_December 11th.--Six P.M._--This day the Governor-General paid me a
return visit. We received him with all honour; manned yards of all
four ships, and gave him a salute of three guns from each. It has been
a beautiful day, and the scene was a striking one when he came off in
a huge junk like a Roman trireme, towed by six boats, bedizened by any
number of triangular flags of all colours. A line of troops, horse and
foot, lined the beach along which he passed from the gate of the city
to the place of embarkation; quaint enough both in uniform and
armament, but still with something of a pretension to both about them.
I have seen nothing in China with so much display and style about it
as the turn-out of the Governor-General of the Two Hoo, both to-day
and yesterday. We showed him the ship, feasted him, photographed him,
and entertained him one way or another for upwards of three hours.
After he had departed, I landed on the Ouchang side, and walked
through the walled city. Some objection was made to our entering, as
we went through a side instead of the main gate, but we persevered and
carried our point. The city is a fine one, about the size of Canton,
but much in ruins. To-morrow at six, please God, we set forth on our
return. I may mention as an illustration of the state of Ouchang, that
in walking over a hill in the very centre of the walled town, we put
up two brace of pheasants!

[Sidenote: Retro-sum.]

_December 12th.--Eleven A.M._--We are on our way back to Shanghae. I
am very glad of it, because we have accomplished all the good we could
possibly expect to effect at Hankow, and I am becoming very tired of
the length of time which our expedition has lasted. It is a feat to
have reached this point with these big ships at this season of the
year, and I think the effect of our visit will be considerable. The
people evidently have no objection to us, and the resistance opposed
by the authorities can always be overcome by tact and firmness.

_December 13th.--Nine A.M._--At about eight we heaved anchor, having
carefully buoyed this very awkward passage. The current ran about four
miles an hour, and at some points where the leadsmen were calling out
sixteen and seventeen feet, the channel was not much greater than the
width of the ship, and we draw about fifteen and a half feet of water,
so it was a nervous matter to get through. To make the vessel answer
the helm it was necessary to go faster than the current, and difficult
to do this without proceeding at such a rapid rate as would, if we had
chanced to take the ground, have stuck us upon it immovably. We
skirted our several buoys in a most masterly manner, and are now
anchored till they have been picked up.... _Six P.M._--'Where we had
eighteen feet as we came up, we cannot find fourteen now,' are the
ominous words which Captain Osborn has just addressed to me as he
reached the deck from a surveying expedition.... It looks a little
serious, for I fear there is a worse place beyond.

[Sidenote: Peasantry.]

_December 14th.--Six P.M._--I went on shore this morning when there
was no prospect of moving.... We took a long walk, conversing with the
peasants who live in a row of cottages with their well-cultivated
lands in front and rear of their dwellings; the lands are generally
their own, and of not more than three or four acres in extent I should
think, but it is difficult to get accurate information from them on
such points. We found one rather superior sort of man, who said he was
a tenant, and that he paid four out of ten parts of the produce of his
farm to the landlord. They gave me the impression of being a well-to-
do peasantry. Afterwards I walked through the country town of Pâho,
which is built of stone, and seemingly prosperous. The Rebels had
destroyed all the temples.

_December 15th.--Four P.M._--At about one we had passed the village of
Hwang-shih-kiang, and were entering that part of the river I described
as a fine site for a Highland deer forest, when the 'Lee' hoisted the
'negative' (the signal to stop). She had got on a rock, where, on our
way up, we had found no bottom at ten fathoms. I landed immediately,
and found the people engaged in quarrying and manufacturing lime from
the hills on the right bank. We had a pleasant walk; the day being
beautiful, and the scenery very fine. They sell their lime at about
17$. per ton (200 cash a picul), and buy the small coal which they
employ in their kilns at about 25$. (300 cash a picul). I wish I could
do as well at Broomhall!

[Sidenote: Hunting for a channel.]
[Sidenote: Literary degrees.]

