The Sun. — London, England, 1860-12-28 00:00:00

passed the Board of Punishments, where Parkes and Loch had been so long imprisoned, and close by the Russian Embassy. A broad street runs from the centre of the Impe rial city on the south to the central gate of the Chinese city. A large square or enclosure is in front of the gate entering the Imperial Palace, on the east side of which are the great Boards of Office of the empire. The first visited was the Board of Ceremonies, which has been in its day a magnificent building ; it has still fine court -yards and halls. But the Board of Revenue was a heap of ruins, and the Boards of Civil Office, War, &c., in very little better condition. The Board of Cere monies was therefore decided on as the place best adapted for the ceremony of signing the Convention, both on account of its position, which was good, and from its better state of repair. No house, however, had been pointed out that in any way could be made suitable for the Embassy. Prince Kung was therefore requested to have some private palace at once prepared for Lord Elgin's reception, and the Prince of I's was named, as being in a convenient situation. It is a building of vast extent; the outhouses alone could accommodate 3,000 soldiers with ease; but the palace and gar dens were not in much better condition than the other buildings visited. 300 Chinese workmen were, however, set to work, and it is surprising how much they can do in a few hours towards making a place look habitable and comfortable. But the state of decay of the public buildings as well as private, even when owned by one of the greatest and richest princes of the empire, like the Prince of I, gives a melancholy impression for the future of China. The 24th was the day named for signing the Convention ; for some days previous Messrs. Wade and Parkes were busily engaged in discussing the clauses of the Convention, and making arrange ments for their - coming into immediate operation, together with those of the treaty of Tien-tsin, as soon as the ratified treaties were exchanged. Among the Chinese Deputies were Hang-ke and Wang. The latter was, I believe, associated with Tan, Go vernor-General of Chil-li, when they ineffectually attempted to stay Lord Elgin's advance in 1858. On the morning of the 24th Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant entered the An-ting gate, accompanied by an escort of 600 men and 100 officers from the regiments at Pekin. The Commander-in -Chief, with the Head-quarters and his personal Staff, rode a little in front of Lord Elgin, who was carried in his State chair by 1G Chinese, dressed in scarlet ; his horse, saddled. was led behind him, and the mem bers of the Embassy rode on either side. The 2d Division, under Sir Robert Napier, lined the streets, and as Lord Elgin passed followed at intervals, taking up strategical positions along the line of route in case treachery was intended by the Chinese. Considerable crowds lined both sides of the road ; they were extremely orderly, merely evincing great curiosity to get a glimpse at the "Great Barbarian" by attempting to peep into his chair as he passed by. The Board of Ceremonies is about three miles and a half from the An-ting gate, and it was past three o'clock before the procession arrived there. Dense crowds surrounded the entrance and filled the streets and square in front and on every side of it. The guard formed up on either side of the court yard, where the dais on which the ceremony was to take place opened. The officers ranged themselves on the left of the dais, the place of honour, and on the right were assembled a number of Manda rins. At the back of the dais were two small tables and chairs, that on the left for Lord Elgin, the one on the right for Prince Rung. Close to Lord Elgin's chair was another for the Commander in-Chief ;on either side, at right angles, were ten small tables and chairs for the high officers of each nation ; behind them, again was another row, for the accommodation of other officers. As Lord Elgin's chair entered the gate the troops presented arms, and the bands played " God save the Queen." His chair was carried to the front of the dais, when Prince Kang advanced to receive him, accompanied by all the Mandarins. A cold bow from Lord Elgin and an anxious hesitating salutation from Prince Rung, and Lord Elgin passed at once to his seat and sat down, motioning Rung to take the one on his right, which is considered the lowest. A table stood in the middle of the space, in front of which the boxes containing the convention and treaty were placed. Business was immediately commenced by Lord Elgin telling Mr. Wade to hand the translation of his full powers to Kung,with the request to see his in return. Prince Kung said his were not so full, but equally ample as to powers, and gave Lord Elgin the Emperor's decree conferring on him fall powers to negotiate and conclude a peace, and also to affix the great seal of the Empire as a ratifica tion to the treaty. The convention was signed, each Plenipotentiary affixing his seal. The treaties were then exchanged, Kung sealing it with the great seal of the Empire, certifying under his seal and signature that the ratification of the treaty had been duly effected, and that affixing the great seal of the Empire meant the acceptance by the Emperor of all the conditions and responsibilities contained in the treaty. A few interchanges of good wishes for the results of the treaty, and hopes that it would be the means of establishing a good understanding between the two Governments, passed between Lord Elgin and Prince Kung, the latter remarking that a great many mistakes had been made heretofore in their intercourse with foreigners, and that matters had been very badly managed, but he had now taken it into his own hands, and he hoped a new state of things would commence. Lord Elgin then rose; Rung walked a short dis tance across the platform, and then stopped ; Lord Elgin did so likewise, and it was only after vigor ous beckoning of the Mandarins attending on Kung and Lord Elgin stopping that Rung was induced, after a few hesitating pauses, to accompany him to the edge of the dais. Prince Kung is about 28, but looks older; his countenance is not devoid of intelligence, but there was an expression of anxious, nervous care, partly fear struggling with anger, no doubt at finding himself in a position so different from the one he had, been accustomed to hold in the presence of the high officials of the Government; yet there was a curious mixture of familiarity and respect in the manner of the officers towards him. The manner of Lord Elgin was quiet and digni fied, and the Chinese could not fail to be struck by the stern and calm manner in which he performed his part of the ceremony. The he has pursued has been such as to impress on the Chinese the feeling that in-agreeing to exchange the r atifications and sign the convention he considered he Was bestowing on them an immense benefit ; but that h e had not forgotten, and could not easily forget, the treachery that had character ized their proceedings throughout, and that before such feelings could be erases the Chinese Govern ment would have to show by their conduct that they were sincere in th e i r professionals fulfil the engage ments they have accepted. The serious attention with which the great Princes and Ministers of the manner, as if i m . we re tiding Empire wat c h e d L or d El g i n ' s pressed with th e d angerous cr i s i s they over, but alive to the dangers that still threatened and surr oun d e d t h em, was one of the most interest ing scenes in the day's proceedings. It is sincerely to be hoped that the recollection of the dangers they have escaped may live long in the memo r y o f th ose i n power, and may iNduco them for the future to follow a less tortuous policy than they have done heretofore, and the only way to insure this is to visit the least departure from the treaty with immediate and severe punishment, and the position we shall now hold will always enable us, even with a small force, to effect this. The Ambassador's and Commander-in-Chief's return was in the same order as that in which they went, but the streets were occupied at different points by the troops of Sir Robert Napier, who had placed them with great skill, so that the capital of the Chinese Empire was in the actual possession of the British troops. The appearance of Pekin is disappointing. The great width of the streets makes the houses look small and