The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-07
Changes. .......
800. I'm Pekjm

London Times
Many and great are the outward and
visible changes which at once strike the
eye of any one who knew Pekin in the
old days, but there is another and more
subtle change less easy to describe.
Shorn of all the mystery which threw
weird glamour over it's hidden life, the
squalor Of Pekin seems to stand out now
absolutely naked and unaShamed. For
merly, for instance, there was at least
suggestion of exotic grandeur in the
stately outline Of halls and temples and
the occasional simmer Of yellow tiles
through the trees, which were the only
glimpse Of the Forbidden City allowed to
the 'outer barbarian, from the Tartar
walls. Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
Now it's inmost Sanctuaries have been
laid bare. The treasures Of bygone CEN
turtles which may have helped to disguise
the ravages of senile decay have become
the spoils of the conquerors and nothing
is left to hide the decrepitude of a SLOW
emily old age. The barbaric gaudiness
of the very throne room itself is over
laid with the accumulated filth Of years,
the red and gold lacquer of the pillars
has peeled off in great scabs, cobwebs
and birds nests defle the painted cell
ings.
The same atmosphere of dirt, discom-
fort and neglect pervades the private
apartments of the emperor and empress
dowager and the dilapidated temples sa-
cred to the dynasty. The foul and tat
tered robes of the few eunuchs who still
hang about the imperial palaces are only
less offensive than the oily smile TO which
they train their evil countenances in the
presence of the hated foreigner. Sturdy
weeds have grown up between the marble
flags of the spacious courts, and pools
Of fetid water lurk beneath the marble
bridges Of ornamental streams. Here
oY1d u.
lions and bronze vases of the Ming
dynasty, or the painted fretwork Of
cloissonne screen behind an ancestral
shrine serves only to heighten by force
OF contrast the general sense of desola-
ton
In the streets of the capital the same
sense of desolation prevails. Some of thu
chief thoroughfares have resumed in n
measure their normal physiognomy
varied only by the homogeneous presence
of the Bengal lancer or the German
lillian, TIE French zouaVc or the italian
marine. Blu: most of the streets are still
comparatively deserted even in the bust
est hours of the daytime, and at night
tic whole cry is hushed in unaccus-
timed silence. The stiffness is no longer
broken by ltlnerant hucksters and story
teIers, or by the bawling runners of high
officials proceeding long before daybraak
to the imperial audience chamber. Even
the music Of the pigeons as they circ.ed
IN the early morning among the trees
with sort of jeWsharp strung about
their necks has ceased.
No one knew exactly what the popula-
ton of Pekin was before the troubles
and still less does any one know what it
is today. To judge by the appearance
of the streets, it might we'll have dinin-
ished by one-half, and women are more
than ever rarely seen. The vast ma
Jority of the upper classes have fed, and
the once familiar sight of high officials
with their motley crowd of retainers
borne by swift bearers in their curtained
chairs to and from their yamens, or
f1anchu women of rank and fashion do
Ing their rounds of shopping in Closed
carts with red hangings, has entirely dis
appeared In some quarters almost all
the houses are closely snu- mp though
many of them ere doubtless not unten-
anted, and foreign flags alone relieve the
gray monotony of long, silent streets
ankle deep in the accumulated winters
Gust. The amount of bunting displayed
by the inhabitants Seems to vary in ~
verse proportion to the confidence in
splred among the natives by the nation
atty to whose administrative nercies
they have been committed.
Inc Germans govern, as usual, with a
somewhat heavy hand and the streets
| a
| show of black white and red bunting
| as any German village on Sedan day.
! Whlle IN the British quarter, where the
chinese appear to be relatively NSriendly
and contented, not single Union Jack
Is TO be seen. That the people of Pekin
are at least temporarily cowed the
crlnging attitude which has replaced the
sullen scowls or open insolence Of
former times conclusively shows. But
! the old spirit still turks beneath the
surface, and of late especially the belief
mas been reported to be rife among the
| populace that the heroes of the Boxer
movement are not dead but only asleep.
and will wake up again to smite the
| foreigners as soon as the sap rises in the
trees. If ever the present negotiations
reach an end and the time arrives for
eYacuating Pekin. there will be an
awkward period of transition during the
withdrawal of the troops and the
restoration of responsible Chinese au-
thority. In the meantime, whatever of
the glory and glamor Of the East still
clung to Pekin has departed, probably
forever; the havoc alone remains.