()1'2 LOOT OF THE IMl'KRIAL SUMMER PALAOE AT I'KKIN. 



tjikc him prisoner, but at this moment the hail of grape which had 

 spared him, as if to give us time to fix his heroic form in our memories, 

 cut him down, and the great banner fiewaway, carrying with it attached 

 to its pole the arm which had sustained it. 



Oui" U)sses were insignificant, amounting to l)ut 51 men for English 

 and French, but the Chinese had left on the field a munber of dead, 

 which we estimated at 1.000: but which, according to the reports of 

 their general, found at the sunnner palace, were 8,000. In tiie sum- 

 mer palace also were numberless small flags and the grand imperial flag. 

 Ah)ng with the papers found in the sunnner ])alace was a letter saying 

 wc had l)cen engaged with (Jo.ooo men, and al>o another letter from 

 San-Ko-Li-Tsin, dated at llosiou, stating that he had informed the 

 Empcior he was sure of (^terminating the foreigners. This letter 

 was dati'd the very day that Prince 'I'sai was saying he never lied, and 

 giving his word of iionor that peace would be made. 



Certain tliat he could neithtn* crush us noi' resist us, the Son of 

 IIea\"en had nothing left to do but to abandon his throne, or to treat with 

 us, and he resigned himself to the latter decision, and this time it was 

 his own l)rother. Prince Kong, who was chargi'd with the negotiations. 



It is the Chinese system to proportion the importance of the envo3's 

 to the impt)rtance of the difficulties which they are charged to meet. 

 Since our arri\al in China we had been meeting dignitai'ics of a higher 

 and higher grade, and one really ought to see with what stolid faces 

 these diplomats disallowed one anothei'. 



Prince Tsai had declannl that he was not a liar, likt^ his predecessor 

 Koue Lian, and that his signature was as valid as that of the Emperor. 

 Prince Kong declared that Tsai. having conducted affairs ill, had been 

 disgiaced, and that he. the brother of the Emperor, was going to put 

 them in the right ^ay. Our great preoccupation was the fate of our 

 offic<Ms. The am])assadors replied that an unheard-of thing, which 

 had never before been registered in the annals of mankind, had occurred 

 at Tangtcheou; that the ambassador's envoys had V)een surprised and 

 cai)tured. and, we had reason to fear, bound and conducted to Pekin 

 in carts, and that consequently negotiations would not be resumed 

 until the prisoners had been sent back to our respective camps. 



This was very plain, and there was need for but one word in reply; 

 but ""Yes" is not Chinese, (any more than ''No," for that matter). 

 He commenced an interminable statement to the effect that the pris- 

 oners were well, and would be returned as soon as the treat}^ of peace 

 was signed; that their presence in Pekin was a guarantee of pacific 

 intentions, etc., and days were spent in discussion. 



It was necessary that we should finish with this Prince Kong, who 

 would not give us our prisoners; but how? Neither Baron Gros nor 

 the general had been sent to conquer the Chinese nor to overthrow the 

 dynasty, whose representative was in flight; to change the dynasty 



