Joseph Wardle

“ The passions and pleasures of human life symbolized together and the mystery of its redemption; for the mass of interwoven lines and changeful pictures lead always at last to the Cross lifted and carved in every place and upon every stone, sometimes with the serpent of eternity wrapped around it, with doves beneath its arms, and sweet herbage growing forth from its feet. But conspicuous most of all is the great road that crosses the church before the altar, raised in the bright blazonry against the shadow of the Apse. ”

“ Gladstone said of him, “General Gordon is no common man. It is no exaggeration to say he is a hero. It is no exaggeration to say he is a Christian hero.” Mr. W. E. Forster also remarked of him, “I know no other man living for whom I have a greater admiration than General Gordon. He is utterly unselfish. He is regardless of money. He cares nothing for fame or glory. He cares little for life or death. ”

“ From the busy, bustling railway station we were concluded by a Fakena, who brought up our luggage to a gondola lying in the shimmering sea just outside. No cabs or ’bus as at other stations, the gondola seemed to be everywhere. As we stepped into our new found equipage we were entranced, imagination fails to picture a sight so bewitching. Lights in a thousand directions, gondolas passing and repassing as we sweep through the principal waterway, then turn sharp round a corner as our gondolier cries: “Stali priene gai e” as he passes others with most wonderful precision. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The wonder is that in the face of perils so dangerous, work so difficult, and sufferings so intense, that his spirit was not completely crushed and broken. We must bear in mind, his work there was to secure peace to a country that appeared to be bent on war; to suppress slavery amongst a people to whom it was a second nature, and to whom the trade in human flesh was life, and honour, and fortune. To make and discipline an army out of the rawest recruits ever put in the field, to develop and grow a flourishing trade, and to obtain a fair revenue, amid the wildest anarchy in the world ”

“ They were mostly of white marble. The river Arno runs through the city. Florence is essentially a city of flowers, as its name indicates. All around for miles castles, mansions, villas, gardens and shady nooks fill the soul with a consciousness that Nature here has bestowed her gifts of beauty in no stinted degree. Florence has been called, and I think very aptly, the Athens of Italy. This city possesses the memories of some of the world’s greatest men, “the priceless heirlooms of a glorious past.” Here the peerless bard, “Dante” sang his deathless song and made his lovely Beatrice immortal. ”

“ It is surrounded by Olive yards and Orange groves, and near by is the beautiful lake of Como. This is one of the most beautiful of all lakes of lovely Italy we have seen, and we had seen several from our carriage windows, and it was only from this point we could gaze upon this scene of loveliness. Time did not permit us to leave the train to explore and to enjoy. We could see its blue waters shimmering under a warm glow of sunshine. The surroundings are very interesting and beautiful, the eye does not grow weary in tracing the outline of the hills which surround it. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A dear mother, sister or lover passed away. All these experiences go through the old scribe’s hands daily. Young Italy, however, is awaking to her need as a nation, for education and for the training of the young.
Our hotel is our home of rest, and we certainly enjoyed it after hours of travel and inspection. Sights seen that we had never dreamed of. Pictures, sculpture, arch, column, colonnades, so profuse and so attractive that we forgot we were tired until we turned away for a break and a rest. ”

“ There was no other way of putting an end to the slave trade which at present was carried on by force of arms in defiance of law. When once brigandage had become a thing of the past, and when once a breach had been made in the lawless customs of long ages, then trade might be made free to all. If the men who had been in the pay of adventurers were willing to enter the service of the Government, Col. Gordon was to make all the use of them he could. ”

“ There are many churches in all the cities of Italy that are full of interest, some have been so much modernized that, from the outside, there appears nothing unusual, but once you are inside, surprise follows surprise. Saint Ambrogio is one of these. The moment you get inside you are interested, statues of costly marble, silver shrines, columns of marble, vast and numerous. One of the great sights is the splendid facing of the altar, which is a marvellous display of the goldsmiths’ art. ”

“ We knew well that this could not last long, but many a brave soldier’s career was cut short long before we advanced to the attack—strange some of our older hands were smoking and taking not the slightest notice of this ‘dance of death.’ Some men were being carried past dead, and others limping to the rear with mangled limbs, while their life’s blood was streaming fast away. ”

“ From here we passed the great Eiffel Tower, the Bourse, the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Champs Elysees, the Bois de Boulogne, and the New Opera House. The Pont Neuf or the New Bridge over the Seine. Then to the tomb where lies all that remains of the great Napoleon. Here, with uncovered heads, we gazed into the grand mausoleum, and were constrained to moralize on the vanity of human ambition; and of how short-lived and unsatisfactory all worldly wealth, pomp and pleasure. We passed the Pantheon and several places of great interest, but time flies and we must away from Paris. ”

“ General Gordon was the son of a soldier who proved his gallantry on many occasions, and who took a pride in his profession. It was said of him that he was greatly beloved by all who served under him. He was generous, genial and kind hearted, and strictly just in all his practices and aims. He gave to his Queen and country a long life of devoted service. His wife, we are told, was a woman of marked liberality; cheerful and loving, always thoughtful of the wants of others ”

“ We have surely seen enough of the profusion of costly ornamentation in the old churches. We gazed upon pictures until our eyes were weary of looking at the finest works of the painters’ art ever produced. We have surely learned something in this old-world city of the deeds and doings of bygone ages. To have seen St. Mark’s and its wonderful Campanile or Tower, and the Palace of the ancient Kings or Doges, and the Grand Square, and the Bronze Horses that figure in so many legends (it is said there are hundreds of people in this curious old city that have never seen a living horse) . ”

“ With the blood gushing in streams from his gashed throat the dauntless Burnaby leaped to his feet, sword in hand, and slashed at the ferocious group. They were the wild shrieks of a proud man dying hard, and he was quickly overborne, and left helpless and dying! The heroic soldier who sprang to his rescue, was, I fear, also slain in the meleé, for though I watched for him, I never saw him get back to his place in the ranks. But the square had been broken. The Arabs were driving their spears at our men’s breasts. Happily, however, the enemy’s ranks had been badly decimated by our bullets ”

“ Orchards and fine Chestnut trees in rich profusion. Passing along we see the white foam of a waterfall as it shines amongst the verdure or leaps over the rocky crags and comes dashing and splashing down the hillside. Further on we see the little white houses dotting the hillsides, as if they grew out of the same. Then a single arch of a bridge that spans a small ravine and unites one little cluster of houses with another, giving interest to the whole surroundings. ”

“ I cannot find words to express to you the respect and admiration with which your brother’s simple faith and heroic courage have inspired me: the whole world resounds with the name of the Englishman whose chivalrous nature afforded it for many years its brightest and most powerful example,—an example which I believe will influence thousands of persons for good through all time. To a man of Gordon’s character the disappointment of hopes he deemed so near fruition, and the sudden manner of his death were of little importance. ”