"It looked as though the Chinese emperor had been sufficiently humiliated; but the treaty 'slipped up,' for its last clause provided that the treaty should be ratified at Pekin within one year. The emperor could not abide the idea of permitting the ambassadors to enter the sacred capital, and he looked about him for the means of escaping the issue. The forts between the capital and the Gulf of Pe-chi-li had been rebuilt and were well armed. The Chinese officials urged the signing at Tien-tsin, and this was done by several of the embassy; but France and England insisted that it must be signed in Pekin, as provided in the instrument itself.
"They started for the sacred city with several men-of-war, but they found the mouth of the river closed to them by the forts. A severe engagement followed, in which the allies were beaten, the only battle gained by the Chinese. At the end of a year another expedition with twenty thousand men went with the ambassadors, the forts were all taken, and the officials went to Tien-tsin. The force marched on Pekin; and the emperor fled, leaving his brother Prince Kung to meet the embassy. The north-east gate of the city was surrendered, and the treaty was duly signed at Pekin.
"In 1861 the emperor died, having named his son, six years old, as his successor. A dozen years later he took possession of the throne, the regency expiring then. He died two years later, and a nephew of Prince Kung was appointed to the succession by the imperial family. He was a child of four years of age then, and reigned under a regency till 1887, when he took possession of the government at the age of sixteen.
"I should have said before that a change of the tariff in 1842 made the importation of opium legal in the empire. The country has in recent years employed foreign officers in its army and navy, and foreign mechanics in its workshops. China is represented at five of the principal nations of the world by ambassadors. It has built up a very respectable navy, mostly at the shipyards of Great Britain; and foreign officers have greatly improved the condition of the army.
"Telegraphic communication has been extensively established, and a railroad eighty-one miles long has been built. Educational institutions have been founded, and schools opened for the instruction of young men in several foreign languages. The increasing consumption of opium, which seems to have been placed in the way of the people by the action on the part of England, is a cause for great regret among the friends of China. I have said too much already, and I know you must be very tired. I thank you for bearing with me so long; and I will promise not to do so again, at least so far as China is concerned. China is at peace with all the world, and I leave her so."
The professor retired with even greater applause than in the forenoon. Since he spoke, China has been engaged in a great war with Japan; and possibly his account of the country will assist those who are yet to read the history of the conflict.
CHAPTER XXXIV
SIGHT-SEEING IN HONG-KONG AND CANTON
After the conclusion of the lecture in the afternoon, the passengers of the two ships had another frolic, as Captain Ringgold called it, and then dined in the cabin; after which those from the Blanche "went home," as the ladies termed it.