mean, but the wood carving in front of mast of them is most wonderful in the quantity and minuteness of its detail. Many of these carvings are gilt, and in a long street of these shops the effect is good. In dry weather the strt ets are four inches deep in dust; in wet, a foot deep in mud. There is a raised road in the middle of the street, on which two carts can easily d::ve abreast; on either side of this road there is a lower one of about the same breadth. The wall of the Imperial City, which occupies the centre of Pekin, is high and handsome, but not ,intended for defence ; the top has the yellow tile ; inside this wall are the. palaces of the Imperial family. The Emperor's Palace, or the Interdicted City, as it is called, is in the centre of this city, and surrounded by the same kind of wall. Lord Elgin and Baron Gros have taken up their residence in Pekin. By this mail Lord Elgin sends his Private Secre tary, Mr. H. B. Loch, to .England, as bearer of the convention and ratified treaty ; Sir Hope Grant sends Major the Hon. A. Anson by the same oppor tunity with despatches for the War-office. The French army retires from Pekin on the Ist of November, one battalion only remaining as an escort for Baron Gros. The convention and treaty are to be published in Pekin, and circulated throughout the Empire. The English army and the Ambassadors do not leave Pekin befQ of November. re the 9th (FROM ANOTHER CORRESPONDENT.) CAMP BEFORE PEKIN, OCT. 27. Being in some doubt as to the date of your latest advices from the expedition, I may just recall to your recollection that on the 18th of September two parties, one English and the other French, in all 37 persons, who had left Ho-si - woo for Tungchow to make arrangements for the pacific reception of the allied Ambassadors in the latter city, were seized by Sang-ko-lin-sin, who had come down to g i ve u s battle on the very ground on which it had been agreed the allied army should encamp. Mr. Parkes, who had left Tungchow early in the morn ing for the purpose of starting a market, an under taking in which his repute is well established, as he passed through Chiang-kia-wan, an old market town between four and five miles south of Tung chow, found the roads thronged with cavalry, and preparations for a general action well under way. He despatched Mr. Henry Loch, Lord Elgin's pri vate secretary, who was with him, to inform Sir Hope Grant of this rock ahead, and himself gallopped back to Tungchow to obtain some explanation of this movement from the Prince Tsai and Muhyin, the Imperial Commissioners with whom the original agreement about the camping ground had been made. These gentlemen's replies to his queries were so far from satisfactory that he resolved to re-as. 1 semble all those who had accompanied him and to I beat a retreat. Mr. Loch had o bt a i ne d th e General's I permission, as soon as he had delivered his message, to rejoin Mr. Parkes, and with him came Major Brabazon, R. A. Ihe party further included Mr. De Norman, first attache to the legation, and Mr. Bowl by, your correspondent. They were escorted by 19 sowars and 1 dragoon, under the command of Lieut. Anderson, adjutant of Pane's Horse, a gallant man and much esteemed. Mr. Parkes's interesting nar rative will, I trust, ere long be public property, and I shall therefore avoid the details of his capture. The party were surrounded shortly after they got clear of Chang-kia•wan, still without menace. Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch, quitting the rest in order to obtain Prince Sang-ko-lin-sin's leave to continue their journey, were led by a Mandarin to the point at which the said Prince had pitched his tent, and were there seized and thrown down before him. They saw their companions no more. From the statements of some of the sowers since released, it appears that Lieutenant Anderson refused to allow them to cut their way out, relying on the protection of the two flags of truce with which they were provided. He and they were carried, with Major Brabazon and some French officers and men simi larly entrapped, to Tungchow ; thence, as it would seem, to Yuen-ming-Yuen ; where the Emperor was still residing; and thenCe, some of them, if not all, into Pekin, to be subsequently distributed throughout the country in sections of four or five, at different cities within from 30 to 40 miles of the capital. Two of their number, Brabazon and the Abbe de Luc, a missionary attached to General de Montauban, had turned off on the morning of the 19th, half-way between Tangchow and Pekin, as the sowars understood, for the purpose of communicat ing with the allied Commanders-in-Chief, who, hav ing driven Sang-ko-lin-sin from his position north of Chang-kia-wan, with considerable loss, were encamped about that town. Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch, with a few others, were carried into Pekin on the 19th, and remained in durance till the Bth of October, when to the great delight of all their ac quaintances, they reappeared, little, if any the worse for their confinement. On the 19th, the day after their seizure, the Generals made an effort to ascertain something about them, and to warn the Chinese of the risk they ran should evil befal the prisoners. Mr. Wade was sent on with a strong escort, and eventually succeeded in obtaining access to the Mandarin of Tung-chow, to whom he delivered a note, but from whom he could obtain no information. A large force was discovered still lying west of Tung-chow, at and about the Pa-li-Chias, orEight-li-Bridge, north and south of which it was encamped. This position was attacked and carried by the allied force on the morning of the 21st, and it is not impossible that Brabazon and the Abbe de Luc were either killed in the melee or put to death by their captors when they found they must fly. This is mere conjecture, but they are the only two we are unable to trace after their separation from the rest on the 19th at a point somewhere in th e e neighbourhood of Pa-li- Chias. The Abbe spoke Chinese, and might have been taken by Juilin, the high officer commanding the Pa-li-Chias force, to serve as his interpreter should he need one. The sad story of the rest is soon told, but before proceeding further I should state that as a move ment towards Pekin was now inevitable and an assault of the capital itself not an impossibility; it was deemed best to halt for our siege train and a supply of ammunition. These reached us not before the 2d of October, and on the 3d we began to march forward once more. In the meantime the Emperor had fled from his country palace at Yuen-ming- Yuen, leaving his brother, the Prince of Kung, some said Regent, but at all events Imperial Com missioner for the settlement of Barbarian affairs, and his Highness lost no time in commencing a correspondence with the foreign Ministers. Day after day couriers came in with flags of truce, and at last a letter from Parkes and Loch, dated September 29, written in the presence of their gaolers, who were now, however, treating them so far well that we became sanguine on behalf of the others, of whose fate we were still ignorant. As there was little doubt that anything that was written to Parkes in reply would be read, his friends' ingenuity was taxed to shape their messages so that they should be cheering to him, and yet un• compromising to his keepers, who, having failed to bully him into the proposition of terms less hard than those already known to the Chinese Govern- merit, now tried to make him their mediator by improvements in his diet and lodging. He showed himself a perfect Regulus. " You must do what you have been called 'upon to do, 0 rulers," said he, "or the Allies will advance, whether you keep me or let me go." Still, till we did advance, there was ne hope of liberty for him or his comrades. Other letters followed, but still no prisoner returned to us. It Was evident that the Chinese were afraid to think what they had d one , an d yet h es i ta t e d t o restore to us what they considered might be made a pledge that no new demands should be pressed upon them, and no Punishment inflicted. The morning of the oth saw us under the north wall of Pekin. We had commenced our march with the French on our left; that i s t o say ,b e t ween angle e c force was cit n y Orth-w es t er l y, f rom a The general direc tion us a and thethe ns, h point some three miles east of Pekin at which we had lain the evening before. The country in front of us was, as the French said, pas malbeise, a n d be