_December 8th.--Eleven A.M._--An officer has been off from the Governor-General, proposing that my visit should take place to-morrow, in order that there may be sufficient time for the preparations. He was very profuse in his protestations of good-will, but as usual there were a number of little points on which it was necessary to take a half-bullying tone. 'I could not have a chair with eight bearers; such a thing had never been seen at Ouchang. There were not thirty chairs (the number for which we had applied) in the whole place.' 'Lord Elgin won't land with less, do as you please,' was the answer given. Of course, the difficulties immediately vanished. Considerable indignation was expressed at the fact that some of our officers had been prevented from entering the town of Ouchang yesterday. A hope was expressed that nobody would land on the Ouchang side to-day; all would be arranged by to-morrow to our satisfaction, &c. &c. So, after an interview, in which there was the necessary admixture of the bitter and the sweet, the officer was sent back to his master. Supplies are coming off in abundance to the ships. In short, the people are most desirous to buy and sell, if the authorities will only leave them alone. _Six P.M._--I have had a long walk on the same side of the river as yesterday. We first went through the whole depth of Hankow, on a line parallel with the river Han. We estimated our walk in this direction at about two miles, but a good deal of it was along a single street flanked on both sides by ruins. We then embarked in a sanpan and came down the Han, passing through a multitude of junks of great variety in shape and cargo. We landed near its mouth on the Han-yang side, and walked to that town, which is a Foo or prefectoral city, and walled. It contains the remains of some buildings of pretension, triumphal arches, &c., which, imply that it must have been a place of some distinction, but it has been sadly maltreated by the Rebels.