The French found quarters in the fu or palace of the Duke of Chin． famous for its lovely garden．The Chin family．once rich and powerful．Had fallen on evil days and the property was half in ruins．When the French took it over,some of the tumble-down out-buildings were full of crickets in small earthenware pots．Now in those days fighting crickets，like fighting quails，was a favourite sport among the Chinese．Champion animalS often cost large sums．and the last degenerate representative Of this noble family had squandered the remains of his substance on them．The Legation was somewhat enlarged after the Siege．part of the site Of Chamot’S Hotel being added to it．Of the original buildings，the chancery，formerly the chapel，is the most important which remains．
The British Legation has an equally picturesque history．Originally given as a residence by the Emperor K'ang Hsi to his thirty-third son (whose descendants had the title of Dukes of Liangl this fu was also falling into decay owing to the poverty of the noble owners．The British leased it from the Tsungli Yamen(the old Foreign Office)at~~500 per annum．For forty years the rent was regularly paid，in silver ingots taken in a mule cart by the Chinese Secretary of the Legation to the Yamen every Chinese New Year．
Many of the buildings were beyond repair．Part of the Minister’S house，however,is the original palace of the Dukes of Liang and the state approaches guarded by stone lions，the open pavilions(ting’rhs)with thei rred pillars，and the quaint kiosks in the gardens were restored and preserved as far as possible，thereby greatly enhancing the picturesqueness of the Legation．
The British always had the largest ground space of any Legation in Pekinh-an area still further extended after 1900 when the sites of the Han Lin College and the Impefial Carriage Park were added to it．For this reason the British compound was chosen as the refuge for all non-combatants in 1900．T110ugh the fighting here was never SO severe as in the French Legation (most of whose buildings were destroyed)there iS，none the less，much within its walls to remind US of a gallant defe：nee．The Councillor’S garden． for instance．was turned into a cemetery where hasty funerals were held， often under a rain of bullets．