On the next day (25th) the Government made some sort of attempt to open up communications with the besieged, but the attempt was thwarted by Tung-fu-Hsiang’s men, who fired on the bearers of the decree, which curiously enough stated that the Imperial troops were solely to be employed for the defence of the Legations. The only effect which this peaceful attempt had, was to cause a gradual cessation of fire until about midnight, when once more the noisy faction gained the upper hand, and the Chinese again opened fire, this time from behind more substantial cover than they had before been using. With the exception of a smart attack on the French Legation in the evening, the 26th was passed quietly, but the next two days more than supplied any want of excitement. First the American Legation needed reinforcements, and then the Japanese needed more men to effectively deal with a strong party who were endeavouring to break into the Fu. And they managed to break in, but most of them were carried out! In the evening the troops egged on the Boxers to the assault; this, like all other Boxer attacks, failed disastrously. The 28th was a day given up almost entirely to artillery. The enemy bombarded the Hôtel de Pékin and the stable quarters, and endeavoured to breach the north wall by firing into it at 20 yards’ range. The fire was most destructive, and ceased only just in time. The reason for this respite was probably only the enormous loss in gunners sustained by the Chinese in this absurdly close-range bombardment. The 29th was perhaps one of the worst days through which the besieged had passed. It was a day of general attack, which was beaten off with the greatest difficulty, and with a loss of life and ground nearly all round. Two sorties, which went out in the early morning, achieved practically nothing, and the harassing day which followed was brought to a close by a tremendous musketry fire, which continued till midnight. On July 1st the Germans suffered heavily from a surprise, and the French were actually driven out of their Legation. This left the already hardly-pressed Germans in a most critical position, which was only relieved by the prompt measures taken by the British and American Marines. In the afternoon a very gallant but futile attempt was made to capture a small Krupp gun which had been making things unpleasant for the defenders of the “Fu.” Owing to the impossibility of thorough reconnaissance of the ground in front of our positions, unforeseen difficulties presented themselves at every turn, and the attacking party lost rather heavily.