Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/313

 Apitri. 10, 1880.]

��questJODS of the tilings tLetneelvea. They do Dot care to pull the doll or the toy to pieces : they would rather be told what it is made of than Wke the trouble to examine it. The ele- ment of curiositj' aeenis to have been educated out of Uiem, and their only idea of teoeliing elementary science is to give the children as many facts as possible about things which they knon only by their definitions. Until, then, the jtresent happy generation of children has grown up and become ready to leach science by scieiitiflc methods, it seems evident that the plan of itinerant teaching has much to commend it. It is n plan, moreover, whose advantages ought not to be confined to the grammar-schools. Instead of putting a single overworked teacher in charge of nil possible sciences in a high school, specialists might l>c fouud 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. Tbe -lohns 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 teftcbing.

��In our eagerness to honor a hero, there is Bt>ine danger that Gordon's fame may suffer temiMirary injury, 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 slate 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- dtscriminatiug, that it is not strange that some shallow pamphleteers should have classed him nith the prophets. He was a hero. Besides that, he was a highly educated, disciplined, ind painstaking officer. He inherited military lent, and love for his profession, from gen- 5 of soldiers, and he was trained in that

��thoroughly scientific corps, the Koyai engi- neers. For the first three years of bis service under the khedtvc, 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 country. I have before me a dozen sketcii- 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 solidil^ing and extending his communications and positions, fertile and in- genious in applying his knowledge. If w^e ever learn the details of his defence of Khar- tum, we shall probably be as much astonished by its mechanical side as bj' its higher intel- lectual and moral qualities.

From the beginning of his career before Stevaatopol, " He had a personal knowledge of the enemy's movements, such as no other oflScer attained." His knowledge of the peo- ple of the Sudan, of their sheiks and fakirs. and of the Egj-ptian 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 sanitar}' conditions of his soldiers were diligently watched over. The infirmities of temper of his subordinates were well understood and pro^-ided 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 logic.il and systematic development, before its effect could be fully felt.

Let no one think that (Jordon 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 uuselfish as a human being can be.

II. G. Pkoitt.

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