of that quill of a cipher message, and a dense crowd
gathered to see when the relief would march in. March in! The message
from an English Consul ran:

"Your letter of the 4th July received. Twenty-four thousand troops
landed and 19,000 at Tientsin. General Gaselee expected at Taku
to-morrow; Russians at Pei-tsang. Tientsin city under foreign
government. Boxer power exploded here. Plenty of troops on the way
if you can keep yourselves in food. Almost all the ladies have left
Tientsin."

I suppose it was cruel to laugh, but laugh I did with a few others.
Never has a man been so abused as was that luckless English Consul
who penned such a fatuous message. The spy had already marched our
troops half way and more; even the pessimistic allowed that they must
have started; an authentic message showed clearly that it was folly
and imagination. We would have to have weeks more of it, perhaps even
a whole month. The people wept and stormed, and soon lost all
enthusiasm for the poor messenger boy who had been so brave.

Two hours afterwards I found him still fanning himself and cooling
himself. He was quite alone; most people had rather he had never come.
Yet the message has been heeded. The significant phrase is that we
must keep ourselves in food. Ponies are running short; there is only
sufficient grain for three weeks' rations; so if there is another
month, it will be a fair chance that a great many die for lack of
food. Lists are therefore being made of everything eatable there is,
and all private supplies are to be commandeered in a few days. People
are, of course, making false lists and hiding away a few things. If
there is another month of it there will be some very unpleasant
scenes--yes, some very unpleasant scenes.

XX

THE THIRD PHASE CONTINUES

30th July, 1900.

* * * * *

From the north that dull booming of guns ever continues. The Pei-t'ang
is still closely besieged, and no news comes as to how long
Monseigneur F----, with his few sailors and his many converts, can
hold out, or why they are exempted from this strange armistice, which
protects us temporarily. Nothing can be learned about them.

And yet our own armistice, in spite of Tsung-li Yamen despatches and
the mutual diplomatic assurances, cannot continue for ever. Barricade
building and mining prove that. To-day the last openings have been
closed in on us for some curious reason,