bearers. These were the outward shows of a mandarin of the highest rank; and the gigantic button on the top was perhaps equivalent to our riband of the Garter. But all lesser sentiments of awe and wonder were lost when the crowd saw the guard present arms, while the band struck up "God save the Queen," and the stately march began. Nor, indeed," says Mr Oliphant, "was it to be wondered at that an event altogether unprecedented, and of so striking and novel a character, should create some sensation. A procession of two hundred Chinamen marching down the Strand, armed with spears, and bows and arrows, or gigantic matchlocks, with their own tails reaching to their heels, and squirrel tails adorning their conical caps, with dragon-emblazoned breasts, and trousers and sleeves of equal dimensions; surrounding chairs of state, containing obese dignitaries, with peacocks' feathers and red balls on their head, would probably attract a crowd; and should this crowd have become strongly impressed with the belief that in this outlandish procession they were gazing upon specimens of the race into whose hands the government of the country was about to pass, their countenances would betray a more than ordinary interest." We have no doubt of it and their hands an amazing pertinacity in throwing brickbats at the said procession, and ducking the obese dignitaries in the Thames. The Chinese millions must be either more or less than human to have left the handful of Europeans undestroyed; and, on a review of the whole subject, we feel inclined to decide that they are less. Perhaps, however, if the parallel holds good, the enmity of the multitude was softened by its contempt. The figure of a starched upright gentleman, in official coat and cocked hat, attended by a set of red-coated baboons, blowing unintelligible discord through serpents and trombones, was as irresistibly ludicrous as the picture presented of the march down the Strand, with Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell coming up from Windsor, in an omnibus a-piece, to meet the celestial embassy at St Paul's.

The Commissioners came down the front steps to welcome Lord Elgin when he arrived at the Temple. They conducted him into the great hall, and, according to their laudable custom of commencing all business of importance with a refection, they invited him to a seat at a long table covered with sundry descriptions of Chinese delicacies. But the Ambassador had determined on his line of conduct, and proceeded to weighty matter at once. He produced his powers, and requested them to do the same. Kweiliang, a most polite and gentlemanly old Tartar, handed the document for translation to Mr Wade. Apparently nothing could be more complete; but Lord Elgin discovered, on inquiry, that they had not been put in possession of a seal of office, termed the Kwang-fang, and was glad of the opportunity of showing that circumstances had changed very much since the days of Macartney and Amherst. Assuming a displeased tone, and looking dignified and offended, he insisted on the Kwangfang being sent for at once, and broke up the conference with a haughty refusal of the proffered refreshment, reserving, he told them, for a written communication any remarks he might have to make on the subject of the full powers. The imperturbability of face prescribed by Talleyrand would have been out of place at Tientsin. The Chinese are great physiognomists, and gather as much from a curl of the lip or glance of the eye as from spoken words. Lord Elgin accordingly curled his lips and glanced round in a stern and implacable manner, which left no doubt on the minds of the pig-tailed Lavaters that his Lordship was not to be trifled with. The Kwang-fang was sent for without delay, and Kweiliang and Hwashana accompanied the irritated Ambassador to his chair with the most undisguised dismay, pouring forth a profusion of protestations and remonstrances.

Petruchio was a better model than Polonius, and the celestials were thoroughly subdued. They entreated that Mr Lay, who had held the appointment under the Chinese Government of Inspector of Customs at Shanghai, might be allowed to visit

them, and give them his advice in the difficult circumstances in which they were placed; and Lord Elgin, having a remarkable foreknowledge of what Mr Lay's advice would be, graciously acceded to their petition. The ruling idea of the Ambassador's policy was to make a demonstration of our power near the capital itself; but the Indian mutiny had so diminished his disposable force, that the whole expedition consisted of not more than two thousand five hundred men. Bearing this in mind, the energy of Lord Elgin and the achievements of all concerned are worthy of the highest admiration; and now that our hold was firmly established in the great city of Tientsin, with the grand feeder in our power in the shape of the great canal, our force received the desirable augmentation of the gallant 59th, and a message came from General Straubenzee, that if more were required he was prepared to send them. The result is shortly summed up by Mr Oliphant: "In a word, then, the policy of the allied plenipotentiaries, as so far developed, had in effect placed the Emperor in their grasp, and the dynasty itself at their mercy, without in any way endangering the European communities at the ports, or even disturbing their trade. It was, indeed, matter for congratulation that they had at last succeeded in placing themselves in this favourable attitude, with a force so limited and hampered, and under such adverse circumstances generally. It may be readily imagined that the five weeks we passed at Tientsin formed a most cheerful contrast to the same period spent in the Gulf of Pechelee. There we had more than once utterly despaired of ultimate success; now we felt that, though disappointed in our hopes of reaching Pekin, the doubts and anxieties we had experienced would probably be more than compensated for by a diplomatic triumph."

