on; and at Tung-chow it is said that a large army is collected under
Sang-ko-lin-sin himself (their great general). I am now enjoying the
life of a camp; writing to you seated on my portmanteau, with my desk
on my only chair. It is perhaps better than my hothouse at Tientsin.

[Sidenote: New Plenipotentiaries.]

_September 11th.-Six A.M._--Parkes and Wade have just been in my tent
with a letter from two new Plenipotentiaries--really some of the
highest personages in the empire--stating that they are under orders
to come to Tientsin to settle everything, and deprecating a forward
movement.[2] I shall of course stick by my programme, and decline to
have anything to say to them till I reach Tung-chow. Of course this
proceeding on their part augurs well for peace. It poured all last
evening, and the General determined not to march this morning; but as
it is fine now, I think we may start at noon, and make out our
allotted march. It is cooler this morning, and I think it not
improbable that the thunder of yesterday may close the hot season.
However, the sun is coming out in his strength, so one cannot say what
the day may bring forth. _Ten_ A.M.--All our cart-drivers, with their
animals, disappeared during last night, leaving the carts behind them.
Probably they got a hint from the Chinese authorities. I am sorry for
it, for if we begin to resort to measures of violence to supply
ourselves, we may entirely alter the footing on which we have hitherto
stood with the people. We are putting all our surplus goods into
junks, in order to reduce our baggage.

[Sidenote: Chinese gentleman-farmer.]

_Nan-tsai-tsun.--September 12th._--Where will this letter be sent
from? It is begun at a small town on the close of our march of to-day,
which ought to have been our march of yesterday. It was a very mild
one--about eight miles--through a nice country, more wooded than
former marches, and with bright sunshine, and a fresh, almost frosty
air. The sunshine we had not at first, for we started before the sun
had appeared on the horizon. Instead of trusting to our tents, we have
this day taken up our abode in the house of a Chinese gentleman-
farmer, the owner of about 1,000 acres. It is nearly as large as the
house I occupied at Tientsin; at least it has nearly as many courts.
The gentleman has a good library, in which I have established myself;
and he seems, poor man, very anxious to accommodate us, though his
appearance is not that of a man entirely at his ease. As I was
starting this morning I got a second letter from the new
Plenipotentiaries, rather more defiant in its tone, and saying that
there are troops at our next station, with whom we shall come into
collision, if we advance with an army. Parkes is gone on with an
escort, and we shall soon know from him what the state of the case
really is.

[Sidenote: Ho-see-woo.]
[Sidenote: Monastery.]

_Ho-see-woo.--September 14th._--We had a charming march to this place
yesterday morning. The country much more beautiful than before, and
hills in the distance. All around us the most luxuriant crops, and
hamlets embosomed in clumps of willows. The temperature was delicious;
almost too cold at starting, but, later, a fresh breeze in our faces
gave the requisite coolness and no more. Our march was about twelve
miles, and on reaching its close I was conducted to a temple where I
now am. It is a monastery, with very nice apartments, and quantities
of stabling, grain, agricultural implements, &c., all indicative of a
very prosperous community. I have seen no _bonzerie_ on anything like
so comfortable a scale. I had a second letter from my Commissioners in
the evening of the last day on which I wrote a page of this journal,
more humble in its tone then the preceding one, and as my General was
getting uneasy about his supplies, &c., I thought it necessary to make
a kind of proposition for an arrangement. ... Our soldiers do so
little for themselves, and their necessities are so great, that we
move but slowly. Our present party consists of about 1,500 fighting
men; but we count about 4,000 mouths, and all must have abundantly of
the best. The French (I admit that they take more out of the country,
and sometimes perhaps by rougher methods) carry on their backs several
days' provisions. They work in all sorts of ways for the army. The
contrast is, I must say, very striking. ... I therefore thought it
better to send Wade and Parkes to the new Imperial Commissioners, to
see whether they intended to resist or not, and to make a proposal to
test this. They set out last night, and I have just heard from them,
that, as they did not find the Commissioners at the place they
expected (Matow), they are gone on to Tung-chow, the place where I
intend to sign the Convention. Parkes is one of the most remarkable
men I ever met; for energy, courage, and ability combined, I do not
know where I could find his match; and this, joined to a facility of
speaking Chinese, which he shares only with Lay, makes him at present
_the_ man of the situation.

[Sidenote: Terms agreed to.]