_December 17th.--Ten A.M._--The gunboats are hunting for a channel....
I am going ashore. On this day last year I embarked on board this ship
for the first time. What an eventful time I have spent since then!
_Four P.M._--I have returned from my walk, but, alas! no good news to
greet me. Only eleven feet of water, where we found seventeen on the
way up.... Our walk was pleasant enough, though it rained part of the
time. Some of the gentlemen shot, for the whole of China is a
preserve, the game hardly being molested by the natives. We went into
the house of a small landowner of some three or four acres; over the
door was a tablet to the honour of a brother who had gained the
highest literary degree, and was therefore eligible for the highest
offices in the State. The owner himself was not so literary, and had
bought the degree of _bachelor_ for 108 taels (about 35_l_.). If he
tried to purchase the degree of _master_ he would have, he said, 1,000
taels to pay, besides passing through some kind of examination. We
asked him about the Rebels. He said that when they visited the rural
districts, they took whatever they pleased, saying that it belonged to
their Heavenly Father. Before meat they make a prayer to the Heavenly
Father, ending with a vow to destroy the 'demons' (Imperialists).
'But,' added my informant, 'they are poor creatures, and their
Heavenly Father does not seem to do much for them.' We also visited a
manufactory where they were extracting oil from cotton-seed.

_December 18th.--Six P.M._--We are to try a channel, such as it is,
to-morrow morning. I landed for a walk. Wade took a gun with him. We
saw quantities of waterfowl of all kinds. The plain on the left bank
of the river is bounded on the other side by a pretty lake. The plain
is subject to inundations, and seems to be covered by a bed of sand of
about five feet in thickness. The people cultivate it by trenching for
the clay beneath, and mixing it with the sand.

_December 19th.--10.30 A.M._--The 'Cruiser' went through this bad
passage safely. We followed, and are now aground. Anchors are being
laid out in hopes of dragging the ship over.

[Sidenote: Pressing through the mud.]

_December 20th.--Eleven A.M._--Our difficulty yesterday was not
unexpected,... but we were compelled to make the attempt. The mud was
very soft, and as we pressed against it, kept breaking away; but the
difficulty was, that as we moved the shoal, the tide was forcing us
towards it, and preventing our getting clear of it. At night we fixed
the ship securely by three anchors, and left it to make its own way,
which it did so effectually, that at 4 A.M. we slipped into deep
water. We did not get off till 10 A.M., and the first thing we had to
do was to turn in a channel which was exactly the length of the ship,
and not a foot more. This very clever feat we performed with the help
of an anchor dropped from the stern, and are now in the main river....
_Two P.M._--We have anchored below Kew-kiang, at the spot where we
anchored on November 30th. The 'Dove' met us an hour ago with the
ominous signal, 'Afraid there is no passage.' _Six P.M._--Captain
Osborn has returned from an exploration, which will be continued to-
morrow. It would be very sad if the 'Furious' had to be left behind.
Meanwhile I landed and took a walk. It is a pretty country, on the
right bank, consisting of wooded hillocks with patches of cultivated
valley, and sometimes lakes of considerable size. Cosy little hamlets
nestle in most of the valleys; the houses built of sun-dried bricks,
and much more substantial than those we saw yesterday, &c., where the
walls generally were made of matting, probably because of the
inundations.

[Sidenote: Taking to the gunboats.]

_December 23rd.--Noon._--At about six Captain Osborn returned from an
exploration of the north channel, which he found rocky, and twelve
feet of water the utmost that could be found. Captain Bythesea was
disposed to try and lighten the 'Cruiser;' but I determined that I
would run no risk of the kind. As yet no harm has happened to any of
our ships, and the delay at this point of some of the squadron for
three months, is more an inconvenience to me than a disadvantage in
any other way. On public grounds it will even be attended with
benefit, as it will insure the Yangtze being kept open; for supplies
will be sent up to them from Shanghae, and they will have an
opportunity of examining the Poyang Lake besides. If any of the
vessels were lost or seriously injured, it would be a very different
matter. I have therefore resolved that we shall all pack into the
'Lee' (the 'Dove' being crammed already), and with the aid of two
junks for servants and baggage, make our way to the 'Retribution.' We
shall have to pass Nganching, but it is to be hoped that the Rebels
will not repeat the experiment they made when we were on our way up.
_Au reste, Dieu dispose._

_December 24th.--Noon._--On board the 'Lee.'_--We have just passed the
shallow behind which we were anchored for three days; but we have
passed it only by leaving our big ships behind us. At 10 A.M. I had
all the ship's company of the 'Furious' on deck, and made a short
farewell speech to them, which was well received by a sympathetic
audience. The whole Mission is on board this gunboat, pretty closely
packed as you may suppose: the servants in a Chinese boat astern, and
the effects in another, astern of the 'Dove.' The 'Dove' leads, and we
follow. It is raining and blowing unpleasantly. I am very sorry to
have left the 'Furious.'... If the Rebels let us pass them unattacked,
it will be well; if they do not, we shall be obliged in self-defence
to force a passage through their lines, in order to carry supplies to
our ships. Either way, the object of opening the Yangtze will be
attained. Yesterday the Prefect of Kew-kiang came on board the
'Furious.' He was very civil, and undertook to supply Captain Osborn
with all he wanted.... In the little cabin where I am now writing,
five of us are to sleep!

