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« / 









THE BEITISH AEMS 



IN 



NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN : 



PEKING 1860; KAGOSIMA 1862. 



By D. F. EENNIE, M.D., 

SKKTOa XEDICAL OTFICBR OT THE FOBOB TN THX NORTH OF CHINA ; LATE 8UBQE0N TO 

HEB majesty's LEOATIOW, AND TO THE LEQATIOM OF HIS MAJESTY 

THE BMPEBOH OF THE FRENCH AT PEKINO. 



^ y ' 

J ** J -* 



LONDON i : 
JOHN MUREAY, ALBEMAKIE STEEET. 

1864. 

[The Right of Trandation U retened."] 



T'^'- \ :-.: 



K 



PUBLIC Libkrt^y 

458784 

A8TOR, uENUX ANB 
TiLDtIN FCUNDATIOHt. 

R iy09 L 



LONDON! 
BBADBURT AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITErBXABS. 



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• •• 



* • • • • 

* • ••• • 

* • *♦ • 



• 
« 



1 • 



•• 



« • • • 



V • • • . • 






• • <■ 




«0 



TO 



LIEUT.^L EDWARD ST. JOHN NEALE, C.B., 

KXIOBT OF 8AK WEBJgAJSDO; 

V0BMBBLT IBOBETABY OF LBOATION AT PEKING, ASD LiLTTEBLT 
HXB BBXTAmnO MAJBBTT'8 CHABOi D'aJFAIBB IM JAPAN ; 



C^ ^Vohmt b ^ruunbti, 



AS A TOKEN OF SEOABD, 



BY HIS SINOEBX FRIEND, 

»HE AUTHOR. 



PEEFACE. 



I HAVE been induced to add the following Volume 
to the Works abeady published on the subject of 
C!hina, by the consideration that our information re- 
garding that vast Empire has been in a great degree 
confined to the Southern districts — in which, owing 
to the deterioration caused by intercourse with the 
Western nations, the character of the Chinese can be 
least favourably and least correctly estimated. 

Being attached to *the expeditionary force which 

• 

marched to Peking, and being stationed in that city 
and at Tien-tsin for a considerable length of time, I 
had peculiar opportunities of observing the native 
character in a part of the country hitherto closed to 
European intercourse. Many of the events connected 
with the expedition to Peking I personally witnessed. 
When not myself present I had the advantage of 
receiving information on the spot from those imme- 
diately engaged, which I recorded in my daily journals 
written at the time. My connection with the British 
and French Legations placed me in the way of acquiring 
much interesting information, and has enabled me to 



Ti PEEFACB. 

record many facts about China, as well as traits of 
Chinese character, not generally known. 

The delay which has occurred in the publication of 
these notes has arisen in the first place from my not 
having had any thought originally of giving them to 
the press, and secondly from my professional engage- 
ments with the army, which have greatly impeded the 
task of preparing my journal for publication. 

An opportunity of visiting Japan about the time of 
the British expedition to Kagosima, has enabled me 
to add some account of that country, and of the state 
of feeling entertained towards the English and other 
Europeans by the Daimios and the Japanese generally. 
The present critical state of afiairs renders valuable 
any addition to our scanty information regarding that 
remarkable country and people. 

Having given special attention to the hygiene of 
the army, I am not inclined to endorse the generally 
received opinion that the expedition to North China 
was a remarkable sanitary success. The expedition 
was formed under peculiarly favourable sanitary condi- 
tions. The troops were selected out of men already 
seasoned in India. The force was afterwards weeded 
of its sick and weakly on three occasions before landing. 
The operations in the field were performed in the 
healthy season. Yet, with all these advantages, the 
amount of sickness and invaliding was very consider- 
able. The direct application of sanitary science by the 
lintment of a medical officer, whose sole duty it 






PBEFAGE. Tu 

was to contend wiEh nuisances and to carry into effect 
sanitary reform^ was not in my opinion attended with 

fany great results. The sickness of the army while 
living in a pure, and, to all appearance, salubrious 
atmosphere, and its immunity from disease among the 
foulest odours of animal and vegetable decomposition, 
presented some astonishing paradoxes, which seem to 
shake the primary and simplest conclusions of sanitary 
science. 

I shaU be glad if the records of my experience in 
this respect can throw any light upon this difSicult but 
important subject, which is but little understood, and 
from which, in my opinion, too much inmiediate result 
has been expected. 



Shanghai, 

22nd August, 1868. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 
ORIGIN OP THE THIRD CHINESE WAR. 

PACK 

The disaster at Taku — Its cause — Proposed ratification at Peking of 
the treaties of Tien-tsin — Arrival of the Plenipotentiaries at the 
Peiho — The Chinese refuse to open the riyer — Failure of the 
attempt to clear the passage — Assistance from the American 
Commodore — Gallantry of Admiral Hope — Moderate demands of 
the GK)remment — Re-appointment of Lord Elgin and Baron Gh*08 
—The Author Tolunteers for service in China . . . ,1 

CHAPTER I. 

Arrive at Hong Kong — Aspect of affairs — Rejection of the ultima- 
tum — Preparations for war — Occupation of Chusan — Friendly 
disposition of the natives — Hong Kong — Eowloon hired from 
the Chinese Government — Formation of a Chinese Coolie Corps — . 
Arrangements for garrisoning Hong Kong and Canton « . .8 

CHAPTER II. 

Kowloon — The Chinese Coolie Corps — Wreck of the "Is^re" — 
Parade of the Coolies — The Happy Valley — Record of mor- 
tality in the 69th Regiment — Barracks of the Coolie Corps — 
Sir Hope Grant— Seik soldier and vegetable vendor — The Seik 
Cavalry — The Loodiannah Regiment—Shanghai threatened by • 
the Taeping rebels ....*.... 14 

CHAPTER III. 

Iio« of Her Majesty^s Troop-ship ''Assistance'* — ^Return of Trans- 
ports owing to foul weather — Allied attack on pirates at Chusan 
— Sanitary condition of the Troops in Hong Kong — The ''Wini- 
fred" Coolie ship — Chinese doctor — Mo '.es of deserting from the 
Coolie Corps — Boat population near the Ha^rpy Valley— Quarrying 
by Chinese— Missionary children — State of Shanghai — The Tae- 
ping rebellion — Ascent of Victoria Peak — Arrival of Lord Elgin 
and Baron Gros — Fall of Soochuw — Chinese tailors • • .21 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PAGE 

Bmbaric in the "Weser" — ^Master of the Crew — ^Fnnishments—- 
M. Tao— Off the Yang-tse-kiang— Sisters of Charity— Uncer- 
tainty of Monsoon — Council for promoting deserving sailors — 
The Shantung Promontory — Che-foo — The French camp- 
Questionable seizure of junks— Chinese Jew — A Jewish oobny • 33 

CHAPTER V. 

Che-foo Harbour— Trade—Climate— Health of the Troops— Interriew 
with General Montauban — The French force— Market supplies — 
Chinese money •changers— Judicious treatment of the natives- 
Buddhist temple — Progress of the shopKeepers in French — Con- 
struction of the houses — Arrival of the *' Calvados" — The 
Coolie Corps 40 

CHAPTER VL 

Agriculture — Appearance of the Peasantry — Gunboats — Kit inspec- 
tion — French mode of carrying ammunition — Its advantages over 
the English method — ^Watch-tower — Military air of the Coolies — 
Leave Che-foo— Talien-whan Bay— Camp of the Second Brigade 
— The Bell Tent — Capture of Junks — Interview with Sir Hope 
Grant — Auriferous quarts — Arrival of Lord Elgin — Sir Robert 
Napier 47 

CHAPTER VII. 

Trial of a Marine— Boat accident, and death of Captain Gordon — 
Visit of the French Commanders-in-Chief— Native houses — Stove 
bed-places — Village temple — Cartoons — Proposed hospital — 
Head man of the village — Gambling in the Coolie Corps — 
Their cookery and quarters — Ship whitewashed — Baggage ponies 
— Tea unknown to the peasantry— Dr. Thomson — Episode of the 
Disaster at the Peiho— Low state of health of the troops — ^Bell 
Tent— Weight of ammunition 57 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Expedition sails for the Feibo — ^The anchorage sighted — ^The 
French Fleet arrives — First view of the Taku forts — Prepara- 
tions for landing at Peh-tang — Landing effected — March through 
the mud — The Forts deserted— First shot of the Campaign — 
Militaiy occupation of the town— The ** Zouave" cattle ship- 
Mortality on board — Commencement of hostilities — Beconnais- 
sanoe in the direction of Taku 67 

CHAPTER IX. 

Confiision at the landing-place — Head-quarters of the First Dtvisioa 
— Uninterred coffins — The Hospital of the Slsl Begiment— 



CONTENTS. xi 



PAQB 

Yalnable dothing — Order against looting — ^A Chinese fiunilyresi- 
dence — ^The Sonth Peh-tang fort — ^ExploeiTe machines — State of 
Hone Transport Service — Mortality among the horses on board 
ship— State of Peh-tang after rain — Beoonnaissanee — Attempt of 
the Chinese to open Negotiations — Order for the adTanoe of the 
Army — Sanitary paradox — Exertions of the Officers and Crews of 
theChinboats 77 

CHAPTER X. 

March on Sinho — ArtUleiy Waggons abandoned in the mad — The first 
Armstrong Gun — The Action of Sinho — Capture of Entrenchments 
— Tartar Cavalry retreat towards Taka — Sinho occnpied — Tartar 
Vedettes — Jnnetion with Second Division — Appearance of the 
Troops — Details of Action on the Eight — ^Bivouac — Sinho — ^Tartar 
Tents — Dexterity of Tartar Horsemen — ^The Gingal — Breakdown 
of the Hone Transport Corps — The Time$ Correspondent — Coolies* 
contempt for Cash — Frisonen captored by the Tartan — Hones 
galled by ill-made pack-saddles — ^Papen fonnd in the house of 
the Tartar General 86 

CHAPTER XL 

Advance of the army npon Tang-koo— The Artilleiy open fire^Cap- 
tare of the fort — ^Apparent non-efficiency of onr fire — Scenes 
inside Tang-koo— Cavalry endosare— Captored gons — Frisonen 
— Camp flooded — Ponishment parade — Samsha — Military bridge 
— ^Armstrong gone — Exaggerated statements respecting their sac- 
oess— Cholera— Betam of the Sergeant and Coolies captared on 
the 12tii — Flag ci trace — Preparations for the attack on the 
Northern Forta 98 

CHAPTER XIL 

Advance apon the Takn forts — Explosion of magazines— Upper North 
Fort taken — ^Aspect of the fort after Its capture — A photographic 
group — The cavalier — The other forts hoist white flags — An 
armistice granted — Details of the capture of the upper North 
Fort — A Coolie in search of Sycee silver — Flags of truce arrive 
— A letter from the Governor-General — Mandarin conveying it 
speaks English — Termination of the armistice—- The lower North 
Fort surrenders — Terrific thunder-storm— Betum of the army 
through the mud 108 

CHAPTER Xin. 

Sarrender and occupation of the South Taka Forts — Gallantry of 
the Chinese defence— The Chinese Coolie Corps — Capacity of the 
Chinaman to make an efficient infiuitry sol<Uer — Defects in the 
Armstrong gun — ^Bevisit the North Taka Fort — Burial scene — 
Admiral Hope proceeds to Tien-tsin — Visit oppoaite bank of 
river— Embark fbr Tien-tsin— Accident to the gunboat • .121 



xU CONTENTSi 



CHAPTER XIY. 

PAOB 

Steam up the Peiho — VetBels get aground — Obtiging dispositioii of 
the TillagerB— Arrival at the Forts of Tien-tsm. Their appear- 
ance and construction — Occupation of Tien-tsin by Admiral Hope 
—Visit to the walled city— Civility of the inhabitants— A village 
deputation — Assault on a villager by a sailor — Sang-ko-lin-sin's 
commissariat arrangements — Appointment of Imperial Gommis- 
sioners — Lord Elgin's arrival at Tien-tsin — Reinforcements sent 
to defend Shanghai — Departure from Tien-tsin • . . .129 

CHAPTER XV. 

Arrive at Shanghai — State of affairs — Visit the European settlement 
and the Chinese city — Brigadier Jephson's interview with the 
Tautai — Tea-gardens —Baby Tower — Sail for Hong Kong — 
Chinese festival — Return to Shanghai — Chinese soldier's devo- 
tions — Chinese petition to Mr. Bruce — English shooting party — 
Sickness on board ship — Malaria and ague — The English in Japan 
— Arrive at Tien-tsin — News from Peking * . • .140 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Summary of Occurrences on the Feiho— Communications between the 
Commissioners and Lord Elgin — Negotiations broken off — Ad- 
vance towards ToDg-chow — The Prince of I — Mr. Parkes* inter- 
view — 18th September — Endeavours to recover the prisoners — 
The Prince of Kang — Advance towards Peking — Imperial 
Palace plundered — Prisoners returned — Anting Gate surren- 
dered — Funeral of the murdered English — Destruction of Yuen- 
ming-yuen — Entry into Peking — Treaty signed — Character of 
the Chinese negotiations — Conduct of the Chinese on the 18th 
September — Opinion of Lord Elgin 1.58 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Tien-tsin — Housing of the Troops — Chinese shot by sentries— The 
sponge-cake man — Temple of the Oceanic Influences — City wall — 
Heavy rain — Seizure of houses — The Caugue — Committee of 
British Supply — Imperial decree — Chinese entertainment — 
Wounded Chinese soldiers — Magistrate — Return of Lord Elgin 
— ^Occurrences at Peking — Return of Troops — Reappearance of 
Trade — Chinese dinner — Indian followers — Departure of Baron 
Qna — Comte de Bastard — Departure of Lord Elgin — The mess- « 
room of the 8 1st — The Peiho frozen — Sir Hope Grant — 
Arrival of the Indemnity Money 171 

CHAPTER XVIII, 

A Chinese druggist's shop — The remains of the prisoners — Quarters 
of the garrison — Soldiers* barrack-rooms at night — Ozone and 
its influence on health — Population and revenue of China — The 



CONTENTS. xiii 



PAQB 

Chinese candle— Frencli soldiers' inscriptions ^Parental grief 
— Opium smoking — Peking— Cruelty to dogs — Chiyalrous sports 
of officers — ^Visits to Chinese officials — Acts of violence — Inse- 
curity of property entrusted to military guards — Chinese hawking 
— State of a&irs at Peking and Je-ho — The Tien-tain Fire 
JBrigade — Chinese funeral obsequies — Public baths — ^Marriage 
procession — Effects of the looting of Tuen-ming-yuen on the 
French army •.••^••••» 195 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Frozen porter — Statistical fallacies — Indifference of local officials in 
respect to hostilities against the Government — Dead beggar — 
New Year pictures — Chinese hawking party— Scarcity of copper 
— Occasional resistance of the Chinese to extortion — Self-sacrifice 
— Distribution of money to indigent Chinese — Its disastrous 
results — Extreme cold — Serious illness and deatli of General 
Collineau — Procession to propitiate a weather divinity — Funeral 
of General Collineau — Sketch of his career — Outrage by English 
soldiers at Taku— Private of 67tli in trouble . . • .217 

CHAPTER XX. 

An opium' smoking-shop — ^The kow-tow — Small-poz and rude inocula- 
tion — The Foundling Hospital — Chinaman executed — Funeral 
procession — Demolition of a house for sam-shu dealing— Pawn- 
broker's establishment — News from Peking — Juvenile gambling 
— Garrison theatre opens — Approach of the Chinese New Year — 
Mortality amongst the troops — A Foreign Office to be established 
at Peking — Severe cold — Preserved fish — A Chinese joke — Old 
furniture shops — The silver pheasant — A dying Mandarin — 
The Audience question — Lord Macartney and tiie kow-tow — 
Ushering in of the New Year — Chinese compliments of the season 
—The ancestral U}}let 231 

CHAPTER XXI. 

New Year's Visit from Chang — Injudicious snowballing — ^Ingenious 
toymaker — Robberies— Literary examinations — Peking Foreign 
Office — Seal of the late Emperor for sale — French loot — Rent 
dispute — Funeral obsequies — Visit to Chang — Chinese theatre — 
Restaurants — Feast of Lanterns — Presentation of the Victoria 
Cross — Brigade drill — Chinese opinions thereon — Ice commences 
to break up— News from Mr. Morrison— Chinese General reduced 
to the ranks^-Sang-ko-lin-sin — Effect of electrical changes on the 
sick-r-Health of the Seiks compared with that of Europeans — 
Legation Guards detailed for Peking — Break-up of the ice — 
Prussian Diplomatic Mission — Commercial prospects of Tien- 
tsin — The Legations proceed to Peking — Evacuation of Tien-tsin . 246 



xjT coNTEjrrs. 



JAPAN. 

PAGfl 

INTEODUOTION . 269 

CHAPTEE T. 

Embark at Shanghai for Japan—Cholera in the Tang-tse-kiang — 
Aspect of the coast — First impressions of the European settle- 
ment — The French and Dutch flags fired on — Aspect of affidn 
at Yokohama — ^Bural scenery — The peasantry and their habita- 
tions — ^Position of the foreign settlement — The British Legation 
— A Japanese garden and gardener — H.M.S. *' Centaur" ex- 
pected 282 

CHAPTER II. 

The steamers "Elgin" and "Rajah"— Fire at Teddo— Visit to the 
native town — Curiosity shops — Reconnaissance along the Tokaido 
— Kanagawa — Scene of Mr. Richardson*s murder — Japanese 
grooms — A tea-house beauty — Japanese disciplined troops — 
Arrival of H.M.S. "Centaur" from Nagasaki— Action of the 
"Wyoming" with the vessels and forts of the Prince of Negate 
— Extreme heat and its fatal effects — An earthquake • . 200 



CHAPTER III. 

The Japanese custom -house system — Objectiona to the exposing of 
the sword blade — The Qaukiro — A Japanese entertainment — A 
Japanese game — Public baths — Freak of two French soldiers — 
Visit to the "Medusa" — Japanese shot and shell, whence obtained 
— Visit to the " Wyoming" — Terms of construction of Legation 
residences — H.M.S. "Coquette" sent to communicate with the 
French Admiral in the Straits 304 

CHAPTER IV. 

Seamen and marines land for battalion drill — The armament of the 
"Euryalus" — Remarks on the Armstrong gun — Arrival of a 
member of the Gorogio from Yeddo — His interview with the 
Foreign Ministers — Sanitary paradox at Yokohama — Japanese 
washermen— The Chinese in Yokohama — Comparison between 
the Japanese and the Chinese— Question of the descent of the 
former from the latter ' . . 311 

CHAPTER V, 

Return of the French Admiral — ^His proceedings in the Straits of 
Semonosaki — Daimios' retainers — Military character of the 
Japanese — A Chinaman's views regarding the hostilities — 



CONTENTS. XV 

PACK 

Ckptaiii Maodougall — The Goreroor of Eaoagftwa — Conference 
of Foreign Minutera — Visit to the barracks of the disci- 
plined Japanese — Barrack-room drill — Disregard of national 
pregndioea 820 

CHAPTER VI. 

!nie Gorogio*a reply to the French Minister — An American Bulor 
woonded by a Taconin — The Tycoon and the Daimios — Agri- 
enltnre — Rapid acquisition of the language by a foreigner — The 
peasantry — Inconsiderate conduct of equestrians — ^Naval con- 
ference respecting the inland sea question — Japanese shampooing 
— Its application to the treatment of disease — The blind in 
Japan— Origin of the Tycoons 329 

CHAPTER VII. 

Beport respecting the return of the Tycoon — ^SCode of committing 
snioide a branch of Japanese education — Fight between the betos 
and the Gaukiro people — Attempt on the part of Japanese 
traders to procure rifled cannon-— Japanese doctor and medical 
science — Diet of the natives — ^A profitable land speculation — 
Errors respecting the disposition of the peasantry — A Japanese 
official wounded —Return of the Tycoon — Hostile feeling towards 
foreigners at Miako — Aptitude of the Japanese for mastering the 
details of machinery — Purchase of the '*Lyemoon" steamer — 
Fire-proof stores — Primitive state of society— Preparations for 
leaving Yokohama for Nagasaki — Peaceful news — Modes of 
travelling in Japan — Tattooing — Violent death of the murderer 
of Mr. Euskin 330 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Departure for Nagasaki — Division of exchange profits amongst the crew 
— The currency question in Japan — Encounter a portion of a 
typhoon — Nagasaki harbour — Peaceful aspect of affairs — The old 
Dutch settlement of Desima — Singular reception of the Dutch 
superintendent of trade by the Tycoon at Yeddo— Analogous posi- 
tion of the agents of the late East India Company at Canton— 
The Japanese town of Nagasaki — Effects of solar influence — Heat 
apoplexy — Occurrence of cholei-a at Nagasaki co-existent with 
salubrity of climate — Observations on cholera . . . .353 

CHAPTER IX. 

Visit to the Japanese steam factory at Nagasaki — English tea esta- 
blishment — Commercial relations of the Prince of Satsuma with 
foreigners at Nagasaki— Interview with two of Satsnma*s high 
officers — Anxiety expressed by them to ayert the yisit of the 
British squadron to Kagosima — Leave Nagasaki — Arrive at 
Shanghai 372 



Tvi CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

Kagosima— Attempt of the Tyooon*s Gorernmeiit to detain tlie 
squadron — The letter of demands aent in to Satsnma — His 
minister's reply — Admiral KapAr*s despatch — Two of Satsnma's 
o£Scer8 voluntary prisoners — The ArmstroDg gun in naval 
warfare — Admiral Kuper unjustly censured — A traveller's expe- 
rience of the British abroad 881 

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 

Consular trial at Yokohama — Affairs in Japan in September, 1863 — 
The Prince of Negato — The Tycoon unfolds his foreign policy — 
Threatening notice from the Loonins — The Satsuma diflSculty 



THE BRITISH AEMS 



IN 



NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN 



INTRODUCTION. 



ORIGIN OF THE THIBD CHINB8B WAB. 

The dinster at Takn — Its oanse — Proposed ratification at Peking of the 
treaties of Tiea-tsin — Arrival of the Plenipotentiaries at the Peiho — 
The Chinese refuse to open the river — Failure of the attempt to clear 
the passage — Assistance from the American Commodore — Gallantry 
of Admiral Hope — Moderate demands of the Go^^pMlent — Be-appoint- 
ments of Lord Elgin and Baron (}ro8— The Author Tolunteers for 
service in China. 

On the 14th of October, 1859, the steamer from King 
George's Sound, with the homeward Australian mail, touched 
at the Mauritius to coal. I was a passenger on board, and 
the first news which reached us, on dropping anchor in the 
harbour of Port Louis, was, that a serious reverse had be- 
&llen our arms — ^in conjunction with those of France — in 
China ; that four gun-boats had been sunk by the fire of 
Chinese batteries in an ineffectual attempt to force the 
passage of the Peiho-— and that 500 men had been killed or 
wounded in the attack upon the Taku forts which defend 
the entrance to the river. This news seemed so improbable 
— so completely at variance with all past experience of 
Chinese warfare — ^that we hesitated to believe it. It proved, 
however, but too true ; the stoiy is soon told, and with it 
the circumstances which led to the Third Chinese War. 



2 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

On the 26th of Jnne, 1858, the treaty with China, ne- 
gotiated by the Earl of Elgin, was signed at Tien-tsin, and 
on the day following the treaty negotiated on the part of 
France by Baron Gros. 

In each a clause was introduced providing for the exchange 
of the ratifications at Peking, within one year from the dates 
of signature. With the view of this clause being duly carried 
out, the Honourable Frederick Bruce, C.B., brother of the 
Earl of Elgin, was appointed Her Majesty's Envoy Extraor- 
dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in China, and directed 
to proceed by the way of the Peiho to Tien-tsin, and thence 
to Peking. Instructions from home were at the same' time 
sent to Admiral Hope, the naval commander-in-chief in 
China* to provide a sufficient force to accompany Mr. Bruce 
to the mouth of the Peiho. 

Mr. Bruce, on arriving at Shanghai, found the Commis- 
sioners Kweiliang and Hwashana, awaiting his arrival 
there, in place of being at some point near the capital. A 
communication was received from them, begging Mr. Bruce 
to delay his departure for Peking, and to discuss with them 
at Shanghai certain details connected with the treaty. Mr. 
Bruce declined to do so, but offered them steam conveyance 
to the Peiho to enable them to reach Peking at the same time 
that he would. This they declined, alleging that they had 
no authority for returning by sea. 

In the meantime Admiral Hope assembled his fleet, 
numbering in aU some nineteen vessels, in the Gulf of Pe- 
chili, at the Sha-lu-tien Islands, about twenty miles from 
the Peiho. On the 17th of June, 1859, he proceeded to 
the anchorage off Taku, in H.M. ship " Fury," and sent her 
gig on shore, with an interpreter, to intimate that the 
Ministers of England and France would shortly be there on 
their way to Peking. The boat was met at the beach by an 
armed rabble, who stated that they were militiamen, acting 
on their own responsibility, and that the forts were defended 
and the river staked with the view of affording them pro- 



INTRODUCTION. 8 

tection against pirates. They denied the presence of con- 
stitnted authority, and alleged that they had no instmctionB 
regarding the arriyal of the foreign Ministers, but offered to 
transmit any commnnication to Tien-tsin, and to bring back 
a reply. Admiral Hope again sent on shore, and requested 
that within three days they would remove such of the ob- 
structions &om the mouth of the river as would clear a 
passage for the vessels accompanying the Ministers. To 
this request they made no apparent objection, and farther 
stated that they had sent a messenger to Tien-tsin to ac- 
quaint the authorities with what had occurred. Admiral 
Hope then returned to Sha-lu-tien, and the following day 
brought his fleet to anchor off the Peiho. 

On the 20th of June, Mr. Bruce and Monsieur de Bour- 
boulon, the French Minister, reached the Peiho. The same 
day Admiral Hope sent a boat to see if the obstacles had 
been removed from the river, and to deliver a letter to the 
Intendant of Tien-tsin. The same armed rabble came 
down to the bank and refused to allow the party to land. 
In place of having removed any of the obstacles, they had 
increased the defences, and when taxed with a breach of 
faith in so doing, denied having promised to clear them 
away — adhering at the same time to their original state- 
ment that they were militiamen, acting on their own re- 
sponsibiLity, in the absence of regular civil or military 
authority. 

After a long and anxious deliberation, the ambassadors 
determined, in their joint names, to request Admiral Hope 
to adopt whatever measures he might deem expedient for 
the opening of the river, so as to admit of their continuing 
their journey to Tien-tsin. This occurred onj the 21st of 
June, and nothing was done until the 24th ;* the Admiral 
having been engaged in the interval notifying to the Chinese 

* On this day» Mr. Ward, the American Minister, went into Taku iu a 
small steamer, and requested to be aUowed to proceed on the mission which 
he had to Peking, hot he was refused^ and had to return. 

B 2 



4 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

that as they would not remoye the obstacles, he should pro- 
ceed to do so himself. Accordingly, on the night of the 
24th, a portion of the defences were blown up, preliminary 
to the operations intended to be carried out next day at as 
early an hour as the tide would permit. 

After a good deal of delay, caused by difficulties connected 
with the tide, on the afternoon of the 25th of June, about 
two o'clock. Admiral Hope succeeded in getting his gun- 
boats in position close to the barriers, and commenced at- 
tempting their removal. The Taku forts immediately opened 
afire, which proved so heavy and destructive, as in a com- 
paratively short time to completely disable four gunboats. 

The Chinese artilleiymen served their guns with a degree 
of skill and deadly precision that our navy had never wit- 
nessed in previous contests with them. As the remainder 
of the attacking vessels were now all aground, it was 
thought necessary for their safety that the forts should be 
captured by storm. This was the most disastrous part of 
the affair. A battalion of Marines had been kept in 
reserve as a storming-party, and disposed of in junks out of 
range. The determination to employ them was come to late 
in the afternoon, but no ready means were available for 
bringing them up ; the only vessels capable of crossing the 
bar being either sunk or aground. It wafi at this critical 
moment that Commodore Tatnall,* of the American Navy, 
rendered the important service of towing the reserves into 
action* The attempt to storm the forts ended in a total 
defeat ; out of 1,100 men that went into action, 434 were 
either killed or wounded.f 

* ThiB gaUant officer, Hearing that the British Admiral was lying badly 
wounded, jumped into his barge, and through the thickest of the fire pulled 
to the ''Cormorant," where Admiral Hope wa& On the way he had his 
cockswain killed by his side, who had been with him thirty years ; and 
while he was with the Admiral, the crew of the barge, like true sailors, 
amused themselves by taking a turn at the guns, which were short-handed. 

f The French force was represented by about 100 men, landed from the 
" Duehala,*' the commander of which yessel was wounded. 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

The condnct of Admiral Hope in this disastrous en- 
gagement was characterised by an amount of personal 
gallantry and total disregard of self second to none in the 
records of our navy. An eye-witness has thus described it : 
** The * Plover ' went into action at 2*30, the Admiral stand- 
ing on the top of the cook-house, myself and the French 
captain on the harness cask in front of him. By three 
o'clock he was badly wounded by a round shot taking away 
the fleshy part of the thigh; the lieutenant commanding and 
eight men were killed, and twenty-two badly wounded. She 
then dropped down for more men, and the Admiral left her, 
to hoist his flag in the ' Opossum.' All this time his wound 
had been unattended to, except what my little surgical 
knowledge pointed out. When we left the * Plover' tiiere 
were only nine of us with a whole skin left out of her crew ; 
she was literally like a butcher's slaughter-house. We had 
not been long in the ' Opossum ' before the Admiral was 
again wounded. We had managed to get him on the top of 
the cook-house again, and being weak from his wound, he 
was supporting himself by the mainstay, when a round shot 
took that away, and threw him on the deck, injuring him 
on the head and fracturing his ribs. Still he would not give 
in, and was placed on the gunwale, till at last, being quite 
exhausted, he fainted. I then got him into a French boat, 
and was taking him away, but he came to and asked me 
which was the ship furthest in, I said ' Cormorant.' ^ Then 
take me there.' So we went to the 'Cormorant,' where, 
finding him perfectly unable to stand, I had the signal 
made for Captain Shadwell, the senior captain, who came 
on board and took charge." 

On the 26th of June, Admiral Hope having reported to 
Mr. Bruce his inability to clear the passage of the river 
with the force at his disposal, the Ministers decided to con- 
sider their mission to Peking at an end for the present, and 
Mr. Bruce directed the Admiral to dispose of the remainder 
of his fleet in such manner as he thought best calculated to 



6 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

secure tranquillity at the various ports on the coast where 
trade with Europeans was carried on ; and thus ended the 
attempt made by the plenipotentiaries of England and 
France to ratify the treaties of Tien-tsin, the failure to 
effect which constitutes the prologue of the Third Chinese 
War. 

On reaching England in November, 1859, 1 found that 
though an extensive allied expedition was in process of 
organisation, with the object of re-establishing our prestige 
in China, nevertheless a strong feeling existed against war 
— a humane sentiment, shared in to such an extent by her 
Majesty's Government that terms of the easiest nature were 
transmitted to Mr. Bruce, to be forwarded to the Chinese 
Government as those, the acceptance of which would avert 
further bloodshed. They were simply — ^that the treaty of 
Tien-tsin should be ratified, and an apology made by the 
Chinese Government for the occurrence at Taku ; the very 
lenient view being adopted, that the hostile proceedings of 
the garrison there had originated in a local misunderstand- 
ing, and not from specific instructions on the part of the 
Chinese Government. 

Shortly after this determination was come to, information 
reached England showing that the Chinese Government, 
far from disavowing the proceedings at Taku, fully approved 
of all that had been done, those who had conducted the 
defence being rewarded, while posthumous honours were 
conferred on the slain. "With such feelings on the part of 
the Government of China, the settlement of the question 
naturally assumed a more difficult and complicated cha- 
racter, and it was considered expedient by the Governments 
of England and France, that Lord Elgin and Baron GroB 
should return to China, and themselves complete the ratifi- 
cations of their treaties, which it was thought would be 
rendered the more easy, owing to the personal influence 
which previous relations with high Chinese officials had 
given them. Should the ultimatum which Mr. Bruce was 



} 



nJTEODXTCnON. 7 

directed to send, and their own efforts fail, the matter was 
then to be placed in the hands of the military and nayal 
commanders of the allied forces. 

Major-General Sir James Hope Grant, K.C.B., distin- 
guished for his services in India, was appointed Commander- 
in-Chief of Her Majesty*s land forces in China, with the 
local rank of Lieutenant-General. About 10,000 men were 
added to the troops abeady in China. The command of the 
naTj remained in the hands of Kear-Admiral Hope, C.B., 
who was promoted to the rank of Vice- Admiral in China. 

Greneral Consin de Montauban, a cavalry officer of distin- 
guished service in Algeria, was appointed to the command 
of the French expeditionary corps, amounting to about 8000 
men, and Yice-Admiral Chamer was appointed to conduct 
the naval portion of the French expedition. 

Having been for the previous six years and a-half 
stationed in that somewhat isolated portion of the Aus- 
tralian continent known as the Swan Biver Settlement, 
I had never seen any active service, and as this expedition 
appeared to oflPer an opportunity of doing so, I made up my 
mind to relinquish my place on the home roster and volun* 
teer for China; which I did on the 1st of December, 1859. 
Hy application was complied with, and I was placed under 
orders for China. 



CHAPTER I. 

Arrive at Hong Kong — Aspect of ajSEkira — Bejection of the nlUmatDm — 
PreparationB for war — Occnpation of Chusan— Friendly disposition 
of the natives — Hong Kong — Eowloon hired from the Chinese 
GK)Temment — Formation of a Chinese Coolie Corps — Arrangements for 
garrisoning Hong Kong and Canton. 

On the 4th of April, i860, 1 embarked at Sonthampton 
in the P. and 0. mail steamer " Pera." At Marseilles we 
were to haye taken on board Lord Elgin and Baron Gros. 
In consequence, however, of the death of the Dowager Lady 
Elgin, their departure was deferred until the next mail. 

The well-known route to Alexandria and thence by Suez 
to Aden and the Point de Galle, needs no description. We 
reached Galle in the " Candia " on the 5th of May. At this 
place the passengers for China were transferred to the 
'^ Madras." Among the passengers who here came on board 
jfrom Ceylon was a gentleman, whose general aspect con- 
yeyed the impression of one in very bad health, but patient 
and unexacting in suffering. He asked me several questions 
about the troops on board, and expressed a fear that without 
some additional awning they would be but indifferently pro- 
tected from the sun. Conversation then turned upon the 
China expedition, with all the details of which he showed 
an Ultimate acquaintance, expressing at the same time his 
satisfaction that his health had borne up long enough to 
enable him to see the last portion of the expedition de- 
spatched from Calcutta, in the organisation of which he had 
had the chief direction. These and other remarks led me 
to ask him if I was not speaking to Sir James Outram. 
He answered yes, but that he was not travelling under his 



\ 
\ 
\ 



V 



1 



SIB JAMES OTJTEAH. 9 

own name. He then went on to explain that m compliance 
with the nrgent wishes of his medical attendants he was 
trying the effects of a sea voyage for aa attack of chronic 
bronchitis from which he had been suffering for six months : 
but that his health was too indifferent to admit of receiving 
that hospitality which he knew wonld be pressed npon him 
at the various places at which he had to touch ; and he was 
therefore passing under the name of Major Osborne. He pur- 
posed going to Singapore and then on to Batavia, returning 
to Calcutta. His only attendant was a boy of some twelve 
years, whose parents had perished at Lucknow, at the relief 
of which Sir James had found him, and taken him into his 
service. 

After touching at Penang and Singapore — ^where Sir 
James Outram left us — we arrived at Hong Kong on the 
20th of May, and dropped anchor in iGront of the town of 
Victoria. 

We now learnt that all hopes of an amicable adjustment 
of the difficulties arising out of the affair at the Peiho were 
at an end. The ultimatum of Her Majesty's Government 
had been forwarded by Mr. Bruce, and its rejection, in the 
form of an insolent reply, received. Preparations were 
forthwith commenced for moving the expedition northward, 
and as a preliminary measure a force, consisting of the 
Marines, 67th and 99th regiments, with a battery of artillery 
and company of engineers, was despatched to act in con- 
junction with the French, and take possession of Chusan, 
which was given up without resistance on the 24th of April. 
When the troops landed, numbers of the inhabitants came 
down and met them, offering themselves as servants and 
oompradores,* in that peculiar Anglo-Chinese dialect known 
as Pigeon f English. To all appearance a lively and very 

* A word of Portngneie origin, used in tii« south of China for house- 
steward. 

t The nearest approximation which the Chinese can make to the pro- 
nunoiation of the word ** business." 



10 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

favonrable recollection still existed of our occnpation of the 
island during the first war. The troops were hardly esta- 
blished on shore before sign-boards began to re-appear 
which had been in use during the previous occupation ; 
the inscriptions thereon being such as — E. Moses & Son, 
outfitters, from Aldgate Pump ; Jim Grow, fashionable 
tailor, from Buckmaster's, London ; sobriquets which the 
Chinese had adopted on the advice of their army friends, as 
first-class English names likely to attract attention and 
secure them extensive patronage. 

An allied commission was appointed for the purpose of 
exercising, under the military commanders, a general super- 
vision over the government and administration of the island, 
the Chinese authorities at the same time being permitted 
to retain their local powers of jurisdiction, under the super- 
vision of the Commissioners. Intimation was given to 
the natives that the commission had been established and 
was ready to hear and redress any complaints that might 
be brought before it. 

In the meantime the main portion of the expedition was 
assembling at Hong Eong, and at the period of my arrival 
the remaining troop and store ships were daily expected. 

Hong Eong is an island of small size and irregular shape, 
situated just within the tropics. Its greatest length is 
about nine miles, while its average breadth is about three. 
The island is extremely mountainous, a central ridge from 
east to west extends the whole length, throwing off a 
series of high lands on each side. Near the western end 
Victoria Peak rises to a height of 1,825 feet. On the 
northern slope of these mountains the town of Yictoria 
creeps up from the beach, the principal portion of it being 
built on the ascent to Victoria Peak : houses now extend up 
it to nearly one-fourth of its height. The eastern end of 
the island is equally mountainous, the two highest points 
being Mounts Pottinger and Parkes. 
The harbour of Victoria can be approached frt>m either 



HONG KONG. U 

the east; or the west. Vessels coming from the north take 
the eafitem entrance, or Lymoon Pass, a narrow strait be- 
tween the island and mainland. The western entrance, 
called Sulphur Channel, is that usually taken by vessels 
from the south. This channel, which is about a quarter of 
a mile wide, lies between Hong Kong and a little islet 
known as Green Island. The harbour of Victoria assumes 
a completely land-locked appearance, being shut in at both 
ends by the opposite coast of China, a promontory of which, 
the Kowloon peninsula, is distant from the town of Victoria 
<aily one mile. 

Besides the harbour of Victoria, there are several other 
bays where good shelter for shipping is afforded. On the 
southern side Lytam harbour is a fine deep bay, formed 
by two peninsulas — ^the westward one called Wong-ma-kok, 
where Captain Da Costa, of the Eoyal Engineers, was mur- 
dered in 1847. On the western side of the neck of this 
peninsula is the military station of Stanley, where barracks 
have been erected and a species of sanatorium established, 
under the supposition that from being exposed to the south- 
west monsoon it would prove a more healthy station than 
Victoria during the summer months. This hope, however, 
has not been realised ;. the men having suffered as much, 
and on several occasions more, than the troops^ in barracks 
at Victoria. 

On the 20th of May a considerable portion of the expe- 
dition was on board transporte in Lytam harbour, where 
they had been directed by Admiral Hope to rendezvous, and 
there wait until the monsoon changed, and then sail for 
Talien-whan Bay, a harbour on a promontory in the Gulf of 
Pechili, about 200 miles from the Takn forts, which had 
been selected as the northern rendezvous of the British 
expedition. Some of the troops were on board transports 
in Victoria harbour, while others remained in camp on the 
Eowloon peninsula^ a portion of which had been actually 
hired from the Chinese authorities for the purposes of the 



12 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

• 

expedition, and an annual rental of 500 taels paid for it in 
advance — ^the proceeding involving a singular anomaly in 
the history of war. 

The French expedition was assembling at Shanghai pre- 
viously to occupying Che-foo, where it was to rendezvous in 
the north. The vessels touched at -Hong Eong, but no 
troops were landed there. 

During the operations against Canton, the Military Train 
had been composed of Chinese coolies. This corps had not 
been disbanded, and an extension and re-organisation of it 
for the expedition was in course of progress, under the super- 
intendence of Major Temple, of the 12th Madras Native 
Infantry, who had hitherto commanded it. Enlistment was 
going on briskly enough, but the difficulty was in retaining 
the recruits afterwards, as numbers bolted as soon as they 
had received the advance of two months' pay granted them 
on embarking for service in the north. 

The intention was, provided a sufficient number of coolies 
could be procured, to attach 500 to each regiment^ in addition 
to those to be employed in connection with tlie first battalion 
of the Military Train recently arrived from England, which 
was now broken up into three battalions, and constituted 
into a Horse Transport Service. 

The pack-saddles for this corps were manufactured at 
Hong Kong by Chinese artizans, and the utmost activity 
prevailed amongst the native population in frirthering the 
equipment of the expedition — ^the patriotism of John China- 
man assuming a very negative character when brought in 
contact with the opportunity of making money, or, as they 
themselves express it, "catching dollars." The tailors, 
blacksmiths, and tinmen were particularly busy in manu- 
facturing field clothing, horse shoes, and camp cooking 
utensils. 

Sir Hope Grant was residing in Victoria, at " Head- 
Quarter House " — the official residence of the Commander of 
the Forces in China — and the flag of Admiral Hope (blue at 



KOWLOON. 18 

the fore) was flying on board the " Chesapeake" frigate of 
fifty guns. The camp at Eowloon had been commanded 
by Sir Robert Napier, who was now at Shanghai, in com- 
munication with the French Commander-in-Chief. 

To complete the expedition several transports had yet to ar- 
rive. One battalion of the Horse Transport Corps, nnder the 
command of Captain Grey of the Military Train, had been sent 
to Japan, to aid in the purchase and care of horses and cattle. 

On the sailing of the expedition, it was arranged that 
Hong Kong and Kowloon should be garrisoned by the 21st 
Madras Native Infantry, and a provisional battalion formed 
of depots from the various European infantry regiments 
proceeding to the north; the men selected for this depot 
were those who, from physical or moral causes, were unfit to 
embark with a corps intended for field service ; an airange- 
ment which appears to me open to criticism, because, how- 
ever expedient it may be to avoid the embarkation of sick, 
weakly, and intemperate men on active service, the collecting 
of ihem for garrison duty in such a climate as a Hong 
Eong summer, is a measure not admitting of ready 
justification. 

H. M. 87th regiment, the 3rd and 5th Bombay Native 
Infantry, with one battery of artillery, were detailed to 
garrison Canton, under Brigadier-General Crawford, who, 
on the departure of Sir Hope Grants was to command the 
troops in the south of China. 

Arrangements were made by the military authorities, that 
Hie expedition on sailing should be accompanied by artists, 
and berths were told ofT for Signer Beato, the well-known 
photographer, and Mr. Wirgman, the artist of the lUustrated 
London NewSy with whose talented and faithfdl sketches of 
Chinese scenery and character the readers of that journal 
have been for several years familiar. 

Such was the state of affairs on the 20th of May, the 
date from which my personal narrative of the progress of 
the expedition commences. 



CHAPTER IL 

Kowloon— The Chinese Coolie Coipe— Wreck of the **l8&re*'— Parade of 
the Coolies — The Happy Valley — ^Record of mortality in the 59th 
Regiment — Barracks of the Coolie Corps — Sir Hope Grant— Seik 
soldier and yegetahle Tender — The Seik Cavalry — The Loodiannah 
Begiment— Shanghai threatened hy the Taeping rebels. 

May 2lst — ^Went over to the Kowloon peninsula, leased 
to the British by the Chinese Government. Three com- 
panies of the 44th regiment were being embarked on board 
of the transports that are to convey detachments of the coolie 
corps to the north, on which fidl European guards will be 
required. 

The Chinese who have hitherto enlisted are for the most 
part Hal^kas,* from the neighbouring districts of Lu-non 
and Ewei-shin. They are rather a marauding people, as 
compared with other classes of the Chinese, and consequently 
will require to be closely looked after when the expedition 
lands in the north ; as the looting propensities which they 
are pretty certain to indulge in, should the opportunity offer, 
may disturb the Mendly relations which the Commanders- 
in-chief will seek to establish with the natives amongst 
whom the troops may be stationed. 

The 400 coolies that are to be attached to each regiment 
going north will be superintended by one ofl&cer, two ser- 
geants, and thirty steady old soldiers, selected from the 
regiment. Twelve Chinese physicians have been engaged 
at thirty dollars per head per month, to form the medical 

* The term applied by the aborigines, or Punti people, of the southern 
parts of the Ewang-tung province, to settlers who have moved down from 
ihe more northern districts. 



COOLIE CORPS. 16 

staff of the corps, the general superintendence of which has 
been placed under Assistant-Snrgeon Turner, who has been 
attached to the corps since its first formation at Canton 
some three years ago. 

May 23rd. — ^News received of the loss of the French 
transport, ''Isdre," at Amoj, on the 15th instant. She 
struck on a rock going into the harbour, under charge of a 
Chinese pilot, and went down with a large quantity of gun- 
powder, two rifled cannon, and the harness for the field 
artillery. No lives were lost, and hopes are entertained of 
recovering the harness and cannon. The quantity of gun- 
powder lost is stated to be four hundred tons. 

May 2bth, — ^Went on board the " Forerunner" to see my 
brother, about to sail with a detachment of his regiment for 
Talien-whan Bay. Three hundred of the Chinese coolie 
corps are on board, with a guard of 120 men of the 44th, 
under Major Hackett. While I was there the coolies were 
paraded three deep on deck. Their uniform consists of an 
ordinary Chinese shirt, made of nankin, with the number 
and section to which they belong stamped on it front and 
back. Their head-dress is a conical shaped wicker-work 
hat, made after the fashion of those worn by the Chinese 
troops. They aU appeared on parade with fans, which they 
used vigorously : some pulling up their shirts and fanning 
their chests and backs alternately, others pulling up the legs 
of their capacious under garments for the same purpose. 
The parade consisted of arranging them according to their 
numbers and then counting the total, to make sure that 
none had jumped overboard during the night to swim on 
shore, as they had all received their advance of pay. A few 
nights ago, of ten that were sent on board one of the trans- 
ports to act as hospital orderlies, only four were forthcoming 
the following morning, six having swum on shore during 
the night and probably immediately re-enlisted. 

I went below and looked at their quarters. They occupy 
the lower deck, and sleep on mats. One-third of tiie 



16 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

number will always be on deck, with a similar proportion 
of the 44th. They have all boxes with them, containing 
various little articles of food to be used as luxuries during 
the voyage. Their regular food will be supplied by the 
Government in the form of a daily ration of rice and pork. 
When relieved from parade they seemed very happy, and 
busied themselves making arrangements for the voyage, 
stowing their boxes away, and getting their berths in 
order. 

May 2Qth. — ^The transports, forty in number, that have 
sailed from Hong Kong within the last fourteen days, have 
hitherto been at the rendezvous in Lytam harbour on the 
southern side of the island ; to-day, however, we hear that 
they have fairly got under way for the north, convoyed by 
Her Majesty's steamers " Odin " and " Sampson." 

This afternoon I walked through the grave-yards in the 
Wang-ne-chung,* or, as it is called by the English, the 
" Happy Valley." The last time I visited it was in June, 
1852. At that period, the 59th regiment, the head-quarters 
of which had only been twenty months on the island, had 
buried there 182 men. A plain Doric column erected in the 
Protestant cemetery bears the following inscription : — 

Saored to the Memory of all those of the 59th Eegiment, who died between 
the 11th Jane, 1849, and 18th Noyember, 1858. 

Breret-Lieut. -Colonel G. F. Bonghey. 



Captain K. B. S. Stanhope. 
Lieutenant Hacket. 
Lieutenant J. B. Cockrel. 
Surgeon C. W. PoweU. 



Sorgeon A. Campbell. 
Assistant-Surgeon Orr. 
Assistant-Surgeon Danvers. 
Quartermaster McDonald. 



Sergeants 


21 


Corporals . , 


14 


Privates 


466 


Women . . . 


86 


Children 


107 



644 
♦ "Stream of Yellow Mud." 



BAKKACKS OF THE COOLIE CORPS. 17 

This conyeys but aa imperfect idea of the actnal mortalitj 
which the regiment suffered during its service in China, as 
it does not include those who were invalided and died either 
on the Toyage home or after reaching England, from diseases 
contracted in Hong Eong. 

At the upper part of the Happy Valley, beyond the race- 
course, temporary barracks have been erected for the Coolie 
corps, composed of a framework of bamboo covered with 
matting. In each barrack-room are ranges of beds, formed 
of boards on bamboo supports, on which are spread the 
usual Chinese sleeping mats. In front of the sleeping 
places, on both sides of the rooms are ranged open fires, 
without chimneys or any protection against fire, or any 
means of exit for the smoke. On these were placed pots 
and other culinary utensils, iu which cooking was actively 
going on from one end of the barracks to the other. The 
coolies seemed quite contented and free from care, frirther than 
what the preparation of their food required: the only marvel 
is, that the whole place has not been burned down long ago. 

On my way back to the town I met a soldier of the 
Military Train, preceded by a Chinaman, whom he was 
holding firmly by the tail, twisted two or three times round 
his hand. I learned on inquiry, that this was a recruit for 
the coolie corps, who had just received an advance of twenty- 
seven dollars, and had been showing great anxiety to make 
his purchases for the voyage in shops up narrow lanes, which 
from experience was known to be symptomatic of an inten- 
tion to bolt, so the soldier had adopted this method of 
securing hinu Until lately these Chinese recruits have been 
receiving only two months' pay in advance, but they struck 
for an additional month's pay, and the point had to be con- 
ceded, the securing of their services being of so much 
importance. 

• The " Sir William Peel," steamer, lately arrived firbm Eng- 
land with military stores, was selected to-day by Dr. Muir, 
the principal medical officer, and placed in charge of my 



18 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

brother Staff-Surgeon D. E. B.ennie, to be fitted up as the 
hospital-ship of the second, or Sir Robert Napier's, division. 
Three batteries of artillery have arrived in Deep- Water 
Bay from India, and orders have appeared this evening for 
the sailing of the expedition on the 27th, 28th, and 2dth. 
The Staff to embark on the 30th. 

21th May — Sunday, — At the conclusion of service, standing 
near the door of St. George's Cathedral, shading himself 
from the fierce* sun, under an umbrella, might have been seen 
a spare, somewhat lathy, and weather-beaten looking officer, 
above the middle height, and about fifty years of age, whose 
sword indicated him to be of the rank of a general officer. 
His accent unmistakeably pointed to the north of the Tweed 
as the country of his birth, and his breast bearing the ribbons 
of the first Chinese war — the campaigns of the Sutlej — of 
the Punjaub and of Oude, bore testimony to a long and 
active career of Eastern warfare ; his moustache, shorn off 
at the angle of the mouth, and a clear space of one inch 
intervening between it and the whisker, showed a strict 
adherence to regulation: this was Lieutenant-General Sir 
James Hope Grant, K.C.B. — as gallant a soldier, with as 
kind a heart as it ever fell to the lot of an army to be com- 
manded by. 

Passing dovm the Queen's Eoad this afternoon, I noticed 
one of the sowars* of Probyn's Horse, endeavouiing to 
conclude a bargain for a cucumber, with the proprietor of a 
vegetable stall. There was some hitch about the price, and 
as the most simple way of concluding the business, he threw 
down a halfpenny and walked off with the cucumber. The 
Chinaman was not to be done, however. Unawed by the 
formidable tulwarf hanging from his side and pistol sticking 
out of the waist-belt, he strode after him, and with a sturdy 
determined air seized the cucumber, and wrenched it out of 
his hand. The Seik, finding himself worsted, came back, 
picked up his copper, and quietly walked away. 

* Natiye troopers. t Native sabre. 



SEIK CAVALRY. 1^ 

May 28/^.— Walked over the camp at Kowloon this after* 
noon, and looked at the Seik cavalry. The horses are 
picketed in fix)nt of the troopers' tents— their movements 
restrained by ropes round their fetlocks, attached to pegs 
sunk in the ground. By this means they are effectually pre- 
vented kicking one another, a£ they otherwise would do ; 
being for the most part high-spirited Arabs. The full uni- 
form of the Seik cavalry is French grey, but the field-dress 
consists of blue serge tunics, made according to the custom 
of the East, with red cotton cummerbunds, or sashes, round 
their waists, white cotton trousers and jack-boots. Probyn's 
Horse wear a slate-coloured turban, and Fane's, a red one. 
Their arms consist of tulwars, light bamboo-shafted lances, 
carbines and pistols. Their lances, from which flutter blue 
and red pennants, are stuck in the ground in front of their 
tents, giving the encampment a very picturesque appearance. 

The costume of the Regiment of Loodiannah consists of 
tunics and trousers of Kah Kee (mud-coloured drill) and 
turbans of dark brown calico. Their belts and a mmuni tion- 
poach are of rough brown leather ; their arms are the old 
regulation musket and bayonet. This regiment was to have 
formed part of the first brigade of the field force ; but it 
has now been decided that it will not form a portion of the 
expedition to the Peiho, owing to some difficulties having 
been raised during its voyage to China connected with the 
manner in which the water was served out ; the men object- 
ing, if I am rightly informed, to its passing through a 
leathern hose, as opposed to their faith. 

May 29/A.— Owing to the ilhiess of Staff-Surgeon Pain, I 
to-day assumed temporary medical charge of the provisional 
battalion, now quartered in the Moray Barracks. 

May ^\8t — Several cavalry transports got under way 

yesterday afternoon, but they have been unable to get out of 

the harbour, owing to the strong north-east monsoon still 

blowing. 

Last night a desperate affair took place in the Chinese 

c 2 



20 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

district, near West Point. A band of robbers broke into 
the house of a Chinese merchant with intent to plunder, but 
being beaten off by the inmates they hurriedly retired, and 
while retreating were stopped by two constables, who de- 
manded their paBses— one policeman was immediately stabbed 
and expired on the spot, the other was wounded so seriously 
that his recoveiy is considered hopeless. The gang got 
clear off, and no clue likely to lead to their apprehension 
is known. Hong Kong has long formed a sort of Alsatia 
for the worst classes of the neighbouring maritime pro- 
vinces. Bobberies, with or without violence, are of daily 
occurrence. 

News has been received to-day of the approach of the 
Taeping rebels towards Shanghai. So much alarm exists 
amongst the general trading community there, native and 
foreign, that the British and French ministers have issued 
a proclamation, stating ''that they will call upon the 
commanders of Her Majesty's naval and military forces 
to take proper measures to prevent the inhabitants of 
Shanghai from being exposed to massacre and pillage, 
and to lend their assistance to put down any insurrec- 
tionary movements amongst the ill-disposed, and to pro- 
tect the city against any attack.'' This has been circulated 
in Chinese, and troops have been landed to protect the 
foreign settlement^ and, if need be, the Chinese city. 



CHAPTER IIL 

L068 of Her Majest/B Troop-Bhip '* Assistance" — Return of Transports 
owing to foul weather — Allied attack on pirates at Chnsan — Sanitary 
condition of the Troops in Hong Eong — The '* Winifred" OooUe ship 
— Chinese doctor — ^Modes of deserting from the Coolie Corps — Boat 
population near the Happy Valley— Qnanying by Chinese — Missionary 
children — State of Shanghai — The Taeping rebellion — Ascent of 
Victoria Peak — ^Arriyal of Lord Elgin and Baron Gros — Fall of 
Soochow — Chinese tailors. 

JuM 1st. — This forenoon I was standing in the back 
verandah of the hospital, looking at the bustle going on in 
the harbour, where steamers in constant succession were 
getting under way. Just as a large black troop-ship was 
leaving her moorings, an of&cer passing by casually re- 
marked, " There they go, sailing on a Friday." The vessel 
in question was Her Majesty's steamer '^ Assistance/' A 
few hours afberwards news was received of her total loss 
on the opposite side of the island, having struck on a rock 
as she was going into Deep-Water Bay, to take horse trans- 
ports in tow for the nortiu There were on board 850 of 
the ooolie corps, and a large quantity of stores and pro- 
visions. Where the accident occurred was not more than 
fifty yards from the shore ; fortunately no lives were lost. 
Though the rock was not marked on the chart, it is difficult 
to understand why the vessel was taken so close in shore. 
On the vessel striking it was with considerable difficulty that 
the coolies were prevented jumping overboard and making 
for the shore. In a short time they became reassured and 
were gradually landed. Only seven of the 850 that were 
landed deserted. Fortunately about 100 of the number were 
veterans that had served during the operations against 



22 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Canton, and from being fully alive to the adyantages of 
the service, were probably instrumental in preventing a 
general bolt, as they had all received three months' pay in 
advance. 

June 2nd, — Examined the arrangements for the sick on 
board the " Mauritius *' steamer, detailed as the hospital 
ship of the first division, and placed in charge of Staif- 
Surgeon Dr. Lewins. She is divided into tliree compart- 
ments, and has accommodation in bunks for 220 men. 
She was fitted np at Deptford under the immediate super- 
intendence of Dr. Mapleton, Deputy-Inspector-Gcneral of 
Hospitals, and nothing was left unprovided that foresight and 
the closest personal supervision could supply for the comfort 
and medical care of the sick.* An apparatus also has been 
provided by the owners for distilling 1400 gallons of water 
daily. She sails this afternoon for Deep-Water Bay, to take 
transports in tow for Talien-whan. 

June 3rd. — The weather has become unfavourable for the 
progress of the expedition. The monsoon would seem not 
yet fairly to have changed, as a strong north-east wind is 
now blowing. Towards evening between twenty and thirty 
of the transports that have sailed for the north within the 
last few days were reported as having returned, unable to 
make head against the adverse breeze. The present makes 
the fifth successive day of rain we have had, in consequence 
of which a considerable reduction of temperature has taken 
place. 

* Notwitbstanding the care whicb was taken in the fitting ont of this 
vessel, and the beautiful oider she was kept in by her commander, Captain 
Crnickshank, her success as an hospital ship is doubtful. From some 
cause or other, she was the only vessel of the fleet— numbering over two 
hundred yessels-^anchored off the Peiho, on board of which anything 
resembling epidemic fever broke out. This unhealthiness I am inclined to 
attribute to the fact of her having been put to the purposes of a stationary 
hospital ship, while her construction was more that of a floating ambulance 
— in a word, she had not adequate accommodation for the number of sick 
that, as a stationary hospital ship, were kept on board for prolonged 
periods. 



ATTACK ON PIRATEa 23 

June Afh. — ^News received from Chusan of a combined 
English and French attack on a piratical station, situated 
between the islands of Latea and Chusan. The allied force 
consisted of Her Majesty's gunboats "Bustard" and "Wood- 
cock," the marines and two cutters* crews of Her Majesty's 
ship " Imperieuse," and one company of the 99 th regiment, 
with the French gunboat " Alarme," and some Infanterie de 
la marine. The pirates were concealed in a narrow channel 
formed by three small islands on the west coast of Chusan, 
into which there are four openings admitting of ingress and 
^ress. The " Bustard " went in at the southern entrance, 
and as soon as she was seen, several junks' crews jumped on 
shore, while others got up sail and made their way towards 
some of the other openings, where they were met by the 
** Alarme " and the " Woodcock," and driven back under a 
heavy &e. The gunboats then closed in on the junks, but 
the greater portion of their crews got on to the mainland of 
Chusan and escaped. It had been arranged that the land 
force was to be on the spot to capture them, but it arrived 
two hours too late, much to its disappointment, the naval 
attack having been made before the appointed time. The 
leader of the pirates, however, an Englishman, known as 
Fokie Tom, was killed, and his wife, a rather good-looking 
Malay girl, was, with some thirty or forty others, made 
prisoner. Twenty-six junks were captured, and taken to 
Tinghae — six were burnt on the spot. 

June 6th, — On taking medical charge of the provisional 
battalion, I was instructed by the principal medical officer 
to fiimish weekly a sanitary report of its condition; the last 
few days have accordingly been devoted by me to this object, 
and the results are of a very unfavourable character.- I find 
in the Moray and the adjoining range of barracks occupied 
by the battalion, in active operation every one of those 
sanitary defects (as well as others of a specially local cha- 
racter) which a few years ago were brought under public 
notice by the Army Sanitary Commission as having exercised 



24 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

BO destrnctiye an influence on the health and longeTitj of 
soldiers serving in England 

I had an interview on the subject this forenoon with Sir 
Hope Qrant, who has perused my report bearing yesterday's 
date, forwarded to him with strong comments by Dr. Muir, 
on consultation with whom he has directed that 220 men 
should be removed immediately from the barracks and sent 
to Stanley as a preliminary measure. My report has also 
been placed in the hands of the officer commanding the 
battalion, with instructions to see the various defects therein 
pointed out forthwith remedied. 

It is extraordinary that such a state of things as recent 
investigations have brought to light, should have been 
allowed to exist at a station so long notorious for its 
unhealthy climate ; and when one reflects on the probabi- 
lities that the defects in question are not of recent origin, 
the conclusion is unavoidable — ^that a vast amount of mor- 
tality, disease, and general physical deterioration, has been 
attributed to climate, which, in reality, has been rather the 
result of defective hygiene. 

Jwm ^ih. — Medically inspected the "Trimountain" trans- 
port^ arrived from Madras with a troop of the King's Dragoon 
Guards, numbering sixty-three men, 101 native followers, 
and seventy horses. The ventilation I found to be very 
defective, the men having been compelled, owing to the 
closeness of the atmosphere below, to sleep during nearly 
the whole voyage on deck. To-day the weather has improved 
so much as to admit of twenty-nine transports sailing. 

JwM 9th. — ^Visited on duty the " Winifred " transport^ an 
iron sailing vessel of 1300 tons, about to start for the north 
with 550 of the Chinese coolie corps, in charge of 140 men 
of the 2nd and 44th regiments. The coolies occupy the 
forepart of the vessel. The atmosphere I found to be ex- 
ceedingly close and foul. Upwards of a dozen of the coolies 
were sitting on deck, on the sick list, suflPering from fever. 
I sent for the Chinese doctor who was on board and inquired 



CHINESE DOCTOE. 26 

into the health of hid charge, qnestioning him as to the 
causes to which he attribnted the sickness. He was a tall 
solemn-looking old man, with an acute and yeiy intelligent 
countenance, and his yiews relatiye to the causes of the 
sickness then prevailing, as conyejed to me by a '^ Pigeon 
English " interpreter, were strictly correct^ being to the effect 
that it resulted from ^'too many piecee men, too muchee hot,** 
—over-crowding, in fact> having been going on to an injuri- 
ous extent, owing to about one-third more men having been 
crammed between decks at night during the ship's stay 
in harbour than there was adequate accommodation for; as 
it was stated to be impracticable to leave them on deck 
during the dark, owing to the probability of their jumping 
overboard and escaping, now that they had all received their 
advance pay. 

Those I saw between decks were busily employed in one 
way or other — such as unpacking their boxes, writing letters 
to their friends, combing and plaiting their tails, &c. They 
appeared cleanly, and their superintendents state that they 
are fond of washing themselves. The troops are separated 
from the quarter of the vessel where the coolies sleep, by a 
latticed barricade. 

One of the coolies made his escape a few days ago in a 
somewhat ingenious manner after he had received his ad- 
vance of twenty-seven dollars, previous to embarkation. He 
was going about the town in charge of a soldier attached to 
the corps, making purchases for the voyage; amongst other 
things he bought some pepper and immediately threw it in 
the soldier's eyes and bolted, getting clear off. Another 
artifice they have practised successfully on several occasions, 
is working their way into a crowd of brother celestials sur- 
rounding vegetable or sweetmeat stalls, and watching their 
opportuniiy when the soldier is not looking, and then slip- 
ping off their regimental jackets and mixing with the crowd, 
who at this season of the year are usually similarly attired 
as the individual is who has thus denuded himself of Her 



26 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Majesty's livery — ^namely, with nothing on beyond a pair of 
blue cotton pantaloons. When the soldier looks about for 
his friend, he sees his jacket lying on the ground and a 
crowd of Chinamen about him, dressed in the same manner 
and looking so much alike that he is utterly at a loss which 
to fix on, and thus they have several times managed to 
escape ; in fact, so hopeless are the chances of their re- 
capture, that latterly the soldiers, after the coolies have 
fingered their dollars in advance, seldom let go of their 
tails until they have them fairly on board ship. 

This afternoon Admiral Hope sailed for the rendezvous 
at Talien-whan Bay, in Her Majesty's steamer " Inflexible." 
His flag-ship, the " Chesapeake " screw frigate, will follow 
in the course of a day or two. 

Walked in the afternoon to the east end of the harbour. 
Passing round towards an inlet that terminates in the Happy 
Valley, aground in the mud were several hundred sampans,* 
crowded with human beings of all ages and kinds, apparently 
healthy and happy. At this point there is a native rope 
work and several boat-building establishments. 

In the neighbourhood, extensive stone-cutting and quar- 
rying operations were going on. I passed several parties 
engaged in excavating, splitting, and hewing large blocks 
of flne granite. Splitting is effected by introducing a series 
of iron wedges into holes cut with sharp-pointed chisels. 
About four or five are generally placed in a line, and struck 
one after the other with a heavy sledge-hammer until cleav- 
age is effected. 

Huge blocks of granite were in course of excavation from 
hills composed chiefly of red sandstone, mixed up with 
detritus of granite. I observed hereabouts numerous masons* 
sheds, with native workmen engaged fabricating grave-stones 
and monumental sculpture out of the granite, which is of 
a light grey colour, of fine grain and very compact — a beau- 

* Small flat-bottomed boats, covered in with matting, in which whole 
families reside — frequently two generations. 



MISSIONARY CHILDREN. 27 

tafbl stone for building purposes, but laborious, I should say, 
to work. 

At the termination of the eastern extreme of the harbour, 
is situated the large establishment of Jardine & Company, 
in connection with which there appears to be a small dock 
at present m course of construction. Returning thence, I 
met walking in the cool of the evening, such as it is at this 
season of the year, a missionary and his wife, accompanied 
by two Chinese female servants (aiyahs, as they are called 
in the East), having ra charge six or eight little Chinese 
children, all looking charmingly neat and clean. They 
are children attached to one of the missionary establish- 
ments in Victoria, where they are being brought up as 
Christians. 

June 11 th. — Sir Hope Qrant and his personal staff, with 
the heads of the commissariat and medical departments, 
embiirked at noon for Shanghai, en route to Talien-whan 
Bay. The temperature is gradually increasing, the thermo- 
meter now standing close on 90° in the shade. 

June 12th. — ^Went off with the quarter master-general to 
report on the fitness of the sailing-ship "Oriental," to convey 
160 invalids to England. We found her accommodation 
miequal to the number that it is proposed to send in 
her. 

June Ibth, — ^The regiment of Loodiannah has been or- 
dered to Shanghai to reinforce the marines who have been 
landed under Lieutenant-Colonel March, for the defence of 
the Chinese city and foreign settlement — an attack by the 
rebels being daily ejcpected. Trade is for the time suspended, 
and the greatest consternation prevails amongst the Chinese 
population. 

Thus it would seem, that the first practical use of the 
expeditionary force, bids fair to be, to support the govern- 
ment that we are proceeding to chastise, and if coming 
events cast their shadows before, the probabilities are 
that the ultimate application of this great expedition will 



28 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

be to prop np the Manchn dynasty and save it, decayed as 
it is, from being irrevocably overthrown. 

To no purpose more important to the interests of peacefdl 
commerce — to no prapose more beneficial, I will go the 
length of saying essential, to the interests and progress of 
Christianity in China could our arms be applied, than to 
the suppression of the Taeping rebellion — the curse of the 
country, — and the most hopeless and impracticable move- 
ment, in a moral, social, and political point of view, that 
deluded individuals were ever betrayed into believing to 
possess Christian or other elements capable of being moulded 
into a stable form of government 

What progress can Christianity make — ^with what favour 
can it be expected to be received — amongst a people in whose 
ideas its principles are identified with those professed by the 
followers of the Taeping or Christian king, which, in their 
practice, embrace nearly every crime to be found in the 
Newgate Calendar? 

The Taeping rebellion may be disposed of in a few words 
— a vast scheme of obscenity, rapine, and disorganisation, 
mixed up with a gibberish, blasphemous in character and 
worse than a travestie upon the Christian fkith, and directed 
by a man, originaUy a peasant called Hung-seu-tseuen, and 
now known as the Tien Wang, or heavenly king, who, in any 
European country, would simply have been arrested in his 
early career and placed in a lunatic asylum ; as his whole 
history, for several years prior to his assumption of spiritual 
and temporal powers, is that of one whose intellect had 
become seriously deranged. 

That madmen, more especially those whose insanity takes 
a religious form, will readily procure adherents prepared to 
commit any extent of folly or violence, we know from the 
history of our own countiy ; and when such a movement is 
combined with every element of disorder that will render it 
attractive to the scum of a population numbering upwards of 
four hundred millions, its success need not be wondered at. 



TAEPma REBELLION 29 

After all, it is only partial, and is formidable only from the 
imbecility and utter incapacity of the government. One fact 
oonnected with it speaks volumes — it is a movement viewed 
with aversion by the respectable classes in the empire, and 
it is donbtfdl whether there is a single Chinaman or other 
person of respectability associated with it, save the Eeverend 
Issachar Roberts, the original spiritual instructor of the Tien 
Wang — an American missionary, whose claims to be con- 
tinued amongst the class in question are becoming seriously 
endangered by his persisting in attaching himself to the 
Court of ^NTanking, preaching Christian doctrines and re- 
ceiving pay from the Tien Wang, thereby continuing to 
give missionary countenance to the movement.* 

cTt/ne 16/%. — ^This afternoon, about four o'clock, I started 
from the Moray Barracks to ascend to the top of Victoria 
Peak. I soon reached the range of buildings known as the 
Albany, now occupied as quarters by officers of the Colonial 
government. From this point the harbour looks a pic- 
turesque lake, dotted over with shipping of every variety. 
At five o'clock the summit of the hill leading to Victoria 
Peak was reached, and from it burst on the view the 
Bouthem side of the island — ^the vast group of islands in its 



* Two yean after the abore remarki were written, the Beyerend Issachar 
BobertB nearly came to serious grief in Nanking ; haying had a misnnder- 
■tandittg with his Taeping proselytes, one consequence of which was, that 
an unfortunate Chinese servant he had with him was beheaded in his own 
room. The reverend gentleman himself, through the aid of some of his 
former friends, managed to effect his escape from Nanking without bodily 
iigory, and is now (April, 1868) going about professing great animosity 
towsrda the Tien Wang and Taepingdom generally. He recently had an 
interview with Brigadier-General Btaveley at Shanghai, from which it 
would seem, that^ though at variance with the CSourt of Nanking, he 
ttiU continues to hold friendly relations with the Boo Wang, the present 
Taeping ruler at Soocbow ; as he undertook to convey a letter to him from 
General Stavelcy, to procure the release of four Sepoys who were taken 
priaonen in May, 1862, and were then known to be still alive and in the 
hands of the Taepings. To this communication, I may add, the Boo Wang 
sent an evaslTe and somewhat impertinent reply. 



30 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

vicinity, and the wide expanse of the China sea. Ascending 
the summit of the Peak, I reached the signal station, from, 
which, in clear weather, vessels are seen fifty-five miles oflF* 
The Kowloon peninsula lies beneath, mapped out like a 
garden, now dotted over with military tents. The great 
extent of the town of Victoria is much better seen from 
here than from any other point of view; the roof of 
almost every separate house being distinctly visible. The 
town of Victoria straggles over an extent of nearly four 
miles water frontage. 

June 2l8t — ^This morning the English mail steamed 
into harbour decked in her gayest colours and flying the 
ensigns of England and France, thereby showing the presence 
on board of Lord Elgin and Baron Gros. The cause of their 
detention now became known, viz., the total loss in Galle 
harbour of the mail steamer "Malabar.** At noon Lord 
Elgin and Baron Gros landed under a double salute 
fi'om the Koyal Artillery, and proceeded to Government 
House. Amongst the passengers who arrived with Lord 
Elgin was Mr. Bowlby, the talented and ill-fated special 
correspondent of the Times. 

June 2Srd, — Lord Elgin embarked for the north this 
afternoon in the " Feroze," a steamer of the Indian navy 
that has been waiting his arrival. He looked in robust 
health, his snow-white hair contrasting strongly with his 
sun-scorched face. The "Feroze" sailed this evening for 
Shanghai, whither Baron Gros follows to-morrow morning 
in a French steam-vessel. 

News from Shanghai has been received, bringing accounts 
of the capture by the rebels of Soochow, one of the most 
flourishing cities in China, distant about ninety miles from 
Shanghai. Ho, the governor-general, has taken reftige 
there, and plax^ed himself in communication with the allies, 
begging them to advance on Soochow and drive out the 
rebels, a proposition that could not be acceded to, although 
the Chinese city of Shanghai will be defended by the allies, 



CHINESE TAILOB, 81 

should the rebels attack it, which is now almost certain, 
Soochow having fallen. 

June 24:ih. — Having been relieved fix)m the charge of the 
provisional battalion, I was preparing to start for Tahen- 
whan in one of the horse transports recently arrived from 
India, when to-day I had the good fortune to meet Admiral 
Page, who hearing that I was going north, very kindly of- 
fered me a passage in the " Weser," that has just arrived 
from France with stores for the expedition. I gladly ac- 
cepted the offer, being happy to escape the uncertainty 
always attending the progress of sailing vessels on the 
north-east coast of China. The "Weser" will go to Che-foo, 
where I shall have to wait until an opportunity occurs of 
getting across the Gulf of Pechili to Talien-whan. 

June 2bih. — The heat during the night was so great that 
sleep was impossible. This morning, between five and six, 
I strolled down with Dr. Gordon, C.B., who arrived two 
days ago to assume the duties of Deputy-Inspector-General 
of Hospitals at Hong Kong. Dr. Gordon was despatched 
at very short notice and had not time to procure certain 
requisites of his new rank. To ascertam whether such 
could be supplied in China, I went with him to Tung- 
cheong, a Chinese tailor, who undertook, without a moment's 
hesitation, to furnish what he wanted, and amongst other 
things to metamorphose a forage cap of the 10th Foot into 
a gold-laced Staff one, d, la Buckmaster, for eight dollars. 
Martial clothing appeared to be Tung-cheong's special 
branch of trade, as he had a variety of military appoint- 
ments on hand, including a stock of the various war medal 
ribbons, China not excepted — which, by the way, reminds 
me of " Cheap John,*' as he designates himself on his sign, 
a Chinaman opposite, who has exposed for sale in the 
window of his shop a complete supply of the hat ribbons 
used in the navy, with the names thereon, in gilt letters, of 
the various war vessels in China, at present numbering about 
seventy pennants — ^there not being a single commodity at 



22 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

all likely to be in demand, that the ever ready and watchfbl 
celestial docs not endeayour to be in a position to snpply. 
The gold lace, ribbons, and other military decorations which 
are supplied by the Chinese tailors in Hong Eong, are 
mann&ctnred in Canton after English patterns, and really 
little or no difference is perceptible in the quality or ap- 
pearance of the article. 

The following anecdote I afterwards heard of Pun-lun, 
'* dealer in silks, ivory, matting, fire-crackers, (fee," as his sign- 
board declares: — ^When the troops touched at Hong Kong, 
on their way home firom Peking, a quantity of the Summer 
Palace loot was hawked about by soldiers, and extensively 
purchased by all classes in Hong Eong. Pun-Inn, with a 
quick eye for business, observing the great run there was 
on garments represented to be Imperial, sent to Canton and 
privately bought up all the Chinese theatrical dresses that 
could be procured, which he disposed of at Hong Eong at 
very high prices, as vestments warranted Imperial— clearing 
in the course of a few days upwards of three thousand 
dollars by the speculation. 

While we were out heavy rains fell, after which the 
atmosphere seemed surcharged with moisture ; the heat 
afisnming a more than usually oppressive character and 
producing a sensation of debility, much greater than ever 
results from the direct rays of the sun. This peculiar heat 
I have always observed is accompanied by an increased 
amount of sickness. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Bmliark in tbe " Weser**— Muster of the Crew— Panifllimentfr—M. Tao— 
Off the Tang-tae-Eiang —Sisters of Charity — ^Uncertaiiity of MoDfloon 
— Coancil for promoting deserying sailors — The Shantang Promontory 
— Che-foo — The French camp— Qaestionable seiiure of Jonka— Chinese 
Jew — A Jewish colony. 

JuM 27ih, — ^Affcer a detention at Hong Eong of nearly 
six weeksy I embarked for the north this day at noon in the 
** Weser " transport, and on presenting the order for the 
passage, so kindly famished me by Admiral Page, was 
receiyed with the same kindness and courtesy that I have 
inyariably experienced when thrown in contact with French 
officers, whether abroad or in their own conntiy. 

The " Weser" has on board the compartments and arma- 
ments of three gun-boats, with their respective complements 
of officers and men« The gon-boats will be landed at 
Che-foo, where they will be put together. The "Weser" 
will then be fitted up as an hospital ship, and employed in 
conveying invalids from China to Suez en route to France, 
an arrangement that in the end will probably be cheaper 
and more salutary than the adoption of an intermediate 
sanatorium at the Cape of Oood Hope. 

At six in the evening the crews of the ** Weser" and the 
gun-boats were mustered on deck, and a short prayer said 
by one of the men. The punishments for the day were then 
read out and carried into effect, — ^the orders for the night 
were also given. The punishments differ somewhat from 
those adopted in our navy. The mildest one is placing men 
in a row, making them look at the sea in the same direction 



Si NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

for a certain time ; another is a sort of modification of 
mast-heading, namely, placing men in the shrouds with 
their faces to the sea for a couple of hours ; a third is a 
stoppage of wine, which is considered a severe punishment. 

June 2Sth. — Amongst the passengers there are six sisters 
of charity and a priest, going to join the Roman Catholic 
Mission at Ningpo. They mess with the commander of the 
" Weser," and on her arrival in the Yang-tse-Kiang, will be 
landed at Shanghai. 

One of the passengers. Monsieur Tao, is a native of 
Shanghai, and having been educated there at the Catholic 
Mission, he was afterwards taken to Paris, and while there 
became known to General Montauban, who arranged that 
he should be sent out and attached to his staff as interpreter. 
He speaks French fluently, is quiet and prepossessing in his 
manners, conducting himself at table with as strict attention 
to its conventionalities as if his education had been alto- 
gether French. Though bom and brought up at Shanghai, 
he could not make himself intelligible to the Chinese at 
Hong Kong, so great is the difference between the northern 
and southern dialects, though the written character is the 
same. 

July Ist — At sunset we anchored about fifteen miles firom 
the light-ship in the mouth of the Yang-tse-Eiang, and 
twenty miles from the shore. 

July 2nd. — This morning a Chinese pilot boarded us. 
He spoke pigeon English very fairly, and was a sturdy 
favourable specimen of a northern Chinaman. He had with 
him an ordinary pilot boat, and a crew of six. On being 
questioned about the probabilities of being able to land the 
sisters of charity at Shanghai, without taking the " Weser " 
farther up the river, he undertook to do so himself for sixty 
dollars, and his terms were accepted. The morning was 
dull and damp, a drizzly rain falling. Not a murmur was 
raised by these devoted females to entrusting themselves, 
accompanied only by one seaman and the priest, in a 



SISTERS OP CHARITY. 86 

Chinese boat twenty miles from land, amongst a rnde crew 
belonging to a race that their nation was at war with. 

There was a considerable swell on, and after some diffi- 
cnlty all were got into the boat, setting sail at ten in the 
morning with a fair wind up the wide waters of the Yang- 
tse-Kiang. When fairly away from the ship, one could not 
but be struck with their helpless position, should ideas of 
plunder or violence cross the minds of the boatmen in whose 
hands they completely were. 

July Ath. — ^The wind continues dead ahead, and is of 
considerable strength — a warning to sailing vessels beguiled 
into trying the passage north under the belief that they 
most of necessity have a fair wind because it is the season 
of the south-west monsoon, supposed to have been blowing 
since June. The weather is fine, however, and the ther- 
mometer about seventy ; the bracing air and clear atmos- 
phere being a pleasant change from the muggy, suflFocating 
heat of Hong Kong. 

A council was held this forenoon by the captain and 
officers, for the purpose of determining the merits and 
claims to advancement of the petty officers and crew. This 
council is held twice a year, and the officers are at liberty 
to bring forward any suggestions they may have to make 
regarding the promotion of any of the men they may feel 
interested in. 

Julj/ 6th. — This morning land was sighted at six o'clock. 
In two hours we were abreast of the Shantung Promontory.* 
The outline of the coast is here very irregular ; numbers of 
small conical peaks forming the prominent features as we 
passed along. 

At one o'clock the Peak of Che-foo, an elevation of about 
a thousand feet, came in sight about twenty-four miles 

* The province of Shantung is celehrated as being the birthplace of 
Confucius and his disciple Mencius ; the tomb of Confucius, who died 479 
years before Christ, is stlU shown at Eink-fan, no great distance from 
Che-foo. 

D 2 



36 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ahead. Shortly afterwards we made out a confosed col- 
lection of houses on a hilly slope, which we concluded was 
the town of Che-foo. 

Ghe-foo Point, marking the entrance to the anchorage, is 
now reached. A rocky and picturesque headland, with a 
scanty covering of mouldy-looking yegetation, without any 
trace of tree or brushwood. 

To the right, the harbour opens out into a fine bay with 
a beautiful sandy beach. Tillages, and cultivated fields. 
The land in the immediate vicinity of the anchorage appears 
to rise by a gentle slope for several miles, and then abruptly 
terminate in a somewhat lofty range of hills. 

The naval arrangements at Che-foo, up to the present 
time, have been conducted by Rear- Admiral Protet, whose 
flag is seen flying from the " Dryade,'' a magnificent frigate, 
specially constructed so as to carry guns on one deck, and 
troops or horses on the other. She is of unusual length, 
and has the round stem, characteristic of French naval 
architecture, her double line of ports being continued right 
round. 

As we get closer to the anchorage, what has seemed to us 
an island and town, our glasses now make out to be a hill 
covered with the huts and tents of the troops. From a 
small fort or watch-tower at its summit the tricolor is seen 
fluttering in the breeze. Groups of soldiers are collected 
on the hill-side watching the vessel coming to anchor. 

About six in the evening I went on shore with some of 
the ofiicers. We landed on the beach to the south of the 
hill where the troops are encamped, and ascended it by a 
rude pathway leading towards the encampment. Neither 
the camp nor the soldiers looked the picture of neatness ; 
the tents, for the most part, present a poor appearance, 
consisting of two sheets of canvas joined together, and sup- 
ported across a longitudinal wooden rod about four feet 
from the ground, forming a covering like an inverted letter 
V (the tente ctabrt), allowing three men to sleep in a row. 



SEIZURE OF JUNKS. 87 

Sometimes two of these tents are joined together end to 
end, and enable six men to sleep together. They appeared 
well secured from water, by deep drains dug round them. 
The great adyantage of these tents is, that as they are 
carried by the soldiers themselves, shelter at night can 
always be secured, whereas, in the case of the bulky tents 
used in our serrice, the shelter depends on the means 
of transport. Every French soldier on service with the 
expedition will carry a portion of his tent, two men car- 
rying the canvas sheets, and a third the wooden supports, 
which, from being jointed, go into small bulk. 

On our way to the top of the hill, we came to a small 
Buddhist temple where General Jamin has established his 
head-quarters. General Montauban was then dining with 
him, having arrived this forenoon from Shanghai. Passing 
amongst the tents of the chasseurs k pied, I observed a 
little garden fancifdlly laid out, having neatly designed in 
fihells the imperial crown in the centre, with Vive la France 
on one side, and a light infantiy bugle and '* 2nd " on the 
other. 

A steamer which we had seen in the distance as we 
were entering the harbour, arrived in the evening. She had 
twelve junks astern, which had been seized as store-ships. 
Though they are forcibly taken possession of, the owners are 
informed, through interpreters, that they are merely taken 
on loan, and will be returned at a fdture period with an 
indemnity ; four of the crew are also taken at the same 
time, and retained in the jmiks, being fed and looked after 
in consideration of their services. The English, it is stated, 
are seizing junks in a similar manner at Talien-whan. 

As no declaration of war has in reality taken place, and 
the junks in question are the^ property of private traders, 
it appears to me doubtfdl whether such a proceeding is 
either justifiable, or in accordance with the humane wishes 
of the home governments that hostilities should be confined 
as much as practicable to the scene of the outrage of June, 



88 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

1859, and pressure brought to bear on the government of 
China rather than on its people. Forty junks have already 
been seized, and are anchored off the group of islands in 
the harbour, under the guns of the "Andromache," moored 
opposite them as a guard-ship. As soon as the steamer 
came in with her prizes this evening, another went out on 
the same errand. 

Amongst the natives I met on shore was one of tall 
stature and stout frame, with a florid complexion, and as 
perfect a Jewish physiognomy as it is possible to conceive. 
A colony of Jews, I believe, was discovered in Honan, the 
province adjoining Shantung, by the Jesuits, about two 
hundred years ago.* 

* I have since ascertained that it yrw at Eai-fang-fa, a town on the 
Yellow Biver, and the capital of Honan, that the Jeeuits made this 
discovery ; and, farther, that a mission of inquiry, consisting of two 
Chinese Christians, was sent from Shanghai in 1851, to Tisit and report on 
the state of those that remained, for the information of the London Society 
for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews. The results of the visit 
are thus summed up by the Bishop of Hong Kong, in an introductory 
chapter to the narrative written by the two Chinese ; a detailed notice of 
which will be found in the *' Chinese Repository" for July, 1851. 

** After a tedious journey of twenty-five days, they arrived at the site 
of the Jewish synagogue, facing to the eastward. Here, in the midst 
of a surrounding population, two thirds of whom were professors of 
Mohammedanism, and close adjoining to a heathen temple dedicated to 
the ' God of Fire,* a few Jewish families, sunk in the lowest poverty and 
destitution, their religion scarcely more than a name, and yet sufficient to 
separate them from the multitude around, exposed to trial, reproach, and 
the pain of long-deferred hope, remained the unconscious depositaries of 
the oracles of God, and survived as the solitary witnesses of departed 
glory. Not a single individual could read the Hebrew books ; they had 
been without a rabbi for fifty years. The expectation of a Messiah seems 
to have been entirely lost. The rite of circumcision, which appears to 
have been observed at the period of their discovery by the Jesuits two 
centuries ago, had been totally discontinued. The worshippers within the 
synagogue faced towards the west; but whether in the direction of 
Jerusalem, or towards the suspended tablets of the emperoi^ no dear 
information was obtained. The synagogue itself was tottering in ruins ; 
some of the ground had been alienated to pagan rites, and a portion of the 
fallen materials sold to the neighbouring heathen. Some time previously, 



CHINESE JEWS. 3d 

ihej had petitioned the Chinese emperor to hare pity on their porerty, 
and to rebuild their temple. No reply had been received from Peking, 
but to this feeble hope they still clnng. Out of seventy family names or 
clans, only seven now remained, nnmbering about 200 Individuals in all, 
dispersed over the neighbourhood. A few of them were shopkeepers in 
the city; others were agriculturists at some little distance from the 
suburbs ; while a few families also lived in the temple precincts, almost 
destitute of raiment and shelter. According to present appearances, in 
the judgment of our native messengers, after a few years all traces of 
Judaism would probably have disappeared, and this Jewish remnant have 
been amalgamated with and absorbed into surrounding Mohammedanism." 



CHAPTER V. 

Ghe-foo Harbour— Trade— Climate — Health of the Troops — Interview with 
General Montaaban^The French force—Market supplies — Chinese 
money-changers— Judicious treatment of the natives — Buddhist temple 
— Progress of the shopkeepers in French — Construction of the houses 
— Aixiyal of the " Calvados "—The Coolie Corps. 

Che-foo may be described in general terms as a bay with 
a number of villages skirting its shores, about sixty miles to 
the north of the Shantung Promontory. The harbour is 
formed by a long neck of land known on English charts as 
Ghe-foo Head, running parallel to the main, and united to 
it by a narrow sandy isthmus about three miles long. The 
average depth of water is six fathoms, with a bottom of mud 
and shingle, affording good holding-ground. The harbour 
runs in a south-easterly direction, being six miles long and 
three and a half wide. The entrance is a little over a mile 
in width, and lies between a group of islands and the 
southern extreme of Che-foo Head. 

