report of the state of the Taepings at Nankin, Ganking, and Kiukiang, effectually dispelled the few remaining hopes of resuscitating their cause.

*

Mainly in consequence of this arrangement Ward, who was energetically employed in raising fresh troops, was arrested in May, 1861, as a disturber of the peace. He, however, repudiated American citizenship, declaring himself to be a Chinese subject and officer; and was in consequence released after brief detention. Some of his followers had remained with Burgevine before Tsingpu, and when that officer heard that the force was to be summarily disbanded he resolved to make one attempt to capture the place that had twice defied them before his men had been carried off. In his attack on the Taeping position he was repulsed with the loss of twenty-three men killed or wounded out of

* The following opinion of the Rev. J. Holmes, an American Baptist (who was murdered by the Nienfei robbers twenty-seven miles from Yeulai on the 6th October, 1861), writing in 1860, after a visit to Nankin, deserves record. He said: "I found, to my sorrow, nothing of Christianity but its name falsely applied, applied to a system of revolting idolatry; their idea of God is distorted until it is inferior, if possible, to that entertained by other Chinese idolaters. The idea they entertain of a saviour is low and sensual; and his honours are shared by another. The Eastern King is a saviour from disease as he is a saviour from sin." The Tien Wang issued an edict for the information of Mr. Holmes, and the junior lord or son of Tien Wang,' a boy of twelve or fourteen years of age, issued two edicts to instruct foreigners at the same time. This "junior lord" is the temporal representative of his father, whose office is exclusively spiritual; he was proclaimed to be the adopted son of Jesus. (For these papers see Blue Book.) Mr. Holmes states that " we witnessed their worship. It occurred at the beginning of their Sabbath midnight of Friday at Ching Wang's private audience room. He was seated in the midst of his attendants; no females were present. They first sang or chanted, after which a written prayer was read and burned by an officer, upon which they rose and sang again, and then separated. The Ching Wang sent for me again before he left his seat, and asked me if I understood their worship. I replied that I had just seen it for the first time, and that I thought all departure from the rules laid down in Scripture was erroneous. He extenuated their change from these rules by stating that the Tien Wang had been to Heaven and had seen the Heavenly Father; our revelation of the Bible had been handed down for 1800 years, and that they had received a new revelation through the Tien Wang, and, upon this, they could adopt a different mode of worship."

THE EVER-VICTORIOUS ARMY.

369 the eighty men with whom he made the attempt. This disaster terminated the career of the foreign adventurers who served under the two Americans, as the force was at once disbanded and its originators compelled to remain inactive at Shanghai during the summer of 1861.

That period of inaction on the part of foreign adventurers was employed, on the whole, to the advantage of the Imperialists; for not only was Ganking at last captured, thus closing the Western Provinces to the rebels, but Ward and Burgevine, being compelled to desist from any further attempts to recruit Europeans, devoted their leisure to drilling the Chinese themselves, a change of proceeding destined to produce the most important results, for the men whom Ward thus disciplined formed the nucleus of the force which gained the proud title of the "Ever-Victorious Army." The name was given long before its claim to it had been justified; but the subsequent appropriateness has buried in oblivion the slender right it possessed at first to its assumption. While these preparations were being made on the resources of Shanghai for the recovery of what had been lost in Kiangsu, and while Tseng Kwofan and his lieutenants had obtained what seemed the earnest of coming triumph on the Yangtse, the year 1861 closed with two distinct reverses for the Emperor. The city of Ningpo, after several preliminary discussions between the Taeping leaders and the English officials, was occupied by the former without resistance on the 9th of December. The Imperial garrison, dubious as to the possibility of resistance, retreated without loss to a place of security.

Three weeks later the great city of Hangchow shared the same fate after an obstinate defence creditable in every way to the besieged. Chung Wang, after his retreat from Kiangsi, had marched through a portion of Chekiang, and, sitting down before Hangchow, devoted all his energies to the capture of that city. The garrison behaved very well under a valiant officer named Wang Yuling, but was too small to hold so extensive a position. The Chinese city was first captured, and on the 29th of December the Manchu quarter was carried by storm. Wang Yuling hung himself in his garden;

VOL. II.

2 B

his officers, and most of the Tartar soldiers, blew themselves up in the powder-magazine. The Taeping victory, so far as it went, was decisive, although Hangchow was a city of little more than ruins inhabited by corpses. If the hope of triumph had long departed, the capacity of the Taepings for inflicting an enormous amount of injury had evidently not been destroyed. Chung Wang's energy alone sustained the Taeping cause, but the lovers of rapine and turbulence flocked in their thousands to his standard.

