When a true history of that Siege comes to be written it will prove even more wonderful than the siege of the Legations. Besieged at the same time as the Legations, the inmates of this once beautiful Cathedral consisted of over 3000 non-combatants, protected by a garrison of 40 marines and 3 officers. Of the latter, 30 men and 2 officers were French, the remainder Italian; their total rifles numbered just under fifty, and their supply of ammunition was very small. Among the 3000 non-combatants were 6 priests, the others being Chinese converts, and the whole being under the direction of Père Favier, a French Roman Catholic Bishop, who behaved with the utmost courage and devotion throughout. At the first alarm, this brave man armed as many of his converts as were willing, with home-made spears and other hand-to-hand weapons, which, though they were of no avail against firearms, served to deal with any Boxer rush, which was all that was at first anticipated. However, as we know, the Imperial troops joined hands with the rabble, and, on June 19th, a gun was brought to bear on the main gate, which it duly blew off its hinges, but such an effective fire was maintained by the handful of Marines, that the Chinese abandoned their gun and left it in the open some 200 yards away. A Sortie was promptly made, and, with a small casualty list, the weapon and some ammunition were dragged back in triumph. Sorties were, after this success, of constant occurrence, and it was rarely that arms or other warlike material of the greatest value was not found and brought back. For days the Garrison were subjected to a hot rifle and artillery fire, then came war rockets and hand grenades, and at last the enemy started Mines. One of these exploded with horrible effect; and another one, the same day, also blew up several houses in its vicinity. The defenders took to countermining, and discovered, and destroyed, several unfinished Mines, with such success that it was hoped that this new and more terrible danger was finished with; but in the middle of July, a third explosion took place, which caused the deaths of nearly a hundred people, besides doing further enormous structural damage. So things went on; the French commanding officer being slain, and many other casualties taking place, until it would seem that Human endurance must reach its limit. But no, not a murmur of disloyalty, not a grumble, although the food supply had been cut down, until on August 8th it had almost reached its end, and the miserable ration of two ounces per diem was all that remained.