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military array, headed by an officer on horseback. They fired with steadiness and regularity, but their bravery was of no avail, for the party, giving them one volley, charged down the bank and scattered them immediately, though not without some resistance. The firing brought up the general, who resolved to sweep the city from house to house before quitting it; the southern gate was occupied without further opposition, and all systematic resistance ceased. The dispersed Tartars, however, kept up a scattering fire along the streets and from the houses, which served chiefly to irritate their enemies and increase their own loss.

The heat of the day having passed, the commander-in-chief, guided by Mr. Gutzlaff and some Chinese, marched with two regiments into the southern quarter of the city. The scenes of desolation and woe, which he met in this march, seem to have sickened the greyhaired warrior, for he says in his dispatches, "finding dead bodies of Tartars in every house we entered, principally women and children, thrown into wells or otherwise murdered by their own people, I was glad to withdraw the troops from this frightful scene of destruction, and place them in the northern quarter." It was indeed a terrific scene. Capt. Loch, who accompanied Sir Hugh, says they went to a large building, thought to be the prefect's house, which was forced open and found entirely deserted, though completely furnished and of great extent; "we set fire to it, and marched on." What the object or advantage of this act was he does not say. Leaving the general, he turned down a street and burst open the door of a large mansion; the objects which met his view were shocking.

"After we had forced our way over piles of furniture placed to barricade the door, we entered an open court strewed with rich stuffs and covered with clotted blood; and upon the steps leading to the hall of ancestors, there were two bodies of youthful Tartars, cold and stiff, who seemed to be brothers. Having gained the threshold of their abode, they had died where they had fallen from loss of blood. Stepping over these bodies we entered the hall, and met face to face, three women seated, a mother and two daughters, and at their feet lay two bodies of elderly men, with their throats cut from ear to ear, their senseless heads resting upon the feet of their relations. To the right were two young girls, beautiful and delicate, crouching over and endeavoring to conceal a living soldier. In the heat of action, when the blood is up and the struggle is for life between man and man, the anguish of the wounded and the sight of misery and pain is unheeded; humanity is partially 25*

VOL. II.

obscured by danger: but when excitement subsides with victory, a heart would be hardly human that could feel unaffected by the retrospection. And the hardest heart of the oldest man who ever lived a life of rapine and slaughter, could not have gazed on this scene of woe unmoved. I stopped, horror-stricken at what I saw. The expression of cold unutterable despair depicted on the mother's face changed to the violent workings of scorn and hate, which at last burst forth in a paroxysm of invective, afterwards in floods of tears, which apparently, if anything could, relieved her. She came close to me and seized me by the arm, and with clenched teeth and deadly frown, pointed to the bodies, to her daughters, to her yet splendid house, and to herself; then stepped back a pace and with firmly closed hands and in a husky voice, I could see by her gestures spoke of her misery, her hate, and, I doubt not, her revenge. I attempted by signs to explain, offered her my services, but was spurned. I endeavored to make her comprehend that, however great her present misery, it might be in her unprotected state a hundred fold increased; that if she would place herself under my guidance, I would pass her through the city gates in safety into the open country; but the poor woman would not listen to me, and the whole family was by this time in loud lamentation. All that remained for me to do was to prevent the soldiers bayoneting the man, who, since our entrance, had attempted to escape."

The destruction of life was frightful. Some of the Manchus shut the doors of their houses, while through the crevices persons could be seen deliberately cutting the throats of their women, and destroying their children by throwing them into wells. In one house, a man was shot while sawing his wife's throat as he held her over a well, into which he had already thrown his children; her wound was sewed up, and the lives of the children saved. In another house, no less than fourteen dead bodies, principally women, were discovered; while such was their terror and hatred of the invaders, that every Manchu preferred resistance, death, suicide, or flight, to surrender. Out of a Manchu population of four thousand, it was estimated that not more than five hundred survived, the greater part having perished by their own hands.

The public offices were ransacked, and all arms and warlike stores destroyed; only $60,000 in sycee were found in the treasury, and the additions to the prize fund were not great. The populace began to pillage the city and suburbs, and in one instance, fearing a stop might be put to their rapacity, they set fire to the buildings at each end of a street in order to plunder a pawnbroker's shop without interference. The streets and lanes both in and out of the walls were strewed with silken fur, and other rich dresses,

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which these robbers had thrown away when they saw something more valuable, and the sipahis and camp-followers belonging to the army took what they could find. It was no mercy to the real owners to prevent them, and parties were accordingly stationed at the gates to take everything from the natives as they went out, or which they threw over the walls, and in this way the thieves were in their turn stripped. Within twenty-four hours after the troops landed, the city and suburbs of Chinkiang fu were a mass of ruin and complete destruction; part of the eastern wall was subsequently blown in, and all the gates dismantled to prevent any treachery. The total loss of the English was thirty-seven killed and one hundred and thirty-one wounded. The chiefs of the expedition left general Schoedde's brigade on the hills with a few ships near by, and moved up the river to Nanking, the channel having been carefully examined by the blockading vessels placed along each bank at intervals to interrupt the trade of both the river and canal, and detain the junks.

