The two most interesting objects which deserve attention outside the walls of Nankin are, the famous porcelain tower, or pagoda, and the tombs of the kings of the ancient Chinese dynasty. Of the former it would be extremely difficult to give such a description as would convey to the reader's mind an accurate idea of its peculiar structure and character. It stands pre-eminent above all other similar buildings in China for its completeness and elegance, the quality of the material of which it is built, or rather with which it is faced over—namely, variously coloured porcelain bricks, highly glazed; and for the quantity of gilding, and particularly of gilt images, with which its interior is embellished.

The building is of an octagonal shape, about two hundred feet high, divided into nine stories. The circumference of the lower story is one hundred and twenty feet, so that each face must measure about fifteen feet; but this measurement decreases as you ascend, although each story is of equal height. Its base rests upon a solid foundation of brickwork, raised about ten feet above the ground, and you ascend to the entrance of the tower by a flight of twelve steps. Its face is covered with slabs of glazed porcelain of various colours, principally green, red, yellow, and white; but the whole building is not, by any means, constructed with porcelain. At every story there is a projecting roof, covered with green-glazed tiles, and from each of its eight corners is suspended a small bell.

The effect of this building, when viewed from a moderate distance, is imposing, no less from the novelty than the peculiarity of its appearance. You ascend to the top of it by one hundred and ninety steps, leading through the different compartments, but they are not all in very good repair. The interior of each story appears at first view striking, but is rather gaudy than elegant, being filled with an immense number of little gilded images, placed in niches, in each of the compartments, between the windows.

The view from the summit of this temple amply compensates you for all the trouble of reaching it, and for any little disappointment that may have been felt at the appearance of the interior of the building. The property extends over an area of nearly thirty miles, and a great part of this is enclosed within the ruins of a dilapidated wall. The country is beautifully diversified by hill and dale, and houses and cultivated grounds; yet, in some parts, it looks almost deserted. Yet it cannot be viewed without great interest, not only from the appearance of the country, but from the associations connected with the locality, and with the tower itself. This latter is said to have cost an immense sum of money (seven or eight hundred thousand pounds), and to have occupied nineteen years in its completion.

A not unnatural desire to possess specimens or relics, as mementos of the first, and probably the last, visit to the ancient capital of the empire, led to a few instances of defacement and injury to some parts of the building, and to many of the figures within it. But the complaints made upon the subject afterwards by the head priest of the tower, or of the monastery attached to it, seem to have been a good deal exaggerated, probably in the hope of obtaining handsome compensation. It was notorious that a great part of the specimens which were carried away were actually sold to visitors by the priests themselves. A complaint, however, was made upon the subject to Sir Henry Pottinger, and at his request measures were adopted to prevent any recurrence of the violence; and, indeed, with the laudable object of encouraging a good understanding with the Chinese, and of doing what, under the circumstances, appeared to be an act of justice, a considerable sum of money was paid over to the chief priest, or abbot, of the monastery, to be applied to the restoration and decoration of the building. It much exceeded the actual value of the damage done.

Another object of very great interest, which engaged attention at Nankin, was the large and extremely ancient cemetery, which apparently, without sufficiently well-ascertained grounds, came to be called the Tombs of the Kings, supposed to be of the Ming dynasty. They were situated on the slope of the hills, at no great distance from the principal gate of the city, at the extremity of a fine paved road.

But, perhaps, still more curious is the avenue of gigantic figures, most of them hewn from a solid piece of stone, which leads up towards the tombs. Nothing else of the kind was seen in China, and they bore all the appearance of extreme antiquity; the grass grew very high among them, and served to conceal the fragments of some which had been broken. The engraving, which forms the frontispiece to this volume, will convey a better idea of them than any written description. It is taken from an admirable sketch, drawn on the spot, by Captain Watson, R.N., C.B. The figures bear the appearance of gigantic warriors, cased in a kind of armour, standing on either side of the road, across which, at intervals, large stone tablets are extended, supported by large blocks of stone in place of pillars, such as are frequently seen on the roads leading to temples in China, and occasionally across the streets, erected in honour of particular individuals.

