The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-08
NEW BOOKS.
Great Do,nss ON the Edge OF Tibet.


Great DOinss ON the Edge OF Tibet.
We do not believe that the reader VIII
recall another story just like The lu'
tees Tower" by Louise Belts Edwards
Henry +. Coates 4 Co, Philadelphia). Here
we are, on the western edge OF emma, JusO
east of forbidden Tibet, among the Man
TIE of Some. We are not particularly
adventurous, and we believe profoundly
that we should never care to go there ex,
cept in story. The Mantle are the (uhlil
now almost unstudied and unknown rem
nant of the non-Mongo aborigines OF Emma
They are half barbarous and not nttle
mad, and though they pay tribute TO 'he
Chinese Emperor, we should not hesl'ato
to call them independent. Their hlhg ID
called the Tu-tze, and the tower OF the title
Is the property of the King OF Somo ana Is
situated in his capital village.
In going to Some, and in the course oil
this story we cross China twice, ana once
we traverse Tibet. The story is bounti-
full in incident and in circumstantlal I'M
pressions. In the first chapter we ma
Candace Roberts, daughter Of an Aineri-
can missionary father and Chinese molh
sailing down the Yangtso in a housepoa'
In charge of HUI Sing, the opium merchant
and HUI Sings mother, This aged lady,
who had an acid disposition, cried out on
seeing Candace Ia very handsome girl,
as we may Think: Goods and demons!
What feet! what feet" And still again
Goods and demons! They are not feet; they
are houses"
Even the opium merchants young son.
who adored Candace, said to her IN MS
laundering boy fashion; Have all mis-
sion girls such big feet as yours Your
feet cover the earth" But this was small
part Of Candace's trouble. Her father
and mother had fallen victims to OPIUM
to the Smoke. They sold her to man from
Turkestan, who contemplated selling her
in turn TO some Kansu Mohammedan, or,
that failing, making a "sing-song grille
of her. She was rescued by Mrs. Blaize,
widow of Victor Baize, the great explorer,
who had died in the mountains on the edge
Of Tibet.
Ninifred Blaize was on the way TO Somo
70 perfect the scheme of her husband
interrupted explorations. She was tau,
beautiful thirty. CGndace went along with
her. So did Emma Alvina Guthrie, librar-
ian in the town of Essex Mass, "a widow
by choice, a Unitarian in religion, healthy
in constitution" as she wrote in letter
explaining herself An interesting and a
decidedly queer expedition. When they
got TO the Tu-tze's capital, that arbitrary
monarch refused to admit them into his
castle. Here is how tho determined and
athletic winifred got over the castle wall:
"She tore her hands on the rough stones
irving it. How well these barbarians
built The wall was thrice her height,
and the Tu-tze was too clever to leave
things for an attacking party to climb
up on. She wished an Infatuated yak
would come along and toss her over 1t;
or even a tame one, which she would en-
gnge to infuriate.
And then, as tamely and providentially
as possible, one did stray in sight, like
shaggy deus er mGchinG-some ones dociIe
pack animal, with the rough cloth saddle
such as Winifred had ridden; and as easily
and ingloriously as possible she had
mounted its great hairy back and made
spring so simple this for the stupid
thing would not stand still--for the edge OF
the wall and before the befuddled brain OF
the sleepy sentry nearest her had realized
what it was which had landed on the broad
rampant 80 lightly, ii was running for its
life along the ledge, which recalled the
thrilling experience Of childish days known
as walking the curbstone,' beetlng fully
five inches over a menacng gutter, A
door with a rough stone stairway leading
I'D from the courtyard was open, She
dropped into the yard, with jolt which
shook all emotions out of her for a moment.
not to come back quite intact and then.
recovering breath, plunged up the stair
way, through its door, into the castle, and,
as it happened, Immediately into the pres
ence Of the Tu-tze."
The Tu-tze turned out to be n powerful
young monarch with fairly candid nature
and fine teeth He fancied Winifred. as
everybody did, and locked her up until
such time as she should be willing to marry
him Candace and Mrs. Guthrie went
back to America with an invitation from
Winifred to the Hon. Michael Traquair,
attache Of the British Embassy at Wash
ington who had been In love With Mrs.
Blaize for thirteen years, to come and get
her. Owing to the breaking out of the
Boxer agitations in China he was obliged
TO proceed to Somo by way of India and
Tibet, a long as well as difficult way; and
the consequence was that by the time he
reached Winifred she had engaged her.
self to the Tu-tze and had no wish to break
the engagement. This would have been
NORWOOD for Traquair had it not been
4 II L.. 4
him. The Boxers were avenging the wrongs
Of Feng Shut when Candace and Traquair
went back down the Yangtse, and they,
like other foreigners in China at that period,
had hard time of it. Tho story makes
highly interesting and amusing reading.