Could I have said more in
all the words of the world?'
Then something happened which impressed and mystified the
sensitive
Chinaman. 'The Englishman's face was first filled with a deep
pleasure,
and then he seemed to be thinking), of something depressing and
sad; for
the smile went from his mouth and there were tears in his eyes
when he
thanked me for what I had said. Can it be that he has, or has
had, some
great trouble in his life, and that he fights recklessly to
forget it, or that Death has no terrors for him?' But, as time
went on, Li Hung Chang's attitude began to change. 'General
Gordon,' he notes in July, 'must control his tongue, even if he
lets his mind run loose.' The Englishman had accused him of
intriguing with the Chinese general, and of withholding money due
to the Ever Victorious Army. 'Why does he not accord me the
honours that are due to me, as head of the military and civil
authority in these parts?' By September, the Governor's earlier
transports have been replaced by a more judicial frame of mind.
'With his many faults, his pride, his temper, and his never-
ending demand for money, (for one is a noble man, and in spite of
all
I have said to him or about him) I will ever think most highly of
him. ... He is an honest man, but difficult to get on with.
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