28o REMINISCENCES OF 



to a road at the side that was not paved I do not 

 think one of us could have lasted through those 

 terrible seven hours of torture. The men of the 

 Prince Tsai. suite, whose examination of us had been 

 interrupted, rode in rear, and seemed immensely to 

 enjoy any extra jolt we got. The line of road all 

 the way to Peking was one large camp — for miles 

 on either side of the road were tents with earth 

 breastworks thrown up round them. 



"It was dusk before we reached the suburbs of 

 Peking — ^crowds of people pressing round the cart 

 to get a view of us, and the Chinese soldiers delighted 

 in making the most of their triumph, no doubt hoping 

 it would be thought we were only the first instalment 

 of the whole barbarian army which they had promised 

 to annihilate. As the crowd kept pressing upon the 

 cart, I heard Parkes exclaim, ' What a lovely girl ! ' 

 I raised my head to the edge of the cart and indeed 

 saw a beautiful face looking at us. To have attracted 

 our attention at such a moment it must have been 

 lovely. Soon after passing under the great gate into 

 Peking, which is imposing from its great height, it 

 became too dark to distinguish objects. Street after 

 street we passed through, and it seemed we were 

 never going to stop. We were very exhausted from 

 pain and fatigue and want of food and water. At 

 last the cart turned into a large courtyard, and on 

 the paper lanterns hung up Parkes read ' Board of 

 Punishments '. Our worst fears were realised : we 

 were in the hands of a board noted for its cruelty 

 and the tortures it inflicted. Parkes was first taken 