came more close as we advanced. Some cavalry pickets seen outside the large earthwork which encloses evenly a tract of ground a mile wide on the north of Pekin lured us to bring up our right. Pursuing them, we came to a haltlyithiu the said THE SUN; LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1869. great work, and in the interim the French, passing our rear, pushed on through the close country afore said till they came upon the Palace of Yuen-ming- Yuen, before which they sat down for the night. The mass of our cavalry had also found their way there. The release of the prisoners in Pekin was now promised on the Bth, but on the 7th the Staffs, civil and military, paid a visit to the country Palace. It was really a Royal residence. Immense park-like grounds, with the artificial lakes, rookeries, &c., for which the Chinese are so famous, surrounded numerous buildings of stately propor tions and in uncommonly good repair. Under a grove in front of the principal courtyard lay the French camp, the earth covered with silks, satins, furs, jade, clocks, pictures, and what not, in untold quantities. The French soldier had made good use of his time. Within the great salons the work of appropriation was proceeding with greater system. General de Montauban announced that orders had been given to set apart whatever was best for the Queen of England and the Empress of the French. I do not know to what extent this measure was carried out. However, if their Majesties' interests were well attended to, there still remained enough to keep many an individual in pocket money, and I do not think that either our allies or ourselves can complain. There being no one of the British force present but officers, our General ordered everthing taken to be surrendered to the prize agents, and I believe that the sale of these spoils has produced & clothing under £50,000. Our Generals decline their are of this. And, now eNt we are here, what are we to do with this great city ? " Raze it to the ground," shouts an enthusiastic Briton. " Moi," says an ally impressively, "je l'aurais bombardce trois nuits et trois fours. Je concois que ca les await Militant ereinte's, ces Chinois ; hero ?" " Well, and after that ?" one asks, not unnaturally, for it is to be assumed that an expedition like this came here to do something else than kill the golden goose. The answers to one's question as above are of course in general indicative of an indifference to trade and a contempt for red-tape, that staff of diplomatic ex istences, worthy of those who rejoice only in the glory of war or its collateral advantages. The allied generals answer it otherwise. They are satisfied to assure themselves that the city which resists not at all is theirs to the full extent of their necessities; so they demand the unconditional surrender of one of the north gates and the immediate return of the detenus unlawfully in custody now 16 days. Of course, the red-tape men have to be satisfied, or there will be more trouble for Pekin anon. Well, on the Bth, as a first instalment of a new order of things, Parkes and Loch return with one sower, J'Escayrae, - a French civilian, and four of his humblor countrymen. M. d'Escayrac's wrists were in an awft..l condition from the cords with which he had been mercilessly tied, and we begin to feel more than anxious for many of our comrades, who, to judge from report, had been carried far into the country in similar bondage. It was not until the evening of the 12th that more news reached us. Eight more sowers were then sent in, and from them we learnt that their officer, Anderson, had died on the 9th, and De Norman on the 17th day of their captivity. Later came their coffins; and, later still, that of your unfortunate correspondent. He had endured only till the 22d of September. four days after he was seized. The depo sitions of some of these eight men, as well as of two others who were imprisoned in a different place, are, I know, being sent to you, and I shall not therefore repeat the terrible history. Of 26 per sons taken we have bat 13 alive. There are besides 12 coffins ; Brabazon is still unaccounted for. Parkes and Loch had suffered much, but, seeing them safe and sound among us, we had half for gotten the perfidy and cruelty of the barbarians who had seized them. The reality of both now thrust itself upon us. In my own breast I confess sorrow prevailed much over anger ; sorrow not only for the worthy men who were gone, but a sort of despair as to the future of our intercourse with a people so uncivilized. And on this came the diffi culty of dealing with the case before us. We are, let it be hoped, ourselves a people too civilized to repay such barbarism with acts of corresponding atrocity, but there are deeds which it is perilous to leave unpunished, and this was undoubtedly such a deed. No doubt we could have burnt the city, that grand panacea ; but, independently of the suicide before adverted to as involved in that wholesale operation, we had, before occupying the gate, gitren an assurance that if it wore surrendered, and the inhabitants conducted themselves as those of Tien tsin and Tungchow had done, they should be treated with like consideration. The crime committed was in no respect chargeable against the inhabitants of Pekin or any other portion of the population. It was purely and simply the act of their go vernors, and it was desirable, if possible, to visit it on the latter alone. A huge fine was a repulsive measure, even could it have been paid, which there is every reason to doubt. The punishment of the guilty might have been demanded, but, if this were to fall on the subordinate agents, we have some experience of the futility of such demands in China; while, if we were to have flown at higher game, we should have been put off with some such satis faction as that obtained for the Nerbudda massacre in 1842. The Governor of Fermosa having beheaded her crew, his prisoners, in cold blood he was degraded when Sir H. Pottinger complained, but immediately reinstated, to die full of honours. The desideratum was a punishment which should be at the time severe and - in the time to come not forgotten ; and this it appeared to our chiefs would be only attained by the complete destruction of the favourite resi dence of the Emperor, whither our countrymen had been carried ; there was every reason to suppose that the Emperor might behold with his own eyes the first fruits of the liberality with which he had promised but two days before to reward, though it were with the last of his treasure, any who would bring him a barbarian prisoner, dead or alive. A certain sum it was decided should be claimed to compensate in some degree the families of the dead and the survivors for their sufferings. This sum somewhere about £lOO,OOO was to be paid in 48 hours. In the meantime the beautiful Palaces and temples of the Imperial garden were given to flames. One or two had been partially injured by fire in the first visit, but many fine edifices still re- mained untouched; indeed, some had not been en- tered. Their destruction occupied two days, the smoke from the conflagration, particularly on the second day, spreading itself like a thick cloud above Pekin, the inhabitants of which were at the same time informed by proclamation of the treachery and _ murder, of which this was the punishment. The loss to the Imperial Government in property do- molished and abstracted is estimated by a good native authority at over £2,000,000 sterling. Pretty close upon this followed the signature of the Convention negotiated at Tien-twin last August, and the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty of 1858. These formalities were accomplished in he tribunal of the Board of Ceremonies on the 24th of October. The Convention signed on the 24th of October is in nine articles. The first expresses the Emperor's regret for the hindrance offered to Mr. Bruce in 1859—the Taku affair. The second reasserts the Queen's claim, conditionally waived before, to keep her Minister permanently at Pekin. The third doubles the former 4,000,000 taels indemnity, and provides for the payment of 1,000,000 within a month, at Tien-tsin ; one-third of 1,000,000 within a month at Canton ; the rest out of the Customs. Art. 4 opens Tien-tsin to trade. Art. 5 legalises and regulates Coolie emigration, So far as British subjects are concerned. Art. ti cedes the little slip of the Chinese shore which forms the east side of the har- bour of Hong Kong to that colony. Art. 7 