permission to land.

On communicating this news to Mr Bruce, who was accompanied on his
ambassadorial mission by Monsieur Bourbillon, the representative of the
French Government,--a council of war was held on board the flagship;
when it was determined to force the passage of the river, so that the
ambassadors should be able to go up to Pekin in accordance with the
Emperor of China's express permission to that effect given under his
sign manual.

The admiral therefore forwarded off at once a letter to the commandant
in charge of the defences, telling him that unless the obstructions were
removed within the next forty-eight hours, he, the admiral, would set to
work to clear them away himself in the manner he thought best.

This was explicit enough; and as no answer was received to this
communication by sunset on the 24th, the limit of the ultimatum, Admiral
Hope proceeded to prove himself as good as his word.

An unsuccessful attempt was made by the boats of the flagship the very
same night to pull up some of the iron stakes driven into the bed of the
river, that held the booms in their position across its mouth.

This failed through the tenacity of the mud, the effort of the
bluejackets being discovered by the batteries, which fired on them,
compelling them to desist and return to their ship; but, this was a mere
flash in the pan, the real attack being planned for the morrow.

In the meantime, the fleet had moved in from the Sha-liu-tien Islands to
the anchorage opposite the entrance to the Peiho, where our ship and the
_Chesapeake_, with some of the others remained out of range of the
batteries, which we on our side, were unable to reach with our guns for
any effective purposes.

The gunboats of lesser draught, however, proceeded to cross the bar of
the river; where also the boats of the bigger ships were subsequently
despatched, filled with all the small-arms men and marines available to
form a reserve force which was to attack the principal batteries in the
flank after the gunboat had pounded them in front, as well as fill up
casualties in the first line.

Every man on board the _Candahar_ was on the alert on the morning of the
memorable 24th June, I can tell you, when the boatswain's pipe went
screeching through the ship at daylight, and the commander sang out the
order to "Man and arm boats."

"I bet we don't have any fight at all!" grumbled Mr Stormcock, as he
buckled on his sword and prepared to go in th