After eight hours' discussion the Chinese Commissioners conceded every
point; agreeing among other things that the army should advance to a place
called Five-li Point, within six miles of Tung-chow, and there remain while
the Ambassador proceeded with an escort of 1,000 men to Pekin. In the high
character and standing of the two Commissioners, one the Minister of War,
the other a Prince of the Blood Imperial, and in their repeated assurances
that 'what they signed was as though the Emperor signed it,' and that 'no
comparison could be drawn between the authority vested in them and that
held' by previous Commissioners, there appeared to be everything necessary
to justify the belief that their word might be trusted. Unhappily the
confidence which the Allies were thus led to repose in them was destined to
be deceived; not however, so far as appears, owing to bad faith on their
part, but owing to the fact that their pacific influence at court was
overborne on this occasion by that of the war party, headed by the
Commander-in-Chief, Sang-ko-lin-sin.[3]

On the return of the two secretaries from the conference, Lord Elgin at
once acquainted Baron Gros and Sir Hope Grant with its results; and it was
agreed that the Commanders-in-Chief should move forward on Monday the 17th
from Ho-se-woo to the place already mentioned, Five-li Point, which they
expected to reach in two days' march; and that, at the same time, or rather
before the departure of the army, Mr. Parkes and some members of the
Ambassador's suite should proceed to Tung-chow to prepare for his
reception, and to procure means of transport, accompanied by an officer of
the Quarter-master General's Department, and another of the Commissariat,
and escorted by a small body of troops.[4]

_Sunday, September 16th_.--We have had service in my temple. The
General and Staff attended. ... Wade and Parkes did good work at Tung-
chow. It is arranged now that the General and bulk of the force
proceed to-morrow on their way to the point at which (if the Chinese
Plenipotentiaries come in to all our terms) we are to stay the
progress of the main body, going on from that point with an escort of
1,000 men. This place is about five miles from Tung-chow, and twenty
from Pekin; and so I hope to effect my pacific entry into Pekin. ...
This place has been, I am sorry to say, much maltreated, for the
people ran away, and when that takes place, it is impossible to
prevent plundering. The present plan is, that I remain here till the
army has taken up its new position, and all is arranged for my
reception at Pekin and Tung-chow, when I shall move on. Gros is here.
He has just been with me, and is in a great state because our
soldiers, in their zeal to drive away all Chinese robbers, have driven
away all his coolies.

_September 17th_.--I rode out very early this morning to see my
General before he started, and to give him a hint about the _looting_,
which has been bad here. He disapproves of it as much as I do. ...
Parkes went off again this morning to Tung-chow, with another missive
from me to my Prince (the new Plenipotentiary), rather stiff and
plain-spoken; and Loch is gone with him to get carts, &c., as I have
no means of conveying my goods and chattels. I shall probably hear to-
morrow whether there is any hitch; but even if all be right, I hardly
expect to get on before Thursday, for want of transport.

[Sidenote: Agreement broken.]

_September 18th.--Noon._--There is firing in front of us; and I have a
letter from Parkes from Tung-chow, stating that the Prince and his
colleagues made great difficulties about an _audience_ with the
Emperor. If I was sure that Parkes and Co. were well out of Tung-chow,
and that we should push on well, I should not regret the firing.
_Five P.M._--M. de Bastard, Gros' secretary, has just returned from
Tung-chow. He reports that the Tartars this morning were in possession
of the ground on which, according to the understanding entered into
with the Prince and Co., we were to have encamped. He had to ride
through their army, to his no small alarm; but he met Parkes (who
knows not what fear is) riding back to Tung-chow to tell the Prince,
&c., of the position of the Tartar army, and that they should be held
responsible for the consequences. Loch was with the General. I wonder
he is not come to inform me of what has happened.

[Sidenote: Treacherous seizure of Mr. Parkes and others.]

At the time when these words were written, nearly the whole of the party
which had ridden forth the morning before, 'in high spirits at the prospect
of an early and successful termination of the war,' had been treacherously
seized by the soldiers of Sang-ko-lin-sin, and Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch were
being violently hurried off, with their hands tied behind their backs, in a
rude springless cart, over a badly-paved road, to the prisons of Pekin. The
details of their capture and imprisonment, together with such particulars
as could afterwards be ascertained of their companions' fate, may be read
in the very interesting narrative of one of the victims.[5] We can here
touch only upon those points in which their story is mixed up with public
events.

[Sidenote: Cause of the change.]