stipu lates the immediate operaticn of the Treaty and Convention. Art. 8, the immediate promulgation of both. Art. 9 declares the points at which troops may be detained till the indemnity is all paid. Prince Kung, uterine brother of the reigning Emperor, is a man of about 28 years of age, not unintelligent to look at, but of no amiability of countenance. He endeavours, I believe, to draw a great distinction between his own conduct towards the prisoners and that of their captors, and he does appear to have given orders to have them well treated and their wants attended to shortly after his assumption of office. Still there is nothing in his face to induce one to suppose him more humane than those whose cruelty he indirectly condemns—rather the reverse. It is the face of a capricious, dissolute, used-up young Oriental, not improved, as indeed it could hardly be, by the way the Barbarians had been going on for the last two months: He was withal in a very great fright. He had got somewhat the better of this on the following day, when he met Baron Gros, and is stated to have shown himself comparatively gracious. The Emperor meanwhile is far away north, having fled from his capital in defiance of the most urgent remonstrances of numerous Ministers, whose prophecies that his journey at such a crisis would alarm and dishearten the people are proving generally true. He is attended by the princes and grandees known to us as the war party, men evi dently of ability, but set rather upon the preserva tion of their own position as virtual rulers of China than upon the redemption of the country from its present bankrupt condition. Nothing can be more deplorable. Pekin itself is quite a city of the past; the Inge frame and limbs of the giant remain ; but second childhood is upon him. The great halls of the Six Boards, the great Departments of the State, are in ruins, and apparently unfrequented. Every handsome road or bridge —and there are some that have been fair to see—is in disrepair. The Palace of Prince Tsai, in which Lord Elgin has taken up his quarters, looks as if no comfortable being had occupied it these 20 years, So with everything Prince Kung came with a retinue like Sir John' Falstaff's disreputable levy. What is this country of contradictions to come to ? Papers seized at Yuen-Ming -Yuen show that the Emperor really does a good deal of his own business, and with a little more light from without, would do it remarkably well. On the other hand, he seems to be so circumstanced, in the most ety mological sense, that it is impossible for the outer light to got at him. He certainly does see the State papers, but these are so untrustworthy that he can hardly guide the country by their study. And so the country, as one might expect, runs wild. This very province abounds with banditti, whose harvest has of course much improved since our columns began to move. In Shan-si, the province next west, a revolt entirely distinct from the dead-and-alive Tai-ping movement, has broken out, provoked, it is said, by a gross act of extortion. South of this, in Ho-nan, a very widely organised banditti, also dis tinct from the Tai-ping, but quickened by the march of the latter through Ho-nan in 1853, leave the Government just as much of the country as it suits their predatory necessities to allow it. The centre of China, the tea and silk country, is partly occupied, and now almost universally infested by the Tai-ping aforesaid, while the two Kwang provinces, the cradle of the anti-Mantcho confede racies from which the Tai•pings came, swarm with these Jacobites, Triads by name. In the south west there have been for the last two years troubles with the Mahomedan population, and the great province of Sz'-chuen, far west, for the last nine years has been being overrun by a chief believed to have dissolved alliance with the Tai-ping, and now starting a kingdom, if not an Imperial dynasty, of his own. It is not wonderful therefore that the capital should be without coins and without grain. The collections in both must be utterly suspended throughout a large portion of the empire. It is stated that the receipts of the Board of Revenue amounted last year but to eight millions, its proper quota being in quiet times from 40 to 45 millions. Nor is it wonderful that, such being the beggarly condition of the dynasty, and so many its foes within, sad Chinese, gravely sighing for peace and trade, should predict its downfall in the year 1863, if not sooner; and this all foreign complications, of which they reek little, apart. The difficulty of the Chinese so prophesying is at the same time identi cal with that of the Ministers charged with the conduct of foreign complications —to wit, " the Coming Man." Who is to put this land to rights " Not these hybrid Taiping Christians," say the Ckinese ; " no foreigner at this time of day at least, if indeed it had at any time been possible." And yet, if it be not put to rights, the two nations most commercially interested,England and America,must be prepared to suffer. France has but a missionary interest here, but unless order be restored this inte rest must suffer ; for it will not pay the great but unshopkeeping nation to fight for or against this dynasty in a HolySepulchre's quarrel. Where France fights there will assuredly be no trade, and this is not a country which yields wealth unless industry be allowed fair elbowroom. One word about Russia and I bid you good bye. As good Chinese and true these people trust no barbarians.but of all barbarians they mistrust Russians the most. Our theories about co-operation between Russians and Chinese are utterly baseless, and, as far as the evidence of my own senses serves me in this country, it is by no means in the Russians that we shall find the policy most antagonistic to our own. PEKIN, Nov. 1. There is another opportunity for England just announced, and I seize it to supplement a long, rambling letter I addressed you on the 27th ult., though, in truth, there is little to add. Has any one described Pekin for you? The capital is two cities, known as the Tartar (north), and the Chinese (south) ; the latter an oblong stretching between 4 and 5 miles from east to west, while from south to: north it is much over a mile wide; the former nearly 31 miles square, and resting on the centre of the southern city, so as to produce with it a T-shaped figure, with a dispro portionately stout perpendicular. North of all is a large earthwork, the north outline of which is exactly parallel to the north wall of the city, and distant from it perhapa a mile. From its extremities fall the east and west faces of the enclosure, align ing themselves with the east and west walls of the city. Thus you have a figure some what of the form of three parallelograms, rising above each ether, A being the earthwork ; B, the north city ; and C, the south city. In the centre of B, again, stands an inner city, walled and gated, and in the centre of this the innermost precinct of the Emperor, also walled and gated, and guarded by numerous functionaries and men-at-arms. It is remarkable, by the :way, in what apparent security this careful despot dwelt at his country palace. There were barracks for a strong force, and the books of China show a corps of some tnagni• tude as proper to Yuen-ming Yuen, but the palace or palaces were as accessible to the outsiders as any gentleman's park in England. To return to Pekin ; as you approach it from the north, the walls, some GO feet high and in good order, with very high buildings overtopping the gates, are decidedly im- posin g. You draw nearer, and are moved to laugh ter at John Chinaman's consistent adhorenee to his baby-like fashions in matters of war. _ These great gates seem to you, far off, to be provided with five tiers of guns, which you cannot imagine would ever be fired without bringing► down the whole tower, Nearer inspection satisfies you that the tower is in no danger from this cause, at least The embrasures, which are as crowded as in an old lino-of-battle ship, are simply apertures closed with a shutter, on which is painted a circle with a bull's eye. On occupying tho gate the force did find, right and left of it, some very nice guns, laid as if up to the last moment thoughts had been entertained of resisting this introduction of bayonet..bearing barbarians within the holy of Chinese holies. If we may trust native gossips, the counsels of the authorities were greatly divided. A Chinaman is slow to believe what ho has not seen, and, although