In the drawing are represented a number of colossal figures of horses, elephants, zebras, and other animals, rudely, executed, and placed without any distinct arrangement. Properly speaking, they are situated at a considerable distance from the alley of giants, but have been introduced to give an effective representation of the whole. There is something peculiarly Egyptian in the appearance of them all, and one could rather imagine that the scene was laid in the vicinity of Thebes than under the walls of Nankin. It tends, in some measure, to strengthen the opinion of those who have endeavoured to trace a connexion between China and Egypt, at a very remote period of their history.

Little remains to be said concerning the rest of the short period of the detention of our forces at Nankin. On the 15th of September, the Emperor's positive assent to the treaty, signed by his commissioners, on the 29th of August, was received at Nankin.

All were now anxious to quit the river without delay, in which so many brave men had already found a grave, through sickness. Every ship was full of invalids; in many of them full one-third of the crew were unable to work, and in some even more. The officers appeared to suffer equally with the men; and on this account some of the transports were in a pitiable condition. The recovery of the men was extremely slow, and, even after the fever was apparently cured, relapses were very frequent. There are no means, however, of ascertaining the actual number of deaths which occurred, but in some ships they were numerous. Among the troops, the 98th regiment and the Bengal Volunteers suffered the most; but the latter were affected more by their confinement on board ship, and by the voluntary starvation to which they submitted, on account of the prejudices of their religion, than by the mere effect of climate. They principally suffered from dysentery, occasioned by their abstinence from proper food. Most of them being Rajpoots, high caste Hindoos, they were prohibited by their superstition from eating any food cooked on board ship. Dry rice and gram (a shrivelled pea, of which sheep and cattle are very fond) constituted almost the only food they would eat, and edible tobacco their only luxury. Medicine could afford little aid to men under these circumstances; and they preferred death to the violation of their religious feelings; indeed, it was not until the survivors reached Hong-Kong, and were sent ashore to live in tents, in order to be able to cook proper food for themselves, that they began to recover strength enough to enable them to support the remainder of the voyage to Calcutta.

While the Hindoos suffered thus severely, the few Mohammedans who were in the regiment escaped almost without sickness, and there was scarcely a death amongst them. A finer regiment than the Bengal Volunteers, when they arrived in China only a few weeks before, nine hundred strong, could hardly be seen. They were even seven hundred and fifty strong when they landed at Nankin, after having been in action at Chin-Keang; and yet, when the regiment arrived in Calcutta, there were less than four hundred survivors. Indeed, there were little more than three hundred upon the field when they were reviewed at Barrackpore, with the rest of the garrison, by Sir Hugh Gough.

Before leaving Nankin, the ceremony of conferring the order of the Grand Cross of the Bath upon Sir Hugh Gough was performed on board the Cornwallis, with all the attendant marks of honour. As it was directed that it should take place in the most public manner possible, the high Chinese officers were invited to attend, and every preparation was made to give eclÂt to the proceedings. Very few of the Chinese came to witness it, but a few were sufficient to make known to their countrymen generally, that great honours were being conferred upon the English general, for his successes against their best troops.

Towards the end of September, the different transports and ships of war began to move down the river. The steamers were now almost entirely supplied with Nankin coal, immense heaps of which were found regularly stored up along the banks of the river, nearly in front of the city.[73]

The descent of the river was in some respects more difficult for the squadron than the ascent, particularly as the buoys, which had been laid down to mark the channel, had been removed by the Chinese in the interim. Under these circumstances, and in the absence of proper charts of the river, it is highly creditable to the transports that they all succeeded in getting down without any serious accident. Steamers generally went ahead, and gave the soundings by signal, notwithstanding which, most of the ships got aground several times. The weather was now very unsettled and hazy, as the north-east monsoon was just setting in, and this added, of course, to the difficulty.

