Accordingly the news was temporarily suppressed.  But the I.G. afterwards had the personal satisfaction of hearing through a lady of the Court that when O’Conor’s telegrams about the whole story were laid before Queen Victoria, she said, “I am very glad that we shall have for our next Minister in China the man who arranged such delicate negotiations as these.”

By all the laws of climax the incident should close here; no writer would dream of dragging it out further, but unfortunately in real life there is little respect for climaxes, and that vexatious Treaty coquetted with her suitors once more.  Really it was enough to make anybody lose patience altogether.  When the ground was clear at the very last moment, how absurd that the Black Flags and the Chinese should win a big victory over the French at Langson and that, in consequence, there should have been an interpellation in the French Senate causing the Jules Ferry Ministry to resign suddenly and leaving the Treaty still unsigned.

The victory affected the Chinese no less seriously; in the twinkling of an eye they were split into two parties.  The military side, elated with their success, was all for continuing the war ("Those we have beaten once we shall beat again,” said they), and the wiser councils of the civil side only just carried the day, for, flushed as the soldiers were with victory, it was not easy to make them see that their success was but temporary, and the best, in fact the only thing, for China to do was to hurry on with the Treaty.

Then the endless telegraphing began again.  The I.G., by the way, had spent Tls. 80,000 (over L10,000) on telegrams, a sum which, had the Treaty failed, would not have been repaid easily.  But it was too late to stop now.  Once more he wired instructions to his Secretary.

“You must face the jump.  Go direct to the President and lay the matter before him.”  In those days, when he was manoeuvring for a big success, the I.G. sometimes risked much on the turn of a card.

Mr. Campbell went to President Grevy, and later to the Foreign Minister de Freycinet.  Things, as they seemed most desperate, took a brighter turn; difficulties melted away, and at last, on the 4th of April, 1885, M. Billot, afterwards Ambassador at Rome, was appointed by the French Government to sign for France, and the Resident Secretary of course signed for the Chinese.  Thus the work was really completed by those last basketfuls of earth, and the long months of anxiety and strain brought to a happy conclusion much to everybody’s satisfaction.

Later, M. de Freycinet asked the I.G. to continue and arrange the detail Treaty, as the first had been really little more than a Protocol.  The second went through without a hitch, and on June 9th Li Hung Chang and M. Patenotre signed it at Tientsin.

Next day the I.G. had a telegram from London from Lord Granville saying that the Gladstone Ministry was about to resign.  “If your appointment as British Minister at Peking is to be published before the new Government under Lord Salisbury comes in, it must be gazetted immediately.”  He was then able to answer.  “Yes.  Publish whenever you please.  The French Treaty was signed yesterday, June 9.”