The interesting episode of the appearance of the famous Keying, who displayed such skill and jollity at the Treaty of Nankin in 1842 that for a while he was the most popular Chinaman who had ever been heard of in England, relieves the dryness of

VOL. LXXXVII.-NO. DXXXIII.

political details with a little romance. No longer the taree-bottle-man of former days, Keying had sunk into a premature old age under the weight of the disgrace he incurred by his yielding to the barbarians under Gough and Pottinger. He came to Tientsin as unexpected by the Commissioners as by the Ambassador; and although he was endowed with no ostensible office or authority, a change was soon perceived in the bearing of Kweiliang and Hwashana. Alas for poor old Keying-the archives found in the yamun of the monster Yeh at Canton had revealed certain state papers which opened Lord Elgin's eyes to the duplicity of the new arrival. He declined to receive his visit, as he had no official rank, and confounded him into shame and silence by making Mr Lay read the fatal document while he sat in conclave with the Commissioners. The convicted deceiver was strengthened more than ever, as might be expected, in the hostile line he had adopted towards the barbarians, and his voice was still for war. He left Tientsin to convey this proposition to the Emperor, but his enemies were on the watch. He was ordered not to approach the capital; and the ending of the poor man's story, which is admirably told, is that he was condemned to be executed, but was allowed, by the Imperial clemency, to die by his own hand.

The immediate result of his visit to Tientsin was a change in the bearing of the inhabitants, who became insolent and defiant. Two of our officers were insulted in the street, and the gates shut by an infuriated. mob to prevent the entrance of the English. The walls, however, were scaled by three or four gentlemen, among whom was Mr Oliphant himself, and the townsmen taken in rear. Marines were marched in with bayonets fixed-some respectable shopkeepers were seized as hostages, and a liberal allowance of kicks and buffets bestowed on the rabble. Politeness was restored by these new teachers of deportment, and the war spirit died out on the disappearance of Keying. But it seems impossible to keep a Chinaman in a straightforward path. If he can twist and turn, he is

S

haps the most valuable stipulation was that which converted the variable and irritating transport dues into a fixed payment of 2 per cent ad valorem on all imports and exports. An indemnity for losses at Canton, and the expenses of the war, of £1,300,000, is principally useful as teaching the Chinese that a quarrel with Europeans is followed by a bill of costs.

We are delighted, however, to leave these official details, and dwell on the livelier features of the book. When the author is left to his own discretion, we scarcely can banish the idea that we are reading a novel of life and manners. And such life, and such manners! so perfectly different from our own, and so unmistakably true. We become as completely acquainted with the character of Hwashana, for instance, as with his features by his daguerreotype in the first volume. The nearest approach to his features and expression that can be made by the Western mind is to imagine a drunken beadle, drest in his robes of office and smoking his yard of clay, with a leer in his eye of mingled cunning and stolidity. His co-mate His co-mate and brother in diplomacy, Kweiliang, is a still more wonderful example of the difference between Asia and Europe. Is it possible that that dull countenance and fatuous attitude represent genius and talent to the spectator in Pekin, while in Paris or London they would be set down as indicative of the lowest develop ment? Have the Chinese an opposite theory of physiognomy from ours? What did they think of the faces of Poutiatine, Elgin, and Gros? was Elgin slow and phlegmatic? was Gros heavy and unideaed was Poutiatine asleep? and Reed too profoundly indolent to know what was going on? Whatever the reply of the acute physiognomists of Pekin may be, we venture to answer all these questions in the negative. Three personages more wide-awake than Poutiatine, Reed, and Elgin it would be difficult to find in the law list of any nation. Three Is raelitish shentlemen at an auction of old clothes could not have been more observant of each other's motions, or

readier to take advantage of a momentary pause.

