We all mess together, viz., Lieutenant Goodenough, Dr. Crawford, Prince Victor, Autey, my secretary, Lord Charles Scott, Montagu, and Stephenson. We are very happy and jolly, and this temporary arrangement is a very good one. We thought we were going to have a little fight the other day. The Admiral ordered me to take the Chuenpee fort; we moved down in good order, but the enemy guessed what they might expect, and very wisely “hooked it.” I am afraid this is the last little affair that is likely to take place this summer. The upper part of the river is not considered so healthy as the rest, so I have the ships relieved every fortnight. There are two islands near where we are anchored, where the officers and men assemble every evening and play at quoits and all sorts of games. Turnour is up at the front; they are obliged to be continually on the alert to look out for fire rafts and all sorts of infernal machines. I generally visit them once a week in Hong-Kong. I hope somebody gave you a good account of our boat fight on the 1st June. It must have been a beautiful sight to those who viewed it from the heights. The shallow water obliged the _Hong-Kong_ to ground, or she would have been in front of everything, but when she grounded I led on my boats in my gig, but as the tide was rising the _Hong-Kong_ followed on as fast as she could. The first division of the Chinese Fleet were simultaneously attacked by about 1900 men. Spread over a large surface they soon gave way, but I did not take up more than a quarter of that number to attack the second division, which was three miles higher up the river, in a well-situated place, and evidently the _élite_ of their fleet. They numbered exactly twenty in one compact row, they mounted from 10 to 12 guns each, two in bow and stern being heavy 32-pounders. I saw I had all the _Raleigh_ boats well up, and I determined to push on. They fired occasional shots as if to ascertain our exact distance, but did not open their heaviest fire until we got to 600 yards’ distance, and then I saw how impossible it would be to force our way until I had reinforcements. Nearly the first fellow who had his head knocked off was an amateur, Major Kearney. I had known him many years. We cheered and I tried to get on, when a shot struck my boat right amidships, cut one man in two and took off the arm of another. Prince Victor, who was with me, jumped forward to tie up his arm with his neckcloth. While he was doing so another round shot passed through both sides of the boat, wounding two others on its passage. The boat was now filling with water and I got on one of the seats to keep my legs out of the water, and just after stepping up a third shot went through both sides of the boat not more than an inch below the seat on which I was then standing. Many of our boats now got huddled together, the oars of most being shot away.