would, from early training, have had
conscientious scruples about taking the Lord's Supper without the
presence of a priest. The other Englishman was Colonel Stewart, who,
despite his friendship for Gordon, was not in sympathy with him in
regard to religious matters. Had the three Englishmen been like-minded,
there can be no question that that sentence in Gordon's letter would
never have been written.

This is a subject that touches Christian men in the army and navy, as
well as in the merchant service, very closely. Frequently such men for
months together never see a clergyman, and it would be absurd to say
that under such circumstances they must neglect the dying command of
their Saviour.

It is told of three officers, who were great friends, that on the night
before the battle of Waterloo, they agreed to partake together of the
Holy Communion. The senior of them took an ordinary glassful of wine
and some bread, and they knelt together, and asked God to bless the
sacred rite. They rose, and the senior administered to each, using the
beautiful words of the Church of England Communion Service. They never
met together again on earth, but who can question the validity of that
sacred meal, and who would dare to say that the ceremony would have
been more acceptable to God if a clergyman had been present? The Bible
nowhere asserts that the presence of a minister is necessary, and our
National Church has very wisely followed the example of the Bible. The
Church of Rome does teach that the presence of a priest is necessary to
make Holy Communion a valid ordinance. Our National Church, in common
with the various bodies of Nonconformists, recognises, as a matter of
ecclesiastical order, that under ordinary circumstances, an officiating
clergyman should be present. But his presence in no way affects the
validity of the sacrament, being merely a wise precaution against the
admission of unworthy communicants. The laity surrender into the hands
of the clergyman, or the minister aided by elders or deacons, their
power of admitting or rejecting worthy or unworthy persons. But under
abnormal circumstances, such as those in which Gordon was placed at
Khartoum, ecclesiastical order would be suspended, and any two or three
Christian laymen would have a perfect right to partake of the Holy
Communion in accordance with the Word of God. This is the view that
Christian officers in the army and navy have always taken, and those
who were pai