As to the origin and cause of the renewal of hostilities, it is impossible
to speak with certainty; nor is it probable that we shall ever arrive at a
better opinion on the subject, than that which was formed by Lord Elgin on
the spot. In his report to the Government he wrote:--

To hazard conjectures as to the motives by which Chinese functionaries
are actuated is not a very safe undertaking; and it is very possible
that further information may modify the views which I now entertain on
this point. I am, however, disposed at present to doubt there having
been a deliberate intention of treachery on the part of Prince Tsai
and his colleague; but I apprehend that the General-in-Chief, Sang-ko-
lin-sin, thought that they had compromised his military position by
allowing our army to establish itself so near his lines at Chang-kia-
wan. He sought to counteract the evil effect of this by making a great
swagger of parade and preparation to resist when the Allied armies
approached the camping-ground allotted to them. Several of our people,
Colonel Walker, with his escort, my private Secretary, Mr. Loch, Baron
Gros' Secretary of Embassy, Comte de Bastard, and others, passed
through the Tartar army during the course of the morning on their way
from Tung-chow without encountering any rudeness or ill-treatment
whatsoever. At about a quarter to ten, however, a French Commissariat
officer was assaulted by some Tartar soldiers under circumstances
which are not very clearly ascertained; and this incident gave rise to
an engagement, which soon became general. On the whole, I come to the
conclusion that, in the proceedings of the Chinese Plenipotentiaries
and Commander-in-Chief in this instance, there was that mixture of
stupidity, want of straightforwardness, suspicion, and bluster, which
characterises so generally the conduct of affairs in this country; but
I cannot believe that, after the experience which Sang-ko-lin-sin had
already had of our superiority in the field, either he or his civil
colleagues could have intended to bring on a conflict in which, as the
event has proved, he was so sure to be worsted.

[Sidenote: Firm measures.]

Late on the night of the 18th, Lord Elgin received at the same time the
report of a successful engagement, and the intelligence of the capture of
his friends. From this moment he felt that, until the prisoners were given
up, there could be no further negotiation. A notification was at once
issued, that 'all English and French subjects were required to return to
the head-quarters of their respective armies; and that if any impediment
was put in the way of their return, the city of Pekin would forthwith be
attacked and taken.' Even when offers came that they should be restored on
condition of his withdrawing his troops, he refused to listen to such
terms; convinced that any sign of yielding on his part would be as
dangerous to their safety as it would be fatal to all hope of success in
the objects of his mission.[6]

_September 23rd_.--I have had a very busy time since I last wrote in
this journal. I have, moreover, been separated from it, and from all
my effects. On the 21st we had another battle with the Tartars. I
accompanied the army, and saw it all. Considering that the Tartars are
so wretchedly armed and led, they did pretty well. We are now about
six miles from Pekin, but I believe the Generals will not move for a
week. We learn that Parkes and his companions, viz. Loch, De Norman,
Bowlby, Captain Brabazon, Lieutenant Anderson, nineteen Sikhs, and one
of the Dragoon Guards, are in Pekin, but we have had no communication
with them yet.

[Sidenote: Pali-chiao]

_Pali-chiao.--September 27th_.--I closed my last letter somewhat in
haste, for I had been separated for three days from it and my desk,
and when we met again, I was busy with my despatches, &c. The arrest
of Parkes and the others is a very disagreeable incident, and we do
not yet know what it may lead to. I sent word yesterday to the
Emperor's brother, who is now named to treat with me, that unless they
are returned to the camp within three days' time, and a pledge is
given that the Convention I drew up at Tientsin is signed, Pekin will
be assaulted. We are anxious, until we receive an answer to this
_ultimatum_. It was a reply to a letter from the Prince to me, in
which he coolly stated that the prisoners should be returned when our
army and fleet had retired from the country. ... Meantime we have an
army in excellent health, abundantly supplied, and which, in five
actions with the enemy, has lost some twenty killed! ... I think I
told you at the close of my last letter, that at midnight on the 18th
I received a note in pencil from the General, telling me what had led
to the conflict of that day. At 3.30 A.M. I sent an answer by
Crealock, and at five set off with an escort of thirty Irregulars, to
ride about twenty miles to the General's camp.

We then agreed that the Commanders-in-Chief should send a notification
to the chief mandarin of Tung-chow, to the effect that, unless our
countrymen were forthwith restored, Pekin would be assaulted. No
notice was taken of this. So on the 21st we advanced, and attacked a
large body of Tartars, encamped between Tung-chow and Pekin. I
accompanied the infantry and artillery during the day's proceedings.
We encamped after the battle, where we now are, among some trees. We
sleep in tents, but we have a house where we mess. I am living with
the General, as my establishment has not yet been brought up from Ho-
see-woo.  I rode over yesterday to see the Russian Minister, who, with
his sixteen Cossacks, is occupying the village, or rather town, of
Chin-kia-wan, which was taken after the affair of the 18th. It is a
sad scene of desolation.  General Ignatieff was very obliging and
friendly, as I have indeed found him to be throughout. He and I
entirely agree as to how the Chinese should be fought. ... I may be
very near the close of this China business, or I may be at the
commencement of a new series of difficulties. All is very uncertain at
present. ... The climate is pleasant here, were it not for the
quantity of dust, which is overwhelming. We have abundance of grapes,
and some other good fruit.

