My dear William, —... The greater part of our force has gone to the north to our rendezvous in the Gulf of Pecheli; the cavalry and field artillery remain to the last and will leave Hong Kong in about ten days. The General and staff will then start immediately.... People are beginning to have misgivings again as to the probability of a campaign after all... and rumours are gaining strong ground that the Chinese will make overtures directly we gain footing on the shore of the Gulf of Pecheli. The French, however, out here seem to be of opinion that nothing will be done this year. They are not nearly ready, being very deficient in means of land transport.... A modification has been made in our staff by this mail; they considered it too large at the War Office, and have ordered the appointment of chief of the staff to be done away with. Colonel Haythorne we shall therefore lose, and I am truly sorry for it.... The appointment of Colonel Bruce
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as D.A.G. of the Indian troops with this force is also done away with, and they have taken away my Deputy Assistant. All this will give me a great deal more work, and much additional responsibility — I hope I shall be able to carry it through. The last news from Europe looks rather threatening. Lord John Russell seems to have spoken out in a manner that has given a death-blow to our alliance with the French.... It will be curious enough if a disunion should take place at the very moment when we are engaged in operations in the field. The position will be an awkward one and certainly quite novel.... — Ever your affectionate brother, Fredk. Stephenson.
I am still staying with John Dent, the most hospitable good fellow that ever lived.
To Lady Stephenson
Hong Kong, May 23, i860.
My dear Mother, —... Our General I like more and more as I get to know him. He is a fine, upright, determined fellow, a good man, and a thorough gentleman. I shall now be thrown in contact with him more than ever since the appointment of chief of the staff is done away with. We have had a wonderful start into the new year as far as weather goes, being now twothirds through May and have had nothing but the most deliciously cool weather... the consequence is that the whole force, your humble servant among the number, are in wonderful health. You know that we have occupied Chu-san again, the island where such fearful mortality took place in the last war; it turns out now to be the healthiest spot in the whole locality 1... You seem to be very much taken up with Japan at the present moment. I have not read Oliphant's book, but I am told that he paints things rather couleur de rose. There is no doubt, however, that it is atvery interesting country, though their morals are not of
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the purest. Dent, with whom I am staying, has just returned from there, and has amused me very much with his accounts of the place.... — Ever your affectionate son, Fredk. Stephenson.
To his Brother
Hong Kong, June 7, i860.
My dear William, —... The General and Headquarter Staff leave here on the nth, and about that day month we shall be disembarking, I hope, at the Pei-ho forts. The whole of the expedition except one squadron, King's Dragoon Guards, is embarked, but the N.E. Monsoon not having yet changed they are still hanging about Hong Kong. The General will remain a day or two at Shanghai to finally arrange matters with the French General, Montauban; from thence we shall go to Tai-lien-wan, a magnificent harbour at the southern extremity of the promontory, which forms the eastern coast of the Gulf of Pecheli. This is the rendezvous for the whole of the shipping. From there we shall estabhsh ourselves at the Foo, a very little harbour due south of Tai-lien-wan, at the extremity of the province of Chan-toy. We shall here form a depot to leave our supplies from the interior, and from there start for the attack of the Pei-ho forts, about 150-180 miles distant. I anticipate that our campaign will last about fourteen days, at the end of which time we shall be either at Tien-tsin, or as far as the Plenipotentiaries mean we should go. You may possibly have heard already that out of consideration for the feelings of our friends the French, the English army is not to land more than 10,000 men I (the French not being able to land more than 7000), for fear, I suppose, that we should have too large a share of the glory. What do you think of that by way of truckling to the Alliance? After what has transpired in Europe as to the Emperor's underhand, deceitful line of conduct, I now feel certain that his object in taking part in this war has been to endeavour so to
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