April 16, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



289 



questions of the things themselves. They do 

 not care to pull the doll or the toy to pieces : 

 they would rather be told what it is made of 

 than take the trouble to examine it. The ele- 

 ment of curiosity seems to have been educated 

 out of them, and their only idea of teaching 

 elementary science is to give the children as 

 many facts as possible about things which thej T 

 know only by their definitions. Until, then, 

 the present happy generation of children has 

 grown up and become ready to teach science 

 by scientific methods, it seems evident that 

 the plan of itinerant teaching has much to 

 commend it. It is a plan, moreover, whose 

 advantages ought not to be confined to the 

 grammar-schools. Instead of putting a single 

 overworked teacher in charge of all possible 

 sciences in a high school, specialists might be 

 found who would go from school to school, 

 and carry with them an enthusiasm which it is 

 impossible to feel for a very wide range of 

 subjects. The Johns Hopkins university has 

 already tested the excellence of the method for 

 higher schools of learning. It is not impossi- 

 ble that the smaller colleges would gain by it 

 if they were to adopt the plan of making occa- 

 sional exchanges among their professors. In 

 no other way could they so easily secure the 

 specialization which is necessary for the best 

 teaching. 



AN ESTIMATE OF GENERAL GORDON'S 

 SCIENTIFIC CHARACTERISTICS. 



In our eagerness to honor a hero, there is 

 some danger that Gordon's fame may suffer 

 temporary injurj T , and that his character and 

 the nature of his deeds may be seriously mis- 

 understood. The popular notion seems to be, 

 that he lived in a state of mystical exaltation, 

 and won his strange successes by powers and 

 processes incomprehensible, if not supernatu- 

 ral. Recent writing about him has dwelt so 

 particularly upon his religious fervor, and 

 much of it has been so intemperate and in- 

 discriminating, that it is not strange that some 

 shallow pamphleteers should have classed him 

 with the prophets. He was a hero. Besides 

 that, he was a highly educated, disciplined, 

 and painstaking officer. He inherited military 

 talent, and love for his profession, from gen- 

 erations of soldiers, and he was trained in that 



thoroughly scientific corps, the Royal engi- 

 neers. For the first three years of his service 

 under the khedive, he kept careful itineraries 

 of all his marches, and, being a fine topog- 

 rapher, he made solid contributions to our 

 knowledge of the geography of the upper Nile 

 countiy. I have before me a dozen sketch- 

 maps of the equatorial country, drawn by his 

 own hand with uncommon skill. He was fond 

 of illustrating his letters and memoranda of 

 instructions with geographical and topographi- 

 cal sketches. He was minutely careful in his 

 arrangements for solidifying and extending his 

 communications and positions, fertile and in- 

 genious in applying his knowledge. If we 

 ever learn the details of his defence of Khar- 

 tum, we shall probably be as much astonished 

 by its mechanical side as by its higher intel- 

 lectual and moral qualities. 



From the beginning of his career before 

 Stevastopol, " He had a personal knowledge 

 of the enemy's movements, such as no other 

 officer attained." His knowledge of the peo- 

 ple of the Sudan, of their sheiks and fakirs, 

 and of the Egyptian officers serving there, was 

 remarkable. He had great capacity for detail ; 

 but his mental processes were so rapid, and his 

 perceptions so keen, that he was often thought 

 illogical by those who could not keep up with 

 him. He was often misjudged, too, because 

 he would not bother to explain all his steps. 



Far from being a mystic, he was wide awake 

 and practical. In Africa and in China he was 

 constantly vigilant in keeping his powder dry. 

 The clothes, food, pay, and sanitary conditions 

 of his soldiers were diligently watched over. 

 The infirmities of temper of his subordinates 

 were well understood and provided for. His 

 campaign in China may well be studied as a 

 shining example of skilfully planned warfare ; 

 and his scheme for the better government of the 

 Sudan involved twelve years of logical and 

 systematic development, before its effect could 

 be fully felt. 



Let no one think that Gordon mounted his 

 camel and rode into the desert, or seized his 

 stick and led his rascals up to the mouths of 

 the Chinese cannon, with a magnificent but 

 blind faith. He was a laborious student of 

 the problem in hand, he had a keen intelligence, 

 his judgment was prompt and accurate, he was 

 patient and far-seeing, his will was indomi- 

 table ; but, above all, he had eliminated himself 

 entirely from his problem. This made Gordon 

 great. He could see what other men could 

 not, and do what they dared not, because he 

 was as unselfish as a human being can be. 



H. G. Prout. 



