"The following pages do not tell in full the story of the faithful witnesses of China. That would require volumes. Many narratives have been rejected, not because they were not of intense interest, but because one book would not contain them all. Those selected are representative and typical. The experiences of Christians belonging to ten different denominations are recorded, but the space given to the annals of different missions by no means indicates their relative importance. Some societies have already published their own histories of the tragedy, or are preparing for such publications, and so have furnished little material for this book. Other societies have not been directly solicited for narratives of the experiences of their members, but extracts have been taken from their periodicals. Where the extract is of great length or importance, permission has been obtained for its use; in other cases, acknowledgment accompanies the quotation. In a few instances ignorance of the source or authorship of an account given has made acknowledgment impossible; but the author desires here to express her thanks for such involuntary contributions. A large part of the book is filled with narratives to which the author listened during the siege of Peking and the ensuing year of residence in that city."--From the introduction.