ANECDOTES OF GORDON.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2596, 2 March 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

ANECDOTES OF GORDON.

When Gordon was appointed Governor- , General of the Soudan he proceeded to | Khaitoum to be installed as the represent- j ative of tho Khedive. The Emirs and , people had flocked from the surrounding j districts to bo present at the ceremony, and one and all expected that the new potentate would, on the occasion of his first entering upon his duties, make, according to custom, a high flown and hyperbolic speech ; but to the surprise of all assembled, Gordon, after taking the usual oath, merely said to the crowd of of sheikhs and chiefs who thronged the palace, in his usual quiet, and, we may be almost justified in saying, quaint manner "By tho help of God I will hold the balance level." To thoso who knew Gordon and his peculiar type of character this utterance will be perfectly intelligible. Gordon was very fond of visiting the different provinces of his enormous principality, and as often as not used a " dahabsyah," or Nile boat, as a means of conveyance. On one of these excursions Gordon, as was his wont, was walking along the bank with a small escort of two or three Egyptian soldiers and a few European officers. Suddenly a number of armed Arabs were descried rushing towards the party. Gordon was a few yards in advance of his followers, and seeing that all means of escape were cut off h«"deliberately fired. The shot missed, and Gonkn fired his second barrel, but with the same result. The Arab was within -20 yards of him when one of his Egyptian escort knelt down and dropped the fanatic. Tho soldier got up well pleased with himself, and expected, some what naturally we must confess, to receive some meed of praise from the Governor. General. Instead of which he was greet ed with a volley of condemnation, for, as the general explained, " If his time was come it was not the soldier's duty to interfere." We believe that this action, meritorious as it might seem to more worldly natures, neither received thanks nor any other benefits from the hands of the man whose life he had undoubtedly saved. On another occasion, somewhat similar to the last, Gordon whilst walking on shore, almost unattended with the exception of one or two European subordinates, was pursued,when some two or three hundred yards from the bank of the river, by hostile Arabs. They were well aware who the white stranger was, and were desirous to revenge themselves upon their governors by getting rid of so distinguished a person as tho GovernorGeneral. But though they followed him ■ clown to the water's edge, they hesitated to attack the small party before them. When they reached tho water's edge and further retreat for tho time was not ; possible, owing to tho boat being in mid i stream, it seemed more than probable to tho majority of the party that the end had i come. But Gordon did not seem to take any notice of the hostile Arabs surround- ; ing him, although their threatening attitudes and gestures betrayed, without auy I doubt, to the remainder of his party what their sinister intentions were. At that . critical moment a hippoptamus rose at i tho edge of the river amongst tho reeds, and Gordon, with the greatest calmness and indifference to his perilous surrouudi ings, promptly turned on hia heel and ; shut the hippopotamus dead. Whether it was the apparent indifference to their ! presence or the obious contempt for the i impending danger we do not know, but . the Arabs allowed Gordon and his party i to return to their dahabe.yah without mo- : testing them in any way. Another curious trait in Gordon's character was i his fondness for dromedaries or riding ; camels. He possessed when at Khartoum i a very large stable of these useful beasts, and he did not care what he had to pay ; for them ; but have them he would. He ■ would enter a village and ask what man possessed the fatest dromedary. On receiving the information, he would send for the owner and offer to buy his beast, and take it away with him on his next journey, generally paying a much larger ■ sum than was asked by the avaricious i owner.— Admiralty and Horse Guards 1 Gazette.