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J. L. CRANMER-BYNG
north-west gate of Peking I took a pedicab, but when we reached the Wangfuching and ran into columns of marching children the driver began to show signs of fright, so I paid him off and started to walk. By now I realized that I had left it too late to reach the Legation gate before the demonstrators arrived, so I made a wide circuit and eventually reached the Hsinchiao Hotel near the Chungwenmen (Hatamen Gate). Having been told that the demonstration would probably end by about 10 p.m., because a previous demonstration over the Suez episode had lasted until that time, I decided to wait at the Hsinchiao Hotel until the coast was clear. Just before 11 p.m. I walked to a point near to the entrance of the British Legation and mingled with the sightseers, but found the demonstrators still hard at work. It was rather like a rowdy Bank Holiday evening on Hampstead Heath. There were large crowds strolling about watching the demonstrators who were still queueing up five or six abreast and moving forward very slowly towards the gate of the Legation. Once opposite the open gate they performed their slogan-shouting, sometimes accompanying their shouts with gesticulations and a series of jumps, before being waved on by cadres who appeared to be controlling the demonstration. All along the road facing the wall of the Legation ran a water pipe with taps every few yards so that in the summer heat of Peking no one need go thirsty. Among the bushes growing down the centre of the street (where once the Imperial Canal flowed) were canvas latrines, while the whole area was lit up at night by arc lamps fixed among the trees, and the front of the Legation gateway was picked out by powerful spot-lights. Nests of amplifiers had been fixed to the trees near the gate so that the inhabitants of the Legation had no difficulty in hearing the slogans being chanted, such as 'Ying-Kuo lang kan ch'u-ch'u' 'English wolves get out'. Since the demonstrators seemed particularly fiery at this stage I decided to retreat and try again at dawn. After a few hours sleep at the Hsinchiao Hotel I again approached the Legation gate only to find a long queue of new demonstrators, refreshed by a night's sleep, taking some vocal exercise before going to work. At this stage I decided that it was quite safe to enter the gate of the Legation, and joining the queue I moved forward gradually until opposite
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