Pressed thus closely up to the walls of the capital, the Chinese Regent—for the Emperor had retired to Tartary, 'being obliged by law to hunt in the autumn'—yielded at last to save the storming of the city. In the afternoon of the 8th of October the English and French prisoners detained in Pekin, numbering eight in all, were sent into the camp.[7]
October 9th.—Yesterday at 4 P.M., Parkes, Loch, and one of Fane's Irregulars arrived. With them were four French soldiers and M. d'Escayrac (the head of a scientific commission). The hands and wrists of the latter were in a sad condition, they had been so hurt by the cords tied round them. Bowlby, De Norman, and the rest, do not seem to be in Pekin as we had hoped. Parkes and Loch were very badly treated for the first ten days; since then, conciliation has been the order of the day, and, I have no doubt, because I stood firm. If I had wavered, they would have been lost; because the Chinese, finding they had a lever with which they could move us, would have used their advantage unsparingly. Parkes and Loch have behaved very well under circumstances of great danger. The narrative of their adventures is very interesting, but I cannot attempt to give it in this letter. They seem to be in good health notwithstanding the hardships they have gone through.
In a public despatch of the same date, announcing the restoration of the captives, he wrote:-
To no one of their numerous friends is the return of these gentlemen a matter of more heartfelt gratification than it is to me. Since the period of their arrest, I have been compelled, by a sense of duty, to turn a deaf ear to every overture for their restoration which has involved the slightest retrograde movement of our army, or the abandonment of any demands previously preferred by me against the Chinese Government. I have felt that any such concession on my part would have established a most fatal precedent, because it would have led the Chinese to suppose that by kidnapping Englishmen they might effect objects which they are unable to achieve by fair fighting or diplomacy. I confess that I have been moreover, throughout, of opinion, that in adopting this uncompromising tone, and boldly setting the national above the personal interest, I was in point of fact best consulting the welfare of our friends who were in durance. But it was not to be expected that all persons would view in the same light a question of policy so obscure; and apart from the warm personal interest which I feel in their safety, your Lordship can well understand that it relieves me from a great load of anxiety to learn from the result that the course which I have followed was not ill- calculated to promote it.[8]
Later in the same despatch he expressed himself anxiously yet hopefully about the captives who were still missing:—
It is a matter of great concern to me, that we know as yet nothing certain respecting the fate of Mr. Bruce's Attaché, Mr. de Norman, Mr. Bowlby, the special correspondent of the Times, and the nineteen troopers (consisting of eighteen Sikhs and one Dragoon) who formed the escort, and were under the command of Lieutenant Anderson, of Fane's Irregular Horse. This portion of the party became separated from Messrs. Parkes and Loch, when the latter, at the commencement of the conflict of the 18th ultimo, were taken up to Sang-ko-lin-sin, for the ostensible object of obtaining a safe-conduct from him. Since that time we have heard nothing authentic about them, but we are assured that, though they are not now in Pekin, they will soon be restored to us.
[Sidenote: Fate of the rest.]
Unhappily the hopes thus raised were not destined to be realised. On the 12th of October nine more prisoners were returned to the camp—eight troopers of Fane's Irregular Horse and one French soldier; but the evidence given by them left no doubt that two at least of the remainder, Lieutenant Anderson and Mr. De Norman had perished, having sunk under circumstances of much suffering from the consequences of the maltreatment to which they were subjected. 'I was not personally acquainted' wrote Lord Elgin, 'with Lieutenant Anderson, but he is spoken of by all who knew him as an excellent officer. Mr. De Norman was a young man of remarkable promise. With considerable abilities, great assiduity, singular steadiness of character, and courage of no mean order, he had every promise of achieving eminence in his profession. We all mourn most bitterly his untimely end.'[9]
There were others whose fate remained at that time unknown; among them Mr. Bowlby, the correspondent of the Times, whose corpse was afterwards recovered and recognised. The warmth of regard which Lord Elgin had learnt to feel for him, is shown in many passages of his journal. Officially he wrote, 'I deplore his loss, not only because he was a highly-accomplished and well-informed gentleman, but also because, from the conscientious and liberal spirit in which he addressed himself to the investigation of the singularly complicated problems presented by the moral, social, political, and commercial condition of China, I had conceived the hope that he would be the means of diffusing sound information on many points on which it is most important for the national interests that the British public should be correctly informed.'[10]
The journal, during these anxious and troubled days, is naturally imperfect. One brief entry sums up his feeling on the main subject.