270 REMINISCENCES OF 



of any obstacles being raised to our taking quiet 

 possession of it. As we were passing through 

 Chang-kia-wang we were met by a military man- 

 darin who said he could not suffer us to advance 

 without knowing our business. We informed him 

 we were going to Yung-chow to meet the commis- 

 sioners, on which he immediately suffered us to pass. 

 At about 10.30 we arrived at Yung-chow. We 

 passed through the city to the quarters prepared 

 for us, which were in a large temple just outside 

 the gate in the south suburb. We breakfasted, 

 and refreshed ourselves by a good wash, and had 

 just finished when the commissioners arrived. 

 Parkes and I then went into the room prepared 

 for the transaction of business, and after the usual 

 civilities had been gone through, we proceeded to 

 discuss the various arrangements necessary for 

 carrying into effect the treaty. But Parkes soon 

 found the commissioners in a very different humour 

 than they had been in when he had seen them two 

 days before. They raised all kinds of difficulties ; 

 would discuss questions that might have been 

 settled afterwards, and which had nothing to do 

 with deciding whether there was to be peace or 

 war, and the whole tone of the commissioners was 

 very unsatisfactory. However, towards the evening 

 they became more reasonable, and suddenly chang- 

 ing their manner entered seriously upon the questions 

 that had to be decided at once. They agreed to 

 the place chosen for our army to halt ; they wrote 

 a proclamation of peace that was to be at once 