The plenipotentiary, together with the Admiral and General, paid a visit to Shanghai, on their arrival at Woosung, and the arrangements respecting the ransom of the town, which was to be considered as part of the money paid under the terms of the treaty, were now completed, and the money was shipped; by this payment, the first instalment of 6,000,000 dollars was completed.

At the end of October the whole of the fleet had finally quitted the Yangtze Keang, and were assembled in the beautiful harbours of Chusan. I never remember to have witnessed so picturesque and striking a scene as was there presented to view. Both the outer and inner harbours were crowded with men-of-war, transports, and steamers.

About the middle of November, nearly all our ships had reassembled at Hong-Kong. It was a most animated and bustling scene, and during the two or three weeks in which our forces were detained there, the Chinese reaped a rich harvest from the sale of Chinese manufactures and curiosities, which were eagerly sought for.

From various causes, our forces were detained at Hong-Kong longer than had been expected, and in some respects it happened fortunately, although the weather had become excessively cold and trying for the men. On the 7th of December disturbances took place at Canton, which resulted in the total destruction of the old company's factory, the Dutch factory, (occupied by American merchants,) and the adjacent extensive buildings, called the Creek Hong. As this event produced great alarm in the minds of the foreign residents in China, and even produced an impression on the minds of mercantile people at a distance, who were, in consequence, led to doubt the practicability of maintaining peaceable relations with the Chinese for any length of time, some few details will be necessary.

It is proper to remark that the community of Canton differs in many respects from that of any other part of China. Long accustomed to a profitable intercourse with foreigners, and encouraged by their government to look upon them as an inferior, or, at all events, a less favoured race, arrogant also in proportion to their ignorance, they could not reconcile to themselves the advantageous terms which had been exacted as the price of peace from the Emperor; and forgetting the numerous lessons they had been taught in the Canton river, they believed they could still have succeeded against the foreigner, had their professed patriotism been appealed to, and their proud spirit permitted to pour forth its vengeance.

It is also to be remembered that, in a large commercial city like Canton, a great number of bad and discontented characters are collected from all quarters. Its reputation for wealth made it a desirable field for the adventurer, while the prospect of the loss of a great portion of its trade served to produce a general discontent among the residents. Every great change, however, is commonly attended with some difficulty at first, nor was it likely that the people of Canton could readily forget the day when our troops dictated terms for the ransom of the city, from the heights above it. Moreover, a great part of them really believed that they had been betrayed, and that treachery or bribery had been used rather to favour us than to spare the city; while they scarcely doubted that the large bodies of militia, or self-styled patriots, who continued to hover about the rear of Sir Hugh Gough's army while upon the heights, would have sufficed to have driven him back again to his ships.

For some days previous to the actual disturbances, there had been rumours of an intended rising against the English. Hints were given by some of the people of the establishments belonging to the Hong merchants, that something unusual would happen, and, in fact, that people were combining together for no good ostensible purpose. I happened to be at Canton at the time, and could not help noticing the eagerness with which the crowds of passers-by were reading anonymous placards pasted upon the walls, in the narrow streets at the back of the Factories. These documents professed to publish the sentiments of the patriotic gentry and people belonging to the neighbourhood of Canton. They misstated the terms of the treaty, and asserted the belief, that foreigners were hereafter coming to build houses for themselves at Canton, and to reside there with their families. This was, in fact, the great object of their dread, or rather, this was the principal argument they used to endeavour to rouse the people generally to resist, "and not to allow a single foreigner to remain."

The promiscuous residence of foreigners in China was certainly never contemplated by the terms of the treaty; though a support was given to this supposition of the Chinese, by the appearance of three or four English ladies (wives of captains of ships at Whampoa) in the streets of Canton.

