The Washington times., 1904-09-11

WAYS. He draws US to him with the
fascination Of conundrum which we
cannot solve; and we are. therefore.
eager TO scale the wall he has jealousy
built around himself In order to learn
what IS behind It, and when we have
clambered down on the other side we
always stumble across something that
no other intruder has found.
Our yellow cousin, ia his stronghold.
has a mine OF undiscovered treasures
in the way Of new Cd things. which are
older than our religions or our arts. We
DO not view him with the superstitiOus
awe which we felt for him in primitive
days. bat he r. stu hard riddle 10
rcad-verily a queer chap. about whom
we have an Unsuitable desire to learn.
Since the Boxer uprising we have felt
a wee bit afraid OF our pigtailed cousin,
but the element of fear adds TO rather
than detracts from his charm, and we
are only led TO study him the closer.
instead OF being frightened away by
the yellow peril" bogy.
Many of US must, Of necessity. study
him az long range. since we cannot go
to the land Of tea: thus we view him
from afar through the eyes Of any
friends we may have in China reading
continually learning, through thesa
sources. something new about the East
ern enigma.
Contrasts in China.
China has. perhaps. more than any
other country, it's sharp contrasts OF
light and shade. wealth and poverty
luxurious ease and degraded slavery. the
gorgeous ralment OF the upper classes
standing out in vivid contrast 20 the
scanty cotton loin-cloths OF the wretched
coolies.
There IS much 10 attract and much "a
repeI the temporary resident OF Peking
for Instance. whether business or Gu
riosity has led him thither: and this
OF all Chinese cities. draws our atten-
| ton with peculiar interest. through ifs
having been the scene Of thrilling siege
and bloody riots during the Boxer up
/ risings. Our residents at the American
/ legal ton are. perhaps. Of greater impor-
] lance 70 uJ than anybody else In Pc
] king. though the jealous missionarie:
/ come close IN the order Of succession.
/ Who would have imagined in those
/ dreadful weeks OF Boxer uprisings tina
| any OF those miserably trapped anC
starving people-the English, German
| fTeucn. ana American Tesl0entS-WOulf
ever care 10 lnger near the scene q.
their terrible suferings after they wer,
| liberated from the horror Of their TEN
| porary prison and rescued from IN.
! furies OF a bigoted mob? Yet many Of
them never went home at all: other,
! departed for a little while. only to re
| turn when time had deadened the re
membrance OF what they had borne.
Was II merely the fascination OF tn,
/ Orient which lured them back, or some
| thing OF that strange attraction anC
disregard Of danger which holds tn,
I Neapolitans near the edge OF Vesuvius
which may at any time destroy them
the jewellers In the Alps 20 perch thei
! cottages where they are constant,
! threatened by avalanches; or the Gal
/ veston-people to rebuild their city wher,
/ IL invites a repetition OF storm an,
fiood7 But the last-named were the vic
tins OF circumstance; some Of then
couldn't get away, and, besides. the,
had plausible reasons for staying: q wa
home which held them. The foreigner
in Peking had no such excuse; the,
/ seem 20 have bee held by some subtl
force for which they themselves ar
| unable TO account.
Foremost among those who stuck 4