We climbed the Coal Hill, and got the only view I ever had of the Purple City. We were at such a height that we could look right down and get a good glimpse of the plan of these palaces, besides obtaining a gorgeous general View of the whole Imperial City. On descending the hill, I must say I was disappointed that the palaces in this Holy of Holies were not more imposing. They were low, long buildings constructed of the gorgeous Imperial yellow tiles. The extraordinarily rich colouring of these buildings made one forget momentarily the plainly low architectural lines. Unfortunately, we had no permission to enter these closely-guarded, mysterious precincts. We hated to leave this spot of beautiful trees, long avenues and vistas, and, above all, the pure air, to return to our half-burnt, wholly ill-smelling Legation district. At nine o’clock all the Anglo-Saxons sang a _Te Deum_ on the tennis-court. Mr. Norris conducted the service, and Dr. Smith, the author of “Chinese Characteristics,” made a most stirring address. We all surely sang it with hearts full of a thankfulness we had rarely ever before felt. _August 20._ To-day I took a walk all over the German lines with Mr. von Bergen, Second Secretary of the Legation, and, in fact, all over our old siege lines, and said a cheerful good-bye to it all. To-night Mrs. Squiers has a farewell dinner, and to-morrow, at 6.30 a.m., we start with ourselves and our baggage in United States Army schooners _en route_ to Tungchow, where we take primitive houseboats to sail down the Pei-ho to Tien-tsin. A detachment from the 9th United States Infantry is to accompany us, and everything is to be very military in this escort for the first convoy. How absurd to compare my coming to Peking and my leaving it! I came up on Sir Robert Hart’s private car in a few hours, and will go down to the coast in an antiquated Chinese boat, which will take as many days as the train took hours. And so, floating down the river, I will have much time to think quietly about this wonderful siege, to forget the disagreeable and the bad, and to remember the great and the good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INDEX American Legation. See Legations Armstrong, Miss, 17, 23 Austrian Legation. See Legations Belgian Legation. See Legations Below, Von, Secretary to German Legation, 14; effect of siege on, 100 Bergen, Von, Second Secretary to German Legation, 203 Boxers, the, rising of, 7, 16, 23; captures of, 29, 35, 76, 152; outrages by, 38, 57 Brent, Mrs., 17 British Legation. See Legations Bruce, Admiral, 197 Bruce, Mount, 2; ascent of, 4 Carles, Mr., British Consul at Tien-tsin, 148, 149 Cartier, M. de, 142 Cassini, Countess Marguerite, 5