A ride along the city wall brought to view scores
of antiquated cannon that the Chinese had used",
while tents were dotted about in all directions, —
but all empty. Looking over the wall, on the west
of the city, one could see the cemetery in which we
deposited our " sacred dust " ; but now only two

167



China's Dayspring after Thirty Years

heaps of ashes marked the spot, all the gravestones
having been broken up and the graves desecrated.
That such desecration could have been possible in
a land in which ancestral worship is so strong a
national characteristic proves the intensity of the
hatred of the Chinese for foreigners.
A lady whose husband died just before the siege
began, and who was buried in the English cemetery,
had remained to plant a few small shrubs on the
grave, but was caught. After the relief she found
that all bodies had been exhumed and burnt by
the Boxers. All that could be found as relics were
one or two rusty nails or screws and a twist of iron
originally used in the construction of the coffin. On
the 6th of September at 5.30 p.m., a memorial
service to the late Baron von Ketteler was held on
the spot on which he was murdered.- Baroness
von Ketteler was present in a chair. The majority
of Ministers, including Sir Claude Macdonald,
attended to show respect for the dead. Mr. Cordes,
who was present at the time of the murder, and
three companies of German soldiers with the
regimental band were present.
