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

It was equally useless for me, I also said, to discuss
the Treaty or Convention ; but, in order to gratify
the Prince, I gave such explanations on some
points as I felt at liberty to make; while on others
I merely referred him to your lordship. I then
wrote a note in Chinese to Mr. Wade, stating that
I had been informed by the Chinese authorities
that they intended sending back the whole of the
prisoners on the Bth inst. ; that their troops had
already been directed to fall back ; and that I
trusted there would no longer be occasion for ours
to advance. I also gave Hang-hi, at his particular
request, a note stating, "If Mr. Loch, myself, and
all the other prisoners, are sent back in a proper
manner, the English Government will take ne
revenge. As far as I understand the present posi-
tion of affairs, the British Government do not
intend to make fresh demands upon the Chinese, if
the latter agree, without any exception, to the
provisions of the Treaty of 1858, and the proposed
Con ven tion."
October 7—At daybreak this morning we heard
the sound of a cannonade, which lasted for a few
minutes and then ceased. It seemed to come from
no considerable distance, and, as the information
conveyed to us, both publicly and secretly from our
friends in camp, had warned us that an attack might
take place at any time, we thought that this critical
moment had arrived. At a quarter to eight Hangki
came in to learn from us the meaning (of the firing.
He could no longer conceal !rout us that our army
Was before Pekin, and at!mitted Yarn-Ming-Yuen
—the Emperor's summer palace---naci been taken
by the• allied troops yesterday afternoon. The
Prince of Kung, who bad been staying there all
.long, had managed to escape; but he, Hangki, had
been nearly taken as he was going out to the palace
yesterday afternoon. Returning to the city in the
evening, he found all the gates closed, and the walls
manned, and his only means of getting into the city
was by being hauled up in a basket. B e feared that
my note, stating that we should be sent out on the
Bth, and the official note of Prince Kung covering
it, could not have reached the English camp.
I told him that, during the whole time of our
confinement, both in the prison and in the temple)
we had never ceased to warn them against the
danger of delay, and all that we foretold seemed
now to be coming to pass. Their only chance of
escape lay in the immediate surrender of their
prisoners.
How is that to be done," said Hangki, «in the
face of firing, and how can I now get the authority
of Prince Kung for your surrender ? Your imme-
diate departure would also interfere with the inter-
view he intended to give you to-day."
The interview, we replied, was of little importance,
and danger to the city, in case of delay, was immi-
nent. We advised him, therefore, to arrange for
our being sent away at once, regardless of whether
we had to go out in the face of fire or not, as we
were very willing to risk that danger.
He left us, promising to return shortly, and we
counted the minutes, until these became hours and
the day began to wear away. We did not again
hear the sound of attack, but detected now and then
' some stir, as of the movement of troops in our
vicinity, and could observe looks of concern on the
faces of our guards and gaolers. We sent to
Hangki's house, to inquire about his movements,
but all we could learn from his servants was, that
after leaving us he had been lowered over the city'
wall, and had gone as they supposed in quest of
Prince Kung. It was impossible to tell when he
would return.
We anxiously looked for the next morning, and
felt some relief when no cannonade was heard as
daylight broke. By sending to Hangki's house we
learned that he had returned home at 3 a.m., and
would be with us shortly. He came at nine, and
the glimpse obtained of his countenance, before he
had put on the look he wished to assume, showed
considerable dejection and anxiety. He explained
to us why he had not returned yesterday. I left
you full of concern, he said, as I knew that the city
and your lives were both in danger. Had the city'
been assaulted, the first cry raised by the soldiers
would have been " Away with the foreign pri-
soners." When I inquired for Prince Kung, I
found that he was too far off for me to hope to reach
him I therefore despatched a note proposing that
you should be given up at once, on condition that the
foreign troops should retire from Yuen- Mihg
Yuen, which they had begun to plunder. At the
same time I received an invitation from Mr.
Wade to meet him outside the Tihshing-gate,
at four o'clock in the afternoon. I went,
and we had a long discussion. He demanded not
only the immediate surrender of the prisoners, but
also one of the city gatee, and he handed me this
letter, in which you see he states the same in
writing. It is quite impossible to comply with
such a demand, and what, therefire can be done
under sucti circumstances P
I read the note, which ran in the names of the
Allied Commanders-in-Chief, demanding the libera-
tion of all the prisoners who had been seized, and
the delivery into their hands of one of the gates of
the city, as a precaution against further acts of
perfidy on the part of the Chinese. I could only.
tell Hangki that this step was rendered necessary
by their previous acts of bad faith, and that the
Allies could no longer put any trust in them. It
was useless to hope that the Allied Generals would
alter their determination when they had once taken
it, nor did I see any course open to the Chinese
except compliance.
At this moment the prospect before us seemed
darker than ever, bnt Hangki, after some hesita-
tion, relieved us from our suspense, by remarking
that he had agreed with Mr. Wade that we should
be given up to-day as already promised, and that
we should be sent out at four o'clock in the after-
noon. Unable to rely upon the assurance of any'
mandarin, we anxiously awaited the hour named,
and could 'see that considerable uneasiness was
evinced by Hangki, who visited us several times
in the course of the morning. At one time he
whispered to me, " I am particularly anxious to
get you away for reasons that I will tell you
of at a future time, and I will not wait
for the hour named to send you off." He was
now willing to give us some information respecting
the other prisoners. Upwards of twenty had been
taken, he said, but with a view to their safe cus-
tody, they had been divided into small parties and
sent away to different district cities in the interior.
It would take some days to get them all back, and
he had heard that four or five of them had sickened
and died. Those in Pekin numbered eight in all,
inclusive of Mr. Loch and myself; and we were all
to be sent out together.

