1833. January 28. Charles George Gordon born. 1849. Entered Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. 1852. Commissioned second lieutenant of engineers. 1854. Sent to the Crimea, to construct huts and trenches. 1862. Sent as major to explore Great Wall of China. 1863. Took command of "Ever-Victorious Army" in China. 1864. Crushed native rebellion and given highest rank in Chinese army. 1874. Sent on first expedition to Egypt and the Soudan, as colonel. 1881. Made major-general. 1884. Sent in command of expedition to the Soudan. 1885. January 24. Lost his life in the massacre at Khartoum. ROBERTS THE WEAK BOY WITH THE STRONG WILL When one is picking out soldiers, one usually chooses big men. You see a strapping fellow going by in regimentals, and you say, "My, what a dandy soldier!" Well, there have been some big men in stature who have been big soldiers--such as Washington--but it is interesting to note that many of our great generals have been undersized. Such were Grant, Wellington, and Napoleon. Such was Lord Roberts who became Earl and Marshal, and was one of the best-loved leaders that England has produced. He was associated with two great campaigns to extend the British Empire--in India and South Africa--and passed away in the midst of the great World War, within a few months of Kitchener. And yet, as a boy, no one would have picked him out as destined to become a famous soldier. One recent biographer (Wheeler) calls him "a weak boy with a strong will," and we cannot do better than repeat this as giving some sort of key to his career. Roberts himself has left an entertaining story of his life in "Forty-One Years in India," which shows that a soldier's life is not tinsel and parade, but is made up of infinite hardship. The weak boy must indeed have to have a strong will in order to pull through. Frederick Roberts was born in India at a time when his father, Abraham Roberts, was lieutenant colonel of infantry at Cawnpore. This fine old soldier gave a life-time of service to the crown, and was active in the border raids in India. His son lived to complete the task which he began, of helping to open India to the civilized world. For his services, Abraham Roberts became a general and was knighted. The son, who was destined to win still higher honors, began his career, September 30, 1832. Although the boy was born amid the smell of gunpowder, he must have been a disappointment to his soldier father. He was puny and sickly, and for a time it did not seem likely that he would live at all. So when he was only a few months old, he was taken from the uncongenial air of India and brought by his parents to England. Here he spent his boyhood, away from the father and mother who were forced by official duties to return to the East.