two large armies were threshed within afew miles of Pekin but a fortnight before, it is thought likely enough that there were and are some grand conservative sons of Han by no means satisfied that the walls never known to be taken were not impregnable. Happily the opposite eon- vietion prevailed, and this vast population was spared the horrors of assault and pillage, and the allied force the demoralization consequent on the latter inseparable accident of its metier. I could enlarge on this last subject considerably, had I space and time. The regulation of pi llage has ever been the opprobrium disciplince. If I may hazard an opinion, the French soldier recovers him self after an acces of pillage far more speedily than our men. He pillages, too, in much better taste, and without the ruthless and unnecessary destruc tion of his ally, whose mission it appears to be not so much to fill his pockets as to prod pier-glasses, to annihilate lamps, and to cripple tables and chairs past hope of recovery. The coup d'mil from the north walls is indisput ably gratifying, Past experience of Chinese cities will have prepared you for an absence of what we call public buildings in the view below you. Still there is the Imperial palace, protesting in this case against your rule, and, besides the gate-towers, a fair sprinkling of lofty temples, the whole inter spersed with much wood. The palace seems to have almost a park of good middle•sized trees about its artificial lakeB, and bridges that have been comely, and are still, at a distance, picturesque. On the whole you feel favourably towards Pekin. But de scend into the streets—and since the signature of the convention on the 24th everybody has descended —and you become painfully sensible that there is not a more squalid collection of houses in an Arab village or in the old city of Limerick. The streets are wide, and have been in some instances paved, but they seem to have been long forgotten by the Macadam of these parts. On a dry day their soft loam sends up a cloud of dust that puts your face and whiskers past the recognition of your most in timate friends. If it rains you are knee-deep in mud, and a journey along the disjointed stone chaussee is a service of real danger to your horse's fetlocks. The bulk of trade belongs to the southern city, which is traversed from north to south by a few broad streets at right angles to one or•two crossing it from the east gate to the west. The lesser feeders of these, I say, take me back to the banks of the Shannon 20 years ago, and even in the larger arteries there is not, as a general rule, the regularity or substance which you will find in the west suburb of Canton or the show streets of Ningpo. We see the place, it is true, at a disad vantage. Many of the wealthy and respectable have fled, and are but now beginning to return ; but the poorer classes and even the middle ranks are more poverty - stricken-looking than any Chinese I have seen, except at Tien-tsin. Supplies of all kinds are, of course, just now high priced, but Pekin must always be an expensive abode, as it has positively nothing within hail, and from its official position the demand is immense. Its meat is driven in from a considerable distance ; its fuel—coal at least—travels slowly in from the south and west ; the coal itself on camels, a noble breed ; the coal dust, which is compounded with earth for the use of stoves, on mules not less noble in their way. Rice, as we all know, should arrive by way of the canal, but the canal's machinery has been in abey ance this many a year, and rebels flank it here and there. Grain does come, to be sure, by sea, so long as no one cares to block the Peiho ; but the position of the Yang-tsc-Kiang Valley prevents the transmission of copper from the far south-west, and the dearth of this metal has entailed on the Go vernment a resort to iron money, than which nothing can be more terrible, except, perhaps, the Government paper. The native merchant has consequently no need to study his own voluminous chronicle of past dynasties to arrive at the conclusion, long formed by many of his more reading countrymen, that the Mantchoo dynasty is on its last legs ; and yet so strong i 9 still its tradition of Government that I have heard of no Chinese, except at Canton, who does not, when questioned regarding the destiny of China, declare that a change of Emperors might very possibly restore the country without a change of the dynasty family, and that among all the chiefs, Taiping included, who have availed them selves of the torpor of the actual Government to overrun parts more or less extensive of its terri- tory, there is none that has as yet given any pro mise of ability to take charge of the State.' Our mail is closing. Our force remains here till the Bth, by which time it is hoped the Emperor's decree will be down, and the treaty, &c., promul gated. The French force marches this morning. (From the China Mail.) With the allied army threatening Pekin, the ratifications of the treaty of Tien-tsin have been exchanged, and a convention has been entered into containing highly important new stipulations ; so the affair in China is once more proclaimed " settled," and that under circumstances of peculiar importance and interest, which must certainly open up a new era in our relationship with China, whether that be for the better or for the worse. Our latest intelligence from Pekin, which is four days later than that elsewhere published, throws some doubt upon the " settlement." It appears that up to the last day of October the Emperor's con sent to the convention had not been received, and it is on the cards that Prince Kung and the peace party may be again thrown overboard. In these circumstances we refrain from advancing any doubts in so far as the position of England is con cerned. It has been suggested that the Imperial Government is influenced by what we write on that subject; and we have no desire, on the one hand, to provide a policy fo r th e Chinese, by pointing out a probable future, or, on the other, to say any thing calculated to support them in further resist ance. Looking at the present distracted state of China, the anarchy which is every day increasing, the new rebellion in Shensi (which was the main rea son for the Chinese signing the convention of Pe. kin), and the immense power of the foreign invaders, it:is much to be desired that the present settlement should, if it possibly can, be faithfully accepted by the Chinese Government. But in order to that end it is necessary that the present position of affairs should be analysed and rightly understood, so far as the Chinese are concerned, in order that it may be clearly seen what is the course to be pur sued by Britain that will give the best chance of this ratification and convention being the commence ment of a lasting peace—it being understood that in discussing that question we ignore the other question as to what chance they afford of a satis factory settlement. It is important to notice that the Convention of Pekin has been wrung from the Chinese Government when our foot was on its neck and our spear was at its breast. It was wrung from them under a pretty plain threat of sackin g Pkin, as may be seen from the close of Sir Hope Grant's proclamation of 15th October. It had become a matter of life and death, and it is vain to suppose that there was, or is, any thing like " assent" on the part of our prostrate foe. So well was this understood in Pekin, that there were rumours among the Catholics there to the effect that the ceremony of signing was intended as a mere trap in which to take: Lord Elgin and his principal coadjutors. Allowing that to be im probable, it is certain that his Excelleney guarded against the danger, and that he was protected in the Hall of Ceremonies by a force of about 3,000 men, so posted as to render treachery impossible. It is hardly possible to call this a " treaty" or " agree ment," where a large force was required to secure the safety of the principal party. The demeanour of Prince Kung was quite in accordance with the position of matters, for through out the ceremony his " expression was one of un disturbed sulkiness, and he appeared to reply with churlishness to all that was said to him." No won der that such was his demeanour, and Lord Elgin appears to have met him in a very similar spirit. It is possible that neither were well pleased with the situations in which they found themselves, and both had apprehensions as to the future. The Chinese