on
of a single day of mourning. Such is the elasticity and adaptability of
the unchanging laws and customs of the Oriental when in the hands of a
master--or a mistress--like Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.

One can imagine that in proportion as the Empress Dowager was pleased
with the statesmanship manifested by Yuan Shih-kai in unintentionally
reseating her upon the throne, in a like proportion the Emperor would
be dissatisfied with it as being the cause of his dethronement. This
was not, however, against Yuan alone but against the father-in-law of
the present Regent and even Prince Ching as well. During the whole ten
years, from 1898 until his death, while he was a prisoner "his heart
boiled with wrath" against those who had been the cause of his downfall.

It was not until the Boxer troubles of 1900 were over, and Yuan, by the
masterly way in which he had disregarded the imperial edicts, had
protected and preserved the lives of all the foreigners in his
province, keeping peace the while, that honours began to be heaped upon
him. And this not without reason as we shall proceed to show.

In 1901 he was made Governor-General of the metropolitan province, and
Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In 1902 he was decorated with the
Yellow Jacket, placed in charge of the affairs of the Northern Railway,
and consulting minister to counsel the government. Wherever he was he
gave as much attention to the city government as to that of the
province or the nation, and in spite of his having no foreign education
himself, he began building up a system of public schools in his
province like which there is nothing else in the whole of China. Let us
remember also that during ail this time there was suspended over his
head, from the palace, a sword of Damocles which was liable to fall at
any time. But we will explain that further on as it is the last act of
the drama.

When Yuan went to Tientsin as Viceroy of the metropolitan province he
found there Dr. C. D. Tenny, the president of the Tientsin University
which had been begun by Li Hung-chang some ten or a dozen years before.
It had a good course of study and was turning out a large number of
young graduates for whom there ought to be a better future than that of
interpreters in the various business houses of that and other cities.
He therefore called Dr. Tenny to him and inquired particularly about
the system of public school education throughout the United States.

"What is to