The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-09
IRON FOUNDERS.

incense. Everything he made use of was
of a special significance and adorable.
The present emperor IS the ninth SOW
ereign of the Tsipg. dynasty. He sue
ceeded to the throne in 1875, when the
Emperor Tung-Chi died without issue,
and was then only years old. During
his minority, the Eastern and Western
Empress Dowager administered the aft
fairs of the empire as regents The death
of the eastern empress in 1881 left the
other empress sole regent thereafter. The
emperor nominally took the reins of the
government in March, 1887, but did not
assume full control till two years later.
He was married in February, 1889.
There is a romance attached to his
marriage. He is said to be the hero of
love affair and the victim of an unhappy
marriage. The erapress dowager was
said to be at the bottom of the trouble.
The Chinese book of rites is a curious af-
fair. 1t provides how the occupant of
the dragon throne shall provide himself
with a consort. According to custom the
eligible daughters of the great Manchu
mobiles assemble at the palace to have
their respective merits considered and
passed upon. But the youthful emperor
was already smitten with the charms of
the daughter Of a high Manchu military
officer and he expressed his intention to
share his throne with her. He also Sc
lected another fair damsel,' whose beauty
struck his youthful heart with admira-
tion, for his second wife, or, to use the
Biblical word, coneubine.
But the wary old lady, who so long
and so ably welded the scepter during
his minority, had no Intention of allowing.
the young emperor to follow his bent in
this matter, and had already made q
match for him herself by which the
throne would be shared by one of her own
family. The lady whom she selected was
her own niece Yeh-ehnala. the daughter
of the youngest brother of the empress
doWager. She was anything but beauty
from Chinese or Manchu point of view,
and after a great many scenes" and vio-
lent alterations between the boy en-
peror and the empress dowager, she
proved her authority by having the mar
rage with her niece contaminated. The
emperor regarded both the empress con-
sort and her imperial aunt with an in
tense hatred, which daily grew stronger.
1t was this state of things which was at
the bottom of the trouble that daily
worked within the palace, while outside
the prospects of the reign of the emperor
We're imperiled, and the partisans OF both
sides were active among the officials.
Nor would the gorgon of the dragon
throne allow it's youthful occupant to con-
sole himself by bringing the fair Elvira
into his harem, but selected two strong
minded damsels also of the imperial clan,
to form the nucleus Of the seraslio, which
Chinese custom prescribes shall be lin
tied to seven, but which is practically UNI
limited.
The young emperor was urged by his
tutor, the great Cung Tung-ho-the most
powerful man at the present moment IN
China, and the one who really governs the
emperors acts-to marry the lady whom
the empress dowager iouted, and the old
lady afterward learning of lungs part
in the business, gave him warm piece
of her royal mind She had already en-
listed on her side Prince Chung, the sew
enth prince, the emperor's father Since
the marriage there has, therefore, pre-
vailed the Ieost bitter acrimony between
these august personages, and in the strug-
gle the youthful ruler, assisted by his
crafty tutor, for the moment gained the
upper hand.
But 1t was dangerous game to fght
the empress dowager who was deter
mined antagonist to tackle, and in the
end young Kwang Hsu might have fallen
a victim to the necessities of the mo-
ment, as his predecessor, Tung-chi, did
Tung-chi, It will be, recollected, died under
very mysterious circumstances shortly
after he gave the famous audience to
the foreign ministers in 1915, and his
death, which has never been explained,
should have been a warning to the em-
peror TO prevent his august aunt from
getting the upper hand.
The emperor Is described by those who
have seen him as a small, delicate, hut
intellectual-looking youth with large
black eyes and a thin, pale face. he is
said to have q strong will OF his own, and
has shown his Impotence many a time
at the iron rules that regulate the admin
istraton of public affairs in China.