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

scene of all the intrigues and gaieties of the Court.
It was there that the great receptions and levees
were held, and there that the Emperor had bis
concerts, evening parties, and private theatricals,
when he mixed on more familiar terms with
those invited than we imagined could exist in the
ceremonious Court of Pekin, an obeisance to the
Emperor on his entering and leaving the hall of
reception being the only ceremony performed.
The high walls and open spaces that surround
the Imperial city inside Pekin, separating it en-
tirely from the city itself, would, to a certain ex-
tent, have protected the People from injury` in the
event of an attack having been made upon it, but
the Allied Commanders-in-Chief felt themselves
precluded from adopting this course on account of
the conditions they had granted to the Chinese on
the surrender of the An-ting Gate. The destruction
of Yuen-Ming-Yeun was therefore finally (Leided
on.

Lord Elgin and the Commander-in• Chief both
addressed the Prince pf Kung by letter, informing
him of their decision and the reasons that influenced
them in arriving at that decision. Lord Elgin,
in terms of great severity, pointed out the treachery
that had characterised the conduct of the Govern-
ment of China from the first moment of their at-
tempting to negotiate at Tien-tsin to their last act
of perfidy in violating a flag of truce and murdering
those captured while under its protection—that, in
consequence of this conduct, he had called on the
Commander-in-Chief utterly to destroy yuen_
Ming-Yuen, as being the spot where the cruelties
to the prisoners first commenced ; he further de-
manded that a sam of 300,000 taels should be paid
within 48 hours as an indemnity to the families of
the murdered prisoners, and informed the Prince
of Kung if there was any delay in so doing, or any
hesitation to sign the convention and exchange the
Treaty of Tien-tsin, then the Emperor's Palace
inside Pekin should be burnt to the ground. These
letters were accompanied by proclamations that
were placed on the walls of Pekin, informing the
people of the measures that were to be taken and
the reasons for their adoption.
The English, in the course they now followed,
acted entirely by themselves, the French Coalman-
der-in-Chief being opposed to the destruction of
Yuen-Ming-Yuen, fearing it might preclude any
chance that existed of coming to an arrangement
with the Chinese Government ; but Sir Hope Grant
and Lord Elgin were not men to pass lightly over
the want of good faith on the part of the Emperor
of China. The more indifference Lord Elgin dis-
played about signing the Convention or coming to
terms the more alarmed the Chinese Government
became, and the more pressing for a day to be
named to exchange the ratified Treaty of Tien-tsin.
On the 18th of October Sir John Mitchell's divi-
sion marched to Yuen-Ming-Yuen ; they met with
no resistance,—not a Tartar soldier was to be seen.
On his arrival he disposed his force for the proper
and systematic carrying out of his orders.
From the place that was seized by the French
on the 6th of October it was at least six or seven
miles before the last building of Yuen-Ming-Ye",
was reached. This was at the foot of the first range
of hills that bound the plain to the north of Pekin.
Over this large extent of ground were gardens,
palaces, temples, and pagolas, on artificial hills,
some of them 300 and 400 feet in height, with
forest trees of all kinds covering their sides, through
the green foliage of which were seen the yellow-
tiled roofs of the various Imperial residences. A
large lake lay buried in the midst of these wooded
hills, with two or three islands on it, with pic-
turesque buildings, joined to the mainland by
quaint, but beautiful stone bridges. On one side
of the lake, extending upwards of two miles, wind-
ing in and out, among grottoes and through flower
gardens, roofed in by flowering creepers, was the
favourite walk of the Emperor and his Court ; in
some places, where the palaces came to the water's
edge, the walk was carried past them on a light
and beautiful stone terrace overhanging the lake.
The high mountains of Tartary forming the back-
ground made it, while it certainly was one of the
most curious, also one of the most beautiful scenes
I had ever beheld.. •

Two days were required effectually to set fire
to and destroy all the buildings and walks of Yuen-
Ming-Yuen. Much valuable property that it was
impossible to remove was destroyed. It is said that
it exceeded two millions sterling, exclusive of the
buildings,

The 20th of October was the day named for the
payment of the indemnity of 300,000 taels for the
families of the murdered prisoners. The money was
ready long before the time appointed, and a letter
arrived from the Prince of Kung, earnestly entreat-
ing that an early day should be named for signing
the Convention. •
It was on the 17th that the remains of poor De
Norman, Anderson, Bowlby, and Phipps were con-
signed to the grave. At noon of that day we all
assembled to bear them to their last resting-place.
The coffins were each on a separate gun-carriage.
A portion of the King's Dragoon Guards and Irre-
gular Cavalry formed the advance ; a body of in- .
fantry followed, with the band playing the ~ Dead
Harsh." Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant were chief
mourners. The pall-bearers.were the members of
the Embassy and the Commander-in-Chiefs Staff,
cane and some officers of his regiment, and some
men of the King's Dragoon Guards. Parkes and
Loch, who had shared their captivity, but had
escaped almost by a miracle' the fate of these their
poor companions, walked on either side of De Nor-
man's coffin. Numbers of officers of both armies,
including the French Commander-in-Chief, closed
the procession. The Russian Minister, General
Ig,natieff—with that consideration and in the
liberal spirit which has distinguished him in all
his intercourse with the army ever since their first
landing at Pehtang—had placed the Russian
cemetery at the disposal of the Commander-in-
Cbief.
.They were all buried in one grave ; the
service was performed by the chaplain to the forces,
the Rev. Mr. M'Gee ; and one of the most striking
occurrences was the presence at the grave, in their
vestments, of a Roman Catholic slid Greek priest,
who joined their prayers to ours over the remains
of our murdered countrymen.
During the destruction of Yuen-Ming-Yuen
the soldiers came upon two presents that had been
sent out to he Emperor of China by Lord Macart-
ney from. George ILL—a State coach and two 12-
:,
pounder howitzers—complete in every way,and in
very good condition and repair, great care having
evidently been taken of them ; yet, strange to say,
with these guns in their possession, they have never
made any endeavour to improve their own field
artillery carriages. Shot and shell even were piled
close to the guns in the kind of coach-house in
which they were found.
o3fOOP,OrOinOcteael(lsungit
ytrteceefipthte '8 letter and the
payment
was necessary to
secure a suitable residence for the Embassy- inside
Pekin, and that a public building of sufficient ex-
tent should be prepared in which the ceremony of
signing the convention could be
performed in a
manner to impress th • •th the importance
Of the act they were witnessing.
Messrs. Parkes and Loch
e people so
Elgin for the purpose of visiting all the public
buildings in Pekin, and to select those best adapted
for the objects in view' Lieut.-Colonel Ross, of
the el
seuartermas
went, by order ter-General's Department, also
oftrhse
wCooumlmdabnedeprr-
provided for
otro
thesee
that proper qu"te
escort that was to attend Lord Elgin while he re-
sided in the city'.
Their description of the poverty
of the city, and
the state of decay of the public
buildings,
is most deplorable. With an escort of 50
proceeded through the northern portion
of
they
the city, beingjoined by three or four mandarins,
who had been sent to point out those buildings that
were in the best repair, and to obtain their entrance
into any others they might desire to inspect; but
each seemed to rival the other in dilapidation and
wretchedness. Passing abwn the west side of the
city by one of the broad streets that run north and
south, they found, as they got nearer to the Chinese
city, which is separated by a high wall from the Tar-
tar city,the streets much more crowded, and business
going on more briskly. Turning to the left, along
the south of the city, the streets became narrow and
tortuous; three or four buildings were visited in this
. quarter, but none of them were habitable. They