Ghe-foo Harbour is much superior to that of Tang-chan, 
thirty miles to the south of it, the port of the Shantung 
province opened to trade by the treaty of Tien-tsin in 1858. 
Tang-chan was selected owing to its having been visited 
by the embassy of Lord Macartney in 1793. It can only 
be entered at high water, whereas vessels can come into 
Ghe-foo at all times. 

A considerable trade has hitherto been carried on in grain 
' with other parts of the Shantung province,* and also it is 

* The Shantung province contains 65,000 square miles, and 80,000,000 
of inhabitants. 



CHE-FOO. 41 

stated with Corea and Japan. Some of the Tillages that 
skirt the shores of the harbour are near the beach, others a 
short distance inland, prettily placed amongst groyes of 
trees, the rich foliage of which partly conceals them from 
view. The general character of the mainland at Che-foo is 
that of a gentle slope, gradually rising until it terminates 
in a curve of lofty and picturesque hills of a sombre green 
colour, contrasting strongly with the bright green of the 
maize fields that creep for a considerable distance up their 
slopes. 

The climate, judging from present appearances, would 
seem to be unusually healthy, there being an almost total 
absence of sickness amongst the troops, and their general 
health since landing being stated to be much superior to 
what is usually the case in France. This probably results 
from the extreme dryness and purity of tiie atmosphere, 
notwithstanding the direct force of the sun, which during 
the day is very considerable. The troops have gradually 
been assembling here since the first of June, and only four 
deaths have taken place out of some seven thousand men, 
and one of those was from a wound received in a duel. 

This morning (July 6th) I came on shore with Captain 
Claret. He was accompanied by his chief artificer for the 
purpose of selecting a suitable spot for the construction of 
the gun-boats. We landed at a jetty near a wooden shed, 
ticketed " Bureau de direction du Port." 

General de Montauban has established his head-quarters 
in a good-sized house situated in the rear of the hill, on the 
outskirts of the village, and apparently recently constructed 
for some public purpose. It is built of brick, and consists 
of a hall with dwelling-rooms and offices built round two 
squares. Here I was introduced to the General, who told 
me that on his arrival yesterday morning, he found a letter 
waiting for him from Sir Hope Grant, informing him that 
the English army would have to remove from Talien-whan 
Bay to Pe-tung, twelve miles from the Peiho, owing to 



42 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

difficulty in procuring water. As the letter had no date, 
he could not form an opinion as to whether the army had 
started or not ; but said that in the course of a day or two 
he would send a steamer over to Talien-whan with a des- 
patch for General Grant, by which opportunity I could go 
across. 

The French force now at Che-foo is divided into two 
brigades, commanded by Generals Jamin and Collineau. 
The infantry number about six thousand three hundred 
men. The artillery consists at present of three batteries of 
rifled cannon (twelve-pounders), and one of mountain guns 
(four-pounders), also rifled. The engineer force consists of 
two companies of the corps de g^nie ; the soldiers of which 
present the best appearance of any in camp. 

There is a corps also of pontoniers attached to the artil- 
lery, and they are at present employed constructing a military 
bridge for service on the Peiho. 

The force is not yet ready to take the field, the delay 
resulting chiefly from the unbroken condition of the horses 
when purchased. They have been procured for the most 
part from Japan, at a first cost of twenty-five dollars (five 
pounds sterling) per head. A number of them are in very 
bad condition, but on the whole, the artillery horses, which 
are a selection of the best, are in good order. The mountain 
battery is horsed by mules imported from Japan, where 
their cost was fifty dollars each. The officers and soldiers 
of the artillery seem to be occupied from morning until * 
sundown breaking the ponies in ; which, however, does not 
appear to be conducted on Mr. Rarey's principle, as I occa- 
sionally noticed a good deal of violence used. This is a 
source of delay and annoyance that the English force is not 
exposed to, regularly broken artillery horses having been 
brought from India, many of them veterans that had served 
in previous campaigns. There is an excellent watering- 
place for the horses under the wall of a small town about a 
quarter of a mile in the rear of the camp. 



MONET-CHANGERS. 43 

"With the exception of an escort of fifty men for Gteneral 
Montauban, consisting of Spahis (Algerine cavalry) and 
chasseurs d'AMque, there are no cavalry attached to the 
force. The Spahis are natives of Africa, and wear the 
Arab costmne. They are armed with long muskets, which 
they carry slung across their back. Their heels are armed 
with long sharp-pointed steel spikes, the most murderous- 
looking weapons to which the name of spurs was ever ap- 
plied. As far as appearance goes, they do not contrast 
favourably with the dashing look and msurtial bearing of the 
Seik cavalry.* 

Abundant supplies of fresh pork, poultry, eggs, vegetables? 
and fruit are brought in for sale by the neighbouring popu- 
lation. A regular market has been established in the centre 
of the camp, and every morning several hundred Chinamen 
may be seen disposing of their supplies. The eggs are of 
large size, and are sold at a rate equal to four for a penny. 
Fowls are eight for a dollar, or sixpence apiece. Vegetables 
and fruit are hawked about the camp the whole day, chiefly 
onions, lettuces, radishes, cucumbers, apricots, plums, and 
walnuts. In the market-place, from sunrise to sunset, a 
line of money-changers are established, with portable bu- 
reaus in front of them, on which are deposited piles of the 
current coin of the realm, in the shape of the copper ichmy 
or cash, as they are termed in pigeon English. As pur- 
chasers pass, the money-changers clink a dollar, and, point- 
ing to their native coin, call out huit cent cinquante with 
a remarkably good accent, indicating their readiness to give 
850 cash in exchange for a dollar ;f in fact, the whole popu- 



* I am in poBsenion of information however from an eye-witness, that 
at the action of Fa-li-chao, on the 2l8t September, where there was a 
detachment of Seik cavalry attached to Gbneral Montauban, an oppor^ 
tunity was offered of testing their respectiye merits in action, and that 
the comparison unquestionably was in favour of the Spahis. 

+ The cash is the only coin the Chinese have, and is a good deal 
adulterated with base metal. In the south of China their value is about 



44 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

lation have now accommodated themselves to circnmstaaces, 
and in the prospect of making money oat of him all fear of 
the barbarian has been dispelled. These results are due to 
the judicious and humane manner in which the primary 
occupation has been conduct/cd by General Jamin. 

On the arrival of the first portion of the expedition about 
a month ago, the inhabitants fled into the interior, but 
(jeneral Jamin immediately ordered a proclamation to be 
circulated that private property would be respected, and that 
the people had nothing to fear, as the soldiers would not be 
allowed to enter the town. This soon became known, and 
in the course of a few days the natives began to come back 
and business was gradually re-established, though several of 
the houses and stores are still closed. The respectable por- 
tion of the female community have not yet ventured back, 
and it is probably as well that they should remain absent. 

An interpretorial court has been established, and almost 
eveiy morning applications are made by traders for indem- 
nification for losses sustained by robberies during the first 
few days of the panic ; and as a general rule, I am informed, 
their claims are listened to with consideration. 

The mandarin of the town has been re-established in his 
authority, and adjudicates in the case of little squabbles 
between the soldiers and the natives ; in most instances 
deciding against the latter. When a complaint is made, he 
immediately fiimishes the authorities with a police officer, 
who aids them in arresting the offending party. This after- 
noon I visited the town on the beach, near the camp, enter- 
ing by a sort of gateway, where a strong guard was posted 
to prevent soldiers entering. The main street consists of a 
line of shops differing but little fix>m those seen in the 
south of China. At the doors of the principal ones, sentries 
are placed to protect them against attempts at looting. In 

twenty for a penny, or one thousand to a dollar. They are perforated by a 
Bqnare hole at the centre, and thns strong together. 



BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 45 

the joBS-honse* or Buddhist temple the main gaard is 
established. The temple consists of three separate chapels, 
in two of which there are three well-carved grotesque-look- 
ing figures, and in the central chapel a female image of 
some beauty placed behind the folds of a curtain, reminding 
one strongly of figures of the Virgin in Roman Catholic 
countries, more especially where devotees have deposited 
relics at her shrine, there being a number of small junks 
hung up in the vicinity of the figure, offerings to the deity 
in hopes of securing safe and prosperous voyages. In the 
porch of the temple also a number of miniature junks were 
suspended. 

Several of the shops were visited, and the progress which 
the owners had made in "pigeon" French was considerable. 
One man had mastered nearly all the ordinary numerals, 
and could say Comment votes partez-vouSf and Bon jour, with 
all the ease possible. 

The houses and shops appear of more substantial con- 
struction than those in the south of China, the result pro- 
bably of the difference of climate. They are built of either 
dark-coloured brick or stones, well cemented ; the masonry 
altogether being exceedingly good. The roofe are angular, 
and formed of dark-coloured tiling neatly arranged. The 
ceilings in some of the shops are composed of matting spread 
over a light framework of bamboo, in place of plaster-work. 
Most of the shops have court-yards in their rear ; in many 
of them flowers in green porcelain pots are ranged on ter- 
raced benches, as in hot-houses in Europe. 

The " Calvados," steam-transport, came in this evening 
from Shanghai, with 250 horses and a battery of artilleiy, 
recovered from the wreck of the " Heine des Clippers," a 
French transport recently burned near Macao, in which 
the whole of the winter clothing for the army was 
destroyed. 

* A cormption of Deos, the Portuguese for God ; hence "joss pigeon" 
— the generic term in Canton English for all devotional exercises. 



46 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

As I passed the lines of the Corps Ghinois, on my 
way to the beach, the bugle sounded, and forthwith Ihe 
members of this distinguished corps emerged from their 
tents, formed themselyes into line, and had their names 
called over, during which smoking was not prohibited in 
the ranks. Their number at present is 600, and 400 more 
are expected from Shanghai. A General Order has this day 
been issued by General Montauban prohibiting gambling 
amongst them, owing to the numerous breaches of the peace 
to which the practice has given rise ; sums as high as thirty 
and forty dollars having changed hands. The Canton men 
are said to squabble a good deal with those from Shanghai. 
Only ten have as yet deserted. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Agriculture — Appearance of the Peasantry — Gun- boats — Kit inspection- 
French mode of carrying ammunition — Its advantages oyer the English 
method — Watch-tower — Military air of the Coolies — Leave Che*foo — 
Talien-whan Bay — Gamp of the Secood Brigade — The Bell Tent — 
Capture of Junks — Interview with Sir Hope Grant — Auriferous quarts 
^Arriyal of Lord Elgin — Sir Bobert Napier. 

July lih, — ^Thifl morning early I walked a little way into 
the country. Peasants were coming into market, and a good 
many were at work in the fields. I passed some fine crops 
of Indian com, cultivated with great care and regularity — 
about fourteen inches being allowed to intervene between 
each stalk. The soil is everywhere light clay, and there is not 
an available portion of it that I passed but is devoted to 
the growth of the maize ; the fields extending by terraces 
a considerable way up the base of the hills. Donkeys, fitted 
with pack-saddles, are extensively used for transport, and 
are of a fine breed, some of them being so large as almost 
to be mistaken for mules. The peasantry struck me as a 
taller and finer race, though not more muscular than the 
lower orders of Chinese in the south. In their dress and 
general customs there is no perceptible diflference, with the 
exception that the moustache, which in the south is not 
worn until the position of grandfather has been attained, 
here may be seen decorating the faces of the comparatively 
young. 

Through Monsieur Tao, I ascertained that the town or 
village which bears the name of Che-foo is on Che-foo Head, 
near its northern end. The one near the hill where the 



48 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

camp is, is called Yentai, and is the chief place of conunerce. 
Tao explains why there are so many villages within short 
distances of each other in place of one large town, by the 
fact that in China all collections of houses coming within 
the term town or city, by law must be invested by a wall, 
and therefore the inhabitants of districts sufficiently populous 
to form a town, prefer a series of detached villages to an 
intramural residence. Tao states that the inhabitants per- 
fectly understand why the French have landed, and that 
they will not long remain ; that their object is to maike a 
new treaty, force the passage of the Peiho, and thus avenge 
their defeat of last year : this, they add, is no business of 
theirs, but of the government, and so long as the French are 
ready to trade on &ir terms, so are they. 

On this side of the hills that surround Ghe-foo the climate 
is too dry for the cultivation of rice, but on their inland 
aspect considerable quantities are grown. 

In the course of my walk I had numerous opportunities 
of observing the respect that the Chinese entertain for all 
kinds of manure, and I feel assured that Mr. Alderman Mechi 
would see nothing to grieve him were he to visit Che-foo. 

The landing of the gun-boats has already commenced, 
and large shears for putting them up are in course of con- 
struction. Each gun-boat is in fifteen pieces, including 
machinery, and when complete, armament included, will 
weigh seventy-five tons and draw five feet of water. The 
hull of Jbhe vessel is in three pieces. The gun is a sixty- 
pounder rifled, and worked from an unprotected front in the 
bow of the boat, and from their being constructed of iron, 
the inference is that they are intended to operate at a 
distance sufficiently great to be out of the reach of ordinary 
shot. The compartments are fastened by screws and nuts, 
and were put together at Toulon in thirty-six hours. They 
are seventy-eight feet long and eighteen broad. The weight 
of the boiler is six tons and a half, and they are provided 
with a rudder at stem and stern. 



KIT INSPECTION. 49 

At a kit inspection of the 102nd Begiment this afternoon, 
I was strack with the less fatiguing ai^d less hnrtfdl mode 
in which the French soldier carries his sixty ronnds of ball 
anmmnition, as compared with the method in onr seryice. 
A single belt, fastened romid the waist, carries his bayonet 
and cartonch-box, of small size, contauiing only twenty 
rounds, the remaining forty being carried in the knapsack — 
an arrangement which appears to me much superior to onrs, 
which compels the soldier to carry forty ronnds in a small 
portmanteau suspended by a cumbrous shoulder-belt, and 
further to fit on to waist-belt supporting the bayonet another 
leathern box containing twenty rounds, which, from being 
placed on the right side in front, bumps oyer the liver every 
time his movements are accelerated. To modify the pain 
arising from this, he has to tighten the belt to the utmost, 
thereby necessarily diminishing the cavity of the chest and 
abdomen. Seducing the natural space of organs, such as 
the lungs, the liver, and spleen, interferes with the circu- 
lation, and predisposes the soldier to heat apoplexy,* and 
other congestive diseases of warm climates — ^in a word, sub- 
jects the soldier to evils much the same as those which 
arise from tight lacing in the other sex. 

Though the French cartouch-box is suspended from the 
waist, yet, from its position and small size, it does not cause 
the men anything like the same amount of inconvenience 
that the English soldier suffers ; at the same time it would 
be more desirable if the waist were left altogether fr«e, and 
a moderate amount of ammunition, and the bayonet, sus- 
pended by light shoulder-belts, and the remainder carried in 
the knapsack or in some other way, without compressing 
the waistf 

* The term coup de soUU, by which this diiease is generally knows, 
implying it to resolt from the direct inflnence of the bud's rays, is a 
misnomer; aa it ia well known to ocenr with greatest seTerity nnder 
eircamstanoes where the enn's action is not direct, such as in the barrack 
rooms at nighty and on the march in snltry, dondy weather. 

t My attention was first drawn to the iignrions effects of compreBsing 



60 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

I visited the fort-like building on the top of the hill. It 
is a tower of observation, sunnounted by a stone sentry-box 
made in the shape of a pi^oda. These towers are stated to 
be of considerable antiquity. It is about thirty feet high, 
and has no entrance whatever, the top being reached by a 
ladder placed outside. On ascending, I found the interior 
earthed up to the battlements. The look-out house faces 
the sea, and commands an extensive view. 

While at the jetty waiting for a boat to return to the 
" Weser," some three hundred of the coolie corps marched 
down in military order, to carry up stores landed from the 
^^ Calvados." A good number of them seemed to have 
acquired a martial spirit, shouldering their bamboos like 
muskets, keeping step, and marching exceedingly well, 
appearing to afford material capable of being moulded into 
well-drilled soldiers. 

On returning to the " "Weser,** about four in the afternoon, 
I found that the " Forbin," a steam corvette of 1000 tons, 
armed with four large guns, had been placed under orders 
to start immediately for Talien-whan Bay, with a despatch 
for Sir Hope Grant, from General de Montauban, and that 
Admiral Ghamer had directed a passage to be given me. 
As the " Forbin's " steam was up, and her anchor a-peak, 
I had not a moment to lose, and taking a hurried leave of 
my friends in the " Weser," ♦ proceeded on board, where I 

the waist in men from obeerrationB made by me when surgeon of the 
oonyict establishment in Western Australia. Dissection rerealed, in the 
case of oonyiots from among the labonring class, the frequency of rery 
remarkable adhesions between the organs situated in the region orer which 
the waist-belt presses. I was disposed to attribute such adhesions to the 
practice of using narrow leathern belts, tightly applied, in lieu of braces. 
And this practice, by diminishing the space within the abdominal cayity, 
may haye much to do with causing a very common surgical disease. This 
question, as baring an important bearing upon the hygiene of all eUunes, 
and not least of the soldier in the East, deserves close attention. All 
tight girding, by **body belts," '* cummerbunds" (the cholera belt of 
India), &c, appears to me open to grave objection. 
* It was with feelings of no ordinary regret that a few months after- 



TALIEN-WHAN. 61 

again met with the greatest courtesy and kindness. The 
only other passenger was Colonel Foley, C.B., Her Majesty's 
Commissioner at French head-qnarters, going over for a 
trip to Talien-whan, to see what was going on, and to 
return next day. 

In the eyening, I learnt from one of the officers that 
when the "Forbin" was in the Gulf of Pechili, about 
two months ago, taking soundings and making observa- 
tiona on the coast, some conmmnication took place with a 
low-rank mandarin, who stated that it was quite impossible 
now to take the Taku forts, as they had recently been sur- 
romided by ditches forty-five feet wide, and from fifteen to 
fifty feet deep ; also, that the entrance to the river near the 
forts was obstructed by eleven rows of barriers, two being 
of iron stakes, three of stone, three of sunken junks, and 
the remainder of wood; further, that the river was kept 
open for junk navigation by a series of zig-zags, which, 
though available to themselves, would be altogether useless 
to US in the event of an attack by sea.* 

At 7 PJf . the crew were mustered, and prayers read by 
one of the crew. At day-light to-morrow morning we 
expect to be oflf the entrance to Talien-whan Bay. 

July Sih, — On going on deck, a little after day-break, 
we were just entering Talien-whan Bay ; f the entrance is 
marked by two islands, the larger one known as the outer 
Shantai Island. Between it and the mainland on the 
left, there is a clear passage of five miles, on steaming 
through which a fine harbour and forests of masts opened 
to view. 

Talien Bay is situated in the province of Lian-tung. 



vazds I heard of the total loss of the *'Weser,'* from striking on a rock 
not previously known, at the entrance of the harbour of Saigon, in Oochin 
China. The officers and crew lost everything save their lires. 

* Formidable as the defences at the Pelho were subsequently found to 
be, this was a rery exaggerated account of them. 

t Properly, Talien Bay ; Whan meaning Bay in Chinese. 

1 2 



52 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

It was surveyed in February, 1860, by English oflScers. 
Within it are several small bays, the largest of which, on the 
south side, has been named Yietoria Bay. 

Here the " Forbin " anchored. I left her, and proceeded 
to the " Granada " steamer to report myself to the principal 
medical officer. I was directed to take up my abode on 
board the " Mauritius," hospital ship ; and after depositing 
my baggage there, I went on shore with Dr. Cass, the 
surgeon of the " Forbin," who was anxious to see one of the 
English camps. 

The first division of the expeditionary force is encamped 
on shore, in two brigades, about a mile distant from each 
other. 

We landed close to the camp of the 60th Bifles, brigaded 
with the 2nd Queen's and the 15th Punjanbees. The 
Seiks, many of whom are remarkably fine men, were cooking 
their breakfasts, consisting chiefly of rice and curry stuff. 
Their dress is dark mud-coloured drill, with turbans of the 
same colour, and the bayonet and cartouch-box are sus- 
pended by belts of untanned leather, in colour suiting the 
clothing, which is made according to the pattern worn by 
the European infantry. I noticed that they have adopted a 
less fatiguing and hurtful mode of wearing their waist am- 
munition pouches than that which regulation compels the 
European to adopt. In place of having it in front on the 
right side, they slide it along the waist-belt until it reaches 
the hollow of the back, where it rests on the larger pouch 
suspended by the shoulder-belt^ and thus relieve their waists 
of that constriction and inconvenience which I have already 
alluded to as so objectionable. On passing through the 
camps of the 2nd and 60th, I ascertained tiie number of 
men detailed for each tent to vary from fourteen to sixteen, 
an amount of overcrowding that cannot but prove injurious 
should the men be exposed to it for any length of time ; 
more especially as the tents are the common bell * pattern, 

* The '^Bell tent" is the one in common nse in the Bnglish anny. It 



GOMMISSABIAT JUKES. 53 

which do not afford the same JEtcilities for yentilation as the 
Indian tent. 

Sir John Michel commands on this side of the bay, and 
hajs his head-qnarters at a Tillage a short distance from the 
camp of the Pnnjanbees. In this village (which has been 
abandoned by the inhabitants) fiye hundred of the coolie 
corps are at present quartered. The greater portion of 
the army is on the opposite side of the bay, the shipping 
of the respectiye corps being at anchor opposite the en- 
campments. 

A short distance from the shore a number of junks arc 
lying, each bearing a number, and ** Commissariat " marked 
in large black letters. These junks hare been taken pos- 
session of from unsuspecting and imoffending traders, under 
circumstances similar to those described at Ghe-foo. The 
intention was to have given up the cargoes to the owners, 
and merely retain the vessels on compulsory hire; but unfor- 
tunately, owing to the somewhat too dashing manner in 
which the seizures were effected by the navy, the crews fled, 
leaving their junks and cargoes in the hands of the 
captors. Large quantities of valuable property, including 
grain, beans, oil, rice, &c., and, in some instances, Man- 
chester goods, have thus become exposed to indiscriminate 
waste and plunder. 

It is to be regretted that the services of these junks 
could not have been secured without entailing a loss so 
serious as that which has resulted to the unfortunate 

18 a oone, Bapported by a central pole, towards which the feet of the men 
converger at night. Thete tents have only one entrance^ and their venti. 
lation is chiefly derired from what is called the fidl, a dreolar curtain, 
about ten inches deep, running round the bottom of the tent, which is 
geneiaUy lifted up during the day ; at night, howerer, the men inTsriably 
sleep with it down, to keep their heads out of the night air, and generaUy 
dooe ih» front aperture also. The "Indian tent" is supported by two 
upright poles and one horiaontal. The men sleep six on each side, and, 
from having an opening at each end, ventilation at night can be better 



64 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

owners, owing to the cargoes, in most instances, having 
been allowed to become the property of any who chose to 
help themselyes. Some of the owners are now turning np 
and complaining bitterly of the way in which we have 
" pilonged" (stolen) their property. 

I had a long conversation with Sir Hope Grant in re- 
ference to the progress the French were making at Che-foo, 
a point at present of considerable interest, as affecting the 
probable period for a movement towards the Peiho. 

While I was on board the " Granada," Colonel Boss, the 
Assistant Quarter-Master-General, showed me a piece of 
quartz, supposed to be auriferous, that he had picked up on 
the top of the range of hills overlooking the camp of the 
first brigade. I examined it carefdlly, and saw distinctly a 
minute spec of metal presenting the external indications of 
gold, which there is every reason to suppose it to be. Dr. 
Home having subjected it to the nitric-acid test. A good 
deal of loose quartz exists on the summit of the hills, also 
in the water^urses leading from them, but as yet, this is 
the only auriferous specimen that has been picked up, 
though Colonel Boss has searched with some care for 
others.* 

July 9ih. — At nine this morning the " Feroze " was seen 
steaming into the anchorage, with the English ensign flying 
at the main — the sign that she was the bearer of Her 
Majesty's plenipotentiary. Immediately on her anchoring, 
boats were seen leaving the " Chesapeake " and the 
"Granada," conveying respectively Admiral Hope and 
General Grant to visit Lord Elgin. 

A report is in circulation to-day that a number of coolies 
have deserted from the opposite side of the harbour, and 
that some of them have been murdered by the native popu- 
lation. The facts would seem to be these : — Some coolies 

* A few days afterwardfl, I heard of another piece having been picked 
up amongst some ballast taken in at Odin Bay by one of the store 
transports. 



SIR BOBEBT NAPIBB. 55 

were lent to the na^y, and being ill treated by the sailors, they 
bolted into the country. A portion of them have returned, 
but a good many are still missing, and hence the conclusion 
that they have been made away with by the inhabitants. 

July l(iih. — Conmiunication with the opposite side is 
carried on by means of small steamers that have been sent 
from India for service on the Peiho ; they are essentially river 
boats, and are known in the fleet by the sobriquet of the 
"penny-boats." One starts every morning shortly after day- 
break from alongside the flag-ship, and goes the round of 
the various bays where ships are at anchor. I crossed the 
bay in one of them called the "Tonze" this morning. 
I went to the " Sir William Peel " steamer, the hospital* 
ship of the second division, to see my brother, xmder whose 
charge she is. I found the arrangements for the sick very 
good ; the vessel being fitted with iron bedsteads in place 
of wooden bunks. I landed with my brother, and passed 
through the camps of the Buffs and the 8th Punjaubees 
towards the crest of a hill, where I found my yoxmger 
brother with a detachment of the 44th. 

I availed myself of the present opportunity to send to 
Sir Robert Napier a letter of introduction which Sir James 
Outram had been kind enough to give me, and in the 
course of the day had a long and interesting conversation 
with him on matters relating to the Indian army, with the 
opinions of Sir James Outram respecting which circum- 
stances had rendered me conversant. 

While I was with him, Mr. Swinhoe, the interpreter 
attached to his division, came in with a proclamation he 
had ta'anslated into Chinese, cautioning the natives against 
selling spirits to the troops ; to ensure due respect to which, 
it was necessary that the General should append his seal, 
the Chinese attaching more importance to that than to 
a signature. 

Sir Robert Napier enjoys a high reputation as an able and 
scientific soldier. He was chief of the staff under Sir James 



6G NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Outram dnring the series of operations which terminated in 
the relief of Lncknow ; haying previously served during the 
campaigns of Ijie Sutlej and Punjaub.- He is a Colonel of 
Bengal Engineers, and holds the local rank of major-general 
in China. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Trial of a Marine — ^Boat accident, and death of Captain Gordon — ^Visit of 
the French Commanden-in-Ghief— Natiye houses — Stoye bed-places — 
Village temple — Cartoons — Proposed hospital — Head man of the 
Tillage^ Gambling in the Coolie Corps — Their cookery and quarters 
— Ship whitewashed — Baggage ponies — Tea unknown to the peasantry 
—Dr. Thomson— Episode of the Disaster at the Peiho— Low state of 
health of the troops — ^Bell tent — ^Weight of ammunition. 

July I2th. — ^This moming a gun was fired from the "Im- 
p^riense," and at the same time the muon jack was hoisted at 
the mizen, intimating that a court-martial had assembled on 
board. A Marine of the name of Dalliger had, on the 9th 
inntanty attempted a double murder on board the gunboat 
" Leven " while at sea. He had come on board the " Leven" 
with a very bad character, and the comer of his certificate 
cut off. Lieutenant Hudson, the commander, thinking that 
possibly kindness might make something of the man, em- 
ployed him as his cabin steward. Happening, however, to 
miss some liquor, and believing Dalliger to have taken it^ 
he directed him to be punished. While Mr. Hudson was 
lying on his sofa after breakfast, Dalliger came into the 
cabin and endeavoured to get his punishment remitted, on 
the ground of his being wrongly accused. Mr. Hudson 
refused to alter his determination. Dalliger then, without 
making any further remark, walked into the sleeping berth 
and took down a loaded revolver, and coming behind Mr. 
Hudson shot him through the back of the neck. He then 
went on deck and called for Mr. Ashton, the second master, 
stating that the commander wished to see him. As Mr. 



58 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Ashton was coming up from below, Dalliger stood at the 
top of the ladder and took deliberate aim at him, the bullet 
passing through the right ear, lodging in the shoulder. He 
was found guilty on his trial, and sentence of death was 
passed upon him by the conrt-martiaL 

A sad accident occun*ed last evening to a boat from the 
" Imp^ratrice " steamer on her way over from Victoria Bay, 
resulting in the death of Captain Gordon of the Madras 
Engineers. The day was wild, a sudden squall struck the 
boat when half-way across the harbour, or about fiv6 miles 
from the shore. She turned bottom upwards — ^the whole 
party, however, managed to cling to her — but before help 
came Captain Gordon had sunk from exhaustion. 

July 13^A. — This morning Admiral Chamer and General 
Montauban arrived in the " Saigon " on a visit to the Eng- 
lish camp. Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant accompanied 
them to Odin Bay, where arrangements had been made for 
an inspection of the artillery and cavalry at eleven o'clock. 
The King's Dragoon Guards, Probyn's Horse, Fane's Horse, 
and a demi-battery of Armstrong guns, were drawn up on 
the beach. Lord Elgin was received with a salute of nine- 
teen guns and the French commanders-in-chief each thirteen 
guns. The Seik sports of tent-pegging and practice with 
the Armstrong guns were the novelties exhibited. 

Landing on the beach near a small village about the 
centre of the bay, where it is proposed to establish an hos- 
pital, I accompanied Dr. Galbraith to examine some houses 
that have been selected with this intention ; but they ap- 
peared to us both to be by no means adapted for the 
purpose — ^promising to be damp in wet weather, having 
earthen floors, while the odour with which they seemed at pre- 
sent impregnated, and which does not appear of a character 
admitting of very ready removal, cannot be viewed as pro- 
pitious to either the comfort or recovery of the sick. The 
houses in the village are of stone construction, substantially 
built, and the roofs thatched with the stalk of the millet, 



CHENBSE CARTOONS. 59 

with the exception of a few feet round the chimney, where, 
as a protection against fire, tiles are employed. The bed- 
places are fixtures, built of brick and extending from wall 
to wall. In breadth they average from four to six feet, and 
haye a fine passing through them from the cooking stove, 
from which it may be inferred that during winter the natives 
are exposed to considerable extremes of cold.* 

The village " Joss House " has been converted into the 
brigade ofSce. On the walls I observed some rude cartoons, 
apparently illustrative of a naval engagement. These, I 
learned, are historical drawings conmiemorative of the defeat 
of the Western Barbarians at the Peiho in June, 1859 ; also, 
that a prominent figure on the deck of one of the gunboats, 
with the arms thrown up and the face painted black to 
indicate fear, is intended to represent Admiral Hope. In 
this temple there are several grotesque-looking deities, some- 
what battered about the faces, the result, probably, of playftil 
familiarities on the part of military visitors. 

In the evening I revisited the proposed hospital build- 
ings, and found that considerable progress had been made 
since the morning in clearing them out. Large quantities 
of lumber with which they were filled have been thrown 
into the court-yard, amongst which large jars, such as are 
represented in the tale of the Forty Thieves, were conspicu- 
ous. These jars, I believe, are usually employed for the 
transport of tea oil. Amongst the dehria lying about I 
observed a quantity of books, the remains, evidently, of 
what once had been an extensive library. I took one of 
them and asked an interpreter (Mr. Adkins) what it related 
to. He told me it was an odd volume of a work on phi- 
losophy, and that the owner of the house had been to him 
complaining of the manner in which the complete set^ worth 
a hundred taels (about £30) had been destroyed by soldiers 
coming in and taking odd volumes to light their pipes. 

* This form of stove bedstead is called a caugv£, and is in general nse 
in the north of China, amongst the rich as weU as the poor. 



60 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The houses in question have been hired from the owner 
at a price to be fixed by onrselves. I was present at a con- 
versation on the subject between Mr. Adkins and the head 
man of the village, a tall, fine-looking man, with an expres- 
sion of countenance altogether un-Chinese. He smoked his 
pipe with great nonchalance during the earlier part of the 
interview, then wiped the mouth-piece and presented it 
to Dr. Galbraith, who, out of compliment^ took a few 
whifis. 

In the rear of the village, and close by where it is the 
intention to form a sick dep6t on the departure of the expe- 
dition for the Peiho, we are now busy throwing up a line of 
entrenchments, terminating at each extreme in a redoubt 
mounting three traversing guns. The coolie corps are em- 
ployed on this work as miUtary labourers, and every day are 
proving themselves more and more useful. 

July 16^. — Several hundred of the coolie corps are quar- 
tered in a neighbouring village, and in the yard fronting one 
of the houses occupied by them, I observed a circle of about 
fifty, some sitting, others standing, all either gambling or 
watching attentively the progress of the game. It was 
dark, and they were playing by a light formed by burning a 
quantity of wick in a metallic saucer full of oil, and shaped 
somewhat like a lamp. Some were staking dollars, and 
others only "cash." One coolie, while I was looking on, won 
ten dollars at a chance. From what I could make out of 
the game, it appeared to be a combination of dice and cards. 
A certam number of the latter were at the disposal of the 
players, on each card was a certam device, similar to a series 
of devices on a large square-shaped die, which was exposed 
at certain periods of the game. The players selected their 
cards, and placed the sums of money they intended staking 
upon them. The proprietor having previously adjusted the 
die (concealed under his clothes in a small square box made 
of brass), hands it to one of the players, who removes the 
cover from it, and those whose cards correspond with the 



SHIP WHITEWASHED. 61 

exposed snrface of the die are the winners. The coolies 
played in a quiet and systematic maimer, talked but little, 
and were apparently quite free from excitement. 

July 18/A. — This evening I revisited the village occupied 
by the coolie corps, and found that, with few exceptions, the 
whole of the houses were in military occupation by the 
coolies. They looked happy and sleek, and were busy pre- 
paring their evening meal, the viands employed being of no 
mean description, embracing pork, sucking pigs, ducks, fowls, 
kid, rice, green vegetables, &c., the latter however in com- 
paratively small quantity, boiled rice being the great sub- 
stitute for the potato and other vegetables of the European. 
The culinary department appeared to be conducted in a 
careful and artistic manner, the meat being cut up with 
remarkable neatness and expedition. 

I examined the houses in which they are lodged, and from 
the numbers of them that have been allowed to congregate 
in very limited spaces, it is not surprising that so much 
sickness prevails amongst them. It will be necessary to 
leave between 200 and 300 of them behind under medical 
treatment when the expedition sails. 

July 19^. — This morning I found the " Sir William 
Peel " in course of being whitewashed externally ; Sir 
Bobert Napier having been informed by the commander of 
the '' Imp^ratrice " steamer that, while laying down the 
electric cable in the Bed Sea, he succeeded in reducing the 
temperature of his ship fifteen degrees by whitewashing her, 
suggested that the experiment should be tried on the '* Sir 
William Peel." I do not myself anticipate any very marked 
diminution of temperature, as the vessel is a wooden one, 
though the temperature of ships of iron construction, such 
as the " Imp^ratrice," may be a good deal lessened by the 
process referred to.* Iron vessels however, I am of opinion, 

* All the Tessels of the Feninsalar and Oriental Company are now 
painted black. The colour might with great advantage be changed to 
white. 



62 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ought never to be selected for hospital purposes in warm 
climates, owing to their higher temperature. 

July 20th. — Breakfasted at the camp with Sir Bobert 
Napier, who had been out on horseback from four A.M., 
endeayouring to purchase baggage ponies at the neigh- 
bouring villages without much success, having procured only 
two. He was dressed in the rough-and-ready style adopted 
on field service in the East — felt helmet and puggery, blue 
flannel patrol jacket, moleskin breeches, and jack-boots ; 
his sword, an Indian tulwar remounted, and girded close 
up by a common brown leather belt with buckle, devoid of 
military ornament. 

While we were at breakfast, the owners of the ponies 
accompanied by the head man of their village arriyed, and 
sat down in front of the tent. Sir Robert sent out a cup of 
tea and some bread to the head man. He did not seem at 
first to understand what the tea was, but being persuaded 
to tasfce it, he approved of it so much that, after finishing 
it, he walked into the tent, and indicated by signs that 
some more of it, as well as some of the bread and meat on 
the table, would be acceptable to his retainers outside. He 
was allowed to take what he wanted, which he faithfully 
distributed amongst his followers. It is a curious fitct that 
the natives of this portion of the Chinese empire neither 
grow, import, nor make use of tea in any form, otherwise 
than as oil, prepared from the seed of a species of tea-plant 
which they import from the south. 

After breakfefit, another native arrived with a pony, 
which he made signs that he wished to sell. On Sir Bobert 
Napier asking him the price, he opened and shut both hands 
seven times, meaning seventy dollars. Sir Bobert went 
through a similar performance, limited to four times, forty 
dollars being about the average given for ponies in this dis- 
trict. Up went his hands again six times. Sir Bobert still 
adhered to four. He then tried five, and ultimately took 
his forty dollars, and walked off perfectly satisfied. While 



DR. THOMSON. 63 

negotiations were going on, an Indian servant came forward 
with a light, which he was in the act of handing to the 
General ; the peasant, howeyer, intercepted it, and with the 
most perfect self-possession, lighted his pipe, and then passed 
it on to Sir Bobert Napier. 

Prior to leaving the camp, I sat for an hour in his tent, 
with Surgeon-Major Dr. Thomson, talking over the news 
brought by last mail of serious disturbances in New Zea- 
land, respecting which, from his long residence in the 
colony. Dr. Thomson is naturally much interested, and 
seems to entertain a hope that, in the event of troops being 
ordered there from China on the conclusion of the cam- 
paign, he may be enabled to accompany them.* 

I returned to the " Sir William Peel," and at dinner 
heard from an officer of the Marines, a story doing credit 
to the feelings of some of the Canton coolie corps that were 
with the force on board the gunboats at the Peiho disaster 
last year. So long as the firing was going on the coolies 
were in high spirits, clapping their hands and hy^^dhmg f 
with great glee as they watched the shot flying about ; but 
as the firing slackened, and they saw gunboat after gun- 
boat going down, they became much depressed. When the 
affair was over, several of them were observed to refuse their 
food ; and when asked the reason, one came forward as 
spokesman and said, " How can catchee chow-chow, when 
five piecee gunboat makee die ;" an amount of sensitiveness, 
if real, that could hardly have been expected from them ; 
nevertheless, the kindness with which they have been for 
the most part treated, may in this instance have developed 
feelings of unfeigned regret at our misfortune, combined, 

• This hope was not destined to be realised. He died while principal 
medical officer of the Second Division, with the army before Peking, and 
Ids remains now lie in the Bassian cemetery, a little way to the north of 
the dty. Dr. Thomson is well known as the anthor of the ' ' Story of New 
Zealand,*' one of the best works that haye yet appeared on that country. 

i* Hye-yah is the ordinary Chinese exclamation of surprise. 



U NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

perhaps^ with a certain degree of dread that the worst was 
not over, and that they might ultimately fall into the 
hands of the authorities at Taku. 

In the eyening I returned to Victoria Bay in the 
" Forester " gunboat, and heard that the 26th was the day 
fixed for the sailing of the expedition ; the result of de- 
liberations held yesterday by the allied commanders-in- 
chief at Che-foo. Further, that the plan of operations 
which had been originally determined on was abandoned, 
and that both armies are to land at the same time at Peh- 
tang : the original intention was, that the English only 
should land at Peh-tang, which is twelve miles to the north 
of the Peiho, while the French went to a landing-place 
called Chi-kan, some miles to the south of it ; both armies 
were then to advance, and simultaneously take in reverse 
the forts on both sides of the river. This plan has been 
found impracticable ; Colonel Schmitz, General Montauban's 
chief of the staff, having returned from a careful recon- 
naissance made on the 16th instant, and reported that, 
though men might be landed, it would be impossible to get 
horses or artillery on shore, owing to the amount of shallow 
water and mud. 

July 2bth, — Before leaving Talien-whan, I reported to 
the principal medical officer upon the health of liie troops 
during their encampment on shore. A large amount of 
sickness prevailed, pointing to some untraced morbific 
influence. The symptoms closely resembled those which 
prevail at Hong Kong, — fevers, dysentery, &c. Yet the 
position was remarkably healthy ; there was no intempe- 
rance, as intoxicating liquors could not be obtained beyond 
the rations. The army had been weeded of its weakly and 
sick at Hong Eong, the troops having at the first been 
selected in India as men of known robust health. The 
lowest amount of sickness occurred in the 99th Regiment ; 
and I observed that that regiment alone is furnished with 
the Indian tent; the rest of the infantry use the bell tent* 



WEIGHT OP AMMUNITION. 65 

To this fact I attribute the low state of health during 
encampment at this place. This is a subject worthy of 
close attention, as seriously affecting the hygiene of troops 
in the field. A bell tent> twelve feet in diameter and 
eleven in height, contains in the gross about 400 cubic feet. 
From this considerable deductions have to be made on 
account of the arms, accoutrements, &c., which are collected 
in the tents at night. As fourteen men are assigned to 
each tent, the amount of air per man is very small. Of 
course, a canvas tent can never be so closely shut as a 
barrack-room. In the latter, the above conditions would be 
intolerable ; but even in a tent, when the entrance is closed, 
and the lower part is shut to the ground, the supply of air 
is far below the point desirable for health. I also observed 
two practices which I believe to be by no means unim- 
portant collateral causes of atmospheric impurity. The 
men procure oil and wick, with which they extemporise 
large flaming lamps in tin cans, (&c., overheating their tents, 
and consuming their ^sh air just at the time when it is 
most desirable to keep the atmosphere as pure as possible, 
namely, the two hours preceding their turning in for the 
night ; and, secondly, it is a common habit with the men to 
sit up in their beds smoking during the hours set apart for 
sleep. 

It is but right to state that Dr. Muur gave me a verbal 
answer to my report, to the effect that at the commence- 
ment of the campaign he had recommended that the number 
in each tent should not exceed eight, but that the military 
authorities had decided that the exigencies of the service 
would not warrant any reduction being made in the numbers 
(from fourteen to sixteen) usually detailed for bell tents on 
field service. 

The sick that are sent on board the hospital ship bring 
their arms and ammunition with them. To-day I had the 
belts and pouches weighed. The large cartouch-box and 
shoulder-belt weigh six pounds ; the waist pouch with bayonet 



66 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

and belt weighs five ponnds ; in all eleven pounds that the 
soldier is burdened with about his shoulders and waist in 
carrying ammunition alone. The small waist pouch, with 
two packets of cartridges of 14^ ounces each, itself weighs 
four pounds, and I have already noticed the serious objec- 
tions to which it is open. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Expedition sails for the Feiho — The anchorage sighted — The French 
Fleet arriyes — Fii-st view of the Taku forts — Preparations for landing 
at Peh-tang — Landing effected — March through the mad — The Forts 
deserted — First shot of the Campaign — Military occupation of the 
town — The "Zonave" cattle ship— Mortality on hoard — Commenoe* 
ment of hostilities — Beconnaissanoe in the direction of Takn. 

July 26/A. — ^At three this morning the "Manritius" got 
her steam up, and at daylight crossed over to Hands Bay 
to tow the " City of Poonah '* to sea, and give her an oflJng 
of five miles. 

As we entered the harbonr at Hands Bay we passed 
several ships waiting to be towed to sea. While we were 
endeavouring to find the "City of Poonah" amidst the 
crowd of vessels that filled the harbour, the scene began to 
change, and the " Carthage " steamer (known by the red 
ring round her funnel, which has served hithertx) to indicate 
her as the head-quarter commissariat vessel, with the trea- 
sury chest on board), was seen making her way to sea with 
the **Dalhousie" and "Queen of the East" in tow. In the 
course of a few minutes the scene became one of a lively 
and exciting character. From the various anchorages in 
the bay, wherever the eye turned, columns of smoke were 
seen rising like miniature volcanoes. At this moment, 
coming into harbour with a fair wind under full sail was 
the " Anglo-Saxon," laden with cattle from Japan, 

The " Mauritius," with the " City of Poonah " astern, has 

now reached the outside of Talien-whan, and anchored there 

is the " Imperieuse," flying the Rear- Admiral's flag, watch- 

r 2 



68 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ing the yessels making their exit. Outside the harbour the 
scene has assumed a character eyen more exciting than 
within, as here the steamers are casting off their vessels, 
and returning to tow others out. 

Having given the "City of Poonah" a sufficient offing, 
the " Mauritius " returned to the harbour to tow the "Wini- 
fred " hospital store-ship to the new anchorage off the Peh- 
tang Ho. 

Outside the harbour, a little way round its western 
pointy in two little bays, I observed villages similar to those 
inside Talien-whan, cereal crops forming the characteristic 
vegetation in their immediate vicinity, while highlands with 
sheep pasturage abounded in the rear. Small groups of 
villagers were sitting in front of their houses watching the 
departure of the fleet, while a few fishermen in sampans were 
quietly pursuing their vocation, apparently regardless of the 
busy scene then in course of enactment in the waters near 
them. 

July 2,1th. — About 3 P.M. we sighted the anchorage. 
About the same time a dense cloud of smoke in our rear 
indicated the approach of the French fleet. In the distance, 
in the direction of the Peiho, the masts of six vessels were 
visible, stated to be a Russian and American squadron of 
observation. 

Since we left Talien-whan Bay the weather has been 
beautiftd, but it has now become very wann, and we shall 
probably find the temperature increase as we approach the 
shore, from which we are distant at present about twenty 
siiles. 

July 28/A. — At daybreak the French fleet was seen at 
anchor some little way off, having been unable to reach its 
proper position before dark. About 8 AJ£. it got steam up 
and sailed in to its point of rendezvous. Ab it sailed past it 
presented a very imposing aspect, from the large size of the 
vessels and their being all steamers. I counted over thirty 
vessels flying the tricolor. They came in in three divi- 



THE TAKU FOETS. . 69 

sions, each division headed by the flag-ship of one of the 
Admirals. 

At noon I counted ninety vessels under fall canvas bearing 
down on the anchorage, a fine strong and fair wind having 
set in. The sight was a magnificent one, not likely soon to 
be witnessed again. About this time a number of junks 
that had been cruising in the neighbourhood, though at a 
very respectfdl distance, made sail in the direction of the 
Peiho, in all probability to report our approach. 

No accident of any kind has occurred, and the strong 
southerly wind that is blowing has brought in nearly the 
whole of the sailing vessels. The gunboats and the junks, 
however, have not yet arrived. 

July 29/A. — This morning at nine o'clock. Her Majesty's 
surveying vessels "Actseon" and "Cruiser" sailed in the 
direction of the Peiho. In the course of the forenoon we 
heard that it had been ascertained that Peh-tang was alto- 
gether deserted, the* troops having been withdrawn for the 
defence of Taku. 

July ZOth. — ^At 10 AJiL, while on the bridge looking out 
for land, I saw in the distant haze three dark masses, appa- 
rently equidistant from each other and of symmetrical 
shape, looming obscurely above the horizon. I looked at 
them through my glass, and concluded they were the Taku 
forts. Soon all the glasses in the ship were directed to- 
wards them, and considerable difference of opinion prevailed 
as to what they were. In a short time, however, all doubts 
were removed, for as the haze somewhat cleared and we 
approached nearer, the outline of the forts, with their em- 
brasures, was distinctly made out, looking in the distance as 
if their construction was of light-coloured stone, like the 
bastions of Malta, and presenting certainly an imposing 
aspect. As we got closer a long line of very low coast and 
four other bastions came in view. 

Two American and four Russian men-of-war are now 
lying in the anchorage with us, and a great deal of saluting 



70 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

has been going on during the day, which no doubt our 
friends on shore have construed into one of those distant 
** awe-inspiring demonstrations" which they themselves are 
so fond of indulging in. 

Late in the afternoon it became known that the Com- 
manders-in-Chief had determined to land a portion of the 
troops to-morrow, and take possession of the town of Peh- 
tang, where not much, if any, resistance is anticipated. 
The troops detailed to land amount to about 1800 men. 
This force will be accompanied by an equal number of 
French troops, with four of their mountain guns. 

July 31«^. — Last night the weather became very unset- 
tled, and about nine o'clock a circular storm, accompanied 
by clouds of sand, passed over the fleet, and struck some 
vessels, causing them to heel over considerably, while others 
were altogether untouched. 

As the weather continues threateninff, and Peh-tang is 
some ten miles off, all idea of landing the troops to day 
has been abandoned, owing to the risk that would be run in 
attempting to tow boats in the heavy *sea that is at present 
on. The ships' launches, however, were all down at an 
early hour, and remained ready to start, until the Admiral 
sent a steamer round the fleet to give notice that they would 
not be required to day. 

August Ist — The day opened with heavy rain, and the 
general aspect of the weather continued unsettled. The 
sea, however, had considerably gone down, and the activity 
going on in the harbour from an early hour betokened the 
intention no longer to defer the landing. At 9 a.m. the 
signal was made from the flag-ship for the various launches 
to take up their positions alongside the transports that 
were to furnish the landing-party — ^similar preparations were 
observed in progress in the French fleet. 

About noon, in the midst of a drizzly rain. Sir Hope 
Grant joined Admiral Hope on board the " Coromandel," 
while the officers of the staff embarked in the '^ Leven." In 



LANDING EFFECTED. 71 

a few minntes the " Coromandel " was under way, steaming 
for the shore, the gnnboats, seventeen in number, following 
in regular line, each towing six launches filled with troops. 
The ^'Algerine'' gunboat, with the flag of Admiral Jones, 
brought up the rear. 

The French were in motion at the same time, on the 
starboard quarter — several steamers and despatch ^gunboats 
towing junks and launches filled with troops as close as 
they could be packed. 

As the flotillas approached the shore they sank below the 
horizon, and to trace their farther progress it was necessary 
to go aloft. From the mizen-top of the " Mauritius," with 
the aid of a good glass, I saw them cross the bar at the 
mouth of the river. In the distance, the low line of coast, 
and the forts defending the approach to the town of 
Peh-tang, were seen. The sea had now become calm and 
the weather fine, though the atmosphere was not very clear. 
About two o'clock the gunboats came to anchor some 
distance from the forts, and in an hour afterwards there 
were indications that the landing had commenced, ap- 
parently without opposition. As evening closed in, the 
gunboats were still lying where they originally anchored, 
and the landing seemed to have been ^effected without the 
expenditure of a single shot. 

The second brigade forms the landing party, composed of 
the 2nd Queen's, the 2nd battalion of the 60th Bifles, the 
15th Punjaub Infantry, a detachment of artillery, with 
rockets, and the 10th company of Eoyal Engineers. 

Angtiat 2nd. — ^Towards the afternoon some of the gun- 
boats engaged in the landing returned to the fleet to carry 
on the disembarkation, and from them we learn the following 
details of the landing : — 

The Peh-tang forts are three miles from the mouth of the 
river, and the gunboats anchored about a mile and a quarter 
below them. The embrasures appeared masked, but no 
troops could be seen, with the exception of a detachment of 



rj KORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Tartar caraby stationed on a canseway, that seemed to ran 
fiv^m the town of Peh-tang in the direction of Takn. At 
three in the afternoon. Sir Hope Grant and General Mon- 
tanban determined on landing a reconnoitring party of 400 
men, half French, half English, with the view of examining 
the approaches to the causeway. The French were the first 
on shore ; the boats conveying the English having grounded 
on nearing the river bank, compelling the men to disembark 
in the water and wade on shore— on reaching which, it was 
found to be a mud flat, extending on every side, into which 
the men sank over their ankles at each step. 

Immediately on the troops landing the Tartar horsemen 
retired along the causeway towards Taku, and the dis- 
embarkation of the remainder of the force was proceeded 
with. 

The allies now advanced towards the causeway, nearly an 
hour being spent in making their way through the mud, 
which continued without break the whole way. On the 
causeway being reached, according to previous arrangement, 
the English took their position on the side nearest the town 
while the French formed on the left. 

The causeway enters the town by a gate in an embank- 
ment of mud which invests its rear. A few feet from the 
outside of the gate, the causeway has been cut across and 
bridged over, to enable the tide to flow from one side of it 
to the other, and thus prevent its being flooded. This gate 
was taken possession of without any resistance. By this 
time it was nearly dark, and frirther operations were 
deferred until morning. The troops then proceeded to 
bivouac on the muddy causeway, without tents or other 
covering than that aflforded by the blanket which each man 
carries, and the water-proof sheet issued to eveiy three 
soldiers. 

In the meantime an advanced picket from the party at the 

gate approached the outskirts of the town, and found the 

^^habitants standing at the doors of their houses in great 



THE FORTS DESERTED. 73 

alarm. They supplied the soldiers with water, and seemed 
anxious to render them what assistance they could. 

When this intelligence reached the outside of the gate, 
Mr. Parkes, who accompanies Sir Hope Grant as interpreter, 
went forward, and having ascertained from one of the towns- 
people that the forts were deserted, he undertook to visit 
them. The General having given his consent, Mr. Parkes, 
accompanied by a few men of the Eifles, and an officer of 
the quartermaster-general's department (Captain Williams, 
of the Royals), about 10 p.m. passed through the town of 
Peh-tang. The people were in a state of the greatest 
alarm, and there did not appear the most remote indication 
of an intention to resist. 

The information about the forts being undefended was 
found to be correct, and the guide who accompanied Mr 
Parkes pointed out to him some spots which contained 
explosive machines. Having ascertained all that was 
necessary, he rejoined the force outside the town. 

About two o'clock this morning the first shot of the cam- 
paign was fired. Some Tartar vedettes approached a picket 
of the Rifles, who immediately fired. When daylight came 
it was found that they had killed a horse. 

At 4.30 A.M. Sir Hope Grant and General Montauban, 
accompanied by their staflTs, rode through the town to the 
fort, and having ascended the bastion they were able to 
take a general survey of the country around, which pre- 
sented nothing to the eye but one vast morass of mud — 
leaving them no resource but to take military possession of 
the town, and turn the unfortunate inhabitants out^ without 
house or home, which dire necessity was in course of being 
carried out when the gunboats left. 

The " Zouave," cattle-ship, arrived this afternoon from 
Chusan with eighty-five oxen on board, the remains of 
250 that she had started with some ten days ago. A 
number of goats also were shipped, among which the mor- 
tality has been equally gre&U This result I have little 



74 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

doubt is to be traced to the ignorance of the requirements 
of animal life which has characterised their shipment; — ^the 
form of disease being of that pestilential type which dense 
over-crowding seldom fails to generate. 

With regard to the surviyors of this cargo, the question 
arises how far animal food, arriving under such circum- 
stances, can be considered wholesome aliment, when there 
is every probability that the whole of it is more or less 
tainted with the atmospheric poison which has proved so 
fatal to the others, and that the death by disease of no small 
proportion of them will be anticipated by the commissariat 
butcher's knife. 

That unwholesome animal food may have played an im- 
portant part in the production of the febrile diarrhoea which 
was so prevalent at Talien-whan, I think very probable, 
more especially when taken in connection with the fact, that 
while as many as seventy-eight, and even over a hundred, 
men a day in a European regiment were frequently affected 
with it, the Seiks, who do not use beef at all, and mutton 
but once weekly, were entirely free from it.* 

Avgust 3rd. — Daylight this morning found us steaming 
up the Peh-tang Ho, a low mud flat, devoid of vegetation 
on each side; in front a slight narrowing of the river at 
one of its bends, defended on both banks by forts ; immedi- 
ately beyond which, on the south side, a crowded mass of 
low-roofed houses, built of mud, is seen — which is the town 
of Peh-tang. 

We came to anchor a little way above the forts, alongside 
the town ; the houses of which come down to within a short 



* That ihe case of the '* Zouave ** was not an isolated one, and that a 
similar mortality was the rale^ not the exception, may be inferred from the 
fact which I give on the authority of an officer of the commissariat^ that 
from calcnlations based on the number of oxen purchased, and the number 
that actually arrived alive and in a state fit for the butcher, it had been 
ascertained that the fresh beef served out to the army in Talien-whan 
cost in aU about twelve shiUiogs per pound. 



RECONNAISSANCE. 76 

distance of the river side. On the opposite bank there is a 
snbnrb of considerable extent, which has also been taken 
possession of. 

While the disembarkation of baggage and artillery was 
going on from the gunboats, between seven and eight in the 
morning, an miusnal commotion was observed on board the 
"Coromandel" and the French vessels — officers and men 
were ascending the tops, and something was evidently going 
on in the direction of the causeway in the rear of the town. 
Shortly afterwards firing was heard in the distance. 

I went on shore and heard that a reconnoitring party of 
2000 English and French had gone out about four in the 
morning along the causeway towards Taku, and that when 
between three and four miles out they had got involved 
with the enemy, and had sent in for reinforcements. 

I took a course up the main street in the direction of the 
firing with Captain Cruickshank, who landed with me. The 
street was ankle-deep, in some places nearly knee-deep, in 
mud. 

Passing through the town we proceeded along the cause- 
way for about four miles, when we met the force returning 
to camp, and learnt the following particulars : — The object 
of the reconnaissance was to discover how far the road was 
practicable for the advance of the army towards Taku, as 
the result of an inspection of the country made yesterday 
from the " Coromandel " for several miles up the river had 
been unsatisfactory, nothing but mud and swamps, with 
reeds growing in them, being visible for miles around. 

The force left Peh-tang at four in the morning, the French 
being in advance, the English following in support. As the 
column approached a ruined temple a few Tartar vedettes 
were seen, who immediately retired. The force then pushed 
on. Presently a Tartar outpost, stationed near some de- 
serted houses that were seen in front, opened fire. The 
French were ordered to deploy on each side of the causeway, 
and jumping into the mud, they immediately advanced in 



76 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Bkirmishing order and drove the outposts in, who retired 
behind the houses. The mountain guns were now ordered 
to the front; on their firing shell into the houses, the Tartars 
speedily withdrew. The column advanced for about half 
a mile, when a large entrenched camp invested by a crenel-* 
lated mud wall was seen, in front of which the cavalry, 
whose numbers were now considerably increased, advanced 
and manoeuvred with some degree of skill, threatening the 
left flank of the English, who immediately changed front in 
that direction. Some skirmishing took place, and instruc- 
tions were sent for to Peh-tang, as nothing beyond a recon- 
naissance had originally been intended. . 

On the Commanders-in-Chief and the reinforcements 
reaching the ground, it was determined not to push matters 
ftirther at present, as we had no cavalry on shore. 

The number of the enemy's cavalry in the field appears 
to be a matter of considerable uncertainty, some estimating 
it at 2000, others as high as 5000. Brigadier Sutton, how- 
ever, on the way back to Peh-tang, told me that in his 
opinion it did not exceed 1500 at the outside, and that 
1200 was probably nearer the mark. Estimating the 
strength of a body of horsemen in motion, especially at a 
distance, is stated to require considerable experience, which 
Brigadier Sutton, as an old cavalry officer, possesses. 

The men as they marched back looked a good deal fa- 
tigued. They had their trousers rolled up as high as they 
could, and their mud-stained limbs showed the nature of the 
ground they had been in. The Tartar cavalry were seen 
manoeuvring on the plain in the rear, but making no signs 
of approaching the causeway or otherwise interfering with 
the troops retiring. 

Some appeared to be dissatisfied with the day's proceed- 
ings, on the ground that the French had been premature in 
involving themselves with the enemy, but that after the 
aflFair had proceeded the length which it did, it would have 
been better to have stormed the camp than retire the troops. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Gonfhsion at the landing-place — Head-qnariera of the First Diyision — 
Uninterred cofilns— llie Hospital of the 31 st Begiment — Valaable 
clothing — Order against looting — ^A Chinese family residence — The 
South Peh-tang fort — Bxplosive machines — State of Horse Transport 
Service — Mortality among the horses on board ship — State of Peh-tang 
after rain — Eeconnaissance — Attempt of the Chinese to open Nego- 
tiations — Order for the advance of the Army — Sanitary paradox — 
Exertions of the Officers and Crews of the Gonboats. 

Augttst bth. — ^The landing-place presents a scene of no 
ordinary confusion ; heaped in masses are lying all sorts of 
military stores and munitions of war, amongst which figure 
prominently guns and their carriages, pontoons, ammunition 
waggons, casks, kegs, scaling-ladders, wheel-barrows, pick- 
axes, shovels, &c. 

During the night it has rained heavily at intervals, and 
the landing-place can be compared only to a swamp ; to say 
that it is ankle-deep in mud does not express its state. 
Officers and men are gomg about without shoes, trousers 
rolled up to their knees. Detachments of the coolie corps 
are employed conveying bales of compressed hay and other 
stores into houses that have been told off for the purpose in 
the neighbourhood. The bank of the river hereabouts is 
strewed with matting, broken crockery, and other debris 
thrown out of the houses to make room for the stores. 

The town bears unmistakeable evidence of the destructive 
character of a military occupation, especially in the French 
quarter, where attempts have been made to lessen the depth 
of mud by macadamising the streets with bricks procured 



78 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

by pulling down portions of the houses. Down one of 
these streets, strewed with the carcases of dogs wantonly 
butchered, broken porcelain and shattered furniture, I 
made my way to the Southern Fort, where Sir Hope Grant 
has established his head-quarters in a bell tent on the top of 
the cavalier. 

I called on Dr. Muir, who, with Staff-Surgeon Dr. Home, 
is residing in one of the casemates in the curtain connecting 
the two cavaliers, and received instructions from him to be 
on shore on the 9th ; the present intention being, that the 
army shall move forward on the 10th, and attack the Tartar 
entrenchments that obstruct the march on Taku. 

Through the kindness of Surgeon-Major Dr. Telfer, I was 
offered a lodging for the night at the head-quarters of the 
first division, established in a temple at the end of the main 
street. It consists of a scries of buildings, arranged in the 
form of three-sided courts, one behind the other. Sir John 
Michel occupies the chief hall of the temple, in which there 
are several gaudily painted figures that look like deified 
warriors, and a number of coffins arranged on the top of 
one another, containing bodies, the final interment of which 
has been delayed by the relatives, until what they consider a 
lucky period should arrive. Corpses are thus kept unin- 
terred in temples, and store-houses set apart for the purpose, 
frequently for many years. From odours in their vicinity, 
the coffins in question do not appear to be altogether air- 
tight. They are formed of massive slabs of wood, nearly 
half a foot thick, and some of them are lacquered on the 
outside. 

In the construction of Peh-tang, its builders have been to 
a great extent obliged to accommodate themselves to the 
resources of the neighbouring country — ^the bulk of the 
town being constructed of mud, made more cohesive by 
having chopped straw mixed up with it. Though the town, 
when glanced at in a general way, has a very poor appear- 
ance, there are numbers of by no means contemptible 



VALUABLE CLOTHING. 79 

honses, built of brick, and laid ont according to the custom 
of the conntry in courts facing the south, in each of which 
there is generally a large water-jar. 

In one of these buildings, near General Michel's head* 
quarters, the officers and sick of the 31st regiment are 
quartered. In the portion used as an hospital, ^there are 
massiye presses of a dark wood, like mahogany, with brass 
hinges and clasps. They are at present filled with costly 
silks, satins, and fiirs, for the most part made up in the 
form of robes, the silk outside and the fur inside, being 
apparently the winter wardrobe of a person of wealth and 
position. 

At present there is an order against looting, which, 
however, would seem to be more honoured in the breach 
than the obserrance, and the restriction might as well be 
withdrawn, as far as the interests of the unfortunate owners 
are concerned, any chance of property of the least value ever 
finding its way back to them being too remote to be 
entertained. The silks and furs in the hospital of the Slst 
are only safe for the time, as their removal would be too 
overt a violation of a general order, the breaking of which 
on the part of the soldier subjects him to flogging. From 
aU accounts, notwithstanding the poor appearance of the 
place, a large amount of valuable property has fallen into 
the hands of the occupying force. 

A little way below the hospital of the 31st, the officers 
of the 16th Punjaubees have quartered themselves in a 
pawnbroker's shop, in which room after room is filled 
to the ceiling with goods of more or less value, all neatly 
arranged and ticketed with great care and regularity. 

Towards sundown, the first division staff dined in the 
court-yard fronting Sir John Michel's quarters. The mess 
arrangements were of the most simple character ; no ad- 
juncts being brought into use beyond the resources found at 
hand in the temple, yet luxurious, I have no doubt, compared 
with what the General and several of his staff have frequently 



80 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

had to put up with in the course of service at the Cape. 
Whatever the shortcomings may be in some respects, a 
water-tight roof, good seats and tables, and plenty of 
earthenware, would seem to be some of the advantages of 
campaigning in China. 

Auguai 6th. — Visited Brigadier Crofbon, E. A., who 
occupies a house nearly opposite General MichePs head- 
quarters, apparently the residence of a person of the higher 
class. It consists of three court-yards, branching off from 
which there are numerous side buildings and offices. In 
one of the courts there is a small vineyard. The central 
court communicates with the female apartments, the bed- 
rooms on one side, and the nurseries on the other. The 
walls of the rooms are decorated with odd pictures, chiefly 
caricatures ; one of the pictures is a representation of the 
signing of the treaty of Nanking, which, on the whole, is 
tolerably well executed, the uniforms of the English officers 
being pourtrayed with remarkable fidelity. 

August Sth. — I revisited the fort where the English 
head-quarters are established, and made the following notes 
of its construction. 

The fort may be described as an oblong enclosure, 
covering about ten acres, the front portion consisting of 
two casemated cavaliers, distant from each other about one 
hundred and fifty yards, and connected by a crenellated 
curtain, with loop-holes at short intervals for gingals or 
matchlocks. From the fianks of the cavaliers, a curved 
curtain extends for a short distance, and is continued in the 
form of a crenellated wall all round the rear of the fort, 
forming its enclosing wall. On the outside there is a moat 
of some width, filled with water, across which, by a draw- 
bridge, the fort is entered. 

Each cavalier is ascended by an inclined plane, and the 
part where the embrasures are, though protected above, is 
quite open to the rear. 

The connecting curtain has four large casemates, evidently 



K 



SOUTH PEH-TANG FORT. 81 

intended for guns of considerable size. Between each of 
these there is a smaller casemated embrasure, with a very 
small external opening, affording almost complete protection 
to men working the guns. 

In the flanking curtain to the south, there are two large 
and five small casemates, their thickness averaging about 
twelve feet. The large ones are at present occupied by 
officers, and the smaller ones are used as servants' quarters 
and cook-houses. 

The north bastion continues to be occupied by the 
Commander-in-Chief. 

"Within the inclosure of the fort, about a thousand horses, 
including Probyn's Seik cavalry, are at present picketed. 

In the rear of the fort, just within the walls, there is a 
small temple, apparently for the use of the garrison ; and in 
the northern angle there are a number of buildings that 
look like barracks. 

With the exception of a few very primitive pieces of 
ordnance, formed of wood, bound by iron hoops, and 
covered with a strong coating of hide, all the guns have 
been removed for the defence of the approaches to Tien-tsin 
by the Peiho. 

Several large shells and tin cases were lying about within 
the fort. These had been dug up by the Sappers on their 
position being pointed out by the native guide who warned 
Mr. Parkes respecting them. The shells were found filled 
with powder and placed in tin cases. These again were 
deposited in pits, covered over with matting and a thin 
coating of earthy to resemble the ground adjacent. A man's 
weight thrown upon one of these traps would have dropped 
him into the pit, whereupon, by an arrangement of a lan- 
yard conmiunicating with a flint lock attached to the shell 
it would have exploded, probably with considerable damage 
to those in its vicinity. Thanks to the Chinaman, no oppor- 
tunity was offered for their destructive qualities being prac- 
tically tested. 



X 



y 82 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Yesterday a lighted slow match, eonmTmicating with a 
considerable quantity of gunpowder, was discovered in a 
house occupied by the Eoyal Artillery. A memorandum 
was immediately issued, ordering a careful search to be 
made throughout the quarters for the discovery of similar 
attempts. 

The Military Train and the infantry of the Second Division 
are landing to day. Connected with the prospects of the 
efficiency of the former, strange scenes are stated to be wit- 
nessed at the landing place, such as horses intended for the 
transport service being so weak as to require the aid of the 
. coolies to be carried on shore. "Whether this is an exagge- 
ration or not, it is certain that owing to the great mortality 
at sea, and the bad condition in which the surviving horses 
have arrived from Japan, the serious break down of the 
horse transport service is a contingency looked forward to 
almost as a matter of certainty. 

One day when crossing Talien-whan Bay, an officer of 
the Military Train on board the gunboat mentioned to me 
that he had just returned from Japan in the "Kate Hooper" 
with the remnant of some 250 horses that had formed the 
freight of the vessel, the mortality amongst which had been 
so great that in one day he had thrown seventy overboard, 
a wholesale slaughter attributable to the same cause as that 
which has produced like results in the cattle ships, namely, an 
apparent unacquaintance with the fact that food and water 
alone are insufficient for the maintenance of animal life, and 
that similar pestilential diseases are generated by the over- 
crowding of animals as of men in limited spaces. The 
fittings of the vessels would appear also to have been in 
some instances defective, from the fact of horses that sur- 
vived the voyage being received with their lower jaw-bones 
laid bare, caused by lurches of the vessel throwing them 
forward on iron bars that had been injudiciously fitted 
across the front of the stalls, apparently without reference 
to the height of the animal they were intended to contain. 



PBH-TANG AFTER RAIN. 83 

August 9th. — ^This morning I left the anchorage in one 
of the boats of the '* Mauritius," to remain permanently on 
shore. The weather was dull and threatening : rain was 
falling in torrents. 

Having no definite place of shelter, beyond permission 
from the Quartermaster-General to pitch a tent within the 
enclosure of the fort, I went down there to see how far this 
might be practicable, and to report my arrival to the prin- 
cipal medical officer. With some difficulty I was able to 
reach the fort, the street leading to it being at the time a 
running stream, in many places more than knee deep in 
mud and water. The open space within the fort had be- 
come a lake, and everybody and everything looked as cheer- 
less as they well could. No prospect existing of getting a 
quarter there, I retraced my steps to the town, where, learn- 
ing that the 44th had landed, I waded through several 
rivulets in the form of narrow streets, until I found where 
the regiment was quartered, under the impression that my 
brother might be able to give me room. However, when I 
saw the very limited accommodation which he, along with 
some six or eight others had, in a small house divided into two 
narrow partitions, into which the rain was beating both by 
the windows and the doors, I concealed the object of my 
visit. On returning to the landing-place, I was relieved 
from my difficulties by Major Fisher, E.E., who kindly gave 
me a part of his quarter in the court of a house occupied by 
the Eoyal Engineers. 

The state of the weather renders the proposed advance of 
the army to-morrow impossible, and it is therefore now quite 
uncertain what day the force will be able to move. 

At daybreak this coming, prior to the weather changing, 
a reconnaissance was made along a road that, crosses the mud 
to the right of the causeway a short distance from the town, 
and which is believed to lead to Tien-tsin. This road, 
though very indifferent, has been decided on as practicable 
for artillery in dry weather. It extends for about four miles 

o 2 



84 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

from Peh-tang, passing over a good deal of broken marshy 
gromid, and terminates on a good hard plain, where there is 
an abundance of excellent water. 

A few days ago a gunboat was sent up the river about 
five miles for the protection of a spot where better water 
can be procured than in the town. Near the place some 
Tartar cavalry are posted on the left bank of the river, and 
Admiral Hope being anxious to avoid unnecessary collision 
and bloodshed, scait his interpreter, Mr. Morrison, on the 
5th, with a flag of truce to the Tartar camp, to explain 
the object for which the gunboat is placed there, and to 
caution them not to approach too near, as they would be 
fired at, should they do so. 

This occurrence it appears has been construed by the 
Governor-General of Chili, who is at present at Taku, into 
a friendly overture from the allied ambassadors, and he 
accordingly has addressed communications to them of a 
pacific character. These, it is stated, cannot be entertained 
after the unequivocal terms in which the ultimatum has 
been rejected ; nor indeed is there any reason to suppose 
that the Governor-General has a;ny authority to negotiate, 
otherwise he would not have delayed intimating that such 
were his powers until the accidental occurrence in question. 

August llth, — The weather is now showing signs of 
clearing, and orders have appeared for the advance of the 
army at daybreak to-morrow. 

It would be difficult to indicate a more filthy and foul- 
smelling locality than Peh-tang has been found to be, and 
situated as it is, on the bank of a river, with nothing but 
vast mud flats for miles around, it was expected that the 
troops would suffer severely from malarious disease ; such, 
however has not been the case, their health having been 
much superior to what it was in the beautiful climate and 
pure atmosphere of Talien-whan. All idea of bringing 
sanitary science into practical operation was from the first 
given up as hopeless, and nature allowed to take her course. 



SANITABY PAEADOX. 85 

The result would seem to confirm the opinion I hare 
already expressed, that in matters relating to military 
hygiene there is a tendency to over-estimate as causes of 
disease certain atmospheric impurities of local origin, as 
well as to attribute endemic disease to the external air that 
soldiers breathe, when it is rather due to the internal-. 

The prospect of moving to-morrow appears to be hailed 
with satisfaction by all, and by none more than by the 
ofl&cers and crews of the gunboats, whose exertions in the 
landing of the expedition have been of no ordinary nature, 
involving work ahnost incessant night and day, the intervals 
for rest falling a long way short of those usually deemed 
requisite for the support of nature. Nothing, I believe, 
but the feeling that every day's exertion has been expediting 
the approach of the day when they hope to have an oppor- 
tunity of avenging their disaster of last year, has supported 
them during an amount of fatigue and loss of sleep which, 
without some strong mental impulse, they probably would 
have been unable to bear. The gunboats are now stripped 
of their spars and rigging, and are like gladiators ready for 
the fight. 



CHAPTER X. 

March on Sinho — Artillery Waggons abandoned in the mad — The first 
Armstrong Gan — ^Tbe Action of Sinho — CSaptnre of Entrenchments — 
Tartar Oayalry retreat towards Taka — Sinho occupied — Tartar 
Vedettes — Janetion with Second Diyision — Appearance of the Troops 
— Details of Action on the Right — Bivouac— Sinho— Tartar Tents — 
Dexterity of Tartar Horsemen — ^The Oingal — Breakdown of the Horse 
Transport Corps — The Times Correspondent — Coolies* contempt for 
Cash — Prisoners captured by the Tartars — ^Horses galled by ill-made 
pack-saddles — Papers found in the house of the Tartar General. 

August 12th. — ^I rose this morning about half-past two, 
and found the coolie corps, under Major Temple, mustering 
by the light of lanterns on the bank of the river near the 
landing place. Soon the bugle-calls of the various corps 
were heard in different directions, and with the earliest dawn 
of day the town was alive with armed men. Three days' 
cooked provisions had been served out to each man, and the 
whole force was preparing to move, with the exception of 
the 99th regiment, which remains to garrison Peh-tang. 

At 4 o'clock A.M., the troops of the Second Division, 
under Major-General Sir Robert Napier, commenced defiling 
through the gate opening on the causeway, along which they 
proceeded for about a quarter of a mile, and then diverged 
to the right, taking the road already described. 

Owing to the very heavy nature of the ground after leaving 
the causeway, three hours elapsed before the column was 
clear of the town and fairly on the line of march. The 
cavahy brigade being for the day attached to [General 
Napier's division, conmienced to move at seven o'clock, under 
Brigadier Pattle;— the King's Dragoon Guards leading, 



I 



MARCH ON SINHO. 87 

followed by Probyn's Horse, Stirling's Battery, and Fane's 
Horse. 

As soon as the cavalry brigade had left the causeway 
clear, the first division under Sir Hope Grant and General 
Michel, and the French under General Montauban, com- 
menced leaving the town. 

Having been appointed to the medical charge of the 
artillery of the first division, I remained with the principal 
medical officer (Surgeon-Major Telfer), to accompany the 
field hospital equipage and dhoolies,* detailed in orders to 
follow in the rear of the French main column. The other 
medical officers were on the line of march with their re- 
spective regiments, each of them accompanied by a cer- 
tain number of light canvas stretchers for removing the 
wounded to the rear. We were joined by XJn-chung-fung, 
the senior Chinese physician of the coolie corps, who as 
head of his own particular department proceeded with us. 

Afi we passed the road to the right of the causeway, along 
which the second division and the cavalry had gone, a 
number of artillery waggons were seen stuck fast in the 
mud. They belonged to Milward's battery, and had been 
left behind, being too heavy to be moved through ground 
into which even the infantry sank over their ankles. 

To the right, a considerable way a-head, the rear of 
General Napier's division was just getting out of sight, 
while on the causeway in front, the infantry and artillery of 
the first division, with a French force, were slowly advancing 
towards the entrenched works in front of which the re- 
connaissance of the 3rd instant took place. 

* The Dhoolies were made by Chinese artizans at HoDg-Eong. They 
proved heayy and oumbrons, and by no means adapted for carrying sick 
or wounded on a campaign. They also soon got out of repair ; owing to 
the snapping of the ironwork by which the bed-frames were swung from 
the bamboo bearing-poles. Fortunately they were hardly required on the 
line of march, otherwise their inutility would have been seriously apparent. 
The Indian Dhoolies are swung by woodwork, and are consequently not so 
liable to get out of repair from such accidents. 



88 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

As we were proceeding along the causeway, about eleven 
o'clock the report of a gun was heard on the right. This 
inaugurated a new epoch in artiUery-it was the first war- 
shot from an Armstrong gun : Milward's battery was then 
opening fire on a large force of cavalry that the second 
division had sighted on its left. Clouds of smoke were now 
seen rising to the right, gun after gun was heard, and in a 
short time a heavy fire of musketry from the infantry of the 
second division. About the same time the booming of guns 
in front indicated that the first division and the French 
were also engaged. 

I now rode on to the front, and passed from the causeway 
on to good hard clay soil. The infantry brigades were ad- 
vancing in close column on each side of the road, and a 
heavy fire of artillery and rockets was going on in fi'ont 
against an advanced work, fronting the principal entrench- 
ment some distance in the rear. 

Sir Hope Grant was in front, in person directing the 
operations. Desborough's and Barry's batteries were in line 
to the right. The French artillery was on the left, also a 
French and Madras rocket battery. In the rear of the guns 
the Royals and part of the 31st were extended in skir- 
mishing order, under Brigadier Staveley. This advanced 
work seemed defended chiefly by cavalry, who opened out 
to the right and left, and made a demonstration as if they 
were going to attack. The fire from the artillery quickly 
dispersed them. The guns, -which had opened at about 
half-a-mile from the position, were now advanced to within 
500 yards, and silenced a very ineffective gingal fire which 
had up to this time been kept up. The advance was then 
sounded, and the work taken possession of, the Tartars 
having retired to their inner entrenchment. 

Sir Hope Grant led the way through the work. Inside of 
it there was a number of white calico tents, a good deal 
riddled with shot, a few horses killed or wounded, and some 
dismounted gingals. The concentrated fire to which this 



ACTION OF SINHO. 89 

entrenchment had been exposed did not seem to have been 
attended with very serious results, unless, as is supposed, 
the Tartars removed their killed and wounded before re- 
treating, which I do not think probable. Five casualties 
only were found inside the work ; one body was fearfully 
mutilated. The man appeared to have been struck in the 
chest by a shell at the moment of explosion — one arm was 
blown completely off, and the hand tightly grasped a piece 
of fuse. Another man was found pinned to his horse by a 
rocket. 

Passing this entrenchment without halting, the artilleiy 
again advanced in line, followed by the Eoyals in skirmish- 
ing order, towards the principal works fronting Sinho. As 
the line approached, a gingal fire was opened, and a few 
balls passed hissing over our heads. Brigadier Staveley 
ordered the Eoyals to lie down, and the guns were wheeled 
round. After a few shots, the cry of " There they go ! " was 
heard, and looking to the left a line, of cavalry was seen 
issuing from the rear of the entrenchment, proceeding at a 
gallop along a causeway leading in the direction of Taku. 
Colonel Barry was requested to try his Armstrongs on the 
retreating column. Two or three shots were sent after them, 
which at the time were supposed to have done great execu- 
tion, but when the ground was examined immediately after- 
wards, a little blood and a wounded pony were all that was 
found. 

It was now one o'clock, and the entrenchment was taken 
possession of. Like the first one, it contained a number 
of tents ; some dead and wounded horses also were lying 
about. The Tartars themselves did not appear to have suf- 
fered, at least no indications remained of any casualties. 
Sir Hope Grant, with General Michel and a portion of the 
force, at once entered the village of Sinho, and passed 
through the main street, to effect a junction with Sir Robert 
Napier's division, which was advancing towards its rear. 
The street was in a very bad state from recent rains, and 



90 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

in many places the guns sank to the axles in mncL The 
houses seemed to be deserted, and the shops were closed. 
The village is about half-a-mile in length, and on emerging 
from it we came on a fine open plain, on which the 
second division and the cavalry were seen in the distance 
approaching. 

On the outskirts of the village near this plain we passed 
a number of detached cottages, in some of the gardens of 
which I saw the peasants working as if nothing unusual had 
occurred. Poor people, in a short time they were deprived 
of everything edible to be found on their premises, and the 
contents of their poultry yards and gardens transferred to 
the camp kettles. On the road a little way beyond the 
village a blind man was standing leaning on his staff. He 
had a deep gash on the back and side portion of the neck, 
apparently a sword wound inflicted by some savage in wanton 
thirst for blood. The poor man seemed to dread moving, 
and stood statue-like as we passed. I examined his wound, 
and found there was no immediate danger from it. I could 
do nothing more for him at the time, having to follow in 
the line of march. On Dr. Telfer coming up with the hos- 
pital train, he humanely had him carried in, and his wound 
properly taken care of. 

With the exception of some Tartar vedettes stationed 
amongst a clump of trees in the rear of this entrenchment, 
there were no signs of an enemy remaining. Vedettes of 
Probyn's horse were out watching their movements. I had 
a good view of them through my glass. They appeared to 
be eyeing each other with intense curiosity. The Tartars 
were dressed in the ordinary Chinese hat of black silk, with 
the brim turned up all round, and had two squirrels' tails pro- 
jecting from the hat behind, which are decorations only 
worn by military men. They had on light-coloured jackets, 
over a long under garment of darker material, and blue 
trowsers tucked into black Tartar boots. They were armed 
with spears, having red horse-hair hanging from the end of 



THE KING'S DRAGM>ON GUAEDS. 91 

the shaft where it joins the ironwork. They rode in short 
stirmps, and were mounted on stout hardy-looking ponies. 

Sir Robert Napier's division gradually worked its way 
round. The infantry looked much exhausted, and the mud- 
stained limbs of both officers and men betokened the nature 
of the ground they had marched over. The appearance of 
the King's Dragoon Guards was a marvel. Their horses 
were covered with mud, but the men themselves, with the 
exception that they had on the Indian solar helmet, looked 
as if they had made a morning march &om Hounslow to 
Hyde Park. The aspect of the Seiks was more rough-and- 
ready : they looked the type of irregular cavalry on active 
service. 

We now heard the details of the action on the right, and 
the difficulties encountered by the second division in making 
its way towards Sinho. 

About eleven o'clock Sir Robert Napier, having got within 
sight of the entrenchment, found a large cavaby force in its 
rear. Seeing at the same time the allied force advanciug 
along the causeway to attack in front, he moved towards the 
position and took the Tartar* cavalry in flank, Milward's guns 
opening fire at 1500 yards. Though their practice is stated to 
have been very good, it did not seem to have influenced the 
determination of the Tartars to attack, as they immediately 
afterwards issued in a long liue from the rear of the en- 
trenchment by a passage across a marsh which separated 
the two forces, and passing to the right surrounded the 
second division with a cloud of skirmishers. 

Sir Robert Napier now ordered the cavalry brigade to 
charge. The King's Dragoon Guards led, followed by 
Probyn's Horse, with Fane's Horse in support. The ground, 
however, was not favourable for their advance. The Tartars 
rapidly retired, stopping when an opportunity oflfered and 
firing their matchlocks and bows and arrows. 

While this was going on, Stirling's battery having been 
unable to follow the cavaliy brigade through the heavy 



92 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ground, had been left behind with an escort of thirty men 
of Fane's Horse, under Lieutenant Macgregor, and just at 
the moment that the guns of the first division were heard 
on the left, a body of about seventy Tartars, to the surprise 
of every one, galloped from their front, and charging down 
on Stirling's battery attempted to take the guns in flank. 
The attack was so unexpected that Captain Stirling had but 
time to fire two rounds before the Tartars were within 
100 yards of the battery. There was no protection for the 
guns beyond the escort mentioned. Without a moment's 
hesitation Lieutenant Macgregor charged at the head of his 
Seiks and drove the Tartars back, in doing which he was 
severely wounded ; also several of his men, one of whom I 
believe was killed. 

About this time another body of Tartars appeared in 
considerable force to the left, and came on with great steadi- 
ness, notwithstanding the fire of two Armstrong guns and 
the advanced guard of the Buffs. A sharp fire was opened 
upon them and they soon withdrew, though apparently 
without any serious loss, attributable it is supposed to the 
infantry having sighted their rifles too high. 

The Tartars being now driven back at every point into 
their entrenchments, and the fire from the first division and 
the French having rendered these untenable, the action of 
Sinho was over, gained after a trifling loss on our part. 

The loss in killed of the enemy is variously estimated 
from 100 to 200 — ^the former is probably the more correct 
estimate. The dead I saw lying on the field were fine stout 
muscular men, with the true Mongolian form of feature, 
their faces nearly as broad as they are long. 

The troops were too much exhausted for any further opera- 
tions to be undertaken to-day, and preparations were made for 
bivouacking on the plain. The French, a part of the in- 
fantry of the first division, and Barry's battery, had remained 
in the entrenchment fronting Sinho, and I returned through 
the village to rejoin the latter. As I passed along the main 



TARTAE TENTS. 93 

street, French soldiers were coming out of the houses laden 
with plunder, consisting principally of silk and far dresses, 
similar to those found in such quantities at Peh-tang. The 
capture of poultry and pigs also appeared to receive an im- 
portant share of attention from our gallant allies. 

Aiigusf ISth, — Slept in the open on some hay within the 
entrenchment, and waa repeatedly awoke and nearly trodden 
on by baggage animals arriving during ^the night. They 
were some of those that, having broken down on the way, 
had been unable to reach Sinho until long after dark. 

This morning for the first time I had leisure to look 
about the entrenchment, which is an earthwork of consider- 
able extent, and might have been made a formidable obstacle 
to the advance of the allied columns, had it been defended 
by artillery and infantry, and not by a force apparently com- 
bining the duties of horsemen, gingal gunners, matchlock- 
men and archers. The place does not appear to have had 
a permanent garrison in it, as the Tartars were all living 
under canvas. Their tents in shape resemble those used in 
India, and are formed of light and very strong calico, which 
materially reduces their weight, an important advantage on 
the march. 

The work is open in the rear, but in front and on the 
flanks is invested by a good-sized ditch, filled with water 
from a stream which nms past Sinho. I walked a little 
way along the ditch, and came on an old woman lying appa- 
rently dead near the edge of it. Finding, however, that 
she was still alive, I returned immediately to the entrench- 
ment, where I got some of the coolie corps with a stretcher, 
and had her brought in. I placed her in one of the Tartar 
tents, where, under restoratives, in a short time she revived. 

About an hour afterwards a wounded Mongolian found on 
the plain a little to the left of the work, was carried in, shot 
through the face by a rifle bullet. He was a fine powerful man, 
and seemed a good deal at a loss to understand what was going 
to be done with him. I placed him in one of the few Tartar 



94 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

tents now remaining (the soldiers haying taken possession 
of the most of them), and after dressing his womid gave 
him some food. In a short time he appeared to comprehend 
our object in bringing him in, and gave nnmistakeable signs 
of gratitude, but refiised food, beyond a little rice-water that 
I got from the coolie corps encamped near us. 

In the use of their weapons, such as they are, these Tartars 
and Mongolians displayed considerable dexterity in the 
action of yesterday. The matchlock-men were frequently 
seen, when retreating at full speed, to turn round, fire off 
their pieces, and reload as they galloped away. The bowmen 
also discharged their arrows when at full gallop. The 
gmgals are long wall pieces, throwing balls from four 
ounces to a pound. They were used by them yesterday, 
as a substitute for field artillery ; the gingal being carried 
on one horse and the stand on another. If, in place of 
carrying them about wherever they moved, they had con- 
centrated their fire from behind the entrenchment, they 
probably would have caused some degree of damage, their 
range being considerable. After breakfast I rode through 
Sinho to the plain in its rear, where the troops bivouacked 
last night. A few of the Staff had got their tents, but the 
army had not yet received theirs, the anticipated break-down 
of the Horse Transport Corps having been complete, the 
whole line of road from Peh-tang to Sinho being reported to be 
strewed with baggage that has been cast off animals unable 
further to proceed. While here, I met Mr. Bowlby, of the 
TimeSy full of enthusiasm about the Armstrong guns he 
had seen in action yesterday on the right. He was anxious 
to hear from Colonel Barry how they had succeeded on the 
left, and accompanied me back to the entrenchment. 

