e thought that he was performing a national work
in directing promising recruits to the first line of our defence, and
the main prop of this Empire. Soon his few special pupils swelled into
a class, not all boarders, but of outsiders who came in to learn
geography and hear the Colonel explain the Bible; and not only that,
but to be told of stirring deeds beyond the sea by one who had himself
contributed to the making of history. We can well believe that before
this uncritical but appreciative audience, from whose favour he had
nothing to hope, or, as he would say, to fear, Gordon threw off the
restraint and shyness habitual to him. It was very typical of the man
that, where others thought only of instructing the poor and the
ignorant, his chief wish was to amuse them and make them laugh.

By this simple means his class increased, and grew too large for his
room. Sooner than break it up or discourage new-comers, he consented
to teach in the ragged schools, where he held evening classes almost
every night. Where he had clothed two or three boys, he now
distributed several hundred suits in the year; and it is said that his
pupils became so numerous that he had to buy pairs of boots by the
gross. All this was done out of his pay. His personal expenses were
reduced to the lowest point, so that the surplus might suffice to
carry on the good work. It very often left him nearly penniless until
his next pay became due--and this was not very surprising, as he could
never turn a deaf ear to any tale of distress, and often emptied his
pockets at the recital of any specially touching misfortune. When any
outside subject of national suffering appealed to his heart or touched
his fancy, he would consequently have no means available of sending
any help, and this was specially the case during the suffering of the
Lancashire operatives after the close of the American Civil War. On
that occasion he defaced the gold medal given him by the Chinese
Empresses, and sent it anonymously to the fund, which benefited from
it to the extent of L10; but, as has been already stated, he made this
sacrifice with the greatest pain and reluctance.

Gordon's love of children, and especially of boys, was quite
remarkable. He could enter into their feelings far better than he
could into those of grown men, and the irritability which he could
scarcely suppress even among his friends was never displayed towards
them. He was always at their service, anxious to