' The
agitated Mandarin hoped to placate Gordon by a large gratuity and
an Imperial medal; but the plan was not successful. 'General
Gordon,' he writes, 'called upon me in his angriest mood. He
repeated his former speeches about the Wangs. I did not attempt
to argue with him... He refused the 10,000 taels, which I had
ready for him, and, with an oath, said that he did not want the
Throne's medal. This is showing the greatest disrespect.'
Gordon resigned his command; and it was only with the utmost
reluctance that he agreed at last to resume it. An arduous and
terrible series of operations followed; but they were successful,
and by June, 1864, the Ever Victorious Army, having accomplished
its task, was disbanded. The Imperial forces now closed round
Nankin; the last hopes of the Tien Wang had vanished. In the
recesses of his seraglio, the Celestial King, judging that the
time had come for the conclusion of his mission, swallowed gold
leaf until he ascended to Heaven. In July, Nankin was taken, the
remaining chiefs were executed, and the rebellion was at an end.
The Chinese Government gave Gordon the highest rank in its
military hierarchy, and invested him with the yellow jacket and
the peacock's feather. He rejected an enormous offer of money;
but he could not refuse a great gold medal, specially struck in
his honour by order of the Emperor.
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