A curious contrast to the terrible scenes going on at Chinkiang fu, was seen at Íching hien on the northern side of the river. Four days before, the approach of the steamer Nemesis had caused no little consternation; and in the evening a Chinese gentleman came off to her with a few presents to learn if there was any intention of attacking it. He was told that if he would send supplies of meat and provisions to the vessel no harm would be done, and all he brought should be paid for. In the morning, he and others returned with provisions, and remained on board to see the steamer chase junks and bring them to; being much amazed at these novel operations, which gave them a new idea of the energy of their invaders. In the evening, commands were given him to bring provisions in larger quantities to the ships stationed there, and three boats went up to the town by a branch of the canal to procure them. The people showed no hostility, and through his assistance the English opened a market in the courtyard of a temple near the canal, at which abundant supplies were purchased. They were put aboard small junks, and conveyed to the fleet. On the 21st, the same person came according to agreement to accompany a large party of English from the ships to his house, where he had prepared an entertainment for them. Through the medium of a Chinese boy, communication was easily carried on, and the alarms of the townspeople

quieted; a proclamation was also issued, stating that every peaceable person would be unharmed. This gentleman had invited a large company of his male relatives and friends, and served up a collation for the assembled guests; all this time the firing was heard from Chinkiang fu, where the countrymen of those so agreeably occupied were engaged in hostile encounter. On returning to their boats an additional mark of respect was shown them by placing a well dressed man each side of every officer to fan him as he walked. At the market-temple, another entertainment was also served up. No injury was done to this town, and the forbearance of the English was not without good effect.

Some of the large ships were towed up to Nanking, and the whole fleet reached it August 9th, at which time the heads of the expedition had already made preparation for the assault; but desirous of avoiding a repetition of the sad scenes of Chinkiang fu, had also sent a communication to Niu Kien, stating that they would ransom the city for three millions of dollars. It was thought advisable, however, to make a demonstration; and the ships of war were placed in position to bombard the suburbs, while the troops were detailed for their respective services, and some of them landed.

This celebrated city lies about three miles south of the river, but the north-east corner of an outer wall reaches within 700 paces of the water; the western face runs along the base of wooded hills for part of its distance, and is then continued through flat grounds around the southern side, both being defended by a deep ditch. The suburbs are on this low ground. The eastern part of the city is irregular and less thickly settled, entered by three gates to be reached by well paved causeways. Sir Hugh intended to bombard the suburbs, and make an entrance on the eastern side, while diversions at other points perplexed the garrison. His force consisted of only 4,500 effective men; there were, as nearly as could be learned, 6,000 Manchu and 9,000 Chinese troops within the city. On the 11th, Lord Saltoun's brigade landed at a village, from whence a paved road led to one of the eastern gates, and other detachments were stationed in the neighborhood, while their advance upon the city was covered by the artillery on the Chungshan range, the base of which commanded the ramparts. Everything was in readiness for the assault by daylight of the 15th of August, and the governor-gene

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ral was told that it would assuredly be made unless the commissioners produced their authority for treating.

In the interval between the downfall of Chinkiang fu and investment of Nanking, several communications were received from the Chinese officers, and one from Kíying, couched in the most conciliatory language, and evincing a great desire for peace. Sir Henry Pottinger replied to this in the same strain, deploring the war and calamities caused by its progress and continuance, but stating that he could have no interview with any individual, however exalted, who was not properly commissioned to treat for peace. It is probable that the emperor did not receive any sug gestion from his ministers in regard to making peace until after the fall of Chinkiang, and it was a matter of some importance, therefore, for Ílípu and his colleague to delay the attack on Nanking until an answer could be received from the capital. The usual doubts in the minds of the English as to their sincerity led them to look upon the whole as a scheme to perfect the defences, and gain time for the people to retire; consequently, the preparations slowly went on for taking the city, in order to deepen the conviction that if one party was practising any deception, the other certainly was in earnest.

On the night of the 14th, scarcely three hours before the artillery was to open upon the ancient capital of China, Ílípu, Kí- . ying, and Niu Kien, addressed a joint letter to Sir Henry Pottinger requesting an interview in the morning, when they would produce their credentials, and arrange for further proceedings. This request was granted with some reluctance, for the day before, the puching sz' and Tartar commandant had behaved very unsatisfactorily, refusing to exhibit the credentials, or discuss the terms of peace or ransom. The distress ensuent upon the blockade was becoming greater and greater; more then seven hundred vessels had been stopped at Chinkiang coming from the south, and a large fleet lay in the northern branch of the canal, so that no slight probability existed of the whole province falling into anarchy if the pressure was not removed. The authorities of the city of Yangchau on the canal, had already sent half a million dollars as the ransom of that place, while governor Niu would only offer a third of a million to ransom the capital.

The emperor's authority to treat with the English was, however, exhibited at this meeting, and in return Sir Henry's was