The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-29 00:00:00

under which we wore: now acting. We therefore
dismounted, in order to cross to him, and directly
we did so the soldiers fell upon us, tore off several
of the things we had on, dragged us across the
canal, and hurled u 43 prostrate on the ground before
the Prince.

The moment the Prince gave me ;an opportunity
of speaking to him, which he did by asking me my
name, I at once clearly informed him who I was,
and of the whole claaracter of my mission to Tung-
chow, adding that I was returning to my Ambas-
sador when I was stopped by his troops.
I was proceeding with a remonstrance against
the treatment I was receiving, when the Prince
interrupted me by4aying, " Why did you not agree
yesterday to settle the audience question ?"
" Because I was r lot empowered to do so,"I replied.
The Prince thee, continued in a very forbidding
tone—" Listen ! -You can talk reason; you have
gained two victories to our one. Twice you have
dared to take the Peiho forts; why does not that
content you ? A.nd now you presume to give out"
(the Prince here alluded to the proclamation of the
Commander-in-Mien "that you will attack any
force that stops your march on Tung-chow. I am
now doing that. You say that you do not direct
these military movements, but I know your name,
and that you instigate all the evil that your people
commit. You have also used bold language in the
presence of the Prince of I, and it is time that
foreigners should be taught respect for Chinese
nobles and Ministers."
I endeavoured. to explain the mistakes of the
Prince; told him. distinctly what my functions were;
that I had come to Tung-chow by express agree-
ment with the Imperial Commissioners, and solely
in the interest of peace ; and I again begged him to
show the same respect to an English flag of truce
that we had always paid to those so repeatedly sent
in by the Chinese.
The Prince, however, simply laughed at all this,
and, going towards a house that was close by,
directed the soldiers to bring me after him.
On arriving at the house I was again thrown on
my knees before him, and the Prince asked me if I
would write for him.
Having asked what it was he wished me to write,
he said " Write to your people and tell them to stop
the attack.'
" It would be useless for me to do so," I replied,
" as I cannot control or influence military move-
ments in any way. I will not deceive your High-
ness by leading you to suppose that anything I
might write would have such an effect."
" I see you continue obstinate," he said, " and
that you will be of no use to me."
I then heard him give directions to take Mr. Loch,
the sower, and myself to the Prince of I, but
to conduct the escort into Chang-kea-wan. While
the necessary preparations were being made, two
high officers in his suite wearing red buttons took
me aside into a tent, and told me to sit down and
talk with him. " Follow our advice," they said,
"and don't think of denying that you can do this
or that, or you will get into trouble."
I again explained to them who I was, and how
far my powers extended, but they replied that they
did not believe me.
Having expressed my surprise at the engage-
ment then going on, and inquiring how it had com-
menced, they observed, " It does not matter how it
commenced ; perhaps you began it, perhaps we did ;
but you have at last gone too far, and will now get
your deserts."
" But we have not gone too far," I replied. "It
has been agreed between our Ambassadors and
your Commissioners that we are to occupy ground
up to five le south of Chang-kea-wan."
" Oh, we are not particular to a few le," said the
officers. "It would have been quite the same if
you had come within five, ten, or twenty le of our
army. Yon have gone too far, we tell you."
The cannonading now became heavier, and the
two officers had to follow Prince Sang, who rode
away to the front. Mr. Loch, the sowar, and my-
self were ordered to get into an open cart of the
roughest description, and two French soldiers, whom
we had not before seen, were put in with us. A
few moments before I had observed a French offi-
cer, whom I knew to be the Commissariat Inten-
dant, being led up to the house; he had evidently
been ill-used, but. I could not see to what extent
nor had I any opportunity of speaking with him.
We were conveyed to Tung chow, seeing nothing
of our escort on the way, and were taken through
the city to the temple in the western suburb, where
I had seen the Commissioners in the morning.
They had left, and our guard (consisting of fifty
horsemen) followed the Peking-road, inquiring for
the Commissioners as they went along, and enjoy-
ing the sufferings which the severe shocks occa-
sioned us when the cart was driven along the
dilapidated stone causeway at a rapid pace. After
retracing their steps in more than one direction,
they at last took us into an encampment, and
threw us on our knees before a mandarin, who they
told us was the General and Minister of State,
Juy-lin. To avoid another painful and useless
examination I feigned faintness, and in reply to his
inquiries called out for water. He then directed
that we should be taken into the air, but we
were so pressed upon by a disorderly mob
of soldiers that we had to be removed
into a house, where we were searched by
a military officer of the rank of Tajin, and every-
thing that we had in our possession was taken from
us. Again we were removed to a temple, and a
mandarin on the suite of the Prince of I, named
Tsing Tajin, who had behaved with marked rude-
mess to me at the morning's interview, came in and
directed that we should be brought before him for
examination. He asked us our names and who we
were, and then insisted upon my telling him where
I had obtained a paper that had been found in my
pocket in which prominent mention happened to be
made of several Princes and other important per-
sonages who are believed to be among the leading
advocates of the war policy. Fearing to criminate
the native writer of the memorandum (which was
nothing but a list of names), I replied that I had
obtained it in a Canton yamun. He declared this
to be false, demanded why I presumed to make in-
quiries about Chinese Princes, and said that force
should be used to make me divulge from whom I
received the information.
At this moment he was suddenly called away :
we heard a stir outside the house, and a number
of soldiers with drawn swords rushed in, dragged
us all out, and bound our wrists tightly behind us.
They were much excited, and called out that death
was ourtonlyldesert, as our soldiers had been killing
their People. After a short delay, during which
Mr. Loci and myself took, as we thought, a final
leave of each other, we were seized by the soldiers
and run out of the house at a swift pace, exactly
in the way in which I have observed the Chi-
nese conduct their prisoners to execution. Again
we came together 'qua" some trees, and all five of
us were put once more into a cart. All was confu-
sion around us ; the camp we
had previously ob-
served was being struck, and I could see that some
advance on the part of the allied force was evi-
dently:causing a retreat on that of the Chinese.
Soon we found ourselves again on the Pekin g.
road,
and suffering much more than before from
hands or
j
jolt-
ing of the cart, as we could not now use
arms to ward off the shocks. The cart being too
heavily laden to proceed at the desired pace, another
one was called, and the Sikh and one of the French..
men were transferred to it. We passed numerous
bodies of infantry in position along the road, and
were met by a considerable force of cavalry going
in the direction of Tung-chow. The road was so
much blocked up by men and vehicles retreating
while others were advancing, that we were often
obliged to halt. The Prince of I, Muh-yin, his
fellow Commissioner, and Hang-ki, passed us in
large sedan chairs, but would not deign to notice
us. We could see that we were in the charge of
Tsing Tajin, the officer already described as being
on the suite of the Prince of I, and our first solici-
tations for relief from pain and thirst afforded him
so mach cruel gratification that we made no second
appeal to his humanity. Fortunately one of the
four soldiers in the cart with us was less relent-
less, and gave us a little water. It was about
half-past two o'clock when we were put into
the cart, and the sun was setting as we reached
the Chao-yang, or eastern gate of the city.

