Ministers; but she also knew that, were it proved that she or her troops had had a direct hand in the matter, the revenge that would be taken by the powers would be so awful that the game was not worth the candle. How then was the matter to be accomplished? Well, she had already pleaded incapability to keep the Boxers in hand, therefore, if they could burn or destroy the Legations and their occupants, she would help them at a distance with her troops and their rifles and artillery. Then it could not be said that her soldiers had actually slain the Ministers—in fact she could prove that it was by her orders that eggs and vegetables were taken to them, almost nightly, for a fortnight. It may be said that Imperial troops did actually attempt to storm the defences. Granted: but in such a way that whilst any loss on the part of the defence constituted a great weakness, and therefore, by making these attacks they made the task of the Boxers easier and easier, they did not attempt to push their effort right home; or, from what I have been told by one of the Officers engaged in the defence, they must have inevitably succeeded. Why then did the Boxers not succeed? Because there are limits to human endurance: a bullet in the right place is one of them. In other words, because a badly organised and badly armed mob can never hope to close with a highly disciplined, steady, and well-armed body of men a tenth of their own size. Before an hour had elapsed after the Legations had been reached by the British, it became necessary to dislodge a large number of snipers who had taken up an advantageous position in the Mongol market. This was effected by a bayonet charge by the 1st Sikhs, who suffered but slightly during the operation. Other positions were captured and occupied, and by nightfall the Chinese and Tartar cities were almost entirely in the hands of the Allies. There now remained the Imperial and Forbidden cities to be cleared, and the Peh-tang Cathedral to be relieved.