ounded, the men supported their
commanding officers, and refused to obey. The majors, however, seeing
that there was only one General, and that he might be killed, in which
event the command would probably devolve on one of themselves, thought
better of the matter, and fell in with their men as usual. The only
wonder is that, with such an army and such disorganised material, the
young commander should have been able to accomplish so much against
overwhelming numbers.

When Gordon reached Quinsan, he found the Imperial troops under
Governor Li and General Ching in a most unfortunate position. They were
supposed to be besieging the city, but the enemy were practically
besieging them. Gordon quickly drove off the enemy that were seeking to
encompass the Imperialists, and then he found that General Ching was
anxious to attack the eastern gate of the city, a proceeding that did
not at all commend itself to him. He saw at a glance that the western
gate would probably be the better one to attack, as the enemy would be
less prepared there. Quinsan was an important place, and was strongly
defended; it was held by at least 15,000 men, and the moat round the
fortification was forty feet wide. Before coming to a definite
decision, Gordon made a reconnaissance in a steamer, taking the
Governor and General Ching with him. Being convinced by personal
observation that he was right in the step he intended to take, he
informed the Chinese General to that effect, and in a letter written
some little time after the event he says, "General Ching was as sulky
as a bear when he was informed that I thought it advisable to take
these stockades the next day, and to attack on this side of the city."

At dawn on the 30th May, having surrounded the city with his own and
the Imperialist troops, he took a small force by water to a point on
the main line of communication between Quinsan and Soo-chow, only
defended by a weak stockade, which was easily taken. Gordon then took
the celebrated little steamer the _Hyson_, and went towards Soo-chow.
Meeting a large force of the enemy on the way to reinforce Quinsan, he
opened fire upon them. Little anticipating an attack in this direction,
they got into confusion and fled, the steamer following them. Having
inflicted heavy loss on the retreating army and steamed right up to
Soo-chow, he turned round and went at full speed till he got back to
Chunye, where he had that morning left a small detachment of riflem