hinese guns on the left bank were silenced,
though those on the right still continued their fire. It was
determined, therefore, to storm the forts on that side, and late in the
evening the force destined for that purpose was landed, led by Captains
Shadwell and Vansittart and Colonel Lemon, of the marines, and supported
by Commanders Commerell and Heath. The gallant Captain Tricault led a
body of French, and the boats of an American man-of-war assisted in
landing the men. Scarcely, however, had they jumped on shore, unable to
obtain the slightest shelter, than the Chinese opened a tremendous fire
on them with jingalls, rifles, and muskets, and every gun that could be
brought to bear. In a few minutes numbers were hit, Captain Vansittart
was mortally wounded, Captain Shadwell's foot was smashed, and Colonel
Lemon fell, severely hurt. The command now devolved on Commerell, who
gallantly led forward his men; but two ditches and a wide extent of mud
intervened between them and the fort, and so thickly did the shot rain
down on them that, before they got twenty yards, 300 were killed or
wounded, and they were compelled to retreat--many unfortunate fellows
being suffocated in the mud. Of the numerous vessels which had run on
shore, all were got off with the exception of the _Cormorant, Plover_,
and _Lee_, which were knocked to pieces to prevent them falling into the
hands of the Chinese. In this disastrous affair above 80 men had been
killed and 350 wounded, many of whom died from their hurts.

The Chinese were not allowed, however, for any length of time to boast
of their victory. The Peiho was again entered, the town of Pehtang was
occupied and the Taku Forts again attacked from the sea and land.
Though the army lost a good many men in the operations, not one on board
the gunboats was killed. The booms across the river were broken
through, the iron stakes drawn, and Admiral Hope pushing on in the
_Coromandel_ with a squadron of gunboats, arrived before Tientsin, which
yielded to the first summons.

After this the duties of the steamers consisted chiefly in conveying the
heavy siege trains of baggage and provisions for the supply of the army
in the neighbourhood of Pekin, when after his army had been thoroughly
defeated, and at the moment that his city was about to be stormed, the
emperor yielded to all the demands of the allies. The emperor had acted
with great treachery in the negotiations for peace, imprisoning