ow Arsenal which was bombarded by Admiral Courbet in 1884. My house
and garden were on an eminence overlooking the arsenal, which was about
half a mile distant. One morning, after breakfast, the head official
servant came to tell me there was trouble at the arsenal. A military
mandarin, employed there as superintendent of some department, had that
morning early kicked his cook, a boy of seventeen, in the stomach, and
the boy, a weakly lad, had died within an hour. The boy's widowed mother
was sitting by the body in the mandarin's house, and a large crowd of
workmen had formed a complete ring outside, quietly awaiting the arrival
and decision of the authorities.

By five o'clock in the afternoon, a deputy had arrived from the
magistracy at Foochow, twelve miles distant, empowered to hold the usual
inquest on behalf of the magistrate. The inquest was duly held, and the
verdict was "accidental homicide."

In shorter time than it takes me to tell the story, the deputy's
sedan-chair and paraphernalia of office were smashed to atoms. He
himself was seized, his official hat and robe were torn to shreds, and
he was bundled unceremoniously, not altogether unbruised, through the
back door and through the ring of onlookers, into the paddy-fields
beyond. Then the ring closed up again, and a low, threatening murmur
broke out which I could plainly hear from my garden. There was no
violence, no attempt to lynch the man; the crowd merely waited for
justice. That crowd remained there all night, encircling the murderer,
the victim, and the mother. Bulletins were brought to me every hour,
and no one went to bed.

Meanwhile the news had reached the viceroy, and by half-past nine next
morning the smoke of a steam-launch was seen away up the bends of the
river. This time it bore the district magistrate himself, with
instructions from the viceroy to hold a new inquest.

At about ten o'clock he landed, and was received with respectful
silence. By eleven o'clock the murderer's head was off and the crowd had
dispersed.

LECTURE IV

CHINA AND ANCIENT GREECE

CHINA AND ANCIENT GREECE

The study of Chinese presents at least one advantage over the study of
the Greek and Roman classics; I might add, of Hebrew, of Syriac, and
even of Sanskrit. It may be pursued for two distinct objects. The first,
and most important object to many, is to acquire a practical
acquaintance with a _living_ language, spoken and written by abou