As we entered it, I observed the old woman that I had 
brought in a few hours previously, crawling away on her 
hands and knees, endeavouring to get out by the rear of the 
work on the causeway. Through the aid of a coolie, I 
managed to elicit from her that she wanted to reach Tang- 



COOLIES* CONTEMPT FOR CASH. 95 

koo. Mr. Bowlby being in the secrets of the cabinet shook 
his head ominously, saying — " She had better keep out of 
there,'* so I had her carried back to the tent, and ultimately 
into Sinho, where I made arrangements with one of the 
yillagers, who had returned, to take care of her. 

While in the village for this purpose, I observed in the 
stream from which the place takes its name an ingenious 
contrivance for catching fish, consisting of a labyrinth 
formed by a succession of zig-zags made of stout reeds, 
stuck into the bed of the stream, and so arranged that the 
fish when once in could not extricate themselves. The soil 
in the neighbourhood of Sinho is very rich, and cropped 
with luxuriant vegetation. "With the exception of a con- 
siderable number of small-footed women and children, whose 
deformities interfered with their flight, the bulk of the in- 
habitants had fled to Tang-koo. These women and children 
took shelter on board some small junks moored in a creek 
that intersects the vegetable gardens on the outside of the 
village. As soon as it became known they were there. Sir 
Hope Grant ordered them to be carefully protected. Strings 
of cash were lying about, disregarded even by the coolies. 
I drew the attention of a passing coolie to two or three 
dollars' worth lying on the road. He shook his head, 
saying — " No good, too muchee heavy, dollar can do." 

It appears that a sergeant of the 44th, a private of the 
Buffs, and eighteen coolies, were captured yesterday coming 
up in the rear of the second division with commissariat 
mm. They are supposed to have lost their way, and been 
cut off and taken prisoners by some cavalry that were 
seen in the distance yesterday afternoon, some hours after 
the action. 

During the day numbers of baggage animals have been 
passing through the entrenchment, en route to head-quarters, 
while another set have been going back to bring in bag- 
gage that had to be abandoned yesterday on the line of 
march. It is stated that a large number of them have 



96 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

already had to be sent to the sick lines with sore backs, 
resulting from the injudicious construction of the pack 
saddles, which were made at Hong-Kong by Chinese trades- 
men, from a pattern determined on by a board of military 
officers who did not take the opinion of a veterinary surgeon, 
and the result is now painfully manifest. A most pitiable 
sight certainly the poor animals now present. 

Some very interesting and important pajoers have been 
found in the house of the Tartar general at Sinho, Teh by 
name, who commands the Chinese forces on the north bank 
of the Peiho, while Sang-ko-lin-sin commands on the south. 
Amongst these papers, there is a communication from the 
Great Council to Sang-ko-lin-sin and Hang-ftdi, the Governor- 
General of Chili, enclosing the ultimatum and translations 
of extracts from ' the EngUsh newspapers, containing in- 
formation respecting the allied preparations to avenge the 
defeat of Taku, cautioning them to beware and have the 
coast placed on the defensive. 

In reply Hang-ftih and Sang-ko-lin-sin state, that the 
ground in the neighbourhood of Peh-tang being all salt 
flat, undefended as the place is the barbariang will not 
readily succeed in effecting a landing, but that should they 
be foolish enough to attempt it, and advance across these 
flats, there are camps of infantry and cavalry that will arrest 
their progress and drive them back. Then, should they 
still persist in their desire to take revenge for the chastise- 
ment they received last year at Taku, to that place must 
they go and there fight it out. 

The correspondence also between Hang-fdh and the 
Tartar General Teh has been found, relating to events 
since the landing of the allies at Peh-tang. Teh gives an 
account of the reconnaissance of the 8rd of August, and 
states that he drove the barbarians back, with a loss of 
seven men on his own side, and an equal loss on the part of 
the allies. He goes on to state that he treated us thus 
leniently, knowing that the governor-general was anxious 



CHiraSE DESPATCHES. 97 

for peace, and therefore he did not wish to exasperate us. In 
reply, Haag-fah cautions him gainst allowing diplomatic 
relations to influence him in his place of military com- 
mander, and that at all risks he must maintain his positions 
at Sin-ho and Tang-koo, these places being the key to the 
north forts of Taku. 

Teh is also enjoined to take as many prisoners as possible, 
and forward them at once to Hang-fiih, who by promptly 
returning them, hopes to propitiate the barbarians, and thus 
secure good terms of peace. Lord Elgin is specially recom- 
mended to be taken, as in the event of his capture, the war 
would Tirtually be ended. A reward of a thousand taels is ac- 
cordingly offered for his lordship, and one hundred taels for 
cbiefe of lesser degree. In the event of the allies landing 
at Peh-tang, it is directed that no opposition be oftered them. 

The Engineers are busy to-day making bridges across a 
swampy plain, which the army will have to pass to attack 
Tang-koo, which report says is to be done to-morrow 
morning. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Advance of the army upon Tang-koo-^The Artilleiy open fire — Capture of 
the fort — Apparent non-efficiency of our fire — Scenes inside Tang-koo 
— Cayalry enclosure — Captured gnns — Prisoners — ^Camp flooded — 
Punishment parade — Samshu — Military bridge— Armstrong guns — 
Exaggerated statements respecting their success—Cholera — Betum of 
the Sergeant and Coolies captured on the 12th — Flag of tmoe — 
Preparations for the attack on the Northern Forts. 

August 14/A. — At daybreak the force was under arms, 
and the coolie corps appeared with the scaling-ladders — 
light-hearted fellows and strongly built, the right men in 
the wrong place : for however valuable their services, it is 
difScult to lose sight of the fact that they are Chinese sub- 
jects, allured by the all-powerful attractions of the dollar to 
act against their government. 

At 6 A.M. the army began to advance, crossing, by two 
narrow bridges, a large ditch separating the encamping 
ground from the plain. 

Artillery and infantry were pushed on across the plain , 
under a harassing fire from some batteries on the other side 
of the river — these were silenced by our artillery — and 
ground was taken up about 800 yards from Tang-koo. Up- 
wards of forty English and French guns were now in line, 
pouring what seemed a tremendous fire into the fort, to 
which the Chinese replied with spirit from about an equal 
number of guns, but as usual firing at too great an eleva- 
tion. After the firing had continued some time there was 
a short interval, during which the artillery advanced nearly 
half-way and re-opened. When the fire from the fort was 



TANG-KOO TAKEN. 99 

nearly sQenced, the infantiy were ordered to the ttont, the 
60th in advance, followed hj the Royals and dlst. The 
60th, on arriving at the ditch which invests the place, dis- 
covered a dam close to the river and an entry was effected, 
Lientenant Shaw, of the 60th, being the first who got inside. 
Two guns from the angle of the work on the left still 
kept firing on the French, who had to construct a bridge to 
get across the ditch, which was quickly effected. Colonel 
Schmidtz, the chief of the staff, being the first on that side 
to enter. The Chinese on the right retired as the 60th 
rushed in, but those on the left continued firing on the 
French for some time afterwards. By the time these had 
crossed the' ditch, the 60th had got some way round the 
interior of the earthwork. 

Entering Tang-koo, I found it to be a small town sur* 
rounded by a very extensive earthwork. 

It is diflBcult to account for the apparent inefficiency of 
our fire, unless by adopting the general belief that the mass 
of the dead and wounded had been removed by the Chinese 
prior to retreating. It is stated to have been ascertained 
from prisoners, that during the action a number of junks 
crossed over to the other side filled with killed and wounded. 
Several bodies, however, were found in the ditch in the rear 
of the place, and some in the houses of the town, but not in 
any number. 

Immediately on the place being taken, I walked over the 
whole of the entrenchment, back and front, and did not see 
twenty dead Chinese. I heard in the afternoon of fourteen 
haTing been found kiUed round one gun; if so, they muBt 
have been buried by the person who found them before any 
one else had a chance of seeing them. On the whole line 
of ramparts, within an hour after the place was taken, I did 
not see more than a dozen corpses at the outside. Some of 
them I noticed had their port fires, in the shape of rope- 
yam festened round one wrist, which fact immediately 
afforded data to some imaginative individuals for setting the 

H 2 

45^."iS4 



100 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

report in circulation, that to keep them from running away 
the artillerymen had been tethered to their guns. 

A good many old men, women, and children were found 
in the houses. Several of the women attempted to destroy 
themselves and their infant children by rushing into the 
Peiho when the troops entered the town ; some of them 
succeeded, others were prevented by the soldiers. 

Inside the fort, generally in the rear of where guns were in 
position, there are huts with arched roofs, similar to those 
described in the cavalry camp in rear of Sin-ho. The gar- 
rison were apparently at breakfast when the attack com- 
menced. At the door of each of the huts there was an 
earthen oven, and an iron pot containing rice ; and inside, 
bedding for twelve men, chiefly rugs. The walls were here 
and there decorated with Chinese pictures; and playing 
cards were scattered about inside, as if they had been 
thrown down in a hurry. In an open shed, on the outskirts 
of the town, I found an old man, apparently a villager, 
dying from a wound in the chest by a rifle bullet — ^the vital 
spark was just flickering, and I could do nothing for him. 
Near this place, in a ditch that passes into the town, two 
women were lying, apparently drowned. 

Leaving these painfiil sights, and returning to the bat- 
tery, we ate our rations of biscuit and pork, and turned 
in for the night in Tartar tents, found in the enclosure 
near us. 

August Ibth. — This morning I went into the enclosure 
for cavalry, contained within the entrenchment. The 
Tartars had evidently retreated with precipitation, leaving 
the bulk of their property behind, the ground being covered 
Tnth saddles, shields, swords, gingals, matchlocks, bows, 
arrows, and other munitions of war ; also copper money to 
a considerable amount. The enclosure contained a large 
number of tentw, inside of which quantities of soldiers' 
clothing were lying\bout, for the most part thickly padded. 
Suits of oiled cloth, <K^shaped fans made of basket work. 



\ 



CHINESE PRISONERS. 101 

and small brashes similar to those used for polishing plate, 
appeared to form a portion of the cavalry soldier's kit. 

This cavalry enclosure occupies about ten acres, and is 
surrounded by a mud wall of some thickness, on the outside 
of which there is a broad trench filled with water, over 
which the enclosure is entered by a causeway on each side. 
This water I conclude is partly defensive, partly for the 
supply of the horses. The height of the enclosure wall is 
just sufficient to admit of gingals placed on their stands 
being fired over it. 

Eiding towards Sin-ho, I saw the brass guns captured in 
Tang-koo drawn up in line. They had been removed 
from the works with the view of being divided in due pro- 
portion with the French. They are all mounted on strong 
wooden carriages, some of them so constructed as to admit 
of two guns being placed on them side by side, after the 
fashion of double-barrelled fowling-pieces. In calibre these 
guns vary from four to twenty-four pounders. 
• Ketuming to the camp on the Peiho, I reached it about the 
time some Chinese civilians were brought in prisoners, under 
the supposition that they were soldiers. They were taken 
to the head-quarters of the first division, and interrogated 
by Mr. Gibson, the divisional interpreter. They went 
down on their knees, and were evidently in great alarm. 
One or two staff officers were indulging in the unfeeling 
pastime of aggravating their fears, by making signs to them 
that they were going to be strung up by the neck — an act 
of childish cruelty, against the continuance of which I 
took the liberty of protesting. The poor fellows were 
elderly men, and, according to their own statements, small 
merchants. They were ultimately released from appre- 
hension, and allowed to go at large. 

August H^A. — About four in the afternoon the Peiho 
suddenly overflowed, and before the 60th Eifles had time to 
strike their tents or remove their arms, the portion of the 
camp occupied by them was inundated. The men stripped 



102 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

and exerted themselyes to the utmost, but were making 
such indifferent progress owing to the ditches they had to 
cross, and the rapid increase of the water, that General 
Michel ordered a fatigue party of a thousand men of the Slst 
Eegiment to their aid, who coming down at the double, 
plunged up to their middles in water and mud, and rendered 
very effective assistance to the 60th in saving their kits and 
ammunition from submersion. 

While this was going on, a scene of another kind was 
being enacted close by. Barry's and Desborough's batteries 
were formed at punishment parade, and three men were 
flogged for drunkenness— or as the coolies call it> "Sam- 
shu pigeon." * 

Atigust nth. — ^Early this morning Sir Hope Grant and 
staff rode past the camp, going a short way up the river for 
the purpose of selecting the best place for forming a bridge 
of boats across the Peiho, the present intention being, that 
while the gun-boats attack in fronts the first division cross 
over to the opposite side, and take the soutli forts in rear, 
the northern ones being attacked in like manner by the 
second division. 

From a sick soldier brought into camp the night before 
last, some scraps of intelligence have been picked up; 
amongst others, that the garrison of Tang-koo originally 
amounted to two thousand five hundred men, commanded 
by a brigadier-general, who felt much perplexed what to do 
when the troops and inhabitants arrived in full flight from 
Sin-ho. At first a panic took place amongst the garrison, 
but ultimately he succeeded in re-establii^ing order, and 
got the troops formed into divisions for the defence of the 
works. 

August 18^A. — ^About two o'clock, two guns of Barry's 
battery and a company of the 31st Regiment were ordered 

* Samalia u the intozieatiiig liquor most commonly used by the Chinese, 
and bears so dose a resemblance to vhisky, that onr soldiers seldom allow 
it to escape when they come across it. 



ABMSTBONG GUNS. 103 

out to coyer the advance np the river of a number of small 
jmiks, intended to be used in constmcting the bridge across 
the Peiho. Sir John Michel commanded the party in 
person. The guns were placed in position on the bank, near 
the edge of the river. The Slst were ordered to lie down 
amongst some rashes in front of the gnns. A Chinese 
battery opened fire at half-past two, which was immediately 
returned by the Armstrongs. The Chinese, however, con- 
tinued to fire, sending their shot in excellent line, but at too 
great an elevation, the shot falling about fifty feet to the 
rear of the guns. 

With my glass I could distinctly see the gunners at work, 
and a mounted officer, with two squirrel tails in his hat, 
riding about directing the operations, and apparently voci- 
ferating energetically. The batteries went on exchangmg 
shots for about a quarter of an hour, when gradually ap- 
pearing from amongst the rushes was seen one after another 
of the 31st getting up to have a look at what was going on. 
" Lie down, you red fellows ! what are you doing there ? — 
down every one of you," shouted Sir JohnMichel; — the scarlet 
tunics, or rather tiie red serge shirts which are worn in lieu 
of them, contrasting strongly with the bright green of the 
rushes, and presenting a most attractive mark to the enemy. 

At this time, just as an Armstrong had been fired, the 
Times correspondent rode up and exclaimed, " What a 
magnificent shot I it has dismounted a gun." Sir John 
Michel turned round and said, " There has not a single shot 
gone near the battery. I have watched with my glass the 
effect of every one that has been fired." Captain AUgood, 
the Deputy Quartermaster-General of the division, who was 
standing with General Michel, and had also watched the 
course of the shot, said the same. The distance was about 
1700 yards, and as the shot fell no doubt within the Chinese 
lines, though apparently not near the object fired aty it 
would ahnost seem as if length of range was incompatible 
with due precision of fire. 



104 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

As the Armstrongs did not seem to be producing any 
efiEect where they were, Sir John Michel directed one of 
them to be moved down to the river side, and brought to 
bear from that point. At three o'clock the company of the 
3lBt was ordered to retire from its advanced position in the 
rushes and move to the left. At half-past three the troops 
were withdrawn, the boats having passed up the river be- 
yond reach of the Chinese guns, which, however, had been 
silent for about a quarter of an hour previously.* 

* The foUowing yenioii of this afiair appeared in the Time$ on the 8rd 
November, 1860, firom the pen of its special correspondent, and {lainfal as 
it is to me, nnder the circumstances attending the fate of this gentleman, 
to aUude toit, I feel that I should shrink from a public duty, if I allowed 
statements attributing a success in the field to the Armstrong gun totally 
at Tariance with &ot8, to remain uncontradicted amongst the records of 
the Peiho campaign. The letter states : — 

"The Chinamen opened fire from five guns in good line but about 
twenty feet too high. The first shot from the Armstrongs feU to the 
right and missed them ; the second burst in their battery ; the third dis- 
mounted a large gun, sending the carriage into the air in splinters ; the 
fourth plumped in amongst the fugitiye gunners, who never fired another 
shot. Every junk passed up in safety without the slightest accident, and 
the materials for the bridge were secured.** 

Now it appears to me^ particularly at a period when the AnuBtrong gun 
was on its first trial, and the accounts of such trial would materiaUy 
influence the Government in sanctioning its substitution for the old smooth- 
bore artillery, that this style of ''sensation" writing cannot be too 
strongly condemned ; it also to my mind throws the shadow of exaggeration 
over all the other statements emanating from the same source, relating to 
the efficiency of the gun for the purposes of field artillery. The day after 
the affair, Brigadier Staveley carefully examined the Chinese battery. The 
guns were all in position ; there was no sign of one of them having been 
struck, nor could he, on dose search, find a fragment of an Armstrong sheU 
nor an indication of one having burst in the neighbourhood— facts which, 
at the time, naturally produced an impression anything but favourable 
to the accuracy of the practice on the occasion in question. Where the 
Armstrong shells actuaUy went^ I happened to find out accidentally some 
months afterwards. One day in the winter of 1861 at Tien-tsin, happening 
to be talking to Assistant-Surgeon Heard, of the 67th Regiment, about 
the Armstrong gun, and questioning its efficiency at long ranges on active 
service, he cited, in opposition to my views, the affair of the 18th of 
August, describing the practice on that day as having been remarkably 



CHOLERA. 105 

A case of true Asiatic cholera occurred in the camp of 
the first division to-day. The subject of it was a soldier 
of Barry's battery, of feeble constitution, and who had been 
frequently under medical treatment. The disease proved 
fatal in a few hours. 

The same day a soldier of the 67th was similarly attacked 
in Tang-koo, distant between two and three miles. The 
occurrence of these two cases out of some 10,000 men, 
would seem as if some veiy limited choleraic influence had 
passed over the neighbourhood, as there was no further 
spread of the disease, and all idea of its arrest by sanitary 
precautions a simple absurdity ; as the men in Tang-koo 
had been, and continued to reside, in an atmosphere super- 
saturated with the foulest of odours, while those in the first 
division camp revelled for days afterwards in unripe fruits 
and raw vegetables procured from the luxuriant orchards 
and well-stocked gardens in the neighbourhood. 

August 19th. — ^Yesterday the sergeant of the 44th and 
the greater number of the coolies captured on the 12th inst., 
were sent into Tang-koo by the Governor-General of the 
province. The coolies look rather underfed and have been 
deprived of their tails — lucky fellows to have returned with 
their heads. The sergeant, who, by the way, is an Irish- 
man, tells extraordinary stories of what he overheard the 
Oiinese authorities saying ; and when questioned by Sir 



good : he, along with others quartered in Tang-koo, had watched its effects, 
the position of the town enabling them to see where the shells fell and 
borst. They did so at a considerable distance in the rear of the battery, 
and right amongst the retreating Tartars who had been dislodged by the 
FreDch. The practice seemed to be so good, viewed from TaDg-koo, that a 
donbt never crossed the minds of the lookers-on but that the gnns were 
specially directed against the fagitives — of whose existence in the rear of 
the batteiy, or any where near it, I may state with perfect confidence, not 
one of those who were with the Armstrong gnns had the most remote idea, 
and farther, that it was simply a matter of chance that the Armstrong 
sheila had not dropped amongst onr gallant allies, when in pursuit of the 
Tartars towards the village of Taku. 



106 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Eobert Napier as to how he had picked up this information, 
seeing that he did not understand a single word of Chinese, 
except " weilo,"* he replied, " Sure, sir, thim fellows have 
no saecrets at all at aU." The facts are, he and a private of 
the Buffs, named Moyse, coming up in charge of the grog 
on the 12th in rear of the second division, got drunk, mis- 
took the road, and marched direct towards a party of Tartar 
cavalry on the Tien-tsin road, under the impression they 
were Seiks. The sergeant, who discovered his mistake by 
coming on one of the Tartar vedettes, gives the following de- 
scription of their capture. " Whin I saw who he was, I cocked 
my pace and presinted it^ but there was nothing in it. He 
retraited, and I retraited ; thin says I to the coolies, * Boys, 
you had better hook it,' and thin it was we were surrounded 
and made prisoners." Of his Mend Moyse at this period 
he makes no mention, and the inference is that he was then 
in a state of happy oblivion. He however represents him at 
a later period of his captivity meeting his death for refdsing 
to kow-tow before Sang-ko-lin-sin, a statement which, with 
great safety, may be placed in quarantine, f 

That the Chinese intend to fight would seem beyond 
doubt. This morning Mr. Consul Parkes, in his capacity of 
interpreter to the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by 
Major Graham, R.E., and some officers of the second division 
staff, went with a flag of truce to the fort nearest Tang-koo, 
and summoned it to surrender. The Commandant, how- 
ever, ordered the party off, saying that if the English wanted 
the forts they must come and take them. 

Looking over the parapet of the Tang-koo entrenchment we 
could see the rear of the Taku forts, with crowds of labourers 

* WeUo is a comxption of the Cantonese hulo^ to go, and is the tenn 
in common nse by the English to promote locomotion amongst the 
southern Chinese. 

i< From inqniries made at a subsequent period, I ascertained from very 
good authority, that none of the prisoners taken on the 12th August met 
a Tiolent death, but two or three died from disease during captivity ; the 
result no doubt of iU-treatment. 



CHINESE FIRE-BALLS. 107 

f moying about apparently busily engaged strengthening the 

defences in the direction of the expected attack. Onr work- 
ing parties were seen a mile or more to the left completing 
the approaches prior to the attack, which takes place to- 
morrow morning. 

^ At nine pjff. the sky in the neighbourhood of the forts 

suddenly became brightly lit up by the explosion in rapid 
BuccessiL of a large n Jber of fireiallB. wMch the ChinL 
threw up from the forts to see what the troops were about — 

f a more brilliant pyrotechnic display I never witnessed. 

^ This evening I was joined by my brother, who has landed 

from the " Sir William Peel " hospital ship, with the view 
of going oflF with the wounded to-morrow in the " Cooper,** 
the steamer that has been detailed to convey them to the 
fleet, distant some nine or ten miles from the forts. When 
he left the anchorage, the gunboats were in course of taking 
up their positions in front of Taku. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Adranoe upon the Taku forta — Bxplosion of magazioefl — Upper Kortii Fort 
taken — ^Aspect of the fort after its capture — A photographic group 
— The cavalier — The other forts hoist white flags — An armistice 
granted — Details of the capture of the upper North Fort — A Coolie 
in search of Sycee silver — Flags of truce arrive — A letter from the 
Governor-General— Mandarin conveying it speaks English — Termina- 
tion of the armistice — The lower North Fort surrenders — Terrific 
thunder-storm — Betum of the army through the mud. 

Augtcst 2l8f, — ^As soon as daylight admitted of the guns 
being moved over the narrow and imperfect bridges by 
which the ditches intersecting the line of march to Tang-koo 
are crossed, Desborough's and Barry's batteries left the 
camp of the first division, and, in column of route extending 
over nearly two-thirds of a mile, crossed the plain towards 
the principal entrance of Tang-koo. The morning was still 
grey as we neared the outer defences. On our left front, 
looking dark and formidable, the tall cavaliers of the Taku 
forts were seen. All was then silent, and they showed no 
signs of activity. At ten minutes past five as we were riding 
slowly on, gazing on the forts and speculating as to whether 
they would resist or not, a bright flash shot forth from the 
summit of the fort nearest us, a cloud of smoke followed, and 
the report of a heavy gun fell on our ears : others fol- 
lowed in rapid succession. The allied columns were advanc- 
ing from Tang-koo, and the Taku forts had opened fire upon 
them. 

An interval elapsed before we heard our guns replying, 
but as we were passing through Tang-koo a pretty active 



ATTACK UPON THE TAKU FORTS. lOD 

fire commenced against the forts, though but a portion of 
the artillery had by that time got into position. On our 
way through the town, I observed on the roof of the house 
used as the head-quarters of the second diyision, the Times 
correspondent aud a portion of the staff viewing the fight 
from a distance. Sir Hope Grant having interdicted any but 
those actually on duty with the troops engaged in the attack 
from passing the limits of Tang-koo. All over the town 
groups of soldiers were on the house-tops, every eye strained 
in the direction of the forts, from the whole of which a 
steady fire of heavy guns was now being kept up. 

At this time the gunboats, having got into position 
within range, commenced bombarding the forts nearest the 
sea, while the fire of the allied artillery on shore became 
incessant and heavy. 

At half-past six as we were watching the bombardment, 
our eyes at the moment diverted from the fort in front in 
the direction of the gunboats, a terrific noise as if some 
vast mine had exploded under our feet, for the moment 
ahnost deafened us. Its cause was in a second revealed. 
The upper northern fort had become shrouded from view. 
a massive cloud of dark smoke ascended high above the 
cavalier, and what seemed solid bodies were falling thickly 
about — the chief magazine of the fort had been exploded by 
one of our shells. There was now a lull in the bombardment, 
and the surrender of the fort might reasonably have been 
expected; on the contrary, to the surprise of every one, the 
Chinese, apparently unappalled by the tremendous explo- 
sion within their walls, still stood to their guns, and recom- 
menced firing nearly as briskly as ever. About ten minutes 
after the first explosion, another equally severe occurred in 
the fort nearest the sea, the magazine of which had been 
exploded by a shell from one of the French gunboats. At 
this time the Chinese were still keeping up a steady, but ill- 
directed fire, the greater portion of the shot passing over the 
heads of the troops and falling in the rear. 



110 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The field-gmiB were now advanced to within fire hundred 
yards of the gateway of the fort, and, nnder cover of their 
fire, a portion of the storming party (composed of the 44th 
and 67th Begiments) obtained an advanced position. The fire 
of the allied artillery now became, if anything, heavier than 
ever, while that of the Chinese was beginning gradually to 
decline. At seven o'clock, the infantry in front commenced 
a sharp and weU-snstained rifle fire on the embrasures of 
the fort, the guns of which were not yet silenced : at the 
same time, the gunboats were seen in motion, apparently 
approaching closer to the forts on the seaboard : about this 
hour, also, Lieutenant Moorsom was sent to the rear to 
bring up the reserve ammunition of Barry's battery, that 
with^which it went into action being nearly exhausted, so 
active had the fire been. 

Immediately after the first explosion took place, a portion of 
the French force, consisting of three companies of the 102nd, 
was pushed forward to a position a good deal in advance. 
At a quarter to eight General Montauban and staff arrived 
on the ground and passed down to the front, where a heavy 
fire of musketry was now going on, with occasional salvoes 
from the mortars. The field-guns were employed making a 
breach, and a rather smart cannonade was being kept up 
between the guns in Tang-koo and those on the opposite 
side of the Peiho. A "pwrtj of artillerymen also, under 
Lieutenant Anderson, were endeavouring to get to the front 
one of the large eight-inch siege guns. The ground was 
too heavy, the wheels of the carriage became imbedded in 
the mud, and though the men made eveiy possible exertion, 
the attempt to get the gun forward had to be abandoned. 

Professional duties now occupied my attention for some 
time, and my ideas with reference to occurrences in front 
are so confused and imperfect that I shall not attempt their 
description. Gradually the firing died away, and as such of 
the wounded as it had fallen to me to look after were got 
under way for Tang-koo, I rode forward to the fort, from the 



UPPER NOETH FORT TAKEN. Ill 

cavalier of which the flags of England and France were 
now fluttering in the breeze ; the former represented by the 
Queen's colour of the 67th Regiment. The troops were 
massed by regiments and batteries close up to the outer 
defences. Sir Robert Napier was lyiag on the ground ex- 
hausted with fatigue and intermittent fever, from which 
he had been suffering during the whole attack. His 
glass had been knocked out of his hand by a matchlock 
bullet^ and his boot cut open by another. His aide-de-camp 
also, Captain Broke, received a bullet through his helmet, 
and afterwards was wounded in the thigh. On my way 
to the fort I had met him being carried to the rear. 

The number of casualties had so far exceeded what was 
expected, that a considerable proportion of those wounded 
during the storming had yet to be removed. A French 
soldier severely wounded was lying in the mud near the 
western angle where the French made their assault. There 
were no means of removing him' at hand, and Colonel Fol^y 
came to me to see if I could give any aid. At this moment 
a party of men of the BufPs came up from Tang-koo with 
some stretchers, one of which I took and had the poor 
fellow brought in. 

Having a brother in the 44th, I naturally looked flrst for 
that regiment, which I found in close column on the left in 
rear of the fort. The men looked weaiy, and were standing 
with their arms piled. Ten men of the 44th, who had been 
killed in the storming, were lying in a row, aud a party of 
the coolie corps were digging one large grave for their iuter- 
ment near the outer ditch of the fort. On the extreme left 
on the top of an embankment some way in advance and 
commanding a portion of the river front of the fort, two 
companies of the 44th were drawn up under Major Hackett. 
They had been placed there to intercept the retreat of the 
Tartars as they escaped towards the lower northern fort 
during the storming. 

I now went towards the entrance of the fort, and crossing 



112 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the formidable water defences by a pontoon bridge, laid 
down by the Royal Engineers, I came to the drawbridge 
which by this time had been lowered. Here some men of 
the 44th and 67th were employed with pickaxes widen- 
ing a breach that the guns had partially made — ^through it 
I passed into the fort, and a distressing scene of carnage 
disclosed itself; Mghtfal mutilations and groups of dead 
and dying meeting the eye in every direction. 

I walked round the ramparts on the west side. They 
were thickly strewed with dead — in the north-west angle 
thirteen were lying in one group round a gun. Signer Beato 
was here in great excitement, characterising the gronp as 
" beautiful," and begging that it might not be interfered 
with nntil perpetuated by his photographic apparatus, which 
was done a few minutes afterwards. Not far from this 
group, a tall and very dignified-looking man of between 
fifty and sixty, stated to be the general who had conducted 
the defence, was lying dead, his lower jaw shattered by a 
rifle bullet. 

Having walked round the western half of the ramparts, 
I ascended the cavalier by an inclined plane paved with 
brick-work, so arranged as to afford secure footing to men 
or horses dragging heavy weights up it, such as guns or 
their carriages. From the top'of the cavalier — ^which mounted 
three large guns, two of them of brass, and one an English 
thirty-two pounder, supposed to have been taken out of the 
gunboats last year — I had a good view of the other forts. 
Though they had not surrendered, they had taken down their 
war flags and substituted white ones, of which the explana- 
tion given was that it was to enable their civil authorities to 
communicate with ours. Sir Hope Grant was sitting on one 
of the gun-carriages talking to General Montauban, and ar- 
ranging ulterior proceedings, as the surrender of the remain- 
ing forts seemed uncertain ; an equivocating answer having 
been returned to a summons to that effect which, under 
a flag of truce, had been conveyed to them by Mr. Parkes. 



ARMISTICE GRANTED. 113 

An armistice however was granted them imtil two o'clock, 
and in the meantime orders were issned for the Buffs and 
8th Pmijanbees to adyance from Tang-koo and take the 
place of the 44th, Marines and 67th, now pretty well ex- 
hausted with the labours of the previous twelve hours, of 
which I now learned the following additional particulars : — 
By a little after siz A.M. the whole of the guns having 
opened fire, the bombardment continued nearly uninter- 
ruptedly until seven o'clock, by which time the guns of the 
upper northern fort had nearly ceased firing. A breach was 
then commenced near the gate, portions of the storming 
party beiug advanced near enough to open an effective fire 
on the embrasures. The Chinese, however, succeeded in 
bringing a heavy fire of small arms to bear on the troops, 
which occasioned some loss. The Sappers, with the Marines 
carrying the pontoons, were now advancing along a narrow 
causeway leading up to the gate, covered by two companies 
of the 44th. The fire, however, was so heavy that the attempt 
to get the pontoons forward failed, fifteen of the men carry- 
ing them being disabled within a few seconds. The two 
covering companies of the 44th, commanded by Captain 
Gregory and Lieutenant Bogers, had in the meantime gal- 
lantly rushed up to the edge of the outer ditch, and were 
endeavouring to keep down the heavy fire of gingals and 
matchlocks which was impeding the approach of the Marines. 
There being no cover for them, they in their turn became ex- 
posed to a fire which inflicted a rather heavy loss in killed 
and wounded upon them. The men of the 44th up to their 
middles in water were dropping fast, and no signs of the 
pontoons being forthcoming. Lieutenant Bogers, followed by 
a portion of the men, swam the ditches, and pulling up some 
of the bamboo stakes, succeeded in getting under the walL 
At the same time the storming companies of the 67th, under 
Lieut,-Col. Thomas, left their cover, and advancing under a 
heavy fire endeavoured also to cross the ditches, which they 
ultimately did, partly by swimming, partly by joining the 



lU NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

French, who had poshed on to the angle of the fort nearest 
them, and, making bridges of their light bamboo scaling- 
ladders, nnder circnmstances of no ordinary difficnlty had 
succeeded in crossing the water defences and obtaining a 
position under the wall, which with their nsnal gallantry they 
at once attempted to escalade, but met with a resistance so 
determined that in the first instance they were repulsed. 

While the in&ntry were thus employed, two of (Joran's 
howitzers had been ordered up by Sir Bobert Napier to 
within fifty yards of the gate, so as more effectually to form 
a breach ; and an imperfect one had just been made, when 
the storming parties, reinforced by the head-quarter wing of 
the 67th, under Lieutenant-Colonel Enox, and three com- 
panies of the French Marine In&ntry, succeeded in entering 
the fort — ^Lieutenant Rogers, of the 44th, and Drummer 
Fachard, of the 102nd, being the first who entered. The 
defence was continued for some time after the storming 
had been effected, and a free use of the bayonet had to be 
made before the remains of the garrison were placed hors de 
combat Under corer of their casemates, they kept np a 
matchlock fire on the storming party as it entered, and in 
this way Ensign Chaplin, of the 67th, was severely wounded 
as he was ascending the cayalier, with the Queen's colour of 
his regiment. By nine o'clock the fort was completely in 
our possession after three and a half hours' fighting, the 
British loss being twenty-two officers wounded, seventeen 
men killed, and one hundred and sixty-two wounded ; the 
French loss, two officers killed, eleven wounded — ^fifteen men 
killed, and one hundred and thirty wounded. 

The Chinese coolies in the service of the French were 
employed bringing up the scaling-ladders, which exposed 
them to a severe fire, causing several casualties amongst 
them. They are reported to have behaved remarkably 
well, displaying great coolness under fire. The French 
made use of their scaling-ladders for bridging the ditches 
in the following manner : — ^They reduced the width of the 



VICTORIA CROSS. 115 

ditch by placing a ladder in it, slanting from each bank, and 
then connected the two ladders bj placing a third across. 

Amongst those who particularly distinguished themselves 
may be mentioned Brigadier Eeeyes, who though wounded 
in three places remained in front until the capture of the 
fort was completed. Captain Gregory, of the 44th, also 
distinguished himself, rifle in hand, in aiding his men in 
keeping down the matchlock fire as the storming parties 
were advancing. Lieutenant Bogers, of the 44th, and 
Lieutenants Lenon and Burslem, and Ensign Chaplin, of 
the 67th, report says, are to be recommended for the Vic- 
toria Cross, in consequence of special services rendered 
during the storming.* 

* These officers nltimatelj reoeiTed the YietoriA Cross, and in the 
London OtaeUe of the 13th Augnst, 1861, their serrioee, in common with 
those of some private soldiers on whom the decoration was also conferred, 
are thns mentioned : — 

** The Qneen has been gradonsly pleased to signify her intention to con- 
fer the decoration of the Victoria Gross on the undermentioned officers and 
soldiers^ whose daims to the same have been submitted for her Majesty's 
approval, on acoonnt of acts of bravery performed by them in China on 
the occasion of the assault and capture of the North Taku Fort on the 21st 
of August^ 1860, as recorded agabst their several names— viz. : — 

" Lieutenant (now Captain) Bobert Montresor Sogers, 44th Begiment 
(now of the 90th Begiment), Private John Ma)ougaU (No. 220), 44th 
Begiment^ and Lieutenant Edmund Henry Lenon, 67th Begiment, for dia- 
tinguished gallantry in swimming the ditches and entering the North Taku 
Fort by an embrasure during the assault. They were the first of the 
English established on the walls of the fort, which they entered in the 
order in which their names are here recorded, each one being assisted by 
the others to mount the embrasure. 

" Lieutenant (now Captain) Nathaniel Burslem, 67(h Begiment (now of 
the 60th Begiment), and Private Thomas Lane (No. 612), 67th Begiment, 
for distinguished gallantry in swimming the ditches of the North Taku 
Fort^ and persevering in attempting during the assault, and before the 
entrance of the fort had been effected by any one^ to enlarge an opening in 
the wall, through which they eventually entered, and, in doing so, were 
both severely wounded. 

"Bnsign (now Lieutenant) John Worthy Chaplin, 67th Begiment (now 
of the 100th Begiment), for distinguished gallantry at the North Taku 
Fort This officer was carrying the Queen's colour of the regiment, and 

I 2 



116 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

During the armistice I availed myself of the opportimity 
of examining the rear defences of the fort. They consist 
of an inner lining of strong palisades supporting a thick and 
strong wall of nnbnmt brick, faced with mud and chopped 
straw, having casemates five feet apart, tlie embrasures 
externally being eight inches high and a foot in length, and 
intended to be used only for matchlocks or gingals. Imme- 
diately nnder the wall the ground is covered with sharp 
bamboo stakes ; beyond this there is a moat, then another 
interval of staked ground, then a broad ditch ; beyond these 
is a piece of ground covered with abattis, the branches of 
the trees being so arranged as to entangle men approaching 
from without, and by an arrangement of bells and wires an 
alarm would have been given in the event of a night attack. 
Beyond the dbattis there is a deep ditch, which constitutes 
the outermost defence. 

I walked under the parapet as well as I could, amongst 
the bamboo stakes, which were sharp-pointed, and ar- 
ranged in lines alternately eight and eighteen inches 
high. In addition to these, crows'-feet of iron, presenting a 
sharp spike upwards whichever way they happened to be 
lying, were strewed thickly over the ground underneath the 
parapet. With a great deal of difficulty I wafi able to get 
round to the eastern side, where there are several large 
casemated embrasures, containing guns of considerable 
calibre. Underneath these casemates numbers of bodies 
were lying on the spikes impaled, having apparently been 
hurled from the embrasures by the storming party. In 
a casemate in the south-eastern angle, lying round a 
large gun, I counted three-and-twenty corpses; on the 
ground underneath the embrasure there were eight ; and in 
the ditch immediately in fix)nt between twenty and thirty 

first planted the colours on the breach made by the itorming party, aaaisted 
by Private Lane, of the 67th Eegiment, and subsequently on the caTalier 
of the fort, which he was the first to mount. In doing this he was sererely 
wounded." 



FLAG OP TRUCE. 117 

more— the latter, one of the coolie corps was poking abont 
with a long bamboo pole trying to make ont whether they 
had any sycee silyer abont them. While he was so engaged, 
a sergeant of the 44th came np and administered the fol- 
lowing rebuke to him : — " What are yon a-doing of ? Can't 
yon leave the poor dead alone? Snrely they are not 
amioying of yon." Abont this part of the fort the killed 
appeared to have been either bayoneted or shot while 
attempting to escape across the ditches. 

At a quarter to one o'clock, I observed a boat arrive from 
the opposite side of the river. It bore a flag of truce, and 
two miUtary maudarins landed. They wore long buff- 
coloured dresses, made of a light material resembling grass 
cloth, with waist-belts having precious stones set in the 
buckles. They had on conical-shaped straw hats, sur- 
mounted with the buttons of their ranks, from which red 
horse-hair hung down in the form of a tassel. Their boots 
were of black satin, and came halfway to the knee. They 
were the bearers of a despatch, and had great difficulty in 
making their way across the various obstacles constituting 
the defences about here, their long skirts getting entangled 
in the bamboo stakes. From this cause one of them tripped 
and fell on the spikes, severely lacerating one of his fingers, 
which was bleeding profusely as he emerged on the clear 
ground where I was standing. Mr. Parkes received their 
communication, and said a few words to them. As the 
bleeding continued from the finger, I supplied some lint 
and had the wound dressed, which the Tartar acknowledged 
by politely bowing several times. At this moment another 
boat arrived, conveying a civil mandarin, accompanied by 
a soldier, bearing a flag of truce. The mandarin, a young 
man of delicate appearance, spoke very fair English. Mr. 
Parkes, Lieut.-CoL Crealoch, and Major Anson came down 
from the cavalier and met him. He seemed to be known 
to the former, who, on learning the nature of his mission, 
namely, that he was the bearer of a despatch from Hung, 



118 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the Govemor-Gfeneral, to Lord Elgin, assumed what, to a 
looker-on, appeared a harsh and mmecessarily Tiolent de- 
meanour towards him, saying that such communications 
were now useless, as it was only with the commanders-in- 
chief that he could treat, as matters were now entirely in 
their hands. He, however, took the letter to Lord Elgin, 
who was on the cavalier, and left the mandarin standing 
below. He sat down on a piece of wood, and I went up 
and spoke to him, asking him where he had learnt to speak 
English so weU. He said he had travelled both in England 
and America; he then, with much apparent feeling, said he 
could not understand why Mr. Parkes should treat him in 
the harsh manner he had done ; that such usage of men, 
situated as he then was, was not customary amongst Euro- 
pean nations ; that current events were not his doing, nor 
was he responsible for the Governor-General having ad- 
dressed himself to the ambassador in place of the general 
commanding the troops ; that he was the mere envoy bearing 
it, and therefore ought to be treated with the courtesy 
common to civilisation. By the time he had thus expressed 
himself, a crowd had formed about him, and a young 
medical officer stretched his neck forwards, and remarked in 
a rather strong Irish accent, **Why, he is a very little 
feUow." "Yes," replied the mandarin, " I am a very small 
man, but I have a very large heart. Napoleon was a very 
little man, but that did not interfere with his being a very 
great one." I asked him if San-ko-lin-sin waa in the forts 
opposite ? He replied, ** That is not my business ; all I am 
here for is to deliver a letter from the Governor-General, 
and take back any reply that may be sent." I then asked 
him what office he held, and he told me that he was 
assistant Magistrate of Pechili. He said that he did 
not know who the two military mandarins were, or what 
they had come about. Mr. Parkes now returned, and gave 
him an answer, with which he departed.* 

* I have nDce aaeertained that Wang is the name of this offidal, and 



LOWER NORTH FORT SURRENDERS. 119 

Preparations in the meantime were being made for re- 
commencing the attack, and towards two o'clock the whole 
of the artilleiy that it Was possible to bring forward was 
moving towards the remaining northern fort By the honr 
appointed for the expiration of the armistice, the line of 
attack was formed ; the English artillery on the left, the 
French on the right. The infantry, consisting of the 8rd 
Buffs, 8th Punjanbees, and a battedion of Infanterie de la 
Marine, had been brought up from Tang-koo i the troops 
engaged in the morning being retained in reserve. As there 
were no signs of resistance, the whole line of artillery 
advanced without firing a shot, and the storming parties 
pushed forward. In a few minutes, the Buffs, Punjanbees, 
and French were seen scaling the wall, and at half-past 
two the Union Jack and tricolor floated above the cava- 
lier. About fifteen hundred soldiers, a good many of them 
wounded, were found inside. They threw down their arms, 
and quietly surrendered themselves as prisoners. 

The day had been beautifully fine ; but hardly had this 
fort been captured, when the sky suddenly became overcast, 
and a terrific thunder-storm burst over the place. The rain 
fell in torrents, and soon saturated the plain, converting it 
in a very brief space of time into one vast swamp. After 
an hour's exposure to this storm, drawn up in the rear of 
the fort, the artillery received orders to return to Tang- 
koo. The groimd was in such a state that it was found 
impossible to move the heavier guns, and the lighter 
ones were got along with the greatest difficulty, and every 
now and then one had to be left in the mud. The army 

tbat he was educated at Biahop Boone*8 American Mission School at 
Shanghai ;— that he was employed by Mr. Wade in the Chinese Secretary's 
Office as a linguist for some time, and that in that capacity he accompanied 
Lord Elgin's mission to China in 1858. After the signing of the treaty at 
Tien-tsin that year, owing to his knowledge of barbarian affairs, the antho- 
rities put pressure npon him and made him remain in the goremment 
sendee near the capital. I was fortonate enoogh to have a yery inter- 
esting oonyersation with him under Teiy different circumstances, eighteen 
montiia afterwards at Tien-tsin. 



120 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

returning looked one yast disorganised rabble. The Eng- 
lish and French in&ntry were all in confusion and mixed 
up together, the men wading to their ]piees in mud. 
Struggling on through swamp and mud, sinking sometimes 
nearly to their thighs, I noticed a couple of the French 
coolie corps canying back on a stretcher one of their dead 
comrades who had been killed at the assault. Here and 
there also horses were seen immersed and suffocating in 
the mud. We passed Milward's battery hors de combat; 
Desborough's howitzers had to be left behind ; and just as 
we were nearing Tang-koo, one of Barry's guns got so 
deep in the mud that it could not be moved on. By degrees 
the remainder of the battery got as far as the eastern side 
of Tang-koo, but there the streets were in such a state that 
its further progress for the night was arrested. 

Haying left one of the medical officers of the artillery 
and seyeral men sick in camp at Sin-ho, I was anxious to 
reach there if practicable before dark. This, however, was 
not an easy matter, the plain intenrening being now com- 
pletely flooded, and what little daylight remained being 
nearly expended before I succeeded in extricating myself 
from the muddy intricacies of Tang-koo. Having taken a 
line as nearly as I could guess in the direction of the camp, 
all traces of road being obliterated, I had to go along at a 
slow pace through the water, and was overtaken by dark- 
ness before I had advanced more than half a mile from the 
intrenchment. It continued to rain at intervals, and every 
now and then the flooded plain was for a second revealed to 
view by flashes of lightning. After being out about three 
hours, I found myself in the vicinity of the camp; but owing 
to the intervening ditches and the difficulty of finding the 
bridges across them, nearly another hour elapsed before I 
reached the tents, which were at this time about a foot deep 
in water. The Peiho also had overflowed, and in the imperfect 
light it was impossible to distinguish between the river and 
the flooded plain, rendering it unsafe to approach too near 
the bank. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Sarrender ftnd occupation of the South Taka Forts — Gkdlantry of the 
Chinese defence — The Chinese coolie corps — Capacity of the Chinaman 
to make an efficient infantry soldier — ^Defects in the Armstrong gun — 
BoTifiit the North Takn Fort — Burial scene — ^Admiral Hope proceeds 
to Tien-tsin — Visit opposite bank of river — Embark for Tien-tsin — 
Accident to the gun-boat. 

August 22nd. — ^Yesterday afternoon, on the second north 
fort being surrendered, Mr. Parkes, Major Anson, and Mr. 
Loch crossed the river and had an interview with the 
Governor-General, which ended, after a great deal of dis- 
cassion, in the unconditional surrender of the remaining 
forts, and all the munitions of war therein contained ; the 
Governor-General expressing the conviction that the course 
he had consented to adopt was one which would bring ruin 
on himseU^ but that the necessities of the people forced it 
upon him. 

There appears to be little doubt that the pressure caused 
by the population of Peh-tang, Sin-ho, and Tang-koo, having 
been driven in on Taku, must have had considerable in- 
fluence in bringing about so speedy a termination of hosti- 
lities. Peh-tang by itself had a population of between 
twenty and thirty thousand, and a grievous amount of 
distress must have followed our somewhat ruthless but 
unavoidable occupation of it. 

During the night the southern forts have been completely 
evacuated, and are now in the possession of our troops. 
Upwards of five hundred guns have been captured, amongst 
them a number of brass cannon, worth from eight to twelve 



122 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

hnndred pounds each. The value of the gun metal taken 
must amount to a considerable sum, which, it is presumed, 
will go to the allied forces as prize-money. In the great 
south fort an immense quantity of war stores of all kinds 
has been found, also the hut occupied by San-ko-lin-sin, 
which is described as being yeiy comfortably furnished, and 
the walls decorated with military plans. San-ko-lin-sia, 
accompanied by an escort of about a hundred and fifty 
cavalry, left the forts yesterday afternoon for Tien-tsin, 
en route, it is supposed, for Pekin, where he will arrive, 
like Sir John Cope, the bearer of the news of his own 
defeat. 

The loss of the Chinese in defending the northern forts 
must have been heavy, judging from the numbers of dead 
lying about yesterday. Though some of the bodies were 
fearfully mutilated by cannon shot, yet the majority of the 
dead seemed to have been either shot by rifle bullets or 
bayoneted in resisting the storming. No men could have 
behaved better than they did, and certainly on this occasion 
they proved themselves " foemen worthy of our steel." The 
forts are stated to have been garrisoned chiefly by Manchu 
Tartars,* and while bearing testimony to the determined 
gallantry they displayed, I must not forget a word for true 
old John Chinaman himself, as represented by the French 
and English coolie corps ; their coolness under fire and 
apparent indifference to danger having called forth the ad- 
miration of both armies. The French employed their coolies 
in the dangerous duty of carrying the scaling-ladders to 
the assault, which they did with remarkable steadiness and 
alacrity. 

Though we did not employ our coolies at the same 
dangerous work, still their duties were not unattended with 
risk, as they were constantly under fire removing the 
wounded and bringing up ammunition to the front, and 

* I haye ainoe ascertained tbat the garrison traa a mixed one of Chinese 
and Tartan, the former probably the more numerons. 



MILITARY CAPACITIES OF CHINESE. 123 

very well they behayed. They seemed to take great interest 
in the bombardment, and when the place was taken dis- 
played genuine delight. 

At a period when the reorganisation of our Indian army 
is occupying so large a share of attention on the part of the 
Legislature, and the difficulty found to be so great in re- 
placing the old sepoy army of Bengal, is it not worth while 
entertaining the possibility of making China an enlisting field 
for a force for service in India ? The experience of this cam- 
paign has demonstrated the great physical endurance of the 
Chinese, their docility and amenability to discipline, com- 
bined with intelligence and courage. Between 3000 and 
4000 of these men will return to Hong-Kong with the 
expedition, accustomed to British military rule and to 
association with British soldiers, and, above all, with a full 
confidence in the honour and financial integrity of the 
British service, the all-important point in securing a good 
and Mthful servant in a Chinaman. As far as I am qualified 
to judge, it appears to me that, in place of disbanding them, 
an effort might be made to form those who may be willing 
to take service as soldiers into an experimental Anglo- 
Chinese corps, which might be called the Hong-Eong 
Regiment. The opinion of Major Temple and the other 
officers who are now connected with the coolie corps is 
highly fevourable to the capacity of the coolie for making 
an efficient infantry soldier. They are now all partially 
drilled, and have shown a ready aptitude in picking up the 
few military manoeuvres that it has been necessary to teach 
them. 

This question of coolie enlistment is of peculiar interest 
at a time when we have a prospect of having to expend 
annually some thousand English soldiers in garrisoning a 
country, to the climate of which, fix)m their constitutions 
and habits, they are to a great extent unequal. The tastes 
of the English soldier in the mass are those pre-eminently 
unsuited to a climate like India : he eats largely of animal 



124 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

food, consumes freely intoxicating liquors, frequently of the 
worst kind, and narcotises himself with the strongest forms 
of tobacco. He is taught to dread the sun and to take no 
exercise during the day ; he consequently swelters during the 
greater portion of it in his barrack-room, in a state of 
drowsy inactivity, the practical results of which are in no 
way conducive to his health, or physical capacity for pro- 
longed Indian service. The English soldier as a general 
rule saves money only when he cannot find an opportunity 
to spend it, and when the opportunity comes, what has been 
thus saved too frequently all goes in one grand bout of 
excess : with Chinamen, enlisted as soldiers and serving in 
India, the chief thing they would think of would be the 
saving of money, partly to remit to their relatives, partly 
looking forward to the time when their agreements would 
expire, and they would be able to revisit their native villages 
with the accumulated proceeds of their frugality. This 
propensity on the part of the lower orders of the Chinese 
to save money operates powerfully against their giving way 
to those habits which act so injuriously on the constitutions 
of our soldiers in India. I do not mean to say that the 
Chinese in the mass are less vicious than English soldiers in 
the East ; I simply say that when earning dollars, from what- 
ever source they come, they have a greater capacity for taking 
care of them than English soldiers have, and this chiefly 
results from the faculty of self-denial which they seem to be 
more capable of exercising. 

The Armstrong guns returned to camp this forenoon, men 
and horses looking dirty and jaded ; the result of having 
spent the night in the mud where I left them in Tang-koo. 
One of the guns in the subdivision of the battery commanded 
by Lieutenant Philpots is disabled in the breach, owing to 
a concussion shell having burst in it at the moment of 
loading. It would seem as if the gunner in the excite- 
ment of the moment had not used sufficient care in the 
introduction of the shell, the slight j^ it then received 



THE ABMSTRONG GUN. 125 

causing its explosion. This tends to show that the gnn 
possibly requires more deliberate handling than can always 
be secured in the excitement of a general action. The 
Armstrong guns have certainly shown capacity for firing at 
long ranges, and possibly are capable of doing so with con- 
siderable precision, should the range be accurately known 
(which in the case of moving objects must always be 
difl&cult to ascertain), but to suppose, as very probably 
some will assert, that the campaign on the Peiho has been 
in any way abbreviated by them is a mistake ; the very 
satisfactory results which have been attained are mainly due 
to our tremendous force of artillery generally, and the 
cautious and judicious use made of it ; and in saying that 
these results would have been equally readily attained had 
the Armstrong batteries been common field artilleiy, I am 
writing the unprejudiced opinion of one who has had op- 
portunities for tolerably close observation, without having a 
bias one way or the other. In the different operations con- 
nected with the advance on the Peiho and capture of the 
Taku forts, the Armstrong guns have been invariably in 
action alongside the ordinary field batteries, and this seems 
to me to be hardly their proper place ; an amount of rapid 
firing being thus entailed upon them, possibly more than 
they are equal to, owing to the tendency they have to 
become speedily heated. Slow and careful firing at long 
ranges, with a specific object to carry out, most probably 
will be found to be the true position of the Armstrong gun 
as a novel form of field ordnance.* 

* Fnrtber experience in the north of China has bronght nnder my 
notice other defects in the gnn, one of which is a tendency the yertical 
Tent-piece has to fly ont ; attributable, I belieye, to repeated firing cansiog 
it to fit too loosely, in consequence of the wearing down of the copper 
facing, and which interferes with the breech being properly screwed np. 
This copper is stated to require *' bushing " about every hundred rounds, 
an easy operation, but one which necessitates a field forge accompanying 
the guns. 

That care and deliberation are necessary in loading was also iUustrated 



126 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

This afternoon I reyisited with Dr. Telfer the scene of 
yesterday's events. On entering the gate of the upper 
northern fort, I observed on each side of it, two large thirty- 
pounder carronades with piles of canister-shot close by. 
I was surprised to see how closely the Chinese have copied 
our method of manufacturing this destructive munition of 
war. In a hut near the entrance, a number of wounded 
Ohinese were collected, and what little could be done on the 
spot to mitigate their sufferings seemed to have been at- 
tempted, but a good deal remained to be done, and Dr. 
Telfer humanely brought the subject under the notice of the 
principal medical officer on returning to camp. 

I ascended the cavalier overlooking the river fix)nt of the 
fort : a strange scene was going on underneath. A large 
shallow pit had been dug, which a Migue party of soldiers 
were filling with the dead who had been shot on the outside 
of the fort, and whose bodies yesterday pretty thickly strewed 
the ground. They were brought in by ropes attached to 
their heads or heels, according as they had lain most con- 
veniently. A couple of soldiers harnessed thereto dragged 
them in through the mud, as merrily, to all appearance, as if 
they were engaged at a harvest home. Dead dogs and cats 
were thrown into the same pit amidst laughter and jokes — 
mirth presiding over the grim scene ; to such an extent do 
the finer feelings of human nature become blunted by war 

at Tien-tsLo, a 'breech explosion and eerere injniy to the man loading 
resulting from the neglect of it. It appears that sponging ont the gon is 
not sufficient to ensure the extinction of any sparks remaining in the 
groores, and that it is necessary after each sponging for the man loading 
to look np the breech prior to introducing the cartridge. On the occasion 
in question the man neglected to do so, and a spark remaining in one of 
the rifle grooves ignited the cartridge. That field batteries entirely com. 
posed of Armstrong guns will at no distant period be recognised as a mis- 
take, I think exceedingly probable ; as far as my Tsry limited means of 
observation enable me to judge, I have formed the opinion that the most 
efficient field battery for general service would be one composed of two 
howitsers, two field pieces, and two Armstrong guns. 



THE PEIHO OPENED. 127 

aad its attendant circnmatances, a veiy brief experience with 
which had rendered young soldiers indifferent to scenes that 
perhaps a few weeks before wonld haye filled them with 
horror. 

August 2Brd. — ^This morning, the obstacles havrng been 
remoyed from the river, the " Coromandel," bearing the flag 
of Admiral Hope, entered the Peiho, and abont eleven 
o'clock steamed past the camp of the first division, on her 
way towards Tien-tsin. Mr. Parkes accompanies the Ad- 
miral, and we hear that peace negotiations may be expected 
shortly to commence. 

The Engineers, French and English, are still working at 
the bridge of boats, which is now approaching completion. 
This afternoon, partly throogh its aid, partly by a boat, I 
succeeded, along with the Bev. Mr. Mah^, in getting over to 
the opposite side of the Peiho, and was much strack with the 
magnificence of the orchards, which seemed to extend for miles 
into the country, the road in fact lying between a perfect 
jnngle of froit trees and vines. In one of these orchards 
we fomid the Royals encamped, a portion of the first brigade 
under Brigadier Staveley having been sent across this fore- 
noon. The soil on this side of the river appears to be a rich 
brown clay. 

It was dark before we succeeded in re-crossing the river, 
and then, owing to the rise of the tide, it was impossible 
to return by the way we came, a broad ditch which inter- 
vened being now flooded. In our dif&culty, some sappers 
undertook to guide us in the dark to a part of the canal 
not &r from the camp, where some means existed for getting 
across. With a good deal of difficulty we reached the 
place, and with still more, succeeded in crossing ; the means 
by which we effected it being a few loose poles floating in 
the water, over which we had to crawl on our hands and 
knees, the darkness preventing us seeing where to put our 
feet. 

August 2ith. — Early this morning I was awoke by Colonel 



128 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Barry, with the information that in three hours the battery 
was to start for Tien-tsin. 

The battery had to wait some time before the bridge was 
sufficiently finished to admit of the horses and gons being 
taken to the opposite bank, where gmi-boats were waiting to 
receive them. I embarked with the first portion of the 
battery in the "Leren," and it was six o'clock before we 
fairly got under way. 

We had got but a short distance up the river when we 
grounded near the left bank. As the tide was coming in 
we had hopes of soon getting off. Perfect stillness prevailed 
around until seven o'clock, when the bugles of the Koyals 
were heard in the distance. 

At eight o'clock the tide was well in, and just as we 
seemed to have a prospect of getting again under way, the 
screw got foul of a boat's hawser. We were now at a com- 
plete stand-still, and in a fair way of being left with so little 
water that, from the great weight on board and unsteady 
nature of the cargo, it was not improbable that when the 
tide receded the vessel would heel over and serious loss 
ensue. It was an anxious moment for the Commander, who 
did all that possibly could be done to get the boat clear, 
and just as the last effort had proved unsuccessful, the 
"Coromandel" hove in sight on her way back from Tien- 
tsin. Admiral Hope learning the state of matters, sent the 
<<Snap" gun-boat to our assistance, which came alongside 
about midnight^ just as the '' Leven " had commenced to 
settle down. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Sieam up the Feiho — Yeflselfl get aground — Obliging dispoBition of the 
Tillagers — Arriyal at the Forts of Tien-tsin. Their appearance and 
construction — Occupation of Tien-tsin by Admiral Hope — Visit to the 
walled city— CiTility of the inhabitants—A Tillage deputation— 
Assault on a villager by a sailor — Sang-ko-lin-sin's commissariat 
arrangements — ^Appointment of Imperial Commissioners — Lord Elgin's 
arrival at Tien-tsin — Beinforcements sent to defend Shanghai — 
Departure from Tien-tsin. 

Augtist 26(h. — ^After great exertion and a good deal of 
difficulty, the horses and guns were transferred to the 
*^ Snap/' and at six am. we got once more under steam for 
Tien-tsin, which gave us the advantage of daylight during 
our whole progress up the river. It is difficult to convey an 
idea of the multitude of villages which crowd the banks of 
the Peiho. 

Numerous groups of villagers were watching the steamer 
pass, while others were going along the banks with their 
nets to fish. In dress and general appearance, no difference 
could be recognised between them and the peasantry of the 
south. The river for a considerable distance presents no 
variety, either in width or aspect of its banks, — a dense 
jungle of reeds on the right or southern side, and a low, 
sloping mud bank on the left, surmounted with a bright 
sur&ce of green vegetation, constitute the scenery, — ^its 
sameness here and there being broken by a cluster of richly 
clad trees. Judging from the number of people seen on 
the banks, the population about here would seem consider- 
able. 

We passed two towns exactly opposite each other, the one 



130 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

on the left bank being of some size and apparent commercial 
importance, twenty-three jnnks being at anchor, with seye- 
ral others in docks cut in the bank of the river. This town 
extends nearly a mile np the river-side, and the houses are 
built so close to its edge as hardly to leave room for a foot 
path between them. Crowds of inhabitants flocked down to 
the banks as we passed, and from their dress and general 
appearance seemed well to do. 

The '* Grenada^" with the English ensign at the main, 
was now close a-stem, and at half-past eight she passed us, 
Lord Elgin standing on the bridge. General Grant and his 
staff were also on board. One of the small Indian river 
steamers followed as tender to the " Grenada." 

We continued to pass numerous villages and towns on 
either side of the river, separated from each other in several 
instances by an interval of only a few hundred yards. 

Presently we reached a portion of the river where the 
banks are lower and the country more open, exposing to 
view a vast alluvial plain in cultivation, and intersected by 
a good road, along which covered carts and donkeys with 
pack saddles were travelling. Near this point the river 
seemed to be rather shallow, as our screw conmienced to 
turn up mud every now and then. We passed on the left 
bank a maritime town, with a number of large junks an- 
chored opposite it) and on the right bank a village of some 
size. The sailors in the junks seemed taller than the ave- 
rage of Chinamen generally. They looked on silently, but 
attentively, as we pajBsed, without gesticulation or any mani- 
festations of surprise. About here, the number of boats, 
junks and fishing punts, indicate a considerable maritime 
population. The punts are fitted with large nets suspended 
from a sort of spider-shaped bamboo frame. At this part 
the river is not over a hundred yards wide, and we passed 
within twenty yards of the bank, which was crowded with 
villagers watching the progress of the Western Barbarians, 
and amongst them several women, the first we have seen 



STEAMING UP THE PEIHO. 181 

since leaving Sinho. Business here seemed to be going on 
undisturbed ; the troubles of war apparently not having as 
yet reached so far inland. No dread of us was shown, as 
boats laden with merchandise were quietly pursuing their 
way up the river, without making any effort to elude us by 
passing up the creeks that branch off the river at short 
intervals. All about here a number of small villages are 
dotted about, some close to the river bank, others a little 
inland. 

On coming to a sharp turning opposite a village we found 
a Erench gunboat aground, and a crowd of viUagers vigo- 
rously pulling at a hawser under the direction of a few 
French sailors. Here we met the "Woodcock" gunboat 
returning from Tien-tsin. In passing she threw us a little 
too near the bank, and we also got aground. Crowds of 
peasants soon came about us ; the poor people seemed 
friendly in the extreme, and, judging from their manner, 
by no means sorry to see us. The devastation of war had 
not reached them, and their recollections of foreigners were 
probably those only of the year before last when our tem- 
porary residence at Tien-tsin had opened up a new market 
for their supplies. 

We sent a hawser on shore to the side opposite where the 
French were at work, and here we likewise met with plenty 
of volunteers, who set to work and pulled our head round, 
in five minutes getting us afloat. As we steamed slowly 
along close to the bank, our Mends, who were dark-com- 
plexioned with true Chinese features, accompanied us some 
little way, seemingly pleased at having rendered us a 
service, and ready to do it again if necessary. Here, for the 
first time, I observed a variety in the marine architecture of 
China, namely, boats formed of two conical-shaped punts 
lashed stem to stem, the front one having a long thin mast 
and calico sail on it run up on numerous strips of bamboo. 
These boats are guided by steer oars, and a considerable 
number of them were moving about at this part of the river. 



132 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Presently two new looking forts came in view, from which, 
with the glass, the flags of England and France were made 
out to be flying. As the forts are neared, indications of 
Tien-tsin begin to appear ; a large pagoda-shaped building 
being seen in the distance. About four we were abreast of 
the forts, and dropped anchor a little way inside of them, 
near the '^ Opossum" gunboat. 

At five o'clock Sir Hope Grant and his staff arrived in 
the Indian steamer ; the " Grenada" having got aground. 
The General immediately landed and Inspected the forts on 
both sides of the river, the 67th Regiment being in occupa- 
tion of them, having arrived a few hours before us. 

The forts appear to have been hardly completed. In con- 
struction and material they are much superior to those at 
Peh-tang. They are more closed in behind, though the 
upper battery or cavalier is approached in the same way by 
an incline or ramp. A crenellated wall is some distance in 
front of the cavalier, and fitted with an extensive series of 
casemates ; the embrasures being fitted with traversing 
platforms d la Chmoise^ in the form of massive wooden car- 
riages, revolving on a central axis. All the guns have been 
removed, and are believed to be buried in the neighbour- 
hood. 

In the distance, flying from the top of a pagoda-like 
building, which rises above a mass of low-roofed houses, the 
union jack and tricolor were distinguished, showing the 
occupation of the gate of Tien-tsin by an advanced portion 
of the allied force. 

!N'ear the fort on the left bank, there is a small village, 
with a temple having a burying ground in front of it, with 
the graves rounded over, and arranged exactly in European 
fashion, most of them having tomb-stones at their head. 
There are also several regularly constructed brick sarco- 
phagi in the vicinity of this temple. Altogether, I have 
seen nothing in China so closely resembling an English 
graveyard as this does. i 



OCCUPATION OF TIEN-TSm. 133 

While I was looking up the river with my glass, a crowd 
of natives came round me and seemed very anxious to have 
a peep through it. I allowed them to do so, and their 
awkward manipulation showed that the telescope is not yet 
an instrument in general use in the Celestial Empire. One 
of them, however, seemed more at home with it than the 
others, and, to my surprise, looking in the direction of some 
trees in the distance, he remarked ^^voild Us hois" On 
interrogating him as well as I could, I made out that he 
was a Christian, and had at a former period received tuition 
from the French missionaries. 

The circumstances attending the occupation of the city 
are the following : — On the evening of the 23rd instant, 
Admiral Hope, with his small squadron of gunboats, 
anchored about seven miles below the forts, where he 
was met by a deputation of citizens who informed him 
that the authorities had no intention of defending the 
works, which have just been completed on a very extended 
scale by Sang-ko-lin-sin, for the protection of Tien-tsin, the 
guns and garrisons having been withdrawn ; also, that 
Sang-ko-lin-sin himself had passed the previous day, accom- 
panied, as stated above, by about 150 horsemen. He is 
represented as having been so depressed in spirits as not to 
enter the city, preferring going on direct to Peking. 

Such being the state of matters. Admiral Hope deter- 
mined at once to occupy Tien-tsin, and pushing on yester- 
day morning, he landed marines at the forts, and went 
right up to Tien-tsin in the " Coromandel," arriving there 
about nine o'clock. The Viceroy (Hang-fuh), who also 
had arrived from Taku, came off and had an interview with 
the Admiral, who informed him that Tien-tsin must be 
considered in the possession of the allies, but that the 
people would be protected and the civil authorities allowed 
to remain in the exercise of their judicial functions. The 
east gate of the city was then taken possession of, and the 
English and French flags hoisted on it. A proclamation at 



134 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the same time was posted up on it by direction of Admiral 
Hope, informing the people of the circumstances under 
which they are now placed. The Admiral then returned to 
Taku, leaving Captain M'Cleverty as senior naval officer, 
and Mr. Parkes to act in conjunction with him. 

Augtisf 26th. — This morning, at a quarter to six, I left 
the camp for the purpose of visiting Tien-tsin. The road, 
which passes between fields of tall millet on the left, and 
vegetable gardens on the right, is of good breadth, and at 
present in fair order, ihe weather being very fine. In wet, 
however, I should say it becomes an indifferent one. Pea- 
sants in considerable numbers, laden with market supplies, 
were going in the direction of the forts. The attire and 
mode of dressing the hair adopted by the women, seem 
the same as at the south ; their feet, however, in some 
instances, looked as if they had been exposed to a more 
modified form of contraction than is the rule there. 

After proceeding along this road for about a mile, I 
reached the suburbs of Tien-tsin, and entered a long, 
narrow irregular street, lined with shops of a common 
description. This street led down to the river bank, and 
terminated in a bridge crossing a small creek or canal. 
Hereabouts the river was ftiU of junks, and the left 
bank crowded with houses. On the opposite side houses 
occurred only here and there, the vacant spaces being 
occupied by large and lengthy mounds, covered with 
matting, which I ^have since learned are enormous stores 
of salt. 

The people seeing me puzzled when I came to turnings, 
and guessing where I wished to go to, were very civil in 
directing me, and I succeeded in reaching the east gate of 
the walled city. Here I found a company of the 67th, and 
some French sailors on guard. The gateway is of con- 
siderable strength, and seems a sort of citadel or fortified 
yamun, ascended by a ramp on each side from without the 
city wall, and defended in front by a crenellated bastion, 



TIEN-TSIN. 185 

haying a gateway at its side. From the top of the east 
gate it is readily made out that the city is invested by a 
strong brick wall, about twenty feet thick ; that its shape 
is quadrilateral, and that there is a similar gateway at the 
centre of each of the three other faces of the city ; also, 
that there is a small pagoda-shaped tower at each angle, 
with a large one in the centre of the town. With the 
exception of the temples, the houses are all single storied, 
^ and over-topped by the wall, which is about thirty feet 
high. 

On entering the town, the stranger forms the impression 
that the streets are paved ; this, however, is not the case, 
the pavement extending only some iifby yards from the 
gateway. The streets then become like those at Peh-tang 
or Sinho, and in wet weather must be equally bad. Happen- 
ing to use my note-book inside the city, a crowd immediately 
surrounded me, and appeared to take the most lively interest 
in English calligraphy. I made a rough sketch of a Tartar 
soldier who happened to pass at the time, which seemed to 
please them so much, that they immediately drew my atten- 
tion to several other objects, as being worthy my most in- 
different of pencils. At the particular request, however, of 
one of the crowd, I made a sketch of a fish that was ex- 
posed for sale at a stall near where I was standing, and 
presented it to him, which seemed to please him amazingly. 
I then walked straight up to the pagoda in the centre of the 
town, and found it to be the point of intersection of the 
main streets traversing the towi^ from east to west, and 
north to south, and communicating directly with each of 
the four gates. Articles of food seemed abundant, the 
butchers' shops being particularly well supplied, and the 
meat cut up and exposed for sale on swivel hooks as in 
England. The sheep appear all to have the large fatty 
taQ similar to those at the Gape of Good Hope. Vegetables 
and fish were also plentiful in the market. Perambulating 
barbers' establishments seemed as numerous as at the south, 



13G NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

and equally bnsily employed. Judging from the time it 
took me to walk briskly back from the central pagoda to 
the east gate, I should say the walled town from east to 
west measures about a mile and a quarter. 

The houses [of Tien-tsin are for the most part built of 
slate-coloured brick, the windows being formed by wooden 
trellis-work, covered with paper. In a few instances I ob- 
served large panes of glass introduced into the centre of the 
trellis and paper-work. After leaving the walled city, it 
took me a quarter of an hour's quick walking to emerge 
from the suburb which has grown up on its south-eastern as- 
pect, and another quarter of an hour brought me back to 
the forts, their distance from the walled city being a little 
over two miles. These forts, I have ascertained, form the 
southern extremes of a connected series of earthworks, 
fronted by a deep and wide ditch, that invests the whole of 
Tien-tsin and its suburbs on both sides of the river. These 
defences are supposed to be over fifteen miles in extent, and 
are the works referred to as recently constructed by Sang- 
ko-lin-sin. Two guns have been dug up this morning under 
the wall of the fort, where they seem to have been buried 
within the last two or three days. One is a shorty heavy 
gun, having "12 -pounder carronade" marked on the 
trunnion ; the other, a 24rpounder carronade marked with 
a crown and E. C. 

At one P.M.the King's Dragoon Guards, the Seik Cavalry, 
and Stirling's battery appeared on the opposite bank of the 
river, having just arrived from Sinho by land. About 
this time, while I was standing at the gate of the fort with 
Major Hague of the 67th and Colonel Barry, several re- 
spectable looking villagers collected round us, and one old 
gentleman with a moustache and fan commenced to talk 
and gesticulate with energy, and after some little delay we 
made out, at last, what he wanted. Perceiving that Major 
Hague had a binocular glass, he wished to have a look at 
the Dragoon Guards and Probyn's Horse on the opposite 



VILLAaE DEPUTATION. 137 

side of the river. The glass was given to him^ and after he 
had satisfied himself, it was handed from one to another, 
nntil at least thirty had made their observations with it. 
By this time the crowd had considerably increased. The 
old gentleman with the moustache then snddenly assumed 
an official attitade, and dropping on one knee presented an 
address written on red paper, which Colonel Barry, as the 
senior officer, received. The rest of the crowd then went 
down on both knees, and made the nsaal salutation of the 
country, by clasping both hands and shaking them in front. 
They then got up and dispersed. They were a deputation 
of villagers accompanying the head man of the village to 
present the address. At two o'clock, the second division 
of Barry's Battery arrived in the " Woodcock," and at half- 
past three the "Leven" came up with a portion of the 
Royals and Brigadier Staveley, who assumes the command 
at Tien-tsin. 

At half-past four, a second deputation of villagers came to 
the fort, accompanying an old man, whose face was bruised 
and bleeding. He had been assaulted by a sailor from one 
of the gunboats, and in the scuffle had managed to secure 
the sailor's cap, which he produced. I took him to Captain 
M*Cleverty, who had the cap identified as belonging to a 
man of the name of Boodey. Finding on inquiry that the as- 
sault was one of an altogether unprovoked character, he took 
the sailor off to the " Opossum" accompanied by the old man, 
and in his presence and that of the crowd who accompanied 
them, had forty^ight lashes administered to him, which he 
richly deserved ; tlie assault having been the result of mere 
wanton brutality. 

At five o'clock the " Bantam" gunboat arrived with the 
head-quarters of the Royals. The regiment was disem- 
barked at once, and at six o'clock marched off to an en- 
camping ground a little to the left of the fort. Prior to 
moving Colonel Urquhart addressed the men, telling them 
that they were to behave to the Chinese exactly as if they 



138 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

were at Hong Kong — ^fchat they were to treat them in every 
way as friends — ^that no man was to take anything without 
paying for it, nor were they to enter dwelling-houses with- 
out permission. 

The commissariat arrangements made by Mr. Parkes haye 
resulted from its having come to his knowledge that a com- 
mittee of supply, composed of the gentry of the neighbour- 
hood, had been formed by Sang-ko-lin-sin, to assist him in 
rationing his army. He has accordingly arranged with the 
authorities tliat this committee shall continue in operation 
for the procuring of supplies for the allied forces, and this 
we hear has been readily agreed to. To-day an edict is 
stated to have arrived from Peking, degrading Sang-ko-lin-sin 
for the loss of the Taku forts, characterising the punishment 
as light, which consists of his being deprived of his three- 
eyed peacock's feather, his command in the Manchu banner 
force, and honorary position in the Imperial Body Guard. 
It is also reported that Eweiliang and Hang-ftih have been 
appointed Imperial Commissioners to enter at once on nego- 
tiations for peace, and that the former is now on his way 
from Peking. 

The " Grenada^" with Lord Elgin on board, arrived this 
morning, and is now anchored off the town of Tien-tsin. 
The general impression now is that hostilities are completely 
over, and that the force will not move beyond Tien-tsin, 
with the exception of a cavalry escort that will accompany 
the ambassadors to Peking. Already the break-up of the 
force may be said to have commenced, the 44th Begiment 
having been sent off in haste yesterday to Shanghai, in con- 
sequence of the threatening aspect of the Taeping rebels in 
the neighbourhood, and their apparently fixed determination 
to capture the native or walled city of Shanghai, the fall of 
which would seriously endanger the European settlement. 
Under these circumstances, the English and French Ministers 
have determined to aid the Imperial forces in defending 
Shanghai, and thus we are about to act in the paradoxical 



START FOR SHANGHAI. 139 

capacity of enemies and allies of his Celestial Majesty at 
the same time. 

To-morrow morning I start for Shanghai en route to 
Hong Eong, in conformity with instructions I have just 
received to proceed there and take over the Provisional 
Battalion again, in consequence of the medical officer in 
charge of it having been invalided. 

August 27th. — ^At half-past four this morning I left 
Tien-tsin in the river steamer that came up with the 
^'Grenada," and which returns with Lord Elgin's mail. 
Five hours after starting we passed through the bridge of 
boats at Sinho ; after which, on the way to Tang-koo, I had 
an opportunity of seeing the battery referred to on the 18th 
instant. Five good guns were still in position, and I could 
detect no indications of their having suffered from the fire 
of the Armstrongs, on either of the occasions on which the 
battery was the object of their fire. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Arrive at Shanghai — State of affitirs — Visit the European settlement and. 
the Chinese city — Brigadier Jephson's interview with the Tantai — 
Tea-gardens —Baby Tower — Sail for Hong Eong — Chinese festival — 
Betnm to Shanghai — Chinese soldier's devotions — Chinese petition to 
Mr. Bmoe — English shooting party — Sickness on board ship — Malaria 
and ague — The English in Japan — Arrive at Tien-t«in — News from 
Peking. 

On the 2nd of September we reached Shanghai, and dropped 
anchor oflT the European settlement. We leamt that during 
the last fortnight the greatest excitement had prerailed. 
The Taepings had assaulted the city in vast numbers ; but 
had been gallantly repulsed by the British and French 
troops, with volunteers of the foreign residents. As the 
return of the rebels is not improbable, the state of defence 
is carefully maintained, and the Volunteer Guards do duty 
at the various posts with energy and caution. Colonel 
Neale, commanding the volunteers, goes round every night, 
and convinces himself that all is safe. 

I landed in the afternoon and walked through the Euro- 
pean settlement, which is laid out in streets intersecting 
each other at right angles. The houses are all substantially 
built, and, on the whole, rather elegantly designed : for the 
most part they stand within enclosures, or compounds as 
they are called in the East. In the rear of the settlement 
is the race-course, and on it, at the present time is en- 
camped the left wing of the 44th Regiment, which arrived 
two days ago. Strong wooden barriers, with loop-holed de- 
fences, have been erected in the main avenues of the settle- 



CHINESE CITY OF SHANGHAI. 141 

ment, and a parfcy of marine artilleiymen are quartered near 
the race-conrse. 

The reinforcements, with the Loodiannah Begiment and 
Marines, are distributed in and about the native city. The 
head-quarters of the former occupy a large temple outside the 
wall, known as the Ningpo Joss House, which in reality is 
an extensive funereal establishment, wherein natives of 
Ningpo have been in the habit of depositing the coffins 
containing their deceased relatives until freights became low, 
and other circumstances propitious for their removal to their 
native spots. The rebels are now twenty miles off, and no 
immediate apprehension appears to be entertained of their 
resuming the attack. 

September Srd. — This afternoon I visited the Chinese city, 
which is situated to the south of the European settlement, 
and immediately adjoining the French quarter. It is of 
nearly circular shape and invested by a brick wall about 
twenty-five feet high, supported inside by an earthen em- 
bankment sloping up to the base of the parapet^ where it 
forms a rampart from six to ten feet wide. The parapet is 
seven feet high and upwards of two feet thick. It has em- 
brasures for large gingals or wall-pieces at intervals of a few 
feet. Between each of them there is a small aperture in 
the waU, containing an earthen vessel filled with slacked 
lime ; so as to be ready to be thrown in the &ces of the 
rebels in the event of an attempt to escalade. 

Chinese troops are disposed all round the walls and live 
in tents on the rampart. Flags of various colours and designs 
fly in every direction from the waU. In some places groups 
of them, similar in pattern, are planted and indicate the 
positions respectively of the corps serving under them ; the 
colours of their uniforms corresponding with their banners. 

The various posts round the walls are defended in the 
rear by sand-bag batteries ; the guns being placed so as to 
sweep the streets of the city — ^a precaution deemed necessary 
owing to the uncertainty which exists in respect to the pre- 



142 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

sence of a considerable number of rebels amongst the intra- 
mural population: it having been pretty well ascertained 
that several thousand Canton and Chan-chew men were in 
league with the rebels. 

Septmber 4th. — Having slept inside the city at the 
quarters of the Royal Marines, I availed myself of the 
opportunity of going round the walls at midnight, and 
seeing how the Chinese sentinels performed their duty. 
Opposite each guard tent a number of loaded matchlocks 
were ranged against the wall. The sentries were walking 
about, every now and then beating a piece of hollow bambop. 
The guards were asleep, but the petty officers were on the alert. 
In the tents lighted lanterns were hung up, and the soldiers 
to the number of six in each tent were sleeping, two on a mat, 
neck and heels. This morning, in the course of a walk 
round the walls, I looked into some of the tents by daylight. 
They are all floored with loose bricks, and in most cases the 
mats are spread on bed boards. Small lamps were burning 
inside for the soldiers to light their pipes at. Their arms 
consist of matchlocks and long spears with light bamboo 
shafts. The matchlocks are fitted with sights in the form 
of a raised plate of brass with a small hole in it corre- 
sponding with a raised point near the muzzle. As I passed 
one of the gates, some soldiers of the Loodiannah regiment 
were about to kill a sheep. It was led outside the wall, and 
the wool being removed from the upper part of the neck, the 
head waa severed by one blow of a tulwar. 

In the forenoon I accompanied Brigadier Jephson, on the 
occasion of his paying an official visit to the Tautai, or 
governor of Shanghai. Mr. Forrest, the interpreter, in an 
open chair, preceded by a few Chinese soldiers, led the way 
through the narrow and intricate streets of the city. One 
hundred men of the 44th accompanied the brigadier as a 
guard of honour, and a detachment [of marines, under 
Lieutenant Pritchett, closed the procession, which after 
passing through a number of paved streets reached the 



VISIT TO THE TAUTAI. 143 

Tantai'g Yamnn — ^the Mansion Honse of Shanghai. On 
entering the conrt the brigadier was received with a salute 
of three guns and a Chinese air performed by a band of 
musicians perched up in an orchestra some distance from 
the ground. The 44th formed up in front of the Tamun 
and presented arms. After passing through two outer 
courts, we reached the inner entrance where the Tautai was 
waiting to receive the brigadier. He came forward and 
saluted first after the custom of his country by shaking his 
own hands, after which he shook hands ^^ English fashion'^ 
with all who were introduced to him by the interpreter. He 
played the host with great ease and grace, and conducted us 
to his reception hall, a handsomely furnished room carpeted 
with red cloth, and having chairs with small tables between 
them for tea ranged down each side. As soon as we were 
seated, tea was brought in with little saucers over the cups 
to keep it warm. 

Conversation then commenced, the brigadier, through Mr. 
Forrest, informing the Tautai, that he had just arrived from 
Taku, having been sent down to take command of the Eng- 
lish troops at Shanghai, and that he wished to have his 
assistance in reference to lodging the force. The Tautai re- 
plied that he had only to select whatever acconmiodation he 
wanted, and he would at once give the order for its being 
handed over — adding, that he had learned that the foreign 
troops liked to keep separate, at the same time to be near 
the walls, and recommending the Confucian temple as a 
building that would be found suited for the purpose in view. 

Before leaving we were conducted to a dining-room, where 
a d^jeiiner was laid out d VAnglaise, the table being spread 
with a white cloth, and ftimished with knives, forks, and 
wine-glasses. Fruits and cakes were handed round by a 
large staff of servants, and the glasses kept well supplied 
with champagne. At the close of the entertainment, a species 
of thin custard strongly flavoured with almonds was brought 
in, and the glasses filled with hot Chinese wine poured from 



144 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

a kettle. The custards were handed round in handsome 
English tea-cups. The Tautai entered freely into conversa- 
tion about affairs on the Peiho, and congratulated the 
brigadier on the victory of Taku, which he said, now that 
it was over, he had no doubt would be to the benefit of both 
parties, and end in our becoming better friends than we have 
ever been before ; as the whole war had originated in a mis- 
understanding and positive unacquaintance on the part of 
the government with our true character and intentions. He 
also said he was very glad to hear that the Chinese troops 
had behaved so well at Taku, for he was sorry to say those 
he had at Shanghai were of very little use. On our leaving 
he shook hands most cordially with us all, and accompanied 
the brigadier to the door — strange contrast, I could not help 
thinking, to the scene I was an eye-witness of, about the 
same hour this day fortnight under the blood-stained cava- 
lier of the Taku fort. 

The Tautai's name is Wu ; he is a tall gentlemanly-looking 
man and a Tartar by birth. In addition to being Governor 
of Shanghai, he holds the appointments of intendant of cir- 
cuit and chief superintendent of customs and trade. He 
wears the blue button of the second class, and peacock's 
feather. His dress, which consisted of a richly-embroidered 
blue silk jacket, over a robe of brocaded blue silk, was not 
an official one — that costume only being put on when he 
receives the Governor-general of the province, and on the 
Emperor's birthday. He has upwards of 200 servants and 
retainers about his Yamun, and is reputed to be one of the 
richest Mandarins in China ; report alleging him to be worth 
about a million sterling. 

Eetuming from the Tautai's, we visited the tea-gardens, 
which are places of public amusement^ neatly laid out, con- 
taining artificial rocks and grottoes, with ponds, canals, 
bridges, &c. Various entertainments were going on — one 
old gentleman in particular, seemed to be a special centre of 
attraction ; he was telling ribald tales, and amongst his 



BABY TOWER. 145 

audience several young ladies of dubious respectability were 
sitting. Near the tea gardens we went into a Chinese 
carver and gilder's shop. The proprietor was busy tracing 
out with ink elaborate designs on a long piece of wood, 
which a lad cut out with astonishing rapidity, with the 
simplest form of saw, consisting of a piece of brass wire 
about the thickness of common whip-cord, one side being 
slightly notched by cuts with a chisel. This wire was made 
tense by stretching it from the two extremes of a piece of 
split bamboo bent like a bow. With this instrument, as 
perfect action and efficiency seemed to be attained as if it 
had been made of the finest steel — so much for the effects of 
tension. 

The Baby Tower of Shanghai is a small pagoda-shaped 
building, about twenty feet high, situated in the country a 
little way from the west gate of the native city. In it are 
deposited the remains of infants whose parents are too poor 
to bear the expenses of an ordinary funeral. When a child 
dies, it is wx^t roond with bamL straw and deposited 
in the Tower, which when full is cleared out by the 
municipal authorities. 

On September 5th I embarked in H.M.S. " Urgent,'* for 
Hong-Kong, and arrived there on the 10th. The following 
day I resumed medical charge of the provisional battalion. 
About a month afterwards six staff-surgeons landed from 
England, and the option was given me of remaining with 
the battalion or rejoining the expeditionary force in the 
North, where, by the last accounts, hostilities had recom- 
menced. I chose the latter, and on the 11th of October re- 
embarked for the Peiho. 

I cannot forbear describing, as illustrative of the tradi- 
tionary pageants of the Chinese, a grand festival, which, 
under the name of a " Joss pigeon," was carried on during 
the greater portion of the time I was at Hong-Eong. 

A procession traversed the streets daily, composed of about 
8000 people (including the Chinese merchants and tradesmen 



146 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

of the place, dressed in the gaudiest attire) and coyering 
over a mile in length. It embraced a large number of bands 
of mnsic, allegorical groups, formed by tableaux vivanSy 
arranged on wheeled platforms or carried in palanquins. 
Three huge dragons, each 100 feet long and supported 
by thirty men, were amongst the prominent features of the 
procession. 