_September 29th._--At midnight of the 27th I was roused by Wade, who
brought me a letter from Prince Kung (the Emperor's brother), a good
deal milder than the last, but still implying that Parkes, &c., were
not to be returned until the treaty, &c., was signed. The comparative
mildness of the tone of this communication was clearly attributable to
the firmness of my last letter, and I therefore induced those with
whom I act to agree to nay adhering to it in my reply. I accordingly
wrote to say that the army would advance unless the prisoners should
return in the course of to-day; but that I do not intend to add to the
Convention which I have already furnished to the Chinese
Plenipotentiaries, and that I will sign that at once, and close the
war, if they choose. I hardly expect to see our friends to-day. The
Generals will not advance to-morrow, but they say they will on Monday.
Meanwhile it is raining; a sort of English rain, not tropical; and if
we have not too much of it, it will do good.

_October 1st._--Yesterday morning came another letter, proposing that
the army should retire to Chin-kia-wan, and that then the treaty
should be signed and the prisoners restored. This was clearly
inadmissible, as the Chinese would infer from it that whenever they
had a difficulty with us they had only to kidnap some of our people to
bring us to terms. So we have again handed the matter over to the
Generals, from whose hands indeed it would not now have been taken if
they had not urged me to make this last overture to Prince Kung. I do
not know when they will advance.

_October 3rd_.--We have moved about two miles, and are now lodged in a
mosque--a nice building, a good deal ornamented--which is for the
nonce turned to profane uses. The army was to have advanced to attack
Sang-ko-lin-sin's force to-morrow, but now I am told the French are
not ready. ... These delays give the Chinese fresh heart, and they are
beginning to send people to fire on our convoys, &c., coming up from
Tientsin. ... There was a letter sent to me yesterday by Prince Kung,
signed by Loch and Parkes. Loch managed in his signature to convey to
us in Hindostanee that the letter was written under compulsion. As it
was in Chinese the information was hardly necessary. It said that
_they two_ were well treated, complimented Prince Kung, and asked for
some clothes. We have heard nothing about the others who are missing.

[Sidenote: Advance on Pekin.]

_October 5th._--We left our mosque this morning at about seven. The
whole army was drawn up in contiguous columns of regiments, and had a
good appearance. The cavalry on the right, then the artillery, and
then the infantry. The French were on our left. In this way we
advanced about four miles, when we reached a place from which we saw
one of the gates of Pekin at about a mile and a half distance. We met
with no enemy, but we heard of him about three miles farther on.
However, the French declined to go any farther; so here we remain for
the night, and we have got into a joss-house, which is lucky, for we
have no tents with us--only a very light kit and three days'
provisions for each person. We hear that the Emperor has left for
Tartary, which is very probable. We might have stopped him if we had
marched on immediately after the 21st ultimo; but that was, in the
judgment of the Generals, impossible.

[Sidenote: Suburbs.]

_October 6th.--Five P.M._--We are lodged in a _Lamaserie_ in the
north-west suburb of Pekin. Our move began at seven. We streamed along
narrow roads in a long line. I got a scolding from the General for
outflanking the skirmishers, which I did to get out of the dust. At
about nine we reached a brick-kiln, from whence we had a view of
Pekin, and of a mound, behind which, as we were assured, Sang-ko-lin-
sin and his army were encamped. We halted for some time and then
advanced; we on the right, the French on the left, towards these
supposed camps. The French were to attack in front, we were to take
the enemy in flank. I was with the second division of our force. When
we arrived abreast of the entrenchment we could see nothing of an
enemy. After a while I rode to the top of the mound at the corner of
the entrenchment, and found the French General and Staff. The Tartars
had all decamped the night before. I then rejoined our army and
advanced with it to this point. With the exception of a few shots
exchanged with a picket of the enemy, we know of no fighting which has
taken place to-day; but, strange to say, our cavalry which went off
far to the right in the morning has not been heard of yet, and we
cannot discover what has become of the French. It is a nice country,
covered with clumps of trees and suburban villas. The temperature of
the air is cool, but the sun was very hot all day.

[Sidenote: The Summer Palace.]