The Taepings, encouraged by these successes on the coast, renewed their attempt on Shanghai. It was said that Tien Wang had given special orders for its capture; but it seems more probable that Chung Wang undertook the task on his own responsibility, well knowing that its fall would entail the collapse of all the vigorous preparations being made for the resumption of the campaign, at the same time that it would effectually protect the most exposed flank of the Taeping armies. Notwithstanding the plain declarations of the English admiral that an attack on Shanghai would be resisted by the English forces, the Taepings hoped, from what had occurred at Ningpo, that no active opposition would be made to them could they promptly overcome the Imperialists and obtain possession of the town. The Taepings heralded their approach with a proclamation announcing that "the hour of the Manchus had come. Shanghai is a little place, and we have nothing to fear from it. We must take Shanghai to complete our dominions."

On the 14th of January, 1862, the Taepings had reached the immediate vicinity of the town and foreign settlement. The surrounding country was concealed by the smoke of the burning villages which they had ruthlessly destroyed. The foreign settlement was crowded with thousands of fugitives imploring the aid of the Europeans to save their houses and property. Their sufferings, which would at the best have been great, were aggravated by the exceptional severity of the winter. The English garrison of two native regiments and some artillery, even when supported by the volunteers, was far too weak to attempt more than the defence of the place; but this it was fortunately able to

FOREIGN ACTION.

371

perform. The rebels, during the first week after their reappearance, plundered and burned in all directions, threatening even to make an attack on Woosung, the port at the mouth of the river. Here they were repulsed by the French, who were always much more pronounced in their favour of the Imperial cause, and who, whether for that reason or because of their natural temperament, were never loth to have a brush with the rebels. After this repulse other disasters speedily followed. Sir John Michel arrived at Shanghai with a small reinforcement of English troops, and Ward, having succeeded in disciplining two regiments of about one thousand strong in all, sallied forth from Sunkiang for the purpose of operating on the rear of the Taeping forces. Ward's capture of Quanfuling, with several hundred rebel boats which were frozen up in the river, should have warned the Taepings that it was nearly time for them to retire. However, they did not act as prudence would have dictated, and during the whole of February their raids continued round Shanghai. The suburbs suffered from their attacks, the foreign factories and boats were not secure, and several outrages on the persons of foreigners remained unatoned for. It became impossible to tolerate any longer their enormities. The English and French commanders therefore determined to attack the rebels, to enforce the original agreement with Tien Wang, and to clear the country round Shanghai of the presence of the Taepings for the space of thirty miles.

On the 21st of February, therefore, a joint force composed of 336 English sailors and marines, 160 French seamen, and 600 men from Ward's contingent, accompanied by their respective commanders, with Admiral Hope in chief command, advanced upon the village of Kachiaou, where the Taepings had strengthened their position, and placed guns on the walls. After a sharp engagement the place was stormed, Ward's men leading the attack with Burgevine at their head. The drilled Chinese behaved with great steadiness, and although much of their conduct was due to the example of the Europeans, they were admitted to have evinced gallantry at the same time that they acquired

confidence in themselves.

This success was followed by the release of a large number of villagers who had been kept in chains; and inspired the Imperial authorities with an increased belief in the eventual triumph of their cause.

The Taepings were not to be dismayed by a single defeat. They even resumed their attacks on the Europeans. On one occasion Admiral Hope himself was compelled to retire before their superior numbers, and to summon fresh troops to his assistance. They were to pay dear for this illusory success. The reinforcements consisted of 450 Europeans and 700 of Ward's force, besides seven howitzers. With these it was determined to attack Tseedong, a place of much strength surrounded by stone walls and ditches seven feet deep. The Taepings stood to their guns with great spirit, receiving the advancing troops with a very heavy fire. When, however, Ward's contingent, making a detour, appeared in the rear of the place, they hastily evacuated their positions; but they were too late. While they hesitated the English sailors had carried the walls, and, caught between the two fires, they offered a stubborn but futile resistance. More than 700 were killed and 300 were taken prisoners. The favourable opinion formed of the Ever-Victorious Army" by the action at Kachiaou was confirmed by the more serious affair at Tseedong; and the English authorities at Shanghai took steps to assist Ward in the task of increasing his army, while Mr. Bruce at Pekin brought it under the favourable notice of Prince Kung and the Chinese Government. In consequence of this encouragement from the foreign authorities, special mention was made in an edict of the valiant conduct of the contingent known as the Ever-Victorious Army.

Having taken these hostile steps against the rebels, it necessarily followed that no advantage would accrue from any further hesitation with regard to allowing Europeans to enter the Imperial service for the purpose of opposing them. Ward was officially recognized, and allowed to purchase weapons and to engage officers. An Englishman contracted to convey 9000 of the troops who had stormed Ganking from the Yangtse to Shanghai. These men were Honan