Norwich bulletin., 1909-06-12

Fel-nO came the mall, Wnlcn pFOuSul me a, letter from President Grover Cleveland, informing me that my sue cessor had been appointed on October tenth, and from that time my salary as United States consul at Tien-tsin would no longer be paid by the gov- ernment. To say that the announce ment was. a crusher but faintly DOT trays my feelings, when 1 read thai letter and realized what it meant fol me. My voucher for my October sal ary had been paid by the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank and had sent il to my home, and here 1 was, thou sands of miles from my native land the land that I had left to fill posi- tion that 1 had never asked for, thai came to me unsolicited, the duties oi which I had discharged with honor and fidelity, and to the entire satis- faction of my government and all classes with whom I had had oficia dealings. The act of President Cleve- land was cruel. It was heartless. and will never be forgotten
 After breeding over the letter foi awhile I took it to the manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank. He read it over deliberately.
 Well said he. you can't leave Tien-tsin before next March" !.
 T know that very well" said l "but how am to subsist in the mean time?"
 Well" said he. 'you bring your voucher to mo every month and you shall have your money and if your government doesn't honor the drafts the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank will cheerfully sustain the loss"
 Never in my life have I heard words that filled my heart so full of grate- full emotion as did those generous trnr~re Inf tho ma nf fHn Hone Kong and Shanghai bank, and the change in my feelings on entering and on leaving that bank 1 shall never for get as long as life lasts. The striking contrast in my treatment by the bank managers and by the president of the United States has caused me, during all these years to cherish feelings of love and gratitude for the one. and bitter hatred for the other. and I may say that there is not another man on earth for whom ! would for a mo- ment entertain such a feeling. When Yiceroy Ii Hung Shang heard that was to be recalled he telepgraphed to the Chinese minister at Washington to have me retained if possible. The answer came back that the. appointed was a friend of the secretary of state and that he (the minister) did not feel at liberty to interfere. I learned afterwards that the viceroy paid one hundred and six dollars for sending his dispatch, thus showing his friend- ship, which I retained up to the time of his death.
 It was not until the last of March my successor put in an appearance my successor put in an appearance and his name was Smithers. He had been in Tien-tsin before and was known in the settlement. Now, right bo,o I hnI1 vino a word ra- garding President Cleveland's man. date. Here was this man receiving the salary of a United States consul for four months and unable to reach his destination. 1 was performing the duties of the office, for which I did not receive a dollar, and finally left to get to my home the best way I could. That was the case then, and if it has not been changed, 1t is about time 1t was. and it is, in my opinion, dis grace to the country. However. am not here to criticise the government but to tell the story of my life.
 After turning over the consulate and all of it's belongings to my successor on April first, I received a letter from Mrs. Detring, wife of the impe- rial commissioner of customs, in- forming me that my friends in Tien- tsin, knowing. that my seventieth
 
 teenth of the month. were exceedingly desirous that I should remain with them and give them the opportunity "to properly celebrate the three score and ten anniversary" and for me not to go to the hotel, but to make her house my home during my stay. With feel ings of heartfelt gratitude l joyous ly accepted her kind invitation, nor would I have exchanged places with .Il 1Irrrya aAr of his office.
 The endearing friendships that had widened and heightened during my official term had caused me to feel that nowhere on earth could be Nund a more lovable community than the one dwelling in the foreign settlement of Tien-tsin, and my fourteen days were full to overi1owing with joy and gladness. On the morning of my birthday. after receiving the congrat- ulations of the family, we entered the breakfast room, and there, upon the table in front of my seat were the birthday presents from the family, and by the side of my chair was a small table upon which had been placed a platter, and around the sides were seventy blue. white and red lighted tapers, and in the center a lighted wax candle which, according to German tradition (the family were German), was the Light of Life, ? and if in any way it was extinguished before burning out it was a bad omen The tapers having ended their part in the display, the candle was placed on the mantlepiece, where it burned en- tirely out in the socket, amid the joy and rejoicing of all present, even the servant joined in the animating scene.
 But the crowning glory of all my experience in China was at the theater on my birthday night Every resi- dent of the settlement including the missionaries, was there. and Colonel Denby. the United States minister with his wife, came all the way from Picking, to participate in the ceremo- nies, which was a distinguished honor that I most highly appreciated.
 The ceremonies opened with music by the band. after which Mir. Detring the imperial commissioner of GUS toms, delivered the opening address which was full of kind, loving words which I could feel came right from his heart, and to which I responded as best I could.
 Then was read the following address which was beautifully printed on parchment and after the reading it was spread upon a table and every one present signed it.. and 1t now hangs in my parlor as one of the most precious treasures which possess.
 TO GEORGE T. BROMLEY, Esq. Dear Mir. Bromley:
 We, the residents of the Foreign Settlement of Tien-tsin. are assembled to offer our congratulations on your seventieth birthday, to unite in wish ing that your years may be prolonged that you may have health to enioy your life and to diffuse around you the feelings of pleasure which we have al. ways experienced in your society. Il