_Sunday, October 7th._--We hear this morning that the French and our
cavalry have captured the Summer Palace of the Emperor. All the big-
wigs have fled, nothing remains but a portion of the household. We are
told that the _prisoners_ are all in Pekin. ... _Five P.M._--I have
just returned from the Summer Palace. It is really a fine thing, like
an English park--numberless buildings with handsome rooms, and filled
with Chinese _curios_, and handsome clocks, bronzes, &c. But, alas!
such a scene of desolation. The French General came up full of
protestations. He had prevented _looting_ in order that all the
plunder might be divided between the armies, &c. &c. There was not a
room that I saw in which half the things had not been taken away or
broken to pieces. I tried to get a regiment of ours sent to guard the
place, and then sell the things by auction; but it is difficult to get
things done by system in such a case, so some officers are left who
are to fill two or three carts with treasures which are to be sold....
Plundering and devastating a place like this is bad enough, but what
is much worse is the waste and breakage. Out of 1,000,000 _l_. worth
of property, I daresay 50,000 _l_. will not be realised. French
soldiers were destroying in every way the most beautiful silks,
breaking the jade ornaments and porcelain, &c. War is a hateful
business. The more one sees of it, the more one detests it.

[Sidenote: Return of some of the captives.]

Pressed thus closely up to the walls of the capital, the Chinese
Regent--for the Emperor had retired to Tartary, 'being obliged by law to
hunt in the autumn'--yielded at last to save the storming of the city. In
the afternoon of the 8th of October the English and French prisoners
detained in Pekin, numbering eight in all, were sent into the camp.[7]

_October 9th._--Yesterday at 4 P.M., Parkes, Loch, and one of Fane's
Irregulars arrived. With them were four French soldiers and M.
d'Escayrac (the head of a scientific commission). The hands and wrists
of the latter were in a sad condition, they had been so hurt by the
cords tied round them. Bowlby, De Norman, and the rest, do not seem to
be in Pekin as we had hoped. Parkes and Loch were very badly treated
for the first ten days; since then, conciliation has been the order of
the day, and, I have no doubt, because I stood firm. If I had wavered,
they would have been lost; because the Chinese, finding they had a
lever with which they could move us, would have used their advantage
unsparingly. Parkes and Loch have behaved very well under
circumstances of great danger. The narrative of their adventures is
very interesting, but I cannot attempt to give it in this letter. They
seem to be in good health notwithstanding the hardships they have gone
through.

In a public despatch of the same date, announcing the restoration of the
captives, he wrote:-

To no one of their numerous friends is the return of these gentlemen a
matter of more heartfelt gratification than it is to me. Since the
period of their arrest, I have been compelled, by a sense of duty, to
turn a deaf ear to every overture for their restoration which has
involved the slightest retrograde movement of our army, or the
abandonment of any demands previously preferred by me against the
Chinese Government. I have felt that any such concession on my part
would have established a most fatal precedent, because it would have
led the Chinese to suppose that by kidnapping Englishmen they might
effect objects which they are unable to achieve by fair fighting or
diplomacy. I confess that I have been moreover, throughout, of
opinion, that in adopting this uncompromising tone, and boldly setting
the national above the personal interest, I was in point of fact best
consulting the welfare of our friends who were in durance. But it was
not to be expected that all persons would view in the same light a
question of policy so obscure; and apart from the warm personal
interest which I feel in their safety, your Lordship can well
understand that it relieves me from a great load of anxiety to learn
from the result that the course which I have followed was not ill-
calculated to promote it.[8]

Later in the same despatch he expressed himself anxiously yet hopefully
about the captives who were still missing:--

It is a matter of great concern to me, that we know as yet nothing
certain respecting the fate of Mr. Bruce's Attache, Mr. de Norman, Mr.
Bowlby, the special correspondent of the _Times_, and the nineteen
troopers (consisting of eighteen Sikhs and one Dragoon) who formed the
escort, and were under the command of Lieutenant Anderson, of Fane's
Irregular Horse. This portion of the party became separated from
Messrs. Parkes and Loch, when the latter, at the commencement of the
conflict of the 18th ultimo, were taken up to Sang-ko-lin-sin, for the
ostensible object of obtaining a safe-conduct from him. Since that
time we have heard nothing authentic about them, but we are assured
that, though they are not now in Pekin, they will soon be restored to
us.

[Sidenote: Fate of the rest.]

Unhappily the hopes thus raised were not destined to be realised. On the
12th of October nine more prisoners were returned to the camp--eight
troopers of Fane's Irregular Horse and one French soldier; but the evidence
given by them left no doubt that two at least of the remainder, Lieutenant
Anderson and Mr. De Norman had perished, having sunk under circumstances of
much suffering from the consequences of the maltreatment to which they were
subjected. 'I was not personally acquainted' wrote Lord Elgin, 'with
Lieutenant Anderson, but he is spoken of by all who knew him as an
excellent officer. Mr. De Norman was a young man of remarkable promise.
With considerable abilities, great assiduity, singular steadiness of
character, and courage of no mean order, he had every promise of achieving
eminence in his profession. We all mourn most bitterly his untimely
end.'[9]

