1 %Tatfc | Jtas J*loderrv Arms and Equipment to Jtepel the liWaders. China has shown her teeth. The great inert mass of Orientals is not lifeless, after all. As the "foreign devil" approached her capital she aroused herself from her drugged sleep and prepared to strike back. Her activity has startled the Powers. Fifty warships are plowing through Asiatic waters to check her murderous designs. Ninety thousand troops are being rushed with feverish haste toward the turbulent province of Pe-chi-li, where Pekin, the capital, is situated, and where the mouth of the empire, the Gulf of Pe-shl-li, opens. The fact Is that since the war with Japan the Chinese have been doing precisoly what the Boers did after the Jameson raid. It is even said that their leaders have gained their chief encouragement in the present anti-for elgn uprising from the remarkable suc cesses of the Boers against the British last winter. There is no longer any doubt that the Chinese troops are armed with modern weapons and know how to light, which they did not five years ago. The Brit ish mistake of underrating the enemy. If made by the Powers in the present instance, would entail results too ap palling to contemplate. An upheaval then would involve the whole empire, all foreigners would be slaughtered or driven into the sea, and the Yellow peril would literally menace the entire world. It would then be necessary to decide whether to abandon China ut terly, with the future manace which would always bo Impending, or to send the utmost resources of all civilization to conquer an enemy numbering from a quarter to one-third of the human race. It is easily understood, there fore, why Europe is hesitating before a problem so gigantic that there is nothing in modern times with which to compare it. The arsenals and batteries of Russia command the northern approach at Port Arthur; a fleet of British cruisers, n regiment of soldiers and a formida ble fortress holds the southern np BOXEl:a INVOKIVO THE OOD OF WAlt. proai-h ai Wel-halwel, while yet fur ther south, at Klao-ehau, Ueriuany lata • furiihtil naval haae. The mouth of the Chinese dragon la filled with foreign teeth. What. then, la her equlpmeur to cheek the rac« of tin* Power*? What a'» Uvr resources to resist the force of the civ ilized nations: Population 400,000,000 Annual revenues $75,000,000 Revenues collected and nD propriated by officials.. .$375,000,000 Such a population and such a Vast ancual revenue should form a combin ation that would make the allied Tow ers tremble. Instead, what has China to show on land and sea? Her navy: Six cruisers of 5500 tons each. -» Three cruisers of 3400 tons each. One cruiser of ISOO tons. One torpedo boat. LI HUNG CHANG'S RESIDENCE IN PEKIN. (Formerly the temple of the aud righteous men.) One gunboat. Two armored cruisers of 4SOO tons. Four antique gunboats of 400 tons. Four modern torpedo boats. None of these ships is adequately manned or armed. In her entire em pire China has but one dock where even repairs could be made, and that with a capacity only for a 3000-ton ship. With this insignificant navy she must defend 4000 miles of coast line. Six of her cruisers are at present locked up In the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. China, therefore, can expect nothing from her navy. What, then, does her army offer. Her army: To begin with, China Is dominated by a foreign army, 200,000 strong. The Manchus garrison the empire. They ride high-handed over the Chinese, and are commanded by Tartar generals. Very little loyalty could be expected from the Chinaman if forced to enlist. The entire army system is corrupt. Revenues collected to support the gar risons have been diverted and divided between the generals in '■onuiand aud the viceroys of the provinces. It is probable, therefore that in the entire Chinese empire there is not equipment for a body of troops exceeding 200,000. and even for that number it is ques tionable. General Yuan Shi Kal has 10,000 men. They are the best body of troops lu the empire, and are now entreneneil between Pekln ami Tlen-Taln . lu tlw IlilUtllitf l*ark. outaltle of the walled eltjr of Peklu, la encamped Priuru Chiug'a Held fotee of 10,UO • picked men. Outalde thv walla of I'ekiu ar* Cei: eral Tung Funsleng's Mohammedans, a badly drilled and murderous rabble, 13.000 strong. They are the troops that have menaced the European ele ment In Pekln for some time, and are the ones who have probably broken into the city and endangered the lives of the foreign element. North from Fokin, swinging around the shore back from the Gulf of Pel chi-li, is General Sung's force of 20,- 000 men. (Jeneral N'leli is close to Tien-Tsin with 15,000 men. These troops are the ones who caused Admiral Seymour's return. They are drilled by German officers and are armed with Mauser rllles. In Manchuria are 15,000 men drilled and fairly well armed, commanded by General Yl-Ke-Tong. One of the most formidable forces In China is the feudal armies of Mon golia, who are allied by mutual Inter ests to the Empress Dowager and the Manehu dynasty. The force consists of separate commands of cavalry num bering some luO.ooo, commanded by native princes. They nre loyal to tlieir 112 cud ill lords, but fight without pay and would unite against a common enemy. Scattered down