Eyery evening a grand entertainment was open to the 
public, without charge, in a building that had been got up 
Bpecially for the occasion. It was a vast structure of bamboo 
framework covered with matting, and elegantly fitted up 
with richly gilt altar-pieces and sacerdotal figures. Many of 
the decorations were fitted with automaton groups, and the 
building was lighted up by hundreds of glass chandeliers, 
producing a brilliant and striking effect. Concerts of vocal 
and instrumental music were going on in various parts of 
the building — refreshment rooms were also provided, where 
tea, cakes, and fruit were ftimished free of charge. All 
classes of Chinese and foreigners were admitted, and the 
utmost decorum prevailed. A singular want of unity of 
decoration, however, was observable, such as gorgeous 
lustres suspended by common rope — ^richly-carved and 
gilded altars, having round them a common bamboo fence, 
tied with rope, over which might be seen hanging some 
gorgeous drapery. Here and there conservatories were ar- 
ranged within the building, containing flowering plants, 
shrubs, &c., tastefully arranged. Outside the building there 
were refreshment stalls and eating-booths for such of the 
visitors as required more substantial support than that 
afforded by the tea and cakes inside ; parties coming in and 
taking their refreshments at tables, and paying their bills 
according to their consumption. 

The following particulars respecting the origin of this 
festival appeared in the Hong-Kong Register at the time it 
was going on : — 

''There is a legend that a certain young mau, Muh-leen 



CHINESE FESTIVAL. 147 

by name, to which the title of * honourable ' is now attached, 
was 80 unfortunate as to haye a very wicked mother who 
died, and then went from Tartary to Tartarus or Tophet. 
Muh-leen was a very virtuous person, and knowing that his 
mother was in torment, he went on the 15th day of the 
seventh moon to the place of punishment, and succeeded 
in rescuing his mother. His kind of&ces did not rest here, 
for being in no hurry to shut the infernal door after him, a 
great number of the spirits of darkness took advantage of the 
circumstance and escaped also from prison. It is upon this 
impromptu jail delivery that the observances of this period 
are founded, and the Chinese name of the festival * Shaoa-e- 
tsee" is derived from the custom of making garments of 
parti-coloured paper and burning them, that they may pass 
to the invisible world. Benevolent and rich men invite priests 
of Fuh and Taou to religious and gastronomic exercises, 
prayers and eatables being freely offered to elevate and cause 
to pass over from abodes of darkness and woe, the discon- 
solate or orphan spirits who have no relations to pay honour 
to their manes or to intercede for them. The Chinese also 
go on the water in boats to scatter prayers and bum clothing 
on behalf of the spirits of those who have been drowned." 

Probably not one in ten of the Chinese who take part in 
the festival can state their reasons for so doing, but having 
originally been established on the basis stated, it is now 
kept up through habit, and the Chinese reverence for any- 
thing which has antiquity to recommend it, or as they style 
it in pigeon English, the " Olo (old) custom." I had no 
idea that spectacles of such magnificence could be got up 
in China, and I learned that the large sum of 32,000 
dollars, raised by subscription amongst the Chinese mer- 
chants of Hong-Kong, had been expended upon the pro- 
cession, affording a strong proof of the commercial prosperity 
of the settlement. 

On the 11th of October, along with the Rev. Mr. Halpin, 
Chaplain to the Forces, Staff-Surgeon Dr. Bindon, and 

L 2 



lis NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Deputy- Assistant Commissary-General Ross, I embarked in 
the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company's ship '* Aden," 
specially chartered at Hong-Kong to convey to Shanghai a 
draft of 180 French soldiers of the 102nd Regiment that 
had just arrived by the ordinary mail steamer, vid Suez. 
They seemed gay, light-hearted fellows, laughing, chatting, 
and skylarking with one anotlier, and having apparently but 
little respect for their officer, a sub-lieutenant, who had risen 
fix»m the ranks, and with whom they appeared to be on 
terms of considerable familiarity. 

The following day there was considerable sea on, and with 
the view of getting into smoother water, we kept pretty close 
to the land, which was lofty and picturesque. At sun-down 
we began to ship a good deal of water amidships, and the 
French soldiers in that part of the vessel, came up and 
located themselves on the poop. The Captain was frantic, 
and ordered them down, but they declined going, quietly 
remarking (and with a good deal of truth), that they were 
not ducks. His personal exertions failing to dislodge them, 
he appealed to their officer, who very wisely declined to inter- 
fere ; as there was no doubt that, however at variance with 
the rules of the Peninsular and Oriental service such an intru- 
sion on the poop might be, the soldiers could not reasonably 
have remained where they were amidships, and the place to 
which they might have retired between decks was so in- 
tensely hot that the men said they could hardly breathe in 
it. They, therefore, despite the Captain's ruffled feelings, 
retained possession of a dry berth in the fresh air. 

As we passed the *^ Great Chusan," and the numerous 
islands of the group, numbers of small craft were sailing 
about — pirates, when the vessels they meet are weaker than 
themselves, and inoffensive fishermen, when they happen to 
be of a contrary kind. We took a pilot * on board near the 

* The river pilots at Shangliai are chiefly Americans, and have formed 
themselyes into a pilot company, keeping as nearly as practicable a regnlar 
roster. The charge for pUoting a vessel to Shanghai is five taeLi (aboat 



SHANGHAI. 140 

"light-ship," and came to anchor a little below the English 
settlement on the afternoon of the 17th. 

It was dark by the time I was able to get on shore, and 
having ascertained that my brother, with a portion of the 
44th, was quartered in a small joss-house on the wall of the 
Chinese city, I went in search of the North Gate, which I 
was informed constituted the nearest point of approach. 
The night was yery dark, and I made but slow progress up 
the side of the Tan-kin-pan creek (which runs between the 
English settlement and the native city), as I was a&aid of 
walking over the bank. Coming upon the city wall, I fol- 
lowed it until I reached a bastion, from the top of which I 
was challenged by an English sentry. This proved to be 
the West Gate, in charge of a party of the 44th. The ser- 
geant of the guard provided me with a lantern, and after a 
ten minutes' walk round the ramparts, I reached the joss- 
house I was in quest of, the upper story of which had 
been converted into a barrack. After spending a short time 
there I returned to the English settlement, and learned that 
we were to continue our voyage northward the next day, 
and embark in the "Australian," with the left wing of the 
Marine battalion, orders for which had been sent by the 
Commander-in-Chief. 

My compagnons de voyage not having visited Shanghai 
before, were anxious to see as much of the place as possible ; 
so early next morning I took them along the top of the wall 
of the native city, as the best means of enabling them to see 
the surrounding country. On looking at the cultivation 
which met the eye in every direction, one could not but feel 
regret that we should be involved in a war with a people 
who had attained such excellence in agriculture, and whose 
chief characteristic seemed that of peaceful industry, com- 
bined with an amount of civilization greater perhaps, than 

tMrty-three shiUingB sterling) for each foot of water the Tessel is at the 
time drawing. 



150 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

can be found amongst the corresponding class of the lower 
orders in our own land. 

On reaching the temple, where I was the previous even- 
ing, we went into the lower portion of it, which was still 
available for religions exercises, not having been converted 
into barracks. A Chinese soldier was kneeling on a cufihion 
before an altar and shaking a piece of hollow bamboo, con- 
taining a number of bamboo slips, each one having an in- 
scription on it. He went on bowing to the altar, and 
shaking the bamboo case until one of the slips fell ont. He 
then picked it np and took it to a priest, who was sitting 
behind a species of counter. The priest examined it, and 
having interpreted its meaning, the soldier went and put 
some money through a slit into a long bamboo tube hanging 
up by the side of the altar, and recommenced his devotions, 
whilst the priest weighed some roots, which after pounding 
up in an iron mortar, he divided the whole into six parts, 
made them up in little paper parcels, and gave them to the 
soldier on completing his devotions. 

I learned from Colonel Neale that the province of Shensi, 
adjoining that of Chili, was in a state of revolt against the 
Imperial authority, owing to an attempt having been made 
to " squeeze " an influential nobleman out of a quarter of a 
million of taels, as a contribution towards defraying the 
expenses of the war. This he refiised, but offered to pay 
200,000, which was not accepted, the frill amount being 
insisted on. He then raised the standard of rebellion, and 
proclaimed himself Governor of the Province and of some 
twenty towns within it.* 

At Shanghai itself at this time everything was going on 
quietly, the rebels having made no ftirther attack on the 
city since that of August, though the surrounding country 
was pretty well in their possession ; notwithstanding which 

* The name of the nobleman referred to vas Ohang-lo-sing. The 
rebeUion he headed continued for some time afterwards, but was only of a 
purely local character. 



CHINESE PETITION. 161 

silk was then coming down from the interior in nnusually 
large qnantitles, sometimes having to pay a tax to the rebels, 
sometimes passing without any exaction, opinm, arms and 
anmionition being supplied them in return; with these ex- 
ceptions the trade in staple imports was represented to be 
completely at a stand-still, the consumers being either 
ruined or afraid to buy. The rebels were moving about 
from place to place committing great havoc, and inspiring 
wide-spread terror amongst the population of the province. 
A petition had been presented to Mr. Bruce by a number of 
respectable Chinese residents of Shanghai, begging him to 
have compassion on their people, and to cause English ves- 
sels of war to be stationed at different points to protect the 
routes and to prevent the incursions of the rebels. 

On the afternoon of the 18th of October, our party em- 
barked in the "Australian'* with 260 men of the Royal 
Marine battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
March. These men, with about 250 more effective at the 
time at the Peiho, constituted the wreck of two battalions 
of Royal Marines, numbering 1900 men, that came out to 
China in 1857 ; the remainder, with the exception of 200 
sent over to firitish Columbia, having for the most part 
either died or been invalided. 

Octoh&r Idth, — Prior to weighing anchor this morning, a 
fleet of about flfby Chinese gunboats was seen coming up 
the river from a cruise in the Tang-tse, where it had 
been watching the movements of the rebels. At noon we 
got under steam. We soon saw in the distance the town of 
Pow-shun, the head-quarters at the present time of the 
Taepings, near Shanghai. Woosung being the advanced 
post of the Imperialists, we observed a number of tents 
pitched and Chinese troops loitering about. 

Of Wu, the Tautai, report speaks very favourably. He 
would appear to have been most liberal in his disbursements 
for the defence of the European settlement, in illustration 
of which, a day or two before our sailing, a bill came in to 



162 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the Defence Committee &om an English shipwright amount 
ing to about £2000 sterling, for erecting barricades in the 
settlement, which Wu paid without demur. This, however, I 
hear is but a trifling example of the sums he has had to pay 
out, connected with recent protective measures. His pay- 
ments are not likely to cease soon, as by the last mail ^m the 
Peiho orders were received that the whole of the expenses of 
the British troops in Shanghai were to be defrayed by him. 
October 20th. — In conversation with Lieutenant Godfrey 
of the Royal Marines, I learned that recently he formed one 
of a party of four Englishmen who made an excursion fifty 
miles up the Yang-tse-Eiang, as far as the town of Lun- 
Shan, a large military post of the Imperialists, situated on 
the north bank of the river. The country in its neighbour- 
hood is hilly, and abounds with excellent game, consisting 
chiefly of deer, woodcock, quail, and pheasants. On landing 
they were challenged by the local authorities, and their 
object in coming demanded. On explaining who they were, 
and what they wanted, they were told by the authorities 
that they were very good men, and that they were very glad 
to SQO them, but that they had come a month too soon to 
get any sport. They, however, supplied them with guides 
to the hills, and sent a party of soldiers with them as an 
escort. They remained on shore three days, but failed to 
find any game, the statement of the officials that they were 
m advance of the shooting season being evidently correct. 
f^ctober 22nd. — Out of the 260 marines that embarked 
four days ago, there are now thirty on the sick list, 
su£Fering from ailments such as are usually referred to 
malaria. The medical officer in charge informs me that 
the men are now much more sickly than they were while 
on shore at Shanghai. This apparently injurious result of a 
change from a malarious locality and comparatively unhealthy 
atmosphere to conditions of an opposite kind, is quite in 
accordance with what I have frequently observed, and tends 
to confirm me in an impression I have formed since re- 



\ 



MALAKTA AND AGUE. 159 

tnming to China, to the effect, that exposure to emanations 
from badly drained soils, decaying yegetable matter, <&c., 
is not the actual excitant of the train of symptoms familiar 
to us under the name of an ague fit, the exciting atmos- 
pheric cause being generally one of a contrary nature, 
namely, free currents of fresh air. 

This statement, no doubt, will seem at first sight para- 
doxical in the extreme, but it is not the less in accordance 
with actual facts, and, I believe, admits of the following 
explanation — namely, that a residence in malarious loca- 
lities, though not the special exciting cause of the paroxysms 
of ague, stiU produces in particular constitutions a lowering 
of the vital power, characterised by organic changes of an 
obscure and frequently non-overt kind, which renders the in- 
dividuals peculiarly susceptible of certain atmospheric influ- 
ences, which, in constitutions thus predisposed, possess the 
power of generating paroxysmal febrile action — the most 
patent of such atmospheric agents that I have observed being 
ordinary fresh breezes. This fact has been noticed parti- 
cularly in Hong-Kong, where invalids sent over from the 
extreme heat of Victoria to the sea breezes at Stanley, on the 
opposite side of the island, have suffered more from ague 
and general sickness than they did at the less salubrious 
locality. Another illustration came under my notice lately. 
The men of the 67th Kegiment, while in occupation of the 
city of Canton, had good apparent health, and freedom from 
ague, so long as they were quartered in the lower portion of 
the city, where they were a good deal shut in from the 
fi-esh air, but they were no sooner removed to the heights 
above the city, where they were freely exposed to the breeze, 
than they commenced to suffer from ague, which was attri- 
buted to the malaria arising from the rice fields outside the 
city. The case of the Marines fs another illustration. The 
men are now suffering severely from malarious diseases, 
where there is no generating agent but that of the pure 
atmosphere which now surrounds them. Hence, I think it 



164 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

not unreasonable to infer, that a residence in certain atmos- 
pheres, whether of the nature usually referred to malaria or 
not, deyelopes a constitutional predisposition to intermittent 
fever and other diseases of a periodic type, which pre- 
disposition is brought into activity by meteorological con- 
ditions, which, to those in actual health, are not only quite 
innocuous, but in reality invigorating.* ^^ 

Notwithstanding all we hear about the progress which 
sanitaiy science has made in the public service of late, a 
singular illustration to the contrary came to my knowledge 
this day. It appears that during the last summer, at 
Shanghai, the Marines, and particularly the Artillery section 
of the corps, suffered a good deal from sickness. No pro- 
vision was made for the occurrence of fatal cases ; and when 
a death took place, the corpse was removed to one of the 
punishment cells, and the prisoner taken out until the 
funeral was over. One man thus taken out refiised to sleep 
on the bed board that a corpse had been placed on, and 
during the remainder of his confinement.slept on the ground 
with a log of wood for a pillow. 

The weather being very fine as we neared TaJien-whan bay, 
its general aspect was much more inviting than on the stormy 
day I last entered it. We left the bay for the Peiho at four 
pjf. ; previous to which numbers of native boats came off 
from the shore with fruit, vegetables, eggs, and the usual 
bum-boat stores. Quail seem very plentiful in the neigh- 

* An aecoont bj a Mr. Gbuglier has lately been published of an 
impriflonment he underwent a good many years ago in Barmah. He giyes 
a frightful account of the disgusting nature of the atmosphere which he, in 
common with the other prisoners, had to reside ,in, and yet he describes 
his own health as having continued what seemed to him yery good, until 
he was remored to a cell where he was exposed to the fresh breeze blowing 
on the banks of the Irrawaddy. Immediately he began to suffer from 
malarious disease, which naturally was referred by him to emanations 
from the banks of tbe river ; the more so, as the symptoms disappeared 
as soon as he was replaced in the pestilential air of the interior of the 
prison. 



THE ENaiilSH m JAPAN. 156 

bonrhood^ an officer of the '' Magicienne " having yesterday 
shot twenty-seven brace. 

October 26th. — ^A conversation with Captain Boon re- 
garding the ill treatment which the natives of India too 
frequently receive at the hands of Englishmen, and the 
insults which the higher class natives are exposed to by 
hearing themselves called "niggers" and "suars" (pork 
eaters), the latter the most offensive term that can fall on 
the Oriental ear, led to our discussing our prospects in 
Japan. It is his opinion that^ ere long, the insulting, 
unamiable, and overbearing conduct generally of the Eng- 
lish in Japan will give rise to a general massacre of the 
European residents. This belief is strictly in accordance 
with what I have heard repeatedly expressed of late by 
those who have visited the Japanese ports, and have thus 
had opportunities of becoming acquainted with the senti- 
ments of the natives, and the impression formed by them of 
the English character. 

The Americans, it would seem, from all I can learn, get on 
much better with the Japanese authorities than we do-— 
frequently gaining by a little quiet perseverance what we 
entirely fail to accomplish by bluster and attempts to ride 
rough-shod over their prejudices. This is a sad defect 
in our national character abroad, and one that, until in 
some way or other it is checked, will be the means, as it 
has akeady too often been, of embroiling us from time to 
time in wars with the semi-civilised races with whom our 
commercial interests as a nation bring us into intercourse. 

October 26th, — ^At daylight the masts of the fleet at 
anchor off the Peiho began to appear. Though reduced in 
number nearly one-half since I last saw it, the fleet still 
presents an imposing aspect. At nine A.K., we dropped 
anchor close by H. M. S. " Imp^rieuse," still flying the 
flag of Bear-Admiral Jones, who now commands at the 
Peiho, Admiral Hope having his head-quarters at Tien- 
tsin. 



166 north: china and japan. 

Immediately on anchoring, Captain Boon proceeded to 
the Admiral's ship for instructions : and, on his return, we 
learned, that as there was every prospect of peace being con- 
cluded, orders had been receiyed fi:om Peking, where the head- 
quarters of the allied forces are now established, that all 
troops arriving from the south were to be detained on ship- 
board oflf the Peiho. 

Our party not strictly coming under the denomination 
of troops, we went on board the " Imperieuse," and saw 
Admiral Jones, who recognised our right to proceed as far 
as Tien-tsin at least, and gave us permission to go up in a 
gunboat, about to start with the mail. We accordingly 
embarked in the '^ Banterer," and at half-past twelve she 
steamed off, towing a large junk filled with government 
stores. The deck of the " Banterer** was crowded with all 
sorts of miscellaneous stores ; boxes, barrels, rolls of mat- 
ting, firewood, &c., removed indiscriminately from trans- 
ports, and shipped for Tien-tsin, without reference to their 
being actually wanted or not, the object being to clear out 
the transports, so as to enable them to be paid off as 
speedily as possible. 

We soon came up to Tang-koo, with its miles of crenel- 
lated wall. The inhabitants seemed all to have returned, 
and but little trace remained of its having been in our occu- 
pation, or exposed to the stonn of shot and shell which fell 
about it, a little over two months ago. At five pjc., the 
tide running strong against us, we anchored near a brick- 
work on the north bank of the river, a little above Sinho. 
After dark, native boats in considerable numbers passed 
down towards Taku, availing themselves of the tide. They 
were laden chiefly with firewood and forage. 

Through the kindness of the sailors, we were given the 
deck-house of the junk to sleep in, they themselves having 
a dormitory underneath, totally destitute of ventilation, with 
the exception of the little hatchway, through which they 
got into it, — the warmth afforded by the absence of fresh 



4 



4 



KEWS FROM PEEma. 157 

air being, in a sailor's opinion, infinitely preferable to any 
of the sanitary benefits which are believed to result from 
adequate cubical space. 

Approaching Tien-tsin, we passed through the bridge of 
boats which extends across the river, the centre one being 
so arranged as to be quickly removed when vessels require 
to pass ; bridge-keepers being stationed there for the pur- 
pose. On landing, we learnt that despatches had, a few 
minutes before, been received from Peking, conveying the 
news that a treaty of peace had been signed at a reception 
hall three miles within the city of Peking on the 24th 
instant, — ^the Emperor being represented by the Prince of 
Kung. The affair was described by those who were pre- 
sent as by no means cordial. The French treaty was to be 
signed the following day. 



CHAPTER XVL 

Sommazy of Occurrences on the Peiho— CommnnicationB l)etween the 
Commissioners and Lord Elgin — Negotiations broken oflf — Advance 
towards Tnog-chow — The Prince of I — Mr. Parkes' interview — 18th 
September — Endeavonrs to recover the prisoners — ^The Prince of 
Eung — Advance towards Peking — Imperial Palace plundered — 
Prisoners returned — Anting Gate surrendered — Funeral of the mnr- 
dered English — Destruction of Yuen-Ming- Yuen — Entry into Peking 
—Treaty signed — ^Gharacter of the Chinese negotiations — Conduct of 
the Chinese on the 18th September— Opinion of Lord Elgin. 

The occurrences on the Peiho subsequent to my depar- 
ture in the latter part of August, have been of the highest 
interest, and a summary of them seems necessary here. At 
that time there seemed every prospect of peace. Sang-ko- 
lin-sin's commissariat had undertaken to continue its fdnc- 
tions for the supply of the allied troops. Lord Elgin and 
Baron Oros were awaiting the arrival from Peking of 
Eweiliang and the other commissioners nominated for the 
ratification of peace. 

On the 25th of August, Eweiliang addressed a communi- 
cation to Lord Elgin, stating that he had been sent by the 
Emperor with Ml powers to make the necessary arrange- 
ments for the exchange of the ratifications, — ^that he had 
brought with him the seal of Imperial Commissioner — and 
that, of the propositions of the British Government^ there 
was not one which it was not in his power to discuss and 
dispose of. 

Lord Elgin replied on the 29th, to the efiect that the 
action of the allied forges had been rendered necessary by 



1 



i 



NEGOTIATIONS. 169 

the failure of the Chinese Ooyemment to receive the British 
envoy peaceably — and had resulted in the capture of the 
Taku forts and the city of Tien-tsin, which the allied armies 
now held ; that the increased war expenses resulting from 
the conduct of the Emperor's Government, made it neces- 
sary that the contribution required should be raised from 
four to eight millions of taels ; that if these demands were 
evaded or 'postponed, the Commanders-in-Chief would ad- 
vance from Tien-tsin. 

On the arrival of the commissioners, to whom Hang-ki, 
previously collector of customs at Canton, had been added 
as assistant, Messrs. Wade and Parkes waited upon tliem 
on the 6th September, with a draft of the convention which 
it had been arranged should be signed on the 8th. On their 
return they reported to Lord Elgin that the commissioners 
had declared that they had no power to sign any convention 
until it had been submitted to the Emperor, and were also 
unable to produce any decree investing them with the 
powers implied by certain words in their official title. On 
the commissioners then requesting an interview with Lord 
Elgin, he declined to grant it, alleging this failure of the 
powers which they had claimed, their assumption of which 
alone had induced him to regard them as competent to sign 
the ratification of peace. His lordship concluded his de- 
spatch by stating : — " The undersigned will not dwell on 
the want of good faith indicated by this proceeding. It is 
enough for him to observe that the alleged necessity of 
reference to Peking from a point so distant as this, involves 
delays to which he will not submit. He has accordingly 
called upon his Excellency the General Commanding her 
Britannic Majesty's Army in China, to provide him with 
such a force as will enable him to proceed without loss of 
time to Tung-chow, and he has further to intimate to the 
Imperial Commissioners that he can neither receive their 
visit nor enter into any convention with them for the re- 
establishment of peace till he shall have reached that city." 



160 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The commiBsioners then begged for a delay of three days, 
till they obtained powers from Peking. Lord Elgin refused 
to accede to their request : they then made a second appeal 
for delay, representing that the march of the British force 
northwards would have most unhappy results in alarming 
the people. Lord Elgin persisted in his decision, and stated 
that a proclamation was being issued to assure the people 
that they should still be protected from molestation. 

Instructions were at once issued to the allied commanders' 
to move a sufficient force on to Tung-chow — a walled town, 
about twelve miles from Peking — as negotiations would not 
be resumed until that place was reached. 

On the 9th September, the first portion of the force 
started under the command of Brigadier Reeves. The next 
day General Montauban marched with 3000 French. Lord 
Elgin reached Tang-tsun, twenty miles from Tien-tsin, on 
the 11th. The next day he received a communication from 
two of the highest functionaries in the empire, the Prince 
of I (a near relative of the Emperor), and Muh-yin, stating 
that Kweiliang had received full power to discuss and dis- 
pose of " the forms or rules" in which the articles were to 
be arranged — ^that now the journey of Lord Elgin to Tung- 
chow would be a waste of time, and too probably would 
create distrust and alarm in the minds of the army and the 
people ; that they had received commands to proceed to 
Tien-tsin to consider all matters. 

The seal appended to this document was to all appear- 
ance new, and bore the characters " Prince Imperial Com- 
missioner." 

The same day Lord Elgin replied, detailing what had 
occurred at Tien-tsin, and expressing his determination to 
adhere to his original decision to sign no treaty prior to 
reaching Tung-chow. 

The next day the commissioners replied to the effect that 
they had reached Matan, and that, therefore, instead of 
wasting the time by going back to Tung-chow, they thought 



CONFERENCE PROPOSED. 161 

it better that the British force shonld retam to Tien-tsin, 
and a conference be held at some intermediate place, either 
at Hoo-se-woo or Ngan-ping, as Lord Elgin should decide, 
when thej wonld conclnde a treaty, seal and sign it. 

Before replying, Lord Elgin wrote to Sir Hope Grant, to 
ascertain whether the army was in a position to continae its 
march to Tung-chow without interruption. He stated in 
reply that for seven or eight days at least it would be in- 
expedient for the army to advance beyond the point it had 
by this time reached, namely, Hoo-se-woo, a town on the 
Peiho, forty miles from Tien-tsin, as the smallness of the 
force made reinforcements necessary, and a dep6t for the 
supplies coming up the river in boats, would require to be 
formed at Hoo-se-woo. 

Under these circumstances, Lord Elgin determined to 
entertain to a certain extent the proposition of the com- 
missioners, and addressed a letter to them to the effect that 
the force would continue to advance on Tung-chow, but that 
if the Chinese authorities gave such securities for their good 
conduct as would be required, he wonld cause the force to 
he halted at an easy stage from that city, and proceed from 
there with an escort of one thousand men to Tung-chow, for 
the signature of the convention, and then go on to Peking 
for the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of Tien- 
tsin. This letter Lord Elgin entrusted to Messrs. Wade 
and Parkes for delivery, recommending them at the same 
time to obtain, if possible, a personid interview with the 
Prince and his colleague ; thinking it possible that a verbal 
explanation of our real views and objects in China might 
have more weight with such high functionaries on the 
occasion of their first coming in contact with foreigners, 
than an expression of them in writing. 

At this interview at Tung-chow, the commissioners, after 
some hesitation, agreed to meet the plenipotentiaries in that 
town, the main allied force being halted at a distance of five 
11 from Chang-kia-wan. 



102 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Mr. Parkes, after reporting this arrangement to Lord 
Elgin, returned to Tnng-chow to make preparations for the 
reception of the embassy, accompanied by Lieatenant- 
Golonel Walker, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Loch, Mr. de Norman, 
and Mr. Bowlbj, with an escort of five Dragoon Gnards, 
and twenty men of Fane's Horse, under Lieutenant Ander- 
son. Similar steps were. taken by the French. The allied 
armies moved on towards the proposed encamping ground. 

Mr. Parkes was admitted to an audience with the Prince 
of I, and was courteously received. In the course of dis- 
cussion, the greatest difficulty was made about the presenta- 
tion of the autograph letter of the Queen to the Emperor, 
which the commissioners pressed Mr. Parkes to agree 
should not be personally delivered. This Mr. Parkes was 
not authorised to decide, but replied that he would refer it 
to Lord Elgin. The French secretary of embassy also had 
an internet A proclamation ^agreed ui^n to be 
issued by the imperial commissioners, and Mr. Parkes 
parted from them at 8 pjh., impressed witli the satisfaction 
they seemed to feel on the conclusion of the preliminaries 
of peace. 

The events of the 18th September are too well known to 
require a detailed narrative. A large Chinese force had during 
the previous day taken up a strong and extended position, 
commanding the proposed encamping ground, which had 
been marked out by the commissioners themselves for the 
use of the allied armies. The return of the English and 
French parties firom Tung-chow lay through these lines. 
Some passed safely, but a m$lee having arisen around a 
French ofiBcer who was mobbed and ill-treated by the 
Chinese soldiers, fire was opened by the Chinese army, and 
an engagement ensued, during which Mr. Parkes and others 
of his party were arrested within the lines, in spite of the 
flag of truce which they carried. The prisoners thus 
treacherously seized by the Chinese numbered twenty-six 
British and twelve French subjects. The circumstances of 



> 



ADVANCE UPON PEKING. J 63 

their horrible treatment, and of the consequent death of 
twenty of the number, are known to all from the interest- 
ing narratives of Messrs. Parkes and Loch. 

Every endeavour was made by the allies to recover the 
prisoners. The enemy, defeated at Chang-kia-wan, were 
followed to Palee-chow, where another severe defeat was 
inflicted upon them, and forty-three guns captured. Tung- 
chow was now taken possession of. At this place a com- 
munication was received from the Prince of Kung, a brother 
of the Emperor's, stating that he was come with frill 
powers to supersede the Prince of I, who "had not 
managed matters satisfactorily." Negotiations were opened 
between the Prince of Kung and Lord Elgin. The sur- 
render of the prisoners was demanded, but was delayed 
from time to time, the Prince stating that they could not 
be restored till the allied forces had fallen back, but that 
on the conclusion of peace they should be sent back vtrith 
all proper attention. This answer could only be regarded 
as a rejection of the demand made. Lord Elgin accord- 
ingly called upon the commanders of the forces to march 
upon Peking, to the north of which the Chinese army was 
encamped under Sang-ko-lin-sin. 

On the morning of the 5th of October the allied armies 
advanced towards Peking, and halted about five miles from 
the city. The French soldiers, owing to every man carry- 
ing a portion of his tent, got under canvas, while the 
British force, in consequence of the tents and baggage 
having been lefb behind, had to bivouack in the open air. 
The next day the armies continued their advance, and 
reached a point to the north-east of Peking, whence the 
gates of the city could be seen. From this point, a short 
march brought the French to the imperial palace, Yuen- 
ming-Yuen, which they at once plundered. On the 8thy 
the prisoners detained within the city were delivered up by 
the orders of the Prince of Eung. On the 9th the English 
siege artillery arrived, and a demand was made that th^ 

u2 



164 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Anting Gate should be giyen np to be held by the allies, 
as a secnrity for the good faith of the Chinese, while the 
ambassadors entered Peking for the purpose of ratifying 
the treaties. The honr of noon of the Idth of October, 
was fixed as the latest honr that the city would be spared 
if this demand was not complied with. Eyery preparation 
was made for breaching the wall : the French had no siege 
guns, but placed their field pieces at a short distance. 

On the morning of the Idth October, Mr. Parkes had an 
interview outside the city with Hang-ki, who made strenuous 
efforts to postpone the giving up of the gate. As noon 
approached the gate continued to be held by the Chinese. 
" The artillery officers in charge of the batteries commenced 
getting everything ready for opening fire ; the gnns were 
sponged out, and nm back for loading, with the gmmers 
standing to their gnns, waiting for the orders to commence. 
A few minutes before twelve o'clock the Anting Mun was 
thrown open, and its defences surrendered to Major-Gleneral 
Sir Robert Napier, whose division was on duty close by. 
Our troops took immediate possession, the French marching 
in after us.'' The English took possession of the portion of 
wall extending between the Anting Gate and the Teh- 
sheng Gate ; ♦ the French occupying the wall between the 
Anting Gate and the north-east angle of the city, — upwards 
of two miles of wall, over fifty feet broad on the top, being 
thus held by the allied forces. Field gons were mounted 
on the wall, so as to command the inner approaches to the 
Anting Gate, and the position was speedily placed in a 
state of defence so as to resist any attack from within the 
city. 

At noon on the 17th of October, the remains of Messrs. 
Anderson, de Norman, Bowlby, and Private Phipps, were 
buried in one graye in the Bussian cemeteiy, outside the 



* The north-vest gate, out of wUoh a broad road leads towards the 
OrealrWallaad Je-ho. 



YUEN-MING-yUEN. 165 

walls of Peking, which had been most considerately placed 
at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief by General 
Ignatieff, the Bussian minister. The coffins were placed 
pn separate gnn-carriages, and were accompanied by detach- 
ments of cavalry and infantry, with the band playing the 
Dead March. Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant T^ere the 
chief mourners ; the pall-bearers being the members of 
the embassy, and the Commander-in-Chiefs staff. A con- 
siderable nmnber of officers from both armies, including 
General Montauban, attended the funeral. The service was 
performed by the Eev. Mr. M*Ghee, chaplain to the forces, 
and one of the most striking occurrences of the ceremony 
is stated to have been the presence of a Boman Catholic 
priest^ and a priest of the Greek Church, in their vest- 
ments, joining in prayer over the grave. 

On the 18th of October, a portion of the first division 
marched from the camp in front of Peking to Yuen-ming- 
Yuen, where two days were occupied by the force in carry- 
ing out the destruction of the various buildings, scattered as 
they were over an area of several miles. By the afternoon 
of the 19th the chief palaces had been pretty well destroyed, 
though a good many of the buildings escaped demolition. 
The following description from an eye-witness conveys 
some idea of its extent : — ** Two days were required efESec- 
tually to set fire to and destroy all iJie buildings and walls. 
Much valuable property that it was impossible to remove 
was destroyed. It is said that it exceeded two millions 
sterling, exclusive of the buildings. From the place at 
which it was first entered by the French on the 6th of 
October, it was at least six or seven miles before the last 
building was reached. This was at the foot of the first 
range of hills that bound the plain to the north of Peking. 
Over this large extent of ground were gardens, palaces, 
temples, and pagodas on artificial hills, some of them three 
or four hundred feet in height, with forest trees of all kinds 
covering their sides, through the green foliage of which were. 



166 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

seen ihe yellow-tUed roofs of the yarions imperial residences. 
A large lake lay buried in the midst of these wooded hills, 
with two or three islands on it, with picturesque buildings 
joined to the mainland by quaint but beautiful stone bridges* 
On one side of the lake, extending upwards of two miles, 
winding in and out, among grottoes and through flower- 
gardens, roofed in by flowering creepers, was the fayourite 
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 oyer- 
hanging the lake. The high mountains of Tartary forming 
the background made it, while it certainly was one of the 
most curious, also one of the most beautiful scenes I had 
eyer beheld. During the process of destruction the soldiers 
came upon two presents that had been sent out to the Em- 
peror of China by Lord Macartney from George III. — 
a state coach and two I2-pounder howitzers, complete in 
eyery way and in yery good condition and repair, great care 
haying eyidently been taken of them ; yet, strange to say^ 
with these guns in their possession, they haye neyer made 
any endeayour to improye their own field artillery carriages. 
Shot and shell were piled close to the guns, in the kind of 
coach-house in which they were found." I may here remark 
that whateyer property the troops employed in destroying^ 
the palace were able to pick up, they were allowed to keep,. 
a permission, howeyer, that was not of much use to them, as 
the articles of yalue remaining were not of the most 
portable character. Such of the officers, howeyer, who 
could conmiand means of transport remoyed property to a 
considerable amount. 

All loot taken prior to the burning of the palace had 
been, by order of Sir Hope Grant, sold by auction, and the 
proceeds formed into a prize frind for general distribution 
in sums proportionate to rank — a priyate soldier's share 
amounting to seyenteen dollars, equal to about seyenty-two 
shillings sterling. Sir Hope Grant, whose share would haye 



tTREATY SIGNED. 1G7 

been a large one, generously relinquished his claim — an act 
of liberality which was followed by Sir John Michel and 
Sir Robert Napier — ^the snm falling to the subordinate ranks 
bein^ thereby considerably increased. The total proceeds of 
the sale amounted to 123,000 dollars, one-third of which 
went to the officers, and the rest to the noncommissioned 
officers and men. 

Arrangements were now made for signing the treaty at 
the Board of Ceremonies, within the Tartar city of Peking. 

On the 24th of October, Lord Elgin entered the city in 
state, with an escort of 600 men. The Prince of Eung 
attached the great seal of the Empire to the document, and 
the treaties were then signed and exchanged. 

On the 25th of October the signing of the French con- 
yention took place ; the same formalities being gone through 
as on the previous day. On this occasion the Prince of 
Kung seemed rather more at ease, or probably less alarmed 
than he did on the signing of the English convention. 

On the 26th of October the treaty was dispatched for 
England in charge of Mr. Loch ; and Major the Hon. A. 
Anson, Y.C., was sent at the same time with the Com* 
mander-in-Ghief 's despatches. 

On the 27th of October Lord Elgin took up his residence 
inside Peking ; the Palace of the Prince of I, situated 
within the Tartar city, near the south-eastern gate, having 
been fitted up for his reception. 

With regard to the negotiations for peace thus at last 
brought to a successful issue, an opinion has been enter- 
tained that the intentions of the Chinese Government in 
opening them were not bond-fide. It has been thought that 
** it was never intended that Kweiliang's negotiations should 
be any more than a sham to gain time, and so if possible 
prolong operations into the cold season, which they con- 
sidered too inclement for our constitutions to bear up 
against." I am rather inclined to believe that the attempt 
to negotiate was a hond-fide one ; but undertaken in ignor- 



168 KOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ance of the more extended character which onr demands 
had assomedy and that when Kweiliang and his coUeagaes 
became cognisant of their exact nature, they found that 
their powers were unequal to then* disposal, and applied to 
Peking for further instructions. I think that the apparent 
bad faith which characterised their conduct, arose from a 
want of straightforwardness on their part in not stating at 
the outset the restricted authority they possessed. Evasion 
of fact, where telling the truth is disagreeable or inexpedient, 
is in accordance with all we know of Chinese, in common 
with Oriental diplomacy generally. The commissionerB 
were empowered to accept the treaty of 1858, and the 
opening of Tien-tsin to trade, in lieu of residence 
at the capital. Further than this tliey could not go. 
It appears certain from documents found in the palace of 
Yuen-ming-Yuen, that while the Emperor was willing to 
sanction the cession of these the most important points at 
issue, he was determined to resist by a fresh appeal to arms 
those of minor consequence — ^namely, the payment of an in- 
demnity, military occupation of certain ports until it 
should be paid, the presence of the ambassadors in Peking 
with military escort, and permanent residence of ministers 
there. 

I am also of opinion that a wrong estimate has been 
formed of the conduct of the Chinese in regard to the 
events of the 18th September. That there was the cha- 
racteristic want of straightforwardness on the part of the 
Princes of I and Muh-yin in their communication with 
Mr. Parkes, and that the flag of truce was shamefully 
violated, I freely admit ; but I do not think that there was 
any deliberate treachery intended, either with reference to 
capturing those who were ultimately made prisoners, or in 
respect to the position at Chang-kia-wan being designed as 
an ambuscade into which the allied force should be led 
as it advanced to the appelated encamping ground. 

And this was the opinion formed by Lord Elgin, and ex- 



OPINION OF LOBD ELGIN. 169 

pressed in hia despatch to the Secretary of State, under date 
23rd September. 

His lordship states : — ^' I may be expected to say some- 
thing respecting the origin and cause of the renewal of 
hostilities which took place on the I8th instant. To hazard 
conjectures as to the motives by which Chinese are actuated 
is not a yery safe undertaking ; and it is very possible that 
further information may modify the views which I now en- 
tertain on this point. I am, however, disposed at present 
to doubt there having been a deliberate intention of 
treachery on the part of Prince Tsai and his colleague ; but 
I apprehend that the General-in-Chief, Sang-ko-lin-sin, 
thought that they had compromised his military position by 
allowing our army to establish itself so near his lines at 
Chang-kia-wan. He sought to counteract the evil effect of 
this by making a great swagger of parade and prepara- 
tion to resist, when the allied armies approached the 
camping ground allotted to them. Several of our people 
— Colonel Walker, with his escort, my private secre- 
tary, Mr. Loch, Baron Gros's Secretary of Embassy, 
Comte de Bastard, and others — passed through the Tartar 
army during the course of the 'morning on their way from 
Tung-chow without encountering any rudeness or ill-treat- 
ment whatsoever. At about a quarter to ten, however, a 
French commissariat officer was assaulted by some Tartar 
soldiers, under circumstances which are not very clearly as- 
certained ; and this incident gave rise to an engagement 
which soon became general. On the whole, I come to the 
conclusion that, in the proceedings of the Chinese pleni- 
potentiaries and commander-in-chief in this instance, there 
was that mixture of stupidity, want of straightforwardness, 
suspicion, and bluster, which characterises so generally the 
conduct of affairs in this country; but I cannot believe 
that after the experience which Sang-ko-lin-sin had already 
had of our superiority in the field, either he or his civil 
colleagues could have intended to bring on a conflict, in 



170 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

"which, as the event has proved, he was sure to be worsted. 
At the same time the facts that he covered by his gnns, and 
with a portion of his troops, the gromid assigned to us, and 
that a French officer returning from Tung-chow with the 
knowledge and consent of the Chinese plenipotentiaries 
was assaulted and killed on his lines, entirely justify both 
the charge of bad faith which has been brought against the 
Chinese authorities in this instance, and the proceedings 
of the allied commanders-in-chief which have ensued there^ 
from." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Tien-tain— Housing of the Troops — Chinese shot by sentries— The sponge- 
cake man — Temple of the Oceanic Inflnenees — City wall — Heayy rain 
— Seizure of houses—The Gaugue — Committee of British Supply — 
Imperial decree — Chinese entertainment — ^Wounded Chinese soldiers 
— ^Magistrate— Eetum of Lord Elgin — Occurrences at Peking— Betum 
of Troops — ^Reappearance of Trade — Chinese dinner — Indian followers 
— Departure of Baron Gros — Comte de Bastard — Departure of Lord 
Elgin— The mess-room of the 3lst — The Feiho frosen — Sir Hope 
Ghnnt — ArriTal of the Indemnity Money. 

October 28^A. — Tien-tsin is to be occupied by an allied 
force during the winter. The British troops are to be com- 
manded by Brigadier Stayeley. Preparations for the housing 
of the force are to commence immediately. An extensive 
range of buildings was taken into use yesterday as a general 
hospital, and is being rapidly filled with sick that are arriv- 
ing daily from Peking en route to the hospital ships off the 
Peiho. A considerable number of sick are also collected 
at the Tien-tsin forts waiting for conveyance to the fleet. 

The general hospital range of buildings is situated close 
to the bank of the river, and consists of a series of one-sto- 
ried houses built in the form of three sides of a square, the 
usual mode of constructing private residences in China. 
Each house contains one suite of apartments, a central one 
facing, the door and having a single room on each side of 
it.* They are separated from each other by wide folding 

* A Chinese gentleman's house, such as the building in question was, 
consists of a series of these squares. The central apartment is used as a 
sitting or refreshment room, and the side rooms are usually occupied as 
bed-roomst 



172 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

doors, the upper two-thirds of which consist of elegant de- 
signs in trellis work covered over with ordinary white 
paper, which seems to be in general use in the north of 
China as a substitute for glass. The window-frames are 
large and extend from each side of the door-way the whole 
length of the house fronts. They consist of ornamental trellis- 
work covered with paper, like the inner doors separating the 
apartments. The outer doors are the same. The wails and 
ceilings are covered with glazed white paper of a satin pat- 
tern similar to that used for papering rooms in England. 
In the bed-rooms the dormitory is in a recess formed by a 
screen of wood and trellis work, the sleeping place consist- 
ing of brick, work raised about two feet above the ground, 
and heated in cold weather by a flue which passes through 
it, communicating with a fomace outside. A ledge of wood 
faces the upper portion of the brick work, over which thick 
matting is spread. 

The interior of a better class Chinese dwelling, such as 
the one under description, is neat, cleanly, and very pleasing 
to the eye. The building belongs to Chang, the principal 
salt merchant of Tien-tsin, by repute enormously wealthy 
and very kind to the poor. 

Yesterday a Chinese lad about fourteen years of age was 
brought into hospital mortally wounded in the chest. He 
had been detected in the act of taking away two or three 
old iron hoops from amongst some government stores, over 
which there was a sentry of the Eoyal Marines, who, in 
place of attempting to make a prisoner of the boy, as he 
might have done, deliberately loaded his rifle and shot him. 
Recently, also, a Chinaman was killed by one of the Seiks 
on sentry. The man was approaching a bridge that Chinese 
were not allowed to cross, and was challenged in Hindoo- 
stanee, which, of course, not understanding, and continuing 
to advance, he was shot dead. Another instance of the 
•* unavoidable evil of entrusting to undiscriminating brains 
the power of taking human life in the form of " Orders to 



SPONGE CAKE MAN. 173 

Sentries '' during military occupation, occurred lately in the 
ease of a sentinel of the Boyals placed over a bridge across 
the Peiho, beyond which point his orders were not to allow 
native boats to pass. A boat attempted to do so after being 
warned off, and the sentry shot the steersman dead. By 
the slightest exercise of judgment or reflection this could 
have been avoided, and the progress of the boat arrested by 
other means. The men were mere villagers anxious to get 
their boat beyond the restricted point, and utterly unac- 
quainted with the meaning of the words addressed to them 
as a caution not to proceed. 

Notwithstanding these distressing occurrences a very 
brisk commercial intercourse seems to have sprung up be- 
tween the soldiers and the petty traders. A confectioner, 
who has become celebrated amongst the troops for his sponge 
cakes, is picking up English, and addresses every one of a 
respectable exterior who goes into his shop, " How do you 
do, good morning, sit down and eat a sponge cake.'' He 
keeps a book in which he requests the various naval and 
military officers who visit his premises to enter their names, 
of which advantage has been taken by several to inscribe, 
instead, epithets and sentiments not calculated to redound 
to the good taste or refinement of their authors, but which 
*' Sponge cakes," as he is called, exhibits in happy ignorance 
of their meaning, though, apparently, puzzled to understand 
why some people's names seem to attract so much more 
notice than do others. 

October 29^. — ^This morning while at breakfast, in the 
quarters within the general hospital which have been al- 
lotted to the Medical Staff, the sound of the lash fell on our 
ears. In the court-yard adjoining the room in which we 
were sitting a sailor was tied up to the triangles^ receiving 
corporal punishment under the superintendence of the Pro- 
vost-Marahal. Then followed the administering of ** forty- 
eight " to a Marine. The former had been found lying in a 
state of helpless intoxication, and the latter had been ill- 



174 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

using a Ghinaman. Temporary pressure for quarfcers appears 
to hare caused tMs somewhat singular amalgamation of the 
Provost-Marshal's establishment with that of the general 
hospital* 

In the afternoon I rode out to the temple dedicated to 
the •'oceanic influences," where the treaty of 1858 was 
signed. It is a somewhat extensive building situated on 
the plain to the south of the walled city, about a mile dis- 
tant from it, and not far from the outer works which com- 
municate with the forts abeady described. This temple, 
under the name of the " Treaty Joss-House," has been until 
three days ago, in use b& a general hospital, and its sacer- 
dotal equipment is now in a state of complete disorganisa- 
tion, the interior presenting one vast scene of general des^ 
truction of property and confusion. Immense numbers of 
books are scattered about the various rooms. In that in 
which the treaty was signed, there is a cabinet nearly as 
high as the roof still containing thousands of volumes. 
Some of the sacred figures are of large size and still in good 
preservation. At the entrance of the chief temple there is a 
very fine bell suspended ; its size is considerable, and the 
outside is covered with thousands of characters in relief. 
The bell has no tongue, and is sounded by being struck like 
a gong. Beside it there is a large drum and a gong of pecu- 
liar construction, consisting of a thick plate of metal bearing 
an inscription. 

I went on as &r as the outer earthworks, which I find 
have a broad and deep ditch in front of them, extending, 
apparently, the whole way round Tien-tsin and its suburbs 
on both sides of the river. 

Betuming to the city, I rode round the walls. In many 
places they are in a dilapidated condition, portions having 
slid down in consequence of the loose nature of the founda- 
tion, and, in place of being removed and properly rebuilt, 
the municipal authorities in their veneration for everything 
that is old, have allowed the displaced portions to remain. 



DBUNKEN SOLDIERS. 175 

and have bnilt ap the gaps in the upper parts that the set* 
tlements in the lower haye caused. 

Mr. Loch arrived last night from Peking with the treaty, 
and started this morning for England. Peking is distant 
eighty miles from Tien-tsin, and it takes two days to reach 
it by land. By water the distance is considerably greater 
(about 120 miles), and it generally takes the boats from five 
to seven days to reach Tung-chow, which is the nearest point 
they can go to Peking by the Peiho. A dep6t for stores has 
been established there under a guard of the Boyal Marines. 
By the last accounts from Peking the departure of the army 
is to commence about the 2nd of November. Lord Elgin 
now waits at Peking the arrival from Je-ho of the Imperial 
decree approving of the treaty, and the arrival also of Mr. 
Bruce, daily expected from Shanghai. 

October ioth. — During the night it rained heavily, and the 
depth of mud in the streets this morning is such as to render 
it a matter of no ordinary discomfort to have to move about 
out of doors. In the course of the day two drunken soldiers 
were found rolling over one another in the mud which nearly 
submei^ed them, affording extreme amusement to a crowd 
of Chinamen who were looking on. Prior to tumbling in 
the mud from which they could not extricate themselves, 
they had been insulting a guard of the 19th Punjaubees. 
On being brought to the Provost-Marshal's establishment, 
their clothes were so mud-begrimed that it was impossible 
to make out what corps they belonged to. On washing the 
mud off their buttons they were ascertained to be Boyal 
Artillerymen. 

October Zlat — ^This morning while at breakfast we again 
heard the sound of the "cats." The two artillerymen, 
now sober, were receiving the regulated allowance of fifty 
lashes. 

Much distress is now being occasioned by the necessity of 
providing quarters for the army of occupation shortly ex- 
p^ted fh>m Peking. Lieutenant Currie, Adjutant of the 



176 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

19 th Pniijanbees, mentioned to me this afternoon a disagree- 
able duty which had occupied him the whole day, and which 
he had just completed, namely, turning between forty and 
fifty females of the better class out of a large house required 
for the use of the head-quarter staflF. The outer doors were 
found barricaded, but ultimately were opened. The soldiers 
were met in the passage by some men, who pulled their ears 
to indicate that the rooms contained women. There was no 
help for it ; the orders had to be carried out ; the Pun- 
jaubees entered the rooms and proceeded to put the ejection 
in force. Some of the women were composed, others 
screamed and became hysterical. Several were suckling 
children. Mr. Currie was as considerate as he possibly 
could be, and it took him from eleven in the morning until 
half-past four p.m. to carry his orders out, and turn them 
cold and houseless into the streets ankle deep in mud. 
They were allowed to remove their personal property with 
the exception of household furniture, which was retained for 
the use of the military occupants. The women's rooms were 
neatly furnished, and their toilet tables were supplied with 
looking-gkfises and rouge pots. 

It appears that after the break-down of EweiUang's nego- 
tiations, the Tien-tsin authorities stopped the supplies which 
had hitherto been famished to the troops. Sir Eobert Na- 
pier, on aasuming the command at Tien-tsin, sent a military 
guard and made a prisoner of the Tautai, until supplies were 
forthcoming. This fdnctionary is stated to have conducted 
himself like a wayward child when the escort removed him 
from his Ya-mun : reftising to be seated in his chair in the 
ordinary way, but squatting on the floor and kicking at the 
sides of the sedan. He was taken to the camp near the 
Tien-tsin forts and placed in a tent next to Sir Robert 
Napier's, with a sentry over him. After two days confine- 
ment he undertook that supplies should be forthcoming, and 
was released. He sent a present of forty dollars to the sen- 
tries who had been over him remarking, *^ The difference 



THE CAUGUE. 177 

between your soldiers and ours is that when you give them 
an order they carry it out, ours do not." At first he was 
very desponding, and sent a message to Sir Eobert Napier 
requesting that he would send him a bottle of sam-shu 
and a knife, as he wished to commit suicide. Sir Eobert 
complied with the first portion of his request in the shape of 
a bottle of sherry, the latter he declined complying with. 
This Tautai appears to have been held in aflfectionate regard 
by the population of Tien-tsin, as a very large concourse of 
people followed his chair when he was aiTested, and seemed 
to be in a state of anxious solicitude for his safety. 

November let — The streets are beginning to have Eng- 
lish designations painted on them ; that which contains the 
confectioner's shop, mentioned above, is now known as 
" Pastiy Cook Street." I went into it again to day ; botli 
the shop and back premises were crowded with soldiers and 
sailors. Some half-dozen assistants were busily engaged 
putting up sponge cakes in paper parcels for the numerous 
customers that were waiting. He continues to invite his 
patrons to come in and take a cup of tea and a sponge 
cake, and refases to make any charge for anything con- 
sumed on the premises; adding another to the many 
contrasts of the Chinese character with the customs of the 
West. 

November 2nd, — Saw a man with a caugue on, walking 
about very unconcernedly in front of what seemed a magis- 
terial residence. The caugue consists of four boards fitted 
round the neck, two on each side, and secured by two cross 
boards, the joinings being covered with strips of paper 
bearing the official seal, as a check against their removal 
from the neck before the expiration of the sentence. 

November 3rd. — Visited a temple outside the north- 
western angle of the city, of which a part is devoted to the 
representation by figures of every sort of physical torture 
and horrible mode of death. This is supposed to convey 
an idea of what the hell of Buddha is; and from the 



178 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

frequency with which women are represented as the victims, 
it seems that the fiitnre life is thought to hare most soirow 
in store for them. Temples of this kind exist in all 
Chinese cities, and this portion is known among foreigners 
as the " Chamber of Horrors." 

The " Committee of British Supply," composed of several 
of the most influential merchants of the place, meet daily at 
their office, and transact all the business connected with 
keeping up supplies for the troops. The prices are fixed 
by them, and they receive the money, paying it over to the 
contractors. 

November 6th. — News received from Peking, under date 
of the 3rd. The Imperial decree approving of the treaty 
arrived from Je-ho on the 2nd, and everything may be 
looked upon now as settled. The decree, of which the 
following is a translation, has appeared in the Peking 
Oazette. 

*'0n the 15th of the 9th moon (October 28th), the 
Grand Secretariat had the honour to receive the following 
Imperial Decree : — 

^' In the matter of the exchange of treaties reported to 
us by Yih-sin, Prince of Kung : Tih-sin, Prince of Kung, 
having, on the 11th and 12th of this moon, exchanged 
with the English and French the treaties concluded in the 
8th year (of our reign, 1858), together with the treaties in 
continuance thereof (the conventions) of the present year, 
we command that it be known that we promise and autho- 
rise the opetoiion for ever more of each and every article in 
the treaties and conventions, that there may be henceforth 
no more war between us (that the shield and spear may for 
ever more rest), but that both may contribute to the con- 
solidation of a good understanding, peacefdl relations re- 
posing on good fidth, without doubt or suspicion on either 
side. 

" And let the high provincial authorities be directed by 
circular, one and all, to carry out everything that by the 



CHINESE ENTEETAINMENT. 179 

treaty it is essential should be done in accordance therewith. 
Respect this.** 

November 6th. — Mr. Bruce reached Tien-tsin last night 
at eleyen o'clock, and at one o'clock this morning started 
on horseback with a small escort of Seik cayahy for 
Peking. 

Walking through the town this afternoon, I noticed on 
the outside of a building, written up in chalk, and signed 
by Brigadier Staveley, " Foundling Hospital, not to be 
interfered with." I looked in at the door ; it seemed an 
establishment of some extent, and is, I believe, supported 
by voluntary contributions. 

The Conftician temple is now occupied by a portion of 
the Military Train ; and Chinese workmen are at present 
busy constructing stables in its court-yard ; the walls being 
built of sun-dried bricks faced with the usual mixture of 
mud and chopped straw. 

November 1th. — ^Yesterday the officers of the Commis- 
sariat, accompanied by Messrs. Mongan and Davonport as 
interpreters, were entertained by the " Committee of British 
Supply" at an hotel about two miles out of town ; an equal 
number of Chinamen were present. These are stated to 
have kept up a lively conversation amongst themselves, 
and to have eaten enormously. The remarks which passed 
between the hosts and their guests, through the aid of the 
interpreters, referred chiefly to the viands; politics and 
business being carefully eschewed. The dishes were eighty * 
in number, and the order of their consumption the reverse 
of our practice ; tea and sweetmeats being eaten first, fish 
and soup last. 

During September, within the city of Tien-tsin alone, 
the sum of seven thousand pounds sterling was disbursed 
from the military chest to Chinese contractors ; this expen- 
diture being exclusive of the large sums also disbursed at the 
Tien-tsin forts and at Taku. 

November Sth. — This afternoon Surgeon-Major Denny 

2r 2 



180 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

was buried on the plain to the south of the city walL He 
died yesterday, having arrived two days previously in a 
hopeless state from Hoo-see-woo, where he had been 
stationed. Death has been active within the last three 
days amongst the medical staff; news reached Tien-tsin 
this forenoon of the sudden death at Peking, on the 6th 
instant, of Surgeon-Major Thomson, the principal medical 
officer of the second division, who has been buried along- 
side the remains of the prisoners in the Russian cemetery. 

November 9ih» — Some officers of the 67th Regiment 
arrived this evening from Peking. Sir Robert Napier left 
with the second division on the morning of the 7th. Mr. 
Bruce had reached Peking, and arrangements were being 
made for his introduction to the Prince of Kung by Lord 
Elgin, who was still residing in the Palace of the Prince 
of I, in the Tartar city, with the Royals as a guard of 
honour. 

November 10th. — The 67th Regiment marched in this 
forenoon, looking very dirty and ragged. The lOth com- 
pany of Royal Engineers came in shortly afterwards. A 
considerable number of sick are now accumulated at 
Tien-tsin, and the yard of the general hospital for some 
time this morning was crowded with invalids of dif- 
ferent corps lying about, waiting the arrival of a steamer 
opposite the hospital to convey them to the fleet, — King's 
Dragoon Guards, Military Train men. Riflemen, Marines, 
Artillerymen, Sappers, and Infantry soldiers, forming a 
confused mass, whose contracted cheeks and sunken eyes 
showed the presence of serious chronic disease. While they 
were thus lying clustered about, a sight the contrary of 
cheering was brought prominently before them — the fimeral, 
rough and ready, of two soldiers who had just died. 

November 11th, — This morning I visited with Mr. Mongan 
some wounded Chinese soldiers that are under medical 
treatment in the hospital. They are six in number, three 
having been wounded at Taku, and three at Pa-lee-chow ; of 



WOUNDED CHINESE SOLDIBBS. 181 

the latter, one was an ensign, one a horseman, and one a 
bowman. According to their statement, the Tartar cavaliy 
receive five-and-a-half- taels per month, ont of which they 
have to clothe and feed themselves and horse. The bowmen 
receive three taols, and the matchlock men two taels per 
month. They are paid every fourteen days, and have also 
to provide their own food and clothing. They expressed 
themselves as being unwilling to leave us at the present 
time, as they have no medical department in connection 
with the militaiy service. When men are wounded govern- 
ment affords them no regular aid. If they are disabled 
any where near their homes, they are always conveyed to 
them. But if at a distance, they are left to manage as 
best they can. 

Of the three men wounded at Taku, one is from the 
village near the southern forts, the other two are from 
Pow-ting-too, a large town, 100 miles to the west of Tien- 
tsin. In addition to these six men, there is a seventh, who, 
having recovered, acts as attendant upon the others. He 
was a pedlar, and happened to be in the village of Pa-lee- 
chow on the day of the action, where he got mixed up with 
the fdgitives, and received a severe sabre wound on the 
head, the marks of which he still bears. He says that he 
has no recollection whatever of receiving the injury, illus- 
trating the remarkable tendency which exists in the human 
brain to lose all knowledge of the occurrences immediately 
preceding deprivation of sense, caused by injuries to the 
head.* 

Orders having been issued by Brigadier Staveley for the 
handing over of these men to the Chinese authorities, the 
police magistrate of the city came to-day and saw them, and 
it was while w6,iting for him that the foregoing facts were 

* This man, some months afterwards, accompanied the horse soldier to 
his home in Mongolia, as his woand prevented him travelling irithont an 
attendant. Having performed this kind office^ he returned to Peking, and 
was appointed gatekeeper to Her Majesty's Legation there. 



182 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

ascertained. He arrived in a sedan chair, covered with blue 
cloth, and having glass windows on each side ; four at^ 
tendants accompanied him. His appearance was gentlemanly, 
and his dress consisted of a bine satin jacket lined and 
trimmed with ftir, over a light brown coloured robe of 
figured silk, yellow siUc trousers, and black satin boots. He 
inquired into each of the men's histories, and seemed much 
affected when he saw the care we had taken of them ; and 
when one of them showed him his broken leg, careftiUy 
put up in splints, he turned round and seized Dr. Nioolson's 
hand with both of his and shook it warmly — ^he being the 
medical officer under whose care the men immediately were. 
He requested that we would be good enough to keep them 
in the meantime, and he would send them some warm 
clothing, as they complained of feeling cold when they sat 
up in bed. 

One of the members of the committee of British supply 
was present also at the interview and conversed with the 
soldiers in what Mr. Mongan said was very bad "Mandarin," 
while the Manchu bowman spoke the dialect fluently.* 

We invited the magistrate to take some refreshment, such 
as we had to offer. He sat down and took some biscuit and 
sherry — ^puUing out his pipe and makiijg himself quite at 
home. He tried beer and brandy also, but seemed to prefer 
the sherry— his friend, however, of the committee of supply, 
appeared to take to the brandy very kindly. "We gave some 
ration rum to the attendants, which they did not seem to 
object to. 

On leaving the hospital and before getting into his chair, 
our magisterial friend stood for a short time looking at a 
company of the 67th Regiment preparing to march to the 
south Tien-tsin forts. He inquired as to what they were 
about to do, and laughed heartily at a trio of dnmkcn 
Frenchmen who were rolling arm-in-arm along the street. 

* The ''Mandarin*' is the court dialect, and is that in general nse at 
Peking and the conntry around it. 



OCCUERENCES AT PEKING. 183 

Seeing a Pnnjanbee soldier approach with a piece of yellow 
silk in his hand, which he was offering for sale, he at once 
recognised it as taken from the Yuen-ming-ynen, and drew 
onr attention to the four-clawed Imperial dragon, em- 
broidered on it in gold. 

Lord Elgin, Mr. Bruce and Sir Hope Grant arrived to- 
day from Peking, having come down by the Peiho, and Her 
Majesty's legation is therefore now established at Tien-tsin, 
where it will remain for the winter. Sir Hope Grant pro* 
ceeded on board the " Grenada," where Lady Grant, who 
arrived a few days ago from Hong Kong, has been waiting 
his return. 

November 121h. — ^The streets this forenoon presented a 
scene of more than usual bustle and excitement — coolies 
carrying about bs^gage, fatigue parties of Punjaubees con- 
veying stores, carts laden with loot, mounted men and 
waggons of the Military Train forming a confused mass, 
rendered more confused by the arrival of the Boyals and 
the 8th Punjaubees, who, as soon as they could be extricated 
from the living stream that thronged the narrow streets, 
were embarked in gunboats for the anchorage. 

Lord Elgin and Mr. Bruce have taken up their residence 
in a large house on the river-bank, where the members of the 
permanent legation recently arrived from Shanghai are re- 
siding.* In the same house (late the private abode of a 
Tien-tsin merchant) Baron Gros, General Montauban, and 
their respective staffs are staying ; quarters are also provided 
for Sir Hope Grant and his staff, the accommodation afforded 
by this mansion being considerable. 

We now learnt the following details of occurrences at 
Peking : — 

On the 2nd of November Prince Kung paid a friendly 
visit to the Earl of Elgin at his residence in Peking. He 

* Mr. Braoe's suite at this period consisted of Lieutenant-Colonel Keale, 
Secretary of Legation, Messrs. St. Clair and Wyndham, Attaches of 
Legation, with Mr. Wade as Chinese secretary. 



184 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

came in a sedan chair accompanied by a nnmerons retinue, 
monnted and on foot. He was dressed in a pace-coloured 
satin robe with the Imperial dragon within a circle about 
eight inches in diameter embroidered in gold on the breast, 
shoulders and back. He wore the ordinary tumed-up hat 
without any ornament beyond a twisted knob of red silk at 
the top, where the Mandarin button is worn. He was 
received with the fuU honours due to his rank and position ; 
the entrance aud courts of the embassy being lined by de- 
tachments of the King's Dragoon Guards and the Koyals ; 
the band of the 67th Eegiment also being in attendance. He 
remained about two hours, and a good deal of conversation 
took place with Lord Elgin, in the course of which he 
repeatedly admitted the advantages which would accrue from 
more direct intercourse between foreign ministers and the 
government at Peking, inaugurated under the new treaties. 
He is also stated to have remarked in the course of conver- 
sation after lunch, that it was not until the e3q)edition of 
1860 that the Chinese government was aware that India 
was a province only of the British empire, their impression 
formerly having been that Great Britain was a veiy small 
island, the population of which was so large that the 
greater half of the people were compelled to reside afloat. 
The following day Lord Elgin returned the Prince's visit, 
and in the evening dined at the Russian minister's. 

On the 7th of November Mr. Bruce arrived at Peking, 
and without hesitation oifered at once to enter on his duties 
as resident minister there. Lord Elgin, however, on con- 
sultation with Baron Gros and General Ignatieff, found that 
the latter was about to depart immediately for St. Peters- 
burgh, and that the former was of opinion that it was not 
advisable that Monsieur de Bourboulon should establish 
himself as Minister of France at Peking until spring. 
Under these circumstances Lord Elgin advised Mr. Bruce 
to return to Tien-tsin and remain there until such time as a 
suitable residence could be provided for hJTp at the capital. 



PRINCE KUNG. 185 

In order, however, to prevent any misapprehension on the 
part of the Chinese Government with reference to residence 
at the capital being carried out, a honse in the immediate 
vicinity of the Enssian Mission was selected as capable of 
being adapted to the purpose, and Mr. Adkins, one of the 
student interpreters, placed in charge of it; he having 
volunteered to remain at Peking for the winter, and su- 
perintend the alterations required. 

Having made these arrangements. Lord Elgin wrote to the 
Prince of Kung expressing his sense of the good faith 
evinced by him in regard to the publication of the treaty, 
informing him that the British force would at once retire to 
Tien-tsin, and proposing an interview to take leave, and also 
to introduce Mr. Bruce. At this interview Lord Elgin was 
particularly anxious to show that Mr. Bruce's rank was in no 
degree inferior to his o^n. He accordingly, after a prolonged 
and friendly conversation with the Prince, requested the 
interpreter to inform him that as the person representing 
the Sovereign always holds the highest rank, and that peace 
being happily restored, his own functions were at an end, 
and that those of Mr. Bruce recommenced as the repre- 
sentative of Her Britannic Majesty in China, therefore with 
the permission of the Prince he would cede to Mr. Bruce 
the seat of honour (on the left) which he was at the time 
occupying. 

The next morning (November 9th) Prince Kung returned 
the visit, and Lord Elgin purposely absented himself, in 
order that Mr. Bruce might receive him alone. They had 
a long and interesting conversation, in which, as in the 
interviews he had previously had with Lord Elgin, the 
Prince showed much less reserve than is usual with Chinese 
diplomatists in the discussion of delicate questions. In 
the course of the interview Mr. Bruce pressed strongly on 
the consideration of the Prince the situation of the province 
of Keang-soo, coupled with the fact of Shanghai being at 
the time prevented from falling into the hands of the 



186 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Taepings only by the presence of a protecting allied force. 
Mr. Bruce pointed out to the Prince the improbability of 
the allied occupation being indefinitely prolonged, and the 
necessity which therefore existed for immediate steps being 
taken to restore the Imperial authority in the province. 
The Prince listened with great attention, and expressed him- 
self as much indebted for information much of which was 
new to him ; his general tone conveying the impression that 
he now seemed fully to recognise the benefit his govern- 
ment would derive from direct personal intercourse with 
foreign ministers. 

Mr. Bruce also informed the Prince of his resolution not 
to accept any provincial authority as Imperial commissioner 
during his stay at Tien-tsin, but that his correspondence 
would be carried on with himself or the minister for foreign 
affairs at Peking, also that he would come up from Tien-tsin 
at any amount of inconvenience, should business of im- 
portance call for his presence in the capital. 

Before the interview closed Lord Elgin entered the room, 
and aftet thanking the Prince for having paid him a visit of 
adieu, took a friendly farewell of him. The same afternoon 
Lord Elgin and Mr. Bruce left for Tien-tsin. 

On the 28th of October the remains of the French 
prisoners were interred in the burying-ground formerly used 
by the Jesuits, situated outside the north-west gate of 
Peking, and known as the Portuguese cemetery. The 
Eoman Catholic Bishop of Peking, Monseigneur Mouly, 
and his coadjutor bishop oiSiciated. Almost all the Eng- 
Ush officers off duty were present. The following day the 
ceremony of re-opening the Roman Catholic church in the 
Tartar city was performed by the two bishops — Baron Gros, 
(General de Montauban, with their staffs and a numerous 
assemblage of French officers attending. Bishop Mouly in 
his discourse expressed in grateful terms his acknowledg- 
ments to Her Majesty Queen Victoria and the English 
army for the assistance thus rendered to the cause of 



FEENCH TREATY. 187 

Christianity in the North of China. The ceremony was a 
good deal marred by rain ; the roof of the cathedral being 
in a yery dilapidated state. 

On the 1st of November General de Montauban declined 
to prolong his stay at Peking beyond that date, in conse- 
quence of the uncertainty of iJie weather, and started with 
hifi force, leaving one battalion of the 101st Regiment and 
two gons aa an escort for BarotL Gros, whose departure was 
deferred until such time as Lord Elgin saw it expedient to 
leave. 

On the 7th of November, Baron Gros forwarded to Paris 
the following summary of the conclusion of negotiations : — 

" Peace was signed on the 25th of October between the 
brother of the Emperor and myself. 

"The ultimatum of Shanghai has been accepted.* The 
exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of Tien-tsin has 
taken place ; 60,000,000 francs will be paid as an indemnity 
to France ; 3,750,000 francs will be paid in cash on the 
30th of the present month. 

" The emigration of coolies is authorised by the Chinese 
Government. 

" The churches and cemeteries, with their dependencies, 
belonging formerly to Christians throughout the whole 
empire, will be restored to them through the medium of 
the minister of Prance. Prince Kung sent to me yester- 
day (6th November) an official document containing the 
statement of handing over to me (already done) of the 
Catholic cathedral of Peking ; he adds, that he knows that 
in the Imperial city there was formerly another church, now 
destroyed, but that the ground and dependencies will be 

* The tenns of tliiB ultimatam were : — 1st. Formal ezcuBes for the 
attack on the allied forces at Taka; Sod. Exchange at Peking of the 
ratifications of the treaty condaded before at Tien-tsin ; 8rd. Declaration 
that the French Qoremment reascnmed the right of establishing a per- 
manent diplomatic mission at Peking ; 4th. Pajrment of an indemnity of 
60,000,000 finncs. 



188 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

handed over to me. Ibis day I hare given passports to 
missionaries. 

" On the 28th of October, nearly the whole of the army, 
headed by the embassy, took the six yictims of the ambus- 
cade of the 18th of September to the Catholic bmy- 
ing ground, already handed over to Monseigneur Monly, 
Bishop of Petcheli, and where repose the remains of 
Fathers Gerbillon, Eicci, and Shaal. General Grant and 
his staff joined us ; M. Ignatieff, the minister of Bussia, 
whose frank support has been of great use to me on 
all occasions, awaited as at the burial ground. On the 
following day mass was performed in the cathedral, which 
has also been given up to M. Mouly. 

" The iron cross has been replaced on the summit of the 
edifice, and the Dominey aalvum fac Imperatorem has inau- 
gurated the public re-establishment of the Catholic faith in 
China. 

" Moreover, there has been remitted to me, as a special 
indemnity for the outrage of the 18th of September, the 
sum of 1,500,000 francs. 

"Everything is progressing admirably, and encourages 
the hope that this success will be lasting. I shall probably 
leave Peking in two or three days to return to Tien-tsin, 
to concert with Lord Elgin as regards what remains to be 
done." " Baeon Gros." 

Novemher \Mh, — ^The French Legation is now established 
at Tien-tsin, M. de Bourboulon having arrived to-day from 
Shanghai. 

The streets again present an extraordinary scene of con- 
fdsion, being blocked up in all directions with baggage and 
stores, also horses and carts looted from the unfortunate 
peasantry. Here and there Chinese might be seen bar- 
gaining with coolies, and buying from them the rich vest- 
ments of silk and fur, in which many of them were attired, 
as the simplest mode of carrying their shares of the plunder. 



REAPPEARANCE OF TRADE. 180 

November lUh, — ^A commimicatioii was received to day 
from Mr. Adkins at Peking, dated the 12th inst., to the 
effect, that after Lord Elgin's departure on the 9th, he 
took possession of the building selected for the Legation, 
and that he received every aid from the local authorities ; 
one of the magistrates of the city having accompanied him 
to the spot. The disposition of the people is friendly, and 
he is as free from molestation in his rides and walks as he 
would have been had the allied forces still been before the 
city. The gates are now open, and the inhabitants who 
had fled while hostilities were impending, are now returning 
in laxge numbers. On the 11th, a memorial was despatched 
from Peking to the Emperor at Je-ho, informing him of the 
final adjustment of the foreign troubles. 

November 15/!^. — The suburb of Tien-tsin, on the oppo- 
site side of the river, |^ is to be held by a French force 
under General Collineau. The rest of the French army is 
embarking as fast as practicable for Shanghai, where it will 
remain for the winter, and await further orders from the 
Minister at War with reference to its destination, which it 
is expected will be Cochin-China. 

Trade is increasing in Tien-tsin. Street stalls are re- 
appearing, and money-changers, with portable bureaus, are 
becoming numerous. The inhabitants also are returning, 
and the streets are getting English and French designations 
painted on them in the respective quarters of the two forces. 
A large yamun, in a central position of the English suburb, 
now figures as " Charing Cross." 

In General Orders of to-night, I find myself detailed to 
take medical charge of the dlst Begiment, which is still at 
Hoo-see-woo, where it has been stationed during the opera- 
tions before Peking. It returns to Tien-tsin the day after 
to-morrow, and remains there for the winter as a portion of 
the occupying force. 

November 16th. — ^The town is now placarded with our 
version of the treaty in the Chinese character. Mr. Wade, 



190 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

it is stated, has detected some Chinese editions of it in cir- 
culation, wherein the Emperor is represented as haying, in 
his extreme kindness, been pleased to extend permission 
to barbarians to enter into trade with this portion of the 
celestial empire. 

Trade continues to increase; the streets in many dis- 
tricts being converted into lines of bazaars, and "how 
much" in the English, and **.combien" in the French 
quarter, being heard from one end to the other, the venders 
endeavouring to attract attention by using the only foreign 
words they are as yet acquainted with. 

November 17th. — A sale by auction took place this fore- 
noon of Military Train horses, a considerable number of 
which were bought by Chinamen at two and three dollars 
a head. 

November ISth, — The 31st Regiment marched in this 
afternoon, over 1000 strong, including oflGicers. The 
Chinese coolies attached to it have been placed in quarters 
opposite the general hospital. They seem in excellent 
spirits, and are busy cooking and preparing firewood, using 
Tartar swords they have brought with them for choppers, 
and making somewhat free with the wood work of the 
houses they are occupying.* 

November 19th, — Great as has been the bustle and con- 
frision prevailing in the streets of Tien-tsin within the last 
eight or ten days, I have seen nothing equal to the scene 
they present to day. The last portion of the army has just 
marched in, and in all directions the avenues are blocked 
up by lines of horse transport, mules, and Peking carts, 
laden with plunder and baggage, the interstices filled with 
masses of the coolie corps, staggering under loads of bag- 
gage, and extra weight, in the shape of loot, belonging to 
themselves. Amidst all this conftision, lines of dhoolies, 

* A few days afterwards when these men were embarked for the fleet, 
many of them wept bitterly at being separated from the regiment^ to which 
they seemed to hare become much attached. 



THEATRICAL ENTERTAINMENT. 191 

containing sick, were struggling on endeavouring to reach 
the general hospital. From many of the Peking carts 
small pug-nosed dogs were peeping out, numbers of which 
had been taken at the sacking of the Yuen-ming-Yuen. At 
one place might be seen a complete stoppage, in conse- 
quence of a troop of Fane's horse haying got jammed at 
the comer of a street amidst a line of carts ; at another, 
progress arrested by a load having tumbled off a camel. 

In the afternoon, a dinner and theatrical entertainment 
was given to the English officers by a number of Chinese 
gentlemen who have been associated with the authorities in 
connection with the question of supplies. It took place in 
a theatre in a suburb, near the north gate. The guests were 
seated at separate tables in front of the stage. The play 
commenced at half-past four, and continued till nine o'clock, 
during which period a succession of dishes, to the number 
of abont eighty, had been placed on each of the tables. 

November 20/^. — Snow fell nearly an inch deep during 
the night, but by morning had ^begun to thaw. Dr. Telfer 
came to the hospital to-day to see the wounded Tartars, it 
having been through his kind exertions that the men were 
originally taken care of. They recognised him at once, and 
the old pedlar rushed forward and seized his hand, shaking 
it with much earnestness and affection. The Mongolian 
horseman Dr. Telfer mentioned to me, had lain on the 
field of Chang-kia-wan for five days with his wound unat- 
tended to, during which period the only sustenance he had 
was one apple. Mr. Morrison, I believe it was, who found 
him, and brought him to Dr. Telfer's notice. 

November 2\st — Sleet continues to fall, and the streets are 
at best ankle, and in many places knee deep in mud. Sir 
Hope Grant visited the hospital in the afternoon, and put 
a kind interrogatory to each of the sick men in succession. 

November 22nd. — To-day realises our worst recollections 
of the mnd of Peh-tang, with a piercing cold temperature on 
the verge of freezing superadded. In the evening I dined 



192 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

with Sir Hope Grant at the house already alluded to, where 
the whole of the diplomatic and military staffs are quartered. 
On my way in I met Mr. Parkes and asked him a few hur- 
ried questions about Sang-ko-lin-sin, who, it appears, is a 
burly-looking personage, rather short and thick-set, ^rith a 
red, pimply face, as if he indulged in strong waters — a prac- 
tice by no means uncommon amongst his countrymen, the 
Mongolians. 

November 2Srd, — Cold and slush continue ; pitiable sight 
to see the Indian followers of Fane's Horse with their bleed- 
ing feet and naked limbs, shivering in the cold, half-way up 
to their knees in mud, and frequently losing their footing 
and coming down their whole length in it. 

November 24:th. — Cold very severe during the night. 
Thermometer down to 21 degrees at nine AM., and water 
frozen in the sleeping-rooms. 

Baron Gros left to-day for Shanghai. His secretary of 
legation, the Comte de Bastard, has become insane. He 
received a severe mental shock at the sight of the remains 
of the prisoners, and has been living ever since in constant 
apprehension of some impending evil, especially treachery, 
until at last his mind has completely revolted from control, 
and he has been removed to ship-board a raving lunatic 
under mechanical restraint. 

November 2bth. — This morning the thermometer at six 
o'clock was 15 degrees. Towards the afternoon the day 
cleared up to one of bright sunshine, and, notwithstanding 
the extreme cold of the morning, the temperature during 
the greater portion of the day was very pleasant. Masses 
of ice are now floating down the Peiho, which may soon be 
expected to be frozen over. 

Lord Elgin took his departure from Tien-tsin at eight 
o'clock this morning, and when last heard of at six p.m., had 
only got a third of the way down the river, the steamer hav- 
ing got aground. 

Two soldiers died in hospital to-day, also one of the 



THE PEIHO FBOZEN. 193 

Chinese coolie corps. The remains of the latter having 
been placed in the ordinary dead-honse, were taken by mis- 
take for those of a soldier of the 60th Rifles, and buried 
with military honours by a funeral party of the dlst Begi- 
ment. 

November 26th. — ^This forenoon I met Mr. Parkes on his 
way to Taku by land, accompanied by a couple of sowars of 
Fane's Horse. I asked him his opinion with reference to 
the probable time that the force would be detained at Tien- 
tsin. He said we might make up our minds for a whole 
year, and by no means improbably two.* 

November 27th. — The mess of the 31st Regiment is now 
established in the portion of a gentleman's house set apart for 
religious exercises, in other words a private "joss-house." 
There are three altars in the room, each containing a large 
deity. The centre one had to be removed to make room for 
a fire-place. The owner of the house came and superin- 
tended the removal of the figure, paying it great deference 
as the displacement was being effected. He begged as a 
special favour that the two remaining figures might be taken 
good care of. 

November 2Sth. — The Peiho is now completely fi'ozen 
over. The " Slaney " gunboat has got aground seven miles 
below Tien-tsin, and is being roofed in for the winter, it 
being impracticable to extricate her before spring. The 
*' Atalanta " steamer has got on the bar at Taku, and is also 
in a fair way for being fix)zen in. Five Indian followers 
going off to the fleet in a junk have died firom cold. 

Staff-Surgeon Dr. Galbraith arrived this evening from 
Taku, where he reports the weather as very rough, and ice 
beginning to form on the shore of the gulf. All the troops 
have embarked, and the infantry transports sailed yesterday. 
The cavalry and artillery were to leave to-day. Dr. Gal- 
braith had started firom Taku in the steamer " Cooper," but 

* This estimate proyed a correct one, the occupation of Tien-tain haying 
extended oyer one year and a half. 





194 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

it had stuck opposite the Tillage of. Ko-koo, the mandarins 
and inhabitants of which had shown every attention to those 
who had to get out and find their way to Tien-tsin by road, 
supplying carts and doing everything in their power to assist. 
Dr. Galbraith met on his way up 500 Indian followers walking 
down to Taku, the vessel in which they had been despatched 
from Tien-tsin having grounded. All their clothing was 
concentrated about their heads and shoulders, and, for the 
most part, they were either walking on their stocking soles, 
or barefooted. 

• November 29/A. — ITie last of the staflF of the expeditionary 
force left to-day. Colonel Boss, the Assistant Quartermaster- 
General, and Dr. Muir, leaving at half-past ten, followed 
shortly afterwards by Sir Hope Grant on horseback, looking 
very cold, with his hands in his pockets, and the reins loose 
on the horse's neck. Lady Grant accompanied him in a 
sedan chair, carried by Chinese coolies. 

November 30th. — ^The portion of the indenmity money 
arranged to be paid to-day, has come in. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

A Ohinaae drajgist's ahop — The remains of tlie prisoners — Quarters of the 
garrison — Soldiers* barrack-rooms at night — Ozone and its influence 
on health — Popuhition and reyenue of China — The Chinese candle — 
French soldiers* inscriptions — Parental grief — Opium smoking — 
Peking — Cruelty to dogs — Chivalrous sports of officers — Visits to 
Chinese officials — Acts of violence — Insecurity of property entrusted 
to military guards — Chinese hawking — State of affiiirs at Peking and 
Je-ho — The Tien-tsin Fire Brigade — Chinese funeral obsequies — 
Public baths — ^Marriage procession — ^Eflfects of the looting of Tuen- 
ming-yuen on the French army. 

December Ist — ^Visited the shop of a Chinese apothecary, 
in which a large staff of assistants were husy dispensing pre- 
scriptions. The drawers were all labelled, and everything 
seemed to be conducted with as much regularity as in our 
own country. A few days ago Dr. Nicolson went into one 
of these shops and found a prescription being made up 
containing camphor reduced to a fine powder, a pharma- 
ceutical process that we ourselves have not yet been able 
to arrive at. I went also into a Chinese cook-shop, filled 
>vith fat^ sleek-looking cooks and waiters. Sitting at one 
of the tables were several soldiers of the 67th Kegiment 
and the Military Train; a really excellent, and what in 
many places would be viewed as rather a recherche meal, 
was being placed before them, and the charge for this 
they informed me was one shilling per head ; the viands 
embracing mutton, fowl, duck and quail, cooked in a 
variety of ways. 

December 2nd. — ^To-day my connection with Her Majesty's 

Legation commenced — Colonel Neale having conveyed to 

o 2 



196 KOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

me Mr. Brace's request that I would undertake its medical 
care. 

December ^d. — ^I learned this evening from Mr. Wade 
that when the bodies of the prisoners of the 18th of Sep- 
tember were brought in, their names were written in Chinese 
characters on their cofSns, with their ages and dates of 
death. Mr. Wade had to interpret the writing. The cha- 
racters on Mr. Bowlby's coffin gave the sound in English of 
Bo-bee. The clothes had evidently been removed after 
death, but replaced prior to the bodies being brought in, 
as portions of wearing apparel were found on the deceased 
not belonging to them. Mr. Bowlb/s socks, for instance, 
had been put on a sowar, and a pair of boots placed on him 
which he never possessed. He died four days after capture 
at a place called Cham-ping-chow, about thirty miles from 
Peking, where those prisoners were taken who were so un- 
fortunate as not to be detained within the capital. 

December Ath, — ^The following is the disposition of the 
Tien-tsin force. The Eoyal Artillery occupy an extensive 
series of buildings known as the Prefect's Yamun, near the 
centre of the walled city. In a street near it the head- 
quarters of the 31st are located in a number of separate 
houses, the remainder of the regiment being quartered in a 
large joss-house, called the " Temple of the Moon," situated 
in a partly open space, a little way inside the south gate. 
The 60th Rifles occupy the "Hall of Literary Examina- 
tions," and a number of houses in the neighbourhood of the 
east gate. The Military Train occupy the Confucian 
Temple. In the suburbs to the north and east of the 
city, the 67th Begiment and Fane's Horse are quartered, 
the former occupying houses on the bank of the grand 
canal, the latter, the " Devil's Temple," and a street near 
it, both of them between the east gate and the bank of 
the river. 

The arrangements which time and circumstances per- 
mitted to be made for the reception of the army of occupa- 



\. 



\ 
\ 



CROWDED BABEAGKS. 107 

tion, were xmayoidably very defective. The men are seri- 
onsly overcrowded and a good deal of disease is prevaOingy 
there being about 200 under treatment in hospital. Deaths 
continue also of frequent occurrence, hardly a day passing 
that the melancholy strains of the dead march are not heard 
in the streets, two and three funerals a day not being un- 
common. The sickness amongst the troops there is some 
difficulty in assigning to climatic causes, as the officers of 
the garrison and civilians who have taken up their residence 
at Tien-tsin are enjoying excellent health, the climate to all 
appearance being a fine one. Various representations have 
been made by the regimental medical officers respecting the 
sanitary defects to which the troops are exposed, and Briga- 
dier Stavely is doing all he can to improve the state of 
matters, a work of very considerable difficulty. It is to be 
hoped, however, that the efforts which are now being made 
to improve the barrack accommodation may prove successM 
before spring sets in, otherwise serious results it is to be 
feared will be produced by a continuance, during higher 
temperature, of the close packing which at present exists in 
the barrack-rooms, the amount of space being so small and 
the men so close together, that they have been unable as yet 
to use the bed boards which have been issued them to keep 
their Indian beds off the cold and damp floors of their 
dormitories. 

December 6th. — ^Walked with Dr. Galbraith on the oppo- 
site bank of the river, as &r as the south forts. On our way 
we passed a very elegant and characteristic Chinese residence 
with ornamental gardens, a good deal out of repair, but still 
giving an excellent idea of the nationsJ taste in the laying 
out of grounds, and in the construction of the higher cla£s 
of houses. In the course of our walk we saw the peasantry 
engaged preserving cabbage for the winter by a process 
similar to that adopted by ourselves in reference to the 
potato. A square pit or cellar is dug out of the clay soil to 
the depth of about six feet, walls of clay to the height of 



198 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

about six feet more are then built round and the whole 
roofed in, the entrance to it being by a small hatch-way 
just large enough to allow a man to pass. The interior is 
fitted up with wooden racks on which the cabbage is placed 
in rows one above the other, all the outer leaves and par- 
tially decayed portions being removed and the leaves cut 
square at the end. The cabbages are arranged in sym- 
metrical lines, and are carefully kept from touching the walls 
of the pit. The peasants were sturdy, good-humoured fel- 
lows, who seemed to enjoy seeing us descend through the 
hatch-way by the ladder inside and examine the interior 
arrangements. There were seven of them on the top of the 
pit round the hatch-way, and we were altogether unarmed 
and totally isolated from Europeans by a couple of miles ; 
had they been actuated by those feelings of treachery, deceit, 
and revenge, that it is too much the custom to identify with 
the Chinese character, to the exclusion of a great deal that 
is amiable and estimable, we need not have been heard of 
more. 