There were others whose fate remained at that time unknown; among them Mr.
Bowlby, the correspondent of the _Times_, whose corpse was afterwards
recovered and recognised. The warmth of regard which Lord Elgin had learnt
to feel for him, is shown in many passages of his journal. Officially he
wrote, 'I deplore his loss, not only because he was a highly-accomplished
and well-informed gentleman, but also because, from the conscientious and
liberal spirit in which he addressed himself to the investigation of the
singularly complicated problems presented by the moral, social, political,
and commercial condition of China, I had conceived the hope that he would
be the means of diffusing sound information on many points on which it is
most important for the national interests that the British public should be
correctly informed.'[10]

The journal, during these anxious and troubled days, is naturally
imperfect. One brief entry sums up his feeling on the main subject.

_Camp near Pekin.--October 14th_.--We have dreadful news respecting
the fate of some of our captured friends. It is an atrocious crime,
and, not for vengeance, but for future security, ought to be severely
dealt with.

[Sidenote: Burning of the Summer Palace.]

The form which the retribution took is well known. The Palace of Yuen-ming-
yuen, the Summer-palace of the Emperor, the glory and boast of the Chinese
Empire, was levelled with the ground.

The reasons which led Lord Elgin to decide upon this act are fully stated
in a despatch dated the 25th of October. After dwelling on the necessity of
inflicting some punishment at once severe and swift, that should leave
Pekin untouched (for he had engaged not to harm the city) and should fall
specially on the Emperor, who was personally responsible for the crimes
that had been committed, he goes on to discuss the different courses that
were open to him. He might inflict a fine; but it could not be exacted
except by appropriating a further portion of the Chinese revenue, already
seriously trenched upon by our previous demands. Or he might require the
surrender of the individuals guilty of violating the flag of truce: but if
he named no one, some miserable subordinates would be given up; if he
specified the real culprit, Sang-ko-lin-sin, the demand would infallibly be
refused and could not be enforced. Dismissing these alternatives he
proceeds:--

Having, to the best of my judgment, examined the question in all its
bearings, I came to the conclusion that the destruction of Yuen-ming-
yuen was the least objectionable of the several courses open to me,
unless I could have reconciled it to my sense of duty to suffer the
crime which had been committed to pass practically unavenged. I had
reason, moreover, to believe that it was an act which was calculated
to produce a greater effect in China, and on the Emperor, than persons
who look on from a distance may suppose.

It was the Emperor's favourite residence, and its destruction could
not fail to be a blow to his pride as well as to his feelings. To this
place he brought our hapless countrymen, in order that they might
undergo their severest tortures within its precincts. Here have been
found the horses and accoutrements of the troopers seized, the
decorations torn from the breast of a gallant French officer, and
other effects belonging to the prisoners. As almost all the valuables
had already been taken from the palace, the army would go there, not
to pillage, but to mark, by a solemn act of retribution, the horror
and indignation with which we were inspired by the perpetration of a
great crime. The punishment was one which would fall, not on the
people, who may be comparatively innocent, but exclusively on the
Emperor, whose direct personal responsibility for the crime committed
is established, not only by the treatment of the prisoners at Yuen-
ming-yuen, but also by the edict, in which he offered a pecuniary
reward for the heads of the foreigners, adding, that he was ready to
expend all his treasure in these wages of assassination.

On Thursday, the 18th of October, the extensive buildings of the palace
were given to the flames; and during the whole of the 19th they were still
burning. 'The clouds of smoke,' says Mr. Loch, 'driven by the wind, hung
like a vast black pall over Pekin;' well calculated to enforce with their
lurid gloom the lesson conveyed to the citizens in a proclamation which
Lord Elgin had caused to be affixed in Chinese to all the buildings and
walls in the neighbourhood, to the effect 'that no individual, however
exalted, could escape from the responsibility and punishment which must
always follow the commission of acts of treachery and deceit; and that
Yuen-ming-yuen was burnt as a punishment inflicted on the Emperor for the
violation of his word, and the act of treachery to a flag of truce.'

[Sidenote: Convention signed.]

Five days later, on the 24th of October, the Convention, which had been the
subject of so much dispute, was finally signed, and Lord Elgin exchanged
with the Emperor's brother the ratifications of the Treaty of Tientsin.