_Christmas Day._--Many happy returns of it to you and the children!...
It is the second since we parted.... We are now (3 P.M.) approaching
Nganching. I have resolved to communicate with the authorities to
express my indignation at what happened when we passed up the river,
and tell them that if it is repeated I shall be obliged reluctantly to
take the town. This may seem rather audacious language, considering
that my whole force now consists of two gunboats. However, I think it
is the proper tone to take with the Chinese.

[Sidenote: Ngan-ching.]

_December 26th.--One P.M._--It grew so dark before we anchored near
Nganching last night, that we abandoned the idea of communicating till
this morning, and found, when day broke, that we were nearer the town
than we had anticipated. It was raining heavily, with a slight
admixture of sleet, and some of the heights in rear of the town were
covered with snow. We heaved anchor at about seven, and dropped it
again at about half a mile from the wall of the city. Wade went off in
a boat. He steered to a point where there was an officer waving a flag
somewhat ominously, and a crowd behind him, generally armed with red
umbrellas. When he got to the shore, he was informed that the officer
was third in command, and a Canton man, as the other chiefs also
appeared to be. He told them that it was our intention to pass up and
down the river; that I had come with a good heart (i.e. without
hostile intentions); that nevertheless we had been scandalously fired
at, &c. &c. They at once, in the manner of Chinamen, confessed their
error, and said that the firing had been a mistake; that it was the
act of some of the local men, who did not know the ships of 'your
great nation:' that it should not happen again, &c. Wade told them
that the same thing had occurred at Nankin, and that we had destroyed
the peccant forts. They answered that they were aware of what had then
happened. He added, that we did not wish to interfere in their
internal disputes, but that they must know, if we were driven to it,
we should find it an easy matter to sweep them out of the city. They
admitted the truth of all he said, offered presents, begged him to go
into the city and see their chief (both which proposals he declined);
in short, they were contrite and humble. On his return to the 'Lee,'
she and her consort lifted their anchors, and we steamed quietly past
the city, under the very walls, and within easy gingall shot, for so
we were compelled to do by the narrowness of the channel.

[Sidenote: Nankin.]

_December 29th.--11 A.M._--We are now approaching Nankin. I have sent
Oliphant, Wade, Lay, and a Mr. W. (a missionary) ahead in the 'Dove,'
to land, if possible, at the first fort, with the view of going into
the town and calling on the authorities. The 'Dove' will then proceed
past the other forts to an anchorage on the farther side of the city,
to which point the 'Lee' and 'Retribution' will follow her. My
emissaries will inform the Nankin authorities that I am pleased that
they should have apologised for their scandalous conduct towards us on
our way up; that we have no intention of meddling with them if they
leave us alone; but that we intend to move ships up and down the
river, and that they must not be molested. They have sent me a letter
written on a roll of yellow silk, about three fathoms long. It seems
to be a sort of rhapsody, in verse, with a vast infusion of their
extraordinary theology. It is now snowing heavily, so we cannot see
far ahead. It would, I think, be awkward for me to have any
intercourse with the Rebel chiefs, so I do not, as at present advised,
intend to land.

[Sidenote: Wildfowl.]

_December 30th._--About 7 P.M., the 'Dove' rejoined us with the
emissaries. It appears that they had a long way to go on horseback,--
some seven or eight miles--before they reached the Yamun of the chief,
who received them. They do not seem to have learnt much from him. He
professed to be third in the hierarchy of the Rebel Government of
Nankin, but was a rather commonplace person. He said that our
bombardment had killed three officers and twenty men, and that they
had beheaded the soldiers who fired at us! Arrangements were made for
the free passage of vessels communicating with the 'Furious.' They
describe their ride through Nankin as if it had been one through a
great park,--trees, and the streets wider than usual in China; but no
trade is allowed, and the place seems almost deserted. There was not
quite so much appearance of destruction, but more of desolation, than
in any town previously visited by us. The officer who guided them to
the Yamun asked Wade to take him away with us, and on being told that
was impossible, applied for opium, saying that he smoked himself, and
that about one in three of the force in Nankin did the same. Whether
the original Taiping chief, 'Hung-Seu-Cheun,' is still alive or not,
we have not been able to discover. Some say he remains shut up with
about 300 wives. At any rate he is invisible.... The only thing
remarkable which I have observed to-day is the quantity of wildfowl. I
saw one flock this morning which was several miles long. It literally
darkened the sky. I suppose the cold weather is driving them inwards
from the sea.

