Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-06-29
Burglary IN an Emperor's Palace.
Pail Mall Gazette


The recent discovery of great robbery at
the Winter Palace at Pekin is stated in the
Chinese papers to have created great sensa-
tion. The almost idolatrous veneration with
which the Emperor is outwardly, at least,
regarded, the apparent inaccessibility to the
palace walls, the strictness of the regulations
affecting admission to the various Enclosures,
and the duties of the innumerable guards,
all combined to render an actual burglary an
event of no small insignifcance." The North
Chana Herald says: "The prize was, no doubt,
tempting one. Massive bronze or copper
chains plated heavily with gold, and several
tons IN weight, form no contemplate booty,
and the fact that this mass of treasure was
actually seized and carried off by the gang
OF robbers is enough to cause the pIofoundest
suspicion and alarm to the palace inmates.
1t shows, not only that the Son of Heaven
is exposed to dislOyal attacks from without,
but to the still greater danger of unfaithful-
ness from within. The disclosures thus
brought to light are not those of an ordinary
theft. The walls of the palace, like those of
the Manchu city, are garnished with bastions,
or water towers at the corners, and these
structures are usually regarded as virtually
no more than characteristic decorations-im-
posing from a distance, but of course q scene
OF emptiness, neglect and dust inside. 1t
appears now that for years past the imperial
bastions have been the lurking-place of
gang of thieves, who were protected and as
sisted by the palace eunuchs. Lights were
occasionally observed to flash and CLEAN
from the cannon-holes and windows of these
towers, an occurrence which seems to have
caused the officers of the household to sus-
pect that they must be inhabited The
eunuchs, on being questioned, confirmed the
story of the lights, but explained the mys-
terry by saying that the Hu Hsien, or Fox
Fairy, was prostrating himself there with
his lighted torch. 1t may be thought incred
ible that the officers should have been suf-
ficiently imbecile to believe this fable or
that the eunuchs should have dared to trade
so far upon the superstition of their superiors
But fox-myths are far from extinct in China,
or even in Japan. The animal is credited
with many marvellous and supernatural at
tributes, among which is the ability at the
age of SO to take the form of woman, and
at 100 that Of a young and beautiful girl.
He can also become wizard if he likes and
at the age OF 1000 years he is admitted into
Paradise, where he becomes celestial being"
The imperial palace, it appears, is not the on
Iy public building where depredations have
been carried on. In the great national library
of the Hanlin Iuen hundreds of the imper- /
ial editions of standard works have been
found to have been subjected to the most re-
mutilation all the broad margins
of fine white paper having been cut off and
sold by the irugal-minded custodians of the
place. at is difficult" says the paper already
quoted, ito conceive more objectionable
and wanton outrage. But it shows what
rotten condition the whole administration
Of the empire must be in"