Decmtber 7 th. — Last night about twelve o'clock I visited 
the barrack-rooms of the 31st Regiment, with a view of 
ascertaining their state alter the men have been a few hours 
asleep in them. The atmosphere I found so hot and me- 
phitic that I felt an immediate sensation of relief on emerg- 
ing from it ; nevertheless, the soldiers had no complaint to 
make, their sensations being those of warmth and comfort. 
In one instance only was a complaint made, and that was 
with reference to a current of fresh air which came through 
a flaw in the wall of a room in a joss-house, and which 
tended somewhat to reduce the temperature inside. 

December Sth. — ^During the last few days the quantity of 
ozone in the atmosphere has been observed by Dr. Lamprey 
to be very deficient, and coincident with this I have noticed 
a more than usual prevalence of neuralgic ailments, not only 
in the form of acute attacks in those previously healthy, but 
also appearing as a complication in connection with pre-exist- 



POPULATION OF CHINA. 199 

ing disease. Agae has likewise been of frequent occurrence 
lately. 

December 9ih. — On going out this morning the air seemed 
to me to have a more than usually exhilarating effect; not 
that I had preyiously felt unwell, but there was an inde- 
scribable something that seemed to have been hanging about 
me for some two or three days before. The patients also 
who had been suffering from neuralgia have become much 
better, and, in some instances, the aOment has suddenly 
disappeared. During the night a great increase of ozone is 
shown by the ozonometer, and this occurring together with 
a decrease in a prevalent form of disease, warrants, in my 
opinion, the conclusion that they are connected as cause and 
effect. 

Baron de Meritens, the interpreter to the French Legation, 
has proceeded to Peking to make arrangements respecting 
the preparation of a house for the reception of M. de Bour- 
boulon in spring. 

December 10th, — When at the Legation this forenoon, I 
learned that amongst other records which had come into 
Mr. Wade's possession from the Imperial library at Tuen- 
ming-yuen, there is a series of Imperial edicts extending 
oyer the last thirty years, containing a great deal of most 
valuable information with reference to the statistics, trade, 
finance and population of the country, constituting, in feet, 
a modem history of China. The series is very nearly com- 
plete, a few edicts only being wanting, probably destroyed 
during the sacking of the palace. Prom these papers an 
interesting statistical fact has been ascertained regarding 
which great doubt has always existed, namely, the actual 
population of China ; the papers .in question making it 
413,000,000 in China proper and Manchuria, exclusive of 
Pormosa and some other outlying possessions ; including 
them, it is calculated that in the aggregate the population 
cannot be under 450,000,000. 

In reference to this it would be interesting to make a 



200 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

calcnlation fonnded on that of Stephenson, which went to 
show that the steam power of England in mannfactures was 
equal to a population of 400,000,000; therefore, if we with 
our 40,000,000 can elSect by steam power the manual labour 
of 400,000,000, what would be the amount of labour pro- 
cured by the introduction of steam power amongst a popu- 
lation stated to be about half that of the whole human 
race ? 

It appears to be difficult to get at the exact reyenue of 
China, but from some documents that have fallen into our 
hands it has been ascertained that until lately, after paying 
the yarious goyemment expenses in the different proyinces, 
there was a surplus of 8,000,000 of taels (about £3,000,000 
sterling). Amongst the papers referred to, a memorandum 
from Canton has been found relating to some years ago. 
It states, '^ Pottinger has gone, Dayis has succeeded him. 
This latter barbarian has been selected on account of some 
rude knowledge he has of our language acquired during his 
service with the trading company (East India Company). 
Up to the present time he has not been obstreperous or 
otherwise troublesome.** 

My attention was called to-day to the ingenuity with 
which the Chinese tallow candle is constructed, so as to pre- 
yent guttering; — the outer coat being a thin enyelope of 
wax, which, dissolving more slowly than the tallow, forms a 
ledge about the fourth of an inch round the tallow in solu- 
tion, and thus its running down the sides is completely 
preyented. While our candle is placed in the candlestick, 
the Chinese candlestick is placed in the candle on the prin- 
ciple of a " saye-all;** an improvement which, in combination 
with the wax enyelope to the tallow candle, might be in- 
troduced for the benefit of the poorer classes in our own 
country. 

December lllh. — ^Walked to the south fort on the opposite 
bank of the river — ^found it quite deserted, and the yillagers 
in the neighbourhood unroofing the casemates and carrying 



PARENTAL GRIEF. 201 

away the timber. This fort is nearly the counterpart of 
the one on the opposite side of the riyer. Here and there on 
the walls of the houses within the enclosure were personal 
memoirs of several of the French soldiers, in the form chiefly 
of annotations of the dates of their leaving France and ar- 
riving at various places on their way out — also guesses at the 
probable period of their return, and solicitous expressions 
in reference to the health and general welfare of their 
" mattresses." One soldier in particular, " Grougon, Sappeur, 
1" G^nie," is very minute in detailing his feelings, and 
seems to have been more anxious than his companions that 
his name should stand forth pre-eminent, having inscribed it 
in large letters, as I have quoted it, on the most prominent 
portion of the cavalier; and with the view of farthering his 
desire I am thus particular in noting it. 

Betuming to Tien-tsin, I met two men carrying a small 
coffin — a respectable-looking man, walking a little way 
behind it, came up, and with an expression of grief pointed 
to the coffin and then to himself, and holding up his fingers 
indicated that the child was five years old, then holding up 
his hand a little way from the ground to show its height, 
he burst into tears and continued his course home with the 
coffin, which he had apparently been into Tien-tsin to pur- 
chase. This little incident conveys a practical contradiction 
to a statement I heard confidently made last night, to the 
effect that the Chinese are without any true feelings of afiPec- 
tion, and that their regard for their relations is principally 
confined to respect for their remains, an impression which, on 
whatever data it has been formed, is altogether unsupported 
by experience in the north of China, manifestations of 
affection for offspring every day coming under our notice. 
Did disregard for offspring prevail to the extent it is repre- 
sented, the population could hardly keep up to the huge 
number shown in the Imperial statistics. 

December 12th. — Talking of the injurious consequences 
of opium smoking this evening at the Legation, from the 



202 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

account Mr. Wade gives, its baneM influence would not seem 
to be exaggerated by those who have written on the subject. 
The reason why it does not overtly come under our eyes in 
China is, that it is not a common vice of the labouring and 
other classes of the Chinese with whom foreigners are most 
familiar, but of the higher classes, who in a great measure 
are excluded from our observation. Mr. Wade describes its 
effects as far outdoing our worst ideas of alcoholic intempe- > 

ranee, and he makes mention of a somewhat singular and 
interesting fact, namely, that while opium smoking seems 
to produce comparatively little effect on Europeans, alcohol 
is equally inoperative on the Chinese, as they can consume 
large quantities of it without becoming intoxicated. He 
mentions as an illustration the case of a Chinese teacher of 
his at Shanghai, who told him that a brother from the 
country had been in to see him, and that being anxious to 
taste some of the foreign wines that he had heard a good deal 
about, he sent out for two bottles, which they drank between 
themin an hour without being in any way injuriously affected. 
On being asked the name of the wine, he said Pa-lan-ti, 
the nearest approximation he could make to the pronun- 
ciation of the word brandy, which the so-called wine turned 
out to have been. 

In this peculiar unsusceptibility to alcoholic influences and 
proneness to be affected by the narcotic vapour of opium, a 
very interesting question is involved, as it implies a more 
active condition of the respiratory functions in the Chinese 
than in our own countrymen, and may possibly throw some ' 

light on the remarkable prevalence of intemperance amongst 
our lower orders, amongst whom impaired conditions of the 
pulmonary organs are the most common cause of physical 
disability, while, on the contrary, the lungs of the Chinese 
enjoy remarkable immunity from disease. The stronger the 
lungs, the more opium is inhaled and the more alcohol is 
evaporated. 

Conversation turning on the desire which our merchants 



PEKING. 203 

have to be permitted to carry on a coasting trade in grain in 
China, there wonld appear to have been no point in arranging 
the details of the Treaty of Tien-tsin in 1858, that the 
Commissioners so stoutly resisted as this ; more especially 
from Mn-che-wang, in the gulf of Lian-tung, and from 
Tang-chow, the chief port in the province of Shan-tung. 
One Shanghai merchant alone is known to have 500 junks 
employed trading in beans and grain from Mu-che-wang. 

December IZth. — News was received to-day from Mr. 
Adkins, that everything is progressing satisfactorily at 
Peking, of which place the following is a general 
description : — 

Peking is distinguished from other Chinese cities by its 
great extent, the width of its streets, and the grandeur of 
its wall. It contains numbers of shops with elaborately 
carved and gilded fronts, but on the whole the general ap- 
pearance of the houses presents nothing remarkable, being 
for the most part one-storied, with little variation of archi- 
tecture beyond that which we have been long accustomed 
to see on the willow-pattern plate. The temples and yamuns, 
however, are on a very large scale, and altogether Peking 
quite realises the anticipations which one who has acquired 
some previous acquaintance with the north of China would 
be inclined to form of it ; though, no doubt, in some respects 
it falls short of what Canton now is and what Nanking 
formerly was, owing chiefly to the fact that no manufactures 
whatever are carried on in it. The city consists of two 
divisions, a Chinese and a Tartar one, enclosed by upwards 
of twenty miles of wall, averaging about fifty feet high and 
over forty feet thick. These two cities are separated from 
each other by four miles of wall of similar dimensions, 
making a total of twenty-four miles of investing wall. 

Within the Tartar city there is a third, or Imperial ciiy, 
likewise enclosed by a high wall. The Imperial Palace is in 
the centre of this third city. The Tartar quarter is occupied 
chiefly by the bannermen or hereditary soldiers of the Manchu 



204 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

dynasty. The tradesmen and the principal shop-keepers 
reside in the Chinese city, while the Imperial one is oc- 
cupied by a somewhat mixed class. The palace itself is a 
very extensive range of buildings, covering a large number 
of acres, and surrounded by a crenellated wall and deep ditch. 
The Emperor has not resided in it for many years, having 
preferred the Yuen-ming-yuen, but since its destruction 
repairs have been commenced in the city palace, so as to 
have it in a fit state for the reception of the Emperor when 
he returns from Je-ho, which is distant from Peking about 
150 miles, or nearly 100 miles on the Tartary side of the 
Great WaU. 

December 14^. — ^At the recent sale of military horses it 
appears that a Chinese official was present, and that all 
Chinamen who were purchasers had to pay to their own 
government 10 per cent, on the cost of the horses bought, 
as an import tax. Not a very serious "squeeze," as in 
many instances the horses went for a few dollars. 

December Ihth, — Called on Captain Govan, commanding 
the Royal Artillery, to bring under his notice the brutal 
conduct of a gunner employed in the military police whom 
I observed yesterday sauntering along the streets with a 
heavy whip in his hand amusing himself with lashing every 
unoffending dog that came within his reach, whether they 
happened to be quietly walking along or sitting at the doors 
of the shops they belonged to. Captain Govan, while con- 
curring in the necessity for checking such unnecessary 
cruelty, regretted that the man had anything but a good 
example set him by his betters, dog-speai-ing on the plain 
outside the city having been one of the favourite amusements 
of the officers of the garrison for some time back, the un- 
fortunate animals being hunted down by mounted spearmen 
until they sank exhausted, when they were subjected to a 
lingering and painfdl death in consequence of the unskil- 
fulness of their tormentors in dispatching them with the 
spear. These dogs are the property of the neighbouring 



A PAPER HUNT. 205 

villagers, and the cruel scenes which take place in connec 
tion with these hunts, from all accounts, would seem to be 
but little calculated to dispel from the Chinese mind the 
term barbarian. 

December l^th. — ^Admiral Hope arriyed last night on 
horseback from Taku, haying come up in a gunboat from 
the Miatan Islands. He proceeds immediately to Hong- 
Kong, haying arranged that a mail will be run fortnightly 
during the winter between Shanghai and Che-foo, and from 
thence be conyeyed by land to Tien-tsin. 

It is reported that the " Committee of British Supply" 
haye been found out squeezing the coolies employed by ttie 
commissariat, who are paid 200 cash per diem, while in 
reality it is alleged they receiye only about fifty. 

December 17th, — Biding out on the plain this forenoon, I 
found a group of officers collected about the Oceanic Temple 
preparing for what is known as a " paper hunt ;" a fox being 
represented by a piece of paper wafted about by the wind 
oyer the perfect leyel which characterises the country as far 
as the eye caa reach ; the plain is dotted with villages, and 
little clusters of trees around them, now destitute of foliage, 
but beautiful in summer. 

Walking in the afternoon with Colonel Neale, he men- 
tioned to me, that yesterday he accompanied Mr. Wade to 
return the yisits of seyeral of the local officials who had 
called on Mr. Bruce, amongst others, the salt commis- 
sioner, who is one of the chief salt directors in the empire, 
Tien-tsin being the centre of the great saline district. 
This official farms the trade from the goyemment. Hang-ki 
also was one of those whose yisit was returned. He is here 
at present as an enyoy from the Prince of Kung for the 
dispatch of business. Colonel Neale in these interyiews was 
much struck with the resemblance of many of the Chinese 
customs to those of the Turks ; such as the eating of sweet- 
meats prior to departure, and the crowds of attendants that 
form round the door, and listen to all that passes, — the 



206 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

officials, strange to say, seeming quite indiflferent to it ; 
Hang-ki, for instance, talking in a loud tone about certain 
delicate matters, the subject of present negotiation. In the 
course of conversation, he stated that since their amalga- 
mation with the Chinese, the Tartars have lost many of 
their best customs. Mr. "Wade having some business in 
detail to settle with Hang-ki, stayed to dinner with him, 
taking pot-luck ; and I hear a very good dinner he got. 

A point that has been mooted lately by the local autho- 
rities, has reference to a muster of their troops, which it 
is customary, as a financial measure, to have at Tien-tsin 
about the present period; and they desire to know whether 
any objection will be raised by us to its taking place as 
usual. An opinion, I am informed, has been expressed, 
that, under existing circumstances, it will be better that 
this muster of miUtia should not take place at Tien-tsin for 
the present. 

An illustration of the gambling propensities of the 
Chinese in petty matters was observed this morning at the 
Legation. A carpenter, who has been working there for 
some weeks, a steady respectable man, was seen to go out 
to one of the gambling street venders of eatables to have 
his breakfast. He tried his luck, once, twice, and thrice, 
and losing each time, he went back to his work without his 
breakfast. 

December 18/^.— Charges and counter-charges are be- 
coming the order of the day. While some Seiks were 
employed yesterday carrying ration wood from the bank of 
the river, one of them left his greatcoat lying on the 
ground, which a Chinaman, passing by, took possession 
of. A European sergeant^ however, happened to notice it, 
and securing the Chinaman by his tail, waited until some 
Seiks came up, when he handed the man and greatcoat 
over to them. Summary punishment was then dealt him, — 
one of the Seiks, taking his tail aud rolling it round his 
sinewy aim, amused the others by making him go down on 



ACTS OP VIOLENCE. 207 

his knees and be pnlled up by his tail over and over again. 
This went on nntil the owner of the greatcoat appeared, 
when the man was handed oyer to him, to be disposed of 
according to his discretion ; so he secured him by the tail, 
and commenced to kick him on the abdomen ; as he was 
doing this, an English sergeant came up, and, by panto- 
mime, gave him to understand that the other aspect of the 
Chinaman's body was the orthodox one to apply the foot to, 
at the same time giving him some practical instruction as 
to the mode of proceeding. At this moment my informant, 
who had been watching the scene, interfered, and had the 
man released. 

A Chinawoman is stated to be dying from a stab in the 
temple, alleged to have been received from a soldier of the 
31st ; and another soldier of the same regiment is accused 
of robbing one of the street beggars, — ^while a counter- 
charge is brought against the Chinamen of having stolen 
200 blankets from Fane's Horse, who, by the way, are be- 
lieved to be generally capable of looking after themselves. 

A complaint has been made to Mr. Mongan, the acting- 
consul, by a Chinese brazier, against two officers of the gar- 
rison, who, it appears, went into his shop and purchased a 
couple of brass kettles, ordering them to be brought to their 
quarters, when they would be paid for. The man accord- 
ingly brought the kettles, and a dollar was sent to him in 
payment, which he refused to receive, and requested that 
his property might be given back to him. A second dollar 
was then sent in lieu of the six he demanded, failing to get 
which or ' his kettles, he went to the consul, who has 
brought the matter under the notice of Brigadier Staveley, 
who, I believe, has adopted such measures as will not only 
secure the Chinaman having justice done him, but check a 
repetition of attempts at unfair dealing with the native 
tradesmen.* 

* At a labflequent period of the occnpation of Tien-tsin an officer men- 
tioned to me that he was present in a curiosity shop in the chief street in 



208 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

December \%th. — Last night Dr. Gordon, Depnty-Inspec- 
tor-Gkneral of Hospitals, arriyed from Hong-Kong to 
assnme the dnties of Principal Medical Officer of the 
Tien-tsin force. According to the last news from Shanghai, 
Lord Elgin was still there, waiting to hear from Admiral 
Hope in reference to the projected expedition np the Yang- 
tse-kiang in spring ; the object of which is to yisit the 
treaty ports, and also to give the rebels to understand that 
they are not to interfere with English trade on the river. 
Sir Hope and Lady Grant were also at Shanghai, and were 
abont to proceed to Japan. 

Prom Takn, we hear that a quantity of stores, belonging 
to Mr. Brace, landed there for transmission by land to 
Tien-tsin, have been broken open by a guard of the Slst 
Eegiment, placed in charge of them, and liquor and other 
articles made free with. I may here remark, that on the 
march to Peking both Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant 
were looted of nearly the whole of their wine by the escort 
of the 60th Bifles that accompanied it : the loss of each, 
I am informed, amounting to about sixty dozen. 

This morning a soldier of the 60th was found dead in 
bed. Medical examination went to show that his death was 
the result of insensibility caused by excess of alcohol. 

December 20^A. — ^A court-martial has been ordered to 
assemble on the soldiers of the 31st who broke open Mr. 
Brace's stores. It is not safe to entrast property to the 
care of soldiers ; so demoralised has the army become by 
the constant looting which has been going on during the 
expedition, that the Legations at Tien-tsin have determined 

the suburb, when an Bngliah officer was bargaining for an article. Failing 
to get it at the price he wanted he took it np and threw down its money 
value according to his own estimate. The shopkeeper, an old man with 
grey hair, objected to the amount, and came forward, putting out his hand 
at the same time to take back the article. The officer struck him a severe 
blow between the eyes, which knocked him down ; and he then, after 
having performed this ruffianly feat, walked deliberately off with the poor 
man*s property. 



CHINESE HAWKINa. 209 

to establish a Chinese agent at Takn, and thus for the 
future prevent property being entrusted to soldiers* 

An American missionary, the Key. Mr. Blodgett, came to 
me to-day, with the view of seeing the wounded Tartars, 
I took him a<xx)rdingly to see them, and through his know- 
ledge of the language, ascertained that the second in com- 
mand to Sang-ko-lin-sin at Taku, was a lieutenant-general, 
named Lao. He was sent over to the north fort shortly 
before the attack, to take the command, and was killed. 
They adhere to a statement they made the other day, that 
in the fort taken by storm the garrison amounted to only 
700 men, while in the north fort that surrendered there 
were about a thousand. They do not appear to know the 
exact strengths of the garrisons in the forts on the south 
side of the river. If there were only 700 men in the 
stormed fort, 400 of them were killed, that being the 
number of bodies buried after its capture. From what I 
personally observed, I am inclined to believe their state- 
ment to be tolerably correct. 

Hawking is one of the amusements of the north of 
China. This forenoon Dr. Lamprey, of the 67th Regiment, 
who has some knowledge of the language, went out with 
about a dozen Chinamen on the plain beyond Sang-ko-lin- 
sin's Folly, as the fourteen miles of earthwork investing the 
walled city are now called. They extended themselves in 
line at certain distances from each other, and as soon as the 
Chinese greyhound started a hare, the hood was removed 
from the hawk, which one of the men carried on his wrist, 
and it shot off after the hare — soon hovered over it, and 
descending with force, fixed its talons in its back. The 
sportsmen then made all haste up, otherwise the hare would 
soon have been picked to pieces. As an illustration of the 
imacquaintance of the Chinese with the use of firearms for 
the purposes of sport, Dr. Lamprey could not persuade 
them to take a shot at anything with his gun, and he 
describes their astonishment as something intense, when 



210 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

he managed to bring down a qaail flying, and the impres- 
sion made was so great that they mentioned the oocnrrenoe to 
every one they met> and drew attention to the wonderM 
weapon by which the feat had been eflFected. 

Decemher 21«^.— The thermometer fell during the night 
to 8^ At 9 AJL it stood at 12®. The weather is fine, 
clear, and bracing, but the cold is rather severe ; especially 
as affecting the feet. The river this morning is completely 
frozen over above the bridge of boats, but not altogether 
so immediately underneath it ; owing to the force of the 
current passing between the boats. 

I went to-day into a Chinese shoemaker's shop, with an 
officer who wanted to purchase for warmth's sake a pair of 
native fdrplined shoes. His foot, however, was too large for 
the stock of ready-mades on hand. The shopmen seemed 
much amused at the size of the foot, and laughed heartily 
at their want of success in finding a fit. The proprietor of 
the shop then placed his head in an attitude of repose, to 
indicate that by to-morrow he would have a pair of shoes 
ready. He also indicated by signs that in consequence of 
the unusual size of the foot, the charge would be one dollar 
and a half, or one third more than the usual charge. 

Baron de Meritens returned to-day from Peking, much 
charmed with the Prince of Eung, whom he describes as 
being all that can be desired. Matters, however, are not 
proceeding quite so couleur de rose, he states, with the 
Emperor, who is represented as much disgusted with the 
present state of affairs — especially so with the destruction 
of Yuen-ming-yuen, and with the foreign residency at 
Peking. It is therefore difficult to predict what the re- 
sults may be ; Prince Kung, however, has declared in the 
most unequivocal manner his intention faithfdlly to act up 
to all that he has contracted to do, so long as he is allowed 
to remain at the head of foreign affairs. It is the opinion 
of M. De Meritens that the Ministers should go as early as 
possible to Peking, and it has been determined that Mr. 



< 



FIRE BRIGADE. 211 

Wade and Count Eleiskonsky shall proceed there in ad- 
yance of their respective Legations. 

One important fact has been established by onr visit to 
Peking, namely, that the Emperor has been fnlly cognizant 
of all that has been going on in respect to Anglo-Chinese 
intercourse for years (with the exception of our recent 
defence of Shanghai). This is a curious and interesting 
fact, being so opposed to the generally received opinion 
respecting his Celestial Majesty, and it shows the small 
amount of confidence that is to be placed in rumour and 
assertion, even when emanating from apparently good 
authority. 

V To-day we met a Chinaman with a sort of hand-drum, 
beaten suR/er the foshion of a child's toy. With this he was 
making a great noise, and while we were speculating what 
it meant» some flames were seen on the opposite side of the 
canal near the French quarter, and a number of men coming 
down the opposite bank in line, with white flags and black 
letters on them. We concluded that they were connected 
with the police, and that the flags were to indicate the 
direction of the fire, which the beating of the drum was in- 
tended to announce to the neighbourhood. We accordingly 
followed the direction of the flags and soon reached the fire» 
which had settled on a cluster of houses up a narrow lane, 
in which, fortunately close to the burning houses, there was 
a vacant space. We had hardly got into it, before a number 
of men bearing gaudy flags and standards arrived, followed 
in rapid succession by eight fire engines — odd-looking 
machines with gilt inscriptions on them, each carried on 
the shoulders of four men by a pole passing through the 
upper part. These engines consist of forcing pumps worked 
by a double lever, the jet of water being projected through 
a brass nozzle about six feet long, working on a swivel from 
tiie upper portion of the pump. They have no hose, yet a 
very effective jet was projected some distance. Tlie great 
fault seemed to be the rapidity with which the supply of 

p 2 



312 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

water was exhausted. In a short time the enclosure was 
filled with flags of all colours and devices, drums, tom-toms, 
gongs, &c., the noise and general confusion which preyailed 
baflBing description. Some sailors from a Russian gun- 
boat, frozen in not far off, and a number of French soldiers, 
were actively employed on the roofs of the houses, de- 
taching the thatching and other combustible materiaL 
Fresh engines continued to arrive, and without heeding 
the direction, the moment they got into the open space, 
they commenced discharging their contents towards the 
flames. One engine I saw playing right on the Russians 
and the Frenchmen, with the thermometer 20** below 
freezing. They seemed, however, not to mind it, but con- 
tinued to work away with right good wiUSiAs darkness 
began to creep on, the effect of the lines ofnags and lan- 
terns was very picturesque — taken altogether it was one of 
the gayest sights I have seen in China, and not unlike a 
gigantic teetotal procession at home. The Tien-tsin Fire 
Brigade appears to consist of several sections, each of which 
has a distinctive uniform and distinctive coloured flags. 
The engines were supplied with water from the Grand Oanal 
close to its junction with the Peiho, carried in buckets 
slung in the ordinary way from the ends of a bamboo sup- 
ported across the shoulder. In this way it was brought up 
from different parts of the canal, where the ice had to be 
broken for the purpose. The system of lighting by lan- 
terns was very perfect, and altogether the arrangements 
gave us the idea of being wonderfnlly complete ; more 
especially the rapidity with which the different sections 
of the fire brigade were on the ground with their engines. 

December 22nd, — During the night the cold was intense ; 
the thermometer having fallen to 5°. At eight A.M. it was 
10^ and inside the bedrooms 25° ; the barometer standing 
at 80'50, the sky continuing clear and the weather very fine. 

On the bank of the canal there is an elegant country 
house, with two showy-looking lions carved in stone in front 



CHINESE SLEIGHS. 213 

of it, presenting the usnal grotesque attitude of all Chinese 
lions. Ajoropos of lions, I may mention that about the 
thirteenth century of our era, a present of lions was made by 
some foreign power to the Emperor of China, who after due 
deliberation determined not to receive them, for the follow- 
ing truly Chinese reasons : — " We have no animals like 
them, therefore we do not know that they are lions ; sup- 
posing we accept them and they turn out not to be lions, 
then we shall become the laughing-stock of the whole 
world." Near the house referred to, a number of junks 
from the south were lying ice-bound in the canal. The 
Peiho itself is now completely frozen over, and people are 
walking over it in all directions. 

December 26th. — The Peiho is now covered with small 
wooden sleighs. They are propelled by a man standing at the 
stem pushing the sleigh along by a pole with an iron point, 
at a pace varying from five to eight miles an hour, accord- 
ing to the loads upon them. They take the place of boat 
traffic dming winter. Already they have become a source 
of great amusement to the soldiers, who for a few cash are 
taking trips several miles up and down the river. 

An inquest was held to-day on Private Holt of the 81st 
Regiment, who was found dead in his bed yesterday morn- 
ing, after marching up from Taku, where he had just 
landed from the " White Star." He was, to all appearance, 
a fine healthy young man, and no other cause could be as- 
signed for his death than the extreme cold to which his 
system had become suddenly exposed. 

December 2(jth. — Learned this morning from Lieutenant 
de Saisset, who now commands a French gunboat frozen 
in at Taku, that the ice at present extends over six miles 
out into the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, and that communication 
with the shipping is quite impracticable until spring. The 
captain of a vessel lying in the anchorage had offered the 
Chinese boatmen at Taku one hundred dollars to put him 
oh board his vessel, but none would undertake it» and he 



214 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

had Btarted for Che-foo by land, in hopes of being able to 
come round by sea fix)m that place. 

According to Hang-ki, the cold wiU steadily increase for 
the next twenty days, at the expiration of which the 
strength of the ice on the river, as compared to what it 
now is, will, he says, be as that of a piece of timber placed 
vertically to support a weight, compared with its strength 
when similarly employed horizontally.* 

December 28^A. — Met a fdneral procession coming out of 
one of the cross lanes. On reaching the centre of the 
street some " joss paper" was placed on the gromid, and 
burned. The procession consisted of one priest and six 
musicians, followed by mourners in white. After burning 
the paper they returned by a cross street to the residence of 
the deceased, near the south gate. The Reverend Mr. 
Mah^ here joined us, and he went to the door of the house 
and made signs to be allowed to enter, which was at once 
accorded. The master of the house, a polite gentlemanly 
man, came forward and met us, and ushered us in through a 
courtyard filled with white ftmeral trappings : the whole 
having a rather ghostly and very singular appearance. We 
were then taken into a chamber fitted up with peculiar 
tapestry, which by signs we were given to understand was 
connected with mourning, also that the deceased was the 
father of the owner of the house, and that his age was 
eighty-five — a fact speaking well for the climate. Tea was 
brought in, and with it sugar, the latter specially provided 
for us ; the Chinese never using it with tea themselves. 
Mr. Mah^ exchanged snuff with one of the mourners, and 
before we left, paper was brought in, and we were requested 
to write down our names, which we did, and explained to 
them as well as we could our respective callings. They 
seemed interested with the fact that Dr. Galbraith and 
myself were "esungs" (professors of the healing art), and 

* Tliis oompaiison (amed out to be somewhat exaggerated. 



PUBLIC BATHS. 216 

particularly so that Mr. Mah6 belonged to the ** chin-chin 
joss" order. 

Mentioning this occurrence to Mr. Wade, I learnt from 
him that the Amerals in this part of China are much more 
elaborate and ceremonious than in the south of China, also 
that the obsequies have no necessary connection with the 
period of actual burial, as that is frequently deferred until a 
lucky day can be selected. White is the mourning colour. 

December 22th. — ^Visited one of the public bathing esta- 
blishments. Several men were performing their ablutions, 
and everything seemed conducted with much order and 
propriety. A man stands at the door behind a small 
counter, having a slit in it, through which he slips the cash 
which the bathers pay on leaving. The tubs are oval shaped 
and the walls are fitted with boxes for the clothes of those 
bathing. The temperature is very high, and of this advan- 
tage is taken for the forcing of bulbous plants, a large num- 
ber of which, in saucers, were ranged on the floor. The cost 
of a bath at this establishment is less than one &rthing. 
Baths are also furnished from it to private houses, a tub, 
hot water and other appliances, including the services of a 
man as a scrubber, being furnished for 100 cash, about five- 
pence of English money. In these public baths we have an 
evidence of one thing at least in which the Chinese would 
seem to have kept ahead of us, as it is only of recent years 
that we have begun to recognise the sanitary importance of 
providing the poor with cheap means of ablution, whereas 
the Chinese appear to have done so for centuries ; the same 
also being the case in Japan. 

December BOth, — This forenoon the strains of Chinese 
music heard near the hospital attracted our attention— a 
wedding procession was passing. At the head of it walked 
half a-dozen men carrying large globular-shaped lanterns, 
made of fine diaphanous horn, hanging from the ends of 
poles. A couple of men beating gongs came next, followed 
by men bearing gaudy flags. These were followed by others 



216 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

carrying boards painted red, with gilt inscriptions on them. 
Following these came flags, banners, and a number of boys, 
with axes and spears made of wood and showily painted and 
gilded. Then a line of men with gaudily decorated horn 
lanterns, suspended from poles amidst a quantity of oma- 
mental silk work. A fall band of music ; the musicians 
clad in robes of the most showy kind. A kettle-drum, a pair 
of gongs, and a carved and gilded pagoda carried on poles 
closed the procession. 

This eyening at dinner, at the French Legation, I had an 
interesting conversation with an officer of French Engineers, 
who described the consequences of the army coming in con- 
tact with the Tuen-ming-yuen, as having been very demo- 
ralizing. The first day the French army got to the summer 
palace everything went on very well, the men merely taking 
away trifles as mementoes of the place, but the next day 
matters were very diflFerent — temptation could no longer be 
withstood, and officers and men were seen rushing off whole- 
sale to plunder — discipline was completely annihilated, and 
had the Tartars been able to profit by the general disor- 
ganization which prevailed, the results might have been 
disastrous. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Frozen porter — Statistical fallacies — Indifference of local officials in respect 
to hostilities against the Goyernment — Dead beggar — New Year 
pictures — Chinese hawking party — Scarcity of copper — Occasional 
resistance of the Chinese to extortion — Self sacrifice^Distribution of 
money to indigent Chinese — Its disastrous results — Extreme cold — Se- 
rious illness and death of General Collineau — Procession to propitiate a 
weather divinity — Funeral of General Collineau — Sketch of his career 
— Outrage by English soldiers at Taku-^Priyate of 67th in trouble. 

January IsL — The day has been one of intense cold, the 
frost BO severe that the men of the 60th Rifles carried their 
ration porter from the commissariat in sacks and baskets, it 
having been issued to them in a frozen state. 

Brigadier Staveley visited the hospital to-day, and in the 
conrse of his inspection an illustration occurred showing the 
fellacious character which medical statistical returns fre- 
quently assume. The " Daily State of Hospital Sick " 
showed the 31st to be the most sickly of the three infantry 
regiments in garrison, when in reality it is by far the most 
healthy. This attracted the brigadier's attention, and it 
was explained to him that it arose from the fact of all non- 
eflPectives of the 31st being treated in hospital, whereas in 
the other two regiments there were a large number of sick 
men in barracks under medical treatment and relieved from 
duty in consequence, but who, from not being in hospital, 
did not appear on the daily sick state of the garrison. 

A Chinaman called Cha-low-ya, who has been employed 
for a few weeks back about the hospital as a teacher by 
some of the medical officers, hearing that this was the Eng- 



218 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

lish new-year, dressed himself in his best clothes and left his 
card (a large red one with his name in black letters) in the 
mess-room, in accordance with the Chinese custom on their 
own new-year, which will be in between fiye and six 
weeks. 

Janvary 2nd. — ^The river presents a very animated spec- 
tacle from the number of sleighs that are running up and 
down, conveying passengers and merchandise. 

As an illustration of the vagaries of the Chinese character 
and diplomacy, Mr. Bruce mentioned to me that shortly 
after the insolent reply to the British ultimatum was re- 
ceived from Peking, Soo-chow fell into the hands of the 
rebels. Immediately afterwards Ho, the Governor-General 
of the two Ewang, a high Chinese official whose name I 
forget, and Wu, the Tautai of Shanghai, called on Mr. 
Bruce and tried to persuade him to march troops against 
Soo-chow and retake it. Mr. Bruce hinted to them that we 
were on the eve of going to war, and asked them how they 
were to get us out of Soo-chow supposing we retook it for 
them. They all three jumped up from their seats and said 
they knew us and had perfect confidence in us, and that the 
cause of all our misunderstandings was that they did not 
know us at Peking ; in their own words, that the taoU 
(ideas) of the south respecting the English were different 
from the taoli of the north. 

January 6th. — Passing out of the south gate, in the centre 
of the road a dead beggar was lying. He had apparently 
dropped from exhaustion and cold, and had been allowed to 
die without any effort being made to relieve or remove him 
to a place of shelter. The Chinese, as a general rule, will 
never interfere with dying people who may be lying about 
outside, or with their remains afterwards, because if they 
do, they are held responsible by the local authorities for all 
the ftmeral expenses. 

January 2ih. — To-day, for the first time, I observed stuck 
up at stalls in various parts of the chief streets, numbers of 



' HAEE HITNTINa. 219 

highly-coloured gaudy paintingg on paper, round which 
were large crowds of admiring Chinese. The scene re- 
minded me forcibly of the yalentine season at home. These 
pictures are connected with the approaching new-year fes- 
tivities ; the present being the twenty-ninth day of the 
eleventh month, there being thirty days in each month, and 
twelve months in the year. 

January 10^. — Mr. Brace being desirous of seeing the 
Chinese mode of hawking, Dr. Lamprey of the 67th Eegi- 
ment arranged with the chief sportsman to get np a party, 
which rendezvonsed this morning at the hospital gate. 
Three Chinamen, bearing on their wrists hooded hawks of 
large size, resembling falcons, first arrived. They were 
accompanied by two Chinese hounds of the true greyhound 
build, but with rather short shaggy tails. They are said 
to resemble closely the Persian hound, and probably are of 
the same breed. A mounted huntsman next arrived, having 
a hare's head hanging &om his girdle. The head man 
of the party, a tall military looking Manchu, came ne^^ 
accompanied by several attendants, in all about a dozen : 
the party being larger thau usual, attracted by the novelty 
of the English Chin-si (ambassador) going out to witness 
one of their national sports. 

"We crossed several fields in stubble and fallow ; the 
party being extended in line. After we had gone about 
two miles, a hare suddenly started out of the fallow quite 
close to us. In an instant the hounds and hawks were 
after it. After a run of about a quarter of a mile one of the 
hawks pounced down on the hare, and plunging its talons 
into its back, overturned it, the dogs coming up and secur- 
ing it. Being on horseback we were up almost at the same 
time ; also the mounted huntsman on his China pony at 
full gallop. It suddenly pulled up at the spot, and he went 
over its head, but was on his feet so instantaneously, that 
one felt uncertain at the moment whether this eccentric 
mode of dismounting was not intentional, and as such, a 



220 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

further illustration of the contrarieties of the Chinese cha- 
racter. The use of the hare's head attached to his waist- 
belt now became apparent ; he unloosened it and threw it 
on the ground to the hawks, to save them from disappoint- 
ment^ and to attract their attention, while the hare was 
saved from being torn to pieces. 

We proceeded on in the same direction, towards a village 
about four miles beyond the outer fortifications, and started 
a second hare, which gave the party a good chase of over a 
mile ; baffling its pursuers a good deal, from taking a course 
through a number of funereal tumuli, at the base of which 
it managed to burrow itself at the moment it was overtaken 
— ^apparently being now safe from hawks, hounds, or other 
pursuers. Not so, however, for as soon as the head man 
came up, the unfortunate hare was speedily dug out and 
secured. The sport continued for a short time afterwards ; 
two more hares being killed. 

Talking during the ride home of the special fitness of the 
coin known as a cash (of which twenty go to a penny), for 
a poor and numerous population hke the Chinese, Mr. 
Bruce told me that one of the great financial difficulties of 
the country at the present time is the scarcity of cash from the 
want of copper wherewith to make it — so much so, that lately 
the government at Peking have been obliged to issue iron cash, 
which has caused great dissatisfaction amongst the people. 
Hence, it is not improbable, that should the extensive 
copper mines which exist in the provinces of Honan and 
Hu-peh not soon be restored to working order, copper 
.will become an extensive article of import. 

Beferring to the question of public dissatis&ction amongst 
the Chinese, and to the fact of their not hesitating under 
certain circumstances to give vent to it in a violent manner, 
Mr. Bruce mentioned that not long ago a disturbance took 
place near Ning-po, connected with the land tax, which is 
one of the great sources of revenue in China. It is usually 
paid in copper cash annually, and remitted in silver to 



CHINESE SELF-SACRIFICE. 221 

Peking. It seems that the mandarin collecting it in the 
district referred to, had added on a higher per-centage foi* 
himself than had been heretofore the custom ; in other 
words, increased the amount of the ordinary official squeeze. 
The people of one of the villages subjected to this imposi- 
tion determined to resist the increased taxation, as far as it 
referred to the mandarin himself, though they were willing 
to meet the fair demands of government, and even would 
not have demurred at paying the squeeze to which they had 
hitherto been accustomed. They therefore determined to 
respect all public and private property, and confine their 
attacks solely to what belonged to the extortionate man- 
darin. Ultimately the local authorities sent to Hang-chow 
for troops, and a number arrived sufficient to quell the petty 
insurrection. 

At this juncture, as the easiest mode of settling the 
difficulty, and saving the villagers from the calamity of a 
conflict with the troops, the leader of the movement made 
a proposition to his brother insurgents, that on condition of 
their subscribing a sum of money sufficient for the fiiture 
support of his family, and also sufficient to erect a monu- 
ment to his memory, he would deliver himself up for the 
public weal. The conditions were agreed to, and he sur- 
rendered himself to the authorities, and was beheaded in 
due course. No further steps were adopted against the 
villagers, the movement having subsided on the surrender 
of its leader. This incident aflPbrds a very remarkable 
illustration of one of the most striking characteristics on 
the bright side of the Chinese character — a total absence of 
feeling for self, where, by personal sacrifice, the welfare of 
those nearest and dearest to them can be secured. 

The land that is to be given up to the English and 
French as a settlement for commercial purposes, is situated 
on the river bank, about a mile below the walled city of Tien- 
tsin. The greater portion of it belongs to Chang, the great 
salt merchant. It has been determined that when bought 



222 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

by foreigners (English, French, Americans, Germans, &c.) 
for the purposes of trade, forty per cent, on the market 
price per mow* is to be paid for it. At the present rate of 
garden land, it is calculated that an acre of gronnd will 
cost dOZ., exclnsiye of the forty per cent., which will make 
it 421. per acre. 

11 ^^ January. — ^This is the first day of the Chinese 
twelfth month, which is said to be very cold, high and 
cutting winds prevailing during the greater portion of it. 
A steady fall of snow commenced early in the morning, and 
continued all day. 

Shortly before Christmas a subscription was started to 
relieve indigent Chinese, by the Rev. Mr. M'Ghee, garrison 
chaplain, 867 dollars being collected. 

It was resolved by the managers of the fond to intimate 
to the Chinese by placards, that on a certain day a sum of 
money would be divided amongst such as applied. I urged 
that this mode of distribution would not be attended with 
the least practical benefit, owing to the numbers that were 
certain to come for it, begging being to a certain extent a 
regular trade in China. I recommended the establishment 
of a soup kitchen, as a bond fide means of relieving distress, 
where actual want of food existed. A soup kitchen once 
set on foot, the expense of supporting it would have been 
materially modified by making use of the debris of the 
soldiers' dinners, which amounted daily to a considerable 
quantity of wholesome food, waiting for which there were 
always crowds of beggars round the barracks of the respec- 
tive corps. The Seiks of Fane's Horse, in particular, were 
remarkable for their charity and kindness to poor Chinese ; 
charity being a principle inculcated on them by their reli* 
gion. This proposition of a soup kitchen was not enter- 
tained. Dr. Gordon, again, was for employing the money 

* In thiB part of China (Tien-tain) about three mow go to an Bnglish 
acre. At Shanghai, the land meaaurement ia different, about aix mow 
going to the acre. 



DISTRIBUTION OF ALMS. 223 

in support of an hospital^ that we are trying to set up for 
the cure of Chinese cases requiring snigical treatment* 
This was also ovemiledy and this day was fixed for the diA- 
tribntion of the 867 dollars at the yamtin of the Literaiy 
Chancellor, at present used partly as the garrison church, 
partly as barracks for a portion of the 60th Bifles — an open 
space extending between it and the city wall. 

The distribution commenced at ten in the morning, the 
day being unpropitious for the gathering of so many people 
in the open air ; snow falling steadily, accompanied by a 
seyere frost. 

At two in the afternoon, as I was crossing the open space 
from the Temple of the Moon, I had to pass near the 
yamun of the Literary Chancellor, and my attention was 
drawn to the spot by cries and groans, which I found to 
come from a number of women lying about in the snow, 
apparently suffering great paiu. On inquiring into the 
cause I learned, from some soldiers of the 60th who were 
standing about, that a crowd of some five thousand people 
had assembled to share in the distribution of the money, 
and that the rush for admission had been so great that nine 
people had been trodden to death. Besides' the women 
lying about in the snow a large number had been injured 
and remoyed by their friends. 

I asked what had been done with the bodies, and was 
told that they were inside. I went in and looked at them 
lying in one of the detached buildings of the yamun, where, 
by some unaccountable want of sense on the part of the 
British soldier, the dead were carefully ranged side by side 
on a raised caugue,* in a well coyered and closed-in build- 
ing, while sixteen suffering and crippled women were left 
lying out in the open air with the snow falling upon them 
for full three hours. 

I found as stated by the soldiers nine corpses, six of them 
elderly females, one young woman, a lad about fifteen, and 

* Stone bed place. 



224 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

an infant ; a sorry eight they presented ; all their counte- 
nances showed that they had died from suflPocation. It was 
grievous to see the poor people coming in to identify their 
deceased relatives. One respectable looking old woman was 
sitting over the body of the girl — ^her grand-daughter, weep- 
ing bitterly. 

The arrangements for the preservation of order must 
have been very defective ; as the gate of the yamun was 
forced and thrown from its hinges by the impetuous rush of 
the crowd. The Chinese police, sent down by the municipal 
authorities to aid the military in keeping order, are stated 
to have been of no use. The wounded persons were taken 
care of in a temporary hospital, but their relatives fetched 
them away within twenty-four hours, preferring to have 
them under their own care. 

January 12lh. — In the course of the night the thermo- 
meter fell as low as 5° below zero. During the day slight 
snow has been falling at intervals. Towards noon the cold 
became excessive, and between that and three in the after- 
noon the thermometer fell to 4°. This extreme cold was 
attended in some instances with serious results. Two sol- 
diers, apparently in the enjoyment of perfect health, were 
suddenly seized with symptoms of ordinary ague. They 
were conveyed to hospital, and almost immediately after- 
wards died ; death resulting from some abnormal suscepti- 
bility to the depressing effects of extreme cold. 

The commander of the French troops also, the gallant 
General Collineau, who has survived so many fights, fell a 
victim to this day's cold. He was convalescing favourably 
from small pox, and in the earlier part of the day issued his 
/* brigade orders" with his usual clearness and energy. His 
nervous system then seemed in a state of perfect integrity. 
In the afternoon symptoms of palsy of the lower limbs 
suddenly set in ; in a short time the symptoms indicated 
the disease to be of a serious nature. 

January I3th. — To-day is Sunday, and the town, for the 



7f 






GENERAL GOLUNEATJ. 225 

first time since we haye been in Tien-tsin^ resembles a Son* 
day at home ; the shops being all closed, the streets nsoally 
BO crowded, deserted by the Chinese, and business completely 
snspended — so bitter is the cold, so cutting the wind, and 
80 destmctive to their wares is the dost that is flying about 
in dense clouds. 

Janvary lith. — Cold continues very severe, though not 
attended with such disagreeable sensations as yesterday. 
The bread at breakfast this morning was so hardened by 
the fix)st that it had to be sawn into slices. 

The present is the seventh day of the third period of 
nine periods each of nine days, into which the Chinese 
divide the cold weather in this part of the country. This 
is stated to be the coldest of the nine periods. 

General Collineau's case has assumed an almost hopeless 
character, the palsy having extended from the limbs to the 
upper portion of the body. He has made his will, and 
declares himself now to be merely a living corpse ; the 
only portion of his organism that he feels aUve being his 
head. He received the announcement of the veiy serious 
nature of his disease with the utmost fortitude, and at once 
ordered pen and paper to make his wilL It was suggested 
to him that he had better wait until the next day. He said 
no ; that it was better it should be done at once. The 
only regret he expressed was, that after being repeatedly 
wounded, and his life exposed in thirty general actions, 
he should have survived to die in so helpless a state in 
China. 

January Ihth. — ^At noon a communication was sent from 
the French head-quarters to the effect that the medical 
attendants of General CoUineau would feel obliged if Dr. 
Gordon and myself would meet them in consultation ; also, 
that it was the wish of the General himself that we should 
see him. Three in the afternoon was fixed as the hour. 
^fffi went over accompanied by Messrs. de Fontblanc and 
Wingfield of the commissariat, who, having a thorough 






226 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

colloquial knowledge of French, had kindly offered to inter- 
pret if necessary. 

We met at the General's quarters, in the street known as 
« Eue, 102." Dr. Jerrier, " M^decin en chef" of the army, 
and Dr. La Bivi^re, chief of the hospital, were there. 
The latter, who is the General's ordinary medical atten- 
dant, entered into a full and clear exposition of the case, 
and from what he stated little doubt could exist that the 
symptoms indicated a hopeless form of the disease. We 
accompanied Dr. La Rivi^e to the General's bedroom, 
where we found him lying on a humble bedstead placed on 
the top of a caugue, attended by two men of the Lifirmaiy 
corps. He was sadly altered since I last saw him on the 
21st of August, standing on the top of the cavalier of the 
North Taku Fort, flushed with victory, talking to an Eng- 
lish staff-officer, and pointing out the part of his epaulette 
that had been struck by a ball during the assault, and dis- 
coursing with animation regarding the circumstances under 
which medals and clasps are issued in the British service. 
Now consciousness was annihilated ; the breathing had 
become stertorous, and his face was assuming a livid hue 
from imperfect respiration. I felt his pulse ; it was still 
beating with tolerable force, and his heart seemed to be all 
that was alive within him. The hand of the grim Serjeant 
was upon him, and escape from his grip impossible. Two 
hours after our visit the gallant General breathed his 
last. 

January \^th. — When out this morning early, I met a 
grand procession with the usual amount of music, flags, 
banners and gilded paraphernalia. This procession I as- 
certained was of a religious character, and intended to pro- 
pitiate a deity supposed to exercise an influence over the 
weather, the present severity of which it was desired should 
be modifled. 

Going through some of the curiosity-shops with Colonel 
Neale, a good deal of very fine jade and enamel work was 



ENAMELS. 227 

shown ns in a stealthy manner in the back rooms, evidently 
the product of the looting of Tnen-ming-yuen, which it is 
well-known was extensively indulged in by the Chinese 
villagers in the neighbourhood. They carried off a class of 
articles that were too bulky for the French or English to 
burden themselves with; more especially enamels, which 
they concealed until opportunities offered of getting them 
into the curiosity market at Tien-tsin, where they have met 
with a ready sale, at very high prices. 

Janvary VJfh. — Received a message from Baron de 
Meritens asking me if it were practicable to procure a little 
nitric acid to enable a soldier who had been a copper-plate 
worker to engrave General CoUineau's name on his coffin- 
plate, there being none of the acid in question amongst the 
French medical stores. As we had plenty, there was no 
difficulty in complying with this request. 

January \%tk, — General Collineau's ftmeral took place to- 
day, the c€fi^ge leaving his quarters at half-past eleven, in 
the following order : — Drummers and buglers of the 102nd 
Segiment, sis Soman Catholic priests, including two mis- 
sionary bishops and one Chinese priest, a gun-carriage drawn 
by six black Japanese ponies. On the carriage rested the 
coffin, covered with a black velvet pall— on it lay the coat, 
orders, epaulettes, sword and cap of the deceased. In the 
rear of the coffin walked the chief mourner. Colonel O'Malley, 
of the 102nd Eegiment, M. de Bourboulon, Mr. Bruce, 
Brigadier Staveley, and staff. The English officers followed 
according to regiments. The Commissariat and Medical 
Staffs accompanied the Brigadier. In the rear of the 
English officers followed the three principal municipal 
dignitaries of Tien-tsin, accompanied by a numerous body 
of retainers. Behind them walked such French officers as 
were not on duty with the troops lining the streets along 
which the funeral passed. These afterwards assembled at 
the grave and formed the firing-party. 

Detachments of gendarmerie and artillerymen on foot, the 

q8 



228 KOBTH GHIKA AND JAPAN. 

sedan chairs of the GhinoBe officials and those of the French 
Legation closed the procession, which went at a slow pace 
along the bank of the river until it reached the temporary 
chapel that has been fitted up by the French. The coffin 
was removed from the gnn-carriage and taken into the chnicL 
Mass was said and iiie Host elevated : the troops within 
the chnrch presenting arms. 

The service occupied about an honr ; all the priests, in- 
cluding the Chinese one, officiating. One of the missionary 
bishops wears a tail, and is said to have been fifteen years 
in captivity among the Ohinese in the interior. 

The coffin having been replaced on the carriage, the pro- 
cession was re-formed and proceeded across the river by a 
bridge of boats to the peninsula above Tien-tsin, and passing 
through the Temple of Supreme Felicity reached the French 
burial-ground near the bank of the river, about half-a-mile 
beyond Tien-tsin. All the French troops were drawn np 
there, three battalions of infantry forming three sides of a 
square. As the body was being lowered into the grave, each 
battalion &ced about to the outside and fired two volleys. 
The Almoner of the French army then came forward and 
made an address over the grave. Colonel O'Malley followed, 
and entered in detail into the career of the deceased, con- 
cluding his address by extending his hand to the grave, 
saying, ** Adieu, my Oeneral, adieu, in the name of the 
army I bid you adieu.** Captain D'Hendecourt, aide-de- 
camp to the late General, then came forward, and made a 
short and very appropriate speech, expressive of his personal 
feelings at the loss he had sustained. 

Holy water was next sprinkled on the coffin by the offi- 
ciating priest, after which the same ceremony was gone 
through by Colonel O'Malley, M. de Bourboulon, Mr. Bruce, 
Brigadier Staveley, and the senior officers of the English 
army. After this the elite of the army, including the ar- 
tillery, engineers, and gendarmerie, marched past the grave, 
each soldier discharging his musket into the grave as he 



HUBDBBOnS OUTBAGE. 229 

passed. The troops then marched home, the ftaneral cere- 
monies being concluded. 

General Collinean was bom in 1810, and entered the army 
in 1831, as a private in the " Legion d'i^trangers,'* a corps 
raised specially for service in Algeria. After being six years 
in the ranks he became sub-Lieutenant, and gradually rose 
to be Colonel of Zouaves, in which capacity he proceeded to 
the Crimea and, as is well known, commanded the regiment 
that was the first to enter the Malakoff. Collineau was the 
first man in and the first man out, having been knocked on 
the head by the butt end of a musket as he got on the parapet, 
and thrown back into the ditch. On the conclusion of the 
Crimean war, he returned to Algeria, and firom thence pro- 
ceeded on active service to Italy, being present at Magenta 
and Solferino. On the conclusion of the Italian campaign, 
he returned to France, for the first time since he left it as a 
private soldier, returning a General of Brigade. He died a 
C^eral of Division — Shaving been promoted to that rank for 
his recent services in China. 

Colonel O'Malley, as the next senior officer, succeeds him 
in the command of the French troops. 

This evening, at the Legation, I heard of a most deliberate 
and murderous outrage that has just been committed at 
Taku by some soldiers of the 31st Begiment stationed there. 
It appears that a party of them went down to the village 
and endeavoured to procure sam-shu. Failing to do so, they 
returned to their barracks, procured their rifles and loaded 
them. They then returned to the place where they had 
been reftised the sam-shu, and opened fire upon the estab- 
lishment, killing one man and wounding several others. 
Up to the latest date all attempts to identify the ruffians 
have failed. 

Late in the evening a soldier of the 67th Eegiment was, 
according to his own statement, caught in one of the narrow 
back lanes near the 81st head-quarter barracks by some 
Chinese, bound hand and foot, and signs made to him that 



230 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. • 

he was going to hare his head cut ofP. He hollowed lustily, 
and was heard by some soldiers of the 81st, who came and 
rescued him. Whether this was going to be an act of re- 
taliation for the recent murders, as feared by the Prefect^ or 
the soldier had been misconducting himself .in one of the 
houses in the neighbourhood, and the Chinese were conveying 
him to the authorities, it is difficult to say ; the latter is the 
most probable, because if murder had been their object, that 
would haye been done in a summary maoner, and not by 
a formal decapitation* 



CHAPTER XX. 

An opium smoking-shop — ^The kow-tow — Small-pox and rnde inoonlation 
— The FoandliDg Hospital — Chinaman executed — Funeral prooeasion 
— Demolition of a house for sam-shu dealing— Pawnbroker's esta- 
blishment — News from Peking — Juvenile gambling — Gfarrison theatre 
opens — Approach of the Chinese New Tear — Mortality amongst the 
troops — A Foreign Office to be established at Peking — Severe cold — 
Preserved fish — A Chinese joke — Old furniture shops — ^The silver 
pheasant — A dying Mandarin — The Audience question — Lord 
Macartney and the kow-tow — Ushering in of the New Year — Chinese 
compliments of the season — The ancestral tablet. 

January 19/A. — ^We visited an opium smoking-shop, — 
some were lying down, just getting under the influence of 
the drag, others were filling their pipes, preparatory to 
narcotising themselves. The place was comfortably heated, 
and the smokers reclined on a good caugue, nicely covered 
with matting, and provided with head stools (or, as we 
should call them, pillows) for the smokers. The first victim 
that Mr. Blodgett interrogated was a young man, pale and 
dissipated looking. He was twenty-five years of age, and 
had smoked opium for the last two years, commencing the 
habit originally as a cure for diarrhoea, and ultimately 
finding himself unable to give it up. He said he was very 
anxious to do so, and would be ready to subject himself to 
any restrictions in an asylum or hospital which would be 
likely to cure him. He expended thirty cash daily on opium, 
an allowance he had from his father as pocket-money. He 
followed no occupation, neither did his father. On being 
asked from what source his father derived his means, he 
said that he lived on his relatives, who were well to do, — 



232 NORTH CHINA AJTO JAPAN. 

this being a mode of livelihood by no meaoB uncommon, 
I may remark, in China. 

An old man about fifty came in while we were in the 
shop, and recognised Mr. Blodgett, who had previously had 
some conversation with him about the baneful practice 
he was indulging in. He kow-towed* to him in proof of 
his anxiety to follow his advice and give up opium. He 
had smoked for the last twenty years, having commenced 
the habit for the cure of an affection of the bowels. He is 
a hawker by trade, and earns from 150 to 200 cash a day, 
spending 100 of the amount on opium. He pointed to the 
poverty of his attire in farther proof of the desirableness of 
his relinquishing the habit, and said that if his family could 
be secured support while he was undergoing treatment to 
break him of the habit, he would readily submit to any 
restraint that might be necessary.f 

Noticing one of the smokers marked with small-pox, 
we asked him what the disease is called that had caused his 
disfigurement. He answered " chu-toad-tso," meaning "the 
issuing forth of the bean disease." X ^^ Chinese in this 
part of the country generally have the disease when they 
are about five years of age. A singular and rude mode of 
inoculation appears to be in vogue, namely, during lacta- 
tion impregnating the maternal milk as it issues from the 
breast with smaU-pox matter, which in this way is supposed 
to be conveyed into the system of the child ; though the 
probabilities are, that it undergoes decomposition by the 
gastric juice, and thus proves inert. 

We afterwards visited the Foundling Hospital. At the 

* The kov-tow is the Chinese obeisanoe indicating extreme respect. It 
to performed by going down on the kneei and bowing the head until it 
tonchee the ground — ^the motion being repeated seyeiil times. 

t I may obeerre, that after the Chinese hospital was established, seTeral 
eases of opium smoking were cured by medical treatment carried out by 
Dr. Lamprey, who oonducted the hospital 

t This expression is similar to the name exanthemata, which we give 
to the chuM of eruptive diseases to which smaU-pox belongs. 



FOUNDUNG HOSPITAL. 233 

entrance a board, with the regulations of the institntion, is 
hnng up. The superintendent, a respectable looking old 
genUeman, received us yeiy politely. The hospital is 
divided into four squares according to the points of the 
compass. Each square is presided over by a matron. At 
present eighty children are being reared under the care of 
forty nurses, who are hired at a monthly wage of 2500 cash 
(two-and-a-half dollars) and their board. The children 
seemed aU warmly clad and tolerably clean. The rooms 
are not overburdened with interior fittings ; the chief ones 
being caugues, warmed to a comfortable heat. The male 
infants in arms have all rudimentary tails under cultiva- 
tion ; the hair, in most instaaces, though not an inch long, 
is, nevertheless, carefully tied up with braid. Some of the 
female children have contracted feet, but the greater portion 
have not. 

The institution has an endowment, and is farther sup- 
ported by voluntary subscriptions. Over the outer door 
there is a board, having on it '< I beseech you to rescue the 
naked ;" and over the inner door is one bc^uing the inscrip- 
tion " Hall for the Nourishment of Infants." The children 
are kept until they are fourteen. The boys are then 
apprenticed to tradesmen. The girls are married off at 
once, and are prohibited from being taken as concubines. 
Each boy on discharge receives ten taels, which goes to his 
master as an apprentice fee, and acts as an inducement to 
tradesmen to take them. Fifteen taels are given to each 
girl as a marriage portion. There are several deaf, dumb, 
and idiotic children at present in the institution, — ^these are 
never discharged, but are taken care of for life. 

On my way home, as I was passing the store kept by 
Douglas Frazer & Co., I saw lying in the street a human 
head just cut off. It was the head of a Chinaman who had 
been detected selling sam-shu to some English soldiers. 
The crime being proven, he was taken to the execution 
ground outside the west gate, and decapitated in accordance 



r 

234: / NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

with Chinese martial-law. The head was sent down to the 
Bceae of his offence, to show the rigidity of the law, and to 
<^rate as a caution to others who may be engaged in the 
'' same trafGic. 

Janvmy 20^A. — ^One of the wonnded Chinamen took his 
departure to-day from the hospital provided with a new suit 
of clothes and five dollars kindly given him by some of the 
medical officers. He was anxious to get home before the 
new year, having to go to Pan-ting-foo, a town about 100 
miles to the westward of Tien-tsin. Another cause of 
anxiety to get home was a fear that his wife might marry 
again, as he had had no means of communicating with her 
since he was wounded at the capture of the Taku forts, and 
she may not unreasonably infer that he was amongst the 
500 that were killed on that occasion. 

January 21«^. — The Chinese commenced to-day breaking 
up portions of the river into square blocks of ice, which are 
conveyed to deep pits and there stored until required for use 
in sunmier. The ice is of the purest quality, the process 
of freezing having precipitated all the muddy particles from 
the water — squeezed them out as it were. 

Going along the road outside the southern face of the city 
wall, I overtook an unusually grand funeral procession, in 
which there were at least 200 of the gaudiest flags and 
banners displayed. The coffin was very large, being com- 
posed of massive slabs of wood elaborately carved. It rested 
on a species of palanquin temple, borne by the aid of a com- 
plicated arrangement of bars on the shoulders of fifty-six 
men dressed in a sort of liveiy, with black felt hats of 
a conical shape, surmounted by a blue feather. Several 
bands of music were performing. A considerable number 
of Chinese of the better class, handsomely dressed in winter 
garments of fur, accompanied the procession on foot, while 
their chairs formed a part of the cortkgB behind. Immedi- 
ately in front of the coffin the chief mourners walked. They 
were all attired in white, with head-dresses of the same 



PAWNBBOKER'S ESTABLISHMENT. 236 

colour. The procession moved at a slow pace, frequently 
halting, owing to the weight of the coffin and its bier. It 
went into the country in the direction of the Oceanic Temple. 

In the afternoon I took a walk down the riyer on the ice, 
and on reaching the first bridge of boats my attention was 
attracted by a crowd of Chinese standing on the bank ; I 
found they were watching the ProYOst-Marshal's men, in 
other words, the military police, levelling with the ground 
a house in which it had been ascertained that sam-shu had 
been sold to English soldiers. BeaUy the position of the un- 
fortunate Chinese in respect to sam-shu is a most critical one; 
if they sell it to soldiers their heads are cut off should the 
case fall to the legislation of their own authorities, or their 
houses are pulled down should they fall into the hands of 
the English Provost-Marshal ; if they refuse, they are pon- 
iarded and shot. Such are the curses entailed on the inha- 
bitants through the insatiable passion of British soldiers for 
any form of spirit that is sufficiently strong to produce intoxi- 
cation — ^the property in liquor most appreciated by them. 

January 22nd, — ^Visited one of the large pawnbrokers* 
establishments of the city. Everything seemed conducted 
in the most orderly and business-like manner ; several 
clerks were engaged making out pawn-tickets and duplicates 
to be attached to the articles pawned. The store-houses 
where the pledges are deposited are situated in the rear of 
the receiving office. They are spacious and clean, the doors 
being fitted with alarm beUs. We were conducted with 
much readiness and civility through several court-yards 
into which the establishment is divided, each containing 
stores filled with pawned goods. Wearing apparel and 
domestic articles, such as metal kettles and candlesticks, 
appeared to be the most common form of pledge. The 
clothing, carefully rolled up and ticketed, is arranged in 
most perfect order on wooden racks extending from a few 
feet above the floor to the lofty ceiling, the various tiers 
beiQg reached by long bamboo ladders. 



286 NOBTH CHmA AlO) JAPAN. 

In the neighbourhood of this establishment were seyeral 
juvenile gaining tables at work, consisting of boards divided 
into different coloured compartments, each having a certain 
number of balls of various colours painted on it. The 
young gamesters put their money down on one or more of 
these compartments, four dice were then shaken underneath 
a bowlf and according as the upper surfaces on the bowl 
being lifted up corresponded or not with the number of balls 
painted on the compartment in which the money was placed, 
did they win or lose. The tables were all kept by boys, 
and numbers of urchins were staking their cash, the most 
of whom, during the time we were looking on, seemed to 
have a run of luck, as they were winning each time. 

January 23rd. — ^This afternoon news was received at the 
Legation from Mr. Wade, at Peking, the chief items being 
that the authorities at the capital are getting rather uneasy 
about Sang-ko-lin-sin, who, it would appear, is hemmed in 
and shut up in a town on the borders of the Honan pro- 
vince. Jui-lin, his lieutenant-general, has been degraded in 
consequence of his having reported him to Peking for inca- 
pacity and misconduct. The Prince of Eung has been 
displaying an unquestionable desire that we should interfere, 
by asking if it would not be possible to afford them some 
aid in officers or men. Mr. Wade explained the circum- 
stances that rendered it impossible for us to interfere in 
domestic strife of the kind, on which Hang-ki, who was 
present at the time, made the remark, '^ Ah ! I perceive the 
difference ; suppose you see a riot in the street, and are 
brought accidentally in contact with it, then you can inter- 
fere, but you cannot go into a man's house and interfere^ 
supposing you know a disturbance is going on there." The 
Prince asked Mr. Wade some questions about our religion. 
Wan-see-ang, one of the remaining members of the 
Imperial senate in Peking, joined in the conversation, and 
showed by his remarks that he was not only acquainted 
with the general principles of Christianity (a sketch of 



AMATEUB THEATRICALS. 237 

which he gave), but also that he had read translatioiis of 
both the Old and the New Testament ; bat Mr. Wade 
observes that the knowledge thus acquired seemed to have 
made no greater impression on him than a general sketch 
of Buddhism, or the pemsal of the Koran would make 
onus. 

This evening the garrison amateur theatre opened in a 
temple situated in the main street running east and west, 
within the premises where the head-quarters of the 60th Rifles 
are stationed. The scenic decorations ai:e the handiwork of 
Oaptain Fane, and reflect great credit on his artistic skill 
and taste. The fitting up of the theatre and the mechanical 
arrangements are very complete, and owe their success to 
the care that has been bestowed on them by Lieutenant 
Clements of the Boyal Engineers, who undertook this im- 
portant part of the preliminary arrangements. The band 
of the 60th Rifles formed the orchestra, and a clever pro- 
logue vnitten by Assistant Commissary-General de Font- 
blanc was spoken by its author. General O'Malley and a 
number of French officers were present, and were afterwards 
entertained at supper by the officers of the 60th Rifles. 

Jammry 29^^. — ^Visited the French cemetery. A largo 
sarcophagus of a pyramidal shape has been already erected 
over the graye of General CoUineau. 

Jamtary 30/!^. — Thermometer fell to T during the 
nighty and three deaths took pla<$e in hospital. It fell 
again in the course of the day to 4° with a cold wind 
blowing. 

News from Peking is to the effect that Mr. H. N. Lay 
has been appointed Inspector-General of Customs by the 
Chinese Government, and that it is intended to establish a 
Foreign Office at Peking, and Hang-ki, it is supposed, will 
be one of the ministers for the conducting of foreign affairs 
from his long experience as collector of customs at Canton. 

January Zlst — ^The cold was intense during the night, 
the thermometer having stood at 0^ Two more deaths 



238 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

occurred in onr hospital this forenoon, and four took place 
yesterday in the French. 

Large fish are now for sale in the streets preserved in a 
coating of ice three inches thick, forming a complete trans- 
parent case round them. The Chinese say that when the 
ice is thawed these fish will recover their vitality. The 
correctness of the statement however has not yet been sub- 
jected to the test of experiment by any of onr garrison 
naturalists. 

February lat — Connected with the gaities of the ap- 
proaching new year, a number of soldiers had letters pre- 
sented to them in various parts of the town by Chinamen, 
in which a few words were written inside. These, on being 
submitted to an interpreter, were found to be "You're a 
devil." It is curious that this joke should be played at our 
Valentine season, and that a certain analogy should exist 
between it and our least refined forms of Valentine, which 
usually contain sentiments as little complimentary to the 
recipients as that conveyed in the epistles of the Chinamen. 
Immediately under the north-eastern portion of the city 
wall there is a line of shops occupied chiefly by carpenters 
and dealers in second-hand ftimiture, the latter generally 
having fat old women sitting at the door, reminding one 
strongly of like emporiums at home. 

New Year's Day is an important one in a financial point 
of view, as, on it, every solvent Chinaman is supposed to 
liquidate his debts ; with this exception, business is said to 
be completely suspended for the first ten days of the year. 

February Srd. — I had an opportunity this morning of 
seeing the silver pheasant of Tartary, Dr. Lamprey having 
purchased one in the market, where he found it offered for 
sale in a frozen state. The bird is of large size, with a plume- 
shaped tail, the feathers not being unlike those of the ostrich. 
It had evidently been sent from a considerable distance, 
the entrails and eyes having been removed to facilitate its 
preservation by the frost. 



THE AUDIENCE QUESTION. 239 

Dr. Lamprey was sent for this morning to visit pro- 
fessionally an old mandarin dying of apoplexy. On arrival 
he found the case to be of a totally hopeless nature. The 
old man was lying on a satin conch, dressed out in his ftill 
mandarin robes and decorations, that he might die with the 
dignity due to his position. He was surrounded by his 
family, several of whom were daughters. They were good- 
looking and nicely dressed. They appeared to be in great 
distress, and were wailing loudly. They ceased their lamen- 
tations, however, as soon as they observed that Dr. Lamprey 
had entered the room. 

To-day is the first of the sixth division of the nine cold 
periods which, allowing nine days for each, will bring the 
termination of the cold season to about the 11th of March. 
To-day also is said to be the first of the Chinese spring. In 
the afternoon there was a grand municipal procession to the 
" Temple of the Oceanic Influences," in which all the chief 
civic authorities of the city took part. A number of mounted 
archers accompanied it. The object of the procession and 
of the ceremonies connected with it was, I believe, propitia- 
tory, connected with the advent of spring, and the approach 
of the period when agricultural operations will commence. 

Fehruary bth. — ^With reference to the probabilities of an 
audience being granted to the ministers should the Emperor 
return to Peking, I am given to understand that the same 
obeisance will be paid his Celestial Majesty, as would be 
paid the Emperor of the French under similar circumstances, 
namely, making three bows and retiring backwards. 

Lord Macartney, at his audience with Kien-lung, the 
great grandfather of the present Emperor, went down on one 
knee arrayed in his robes of the Bath, on a flight of steps 
and made three bows ; his head consequently coming unduly 
near the upper steps, hence the Chinese misconstrued the 
obeisance into the kow-tow, which to the present day they 
maintain Lord Macartney performed, and cite it as a prece- 
dent for the same being gone through at any future inter- 



240 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

view ; hence out of thiB misconception h&s arisen a difficnliy 
that seems insmmomitable in respect to the granting of an 
Imperial andienoe to the foreign ministers. Mr. Ward, the 
late American minister, whose journey to Peking in one of 
the conntiy carts has so often been made the subject of di0> 
cnssion and ridicnle, might have had an interriew with the 
Emperor, if he had consented to perform the kow-tow. 

February 6/A. — ^The temperature is now much milder, the 
lowest range of the thermometer during the night having 
been 20^ A considerable amount of snow was on the ground 
at daylight^ and it continued to fall during the remainder of 
the day, having by the afternoon reached a depth of over 
four inches. There is a total absence of wind, and a large 
increase of ozone in the atmosphere.* 

This evening the amateurs from amongst the soldiers of 
the 60th Bifles perform at the garrison theatre, the fiffces 
being "Slasher and Crasher," "Hunting a Turtle,*' and 
" Boots at the Swan." 

FebrViCvry 7ih, — ^News received at the Legation from Mr. 
Wade, dated the 4th inst. Everything continues to go on 
satisfactorily. The arrangements for the establishment of 
the foreign office progress, and Ewei-liang is named as one 
of the members. The Emperor continues to reside at Je-ho. 
The streets of Peking were in a sad state of mud and slush, 
from a thaw that had succeeded the intense frost that has 
prevailed for the last two months. 

The French mail arrived at Che-foo, having travelled at 
the rate of over forty miles a-day. Snow continues on the 
ground, and the weather is fine and clear. Ozone is still on 
the increase, the ozonometer showing five, while the day 
before yesterday it only showed one. 

* Ozone may be briefly deecribed as a recently diaooTered ingredient in 
the atmosphere, always present in it, though frequently in proportions too 
small to be detected by the ozonometer. It is belieyed to be most 
abundant in winter, and after the air has been purified by storms. 
Amongst other useful properties attributed to it may be mentioned the 
neutralising of noxious substances in the atmosphere. 



NEW YEAB'S DAY. 241 

Fibruary 8/A. — In the course of the forenoon the streets 
and country around Tien-tsin rapidly thawed, rendering 
walking both difficult and disagreeable from the depth of 
the mud that invariably ensues on such changes in the 
weather. 

The mail received yesterday brought instructions for the 
immediate reduction of the French force occupying Tien-tsin. 
The 102nd Begiment has therefore been placed under orders 
for France, yi& Suez, and will leave as soon as the ice clears 
away and navigation is re-opened. 

February 9^. — The present is the thirtieth day of the 
Chinese twelfth month, consequently the last day of their 
year. It has again become very cold. 

The streets of the city and suburbs have presented during 
the whole day an appearance very like that seen during the 
corresponding period in Scotland or the day preceding 
Ohristmas in England. The streets were densely crowded, 
streams of people proceeding in all directions laden with 
provisions and tinsel decorations for the interior of their 
houses. Lanterns of various grotesque shapes and designs 
were being hawked about in large quantities, shaped like 
crabs, dragons, fish, wild beasts and the like. They are 
made of wire-work covered over with gaudily-painted gauze. 
€k>ld fish, in glass globes, formed also prominent articles for 
sale in the streets. 

February 10(h. — ^The sleep of the inmates of the hospital 
was disturbed the whole night by the almost incessant dis- 
charges of crackers, welcoming the new year. In fEu^t one 
might as well have attempted to sleep through a general 
action as close the eyes for half-an-hour continuously, owing 
to the successive explosions, accompanied by the clashing of 
gongs, chimes of musical bells, and shouting of voices. The 
seeing of the old year out and the new year in, for demon- 
strative effect kept up for a succession of hours, by far 
exceeds any effort of a like kind that the most enthusiastic 
of my own countrymen would be likely to find themselves 



242 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

equal to, considering the important part which strong waters 
play in their annual festival : whereas the demonstratiye 
Chinamen carry on their rejoicings under no stronger stimu- 
lant, as a general rule, than tea ; hence their capacity to pro- 
long them. 

By the morning all was quiet. On going into the town, 
the streets were deserted and the shops all closed. From the 
interior, however, of many of them the hum of voices com- 
bined with the jingling of money could be heard ; indi- 
cating that the customary settling of accounts was not 
neglected in the general hilarity of the period. 

In the afternoon, being curious to see if any of the shop- 
keepers were able to resist the temptation of the barbarian 
dollar, I made a circuit of the streets most frequented by 
Europeans, and the only shops found open, were three of the 
curiosity shops that have been doing an extensive trade with 
the officers of the garrison in enamels* and jade ornaments, 
their owners foregoing the national attachment to the " olo 
custom," in hopes of their self-denial meeting with a profit- 
able return. 

Yesterday Colonel Neale found in one of these shops a 
white porcelain vessel resembling a soup tureen, having 
gilt margins, and the lid bearing an inscription in Roman 
letters round it, wide apart, showing it to be of undoubted 
European origin. He bought it for a few dollars, and after 
spending some time over it, he made out that the letters 
meant Maria Juliana. This gave little or no clue to its 
origin ; but as there was a large F and Y on the side of the 
vessel, the colonel set about looking up all the Ferdinands 
and Fredericks to be found in history, and at last his per- 
severance was rewarded by finding that Frederick V. of 

* The oomposition of the enamel, the art of making which the Cbineee 
are said to haye lost, waa, according to one of the Jesuit missionaries, 
oxide of lead and tin, salt of tartar, poanded glass, and colouring matter. 
Copper appears to haye been the material most commonly selected for the 
evamelling process. 



V 



NEW TEAR'S VISITS. 243 

Denmark, in the year 1736 took for his wife Maria Juliana, 
daughter of the Duke of Brunswick* It is not easy to say 
how it found its way into China. 

The makers of figures of painted clay are beginning to 
mould English soldiers yery well. One of these artists 
drew my attention to a pair, saying — " Inglice yery braye ;** 
he then went through the motion of firing a gun, adding — 
*'Ping pung Tartar weillo;" meaning that the Tartars 
bolted as soon as our soldiers fired on them — a statement 
not strictly in accordance with fact, as one of our regiments 
fired a yoUey fi-om their ^ Enfields " at four hundred yards, 
with so little effect that the Tartar cayahy did not moye, 
but complacently looked on ; the amount of damage done 
to them being about the same as if the yoUey had been 
one with blank anmiunition. So much for weapons of 
precision. 

The goyemment at Peking would seem to haye heard of 
the doings of the curiosity dealers at Tien-tsin, as a de- 
cree has been receiyed by the local authorities, directing all 
articles in the possession of Chinese that haye belonged to 
Tuen-ming-yuen, to be giyen up by the tenth of the month 
— an order likely to be " more honoured in the breach than 
the obseryance.** 

February llfh. — In the streets mandarins are met going 
in state to pay official yisits accompanied by all their re- 
tainers. The higher orders are going about all day in their 
chairs, paying their new-year calls, and the middle classes 
are simUarly engaged on foot, remarkably weU dressed in 
far robes, black satin boots, with soles about an inch thick, 
and black silk hats, the tumed-up portion sometimes lined 
with ftir. In the streets, eyery few yards you see them 
exchanging new year's salutations with each other. Nothing 
can exceed their politeness. They first make a profound 
bow, at the same time clasping their hands and lowering 
them towards their knees. As they raise themselves fi*om 
the bow profound, they shake their clasped hands towards 

e2 



244 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

one another, accompanying the moyement by seyeral short 
bows. At first the proceeding looks rather ridiculons, and 
reminds one of a couple of game cocks going through the 
preliminary motions with their heads before commencing 
actual hostilities. After a little time the eye gets ac- 
customed to it» and the apparent absurdity wears off. 

Yesterday a large number of the inhabitants went to the 
temples to worship the tablets of their ancestors. This 
is one of their most cherished annual customs, the an- 
cestral tablet being of all things in China the most revered. 

February \2th. — ^Notwithstanding the advanced period of 
the winter, and the alleged commencement of the Ohinese 
spring, there is no permanent modification of the cold, 
. which to-day is intense ; the thermometer during the night 
haying been 2° below zero in the hospital, and 6"" below zero 
on board the " Slaney'' gunboat, firozen in seven miles down 
the river. 

In the streets all day beggars were going about in small 
organised mobs, extorting charity from the dwelling-houses 
and shops ; refusing to move until money was given to 
them, keeping up while they were waiting a monotonous 
noise by the knocking together of pieces of hard wood. 
This proceeding reminded me of the custom which prevails 
at the new year in Scotland, of bands of songsters going 
about in disguise, under the name of '^Guisers,'' from 
house to house, extorting money much after the fashion 
of the Tien-tsin beggars, by continued singing and noise. 

A story is in circulation at present^ stated to have come 
from a reliable source, that on the allied forces withdrawing 
from Peking after the signing of the treaty, all the Ohinese 
troops within the city were turned out^ cannon discharged, 
and an imaginary pursuit gone through. Immediately after- 
wards reports were circulated of the defeat and flight of the 
barbarians. Mr. Adkins, however, who remained in Peking 
after the troops were withdrawn, and who has been there 
i^^ni. gince, has made no mention of such an occurrence. 



DOUBTFUL BUMOUBa 245 

which conld hardly haye taken place without his knowledge, 
therefore I am inclined to beliere that the stoiy has no 
more tnithfdl origin than the report which, by a mail lately 
received, appears to have found its way into the English 
newspapers relative to Mr. Adkins himself— his assassinar 
tion at Peking, immediately on the departure of the army, 
being detailed with all the confidence of an undoubted 
authenticity. Mr. Adkins, up to the period of Mr. Wade's 
proceeding to Peking early last month, resided alone in the 
large building called the Lee-ang-kung-foo, or palace of the 
Duke of Lee-ang, which is to be the future British Lega- 
tion, and during the two months he was thus alone, re- 
ceived neither insult nor molestation from the Chinese, be? 
yond being occasionally shouted at by children, and called 
some non-complimentuy Chinese name commonly applied 
to foreigners. 



CHAPTER XXI 

New Teal's Visit from Chang — Injudicious snowballing — Ingenious toy- 
maker — Robberies — Literary examinations — ^Peking Foreign Office — 
Sea] of the late Emperor for sale — French loot — Rent dispute— 
Funeral obsequies — Visit to Chang — Chinese theatre — ^Restaurants — 
Feast of Lanterns — Presentation of the Victoria Cross — Brigade drill — 
Chinese opinions thereon — Ice commences to break up — News from 
Mr. Morrison— Chinese General reduced to the ranks — Sang-ko-lin-sin 
— ^Effect of electrical changes on the sick — ^Health of the Seiks compared 
with that of Europeans— Legation Guards detuled for Peking — 
Break-up of the ice — Prussian Diplomatic Mission — Commeicial 
prospects of Tien-tsin — The LegaUons proceed to Peking — BTacnation 
of Tien-tsin. 

m 

February 13/A. — Chang, the great salt merchant^ and 
proprietor of the bnildings applied to hospital purposes, 
called on the medical ofiScers this afternoon, and left his 
card in accordance with the custom of the season. The 
Tisit being one of ceremony, he came in fhll mandarin state, 
wearing his pink button * and peacock's feather ; also his 
official silk robe, embroidered with devices in gold, worn 
over an under dress of fur. His conveyance was a sedan 
chair of goodly size, covered with blue cloth, the interior 
lined with fur, and carried by four bearers. A white-but- 
toned mandarin preceded the chair on horseback, and three 

* The pink coral is the highest class button, and is generally only 
attaiQed through distinguished literary, political, or military serrices ; 
Chang, however, has bad the button conferred upon him as a reward for 
his great beneyolence and for the pecuniary aid he has been able to lend in 
troubled times to the goyemment at Tien-tsin. He is stated to be 
illiterate, and to have been originally a coolie (porter) in a pastrycook^s 
shop. 



I 






SNOWBALLING. 247 

monnted attendants followed it. Chang expressed a desire 
to look at the alterations that had been made on his pro- 
perty to render it snited to English tastes dnring the cold 
weather, bat he was speedily satisfied. He held np his 
hands when he saw the metamorphosis which had taken 
place, and said that he would not look at any more, as 
the sight was by no means a pleasant one to him ; the 
destmction of his property having been wholesale, and 
in many respects most wanton ; an enormous quantity of 
elaborate and valuable carving having been recklessly pulled 
down, made away with in various ways, and no small portion 
of it used as firewood. 

The weather being fine and clear, with a good deal of 
snow on the ground, some officers of the garrison amused 
themselves for a considerable portion of the day by snow- 
balling Chinamen. They took up positions on the ram- 
parts over the gates, and had little boys employed bringing 
them up relays of snowballs in baskets. Every Chinaman 
that passed was thus pelted, and the more respectable he 
was, the greater was the shower of snowballs sent at him. 
Amongst others subjected to this not very manly or con- 
siderate treatment (which a Chinaman cannot be expected 
to view as a joke), was one of the chief civic officials, who 
went immediately to the English consul, and made an indig- 
nant protest against the proceeding. 

Febnuiry l^fh. — ^Last night Mr. Bruce received his first 
English mail since the river has closed, by the French 
courier from Che-foo. No letters for the army have ar- 
rived, nor does there seem to be much prospect of any 
until the navigation re-opens at Taku early next month. 

February Ihth. — The Chinese are engaged at present 
making preparations for the feast of lanterns. The streets 
are crowded with men going about with every species of 
grotesque design that it is possible to make answer the 
purposes of a lantern. 

A report is in circulation in Peking, that the Emperor is 



248 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

dead. This report has been officially contradicted ; at the 
same time, there is reason to believe that the Emperor is 
seriouflly ill at Je-ho. The Prince of Kung also is in- 
disposed, and obliged in consequence to defer giving an 
andience to Count Kleiskonsky ; his ailment, however, is not 
serious, being only an eruption on the face. 

Referring to the injudicious and somewhat unfeeling 
amusement of certain British officers noticed yesterday, the 
following Brigade Order has been issued :— 

" Gabaisok OrFiOB, 

**15thF€lfr%aryy 1861. 

^GABBISON ORDER. 

" It having been brought to the notice of the Brigadier 
that some young officers have occasionally ill-used China- 
men, by striking them or pushing them in the street, and 
snowballing respectable people ; 

<< Commanding officers will be good enough to caution 
their officers against such conduct in future. 

^* It is highly desirable that the Chinese should have no 
reason to complain of their treatment by the British, now 
that peace is established, and the Brigadier will take the 
most serious notice of any complaint brought before him." 

This order attributes the general ill-treatment of China- 
men to young officers; but I regret to say that they 
have had the example too frequently set them by their 
seniors, more than one of whom were engaged in the recent 
snowballing. 

Fehmary 16^ — Fatigue parties are ilow employed filling 
up " stink ditch," where it borders on the barracks of the 
67th Regiment, the material for the purpose being procured 
in a manner hardly fair to the Chinese ; namely, by dismant- 
ling the ramparts of the neighbouring portion of the city wall 
which previously were in very good order. While the sol- 
diers were thus employed yesterday, they came on a human 
skeleton in perfect preservation, some feet from the surface. 






1 



TA.JIN. 249 

The discoTeiy occasioned considerable excitement amongst 
the men, and they were with difficulty restrained from 
commencing a series of excavations in the yicinity, in hopes 
of finding treasure concealed in the wall. 

February VI fh. — Oonnt Eleiskonsky was presented to the 
Prince of Kung on the 16th instant. The Count proceeds 
about Peking in a sedan chair borne by eight bearers, to 
which objections have been raised by the authorities, on 
the ground that that number of bearers is a priyilege only 
of those belonging to the Imperial family. The French 
Legation, however, as representing an imperial power, are 
determined to push the eight-bearer question, and of course, 
under the pressure of compulsion, the Chinese will have no 
resource but to yield ; in &ct, not only in this, but in a 
great many other questions likely to arise, to adopt the 
adage of " what cannot be cured must be endured.** 

This afternoon I met Tsung-how, the Commissioner 
of Customs at Tien-tsin, proceeding on an official visit, 
accompanied by several mounted attendants, and preceded 
by the beating of gongs, and by a score of msa carrying flags 
and red boards bearing in gilt characters the various titles 
possessed by Tsung-how, and the various offices he has 
filled under the state. In fSront of the procession some of 
his retainers were clearing the way, and calling out " Ta- 
jin " (great man). I met also several carts coming into 
town from the country laden with sacks of flour. The carts, 
which are two-wheeled, are drawn by a large bullock in 
the shaft, with three other bullocks harnessed a-breast in 
front. 

Last night Br. Lamprey was called upon to visit an old 
Chinese gentleman suffering from dysentery. His £ftmily 
having heard of the skill of the English physicians, applied 
to the consul (Mr. Mongan) to aid them in procuring the 
services of one of them, and he gave them a note to Dr. 
Lamprey, who has some knowledge now of the northern 
dialect. 



250 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

February 18^. — Walking on the city wall with Dr. Gal- 
braith, we found near the tower over ilie east gate, a quan- 
tity of old Chinese munitions of war lying on the rampart, 
consisting of iron helmets, rude scale armour, formed of 
wadded calico, with thin plates of iron arranged after the 
manner of scales between the layers of the calico ; large 
wall pieces loading at the breech, but now out of repair ; 
bamboo tubes, with a coating of rope, intended for the pro- 
jection of stones by gunpowder ; quivers for arrows, and 
small very antique-looking cannon. These constituted the 
remains of some old armoury in the upper story of the 
tower over the gate, which has lately been turned out to 
make room for some ammunition of our own. The Chinese, 
like European nations, seem to have given up the use of 
armour, as we came across no indications of its being worn 
on the field during the late war. 

