n his farewell speech to his first contingent,
before Peking had been heard of for weeks, told the men to act in
this way. They are strictly obeying orders. Even the officers of the
new troops take a hand in this looting in a modified way. They force
their way into the remains of the curio shops, take the few pieces
which are left, place a dollar or so on the counter and then walk out.
This makes a legitimate purchase.

In the Japanese district, which is now the best policed and the most
tranquil, shops are being reopened, but are now being panic-stricken
by this new procedure. It is the refinement of the game, and there is
no redress possible. Beyond this I know not of a thing worth the
mentioning.

XIII

STILL DRIFTING

October, 1900.

* * * * *

There is, after all, to be no immediate peace--that seems now quite
certain. We hear that the Russians have invaded all Manchuria and are
strengthening their hold there by bringing in more and more troops
from the Amur districts. They say, too, that the French have crossed
the Tonkin frontier. But really accurately we know nothing very much
of what is being done. With sixty or seventy thousand soldiery
suddenly flung down on the ruined stretch of country between Peking
and the sea, everything has been put in the most horrible confusion.
You can get nothing, nor hear anything. Telegrams are the only things
which are coming through with any regularity, and even these are cut
to pieces by the field telegraphs or continually getting lost. The
mails, it is true, have at last arrived, but they are all mixed in
such a way, and there is such old correspondence heaped on top of the
new, that general instructions and the proposals made read in this way
seem to be the ravings of madmen. There are hundreds of despatches of
April, May and June, showing the calibre of some Foreign Offices in an
unmistakable way. I sometimes wonder if only the fools are left in the
home offices.

Still, after a good many headaches, one can begin to appreciate the
general plan which was finally settled on by the various
_Chancelleries_, and to understand what delayed the relief so much.
Most of all it has been the South African war. Also, is seems to me,
they wanted Waldersee, the German Field Marshal, to have time to take
over the supreme command for the sake of peace in Asia, and so that
there should be an enormous massed advance on Peking, which would
capt