The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-07-14

| POI leu d great nuIlUtl VI liiilNSj tiiet
| the young emperor began studying
| English about the same time, ana those
who were getting books for him came
| to our compound and secured small
| volume, which had been taken to emma
| by the man who induced me to go to
Pekin, as a text book for his little
daughter. When the emperor began
| the study Of English he departed from
| the usual methods of men in his posi-
| ton and allowed his teacher to SIT ana
teach him instead of forcing MN to
| kneel in his presence. l myself worked
| for some time with the grandson of this
teacher, teaching him English, and IN
return he taught me Chinese
| The study of English, the study OF
! the Bible and all the foreign toys the
emperor had played with, including the
great inventions which mark the pro-
gress of the advancing civilization OF
these last years of the nineteenth CEN
fury, were not lost on the young man.
They could not change his impetuous
disposition, but they did inspire IN him
a disposition to see the world and to
know more Of what was going on III II
than had ever been known by any 9TH
er occupant of the dragon throne. He,
therefore, began buying all gkinds OF
books pertaining to foreign affairs.
1t was known to him that there were
various institutions of learning con-
nected with the missions of the various
churches and that each of these schools
had translated some of the most lmpor-
tant textbooks Of the countries they
represented into Chinese. They were
issued by tract societies and societies
for the distribution of general and
Christian knowledge; and there were
books prepared by scientists and ply
sicans and scholars of various kinds,
together with learned natives who had
put out volumes both in the Chinese
colloquial and the classical language of
the empire, and it was these which ne
sought to obtain. He got the assist
ance Of foreigners whenever he could,
and made no distinction between the
books of any sect or society, institution
or body, but with an equay zeal he
sought them all. No miser ever
watched his gold with a more Jealous
care than this young man examined
these books. SO | was told.
one of the eunuchs from the palace
came to me every day for weeks to get
some new book for the emperor, and al
most exhausted my patience with his
persistence. He was willing to pay any
price, and he would not allow me to
refuse him any book which the emperor
had not yet had if it was to be got un-
der any circumstances | was forced
more than once to give him some little
sheet tract Of q single page, and at 9TH
err times to take my wife's Chinese
medical books out of the library and
turn them over to him, for, the euruch
declared whether truly or not cannot
say, that he dared not return at night
without taking the emperor something
new
He bought my wifes bicycle and took
it to his majesty and it was afterward
reported that his queue caught in the
back wheel, and he had very un-em-
peror-like fall. This led the dowagar 10
deal severely With the aunuch Ore
day shortly after tho coup detat Il
man came to me with his face
scratched and his head scared and
wanted me to save his life He de-
sired to join the church a once, saying
that he was friend of this same eu-
much who had been banished for buy
ing all these things for the emperor and
charging him double price for them,
and that he also was in danger of los
ing his head.
The emperor set himself to studying
the books he had bought and the more
he studied them the more he became
convinced that China was on the wrong
road and in dreadful need of a reforma-
ton The more he meditated the mat
ter the more he became convinced that
there was no hope of China so long as
she was in the hands of the old eonser-
vative party,
He began to prepare for a trip to
Tien-tsin on the railroad. The home of
Chang Yun-mao, the present director of
mines, was fitted up Cor his reception,
and it was rumored that he Iligbt go as
far as Japan, Several Han Lins with
whom / was acquainted came to ask If
I thought it would be safe for him to go
that far away from home and they
Were as excited as he no doubt was
they all made me think of sixteen
years old boy Just about TO leave his
mother and sister for the first time for
college. These men who were so cool
under all ordinary circumstances even
in affairs of state, had become trans
formed into school-boys because the
emperor was going to take an eighty
mile railroad journey.
But the trip never was taken. He be-
gan in a new line, not with the idea of
giving up his trip, but with the thought
Of liberating his people from the yoke
that was upon them. On the 18th of |
June 1898, he issued a decree establish
ing n university at Peliin the design |
being to open a way by which the |
young men of the empire might become |
acquainted with all the books he had |
been studying, and might themselves
be prepared to Issue other books of Il |
similar character.
A few days later he ordered the for
eign office to report on the matter Of |
encouraging art, science and agricul- |
ture, a the same time ordering any Of
those who were opposed to progress and |
reform to appear before him and give |
their reasons. He proposed that they |
adopt western arms and western meth
DDS of drilling the Tartar troops He
abolished the literary essay as a lead
ing part in the examinations for official
and substituted in it's place
4 knowledge of political economy and
in lorna tipnul law