February l^th. — In one of the streets near the river, I 
was much amused at the ingenuity and dexterity displayed 
by a manufacturer of toys. He was sitting behind a port- 
able counter, having a soft composition like putty before 
him, of various colours, which he made into toy figures 
wearing dresses of brilliant hue, with astonishing rapidity. 
The figures represented men or women blowing through a 
glass trumpet, &om which, by pulling a reed that communi- 
cated with it, an abrupt musical sound was produced. Each 
figure took about three minutes to make, and I never wit- 
nessed such delicacy and rapidity of touch — the figures 
being perfect models of what they were meant to re- 
present. 

Several robberies have occurred of late at the Military 
Train barracks in the Confucian temple, which appears to 
offer peculiar facilities for the operations of light-fingered 
Celestials. Last night Lieutenant Bruce had nearly the 
whole of his personal effects stolen, including Crimean 
medals and the Legion of Honour. This makes the eighth 
robbery from the quarters of officers of the Military Train 



BOBBEBIEa 251 

dming the winter. In connection with these robberies, 
some amusing incidents have occurred. Captain Williams, 
in the middle of the night hearing a noise in the room, 
jumped out of bed, struck a light, and drew his sword, upon 
which a Chinaman popped his head out from beneath the 
bed, and with most perfect self-possession gave him the 
customaiy salutation of " Chin-chin ; *• his politeness, how- 
ever, I belieye, did not save him from being handed over 
to the police. Mr. Fleming, the veterinary surgeon, and 
his servant, were for some days unable to understand how 
it was, that when charcoal was placed on the fire, it dis- 
appeared as soon as the room was unoccupied, before it 
could have been burned. The mystery was at last solved : 
the Chinamen had made a hole from the outside into the 
chimney, and as soon as they knew there was nobody in 
the room, they put their hands down and removed whatever 
fdel was worth taking. Lieutenant Aplin, lying in bed one 
morning, happened to glance at his brass Chinese kettle, 
which was on the fire at the time ; suddenly he saw the 
laws of gravity reversed, and his kettle, like Mr. Home, the 
spiritualist, floating in the air, and then disappear up the 
chimney — ^a like expedient having been adopted for its 
abstraction as for Mr. Fleming's fuel. The Chinese police 
magistrate (the Chee-hee-en) is endeavouringj to find the 
thieves who have been engaged in these robberies, especially 
those concerned in the last one, which is the most serious of 
the lot, and he declares that if he succeeds in bringing the 
offender to justice he will take his head off*. He has his 
staff of detectives now on the look out. The Chinese name 
for this class of police rendered into English, means swift 
horse. 

The annual examinations for literary honours have com- 
menced in Tien-tsin, and the Chinese municipal authorities 
are very anxious that we should give them up this same 
Conftician temple, as it is necessary for the graduates, after 
passing, to go there and worship. It is not practicable, 



* 

\ 



252 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

howerer, at the present time to comply with their request, 
owing to the difficulty and expense connected with the find- 
ing and fitting np of new quarters for the officers, men, and 
horses of the Military Train. 

Fehrvary 20th. — ^The Prince of Eung has sent a commu- 
nication to Mr. Bruce, calling his attention to the disturbed 
state of affairs on the Yang-tse-kiang, and leaving it to him 
to decide whether, under tiie circumstances represented, he 
will at present carry out the settlement of the consulates at 
the new treaty ports of Chin-kiang-foo, Eu-kiang, and 
Han-kow, as already has been determined shall be done in 
spring. The Emperor is expected to return to Peking on 
the 18th of next month (28th March), and orders have 
been issued for the restoration of Yuen-ming-yuen.* 

The establishment of a foreign office at Peking has been 
completed under the name of ^ The Court for the adminis- 
tration of the affairs of foreign nations*'' The members 
are the Prince of Eung, Kwei, and Wan, 

February 21st — ^The seal of the late Emperor, Tan- 
kwang, was brought to the French Legation to-day by 
\ Baron de Meritens. It is formed out of a piece of massive 

green jade, of oblong shape, measuring six inches by four. 
The handle is in the form of an animal of fiabulons configu- 
ration. The £EMie of the seal bears the inscription '' Tan- 
kwang, Emperor, his seal," and on each of its four sides 
are comments in gilt characters, on the duties of an emperor, 
and maxims relating thereto, taken chiefly from Eien-lung, 
his grandfather. Tan-kwang was the reigning Emperor 
during the first Chinese war in 1840. The seal belongs to 
a French artillery soldier, and was taken by him from the 
Yuen-ming-yuen. He wishes to sell it^ and asks twelve 
hundred taels for it, or about four hundred pounds sterling.f 

* When I was laat in Peking (April, 1862), no steps had been taken np 
to that time to carry out this order ; the bnildings remaining ai the 
oonflagration left them. 

t This seal became the property of Mr. Bruce, who pnrchaaed it a few 
days afterwards for five hundred dollars. 



FRENCH LOOT. 258 

Another artilleiy soldier has the seal of the late Empress, 
which is of solid gold. 

The plunder of the French army is said to be a good, 
deal exaggerated as regards the mass of the anny, thongh 
there is no doubt that a large amount of yery yaloable pro- 
perty fell into the hands of two companies of marine in- 
fantry and a battery of artillery, that were the first to enter 
the palace. 

A Chinaman who happened to be about the hospital to- 
day was offered by some one a silk dress for sale, haying the 
Imperial dragon on it in gold embroidery. He twisted his 
tail round his head, and indicated by pantomime and the few 
words of English he knew, that should he purchase it, and 
the article be found in his possession, he would be sent to 
Peking and his head taken off. 

A small rent being paid to the owners of the houses oc- 
cupied by the troops, a dispute has arisen respecting the 
right to receiye this rent, between the proprietors respectiyely 
of the ground and the houses where the head-quarters of 
Fane's Horse are. Both of them claim the rent, but declare 
their willingness to be satisfied proyided that neither is 
paid, and the quarters considered free. 

February 22nd, — A thaw is gradually becoming es- 
tablished, but as yet no marked effect has been produced on 
the riyer. Some* officers of the 31st, who came up from Taku 
to-day, report that the ice there is not yet beginning to 
breakup. 

I met another yeiy large fdneral procession which crossed 
the riyer and passed through the suburbs on the opposite 
side. I followed, in hopes of seeing the mode of interment. 
On arriying at the outskirts of the suburb, the men bearing 
the flags and other paraphernalia* of the procession, along 
with the bands of music, drew up on each side of the road 
until the coffin, borne on a gaQy decorated palanquin carried 

* These appear to the vestem eye to be much the same whether the 
nature of the prooeuion be funereal or matrimonial. 



264 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

by thirty men, passed between them. The bier was then placed 
on the gronnd, and the cofBn remoyed from it by red ropes 
placed under it and suspended from shoulder poles, also 
painted red. On the lid there was a long inscription in 
white characters, with the exception of the upper ones, which 
were red. The massiye lid was removed, an inner boarding 
concealing the corpse. This inner lid was coTered over with 
cement to make it air-tight^ and the outer lid was then fitted 
on. Large nails were now introduced into holes previously 
made for them in the lid. One of the nails was of peculiar 
shape, and had several pieces of red, black and blue calico 
hanging from it. The chief mourner came forward, and 
taking a hammer in his hand gave a few knocks on the 
nail ; and thus, as it is with us the last sad office of relatives 
to close the eyes of those near and dear to them, so with the 
Chinese would it seem to be to knock the first nail into the 
coffin. On the chief mourner retiring from the side of the 
coffin, the carpenters set to work and quickly knocked the 
other nails in. By this time the component parts of the 
procession, and all those who had attended the ftmeral, had 
left, the two chief mourners only remaining. The coffin 
apparently was going to be taken some little distance, as they 
got into a cart and drove into the country, the coffin being 
carried after them by eight coolies. It continued to be sus- 
pended by red ropes from red shoulder poles. This colour 
is the "happy" one in China. 

February 2Zrd, — In the afternoon Dr. Galbraith, Br. 
Lieberhman, of the French army, Mr. Moffitt, and myself, 
paid a visit to Chang at his residence, near the north-west 
angle of the city. The way lay through a series of narrow 
streets and tortuous lanes. On arriving at the entrance to 
Chang's house, our attention was attracted by something 
unusual going on in the house on the opposite side of the 
street, which proved to be ftineral obsequies. The outer 
court-yard was matted over and a temporary altar erected, 
before which six Buddhist priests were chanting service in 



VISIT TO CHANG. 265 

the presence of a nnmber of white-clad monmers. The 
coffin, with the corpse in it, was in a room in an inner court- 
yard, and in front of the door a table was placed, haying 
candles burning on it, and a quantity of food laid out. In 
another room in the same court, a number of females in the 
mourning garb were seen. Returning to the street, we saw 
about twenty little boys in gay dresses, with circular lanterns 
in their hands. They went through a variety of dancing 
evolutions, but whether they were in connection with the 
funeral service going on in the neighbouring house or with 
the feast of lanterns, which commences to-morrow, we could 
not ascertain. 

Having sent our cards in to Chang, we were ushered into 
a large room handsomely decorated, and ftimished with arm- 
chairs provided with cushions, and having small tables 
between them. A large brass stove, in which charcoal was 
burning, stood in the centre of the floor, which is of stone. 
In a few minutes Chang came in, and welcomed us with great 
cordiality, conveying through Mr. Moffitt (who has already 
acquired some colloquial knowledge of Chinese) the pleasure 
it gave him to see us at his house. He was dressed in a ftur 
lined silk robe, and wore a small skull cap of embroidered 
silk. Tea, fruit, and sweetmeats were immediately brought 
in ; after we had partaken of which, Chang conducted us 
over the numerous buildings constituting his family es- 
tablishment, consisting of two sets of courts, separated from 
each other by a passage between. These courts, or small 
squares, are eight in number, there being four in each set, 
arranged one behind the other. On this principle all houses 
of the better classes in China are built. Each court contains 
three houses. We were shown the kitchen, a large and well- 
appointed one, in which a number of cooks were busily em- 
ployed. We also inspected the larder, which is well-stored, 
and contains a good supply of preserved hams. The various 
courts are at present fitted-up all round with oblong lan- 
terns, made like picture frames, only deeper, and the front 



356 KOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

corered with tastefiilly-painted gauze, intended to be illu- 
minated during the feast of lanterns. 

Chang has about fifty relatives, who live on the premises, 
and are entirely supported by him. One of these depen- 
dents was sick, and Chang asked Mr. Moffitt to look at him. 
He was labouring under bronchitis, and on Mr. MofEltt's 
undertaking to relieve him, Chang sent one of his servants 
to the hospital to get the medicine prescribed. On taking 
our departure Chang, in accordance with Chinese courtesy, 
insisted on accompanying us to the outer door. 

After leaving Chang's we walked through the suburb 
bordering on the grand canal, and went into a large theatre 
that is a good deal frequented. The outside was placarded 
with red play-bills, but no performance was going on, in con- 
sequence of to-day being the anniversary of the death of 
one of the Emperors. The carps dramaiiqm were found 
behind the scenes playing Chinese cards, which are 124 in 
the pack. The game seemed to us a most complicated one, 
and proved a long way beyond our western comprehensions. 
The audience portion of the theatre is fitted-up with tables 
and chairs, refreshments being furnished during the per- 
formance, after the manner of the cafes chanianta of the 
French. 

In the neighbourhood of the theatre we went into several 
Chinese restaurants, with the completeness of the arrange- 
ments of which and the^ good style of the cookery we were 
much pleased. In one of these establishments, suited to the 
middle classes, we had the curiosity to wait and see what a 
man paid for a liberal meal that he was eating, consisting of 
a bowl of rice, a vegetable stew with Chinese macaroni in it, 
two meat pasties, tea and pickles. For the whole of this, 
which was more than he was able to consume, he paid only 
thirty cash, or three half-pence sterling. He gave the 
waiter five cash, which increased the expense of dinner one 
farthing. 

February 2ith. — ^This morning, at daylight, three guns 



VICTORIA CEOSa 267 

were fired by the Chinese, which turned out to be a salute 
for a new Tantai who had jnst arrived from Peking, and was 
then entering the town. 

The feast of lanterns has commencedy but the municipal 
authorities have decided that this year there shall be no 
night procession, as disturbances might arise from the 
number of foreign soldiers going about the streets. They 
have therefore prudently determined to restrict the lantern 
festivities to the illumination of the interior of their premises 
and reciprocal hospitality, of which there is a great deal at 
the present season. 

February 2hih. — Last night we were a good deal disturbed 
by frequent loud reports like the firing of cannon. They 
were caused by the explosion of large crackers about the size 
and shape of a twelve-pounder Armstrong shell, composed 
of hardened clay filled with gunpowder, and ignited by a 
slow match passing down a narrow opening like a touch- 
hole. 

February 27th. — The weather having again become fine, a 
parade took place this afternoon. The troops having been 
formed into three sides of a square on the plain facing the 
south, between the city wall and Sang-ko-lin-sin's Folly, 
Lieutenant Heathcote was called out from the ranks of the 
60th, and Brigadier Staveley read the Oazette conferring the 
Victoria Cross upon him for gallant conduct at the siege of 
Delhi, for which decoration he had been selected by the 
officers of his regiment. The Brigadier also read the official 
communication from the War-office, and made a short address 
to the troops prior to fastening the Cross on Lieutenant 
Heathcote's breast. 

The principal Chinese officials of Tien-tsin having been 
invited to attend, were present, and included the new Tautai, 
a remarkably gentlemanly and intelligent looking man of 
middle age, Tsung-how (Commissioner of Customs), Chung 
(the Chee-hee-en, or district magistrate), the Salt Commis- 
sioner, and the Brigadier -General Ching-lung, who com- 

8 



258 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

manded the great northern fort that bore the brant of the 
naval attack on the 2lBt of August, and had its magazine 
exploded by a shell from one of the French gunboats. He 
is a fine massive-looking, elderly man, wearing a pink button 
and high -class peacock's feather.* His head-dress, the 
ordinary silk hat turned up in front and lined with light 
brown for. He was dressed in a dark blue satin jacket over 
a rich light blue silk robe, both of them lined with white 
ftir. The Brigadier-General and the other Chinese officials 
arrived on the ground in sedan chairs, each accompanied by 
a number of followers, both mounted and on foot. They 
then got out of their chairs and mounted ponies they had 
sent on before. 

After the presentation of the Victoria Cross, Brigadier 
Staveley put the troops through a series of brigade move- 
ments, in which the Chinese visitors seemed to be much in- 
terested. When the nature of the manoeuvre of forming 
square to receive cavalry was explained to them, they cha- 
racterised it as " a most excellent idea," and admitted it to 
be one that had not occurred to themselves. Brigadier- 
General Chiug-lung expressed himself as much struck with 
the artilleiy and Seik cavalry ; the rapid movements of the 
former, so different from the pace at which the ponderous 
field-guns of the Chinese move, astonished him much. The 
Chee-hee-en appeared to be specially interested, and in con- 
versation with one of the interpreters, without committing 
himself to any admission of moral superiority on our part, 
he candidly admitted that we had the advantage of them 
physically, and that it was folly their having entertained 
the idea that they were equal to a contest of arms with 
us. 

The charge of the Seik cavalry was very picturesque, and 

* The grades of the Order of the Peacock'e Feather are indicated by the 
nnmber of "eyes," which are formed by an arrangement of two or more 
feathers. A single feather is the lowest grade in the Order, as it has only 
one ** eye." 



ICE BEEAKING UP. 259 

excited great admiration amongst all classes of the Chinese — 
the wild yell of the Seiks and their irregular mode of advance 
being more in accordance with their preconceired notions of 
military effect than the more regular and precise movements 
of the infantry. Tsung-how was a good deal pnzzled to 
understand how the Armstrong guns, from being open at 
both ends, could form efficient machines of projection, until 
the mechanism by which the breach is closed after loading 
was explained to him. 

Immense crowds of the Chinese population were present ; 
every one of the large funereal tumuli with which the plain 
is dotted that commanded a view of the troops being 
crowded with dense masses, looking on with the most in- 
tense interest at the different evolutions. 

February 2Sth, — ^At the French Legation this evening I 
made the acquaintance of M. Pecheroff, the astronomer to 
the Bussian Mission at Peking, and talking with him about 
the probabilities of the Emperor's return, he told me that 
during a three years' residence at Peking he has only been 
able to get a glance at the Emperor once, and that was a 
very imperfect one, obtained by looking through the key- 
hole of a shop as he passed. No one is allowed to be in 
the street except the troops lining it, and all the windows 
and shops are closed as the Imperial procession passes — 
the punishment being severe for any one who ventures to 
play " Peeping Tom," and look at the sacred person of his 
majesty. 

March let — At Taku, outside the bar, the ice has broken 
up, and it is hardly safe now to walk across the river be- 
tween the forts. The " Clown" gunboat, however, cannot 
yet get out from where she has been frozen in since 
December. 

Letters were received to-day from Mr. Morrison and 
Captain Harcourt, who left for Che-foo early in January. 
They appear to have had a very interesting journey, having 
visited numerous parts of the country where Europeans had 

8 2 



260 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

never been seen before. They were on the whole treated 
with great civility, thongh frequently (and very naturally) 
followed by immense crowds, nnmbering sometimes as many 
as fifteen hundred people. On one or two occasions they were 
taken np before the local authorities, on suspicion of being 
connected with rebels ; but as soon as it was understood 
that they were Englishmen they were at once released and 
kindly treated. The people in many parts of the country 
they passed through were impressed with the belief that 
the English were coming to their assistance against the 
rebels, and had a canard that Sang-ko-lin-sin had in the 
first instance refused their aid, but had latterly been 
soliciting it. Mr. Morrison and Captain Harcourt had a 
near chance of meeting Sang-ko-lin-sin, as they arrived at 
a town that he had left only three hours previously. 

We learn from Peking that everything continues to go on 
satisfiactorily, with the exception of the Emperor's return, 
which appears to be very uncertain. 

Sang-ko-lin-sin has been again defeated in Shan-tung, and 
report says handed over to the Board of Punishments to 
explain the causes of his want of success. Jui-lin, his 
lieutenant-general, has returned to Peking in disgrace, and 
has been degraded by the Board of Punishments to the 
position of a common bannerman, at three taels a month 
— ^in other words, reduced to the ranks on a rate of pay of 
about 7|d. a day. He left Peking in September last, a 
Secretary of State for War. 

Of Sang-ko-lin-sin, Mr. Adkins says report speaks very 
favourably. He is said to be an honest, upright man, and 
much respected by his army, as he does not peculate in 
their pay or rations, thereby differing widely from other 
Chinese generals, to whom commissariat peculation is a 
regular source of emolument. Sang-ko-lin-sin went down 
early in the winter to Shan-tung with about five thousand 
men, the remnant of his army, and was there joined by 
militia which increased his force to about fifteen thousand 



DISTTJBBED ELBCTEICITY. 261 

men ; but the latter being in great part a rabble in- 
differently armed, he has been nnable suocessfdlly as yet 
to cope with the rebels, who are represented as existing in 
formidable numbers. It is also stated that their adyance 
on Peking is only prevented by the knowledge that there is 
an English and French force occupying Tien-tsin, which, 
judging from what has occurred at Shanghai in the case of 
the Taepings, would in all probability oppose them also 
should they attack the capital 

Shung-pow, who has already been referred to as the 
general who commanded the Chinese army at the action of 
Pa-lee-chow, and to whom on that occasion Jni-lin was 
second in oonmmnd, is now at Peking with a force of some 
four thousand men, and he is chiefly employed hunting up 
plunder in the neighbouring villages that has been taken 
from the Yuen-ming-yuen. It is stated that he has found a 
considerable quantity concealed in the houses of villagers, 
and that a good many heads have been forfeited in con- 
sequence. 

March 7th. — ^The morning, which was remarkably fine, 
became suddenly overcast about ten o'clock, becoming dark 
and lurid The electrometer was greatly disturbed; the 
electricity coming down in one continued stream, and the 
sand rose into the air as if drawn up by magnetic influence^ 
being in much greater quantities than the amount of wind 
could account for. 

March Sth. — ^Though the air is now clear and the weather 
fine, the same disturbed state of the atmospheric electricity 
continues as prevailed the whole of yesterday, and it would 
appear to have exercised an injurious influence on several 
cases of sickness, judging from the sudden aggravation of 
symptoms which set in concurrently with it. In two cases 
that have come under my observation, a very remarkable 
effect has been produced on the nervous system ; in one of 
them a sensation as if the blood was circulating backwards, 
accompanied by spasmodic starlings, and inability to remain 



262 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

in the recmnbent posture for any length of time, without the 
desire to spring up • 

March 9th. — It is worthy of obserration, that while the 
sickness and mortality amongst the European troops are yerj 
considerable, the Seiks are wonderfhUy healthy. Under 
ordinary circumstances, they have only half a pound of 
meat allowed them per week, but since the cold weather set 
in the allowance has been increased to a whole pound. The 
bulk of their diet consists of wheaten flour baked into un- 
leavened bread. Dr. Daly, the surgeon of the corps, 
informs me that the men have enjoyed total immunity 
from pulmonaiy complaints, their chief ailment being slight 
attacks of ephemeral fever. They have also been perfectly 
free from small-pox. About one-half of them have been 
inoculated, the remainder are unprotected. They do not 
believe in vaccination, and are averse to submitting them- 
selves to the operation. They cannot understand sitting 
round an ordinary fire-place, but must have the full benefit 
of the fire, smoke included, consequently they sit round an 
open fire in the centre of the room. 

Some of the Indian followers of Fane's Horse (of whom 
there are 300) are suffering severely from frost bite ; one 
man has lost both his feet. No proper provision was made 
at the commencement of the winter for keeping their feet 
warm, by giving them long boots like those of the troops> 
and such a delay occurred before Tartar boots were procured 
for them, that the mischief was done before their feet re- 
ceived adequate protection. 

March 10th, — Preparations have commenced for the jour- 
ney of the English and French Legations to Peking, there 
to be permanently established. An embassy guard of twelve 
men of the 31st, under Lieutenant 6ow, has been detailed 
in garrison orders for Mr. Bruce, and the men are now 

* The case referred to was one of a chronic and serions nature, and the 
disturbed state of the nervous system disappeared when the atmosphere 
veooTered its normal electrical oondition. 



PRUSSIAN MISSION. 268 

undergoing instruction in riding at the Artillery Barracks. 
A similar number of gendarmes have been told off to be 
stationed with the French Legation, 

March ll^A.— rThe weather is now clear and mild« A 
change is beginning to take place on the ice. People are 
still crossing on it above the bridge of boats, but about 
three quarters of a mile lower down a fracture has taken 
place in the ice, and the river got the better of it so quickly, 
that by the afternoon that portion was clear of ice ; a general 
break-up may soon follow. This is the last day of the nine 
periods into which the cold weather is divided, and the 
Chinese calculation, judging from the present season, would 
seem a very accurate one. 

March I2th. — At noon a slight movement was observed 
on the ice opposite the town, when all at once, like the 
transformation scene in a pantomime, the whole mass began 
to break up and move away. In a short time the river was 
clear, and by three o'clock, though large masses of ice came 
floating down from above, yet the river waa covered with 
boats and all the ferries at work — so little time was there 
lost in re-establishing water communication. 

March 16th. — Some information being required with re- 
ference to the question of water transport to Peking, it has 
been ascertained that the Peiho will be very shallow in the 
neighbourhood of Tung-chow (twelve miles from Peking) 
for a month to come, as the snow has not yet begun to 
melt on the hills to the north of Peking. 

Herr Yon Brandt, secretary to the Prussian diplomatic 
mission, which has lately been negociating a treaty in Japan, 
arrived to-day, to prepare the Chinese Government for the 
arrival of an envoy from the King of Prussia, for the pur- 
pose of opening up diplomatic relations. As M. de Brandt 
has no interpreter, Mr. Bruce has allowed Mr. Gibson to 
go to Tsung-how, and request him to grant M. de Brandt 
an interview. Tsung-how, on hearing of Prussia, said, 
** PoUucia qua" (Prussia country), where is that ? " and 



264 NORTH CHIKA AND JAPAN. 

on being told that it is an important European country, 
he asked if it was one having any ships, and also, if it was 
a country that we had any interest in, or connection with ; 
evidently fishing for information to aid him in deciding 
whether it would be desirable or not to be civil to the 
envoy's representative. The information he received from 
Mr. Gibson convinced him that it would be desirable. 

March 17 1h. — Met M. de Brandt at the French Legation. 
He has just come from Shanghai, where the Prussian 
mission now is. It left Yeddo after the murder of Mr. 
Enskin (secretary to the American Legation), who was 
assassinated by the Japanese as he was returning home 
from dining wtth Count Eulenberg. the Prussian envoy. 

March 19/A. — Mr. Wade arrived this morning from 
Peking, to accompany Mr. Bruce to the capital. Sang-ko- 
lin-sin, up to the latest dates from Shan-tung, continued 
unequal to making head against the rebels. He has no 
artillery, it seems — and this fact accounts for an application 
which the authorities here made a few days ago to Brigadier 
Staveley, that they might be allowed to dig up and remove 
some guns that, prior to our taking possession of Tien-tsin, 
had been buried in the court of the Tautai's Tamun, at 
present occupied by the Royal Artillery. 

Some fears are entertained of a famine at Peking, as all 
the ordinary supplies are getting used up. As soon as 
their exhaustion is officially announced, the Emperor orders 
the government granaries to be thrown open, and the people 
supplied with rice and other grains at a cheap rate ; then 
it is that the famine is feared, because it is more than pro- 
bable that the granaries will be found empty, owing to the 
notorious corruptness of the mandarins charged with the 
care of them. 

March 2l8L — Prior to leaving Tien-tsin, I made some 
inquiries amongst the mercantile community regarding the 
commercial prospects of the place in connection with the 
opening of the port to foreign trade. From what I can 



GOHMEBCIAL PBOSPECTS. 265 

learn, calico goods, chiefly in the fonn known as '^shirtings" 
(piece cotton), will be the chief article of import. The 
exports, again, will be for the most part peas, beans and other 
grains that come up the Peiho in junks from Nu-che-wang. 
At Tien-tsin thej will be trans-shipped in foreign vessels to 
the south of China, the direct export trade in "foreign 
bottoms " being contrary to the recent treaty, this provision 
having been introduced into it for the protection of the junk 
trade, as Chinese merchants now much prefer shipping goods 
in foreign vessels to trusting them in their own. They are 
also beginning to realize the advantages of marine insu- 
rance, which they cannot avail themselves of when they 
ship in junks. It is also probable that a small amount of 
tallow and wool will be exported annually, and there is little 
doubt that a considerable export trade in ice with the south 
of China, and possibly with Singapore and India, will gra- 
dually be developed. The Chinese merchants at Tien-tsin 
are represented as having been a little shy at first in enter- 
ing into conmiercial transactions with foreigners. They are 
doing so however more readily now, and as their confidence 
increases a very considerable trade is anticipated. 

At noon on the 22nd of March, 1861, their Excellencies 
the Honourable Sir Frederick Bruce, E.C.B., and M. de Bour- 
boulon, along with Mr. Wade, C.B., and the writer of this 
narrative as surgeon to Her Majesty's Legation, left Tien- 
tsin for Peking. A party of gendarmerie and mounted 
French Artillerymen formed the escort. Madame de Bour- 
boulon, who had but partially recovered from a severe and 
dangerous illness, accompanied her husband to Peking, per- 
forming the journey (to an invalid a very fetiguing one) in 
a sedan chair. Four days afterwards, the flags of England 
and France were peacefully flying in Peking ; the entry of 
the envoys and their escorts had been accomplished without 
the slightest indications of a hostile feeling either from the 
populace or the Government. 

Tien-tsin remained in the occupation of the English and 



266 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

French forces during the smnmer of 1861. The hot season 
was a very unhealthy one, and the allied troops suffered 
severely, the mortality amongst the English troops being, 
at the end of the year 1861, at the rate of between sixty 
and seventy in the 1000. Everything was done that sani- 
tary science could suggest to improve the condition of the 
men and render them as resistant as possible to the morbific 
influences prevailing. Sanitary science, however, proved 
totally unequal to coping with an epidemic constitution of 
the atmosphere which was not conjBned to Tien-tsin, but 
was equally active at Peking, and which it is not unreason- 
able to suppose was in some way connected with the large 
comet that made its appearance in July, the more so as it 
was shortly after its advent that the serious sickness com* 
menced. 

At the end of the summer of 1861, everything having 
gone on satisfactorily at Peking, the occupying force was 
greatly reduced, and Tien-tsin was held during the winter 
by Govan's battery, the 31st and 67th Regiments, and the 
company of Engineers. The whole of the French troops 
were withdrawn prior to the commencement of the winter, 
with the exception of a detachment of Marine Infantry left 
in the north Taku fort to represent the French occupation. 

In the spring of 1862, Sir Frederick Bruce decided that 
Tien-tsin should be evacuated, and the British occupation 
on the Peiho reduced to holding the south Taku fort with a 
small force. 

In March of the same year Sir John Michel sailed for 
England, giving up the command of the troops in China to 
Brigadier-General Staveley, C.B. At this time the Taepings 
had recoromenced their incursions in the neighbourhood of 
Shanghai, and as the city and foreign settlement were con* 
sidered in danger, Admiral Hope, from motives of pure 
philanthropy, lent his aid to the disciplined Chinese force 
that had recently been organized by the American adven- 
turer known as General Ward, and commenced active ope- 



CONCLUSION. 267 

rations against the Taepings, pending a reference to Sir 
Frederick Brace, who, taking into consideration all the 
circnmstances of the case, sanctioned snch aggressive mea- 
sures being adopted as would clear the country of Taepings 
for a radius of thirty miles round Shanghai. The occupa- 
tion of Taku has continued up to the present time (August, 
1863), more to oblige the Chinese Ooyemment than as a 
political necessity, the Chinese being now as averse to our 
withdrawing our protecting influence from the mouth of the 
Peiho, as they were three years ago that we should approach 
it. This desire that our occupation should continue, arises 
from a dread entertained by the Imperial Government of a 
combination between the pirates on the coast and the 
Taepings, and of their making a descent by water on Pe- 
king. As Ning-po has been retaken from the latter this is 
not now a probable occurrence, though it was so at one 
time. It is therefore not likely that any British troops will 
be exposed to the cold and dreariness of a fourth winter, ice- 
bound at Taku. 



JAPAN 



INTRODUCTION. 

An appointment on special service nnder the Government 
of India, which it pleased the Secretary-at-War, on the 
recommendation of the Earl of Elgin, to authorise my 
accepting, led to my remaining in China after the em- 
barkation for England, in Jnly, 1863, of the Slst Regi- 
ment, of which I was then surgeon. An opportunity having 
been offered me while thus in China of visiting Japan, I 
obtained leave to defer my departure for India, and to avail 
myself of the only chance I should probably ever have of 
seeing this beautiftil, and comparatively little known, coun- 
try. Of this visit, the following narrative is the record. 
It is a mere Journal of what I saw and heard during a 
sojourn in the country so brief that, at the time I left it, 
the thought never occurred to me of publishing the infor- 
mation I had acquired. Everything, however, relating to 
Japan and its people has now become so interesting, that I 
am induced to give even these imperfect notes to the public. 

The foUowing summary of the events which immediately 
preceded my visit is necessary for the right understanding 
of the state of affairs. 

Early in January, 1862, a Japanese embassy embarked 
at Yeddo on board Her Majesty's steam-ship " Odin,*' flying 
the broad pendant of Commodore Lord John Hay, C.B. 
The purpose of this embassy was to visit the different 
European Courts having diplomatic relations with Japan, and 



270 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

to request their consent to certain treaty obligations being 
deferred, which the Tycoon had entered into with them ; 
the most important of these being the opening to foreign 
trade of Osaca, the chief town on the shores of the inland 
sea ; and of the port of Miaco, the capital of the empire, and 
the residence of the Mikado, or spiritual ruler. 

The ambassadors having reached Europe vid Suez, suc- 
ceeded in the object of their mission. While they were receiv- 
ing every mark of kindness and attention from the European 
Powers, the Ministers of England, France, and America were 
residing at Yeddo, under the protection of the Japanese 
Government, in apparent security. The British Legation, 
however, had a small guard attached to it, consisting of a 
few Marines and a dozen mounted men of the Military 
Train ; the latter as an escort for the Minister, a precaution 
which had been adopted since the attempted assassination 
of Sir Rutherford Alcock in June, 1861. 

At midnight, on the 26th of June, 1862, the anniversary 
of the attack the previous year. Colonel Neale, who had been 
but a few weeks previously transferred from the post of 
Secretary of Legation at Peking to be Her Majesty's Charge 
d' Affaires in Japan, was lying in his bed in the temple 
used as the British Legation at Yeddo. By some fortuitous 
coincidence, he felt an unusual indisposition to fall asleep, — 
a sort of unconscious presentiment, as it were, of approaching 
danger. A window and door of lattice-work, covered with 
paper, separated him from the verandah in which a sailor 
from Her Majesty's ship " Reynard" was walking up and 
down as a sentry. Colonel Neale heard the ordinary chal- 
lenge "Who goes there?" which was followed by the words 
" What is that you say ? " and immediately afterwards by 
groans. Colonel Neale had the guard under arms in 
a few seconds, but before it had time to leave the house, 
the unfortunate sentry crawled to the door, mangled and 
bleeding to death, his right hand hanging by a shred of 
skin. The non-commissioned officer of the watch, Corporal 



ATTACK ON THE BRITISH LEGATION. 271 

Crimp, of the Marines, was found lying dead at the comer 
of the verandah, where he had been attacked and cut down 
as he was going his ronnds. His bodj had sixteen wounds 
on it. The sailor, Charles Sweet by name, lived for an hour 
afterwards, and had strength sufficient to state, — that 
seeing a suspicious-looking Japanese approaching on all- 
fours without a lantern, he challenged and received the 
right parole, but not feeling satisfied, he went forward 
quickly. When he had reached within a short distance, 
the man jumped up, and gave him a severe wound in the 
neck with a spear. The Japanese guard, who ought to 
have assisted him, ran away, and he was left in the dark. 
He then tried to get at his revolver, but before he could do 
80, he was disabled by sword cuts, and left on the groimd 
for dead; his consciousness, however, remained, and he 
managed to crawl to the guard-room door. 

The murderer was never discovered ; but he is believed 
to have been one of the Japanese soldiers on guard,* as he 
was acquainted with the correct countersign. His inten- 
tion, no doubt, was, after killing the sentry, to have burst 
into Colonel Neale's room, and to have assassinated him. 
It is probable, however, that his arrangements were thrown 
out by the appearance of the corporal of Marines before he 
had succeeded in dispatching the sentry. The guard at the 
Legation on the night of the murders was ftimished from 
the retainers of the Daimio Matz Dairo Taubano Kami, a 
connection by marriage of the Prince of Satsuma. 

These repeated attacks on the British Legation and 
attempts on the lives of the Ministers have been attributed 
to public dissatisfaction at the giving up of a portion of 
Yeddo, called Gotenyama, as a place of residence for the 
foreign Ministers, the feeling of annoyance, it is stated, 
being shared in by all classes, from the Daimios downwards 

* The Japanese Government ai this time farnished guards to the foreign 
Legations at Yeddo, as a protection against attacks from Loonins, or poU- 
tical desperados. 



272 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

— hence the adoption of extreme measures to render Yeddo 
80 micomfortable a residence to foreigners as to necessi- 
tate their withdrawing from it. This resnlt was obtained 
on both occasions : Sir Eutherford Alcock retired to Yoko- 
hama after the first attack ; and after the second the British 
and French Legations withdrew on the 16th of Jnly, 1862, 
from Yeddo, and re-established themselves at Yokohama, 
which they had left but a month or five weeks previously. 
Why the British Minister has been on both occasions 
selected for assassination has not been satisfactorily ex- 
plained. Personal dislike to Sir Rutherford Alcock has been 
assigned as a reason, but such a supposition would not 
account for the second attack, Colonel Neale having been 
too short a time in the country to have given rise to personal 
feelings one way or another ; — unless his re-establishing the 
Legation at Yeddo after it had been removed to Yokohama 
by Sir Rutherford Alcock was the cause of his attempted 
assassination, which I am inclined to think very probable. 

In the month of August following, a notification was 
issued by command of the Tycoon, recommending the 
purchase of foreign steamers and sailing vessels by the 
Daimios.* This was the means of bringing to Yokohama, in 
the beginning of September, Shimadzo Saburo, the father of 
the Prince of Satsuma. He entered into friendly commercial 
intercourse there, which terminated in his purchasing the 
steamer ** Fiery Cross," from the firm of Jardine and 
Matheson, for 125,000 dollars, having first made a trial 
trip in her. At this time complaints were stated to be 
numerous on the part of the population of Yeddo, respecting 
the savage dispositions of some of the retainers of the 

• 

* The Tycoon set tlie example by buying three steamers and two sailing 
Tessels, and his recommendation resulted in the purchase, by Daimios, of 
thirteen steamers and four sailing vessels ; the whole of them being bonght 
at high prices from English and American merchants, with the exception of 
one small steamer that was bought by the Prince of Sendai from a Dutch 
firm. 



HUBDER OF MB. RICHABDSON. 278 

Prince of Sateuma, who fonned a part of Shimadzo Sabnro's 
train, and who were represented as using their swords on 
r^)eated occasions, with little or no provocation. 

A week after his visit to Yokohama, Shimadzo Sabnro 
was on his way from Yeddo to Miako, and when abont seven 
miles from Yokohama, on the Tokaido or great seaboard 
road, his retainers met a mounted party fix)m Yokohama 
taking an afternoon ride; the party consisted of Mrs. 
Borrodaile, her brother-in-law Mr. Marshall, a merchant 
in Yokohama, Mr. Clark, of the house of Heard and Co., 
and Mr. Charles Lennox Richardson, of Shanghai, who had 
just retired from business, and was on a visit to Japan prior 
to returning to England. This unfortunate rencounter ended 
in one of those tragic scenes which of late have been so 
common in Japan, having their origin in the hatred which 
seems to be cherished towards foreigners generally, by a 
certain section of the feudal population. The facts are 
briefly the following : — 

On the afternoon of Sunday, the 14th of September, the 
party left Yokohama about 2 o'clock in a boat, and pro- 
ceeded across the harbour to the town of Eanagawa, where 
they met their horses, previously sent round by land. They 
rode on towards Kawasaki, with the intention of visiting a 
fine temple there. Proceeding along the road (the Tokaido) 
they passed several noromons,* each having a few two- 
sworded attendants. These noromons formed a long train 
broken at short intervals, and as they passed, the party 
walked their horses, cantering in the intervening spaces. 
This continued for between three and four miles along tiie 
Tokaido, beyond Kanagawa, when a regular procession was 
met, preceded by about 100 men in single file on each side 
of the road. The party kept on one side of the road, going 
at a walking pace, until arriving at the main body which 
was then occupying the whole road. Mr. Richardson and 

* Noromons are box-like conveyances, carried on men*B shoulders like 
palanqains, in which the better classes of the Japanese traveL 

T 



274 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Mrs. Borrodaile were riding in firont, and almost immediately 
they were ordered to halt by a man of large statnre, who 
came ont of the ranks and diyesting himself of his npper 
clothing sprang forward, and with the same sweep of the 
sword which removed it from the scabbard, broaght it across 
Mr. Richardson's loins, inflicting a fearful wonnd, following 
it np by others which proved speedily fatal, as he fell dead 
almost immediately from his horse. The remainder of the 
party made their escape, Messrs. Clark and Marshall being 
both wounded in getting clear of the train. Mrs. Borro- 
daile had a blow aimed at her head which she escaped by 
stooping. 

No reason has been assigned for this savage mnrder 
beyond the statement that if any Japanese, through being 
mounted on a highway, had interfered with the progress of 
a noble of the same calibre b& Shimadzo Saburo, they would 
have been similarly attacked. It would seem that the Yeddo 
authorities had some misgivings respecting the probable 
results of a meeting between Satsuma's retainers and 
foreigners on the high road, as they intimated to the 
ministers that on the 15th of September a Daimio's train 
would be on the Tokaido, in the neighbourhood of Yoko- 
hama, and specially requested that foreigners would on that 
particular day refrain from going on the road in question. 
Shimadzo Saburo and his train passed the night at a village 
no great distance from where Mr. Richardson was murdered ; 
aud the Yeddo authorities, in notifying the 15th as the day 
on which it was desirable that foreigners should keep off the 
Tokaido, probably had not calculated on any of them being 
so far from Yokohama on the afternoon of the 14th as to 
come in contact with Shimadzo Saburo before he had com- 
pleted that day's journey. 

The murder of Mr. Richardson was followed by much 
excitement amongst the foreign residents, and desire for the 
adoption of immediate retributive steps. Efforts, in the 
shape of public meetings and the like, were made to force 



LOONINS. 275 

Colonel Neale to adopt this view, and request Admiral Kuper 
(who had the same day arrived fix)m England in the "Eury- 
alas " frigate) to commence hostilities. Colonel Neale was 
placed in a position of great difficulty, the press and the 
public being alike clamorous for revenge, but he adhered to 
his decision to abstain from taking immediate action ; and 
in doing so, I may add, he was frilly supported by Admiral 
Euper, who was of opinion that even had it been desirable 
to adopt retributive measures at that time, he had no ade- 
quate force at his command to do so. Colonel Neale, 
therefore, made a strong representation to the Japanese 
Oovemment, who admitted itself to be powerless in the 
affair, and he referred the whole question to Her Majesty's 
Oovemment, who in the frillest manner approved of the 
course he had adopted in avoiding precipitate hostilities. 

After this tragedy, no event of importance relating to 
foreigners occurred until the 2nd of January, 1863, when a 
Governor of Foreign Affairs came at a late hour to Colonel 
Neale, and communicated to him that i*eports had reached 
the Gorogio,* which were occasioning it much anxiety, to 
the effect that a band of Loonins f were meditating distur- 
bances in Yokohama, which it was their intention to inau- 
gurate by the assassination of the foreign representatives. 
The Japanese Government in making this communication 
declared that it was occupied in tracing the threatened 
danger to its source, and in adopting every means to avert 
mischief. In the meantime the members of the Gorogio 
begged that great caution and discretion should be exercised 
by the foreign community in respect to exposing themselves 
on the Tokaido or in its neighbourhood. Colonel Neale 
issued a notification to the residents apprising them of the 

* The Tyooon^B Council of State at Teddo. 

t Loonins are outlaws, who hare thrown off their allegiance to their 
respective Daimios, as well as to aotbority generaUj, and constituted them- 
selves the free-thinkers and free-doers of Japan — ^patriots, according to 
their own ideas. 

T 2 



276 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

natnre of the .commiinication he had received, and informing 
them that he was occupied in remonstrating with the Japan- 
ese Govemment against the then existing condition of affairs, 
as well as adopting in concert with the naval and military 
authorities the necessary measures of precaution. About 
three weeks afterwards the following communication was 
sent to the foreign ministers by Assano-Tega-no-Kami, the 
Governor of Kanagawa : — " As some of the Great Daimios 
are now passing along the Tokaido, which will be the cause 
of great confusion on the road, and as there are besides 
reports in circulation that some barbarians (Loonins) arc 
walking round, and for all that I know may be now in 
Yokohama, it is desirable that your countrymen should not 
go out of Yokohama during one week from to-day until yon 
receive another communication from me." Exactly a week 
after this warning was given, a new building which had 
just been completed at Gotenyama, in Yeddo, for the British 
Legation, was totally destroyed by fire ; no doubt an act of 
deliberate incendiarism, as several explosions of gunpowder 
took place in different parts of the building during the pro- 
gress of the fire. The building for the French Legation 
not being completed no harm was done to it, which strictly 
accorded with a threat which had been made, that the 
residences would be destroyed as soon as they were com- 
pleted. This threat was further verified by the burning 
of the American Legation three months afterwards. 

Matters continued in the same unsettled and insecure 
state until the end of March, 1863, when the instructions of 
the British Govemment, relative to the reparation to be 
demanded for the murder of Mr. Richardson, were received 
by Colonel Neale. At the same time Admiral Kuper ar- 
rived from Hong-Kong with the China squadron, prepared 
if necessary to enforce compliance. 

On the 6th of April, Colonel Neale forwarded to the 
Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Yeddo, an 
ultimatum. Four months previously he had called 



BRITISH ULTIMATUM. 27T 

on the Japanese Qovemment to pay the sum of £10,000 
for the families of Corporal Crimp of the Bojal Marines, 
and of the sailor, Charles Sweet, which demand up to 
that time had been eyaded. He now forther demanded an 
ample and formal apology for the offence of permitting 
a mnrderons attack on British subjects passing on a road 
open by treaty to them, and the payment of £100,000 
as a penalty on Japan for this offence, assigning twenty 
days for the answer of the Japanese Government, in failure 
of which the Admiral would be called upon to take mea- 
sures to secure the reparation demanded. He also in- 
formed the Goyemmenjb that as they had openly avowed 
their inability to arrest malefactors within the domains of 
the Daimio, Prince Satsuma^ the British authorities were 
constrained themselves to demand satisfaction and redress 
from that Prince. That a naval force would therefore pro- 
ceed to a port pertaining to him, and would (Remand of him 
the immediate trial of the murderers, and the payment of 
£25,000 to be distributed to the relatives of the murdered 
man and to those who escaped the swords of the assassins. 
In reply to this communication the Japanese Government 
urgently requested an extension of time, which was granted 
for a fortnight longer, to the 11th of May. 

Colonel Neale advised the foreign residents to adopt pre- 
cautionary measures for their security, in the event of 
coercive measures being adopted. 

The 11th of May passed without any satisfactory answer 
from the Japanese Government, further delay being re- 
quested, which, in the hope of averting hostilities, was again 
conceded them. In the meantime the position of affairs at 
Yokohama began to wear so threatening an aspect, that 
Colonel Neale requested Admiral Euper to send a steam- 
vessel to Shanghai without delay, conveying an application 
to Major-General Brown, commanding in China, that he 
would divert to Japan the portion of the North of China 
force that was then about to embark for India and England, 



278 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

namely, Qovan's battery of Royal Artillery, the 31st Regi- 
ment^ and the 5th Bombay Native Infantry. This request 
the Commander of the Forces did not feel himself warranted 
in complying with. 

On the night of the 23rd of May, the temple at Teddo, 
in which the United States Legation resided, was burned to 
the ground. Shortly after this event a member of the 
Japanese Government waited on General Pruyn, the Ameri- 
can Minister, and urged him to leave Yeddo without delay, 
as the Government had just ascertained the existence of 
very imminent danger to the lives of foreigners residing 
there. In the face of this warning, and with his residence 
destroyed, the American Minister could not with any pru- 
dence remain longer in Yeddo, and he accordingly withdrew 
his Legation to Yokohama. A similar warning was given to 
the United States Consul (Colonel Fisher), and some Ameri- 
can missionaries who up to this time had resided at Kana- 
gawa. They immediately proceeded, under an escort from 
the United States sloop of war " Wyoming," to Yokohama, 
and thus was accomplished the complete expulsion of 
foreigners from Yeddo and Kanagawa, and their confine- 
ment within the limits of the settlement of Yokohama. 

During the ensuing three weeks, delay after delay, at 
the earnest solicitation of the Japanese authorities, was con- 
ceded by Colonel Neale in the humane hope of averting an 
appeal to arms and the suffering which such a course would 
entail on the industrious and non-offending portion of the 
Japanese community; at last^ on the 20th of June, it became 
necessaiy to resort to coercive measures, and the matter was 
put into the hands of Admiral Kuper. On the 2l6t the 
Admiral notified to the foreign residents that the force at 
his command was unequal to the double duty of carrying 
out coercive measures and protecting also life and property 
in Yokohama. Upon this. Admiral Jaurais, the French naval 
commander-in-chief, came forward and undertook to guarantee 
the safety of the settlement, which produced a re-assuring 



PAYMENT OP THE INDEMNITY. 279 

eJBTect upon the foreign oommnnity generallj, the more so 
as he at the same time sent his Imperial Majesty's steamer 
'' Monge" oyer to Shanghai, with instructions to return with 
the head-quarters of the regiment of French infantry (3rd 
Zephyrs) stationed there. This she did^ landing the troops 
at Yokohama fourteen days afterwards. 

Matters continued stationary until midnight of the 2drd 
of June, when one of the goremors of Eanagawa* (these 
officials being now cut off from direct communication with 
Her Majesty's Charge d' Affaires in consequence of his haying 
for the time suspended diplomatic relations with them) 
waited on Monsieur de Bellecourt, the French Minister, and 
informed him that they were ready now to pay the money. 
This was immediately communicated to Colonel Neale, who 
replied, that as the Japanese Goyemment had, by repeated 
acts of procrastination, allowed matters to assume their pre- 
sent form, the arrangement preyiously entered into for the 
payment of the money by instalments was cancelled, and 
that if they wished the money to be receiyed, the ftdl 
amount of the one hundred and ten thousand pounds must 
be paid down, in the form of four hundred and forty- 
thousand Mexican dollars of good quality, by seyen o'clock 
the following morning. 

In their anxiety that no Airther delay should occur, long 
before the appointed hour the money arriyed at the Lega- 
tion — its payment, I am of opinion, haying been materi^y 
expedited by the appearance the preyious day before Yeddo 
of her Majesty's ship *^ Pearl," commanded by Captain John 
Borlase, C.B., who had been sent up by Admiral Euper to 
take obseryations, and giye the Japanese Goyemment an 
idea of the direction the fleet was about to take, if the terms 
were not at once oompUed with. 

By a singTilar inconsistency of action, immediately after 
the money was paid, a notification was receiyed from the 

* About this time a tecond goTemor had been appointed, in oonsequenoe 
of the eziitiiig difficulUee. 



280 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Gorogio, informing the foreign ministers that instractions 
had been receiyed from the Tycoon, then at Miako, to put 
in force without farther delay the Mikado's commands, 
that the treaty ports were to be closed forthwith, and all 
foreigners expelled from Japan. The oiBcials, in making 
this communication, gaye it clearly to be understood tiiat 
they in no way indorsed it, nor were at all sangnine that 
any attention wonld be paid to it by the foreign representa- 
tiyes ; they merely discharged their duty in serying the 
notification. 

At the y^ time that this notice to qnit was seryed on the 
foreign ministers, the first indications of its being practi- 
caUy enforced occurred at the opposite end of the island, 
some fiye or six hundred miles distant. 

On the 24th of June, the " Pembroke," with the Ameri- 
can ensign flying, passed an European-built barque without 
bolours, but fall of armed Japanese, and shortly afterwards 
anchored for the night near the eastern entrance to the Straits 
of Semonosaki or Yander Capellan. The same afternoon the 
barque came up with a fair wind, and the Japanese man-of- 
war flag flying. She passed the *^ Pembroke," and anchored 
between her and the entrance to the straits, about a quarter 
of a mile off. As the barque was approaching her anchor- 
age, a gun ^as fired from a headland about four miles dis- 
tant, and the signal was repeated for some distance along 
the coast. Nothing took place in the eyening, but it would 
seem that after dark the barque warped up and got springs 
on her cable, since, at the time she opened fire, she was 
much nearer than at sundown. The barque opened fire on 
the " Pembroke" at a quarter to one on the morning of the 
25th, and after she had fired about a dozen shots, one of 
which cut away the topmast backstay, a brig, recognised to 
be the " Laurick," * passed within forty yards of the " Pem- 
biToke," and anchored close to the barque. Both yessels 

* Til 18 veasel, a brig of 280 tons, had sbortly before been pnrehased by 
Comma.^ ^ jj^gj^^^ from Jardine and MaUheaon, far 86,000 doUara. 

the safei 



THE *' PEMBBOKB" FIEBD UPON. 281 

then oommenced firing as rapidly as they could, but the 
"Pembroke" having got her steam up, soon got out of 
range, and made her escape from the straits by the Bungo 
channel. Her guns being lashed, and aU hands busily 
engaged in getting her under way, no attempt was made to 
return the fire. 

I have thus entered into a brief summary of the prin- 
cipal occurrences relating to the foreign community in 
Japan during the twelve months preceding my short visit 
to that country. The farther progress of events arising 
out of the Mikado's order for the expulsion of foreigners, 
and the demand of the British Government for the indem- 
nity of twenty-five thousand pounds from the Prince of 
Satsuma for the murder of Mr. Kichardaon, will be found 
in the following narrative. 



CHAPTER I. 

Bmbark at Sbanghiu for Japan — Cholera in the Tang-tse-kiang — Aspect 
of the coast— First impressions of the European settlement — The 
French and Datch flags fired on — Aspect of affairs at Yokohama* — 
Rural scenery — The peasantry and their habitations — Position of the 
foreign settlement— The British Legation — A Japanese garden and 
gardener~H.M.S. ''Centaur" expected. 

On the morning of the 12th of July, 1863, 1 embarked at 
Shanghai on board Her Majesty's ship "Racehorse," com- 
manded by Captain Charles Boxer, about to start with the 
English mail for the China fleet, then lying at Yokohama 
Harbour, Japan. We made good speed down the Shanghai 
river (properly called the Wang-po), and were soon on the 
wide waters of the Tang-tse-kiang. From the pilot we 
had on board I learnt that he had taken the "West 
Derby" out, and that three cases of cholera had occurred 
amongst the soldiers after she entered the Yang-tse-kiang, 
and that two of them had terminated fatally before he left 
the vessel ; the third one being in a dying state as he came 
away. 

We had hardly well got into the Yang-tse-kiang, before 
one of the sailors was attacked with cholera and died in a 
few hours, and at daybreak of the 13th another fatal case 
occurred. 

July 18/A. — By degrees the coast of Niphon discloses 
itself, and first impressions are decidedly favourable — a 
bold, well-defined outline covered with pastoral vegetation 
coming down nearly to the water's edge, here and there only 
bald patches of rock being visible. As we continued our 



YOKOHAMA. 288 

course several little bays with villages on their shores came 
successively into view ; also large patches of cultivation on 
the slopes &cing the sea. The country all along the coast 
line hereabouts looked thickly wooded. 

After rounding the two principal points indicating the 
southern entrance to the Bay of Yeddo, one called " Treaty 
Point" came in sight, and shortly afterwards the fleet in 
Yokohama anchorage was seen; two French men-of- 
war, the Dutch steam-frigate, and about twenty mer- 
chant vessels and steamers were also in the anchorage. In 
a short time the European settlement of Yokohama came 
into view, and the first glimpse of it was certainly dis- 
appointing, to one, at least, who had just come from 
Shanghai, with its palatial Hongs.* The houses seemed 
comparatively few in number and of insignificant construc- 
tion ; but as we came closer in, this impression began to 
wear off, as it became apparent that the architecture was 
more or less an adaptation of the Japanese style to Euro- 
pean wants. The bungalow style seemed to be that chiefly 
adopted — ^here and there only, houses on the European model 
being seen. The ground on which the settlement is built 
is a perfect flat^ surrounded by several miles of wooded hills 
in the form of a horseshoe. 

On anchoring, an officer from the "Euiyalus" (the flag-ship) 
came on board for the mails, and from him we heard that 
news had lately reached Yokohama of the flags of three 
nations having been fired on in the straits of Semonosaki ; 
namely, the American, the French, and the Dutch. Of the 
first case (that of the "Pembroke" already narrated) we 
had heard before leaving Shanghai. The second case was 
the French gunboat " Kein-chang," on her way from Yoko- 
hama to Shanghai, vid Nagasaki. On the morning of the 
8th of July, while she was at anchor | near the entrance to 

* " Hong/' in Chinese, signifies an extensive mercantile establishment, 
t Vessels making the passage to Nagasaki from Yokohama, through the 



284 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the Straits of Semonosaki, two Japanese ofScials came on 
board, apparently to make inquiries where the ship was 
from and where she was going to. No objections were 
raised by them to her proceeding through the straits. Two 
hours afterwards some shots were fired from the forts on the 
north side of the straits ; but as they did not come near the 
ship, it was supposed that the Japanese were only practising 
with their guns and no attention was paid to this; the 
'^ Eein-chang" continued her course up the straits. As she 
passed a second battery, however, a heavy fire was opened 
on her, but at too great an elevation, the ^ots passing over* 
head. Captain Lafont then ordered a boat to be lowered, 
with the intention of sending on shore to demand an ex- 
planation. Before the boat, however, could be manned she 
was struck by a shot and sunk. The " Kein-chang" then 
steamed on, the forts continuing to fire on her. After she 
had got about one-fourth of the way through the channel, 
two armed vessels, a sailing barque and brig, were observed 
leaving a small bay. They both joined in the attack, and 
the brig before opening fire partly hoisted the Japanese 
Imperial flag, but hauled it down s^ain before it was fiillj 
run up. The barque, however, hoisted it, and kept it flying 
during the whole time she was firing. The forts on the 
southern side of the straits remained silent, which was for- 
tunate, as the <^Eein-chang'' had to go within a few hun- 
dred yards of them, and made her escape from the straits 
by taking a passage hitherto unknown to European vessels, 
through which she was conducted safely by the Japanese 
pilot, who had been brought from Yokohama for the naviga- 
tion of the inland sea. 

The third vessel fired on was the Dutch frigate ** Medusa," 
on her way from Nagasaki to Yokohama by the inland sea. 
As she passed through the Straits of Semonosaki she was 
exposed to the fire of the batteries for upwards of an hour, 

inland sea, usually anchor at night, owing to the difficulties connected with 
the uayigation after dark. 



THE TYCOON. 286 

and received tbiriy-one shots in her hull, suffering a loss of 
four men killed and five wounded. This act of aggression, 
like the others, was confined tx) batteries on the Niphonese 
side of the straits, the property of Matz-daira Daizen no 
Daiboo, Prince of Negato. Had both sides of the straits been 
hostile, it is improbable that either the '* Kein-chang" or the 
" Medusa" would have escaped. 

In consequence of these outrages the United States steam 
sloop of war, the "Wyoming," commanded by Captain Mac- 
dougall, left Yokohama on the 13th instant for the Straits 
of Semonosaki, with the intention of demanding an ex- 
planation of the attack on the " Pembroke," and two days 
ago Admiral Jaurais, with his flag-ship the "Semiramis" and 
"Tancrede" gunboat, followed, his intention being to de- 
stroy the batteries and capture the vessels that fired on the 
" Eein-chang," should they still be in the straits. 

On landing I went to the British Legation, and gladly 
accepted Colonel Neale's kind invitation to take up my 
quarters with him during my stay in Japan. 

Amongst the events of the last few days has been the 
hiring of two English merchant steamers, the "Elgin" and 
the " Eajah," by the Tycoon's government, for the conveyance 
of troops to Osaca, by way of making a demonstration in aid 
of the Tycoon, who is supposed to be in difficulties with 
the Mikado at Miako, where he is at present, having been 
ordered there from Teddo some months ago. Taking into 
consideration the partly feudal, partly federal, system of 
government prevailing in Japan, and the civil war which 
would seem to be on the point of breaking out, it appears 
to me that existing relations with the Tycoon's government 
are quite as satisfactory as could reasonably be expected. 
It is evidently the wish of the Tycoon to remain on friendly 
terms with foreigners, and especially with the English, if cir- 
cumstances will possibly allow him ; he, on the other hand, 
is pressed by the Mikado and various hostile Daimios to 
adopt coercive measures, for at once giving effect to the 



286 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

order for the expulsion of foreigners generally. He has, 
therefore, as already stated, gone through the form of giring 
the notice, bnt no act of hostility towards foreigners has 
yet been committed either on his own territories, or on 
those of Daimios known to be Mendly to him, which 
explains the fact of the batteries on one side of the straits 
only having fired on foreign vessels passing through; 
the Daimio on the Kinsin side being an ally of the 
Tycoon. 

In the afternoon. Admiral Euper, with Captains Borlase 
and Josling, called at the Legation, on their way to take a 
ramble over the hills in the vicinity of the settlement. 
Ck)lonel Neale and myself accompanied them, and I had 
thus an early opportunity of seeing Japanese inland scenery 
and rural life. Much as I had heard of the former, I 
hardly expected the reality to be equal to the description, 
and found myself agreeably disappointed, as nothing could 
be more pleasing than the richly wooded hill and dale 
scenery which met the eye as we descended inland from 
the hills overlooking the settlement. The country we 
passed through was very fertile. We saw rice and a species 
of vetch, and later cereal crops in various stages of growth. 
At short intervals, in the course of our walk, we came to 
cottages, sometimes two or three together ; and as we 
approached them, the little children flocked out with boxes 
and bottles in their hands, containing insects, to show 
Admiral Euper, who is an accomplished entomologist, the 
additional specimens they had procured for him since his 
last visit. It was pleasing in the extreme to observe the 
amiable good-humoured bearing of the peasantry, who, in 
their general appearance, closely resemble the Chinese rural 
population, with the exception that they shave the front 
and whole top part of the head, and tie the hair into a little 
knot, which they bring forward on the back part of the 
shaven crown. 
The cottages are very clean inside, and in this respect 



JAPANESE GOrrAGES. 287 

they contrast fayonrablj with those of the Chinese, though 
the latter, on the whole, are more substantially built, and 
haye a better exterior. The Japanese do not use tables or 
chairs, but sit on the floor, which is raised about two feet 
from the ground, and covered with matting, having some 
soft material between it and the floor, rendermg it suitable 
for sitting or lying on without causing fatigue. The mat- 
ting is kept very clean, as neither men nor women ever 
walk on it with their shoes, always taking them off before 
stepping from the ground. The wooden utensils employed 
for domestic purposes are beautifully kept, being scrubbed 
to the highest degree of perfection. The flres used by the 
lower orders are contained in small boxes, placed on the 
raised floor, and the Aiel in common use seems to be char- 
coal. The Japanese would appear to be fond of strong 
waters, — as we passed several road-side houses devoted to 
the sale of saki, which is the national spirit, the gin or 
whiskey of Japan. It is made from bad rice, and possesses 
highly intoxicating properties. 

Yokohama has been for three years a foreign settlement. 
The swamp, on a reclaimed portion of which the houses 
have been built, was previously occupied by a few rude 
fishing huts. Originally, that is to say, in 1859, after the 
treaty, the European merchants took up their residences 
under the protection of their respective consular flags at 
Kanagawa, a native town, on the road to Yeddo, and two 
and a-half miles from Yokohama. It is built on much 
higher ground, and the houses stand on each side of the 
Tokaido. The foreign merchants, however, did not find 
Kanagawa well adapted to commercial purposes, difficulties 
existing connected with the erection of jetties, wharves, 
&c., and gradually they removed to the swamp of Yoko- 
hama, where, by reclaiming ground, they were enabled to 
erect places of business, and thus by degrees has sprung 
up an European settlement of considerable size on land 
which, in its natural state, was only fit for the culture of 



288 KOETH CHINA AND JAPAN, 

rice. The portion of the swamp which has been allotted to 
foreigners has a defined limit; a canal having been dug 
round it, as well as romid the Japanese town that has 
sprang up in connection with the European settlement, and 
which immediately adjoins its northern extremity. The 
extent of land separated from the swamp by the canal has 
a water fix)ntage of oyer a mile, and proceeds back for 
about three quarters of a mile. A large extent of swamp 
still exists between the settlement and the canal boundary, 
and any extension of its present limits inyolves first the re- 
claiming of the swamp. On the rising ground overlooking 
Yokohama, on the Eanagawa side, is Tobay, the residence 
of the Japanese governor, whose jurisdiction extends over 
both Eanagawa and Yokohama. 

Bluffs of high land exist at each extreme of the swamp, 
and from these extend right round, in the form of a horse- 
shoe, a range of low and picturesquely wooded hills, aver- 
aging about a hundred feet in height. Behind these hills, 
Fusiama Mountain is seen, some fifty miles distant, rearing 
its summit in the form of a truncated cone, some fourteen 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

The building at present used as the British Legation, a 
long two-storied bungalow, is situated at the southern 
extreme of the settlement on the bund, and faces the sea. 

Within the last fortnight. Colonel Neale has had a small 
piece of ground in front of the Legation converted into a 
Japanese garden, the execution of which has been carried 
out with great taste by native talent. Its general outline 
is not dissimilar to the gardens that are attached to the 
domains of the wealthier classes in China. Artificial rocks, 
forests, miniature waterfalls, caverns, and fountains, have 
been introduced into it ; also a picturesque little lake, filled 
with gold fish, and crossed by a miniature bridge. The 
formation of the garden was undertaken by contract by a 
Japanese, and a celebrated artist was brought down from 
Yeddo to execute the work. He is an old man, well known 



JAPANESE GABDENEB. 289 

for his skill and taste in sach work. On the completion of 
the job, which occupied <mly fourteen days, Colonel Neale 
suggested to him that he should remain as permanent 
gardener, and supervise and keep in order what he had so 
skilfully made. The proposition was accepted, and the old 
man is now at work the greater portion of the day, watering- 
pot in hand, refreshing his groyes and forests. He seems 
to be absorbed in his work, and to be of a silent and 
sedate disposition. His working dress consists of a single 
upper garment of dark blue calico, fastened round the waist 
by a girdle, and coming down as far as the knee, like the 
Mlt of the Highlander. On the back of this, a large 
circular design, in white, is worked, which indicates the 
particular section of the Yeddo fire brigade that he 
belongs to. 

.As r^ards the movements of the British fleet in re- 
ference to matters in the Straits of Semonosaki, Admiral 
Euper will do nothing until he hears what happens to 
H.M.S. " Centaur," which left Shanghai on the 10th instant 
for Yokohama, vid Nagasaki and the inland sea. There 
is every probability that she will be fired into if she 
passes through the Straits. In this case, Admiral Euper 
will proceed at once with a squadron, and bombard the 
hostile forts. The Admiral, however, is of opinion that as 
the news of the attacks on the '' Pembroke" and ^'Eein- 
chang," have reached Nagasaki, it is not improbable that 
Captain Leckie, of H.M.S. ''Leopard," the senior naval 
officer there, will order the commander of the " Centaur" 
to avoid placing his ship in unnecessary danger, and direct 
him to take the outside passage by Van Dieman's Straits. 
Supposing, therefore, that all has gone well with the 
** Centaur," she ought to be here the day after to-morrow. 



CHAPTER IL 

7he Bteamen '* Elgin" and *' Bajah"— Fire at Yeddo— Visit to tBe native 
town— Onriosity sbopa — Reoonnaissanoe along the Tokaido — Kana- 
gawa — Scene of Mr. Richardson*8 murder — Japanese grooms — ^A tea- 
house beanty — Japanese disciplined troops — AiiiTal of H. M. 8. 
**Centanr" from Nagasaki ~ Action of the << Wyoming*' with the 
▼essels and forts of the Prince of Negate — Bztreme heat and its fatal 
effects — ^An earthquake. 

July I2th. — ^This moming, Mr. Fletcher, one of the 
interpreters attached to the Legation, returned to Yoko* 
hama, from a trip he has made to the inland sea, in the 
'* Bajah" steamer, while she was under charter to the 
Tycoon's Government for the conveyance of troops to Osaca. 
Mr. Fletcher had been sent by Colonel Neale, with the view 
of his picking up what information he could regarding the 
present state of Japanese internal affairs. He sailed from 
Yokohama on the IBth instant in the '^ Rajah," which was 
filled with well-equipped troops, armed with revolvers, and 
evidently intended to act as a body of cavalry for the special 
protection of the Tycoon. In place, however, of going 
direct to Osaca, the port of Miako, or more properly speak- 
ing, Kioto,* the " Rajah** was taken to a bay forty miles 
from Osaca, on the east side of the Kino Channel, in the 
territory of the Prince of Kew-shew. The "Elgin** steamer 
had arrived there the previous day, also with troops on 
board. On her arrival being notified by telegraph to Osaca, 
two steamers came from that port, and took the troops out 

* " Miako,** in Japanese, signifies the capital. "Kioto" is the name 
proper of the cit j, which is the capital, and the residence of the Mikado. 



THE MIKADO. 291 

of the chartered yessels, so that they conld return at once 
to Yokohama. The commander of the troops expressed 
the wish that no Europeans from the " Elgin'* or " Rajah" 
would land, which was complied with. Several villagers, 
however, came off, who showed a friendly disposition, and 
represented the people on shore as being delighted at the 
prospect of foreign trade. One man in particular, a doctor, 
who came off to see if his professional services were re- 
quired, was very intelligent and communicative, speaking 
with an absence of reserve which seemed to entitle his state- 
ments to credence. He spoke with great respect of the 
power and influence of England. He said that the Tycoon 
was in trouble, and on bad terms with the Mikado, and 
had been residing at Osaca, but had lately gone back to 
Kioto. This statement was at variance with what the 
Japanese officers had told Mr. Fletcher on tlie way from 
Yokohama. In their general conversation they had seemed 
anxious to convey to him the impression that the Mikado 
and Tycoon were on excellent terms. Privately, however, 
one of the officers informed him that their friendly relations 
were more apparent than real, as the Mikado was much 
influenced by evil advice tendered him by Daimios hostile 
to the Tycoon ; that he was in want of money, and therefore 
inclined to lend a ready ear to the overtures made by certain 
Daimios, who were oifering a higher price for the temporal 
throne on the part of the Prince of Mito, than the Tycoon, 
who held it by law and prescriptive right, was inclined to 
give. Also, that the Daimios as yet were not declared 
enemies of the Tycoon, only enemies to foreigners, and that 
nominally ; as he believed they had no real objection to 
them, and were merely pretending an animosity towards 
them, as the most probable and speedy means of embroiling 
the Tycoon, and facilitating the downfall of his govern* 
ment. Mr. Fletcher is of opinion that the "Elgin" and 
the " Rajah" were not hired from any want of steam trans- 
port of their own, but merely as a sort of demonstration, 

V 2 



292 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

to impress the plotting Daimios with the belief that the 
sympathies of the British Goyemment were on the side of 
the Tycoon, and hence that it was vain continuing their 
efforts for his overthrow. This seems very probable ; as I 
ttm informed by Colonel Neale that, in the first instance, 
the Tycoon's Goyemment applied for the aid of English 
vessels of war to convey the troops, and on being told that 
that was not practicable, they then asked if there wonld be 
any objection to the hiring of English merchant steam^s 
for the same purpose. The Japanese officers had no hesita- 
tion in stating that if the Prince of Mito succeeded in dis- 
lodging the Tycoon, he would in all probability pursue 
exactly the same course in reference to foreigners that the 
latter has done, and throw open the ports to European 
commerce — jealousy of the advantages which the Tycoon is 
gaining from his recent treaties with foreign powers being 
one of the chief causes of their desire for his dethrone- 
ment. 

News arrived this morning from Teddo, that a portion of 
the Tycoon's palace^ called the out^ castle, was yesterday 
destroyed by an extensive conflagration. The principal 
castle was at one time on fire, and has suffered some damage^ 
Three of the Daimios' palaces, and several of the Govern- 
ment officials' residences have also been destroyed. Whether 
this fire originated from accident x)r design, has not trans- 
pired. 

I visited to-day the Japanese town adjoining the foreign 
settlement. Some of the streets are wide, not unlike the 
main avenues of the Tartar city of Peking, while others 
are narrow and dirty looking. The houses are all built of 
wood, and those in the main street, where the principal 
shops are, have a new and cleanly appearance, this part of 
the town having been recently rebuilt^ after having been 
swept away by an extensive fire. With the exception that 
the Japanese use neither tables, chairs, nor counters, I saw 
nothing in the general appearance of the interior of the 



OUMOSITY SHOPS. 298 

shops, that struck my eye as being very novel, accustomed 
as it has been for some years back to things Chinese, and I 
was on the whole surprised that the scene should seem one 
by no means unfamiliar to me, though it was the first occfrr 
sion of my having been in a Japanese street. The shop& 
in the main street are chiefly devoted to tbe sale of lacquer 
ware, bronzes, carvings in ivoiy, charms, toys, and porcelain^ 
The latter is very beautiftil, being superior to the modern 
porcelain of China. The colours, however, are deficient in 
that remarkable brilliancy for which the older porcelains of 
China are noted, which now are difficult to procure.* In 
the selection of toys and ivory carvings, great care requires 
to be exercised, owing to th^ gross desigvs which are very 
frequently introduced into them^^ The same applies to the 
Japanese toys, paintings, and books, which are usually of 
the most indecent description. 

In the afternoon. Captain Brine, of the Royal Engineers, 
whose services have been temporarily placed at the disposal 
of Admiral Euper, called on Colonel }7eale to say, that as 
it has beeu reported that the Japanese are placing guns on 
a height commanding the settlement, it was thought desir^ 
able to make a reconnaissance in that direction, and ascer* 
tain whether such was the case or not. He, therefore^ 
requested that the Military Train escort might be allowed 
to go out., along with the mounted escort attached to the 
French Legation, which had been placed at his disposal by 
M. de Bellecourt. Colonel Neale gave his sanction for the 
escort to go out at daybreak, and I was invited to accom-t 
pany it, which I was very glad to have the opportunity of 
doing. 

July 20/A.-'This morning at half-past five I started with 
the reconnoitering party. It was thought advisable to defer 



* China, of late years, luui retrograded in the manufacture of porcelain, 
owing to the pottery districts having been ravaged by the Taepings, and 
their trade destroyed. 



294 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

yisiting the heights,* and to make in the first place a re- 
oonnaissance along the Tokaido to Eanagawa, and if possible 
ascertain what condition the fort is in, on a point there, 
eommanding the Yokohama anchorage. A demonstration 
in this direction also was thought the more expedient, as 
some time had elapsed since any foreigners had ventured on 
the Tokaido, owing to the threatening aspect of affairs 
around, and the repeated warnings of the Tycoon's Govern- 
ment, cautioning them to keep within the limits of the 
settlement. After passing through the Japanese town of 
Yokohama, we crossed by a wooden bridge the canal which 
runs round the settlement, and got on a road passing over a 
wooded headland jutting out into the bay, on the top of 
which is Tobay, the governor's residence. Descending on 
the opposite side of the hill, we came to a bund constructed 
across a small bay formed by the prominence we had ju&t 
passed over, and having a swamp of considerable size near 
it, similiar to the one in the rear of Yokohama. On leaving 
this bund we found ourselves on the Tokaido, and in a short 
time entered the town of Eanagawa, which is about three 
miles by road from Yokohama and fourteen miles from 
Yeddo. 

The town of Kanagawa is upwards of two miles in length, 
and consists of a continuous line of wooden houses and 
shops, for the most part two storied, along each side of the 
Tokaido, the breadth of which is here about thirty feet. 
The people seemed inoffensive, and we did not encounter 
any indications of hostility. As we passed through the 
town two temples were pointed out, on a thickly wooded 

* An examination of the heights was made the foUowing day, but no 
guns were seen in position, though some temples were found to be occupied 
by a considerable namber of disciplined Japanese troops. Whether this 
occupation of the heights was a precautionary measure on the part of the 
Tycoon's GoTernment against any attack from that direction by the anti- 
foreign party on the settlement, or a preparation made with an opposite 
intention, was a matter of uncertainty — though I think the former suppo- 
sition much the more probable. 



SCENE OF ME. EICHARDSON'S MTJRDER. 296 

ascent close to the road. In these the English and American 
Consulates were originally established. 

After being clear of Kanagawa^ we continued our course 
along the Tokaido for upwards of a mile, when we came to 
the scene of Mr. Richardson's murder, which occurred a 
little way beyond one of the road-side tea-houses. Mr. 
Aplin, who went out with the escort on the evening of the 
murder to recover the body, pointed out the spot where the 
first blow was struck, having traced it back from where the 
body was found by the tracks of blood on the road. At 
this part of the Tokaido, which is narrower than usual, a 
small vegetable garden intervenes between it and the bay, 
and on the other side there is a field under cultivation en- 
closed within a small amphitheatre of low hills. Passing 
this spot fraught with painful recollections, we continued 
our ride about two miles further along the Tokaido, until 
we reached a large village called Namamoogie, at a tea- 
house near the centre of which we halted, so as to give the 
horses a rest and the men some refreshment after their 
«.ly ride. 

We had hardly time to pull up our horses at the tea* 
house door, before a number of grooms rushed out, and, 
seizing the horses by the bridles, commenced refreshing 
them by throwing into their mouths, with wooden ladles, 
water taken from buckets they brought out with them. 

Apropos of horses in this country, observing several men 
running along the road and keeping pace with us, except 
when we went very fast, and soon catching us up on the 
pace being slackened, I inquired who they were, and found 
them to be the bettoes or native horsekeepers. It appears 
they always go out with the horses they have charge of, 
and that they will run as they did this morning the whole 
way to Yeddo. They denude themselves of all clothing 
except a piece of calico round their middles, another piece 
bound round their foreheads (which they wet from time to 
time in cold water) and a pair of white calico stockings 



296 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

coming Just over the ankles. These bettoes are Femarkablj 
fine mnscular men, perfect models of strength, and capable 
of nndergoing an amomit of fatigne considerably in exoessy 
I should say, c^ what the syces* of India are equal to. 

We dismounted and went into the tea-house, which is 
kept by a Japanese beauty, who in less troubled times ap- 
pears to have been known amongst the English by tiie 
sobriquet of '^ Jenny," by which she was addressed by some 
of the party who had known her formerly. She seemed 
very glad to see them, and did the honours of the tea-house 
with charming naivete. Jenny, however, was evidently a 
bit of a flirt, and not disregardful of personal appearance, 
as she availed herself of an early opportunity of slipping 
away and changing her ordinary working dress, reappearing 
in one of a better and more showy description, and bring- 
ing with her the carte de visite of an English gentleman in 
Yokohama, well known for his admiration of the fair sex in 
Japan, and who, in days when the Tokaido could be ridden 
with safety, was, I am informed, 9 frequent visitor at 
Jenny's tea-house. After resting half an hour, during 
which we had some tea and melons, we started homewards. 
The tea, I may remark, is served in smaller cups than the 
Chinese use, but its preparation is the same, and, like the 
Chinese, no sugar Is used. The interior of the tea-house was 
very clean ; the raised floor, which serves both for sitting 
and sleeping on, was covered with white matting. 

On our way back we halted for a short time in the rear of 
the Eanagawa fort, which is star-shaped, projecting out into 
the sea, and constructed on regular principles of fortification, 
evidently under European guidance. Captain Brine made 
an attempt to see into the interior and ascertain the nature 
and extent of its armament, but having a narrow causeway 
to ride along to reach the gate, his approach was observed 

* The native grooms employed bj Europeans in India ; they generally 
follow the horses they have oare of, in the same way as the bettoea of 
Japan^ 



DISCIPLINED TEOOPa 297 

by the Japanese gaard, who tamed ont and closed the gate, 
thus preventing his obtaining the information he wanted 
As we approached the Goyemor's honse at Tobay, bayonets 
were seen glancing throngh the trees accompanied by the 
sonnd of European drums. As we got nearer we met three 
parties of Japanese infantry, each thirty strong, marching 
down from Tobay, where they seemed to have been mount- 
ing guard. They looked as if they were independent com- 
panies, each one being under the command of an officer, who 
marched at the head on the right hand side in European 
style. Two other officers and a drummer were attached to 
each company, the latter marching in front, dressed in 
alternate stripes of blue and white, with conical hats on 
their heads, beating their drums and looking the pictures of 
mountebanks. The soldiers had no covering on their heads, 
and were dressed in uniforms of light blue calico striped 
with white, consisting of a short jacket and loosely-^tting 
pantaloons, tied at the ankle. In place of the ordinary loose 
slipper that is in common use amongst the Japanese, they 
wear straw sandals, like those worn by the Chinese foot 
soldiers when they have long marches ta make. The men 
were armed with muskets and bayonets, the former having 
polished barrels, and apparently of Dutch manu&cture. 
Their belts and cartridge-boxes, however, looked as if they 
had been made in Japan. In marching they rest the musket 
as high as possible on the shoulder and carry it nearly ver- 
tically, seemingly with the object of giving it an imposing 
appearance from the length of polished metal shining above 
the heads of the soldiers. This they effect by resting 
the hammer portion of the lock on the back part of the 
shoulder. 

The officers wore a modification of the ordinary Taconin* 
dress, with two swords stuck in the sashes round their 
waists. They carried, in the same way as an English officer 

* Taconins are Oovernment officials of a oertain clasa^ and are anthorifled 
by law to carry two fiwords. 



298 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

carries his drawn sword when marching with men, what 
looked at first sight like sharp rapiers, but which proved to 
be ramrods with black braid round their butt ends to answer 
the purposes of a handle. The explanation of their carrying 
such a peculiar weapon is, that it is the custom of the coun- 
try never to draw the sword unless it is to be used, and the 
act of drawing it generaUy carries with it the blow, both 
being eflPected with one sweep of the arm. The officers wore 
the Japanese mOitary hat, which is of a somewhat singolitt 
and not very becoming shape. It is formed of a piece of 
round basket-work painted black, and worn doubled oyer 
the top of the head, being secured underneath the chin by 
strings of green silk ribbon. 

One of the conmianders of compauies went in for being 
the smart officer, and seemed anxious to impress us favour- 
ably with his proficiency in drill. As he advanced towards 
us he formed his men from fours into twos, and thence into 
Indian (single) file, in which order he passed us as we were 
drawn up on the road to look at his men, it being the first 
time that any of the party had seen Japanese troops discip* 
lined or armed according to the European system.* After 
the companies had all passed we continued our way to Yoko- 
hama and overtook the smart officer's company, who, as 
soon as he saw us coming, halted his men, drew them up on 
one side of the road and presented arms as the escort passed 
— ^the compliment being paid as correctly as if they had been 
English troops. 

On returning to the Legation, I found that the "Centaur" 
had just arrived fix)m Nagasaki, and the " Wyoming " from 
the Straits of Semonosaki, the latter with her rigging look- 
ing a good deal cut up. With reference to the " Centaur," 
Admiral Kuper*s conjecture had proved correct, she had 
avoided the inland sea by taking the outward passage by 

* The disdpliniDg of JapaBese troops has heretofore been oondacted by 
Dutch officers at Nagasaki, from which place^ most probably, these men 
came. 



THE «* WYOMING." 29^ 

Van Dieman's Straits, having been ordered to do so by Cap- 
tain Leckie at Nagasaki, who very judiciously thought it 
was inexpedient unnecessarily to embarrass the Admiral 
at that particular time with an afifair in the Straits while 
matters continued in an unsettled and critical state at 
Yokohama. Consequently, much to the disappointment of 
Commander Creasy, his officers and crew, they had to forego 
the encounter, which, from the news they had received at 
Nagasaki, they had made up their minds they were going to 
have with the batteries of the Prince of Negate. Mr. Mor- 
rison, Her Majesty's Consul at Nagasaki, arrived in the 
"Centaur," having left his post in consequence of daily 
appreh^ision of assassination, repeated threats of which had 
been conveyed to him from Japanese sources. He had been 
obliged to sleep on board ship ii^ the harbour for some days 
before leaving, it being unsafe for him to remain on shore 
during the night. Lieutenant Lyster of the Royal Engi- 
neers also arrived in the " Centaur," having been sent over 
by Major-General Brown to make a report for his informa- 
tion respecting Yokohama as a military position, in the 
event of troops having to be sent there. 

The " Wyoming " entering the inland sea by the Bungo 
Channel, had proceeded on the 16th to the Straits of Semono- 
saki. As she was nearmg them a signal-gun was fired from 
a masked battery on the northern shore, which was repeated 
by two others on the same side but further up the Straits, 
On rounding a point on the southern side of the entrance to 
the Straits, a steamer, brig and barque were seen lying at 
anchor close to the northern shore. The two former were 
recognised as the " Lancefield " and " Laurick." The name 
of the barque was not known. The three vessels were fly- 
ing the Japanese ensign (white with a red ball in the centre) 
at the peak, and the private flag of the Prince of Negate at 
the main. The "Wyoming" was steaming directly for the 
vessels, when a battery of three guns on the north side, 
about fifty feet above the sea^ opened fire upon her, doing 



SOO NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

considerable damage to the rigging. She then hoisted the 
American flag and continued steaming on, when a second 
battery of four guns opened on her irom the same direction, 
to which she replied with a broadside. By this time she 
was rapidly approaching the vessels. The barque was close 
in shore, the brig was about fifty yards outside of her, and 
a little way ahead of the brig» about fifty yards also outside 
was the " Lancefield." Though the vessels were between 
the land and the main channel, Captain Macdougall gave 
the orders for the " Wyoming " to run between the steamer 
and brig, in doing which, as she got abreast of the barque, 
the latter fired a broadside of three guns^ In about two 
minutes the "Wyoming** was abreast of the "Laurick** 
and received a broadside flrom her of four brass thirty-two 
pounders. At this period the " Wyoming ** had the steamer 
on her left side and the brig on her right. As she passed 
between them she gave them each a broadside, which hulled 
them, and then, keeping close round the bows of the steamer, 
stood oyer towards the southern shore, receiving a constant 
fire firom six batteries and the three vessels. In performing 
this manoeuvre the " Wyoming ** got aground, but by back- 
ing the screw she was able to get afloat again without much 
difficulty. By this time the '^Lancefield'* had got her steam 
up and had slipped her cable and was keeping close along 
the northern shore, either with the intention of escaping or 
of running on shore, owing to the damage she had received 
from the broadside. The "Wyoming " then worked up into 
a favourable position and sent an eleven-inch shell from 
one of her large Dahlgren guns right amidships into the 
"Lancefield," about a foot above the water line. Instanta- 
neously volumes of steam and smoke issued out of her, fore 
and aft^ her boiler evidently having exploded. After giving 
her two more eleven-inch shells, the " Wyoming ** directed 
her fire on the batteries, the brig and the barque, all of 
which were firing as quickly as they could load. By this 
time the " Wyoming " had had four men killed and seven 



EXTBKBiE HEAT. dOl 

vonnded, and as her armament consisted of only fonr thirty- 
two pounders and two eleven-inch pivot Dahlgren guns, 
Captain Macdongall pmdently determined to Withdraw from 
a contest to the continuance of which he was unequal, the 
more so, as any damage to the machineiy, unsupported as he 
was, would in all probability have involved the loss of his 
vessel and the sacrifice of the lives of every one on board. 
The " Wyoming" was an hour and ten minutes under fire, 
being hulled eleven times and having received about thirty 
Bhots through her rigging. As she passed out of the Straits 
she sent a few shots into the '^ Laurick," which, when last 
seen, was settling down by the stem and apparently sinking. 
The batteries continued firing on the ** Wyoming " as she 
repassed the entrance to the Straits, but the fire was not so 
brisk as when they first opened, the ardour of the gunners 
having been no doubt a little cooled by a few of the " Wyo- 
ming's " shells that were seen to explode in the batteries. 
Captain Macdougall is represented by his officers as having 
behaved with remarkable coolness and bravery during the 
whole of the trying period his vessel was under fire. One 
shell fell immediately below the tackles of one of the for- 
ward broadside guns, and exploding^ killed or wounded five 
men. 

The heat to-day was 92^ in the shade, with hardly a 
breath of wind stirring, the day being one unusually sultry for 
Yokohama, where there is generally a refreshing sea^-breeze. 
In the afternoon, about three o'clock, I went to the Japanese 
town with Captain Boxer and one of the foreign residents to 
look at some of the curio^ty shops — the latter before leaving 
his house girded on a revolver, an exercise of the law of self- 
preservation that seemed to me somewhat in excess of the 
actual necessities of the period. The custom of the place, 
however, seems to be not to move out without fire-arms 
on the person, nor to go to sleep without them under the 
pillow. 

I had been in the Japanese town but a few minutes when 



802 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

a messenger came to me fix»m Colonel Keale, afiking me to 
return to the Legation as quickly as I could, as one of the 
Military Train escort had been seized with sun-stroke. By 
the time I reached the barracks the man was dead, notwith- 
standing the prompt attention which his case had reoeired 
from Dr. Willis, the medical officer attached to the Legation. 
This soldier, who looked the picture of rude health, had 
been out with us in the morning along the Tokaido and 
returned apparently quite well, as he went out on some other 
duty on foot afterwards. At 1 o'clock he seemed in his ordinary 
health, ate a hearty dinner, and then lay down on his bed 
and fell asleep. He had not been exposed to the sun for 
upwards of two hours prior to the symptoms of heat apoplexy 
showing themselves, which is in accordance with what I have 
repeatedly observed in China ; the worst cases of what is 
ordinarily ctJled sun-stroke frequently occurring in men who 
have not been at all exposed to solar influence for several 
hours previously. This man was attacked shortly after 3 
o'clock, and was dead by 4. This is the first death that has 
taken place amongst the militaiy in Yokohama. The man 
had never suffered from any previous sickness in Japan. 
This I happened accidentally to know, from having the day 
before interrogated him regarding his own health and 
that of his comrades since they left Tien-tsin in the latter 
part of 1861. 

