treaty, by which it was agreed that ’Her Britannic Majesty’s Chief High Officer shall correspond with the Chinese High Officers, both at the capital and in the provinces, under the term “communication;"’ and announcing that he should proceed at once to the North, in order that he might place himself in more immediate communication with the High.  Officers of the Imperial Government at the capital.  Accordingly, he arranged with Baron Gros that they should meet in the Gulf of Pecheli, at the mouth of the Peiho, backed by their respective fleets, and with the moral support of the presence of the Russian and American Plenipotentiaries.

In carrying out these plans everything depended, in his judgment, on acting promptly; and he was therefore most desirous that the supporting force should collect at once at the appointed spot, and that it should include a considerable number of gunboats of light draught, capable of passing over the mud-banks which form a bar at the mouth of the Peiho river.  In this, however, he was disappointed, and many weeks elapsed before any vigorous measures could be taken.  The delay, as may be supposed, caused him much annoyance and anxiety at the time; and he especially regretted it afterwards, because it prevented him from personally visiting Pekin, as he might have done at this time under circumstances peculiarly favourable; and thus left the delicate question of access to the capital to be settled by his successor, with no such advantage.[1]

[Sidenote:  Advance to the Peiho.]

H.M.S.  ‘Furious,’ at sea.—­April 11th.—­Here we are, gliding through the smoothest possible sea, with a gentle wind, and this time favourable, which relieves us of all the smoke and ashes of the funnel,—­an advantage for our eyes as well as conducive to our comfort.  We are in the midst of the Yellow Sea, going about eight knots, dragging a gunboat astern to save her coal.  This is the only gunboat I have got.  I trust, both on private and public grounds, that we may succeed, because otherwise the consummation might be put off for a year, or at least till the autumn, and God knows what might happen in the interval.  The Russian Plenipotentiary, with his own small vessel—­dragging behind him, however, a junk well laden with coals and provisions—­sailed the day before me.  I followed on the 10th (yesterday).  The French and American are to follow.  It is amusing to see how we play our parts.  Putiatine and I are always together, visiting every port, looking into everything with our own eyes.  Our colleagues, with their big ships, arrive sooner or later at the great places of rendezvous.

[Sidenote:  Aground.]