Nothing during the night but the usual continuous sniping from beyond the French Concession, and Railway Station. this sniping now always finds some victims and all these are invariably in Irracks, it shows that there is method intil't. To-day the enemy rivalled and excelled us in the matter of mounting guns, They are coming in em siderable force over to the West and South-west plain in the direction of the Racecourse, and are skilfully placing a battery of Keupps (apparently 75 millemetres) 50 as tomake us in flank, Major Rruce with two (?) companies of the First Chinese advanced citywards up the Taku Road with the intention of rushing a ' singing Tenny' which seemed to he located near in's Bridge: but the moment he was we of the Settlement he met so mur-detour a rifle fire (enemy under cover) that he had no option but t> retire undeterred by this, he begged fora company of Burfleurs *0 support him in an-lather attempt; he got further on this time, hut with exvetly the same issue. [Tientsin enforces the lessons of Mayer Hfontein that a frontal attask 01 the open (or in city limes) is all but an impossibility when the enemy is i force under caver with mage was mable to Jevn the mumber of his ies which were heavy; the gallant was humse'f badly "shot in the jabdomes, midshipman Esdale of the Bar-"Gene was also badly hit while coolly col-{lecting his gun's crew. It. Beown, RE. Felsewhere received a slight wound la the J course of the day. The a: ing feature jof this litre affair was the fact, sulseqaont ydiseavered, that the gun sought for way after all on the other side of the river Suspicions are justly rife that the enemy is being kept informed of our dispositions and locality; the Temperance Hall, where General Dorward has his headquarters, was persistently shelled a'l to-day. 1 we of these unwelcome intruders actually went clean through the dining table (and curiously enough one of them could not afterwards be found), the moss had then to be re-mored to Ewo, and no sooner was this done, than a sterely gun and rifle fire was directed on the premises of the Princely Firm. The General had two bullets through his hetroom, and Mr, Edmund Cousins one into his left lex. Me. Cousins has of coarse done the very finest possible service during the whole siege; any poor Chinese refugee, Christian o- pagan, has but. to go to Ewo to receive protection, fond, ad kind sympathy. By example and sonal influence he and his friends, especi the Revd. T. Bryson, have yot these natly. 8 to froaly give their services to the defence they have toiled like sla coolie work which could not otherwise hace been done, and have been of really inestimable valu besides acting as washermen, ' hays, dom stie servants, ete. Theie devotion to Mr. Cousins and his associates. is really and they sbared the anxiety which happily turned out to by more prin fal than dangerous. Taese native refugees have now returned to the Mission promices in Taka Road, and are pro tem. safer there than in the central Sxttlement.
Sir Hawtroy Cox, Into of the Inniskilling Dragoons, has offered to raise a corps of mounted' scouts, and has received permission (o try—the qualifications are horsemanship, shooting, knowledge of the Chinese language and people, knowledge of the country.
The houses of Messrs. G. Detring and J-M. Dickinson at the Race Course were to, day burned to he ground, having been previously losted by troops. I think T mentioned that for three weeks these isolated large places escaped the Boxers who examined them and passed them by, and that they were further protected feom petty thieves by the neighbouring villagers.
Saturday 7th Ju'y. gone the Yess the "very winter, of car This day was fearfully hot but was
discontent" for we were submitted to afire which far exceeded any expeiiene+ of the Siege. The Krups erected yesterdsy on th: west, played on us all day with a diabolic effect and the batteries in the Lutai Canal (N.E.) and Shui-szoying (the city) were more true than ever. Messrs. Mackenzie's new godown was bir, fired, and completely burned out, and the individual exsualties in barracks were numerous. ribless, both officers and experiences in South Africa were nothing compared to it. This may be explained by the fact that shell is far more intimidating in close built town than in the open where everything is nen: the crash of bricks and moriar, fall of walls, explosion in narrow spaces, impress the' mind far more than when a shell plumps into the soil and simply ra'ses a cloud of dust. Rifly fire is exietly the reverss, in itself far worse than shell, it fails to impress inside of a town, but in the open where you see your chums deep drop all round you, the imagination xets fired and the fizz-2 ut the scudding bullets begets an uneasiness which is unpleasant.
Much progress was made ty-day in the implacements of the din. Nwal guns. 'The Russian officers were most kind in rendering their assistance near their lines, on the Admiral Alexieff personally' visited forces this forenoon, and impressed, a the extreme importance of cooperation and maintaining the entente cordiate, It is within my knowledge that Vice-Admiral Soymoue is constantly at the same task.
Tu the afternoon an enemy's shell in part struck one of our magazines, but fortunately without results, I' deliberately withhold the particulars, Another burst inside the Centurion barracks, killing one seaman anit wounding four. 'The gallant Esdale, mid-of the Barflour, died to-day' from the injury of the spine inflicted last Thursday. Major Bru-e, Lum glad to say, ix doing well; the shot went clean through lim, traversing his liver.
Capt. E. Bayley, x ¥., has been nominated Provost Marshal and has issued a notice about the prevention of looting and the arrest of suspicious characters; Lieut. Leonard, of the U. S. Marine Corps, is the deputy PB, M.
Sunday, 8th July.
Our people still busy mounting guns and the enemy as busy firing theirs. We know the Chinese have a few skilled, scientific gunners, especially Mr. Wong who gained his experience in But we now see their very good men by constant practice, Their firing was more inter. mittens than yesterday, but. was protracted cover the who'e day, Incredible as it may appear, we head it in all the ranchos of the River, even as far as Taka (28 miles), Vessels going do stream to-day, small launches without a tonic place, near Hsienshuike The strewn would be al the' better if it had a patrol of picket boats, but unfortunately, these handy vessels are in great demand at the Bar for fifty purposes. qqbittle Bott's was impressively buried to-A telegram was received by the Admiral, from the Navy Club, congratulating the Naval Brigade in the Peking Rulief fore" for upholding ths traditions of the British Navy. The compliment was richly deserve ed if ever one was, and none the less so because the force attempted thy impossible though as long as there was a hope that the line was not irreparably destroyed, there was a possibility of success. The magnitude of Sir E. Seymour's task will be better understood when one reflects that the military authorities deem a force of 20,009 of all arms necessary to do it.
During these three days your correspondent was at Taku, seeing to the departure of the ladies and children. 'The chief incident of these days was en Siturday nigh' or Sundiy morning. Some Russian and German sailors were unloading dynamite Mengleh (), a magazine lying 2 or 3 miles from both Tangku and Taku, when one man dropped a keg. There' was stupendous explosion; I hear that of 22 casualties only 2 have any chance of recovery. The flags were at half-mast all Sunday.
The more one sees the forts and their Krupp mountings, the more is one lost in astonishment that six little gunboats and two landing parties of 350 each could have dared to attempt the feat of 17th June.
The officials of the Taku Tug and Lighter Company are doing touch to salvage their lost tow-boats (4) and lighters (9); they suffer most from the looting of chains,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.