ts who
are moving in the matter recognise that the lines he laid down are the
right ones to follow. The number of years that he was permitted to
devote to this struggle with slavery were not many, but the seeds were
sown which will bring forth a rich harvest in the future. In that noble
crusade, which he undertook single-handed against tyranny and
oppression, he supplied the best possible answer to the cynic's
question whether or not life is worth living:--

"Is Life worth living? Yes, so long
As there is wrong to right,
Wail of the weak against the strong,
Or tyranny to fight;
Long as there lingers gloom to chase
Or streaming tear to dry,
One kindred woe, one sorrowing face,
That smiles as we draw nigh."[7]

[7] Mr. Alfred Austin in the _English Illustrated Magazine_.

Not only had Gordon to contend with the slave trade, corrupt officials,
an unsympathetic government at Cairo, and incompetent troops, but to
add to his troubles his staff broke down with sickness and even death,
while he for the first time in his life suffered from ague and liver
disorders. Here are descriptions of the climate from some of his
letters:--

"This is a horrid climate. I seldom, if ever, get a good sleep. It
is a very great comfort to feel that God will rectify one's defects
in this life, and make right all mistakes, also that He governs
everything. Is it my present temperament, or is it truly the case
that things go untowardly more in this land than anywhere else? You
wrap up an article in paper, the paper is sure to tear, the string
you least want to be broken is broken; every, _every_ thing seems
to go wrong. It may be my liver which makes me think this, but it
has been the same with all travellers." ... "The mosquitoes are
horrible here; the proboscis is formed like a bayonet, with a hinge
at the bend; they turn it down for perforation and press on it with
their head, muscles, and chest. I am very susceptible of their bite
or dig; the least touch of the 'bayonet' makes a lump."

... "Variety is pleasing! Got away from mosquitoes to find
sand-flies and harvest-bugs instead. However, they are quiet by
day, and here there are no flies with irritating feet. There must
be some wonderful mystery about this life. Why should these
countries be so full of annoyances to man? Why should even the
alighting of a fly, _his