Evening star., 1900-09-29

1t Is not healthy for a Chinese to oppose
the old dowager. She is charged with be-
ing as free with her poison and knife as
were the emperorS during the last days of
Rome. | have heard it stated that she ma
terially assisted her husband irDgetting to
better land. After he died she ruled in
company with his first wife. known the
eastern empress. The eastern empress had
a quarrel with the empress dowager and
soon after this she grew sick and passed
away. ! have heard it whispered that
Marquis Tseng and Prince Ch'un died un-
natural deaths just at the right time to
bf bfnefit this remarkable woman
The trouble the present emperor had
with her was chiefly caused by the death
of his mother in 1SH;. The e,nperor's
mother thought the empress dowager was
not treating her son rightly. and she called
al the palace at Ehn PARK and protested
against The extraordinary demands which
the dowager made upon him This made
the doWager empress angry She ordered
her servants TO take agay her guests Sc
Gan chair. and sent hec back to Pekin In
common cart. The old lady died the
next Gay. and 1t was currently reported
that her death was due t. the mortificatio
from the treatment she, he mother of an
emperor. had received. Whether sho ate
or drank anyth hing wfi'e al the eyupress
dowager's palace is not stated
1'h@ empress COW lgcr practically ruled
China while her son Tung Chi was emperor
ne was baby WREN his father d:ed and
his mother was monarch until he became of
age She ruled through him until he got the
smallpox and pas sed away to give place
to the son of Prince Chun the present en-
peror. ! have already spoken of Prince
Chun's death.
Suspicious Circumstances,
Another curious death was that Of the
wife OF Emperor Tung Chi a Manchu girl
named Aiuteh She was made Empress OF
CHINA in 1872, having been chosen by the
empress dowager as her daughter-.n-law.
1t is said that she was about tn have a
child at the time the Emperor Tung Chi
died Of smallpox, but that She herself died
before the child was born Had she lived
there would have probably been a change in
the imperial regime and the empress dow
ager might have had to step down and ont
DO not know that she had anything to do
with her daughter-in-aw Aluteh's death,
but she ceratinly profited by it,
The empress dowager picked ont the
wives Tor the present emperor This oc-
CURED tWeiVe years ago and | happened to
be in Pekin at the time the choice was
made. She took two sisters, one fifteen
and the other thirteen years old both the
daughters of her brother, Chang Hsii and
consequently her nieces The fifteen-vear
old girl became the empress and her Young
er sister secondary wife or an ..imneriaI
concubine of second rank" These girls of
course, have been the tools of their inpe-
ral aunt and the emperor has had enemies
and spies In his own family
The character of the emperor 7 will die
cuss In future letter. There is no doubt.
however, but that the empress dowaper
should be carefully handled by the powers
China can be more easily ruled without her
than with her, and If there is any island
like st. Helena, a good long distance oway
from this part of the world II will be wsi,
to incarcerate this female Napoleon unon n
FRANK G. CARPENTER