Fire destroyed several buildings in the extreme northeast corner of the " Forbidden City" section of Peking, but did no damage to the old Imperial Palace, present residence of the Boy Emperor.
Fire brigades from the American and Italian Legations were refused admittance to the sacred precincts. The Chinese bucket brigades were inefficient, and several millions of dollars worth of property were destroyed before an Italian hose, manned by Chinese, was used to extinguish the blaze.
The building was fired deliberately, according to belief in Peking, to cover extensive thefts of art...
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