rescued. After having been forty years here, he surveys the present
scenes of devastation and pillage with the remark, "_En Chine il n'y a
ni Chretiens ni civilisation. Ce ne sont la que des phrases_." That is
what he said.

This morning a second relief corps, containing the most miscellaneous
elements, tramped away stolidly in the direction of the still smoking
cathedral ruins in the hopes of saving some more unfortunates, and our
expectations were soon realised. After a walk of a mile and a half, we
rounded a corner with the sound of much wailing on all sides, and ran
suddenly full tilt into at least two or three dozen Boxers, who have
been allowed to do exactly as they like for days. There was a fierce
scuffle, for we were down on them in a wild rush before they could get
away, and they showed some fight. I marked down one man and drove an
old sword at his chest. The fellow howled frightfully, and just as I
was going to despatch him, a French sailor saved me the trouble by
stretching him out with a resounding thump on the head from his Lebel
rifle. The Boxer curled over like a sick worm and expired. There was
not much time, however, to take stock of such minor incidents as the
slaying of individual men, even when one was the principal actor, for
everywhere men were running frantically in and out of houses, shouting
and screaming, and the confusion was such that no one knew what to do.
The Boxers had been calmly butchering all people who seemed to them to
be Christians--had been engaged in this work for many hours--and all
were now mixed up in such a confused crowd that it was impossible to
distinguish friends and foes. As they caught sight of us, many of the
marauders tore off their red sashes and fell howling to the ground, in
the hope that they would be passed by. Dozens of narrow lanes round
the ruined cathedral, which was still smoking, were full of Christian
families hiding in the most impossible places, and everywhere Boxers