He accepted the Private Secretaryship to
Lord Ripon, the new Viceroy of India, and, three days after his
arrival at Bombay, he resigned. He had suddenly realised that he
was not cut out for a Private Secretary, when, on an address
being sent in from some deputation, he was asked to say that the
Viceroy had read it with interest. 'You know perfectly,' he said
to Lord William Beresford, 'that Lord Ripon has never read it,
and I can't say that sort of thing; so I will resign, and you
take in my resignation.' He confessed to Lord William that the
world was not big enough for him, that there was 'no king or
country big enough'; and then he added, hitting him on the
shoulder, 'Yes, that is flesh, that is what I hate, and what
makes me wish to die.'
Two days later, he was off for Pekin. 'Every one will say I am
mad,' were his last words to Lord William Beresford; 'but you say
I am not.' The position in China was critical; war with Russia
appeared to be imminent; and Gordon had been appealed to in
order to use his influence on the side of peace. He was welcomed
by many old friends of former days, among them Li Hung Chang,
whose diplomatic views coincided with his own. Li's diplomatic
language, however, was less unconventional. In an interview with
the Ministers, Gordon's expressions were such that the
interpreter
shook with terror, upset a cup of tea, and finally refused to
translate
the dreadful words; upon which Gordon snatched up a dictionary,
and,
with his finger on the word 'idiocy', showed it to the startled
Mandarins.
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