[Sidenote: Aground once more.]

_December 31st.--Five P.M._--I hardly expected to have to record
another grounding, but so it is. We have been going on gallantly all
day, leaving the other ships some ten miles behind us. We had passed
the Lunshan Hills, off which we spent two days, and from which I sent
you my last letter. We were abreast of Plover Point, when suddenly the
water shoaled so much that we had to drop anchor. Alas! the ebbing
tide was too strong for us, and drove us on a bank, where we are now
sticking. If we get off before morning it will not matter much; but if
the 'Retribution' comes down and finds us here, we shall look
horribly small.

[Sidenote: Reach Shanghae.]

_January 1st, 1859._--Many, many returns of the New Year! It is a
beautiful day, and we are just anchoring at Shanghae, at 3 P.M. As
soon as the tide rose (about midnight) it lifted us off our shoal. We
had to go cautiously sometimes to-day; but we have closed this
eventful expedition successfully.

The general results and chief incidents of the interesting expedition thus
happily completed, were reported to the Government in England in a
despatch, dated January 5th, 1859, from which are taken the following
extracts:--

[Sidenote: Difficulty of getting at facts.]

The knowledge of the Chinese language possessed by Messrs. Wade and
Lay enabled me to enter, without difficulty, into communication with
the inhabitants of the towns and rural districts which we visited. At
various points in our progress we wandered, unarmed and unattended, in
parties of three or four, to a distance of several miles from the
banks of the river, and we never experienced at the hands of the
natives anything but courtesy, mingled with a certain amount of not
very obtrusive curiosity. Notwithstanding, however, these favourable
opportunities, the budget of statistical facts which I was able to
collect was hardly as considerable as I could have desired. Chinamen
of the humbler class are not much addicted to reflection, and when
subjected to cross-examination by persons greedy of information, they
are apt to consider the proceeding a strange one, and to suspect that
it must be prompted by some exceedingly bad motive. Moreover, having
been civilised for many generations, they carry politeness so far,
that in answering a question it is always their chief endeavour to say
what they suppose their questioner will be best pleased to hear. If,
therefore, the knowledge of a fact is to be arrived at, it is, above
all things, necessary that the inquiry bear a tint so neutral that the
person to whom it is addressed shall find it impossible to reflect its
colour in his reply. He will then sometimes, in his confusion, blunder
into a truthful answer, but he does so generally with a bashful air,
indicative of the painful consciousness that he has been reluctantly
violating the rules of good breeding. A search after accurate
statistics, under such conditions, is not unattended with difficulty.

[Sidenote: Exaggerated reports of population.]

I am confirmed, by what I have witnessed on this expedition, in the
doubts which I have long entertained as to the accuracy of the popular
estimates of the amount of the town population of China. The cities
which I have visited are, no doubt, suffering at present from the
effects of the rebellion; but I cannot bring myself to believe that,
at the best of times, they can have contained the number of
inhabitants usually imputed to them. M. Hue puts the population of the
three cities of Woo-chang-foo, Han-yang-foo, and Hankow, at
8,000,000. I doubt much whether it now amounts, in the aggregate, to
1,000,000; and even when they were flourishing, I cannot conceive
where 3,000,000 of human beings could have been stowed away in them.

[Sidenote: Rural population.]
[Sidenote: Town population.]

What 1 have seen leads me to think that the rural population of China
is, generally speaking, well-doing and contented. I worked very hard,
though with only indifferent success, to obtain from them accurate
information respecting the extent of their holdings, the nature of
their tenure, the taxation which they have to pay, and other kindred
matters. I arrived at the conclusion that, for the most part, they
hold their lands, which are of very limited extent, in full property
from the Crown, subject to certain annual charges of no very
exorbitant amount; and that these advantages, improved by assiduous
industry, supply abundantly their simple wants, whether in respect of
food or clothing. In the streets of cities in China some deplorable
objects are to be met with, as must always be the case where mendicity
is a legalised institution; but I am inclined to think that the rigour
with which the duties of relationship are enforced, operates as a
powerful check on pauperism. A few days ago a lady here informed me
that her nurse had bought a little girl from a mother who had a
surplus of this description of commodity on hand. I asked why she had
done so, and was told that the little girl's husband, when she
married, would be bound to support the adopting mother. By the
judicious investment of a dollar in this timely purchase, the worthy
woman thus secured for herself a provision for old age, and a
security, which she probably appreciates yet more highly, for decent
burial when she dies.

