680 Mr. A. Henry Savage Landor, [May 31, 



crossed by a small bridge. Vassielevsky ordered bis men to creep 

 silently over tbe bridge and make an attempt to force tbe gate. Tbe 

 Cbinese soldiers at tbe guard-bouse, awakened, gave tbe alarm. Tbere 

 were some tbirty of tbem, and all came to an untimely end. 



Tbe Chinese on tbe wall immediately opened a fusillade on tbe 

 Eussians. Two guns were brougbt up close to tbe gates, and firing 

 at once commenced to smasb tbem open. After some twenty sbots 

 bad been fired, an aperture bad been cut large enough for a man to 

 squeeze through. 



Two fearless men, General Vassielevsky and Mr. Munthe (a Nor- 

 wegian acting as guide on tbe staff of tbe Eussian General), rushed 

 in — tbe two first men of the Allies to enter the Cbinese city of Pekin 

 — and gave order to tbe soldiers to follow. Once inside, they were 

 under terrific fire in the small walled court which is found between 

 the outer gate and the inner. 



The Eussian infantry crept in through the small aperture, and 

 answered as best they could the rifle fire poured upon them from tbe 

 wall. The fusillade on both sides was terrific. The savage yells of 

 tbe Cbinese from above, tbe flashes of musketry playing along the 

 edge of tbe wall and everywhere, the deafening din of their gingals 

 and of the Eussian rifles, drowned the moaning of those unfortunates 

 who in scores fell wounded and dying. 



The side gates having been forced open, three guns were pushed 

 through and carried along tbe cluster of houses inside the wall. Tbe 

 infantry came in with them, and, in fact, walked ahead of the guns. 

 The Chinese bad by now retired little by little from the lower wall 

 of the Chinese city to the adjoining higher wall of the Tartar city, 

 from where they kept a heavy fire on the Eussians. But not for long. 

 Some twenty minutes later tbe firing ceased. 



It was now decided to take the inner road close to the wall towards 

 the Ha-ta gate, more especially as the Chinese guides and prisoners 

 declared tbe outer wall was only weakly defended by the Chinese. 

 The main force, they stated, was guarding the wall of the Tartar city. 

 The Eussian infantry, escorting three guns, started on this road, 

 and bad no sooner passed in tbe vicinity of the higher wall with 

 tower on the corner, than a murderous fire was opened from all 

 along the wall against the advancing force. In a few minutes ten 

 out of eighteen horses of the batteries were down, tbe officer leading 

 the advance guard was severely wounded, and the majority of his men 

 were killed. 



It was impossible to advance under such deadly fire. All the 

 horses of one battery had been shot, and fears were entertained that 

 one gun must be abandoned. It would have been, but for tbe bravery 

 of tbe infantrymen, who succeeded, amidst tbe general enthusiasm, in 

 rescuing the gun, but the loss of life was appalling. 



The Eussians, unable to proceed, concentrated on the top of the 

 wall at the gate. General Vassielevsky decided to hold the position 

 until reinforcements arrived. 



