The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-07-07

for those lives, and by a power so
overwhelming as to be respected at
once.
Not less important than these con-
SideratiOnS, in view of the future de-
velOpment of American interests, is
the protection of our policy in regard
to that empire. The whole future of
eastern Asia is at stake. Not merely
I the welfare of China, but that of
Japan, is involved in the avoidance of
/ those schemes Of territorial aggrandize-
ment which aim to parcel out the
world among a few mighty powers. If
we hesitate now the whole future will
probably be lost, and we can only
! blame ourselves for our weakness and
dilatoriness. Today we can take our
share in the counsels of the nations,
and that without imperiling in the
slightest our cherished principles. If
we lose this opportunity we may be
forced either to lose the vantage
ground already gained or pay a still
higher price for its preservation.
%
| (NIargherita Arlina Hamm, in the indie
9endent)
All through the present century the
Catholic missionaries in China have
been subject to persecution. Not in
frequently, as we were reminded by
the recent Identification of martyrs.
have they been called upon to shed
their blood for the sake of the gospel.
The outbreaks of pagan hate are es-
pecially sanguinary at present, and it
is feared that something like an inter
national war Will follow. Behind this
anti-Christian movement is a woman
whose career is of more than passing
interest. Here is character sketch
from the pen of one who has spent
some time in the empire.
The present situation in Pekin calls
attention to the master mind which
has brought about these events, the
Empress Dowager Isl An. Many ro-
mances have been written about this
remarkable woman, but none is-as eX-
traordinary as the truth. A few
years ago, when a resident of China,
the writer met a Chinese scholar who,
unlike most of his class, was well
educated according 10 our western
standards. Mandarin Tsin. for such
was his name, was a great admirer
of the empress dowager, and was ac-
quainted with both her original and
adopted families.
According to his statement, her
father was a Manchu noble who had
held lucrative post in Pekin, but lost
it through no fault of his own. At
Flu Chau he suffered the same fate,
and drifted to Canton, where, in 1888,
he found himself without employment,
money or credit and with wife, son
and daughter to support. Rather than
starve he sold this daughter to rich
merchant, who had bought what may
be called a ''mandarin-s ship
The girl was strong and healthy and
very comely. from both Manclurian
and Monaghan point of view The
two races have different ideals of fe-
male loneliness, the Monaghan favor
ing plumpness and medium size, the
ManchuTian strength and stature. AS
she was of Manchurian blood her feet
were not bound, and after being sold
her social position as a pocket daugh-
ter" or family slave, prevented her
undergoing the cruel operation of foot
binding. Her pocket parents" to use
the Chinese phrase, were kind and
generous. She was ambitious and
highly talented, and seemed to have a
vague idea of her future beauty. She
learned to read and write before she
was years of age, and evidenced an
aptitude for study. She was also not
confined within the walls of the yamen
or family establishment, but went
about with the older slaves and saw all
the sights Of the city.
AS she grew older she was entrusted
with the marketing of the family, and
while still a child manifested consid-
cradle business ability. In lS4S the
Emperor Hen Fung issued the mar
riage proclamation prescribed by law
in which all eligible maidens of Man
chu descent between the ages of Is
and is were requested to present them
selves at the imperial palace in Pekin, |
with a view to examination as imper-
ial concubines or secondary wives This
is one of the great social and political /
events of China, and usually brings
thousands of applicants to the capital. I
Isl An read the proclamation and /
Immediately announced her desire to F!
enter the list. Her pocket parents
laughed at first, but she made so spir- |
tied and cogent an argument that they !
finally yielded. They first changed her |
legal status from a slave girl to an (
adopted daughter, and did all in their
power to prepare her for the eXamina-
ton.
They gave her handsome outfit and |
enough money to go from Canton to
Pekin in the style becoming the rank |
of a Manchu princess. The court au-
thorities pronounced her faultless
specimen of womanhood: well brought |
up in ethics and possessing all the vir- /
tues needful to the sex; in the front [
rank in accomplishments; in intelli- |
gence the equal of the graduate of the I
first imperial examination. The exam
nations over, to her delight, although, |
it is said, not to her surprise, she was |