"We are to relieve the distressed, to put the wanderer into his way,
and to share our bread with the hungry, which is but the doing good to
others."--SENECA.
Our hero having returned to his native land, and to settle for a little
while at the quiet town of Gravesend, refused to be lionized, and he
begged that no publication of his deeds of daring and devotion in China,
should be recorded. His quiet life here as an engineer was not less
remarkable, though of a different kind, than life in China had been.
Here, however, he spent the energies of his spare time, to the services
of the poor. At this juncture I was privileged to come in contact with
this remarkable man, in the great city of Manchester, where for a few
months, he was employed on some Governmental Commission. Like his Master
Christ--he went about doing good. My position at this time was an agent,
or scripture reader for "The Manchester City Mission." Gordon found his
way to the office and saw the chairman of the mission, and from him got
permission to accompany one of the missioners round his district. He
expressed his desire to go round one of the poorest districts of the
city; as it might afford him an opportunity of seeing for himself some of
the social blots and scars in our national life; also of giving some
practical help to the deserving poor. My district was such an one as
would furnish him with the opportunities to satisfy him in that
particular, and I was therefore asked to allow Col. Gordon to accompany
me to its squalid scenes, to my Ragged School, cottage and open-air
services, and to the sick and suffering, of which I had many on my list.
This request was gladly complied with; for the first sight of the
stranger made me love and trust him.
And now the hero of so many battles fought for freedom and liberty, was
to witness scenes of warfare of a very different kind. War, it is true,
but not where there are garments rolled in blood and victims slain; but
war with the powers of darkness, war between good and evil, truth and
error, light and darkness. We went together into the lowest slums of the
district; walked arm in arm over the ground where misery tells its sad
and awful tale, where poverty shelters its shivering frame, and where
blasphemy howls its curse. We found out haunts of vice and sin, terrible
in their character, and distressing in their consequences. I found he
had not hitherto been accustomed to this kind of mission. Once on my
entering a den of dangerous characters and lecturing them on their sinful
course and warning them in unmistakable words of the consequences, he
afterwards said: "I could not have found courage of the kind you show in
this work; yet I never was considered lacking in courage on the field of
battle. When in the Crimea, I was sent frequently and went on hands and
knees through the fall of shells and the whizz of bullets right up to the
Russian walls to watch their movements, and I never felt afraid; I
confess I need courage to warn men of sin and its dangerous
consequences." He met me, for a time almost daily, well supplied with
tracts, which I noticed he used as a text for a few words of advice, or
comfort, or warning as the case required, but he invariably left a silver
coin between the leaves; this I think was a proof he was sincere in his
efforts to do good. Along Old Millgate, and around the Cathedral, at
that time, were numerous courts and alleys, obscure, often filthy, dark
and dangerous; down or up these he accompanied me; up old rickety
staircases, into old crumbling ruins of garrets he followed without
hesitation.
{C. G. Gordon: p51.jpg}
At the bedside of the dying prodigal or prostitute he would sit with
intense interest, pointing them to Him who casts out none. In our house
to house visitation he would sit down and read of the Saviour's love,
making special reference to those that are poor in this world, assuring
them it was for the outcast and the forsaken, and the lost, that Jesus
came to die. He would kneel down for prayer by a broken chair or the
corner of a slop-stone, or by the wash-tub, and with the simplicity of a
child, address in tender and touching petition, the Great Father of all
in Heaven, while tears chased each other down his sun-tanned face; his
great soul going out with his prayer for Heaven's blessing on the
helpless poor.
His sympathy was tender as a child's, and his beneficence as liberal as
the best of Christian's can be. He often came and took tea with me in my
quiet home, where we had many very interesting interviews, and where we
conversed on subjects varied but mostly religious; he rarely referred to
his military achievements; when he did so it was with the greatest self
abnegation and humility. He would say, "No honour belongs to me, I am
only the instrument God uses to accomplish his purpose." I introduced
him to my ragged school; this to him was a most interesting scene of
work, and he volunteered to give us some of his time and service; and to
see him with 20 or 30 of these ragged lads about him was to say the
least, full of interest. He, however, had the happy art of getting at
their heart at once; by incidents, stories and experiences, which
compelled attention and confidence. In a very short time he won the
esteem and the love of every lad in the school. To some of these lads he
became specially attached, and for some time after he left Manchester he
kept up with me, and with several of the lads, also with some of my
colleagues on the mission--a very interesting correspondence. Happily, I
have preserved a good number of these letters, and they show the spirit
and motive of that noble soul, more than any poor words of mine can do.