I remember well what a sensation it created, when these ladies were seen proceeding up China Street, accompanied by their children, (and, of course, by their husbands.) The novelty of their dress and personal appearance was the least part of the business. It was an infraction of all the established usages of the Chinese; for not only had no foreign ladies been hitherto seen in the streets, but not even Chinese ladies are ever to be seen in public, except in sedan-chairs. On this occasion, the people offered neither violence nor insult, and, indeed, a few policemen were stationed close to the Factories, to prevent the pressure of the crowd. In the evening they embarked again in their boats, and proceeded down the river.

There is no question that this little incident had a very bad effect upon the feelings of the Chinese. As a proof of this, it is right to mention that the same persons again came up a few days afterwards, and resided with their husbands in one of the factories, and that that very factory was the first attacked, and unquestionably the object was to drive out the foreign ladies, as much as it was to plunder. They escaped, with the utmost difficulty and danger, by a back way, and were received into one of the Hong merchants' warehouses until they could be conveyed down the river. But the mob destroyed and tore into shreds every article of their wardrobe which they could find.

In justice to the Chinese, and to the very proper and cautious measures adopted by Sir Henry Pottinger, this incident cannot be omitted. But the mob evidently had its leaders; and many of the people were said to be provided with little bags of gunpowder, for the purpose of setting fire to the buildings. There was certainly some preconcerted scheme or other, although the occurrence of the outbreak on that particular day was a matter of accident.

Disputes first arose in the early part of the day (7th December) between a number of Lascars, who were on leave from Whampoa, and some of the shopkeepers of Canton. The Lascars are generally allowed to trade a little on their own private account, and are in the habit of carrying back to India a great variety of articles, of little cost, purchased in China. On this occasion, a very large number of them were allowed to come up to Canton together; hard bargains were driven, and doubtless there were faults on both sides. High words soon led to blows and squabbles in some of the back streets; the disturbance naturally increased by the accession of recruits to both sides, stones flew and sticks were used, and at length the Lascars were driven out of the back streets into one of the unoccupied hongs, called the Creek Hong, which still remained unrepaired since the general pillage of the Factories in the previous year.

For some time both parties remained quiet, and probably those Chinamen who commenced the disturbance had little to do with what afterwards happened. Towards evening, numbers of suspicious-looking people began to collect together, in front of the Factories. Something serious was now anticipated, and the European residents began to barricade their doors and windows, and to endeavour to secure their books and treasure as well as they could. One of the first objects upon which an attack was made by the mob was the British flag-staff in the Company's garden, into which they forced their way. The staff was soon set on fire, (there was no flag,) and the blaze was followed by a general shout.

The British factory, which was then undergoing repair, was the next object of violence. The workmen within it defended it for some time, but the mob at last got in, and were thus enabled to force their way from the balcony into the adjoining building, (formerly part of the Company's hong,) in which the ladies were staying with their friends. Fortunately, however, they had already been conveyed away to a place of safety.

Elated with success, the mob gradually attacked the other adjoining factories, particularly that which was formerly occupied by the Dutch, but which was then rented by an American firm. Here a stand was made with fire-arms against the invaders for some time, and two or three of them were shot. At length, however, they prevailed; and the American gentlemen had a narrow escape in reaching their boats, but were only able to save a small quantity of the treasure.

Gradually the crowd increased, as the night set in; parts of the factories were already on fire, and if the wind had been high, instead of being nearly calm, it is impossible to say where the destruction would have stopped, in a city like Canton.

It will be asked whether no attempt was made by the Chinese authorities to disperse the mob. For some time they seem to have been actually themselves afraid of encountering the mob; and a small party of police-runners and soldiers, who were sent down in the first instance, were said to have been driven off. It must not be supposed that all, or even a quarter part, of the foreign factories were burned down. None of the rest were injured, except those situated between Hog Lane and the Creek. Towards morning the mob began to be satiated with what they had done, and a large body of soldiers coming down into the square in front of the Factories, headed by their proper officers, soon managed to enforce quiet. They retained possession of the square, and pitched their tents, as if they were to be stationed there for some time.