the coast and along the rioang Ho and Yaug-tse rivers are numerous arsenals and military camps. A list and location would give an inad equate Idea, as the figures obtainable are largely based upon hearsay. It is known, however, that Li Hung Chang, at Canton, has at his command over 20.000 men, mostly Manchus. I have visited the forts and garrisons FAMILY OF CHINESE CONVERTS. there, and they are of the most antique and old-fashioned kind, totally unfitted to make a resistance of any impor tance. The Chinese forts are mounted large ly with old breech-loading cannon and every kind of a riflij manufactured in the last half century is used by her army. There are. in some of the forts at Taku, for Instance, a few Krupp guns, and In the Peklu Held forces and scat tered around the Manchu arsenals are some modern field pieces and siege guns, but the equipment in the face of a modern army Is absolutely ridiculous. The tottering old empire must rely, to accomplish Its avowed purpose of driving the "foreign devils out," not upon its navy, hardly upon Its army, but largely upon Its population. Once relieved of what little restraint now holds them In check and this long suffering race will wreak a revenge upon civilization a-d their own rulers that will "stagger humanity." The race for an empire that Is now ' going uu In Asia is a race for human ity. The nation that storms Pek'n and : strikes a Jiiow at the barbarism and ■ ignorance of antiquity that still raj dlate from the throne of the Dowager j Ktnpress will commence a new cycle j in Cathay and confer a lasting obllgu j lion upon the civilized world. ho! ■ will win the great prize? Lord Charles Heresford made au In vestigation of the condltiou of the Chi :iesc army, and declares that not even !ie Imperial Government at PeUtti now* the real strength of t*je military , .orees. Some of the col .lliauds are Malleoli and some Chinese dlstiuet | the one from the other. The army Is entirely a voluntary s-rvlee, but when once a man has Jollied It Le finds it difficult If uot Impossible to leave It. Itestdcs the Manchu and Chinese ar .nlcs there are lUO.UI*) Mongolian cav alry, excellent men. ruled liy their own princes under a system of feudal ten ure. They are not paid. This cavalry t nee Is said to lie devoted to the pies ( lit dynasty. Direct evidence of the friendship of :he Ktnpress Dowager for the lioxer* !• i* bct'u glrvu to the removal of Prince Chlng as chief of the Tsung-11- Yamen, or Foreign Office, and his re placement by Prince Tuan, father of the heir apparent to the throne, who is a sympathizer with the Bctfcers. Prince PRINCE CHING, FRIEND OF FOREIGNERS, REMOVED FROM THE T3TJNG-LI YAMAN. Cliing is one of the best known and most able of Chinese statesmen, and is known to be friendly to foreigners. NOVEL FLOWER-STAND. Plants Made to Grow Out or liainboo Stalk*. One of the prettiest flower stands which has appeared of late, says the London Express, is made of a piece of bamboo from four feet to live feet high, nailed onto two smaller bits, arranged in the shape of the letter X. A hole of about three inches deep is cut at each knot in the upright bamboo, anil a natural receptacle for flowers is made in this easy fash: . Bamboo grows In sections, so that as there is a solid piece of wood between each portion of tlie upright stick, nothing remains to be done but to pour water Into the holes and to place a branch of flowers in each. Lilac and laburnum look exquisite when placed alternately In the bamboo flower stand, but almost any kind of foliage is effective when used in this way. » THE STAND IN FULL BLOOM. The lower stand should be placed in the corner of a room or entrance hall, and the stand becomes almost invis ible when it is nicely tilled with flow ers. A Buuiinlne-Bird's tJinbrelln. In front of a window where I worked was a butternut tree. A hum ming bird built her nest on a limb that grew near the window, says a writer In the American Sportsman, and we had an opportunity to watch her close ly. In fact, we could look right into the nest. One day when there was a heavy shower coming up we thought we would see If she covered her young during the rain. Well, when the ttrst drops fell she came and took in her bill one or two or three large leaves growing close by, and laid this leaf over the nest so as to completely cover it; then she flew away. On examin ing the leaf, we found a 1,1 "• and In the side of the nest was a small stick that the leaf was fastened to or hooked upon. After the storm was over the old bird came back ami unhooked the leaf, and the nest was* perfectly dry. Only <Juint«ln foil in Knglaii.l. This interesting relic is to be seen at Offhnn. In Kent, just off the uiaiu road between Wrotham and .Maid stone. England. It Is In an excellent state of preservation. It being kept In repair by the owner of a house hard by. The stipulation that the Qulu ~ TP ' OLl> QUINTAIN POST. tain I* to IK- kept IU order by the owner is made 111 the title deeds of the house. Thf Quintain Post formed part of a very popular pastime In Queeu Kllx abeih's days. To one end of the cro»s bar. which swing* on a pivot, a heavy sand bitg wu* tlxed. The other end. the broad tin I cud, was the object of the till by a player who rode against It. lance In hand. The object was lu lilt It at the