Letter.
GRAVESEND,
_June 19th_, _1869_.
"My Dear Mr. Wardle.--My long silence has not been because I had
forgot you and your kind reception of me; but because secular work has
so completely taken up my time of late. I was glad to hear of you . .
. . and of the Dark Lane (ragged school) lads. I often wish I could
go down with you and see them; I often think of them. I wish I could
help them, but it is only by prayer that I can now benefit them. I
loved them very much, and look forward to the time when our weary
march, dogged by our great foe will be ended; and we meet for ever in
our Heavenly home. I remember them all, Jones, Carr, &c., &c., and I
often think of their poor young faces which must soon get deepened
into wrinkles with sorrow and care. Thank God we go like Israel of
old, after a new home; we cannot find our rest here! Day by day we
are, little as we may think it, a day's march nearer, till someday we
shall perhaps unexpectedly reach it."
Good bye, my dear Mr. Wardle,
Yours sincerely,
C. H. GORDON.
"Kind regards to _my_ lads."
Gordon was deeply moved by the sights of poverty and distress around him;
this was shown by the dress and appearance of the factory hands. He was
especially struck by the clatter of the clogs--the Lancashire cotton
operative's foot gear.
To his Sister he wrote:--
MANCHESTER,
_September 21st_, _1867_.
"Your heart would bleed to see the poor people, though they say there
is no distress such as there was some time ago; they are indeed like
sheep having no shepherd, but, thank God, though they look forlorn,
they have a watchful and pitying eye upon them. It does so painfully
affect me, and I do trust will make me think less of self, and more of
these poor people. Little idea have the rich of other countries of
the scenes in these parts. It does so make me long for that great day
when He will come and put all things straight.
How long, O Lord, how long!
I have but little time to write by this post, so will say no more
about that. I have less confidence in the flesh than ever, thank God,
though it is a painful struggle and makes one long for the time when,
this our earthly tabernacle, shall be dissolved; but may His will be
done. If there is sin and misery, there is One who over-rules all
things for good; we must be patient. The poor scuttlers here, male
and female, fill me with sorrow. They wear wooden clogs, a sort of
sabot, and make such a noise. Good-bye, and may God manifest Himself
in all His power to all of you, and make you to rejoice with joy
unspeakable. If we think of it, the only thing which makes the
religion of our Lord Jesus Christ differ from that of every other
religion, or profession, is this very indwelling of God the Holy Ghost
in our bodies; we can do nothing good; Christ says, "Without me, ye
can do nothing." You are dead in trespasses and sins, you are
corpses, and must have life put in you, and that life is God Himself,
who dwells in us, and shows us the things of Christ."
C. G. GORDON.
Letter. No. 2.
"My Dear Mr. Wardle,--I had a nice letter the other day from one of my
lads, Carr, whom I hope you will look after, as well as all the rest.
I have often thought of you all. Keep the "Tongue of Fire," {57}
before you, and you will have great joy. I have thought much lately
on the subject of God dwelling in us, and speaking through us. We are
only witnesses, not judges; the Gospel is:--God loves you: not--Do you
love God. The one is a witness, the other an inquiry which is not to
be made by man of his fellow man, for it is impossible for man to love
God unless he first feels and knows that God loves him. Our fault is,
want of Charity one towards another. We do not go down to the poor
lost sinner, but ask him to do what of himself he cannot do, viz.,
come up to us. What ought to be always floating in our proud hearts
is:--'Who made thee to differ.'
Kind regards to all my friends.
Never forgotten, or to be forgotten.
Yours truly,
C. G. GORDON."
Letter. No. 3.
"My Dear Mr. Wardle, I send you 'Jukes on Genesis' and on the 'Four
Gospels.' I have to send you his work on 'The Offerings in
Leviticus,' and also Macintosh's 'Genesis and Exodus.' I am sure you
will enjoy them. I cut Genesis up so as to lend it about; I hope you
won't mind my having used them, and marked some papers. I hope D.V.
to see you Monday evening, and with kind regards.
Believe me yours sincerely in Christ,
C. G. GORDON."
Gordon was intensely and deeply religious; it was in him certainly "as a
well of water springing up into everlasting life." He could talk of
nothing else, in whatever company, it was the same theme--"Christ in you
the hope of glory." A favourite text of his was 1. John, chap. 4, ver.