The alarm created by these violent proceedings among the foreign community was of course very great indeed. But whatever the plans of the Chinese may have been, the arrival of the Proserpine steamer on the following morning at Canton tended very much to reassure the European community. Sir Hugh Gough had requested to be conveyed in her to Canton, merely for the purpose of visiting the town, and it was quite a matter of fortunate accident that she arrived there just when she was most wanted. Communications passed between Sir Hugh Gough and the authorities, who gave every assurance of their desire to maintain tranquillity. But the difficulty was as to their power to carry out their own wishes. It was doubted whether their soldiers could be depended on, and Sir Hugh Gough, therefore, acceded to the request of the merchants, to allow the Proserpine to remain off the Factories until communications could be received from Sir Henry Pottinger.

In every point of view, this was now a very critical moment. A single false move, or one hasty step, would have led to collision and difficulty, and might have endangered the existence of the peace for which we had so long been struggling. The utmost caution and good judgment were required to allay the angry feelings on both sides; and it would have ill become us to have assumed the appearance of almost inviting the renewal of a collision with a proud susceptible government, when their high officers declared themselves "both willing and able to control their own people, and to protect foreigners."

The merchants at Canton addressed Sir Henry Pottinger, with a view to obtain from him protection for their persons and property while carrying on their trade at Canton; they expressed their firm belief that there was a prevailing spirit of hostility to the English among certain classes in Canton, by whom the mob were influenced, and that unless armed protection (amounting in reality to armed intervention) were afforded to them, it would be impossible for them to carry on their business, except through the means of American agency. And this kind of assistance was generally deprecated by the merchants, as tending not only to throw business into the hands of the Americans for the time, but also to establish it permanently in their favour, to the detriment of our own mercantile interests.

The reply of Sir Henry Pottinger to the merchants was a long and somewhat harshly expressed document. It seemed to have been written on the spur of the moment, and amounted, in fact, to a rebuke, addressed to the merchants; part of which had little reference to the matter in question. The impression of the Plenipotentiary seems to have been, that the foreign community were altogether in the wrong; and his Excellency certainly had in view the extensive, and one may almost say acknowledged, smuggling, not only of opium, but of every description of exports and imports which were liable to duty, in the Canton river.

This was undoubtedly a critical moment of our intercourse with the Chinese. Sir Henry Pottinger addressed a letter upon the subject to the Viceroy of Canton, and sent it up by the Nemesis. It would be difficult to say that this was not the wisest and most dignified course to pursue. If the Viceroy should declare either his inability or his unwillingness to protect the foreign community, then, indeed, would be the proper time for intervention, in order to secure to them that protection which they needed.

Captain Hall had previously gone up as a passenger in the Proserpine, with Captain Hough, to Canton; but the moment it was ascertained that the Nemesis had passed the Bogue, in charge of his chief officer, he went down to meet her, and brought her safely straight up to Canton from Whampoa, passing through the passage between the stakes below Napier's fort, and then taking the left-hand passage, by the low alluvial island. The Proserpine had previously, for the first time, been carried up the right-hand passage. Both of these lead up to nearly the same point, opposite the French Folly.

Great was the rejoicing of all the foreigners at Canton, the moment they recognised their old friend the Nemesis approaching. And who that had once seen her could ever mistake her appearance, with her two huge eyes upon the bows, in true Chinese fashion!

On this occasion, the captains of the merchant-vessels at Whampoa handsomely volunteered to lend their services, if necessary. There was great uncertainty as to what might happen, and it was reported that an attempt would be made upon the steamer at night. It was not forgotten that on former occasions fire-rafts had been sent down the river to destroy the shipping, and it was necessary that the Nemesis and Proserpine should be prepared. The assistance of two boats only was accepted—one from the Tuglis, under Captain Isaacson, and another from the Edinburgh, under Captain Paterson. Both boats were well armed and manned, and were of great use in guarding against a surprise.

