ngers now come and
go with a certain regularity. This curious diplomatic correspondence
must be piling up. Even the messengers, who at first suffered such
agonies of doubt as they approached our lines, frantically waving
their flags of truce and fearing our rifles, are now quite accustomed
to their work, and are becoming communicative in a cautious, curious
Chinese way which hints at rather than boldly states. They tell us
that our barricades can only be approached with some sense of safety
from the eastern side--that is, the Franco-German quarter; in other
quarters they may be fired on and killed by their own people. The
Peking troops, who can be still controlled by Prince Ching and the
Tsung-li Yamen, are on the eastern side of the enclosing squares of
barricades; elsewhere there are field forces from other
provinces--men who cannot be trusted, and who would massacre the
messengers as soon as they would us, although they are clad in
official dress and represent the highest authority in the Empire. This
position is very strange.

But more ominous than all the trumpet calls and the large movements of
troops which have been spied from the top of the lofty Tartar Wall,
are the tappings and curious little noises underground. Everywhere
these little noises are being heard, always along the outskirts of our
defence. It must be that the mining of the French Legation is looked
upon as so successful, that the Chinese feel that could they but reach
every point of our outworks with black powder placed in narrow
subterranean passages, they would speedily blow us into an ever
narrower ring, until there was only that left of us which could be
calmly destroyed by shells. We now occupy such an extended area, and
are so well entrenched, that shelling, although nerve-wracking, has
lost almost all its power and terror. Were Chinese commanders united
in their purpose and their men faithful to them, a few determined
rushes would pierce our loose formation. As it is, it is our
salvation. In the quiet of the night all the outposts hear this
curious tapping. It is heard along the French lines, along the German
lines, along the Japanese lines, and all round the north of the
British Legation. Were we to remain quiescent the armistice might be
suddenly broken some day by all our fighting men being hoisted into
the air. Our counter-action has, however, already commenced.

For while the enemy is pushing his lines cunningly and rapidly under
our