d Lord Elgin that
Lucknow had been relieved: the more welcome to him as carrying with it the
promise of speedy reinforcement to himself, and deliverance from a
situation of extreme difficulty and embarrassment. 'Few people,' he might
well say, 'had ever been in a position which required greater tact--four
Ambassadors, two Admirals, 'a General, and a Consul-general; and,
notwithstanding 'this luxuriance of colleagues, no sufficient force.' And
what he felt most in the insufficiency of the force was not the irksomeness
of delay, still less any anxiety as to the success of his arms. 'My
greatest difficulty.' he wrote, 'arises from my fear that we shall be led
to 'attack Canton before we have all our force, and led 'therefore to
destroy, if there is any resistance, both life 'and property to a greater
extent than would otherwise 'be necessary.' The prospects of immediate
reinforcements from India diminished his fears on this score, and sent him
forward with a better hope of bringing the painful situation to a speedy
and easy close.

[Sidenote: Changed quarters.]

_H.M.S. 'Furious,' Canton River.--December 17th.--_You see from my
date that I am again in a new lodging. It promises to be, I think,
more agreeable than any of our previous marine residences. We have
paddles instead of a screw. Then the captain has not only given up to
me all the stern accommodation, but he has also done everything in his
power to make the place comfortable.... He is the Sherard Osborn of
Arctic regions notoriety. I am on my way to join Gros, in order to
decide on our future course of action. I mentioned yesterday that
Honan was occupied, and that I had received a letter from Yeh, which
must, I suppose, be considered a refusal. This was the fair side of
the medal. The reverse was an ugly quarrel up the river, which ended
in the loss of the lives of some sailors and the destruction of a
village,--a quarrel for which our people were, I suspect, to some
extent responsible. I fear that, under cover of the blockade
instituted by the Admiral, great abuses have taken place.... It makes
one very indignant, but unfortunately it is very difficult to bring
the matter home to the culprits. All this, however, makes it most
important to bring the situation to a close as soon as possible. It is
clear that there will be no peace till the two parties fight it out.
The Chinese do not