The streets were crowded with people, and our
captors made the best use they could of us, to
give their return the character of a triumph. We
continued to be driven through street after street,
passing through the eastern and southern, and into
the western quarter of the city, until we entered, at
about eight p.m., a large court, an I saw with a
shudder that we were in the hands of the Board of
Punishments.
After we had been kept waiting in a dense crowd
for half an hour longer, I was taken from the cart,
and carried before a tribunal composed of examiners
' of small rank, who made me kneel, and after treat-
ing me in a very tyrannical manner, and question-
ing me on a few unimportant points, they loaded
me with chains, and gave me over to a number of
ruffianly-looking gaolers. These men conducted
me through several long courts, and happening to
halt for some purpose, I knew by the clank of
chains that another prisoner was approaching. It
proved to be Mr. Loch, but they would not allow
us to converse, and hastily sent us away in different
directions. At last we stood before a building,
which I could see was a common prison, and as the
massive door opened and closed on me, I found my-
self in a throng of 70 or 80 wild-looking prisoners,
most of them offensive in the extreme, as is usual
in Chinese gaols, from disease and dirt, and who
were naturally anxious to gaze on the new-corner.
I was again carefully examined and searched by
the gaolers, who also saw that my chains were pro-
perly secured, and bound my arms with fresh cords,
not so tight, however, as to prevent circulation, or
to occasion serious inconvenience. At the same
time however they removed, to my intense relief,
the cords from my wrists, which being very tightly
tied, had caused my hands to swell to twice their
proper size; and were now giving 'no great pain.
They then laid me on the raised boarding on which
the prisoners sleep, and made me fast by another
large chain to a beam overhead. The chains con-
sisted of one long and heavy one stretching from
the neck to the feet, to which the hands were fast-
ened by two cross chains and handcuffs, and the
feetin a similar manner.

Being exhausted with fatigue and want of food,
which I had not tasted for upwards of 24 hours, I
fell asleep, but was soon made sensible of my position
I by being called up, and again carried before the
same Board of Inquisitors. It was then about
midnight, but the hour did not prevent the collec-
tion of a large crowd, composed however, in this
instance, of police-runners, gaolers, lictors, and the
other numerous myrmidons of Chinese law. The
mandarins, as I was placed kneeling in my chains
before them, warned me that they would force the
truth from me if I did; not give it willingly, and in
proof of their earnestness, they ordered four tor-
turers to seize me, even before they began to put
their questions, by the ears, and the hair of the
head and face. They first asked ma if I were a
Chinese. I told them they had only to look at my
face and hair to see that I was not. Their next
questions related to my age, length of residence in
China, how and where I had been employed, &c.
They then proceeded as follows :

Inquisitors—State the name of your headman,

Answer—Which do you mean—the Ambassador,
General, or Admiral ?

