Nanking was carried by assault despite the alleged impregnability of its ramparts, and despite also a garrison of 25,000 Manchus.  These last must have fought with the fury of despair; for they well knew what fate awaited them.  Not one was spared to tell the tale—­this was in 1853.  There the Tai-pings held their ground for ten years; and it is safe to affirm that without the aid of foreign missionaries they never would have been dislodged.

The second part of their enterprise—­the expulsion of the Manchus from Peking—­ended in defeat.  A strong detachment was sent north by way of the Grand Canal.  At first they met with great success—­no town or city was able to check their progress, which resembled Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.  At the beginning of winter they were met by a strong force under the Mongol prince Sengkolinsin; then came the more dreaded generals—­January and February.  Unable to make headway, they went into winter quarters, and committed the blunder of dividing themselves between two towns, where they were besieged and cut off in detail.

In the meantime the eyes of the world were turned toward Nanking.  Ships of war were sent to reconnoitre and Consul T. T. Meadows, who accompanied the Hermes, made a report full of sympathy; but the failure of their expedition to the north deterred the nation from any formal recognition of the Tai-ping government.

[Page 160] Missionaries were attracted by their profession of Christianity.  Among others, I made an unsuccessful attempt to reach them.  Unable to induce my boatmen to run the blockade, I returned home and took up the pen in their defence.  My letters were well received, but they did not prevent soldiers of fortune, like the American Frederick G. Ward and Colonel Gordon of the British army, throwing their swords into the scale.

Two Sabbatarians hearing that the rebels observed Saturday for their day of rest, posted off to confirm them in that ancient usage.  Learning at an outpost that the seeming agreement with their own practice grew out of a mistake in reckoning, they did not continue their journey.

A missionary who actually penetrated to the rebel headquarters was the Rev. Issachar Roberts, the first instructor of the rebel chief.  The latter had sent him a message inviting him to court.  His stay was not long.  He found that his quondam disciple had substituted a new mode of baptism, neither sprinkling nor immersion, but washing the pit of the stomach with a towel dipped in warm water!  Who says the Chinese are not original?  It is probable that Roberts’s dispute lay deeper than a mere ceremony.  Professing a New Testament creed, the rebel chief shaped his practice on Old Testament examples—­killing men as ruthlessly as David, and, like Solomon, filling his harem with women.  A remonstrance on either head was certain to bring danger; it was said indeed that Roberts’s life was threatened.