At last, at two o'clock, he told us that all the pri-
soners had been assembled, and that we could take
our departure. We were placed in covered carts,
without being allowed to see each other, and were
escorted by a large party of soldiers and mandarins
through streets which wore a deserted appearance
to the Se-che, or north-western gate of the city.
We soon saw, with thankful hearts, as those great
portals opened, and then immediately closed behind
us, that we were already free men, for our guard,
not daring to follow us out of the city, had left to
ourselves the pleasant task of finding our own way
to the Allied Camp.
I must not close this report without endeavour.
ing to express my gratitude to your lordship for
the firm and uncompromising manner in which you
insisted, from the first, upon our surrender, and
which, under the blessing of Divine Providence, has
mainly contributed to our liberation. Nor should I
omit to acknowledge the great debt I also owe to
my fellow prisoner, Mr. Loch, for the warm sup-
part I invariably received from him whenever a
Wment of trial or of danger presented itself.
I have, &el
HARRY S. PARKES.

[ADVERTISEMENT.] Pills and medicine invariably ag-
gravate and perpetuate disetates i their annoyance, dis-
appointment,
and expense may be avoided by persons
in indifferent health Bending only their address to E.
S- Barry, Esq., 77, Regent-street, W., London, and they
will receive gratis and free by post the " InvA.ups' Ows
ziuinE," or Natural Restorer, without medicine or ex-
rnse, of perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, and
r, ireshing sleep, to the most enfeebled, insuring the removal
of indigestion
(dyspepsia), constipation, liver complaints,
nausea, epilepsy, paralysis, debility, nervousness, palpitation,
cough, asthma, consumption, dropsy, flatulency, diarrhoea,
dysentery, biliousness, fevers, sore throats, catarrhs, colds,
noises in the ears, rheumatism, gout, impurities, eruptions,
hysteria, neuralgia, irritability, sleeplessness, acidity, palpi-
tation, heartburn, headache, despondency, cramps, spasms,
sinking, fits, bronchitis —"Unouestionably the safest Guide
to health.' -