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