210 
CEREMONY. 
The whole party then adjourned to another decorated building, to 
continue the conference. Three persons on each side were alone 
allowed to sit. The Ambassador, Sir George Staunton, and 
Mr. Ellis, sat opposite to the Viceroy, Foo-yuen, and Hop-poo 
respectively. The viceroy, by a previous arrangement, had volun- 
tarily ceded the place of honour to the Ambassador, on the left hand 
side of the apartment. 
The Viceroy, whose lowering brow and gloomy visage strongly 
expressed his character of cunning and his feeling of mortified pride, 
had endeavoured on first meeting His Excellency, to assume an over- 
bearing port, but he grew pale, and his eye sunk under the stern 
and steady gaze of the English Ambassador. He in vain endeavourd 
to regain his self-possession oil his way from the temple, by outwalk- 
ing His Excellency, and thus obtaining the appearance of superior 
rank in the eyes of the Chinese; and was again disappointed. During 
the conference he once more attempted to make good his preten- 
sions, by assuming an arrogant tone and insinuating an offensive 
remark respecting the high privileges enjoyed by the English in 
China, and their sole dependence on commerce ; but this was the 
expiring struggle of self-importance. The Ambassador having in a 
decided manner replied that the intercourse between the two coun- 
tries was equally advantageous to both, he altered his tone, and 
confined himself to unobjectionable subjects : that he might not recur 
to others, the Ambassador speedily broke up the conference. On 
leaving the building in which it had been held, the Viceroy pointed 
to a large collection of fruit and sweetmeats spread in an opposite tent, 
as an imperial present to the commissioners. His Excellency requested 
that the Emperor might be thanked, and returned to his residence. 
The contents of the Emperor’s letter to the Prince Regent formed 
a subject of much speculation with the Embassy. There was every 
reason to expect, judging from the imperial edicts which we had 
seen in different parts of our route and since our arrival at Canton, 
that it would give a very false and distorted account of all the trans- 
actions of the Embassy. It contained in fact, several unblushing 
