Legation Street, or the _Chiao Min hsiang_, to give it the native
appellation, runs parallel to the Tartar Wall. Beginning at the west
end of the street--that is, the end nearest the Imperial City and the
great Ch'ien Men Gate--the Legations run as follows: Dutch, American,
Russian, German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Italian. Of the eleven
Legations, therefore, eight are in the one street, some on one side,
some on the other; some adjoining one another, with their enormous
compounds actually meeting, others standing more or less alone with
nests of Chinese houses in between. Apart from the eight Legations,
there are a number of other buildings belonging to Europeans in this
street, such as banks, the club, the hotel, and a few stores and
nondescript houses. Taking the remaining three Legations, the Belgian
is hopelessly far away beyond the Ha-ta Gate line; the Austrian is two
hundred yards down a side street on which is also the Customs
Inspectorate; and, finally, the British is at the back of the other
Legations--that is, to the north of the south Tartar Wall. The extent
of this Legation and its sheltered position make it a sort of natural
sanctuary for all non-combatants, since it is masked on two sides by
the other Legations, and is only really exposed on two sides, the
north and the west. Already many missionaries and nondescripts have
been coming in and claiming protection, and in the natural course of
events it must become the central base of any defence. Everyone sees
and acknowledges that.

At the two ends of Legation Street, the western Russo-American end and
the eastern Italian end, heavy barricades have already gone up. The
Dutch Legation, lying beyond the Russian and American Legations at
this west end of the street, being without any guards and protectors,
will, therefore, have to be abandoned immediately there is a rush from
the Ch'ien Men Gate. The Belgian Legation is naturally untenable, and