The heat continued oppressive in the extreme during the 
remainder of the day, and an ominous stillness pervaded the 
atmosphere. About half-past eleven o'clock at night, as I 
was sitting with Colonel Neale in the verandah of the upper 
story, talking over recent events, the house suddenly began 
to shake, and the supports of the verandah vibrated back* 
wards and forwards for about a minute. We at once recog- 
nised that it was an earthquake, and a tolerably smart shock 
of one, though unattended by any damage. Earthquakes 
are of frequent occurrence in Japan, and occasionally very 
severe ; one in 1855 nearly destroyed Yeddo. Thus, taken 



AK EABTHQUAEE. SOS 

altogether, what between political tronbles, impending assas- 
einations, revolyers nnder the pillow at nighty and terrestrial 
convnlsions, Japan, notwithstanding its many attractions, 
would not seem to be the most delectable of foreign 
residences^ 



CHAPTER ni 

The Japanese cnstom-hoase system'^Objectioiui to the exposing of the 
Bword blade — The Gaokiro— A Japanese entertainment — A Japaneee 
game — Pablic bathe — Freak of two French soldiers — Visit to the 
"Medusa'* — Japanese shot and shell, whence obtained — Visit to the 
** Wyoming" — Terms of conHtraction of Legation residences — H. M.S. 
" Coquette" sent to communicate with the French Admiral in the 
Straits. 

July 2lst — The Japanese Govemment appear to have 
adopted Buch careful precauticAs against smuggling as to 
render contraband trade almost impossible. Their oastom- 
house system is a very perfect one, and the strictness with 
which it is carried out is a frequent source of grievance to 
some of the foreign merchants, compelling them to confine 
speculation within the limits of legitimate trade — in other 
words, to articles on which import duties have beai paid. 

The length of the bund in front of the European settle- 
ment is a little over half-a-mile, and all along its froni^ stout 
stakes are driven into the sea, at intervals of about a foot, 
to prevent boats landing passengers or cargo at any but 
recognised places, where the custom-house authorities are 
on the look-out. In addition to these fixed precautions, 
a line of the Tycoon's "preventive-service** boats are 
moored at short intervals off the bund in front of the 
stakes, and also at the entrances to the canal investing 
the settlement. 

There is a custom-house station, with an armed guard, on 
the bank of the canal close to the British Legation. It is 
quite open in front and the men on guard, generaUy three 



THE GAUEIBO. 805 

at a tune, sit with their legs crossed, motionless, like a row 
of idols in a temple. This morning I went into it, having 
first by signs obtained the permission of the gnard to enter. 
On showing a desire to look at their arms, which are ranged 
with military regularity in wooden racks, they readily showed 
me their mnskets, bayonets, and the contents of their 
cartridge-boxes ; but on my attempting to examine one of 
their natire swords, they civilly stopped me, being afraid 
apparently that I might remove it from its scabbard, 
and thus break through the national custom, which I have 
already referred to, of never drawing the sword except 
for use. 

In the course of our walk I was shown the ^ OauMro," 
or section of the native town set apart for the residences of 
the '^ social evil" class of the community. It consists of a 
collection of wooden houses and tea-shops at the back of the 
Japanese town, built on a portion of reclaimed ground in 
the midst of the swamp. A long narrow street passes down 
to it, and at its entrance a strong wooden barrier separates it 
from the respectable portion of the town. At the end of 
the ^ (Jaukiro*' there is a small temple built on the margin 
of the swamp, and specially intended, I presume, for the 
inhabitants of this noted locality. 

The principal establishment in the '* Oaukiro" is known 
amongst the English under the name of the ^' Crystal 
Palace," owing to its extent and light framework-looking 
exterior, as well as the remarkable neatness and simplicity 
with which the interior is fitted up. The building is situated 
just within the barrier-gate, and is under government super- 
vision, its receipts forming a source of state revenue. It 
contains a theatre and two or three large rooms where dinner 
parties take place ; the dinners being provided by the es- 
tablishment at so much per head. As it was open day, we 
thoi^ht that, without detriment to our characters, we might 
venture to inspect the interior. The officer in charge received 
OS with much politeness, no restnctions as yet apparently 



806 KORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

haying been placed on the admission of ** Tojins "* into this 
particnlar state institution. The official conducted ns to 
one of the dining-rooms. My Mend, who understood a little 
of the language, made out that he was under the impression 
we had come to make the preliminary arrangements for an 
evening entertainment of a semi-musical — semi, it is difficult 
to say what — character, that is a good deal patronised by 
the resident foreign community, as well as by casual yisitors 
to Japan. At Yokohama it is known as a ^jon-ki-no," 
fix)m the first words of a song which is sung by a number of 
dancing-girls. This national entertainment, so far as I un- 
derstand it from the descriptions I haye heard, is a game of 
forfeits accompanied by singing and dancing — ^the forfeits 
consisting of the girls divesting themselves one by one of 
their different habiliments, until they are gyrating in a state 
of perfect nudity before the audience who have furnished 
the fdnds for the organisation of the entertainment. At 
Naga-saki the same thing is known amongst the English as 
a " jon-no-ge,** owing to the difference of the dialect. Not- 
withstanding their total disregard of what we have been 
accustomed to consider decency, these dancing-girls are said 
to be perfectly moral characters, and to belong to a class 
altogether distinct from the frail inmates of the " Oaukiro" 
generally. 

We walked through the establishment^ which appears to be 
kept in a state of most perfect order and cleanliness. 
Nothing whatever approaching to levity or obscenity was 
seen. Some of the female inmates were at their meals, 
others were sitting before looking-glasses performing their 
toilets ; some were dressing their hair ; others were cleaning 
their teeth, using rose-coloured tooth-powder, made of 
pounded coral, flavoured with some aromatic powder, and 
applied by a piece of wood divided at one end into a sort of 
brush by repeated splitting-up of the fibre. The Japanese 

* Tojin is the name uaaally applied by the Japanese to European^ and 
means, I belieye^ simply '* foreigner.*' 



PUBLIC BATHS. 007 

Tmmarried girls, or ** moosmees," as they are called, have 
beautifully white teeth ; these, however, they dye black im- 
mediately on marriage, which, with the shaving of the eye- 
brows, done at the same time, tends in so marked a manner 
to diminish their personal attractions, as to materially lessen 
the risk of their getting involved in troubles likely to lead 
them into the divorce court. One of the girls I observed on 
her knees with her hands closed in front of her, saying her 
prayers with great apparent devoutness. 

The social position of this class of females in Japan is 
very different to what it is in most other parts of the world. 
No disgrace seems to attach to their calling, and I am told 
that they almost invariably marry well. Children of tender 
years are taken care of and reared within the walls of this 
establishment until they attain an age suited to its purposes. 
I noticed several little girls of three and four years of age 
playing about, and I am told that it is not uncommon for 
parents in poor circumstances to make over their children, 
even when infants, to government institutions of the nature 
under description. 

On leaving the " Gaukiro" my attention was drawn to a 
shop where a sort of gambling game is kept. The player 
takes a tube containing a dart, and blowing through it aims 
at any one of a number of knobs of wood ranged in a line 
on a board within the shop, at a short distance from the 
window. According to the particular knob the dart strikes, 
some grotesque representation falls down from above, sus- 
pended by a cord, the designs for the most part being more 
original than chaste ; and upon the particular oddity thus 
liberated the player's chances of a prize or a blank depend. 
The game was under the supervision of a man and a woman, 
both of whom looked the pictures of squalid debauchery. 

In a respectable portion of the town, outside the " Gau- 
kiro," I saw one of the public bathing-houses, where men 
and women perform their ablutions promiscuously. There 
were about twenty of both sexes bathing themselves at the 



806 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

time we stopped at the door, which was wide open, and the 
interior patent to all passers-by on the pnblic street. The 
bathers appeared to be as little pnt about by our presence 
as by that of one another, and proceeded with their ablutions 
in the most matter-of-fact manner. They do not use tubs 
or baths, but sit on a wooden floor with small buckets of hot 
water before them, which they throw over themselves, pro- 
curing fresh supplies from a reservoir in the form of a wooden 
trough, which is fed from a boiler in a sort of back kitcheo. 
The Japanese do not use soap as we do, but I believe they 
have an alkaline preparation, enclosed within calico bags^ 
which seems to act as a substitute, with which they og- 
casionally rub themselves over. 

Two privates of the " Zephyrs" (Algerine Light'Infantry), 
who have been missing for the la«t six days, returned to their 
corps this forenoon. They represent themselves as having 
been thirty miles into the interior, and to have been well 
treated at the different villages they went to, excepting that 
as soon as they came to one village they were recommended 
by the inhabitants by signs to go on to the next one ; na 
village apparently being desirous of being saddled with the 
responsibility of having them in it. The one soldier it 
appears had induced the other to accompany him, and in 
explanation the man states that every five years an uncon- 
trollable desire seizes him to wander into the interior of the 
country wherever he may happen to be stationed at the time. 
The desire subsides in the course of a few days after the 
impulse has been gratified. 

Jvly 22nd. — This forenoon Colonel Neale proceeded afloat 
to pay visits to the Commanders of the " Medusa" and the 
" Wyoming," and congratulate them on their escapes from 
the dangers to which they had been lately exposed ; his private 
secretary, Mr. Alexander Von Siebold, and myself accom- 
panied him. We went first to the " Medusa," and were 
shown by Captain Casambroodt the various injuries she had 
received during her passage through the straits. Some of 



THE "MEDUSA" AND "WYOMING/' 809 

the shot that had lodged on board were thirty-two pounders, 
others were twenty-four pounders. The fri^ments of shell 
that I saw looked as if they belonged to the five-and-a-half 
inch diameter. The Captain mentioned a rather singular 
accident that occurred, which might have been attended with 
untoward consequences. During the action, the concussion 
caused by a shot striking the vessel broke a large bottle of 
muriatic acid in the dispensary, where the surgeon was at 
the moment operating on one of the wounded seamen. 

The Captain also mentioned to us that he was so sur- 
prised at the Dutch flag being fired at, considering their 
long 'and Mendly intercourse with Japan, that he was 
under the impression, in the first instance, that it had been 
mistaken on shore for the French flag. The projectiles, I 
may remark, which told with such effect on the '^ Medusa," 
are stated to have been supplied to the Japanese by the 
Dutch, who naturally looked upon their nation as the one 
least likely to be the recipients of them back in so uncom- 
mercial a manner. 

On leaving the " Medusa" we went to the " Wyoming," 
which, like the former, has suffered chiefly in her rigging 
and smoke-stack. Captain Macdougall was not on board, 
and Colonel Neale was received in his absence by Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Young. The damage to the hull of the 
" Wyoming" seemed to be pretty well repaired, but a good 
deal still remained to be done to her rigging. It appears 
that, when the " Wyoming" entered the straits, it waa not 
anticipated that she would be fired at from the batteries on 
shore, news of the affair of the *' Eein-chang " not having 
reached Yokohama at the time she sailed. The batteries 
opened fire before the " Wyoming" hoisted her ensign, which 
proves that the hostilities are directed against foreign 
vessels generally, and no nation or nations in particular. 

In the afternoon I went with Colonel Neale to call ou 
the Dutch Consul-General, who resides in a very nice house 
in the native town, that has been built by the Japanese 



810 KORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

GoTemment for the Netherlands Consular Besidence. As 
rent for it, the Dutch Government pay a certain rate of 
interest on the amount the building of it cost. The British 
Legation Residence at Teddo was to have been paid for on 
the same principle by Her Majesty's Government, had it 
not, immediately on its completion, been destroyed by fire ; 
with reference to which I may mention, that the day 
before the event occurred, a high officer of the Tycoon's 
Government called on Colonel Neale, and endeavoured to 
get him, on the part of the British Government, to abandon 
the claim to the building, on the plea that it had been 
erected on sacred ground set apart for the amusement of 
the people. Whether the burning of the building, which 
took place the following day, was an act of the Tycoon's 
Government in consequence of the unsatisfactory issue of 
this interview, or an act of the anti-foreign party, which it 
had no power to averts is not known ; the latter is the more 
likely, as the Government would hardly wilfully destroy an 
edifice the erection of which had just been coippleted at a 
considerable cost. The interview was probably an eflfort 
to avert the fate which the Gorogio knew to be impending 
the building at the hands of those whom it had no power 
to restrain. 

In consequence of the reports given by the " Wyoming " 
of the formidable character of the batteries in the straits, M. 
de Bellecourt has become very uneasy about Admiral Jaurais 
being supported only by a small gunboat, and at his urgent 
request, Admiral Kuper has despatched H.M.S. " Coquette," 
under Commander Alexander, with instructions to commu- 
nicate with the French Admiral should he be in the straits 
on his arrival, and to place himself under his orders, — at 
the same time, giving him strict injunctions not to under- 
take any operations on his own account, in the event of his 
failing to communicate with Admiral Jaurais. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Seamen and marinea land for battalion drill — The armament of the 
'* Enryalus" — Remarks on the Armstrong gnn — Arrival of a member 
of the Gbrogio irom Yeddo — His interview with the Foreign Ministers 
— Sanitary paradox at Yokohama— Japanese washermen— The Chinese 
in Yokohama — Comparison between the Japanese and the Chinese — 
Question of the descent of the former from the latter. 

July 2Srd. — At five o'clock this moming, the seamen 
and marines from the fleet, to the number of about 800, 
were landed for drill on the race-course. The blue jackets, 
headed by the band of the flag-ship, were formed into a 
regular battalion of eight companies. The marines were 
drilled separately. 

In the forenoon I went on board the " Euiyalus.'' Her 
gpar-deck is now armed entirely with Armstrong guns, 
and the main deck with the ordinary 68-pounder8 and 
two large Armstrongs on each side. How the larger- 
sized Armstrong guns will answer in naval warfare remains 
to be seen ; but I cannot say that the unfevourable impres- 
sion I formed of the 12-pounder gun and its projectile in 
the North of China campaign has been removed by any- 
thing that I have been able to observe connected with 
them during the recent operations against the Taepings in 
the province of Eiang-soo. The chief defects noticed on 
the Peiho referred to the flying out of the vent-piece, and 
the stripping of the lead coating from the projectiles, both 
of them undoubted sources of danger ; more especially the 
latter to infantry lying down in front, as I have myself 
personally witnessed. 



312 KOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

During the Taeping campaign, the ArmBtrong gons were 
not sabjected to any yeiy rapid firing, and I am not aware 
of any accident having happened to them. The defects 
which came nnder my notice related to the imperfect 
explosion and occasional non-explosion of the shelL] I 
haye frequently seen it, in place of exploding into the 
thirty-nine segments of which it is built> bnrst only into 
two or three pieces, and apparently without any great 
force. Again, I have seen the shell picked np entire, 
except that the bursting charge had blown ont the metal 
fiise, the segments being in no way detached. As far as I, 
as a layman, am capable of forming an opinion, the per- 
formances of the Armstrong gons in the North of China 
have been much overrated and, I may add, that the spirit 
of exaggeration in reference thereto seemed to me at] one 
time to be carried to an almost pnenle extent ; inasmuch as, 
whenever any marked damage was observed to have been 
done by artillery fire, it was invariably attributed to the 
Armstrong guns ; whereas, if reduced to a matter of &ct, at 
the ranges they were for the most part used at, I believe 
that they were not nearly so destructive as the ordinary 
field-battery howitzers of the Royal Artillery that were in 
action at the same time. I do not think that for general 
purposes, whether in the field or on ship-board, the Arm- 
strong or any other form of breech-loading gun will in 
the end be found equal to guns of improved construction 
loading at the muzzle. 

"While I was on board the " Euryalus," a steamer, under 
Japanese colours, made out to be the " Lyemoon," was 
reported to the Admiral to be coming into the anchorage 
from Teddo. On returning to the Legation, I found that 
one of the members of the Gorogio, named Sa-ki-oko-nos-ki, 
had landed from the " Lyemoon,*' and had requested an 
interview with the Foreign Ministers. It appears, how- 
ever, that Sa-ki-oko-nos-ki has been recently promoted, and 
that in accordance with what is customary in Japan cax 



THE aOBOGIO. 813 

acqtiirmg an accession of rank, he has changed his name to 
Saki-he-ka-no-kami, by which designation he is now officially 
known. 

The interview took place at the French Legation, M. de 
Bellecourt being the senior member of the foreign diplo- 
matic body at present in Japan. The two (xoyemors of 
Eanagawa and Yokohama accompanied Saki-he-ka-no- 
kami, who, it tmned ont, had nothing whatever to say 
beyond wishing to mention that he was on hia way to Osaca, 
and that he conld not think of passing Yokohama without 
calling to make inquiries after the health and well-being of 
the Foreign Ministers. He avoided altogether the question 
of the hostilities in the Straits of Semonosaki ; but when 
pressed on the subject, he said that the Gorogio would 
inquire into the matter, addiag that they were very sorry 
that the ships had been fired into, the more so as the Dutch 
were such old and good Mends of theirs. On being asked 
for an opinion as to what the Mikado would be likely to 
think of the proceedings of the Prince of Negate, he said 
that he thought he would approve of them, as they were in 
reality the putting into effect of his order with reference to 
the expulsion of foreigners. He said also that the Tycoon 
would in all probability be compelled to approve of them in 
public, but that he would secretly disapprove of them. 
When told by Colonel Neale that the result of these pro- 
ceedings would be, that we should have to seize all their 
vessels that had guns on board, it seemed to take him rather 
by surprise, and he immediately said, ** Then, I suppose, you 
will seize the steamer in which I have now come.** " No," 
replied Colonel Neale, " we will let you go, that you may 
give warning to the others what a Qontinuance of their pre- 
sent course is about to bring upon them." 

He was then, as representing the Oorogio, taken to task 
with respect to their having lent the " Victoria," one of the 
steamers recently purchased by the Tycoon's Grovemment, to 
the Prince of Satsuma for the purpose of carrying guns. 



314 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

This he at once denied, but immediately tnmed round to 
the two Governors, and, audibly to the interpreter, the three 
discussed the matter among themselves, and were heard to 
say that they did not think it could possibly be the case 
that the " Victoria " had been lent, but that it must be the 
" Shanghai ;" thereby admitting the fact that the Oovem- 
ment had lent Satsuma a steamer for war purposes, but 
whether to be employed against foreigners or not, does not 
appear. It is merely of interest as a proof that the conduct 
of Satsuma's followers in connection with Mr. Richardson's 
murder has not in any way interfered with overt friendly 
intercourse continuing between him and the Tycoon. 

One of the facts which transpired at this interview was the 
admission on the part of Saki-he-ka-no-kami, that orders had 
been issued by the Tycoon's Government to certain Daimios 
to invest Yokohama and carry out the expulsion of foreign- 
ers ; but in making this admission, he qualified it by saying 
that it was previous to the payment of the indemnity money 
that the order had been issued. Such would appear to be 
the anomalous state of matters at the present time — ^the 
Tycoon's Government secretly keeping up friendly commu- 
nication with foreigners, and in public going with the stream 
against them. That it is really averse to the rupture of nego- 
tiations, I think there can be little doubt, otherwise it would 
never have thrown away the £110,000 indemnity money. 

Eumours have been afloat all day of news having gone on 
to Yeddo that the French Admiral has attacked the forts at 
Semonosaki, and has been beaten off. Another rumour is 
going about of an opposite kind, namely, that he has taken 
the forts, but with a loss of fifty men. Neither report is 
believed to have any truthful origin. 

In the afternoon I walked to the back of the foreign set* 
tlement, which is as nearly as possible half a mile from the 
bund, and found the houses to be in immediate contiguity 
with what sanitary science would characterise as a pestilen- 
tial swamp, and which, certainly, as far as the eye is capable 



SANITAEY PARADOX. 316 

of judging, ought to be a hotbed of malaria, and a focus for 
the generation of ague and other fevers ; nevertheless, op- 
posed as the fact is to a generally received belief, they are 
almost unknown in the place. On this point I have been 
particular to obtain information, and am assured by the two 
resident medical officers (Dr. Jenkins, late of the Boyal 
Navy, and Dr. "Willis of Her Majesty's Legation), that, with 
the exception of an occasional case of ague occurring in 
some one who has sufiPered from the disease formerly in 
China, the inhabitants generally of Yokohama enjoy a re- 
markable immunity from it as well as from other malarious 
fevers. Both of these medical officers readily admit that 
the contrary ought to be the case, judging from the local 
conditions under which the inhabitants live ; but, to make 
use of their own words, " however strong the theory may be 
in favour of ague prevailing at Yokohama^ the fact is, that 
it does not." 

I confess, that though many facts have come under my 
observation in China calculated to throw doubts on the 
accuracy of the aphorisms of sanitary science as promulgated 
at home in reference to the operation of foul smells, collec- 
tions of filth, &c., as exciting causes of disease, I still clung 
to the belief that a liability to contract ague was inseparable 
from a residence in the immediate vicinity of swampy land and 
extensive surfaces of decaying vegetable matter, with a power- 
ful sun playing upon them. That such however is not neces- 
sarily the case admits of no doubt ; and it is therefore clear 
that other conditions enter into the causation of malarious 
fevers than those to which it has been customary heretofore 
almost solely to attribute them. Viewed with the eye of a 
sanitarian, Yokohama ought to be generally unhealthy. In 
addition to marshy land and decaying vegetable matter, 
huge accumulations of filth and garbage exist in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the native houBes 5 for notwithstanding the 
attention of the Japanese to interior cleanliness, as regards 
exterior cleanliness I cannot say that I recognise any very 



SIG NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

marked difference between them and the Chinese, if, that is 
to say, the back portion of the native town of Yokohama is 
a fiur specimen of Japanese sanatation« On the contraiy, 
however, far from the place in any way having acquired a 
reputation for sickness, the remarkable salnbriiy of tbe 
climate has led to its being extensively adopted as the sana- 
tarium of China. 

Thongh its natural climate is healthy in the extreme^ 
Yokohama, like most other places however salnbrioos they 
may be nnder ordinary circumstances, is subject to occa- 
sional epidemic visitations, amongst others to cholera. Ijast 
year, in common with the whole of Japan, it was visited by 
a severe epidemic of measles, which caused a considerable 
mortality. There are no fiBiets however to show that its 
swampy locality confers upon it any special predispositioii 
to become the seat of epidemic disease ; because Nagasaki^ 
which is altogether free from malarious soil, and distant 
from Yokohama about 600 miles, is also subject to similar 
visitations. The epidemic of measles, for instance, appeared 
there some weeks before it showed itself at Yokohama. 
Nagasaki, I may add, is equally liable to visitations of cho- 
lera, and suffered vety severely from that disease during the 
summer of 1862. The great epidemic of cholera, which first 
appeared at Shanghai in the end of May of that year, ulti- 
mately took the following course to Japan. From Shanghai 
the cholera travelled up the north coast of China, and on the 
16th of June appeared at Taku, where it committed great 
ravages, the place having been up to that time noted for ita 
salubrity. Leaving Tako, it took a course up the Peiho, 
and at Tien-tsin it is stated to have destroyed in a few 
-weeks 20,000 of the inhabitants. From Tien-tsin it vrent 
on to Peking, where it fell likewise with veiy &tal effect. 
t^ 'From that city it travelled eastward over to Manchuria, and 
2>iJLii«'nce turned southward again, settling on Japan, where it 
i^tb vo<i to expend itself^ as we have no frirther trace of it ; 
i>iaJ s^ft^ong and the other Chinese ports to the south of 



GHOLEBA. 817 

Shanghai having apparently been beyond the line of its 
operation. At Shanghai the disease seemed to fall with 
pecnliar severity on those living afloat, the proportion of 
deaths on ship-board considerably exceeding that of the 
shore population : a tact tending still farther to disconnect 
choleraic visitations with specific local impurities. As far 
as my opportunities for observation have enabled me to 
form an opinion, it is to the operation of certain electro* 
chemical changes in the atmosphere on certain constitutions, 
and not to special local defects of sanatation, that we 
must look for an explanation of this dire and mysterious 
disease. 

In the course of my walk this afternoon, I visited the 
consular prison, where the detachment of the 67th Regiment 
is at present quartered, and had an opportunity of practically 
verifying the apparent innocuousness under certain collateral 
conditions, as yet unknown to us, of a residence in the midst 
of malarious soil, exposed to the decomposing influence of 
solar heat of tropical power. The local disadvantages under 
which this detachment^ consisting of thirty men, has been 
living for some time back are very marked; in addition 
to the mass of swamp and vegetable debris to which the 
building is immediately contiguous, the chief drain of the 
settlement empties itself into a semi-stagnant pool close to 
the house ; yet the men do not seem to suffer from these 
sanitary defects in any appreciable manner. I made a 
careful inspection of them, and found them all looking the 
picture of robust health, very different indeed to what their 
aspects were when I saw them embark for Japan eleven 
months previously at Shanghai. I inquired particularly 
with reference to the occurrence of ague amongst them, and 
found that attacks took place very rarely, and usually on 
certain changes in the weather in men who had contracted 
the disease originally in China. 

In the rear of the foreign settlement, beyond the ordinary 
limits of the native town, I found a street inhabited by 



318 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Japanese tradesmen, apparently chiefly in European employ- 
ment ; amongst others, I observed some washermen at work 
getting up linen. For ironing purposes they nse a conical- 
shaped copper box, with a handle over the top like the Euro- 
pean hand-iron. The interior of the box is filled with 
lighted charcoal, which keeps the copper at a uniform, heat. 
This ironing machine is probably borrowed from the Chinese^ 
who use one of a similar kind, only round in shape and 
haying the handle stuck into the side like that of a warming- 
pan. 

Strolling down this street with an independent swagger, 
evidently looking upon themselves as " first chop,*' • were 
several Chinamen, dressed in light-coloured silks, with feather 
fans in their hands, and smoking cigars with an air of cool 
confidence. John Chinaman, of whom there are about 200 
representatives in Yokohama, is said to be inclined to give 
himself airs here, and to look upon himself as much sa- 
perior to the Japanese of the corresponding class, that he 
is brought into contact with in the course of business ; and 
I am told that to a certain extent he is looked up to by the 
natives as belonging to the nation from which Japan has 
derived its literature. With respect to the relative merits 
of the two people, from all I can gather it seems to me 
that the Japanese, though more prone to adopt European 
improvements, are commercially a long way behind the 
Chinese — also less industrious, more licentious and intempe- 
rate, and in the main their inferiors, though on a superficial 
view the Japanese are much the more attractive nation. In 
Europe the opinion is generally entertained that the two 
nations are of common origin. Koempfer, however, who 
was the medical olficer of the Dutch Factory at Nagasaki for 
several years during the latter part of the seventeenth century, 
and is, perhaps, the best authority we have on Japan, holds 

ta contrary belief, supporting his opinion by a very learned 

wiu 

tial BY * The Oanton BngliBh for the raperlatiye degree. 



JAPANESE AND CHINESE. 819 

disqnisition on the difiPerences of language, religion, and 
customs which exist between them. 

Yet, iiTespectiY0 altogether of the question of the descent 
of the one from the other, there is no doubt that a physical 
resemblance exists between the two people sufficient to 
identify them as belonging to the same race. The Chinese 
difiPer in many essential points from the natives of Mongolia, 
physically as well as morally, nevertheless these differences 
do not throw any doubt on the Chinese belonging to the 
Mongolian race. As far as I have been able to observe, the 
physical difference between the Japanese and the Chinese is 
not so great as between the latter and the Mongolians ; and 
I do not think that the most acute ethnologist could tell 
which was a Chinaman and which a Japanese, provided they 
were dressed alike, and their heads shaved in a similar 
manner. However dissimilar also the two languages may 
be, it has been practically ascertained that a knowledge of 
the Chinese characters constitutes an important preliminary 
step to acquiring a knowledge of those of the Japanese 
language ; and on this account the student interpreters sent 
out by Her Majesty's Government for the Japan diplomatic 
service, go first to Peking, and under the tuition of a literary 
superintendent, learn the Chinese characters along with the 
student interpreters sent out to Her Majesty's Legation in 
China. 



CHAPTER V. 

Betorn of the French Admiral — His proceedings in the Staraits of Semono- 
saki — Daimios' retainers — Military character of the Japanese — A 
Chinaman's views regarding the hostilities — Captain Macdongall — ^The 
(Governor of Eanagawa — ^Conference of Foreign Ministers — ^Yisit to the 
barracks of the disciplined Japanese — ^Barrack-room drill ^Diaregaid 
of national prqndices. 

July 2ith. — ^Thifl morning, about fire o'clock, I was awoke 
by the news that the " Semiramis," the flag-ship of the 
French Admiral, was in the ofGLng. I rose at once to have 
a sight of her, and a noble vessel she appeared, with her 
long black hull and thirty guns aside, as she steamed into 
the anchorage. I have gathered the following particulars of 
what Admiral Jaurais has done in the straits. 

On the 20th instant the " Semiramis " entered the Straits 
of Semonosaki and took up a position opposite a fort on the 
northern side. The fort did not open fire upon her, which 
forbearance the French attribute to the position the "Semi- 
ramis " had taken up, as they seem to think that it was im- 
possible for the fort to have fired at them without the risk 
of firing also on a town on the opposite shore, with a number 
of junks anchored in front of it. The " Tancred " gunboat 
however, having gone ferther in, was fired at from another 
battery, receiving one shot in her hull, and two or three 
through her rigging. The " Semiramis " then opened fire 
upon this latter battery from her rifled cannon, at a range 
of 3000 yards, with considerable effect. After this, a landing 
was ordered, the force consisting of 180 sailors and 70 
Zephyrs, who took the fort in the rear, the Japanese escaping 



A DAIMIO'S BETAIKEBa 821 

as they advaacecL The battery consiBted of seven twenty- 
four pounder brass guns which were dismounted, spiked, and 
their carriages burnt. The party then crossed a rice field 
towards a Tillage, which they set on fire, and on breaking 
open the door of a house of better construction than the 
others, found it to be a large powder magazine. T wenty-fiye 
minutes afterwards the flames extended to it, and it exploded 
with a terrific noise. Having effected this the party re-em- 
barked ; three men were wounded, one of them since dead* 
About forty Japanese are believed to have been killed. The 
number of Japanese troops seen on shore by the landing 
party is estimated at 500. From the ships, however, a body 
of cavalry, infantry, and artUlery were seen coming out of the 
town of Semonosaki and taking a course along the Tokaido,* 
apparently to the aid of the troops in the battery. This 
supporting force was variously estimated irom 3000 to 
10,000. In the words of the Chef d'Etat Major of Admiral 
Jaurais, from whom I received this account of the affair : — 
« I did not see them myself, being on shore at the time. 
Those, however, on board ship saw them^ distinctly ; one 
of&cer told me there were 3000, another said there were 
6000, while a third assured me there were 10,000." Indi- 
vidually, I should be inclined to adopt the lowest estimate, 
and subject it also to a very considerable reduction, because, 
from all I can learn, it is a myth to suppose that the Daimios 
have anything like the numbers of armed retainers they 
are represented to have, in proof of which, on the authority 
of Consul Winchester I have it, that when the "Elgin" and 
" Rajah " were hired a few days ago to convey troops to 
Osaca, the government of the Tycoon had great difficulty in 
scraping together 600 men to send in them. It appears that 
amongst a Daimio's armed retainers, as they are represented 
on paper, are included all of the male sex, from old and 

* This Tokaido is a continuation of tbe same Tokaido, or "great sea- 
board road," upon which Mr. Richardson was mmdered, nearly 600 miles 
in another direction. 



822 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

decrepid men who were once fit to bear arms, to children at 
the breast, who in course of years will be fit to do so. Al- 
together I am inclined to think that the military prowess of 
the Japanese, and their importance as an arm-bearing people, 
are much over-rated, and that should we be compelled to enter 
on a trial of arms with them they will be found, like the 
Chinese, formidable only so long as they are allowed to fight 
with big guns from behind well plamied and strongly defended 
forts, but the reduction of these inyolves no great difficulty 
in these days, considering the powerftil artillery that we can 
bring to bear upon them, as well as the &ct that they are all 
more or less assailable from the rear. 

There is no doubt that the Japanese are naturally more 
prone to the use of arms than the Chinese. Ereiy one of a 
certain class, holding the position equivalent to that of a 
Highland clansman of the olden time, learns from an early age 
the use of the sword, but this knowledge does not appear, 
so &r as we know, to be employed in any more military 
manner than secret assassinations and open attacks on un- 
armed foreigners. The Tycoon's Government is certainly 
now beginning to train troops according to a modification 
of the European system, but this is only a recent innovation, 
and these it is probable are more for show than real work, 
and I have very little doubt that they would bolt with a 
speed equal to that of their two-sworded brethren if brought 
in contact with the disciplined troops of the West, as the 
Chinese have almost invariably done whenever they have 
attempted operations in the open field. 

Even the Chinamen in Yokohama affect pity for the 
foolhardy course which the Daimios are pursuing in 
supposing for a moment that they are equal to coping 
with the powers of the West, and especially with England. 
One of these gentlemen, the other day conversing with a 
member of Her Majesty's legation about the present state 
of matters, made the following judicious observations : — 
" Those Japan men number one foolo's ; they no savee those 



THE GOVEBNOB OF EANAGAWA. 828 

fihips — ^they no savee what piecee fight they makee, supposee 
that pigeon bigin," which rendered into more intelligible 
English, means that the Japanese are great fools, and do not 
know the formidable nature of a collision ( "fight pigeon") 
with onr ships of war. 

This evening Colonel Neale entertained at dinner the 
English and French admirals and the various commanders 
of men-of-war in the harbour. I sat near Captain Mac- 
dougall of the " Wyoming," and heard from him an account 
of his action in the Straits, which coincides with that I 
have already given. He however does not look upon the 
destruction of the forts as a matter of any serious difficulty, 
and is of opinion that three ships of the size of Her 
Majesty's ship "Encounter" (14-gun corvette) would be an 
ample force to destroy them — ^more vessels, he thinks, would 
be in each other's way. Had he had any ship to have fallen 
back upon, in the event of his machinery having been 
struck, he says that he would not have withdrawn as he did ; 
but would have continued engaging the forts, and is of 
opinion that one by one he could have silenced them. The 
risk was too great to be attempted unsupported. 

July 2hth. — ^This morning Admiral Jaurais received a 
conmiunication from the Governor of Eanagawa in reply to 
one that he had sent him yesterday, detailing his proceed- 
ings against the forts. The Governor's communication was 
to the efiPect that he was very glad to hear of what he had 
done, but regretted that he had not advanced further up 
the strait, because had he done so, he would have inflicted 
still greater chastisement on the Prince of Negate. These 
expressions of regret tend in some measure to support the 
correctness of a rumour that is current this morning amongst 
the Japanese, that it was not the Prince of Negato's fort 
that the French took, but that of his brother, who is one of 
the Tycoon's Daimios. Should such be the case, it is un- 
fortunate ; but at the same time it is difficult to see how, 
under the circumstances, the French admiral was to distip- 

T 2 



321 NORTH CHIKA AND JAPAN. 

gaish between hostile and friendly forts, where they are 
in a line on the same side of the straits. 

A conference was held this morning by the representa- 
tiyes of foreign nations having men-of-war in the harbour 
— ^namely, England, France, the Netherlands, and America. 
The conference took place at the French Legation, and it 
was decided that the four naval commanders shoald be 
directed to act in nnison, and adopt such measures as seem 
to them most expedient for re-opening the inland sea to 
foreign vessels — ^now closed by the batteries of the Prince of 
Negate. This conference has no relation to the Prince 
of Satsnma, as Colonel Neale made it clearly understood 
that the projected demonstration against Kagosima is an 
entirely British affair, and that it will be undertaken by 
Her Majesty's vessels of war only, at the earliest con- 
venient period after the settlement of the question of the 
opening of the navigation of the inland sea. 

In the afternoon I walked by myself to the end of the 
native town of Yokohama. At the place where a bridge 
crosses an inlet of the bay into which the northern extreme 
of the investing canal opens, I found some of the Japanese 
disciplined troops living in barracks. They were very civil 
and allowed me to go into the barrack-rooms, which were 
neat and clean internally, but externally surrounded by 
swamp and garbage. Nothing could be less offensive than 
the general bearing of the officers as well as the men : they 
indulged in a little natnral and harmless curiosity, such as 
examining my clothes and taking out my watch, handling 
the latter carefully, and politely returning it when they had 
completed their inspection of it. Their arms appeared to 
be kept in very good order, and were disposed with regu- 
larity in wooden arm-racks. Their cartridge boxes were 
filled with ball ammunition of their own preparation, the 
cartridges being made up with Japanese paper. Inside 
some of the barrack-rooms squads of men were learning 
the manual and platoon exercise under native instructors. 



BABBAGE-BOOH DRILL. 825 

This system of barrack-room drill strack me as being 
worthy of introduction into our own service, particularly in 
India, where want of occupation for the soldier during the 
greater number of the hours of daylight^ constitutes one of 
the great evils that have to be contended with in his sanitary 
management. In that country, under a tropical sun, with 
the thermometer nearly 100** in the shade, eating, drinking, 
smoking, and sleeping — ^particularly the latter — constitute 
almost his only modes of spending his time ; in fact, his 
ideas on the subject of mental and physical exertion closely 
resemble those of the emancipated negro, who, on being 
asked how he managed to spend his time now that he was a 
free man, replied that he laid on his back all day and let 
time spend himself. 

In a communication relating to the means most likely to 
modify the ill effects amongst soldiers of the use of spirits 
in warm climates, which by directions of the then Presi- 
dent of the Indian Sanitary Commission (the late Lord 
Herbert), I furnished to the Royal Commissioners early in 
the year 1860, amongst the recommendations I made was 
the following — "Enforcing such regulations relating to 
soldiers in barracks, as will insure their making an amount 
of physical exertion daily, calculated to promote activity in 
the excretory functions, and, at the same time, so increase 
the systemic tear and wear as to afford sufficient employ- 
ment for the nutritive or nitrogenous portions of their food, 
and thus obviate such a state of matters as Dr. Mouat* de- 
scribes to be characteristic of the ordinary routine of a 
soldier's life in barracks in India, and which is represented 
according to the following detail — * After sleeping through 
the night in the very hot, close air of the barracks, he rises 
at gunfire and goes to parade, after which he employs him- 
•self in cleaning his accoutrements till breakfast time— eight 
o'clock. This meal over, he lies down and sleeps till dinner 

* "The British Soldier in India,** bj ])r, Mouat^ InBpector-General of 
Jaila in Bengal. 



S2B NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

tiine, and after dinner he generally retires to his bed again, 
and sleeps more or less till fiye o'clock, the temperature 
of the barrack being frequently as high as 104^ Fahrenheit at 
that period of the day. About five o'clock he has to pre- 
pare himself for parade ; this oyer, he saunters ont till half- 
past nine, and then tnms in for the night.' This is given 
by Dr. Monat as a picture from nature, by Mr. Macnamara, 
of the ordinary routine lives of the soldiers of the First 
Bengal Fusiliers at Dinapore." Therefore, with the view of 
counteracting such an unnatural state of daily existence 
as that here represented, I cannot see any reason why we 
should not borrow a leaf from the Japanese, and give our 
soldiers in India an hour's drill or instruction in their barrack- 
rooms, or in covered buildings outside if preferred, forenoon 
and afternoon, in addition to their ordinary parades. This 
barrack-room drill could be carried out in the warm weather 
without &tiguing the men, without needless encumbrances 
of dress, belts, ammunition pouches, &c. Manual and 
platoon drill might be alternated with ^'judging distance"* 
exercise, which, so far as I am aware, there is nothing 
whatever to prevent being carried out without exposing 
the men to the sun, against which, whether right or wrong, 
there is a strong prejudice in India. Monthly or quarterly 
prizes should be given to the men who have attained the 
greatest proficiency during the period, on the same prin« 
ciple as is adopted at the annual course of instruction, and 
thus some direct stimulus would be held out to the men 
to exert themselves. The expenses connected with such 
prizes might be defrayed from the ** Canteen Fund" (ex- 
perimentally at any rate), which is generally in a flourish- 
ing condition in most of our infantry corps. That there is 
no point on which the soldier, as a general rule, is more 
deficient connected with his duties than the capacity for- 

* For the information of the non-military reader, ''judging distance** 
forms the first portion of the course of practical rifle instruction, vhich 
eyery infantry soldier is now-a-days supposed to go through once a year. 



DISTANCEJTTDGING. 827 

correctly estimating distances, I think few who have serred 
with troops in the field since the introduction of the Enfield 
rifle, will be inclined to deny. The efficiency of this 
weapon of precision at any range beyond point blank de« 
pends on the judgment of the soldier in adjusting the 
graduated sight with which the rifle is fitted, which, again, 
is altogether dependent upon his appreciation of distance, 
which is a practical art, in which experience and constant 
training can alone render men proficient^ and more espe- 
cially those with not the brightest of natural intellects. 
At present the soldier goes only once a year through a 
course of distance-judgmg, and I do not think that any 
yalid reason can be adduced why it should not be made an 
almost daily source of instruction, amusement^ and emula- 
tion to him during a portion of his weary leisure hours iu 
India, where he is precluded fi:om taking exercise in the 
open air, for a considerable portion of the year, fi'om 
almost sunrise to sunset — the more so as it constitutes the 
very groundwork of the efficiency of the soldier of the 
present day. Some sort of occupation of this kind would 
lessen the necessity for continuing the system of extreme 
early rising to which our soldiers are at present subjected in 
India ; too frequently being compelled to get up and dress 
at the earliest dawn of day — at the very time, in fact, when, 
after having spent a restless, probably sleepless, night from 
the extreme heat, exhausted nature is seeking repose. That 
this is no imaginary picture, my experience as a regimental 
surgeon in China warrants me in asserting — there the Indian 
system of early parades was strictly carried out during the hot 
season, and I know that what I now state was the case. 

After leaving the Japanese barracks, I crossed the bridge 
and walked some way up the road leading to the Governor's 
residence at Tobay. On the way, I repeatedly met two- 
sworded men, sometimes singly, sometimes two or three 
together. I was altogether unarmed, and met with neither 
insult nor annoyance direct or indirect. I may have been 



828 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

nmning a risk in going bo far beyond the precincts of the 
settlement, especially without firearms ; I confess, however, 
to entertaining the idea — it may be an erroneous one — ^bnt I 
have not yet had any personal reason to doubt it, that in 
moving about amongst Orientals for amusement, it is better 
rather to trust to the protective influence derived from re- 
specting their prejudices, and avoiding everything likely to 
give them offence or annoyance, than to carry a revolver. 
When it becomes really dangerous to move about beyond 
certain limits without weapons of defence, under circum* 
stances similar to those now relating to Japan, pleasure 
excursions and visits of curiosity are better altogether 
avoided. The adoption of the opposite course in both of 
these respects, I believe to have been the cause of many of 
our troubles in the East. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Gorogio*B reply to the French Minister^An American nulor wounded 
by a Taconin — The Tycoon and the Daimios — Agriculture — Bapid 
acquisition of the language by a foreigner — The peasantry — 
Inconsiderate conduct of equestrians — Naval conference respecting 
the inland sea question — Japanese shampooing — Its application to 
the treatment of disease — The blind in Japan — Origin of the 
Tycoons. 

July 26^. — This forenoon M. de Bellecourt received a 
communication from the Gorogio, being a reply to a de- 
spatch he had addressed to the members, relative to the 
attack on the " Keinchang." The purport of the document 
is an expression of their regret that such an occurrence 
should have taken place ; adding, by way of consolatory 
information, that similar attacks have been made upon the 
American and Dutch flags. The Gorogio then goes on to 
say, that having learnt that an impression prevails on the 
part of the foreign ministers, that the Tycoon's Government 
is unequal to punishing the Prince of Negato for his recent 
hostile proceedings, they wish it to be understood that such 
is not the case, and that it is their intention to have all the 
matters that have recently occurred in the Straits of Semo- 
nosaki inquired into. In the meantime, however, they beg 
that no action may be taken by the French authorities, 
pending these investigations. This communication is 
viewed as having been written merely for the purpose of 
sending a copy of it to the Tycoon, because at the time of 
its dispatch from Yeddo, the Gorogio must have been in 
frdl possession of all the details connected with the destruc* 
tion of the fort by the French. 



880 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

BeportB are current amongst the Japanese, that Daizen- 
no-daiboo, and particularly Awadsi-no-kami, are mnch 
enraged, and have declared their intention to take ren- 
geance on Yokohama and Nagasaki. The steamer, the 
brig, and the barque belonging to the Prince of Negato, 
are said to be severely injured, but are represented as still 
able to carry their guns. A part of Semonosaki is 
stated to have been burnt down by three shells from the 
« Medusa." 

In the afternoon, an American sailor, very drunk, was 
passing down the main street of the foreign settlement, and 
making tacks from one side of the street to the other, in 
one of which, he unfortunately came in collision with a 
Yaconin, who drew the short and least formidable of his 
two swords, and gave the sailor a cut across the face with 
it. The Yaconin continued his course, and the sailor his, 
but bleeding rather freely, and '^ guessing" that his nose was 
cut off. This occurred at the door of the Yokohama Hotel, 
in the presence, I believe, of several foreigners, who appear 
to have considered discretion the better part of valour, and 
to have avoided any retaliatory measures towards the two- 
Bworded gentleman. The foreigner, especially when with- 
out a revolver, is said to be beginning in Japan to display 
a capacity for self-control, in reference to acts of violence 
against the natives, which he is unequal to in China, and 
which it is reasonable to suppose arises from the fact that 
Chinamen never by any chance are armed, unless they are 
soldiers or robbers — ^whereas, in Japan, a very large pro- 
portion of the civil population carry arms, and are, as a 
general rule, very ready to use them on the least provoca- 
tion. 

July 27 fh. — The Japanese news to-day is to the effect, that 
the Princes of Satsuma, Negate, and Tosa, whose territories 
are respectively in Kiu-sin, Niphon, and Si-kok, have been 
informed by the Tycoon that they are at liberty to carry 
out their measures for the expulsion of foreigners, but that 



THB TYCOON AND HIS BAIMIOS. S8t 

he (the Tycoon) declines to hold himself responsible for 
their acts. The report also is, that at the same time this 
communication has been sent to them, they have receiyed 
notice of banishment firom both Yeddo and Kioto. They 
are represented to be now in open rebellion against the 
Tycoon, and therefore it has been determined to fire upon 
all foreign vessels passing through the straits. To this 
rebellion is attributed the recent dispatch of troops to 
Osaco, for the protection of the Tycoon. As a proof of the 
hostile feeling of the Tycoon's Goyemment to the Prince of 
Negate, the Japanese say, that were such not the case, the 
local authorities would not haye furnished pilots to the 
American and French men-of-war, when they lately went to 
the straits. It is also stated that three Daimios, named 
Ho-so-kawa-wakasa - no -kami, Arina-nagats-kassa-no-oske, 
and Matz-daira-fisen-no-kami, who remain faithful to the 
Tycoon, haye been charged with the destruction of Sat- 
suma. Negate, and Tosa. Such are the conflicting accounts 
respecting matters inter «0, and yeiy remarkable is the diffi- 
culty which appears to exist at the yery scene of action, 
in ascertaining the truth about them, but taken altogether, 
eyeiything tends to show that Japan is on the eye of some 
great political convulsion, apart altogether from the foreign 
question, which, as I have already stated, the Japanese 
themselves think is made a cause of discontent, for the 
purpose of more eflfectually embroiling the Tycoon, and 
weakening his power. 

In the afternoon I rode some distance into the country, 
in the rear of the settlement, but within the amphitheatre 
of hills, and found it to consist chiefly of paddy fields — in 
other words, swamp under rice cultivation, intersected by a 
number of narrow, raised pathways, not wide enough for 
two horses to go abreast. In a few places small patohes of 
ground have been raised, sufficiently high to admit of other 
crops than rice being raised to a small extent. These little 
pieces of reclaimed swamp are generally arranged so that 



332 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the crops alternate with each other — the arrangement being 
generally a rice field, then a patch of potatoe cultivation, 
then another rice field, then a patch of beans, and occa- 
sionally cotton. The following extract from Kcempfer is 
interesting, as showing the state of agriculture in his time 
(1680 to 1700), and as far as one can judge from super- 
ficial observation, it seems equally applicable to its state at 
the present day : — 

" The Japanese are as srood husbandmen as perhaps any 
people in the world. Nor, indeed, Ib it very suirising thi 
they have made great improvements in agriculture, consider- 
ing not only the extreme populousness of the country, but 
chiefly that the natives are denied all commerce and com- 
munication with foreigners, and must necessarily support 
themselves by their own labour and industry. Hence the 
laws on this head are very particular and severe. Not only 
the fields and flat country, which are seldom or never turned 
into meadows or pasture ground, but likewise the hills and 
mountains afford com, rice, peas, pulse, and numberless 
edible plants. Every inch of ground is improved to the 
best advantage, and it was not without great admiration we 
beheld in our journey to and from Court, hills and moun- 
tains, many inaccessible to cattle, which would lie wholly 
neglected in other countries, cultivated up to their tops. 
They are very dexterous and skilful in manuring their 
ground, which they do in various ways, and with many 
diflferent substances. Flat, low grounds are ploughed with 
oxen, steep and high ones by men. As to rice in particular, 
which is the main food of the natives, what ground they 
can conveniently spare, and will admit of its culture, is 
turned into rice flel<J^ particularly low flats which they can 
cut through by canals, and where they have a command of 
water, which surprisingly quickens the growth of this 
plant, it loving a wet muddy soil. The Japanese rice, 
accordingly, is esteemed the best of all Asia, particularly 
what grows in the northern provinces, which will keep 



ME. VON SIBBOLD. 833 

many years, and which for this reason, they choose to fill 
their store-honses withal, haying first washed it in mnddy 
water and then dried it." 

I was accompanied on my ride into the country by Mr. 
Alexander Von Siebold, a son of the well known Dr. Von 
Siebold, for many years an employ^ of the Dutch Govern- 
ment in Japan, and, probably, of all foreigners now alive, 
the one who possesses the most intimate acquaintance with 
Japan and its inhabitants. His son, who is only sixteen 
years of age, in addition to his native tongue, the Dutch, 
has mastered the English, French, German, and Japanese 
languages, talking the latter with such fluency as to make 
it difficult to the Japanese to understand that he is not an 
Europeanised native. His very perfect colloquial knowledge 
of Japanese is the more remarkable, from the fact, that two 
years only have elapsed since he commenced to study the 
language. In him the phrenological dogma, that the 
natural capacity for acquiring languages is indicated by 
large and full eye-balls, finds a well marked illustra- 
tion. He has been for the last two years attached to 
the British Legation, and at present acts as private se- 
cretary and interpreter to Colonel Neale. He frequently 
accompanies Admiral Euper in his rambles into the 
country, his knowledge of the language being of consider- 
able aid to the Admiral in the pursuit of his entomological 
researches. 

During our ride, we met with unvarying civility from the 
peasantry, who conversed in a good-humoured manner with 
Mr. Von Siebold. The more I see of the agricultural popu- 
lation, the more do they remind me of the same class of 
the Chinese. Owing to the narrowness of the paths, and, 
in many instances, the swamps on each side of them, the 
country in the vicinity of Yokohama is not well adapted 
for riding. The peasants also appear to have a great 
dread of foreign horses, arising from the unrestrained 
manner in which they go, as compared with the Japanese 



ad4 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

horses, which are always led, and consequently not likely 
to go out of a walk. On our way home, we observed some 
young foreigners, who looked like Englishmen, riding at a 
smart pace along one of these narrow causeways, having no 
regard for several country-people coming along carrying 
loads, amongst them two old women, who fearing being 
ridden over, had to get off the pathway on to its bank at 
the risk of going into the swamp, as also the people with 
their loads had to do. Greater want of consideration could 
not have been shown than by these young gentlemen, who 
never slackened their pace, s& the fears of the people became 
manifest, but went a-head, as if they were performing some 
chivalrous feat, the delusion being probably aided by the 
fBM3t of their carrying revolvers. 

In the earlier part of the day. Admiral Kuper convened 
a meeting on board the " Euryalus," of the French, Dutch, 
and American naval commanders, with the view of deciding 
on the course of action to be adopted relative to opening 
the navigation of the inland sea. It was unanimously 
decided that it is not desirable to adopt any further 
aggressive steps against the Prince of Negate until the 
Tycoon's Government unequivocally notifies either its un- 
willingness or its inability to punish him. Another cause, 
which renders the adoption of active measures premature, 
is the fact of the " Coquette" not having yet returned fipom 
the Straits of Semonosaki, for which she lelt about a week 
ago, in hopes of communicating with Admiral Jaurais. She 
is expected back in the course of to-morrow or next day, 
and it is possible she may bring some intelligence influencing 
the question at issue. 

Two days ago, feeling rather fatigued after a long walk 
I had taken over the hills, it occurred to me to try the 
efficacy of the Japanese system of shampooing, as a 
means of dissipating sensations of lassitude from ov^- 
exertion, — of the beneficial results of which I had heard 
a good deal previously. In Japan, the practice of the art 



SHAMPOOIKa. 885 

of shampooing is a monopoly of the blind. The professors 
shaye the head, and adopt the dress of the medical pro- 
fession, to which they are considered to be allied, in 
mnch the same manner as dentists, cnppers, and aurists are 
in England. They generally walk about the streets in the 
eyening seeking employment, notifying their presence by 
ringing a bell. Haying secured the seryices of one of 
these gentlemen, I was requested to lie down on a sofa ; 
and prior to beginning his manipulations, he asked Mr. 
Von Siebold what degree of force he should commence 
with, — whether the minimum, the medium, or the fall; 
his muscular power apparently being graduated much after 
the fjEushion of an electro-magnetical machine. Haying no 
acquaintance with the force he was likely to employ, I 
chose the medium, upon which he commenced a series of 
powerful and rapid kneadings of one of my limbs, which 
was so far ^m being pleasant^ as to cause me at once to 
beg that the minimum force should be substituted. This 
I managed to bear, the operation consisting of suceessiye 
graspings of the muscles of the chest and limbs, the digi- 
tations being performed with a rapidity resembling a person 
running oyer the notes of a piano-forte. The process was 
by no means an agreeable one, but its effects were yery 
remarkable ; all sensations of fatigue haying disappeared, 
and a feeling of perfect elasticity of limb being re-esta- 
blished. 

The practice of shampooing is in general use in Japan, 
and is employed as a remedial agent in the treatment of 
special maladies, — in fact, it closely resembles the mode of 
treating disease by muscular moyements, introduced to 
notice about fifty years ago at Stockholm by a Swedish 
fencing-master, of the name of Ling. Attempts haye been 
made of recent years to introduce this treatment into 
practice in other parts of Europe under the name of 
kinesipathy, but it has been by no means fayourably re- 
ceiyed by the medical profession, owing, amongst other 



386 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

causes, to the wide range of disease oyer which it pro- 
fesses to exercise a curative influence. Ling was more 
fortunate than his successors have since been. In 1813» 
he succeeded in procuring the establishment hj royal 
ordinance of the "Gymnastic Central Institute of Stock- 
holm," which was devoted to the carrying out of his views 
respecting the mechanical treatment of disease by such 
means as percussion, kneading, vibration, pinching, &c^ 
and it is very probable that a certain amount of success 
may have attended his practice; as there are hardly any 
of the many innovations that have been made in modem 
times on the regular system of medicine that have not 
some good in them, however little they may be adapted 
for the cure of disease generally. That the employment 
in Japan of a method somewhat analagous to kinesipathy, 
tends to mitigate human suffering there is no doubt, and 
whatever does so, even to a limited extent, is entitled to 
consideration, apart altogether fix)m the special "pathy" 
that it hails from.* 

The conferring of a monopoly of the shampooing art on 
the blind is a wise provision on the part of the Grovemment ; 
the occupation being, of all others, the one best suited for 
their afflicted state ; admitting, as it does, of easy acquire- 
ment, and experience being all that is required to beget skill 
in the art, constant use tending to develope the muscular 



* Thoae "who have ascended the Pyramids of Egypt may reooUect the 
seDsation of relief which is experienced, when, on reaching the top, the 
Arahs seize their wearied knees, and, hy a sort of kinesipathic process, 
remove from them the feelings of extreme fatigue, which the rade and 
peculiar nature of the ascent generally prodaoes. In India, shampooing is 
employed by the native doctors in the treatment of some internal as weU 
as external diseases, bnt the proceeding is conducted in a more gentle 
manner than in Japan and China. In the latter country, percussion of the 
spine constitutes the most important part of the process, and is effected by 
the operator (who is always a barber) beating a regular tattoo with both hia 
hands over the whole length of the vertebral column. The Chinaman has 
this operation performed as regularly as he has his head shaved. 



ORIGIN OF THE TYCOONS. 387 

power of the fingers, and to confer a manipniating capacity 
and rapidity tnilj enrprising. I find no allusion made to 
this art in Eoempfer's time ; from what he says, however, 
the blind would seem to have been long a favoured class 
in Japan, and to have constituted one of the most important 
of the many partly secular, partly ecclesiastical societies 
that exist in the empire. With respect to the origin of 
these associations of the blind, Koempfer, after giving an 
account of the religious order of the mountain priests 
of Japan, goes on to state : — 

" There are still many more religious orders and socie- 
ties established in this country. From the superstitious 
veneration of the vulgar for their ecclesiastics, and the ease 
and pleasures of a religious life, it is no wonder that the 
number of costly temples, rich monasteries and convents, 
where, under the cloak of retirement and divine worship, 
the monks give themselves up to an uninterrupted pursuit 
of wantonness and luxury, is grown to an excess scarce 
credible. But there are also some particular societies not 
purely ecclesiastical, nor confined to the clergy alone, but 
rather of a mixed nature, with an alloy of secularity. Out 
of many, that of the blind is not unworthy of consideration ; 
s singular, but very ancient and numerous body, composed of 
all ranks and professions.^ 

In relating the history of this society, he speaks of a cer- 
tain General, Joritomo by name. This man was the first of 
the Secular Emperors of Japan, of whom the Tycoon is the 
modem representative. Joritomo was a Daimio, who, in his 
turn, appears to have rebelled against the then reigning 
Dairi or Mikado, who was an usurper. Joritomo succeeded 
in restoring the rightfiil heir, by whom he was invested with 
a temporal control over the empire, under the designation of 
the Siogoun. The authority of the Mikado, however, would 
seem not to have been materially affected by this executive 
appointment, as there is no doubt that at the present day 
ba exercises, when bA chooses^ supreme governing power, 



338 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

though, apparently, it has been allowed to remain in abey- 
ance for a great number of years, during which the govern- 
ment of the country has resided in the person of the Tycoon 
alone. But recently it has suited the views of certain influ- 
ential Daimios to resuscitate the dormant ecclesiastical 
authority as a means of furthering the displacement of the 
present secular incumbent. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Report respectinf^ tbe return of the Tycoon — Mode of committing suicide a 
br&nch of Japanese edacation — Fight between tbe betos and the Gaa- 
kiro people — Attempt on tbe part of Japanese traders to procure 
rifled cannon — Japanese doctor and medical science — Diet of tbe 
natives — A profitable land speculation— Errors respecting tbe dispo- 
sition of tbe peasantry — A Japanese official wounded —Return of the 
Tycoon — Hostile feeling towards foreigners at Miako — Aptitude of the 
Japanese for mastering tbe details of machinery — Purchase of the 
"Lyemoon" steamer — Fire-proof stores — Primitive state of society — 
Preparations for leaying Yokohama for Nagasaki — Peaceful news - 
Modes of travelling in Japan — Tattooing — Violent death of the mur^ 
derer of Mr. Euskin. 

July 2^th. — A report is current to-day that, the Tycoon 
having succeeded in adjusting his difficulties with the 
Mikado at Kioto, is shortly about to return to Yeddo. This 
rumour is believed to be authentic, its origin having been 
an official source. 

This forenoon I met a couple of little children of tender 
years walking about, each with two miniature swords stuck 
in his waist sash, indicating that when they grow up they 
will have the privilege of wearing two swords. It appears 
that amongst the arm-bearing section of the population, the 
children, from the earliest years that they are capable of 
being instructed, are taught not only the use of the sword, 
but also the most genteel and approved method of commit- 
ting suicide by Harra Kiru, as it is considered vulgar to 
perform it as a mere rude process of disemboweling by 
ripping themselves up. A certain limit is assigned to the 
abdominal incision, which is usually made with the short 

z 2 



340 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

sword, in a transverse direction. The actual deprivation of 
life is effected either by the person himself wounding the 
great blood-vessels of the throat, or having his head struck 
off by an attendant after he has recognised the obligation 
of committing suicide by personally making the abdominal 
incision. 

A great fight commenced yesterday evening and has been 
going on all day, between the betos (grooms) and the male 
proprietors of establishments in the Oaukiro. It appears 
that a feud has existed for some time between them, and 
that in eleven consecutive engagements the betos have been 
worsted. This, the twelfth, quarrel, has arisen in conse- 
quence of two betos in the employment of the Governor of 
Eanagawa havmg got into a squabble in the Gaukiro, which 
ended in their getting a beating. On the news r^hing 
the betos generally in Yokohama and Kanagawa, they deter- 
mined to resent this fresh insult to their cloth, and arming 
themselves with sticks, staves, Ac, they went in a body to 
the Gaukiro, but failed in effecting an entrance, the place 
having been put in a state of siege. The affair has been 
going on the whole day, without any decided success on 
either side. All the betos in the employment of the foreign 
residents have joined their brethren, and complaints axe 
loud with respect to the neglect the horses are suffering in 
consequence. On this account a Consular representation 
was made to-day to the Governor of Kanagawa, who, in 
reply, said that the affair was one of those disturbances of a 
purely local and national character occurring within the 
limits of the Japanese town, that he was at a loss to see 
that foreigners have anything to do with. The inconve- 
nience is merely a temporary one, and as such must be 
borne. 

July 29/A. — The betos have received reinforcements from 
Yeddo, their cause having been espoused by their brethren 
in the capital. The siege of the Gaukiro has been prose- 
cuted all day, and it is stated that a grand assault is going 



JAPANESE MEBCHANTS. 841 

to be made on it this eycning from the side where it can be 
reached by water. 

This afternoon, jnst as Colonel Neale and myself were 
going out into the town two Japanese merchants came to 
the Legation with a quantity of grotesque carvings in ivory. 
After having expended a few minutes showing their wares, 
one of them informed Mr. Yon Siebold that the real object 
of their visit was to see if it was practicable for the British 
Minister to assist them in respect to purchasing some rifled 
cannon, for which they were commissioned to pay a very 
high price. They offered Mr. Von Siebold a present of the 
whole of the ivories, the yalue of which was considerable, if 
he would lend his aid towards their procuring even one 
rifled cannon. On being told that it was impossible to 
comply with their request, they went away evidently much 
disappointed. About an hour and a half afterwards, as we 
were returning from the native town, we met M. de Bellecourt 
and Admiral Jaurais. While Colonel Neale was talking to 
them, the same two men passed, and mentioning the cir- 
cumstances connected with their visit to the Legation, a few 
questions were put to them, when they immediately renewed 
their request, and Admiral Jaurais jokingly said, " Tell 
them to bring off 25,000 francs to my ship, and I will let 
them have a rifled cannon." 

July 30^. — It was not supposed for a moment that the 
remark of the French Admiral about the rifled gun was 
likely to be viewed otherwise than as a joke. It was, how- 
ever, taken seriously by the Japanese merchants, who, early 
this forenoon, were waiting outside the French Legation 
endeavouring to procure from M. de Bellecourt a letter so 
that they could go o£P to the Admiral's ship and get the gun, 
in accordance vnth the offer he had made them yesterday 
afternoon. They were much disconcerted when they were 
told that it was only in jest that the Admiral had made the 
remark. They said they would be sure to get into trouble, 
as they had committed themselves to* the Yaconins, by 



342 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

stating that they had succeeded in arranging for the pur- 
chase of a rifled cannon, and they did not see how they were 
to get out of the mess they had got into unless the Admiral 
would sell them the gun at the price he had mentioned. 
What they wanted the gun for we could not make out fur- 
ther than that it was for the Goyemment service, and it is 
not probable that* it is wanted for any purpose hostile to 
foreigners, otherwise the agents of the Government would 
hardly have the eflrontery to endeavour to procure them 
through the foreign Ministers. 

I met a Japanese doctor to-day in the native town, from 
whom it was ascertained that a few isolated cases of cholera 
are occurring at present amongst the native population, the 
cause of the disease being referred to worms in the stomach. 
The medical faculty in Japan seems to be held in consider- 
able esteem by the natives, who are by no means inclined 
to trust themselves to the care of foreign physicians, who, 
they say, do not understand their constitutions. Attention 
to constitution enters largely into the practice of medicine 
in Japan, and so much importance is attached to an accu- 
rate knowledge of it as a guide to treatment, that Japanese 
doctors will not risk their reputation by attending their 
countrymen who have been some time in European employ- 
ment, on the grounds that the change of diet to which they 
have been exposed has so materially changed their constitu- 
tions as to render it impossible for them to bring the re- 
sources of the native medical art successfully to bear on the 
treatment of ailments contracted under an altered and unna- 
tional mode of life. 

The diet of the Japanese in this part of the country is 
yery simple, and I believe it represenj^ fairljcHvhat it is over 
the empire generally. It consislifalmost entirely of rice, 
fish, and pickled vegetables. They never eat meat., and on 
no account will drink milk or use it in any way as an article 
of food, as they look upon it afi white blood. It is con- 
sidered cruel either to kill the ox or the cow, and therefore 



VALUE OF LAND. 34S 

these animals are kept entirely for the purposes of tillage. 
I have not heard, however, that the demand which a nume- 
rous resident foreign community necessarily gives rise to 
from day to day for the lives of oxen, has been made a sub- 
ject of complaint or grievance, the pecuniary considerations 
involved probably tending to blunt their humanitarian prin- 
ciples. At the present time the slaughter of oxen daily 
must be considerable, owing to the requirements of the fleet, 
and two European butchers appear to be driving a very 
thriving trade. 

In the course of conversation, allusion was made to a 
remarkable powder the Japanese doctors are said to pos- 
sess ; the application of which externally, removes at once 
muscular rigidity, whether occurring before or after death. 
The limbs of the dead are stated to be rendered as flexible 
as during life, immediately after the powder has been rubbed 
over them. 

Notwithstanding the unsettled state of our political rela- 
tions with Japan, commercial enterprise and land specula- 
tion seem by no means paralysed ; a small lot of land within 
the foreign settlement, purchased in 1860 for 1500 dollars, 
was this day sold for 10,000. 

The attack intended to be made yesterday evening on the 
Gaukiro, was frustrated by the authorities taking away all 
the boats that were to have conveyed the assaulting betos 
across. To-day matters look more peacefril, and the report 
is that a compromise has been entered into by the contend- 
ing parties, the nature of which, however, has not trans- 
pired. The betos are now beginning to return to their 
respective employers, which tends to confirm the report. 

July 3l9f)I^At a dinner party yesterday, at which I was 
present, a gallant foreign naval officer expressed the regret 
he felt at observing that the demeanour of the peasantry in 
the neighbourhood of Yokohama had altered so much for 
the worse since he last visited the place. This impression 
arose from the following circumstance. The other day he 



844 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

took a ride into the country with the Danish Oonsnl and his 
wife, and after getting a little waj ont of town, the children 
shouted at them, and expressions were made use of, which 
the Danish Consul, who understands a little Japanese, said 
were not words of a polite nature, and recommended on 
prudential grounds that they should return. On mention- 
ing the circumstance this morning to M. Yon Siebold, he 
laughed, and told me that the children are now in the habit 
of shouting out to all foreigners who pass, ^' An-a-to moo- 
su,'' which, freely translated, means beetles and bugs. The 
poor children mean no offence, but the researches of Admiral 
Kuper haying directed their attention to the study of ento- 
mology, they naturally suppose that foreigners generally 
take an equal interest in the science with the gallant Ad- 
miral, aud therefore they neyer lose an opportunity of 
apprising passers-by that they have a stock of specimens 
on hand, and a reference to these no doubt constituted the 
expressions which the Danish Consul, not unnaturally, 
thought were unpolitely applied to himself and friendmThe 
urchins, I may remark, haye a material interest at s&ke in 
pressing the sale of their beetles, as they haye been accus- 
tomed to receiye pecuniary remuneration from the Admiral 
for the specimens they procure for him. This little inci- 
dent seems to illustrate the erroneous impressions which 
foreigners are apt to form during a period of political ex- 
citement. The rural population is, to all appearance, as 
amiable and well-disposed afi could be wished ; whereyer 
one goes, a friendly " Ohio" greets you, and when you leaye 
the equally friendly " Sio-nar-ee ; " the former the Japanese 
salutation on meeting, the latter, that on departing. 

I now come to relate an occurrence of a yery different 
nature. Yesterday, three young Englishmen rode on a 
trip of pleasure to Eanasawa, a yery pretty spot on the 
coast, about twelye miles from Yokohama, haying pre- 
yiously sent a boat round by sea, with liquor and proyi- 
sions. They spent the day there without in any way being 



A JAPANESE OFFICIAL WOUNDED. 845 

interfered with. Towards evening they determined to ride 
back to Yokohama without their coats, by moonlight, so 
they rode down a jetty, alongside of which their boat was 
lying, and in it deposited their coats. On the end of this 
jetty there was a shrine, and as they were riding off it, a 
Japanese official came up and spoke to them, in a tone 
which showed he was remonstrating with them for having 
ridden on to the jetty, which it seems is private pro- 
perty. One of the party, who, I may remark, is noted for 
getting into disturbances with the Japanese, knowing a 
little of the language, made a reply to the man that appears 
to have incensed him, as he drew his sword and came after 
them, when, in place of riding away and leaving the man 
they had irritated to cahn himself as most men of common 
sense or experience would have done, they drew their re- 
volvers and fired at the man, arresting his progress by 
wounding him in the arm. Having achieved this bold feat, 
they rode back to Yokohama, and reported what they had 
done to Consul Winchester, justifying the act as necessary 
for self-defence. The matter has been brought to Colonel 
Neale's notice this morning, and will be made the subject 
of Consular inquiry. Altogether, it bears the aspect of a 
very discreditable proceeding. It is rather curious, that it 
was but yesterday forenoon I made some remarks to 
Colonel Neale relative to one of the party, expressive of 
my apprehension that sooner or later he would get himself 
into some mess, owing to the extraordinary manner in 
which he had been talking to me about the use of revolvers 
in Japan. These are the sort of young gentlemen whose 
indiscreet acts, leading to ^* violations of the rights of 
British subjects," have frequently been made the basis for 
aggressive measures ; whereas, in no small proportion of 
instances, their acts are rather the violation of the rights of 
aboriginal nations by British subjects.* 
This forenoon, the "Jinkee" and " Lyemoon" steamers 

* The aeqael of this oaae wiU be found in a labeequent Chapter. 



I 



846 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

passed Yokohama, the Tycoon's flag flying at the fore of 
the former vessel, indicating that the Tycoon was on board, 
and on his way back to Yeddo. 

A few hours after the Tycoon had passed, another 
steamer arrived from Osaca, and anchored off the foreign 
settlement. On board of her was the high oflicer, He-ka- 
no-kami, who called at Yokohama on the 23rd instant, on 
hi% way to Osaca in the " Lyemoon." He landed imme- 
diately aftei'wards, and had an interview with Colonel Neale 
this afternoon, at which I was present. The object of his 
visit to Yokohama was to apprize the foreign Ministers that 
the Tycoon was about to return to Yeddo by sea, and to 
caution them against firing at his steamers, under the im- 
pression that they might belong to hostile Daimios. It 
appears that he was dispatched from Osaca in advance, five 
days ago, but his steamer has proved of such indifferent 
speed, that the Tycoon has arrived before him, which he 
was not aware of until he landed. In the midst of the 
interview, some custom-house oflBcials who had been 
stationed on the heights, hearing of the arrival of He- 
ka-no-kami, came to the Legation in a state of great 
excitement, to let him know that the Tycoon had already 
passed. 

In the course of conversation, Colonel Neale, who had 
known He-ka-no-kami in quieter times, asked him when 
they were to make their projected tour into the interior ; 
he replied, " After long rains there will be sun, and as rains 
are now being made by Negate, we must wait until the sun 
again shines," which he hoped would not be long. 

One fact of interest has been ascertained from He-karno- 
kami, which tends to show that the anti-foreign feeling 
continues to prevail at the capital (Miako). Oga-so-wari, 
who negotiated the payment of the indemnity money, has 
been thrown into prison for his connection with the matter. 
The impression seems to be that the Tycoon has manned 
to get away from the capital, not from any real improve- 



PUECHASE OF THE "LTEMOON." Ml 

ment in the aspect of his relations with the Mikado, and 
those in whose hands the latter at present is, but simply 
because his enemies did not like to risk an engagement 
with the troops the Tycoon had managed to have about 
him. The general belief was that he would not be able to 
return to Yeddo. 

The Japanese have certainly a much greater natural apti- 
tude for mastering the details of steamboat mechanism than 
the Chinese have. It is quite a common occurrence for 
them to purchase a steamer, put their own crews and en- 
gineers on board, number in their own way the important 
parts of the machinery, get steam up, and without any as- 
sistance take the vessel away as readily as if they had 
been accustomed to the management of steamboats all their 
lives. 

They have a great objection to wood-work being painted. 
The steam yacht, the " Emperor,** presented to the Tycoon 
by Her Majesty, was beautifully decorated inside, and the 
first thing that was done with her at Yeddo after she was 
taken over, was to set a party of carpenters to work and 
scrape off all the interior embellishments in the form of 
gilding and paint. 

The facts connected with the purchase of the "Lyemoon" 
steamer are somewhat remarkable — ^^seeing that though she 
was actually purchased for the Tycoon's Government, from 
Messrs. Dent and Co. at Shanghai, for 175,000 dollars, 
the Government of the Tycoon paid 200,000 dollars for 
her. The agent of Dent and Co. at Yokohama (Mr. 
Clarke) having been instructed by the firm at Shanghai to 
sell the "Lyemoon," offered the vessel to the Japanese 
Government, and with due regard for the interest of his 
principals, named 240,000 dollars as her price. The Go- 
vernment, however, would not entertain the idea of buying 
her, the sum demanded appearing much too high. After allow- 
ing a little time to elapse, Mr. Clarke availed himself of the 
American Minister's intimacy at that time with the Tycoon's 



848 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

GoTemiuenty to renew the matter and make fresh oyertnres. 
General Pniyn is stated to have informed him that there 
was no prospect of making a deal. It would seem, how- 
eyer, that private negotiations were at the same time en- 
tered into with the Tycoon's Goyemment, and their con£ent 
obtained to giye 200,000 dollars for the vessel ; for a Mr. 
Almand, a son-in-law of the United States Consul at Yoko- 
hama (Colonel Fisher), started for Shanghai, taking with 
him credentials sufficient to succeed in purchasing the ^'Lje- 
moon" from Messrs. Dent and Co. for 175,000 dollars. He 
got possession of her forthwith, and after putting several 
thousand stand of arms on board of her, as an extra 
speculation, he started in her for Japan, and the first in- 
timation Mr. Clarke or the public in iTokohama had of the 
transaction was the arrival of the " Lyemoon," as the pro- 
perty of the Japanese Government, in charge of Mr. 
Almand. As naturally might be expected, Mr. Clarke was 
furious at having been so completely outwitted, and in the 
plainest terms accused his friend, General Pruyn, of being 
the party who had thus skilfully out-manoeuvred him. The 
General disclaimed all connection with the transaction ; bat 
admitted that it was a very sharp proceeding on the part of 
Mr. Almand, who had no doubt made a very handsome 
thing out of it. Mr. Clarke would not see it in this light, 
but threw up the Portuguese Consulship which he was then 
holding, broke up his establishment, and declared his inten- 
tion of proceeding direct to the United States to lay the 
whole matter before the President. This intention, how- 
ever, he ultimately abandoned. 

Amongst the objects of interest in Yokohama, I have 
omitted to notice the fire-proof stores, which the Japanese 
are very clever in constructing. The walls, which are of 
considerable thickness, are formed of a light wooden frame- 
work divided into partitions, which are filled with mad, 
carefully compressed into them. The walls are then 
plastered over inside and out with a non- combustible 



I 



FIBE-PBOOF STORES. 849 

preparation of lime, resembling very hard stncco, and fitted 
with folding windows of sheet-iron. Strong glazed tiles 
form the roof. In no part of the East have I seen such sub- 
stantial and well-constructed stores for commercial pur- 
poses, and I am told that their fire-proof qualities are 
undoubted. 

This afternoon, passing what looked like a tea shop in 
one of the streets of the Japanese town, a number of nude 
figures caught my eye, and on looking in I found it to be a 
tea-house and bathing establishment combined. While I was 
standing at the door a portly gentleman, having finished his 
ablutions, made his appearance in the refreshment-room per- 
fectly naked, and sat down to dry himself with a small 
cloth he brought with him. As soon as he was seated a 
young and modest-looking girl walked up to him with a cup 
of tea on a tray, which he took with the most perfect 
gravity, and with equal decorum she retired and proceeded 
to supply another customer who had just appeared — ^the 
whole proceeding, to the eye of a stranger, bearing a singu- 
larly unsophisticated and primitive character. 

News having arrived firom Shanghai the day before 
yesterday, that cholera has so much increased in prevalence 
there as to be showing signs of re-assuming an epidemic 
form, — ^though I am now off the strength of the China 
command, nevertheless, as I must return to Shanghai on my 
way to India, I feel it my duty to do so at once, as casual- 
ties from sickness or other causes amongst the medical staff, 
may render my professional services temporarily necessary. 
I have, therefore, obtained, through Colonel Neale's interest 
with the French Minister, a passage in his Imperial Ma- 
jesty's steam corvette the " Monge," which starts to-morrow 
for Shanghai. This, therefore, is my last evening in Yoko- 
hama. 

August UL — Early this morning Her Majesty's ship 
" Coquette " returned from her trip to the inland sea. On 
arriving at the entrance to the Straits of Semonosaki,' and 



ft50 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

seeing no signs of the French admiral, she anchored for a 
few hours. In the course of the day, while she was thus at 
anchor, two Japanese officials came off from the shore, and 
said that if the vessel went through the Straits she would 
not be interfered with, as they did not wish to have any 
more fighting, having had enough of it. On her way back 
to Yokohama the "Coquette" went to Osaca, and sent a 
boat on shore, but the Japanese would not allow any one to 
land from it, and pushed the boat off. No other indications 
of hostility were shown, and as Osaca^ though a treaty port^ 
has not yet been opened to trade, the Japanese were quite 
• warranted in opposing foreigners landing there. 

This pacific news has materially altered the aspect of 
affairs respecting the inland sea question, and has enabled 
the one referring to Satsuma to be again brought forward 
with a view to immediate settlement. Colonel Neale had an 
interview with Admiral Kuper, and it has been determined 
that the squadron will leave Yokohama about the 6th or 7th 
instant, and proceed to Eagosima, and there deliver to the 
Prince of Satsuma or his representatives, the letter contain- 
ing the demands of Her Majesty's Government, which the 
general impression is will be at once yielded to, as far as 
relates to the payment of the money. But the execution of 
the murderer of Mr. Richardson is a matter respecting 
which several causes may interfere with satisfaction being 
given. 

While out this forenoon in the neighbourhood of the 
native town, I met a female being carried in what is called 
a caugo, an ordinary mode of conveyance adopted by the 
lower orders. It consists of a sort of bamboo litter, in 
shape not unlike a basket, in which the person sits in a very 
cramped and uncomfortable looking posture, but one ap- 
parently that suits the habits of the people. The caugo is 
suspended from a pole, which is borne on the shoulders of 
two men. The only other method of travelling in use in 
Japan, with the exception of horses, is the norimon, which 



TATTOOING. 351 

is an oblong box, built of wicker-work or light wood, and 
covered outside with lacquer. It is supported by a pole on 
the shoulders of bearers, and is not unlike the palanquin, or 
palkee as it is usually called, of India. When horses are 
used by persons of quality, they merely hold the bridle as a 
matter of form, the horse being guided by the groom lead- 
ing it. As a general rule, F believe, the only people who, 
when riding, are supposed to manage their horses themselves, 
are soldiers. 

The subject of horses reminds me that in describing the 
betos, I omitted to mention the elaborate tattooing with 
which, as a general rule, their bodies are covered both back 
and front. A dragon is one of the favourite designs, and 
it is not uncommon to see the front of the chest covered 
vdth a representation of the head and fore part of the 
animal, which is represented as encircling the body ; the 
remainder of the dragon being depicted on the back, loins, 
and even lower down, giving the possessor a singularly 
grotesque and rather savage aspect. The colours employed 
in tattooing are chiefly blue, red, and yellow. 

There is a professional tattooer in the native town, who 
enjoys a high reputation as an artist. Some young English 
officers lately here on leave from China, submitted their 
arms to him, and left Japan indelibly marked with his skill. 
One of them showed me on his forearm a dove about half 
the size of life, and upon the upper part of the same arm a 
full length portrait of a yaconin, and a butterfly the size of 
life — the whole beautifully executed and coloured with 
artistic taste. The operation is described as rather painful, 
as the artist became occasionally a little excited over his work, 
especially when executing some of the more delicate touches, 
to ensure the correctness of which he applied the needle with 
a little extra force. 

This habit of tattooing the person amongst the lower 
orders, constitutes another point of difference between the 
Chinese and Japanese. John Chinaman's talents in reference 



863 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

to the art of self-decoration are concentrated in promoting 
the loxoriance of his tail^ and in calling in the aid of art 
where natare fails in her Kupply — false tails being as common 
in China as false teeth are amongst ourselves. 

Information has lately been receiyed from Teddo, that 
Kio-kawa, the head of the Loonins, who is believed to have 
been the leader of the attack on the British Legation in 
June, 1861, and also at a subsequent period the murderer of 
Mr. Euskin, the interpreter to the American Legation, has 
himself been assassinated ahnost on the very spot where the 
latter deed was perpetrated. He is stated to have been 
attacked by two men in front, and while he was defending 
himself a third assaulted him from behind^ and cut his 
head ofP. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

Departure for Ni^asaki — ^Diviaionof exchange profits amongst the crew — The 
cnrrenoy qnestion in Japan — Bnoonnter a portion of a typhoon — Naga- 
saki harbour — ^Peaceful aspect of affiurs — ^The old Dutch settlement of 
Desima— Singular reception of the Dutch superintendent of trade by the 
Tycoon at Teddo— Analogous position of the agents of the late East 
India Company at CSanton— The Japanese town of Nagasaki — Effects of 
solar influence — Heat apoplexy — Occurrence of cholera at Nagasaki 
coexistent with salubrity of climate— Obserrations on cholera. 

On the afternoon of the 1st of Angast, 1863, 1 sailed fix>m 
Yokohama in the French steam-coirette the ''Monge." 
Her commander, Captain the Count de MaroUes, had recently 
been promoted for services against the Taepmgs, in the 
course of which he had been wounded, and was about to 
return to France, after handing the vessel over to his suc- 
cessor at Shanghai. He was anxious to make the passage to 
Nagasaki through the Straits of Semonosaki, but Admiral 
Jaurais would only giye him permission on the understand- 
ing that if he was fired at, he was not to continue his pro- 
gress through, but return at once to Yokohama to apprise 
him of what had occurred. Being, howeyer, specially 
desirous of reaching Shanghai in time to catch the French 
mail steamer that was to leaye on the 15th of the month, he 
did not like to risk haying to return to Yokohama, though 
he had no objection to risk an action with the batteries, if 
he was allow^ to go on ; much to his regret, therefore, he 
had to take the outside passage, and thus forego seeing the 
beauties of the Inland or Sowonada sea^ and the formidable 
batteries of the Prince of fTegato. 

A A 



354 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

The afternoon was beautifully jSne, the sky being clear 
and but little wind blowing. As we were steaming down 
the Bay of Yeddo a table was placed on deck« at which the 
first lieutenant and the purser sat down, with a bag of 
dollars before them. The names of the crew were ihen 
called over, and one by one each sailor came forward and 
received four dollars. My first impression was that it was 
their month's pay, but the signs of satisfaction apparent on 
their faces as they pocketed the money, seeming to me 
hardly consistent with so small a monthly stipend, I inquired 
as to what the payment was, and learned that it was gained 
by exchange out of dollar and itzeboo transactions with the 
Japanese custom-house. To make this intelligible, it is ne- 
cessary to explain what the currency of Japan is, and the 
relation in which the coins stand to the Mexican dollar, 
which is the one now in general use amongst foreigners in 
China and Japan. 

The Japanese coins in circulation at Yokohama and else- 
where are the tempo and the itzeboo, the former an oyal 
shaped copper coin, about the value of l^d. ; sixteen of 
these go to the itzeboo, a silver coin of an oblong shape, 
about one inch long and half-an-inch broad. The intrinsic 
value of the itzeboo is as nearly as possible Is. 5d. sterling, 
though at present its nominal value is Is. Sd. In the tenth 
article of the British treaty it is provided that " All foreign 
coin shall be current in Japan, and shall pass for its oor« 
responding weight in Japanese coin of the same descrip* 
tion. British and Japanese subjects may freely use 
foreign or Japanese coin in making payments to each 
other. As some time will elapse before the Japanese 
will become acquainted with the value of foreign coin, 
the Japanese Government will, for the period of one 
year afber the opening of each port, Aunish British sub- 
jects with Japanese coin in exchange for theirs, equal 
weights being given, and no discount taken for re- 
coinage." At this period (1858) 311 itzeboos were the 



JAPANESE CUERENOY. S6Sr 

equivalent of 100 dollars, and the fixed standard rate of 
exchange. In minor transactions one dollar represented 
three itzeboos. Silver also, in relation to gold, was much 
more valuable in Japan at that time than it now is. The 
kobang, which is a gold coin of an oval shape, worth 
about 22s., could be readily purchased four years ago for six 
itzeboos, and was consequently eagerly bought up by foreign 
merchants. The Japanese now, however, fiilly appreciate the 
relative values of silver and gold, and the kobang at the 
present time costs 16 itzeboos, more in fact than its intrinsic 
value, so scarce have they become. Formerly so comparatively 
little value was attached to them that lacquerware manufactu- 
rers were in the habit of chopping them up and introducing 
small pieces of them into their finer kinds of lacquerware, 
which now, however, is very scarce, and goes under the name of 
the " old gold lacquer.** This ware, in former days, before the 
eyes of the Japanese were opened to the value of gold by 
recent treaty intercourse, was common enough and procurable 
at moderate price, but things now are completely changed. 

The compulsory rate of exchange fixed by treaty in 1858 
ceased at Yokohama in June, 1860, and when the dollar 
thus came into general circulation amongst the Japanese 
ta'ading community, it was found to be so little appreciated 
that it was not always practicable to get two itzeboos in 
exchange for it. By arrangement, however, made on the 
spot, after the compulsory exchange ceased, the Japanese 
Government was made to supply the foreign Legations and 
Consulates with itzeboos in exchange for a certain number of 
dollars monthly ; 5000 dollars to be exchanged, I believe, 
for each Legation establishment and 1000 for each Consu- 
late, the rate of exchange being fixed at three itzeboos to 
the dollar, which secured foreign Government residents firom 
loss caused by fiuctuations in the money market. 

For the mercantile class of the community since June, 
1860, the value of the dollar has been altogether governed 
by the rates of exchange of the day, and as the dollar has 

A A 2 






S5e NOETH CHIKA AKD JAPAN. 

been mnch depreciated ever since, a certain feeling of bofq- 
ness exists on the part of the foreign merchants that the 
residents in OoTemment employment are so mnch more ad- 
vantageonsly placed in reference to bnllion transactions with 
the Japanese than they now are. They, howerer, have had 
their day, and made good nse of it in the buying np of all 
the gold that was procnrable ; in fact, were the same relatiye 
advantages to be extended to the mercantile commnnity as 
are now enjoyed by the diplomatic and other foreign Govern- 
ment fiesidents, that is to say, the right of exchanging their 
incomes in a similar manner at the Japanese cnstom-honse, 
it wonld not be necessary, aa I shall proceed to show, to 
trade in anything else bnt the conversion of dollars into 
itzeboos and vice versdy as each transaction of the kind 
gives a very handsome profit, without incurring any of the 
risks and troubles usually attendant on goods speculations. 

