It so happened that a few months before seeing the Emperor Napoleon I had had an opportunity of discussing the subject of mitrailleurs with General von Blumenthal, who had been chief of the staff to the Crown Prince of Germany during the war; and his views agreed with those I have just expressed. He said that the German soldiers at the outset were considerably impressed with the numerous batteries of mitrailleurs with which the French began the campaign of 1870; but they soon found out that their range was limited, and that by concentrating the distant fire of field guns upon them the mitrailleurs could not hold their ground, but were driven off the field. Prince Frederick Charles said 'that for near ranges he would rather have ten good riflemen; for far ranges a field gun.' FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 94: Now Earl of Derby.] [Footnote 95: _Report of Inspector-General of Recruiting_, 1887.] [Footnote 96: _Report of Lord Wantage's Committee_, pp. 11 and 18.] [Footnote 97: An important reform carried out by Lord Cardwell was that of the abolition of purchase; but I do not propose to enter into the question, as it had been virtually decided before I entered the War Office.] [Footnote 98: One of his works is entitled _A New System of Field Artillery_, by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 1854.] CHAPTER XXV VISIT TO THE CRIMEA WITH CHARLES GORDON. REPORT ON THE CEMETERIES In the autumn of 1872 I was sent by the Government to the Crimea, to report on the condition of the British cemeteries and monuments, and also as to their restoration and care for the future. Colonel Charles Gordon (of Khartoum), an old friend of mine, was associated with me in the work. He was at that time a member of the International Commission for improving the navigation at the mouth of the Danube. Travelling rapidly through Europe, I met him at Galatz at the end of August; and we embarked on board H.M.S. 'Antelope,' which had been sent from Constantinople to convey us across the Black Sea. Gordon's views about the work of the Danube Commission were, as usual, rather peculiar. He explained to me that, as the river had been adequately dredged and buoyed, and as the lighthouse at its mouth was completed, there was really nothing more to do; and that the Commission was practically useless. As I understood, he had written to the Foreign Office to that effect, adding also that his salary was too large. In the ordinary concerns of life he was actuated by one principle which is rare--namely, a contempt for the accumulation of money. In fact, he gave it away almost as fast as he received it. His experience in Eastern countries, also, had given him a distrust of pashas and men in high places; and all his sympathies were for the poor and friendless. Soon after our visit to the Crimea he was appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, and it is said that at an interview with Ismail Pasha before starting for Khartoum he objected to the large amount of his