The evening times., 1898-09-08
FROM KITCHEN
TO THRONE
Reads Like a Fairy Tale, But
Is True.
Once II Slave. the DOwager En-
press of China Is Now the Auto
crat of That Empire.

Inc most powerful woman In the world
is neither young nor beautiful nor good
She is no traveller, and she has never
gone to college. She is old and ugly,
wrinkled and ill-tempered, but she con-
trolls millions of people with an iron
hand; she dictates the policy of a nation
and makes or mars destiny. She is Tuen-
Tson-Hsi, the Dowager Empress of Chi
ma. The Chicago Times-ieraId gives this
interesting account OF the career of the
autocrat of the fiowery Kingdom:
The story of TuenTson-Hsi reads like
d romance, and an impossible one at that
She was pretty enough as a child. and
very bright minded. Her father was SO
poor that one day he found himself pos
sessed of but u single handful of rice
Tuen suggested that she herself be sold
for the benefit of the family. This was
the first instance of her ability to lead
Her father acted upon the Idea and he
made a good bargain, as she advised. he
sold to no less d parsonage than the Vice
roy of Lu-Chang.
Tuen-Tson-Hsi, the little Good Luck"
| went into the viceroys kitchen as scrub
girl and general maid of all work, but at
| last she had plenty TO eat, which, combin-
ed with an excellent conscience, or no
conscience at ALL which some people say
| is still better, she grew plump and pret-
! ty again, and you may be sure her alert
mind did not fail in its activity. She was
not called Tuen-Tson-Hsi for nothing,
| and her first move was TO win the favor
OF the viceroys wife, and TO be promoted
| from the kitchen TO the embroidery
| frame. for fancy work of this kind Is
much more in demand in China, where
| men dress in silks and satins, and no
| dignitary may go with his splendid at
| tire unembroidered Now had her chance
| come-a tide in her affairs, which she
| took at the food to lead on TO fortune
| though she had certainly never heard of
| Shakespeare. and was no philosopher.
| 1t fell to her task TO embroider robe
| for the viceroy. and so we'll did she do II
that her master deigned first to be pleas
| ed with the work and then with the
worker and II began to be shown that
! even a servant girl could do much TO dis
rupt a household, provided she was
young and pretty and clever enough
! So Tuen progressed and as she got
! prettier and smarter so she made more
| trouble in the viceroy's calm household
| and the wise man. proceeding on the
| principle of anything for quiet life,
! one day dressed his young favorite very
| handsomely in imperial yellow silk and
! sent her off in state present 10 the EN-
| peror, a sort of graceful Acknowledgements
| of a recent decoration Of peacocks feath-
| ers, which meant that the Emperor had
| moved the viceroy one notch higher in the
! social scale.
1t was a great trip for the young Tuen
| this one forty-four years ago. when with
| beating of tom-toms and good deal OF
! other unnecessary fuss she was escorted
to the three-walled City of Pekin. where,
I = ' n wv
peror's palaces But it was Il trip for
which no return ticket is ever issued. She
| knew that, once well inside the third wall,
| she would never issue forth again, nor
| ever behold more father or mother or
! friends of the yiceroys family.
! From the royal harem. the palace OF
| earth's repose,' as il is called in fiowery
| language, woman ever departs alive
| once she has entered, and the Emperor
| himself rarely leaves the splendid isola-
| ton OF his palace and gardens. Not that
the prospect daunted Tuen- In the golden
cage she saw another opportunity for she
! felt that II was not her fate TO blush
unseen" and her purpose never once fall
| tered.
| Once a secret is spoken II ceases to be
a secret-it is in the air. and the beauty
| and wisdom OF Tuen-Tson-Hsi was soon
discussed in the harem, so by and by
| The son of Huren" himself. the Emperor,
| began to hear of ii, and, naturally. TO be
curious He saw that she was lovely.
| with "A soft olive complexion and lips as
red as the cherry blossom, which Orientals
love. As for form. she carried herself like
| a queen-poor slave girl that she was
| perhaps II was all an idle boast of her
! father that the blood OF Tartars flowed in
his veins and the Tartars are the real
arIstocrats OF China. Having won the
| Emperor by her beauty. Tuen proceeded
| TO hold him by the force Of her mentality.
To make a long story short, the Emperor
| made Tuen his Empress.
| The Emperor was Just old enough TO be
! completely swayed by his brilliant wife,
| clear headed and practical as she was.
| Virtually she became the ruler of the i'm
| mense empire, and when indignant
statesman ventured To oppose her de-
| crees, as occasionally one of them would
be brave enough to do, Tuen promptly
| ordered the offenders head cut off. not
iiguratively but literally. with short
sharp chop and this drastic measu Q
soon squelched any active desire to criti-
else her policy or her methodist wasn't
safe.
Bitter indeed was 1t to the average
| Chinaman to feel that the real power be-
hind the rulers throne was one of the
despised sex Yet was Tuen magnetic
| withal, and won people by her force and
| charm even when they had rather not.
She was always tactful, dearly as SEE
loved power and ministers of state gcsw
to respect her ability even when they dis
| liked the woman Then the old Emperor
died in the fullness of years, and Tuen
became DOwager Empress, with weak
boy for ostensbily reigning monarch.
This is what the humble slave girl has
| risen to by means of her beauty, clever
| ness and diplomacy-to be absolute ruler
over 600 coo of subjects, and to have
IL said of her that she is the Bismarck
of China; that in statecraft there is not
her equal in any court of Europe,
People used to wonder why cunning old
| LII Hung Chang struck his colors so c os'
to the Empress dowager, instead of to
the Emperor; now the world knows. He
has always been more or less of a favor
ite of hers. though being fiery temp cred
and exactng old lady, she has more than
| once deprived him of his honors and his
decorations, his yellow silk jacket aid
his peacock feathers, only to become pa
Gifted later and to give these marks cf
favor back to the sly diplomat, who has
worked so much commotiOn of late, AID
who is reputed to have sold his nation to
Russia He stands in well with her, and