broadside and to rldi 1 swiftly by before the sandbag, coining round, should strike htm to the urouud The •oiiiiiaiubiilUt who tumble* from i roof is ail illustration of one way to ' fall a»Uvy. CHILDREN'S COLUMN. '! )'ie»ui-viiii: Time. Said Mr. Baldwin Apple To Mri. Bartlett l'eur, "You're growing very plump, matlauio. And also very fair. "And there's Mrs. Clingstone Peach, So mellowed b.v the heat. Upon my word, she really looks Quite good enough to eat. "And nil the Missew Crab-apple Have blushed so rosy red. That very soon the farmer's wife %To pluck them will be led. "Just see the Isabellas! Tl»-''re growing so apl.ee, That\ icy really are beginning To \ purple in the face. "Our h <y time is over. For X Green Gaj;e Plum S:\vs she knows unto her sorrow Preserving time has come." "Yes," said Mrs. Bartlett Pear, "Our day is almost o'er. And soon we shall be smothering In syrup by the score." And before the month was ended. The fruits that looked so fair Had vanished from among the leaves. And the trees were stripped and bare. They were all of them in pickle, Or in some dreadful scrape: "I'm cider," sighed the apple; "I'm jelly," cried the grape. They were all in jars anil bottles, T 7 pon the slielf arrayed, And iu their midst poor Mrs. Quince Was turned to marmalade. —St. Nicholas Magazine. When Prince* Were Never ISnllietl. In earlier days princes were con sidered so precious that they were not permitted the ordinary pleasures of childhood. So fearful were their guardians that something harmful would happen to them that the poor little folk were not even given a bath until they were several years old. In a quaint sketch of the childhood of Louis XIII of France his tutor writes, under the date of August, 1008: "The dauphin was bathed for the first time, put into a bath, and madame, his sister, aged six, with him. The dauphin was seven years old at the time." In his fourth year he had his feet washed with a damp cloth: when he was six they "washed his feet in tepid water in the queen's basin for tlie first time." Itoyal children of today are bathed as much ns if they were only ordinary well-to-do young folk, and their royal fathers and mothers make them work harder at their studies than children usually have to do. It Is also quite the thing for princes or princesses to learn a trade or profession, so that many of them are doctors, nurses, mechanics, cooks, lawyers, dressmakers and so forth. A Brenkfu»t in Naple*. Leo was traveling in Europe with his father and mother, and they had arrived In Naples the night before. Breakfast was served in their room, j and Leo took his bowl of bread and | milk to the window that he might eu ! joy the sights outside. Leo looked and ate, and ate and looked thinking little of his break fast. till he sudenly realized that his bowl was empty anil that he was ; still hungry. "May I have some more milk, please, mamma?" he asked. "Dear me. there isn't a drop left!" and Mrs. looked troubled. "I presume I can buy some," said I.eo's father. "There are generally i plenty of milkmen around at th:s hour," and he walked over to the whi tlow as he spoke. "There's a man with a goat coining this way." was his comment. "I'll go ahd see." Shortly afterward there was a g cat clatter outside iu the hall, and Leo, going to the door saw what made lilni open his eyes very wide iu sheer aston ishment. The goat was coming up-stalrs! At Ills father's request, Leo brought his bowl: and there, right by the door, the man milked the goat—Leo watching, ' too much amazed to speak. When the bowl was Ailed, anil Mr. Partridge had paid for the milk, down stairs clattered the goat and owner, and no one could tell which mail • the most noise.—Youth's Companion. Three "Knowing" llabbltft. A little girl who lives iu llariem has found a new way of passing hr play time since she received thr -e pretty white rabbits to care for out of school hours. At first she did not know how to provide a house for them, but after thinking it over, she got Mime w re netting and fastened it over the < n I trances of a large doll-house, which i she had placed iu one corner of the I yard, where the sun would reach It for several hours each day. In the ; dolls' house the rabbits soon found j themselves comfortably settled. They soon learned that the larg-st room was the dining room. Into which their small owner would put th :r f*'cd at regular hours and a cool drink of water could always be found. Two if the rabbits had generous dispositions, and would share their food, so they were named liauiou and I'ythlas. be cause they were so friendly but the third showed a disposition to be >cl tlsh. and he was named Scramble, as he always scrambled to get everything to eat tlrst. They were all three delighted when the dandelions came, as they llk.'d this food lietter than anyotliei When they IH*C the dandelions ls*lnif brought they stand ui> and wait i-igerly tor a i rUiuee to get at 11. 