of that honour, which was conferred on him for
the Crimea. He was taken prisoner early in the Franco-Prussian war,
and was shot by the Communists almost immediately on his return from
the Prussian prison. Gordon's stay at Galatz was varied by an
agreeable trip in 1872 to the Crimea, where he was sent to inspect the
cemeteries with Sir John Adye. They travelled in an English gunboat,
which proved a comfortable sea-boat, and Gordon wrote, "General Adye
is a very agreeable companion." The cemeteries were found much
neglected, and in a sad state of disrepair. The Russian officers were
pronounced civil, but nothing more. But Gordon saw clearly that,
having torn up the Black Sea Treaty, they were ready to recover
Bessarabia, and to restore Sebastopol to the rank of a first-class
naval fortress. After the Crimean tour he came to England on leave.
His time was short, but he managed to pay a flying visit to
Gravesend. He also could not resist the temptation of attending the
funeral of the Emperor Napoleon in January 1873, and he expressed his
opinion of that ill-starred ruler in his usual terse manner--"a
kind-hearted, unprincipled man." His youngest brother, to whom he was
much attached, and who had shared in the Woolwich frolics, died about
this time, and his mother was seized with paralysis, and no longer
recognised him. He felt this change most acutely, for between him and
his mother there had been a peculiar attachment, and when he was at
home she would hardly ever let him out of her sight. He used to call
his home visits doing duty as his mother's _aide-de-camp_. When he
left England for Galatz she was unconscious, and passed away some
months later while he was abroad.

It was while General Gordon was on the Danube that preparations were
made for the expedition against the Ashantees, and many persons
suggested General Gordon for the command. It would have been an
excellent occasion for intrusting him with an independent command in
his country's service; but Sir Garnet, now Lord, Wolseley had recently
gained much credit by his conduct of the Red River Expedition, and was
appointed to the command of this force. General Gordon was no doubt
disappointed at the result, but not so much as he had been in the case
of Abyssinia, and loyalty to an old Crimean colleague tempered his own
loss with satisfaction at another's success. Still, on public grounds,
it must be pronounced unfortunate that the last occasion which was
offered of