Article October 11, 1900 Issue

Siege of the Foreign Legations

Interesting Letter from Mrs. Conger, wife of United States Minister in Pekin.

with contributions from Sarah Pike Conger

Mrs. Sarah Pike Conger, wife of United States Minister Conger; has written a detailed and interesting account of the siege of the foreign legations in Pekin, in the form of a letter to an intimate friend in Des Moines. The personal character of this letter enhances its interest to the public, because in it Mrs. Conger writes of her impressions of the Chinese and of their character. She has studied this mysterious people—a people which sociologists have long been unable to solve—closely, and has formed some conclusions regarding them, although she confesses that she does not yet understand them and expresses a wish that she could get nearer their hearts.

Throughout this letter, as in letters written before the outbreak of trouble, Mrs. Conger speaks with the utmost kindness of the Chinese and with charity for their (to us) strange views and superstitions.

Mr. and Mrs. Conger had a narrow escape from a shell bursting in the room of the American legation they had occupied, a few minutes after they left. The letter tells the story.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

MRS. EDDY TAKES NO PATIENTS