Soon after his return to England Lieutenant Wood was invested with the Cross of Valour, and promoted to the rank of captain in the army. The rescue of Chemmum Singh from the band of robbers has been reproduced on canvas by Mr. Desanges, in the admirable painting marked XLVI. in the Catalogue of the Victoria Cross Gallery. We have already dwelt sufficiently on the incidents of that event to enable our readers to recognise the leading characters in the group. Any eulogium on the career of such an officer as Captain Wood would be entirely out of place; it speaks for itself. We have only, in conclusion, to express the belief that in this period of wars and rumours of wars many years of distinguished service are yet before him, and to point out the lesson taught by his brief but brilliant career. It teaches all young men, be they soldiers or civilians, to learn to labour and to wait, to persevere in the path of duty, to aspire to distinction in their own walk, whatever their profession or business may be, and to cherish the assurance that the world, however cold or unappreciative it may seem to be at first, will, sooner or later, recognise deserving merit. [Illustration] CHAPTER XXIII. SAMUEL MITCHELL AND THE VICTORIA CROSS; OR, THE GATE PA AT TAURANGA. [Illustration: New Zealand Arms.] When the intelligence of the Gate Pa disaster reached England from New Zealand, the news was received with feelings of sorrow and surprise. The public at home were not prepared to hear of the disaster which had overtaken our arms in that distant colony. We have been so long successful by land and by sea, that we have come almost to regard victory as our right, and when our arms meet with any reverse we are apt to be unjust, and to ascribe our failure to any but the true cause. Sir Duncan A. Cameron, the general commanding the forces in New Zealand, has been most unjustly assailed as the cause of the recent disaster at Tauranga, and a portion of the English press have been unmeasured in their abuse of that distinguished officer. He has been charged with incapacity, mismanagement, and the reckless sacrifice of valuable lives; and while such charges can have no effect upon those who are on the spot, and have had frequent opportunities of witnessing his capacity for command, they have doubtless tended to injure him in the opinion of those who have only an imperfect knowledge of the circumstances of the case. Though we were not present at the attack on the Gate Pa, we have derived our information from some of the principal actors in that unfortunate affair, so that the following narrative may be safely accepted as a faithful account of what occurred. We shall confine ourselves to the simple facts of the case, and leave our readers to draw their own conclusions.