On the 9th the commodore, with the customary manning of yards and salute, shifted his broad pennant from the Mississippi to the Susquehanna, and the British war-steamer “Hermes,” which had been to take the English plenipotentiary to the camp of the rebel chief below Nanking, returned with that functionary, whose mission had not proven propitious. Her officers stated that on their way up the river, near Cheang-foo, they were fired at by the rebel forces, and above Nanking by the imperial troops, but without injury. In an interview with them, the English assured them that their visit was both friendly and neutral. The rebels expressed regret at the firing, and said they would send down an order to prevent its recurrence. There being a difficulty between Thae-ping-wang and the English embassador, Sir S. George Bonham, as to the preliminaries of an interview, the “favorite of Heaven” not willing to make any concessions, the steamer returned, and was again fired at, one shot striking her hull, and another the main-yard and backstay. The “Hermes” let slip at them, knocking over some of their guns, and passed on. At a place called Silver island they stopped to take a look at the idols the rebels had broken, when one of their generals came down with an apologetic letter about the firing; it was a mistake. This general said himself, and those united with him in the struggle, were protestant Christians; that they did not tolerate opium, tobacco, or profanity, and worshipped not idols, but the one God. If they were successful they would open Nanking to all the world. At that time a great deal of aid to the labors of the missionaries in China, was predicted from their movements, which subsequent events have not realized.