General Gordon | Page 5

was opened,
and we took possession; so our work was of no avail. The Chinese had
then, until the 23rd, to think over our terms of treaty, and to pay up ten
thousand pounds (10,000 pounds) for each Englishman, and five
hundred pounds (500 pounds) for each native soldier who had died
during their captivity. This they did, and the money was paid, and the
treaty signed yesterday. I could not witness it, as all officers

commanding companies were obliged to remain in camp, owing to the
ill-treatment the prisoners experienced at the Summer Palace. The
General ordered this to be destroyed, and stuck up proclamations to say
why it was ordered. We accordingly went out, and after pillaging it,
burned the whole magnificent palace, and destroyed most valuable
property, which could not be replaced for millions of pounds.
"This Palace" (wrote the author of Our Own Times), "covered an area
of many miles. The Palace of Adrian, at Tivoli, might have been hidden
in one of its courts. Gardens, temples, small lodges and pagodas,
groves, grottoes, lakes, bridges, terraces, artificial hills, diversified the
vast space. All the artistic treasures, all the curiosities, archaeological
and other, that Chinese wealth and taste, such as it was, could bring
together." Gordon notes, "This palace, with its surrounding buildings,
over two hundred in number, covered an area eight by ten miles in
extent." He says, "it makes one's heart burn to see such beauty
destroyed; it was as if Windsor Palace, South Kensington Museum, and
British Museum, all in one, were in flames: you can scarcely imagine
the beauty and magnificence of the things we were bound to destroy."
"These palaces were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we
could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were
burned, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralizing for an
army: everybody was wild for plunder . . . The throne and room were
lined with ebony, carved in a wonderful manner. There were huge
mirrors of all shapes and sizes, clocks, watches, musical boxes with
puppets on them, magnificent china of every description, heaps and
heaps of silks of all colours, coral screens, large amounts of treasures,
etc. The French have smashed up everything in a most shameful way. It
was a scene of utter destruction which passes my description." This was
not much in Gordon's line.
In the following year he made a tour on horseback to the outer wall of
China at Kalgan, accompanied by Lieutenant Cardew. A Chinese lad of
the age of fourteen, who knew a little English, acted as their servant
and interpreter, while their personal luggage was conveyed in the
Chinese carts. In the course of this tour we are told they passed through

districts which had never before been visited by any European. At
Kalgan the great wall was seen, with its parapet about twenty-two feet
high, and sixteen feet broad. Both sides were solid brick, each being
three times the size of our English bricks. Gordon writes: "It is
wonderful to see the long line of wall stretching over the hills as far as
the eye can reach." From Kalgan they travelled westwards to Taitong;
here they saw huge caravans of camels laden with tea going towards
Russia. Here they were forced to have the axle trees of their carts
widened, for they had come into a great part of the country where the
wheels were set wider than in the provinces whence they came. Their
carts, therefore, no longer fitted into the deep ruts which had been worn
into the terribly bad roads. The main object of their journey was to find
out if there was in the Inner Wall any pass besides the Tchatiaou which
on that side of the country led from the Russian territory to Pekin. It
was not until they reached Taiyuen that they struck the road that led to
Pekin or Tientsin.
Their first bit of trouble on this somewhat venturesome tour occurred at
Taiyneu; when the bill was brought for their night's entertainment, they
found it was most exorbitant. They saw they were likely to have trouble,
so they sent on the carts with luggage and waited at this strange
hostelry till they believed they had got well out of the way. Then they
offered what they believed was a reasonable amount in payment of
their bill. It was refused. They then tried to mount their horses but the
people at the Inn stopped them. Major Gordon hereupon drew his
revolver more for show than for use, for he allowed them to take it
from him. He then said, "Let us go to the Mandarin's house." To this
consent was given, and the two wide-awake English officers walked
alongside their horses. On the way Gordon said