Evening star., 1937-04-18

morning and my eyes Lit on the words,
Jehovah will now do new thing,
and that Is, he will make a woman
protect man."
He told me Of his trials; Of mis-
determination not to agree to any,
thing while under restraint, and he
entreated me not to ask him to sign
anything while under duress.
l told him that considered the
welfare of the country above his
personal welfare, and that he need
not have any fear that I would try
to influence him to sign anything.
He said several times that he was
ready to die for the good of the coun-
try. l pointed out that since his
detention the whole of the people OF
China, even those who criticized his
policies, were profoundly affected, and
people throughout the whole world
were praying for his release. Even
the smallest school children were cry
ing as though they had lost . father,
and when it was reported that he
had been assassinated many soldiers
had committed suicide.
"Here to Share Your Fate"
Therefore," urged, you should
not talk Of sacrificing your life for
the good Of the country. To save the
country there Is more reason than
ever for you to live. Be comforted,
for God is with us. I am here to
share your fate and to die with you,
II God so wills it, and, If he wills
1t otherwise, to live and work with
you for the sake Of the nation"
I explained that I sensed that the
people who were OBTAINING him were
conscious Of their wrong doing, and.
II rightly handled. adjustment could
be quickly made. Meanwhile We
should not lose our tempers, but
should be patient.
Here was in Sian once again
Sian, the cradle Of the Chinese race.
I caught myself wondering If 1t would
also be its CONN. II the generalissimo
were prevented from leaving 1t alive,
tho nation would be sorely riven. and
incalculable disaster would come upon
1t. II he could 60 out, the nation
would be more solidifed than ever,
and from near-disaster would come
great blessings. Out Of evil cometh
good" sang in my mind, and be-
Heved it.
Yet II wisdom did not prevail, Sian
would be death-trap truly. Hemmed
in, we were, with troops waiting orders
from their masters. Beyond them
were the Red hordes, which the
generalissimo had been fighting for
years. All were waiting, expectant and
impatient. And beyond the borders Of
China others waited and watched.
Foresaw Range Of Calamity.
Why was fighting to prevent an
attack on Sian being launched? Not
primarily to save the life OF my hus-
band, but because I foresaw the range
of calamity that could come upon
China As the result of any impulsive
use of force
There were the armies Of the north
west, formidable in numbers and we'll
equipped, which would naturally
respond to any attack by promptly
joining forces with the Red armies
behind them.
Immediately such a junction took
place the Reds would be revitAlized
and the whole combination would be
galvanized into an action which would
probably lead to an unprecedented
civil war, with an unpredictable end.
Such condition could easily result
in ruthless intervention by \ country
which has long been seeking such an
excuse to justify large-scale invasion
to gain the complete dominance Of
our country.
That nightmare was ever in my
mind from the moment I realized the
determination of military officers to
attack Sian
sent for Han-Chen. Probably he
was relieved because I did not upbraid
him, but, whatever 1t WAS, WAS able
immediately to talk quietly and sin
cerely to him. endeavored to show
him that he and his associates were
hboring under . delusion II they
thought the people Of the country
were with him. I told him that he
had made bad mess Of things and
now the question was, how was he 60
ing to get out Of it?
IT you had asked me-" I said, II
could have told you that you could not
get the generalissimo to do anything
by using force"
Chang Refused to Talk.
But this would never have hap
pened 1T all had you been here,
Madame" he surprised me by saying.
We did wrong in seizing the gen.