When the rich Chinese inhabitants left Peking in such a hurry they in many cases took their treasure, their favourite wives and themselves out of the capital with the greatest expedition possible, while the young girls and women of their households thus left in countless instances promptly committed suicide, usually by hanging themselves, or drowning themselves in the wells of their courtyards. The men who are throughout Peking now looting, constantly run into these silent testimonials, showing how these people all preferred self-inflicted death to what they knew they could expect when the civilized and Christian soldiers of the West should be turned loose. Yesterday a very animated generals’ conference was held, the great question being whether there should be a unanimous effort to stop all looting and sacking, or whether it should be continued. The Japanese, French, and Russians were absolutely _pro_; English and Americans, _con_, the latter having the strictest orders from President McKinley against any looting. The English, although giving their vote for no looting, added they should continue to place “in safe-keeping all valuable things” found in the district given them to police. This, of course, gives them practically the right to loot, although whatever is brought in has to be placed in one place, where they have an auction later, and the officially prescribed amount _pro rata_ is given to the officers and men, so that they are really doing just what the other nations are doing, only in a somewhat more legalized way. They say that these Indian troops, the Sikhs and the Rajputs, are something horrible when they get started, and occasionally the British officer who is supposed to always be on these parties sent out to procure “the valuable things for safe-keeping” has to shoot a man to keep them in discipline. The rumours come in that now the whole of Peking is being looted, and worse, and each Legation, closed up in its little compound, feels like a little question-mark of respectability, surrounded by a whole page of wicked, leering horrors. [Illustration: THE RESULT OF THE SIEGE: IN THE AMERICAN MINISTER’S HOUSE ] [Illustration: _Copyright, M. S. Woodward_ THE RESULT OF THE SIEGE: FRENCH LEGATION RUINS ]