was made a Tsung-Ping
or Brigadier-General. He had passed through his first ordeal, and had
come out of it with credit. He had not only struck a blow, but had done
it with such promptitude, that every one began to get confidence in
this young "General," as he was hereafter termed by the Chinese. To
take a handful of men, not stronger than a full-sized English regiment
at that time, to transport them in one day fifty miles, and to capture
a city with overwhelming odds against him, exhibited capacity combined
with promptness of action equal to anything recorded in the annals of
the greatest soldiers. His predecessor, with an army numbering
7500--for he had a large force of Imperial troops in addition to his
own--had been terribly beaten in his attempt to take Taitsan. But
Gordon with a force of only 1000 men had captured one city and relieved
another, at a much greater distance from headquarters, and that with
the loss of only two killed and six wounded. In the account of the
attack, no light is thrown on the question why Gordon succeeded so
brilliantly when others failed. He simply pounded away with his
artillery, which was not strong, for three hours, and having effected a
breach, he ordered an assault of infantry, which swept everything
before it. This in itself is such a simple operation, and so much like
what had been done before, that it does not account for his success. As
the question will doubtless often occur to the reader, why Gordon so
often succeeded where others failed, it may be well to quote a few
words written by Colonel Prout, dealing with this very subject:--

"Gordon took and kept his unquestioned place as a chief, not by
force of gold lace, banners, and salutes of trumpets and guns, but
_by doing things_. He filled Carlyle's definition, _King_,
_Koenning_, which means _Can_-ing, Able-man. All who are at all
familiar with his character and deeds must recognise the fact that
he was a man of great qualities, both of mind and character. He did
not do things accidentally or by mysterious means. Whatever
business he had in hand, he knew it thoroughly in all its details.
He knew his men and their motives, and he grasped all the minutiae
of his material. He was a highly educated modern soldier, and from
the principles of grand strategy down to mending a gun-lock or
loading a cartridge he knew his profession. He was not a great
student of books, but his quick