New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-04

figure In the contemporary history Of Abys-
sinia. and that she is far more dreaded by the
people and by the great chieftains than her
husband whose intellect. in spite Of his alleged
lincaI descent from King Solomon. and from
the Biblical Queen Of Sheba. is universally ad-
mtted TO be distinctly inferior to her own
The British authorities in India have always
found the Begums. or sovereign prlncesses OF
the Deccan, far more difficult people to dear
with than the Maharajahs and native kings
And both the great Duke OF Wellington and
Lord Give are on record as declaring that the
Begums had offered a more stubborn resistance
to the English conquest of Hindoostan IMAM any
Of the more celebrated Indian potentates 1t IS
likewise an undeniabc fact that in the pres
ent day as in the past. the native States sub
ject to feminine rue are more wisely governed
and more progressively administered than those
controlled by male sovereigns True, some on
the Bcgums have achieved an unenviable cetep-
rity for cruelty. and none of them seem TO nave
erred on the side of eniency. But with all thaI
their dominions have always been superior, 30
far rs prosperity and the maintenance OF order
are concerned to those Of their neighborinS
brother chiefs.
AN tX-SrAvE GIRLS POWER
Every one knows how for the last thirty years
sovereign sway at Picking. bending to her own
viii every one. even statesmen Of such ac-
knowlodged skill and worldwide fame "a Prince
Kung, the late Marquis Tseng. and old Iii Hung
Chang. starting life mere slave girl with
nothing in the form Of family prestige or intiu-
ence even Of extraordinary beauty To assist
her. she has managed by dint Of tenacity OF
purpose and statecraft to secure and retain SUI
preme power over empire Of four hundred
million Of human beings and on her birthday
the other day the Court of Picking was treated
to the altogether unprecedented and ASTOUNDING
spectacle Of the Emperor himself performing
the act of kotOw or establishment. before the
cx-slave girl. who is not even his mother. but
merely deputy wife Of one Of his predecessors
on the throne.
Like the Empress Dowager Of China the EN-
press Of Japan is childless. and whatever chill
dren the Mikado has are the offspring Of mem
bers Of his immense seragliO. II mention this
it Ia because in the Orient childlesSness is re-
garded almost a crime on the part Of women.
and the mere fact that the two Expresses
OF China and Japan should. in spite of tins
drawback. have acquired such predominant in
huence speaks volumes for their cleverness
The Empress Of Japan Is in every sense of the
word remarkable woman. her husbands most
sagacious and enlightened counsellor and re-
spOnsibe in small measure for the astound-
ing progress and development in modern
and Western sense Of the Land of the Rising
Sun. Indeed. If Japan is to-day almost in the
front rank OF civilization. according to Western
ideas. it is quite as much due to Empress
HarukO as to the MikadO
This I think. will suffice to demonstrate that
woman plays in the Orient a far more weighty
and predominant role than people in America
have imagined; that the contempt which has
hitherto been professed in Western countries
for the intellectual capacity Of the inmates Of
the harem is based on ignorance and altogether
unmerited. and lastly. that there is no more
powerful factor in the course Of events in Asia,
as well as in Northern Africa. than the seraglio
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