21st October
（10月21日）
… I went out on Thursday with a party to burn down the Summer Palace. It is about four miles from here, and a portion of it is beautifully situated on a spur of the hills which form a magnificent background; it is very different from all European notions of a palace, and consists of range of buildings scattered over an immense extent of ground on the plain at the foot of the hills.
（……周四我参加了一个“毁烧圆明园”的狂欢活动。圆明园离我这儿大约有四英里，其中一部分优雅地坐落于山坡上，融入壮丽的山色中。不同于一切欧洲宫殿的风格，它由一大群散落在山脚平原的楼阁组成，无边无际。）
The temples were enriched with quantities of most beautiful bronzes and enamels, but were too large and heavy to be moved conveniently...
（这些庙宇里满是绝美的青铜和珐琅，但实在太大太沉，搬不动……）
I succeeded in getting several bronzes and enamel vases as well as some very fine porcelain cups and saucers of the Emperor's imperial pattern (yellow with green dragons) but they are so dreadfully brittle that I quite despair ever being able to get them home in their present condition.
（我成功抢到了不少青铜和珐琅花瓶，还有一些极其精致、镶绣帝王黄绿龙纹的瓷杯与茶碟，但是它们太脆弱易碎了，我真害怕能否完好无损地把它们带回家。）
拍卖消息的不胫而走和令人震惊的信件内容，让许多中国民众愤慨不已，昨天中国日报相关报道的评论中也不乏惋惜的声音：
也有一些声音表达了要用大量金钱买回自己东西的不满： 此次拍卖会的顾问阿拉斯泰尔·吉布森（Alastair Gibson）在公开信函中的一段话更是刺眼，其对中国买家的示好似乎别有用意：
“回顾这个家庭的爱国军事历史，将剩下的物品拍卖掉是一个令人心酸的时刻。”埃文斯家族希望通过这样一个机会，“使来自世界各地的新一代藏家珍爱收藏这些青铜器，也希望它们中的一些可以再回到中国收藏家那里。”
然而究竟是通过拍卖直接买回文物，还是寻求其他的手段尝试带回我们自己的宝物呢？
