which we
know nothing--it goes on to say that as China can no longer protect
the Legations, the Legations will have to protect themselves by
leaving Peking within twenty-four hours, dating from to-day at four
o'clock. That is all. Not another word. Yet in other words this
document means this: that the demand of the admirals must have been
refused; that they would not have made it unless something disastrous
had happened to S---- and to Tientsin; that acts of war have already
been committed, and that it will be no longer a Boxer affair, but a
government affair. This makes our position desperate enough in all
truth. There is to be war.... The ultimatum was conveyed to the
eleven Legations and the Inspectorate-General of Foreign Customs in
twelve neat red envelopes by trembling _t'ing ch'ai_ of the Chinese
Government, and in spite of some attempt at first to hide its contents
was soon known by everyone. The twelve copies, indeed, were exactly
alike, twelve bombshells, which, bursting in twelve different parts of
our barricaded quarter, finally united their fumes until we were all
fairly suffocated. For we have either got to flee now or be butchered.
Mechanically all eyes were turned at once to the chiefs of the eleven
missions to China, who have brought things to such a pass, and
everybody demanded frantically that something should be done. People
lost control themselves and behaved insanely. It was not long before
the whole diplomatic body met--in a terrible gloom--at the Legation of
the Spanish Minister, who is the _doyen_ of the Corps, and soon a
tremendous discussion was raging. There were mutual recriminations,
and proposal after proposal was taken up and rejected as being too
dangerous. Nobody had for a moment dreamed that such a menace would
come so swiftly. Expectant crowds soon gathered round the gates of the
Spanish Legation, and attempted to find out what was being decided,
but the only thing I could learn was that brave Von K---- proposed at
once that the Ministers should go in a body to the Yamen and force the
Chinese Government to agree to an armistice. This was vetoed by all,
of course, and one gentleman openly wept at the idea. In the end, at
seven o'clock, when it was nearly dark, a joint Note was prepared,
saying that the Ministers could only accept the demand made on them
and prepare to leave Peking at once, but that twenty-four hours was
too short a notice in which to pack their trunks, and that, besides