LOOT OF THE IMPERIAL SUMMER PALACE AT PEKIN. 609 



the column. They marched fonvard for two hours, when a captain 

 notitied the general that there was a large Tartar armv in the way 

 Very uneasy, but more and more satisfied that he had brought a strong 

 force with him, General Montauban went to confer with his colleague, 

 where he found a high mandarin accompanied by a numerous retinue! 

 This functionary, who was called Hang-Ki and who had a rank equal 

 to that of one of our generals, stated that he came to arrange with 

 the ambassadors the ceremonial of their entry into Pekin. The oen- 

 eral replied that the ambassadors had not come with the advance 

 guard, and that he would like to know why the place where they had 

 expected to stop was occupied by a Tartar army. 



A Chinaman is never taken by surprise. Hang Ki, pretending to 

 be astonished, asked our general about these troops of whom they 

 spoke, which he said they had never heard of, and took his leave, say- 

 ing that there must be some misunderstanding. 



At this moment Captain Chanoine came in and informed the general 

 that he had in front of him a Tartar army of 30,000 men (15,000 horses, 

 and as many foot), and presently clouds of dust were seen on the 

 horizon, due to marching troops. 



The generals found themselves in a critical situation, for they had 

 but few trooi)8 in comparison to such a mass of the enemy as was 

 drawn up in battle arra3% General Montauban considered it debatable 

 whether they should take the oflfensive, but decided that we must fall 

 upon the eneni}, as there was no other way to save our unhapp}' offi- 

 cers who had just been dispatched to Tangtcheou. General Grant, on 

 the contrary, thought that there was no evidence that our officers had 

 been made prisoners, since two of them had come back. 



At this stage arrived M. Bastard, M. de Meritens, and (/aid Osman, 

 and confirmed in every respect the statements made by Captains 

 Chanoine and Gagey. There was no room for doubt that in obeying 

 the proclamation of the Son of Heaven, who had enjoined them to 

 exterminate the Europeans by every possible means, the Chinese were 

 developing a traitorous plan begun at Tientsin and had drawn us into 

 an actual ambush, hoping to destroy us by their number. 



Presently we heard the gallop of a horse in disorder and saw Colo- 

 nel Walker arrive, followed by two wounded horsemen; he himself was 

 wounded in the arm and one of the horses fell dead at the feet of 

 the general. He related that he had left Tangtcheou at an early hour 

 and rode into the enemy's camp, aftecting to ))c perfectly calm, but 

 observing carefully what was passing about him. The Chinese officers 

 urged him to dismount and go into their tent; he had happily refused 

 and certainly owed his life to the refusal. M. Ader had been attacked 

 by several Chinese, and, with his orderly, defended themselves with 

 desperate courage; it was impossible to give any help to them, for he 