[Sidenote: Manufactures.]

My general impression is, that British manufacturers will have to
exert themselves to the utmost if they intend to supplant, to any
considerable extent, in the native market, the fabrics produced in
their leisure hours, and at intervals of rest from agricultural
labour, by this industrious, frugal, and sober population. It is a
pleasing but pernicious fallacy to imagine, that the influence of an
intriguing mandarin is to be presumed whenever a buyer shows a
preference for native over foreign calico.

In returning to Shaughae, Lord Elgin had hoped to find the objects of his
mission so far secured, that there would be nothing to prevent, his sailing
for England at once: but nearly two more months elapsed before he was able
to turn his back on the Celestial Empire.

_Shanghae.--January 17th._--The 'Furious' and 'Cruiser' arrived here
safely on the 10th.... I have just accomplished the Herculean task of
looking over a two-months' supply of newspapers, and this occupation,
interlarded with a certain number of letters and visits to and from
the Imperial Commissioners, and, to-day, an address from the British
community of Shanghae, has pretty fully occupied my time.[3] The home
mail is due to-day, and 1 am anxiously waiting to learn from it what
the Government intends to do about relieving me.... I trust that your
many disappointments as to my return may have been somewhat relieved
by the conviction that I am following the right course. This opening
up of the East is not a light matter.... The comet was most
magnificent here. Did I ever mention it in my letters? During the
whole period of its visit in this quarter it had night after night a
clear blue cloudless sky, spangled with stars innumerable, to disport
itself in.... Canton is coming round to tranquillity as fast as we
ever had any right to expect; but the absurd thing is that these funny
people at Hong-Kong are beginning to praise me!

[Sidenote: Troubles at Canton.]

_January 20th._--I had hardly written the words 'Canton is coming
round to tranquillity.' when I heard that there had been fighting
there again. It is a good thing in my opinion, as it will enable us to
demonstrate our superiority to the Braves, if the General and Admiral
improve the opportunity properly; not by a great deal of slaughter,
that is quite unnecessary, but by promptitude, and striking a blow at
the right moment. The Chinese do not care much about being killed, but
they hate being frightened, and the knowledge of this idiosyncrasy of
theirs is the key of the position. I have just written a letter to my
friends the Imperial Commissioners here, which will, I think, shake
their nerves considerably, and bring them to a manageable frame of
mind.

In fact, when he found that Governor-General Hwang had not been recalled,
nor the Committee of Gentry suppressed, and that the Canton Braves were
still making war upon our troops, he felt that the Chinese were trying to
evade the performance of their promises, and that there was nothing for it
but to 'appeal again to 'that ignoble passion of fear which was unhappily
the one _primum mobile_ of human action in China.'[4] Accordingly he wrote
to the Imperial Commissioners that, as the Emperor did not carry out what
they undertook, he would have nothing more to say to them on the subject;
that the English soldiers and sailors would take the Braves into their own
hands; and that he or his successor would in a month or two have an
opportunity of ascertaining at Pekin itself whether or not the Emperor was
abetting the persons who were creating disturbances in the South.

The journal continues, under date of January 20:--

[Sidenote: Town of Shanghae.]

Yesterday I took a walk through the town of Shanghae with a missionary
who is a very good _cicerone_. We went into a good many _ateliers_ of
silversmiths, ribbon-makers, tobacco-manufacturers, carvers in wood,
and the like. The Chinese are skilful manipulators, but they are
singularly uninventive. Nothing can be more rude than their labour-
saving processes. We visited also a foundling establishment. There was
a drawer at the entrance in which the infants are deposited, as is, I
believe, the case at Paris. The children seem tolerably cared for, but
there were not many in the house. The greater portion are given out to
nurse. We went also into a large inn or lodging-house, frequented by a
respectable class of visitors--silk merchants, &c. The rooms seemed
comfortable, quite as good as the accommodation provided for
commercial travellers at an English inn. A good many books seemed to
form part of the luggage of the occupant of each room that we entered.
It is curious that I should have been engaged in so many enterprises
of rather an out-of-the-way character since I have been out here. I
confess that in my own opinion the voyage up the Yangtze is not the
least important one.

_January 22nd._--Mail arrived. Frederick's appointment[5] is very
satisfactory, and I am sure it is the best the Government could have
made for the public interest. It is a great comfort to me to know that
he will wind up what I cannot finish.