_Camp near Pekin.--October 26th._--This will be one of the shortest
letters which you have received from me since we parted, and yet
perhaps it will not be the one which you will welcome the least,
because it will convey to you the news that I have signed my treaty,
and that the specific object for which I came out is therefore
accomplished. I have not written my daily journal lately, because it
would have been filled with my difficulties. ... However, I have
succeeded at last in a sort of way. Loch is going home with the
treaty, and will make a point of seeing you, and giving you all our
news. ... I cannot decide as to my own return until I see Frederick.
... The deaths of poor Bowlby and the others who were with him were
very sad! Loch's escape was most providential. With 5,000 men led on
without delay, as ought to be done in China, nothing of this kind
would have occurred. I told Palmerston so before I started; but the
delays incident to conveying so large an army as ours without risking
anything, have nearly made the whole thing break down.

_October 27th.--Nine A.M._--Loch tells me he must be off, so I must
end my brief epistle. I take up my abode in Pekin to-day, in the
palace of the Prince of I., who played me false at Tung-chow.

_Pekin, Prince of I.'s Palace.--October 30th._--I have been in bed for
two days with an attack of influenza, but I am better to-day, though
not by way of going out. Here we (the General and I) are occupying a
great enclosure containing a series of one-storied wooden buildings
with covered passages and verandahs. There is a good deal of
aristocratic seclusion about the place, as it is surrounded by walls,
and entirely cut off from the world without; but there is little
appearance of luxury and comfort about it. It rained yesterday and the
day before, and I had considerable difficulty in reading in my bed, as
my paper windows, which keep out the cold pretty well, keep out also a
good deal of light. They are not transparent, so the view through them
is not lively. To-day there is a beautiful sunshine, and I have been
walking about a little in the court before my room door. The present
arrangement is that we remain here till the 8th. I had some difficulty
in obtaining this; but it is of great importance that, before the army
goes, I should get a decree from the Emperor sanctioning the
publication of the Treaty all over the empire. ... The French General
will not, however, consent to remain.

[Sidenote: Funeral of the murdered captives.]

_October 31st._--Another fine day, but I have not left the house,
partly from consideration for the remains of my cold, and partly
because I have had letters to finish. I have had visits from both my
colleagues, Gros and Ignatieff. The latter and I are always very good
friends. Perhaps he takes advantage of my simplicity; but at any rate
we always seem to agree remarkably. He is wide awake to the Jesuit
intrigues here. By the way, I should mention that the French had a
wonderful funeral on Sunday, in honour of the murdered captives. I
could not attend, being in bed at the time. Several speeches in bad
taste were delivered, and a remarkable series of performances took
place. Among other things, each soldier (this is, I believe, the
French practice on such occasions) fired his musket _into_ the grave,
so that the coffins were covered with cartridges. The Chinese say that
it was because they were not sure whether the occupants were really
dead. On the day following, they inaugurated the old Jesuit cathedral,
which they have recovered from the Chinese Government; and the bishop
who preached, in order to make amends for the omission of all
reference to us at the ceremony of the funeral, complimented Queen
Victoria and her _digne representant_ for having come to China to set
up the Roman Catholic cathedral in Pekin. This reflection will comfort
----[11] when he comes to vote next year the balance of the
L10,000,000 spent. I have no news of Frederick yet; so I am no further
advanced with my own plans than I was when Loch left me.

[Sidenote: Imperial Palace.]
[Sidenote: Visit from Kung.]

_Pekin.--November 2nd._--Yesterday, after the mail had left, I mounted
on horseback, and with an escort, and Parkes and Crealock, proceeded
to the Imperial City, within which is the Imperial Palace. We obtained
access to two enclosures, forming part of the Imperial Palace
appendages: both elevated places, the one ascended by a pathway in
regular Chinese rockwork on a large scale, and really striking in its
way; and the other being a well-wooded park-like eminence, crowned by
temples with images of Buddha. The view from both was magnificent.
Pekin is so full of trees, and the houses are so low, that it hardly
had the effect of looking down on a great city. Here and there temples
or high gateways rose above the trees, but the general impression was
rather that of a rich plain densely peopled. In the distance the view
was bounded by a lofty chain of mountains, snow-capped. From the
park-like eminence we looked down upon the Imperial Palace--a large
enclosure crowded with yellow-roofed buildings, generally low, and a
few trees dotted among them. It is difficult to imagine how the
unfortunates shut up there can ever have any exercise. I don't wonder
that the Emperor preferred Yuen-ming-yuen. The yellow roofs,
interspersed here and there with very deep blue ones, had, however, a
very brilliant effect in the sunshine. After enjoying these views I
went to the Russian Minister's, and found him installed in a house got
up _a l'Europeenne_, and looking very comfortable, with his national
stoves. He showed me his chapel also. This morning I got a letter from
Gros telling me that, in opposition to my advice, he had been to see
Prince Kung. I told him he ought to let the Prince come to him first;
but the Jesuits think that they can curry favour with the Chinese by
making him _condescend_. They are quite wrong, as I am sure the result
will prove. The Prince came to see me to-day before returning Gros'
visit, which goes for something in this land of ceremony. I received
the Prince with all honour, and had a good deal of talk with him
through the interpreters, in a style which reminded me of the dialogue
at the commencement of 'Eothen.' I have, I believe, secured the edict
for which we have been waiting; so I have done everything except see
the Emperor, which I am not likely to do, as he is at Jehol. We ended
by photographing the Prince, a proceeding which I do not think he much
liked.