15--"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth
in him, and he in God." This he took as a text for a little homily which
he printed and circulated by thousands. After the above head-line, in
special type, it ran thus:--"Reader! Do you confess that Jesus is the
Son of God? Do you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God?
If you do then God dwells in you to-day. Whatever you are, whatever you
have been, or have done,--and if you ask Him, 'O Lord, I believe that
Jesus is the Son of God; show me, for His sake, that Thou livest in me.'
He will make you feel His presence in your hearts, and will make you feel
perfectly happy, which you cannot be in any other way. Many believe
sincerely that Jesus is the Son of God, but are not happy, because they
do not believe THAT which God tells them--that He lives in them both in
body and soul, transforming the whole man into the likeness of Jesus
Christ, if they confess Jesus to be His son. Do you believe this
statement? If you do, yet do not feel God's presence, ask Him to show
Himself to you, and He will surely do so."
After this homily, on the same tract, were the following passages of
Scripture:--
Luke, chap. 2, v. 13. "If ye then being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask."
Rom., chap. 10, v. 9. "If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved."
I. Cor., chap. 3, v. 16. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you."
I. Cor., chap. 6, v. 19. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own."
II. Cor., chap. 6, v. 16. "Ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people."
The tone and spirit of this tract, is the kernel, if I may say so, of his
deepest religious convictions.
He gave me a number of New Testaments for distribution, as he did also to
one or two others of our missioners. The following letter accompanies
the parcel:--
"My dear Mr. Wardle,--I have sent thirty Testaments for you and thirty
for Mr. Fielden. Will you kindly oblige by marking in each the
following passages, viz.:--
Matt. chap. 2, V. 28, 29. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Gal. ch. 5, v., 19., 25. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, 21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you
in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the
Kingdom of God." 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness,
temperance; against such there is no law. 42. And they that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If
we live in the spirit, let us walk in the spirit."
Also I John ch. 4, v. 15. "Whosoever shall confess, etc."
He also published a little work entitled "Christ and His members; or the
in-dwelling of God, the root of faith in Christ." One or two quotations
may be sufficient to show the nature or scope of the work, a copy now
lies before me.
"Belief or faith in Jesus being the Son of God, is the distinguishing
spiritual mark of the members of Christ's body; it is a fruit which
springs from a root, or source, from which it is sustained, and
increased. This root is the indwelling of God the Holy Ghost in the
soul. This indwelling gives faith or belief in the fact that even as the
sun gives light, or the fire gives warmth, and as there can be no warmth
without fire, and no light without the sun, neither can there be any
belief in Jesus, without the indwelling of God in the soul."
He wrote me from Liverpool as follows:
"My dear Mr. Wardle, do not forget to take the Testaments on Tuesday
night. I always carry some with me, and always regret if I am taken
by surprise, and have not any.
Read and delight in "The tongue of fire," especially the first four or
five chapters. If a man would be the instrument of winning souls to
his Lord, it is utterly impossible for him to do so except through and
by the Holy Ghost. He must be loving the praise of God, more than
that of man. He must be humble, mean spirited it is called by many;
even sometimes by his friends: and he can only be mean spirited by
living near God. Let a man live distant from God, who is light, and
he will not think he is so bad, but will think himself a little better
than others, but let him live near God, and as he lives near Him he
will feel himself worse than the worst; such is the power of the
glorious light . . . . Goodbye; kind regards to all.
Yours sincerely, C. G. GORDON."
Another letter from Gravesend.
Nov. 24, 1868.
"My dear Mr. Wardle, I thank you for your kind note. I send you 500
leaflets, kindly give them to the boys and girls of Buxton. The
servant forgot to pay the carriage, so I send a small sum which I hope
will cover it. I hear now and then of the Dark Lane Ragged School,
from Mr. James Johnson, who kindly writes now and then. I will write
(D.V.) again shortly. Kind regards.
Yours sincerely
C. G. GORDON."
Again he writes from Gravesend.
"My Dear Mr. Wardle, I hope you have not forgotten me, for I have not
done so to you, but I am sure you are very busy, and hard worked . . .
. Will you thank Fielden for his kind note and remember me to his
wife and brother. Tell him I was very glad to hear of two of my boys,
English and Hogg.
I often would like to look in and see you and the lads at _Dark Lane_,
{63} and all my poor old sick folk I used to visit. Remember me to
them all.
I do not see my way to come down yet awhile, for we have all our leave
stopped. Excuse me for I have my hands full of work. Believe me, my
dear Mr. Wardle.
Yours sincerely
C. G. GORDON."