[Sidenote: Return to Hong-Kong.]

_Shanghae.--January 25th._--After full consideration I have resolved
to go at once to Hong-Kong, and take the Canton difficulty in hand. A
variety of circumstances lead me to the conclusion that the Court of
Pekin is about to play us false. Ho, the Governor-General of the Two
Kiang; the Tautai of this port; and the Treasurer of the district, all
well-disposed to foreigners, have been gradually removed from the
councils of the Commissioners. Some papers which we have seized also
indicate that the Emperor is by no means reconciled to some of the
most important concessions obtained in the Treaties. This row at
Canton is therefore very opportune. I have taken a high tone, informed
the Commissioners that I am off to the South to punish disturbers of
the peace there, and that when I have taught them to respect treaties,
I (or my successor) will return to settle matters still pending here,
pacifically or otherwise as the Emperor may prefer. It is to be hoped
that this language will bring them to their senses, or rather bring
the Court to its senses, for I do not suppose that the Commissioners
are so much to blame. I had already asked all the society here to a
party this evening, so it will be a farewell entertainment, and I
shall embark as soon as it is over.

[Sidenote: Pirate-hunting.]

_At Sea, near Hong-Kong.--Tuesday, February 1st._--Two war-steamers
and a gunboat have just passed us on some expedition after pirates. It
may be all right, but I fear we do some horrible injustices in this
pirate-hunting. The system of giving our sailors a direct interest in
captures is certainly a barbarous one, and the parent of much evil;
though perhaps it may be difficult to devise a remedy. The result,
however, is, that not only are seizures often made which ought not to
be made at all, but also duties are neglected which do not bring grist
to the mill. B. once said to me, in talking of the difficulty of
exercising a police over even English vessels which carry coolies to
foreign ports:--'Men-of-war have orders to seize vessels breaking the
law; but as they are not prizes, and the captain if he seizes them
wrongfully is liable to an action for damages, how can you expect them
to act?'

[Sidenote: March into the interior.]

_February 11th._--I ought to tell you that on the 8th, a body of
troops about 1,000 strong started on an expedition into the interior,
which was to take three days. I accompanied or rather preceded them on
the first day's march, about twelve miles from Canton. We rode through
a very pretty country, passing by the village of Sheksing, where there
was a fight a fortnight ago. The people were very respectful, and
apparently not alarmed by our visit. At the place where the troops
were to encamp for the night, a cattle fair was in progress, and our
arrival did not seem to interrupt the proceedings.

_February 13th._--The military expedition into the country was
entirely successful. The troops were received everywhere as friends.
Considering what has been of yore the state of feeling in this
province towards us, I think this almost the most remarkable thing
which has happened since I came here. Would it have happened if I had
given way to those who wished me to carry fire and sword through all
the country villages? Or if I had gone home, and left the winding-up
of these affairs in the hands of others?... I say all this because I
am anxious that you should appreciate the motives which have made me
prolong my stay in this quarter.

On the 15th he started, intending to join General Straubenzee in an
expedition up the West River; but finding that his presence would be of no
use, and might be an embarrassment, he resolved instead to spend the time
in visiting the port of Hainan, the southernmost port opened by the new
Treaty. Unfortunately, when he arrived off Hainan, a wind blowing on shore,
and very imperfect charts, prevented his entering the port; but on his way
he had an opportunity of revisiting one of the few places on the coast
possessing any historical interest, namely Macao, the residence of Camoëns;
and also of touching at St. John, the scene of the labours and death of
Francis Xavier.

[Sidenote: Macao.]

_February 11th._--We reached Macao yesterday morning. I visited the
garden of Camoëns, and wandered among the narrow up-and-down streets,
which with the churches and convents, and air of quiet _vétusté_,
remind one of a town on the continent of Europe.

[Sidenote: St. John.]

_February 20th.--Sunday._--We have just anchored in a quiet harbour,
on the island of St. John, or Sancian, as Huc calls it; the first
place in China where the Portuguese settled. Here, too, St. Francis
Xavier died. I should land and look at his tomb if I thought it was in
this part of the island, but it is late (5 P.M.), and a long way to
pull.

On returning to Hong-Kong he found that his letter to the Chinese
Government had had the effect which he desired and anticipated.

[Sidenote: Mission completed.]

