The Times has at last.received and published a full narra-
tive frem its correspondent, Dr. Morrison, of all that preceded and accompanied the siege of the Legations. Gibbon could not -have told the .story better. , It is obviously impartial, - full of detail, yet clear and consistent, and it has , been accepted throughout the Continent as the history of that strange episode in the relations of Europe with Asia. We can, of course, in this place only, summarise Dr. Morrison's conclusions, all supported by showers of facts and dom. ments. They are that the Empress-Regent and the Manchu nobles, including specially Prince Ching, with whom we are now negotiating, intended the massacre of all the Ambas- sadors and their suites ; that they only failed in their design because they dared not• rush -the -.Legations, which the Europeans defended as the Volunteers defended lfafeking that the Chinese enjoyed sending blandly insolent messages ;.'1 and that at any moment the Empress could have stopped the attack, her orders being obeyed, especially on one occa- sion, with Prussian precision. This is the keynote of the whole story, much- of which, we may add, must have been obtained from official sources, and all of which is penetrated with the " white light " that is such a relief after reading the usual newspaper narratives. We trust that the two letters, more exciting than any novel, will be published by themselves in some cheap and handy form. They will lift a haze from the public mind.
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