Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-30
the United States. who had died instead Of

| President Cleveland.
Ii had the news Of the Chinese treaty
| with America cabled him before the Amer
| lean consul or our minister knew anything
| about 1t, and during my talk with him
| was surprised to find that he was well up
| United States.
| Going to the Interior.
| But let me describe the interview 1 had
with this great statesman in his palace
here today. 1t was arranged for me through
our consul to Tien-Tsin, Mr.. Sheridan p.
| Read, and the secretary Of the Chinese
navy, the Hon. 10 Feng Luh. This last man
is the Dan Lamont of Earl Ii. He is his
private secretary and confidential emissary
In all matters connected with foreigners.
| He speaks English and French perfectly
and Is well posted on English and French
| literature. 1t was he who acted as my in
/ terpreter with the viceroy and 1t was he
who notified me that his excellency the
viceroy, would receive me at half-past four
| this afternoon. l rode to the palace in
| state In a box like chair covered with fin
est of blue cloth with Innings of light blue
satin. This was swung between two poles
each twenty feet long and was carried by
four Cinnamon in a livery Of blue and red
| cotton. They wore high black caps with
! turned up brims and on the top of each cap
there was a tassel of silk of the gaudiest
red. In front of me marched the Ting-Chi
OF our legation, who was also gorgeousy
1
streets for u.s. 1t is about four miles from
my hotel to the palace and the route lies
| through the busiest part Of this one Of the
busiest cities Of China. Leaving the hotel
We went past mountains OF merchandise
| stored in bags and lying on wharves along
| the Pei-Ho and cut our way through the
| narrow streets of Tien-Tsin. We grazed
chairs with mandarins, who with their ret
| lnues and bands pompously pushed their
way along. We stepped over ragged beg
gars lying on the streets clad only in coffee
| sacking and exposing their sef-made
wounds to our disguised eyes. We passed
hundreds, might say thousands, of Chinese
| stores and workshops of all descriptions
and going through wall after wall and
| gate after gate, crossing great bridges
| which closed to let us go over them, until
at last We came to a big one-story building,
| the front gate of the wall which surrounds
| the hundred odd houses which make the
| residence Of Earl Ii. These houses are of
one story and they are built a oout courts
| The first court IS guarded by soldiers and by
| two greel wooden lions with hideous faces
| and beyond this there are great doors on
which are painted the Chinese gods of war
Before these my chair was set down and
| the Ting Chi went In to announce my
| coming. My Chinese card, a strip Of red
paper six inches long and three wide bear
ing the Chinese characters "Kow Ping
Teh' tCarpenter) and meaning, was told
| by the man who wrote the card for me-
| energetic. bright, brilliant" was carried
into the yamen and a moment later an
| official motioned me to enter
| The Reception Rooms.
| I was first led into two reception rooms
| and was given a seat in the more honored
| one Of the two, the place reserved for
Chinese mandarins Of high rank. 1t was
| rather ragged for a palace and for the
| ruler Of such a vast people. 1t was, /
judge. thirty feet square and twelve feet
from floor to ceiling. Around the wall ran
/ a N faat xr-ila ,,,I IL
when l sat upon 1t my toes just touched
| the floor. This divan was covered with the
| cheapest of red cotton cushions each of
| which was about an inch in thickness and
about three feet square. Above these
against the wall there was a strip of Jana
| nese red and blue Powered goods perhaps
a yard wide, and from the ledge of the
divan hung down a Turkey red cotton cur
tain a foot and a half long. There was no
carpet on the floor and the paper on the
walls cost i venture. eight cents a roll.
| The whole outfit of the reception room
| could be knocked up in America for S2k
and there was nothing DESTINATIONS about
II. The callers, however, made I'D in the
| gorgeousness OF their costumes for the lack
Oh spiendor IN their surroundings. There
| were mandarins in furs which must have
| cost hundreds of taels. There were Off
| Gals In the finest of silks, wearing the
| costliest OF jewels. and a moment after /
| arrived a servant brought in two cups of
| tea or variety too precious to be ex-
ported to the United States This tea was
| placed upon a little table which rested upon
the divan. and 1t had not had chance to
| cooi before the secretary of the navy en-
| tered. He was clad in dark silks lined with
| the finest of fur. such as our bellies use for
| the lining Of their opera cloaks, and he had
on mis- mead cap with button of rank.
ne chatted with me We slipped our tea
| making loud noise with our mouths in
| doing SO, according to Chinese etiquette
| ana the conversation ranged from politics
| TO photography, the naval secretary. being
| interested nd
| ing 10 know the best American makes
In the Great Mans Presence.
After time the word came that the
| viceroy was ready to receive u.s. We rose
| and walked out behind a gorgeous but
somber Official VINO held my red card high
up In the air before him and strutted like
| drum major. We passed through hall
after hall. going by lackeys who saluted
us like so many automatons as We went BY.
We walked through long corridors running
around open courts and at last came into
a large parlor furnished in half Chinese
half European style. Here near a Japanese
screen by a table stood tall old man to
whom the secretary of the navy bowed
low as he introduced me. 1t was Ii Hung
Chang, the great viceroy of China His per-
sonality impressed me even more forcibly
today than when / met him in that same
| room five years ago. He is now seventy
| four years of age, but he stands firmly and
his long gown. which reaches to his feet
| makes him look like a giant. He is in fact
six feet two inches in his stockings, and
| the thick SoleS of his Chinese shoes add
another inch TO his stature. He has a slight
stoop. His shoulders are broad and in his
prime he must have possessed great mus
cular power. He Is by no means an old
looking man today. There are few wrinkles
in his cream-colored face, and his stray
Cling beard is black mixed with silver His
eyes are black, bright and piercing and the
eyelids are of the pronounced almond shape
He has high cheek bones and a full fore
head. His cheeks are rosy, partially due to
his health and partly to the application of
cure him of the facial paralysis. from
which he for long time suffered
His black cue is mixed with gray
and his head when / met him today was
crowned with a black satin Chinese cap,
in the front of which glttered a solitaire
diamond as big the end of your thumb
Ii Hung Chang has a slender but power
full hand. His fingers arc long and thin and
on one Of them 1 noted a magnificent ring
of diamonds and opals. His costume was
in fact, a gorgeous and costly one. His
gown was OF the finest yellow satin and
his coat, which covered his body to his
thighs, was of rich seal brown velvet fas-
tened with buttons of gold. His trousers
were also Of wadded satin and they were
tied with satin strings about his ankles
above his black satin boots. The stories /
had heard Of his kicking his officers made
me regard these with interest. l had no
fear that he would try them on me- but /
noted their white soles were two inches