In addition to that referring to famishing the Legations 
and Consulates with itzeboos for a fixed number of dollars, 
a farther arrangement has been made with the Japanese 
Government, that every naval or military ofiicer that the 
Treaty Powers happen to have for the time in port, or if need 
be employed on shore, shall be allowed to exchange three 
dollars per diem at the Japanese custom-houses at the open 
ports (Yokohama, Nagasaki, and Hakodadi), and every 
sailor or soldier one dollar per diem ; the dollars being 
taken at the same rate as from the resident foreign officials, 
namely, three itzeboos to the dollar. This arrangement, 
seeing that the dollar as a current coin is not worth mnch 
over two itzeboos and a half, consequently involves a con- 
siderable gain to the fleet ; the more so, as it is systematically 
managed, not by the officers or men themselves, but by the 
paymasters, who exchange at the custom-house the foil 
amount they are entitled to, namely, one dollar a-day for 
every seaman and marine borne on the ship's books, and 
three dollars per diem for every officer. The same system 
is in force with the foreign troops serving on shore. 



PROFITS OF EXCHANGE. 357 

The extent of the profit will be readily understood by 
citing the rate of exchange at the time I left Yokohama, 
namely, 260 itzeboos to 100 dollars. Thus, for eyeiy 
100 doUars exchanged by naval or military paymafiters, 
300 itzeboos are paid by the Japanese cnstom-honsei and 
for 260 of these they can repossess themselyes of their 
100 dollars by purchasing them in the ordinary money 
market ; making a clear profit, at the present rate of the 
itzeboo, equal to about fifteen per cent, sterling on this, the 
most simple of monetary transactions. Not long ago, the 
gain was much greater, as itzeboos had risen till less than 
200 were equivalent to the 100 dollars. 

In the French service every peimy thus gained by exchange 
is divided amongst the officers and men in their relative pro- 
portions ; thus, the gain to each sailor being four itzeboos on 
the exchange of ten dollars, gives him twelve itzeboos, or 
over four dollars per month, in addition to his pay, while 
three times as much falls to each officer. How the profit 
by exchange is applied in the British service I am not 
aware, with the exception that in some of our men-of-war 
I know a portion of it is applied to improving the diet of 
the men. This privilege does not extend bqyond the periods 
that vessels of war are actually lying in the treaty ports ; 
but by soldiers or sailors who have been landed for duty on 
shore, it is enjoyed so long as they continue to be so employed. 

The Tycoon's Government lately conceded to Admiral 
Jaurais the privilege individually of exchanging thirty 
dollars per diem at the custom-house, at the fixed rate 
already mentioned, and having done so, they voluntarily 
did the same to Admiral Euper, assigning as their reason, 
that having granted this to the French Admiral, they could 
not think of doing otherwise to the British Admiral. The 
Japanese Government having done this of their own accord 
for Admiral Kuper, General Pruyn did not see why he 
should not get the same for the senior naval officer of the 
United States, so he applied to have the like privilege ex- 



S68 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

tended to Captain Macdougall, of the " Wyoming,*' repre- 
senting him as holding the same relative position at Yoko- 
hama as an admiral. The Japanese Government, however, 
though apparently anxious to make friends with admirals com- 
manding fleets, did not seem to care so much about admirals 
commanding single ships, so they made inquiries at the 
other foreign Powers as to whether Captain Macdougall was 
the same as an admiral or not> and receiving an opinion un- 
favourable to his recognition in that rank, declined to give the 
permission the United States Minister had requested for him. 

The itzeboos furnished from the custom-house are made 
up in neat paper parcels, each containing one hundred. The 
paper used is of country manufacture, and remarkable for its 
strength and tenacity. It bears ink pretty well, and is 
applied to a variety of purposes by the Japanese, such as 
pocket-handkerchiefs, waterproof coats, window glass, &c. 
In addition to the ordinary itzeboo, there are half and 
quarter ones in general circulation, which are very con- 
venient sized coins, especially the latter, the value of which 
is about five pence. 

We had hardly got clear of the Bay of Teddo when the 
wind freshened to a strong breeze. Towards night of August 
3rd, we found ourselves on the outer circle of a typhoon, and 
all sail had to be taken in except a storm jib, and such was 
the force of the wind that, with this small patch of canvas 
only, she ran nine knots an hour. 

August hth, — The weather has been very dirty and 
squally the whole day, and it was with considerable diffi- 
culty this afternoon that the approach to the harbour of 
Nagasaki was made out. We entered between two points 
of land, and were soon completely landlocked and sailing 
in a lake. The scenery was very beautiful, consisting of a 
series of conical-shaped hills richly wooded, without a trace 
of level ground being anywhere visible. 

An hour nearly had elapsed since we entered the land, 
and I was standing near the bow of the vessel looking over 



NA6ASAKL 359 

the bulwarks, wondering where Nagasaki was, when sud« 
denly the harbour opened 4nto view, like the curtain rising 
in a theatre, and disclosing a gay tableau on the stage — the 
harbour filled with vessels, and standing out prominent 
amongst them H.M. ships "Leopard" and "Rattler." On 
shore, in the foreground, the old Dutch settlement of De« 
sima, with the native town in the rear, and the foreign 
settlement at right angles on its left ; the whole invested 
by lofty hills, thickly covered with brushwood and light 
timber of the brightest green, with here and there terraces 
of cultivation, and a few European bungalows dotted about 
on their slopes. 

The harbour of Nagasaki might be rendered unapproach- 
able, so great are its natural advantages for defence. Near 
the entrance, we passed under some formidable looking bat* 
teries, where about fifty guns are in position ; in addition 
to which there are a number of masked batteries at various 
other points, respecting which we have no accurate informa- 
tion, as the local authorities will not allow foreigners to 
examine the heights in the direction in question. The 
guns that we saw are all carefully protected from wet, by 
each one having a small wooden shed over it. 

We came to anchor a little after five o'clock, and I de- 
ferred visiting the shore until the morning, as a drizzling 
rain was falling, and I heard that during rain it becomes so 
muddy, as to render walking far from agreeable, especially 
on the slopes near the base of the hills. 

During an experience of foreign travel by no means 
limited, I can call to recollection no scene that for exquisite 
beauty is equal to the one witnessed this afternoon. The 
nearest approach to it that I have seen is the harbour of Bio 
Janeiro, and next to that, Port Louis, in the Isle of France. 

Augtcsi 6th. — On landing this morning I went to the 
Acting British Consul, Dr. Myburgh, and delivered to him 
some despatches that had been entrusted to me by Colonel 
Neale. As far as I could learn things seem to be going on 



860 NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

quietly enough here, and bnt little apprehension appears to 
exist in the minds of the foreign community with reference 
to any attack being made on them, though eveiy now and 
then there are rumours to that effect as at Yokohama. The 
desire also to take the life of the British Consular repce- 
sentatiye would seem to hare ceased with the departure of 
Mr. Moirison, as Dr. Myburgh does not express any fears 
respecting his own personal safety. 

After leaving the Consulate, which is built on the slope 
of one of the hills, I went and looked at the old settlement 
of Desima, situated at the extreme end of the harbonr, and 
separated from the native town by a canal running round 
its rear, which converts it into an artificial island. It is 
the place where, for nearly two centuries, the Dutch Tra- 
ding Company carried on their operations without being 
allowed to move beyond its precincts, except to a very 
limited extent, and under the following circumstances nar- 
rated by Eaempfer : — *^ Ever since the time of Joritomo^ the 
first secular monarch of Japan, who laid the foundation of 
the preset form of government, it hath been a custom ob- 
served, not only by the Governors of the Imperial Cities, 
and Lord-Lieutenants of the provinces, lands, and demesnes 
belonging to the Crown, but likewise by all the other 
Daimios and Scomjos, as they are here called (that is, the 
lords of all ranks and qualities throughout this vast empire), 
to go to court once a year and to pay their duties ; the lords 
of a higher rank, who for the extent of their power and 
dominions could well be styled kings or princes, to the 
Emperor himself, the rest only to his prime ministers as- 
sembled in council. Both accompany their reverences with 
presents proportionate to their quality and riches, in token 
of their acknowledging the supremacy of the Emperor.* 

* As the question of who is really the Emperor of Japan, reeponsible for 
its goTemmenty is one not unlikely shortly to arise in connection with the 
repudiation, by the Mikado, of the treaties entered into by the Tyoocm with 
foreigners, it is as well that I should here mention that the Brnperv 



JOURNEYINa IN JAPAN. 861 

The resident of our East India Company, the chief director 
of our trade for the time being, makes this journey with a 
physician or surgeon and one or two secretaries, and 
attended with numerous flocks of Japanese of different 
ranks and qualities, whom the Governors of Nagasaki, as 
our magistrates in this country whose instructions and 
orders we are to follow, appoint, as it were to honour and 
convoy us as persons that are going to see the Supreme 
Majesty of the empire ; but in fact, and chiefly, to guard 
and watch us, to keep a good eye over our conduct, to 
prevent us having any suspicious and unlawful conversation 
and communication with the natives ; from conveying 
secretly to them crosses, images, relics, or any other things 
which bear relation to the Christian religion ; from present- 
ing them with other European rarities, or from selling the 
same to them in private ; and more particularly to take care 
that none of us should escape into the country, there either 
to attempt the reviving and propagating of the Christian 
faith, or otherwise to occasion tumults and disturbances in 
prejudice of the tranquillity now established in the empire. 
So important a trust being laid upon the Japanese com- 
panions of our journeys, the read^ may easily imagine that 
none are chosen but persons of known candour and fidelity, 
and who are otherwise employed in affairs relating to the 
inspection and regulation of our trade, besides some of the 
Governor's own domestics. Nay, fiur from relying merely on 
their own faithfulness and sincerity, though perhaps never 
so often approved of, all those that are to go with us, 
from the leader down to the meanest servant (those only 
excepted who must look after the horses and are frequently 
changed), must, before they set out on this journey, oblige 
themselves by a solemn and dreadful oath, signed as usual 

referred to by Koampfer is the Tjcooa, or Siogonn, as he was caUed in 
those days, and that the yisit of homage was paid to him at Teddo, and 
that no allusion is made to any analogous Tisit being paid to the court of 
the Mikado at Kioto (Miako). 



362 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

with their blood, to give notice to the Goyemment at Naga- 
saki of whatever they observe to be done, either by the Datdi 
or by their own countrymen, contrary to the standing laws of 
the country and the many particular instructions which aie 
given them." 

Koempfer made the journey to the Emperor's court twice, 
first in 1691, and again in 1692. In the account he gives 
of the interview of the Chairman of the Dutch East India 
Company with the Tycoon, after describing their being 
ushered into the room adjoining the audience chamber, be 
goes on to say — " Having waited here upwards of an hour, 
and the Emperor having in the meantime seated himself in 
the hall of audience, Sino-Kami and two other commis- 
sioners came in and conducted our resident into the Emperor's 
presence, leaving us behind. As soon as he came thither, 
they cried out aloud 'HoUanda Captain,* which was the 
signal for him to draw near and make his obeisances. Ac- 
cordingly he crawled on his hands and knees to a place 
shown him between the presents ranged in due order on one 
side, and the place where the Emperor sat on the other, and 
when kneeling he bowed his forehead quite down to the 
ground, and so crawled backwards like a crab without utter- 
ing a single word. So mean and short a thing is the audience 
we have of this mighty monarch. Nor are more ceremonies 
observed in the audience he gives even to the greatest and 
most powerful princes of the empire. For, having been 
called into the hall, their names are cried out aloud, th^i 
they move on their hands and feet humbly and silently 
towards the Emperor's seat, and having shown their submis- 
sion by bowing their foreheads down to the ground, they 
creep back again in the same submissive posture." After 
being thus officially received, the Company's representative 
and suite, including Koempfer, were ordered to proceed to a 
room where the Emperor and ladies of the Court could see 
them through a screen, without themselves being seen, and 
for their amusement perform a variety of antics, Koempfer 
thus describing the scene : — 



AN IMPERIAL RECEPTION. 868 

**The Emperor and two ladies sat behind the grated 
Bcreens on onr right, and Bingosama, president of the 
Council of State, opposite to us in a room by himself. Soon 
after we came in, and had after the usual obeisances seated 
ourselyes on the place assigned to us, Bingosama welcomed 
us in the Emperor's name, and then desired us to sit upright, 
to take off our cloaks, to tell him our names and ages, to 
stand up, to walk, to turn about, to dance, to sing songs, to 
compliment one another, to be angry, to invite one another 
to dinner, to converse one with another, to discourse in a 
familiar way like father and son, to show how two Mends 
or man and wife compliment or take leave of one another, 
to play with children, to carry them about in our arms, and 
do many more things of the like nature. Moreover we were 
asked many more questions, serious and comical ; as for 
instance, what profession I was of, whether I cured any 
considerable distempers, to which I answered ' Yes, I had, 
but not at Nagasaki, where we were kept no better than 
prisoners.' What houses we had, whether our customs 
were diflFerent from theirs,- how we buried our people, and 
when ? to which was answered that we buried our dead in the 
day-time. How our prince did, what sort of man he was, 
whether the Governor-General at Batavia was superior to 
him, or whether he was under his command, whether we 
. had prayers and images like the Portuguese ? which was 
answered in the negative. Whether Holland and other 
countries abroad were subject to earthquakes and storms of 
thunder and lightning as well as Japan ? Whether there 
be houses set on fire, and people killed by lightning in 
European countries ? Then, again, we were commanded to 
read, and to dance separately and jointly, and to tell the 
names of some European plaisters, upon which I mentioned 
some of the hardest I could remember. The ambassador 
was asked concerning his children, how many he had, what 
their names were, also how far distant Holland was from 
Nagasaki? In the meanwhile some shutters were opened 



864 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

on the left hand by order of the Emperor, probably to cool 
the room. We were then farther commanded to put on our 
hats, to walk about the room discoursing with one another, 
to take off our perukes. I had sereral opportunities of 
seeing the Empress, and heard the Emperor say in Japanese 
how sharp we looked at the room where he was, and that 
we surely could not but know, or at least suspect him to be 
there ; upon which he removed and went to the ladies 
which sat just before us. Then I was desired once more 
to come nearer the screen, and take off my peruke. Th^i 
they made us jump, dance, play gambols, and walk together, 
and upon that they asked the ambassador and me how old 
we guessed Bingo to be ? He answered fifty and I forty- 
fiye, which made them laugh. Then they made us kiss one 
another like man and wife, which the ladies particularly 
showed by their laughter to be weU pleased with. They 
desired us further to show them what sort of complimente 
it was customary in Europe to make to inferiors, to ladiefi, 
to superiors, to princes, and to kings. After this they 
begged another song of me, and were satisfied with two 
which the company seemed to like yeiy well. After this 
fEurce was over we were ordered to take off our cloaks, to 
come near the screen one by one, and to take our leave in 
the very same manner we would take it of a prince or king 
in Europe, which being done seemingly to their satisfsu^ion, 
we went away, after having been exercised in this manner 
for two hours and a half." 

Much as we may be inclined now«a-days to laugh at 
• accounts such as this, showing the manner in which the 
Dutch succeeded in maintaining a commercial footing in 
Japan, it is probable that so late as thirty-five years ago 
our own trade at Canton was carried on under circumstances 
of not much greater dignity by the representatives there of 
the late East India Company, certain records of which, re- 
maining amongst the archives of the superintendency of 
British trade in China, tend to show that the instructions 



DESDiA. 565 

firom home sent to the Company's agents at Canton, were 
snch as to warrant their submitting to ahnost any indignity 
rather than incnr the risk of a stoppage of trade. The 
extent to which the principle of right and wrong was sunk 
in a sordid spirit of gain, may be inferred fix)m the follow- 
ing occorrence which took place, if I recollect rightly, in the 
year 1825. While a salute was being fired from a British 
vessel lying ofT the factory at Canton, the wad from one of 
the gnus struck a Chinaman on shore and killed him. The 
Chinese authorities demanded the surrender of the man who 
had fired the gun, and to the everlasting shame of all con- 
cerned, the unfortunate and unoffending man was given up, 
and his life sacrificed to the sanguinary laws of China, 
rather than that any question should arise likely to result 
in the trade being temporarily stopped. Matters now, 
however, are completely changed, and not unfrequently 
pushed to an equally reprehensible extreme in the opposite 
direction. 

The Chinese traders as well as the Dutch were confined 
within the precincts of Desima, and near its entrance at the 
present time there is a custom house for the special purpose 
of supervising the commercial doings of the Chinamen. 

After having looked at Desima, which presents no special 
object of interest, I walked through the native town, which 
is built in a somewhat detached manner on the hilly slopes, 
and consists of a number of divisions connected together 
by flights of steps and bridges. The houses, generally 
speaking, are of common and flimsy construction, such as 
a fire would make short work of, especially if there was any 
wind at the time. The porcelain and lacquer ware for sale 
in the shops appeared to me very inferior to what I had 
seen at Yokohama, the only exception being the egg shell 
China, which is very delicate and beautiftd. I saw none of 
the handsome black porcelain which is procurable at Yoko- 
hama. Several Japanese boys, who spoke English pretty 
well and seemed to be professional guides, followed me 



866 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

through the town, and were most anxionfl to gire me the 
benefit of their local knowledge and acquaintance with the 
tastes of foreigners. They recommended a variety of places 
as worthy of being visited, some of their suggestions tend- 
ing to show that experience had not led them to enter- 
tain the most elevated notions of the morality of foreign 
visitors. 

On returning from the Japanese town, I accompanied Mr. 
Antonio Loureiro through the modem foreign settlement, 
which is neatly built on a small piece of level ground that 
has been recovered fix)m the sea, and formed into a bond. 
It is here that the places of business are, but the private 
residences of the foreigners are, for the most part, on the 
hills overlooking the harbour. In the lower portion of the 
settlement an embryo club and American bowling alley 
have lately been started by the foreign residents. Several 
naval officers were amusing themselves at the latter, which. 
seemed to afford them a healthy form of exercise.* One or 
two of these American bowling alleys might with great ad- 
vantage be attached to every one of our military barracks 
in the East ; their construction being simple, the expense 
trifling, the muscular exercise not too fatiguing, and the pro- 
tection from the sun complete — ^the latter being a point to 
which almost all authorities on Indian hygiene attach great 
importance. Individually, however, I am inclined to think 
that the injurious effects of ordinary exposure to the sun, 
particularly if the head be protected by a light and suitable 
hat, such as the ventilated pith helmet, are a good deal 
overrated, and not sufficient importance attached to 
habits of life and other collateral circumstances, which, in 
certain constitutions, it is not improbable, may confer the 
predisposition to be injuriously affected, not only by direct 

* I recollect being Btrnek vith the robnst and Lealthy appearance of one 
of the number — the Uite Mr. Edwards, NaTal Instmctor of the "Leopard." 
Two or three days afterwards, be was struck by cholera, and in a few 
hours succumbed to that fatal malady. 



CHOLERA* 367 

solar heat, but by sultry states of the weather, where there 
has been no exposure to the sun whatever. 

Having been, with that characteristic kindness for which 
his family are well known both in China and Japan, invited 
by Mr, Antonio Loureiro to stay with him during the de- 
tention of the **Monge" in harbour, I accompanied him in 
the afternoon to his bungalow situated some way up one of 
the hills, where two ladies with their husbands, who had ar- 
rived from Shanghai a week previously, were staying with him 
for the benefit of their health, and were rapidly convalescing 
from severe sickness contracted there. One of the ladies 
left Shanghai in a very critical state, and described to me 
the change which took place for the better in her symptoms 
and sensations immediately after landing at Nagasaki, as 
having been very remarkable. To all appearance the 
climate is a charming one, and yet at the veiy time that 
these invalids from Shanghai are recovering health and 
strength in it, cases of cholera are of daily occurrence; 
showing that an atmosphere may contain elements causing 
death in its most malignant form to some, and at the same 
time be equal to restoring the prostrated vital powers of 
others, as well as keep the general mass of the inhabitants 
in apparently the best of health. 

The more I see of this mysterious disease (cholera) the 
more I feel convinced of its dependence on some unusual 
condition of the atmospheric electricity, which however 
alone, I think, is not sufficient to develop the disease, but 
requires to come in collision with some special condition of 
the electricity of the human body, and that an electro- 
chemical change, the product of the two, causes the train of 
symptoms to which, incorrectly, the term cholera continues 
to be applied (its etymology implying symptoms that are 
not usually present in the graver forms of the disease) ; in 
other words, the decomposition of the blood by electrical 
agency transmitted from the atmosphere through the nervous 
system.. 



868 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

To no physical state of the hnmaii sjBtem (certain fonns 
of heat apoplexy excepted) does cholera, in its worst shape, 
seem to me so much allied as that produced by a stroke of 
lightning — in both of them the blood presenting similar 
appearances after death. In the latter we have a practical 
illustration of the blasting effects of the electric fluid in 
its most violent form, and my belief is that a somewhat 
analogous condition, in a less acute and severe form, is 
produced by the contact of the atmospheric and systemic 
electricities to which I have referred. Fortunately, for the 
sake of mankind^ the possession of this constitutional sua** 
ceptibility would seem to be the exception and not the rale, 
otherwise the ravages of cholera would have been yery much 
greater than the records of even the most severe epidemics 
of the disease show. 

It is difficult to decide, in places where cholera is pte- 
yailing, whether the morbid electricity of the atmosphere 
exists in a difiPdse form, or only shoots about here and there, 
picking off victims that come virithin its sphere of action. 
Facts connected with the history of epidemics can be cited 
tending to support both views, but taken altogether the 
balance of evidence is in favour of its existing in certain 
portions of the atmosphere more than in others. 

This view of the existence of an atmospheric electrical 
cause operating on a systemic one — the sum of the two 
constituting cholera — ^has not, so far as I am aware, been 
previously advanced in explanation of the cause of the 
disease, and it has been arrived at by me, after careful ob- 
servation and endeavours to connect its occurrence with 
those agencies, to which, in medical and sanitary literature, 
it is usually referred ; namely, injudicious diet, bad water, 
contagion, and local filth — the result having been that &r 
from having ascertained a single fact tending to identify the 
disease with any of these causes, facts in the aggregate have 
satisfied me that they have no direct connection whatever 
with its causation. That they may have an indirect con- 



CHOLEBA. 869 

nection, as &r as relates to dereloping an indiyidual predis- 
position to the disease, is possible, though I cannot say that 
I have been able to find proof of it during my own ex- 
perience ; inasmuch as I have seen places where the most 
important of the conditions in question were in full opera- 
tion totally escape cholera, and localities tree from them 
severely visited. 

There is no disease in the investigation of which the 
post hoc propter hoc argument has been so indiscriminately 
and unphilosophically brought into play, as in that of 
cholera. For instance, when a person, especially in the 
better class of society, is attacked, the first question gene- 
rally asked relates to what has been eaten previously, and 
should perchance a fruit tart or a cucumber have constituted 
a pprtion of the food, the attack is usually attributed to 
that, without pushing the investigation any farther, and in- 
quiring how many other people also on the same day ate 
fruit tarts or cucumbers without experiencmg any injurious 
consequences. 

If these views are correct, it is manifest that the labours 
of sanitarians to remove what they believe to be the causes 
of cholera are not likely to be attended with success, and 
that the true field for investigation and research will lie in 
endeavouring to ascertain the special physical conditions 
which render certain individuals susceptible of the choleraic 
influence, and confer immunity on the majority of the 
human race. Cholera has been known to run up one side of 
a barrack-room and pick off a certain number of victims, 
leaving the greater number untouched, while the men on the 
opposite side of the room h9,ve escaped altogether. The 
same has been observed in the case of streets and villages 
at home. I have seen it in China shoot into a ward of 
the hospital and pick off two men out of five-and-thiriy. 
I have known it also pass through a barrack-room and in its 
course take only three men out of sixty. There is no 
doubt that it frequently, though by no means invariably, 

BB 



370 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN, 

displays a marked predisposition to hoyer oyer water, and 
also to follow the courses of riyers ; bat I haye also seen it 
occar under conditions of a totally opposite nature^ and 
where the indiyiduals attacked were, as far as the eye could 
judge, enjoying eyery sanitary adyantage. 

As well might we by scientific means attempt io control 
the action of the winds and the wayes, and bid them 
blow and roll as we would wish, as hope to banish fix>m 
the atmosphere the cause originating cholera when, goided 
by the hand of nature, its cycle comes round. That the re- 
searches of adyancing science, particularly if conducted by 
a Faraday, may ultimately discoyer the co-relations existing 
between the electrical condition's of the human body and 
the choleraic electricity of the atmosphere is possible; and 
if so, then perhaps, as we protect our ships, our houses, and 
our powder magazines from one form of the electric floid, 
some analogous protecting agent may be discoyered capable 
of ayerting from combination with our systems electrical 
agency of another and uncognisable nature. 

In reflecting on a disease which has so completely baflied 
human skill as cholera, one feels warranted in indulging in 
guesses after truth, and as the principle of making it com- 
pulsory on the part of soldiers in India and China to wear 
protecting agents, under the name of ** cholera belts," ♦ is 
at the present time recognised — ^which, howeyer, do not 
seem to be attended with any practical benefit — ^the idea 
occurs to me, that in the present complete state of our 
ignorance respecting the disease, it would not be an irra- 
tional subject of inyestigation, to endeayour to ascertain 
whether, in places subject to yisitations of cholera, the 
wearing of the medicinal galyanic chains that are now in com- 
mon use, or some light metallic apparatus similar to them, 
might not exercise a protecting influence. Electricity and 

* These eonBist merely of a broad pieoe of ooazBe flannel bound round 
the abdomen, and eeeored by Btrings of tape. 



ELECntlCITY. 371 

galyanism have been extensiyely tried for the cme of 
cholera ; it is not unreasonable, tiierefore, to entertain the 
possibility, at least, that some snch agency might pre- 
vent it. 



B B 2 



CHAPTER IX. 

Visit to the Japanese steam factory at Nagasaki — ^Bnglish tea establiab- 
ment — Commercial relations of the Prince of Satsuma with foreigners 
at Nagasald—Interriew with two of Satsnma^s high officers — ^Anxiety 
expressed by them to avert the visit of the British squadron to Kago- 
sima — Leave Nagasaki — ^Arrive at ShanghaL 

August 7th. — ^Visited the Japanese steam factoiy. It is 
under Dutch superintendence, and the machinery for it was 
made at Amsterdam. We were admitted without any 
trouble, and allowed to go all over the establishment, which 
is on a scale of considerable extent. It was certainly a 
remarkable sight in this remote part of the world to see 
Japanese artizans at work at the various operations con- 
nected with the manufacture of marine steam-engines ; 
such as turning iron shafts, cylinders, and the like. At- 
tached to the engineering works there is a foundry, where 
we saw Japanese engaged in casting. Kear it there is a 
glass work, in which we found glass tubing and chimneys 
for moderator lamps in course of being made. Large 
quantities of old glass, chiefly broken bottles, seemed to be 
kept in store for conversion into new material, being first 
reduced into fine powder, and further refined by a carefol 
process of sifting through a fine gauze sieve. 

In another portion of the establishment, two large 
boilers, beautifully constructed, and composed entirely of 
copper plates, were being completed for the Prince of 
Satsuma, to replace the iron boilers of the ^^ England^* 
steamer, which he had recently purchased, and had the 



STEAM FACTORY. 373 

satis&ction of finding ont afterwards that the boilers were 
so defectiye as to require immediate remoyal. These copper 
boilers, though very expensive in the first instance, are 
most economical in the end, as they will last thirty years, — 
in fact, see the vessel ont, whereas iron ones are expended 
in about seven years. 

We visited also a part of the establishment where a 
Japanese gunsmith was at work with some musket barrels, 
endeavouring to convert them into spiral grooved rifles, 
according to a breech-loading sample which he had. He 
seemed, however, to have made but little progress, his 
labours not having extended beyond designing some imple- 
ments with which he purposed making the attempt. 

The " Amerika," a Eussian steam-corvette, was lying oflF 
the factory, about to be fitted with a pair of new iron 
boilers, which her commander informed us he had succeeded 
in getting manufactured by the Japanese €k)vemment for 
600 dollars, he giving them the aid of his own engineers. 
He endeavoured to get the boilers made at Shanghai in 
the first instance, but the snm demanded was 25,000 dol- 
lars, which he considered such an imposition that he deter- 
mined to try the Japanese factory, and had succeeded 
beyond his expectations. He farther informed us that he 
had paid at Shanghai 21,000 dollars for a new mast and 
the docking and coppering of his vessel, he finding the 
copper. 

The Japanese have already made at this factory a com- 
plete set of machinery for a steam-corvette, but as yet they 
have not built the vessel that the engines are intended to 
propel. 

On recrossing the harboirr, and proceeding to the foreign 
settlement, we visited the tea-firing establishment attached 
to the firm of Messrs. Glover and Company. We found 
upwards of 1000 Japanese men and women at work. This 
establishment is the only one of the kind yet started in 
Japan, and it is merely the translation to that country of 



374 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

the gystem which has been long in operation on a great 
scale in China. 

The Japanese tea, I am informed by Mr. Glover, is as 
yet weak in strength, bnt is gradnallj improying fix>m year 
to year, its cnltivation being more carefdlly attended to as 
the foreign demand for it increases. Heretofore, it has been 
allowed, in a great measure, to grow wild along the side of 
hedges. 

The workers in the factoiy receire five tempos daily, 
equal to about eightpenoe sterling. At present, at Naga- 
saki, sixteen tempos go to the itzeboo, and two itzeboos 
and five tempos to the dollar. 

The Messrs. Glover have frequent commercial transac- 
tions with the Prince of Satsuma, and lately sent him a 
present of a gold watch and chain. Amongst some of the 
supplies that he has recently requested them to procure for 
him is an European arm-chair, for which he has formed a 
fancy, having seen one on board one of his steamers. The 
Messrs. Glover being very amdous respecting the issne of 
our demands on Satsuma at Kagosima, and knowing, from 
the circumstances under which I had been residing at 
Yokohama, that I was better informed on the matter than 
any one at the time in Nagasaki, asked me if I would 
accompany one of the firm to the Japanese town, and per- 
sonally explain to two of Satsuma's officers, who were then 
residing there, the existing state of matters, as they felt 
much afraid, from what they had stated, that though 
Satsuma individually was most anxious to avoid hosti- 
lities, and ready privately to pay the money, still, if the 
fleet went to Eagosima, and made a public demand for it, 
hostilities would result, as he would lose face (as the Chinese 
say) with his own people, and get into trouble with the 
Mikado, if the money was paid under compulsion. One of 
the officers in question, named Mi-no-di, was then Satsuma's 
chief agent at Nagasaki, and comptroller of his finance ; 
the other, named Gho-dhi, was an executive officer and per- 



GHO-DHL 375 

« 

sonal friend and associate of Satstuna's, by whom he had 
recently been invested with the command of his steam 
yacht, the " Sir George Grey," in which he was in the habit 
of making frequent trips. 

As I did not see that I could do any harm, and might 
possibly do some good, I consented to go as requested with 
Mr. Thomas Glover, who has acquired some colloquial 
knowledge of the language. We proceeded to a private 
house in the Japanese town, where Gho-dhi was at the time 
residing with a Japanese who talks English pretty well, and 
who has been employed in the native interpretorial service. 
On entering, Mr. Glover, in conformity with the custom of 
the country, took his boots off, so as not to soil the padded 
matting with which all Japanese floors are covered. 

On going up-stairs, Gho-dhi, who seemed to be on most 
friendly terms with Mr. Glover, came forward, and after 
shaking hands with me, conveyed through the interpreter 
e}q)ressions of welcome. We were immediately requested 
to be seated, and we sat down on the window-sill in pre- 
ference to the matted floor. Tea and fruit were then 
brought in on small lacquer trays, after which Mr. Glover 
proceeded to explain that the object we had in coming, was 
to inform them of the approaching visit of the British 
squadron to Eagosima, with the letter demanding the in- 
demnity money, and to caution them above eveiything 
against making any hostile demonstration on the arrival 
of the ships ; because, if a single shot was fired from the 
batteries on the vessels, the town of Kagosima would be 
destroyed He said that they were aware of the intention 
of the English to send ships to Kagosima to deliver the 
letter referred to, and that he knew that the Prince of 
Satsuma was very uneasy on the subject, as he was afraid 
that he would not be able to control the men in his batte- 
ries, who, in spite of his orders to the contrary, might fire 
upon the vessels. I pointed out to him that the easiest 
way of avoiding this risk, would be to remove the men 



376 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

altogether from the batteries, and place them in barrackB in 
the town, where they would be removed from the tempta- 
tion of acting on their own responsibility, when they saw 
the vessels approaching. He at once admitted this plan 
to be the correct one to adopt, and said that withont delay 
he would adopt mea£nires to prevent a collision taking place, 
and that he could almost guarantee that the ships would 
not be fired at on their arrival in the anchorage. He then 
put a variety of questions to me, all bearing on the practi- 
cability of averting the ships coming at all, and asked if it 
would not be possible to pay the money privately, becanse, 
if the demand for it was made in public, the matter mnst 
be referred to the Mikado and Tycoon, and that the Prince 
of Satsuma would be compelled to act in accordance with 
their decision. Gho-dhi then went on to express the obliga- | 

tions he felt to me for the considerate spirit which had 
influenced me in coming to him, as well as for the informa- 
tion and advice I had given ; also, that he would at once 
despatch a special courier overland to Eagosima^ and con- 
vey to the Prince of Satsuma what had passed at our inter- 
view. Before I left, however, he expressed himself as being 
very anxious that I should see Mi-no-di, as he was the 
chief envoy of the Prince at Nagasaki. He then sat down 
on the floor, and took writing materials out of a box, and 
with remarkable rapidity wrote a somewhat lengthy letter to 
Mi-no-di, after the manner of a scroll, which is the Japanese 
mode of writing. The length of this note was nearly six 
feet; the characters being large, and the writing wide. 
This communication was given to the interpreter, and I 
was asked to go with him alone ; Mr. Glover and Gho-dhi 
remaining behind, having some private business to settle. 

When we reached Mi-no-di's house, several servants came 
to the door, and the visit of a foreigner seemed to excite a 
good deal of surprise. The interpreter sent in Gho-dhi's 
letter, and in a few minutes we were ushered into a room 
beautiftilly matted, and presenting a perfect model of dean- 



MI-NO-DL 377 

liness. In this room there were a table and fonr European 
arm-chairs, the first that I had seen in a Japanese dwelling, 
and which seemed to show ^the leaning of the native mind 
towards certain customs of the West * After we had been 
in the room about five minutes, Mi-no-di, a fine burly-look- 
ing old man, with a sword stuck in his sash, came in. The 
interpreter immediately prostrated himself before him, bring- 
ing his head in contact with the ground, in much the same 
way as the Chinese perform the kow-tow ; indicating that 
a wide difference existed between their respectiye social 
positions. Mi-no-di shook hands cordially with me, being 
apparently fiuniliar with this European custom. After 
making me sit down, he commenced at once to go oyer 
the same ground that had been already gone oyer with 
6ho-dhi, especially with reference to the possibility of pre- 
venting the coming of the ships. In a short time we were 
joined by Mr. Glover, Gho-dhi, and a third party, also a 
high officer of Satsuma's. They all seemed to take the 
greatest interest in the question, and I was asked whether, 
supposing the money could not be paid in dollars, that 
would occajsion any difficulty. I said that I did not think 
it would, as I had eveiy reason to believe that the equiva- 
lent in itzeboos would be received. In the course of our 
conversation tea was brought in first, afterwards champagne, 
and sponge cake. The wine seemed to have come from 
Holland, and was given to us in European claret glasses. 
Champagne appears to be a wine suited to the Japanese 
taste, as they all drank it with evident relish. 

The two interviews extended over two hours and a half, 
and as I was afraid of losing my passage to Shanghai, I 
had to take my departure before they were nearly tired of 
talking on the matter, continuing to go again and agam over 
the same ground that we had originally started on. They 

* In China tables and arm*chair8 are in nniTenal use aU OTer the em- 
pire, and it is singnlar that in this respect the Chinese shoold differ from 
aU other Orientals. 



S78 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

were very anxious to know if, by sending the money to 
Yokohania, they conld not succeed in stopping the ships 
coming. I said I thought not, for two reasons — ^in the first 
place, that it was almost certain that the ships had already 
sailed for Eagosima, and in the second place, that the 
orders of the British Groyemment were, that the demands 
were to be made at Kagosima, and these demands embraced 
other questions than the mere payment of the money, bnt 
were of a nature that would admit of easy adjustment, if 
the desire was manifest on their part for a M^dly settle- 
ment of the matter. Before leaving, jny name was requested 
and written down by each of them, and through the int^- 
preter they conveyed to me certain expressions of firiendship, 
which, rendered into English by him, were to the effect^ 
that " they were my great Mends, and that they hoped I 
would revisit Japan, and that they might again see me." 
On taldng my departure, they displayed an amount of 
warmth and cordiality that I feel unwilling to take so 
crooked a view of human nature, even in Orientals, as to 
believe was mere empty acting. One of the last remarks 
they made was an assurance to the effect that no steps 
would be left untried on their part to prevent the ships 
being fired at as they approached the anchorage, and that 
they would, with the information they now possessed, 
guarantee that such an occurrence would not take place;, 
but that the letter of demands would be peacefully re- 
ceived. Nothing could seem more sincere than their desire 
to avoid hostilities, and bring about an amicable adjustment 
of existing difficulties. They would not, however, commit 
themselves to any expression favourable to the demands 
being complied with, otherwise than privately, repeating 
again and again that a public demand for the indemnity 
made by vessels of war would compel Satsuma to refer the 
question to the Mikado, the result of which, they were 
afraid, would be unfavourable to peace. 
On our way back, Mr. Glover informed me, that he had 



PAPENBBEG. 879 

had seyeral conyersations with them on the indemnity ques- 
tion, since it became known that British ships of war were 
going to Eagosima, and that the question had been asked 
by them whether, by paying the money to Messrs. Glover's 
firm, to the credit of the British Government, the difficulty 
could not be got over, and the visit from the ships averted. 
This, of course, it was explained to them the firm had no 
power to do, but Mr. Glover expressed himself as being 
confident, that if they had consented to receive the money, 
it would have been paid. 

Towards sunset the "Monge" steamed slowly out of 
Nagasaki harbour. On the left we passed a regularly con- 
structed fort, and a long battery of guns mounted en 
larbetlSy* on the top of a hill amongst some trees, neither 
of which fortifications had been observed as we entered. In 
a short time we passed close to a small rocky islet of a conical 
shape, with a few trees upon it, called Papenberg (Mount of 
the Priests) by the Dutch, from its having been the spot on 
which some two thousand Christians were landed at the 
period of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Japan, and put 
to death by being driven en maaee into the sea. 

AvgtAst lO^A. — We entered the Wang-po river and anchored 
a little above Woo-sung. On landing, I procured a sedan- 
chair and some Chinamen to carry my baggage, and started 
overland for Shanghai, a distance of about ten miles. The 
road the men took lay along narrow pathways, amongst one 
continuous mass of rice and cotton cultivation. The sun 
was very strong, but its influence was much modified by a 
cool and refreshing breeze that was blowing at the time 
over the paddy fields. 

On reaching Shanghai, I found that in determining to 
return there, I had anticipated the wishes of the commandant 
of the garrison. Colonel Hough, of the Second Belooch 
battalion, by whom I was requested to resume the duties 
of senior medical officer from which I had been relieved 

* Exposed on the top of a parapet unprotected by embrasares. 



880 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

four weeks previously ; one medical officer in the interval had 
been invalided, another was lying ill of fever jfrom son- 
stroke. Cholera was still prevalent, and the horizon in and 
around Shanghai had suddenly become less tranquil in con- 
sequence of the desertion of the former commander of the 
disciplined Chinese (Burgevine) to the Taepings, which had 
necessitated the summoning of the General firom Hong- 
Kong, the detention of the 67th Regiment at Shanghai, and 
the sending out of a patrolling force in the Soo-chow direc- 
tion of the thirty-mile radius round Shanghai that it has 
been settled by the English and French Governments shall 
be kept clear of Taepings. 

I shall not here enter into details of the circumstances 
occurring in connection with these events, as they are foreign 
to the subject of this narrative, and I only allude to them 
as explanatory of the circumstances under which I remained 
in China, and thus, from the best sources of information, 
became cognizant of the serious results of the British de- 
monstration before Kagosima within a few days of their 
occurrence. In common with many others I had entertained 
the hope that the issue would have been different, notwith- 
standing the misgivings expressed to me at Nagasaki respect- 
ing the consequences, if the demand for the indemnity was 
made in a public and warlike manner, in place of being 
negotiated under the rose, which there is no doubt Satsnma's 
people were most anxious to effect. This, however, could 
not have been done without giving a complexion to the 
affair, at variance with the object which Her Majesty's 
Government had in view in preferring its demands. 



CHAPTER X. 

Kagoeima — ^Attempt of the Tycoon's Goyemment to detain the squadron — 
The letter of demands sent in to Satsuma — ^His minister's reply — 
Admiral Knper's despatch — Two of Satsnma's officers Tolnntary pri- 
soners — ^The Armstrong gun in naval warfiure — ^Admiral Knper on- 
justly censored — ^A traveller's experience of the British abroad. 

August 2Brd. — I received a letter from Colonel Neale, 
dated the 18th of Angnst^ giving me an account of the 
eyentfdl occnrrences and dangers through which the squadron 
had just passed. 

Prior to proceeding to Kagosima, Colonel Neale considered 
it right to acquaint the goyemment of the Tycoon with his 
intentions. In reply, he received the following request that 
the expedition might be postponed : — " On receipt of your 
despatch of the 3rd of August, we ftilly understood that you 
intend to go within three days to the territory of the Prince of 
Satsuma with the men of war now lying in the Bay of 
Yokohama, in order to demand satisfaction for the murder 
of a British merchant on the Tokaido last year. But owing 
to the present unsettled state of affairs in our empire which 
you witness and hear of, we are in great^trouble, and intend 
to carry out several plans. Supposing, now, something un- 
toward were to happen, then all the trouble and care both 
you and we have taken would have been in vain and fruit- 
less ; therefore, we request that the said departure may be 
delayed for the present." This document was dated Yeddo, 
the 4th of August, and signed by four ministers for foreign 
affairs. Immediately after this communication was received 



882 NOETH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

by Colonel Neale, a yice-minister arriyed from Yeddo, and 
had an interview with him on the 5th of August, but singular 
to say, far from nrging farther arguments against the expe- 
dition, he stated that the Tycoon's Goyemment purposed 
sending one of its own steamers with the sqnadron, haying 
a high officer on board* No such steamer, however, made its 
appearance. 

On the 6th of August Colonel Neale and the members of 
the Legation embarked on board the " Euryalus," and the 
squadron detailed for Eagosima sailed the same day. 

On the 11th the squacb*on, under easy steam, entered the 
Bay of Kagosima, described as one of great beauty and 
considerable width at its entrance, and anchored about seven 
miles below the town, after having had much difficulty in 
finding a suitable place, owing to the depth of the water. 

At seven o'clock the following morning the vessels weighed 
anchor and steamed for the town of Eagosima, anchoring 
off it about two hours afterwards. It presented a strongly 
fortified appearance, having a line of forts in front of it, 
from one of which the flag of the Prince of Satsuma was 
flying. 

Shortly after anchoring, some two-sworded officials came 
off to the flag-ship, who, after asking why the vessels had 
come, concluded by saying that they believed it was for the 
purpose of delivering a letter to the Prince, who they stated 
was at the time residing inland about fifty miles distant. 
Colonel Neale gave them a letter containing the demands of 
the British Government, and fixed twenty-four hours as the 
period within which it was to be replied to. 

The following day officials came off several times to 
say that it was impossible to get the Prince of Satsuma's 
answer in so short a time, and Colonel Neale therefore added 
on six hours to the time originally fixed. Having effected 
this, their next step was a strong endeavour to get Colonel 
Neale and Admiral Euper to go on shore, and there receive 
the answer and personally discuss the matter in a building 



JAPANESE DESPATCH. 883 

that had been prepared for their reception. This invitation 
was, of course, prudently declined.* 

In the eyening the answer arriyed, written on a scroll of 
paper fifteen feet long. As the document required transla- 
tion, the bearer of it was informed that if he sent off the 
next morning, a reply wonld be given, whether it was con- 
sidered satisfactory or not. The document, on translation, 
proyed to be to the following effect : — 

" Translation of a Detpaich in Japanese front Eawa 
Eahi Tajdca, Minister of Matstjdaiba Shiubimo 
Daiboo, Pbikce of Satsuha, &c^ Jkc, to Colonel 
E. St. John Nbalb, HJBJf.'s Charged Affaires, JtCy 

''It is just that a man who has killed another should be 
arrested and punished by death, as [there is nothing more 
sacred than human life; and although we should like to 
secure them (the murderers), as we haye endeayoured to do 
since last year, it is impossible for us to do so owing to the 
political differences at present existing between the Daimios 
of Japan, some of whom eyen hide and protect such people. 
Besides, the murderers are not one but several persons, and 
therefore find easier means of escape. 

** The journey to Yeddo (undertaken by Shimidzu Saburo) 
was not with the object of committing murders but to con- 
ciliate the two courts of Yeddo and Kioto ; and you wiU 

* It has gmoe been stated, but wbether from reliable sonroeB of informa- 
tion or not, I cannot aaj, that the inyitation on shore was an attempt to 
lead Colonel Neale and Admiral Enper into a snare, and that, had they 
landed, ererj arrangement was made for their capture by the lifting of 
drawbridges within the castle, where it is alleged the interriew was to 
haye been held. The sqnadron wonld then hate been oommnnicated with 
to the effect that the prisoners wonld be beheaded if a shot was fired from 
any of the ships at the town ; and it is further stated, that if the treachery 
had snoceeded the eaptiyes were to have been imprisoned at Kirisimi, a 
stronghold of Satsnma's some fifty miles inland. !niis statement appeared 
in the *' Japan Commercial News,*' published at Yokohama immediately 
after the return of the squadron from Eagosima. 



384 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

iherefore easily believe that onr Master (Shimadus) could 
not have ordered it (the murder). Great ofPenders against 
the laws of their coimtry (Japan) who escape, are liable to 
capital punishment. If, therefore, we can detect those in qnee- 
tion, and after examination find them to be guilty, they shall 
be punished, and we will then inform the commanders of 
your men-of-war at Nagasaki or at Yokohama, in order that 
they may come to witness their execution. You must, there- 
fore, consent to the unavoidable delay which is necessary to 
cany out these measures. If we were to execute criminalfl 
condemned for other offences, and told you that they were 
the offenders (above referred to), you would not be able to 
recognise them ; and this would be deceiving you and not 
acting in accordance with the spirit of our ancestors. 

" The (Provincial) Governments of Japan are subordinate 
to the Yeddo Government, and, as you are well aware, are 
subservient to the orders received from it. 

" We have heard something about a Treaty having been 
negotiated, in which a certain limit was assigned to 
foreigners to move about in ; but we have not heard of 
any stipulation by which they are authorised to impede 
the passage of a road. 

" Supposing this happened in your country, travelling with 
a large number of retainers as we do here, would you not 
chastise (push out of the way and beat) any one thus dis- 
regarding and breaking the existing laws of the country ? 
If this were neglected. Princes could no longer traveL We 
repeat that we agree with you that the taking of human life 
is a veiy grave matter. On the other hand the insufficiency 
of the Yeddo Government^ who govern and direct every- 
thing, is shown by their neglecting to insert in the trealy 
(with foreigners) the laws of the country (in respect to these 
matters) which have existed from ancient times. You will, 
therefore, be able to judge yourself whether the Yeddo 
Government (for not inserting these laws) or my master (for 
canying them out) is to be blamed. 



HOSTILITIES COMMENCED. 865 

*'To decide this important matter, a high official of the 
Yeddo gOTeroment, and one of our goyemment, ought to 
discuss it before you, and find out who is in the right. 

'^ After the above question has been judged and settled, 
the money indemnity shall be arranged. 

"We hare not received from the Tjr^^oon any orders or 
communications by steamer that your men-of-war were 
coming here. Such statements are probably made with 
the object of representing us in a bad light. If it were not 
with this object you would certainly have them in writing 
from the (rorogio, and if so we request you to let us see 
thenu In consequence of such mis-statements great mis- 
understandings are caused. 

<< AU this surprises us much ! Does it not surprise 
you? 

" Oar goyemment will act in everything according to the 
orders of the Yeddo government. 

** This is our open-hearted reply to the different subjects 
mentioned in your despatch. 

" 29th day of the 6th month of the 3rd year of Bunkew 
(ldthAugast»186d). 

" Signed, Eawa 'K'amt Tajima, * Scisse' (Minister). 
"Translated by Abel A. J. Gowbr and A. Von 

SlEBOIiD." 

About half-past eight o'clock on the morning of the I4th, 
a boat came off from the town to ascertain how the answer 
had been received. The reply, I believe, was to the effect 
that the answer was so far from satisfactory that no further 
communication would be held with them except under a 
flag of truce. In the meantime, Colonel Neale had placed 
the adjustment of matters in the hands of Admiral Euper, 
and no better description can be given of the subsequent 
course of events than the following extracts from the gallant 
Admiral's despatch to the secretary of the Admiralty : — 

C 



38G NOBTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

'* 'EUBTALU8,* GuLf ov Tkddo, Aug. 22. 

"Sib, — I request you will acquaint the Lords Gommis- 
sioners of the Admiralty that, haying embarked Lientenant- 
Colonel Neale, Her Majesty's Oharg^-d'AffaireSy and such of 
the members of the Legation as he wished to aooompanj 
him, I sailed from Yokohama on the 6th inst. with the 
' Euiyalus,' * Pearl,' * Coquette,* * Argus,' * Perseus,' * Eaoe- 
horse,' and ' Havoc ' for Kagosima, the capital of the Daimio, 
Prince of Satsuma. 

" Several Japanese officials having come on board to inquire 
into the object of our visit, Lieutenant-Colonel Neale de- 
livered to them the despatch addressed to the Prince of 
Satsuma embodying the demands made upon him by Her 
Majesty's Government. Twenty-four hours were allowed for 
a reply, and the intervening time was made use of by us in 
obtaining as much local information as circumstances ren- 
dered possible ; and towards the evening Captains Borlase 
and Josling, Commander Wilmot and Captain Brine, Royal 
Engineers, went farther up the Gulf in boats, and discoTered 
three steamers of the Prince of Satsuma anchored close to 
the shore, in a bay about seven or eight miles from our 
anchorage, but quite out of sight. 

" During the 13th the Japanese officials came on board 
several times with various excuses for delay in sending a 
reply to the demands, as well as to endeavour to induce 
Colonel Neale and myself to go on shore to hold a con- 
ference ; which, however, knowing the treacherous nature 
of these people, we from prudential motives thought fit to 
decline, offering, nevertheless, to hold the conference on 
board my flag-ship, or to move the * Havoc' close in shore 
for the purpose, which they declined. It was also observed 
that preparations were being made for hostilities. They 
had commenced at daylight to assemble large bodies of men 
in the batteries, and to point the whole of the guns (num- 
bering from 70 to 80) upon the squadron ; and five large 
junks belonging to the Prince, and employed in the trade 



ADMIIIAL KI7PER»S DESPATCH. 887 

with the Loo Choo Islands, were warped out of the inner 
harbour and anchored out of the line of fire, between the 
batteries and the squadron. In consequence of these mani- 
festations, so undoubtedly hostile in character, I considered 
it expedient to be on my guard against any act of treachery ; 
and as it had been decided by Lieutenant-Colonel Neale and 
myself that hostilities should not be commenced by us unless 
we were obliged to take the initiative, and as from the depth 
of water and the direction of the wind and tide, it would 
have been difficult, if not impossible, to keep the ships' 
broadsides on the batteries, I directed steam to be got up 
and the squadron to be ready to weigh at a moment's 
notice. 

" At about 8 p jf . we observed a number of boats coming 
out of the inner harbour, and, on approaching the squadron, 
they were found each to contain a few water-melons and 
eggs and two or three fowls, intended probably to represent 
the supplies with which they had promised to furnish us. 
One of these boats pulled off to each ship of the squadron, 
but, instead of going alongside to sell the few supplies they 
contained, they merely pulled round the ships and returned 
to the shore, it being evident, from the presence in each 
boat of a large number of yaconins, or soldiers, that their 
object was simply to obtain by closer observation a know- 
ledge of the strength of the various ships, and of their state 
of preparation for hostilities. This rendered it still more 
necessary to be on our guard. 

" Shortly following this occurrence an official said to be of 
high rank, and who stipulated for the admission to the ship 
of a guard of 40 men, came on board. I offered no objec- 
tion to the guard accompanying the official, but had a guard 
of Marines to &ce them on the opposite side of the quarter- 
deck. This officer, who was the bearer of the reply to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Neale's despatch, appeared to be in a 
state of great nervous anxiety, and no sooner had he taken 

his seat in the cabin than another boat waa observed pulling 

c c 2 



888 NORTH OHIKA AND JAPAN. 

hastily off from the shore, and waying flags as signals to 
the preceding one. On coming alongside it was ascertainedy 
as stated by the Japanese, that, as there was some Tnistake 
in the despatch, it was to be taken on shore again for altera- 
tion, and the official accordingly left the ship without deli- 
yering it. Feeling perfectly convinced that this was a mere 
mse to detain the ships in their present position, which 
would enable the batteries during slack water to fire upon 
us with comparative impnnily, I directed the squadron to 
weigh and to be prepared to return the fire of the batteries. 
But» finding they did not open fire upon us, which was pro- 
bably owing to the change in our position having completely 
thrown them out in the direction and elevation of their guns, 
I endeavoured to find an anchorage above the town, but the 
water proved to be so deep that I was obliged to return 
opposite to the town, and anchored in 21 fathoms, about 
1,000 yards nearer to the Sakura side. The letter from the 
authorities at Eagosima was brought on board in the 
evening by the same officer as before, who att^npted to 
explain his strange conduct by saying that it was a mis- 
understanding, and that the letter he then delivered to 
Colonel Neale was the same he had previously brought on 
board. 

'' In the forenoon of the 14th a strong breeze from the east- 
ward had sprung up, and the rapid falling of the barometer 
indicating the probable approach of a typhoon or heavy 
gale, the top-gallant masts were sent on deck. 

^* I have now to report to their lordships the ftarther pro- 
gress of the ev^ts following the receipt, on the evening of 
this day (14th instant), of a despatch from Her Majesty's 
Charg^-d'Affaires, and its enclosures, in which I was re- 
quested to enter upon such measures of coercion as I might 
deem expedient and best calculated to awaken the Prince of 
Satsuma to a sense of the serious nature of the determina- 
tions which had brought Her Majesty's squadron to the 
Bay of Soigosima. 



KAGOSIMA. 389 

"The *PearV 'Coquette,' *Argas,' * Racehorse,* and 
'HaYoc,' were sent at daylight on the 15th, under the 
orders of Captain Borlase, to seize the three steamers 
ahready referred to. 

" Captain Borlase was forther directed to avoid as much 
as possible all unnecessary bloodshed or actire hostility. 
The steamers were accordingly taken possession of without 
opposition, and brought down to our anchorage during the 
forenoon of the 15th, lashed alongside the * Coquette,' 
' Argus,' and * Racehorse,' which^ vessels anchored in the 
same bay as before, the object had in view being the deten- 
tion of these steamers as reprisals, until the Prince of 8at- 
suma should either comply with the demands, or make over- 
tures to Her Majesty's Charg^'Affaires which might lead 
to their settlement. 

<< At noon, during a squall, accompanied by much rain, the 
whole of ihe batteries on the E[agosima side suddenly 
opened fire upon the ^Euryalus,' the only ship within range ; 
but although many shot and shell passed over and close 
around her, no damage was done beyond cutting away a few 
ropes. Finding that Hie springs on the cable would not keep 
the ship broadside on, and as it was impossible, with the 
comparatively small force at my command, to engage the 
batteries under weigh and at the same time to retain posses- 
sion of the steamers, I signalled to the 'Coquette,' * Argus,' 
and ' Racehorse' to bum their prizes, and then to the whole 
squadron to weigh and form the line of battle according to 
seniority, the 'Havoc' being directed to secure the de- 
struction of the three steamers. 

'' Previous to this the 'Perseus,' having slipped her cable, 
was directed to fire on the north battery until the signal was 
made to form line-of-battle, which sernce was executed by 
Commander A. J. Kingston with great promptness. 

" Although the weather was now very dirty, with ev^y 
indication of a typhoon, I considered it advisable not to 
postpone imtil another day the return of the fire of the 



30O NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Japanese, to punish the. Prince Satsuma for the outrage, 
and to vindicate the honour of the flag; and eyerything 
being now ready, I proceeded towards the batteries, opening 
fire upon the northernmost one, with considerable effect^ 
and passed at slow speed along the whole line, within 
point-blank range. Owing probably to the unfayonrable 
state of the weather, the ships astern did not maintain their 
position in as close order as I could have wished, and the 
* Euryalus* was consequently exposed to a very heavy and 
well-directed fire from several of the batteries at the same 
time, and suffered somewhat severely. About this time also, 
and while in the thickest of the action, I deeply regret to 
state that I was deprived at the same moment of the assist- 
ance of Captain Josling and Commander Wilmot> both of 
whom were killed by the same shot while standing by me 
on the bridge of the * Euryalus,' directing the fire of the 
quarters, and setting an example of coolness and gallantry 
which was emulated throughout the entire ship. 

" By the time the ' Euryalus' got abreast of the last or 
southernmost battery I could observe the town to be on fire 
in several places, and the weather having now assumed a 
most threatening appearance, I considered it advisable to 
discontinue the engagement, and to seek a secure anchorage 
for Her Majesty's ships. The * Havoc' was then ordered 
to set fire to five large junks belonging to the Prince of 
Satsuma, which Lieutenant George Poole accomplished in 
a most satisfactory manner ; and these, as well as a very 
extensive arsenal and foundry, for the manufacture of guns, 
shot and shell, together with large storehouses adjoining, 
were also completely destroyed. 

" During the whole of the succeeding night it blew almost 
a hurricane, but all the vessels of the squadron rode it out 
without accident, with the exception of the * Perseus,' w^hich 
vessel dragged her anchors off the bank into sixty fathoms 
water, and was compelled to slip her cable during the fol- 
lowing forenoon, when the gale had somewhat moderated. 



VOLTJNTART PRISONERS. 891 

The gale sabsided gradually dnring the 16 th, and as I had 
obseired the Japanese at work, apparently erecting batteries 
on the hill above the anchorage, enveloped in trees and 
bushes, and which might have inflicted much damage upon 
the small vessels lying within pistol-shot of the shore I 
became anxious for their safety, and determined to move 
the squadron out to the anchorage we had occupied on the 
night of our arrival in the Gulf, for the purpose of repairing 
damages, fishing spars, and refitting previous to proceeding 
to sea. 

^'The squadron accordingly weighed at 3 P.U. of the 
16th, and passing in line between the batteries of Eagosima 
and Sakurasima, steamed through the channel, and anchored 
to the southward of the island, taking advantage of the 
occasion to shell the batteries on the Saknra side which had 
not been previously engaged, and also the palace of the 
Prince in Eagosima. A feeble fire only was returned from 
the batteries which had not been closely engaged in the 
first attack, and this happily without effect upon Her 
Majesty's ships." 

Our total loss amounted to two officers and seven men 
killed, and fifby-two men wounded, four of them mortally. 

I had written to Colonel Neale an account of my inter- 
view with Satsuma's officers at Nagasaki. By a singular 
coincidence, two of my friends were, at the moment he 
received my letter, voluntary prisoners on board the " Eu- 
ryalus." They were on board the ** Sir George Grey" at 
the time of her capture, and requested to remain in the 
"Euryalus" rather than go on shore. The captives were 
Gho-dhi and the interpreter, whose name I have since 
learned is Easiwah ; he is a doctor by profession, and ac- 
companied the embassy to England in 1862. They were 
taken to Yokohama, and, under cover of night, on the 
24th of August, landed at Eanagawa. Colonel Neale men- 
tioned that, during the passage, a good deal was extracted 



392 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

from them, bnt nothing very consifitent or tangible vab 
ascertained ; which, however, is the nsnal characteriBtic of 
information deriyed from Japanese sonrces. 

The reports that reached Shanghai with refisrence to the 
Armstrong gnn at Eagosima, — ^the first occasion of its 
haying been tried in naval warfare, — ^were not of a fiEtYonr- 
able nature, and more especially in regard to the 110- 
ponnder gon, as compared with the ordinary muzzle-loading 
68-ponnder, the comparison being represented as having 
been much to the disadvantage of the former, on board of 
certain vessels whose armament admitted of the respective 
merits of the two guns being &irly tested. Altogether, the 
general tone of the statements then in circulation was calcu- 
lated to throw considerable doubt not only on the effidency 
of the gun at the range at which it was used, but also on 
the suitableness for naval guns of lead-coated projectiles, 
owing to the loss of bulk to which the process of cleaning 
necessary on shipboard exposes them, and the consequent 
increased windage and loss of velocity and penetrating force 
which result. In a former chapter, I alluded to the fact 
that the Armstrong shell does not invariably burst into the 
thirty-nine segments of which it is constructed; and this I 
am certain of, that assertions to the effect that wounds pro- 
duced by segments of Armstrong shells are equal in severity 
to wounds caused by fragments of ordinary sheUs are incor- 
rect. I think it may be safely admitted, as an axiom in 
physics, that the greater the resistance offered to an explo- 
sive compound, such as the bursting-charge of a sheU, the 
greater wiU be the force with which the fragments of the 
containing body are scattered about ; it therefore seems to 
me not at all probable that the resistance to the explosion 
of gunpowder in a conical iron case, built of thirty-nine 
separate pieces, cemented together, and covered over with a 
thin coating of lead, can be equal to that offered by a 
hollow globe of cast-iron, such as the ordinary shell is 
formed of. I recollect an officer of the Boyal Artilleiy 



THE ABMBTROKG SHELL. 89S 

mentioning to me at Tien-tsin, that immediately after the 
capture of the Taka Forts, as he was walking romid the 
ontside looking at the damage done by onr fire, he obserred 
where one of the 12-pomider Armstrong shells had exploded 
nndemeath one of the mantlets that the Chinese nsed for 
coyering their embrasures, and that, to his surprise, the 
fragments had to all appearance separated with so little 
force as not to have penetrated the hide of which the 
mantlet was formed. 

On the news of the affair of Elagosima reaching England, 
strong expressions of opinion were published condemnatory 
of the proceeding. The measures adopted by Admiral 
Euper were allied to have been characterised by unneces- 
sary mthlessness. However much the destruction of pro- 
perty which attended the bombardment of Eiagosima is to 
be deplored, this I am sure oj^ that no one is likely to have 
felt regret at it more acutely than the gail^nt Admiral him- 
self. There are not three men in England actuated by 
kinder or more philanthropic feelings towards the Japanese 
than Colonel Neale, Admiral Kuper, and his second in com- 
mand, Captain Borlase. To assaQ Admiral Euper as the 
agent personally responsible for the burning of Eagosima 
is, to say the least of it, unjust. Those acquainted with 
the nature, mode of construction, and materials of Japanese 
towns, will readily understand that the very act of opening 
fire on the batteries was inseparable from the burning of the 
town, especially if there was much wind at the time. It 
was the frill conviction that the destruction by a conflagra- 
tion of Eagosima^ would be an unavoidable consequence of 
the squadron firing on the batteries, that chiefly influenced 
me in going to Satsuma's officers at Nagasaki, and in impress- 
ing upon them the certain fate that would befall the town 
should the ships be fired at as they approached. It is much 
easier to censure the course of action taken at Eagosima^ 
than to show how, with due regard to the honour of the 
British flag, any other course could, under the drcum- 



594 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

stances, have been adopted. The Admiral in the first 
instance, on having the matter placed in his hands, adopted 
the mildest measure of coercion that he could, namely, Uie 
seizure of the steamers. When, howeyer, the whole line of 
batteries fronting the town opened on his squadron, what 
would the people of England have said had Admiral Knper 
removed his ships from the range of Satsuma's guns, 
and assigned as his reason for not returning the fire, that 
he could not do so without incurring the risk of buming 
down the town ?* Would the press or the public have been 
satisfied ? I think not ; my impression being, that had 
Admiral Euper evinced any such practical humanitarianism, 
the outcry against him would have been tenfold what the 
other course has developed, and more than probably coupled 
with disagreeable allusions to the fate of Aydmiral Byng« 

That this Satsuma complication, from beginning to end, 
is one to be deeply regretted every right-minded person 
ought to feel. 

My experience in the East, especially in China, convinces 
me that it is only by a bond fide spirit of conciliation that a 
real and permanent influence is to be gained over Orientals. 
The principles inculcated for the carrying out of its Eastern 
policy by the British Government are conciliatory in the 
extreme, but its beneficent intentions are in too many 
instances frustrated by the arrogance, superciliousness, vio- 
lent temper, want of tact, and general incompetency for the 
management of men, of those into whose hands the execu- 
tion of its measures falls. The spirit of conciliation has long 
appeared to me the element, of all others, the most deficient 
in the English character in the East. 

In dealing with the Chinese (and the same probably 
applies to the Japanese and Orientals generally) it has 
always seemed to me that we are too much in the habit of 
viewing questions at issue through an European medium 
only, and that we do not make sufficient allowance for the 
stereotyped form of the Oriental mind, and for the hmdfide 



COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION. 395 

obstacle which it offers to their seeing things in the same 
light in which they appear to us — ^the natural consequence 
of mental organisms built up as it were of a fixed and 
determined number of ideas, the displacement of these to 
make room for a new one being only attainable by a slow 
and gentle process of reasoning, by going oyer the same 
ground again and again with patient endurance, until at last 
we succeed in getting a new idea to take root. The shoal 
upon which our Eastern diplomacy so often becomes stranded, 
is the ready means which unsuccessful negotiators have of 
bringing in the pressure of material force to carry measures 
to which their moral influence has proved unequaL 

A knowledge of the native language also appears to me to 
have been too indiscriminately taken as a guarantee for 
diplomatic capacity, and I think I could state instances 
where mischief has resulted from the diplomatic employment 
of injudicious and unconciliating linguists, in place of their 
services having been restricted within purely interpretorial 
limits. An intimate acquaintance with an Oriental lan- 
guage, or a brain stuffed full of book-learning, by no means 
implies the possession of that combination of tact, discretion, 
and judgment which, under the name of coiomon sense, is 
so essential to success in dealing with Orientals ; and hence 
it is, that of all tests of fitness for the public service, com- 
petitive examination is perhaps the most fallacious. The 
quality of brain which shines most at one of these ordeals, 
may prove that least practically adapted for the very post 
that a high class examination has gained for it. The ab- 
sorbent form of brain, which, like a sponge, readily imbibes 
whatever is submitted to its action, and also like a sponge, on 
being squeezed equally readily lets it out, constitutes the 
type of mind which is now preferred for the public service, 
to the exclusion of brains that may be infinitely superior. 






SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 

Oonsalar triiJ at Tokohama — ^Affidn in Japan in September, 1868 — ^The 
Prinoe of Negato — The Tycoon unfolds his foreign policy — ^Threatening 
notice from the Loonins — The Satsuma difficulty amicably settled — 
Congratnlatoiy despatch from the Tycoon — Shimadxo 8abooro*B ezpla- 
nations— -Indemnity for the '* Pembroke" being fired at — The l^coon's 
palace destroyed — Charges bronght against him by Daimios — A aecond 
embassy to Europe — The first ambassadors' opinions of Europe and the 
Europeans— Arriyal of the Japanese embassy at Shanghai — Concluding 
observations. 

TTp to the period of my leaving China (11th September, 
1863), no change had taken place in the aspect of affairB in 
Japan, nor had any incident of interest oocnrred since the 
destniction of Eagosima, with the exception of the trial 
before the consular court at Yokohama of the three English- 
men engaged in the wounding of the Japanese officer before 
mentioned. The trial took place on the 9th of September, 
the judges in the case being Consul Winchester and three 
of the British mercantile community, styled '^ Assessors." 
The prosecution was conducted in the name of ^' The Queen 
upon the information ex officio of the Goyemor of Elana- 
gawa." The charge against the three defendants was 
^' Shooting at and wounding, or being accessoiy to the shoot- 
ing and wounding of, Morotamon, a Japanese officer, on the 
evening of the BOth of July, 1863, at Kanasawa, within the 
consular district of Kanagawa.'' The defendants pleaded 
** Not Guilty/' Morotamon appeared in court with his arm 
bound up, and his evidence was chiefly to the effect that the 
defendants were trespassing on a private road, and that on 



THE TTCOON'S FOREIGN POLICY. 897 

his remonBtratiiig with them he receiyed an insulting reply 
from one of the party, and drew his sword in self-defence. 
The decision of the C!onrt was that '^ there was an appear- 
ance of danger sufficient to justify the nse of means of self- 
defence." 

During the remainder of the month of September, nothing 
of any interest occurred, with the exception that the Prince 
of Negate, though he had desisted from firing on foreign 
vessels, was still showing hostility to foreigners, by endea- 
vouring to injure the trade of Nagasaki by preventing native 
junks from passing'through the inland sea, either to or from 
Nagasaki. This measure, however, gave so much dissatis- 
faction to his own subjects, and the feeling against it 
became so demonstrative, that he did not persist in car- 
lying out the measure. 

Towards the end of October, the rumours that had been 
so long in circulation respecting the expulsion of foreigners 
began to assume a substantial form. On the 24th of the 
month, Gleneral Pruyn and M. Yon Polesbroek, the Minis- 
ters respectively of America and the Netherlands, were 
invited by the €k)rogio to attend a conference at Yeddo, 
when, after a little circumlocution, they were informed that 
the order for the expulsion of foreigners had been with- 
drawn, but that it was the wish of the l^coon that Yoko- 
hama should be given up as a foreign settlement, and trade 
in fdture confined to Nagasaki and Hakodadi. The two 
Ministers expressed their surprise that the representatives 
of England and France had not been invited to attend on 
the occasion of so important a communication being made, 
and the explanation they received was, that as Holland and 
America were the oldest friends of Japan, it was thought 
best that they should be first informed. The Gk)rogio then 
went on to express a strong hope that the Ministers of the 
various treaty powers would meet the Tycoon's wish, and 
on their own responsibility give orders for the vacating of 
Yokohama, without waiting for instructions trom their 



398 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

respectiye goyemmentfl ; adding, that if foreigners remained 
at Yokohama a revolution was inevitable, and one that the 
Tycoon was powerless to repress ; also, that the admission 
of foreigners to trade at a point so near the capital had 
been an experiment, which was not found to answer, and 
therefore would have to be given up. The two Ministers 
undertook to inform their respective governments regard- 
ing the request the Tycoon had made, and the conference 
ended. 

Whether this desire that foreigners should quit Yoko- 
hama is a band fide one on the part of the Tycoon and his 
govertiment, it is impossible to say; it is by no means 
improbable that it is not, but that it has been forced upon 
them by hostile Daimios. A similar communication was 
conveyed in writing to the other foreign representatives, 
but not apparently with the intention of carrying matters 
farther than merely making the request^ and then waiting' 
replies from the several governments. About the same 
time, the following notice was posted about Yokohama^ 
supposed to have emanated from the anti-foreign party. 

" A few years ago, the Tycoon and his ministers made trea- 
ties with foreign nations without the consent of his superior 
(the Mikado), and the above-named have largely profited hj 
commerce with foreigners without considering the sufferings 
they have brought upon their country ; they have trafiS.Gked 
in copper cash, silk, wax, oil, and salt^ in &ct» all the most 
important produce of the country have they bought and 
sent to Yokohama and Nagasaki for sale to foreigners, and 
have thereby so enhanced the prices that everybody suffers. 
To many poor families it is as though the country waa 
oppressed with famine ; they cannot live together as here- 
tofore, but are obliged to separate to seek a subsistence ; 
and yet, after all their hardships, some have actually died 
of starvation. We caimot blind ourselves to their suffer- 
ings. But it may be asked, why we wish to punish persons 
who have traded under the licence of the Tycoon ? It ia 



PRINCE 0^ SATSUllA. 399 

because they have forgotten their obligations to their 
conntry and to the Mikado, and for their own selfish pnr- 
poses have become careless of the sufferings of others, that 
they have condescended to deal with government officials, 
and also with foreigners, who are lower than the brute 
beasts, and the mischiefs they have compassed is more than 
we can tell of. We in our persons represent the sufferings 
of the Japanese people, and in their name have put to death 
Yawa-taya Wohei. At Osaca, Nagasaki, Johsiu, Ida, Nag- 
hama^ Ohjee, Yokohama, and within all places and pro^ 
vinces of the east and west, we (the Loonins*) will examine 
the merchants, and exterminate all who have dealt with 
or shown any leaning either towards foreigners or their 
trade." 

November opened with more cheering prospects; over- 
tures of a peaceM nature being made to Colonel Neale by 
the Prince of Satsuma, which resulted in his sending 
several of his high officers to wait on Colonel Neale, with 
whom they had two long interviews, the first taking place 
on the 9th of November. At first they expressed them- 
selves in terms indicating that they were under the impres- 
sion that^ in seizing and burning the steamers without 
giving any notice of such an intention, the British had not 
treated the Prince of Satsuma fairly. They ultimately, 
however, acknowledged, after hearing Colonel Neale's ex- 
planation regarding the circumstances under which the 
steamers had been seized, and that there was no intention, 
in the [first instance, of destroying them, that the matter 
stood in a more fiivourable light than it had hitherto ap- 
peared to them. The last interview took place on the 11th 
of November, and ended in the envoys agreeing to all 

* In a former note I have mentioned that the Loonins are outlaws who 
haye thrown off their aUegiance to their respectire Daimios, and consti- 
tated themselvea patriots. It is, therefore, just possible, that in their 
case Dr. Johnson's definition of patriotism may he correct^ namely — *'the 
last refuge of a scoundrel/* 



400 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

Colonel Neale's demandfl, and farther ezpressingy an the 
part of the Prince of Satsuma^ a desire to send Beyeral of 
his young nobility to England for their edncation. 

llie Tycoon's goyemment, immediately on being informed 
by Satsnma's envoys that their negotiations had come to a 
satisfactory conclnsion, addressed a congratalatoiy despatch 
to Colonel Neale, expressing the hope that nothing more 
would occur to interrupt the good feeling that was thus 
re-established between the two nations. Enyoys from 
Shimadzo Sabooro also waited on Colonel Neale, with the 
object of explaining that he had been erroneously identified 
as the individual immediately responsible for Mi. Bichard- 
son's murder, which, it is presumed, was represented as an 
act of excitement on the part of his retainers at the obstnic- 
tion offered to their progress by the foreigners on horse- 
back. That he should have entertained such violent feelings 
of dislike to foreigners as to order their murder on the high 
road has always seemed to me difficult of 63q>lanation, seeing 
that, but a week previously, he was not only engaged in 
mercantile transactions with them in Yokohama, but even 
took a pleasure trip in the ^' Fiery Cross" steamer, pre- 
vious to purchasing the vessel from Messrs. Jardine and 
Matheson. 

In November the Tycoon consented to pay an indemnity 
of 10,000 dollars for the attack made by the aimed vessels 
of the Prince of Negato on the American steamer, ** Pem- 
broke," which seems rather hard on the l^coon, seeing that 
he had nothing whatever to do with the matter. The Prinoe 
of Negato had been already severely chastised by the ^Wyo- 
ming " destroying two of his vessels. 

Though matters relating to foreigners continued tranquil 
throughout December, and Satsuma had ratified the obliga- 
gations entered into by his envoys by paying down the 
£25,000, yet the political horizon was far from settled in 
Japan ; on the 25th of the month the Tycoon's palace at 
Yeddo was burned to the ground, and he himself compelled 



BEMONSTRANGE OF THE DAIMIOS. 401 

to seek refdge in a remote house in the Bubnrbs, being fearfiil 
of traversing the streets to another palace. The following 
document conveys some idea of the sentiments entertained 
towards the Tycoon by certain of the Daimios, and it tends 
also to show some of the grounds upon which their alleged 
grievances against foreigners rest. It is a series of ac- 
cusations brought against the Tycoon by several of the 
hostile Daimios, and embodied by them in a petition to the 
Mikado. 

*' Both you and Harrisooh (the late American Minister, 
Mr. Harris) said that cotton would be sold for a mere 
nothing, and that silk and manufactured goods would not 
cost us anything. The daily necessities of life would be 
brought to oxu- country from all quarters of the globe, and 
our farmers would not be required to sow and reap. We 
anxiously wait these miracles, and at present enjoy advan- 
tages which you never mentioned, namely, that those arti- 
cles which you and Harrisooh promised to give at very low 
prices are now three times as expensive as they formerly 
were. 

"You monopolize the import and export duties com- 
pletely ; and we had a right to suppose that those duties, 
which, according to your statements and those of your 
financier, Harrisooh, would enrich the Japanese nation, 
ought to cover expenses, such as building fortifications and 
buying men-of-war, which you say must inspire the barba- 
rians with the respect due to our great country. But what 
have you done for the last three years ? What has been 
the tenor of all your despatches ? * Japan must be fortified, 
fortifications must be built, the artillery and navy increased. 
Money is required. The presence of foreigners occasions 
great expenses: entertainments must be given to the Minis- 
ters, the petty consuls cannot be forgotten, and foreigners 
must be made to respect and fear otu* great nation by wit- 
nessing the boundless resources of the country and the 
majesty of its ruler.' If we could only see those fortifica- 

B D 



402 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

tions, those men-of-war, we would complain less about the 
expense ; but eyeiything is postponed and nothing executed. 
You think that drawings and plans will scare foreigners 
and cause them to flee from our country ; but we doubt it, 
for they nearly equal us in this art. You sometimes talk to 
us about political economy, and we candidly own you give 
us excellent advice ; unfortunately, we have numerous proofe 
that you do not follow the advice that you give us. Why 
was such an incredible sum of money spent for all the vain 
and useless pomp which accompanied the sister of the 
Mikado on her journey to Yeddo preparatory to her mar- 
riage with the Tycoon ? Why was so much money expended 
in rebuilding the palace of the Tycoon? We shall not 
mention the various ways in which the public money is 
wasted, as this would cause our nation to blush, and the 
Mikado to mourn. Public rumour, however, says that 
numerous thefts have been committed by the highest 
officers of the Tycoon ; if any protest against the course 
which is now pursued, they are instantly and mysteriously 
silenced for ever. As you always remind us of the great 
principles of political economy when you demand pecuniary 
supplies, pardon us for making the following remarks: — 
Owing to the troubled state of the country, the presence of 
the Daimios at Yeddo was formerly highly necessary. This 
is not the case at present, and 6till our lords are travelling 
to and from the capital. The personal fatigue, vexation, 
and the expense of the immense retinue which always 
accompanies them, can no longer be supported. The time 
has come that these ruinous journeys should cease, and that 
the lords of Japan declare themselves unable to defray the 
expenses which you impose upon them. 

'' As foreign trade has nearly ruined us, and as fortific-a- 
tions and numerous other unforeseen expenses are deemed 
necessary in all the ports that have been opened to the bar- 
barians, we not only demand that the new ports, Osaca, 
Negata, and Yeddo, shall not be opened, but that Eana- 



PROPOSED EMBASSY TO EUROPE. 408 

gawa be closed. You always assert that we are opposed to 
friendly intercourse with foreign nations ; but this is utterly 
false. We willingly consent to open the whole of Japan, if 
this step does not occasion expenses which surpass our 
means. We have not murdered our adherents who were 
favourably inclined towards the opening of Japan to fo- 
reigners. You teach the young to despise and insult 
foreigners ; and although you always tell us that the foreign 
nations are powerful and greatly to be feared, a high func- 
tionary of the *Tori' lately said that, with the exception 
of the Russians, all the foreigners could be insulted with 
impunity." 

The year 1864 opened by two vice-ministers of state and 
three Daimios, holding the rank of Governors of Provinces, 
having an interview with Colonel Neale, for the purpose of 
informing him of the intention of the Tycoon to send an 
embassy to Europe to endeavour to persuade the treaty 
powers to resign the right of residence at Yokohama, and 
confine their trade to Nagasaki and Hakodadi. They said 
that the Japanese were hostile to foreigners; that the 
Tycoon's Government was exposed to grave diflBculties on 
account of this feeling ; and that the foreign treaties, which 
were made experimentally, had failed and would have to be 
abandoned. Colonel Neale is stated to have denied that 
any understanding had ever existed relative to the treaties 
being of an experimental nature, adding, that while, of 
course, the Tycoon was at full liberty to send ambassadors 
to England, in the meantime he might rest assured that 
the provisions of the existing treaty with Great Britain 
would be strictly enforced. 

At the very time that arrangements were being made for 
an embassy to Europe to induce the treaty powers to 
abandon trade at Yokohama, the Tycoon's Government, 
by a paradox which could only occur in China or Japan, 
made a treaty with Switzerland, and entered into com- 
mercial conventions with America and France; reducing. 



404 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

and in some instances abolishing, the duty on seyeral kinds 
of imports. 

The following is a translation of the introduction to an 
account which was published at Teddo in March, 1863, of 
the yisit of the first ambassadors to Europe in 1862 : — 

" The races of the west all closely resemble each other. 
They all clothe themselves in the same manner, eat with 
the same ceremonies, &c. They differ little in the darkness 
of their complexion and colour of their hair. Their arms 
are the same. The French appear to value them more than 
their neighbours, and we were told that they are most skilled 
in their use. In truth, the movements of the French soldiers 
appear more active and lively than those of the soldiers of the 
other nations. Their sabres are much inferior to ours ; but 
they do not appear to attach much importance to them, and 
prefer firearms. We never saw sword or spear exercise ; to 
make up for this, they attach a sort of sabre to the end of 
their guns, and use it where we use the spear. 

" Their rites or ceremonies appear very light, although it 
would be wrong to say that there are none ; but the most 
striking thing about them is, that these ceremonies are 
almost the same for personages of rank as for common men. 
They lift their hat, and make a slight movement of the 
head : such is the salutation for every one. It would appear 
that there is but little respect for, or distinction of class. 
Thus, in our audience with the Emperor of France and 
other sovereigns, their Majesties were not separated from 
us by any veil. The consort of the sovereign was even there, 
neither veiled nor concealed, seated on a seat as high as 
that of her husband. Notwithstanding this, the nobles were 
extremely polite in France, even too much so sometimes, 
especially at dinner, where, in order to please them, it was 
necessary to eat and drink more than was agreeable. As 
to the other men, they were less polite. The greater number 
stared at and touched us, and passed remarks on us in our 
hearing ; nor did they conceal that they thought us very ugly. 



BUBOPEAN OTTSTOMS. 406 

^* Of the women,* some are very handsome, — for example, 
the Empress of France. They are however, in general, 
less so than in America. Their noses are sometimes higher 
than those of the men ; they walk like men, taking long 
steps ; look men in the face, and laugh a great deal, some- 
times yery lond. In order to make themselves look taller, 
they make their bonnets stick up on their heads. Even the 
modest women dance a great deal. They hook on to the 
arms of the men ; and there are days when eveiy man has a 
woman hanging on his arm. Are they their own wives? 
We think so. In general the women enjoy great liberty. 
What we say of the women of France applies to those of all 
Europe. The latter, with the exception of the Dutch, are 
inferior to the French. We will not speak of the costume : 
it is impossible to understand it. In the evening it is not 
always decent. 

" The men are stiff, and a little proud or rough. How- 
ever, the respectable as well as the lower classes carry no 
arms. A respectable man seldom carries about him any 
marks of his rank. It would seem that all classes, even the 
upper ones, frequent cafSs. Even the superior ofl&cials go 
to the theatre, for which they have a great passion. We 
have regretted more than once not having understood what 
wafi said there. Almost eveiy one was armed with opera- 
glasses, which were often directed at us,— doubtless, through 
absence of mind. 

^' The shopkeepers are haughty, and saluted us only in 
a very middling degree. They did not like us to derange 
the articles in their shops much, and doubtless reckoned on 
our buying a great deal from them. We were able to see 
that the mechanicians and useftil tradesmen were more 
respected than the mere shopkeepers. 

'' The articles of diet are almost the same as with us : how- 
ever, they eat but little rice and fish, but, on the other hand, 
much meat and pastry. We were extremely disgusted at 
Paris and elsewhere, to see beef and mutton still bloody 



406 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

exposed in the most public shops. To eat beef is often 
medicinalljr useful; but why present it to the eyes of 
all the world ? Is it not sinful thus to despise so use- 
ful an animal ? It was truly shocking to several of onr 
part^ 

" However, the cookery of the French is good, and their 
wine excellent. The wine is the best thing they have, and 
does not yield in anything to our saki. 

" The dress of the men appears at first ridiculous and 
curtailed ; however, it must be convenient and economical. 

" In Paris, as in London, every one walks very fast, as 
with us when there is a fire. Their houses are so high 
that they must fall on the first earthquake ; they appear, 
nevertheless, to be proof against fire. We will speak of the 
marvellous things we saw in the order in which they were 
seen by us." 

When the Japanese Ambassadors were in Europe, it was 
remarked, wherever they went> with what avidity they 
listened to and took notes of whatever the interpreters 
explained to them. Immediately on their return to Yeddo, 
their various notes were handed over to one of their number 
as editor, and after being arranged by liim, the work 
appeared under the title of " History of the Travels of the 
Japanese Commissioners in Europe, — ^by Fou-yah." The 
translation of the introduction from the Japanese was made 
by a member of the French Legation, and it was originally 
published in the Fairte newspaper. 

Early in February, it was stated that a Council of Daimios 
was about to assemble at Osaca for the purpose of con- 
sidering the affairs of the nation generally, and that, as a 
matter of course, the foreign question was to form ' an 
important element in their discussions. Though the Loo- 
nins at this time had ceased to occasion alarm to the inha- 
bitants of the foreign settlements, acts of incendiarism at 
Yeddo, Yokohama, and Osaca were very common. At 



THE NEW EMBASSY. 407 

Yokohama foreign property was not interfered with, the 
conflagrations being confined to native houses. 

On the 13th of Febmary, the new Ambassadors and suite, 
numbering in all twenty-seven persons, arrived at Shanghai 
in the "Monge." The Ambassadors proper are three in 
number ; in addition, there is an assistant, or sort of mAnber 
in waiting, holding the rank of a Provincial Vice-GTovemor. 
The object of their mission is still stated to be the consent 
of the treaty powers to evacuate Yokohama; but it is 
hinted that they have said privately that neither they nor the 
Tycoon have any expectation of succeeding. The measure, 
it is believed, is only carried out to enable the Tycoon to 
say to the Mikado, that he has done his utmost to carry out 
his wish respecting the expulsion of foreigners. 

On the 18th of February, Sir Rutherford Alcock arrived 
at Shanghai en route to Yokohama to resume his official posi- 
tion, after an absence of two years &om Japan. Immediately 
on his arrival. Colonel Neale returns to England to enjoy 
well-merited repose, after the harassing period he has passed 
through, and the succession of dangers which have attended 
his two years' tenure of office as Her Majesty's Charg^- 
d'AjBRaires in Japan. The important services rendered by 
him during that period have received the acknowledgment 
of Her Majesty's Government^ by the Order of the Bath 
having been conferred upon him in connection with Eago- 
sima. 

That there is, apart altogether &om the question of hos- 
tility to foreigners, some well-founded grievance on the part 
of the feudal nobility of Japan in regard to the manner in 
which foreign trade is at present conducted, there would 
seem to be no doubt. The problem then to be solved is, 
how to render foreign trade beneficial to the people and 
acceptable to Japan generally. That the Government of the 
Tycoon is equal to effecting this, there are the strongest 
reasons for doubting. 

We have sufficient proofs that diplomatic success achieved 



408 NORTH CHINA AND JAPAN. 

at the cannon's mouth is not permanent in its resalts^ and 
requires from time to time the reintroduction for its main- 
tenaiice of the same mode of argument by which it was 
originally attained. Something of the European regard for 
human life is extending itself to the East» and a feeling is 
gradually springing up at home unfayourable to the extension 
of comAerce where it can only be supported by periodical 
demonstrations of physical force. 

La ^^onclusion, should it seem to any that the comments 
I have made on the b^^aring of our countrymen in the East 
are couched in terms of uixdue asperity, or tainted with 
exaggeration, I would wish to sav, that my endeavour has 
been to place the matter in the leas^. offensive and personal 
Ught consistent with a plain statement of facts ; and I will 
only add, that it is little use our mourning- over events like 
those of the Kagosima, if the recharging of th^ shell, to the 
explosion of which such occurrences may bo likened, is 
allowed to go on unchecked. We must cease to believe that 
our countrymen are always right, and that Orientalh- must 
of necessity be invariably in the wrong. The longer the 
hallucination is indulged in, the more difficult will it become 
to arrest the growth of the seeds of discord which are con- 
stantly germinating in the East, and, periodically budding 
forth, frequently bringing with them catastrophes from which 
our national sense of justice and humanily recoils. 



THE END. 



BRADBURT AVD ETAMB, PBIimBS, WHmntXABB.