A fire was started just outside the north wall of the compound at 10 A.M., which was put out, or thought to have been put out; but it broke out again in the afternoon, this time burning a part of the Hanlin Library, adjoining the legation on the north. The conflagration was separated from the legation by only one narrow court, so one of the buildings in the court was pulled down to prevent its spreading. Thousands of wooden printing blocks were thrown into the fire to get rid of all combustible material in the immediate neighborhood. These blocks represent days of labor each, and were used in printing valuable (to the Chinese) books. Many valuable books also perished in the flames. At night a guard was placed in the Hanlin yuan, or garden, to watch the smoking remains, and, as this point is of greatest strategic importance, barricades will be erected here and the position maintained. June 22. The customs compound and Austrian legation were burned, the Austrians remaining in the French legation to help them there. The back part of the Russo-Chinese bank compound was burned, also a house in the Japanese legation, which latter fire was soon subdued. A discharge of shrapnel from a gun on the city wall struck the gate house of the United States legation, and cut down the flag-pole, tearing a large hole in the roof, but hurting no one. At 7 P.M. a house near the Hotel de Pein was burned. In this house two Boxers were captured. When seen, they threw down their swords and attempted to escape, but were caught and brought into the British legation to be locked up. The fortifying operations are being pushed forward vigorously under the excellent management of Mr. F. D. Gamewell. He is the one man competent to take charge of affairs here, as the British., although in their own legation, and knowing that the place was to be the last place of refuge, had not done a stroke of work toward fortifying it, and seemed to be as helpless as children. [Illustration: PORTION OF CHINA’S GREAT WALL Showing one of the towers or forts, which are built at intervals throughout its entire length.] June 24. At ten minutes past midnight the Chinese began a furious fusillade from all quarters, and an alarm was rung from the bell-tower, notifying all of a general attack. But after about twenty minutes of prodigious noise, with almost no damage done, the firing ceased as suddenly as it had commenced, and the rest of the night was comparatively quiet. About 10 A.M. a fire was started outside and adjoining the south stables, which, after heroic exertions upon the part of nearly the entire garrison of men, women, and coolies, all of whom formed into line and passed hundreds of buckets of water from the two nearest wells to the scene of the fire, was subdued without our stables catching fire. With every one of these fires that was successfully put out, the danger from that source was lessened.