No sooner were the guns loaded to salute the Treaty of Tientsin, than the Russian and American suddenly put on all steam and disappeared from the Gulf of Pechelee. Fast as a thousand horse power could carry them, they bore off to the north-east. Lord Elgin knew by instinct what the cunning pair were after; and as two or three weeks must elapse before the Commissioners could arrive to settle the particulars of the Treaty, he suddenly gave orders for the Furious to keep up her fires, and, accompanied by his Secretary, started off to the nearest point of Japan. Over four hundred and fifty miles of smooth sea, full of expectation, and rejoicing at their escape from Shanghai, like noisy children just let loose from school, the Embassy steamed in a few hours, and anchored within sight of the city of Nagasaki. A more astonishing revelation of manners and customs awaited them here than in the Flowery Land. The dust and ashes of Pompeii were not a more complete bar to the curiosity of visitors than the isolation and exclusiveness of Japan. For many generations the whole of those prodigious islands lay hidden from the rest of mankind, except a small portion of the coast, where the Dutch were allowed to settle, on condition of being treated like convicts, and locked up when their daily task was done. The Dutch, who have achieved a sort of liberty at home, show an innate aptitude for slavery abroad. There is no cruelty they will not commit, no insult they will not endure, for the sake of a lucrative trade; and the Japanese may be forgiven for the low opinion they entertained of the Europeans, when they formed it upon their knowledge of the crawling apostates of Rotterdam. A town so regular in its architecture and scrupulously clean, inhabited by a population pleasant to look upon, was a strange and delightful sight to the party on board the Furious, who had been disgusted so long with the ugliness and insolence of the Chinese. Excursions were made into the city. The country all round was a fairy scene of picturesqueness and

beauty; but Lord Elgin was not so absorbed as the junior suite in the contemplation of ladies and landscapes. He led the way on the 5th of August towards Simoda. Something was on his mind; and on going on shore to return the visit of the American Consul, Mr Harris, he learned that his suspicions were not unfounded. The Powhattan had arrived some time before with the news of the capture of the Takoo Forts, and the compulsory arrangement of Tientsin. "See," said Mr Harris to the authorities at Yedo"see what we of the West can do: we can knock the celestial realm into never-ending smash, so I will trouble you to sign this little treaty." The treaty, favourable beyond the expectations of Washington, and altogether refused to the request of Mr Donker Curtius, the Dutch envoy, who had asked for it previous to the forcing of the Peiho, was signed without a word, and the mere echo of the cannonade by France and England had been utilised by our Yankee brothers without loss of time. Nevertheless, a kinder or manlier friend than Mr Harris no Englishman ever could boast. He lent Lord Elgin his interpreter, Mr Hewskin, and with this invaluable addition to his company the Ambassador speedily went on. Besides the Furious, commanded by Sherard Osborn, whose name is a guarantee for dashing enterprise and talent of various kinds, the voyage was made by the Retribution, under the skilful sailor Captain Lee, and "The Yacht."

This yacht, blazing with paint and gilding, beautiful in her mould, and quick as a greyhound in motion, was far the most valuable ship in the squadron. Not that it could fight, or run down a war-junk, or perform any astonishing feat in war-but it was Lord Elgin's hope in all his difficulties. If the port-master of Nagasaki majestically waved the intrusive squadron away from the inner part of the harbour, the Ambassador made a gracious bow in return, but continued his career, all in consequence of the yacht. At Simoda, dignitaries of all ranks and qualities besought him to proceed no farther, but to

deliver his message then and there; but Lord Elgin resolutely persisted in shaping his course for Yedo, and all in consequence of the yacht. The yacht had been sent as a present from the Queen of England to the Emperor of Japan, and nothing should prevent the loyal and obedient Envoy from delivering his royal mistress's token of friendship and respect into the hands of the Tycoon himself. Away then for Yedo screwed the joyous flotilla, and paying no attention to the reclamations of the authorities of a place called Uraga, who shouted, prayed, and signalled the expedition to stop, rounded a point towards the harbour of Kanagawa, about eighteen miles from the capital, and saw the Russian squadron, with the indefatigable Poutiatine on board! This diplomatist unfortunately had no yacht to present to the Tycoon, and remained at anchor as requested by the Japanese; but what could Lord Elgin do? could he leave the yacht in the hands of strangers? could he allow the yacht out of his sight till it had reached its destination? what if the Emperor never should get the yacht? if anything should happen to the yacht? It was so evident that he must take the yacht as near as possible to Yedo, that Poutiatine himself must have seen the cruel necessity the English were under of showing their flags and port-holes to the imperial city, which rose with great stateliness at the upper end of the bay; and for this purpose (and to hand over the yacht in proper form) they came to anchor about three miles from the shore.

There is nothing to be likened to the rest of Mr Oliphant's story of Japan, except the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. Compared, indeed, to the appearance and habits of Yedo, some of the revelations of that veracious chronicler are flat and insipid. It is a city, the size of an ordinary principality, cleaner than a Dutch village, furnished with almost all the appliances of the highest modern science, and yet discarding many of the notions which with us are considered the first elements of civilisation. Those in the lower ranks believe themselves to be quite sufficiently drest when they carry a narrow band of linen round the