The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-11-18
WOMAN-RULE IN CHINA.

OF smell.
WOMAN-RULE IN CHINA.
The achievements of Liuchi and of Won
two great expresses familiar us
household words to the present Empress
Dowager Isl An; when, by the death of
her husband. in 1861, she was left d
widow at the age of p. She had not
been the principal wife Of the late SOW
ereign; that place, under the present dy-
nasty, is always reserved for a lady Of
pure Manchu lineage, and, in this in
stance, had been held by the Empress Isl
Tshi. The Empress Isl An had been
only one of the secondary wives, or con-
cubines: she was Chinese lady, highly
educated and possessed of uncommon
beauty as well as remarkable ability
Hienfung, when dying, had left the gov
erning authority during the minority of
his son. child less than years old, to
board OF regency, which, however, was
soon overthrown by conspiracy organ
lied in the name of the Empress Isl Tshi
but carried out mainly through the yigor
of her far cleverer coadjutor, the En-
press Isl An. A rescript signed by the
child Emperor, who was made to as
sumo the name of Tungche. announced
that, although there was no precedent in
the time of the Manchu dynasty for the
ated one IN the person of the Empress Isl
Tshi, with whom, however, Isl An was
soon formally associated. It was under
the domination of these ladies during
Tungche's minority that the Taeping re-
bellion in the Yangtsze. valley and the
Mohammedan instruction in Yunnan
were suppressed. In October. 1872, the
young Emperor, having reached his six
teenth birthday, was married to Ahluta,
a Manchu lady of good family. Four
months later Tungche assumed personal
control of his dOminions by a decree in
which he stated that he had received the
commands of their ma jesties, the two EN-
presses, to undertake the superintendent
Of business. Only for short time was
power. In September, 1874, be ventured
to announce by a Vermilion edict that. for
using Language i'll many respects unbc-
coming" he degraded Prince Kung. who.
at that time, was favorite of the two
Expresses. Tungche was instantly COM
PEELED to retract what he had done; on the
very next day, decree appeared rein
stating Prince Kung in his hereditary
rank. The two great ladies thus asserted
an absolute right of control over the
Young Emperor's actions. Not long after
this disturbance in the interior Of the pal
ace. there were ominous rumors that the
health of the Emperor Tungche was in a
precarious state, and, in December. it was
announced that he was seriously ill. The
disease seems to have been of Il
malignant nature. for, on Jonuary II.
1870. it was made known that Tungche
had "ascended upon the Dragon, to be &
guest Oh high" without leaving any off
spring to succeed him. There were re-
ports that he was the victim of foul play:
what is certain is that his decease was
eminently favorable to the interests of
the two Expresses and of their tenn
pcrary vizier, Prince Kung. They ut
once resumed the open exercise of SUI
preme authority, which they had resigned
only little more than twelve months
before. The most suspicious circum-
stance connected with the event was the
treatment of the young Empress Ahluta.
who was known to be pregnant at the
time of her husbands death Instead of
waiting to see whether Tungche's post
humous child would prove to be son or
daughter, the Dowager Expresses has
tened to make another selection, and 10
place the young widow of the deceased
sickened and died before her child was
born. The choice Of the Expresses fell
upon boy years old, the son of Prince
Chung the so-called Seventh Prince,
who, on January -, 1875, was pro
claimed Emperor under the name of
Kwangsu. The child's nominal accession
was followed by q conflict of authority
between the two Empresses and the pal
ace ennuchs, but the vigorous measures
of Tsi$ An soon put an end to the in
trigues Of the latter. In the course of the
next six years, the lGmpresses re-estab-
lished Chinese authority in Eastern Iur-
kestan, reconquered Kashgar. and Sc
cured from Russia: the <aretrocessionr of Iii
by the treaty signed at St. Petersburg
on February y, 1881. "A few. months
thereafter one. of the two regents died.
cipal widow of the Emperor Hienfung,
and the nominal senior Of the two ladies
carrying ON the government. Her illness,
like that of many another conspicuous
parsonage at the Pekin court. was short
and sudden; she was only 10 when she
died. Her more capable and ambitious
colleague, the Empress Tsi An, who had
of Hienfung, survived to carry on the
administration. She has been ever since,
and she remains today, the most potent
individuality in China.-Collier's Weekly.
The Vireo's Song.
The mountain vireo, like the Carolina
snowbird, may properly be called a native
of highlands: and, like the sHowhird, it
proved to be common. says Bradford Tor
III tHC iAtNuliSs NNs utst SiSut VI IL
was in the hotel yard. but l found it
single pairs-everywhere. a look at the
feathers of the back through an opera
glass showed ut once the principal distinc-
tion-apart from superiority in size, not
perceptible at Il distance2-on which its
subspecific identity is based; but though
to it's original describer its song sounded
very much finer than the Northern birds
/ could not bring myself to the same con-
clusion. [. should never have remarked
in it any thing out of the common. Once,
to be sure. L heard notes which led ME
to say, There! that voice is more like
a, yellow -throat 's--fulier and rounder than
a typical solitary's;" but that might have
happened anywhere, and at all other times.
although ] had the point continually in
mind, could only pronounce the song to
be exactly what my eur was accustomed
to--sWeet and everything that was beam
,tiful, but a solitary viree's song, and
nothing else. And this, to my thinking, is
praise enough. There is no bird song
within my acquaintance that excels the
solitary's IN certain intimate expressive
liess, affectionateness, home-felt happiness,
and purity. Not that it has all imagina-
bic excellencies- unearthly, spiritual
quality Of the best of our woodland thrush
music, for example; but such as it is, an
gEA. 3 n e. a.. =