The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-16

ANAE4 lAA Bb H4NAaN4G N4tmA4s and hated. principally because of her treatment of the Emperor. for whom the enliehtened and the common people had a sympath etic liking. She was commonly referred to by the sobriquet as .'the old Buddha-"
 Law Unto Herself.
 She was q law unto herself. She yio- lated the constitution of dynasty that forbtds a woman ruler and broke the sacred customs given by the sagss.
 Age did not seem to have embittered her at the close of a strictly terrible career, although the past decade had intensifed her sanguinary record. She entered the palace as an inferior con- cubine and authority came to her by virtue of fecundity. She became the mother of an Emperor. and her politi- cal career began with tine wholesale beheadtng of princes in 1861. by which she established her son on the throne.
 A slaughter of reformers and others took place thirty seven years later. foilowisg the coupe de etat in 1898. Two years after this. she deliberately. upon advice, set about slaughtering all Christians and foreigners, giving io0,- 900 taels from her private funds to- ward carrying on the work. But, even with this. 1t "a said of her reign that it has been free from the blood-thirsti- ness that characterized the reign of her predecessors.
 Two nominal Emperors succeeded to the title held by her husband and she was responsible for both.
 She put her son. Tung Chin, on the throne and upon his sudden death, en- throned the son of her dead husbands brother. The latter was the late En- peror Kuang Ksu. Him she dethroned in 1900 and made Pu chun. son of Prince Tuan. heir apparent, without authority. as the succession in China Is only rfghtfuily determined by the Em- peror. P'u Chun again she degraded. in obedience to the mandate of the al- lies, because his father was the leader Of the Boxers,- restoring Kuang Hsu.
 As to political wisdom. her talents appeared to be strictly limited to the narrow field Of the palace. Tais ground she knew we'll But in the realm of international politics, hers was long record of waywardness and lack of knowledge.
 The greatest of her political acts was the coupe d'etat of 189S- In this she showed her power. combining craftiness and courage. She stopped to the role of reformer that she might conquer. and when she had perfected the Disguise. sae slaughtered the reformers and in carcerated the Emperor. keeping him a prisoner for nearly two years. Follow ing this. she championed the Boxer war, which proved to be the greatest stain upon the Empire that # has had under the Manchus.
 The whole nation ig now thrown into mourning. the rites attending which are Of a stringent character. For q hundred days the court and people of rank wear white, trimmed with white fur, this being the mourning color in China. For the same period. the men abstain from shaving. while the women lay aside the favorite ornamental head dress.
 The foreign troops. have taken meas- lar9a fe aafaE Etara the An nteFeate as theix Prospective couhtrymeh here. TAe Britt ish guard has been increased by the arrival of fifty Highlanders from Tiet- Tsin.s
 Both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager will, if precedent is followed be buried in the imperial mausoleun in away from Picking All the rulers oi the Manchu dynasty are inferred there
 Details of the ceremonies attending the interments Of the deceased rulers will be arranged by the minister oi rites.
 The transition in the government the officials of the legation, say. will take place without trouble of any kind everything pertaining to the appoint ment of the new heads being provided for in an entirely legal and proper manner