The Rev. Roland Allen, a missionary who has lived for
upwards of five years in Pekin, and was present throughout the recent siege of the Legations, has given to the Press through Renter's Agency a remarkable account of the heroism shown by the Chinese Christians. They built all the barricades—a task the foreigners could not have done, as every European was on duty at some point or other—. and cheerfully undertook the most dangerous duties,—s.g., one native Christian went out under a heavy fire and oat down a number of trees in order to clear the line of fire of the Nordenfelt gun. In short, "it is not too much to say that their efforts saved the situation, and that, humanly speaking, had it not been for them, we should all have been swept off the face of the earth." Apart from this, Mr. Allen seems to think that there was some mysterious restraining influence behind the Chinese to which the Europeans owed their lives, and is personally inclined to think that Prince Ching gave to some of the attacking leaders orders counter- manding those given by Prince Tuan. In any ease, it is one of the most remarkable features of the siege that Christianity would seem to have acted as a solvent of the anti-foreign prejudice of the Chinese.
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