The Express.
London, England, 1860-10-17 00:00:00

r iie tap of thif shell and lid of the box was a quan-
tit°, ofAlopeeapowder. Two locks of the same
constpiEtion as the old flint muskets were
attached to the ivaide of the lid, and put on
flill cock. I o each look was fastened a card which
pulsed thrdtiglt d hole in the side of the box, and
wale attaeked To the centre of a wooden plank laid
above the boxes, four of which formed one mine.
The pla*seus supported at each end only, boast°
3e form asoof sp • The boxes were buried in
the four thew the w n platform placed over them,
and the' jthele ' • tly covered with earth. The
theory, (which, fortunately, was not practicell
tested, y
wee, thatany one passing over the plank
would communicate wthiiunt motion to it to bring
a tension on the write, set off the locks, and
explode the shells. Small tents had been pitched
over the mints, perhaps with the idea that some of
the barbarians coming in tired and sleepy would
throw themselves' down in them to rest, and be
blown into the air. However, the Chinese of the
towineold us of their 6116161100, and the F
engineers dug them up carefully and destroyed the
ort
ere
ooped
.sp o;iirf erithweut anzeac:inint.B4, All the
with
found
not 't wry formidable description of artillery.
Ai
On the morning of the 2nd, the English and
Preach CoMunmders-in-Chief proceeded into the
teen, and exaMined the; fort, when it was decided
that the troops should be brought in and put =de r.]
ver as soon a. possible. Quartennaster-geuerals
Were soon flying about in all directions ; the town
beingtlivided into two parts by the main street
running from the gate to the ever ; one bait was
'allotted to the French and the other to the English.'
i =des
,anaitsegi
alunieuta werethe lon(t before t at:
mhlenollw.theredithftreoua
sed
and • making theemelvee et loans in the Chinese
dwellings. Considering the place was full of inha-
bitants—men, women, and children—andthe hoilese
filled with property, the quiet conduct of the soldiers
was quite remarkable. I have not heard of any
acts of violence, and there has been bat little plun-
dering. The townspeople, when they found we
were billeted in their houses, began to clear out,
betaking themselves to the other side of the river,
and leaving shnoet everything behind them. Poor
creatures, it is very hard upon them, for much of
their property will be destroyed, and much
will be taken by the oommiseariat for the
use of the troops; but this is one of the
necessary evils of war. Great stores of grain,
much forage, and a quantity of timber have
been found, also some good mules, all of which
will be most serviceable. There must have been a
good deal of wealth in the place, and I believe the
trade, especially in grain and marine stores for
junks, was very considerable. Some of the housed
are large and well-furnished, the huge wardrobes
and presses, the tables and chairs and other 1
articles made of wood, being, in some homes
richly, carved. There are many ornaments of China
ware and copper • great quantities of cooking and
drinking utensils Lade of pewter, and many conve-
niences and applignoes which tell of a considerable
civilisation. The houses in their construction and
fittings indicate an inelement climate. The windows
are glazed (if I may so say) with oiled paper • there
are stoves in the rooms and under the bed; ; and
the rooms are small, and the pamages and eommu-
nications narrow and intricate. Some of the dwell-
ing-houses are very curious ; some of the shops still
mores), especially those of the pawnbrokers, where
you may see the most extraordinary collection of
articles of every kind and every variety, and where
the Chnuoueu, when hard up, appear to have
" spouted " every conceivable species of property,
from a tobacco-pipe or a dried fish up to a magnifi-
cent fur coat or embroidered satin robe. Soldiers
would not be soldiers if they could live amongst all
these luxuries mid refrain altogether from fingering
them, and you do ocemionally see a bright silk er
gay satin peeping out from under the red coat or
libelee tunic of the Englishman or Sikh. There
is one great security, however, against looting
to any extent, and that is the impossibility
of carrying the plunder away : the carriage
is so limited that only the most absolute
necessaries can be taken from here. The French
are allowed far greater license than our soldiers,
and I am afraid their example is anything but im-
proving. When we arrived the town was full of
pigs, and for three days these unhappy animals
were hunted to the death by our allies. At every
turn, and in every street and lane, you ran the
risk of being knocked over by some flying pig vainly
endeavouring to escape the hot pursuit of half a
dozen Frenchmen, who, thirsting for his blood, or
at least his bacon, and armed with spades, or
bayonets, or sticks, come shouting and sacrtLing
at his heels. Had they confined their excursions to
their own quarter it would not have mattered so
Winch, but unless our men are angels it must have
been very tantalising to them to see these hungry
Gauls capturing and carrying off to the pot-au-feu
so rich a prize from under their very name' while
they were forbidden, on pain of a visit to the
provost-marshal, to touch them. The Chinese
have entirely deserted the town, and cannot
be induced to hold any communication with
us. We Lave been here now a week, and can get
no markets established, and no vegetables or sup-
plies of any kind from the country. I do not
imagine that this arises from any hostile feeling
towards us, for the townspeople were most civil and
conciliating when we arrived, but probably from
the fear and aversion caused by our having
taken pomwssion of their houses and property,
and caused so much misery, and, I fear,
some deaths, to their wives and daughters. Several
of these are known to have poisoned themselves,
and uo doubt more have done the same, of whom
we have heard nothing. As I said before, many of
the houses are good, comfortable, substantial build-
inge ; and ono cannot conceive how people who
evidently paid considerable attention to their own
comfort, and even cleanliness, within door, could
tolerate the abominations of the streets, which are
truly beyond all imagination or description. Every
possible description of filth, vegetable and animal,
seems to have been deposited in the narrow streete, ,
and there mixed up with rotten straw, old rags, de-
composed fish, and the blackest, stickiest, most ad-
herent mud I ever saw. After a fall of rain the
whole town becomes a "slough of despond." It is
useless attempting to pick your way, or trying,
with carefully balanced motions, to walk along the
narrow slippery ridge that sometimes rises above
the sea of mud, and mocks you with the semblance
of a footpath. Sooner or later you will infallibly
slide from ita treacherous surface and plunge
despairingly into the Stygian gulf. There is
no help for it—it is your fate. Everything
living or dead is sucked into this dreadful
uagmire. Fortunately it is not very deep.
Gensrslly you find bottom when you have sunk an
half way to the knees ; but there are exceptional
boles—dark, slimy, deceitful looking pita, where
there is probably no bottom, and to fall into
which would be destruction. Round the outside
of the town there is • ditch, through which the tide
ebbs and flows from the river, and in this way
much filth must bo carried oft. The smell from
the mud after rain is quite sickening. The town
is built in defiauoe of all sanitary rules, the houses
are at this time hot and ill-ventilated, and the
water is bad, and yet, strange to say, the troops
were never so healthy as at present. The old-
fashioned belief that dirt is wholesome may
be a true if not,'" comfortable creed afar all.
The country round the town is an enormous mud
tlat as far as the eye can see ; that part which is
daily covered by the tide being wet and soft, and
the remainder being dry. The intense flatness is
most wearisome to the eye ; there are no trees and
little vegetation ; the only break in the prospect
are the interminable lines of little tumuli before-
mentioned, said by some to be places of inter-
ment, by others to be connected with some in-
scrutable mystery for the manufacture of alt. If
they are nut graves, I don't know where the people