[Sidenote: Return visit.]

_November 7th._--There has not been much to report since the 2nd. I
returned Kung's visit the next day, and we had a more _coulant_
conversation than I have before had with any Chinese authority. It is
something to get at men who are so high placed that they are not
afraid--or at any rate are less afraid--of being denounced if they
listen to foreigners. I dined the night before with the Russian
Minister, who was very hospitable. On Sunday I went to see two temples
in the Chinese city, the one being that to which the Emperor goes four
times a year to offer sacrifices to Heaven, the other the Temple of
Agriculture.

[Sidenote: Arrival of Mr. Bruce.]
[Sidenote: Interview with Prince Kung.]

_November 10th._--I had got so far when a note from Frederick reached
me, saying that he had started at 1 A.M. on the 6th from Tientsin to
ride to Pekin, and had been obliged, by fatigue, to rest at Ho-see-
woo. We were to have left Pekin on the 8th, so I was obliged to send
to beg one day's respite from the General. It was impossible to make
Frederick start back to Tientsin on the very day following his
arrival. At about noon he reached Pekin. It was a great relief to me,
because I had been choosing a house for him, and there were other
matters concerning which it was most important that he should be
consulted. I found him very well disposed to stay on at Pekin, but on
finding that both Gros and Ignatieff were opposed to leaving their
legations there for the moment, we both agreed that it would be better
to act as they had resolved to do. I therefore wrote to Prince Kung
acknowledging the good faith which he had shown about the Emperor's
edict and the publication of the treaty (both of which things have
been done in the most complete manner), and adding that the English
army would, in accordance with the terms of the convention, retire at
once from Pekin. I went on to inform him that I proposed to call on
him to take leave, and at the same time to introduce to him Mr. Bruce,
who had just arrived at Pekin. We proceeded, accordingly, to his
palace, at 4 P.M. on the 8th, with an imposing military escort. After
we had conversed some time together, I told Parkes to explain to the
Prince that in England the individual who represents the sovereign,
whatever his personal rank, always takes precedence of all others;
that, as my task in China was completed, Mr. Bruce would henceforward
occupy that position, and that, therefore, with the Prince's
permission, I would give up to him the seat of honour on which I was
placed and take his seat instead. I then rose and changed seats with
Frederick. This little bit of acting answered very well. It put
Frederick into direct relations with the Prince, and did away with the
impression (if it existed) of my having superior rank to him. The
Prince was civil, and said, rather neatly, that he hoped they would
conduct business satisfactorily, not only because he was British
Minister, but brother to Lord Elgin, with whom he had had such
pleasant relations. On the following day (the 9th), before we started,
he came to our abode to return our visit. I made Frederick receive
him, telling the interpreters to say that I had no business to speak
of, but that I should come into the room before he left the house to
take leave of him. The consequence was that Frederick had a long and,
to all appearance, satisfactory conversation with him.

[Sidenote: Leaves Pekin.]

After this we set out for Tung-chow. We had to wait there all night,
as our boats were not ready, and we are now (_10th November, noon_)
gliding down the river, each in a _chop_ boat (a little boat with a
very convenient cabin, in which one can sleep, read, write, &c.), on a
lovely autumn day, low temperature, and bright sunshine. I think that
this wind-up at Pekin was very promising. It is probable that there
may be some reaction when the Emperor and the bad advisers whom he has
about him return, and even Ignatieff did not choose to remain at Pekin
during that moment of reaction. At the same time, it is evident that
Kung, who is his brother, has committed himself to the peace policy,
and that his intercourse with us has been much more satisfactory to
him than he at one time expected. It is probable that the Emperor will
for once hear something of the truth. Kung will claim credit for
having induced us to remove from Pekin to Tientsin, while the fact
that we are still as near as Tientsin will be an _in terrorem_
argument in support of his policy of conciliation. If Kung weathers
the difficult moment which he will have to traverse when the Emperor
returns, I have hopes that all the benefit which I have expected to
derive from our minister's residence at Pekin will be achieved. Our
_Sinologues_ are fine fellows. It is refreshing to see their spirit
and pluck. Wade, Parkes, and Morrison, all put their services at our
disposal, and offered to remain alone at Pekin. My choice, however,