terrible memorial in his possession, was still strong upon him,
and his angry retort was--"I will have none of your tame counsels,"
and there and then ordered the _Hyson_, with a party of infantry, to
be got ready to attack the Futai, at the same time offering Macartney
a passage in the steamer.

On hearing this decisive declaration Macartney left the table, and
hastening to one of Gordon's officers, who was a personal friend, he
begged the loan of a horse and a pair of spurs. Having obtained what
he wanted, he set off riding as hard as he could by the road, which
was somewhat shorter than the canal, so that he might warn Li Hung
Chang as to what was going to happen, and also bring up his own troops
to oppose the advance of Gordon, who actually did move out of Quinsan
with the intention of carrying out his threats, but returned there
when his flotilla had proceeded half way.

By that time he had fortunately reflected on the situation, and a
sanguinary struggle was averted. Gordon came to see that his honour
was not in the slightest or most remote degree involved, and that
China was not a country to which the laws of chivalry could be
applied; but before he had reached this stage of mental equilibrium he
had penned a most regrettable and cruelly unjust despatch, not about
Li Hung Chang or any one involved in the massacre, but about Dr, now
Sir Halliday Macartney, whose sole fault had been that he wished to
make peace, and to advise Gordon to act in the very sense which he
afterwards himself adopted.

In a despatch to General Brown, commanding at Shanghai, which appears
in the Blue Book (China, No. 3, 1864, p. 198), Gordon wrote: "I then
went to his (Li's) boat and left him a note in English, informing him
of what my intention had been, and also my opinion of his treachery. I
regret to say that Mr Macartney did not think fit to have this
translated to him.... On 8th December the Futai sent Mr Macartney to
persuade me that he could not have done otherwise, and I blush to
think that he could have got a