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18a.

should ask for any of their land as he did not think it would be in the best interests of the American colony in Peking to cramp the Legation grounds to such a degree.

In the face of these arguments I can not do otherwise than recommend that the committee abandon all idea of asking Congress to allow them space within the compounds of the American Legation.

The next attempt which I made was to find whether any land might be available on either side of the American compound, on which we might build and virtually add to the main area. For this purpose I consulted Mr. Peck, at that time Chinese Secretary to the Legation and a member of the mixed council which controls the government of the Legation Quarter. He was thoroughly interested in the plan of the School and enthusiastic in his attempts to be of use to us. But even he could find no land, in the already crowded Quarter, which he considered available for our uses.

Only one small strip remained which he believed might conceivably come upon the market for sale. Of this the price would, he knew, be extravagantly high. Moreover the location did not commend itself either to him or to me, as it was directly under the shelter of the north face of the city wall. This would, of course, act as a shelter from much of the cold of winter, but at the same time would make summer residence there almost untenable. The connection with the Legation Street