Mr. Medhurst had come up in the Nemesis, as interpreter, in charge of Sir Henry Pottinger's letter to the Viceroy; and the question now was, to whom, or through whom, was it to be delivered? A great number of Chinese soldiers were encamped on the ground in front of the Factories, for the protection of the foreigners. They were evidently some of their best soldiers, for they were well dressed and properly armed. Each tent was appropriated to about six men; and one of their large, long shields, placed upright, served as a door to each; their arms were all in readiness, and sentries were placed. As for the men themselves, their only occupation or amusement seemed to be gambling all the day long.

At first the Hong merchants proposed to receive the letter, but that was, of course, objected to. Then the Kwang-chow-foo, or Prefect, wished it to be handed over to him on shore, but that was also refused. It was intimated that it could only be delivered to him on the quarter-deck of the steamer. At length a mandarin, who spoke a little English, having formerly been employed in one of the Hong merchants' establishments, came alongside, and proposed that Captain Hall should go into the Prefect's boat, and there deliver the letter, under the pretence that the Prefect was an old man, and could not get up the ship's side. All these were little attempts at evasion, to save his dignity. It was, however, insisted that the Prefect should come on board the Nemesis, and there receive the communication, and he might bring as many of the Hong merchants with him as he pleased.

At length, finding that nothing was to be gained by further delay, and that the days of paying court to the Prefect were now long past, he stepped upon the quarter-deck of the steamer, accompanied by most of the Hong merchants. They were all conducted into the cabin, and the letter was delivered in due form, with an intimation that it was to be laid before the Viceroy without delay, and that a speedy answer was expected. They then requested that the steamers might be removed lower down, as their presence only tended to keep alive the excitement. This, however, could not be complied with. They denied altogether the report that a large body of troops were advancing towards the city, or that any violence or insult whatever was intended against the foreigners. However, it was intimated that the steamers were perfectly prepared, and that their guns would be kept loaded, ready to meet any attack that might be made.

The answer of the Viceroy was perfectly satisfactory; and that it was sincere, the event has since fully proved. He declared his great anxiety, as well as his perfect ability, to protect all foreigners; and, at the same time, expressed his readiness to repay all such losses as had been incurred during the late riots, after they should have been correctly ascertained, and transmitted through her Majesty's government.

There have been no grounds whatever for supposing that there will be any probability of another collision with the Chinese, to whose moderation and good faith, since the terms of peace have been settled, too much justice cannot be done. When we consider the wonderful changes which have been brought about in so short a period of time, and these, too, in the face of a nation the most proud, the most prejudiced, and the vainest in the world, we cannot but look back with wonder at all that has happened, and stand firm in our belief that Providence has yet greater things in store for China, mainly through the instrumentality of England.

A new era is undoubtedly now opened for the Chinese; new duties and new relations have been imposed upon them; but let us not forget, in the fulness of victory, and in the pride of the human heart, that new and highly important duties are imposed upon us also, not lightly to be thought of, nor inconsiderately handled. We must take for our motto, forbearance, good-will, kindliness, honesty, and true Christian feeling. With these as our panoply, the benefit to be derived by both nations from the cautious, systematic, and prudent exercise of the duties imposed upon each other, may become a blessing to both. Let it also be borne in mind, that qualities the reverse of these—overbearing violence, and, above all, undue love of gain—may entail, not only misery and the horrors of anarchy upon a people who proudly boast of their antiquity and of their vast resources, but may also bring political difficulties, with loss of dignity and of high principle, upon that little distant speck upon the earth's surface, yet that giant in the world's interest—Great Britain.

At the latter end of December, the whole of the transports and ships of war not required for further service in China sailed from Hong-Kong for their respective destinations; and peace seemed now to reign throughout the whole of that vast portion of the East.