have so much—let us call it obstinacy, pride, or a sense of injustice, suffered at our hands, that they are apt to regard all armistices concluded with us as only, to use one of their own words, " a temporary arrangement, just for the present, in order to recover from our losses," and this policy has had some striking success in the past. Thus in the first China war Canton lay at our feet; it was humiliated and greatly injured, yet for more than ten of the succeeding years it prospered it was closed against us more than ever, and our position there was more unsafe and humiliating than it had been before. The taking of the Taku forts was succeeded by the repulse, and almost destruction, of an English force. The dismissal of Lord Am herst from Pekin was followed by a long respite from obnoxious visits. Let us also bear in mind that the military force of China remained unharmed. The Mongol army —which is the great difficulty in the way of peace —may have lost a thousand men, but it is still almost in its pristine force, and the fierce Sang-ko lin-son, that" impracticable man,"is still hovering in the neighbourhood ofPekin watching an opportunity for action, The Paki, or Manchu B annermen , th e flower of the Chinese army, have not yet fought. A correspondent in the north mentioned th a t th e y had been co o n, b u t that was all. The Imperial army, or the military force ponsepreted to the pre servation of the empire, has held aloof, and is not likely to commit itself in a hurry. In this circumstances the ratified treaty has been exchanged; and the V4inespe have been ail ,along willing to accept the treaty, had they been treated in D. proper manner. But what as to the convention ? The following letter contains some interesting particulars : " Camp before - Pekin, 24th Oct., 1860 0. . "In my last dispatch on the 13th or 14th inst., I told you I of the occupation and sacking of the Emperor's palace of Yuen-min-yuen, and the surrender by the authorities of the An-tin gate (Gate of Peace) a quarter of an hour before the wall was to have been breeched if not opened peaceably. The force that then entered still occupy the position; the French on the east, the British on the western ramparts, with field-pieces commanding the city and walls. Several brass guns were taken, one of very large size, 11 feet long, ornamented with devices and Mantchou characters, the others of various dimensions. There is also one made of wood and cleverly sheathed with copper, an excellent imita tion of a brass gun. No one is allowed to pass through the gate without a pass, and then only permitted to advance about 100 yards, where a rope is stretched across also to keep the Chinese back, who congregate there in hundreds to look at the barbarians and listen to the bands. There are six shops within this space, in which there is only grain, dried fruits, joss paper, &c., for sale. There is also a mar ket for fruit, vegetables, &c. From the rampart there is an extensive view over the city and surrounding country, but there are so many trees in the city, that ono can see but little of it, the houses being principally of only ono storey. The public buildings are higher, the roofs of which, being of glazed tiles, green or yellow, have a good effect. The streets are wide and more regular than in the southern cities, but the houses and shops have an appearance of poverty and dilapidation that was unexpected in the capi tal of the Celestial Empire. "Of the unfortunate party that were captured by San ko-linsin's army on the 18th ult., at Chan-kia-wan, Capt. Brabazon, Quartermaster-General, R.A., the Abbe Luc, and some French belonging to the Scientific Society are still unaccounted for. The two former are believed to have been decapitated by order of a Tartar general who had them prisoners with him. He was wounded in the battle of the 21st, and in exasperation ordered their execution. The account is given by Chinese Catholics, and the Russians say twe Europeans were decapitated at Stone Bridge, Pah li-chao, near Tung-chow, where the Tartar camp was. The authorities pretend ignorance on the subject, but the cir cumstance of tho bodies not being produced gives colour to the truth of the report. The number of French who were of the party is not correctly ascertained, but there appear to be four or five still unaccounted for. Those who providen tially escaped, after much torture, are Messrs. H. S. Parkes, C.B. ; H. Loch ; Captain Escayriac, a French officer ; 5 French privates, and 11 Sowars, together 19. Those who unhappily sunk under the inhuman treatment of the bar barous, cruel foe, and whose remains were sent into the camp are—W. De Norman, attache to the British Lega tion at Shanghae ; Mr. T. W. Bowlby, special correspon dent of the Titnes ; Lieutenant and Adjutant Anderson, Fano's Horse ; Private Phipps, King's Dragoon Guards ; four Sowars and throe French—together 11. The bodies could only be recognised by the dresses, in which in some instances they appeared to have been wrapped after having been stripped. A description of the state of these poor victims is too horrifying to be related. The tight ness of the cord with which they were bound ate into the flesh, and caused a lingering and painful death by mortification. The bodies of the Sowars were given to the Sikh cavalry, who, as is the custom, burnt them. The French were delivered to our allies, and the four British wore buried in the Russian cemetery outside the An-tin gate of Pekin on the 17th. " At noon the procession formed at the Llama Temple, and marched in the following order to the Russian cemetery, half a mile from the city, the band of the Rifles playing a slow march : One Troop Dragoon Guards. One Troop Pane's Horse. An officer and 20 men of each European corps (armed). The Commander-in-Chief, I Chief Mourners. The Earl of Elgin, The corpses on gun waggons, each drawn by six horses. Mourners.—Nearly all the officers of the English, and a large number of the French army, including General Montauban, Commander-in-Chief. Pall Bearers. Pall Bearers. Major lIn.A . Anson, Hon. T. Thurlow, V.C.,A.D.C. Att. to Embassy. Mr. C. S. Compton, Mr. Col. Biddulph, Captain BOWLBY. Military Secretary. Farquharson, I Hon. Wortley, A.D.C. Att. to Embassy. Mr. H. Loch. Cap. Grant, A.D. C Mr. T. F. Wade. Mr, Cap.Lane,A.D.C. Mr. H, S. Parkes, DE NORMAN. Lt.-Col. Crealock, C.B. Military Secretary Two Privates Private PHTPPS, Two Privates King's Dragoon Ki ng ' s Dragoon Kings' Dragoon Guards. Guards. Gtiards. Two officers Lieutenant Two officers Fane's Horse. ANDERSON. Fane's Horse. The burial service was read by the Rev. M‘Ghee, chaplain to the British forces. The priest of the Greek Church attended by request, in his pontifical robes, holding on high the emblem of our faith. Father M'Ghee, the Roman Catholic p r i es t a tt ac h e d to t h e B r i t i sh army, was present. Three volleys were fired by the infantry. It was a mournful and affecting ceremony to witness these poor Christian victims of heathen barbarism laid in their un timely grave. The cemetery is about a quarter of a mile outside the northern wall of the city. The grave is on high ground, just within the inner gate. The coffins were laid side by side, from the north to south. Private Phipps, then Lieutenant Anderson, then Mr. DoNorman, and then Mr. Bowlby. The Royal Engineers are to place a tomb over the poor fellows, and if the British Government does not erect a monument to their memory it is to be hoped that it will be done by private subscription. A proclamation, at which a free translation is given below, was issued by the commander-in-chief of the Bri tish forces. "PROCLAMATION BY SIR HOPE GRANT, K.C.B. " October 15, 1860. "'Whereas certain officers sent to Tung-chow with the knowledge and consent of the Imperial commissioners, Tsai, Prince of I, and Muh-yin, for the purpose of arranging the conditions of a pacific reception of the allied Ministers at Tung-chow, were, on the 18th September last, in defiance of the flag of truce,under protection of which they were travel ling., treacherously seized by PrinceSan-kolinsinand his col leagues ; the army which they commanded has been defeated and dispersed by the allied forces. Those are.now en camped outside the north wall of Pekin, and are in occu pation of a gate of the city. It has since come to light that the officers and men treacherously seized have been sub jected to usage so barbarous that several of them have died. This atrocity, for which the Chinese authorities alone are