It is to the remarkable association of an exalted sense of duty with exceptional physical powers that Gatacre owes much of his distinction. His {283} standard of efficiency and discipline was as far above the average as were his powers of bodily endurance. His lowliness of mind, however, hid from him the true measure of his endowments, and led him to try to inspire all men with his own lofty ideals. During his long services as staff officer he was always ready to show to his Chief the enthusiastic co-operation that he expected from those who were serving under him. Though some officers may have smarted under his sarcasms, though they may have thought that he overtaxed his troops, it is admitted on all sides that his exactions were prompted solely by the interests of the service, and that his life was the expression of the precepts that he instilled. In the final act of his military career Gatacre proved that he was ready to do as he would be done by--to submit himself without question to the word of authority. Many a time had he been face to face with death; when something more precious than life itself was demanded he laid aside his reputation without a murmur. [Sidenote: The broken arcs] * * * * * Therefore to whom do I turn but to Thee, the ineffable Name? Builder and Maker, Thou, of houses not made with hands! What, have fear of change from Thee who art ever the same? Doubt that Thy power can fill the heart that Thy power expands? There shall never be one lost good! What was, shall live as before; The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound; What was good, shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more; On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven a perfect round. * * * * * {284} [Sidenote: Finis] In a sense Gatacre was but the fulfilment of an everlasting type. It is this quality in him, this spark of the eternal Quixotic, of the eternal Heroic, of the eternal Tragic, that redeems his life from the commonplace, that has made him an example to some of his own generation, and may yet make him an example to some that are to come. Death has put an end to controversy. His fair fame remains; he is crowned with the halo of the departed, and his name is written on the long roll of true knights, _sans peur et sans reproche_. {285} In Memoriam On Saturday, May 26, 1906, an alabaster tablet bearing the inscription given below was dedicated by the Rev. H. Hensley Henson, Canon of Westminster, in Claverley Church, Shropshire. IN LOVING MEMORY OF SIR WILLIAM FORBES GATACRE MAJOR-GENERAL KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE BATH A MEMBER OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER HOLDING THE KAISER-I-HIND GOLD MEDAL AND OF THE ORDER OF THE MEDJIDIEH AND KNIGHT OF GRACE OF THE ORDER OF SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM THIRD SON OF EDWARD LLOYD GATACRE ESQ OF GATACRE IN THIS PARISH BORN AT HERBERTSHIRE CASTLE 3 DECEMBER 1843 DIED NEAR GAMBELLA ABYSSINIA 18 JANUARY 1906