We sped swiftly along, only twice seeing men of any sort in several miles of streets.  Once they were fellows who, on our approach, scuttled so quickly away to hide their identity that we could not be sure whether they were white or yellow.  But once, without concealment, a band of mixed European soldiery, in terrible disorder, who first wished to fire on us, and then when they saw me set up a colourless sort of cheer, appeared suddenly, only to disappear.  We never paused an instant; we kept straight on.

As we made our way farther and farther to the east and came across rich districts of barricaded shops, signs were clear that pillaging had gone on here already with insane violence, but by whom or at what time it was impossible to say.  Sometimes there were battered-in doors and windows, with ugly, swollen corpses stretched near by; sometimes the contents of a rich emporium had been swept, as if by some strange whirlwind, out on the street to litter the whole driving road many inches deep with the most heterogeneous things.  On the ground, too, were dozens of the rude imitation flags which had been so frantically made by the terror-striken populace in order to disclaim all association with Boxerism and the mad Imperialism being now so summarily swept away.  Jeering looters had torn these things down and cast them in the dirt to show, as a reply, that there was to be no quarter if they could help it.  These grim notes limned speakingly on everything, made it plain that a movement was in the air which could hardly be arrested.  It made one feel a little insane and intoxicated to see it all; and as one’s blood rushed through one’s veins, after that long captivity, one had, too, the desire to add a little more destruction, to break down places and to shoot for the amusement of the thing.  You could not help it; it was in the air, I say.  It was a subtle poison which could not be analysed, but which kept on coursing through one’s veins and heating the blood to fever-pitch.  The vast open streets needed filling up with noise and rapid movements, one thought; the inhabitants must be galvanised to life again, one felt....

My men needed every kind of wearing apparel, for they had been in rags althrough the siege, and as soon as possible they showed that they appreciated the situation, and did not intend to stand on ceremony.  They set to work as soon as they saw what they wanted.  A huge Chinese boot, gaudily painted on a swinging sign-board, proclaimed a boot-shop, where in ordinary times they could buy every kind of foot-covering.  But now it was no good attempting such methods.  So they tilted straight at the shop-door without hesitation, and beating a wild rataplan of blows on the wooden shutters, demanded an entry in a roar of voices.  Otherwise they would shoot, they added.  In very few seconds, at this clamour, some shuffling steps were heard and trembling hands unbarred in haste, fearing a worse fate.  We then saw two blanched