long as Moh-Wang refused to acquiesce. A
council of war was summoned, and hot words passed. One general seized
the brave old warrior, whose spirit was so invincible, stabbed him, and
severed his head from his body. That night, November 29, 1863,
Soo-chow, which had been held by the rebels since 1860, was
surrendered. In order to prevent his men from looting it, Gordon sent
them back to Quinsan, but he asked Governor Li to grant them two
months' extra pay, which was denied, though later on one month's pay
was granted. This meanness on the part of the civil Governor to a body
of men who had done so much for the country very nearly led to a
mutiny.

The culminating point of the young commander's grievances against his
employers was yet to come. On December 6th, when Gordon visited the
captured city, he discovered that the rebel generals who had
surrendered had all been killed, in spite of the stipulation that their
lives were to be spared. It is said that Gordon was so enraged with
this cowardly treachery that he burst into tears, and then went forth,
revolver in hand, to seek the Governor, in order to shoot him. It is to
be regretted that Sir Henry Gordon, in his biography of his brother,
denies this circumstance. Nothing is gained by attempting to screen the
faults of a great man. The commander of the Ever-Victorious Army was
undeniably a great man, but it is also true that he had his share of
human failings, among them a tendency to act on the impulse of the
moment. His honour had been touched, he felt that he had been disgraced
and would appear in the light of one who could trample on a fallen foe,
and there can be no question as to the accuracy of the fact, that in
his impulsiveness he did seek the life of Li Hung Chung; though the
Governor afterwards became a bosom friend of his. Mr. Wilson, another
biographer, who has already been quoted, read his MS. over to Gordon,
so that his account is likely to be accurate. In it he says:--

"His first impulse, when his two steamers came in sight, was to
obtain hold of the Futai (Governor Li) and inflict summary justice
on that high official. General Ching, however, gave timely warning
of Gordon's incensed state, and Li very wisely hurried into the
city, thus avoiding a meeting. For some days after this Gordon's
anxiety to meet with the Futai was only equalled by that of the
Futai to keep out of his way, and this was the only period of his
camp