Inquisitors (angrily)—You have no such func•
tidnaries. Don't presume to use such titles.

Here the torturers suited their action to the tone
of the mandarins, by pulling simultaneously at my
hair, ears, &c.

Inquisitors—Now give the name of your head
man.

Answer—Which one ?

Inquisitors—The hcad of your soldiers.

Answer (in English)—Lieutenant-General Sir
•
Hope Grant.
Inquisitors—What ?

Answer (in English)—Lieuteno,nt-General Sir
Hope Grant.

Inquisitors--Say something we can understand.
Answer—l am obliged to use the English terms
as you will not let me give you these in Chinese.
They attempted to writedown, in Chinese sounds,
" Lieutenant-General Sir Hope Grant," but not
succeeding, they asked the name of another head-
man.

Answer (in English)—Ambassador Extraordi-
nary the Earl of Elgin.
Finding it equally impossible to write this down
in Chinese, or to get on with the examination, they
told me I might revert to Chinese names and
titles, and I then gave them those of the Ambassa-
dor and the Commanders-in-Chief.
Inquisitors—How many soldiers have you ?
Answer—Not less than 20,000 fighting men.
Inquisitors—That is false. [Torturers clutched
me.as before.] Repeat how many.
Answer—Net less than 20,000 fighting men, in
which Ido not include followers, &c. I have stated
that once to you, and have no other answer to give.
Here I was again threatened, both by mandarins
and torturers, but deeming it dangerous to swerve
from any statement I had once made, I adhered to
that which I had already given them, and it was
taken down.
Inquisitors—How many soldiers have the French?
Answer—l am less acquainted with their force,
but they cannot have less than 10,000 fighting men.
Inquisitors—You are lying again.
The same question was repeated and enforced by
torturers ; I returned the same answer, and it was
noted down. I then explained that being myself
a civilian I could not be expected to be familiar
with military matters, or to know all the particulars
of so large an army as the present combined force.
Inquisitors—So large an army, do you call it !
What are 30,000 men ? They are a mere nothing..
They then proceeded to examine me in the. same
strain as to the number of our cavalry and artillery
ships, steamers, horses, Chinese coolies, &c., and, in
particular, of the range of our field and siege guns,
which I gave them at three miles and. upwards, to-
gether with other particulars of their destructive
properties. Hearing that the horses of the force
came from India, they questioned me as to the re-
sources of that country, and were much displeased
with my statement that it was within 20 days' sail
of China, and had an army of upwards of 300,000
men, and a population of more than 101,000,000.
They also equally disapproved of my estimate of
the population of Great Britain, which I stated at
about 30,000,000. But the remark which probably
gave them most displeasure, and caused me some
pain at the hands of the torturers, was the use, on
my part, of a term for her Majesty denoting equa-
lity of rank with the Emperor. They inquired after
our " Prince," to which I replied by stating that
we had many princes, both in England and India,
but that they were all under one Sovereign, as in
the case of the empire of China.
" What do you mean by using such language,"
they said ; " you have yourself shown that you have
been long in China, that you can speak our language
and read oar books, and you must know, therefore
that there is but one Emperor, who rules over all
lands. It is your duty to communicate your superior
knowledge on this subject to your countrymen, in-
stead of encouraging them in their extravagant
ideas."

They then insisted that I hadoften been in Pekin;
that I had confederates here, and that they would.
force me to reveal their names. I firmly denied all
this, and told them that I knew but three persons
in Pekin.
Inquisitors—Name them.
!_ Answer—The two Imperial Commissioners—
pence of I and Muh-yin, and the Assistant Com-
missioner Hang-ki.
I In ade this reply in the hope of disarming their
suspicions
on this , which I could see were very strong
Point ; and the idea that through our
g
treason
Chinese coolies, er in some other way, we had
at work within the walls of the capitalset, was o
rehensne which evidently gave them conside:Able
appion. They Were also
de-
manding information as to the Pa.rtieulf:a in
nuP.aber and names
of our interpreters. I complied ),_
.01 giving them the
Christian names and surnames several of these
1 gentlemen in full, knowing, as the event proved, that they would be unable to take down. intelligi-
bly the long English words, and they soon relin-
qu;shed the inquiry. They made pointed inquiries,
ho,wever, after Mr. Lay, and when I told them that
h e was now engaged by the invitation of the Chinese
Authorities in managin; their foreign revenue, i