'll.at Is. I union i and PjMhk** wall, but H'raiuhlt* duu<v« ground atitl tugs at tb« tin; door lu • vain effort to get all tne dandelions llrst. When tliey are put In hi* tals as fast as possible to try to get more than his share. Then the other two get dis gusted at his selfishness and when tliey have finished will go into one of the other rooms and leave him alone until he gets remorseful, and will come and peer In the door to see if they feel friendly toward him. After a while their owner found that she could tame the ral,bits and let them out of the house to run around the yard and eat from her hand. They are fond of green things, anil eat grass, clover, carrots and sometimes beets. Every morning before she starts for school the little girl gives them a large plate of bread and milk, and this tliey seem to enjoy. Damon and Pythias have been taught many tricks, one of which Is to he harnessed to alittlecart, which they draw around tlie yard for the dollies to take an airing in. They go with a funny hopping gait, and seem to enjoy pulling the little carriage. Scramble also does some tricks. A tiny l.ttle well has been dug, and in this a little bucket full of water is placed. Above an arrangement with wheels will draw up a bucket when pulled and every few minutes Scramble will fancy that he must have a drink, and going over to the little well, carefully draws up his bucket. When told to "dance" Scramble will stand up and hap around as if he were dancing. He has to be rewarded every time he does this, and he is always ready to do it, because h# knows some special dainty will be presented to him when he is through. Sometimes in the evening, when the streets are <iuiet. their owner takes the three rabbits for a walk oil the block, and they present a cute appear ance flopping after their little mistress, for they have too good a home to think of running away. When they have walked for a few miuutis they turn home again, and 011 reaching tli > little house the rabbits walk in the door and settle down for the night in their beds of fresh clean hay.—New York Tribune. About Spider* nml Tliolr Work. "Now, children," Aunt Margaret said, "I am going to tell you some things that I know, and which 1 I) lieve will interest you. about the spider fam ily; and although L expect, to makj some very personal remarks, our visit or is not at all sensitive, which is a tine thing. "First, though. I will say that the spider family is a large ono and is found in all parts of the world, but attains to the greatest size in the trop ical regions, where we tind what is known as the bird-catching spider, which is nearly two feet long, very ! hairy, and almost black; its feat, when stretched out, occupy nearly a foot in diameter. This great spider forms a tube-shaped cell, widening at the mouth, of fine, white, semi-transpar ent tissue, like muslin, in the clefts of trees or hollows among rocks and stones. It only goes abroad after ! night, in quest of Insects and, 'tis said, humming birds. The bite of this : spider is very poisonous, i "Although the common house spider I is very unattractive, some members of the family to which he belongs ex hibit beautiful colors. The mother spiders are very attentive to their babies, carrying them about on tlielr backs until they are able to do for themselves —as "OfH) eggs are some times hatched out at once, you tan imagine that the task that the mother spider has set herself is no light one. Spiders are great lighters; they often lost 1 one limb and sometimes several in their combats: but that is a loss which gives them little concern, for, like the crustaceans or shell fish. they have the power of repairing the damage and also like them the spider changes his skin frequently during his growth. "You will observe that the head and chest are in one pit ce which is covered by a sort of shield of oval form, to j which, by means of a shoit k ml of I stalk, the abdomen Is att iciicd. Now, if you look closely and follow wlflit I say. you will see n< ar the hnsu of the abdomen, some little tube-like openings; these are his breathing tubes. H.v ex amining his head you will flnd that our visitor has two jaws, or mnxillae. as they are called, l» tween which id an organ called the tongue, and which forms part of the mouth; lie has also eight eyes, though a few species have only six, and a very small number only t wo. "Now, pay very close attention while I tell vou something : b «ut thus - 1 >ng legs, which by count li g. you will flild to be eight in numb r. K.ieli It g con sists of seven joints, th ■ last one t> Ing armed with two hooks, which are toot lied exactly like a comb; t!i • frontal claws, commonly called mandibles, have a sharp, movabl • hook, which has near its extremity a small slit, through which the spider can cin't or throw out a poisonous fluid, which is secreted in a gland of the prevlora joint. All spiders kill the ins <is and other small creatures on which they prey by means of thes • vinouious maiiillbles. "I am going to describe now the most Interesting part of tills curious ly made little creature. Near the hinder parts you will ob-erve several small bumps or swell ims: these are called spinnerets, and, as you se \ each Is pic rod ai the extremity by a mill tltltde of little openings, from which threads of « eat thlnn s* «tv produted, all of these threads 1 uitldniiig to initkc otle thread of the well. The sulo>taaeH which comes from the »p>iiiicrvt* I* glutinous; that is, sticky; hut im mediately dries Into thread when the air strikes it. ThU *t b«liwtc.' l» pro ducts! lit ivaervolm, which end iu la« tegtine like tub
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