_Hong-Kong.--February 23rd._--I have good news from the North. As I
was walking on the deck this morning at 8 A.M., Mr. Lay suddenly made
his appearance. He had come by the mail-packet from Shanghae, with a
letter from the Imperial Commissioners, announcing that the seal of
Imperial Commission had been taken from Hwang, the Governor-General of
this province, and given to Ho, the Governor-General of the provinces
in which Shanghae is situated. Lay further states that his friend the
Tautai informed him that they are prepared to receive the new
Ambassador peacefully at Pekin, when he goes to exchange
ratifications. If so, I think that I shall be able to return with the
conviction that the objects of my mission have been accomplished.

The details of his Treaty having been now definitively arranged, Canton
pacified, and its neighbourhood overawed by the peaceful progress through
it of a military expedition, there remained nothing to detain him in the
East.[6]

[Sidenote: Homeward bound.]
[Sidenote: Hong-Kong factory.]

_Canton River.--March 3rd._--I am really and truly off on my way to
England, though I can hardly believe that it is so. The last mail
brought me not a word either from Frederick or about his plans; only,
what was very satisfactory, the approval of the Government of my
arrangement respecting the residence of the British Minister in China.
I have, however, determined to start, and to take my chance of meeting
him somewhere _en route_. Unless I were to go back to Shanghae, I
could not do much more here now; and if I put off, I shall have the
monsoon against me, and great heat in the Red Sea. Having resolved on
this course, I invited the Hong-Kong merchants to come up with me to
Canton, to look at the several factory sites. In their usual way they
have been dictating the choice of a site to me, abusing me for not
fixing upon it; and I found out that very few of them had even taken
the trouble of looking at the ground. In short I found that, in my
short visits, I had seen a great deal more of the sites than they had
done, who live constantly on the spot, and are personally interested
in the matter. I started from Hong-Kong yesterday morning, and to-day
I went over the ground with them. The rain poured, and I got a good
wetting.... As I was starting from the town in a gunboat to rejoin my
ship, I met the military and naval expedition, which has been absent
for more than two weeks, returning. I had not time to communicate with
the officers, but they seemed in good spirits. It is a curious wind-up
of this most eventful mission, that as I am starting from China, I
should meet an Anglo-French force returning from a pacific invasion
into the very heart of the province of Kwan-tung!--the _pépinière_ of
the Canton Braves, of whom we have heard so much.

_March 4th.--Eleven A.M._--I have been calculating that if Frederick
does not leave England till the mail of the 25th of February, I may,
by pushing on, catch him at Galle. This would be a great point. I must
push on and take my chance.

[Sidenote: Pulo Sapata.]

_March 8th._--We are passing Pulo Sapata, a bald, solitary rock,
standing in the midst of the China Sea, the resort of seafowl, as is
indicated by its guano-like appearance. There it stands day after day,
and year after year, affronting the scorching beams of this tropical
sun. All ships pass by it between Singapore and China. So I am looking
at it for the fourth time--the last time, we may hope. We have made
fully 200 miles a day--a great deal for this ship.

_March 10th._--We are now very near the Line, and the breeze has
nearly failed us; so you may imagine we are not very cool, but we hope
to reach Singapore to-morrow. These Tropics are very charming when
they do not broil one; and I passed a pleasant hour last night on the
top of the paddle-box, with a balmy air floating over my face from the
one side, a crescent moon playing hide-and-seek behind a cloud on the
other, and right above me a legion of bright stars, shining through
the atmosphere as if they could pierce one with their glance.

_March 11th._--We have passed the Horsburgh lighthouse, and entered
the Straits. Wooded banks on either side, diversified by hillocks, and
a ship or two, give some animation to the scene. It is very hot, and I
have been on the paddle-box getting what air I can, and watching a
black wall of cloud covered with fleecy masses, which rests on the
bank to our right, and seems half inclined to sweep over us with one
of those refreshing pelts of which we had a succession last night. It
is this habit of showers which renders the vicinity of the Line more
bearable than the summer heat of other parts within the Tropics.
However, the cloud sticks to the shore, so I have come down to write
this line to you.

[Sidenote: Singapore.]

_Singapore.--Sunday, March 13th, Seven A.M._--This place looks
wonderfully green and luxuriant after China. The variety of costumes
and colours too, Malay, Indian, Chinese, &c., and the pretty villas
perched on each hillock among flowering trees, give it a festival air.
Heavy showers of rain also keep the temperature down.... 3.30 P.M.--I
went to church and embarked immediately after; and here we are, about
ten miles from Singapore, going well through a calm sea, with a slight
breeze rather against us. Twenty months ago I left this place at about
the same hour with poor Peel for Calcutta.