responsible, they must be made t o ex pi a t e , an d as i t ap poars th a t he persons before mentioned, who were cap tured in violation of the usage which protects those who pass between hostile armies, wore first maltreated at the palace of Yuen-min-yuen, the commander-in-chief has decided upon the complete destruction of the buildings thereto belonging, and, further, upon the exaction of a sum of money, to be paid in compensation for what they have endured, to the survivors of the parties seized, or to the families of those who have lost their lives in captivity. If this sum be at once paid the authorities and people of the capital will be treated as those of Tien-tsin and Tung chow have been ; let them remain peaceably where they are; but if the sum be not paid within the time appointed, or if peace be not immediately made by the signature of the required convention, the commander-ia-chief will not be answerable for the consequences.' " The first condition was complied with on the 20th, and the second carried out on the 24th." THE SACK OF THE SUMMED PALACE. The following accou n t o f th e Summer Palace an d Gardens of his C e l es ti a l M a jesty at (Yuen-rain-Yuen) is from the same source Before attempting to describe the beauties of this lovely neighbourhood, it will be necessary to say a few words on the capture of the palace by the French, and how it hap pened that the French were on the spot before the English troops. I will therefore quote briefly an account of the day (Gth October), submitted to me by an officer in the cavalry brigade :—" At early morn the army started from the Brick kilns, where it had halted the day previ‘us, and proceeded onwards, keeping the right of the north-east angle of Pekin. The French were advancing on the left. At 11 a halt was called, while the line of operations was discussed. Accord ing to report, the enemy were encamped in front of the Tih-shing gal eon the north face of Pekin. It was determined that the Fro.enthche laenftdhEanngd,listhhesohiohuelrdtahtelvraingchet,tlnedthienr,ththise ore orde k r e a e t p ta in cll the enemy's camp, while the British cavalry, under the orders of 13rigadier PattEl commanding, should pen to cut off en spot or, the broad road' loading the enemy's retreat northfi n t h f e r i o r m w t a h y e t g o a s t o e % northwards. The Cavalry Brigade then left th e res t o f th e column, and worked in a north-west direction, until they found the road on which they were ordered to talcs their position, The skirmishers rep' prtecl largo bodies of Tartars inoving to the 'north . ,' and"tWo squalrans of Probyn's Horse were sent after them, but the Chinese gut the hint , and and made off too fast. A tow stlc44l wpthnheard. ttfill.e° bieighlitliin?tectniPpletatwlieyr"mt4ete t t Q ' w " u i lived at " 4'onob 3 who Were Wit. are The opening of Tien-tsin a a port of trade, the removal of the interdict on emigration to British colonies, the cession of Kowloon to Bong Kong are unobjectionable stipulations, which the Chinese well know are for their interest, as well as for ours. They are the only points in the convention which are of real value to England and to China. It is to be regretted that other points of no importance should have been thrust in, so as to endanger the stipulations which all wish to be carried out. The first article, in which the Emperor expresses his regret for the unfortunate affair at Taku in 1859, is put in a felicitous way, and all honour is due to those who have drawn it up. Every one regrets that unfortunate occurrence, for which Mr. Bruce is responsible. The ninth article, which provides for the immediate evacuation of Chusan, shows that the Chinese are quite aware how far they commit themselves. The Chinese have always entertained the idea that Chusan is the key to China; and if any intelligent reader examines the history of the first war, he will see that the occupation of Chusan has been the point to which the court of Pekin has ever attached the greatest importance in matters of foreign policy. It is singularly curious that the Chinese Government—regarding which there are not wanting people who suppose it to be tottering to its fall—should fall back upon its old traditions. Chusan has always been the key to China. It has been occupied by the Japanese, and it is difficult to regard the stipulation that Chusan should be ceded in any other light than as a preparation on the part of the Chinese to future action. But the eighth article of the treaty is one more easily signed than enforced. That article provides for the promulgation of both the treaties throughout the empire. It is undoubtedly bad and serious that the virgin capital of China should have been violated by• the allies, but that the fact should be advertised to the utmost corner of the empire is something altogether beyond human endurance. The signature—in undisturbed sulkiness—of such a provision is one thing, the carrying of it out is quite another. But these things must be allowed to go on to their own conclusion ; one thing being certain, that time, the great mediciner, will work his own cure, although what member of the diseased complication will suffer most from his purgative doses is a question upon which• we declino to hazard any conjecture. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —The difficulties and dangers of bringing up infants by hand or wet nurses have been en tirely overcome by Du Barry's delicious Revalenta Arabica Food, which feeds and strengthens, and removes all those little pains and irregularities infants are so subject to. The following letter speaks volumes :—" Archdeacon of Ross, Skibereen. Grammar School, Stevenage, 16th Dec., 1850. 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The e S x h p o e p e k t eeers who attempt 121 b. and 241 b. canisters are sent carriage free on receipt of Post-office order by Barry Du Barry and Co., 77, Re gent-street, London; Fortnum Mason, and Co. ; Abbit i 60, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63 and 150, Ox bard-street ; 330 and 451, Strand ;49 and 60, Bishopsgate streedt ; lei l s ; 7, High B r atty, 16, Fi nsbury Pavement ; Phillips and en. City , a Petty, Wood, and C o ., King William-street, 2 h Holbo rn; an d a ll grocers t.....___e-ea BIRTHS. CAREY,— On the 22d inst. at Beggar's Bu s h, D u bli n, t h e wife of Li eu t.-C o l . F. .ICarey, 26th Cameronians, of a daughter. CUDDON.—On the 25th inst., at 2, Newton Villas, New Finchley-road, Hampstead, Mrs. Francis Cuddon, of a daughter. ROBERTSON.—On the 27th inst., at Upper Tooting, Sur rey, the wife of Robert W. Robertson, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. D ELAMERt—SEYMOUR.—On the 27th inst., at St. James's, Piccadilly, the Right Hon. Hugh Lord Delamere, of Vale Royal, Cheshire, to Augusta Emily, daughter of the Right Hon. Sir George Hamilton Seymour, G.C.8., G.C.H., of 10, Grosvenor -crescent. NOGG—PERRY.—On the 27th inst., at St. Peter's, Eaton square, Stuart, son of Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart., to Selina Catherine, the eldest daughter of Sir Erskine Perry. DEATHS. CLIFTON.—On the 20th inst., in Bruton-street, Lady Clif ton, wido w o f th e l a t e Sir Juckes G. J. Clifton, Bart., of Mitten, Notts. Doncisorr.—On the 24th inst., at Long Preston, very sud denly, Robt. Hodgson, Esq., aged 76. HALEs.—On the 23d inst., at 54, Montagu-square, y Lady Hales, relict of the late Sir Edward Hales, Bart., of Hales + place, Kent, aged 90. NEEDHAM.—O n th e 25th i nst., the Lady E m il y N ee d ham, of Hatchet House, Bucks, aged 69. RictiAnnsoL—On th e 26th i ns t, , a t M or d e n- roa d , Black heath-park, P e lh am Ri chardson, Esq., of Cornhill, Lon don, aged 56. . 