so shallow that the majority would be little more than a foot in depth—and the only excuse the Americans could urge would be that either the order was misunderstood by them, or that their training has been on the lines of mounted infantry. The day ended in the utter rout of the Chinese, and in the destruction of seven villages, which further forwarded the work of decentralisation. The Allies’ total loss was under fifty; that of the enemy possibly four hundred. Several prisoners were also taken and brought back to the settlement, where they were tried by a mixed tribunal on two or three charges. Some were executed, others released, while the remainder became servants in the different barracks, and performed any odd jobs which required attending to. This absolutely ended any fighting around Tientsin, and the work of the troops in garrison gradually got lighter and lighter, until affairs reached the verge of boredom. The heads of departments had plenty to do. For instance, four nations started field-force post-offices, which, by-the-bye, were largely patronised by stamp-collectors; and the governing of Tientsin city also took much careful consideration and management. It was wonderful to notice the difference in the place since it had fallen. The streets were positively clean in places—no dead bodies, no obnoxious smells, any number of inhabitants, not even any looting. All this made the place almost unrecognisable. The extreme easiness of duty, and the fact that time began to hang heavily on the hands of officers and men, were responsible for the more energetic spirits beginning to look around them for some pastime which would afford both amusement and exercise.