he British Government."

He arrived at Hong-Kong on July 2nd and went immediately to Shanghai,
but hearing that his old friend, Li Hung Chang, was at Tientsin, he
proceeded there at once, and found things in a very unsatisfactory
condition. Prince Chun and the Empress Regent were anxious for war with
Russia, being supported in this folly by all the Court, while Prince
Kung and Li Hung Chang practically stood alone in their desire for
peace. Li was so delighted to see Gordon that he fell on his neck and
kissed him. Gordon at once threw his influence into the scale of peace.
He had previously, before leaving India, expressed his views on the
subject in the press:--

"My fixed desire is to persuade the Chinese not to go to war with
Russia, both in their own interests, and for the sake of those of
the world, especially those of England. To me it appears that the
question in dispute cannot be of such vital importance that an
arrangement could not be come to, by concessions upon both sides.
Whether I succeed in being heard or not is not in my hands. I
protest, however, at being regarded as one who wishes for war in
any country, still less in China. Inclined as I am, with only a
small degree of admiration for military exploits, I esteem it a far
greater honour to promote peace than to gain any paltry honours in
a wretched war."

As a matter of fact Gordon did succeed in convincing the Government at
Pekin of the advisability of coming to terms with its opponent, and
thus once more he rendered China an invaluable service. In his earnest
advocacy he appears to have used such emphatic language that the
interpreter dared not repeat it, so Gordon seized a dictionary, looked
up the word "idiotcy," and pointed it out to them. Far better was it,
in Gordon's opinion, to ruffle the self-esteem of a few bigwigs, than
to allow two great nations to drift into a war which, after an enormous
sacrifice of life and much suffering, must have ended fatally for the
Chinese, who were quite unable to meet the trained hordes of Russia.

CHAPTER XIII

MAURITIUS, CAPE, AND PALESTINE

Gordon left China immediately he had saved that country from war,
arriving in England on October 21, 1880. From then till about the end
of the following April he spent on leave. During this month the post of
officer commanding Royal Engineers at the Mauritius fell vacant, and
two officers to whom the command was of