Serious trouble had broken out again between Great Britain and China. Mr. Bruce, brother to the Earl of Elgin, had set out for Pekin as British Plenipotentiary, in company with the French Plenipotentiary, as provided by the Treaty of Tien-tsin. They were escorted by a squadron, chiefly consisting of gunboats, under Admiral Hope; but on arriving at the mouth of the Pei-ho they found the passage obstructed by booms and defended by recent fortifications. As the authorities at Tien-tsin returned evasive answers to the Admiral's remonstrances, he determined to force a passage. The gunboats advanced up the Pei-ho on June 24, when suddenly a tremendous fire was opened on them from masked batteries in the forts. The _Kestrel_ was sunk, the _Lee_ had to be run ashore to avoid sinking, the _Plover_, which carried the Admiral's flag, was disabled, so that he had to shift his flag to the _Cormorant_, and the Admiral himself, being severely wounded, had to hand over the command to Captain Shadwell. It was determined to make an immediate attempt to carry the forts by assault. A body of 1,000 men, including sixty French, were landed at 7 p.m., but, owing to the mud, which was knee, and even waist-deep, only about fifty men succeeded in reaching the furthest of three ditches surrounding the south fort. Their ammunition was wet, all the scaling ladders, except one, either had been broken by the tremendous fire from the fort or had stuck in the mud. Ten brave fellows rushed forward with this one, but three of them were shot dead at once, and five were desperately wounded. There was nothing for it but retreat. The loss in this disastrous affair was eighty-nine officers and men killed and 345 wounded. [Illustration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Notman & Sons, Montreal._ MONTREAL. This is the largest town in Canada; population (1891), 216,650. On the extreme right of the picture can be seen three or four spans of the Victoria Tubular Bridge, nearly two miles long, crossing the St. Lawrence river.] [Illustration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Notman & Sons, Montreal._ QUEBEC. The Capital of the former province of Lower Canada is largely inhabited by people of French descent, and French is currently spoken.] [Illustration: THE CANADIAN HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, OTTAWA. The government of Canada is (under the Sovereign) vested in a Governor-General and a Privy Council, and the legislative power is exercised by a Parliament of two Houses, called the "Senate" and "House of Commons." Canada has an area of 3,315,000 square miles, and a population of over 5,000,000 (4,833,239 in 1891).] [Sidenote: Wreck of the "Malabar."] [Sidenote: Occupation of Tien-tsin.] [Sidenote: Murder of British Officers and others.]