s. I heard to-day that an amateur who came up
with one of the columns bought from an Amerian soldier the Grand Cross
of the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle, set in magnificent diamonds,
for the sum of twenty dollars. It seems only the other day that Prince
Henry was here for the special purpose of donating this mark of the
personal esteem of the Kaiser after the Kiaochow affair. Twenty
dollars--it is an inglorious end!

The native troops from India, seeing all these strange scenes around
them, and quickly contaminated by the force of bad example, are most
curious to watch. When they are off duty they now select a good corner
along the beaten tracks where people can travel in safety, squat down
on their heels, spread a piece of cloth, and display thereon all the
lumps of silver, porcelain bowls, vases and other things which they
have managed to capture. You can sometimes see whole rows of them thus
engaged. The Chinese Mohammedans, of whom there are in normal times
many thousands in Peking, have found that they can venture forth in
safety in all the districts occupied by Indian troops once they put on
turbans to show that they are followers of Islam; and now they may be
seen in bands every day, with white and blue cloths swathed round
their heads in imitation of those they see on the heads of their
fellow-religionists, going to fraternise with all the Mussulmans of
the Indian Army. It is these Chinese Mohammedans who now largely serve
as intermediaries between the population and the occupation troops.
They are buying back immense quantities of the silver and silks in
exchange for foodstuffs and other things. A number of streets are now
safe as long as it is light, and along these people are beginning to
move with more and more freedom. But as soon as it is dark the uproar
begins again. The Chinese have had time now, however, to hide all the
valuables that have been left them. Everything is being buried as
quickly as possible in deep holes, and search parties now go out armed
with spades and picks, and try to purchase informers by promising a
goodly share of all finds made. It is really an extraordinary
condition....

V

SETTLING DOWN

End of August, 1900.

* * * * *

It shows how little is still generally known of what is going on in
our very midst, and low disordered things really are, when I say that
I only learned to-day that the whole city--in fact, every part of
it--