Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-03-02
BOXER JOAN or ARCS.
Pierre LOTS Visit to Two Mys.
ferrous Chinese Maidens.
LOOKED UPON As GoDDEssEs.

sp1red ny bufir FuA31Ners - Hes-
cued From Drowning by Older
of the Allied Army.
Pierre Lott. the distinguished French
author, now in China. has discovered
the presiding geniuses of the Boxer
movement, writes the Paris CORE
spondent Of the New York Journal.
There are two sisters now in captivity
who might be styled Jeanne d'Arcs of
the Chinese, and Lott not only saw
them, but with more news instinct
than the average literary man displays
attempted TO interview them. In COM
pany with a number of officers Of the
allied forces Lott went through the al
] most deserted streets of Tien-tsin TO
the palace of the viceroys of that great
Chinese province and was soon intro
duced to the presence of these mysteri-
Gus maidens.
"The two deities, 'goddesses,' as they
were ironically called by our two Eng
lish companions, were imprisoned with
the close guard In the lower part of the
palace" so the account goes. 1.-THE
streets presented a singular and almost
unique spectacle. 1t was a fete day In
the camps and Notifications, and we
found the ruins of the city peopled hap
hazard by a gay soldiery. Here, in
fact, we found the representatives of
all the armies of Europe amusing
themselves in the most friendly man
ner among the ruins of the great Chi
nese city.
after wandering through the streets
for q considerable time we found our
selves at the door in the basement of
the palace within which the goddesses
were confined. 1t is inscribed with
great Chinese characters in red. An
old Chinese who vas our guide
and who seemed to us as mysterious as
she was mute lifted up her head and
pointed with a gesture of submission
which signified to us that we were to
enter the house without further cere-
mony.
1--WE found ourselves in a semiob-
scure chamber, which was in the great
est and most slamentable disorder.
Through the dim light we were able to
distinguish the poor girls. evidently
sisters, where they sat. with their
heads bowed. wearing an air Of ex-
IRENE detection. the one on a chair. the
other on the edge of an ebony bed, in
which they had evidently beer sleep
ing. They were attired in cheap black
garments. On their foreheads were
the diadems which they wore ON the
| Hot4IaGOI1 oVH in a,nf.,cfNn on tho
floor were TUNES richly embroidered
with flowers and patterns in red and
gold.
"These, then. were the goddesses of
the incomprehensible Boxers, a species
of Joan of Arc, one might say, if it
were not ~blasphemy to apply to them
this name. so ideal in its purity, the
fetch girls from the pagodas who in
spired the fiery march of their soldiery,
at once atrocious and admirable. the
great sibyls of the Chinese country
side, who. urged on by hate and fear
of the foreigner and with the shrieks
of one possessed. were able to thrust
forward into the arms of death and
under a rain of bullets a body Of their
troops against an army ten times more
numerous.
"Captives at this time, the goddesses
are the property and the prize curios
Of the seven allied nations. They are
not iii treated. They are closely con-
fined in order to prevent them from
committing suicide, which seems to
have become a fixed idea with them.
ION the day of the retreat, when the
junk on which they had taken refuge
was seized. they and their mother,
who had always been with them, cast
themselves into the river. After they
had sunk they We're dragged from the
depths of the stream byssome soldiers
Of the allied army, and it was a long
while lefore the ~goddesses were re-
stored TO their senses. But the oblique
eyes Of their old Chinese mother never
opened again, and it was necessary to
make their daughters believe that she
was lying in a hospital and there slow
~ recovering her health. This news
gave new life to the prisoners, and for
awhile they were very vivacious and
decked themselves out in their richest
attire, while always maintaining their
QlSH1Iy. lUe luOTulHE VI OuI NlSiL tutJ
were told for the first time that they
no longer had a mother, and 1t was
that which reduced them to extreme
depression.
mot having the money with which
to buy mourning, which among the
Chinese is white, they requested that
they be given black dresses and also
white kid slippers, which they wore on
their little feet and which are as es.
sential to complete mourning as is a
black Grape veil with us.
The two damsels, who had the pal
ior Of a waxen image, were not with
out a certain charm al they sat there
opposite each other fearless and with
| shoulders bowed and their eyes riveted
on the ground. So great was their
grief that they did not seem aware of
our presence, and as we entered they