328

VIEW OF THE RIVER.

Lord Elgin; that occupied by the latter being perched upon an artificial mound, laid out in true Chinese taste, and ascended by steps of ornamental rockwork. Overhanging the river, they commanded an extensive and ever-interesting view: below them a dozen English and French gunboats, some of them moored. within pleasant conversational distance, imparted a satisfactory sense of security to the position.

Not a single native craft, except an occasional ferryboat, rippled the surface of the stream, or reposed upon its waters. What a metamorphosis had been wrought in a few hours by the magic devil-ships from the west! We were not able to appreciate it, but to the Chinese the change must have been startling and significant. We learn from the accounts of the embassies of Lords Macartney and Amherst, how active the river life at Tientsin was in their day. "We crossed a bridge over the river," says the historian of Lord Amherst's mission, "the surface of which was scarcely visible from junks;" and again, "I counted 200 spectators on one junk, and these vessels were innumerable." The spectators were as numerous as ever, but their posts of observation were no longer junks. People and houses completed the view from these windows; a part of the city wall, one of the gates, and some pagodas, appearing at no great distance to the right.

The personnel of the two missions were accommodated in the temple, and other buildings all enclosed within one outer wall. A partition wall, however,

MAKING OURSELVES COMFORTABLE.

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divided us from our allies. They occupied a number of detached summer-houses, dotted about a garden. We established ourselves in the innermost recesses of the temple, our bedrooms furnished with sacred pigs and bronzes, in which smouldered eternal fire (until we came and allowed it to go out); our slumbers pre

sided over by grim deities, with enormous stomachs, or many-armed goddesses, with heads encircled in a blaze of golden or rather brass flame. The perfume of incense still clung to these sacred purlieus. Would it had been the only odour to which our nostrils were subjected! Now began the process commonly known

330

BEDROOMS IN THE TEMPLE.

as "shaking down" into our quarters: altars were turned into washhand-stands; looking-glasses were supported against little gods; tables, chairs, and beds were indented for upon certain venerable citizens, who had been appointed by the authorities to attend to our wants. Doubtless they must have wondered much at many of our demands, and some of them—as, for instance, tubs-they never succeeded in satisfying.

Servants with a white badge, emblem of an armistice, attached to their coats, waited assiduously upon us, perpetually presenting us with little cups of tea; indeed, for the first few days a man was always walking about with a teapot, ready at the shortest notice to refresh the thirsty soul. The tables with which we were supplied were solidly constructed and well carved, square in shape, as Chinese tables always are. A red cloth, elaborately embroidered, served as a tablecloth, and, falling to the ground, in front, concealed the legs of the table. The high-backed uncomfortable chairs were similarly decorated, gorgeous enough to look upon, but very disagreeable to use. Some of us erected our mosquito - curtains over square wooden ottomans; others slept upon a brick platform, generally used in China, and which in cold weather is heated by fires from beneath, after the manner of an oven-an unhealthy style of bed-place at all times, it should seem, for in summer the damp is apt to strike through the bricks, and in winter, when they are not only dry but

COURTYARD OF THE TEMPLE.

331

heated, a semi-baking process must be more or less prejudicial.

In front of the temple was a square courtyard, which was partially shaded by the spreading arms of a fine old tree; however, we thought nature required a little assistance, so the whole court was matted in, which not only added to the picturesque effect of our abode, and enabled those of us with vivid imaginations to fancy themselves in Italy, but was of a most practical utility in reducing the temperature, when mind and matter were both in danger of being melted entirely away. A raised flagged passage intersected this court, and on each side of it was a quaint little kiosk, the roof separated by four carved pillars, also elaborately carved, brilliantly coloured, and surmounted with dragons' heads, rampant fish, and other devices. In one of these a marble slab was erected vertically upon an elevated stone platform, and was covered with Chinese characters, alleged to have been traced by the hand of the Emperor Kien-lung, and to embody a high moral sentiment.

The building on the opposite side of the courtyard was formed into the guardhouse, the guard being usually composed of engineers and marines, and numbering upwards of a hundred men. Attached to this building were the servants' offices, and behind them the stables. Our establishment was thus very complete; and it was not without a feeling of regret that I saw it dismantled, preparatory to its

332 ARRIVAL OF RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN MINISTERS.

restoration for the rites of paganism, when, after having occupied it for upwards of a month, we looked back upon

it for the last time.

As it had been deemed not impossible that it might be necessary to advance at some future period nearer to the capital, the Admiral had been induced to push two of the gunboats on an exploratory expedition still further up the Peiho. One of these, the Kestrel, was of the smallest class, and, drawing only five feet water, was well adapted for the service. At a distance of about ten miles, however, above Tientsin, even this draught proved too much, and she was compelled to return, having solved the problem that, unless considerably lightened, and not with certainty even then, the ascent of the Peiho to Toong-chow would be impracticable for our gunboats at that season of the year. From the high-water marks on the river-banks, however, there can be little doubt that at certain periods of the year the Peiho would be navigable for all classes of our gunboats. She reported the character of the river - banks above Tientsin to be unchanged.

On the afternoon of the day of our arrival, Count Poutiatine and Mr Reed arrived together in the Russian steamer" Amerika," and immediately issued a proclamation stating that their visit to Tientsin was altogether of a pacific character. The attitude they found themselves thus compelled to assume was not without its inconveniences, as compared with ours; for although exact in the payment of our just debts,