7 _,ONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Of f ice, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Middlesex, Friday, December 28,1860. making anxious inquiries after the British infantry, and saying that as Sir H o p e G ran t h a d appo i nte d the rent at dezvous at the Summer Palace, they would make for 41. place. Th e b r i ga di er, thinking that the rest of the Brit ish r army had gone on, gave orders to march for the Surniue a Palace. Wh en arr i ve d a t th e v ill ages surrounding H a i-teen - further inquiri es were ma d e a f ter t h e army, w h e n th e natives repli e d th a t t h ey h a d seen no one pass in MP_ neighbourho o d. B r i ga di er P atte l then went to mee t tee French, who were first advancing, and offered to co -opera? with them. Th e F renc h general said he was going to at t a ck the palace at once, and begged that the cavalry might keep the right to c u t o ff the retreat of the Tartars. It was get ting „'.. ting dark when the brigade arrived at the walls of the gardens, and the fi rs t thing to be done was to find a pla,c o ,, to encamp in, so the horses' heads were turned out of the village again to the l e ft t o see k an open piece o f gro upti w . Meanwhile the French advanced to the chief entranc,et forced open the gate, and h a d a small skirmish w ith the eunuchs, who defended the place, killing two and wound ing sever a l o th ers . T wo French officers were wounded . Next morning the French officers entered the palace with several of their men, an d l oo t e d r i g ht an d l e f t. A few gdf)a things wer e pl ace d on one s id e t o b e di v id ed between the sovereigns of Great Britain and France. After the Frenfh had enjoyed the whole day's looting, many of them thereby_ making thei r f or t une, the genera l gave permission t o the British offic ers t o b r i ng away as muc h as they l ik e d du the Bth, and a commission was nominated to do o° +. and sell it f or th e b enef i t of t h e army. Many office r s found ;largo pi eces of gold wort h hun d reds of pewi t! and as a great deal of dissatisfaction was so caused, M general called i n a ll l oo t , an d h a d everyt hi ng so l d by pup". auction. Two-thi r d s o f t h e money so pro d uce d was glen to the soldiet y, one-third to the officers. The general him' self gave up his share, and in return the officers made him a present of a handsome gold claret jug of Chinese mend facture, intrinsic value £l2B sterling, which constituted .1,, portion of the l oo t. Aft er th e F renc h h a d arraehe I.!s, a_ they could brin g away, they went about with large sticks, breaking to pi eces the remaining curiosities, which were ot. rather bulky siz e , an d th en , as a fi na l e to t h e i r wor k 4 1 mischief, before leaving, they set the private residence of the Emperor on fire, and suffered it to burn to ashes. The imperial paved roadway from Pekin to the Summer I Palace issues at the Se-che gate on the west side, and con tinues with a few windings in the direction of a group 01 villages of different names, conglomeratoly called Hai-teen. The stone-way carries you through this group of ugly houses, you eme rge on t o a b roa d roa d w i t h the each through it s cen t re ; s t one garden walls stand on each side ot, you to the ri g ht an d l e f t. Th ey enclose the grounds 9,1 nobles and imperi a l connex i ons. Y ou a d vance su i van t pave, cross a stone bridge, take a sweep to the left, and the road brings you between two large pieces of water in front of the grand entrance to the Palace of Yuen-ming-yuen. 'lt was here under the trees the French encamped. You advance through the portals, and enter upon a largo paved court-yard ; in front of you stands the Grand Re' caption Hall, a large Chinese building, well adorned ex' teriorly with paint and gilding, and netted under the fretted eaves to keep the birds off; you enter its central door, and find yourself on a smooth marble floor in front of the Emperor's ebony throne. The carving on this throne is quite a work of art. The floor of the throne was carpeted with a light-red cloth, and three lop series of steps led up to it, of which the central series was the widest, being intended for Kow-towing on before the Emperor. The left sideeof the room was covered with one extensive picture representing the grounds of the Summer Palace. Side tables were covered with books and articles of vertu. On the right of the building were houses after houses well-furnished with silks, curios and luxuries of all kinds, most of them having gardens in front. Then were the houses of the retainers. Behind the grand hall was Rockery, and in the rear of that again a large pond, so that a pebbled path, leading over a bridge and taking a semi circular sweep of half the water, had to be traversed before you visited "the next hall. The distance was about 600 yards. This hall was smaller, and not got up with such care; yellow sedan .chairs and one mountain chair stood close to the throne. On the right and left there were small rooms adjoining with images of Bhuddha. Behind stood another reception-hall, and in rear of that again a third, and on the left the Emperor's private rooms, beautifully got up, with tables strewn with all manner of precious articles, many of which were English or French. The rearmost room was the Emperor's bedroom, communi cating with the room in front by a door covered with a blind. A large niche in the wall, curtained over and covered with silk mattresses, served for the bed, and is sloping platform enabled his Majesty to mount into it. A small silk handkerchief was under the royal pillow, and pipes and other Chinese luxuries were standing on tables hard by. The Empress's two rooms were on the extreme left, and, these past, you came again on pebbled paths carrying you past lakes, into grottoes, through sum mer-houses, under magnificent trees, until you quite lost yourself in bewilderment. The Round and Brilliant Gar den is the signification of the Chinese name applied to these grounds, but they are more like an extensive park walled round and abounding in all that is most lovely of the Chi nese picturesque. Its construction and the accumulation of the precious property it contain e d mus t h ave b een the work of centuries. The Wan-show-yuen or Birthday Garden is situated about a mile west of the Summer Palace. The Emperor's paved road passes close under its wall, and traversing through the village of Tsing-lung-cheaon, winds to the left and leads to another garden called the Chin -ming-yuen (golden and brilliant garden), the walls of which enclose two hills, the one surmounted by a six-storied monument, the Ya-tsin g t' a , an d th e other by a steepled lamasery in ruins. Some two miles further on, on the side of the west hills, beyond the vari ous v ill ages o f the eight banners which speckle the plain, you see the fourth and not the least • beautiful of the Emperor's gardens, the Heaug-shan or Fragrant Hills. It was these gardens and lovely spots that the let divi sion started to destroy on the 18th October. The barbarous treatment shown by the Mandarins to the unfortunate vie. tims that they had trapped at Tung-chow demanded some retaliation on our part, and as a portent of what they might expect unless they succumbed, it was determined to burn and destroy the Emperor's pleasure grounds. The party started at half-past eight, and not many hours had elapsed before the rising columns of smoke betokened the com mencement of the work of destruction. The view of the country below from the hill-top in the Wan-show-yuen was most perfect ; you looked down on a series of handsome temples, a large lake with a temple standing in its bosom with a marble bridge of arches stretch ing from it to the shore; the open country south with its groups of villages and trees, a tier of hills on the right, and Pekin away in the distance. The 19th October was the great day of destruction, black masses of smoke rose continually from the g anions, giving the appearance of a fearful thunderstorm impending. Un fortunately the houses of the surrounding villages were not spared in the general destruction, and thousands of unhappy subjects had to suffer for the sins of their rulers The gene al gave orders to spare the monument as a work of art ; all other public buildings in the neighbourhood were destroyed. The Tartars in the different banner villages appeared greatly alarmed, thinking their turn might come next. They turned out in groat numbers with warm tea and cake to regale the soldiers on their return from the hill gardens. Before sunset of the second day every place had been fired, and the soldiers were marched back to camp at the Sih shing gate. We passed the summer palace on our way back; flames and smouldering ruins debarred our passage every way. We passed the entrance gate, and watched with pleasure the daring flame curling into grotesque fes toons and wreaths, as it twined in its last embrace the grand portal of the palace, while the black column of smoke that moved straightwards to heaven from the already roof-fallen reception-hall, formed a fine deep background to the living picture of active red flame that hissed and crackled as if glorying in the destruction it spread around. "Revenge is sweet," We muttered to ourselves, " Sic transit gloria mundi,"