The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-11-09

Half century Of rule by 4 woman,
whose career has no parallel lii HIS
tory, has about run its course. The.
empress OF China Is to abdicate In IA.
vor Of her nephew, who now IL nom-
inally the emperor. i.
This slave girl, who By sheer force
Of beauty and craft assembled to the
throne of q nation, whose subjects
comprise more than one third sof the
worlds population, can only be COM
pared with Queen Elizabeth or Cath
crime Of Russia In the deapotic power;
she has welded. But the domination
Of these queens never even approach
ed hers. Napoleon In the zenith OF his
glory never controlled as many people
as she. asi 3s 81.
Her life is one long record OF mys-
terry and intrigue. The tiny Tzu-hsi,
she being only, five feet tail, during all
her long period Of control, has faced
rebellions, and has had to outwit the
designs OF foreign nations who sought;
to confiscate her fecund realm. No
minister of state stood at her elbow
to guide her strokes Of diplomacy. All
that she has done has proceeded from
her own cleverness. No human be-
ing in our generation, If in the worlds.
history, has ever been more absolute
ly invested with supreme power of
dictation.
Truly great event will it be when
sTzu-hsi lays down the scepter.
The long life of this monarch, she
is now seventy three, has been shroud-
ed in almost impenetrable mystery.
Many of her own ministers have new
er seen her, for most of her confer
ences of state are held while she sits
behind screen, where she can see
without being seen. 1t is said that on
ly once has camera ever caught her
features, and only once has her por-
trait been painted. Both Of these
concessions to modern customs have
come within the last few years when
even the palace of The empress felt
the wave Of modern Thought that has
been sweeping over the world.
1t was the greed for power that first
of the emperor.
She was then but a slave girl,
though the daughter Of good family,
her father Manchu nobleman having
at one time held an important post at
Pekin. But misfortunes assailed him
and sent him almost in utter destitu-
ton with his son and daughter into
Canton.
At the lowest ebb Of his fortunes he
did what seems incomprehensible to
our Occidental standards, but which
in the Orient is the most natural expe-
dent for man in financial trouble, he
sold his beautiful daughter into
slavery.
Tzu-hsi was fortunate that her pur-
chasers were not only people of quail
ty but literally endowed also with the
milk of human kindness. They took a
great fancy to the girl, and had her
taught to read and write, rare thing
at that time.
She was ambitious and advanced so
In her knowledge that her proud own
er also had her taught ethics, astron-
omy and mathematics, so that eventu-
ally she became the most learned
young woman in Canton.
The turn in her fortunes came in
1850, when the emperor issued an in
vitation for all comely young women
of Manchu descent to present them
selves at the palace to be examined
for admission to the lists Of the rulers
secondary wives.
Tzu-hsi persuaded her foster parents
to let her enter the competition, and
when they gave consent it was accom-
panied by the presentation Of lib
eral outfit Of the most beautiful
clothes, SO that she might bear com
parfson with any who came.
Six hundred made application and
only ten succeeded, Tzu-hsi being
among the number.