_March 21st.--Six A.M._--I have been an hour on deck watching the
great bright stars eclipse themselves, and the sun break through the
clouds right astern of us. It is a lovely day, and we are a little
bent over by a breeze from the shore of Ceylon, along which we are now
running. _Noon._--Just anchored at Galle, after a run of about 270
miles in twenty-four hours.... We are surrounded by curious boats
about two feet wide, prevented from capsizing by _outriggers_--beams
of wood _floating_ on the water on one side of them, and attached to
them by poles of about eight feet in length. I believe these boats are
wonderfully fast and safe.

[Sidenote: Ceylon.]

_Colombo.--Sunday, March 27th._--We came yesterday to this place. A
drive of seventy-two miles through an almost uninterrupted grove of
cocoa-nut trees, interspersed with bread-fruit, jack-fruit, and other
foliage, with occasional gleams of the _Gloriosa superba_. The music
of the ocean waves hissing and thundering on the shore accompanied us
all our journey. The road was good and the coach tolerable, so it was
pleasant enough. To-day the heat is very great; hardly bearable at
church. All Sir H. Ward's family are on the hill--Newra Elyia--some
6,000 feet above the sea; this being the hottest season in Ceylon. My
writing is not very good, for I cannot sit still for the heat. I am
walking about the room in very light attire, taking up my pen from
time to time to indite a few words.

_H.M.S. 'Furious.'--At Sea, April 9th._--Will this letter be delivered
to you by the post or by the writer in person? _Chi sa?_... You will
like to have a complete record of my experiences during my long
absence. I am now again at sea, and I cannot say how this fact
rejoices me. I was tired of Ceylon; and my longing to get home
increases as the prospect of my doing so becomes more real. I was ill,
too, at Ceylon. The heat was very great; and I was, I fear, somewhat
imprudent. On the day after I despatched my last letter to you from
Colombo, I started for Kandy, a pretty little countrytown seated in
the centre of a circle of hills. I reached it at 5 P.M., time enough
to walk about the very beautiful grounds of the 'Pavilion,' the
Governor's residence. Next day, after seeing the shrine which contains
the famous tooth of Buddha, I set off for the mountains, and reached a
coffee estate of Baron Delmar's at about 6 P.M. We found ourselves in
a fine cool climate, at about 3,000 feet above the sea. That night,
however, I felt a shiver as I went to bed. I had a bad headache next
morning, and when I arrived at Newra Elyia, the famous sanatarium,
6,000 feet above the sea, I was obliged to go to bed, and send for the
doctor. I could not remain quiet, however, as the packet from England
might be at Galle on the 3rd; so I had to hurry down on Friday from
the mountain to Kandy and Colombo, where I arrived on Saturday evening
more dead than alive. Sir H. Ward's doctor declared me to be labouring
under an attack of jungle fever.... I sent for the 'Furious,' which
conveyed me from Colombo to Galle on Monday the 4th. Frederick did not
arrive till the 6th; so all ended well. It was an unspeakable comfort
to me to meet Frederick at last We had a day to talk over our affairs,
as he did not proceed till the afternoon of the 7th.... I am pleased
with Ceylon, notwithstanding my mishaps. For a tropical climate it is
healthy and bearable; but we happened to be there at the very hottest
season. At Newra Elyia it is really cold, and, at the height of the
coffee estates, very tolerable to vegetate in.

The rapid homeward journey along a beaten route offered little of interest
to write about, especially as he was likely to be the bearer of his own
letter. On the 19th of May he reported to the Foreign Office his arrival in
London.

[1] The text of the Article respecting opium is as follows:--'Opium will
henceforth, pay thirty taels per picul import duty. The importer will
sell it only at the port. It will be carried into the interior by
Chinese only, and only as Chinese property; the Foreign trader will
not be allowed to accompany it. The provisions of Article IX. of the
Treaty of Tientsin, by which British subjects are authorised to
proceed into the interior with passports to trade, will not extend to
it, nor will those of Article XXVIII. of the same Treaty, by which the
transit-dues are regulated; the transit-dues on it will be arranged as
the Chinese Government see fit; nor, in future revisions of the
Tariff, is the rule of revision to be applied to opium as to other
goods.'

[2] In an official despatch he describes it as 'a solitary rock of about
300 feet in height, picturesquely clothed with natural timber and
ruined temples, around which are to be seen, at all hours of the day,
groups of bonzes, in their grey and yellow robes, devoutly lounging,
and conscientiously devoting themselves to the duty of doing
absolutely nothing.'